Button, button, who's got the button?

From VINCENNES WEEKLY GAZETTE, Vincennes, Indiana
November 24, 1866

Bad News for Unmarried Ladies — New Inventions

Among the new inventions is button which is fastened to cloth without thread. It is said to consist solely of a button with a wire to be inserted into the cloth like a cork-screw, and then pressed down flat, so as to form a ring to hold the button to its place. As this invention will enable men to keep the buttons on their shirts, it is calculated to do away with wives altogether.

Eleanor Conway Madison Hite (1760-1802) & One of My Favorite Virginia Churches

Emmanuel Episcopal Church in King George County, Virginia

The 1859 Gothic Revival church, completely surrounded by acres of flat farm fields, is located at old Port Conway, where the colonial King's Highway (now U.S. Route 301) crosses the beautiful Rappahannock River to the historic town of Port Royal in Caroline County on the opposite bank of the river. The community was a waterway and gathering place of some importance in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Just a few years after it was built, during the Civil War (1861-1865), the church was damaged by Federal soldiers. It was reportedly saved from further destruction by a Union soldier who began to play the pipe organ and felt so at home in the little church, that he persuaded his comrades to do it no harm.

Charles Peale Polk (1767-1822). Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway Madsion (1732-1829) of Belle Grove married James Madsion Sr 1749. Belle Grove Plantation.

Emmanuel Church sits just at the edge of Belle Grove plantation. In 1751, future President James Madison (1751-1836), the 4th president of the United States, was born at Belle Grove, the childhood home of his mother, Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway.

Charles Peale Polk (1767-1822), Col. James Madsion, Sr. (1723-1801) of Orange County, Virginia. (His father, Ambrose Madison (1696-1732), who owned 29 slaves, was killed in 1732, when 3 slaves poisoned him.) Belle Grove Plantation.

In 1987, Emmanuel Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it was renovated in 1997, retaining the charm & simplicity of its original state.

1783 Miniature Portrait of James Madsion (1751-1836) by Charles Willson Peale at the Library of Congress.

Perhaps I perceive the church as peaceful and quiet, because there is seldom anyone there. Worship services are held at the church only on the 3rd and 5th Sundays of each month at 10 a.m. But when the church does celebrate communion, hymns are played on the building's original 1860 tracker pipe organ.

1799 Charles Peale Polk (1767-1822). Eleanor Conway Madison Hite (1760-1802) & Son James Madison Hite (1793-1860). (James Madison Hite had been named for a brother who was born in 1788 but died in 1791.) Belle Grove Plantation.

The funny thing is that for several years, while I worked at the Maryland Historical Society, the large, quirky Charles Peale Polk portraits of James Madison's parents and sister dominated my office, just before they moved to their new home in Virginia. This family, which surrounded me every workday, seeped into my subconscious, and there they remain. Perhaps I am drawn to the tiny Victorian church, so close to Belle Grove in time and space, by forces beyond my ken.

1886 Teach Your Daughters

THE CHRISTIAN RECORDER, February 18, 1886, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Teach Your Daughters
Give your daughters a thorough education.

■Teach them to cook and prepare the food for the household.
■Teach them to wash, to iron and darn stockings and sew dresses.
■Teach them to make bread, and that a good kitchen lessens the doctor’s account.
■Teach them that he only lays up money whose expenses are less than his income, and that all grow poor who have to spend more than they receive.
■Teach them that a calico dress paid for fits better than a silken one until paid for.
■Teach them that a full, healthy face displays a greater luster than fifty cosmetic beauties.
■Teach them to purchase, and see that the accounts correspond with the purchase.
■Teach them good common sense, self-help and industry.
■Teach them that an honest mechanic in his working dress is a better object of esteem than a dozen haughty, finely dressed idlers.
■Teach them gardening and the pleasures of nature.
■Teach them, if you can afford it, music, painting, etc., but to consider them as secondary objects only.
■Teach them that the happiness of matrimony depends neither on external appearance nor wealth, but on the man’s character.

Thanks to Accessible Archives.

1849 Godey's Lady's Book advises Mothers Proper Children's Dress

Godey's Lady's Book, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Children’s Fashions – May 1849

So much for new English and Parisian fashions, which may be modified to suit our climate and the circumstances of the families in which they are adopted. The boy’s dress is certainly neat, and well suited to the ease and freedom boys naturally seek in the country. The third figure is by far the most suitable of the others, and has a pretty childish grace. As we have before hinted, the slip in figure four, if modified to an apron, would be at once pretty and serviceable. There is nothing new in the arrangement of the hair. Very little girls either wear it short and turned back from the forehead with a comb, or parted in the centre and falling in ringlets. Curls should becultivated, if possible. Nature would seem to point to them as the most suitable style for children. Little school girls still patronize the braid, a la Kenwig; those a little older cross the plaits on the back of the head and tie them behind the ears with a pretty ribbon. The skirts of their dresses are made much longer than a few years since, when every child looked like a juvenile opera-dancer; and pantalettes are quite too childlike and pretty to be given up. In dressing children, the first thing to be looked to is securing their health and comfort; then display the taste you may possess, so far as it does not interfere with simplicity. No child is well dressed who is overloaded with finery or decked with jeweled ornaments. Simplicity is the first and the last rule to be observed.

Plate Description
■1st figure. — Misses dinner dress, or demi-toilette for the country. The dress itself, white jaconet, with four rows of embroidery upon the skirt. The corsage half high, and finished with a tucker of fine lace. Sleeves gathered at the wrist. A blue sash and hair ribbons.
■2d figure. — Small jacket, open and rounded in front, of dark velvet, cloth or cashmere, with buttons of the same. Small square linen collar turned over; a ribbon necktie. Loose trowsers of blue and white-striped linen. Cap of dark cloth.
■3d figure. — Dress of white lawn, a fall infant waist, and short sleeves; slip of pink French lawn, with the skirt as long as the dress, the waist made lower by an inch or two. Gaiters, and frilled pantalettes showing a few inches. It will be noticed that the slip is tight behind, and is fastened by the bands and buttons in front— closed only at the bottom of the waist. Neat and useful aprons might be made in this style, having the skin a little shorter than the dress.
■4th figure. — Coarse straw bonnet lined and trimmed with blue silk. White open-worked muslin waist, and a skirt of some light and delicate material. It may either be a glace silk, as in the plate, or lawn, French cambric, etc. etc., as best suits the mother’s taste. Pantalettes quite plain, and finished by a narrow frill.

Thanks to Accessible Archives.

1837 Advice on Raising Children

WEEKLY ADVOCATE, February 25, 1837

We should labor to excite in children a detestation of all that is mean, cunning, or false; to inspire them with a spirit of openness, honor, and candor; making them feel how noble it is, always to speak the simple, unalterable truth – whether it tell for or against themselves. But to effect this, our example must uniformly concur with our instructions. Our whole behaviour to them should be fair and without artifice. We should never deceive them, never employ cunning to gain our ends, or to spare present trouble. For instance, to assure a child that the medicine he is about to take is pleasant, when it is not so. Artifice is generally detected even by children. There is much to the old proverb, “a cunning trick helps but once, and hinders ever after.”

Great caution is required in making promises; but when made, we should see that we are rigid in performing them; our word passed, must not be broken.

The meanness of tale-bearing and detraction should be strongly impressed upon the mind in early life; and children reminded, that not only duty, but a sense of honor, should lead them not to speak that of an absent person which they would not speak were he present.

If we have grounds to suppose a child guilty of misconduct, it is better to ascertain the truth by our own observation, or the evidence of others, than by a forced confession from himself. Yet sometimes it may be necessary to question him in order to find out the certainty. This must be done with great caution, not with that vehemence and hurry so commonly employed on such occasions; but with calmness and affection; cautioning him against answering in haste; reminding him of the importance of speaking the truth; of our willingness to forgive, if he freely confess his fault, and show himself upright and honorable in his conduct.

And to establish an habitual regard to the principle of honesty, children should not be permitted to pick up the smallest article, without inquiring to whom it belongs. This easy rule, and asking leave, even when very young, before they take any thing, will give them a strong regard to the property of others. To habituate children to ask permission, is equivalent to seeking advice in more advanced years.

See: Accessible Archives.

1891 Godey's Lady's Book Advice on Bathing and Exercise

Godey's Lady's Book, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 1891

The Toilet by Olivia Phillips

Ramon Casas i Carbó (Catalan Spanish artist, 1866–1932), Preparing the Bath

THE BATH AND EXERCISE.

THE first duty of a young girl is to be in health.

I should say the first duty of everyone is to follow such courses in living, that the greatest and best health may be enjoyed.

To be perfectly well, and in the fullest enjoyment of all our faculties,both mental and physical,one must have an abundance of pure air and water, articles cheap and plentiful, and to be had for the asking.

In starting out to build a house, one begins, of course, at the foundation—in attempting to make oneself healthy and beautiful, we must follow the builder’s example.

It is a conceded fact that paper and paint, although for a season they might beautify an old building, could never give strength or comeliness to its foundation.

All the cosmetics in the land applied to an unclean or uncared-for body, only make the imperfections greater and the wearer an object of ridicule.

Let us then begin at the foundation of health and beauty, and knowing that “cleanliness is next to godliness”—let us purify ourselves, if need be.

“How often shall I bathe?” seems to some a useless and unnecessary question, yet many there be who need instruction concerning the bath.

Bathe every day, the body needs the rest and refreshment of water, as much as the face and hands. There would be fewer colds and less sickness, during our winter months even, if the daily bath were more popular.

A clear and pure complexion, even in the plainest women, is one of her greatest charms, and to insure a clear complexion the blood must be carefully cleansed, and water and out-door exercise are the two greatest purifiers.

In the cold weather a warm sponge bath, followed by careful rubbing and sure drying, just before retiring, is refreshing and in many instances a cure for insomnia. If one is careful there is no danger of taking cold.

In the warm summer days, the morning bath is one of the delights of living.

In the morning or at night, try which suits you best—use your own commonsense—a hot bath for some, a cold bath for others, whichever you can stand, but let your bath be as regular as the sun’s rising, if you desire a clear and beautiful skin.

Turkish baths, if convenient, do much toward purifying the skin, and starting the blood in strong currents through all the smaller veins.

So many fancy soaps are thrown upon the market that one is bewildered which of them to choose.

A friend’s experience amused me greatly, on being asked which was her favorite soap, she replied:

“Oh! I haven’t any. I bought a box of Pear’s soap and used that, then I tried cashmere bouquet, then Coudray’s lettuce soap—after that Colgate’s turtle oil, and almond soap. Now, I’m using white rose. I don’t see any difference. I like them all, but nothing will make my face white.”

Poor girl! Her face must have had a marvelous constitution to stand the wear and tear of such treatment.

I agree with my friend. They are all excellent soaps, but it is best to choose one kind, which agrees with your skin,and stick to that kind, for many changes are very injurious.

Some may ask “are the scented soaps pure and desirable for the bath—is not Castile better?”

The soaps made by reliable houses areas pure as they can be.

Our own American soaps are very fine, and compare favorably with the imported soaps, and are less expensive.

Castile is a desirable soap to have on hand, but for my part I prefer the scented soaps, of the best makes. They leave a pleasant and refreshing oder, which is by no means unpleasant.

But in this, as in many respects, one must follow her own taste.

In using soap, be sure that every bit of the lather is carefully rinsed off.

A little ammonia in the daily bath, about a gill to a pailful, makes a pleasant solution, and has a beneficial effect.

Rose water and glycerine, too, has a tendency to soften, and still give tone and smoothness to the skin.

A spoonful of ammonia in a bowl of water, and used every morning to bathe the arm-pits and the feet, will destroy the disagreeable oder which is so annoying.

Towels should receive our attention and care. A fine, soft, damask towel for the face is best, and the face should be dried by patting it, and not scrubbing it as you would other parts of the body.

It is a good plan to buy Turkish toweling by the yards and make them into towels almost as large as small sheets.

The women of Constantinople have immense towels which envelop the body, and dry it at once, so preventing any possible cold.

OUT-DOOR EXERCISE

Next in importance to the bath is out-door exercise, sunlight and air—pure air.

The young need physical movement, plenty of laughing and good times, and all the innocent jollities of life tend to make the blood flow faster through each vein and artery, and keep the wrinkles from our faces.

An English woman is more beautiful than a French woman, and why?

Because of her out-door life. The English children are constantly in the open air—they do not dine with their parents, they eat no sweetmeats.

We Americans might learn much from the English if we would.

Taine, in his English notes, says:

“In spite of the perpetual fogs—rain nearly every day and the most execrable walking—the English ladies walk. Look at the foot-covering of the ladies! Their boots are as large as the men’s, their feet like water-men—their gait is in keeping.”

The American girl must walk—if she would be healthy and beautiful too, she must not dress herself in stylish array and promenade the crowded and fashionable thoroughfares, filled with rattling carts and the rasping cry of the street venders.

Seek out some quiet and beautiful street, as far from noise and confusion as you can get; and with head erect, shoulders back, feet encased in comfortable common-sense shoes, give yourself up to the beauties of the hour—take God’s pure air into your lungs, and gather health and beauty with every breathing.

Don’t be afraid of the sun and sunlight—when obliged to stay in-doors, take your sewing, your reading or whatever you must do to the sunniest window, let its warm rays fall full upon you and give you strength and beauty.

See: Accessible Archives.

19C Young Women Getting Ready for the Day by Berthe Morisot 1841-1895

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Getting Up

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Woman Getting Dressed

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Psyche

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Young Woman at the Mirror

Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Young Woman Powdering Her Face.

Soups from Virginian Mary Randolph 1762-1828

The Virginia Housewife: or, Methodical Cook
By Mary Randolph 1762-1828
Baltimore: Plaskitt, Fite, 1838

Soups

ASPARAGUS SOUP.
TAKE four large bunches of asparagus, scrape it nicely, cut off one inch of the tops, and lay them in water, chop the stalks and put them on the fire with a piece of bacon, a large onion cut up, and pepper and salt; add two quarts of water, boil them till the stalks are quite soft, then pulp them through a sieve, and strain the water to it, which must be put back in the pot; put into it a chicken cut up, with the tops of asparagus which had been laid by, boil it until these last articles are sufficiently done, thicken with flour,butter and milk, and serve it up.

BEEF SOUP.
TAKE the hind shin of beef, cut off all the flesh off the leg-bone, which must be taken away entirely, or the soup will be greasy. Wash the meat clean and
lay it in a pot, sprinkle over it one small table-spoonful of pounded black pepper, and two of salt; three onions the size of a hen's egg, cut small, six small carrots scraped and cut up, two small turnips pared and cut into dice; pour on three quarts of water, cover the pot close, and keep it gently and steadily boiling five hours, which will leave about three pints of clear soup; do not let the pot boil over, but take off the scum carefully, as it rises. When it has boiled four hours, put in a small bundle of thyme and parsley, and a pint of celery cut small, or a tea-spoonful of celery seed pounded. These latter ingredients would lose their delicate flavour if boiled too much. Just before you take it up, brown it in the following manner: put a small table-spoonful of nice brown sugar into an iron skillet, set it on the fire and stir it till it melts and looks very dark, pour into it a ladle full of the soup, a little at a time; stirring it all the while. Strain this browning and mix it well with the soup; take out the bundle of thyme and parsley, put the nicest pieces of meat in your tureen, and pour on the soup and vegetables; put in some toasted bread cut in dice, and serve it up.

GRAVY SOUP.
GET eight pounds of coarse lean beef- wash it clean and lay it in your pot, put in the same ingredients as for the shin soup, with the same quantity of water, and follow the process directed for that. Strain the soup through a sieve, and serve it up clear, with nothing more than toasted bread in it; two table-spoonsful of mushroom catsup will add a fine flavour to the soup.

SOUP WITH BOUILLI.
TAKE the nicest part of the thick brisket of beef, about eight pounds, put it into a pot with every thing directed for the other soup; make it exactly in the same way, only put it on an hour sooner, that you may have time to prepare the bouilli; after it has boiled five hours, take out the beef, cover up the soup and set it near the fire that it may keep hot. Take the skin off the beef, have the yolk of an egg well beaten, dip a feather in it and wash the top of your beef, sprinkle over it the crumb of stale bread finely grated, put it in a Dutch oven previously heated, put the top on with coals enough to brown, but not burn the beef; let it stand nearly an hour, and prepare your gravy thus:- Take a sufficient quantity of soup and the vegetables boiled in it; add to it a table-spoonful of red wine, and two of mushroom catsup, thicken with a little bit of butter and a little brown flour; make it very hot, pour it in your dish, and put the beef on it. Garnish it with green pickle, cut in thin slices, serve up the soup in a tureen with bits of toasted bread.

VEAL SOUP.
PUT into a pot three quarts of water, three onions cut small, one spoonful of black pepper pounded, and two of salt, with two or three slices of lean ham; let it boil steadily two hours; skim it occasionally, then put into it a shin of veal, let it boil two hours longer; take out the slices of ham, and skim off the grease if any should rise, take a gill of good cream, mix with it two table-spoonsful of flour very nicely, and the yelks of two eggs beaten well, strain this mixture, and add some chopped parsley; pour some soup on by degrees, stir it well, and pour it into the pot, continuing to stir until it has boiled two or three minutes to take off the raw taste of the eggs. If the cream be not perfectly sweet, and the eggs quite new, the thickening will curdle in the soup. For a change you may put a dozen ripe tomatos in, first taking off their skins, by letting them stand a few minutes in hot water, when they may be easily peeled. When made in this way you must thicken it with the flour only. Any part of the veal may be used, but the shin or knuckle is the nicest.

OYSTER SOUP.
WASH and drain two quarts of oysters, put them on with three quarts of water, three onions chopped up, two or three slices of lean ham,pepper and salt; boil it till reduced one-half, strain it through a sieve, return the liquid into the pot, put in one quart of fresh oysters, boil it till they are sufficiently done, and thicken the soup with four spoonsful of flour, two gills of rich cream, and the yelks of six new laid eggs beaten well; boil it a few minutes after the thickening is put in. Take care that it does not curdle, and that the flour is not in lumps; serve it up with the last oysters that were put in. If the flavour of thyme be agreeable, you may put in a little, but take care that it does not boil in it long enough to discolour the soup.

BARLEY SOUP.
PUT on three gills of barley, three quarts of water, a few onions cut up, six carrots scraped and cut into dice, an equal quantity of turnips cut small; boil it gently two hours, then put in four or five pounds of the rack or neck of mutton, a few slices of lean ham, with pepper and salt; boil it slowly two hours longer and serve it up. Tomatos are an excellent addition to this soup.

DRIED PEA SOUP.
TAKE one quart of split peas, or Lima beans, which are better; put them in three quarts of very soft water with three onions chopped up, pepper and salt; boil them two hours; mash them well and pass them through a sieve; return the liquid into the pot, thicken it with a large piece of butter and flour, put in some slices of nice salt pork, and a large tea-spoonful of celery seed pounded; boil it till the pork is done, and serve it up; have some toasted bread cut into dice and fried in butter, which must be put in the tureen before you pour in the soup.

GREEN PEA SOUP.
MAKE it exactly as you do the dried pea soup, only in place of the celery seed, put a handful of mint chopped small, and a pint of young peas, which must be boiled in the soup till tender; thicken it with a quarter of a pound of butter, and two spoonsful of flour.

OCHRA SOUP.
GET two double handsful of young ochra, wash and slice it thin, add two onions chopped fine, put it into a gallon of water at a very early hour in an earthen pipkin, or very nice iron pot; it must be kept steadily simmering, but not boiling: put in pepper and salt. At 12 o'clock, put in a handful of Lima beans; at half-past one o'clock, add three young cimlins cleaned and cut in small pieces, a fowl, or knuckle of veal, a bit of bacon or pork that has been boiled, and six tomatos, with the skin taken off; when nearly done, thicken with a spoonful of butter, mixed with one of flour. Have rice boiled to eat with it.

HARE OR RABBIT SOUP.
CUT up two hares, put them into a pot with a piece of bacon, two onions chopped, a bundle of thyme and parsley, which must be taken out before the soup is thickened, add pepper,salt, pounded cloves, and mace, put in a sufficient quantity of water, stew it gently three hours, thicken with a large spoonful of butter, and one of brown flour, with a glass of red wine; boil it a few minutes longer, and serve it up with the nicest parts of the hares.Squirrels make soup equally good, done the same way.

SOUP OF ANY KIND OF OLD FOWL,
The only way in which they are eatable.
PUT the fowls in a coop and feed them moderately for a fortnight; kill one and cleanse it, cut off the legs and wings, and separate the breast from the ribs, which, together with the whole back, must be thrown away, being too gross and strong for use. Take the skin and fat from the parts cut off which are also gross. Wash the pieces nicely, and put them on the fire with about a pound of bacon, a large onion chopped small, some pepper and salt, a few blades of mace, a handful of parsley, cut up very fine, and two quarts of water, if it be a common fowl or duck- a turkey will require more water. Boil it gently for three hours, tie up a small bunch of thyme, and let it boil in it half an hour, then take it out. Thicken your soup with a large spoonful of butter rubbed into two of flour, the yelks of two eggs, and half a pint of milk. Be careful not to let it curdle in the soup.

CATFISH SOUP,
An excellent dish for those who have not imbibed a needless prejudice against those delicious fish. TAKE two large or four small white catfish that have been caught in deep water, cut off the heads, and skin and clean the bodies; cut each in three parts, put them in a pot, with a pound of lean bacon, a large onion cut up, a handful of parsley chopped small, some pepper and salt, pour in a sufficient quantity of water, and stew them till the fish are quite tender but not broken; beat the yelks of four fresh eggs. add to them a large spoonful of butter, two of flour, and half a pint of rich milk; make all these warm and thicken the soup, take out the bacon, and put some of the fish in your tureen, pour in the soup, and serve it up.

ONION SOUP.
CHOP up twelve large onions, boil them in three quarts of milk and water equally mixed, put in a bit of veal or fowl, and a piece of bacon with pepper and salt. When the onions are boiled to pulp, thicken it with a large spoonful of butter mixed with one of flour. Take out the meat, and serve it up with toasted bread cut in small pieces in the soup.

TO DRESS TURTLE.
KILL it at night in winter, and in the morning in summer. Hang it up by the hind fins, cut off the head and let it bleed well. Separate the bottom shell from the top, with great care, lest the gall bladder be broken, which must be cautiously taken out and thrown away. Put the liver in a bowl of water. Empty the guts and lay them in water; if there be eggs, put them also in water. It is proper to have a separate bowl of water for each article. Cut all the flesh from the bottom shell, and lay it in water; then break the shell in two, put it in a pot after having washed it clean; pour on as much water as will cover it entirely, add one pound of middling, or flitch of bacon, with four onions chopped, and set it on the fire to boil. Open the guts, cleanse them perfectly; take off the inside skin, and put them in the pot with the shell; let them boil steadily for three hours, and if the water boils away too much, add more. Wash the top shell nicely after taking out the flesh, cover it, and set it by. Parboil the fins, clean them nicely- taking off all the black skin, and put them in water; cut the flesh taken from the bottom and top shell, in small pieces; cut the fins in two, lay them with the flesh in a dish; sprinkle some salt over, and cover them up. When the shell, &c. is done, take out the bacon, scrape the shell clean, and strain the liquor; about one quart of which must be put back in the pot; reserve the rest for soup; pick out the guts, and cut them in small pieces; take all the nice bits that were strained out, put them with the guts into the gravy; lay in the fins cut in pieces with them, and as much of the flesh as will be sufficient to fill the upper shell; add to it (if a large turtle,) one bottle of white wine;cayenne pepper, and salt, to your taste, one gill of mushroom catsup, one gill of lemon pickle,mace,nutmegs and cloves, pounded, to season it high. Mix two large spoonsful of flour in one pound and a quarter of butter; put it in with thyme,parsley,marjoram and savory, tied in bunches; stew all these together, till the flesh and fins are tender; wash out the top shell, put a puff paste around the brim; sprinkle over the shell pepper and salt, then take the herbs out of the stew; if the gravy is not thick enough, add a little more flour, and fill the shell; should there be no eggs in the turtle, boil six new laid ones for ten minutes, put them in cold water a short time, peel them, cut them in two, and place them on the turtle; make a rich forcemeat, (see receipt for forcemeat,) fry the balls nicely, and put them also in the shell; set it in a dripping pan, with something under the sides to keep it steady; have the oven heated as for bread, and let it remain in it till nicely browned. Fry the liver and send it in hot.

FOR THE SOUP.
AT an early hour in the morning, put on eight pounds of coarse beef, some bacon,onions,sweet herbs,pepper and salt. Make a rich soup, strain it and thicken with a bit of butter, and brown flour; add to it the water left from boiling the bottom shell; season it very high with wine,catsup,spice and cayenne; put in the flesh you reserved, and if that is not enough, add the nicest parts of a well boiled calf's head; but do not use the eyes or tongue; let it boil till tender, and serve it up with fried forcemeat balls in it.
If you have curry powder, (see receipt for it,) it will give a higher flavour to both soup and turtle, than spice. Should you not want soup, the remaining flesh may be fried, and served with a rich gravy.

MOCK TURTLE SOUP OF CALF'S HEAD.
HAVE a large head cleaned nicely without taking off the skin, divide the chop from the front of the head, take out the tongue, (which is best when salted,) put on the head with a gallon of water, the hock of a ham or a piece of nice pork, four or five onions,thyme,parsley,cloves and nutmeg,pepper and salt, boil all these together until the flesh on the head is quite tender, then take it up, cut all into small pieces, take the eyes out carefully, strain the water in which it was boiled, add half a pint of wine and a gill of mushroom catsup, let it boil slowly till reduced to two quarts, thicken it with two spoonsful of browned flour rubbed into four ounces of butter, put the meat in and after stewing it a short time, serve it up. The eyes are a great delicacy.

From the Farm - Beef Recipes from Virginian Mary Randolph 1762-1828

The Virginia Housewife: or, Methodical Cook
By Mary Randolph 1762-1828
Baltimore: Plaskitt, Fite, 1838

Beef Recipes

DIRECTIONS FOR CURING BEEF.
PREPARE your brine in the middle of October, after the following manner: get a thirty gallon cask, take out one head, drive in the bung, and put some pitch on it, to prevent leaking. See that the cask is quite tight and clean. Put into it one pound of saltpetre powdered, fifteen quarts of salt, and fifteen gallons of cold water; stir it frequently, until dissolved, throw over the cask a thick cloth, to keep out the dust; look at it often and take off the scum. These proportions have been accurately ascertained- fifteen gallons of cold water will exactly hold, in solution, fifteen quarts of good clean Liverpool salt, and one pound of saltpetre: this brine will be strong enough to bear up an egg: if more salt be added, it will fall to the bottom without strengthening the brine, the water being already saturated. This brine will cure all the beef which a private family can use in the course of the winter, and requires nothing more to be done to it except occasionally skimming the dross that rises. It must be kept in a cool, dry place. For salting your beef, get a molasses hogshead and saw it in two, that the beef may have space to lie on; bore some holes in the bottom of these tubs, and raise them on one side about an inch, that the bloody brine may run off.

Be sure that your beef is newly killer- rub each piece very well with good Liverpool salt- a vast deal depends upon rubbing the salt into every part- it is unnecessary to put saltpetre on it; sprinkle a good deal of salt on the bottom of the tub. When the beef is well salted, lay it in the tub, and be sure you put the fleshy side downward. Put a great deal of salt on your beef after it is packed in the tub; this protects it from animals who might eat, if they could smell it, and does not waste the salt, for the beef can only dissolve a certain portion. You must let the beef lie in salt ten days, then take it out, brush off the salt, and wipe it with a damp cloth; put it in the brine with a bit of board and weight to keep it under. In about ten days it will look red and be fit for the table, but it will be red much sooner when the brine becomes older. The best time to begin to salt beef is the latter end of October, if the weather be cool, and from that time have it in succession. When your beef is taken out of the tub, stir the salt about to dry, that it may be ready for the next pieces. Tongues are cured in the same manner.

TO DRY BEEF FOR SUMMER USE.
THE best pieces for this purpose are the thin briskets, or that part of the plate which is farthest from the shoulder of the animal, the round and rib pieces which are commonly used for roasting. These should not be cut with long ribs and the back-bones must be sawed off as close as possible, that the piece may lay flat in the dish. About the middle of February, select your beef from an animal well fatted with corn, and which, when killed, will weigh one hundred and fifty per quarter- larger oxen are always coarse. Salt the pieces as directed, let them lie one fortnight, then put them in brine, where they must remain three weeks: take them out at the end of the time, wipe them quite dry, rub them over with bran, and hang them in a cool, dry, and, if possible, dark place, that the flies may not get to them: they must be suspended, and not allowed to touch any thing. It will be necessary, in the course of the summer, to look them over occasionally, and after a long wet season, to lay them in the sun a few hours. Your tongues may be dried in the same manner. Make a little hole in the root, run a twine through it, and suspend it. These dried meats must be put in a good quantity of water, to
soak, the night before they are to be used. In boiling, it is absolutely necessary to have a large quantity of water to put the beef in while the water is cold, to boil steadily, skimming the pot, until the bones are ready to fall out; and, if a tongue, till the skin peels off with perfect ease: the skin must also be taken from the beef. The housekeeper who will buy good ox beef, and follow these directions exactly, may be assured of always having delicious beef on her table. Ancient prejudice has established a notion, that meat killed in the decrease of the moon, will draw up when cooked. The true cause of this shrinking, may be found in the old age of the animal, or in its diseased state, at the time of killing. The best age is from three to five years.

Few persons are aware of the injury they sustain, by eating the flesh of diseased animals. None but the Jewish butchers, who are paid exclusively for it, attend to this important circumstance. The best rule for judging that I have been able to discover, is the colour of the fat. When the fat of beef is a high shade of yellow, I reject it. If the fat of veal, mutton, lamb or pork, have the slightest tinge of yellow. I avoid it as diseased. The same rule holds good when applied to poultry.

TO CORN BEEF IN HOT WEATHER.
TAKE a piece of thin brisket or plate, cut out the ribs nicely, rub it on both sides well with two large spoonsful of pounded saltpetre; pour on it a gill of molasses and a quart of salt; rub them both in; put it in a vessel just large enough to hold it, but not tight, for the bloody brine must run off as it makes, or the meat will spoil. Let it be well covered, top, bottom and sides, with the molasses and salt. In four days you may boil it, tied up in a cloth with the salt, &c. about it: when done, take the skin off nicely, and serve it up. If you have an ice-house or refrigerator, it will be best to keep it there. A fillet or breast of veal, and a leg or rack of mutton, are excellent done in the same way.

ROASTING, BOILING, FRYING, &C.
IN roasting butcher's meat, be careful not to run the spit through the nice parts: let the piece lie in water one hour, then wash it out, wipe it perfectly dry, and put it on the spit. Set it before a clear, steady fire: sprinkle some salt on it, and when it becomes hot, baste it for a time with salt and water: then put a good spoonful of nice lard into the dripping-pan, and when melted, continue to baste with it. When your meat, of whatever kind, has been down some time, but before it begins to look brown, cover it with paper and baste on it; when it is nearly done, take off the peper, dredge it with flour, turn the spit for some minutes very quick, and baste all the time to raise a froth- after which, serve it up. When mutton is roasted, after you take off the paper, loosen the skin and peel it off carefully, then dredge and froth it up. Beef and mutton must not be roasted as much as veal, lamb, or pork; the two last must be skinned in the manner directed for mutton. You may pour a little melted butter in the dish with veal, but all the others must be served without sauce, and garnished with horse-radish, nicely scraped. Be careful not to let a particle of dry flour be seen on the meat- it has a very ill appearance. Beef may look brown, but the whiter the other meats are, the more genteel are they, and if properly roasted, they may be perfectly done, and quite white. A loin of veal, and hind quarter of lamb, should be dished with the kidneys uppermost; and be sure to joint every thing that is to be separated at table, or it will be impossible to carve neatly. For those who must have gravy with these meats, let it be made in any way they like, and served in a boat. No meat can be well roasted except on a spit turned by a jack, and before a steady clear fire- other methods are no better than baking. Many cooks are in the habit of half boiling the meats to plump them as they turn it, before they are spitted, but it destroys their fine flavour. Whatever is to be boiled, must be put into cold water with a little salt, which will cook them regularly. When they are put in boiling water, the outer side is done too much, before the inside gets heated. Nice lard is much better than butter for basting roasted meats, or for frying. To choose butchers' meat, you must see that the fat is not yellow, and that the lean parts are of a fine close grain, a lively colour, and will feel tender when pinched. Poultry should be well covered with white fat; if the bottom of the breast bone be gristly, it is young, but if it be a hard bone, it is an old one. Fish are judged by the liveliness of their eyes, and bright red of their gills. Dredge every thing with flour before it is put on to boil, and be sure to add salt to the water.

Fish, and all other articles for frying, after being nicely prepared, should be laid on a board and dredged with flour or meal mixed with salt: when it becomes dry on one side, turn it, and dredge the other. For broiling, have very clear coals, sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the pieces, and when done, dish them, and pour over some melted butter and chopped parsley- this is for broiled veal,wild fowl, birds or poultry: beef-steaks and mutton chops require only a table-spoonful of hot water to be poured over. Slice an onion in the dish before you put in the steaks or chops, and garnish both with rasped horse-radish. To have viands served in perfection, the dishes should be made hot, either by setting them over hot water, or by putting some in them, and the instant the meats are laid in and garnished, put on a pewter dish cover. A dinner looks very enticing, when the steam rises from each dish on removing the covers, and if it be judiciously ordered, will have a double relish. Profusion is not elegance- a dinner justly calculated for the company, and consisting for the greater part of small articles, correctly prepared, and neatly served up, will make a much more pleasing appearance to the sight, and give a far greater gratification to the appetite, than a table loaded with food, and from the multiplicity of dishes, unavoidably neglected in the preparation, and served up cold.

There should always be a supply of brown flour kept in readiness to thicken brown gravies, which must be prepared in the following manner: put a pint of flour in a Dutch oven, with some coals under it; keep constantly stirring it until it is uniformly of a dark brown, but none of it burnt, which would look like dirt in the gravy. All kitchens should be provided with a saw for trimming meat, and also with larding needles.

BEEF A-LA-MODE.
TAKE the bone from a round of beef, fill the space with a forcemeat made of the crumbs of a stale loaf, four ounces of marrow, two heads of garlic chopped with thyme and parsley, some nutmeg,cloves,pepper and salt, mix it to a paste with the yelks of four eggs beaten, stuff the lean part of the round with it, and make balls of the remainder; sew a fillet of strong linen wide enough to keep it round and compact, put it in a vessel just sufficiently large to hold it, add a pint of red wine, cover it with sheets of tin or iron, set it in a brick oven properly heated, and bake it three hours; when done, skim the fat from the gravy, thicken it with brown flour, add some mushroom and walnut catsup, and serve it up garnished with forcemeat balls fried. It is still better when eaten cold with sallad.

BRISKET OF BEEF BAKED.
BONE a brisket of beef, and make holes in it with a sharp knife about an inch apart, fill them alternately with fat bacon,parsley and oysters, all chopped small and seasoned with pounded cloves and nutmeg,pepper and salt, dredge it well with flour, lay it in a pan with a pint of red wine and a large spoonful of lemon pickle; bake it three hours, take the fat from the gravy and strain it; serve it up garnished with green pickles.

BEEF OLIVES.
CUT slices from a fat rump of beef six inches long and half an inch thick, beat them well with a pestle; make a forcemeat of bread crumbs,fat bacon chopped, parsley, a little onion, some shred suet, pounded mace,pepper and salt; mix it up with the yelks of eggs, and spread a thin layer over each slice of beef, roll it up tight, and secure the rolls with skewers, set them before the fire, and turn them till they are a nice brown; have ready a pint of good gravy, thickened with brown flour and a spoonful of butter, a gill of red wine, with two spoonsful of mushroom catsup, lay the rolls in it, and stew them till tender; garnish with forcemeat balls.

TO STEW A RUMP OF BEEF.
TAKE out as much of the bone as can be done with a saw, that it may lie flat on the dish, stuff it with forcemeat made as before directed, lay it in a pot with two quarts of water, a pint of red wine, some carrots and turnips cut in small pieces and stewed over it, a head of cellery cut up, a few cloves of garlic, some pounded cloves,pepper and salt, stew it gently till sufficiently done, skim the fat off, thicken the gravy, and serve it up; garnish with little bits of puff paste nicely baked, and scraped horse-radish.

A FRICANDO OF BEEF.
CUT a few slices of beef six inches long, two or three wide, and one thick, lard them with bacon, dredge them well, and make them a nice brown before a brisk fire; stew them half an hour in a well seasoned gravy, put some stewed sorrel or spinage in the dish, lay on the beef, and pour over a sufficient quantity of gravy; garnish with fried balls.

AN EXCELLENT METHOD OF DRESSING BEEF.
TAKE a rib roasting piece that has been hanging ten days or a fortnight, bone it neatly, rub some salt over it and roll it tight, binding it around with twine, put the spit through the inner fold without sticking it in the flesh, skewer it well and roast it nicely; when nearly done, dredge and froth it; garnish with scraped horse-radish.

TO COLLAR A FLANK OF BEEF.
GET a nice flank of beef, rub it well with a large portion of saltpetre and common salt, let it remain ten days, then wash it clean, take off the outer and inner skin with the gristle, spread it on a board, and cover the inside with the following mixture: parsley,sage,thyme chopped fine, pepper,salt and pounded cloves; roll it up, sew a cloth over it, and bandage that with tape, boil it gently five or six hours, when cold, lay it on a board without undoing it, put another board on the top, with a heavy weight on it; let it remain twenty-four hours, take off the bandages, cut a thin slice from each end, serve it up garnished with green pickle and sprigs of parsley.

TO MAKE HUNTER'S BEEF.
SELECT a fine fat round weighing about twenty-five pounds, take three ounces saltpetre, one ounce of cloves, half an ounce of alspice, a large nutmeg, and a quart of salt; pound them all together very fine, take the bone out, rub it well with this mixture on both sides, put some of it at the bottom of a tub just large enough to hold the beef, lay it in and strew the remainder on the top, rub it well every day for two weeks, and spread the mixture over it; at the end of this time, wash the beef, bind it with tape, to keep it round and compact, filling the hole where the bone was with a piece of fat, lay it in a pan of convenient size, strew a little suet over the top, and pour on it a pint of water, cover the pan with a coarse crust and a thick paper over that, it will take five hours baking; when cold take off the tape. It is a delicious relish at twelve o'clock, or for supper, eaten with vinegar,mustard,oil, or sallad. Skim the grease from the gravy and bottle it; it makes an excellent seasoning for any made dish.

A NICE LITTLE DISH OF BEEF.
MINCE cold roast beef, fat and lean, very fine, add chopped onion,pepper,salt, and a little good gravy, fill scollop shells two parts full, and fill them up with potatos mashed smooth with cream, put a bit of butter on the top, and set them in an oven to brown.

BEEF STEAKS.
THE best part of the beef for steaks, is the seventh and eighth ribs, the fat and lean are better mixed, and it is more tender than the rump if it be kept long enough; cut the steaks half an inch thick, beat them a little, have fine clear coals, rub the bars of the gridiron with a cloth dipped in lard before you put it over the coals, that none may drip to cause a bad smell, put no salt on till you dish them, broil them quick, turning them frequently; the dish must be very hot, put some slices of onion in it, lay in the steaks, sprinkle a little salt, and pour over them a spoonful of water and one of mushroom catsup, both made boiling hot, garnish with scraped horse-radish, and put on a hot dish cover. Every thing must be in readiness, for the great excellence of a beef steak lies in having it immediately from the gridiron.

TO HASH BEEF.
Cut slices of raw beef, put them in a stew pan with a little water, some catsup, a clove of garlic,pepper and salt, stew them till done, thicken the gravy with a lump of butter rubbed into brown flour. A hash may be made of any kind of meat that has been cooked, but it is not so good, and it is necessary to have a gravy prepared and seasoned, and keep the hash over the fire only a few minutes to make it hot.

BEEF STEAK PIE.
CUT nice steaks, and stew them till half done, put a puff paste in the dish, lay in the steaks with a few slices of boiled ham, season the gravy very high, pour it in the dish, put on a lid of paste and bake it.

BEEF A-LA-DAUBE.
GET a round of beef,lard it well, and put it in a Dutch oven; cut the meat from a shin of beef, or any coarse piece in thin slices, put round the sides and over the top some slices of bacon,salt,pepper,onion,thyme,parsley,cellery tops, or seed pounded, and some carrots cut small, strew the pieces of beef over, cover it with water, let it stew very gently till perfectly done, take out the round, strain the gravy, let it stand to be cold, take off the grease carefully, beat the whites of four eggs, mix a little water with them, put them to the gravy, let it boil till it looks clear, strain it, and when cold, put it over the beef.

Gone Fishin' - Fish Recipes from Virginian Mary Randolph 1762-1828

The Virginia Housewife: or, Methodical Cook
By Mary Randolph 1762-1828
Baltimore: Plaskitt, Fite, 1838

FISH Recipes

TO CURE HERRINGS.
THE best method for preserving herrings, and which may be followed with ease, for a small family, is to take the brine left of your winter stock for beef, to the fishing place, and when the seine is hauled, to pick out the largest herrings, and throw them alive into the brine; let them remain twenty-four hours, take them out and lay them on sloping planks, that the brine may drain off; have a tight barrel, put some coarse alum salt at the bottom, then put in a layer of herrings--take care not to bruise them; sprinkle over it alum salt and some saltpetre, then fish, salt, and saltpetre, till the barrel is full; keep a board over it. Should they not make brine enough to cover them in a few weeks, you must add some, for they will be rusty if not kept under brine. The proper time to salt them is when they are quite fat: the scales will adhere closely to a lean herring, but will be loose on a fat one--the former is not fit to be eaten. Do not be sparing of salt when you put them up. When they are to be used, take a few out of brine, soak them an hour or two, scale them nicely, pull off the gills, and the only entrail they have will come with them; wash them clean and hang them up to dry. When to be broiled, take half a sheet of white paper, rub it over with butter, put the herring in, double the edges securely, and broil without burning it. The brine the herrings drink before they die, has a wonderful effect in preserving their juices: when one or two years old, they are equal to anchovies.

TO BAKE STURGEON.
GET a piece of sturgeon with the skin on, the piece next to the tail, scrape it well, cut out the gristle, and boil it about twenty minutes to take out the oil; take it up, pull off the large scales, and when cold, stuff it with forcemeat, made of bread crumbs, butter, chopped parsley, pepper and salt, put it in a Dutch oven just large enough to hold it, with a pint and half of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, some salt and pepper, stew it gently till the gravy is reduced to the quantity necessary to pour over it; take up your sturgeon carefully, thicken the gravy with a spoonful of butter rubbed into a large one of brown flour;--see that it is perfectly smooth when you put it in the dish.

TO MAKE STURGEON CUTLETS.
THE tail piece is the best; skin it and cut off the gristle, cut it into slices about half an inch thick, sprinkle over them pepper and salt, dredge them with flour, and fry them a nice light brown; have ready a pint of good gravy, seasoned with catsup, wine, and a little pounded cloves, and thickened with brown flour and butter; when the cutlets are cold, put them into the gravy and stew them a few minutes; garnish the dish with nice forcemeat balls and parsley fried crisp.

STURGEON STEAKS.
CUT them as for the cutlets, dredge them, and fry them nicely; dish them quickly lest they get cold; pour over melted butter with chopped parsley, and garnish with fried parsley.

TO BOIL STURGEON.
LEAVE the skin on, which must be nicely scraped, take out the gristle, rub it with salt, and let it lie an hour, then put it on in cold water with some salt and a few cloves of garlic; it must be dredged with flour before it is put into the water, skim it carefully, and when dished, pour over it melted butter with chopped parsley, a large spoonful of mushroom catsup, one of lemon pickle, and one of pepper vinegar; send some of it to table in a sauce boat;--the sturgeon being a dry fish, rich sauce is necessary.

TO BAKE A SHAD.
THE shad is a very indifferent fish unless it be large and fat; when you get a good one, prepare it nicely, put some forcemeat inside, and lay it at full length in a pan with a pint of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, a little pepper, vinegar, salt, a few cloves of garlic, and six cloves: stew it gently till the gravy is sufficiently reduced; there should always be a fish-slice with holes to lay the fish on, for the convenience of dishing without breaking it; when the fish is taken up, slip it carefully into the dish; thicken the gravy with butter and brown flour, and pour over it.

TO BOIL A SHAD.
GET a nice fat shad, fresh from the water, that the skin may not crack in boiling, put it in cold water on a slice, in a kettle of proper length, with a wine glass of pale vinegar, salt, a little garlic, and a bundle of parsley; when it is done, drain all the water from the fish, lay it in the dish, and garnish with scraped horse-radish; have a sauce boat of nice melted butter, to mix with the different catsups, as taste shall direct.

TO ROAST A SHAD.
FILL the cavity with good forcemeat, sew it up, and tie it on a board of proper size, cover it with bread crumbs, with some salt and pepper, set it before the fire to roast; when done on one side, turn it, tie it again, and when sufficiently done, pull out the thread, and serve it up with butter and parsley poured over it.

TO BROIL A SHAD.
SEPARATE one side from the back-bone, so that it will lie open without being split in two; wash it clean, dry it with a cloth, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it, and let it stand till you are ready to broil it; have the gridiron hot and well greased, broil it nicely, and pour over it melted butter.

TO BOIL ROCK FISH.
THE best part of the rock is the head and shoulders--clean it nicely, put it into the fish kettle with cold water and salt, boil it gently and skim it well; when done, drain off the water, lay it in the dish, and garnish with scraped horse-radish; have two boats of butter nicely melted with chopped parsley, or for a change, you may have anchovy butter; the roe and liver should be fried and served in separate dishes. If any of the rock be left, it will make a delicious dish next day;--pick it in small pieces, put it in a stew pan with a gill of water, a good lump of butter, some salt, a large spoonful of lemon pickle, and one of pepper vinegar--shake it over the fire till perfectly hot, and serve it up. It is almost equal to stewed crab.

TO FRY PERCH.
CLEAN the fish nicely, but do not take out the roes; dry them on a cloth, sprinkle some salt, and dredge them with flour, lay them separately on a board; when one side is dry, turn them, sprinkle salt and dredge the other side; be sure the lard boils when you put the fish in, and fry them with great care; they should be a yellowish brown when done. Send melted butter or anchovy sauce in a boat.

TO PICKLE OYSTERS.
SELECT the largest oysters, drain off their liquor, and wash them in clean water; pick out the pieces of shells that may be left, put them in a stew pan with water proportioned to the number of oysters, some salt, blades of mace, and whole black pepper; stew them a few minutes, then put them in a pot, and when cold, add as much pale vinegar as will give the liquor an agreeable acid.

TO MAKE A CURRY OF CATFISH.
TAKE the white channel catfish, cut off their heads, skin and clean them, cut them in pieces four inches long, put as many as will be sufficient for a dish into a stew pan with a quart of water, two onions, and chopped parsley; let them stew gently till the water is reduced to half a pint, take the fish out and lay them on a dish, cover them to keep them hot, rub a spoonful of butter into one of flour, add a large tea-spoonful of curry powder, thicken the gravy with it, shake it over the fire a few minutes, and pour it over the fish; be careful to have the gravy smooth.

TO DRESS A COD'S HEAD AND SHOULDERS.
TAKE out the gills and the blood from the bone, wash the head very clean, rub over it a little salt, then lay it on your fish plate; throw in the water a good handful of salt, with a glass of vinegar, then put in the fish, and let it boil gently half an hour; if it is a large one, three quarters; take it up very carefully, strip the skin nicely off, set it before a brisk fire, dredge it all over with flour, and baste it well with butter; when the froth begins to rise, throw over it some very fine white bread crumbs; you must keep basting it all the time to make it froth well; when it is a fine light brown, dish it up, and garnish it with a lemon cut in slices, scraped horse-radish, barberries, a few small fish fried and laid around it, or fried oysters--cut the roe and liver in slices, and lay over it a little of the lobster out of the sauce in lumps, and then serve it up.

TO MAKE SAUCE FOR THE COD'S HEAD.
TAKE a lobster, if it be alive, stick a skewer in the vent of the tail, (to keep the water out,) throw a handful of salt in the water; when it boils, put in the lobster, and boil it half an hour; if it has spawn on it, pick them off, and pound them exceedingly fine in a marble mortar, and put them into half a pound of good melted butter, then take the meat out of the lobster, pull it in bits, and put it in your butter, with a meat spoonful of lemon pickle, and the same of walnut catsup, a slice of lemon, one or two slices of horse-radish, a little beaten mace, salt and cayenne to your taste; boil them one minute, then take out the horse-radish and lemon, and serve it up in your sauce boat.

N. B. If you cannot get lobsters, you may make shrimp, cockle, or muscle sauce, the same way; if there can be no shell fish got, you then may add two anchovies cut small, a spoonful of walnut liquor, a large onion stuck with cloves--strain and put it in the sauce boat.

TO DRESS A SALT COD.
STEEP your salt fish in water all night, with a glass of vinegar; it will take out the salt, and make it taste like fresh fish; the next day boil it; when it is enough take off the skin, pull it in fleaks into your dish, then pour egg sauce over it, or parsnips boiled and beat fine, with butter and cream; send it to the table on a water plate, for it will soon grow cold.

MATELOTE OF ANY KIND OF FIRM FISH.
CUT the fish in pieces six inches long, put it in a pot with onion, parsley, thyme, mushrooms, a little spice, pepper and salt--add red wine and water enough for gravy, set it on a quick fire and reduce it one-third, thicken with a spoonful of butter and two of flour; put it in a dish with bits of bread fried in butter, and pour the gravy over it.

CHOWDER, A SEA DISH.
TAKE any kind of firm fish, cut it in pieces six inches long, sprinkle salt and pepper over each piece, cover the bottom of a small Dutch oven with slices of salt pork about half boiled, lay in the fish, strewing a little chopped onion between; cover with crackers that have been soaked soft in milk, pour over it two gills of white wine, and two of water; put on the top of the oven, and stew it gently about an hour; take it out carefully, and lay it in a deep dish; thicken the gravy with a little flour and a spoonful of butter, add some chopped parsley, boil it a few minutes, and pour it over the fish--serve it up hot.

TO PICKLE STURGEON.
THE best sturgeons are the small ones, about four feet long without the head, and the best part is the one near the tail. After the sturgeon is split through the back bone, take a piece with the skin on, which is essential to its appearance and goodness, cut off the gristle, scrape the skin well, wash it, and salt it--let it lie twenty-four hours, wipe off the salt, roll it, and tie it around with twine, put it on in a good deal of cold water, let it boil till you can run a straw easily into the skin, take it up, pull off the large scales, and when cold, put it in a pot, and cover it with one part vinegar, and two of salt and water; keep it closely stopped, and when served, garnish with green fennel.

TO CAVEACH FISH.
CUT the fish in pieces the thickness of your hand, wash it and dry it in a cloth, sprinkle on some pepper and salt, dredge it with flour, and fry it a nice brown; when it gets cold, put it in a pot with a little chopped onion between the layers, take as much vinegar and water as will cover it, mix with it some oil, pounded mace, and whole black pepper, pour it on, and stop the pot closely. This is a very convenient article, as it makes an excellent and ready addition to a dinner or supper. When served up, it should be garnished with green fennel, or parsley.

TO DRESS COD FISH.
BOIL the fish tender, pick it from the bones, take an equal quantity of Irish potatos, or parsnips boiled and chopped, and the same of onions well boiled; add a sufficiency of melted butter, some grated nutmeg, pepper, and salt, with a little brandy or wine; rub them in a mortar till well mixed; if too stiff, liquify it with cream or thickened milk, put paste in the bottom of a dish, pour in the fish, and bake it. For change, it may be baked in the form of patties.

COD FISH PIE.
SOAK the fish, boil it and take off the skin, pick the meat from the bones, and mince it very fine; take double the quantity of your fish, of stale bread grated; pour over it as much new milk, boiling hot, as will wet it completely, add minced parsley, nutmeg, pepper, and made mustard, with as much melted butter as will make it sufficiently rich; the quantity must be determined by that of the other ingredients--beat these together very well, add the minced fish, mix it all, cover the bottom of the dish with good paste, pour the fish in, put on a lid and bake it.

TO DRESS ANY KIND OF SALTED FISH.
TAKE the quantity necessary for the dish, wash them, and lay them in fresh water for a night; then put them on the tin plate with holes, and place it in the fish kettle--sprinkle over it pounded cloves and pepper, with four cloves of garlic; put in a bundle of sweet herbs and parsley, a large spoonful of tarragon, and two of common vinegar, with a pint of wine; roll one quarter of a pound of butter in two spoonsful of flour, cut it in small pieces, and put it over the fish--cover it closely, and simmer it over a slow fire half an hour; take the fish out carefully, and lay it in the dish, set it over hot water, and cover it till the gravy has boiled a little longer--take out the garlic and herbs, pour it over the fish, and serve it up. It is very good when eaten cold with salad, garnished with parsley.

TO FRICASSEE COD SOUNDS AND TONGUES.
SOAK them all night in fresh water, take off the skins, cut them in two pieces, and boil them in milk and water till quite tender, drain them in a colander, and season with nutmeg, pepper, and a little salt--take as much new milk as will make sauce for it, roll a good lump of butter in flour, melt it in the milk, put the fish in, set it over the fire, and stir it till thick enough, and serve it up.

AN EXCELLENT WAY TO DRESS FISH.
DREDGE the fish well with flour, sprinkle salt and pepper on them, and fry them a nice brown; set them by to get cold; put a quarter of a pound of butter in a frying pan; when it boils, fry tomatos with the skins taken off, parsley nicely picked, and a very little chopped onion; when done, add as much water as will make sauce for the fish--season it with pepper, salt, and pounded cloves; add some wine and mushroom catsup, put the fish in, and when thoroughly heated, serve it up.

FISH A-LA-DAUB.
BOIL as many large white perch as will be sufficient for the dish; do not take off their heads, and be careful not to break their skins; when cold, place them in the dish, and cover them with savoury jelly broken.
A nice piece of rock-fish is excellent done in the same way.

FISH IN JELLY.
FILL a deep glass dish half full of jelly--have as many small fish-moulds as will lie conveniently in it, fill them with blanc mange; when they are cold, and the jelly set, lay them on it, as if going in different directions; put in a little more jelly, and let it get cold, to keep the fish in their places--then fill the dish so as to cover them. The jelly should be made of hog's feet, very light coloured, and perfectly transparent.

TO MAKE EGG SAUCE FOR A SALT COD.
BOIL four eggs hard, first half chop the white, then put in the yelks, and chop them both together, but not very small; put them into half a pound of good melted butter, and let it boil up--then pour it on the fish.

TO DRESS COD SOUNDS.
STEEP your sounds as you do the salt cod, and boil them in a large quantity of milk and water; when they are very tender and white, take them up, and drain the water out and skin them; then pour the egg sauce boiling hot over them, and serve them up.

TO STEW CARP.
GUT and scale your fish, wash and dry them well with a clean cloth, dredge them with flour, fry them in lard until they are a light brown, and then put them in a stew pan with half a pint of water, and half a pint of red wine, a meat spoonful of lemon pickle, the same of walnut catsup, a little mushroom powder and cayenne to your taste, a large onion stuck with cloves, and a stick of horse-radish; cover your pan close up to keep in the steam; let them stew gently over a stove fire, till the gravy is reduced to just enough to cover your fish in the dish; then take the fish out, and put them on the dish you intend for the table; set the gravy on the fire, and thicken it with flour, and a large lump of butter; boil it a little, and strain it over your fish; garnish them with pickled mushrooms and scraped horse-radish, and send them to the table.

TO BOIL EELS.
CLEAN the eels, and cut off their heads, dry them, and turn them round on your fish plate, boil them in salt and water, and make parsley sauce for them.

TO PITCHCOCK EELS.
SKIN and wash your eels, then dry them with a cloth, sprinkle them with pepper, salt, and a little dried sage, turn them backward and forward, and skewer them; rub a gridiron with beef suet, broil them a nice brown, put them on a dish with good melted butter, and lay around fried parsley.

TO BROIL EELS.
WHEN you have skinned and cleansed your eels as before, rub them with the yelk of an egg, strew over them bread crumbs, chopped parsley, sage, pepper, and salt; baste them well with butter, and set them in a dripping pan; serve them up with parsley and butter for sauce.

TO SCOLLOP OYSTERS.
WHEN the oysters are opened, put them in a bowl, and wash them out of their own liquor; put some in the scollop shells, strew over them a few bread crumbs, and lay a slice of butter on them, then more oysters, bread crumbs, and a slice of butter on the top; put them into a Dutch oven to brown, and serve them up in the shells.

TO FRY OYSTERS.
TAKE a quarter of a hundred of large oysters, wash them and roll them in grated bread, with pepper and salt, and fry them a light brown; if you choose, you may add a little parsley, shred fine. They are a proper garnish for calves' head, or most made dishes.

TO MAKE OYSTER LOAVES.
TAKE little round loaves, cut off the tops, scrape out all the crumbs, then put the oysters into a stew pan with the crumbs that came out of the loaves, a little water, and a good lump of butter; stew them together ten or fifteen minutes, then put in a spoonful of good cream, fill your loaves, lay the bit of crust carefully on again, set them in the oven to crisp. Three are enough for a side dish.

Mama's Poultry - Poultry Recipes from Virginian Mary Randolph 1762-1828

The Virginia Housewife: or, Methodical Cook
By Mary Randolph 1762-1828
Baltimore: Plaskitt, Fite, 1838

POULTRY Recipes

TO ROAST A GOOSE.
CHOP a few sage leaves and two onions very fine, mix them with a good lump of butter, a tea-spoonful of pepper, and two of salt, put it in the goose, then spit it, lay it down, and dust it with flour; when it is thoroughly hot, baste it with nice lard; if it be a large one, it will require an hour and a half, before a good clear fire; when it is enough, dredge and baste it, pull out the spit, and pour in a little boiling water.

TO MAKE SAUCE FOR A GOOSE.
PARE, core and slice some apples; put them in a sauce pan, with as much water as will keep them from burning, set them over a very slow fire, keep them closely covered till reduced to a pulp, then put in a lump of butter, and sugar to your taste, beat them well, and send them to the table in a china bowl.

TO BOIL DUCKS WITH ONION SAUCE.
SCALD and draw your ducks, put them in warm water for a few minutes, then take them out and put them in an earthen pot; pour over them a pint of boiling milk, and let them lie in it two or three hours; when you take them out, dredge them well with flour, and put them in a copper of cold water; put on the cover, let them boil slowly twenty minutes, then take them out, and smother them with onion sauce.

TO MAKE ONION SAUCE.
BOIL eight or ten large onions, change the water two or three times while they are boiling; when enough, chop them on a board to keep them a good colour, put them in a sauce pan with a quarter of a pound of butter and two spoonsful of thick cream; boil it a little, and pour it over the ducks.

TO ROAST DUCKS.
WHEN you have drawn the ducks, shred one onion and a few sage leaves, put them into the ducks with pepper and salt, spit and dust them with flour, and baste them with lard: if your fire be very hot, they will roast in twenty minutes; and the quicker they are roasted, the better they will taste. Just before you take them from the spit, dust them with flour and baste them. Get ready some gravy made of the gizzards and pinions, a large blade of mace, a few pepper corns, a spoonful of catsup, a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle; strain it and pour it on the ducks, and send onion sauce in a boat.

TO BOIL A TURKEY WITH OYSTER SAUCE.
GRATE a loaf of bread, chop a score or more of oysters fine, add nutmeg, pepper and salt to your taste, mix it up into a light forcemeat with a quarter of a pound of butter, a spoonful or two of cream, and three eggs; stuff the craw with it, and make the rest into balls and boil them; sew up the turkey, dredge it well with flour, put it in a kettle of cold water, cover it, and set it over the fire; as the scum begins to rise, take it off, let it boil very slowly for half an hour, then take off your kettle and keep it closely covered; if it be of a middle size, let it stand in the hot water half an hour, the steam being kept in, will stew it enough, make it rise, keep the skin whole, tender, and very white; when you dish it, pour on a little oyster sauce, lay the balls round, and serve it up with the rest of the sauce in a boat.

N. B. Set on the turkey in time, that it may stew as above; it is the best way to boil one to perfection. Put it over the fire to heat, just before you dish it up.

TO MAKE SAUCE FOR A TURKEY.
As you open the oysters, put a pint into a bowl, wash them out of their own liquor, and put them in another bowl; when the liquor has settled, pour it off into a sauce pan with a little white gravy, and a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle--thicken it with flour and a good lump of butter; boil it three or four minutes, put in a spoonful of good cream, add the oysters, keep shaking them over the fire till they are quite hot, but don't let them boil, for it will make them hard and appear small.

TO ROAST A TURKEY.
MAKE the forcemeat thus: take the crumb of a loaf of bread, a quarter of a pound of beef suet shred fine, a little sausage meat or veal scraped and pounded very fine, nutmeg, pepper, and salt to your taste; mix it lightly with three eggs, stuff the craw with it, spit it, and lay it down a good distance from the fire, which should be clear and brisk; dust and baste it several times with cold lard; it makes the froth stronger than basting it with the hot out of the dripping pan, and makes the turkey rise better; when it is enough, froth it up as before, dish it, and pour on the same gravy as for the boiled turkey, or bread sauce; garnish with lemon and pickles, and serve it up; if it be of a middle size, it will require one hour and a quarter to roast.

TO MAKE SAUCE FOR A TURKEY.
CUT the crumb of a loaf of bread in thin slices, and put it in cold water with a few pepper corns, a little salt and onion--then boil it till the bread is quite soft, beat it well, put in a quarter of a pound of butter, two spoonsful of thick cream, and put it in the dish with the turkey.

TO BOIL FOWLS.
DUST the fowls well with flour, put them in a kettle of cold water, cover it close, set it on the fire; when the scum begins to rise, take it off, let them boil very slowly for twenty minutes, then take them off, cover them close, and the heat of the water will stew them enough in half an hour; it keeps the skin whole, and they will be both whiter and plumper than if they had boiled fast; when you take them up, drain them, and pour over them white sauce or melted butter.

TO MAKE WHITE SAUCE FOR FOWLS.
TAKE a scrag of veal, the necks of fowls, or any bits of mutton or veal you have; put them in a sauce pan with a blade or two of mace, a few black pepper corns, one anchovy, a head of celery, a bunch of sweet herbs, a slice of the end of a lemon; put in a quart of water, cover it close, let it boil till it is reduced to half a pint, strain it, and thicken it with a quarter of a pound of butter mixed with flour, boil it five or six minutes, put in two spoonsful of pickled mushrooms, mix the yelks of two eggs with a tea cup full of good cream and a little nutmeg--put it in the sauce, keep shaking it over the fire, but don't let it boil.

FRICASSEE OF SMALL CHICKENS.
TAKE off the legs and wings of four chickens, separate the breasts from the backs, cut off the necks and divide the backs across, clean the gizzards nicely, put them with the livers and other parts of the chicken, after being washed clean, into a sauce pan, add pepper, salt, and a little mace, cover them with water, and stew them till tender--then take them out, thicken half a pint of the water with two table spoonsful of flour rubbed into four ounces of butter, add half a pint of new milk, boil all together a few minutes, then add a gill of white wine, stirring it in carefully that it may not curdle; put the chickens in, and continue to shake the pan until they are sufficiently hot, and serve them up.

TO ROAST LARGE FOWLS.
TAKE the fowls when they are ready dressed, put them down to a good fire, dredge and baste them well with lard; they will be near an hour in roasting; make a gravy of the necks and gizzards, strain it, put in a spoonful of brown flour; when you dish them, pour on the gravy, and serve them up with egg sauce in a boat.

TO MAKE EGG SAUCE.
BOIL four eggs for ten minutes, chop half the whites, put them with the yelks, and chop them both together, but not very fine; put them into a quarter of a pound of good melted butter, and put it in a boat.

TO BOIL YOUNG CHICKENS.
PUT the chickens in scalding water; as soon as the feathers will slip off, take them out, or it will make the skin hard and break: when you have drawn them, lay them in skimmed milk for two hours, then truss and dust them well with flour, put them in cold water, cover them close, set them over a very slow fire, take off the scum, let them boil slowly for five or six minutes, take them off the fire, keep them closely covered in the water for half an hour, it will stew them enough; when you are going to dish them, set them over the fire to make them hot, drain them, and pour over white sauce made the same way as for the boiled fowls.

TO ROAST YOUNG CHICKENS.
WHEN you kill young chickens, pluck them very carefully, truss and put them down to a good fire, dredge and baste them with lard; they will take a quarter of an hour in roasting; froth them up, lay them on the dish, pour butter and parsley on, and serve them up hot.

FRIED CHICKENS.
CUT them up as for the fricassee, dredge them well with flour, sprinkle them with salt, put them into a good quantity of boiling lard, and fry them a light brown; fry small pieces of mush and a quantity of parsley nicely picked, to be served in the dish with the chickens; take half a pint of rich milk, add to it a small bit of butter, with pepper, salt, and chopped parsley; stew it a little, and pour it over the chickens, and then garnish with the fried parsley.

TO ROAST WOODCOCKS OR SNIPES.
PLUCK, but do not draw them, put them on a small spit, dredge and baste them well with lard, toast a few slices of bread, put them on a clean plate, and set it under the birds while they are roasting; if the fire be good, they will take about ten minutes; when you take them from the spit, lay them upon the toasts on the dish, pour melted butter round them, and serve them up.

TO ROAST WILD DUCKS OR TEAL.
WHEN the ducks are ready dressed, put in them a small onion, pepper, salt, and a spoonful of red wine; if the fire be good, they will roast in twenty minutes; make gravy of the necks and gizzards, a spoonful of red wine, half an anchovy, a blade or two of mace, one onion, and a little cayenne pepper; boil it till it is wasted to half a pint, strain it through a hair sieve, and pour it on the ducks--serve them up with onion sauce in a boat; garnish the dish with raspings of bread.

TO BOIL PIGEONS.
SCALD the pigeons, draw them, take the craw out, wash them in several waters, cut off the pinions, turn the legs under the wings, dredge them, and put them in soft cold water; boil them slowly a quarter of an hour, dish them up, pour over them good melted butter,
lay round a little brocoli in bunches, and send butter and parsley in a boat.

TO ROAST PIGEONS.
WHEN you have dressed your pigeons as before, roll a good lump of butter in chopped parsley, with pepper and salt, put it in your pigeons, spit, dust and baste them; if the fire be good, they will roast in twenty minutes; when they are through, lay round them bunches of asparagus, with parsley and butter for sauce.

TO ROAST PARTRIDGES OR ANY SMALL BIRDS.
LARD them with slips of bacon, put them on a skewer, tie it to the spit at both ends, dredge and baste them, let them roast ten minutes, take the grated crumb of half a loaf of bread, with a piece of butter, the size of a walnut, put it in a stew pan, and shake it over a gentle fire till it is of a light brown, lay it between your birds, and pour over them a little melted butter.

TO STEW WILD DUCKS.
HAVING prepared the fowls, rub the insides with salt, pepper, and a little powdered cloves; put a shallot or two with a lump of butter in the body of each, then lay them in a pan that will just hold them, putting butter under and over them, with vinegar and water, and add pepper, salt, lemon peel, and a bunch of sweet herbs; then cover the pan close, and let them stew till done--pass the liquor through a sieve, pour it over the ducks, and serve them up hot, with a garnish of lemon sliced, and raspings of bread fried. The same way may teal, &c. be dressed.

TO DRESS DUCKS WITH JUICE OF ORANGES.
THE ducks being singed, picked, and drawn, mince the livers with a little scraped bacon, some butter, green onions, sweet herbs and parsley, seasoned with salt, pepper, and mushrooms; these being all minced together, put them into the bodies of the ducks, and roast them, covered with slices of bacon, and wrapped up in paper; then put a little gravy, the juice of an orange, a few shallots minced, into a stew pan, and shake in a little pepper; when the ducks are roasted, take off the bacon, dish them, and pour your sauce with the juice of oranges over them, and serve them up hot.

TO DRESS DUCKS WITH ONIONS.
STUFF the ducks as before, cut the roots off small onions, blanch them in scalding water, then pick and put them into a stew pan with a little gravy, set them over a gentle fire, and let them simmer; when they are done, thicken them with cream and flour, and when the ducks are roasted, dish them, pour the ragout of onions over, and serve them up hot.