:M^^^isPi^ai*i^^-^'k^^'mPm^lJ^'^\
*»».*
m,Mai.MMi^^
■M&MIM&f i»'».
It^t*^,
1W^
^^^1^
tLittJ**??
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
IVIicrosoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/bachelorscupboarOOphil
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
VT
BACHSLOKS CUPBQARP
ContmningCrumhsCuIlcd
from fAe Cupboards of
file Great Unu/edded
GoJlceiedby ^'Lyman T^hillips'
Dra-winbs by
WrnxJenkins
Boston C^ London
JoTmWLuce C^Companv
^^^^^
VuKK
^'^2.a: library 792352 A
ASTOl
-NOX AND
riLDLi, FOUNDATIONS ■H 1936 r
Copyright, I go 6 By John W. Luce & Co.
Entered at Stationers^ Hall
CTolontal ^ress
Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds &; Co. Boston, U. S. A.
TO
^It Sale Stttbibor
OF
THE FIVE BACHELORS OF ** THE SHACK,'
I AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE
THIS BOOK.
CHAPTER
I. On Being a Bachelor
II. The Impecunious Bachelor
III. Stocking the Cupboard
IV. Bachelor Etiquette . V. Around the Camp Fire
VI. Carving and Game
VII. Snacks of Sea Food .
VIII. A Chat on Cheese
IX. Devils and Grills
X. Mexican and Creole Cooking
XI. Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
XII. Concerning Condiments
XIII. Various Variations with Vegetables
XIV. A Dissertation on Drinks XV. What to Pay for Wines and How to
Choose Them ....
XVI. Correct Wines for All Occasions
XVII. Temperance Drinks
XVIII. Correct Clothes ....
XIX. How A Man May Valet Himself
XX. How TO Cleanse Clothing
XXI. Handy Hints on Housekeeping
I
9
19 29
3,7 49 57 67 77 85 97 113 125
n?,
149 161 177 181
187 197 205
ON BeiNG
A BACHeLORJf
CHAPTER I
" All ! drink if you -will to tbe Kandsome man. Or the proud attlete undaunted. And toast him, too, the husband true, AAHiose faith has long been vaunted. And drink to the strong and handsome man. But lift your glasses higher WTien the toasts ring out, in a merry shout. For the man that men admire."
— James Clarence Haevet.
Being a bachelor is easy. Staying a bachelor — ah! there's the hitch! But that's another story. Yes, it's easy to be a bachelor, but to be a thorough- bred, unless it is inbred and the single man is " to the manner born," is more difficult. It requires unlimited time, patience and education as well as a store of myriad bits of information on a multitude of subjects.
[^^>
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
On Being a Bachelor
The " correct " bachelor must not only know howj but he must know why. He must be a woman's man and a man's man, an all-round " good fellow." He must " fit " everywhere and adapt himself to all sorts of society under all sorts of circumstances. Good breeding and kindliness of heart are the essentials. These, above everything, he must have ; and given them, the other attributes may be easily acquired by study and observation.
Any man may be a bachelor — most men are at some time in their lives. The day of the " dude " has passed and the weakling is relegated to his rightful sphere in short order. But to the bachelor the world looks for its enjoyment and inspiration and gayety. Upon him, as a matter of course, fall many burdens. These, if he knows how to bear them, are speedily transformed into blessings and counted as privileges.
Have not some of the world's greatest men enjoyed lives of single-blessedness? Have not some of its greatest bon-vivants, epicures, artists, musicians, and writers led the solitary life from preference rather than necessity ?
" I am a bachelor," says one gallant, " because I love all womankind so well I cannot discriminate in favor of the one."
Bachelors are the most charming of entertainers. What woman ever refuses an opportunity to chaperon at a bachelor dinner or studio tea? What debutante does not feel secretly ecstatic at the very idea of look-
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
On Being a Bachelor
ing behind the scenes and peeping into the corners of some famous bachelor menage? And who, indeed, can be a more perfect host than a bachelor? He can be equally gracious and devoted to all women because of the absence of that feminine proprietorship which al- ways tends to make the married man withhold his most graceful compliments, his most tender glances and his most winning smile.
It is the bachelor who. makes society; without him It would indeed be tame and find itself dwindling down Into a hot-bed of discontent, satiety and monotony. He adds just the right touch of piquancy to Its hot- house existence and furnishes husbands for Its debu- tantes and flirtations for its married women.
His versatility makes him a valuable acquisition to any gathering. He knows the correct thing in dress, the latest novelty of the London haberdasher and what the King Is wearing to Ascot. He Is familiar with the etiquette of European courts and American drawing- rooms and can tell of the little peculiarities of social functions in Washington, Boston, Baltimore, Charles- ton, London or Vienna. He can valet himself if he has to, and does not scorn to clean his own boots in an emergency.
He can quote that prince of epicures, Brillat-Savarin, and tell how Billy Soule broils trout over the coals. When it comes to condiments, he can tell by the aroma of a dish what Its seasoning Is; at mixing toothsome devils and curries he is a past master. He Is an au-
3
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
On Being a Bachelor
thorlty on wines and knows how to judge them; or, possibly eschewing alcoholic beverages, he can offer sat- isfactory substitutes that fill the bill, and is sufficiently broad to take his lime and seltzer or Apollinaris with a crowd of good fellows growing mellow over their champagne; and ten to one he has a fund of witty rep- artee that scintillates among that of his fellows. If he drinks, he does it like a gentleman and knows when to " turn down the empty glass." If he has a hobby, he rides it decently without coming a cropper at every high gate.
The correct bachelor knows all these things intui- tively. He may be impecunious, but he must be artistic. The " artistic temperament " is more easily acquired than the stolid young lawyer poring over his Blackstone may dream. The combination of the practical and artistic is much to be desired, and with each succeeding generation this is becoming more largely a matter of intuition and environment than study.
The artistic temperament flourishes in that real Land of Bohemia '' where many are called, but few are chosen." There " every man is manly, every woman is pure " and the spirit of bon camaradie is al- ways in the air. The old Greek maxim, " Know thy- self," and that other, *' To thine own self be true," build a creed of greater worth than tomes of ancient lore. " The hand clasp firm of those who dare and do — half way meets that of those who bravely do and dare."
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
On Being a Bachelor
The " men who do things," the most talked-of bachelors, form brilliant coteries in different parts of the world. The Lambs' Club in New York, the Bo- hemian Club in San Francisco, bravely pulling itself together after its great disaster, the Savage Club in London, the St. Botolph Club in Boston — all show in a glance over their membership rolls the names of men who not only do things, but do them well. Renowned artists, famous composers, maestros, millionaires, au- thors and all-round good fellows gather to applaud the work of their fellow members and are eager to en- joy the spirit of Bohemian brotherhood.
Many bachelors, after an early life of uncertainty, find themselves past the threshold of success, but through money and character they may attain a place in society.
Many have slaved over ledgers and bent over the ticker, who have had no time in the bustle and worry of their business life and struggle for success to gather the odd bits of miscellaneous knowledge of etiquette, arts and letters, epicurism, habiliment, and so on, that are required of a successful bachelor. *' Be- ing a bachelor " becomes a business, even as keeping a set of books or making investments. Any bit of knowl- edge that will add to his accomplishments is as good a business investment as a bond or mining certificate. The latter may be taken away, but his knowledge, once gained, is always his " to have and to hold."
Even as *' a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,"
5
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
On Being a Bachelor
how much more dangerous is it to be without it. No one is so wise that his wisdom may not be increased. One bachelor may be able to win at poker or break a broncho into quivering submission to his will, but will be quite out of place, like the proverbial bull in a china shop, in a fashionable drawing-room, and all for want of a little knowledge of the etiquette of afternoon teas or evening receptions. Another may be able to cook and serve a French dinner of eight courses, but be piti- fully wanting in the lore of camp cookery and " rough- ing it." Another may be an authority on colonial fur- niture and a connoisseur of wines, yet wonder why peo- ple try to hide an involuntary expression of surprise when he appears at dinner in a Tuxedo and a white waistcoat.
For some years the world at large has been possessed of a passion for knowing " how to do things." '' How to do this " and " how to make that " have been " top- liners " in Sunday newspapers, and from '' Jiu Jitsu in twenty lessions " to " what to name the baby " and '* how to make your canary bird sing," these expert writers have condensed their stores of knowledge into printed page or paragraph and have set forth in con- cise or exhaustive information, as the case may be, " how to do " almost everything under the sun. Even David Belksco has been tempted into telling how to write plays, and Bernard Shaw instructs one upon " going to church." '' Bossie " Mulhall shows how to
6
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
On Being a Bachelor
rope a steer and Theodore Roosevelt tells how to lead a strenuous life ; but in all this great store of condensed Instruction one field at least has remained still uncov- ered. No one has w^ritten on " how to be a bachelor," for the spinsters seem to have appropriated all the space. For them there has been advice a-plenty on how to select a husband and how to keep on the sunny side of thirty, and so on through the gamut of woman- lore.
Why has the bachelor been neglected? Possibly because he is popularly supposed to be quite self-suffi- cient and omniscient. An occasional paragraph on why clocked socks are better form than embroidered ones, or how to tell when the girl of one's choice loves him, creeps Into print ; but for the bachelor who really wants to " know how " there Is no royal road to learning save the rocky, steep thoroughfare that each one must needs climb by himself on his dally journey In quest of Experience.
There Is no " complete compendium " for the ambi- tious bachelor who welshes to become bon vivant, epicure, " connoisseur de vins " and " up " on all the little things that combine to make him an authority on the things of single men of the world. But his pro- verbial fare of " bread and cheese and kisses " needs to be modified to suit present-day needs, and the judicious addition of a few crumbs to his store of provender may be welcome. From these crumbs from many bachelor
7
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
On Being a Bachelor
cupboards, then, may he find an occasional *' crumb of comfort " and a little lift over some hard place along the road. If he finds it herein, the purpose of " A Bachelor's Cupboard " will have been fulfilled.
CHAPTER II
" In heat of youtt, poor Jack engaged a
wife A^liose tongue, te found, miglit prove a
scourge for life ; Perplexed, te still ^jut off tKe evil day. Grew sick at length, and just expiring
lay. To which sad crisis, having brought the
matter To wed or die — he wisely chose the
latter. "
Of all bachelors, the Impecunious bachelor is most deserving of sympa- thy. In fact, he is the only one who needs It. No one ever asks a mill- ionaire bachelor why he leads a single life; the reason Is too obvious. But too often, alas! It is from neces- sity rather than choice that the im- pecunious fellow remains single. That Is the Irony of Fate. " To those who would wed, It shall be denied."
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
Possibly It may be the invasion of woman into all the trades and professions of men that accounts for this dollarless portion of many young men. Where once they reigned supreme, they are now dethroned and doomed to grow round shouldered over a ledger at twelve dollars a week, while a gay, Irresponsible miss of seventeen fresh from the Business College runs everything In the office from the temperature to " The Boss," and drav.^s eighteen or twenty dollars from Its coffers every Saturday night.
A man of good family and enviable social connec- tions who may be obliged to w^ork for a meagre stipend, has to forego many pleasures that rightfully belong to him. He may not afford his club, his favorite military organization must be stricken from his list; he is chary of accepting social obligations which he may not return, therefore is obliged to miss many a pleasant evening. He is too proud to become a " hanger on," and If he has had money and lost It, then is his lot even harder, for he is often patronized by his one-time friends. Only a man who has lost his money knows how many of his friends went with it.
The strictest economy Is his allotment; and even with a salary of twenty-five or thirty dollars a w^ek, he may not Indulge In many social pleasures. If he has been accustomed to the good things of life, It is indeed hard for him to give up the things he most enjoys. A twenty-one-meal ticket at four dollars will keep away hunger, but one might almost prefer hunger's pangs
10
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
occasionally to the agonies of a public dining-room with Its poor ventilation, mixed company and hurried serv- ice. These would combine to make a perfect dinner unendurable. And the average dinner of the boarding house Is far from perfection.
But after all, there is compensation in this state, as in all things. The Impecunious Bachelor has his true and loyal friends, and he can always depend upon them in any emergency. They are his friends for friend- ship's sake, not for what he may possess In worldly goods. And if he is Inclined to be philosophical, he may extract from his dull routine many pleasures that are denied his more fortunate brothers.
The Bachelor who earns about $1000 a year, may, if he does a little careful thinking, live comfortably, even luxuriously, if he sets up his Lares and Penates In an unfurnished room and builds for himself therein at least one room of his " house of dreams."
Here, his individuality may run riot, and because he is poor is by no means a reason why he should be com- monplace. His one room may be as artistic as he de- sires, and if he is willing to sacrifice a little of his time and thought, the result will soon be in evidence. Its decorations may reflect his tastes, w^hether they be for riding, fishing and hunting, good pictures or athletic sports. He may not be a bachelor from choice; but it is far easier to put money by for the home which he expects to have one day. If he has comfortable bachelor quarters In which to spend his evenings. With his
II
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
books, his pipe, all his treasures about him, and a few loyal friends to drop in now and then to keep him company, he will soon cease to regret the absence of club life, and in his own little circle will be far happier than many men of ten times his income.
Suppose a man has an income of $1200 a year. This means $25 a week, and upon this basis he may live delightfully — if he knows how to deny himself certain things.
Ordinarily, a man would pay for a furnished room in a good locality no less than $5.00 a week. For from $150 to $175 a year it is possible in most cities to get a large unfurnished room with a good closet, and in some cases hot and cold water in the room, together w^ith the privilege of the bath on the same floor — which, however, he is likely to have to share with two or three others.
If he takes an unfurnished room at $150, this leaves a margin of $100 with which to purchase his own belongings. Perhaps he will feel that he can afford to spend another $50, since it is only for the first year that this additional expense of furnishing will be had.
Upon taking it by the year, the proprietors of the house or apartments are supposed to put it in perfect order. Generally they are willing to paper it for a permanent tenant, allowing him to choose the paper for himself. If he can induce them to put up a plate rail about five feet from the floor, so much the better.
12
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
There may be a figured paper in warm crimsons, cool dark blues or sage greens, according to the exposure of the room and its allowance of sunlight, below the plate rail. Above it, plain cartridge paper of the same prevailing shade will make an excellent background for his pictures and other decorations.
The floor will also be done over and nicely waxed, and window shades are supposed to be furnished. Also heat and hot and cold water. The gas or electric lights are generally extra and each room provided with a meter.
If one has no book case, and there is a corner in the room where bookshelves could be built, a carpenter will, for a comparatively small amount, fashion shelves to fit that particular space and deliver them painted or stained to match the woodwork of the room. He will also make for three or four dollars, a frame for a window seat which the bachelor may upholster himself if he be inclined. If the room has a bay window, the seat would cost a trifle more, but the result would be well worth the expenditure. The bookshelves may be fitted with glass doors, or a simple brass rod upon which a curtain may be hung.
Weathered oak, despite the fact that it is so com- monly used now, makes ideal furnishing for bachelor quarters. If he prefers to buy old mahongany, and has the time to attend auction sales, he may pick up great bargains and for a half more gratify his taste for antiques.
13
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
If he decides upon weathered oak, a fair Idea of the expense may be gained from the following prices:
Chiffonier, which should be severely plain with brass knobs, $24.00; round table, four feet In diameter with a shelf beneath, $6.00; a bed-couch, four feet wide and eight feet long with National springs, may be bought with mattress for $7.00; a Morris chair In weathered oak with cushions at from $12.00 (leatherette cush- ions) to $20.00 (with real leather) ; two colonial chairs at $1.85 each, $3.70; an arm chair or rocking chair with leather seat, $5.00; a closed or flat-top desk will be $8.00 more — although they are to be had at from $5.00 upwards — and a desk chair with leather seat to match will be $4.00 more. For from $15.00 to $20.00, cabinets for chafing dish and " Bachelor's Cab- inets " for bottles and glasses may be had. Doubtless he win want but one, and if so, let this be for the bottles. A settee at $6.00 with a back which forms a table is a convenient piece of furniture for a bachelor. In the seat, he may keep his overshoes, gloves or any- thing he chooses. Some bachelors use them for tea things, which are thus kept free from dust. This is admirable to use for chafing dish cookery, because of its ample size, and is to be recommended rather than a small table.
A tabouret for smoking things and a rack for plates and steins will cost respectively $2.50 and $3.00 more; if he Includes In the furnishings a piano which may be hired for $40.00 a year or purchased upon the instal-
14
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
ment plan for about the same sum, this will be sufficient furniture for a room of ordinary size.
If the room has an alcove, so much the better. In this his chiffonier may be set, and portieres may screen it from sight. He may sleep upon his couch, and the alcove might serve as a dressing-room. If the man is handy with tools, he might make for himself from old packing boxes a cupboard for his boots, shoes, blacking brushes, etc., to be kept here. A shelf could be put across one side of the alcove, upon which to keep hat boxes, with hooks beneath; a curtain tacked along this shelf w^ould cover his clothing and keep the dust from It. With this provision, his closet could be used for the storage of his eatables or as a *' kitchenette." If It be fitted w^Ith running water, as many closets are In old-fashioned houses, so much the better.
If the bachelor wants to pay a particular compliment to one of his women friends, then let him ask her to help select the curtains. For $2.00 a paif at the most he should succeed In finding something quite recherche that will be In keeping with the hangings of the room. If he wishes sash curtains, then let them, together with the curtains before the bookshelves, be of raw pongee silk. If the lady is a very particular friend, perhaps she'll offer to make them for him.
As for rugs — that's a delicate question. But let us suggest that for temporary use the bachelor purchase some of the pretty Japanese cotton rugs that come In pleasing designs and rich colorings. These may be
15
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
had 3x6 at $1.50 each, and look as well as many a ten- dollar rug. Then, when he sees a special bargain in good Persian, Turkish or Afghanistan rug, he may buy whatever strikes his fancy; excellent books on rugs with beautiful illustrations are available at the Public Libraries, and a few evenings' study on the sub- ject will give a man an insight into rug buying that will stand him in good stead, provided he is not al- ready a connoisseur.
The furniture already mentioned will cost about $104.00. Then there will be the additional expense of couch and table covers, curtains and sash curtains, linen, and pillows or cushions.
For this room the bachelor will need six sheets and six pillow slips, half a dozen bath towels, a dozen and a half of hand towels, a couple of scarves for the chiffonier, a dozen glass towels and three or four dus- ters. These will cost as follow: — sheets, $3.00; pillow slips, $1.50. Three slips may be sufficient. Bath towels, $1.50 to $3.00, according to quality; hand towels, $4.50; dusters, which may be of cheesecloth, 25c.; and glass towels, $1.50 to $2.00. He will also need a pair of blankets at from $3.00 to $5.00 and possibly a puff or comforter, which will be $3.00 for cotton and $10.00 for down.
This linen he will include in his laundry, and it will probably average a dozen and a half pieces a w^ek, for which he will pay at the rate of $.50 the dozen.
The lights will probably average about $1.50 to 16
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
The Impecunious Bachelor
$2.00 extra a month and the service of a maid Is gen- erally ten cents an hour or $1.00 a week, which in- cludes giving the room a thorough cleaning once a week and " doing it up " on other days, making the bed, dusting and airing, washing what dishes may be left from breakfast or the night before and putting things to rights generally. Thus the actual expense of the room and laundry will average about $5.00 to $5.25 a week. If the bachelor particularly wishes to retrench, he may, as many men do, care for his own room.
17
rrrr
'Wten I was a bactelor, I lived by
myself. And all the bread and cbeese I bad, I
put upon tbe sbelf . "
— Mother Goose.
"Tbe Fate of Nations Depends upon How Tbey Are Fed. "
— Brillat-Savarist.
In stocking the cupboard there Is much to be considered: whether the bachelor sports his own menage with a cook and butler and valet, or whether he has simply a humble flat which he shares with other men, pre- sided over by a New England spin- ster mald-of-all-work of uncertain age, a capable Chinaman, a joyful " Jap," a " greaser," or a " cullud gen'leman," according to Its locality. Whether it be a single man of means w^hose hotel furnishes him w^Ith a
19
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
kitchenette and a cold storage box in his apartment, or one of " the ballroom boys " who has bis larder in a shoe box, nailed to the window ledge, a mental process is essential.
In the process of elimination the bachelor with his own menage may be " cut out." He knows what he wants — and if he doesn't, then his butler does. For the others, and the impecunious bachelor mentioned in another chapter, a little gratuitous advice may not be amiss, particularly since it is contributed by scores of bachelors who are guilty of various degrees of house- keeping and by some artists who have the science of hiding a complete housekeeping outfit behind a Japanese screen dow^n pat.
" Blessed be nothing " so far as possessions are con- cerned; for there is nothing like starting on a "clean slate," as it were.
The bachelors who live in a flat are hard people to deal with when it comes to furnishing the kitchen, for each one has his own pet ideas, culled from nothing In particular, as to what the furnishings of kitchen, dining- room and pantry should include.
My sympathies are with the " ballroom boy " who has limited space, limited means, limited acquaintance. To him, stocking his cupboard often becomes a tragedy, because of his inability to distinguish In his blessed in- experience between necessities and luxuries. Some there are who decide that they can do without neces- sities but must have luxuries. Supposing then, that he is " the bachelor Impecunious " who has his quarters
20
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
nicely fitted up for permanent occupation, save the things necessary for that closet which he will have for his " kitchenette and pantry " and is going to stock up on the utensils and supplies necessary for his use in providing his own breakfast, and an occasional Sunday spread or little supper for his friends. The stocking of the cupboard may be divided into three classes: the service, the utensils for cooking, etc., and the supplies. In ordinary cases the following list will be sufficient. The bachelor should remember if the first cost seems a bit large, although it eats a tremendous hole in his week's salary, that it is the first cost that counts ; for the dishes w^ill last, likewise the condiments " and sich," most of which will keep indefinitely.
THE For ordinary use, he may follow his own
SERVICE taste in china; but it is well to expend a trifle more in getting something that is artistic, and will always be in good taste. Willow ware is always in perfect taste, and, being heavy, has the added ad- vantage of " toughness," which is a good point. Sup- posing then that one decides upon this:
^ dozen large plates 2 covered vegetable dishes
J dozen small plates i sauce boat
i dozen bread and butter i salad bowl
plates 1 cream pitcher
i dozen cups and saucers i dozen sauce plates
2 platters i dozen soup plates 2 bowls
This will be enough of the Willow ware. For des- sert or fruit, a half dozen china plates will be needed, and half a dozen glass jelly plates as well. For his
21
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
tumblers, he would better have them uniform and may have inexpensive ones of blown glass, or beautiful cut glass ones at a wide range in price. If he elects to have liquid refreshments, then he will get the correct thing in w^ine, cocktail and lemonade glasses, with the beloved steins of his college days answering for such beverages as beer, ale and stout.
Then in addition he will need for his table the usual service which would better be of glass — as good as he can afford. It is really surprising what pretty and good glassware may be bought for a mere song. The list includes:
I vinegar cruet
I oil cruet
I water bottle
1 Touraine castor for salt,
black and red pepper I mustard pot and spoon
1 butter dish
2 sugar bowls for cut and pow^dered sugar
I celery tray 1 olive tray
and the following silver:
h dozen each forks, knives, steel knives, dessert and teaspoons
1 sugar spoon and tongs
1 butter knife
I glass fruit dish
1 marmalade jar
I mayonnaise dish
1 bread tray (preferably silver)
I china tea pot and stand
I French copper coffee pot (expensive but a joy for- ever)
I chafing dish and accom- panying utensils
6 demi tasses
1 nut cracker,
I olive fork
* dozen oyster forks
I carving set.
One may get on nicely with these — and possibly may be able to eliminate some from the list. The nut
22
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
cracker is useful for breaking lobster as well as nuts, and the picks of course will be included, also fruit knives and orange spoons and after-dinner coffee spoons, if he can afford them. With the list as above, the bachelor may entertain very nicely on a small scale. He may, if he has the time and inclination, pick up veritable treasures at old auction rooms and second hand shops in solid silver and quaint old china that will give his dining service an individuality as strong as his pocketbook will stand.
FOR THE utensils and " articles de cuisine," the fol- COOKING lowing list w^ill be found to embrace all the things needed for a very small menage:
|
I |
covered agate |
kettle |
2 |
mixing bowls |
|
I |
tin oven to use |
over gas |
I |
colander |
|
2 |
large frying pans |
I |
chain dish cleaner |
|
|
2 |
small ones |
2 |
covers for frying pans |
|
|
I |
quart measure |
3 |
kitchen knives |
|
|
I |
flour sifter |
3 |
forks |
|
|
2 |
basins |
2 |
mixing spoons |
|
|
I |
double boiler |
I |
measuring spoon |
|
|
3 |
oblong baking |
dns |
I |
graduated measuring cup |
|
2 |
small skillets |
I |
chopping bowl and knife |
|
|
1 |
strainer |
I |
egg beater |
|
|
1 |
toaster |
I |
meat board |
|
|
1 |
broiler |
I |
ladle |
|
|
I |
dish pan |
I |
skimmer |
|
|
I |
large tin pan |
1 |
pitcher |
This sounds a lot, but you will be surprised to see the small amount of space they take w^hen neatly hung on the closet door and placed on the shelf that the closet will doubtless contain for their reception, He
23
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
must also have a large tin bread box for bread and biscuits. A closet fitted with high shelves for the sup- plies might have either drawers or low shelves for the cooking utensils. Then let the dishes all be kept pro- tected from dust in a cabinet with a glass door, w^hich may be purchased very reasonably. If that is out of the question, surely the handy bachelor may make his own china cupboard, and have some fair friend fash- ion a curtain for him to hang in front. THE Now for the supplies which he must keep
SUPPLIES on hand. This list includes, beside the necessities in one column, the luxuries in the other. These bought, he may bargain for his milk and cream to be left at the door and may also arrange for his butter and eggs as he wishes. Then the vegetables, fruit, meat and fish will be bought as he requires them. It is always well to have a few canned things on hand in case of emergencies.
Necessities Salt
Pepper, black and red Soup herbs or poultry sea- soning Mustard
Sugar, cut and powdered Ginger Macaroni Wheat flour Spaghetti Indian meal Onions Cereal — whatever desired
Biscuits in variety, includ- ing sweet biscuits and water biscuits, as wished
Oil
Vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce
Rice
Laundry soap
Coffee
Tea
Cocoa
Condensed milk or cream
Olives
24
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
Lard
Eggs
Lemons
Bacon and salt pork in jars
Tinned soups
Tinned fish
Tinned vegetables
Cheese, American or in jars Luxuries
Pickles
Curry powder
Chutney
Anchovies and Anchovy essence
Kitchen bouquet
Tarragon vinegar
Tinned French vegetables
Tinned or dried mush- rooms
Tinned red peppers
Marmalade
Jam
Potted meats
Caper3
Caviare
Celery salt
Chow chow
Macedoine in glass
Mango pickles
English relishes
Cooking sherry and white
wines Rum and brandy Bottled Mayonnaise Noodles
Parmesan cheese Soy
Tinned Truffles Pate de Foie Gras tinned or
in jars Asparagus in glass German sausages in jars Jellies for use with game Foreign cheeses Preserved fruits in glass Irish bacon Virginia ham Garlic Caramel Essences of vanilla, lemon,
and pistachio Cocktail olives and cherries
The bachelor in an apartment, who has limited space and wishes to confine his cookery to a few chafing dish dainties, may invest properly in one of the handy chafing dish cabinets that are so attractively fashioned in mission style with a " place for every- thing." Perchance he may also have — and probably will — a cabinet in which to keep his bottles, mixing glasses, shakers, etc., which is styled appropriately enough " the Bachelor Cabinet."
25
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
He may get on nicely with a half dozen plates, his steins, some silver knives, forks, and spoons, and possibly some small plates for toast, bread, or biscuits. These, vnth some small dishes of cut glass for salted almonds, olives, celery and such relishes, will be quite sufficient for ordinary use. In his cabinet with the chafer he should have the alcohol, salt, pepper, mustard, Wor- cesterhlre or Harvey sauce, chutney, paprika, bicar- bonate of soda, oil and vinegar, and possibly some an- chovy essence, which so Improves many chafing dish specialties. These, with some saltlnes and a jar of potted cheese — unless he desires some of the more per- ishable varieties — ^will be quite sufficient with the usual accompaniments, In case he wants to make a rabbit, an English Monkey, a Newburg, or some other simple del- icacy for an after-theater supper. The other things in the other cabinet — what bachelor needs to be shown what to buy? He surely ought to have a few bottles of carbonated water and some limes always handy, as well as a little Imported ginger ale in case he may en- tertain a teetotaller. Ginger ale Is not the w^orst beverage in the world with a good rabbit, while lime and seltzer is a refreshing drink at any time in the year.
The poor hall bedroom laddie with his pathetic makeshift on the w^indow ledge may not afford such an elaborate layout. But for a dollar he may invest either in a little alcohol stove with a quart skillet in which to cook his cereal or boil water for his tea, or
26
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
buy a few feet of tubing and a tiny gas stove. One bachelor who earned a scanty $15 a week made for himself a really attractive cupboard from a tall shoe box, perhaps four feet in height and half as wide and deep. It was stained, a row of brass headed nails driven around the edge, some shelves nicely fitted in, a few hooks added and a denim curtain, and in it was his whole outfit nicely concealed from inquisitive eyes. And he had some feasts too, if they were cooked in a ten-penny frying pan on his little gas stove. That he made his coffee in a woman's afternoon tea kettle with an alcohol lamp was his affair; and it was nectar. His tastes were simple, at the same time he had a va- riety. In the morning, a cup or two of delicious coffee with condensed cream, one or two English muffins nicely toasted and buttered, a couple of eggs, fried, boiled, or scrambled, as he elected, or perhaps poached on a bit of toast, and a bit of fruit, made a splendid breakfast for a chap leading a sedentary life. The down-town luncheon and dinner were more elaborate, and if he wished a bite in the evening when a friend dropped in, or he came in late from his weekly night at the theatre, there were all sorts of appetizing things to be concocted in the tiny frying pan, in which a basin was set and surrounded with w^ater in lieu of a chafing dish. Finally he bought a double boiler, thus escap- ing scalded fingers from too close contact with steam.
What did he eat? The usual thing culled from a cookery book dedicated to the chafing dish — and some
27
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Stocking the Cupboard
concoctions of his own, which appear In another chap- ter. But no one I ever knew could do up oysters and clams and crabs as nicely as he; sea food was his specialty, and, living on the coast, he was able to gratify this taste, even to the extent of serving on his one table for some admiring chap as delicious a Lobster Newberg, devilled crab, or oysters panned, California pepper — roasted or fried, as ever were tasted. His oysters, fried in oil, as MInico FInelll used to do them In Philadelphia, were luscious.
His weekly bill was very small — but he never made the mistake of buying cheap things and always Insisted upon the best of butter, eggs, and whatever else he bought.
" I have generally found that In buying so-called ' bargains ' In edibles," he said, " there is so much waste that it invariably pays to buy the best of every- thing. The satisfaction of knowing that It Is the best more than makes up for the few extra pennies spent."
28
CHAPTER
IV
"Manners are of more importance ttan laws. " — Burke.
"What Is a gentleman? " a young debutante naively asked of her uncle, a club man and " gentleman of the old school." The world-old query provoked the following reply from the man, who was too wary, how- ever, to fall Into the pitfall laid for him.
" My dear, I can't tell you In set terms. It Is a condition of being that Is no more definable than a woman's charms. Either one Is or isn't a gentleman — that's all."
" Has birth anything to do with It?"
*' It has — and It hasn't. There are men of the bluest blood who are hopeless bounders and cads, and, on the other hand, some of the most per-
29
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Etiquette
feet gentlemen I have ever met have come of obscure origin and plain beginnings. The mere fact of not be- ing well-born, however, has never kept a man out of a club or society, nor would a long pedigree necessarily give the entree. Social affiliations are indispensable, however Inherited or acquired. No one can tell ex- actly what makes a gentleman; still, everyone recog- nizes one the moment he comes upon the scene."
"A man's a man for a' that," says Bobby Burns; and after all, It's the little things that count — that go to show whether a man Is a gentleman or no. One w^ho wishes further Information upon this interesting subject may do wtU to read " John Halifax, Gentleman," after which he may brush up on etiquette. But all the dic- tionaries of etiquette in the world will not make a man a gentleman, If he be not kind, brave, and honorable in love and business, truthful, loyal, and reverent.
Someone has said that courtesy is a good imitation of Christianity, since most rules of etiquette are based upon unselfishness and a proper regard for the feelings of other people.
Most people have heard of the French king w^ho was so well bred that when one of his friends dropped a priceless wine glass. Immediately, as though through Inadvertence, broke one himself to prove that such a mischance, which might happen to anyone, was of no special consequence.
There is, of course, a distinction between good man- ners and good form. The one comes to a man through
30
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Etiquette
Innate good breeding, the other Is acquired by careful study and a close observance of the forms of conduct that at the moment are en regie.
" He Is gentll," says Chaucer, " who does gentll deeds." And It has been proven that habit Is second nature. Courtesy, conciliation, kindliness, forbear- ance, which are the essence of politeness, w^ere taught by St. Paul, who was the very model of a gen- tleman. Society has agreed, here and abroad, upon certain conventions which have through countless gen- erations resolved themselves Into a code — a decalogue of good behavior. The present social code In America is patterned largely after usages In favor among the English upper classes, although occasions may arise In which a man Is a law unto himself. Daniel Webster once said, after a visit In London, '' the rule of polite- ness there Is to be quiet, act naturally, take no airs, and make no bustle. This perfect breeding has cost a great deal of drill." Bonaparte studied deportment with Talma, a great French actor, and his court was as carefully drilled in etiquette as was his army in mil- itary tactics.
" Good manners Inspired by good principles, prompted by goodfellowship, polished by good form, w^ill admit a man to good society anyw^here," says Mrs. Burton Harrison, who is one of the highest authori- ties on etiquette. The cultured manner of to-day Is simple, cordial, and free from all affectation.
As It Is assumed that the bachelor of to-day Is well
31
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Etiquette
versed in savoir faire, only a few general rules and a few miscellaneous hints will be given here as to the etiquette of bachelor entertainments.
The American man, because of the exac- CALLS ^i^^g ^£ business, Is permitted to pay calls
in the evening and on Sunday afternoons. In the large cities he may present himself with propriety as late as nine in the evening; in the country, half-after eight is the limit generally set, while one seldom arrives earlier than half-after seven. Sunday after- noon calls may not be made earlier than three o'clock. In the country, morning calls are often made, and a man may always, of course, call on a lady's day at home, if he can arrange to do so. A dinner call is a matter of paramount Importance, and a man must also pay a " duty call " after receiving any hospitality, within a fortnight of the invitation, whether the Invi- tation is accepted or not. He must also call upon the bride whose cards he has received, directly after she returns from the honeymoon. A man who has served as pall bearer at a funeral should call upon the be- reaved family within three weeks, though this call rarely means more than the leaving of a card with a kindly Inquiry. After a man has paid a duty call, he should not call again, unless requested to do so, or unless his hostess extends further hospitality to him. A man may not take another man friend to call upon a lady unless he has first received her permission to do so. A man who wishes to make the acquaintance
32
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Etiquette
of a young lady through a friend must call in com- pany of the friend the first time, after which, if she wishes to receive him, he may call alone.
When a woman has been entertained by a bachelor at his apartments, she leaves a card for him, accom- panied by that of her chaperone.
In paying calls, a man may take his hat and stick into the drawing-room if he prefers, although the serv- ant generally takes them in the hall.
A man who receives callers at his apartments should accompany each departing guest to the door, and open the door for him; he may with propriety show the ladies to their carriages, although this is not obliga- tory.
It is the duty of a man when calling to relieve women of empty teacups and to carry refreshments to those who are sitting at a distance from the tea-table. He must rise from his chair when a woman caller enters and when anyone is presented to him. When he rises he should stand beside or behind his chair, and continue to stand as long as the lady on whose ac- count he has risen remains standing.
A man calling on Sunday afternoon should ask for " the ladies " when the mother has extended an invi- tation for him to call. After the first call he may ask for " the young ladies," or the particular one for whom his visit is intended.
A very formal afternoon call should occupy not less than fifteen minutes and not more than half an hour.
33
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Etiquette
On the hostess' day at home one may linger an hour or longer.
Concerning business calls, in which a woman calls upon a man in his office, he need not offer to shake hands unless she be an old friend. Should his time be limited or other people be in his private office, he may meet her in the public office or even the corridor. He must always remove his hat, and if he wishes her to be brief, may courteously explain that pressing affairs necessitate his immediate attendance. In his office, a man rises also when a woman caller rises to leave, and if the interview has taken place in his private office, convention demands that he open the door for her. He need not go beyond the door with her, al- though if she is a friend or relative he will doubtless wish to see her safely to the elevator.
A business address should never appear on a visit- ing card, although his home address or that of his club may appear in the corner, his permanent address ap- pearing in the right-hand corner. Not infrequently his home address appears in the right-hand corner and his favorite club in the corner opposite. BACHELOR It is quite the fashion nowadays for the HOSPI- well-to-do bachelor, even if he has no near TALITIES women relatives to assist him, to entertain his women friends in his own apartments, at his club, or at a hotel. The city bachelor of to-day is not a home- less man whose life is divided between his house of busi- ness and his boarding-house bedroom. If he is pros-
34
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Etiquette
parous in his profession, he lives in a suite of pretty rooms in a studio or in a small suite in bachelor apartments, or possibly in a hotel. And even a man of average salary may afford a large, tastefully-decorated room in which to set up his Lares and Penates, where he can entertain in a small way.
Of course he has some matron to act as chaperone, and the easiest and safest form of entertainment is an afternoon reception. At this he may repay some of the many hospitalities vi^hich eligible bachelors always receive.
Just a word from a clever hostess of international popularity may not be amiss. Apropos of the prevail- ing impression — which is generally correct — that the unmarried man is so persistently certain that he is wel- come everywhere, and that when he lunches or dines at a house he confers a favor, this grande dame says: " The bachelor is the most ungrateful of guests, as a rule. He w^ill accept my invitation, lunch or dine at my house three or four times in a week all the year round, and still continue to speak of those who lib- erally entertain him as a mere acquaintance unless they happen to be more than usually prominent — and then reward them with nothing better than a picture post- card at Christmas ! "
Possibly this woman's indignation may be well- founded — for it is a fact that bachelors are in such demand that they come to realize their own social im- portance perhaps better than their hostesses do. A
35
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Etiquette
man of tact may express his appreciation of continued courtesies and entertainments by sending an occa- sional gift, such as a book, or some roses, or even matinee or concert tickets for his hostess and her daugh- ters or some friend whom she may be entertaining.
36
CHAPTER V
" Give me a lodge in some vast wilder- ness. "
Life in camp, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, In the mountains and by the sea or Inland lakes and rivers, has a peculiar charm, not the least of which Is found In the camp cookery. Epicures whose palates are tired of entrees and game In city restaurants, who fret and fume If their planked steak Is not to their liking, or If the after-dinner coffee has not the de- sired soupqon of chicory, will eat like lumbermen when fed upon camp ra- tions, with never a word save of praise for the camp cook. Possibly It's a matter of environment ; for Mother Nature has a way of soothing tired nerves and of tickling jaded palates to such an extent that the hum-
37
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD Around the Camp Fire
blest fare is fit for a king, and the muddiest camp coffee nectar to the tired, hungry man just in from a day's fishing or hunting in the wilds.
Most men who camp do not need to be told the little things that combine to make camping comfort- able: how to dig a trench around the tent and how to make a stone fireplace or a stove from rocks and an old stove-top; or how to shave off fir boughs for a hard but fragrant bed.
They all know that a deep hole should be dug some distance from camp in w^hich to throw refuse and debris, covering it daily with fresh earth, which so quickly kills all odors. They know the staple rations to be taken — prepared flour for griddle-cakes and hot bread, with rising already in it ; salt pork, smoked ham and bacon, dried beef, salt fish in case the fresh ones fail to bite; pilot-bread, crackers, and biscuit of all sorts, potatoes, beans, onions, canned fruit and vege- tables where fresh cannot be obtained ; Indian meal, salt, sugar, pepper, mustard, molasses, vinegar, butter, tea, coffee, chocolate — powdered and sw^eet — rice, oat- meal, baking soda, ginger, spice, soap, paraffin candles, matches, and kerosene oil. These and such luxuries as milord demands compass the culinary needs.
But lest he forget — and it's so easy to do that in the excitement of going into camp — a list of other necessi- ties may not come amiss, and it includes tin kettles with covers, spiders with covers, coffee and tea pots with lips instead of spouts, gridiron, pans, basins, tin
38
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
cups, pails, milk cans, knives, forks, spoons, lanterns, bags (paper and "gunny" sacks), strings, thread, needles, matches, shovel, axe and hatchet, hammer, tacks and nails, sticking plaster, Jamaica ginger, towels and bath towels, dishpan, dish towels and cloth, pins, mosquito netting, oil of pennyroyal if In fly season, plenty of old newspapers, fishing tackle, guns, ammuni- tion, and last of all, extra stockings and flannel gar- ments. If flannel Is worn, one should never take cold even after a thorough soaking; but of cotton and linen, for use In camp or on ranch, beware! Parties scorning the Idea of bothering with all these things when rough- ing-It will find camp life quite rough enough, even with the things provided that are mentioned In the list. The need of a match or a pin or string can never be realized until one has had to do without them In camp or on the water.
Every man who cooks shines at his best when In camp or being chef In the open. The guides In the Rangeleys can cook a trout to perfection, while the half-breeds of Canadian jungles, could show a New York chef a thing or two about cooking a partridge. A cowboy out on a round-up can concoct as toothsome a stew or " Mulligan " as was ever served up as ragout m a. Broadway restaurant or French '' Bouillon '* kitchen. A lonely prospector can show one a little about broil- ing bacon and frying flap-jacks, and when It comes to broiling a beefsteak or grilling a chop, a New York club man is generally a past master at the art, espe-
39
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
cially if he is a member of the famous Beefsteak Club. And when a New Yorker gets into camp and wants to do the cooking — let him; he knows. THE in camp cooking, broiled fish, or roast
VALUE OF birds, has been demonstrated long since BASTING |3y famous Maine guides. Billy Soule, for instance, broils his trout before a clear, brisk fire, with thin strips of bacon or salt pork fastened with tooth- picks so that the fat trying out will run continually down over the fish, basting it as it broils. In roasting a bird, pieces of bacon or pork are skewered on in the same fashion.
A NOTED ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^" fishing the streams in the BOSTON vicinity of Colebrook, N. H., for several BON years, tells of a camp dinner cooked by him-
VIVANT ggjf ^^^ comrades which is really worthy of repetition. *' One of the boys," he says, " went down to a farmhouse near the river at noon, after a morning's fishing, and for a quarter bought a dozen eggs and a couple of quarts of potatoes with a handful of salt thrown in. We made a hot fire, and let it die down. Then one of us cleaned and washed the trout, and after wrapping them in several thicknesses of green leaves, coated them on the outside with mud. We also coated each egg thickly with mud, making them look like giant wasps' nests. After the fire had died down sufficiently we laid the fish and eggs in the ashes, also the potatoes, covering them well with the hot ashes. This done, we then built another
40
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
hot fire over the original one. When the edibles were done, we raked them out with sticks, and stripping off the outside layer of mud from the fish, the charred leaves and skin came off w^ith it, leaving a delicious, perfectly-cooked, salmon pink or w^hite meat. The mud was cracked off the eggs and they tasted like the hard-boiled variety. And as for the potatoes, they were quite good enough, even with salt as the only seasoning. The meal was fit for an epicure — and best of all, there were no dishes to wash."
FOR A in autumn, w^hen the deer has not been
CAMP sighted, or the grouse prove too nimble
DINNER £qj. amateur hunters, a camp dinner like the following one may be relished and put the men on their mettle for the coming sport:
Hard-boil as many eggs as there are to be guests — and then as many more as they agree to eat. Boil potatoes until nearly done, then drain them dry and slice into a skillet in which thin slices of bacon are crisping. In another dish shred a little salt cod, cover with boiling w^ater, and cook until the fish is tender and the water has evaporated. Add a cup of sw^eet cream to this — and if near a farm this is worth tramp- ing after. Then when the potatoes are brow^ning nicely, turn the fish and cream over them and add a little pepper. The eggs should be put in cold water when done, and peeled. The salt of fish and bacon will be sufficient for seasoning. To serve, pile the potato mixture on a large hot platter and surround
41
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
with the eggs. This Is called a " Shaker " dinner — but It's good an}^vhere. Evaporated or condensed cream may be used Instead of fresh cream. The Bor- den brand Is best, as It Is less sweet than most others.
ROASTED In camp, birds, either small or large, are BIRDS commonly roasted, broiled, or stewed.
Pick all the feathers off, cut a slit and draw them. Wash and wipe carefully with a towel. If for roast- ing, tie the legs together and place In the pan, dredging with flour. Cover the bottom of the pan with water. Grouse and partridge require about thirty minutes and most wild ducks the same, notwithstanding the epi- cures protest that they should have but from twelve to fourteen minutes. Small birds will require only about half that time, but the oven must be very hot. Maine guides who cook partridges In their feathers know that It Is the only real way to do them at their best. The bird Is opened and drawn In the usual manner; then It is covered with w^et clay and burled In hot coals and cooked for forty minutes. Draw from the coals and peel off the clay, and with It will come feathers and skin. Most men prefer them to the regulation roast- ing— and where an oven Is not obtainable, It Is the best method.
BROILED are split and cleaned, wiped dry, and BIRDS broiled either on a wire broiler or forked
stick over the clear coals, from a wood fire. Ten or fifteen minutes Is generally sufficient for this.
42
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
TO STEW grouse, or wild pigeons, place the birds In PAR- a small kettle and dredge with salt, pep-
TRIDGE pgj.^ flour, and, If liked, mace and cloves, to give a true epicurean touch. After simmering two hours, thicken with three spoonfuls of flour and stir In two spoonfuls of tomato catsup. Simmer an hour longer, and serve.
AN OLD Here Is an old camper's recipe for cooking CAMPER'S partridge and grouse, and It can't be beaten. RECIPE Q^^ ^p ^j^g birds as for a fricassee. Fry them In a frying-pan In butter or salt pork fat until brown, dredging with flour, salt, and pepper. This makes them a delicious golden brown. When tender, take out the pieces and put them on a platter on pieces of toast. Then turn Into the brown fat a cup of sweet cream, stir quickly, and when it crinkles with scalding, turn over the platter of meat.
A for birds, when broiled. Is made by putting
GOOD a large spoonful of butter in j; frying-pan.
SAUCE When It has melted, add a tablespoonful of flour and stir until brown, then add a cup of boiling water, salt and pepper to taste.
BROOK Does a rule for cooking brook trout seem TROUT amiss here ? Of course almost every bach- elor knows how, or ninety and nine In an hundred. But for the hundredth man, here goes: Split the trout nearly to the tail to clean, leaving heads off or on, as preferred. Wash and drain, wipe, and dip in a mixture of
43
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
half flour and half Indian meal and a little salt. For a dozen good-sized trout, fry six slices of salt pork. When brown, take out the pork and put In the trout and fry, first on one side, then on the other, until a golden brown. Serve the pork with them. Smelts may be cooked in the same fashion.
SALMON should be split down the back, when large TROUT enough, cleaned, wiped, and rubbed with oil or butter, then broiled over clear coals. When small, cook the same as brook trout. SALT Sometimes, even In camp, there are times
FISH of a morning when, for some special rea-
son, a piece of salt fish would taste good. Cut from the thickest part of the fish squares of desired size. Remove skin, wash, and broil over clear coals ten minutes, then dip in boiling water, butter, and serve. Excellent In '* that cold gray dawn," don't you know.
FRYING " Spoff " Flint was a famous guide on the SALT Magalloway River who used to fry salt
PORK pQj.j^ -j^ batter, when he had milk to do it
with. A batter was made with a cup of flour to a cup of milk, to which was added a little salt and a beaten egg. Fry some thin slices of pork slightly, then dip in the batter and fry in pork fat to which two spoonfuls of drippings or lard have been added. With potatoes roasted m the hot ashes that is fit for any King that ever sat a throne.
44
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
BEEF- smothered in onions is a good camp dish —
STEAK and venison or bear steak may be cooked in the same manner by way of variety. Fry brown four slices of salt pork ; when brown take out the pork and slice in thinly six good sized onions. Fry about ten minutes, stirring all the while, then take out all save a thin layer. On this lay the sliced steak, then a layer of onions, then steak, and cover thick with onions. Dredge each layer w^ith salt, pepper, and flour. Pour over this a cupful of boiling water and cover tight. Simmer over a hot fire half an hour.
FOR wash a quart of dry pea beans — the Cali-
BOSTON fornias are best. Put in a pan with six BAKED quarts of cold water and let them soak BEANS Qygj. night. In the morning wash again and put them on the fire with cold water and a pinch of baking soda. When the skins begin to crinkle drain off the water and put in the bean-pot. Have a gener- ous piece of salt pork, gashed through the rind, and put it on top of the beans with two tablespoonfuls of molasses, one each of salt and pepper, and a pinch of mustard, and cover with boiling water. An onion may be added if desired. Bake ten hours, either In the oven or in the ground. If the latter, dig a hole large enough for the pot, which should be surrounded with hot stones. Then cover and build a hot fire over them. They should be watched carefully, and if they become dry, pour in more water.
45
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
CORN Somehow, corn dodgers seem particularly
DODGERS to belong to camp fare. Take three tea- cups of Indian meal, one teaspoonful of salt, one table- spoonful of sugar, and pour on enough boiling water to wet It — nearly one quart. Then make Into small flat cakes, about one inch thick, and fry In boiling fat until golden brown. They will fry in fifteen or twenty minutes.
FRIED Would you fancy some fried mush in camp
MUSH with the game? Well, then, into two
quarts of boiling water stir a tablespoonful of salt and one cup of flour mixed with a quart of Indian meal, or more, if needed to make stiff enough. Beat It well to remove lumps and bo*Il gently two hours, and then turn into deep bread tins to cool. In the morning slice off thick slices and fry golden brown in salt pork fat, serving slices of pork with it, and syrup, if desired.
FOR which are made with the prepared flour,
SPIDER mix one pint flour with half a pint of milk CAKES Qj- water. Have the griddle smoking' hot, and grease with a piece of pork or bacon rind, then pour half the mixture into it. Smooth with a spoon and cook four minutes, or until the top forms minute bubbles. Then turn the cake and cook four minutes longer. Take up, grease the pan again, and cook the balance. If preferred, the batter can be fried in small cakes instead of two large ones.
46
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
GINGER- Every camp cook should know how to make BREAD gingerbread. Somehow, nothing else In the cake line seems to fill the bill like hot gingerbread. To make It, take a cup of molasses, one teaspoonful of saleratus, one of ginger, a tablespoonful of butter or lard, and. If lard Is used, a pinch of salt. Stir to- gether and then pour over half a cup of boiling water and a pint of sifted flour. Bake about one Inch deep on a tin sheet In a quick oven.
WILD It Is well to remember that wild ducks
DUCKS that have a fishy odor may be Improved by rubbing the breast lightly with a slice of onion and putting Into the bird, when cooking, half a dozen raw cranberries. The mountain cranberries may be used Instead of the Cape berries. A handful of the small mountain variety will be sufficient.
TO Cut the tenderloins of a buck that has been
COOK properly hung for at least five days, into
VENISON pieces an inch thick and two inches In di- ameter. Skewer these on a small willow stick, with pieces of bacon judiciously strung along the line. Sprinkle the whole with finely-chopped onion, red pep- per and salt, and roast over the coals. Do not hesitate to make this a full yard of lusclousness, for the morsels will melt in the mouth, and one seems never to have enough. Some men affirm that the deer's liver is the greatest delicacy, and indeed It is, when properly cooked with salt pork; and if there is any left over,
47
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Around the Camp Fire
which is quite unlikely, just try making liver hash with the chopped liver, cold boiled potatoes chopped fine, and a suspicion of onion. Cook the whole to- gether in salt pork or bacon fat.
If you are in camp during sweet corn time, after you have become tired of boiled corn and roasted ears, try baked corn and beans in your Saturday night meal. Prepare a pot of Boston baked beans in the usual way. About half an hour before serving time, have plenty of the corn cut from the cob, and, removing the pork, stir the cut corn well into the beans and cook half an hour longer. This is delicious — and will bear repetition.
BAKED CORN AND BEANS
48
CHAPTER
rrrr
"A man hatt often more trouble to get food than to digest it. "
Who has said that " the carving knife is mightier than the sword"? But in spite of that fact, how few there are in proportion to the number of diners out who know how to wield it!
" There is no sight more delight- ful," says May Irwin, " than to see a man cai've at table. The dexterous grace with which the expert carver slices off a bit of breast from a bird or disjoints a fowl makes me hold my breath in admiration and awe."
Truly, a carver, like a poet, is born, not made ; yet any man with practice may acquire this somewhat difficult art, and it is an accomplishment that every man should enjoy, for he never knows where or when he may be
49
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Carving and Game
called upon to do the honors. It is quite the fashion now for women to learn carving, and at the cooking schools there is special instruction given ladies in the art. But for men, who are deprived of such instruction, the best school is experience, which coupled with an oc- casional judicious tip to a head waiter, v/ho is supposed to be a past grand master of carving, should make him sufficiently dexterous in a short time to negotiate a joint without sending it into the lap of his vis-a-vis or splashing the festive board with brown gravy.
First, the carver should learn to gauge his cuts to a nicety. He must measure satisfactorily the appetites of those whom he serves, and not judge them by his own. This judgment, coupled with a sharp knife and trusty steel and a measure of confidence in his ability to wield both, is all that is necessar}^
FISH, is difficult to serve nicely. In carving a
IF BOILED cod, halibut, lake trout, or other large fish that are served whole, it is best to make one cut from the head to the tail down to the bone, and then cut slices across from this line to the sides. As codfish is apt to break into flakes, care should be taken in serving from the fish knife not to spill the flakes on their way to the plate. In carving salmon, draw the fish knife across the center of the fish down to the bone from head to tail. Then cut slices from the center, and add to each a small slice of the thin part which is not quite so
50
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Carving and Game
pronounced in flavor. A sole of ordinary size may be divided, like Gaul, into three parts. A small sole is cut across in half, and a very large sole, like those served au gratiuj is generally cut in slices like a salmon, and the slices lifted on each side, thus avoiding the small bones that edge each side of the fish. GROUSE Thin slices should be first cut off the breast, AND after vi^hich the wings and legs are re-
PHEASANT j^Q^gj^ In cutting off a wing the carver should also try to get a strip of the breast (though a thin one) to attach to it.
DUCK A great deal depends, in carving a duck,
upon its size and fatness. A large, fat duck, with plenty of meat on the breast, is carved like a goose. Thin slices are cut off its breast, and then the duck is turned endways toward the carver, the wings nearest and the legs farthest from him. Remove the wings, leaving a thin strip of breast attached to each. This requires considerable dexterity. Next remove the legs and afterward the neck bone. The whole breast-bone is now separated from the rest by cutting through the sides, when the backbone can easily be divided in two by pressing dow^nwards. A small quantity of the stuf- fing should be served with each portion. FOWL A wag who was a guest at a dinner where
the host, an ostentatious man, allowed the fowl to get cold while expatiating upon the beauty of the gildings of frame and sconce in his newly decorated dining-room,
51
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Carving and Game
said Impatiently, " Never mind your gilding — give us a taste of your carving! " Boiled and roasted fowls are carved alike. Care should be taken to cut oil plenty of the white meat of the breast with the wings, the knife being slowly drawn and downward pressure avoided, as the boiled white flesh is apt to crumble. The front end of the fowl should be toward the carver. Insert the fork In the leg with the knife underneath In re- moving the leg and thigh, and then raise the leg away from the remainder of the bird. The leg adheres only by a piece of skin, so this Is simple. The thigh bone will now leave the socket, and with very little assistance from the knife the leg will be set free. The neckbone is next removed, and then the breast separated from the carcass by cutting the thin rib bones through on either side. The liver, wing, and breast are esteemed the choicest parts in America, and everyone who has trav- eled In Europe Is familiar with the extra charge for a portion of fowl with which a wing is served.
QUAIL, are best carved by being cut In half right PAR- through the breast and back, cutting down
TRIDGE close to the breast-bone. Each half Is suf-
AND r ' 11
PIGEONS "Cient, with the accompanymg toast, cress, and jelly, for a portion.
TURKEY In carving these, endeavor to obtain as AND many slices as possible from the breast.
GOOSE This also obtains in carving a domestic duck. Cut off the meat close to the breast bone down
52
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Carving and Game
to the wing bone. When the thigh is eaten hot, the drumstick can be separated from the thigh and the meat on the thigh cut off. But when not wanted, it is better removed whole.
SIRLOIN " Ply me, try me, prove ere you deny me! " OF BEEF sang Apollo. If a sirloin is properly roasted there may be a portion served to the liking of each guest from the crisp brown top of the roast to the blood-rare, juicy center for the epicure. A sirloin may be divided in tw^o parts, the under-cut of fillet and the top or rump. It is usual to carve the under-cut first and not to begin on the upper part until the other cut is finished, for the reason that the joint presents a far better appearance when sent to the table cold. Often the under-cut is sufficient to dine a small com- pany— say four or five; then the remainder is served cold, and, nicely garnished, makes a handsome luncheon dish. The under-cut is carved in rather thick slices down to the bone. The top or upper-cut is carved in thin slices, and care should be taken to keep it straight and not to cut out the tender part in the middle.
A LEG OF is best carved by cutting slices parallel with MUTTON the bone, which gives it the appearance of a haunch, and is practically the same thing.
SADDLE should be carved in thin slices on either OF side of the center bone. Have the relays
MUTTON Q^ j^Q^ gravy served separately, as this joint cools quickly. Plates should be very hot.
53
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Carving and Game
FORE- Separate the shoulder from the other part
QUARTER by cutting round its outer edge. Place the OF LAMB shoulder on another dish and separate the ribs from the brisket. The shoulder is rarely cut when hot, as most people prefer the other portions.
HAM «'Ob all de meat dat's fit ter eat, f'm
turkey down to ham," ham is the most difficult to carve nicely. It should be cut in slices as thin as a wafer and from the extreme end of the knuckle, thus grad- ually cutting into the meat and leaving the knuckle bone bare.
TONGUE Cut the tongue in half, and then cut thin slices off each half. A little fat should be cut from the root of the tongue and served with each slice of lean. A word as to the etiquette of carving will not be amiss — and this is it : Do not talk to the carver. For he is like the motorman and should not have his attention distracted from the very important business in hand.
"RABBITS, except in soup stock," says Sir John Bailey, " ought never to appear on a gentleman's table. But if it must be served, let it be whole, and treat it as Apollo did Midas — let its ears be apparent." Theo- dore Hook was a famous carver, and when with his intimates he frequented some country inn outside Lon- don he was in the habit of acting as his own caterer and selecting from the poulterers and butchers what- ever he desired. The '' Eel Pie House," Twickenham, the '' Green Man," Blackheath, and the " Anglers " on
54
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Carving and Game
the Thames, with the famous " Star and Garter," Kew Bridge, were some of his frequent haunts, and the free- dom of the kitchen was always his.
A late royal duke whose talents and knowledge were world-famous once exclaimed aloud at the large house party of a fellow-nobleman in Worcestershire, " Take this away! it's a very bad help." This must have been mortifying to the carver, but he doubtless deserved it, for some carvers destroy everything that falls under their careless, clumsy hands; they never think of " diving for green fat, sounding for cod sound, divid- ing the fin and liver in equal portions, and they will serve woodcock and snipe without trail, turkey without stuffing, and plover without toast."
Every bachelor epicure knows that steel Is detrimen- tal to the delicate flavor of fish, and should insist upon being given a silver fish knife for serving it.
55
CHAPTER VII
** ^A^itli such cooking, a monkey miglit eat his own father."
ESCA- Don't ask me what that BECHE means — I won't tell. But try It for your fish course some time, when the mercury goes up Into the eighties, and If a better name occurs to you, you're at liberty to use It. Parboil two pounds of halibut, schrod, or any firm white fish. Cut In fillets and place In a salad bowl. Mix In a small bowl a tablespoonful of vinegar, three of olive oil, salt, cayenne, bits of orange peel cut thin as thin can be, a teaspoonful of onion juice, a sliced green pepper, and, if you have them handy, a bay leaf and a sprig of thyme to give an added bouquet. Mix well, pour over the fillets, garnish with sliced orange, and pop into the Ice box to await the serving.
57 '
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
FISH These two particular sauces were invented
SAUCES especially for bachelors, and they're quite new. For chile sauce, one must mash to a paste a clove of garlic, finely minced, and two red peppers which have been softened in boiling water and rubbed through a sieve. Add a bit of the water, salt, and one table- spoonful of vinegar. In the blazer have sizzling hot a cupful of olive oil and stir the pepper pulp into this. Whatever fish you elect to have, cut in fillets and cook, closely covered, in this sauce. For the other, which we will call after Pittsburg Phil, take a cupful each of tomatoes, onions, and green peppers from which the seeds have been removed. Scald and skin the toma- toes, and skin the peppers by blistering on a hot stove. Chop all together, adding salt and enough olive oil to moisten. This is not to be despised as an accompani- ment to cold beef, although it is perhaps at its best with fish. Try it on Barracuda, Spanish mackerel, Ouananiche, or even the plebeian cod, and report the result in your Sunday newspaper's Woman's Page.
SARDINES would make a man bow down before a A L'INDI- Hindu god. This is how M. Mooker- ENNE jgg q£ Calcutta serves them to his Eng-
lish friends. Into the chafer put a pat of but- ter and stir in the yolks of four beaten eggs, salt and cayenne to taste, and a teaspoonful of chutney. When it forms a smooth paste, mash with it some trimmed sardines from which the oil has been
58
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
wiped, dip in eggs and bread crumbs, and after saute- ing in hot butter, dish up on thin strips of toast. TURTLE Should a man be so fortunate as to have STEAK sent up from Maryland with his birds a small terrapin, then shall he call himself blessed and ask in three or four of his intimes for a quiet game. No matter what the losses, this turtle steak will amply repay the loser and make the smile of the winner ex- pand like Sunny Jim's. After melting two spoonfuls of butter in his blazer, the host, who meanwhile has the champagne cooling and the plates heating, will stir into the chafing dish a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, two tablespoonfuls of currant jelly, a gill of port, a dash of cayenne — why do they alw^ays say ''dash"? — and some salt. In this simmer the steak until tender, and, as a crowning touch, stir in the juice of half a lime. Piping hot should be the plates, the inevitable toast, and the steak. With the cham- pagne of the right coolness and the steak of the pre- scribed hotness, even Sam Bernard wouldn't know, I'll wager, just when one should cry "Sufficiency!"
CANNED Who w^ould ever dream that the plebeian SALMON canned salmon could be transformed into a morsel of such surpassing richness that it was im- mortalized by no less a person than Thackeray him- self? Yes, canned or "tinned" salmon was in style as long ago as that, my friends. And this is how the jo- vial litterateur did it for himself and his gifted friends:
59
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
A gill of olive oil should be popped Into the blazer with a tablespoon of chopped onion, a minced clove of gar- lic, two cloves, six peppercorns, and, when browned, a can of canned salmon in Its liquid. Now add salt, bay leaf, a few slices of lemon, a pinch of curry pow- der, a pint of tomato pulp, a gill of Nierstelner, and water enough to cover the fish. Simmer twenty min- utes, then pour into a deep dish that has been lined with toast, and call it '' Bouillabaisse"
CRABS Melt in the hot water pan a large spoonful A LA of butter and cook In it for five minutes a
CREOLE small onion and a small sweet Spanish pep- per, minced fine. Stir while frying and add half a pint of strained tomato juice, a gill of chicken broth or canned chicken bouillon, some celery salt, and four soft shelled crabs nicely cleaned and cut in half. Sim- mer seven minutes — no longer — and serve on delicately browned toast.
BOSTON Did they originate at the Somerset Club CLAMS or the Puritan? It's immaterial which, but this Is how they're done: Cut in dice three or four slices of fat salt pork and fry crisp in the chafer. Add some soft clams, freed from the tough part, salt and pepper to taste, and saute them in the pork fat, serving on slices of hot Boston brown bread.
FINNAN as served at the Hotel Essex In Boston owes HADDIE its reputation to its creator, Rudolf Ziitter. The skin is removed from the finnan haddie and the
60
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
bones removed, after which it is parboiled in salt water. It is then cut in pieces about an inch square. Equal quantities of leeks, celery, and green peppers finely chopped are sauted in butter till tender, then the pieces of fish and two sliced boiled potatoes are added and the whole covered with cream. Salt and white pepper are used for seasoning, and it all boils together. If a little cream sauce is at hand, it may be thickened with that. If not, the beaten yolk of an egg stirred in improves it and thickens it slightly. Finish with small dots of butter and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
HERRING Speaking of fish, did you ever eat a savory OMELETTE herring omelette? It's a specialty of the Manhattan Club of New York. Skin and bone one fat smoked bloater herring and cut in thin pieces. Place in a saucepan with a tablespoonful of butter, paprika, chives, and parsley. Stew slowly and add a quarter-cup thick cream and four egg yolks; then take of¥ the stove. Beat the four egg whites stiff and mix all together, then shuffle and fold as an omelette in a buttered pan, place in a hot oven three minutes, and then serve.
A UNION would not go badly on a yachting trip or GRILL for a hot bite after the theater. It is sim-
plicity itself, and this is how it is done: Clean a pint of oysters and drain off all the liquor possible. Put the oysters in the chafing dish, and as the liquo-r flows from them remove with a spoon and so continue until
6i
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
the oysters are very plump. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve on whatever biscuit you fancy. And don't forget to add two tablespoonfuls of melted butter when seasoning them.
THORN- The Thorndike Hotel in Boston has an DIKE oyster recipe invented by its chef which is
OYSTERS really a delicacy. Two tablespoonfuls of butter are melted in the chafer, and a pint of oysters, drained of the liquor, is added to cook until plump to bursting point. Then over them is poured a quar- ter-cup of thin cream and two egg yolks are stirred in to thicken it. With salt, black and cayenne pepper, and a slight grating of nutmeg, the trick is done, and zephyrettes on hot plates are brought on for the serving.
CLAMS Who pleads guilty to Clams a la Rial to? A LA William Faversham or Francis Wilson?
■^^^^^^^ Upon my word, I can't remember, but don't let either say he hasn't received proper credit, and here goes: Chop fine three dozen little neck clams. Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish, add the clams with their juice and season them with a teaspoon of minced chives, tw^o teaspoons of chopped parsley, and a little pepper. After boiling about five minutes add one tablespoon of walnut catsup and then stir in soft bread crumbs to absorb the liquor, add another table- spoon of butter, and serve very hot. This is w^ar- ranted to make any leading lady sweet tempered, even
62
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
after failing to find her name in foot-high letters on the billboards.
LOBSTERS It was a benedict from New Orleans who WITH first told me about lobster with mushrooms.
MUSH- pj ^ ^ hopeless bachelor when a girl ROOMS 1 . • . 1 1 • . 1 . r 1 .
who mitiated him mto the mysteries of this
luscious bonne bouchee promised to forsake spinsterhood for him — and all because she could cook. So if you are anxious to be won, just give this recipe to the only girl, and see what follow^s. A quart of finely-cut lob- ster meat is the first requisite. To follow^ have a cup of sweet cream, a sweet green pepper with seeds re- moved and the pulp finely minced, a teaspoon of minced onion, a ripe tomato peeled, quartered, and sliced, and a pint of large, fresh mushrooms peeled and cut up small. Put in the chafing dish a tablespoonful of butter and add the pepper and onion and cook two or three minutes over a brisk flame. Add tomato and mush- rooms and toss about until the mushrooms are dark and tender. Then turn in the cream, and when hot add the lobster. Season to taste w^ith salt, and when as hot as can be serve up on toast. The same lady bakes mushrooms, the large campestris, gills up, in a baking dish. The up-turned cups are filled with butter and a slight sprinkling of salt and pepper is added before the baking dish is tightly covered. After baking about ten minutes there should be plenty of juice to form the finest possible sauce for the mushrooms.
63
ABACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
SHRIMPS finishes a trio of recipes from the Bayou. A LA Melt one-half tablespoon of butter with the
CREOLE same quantity of lard In a stewpan, then add a tablespoon of brown flour and stir until smooth. A dozen large shrimps boiled and shelled and a large chopped onion are fried for five minutes, after which a cup of chopped tomatoes, thyme, and parsley to taste are added and the whole Is simmered half an hour. Then come three chopped green peppers, salt and cay- enne, and a half-hour more of cooking. The Orlean serves the dainty with plenty of nicely cooked rice, and It Is a dish fit for the King of the Carnival.
AN A young pathologist, whose name Is equally
OYSTER well known In Boston and Berlin, Is quite SPECLAiTV^ devoted to his chafing dish as he is to his laboratory, and lie has generally something quite recherche to offer his guests when they drop Into his rooms for an evening. One of his oyster specialties Is enjoying fame in his own circle at present — and small wonder. For it is a toothsome morsel for a little sup- per, if ever there was one. How is it done? Listen: Butter the size of two eggs Is melted In a dish and into this is poured a quart of oysters and their liquor. By way of seasoning he combines paprika, salt, pepper, and a dash of Tabasco. This Is stirred well into the mix- ture and the flame left high under the chafer. About three tablespoonfuls of thinly sliced celery Is then added, and when it Is tender and the oysters are bub- bling hotly, two tablespoonfuls of sherry and the juice
64
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
of half a lemon are added. Cook then about ten min- utes, and if it is to be especially appetizing, half a pint of rich coffee cream is stirred in. If this be heated first it will be better, as the sherry and hot oysters are apt to curdle the cold cream. Serve on hot toast or slices of brown bread and drink with it just what you seem to crave at the moment — supposing, of course, that a cocktail has preceded. And, by the w^ay, Rhine wine and seltzer doesn't go half badly with this particular dish, although of course if you prefer beer I've nothing to say.
SHAD When the shad is smiling in the market
ROE place, the festive bachelor bethinks himself
of the succulent roe. For four people a pair of shad roe — if they be large — ^will be sufficient. Scald them in the hot water pan with a pint of hot w^ater, a gill of vine- gar, a bit of mace, and some lemon peel, not forgetting three peppercorns for the final touch of mystery. Boil fifteen minutes, then spread with butter blended with chopped parsley and the juice of a lemon.
" The gentleman who dines the latest Is in our street esteemed the greatest; But surely greater than them all, Is he who never dines at all."
OYSTER a la Sir John Bayley: "Bruise one small TOAST anchovy fine and take two dozen oysters and cast off their beards. Chop the oysters fine w^ith a silver knife and put with the anchovy in the chafing dish. Mix both together with sufficient cream to give
65
ABACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Snacks of Sea Food
It a pleasing consistency. Heat well, stirring all the time. Have ready some buttered toast, and serve the hot oysters on these rounds. Eat in solemn silence, and wash down with brown sherry."
Sir John, by the way, stipulates always that the din- ner hour be adhered to with military exactness. It is related of Cambaceres that Napoleon kept his dinner waiting half an hour, and in despair he sent for his cook and in true military phraseology exclaimed, '* Henri ! Save the entremets! The entrees are anni- hilated ! " The late Dr. Kitchener, who prided him- self upon his punctuality, had written over his side- board the motto, " Come at seven, go at eleven." Theodore Hook, who always liked the w^e sma' hours best, added the word " it " to the above, and great was the doctor's surprise when he found that by alteration the notice advised his guests to " go it at eleven." To this might be added the advice of Baillie Nicol Jarvie: " Don't accept a man's hospitality and abuse the scoun- drel behind his back."
CHAPTER VIII
rrrr
*' Clieese is but a peevist elf^ It digests all except itself,"
Cheese is one of the most valuable of foods, and contains, in one pound, as much nutriment as is contained in two pounds of beef. In its raw state it is rather difficult of digestion to some, but this it somewhat overcome by cooking. A small amount of bi- carbonate of soda should always be added to cooked cheese. In the face of this, it seems strange that cheese should be eaten to aid digestion, but a small portion of very rich cheese eaten after a hearty dinner aids that function wonderfully.
The various popular brands of cheese take their names from the places where they are made. Many foreign cheeses are now so well imi- tated in this country as to render im-
67
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
portation unnecessary. For many years the Neufchatel cheese has been made here, and Is really quite as good as the original French cheese, while there Is made In Connecticut alone a very large quantity of so-called " Camembert cheese " which supplies the leading mar- kets of the large cities of America.
The favorite skim-milk cheeses are Edam, Gruyere, and Parmesan. Holland is the home of the Edam, which is generally served here in Its hard or ripened condition. But in Holland the usual breakfast served the traveler includes, besides the delicious cocoa or coffee, rolls, thick slices of plum bread, and great pieces of fresh Edam cheese, which is a dark golden color, and melts in one's mouth. The Gruyere is Swiss and the Parmesan an Italian cheese, the latter princi- pally used for grating over macaroni and served In this form with soups and on dishes au gratin.
The favorite milk cheeses are the Gloucester, Che- shire, Cheddar, and Gorgonzola — the first three Eng- lish and the latter Italian. The milk and cream cheeses include Stilton and Double Gloucester from England, the favorite Young America and New York Dairy of *' the States," and the Canadian Cream Cheese from the Eastern Townships of Canada. Cream cheese includes Brie, Neufchatel, and Camem- bert, which are the popular varieties served In America. Anyone who has lived in Paris, however, has doubtless acquired a taste for the Port de Salut, the Pont I'Eveque, both similar to Brie, but with a more pun- gent flavor, and the luscious little Coeur Crime cheeses
68
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
which, with the Fromage d'Isigny and the Gervais Creme, are served w^ith Bar le Due currants or goose- berries, or with various comfitures and compotes of fruit.
The Schweitzer Kase, or Swiss Cheese, is another favorite, but the love of Limburger is generally con- fined to Teutons, most Americans disliking the odor cordially. Perhaps the most popular cheese to-day is the Roquefort, which is ripened in dark caves in France and allowed to mold until ripe. There is a fashion of loading a Roquefort cheese with brandy, which not only preserves it, but gives it an incomparable flavor. The various potted cheeses, like MacLaren's and the Cana- dian Club, are put up in jars with brandy and retain their delicacy of flavor indefinitely if kept in a cool place.
Pineapple cheese is similar to Edam and seldom pre- ferred, while Sap Sago is a well-known competitor. The gourd-shaped Italian cheeses are so strong that few care for them, although when grated over a dish of spaghetti they are not to be despised. The cheese from Switzerland made from goat's milk and the Nor- wegian cheese of reindeer milk seldom find their way to this country, where the " full cream country cheese " made by the farmers' wives is far-famed.
Who has not eaten the luscious " Cottage Cheese,'* ** Dutch Cheese," or " Schmier Kase," made from sour milk and worked smooth w^ith sweet cream? This is sold in some dairies in the cities, nicely wrapped in five-cent packages, and is sometimes improved by the addition of chopped sage, parsley, or chives.
69
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
The correct cheese to order after a dinner depends entirely upon the preceding courses and the taste of the dIners-out. While English people often take a bit of Gorgonzola or ripe Stilton, Americans gener- ally order Roquefort, Camembert, or Brie, and Ameri- can cheese Is generally relegated to the noon luncheon as an accompaniment to the Inevitable American tri- angle of pie. A French dinner usually terminates with a bit of cream cheese and a confiture, unless a bit of Roquefort is taken with the cognac and coffee.
CHEESE At some dinners, a canape^ In w^hlch cheese CANAPE forms a part. Is frequently served, the Ca- nape Lorenzo of cheese and crab meat, which originated at Delmonlco's, being world-famed. An ordinary cheese canape Is made by browning a circular piece of bread In butter and spreading with French mustard, then with a layer of grated cheese seasoned with salt and cayenne. This Is set In a hot oven and baked until the cheese is melted.
CHEESE run the gamut from Schweitzer Kase in SAND- rye bread with German mustard down to
\VICHES ^ dainty affair served at afternoon teas or receptions, which is made of a slice of brown bread and a slice of white bread, between which Is a filling made from minced green peppers, English walnuts, and olives, blended with Neufchatel cheese and softened with mayonnaise. Grated Gruyere cheese mixed with chopped walnut meats seasoned with cayenne is a
70
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
favorite English sandwich, while fresh whole wheat bread with slices of American cream cheese and English mustard is " not to be sneezed at."
" Cheese and bread make the cheek red." — German.
Cheese, like tobacco, is at last being dignified with literature of its own. The daily papers are cartooning the " Cheshire Cheese," that delightful old inn in the *' Dreams of a Welsh Rabbit," and, if you please, Wine Office Court off Fleet Street in London, where Dr. Johnson ate toasted cheese and pudding and drank his musty ale, has published an interesting history of this, the most perfect old tavern existing in London, its title being '' The Book of the Cheese." Goldsmith, who lived nearby, used to sit there with Dr. Johnson, and there are many souvenirs shown of the two famous litterateurs.
And the cheese? Was there ever anything to com- pare with the toasted cheese one has there? It's an idealized sort of rabbit, served up in little square tins on slices of toast and brought in sizzling and set before one on the rough board bench with a mug of musty or a pitcher of ale and porter mixed and frothing over deliciously. The secret of the toasted cheese is, like that of the pudding, jealously guarded, and it is said that but one man in London ever know^s at one time just how the trick is done. But it's a morsel that is well worth crossing the Atlantic for, provided one isn't satisfied with his own chafing dish cheese stunts.
71
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
Why is not cheese used more, I wonder? It is nutritious, and, eaten properly, aids in digesting a dinner. If one always drinks plenty of good old ale or beer with his rabbit and includes in its ingredients a pinch of soda there's no reason, unless there's a chronic indigestion to contend with, why a rabbit need not digest as easily as a new-laid egg.
In foreign countries cheese is as staple an article of diet as bread. One reads of the husky English laborer with his pail of beer and mid-day tiffin of bread and cheese. The German considers no luncheon complete without his Schweitzer Kase or Schmier Kase, while the Swiss goat-milk cheese, the Norw-eglan reindeer- milk cheese, the Italian cheese, and the hundred and one variety of French cheeses are equally famous staple articles of diet.
AN APPE- Take equal parts of MacLaren's Roque- TIZER fort cheese and sweet dairy butter and melt
in the hot water pan, using a very low flame. When of cream-like consistency add cayenne and Worcester- shire sauce to taste, stirring until it foams. Crisp crackers and the beer that made Milwaukee famous complete a trio of famous palate-ticklers. FROMAGE -^ Gruyere cheese appetizer is a favorite A LA with the students of Geneva and Lausanne.
FLORIAN Florian Robert brought the recipe into his ROBERT coterie at the Sorbonne, and in the little apartment on the Boul' Miche' a few congenial souls occasionally gather of an evening and wash down with
72
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat 071 Cheese
"Bock'' this dainty: Melt in a copper saucepan over the charcoal brazier — a chafing-dish will be used over here — a quarter-pound of grated Gruyere cheese w^Ith a teaspoonful of butter, some chopped onion and parsley, a cup of chicken broth — or half a can of chicken soup strained — salt, pepper, and a suspicion of nutmeg. When well blended, add four well-beaten eggs, and after stirring until It looks just good enough to eat, serve on triangles of toasted bread. FONDUE A delicate fondue au fromage may be AU quickly made — of the sort that one serves
FROMAGE ^.j^i^ ginger ale or ApoUInarls lemonade. Melt with a piece of butter the size of two chestnuts (I'm tired of saying " a walnut ") In the blazer, a half- pound of broken or grated cheese, and stir until melted. Add a cupful of thin cream, a bit of salt, and a sprink- ling of pepper. Serve on any biscuit or toast you fancy — but try toast made from Boston brown bread If you want a distinct novelty to connect two continents. QUEEN Would not a recipe from Victoria the VIC- Good be acceptable to the loyal John
TORIA'S Bull? Then let It be toasted cheese from TOASTED ^j^g Royal Lodge at Windsor, which is done In this fashion: Grate half a pound of cheese very fine, and add three tablespoonfuls of ale and a small glass of champagne. Mix well in a silver dish over the hot water pan for ten minutes and serve on toast. It's almost as good — not quite — as that served at " Ye Cheshire Cheese."
73
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
ONION I have no time to waste in the idle discus- ^^^^^'^ sion of whether it's Rarebit or Rabbit. If you must know, consult the Encyclopaedia Brittanica while two large Spanish onions are boiling in the hot w^ater pan. When they are soft, your mind will be at rest, and you will chop the onions and put them in the blazer together with a small piece of butter, milk, salt, cayenne, as much Tabasco as you like, a teaspoon- ful of made mustard, and a half-cupful of grated cheese. It should be very " short," and, with a steinful of Wurtzburger, it will be so delectable that when it's gone you'll doubtless bless me for telling you how to do it — then make another.
FRIED These odorous but w^holesome vegetables
ONIONS take on a new savor w^hen friend in this fash- WITH ion : Fry a quarter-pound or salt pork until
quite brown, then remove from the pan. Slice a quart of onions into the fat, adding a little salt and pepper and half a cupful of water. Cover the pan and cook the onions until a light brown, then cut into dice three-quarters of a pound of good cheese and add to the onions about five minutes before serving. Allow them to simmer slowly, and do not break up the cheese in fr>^ing. This comes from Pierre Lavigne, a promi- nent young artist in Paris, who says he learned it of peasants in the valley of the Loire. OYSTER A deviation from the time-worn rabbit is RABBIT an Oyster Rabbit a la Frank Harris, which cannot fail to tickle some palates. Clean and remove
74
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
the hard muscles from half a pint of oysters and let them heat until their edges curl in a chafer with some of their own liquor, finally removing to a hot bowl. Then put in the blazer one tablespoonful butter, one- half pound cheese broken in small bits, one saltspoon each of salt and mustard, and a few grains of cayenne, with a suspicion of bicarbonate of soda, if desired. While the cheese is melting, beat two eggs slightly, adding them to the oyster liquor and pouring gradually in the melted cheese. Add the oysters, cook a moment, and serve up on hot toast or crackers.
A "BED- Herman Oelrichs occasionally created a SPREAD '' bonne bouchee'" and this, which he called FORTWO"]^jg "bedspread for two," is another oyster concoction that is worthy of the name. Stir six eggs together in a soup plate, and in another plate cut up a dozen medium Blue Points moderately fine. Rub the bottom of the blazer with anchovy paste, put in a good-sized piece of butter, and proceed to do the eggs into a creamy scramble. Just as they are turning, throw in the oysters and stir until well blended and cooked through, then serve on toast lightly spread with some of the anchovy paste.
SARDINE Will you brave insomnia and indigestion? RABBIT Then listen: Have some sardines broiled and placed on squares of buttered toast, then make in the chafer a thin rabbit, using milk In lieu of ale, and a dash of Tabasco. Stir in one direction, adding
75
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Chat on Cheese
cream, and when the consistency of " cold molasses " pour over the broiled sardines.
CHILELY A gay bachelor from 'Frisco who is too modest to give his name taught me this trick with cheese — New York Dairy. Break in pieces a quarter- pound of it and rub to a paste with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of made mustard, tw^o tablespoon- fuls of thick cream, a dash of Tabasco, and some cay- enne. Stir until nearly melted in the hot w^ater pan, and then stir in quickly this sauce which has been cook- ing in another chafer: Scald and skin three tomatoes of medium size; add one small white onion and one bell pepper with seeds removed and chopped fine, and cook ten minutes over a hot fire. Pour off super- fluous tomato juice before adding to the cheese. Mix thoroughly, and if " Bock is in season," then you'll need no passport to the Land of Delight.
76
^^^
CHAPTER IX
urr
" One Devil Drives out Anotker "
Deviling is a particular form of cookery that was doubtless devised by some inventive bachelor; at all events, " devils " are beloved by epi- cures the world over. What New Yorker does not remember with joy the famous " devils " procurable only in their glory at "Jack's"? There is a subtlety in Jack's concoctions that makes the chefs at Sherry's, Delmon- ico's. Rector's, and Martin's throw up their hands in the face of his in- comparable mixture. The " devils " of more than one London club, but particularly the Junior Carlton and the Army and Navy, are famed the world over, while even the Somerset Club in Boston by no means lags behind in the preparation of deviled kidneys.
77
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Devils and Grills
The distinction between deviling and grilling? Well, grills need not be deviled, but devils MUST be grilled. The proper dressing of a good devil is one of its chief requisites. It must be pungently spiced, hot to the taste, cooked in a sizzling fry-pan, and served smoking hot. Kidneys and chops are especially well adapted to deviling, but anything in the tinned meat line, and sausages also, are improved by the dressing, while rare slices of roast beef and mutton and all sorts of game may be made tempting as well.
JACK'S is jealously guarded, but Walter Mac- RECIPE Queen of the famous " Broiler Club " gives one that is so like It as to be its twin brother. (Are sauces masculine? This one should be, at any rate.) Stir in the chafing dish enough olive oil to flood the bottom, a spoonful of mustard, half a teaspoonful of paprika, a little salt and some black pepper. When thoroughly blended, pop in the kidneys or whatever is to be deviled, and if an added zest is required, throw in a few olives and heat thoroughly. A bit of toast or a crusty end off a French loaf and a glass of musty ale add just the proper touch to this Satanic morsel.
INDIAN Admiral Ross of the English navy handed DEVIL down to posterity a recipe for " Indian
MIXTURE £)g^ji Mixture " that is not to be ignored. This Is it:
Four tablespoonfuls of cold gravy, one of chutney paste, one of ketchup, one of vinegar, two teaspoon-
78
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Devils and Grills
fuls of made mustard, two of salt and two of butter. Mix these all thoroughly In a soup plate, then heat in the chafer.
DEVILED is a favorite dish in the menage of a New DUCK York bachelor, who always makes it the
piece de resistance of his meal. The skin having been removed from a cold roast duck and the bird cut in pieces of a convenient size, he proceeds as follows: The livers are mashed with a spoonful of dry mustard, a teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice and a dash of cayenne, to a smooth paste in the blazer, in which two tablespoonfuls of butter have been melt- ing. The same amount of water is added, and finally, a gill of good old Madeira. When this Is smoking hot, the pieces of duck are added and left to simmer until smoking hot, too.
"A says an English bachelor whose suppers at
DEVILED his Jermyn Street chambers are famous KIDNEY, feasts, *' is the most delicious morsel ever enjoyed by an epicure." Sheep's kidneys of course are used, and split in half with the skin and white mem- brane removed. Put two ounces of butter in a sauce- pan, and when hot throw in the kidneys, dust with salt and pepper and cook quickly. Throw over them a tablespoonful of onion juice, tablespoonful of Wor- cestershire sauce and four tablespoonfuls of sherry. Have your plates hot and the ale tankards brimming. With a bit of bread and some ripe old Stilton to fol- low, these make a supper fit for a saint or sinner.
79
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Devils and Grills
DEVILED requires a different treatment. For this, a LOBSTER dash of curry powder is stirred into a paste with some dry mustard, salt, black pepper and olive oil. Spread over the pieces of lobster, then lay them in a dish and in an ounce of melted butter; cook ten minutes if fresh — and no epicure ever wants canned lobster.
A FASHION left-over slices of cold meat that prevails OF in a bachelor household not far from
DEVILING Washington Square in New York, is this: The slices are carefully trimmed, then, if cut thick, are scored with a knife. French mustard, pepper, salt, and cayenne are mixed with soft butter to make a paste, then rubbed in the scored slices and grilled.
GRILLED are also popular at this studio, and are done SARDINES by first draining the sardines from oil and removing the skins by rubbing them off. A tablespoon- ful of butter is heated in the chafing dish, and the sardines are laid in this and heated thoroughly before serving on toast or crackers. Toasted Uneeda biscuit make a delightful accompaniment to these. If deviled sardines are wanted, mash the sardines with a silver fork and after sauteing in melted butter or a little of the oil, a generous quantity of tomato ketchup is added, with a dash of tabasco, if wanted very hot, and the other usual seasoning of salt, pepper, etc. A few drops of lemon juice furnish the final touch, as the mixture is served piping hot on toasted crackers.
80
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Devils and Grills
DEVILED makes a fine morsel for a snack or even LIVER for a sandwich filling. Take three pounds
of uncooked liver and chop together with a quarter pound of salt pork. Mix w^ll with it half a pint of bread crumbs, three tablespoonfuls of salt, a teaspoon- ful of pepper, half a teaspoonful of cayenne, and half a teaspoonful of mace and cloves. Put in a covered dish and set in a kettle of cold w^ater. Cover the kettle and place on the fire to boil two hours. When done, let the steam escape by removing the cover before setting.
DEVILED speaking warmly, are not half bad and de- EGGS serve to be better known. Put a large
spoonful of butter in the blazer and stir into it half a teaspoonful of dry mustard, tw^o tablespoonfuls of to- mato sauce, one of mushroom and one of Worcester- shire sauce. When hot, put in four hard boiled eggs, nicely quartered, salted and peppered. When heating, make some toast, spread with butter and anchovy paste, and serve the eggs on this and see if it isn't " just the mustard."
One more bachelor, who remains modestly incognito, gives herewith, his famous rule for deviled bones, to wit :
DEVILED Melt in a chafer two tablespoonfuls of but- BONES ter, add i tablespoon each of Chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce. Walnut catsup, i tablespoonful made mustard and a dash of cayenne. Take the drum- sticks, second joints, and wrings of a cooked chicken and
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Devils and Grills
cut small gashes in each piece. Sp-rinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour and cook in the ceasoned but- ter until well browned. Then add half a cup of hot stock in which the chicken was cooked, simmer five minutes and sprinkle with chopped parsley the last thing before serving.
DEVILED as cooked in a famous San Francisco restau- CRABS rant, the Techau Tavern, will appeal to most people strongly. Two tablespoonfuls of flour was braided into two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and two-thirds of a cup of white stock was added to make a sauce, into which was stirred smoothly the yolks of two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sherry, salt and pepper, one-fourth cup finely chopped mushrooms, and a cup of chopped crab meat. After cooking this three minutes, a teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley was sifted over. The mixture was then cooled and the crab shells, which had been washed and trimmed, were brushed with melted butter, filled with the crab meat and sprinkled with stale bread crumbs that had been mixed with a little melted butter. Then the shells were popped into a hot oven and baked a golden brown, after having scored the tops in three creases w^ith a case knife.
" Fresh pork and new wine kill a man before his time."
BROILED If ever you've lived in the land of " hog PORK and hominy," you won't despise a dish of
CUTLETS '* f j.ggj^ pq'j^ " ^Q gg^ before your guests.
Ever try this? Cut two pounds of fresh pork loin Into
82
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Devils and Grills
flat pieces of a portion each. In a deep dish, make a marinade of a tablespoonful or more of vinegar, a little chopped tarragon, if you're an epicure, a clove of chopped garlic and a chopped green pepper (seeds re- moved). Lay the pork in this for two hours, then broil and serve on hills of mashed potato. This was used in the South " befo' de w^ah," and I reckon you-all '11 relish it some cold night when the wind Is whistling round the corners.
CREOLE Even a bachelor may tire of a porterhouse GRILLADES occasionally and sigh for a change. Then is the time for him to test the Grillades, which they do this way in New Oleans: Cut a thick steak — tender- loin will do — into pieces about four inches square. Pour a little olive oil over each piece and let stand a few minutes, then broil over hot coals if you have them, otherwise under a fine hot gas flame just enough to sear the outside. Then place in a baking pan, sprinkle with one chopped onion, one green pepper, a table- spoonful of tomato sauce, juice of a lemon and a quarter cupful of oil. Cover closely and when brow^n, turn. Add a bit of hot water to the gravy, boil up and serve.
HOT Suppose youVe just seen a Bernard Shaw
BIRDS play; isn't that an excuse for something to
follow, a bit out of the ordinary? Well, while the champagne is nicely cooling In Its nest of shaved Ice, you will let one of your guests read Shaw's " On Going to Church " to the others while you are cutting
83
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Devils and Grills
up three or four pigeons in four pieces each and mari- nating them in a half cup of olive oil for ten minutes. Drain the oil into the blazer and while " Jeems " is laying the plates — I take it you're not an impecunious bachelor — you are chopping an onion, a clove of garlic, a green pepper and some parsley. Fry in the oil until transparent, then add the pieces of pigeon and sear them all over. This is preliminary. Next get out the nice brown French casserole and put all of this in it together with a can of tomatoes, salt, paprika and cayenne to taste, a tablespoonful of finely minced salt pork, half a cupful of sliced olives, and a can of bouil- lon or a pint of good stock. Cover tightly and sim- mer an hour; it takes time, but it's worth the waiting. Five minutes before serving, moisten a tablespoon of browned flour with a little of the gravy, stir in and when it thickens it's ready. Pass with this, grated Parmesan cheese, or, if you're sure they all care for it, sprinkle over the casserole while it's on the fire. It's as red as Shaw's w^hiskers and as fine as " Candida," while it will disappear almost as quickly as did " Mrs. Warren's Profession."
CHAPTER
X
" New disbes beget new appetites."
San Francisco was a city of restau- rants— the most wonderful restau- rants in all America. With the passing of the old city one shudders to think of the fate of Zinkand's, the Techau Tavern with its sweet-voiced Haw^aiian singers and sadly beautiful native music, Tait's mammoth un- derground palace, the Palace of Art with its wonderful collection of paintings, including a Rosa Bonheur, the new and the old " Poodle Dog " — the latter one of the show places of the Coast. Then there was the newly opened Oyster Grotto, where nothing but shellfish, including the delectable California crabs, was served. There was the Italian cafe of one Coppa on Montgomery Street that had been decorated by the fa-
85
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
mous San Franciscan artists and where writers, mu- sicians, and painters met to drink Chianti and eat spaghetti, ravioli, and frittura, and through their smoke wreaths admire the w^onderfully suggestive frescoes re- calling Gelett Burgess and his " goops," Jack London, and other celebrities whose names were lettered upon the border together with those of " Maisie," " Isabel," " Murger," " Verlaine," and other good Bohemians who know how to live — and to die. The restaurants of Chinatown passed by, there was that of one Matias in the Telegraph Hill region which was unique of all eating places in the West. For it was a Mexican res- taurant over which Matias, an Austrian, presided proudly, and served his few^ patrons in the two clean, shabby little rooms that smelled of garlic and were decorated with colored prints all the way from Spain, showing glorious bull fights in every stage from a hand- some, lone matador, calmly awaiting the onslaught of Taurus, to the gory finish with rivers of blood; and from without, coming through the open windows, all the clattering tongues of Italian and Greek, Mexican and Portuguese, denizens of the " Barbary Coast."
In the little alcove kitchen in the rear of the first room stood Matias's w^ife, a handsome, liquid-eyed Mexican woman of thirty, busily cooking the " Albun- digos," " Tamales," stirring the " Chili con carne," and rolling the " Enchiladas " for the Senor who sat in the next room drinking of the heavy, puckery Mexi- can wine.
86
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
With the second course of delicious fish, with a sauce even hotter than the soup, Matias brought the register, or guest book, which reminds one of a similar one at the " Cheshire Cheese " In London. Filled with au- tographs of famous people and drawings by artists and verse by poets and pen pictures by descriptive writers, It was a worthy tome, and interested one for more than an hour's time.
The delicious enchiladas which form si part of every Mexican dinner are simply tortillas or corn cakes rolled over like a German pancake and filled with grated cheese and sliced onion with chili sauce poured over It, and a soup(;on of garlic grated on top. It is Impossible to make tortillas as they are made In Mexico, as the corn Is not made Into meal there, but Is rubbed between stones Into a soft, pulpy mass — but I have eaten some very good ones made by a San Francisco artist in his studio on Russian Hill, made like an ordinary corn griddle cake with a little wheat flour added to prevent brittleness. He fried his onions In a little olive oil, then put a spoonful on each enchilada' and grated some cheese over, rolled It deftly, and poured over it the chili sauce, which as everyone knows is made from tomatoes and hot Mexican peppers.
The same artist gave to me some of his choicest Mexican recipes which had been given him in a burst of generosity by Madame Matias. Chili chicken is not the least delectable of these, and is made so- f ashion :
87
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
CHILI Boil a chicken until tender, let cool, and
CHICKEN chop fine. Wash and dry a cup of rice, put It into a pot which contains equal portions of melted lard and butter and fry a few moments, then add chopped tomatoes, onions, salt, and some chili powder, which can be bought at any purvej^or's. When this Is well blended and the rice has swelled, add the chicken and some of the broth In which it has been boiled. HOT I wonder if any of you have ever eaten a
TAMALE fresh hot tamale, and if you have ever essayed the canned substitutes offered occasionally on buffet cars of the vintage of Armour or the Libby can- ning factories? There's just the difference between a new-laid egg and a very bad one — ^with all due respect to the canners, who certainly do their best to turn out the real Mexican article. But a fresh tamale with the corn husks smoking hot can only be prepared properly by a Mexican woman — so I will not attempt to tell you how they are done. They can be had in their perfection In the City of Mexico, and from there on up the coast to Portland, Oregon, where they are very good Indeed.
By w^ay of a change, some day when you are having chicken or chili con carne, try with It some genuine SOPA Boil some rice rather soft, with a trifle
DE ARROZeach of chili sauce and onion juice or chopped onion, and eat It with salt, pepper and butter. It will be found a vast Improvement over the plain boiled " Carolina head."
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
CHILI RE- is the most delicious of Mexican dainties — LLENOS stuffed pepper, to be sure, but savoring little of the ordinary hotel product. To some finely- chopped boiled beef, one-half that amount, each, of chopped raisins and chopped almonds, pecans or wal- nuts, is added. The pepper pods are prepared by being scraped thin — thinner than usual — and after being stuffed with this mixture, the rellenos are fried in egg batter in smoking lard and served with or without chili sauce, as the fancy dictates. To almost any Mex- ican cookery a substantial shaking of chili powder is added before the chilis are done.
There may be many lovers of chili peppers who are unable to gratify their taste for the toothsome things. To such people, like the ranchman in his desert of cacti and sage brush, the canned sweet peppers or pimientos put up in oil are a luxury, and an inexpensive one at that, since the cans are but 15 cents in most places, and contain enough of the peppers for three or four meals. A favorite dish prepared with them in a Colorado ranch is called
POTATOES A half cup of lard is put in the frying pan O'BRIEN with some sliced onion and a strip of bacon to give the proper flavor. Then some raw pota- toes are sliced and cut across very thin, and three or four pieces of the canned peppers are also cut in tiny pieces. The whole is mixed, and when the lard is smoking hot put in the pan with salt, pepper, and a dash of chili powder, or " sweet chili pepper," as it
89
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
is labeled. Covered closely with a little hot water poured in after they have begun to get tender, they should cook for ten minutes, and then chopped with a knife and stirred. Care should be taken not to have enough lard to make them soggy. Are they good? Ask Buffalo Bill.
Not the w^orst salad in the world is made from romaine or lettuce with these same peppers sliced in strips and a French dressing poured over them. Try it and see.
These " pimiento morrones " are delectable addi- tions to almost any salad, and give a dash to a clear soup, while as sandwiches with cream cheese and graham or wheat bread, they make a delightful bonne bouchee. While in camp, add a few to the " Mulli- gan," or transform a plebeian beef stew into a stew a la Mexicaine by their use.
PIMIENTO Boil six large sweet red peppers until ten- BISQUE der. Remove skin and seeds and rub through a colander with a few spoonfuls of the water in which they were boiled. While they are boiling, put a half-cup of rice in a double boiler w^ith one and a half quarts of white stock or an equal quantity of milk. When perfectly soft, rub through a fine sieve and add the pepper pulp, a teaspoonful of onion juice, a tea- spoonful of salt, and enough Tabasco sauce to make very hot. Bring to a boil, then remove from the fire and stir in slowly one-half cupful of thick cream into which has been blended the yolks of two eggs. The
90
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
Pimientos Morrones or canned peppers may be used If fresh ones are out of season. Have ready some crou- tons— you can make them by sauteing tiny cubes of bread in olive oil until golden brown — and smack your lips over the hottest and most delicious of Mexican soups.
CODFISH Put three tablespoonfuls of Sierra Madre MEXICAN oil in the blazer and fry in it for a mo- STYLE ment a clove of chopped garlic, then add
two cupfuls of raw potatoes which have been peeled and cut in thin slices, until brown. Then add one pound of picked salt codfish — it should have been soaked for several hours previous — one can of strained toma- toes, a soupgon of marjoram, a cupful of vinegar, and the pulp of four luscious red peppers — failing the fresh, use Pimiento Morrones — ^W'hich have been soaked and rubbed through a sieve. Cook slowly for two hours.
KIDNEYS Suppose that, after this rich soup and ap- ALAMEX- petizing fish, one elects to omit the roast ICAINE ^^^ substitute an entree. Can he find a more tempting morsel than the kidney in Mexican style? At all events, let him give the dish the benefit of the doubt until it's tried. Now for it: Slice three veal kidneys, removing the skin and hard membrane. Have in the blazer two tablespoonfuls of lard, and in this saute four sliced onions — medium-sized ones — - until brown. Then add half a dozen tomatoes sliced thickly, six green peppers from which the seeds have
91
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
been removed, finely chopped, and four slices of fat bacon. Cook five minutes, then add four raw pota- toes that have been peeled and cut in thick slices, salt, and of course as much Tabasco as your guests can stand; and, lastly, the sliced kidneys and just enough water to cover. Stew until the kidneys are tender, then take out with a skimmer all the mixture. Thicken the liquid remaining with the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs rubbed to a paste with a glass of sherry and a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Add the whites of the eggs chopped, and, if you want it to be extremely local in its flavor, serve some nicely boiled rice with it.
FEU- One must not think of setting this feast
JOLES before his guests without frijoles. Their
cooking takes time — but one is well repaid. A pint of small red Mexican beans will be sufficient. Cover with two quarts of water and boil slowly. Drain them, cover again with cold water and boil, and then again, " three times and out." Then, when the water has boiled nearly away, add tv\^o large tablespoonfuls of lard, one large Spanish onion sliced, the Inevitable gar- lic clove, two Chili peppers (don't remove the seeds unless you want the temperature lowered), and five slices of bacon. Simmer slowly on the back of the stove all day, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to thicken the gravy. The beans should be partly broken when done. Half an hour before serving, pour the desired quantity into a Mexican earthenware pot,
92
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD Mexican and Creole Cooking
pour over a tablespoonful of Sierra Madre oil, and simmer until needed.
SALADEDEThis shall be the salad. With the heady
PIMIENTOS Mexican wine — be sure you do not drink
too much — and the clear strong coffee to
RONES , .,, , r 1 1 , ,
come alter, you will have a feast that should
live in your recollection many a day.
Drain the contents of a small can of red peppers. After drying in a towel, slice in rings, cut fine an equal amount of celer}^ and mix. Add one teacupful of tiny balls made from MacLaren's Imperial cheese, which should be rolled in fine cracker crumbs. Rub the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs to a. paste with the oil drained from the peppers. Rub the salad bowl with garlic and put in the salad, over which pour a good French dressing. Serve on crisp lettuce leaves, and then pat yourself on the back over the success of your dinner. What liqueur? You know!
Nowhere else in America is there a cuisine like that of New Orleans. The delicate blending of the French and Spanish schools with a sublime — it's nothing else — • touch of negro cookery gives it a particularly unctuous flavor, to be compared perhaps to the musical Gumbo French spoken by the darkies in the kitchen.
The salient points of this Creole cookery are the artistic manipulation of the onion, which gives to cook- ing the same suggestion of diablerie to be found in the coquettish smile of a pretty w^oman — nothing more tan- gible— the uses of roux, and the coffee. One who has
93
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
tasted New Orleans coffee will give it precedence over Turkish, Dutch, or the cafe au lait of La Belle France. Nowhere have housewives labored more devotedly than in New Orleans, where they have striven for gen- erations to preserve their own peculiar cooking, and in most households one will be served at every meal with at least one dish t^^pical of the Creole cuisine. Among the most famous of these plats are a few that will bear trying in the bachelor kitchen. And the first is from no less talented a lady than Dorothy Dix. Men may not altogether approve of her unerring printed judg- ment of them, but her oysters are sure to be popular with the most critical.
OYSTERS For each person to be served select half a A LA dozen large oysters in the shell and roast
DOROTHY thei^^ When done, remove the upper shell, leaving the oyster in the lower, and serve on hot oj^ster plates. For the accompanying sauce, allow for each individual one heaping teaspoon butter, which should be melted, juice of one-fourth a lemon, a drop of Tabasco, a drop of onion juice, and a pinch of salt, with a sprinkling of chopped parsley thrown in while blending. Pour sizzling hot over the oysters and serve. Some toasted saltines will accompany this, and one's favorite brand of imported beer, or perhaps a bottle of Scotch ale.
Have you eaten Creole bisque? Then of course you will want to make that for your formal dinner, for it
94
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican Creole Cooking
Is a delight, and will surely be a success If the follow- ing rule Is carefully followed.
CREOLE Half a dozen slices of okra or half a can of BISQUE canned okra should be used. If fresh, wash and slice. Add half a can of tomatoes, one sliced onion, three whole cloves, a finely-chopped green pepper, half a teaspoonful each of all- spice and salt and a tablespoonful of butter. Cover Chese Ingredients with a quart of cold water and place on the fire in an enamel kettle and bring to the boiling point. Add more w^ater, if needed, then strain and set on the back of the stove where it will not boil. In a double boiler heat one pint of milk and thicken with a small teaspoon of corn starch blended with a little cream and let come to a boil. Then pour the prepared soup into a tureen, stir in a pinch of baking soda to prevent curdling, and pour over the cream sauce, stir- ring all the while. Stir in croutons of toasted bread and serve very hot.
CREAM This is another Creole soup that will find OF PEA instant favor. Have a can of small French SOUP peas, drain and w^ash carefully. Place in
a small saucepan, adding a sprig of fresh mint, a little onion juice, a pinch of sugar, a dash of cayenne, and a generous saltspoonful of salt. Cover w^ith a pint of cold water and cook until the peas w^ll easily mash and press through a sieve. Return to the fire and grad- ually stir in a half-pint of cream and a small cup of
95
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Mexican and Creole Cooking
milk, and just before It comes to the boiling point add a tablespoonful of butter blended to a roux with a tea- spoonful of flour. Pulled bread should be served with this.
BOUILLA- IS another typical Creole dish — ^but should BAISSE be made on the Gulf, where the red snap- per Is just from the water, where the redfish is fresh, and then only can It be know^n In perfection. Those who live on the Gulf know how^ to make It — those who do not cannot obtain the Ingredients In their perfection, so I will simply say it's delicious.
96
feACfleUORT
mcy^g BOUCH€:€S
CHAPTER XI
" Every animal but one keeps to one dish." — The Spectator.
Every bachelor Is an epicure — or thinks he is. According to time and season and environment, the single man who has dabbled in cooking at all will tell you that he has " the best thing ever " — then promptly proceeds to *' show you," as though you w^ere straight from St. Louis.
Even the New England farmer has his specialties, which are apt, in summer, to include a famous dish of pepper grass, lettuce, and mustard leaves tossed together with salt, pep- per, vinegar, and sugar, as a salad course; and from *' Reuben " up to the Marquis de Dion, with his suc- culent snails or " Escargots de Bor- deaux," he runs the gamut of edibles. The cowboy on the Western plains
97
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
will show you how to do a " Mullig^an " such as w^as never seen on the Emerald Isle, and the student just home from Hefdelberg will tell you that no German restaurant ever serves sauerkraut with such delicious brown gravy as he learned to make in Germany — not even Tony Faust of St. Louis, who certainly has this continent beaten on the food of the Fatherland. The American Art Student home on his vacation will deftly prepare a Chateaubriand by grilling a thick fillet be- tween two slices of rump steak, which contribute their juices, but are thrown aside while the fillet is being delicately browned over the hot coals before popping on the hot platter.
Among some of these good things collected from bachelors — and some benedicts, too — are a few so choice that they must be mentioned as a part of the stock of the Bachelor's Cupboard. " Tell me what a man eats and FU tell you what he is " is generally a pretty good rule to follow, but have j^ou ever tried to tell what a man eats by what he is? That is the more difficult psychological problem to solve.
There's David Belasco, for instance. One would imagine that the writer of " Zaza " and " DuBarry " and all the rest would be something of an epicure, and want his dishes highly seasoned. As he affirms, there's many a dish with excellent constituents that fails for lack of skill in combining them, just as many a good play is ruined in the building, though the raw material may be excellent. An artistic proportion should be
98
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
maintained between Ingredients, he says, just as be- tween the characters of a play. His Salmi of Goose Is his favorite entree, and this is how he has It prepared :
SALMI Cut the remains of a roast goose In small
OF oblong pieces, removing the skin and gris-
GOOSE ^jg^ Take the bones and scraps and boil them down until the water is reduced to a cup of strong stock. Add to this a carrot, a young turnip, a tomato, an apple, and a stalk of celery, all cut in dice and previously parboiled together for ten minutes. Simmer in the gravy until they will go through a vege- table press, then put the meat In the stock and cook un- til tender. Thicken the stock with browned flour, put the goose on some slices of toast, and pour the gravy over and surround with the vegetable puree. This is guaranteed to please.
FINNAN Henry Miller selected for his gastronomic HADDIE contribution the plebeian finnan haddle; but, as he says. Its transformation makes it nothing short of divine, especially when accompanied by fried green peppers. The actor-manager w^ho prepares them does them in a chafer with no fuss at all. " For finnan haddle," he says, " have the fish thoroughly washed, and after standing in cold water about an hour put in boiling v/ater for five minutes, then wipe dry. Rub butter and lemon juice well Into the fiber of the fish, then broil over a clear fire for fifteen minutes; or if the clear fire is not handy, put in the blazer in some
99
792352A
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
butter, with the cover on tight. Serve either with hot butter sauce or tartare sauce — although I incline to the former.
" For the fried green peppers, split them and remove the seeds, then lay in salted ice water. When they feel crisp, wipe them off with a cloth. Melt some butter in the blazer, and when smoking hot fry the peppers in it until tender."
KARTOF- De Wolf Hopper does not hesitate to PEL admit that if he were to cook his favorite
KLOESSE (Wishes, they would no longer be favorites. " There are too many good things to eat," he says, " to pick one special dish and label it in preference to others." One of his favorite dishes was served to him in a German restaurant — " Kartoffel-Kloesse " — like American potato dumplings — only different. This is how:
Pare, boil, and mash potatoes and put aside to cool. Take three cups of potatoes, one cup of bread, two well- beaten eggs, beaten separately, pepper, salt, and the inevitable nutmeg to taste, and some chopped parsley which has been heated in butter. The bread should be prepared as for croutons, and crushed after being browned in butter in the oven. The mixture should be very stiff, then molded into small balls and dropped into salted water which boils very fast. The water should be kept boiling for fifteen minutes, when the " Kloesse " should be puffed about twice the original size and done through to the center. These will make anyone think himself transported to " Happyland."
100
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
Kyrle Bellew paraphrases the old maxim, and says, " When In France, eat what the Frenchmen eat " — and goes one better by adapting his tastes to the cook- ery of the country in which he happens to be eating at the moment. He admits, however, preferences for Hungarian Goulash, as served in Buda Pesth, and a Spanish Omelette from a Madrid cuisine.
THE may be easily prepared, and the ranchman
GOULASH may find it a delightful change from his Irish stew\ A pound of beef is cut Into little squares and stewed gently an hour, without coming to the boiling point, when the " first dose of paprika " is put in. Also, tv^'O carrots and two onions cut in dice. Then more paprika. Half an hour before the meat is done add two potatoes and celery stalks cut fine — and more paprika. When all is tender, serve on a hot platter, with the vegetables surrounding the meat.
THE is built as follows: from a tablespoonful
OMELETTE of butter and a tablespoonful or brown ESPANOL Aq^^ braided in a frying-pan or blazer, make a sauce by stirring in a cup of canned tomato, half a cup of thinly-sliced mushrooms, and half a cup of chopped ham. Season with red pepper, onion juice, and salt. After simmering about ten minutes, stir in four beaten eggs, stirring carefully as it thickens, and w^hen the eggs are set, serve on buttered toast.
SHAVIAN Arnold Daly likes to experiment with the RABBIT chafing-dish, but admits that he never dares to avail himself of poetic license, and always
lOI
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
adheres strictly to the letter of the recipe, for he doesn't dare depend upon his own judgment. That he re- serves for histrionic effects in " Candida," or " How He Lied to Her Husband." " My favorite recipe for a hot bite after the performance," he says, " is to mix three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, one tablespoon- ful of butter, and some onion finely chopped and sifted on, a sprinkle of salt and paprika, and the whole popped into the chafing-dish and stirred until the cheese is melted. Then I pour in six eggs and stir until they are cooked, blending carefully with the other mixture. This, served on toast, makes an after-theater dish which has won me the envy of some of my fairest friends and a good many nuisances among the fellows, for somehow actors never seem to have enough of any- thing."
CRAB Robert Edeson shines equally as a football
MEAT AND artist and a concoctor of chafing-dish MUSH- dainties, among which none perhaps is ROOMS more acceptable than crab meat and mush- rooms in the manner he prepares them. He says: *' Take two cups of crab meat cut in dice and half a can of mushrooms, also cut up in the same size. Braid together a heaping tablespoonful of flour and two tablespoonfuls of butter stirred until smooth ; then mix the crab meat and mushrooms together, season with paprika, salt, and a soupcon of onion juice. Turn into the hot sauce and cook three minutes-, then remove from the flame. Add quickly three tablespoonfuls of cream,
102
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
heated with a pinch of soda, set over the flame a mo- ment, add a glass of sherry, and serve hot. DAVID Hungry men who want something more HARUM substantial, just wake up and take notice POT while William H. Crane tells how to do
ROAST ^ Dnvld Harum Pot Roast: " Lay a round of beef in a deep pot. Add a cup of boiling water and two slices of onion, cover closely, and for every pound of meat cook ten minutes. Then transfer to a drip- ping-pan, rub with butter, dredge with flour, and brown in a hot oven. Strain and cool the gravy left in the pot, and, after removing the fat, put in a sauce- pan seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little kitchen bouquet. Thicken with a roux of browned flour and butter, boil up once, and serve poured around the meat. It's not a bad idea to put some potatoes that have been peeled all over around the meat and let them cook in the oven. A little good salad, plenty of fresh horseradish, and something cold to drink, make this an ideal feast for the jaded palate that turns at truflJles and mocks at mushrooms." SCRAM- Raymond Hitchcock transforms himself in BLED EGGS the twinkling of an eye from a " Yankee AND Consul " into a maitre d'hotel, and his
scrambled eggs and cheese deserve a place in the galaxy of stars recipes. He breaks three eggs and slips them into the blazer, beats them with a generous lump of butter and two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, w^ith salt and pepper to taste. It cooks
103
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
five minutes over a brisk flame, and when just the right thickness is poured in a deep hot dish over some fried toast, and in three minutes — only the dish is left.
POMMES It is possible that Counte Boni de Castellane CASTEL- invented the potato which bears his name; LANE jf }^g ^jj^ j^g ought to have proper credit, for
it is a mouthful that is certainly deserving of more than mild praise. It is a potato baked in its jacket — and should be a sizeable one. Then, when it is done, its center is cut out until it is something of a shell, but with some good, plain potato still clinging to the in- side. Into it there is stuffed a '' farce " of crayfish, the mashed yolks and chopped whites of hard-boiled eggs, with plenty of good cream and seasoning. Then the hole is closed with a piece of the skin, the potato is put back into the oven to heat — then served " en surprise." Imagine the immaculate Count, if you can, preparing this legume. More likely Paillard or Frederick gave it its cachet by honoring him with its naming. Count Boni is indeed an epicure of the younger French school, which includes Marcel Fouquier, the Due de Morny, Santos-Dumont, and, if you please, our own James Hazen Hyde, who has nothing less than a " poached peach a la James Hazen Hyde " named for him at Durand's in Paris. The peach is poached like an egg — and then has kirsch poured over it and ignited. This completes its cooking, and the burnt kirsch really makes a most delicious sauce. 104
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes B o u c h e e s
QUAILS The Marquis de Massa really does Invent
A LA dishes. Recently he gave to the world a
MARQUIS delicious morsel in a piquant dish of quails DE MASSA .
that he has wished to bear the name of a
Capus. The quails are " poached " in a saucepan, which means " completely cooked at slow ebullition," together with a good quantity of Muscatel grapes that are yet green. When nearly done a finishing touch is added in a Madeira wine — only a little, remember — but ah! what fascination!
There is a " school " of latter-day epicures in Paris to which the great chefs cater, and the result is in " Lobster Alexander," the " John Osy Zegw^oart veal," '' Poulet a la Dr. Pendergast," the fish vol-au-vent Stanhope, and Lowther, Rathbone, Tuck, J. W. Mackey, and General Williams eggs — all named by one Frederick, the only impressionist chef in Paris, whose specialties are sky-blue sauces, purple stuffings, and nile-green potages — and the naming of his culi- nary masterpieces after favorite customers — the rich Parisian wine merchants from Bercy, and the Amer- icans.
SAM- Although sweets have not a large place on
BAYON bachelor menus, there is one — a Milanaise
X .^V".^^ delicacy which raises the entire meal from LANAISE 1 , , 1 , f 1 1 T 1.
the dead level or the usual Italian table
d'hote, and, as prepared by Caruso and Sgbrilia and
other Italians with silver voices, enraptures the eater
quite as much as those mellow high notes. Just try
105
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
a " zabajone a la Milanaise," and fancy eating it while Enrico sings an impassioned love song from '' II Trova- tore " or " Carmen " ! But of course the two don't go together, so the average person will have to sample either by itself. Take for six persons five yolks of eggs and beat them, with a Dover egg beater until they are thick, adding for each egg one and one-half tea- spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Cook this in a double boiler, beating constantly, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then add drop by drop one half egg-shell full of Marsala wine for each two eggs. Serve at once in cups or punch glasses. Care should be taken not to cook this until it curdles, or to put in too much wine. It should be of the consistency of whipped cream.
NORWE- Superintending the building of an Irriga- GIAN BUT- tion ditch in the Big Horn Basin of Wyo- TERED ming has been a young Norwegian civil
engineer, one O. J. Midthun by name, and '' Mid " for short. " Mid " is an epicure of the deep- est dye, and patrons of the hotel Irma at Cody will not forget the sanguinary struggle between the clerk and the chef — and all because "Mid " inaugurated the cus- tom of cognac with coffee after dinner in Buffalo Bill's big hotel. But this is digressing, for I was about to give " Mid's " recipe for buttered eggs as served in his Norwegian home at high tea, but which may be served as a luncheon dish or a snack after the play. Four new-laid eggs are required, and two ounces of
1 06
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
butter, a small onion, and chopped parsley. The eggs, well beaten, are poured into the blazer. In which the butter has been melting, together with chopped onion and the parsley, salt, and pepper. Keep stirring one way until the mixture is thick, and serve hot — and there you have the favorite bonne bouchee from Christiania. SAUSAGES When Prince Henry was feted In New AND York nothing pleased him more than a
CELERY breakfast dish of sausages and celery which was served him. His Prussian palate was tickled so delightfully by this dainty that it is doubt- less still being served him on his Highness's royal yacht. To do them, prick as many small sausages as you think the appetites of your party demand. This prevents them from bursting. Put in the blazer and cover with a quarter-cup of boiling water, and cook until all the water is evaporated. Uncover and brown, adding a little butter, or better still, some bacon fat. Two or three minutes before they are done add two tablespoonfuls of chopped celery and cook just long enough to be tender, but not enough to lose the fresh cel- ery taste. Serve either on slices of brown bread or toast. A SUBLIME Out in the Canadian Rockies, not many SAND- miles from Banff the Beautiful, there is a
WICH member of the Northwestern Mounted
Police force, the scion of a titled English family, with a house In Belgravia and a superb estate In Cumberland, who loves the free, wild life of the hills in the new coun- try, and lives it In preference to the hothouse existence
107
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
of the London Club and the functions of Park Lane. No, I won't tell his name, but many a delicious morsel is concocted after his day's ride Is over; and after a plunge In the hot springs and a gallop home to his shanty with his *' bunkie," a handsome six-footer from Sheffield, he has his dish of tea, and with it a sublime sandwich of his own particular variety, which his sister serves on her house-boat at Henley or during the shooting season at their Scottish castle. Work as much brown sugar as is needed Into a bowl of butter until the butter has absorbed all that Is possible, then flavor with old Jamaica rum and nutmeg until It has the desired '' bouquet." Spread on thin slices of whole wheat bread which have been thinly buttered, and make Into triangular sandwiches. This, with a cup of smoking-hot Ceylon tea, would reconcile a man to even the " pink " variety of afternoon teas, especially If he is allowed a dash of the rum In his teacup. SALADE Salad Is the one thing on the menu that A LA should be considered a penal offence If Im-
DUMAS properly served. This salad was devised by Alexandre Dumas, and It has become famous through- out two continents: "Put In a salad bowl the yolk of a hard-boiled egg; add a tablespoonful of oil and make a paste of It; then add a few stalks of chervil chopped fine, a teaspoonful each of anchovy and tunny paste, a soupgon of French mustard, a small pickled cucumber chopped fine, and a little soy. Mix the w^hole well with two tablespoonfuls of white wine vln- io8
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouehees
egar, then add two or three cold potatoes sliced, a few- slices of beet, some of celeriac and rampion, salt and pepper — the Hungarian variety — to taste; toss gently with a wooden spoon and fork for twenty minutes; then serve.
SAUCE is a savory addition to a salad. To make A LA IT AL- it, chop one or two anchovies quite fine lENNE ^j^j y^^j smoothly in one teaspoonful made
mustard and a tablespoonful of oil ; then add by de- grees three more tablespoonfuls of oil, one of garlic vinegar, and one of good wine vinegar; stir until smooth and creamy and serve in a bowl, to add sep- arately to the salad at table.
D'Albignac of Limousin, who was a favorite in London through his skill in mixing salads, made a great fortune there through his matchless art. This is his
SAUCE Melt half a pound of butter; strain into
MAITRE It the juice of one lemon, and add salt, pep- D HOTEL pgj.^ cayenne, and parsley to suit the taste.
SAUCE Put into a dish the yolks of two eggs, a
TATARE teaspoonful of vinegar, and a little salt. Mix this quickly into a cream, then add a teaspoonful of mixed mustard, cayenne, and a pinch of parsley. Two spoonfuls of oil should now be added, drop by drop.
SAUCE for chops and cutlets. Cut two onions
ROBERT in small pieces, fry light brown in but- ter, dredge a little flour in the pan, and add a tea-
109
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
spoonful of vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Let boil up, and after stirring half an hour mix in a tea- spoonful of mustard and one of anchovy. Stir for a few moments before pouring over the chops.
SAUCE FI- A pint of rich stock, an ounce of brown NANCIERE thickening, one glass of Madeira, one glass of mushroom ketchup, a pinch of cayenne, and a piece of glaze. Boil the stock well up with the thickening, then add other condiments. Simmer fifteen minutes and add the glaze, straining for use.
MOCK is a famous dish, and when the real thing
VENISON is " out of season," a man can generally succeed in convincing his friends that he is dodging the game warden if he follows this recipe well: Into the blazer put a heaping teaspoonful of butter and work with a spoon until it creams and foams. Then cut in some thick, rare slices from a w^ell-hung leg of mutton, turn in the hot butter once or twice, season with cay- enne, two tablespoonfuls of currant jelly, a gill of old port, and simmer a few minutes longer. There is nothing better to serve with this than crisp lettuce hearts and plain French dressing.
KIDNEYS How would kidneys and- mushrooms go AND with a bottle of Dog's Head for a little
MUSH- snack after the play? Have ready six lamb's kidneys, halved and skinned. Half a can of French button mushrooms will also be needed. Put a tablespoonful of butter into the blazer and brown no
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Bachelor Bonnes B o u c h e e s
a minced onion in it, then stir in a tablespoonful of flour and add half a can of bouillon, stirring carefully and not forgetting to add a bay leaf. Next goes In a spoonful of kitchen bouquet to give it that brown rich- ness, some salt and cayenne, and a bit of chile pepper. Throw in the kidneys and mushrooms, and when they have heated thoroughly, and the edges of the kidneys are deliciously curled — eat them.
A COM- is a good accompaniment If the palate
MODORE craves cheese with the ale. Mash up a
GbRRY generous slice of soft, ripe cheese with vin- "CRAB" .
egar, mustard, salt, and pepper until smooth
paste and spread on toasted crackers of the saltine
variety. It has the genuine crab flavor, and is an
ornament to the Commodore, in truth.
EGGS This is the chef d'ceuvre of a Marchese
A LA who does not disdain to roll back his im-
MESSINA maculate cuffs and go into the kitchen — for who else could he entrust with his famous bonnes boucheesf The recipe has been handed down in the house of this Sicilian nobleman for no one dares say how many generations. Boil six eggs until hard, then remove the shells. Roll them in flour, then in a beaten egg to which has been added one-half teaspoonful of oil and the same of vinegar, a few drops of onion juice, a dash of grated nutmeg, salt and pepper, and chopped parsley. When quite well covered, roll again In ver- micelli broken into fine bits, and put in the frying bas-
III
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD Bachelor Bonnes Bouchees
ket and plunge in deep lard, iry'mg until golden brown. Arrange on a deep platter and pour over them the fol- lowing sauce: Put in the blazer a tablespoonful of butter and braid into it a tablespoonful of flour, which should gently brown. Add one-half cup- ful of Italian white wine and a half-can of bouillon, salt, and cayenne. After boiling about fifteen minutes add a teaspoonful each of chopped chives, parsley, a few stoned olives, and as many mushrooms as you think it will stand. Bring to a boil and serve piping hot with Chianti, or, better still, Brachetto SpumantI or Lachrima Christi.
112
CHAPTER XII
"Good living is due to that action oftte judgment by which things that please our taste are preferable to all others."— Savarin.
In the Bachelor's Cupboard there are many condiments. The epicure has so cultivated his taste that he can tell in the twinkling of an eye just what ones are used in the prep- aration of a dish, just what it lacks, or, perchance, if there be too much of one seasoning.
By his knowledge and apprecia- tion of condiments is the epicure rec- ognized ; insipidity of taste goes with lack of character, and the greatest of dullards satisfies himself with the simplest of foods. To be an epicure does not necessarily mean that a man must be possessed of means; for, as Savarin tells us, " the pleasures of the table are common to all ranks and ages, to all countries and times;
113
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
they not only harmonize with other pleasures, but re- main to console us for their loss." The discovery of a new dish, he says, does more than the discovery of si planet for the happiness of the human race.
The true epicure has an intuitive knowledge of taste. He can tell immediately as the cover is lifted from a dish, by the aroma, just what the seasonings are. And his knowledge of the condiments of all nations is positively uncanny, and suggests more than one reincarnation. An authority on curries, a dis- serter on culinary arts of the time of Confucius and Pliny, he can tell of the last feast served in Pompeii and what Nero last drank and how Napoleon fared at St. Helena. He can recite a list of the dishes at a feast of Lucullus, and tell precisely how many orto- lans were sacrificed for it, the age of a ripe oilve, and the vintage of a claret, by its bouquet. The deriva- tion of each seasoning and the country of its discovery are as simple to him as the rule of three ; and there is to him the same delight in dissecting a dish and in rem- iniscing on its origin as there is to the Egyptologist in deciphering some graven stone found in a long-closed tomb.
The bachelor who is or expects to be an epicure may begin with a few simple facts about condiments, and from this knowledge cull an appreciation for things epicurean that will enable him to become a self- taught Sybarite of the deepest dye. The bourgeoisie of France teach us that it is not the quality of the meat, 114
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
but its seasoning, that gives it that perfection we recog- nize. A five-penny soup bone may attain by judicious seasoning at the hand of the French jemme de cuisine the dignity of a plat at the Cafe Royale.
In stocking the cupboard, then, do not forget the value that lies in the condiments, for without them no dish is palatable. The simplest of them all, the ple- beian salt, is the most necessary, and without it the finest feast would be impossible.
Pepper is another essential, and the varieties that should be included are black pepper and white pepper, each obtained from a plant both wild and cultivated, growing in India. Cayenne pepper Is the sharpest variety, and the sweet chile pepper of New Orleans and Mexican cities, which is much milder, is also de- sirable. The pimientos belong to the pepper family, and no one should fall to include In his condiment cup- board a few cans of the Pimientos Morrones, or sweet peppers put up In oil. Chile pepper occupies the same place in Creole cookery that curry powder holds in that of India and Ceylon. Paprika Is the national sea- soning of Hungary, and is perhaps a shade stronger than the chile pepper, and vastly better for use In dishes containing cheese. Here is a fact that should be remembered : It is said by a famous physician that If a person eats every day a little red pepper with his food, he will never become a paralytic. But by the same token, there is danger In eating too much, as one's stomach may easily become burned by it.
115
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
When Louis XV. at the request of Madame Du Barry conferred the order of " cordon bleu " upon the cook In recognition of her perfect cooking, he was quite overcome at the perfection of each dish and its sea- soning. The French as a race are past masters at the art of seasoning food, and devote the same attention to these culinary masterpieces that a poet or painter does to his art. A list of condiments and their uses may aid the bachelor In preparing his feasts, and from it he may select whatever suits the individual taste.
ANCHOVY A British firm practically controls the ESSENCE world's market in the manufacture of anchovy essence, which is made from a little sea fish caught in the Mediterranean. It can be bought for use as hors d'oeuvres in little kegs or In bottles as packed In Italy. The essence is used in flavoring fish sauces, and the anchovy paste or anchovy but- ter which comes in small jars Is used spread upon canapes and on hot toast, while It Is used in England in sandwiches served at afternoon tea. Anchovy eggs are appetizers made from hard-boiled eggs, the yolks mashed with anchovy paste and returned to the cavities.
AROMA- is a fine salt having mixed with It for TIC SALT ready use pepper, mace, bay leaf, rose- mary, sage, thyme, celery seed, and perhaps other ingre- dients. It saves time and trouble in mixing the vari- ous seasonings necessary for soups, etc.
ii6
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
BEAR- A Swiss sauce named from King Henry,
NAISE ^'-phe Bearnaise," in his Swiss home. A
SAIJCF
popular sauce for serving with beefsteaks
and fillet of beef.
CAPERS Pickled green berries from a shrub, an old- time relish to eat with mutton. Caper sauce is made from butter sauce mixed with capers and the caper vinegar. Capers are used as well in certain salads. The pods of the nasturtium flow^er are often used as a substitute.
CA- is a relish beloved of gourmands the world
VIARE over. In Berlin a favorite supper dish,
served with cayenne and lemon, bread and butter. In London, as a sandwich, and in America commonly served as " canapes a la Russe!' It is the salted and smoked roe of the sturgeon, and generally branded as Russian, although it is coming to be made in this country to some extent.
CELERY is ground celery seeds added to common SALT salt, and a very necessary adjunct to the
bachelor's cupboard.
CHILI is made from Mexican sweet peppers, finely
COLO- minced in vinegar pickle. Can be bought
RADO jj^ bottles and excellent for oysters or cold
SAUCE
meats.
CHILI is a sauce or relish made from tomatoes,
SAUCE green peppers, and spices. A favorite
sauce for cold meats in America.
117
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
CHOW is made from mfxed pickles thickened with CHOW scalded mustard.
CHUTNEY is an East Indian sweet pickle, similar to Bengal Chutney. One may also buy mango chutney, a characteristic Singhalese condiment, particularly good with curry.
CURRY is a yellow^ powder of which the principal POWDER Ingredient is turmeric, a species of ginger. When one speaks of Ceylon and of India, his thoughts naturally revert to curries, which are served there in such delicious variety. Many of the London clubs having their culinary specialties, notably the Oriental in Hanover Square, where curried prawns are served at their best; the Garrick, and the little grill over Toole's Theater, where the curries are flavored with tamarinds. Every bachelor menage should be supplied with curry, and the making of the various kinds will give the cook a wide knowledge of dry curry, Singhal- ese curry, and so on through a long list. ESTRA- ^^^ ^^ same — a garden herb used for GON AND flavoring vinegar. Tarragon vinegar is a TARRA- necessary Ingredient In the making of spe- ^^^ clal salads and sauces.
FINE may be purchased already mixed In tins,
HERBS and poultry seasoning, which Is practically
the same, is excellent for stuffing, the Bell's Poultry Seasoning being the best known variety. FINAN- consists of brown sauce with sherry, CIERE cocks' combs, livers, pieces of sweet-
GARNISH breads, etc.
Ii8
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
FRENCH is an indefinite name for a variety of salad DRESSING dressings, but commonly made from salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar, with perhaps a bit of red wine to color it.
GARLIC is a member of the onion family, and de- licious, if used with great care. Italian and Spanish cooks are masters in the art of using it, and a '' clove of garlic " is simply one of the divisions of the bulb, not a head of garlic. It should be in every menage, if for nothing but to rub a salad bowl, which imparts a delicious flavor to the salad. HARVEY'S is an English relish. SAUCE
HORSE- is the root of a plant bottled in vinegar. RADISH German horseradish sauce is grated horse- radish boiled either in gravy or water, to which yolks beaten up in cream and vinegar are added, but not allowed to boil. English horseradish sauce is simply the root grated into vinegar, preferably Tarragon vinegar. Horseradish mustard is an excellent condiment for cold beef, and horseradish butter is made from grated horse- radish, lemon juice, and butter kneaded together for a beefsteak sauce, and served at the famous Beefsteak Club in London.
MACE- A French product used for soups, salads,
DOINE and garnishing planked steaks. They come
VEGE- j'j^ glass, with carrots, turnips, string beans,
peas, and green beans, a delightful melange of color, and delicious when served with a plain French dressing as a salad.
119
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
MANGO are stuffed young melons or cucumbers, PICKLES and an admirable relish with cold cuts. MAYON- is an uncooked salad dressing made from NAISE oil and the yolks of eggs, mustard, lemon
juice or vinegar, and salt.
MINT is chopped green mint, vinegar, and sugar,
SAUCE mixed and served cold with lamb or mut-
ton. Also served in America with hot roast lamb, but never in England.
MUSH- tinned, are a necessity for use in many ROOMS entrees, or cooked in the chafing-dish by themselves. Cepes are large mushrooms preserved in oil, and mushroom catsup is a delicious relish. Mush- rooms dried, can be bought at Italian groceries and are better as to flavor than the tinned variety, v^hen used for sauces and garnishes for steaks.
MUSTARD is one of the essentials, like salt, in every cupboard. Epicures in Shakespeare's time ate mustard w^ith pancakes. Several varieties of mixed mustards may be bought in glass, notably the German mustard and English mustard. Mustard mixed in warm water is a valuable emetic in case of poisoning, and mustard plasters and hot mustard-water foot-baths make this condiment an especially valuable one. NOODLES, are respectively the American, French, and NOUILLES German names for a yellow paste similar
^^^ to macaroni, but containing the yolks of
NUDELN T-k T • 1 1 Ti
eggs. Delicious as cooked like macaroni,
and much used also in clear soups. 1 20
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
OIL is one of the most important of condiments,
and used by the Latin races In their cookery in prefer- ence to butter. Olive oil Is obtained by crushing and pressing the olives In sacks, after which it is subjected to a refining process. A vast quantity is produced annually In France, Italy, and Spain, and In Califor- nia It Is coming to be one of the staple products. There are many varieties, but In Italian oil the Lucca Is considered the best, and can best be had from Italian grocers in bulk. Most epicures, however, prefer what is said to be the finest oil made, the French '' Veuve Chaffard," which has a slight greenish tinge, and Is carefully bottled.
The two distinct schools of cookery In France are the " langue d'OU" which Is distinct from the '' langue d'Oc," In the Northern cuisines and in Paris butter is the principal vehicle, but in the sunny Riviera and the Midi oil is the chief asslmilator. French authorities hold that the '' cuisine au beurre '* is more conducive to digestion than the " cuisine a I'huile." A thoroughly educated palate may soon learn to distinguish the French oil from the Italian. OLIVES are the most popular of hors d'ceuvres in this country and In Europe. There are many varie- ties, the best the Spanish Queen olives of mammoth size; then the Sicilian olives, the ripe olives of Cali- fornia, and olives stuffed with red peppers and ancho- vies, as well as pickled olives. No well-regulated cup- board should be without them.
121
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
OSCAR'S is the chef d'oeuvre of Oscar of the SAUCE Waldorf-Astoria.
PARME- is an Italian cheese which comes grated In SAN bottles, and an Indispensable accompanl-
CHEESE ment to most Italian dishes, such as maca- roni, spaghetti, ravioli, onion soup, and all soups made from Italian pastes. PIMIENTO is allspice.
PIMIENTO are canned sweet peppers.
MORRONES
SAGE Is the best herb flavoring for pork, sausage,
goose, and tame duck. Can be bought In pressed
packages or ground In tins.
SAVORY is another soup herb that comes in two
varieties — summer and w^Inter savory. Better bought
green from the green-grocer than in the pow^dered
state.
SOY is a bottled sauce of high flavor, Imported
from China and India.
TABASCO is the " hottest " sauce known. Indis- SAUCE pensable.
TRUFFLES A fungus growing underground, and es- teemed as a great luxury In Europe. Principally used in game pates, boned capon, and other made dishes, the Perlgord variety being the most choice. TARTARE is mayonnaise mixed with chopped onion SAUCE and parsley and served with fish. Olives
and pickles are also added, when desired.
122
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Concerning Condiments
VINEGAR is best bought bottled, unless one Is sure of getting the finest cider or maple-sugar vinegar made by New England farmers. White-wine vinegar Is also delicious for salads, and this, with the common variety, a bottle of Tarragon vinegar, and a small jug contain- ing vinegar Into which the dregs may be emptied from wine bottles and kept for French dressing, should be found In every cuisine. Many condiments may be dis- pensed with, but oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and mus- tard are the essentials with which a man of moderate means may get on nicely In the preparation of simple repasts.
WORCES- is an English relish of world-wide fame. TERSHIRE Essential for a Welsh rabbit and has a SAUCE variety of uses.
'mwii
123
CHAPTER XIII
"He ttat waits upon fortune is never sure of a dinner."
At times there seems to be a craving for vegetables that is irresistible. Possibly the hungry bachelor may have a Sunday luncheon In progress, or mayhap a more than usually sub- stantial supper at which he wishes to serve up in some succulent form a vegetarian snack. For him, then, let these few chafing-dish recipes be set down.
BROILED Does it seem possible TOMATOES that the luscious tomato was ever considered poisonous and that sure death awaited the eater? A fact It is, though, but most of us would prefer to think of this vegeta- ble as the one-time " love-apple " ; surely it is a name that conjures up more delightful thoughts when the 125
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Variations with Vegetables
juicy red tomatoes are broiling. Put in the blazer a tablespoonful of butter, and while it melts cut in thick slices some large ripe tomatoes. Dust them with salt, pepper, and, if the tooth be sweet, a bit of sugar; then dip in cracker dust and lay in the blazer, turn- ing frequently until they look " just right to eat." They make a delightful accompaniment for a chop or a deviled kidney.
PEAS A LA This shall be the name for a dish of peas, BOUDET for at the little Cafe Boudet on the corner of the Boulevard Raspail and the Rue Leopold Robert, in Paris, is a quaint little cafe with a '' cuisine bour- geoise" w^here the jovial '' cuisiniere des legumes ^^ kindly favored me with her recipe for the most deli- cious peas I ever tasted. A slice or two of fat bacon or salt pork is cut in dice and put in the blazer to fry gently, and a small onion is sliced into the fat when it is hot and sizzling. When the onion is brown and tender and the bacon is crisp, a can of French petits pois is drained of the liquid and turned into the mix- ture, with salt, pepper, and a bit of butter. Two or three spoonfuls of thin cream may be added a discretion, and this is a dish fit for Napoleon himself. CREAMED A small can of French mushrooms, which MUSH- rnay be bought for fifteen or twenty cents, ROOMS rnakes from four to six portions of creamed mushrooms. Happy be the bachelor who is an authority on Mycology; he may go into the fields or woods and select his own mushrooms, buttons, puff-balls, or fairy rings, and prepare them as best suits him. But " in de 126
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Variations with Vegetables
vinter time," when the market price of fresh mushrooms puts them beyond the pale, the canned ones may be sub- stituted with good result. Into the blazer put a table- spoonful of butter and stir into it a tablespoonful (level) of flour; when this has blended, stir into it a cup of thin cream, or even a cup of milk, if you desire to be economical. V^hen this has heated, turn in the mushrooms, and serve when hot on slices of toast that are crisp and well-buttered. Creamed potatoes are prepared in the same way, substituting for the mush- rooms cold boiled potatoes cut in dice and perhaps a suspicion of chopped parsley.
POMMES The Latin races are famous for their pro- SAUTE lific use of olive oil ; and truly, it imparts a delicacy that makes even fried food palatable — if one likes oil. It's said to be an acquired taste, and many people are unable ever to like it ; but as this book is sup- posed to cater to epicures, and to be an epicure one must like olive oil. I'll tell you how saute potatoes are done as they do them in a queer little restaurant in the Rue de la Grande Chaumiere, in Paris. The Russian exile who keeps it is anarchistic in his conversation, but his saute potatoes will cover a multitude of anarchistic tendencies. Slice very thin raw potatoes that have been peeled and laid in very cold water for a few min- utes. Have in the blazer a liberal quantity of fresh huile d'oUveSy the "Veuve Chaffard " variety, and after it is smoking hot, dry the potatoes in a towel and put in the oil, with salt and pepper. Saute gently with a fork every now and then until quite done.
127
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Variations with Vegetables
HASHED Shall these accompany the grilled steak? BROWN Put then in the blazer two tablespoonfuls POTATOES Q^ butter and one of flour, salt and pepper. Mix well and turn in sufficient cold boiled potatoes chopped fine for the meal. Stir the potato until it is thoroughly heated through, then allow it to cook with- out stirring until it is a golden brown. Turn out in a hot dish, brown side up. Oil may be used instead of butter, and gives it a delicate flavor.
'' Many dig their graves with their teeth"
said Ben Franklin; but what a glorious way to dig them ! If eating and drinking were taken from us, life wouldn't be worth the living, and there are more who die from insufficient food than from good living. Good livers who take the proper amount of exercise are rarely troubled w^ith gout and the kindred ills the flesh of the gourmet is heir to. Then ho! for the next delicacy, which shall be a hitherto-unnamed dish of my own invention. I call it
MACE- Into the blazer put two generous table- DOINE spoonfuls of butter or oil, and then a can of CHAUD |.j^g delicious French vegetables that come in such tempting form — or a glass of them, if this be pre- ferred. There will be succulent French beans, petits poisj and tiny cubes of carrots, turnips, mayhap a bit of parsnip or salsify, and with all this you may like a suspicion of onion, which may be had by gently stir- ring in the melted butter for a moment tw^o or three
128
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Variations with Veffetabl
getaoies
slices of onion, which are afterward removed. When the vegetables are hot, they are good enough to eat with almost anything; but if there is cream handy, a spoonful or two stirred through the vegetables is cer- tainly an improvement. It has a very Frenchy bou- quet, this dish, and suggests one of Verlaine's spring poems. Try it.
BRUSSELS Suppose you are entertaining an English- SPROUTS man and want to give him something " homey." If you are perchance deviling slices of rare roast beef in one chafer, then give him some Brussels sprouts in the other, and he will beam upon you in truth. For Brussels sprouts are to Johnny Bull what rice is to a Chinaman. Wash a quart of sprouts and take o£E any decayed leaves, then boil until tender in salted water. They cook very quickly. Take out and drain, then melt some good butter in the blazer and saute the sprouts lightly in the pan, dusting lightly with salt and pepper. And no matter how hot your " devil," don't neglect to have English mustard handy for your Briton.
SPA- This may properly come under the head of
GHETTI vegetables, and do you know that it can be deliciously cooked in a chafing-dish? Have boiling in the hot-water pan some salted water, and take as much spaghetti as required, a few sticks at a time, and gently slide into the boiling water without breaking. The secret of good spaghetti is in not overcooking it, as Joe of the Cafe Angelo in Boston's Little Italy told me;
129
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Variations with Vegetables
and he knows. When it is done, which w^ill be in about fifteen or twenty minutes, drain and put in the blazer some butter — two tablespoonfuls. Into this work a little flour, and, if you want spaghetti with cream, put in a cup of milk and salt and pepper to taste, and when it is smooth and thick, add the spaghetti. Pass grated Parmesan cheese with it when served. If, however, you want it in true Italian fashion, put in a cup of strained tomato juice instead of the milk, and either some button mushrooms cut in slices or some of the dried mushrooms that can be bought at any Italian grocery and soaked out in cold water. A little grated cheese may be stirred in, but it should be passed as well. Lastly, add the spaghetti. If you have any pieces of cold ham., cut fine and add them. They give a delicious flavor.
ASPARA- Shall it be canned asparagus tips or aspara- GUS gus on toast ? Either is an excellent chafing-
dish dainty that is improved vastly by a cup of thin cream in the cooking. Have the asparagus heated, with possibly a little melted butter poured over the stalks or tips if you like it — and who doesn't? Then in your blazer put the aforesaid cup of cream and season it with salt and pepper and a slight soupgon of chili pepper. Have ready some triangular slices of toast, and when this sauce is hot, dip each slice of toast in it quickly with a fork, and put on a hot plate. Lay on the toast some of the asparagus, and when all the plates are filled pour over each some of the hot cream sauce.
130
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
Variations with Vegetables
ASPARA- In Pliny's time, when asparagus grew GUS FROID wild, it may not have been considered as great a delicacy as now; and one does not learn of the variations of serving that it was treated to then ; but now, in the high places where one is miles from a little neck or an oyster, this is a substitute that may well begin a dinner — it's especially inviting after a lone-tree cocktail. Have some boiled asparagus tips nicely cooled and served on shaved ice with a dressing of lemon juice, horseradish, salt, and pepper; and don't forget to pass the Tabasco. You'll be surprised at the appeal this tidbit makes to you.
CUCUM- Don't tell me that you never fried cucum- BERS ^ bers; if you haven't, it's quite time you
SAUTE learned. Put in the blazer a tablespoonful of butter, and slice your cucumbers, nicely peeled, into quarter-inch slices; dip in beaten egg, then in cracker crumbs, and fry in that same butter a delicate brown. Serve with broiled chicken, or any game — even with that mock-venison w^hich I've already told how to do in the chafing-dish. It's a welcome change from cucum- bers with French dressing, and not at all indigestible, though some may say so.
CHAPTER
" They that love mirth.
Let them heartily drink ; 'Tis the only receipt
To make sorrow sink.'
— Ben Jonson. Why do men drink?
To quench thirst? To drown sor- row?
Both are good reasons; but there are many other reasons why, for cen- turies, drink has been a synonym for good cheer. While some may be drowning their woes in the wine cup, others are right jubilantly celebrat- ing their good fortune. The drink- ing horn has been emptied and the wassail bowl has flowed right merrily down the ages since St. Paul advised " a little wine for the stomach's sake."
The man who drinks too much is not more intemperate than he who
133
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
drinks too little ; the truly temperate mariner who steers the middle course Is the only one worthy of the name; his conduct fits the word.
What mental lubricator can equal a choice drink? It calls forth jest and song, It stimulates eloquence and awakens wholesome mirth.
Then '' let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die."
A painter who lacks skill In mixing his colors spoils many a good canvas. So It Is with the concocter of drinks. Be his materials never so numerous and pure, If he lacks skill as a compounder; for he will not only mar good Ingredients, but disappoint a company. To avert so sad a calamity Is the mission of this chapter, In which divers delectable drinks are given, with direc- tions for their mixing.
''Drink in the morning staring — Then all day be sparing."
ABSINTHE Into a goblet of shaved Ice put two dashes COCKTAIL of maraschino, one dash of orange bitters, and one pony of absinthe. Stir well, strain, and serve.
'' The fish lead a pleasant life — they drink when they like/'
ALE Three pints of ale, draught or bottled, a
F^IP spoonful of sugar, a piece of mace, six
cloves, and a small piece of butter. Let this boll, and
134
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD A Dissertation on Drinks
then beat the white of an egg and the yolks of three eggs in a little cold ale, add to the boiling ale, and pour the whole swiftly from one vessel to another for a few minutes, then serve.
''Ale sellers should nae be tale tellers/*
ALE One quart of Burton ale, one quart of
PUNCH Niersteiner, a wineglassful of brandy, a wineglassful of capillaire syrup, the juice of a lemon and a piece of the peel ; grate a bit of nutmeg and add a piece of brown toast; mix well and let it stand cold for two hours before straining and serving.
" Good ale is meat and drink and cloth.'*
gj^ Heat a half-pint of ale and a half-pint of
WALTER sherry, add one quart of boiling milk, RALEIGH sugar to taste, and some grated nutmeg. RECIPE j|. should stand in a warm place for an POSSETT hour, and just before serving add the yolks of two eggs, then beat well and serve hot.
'' If you brew well, you may drink well/*
LAMB'S Heat a pint of good ale, add sugar and WOOL nutmeg to taste, then lemon peel and a
pinch of cloves and ginger. Put In a bowl with three roasted apples sliced and three pieces of toast. Serve very hot. It's a prime nightcap.
135
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
^' To good eating belongs good drinking."
SCOTCH Mix with one well-beaten egg two table- HOT spoonfuls of ale, some nutmeg, and one-
PINT fourth pint of Scotch w^hisky. Stir in two
pints of boiling-hot ale and add sugar to taste. Pour from one pitcher into another until frothy, and serve at once.
'' Good drink drives out bad thoughts.'*
BROWN Melt one pound of sugar in one pint of BETTY — water; add while boiling a pinch of ^^ pounded cloves, a dash of cinnamon, one-
DRTNK ^^^^ P^*"^ °^ brandy, and one quart of good ale. Add a little ginger and nutmeg, and serve ice cold in summer, boiling hot in winter.
''Drink wine and let water go to the mill.'' — Italian.
AMER- Rub the peel of six lemons on one pound ICAN of loaf sugar; squeeze their juice and that
PUNCH q£ gj-j^ oranges on it, carefully removing the seeds, add four pounds of loaf sugar, five cloves, and two quarts of w^ater. Skim well, fill into bottles, and keep for the punch. Then mix one and one-half pints of green tea, a pint of brandy, a quart of rum, a quart of champagne, and a cup of well-sw^eetened chartreuse into a punch bowl, add a lump of ice, three oranges and
136
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
a lemon cut in slices. Let stand two hours, after stirring in the bottled mixture, stirring repeatedly that it may be well blended.
" Only what I drink is mine/' — Polish.
BRAIN Squeeze into si tumbler the juice of a lime
DUSTER and add two dashes of gum, a pony of ab- sinthe, two dashes of vino vermouth, and two dashes of sherry. Fill up with ice, stir, strain, and serve.
'' Where reason rules, appetite obeys."
CHAM- This is a ladylike beverage, indeed. To PAGNE make it, put a large lump of sugar in a COBBLER ^^ineglass nearly filled with shaved ice, and fill the intervals with champagne. Stir slowly, adding a little vanilla or strawberry ice cream, and serve with a straw and a spoon. It is sure to make a hit with the " younger sister."
" Of wine and love, the first is best.''
CHAT- One bottle of Catawba wine, one and a ARTIL- quarter bottles rum, the same quantity of LERY whisky, one and a half pineapples, and suf-
PUNCH ficient strawberries to flavor and color. Allow liquid to stand under seal over night. When ready to serve add three quarts of champagne.
137
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
'' Drink nothing without seeing it.''
CHAM- Mix one bottle of champagne, two bottles PAGNE of soda, a glass of brandy, a glass of Cura- ^^ gao, some slices of cucumber peel, and the
juice of a lemon. Moselle or Sauterne may be made into cups the same way, and alluring decoctions they are. Another " cup " is made in this fashion : a cordial glass each of benedictine, brandy, and maraschino are put in a quart jug. Filling it up with champagne makes a champagne cup that is not to be sneezed at. Rhine wine, cider, or claret may be used with felicitous result.
'' Drink upon salad costs the doctor a ducat"
CIDER This is a favorite English beverage. Make
BOWL an extract of a spoonful of green tea in a
half-pint of boiling water, and after letting it stand a quarter-hour, put in a punch bowl and add six ounces of lump sugar, a bittle of cidar, two wineglasses of brandy, half a pint of cold water, and place the bowl on ice for further orders.
'' He who likes drinking is ever talking of wine"
CLARET Into a punch bowl put half a pony each CUP of benedictine, yellow chartreuse, maras-
chino, and Curasao, the juice of six limes, two bottles of claret, one bottle of Moselle, one bottle of Apol-
138
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD A Dissertation on Drinks
linaris, half a pound of sugar, a little sliced orange and pineapple, and a few sprigs of mint. Stir thoroughly and add some pieces of Ice.
" Eat and drink measurely and defy the mediciners"
CLUB Half a glassful of Ice, two dashes of gum,
COCKTAIL two-thirds of gin, one-third of vino ver- mouth, two dashes of orange bitters, and one dash of green chartreuse. Stir well, strain, and serve.
" Drink the wine and don't inquire of the vine."
COFFEE Break an egg Into a glass and beat It well ; AND add a spoonful of sugar and a wineglassful
RUM Qf j.yj^_ jy/[{^ ^j^jg ^p ^yell, pour Into a
cup of the best Mocha coffee — hot — and add a small piece of butter. This Is a famous " blue chaser."
'' Bacchus loves freedom."
EARTH- In a medium wineglass put one-third each QUAKE of benedlctlne, brandy, and Curagao, and CALMER ^.}^j.gg dashes of Angostura.
'' Conviviality reveals secrets."
EGG NOGG Beat In a bowl the yolks of four eggs with PUNCH six ounces of powdered sugar; add gradu- ally one pint of brandy, one-fifth of a pint of rum, a
139
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
pony of maraschino, and two quarts of milk; beat the whites of the eggs until they are snowy, and sweeten w^ith a bit of vanilla or lemon sugar. Let the w^hltes float on top of the punch and serve cold.
'' The best brewer sometimes makes bad beer**
ENGLISH Rub the rind of two lemons on half a PUNCH pound of sugar and put In the punch bowl, squeezing the juice over It with a quart of boiling water. Stir well; add three gills of rum and half a pint of brandy; grate a little nutmeg over the top and heat before sei-vlng.
'' Esteemed without but loved within Is London's mellow Old Tom gin'*
GIN Mix one pint of sugar syrup, a glass of
SLING brandy, and the same of gin, a slice of
lemon, and a pint of soda. Serve cold.
" He that sips many arts, drinks none."
ENGLISH Rub the peel of three lemons on one pound MILK of sugar and put In a bowl; squeeze the
PUNCH juice of the lemons over, and grate half a nutmeg and add with a bottle of rum. Mix thor- oughly and let stand over night, then add one quart each of boiling water and milk. Allow the mixture 140
•
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
to stand covered two hours. Filter through a flannel bag until the punch is absolutely clear, and serve ice cold.
" The beers of your own brewingj and you must drink it/*
HOL- Into a goblet put some shaved ice, two
LANDS dashes of gum, one of absinthe, two dashes COCKTAIL orange bitters, and a little Hollands. Strain and serve.
" When Bacchus pokes the fire, Venus sits by the oven."
SPICED Here's a hot drink for a zero night. Have
CLARET half a dozen lumps of sugar, four whole allspice, two whole cloves, the juice of half a lemon, and half a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon in a saucer. Mix well and put in the bowl and pour over half a pint of claret and let it boil for just two minutes, stir- ring all the while. Strain into hot glasses, and over the top of each grate a little nutmeg before serving.
*' The devil is not in the quality of wine, but in the quantity/'
DAN- Into a cocktail glass squeeze the juice of
FORTH quarter of an orange, add a wineglassful APPETIZER QJ. French vermouth and fill up with selt- zer. A good change for an avant diner from the tra- ditional cocktail.
141
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drink
" He earns a farthing and has a pennyworth of thirst.'*
WASSAIL This is a famous old English Christmastide recipe, and dates back to the time of good Queen Bess — and earlier. To a pint of ale add one-half ounce of grated ginger, one-half ounce of grated nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon, and one-half pound of brown sugar. Heat and stir, but do not boil. Add two more pints of ale, one-half pint of sherry or Malaga, the zest of a lemon rubbed on a lump of sugar, and, finally, six cored and roasted apples. In serving hot, in bowls, serve a piece of apple to each.
*' Gods! What wild folly from the goblet flows! "
— Homer.
IMPERIAL Peel one pineapple and four oranges; cut PUNCH the first in small slices and separate the oranges into pieces, putting all in a punch bowl. Then boil in a quart of water two sticks of cinnamon and a stick of vanilla cut in small pieces; strain the water through the sieve Into the bowl, and then rub the rind of a lemon on one and one-half pounds of lump sugar, put the sugar In the water, and squeeze over the juice of three lemons. After It cools, place on Ice and add a bottle of Rhine wine, a quart of rum, and, just be- fore serving, a bottle of champagne and half a bottle of seltzer.
142
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
''A big head has a big ache/*
MINT Dampen a small bunch of mint, dust with
JULEP powdered sugar, bruising slightly, and pour
over a little boiling water. Allow this to draw, then strain Into tall glasses quite filled with finely-shaved ice. Dress the glass with sprigs of mint and pour in enough brandy to fill. Do not stir, but set in the ice box until thoroughly cool, and serve with straws.
" He is an ill guest that never drinks to his host/'
SHANDY Mix equal parts of ginger ale and Bass's GAFF Pale Ale. A temperate libation approved
of by the very youthful Londoners.
'' Claret for boys, port for men, and brandy for heroes."
SHERRY Into a large glass put a spoonful of sugar, COBBLER a dash of White Rock, a wineglassful of sherry, and a dash of port. Fill up with fine ice, orna- ment with fruits in season, and top off with a spoonful of Ice cream of desired flavor. Serve with a straw and spoon.
''I will drink life to the lass/' — Tennyson,
THE ONLY Put in a tall goblet some shaved ice, two ONE dashes of gum, half a pony of creme de
menthe, a pony of gin, and a dash of orange bitters.
143
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
Squeeze into it the juice of a lemon-peel, stir well and serve.
'' The three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops, and /• will make it felony to drink small beerj" — Shakespeare,
STOUT Boil a quart of stout with a quarter-pound PUNCH of lump sugar and a stick of cinnamon; beat four eggs to a foam and mix with a wineglassful of rum ; take the stout from the fire and add, while contin- ually stirring, to the egg mixture. APPETI- Two lumps of ice, one-third vino vermouth ZER OF (Italian), one-third of Fernet branca, and ANGELO 2 gjj^g Qf orange. This is served at the North End cafe of Angelo, in Boston, and is the favor- ite Italian aperitif.
'* 'Twill make the widow's heart to sing.
Though the tear be in her eye." „
— Burns,
AN IM- Into a goblet put the juice of a lime, a lit- MORTAL tie seltzer, and a spoonful of sugar, half SOUR pf apple-jack, half of peach brandy, and
the white of an egg. Fill up with ice, strain and serve.
" ' In vino Veritas ' is an argument for drinking only when you suppose all men to he liars." — Dr. Johnson.
WEEPER'S To a goblet two-thirds full of fine ice add JOY three dashes of gum, half a pony of ab-
144
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
sinthe, half a pony of vino vermouth, half a pony of kummel, and one dash of Curagao. Stir and strain before serving.
''Never lend a man money after youve been drink- ing; never try to borrow from one before he's had a drink'*
WHISKY Into half a glassful of shaved ice squeeze COCKTAIL a little lemon peel, to which add three dashes of gum, two dashes of bitters, one dash of ab- sinthe, and a small glass of whisky. For whisky sling, put into a goblet containing a little fine ice, two dashes of gum and a wineglassful of good whisky. Stir and strain.
'' Come, gentlemen, drink down all un kindness/*
— Shakespeare,
VELVET Half a bottle of champagne, half a bottle of White Rock, and two ponies of brandy. Mix in a jug, and add a lump of ice.
" Then it's always fair weather When good fellows get together/*
ROYAL Mix champagne and brandy, a quart of SHANDY the former to a pint of the latter. An- GAFF other recipe calls for a third the amount
of brandy, and lest it be too strong one should experi- ment until he has it exactly to his own taste.
145
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
A Dissertation on Drinks
'' There is a devil in every berry of the grape."
— The Koran.
LORD Peel one lemon fine; add some white lump
SALTOUN'S sugar and pour over it a glass of sherry. CLARET Then add a bottle of claret — even plain
CUP ■ J- • 'U A
vin ordinaire will answer — and sugar to taste; also a bottle of soda water and nutmeg, If liked. Strain and ice well. If preferred mulled, strain, heat, and serve piping hot.
''Sweet is old wine in bottles, ale in barrels.''
— Byron.
MISSISSIPPI One glass of brandy, half glass Jamaica PUNCH rum, and a tablespoonful of whisky, quar- ter of a lemon, and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, and water to taste. Mix well and ice with shaved ice. For '* linked sweetness long drawn out," use a straw in the tall glass in which it is served.
'' Wine and youth are fire upon fire.'*
A New Yorker, Tom Lynch by name, and said to be " one of the best," has a few words to say in regard to drinks in general and cocktails in particular. " The only really decent drinks," he says convincingly, " can be counted on the fingers of one hand. A good im- ported Scotch with the peat-smoke perfume, Medford rum — and what a pity it's no longer made! — a dry, very dry, Martini cocktail, a Gordon gin rickey, and
146
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD A Dissertation on Drinks
the best Irish whisky — those are the best drinks that a man can take in this country, or the old country either. And, as a matter of fact, it's next to impossible to get a cocktail that is a cocktail in London or anywhere else on the other side.
** Bottled cocktails? They are a snare and a delu- sion. Perfect cocktails are only made with scrupulous care in measuring the ingredients. A good many men think after a time that they can measure drinks with their eye; but that is what does the mischief, for no man can do that and have his cocktails absolutely uni- form. In mixing cocktails I always use a graduated measuring glass which I invented myself, and in doing that I have earned the reputation of always giving a man the same cocktail he had yesterday, or last week, or a year ago. The most popular drink to-day in New York is the * H. P. W.' cocktail, which was intro- duced by Harry Payne Whitney at the Ardsley Club, and later at his Adirondack camp; and the good fel- lows who were initiated into its seductiveness agreed then and there that it should be christened after their popular host, so here we have it : "
'' There's a drink ' on the beam * for you, lady!*
—Pratt,
THE "H. P. Mix carefully in a measuring glass one W."' COCK- part of Italian vermouth and one part of TAIL jj.y Gordon gin. Add the peel of an orange
and frappe.
147
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD A Dissertation on Drinks
" There is a new cocktail served in New York at Sherry's and Martin's and the Cafe des Ambassadeurs which is appropriately known as ' the Perfect Cocktail.' This is how it is mixed : "
PERFECT Mix one part Italian vermouth, one part • COCKTAIL French vermouth, and one part Gordon gin. Add a slice of orange, and frappe. You will soon see wherein lies its perfection.
148
Seffift
CHAPTER XV
The cost of wines is an important factor in entertaining. Many a man is forced to entertain friends of ex- pensive tastes on the proverbial " champagne taste and beer income " plan. A person who wishes for any reason to economize may substitute, in almost every case, California or other American wines, w^hich cost far less than imported. In fact, I have known a man who called him- self a connoisseur of wines to be de- ceived by Cook's Imperial Extra Dry to such an extent that he acknowl- edged it to be quite as good as Mumm's when told the difference.
Prices are given here by the case
of one dozen bottles, as in ordering
wines for home use most people buy
in dozen lots. The price per bottle
149
A BACHELOR'S CUPBOARD
What to Pay for Wines
at a restaurant will not vary greatly from the list prices, which are taken from one of the largest im- porting houses in America.
Champagnes.
DOZEN
Pommery sec (dry) $31-50
London Pommery, 1893 48.00
Vin Nature, brut 31-50
Veuve Cliquot dry, Gold Label 31-50
London Special, ditto 35-oo
Heidsieck Dry Monopole Extra 30.00
Pol Roger Brut Special 35-oo
Baron R de Luze