The Virginia Housewife: Or, Methodical Cook: A Facsimile of an Authentic Early American Cookbook

by Mary Randolph

Overview

Originally published in 1824, this influential, classic guide by a noted Virginia hostess is widely regarded as the first truly Southern cookbook. Compiled and written by Mary Randolph (reputed to have been the best cook in Richmond), it contains a treasury of cooking instructions for everything from hearty soups to exotic cordials. Included are time-honored recipes for a wide range of beef, veal, lamb and pork dishes, along with fish, poultry, sauces, vegetables, pudding, cakes, preserves, and more. In addition to such traditional Southern fare as okra soup, curry of catfish, barbequed shoat (a fat young hog), field peas, beaten biscuits and sweet potato buns, readers will also find scores of recipes for dishes, condiments and beverages rarely seen on today's dinner table: sweetbread and oyster pie, grilled calf's head, shoulder of mutton with celery sauce, fried calf's feet, pheasant "a-la-daub," tansy pudding, gooseberry fool (cold stewed gooseberries with custard and whipped cream), pickled nasturtiums, walnut catsup, vinegar of the four thieves, ginger wine, and many other edibles from a bygone era.
More than just a collection of recipes, however, this comprehensive cook's reference also provides a fascinating introduction to the food and customs of the antebellum South, as well as handy instructions for making soap, starch and cologne water, cleaning silver, drying herbs, and much other useful advice.
For this edition, Jan Longone, a specialist in antiquarian wine and food books, has contributed an informative new introduction that outlines the singular qualities of Mrs. Randolph's book and its preeminent place in American culinary history. Any cook, antiquarian or lover of Americana will enjoy this rare glimpse into the kitchens of the past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486277721
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	12/22/1993
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

SOUPS.
Asparagus soup
Beef soup
Gravy soup
Soup with Bouilli
Veal soup
Oyster soup
Barley soup
Dried pea soup
Green pea soup
Ochra soup
Hare or Rabbit soup
Soup of any kind of old fowl
Catfish soup
Onion soup
To dress turtle
Mock turtle soup of calf's head
BEEF.
Directions for curing beef
To dry beef for summer use
To corn beef in hot weather
"Important observations on roasting, boiling, frying, &c."
Beef a-la-mode
Brisket of beef baked
Beef olives
To stew a rump of beef
A fricando of beef
An excellent method of dressing beef
To collar a flank of beef
To make a hunter's beef
A nice little dish of beef
Beef steaks
To hash beef
Beef steak pie
Beef a-la-daube
VEAL.
Directions for the pieces in the different quarters of veal
Veal cutlets from the fillet or leg
Veal chops
Veal cutlets
Knuckle of veal
Baked fillet of veal
Scotch collops of veal
Veal olives
Ragout of a breast of veal
Fricando of veal
To make a pie of sweetbreads and oysters
Mock turtle of calf's head
To grill a calf's head
To collar a calf's head
"Calf's heart, a nice dish"
Calf's feet fricassee
To fry calf's feet
To prepare rennet
To hash a calf's head
To bake a calf's head
To stuff and roast calf's liver
To broil calf's liver
Directions for cleaning calf's head and feet
LAMB.
"To roast the fore-quarter, &c."
Baked lamb
Fried lamb
To dress lamb's head and feet
MUTTON.
Boiled leg of mutton
Roasted leg of mutton
Steaks of a leg of mutton
To harrico mutton
Mutton chops
Boiled breast of mutton
Breast of mutton in ragout
To grill a breast of mutton
Boiled shoulder of mutton
Shoulder of mutton with celery sauce
Roasted loin of mutton
PORK.
To cure bacon
To make souse
To roast a pig
To barbecue shote
To roast a fore-quarter of shote
To make shote cutlets
To corn shote
Shote's head
Leg of pork with pease pudding
Stewed chine
To toast a ham
To stuff a ham
Soused feet in ragout
To make sausages
To make black puddings
A sea pie
To make paste for the pie
Bologna sausages
FISH.
To cure herrings
To bake sturgeon
To make sturgeon cutlets
Sturgeon steaks
To boil sturgeon
To bake a shad
To boil a shad
To roast a shad
To broil a shad
To boil rock fish
To fry perch
To pickle oysters
To make a curry of catfish
To dress a cod's head and shoulders
To make sauce for the cod's head
To dress a salt cod
Matelote of any kind of firm fish
"Chowder, a sea dish"
To pickle sturgeon
To caveach fish
To dress cod fish
Cod fish pie
To dress any kind of salted fish
To fricassee cod sounds and tongues
An excellent way to dress fish
Fish a-la-daub
Fish in jelly
To make egg sauce for a salt cod
To dress cod sounds
To stew carp
To boil eels
To pitchcock eels
To broil eels
To scollop oysters
To fry oysters
To make oyster loaves
"POULTRY, &c."
To roast a goose
To make sauce for a goose
To boil ducks with onion sauce
To make onion sauce
To roast ducks
To boil a turkey with oyster sauce
To make sauce for a turkey
To boil fowls
To make white sauce for fowls
Fricassee of small chickens
To roast large fowls
To make egg sauce
To boil young chickens
To roast young chickens
Fried chickens
To roast woodcocks or snipes
To roast wild ducks or teal
To boil pigeons
To roast pigeons
To roast partridges or any small bird
To boil rabbits
To roast rabbits
To stew wild ducks
To dress ducks with juice of oranges
To dress ducks with onions
To roast a calf's head
To make a dish of curry after the East Indian manner
"Dish of rice to be served up with the curry, in a dish by itself"
Ochra and tomatos
Gumbo-a West India dish
Pepperpot
Spanish method of dressing giblets
Paste for meat dumplins
To make an ollo-a Spanish dish
Ropa veija-Spanish
"Chicken pudding, a favourite Virginia dish"
To make polenta
Macaroni
Mock macaroni
To make croquets
To make vermicelli
Common patties
Eggs in croquets
Omelette souffle
Fondus
A nice twelve o'clock luncheon
Eggs a-la-creme
Sauce a-la-creme for the eggs
Cabbage a-la-creme
To make an omelette
Omelette-another way
Gaspacho-Spanish
Eggs and tomatos
Eggs and tomatos
To fricassee eggs
SAUCES.
Fish sauce to keep a year
Sauce for wild fowl
Sauce for boiled rabbits
Gravy
Forcemeat balls
Sauce for boiled ducks or rabbits
Lobster sauce
Shrimp sauce
Oyster sauce for fish
Celery sauce
Mushroom sauce
Common sauce
To melt butter
Caper sauce
Oyster catsup
Celery vinegar
VEGETABLES.
To dress salad
To boil potatos
To fry sliced potatos
Potatos mashed
Potatos mashed with onions
To roast potatos
To roast potatos under meat
Potato balls
Jerusalem artichokes
Cabbage
Savoys
Sprouts and young greens
Asparagus
Sea-kale
To scollop tomatos
To stew tomatos
Cauliflower
Red beet roots
Parsnips
Carrots
Turnips
To mash turnips
Turnip tops
French beans
Artichokes
Brocoli
Peas
Puree of turnips
Ragout of turnips
"Ragout of French beans, snaps, string beans"
Mazagan beans
"Lima, or sugar beans"
Turnip rooted cabbage
Egg plant
Potato pumpkin
Sweet potato
Sweet potatos stewed
Sweet potatos broiled
Spinach
Sorrel
Cabbage pudding
Squash or cimlin
Winter squash
Field peas
Cabbage with onions
Salsify
Stewed salsify
Stewed mushrooms
Broiled mushrooms
To boil rice
"Rice journey, or johnny cake"
"PUDDINGS, &c."
Observations on puddings and cakes
Rice milk for a dessert
To make puff paste
To make mince-meat for pies
To make jelly from feet
A sweet-meat pudding
To make an orange pudding
An apple custard
Boiled loaf
Transparent pudding
Flummery
Burnt custard
An English plum pudding
Marrow pudding
Sippet pudding
Sweet potato pudding
An arrow root pudding
Sago pudding
Puff pudding
Rice pudding
Plum pudding
Almond pudding
Quire of paper pancakes
&n
Sugar ginger bread
Dough nuts-a yankee cake
Risen cake
Pound cake
"Savoy, or spunge cake"
A rich fruit cake
Naples biscuit
Shrewsbury cakes
Little plum cakes
Soda cakes
To make bread
To make nice biscuit
Rice bread
Mixed bread
Patent yeast
To prepare the cakes
Another method for making yeast
Nice buns
Muffins
French rolls
Crumpets
Apoquiniminc cakes
Batter cakes
Batter bread
Cream cakes
Soufle biscuits
Corn meal bread
Sweet potato buns
Rice woffles
Velvet cakes
Chocolate cakes
Wafers
Buckwheat cakes
Observations on ice creams
Ice creams
Vanilla cream
Raspberry cream
Strawberry cream
Cocoa nut cream
Chocolate cream
Oyster cream
Iced jelly
Peach cream
Coffee cream
Quince cream
Citron cream
Almond cream
Lemon cream
Lemonade cream
To make custard
To make a trifle
Rice blanc mange
Floating island
Syllabub
COLD CREAMS.
Lemon cream
Orange cream
Raspberry cream
Tea cream
Sago cream
Barley cream
Gooseberry fool
To make slip
Curds and cream
Blanc mange
To make a hen's nest
Pheasants a-la-daub
Partridges a-la-daub
Chickens a-la-daub
To make savoury jelly
Turkey a-la-daub
"Salmagundi, an excellent relish after dinner"
To stew perch
PRESERVES.
Directions for making preserves
To preserve cling-stone peaches
Cling-stones sliced
Soft peaches
Peach marmalade
Peach chips
Pears
Pear marmalade
Quinces
Currant jelly
Quince jelly
Quince marmalade
Cherries
Morello cherries
To dry cherries
Raspberry jam
To preserve strawberries
Strawberry jam
Gooseberries
Apricots in brandy
Peaches in brandy
Cherries in brandy
Magnum bonum plums in brandy
PICKLING.
Lemon pickle
Tomato catsup
Tomato marmalade
Tomato sweet marmalade
Tomato soy
Pepper vinegar
Mushroom catsup
"Tarragon, or astragon vinegar"
Curry powder
To pickle cucumbers
Oil mangos
To make the stuffing for forty melons
To make yellow pickle
To make green pickles
To prepare vinegar for green or yellow pickle
To pickle onions
To pickle nastertiums
To pickle radish pods
To pickle English walnuts
To pickle peppers
To make walnut catsup
"To pickle green nectarines, or apricots"
To pickle asparagus
Observations on pickling
"CORDIALS, &c."
Ginger wine
Orgeat
Cherry shrub
Currant wine
To make cherry brandy
Rose brandy
Peach cordial
Raspberry cordial
Raspberry vinegar
Mint cordial
"Hydromel, or mead"
To make a substitute for arrack
Lemon cordial
Ginger beer
Spruce beer
Molasses beer
To keep lemon juice
Sugar vinegar
Honey vinegar
Syrup of vinegar
Aromatic vinegar
Vinegar of the four thieves
Lavender water
Hungarian water
To prepare cosmetic soap for washing the hands
Cologne water
Soft pomatum
To make soap
To make starch
To dry herbs
To clean silver utensils
To make blacking
To clean knives and forks