IN THE KITCHEN

Southland Times, Issue 19757, 3 February 1923, Page 14 (Supplement)

IN THE KITCHEN

PLATE CLEANING. BRIGHT SPOONS AND FORKS. “I wish my spoons and forks looked like yours, Grannie? ’ sighed a young relative, examining a shining specimen. “I suppose we do not spend enough time in cleaning them.” “Probably you rub them too much,” replied Grannie. “The mistake most people make is in trying to clean silver that is greasy. I first of all wash mine in hot soapsuds; the water cannot be too not. Then I dry it thoroughly. After that, 1 rab the plate powder on dry. This is most important. Some people have a smeary mess in a saucer which they rub on the silver. It will never look well if cleaned in that way. I rub the powder off again with a chamois leather and finish off with a hartshorn cloth ” \ Grannie held up a piece of white stockinette material. “This is the top of an old cotton stocking. I boiled it for seven or eight minutes m a pint of milk to which one ounce of powdered hartshorn had been added. These quantities were sufficient tor several cloths. 1 dried them and use them for the final polishing of any silver.” Some people apply liquid ammonia similarly, soaking the cloths in it and when dry using them as polishers. But Grannie insists that her way is the best and certainly no silver that I know of is as bright as hers. THE HOME COOK. A MARY PICKFORD RECIPE. Red pimentoes stuffed with three eggs beaten slightly. Add one-half pint double cream. Season with cayenne and salt. Put pimento into mould previously buttered. Pour this mixture into sound red pimento and fill a pan with water three-fourths height of moulds. Bake in moderate oven for fifteen minutes. Uninould on crouton pieces of round toast which are covered with nate de foie gras, and serve with Newburg sauce poured over this. Piece of black ‘truffle on top. (For six persons.) MACARONI PUDDING. Wash and break 3oz macaroni, throw into rapidly boiling water, and boil 10 minutes. Strain, add 1 pint milk, and simmer 20 minutes. Add 2oz sugar and 1 beaten egg, pour into a greased piedish, add a few drops of lemon or vaniWa essense, or sprinkle with a little grated nutmeg, and bake 30 minutes. SPICE CAKE. Take 2 cups sifted flour, rub in half a cup butter, add i cup brown sugar, half teaspoon each allspice and cloves, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 6oz chopped raisins, and currants, pinch salt, 2 eggs, A teaspoon bicarbonate soda, A cup sour cream or milk. Mix thoroughly, and bake slowly in a deep tin for 2 hours. RHUBARB PUDDING. Sift and mix lib self-raising flour and a ninch of salt. Rub in 1 teaspoon butter, and add 1 cup milk. Stir and knead well, and roll out to Ain thick. Spread the centre with stalks of rhubarb, wiped and cut small, press the edges together, tie in a floured cloth, and boil or steam from Ij to 2 hours. Serve with custard or custard sauce. TO PICKLE PORK. Boil as much water as will cover the leg of pork. Salt the water until an egg or a small potato will float in it. The pork is made red by adding a little saltpetre—about the size of a green pea—to each gal-

lon, and sweetened by using Alb brown sugar or treacle. Let get cold before putting in the pork. Another meinod: Soak the ham overnight, next morning put in a boiler, cover with cold water, or better still, if handy, sweet cider; add bay leaves, a stick of celery, an onion stuck with 12 cloves, one dozen pepper coms, pinch red pepper (and lacking the cider, put a cup of vinegar in which a’ cup of brown sugar has been stirred), bring to the boil slowly, then barely simmer until done. The time *must be proportioned according to the size of the ham. Let it cool in liquor, then skin should be removed. WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE. Ingredients:—One pint malt vinegar, half pint Taragon Vinegar, |lb loaf sugar, two shallots, loz tamarinds, 4oz garlic, quarter teaspoon powdered cloves, one tablespoon anchovy essence, three tablespoons soy, one teaspoon essense lemons, loz salt, quarter teaspoon cayenne. Method:—Chop shallots and tamarinds finely, bruise garlic, and place all ingredients, except soy and lemon, in a saucepan, and borl. Remove scum as it rises. When cooling pass through a fine sieve. Add essence and soy. pour into bottles, aud cork tightly to exclude air. FLORENTINES. Ingredients.—Puff or rough puff pastry, jam, white of an egg, caster sugar, almonds. Method.—Roll the pastry out very thinly, put it on a flat, lightly greased tin, and bake in a quick oven. When pale brown and well risen, spread some strawberry, apricot, or raspberry jam over the pastry, and over the jam put a meringue of the stiffly w’hipped white of the egg, to which enough caster sugar has been added to stiffen it. Nearly two tablespoonfuls of sugar are required, and it must be added lightly to the egg after the latter is beaten to a meringue. Sprinkle with blanched and chopped almonds, and put back into a moderate oven to harden, and brown lightly. Should the oven be too hot leave the door slightly ajar. When cold cut into fingers with a very sharp knife. If preferred the pastry may be cut into fingers before cooking.