Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-21
The Christmas Dishes.

The Christmas Dishes.
Every Christian land has many dish
es dedicated to the Christmas holiday
season. Most of these may be traced
back to the middle ages, although they
have gone through such notifications
and change they have lost original
form ana name. In We olden time
when merrie England began the yule-
tide festivities. on Christmas eve, it
was the custom for old and young. rich
and poor, to partake of dish called
"freimenty'-wheat cakes boiled in
milk and highly spiced.
The great CONNECTION OF the Christ
mas dinner and one SO closely resem-
bling our twentieth century plum pud
ding as to leave little doubt of the rela-
tionship. was a dainty called "hackin."
The mince pie was also of English orr
gin.
OF the meats, the Oldest fowl of
which we have record is the goose.
This is still a favorite on the Christ
mas table of old as we'll as our own
New England. The boar's head and
the Baron of beef were invariably
found on Queen Victoria's sideboard on
Christmas day. We substitute the
boar's head with small roast pig, and
roast beef being too common COM
modify is relegated to our ordinary
5 dinner tables.
"Dindon de Noel" is the fowl Of the
French Christmas table.
Both French and German revel in all
sorts of cakes and "pasties," many of
these baked in curious figures, some
symbolical, some grOtesque, but all de-
lightful in childish estimation. While
your Christmas dishes must be beyond
reproach in quality and cooking and
the dinner is generally expected to be
the most elaborate meal of the year,
keep it within your means and avoid
ost-festival regrets which mar the
remembrance of the feast.
Cooking the Christmas Goose.
Geese should be at their best at
Christmas time, and when in fine con-
dition and cooked "just right" there is
no more toothsome meat grown.
Choose goose with yellow bill and
feet if you desire a young bird. If
they are sred the fowl is old. The
young goose may also be told by it's
white skin, brittle wind pipe and
plump breast, and the web of the foot
tears easily.
If your goose is over year old it
should be steamed or praised until ten
der and may then be placed in the oven
uncovered. dredged with flour and
Drowned.
A green goose Gone four months old)
may be roasted without stuffing and is
very fine. The outside should be very
thoroughly cleansed, as the greasy
skin is apt to be very dirty.
Some rub the inside of the goose
with a cut onion and then dust with
powdered sage, salt and pepper, but it
is best to omit onion and sage for the
very young goose. Flaten the breast
of the goose by placing a heavy weight
on the top or cover with a folded cloth
and pound with a rolling pin.
Potato Stuffing.
Mash dry boiled potatoes, season
with small onion grated or chopped
fine, a spoonful of sage, one teaspoon
full Of salt, one of pepper and moisten
with melted butter. Stuff same as
turkey truss, place on the roasting
rack and if the goose is very fat roast
an hour without water or basting, then
pour the fat from pan, dredge the
goose with flour, cover with slices of
salt, fat pork and when brown haste
frequently with boiling water, busting
over with flour after basting. Goose
requires rather more than twenty min
utes to the pound in a good oven.
When the joints will separate readily
the goose Is done.
Prune and Rice Stuffing.
Cook cup of prunes in the usual
way until nearly tender. Cook a cup
oP ri in y,la nf o.
sailed water for five minutes, then
drain dry, then cook it until tender in
the prune juice and water enough to
keep the rice from becoming too dry.
When done season with salt, little
cayenne. and two large tablespoonfuls
of butter and stuff rather loosely.
Mixture for Blasting Goose.
A very good mixture for bastng n
goose with potato bread or rice stufting
is made as follows: A teaspoonful of
made mustard, dash of cayenne quar-
ter teaspOonful of salt, a large table
spoonful of butter, teaspoonful of
vinegar and a cup of hot water.
Chestnut Stuffing.
Chestnuts may be added to the
prune and rice stuffing or used in the
following manner:
Peel fifty chestnuts. chop them fine
as possible, put into a stewpan with
two ounces of butter, half a pound of
sausage meat, a finely minced onion, a
sprig of parseley minced and minced
Glove of garlic. Set over the fire and
cook ten minutes. Scald, drain and
chop the goose liver and add to the
other mixture and cook gently. closely
covered, for fifteen minutes. Stuff the
goose with this mixture and when done
serve with clear, brown gravy and
fifty more large chestnuts cooked in
white wine until tender. but not brok-
en-, seasoning with a little nutmeg or
cinnamon. Use chestnuts for garnish.
Fred T. Wilson and f. B. Wiggin
were arraigned before United States
Commissioner Hale at Boston. Satur-
{ day, on a complaint charging them
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