From the 1881 book, Miss Parloa’s New Cook Book and Marketing Guide.

EDITORS NOTE: This article is decorated with drawings from the “Kitchen Furnishing” chapter.

Fritters.

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Fritter Batter.

- one pint of flour,
- half a pint of milk,
- one table-spoonful of salad oil or butter,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- two eggs.

Beat the eggs light. Add the milk and salt to them.

Pour half of this mixture on the flour, and when beaten light and smooth, add the remainder and the oil.

Fry in boiling fat. Sprinkle with sugar, and serve on a hot dish.

This batter is nice for all kinds of fritters.

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Fritter Batter, No. 2.

- one pint of flour,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one teaspoonful of sugar,
- one teaspoonful of cream of tartar,
- half a teaspoonful of soda,
- one tablespoonful of oil,
- one egg,
- half a pint of milk.

Mix the flour, salt, sugar, cream of tartar and soda together, and rub through a sieve. Beat the egg very light, and add the milk.

Stir half of this on the flour, and when the batter is light and smooth, add the remainder, and finally the oil.

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Chicken Fritters.

Cut cold roasted or boiled chicken or fowl in small pieces, and place in an earthen dish. Season well with salt, pepper and the juice of a fresh lemon.

Let the meat stand one hour; then make a fritter batter, and stir the pieces into it. Drop, by the spoonful, into boiling fat, and fry till a light brown. Drain, and serve immediately.

Any kind of cold meat, if tender, can be used in this way.

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Apple Fritters.

Pare and core the apples, and cut in slices about one-third of an inch thick. Dip in the batter, and fry six minutes in boiling fat. Serve on a hot dish.
The apples may be sprinkled with sugar and a little nutmeg, and let stand an hour before being fried. In that case, sprinkle them with sugar when you serve them.

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Fruit Fritters.

Peaches, pears, pineapples, bananas, etc., either fresh or canned, are used for fritters. If you choose, when making fruit fritters, you can add two table-spoonfuls of sugar to the batter.

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Oyster Fritters.

- one pint of oysters,
- two eggs,
- one pint of flour,
- one heaping teaspoonful of salt,
- one table-spoonful of salad oil,
- enough water with the oyster liquor to make a scant half pint.

Drain and chop the oysters.

Add the water and salt to the liquor. Pour part of this on the flour, and when smooth, add the remainder. Add the oil and the eggs, well beaten.

Stir the oysters into the batter. Drop small spoonfuls of this into boiling fat, and fry until brown. Drain, and serve hot.

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Clam Fritters.

Drain and chop a pint of clams, and season with salt and pepper.

Make a fritter batter as directed, using, however, a heaping pint of flour, as the liquor in the clams thins the batter. Stir the clams into this, and fry in boiling fat.

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Cream Fritters.

- one pint of milk,
- the yolks of six, and whites of two, eggs,
- two table-spoonfuls of sugar,
- half a pint of flour,
- three heaping table-spoonfuls of butter,
- half a teaspoonful of salt,
- a slight flavoring of lemon,
- orange, nutmeg, or anything else you please.

Put half of the milk on in the double boiler, and mix the flour to a smooth paste with the other half. When the milk boils, stir this into it.

Cook for five minutes, stirring constantly; then add the butter, sugar, salt and flavoring.

Beat the eggs well, and stir them into the boiling mixture. Cook one minute.

Butter a shallow cake pan, and pour in the mixture. Have it about half an inch deep in the pan. Set away to cool.

When cold, cut into small squares. Dip these in beaten egg and in crumbs, place in the frying basket, and plunge into boiling fat. Fry till a golden brown.

Arrange on a hot dish, sprinkle sugar over them, and serve very hot.

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Potato Fritters.

- one pint of boiled and mashed potato,
- half a cupful of hot milk,
- three table-spoonfuls of butter,
- three table-spoonfuls of sugar,
- two eggs,
- a little nutmeg,
- one teaspoonful of salt.

Add the milk, butter, sugar and seasoning to the mashed potato, and then add the eggs well beaten. Stir until very smooth and light. Spread, about half an inch deep, on a buttered dish, and set away to cool.

When cold, cut into squares. Dip in beaten egg and in bread crumbs, and fry brown in boiling fat. Serve immediately.

Croquettes.

Care and practice are required for successfully making croquettes. The meat must be chopped fine, all the ingredients be thoroughly mixed, and the whole mixture be as moist as possible without spoiling the shape.

Croquettes are formed in pear, round and cylindrical shapes. The last is the best, as the croquettes can be moister in this form than in the two others.

To shape: Take about a table-spoonful of the mixture, and with both hands, shape in the form of a cylinder. Handle as gently and carefully as if a tender bird. Pressure forces the particles apart, and thus breaks the form.

Have a board sprinkled lightly with bread or cracker crumbs, and roll the croquettes very gently on this. Remember that the slightest pressure will break them. Let them lie on the board until all are finished, when, if any have become flattened, roll them into shape again.

Cover a board thickly with crumbs. Have beaten eggs, slightly salted, in a deep plate. Hold a croquette in the left hand, and with a brush, or the right hand, cover it with the egg; then roll in the crumbs. Continue this until they are all crumbed.

Place a few at a time in the frying basket (they should not touch each other), and plunge into boiling fat. Cook till a rich brown. It will take about a minute and a half. Take up, and lay on brown paper in a warm pan.

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Royal Croquettes.

- three small, or two large, sweetbreads,
- one boiled chicken,
- one large table-spoonful of flour,
- one pint of cream,
- half a cupful of butter,
- one table-spoonful of onion juice,
- one tablespoonful of chopped parsley,
- one teaspoonful of mace,
- the juice of half a lemon, and
- salt and pepper to taste.

Let the sweetbreads stand in boiling water five minutes. Chop very fine, with the chicken, and add seasoning.

Put two table-spoonfuls of the butter in a stew-pan with the flour. When it bubbles, add the cream, gradually; then add the chopped mixture, and stir until thoroughly heated. Take from the fire, add the lemon juice, and set away to cool.

Roll into shape with cracker crumbs. Dip in six beaten eggs and then in cracker crumbs. Let them stand until dry, when dip again in egg, and finally in bread crumbs—not too fine. All the crumbs should first be salted and peppered.

Fry quickly in boiling fat.

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Royal Croquettes, No. 2.

- half a boiled chicken,
- one large sweetbread, cleaned, and kept in hot water for five minutes;
- a calf’s brains, washed, and boiled five minutes;
- one teaspoonful of chopped parsley,
- salt,
- pepper,
- half a pint of cream,
- one egg,
- quarter of a cupful of butter,
- one table-spoonful of corn-starch.

Chop the chicken, brains and sweetbread very fine, and add the egg well beaten. Mix the corn-starch with a little of the cream.

Have the remainder of the cream boiling, and stir in the mixed corn-starch; then add the butter and the chopped mixture, and stir over the fire until it bubbles.

Set aside to cool. Shape, and roll twice in egg and in cracker crumbs. Put in the frying basket, and plunge into boiling fat. They should brown in less than a minute. [Mrs. Furness, of Philadelphia.

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Oyster Croquettes.

- half a pint of raw oysters,
- half a pint of cooked veal,
- one heaping table-spoonful of butter,
- three table-spoonfuls of cracker crumbs,
- the yolks of two eggs,
- one table-spoonful of onion juice.

Chop the oysters and veal very fine. Soak the crackers in oyster liquor, and then mix all the ingredients, and shape.

Dip in egg and roll in cracker crumbs, and fry as usual. The butter should be softened before the mixing.

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Lobster Croquettes.

- chop fine the meat of a two-pound lobster;
- take also two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- enough water or cream to make very moist,
- one egg,
- salt and pepper to taste, and
- half a table-spoonful of flour.

Cook butter and flour together till they bubble. Add the cream or water (about a scant half cupful), then the lobster and seasoning, and, when hot, the egg well beaten.

Set away to cool. Shape, dip in egg and cracker crumbs, and fry as usual.

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Salmon Croquettes.

- one pound of cooked salmon (about a pint and a half when chopped),
- one cupful of cream,
- two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- one table-spoonful of flour,
- three eggs,
- one pint of crumbs,
- pepper,
- salt.

Chop the salmon fine. Mix the flour and butter together. Let the cream come to a boil, and stir in the flour, butter, salmon and seasoning.

Boil for one minute. Stir into it one well-beaten egg, and remove from the fire.

When cold, shape, and proceed as for other croquettes.

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Shad Roe Croquettes.

- one pint of cream,
- four table-spoonfuls of corn-starch,
- four shad roe,
- four table-spoonfuls of butter,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- the juice of two lemons,
- a slight grating of nutmeg and
- a speck of cayenne.

Boil the roe fifteen minutes in salted water; then drain and mash.

Put the cream on to boil. Mix the butter and corn-starch together, and stir into the boiling cream. Add the seasoning and roe. Boil up once, and set away to cool.

Shape and fry as directed. [Miss Lizzie Devereux.

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Rice and Meat Croquettes.

- one cupful of boiled rice,
- one cupful of finely-chopped cooked meat—any kind;
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- a little pepper,
- two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- half a cupful of milk,
- one egg.

Put the milk on to boil, and add the meat, rice and seasoning. When this boils, add the egg, well beaten; stir one minute.

After cooling, shape, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry as before directed.

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Rice Croquettes.

- one large cupful of cooked rice,
- half a cupful of milk,
- one egg,
- one table-spoonful of sugar,
- one table-spoonful of butter,
- half a teaspoonful of salt,
- a slight grating of nutmeg.

Put milk on to boil, and add rice and seasoning. When it boils up, add the egg, well beaten. Stir one minute; then take off and cool.

When cold, shape, and roll in egg and crumbs, as directed. Serve very hot. Any flavoring can be substituted for the nutmeg.

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Potato Croquettes.

Pare, boil and mash six good-sized potatoes. Add:

- one table-spoonful of butter,
- two-thirds of a cupful of hot cream or milk,
- the whites of two eggs, well beaten, and
- salt and pepper to taste.
- if you wish, use also a slight grating of nutmeg, or a teaspoonful of lemon juice.

Let the mixture cool slightly, then shape, roll in egg and crumbs, and fry.

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Chicken Croquettes.

- one solid pint of finely-chopped cooked chicken,
- one table-spoonful of salt,
- half a teaspoonful of pepper,
- one cupful of cream or chicken stock,
- one table-spoonful of flour,
- four eggs,
- one teaspoonful of onion juice,
- one table-spoonful of lemon juice,
- one pint of crumbs,
- three table-spoonfuls of butter.

Put the cream or stock on to boil. Mix the flour and butter together, and stir into the boiling cream; then add the chicken and seasoning.

Boil for two minutes, and add two of the eggs, well beaten. Take from the fire immediately, and set away to cool.

When cold, shape and fry.

Many people think a teaspoonful of chopped parsley an improvement.

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Other Croquettes.

Veal, mutton, lamb, beef and turkey can be prepared in the same manner as chicken. Very dry, tough meat is not suitable for croquettes. Tender roasted pieces give the finest flavor.

Vol-au-Vents.

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Large Vol-au-Vent.

Make puff or chopped paste, according to the rule given (repeated below this recipe), and let it get chilled through; roll it again four times, the last time leaving it a piece about seven inches square.

Put in the ice chest for at least half an hour; then roll into a ten-inch square. Place on this a plate or a round tin, nine and a half inches in diameter, and, with a sharp knife, cut around the edge.

Place another plate, measuring seven inches or a little more, in the centre. Dip a case-knife in hot water and cut around the plate, having the knife go two-thirds through the paste.

Place the paste in a flat baking pan and put in a hot oven. After twelve or fifteen minutes close the drafts, to slacken the heat, and cook half an hour longer, being careful not to let it burn.

As soon as the vol-au-vent is taken from the oven, lift out the centre piece with a case-knife, and take out the uncooked paste with a spoon. Return the cover.

At the time of serving place in the oven to heat through; then fill and cover, and serve while hot.

The vol-au-vent can be made and baked the day before using, if more convenient. Heat it and fill as directed.

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CHOPPED PASTE. (For recipe above. From Pies and Puddings Chapter.)

- one quart of pastry flour,
- two cupfuls or unwashed butter,
- one teaspoonful of salt,
- one table-spoonful of sugar,
- and a scant cupful of ice water.

Put the flour, salt, sugar and butter in the chopping-tray. Chop all together until the butter is thoroughly mixed with the flour; then add the water, and continue chopping.

When well mixed, sprinkle the board with flour, turn the paste on it, and roll into a flat piece. Place in a pan on the ice.

When hard, use the same as puff paste. It can be used as soon as mixed, but will not, of course, be so nice.

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Vol-au-Vent of Chicken.

Cut into dice one and a half pints of cooked chicken, and season with salt and pepper.

Make a cream sauce, which season well with salt and pepper; and, if you like, add half a teaspoonful of onion juice and the same quantity of mixed mustard.

Heat the chicken in this, and fill the vol-au-vent. All kinds of poultry and other meats can be used for a vol-au-vent with this sauce.

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Vol-au-Vent of Sweetbreads.

Clean and wash two sweetbreads, and boil twenty minutes in water to cover. Drain and cool them, and cut into dice. Heat in cream sauce, and fill the vol-au-vent. Serve hot.

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Vol-au-Vent of Salmon.

Heat one pint and a half of cooked salmon in cream sauce. Fill the vol-au-vent and serve hot. Any rich, delicate fish can be served in a vol-au-vent.

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Vol-au-Vent of Oysters.

Prepare the vol-au-vent as directed. Put one quart of oysters on to boil in their own liquor. As soon as a scum rises, skim it off, and drain the oysters.

Return half a pint of the oyster liquor to the sauce-pan. Mix two heaping table-spoonfuls of butter with a scant one of flour, and when light and creamy, gradually turn on it the boiling oyster liquor.

Season well with salt, pepper and, if you like, a little nutmeg or mace, (it must be only a “shadow”). Boil up once, and add three table-spoonfuls of cream and the oysters.

Stir over the fire for half a minute. Fill the case, cover, and serve immediately.

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Vol-au-Vent of Lobster.

Rub together four table-spoonfuls of butter and one and a half of flour. Pour on this, gradually, one pint of boiling white stock.

Let it boil up once, and add the juice of half a lemon, salt and a speck of cayenne; add, also, the yolks of two eggs, beaten with a spoonful of cold water, and the meat of two small lobsters, cut into dice.

Stir for one minute over the fire. Fill the case, put on the cover, and serve.

Pattie Shells.

Make puff paste as directed. (See puff paste recipe below this recipe.) After it has been rolled four times, put it on ice to harden. When hard, roll again twice.

The last time leave the paste about an inch thick. Put in the ice chest to get very firm; then put on the board, and gently roll it down to three-quarters of an inch in thickness. Great care must be taken to have every part equally thick.

Cut out pieces with a round tin cutter three and a half inches in diameter, and place in the pans. Take another cutter two and a half inches in diameter, dip it in hot water, place in the centre of the patty, and cut about two-thirds through.

In doing this, do not press down directly, hut use a rotary motion. These centre pieces, which are to form the covers, easily separate from the rest when baked.

Place in a very hot oven. When they have been baking ten minutes close the drafts, to reduce the heat; bake twenty minutes longer.

Take from the oven, remove the centre pieces, and, with a teaspoon, dig out the uncooked paste.

Fill with prepared fish or meat, put on the covers, and serve. Or, if more convenient to bake them early in the day, or, indeed, the previous day, put them in the oven twelve minutes before serving, and they will be nearly as nice as if fresh baked. The quantities given will make eighteen patties.

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Puff Paste. (from Pies and Puddings chapter)

- one quart of pastry flour,
- one pint of butter,
- one table-spoonful of salt,
- one table-spoonful of sugar,
- one and a quarter cupfuls of ice water.

Wash the hands with soap and water, and dip them first in very hot, and then in cold, water.

Rinse a large bowl or pan with boiling water and then with cold. Half fill it with cold water. Wash the butter in this, working it with hands until it is light and waxy. This frees it of the salt and butter-milk, and lightens it, so that the pastry is more delicate.

Shape the butter into two thin cakes, and put in a pan of ice water, to harden. Mix the salt and sugar with the flour.

With the hands, rub one-third of the butter into the flour. Add the water, stirring with a knife. Stir quickly and vigorously until the paste is a smooth ball.

Sprinkle the board lightly with flour. Turn the paste on this, and pound quickly and lightly with the rolling pin. Do not break the paste. Roll from you and to one side: or, if easier to roll from you all the while, turn the paste around.

When it is about one-fourth of an inch thick, wipe the remaining butter, break it in bits, and spread these on the paste.

Sprinkle lightly with flour. Fold the paste, one-third from each side, so that the edges meet. Now fold from the ends, but do not have these meet. Double the paste, pound lightly, and roll down to about one-third of an inch in thickness.

Fold as before and roll down again. Repeat this three times if for pies, and six times if for vol-au-vents, patties, tarts, etc.

Place on the ice, to harden, when it has been rolled the last time. It should be in the ice chest at least an hour before being used. In hot weather if the paste sticks when being rolled down, put it on a tin sheet and place on ice. As soon as it is chilled it will roll easily.

The less flour you use in rolling out the paste the tenderer it will be. No matter how carefully every part of the work may be done, the paste will not be good if much flour is used.

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Veal Patties.

Put in a stew-pan a generous half pint of white sauce with a pint of cooked veal, cut into dice, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Stir until very hot. Fill the shells, and serve.

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Lobster Patties.

- one pint of lobster, cut into dice;
- half a pint of white sauce,
- a speck of cayenne,
- one-eighth of a teaspoonful of mustard.

Heat all together. Fill the shells and serve.

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Oyster Patties.

- one pint of small oysters,
- half a pint of cream,
- a large teaspoonful of flour,
- salt,
- pepper.

Let the cream come to a boil. Mix the flour with a little cold milk, and stir into the boiling cream. Season with salt and pepper.

While the cream is cooking let the oysters come to a boil in their own liquor. Skim carefully, and drain off all the liquor. Add the oysters to the cream, and boil up once.

Fill the patty shells, and serve. The quantities given are enough for eighteen shells.

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Chicken Patties.

Prepare the cream the same as for oysters, and add to it one pint of cold chicken, cut into dice. Boil three minutes. Fill the shells and serve. Where it is liked, one teaspoonful of onion juice is an improvement.

Other poultry and all game can be served in patties the same as chicken.

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Crust Patties.

Cut a loaf of stale bread in slices an inch thick. With the patty cutter, press out as many pieces as you wish patties, and with a smaller cutter, press half through each piece. Place this second cutter as near the centre as possible when using.

Put the pieces in the frying basket and plunge into boiling fat for half a minute. Take out and drain, and with a knife, remove the centre crusts and take out the soft bread; then fill, and put on the centre pieces.

Filling for crusts: Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one of flour. Stir until smooth and brown. Add one cupful of stock.

Boil one minute, and stir in one pint of cooked veal, cut rather fine. Season with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice. When hot, fill the crusts. Any kind of cold meat can be served in this manner.

Other Crusts.

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Rissoles.

Roll the trimmings from pie crust into a sheet about a sixth of an inch thick. Cut this in cakes with the largest patty cutter.

Have any kind of meat or fish prepared as for croquettes. Put a heaping teaspoonful on each cake. Brush the edges of the paste with beaten egg, and then fold and press together.

When all are done, dip in beaten egg and fry brown in boiling fat. They should cook about eight minutes. Serve hot.

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To Make a Croustade.

The bread for the croustade must not be too light, and should be at least three days old. If the loaf is round, it can be carved into the form of a vase, or if long, into the shape of a boat. Have a very sharp knife, and cut slowly and carefully, leaving the surface as smooth as possible.

There are two methods by which it can be browned: one is to plunge it into a deep pot of boiling fat for about one minute; the other is to butter the entire surface of the bread and put it into a hot oven, being careful not to let it burn.

Care must be taken that the inside is as brown as the outside; if not, the sauce will soak through the croustade and spoil it.

Creamed oysters, stewed lobster, chicken, or any kind of meat that is served in a sauce, can be served in the croustade.