  103. Apple and Rice.—Boil half an ounce of Carolina rice in a gill of milk until very tender, then add a very small piece of butter, sugar, a little cinnamon, and a grain of salt; then peel, core, and slice a middling-sized apple, which put into a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, a little sugar, and a drop of water, and stew it until tender; when done, put the apple in a small tart-dish, mix an egg with the rice, which pour over the apple, and bake ten minutes in a moderate oven; it may also be made quite plain, if preferred. 104. Custard Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a small piece of lemon-peel and half a bay-leaf, for three minutes; then pour these on to three eggs, mix it with one ounce of sugar well together, and pour it into a buttered mould: steam it twenty-five minutes in a stewpan with some water (see No. 112), turn out on a plate and serve. 105. Rice Puddings.—Wash well two ounces of rice in some water, strain, then put it into a pint and a half of boiling milk, with a small piece of lemon-peel, cinnamon, and half a bay-leaf, tied together; let it boil gently, stirring it occasionally, until quite tender; then put to it one ounce of butter, a little grated nutmeg, a tablespoonful of sugar, and two eggs; pour it into a buttered tart-dish, and bake it half an hour. 106. Macaroni Pudding.—Blanch two ounces of Naples macaroni in some water for eight or ten minutes; strain it, add it to one pint of boiling milk, in which you have previously boiled a piece of lemon-peel, cinnamon, and one ounce of butter; when the macaroni is quite tender, add two eggs and sugar enough to sweeten it: steam it one hour in a stewpan, in a buttered tart-dish. 107. Vermicelli Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of lemon-peel, half a bay-leaf, and a piece of cinnamon, then add one ounce of vermicelli; when reduced to half, add two eggs, and a little sugar; pour these in a buttered mould, and steam it half an hour. 108. Tapioca Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of lemon-peel and a little cinnamon; then add two ounces of tapioca; reduce to half; add two eggs, and one ounce of butter; pour these in a buttered mould, and steam half an hour. 109. Bread Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of cinnamon and lemon-peel; pour it on two ounces of bread-crumbs; then add two eggs, half an ounce of currants, and a little sugar: steam it in a buttered mould for one hour. 110. Cabinet Pudding.—Boil one pint of milk, with a piece of lemon-peel, pour it on one ounce of sponge biscuit, let it soak half an hour, then add three eggs, half an ounce of currants, and very little sugar: steam it in a buttered mould, lined with raisins, one hour. 111. Bread and Butter Pudding.—Butter a tart-dish well and sprinkle some currants all round it, then lay in a few slices of bread and butter; boil one pint of milk, pour it on two eggs well whipped, and then on the bread and butter; bake it in a hot oven for half an hour. 112. A Small Bread Pudding.—Cut an ounce of the crumb of bread into thin slices, with the least piece of butter spread over each, which place in a small tart-dish; then break an egg into a cup with a teaspoonful of sugar and a little powdered cinnamon, beat well; then add about six tablespoonfuls of boiled milk, mix well together, pour over the bread, and bake in a slow oven, or steam it, if preferred, by standing the dish in a stewpan containing about half a pint of water, that is, the water should be about half way up to the rim of the Fish for Invalids.—Slips, soles, flounders, whitings, and smelts are the lightest of any fish, and upon that account more to be recommended to invalids in a state of convalescence. 113. Whiting, plain boiled.—Put two quarts of water into a small fish kettle, with about an ounce of salt; when boiling, put in the whiting, draw the kettle to the corner of the fire to keep it just simmering, and no more; a whiting of the ordinary size would take about ten minutes; when done, which you can tell by trying with the point of a knife whether it leaves the bone easily, take it up carefully, and dish it upon a clean napkin, with a few sprigs of parsley round; although the parsley is of course useless as far as the stomach is concerned, nothing can be more pleasing to an invalid than to see his meals carefully cooked and invitingly served. At any time I prefer a whiting with the skin on, whether boiled, grilled, or fried; a little butter just melted, with a pinch of salt, and the least drop of lemon-juice added, is very excellent to eat as sauce with them. Should you purchase your fish in the country, it will of course require cleaning, by opening the belly and pulling out the gills and interior; but never wash these fish, merely wipe them with a cloth. 114. Broiled Whiting.—Having cleaned your whiting, and wiped it gently dry with a cloth, flour it all over lightly, rub the gridiron over with a little oil, lay the whiting upon it, and put it over a clear fire, but not too close, turn it carefully three or four times, and when it feels firm to the touch of the finger, it is done; if a large one, it will take about twenty minutes; sprinkle a little salt over, if required, and serve with plain melted butter, with a few drops of essence of anchovies in it. 115. SautÉd Whitings.—Put some fat or butter in a frying-pan, which place over a clear but moderate fire; have your whiting floured as in the last, and when the fat or butter is melted, lay it in the pan; let it sautÉ slowly until it is done, which try as in either of the last two; when done, drain it upon a cloth, sprinkle a little salt over, and serve. If fried, enveloped in bread-crumbs, dip the fish lightly into flour, then egg it all over with a paste-brush, and dip in some very fine bread-crumbs, and fry it rather longer, but do not let the fat get black, or it will give the fish a black, heavy appearance, and quite spoil the flavor. Fish fried in oil would have a much better appearance than when fried in fat, but probably would be objectionable to a weak stomach. They ought to be completely covered with the fat. 116. Smelts are very delicate fish, but ought never to be plain boiled; being confident of the good use they may be turned to as a diet for the sick, I shall here give two receipts for dressing them very plainly, yet still very palatable. Choose them rather large,—if so, two would be sufficient for a meal,—having previously drawn and cleansed them, put a gill of water into a small stewpan, with a little salt, a saltspoonful of powdered sugar, and four small sprigs of parsley; when boiling lay in your smelts, which let simmer five minutes, or more, if larger than usual, keeping the stewpan well covered; then take them out carefully, lay them upon a dish, and pour the broth over; both fish and broth are excellent. They may be cooked the same way in the oven. Another way is to add a little arrow-root, mixed with a drop of cold water, to the above, when half cooked; it makes it very soothing to the chest. Be extremely careful not to let the fish or liquor burn at the bottom of the stewpan; there should be about three parts of the quantity of liquor when cooked as you first put in water, allowing one quarter to evaporate whilst boiling. 117. Broiled Smelts.—When cleansed and wiped dry with a cloth, dip them lightly into flour, and put them upon a gridiron over a slow fire, for five, or six minutes, turning them carefully when half done; serve plain, or with a little sauce, if allowed, Water souchet of flounders, soles, and slips may also be served to invalids, by proceeding the same as above. Meat, Game, and Poultry, of every kind, for invalids, ought to be served as free from fat as possible. 118. A Mutton Chop.—Choose one from a lean loin of mutton, or if one in the house rather fat cut the greater part of it off; your chop should be about six ounces in weight, and cut off an equal thickness; lay it upon a table, and beat it lightly with the flat part of your chopper, then lay it upon a gridiron, over a good clear fire; season with a little salt, if allowed, and turn it four or five times whilst broiling; it will require about eight minutes over a good fire, but of course longer over an indifferent one; if by pressing it with a knife it feels firm, it is done; serve upon a very hot plate, for if partly cold, the least fat would immediately set, and be very unpleasant, especially to a person unwell. 119. Plain Mutton Cutlet, from the Neck.—An invalid will frequently be tired of a mutton chop; and for my own part I must say a cutlet is far superior in flavor, and has a much neater appearance; cut off a rib from the neck, of the same thickness as a mutton chop; cut away the skin upon each side of the bone, to the chine, which chop off; trim away the greater part of the fat, cut a piece at the end of the bone, which scrape off, leaving about half an inch of the bone bare; then beat it lightly with the flat of the chopper; season; broil and serve very hot, as in the last. 120. Stewed Chop or Cutlet.—Put it into a stewpan or small saucepan, with a pint of water, and a little salt and sugar; let it stew as gently as possible from an hour and a half to two hours, skim off all the scum and fat, and the patient 121. Beef, Rump Steak.—The tenderest part of the rump should be selected, about half a pound, not cut too thick, and very even; place it upon your gridiron over a moderate fire, turning it frequently; when done, sprinkle a little salt over; ten minutes would cook it thoroughly, but if wanted underdone, as in many cases where the patient only sucks the gravy, less time must be allowed. 122. Stewed Beef.—Put the same quantity of beef as in the last into a saucepan, with a quart of water, which place over the fire, and when beginning to boil, well skim, then add a little celery, turnip, and carrot, the whole weighing about an ounce, and cut very small, let stew gently about three hours, by which time the broth will be reduced to one quarter; skim all the fat off carefully; serve the meat upon a plate, and the broth in a basin. 123. Lamb Chops or Cutlets.—Proceed as just described for mutton, but being more delicate, they will require but little more than half the time to cook. 124. Lambs’ Feet are very nutritious; purchase them ready cleaned; lay them ten minutes in boiling water, by doing which you will be able to draw out the leg-bone with facility; then put them in a stewpan (two would be sufficient), and pour over a pint of water with which you have mixed smoothly a tablespoonful of flour, and half a teaspoonful of salt; place them upon the fire, stirring frequently until boiling, when add a small onion, with a celery, parsley, and parsnip; boil gently for two hours, and when done, serve plain upon a plate, or with a Calves’ feet are dressed in the same manner, but using a double proportion of everything, and stewing them double the time; they are served precisely the same. |
|
