1896 Dinner Menu: Butterscotch Biscuits, Chicken Gumbo, Baked Bananas....

1896 Dinner Menu
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
Fannie Merritt Farmer

Cabbage, Celery, and Nut Salad
Butterscotch Biscuits
Asparagus Buerre Noir
Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Tomato Sauce
Chicken Gumbo
Bananas Baked in Raisin Sauce

Cabbage, Celery, and Nut Salad
1 ½ cups finely cut celery
1 cup pecan meats, broken in pieces
1 cup shredded cabbage
Cream Dressing
Mix and serve on lettuce.
Did we eat it? Yes
Would I Make it again? Yes

Butterscotch Biscuits
½ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
Dough
Cream ½ cup butter with ¾ cup brown sugar. Spread part on dough before rolling up. Spread remainder on bottom of 9-inch round pan. Brush sides of rolls with melted butter. Place close together on sugar and butter mixture in pan, cut side down. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake 25 minutes in moderately hot oven 375 degrees F. Serve butterscotch side up.
Did we eat it? Yes
Would I make it again? Yes

Asparagus Buerre Noir
2 lbs asparagus
Buerre Noire Sauce
Cut of lower parts of stalks as far down as they will snap, was, remove scales, and retie bunch. Cook, standing upright, in boiling, salted water 15 minutes or until soft, leaving tips out of water first 10 minutes. Drain, remove string, and spread with soft butter or pour on Buerre Noire Sauce.

Buerre Noire Sauce
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Use fat remaining in pan after frying fish or meat and add enough butter to make 1/3 cup. Stir until browned. Add lemon juice and seasonings.
Did we eat it? Yes
Would I make it again? Yes

Stuffed Baked Potatoes
3 large flat potatoes
1 tbs butter
1 tbs tomato puree
Salt and pepper
Bake potatoes. Remove from oven, cut in halves lengthwise, scoop out inside. Mash, add butter, salt and pepper, and tomato puree. To give a glazed appearance, add 1 well-beaten egg white to potato mixture before filling.
Did we eat it? Yes
Would I make it again? Yes
Notes: I used some leftover pasta sauce for the tomato puree.

Chicken Gumbo
3 lbs chicken, cut in pieces for serving
Salt, pepper
Flour for dredging
Pork fat for frying
½ onion, finely chopped
Sprig parsley
4 cups sliced okra, cooked or canned
¼ red pepper, finely chopped or 1 pimiento
1 ½ cups tomato
3 cups boiling water
1 cup boiled rice.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, dredge with flour. Fry (sauté) in pork fat. Remove chicken. Fry onion in fat remaining in pan, add okra, parsley, or pimiento, and red pepper and cook slowly 15 minutes. Add to chicken with tomato, water, and 1 ½ tsp salt. Cook slowly until chicken is tender, and add rice.
Did we eat it? Yes
Would I make it again? Yes
Notes: I did not add the 1 ½ tsp salt.

Bananas Baked in Raisin Sauce
4 bananas
1 tbs butter
4 tbs strained honey
3 tsp lemon juice
¾ cup hot water
1 tbs cornstarch in ¼ cup cold water
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbs seedless raisins
Cocoanut (optional)
Simmer raisins I hot water 10 minutes. Melt butter in baking pan, slice bananas lengthwise, and arrange in pan. Cook other ingredients together 10 minutes and pour over bananas. Bake 30 minutes in moderate oven (350 F.) If desired, sprinkle with shredded cocoanut when ready to serve.
Did we eat it? Some of it.
Would I make it again? Yes.

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