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.

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Beef Stew.

Take the bones and hard, tough parts left from a roast of beef. Remove all the meat from the bones, and cut it in small pieces.

Cut about a quarter of a pound of the fat of the meat in very small pieces. Put it in the stew-pan to fry. When it begins to brown, put in half a carrot, one small turnip, and two onions, cut fine. Stir over the fire for ten minutes.

Take out the fat and vegetables, and put the bones in the bottom of the kettle. Add the meat and the cooked vegetables, but not the fat. Dredge well with salt, pepper, and flour, shaking in at least half a cupful of flour.

Add three pints of water, and simmer gently one hour; then put in six potatoes, pared and cut in slices. Simmer one hour longer.

Taste to see if seasoned enough. Draw forward where it will boil more rapidly. Stir the stew, and put in the dumplings. Cook just ten minutes. The cover of the stew-pan must fit tightly.

There should be about two pounds of meat for this stew, not counting the bones.

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Dumplings.

- one pint of flour, measured before sifting;
- half a teaspoonful of soda,
- a teaspoonful of cream of tartar,
- one teaspoonful of sugar,
- half a teaspoonful of salt.

Mix all thoroughly and run through the sieve. Wet with a small cupful of milk.

Sprinkle a little flour on the board. Turn the dough (which should have been stirred into a smooth ball with a spoon) on it, roll to the thickness of half an inch, cut into small cakes, and cook ten minutes.

By remembering that:
1) the soup should be boiling rapidly when the dumplings are put in;
2) that they should not sink too deep in it;
3) that they should boil just ten minutes;
4) that the cover should fit tightly, so that the steam shall not escape; and
5) that the pot boils all the time, so that the steam is kept up . . .
. . . and by following the other directions, success is insured.

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Cold Meat with Purge of Potato.

- six good-sized potatoes,
- one table-spoonful of butter,
- one cupful of boiling milk,
- salt and pepper to taste.

Pare and boil the potatoes, and mash light and fine. Add the butter, seasoning and boiling milk.

Beat up light, and spread on a hot platter. Lay on this handsome slices of any kind of cold meat, and on each slice put a table-spoonful of hot gravy. Put a little gravy around the dish, and set in the oven for five minutes. Garnish with parsley, and serve.

If there is no gravy left from the dinner of the day before, make a pint in the following manner: Put a quart of water with some of the hard pieces and bones of the meat, and boil down to one pint. Put one table-spoonful of butter in a frying-pan, and, when hot, add one table-spoonful of flour.

Stir until dark brown, and strain the broth on this. Season with salt, pepper and, if you please, one spoonful of Halford sauce.

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Shepherds’ Pie.

- one quart of any kind of cold meat,
- eight large potatoes,
- one small onion,
- one cupful of boiling milk,
- salt,
- pepper, and
- nearly a pint of gravy or stock, thickened with one tablespoonful of flour.

Season, the meat and put in a deep earthen dish. Grate the onion into the gravy, and pour over the meat.

Pare, boil and mash the potatoes. Add the salt, pepper and milk and one table-spoonful of butter. Cover the pie with this, and bake gently half an hour.

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Shepherds’ Pie, No. 2.

Cut into dice one quart of any kind of cold meat. Mince very fine two table-spoonfuls of salt pork, and add to the meat.

Pare and cut into dice four large uncooked potatoes; grate or chop fine one onion; chop fine one table-spoonful of parsley. Mix, and season well with salt and pepper, and add a large cupful of water. Put in a deep earthen dish.

Make a paste with four potatoes, two table-spoonfuls of butter, a large cupful of boiling milk and a pint of flour. Pare, boil and mash the potatoes; then add butter, salt and milk. When all is very light, beat in the flour, gradually.

Sprinkle the board with flour, and roll the paste a little larger than the dish. Make a hole in the centre, to let out the air. Cover the dish with the paste, being careful to have the edge come inside the dish. Bake gently one hour.

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Escaloped Meat.

Chop the meat rather coarse. Season with salt and pepper. For one pint of meat use half a cupful of gravy and a heaping cupful of bread crumbs.

Put a layer of the meat in an escalop dish, then gravy, then a thin layer of crumbs; and continue this until the dish is full. The last layer should be a thick one of crumbs.

Cook in a hot oven from fifteen to twenty minutes. All kinds of cold meat can be escaloped, but beef is so dry that it is not so good as mutton, veal, etc.

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Curry of Cold Meat.

- three table-spoonfuls of butter,
- three teaspoonfuls of flour,
- one onion,
- one teaspoonful of curry powder,
- salt,
- pepper,
- one generous pint of stock or water,
- about two pounds of any kind of cold meat, cut in thin slices.

Put the butter in the frying-pan, and, when hot, add the onion. When the onion turns yellow, add the flour and curry powder. Stir two minutes, add the stock or water, simmer five minutes, and strain on the meat.

Simmer all together for ten minutes. Serve with a border of rice or mashed potatoes.

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Barley Stew.

- about a quarter of a pound of cold roasted or broiled meat,
- two onions,
- four potatoes,
- a quarter of a cupful of barley,
- one table-spoonful of flour,
- one quart of water, and
- salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the meat into dice; wash the barley; cut the onions very fine. Put all in a stew-pan, and dredge with the flour, half a table-spoonful of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper.

Add the water, and simmer two hours. Pare and slice the potatoes. Add them to the stew, and simmer one hour longer. Taste to see if there is enough salt and pepper, and if there is not, add more.

Liver and Kidneys

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Calf’s Liver, Braised.

Wash and wipe a calf’s liver. Lard one side of it.

Cover the bottom of the braising pan with slices of salt pork, using about a quarter of a pound. Cut an onion and half a carrot in small pieces, and spread over the pork. Lay the liver on this, and dredge thickly with salt, pepper and flour.

Cover the pan, and place where it will cook slowly for half an hour. Add a bouquet of sweet herbs and three pints of stock or water.

Put the pan in a moderate oven and cook for two hours. Baste frequently with the gravy in the pan, and salt, pepper and flour.

About twenty minutes before the liver is done, add one teaspoonful of vinegar and one of lemon juice. Strain the gravy over the liver when it is dished.

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Broiled Liver.

Cut in slices and dip in melted butter, and lightly in flour. Broil over a bright fire eight or ten minutes.

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Liver, Fried in Crumbs.

Season slices with salt and pepper. Dip in beaten egg and very fine cracker crumbs. Fry six minutes in boiling lard.

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Liver and Bacon.

Cut in slices, season with salt and pepper, and cut again into small squares.

Place on a skewer pieces of liver and bacon, alternating. Fry five minutes in boiling fat. Slip off of the skewer on to toasted bread, and serve immediately.

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Liver, Sauté.

Cut the liver in thin slices. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat together in a small frying-pan two table-spoonfuls of butter and a large one of flour. Lay in the liver, and brown it on both sides.

Add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, two table-spoonfuls of water and one of wine. Taste to see if salt enough. Boil up once, and serve.

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Liver, Sauté, with Piquant Sauce.

Cut the liver in slices about one-third of an inch thick, and if beef liver, let it stand in warm water ten minutes (calves’ livers will not need this).

Drain dry, and put in the frying-pan with enough beef or pork drippings to prevent its sticking, and cook very slowly for eight minutes, turning constantly.

Take up on a hot dish and pour a piquant sauce over it. Serve immediately.

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Curry of Liver.

Cut the liver in small, thin pieces, and for every pound have:
- four table-spoonfuls of butter,
- two slices of onion,
- two table-spoonfuls of flour,
- a speck of cayenne,
- salt,
- pepper,
- one teaspoonful of curry powder.

Let the butter get hot; then cook the liver in it slowly for four minutes.

Add the flour and other ingredients. Cook two minutes, and add, slowly, one cupful of stock. Let this boil up. Dish, and serve.

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Chicken Livers, Sauté.

Wash and wipe six livers. Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add a large slice of onion, which cook slowly ten minutes, and then take out.

Dredge the livers with salt, pepper and flour, and fry for ten minutes in the butter; add one teaspoonful of flour, and cook a minute longer.

Pour in half a cupful of stock, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, one of vinegar and one-fourth of a spoonful of sugar, and boil up once. Serve with a garnish of toasted bread.

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Chicken Livers and Bacon.

Cut the livers in pieces the size of a half dollar, and have thin slices of bacon of the same size.

Nearly fill a small wire skewer with these, alternating. Place in the frying basket and plunge into boiling fat for about one minute.

Serve on the skewers, or on toast, with thin slices of lemon for a garnish. Or, the skewers can be rested on the sides of a narrow baking pan and placed in a hot oven for five minutes. Serve as before.

The livers of all other kinds of poultry can be cooked the same as chicken.

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Chicken Livers in Papillotes.

Wash the livers and drop them into boiling water for one minute. Take them up; and when drained, split them.

For eight livers put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one table-spoonful of flour. Stir until smooth; then gradually add half a cupful of cold water. Stir into this two spoonfuls of glaze, if you have it.

Season with pepper and salt, and stir into the sauce half a cupful of finely-chopped ham. Spread this mixture on the livers, place them in papillotes the same as cutlets, lay them in a pan, and put in a slow oven for fifteen minutes.

Have little squares of toast or of fried brown bread. Heap these in the centre of a hot dish, and arrange the livers around them. Serve very hot.

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Stewed Kidneys.

Cut the kidneys in thin round slices. Cover them with cold water and let them stand half an hour; then wash them clean, and put them in a stew-pan with:
- one quart of water or stock,
- a clove,
- two table-spoonfuls of onion juice, and
- salt and pepper.

Simmer two hours. Put one table-spoonful of butter in the frying-pan, and when hot, add one of flour. Stir until it is brown and smooth, and add to the kidneys.

Put a small bouquet of sweet herbs in the stew-pan, and simmer half an hour longer. Taste to see if seasoned enough; if not, add more salt and pepper, and, if you like, one table-spoonful of lemon juice.

Take out the bouquet, and serve.

This dish can be prepared any time in the day, as it is quite as good warmed over as when first prepared.

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Kidneys, Sauté.

Skin, wash and wipe the kidneys, cut in thin, round slices, and season with salt and pepper.

Put one table-spoonful of butter and half a table-spoonful of flour in the frying-pan, and when hot, put in the kidneys. Stir two minutes, then add half a cupful of stock or water.

When the dish boils up, add half a table-spoonful of lemon juice. Serve with a garnish of points of toast.

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Broiled Kidneys.

Skin, wash, wipe and split sheep’s or lambs’ kidneys. Run a small skewer through each, to keep it open.

Season with salt and pepper, dip in melted butter and in flour, place in the double broiler and cook six minutes over a bright fire. Serve on a hot dish.

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Kidneys a la Maitre d’ Hotel.

Split and cut in two, lengthwise, lambs’ or sheep’s kidneys. Wash and wipe them. Season with salt and pepper, and dip in melted butter and fine bread crumbs.

Run a small skewer through each, to keep it open. Put them in the double broiler and cook about six minutes over a bright fire. Serve on a hot dish with maitre d’ hotel butter.

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Lyonnaise Tripe.

- about one pound of cooked tripe, cut in small pieces;
- two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- one table-spoonful of chopped onion,
- one of vinegar,
- salt,
- pepper.

Put the onion and butter in a frying-pan, and when the onion turns yellow, put in the tripe. Cook five minutes.

Season with the salt, pepper and vinegar. Serve on slices of toast.

More Leftovers.

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Meat Hash.

Chop rather fine any kind of cold meat; corned beef is, however, the best.

To each pint add:
- one pint and a half of cold boiled potatoes, chopped fine;
- one table-spoonful of butter and
- one cupful of stock; or, if no stock is on hand, two-thirds of a cupful of hot water.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the mixture in a frying-pan and stir over the fire for about eight minutes, being careful not to burn. Spread smoothly.

Cover the pan and set back where the hash will brown slowly. It will take about half an hour. When done, fold it like an omelet and turn on to a hot dish. Garnish with points of toast and parsley.

Serve hot. If there are no cold potatoes, the same quantity of hot mashed potatoes may be used.

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Vegetable Hash.

Chop, not very fine, the vegetables left from a boiled dinner, and season them with salt and pepper. To each quart of the chopped vegetables add half a cupful of stock and one table-spoonful of butter.

Heat slowly in the frying-pan. Turn into a hot dish when done, and serve immediately.

If vinegar is liked, two or more table-spoonfuls of it can be stirred into the hash while it is heating.

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Breaded Sausages.

Wipe the sausages dry. Dip them in beaten egg and bread crumbs. Put them in the frying-basket and plunge into boiling fat. Cook ten minutes. Serve with a garnish of toasted bread and parsley.

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Meat Fritters.

Cut any kind of cold meat into dice. Season well with salt and pepper.

Make a fritter batter. (fritters covered in Entrees, Part 3). Take up some of it in a large spoon, put a small spoonful of the meat in the centre, cover with batter, and slide gently into boiling fat. Cook about one minute.

Drain on brown paper, and serve on a hot dish.

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Meat and Potato Sandwiches.

- any kind of cold meat, cut in slices and seasoned with salt and pepper;
- four large potatoes,
- two eggs,
- salt,
- pepper,
- one-fourth of a cupful of boiling milk,
- one table-spoonful of butter.

Have the meat cut in thin slices and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Pare, boil and mash the potatoes. Add the milk, butter, salt, pepper and one well-beaten egg. Cover the slices of meat on both sides with this preparation, and dip in well-beaten egg.

Put in the frying-basket and fry till a light brown. Serve on a hot dish.

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Minced Veal and Eggs.

- one quart of cold veal, chopped rather coarse;
- one teaspoonful of lemon juice,
- one cupful of stock or water,
- two table-spoonfuls of butter,
- one teaspoonful of flour,
- salt,
- pepper.

Melt the butter in a frying-pan. Add the flour to it. Stir until smooth, and add the stock and seasoning.

When it boils up, add the chopped veal. Heat thoroughly, and dish on slices of toast.

Put a dropped egg in the centre of each slice, and serve very hot.

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Mutton, Réchauffé.

Cut cold roasted or boiled mutton in slices about half an inch thick, and cover both sides with sauce made in this way:

Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in the frying-pan, and when melted, add one of flour. Stir until smooth. Add, gradually, one cupful of stock, and two table-spoonfuls of glaze. Boil for one minute, and stir in the yolks of two eggs. Season with salt, pepper and one table-spoonful of lemon juice, and remove from the fire at once.

Season the mutton with salt and pepper, and as soon as the sauce begins to cool, dip both sides of the slices in it, and roll them in fine bread crumbs. Beat one whole egg and the two whites together. Dip the sauced mutton in this and again in the crumbs.

Fry in boiling fat for two minutes. Drain on brown paper, and serve with either tomato, Tartare or Hollandaise sauce.

Any kind of cold meat can be served in this manner.

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Chicken in Jelly.

- a little cold chicken (about one pint),
- one cupful of water or stock,
- one-fifth of a box of gelatine,
- half a teaspoonful of curry powder,
- salt,
- pepper.

Cut the meat from the bones of a chicken left from dinner. Put the bones on with water to cover, and boil down to one cupful. Put the gelatine to soak in one-fourth of a cupful of cold water.

When the stock is reduced as much as is necessary, strain and season. Add the curry and chicken. Season, and simmer ten minutes.

Add the gelatine, and stir on the table until it is dissolved. Turn all into a mould, and set away to harden.

This makes a nice relish for tea or lunch.

If you have mushrooms, omit the curry, and cut four of them into dice. Stir into the mixture while cooking.

This dish can be varied by using the whites of hard-boiled eggs, or bits of boiled ham.

To serve: Dip the mould in warm water, and turn out on the dish. Garnish with parsley.

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Chicken Cutlets.

Season pieces of cold chicken or turkey with salt and pepper.

Dip in melted butter; let this cool on the meat, and dip in beaten egg and in fine bread crumbs. Fry in butter till a delicate brown.

Serve on slices of hot toast, with either a white or curry sauce poured around. Pieces of cold veal make a nice dish, if prepared in this manner.