Choose small cucumbers or gherkins for this purpose. Reject all that are specked or misshapen. Wash them thoroughly; drain off all the water, and allow them to lay in a tub overnight, thickly salted. In the morning; wipe the pickles carefully. Lay them in a stone jar or a wooden bucket, in this way: Put in a layer of pickles. Cut up a few green or red peppers; put a few pieces in each layer, also a few cloves (remove the soft heads) and a tablespoon of mustard seed, and one bay leaf, no more. Then proceed in this way until the pickles are used. Then take half a pound of the very best ground mustard, tie it in a cloth loosely (use double cheese-cloth for the purpose), and lay this mustard-bag on top of the pickles. Boil enough white wine vinegar in a bell metal kettle to just cover them; add a cup of sugar for every gallon of vinegar, this does not sweeten them, but tends to preserve them and cut the sharpness of the vinegar. If the vinegar is very strong, add a cup of water to it while boiling; it should not "draw" the mouth, but be rather mild. See that the pickles are well covered with the vinegar, and pour the vinegar hot over the pickles and mustard. If the vinegar does not completely cover the pickles, boil more and add. Lay a plate on top of all to keep the pickles under the vinegar, and when cold tie up. Look them over in a few weeks, if you find any soft ones among them, boil the vinegar over again, and pour it over them hot.
Take half-grown cucumbers; lay them in water overnight, then wipe each one dry and reject all that are soft at the ends. Lay a layer of cucumbers in a new barrel or wine keg (a small vinegar barrel is best), then a layer of the following spices: Fennel, dill, bay leaves, a few whole peppers; then cover with grape and cherry leaves, and begin again with a layer of cucumbers and fill in alternate layers until all are used. Then boil enough salt and water to just cover them, test the strength of the water by laying an egg in it, if it rises the water has enough salt in it, if not, add more salt. Pour this over the cucumbers when cold. Get a cooper to tighten up the barrel, and roll it in the sun and allow it to stay there for two weeks, turning over the barrel once each day.
Beat one and a half cups of powdered sugar and the yolks of eight eggs; take one and a half cups peeled and grated raw carrots and stir all together. Add one cup of grated almonds, the rind of half a lemon chopped finely, one tablespoon of wine, and last the beaten whites of the eggs. Bake in a well-buttered and flour-sprinkled form at least one hour in a slow oven.
Take one-quarter pound of goose-oil, stir it to a cream, and stir in gradually the yolks of ten eggs and three-quarters of a pound of sifted sugar, the grated peel of a lemon, also its juice and one-half teaspoon of salt. Add last one-half pound of potato flour and the stiffly-beaten whites of the eggs. Have the pudding form well greased before putting in the mixture. Bake in a moderate oven. Serve with raspberry sauce, made of jelly. Take a glass of red raspberries, press them through a hair sieve, add a wineglass of red wine, add sugar to taste, and let it boil hard for about five minutes.
One cup of white wine, half a cup of water, grated peel of lemon, teaspoon of potato flour wet with cold water, add the yolks of two eggs, stirring constantly; when thick, add the beaten whites and serve.
One duckling of about five pounds, one calf's foot, eight to ten small onions, as many young carrots, one bunch of parsley. Cook the foot slowly in one quart of water, one teaspoon of salt and a small bay leaf. Put aside when the liquor has been reduced to one-half. In the meanwhile fry the duck and when well browned wipe off the grease, put in another pan, add the calf's foot with its broth, one glass of dry white wine, a tablespoon of brandy, the carrots, parsley and the onions--the latter slightly browned in drippings--pepper and salt to taste and cook slowly under a covered lid for one hour. Cool off for about an hour, take off the grease, bone and skin the duckling and cut the meat into small pieces; arrange nicely with the vegetables in individual earthenware dishes, cover with the stock and put on the ice to harden.
Lay half a dozen or more large salt pickles in water for about six hours, then drain off all the water. Chop up two sour apples, one large onion or two small ones, chop the pickles and mix all thoroughly in a bowl and sprinkle over them a scant half teaspoon of pepper (white) and a tablespoon of sugar (either white or brown), adding a pinch of salt if necessary. Pour enough white wine vinegar over all to just cover. Do not make more at a time than you can use up in a week, as it will not keep longer.
Cut chickens in pieces for serving; dredge in flour and sauté in hot fat. Cut one onion in thin pieces, add one tablespoon of curry powder, three-fourths of a tablespoon of salt and one tablespoon of wine vinegar. Add to chicken, cover with boiling water; simmer until chicken is tender. Thicken sauce and serve with steamed rice.
Stir the yolks of four eggs with one-half cup of sugar, add one-half cup of blanched and pounded almonds; grate in the peel, also the juice of one lemon, one-half pound of grated potatoes that have been boiled the day before. Lastly add the stiffly beaten whites, some salt and more potatoes, if necessary. Grease your pudding-pan well, pour in the mixture and bake. Set in a pan of water in oven; water in pan must not reach higher than one-half way up the pudding-form. Bake one-half hour. Turn out on platter and serve with a wine, chocolate, or lemon sauce. One can bake in an iron pudding-form without the water.
