A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband With Bettina's Best Recipes (14 page)

Bettina's Jelly-Making Suggestions

1. Use a porcelain-lined or a granite kettle.

2. Let juice drip from a cheese cloth or flannel bag.

3. Measure equal quantities juice and sugar.

4. Boil juice ten minutes, add heated sugar. (Heated by being placed in warm oven.)

5. Boil until it drops thick from a cold silver spoon, or jells on a plate.

6. The smaller the quantity of jelly made at a time, the clearer it is.

7. Cook no more than three cups of juice at a time.

8. Skim carefully.

9. Boil regularly.

10. Pour in sterilized glasses.

11. Let stand in bright sun twenty-four hours.

12. Cover with very hot paraffin. This kills any bacteria that may have collected.

13. Keep jelly in a cool, dark, dry place.

"W
HY, hello, Ruth!" cried Bettina at the door one afternoon. "I haven't seen you for weeks, it seems to me! What have you been doing? Come in and give an account of yourself!"

"First let me deliver these nasturtiums that mother sent," said Ruth. "She always remembers how fond you are of flowers."

"Thank you, they're lovely! I need them tonight for my table, too. Will you come into the kitchen with me while I put these in water?"

"M-m," said Ruth. "Something smells good! In the oven?"

"Yes, pork chops, baked apples and escalloped potatoes. Peek in and see 'em."

"Outch!" cried Ruth, holding her hand in sudden pain. "I forgot that that pan was hot, and started to pull it out to see better! I'm a perfect idiot! I do that every time I have anything in the oven!"

"That's a shame, Ruth, dear! Here, apply a little of this olive oil! It's the nearest remedy I have. Vaseline is good, too, or baking soda. Hold it with the damp cloth to keep out the air."

"It feels better already," said Ruth. "I made some gingerbread last evening for dinner—Fred was there—and burned my hand in the same way exactly. And even at such a cost the gingerbread wasn't very good. I think I didn't bake it quite long enough. How long ought it to be in the oven?"

"Well, gingerbread takes longer than most quick-breads.
Here, let me give you my time-guide for baking, and you can keep it in your card-index. Then it's always at hand when you want to refer to it."

"Thank you, that's a good idea, Bettina. May I sit down here at the kitchen table and copy it?"

"Do, I'll get you a pencil and a piece of paper. Ruth, won't you stay to dinner tonight?"

"I can't possibly, Bettina. I am going out with mother, and should be at home now dressing. Oh, by the way, I had a chance to refer last night to something you made me copy and put with my recipe cards. 'How to Remove Grass Stains'! I got it on my white dress—a dreadful looking stain—and immediately referred to my card-index. It said, 'Moisten with alcohol or camphor, allow to stand five minutes, and wash out with clear water.' The stain came out like magic! I used camphor; we didn't happen to have any alcohol in the house."

"I'm so glad it came out; that is such a pretty white dress. And weren't you glad you knew just where to find a remedy? It seems a little trouble to index things, but it is really worth doing."

"I think so, too. Well, there's Bob, and I must rush off. Bob, you're going to have a good dinner tonight! I've just been investigating!"

Bob had:

Pork Chops Escalloped Potatoes
Baked Apples
Bread Butter
Fresh Pears
Tea

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Baked Apples

4 apples
8 T-sugar
½ C-water
½ t-cinnamon
2 T-butter

Select apples of uniform size. Wash and core. Place in a pan, cover the bottom with water. Fill each cavity with sugar,
a dash of powdered cinnamon and a tiny lump of butter. Bake for thirty minutes, basting occasionally. Serve around the platter of pork chops.

Bettina's Time-Guide for Baking Quick Breads

Pop-overs—Thirty minutes in a hot oven.

Baking-powder biscuits—Ten to fifteen minutes in a hot oven.

Corn bread—Twenty-five to forty minutes in a moderate oven.

Muffins—Twenty to twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven.

Gingerbread—Thirty to forty-five minutes in a slow oven.

"W
HY, Bob, look at the front of your Palm Beach suit!" exclaimed Bettina, after she had greeted Bob at the door. "What in the world have you been doing?"

"Pretty bad; isn't it!" said he, ruefully. "Frank Dixon brought me home in his car, and he had some sort of engine trouble. We worked on it for awhile, but couldn't fix it, so he phoned the garage and I came home on the street car. I must have rubbed up against some grease. Do you suppose my clothes are spoiled?"

"No-o," said Bettina, slowly, "not if I get at them. Let me see; what is it that takes out auto grease? Oh, I know! Bob, you go and change your clothes right away while I'm cooking the meat for dinner. Then I'll doctor these."

"What will you do to them?"

"I'll rub them with lard, and let it stay on them for about an hour. Then after dinner I'll wash them out in warm water and soap, and then—well, Bob, I believe they'll be all as good as new."

"I thank you, Mrs. Bettina."

When Bob returned and Bettina was putting the dinner on the table, she smiled to herself over a new idea that had popped into her head.

"Bob, what would you think if I should enter some of my nut-bread at the state fair?"

"Well, is that what you've been smiling at all this time? I think it would be fine. If I were judge you'd get first prize in
a minute! Say, strikes me this is a pretty good dinner!"

It consisted of:

Ham Mashed Potatoes
Escalloped Onions
Rolls Butter
Dutch Apple Cake Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Ham
(Three portions)

²
/
₃
lb. ham
2 T-water

Wipe a slice of ham (one-third of an inch thick) and remove the rind. Place in a hot frying-pan. Add the water. Cook until brown on both sides (about fifteen minutes).

Escalloped Onions
(Two portions)

1 C-cooked onions
½ C-vegetable white sauce
3 T-fresh bread crumbs
2 T-butter

Mix the onions with the white sauce and pour into a buttered baking dish. Melt the butter and add the fresh bread crumbs. Place the buttered crumbs on top of the onions. Brown the mixture in the oven (about fifteen minutes).

Dutch Apple Cake
(Two portions)

1 C-flour
¼ t-salt
2 t-baking powder
1 T-butter
1 egg well beaten
¹
/
₃
C-milk
1 sour apple
2 T-sugar
½ t-cinnamon

Mix flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in the butter. Add the milk and egg. Mix well. Spread one-half an inch thick in a shallow pan. Pare and cut the apples in lengthwise sections. Lay in rows in the dough with the sharp edges pressed lightly into the dough. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake thirty minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with lemon sauce.

Lemon Sauce
(Two portions)

½ C-sugar
¹
/
₈
t-salt
1 t-flour
1 C-water
1 t-butter
2 T-lemon juice

Mix the sugar, salt and flour well. Add the water slowly. Cook seven minutes. Add the butter and lemon juice. Serve hot.

"H
OW lovely!" Bettina whispered to Bob after the beautiful ceremony had taken place in the rustic grape arbor. "How like Cousin Kate this is! But I had no idea that Frances planned to be married out of doors, had you?"

"She told me that they were hoping for fair weather, but weren't counting on it."

"And this is a regular golden day; isn't it! What a time to remember! Bob, look at Cousin Kate's flowers! A natural altar, without decoration! Poppies, sweet-peas, nasturtiums, cosmos, more kinds than I can count! It's a little earlier than they usually have weddings, too; isn't nine-thirty early?"

"Yes, but Frances thought that this would be the prettiest time for it, and you know they aren't at all conventional."

"What are you two gossiping about?" shouted big Cousin Charles in Bettina's ear: "don't you see enough of each other at home without avoiding the rest of us at a time like this? Go and kiss the bride and congratulate the groom as soon as you can get to them. Fanny wants to see you particularly, Bettina. Breakfast is to be served on the porch; don't forget that you two are to be at the bride's table!"

The wide porch looked very charming. Each table seated four, except the one for the bridal party and near relatives, which was in the center, surrounded by the others. On each table was a basket of pink sweet-peas and trailing greenery. Each simple white place-card held a flower or two, slipped through two parallel cuts across the corner. Frances was seated at the groom's left, and at her left sat her new brother-in-law,
who was the best man. Next to him was the minister's wife, then jolly Cousin Charles, the bride's father, then the groom's mother. At the right of the groom sat Anne, Fanny's sister, who was maid-of-honor; and next to her sat the clergyman. Then came the bride's mother and the groom's father. Beyond him sat Bettina, then Bettina's cousin Harry, then Aunt Nell and Bob. That was all, for there were few near relatives and Bettina's father and mother were in California.

"Frances looks well; doesn't she?" said Aunt Nell to Bettina. "No showers, no parties or excitement, and you can see how simple the wedding has been. Cousin Kate is so sensible, and so is Frances. I can tell you already that the breakfast menu will be dainty and delicious, but simple."

She was right, for it consisted of:

Watermelon Cubes
(Served in Sherbet Glasses)
Fried Spring Chicken New Potatoes
Creamed Peas
Hot Rolls Butter
Currant Jelly Peach Ice Cream
Bride's Cake Coffee
Nuts Candy

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Fried Chicken

1 2½-lb. chicken
4 T-flour
2 t-salt
½ t-paprika
4 T-fat (lard and butter)
2 T-water

To Prepare the Chicken for Serving and Cooking

Cut the legs from the body, break the joint at the thigh and cut in two. Cut off the neck and wings. Break the breastbone and cut in two lengthwise. Break the back in two pieces lengthwise, if desired. Plunge the pieces into cold water and allow to drain. Sprinkle each piece with salt and paprika, and roll in flour. Place the fat in a frying-pan. When very hot add the chicken. Allow all the pieces to brown thoroughly; cover the pan with a lid and add the water, lower the fire and cook
over a moderate fire for thirty minutes. Turn frequently to prevent scorching.

Gravy
(Six portions)

3 T-fat from frying-pan
1 T-butter
6 T-flour
1 t-salt
¼ t-paprika
1½ C-milk
1 t-parsley chopped

Loosen the pieces of chicken which have stuck to the frying-pan, add the butter, stir constantly until the butter "bubbles," add the flour, salt and paprika. Mix thoroughly. Add the milk slowly, cook for two minutes, add the chopped parsley and pour the gravy into a gravy bowl for serving.

Bride's Cake
(Thirty pieces)

1½ C-sugar
½ C-butter
2½ C-flour
¹
/
₈
t-salt
²
/
₃
C-milk
3 t-baking powder
¼ t-cream of tartar
½ t-almond extract
1 t-vanilla
4 egg-whites

Cream the butter, add the sugar and continue creaming the mixture. Mix and sift three times the flour, salt, baking powder and cream of tartar. Add these dry ingredients alternately with the milk to the first mixture. Add the almond and vanilla extracts. Beat two minutes. Cut and fold in the egg-whites which have been stiffly beaten. Pour the cake batter into a large, round loaf cake pan, having a hole in the center. Bake forty-five minutes in a moderate oven. When the cake is removed from the oven, allow it to stand in a warm place for five minutes, then with a spatula and a sharp knife, carefully loosen the cake from the sides, and turn out onto a cake cooler. When cool, cover with White Mountain Cream Icing.

Suggestions for Serving the Bride's Cake

The Bride's Cake may be baked in this form and placed in the center of the table for the central decoration. A tall, slender vase, filled with the flowers used in decorating, may be placed in the hole in the cake. Place the cake upon a pasteboard box four inches high and one inch wider than the cake.
This gives space to decorate around the cake. The cake and box may be placed on a reflector, which gives a very pretty effect. If cake boxes containing wedding cakes are distributed among the guests as favors, use the one in the round pan for central decoration and bake others in square pan. Square pieces may then be cut, wrapped in waxed paper, and placed in the boxes.