Wilmington daily commercial., 1876-11-14
RoegsaeaEs amd p,es

Everybody, except cannibals and the
Ashantee consumers of steaks from the liv-
ing kline. prefers well-prepared food to the
otler kind. There is no farmers boy who
eats greasy lump of shoe-leather fried in
pan and called beafsteak, who would
not prefer well-broiled porter house from
the hand Of good cook. Here, then, dear
madame, il point of departure. Well
cooked food is not Only more toothsome,
but 1t ID more nutritious, Your grand
mother would have scorned fried steak.
Pork fried in its own juice is another thing
Yet the American beef steak the national
dish for breakfast, is generally fried. It is
often of pale, measly complexion. Its dry
and hard surface is vainly irrigated with
lukewa,m grease, in which Jumps of soft
butter toat-rardon, madame, the unsa-
vory details which imperious truth imposes.
IL that proper food for human being
Yet the average American human being is
subjected to it in the great multitude of
honest homes Can you do nothing about
it?
Then pies Even that dismayed French
man could not deny chat VIC have as many
pies as religions, and Le would be a bold
Freuchmen al-o If he asserted thar We are
as fond Of cur religions rs Of our pies Pies,
lnoeeci there must be. 1hoy sre az ancient
as Thanksgiving, and dhe pie OH the table
O. thar gleHi Gsy xls as constituent a part
of 1t as Che munster III the pulpit. Nay
what is the festival itself but humble and
pious offering of thanks for the copious
harvest of pie-in its original material
Indeed, the more metaphysical inquirer
might justly ask, as he surveys the autumn
fields gorgeous with the massive pumpkin,
What is 1t there for except to make pie J.?
1t ID as mamma fallen upon the earth. 1t is
celestial hint of pie. 1t is a heavenly
command Of pie. There is time in the
life of the contemplative American when he
percelyes in himself nascent doubts OF pie.
He may even go so far as to protest that
heavy white dough, Shortened" with
Heaven and the lard pot know what, is not
wholesome food. But what said the
learned and eloquent Rufus Choate, when
his mouth fairly watered at the luxury.of the
forecastle and galley of half starved coast.
ing smack? "On Monday, gentlemen the
wholesome and toothsome duff; on Tuesday
the nutritious and delicious dunky-funk;"
and In the climax his wrdpt eye beheld in
vision, the very TRANSPORTED material of
pie, although he called it by kindred
name, when he exclaimed, "and on Wed
nesday, gentlemen, with his own hand, with
his own paternal hand, the captain dealt
out to them squash; not the cold and
shrlyeled vegetable of our northern cline,
but the gorgeous, the luxuriant, the ex-
uberant squash of the topics"
Think, madame, that you deal with this
esculent-squaeh or pumpkin, it is all tile
same concede that the German will sur
render his sauerkraut, the Scotchman his
oatmeal "parritch," the Irishman his pota-
to, the Italian his macaroni, the French
man his frog, as soon qs the American his
pie waive all the arguments against pie
as pie yet are you not morally bound to
consider the nature of crust, and can you,
as friend of truth, assert that the white,
soggy slab of tduff" that underlies your
PIE ID either wholesome or toothsome The
question that comes home to you is, Can't
you brown it? Can't you make it dry and
crisp without too much reference to the
lard pot When il is apple with which
you are concerned, the Responsibility 10
greater, for, SO to speak, your apple pie
wears full suit it has coat and trow-
sers, an upper and lower garment and,
dear madame, since sit is not always May"
why should the innocent fruit be always
clad in white ? Brown it madame, brown
| it!
These are simple hints, but they involve
health, comfort and progress. Let us re-
| gard what has been said as first lesson
studies, if you please, for beginners. De-
| vote your energy to securing a juicy,
broiled steak, dry and mealy potatoes,
brown and not buttery pastry, and light,
| thoroughly baked bread-"only these and
nothing more''-and not your children only,
madame, but all wearied souls who have
been long watching for the dawn, will rise
up and call you blessed !--EDIToR's EASY
CHAIR, in Rdrper's Magazine for December.