The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families

STEAMED POTATOES. The potatoes must be well washed, but not pared, and put into the steamer when the water boils. Moderate sized potatoes will require three quarters of an hour to do them properly. They should be taken up as soon as they are done enough, or they will become watery.

STEEL. To transform iron into steel, put four ounces of cast iron into a crucible, with a considerable degree of heat. While in a state of fusion, immerse in it a polished iron wire of some thickness, and keep it there for some time, but not so long as to fuse it. When cold, the wire will be so hard as to resist the action of a common file, being converted into steel.

STEEL RUST. The prevention of rust, on such articles of furniture as are made of polished steel, is an object of great importance in domestic economy. The cutlers in Sheffield, when they have given a knife or razor blade the requisite degree of polish, rub them with powdered quick-lime, in order to prevent them from tarnishing; and it seems that articles made of polished steel are dipped in lime water, before they are sent into the retail market. But when steel has contracted rust, the method of cleaning and polishing it is to oil the rusty parts, and let it remain in that state two or three days. Then wipe it dry with clean rags, and polish with emery or pumice stone, or hard wood. After the oil is cleared off, a little fresh lime finely powdered will often be found sufficient; but where a higher polish is required, it will be necessary to use a paste composed of finely levigated bloodstone and spirits of wine.

STEEL STOVES. To preserve them effectually from rust, beat into three pounds of unsalted lard, two drams of camphor sliced thin, till the whole is absorbed. Then take as much black lead as will make it of the colour of broken steel; dip a rag into it, rub it thick on the stove, and the steel will never rust, even if wetted. When the stove is to be used, the grease must be washed off with hot water, and the steel be dried before polishing.

STEWED ARTICHOKES. Wash and pare some Jerusalem artichokes, and part them in two. Boil them in a small quantity of gravy till almost done, and the liquor nearly consumed. Then add some cream, a piece of butter rolled in flour and a little salt, all in proportion to the number of artichokes. Stew them gently for ten minutes, and serve them up with sippets of white bread fried.

STEWED ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS. Boil some artichokes till about half done, and then take off the leaves and the choke. Trim the bottoms nicely, and stew them gently in some gravy, with a little lemon-juice or vinegar, and some salt, till they are quite tender. Before serving them up, wipe them dry, then lay them in a dish with sippets of toasted or fried bread laid round it, and pour some strong clear gravy over them. Dried artichoke bottoms may also be used for stewing, but should first be soaked a little while in warm water.

STEWED BREAST OF VEAL. Take a nice breast of veal, cut off the thin end, and boil it down for your sauce, with a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with three cloves, two blades of mace, some whole pepper and salt; put to it a quart of water, and let it stew gently till half is wasted, then raise the skin off your breast of veal, and make a forcemeat of the sweetbread first parboiled, a few crumbs of bread, a little beef suet, and some parsley shred very fine; season it with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; moisten it with a spoonful of cream, and an egg; mix all well together, and force your veal; skewer it down close, dredge it over with flour, tie it up in a clean cloth, and let it boil an hour and a half. If your gravy is done, strain it off, and take off the fat very clean; blanch and beard half a pint of oysters, a gill of pickled mushrooms, a little lemon-peel shred very fine: put this to your gravy, and thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour; fry six or eight large oysters, dipped in batter for garnish. When your veal is enough, dish it up, and pour your sauce over. Garnish your dish with lemon, oysters, and barberries.

STEWED BRISKET OF BEEF. Stew nine pounds of brisket of beef, in two gallons of water, for two or three hours over night. When made sufficiently tender, take out the bones, and carefully skim off the fat. Boil in some of the liquor a few carrots, turnips, onions, celery, and white cabbage, till they become quite tender. Add some salt, and the remainder of the broth to the beef, and stew all together till sufficiently done.

STEWED CALF'S LIVER LARDED. Take a calf's liver, and lard it, and put it into a stewpan, with some water, a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, and a little salt; cover it close, and let it stew till it is enough; then take up your liver, and put it into the dish you intend; cover it over, and take out your herbs and spice; skim off all the fat very clean; put in a piece of butter rolled in flour; boil it till it is of a proper thickness; pour it over your liver, and send it to table garnished with lemon.

STEWED CARDOONS. Cut them into pieces, not more than five or six inches long. Take off the outward skin, and wash and scald them. Put them into a stewpan, with gravy enough to cover them, and let them stew gently till almost done, and the liquor nearly exhausted. Add a small quantity of fresh gravy, and continue stewing them gently till quite tender. Serve them up with sippets of toasted bread round the edge of the dish. If the gravy is not sufficiently seasoned, add a little salt and cayenne.

STEWED CARP. Scale and clean the fish, and preserve the roe. Lay the carp in a stewpan, with a rich beef-gravy, an onion, eight cloves, a dessert-spoonful of Jamaica pepper, the same of black pepper, and a glass of port or cider. Simmer it closely covered; when nearly done, add two anchovies chopped fine, a dessert-spoonful of made mustard, a little fine walnut ketchup, and a bit of butter rolled in flour. Shake it, and let the gravy boil a few minutes. Serve with sippets of fried bread, the roe fried, and a good deal of horseradish and lemon. – Another way. Scale your carp, then gut and wash them very clean, and dry them in a cloth; put a piece of butter into a stewpan, when it is hot, fry them as quick as you can, till they are of a fine brown; boil the roes, then fry them of a fine gold colour; take them up, and keep them hot before the fire: then put to your carp half port wine and half water, as much as will cover them a little more than half way; put in some thyme, parsley, a piece of lemon-peel, whole pepper, a few cloves, a blade or two of mace, an onion, some horse-radish sliced, and two spoonfuls of ketchup; put on your cover, and let it stew very gently, till your fish is enough; do not turn them in the pan, but with a ladle take some of the liquor, and pour over your fish every now and then, while they are stewing, then cover them close again: When they are done enough, take them out of the pan with a slice, and take care not to break them; put them into the dish you intend to send them to table in, then strain the liquor, and thicken it up with a piece of butter rolled in flour; let it boil till it is pretty thick, pour the sauce over the fish, and garnish your dish with the roes, lemon, and horseradish, and send it to table. You may squeeze a little lemon into the sauce, if you like it, and add oysters fried in butter; or you may stew them in cider, instead of wine, and it is very little inferior. Tench may be done the same way. – To stew carp white. Scale and gut your fish very clean, save the roes and melts, then stove them in some good white broth; season them with mace, salt, whole pepper, an onion stuck with cloves, a faggot of sweet herbs, and about half a pint of white wine; cover them close, and let them stew gently over a charcoal fire. Dip the roes and melts in the yolk of an egg; flour them, and fry them of a fine brown, and have fried parsley and sippets ready. When the fish is near done, take out the onion and faggot, beat up the yolks of four or five eggs, take up the fish carefully, and put it into the dish you serve it in; pour off the sauce, then strain it into a stewpan, and put in your eggs; keep it stirring till it is as fine as cream, then pour it over the dish. Garnish with the roes, fried parsley, sippets, horseradish scraped, and lemon: send it as hot as possible to table. – A plain way to stew carp. Clean your carp very well, cut them in two, put them into a stewpan, with a little onion shred fine, pepper, salt, a little beaten mace, a few capers chopped small, and some crusts of bread chipped in. Then pour in a gill of white, and a gill of red wine, and as much water as will just cover them; cover the pan close, and let them stew till they are enough, and the sauce grown thick. Serve it up with lemon and horseradish for garnish.

STEWED CARROTS. Half boil, scrape them nicely, and slice them into a stewpan. Add half a tea-cupful of weak broth, the same quantity of cream, with pepper and salt. Simmer till the carrots are quite tender, but not broken. Before serving, warm them up with a bit of butter rubbed in flour. Chopped parsley may be added, if approved, ten minutes before serving.

STEWED CELERY. Wash six heads, and strip off the outer leaves. Either divide or leave them whole, according to their size, and cut them into lengths of four inches. Put them into a stewpan with a cup of broth, or weak gravy, and stew them tender. Add two spoonfuls of cream, and a little flour and butter seasoned with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and simmer them all together.

STEWED CHICKENS. Cut two chickens into quarters; wash them clean, and put them into a stewpan, with half a pint of red wine, and a gill of water, an onion, a faggot of sweet herbs, seasoned with mace, pepper, and salt; cover them close, and let them stew half an hour, then take the quantity of an egg of butter rolled in flour; take out the onion and sweet herbs; shake it round till it is of a good thickness, and take off all the scum very clean: dish it up garnished with lemon. – To stew chickens for a tender stomach. Take two nice chickens, and half boil them; then take them up into a small soup-dish; separate all the joints, and add three or four spoonfuls of the liquor they are boiled in, with a little beaten mace, and salt; then cover them close with another dish, and keep in all the steam; set it over a clear stove, and let it stew till the chickens are enough, and send them hot to table in the same dish they were stewed in.

STEWED COD. Cut a cod in slices, as you would for crimping, lay it in a clean stewpan; season it with nutmeg, a little mace finely beaten, pepper, and salt, and a bundle of sweet herbs; then pour in white wine and water an equal quantity, just to cover it: put on the cover, and let it simmer for six or eight minutes; skim it very clean, put in half a pint of shrimps clean picked, a good piece of butter rolled in flour, and the juice of a lemon; cover it, and shake your pan round gently: as soon as it begins to boil, take off all the scum as it rises: if your sauce is of a proper thickness, your fish will be enough; wipe the rim of the pan very clean, and slide the fish into your dish, taking care not to break it. Garnish with lemon and scraped horse-radish. – Another way. Lay the slices into a large stewpan, so that they need not be laid one upon another. Season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, a bundle of sweet herbs, and an onion. Add half a pint of white wine, and a quarter of a pint of water. Simmer it gently a few minutes, squeeze in a lemon, add a few oysters, the liquor strained, a piece of butter rolled in flour, and a little mace. Cover it close, and let it stew gently, shaking the pan often. When done take out the herbs and onions, and serve it up with the sauce poured over it.

STEWED CUCUMBERS. Slice them thick, or halve and divide them into two lengths. Strew over them some salt and pepper, and sliced onions: add a little broth, or a bit of butter. Simmer very slowly, and put in a little flour and butter before serving. – Another way. Slice the onions, and cut the cucumbers large. Flour and fry them in butter, then stew them in good broth or gravy, and skim off the fat.

STEWED DUCK. Half roast a duck, put it into a stewpan with a pint of beef gravy, a few leaves of sage and mint cut small, pepper and salt, and a small bit of onion shred as fine as possible. Simmer them a quarter of an hour, skim it clean, and add nearly a quart of green peas. Cover the stewpan close, and simmer near half an hour longer. Put in a piece of butter and a little flour, give it one boil, and serve all together in a dish.

STEWED EELS. Melt an ounce of butter in a stewpan, add a handful of sorrel cut in large pieces, a dozen sage leaves finely minced, five pounds of eels cut in pieces, and seasoned with pepper and salt. Then put in two anchovies boned and minced, half a nutmeg, and half a pint of water. Stew them gently together for half an hour, take out the onion, squeeze in a lemon, and lay toasted bread round the dish. Half this quantity will be sufficient for a small dish. – Another way. Take what quantity of eels you please; after they are cleaned, fry them in butter, then pour the butter clear off; put into your pan a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with two or three cloves, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, and a little salt; then add a pint of red wine and water, and let them stew till they are tender: put the eels into a dish, strain off the sauce, and thicken it up with a piece of butter rolled in flour, or a piece of thickened burnt butter. Garnish your dish with horse-radish and lemon. – Another way. Having cleaned your eels very well, cut them in pieces, put them into a stewpan, with a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, mace, whole pepper, and a little salt; put to them a gill of white wine, half a pint of red, and a gill of water; cover them close, and let them stew till tender; strain off the gravy, thicken it up, and send it to table. – To stew an eel whole. Take a fine large eel, clean it well, force the inside with crumbs of bread, an anchovy cut fine, salt, pepper, a little nutmeg, and two or three oysters bruised, with some parsley shred fine; fill the inside as full as you can, sew it up with fine thread, turn it round, and run a small skewer through it, to keep it in its folds; put it into a small stewpan, with an onion stuck with cloves, and a faggot of herbs; put over it red wine; cover the pan down very close, and let it stew gently till tender; take out the onion, &c. put the eel into a dish, and a plate over it; thicken the sauce with butter rolled in flour, and squeeze a little lemon into the plate. If you have any forcemeat left, make them into small balls, and fry them; put them into the sauce, give them a toss, and pour it over the eel. Garnish the dish with fried oysters, horseradish, and lemon.

STEWED ENDIVE. Trim off all the green parts of the endive, wash and cut into pieces, and scald it till about half done. Drain it well, chop it a little, put it into a stewpan with a little strong gravy, and stew it gently till quite tender. Season it with some pepper and salt, and serve it up as a sauce to any kind of roast meat; or it eats well with potatoes.

STEWED FOWL WITH CELERY. Take a fowl or turkey trussed short as for boiling, press down the breast-bone, put it into a clean stewpan, with good veal broth, as much as will cover it; season it with beaten mace, pepper and salt, a faggot of sweet herbs, and an onion; cover it close, and let it boil; in the mean time, take a large bunch of celery, cut all the white part small, and wash it very clean; if your turkey or fowl boils, take out the onion and herbs; scum it very clean, and put in your celery; cover it down close, and let it stew till your celery is very tender, and your fowl likewise; take a clean stewpan, and set it over your stove; take up your fowl or turkey, and keep it hot; pour your celery and sauce into your stewpan; beat up the yolks of two or three eggs in half a pint of cream, and a large spoonful of white wine; stir it till it is of a good thickness, and just at boiling squeeze in a little juice of lemon, or a little mushroom pickle; shake it round, and pour it over your fowl. Garnish your dish with lemon.

STEWED FRENCH BEANS. Prepare some young beans as for boiling, and boil them in plenty of water, with salt in it, till they are rather more than half done. Drain them in a cullender, beat up the yolks of three eggs with a quarter of a pint of cream, put them into a stewpan with two ounces of fresh butter, and set it over a slow fire. When hot, put in the beans, with a spoonful of vinegar, and simmer them quite tender, stirring the mixture to keep it from curdling or burning. To stew French beans with gravy, pursue the same method, only instead of the eggs and cream, put half a pint of gravy. Use only half the quantity of butter, and add that rolled in flour, to thicken up the whole after the beans are put in. The vinegar should be omitted, and cayenne and salt added if required.

STEWED GIBLETS. After very nicely cleaning goose or duck giblets, and removing the thick membrane from the gizzards, stew them, in a little water. Season them with salt and pepper, and a very small piece of mace. Before serving, give them one boil with a cup of cream, and a piece of butter rubbed in a tea-spoonful of flour.

STEWED GREEN PEAS. To a quart of peas add a quart of gravy, two or three lumps of sugar, with pepper and salt. Stew them gently till the peas are quite tender, and if the gravy is not sufficiently thick, add a piece of butter rolled in flour. If the peas are old, half boil them first in hard water, before they are stewed. Whether for young or old peas, the gravy must be strong. To stew them in a mild way, put a pint of young peas into a stewpan, with very little water, and two young lettuces cut small. Stew them gently till the peas are tender, then add four spoonfuls of cream, a lump of sugar, and the yolks of two eggs. Stir the whole together over the fire for a short time, but do not allow it to boil. A little salt should be added before serving up the stew. Another way is to take a quart of young peas, a small onion sliced, two lettuces cut small, and a sprig or two of mint. Put them into a stewpan, adding some salt, a little pepper and mace, and half a pint of hard water. Stew these gently for twenty minutes, then put in a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in flour, and a spoonful of mushroom ketchup. Keep the stewpan over the fire till the peas are quite tender, shaking it frequently, and never suffering them to boil. Receipts for stewing peas might be multiplied to almost any extent, for there is no one preparation in cookery perhaps more varied than this, though without any very material difference.

STEWED HARE. Take off the legs and shoulders, cut out the backbone, cut into pieces the meat which comes off the sides, and put all into a stewpan. Add three quarters of a pint of small beer, the same of water, a large onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, a slice of lemon, and a little salt. Stew it gently for an hour, close covered, and put to it a quart of gravy. Stew it gradually two hours longer, or till it is quite tender. Take out the hare, rub smooth half a spoonful of flour in a little gravy, add it to the sauce, and boil it up. Then add a little salt and cayenne, and put in the hare again. When heated through, serve it up in a tureen or deep dish, adding port wine if approved.

STEWED KNUCKLE OF VEAL. Take a knuckle of veal of about five pounds; wash it clean, and put it into a clean stewpan, with two quarts of water, a faggot of sweet herbs, two blades of mace, an onion stuck with three or four cloves, some whole pepper, and a little salt; put in a crust of the upper part of a loaf, cover it down close, and make it boil, then scum it very clean, and let it just simmer for full two hours. When you take it up, put your veal into the dish first, and strain your broth through a fine sieve over it, then take off all the fat very clean, and put some thin slices of French roll in your dish, and toasted bread cut in dice, in a plate. Serve it up hot. You may boil a quarter of a pound of rice in fair water, till it is very tender; then strain it off; and when you send your veal to table, lay your rice all over it. – Rice is better boiled by itself, for when you boil it with the meat, the scum is apt to discolour it, and make it eat greasy.

STEWED LOBSTER. Pick the meat out of the shell, put it into a dish that has a lamp, and rub it down with a bit of butter. Add two spoonfuls of any sort of gravy, one of soy or walnut ketchup, a little salt and cayenne, and a spoonful of port. A lobster thus stewed will have a very fine relish.

STEWED MUSCLES. Wash your muscles very clean, then put them into a large stewpan over a good fire; put over them a coarse wet cloth doubled: when they begin to boil, take up the cloth; if the shells are open, take them off the fire, and pick out the fish, beard them, and cut off the tongue: when you have picked about a quart, strain half a pint of the liquor to them, roll two ounces of butter in flour, add a glass of white wine, a little beaten mace, and squeeze in a little lemon juice; let them stew till of a proper thickness, put toasted sippets in the dish, pour in the muscles, and send them to table. Cockles may be done the same way.

STEWED MUSHROOMS. The large buttons are best, and the small flaps while the fur is still red. Rub the large buttons with salt and a piece of flannel, cut out the fur, and take off the skin from the others. Sprinkle them with salt, put them into a stewpan, and add some peppercorns. Let it simmer slowly till it is done, then put in a small bit of butter and flour, and two spoonfuls of cream. Give it one boil, and serve up the dish with sippets of bread.

STEWED MUTTON CHOPS. Take some chops of the best end of a loin of mutton, or some slices out of the middle part of a leg. Season them with pepper and salt, lay them into a stewpan with some sliced onion, and cover them with water and a little gravy. When done on one side, turn the steaks on the other, and thicken the gravy at the same time with some butter and flour. A little shalot or ketchup, or both, may be added at pleasure. Twenty or twenty-five minutes will stew them, but long stewing will make them hard.

STEWED ONIONS. Peel six large onions, fry them gently of a fine brown, but do not blacken them. Then put them into a small stewpan, with a little weak gravy, pepper and salt. Cover and stew them gently two hours, and let them be lightly floured at first.

STEWED OX CHEEK. Soak and cleanse a fine cheek the day before it is to be eaten. Put it into a stewpan that will cover close, with three quarts of water; simmer it after it has first boiled up, and been well skimmed. In two hours put in plenty of carrots, leeks, two or three turnips, a bunch of sweet herbs, some whole pepper, and four ounces of allspice. Skim it often, and when the meat is tender, take it out. Let the soup get cold, take off the cake of fat, and serve the soup separately, or with the meat. It should be of a fine brown, which may be done by adding a little burnt sugar, or by frying some onions quite brown with flour, and simmering them with it. This last method improves the flavour of all soups and gravies of the brown sort. If vegetables are not approved, they may be taken out of the soup, and a small roll be toasted, or bread fried and added. Celery is a great addition, and should always be served. When out of season, the seed of it gives quite as good a flavour, boiled in, and strained off. – Another way. Soak an ox cheek three hours, and clean it with plenty of water. Take the meat off the bones, and put it into a stewpan with a large onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, some bruised allspice, pepper and salt. Lay the bones on the top, pour on two or three quarts of water, and cover the pan close with stout paper, or a dish that will fit close. Let it stand eight or ten hours in a slow oven, or simmer it by the side of the fire, or on a hot hearth. When done tender, put the meat into a clean pan, and let it get cold. Take off the cake of fat, and warm the head in pieces in the soup. Serve with any sort of vegetables.

STEWED OYSTERS. Open the shells, separate the liquor from the oysters, and wash them from the grit. Strain the liquor, add to the oysters a bit of mace, lemon peel, and a few white peppers. Simmer them very gently, put in some cream, a little flour and butter, and serve them up with sippets. Boiled oysters should be served in the shell, and eaten with cold butter.

STEWED PARSNIPS. Boil the parsnips in milk and water, or milk alone, till fully half done. Slice and divide them into two, down the middle and across. Stew them gently with some good gravy, seasoned with pepper and salt; and five minutes before they are taken up, add a piece of butter rolled in flour. If parsnips are to be stewed white, put in broth and cream in equal quantities, instead of gravy.