Cookery.

Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette, 28 August 1912, Page 2

Cookery.

Broiled Sardines.— Take the backbone from the sardines, drain them free from oil, and lay them on a fine broiler over a clear fire till hot. Put a layer of tomato sauce on some pieces of toast, season with horseradish and Worcester sauce, lay the sardines on top and serve verj' hot.

Turnips en Croute.— Peel the turnips and cook for half an hour in very little water. Then take them from the fire and cut into slices. Butter a baking-dish and put in the turnips, cover with milk, add a little butter, and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. Cook in the oven until well done .

Savoury Holy. Poly. —One pound of fresh lean beef, one pound of breadcrumbs, two eggs, salt, marjoram to taste. Mince the ham and beef finely, beat the eggs, and mix all ingredients thoroughly together; roll up in a cloth and boil for four hours. When cold this makes an excellent dish for breakfast, luncheon, or tea.

Sardine Cocktails.— Bone and skin some sardines. Make a sauce of tomato catchup, horseradish, Worcester sauce and minced capers, thinning it with lemon juice. Chill the fish and the sauce and place two tablespoonfuls of sauce and two flaked sardines in each glass- Serve quite cold. These make delicious appetisers before a meal.

An Excellent Sponge Cake.—For this take 6 fresh eggs and well whip them together with a cupful of sugar. Use a wire beater and whip in long strokes, until the. mixture is quite creamy, light and white. Now add a tablespoonful of vanilla or lemon and 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water and beat again. Then fold in, but do not beat, 1 cupful of sifted flour. Bake in a rather slow oven.

Old-style Rhubarb Pie.— Line a dish with pastry; then fill alternately with thinly sliced rhubarb, a cupful of light brown sugar and some chopped raisins; sprinkle with a tablespoonful of flour, add one tablespoonful of water; place a pastry cover on top and bake in a moderate oven until crust is done. Brush with cold water five minutes before removing from oven to give a glazed crust.

Vegetable Pie —Soak overnight a handful of small haricot beans. Cut into neat pieces carrots, turnips, mushrooms, a little spinach, celery and parsley (the quantities being- in proportion to the size of the pie required), then stew the vegetables in gravy, and season with pepper and salt. Trim the edges of apiedish with pastry and put in the vegetables, pour the gravy over them, and cover with light pastry. Bake in a moderate oven.

Calf's Head a la Viennese. —Remove the meat from a boilcsi calf's head, and have ready a sauce made in the following way—Put in a stewpan a slice of ham, the bones of the calf's bead, savoury herbs, one onion, bayleaf, salt, pepper, a teaspoonful of sugar, and a pint of water with the juice of half a lemonj and simmer gently for one hour; strain and thicken with flour and butter worked into a smooth paste; when it is the right thickness add the calf's head. When hot serve on sippets of toast with a spoonful of whipped cream on top and garnished with parsley.

Hints on Making Pastry.— The dripping or butter should be rubbed into the flour with the tips of the fingers, not the palms of the hands. The water should be addad gradually but quickly to prevent hard lumps from forming. A knife should be used for mixing. The paste should be rolled forwards and the rolling-pin lifted after each roll. Paste to which baking-powder has been added should be placed in the oven as quickly as possible, otherwise the effect of the baking-powder will be wasted. Spiced Celery.— This makes an excellent relish for cold meats and, if kept air-tight, it will keep for a long time. To make it you will need 15 tomatoes, which should be nice and ripe. 5 bunches of celery, 2 cupfuls of sugar, 11 cupfuls of vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of mustard, some red peppers, and -1 teaspoonful each ot (ground cloves, allspice, cinnamon, an>i celery seed. Chop the celery, tomatoes and pepper together and then . mix in the other ingredients. Boil the whole slowly for an hour and a half, stirring, now and then to prevent burning. Pour into jars and, when cold, seal up.

Lady's Fingers To make these delicious little cakes, first take 4 eggs and beat the yolks till they are lemon coloured and thick. Add i cupful fine sugar, i teaspoonful vanilla, a pinch of salt and beat till quite light. Now whip the whites of the eggs stiff and drj; and mix with the yolks. Add I cupful pastry flour; which should be sifted before measuring—and fold in lightly. Put the mixture into a pastry bag and press the batter through into strips about an inch wide and 3 inches in length on a tin sheet or a inverted dripping- pan covered with white paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake in a moderate oven for 10 to 15 minutes. These should be kept in tin boxes in a dry, cool place till wanted.