A Plain Soup.
5 lbs. shin of beef—meat sliced and bones cracked; 4 turnips; 4 carrots; 3 stalks of celery; 1 large onion stuck with 6 cloves; bunch of herbs; pepper and salt; 6 quarts of water.
Put meat, bones and sliced vegetables on with the water, and cook slowly four hours. At the end of two hours take out a cupful of the meat, and spread out to cool. When the four hours are up, strain the soup, rubbing the vegetables through a colander; cool, skim, and season; add the cooled meat cut into dice, heat to boiling, and serve. Put the meat and bones left in the colander into the stock-jar, with all of the soup not used to-day.
Jugged Rabbits.
Skin, clean with care, and joint the rabbits as for fricassee. Lay thin slices of fat salt pork in the bottom of a stoneware jar; lay upon them pieces of rabbits; strew with minced onion and parsley; put in more pork and more rabbit, etc. Add a cup of your soup or other gravy. When all are in put on the cover of the jar, fitting closely, and set in a pot of warm water. Tie a piece of thick paper over the top of the jar to keep in the steam. Cook steadily two hours—longer should you find, upon opening the jar, that the meat is not tender. When it is done, dish the meat, strain the gravy into a saucepan, and set in cold water to throw up the fat. Take this off; add a little currant jelly, browned flour, wet with water, and a glass of claret. Boil one minute and pour over the meat.
Macaroni with Cheese.
Break half a pound of macaroni into short pieces, and cook tender in hot salted water. When nearly done, stir in a tablespoonful of butter. When tender, drain; stir in two great spoonfuls of grated cheese, salt to taste, and a little cayenne. Stir over the fire until the cheese is melted; put in a spoonful of butter, and dish.
Cauliflower.
Boil the cauliflower in plenty of hot salted water. When done, which should be in about twenty minutes, drain and dish, the flower upward. Pour over it a cup of drawn butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, and the juice of half a lemon.
Beets.
Boil more than an hour, scrape and slice round. Dish, and pour upon them a little butter heated with a like quantity of vinegar, and seasoned with pepper and salt.
Rusk Fritters.
12 stale rusks; 5 eggs; 4 tablespoonfuls of white sugar; 2 glasses of sherry.
Cut all the crust from the rusks and divide each into two or three pieces of equal size. The slices should be an inch thick. Pour the wine over them; let them lie in it five minutes, then drain upon a sieve. Beat eggs and sugar together. Lay the soaked rusks in these for a minute, turning over and over, so as to coat them well. Fry in boiling lard to a golden brown. Drain well and sprinkle with powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon, and serve hot with or without sauce.