Pare four or five large tart apples and cut off the top of each apple to use as a cover. Now scrape out all the inside, being careful not to break the apples; mix scrapings with sugar, cinnamon, raisins, a few pounded almonds and add a little white wine and the grated peel of one lemon. Fill up the apples with this mixture and put back the top of each apple, so as to cover each well. Grease a deep dish, set in the apples and stew a few minutes. In the meantime make a sponge cake batter of four eggs, one cup of pulverized sugar, one cup of flour and pour over the apples and bake one-half hour. Eat warm or cold, with or without sauce. Plain baked apples can be substituted for the filled apples.
Prepare and truss a young chicken, as if for roasting. Put it in a casserole; and pour over it two tablespoons of olive oil, a cup of white wine, a cup of bouillon, salt and cayenne to taste, one spoon of dried mushrooms soaked in one cup of water and chopped fine, and one-half can of mushrooms. Cover tightly and simmer in the oven for about an hour, turning the chicken occasionally; add a dozen olives and a tablespoon of chicken-fat, smoothed with one tablespoon of flour, and bring to a boil. Remove the chicken and add about a pint of boiled spaghetti to the sauce. Place the chicken on a platter, surround with the spaghetti, and serve.
Separate the yolks and whites of ten eggs. Beat the yolks with two cups of pulverized sugar. When thick add one and three-fourth cups of sifted dry rye bread crumbs, one-half pound of sweet almonds, also some bitter ones, grated or powdered as fine as possible, one-fourth pound of citron shredded fine, one cake of chocolate grated, the grated peel of one lemon, the juice of one orange and one lemon, one tablespoon of cinnamon, one teaspoon of allspice, one-half teaspoon of cloves, and a wine glass of brandy. Bake very slowly in ungreased form. Frost with a chocolate icing, made as follows: Melt a small piece of chocolate. Beat the white of an egg stiff with scant cup of sugar, and stir into the melted chocolate and spread with a knife.
Take nine eggs, one-half pound of pulverized sugar, one-half pound of almonds, half cut and grated; one-half pound of finest vanilla chocolate grated, one-half pound of raisins, cut and seeded; seven soda crackers, rolled to a powder; one teaspoon of baking-powder, juice of three lemons and one-fourth glass of wine. Beat whites of eggs to a stiff froth and stir in last. Beat yolks with sugar until very light; then add chocolate, and proceed as with other torten.
Make a rich custard of four eggs, one cup of granulated sugar and one quart of milk to which has been added one teaspoon of cornstarch. Let this cook in double boiler, stirring constantly, until the custard is very thick. Cool. Soak one-half pound of macaroons in sherry wine, blanch and chop one-quarter pound of almonds, cut fine one-quarter pound of dried figs; one-quarter pound of crystallized cherries and one-half pound of lady fingers are required as well. Line a deep glass bowl with the lady fingers cut in half, add macaroons, fruit and almonds in layers until all are used. Then pour the boiled custard over all. Set on ice and when cold, fill the bowl with whipped cream that has been sweetened and flavored with vanilla. Decorate with a few cherries.
Peel and pit some peaches, cut in slices and add as much sliced pineapple, some apricots, strawberries and raspberries, put these in a dish. Prepare a syrup of juice of two lemons, two oranges, one cup of water and one pound sugar, a half teaspoon of powdered cinnamon, grated rind of lemon, add one cup red wine and a half glass of Madeira, arrak or rum. Boil this syrup for five minutes, then pour over the fruit, tossing the fruit from time to time until cool. Place on ice and serve cold.
Press one quart of fine cottage cheese through a coarse sieve or colander and set it away in a cool place for a week, stirring it once or twice during that time; when it has become quite strong, stir it smooth with a wooden or silver spoon; add a saltspoon of salt and one-fourth as much of caraway seed, yolks of two eggs and an even tablespoon of flour which has been previously dissolved in about one-half cup of cold milk; stir the flour and milk until it is a smooth paste, adding a lump of butter, about the size of an egg; add all to the cheese. Put the cheese on to boil until quite thick; stirring occasionally; boil altogether about one-half hour, stirring constantly the last ten minutes; the cheese must look smooth as velvet. Pour it into a dish which has been previously rinsed in cold water. Set it away in a cool place; to keep it any length of time, cover it with a clean cloth which has been dipped in and wrung out of beer. This cheese is excellent for rye bread sandwiches.
Take one pound of fresh beef heart fat, shave it as fine as possible with a knife. Sift one quart of flour into a deep bowl, add two tumblers of ice-cold water, one tablespoon of brown sugar, a saltspoon of salt, then add the shaved heart fat and work well into the sifted flour. Put it on a pie-board and work as you would bread dough, with the palm of your hand, until it looks smooth enough to roll. Do not work over five minutes. Now take half of this dough, flour your pie-board slightly and roll out as you would pie dough, about once as thick. Grease a deep pudding-dish (an iron one is best), one that is smaller at the bottom than the top, grease it well, line the pudding-dish, bottom and sides, clear to the top, fill this one-third full with chopped tart apples, raisins, part of a grated lemon peel, citron cut quite fine, pounded almonds and melted drippings here and there. Sprinkle thickly with sugar, half brown and half white, and a little ground cinnamon. Moisten each layer with one-half wine-glass of wine. Now put another layer of dough, rolling out half of the remaining dough and reserving the other half for the top covering, fill again with apples, raisins, etc., until full, then put on top layer. Press the dough firmly together all round the edge, using a beaten egg to make sure of its sticking. Roll the side dough over the top with a knife and pour a cup of water over the pudding before setting it in the oven. Time for baking, two hours. If the top browns too quickly, cover. This advantage of this pudding is, it may be baked the day previous to using, in fact, it is better the oftener it is warmed over--always adding a cup of water before setting it in the oven. Before serving the pudding turn it out carefully on a large platter, pour a wine-glass of brandy which has been slightly sweetened over the pudding and light it, carry to the table in flames. A novice had better try this pudding plain, omitting the wine, brandy, almonds and citron, moistening with water instead of wine before baking. Almost as nice and very good for ordinary use. Some apples require more water than others, the cook having to use her own judgment regarding the amount required.
Beat the yolks of six eggs with one and one-eighth cups of sugar, add one-half box of zwieback, which has been rolled very fine, add one teaspoon of baking-powder, season with one tablespoon of rum or sherry wine and one-half teaspoon of bitter almond extract. Lastly fold in the stiffly-beaten whites of the six eggs and bake in ungreased form in moderate oven three-quarters of an hour.
Take a sole or fillets of any delicate fish. Lay on a fireproof dish, sprinkle with white pepper, salt and a little shalot, cover with claret or white wine, and let it cook in the oven till done. Draw off the liquor in a saucepan and let it boil up. Have ready the yolks of three eggs, well stirred (not beaten), the juice of a lemon, and two ounces of butter. Put all together in a bowl. Little by little add the hot sauce, stirring all the time. Pour it over the fish, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve very hot. A few mushrooms are a palatable addition to this dish.
