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Twenty-Five Cent Dinners for Families of Six

<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> CHEAP FISH AND MEAT DINNERS. I have already spoken of the value of fish as strengthening food, and in support of what I say I need only to remind you how vigorous and healthy the inhabitants of the sea coast usually are, especially if they eat red-blooded fish. This fact, in connection with the abundance and cheapness of fish makes it an important article in the dietary of the good housekeeper. Fish may be cooked by boiling, baking, broiling, and frying; boiling is the least economical method of cooking fish, and fish soup, or[Pg 44] fish chowder the most saving; broiled fish wastes but little of its nutriment, but its bulk is decreased; baked fish ranks next to fish soup in point of economy. Fish are preserved for winter use by cleaning them, rubbing them with salt, packing them in layers, and covering them with brine. An excellent way of pickling fish is to clean them, cut off the heads, tails, and fins, wash them, and then rub them well with salt and spice, pack them in layers in an earthen crock or deep dish, cover them with vinegar, and tie the jar over with buttered paper; they are then ready to bake slowly for about four hours; and will keep for three or four weeks after they are cooked. In London, and other large English cities, where fried fish forms an important item of popular food, it is cooked with great care, and in such a manner as to retain all its nourishing qualities. It is well washed in salted water, dried on a clean cloth, cut in slices if large, dipped in a rather thin batter, made of flour, salt, pepper, and cold water, and then dropped into a pan containing plenty of fat heated until it is smoking hot, but does not boil; the pan is then taken from the fire, and by the time the fat is growing cool the fish is cooked. A novice would do best by maintaining the fat at the proper degree of heat until the fish is cooked. The receipts which I give for fish are calculated to produce compound dishes from it, hearty enough to make the bulk of a meal. Fish and Potato Pie.—Use any cheap fish which does not cost more than five or six cents a pound, such as cod, haddock, or blue-fish; cut two pounds of fish, (cost twelve cents,) in pieces about an inch thick and two inches long; lay them in a deep dish with a pint of cold gravy of any kind, or cold water, season with a tablespoonful each of chopped parsley and onion, and a teaspoonful of salt, pepper, and thyme, mixed together in equal quantities, and sprinkled among the fish; put it into the oven for fifteen or twenty minutes to partly cook. Put one quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) into boiling water, and boil until soft enough to mash; mash them, season them with salt and pepper, and put them over the fish, which you must take from the oven, as a crust; return the pie again to the oven to brown the crust, and then serve it with bread and butter. Twenty-five cents will cover the cost of all, and the dinner will be a good one. Fish Pudding.—Make a plain paste by mixing quarter of a[Pg 45] pound of lard or sweet drippings, (cost three cents,) with half a pound of flour, (cost two cents,) a teaspoonful of salt, and just water enough to make a stiff paste; roll it out; line the edges of a deep pudding dish with it half way down; fill the dish with layers of fresh codfish cut in small pieces, using two pounds, (cost twelve cents,) season each layer with salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and chopped onions, using one tablespoonful of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, two bay leaves, a saltspoonful of thyme, four ounces of onion, and half an ounce of parsley, (cost five cents;) fill up the dish with any cold gravy, milk, or water, cover with paste, and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven; finish by baking half an hour in a moderate oven; serve hot. With bread the dinner will cost twenty-five cents. Fish and Potato Pudding.—Wash and peel one quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) peel and slice about six ounces of onions, (cost one cent,) skin and bone two bloaters or large herrings, (cost five cents,) put all these ingredients into a baking dish in layers, seasoning them with a dessertspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper; pour over them any cold gravy you have on hand, or add two or three ounces of drippings; if you have neither of these, water will answer; bake the pudding an hour and a half; serve hot, with bread. If you use drippings or milk the entire seasoning will cost you less than five cents; and the whole dinner, which is excellent, not more than fifteen cents. Codfish Steaks.—Two pounds of codfish, (which costs at the market from four to seven cents,) can be cut in steaks, dried well, and either dipped in flour, or thin batter of flour, salt, pepper, and water, and fried in smoking hot fat, or can be served with a quart of boiled potatoes, (cost three cents,) and plenty of bread and butter, at the rate of about twenty cents a meal. Red Herrings with Potatoes.—Soak a dozen herrings, (cost ten cents,) in cold water for one hour; dry and skin them, split them down the back, and lay them in a pan with two ounces of drippings, two ounces of onion chopped fine, a saltspoonful of pepper, and three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, (cost two cents,) and set them in a moderate oven to brown for ten or fifteen minutes; meantime, boil one quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) with a ring of the paring taken off, in plenty of boiling water and salt, pouring off the water as soon as they are tender, and letting them stand on the back of the fire, covered with a dry towel, for five minutes; serve them with the herrings, taking care to[Pg 46] dish both quite hot. With bread and butter a plentiful dinner can be had for about twenty-two cents. Cheap Meats.—Those parts of meat which are called the cheap cuts, such as the head, brains, tongue, tripe, kidneys, haslet or pluck, feet, and tail, are eaten much more frequently in Europe than in this country, and are worthy of all the use they get there; for their proportion of flesh-forming elements is large; this is especially the case with the lights or lungs, but as they are rather difficult to digest, they should be thoroughly cooked, and never eaten alone. Tripe and pigs' feet, on the contrary, are very easily digested; but on this account are not as satisfactory food as that which remains longer in the stomach; although they are both savory and cheap. Be careful to keep all meat stews closely covered, or a great deal of the nutriment of the meat will escape in the steam. Sheeps' Head Stew.—Thoroughly clean a sheeps' head, weighing about three pounds, (cost about ten cents,) put it over the fire with quarter of a pound of rice, (cost three cents,) two cents' worth of onions sliced, a level tablespoonful of salt, quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, and three pints of cold water; bring it slowly to a boil, skimming it carefully, and then add five cents' worth of carrots and turnips, peeled and quartered; let all simmer gently together for two hours, being careful to remove all grease, and see if the seasoning is correct, before dishing the stew. With bread, or boiled potatoes, the meal will cost about twenty-five cents. Oxtail Stew.—Put two jointed oxtails, (cost about ten cents,) over the fire in one quart of cold water, and scald them, to remove the strong flavor; then roll the joints in flour, season them with salt and pepper, and pack them in an earthen jar, with one onion chopped, and one quart of potatoes peeled and sliced; the vegetables and seasoning will cost about five cents; add one pint of water, put on the cover of the jar, and cement it in place with a paste of flour and water, which you must grease a little to prevent cracking; then put the jar into a moderately hot oven, and bake it about four hours. With the addition of bread and butter it makes a hearty meal, and costs about twenty-two cents. Beef Pie.—Cut in two inch pieces two pounds of the neck of beef, (cost twelve cents,) brown them quickly in one ounce of drippings, (cost one cent,) season them with pepper and salt, put them into a pud[Pg 47]ding dish in layers with one cents' worth of chopped onion, and one quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) peeled and sliced; add enough cold water to cover the beef and vegetables, and put over them a crust made of one pound of flour, (cost four cents,) and quarter of a pound of lard, (cost three cents,) put it for fifteen minutes into a hot oven, and then bake for an hour and a half in a moderate one. It will cost less than twenty-five cents, and be an abundant meal. Baked Heart.—Thoroughly wash a beef's heart, (cost ten cents,) stuff it with half a loaf of stale bread, (cost two cents,) moistened with warm water and seasoned with one teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a teaspoonful each of pepper, chopped parsley and sweet herbs, an onion chopped, and one ounce of sweet drippings (cost of all these two cents;) lay it in a dripping pan with five cents' worth of parsnips scraped and washed, and bake in a moderate oven about two hours. It may be baked in an earthen jar, like the oxtail stew, and all its goodness will be saved. Parsnips are exceedingly nutritious and cheap, but if they are not liked potatoes may be substituted for them. The entire dinner with bread and butter will cost about twenty-five cents. Stewed Kidneys and Potatoes.—Wash one quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) pare off one ring from each, and put them to boil in well salted boiling water. Choose a very fresh beef's kidney, (cost fifteen cents,) cut it in thin slices, removing all the white vessels and membranes, fry it quickly for five minutes in one ounce of smoking hot drippings, (cost one cent,) season it with half a teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful each of chopped parsley, onion, and vinegar; shake into it from the dredging box one tablespoonful of flour, add one pint of boiling water, and boil gently for fifteen minutes. By this time the potatoes will be done, and both dishes must be served at once, because the kidneys will grow tough and indigestible if they are cooked more than twenty minutes in all. They will make a plentiful dinner, including bread and butter, for about twenty-five cents. Pig's Kidneys may be cooked in the same manner, and enough can be bought for ten cents to make a good sized dish. Kidney Pudding.—Cut the kidneys, season, and stew them as above, making meantime a crust from one pound of flour, two teaspoonfulls of[Pg 48] salt, and one of baking powder, sifted together; mix into these ingredients four ounces of finely chopped suet, (cost two cents,) make them into a paste with about one pint of cold water; use part of this to line a deep pudding dish, into which put the stewed kidneys; cover the dish with the rest of the paste, and bake it about an hour and a quarter in a regular, moderately hot oven. The pudding will cost about thirty cents. Gammon Dumpling.—Make a plain paste of one pound of flour, (cost four cents,) one dessertspoonful of salt, and one of baking powder, quarter of a pound of finely chopped suet or scraps, (cost two cents,) and sufficient cold water to mix it to a stiff dough; roll this out about half an inch thick, spread over it half a pound of any cheap cut of bacon or ham, finely chopped, (cost six cents,) roll up the dumpling as you would a roly-poly pudding, tie it tightly in a clean cloth, and boil it in boiling water, or boiling pot-liquor, for about three hours. Do not let the pot stop boiling, or the dumpling will be heavy. Serve it hot, with one quart of plain boiled potatoes, (cost three cents.) The dinner will cost fifteen cents. Bacon and Apple Roly-poly.—Boil a pound of bacon, (cost twelve cents,) for half an hour; then slice it thin; peel and slice three cents' worth of apples and the same quantity of onions; make a stiff dough of one pound of flour, (cost four cents,) a teaspoonful of salt, and cold water; roll it out half an inch thick; lay the bacon, apples, and onion all over it, roll it up, tie it tightly in a clean cloth, and boil it about two hours, in plenty of boiling water. Serve it with three cents' worth of boiled potatoes, or boiled cabbage. The dinner will cost twenty-five cents. Mutton and Onions.—Choose a shoulder of mutton weighing about three pounds, which you can buy at six cents a pound; wipe it thoroughly with a damp cloth, put it into a pot half full of boiling water, with a tablespoonful of salt, and boil it gently for two hours, skimming the pot as often as any scum rises. Half an hour before it is done slice one quart of onions, (cost five cents,) boil them in a pint of boiling water for about twenty minutes, add one ounce of butter, (cost two cents,) half a pint of milk, (cost two cents,) four tablespoonfuls of flour (cost one cent,) one teaspoonful of salt, and pepper to taste. When you have put the onions over the fire, pare rings off a quart of potatoes, (cost three cents,) and boil them in well salted boiling water. Have[Pg 49] all three dishes ready at once, and serve them together hot. Save the broth from the mutton, and the next morning boil it up once, and serve it for breakfast, with half a loaf of stale bread, toasted, and cut in dice; or boil in it for twenty minutes a quarter of a pound of rice or macaroni. The dinner will cost you about thirty cents, and you have on hand the broth for breakfast. Pork and Onions.—Three pounds of the neck, or spare ribs, of fresh pork, which you can buy at the packing houses for three cents a pound, can be made into a capital dinner, which will cost only about twenty cents, by following the above receipt. Veal and Rice.—Put the scrag end of a neck of veal, which you can usually buy for ten cents, into a pot half full of boiling water, with a half tablespoonful of salt, and half a pound of bacon, or salt pork, (cost six cents,) half a pound of rice, (cost five cents,) and an onion stuck with six cloves; boil it gently for three hours, and then serve it hot, the meat in the middle of the platter, and the rice laid around it. The broth may be served for breakfast, as in the receipt for MUTTON AND ONIONS. The dinner will cost about twenty cents. Irish Stew.—Cut two pounds of the flank of beef, (cost fifteen cents, or less,) in pieces about two inches square, rub them well with pepper and salt; peel and slice one quart of onions, (cost five cents;) place beef and onions in a saucepan, with just enough cold water to cover them, and stew them gently for one and a half hours; then add one quart of peeled potatoes, (cost three cents,) and boil the stew until the potatoes are soft, which will be in about twenty minutes. Serve at once hot. The dish will cost twenty-three cents. Sheep's Haslet.—Peel and slice one quart of onions, (cost five cents;) wash and slice a sheep's haslet, (cost six cents;) put two ounces of drippings, (cost two cents,) in the bottom of a dripping pan, strew the onions upon it, and lay the haslet on them, seasoning it with a teaspoonful of salt, and one of thyme, savory, allspice, and pepper, using equal parts of each; add enough water to reach halfway to the top of the meat, then cover it thickly with the crumbs from half a loaf of stale bread, and bake all together for one hour and a half, in a moderate oven. The whole dish will not cost over seventeen cents, and it is nutritious and savory.[Pg 50] Baked Pig's Head.—Buy at a packing house half a medium sized pig's head, which you can get for three or four cents a pound, (the piece will cost about ten cents;) clean and wash it well; pare and slice one quart of onions, (cost five cents;) chop quarter of a pound of suet, (cost two cents,) and grate half a loaf of stale bread, (cost three cents;) put into a dripping pan one ounce of drippings, (cost one cent,) one gill of vinegar, (cost one cent,) then the onions, next the head, skin up, and last the bread, suet, and seasoning, well mixed, and bake in a moderate oven for about one and a half hours. The dish will cost about twenty-two cents; it is hearty and extremely nutritious. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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