HOME INTERESTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1778, 19 December 1885, Page 26

HOME INTERESTS.

Scotch Shortbkead. — One pound of flotir or three-quarters of a pound of flour and a quarter of a pound of rice flour, six ounces of sugar (crushed loaf), half a pound of butter, the unbeaten yolk of an egg. " Work, all these ingredients well together. Having first the butter in a ball, work the other ingredients into it i ; roll out to about half an inch in tliiclmess. Spread a piece of buttered paper in the Kakhig "tin, and if sour5 our cakes are small, bnke frorii seven to'ten^ iniiiules. Ornament with a few comfits, and cut out; with a cutter. Larger cakes take, from ir • ' '

j minutes. Fkostiku. — Beat the whites' of 'two eggs to a stiff froth, add gradually half a pouu,d of best pulverised sugar, beat well W "at I6ast half an hour, flavour with lemon ov vanilla- for fruit-cake, or with rose, pineapple, or almond for, White cake. If the cake is rough or brown when baked; dust with a little flour, rub off all loose particles with a cloth, rub on the frosting, pour It around the centre of the cake and smooth off as quickly' as possible with a knife., If the frosting ,i£ tather stiff, dip the knife into cold water 1 .' 1 ' It is better to frost while the cake is still^warm. Se£ in a warm oven for the frosting to harden.

Appr.K Shortcake. — One quart 'of siftedllour, two tea^poonfuls of baking powder, half a teas])oonful of salt, quarter of a pound of butter, milk or cream enough to make a stiff batter ; mix all well ; roll in one sheet, bake, it well ; wheu done, split open, butter well, cover with nicely seasoned apple sauce, some thick cream anil nutmeg ; place the other half of the cake' on this, crust side down ; butter the top and spread with more apple sauce and cream. This is delicious either as a pudding or for tea. You may fill shortcake with any kind of fresh fruit, peaches, cherries, or berries, and filled with wellsoasoned chopped chicken it makes a very 'nice dish.

Tuff Paste.— One pound of sifted flour;' put the yolk of an egg, a few drops of the juifce of a lemon, or two drops' of vinegar,' and as im'ich

cold water in a basin as will make the Hour into a nice flexible paste, of course whisking the yolk through the water before mixing. Roll out the paste to about half an inch in thickness, and in the centre place one pound of butter, having previously extracted the buttermilk by beating in a cloth. Fold in three, and roll out seven times, neither more nor less, when it is fit for use. As a hint to beginners, it is necessary to use judgment in the amount of water in moistening the flour ; the paste ought to turn out of the mixing basin without requiring the addition of either flour or water added to the above ingredients. Before putting in the oven brushy over with the white of the egg. To Clarify Dripping.— Dripping, properly so-called, is the fat which runs from joints when roasting ; but any good sweet fat, whether fro/n meat previously dressed or otherwise, may ,be made into excellent dripping. Both are clarified in the same way, but they must not be done together, and must be kept separate, as that which comes from the roasting joints is superior to the other, and should be reserved for the better kinds of frying, &c. Place the dripping in a clean saucepan, with about half a pint of hot water, until it all boils ; care must be taken that it does not quite boil. Take it off the fire, aiid pour it into a basin half full of hot water ; stir well together, and stand the basin in a cool place until the next day ; it will then have formed into a hard cake, from which the sediment at the bottom may easily be scraped ; it will then be clarified and ready for use. N.B.— F*t must be cut into small pieces before putting into the saucepan with the hot water. Raspberry. Vine<ub.— The best way, of making this agreeable beverage ,is to. put, say, a pound of ripe raspberries in a bowl, bruise them well, and pour upon them a quart of the best vinegar. Next day strain the liquor upon a pound of fresh ripe raspberries, bruising them also, and on the following day do the same, but do not squeeze the fruit, merely drain the liquor as dry as you can..from it. Finally pass it through a canvas bag, previously wet with vinegar, to prevent -waste. Put the juice into a stone jar with a pound of sugar,' broken into lumps, to every pint of juice ; stir, and when melted put the jar into a pan of water, let it simmer, and skim it. When cold bottle it. It should in a few days be fine and thick, like a syrup. The above proportions can of course be increases.* ' ■ ' Apple Shape. — To make this without using isinglass or gelatine, pare, core, and thinly slice two pounds of apples, selecting those of a nice flavour; nonpareils are particularly good for the purpose. Have ready prepared a syrup made by boiling one pound of best loaf sugar broken in half a pint of water until it becomes quite thick. Into this syrup put the slices of apple, with the juice of a lemon and the rind peeled very thinly. Let all boil together until stiff, which will probably take from an hour and a-half to two hours. Take out the lemon peel and pour it into a mould to stand till the next day, or if wanted the same day, it may be placed on ice until set. The colour of this is much improved by mixing with the syrup a few drops of cochineal. It may be served either with or without a custard, or whipped cream poured round it in the dish. Duck in Jelly. — This delicious cold dish for hot weather is made thus : Boil two calves' feet in two quarts of water until they fall to pieces from the bones. The water will be much boiled down. Strain out the bones and put into the liquid a well-cleaned duck or pair of ducks, a sprig of tarragon or a little tarragon vinegar, half a lemon, six cloves, a dozen bruised allspice, some thyme, salt, pepper, and a small onion. Pour in stock enough to just cover the, duck, cover it close, and let it "simmer until the meat will part from the bones— two hours or more. Then cut off the meat in slices, stripping all the bones, which may be returned to the stewpan and boiled down longer. Taste if the jelly be piquant and well flavoured. Cayenne pepper, lemon juice, or vinegar may be added. Strain it through a napkin or jelly-bag, and take the fat off! Put a few spoonfuls of the jelly in a tathetf shallow mould or deep pie-dish. When the jelly has; set, lay on it an ornamental device of different coloured things, such as a wreath of hard egg slices, the white rings and the yolks separate, green pickles, beet-root, capers, &c Pour gently over these with a spoon some more liquid jelly. Wait till this has set firmly, then lay on the slices of meat, not too closely packed, and pour over these carefully the half-cold jelly. lietit stand a night, then warm the mould for a npnute over hot -water, and turn out the jelly. An ounce of pure gelatine, dissolved or softened in a^itj&e^cold water, will do as well as calves' feet, an& save trouble.