To Make Cheesecakes. From Lady G.
Take a Quart of tender Curd, and drain it from the Whey; then break it small; then take a quarter of an Ounce of Mace finely powder’d, and eight Ounces of fine Sugar sifted, eight Yolks of Eggs well beaten, four Ounces of blanched Almonds beat fine in a Marble Mortar with Rose-Water, or Orange-Flower-Water, and grate four penny Naples Biscuits into a Pint of Cream, and boil them together over a gentle Fire, stirring it all the while till it is as thick as an hasty Pudding; then mix with it eight Ounces of Butter, and put it to the Curd, but not too hot: mix then all well together, and put it in your Paste.
A Sorrel Tart. From the same.
Wash some Spinach and Sorrel Leaves in two or three Waters, for they are apt to gather Dirt; then either shred them, and squeeze the Juice out through a Cloth, or else beat them in a Mortar of Marble, and strain off the Juice; about half a Pint of Juice will be enough: then shred into it about a Quart measure of the same Herbs, and add six Ounces of fine Sugar beaten, and some Spice, with the Yolks of six hard Eggs bruised, and well mix’d with it, and two Eggs raw well beaten; then put in half a Pint of Cream, stirring it well, and put it in a Paste, then bake it in a very gentle Oven. When it is done, sift on some fine Sugar, and garnish with Orange and Lemon sliced; you may put in some Orange-Flower-Water, if you think convenient.
To make Umble Pye. From Mr. Thomas Fletcher of Norwich.
Take the Umbles of a Deer and boil them tenderly, and when they are cold, chop them as small as Meat for minc’d Pyes, and shred to them as much Beef-Suet, six large Apples, half a Pound of Sugar, a Pound of Currans, a little Salt, and as much Cloves, Nutmeg and Pepper powder’d as you see convenient; then mix them well together, and when they are put into the Paste, pour in half a Pint of Sack, the Juice of two Lemons and an Orange: and when this is done, close the Pye, and when it is baked, serve it hot to the Table.
To Stew Peaches. From the same.
Take Peaches when they are so ripe that they begin to smell; then pare them and slit them, and the Sorts I recommend will leave the Stones. Put these in a Silver Plate, or on such a one as will not communicate any ill taste to them, and pour over them a Syrup made of Pippins, Water and Sugar boil’d till it is a Jelly, and add a little White Wine; then stew them gently over a clear Fire till they are tender; and serve them with fine Sugar sifted upon them. In some Cafes they pour Cream upon them.
Red Peach Tarts. From the same.
Take your Peaches, as before directed, and order them as you did before in paring them and slitting them; then lay them into the Coffins, and when you have sifted on them some fine powder’d Loaf-Sugar, pour over them some Syrup of Raspberries or Mulberries, and bake them gently: they will be tender and very highly flavoured, if you put Raspberries to them, and finely colour’d; but to have them more of their own Taste, put Syrup of Mulberries to them, and they will be finely colour’d. The Coffins or Crust ought to be made of melting Paste, with fine Sugar in it.
Bitters to be drank with Wine.
Take a Quart of clean Spirit, or good Brandy, and put into it an Ounce of Gentian Root sliced, one Ounce and a half of dry’d Orange-Peel, and one Drachm of Virginia Snake-Root; add to this half a Drachm of Cochineel, and half a Drachm of Loaf-Sugar; which last will heighten the Bitter to admiration. A little of this Bitter in a Glass of White Wine creates an Appetite.
To Stew Wild-Ducks. From Amsterdam.
When your Ducks are ready prepar’d for the Fire, rub their Inside with Pepper, Salt, and a little powder of Cloves, a Shallot or two, with a lump of Butter in the Belly of each of them; then lay them in an earthen glazed Pan, that will just hold them, and put three Quarters of a Pound of Butter under and over your Ducks: then pour in a Pint of Vinegar, and as much Water with some Salt, Pepper, some Lemon-Peel, some Cloves whole, a bunch of sweet Herbs, and covering the Pan close, let them stew three or four Hours. Then pass the Liquor through a Sieve, and pour it over your Ducks; and serve them hot with garnish of Lemon sliced and Raspings of Bread sifted. This Method serves likewise for Easterlings, Widgeons, Teal and such like.
To Stew a salted Brisket of Beef. From Mr. La Fontaine.
To a Pound of common Salt, put one Ounce of Salt-Petre, and rub your Beef well with it, and let it lie a Week; then lard the Skin of it with Bacon-Fat, and lay it in a Stew-pan that will shut close. Cut a Lemon in half with its Rind, and lay a-part on each side the Beef; then put in a bunch of sweet Herbs, some whole Cloves, half a Nutmeg sliced, some Pepper, an Onion, or three or four Shallots, half a Pound of Butter, a Pint of Claret, and a Quart of Water; shut your Pan close, and let it stew gently five or six Hours till it is very tender.
Then having some boil’d Turnip cut in dice, flour them and fry them brown; then pour off the Liquor the Beef was stew’d in, and having passed it through a Sieve, thicken it with burnt Butter, and mix your fry’d Turnips with it, and pour all together over your Beef; garnish with Lemon sliced, and Raspings of Bread sifted, and serve it hot, it is an excellent Dish.
Neck of Mutton ragou’d. From the same.
Take a Neck of Mutton clean from Bones, and strip it from the Skin; salt it a little, and let it lie till the next day. In the mean while, bake the Bones with a slice or two of fat Bacon, a Faggot of sweet Herbs, some Spice, a little Salt and some Lemon-Peel, with half a Pint of Water, and half a Pint of Claret, to cover them; then lay your Mutton in a Pan, and when your baked Gravey is passed through a Sieve, pour it into the Pan to the Mutton; but first lard the fat Part of the Mutton with Lemon-Peel, and the leaner Part with Fat of Bacon; then strew some grated Bread and Spice over the Mutton, which will not be cover’d with the baked Gravey; and when you have closed your Pan, stew it gently four Hours. Then lay it in the Dish, and when you have thickned the Sauce with burnt Butter, put a Pint of Mushroom Buttons, either fresh and parboil’d, or pickled, into it, and toss them up till they are hot; then pour them all over your Meat, and serve it hot, garnish’d with Lemon sliced, red Beet-Roots pickled and sliced, Capers, and Horse-Radish scrap’d.
Stew’d Beef in Soup. From the same.
Take four Pounds of Beef, indifferently lean, and cut it in eight or ten Pieces. Put these into a Pan that may be close cover’d, and then about three Quarts of Water, and a Pint of White Wine, some Pepper and Salt, some Powder of dry’d sweet Marjoram, a few Cloves powder’d, half a dozen small Turnips cut in Dice, a Carrot or two cut in the same manner, the white Part of a large Leek shred small, some Leaves of white Beet, two Heads of Sallery shred, and a Piece of Bread-Crust burnt; cover close, and stew this for six Hours, and serve it hot. You may garnish with Lemon sliced.
To dress the Liver and Crow of an Hog. From Mrs. Johnson in Devereux-Court.
However this Dish may seem dispiseable, yet if it is well dresed, few of the savoury Dishes exceed it. The Liver and Crow of an Hog, with the Sweet-Breads, should be used presently after the Hog is kill’d, and the Liver cut in Lumps, twice as big as a Walnut, and not in thin Pieces as most do; for then they will become hard in the Dressing. The Crow must likewise be cut in Slips about the breadth of two Fingers, and so must the Sweet-Breads; then parboil the Pieces of Liver, and make a thick Batter of Flour, Water and Eggs, mixing a little Salt with it, and prepare some red Sage shred very fine; some grated Bread, and some Pepper beaten: mix these together, and when you have some Butter, or Lard, very hot in your Frying-Pan, dip the Crow and Sweet-Bread in the Batter, and immediately dip your Pieces in the Mixture of Bread, Sage, &c. and throw them into the Pan. When these are enough, lay them to drain before the Fire, and then dip the Bits of Liver into the Batter; and after that, into the crumb’d Bread, and give them a turn or two in the Pan, over a quick Fire: then drain them like the others, and serve them hot with Butter and Mustard.
Sea-Larks or Oysters, roasted on Spits or Skewers. From the same.
Take large Oysters, and wash them from Dirt; then dip them in Batter made with Milk, Flour, Powder of Mace, some Eggs and a little Pepper; then dip them again in Crumbs of Bread grated, and some Mace powder’d, and put them on a fine Skewer, broad-side to broad-side, or upon Silver Lark Spits; and when they are at the Fire, flour them well, and baste them with Butter till they are enough. Prepare for them, while they are Roasting, the following Sauce: Take Crumbs of Bread, a little Pepper and Salt, and a Blade or two of Mace with a little Nutmeg, and boil them in some of the Oyster-Liquor till the Bread is tender and like a Pulp, and tastes well of the Spice; then put in a Glass of White Wine, and mix it well, and serve it hot, in a Plate, with the roasted Oysters over the Sauce.
A Shoulder of Mutton or Lamb, roasted with a Farce of Oysters. From Mr. Norman, late Cook in Norfolk.
Take a Shoulder of Mutton or Lamb, of the smallest size, and slip up the Skin almost to the Leg-Joint; then cut the Flesh from the Bone, on the upper side, and mince it very small, take part of that, and as many Oysters parboil’d without their Fins, and chopt a little; then have some Mace powder’d, and a little Salt and Pepper, with some grated Lemon-Peel, and some grated Bread, with the Yolk of an Egg, or two; and make this into a Paste, and lay it into the Places where the Flesh was taken out; and you may add to this Paste a little Fat of Bacon cut small, or a little Butter. Then skewer the Skin on all sides, over the Farced Meat, and lard the Skin and the fleshy Parts below with Lemon-Peel, and some will lard in Lemon Thyme likewise. Then fix it on a Spit with Skewers, and roast it, well basted with Butter and well floured. The Sauce for this should be stew’d Oysters, some Mace, stew’d Mushrooms, a little Gravey, and some White-Wine, with Crumbs of Bread; then serve it hot, garnish’d with sliced Lemon, and Red Beet-Root pickled and sliced.
Stew’d Veal, with white Sauce; from the same.
Take some Lean of a Leg of Veal, and cut it in thick Slices, then stew them in Water and a little Salt, with some Mace, and a little Nutmeg, and a Bunch of sweet Herbs. When they are almost stew’d enough with the Gravey in them, put to the Liquor they were stew’d in, a Glass or two of White Wine, and a little Lemon Juice, or Orange Juice, with a little Mushroom Gravey, or Liquor of stew’d Mushrooms. When this is done, have some Mushroom Buttons, that have been stew’d white in their own Liquor, and Spice, with a Bay-Leaf; then strain the Liquor, and put some in the Sauce: and when it is hot, put some thick Cream to it, with the Mushrooms; and then serve it hot with a Garnish of sliced Lemon.
Hard Pease-Soup. From the same.
There are many ways of making Pease-Soup. In great Families it is sometimes made of Beef, but a Leg of Pork is much preferable; and in smaller Families the Bones of Pork, as they are called. And the Shin and Hock of a Leg of Pork, after they have made Sausages, may be had at the Sausage-Houses: these boil’d for a long time, will afford a strong Jelly Broth, but they are hard to be met with. However, when they are to be had, you have the Directions for a Broth. Then pass the Broth, hot, through a Sieve, and put into it half a Pint of slit Pease to a Quart of Liquor; or a Quart of whole Pease to three Quarts of Liquor. The Difference between one and the other, is, the slit Pease will open in the Liquor, when we boil it, and the other ought to be broken through a Cullender, when they are boil’d: but the slit Pease are the best; and when you put them into the Liquor to boil, add to every Quart of Liquor as much Sallery as you think proper, cut small; some powder of dry’d Mint, some powder of dry’d sweet Marjoram, some Pepper, and some Salt, to your mind, and let these boil till the Sallery is tender. This is to be done, if we boil a Leg of Pork, after the Pork is out of the Pot; but if we make the Soup from the Bones, boil these Ingredients afterwards in the Liquor. When you serve it, put a French Role in the middle of the Dish, and garnish the Border of the Dish with rasp’d Bread sifted. Some put in All-spice powder’d, which is very agreeable: and one might add the Leaves of white Beets, And in serving, put in toasted Bread, cut in Dice; but the last is out of fashion.
To make green _Pease-_Pottage, with Milk. From the same.
Take a Quart of green Pease shell’d, and boil three Quarts or two Quarts of Milk, as you please to have them thick with Pease; and add some Pepper largely beaten, a little Salt, some dry’d Mint, and sweet Marjoram in powder, and a little whole Spice beaten. Boil these together till the Cream rises, and then stir it, and serve it hot. N.B. The Pease should be boil’d first, if there is any opportunity; and for that Reason, if when we have a Dish of Pease, we leave any, they may be put into the Milk, and boil’d the Morning following; and indeed it is the best to have the Pease boil’d first.
To make an artificial Crab or Lobster. From Mr. F. of Buckingham.
I Suppose you have by you the large Shells of Sea-Crabs clean’d; then take part of a Calf’s Liver, boil it and mince it very small, and a little Anchovy Liquor, and but very little, to give it the Fish-taste. Mix it well with a little Lemon Juice, some Pepper, and some Salt, with a little Oil, if you like it, and fill the Shells with it; and then the outside Parts of the Liver, being a little hard, will feel to the Mouth like the Claws of the Crab broken and pick’d, and the inner Parts will be soft and tender, like the Body of a Crab. One may serve this cold, and it will deceive a good Judge, if you do not put too much of the Anchovy Liquor into it. It is very good cold; but if you would have it hot, take the following Receipt.
To make artificial hot butter’d Sea-Crabs.
Have the great Shells of Crabs clean, and prepare some Liver, as before; or it you cannot get Calf’s Liver, get a Lamb’s Liver, or a young Sheep’s Liver will do tolerably well. Boil these, and shred them as directed before, and put a little Anchovy Liquor to them; then add a little White Wine, some Pepper and Salt at pleasure, and some other Spice at discretion, with Butter necessary to make it mellow, over a gentle Fire, or a little Sallet Oil, if you like Oil. Then add a little Lemon Juice in the Shells, stirring the Mixture together. Then serve them up hot with Lemon sliced.
To make artificial Crabs. From M. De la Port of Lyons in France.
Take some of the White of a roasted or boil’d Chicken’s Breast, and shred it very small; then add some Roots of Potatoes boil’d and beat into Pulp. Mix these together, and grate a little Lemon-Peel upon it, and add a little Anchovy Liquor to it, with some Oil; and put a little Lemon-juice to it, or Vinegar, with some Pepper and Salt, serve it upon Sippits, garnish’d with sliced Lemon. These may be butter’d in Shells as the Former, but the first is rather the best.
To make artificial Lobsters. From the same.
Practise the same Method with either of the former; and to imitate the Tail of the Lobster, put in the Tails of Shrimps, Buntings, Prawns or Cray-fish; the last cut in pieces, and serve them either upon Sippets in a Plate, or in the large Shell of the Lobster.
N.B. This is a sort of Salmy, or Salmy-Gundy, as they call it in England; but is very much like the Thing we want: and I think, if the Shrimps, or others, were put into the first, it would make it better than putting in the Anchovy Liquor; but if they are to imitate a Crab, they must, (i.e. the Shrimps or Prawns) be chopt very small.
To imitate Cherry-Brandy, without Cherries, very Good.
Take a clean Spirit, or some good French Brandy, one Gallon, and infuse in it the Tops of Laurel, one good handfull till it tastes like the Kernels of Cherries; then put in a quantity of Mulberry Syrup, enough to colour it, and make it pleasant to the Taste. A good Judge will not find the difference between the Right and the Wrong. N.B. When the Brandy is strong enough of the Laurel-Buds, pour it off.
To make Cherry Brandy. From Mr. Cent-Livre.
Take black Cherries, when they are at the cheapest, and pulling them from the Stalks, put them into a Cask of Brandy, a Pound to each Quart of Brandy, and one Pound of fine Sugar to each Gallon. Let it stand for some time, and draw it off. It will be very rich.
To make Ratafia. From the same.
Take the Kernels of Apricots, to do it in the highest way, about one hundred and fifty, and bruise them a little; then put them into three or four Quarts of Brandy, and let them steep four or five Days: then strain them off, and add as much fine Sugar powder’d, as will make it sweet to your Taste. If you find that the Brandy is too strong of the Kernels, put some more Brandy to it before you sweeten it.
Memorandum, If you cannot get Apricot or Peach-Stones, enough for your use, you may use the Kernels of Plum-Stones, Cherry-Stones, or Prunes, and they will make little difference, in great quantities. Break the Shells, and put in Shells and all.
To make Artificial Ratafia.
To a Gallon of Spirits or Brandy, put in two handfuls of the Buds of young Laurel-Branches; infuse this till the Liquor is of a taste as you would have it: then pour off the Liquor, and sweeten it to your Fancy with fine Sugar powder’d. This is a way that a Distiller, who is dead, practised a long while, as well as the making of Gin, or Geneva Brandy, with infusing the Tops of the Juniper Plant in common Spirits. These I told him of, and it is now at my own disposal, and therefore give it to the World. The Ratafia tastes exactly as if the Kernels of Apricot or Plum-Stones had been used.