Savoury and Sweet Dishes from a Pressure Toaster

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 6, 15 December 1950, Page 586

Savoury and Sweet Dishes from a Pressure Toaster

By

EVELYN E. MOORE,

Rural

Sociologist, Department of Agriculture ( Palmerston North.

AMONG the many new cooking uensils perhaps one of the most ingenious is the pressure toaster. It consists of two closely fitting metal plates attached to two long handles which can be clipped together when the food is placed in the plates. The toaster can be used over an open fire or on any type of stove. SOME types have a flat base, so that they can be used economically on an electric stove; double toasters with flat bases which will just fit an electric hot plate and which are equally suitable fob use on a coal stove or an open fire are also available. They are twice as quick and economical. Pressure toasters are treated in the same way as gem irons or waffle irons. After washing they are seasoned by heating with about 1 tablespoon of dripping inside, and after being wiped with clean paper they are ready for use. Toasted Sandwiches To make toasted sandwiches, the dish for which pressure toasters are perhaps most widely used, butter two slices of bread and place one, buttered side down, in the toaster. Pile the desired filling on the unbuttered side, place the other slice of bread, buttered side up, on top, and clamp the toaster together. Trim off the crusts, if this is necessary to get the toaster to close, and heat the toaster on both sides in the open fire or on top of the stove until the toast is golden brown and the filling is cooked. Until the operator becomes sufficiently experienced to judge the cooking time it will be

necessary to check progress by opening the plates occasionally. Fillings can be sweet or savoury, and the toasted sandwiches can be used as the main course in a luncheon or as the sweet for dinner. Savoury Fillings Place a thick slice of cheese in the centre of the unbuttered side of a slice of bread, season it with salt and pepper and pickles, tomato, sauce, a slice of tomato, or grated onion, cover it with a second slice of bread, and bake the sandwich until it is golden brown on both sides. Break an egg into the centre of the bread placed on the , toaster, season it with salt and pepper, place the other slice of bread on top, clamp the toaster, trim the bread, > and bake it slowly (3 or 4 minutes on each side

when the iron is hot). Grated cheese may be sprinkled on the egg. Other tasty savoury fillings are: Baked beans in tomato sauce and a strip of bacon; strips of bacon or bacon and tomato sauce or a slice of firm tomato; spaghetti and tomato sauce and seasoning; cooked mince and grated or finely sliced onion, tomato sauce, or cooked green peas; or seasoned left-over cooked fish with a sprinkling of grated cheese, lemon juice, white sauce, or a slice of tomato. Sweet Fillings Butter well two slices of brown bread and place one into the toaster butter side down. Pile thin slices of raw apple or grated apple on the bread and add a level tablespoon of a mixture of equal quantities of sugar and cinnamon. Place the other ; slice of bread on top, clamp the toaster, and bake the sandwich. Serve the dish . with sugar, and cream. Alternatives to apple slices are sliced bananas, alone or with lemon juice or raspberry jam, sliced ripe pears and brown sugar or a sprinkling of finely chopped preserved ginger, or sliced or grated apples and. raisins. Dishes Without Bread ' The pressure toaster may be used to cook sausages, boned chops, or. grilling steak over an open fire, provided the plates have been greased previously, and the meats are as juicy and as tender as grilled ones. The use of the pressure toaster obviates the accidents which sometimes happen when meat is cooked directly over an open fire. Other uses for the pressure toaster will doubtless occur to the housewife'.-', For the enthusiastic picnicker, camper, j or tramper who does not mind carrying the extra weight they are especially valuable, as they can replace frying pans, which are not easy to handle over hot fires, and even very stale bread can be made into attractive dishes in these toasters.

ROUGH PUFF PASTRY

VASY to make and a pleasant change •*- J from short pastry, rough puff pastry may be used for pastry horns, pastry pinwheels, stars, patty cases, and crusts for either open tarts or deep pies. The finished product should ..be light, crisp, and golden brown. Here is the recipe: Sieve Boz. of flour and a pinch of salt and add 4 to soz. of lard or soft dripping cut into small pieces. Mix them lightly with a knife and add sufficient water to make a soft dough. Roll the dough on a floured board into an oblong Jin. thick, fold it into three, and give it a halfturn to the left. Repeat this rolling and folding twice more. Bake it for 10 to 15 minutes at 475 degrees. Ways of using rough puff pastry include: — Pastry pinwheels: Roll out the dough into an oblong and spread it with any desired filling, for example, jam, marmalade, cinnamon and brown sugar, lemon cheese, brown sugar and

nuts, savoury, yeast extract and. nuts, tomato relish, or smoked fish' paste. Roll up the dough and cut it into -Jin. slices. Place these on end in a greased baking dish. Latticed flan: Line a shallow dish with pastry and fill it with jam or other sweet or savoury filling. Place strips of twisted pastry across the top in lattice fashion. Bacon and egg- pie: Divide the dough into two parts. Roll one part out to Jin. thick and line a pie plate or an Bin. sandwich tin with it, trimming the edges. Cut two rashers of bacon in halves and place them on the pastry.. Break 4 eggs on to the bacon. Cover the pie with the other part of the pastry rolled out to Jin. thick. Pinch the edges together and trim them. Make two cuts in the top crust and decorate the pie with pastry leaves or flowers. —NELL MACPHERSON, Rural Sociologist, Department of Agriculture, Auckland.