The American Pictorial Home Book
or Housekeeper's Encyclopedia - online book

A reference manual of household management in Victorian times.

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VEGETABLES.                                     l6l
piece of flannel and a little fine salt Put them in a tin baking-dish with a very small piece of butter placed on each mushroom ; sprinkle over a little pepper and bake for 20 minutes or longer, should the mushrooms be very large. Have ready a very hot dish, and pile the mushrooms high in the center, pour the gravy around and send them to table quickly with very hot plates. Twenty minutes; large mush­rooms 1-2 hour. Mushrooms are difficult of digestion, and by no means nourishing. The best are those found in pasture grounds. Gardeners raise them in beds of old manure. The most of them are of suspicious qualities.
Stewed Mushrooms,—One pint of mushroom buttons, 1 oz. fresh butter, white pepper and salt to taste, lemon juice, 1 teaspoonful of flour, cream or milk, and 1-4 teaspoonful grated nutmeg.
How to Cook Celery.—Trim the roots and cut to about 6 inches, three heads of celery. Wash them carefully, tie them to­gether with a string, put them into a sauce-pan with an onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, salt, and enough boiling wa­ter to cover ihem. Let them boil until tender, then drain thera, remove the string and serve hot with white sauce over them.
Celery STIcks with Cream.—Previous to cooking them, they must be washed well and properly trimmed ; this done, and the sterns cut to the requisite length, then boil in plenty water for 10 minutes, then put them in some liquor in which bacon has been boiled, salt them, then take them up and moisten them with the liquor from which the fat has been skimmed ; then pour over some wine or the juice of a lemon, cover them well, trim and dish them up, mash them in caramel sauce, reduced with cream. Celery stewed and covered simply with a little gravy and brown sauce is very nice.
Radishes should be gathered early in the morning; wash them well and keep them in ice-cold water until time to serve them ; then break off the long tap root, and cut off" all the top except an inch or two ; put them upon a salad bowl with lettuces, cresses, etc., or in glass stands, or on small dishes. The crimson ones are highly orna­mental. Radishes are more digestible, if grated and seasoned with pepper and salt; used as a salad, and are often served raw. There are many varieties of the radish, and possess nearly the same prop­erties of the turnip.
Horse Radish.—This root, scraped, is always served with hot roast beef, mutton, veal, fowl, roast pork or any kind of meat cooked in any way, and also with fish and for garnishing. Gather the horse­radish, wash it well and let it remain in cold water for 1 hour before using it, then with a sharp knife scrape it into shreds, beginning with the upper part or large end of the root; add a little salt, and ar­range it in a small dish, and the remainder for garnishing the joint*