The Italian Blog

It is well to divide the oven time into four parts. During the first
quarter, the rising continues; second quarter, browning begins; the
third quarter, browning is finished; the fourth quarter, bread shrinks
from the side of the pan. These are always safe tests to follow in
your baking. When baked, the bread should be turned out of the pans
and allow to cool on a wire rack. When cool, put the bread in a stone
crock or bread box. To prevent staleness, keep the old bread away from
the fresh–scald the bread crock or give your bread box a sun bath at
frequent intervals.
Even with all possible care to prevent waste, yeast breads will not
conserve our wheat supply so well as quick breads, because all yeast
breads need a larger percentage of wheat. The home baker can better
serve her country by introducing into her menus numerous quick
breads that can be made from cornmeal, rye, corn and rye, hominy, and
buckwheat. Griddle cakes and waffles can also be made from lentils,
soy beans, potatoes, rice and peas.

This dangerous sophistication may be detected by macerating a portion of
the suspected cheese in water impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen,
acidulated with muriatic acid; which will instantly cause the cheese to
assume a brown or black colour, if the minutest portion of lead be
present.
FOOTNOTES:
[103] Repository of Arts, vol. viii. No. 47, p. 262.
_Counterfeit Pepper._
Black pepper is the fruit of a shrubby creeping plant, which grows wild
in the East Indies, and is cultivated, with much advantage, for the sake
of its berries, in Java and Malabar. The berries are gathered before
they are ripe, and are dried in the sun. They become black and
corrugated on the surface.
This factitious pepper-corns have of late been detected mixed with
genuine pepper, is a fact sufficiently known.[104] Such an adulteration
may prove, in many instances of household economy, exceedingly vexatious
and prejudicial to those who ignorantly make use of the spurious
article. I have examined large packages of both black and white pepper,
by order of the Excise, and have found them to contain about 16 per
cent. of this artificial compound. The spurious pepper is made up of
oil cakes (the residue of lintseed, from which the oil has been
pressed,) common clay, and a portion of Cayenne pepper, formed in a
mass, and granulated by being first pressed through a sieve, and then
rolled in a cask. The mode of detecting the fraud is easy. It is only
necessary to throw a sample of the suspected pepper into a bowl of
water; the artificial pepper-corns fall to powder, whilst the true
pepper remains whole.
Ground pepper is very often sophisticated by adding to a portion of
genuine pepper, a quantity of pepper dust, or the sweepings from the
pepper warehouses, mixed with a little Cayenne pepper. The sweepings are
known, and purchased in the market, under the name of P. D. signifying
pepper dust. An inferior sort of this vile refuse, or the sweepings of
P. D. is distinguished among venders by the abbreviation of D. P. D.
denoting, dust (dirt) of pepper dust.

It is also notorious that there are manufacturers of spurious rhubarb
powder, ipecacuanha powder,[2] Jamess powder; and other simple and
compound medicines of great potency, who carry on their diabolical trade
on an amazingly large scale. Indeed, the quantity of medical
preparations thus sophisticated exceeds belief. Cheapness, and not
genuineness and excellence, is the grand desideratum with the
unprincipled dealers in drugs and medicines.
Those who are familiar with chemistry may easily convince themselves of
the existence of the fraud, by subjecting to a chemical examination
either spirits of hartshorn, magnesia, calcined magnesia, calomel, or
any other chemical preparation in general demand.
Spirit of hartshorn is counterfeited by mixing liquid caustic ammonia
with the distilled spirit of hartshorn, to increase the pungency of its
odour, and to enable it to bear an addition of water.
The fraud is detected by adding spirit of wine to the sophisticated
spirit; for, if no considerable coagulation ensues, the adulteration is
proved. It may also be discovered by the hartshorn spirit not producing
a brisk effervescence when mixed with muriatic or nitric acid.
Magnesia usually contains a portion of lime, originating from hard water
being used instead of soft, in the preparation of this medicine.
To ascertain the purity of magnesia, add to a portion of it a little
sulphuric acid, diluted with ten times its bulk of water. If the
magnesia be completely soluble, and the solution remains transparent, it
may be pronounced _pure_; but not otherwise. Or, dissolve a portion of
the magnesia in muriatic acid, and add a solution of sub-carbonate of
ammonia. If any lime be present, it will form a precipitate; whereas
pure magnesia will remain in solution.
Calcined magnesia is seldom met with in a pure state. It may be assayed
by the same tests as the common magnesia. It ought not to effervesce at
all, with dilute sulphuric acid; and, if the magnesia and acid be put
together into one scale of a balance, no diminution of weight should
ensue on mixing them together. Calcined magnesia, however, is very
seldom so pure as to be totally dissolved by diluted sulphuric acid;
for a small insoluble residue generally remains, consisting chiefly of
silicious earth, derived from the alkali employed in the preparation of
it. The solution in sulphuric acid, when largely diluted, ought not to
afford any precipitation by the addition of oxalate of ammonia.

Any one who wishes to see what a Belgian meal can be in the number of
courses should go by train past Blankenberghe, which is a pale
reflection of Ostend, to Heyste, and partake of a mid-day dinner there
at one of the hotels patronised by the Brussels tradesmen and their
families, who come to the little sea-town for change of air. Fifteen or
sixteen plates piled in front, or at the side of each place, mark the
number of courses to be gone through, and most of the guests eat the
meal through from soup to fruit without shirking a single course.
CHAPTER IV
BRUSSELS
The Savoy–The Epaule de Mouton–The Faille Déchirée–The Lion
dOr–The Regina–The Helder–The Filet de
Sole–Wiltchers–Justines–The Etoile–The Belveder–The Café
Riche–Durantons–The Laiterie–Miscellaneous.
Brussels must have been a gayer city than the Brussels of to-day when it
earned the title of “a little Paris.” There is at the present time very
little indeed of Paris about the Belgian capital, and, in the matter of
restaurants, there is a marked contrast between the two cities. Here the
latter-day Lucullus will have to seek in queer nooks and out-of-the-way
corners to discover the best kitchens and the cellars where the wines
are of the finest _crûs_. The aristocracy of Belgium mostly dines _en
famille_ and the restaurants that cater for the middle classes are the
most patronised. There are, however, several establishments which
provide for more refined tastes, but they will not be found upon the big
boulevards or the main thoroughfares. Four of the best restaurants in
Brussels are in two narrow little streets, and their exteriors resemble
old-fashioned London coffee-houses, rather than resorts of fashion.
Brussels is particularly destitute of smart rooms where one can sup in
gay company “after the opera is over.” Until the Savoy was opened, we
had, in fact, nothing beyond the ordinary restaurant with its little
_cabinets particuliers_. When Mr. Arthur Collins of Drury Lane was in
Brussels about a couple of years ago, he asked me to take him one
evening, after leaving the Scala, to the local Romanos. “We havent
such a place,” I explained, “but we can go to the Helder.” “I dined
there this evening,” said A.C., “it was a very good dinner, but deadly
dull; show me something livelier.” We resolved to try the Filet de Sole
thinking, as it was close to the Palais dEté, we were certain to meet
some people there, but the place was empty. The fact is, Brussels has
little night-life beyond the taverns and bars of low character, and the
only high-class supper-room is the Savoy. If a stranger came to pass a
week in Brussels, and wanted to be shown round the restaurants, I should
start him with lunch at the Savoy on Monday morning, and finish him off
with supper at the Savoy on the following Sunday night, for he would
then be sure of beginning and ending well. The grill is excellent, and
by no means dear. 1 franc 75 centimes is charged for a chop or steak,
including _pommes de terre_ well served. The _hors-doeuvre_ are a
speciality at luncheon. There is great variety, and the pickled shrimps
would tickle the most jaded appetite.

Preheat oven to 350oF. In a shallow bowl beat egg with
maple syrup. Place oatmeal, salt and pepper on a sheet of
wax paper. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then oatmeal
mixture. Pour oil in shallow baking pan. Place chicken,
skin side down, in oil in baking pan; turn chicken pieces
to coat with oil; leave skin side up. Bake, uncovered, for
approximately 1 hour, or until cooked through.
NACHO NIBBLESServes 6
Ive made this recipe scattering the cheese and franks and
other ingredients over the tortilla chips haphazardly, and
Ive also made it so that each individual tortilla chip has
its own slice of frank, its own chili and its own pepper
and cheese. The second way looks more impressive. The first
way is a lot easier. My son Jose likes to serve this at
parties with his college friends.
8 chicken franks
1 package (16 ounces) tortilla chips
2 cups chili
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup diced green pepper, or mild to hot green chili
peppers
12 ounces grated Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350oF. Cut franks into thin slices. Place
tortilla chips on large shallow baking pan and top with
frank slices. Dab chili on top, then sprinkle with
scallions, peppers and cheese.
Bake nachos for 15 minutes or until cheese bubbles.
PHOTO: Tucking chicken nuggets into pita pockets and
arranging vegetables are easy steps in teaching children…
– 5
NUGGETS IN A POCKETServes 4
This is an easy sandwich for teenagers to make.
1 package fully-cooked chicken breast nuggets
4 mini pita pockets
prepared Thousand Island dressing or Magic Mixture Sauce
(recipe follows)
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Bake nuggets following package directions. Slit top of
pita pockets. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons sauce into each
pocket and fill with nuggets, lettuce, tomato and
additional sauce if desired. Serve with Rick Rack Carrot
Sticks and Broccoli Trees (raw cut-up pieces of carrot and
broccoli).
Magic Mixture Sauce:
In small bowl, combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup ketchup,
1 tablespoon prepared French dressing, 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon
curry powder (optional), and 1-2 drops Tabasco (optional).
NUTTY BUDDY CHICKENServes 4
According to the Texas Peanut Producers Board, we
Americans eat 4 million pounds of peanuts each day. Tell
your kids that, as they help you chop the salted peanuts
for this recipe.
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/3 cup bran buds
3/4 cup finely chopped salted peanuts
1 chicken, cut in serving pieces
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
Preheat oven to 350oF. In a shallow bowl beat egg with
milk. Place flour, salt, pepper, bran buds and peanuts on a
sheet of wax paper and mix together. Dip chicken pieces in
egg mixture; then flour mixture. Place chicken in single
layer, skin side up, in shallow baking pan. Pour melted
butter or margarine over chicken. Bake, uncovered, for
about 1 hour or until cooked through.

Restaurant, the Princess, which one of the great stars of the Opera has
very regularly patronised, deserves a special good word. The Restaurant
Ré, which was originally a fish and oyster shop, but which is now a
restaurant with fish as its speciality, is also an excellent place for
men of moderate means. Madame Ré learned the art of the kitchen at the
Reserve at Marseilles, and she knows as much about the cooking of fish
as any woman in the world. When it came to my turn in the interchange
of dinners for six to provide a feast, I went to Madame Ré and asked her
to give me a fish dinner, and to keep it as distinctive as possible of
the principality, and she at once saw what I wanted and entered into the
spirit of it. She met me on the evening of the feast with a sorrowful
expression on her handsome face, for she had sent a fisherman out very
early in the morning into the bay to catch some of the little sea
hedgehogs which were to form one course, but he had come back
empty-handed. The menu stood as under, and we none of us missed the
hedgehogs:–
Canapé de Nonnats.
Soupe de poisson Monégasque.
Supions en Buisson.
Dorade Bonne Femme.
Volaille Rôtie.
Langouste Parisienne.
Asperges Vinaigrette.
Dessert.
The _Soupe Monégasque_ had a reminiscence in it of _Bouillabaisse_, but
it was not too insistent; the _supions_ were octopi, but delicate little
gelatinous fellows, not leathery, as the Italian ones sometimes are; the
_dorade_ was a splendid fish, and though I fancy the _langouste_ had
come from northern waters and not from the bay, it was beautifully fresh
and a monster of its kind.
The Riviera Palace has a restaurant to which many people come to
breakfast, high above Monte Carlo and its heat, and the cook is a very
good one.

Buying without planning menus. By this carelessness foods are often
purchased which do not combine well, and therefore do not appeal
to the appetite, and so are wasted. Unplanned meals also lead to an
unconscious extravagance in buying and an unnecessary accumulation of
left-overs.
Buying foreign brands when domestic brands are cheaper and often
better.
Leaving the trimmings from meats and poultry at the butchers. Bring
these home and fry out the fatty portions for dripping; use all other
parts for the stock pot.
Having purchased for nutriment and in sufficiently large quantities to
secure bulk rates, careful storage is the next step in the prevention
of waste. Flour, cereals and meals become wormy if they are not kept
in clean, covered utensils and in a cool place. Milk becomes sour,
especially in summer. This can be prevented by scalding it as soon
as received, cooling quickly, and storing in a cold place in covered,
well-scalded receptacles. Sour milk should not be thrown out. It
is good in biscuits, gingerbread, salad dressings, cottage cheese,
pancakes or waffles, and bread making.

STRENGTH AND SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF PORTER.
The strength of all kinds of beer, like that of wine, depends on the
quantity of spirit contained in a given bulk of the liquor.
The reader need scarcely be told, that of no article there are more
varieties than of porter. This, no doubt, arises from the different mode
of manufacturing the beer, although the ingredients are the same. This
difference is more striking in the porter manufactured among country
brewers, than it is in the beer brewed by the eminent London porter
brewers. The totality of the London porter exhibits but very slight
differences, both with respect to strength or quantity of spirit, and
solid extractive matter, contained in a given bulk of it. The spirit may
be stated, upon an average, to be 4,50 per cent. in porter retailed at
the publicans; the solid matter, is from twenty-one to twenty-three
pounds per barrel of thirty-six gallons. The country-brewed porter is
seldom well fermented, and seldom contains so large a quantity of
spirit; it usually abounds in mucilage; hence it becomes turbid when
mixed with alcohol. Such beer cannot keep, without becoming sour.
It has been matter of frequent complaint, that ALL the porter
now brewed, is not what porter was formerly. This idea may be true with
some exceptions. My professional occupations have, during these
twenty-eight years, repeatedly obliged me to examine the strength of
London porter, brewed by different brewers; and, from the minutes made
on that subject, I am authorised to state, that the porter now brewed by
the eminent London brewers, is unquestionably stronger than that which
was brewed at different periods during the late French war. Samples of
brown stout with which I have been obligingly favoured, whilst writing
this Treatise, by Messrs. Barclay, Perkins, and Co.–Messrs. Truman,
Hanbury, and Co.–Messrs. Henry Meux and Co.–and other eminent brewers
of this capital–afforded, upon an average, 7,25 per cent. of alcohol,
of 0,833 specific gravity; and porter, from the same houses, yielded
upon an average 5,25 per cent. of alcohol, of the same specific
gravity;[55] this beer received from the brewers was taken from the
same store from which the publicans are supplied.
It is nevertheless singular to observe, that from fifteen samples of
beer of the same denominations, procured from different retailers, the
proportions of spirit fell considerably short of the above quantities.
Samples of brown stout, procured from the retailers, afforded, upon an
average, 6,50 per cent. of alcohol; and the average strength of the
porter was 4,50 per cent. Whence can this difference between the beer
furnished by the brewer, and that retailed by the publican, arise? We
shall not be at a loss to answer this question, when we find that so
many retailers of porter have been prosecuted and convicted for mixing
table beer with their strong beer; this is prohibited by law, as becomes
obvious by the following words of the Act.[56]
“If any common or other brewer, innkeeper, victualler, or retailer of
beer or ale, shall mix or suffer to be mixed any strong beer, ale, or
worts, with table beer, worts, or water, in any tub or measure, he shall
forfeit 50_l._” The difference between strong and table beer, is thus
settled by Parliament.
“All beer or ale[57] above the price of eighteen shillings per barrel,
exclusive of ale duties now payable (viz. ten shillings per barrel,) or
that may be hereafter payable in respect thereof, shall be deemed strong
beer or ale; and all beer of the price of eighteen shillings the barrel
or under, exclusive of the duty payable (viz. two shillings per barrel)
in respect thereof, shall be deemed table beer within the meaning of
this and all other Acts now in force, or that may hereafter be passed in
relation to beer or ale or any duties thereon.”
_List of Publicans prosecuted and convicted from 1815 to 1818, for
adulterating Beer with illegal Ingredients, and for mixing Table Beer
with their Strong Beer._[58]

Coffee at 8 A.M. with rolls, _Kaffee Brödchen_, and butter, and this
meal he will be expected to descend to the dining-room to eat.
A slight lunch at 11 A.M., at which the German equivalent for a
sandwich, a Brödchen cut and buttered, with a slice of uncooked ham,
lachs, or cheese between the halves, makes its appearance, and a glass
of beer or wine is drunk.
Dinner (Mittagessen) is announced between 1 and 2 oclock, and is a long
meal consisting of soup, which is the water in which the beef has been
boiled; fish; a messy entrée, probably of Frankfurt sausage; the beef
boiled to rags with a _compote_ of plums or wortleberries and mashed
apples; and, as the sweet, pancakes.
Coffee is served at 4 P.M. with _Kaffee Küchen_, its attendant cake, and
at supper (Abendessen) one hot dish, generally veal, is given with a
choice of cold viands or sausages in thin slices–_leber Würst,
Göttinger Würst_, hot _Frankfurter Würst_, and black pudding.
If the above gruesome list does not warn the over-zealous inquirer, his
indigestion be on his own head.
In the south the cookery, though still indifferent, approximates more
nearly to the French bourgeois cookery.
A dinner-party at a private house of well-to-do German people is always
a very long feast, lasting at least two hours, and the cookery, though
good, is heavy and rich, and too many sauces accompany the meats. Many
of the dishes are not served _à la Russe_, but are brought round in
order that one may help ones self. Just as one is struggling into
conversation in defective German, a pikes head obtrudes itself over the
left shoulder, and it is necessary to twist in ones seat and go
through a gymnastic performance to take a helping.
Except in large cities the Germans are not given to feeding at
restaurants.
A golden rule, which may be held to apply all over Germany, is that it
is safe to take ladies wherever officers go _in uniform_.
The Rathskeller
In most German towns where there is a Rathhaus (a town hall) one finds
the Rathskeller, where beers or wine, according to the part of the
country, are the principal attraction, single dishes, cutlets, steaks,
cold meats, oysters, caviar being served more as an adjunct to the drink
than as an orthodox meal. The most noted of these Rathskeller are at
Bremen, Lübeck, and Hamburg, and that at Bremen is first in importance.
It is a mediæval Gothic hall, built 1405-1410, and it holds the finest
stock of Rhine and Moselle wine in the world. The wine is kept in very
old casks. One of the cellars is of particular interest as being the
“Rose” one, where the magistrates used to sit in secret conclave, _sub
rosa_, beneath the great rose carved upon the ceiling. The German
Emperor generally pays a visit to the Rathskeller when he visits Bremen.
In the Lübeck Rathskeller is the “admirals table,” said to be made from
a plank of the ship of the last Admiral of Lübeck, who flourished in
1570; and even more interesting than the Rathskeller is the
Schiffergesellschaft, with its strange motto and its even stranger
sign.
Beer-Cellars
Throughout Germany one meets in every town the large establishments,
beautifully decorated in the “Old German” style, of the various beer
companies, most of which are Munich ones, the Lowenbrau, the
Pschorrbrau, the Münchener Hofbrau, and others. Be careful to close the
metal top of your Schopps if you are drinking with German companions,
for if you do not they have the right, by the custom of the country, to
place their mugs on the top of the open one and demand another “round.”
If when you have emptied your mug, you leave it with the lid open, the
waiter, without asking any questions, takes it away and refills it.

Normandy. There is almost invariably good cider to be had and good wine
on payment, but the cider and wine usually put on the table rival each
other as throat-cutting beverages. Vieux Calvados is an excellent
_pousse café_. It reads almost like a fairy-tale to be able to recount
that the delicious oysters from the coast-villages of Ouistreham and
Courseulles can be bought at 50 centimes the dozen or very little more.
Cherbourg
This calling-place for Atlantic steamers is a very likely place for the
earnest gourmet to find himself stranded in for a day, and I regret that
there is no gastronomic find to report there. A most competent authority
writes thus to me on the capabilities of the place:–
“There are no restaurants, in the true sense of the word, in Cherbourg.
“The leading hotel, where most of the people go, and which is the
largest, with the best cuisine and service, is the Hôtel du Casino. This
hotel is managed by Monsieur Marius, and though partially shut during
the winter season, travellers can always get a good plain dinner there.
During the summer season, that is from May till October, the hotel is
fully open, and has a _petits chevaux_ room, entry free of course, and
also good military music in the gardens, twice a week. The gardens are
also very prettily illuminated very often, whilst from time to time
firework displays help to pass away the evenings. The dining-hall faces
the only nice portion of beach in the town, and being entirely covered
in with glass, is warm in winter and cool in summer, when it can all be
open. The meals are usually _table-dhôte_, but it is possible also to
order a dinner if one prefers to do so. Here also the traveller will
find a little English spoken among the waiters and management, which may
be useful to him. The wines are pretty good, but there is no very
special brand for which the place is known; also good Scotch and Irish
whisky can be obtained at a reasonable price; the hotel does not boast
of any special _plat_ either.
“The Hôtel de France, another fair-sized hotel, is the one patronised
mostly by the naval and military authorities of the town, but is not so
amusing a place for the traveller to stay at or dine at; though I
understand that the dinner to be obtained there is in every way
satisfactory.
“Finally, I might mention two other hotels at which one can dine
comfortably; these are the Hôtel dAmirauté and the Hôtel dAngleterre,
at both of which a good plain dinner is served.
“The chief joint obtainable here to be recommended is of course the
mutton, as Cherbourg is noted for its _pré-salé_ all over France; but
beyond this the food is of the usual ordinary kind to be obtained in
most French towns of this size.”