| Show y1JrsHEs FOR LENT Our Leading Ladies Tell How to Cook Them IN THE WASHINGTON MARKETS A Fish Chowder From the White HouseA Cake Recipe From Mrs Senator Sherman General WASHINGTON Feb 20 1800 Special correspondence of THE HEUALD The best cooks of the United States are found in Washington There is no place in the country whero good dinners are more prized and more eaten The wives of our most noted statesmen spend a part of every day in the kitchen Most of them have invented new dishes and all have learned their lessons in the great cooking school of experience Even the mistress of the White House boasts that she can prepare a dinner from soup to dessert and very one of the cabinet ladies tells me 1ver she can broil a steak or baste a roast ISQG scores of Senators wives in the market mar-ket every morning and I noticed Mrs Secretary Windom the other day holding a fowl to the light i to see if the flesh was white Near by her Mrs AttorneyGen eral Miller was pricing some celery and Mrs Senator Sherman was at another counter testing a leg of mutton Mrs John A Logan is often seen in the markets mar-kets Sam Randall before he was sick went with his wifo to buy the meats for his own dinner table and I have seen Senator Sen-ator Stanford walking along with his Chinese steward from meat stall to meat stall and with those fingers which cpn sign a check for 10000000 feeling the raw red flesh to see if it be tender THE LENTEN MAHKETS W During the next six weeks of Lent there jfcill bo a change in these Washington markets The ladies will gather around the fish counters and even in the houses of those statesmen who belong neither to the Episcopal nor the Catholic churches Lenten Len-ten dishes will be largely used McKim the White House steward intends to serve eggs oftener for breakfast and ho proposes pro-poses to use lobster and shrimp salads for his lunches President Harrison likes I baked sh and the succulent shad will be I frequently on the table of the White House while the Vice President will carryout I carry-out the rules of his Episcopal faith and I will stick to Lenten dishes There is good sense in the keeping of Lent as far as eating is concerned A leading Senators wife tells me that it makes her blood better to stick to fisheggs and lighter dishes during the spring and a noted generals wife ascribes her good health to her observance of Lent During the past week I have Gathered for your readers recipes for Lenten dishes and the wives of statesmen and generals have been salled upon to give their experiences for the kitchens of your readers SIRS PRESIDENT HARBISONS FISH CHO1VDEK I start my list with a fish chowder from the White House It is a dish for a king The Presidents wife has prepared the recipe lor me and her experience shows it to be good Cut a mediumsized shad or white fish three or four potatoes one onion and a quarter of a pound of bacon into small nieces Fry the bacon and onion a light I Brown Put a layer of potatoes in the saucepan over that a layer of the fish then a sprinkling of onions and bacon then a layer of tomatoes sprinkling with pepper ana salt alternating the layers until all is in Add enoughwatE cover placeover a moderate fire and let simmer twentylive minutes Boil onepint of milk thickening it with cracker crumbs let it stand a moment mo-ment and then add to the chowder Now stir for the first time let boil an instant season if not strong to taste and ere > hotSigned GASOLINE S HARBISON now sins TVANAMAKEK BAKES SHAD There is a chef in the Wanamaker mansion man-sion whom they have had for years but when any great affair is in progress the mistress of the house sends for a caterer to assist She gives orders for the three meals of a day in the morning and has not y that awe of her cook which Vanderbilt had of his She dares go into the kitchen and I greater presumption still in this day of 10000 chefs gives verbal instruction teach e t-each new cook of the cookery of certain dishes which might almost be called Wan amaker dishes so long have they served them in the family One of these is baked shad and the art of preparing it Mrs Wanamaker learned from her grandmother grand-mother and has had it for breakfast in the springtime ever since she was mistress of a modest little cottage in Germantown and her husband was getting 1000 a year instead in-stead ofwho knows how many thousands Mr John Wanamaker gets now The shad breakfast at Lindenhurst is known to al of Mrs Wanamakers friends and many a one drops in accidentally When the fish about which General Sherman queried where it got meat to cover its bones is served 4 LOBSTER SALAD WHICH THE PSTSLASTEE GENERAL EATS Another favored dish is lobster in terrapin terra-pin style and although it has been served for years on her table Mrs Wanamaker does not claim its origination A DeLmonic was its creator Split two goodsized fine freshly boiled lobsters Pick all the meat from out the shells then cut it into oneinch length equal pieces Place it in a saucepan on the hot range with one ounce of very good fresh butter Season with one pinch of salt and half a tablespoonful of red pepper adding two mediumsized sound truflles cut into small discshaped pieces Cook for five minutes then add a wineglassful of good Madeira wino Reduce to onehalf which will take three minntes Have three egg yolks in a bowl with half a pint of sweet cream beat well together and add to it the lobster Gently shuffle for two minutes longer or until it thickens well Pour it t into a hot tureen and serve hot I Signed MRS JOHN WANAMAEER S MRS MCKEES CRAB SALAD There is an old Spanish saying that it takes four persons to make a good salad A spendthrift must pour the oil and a miser the vinegar a barrister must sprinkle the salt and a madman must stir the mix ture Mrs Robert McKee the daughter of the President gives the ingredients of a good salad but the cook who will make it properly must be guided by the proverb Boil one dozen crabs thirty minutes add ing a little salt to the water When cold l pick out the meat Make a Mayonnaise dressing as follows Beat the yolks of two eggs add pepper salt and mustard and mix well together Then slowly add half a pint of olive oil or enough to thicken the dressing If too thick add a few drops of lemon juce or vinegar Great care should fa exercised in pouring the oil as it will Curdle if poured too fast Now mix the crab meat and the mayonnaise together Garnish a dish with crisp lettuce leaves or water cresses place the crabs in the centre and serve serveSigned MARY HARBISON MKEE MBS SENATOR QUAYS DEVILLED CRABS Mrs Senator Quay says that all her fam ily Tiave the sweettooth and her cookery therefore is in the line of desserts but she has one recipe that may be put with the Lenten dishes although a fasting friar would need to pass it T > y It is Boil one dozen crabs twenty minutes when cold pick Three eggs well beaten two tablespoonfuls Vienna bread crumbs ljur of melted butter one of olive oil one blespoonfUl ul of chopped parsley Season j with salt and pepper Mix all together j using cream to moisten and put back the 4 shells which should be clean and dry Dip in beaten eggs and Vienna bread crumbs and fry ia hot lard to cover 6 r a i a There Is a delicious omelette which of times comes on the Quay breakfast table OMELETTE SOUFFLE Whites of six eggs yolks of three juice of half a lemon three tablespoonfuls powdered pow-dered sugar Grease a quart biking dish with butter Now beat the whites to avery a-very stiff froth beat the yolks add them carefully to the whites then the sugar and juice of lemon stir carefully and quickly heap into baking dish powdered over with sugar andput into the oven Bake fifteen minutes or until goldenbrown and serve hot Signed AGNES B QUAY MRS SENATOR MORRILLS DEVILLED EGGS Mere is a Green Mountain flavor about all the dishes served on the table of Senator Sena-tor Justin S Morrill of Vermont Mrs Morrill is an invalid and her sister Miss Swan oversees the house here and also in the country homo in Vermont She gives a dainty dish for a Lenten luncheon table Boil one dozen eggs hard remove the shells and cut in halves lengthwise Takeout Take-out the yolks mix them to smooth paste with half a teaspoonful of mustard salt cayenne pepper to taste and a generous teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce Fill the whites with this mixture and serve on a bed of lettuce leaves which should be carefully selected Signed L S SWAN MRS SENATOR REAGANS CATSUP Mrs Senator Regan of Texas gives a recipe for a catsup that is especialy appetizing appetiz-ing with baked white fish One peck of ripe tomatoes peel and slice Add six good sized onions sliced fine Lay in a jar first a layer of tomatoes then ala a-la er of onions Add a little salt with each layer let stand over night then boil well stirring almost constantly When done add two pints one pint of vinegar and two garlics chopped fine Add also red popper cinnamon cloves spice and ginger all groundfine Bottle for use Signed MRS JOHN H REAGAN HOW MRS ROSwELL P FLOWER COOKS OYSTERS Mrs Roswell P Flower wife of New Yorks millionaire congressman supervises super-vises her kitchen with as much interest as the wife of a poorer man Her private table is one of the best appointed in Washington Wash-ington and on it are many dishes that would delight a bon vivant She has any number of recipe books and on all the blank pages are written in her own handwriting hand-writing the recipes for the dishes which have pleased her at different hotels OYSTER A LA POULETTE Blanch a dozen oysters in their own liquor li-quor salt and remove the oysters add a tablespoonful of butter the juice of half a lemon a gill of cream and a tablespoonful of flour Beat up the yolk of one egg while the sauce is simmering add the egg and simmer the whole until it thickens Place the oysters in a hot dish pour the sauce over them sprinkle a little chopped parsley pars-ley on top and send to table To blanch an oyster is to cook it till it puffs up DRESSING TOP FISH Halfpound of butter halfcan tomatoes stew for one haf hour One tablespoonful of walnut catsup one tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce or two tablespoons f ul of chowchow add sliced lemon very thinSigned SARAH M FOWLERS MRS SENATOR BLAIRS CORN MEAL MUSH Mrs Senator Blair is one of the finest cooks of the capital She gives me a recipe re-cipe for what is known in Vermont as New England Indian Pudding and I doubt whether the title of corn mush is appropriate appro-priate for it The recipe is warrantedand it has gained Senator Blair hundreds of votes for his education bill Here it is Two quarts of milk one cup of meal one cup of molasses halfcup sugar one teaspoonful tea-spoonful of salt one teaspoonful of cinnamon cinna-mon or ginger two eggs Heat one quart of the milk milk warm then slowly stir in the meal and keep stirring gently until it thickens but does not quite boil Remove Re-move from the stove and add the molasses sugar salt and spice Then beat the eggs well and stir them in Pour into the pudding pud-ding dish remove the mixing spoon and turn the second quart of milk in Send immediately to the oven without mixing and cook steadily five hours Signed ELIZ N BLAIR MRS SENATOR DAVIS nOILED OYSTERS Mrs Cushman K Davis is another good cook and though she comes from Minnesota Minne-sota she can cook oysters equal to the best of the Baltimore chefs Here is her recipe for one of her dishes She heads it Plain broiled oysters on toast Take the largest oysters obtainable Brush the wire oysterboiler with softened butter lay in the oysters and broil over a hot fire two or three minutes basting once on each side with butter bush Dish side by side on a long slice of buttered toast in a dish Garnish with lemon and parsley Signed MRS C K DAVIS JUSTICE STRONGS BONED CUICEXN This dish is not a Lenten dish but it is so good that it will I doubt not cause many a cook to sin It comes from Miss Strong the daughter of the retiredjustice and it is well worth the trying The recipe reads Cut up a chicken into quite small pieces skin it and pour over three pints of cold water Boil it until the bones slip out of the meat easily then take out all the meat throw back the bones to boil in the liquor longer Chop the meat with the rind of one lemon having squeezed the juice into the boiling liquor Put the meat well seasoned into a jelly mould and when the liquor is boiled down fully onehalf strain it over the meat in the mould Next morning morn-ing turn out and serve with salad Signed JULIA DARLING STRONG MRS GENERAL RICKETTS CABINET PUNCH J have received a number of letters from ladies asking for punch recipes and though the subject of drinks hardly comes under Lenten dishes the pious can lay these recipes re-cipes aside until after Easter The more worldly will certainly appreciate i them Mrs General Ricketts was for years one of the leading enter I tertainers of Washington and here is a I recipe which has tickled the palates and stomachs of generals judges and statesmen states-men It is no baby drink aud it should betaken be-taken in moderation Pour three quarts of boiling water over three pounds of sugar Add one pint of lemon juice one pint of fine brandy or a quart of Jamaica rum Mix well and before using stir in onehalf pint of peach I brandy or cordiaL This will make you a gallon and three quarters of very nice I punch I THE CLARET PUNCH A claret punch made by one of the lead I ing ladies of Washington is more of a temperance tem-perance drink It is as follows I Take tho thin rind of three lemons three I pounds of sugar add one tablespoonful of I brown cinnamon onehalf tablespoonful of ground cloves and two grated nutmegs ° I Pour over this compound two quarts of boiling water and let it stand oue hour until thoroughly mixed Before serving add one half pint of rum and three bottles of claret and you will have a gallon of punch Slice three oranges and put them in a punch bowl and the dish will bo beautiful as well as appetizing SEVERAL CAKE RECIPES Some time ago a church fair in Washington Washing-ton gathered a number of recipes from j noted women and one of the leading ladies of the capital made a cook book of them and sold i it at the fair The book is very interesting and I take three or four of its most noted recipes to accompan those which I have gathered for this letter Here for instance is the way that firs Tom Bayne makes apple dumpling ergBoil three large potatoes mash and work in a lump of butter the size of an egg one cup of milk stir in with a spoon Hour enough to work up with the hand cut in pieces and wrap around the apples Tie in I cloths and boil hard for an hour Mrs Sherman uses this recipe for delicate deli-cate cake One pound of sugar lightweight light-weight one pound of flour light weight a little more than half a pound of butter whites of sixteen eggs beaten to a stiff froth beat butter and sugar to a cream and add the flour and eggs alternately until all are used Flavor with peach or lernoi Bake in a moderately quick oven No baking powder over Miss GRUXDY JR I |
