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.
163
spoonful of good brown sugar, a teaspoonful of pepper, a heaped tablespoonful of fresh butter, 1 dozen large tomatoes, a good sized onion minced. Put in a covered stew pan and cook 1 hour; shake the pan frequently to keep from burning. Just before serving beat up the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs, stir them rapidly to the tomatoes, let them stay a few minutes and serve in a covered dish or tureen. To­matoes are best cooked slowly and a long time, and make a fine ac­companiment for all kinds of roast or baked meats or fowls.
Stewed Tomatoes—(English mode.)—Eight or 10 tomatoes, 1-2 pint of good gravy, thickening of butter and flour, cayenne and salt to taste. Take out the stalks of the tomatoes, put them into a wide stew pan, pour over them the above proportions of good brown gravy and stew gently until they are tender, occasionally carefully turning them that they may be equally done. Thicken the gravy with a little butter and flour worked together in a plate; let it just boil up after the thickening is added and serve. Stew very gently for 20 to 25 minutes.
To Dress Truffles with Champagne.—Twelve fine black truf­fles, a few slices of fat bacon, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 2 onions, 1 bunch of savory herbs, including parsley ; 1 bay leaf, mint and thyme, 2 cloves, 1 blade of pounded mace, 2 glasses of champagne, 1-2 pint of stock. Carefully select the truffles, reject those that have a musty smell, and wash them well with a brush in cold water only until perfectly clean, put the bacon into a stew pan with the truffles and remaining ingre­dients. Simmer these gently for 1 hour and let the whole cool in a stew pan. When to be served re-warm them and drain them in a clean cloth, then arrange them on a delicate white napkin that it may contrast as strongly as possible with the truffles, and serve. The trimmings of the truffles are used to flavor the gravies, stock, sauces, &c, and are an excellent addition to ragouts, made dishes of fowl, &c. One hour for cooking.
The wholesomeness of the truffles is questionable. Truffles are of different kinds and grow in clusters, and at a considerable depth under the earth, and never upon the surface. There is nothing to indicate where they are, but hogs, attracted by their scent, root them upto eat, as they are fond of them. Truffles are unsuitable for weak stomachs. They have a pleasant aroma. Their chief use as seasoning, when dried and reduced tp powder, form a useful culinary ingredient. They belong to the mushroom family.
Italian mode of Dressing Truffles.—Ten truffles, 1-4 pint of salad oil, pepper and salt to taste ; 1 tablespoonful of minced pars­ley, a very little finely minced garlic, 2 blades of powdered mace, 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice. After cleaning and brushing the truf­fles cut them into thin slices and put them in a baking dish with a