St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-16
GOOD THINGS TO EAT.
The Delights of IIWarmed-Over''
Dishes.


Dishes.
1t is in the making of what the
French call ''rechauffeS" that the
cook may show her highest skill.
There are certain dishes, as every
one should know, that attain per-
fection only after being reheated.
Rrillat-Savarin relates that on one
| occasion the dish of spinach appeared
on the table after being reheated
the eleventh time. By this time the
vegetable had attained such mellow
ness of flavor and was altogether so
improved that the great bonvivant
/ declared he never would eat it again
unless it had been heated and cooled
| eleven times.
| The best cooks blanch spinach and
many other vegetables, but the vast
| majority, in this country at least,
| serve this vegetable and all others
with all their crude juices in them.
Any one with a refined taste who
| tries a dish of spinach which has
been cooled and then recooked will
never again serve it at the first cook
| ing. The process of blanching is
equally essential to the proper prepa-
ration of cabbage, turnips and other
vegetables. All this goes to prove
that the American prejudice against
reheated dishes is a most foolish one.
1t is perfectly true that some dishes
| are injured by recooking, but almost
| as many are improved, while the vast
majority of foods, including meats
| and soups, if properly treated, do not
lose or gain perceptibly in flavor.
| No food that has been properly cook
| ed requires to be cooked over, but
| simply to be reheated.
1t is here that the ignorant cook
usually blunders. She cooks over
| her dishes of hash or stews Of cook
| ed meat as long as she would un-
| cooked meat. The result is that the
meat is hard and tough. Meat that
has once cooled after being thorough
ly cooked cannot be cooked longer
without being toughened. The only
way to prepare it is to develop 1T
in sauce, and bring 1t quickly to
! a boiling point, cooking it just
| enough to heat it. We do this in
stew over the fire, or in the croquette
| cooked in hot lard, or in the coquille
| Drowned for five minutes in an in
tensely hot oven, or in any of the
! ever-delightful dishes which the
French have always prepared from
| cooked meats.
Even that much-abused dish, the
"hash." may be a delicious dish if
properly cooked and seasoned. Beef
is the only meat that requires a mix
! ture of potatoes. Veal is much better
served in croquettes or in we'll ia
vored mince on toast. Lamb makes
a good stew, but a poor mince or hash.
Mutton makes a fairly good hash,
with a variety of vegetables added, as
we'll as potatoes. Minces of game and
of poultry are delicious or otherwise
| aration. No one who has eaten q, per-
| fectly prepared turkey hash or mince
Of duck can doubt that the second SER
duck can doubt that the second SER
vice of meat can be fully as excellent
as the first.
A plain beef and potato hash fur
! nishes the best method of disposing of
| remnants of roast beef and of the tough
end of the porterhouse steak which Is
never served and should not be sent
to the table. but cut off for the hash.
| 1t Is a finely favored piece Of meat,
and makes an excellent hash. 1t re-
| uuires two pints of lean cooked beef,
| minced fine. and two bowls of cooked
potatoes, minced rather coarse, to
make a generous dish of hash. If
freshly roasted meat is used add two
| even teaspoonfuls Of salt and one tea
spoonful of white pepper, remember
| ing that nothing requires more gen.
erous seasoning than hash. If corned
beef is used the hash from it will usual
ly require a teaspoonful of salt, al
| though there is always some left in
the beef Add the seasoning while
chopping the meat. Add also table
spoonful of butter and a liberal cup
Of boiling water or beef stock. All
this can be done the night before il
the hash is to be served for break
fast.
The quantity of water or stock used
| depends somewhat upon the condition
| of the meat. If 1t Is very dry a larg
er quantity, possibly cup and a quar-
| ter, may be needed. Heat a thin French
| frying pan of about twelve inches in
diameter, melt a large tablespoonful
| of butter in it, and spread the hash
| out evenly, cover it and set it on that
| part of the stove where it will slowly
| brown in half an hour. The slow cook
| ing makes a most savory hash. Some
| housekeepers are more successful
cooking it in a moderately hot oven.
| In this case it must be kept covered
| with a thick plate to prevent it's becom-
ing dry. When the hash is done it
| should be very moist, and a thick,
| but tender, brown crust must cover it
| on the bottom. Fold 1t over like an
| omelet, and turn it ON a very hot plat
| ter. Some persons like dozen mush-
rooms added to a hash of fresh beef,
| or a tablespoonful of very finely minced
onions to a hash of either fresh beef
| or corned beef.
A lamb stew is one of the most savory
and excellent of breakfast dishes.
Take pint of cooked lamb cut in
small chunks. Melt tablespoonful
of butter in saucepan and add a
| teaspoonful of flour. When they are
| melted together pour in a pint of
| stock, or, if not convenient, the same
| quantity of gravy and water, with any
bones of the lamb which are on hand.
| Ii the stock is used the sauce will
| require only twenty minutes slow
cooking at the back part Of the fire;