SPANISH BEANS

Soak two cups of beans overnight. Drain and boil until the skin cracks, and let one cup of water remain on the beans. Chop fine one onion and two cloves of garlic and fry a light brown in one tablespoon of olive oil; then add one-half can of tomatoes, one teaspoon chili powder dissolved in a little cold water, salt to taste and half a dozen olives chopped. A piece of smoked beef or tongue improves the flavor.

PEA PUReE

Pick over and wash two cups of dried peas. Soak them over night or for several hours in cold water. Put them on to boil in three pints of fresh, cold water and let them simmer until dissolved. Keep well sc.r.a.ped from the sides of the kettle.

When soft, nib through a strainer, add a little boiling water or soup stock, add one and one-half teaspoons of salt, one-half teaspoon of sugar and a speck of white pepper, and beat the mixture well.

Put hard brisket fat chopped in small pieces, about one-eighth of a pound will be sufficient, into a spider and cook until a light yellow, add a large onion, cut in dice and continue cooking with the fat until brown. Serve the puree like mashed potatoes. Pour the onion and fat over it before serving. Serve hot.

KIDNEY BEANS WITH BROWN SAUCE

Pick over and wash one pint (two cups) of kidney beans let soak overnight in cold water. Drain and cook in fresh salted water till tender. Drain; shake in saucepan with one teaspoon b.u.t.ter three minutes.

Add one cup of brown sauce and simmer five minutes.

NAHIT (RUSSIAN PEAS)

Place one pound Russian peas in granite kettle, add one tablespoon of salt and hot water to more than cover and let soak twelve hours or more.

Drain, return to the kettle, cover with boiling water, let cook fifteen minutes, add one-quarter teaspoon of soda and one pound of brisket of beef or back or neck of fat chicken and let cook slowly until peas are tender. Melt two tablespoons of fat, add two tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of brown sugar, let brown, add one cup of the liquid from the peas, cook until thick and smooth. Pour over the peas, cook thoroughly, then place in ca.s.serole and bake in a moderate oven one-half hour.

BOILED CHESTNUTS

Boil the chestnuts a few minutes; drain and remove the sh.e.l.ls and skins.

Boil again until tender, adding sufficient salt to make them palatable.

Drain again; shake over the fire until dry; cover with cream sauce and serve at once. If allowed to stand the chestnuts become heavy and unappetizing.

CHESTNUT PUReE

Put one pound of chestnuts, which have been sh.e.l.led and skinned, on to boil in two cups of milk and cook until tender, then mash smooth. If necessary add more milk while boiling. Strain and season with salt and pepper and one teaspoon of fresh b.u.t.ter. Serve hot.

ROASTED CHESTNUTS

With a sharp knife cut across on the flat side of each chestnut; put them in a wire pan and shake constantly over a hot fire until the sh.e.l.ls split. Serve at once.

CHESTNUTS WITH CELERY (TURKISH)

Clean and cut table celery and some celery root. Take roasted chestnuts, season with two tablespoons of olive oil; put on to boil with the celery and one tablespoon of lemon juice; boil all until celery is tender, season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

CHESTNUTS AND PRUNES

Peel one pint of chestnuts and skin, then boil until tender. Boil one pint of prunes till tender. Mix chestnuts and prunes together, leaving whatever of sauce there is oil the prunes. Season with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice, and cook all together.

CHESTNUTS AND RAISINS

Remove the outer sh.e.l.ls from one quart of chestnuts. Then pour boiling water over them and remove the skins; put in cold water for half an hour, then drain and put on in a boiler with cold water and boil until tender. Do not add any salt as it toughens them.

In another boiler put one cup of raisins which have been stemmed and cleaned, cover with cold water, add two bay leaves and some stick cinnamon; boil until tender, then pour them into the boiler containing the chestnuts. Add a pinch of salt and one teaspoon of b.u.t.ter and continue until chestnuts are done, then add two tablespoons of white wine, two tablespoons of sugar, one-half teaspoon of vinegar and thicken with one tablespoon of flour dissolved in water. More sugar or vinegar may be added to suit taste. Boil a few minutes, then serve.

BOSTON ROAST

Mash one pound of cooked kidney beans and put them through a food chopper, add one-half pound of grated cheese, salt and red pepper to taste and sufficient bread crumbs to make the mixture stiff enough to form into a ball. Bake in a moderate oven, basting occasionally with b.u.t.ter and water. Serve with tomato sauce.

NUT LOAF

Mix two cups of soft bread crumbs and one cup of chopped walnut meats with six tablespoons of b.u.t.ter or any b.u.t.ter subst.i.tute, one-half cup of hot water, one and one-half teaspoons of salt, one-quarter teaspoon of pepper, one tablespoon of chopped onion, a sprig of parsley chopped, and bind with one egg; shape into a loaf. Place in a greased baking-dish and bake in a moderate oven one hour. As the liquor boils out of the loaf it may be used for basting. A brown sauce may be made in the dish in which the loaf is cooked.

NUT ROAST

Soak one-half cup of lentils overnight; in the morning drain, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Drain again, put in fresh water and cook until tender. Drain once more, throw away the water, and press the lentils through a colander. To them add one-half cup sh.e.l.led roasted peanuts, either ground or chopped, one-half cup of toasted bread crumby one-half teaspoon of salt and one-half saltspoon of pepper, and milk sufficient to make the mixture the consistency of mush. Put into a greased baking-dish; bake in a moderate oven for an hour; turn out on a heated platter; garnish with parsley or watercress and serve.

VEGETABLE MEAT PIE

Soak one-half cup of Lima beans overnight; in the morning let them boil rapidly for one-half hour. Drain, slip the beans from their skins and split them in halves. Blanch one-quarter cup of almonds and chop them with one-quarter cup of peanuts. Boil four potatoes, and when done cut two of them into small cubes. Mash the remaining; two and use them for a dough, adding four tablespoons of hot milk, a little salt and one-quarter cup of flour. Put a layer of beans in the bottom of the baking-dish, a sprinkling of nuts, a little hard-boiled egg, then the potato blocks and one-half tablespoon each of chopped parsley and chopped onion, one-half teaspoon of salt and one-half saltspoon of pepper and so on until the material is all used. Roll out the potato dough the size of the baking-dish; put it over the dish, brush with milk and bake half an hour in a moderately quick oven.

*TIME TABLE FOR COOKING*

The ordinary recipe generally states the time required for cooking its ingredients, but an approximate table is occasionally of use as giving a general idea of the time required for certain things. In any case, it is approximate only, for things should be cooked until done, and various conditions modify the time stated. The atmosphere, alt.i.tude, kind of oven or mode of heating employed, and the age of certain things, such as vegetables, all have to be considered, so that hard and fast rules cannot be laid down.

ROASTING

Allow 15 minutes to warm the meat through, and after that, figure the time.

Beef (rare), 12 to 15 minutes per pound; (well done), 15 to 18 minutes.

Lamb 18 minutes per pound Mutton 20 minutes per pound Veal 30 minutes per pound Chicken, 4lb about 2 hours, or 20 minutes per pound Turkey, 10lb about 3-1/2 hours, or 20 minutes per pound Goose, 8lb about 2 hours, or 15 minutes per pound Duck 40 to 60 minutes per pound

BROILING

Steaks, 1 inch thick (rare), 6 to 8 minutes; (medium), 8 to 10 minutes.