To enable young housekeepers to vary the viands to be placed upon the table, I would recommend the dishes that may be obtained in their different seasons, and give a variety for one week; these can be changed as persons may desire. We will commence with Monday. As that day is set apart for washing, I would advise any easily cooked breakfast and a cold dinner, as servants are much hurried on that day. It may be that there is but one servant, and she, perhaps, not very competent; and then the lady of the house may be too delicate to see to the arrangement of the table, it would be impossible to have a hot dinner properly cooked.
MONDAY, FOR BREAKFAST.—In spring, some good coffee, with hot milk, made in the Mocha coffee pot, which is highly recommended, and can be purchased at Griffith & Page's store, No. 1004 Arch street, Philadelphia; also some good Souchong tea for those who prefer it, nice soft toast, buttered, with boiling milk poured over it. Make the toast as follows: Cut a piece of baker's bread, a day old, one-half an inch thick, toast it a light brown, butter while it is hot and press it with the knife while buttering to make it soft; then pour two tablespoonfuls of boiling milk over it and cover it over with a plate. Serve while hot. Then prepare some boiled eggs, and a dish of thinly smoked salmon. At a side table, prepared separately, there may be some remnants of cold meat or steak for those who do not like fish or who prefer meat to any other relish; in this case cold boiled potatoes can be fried instead of the milk or buttered toast.
MONDAY, FOR DINNER.—If there should be any remnants from the dinner of the day previous, it would serve well for the Monday dinner, and I think it would be the better plan to have larger joints the day previous, so as to supply the Monday dinner; in cold weather it could be nicely warmed over. See directions for warming or hashing cold meats.
First Course for Monday.—Cold salt beef, or roast; potatoes baked in their skin, or boiled potatoes mashed with some prepared gravy or roast meat drippings, pepper and salt; or they can be peeled and baked in plenty of fat, and seasoned with sage and onions. In the spring season, some good salads, as in directions for salad. Horseradish mixed with vinegar. The cloth must never be set without salt and bread on the table for the purpose of a blessing.
For Dessert.—If there should have been some pudding left from the day previous it could be warmed up in this way: Put the pudding in a deep basin, cover it, place it in a pan of water and then put it in the oven; this will prevent it from burning; let it remain in the oven for one hour and a half. Pies, or any fruit that may be in season can be used; remnants of stews and poultry can be called into requisition.
MONDAY, FOR SUPPER.—Bread and butter, tea and coffee and ice water. In the spring and during the summer I would recommend a pretty bouquet of flowers in the middle of the table; their fragrance refreshes the eye and gratifies the mind, as there is so much sweet language embodied in flowers.
To continue our repast. Prepare some scrambled eggs in this way: Put a piece of butter the size of a walnut in a frying pan; break twelve eggs, but do not separate the whites and yolks; season with salt and pepper; stir the eggs from the bottom of the pan until they are cooked. Spread the eggs on some nice soft well buttered toast, and serve while hot. Some sardines or pickled herring cut up thin after being soaked for an hour and skimmed. Some stewed or uncooked fruit.
TUESDAY, FOE BREAKFAST.—Let those whose duty it is to go to market be there early in order to get the best and freshest articles and send them home early to be cooked in good season for breakfast. Tea and coffee and ice water, hot rolls, as in directions for bread and butter, broiled shad, radishes, watercress, eggs and fried potatoes; strawberries are wholesome. Meat, if preferred, prepared as in directions for Monday.
TUESDAY, FOR DINNER.—First Course. A fine piece of the first cut of the ribs roasted, about five pounds, and side dish of stews, for a family of eight persons; boiled and baked potatoes, reished spinach or peas, celery and salads.
For Dessert.—Fruit of any kind.
TUESDAY, FOR SUPPER.—Choose a thick cut of halibut, boil as in directions, and serve with a nice butter sauce; radishes, salad, tea and coffee and ice water, bread and butter, and hot biscuit made this way: In one pound of flour mix one teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, twice that quantity of cream of tartar and one ounce of butter with a pint of sweet milk; roll the dough half an inch thick and cut it with a small biscuit cutter; bake in a quick oven. Stewed fruit and cakes.
WEDNESDAY, FOR BREAKFAST.—Griddle cakes as in directions, coffee with hot milk, tea and ice water; cold fried fish in oil, and pickled or Dutch herring. Berries in season.
WEDNESDAY, FOR DINNER.—First Course. A nice spring soup, a shoulder of mutton roasted, to be eaten with currant jam, or a leg of mutton boiled and served with caper sauce, an entree of cold meat left from the day previous; vegetables, broccoli sprouts, salads and boiled potatoes, ice water, etc.
For Dessert.—Boiled fruit puddings as in directions.
WEDNESDAY, FOR SUPPER.—German stewed fish, bread and butter, some hot light biscuit, tea, coffee, etc., light sponge cake and fruit.
THURSDAY, FOR BREAKFAST.—Hot biscuit, omelette, and poached eggs prepared in this way: Have in the frying pan some boiling water, with salt; break the eggshell and put the egg in without disturbing the whites and yolks, and as they boil, skim; when the whites are set they are done; put a piece of butter and a little salt on each egg; if they are preferred to be hard let them remain a little longer on the fire. Dish them up on well buttered toast. Coffee with hot and cold milk, tea and ice water. Side table with rare or well done beefsteak; to cook the steak rare, let there be a good clear fire; put the gridiron on the fire and let it get hot; then place a good thick steak on top; do not let it cook too close to the fire; turn it with two forks and double the steak to save the gravy; do not prick the meat but stick the fork into the fat, turn it two or three times; when done, turn it on a dish and sprinkle salt and pepper on it; put a half pint of boiling water on the dish to make the gravy, and season it with salt and pepper. Eat while it is hot with some nice hot boiled potatoes. Horseradish in vinegar and mustard, pickles, watercress, cucumbers or lettuce salad.
THURSDAY, FOR DINNER.—First Course. A fillet of roast veal seasoned with veal stuffing as in directions, a side dish of stewed steak with chestnuts. I would not recommend soup every day as it causes flatulency. Vegetables, green peas, stewed turnips and salads; stewed prunes, etc.
For Dessert.—Stewed rhubarb and apple fritters.
THURSDAY, FOR SUPPER.—Bread and butter, tea, coffee with hot milk, and ice water; anchovies washed and parted in two, the bones taken out, and placed tastefully on a dish; watercress, radishes and salads; green peas boiled and served up with a lump of butter in the middle of the dish, seasoned with pepper, salt, and mint, if preferred; boiled potatoes, and chestnut cake made in this way: Boil and mash two pounds of chestnuts and add a quarter of a pound of white sugar, two ounces of butter, the yolks of eight eggs well beaten; beat all the ingredients well together, adding spices according to taste. Line a pie plate with puff paste, put in the mixture and bake a light brown.
FRIDAY, FOR BREAKFAST.—Hot baker's rolls, coffee, etc, bread and butter, codfish balls or some pickled fish, and fruits. Side table with cold meats and salads.
FRIDAY, FOR DINNER.—As this is the day preparatory to the Sabbath it is generally a busy one, so a short dinner will be most convenient. If in spring, the soup will be prepared for the Sabbath. The meat, when nicely boiled, would make a good dinner for this day, with some salads, potatoes boiled and mashed, or sausage (wosht) boiled with rice; when the sausage is done take it out and cut it in slices and cover with eggs fried in fat. Bread and salt, or any easily cooked meats, such as steak, liver or mutton chops.
For Dessert.—A piece of the paste left from dishes prepared for the Sabbath, or raw fruit.
FRIDAY NIGHT OR SABBATH SUPPER.—Coffee with hot milk, tea and ice water; white or brown stewed fish as in directions, cold fish fried in oil, or hot, fried in butter, German puffs, hot or cold, some lady finger cakes, salads, horseradish with the white stewed fish.
For Dessert.—Fruits, or ice cream made in this way: Take one quart of very rich cream, it must be sweet, and beat it quite stiff in a small churn; boll one quart of the morning's milk over a pan of water and thicken it with a tablespoonful of arrowroot, but do not make it too thick; add a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, the rind of a lemon, or vanilla; strain all this through a sieve, add it to the cream and mix thoroughly: the cream should be made very sweet as it loses much of the flavoring and sweetness in freezing. Take care not to beat the cream too long or it will come to butter.
Ice cream without using cream can be made in this way: Take one quart of new milk; scald one-half of it and thicken with three tablespoonfuls of wheaten flour; boil quickly until the rawness of the flour disappears, and let it become quite smooth, about the consistency of cream; stir it by degrees, while it is hot, into the other half of the cold milk; flavor with any essence, sweeten well and strain all through a sieve. It is best to boil the milk over water to prevent it burning. If made properly it will be taken for good rich cream.
SATURDAY OR SABBATH BREAKFAST.—It is usual on Friday for persons of our faith to use raisin wine to say the blessing of the sanctification. It is placed on the table with the salt and twist. We are not allowed to cook fresh viands on the Sabbath, so we can have the fish that was cooked on Friday, the same as for the Friday supper. Tea, coffee with hot milk, etc., some stewed fruit, small tarts, butter cakes, soda cakes or any of the cakes as in recipes.
SATURDAY, FOR DINNER.—Dishes as prepared for Friday.
First Course.—Frimsel soup, as that will keep best over night; vegetable soup would be likely to spoil. Either a brown stew and balls made of giblets, etc., or white stew and balls.
Second Course.—Cold roast fowl or turkey with salads; potatoes mashed in fat or gravy and made into a pretty shape and baked a light brown; reished spinach warmed over.
For Dessert.—Apple pies, stewed rhubarb or biscuit, nuts, apples, oranges, raisins, almonds and wine.
SATURDAY, FOR SUPPER.—There is not much variety required for this meal. As we cannot cook on this day, the remnants of cold fish or dessert from dinner will serve with tea, coffee, etc.
SUNDAY, FOR BREAKFAST.—Tomato toast, cold dry toast, bread and butter, hot muffins as in directions, tea, coffee, etc., some fried potatoes, and picked codfish prepared in this way: Pick the fish in small pieces, the smaller the better; be sure to have it soaked over night; put the fish in a saucepan with sufficient water to cover it; season with a quarter of a pound of butter and a little pepper; thicken with a teaspoonful of flour and let it boil for twenty minutes; then add two well beaten eggs; be sure not to curdle it. Some persons boil eggs hard, chop them up small and mix them in the gravy. Asparagus with butter sauce.
SUNDAY, FOR DINNER.—This is the day the husbands are at home, then something good must be prepared in honor of the lords of the household. Ladies need not be at a loss to know what to have, when they have examined this book.
First Course.—Mock turtle or any kind of soup as set forth in the recipes. Brown chicken soup made this way: Cut up some veal, beef and chicken, fry them in fat; put them in a saucepan with three quarts of water, and cover close and let it boil slowly; skim it well; season with salt, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, parsley, grated carrots, some turnips cut small, and two onions; take off all the fat; when the soup is well done strain it, and then add the chicken that has been minced; thicken the soup with some brown flour, and let it boil for ten minutes; to prevent its burning put a plate on the bottom of the saucepan. Toast some bread, cut it up in squares, and put it in the tureen with the chicken, minced fine, and serve it up with the soup quite hot. A fine thick piece of halibut, or rock fish, or salmon served with either a lemon or fennel sauce without butter, fat substituted will answer just as well.
Second Course.—Either roast turkey, roast goose, or roast duck, seasoned with sage and onions, as in directions for roast ducks, or roast lamb and mint sauce.
Entrees.—Calf's feet and veal stew, potatoes, mashed and boiled, peas and asparagus, broccoli sprouts, mashed turnips and boiled onions.
Dessert.—Strawberry pudding made this way: Take two quarts of strawberries, half a pound of loaf sugar, two tablespoonfuls of clarified fat and six eggs; beat all well together with two ounces of grated bread crumbs or lady fingers; put some light paste around a pie plate, but not at the bottom, and put in the mixture; when it is all baked have ready some meringue, as in directions, put over the top and bake in a slow oven; it can be eaten either hot or cold. An apple stephon, or boiled rhubarb pudding, as in directions for boiled puddings. Fruits, Oranges, apples, nuts, almonds and raising. A cup of black coffee or tea.
SUNDAY, FOR SUPPER.—Tea, coffee, etc., scraps of cold fried and stewed fish, omelette, Dutch herring with salads; butter cakes, pound cake or matrimony cake; charlotte russe made in this way: Cut out the inside of a sponge cake, leaving the sides whole; have ready some warm blanc-mange and spread on the cake alternately with a layer of marmalade, until the mould is full. The marmalade must be thinner than the blancmange, and let the last layer be blanc-mange to make it look smooth. Chocolate pudding and stewed or raw fruits, may be used instead.