FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER.

Hutt News, Volume 9, Issue 28, 18 December 1935, Page 5

FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER.

UKBPUL SHOXPM. The gastronomica! aepwt of Ghristmas provides out of the main responslbfliti*s#ithiriieli housewife tit faced at the festive season. By virtue of lons< est*blieh«d custom the traditional formula for tfceChristmM: dinneT la tarkefi ham, and plain "duff/' This is, however, essentially fare more appropriate to the northern hemisphere With its Christmas atmosphere of mow and Yule logs. While the traditional turkey and ita accompaniments still find their place on many New Zealand tables on Christmas Day, the tendency here is more- towards victuals more appropriate to> mid-summer. The following recipes may give a few ideas to the housewife harrassed by the multifarious culinery questions to which the season gives rise:— Turkey and Substitutes. Housewives who are arranging a Christmas dinner for a fairly large party need not be afraid that in ordering a good-uzed turkey they are being extravagant. If a really fine turkey is properly carved, thirty slices can be 'obtained from the breast-—it provides giblets for soup, gravy, or giblet pie and the "left over" pieces of ttirkey can be turned to good account. For a small family a large fowl may be more economical. Geese and ducks may be cheaper to buy than turkeys and fowls, but they cannot be cut up in such an economical way. Boast rabbit is cheap and tasty, and roast beef has been for long a chief dish at Christmas dinners, Boast pork is an excellent substitute for goose, and veal and mutton can be rolled, boned, stuffed with forcemeat, and served with the usual sauces, vegetables and gravy that accompany poultry. Whatever iB bought, whether it be a joint of meat or a bird, ingredients for mincemeat or plum pudding, remembeT that it is false economy to buy inferior articles. Mock Turkey. Bone a breast of mutton ind bread it with an inch layer of stuffing, This is made with two cupfuls of breadcrumbs, two tablespoonsful of finely choppcd parsley, one tablespoonful of pepper and salt and bind with one well beaten egg. 801 l the breast around the finely chaped thyme. Season this with stuffing, tie firmly, secure the ends with skewers, bake in a hot oven, and baste occasionally. Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Boast Pork. Skin and bone a small leg of pork, and make a plain crust with flour and dripping, roll it out very thin, and fold the pork up in it. Bake it in a moderate oven, allowing twenty-five minutes to each pound of pork. When it is properly cooked, remove the crust, and you will find the pork white and tender. Serve the pork with brown gravy, forcemeat balls, and bread or apple sauce. Seasoning for Turkey. Four oz. of breadcrumbs, one tea* spiMiiful of parsley (chopped very fine), one teaspoonful of thyme (if this is not procurable alone, use the same quan tity of bought mixed herbs), loz of suet* pepper and salt to taste. ' Mix all the ingredients thoroughly together and add one well-beaten egg. Put the seasoning inside the turkey or, if preferred, it can be fashioned into small balls and fried till brown. If the bird should be large, and more fotcemeat is needed, use double the quantities? of ingredients. If preferred the turkey may be stuffed with sausage-meat. Old English Plum Pudding. 1 lb breadcrumbs, J lb flour, one pkt raisins, i lb currants, 1J teacups of milk, i lb suet, i lb moist sugar, } lb mixed peel 1 teaspoon nutmeg, | teaspoon cinnomon, 1 saltspoon salt, 1 heaped tablespoon egg powder or 1 egg. Mix thoroughly aul dry ingredients, moisten the whole with the milk, put into a well-greased boWl and tie over with a pudding cloth previously buttered and sprinkled with flour. Steam for seven hours, then one hour the day used. Economical Plum Pudding. There are numerous recipss f<w plum puddings, some elaborate, some simple, and often the inexpensive pudding tastes as ni«e a,9 the richer variety. The avoidance of waste is an important point when economy has to be stwtied, and the utmost value should be extracted from the ingredients. See, therefore, that all fruit is thoroughly washed and dried before use; that butter and eggs are perfectly fresh and the latter well beaten. Requited: 41b each currants, sultanas, mixed peel breadcrumbs, beef suoi, and brown sugar, v slb flour, stoned raisins, half a nutmeg,, we teaspoonful of mixed spice, tis finds a»d juice of an orange aad iemon, four' eggs, a saltof salt, and a little milk. Wash and dry the currants, sultanas, and raisins. Chop the peel finely, and sieve the breadcrumbs. Chop the suet very finely. Put the flour in a basin, rub-the suet in it, then add b*eadcrumbs sugar, mixed, P«el> nutmeg, grated rinds of ]pB»oa, orange, and then the fnjit. Mix dry ingredients thorQV>JEHV! anc * moisten with the strained juice of the orange and lemon, then the eggn, well beaten and mixed with about a, of milk, or enough to m*M the podding of the right consistency, Mix well, cover with adoth and leave till next day, when it * should be again well stirred. Grease -the basins} pour in the mixture, cover with greased paper, before tying down in the usual w»yi and boil for eight hours,. • »iJmi tbre* pud* '"#MWlll ' - 1 ■