LADIES' COLUMN.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 372, 17 December 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

LADIES' COLUMN.

CHRISTMAS RECIPES. Baked Tdrkky.—Let tie tmkey be picked, singed, washed, and wiped inside and out. Joint only to the first joints in the leg; cut a dozen small gashes in the fleshy parts of the turkey, and prPBS one whole oyster in each gash ; then close the skin and flesh over each oyster bb lightly as possible ; btuff the turkey, leaving a little room for it to swell. When stuffed, sew it up tightly, rub over lightly with flour, sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it, put some water in your dripping pan, put in the turkey, basts it frequently with its own dripping, bake a nice brown, thicken the gravey with a little flour and water, put on a hot dish and serve. Be sure and keep the bottom of the dripping pau covered with water, or it will bura the gravy, and make it bitter. The stuffing is made as follows: 2oz ham £lb suet, rind of half a lemon, one teaspoonful of minced harsley, one teaspoonful of mixed herbs, add cayenne, and pounded mace to taste, 6oz breadcrumbs, two eggs. Shred the ham, chop the suet, lemon rind, and herds, taking care it is finely minced add a seasoning of salt, cayenne and mace, and blended thoroughly with the breadcrumbs, strain the eggs, and mix with the other ingredients. Boast Goose.—Pluck the goose very oarefully, singe and draw it. The skin of the neck mast be left along enough to turn over the back ; the feet must be cut off, also the first joint of the pinions, and the bird trussed by pressing the legs high up, and putting the wings straight by the sides, and passing the skewsrs first through the wing, and then through the leg and body of the goose. A hole must be maie in the skin sufficiently large to put the rump through, thus seouring the stuffing, which is prepared as followfl : Boil four large onions in water, with a piece of soda the size of a hazel-nut, for a quarter of an hour; pour off the water, put Borne fresh water to the onions, boil them for three-quarters of an hour ; take out the onions and chop them up with ten sage-leavee, loz butter, and {lb breadcrumbs, seasoned with pepper and salt. Put the goose down-to a brisk fire, and keep it well basted; roast from two and a half to three hours, according to size, and serve with applesauca and gravy.— Plum Pudding—Pick and stone lib raisins, also pick 21b currants ; chops lib suet fine, add lib flour, lib moist sugar, 4oz breadcrumbs, lib mixed peel, £oz mixed spice, eight eggs, half a pint of milk, one gill of brandy, and mix into a firm dough; well butter a mould, dust it with flour, them fill with the mixture, tie it over with a cloth, put in plenty of boiling water, and boil for eight hours or longer. The pudding is best made a week before it is to be used, and should be boiled a second time for about three hours ; decorate with a piece of holly at the top, and sift powdered sugar over the top ; pour some brandy on the dish, which light just previous to putting the pudding on the dinner table. Ehglish Christmas Cake.—Take Ulb butter and work to a cream, stir, in lib aifted loaf sugar, then whisk the whites of eight eggs to a solid froth, add them to the sugar and butter, beat.up the yolks for about ten minutes ; add them to 2Jib flour, one nutmeg finely grated |oz powdered mace and cloves in equal quantities; beat the whole together for half an hour, then mix in lightly 2£lb currants, Jib Bweet almonds, blanched and with a little rose-water £lb candied orange, citron, and lemon peel cut in thin slices, half a gill of brandy, half a gill of white wine ; when thoroughly mixed line a round tin with buttered paper, and bake in a moderate oven for three hours. Great care must b« taken tkat the fire is neither too ierce nor too slow. If the oven is too quick put a piece of white paper over the top of the oake to prevent its catching. This cake should be kept in a tin canister for at least a fortnight before it is used. Scotch Cake.—Take lflb dried and sifted flour; the same quantity of butter washed in rose-water, and the same quantity of powdered sugar, 6oz blanched sweet almonds ; |lb candied orange-peel, Jib citron-peel, cut in thin strips; a nutmeg grated, a teaspoonfnl of pounded earraway seedß, fifteen eggs, th*e yolks andjwhites beaten separately. Beat the butttr to a cream, add the sugar and then the eggs gradually, mix in the flour a little at a time, then the fruit, almonds, and spice; lastly, stir in a wine-glassful of brandy ; butter a tin, pour in the cake bo as to nearly fill it, smooth it on the . top, and strew over it earraway comfits ; hake in a moderate oven for three hours j do not turn or move it till nearly done, as shaking it will cause the peel to sink to the bottom. Ibish Cake.—Take lib batter, gib pounded sugar, nine eggs, |lb almonds, fib flour dried ; beat the butter to a cream, stir in the sugar, which must be quite hot, then beat the yolks and the white of the eggs separately, pour on the yolks first, then the whites, work the mixture for half hour, then add the flour by degrees ; when thoroughly mixed add a gill of brandy, and the almonds cut in . strips, with Jib currants and Jib lemonpeel just before the cake is placed in the oven ; previous to this the cake should be beaten for an hour ; bake in a hot oven for two hours. Mince Pies.—To make the puff-paste mix about one teaspoonful of bakingpowder with lib flour, cut lib butter in'' dice*, roll in this sheets on some of your flour, wet the rest of your flour with a quarter of a pint of water, roll it into a thin sheet, cover with the sheets of butter, double in three, do the same five times, and it is ready for use; lines some pattypans with puff-paste, and fill with mincemeat, cover with paste ; bake in a quick oven, but not too quick, or the tops will be browned before the underpart is cooked Mince Meat.— 1-ilb beef suet, Ulb apples, 1 Jib raisins, "lJib currants, ljlb moist sugar, Jib candied-peel, half a tumblerful of pale sherry and brandy, the juice and granted rinds of two lemons, a pinoh of salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and powdered mace ; ohop the dry • ingredients finely, and when well mixed pour on the sherry and brandy, and let the mincemeat stand at least a week previous to using it. Homk-bkewed Beer.—The materials required for making lOgals of home-made beer are : Half-bushel crushed malt, 101 b brown sugar, 21b treacle. The process is : Put the malt in a large tub and pour 14gal boiling water on top of the malt, stir for five minute, then cover up closely to keep the ateam in • stir every 15 minutes, replaoing the cover after stirring. Let cool in the mash ; when cold stain through a bag or cloth into a boiler. To this liquid add the sugar and treacle, and lib of beer hops. Boil the whole for four hours, then cool quiokly in a tub. When cold add one pint of brewers' yoast; let it ferment for six hour*, 'then pour into a small barrel, keeping a bucketful of the liquid for "filling up purpases. The liquid must be allowed to ferment for a few days, during which time tho barrel must be kept full, allowing the yeast to run over. When fermentation ceases clean the outside of the barrel Now pHt 2ez of isinglass in half a pint of cold water, and let stand for two hours. To this add half a pint of boiling water, and when cold pour it into the beer and bung closely for one week, when it will be ready for the table. _______