ROAST CHUCK

• 4 lbs. chuck (2 first ribs of chuck, cut across)
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ? c. thinly sliced onion
• 2 tbsp. flour
• ? tsp. allspice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. salt

Dredge the roast with flour. Rub skillet with suet and, when pan is hot, quickly sear roast on all sides. Add seasonings, except salt. Roast in hot oven for fifteen minutes, sprinkle with salt, lower heat and cook slowly until tender. Baste every twenty minutes, adding a little boiling water if necessary.

POT ROAST OF BEEF WITH SPAGHETTI

• 4 to 5 lbs. rump of beef
• 1 lb. spaghetti
• 2 qts. canned tomatoes
• ¼ lb. beef suet
• 1 large onion
• 1 large green pepper
• Grated American cheese
• 2 slices of bacon
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cloves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 c. hot water
• salt and pepper

Cut the suet and bacon fine and fry. Add the onion, garlic and green pepper chopped quite fine and fry. When beginning to brown, add the meat, turning it so that it will be well browned on all sides. Then add the hot water, tomatoes and the seasoning. Simmer gently for three hours, add 2 tsp. salt and a quarter tsp. pepper at the end of an hour and a half. Half an hour before the meat is finished, boil the spaghetti till tender, drain it and put it into the sauce surrounding the meat. Let cook 10 minutes. For serving, put the meat on a platter and the sauce in a dish, grating American cheese thickly over the top.

ROLLED FLANK STEAK

• 1 flank steak (2 pounds)
• 1 cup bread dressing

Wipe steak. Score across grain with sharp knife. Rub with flour and brown; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread one side with bread dressing, well seasoned. Roll up and fasten with skewers or tie with a cord. Place in a casserole, add one-fourth cup boiling water and let bake slowly until tender. Slice and serve with the gravy.

ROAST SHOULDER OF MUTTON

• Five-pound shoulder roast
• Salt, garlic, pepper and flour

Wipe meat. Sear quickly to seal in juices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut garlic in two pieces and place on meat. Dredge both meat and bottom of pan with flour. Place roast on rack in roasting pan, and add hot water. Place in hot oven and baste every fifteen minutes. Lower gas after the first twenty minutes’ cooking, and cook slowly until tender. Keep meat covered and about three-fourths pint of water in the pan, as the steaming will help make the meat tender. Cook at low temperature.

BAKED HAM

Set ham on a rack in a baking pan and bake one-half hour in a hot oven, turning after the first fifteen minutes. Lower heat. Pour a cupful of cider over ham and let bake five hours, basting often with the liquid in the pan. Remove from the oven and skin. Insert cloves in the fat of the ham, from which the skin has been taken; press these into the ham in a symmetrical manner. Mix half a cupful of brown sugar with half a teaspoon of pepper and half a cupful of fine cracker crumbs and sprinkle over the portion containing the cloves; return the ham to the oven for one hour.

HUNGARIAN GOULASH

• 2 lbs. beef (shoulder clod)
• Salt
• Flour
• ¼ lb. fat salt pork
• Boiling water
• 2 cups tomatoes
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 stalk celery
• Bit of bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 2 cups sliced potatoes
• 1½ cups carrots
• 1 green pepper
• Parsley

Wipe beef, cut in two-inch pieces, and roll in flour. Cut salt pork in dice and fry until light brown. Add beef and cook until meat is well browned, stirring constantly. Add salt and enough boiling water to prevent burning, and cook slowly two hours or until tender. In another dish cook tomatoes, onion, chopped celery, bay leaf and cloves for thirty minutes. Add two tbsp. flour, mixed until smooth with two tbsp. cold water, and cook thoroughly. Add to meat. Remove meat to center of platter, surround it with potato slices and carrots cut in strips and cooked until tender in boiling salted water, and add the green pepper parboiled and cut in strips. Pour gravy over the meat; garnish with parsley.

STEAKS

BROILED SIRLOIN STEAK

• 3½ lbs. steak
• ½ tsp. salt
• ? tsp. pepper
• 2 tbsp. butter

Wipe meat with cloth wrung out of cold water. Remove superfluous fat and use to grease the broiler. Have broiler very hot. Place meat on broiler about three inches from the heat, which should be even, whether it is coal, gas or electricity. Turn meat every ten seconds at first, that the surface may be well seared and prevent the escape of the juices.

Steak 1½ inches thick will require 10 minutes if desired rare, 12 to 15 minutes if preferred well done.

PLANKED RUMP STEAK

• 1 cross cut of rump steak (1¾ inches thick)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 c. small beets
• ? tsp. pepper
• 6 slices tomato
• 6 slices lemon
• 6 stuffed olives
• 6 potatoes

Wipe steak, remove superfluous fat, and pan broil seven minutes. Grease an oak plank and arrange, close to the edge, a border of mashed potatoes, pressed through a pastry bag. Remove steak to plank, put into a hot oven, and bake until steak is cooked and potatoes are browned. Spread steak with butter, salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley, lemon and olives. Arrange beets and other vegetables, if desired, on the side.

MEAT SAUCES AND GRAVY

Use the meat juices left from cooked meat or fowl, removing any excess fat. Extract of beef may be substituted for meat juices in gravy.

After removing meat and excess fat from the roasting pan or skillet, heat meat juices to boiling and thicken carefully. To avoid lumpy gravy, the best way is to mix the flour with a small amount of water, stirring until smooth, then gradually adding more cold water until the thickening is of the right consistency. Add gradually to the hot liquid, stirring constantly.

Allow mixture to cook ten minutes. Gravy should be cooked thoroughly to avoid any raw or starchy taste, too common to American gravies.

Season carefully, according to the meats gravy is to be served with. It is wise to taste before serving.

The distinctive touch French chefs are noted for in their meat and fish dishes is often due to the sauce accompanying them. Any careful American cook can acquire the same reputation for skill by following the suggestions to cook thoroughly and season distinctively.

FOUNDATION RECIPE FOR CREAM SAUCES FOR MEATS, FISH AND VEGETABLES

Method of Preparation—Melt fat, add flour, stir until smooth. Add liquid gradually, stirring constantly. Place over hot water until the starch is well cooked and the sauce is smooth and of the desired thickness. Season to taste.