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IF THE BOOK IS UNDER COPYRIGHT IN YOUR COUNTRY, DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR REDISTRIBUTE THIS FILE. _Title:_ Cooking Afloat _Date of first publication:_ 1959 _Author:_ Kathrene Pinkerton (1887-1967) _Date first posted:_ July 9, 2026 _Date last updated:_ July 9, 2026 Faded Page eBook #20260719 This eBook was produced by: Mardi Desjardins, Cindy Beyer & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net This file was produced from images generously made available by Internet Archive. [Cover Illustration] ⚓ _COOKING_ _AFLOAT_ _Kathrene Pinkerton_ _M. BARROWS AND COMPANY_ _New York_ ♆ _1959_ _Copyright © 1959 by Kathrene Pinkerton_ _Published simultaneously in the Dominion of_ _Canada by George J. McLeod Limited, Toronto._ _Printed in the United States of America_ _by H. Wolff, New York._ [Illustration] Contents _PART_ I _THE GALLEY_ Cruiser Cooking ♆ 5 Galley Gear ♆ 10 POTS AND PANS : 13 COOKING TOOLS : 16 Stowage ♆ 22 Ship’s Stores ♆ 27 STAPLES : 31 DAIRY PRODUCTS AND EGGS : 34 SOUPS : 37 CANNED CHICKEN : 38 CANNED FISH AND SHELLFISH : 39 CANNED MEATS : 41 OTHER CANNED MAIN-DISH MEALS : 43 CANNED VEGETABLES : 45 CANNED FRUITS AND JUICES : 47 CONDIMENTS, SEASONINGS, SPICES, HERBS AND WINES : 49 LUXURY LOCKER : 55 A Galley Is Different ♆ 57 _PART_ _II_ _RECIPES_ Introduction ♆ 65 Soups ♆ 68 Sauces, Gravies and Seasonings ♆ 85 Meats ♆ 93 Fish and Shellfish ♆ 127 CLEANING AND DRESSING FISH : 128 COOKING METHODS : 129 Main Dishes ♆ 158 Chicken ♆ 185 Vegetables and Salads ♆ 200 Breads ♆ 238 Desserts ♆ 246 Index ♆ 267 _Cooking Afloat_ ♆ PART ⚓ I ⚓ THE GALLEY Cruiser Cooking Cooking afloat can be fun and a challenge. In no place does imagination pay greater dividends than in the galley of a cruiser with a hungry crew aboard. And if a cook enjoys applause (and what cook doesn’t?) there is nothing like turning out a good meal, apparently without effort, after a hard day’s run. For years I cooked in odd places, over campfires on canoe and dog-sled trips, in log cabins, and beside roads which passed for highways in the early touring days. Yet I’ll never forget my shock when I saw the galley of our first boat. I say this in case other women may have felt as I did when their husbands triumphantly displayed the wonderful cruiser which was to open up a whole new world of adventure for the family. I looked my galley over. It had a toy-sized stove, fueled by kerosene under pressure, which had to be primed. The stove, minuscule lockers, a primitive icebox and a so-called work space, which was only a border for the smallest sink I’ve ever seen, were all fitted into a tiny galley which I shared with a fearsome heavy-duty motor. Life afloat had been a sudden impulse. We had heard of the wonderful cruising on the British Columbia coast line and my husband, Robert, had gone to Seattle to explore the small-boat market. He wired he had bought a 36-footer which would be ready for sea when our small daughter and I arrived. It was. All except the galley which was in my domain. We’d be gone three months. _The Coast Pilot_ mentioned only a few scattered places where we could get water, gas and oil. In those days we were on our own as far as supplies went unless we were lucky enough to strike one of the rare fishermen’s stores on “boat day.” And later I discovered that on “boat day” fresh meat and vegetables were spoken for as they came over the ship’s sides and seldom saw the store counters. I measured lockers and stowage space, wrote lists and went marketing. I made mistakes both ways, omission and overstocking, and toward the end of the cruise we ate some weird combinations. But we had a wonderful time, so wonderful we were determined to have a real home afloat by the following spring. The _Triton_, our second boat, was not exactly what we had envisioned as a home afloat, but she was an able 50-footer designed for deep-sea cruising with an all-male crew. We spent the next summer in her “as was” while we planned changes, then rebuilt her interior that winter. And my new galley was arranged according to a cook’s ideas and not those of a marine architect. In the following seven years we did two kinds of cruising which meant two very different kinds of cooking, marketing and stowing. Spring and fall we went social. We stayed in southern waters, entertained friends, went to yacht club regattas and made short trips. We were almost always within range of fresh supplies. These were our white duck, weekend guests and cocktail party periods. In May we outfitted the _Triton_ for our long slog to Alaska and our real summer cruising. We took on supplies for five months and on our departure we had that wonderful feeling of complete self-sufficiency which comes from a well-found ship. This meant we could spend all our time in the more remote reaches of the Alaskan islands and inlets and did not have to make forced runs to the coastal towns for provisions. We visited the towns, of course, and when we did we stocked up on fresh meat and vegetables, but these were a luxury and never a necessity. We lived aboard the _Triton_ at least ten months each year, once staying through the entire winter, and at the end of our cruising days I watched the _Triton_ go off under her new owner with tears in my eyes. But we’d had seven years of adventure and delight in the finest outdoor game I can imagine. The recipes and suggestions on galley equipment and supplies are based on those seven years. And they can be only suggestions. Each boat and each cruise is different. The food list is always a juggling act between the galley equipment, length of the cruise, number of people aboard, marketing possibilities along the way, and amount of stowage space the cook can wangle from the skipper. Even the most considerate husband can’t be shaken from his firm conviction that boat’s needs come first. Some aspects of cruising are very much to the cook’s advantage. Appetites at sea are extraordinarily keen. Dishes you have served at home without remark will be hailed as delicious. So meals, while they should be satisfying, can be very simple. And anyway it is disastrous to attempt elaborate menus in tight quarters with limited utensils. Do only the things you can do easily, quickly and well aboard a boat and your family and your guests will be impressed and even more important you will be an unflurried hostess. Cruising is exciting and you don’t want to miss half the fun because you are a prisoner in the galley. When you make up your supply list count on this sea appetite, too. At sea, picky eaters suddenly become trenchermen. And if adults’ appetites increase in arithmetic progression, children’s increase in a geometric one. The amount of food a child who has been swimming, water skiing, rowing and fishing all day can wolf down is simply unbelievable. Be particularly wary of this trap if you are cruising in colder waters north of Seattle or off the northeastern Atlantic coast. * * * * * Most of the recipes in this book are based on the canned and processed foods which are the backbone of your ship’s stores. The initial preparation has been completed and a little ingenuity can produce varied and interesting meals with small effort. Almost all basic cooking formulas can be modified for canned and processed foods. To be sure, these streamlined versions will not be gourmet dishes built from scratch with many hours of labor. No one with any knowledge of fine cooking expects them to be so. But they are good and guests are happy knowing they are not dining on the energy of the cook. And again there is that fine sea air on your side. I have also included easy recipes which use fresh meat because marketing facilities along many of the waterways are so good. You can buy a portable cooler for dry ice which will keep frozen meat safely for five or six days. And perhaps you are lucky enough to have one of the new portable refrigerators which run on propane gas or electricity, or even a freezer. All these recipes can be cooked easily in a galley and on a two-burner stove. Some are useful too for weekend cruising when the main dish can be partially prepared at home and brought aboard either in a cooler or in a pressure cooker which has that great advantage, a perfectly secure cover. Then the main dish need only be heated and given the finishing touches. I have not hesitated to give quite a few recipes that require long, slow cooking. Such cooking is a time-consuming luxury for the busy woman on shore, but happily it is perfectly adapted to cruising life. Cruising is the only outdoor game I know where a woman can travel, sight-see, be in on all the fun, stand her trick at the wheel, and still take her kitchen with her. And a going concern at that. Cooking underway is a delightful ahead-of-time preparation. And there will be many days when the water is so smooth that such cooking is perfectly safe. The cook has only to keep her weather eye on the dish occasionally. Then when the hook is down and all is snug for the night the meal is ready. Galley Gear Here you must be strong-minded. There are so many attractive cooking gadgets and kind friends who are anxious to celebrate the new boat with a gift that you must ask yourself how necessary the gadget really is or if there isn’t another tool that will serve double duty. Outfitting a galley is always a question of either-or and each utensil must earn its passage. It must be able to withstand the corrosion of salt air unless you are on a fresh-water cruise. But either at sea or on inland waters it must be compact, durable and, if possible, versatile. Pots and pans from the home kitchen seldom meet these requirements. Aluminum pits and roughens in sea air and is extremely difficult to keep clean, especially if the skipper counts the drops from the fresh-water tank. Heavy enamelware is comparatively inexpensive and fairly durable but must be discarded when chipped. Heavy stainless steel costs money but is an economy in the long run. It’s up to your budget and the length of your cruises. The various kinds of basic galley equipment present wide differences. Your stove may be an alcohol-under-pressure two-burner, perhaps a kerosene or fuel-oil range with a built-in oven, or a propane gas four-burner. The last is as easily managed as your gas stove at home and sometimes even boasts a simmer burner and a broiler. Your refrigeration may be a portable cooler with a cake of ice or dry ice, a tiny icebox, or a refrigerator and freezer unit. If you do not have a built-in oven, a folding one of stainless steel is a wonderful addition. It will increase the range of menus immeasurably and can be stowed away easily since it folds into a two-inch thickness. I would add an oven thermometer despite the heat indicator in the door. Buy only the best, one used and recommended by test kitchens, which costs only fifty cents more than less well-known brands. The fifty cents will be more than made up by the success of one main dish. You will need at least half a dozen asbestos pads with wire rims for alcohol or kerosene stoves. You may have to pile three or four beneath a pot to make sure of a really low simmering heat. There is a metal gadget called a flame-tamer which is a great convenience as it provides an air cushion between pot and flame. It subdues the heat, often not quite enough, but it can be supplemented with asbestos pads. Then, too, the flame-tamer’s surface is of a knobby, slippery metal and an asbestos pad on top makes the pot more secure. Burner stoves, except for the propane gas ones, must be primed for lighting. Before you cook your first meal aboard try some dry runs on priming. Overpriming might cause a fire and the process is jittery-making at first. For unmechanical cooks there is an aid, the stove-lite pellet. And while the burner flame is not exactly fixed, neither is it really adjustable. If the flame is turned below the point at which the fuel volatilizes, the fuel comes out as liquid and not gas. But you can learn by experience just how far you can adjust. It is never possible to get a simmering heat. There is a bottled-gas portable stove, both in single and double burners, which requires no pumping, priming or preheating. It has a pressure control valve and a small individual cylinder of bottled gas for each burner. But with the regulations on bottled gas it has to be used abovedecks. However, it is light (the double-burner stove weighs less than 13 pounds) and makes a useful auxiliary in cooking for a crowd. There is also a single- and double-burner portable grill fueled by bottled gas. This, too, has to be operated abovedecks, but it does add broiled foods to shipboard menus. * * * * * Coolers are excellent auxiliaries for an overcrowded icebox. And what seagoing icebox isn’t? They come in various sizes and are fitted with a rack which can be adjusted for either natural or dry ice. If you have one, store it in the coolest place on the boat and don’t open it more often than is absolutely necessary. In this way you can get a surprising number of days’ use out of it. Natural ice will keep several days and save the perishables after a heavy shopping trip. Dry ice will transform the cooler into a freezer and not only keep frozen foods frozen, but it will also freeze fresh meat and poultry. One fairly large chunk of dry ice will last five or six days. The coolers are made of various materials. Coleman enameled steel is a common variety but will rust when the enamel chips. Steel sheeting and Cronso are longer-lived but more expensive. Synthetic fibers are not as costly but there is a difference of opinion as to just how effective they are. A small portable refrigerator which has just come on the market may be the answer for many boats. It will operate on either bottled gas or electric current from 6 to 220 voltage. Since the change-over from current to bottled gas can be made easily by the owner, it is extremely versatile. It weighs 24 pounds and has a 36-pound capacity. Again, however, if bottled gas is used it must be kept abovedecks, but the box is square and could pinch-hit for extra seating. POTS AND PANS These will depend on your locker space, the extent of your cooking and the number of people aboard. First on my list would be a _Dutch oven_, preferably of cast iron. This old-fashioned pot has never been beaten for long, slow cooking either in the oven or on top of the stove. It is wonderful for unwatched, main-dish meals. Cast iron will rust if it is not seasoned with unsalted oil and washed with mild soap, but in time it will take on a rust-resistant patina. And until then a drop of cooking oil will keep it ready for use. In seven years afloat—and they were on a rainy and fogbound coast—I oiled my cast-iron Dutch oven and skillets only when we put the boat up for the two mid-winter months. I must admit, however, these were well seasoned when I brought them aboard. _Two skillets_ at least are a necessity. Skillet dinners are very important if you do not have a built-in oven. It isn’t always convenient to set up the folding oven and give up a burner, but with a heavy cast-iron skillet, a tight-fitting cover and plenty of asbestos pads you can approximate baking heat. One skillet should be large, at least ten inches in diameter; the second of medium size. And if all this cast iron seems too great a care the auxiliary skillet could be stainless steel, preferably with a copper bottom. If you have locker space for it, a third frying pan, four or five inches in diameter, is a great convenience for sautéing small amounts. If possible select pans and kettles which will nest to save space. And they should be high and narrow rather than broad and squat. In any sort of sea the liquid in a broad, shallow kettle will swing wildly, gathering momentum with every roll of the boat. In tall, narrow pots this motion is reduced. Kettles and pots should be large enough so they never need be filled more than three-quarters full at dockside and only half full in a seaway. Do try to take along one large enough to make a main-dish soup, a chowder or those grand fish dishes, cioppino or bouillabaisse. A _double boiler_ is almost an essential. It is best to get one with a deep flange on the cover so it will seal securely and with a rounded bottom on the inner chamber so that you can stir with a spoon and food won’t catch and overcook in the sharp angle. If you have an oven you will want _baking pans_ for biscuits, gingerbread and cake. Unless you are cruising in fairly populated waters fresh bread can be a problem. You may find that you are cooking many more breads, biscuits and cakes than you ever did at home. Cake pans and a pie pan or two will be useful. The cake- and piecrust-mixes and the tremendous assortment of prepared pie fillings are wonderful for quick, easy desserts. The question of a large, heavy baking pan for roasts depends entirely on shopping possibilities along the way. A _casserole_ large enough for a main dish for the crowd is a stowing problem especially if it is breakable. But a large, heavy enamel pan with a tight-fitting enamel cover works perfectly. It may not be the casserole to end all casseroles, but after all it was what our grandmothers used for their baked dishes. You will need a _coffee pot_ or _percolator_. Or a saucepan if you prefer saucepan coffee. Also a teapot. Your family may not be tea drinkers at home, but there is a mystical affinity between sea life and tea. There is nothing like hot tea laced with rum after a bitter, wet blow. And in warmer waters, if you have ice, you will find iced tea an excellent substitute for space-consuming bottled soft drinks. A _mixing bowl_ will serve multiple duties. There are sets of stainless-steel bowls which nest and can be used for mixing, baking and even storing the makings of tomorrow’s dinner. _Refrigerator sets_ should be unbreakable and, if possible, lock firmly. And not too many of them to lead you into the pernicious habit of wasting precious refrigerator space with leftovers. If you have a _pressure cooker_ of convenient size and the stowage space for it, it is well worth taking aboard. Or you might well want to buy a small one. It provides an absolutely watertight, unspillable cooking receptacle which is wonderful in a heavy sea. Or any sea at all. If you are limited to a two-burner stove and a folding oven it will (in a way) extend the use of your stove. When the oven is monopolizing one burner you can quickly cook a vegetable in the pressure cooker, put it in the oven to stay warm, and then quickly cook the second vegetable. In this cooking in layers, as it were, you can get everything on the table more or less at the same time. If your family is wedded to meat, potato and vegetable meals this is very useful. A pressure cooker saves time marvelously in cooking dried legumes and homemade soups. But on a cruise, time is what you do have. My only reservation is that pressure cooking is not as satisfactory for stews, pot roasts or boiled meat, as the high heat breaks down the tissues and leaves the meat somewhat stringy. But then I’m a devotee of long, slow cooking. One final word of warning. The pressure indicators are somewhat delicate. If yours is the weight kind that lifts off the top, it should be wrapped in a paper towel or a cloth and stored where it can’t bang around in a heavy sea. If you have the dial type, wrap the top in a kitchen towel and store it in a safe place—perhaps a drawer full of sweaters! If you have room for it, a _breadbox_ is a great convenience but not a necessity. Plastic bags will help to keep bread fresh and these can be tucked into odd spaces. COOKING TOOLS There are a few which every cook would consider essential. These head the list: _Can opener_, _bottle opener_, _corkscrew_ and an _ice pick_. Long-handled, heavy _fork_. Three _cooking spoons_: a long-handled, slotted spoon, a mixing spoon, and a wooden spoon for sauces. Three _knives_: a carving and general utility knife, a heavy and very sharp knife for dicing and chopping, and a vegetable knife. Heavy _chopping board_. This is for dicing food and a score of other tasks. The board will extend your worktable space and can be stored against a bulkhead. _Egg beater._ If you are fortunate enough to have a 32-volt system you can get an electric one. Several other electric cooking aids are made for this voltage. Otherwise buy the very best egg beater you can find. There is a tremendous difference in egg beaters and that difference will come out of your own energy. Look for a heavy beater with a central drive and high-speed rotary blades, such as the Dover. _Colander._ If you can find a colander with a flat bottom, which will fit one of your kettles, it can double as a steamer. _Two sieves_, one medium and one small. _Measuring spoons._ There is a set of four long-handled, stainless-steel graduated spoons, which fit snugly in a rack and can be hung over the workcounter. _Measuring cups._ These, too, come in graduated sets in long-handled stainless steel, which can be nested or hung from a rack. The last two items may seem somewhat elaborate for a galley. But they can be kept within easy reach and you do not have to wash your spoons or your only measuring cup between dry and liquid ingredients. This cuts time and does away with fuss and muss. _Pancake turner._ If you can find a broad spatula it will double for one and be useful in other ways, too. _Rolling pin._ A stockinette cover for the rolling pin and a pastry cloth stow compactly and do away with a pastry board. _Pastry blender._ I suggest this not only for blending fats into flour but also because it is useful for mashing cheese or other foods to a pulp. _Potato ricer._ Not only will it serve as a potato masher but also it can be pressed into service as a food mill. It is an easy and quick way of getting all sorts of food through a sieve. _Graters._ The most practical one I know of is the Acme flat grater with a handle. _Potato slicer._ This is a versatile tool that can be used for slicing all sorts of vegetables for chef salads and other dishes. _Garlic press._ There is an excellent chrome press which can be taken apart for washing and has very fine holes for garlic and onion juice. _Cooking tongs._ They aren’t essential, but they hang and so don’t take up too much room and they are great timesavers. With tongs you can turn browning meat and poultry without piercing them and losing some of the juice. _Kitchen shears._ Once you have used them you will wonder how you got along without them. Also, there is a great deal of improvising in boat cooking. They are excellent for dicing a few oddments for spur-of-the-moment dishes. And then you have only to wipe the blades with a damp cloth and dry them instead of washing a board and a knife. _Timer._ This is useful when you are torn between what is going on topside and something you must watch in the galley. _Trivets_ for your Dutch oven and pressure cooker are desirable but not necessary. _Meat grinder._ This is by no means essential but a grinder will stow compactly and will be useful for preparing minced clams in many delicious ways and for varying meat meals. Ground meat should not be kept more than one day in the icebox, but a piece of chuck or round steak, properly wrapped, can be kept almost a week and ground as you need it. _Rubber scraper._ With limited water and a small sink you are ahead if dishes are scraped very clean before you wash them. _Garbage receptacle_ and heavy garbage bags. No one wants to be a public nuisance by throwing refuse overboard in harbors and at docks. And in most areas there are regulations against it. Strong, moisture-proof bags will hold the refuse until it can be thrown overboard. _A heavy net bag._ This is useful in cold waters. When you are at anchor you can hang canned fruit juices and the breakfast grapefruit overboard and save on your ice. In most of the Pacific waters the Japanese current is often cold enough to keep beer and soft drinks at a fair drinking temperature. And don’t forget to take an old-fashioned, folding _wire toaster_ for cook-outs ashore. A spade for digging clams, a long-handled dip net for catching crabs and a pail to cook them in are boat equipment and the skipper’s province. * * * * * I haven’t listed silverware, glassware and dishes, for this equipment is a matter of personal taste. Some women will tenderly nurse fine bone-china cups throughout a long voyage because they cannot bear the thought of drinking tea from anything else. Others will take happily to paper plates. You will have to work this out with your prejudices, your family and your budget. Plastic plates are unbreakable, or almost unbreakable. On the other hand they will stain. But again on a boat it is necessary to clean up immediately after a meal, so there are no half-filled coffee cups and dirty dishes standing around building up stains. Plastic-finished fiber plates can be used once and thrown away and are also fine for picnics on shore. It boils down to how many people you have aboard, how you live and what you want. Men, particularly deepwater sailors, feel that thick, heavy-duty mugs and dishes are the most durable and hold heat the best. They do stay more or less in one piece, but they chip, crack and craze. Still, if you are cruising in cold waters there is nothing like flat-bottomed, heavy mugs. Not only are they psychologically right, for they give a man a “look, we’re roughing it” feeling, but they keep hot drinks and soups hot, and they don’t slip and slide too much in a sea. In a streak of dirty weather you can fill them with hot soup, coffee or tea and pass them up to the man at the wheel. Serving dishes can be kept to a minimum since most of the food will be served either in the dish in which it was cooked or directly from stove to plate. This avoids confusion in the galley and the food is hotter and more palatable. Fish, especially, loses flavor with every move from one receptacle to another. However, you will have occasional need for one large platter or deep tray of some sort. Metal, or even heavy enamel, presents no breakage problem, is easily stowed and can be heated. All I know about silverware is that it goes overboard. For some curious reason a woman can spend what seems to be a large part of her life ashore scraping dishes over a garbage container and never lose a fork or spoon. Once aboard a boat silverware melts away. It could be a case of admiring the sunset while dumping the garbage. There is a great deal of well-designed, fairly heavy stainless steel on the market. I’d say buy the least expensive that you can still use with pleasure. Glassware is always trouble since the mortality rate is high. If you have children aboard plastic tumblers are a lifesaver and there are new ones that truly look like glass. Stowage Logically it would seem that all galley stores belong in the galley. And if this appears to be the essence of logic to your husband you will have to do a quick job of re-education. Unless you have a large cruiser, with what is almost a seagoing kitchen rather than a galley, it doesn’t work out that way. Boats being boats and marine architects being marine architects, you will find that lockers and hatches are spotted around according to the shape of the hull and the interior layout. Eventually you will work out a stowage system that at first glance seems slightly insane. But it will fit your cooking, your boat and the length of your cruise. There will be only one thing wrong with it. There is never enough room. Probably you and your husband, who has his own gear, too, will be battling it out precious locker by precious locker. Even on a short cruise it is wise to have your stores separated into day supplies and main supplies so that your day-store locker will not become a chaotic clutter. But keep track of the inroads on the main stores so you will have a ready-made shopping list the next time you can market. If the cruise is a long one and you are heavily stocked, keep a record of where the different items are stored. This will save you a frantic, last-minute search when you discover you need a can of tomatoes or a fresh tin of butter. Sea air and dampness rob many foods of their flavor so it’s best to buy dry staples in small packages. The little you save in the large economy sizes will be lost in flavor before the package is finished. Also, the small packages are easier to stow. Sometimes you will use so little of an ingredient that it is better to bring a small amount from the home kitchen in a jar with a tight-fitting cover. In many waters, tins, canisters and jars with tight-fitting covers are necessary for decanting opened boxes of crackers, cookies, cereals and staples. Small corked or screw-topped bottles are best for spices and herbs. Coffee and tea should be kept in tins. If you scrounge for odd-sized jars and tins with tight tops you will have a working outfit that will fit your needs. Cookies and fruitcakes often come in tins with really tight-fitting tops that are fine for rice and flour, etc. Wide-mouthed, friction-top tins make excellent containers for dry staples in your day locker. You can usually find them at stores which outfit campers. The square tins stow compactly. The main-store dry staples in unbroken packages should be stowed in dry, well-ventilated places. If you have to take over the bottom of a hanging locker or part of a drawer under a bunk, don’t hesitate, just move in. In time, you will develop an instinct for smelling out exactly the right spots in humidity and temperature. To this day I do not find it odd that I keep onions and root vegetables in a carton in an extremely cold bedroom closet in our apartment, though it amazes some of my friends. If you have flush hatches throughout the boat, you can store canned goods and other supplies beneath the decks of the cabin and beneath the cockpit. I’d go so far as to say that if you don’t have such hatches you are an underprivileged woman and justified in asking that they be built. But they do cost money. Still it is too frustrating to have all that cool empty space—and it is coolest below the water line—going to waste. The cans should be held securely in racks so they will not go adrift in a heavy sea. And it is wise to label the tops with waterproof tape. Then if the bilge floods and labels are loosened you won’t be left with a lot of anonymous canned goods. Perishables, of course, are the greatest problem of all. In fairly cool waters, citrus fruits and hardy vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and cabbage will keep for several weeks if laid against the skin of the boat. In cool waters, too, eggs, if they are truly fresh, will keep for at least three weeks if they are stowed below. Fresh meat has to travel in the icebox unless you are fortunate enough to have a freezer. For storage in the refrigerator, wrap it in waxed paper but not too tightly as there should be some ventilation. Cut cheese will last longer if you rub the cut side with butter to seal the surface. On our long cruises I have kept large pieces of Cheddar cheese for several weeks by wrapping it in cloth dampened in vinegar and storing it in the coolest spot. Pastry cream will keep longer than light cream, especially if it is unopened. So it is best to buy it in small bottles or cartons. Lettuce keeps best in a plastic bag in the icebox, but there is always a question of how much space you can allot to such a bulky object. Our attempts to carry a generous supply went through several experimental stages and none of them were too successful. We once thought we had it licked when a produce broker told us to store a couple of dozen unwashed and untrimmed heads in a well-ventilated vegetable locker on the foredeck. The fatalities were so great we abandoned the idea and converted the locker, much to Robert’s pleasure, into a much-needed stowage space for paints and varnishes. Smoked meats present difficult problems, too, but these meats are important on a cruise of any length. Sliced bacon in its original package, shored up with an additional wrapping of heavy aluminum foil, will keep for two weeks in an icebox. Unsliced bacon, wrapped in foil, will last even longer if it is stored in a cool, well-ventilated place. On long cruises when ports are few and far between, canned sliced bacon is the only answer and it is remarkably good. Smoked dried beef is a most convenient meat to have aboard and of finer flavor than the plain dried beef put up in jars, but it does not keep as well. The smoked dried beef comes in quarter-pounds in sealed plastic bags. I have kept this in a refrigerator for three weeks. And your eyes will tell you when mold starts to form. A smoked uncooked ham, not the oven-ready kind, will keep for a limited time if it is hung in an airy place. This is difficult to manage in a modern cruiser unless you have a forepeak without a chain locker. Fortunately for us, our motor sat regally in a baronial hall of an engine room with several open portholes and the skipper did not object to ham, bacon and even to a fillet of smoked salmon dangling about his head. The pure food laws require that all canned hams, three pounds or over, be marked with a warning to store under refrigeration. Canners have found it possible to sterilize thoroughly hams under three pounds without overcooking the outside. Usually the domestic brands run about a pound and a half; imported brands from Denmark and Holland may run over two pounds. But these smaller hams should be stored in as cool a place as possible. And use your nose when you open them. The smell of tainted ham is unmistakable. In general, the meat-canning industry advises that all canned meats, even jars of dried beef, should be stored in a cool, dry place. Ship’s Stores The following lists are not intended as blueprints on how to provision a boat. This couldn’t be done unless we all took identical cruises with the same number of people aboard with identical appetites. On the other hand, these lists may remind you of foods and substitutes you had not thought of and may serve as a useful check list when you make your own. Because stowage is always a problem I’ve emphasized economy in bulk and, although I’ve tried to be open-minded, personal prejudices and tastes were bound to creep in. I have listed a great many substitutes for fresh food. No matter what you have heard or read about marketing facilities along your course, you won’t want to limit your cruising to marina hopping. There are too many delightful side trips and unexpected stopovers you may want to explore, and can, if you are well provisioned. This has an emotional value, too. With a well-stowed craft and the anchor in its chocks, you can know the wonderful sense of freedom that comes from a self-sufficient ship. Charts can be deceiving, too. You may know that the end of the day’s run will bring you into East Bayport with its fine grocery stores. But don’t plan your dinner menu on it or even hope to pick up the one missing ingredient. Nine times out of ten you will find that good anchorage is a mile and a half from town. Someone will have to lower the dinghy and row you over and wait while you trudge up to the main street. Or you row yourself over. And nothing is more maddening than the ship’s cook who invariably bollixes up everyone’s plans for fishing, swimming or side excursions, because she has just run out of something and must be taken into the nearest town to shop. There is only one worse character. That is the skipper who is so enamored with roughing it that he is not happy unless quarters are uncomfortable and food almost inedible. He is the man who expects a boat to be fully provisioned when she leaves home port even if there is no reason for it. He won’t go an eighth of a mile out of his way for fresh meat and vegetables. A trip down the Inland Waterway with him can take on some of the aspects of a small-boat transatlantic crossing. If he has guests, and he seldom has them twice, they eat canned beans and wonder how they can send themselves convincing “come home at once” telegrams. But a boat should be well-found at all times despite the number of marinas and towns that lie along your course. No matter how careful your seamanship, accidents do happen. There are sudden out-of-season storms, motor trouble and emergencies. Cruising is an outdoor game and as in every outdoor game you have to be prepared for the unexpected. Not only do you need food during these mishaps, but you need good food. It is not enough just to keep people alive; they should be fairly happy. Somehow you will have to strike a balance between the scatterbrained provider who is always running out of supplies and the hair-on-the-chest “let’s open a can of beans” man. And if you have built your supply list carefully there will be the marvelous moments when you can say casually, “Yes, it is a wonderful spot. Let’s stick around for a few days or a week.” And there are the triumphant moments when, apparently without trouble, you can serve up a good meal after an emergency. If you have a freezer or refrigerator or a good-sized cooler equipped with dry ice, and your cruises are short and in well-populated waters, your problems are relatively simple. Frozen foods are so well known I’ve made no effort to cover them. If your equipment is limited and your cruises are long, canned foods will be the backbone of your menus and you can achieve an amazing variety with them. As a canner’s daughter I spent a great deal of time watching the processing of foods and listening to interminable discussions about possible improvements, and I have a deep respect for what canned foods will do in making easy and good meals. In the _Triton_ we used many canned foods. From year to year we kept lists of our purchases and names of brands, and each spring explored the market and tried out new products. There are always some interesting additions. And in the last few years the canners have turned their attention to the so-called gourmet foods. The prices on some of these products are a bit startling but they do provide excellent quick emergency meals. You may find your patterns in eating change radically. In the _Triton_ we found that a simple lunch eaten on deck while underway took the cook out of the galley and the routine of three regular meals a day. It was always a single dish and a hot or cold drink which could be passed up the companionway and eaten picnic style. We ate man-sized sandwiches, hearty chef salads, or perhaps hot food such as macaroni and cheese. In our buying we went in rather heavily for canned fish and meats which could be used in sandwiches or the salad of the day. If you are on a fleet cruise or keeping an evening rendezvous with other boats, there will be many predinner festivities. Make sure you have cans aboard for producing quick and easy snacks for an impromptu cocktail party. These can be anything—shrimp, cocktail sausages, cheese rabbit for a dunk, liver or ham pâté, deviled tongue, crisp minced bacon and peanut butter, cubed cheese or tongue or luncheon meat, olives, pickles, potato sticks, pretzels, sardines, smoked oysters, or cocktail frankfurters. Also convoy cruising is wonderful for swapping. If you’ve had a run on a favorite dish or miscalculated so that your stores are out of balance you can often make a deal. When we cruised Alaska with another boat we always held swapping sessions. STAPLES _Baking Powder._ _Breads, Biscuits, Crackers._ Canned brown bread, melba toast, canned tortillas, canned refrigerator rolls, pilot biscuits, Holland rusks, graham, cheese and butter crackers, potato-flour Snax or Chippers. _Cereals._ Either prepared breakfast foods or those to be cooked. Of the latter, oatmeal has the highest protein content and does not take up much bulk. (Warning: Buy more generously than you would normally. Nonbreakfast eaters suddenly turn into breakfast eaters at sea.) _Chocolate and Cocoa._ Cooking chocolate and cocoa for hot drinks, either in sirup, powder form or instant. _Coffee._ And instant coffee for emergencies. _Cornstarch._ _Flour._ All-purpose wheat and corn meal (white or yellow). White corn meal is necessary for spoon breads. _Hominy Grits._ This is a good pinch-hitter for potatoes or other starchy vegetables and the cooked leftover is delicious sliced, rolled lightly in fine bread crumbs and fried in bacon fat. Grits also make an elegant spoon bread. _Gelatin_, unflavored. _Jelly and Jams, Marmalade, Honey and Maple Sirup._ A variety of jams in tubes are now being imported from Europe. Also, honey now comes in tubes. This is a neat feature for boat life. _Dried Legumes._ These are a rich source of protein and a good meat substitute, available in cans as well as dried. We carried both: the dried for long cruises where bulk counted, the canned for quick meals. The fine range in varieties is well worth exploring. Pea beans, Lima beans (both baby and mature), black-eyed peas, split peas, lentils, pink beans and kidney beans (red or white) are all well known. Canned fresh flageolets, the delicious green kidney bean of France, is a luxury item, but the dried green flageolet can be purchased in shops which specialize in legumes, and properly cooked is almost as delicate a vegetable. Haricot beans, as far as I can discover, are imported only in the dried state. These are especially good with lamb and in such dishes as cassoulet. The reddish Egyptian lentil is less familiar than the green but has a delicate flavor and is delicious either in soups or as a purée. The Mexican refried beans are available in cans, but for a refried-beans addict who desires a lot of them and often, they are easily made aboard. _Mayonnaise._ Even if you are as earnest a believer in homemade mayonnaise as I am, jars of the prepared product for quick snacks, sandwiches and salads will be convenient. _Mixes._ For hot rolls, biscuits, muffins, cakes, gingerbread, puddings, pancakes, pizzas and piecrust. _Oils and Shortenings._ Vegetable oil for frying, mayonnaise and olive oil for French dressing, homogenized vegetable shortening and margarine. Margarine keeps fresh longer than butter and can be substituted or used half-and-half. _Pastas._ The variety in both uncooked and canned is wide. But if you like spaghetti _à la dente_, it can be cooked so quickly that the canned in sauces won’t prove much of a short cut, and you will want to correct the seasoning anyway. I found it more practical to carry small cans of spaghetti sauce. These don’t approach the homemade, long-cooked variety but they are easily doctored with chopped beef, canned meat balls, mushrooms or herbs. Also pastas, such as spaghetti and egg noodles are useful to combine with canned meats and poultry in baked dishes. _Rice._ Regular and Minute. _Salt._ _Sugar._ Granulated, brown and confectioners’. _Tea._ _Vinegar._ DAIRY PRODUCTS AND EGGS _Butter._ In tins it will keep perfectly if unopened and stored in a cool place. In some shops it is now available in half-pound cans. _Eggs._ As fresh as you can buy even if you pay premium prices for special ranch eggs. _Egg Yolks in Jars._ This is an infants’ food made by Swift and Company and requires no refrigeration until opened. Each jar contains approximately three egg yolks and a generous tablespoon equals one yolk. These will serve for fresh eggs in sauces, creamed soups or bisques. _Milk._ Evaporated, condensed and powdered. (The latter is a nonfat product. The old whole-milk powder, Klim, is still made but is not sold generally in this country as it has a tendency to become rancid in shelf life.) If you are accustomed to fresh milk and fresh cream (and what shore cook isn’t?), you will find these far more useful than they might seem. Nonfat milk powder is a great convenience in cooking since it is easily measured and can be incorporated with the dry ingredients. Also, it makes an excellent substitute for whipped cream, often a problem on a boat. It will whip to stiff peaks in ten minutes with an efficient hand beater. An electric beater does the job in half the time. Use a cold bowl and equal parts of water and powder. Put water in bowl, scatter powder over the surface. If you wish sweetened whipped cream, add granulated sugar toward the end of the beating. This whipped cream or milk will hold its shape for about two hours, and while still stiff can be used in making gelatin desserts, such as mousses. One New York hotel makes a luncheon feature of these low-calorie jellied molds of chicken or sea food, but for these dishes omit the sugar and add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the water. Evaporated milk can be substituted for light cream in many dishes. In the early regional cookbooks evaporated milk and light cream were often given as alternate ingredients, and many outdoorsmen have grown so accustomed to it in their morning coffee they no longer enjoy real cream. Condensed milk is sweet and very useful in quick desserts like Bavarian creams and for pie fillings. _Pream._ This can be converted to a sour cream of sorts. For one cup of sour cream the manufacturer suggests three-quarters cup Pream to three-quarters cup hot water. Dissolve Pream in water, then chill before adding two tablespoons of cider vinegar. This sour cream lacks the heavy quality and flavor of commercial sour cream but can be used for baking or in coleslaw dressing. I found that several hours at room temperature thicken the consistency somewhat, but even then it is not a satisfactory substitute for sour-cream cooking of meats and poultry. _Commercial Sour Cream._ This will keep in the refrigerator for a week or longer if unopened. So buy it in half-pint cartons. It is well worth while for an easy dressing on canned vegetables or, sweetened, an interesting topping for fruits and desserts. A recent arrival on the market is a low-calorie cream topping in pressurized ten-ounce cans which will substitute for whipped cream. It has a pleasant taste but is improved by the addition of a little sherry, rum or brandy. Also, there is a new product which the manufacturer expects to have on sale in late 1958. This is a sweetened 40 per cent butter-fat cream which will require no refrigeration and will keep for six months without deterioration. _Cheese._ Natural and processed in jars and also wax-coated. This is another protein substitute for meat so you will probably wish to buy more heavily than you normally would. If possible add a large piece of grating cheese which will keep indefinitely. Also, Romano or Parmesan or a combination of both already grated, can be purchased in small tins which will keep in the day-store locker. _Cheese Rabbit in Cans._ I have found some brands excellent if they are pepped up with mustard, paprika or Worcestershire sauce. To do the manufacturers justice, they suggest this on the label. The addition of a little beer makes a good dunk for cocktail parties, almost a mock fondue. _Macaroni and Cheese in Cans._ Another quick and hearty dish. Add a bit of mustard, sprinkle additional cheese on top with perhaps a dash of paprika, and heat. SOUPS _Canned Soups._ The possible combinations of canned soups have been covered in so many articles that every cook must have decided on her favorites long ago. Hearty soups can be made even heartier with additions of meat, fish or even legumes, and served as a main dish, which are most suitable for sea appetites and well worth experimenting with. _Bouillon Cubes._ Beef, chicken and vegetable make a quick broth or add flavor, are compact and a convenience in the day locker. _Clear Broths._ Beef and chicken broth are a must when a recipe requires a rich stock. You will undoubtedly want to go heavy on them. Beef broth should be of the bouillon type rather than the consommé to which gelatin has been added. Chicken broth should be clear so you do not have to strain off the rice. _Dehydrated Soups and Bisques._ The well-known varieties are available in any supermarket. More expensive bisques can be purchased in gourmet shops, lend themselves to innovations by way of sherry and seasonings, and are fine short cuts. Another aid for hurried cooks that has come on the market this year is chicken broth in a powder form which makes a fine chicken broth for soups, sauces and main-dish recipes. The only dehydrated fish broth I know of is manufactured in the Orient, a dried mixture of fish, seaweed, M.S.G. and salt that makes a quick and good Court Bouillon for poaching fish. CANNED CHICKEN A fine backlog in your main stores. It is available in selected slices of white meat, a combination of white and dark, fricasseed, à la king, chicken stew, chicken livers or a whole unboned chicken with the broth in which it was cooked. In making out your list consider how many recipes you will use which call for white meat only and how many may be made of the more economical boned white and dark, and how often the need of a quick meal will require chicken in sauces, needing only to be heated. For casseroles using other proteins such as ham, shrimp etc., as well as chicken, the six-ounce can of boned meat is a very useful size. But for main dishes of chicken, the whole canned chicken is both practical and economical. You have a definite amount of chicken in large pieces with the added flavor of bone, skin and broth, which enriches many dishes such as chicken fricassee, pie, chicken with dumplings or casseroles. The whole chicken has to be disjointed and for some dishes, such as a paella, must be skinned and boned, but you are not paying for the labor of having this done for you by the packer. And in making your own sauce it will be seasoned and thickened to suit your taste. CANNED FISH AND SHELLFISH These are more useful aboard a boat than you might suspect. Your choice will naturally depend on the waters in which you cruise and the fishing prospects. To carry the same fish which are swimming all around you would be like carrying coals to Newcastle. But James Beard, the well-known cooking authority, has said that if he has canned salmon, tuna fish and sardines in the larder he is prepared for the unexpected guest. And fishermen have been known to return without a catch, and it is not always feasible to organize a clamming or crabbing expedition or even go ashore to buy green shrimp. Canned fish is available in can-sized pieces, cubed or flaked. And don’t overlook Swedish fish balls. In shellfish the choice is wide for sea-food salads, concocting a casserole or bolstering up prepared Newburgs and chowders. Also for bisques if you don’t mind some minced pieces. _Clams._ Minced razor clams from the Pacific, minced and small whole clams from the Atlantic and whole cherry stones. _Crab._ Japanese king crab, blue crab in small pieces, standard and lump crab from the body meat. _Lobster._ Canadian or Maine, with claw meat. _Oysters._ _Shrimp._ In various sizes and preferably wet pack. If you like salt cod, and I happen to be one who almost prefers it to the fresh, this is a good bet for many meals. Stored in a cool place, it will keep but if the weather is warm, wrap it in brown paper and put in the refrigerator. A freezer will carry it through the summer. The thick, white center cuts are available in one-pound boxes or cut from salted cod fillets. CANNED MEATS The great variety of canned meats give you a choice for any type of cruise. Meats in gravies and sauces or combined with other foods provide quick and easy meals. However, sauces designed to suit all tastes do not always appeal to individual palates and I have found it is often easier and quicker to make a new sauce than to attempt to doctor the canned one. This is wholly a matter of personal opinion but my experiments have never convinced me that a can of beef stew can be transformed into a delectable beef en daube or beef bourguignon with a little red wine and a flick of herbs. Yet aboard a boat there is often a real need for meat dishes, ready in an instant. Allow for these times when you make your list. _=Meat Spreads=_ Bacon Corned beef Deviled ham Ham spread Liver spread Liverwurst Liver pâté Ham pâté =_Meats in Loaves or Chopped_= Beef loaf Corned-beef loaf Ham loaf Luncheon meat Pork loaf Chopped beef Chopped ham Chopped pork =_Meats in Sauces or with Vegetables_= Beef goulash Beef and kidneys Beef steaks and gravy Sliced beef and gravy Sliced pork and gravy Beef with noodles Beef-and-vegetable dinner Beef potpie Chili con carne Chili-spaghetti with meat Beans and sauce Meat balls and spaghetti sauce Stew—beef, lamb or veal Mulligan stew Brunswick stew Ham à la king Oxtail ragout Ham and Lima beans Spareribs, sauerkraut and potatoes Hamburgers in gravy Hamburgers in tomato sauce Corned-beef hash Roast-beef hash Corned beef and cabbage Stuffed green peppers in tomato sauce Frankfurters and sauerkraut Frankfurters in barbecue sauce =_Straight Meats_= Bacon, in tins Roast beef, 12-ounce cans Corned beef, 12-ounce cans Corned-beef brisket, 2- to 3-pound tins Sausage (cocktail, Vienna and breakfast links), ½- to 1½-pound tins Ham, 1- to 2-pound cans Whole hams (these must be refrigerated) Sausage meat, ½- to 1½-pound tins Frankfurters Lamb, beef and pork tongue, small cans Ox tongue, 1- to 2-pound cans OTHER CANNED MAIN-DISH MEALS _Chow Mein._ Both chicken and vegetable with Chinese noodles and these can be enriched by adding diced shrimp or cut-up chicken and sliced water chestnuts. _Enchiladas, Tacos, Ravioli and Tamales._ All these go well with refried beans. _Rock Cornish Game Hen._ This is put out by the Gourmet Foods Division of the General Foods Corporation. _Beef Bourguignon._ _Veal en Daube._ In white wine. _Cassoulet of Lamb._ With sausage and haricot beans and cooked in wine. _Boneless Loin of Pork._ From Holland. _Venison._ From Germany. The last five and many others are imported and with similar products are carried in delicacy shops. Because of the cost they are luxury foods but can be made aboard from scratch. The following are the canned meats we used most often: _Canned Sliced Bacon._ _Corned Beef and Corned-Beef Hash._ The corned beef is especially versatile for sandwiches, hot broiled slices, chef salads, casseroles and as a boiled dinner. _Dried Beef._ The plain beef dried in glass will keep indefinitely. The even more delicious smoked dried beef, sold in plastic bags, will keep several weeks in the refrigerator. _Frankfurters._ Good for quick meals, enrichening casseroles and fine with sauerkraut or cabbage. _Ham._ In the smaller cans it does not require refrigeration. _Meat Balls._ Drained and rinsed of their sauce these can be added to many dishes to give more protein content. Also they can be served in a rich brown gravy which is only the work of a few minutes. _Roast Beef._ This it not really roasted beef, but browned and steam-cooked. It is most practical for economy, taste and versatility. Instead of carrying aboard cans of stew, and so forth, containing an unknown quantity of meat, and often far less than you had expected, in canned roast beef you have a definite amount and can estimate how many it will serve. Nor are you stowing a large quantity of sauce or gravy which you can make very quickly and season as you prefer. This roast beef is from South America but processed by American packers, and of a choicer cut than the cutter’s and canner’s grade of beef which is used so generally in canned stews and diced meats. Any number of dishes can be made with it—stews, hash, meat pie, beef with dumplings, a contrived Stroganoff, beef with onions and red wine, beef with green olives or it can be served as a pot roast. _Sausage._ Cocktail-size, breakfast links and sausage meat. _Tongue._ In the larger cans for sandwiches or a cold platter or as the meat for a hearty dinner. CANNED VEGETABLES The assortment is varied and so well known they need not be listed here. Look over the shelves of a supermarket or the catalogue of a grocery and importing house and make sure you have not forgotten an old favorite. There are, however, some items which are peculiarly adapted to ships’ menus. _Canned Legumes._ Either as a vegetable alone or combined in a luncheon or supper dish. Baked beans without tomato sauce allow more variations in a pot of beans, home-style. Black-eyed peas, kidney beans, red and white Lima beans, butter beans, Mexican pink beans, whether in a purée for frying or refried. Of these last two I found the refried better, if refried again in bacon fat. These are good to serve with Mexican food. _Mushrooms, canned and dried._ These are important in improvising meat dishes. The dried, Italian or Chinese, need only a fifteen-minute soaking and may save opening a can and having a leftover. The dark Chinese mushrooms, available in Chinese stores and in gourmet shops, soaked in equal parts of water and sherry, add a distinctive flavor to stews and casseroles but are a bit overpowering in bland dishes. _Onions._ With their tendency to sprout no matter where you store them, onions are the despair of seagoing cooks. Cans of white onions should be in all ships’ stores. Not only may they avert a cooking crisis or make a quick stew possible, but they are delicious as an extra vegetable. And don’t forget canned French-fried rings. _Potatoes._ In the past year a really successful dehydrated instant mashed potato has been put on the market by R. T. French and Company. It has a tendency to harden, but it is a lifesaver for a quick meal. There are several products for instant potato pancakes or dumplings. These pancakes are not comparable to homemade but can be stirred up in ten minutes. And if you prefer the homemade, as I do, another product, Spud-Nu, an antioxidant which prevents discoloration of cut potatoes, fruits and vegetables, makes it possible to grate potatoes at your convenience and have snowwhite pulp to mix at mealtime. Now anyone can have German potato pancakes whenever he wants them. In making up the list remember canned potato sticks for fish dishes and the cocktail hour. _Salad Vegetables._ On a cruise, when lettuce becomes limp and hopeless, salad is a problem. One longs for anything green or crisp which can be used in salads. Go heavy on asparagus, small baby beets, tiny whole green beans, vine-ripened tomatoes in a solid pack which will yield whole tomatoes that can be drained and will pinch-hit for fresh ones, artichoke hearts, sliced celery knobs, hearts of palm, and most important, canned celery hearts for that famous California salad, Celery Victor. Water chestnuts add interest to many dishes and are wonderful in salads since they have the crispness of fresh celery. Buy the best quality, packed in Hong Kong, which not only is crisp when opened but if refrigerated will stay crisp until the can is finished. A limp water chestnut is too depressing. Tomato and combination vegetable juices, such as V-8, are useful for gelatin bases or rings for sea-food and chicken salads. The color scheme is so refreshing you forget to miss the lettuce. CANNED FRUITS AND JUICES Plunge on these. You will use them for both breakfast and desserts. In your selection remember the need of some fruits to give texture and zest to compotes, such as mandarin or Chinese summer oranges, melon balls, seedless grapes, pineapple and papaya. _Juices._ Concentrated lemon and orange juice for that time when you discover there isn’t a fresh lemon or orange aboard the ship and the success of a recipe depends upon it. Papaya and pineapple juice are excellent for gelatin desserts, a bit more sparkling and zestful than canned orange juice. Or perhaps just different. _Fruit Fillings._ These puréed fruits are flavored, sweetened and cooked in sufficient water for instant use in whips, pastry shells or as topping for sweet biscuit-mixes. They are available in prune, apricot, date and pineapple. Pie apples and sour cherries are most useful, as is canned pumpkin, which is not a fruit but seems to belong in this category because of pumpkin pie and pumpkin pudding. Sliced pineapple, apricots, nectarines and peaches are especially good in upside-down cakes or cobblers made with a mix. In canned peaches one has a choice of cling or freestone. The cling is perhaps more popular because it is firm, keeps its shape, looks well in a carefully prepared dessert but sometimes is a trifle rubbery. The freestone is not as photogenic but many consider it has a finer flavor. A tree-ripened, home-style Elberta peach may appear a bit ragged but to me it has the actual taste of fresh fruit. Pears combine well with other fruits in interesting compotes or can be heated in wine and served either hot or cold. With limited locker space or on a long cruise where ship stores must be compact, dried fruits are very practical. These no longer resemble the stewed dried fruit of boarding-house fame, thanks to modern processing methods. Prunes and apricots, properly soaked, hold wonderful possibilities in whips, soufflés, eaten as is, or barely simmered with a bit of sugar as a breakfast fruit. _Prepared Desserts._ Pudding-mixes, cakes pressure-baked in sealed cans, canned steamed puddings, dark, rich fruitcake, heated and served as hot plum pudding, Crepes Suzettes, babas in rum and canned rum cakes. Rice pudding, which is really a cream of rice and not at all like old-fashioned rice pudding, is very good. Choose a brand which when chilled comes out as a mold and may be served with canned fruits and either fresh or sour cream. Another after-dinner sweet is halvah, made of sesame, egg albumen and soya and offered in three varieties, white, chocolate and marble, which can be sliced and served either on crackers or without them. CONDIMENTS, SEASONINGS, SPICES, HERBS AND WINES The list of essentials will be different for each cook, but take nothing on the chance you might possibly need it sometime. This will only make a clutter of the day-store locker to confound you. You can undoubtedly use a substitute which will be as good or even better. Cooking discoveries are made in just such moments. Improvise when possible to avoid an extra jar or bottle. These have a miraculous way of multiplying unless you are on guard against it. Look over your food list for the cruise and decide what herbs and seasonings will be most useful. You can often save bulk by bringing a small quantity from the kitchen cupboard in a screw-top bottle. Until now I have carefully refrained from quoting that old sea adage “a place for everything and everything in its place,” but it does save confusion to have the collection of herbs, spices and seasonings in some sort of improvised chest or even in a rack on the inside of a locker door. In the list which follows are only suggestions for enlivening ships’ menus. Unless you are aboard for the season you will not need them all, but a few fitted in with your list of canned goods will be useful even on a short cruise. CONDIMENTS AND SEASONINGS _Almonds_, diced and toasted in a vacuum-packed can and convenient for fish, chicken or vegetables amandine. _Bovril_, or a similar beef essence for enriching gravies. _Bell pepper_, dried and minced. Two tablespoons, soaked for ten minutes, will pinch-hit for one medium bell pepper, chopped. _Capers._ These justify their passage for what they will accomplish in chef salads. _Catsup_, _chili sauce_ or a similar product. _Cayenne._ A few grains work miracles in many dishes. _Chili powder._ For spaghetti, chili con carne and for pepping up tomato sauces. _Celery_, dried, and celery juice for a quick, easy way to give celery flavor. _Chutney._ _Curry powder._ _Garlic._ This is available in many forms—powder, salt, dehydrated flakes which should be used with caution since they are many times stronger than the fresh. And now garlic is offered in a plastic ball resembling a bulb of garlic which when squeezed sprays out a fine powder. This selection should satisfy anyone except a true garlic addict like myself who misses that wonderful flavor of fresh garlic. But fresh garlic, and preferably the imported bulbs from Italy, stored in a wide-mouthed, screw-top jar will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. _Ginger_, preserved in sirup. Slivered and added to fruit compotes it works a transformation. Also, when well washed of sirup, it can be used for green ginger. _Herb vinegars._ A satisfactory substitute for these can be made aboard by steeping one-quarter teaspoon of a dried, crushed herb in one-quarter cup of warm cider vinegar for half an hour and then straining. _Kitchen Bouquet._ For adding color to gravies, but this must be used with caution as too much imparts a bitter taste. Even better is Caramel Sirup, which can be made in advance, bottled and kept in the day stores. _Monosodium glutimate._ This ancient Oriental seasoning powder, sold under such labels as Accent, Zest, etc., has no special flavor of its own but will point up the flavor of cooked foods. Usually referred to as M.S.G. _Mustard_, dry, which can be used in cooking and also your favorite prepared mustard. _Olives._ Green, stuffed and ripe, so useful in salads, main-meal dishes and snacks for the cocktail hour. If you haven’t discovered the tree-ripened, home-cured olive of California, these are worth exploring. Whenever we serve them some guests always ask where to find them. Many years ago these were sold in half-gallon cans in every California grocery store, but now they are available in only one brand. This, however, has that same nut-brown color and rich natural flavor. They are sold throughout the country in gourmet shops or can be bought directly from the processor, C. C. Graber, Post Office Box 511, Ontario, California. _Onion juice_, _powder_ and _minced dehydrated onion_, which is made of the chopped bulb. One tablespoon of this is equal to a medium onion, and soaked for ten minutes in double the amount of water, is astonishingly like the fresh. _Paprika_, and preferably sweet rose paprika, available in shops which feature herbs and spices. _Peppercorns_, for that inimitable fragrance of freshly ground black pepper. _Pickles._ Sweet mustard pickles are especially compatible with codfish balls. _Saffron._ If you plan on making paellas and want them to be authentically Spanish. _Seasoning salt._ Lawry’s is a blend of herbs and other seasonings that makes for a quick treatment when you haven’t time to get out your own herb-and-spice chest. _Seasoning mix._ This is a recent import from France, a blend of salt, pepper, parsley, garlic and shallots which has only to be blended with butter to make dressing for fish and sea foods. _Soy sauce._ For rice dishes and especially Chinese fried rice which, made with leftovers of meat and poultry, can be a luncheon or supper dish. Also soy sauce can substitute for Worcestershire or the other way around. Use less Worcestershire than you would soy sauce, however. _Vanilla._ _Worcestershire sauce._ I’d stretch a point to include this if only for cheese dishes. SPICES Selection here depends so much on individual taste and the amount of cooking you propose to do. Cinnamon is a versatile spice and nutmeg is almost a necessity in many sauces. HERBS If you like them it is difficult to keep the list down. _Bay leaves_, for meat, soups and fish dishes. _Basil_, dried. An excellent utility herb with tomatoes, potatoes, eggs and practically everything else. _Chives_, dried. _Cumin seed._ A few crushed seeds do so much for soups, and are a must with chili con carne. _Marjoram_, one of the mints and combines well with other herbs. _Orégano._ A second cousin of marjoram, it is wonderful for spaghetti, black-eyed peas and other legumes but must be used with caution. _Parsley._ If this is home-dried it has almost the fragrance of the fresh. Snip off the leaves, put in a 200° F. oven, stir occasionally until the leaves are dry. Crush and bottle. _Rosemary._ This is delightful with lamb, in biscuit doughs and points up sauces astonishingly. _Tarragon._ Extremely good with chicken and almost everything else. And then there are the seeds—caraway, celery, sesame—which are good in cabbage, canned sauerkraut and potatoes. Or did I say that seasonings should be streamlined? WINES In cooking, wine is used as a flavoring agent and since the alcohol evaporates in heat, the flavor is all that remains. It is far better to use too little than too much. A wine should only enhance the flavor, never dominate. Naturally it is best to have the proper wine for each recipe, but since few boats have room aboard for a wine locker this is one of the many places in cooking afloat where substitutes are in order. A very dry, light, pale domestic sherry can be substituted for white or red wine in meat, fish and dessert dishes. I have found that the pale, dry, cocktail sherry of the Wine Growers Guild of California is the most practical cooking sherry on the market. Moreover, sherry will keep for a long time after it has been opened. If there is room in the locker for another bottle I would add brandy, just for those two tablespoons which so often give a finish to a dish. And if you can stow a third, for me it would be one of the white alcohols for fruit desserts. Kirsch is one of the most versatile and worth having along if only for what one teaspoon will do for cherry pie or pudding. LUXURY LOCKER Every ship should have one, not for the unexpected guest, but for that day when everything goes wrong at once. Sooner or later it happens to every boat. Motor trouble, a misguessed tide with the threat of going aground, a sudden stiff squall when everything not actually tied down starts moving, jammed steering gear, unruly installations—those crises when you may momentarily wonder if you really want to be a sailor. Then when all is shipshape and you’ve put down the hook, don’t serve a catch-as-catch-can dinner as if you were lucky to be eating at all. Break out the luxuries. These luxury stores can be anything—delicacies of smoked turkey or sea food, delectable cheeses, a can of wild rice, imported canned meats cooked in wine, Crepes Suzettes or rum babas, glass jars of fruits in grenadine or brandy, truffles, pâté de foie gras—but something which will mark the meal as a special occasion. For you it may be a gesture of defiance of this new element which had threatened to defeat you, or it may be a renewal of your pledge to Neptune. Either is morale building. A Galley Is Different In most cruising you will never have to duplicate the feats of deepwater sailors who claim they have literally cooked on the sides of the stove. But precaution against sudden motion should become second nature. Even if you cook only at dockside, the roll from the wake of passing traffic or an incoming boat under full power will set everything in the galley adrift. A really good wash from a cowboy skipper will help you to realize what goes on in an earthquake. At first you will have to make yourself remember never to fill pots and pans to full capacity and never to leave kettles of food, particularly hot food, in precarious positions. In a surprisingly short time this habit becomes ingrained. I remember after 522 nights afloat, Robert and I rented a furnished apartment. When we moved in, without a word to each other, we solemnly put away vases, knickknacks and a row of decorative plates standing on a rail. We had the place almost shipshape before the sight of the other fellow going through the same antics made us burst out laughing. We returned the decorative plates to the rail. Yet during our two months’ stay I was never quite comfortable about them. Also, unless you are a dockside yachtsman, you will have to think about water conservation. This, too, becomes an instinct. After our first boat, which carried a 60-gallon tank, I thought the 300-gallon tank on the second boat would be sheer affluence. It wasn’t. I discovered the truth of the sea axiom that no boat ever had enough fresh water. Conserving water does add to cruising range, saves you from unnecessary runs to replenish or long waits for your turn at the hose. A land cook, accustomed to rinsing her utensils under the hot-water faucet as she goes along, will find it a bit trying to wipe her tools with a rubber scraper or a paper towel to avoid initial rinsing but it pays off in the end. At least it will make her conscious of the need to cut down on soiled pots and bowls and cooking gadgets. Anything that keeps order in the galley and makes the most of the working space helps the cook. A little ingenuity in assembling a recipe, such as putting in the butter while the main mixture is hot enough to melt it instead of using an extra saucepan for the job, will cut down astonishingly on soiled dishes. There are all sorts of similar tricks a cook will think of once she starts a strong economy drive against used pots and pans. Cooking parchment is not only a great pan saver, but also seals in flavor. At one time this could be bought in most hardware departments, but since waterless cooking has been made possible by the enamel-glazed, cast-iron cooking dishes, parchment is more difficult to find. It is available through some fish stores which keep it for their customers who like fish baked in paper and, oddly enough, some stationery stores carry it. With parchment it is possible to tie up bundles of different foods and cook them in the same kettle. This is of considerable advantage on a two-burner stove. Aluminum foil will serve for baking. Also foil lightens the job of dishwashing enormously if you line the baking pans with foil when cooking fish. Cooks accustomed to cubed butter with teaspoons and tablespoons plainly marked on the wrapper will at first find tinned butter somewhat annoying but it and other solid fats are easily measured by the displacement method. If you wish one-quarter cup of butter simply fill a measuring cup with three-quarters cup of water and add the butter until the water reaches the one-cup mark. A two-burner stove with fuel under pressure takes some getting used to. Occasionally, despite precautions, a pot will boil over. Spaghetti and potatoes have a way of doing this without warning. And if the burner must be dried and primed before relighting, it is especially dismaying. Oiling the edge of the pot and the inner wall for about an inch from the top doesn’t always prevent the catastrophe but it helps. It is well worth trying. In browning cubes of meat for casseroles and stews over the small burners do not overload the skillet. Brown only a few pieces at a time. Browning will close the meat so juices form a liquid in which the meat will only steam and never brown. When I began this book I promised myself there were to be no definite galley rules. Each boat, each family, each length of cruise is different and I would not be didactic. I’ll be didactic now. There is nothing more terrifying or more dangerous than a fire at sea. If anyone has ever seen a ship blow up without warning, lifting deck and deckhouse high in the air with flames all through the hold, as I have, he will never ignore the safety rules for fire. Dish towels, paper napkins, paper towels should not be placed above the stove where a sudden roll of the ship might fling them into the flame. Tubing and joints of the fuel line should be checked for leaks. Don’t overfill the priming cup of the burner, and if you do spill priming fuel, wipe it up with a paper towel and throw it overboard before you light the match. An uncovered garbage receptacle and paper can make a fire hazard. Don’t use too deep a fat in the skillet which might cause a grease fire. Also have salt or sal soda on hand in an easily reached container to put out a grease fire if you have one. The galley fire extinguisher should be checked to see that it is in order and placed where the cook can reach it easily. Also, take precautions against burns and scalds. Of course your galley stove has rails, but if by any chance it does not, have them put on at once. In any sort of seaway the metal pot holders which serve as braces and fit any size pot are a wise precaution. While underway do not handle heavy pots of hot liquids, or fry in fats or even bake a ham or meat in fat drippings. While basting the roast a sudden wash from a passing vessel might overturn the roast and fling it at you. A deep burn from fat is very serious, and even an overturned coffee pot can cause a bad scald. If you feel you must cook something in heavy weather, a wet dish towel on the worktable will keep dishes and saucepans from sliding. This works equally well on the dining table. All these warnings may seem odd in a book which includes so many recipes for long, slow cooking and by an author who writes rapturously of the joy of taking a kitchen with one in an outdoor game. But cruising isn’t always in rough and congested waters. There will be days and days when the sea is calm and the sun is shining and on days like that, when Robert and I had only to take our regular tricks at the wheel, I indulged in the luxury of long, slow cooking. Yet even then I completed the preparatory browning or sautéing while at anchor. Then, the dish assembled and the pot secured by rails and on plenty of asbestos pads, I had only to glance in the galley to see that the burner flame was behaving itself, and at the end of the run we had a fine meal-in-one-dish in which the flavors had had time to truly marry. PART ⚓ II ⚓ RECIPES Introduction In the recipes that follow I have not suggested short cuts or substitutions in any detail but have given the basic ingredients and procedures. I think any cook likes to know how and of what a dish is made and then to determine for herself how closely she can achieve the same effect with the time and materials at her command. Devising one’s own short cuts is half the fun of cooking. In the ship’s galley where work space, lockers, stove burners, refrigeration and often time are limited, the quick-cooking aids which the market offers can make a tremendous difference in the menus. These short cuts save confusion, extra procedures and soiled dishes. Recipes beginning with chopped and sautéed onions, celery, carrots and bell peppers can be frustrating when one hasn’t a fresh carrot, stalk of celery or bell pepper aboard and the onions have sprouted! And even if one has all of these, perhaps there is no time or no room on the working space or no free burner to carry out the project. But with a bit of conniving that delicious blend of vegetable seasonings which is the basis for so many sauces and main dishes isn’t at all impossible for the galley cook. Onion juice or dehydrated diced onion, celery juice or celery flakes and dried minced bell pepper can be added in a moment without sautéing or, if the dish is a dry mixture, these seasonings can be plumped up in 10 minutes’ soaking. Even carrots present no problem and are available in small cans of dietetic pack which contain no salt or sugar and, if minced before adding, will disappear, leaving only the presence of their flavor. Granted, this short-cut cooking may not have all the subtle flavor that comes from chopping, sautéing and putting the ingredients together in the usual order but it justifies itself in economy of time and enlivening of meals. I have not repeated short cuts and possible substitutions in each and every recipe. It would be both space consuming and monotonous continually to remind the reader that a whole tomato from a can of solid pack will pinch-hit for a fresh one, that dried mushrooms will do the work of canned, that the amount of spices or herbs depends on whether these are old and tired or authoritatively fresh, that dietetic carrots will substitute for fresh or that M.S.G. will point up the flavors in many dishes. Also, this would seem an uncomplimentary evaluation of the ingenuity and the discerning palate of the cook. And nowhere more than in a galley, where substitutions are so often a necessity, are these two qualities so repaying. Quantities, too, must be left to the cook’s judgment. In shore cooking where a meal may have several courses the phrase “serves 4” or “serves 6” has real meaning. But on a boat where meals are necessarily simple, with perhaps a one-dish meal followed by a fruit dessert, quantities are variable depending on the day’s activities and the need of seconds. Many of these recipes are marked as serving four to six. If they are used as main-dish meals they will provide a hearty meal for four people. In most of the recipes using canned products I have included both the can number and the corresponding cup measurement. To make doubly certain that there is no confusion between cups and cans, here is a table of common can sizes to which you can refer: _Can Size_ _Weight_ _Cupfuls_ 6-oz. 6 oz. ¾ cup 8-oz. 8 oz. 1 cup No. 1 (picnic) 10½ oz. 1¼ cups No. 300 15½ oz. 1¾ cups No. 303 1 lb. 2 cups No. 2 1 lb. 4 oz. 2½ cups No. 2½ 1 lb. 13 oz. 3½ cups 46-oz. (No. 3 cylinder) 46 oz. 5¾ cups Soups Those two aids to soup makers—the soup of the day simmering on the stove and a fine cache of homemade stock for future needs stowed in the icebox—are almost impossible on shipboard, for they take up too much icebox space. Yet the cook still has a wide range of soups at her command. With the canned clear broths of beef and chicken she has the beginnings of any number of hearty, main-dish soups, the kind she never has the time to make at home, or perhaps never can stay home long enough to make. But now these can be simmered while underway without interfering with the day’s program in the slightest. The wide range of canned soups holds all sorts of possibilities for a quick meal when time is pressing. These can be served in interesting combinations and pepped up with herbs, onion and lemon juice, butter, cream and various seasonings. Wine has a natural affinity with soups and it is one of my firm convictions that most soups can be improved by 2 tablespoons of sherry, added at the last minute. Many soups may be enriched, made smoother and more delicious by the addition of an egg yolk and here the baby-food jars of egg yolks are most convenient. Mix 1 tablespoon of egg yolk with either a bit of evaporated milk or broth, dribble some hot soup into the mixture, then combine. Do not let the soup boil after the egg has been added. Canned soups necessarily were prepared to meet the average palate and had to stay close to the median line, but you can make them more distinctive and more zestful. Minestrone, a grand soup, can be made into a delicious and satisfying meal by adding diced and browned salt pork or bacon, a pinch of basil and perhaps a dash of orégano, a squeeze of garlic juice and served with plenty of grated cheese. Cookbooks and culinary departments in magazines contain any number of ideas for dressing up canned soups or transforming the many varieties, containing both meat and vegetables, into main-dish meals but it is more fun to work out your own innovations. Taste the soup, ask yourself what would make the flavor more interesting or what might be added to fortify the heartiness. If it is a bisque which seems to need something besides evaporated milk and a dash of sherry, would it help to mince and add a small can of whatever sea food the bisque was made of? You may not always guess exactly the right answer but you can’t go far wrong and experimenting may lead to a really happy discovery. And that’s thrilling in itself. All good cooks have a strong creative urge. But don’t overlook the chance shipboard life gives you to serve those old-fashioned main-dish soups which we have too seldom. Lentil soup is a general favorite, especially with men. I once asked the owner of a small but excellent restaurant in the East Seventies in New York what he did with lentil soup that made every man who had ever tasted it willing to travel miles to have it again. He smiled and told me that he always cooked the lentils in thin beef broth, such as the liquor left from boiled beef or fresh beef tongue, then made sure there was plenty of meat on the ham bone he added to the pot. I went home and amended my recipe and since then friends have often asked for it. _Lentil Soup_ ♆ 2 cups dried green lentils 1 bay leaf 2 carrots, sliced thin Pinch of orégano 1 large onion, sliced thin Pinch of dried thyme 1 stalk celery, sliced Dash of cayenne 1 clove garlic, chopped Salt and pepper Ham bone, hock or canned ham 1 teaspoon dried parsley Thin broth of water and canned beef Generous pinch of cumin seed, broth in equal parts crushed (optional) 2 tablespoons lemon juice Soak lentils overnight, drain, add vegetables and garlic, ham bone and enough broth to more than cover. Add lemon juice, all seasonings except cumin seed. Simmer slowly, stirring often. When lentils are soft, after about 2 hours, pour soup through a colander. Reserve lean meat, discard bone, skin and pieces of ham fat. Mash lentils and vegetables with a large spoon or, better, a pastry blender, taking care to leave some lentils whole. This shouldn’t be a complete purée. Return meat to lentils, reheat, correct seasoning, and add cumin seed. * * * * * A canned lentil soup, labeled “home-style,” is excellent. However, I missed the flavor of beef and ham. Adding Bovril for the meat essence, a small can of minced ham, a squeeze of garlic, dash of cayenne, lemon juice, parsley and cumin seed pepped up this soup enormously. Or instead of ham, add frankfurters cut in ½-inch slices and sautéed in butter. _Green Split-Pea Soup_ ♆ I know many people stoutly maintain that split-pea soup must be yellow but this green split-pea recipe has a waiting list of guests whenever I make it. The recipe was given to me by a French-Canadian cook when we were living in an isolated log cabin in Western Ontario. Dicing the salt pork finely and crisping it was my idea and it was the first time it had ever occurred to me that I, the greenest cook who had ever tried to fry an egg, could dare to alter a recipe. But it was so successful that later I took a chance on adding a dash of cayenne. 2 cups dried green split peas Salt and pepper 2-inch cube salt pork, finely diced 3½ cups salted water, or more 1 tablespoon butter or bacon fat Canned evaporated milk 1 medium onion, diced Dash of cayenne Soak peas for 8 hours, drain, and rinse with cold water. Brown salt pork in bacon fat or butter, sauté onion until transparent, add to peas and simmer in salted water until peas are a thick purée, about 1 hour. Season and before serving thin with undiluted evaporated milk until desired consistency and add cayenne. This is hearty food and a light and zestful dessert of fruit is indicated. Serves 4 to 6. Note: A dash of orégano may be added. _Canned Green-Pea Soup_ ♆ This hasn’t quite the distinctive flavor of split-pea soup but makes a quick and easy luncheon. 2 tablespoons diced salt pork or 2 ½ cup milk slices bacon, diced 10-ounce can green-pea soup Dash of cayenne ½ cup minced onion Undiluted evaporated milk Brown salt pork or bacon, remove brown pieces and add them to undiluted soup. Sauté onion in fat until transparent and add to soup, then add milk and heat. Season. Thin to desired consistency with evaporated milk, but do not allow to boil after canned milk has been added. _The King Liked It_ ♆ Inga, who had cooked in the kitchen of the King of Sweden, gave me this recipe and I think it is one of the best clam soups I ever tasted. I made it often on the boat. 1 dozen medium-sized clams Top milk or light cream 2 tablespoons butter Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon flour Paprika Scant tablespoon onion juice Small pinch mustard Scrub and steam clams, separate the hard parts or tails from the money or butterbags of clams, reserve clam liquor. Heat butter until golden-yellow, add flour, then finely chopped hard parts of clams, clam liquor and the same amount of water. Simmer, stirring continually until mixture thickens. Grate in onion juice, add as much top milk or light cream as you did clam liquor. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and a few grains of mustard. Simmer for 2 minutes with pot covered. Just before serving add money or butterbags, but do not boil after these are added. * * * * * And then there are the chowders. Clam chowder will always be my favorite. I suppose more bitter words have been exchanged between the New England and Manhattan schools on clam chowder than on any other dish. We won’t go into the eternal battle. The Manhattanite can make his chowder by substituting cooked or canned tomatoes for the cream in the New England variety and I won’t mind in the slightest as long as I don’t have to eat it. But as for the boat guest who surreptitiously dumped a can of cream-style corn in the pot of New England chowder I had just made, I still think that lad should be boiled in oil. _Clam Chowder, New England Variety_ ♆ 2 cups clams, drained Salt and pepper 2-inch cube salt pork, diced Pinch of dried thyme 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cups light cream 2 cups diced raw potatoes Paprika Clam liquor If using hard-shelled clams, cut the hard parts from the soft and chop. Try out salt pork, remove brown bits with slotted spoon and reserve. Sauté onion in pork fat until golden-yellow. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, remove, and boil potato water down to one-half. Combine potato water, salt pork, onion, potatoes, chopped hard-clam parts, clam liquor and simmer gently for a few minutes or until potatoes are really tender. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add cream gradually, bring mixture just to the boil, add soft parts of clams and let them just heat through Sprinkle with paprika and serve. _Fish Chowder_ ♆ Here, too, there are many conflicting opinions about including onion, carrots, celery, or even tomatoes. But everyone at least agrees that the potatoes and the fish should be cooked separately so that the fish will not break up. And because I learned the dish on the West Coast I followed the general practice of adding wine, Rhine or sauterne. On the boat when I had neither I used a light, dry sherry. Heads and bones of fish for stock Fish stock 1 stalk celery, diced Salt and pepper ¼ pound salt pork, diced Pinch of dried thyme 3 tablespoons butter 3 or 4 cups top milk, heated, or evaporated milk, diluted (2 parts milk, 1 part water) 1 large onion, chopped ¼ cup light, pale sherry 4 cups diced raw potatoes Minced parsley 3 pounds white, firm-fleshed fish, filleted Simmer heads and bones in salted water with celery for at least ½ hour, then strain stock. Brown salt pork in 1 tablespoon butter, remove brown bits and reserve; sauté onion until transparent. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, drain. Cut fish into fair-sized pieces and poach in enough stock (to which the seasonings have been added) to barely cover. Do not overcook. Add potatoes, onions and salt pork, heat on a low flame and add milk slowly. Correct seasonings, add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and sherry. Serve sprinkled with parsley. Serves 6. _Abalone Chowder_ ♆ This is delectable but possible only for boats in California waters since a state law forbids the exportation of abalone. Canned abalone from Mexico is sold in gourmet shops throughout the country and might be used for this chowder. In several collections of favorite recipes of well-known people the Del Monte abalone chowder is mentioned. I have this chef’s recipe but, like most chefs’ formulas, it is far too vague for a journeyman cook. However, here is a version most of us enjoy. 1 pound raw abalone 1 medium onion, sliced 2 cups chicken broth 1½ cups raw potatoes, finely diced Parsley 1½ cups cream, heated, preferably heavy but light cream will serve Pinch of dried thyme ½ cup pale, dry sherry 1-inch cube salt pork, finely diced Salt and pepper 2 leeks, white part only, sliced Minced parsley crosswise (optional) Simmer abalone in chicken broth with parsley and thyme until tender enough to be easily pierced with fork. Drain abalone and reserve broth. Grind abalone, using medium blade, or chop finely. Cook salt pork until crisp, remove browned bits and reserve, sauté leeks and onion until yellow. Simmer potatoes in broth with onion, leeks, pork bits and ground abalone until potatoes are tender. Add cream gradually and bring this just to a boil. Correct seasonings, add sherry and serve sprinkled with minced parsley. Serves 4 to 6. _Red-Lentil Soup_ ♆ These tiny Egyptian lentils are very delicate, do not require soaking and, oddly enough, are not well known although they are available in shops which specialize in imported legumes. Many people feel that any lentil must be cooked with a pork product but we have found these equally delicious enriched with butter. 1 cup red lentils Salt 1½ tablespoons butter or 2 slices Ground black pepper bacon, diced ¼ cup minced onion Dash of Cayenne 3 cups canned chicken broth Undiluted evaporated milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons sherry Place lentils in a sieve and rinse with cold water. Melt butter or crisp bacon, sauté onion in fat. Combine onion, lentils, canned broth and seasonings. Simmer until lentils are pulped (about 10 minutes), add enough evaporated milk to get right consistency, and sherry. Do not boil after milk has been added. _Old-Fashioned Vegetable Soup_ ♆ This may be made of canned beef broth. Allow 2 parts of broth to 1 part of finely chopped vegetables. Any vegetables—onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, green pepper: whatever you have aboard. Green peas or sliced green beans, fresh or canned, may be added. The vegetables should be chopped very finely for the soup depends on the intermingling of all the flavors. Sauté chopped vegetables in butter for 10 minutes, allowing 1½ tablespoons of butter for each cup of vegetables. Stir constantly. Add to hot broth, season with salt, ground black pepper, parsley, and any herb or mixture you wish—basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, marjoram. Simmer until the flavors have blended, then serve. _French Onion Soup_ ♆ This popular soup can be purchased either in cans or dehydrated but the homemade is a treat and canned broth saves more than half the work of preparation. 2 large sweet onions, sliced very Salt and pepper thin 3 tablespoons butter Grated Parmesan cheese 1½ tablespoons flour Bread, sliced thin and toasted 1 quart canned beef broth, heated 2 tablespoons sherry Sauté onions in butter until they are slightly tinged with brown, sprinkle with flour and stir while sautéing for about 10 minutes. Add broth and let simmer until onions are very tender. Season. Spread cheese generously on toasted bread, and if you have no broiler, let cheese melt in oven. Add 2 tablespoons sherry to soup and put cheese-covered toast on top of soup. Serve at once. _Cream of Onion Soup_ ♆ An early member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco is purported to have invented this soup, which is bound with egg yolks. There are two types. Both are good, but addicts battle for the one of their choice. Canned cream of onion soup has appeared on the market but the taste of arrowroot and spices is so predominant that nothing a cook could do would produce anything even resembling the original soup. I will give both versions—first, the original one. 3 tablespoons butter 1 cup light cream or undiluted evaporated milk, scalded 5 or 6 large onions, sliced thin 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten 1 tablespoon flour Salt and pepper to taste 1 quart rich milk, scalded 3 tablespoons sherry Melt butter, add onions and stir until onions have steamed enough to have moisture. Cover and simmer over very low heat about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure onions do not burn. They should be the color of ripe wheat. Sprinkle flour over onions, stirring until smooth. Add milk to onion mixture gradually, simmer gently for about 15 minutes and then put mixture through a fine sieve, returning mixture preferably to a double boiler. Stir cream into egg yolks very gradually, and add egg mixture to soup. Cook gently, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes until soup has thickened. Season, add sherry and serve at once. _Bohemian Club Cream of Onion Soup Present Version_ ♆ Add a little white wine to French Onion Soup recipe. For a pint of soup allow 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Put ½ of egg mixture in a hot soup bowl and pour over this 1 cup of steaming French Onion Soup. _Sorrel Soup_ ♆ This can be served either hot or cold, but the sharp, lemony flavor of cold sorrel soup is most refreshing on a hot day. And there are hot days on shipboard often, when one thinks of the tinkle of ice and of cool green foods. This soup is easy to make now that an excellent canned purée of sorrel is being imported from Belgium and may be found in many shops which go in for delicacies. 1 can clear chicken broth Salt and ground black pepper 1 can sorrel purée Pinch of M.S.G. 1 tablespoon minced onion or a few Dash of cayenne scallions, chopped, if you have them 1 cup heavy cream or evaporated milk Mix chicken broth and enough sorrel purée to make the mixture quite thick. Add onion, cream and seasonings. Chill before serving. _Gaspacho_ ♆ There are as many gaspacho recipes as there are gaspacho cooks and anyone has a right to take liberties with the formula. That’s why it is so much fun to make. This recipe is the end result of combining ideas from several recipes and happens to be the way we like it. You might prefer a different combination and there are no hard and fast rules about gaspacho. It can be made as this is, of broths and vegetable juices and thick enough to be eaten with a spoon, or of tomato juice and iced water and drunk from a cup. It’s a good soup for a shipboard luncheon party and with French bread and coffee makes a meal. All the ingredients can be chopped but I find it speeds things up a bit and also makes a better marinade to put the first 4 ingredients through a grinder. 1 large clove garlic, chopped 1½ cups chopped tomato pulp 1 large bell pepper, seeded and 4-ounce can pimiento, chopped, and chopped juice ½ medium Spanish onion, sliced thin Salt and freshly ground black pepper Handful assorted herbs (fresh if 10-ounce can beef broth (not possible) say, chives, parsley, consommé) basil, thyme, tarragon, chervil or a pinch of any dried herb you feel necessary Juice of 2 lemons 13-ounce can chicken broth 2 ounces olive oil 13 ounces tomato juice 2 cups peeled, diced cucumbers Grind garlic, bell pepper, onion and herbs, using the coarsest blade. Add lemon juice and olive oil and stir together. Add cucumbers, tomato from which seeds have been strained, pimientos and seasonings. If you have time, allow these to meld in refrigerator for 1 hour before adding liquids but this is not necessary. Add broths and tomato juice. Chill at least 8 hours before serving. This soup is better on the second day and will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days. Serve very cold. Ice cubes are sometimes added to the bowl. Serve with French bread or Sea Toast crackers. Yield, 5 pints. _Vichyssoise_ ♆ This, too, is a happy idea for a hot noontime luncheon party. It is a blender recipe, but different in method of assembly than any I have found in cookbooks, and I think produces a better soup. The base can be made at home in advance and taken aboard, as it keeps a week in the refrigerator. 4 large or 5 medium leeks 1 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons butter 2 cups light cream 1 cup sliced onion White pepper 3¾ cups chicken broth Heavy cream 6 cups wafer-thin sliced potatoes Minced chives or parsley Clean and slice leeks thin, making sure to wash sand from leaves. Use all the white and 2 inches of the green stalk. Melt butter, sauté leeks and onion until transparent, but do not brown. Add 1 cup chicken broth, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. In another pot cook potatoes until tender in remaining chicken broth, seasoned to taste with salt. In combining the cooked leeks, onion and potatoes in the blender never fill the glass container more than half full and alternate 1 tablespoon of the leek mixture with 1 of potatoes, adding light cream as you work. The entire mixture can be put through the blender in 3 or 4 batches. Add any remaining light cream to the mixture and bring to a boil over a low fire, stirring constantly. Correct seasoning and chill. To serve, thin this soup to desired consistency with heavy cream and sprinkle with minced chives or parsley. Yield, 5 pints. _Bisques_ ♆ To make a real sea-food bisque is an elaborate project, that is if you hope to attain the exquisite flavor which made the New Orleans bisques so famous. I’ve never forgotten a crawfish bisque I had more than 25 years ago in that city. To make bisques of this order not only must you use live sea food, but shells, minced onion, carrots, celery, etc., and rice which has been cooked to softness in stock for an hour. Then the whole mass must be forced through a sieve before cream and wine are added. I once made a Dungeness crab bisque slavishly following the directions of a New Orleans chef. It was one of those days when I was alone on the boat and felt like a real binge of cooking. The result was superb and met with tremendous applause, but I wouldn’t suggest such a project for ordinary shipboard fare. There are, however, short-cut bisques, and what you may sacrifice in flavor you gain in time. Cooked sea food or chicken is put through a grinder, the bisque is thickened with flour and various seasonings and cream and sherry added. Even faster, a basic sea-food bisque recipe can be put through a blender and needs only to be cooked in a double boiler with proper seasonings added. _Chicken Bisque_ ♆ 2 tablespoons butter Paprika 2 tablespoons flour Salt if necessary 2½ cups canned chicken broth, heated ¼ cup light, dry sherry 1 cup ground chicken meat Minced parsley 1 cup light cream or undiluted evaporated milk, heated Melt butter, add flour, cook until this bubbles, add broth, then ground chicken. Stir until boiling, add cream, seasonings and sherry. Serve with minced parsley. Serves 4. _Shrimp Bisque_ ♆ 1½ cups ground cooked shrimp 1 cup light cream or undiluted evaporated milk, heated 4 tablespoons butter Salt if necessary 2 tablespoons finely grated onion 3 tablespoons sherry 2 tablespoons flour Minced parsley or chives 3 cups chicken broth, heated Remove shells and black vein from shrimp, cook and grind, using medium blade. Melt butter, add onion and flour. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, add ground shrimp and then broth. Stir until this has come to a boil, add cream slowly but do not boil after cream has been added. Season with salt if necessary, add sherry and serve at once, sprinkled with parsley or chives. Serves 4 to 6. Sauces, Gravies, and Seasonings Sauces, and naturally this category includes gravies, have a peculiar importance in shipboard menus. A cook is constantly faced with the problem of working out interesting and satisfying combinations of canned foods and these sauces are her aides. By this I do not mean that she must embark upon a project of having the basic sauces on hand and ready. Refrigeration space is much too precious. Nor is this any real economy of time in the end. The care and custody of jars of sauces, which you may or may not use, only adds another duty to the cook’s life and it takes only a moment to mix a roux of flour and butter when you need it. Nor do I believe that dozens of cans of mushroom soup solve all problems. For one thing the cans are bulky and anyway you have the basic ingredients, flour, butter and milk in concentrated form in your ship stores. Neither will this canned soup substitute for sauces which are made of cream or stock, nor for dishes in which the addition of a mushroom flavor is not indicated and will not be an improvement. Also, in so many recipes sauce making goes along with the actual assembly of the dish. This is especially true of gravies. But with either gravies or white sauces, if you have to amend and doctor in a vain effort to get somewhat the flavor of the classic dish, it is often more time-consuming than to start from scratch with the proper ingredients. I have no quarrel with quick methods when they work, but to spend one’s time preparing a fine main-dish meal and then begrudge that extra 10 or 15 minutes on a sauce which will really bring out the flavor seems somewhat wasteful. I am not suggesting adding the confusion of a tediously made sauce to the small work space of a galley but the simple sauces, run up casually by housewives in their daily cooking, can make a good dish so much better. _Medium White Sauce_ ♆ This is a basic recipe with which you can work many changes. If you intend to make 2 cups or more it might be easier to use a double boiler and a wooden spoon, but this slower method will occupy you and one precious burner for 15 minutes of cooking and stirring, while the sauce can be made easily in a saucepan over a very low heat. 2 tablespoons butter 1½ to 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk Scant ½ teaspoon salt For a thin sauce use 1 tablespoon each of flour and butter and for a thick white sauce use 3 tablespoons of flour and butter, but the procedure is the same. Melt butter, stir in flour and blend, stirring constantly while the butter and flour bubble for a few minutes. Do not let them brown—this can be avoided by moving the saucepan off and on the fire. Add milk slowly. Sauce experts advise that the milk be warmed almost to boiling point, but you can avoid the use of an extra saucepan if you add the cold milk very slowly, stirring constantly. Season and simmer for 5 minutes if possible. _Variations of White Sauce_ ♆ _Cream Sauce_ is made like White Sauce but using light cream or evaporated milk. Cream or White Sauce lends itself to many seasonings: 1 teaspoon of onion juice or sherry or lemon juice. 1 teaspoon prepared mustard or a dash of Worcestershire sauce, or 1 teaspoon chopped chives or parsley, grated nutmeg or paprika, or chopped hard-cooked eggs either with or without chopped capers. To give a strong onion flavor add a small onion which has been chopped, then boiled until tender and pressed through a sieve. To make a _Curry Sauce_ add 1 teaspoon or more of curry, a bit of minced onion and lemon juice. To make a _Cheese Sauce_, use half milk and half cream for the liquid, ½ cup grated cheese cooked in the sauce until melted, pinch of dry mustard and either paprika or Worcestershire sauce. The Cream Sauce can be enriched with egg yolk. Allow 1 egg yolk for each cup of sauce, dribble a few tablespoons of the hot Cream Sauce in the egg yolk, then combine. Do not boil after the egg has been added. _Sauces Using Stock_ ♆ Using stock, either beef or chicken instead of milk, converts the basic recipe into _Sauce Velouté_, which, too, is capable of many variations. A sauce of chicken broth and cream in equal parts is delicious in many dishes, good with poultry or veal and some types of shellfish. This sauce can also be enriched with egg yolks and a tablespoon of sherry makes it even better. A sauce made of beef broth, seasoned with 2 tablespoons of prepared horse-radish and 1 tablespoon minced capers is excellent with boiled beef. A rich _Mushroom Sauce_ which is a good dressing for meat balls or ground meat dishes is very useful. Sauté a 4-ounce can of sliced, drained mushrooms in 3 tablespoons butter. Remove mushrooms, add 3 tablespoons flour, then slowly stir in 2 cups beef broth. Season and simmer a few minutes, then combine with 3 slightly beaten egg yolks and add sautéed mushrooms. _Lemon Sauce_ ♆ This will serve as hollandaise sauce on vegetables or fish and is very simple to make. ¼ cup butter 5 tablespoons heavy cream 2 tablespoons lemon juice ½ teaspoon salt 2 egg yolks Squeeze of garlic or onion juice Melt butter in a double boiler and add lemon juice. Beat egg yolks with cream, add salt and garlic or onion juice. Stir this into the melted butter very slowly while beating with an egg beater. Beat constantly until the sauce is thick and smooth. The garlic or onion juice may be omitted but it adds zest. _Fish Sauces and Butters_ ♆ Fish stock made by boiling heads and bones of fish with minced onion, celery, carrots and seasonings, then straining the stock, can be used instead of milk in the basic White Sauce recipe and then becomes _Sauce Velouté_ for fish. This too has many variations. Finely chopped cooked shrimp or lobster or flaked cooked crab meat or minced clams can be added. Allow ½ cup of minced shellfish to each cup of Sauce Velouté. To make a Cheese Sauce stir ½ cup grated cheese into 1½ cups fish Sauce Velouté, thin with a bit of undiluted evaporated milk, or light cream and season with paprika. A finely chopped medium onion, sautéed in butter until transparent, then combined with 1 cup of Sauce Velouté makes _Soubise Sauce_ for fish. The various butters are an even easier way to dress a fish dish. Melt butter and add either lemon juice or anchovy paste. Cream butter and add a prepared horse-radish, 2 parts butter to 1 part horse-radish, or even less. Force this through a sieve and chill. Herb butters are all delicious. Cream butter and add chopped parsley or chives, or tarragon or thyme. Use the dried, crushed herbs with caution, only half as much as you would of fresh. GRAVIES The proportion of fat, flour and liquid and the procedure are the same as in sauces, which gravy really is. There are, however, two gravy aids which will prove useful in the day-store locker. Some gravies to which you wish to add extra color or flavor can be made best with browned flour. This can be prepared and kept on hand. Place flour in a dry and heavy pan over low heat, stirring constantly as it browns. In using it remember that browned flour has only half the thickening power of plain flour. _Caramel Sirup_ ♆ This is a wonderful browning seasoning. Adding ½ teaspoon of this sirup to a cup of gravy will often relieve a dismaying flatness. A teaspoon or two will give color and flavor to soups, and sometimes work wonders in a brown stew. 1½ cups granulated sugar 1 cup boiling water Melt sugar in a heavy skillet, stirring constantly while the sugar melts, then lumps, then caramelizes. Add boiling water slowly, taking care not to let the steam burn your hands. Simmer until it is about the consistency of maple sirup. Cool and bottle. This will keep indefinitely. Canned broths are almost a necessity in making rich, brown gravies. Use chicken broth for veal or pork; beef broth for beef or lamb. _Brown Gravy_ ♆ 2 tablespoons flour Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons fat ½ teaspoon Caramel Sirup, if necessary 1 cup broth and any meat extractives 1 tablespoon brandy or sherry from the pan (optional) Stir flour into hot fat, stirring constantly to keep lumps from forming, cook about 5 minutes over low fire, add broth slowly. Season. Add Caramel Sirup if necessary and brandy if desired. Yield, 1 cup. _Contrived Gravy_ ♆ This is convenient for canned roast beef or to work a change of sauces for a canned meat product. 2 tablespoons butter or margarine Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons flour ½ teaspoon Caramel Sirup 1 cup beef broth Herbs, sherry or brandy (optional) 1 teaspoon Bovril or similar meat essence Proceed as with Brown Gravy. Yield, 1 cup. Thinner gravies where the liquid content is high, as in pot roasts, stews and casseroles, is made differently. There are two methods. If the dish requires additional richness in fat make a roux of equal parts of butter and flour, thin it by adding a few tablespoons of the hot liquid, then combine and stir until the gravy is the desired consistency. If the meat sauce is already rich enough in fats, make a very thin paste of either flour or cornstarch combined with cold water or cold broth or sherry. A teaspoon of cornstarch is equal to a tablespoon of flour. Add the cold water slowly while stirring vigorously in a straight-sided cup to make sure no lumps form. If you are in any doubt about this, pour the paste through a fine sieve as you combine it with the hot sauce. The best way to avoid lumpy gravy is to make sure the thickening agent is in a smooth solution. Meats If you have a two-burner stove and a portable oven, boat menus naturally become an either-or affair. If you plan to use the oven then make it a complete oven dinner which will give you that great convenience, a free burner for coffee or any other last-minute project. If you decide on top-of-the-stove cooking then make the main dish some combination which will require only one other dish to complete the menu. Two-dish meals avoid that worrisome job of stacking or keeping something warm while you cook something else. This does not necessarily mean a monotonous series of stews although, properly made, they are grand dishes. In reality stews come in many guises and lend themselves to either top-of-the-stove or oven cooking. In the recipes which follow in the chapters on meat and main dishes I’ve given many which require fresh supplies. Of course these are only possible after a marketing port of call or if you have a freezer, but some are useful for weekend cruising when the meal can be partially prepared at home and brought aboard for finishing touches. The cook will naturally recognize those that can be prepared in advance and will taste even more flavorsome on the following day. _Beef Bourguignon_ ♆ If you have no Burgundy aboard, use sherry and call this Ragout of Beef with onions. Either way it’s a very fine dish and not nearly so elaborate as it sounds. 2 pounds beef, round or chuck 12 small white onions or equivalent in yellow, quartered 3 tablespoons seasoned flour 12 mushroom caps or canned button or sliced mushrooms 3 tablespoons butter 1 cup canned beef broth 2-inch cube salt pork, finely diced Salt and pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup Burgundy or ¾ cup sherry 2 tablespoons sherry or brandy, Herbs, parsley, bay leaf and either heated (optional) basil or thyme Cut beef in 2-inch cubes, discarding fat and gristle, and roll in seasoned flour. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet, try out salt pork, then remove brown bits and put these in casserole. Sauté garlic and remove to casserole. Brown meat in skillet, remove to casserole, and flame meat with sherry or brandy. Flaming is not necessary but adds to the flavor. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to fat in skillet, sauté onions, add these to meat, sauté mushrooms and add to meat. Rinse skillet out with beef broth and any liquor from can of mushrooms and add to meat. Season, add Burgundy and herbs, cover and simmer either on top of stove or in low oven heat for about 2 hours or until meat is very tender. Remove bay leaf. If the sauce seems thin, thicken with a little cornstarch mixed with water. Serve with either new potatoes boiled in their skins or with rice. This ragout is even better on the second day. Serves 6. _Beef with Green Olives_ ♆ This is very easily made and there is a pleasant astringency to this ragout which is different. 1½ pounds stewing beef ¾ teaspoon cornstarch 1½ tablespoons olive oil Pinch of M.S.G. 1 clove garlic, quartered ¼ teaspoon salt ⅓ cup dry vermouth 8 large or medium green olives, pitted Canned beef broth, heated Cube meat, discarding fat and gristle. Heat oil in Dutch oven, sauté garlic and discard. Brown cubed meat in oil, add vermouth and enough broth to cover. Sherry can be substituted for vermouth but vermouth gives a pleasant, herby flavor. Stir in cornstarch which has been mixed in water, add M.S.G. and salt. Simmer until meat is tender, add olives and heat thoroughly. Correct salt seasoning only after the salty olives have been added. Either green or ripe olives may be used in this dish but the green make it more distinctive. Serves 4. NOTE: I have made this ragout on the boat using 2 cups of cubed canned roast beef, and it was most successful. _Steaks and Chops_ ♆ Even if you have no broiler you don’t have to forego steaks if you have a heavy cast-iron skillet aboard. Heat pan, cover bottom with salt and when salt begins to smoke, put on steak. Sear it quickly on one side, turn and sear other side. Then lower heat a trifle and continue cooking until it is as you like it. Chops are equally delicious skillet-broiled and it is still our favorite method with ground round steak. The patties are brown and crusty and juicy and pink inside. They are also very good in a sauce. _Sauced Ground Steak_ ♆ 1 pound ground round steak Lemon juice 1 tablespoon freshly ground black 2 tablespoons brandy, heated, pepper (optional) 4 slices butter Minced parsley or chives Worcestershire sauce Shape meat into 4 cakes, sprinkle on both sides with pepper and allow to season for at least 15 minutes. Heat cast-iron skillet, sprinkle generously with salt and when this smokes brown cakes on one side, turn and brown the other, then lower heat and cook to whatever state of doneness you prefer. If you like them rare allow about a minute and remember these cakes will cook a bit even after they are taken from fire. Place a slice of butter on each cake, add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. To blaze with brandy, turn off heat, add brandy and ignite. Serve on hot plates, sprinkle with chives or parsley and pour sauce in the skillet over the cakes. Serves 4. _Skillet-Broiled Bacon_ ♆ Place sliced bacon in cold skillet, heat slowly and cook over moderate heat, turning once. Pour off excess fat as it forms. Cook until bacon has crispness you desire. The excess fat from this method will be white, not burned, and very useful in many dishes. _Beef Stroganoff_ ♆ 1½ pounds round or chuck beef 2 cups commercial sour cream 4 tablespoons butter ½ teaspoon paprika 3 large onions, sliced very thinly Generous pinch of dried basil ¾ pound fresh mushrooms Salt and pepper Cut meat into 1½-inch cubes, discarding fat and gristle. Simmer in as little water as possible until tender, about an hour. Drain meat and put in casserole, reserving liquor. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet, sauté onions until yellow, but not brown, and add to meat. Slice mushrooms vertically through caps and stems and sauté in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and add these to casserole. Fork meat, onions and mushrooms together, add sour cream, paprika, basil, salt and pepper. Cover and cook in slow oven until ingredients have melded. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a bit of the meat liquor. This is a good dish when you are not sure when the fishermen will come back, for it can wait, but remove the cover of the casserole while it waits. It can also be cooked in a Dutch oven on the top of the stove with plenty of asbestos pads to make sure it only simmers. NOTE: I have made this dish with canned roast beef, using canned mushrooms for the fresh but it does require raw onions and commercial sour cream. _Pot-Au-Feu_ ♆ I call it this because boiled beef is so misleading since the beef should never be boiled but only simmered. Men particularly like this dish and I suspect we don’t give it to them often enough at home. 4 pounds first-cut fresh beef brisket Peppercorns Bay leaf 1 clove garlic, chopped Parsley 1 stalk celery and leaves Pinch of thyme (optional) 1 onion, sliced 2 teaspoons salt 1 carrot, sliced Cover meat with boiling water to seal the juices then immediately reduce to simmer. Add seasonings, garlic, celery, onion and carrot. Skim off scum that arises in the first few minutes. Simmer until tender. Remove meat to a second pot with enough of the liquor in which to heat it. Strain off tired vegetables and seasonings from remaining broth and bring to a boil. If you like whole vegetables served with this dish, now is the time to add them—onions, carrots, potatoes, turnips or what-have-you. By transferring meat to a separate kettle it is not toughened by the brisk boiling of the dinner vegetables nor are they waterlogged by long, slow simmering. If you are piecing out with canned vegetables, add these when the fresh are almost tender. Serve meat surrounded by vegetables. Prepared horse-radish or horse-radish or caper sauce is excellent with this. Serves 6. NOTE: A smoked tongue is very good cooked in the same way, but it must be soaked before using. A smoked tongue will keep a week in the refrigerator and is a good backer-up when the fresh supplies are gone. _Canned Roast Beef_ ♆ With different treatments of this versatile meat, shipboard meals need not be monotonous. Heated in a fairly thin, well-seasoned gravy, it is a pot roast and may be served with potato pancakes. Cubed and heated in Brown Gravy with canned onions, it can be either a rich, brown stew or, topped with pastry, be served as meat pie. Ground and mixed with chopped boiled potatoes and a minced onion, moistened with beef broth and sautéed in butter or bacon fat, it is roast-beef hash. _Hungarian Goulash_ ♆ 3 tablespoons butter or margarine Salt and pepper 1 cup thinly sliced onion 1 teaspoon paprika, or more 1 cup beef broth (more if you desire 1 teaspoon tomato paste (optional) gravy) 12-ounce can roast beef Melt butter, sauté onion until soft and transparent, add broth, seasonings and tomato paste. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add cubed meat and cook until the meat is flavored. Serves 3 or 4. _Baked Stew_ ♆ This stew, using cooked meat, is especially adapted to canned roast beef. It is delicious and so attractive it can step out in company. 3 tablespoons butter or margarine Seasoned flour 1 clove garlic, chopped 4-ounce can mushrooms 12-ounce can roast beef, cubed 1¼ cups beef broth 2 medium onions, sliced 2 tablespoons sherry 2 medium carrots, cut in ½-inch Herbs (optional) strips Melt butter, sauté garlic, remove and add to casserole. Dredge meat, onions and carrots in seasoned flour, brown in butter and combine with mushrooms in casserole. Rinse out skillet with broth, add to casserole with sherry and herbs. Correct seasonings and if the seasoned flour hasn’t thickened the sauce enough add a bit of cornstarch. The liquid should just cover the meat and vegetables. Cover casserole and bake in a moderate oven for ½ hour. Serves 4. _Top-of-the-Stove Stew_ ♆ 4 medium onions, sliced 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms 4 small carrots, sliced Marjoram or basil (optional) 4 small potatoes, diced 12-ounce can roast beef, cubed 2 cups Contrived Brown Gravy Salt and pepper 1 small clove garlic, minced, or ¼ cup sherry squeeze of garlic Cook onions, carrots and potatoes in salted water until half done, then drain. Make Contrived Gravy, add garlic, mushrooms with liquor from can, herbs, then meat and vegetables. Simmer until vegetables are tender and the flavors have blended. Correct seasoning, add sherry and serve. Serves 4. NOTE: If time is precious use canned onions, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. Brown drained onions and quartered potatoes in butter or margarine, remove from skillet, add more butter and make Contrived Brown Gravy. Add sherry, onions, potatoes and sliced carrots, mushrooms, cubed beef and heat. This is a 20-minute stew. _Canned Corned Beef_ ♆ If thoroughly chilled, this slices very neatly. Thick slices, sautéed in butter, and served with mustard or mustard sauce are a pleasant change from cold meats. _Skillet Boiled Dinner_ ♆ Cooking time depends on whether vegetables are fresh or canned. If canned, only heat them before adding cabbage. 1 teaspoon salt 1 small head cabbage, quartered 1 teaspoon caraway seed (optional) 12-ounce can corned beef, quartered or in thick slices 8 small new potatoes ¼ cup butter, melted 4 medium carrots, quartered Minced parsley 4 medium onions Heat ½ inch of water in large skillet, add salt, caraway seed, potatoes, carrots, onions and cook covered until almost tender. Push to the edge of skillet and cover bottom with wedges of cabbage. Cover and cook for 8 minutes. Top this mixture with corned beef and cook until meat is heated. Drain and pour butter over all and sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4. _Corned Beef and Sauerkraut_ ♆ 1 No. 2½ can sauerkraut (3½ cups) 1-pound can corned-beef brisket 1 tablespoon grated onion Ground black pepper Salt to taste Simmer sauerkraut and grated onion for 20 minutes. Season, top with sliced brisket and cover to heat through. Or simmer a can of sauerkraut with ¼ cup sherry for 20 minutes, top with frankfurters cut in half, heat frankfurters through and season with plenty of ground black pepper. _Lou’s Casserole_ ♆ ½ cup sliced onion 1-pound can corned-beef hash 2 tablespoons butter or bacon fat ½ a 12-ounce can corned beef Sauté onion in fat until yellow. Combine onion, corned-beef hash and corned beef, mixing with a fork. Bake in oiled casserole in moderate oven for 20 minutes or cook over low heat on top of stove. _Dried Beef_ ♆ This has a much better flavor if it is not soaked in boiling water but omit salt in the sauces. _Frizzled Dried Beef_ ♆ This can be served with baked potatoes or spaghetti or over toast or hot baking-powder biscuits split in half. 3 tablespoons butter or margarine Freshly ground black pepper ¼ pound dried beef 1½ cups milk, warmed 3 tablespoons flour 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten 2 tablespoons sherry Melt butter in skillet, tear dried beef into pieces, sauté in butter until the edges curl. Sprinkle with flour and stir until each piece is coated, adding pepper. Pour milk in slowly, stirring constantly until it thickens. Remove from fire, and dribble a few tablespoons of sauce into egg yolks, then combine yolks with sauce. Heat again for a moment over very low heat, using an asbestos pad. Add sherry and serve. Serves 3 generously. This can be varied by adding sliced canned mushrooms, paprika, chopped parsley or even a dash of Worcestershire sauce. _Dried-Beef Soufflé_ ♆ 4 tablespoons butter or margarine ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ pound dried beef 1 pimiento, cut in strips 3 tablespoons flour 3-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained Dash of ground black pepper 4 eggs, separated 2 cups milk Melt butter, tear dried beef into pieces, sauté in butter until edges curl. Sprinkle with flour, stir to coat the beef, add pepper, then milk, stirring until smooth. Add salt, pimiento and mushrooms. Combine with beaten egg yolks. Remove from fire and let cool to lukewarm, then fold in beaten egg whites. Pour into greased casserole and bake at 325° F. for 45 minutes. Serve at once. Serves 4 or 5. This, too, can be varied by omitting mushrooms and adding ¾ cup grated Cheddar cheese and ¼ teaspoon dry mustard to sauce before combining with eggs. _Boiled Beef Tongue and Vegetables_ ♆ This is a quick and easy dinner. Thin beef broth to cover tongue Basil or thyme (optional) 1 can whole beef tongue 8-ounce can potatoes 1 clove garlic 8-ounce can baby carrots Parsley 8-ounce can white onions Chopped celery Minced parsley or chives Heat broth, add beef tongue and seasonings with the juice from the can of tongue. Drain cans of vegetables and add juices to broth. Simmer tongue in broth and when partially heated, add canned vegetables. Serve on hot platter with vegetables as a border, sprinkled with parsley or chives. Serves 4 to 6. NOTE: If you have fresh vegetables, these must be boiled first in the broth and the tongue added later so it will not be overcooked. _Sauces_ ♆ Serve tongue with horse-radish or mustard sauce or _Sweet and Sour Sauce_ (recipe follows) or, even more simple, _Currant Jelly Sauce_. Warm currant jelly to room temperature and mix with dry mustard in about equal parts. Taste to make certain you are getting the particular combination of pungency and sweetness you prefer. This is good with tongue, corned beef or ham. _Sweet and Sour Sauce_ ♆ ½ cup sugar ¼ cup vinegar 1 tablespoon flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup hot water ⅛ teaspoon pepper Melt sugar in hot skillet, add flour and slowly add water, then vinegar and seasonings. Simmer until flour is thoroughly cooked and sauce has thickened somewhat. _Hot Braised Tongue_ ♆ 1 whole canned tongue ⅔ cup seedless bleached raisins (optional) 4 tablespoons butter ½ cup almond bits 3 tablespoons flour ½ lemon, sliced 1½ cups beef broth and juice from ½ cup sherry canned tongue Brown tongue in 2 tablespoons butter, remove from pan; add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, stir in flour, then mixture of broth and juice, raisins, almonds and lemon. Simmer until raisins are plump. Pour sauce over browned tongue, add sherry, cover and cook either in oven or on top of stove for 20 minutes. _Sliced Tongue in Wine Sauce_ ♆ 2 tablespoons butter 3 cloves ¼ cup finely chopped onion 4 peppercorns 2 tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon red currant jelly 1 cup beef broth with juices from can 1 teaspoon grated orange rind or of tongue added concentrated orange juice ½ cup red wine or sherry 12 thin slices canned smoked tongue ½ teaspoon Bovril Bay leaf Melt butter, sauté onion until transparent. Blend in flour, add broth and wine or sherry, Bovril and seasonings. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain, add currant jelly and orange rind or juice. Correct seasoning, adding salt if necessary. Simmer tongue in sauce until thoroughly heated. Serves 4. _Smoked Tongue Divan_ ♆ If you are fortunate and have a broiler, this makes an excellent Divan. 1 package frozen or canned broccoli 2 cups medium Cheese Sauce with or canned asparagus cream (see recipe) 4 portions thinly sliced canned ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese smoked tongue If using frozen broccoli boil until barely tender. Canned broccoli does not need to be heated. Arrange smoked tongue in one end of baking dish, broccoli or asparagus in the other, pour sauce over, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and heat under broiler. Serves 4. The restaurant which made a specialty of Smoked Tongue Divan gave me its recipe for Mornay Sauce. It makes a richer dish than the medium Cheese Sauce with cream but is a bit more trouble. _Mornay Sauce_ ♆ 2 tablespoons butter 1 egg yolk 1½ tablespoons flour Salt, pepper 1 cup light cream 2 tablespoons sherry 3 tablespoons grated American cheese Make White Sauce, add cheese, stir until melted, combine with egg yolk. Season and add sherry. _Hamburgers in Wine Sauce_ ♆ This is a quick—and different—way of serving hamburgers. 1 pound chopped meat 1 teaspoon concentrated meat essence, such as Bovril ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese Salt and ground black pepper ⅓ cup butter or margarine ¼ cup pale, dry sherry 1 clove garlic, quartered 3-ounce can sliced mushrooms and reserve liquor Form meat into 4 patties and roll in grated cheese. Melt half the butter in skillet and sauté garlic, then discard it. Brown meat patties and remove to hot dish, add remaining butter, sauté drained mushrooms and put aside with meat. Combine liquor from mushrooms, Bovril and stir, dissolving all the brown bits in the pan. Add meat and mushrooms, season to taste, and add wine. Serves 3 or 4. _Skillet Cabbage Rolls_ ♆ 8 large or 12 medium cabbage leaves 1 onion, chopped 1 pound ground round steak 1 teaspoon salt ½ pound ground pork, or can of pork Pepper loaf or chopped pork 1 cup cooked rice 3 tablespoons butter 1 egg, beaten 1½ tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons minced parsley Beef broth 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional) Wilt cabbage leaves in boiling salted water. Drain and dry on towel. Mix meats, rice, egg, parsley, onion, salt and pepper. Divide in as many portions as you have cabbage leaves, place on the leaves, roll up and fasten with toothpicks. Heat skillet, melt butter, brown cabbage rolls on all sides, reduce heat, add a little water and simmer slowly until meat is cooked. To make gravy remove rolls from skillet, stir in flour, add beef broth and tomato paste. Return cabbage rolls to skillet and simmer to heat. Serves 4. NOTE: A ham and mushroom stuffing is equally good for cabbage leaves and these ingredients are usually available in the can locker. 3 tablespoons butter 1 cup cooked rice 2 cups chopped mushrooms, caps and Ground black pepper stems 2 cups cubed cooked ham 1 cup chicken or beef broth 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or 1 tablespoon dried minced onion, moistened Melt butter, sauté mushrooms, combine with ham, chives or onion, rice, and black pepper. Stuff wilted cabbage leaves and cook in broth, either in skillet on low fire or in oven. If necessary add more liquid. These can be served with canned tomato sauce. Or stuff the cabbage leaves with corned-beef hash and serve in Cheese Sauce. _Blazed Frankfurters_ ♆ 12 canned skinless beef frankfurters 4 tablespoons brown sugar 1½ tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons dry mustard ¼ cup sherry, heated Simmer frankfurters in juice from can for 5 minutes, drain and sauté in butter, add brown sugar mixed with mustard. Pour sherry over frankfurters and ignite. Serves 4. Frankfurters are very good wrapped in bacon, either as is or treated. To treat them, slit one side of frankfurter, lay open, spread with pickle relish, a bit of mustard, or any condiment which has zest, close and wrap in a slice of bacon and fasten with toothpicks. These can be broiled, cooked in oven or in heavy skillet over low heat. Cook covered for a few minutes, then uncovered until crisp. _Swiss Steak_ ♆ This is a natural for boat menus because it can be cooked either in the oven or on low-burner heat. It is good with instant mashed potatoes. 1½ pounds round or rump steak, ¾ cup chopped onion 1½ inches thick ½ carrot, chopped (optional) 1 clove garlic 1 stalk celery, chopped (optional) ⅓ cup seasoned flour 1 cup beef broth, or tomato or vegetable juice 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup sherry (optional) ⅛ teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons brandy (optional) 2 tablespoons butter, oil or beef fat Rub skillet and both sides of meat with garlic. Work flour seasoned with salt and pepper into steak using rim of heavy saucer or wooden mallet. Brown meat in hot butter or fat and remove from skillet. Sauté onion, carrot and celery. Return steak to skillet, add broth or vegetable juice and sherry. Correct seasoning, cover and cook in slow oven (250° F.) or over very slow heat until steak is fork-tender. Remove cover at last of the cooking to reduce sauce. If this seems too thin, thicken with moistened cornstarch. The brandy, added last, gives a nice finish to the sauce. Serves 4. _Ella’s Versatile Soufflé_ ♆ Don’t let the word soufflé scare you. This is light but not of the precarious type which will go flat without warning. It can be made of leftovers—cooked veal, lamb, beef, ham, fish or chicken and it’s so good that when I’m fresh out of leftovers I open a can of something. 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 bay leaf 3 tablespoons flour ½ teaspoon dry mustard 1 cup ground cooked meat or flaked ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce fish ¼ cup finely chopped onion Speck cayenne ¾ cup milk Salt to taste 3 eggs, separated Blend butter and flour in double boiler, add meat and onion and stir until heated through. Scald milk with bay leaf and seasonings. Strain, then add to meat mixture. Stir until thick. Add beaten egg yolks. Cool. Beat egg whites stiff and fold into cooled meat. Bake in greased casserole at 375° F. about ½ hour, or until lightly crusted and brown. Serves 4. _Skillet Stew_ ♆ This, too, can be made of any meat or chicken. The proportion of meat and vegetables can be as you like, or what vegetables you have aboard. But it must be cooked in skillet with tight-fitting cover. Roll pieces of meat or chicken in seasoned flour, brown in butter, margarine or salad oil. Add vegetables cut in half, then enough boiling broth to half cover and from ¼ to ½ cup sherry, depending on amount of stew. Herbs, too, depend on the main ingredient. A pinch of tarragon goes well with chicken; basil or rosemary or a mixture is excellent with meats. Cook either on top of stove, using asbestos pads, or in very slow oven. The slower the cooking the more delicious the sauce. _Beefsteak and Veal Kidney Pie_ ♆ This old English recipe was given me by Samuel G. Blythe, whose family had used it for generations. Even people who say they cannot, _cannot_ eat a kidney have been known to ask for the recipe and, more important, include it in their family menus. It was my company dish on the boat and it is useful for weekend cruising since the filling can be prepared the day before and then topped with a piecrust before it is baked. 4 veal kidneys or like amount of lamb 1 teaspoon salt kidneys 2 pounds round steak, 1 inch thick Pepper ½ cup butter 2 3-ounce cans button mushrooms 1 medium onion, chopped fine 1 can beef broth (optional) 1 clove garlic, minced Minced chives or parsley 1 tablespoon flour Piecrust topping Wash kidneys in hot water, remove skin and cores of membrane. Dice steak and kidneys in 1-inch cubes and seal by dipping in hot water. Do this by installments, reheating water between installments. Reserve this liquor for simmering. Melt butter in Dutch oven, sauté onion and garlic until golden-yellow and remove. Brown steak and kidneys, a few at a time. Combine meat and onion, sprinkle with flour, add meat liquor and enough hot water to cover. Season and simmer in covered pot until meat is just fork-tender, about 2 hours. Add mushrooms and canned mushroom juice toward end of simmering. If the liquid is getting too low to supply plenty of gravy, which it often is at this time, add a can of beef broth. Correct seasonings. Transfer meat and gravy to casserole, sprinkle with minced chives or parsley and top with rich piecrust. Bake 20 minutes in hot oven (400° F.) A heatproof custard cup or even a china one, inverted in center of casserole will support the piecrust and also make a fine hideaway for gravy. Serves 6. _Veal Parisienne with Vegetables_ ♆ This dish can take improvisations in the way of vegetable seasonings but you must have commercial sour cream. It is a good one-dish meal, served with fluffy rice, spaghetti or noodles. 2 pounds veal steak or shoulder, free 1 tablespoon flour of fat or gristle and sliced thin 2 green onions, tops and bulbs 1 cup sour cream chopped 1 seeded bell pepper, chopped 1 teaspoon paprika 2 tomatoes, quartered ½ teaspoon dried marjoram 2 tablespoons butter, margarine or Salt and pepper salad oil 1 package frozen Fordhook Lima beans or 2½ cups canned Lima beans Cut veal in 1½- to 2-inch pieces, chop onions and bell pepper, and quarter tomatoes. Melt fat in heavy skillet, brown veal and remove. Sauté onions and pepper, add tomatoes, turn down heat and stir in flour. Return meat to skillet, add sour cream and seasonings. Cover and cook over very low heat and several asbestos pads or in a 275° F. oven. When half-done add frozen Lima beans. If you use canned, add these when meat is fork-tender. Serves 4 to 6. * * * * * A boned, rolled shoulder of veal is delicious cooked in much the same fashion. Tie it securely, rub with melted butter, dredge in seasoned flour, sprinkle with paprika and brown in oil or butter in a Dutch oven. Put meat on trivet, add ¼ cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons sherry, vegetable seasonings, a pinch of herbs and stir in very slowly 1 cup sour cream. Cover and simmer on low heat until meat is tender. Canned onions and potatoes, added at the last make a complete meal. _Blanquette of Veal_ ♆ This is not as elaborate as it sounds, can be prepared in advance and the sauce added at the last moment. It is good for weekend guests when you won’t want to spend time in the galley. ½ cup finely diced salt pork or 3 parsley sprigs 6 slices bacon, diced Veal bones if you have them 2 pounds stewing veal or shoulder, 1½ teaspoons salt boned 1 onion, sliced 6 peppercorns 1 bay leaf ½ cup chopped celery ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed 12 small onions ⅛ teaspoon dried basil, crushed 12 small mushrooms or 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms 4 small carrots, quartered Try out salt pork or bacon until crisp. Cut veal in 2-inch cubes, discarding fat and membrane. Combine veal, salt pork and fat, sliced onion, herbs, parsley, veal bones, salt, peppercorns and celery with enough boiling water to cover. Simmer until meat is almost tender (about ½ hour). Drain off veal stock, remove bay leaf, parsley, celery and sliced onion. Return meat to stock, add whole onions, mushrooms and quartered carrots and simmer until vegetables are tender. Allow meat to remain in stock until ready to make the sauce. _Sauce_ ♆ 3 tablespoons butter Grated rind of 1 lemon 4 tablespoons flour ⅛ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed 2 cups strained veal stock 3 tablespoons sherry ½ cup light cream or evaporated milk 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon minced parsley Melt butter in double boiler, add flour, cook until it bubbles, add veal stock slowly, bring to boil, add cream, lemon juice, lemon peel, and rosemary. Combine sauce with drained meat and vegetables. Reheat, add sherry and just before serving blend in egg yolks, first dribbling a few tablespoons of sauce into yolks. Do not boil after adding egg, but heat only enough to thicken. Top the dish with minced parsley. Serves 6. This delectable dish also allows for substitutions. Canned vegetables, white onions, baby carrots or carrots French-style, will serve but do not cook them as long as you would the fresh. And if your egg supply is dwindling use 2½ tablespoons baby-food egg yolk, stirred to smooth paste in evaporated milk. _Skillet Veal Paprika_ ♆ 2 pounds veal steak, 1 inch thick 1½ cups chicken broth Seasoned flour ¾ cup sour or sweet cream or evaporated milk 4 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 teaspoon paprika, or more 1 medium onion, minced 2 tablespoons sherry (optional) Cut veal into 2-inch pieces, roll in seasoned flour. Melt butter, sauté onion until golden. Remove onion and reserve. Brown veal in butter, return onion to skillet, add chicken broth, cover and simmer until meat is fork-tender. Stir in cream very slowly, and do not boil. Add paprika and sherry and heat until sauce and meat are blended. Serve with buttered noodles. Serves 4. _Braised Lamb Shanks_ ♆ This is hearty seafare, a general favorite with men. It can be cooked on low-burner heat or finished in oven and served with spoon bread. 4 well-meated lamb shanks ¼ cup sliced mushrooms or a few dried and soaked 1 clove garlic 1½ cups beef broth Seasoned flour Bay leaf ¼ cup salad oil Parsley 1 medium onion, chopped Pinch of dried rosemary 1 carrot, sliced thin (optional) ½ cup red wine or sherry 1 stalk celery, chopped (optional) 2 tablespoons brandy (optional) Rub each shank with cut clove garlic, roll in seasoned flour, brown in oil. Remove shanks, sauté onion, add onion to meat and pour off excess fat. Return shanks and onion to Dutch oven, add carrot, celery, mushrooms, beef broth, herbs and wine or sherry, cover and simmer until shanks are tender. Remove shanks and mushrooms and strain the gravy through a sieve. The vegetables should make sauce thick enough without adding flour. Correct seasoning, add shanks to sauce and reheat. Two tablespoons of brandy give this sauce an elegant finish. Serves 4. _Dutch-Oven Lamb Shoulder_ ♆ Shoulder of lamb, boned and rolled Seasoned flour 1 clove garlic Vegetable oil Softened butter Canned beef broth 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed ¼ cup sherry (optional) ¼ teaspoon M.S.G. Rub pot and meat with garlic. Rub meat with softened butter and rosemary, dredge with flour and brown in hot oil. Pour off excess fat, place meat on a trivet, add enough beef broth or broth and sherry to prevent meat from burning, and M.S.G. Cover and simmer until tender, turning meat occasionally. Correct seasoning, add Caramel Sirup if necessary and if gravy needs thickening add cornstarch moistened in water. Basil or thyme may be substituted for rosemary or the herbs omitted and the meat dusted generously with paprika or a little powdered ginger. _Curried Lamb_ ♆ This is a very easy meal for a crowd, served with fluffy rice and condiments. Years ago a nurse who had lived in India told me that the reason why many people found curry distressing was because in America no one cooked the raw curry in butter. I watched her make a curry, tasted it and since then have never made it any other way, whether it was curried shrimp, hot hard-cooked eggs or lamb. And if in this recipe you miss the apples, raisins and oddments in so many curry recipes, I’m sorry. 4 pounds lamb shoulder, cut up 2 tablespoons flour 1 clove garlic Lamb broth 3 tablespoons butter Caramel Sirup or another browning medium 2 tablespoons curry powder, or less Salt, pepper (Crosse & Blackwell) Simmer lamb in hot salted water with garlic until tender, about ½ hour. Pour through a colander, cool enough to handle, discard bone, fat, garlic. Cut lamb in 1½-inch cubes. Melt butter in a skillet, add curry, and cook on medium heat for ½ minute. The curry will give off an acrid odor and brown a bit, but must not be allowed to burn. Take skillet from fire, stir in flour, blending well, then add lamb broth slowly. Make a fairly thin sauce, add ½ teaspoon Caramel Sirup for each cup of sauce, season to taste, add cubed meat and simmer. If the curry isn’t hot enough or needs additional thickening, add curry or flour which has been stirred smooth in a bit of cold water. The addition of raw curry at this point doesn’t seem to change the flavor of the sauce made of cooked curry. Pass a tray of condiments with the curry and rice so everything can be mixed together on the plate. It needn’t be a “twenty-one-boy curry” but minced hard-cooked eggs, canned French-fried onions, shredded coconut (preferably not sweetened), slivered pecans or even peanuts and Major Grey’s chutney should not be too difficult to manage out of ship stores. This curry can be made in advance and is even better on the second day. Serves 4 to 6. _Spareribs and Sauerkraut_ ♆ This is far simpler than many of the other ways to serve spareribs and occasionally is a pleasant change. 4 pounds spareribs 4 medium potatoes, peeled and halved 1 No. 2½ can sauerkraut (3½ cups) Ground black pepper and salt, if needed Simmer spareribs and sauerkraut in water to cover until spareribs are beginning to be tender. Remove spareribs, scissor into serving pieces and brown in hot oven or under broiler. They should be brown and very sweet. In the meantime place potatoes in pot with sauerkraut and cook until tender. Serve drained kraut, potatoes and spareribs on a hot platter. Serves 4. _Ham_ ♆ With canned ham aboard no cook is ever at a loss for a dinner. It should be chilled thoroughly before opening so it will come out firm and whole. Treat it with your favorite glaze, bake it whole, basted with fruit juices—orange, grapefruit, pineapple, cherry or cranberry—or with sherry, ginger ale or beer. * * * * * One of my favorites is to rub the ham with plenty of ground black pepper, then with dry mustard and pack a layer of brown sugar on the surface, let this season for several hours or even overnight and then bake. Let the oven heat harden the glaze for about 5 minutes, then baste with either ginger ale or beer. _Sherried Ham Slices_ ♆ Cut canned ham in ½-inch slices, heat in a skillet in the natural juices from the can, adding ¼ cup sherry. _Ham and Oyster Pie_ ♆ These are natural companions and if you are not in oyster waters, the canned may be substituted. ¼ cup minced onion Salt and pepper 4 tablespoons butter Pinch of dried thyme, crushed 4 tablespoons flour 1½ cups cubed canned ham 1 pint top milk or mixture of 2 parts 1 cup drained oysters evaporated milk to 1 part water Rich piecrust Sauté onion in melted butter until transparent, add flour, cook a few minutes, stir in milk slowly and let sauce thicken, season, add ham and oysters. Put in a casserole and cover with piecrust and bake in hot oven until crust is cooked. Serves 4. _Scalloped Ham and Potatoes_ ♆ 3 cups thinly sliced raw potatoes 2 cups thin White Sauce ½ cup thinly sliced onion ½ teaspoon dry mustard 2 cups thinly sliced canned ham cut Salt and pepper in strips Place layer of potatoes on bottom of greased casserole, then onion, then ham. Continue layers, with potatoes on the top. Make White Sauce, add seasonings, pour over casserole, bake covered for 45 minutes, then uncovered until potatoes are tender. Serves 4. _Veal and Ham Pie_ ♆ This may be served either as a pie with a pastry top or cooked on top of the stove. If you have no veal, substitute canned chicken. 2 cups cubed cooked veal Dash of cayenne pepper 1½ tablespoons ham fat or butter 2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced thin 1 cup cubed canned ham ¼ teaspoon lemon juice or grated lemon rind 1½ tablespoons flour Generous teaspoon minced parsley Chicken broth, heated Salt to taste Brown veal in fat, combine with ham, sprinkle with flour, add enough broth to reach almost to top of meat, season, cover and simmer until meat is tender. Add eggs and lemon juice, heat until flavors are blended, and then serve topped with parsley. To make a pie, cool cooked meat before adding eggs and lemon juice, top with parsley, cover with pastry and bake in hot oven for 30 minutes. Serves 4 to 6. _Ham and Mushrooms_ ♆ ½ pound mushrooms, sliced, or 6-ounce 1 cup light cream or evaporated milk can sliced mushrooms 4 tablespoons butter or margarine ¼ cup sherry 2 tablespoons flour 3 cups diced canned ham 1 cup chicken broth 4 hard-cooked eggs, diced Seasonings to taste Sauté mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter. Make sauce of remaining butter, flour, chicken broth and cream. Simmer a few minutes, add sherry, then ham, eggs and mushrooms. Season and either finish in casserole in oven or blend over very low heat on top of stove. Serves 6. _Ham à la King_ ♆ This can be made of any number of combinations. If you use chicken, substitute it for part of the cubed ham. 2 cups medium Cream Sauce using part 1 cup sliced canned mushrooms light cream or evaporated milk 2 cups cooked, diced canned ham 2 tablespoons chopped bell pepper (optional) 2 hard-cooked eggs, diced 2 tablespoons chopped pimiento 2 tablespoons sherry Make Cream Sauce, and when cooked add ham, eggs, mushrooms, bell pepper, pimiento and sherry. Correct seasoning, adding salt if necessary. Serve on toast, split baking-powder biscuits, baked potatoes or buttered noodles. Serves 6. _Ham Slice in Milk_ ♆ If you have smoked ham aboard this is an easy way to cook a slice. 1 slice ham, ¾ inch thick Sherry Brown sugar ½ cup rich milk or diluted evaporated milk (2 parts milk to 1 part water), heated Dry mustard Trim edge of ham, slitting it at edges so it will not curl. Make paste of 2 parts brown sugar, 1 part mustard, moistened with sherry and rub into both sides of ham. Sear on both sides in hot ham fat. Pour milk into the skillet and cover. Simmer over low heat until tender. Baste occasionally. Add more milk if necessary. Uncover ham during the last few minutes. The ham should be fork-tender in a thick sauce. Fish and Shellfish To a true lover of fish a cruiser is a place of supreme delight, for there he can know the joy of eating fish so fresh its perfect flavor has not been marred by handling or even by icing. Fish straight from the water is as different from market fish as corn freshly picked from the garden is different from market corn. Looking back on all our outdoor years of wilderness living, canoe trips and cruising life, I am sure our fish meals were the most memorable. It is impossible in one chapter to go into all the varieties of fish and their nomenclature. The latter, usually a matter of local usage, is confusing. The walleye of inland lakes, which is really a perch, is called pike in those regions. The kingfish of the Atlantic is a different fish from that of the Pacific. The wonderful yellowtail of the Florida Keys, which is a snapper, is nothing like various fishes called yellowtail in other parts of the country. The fine rockfish of the West Coast, which is called a rock cod, is not even a distant relative of the cod. And in America the word sole is universally applied to any number of flatfish which are not sole at all. But there are basic rules for fish cookery which apply to either fresh or salt-water fish. And if there is an especially excellent way to cook a strange fish you may encounter on your cruise, any local fisherman or fish-market owner can tell you. In general the less done to delicately flavored fish, such as bluefish, sand dabs, whitefish, halibut, walleyes, trout, etc., the better. Simple and respectful treatment is all they need to bring out their wonderful flavor. Broiling is the best method. But if you haven’t a broiler, or time to broil over coals ashore, then fall back on baking or semideep French-frying. The bland fish, such as cod, haddock, flounder, etc., are often improved by added flavors and these fish lend themselves to poaching, either in Court Bouillon or highly seasoned wine and water. The sauce can be as elaborate as you have time to make it. CLEANING AND DRESSING FISH Really fresh fish scale easily, and more easily when wet than dry. Place the fish on a flat, heavy board, hold it firmly by the head with one hand, and with a sharp knife or a scraper in the other, starting at the tail and working toward the head, scrape off the scales. Be careful to remove the scales around the fins and near the head. If you intend to skin the fillets, scaling is not necessary. To clean the fish use the tip of the knife to slit the belly from around the vent to the head and scrape out the intestines. Cut out the fins and the little bones lying at their base instead of trimming them off with shears. The little bones come away easily with a slight forward jerk. If you do not intend to fillet the fish or to cook it whole, cut off the head at the collarbone where it breaks easily and cut off the tail. To fillet the fish cut along the back from the head to the tail, then run the knife along the ribs cutting all the flesh from them. Do the same on the other side. To skin the fillet, slip the knife between flesh and skin at the tail and slide it along to the head. A sharp, long-bladed, flat knife is necessary for this job. Then if there are any branches of ribs in the fillets, these can be easily removed by cutting out a V-shaped piece around each bone. In this way you have two skinless, completely boneless fillets. COOKING METHODS The truly basic rule is not to overcook the fish by any method. When the flesh is flaky it is ready to be eaten. And the sooner it is served the better. The way station of a platter or a serving dish only robs it of some flavor. BAKING This method is usually reserved for fairly large fish with the head and tail left on, not only for appearance but because these hold in the juices. The fish should be well oiled, outside and in, stuffed with either a delicate bread stuffing or slices of onion, or celery if you have it, then larded with thin strips of salt pork or bacon, and basted in its juices to which vegetable juice or wine has been added. The oven should be 350° F. or over. Two magnificent baked fish stand out sharply in my memory. The first was a Mississippi 5-pound channel catfish, baked with a delicately seasoned bread stuffing, larded with salt pork and basted with vegetable juices. The other was a lake trout of about the same size and only 20 minutes out of a cold Canadian lake. We oiled it well, laid slices of onion in its interior because this was the only fresh vegetable in camp, larded it with strips of salt pork and cooked it in a folding aluminum baker set before a bed of coals. For basting we steeped some dehydrated celery in which we had little hope, drained it, added a bit of butter and a tablespoon or so of Scotch whisky, our only substitute for wine. The lake trout was superb. So perhaps in baking it is only a matter of fresh fish, gentle handling, the proper heat and not overcooking. SEMIDEEP FRENCH-FRYING Deep-fat frying should never be done aboard a boat but fish can be pan-French-fried in 1 or 1½ inches of fat, preferably vegetable oil since this can be heated to 280° F. without burning. It should be hot, so hot that it forms an envelope around the fish which prevents the fat from penetrating the flesh. Breading gives additional protection and a brown crust. The breading can be flour or corn meal or a combination of both or fine bread crumbs, whichever the cook prefers. But if you bread please, I beg of you, don’t become efficient and shake the fish in a paper bag as one does chicken. Fish is delicate and should never be manhandled. Fish lovers, and I’ve never known a fisherman or fish merchant who wasn’t, are very much aware of this. Once we bought a fine chicken halibut which had just been caught in Monterey Bay and was much admired on the water front. We planned to take it to our San Francisco hosts for dinner that evening. As the fish merchant wrapped the fillets he said, “Please lay this on the cushions of the back seat. In that long drive the car vibrations could spoil the flavor.” In shallow frying, heat the fat in a heavy, cast-iron skillet, cut the fillets or the fish in serving portions, roll them gently in the seasoned breading, and the moment the fat shows signs of smoking, place the fish in the pan. When the fish is brown on one side, turn, brown the other and serve at once. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the pieces. The outside should be brown and crisp and the flesh still moist but flaky. This is a delicious way to cook walleyes, small-mouth bass or any salt-water fish of delicate flavor. Some cooks advise dipping the pieces of fish in liquid, such as salted milk, before frying but we’ve never found this necessary for freshly caught fish. We only use it on fish which has been out of water long enough to go to market. Nor have we always breaded fish for this French-fried method. It was from an Ojibwa housekeeper of a Hudson Bay post we learned that the delicate whitefish, fresh from a cold northern lake, was even better with no coating, only seasoned with salt and sealed in hot fat. The manager of the post had imported all sorts of canned delicacies for our visit but when we first tasted the whitefish the post netted for their dog teams we announced we could eat it twice a day. From then on Emil was sent to lift the net before lunch and dinner every day. Nor had we tired of whitefish at the end of our visit. Unfortunately this truly noble fish begins to lose flavor a few hours out of water and is a wholly different fish in 12 hours. Later when we had our dog team and our net in a cold, deep lake, our whitefish was never more than ½ hour from net to table. And if on an inland cruise through the Great Lake waters you are fortunate enough to have a truly fresh whitefish, treat it reverently and do nothing to spoil the wonderful flavor. Another exception we made was chicken halibut, freshly caught. Oscar, who had been a cook on a halibut schooner, showed us what this fish could really taste like when it was sealed in hot fat and flaky on the inside. After one demonstration we kept our weather eye out for halibut schooners and a run alongside one usually meant a feast. SAUTÉ MEUNIÈRE This is another shallow-fat cooking method and is wonderful for any small, whole fish of delicate flavor such as sand dabs, butterfish, rockfish, “eating trout” just above the legal limit, smelts and the blunt-nosed gray sole from the sandy bottom of Monterey Bay. Some experts claim this sole is the only American edible flatfish, which is closely allied to the true sole of Europe. Unfortunately, this cooking method isn’t always possible on shipboard since it requires fresh parsley, depending for flavor on butter, lemon and parsley. Dredge fish lightly in flour seasoned with salt. Heat butter in a heavy skillet and sauté fish until just golden, turn and cook the other side until the flesh is flaky. Remove to a hot platter, add more butter to the skillet and heat until slightly brown when it will give off a nutty odor, add chopped parsley and lemon juice. Pour sauce over fish and serve at once. SPENCER HOT-OVEN METHOD This method, devised by Mrs. Evalene Spencer of the Fish and Wildlife Service, is practically an oven-broiled fish, but should not be attempted unless you have an oven which can be heated to between 500° and 600° F. However, the dredging method is useful even for pan frying. 2 pounds fillets or steaks Finely sifted bread crumbs 1 tablespoon salt Salad oil 1 cup milk Cut fillets into portions of about ⅓ pound each, and place dressed fish on the left, next a bowl with salted milk, then a pan of seasoned bread crumbs and to the right, a well-oiled baking pan for cooking and a cup containing oil and a pastry brush. With left hand dip fish into milk, and drop fish into pan of bread crumbs. With right hand cover fish with crumbs and put fish in baking pan. This keeps the left hand for the wet work, and the right hand for the dry. In this way the crumbs are not dampened. Do not substitute flour or corn meal for crumbs because since there is no immersion of fat to brown the covering, as in shallow or deep frying, the fish would be browned only in splotches whereas the sifted bread crumbs will brown evenly. After the fish has been laid side-by-side in pan, sprinkle each with a little oil with pastry brush. Put pan in very hot oven of 500° F. or more. The fish will cook in about 10 minutes and be beautifully browned on both sides, and the pan dry beneath the fish. All this sounds much more elaborate than it really is. You have only to remember not to mix the dry and wet hands. POACHING This is an excellent method for bland fish, such as cod, haddock, flounder and similar varieties, and also for other fish you wish to serve with sauces. In poaching, the liquid is kept under a definite simmer, just barely trembles so the heat penetrates the flesh gradually. The liquid, or Court Bouillon, for fish of distinctive flavors, such as sea bass, the different perches or red snapper, should be very simple, either salted water or water with white wine added. For a more definite Court Bouillon, use vegetable seasonings such as celery, onion and carrots, and herbs such as parsley, thyme or rosemary. The richer Court Bouillon is made by simmering the fish bones and heads, straining and then adding vegetable seasonings, herbs and wine. And Court Bouillon, when boiled down and strained, makes a fish stock for sauces. BRAISING This is a very simple method and especially good for lean salt-water fish. Butter the bottom of a baking dish, and make a bed of sliced carrots, celery, onions and add a herb bouquet. Salt the fish inside and out, oil it well and lay it on the vegetable bed. Add enough liquid to cover vegetable bed and part way up the fish. This liquid can be a mixture of white wine or sherry with water, or wine and fish bouillon. A few thin strips of salt pork or bacon on the top of the fish is a good idea, but not necessary. Cover the baking pan, bring to a boil, then uncover and cook very gently either on the top of the stove or in the oven. Baste frequently with the juices in the pan. Cooking time naturally depends on the thickness of the fish, but the doneness is easily determined by testing near the backbone with a toothpick. PARCHMENT COOKING This is an extremely practical method aboard ship. Fish is cooked in its own juices and there are no fishy pots and skillets to be washed. In boiling or steaming fish in parchment the fish should be absolutely boneless. Salad oil 2 tablespoons grated or minced carrot 2 large sheets of parchment 2 tablespoons grated onion 2 pounds boneless fillets of steaks 1 tablespoon lemon juice Salt Herbs (optional) 2 tablespoons butter, melted Parsley, finely chopped Oil both sides of parchment sheets and lay out flat. Cut fish to serving-size and divide between the 2 sheets, arranging fish one layer deep on each sheet. Salt the pieces, brush with butter and cover with vegetables, seasonings and lemon juice, lastly sprinkling with parsley. Bring edges of parchment together, tie in a sort of pouch and hang these pouches in a kettle of boiling water from 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets. Serve fish in their juices or strain and thicken the juice for a sauce. Salmon and halibut are delicious cooked in this way. Serves 4. BAKING IN PARCHMENT OR ALUMINUM FOIL This is an excellent method with any firm-fleshed fish, especially one with a delicate flavor. In our cruising on the Pacific coast we used rockfish because it was plentiful and delicious, but I’ve made it in the East with butterfish and even sole. The sauce can be as simple as one wishes, but cooking fish in its sauce and ready to serve from the foil or parchment is an economy of effort. The simplest sauce of all is plenty of butter, seasoned with lemon juice and chopped parsley or chives. Adding minced sautéed onion, a chopped cooked shrimp, sautéed sliced mushrooms, either 1 or all 3, gives the sauce a greater interest. Or these can be incorporated in a thickened sauce with yolks of eggs and different herbs and wine; if this thickened sauce is allowed to cool before adding it is easier to handle. Let your imagination and what you have aboard be your guide. Whatever you do, it will be delicious, with all the juice and flavor sealed in. Allow about ⅓ pound of fillet for each individual service and cut a heart-shaped piece of parchment or foil large enough to enclose the fish and its accompaniments and leave a generous rim, at least 1½ inches, to fold and refold. Oil the parchment, place the fish with one edge on the center line and add the sauce. If you use the thickened sauce allow about ½ cup for each service. Fold one side of the parchment over the other, turn in the doubled edge, then fold again, as if you were making a neat hem all around the half-circle. If you have any doubt about this holding, secure with paper clips. Place these parchment packages in a well-oiled baking pan and bake in a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the parchment is puffed and brown. Open and serve in the parchment or foil on a hot plate. The simplest way of all to treat a 1-inch-thick fillet of almost any fish is to line a baking pan with foil, dip the fillet in cream or undiluted evaporated milk, give it a flick of seasoned salt flavored with herbs, coat with fine bread crumbs, and bake in a slow oven for about 20 minutes. Or if you have heavy baking foil, wrap the fillet in it and serve it as an opened package. SOUFFLÉS Don’t overlook this method of serving any flavorsome cooked fish, or even canned flakes. It is especially delicious made with lake trout. 1 pound fish, cooked 1 cup fish liquor and rich milk 3 tablespoons butter or margarine Salt and pepper 3 tablespoons flour Speck of cayenne 3 eggs, separated Flake and bone fish. Use butter, flour and mixture of fish liquor and milk to make the sauce, season and incorporate beaten egg yolks. Combine with fish, then fold in beaten egg whites. Pour into greased casserole and bake in 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes or until the soufflé is brown and puffy. _Fish Poached in Sour Cream_ ♆ This is good with haddock, cod, sole, flounder and fish of similar texture. 2 pounds fillet 2 tablespoons butter Salt or seasoned salt 1 cup sour cream 1 medium onion, sliced thin Paprika Place seasoned fillets in well-buttered, shallow baking dish. Sauté onion in butter until transparent, spread on fish, mask with sour cream and sprinkle with paprika. Cover with foil or waxed paper. Bake either in moderate oven for about 20 minutes until flaky or cook on top of stove, using asbestos pads on a burner. Serves 4. _Casserole, Alaskan-Russian Style_ ♆ In the early days when Alaska belonged to the Czar of Russia this was always served as an open-faced pie and this was the way I first ate it. The huge pie had been made by Mrs. Kashevaroff who had been born in Kodiak and was the wife of the curator of the Alaska museum. The pie was to be our lunch on a day’s expedition up the Taku River. I had some misgivings about “fish pie” until I took the first bite. It was wonderful. Many Alaskans make it as a casserole, which is easier and every bit as good. I have made it of fresh salmon, canned salmon, halibut, rockfish and Eastern cod. 1 large onion, sliced thin Dry bread crumbs, rolled finely (optional) 6 tablespoons butter or margarine 3 tablespoons flour 1-pound can salmon or 1 pound of 2 cups rich milk cooked fish 2 cups cooked rice Salt 2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced ½ teaspoon nutmeg, or more Sauté onion in 2 tablespoons of butter until transparent. Drain can of salmon, discard skin and bones and flake, or cut cooked fish in bite-size pieces. Arrange in layers in well-greased casserole the rice, fish, eggs and sautéed onion with a niggardly scattering of crumbs between layers. The bread crumbs are not essential but a Pinkerton touch because they make for lightness. Use the remaining butter, flour and milk to make the White Sauce, season, and if your nutmeg is old and tired use plenty because the dish should have a definite taste of nutmeg. Pour sauce over layered ingredients, digging postholes with a fork to make sure sauce spreads evenly on bottom of casserole. Top with crumbs, dot with butter and bake in 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes. Serves 4. _Fish in Almond Sauce_ ♆ This is a change and for so simple a dish quite impressive. Salt 1 cup white wine or dry sherry, or more 4 medium fillets (sea bass, rockfish, 2 tablespoons butter sole, etc.) 4 green onions, chopped, or ¼ cup ½ cup light cream or undiluted minced yellow onion evaporated milk ½ cup chopped mushrooms ½ cup toasted almonds, diced or chopped ¼ teaspoon rosemary Place salted fillets, mushrooms, onions and rosemary in skillet. Add wine to almost cover and poach until fish is flaky but not broken. Remove fish to shallow baking pan. Reduce sauce in skillet to half, add butter and cream, bring to simmer and pour over fillets, spooning mushrooms and onions on top of fish. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Broil under medium flame or heat in a 400° F. oven for 10 minutes. Serves 4. _Salt Cod in Egg Sauce_ ♆ The early Portuguese fishermen who fished the Newfoundland banks even before Columbus discovered America had a wonderful idea when they filled their ships’ holds with salted cod. It can be cooked so many ways—all delicious. Available in wooden boxes or in fillets, it keeps well in a ventilated, cool place. We used it often during our life afloat. This, one of our favorites, is a little different from the proverbial creamed codfish with sliced hard-cooked eggs. To freshen the cod, follow directions by the packer. Wash it thoroughly in several changes of cold water, soak for 5 minutes in a tepid bath, then let it remain in cold water for at least 6 hours. 4 good-sized pieces salt cod Ground black pepper 4 tablespoons butter Dash of cayenne 3 tablespoons flour 3 egg yolks, beaten 2 cups rich milk Poach cod until barely tender and unbroken, then drain. Use butter, flour and milk to make White Sauce, season with black pepper and cayenne and combine with egg yolks, first warming the eggs with dribbles of the White Sauce. Return to heat, add fish, heat, but do not allow to boil. Serve with new potatoes or small white canned ones. Serves 4. _Fish Balls_ ♆ These are at their best cooked in deep fat to emerge brown, shaggy and incredibly light. However, they are well worth the compromise of shallow-fat cooking in a heavy skillet in accordance with galley safety rules. The basic recipe for salt cod is good for many kinds of fresh fish. In the _Triton_ we used rockfish and they were delicious. 1 cup flaked salt cod or diced raw Dash of pepper fish 2 cups diced raw potatoes Dash of paprika (optional) Salt, if using raw fish 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon butter Hot fat, oil or homogenized shortening If using salt cod, flake, discarding bones and working under water, then change water and allow to soak while peeling and dicing potatoes. Combine drained cod or raw fish with potatoes and boil until potatoes are tender. Drain and mash, beating until very light. Add butter, pepper, paprika, allow to cool a bit and then add egg. In using deep fat, drop mixture from a tablespoon, dipping tablespoon in fat each time so mixture will slide off easily. To skillet-fry, shape mixture in ½-inch cakes, roll in beaten egg, then fine bread crumbs and brown. These cakes fried in a bit of butter or margarine should be brown and crusty outside and very light inside. Drain fish balls on paper and serve with sweet mustard pickles. Serves 4. _Cioppino_ ♆ This dish was brought to California by the early Italian fishermen and became famous on the San Francisco water front. Even before the twenties each water-front cook had his own ideas as to wines and seasonings but all of them agreed the dish must have plenty of garlic, a rich tomato sauce, fish, shellfish and a Dungeness crab. I’ve eaten it made with red wine, white wine and with sherry. I think I prefer it with white wine but I found sherry an excellent substitute. When we were in fish, crab and clam waters I’ve used canned shrimp, and in the East I’ve used either blue crab or lobster. So substitutions are in order. Nor do you need all the shellfish listed. It’s a flexible dish. Use what you have. The following will make a very hearty meal for 6 to 8 hungry people. 1½ to 2 pounds firm-fleshed fish (sea 1 No. 2½ can tomatoes (3½ cups) bass, striped bass, rockfish or similar varieties) 1 pound raw shrimp ½ cup tomato purée or 2 cups tomato sauce 1 large Dungeness crab or lobster or 6 tablespoons chopped parsley 2 or 3 blue crabs 1 dozen clams or 1 quart mussels 2 cups white wine or 1½ cups sherry ½ cup olive oil Salt and ground black pepper 1 cup chopped onion Pinch of orégano (optional) 1 large clove garlic, minced Pinch of basil or thyme or rosemary 1 bell pepper, chopped Cut fish into large pieces. Shell and de-vein shrimp. Clean crab, tear off legs and crack shell, break body apart, shell and all. Scrub clams or mussels well for these go into pot unshucked. Heat oil, sauté onion, garlic and bell pepper a moment or two, add tomatoes, tomato purée, 4 tablespoons parsley, wine and seasonings. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Place fish, crab and shrimp in a large pot (reserving clams or mussels to be added toward end of cooking period.) Pour sauce over, cover and cook on low fire for 20 minutes, then add unshucked clams and mussels, and when they open the dish is ready. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and serve, if possible, with hot French bread. If you use canned shrimp or clams, add these at very last of cooking period. This is a recipe with which you can take liberties but I am sure it must have either a live lobster or crabs, cooked in their shells. Somehow it wouldn’t be cioppino if it didn’t. _Dungeness Crab_ ♆ To me this is the noblest crab of all, sweeter than the king crab and of a firmer texture than the blue, but I may be biased. Before our life afloat, when we lived in San Francisco where each well-known restaurant made a specialty of crab dishes and the Palace Court was famous for its variety of wonderful crab salads, I’d thought I’d known crabs at their best. Then I discovered that I hadn’t. It came about by accident. We’d stopped to see George Hunt, the son of a Hudson Bay Company manager who had married the daughter of a Haida chief. George had done a great deal of research in Tlingit culture for Franz Boas, and lived at Rupert Harbor where his sister, married to an Englishman, lived in the old Hudson Bay post. We’d expected to pull out the next morning and were saying good night when his sister, Mrs. Cadwalader, asked me if I couldn’t stay over for a crab hunt with her two daughters on the early ebb tide. The word crab to me was like a fire alarm to a Dalmatian. We stayed over. I was on the crab flat at 7 o’clock the next morning. In less than two hours our three big, woven Tlingit baskets were filled with crabs. Back at the post Mrs. Cadwalader admired our catch, then told her son to build a fire and heat two enormous kettles of sea water. At the time I thought she only meant that we were to have cooked crab when we departed and was a bit astonished when, in midmorning, paper plates and forks were brought out on the lawn. When the crabs were cooked she helped her son remove the aprons or lower shell, discarded stomach and spongy substance, dipped the crabs in hot water to clean them, cracked the shell of the legs on a flat rock, put a whole crab on a plate and handed it to me. It looked somewhat formidable until I took the first bite. It was superb, the best I’d ever tasted. While we were feasting in the sunshine on the great green lawn, her husband passed and she invited him to join us. He said he would wait until lunchtime. She smiled and remarked that white men let crabs cool off and lose flavor, then tried to restore it with mayonnaise or cocktail sauce. And how right she was! That has been our favorite way of cooking crabs ever since. On a beach cook-out we gathered the crabs while the sea water was heating, and when we went to live ashore we usually arranged to visit our favorite crab merchant, selected our crabs for liveliness and made arrangements to have them cooked just before our dinner hour. We called for them as they came out of the kettle, wrapped them in lots of paper and rushed them home and to the table. We’ve also bought live crabs, parked them in a bathtub and boiled them ourselves. But on that day in Rupert Harbor we learned what life afloat could mean in magnificent eating. And whether it was an Eastern lobster, fresh from the pot, or blue crabs and shrimp in more southern waters, or mussels gathered at low tide or clams dug far out on a clam flat, that the best way to cook them is the simplest. Do nothing to detract from the wonderful flavor of truly fresh sea food. This is a taste thrill that only those who live close to the source can really know. And don’t spoil it with overcooking. * * * * * A large Dungeness crab should be cooked 20 minutes from the time the water boils, medium crabs not as long. For blue crabs, the _Creole Cookbook_, which is excellent on sea food, says not a moment over 10 minutes. Lobster cooks more quickly than crab. Authorities differ greatly on the timing but we allowed from 10 to 15 minutes fora 1½-pound lobster. Shrimp become tough and stingy if overcooked. The liquid in which they are cooked should first be simmered with the seasonings, such as bay leaf, lemon juice, peppercorns, celery, and a bit of onion, and when well flavored add the shrimp. These should be simmered only until they have color and firmness. Cooking time depends on size. From 3 minutes for a large shrimp to 5 minutes for a jumbo size is the opinion or most experts. Schools differ as to whether the shrimp should be shelled and de-veined before cooking but I believe authorities agree this makes no difference in the flavor. A green shrimp, however, is more easily de-veined. Clams and mussels are ready to be eaten when the shells open. Discard any which do not open. Before cooking clams let them stand for several hours in a pail of sea water to which 1 cup of corn meal has been added. This desands them, cleans out the alimentary canal and sweetens the flesh. NOTE: Cooked, frozen Dungeness crabs are now available in fish markets throughout the country and are well worth exploring. Because of the large claws and compact body cavity, the meat is easily extracted and a 2½-pound crab, costing approximately $2.00, will yield 1 pound or more of solid crab meat. This can be used in any dish calling for fresh lump blue crab which has been cooked and picked, is less costly and has a delicious flavor. Cooked shellfish hold possibilities for many dinners. Each variety may be treated by itself or combined with others—fresh or canned. Basic dishes such as soufflés, casseroles, Newburgs, cakes, pies, loaves and hash or escalloped, baked, curried, deviled, à la king or Creole treatments will serve for different varieties of shellfish and boat menus can be adjusted to cruising waters. Shrimp is extremely flexible and works out well in most sea-food combinations. To me, however, clams seem the most versatile of all, are found on both seacoasts and are excellent in cans either minced or whole. _Deviled Crab_ ♆ This can be made either with cracker crumbs as the thickening agent or in White Sauce. Both are good but the cracker-crumb method is quick and easy. 1½ cups crab meat ½ teaspoon salt 1½ cups rolled cracker crumbs ½ teaspoon dry mustard 2 tablespoons minced onion Dash of cayenne ½ cup celery, diced fine (optional) 1 tablespoon minced green pepper ¾ cup milk or light cream Minced parsley 4 tablespoons butter Buttered crumbs 2 eggs, slightly beaten Flake crab meat. Combine cracker crumbs, onion, celery and moisten with milk or light cream. Melt butter in saucepan, add cracker mixture and simmer until thick. Remove from heat, add eggs, seasonings, then crab, put in crab shells or a greased casserole, sprinkle with parsley, top with buttered crumbs and bake in moderate oven for 20 minutes. Serves 4. _Deviled Crab in White Sauce_ ♆ 1½ cups crab meat ⅓ teaspoon dry mustard 2 cups Sauce Velouté made with Salt chicken broth 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten Dash of cayenne ⅓ cup sliced mushrooms, chopped 2 tablespoons minced parsley (optional) 2 tablespoons minced bell pepper Buttered crumbs (optional) Flake crab meat. Make Sauce Velouté, add egg yolks, mushrooms, bell pepper, seasonings and then flaked crab meat. Fill crab shells or put in casserole, sprinkle with parsley, top with buttered crumbs and bake. The sauce method permits more variations with mushrooms, pimientos, chopped onion, ripe olives, Worcestershire sauce or sherry. _Deviled Clams_ ♆ In case you haven’t gone clamming, this works well with canned minced clams. 3 tablespoons butter Dash of cayenne 1 tablespoon flour ½ teaspoon dry mustard 1 cup milk ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 cups drained minced clams 2 tablespoons sherry 2 tablespoons grated onion Buttered bread crumbs 1 cup clam juice Paprika 1 cup soft bread crumbs Use butter, flour and milk to make sauce, add egg, then other ingredients except buttered crumbs and paprika. Mix well, put in greased casserole, top with buttered crumbs and paprika. Bake in 425° F. oven for 20 minutes or until crumbs are browned. Serves 6. _Crab Louis_ ♆ This was one of the early famous dishes on the Pacific coast. It can be made of Dungeness or blue crab and is good with lobster. If you have no fresh tomatoes aboard, substitute canned artichoke hearts. Arrange a bed of shredded lettuce, cover with cooked body meat of 1 Dungeness crab or 2 blue crabs, garnish with quartered hard-cooked eggs, quartered tomatoes, shelled crab legs. Pour Sauce Louis over all. To make Sauce Louis use 1 cup homemade mayonnaise, ¼ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup chili sauce, 2 tablespoons grated onion, 2 tablespoons minced bell pepper, salt and lemon juice to taste. _Sea-food Scallop_ ♆ This can be used in all sorts of combinations of cooked fish and shellfish or two types of shellfish, whatever is at hand from the sea or from the can locker. ¼ cup butter 2 cups cooked, flaked crab ½ bell pepper, minced ¼ cup strips of pimiento 1 pound mushrooms, sliced ½ cup sherry 2 cups medium White Sauce Salt if needed 2 cups cooked shrimp Buttered crumbs Melt butter, sauté pepper and mushrooms, add White Sauce, shrimp, crab, pimiento, sherry and salt to taste. Put in casserole, top with crumbs and bake in hot oven for 10 minutes. Serves 6. _Newburg_ ♆ This is a basic recipe for cooked lobster, crab or shrimp and for raw scallops but if you use scallops, be very careful not to overcook them. Three minutes at the most, and do not let the sauce boil after you add the eggs. ¼ cup butter 2 cups diced shellfish 2 cups cream 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten ¼ teaspoon paprika ¼ cup sherry ¼ teaspoon nutmeg Salt, if needed Melt butter in double boiler, blend in cream and seasonings, bring to boiling point, stir in shellfish and cook over low heat until fish is thoroughly heated. Beat a few tablespoons of this hot mixture into egg yolks, then combine. Add sherry and salt if needed. _Clam Hash_ ♆ This can be just plain clam hash or you can ring changes by adding beaten eggs or grated cheese. Any way you choose will be good. ¼ cup minced onion ½ cup cream 5 tablespoons butter 2 eggs, lightly beaten (optional) 2 cups chopped clams 4 tablespoons grated cheese (optional) 2 cups diced, cooked potatoes Salt and ground black pepper Sauté onion in 2 tablespoons butter, combine with clams and potatoes. Melt remaining butter in skillet, season hash and spread evenly on bottom. Let this brown 10 minutes turning over the browned portions. Add cream, and if you are using eggs and cheese mix these with the cream, cover and cook until eggs are set. Otherwise cook until hash is browned and you can fold it like an omelet. Serves 4. _Clam Pie_ ♆ There are no hard and fast rules about this. Some cooks make this as a deep-dish pie with pastry topping, others use 2 crusts. Some versions include sautéed mushrooms or sliced hard-cooked eggs but the general procedure is the same for an 8-inch pie. ¼ cup chopped onion Pepper and salt 3 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons sherry 3 tablespoons flour 1½ cups chopped or minced clams ¾ cup rich milk or cream 1 tablespoon minced parsley ¾ cup clam juice Sauté onion in butter until transparent, add flour and stir for a few minutes until mixture bubbles, then add milk and clam juice, season and add sherry. Either arrange sauce and clams on bottom crust (and if you use sautéed mushrooms or sliced hard-cooked eggs add these, too, in layers) or combine all ingredients in buttered casserole, sprinkle with parsley, and top with pastry. Bake in hot oven until brown. Serves 6. This pie can be made of crab or lobster meat, of shrimp or oysters. In using crab, lobster or shrimp substitute chicken broth for clam juice. _Curried Shrimp_ ♆ 1½ cups green or canned medium-sized 2 cups chicken broth, either canned shrimp or made with bouillon cubes 4 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon grated onion 1½ teaspoons curry powder, or more ½ teaspoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons flour Salt and pepper If you use canned shrimp, rinse under cold water, drain and set aside. Melt butter, add curry powder and let it brown for ½ minute. Stir in flour, add chicken broth and season with onion, lemon juice, pepper, and salt if required, but remember canned shrimp are naturally salty. If you add more curry at this time, moisten it with cold broth or water. Add shrimp and simmer only long enough to cook the green shrimp or to heat the canned. The shrimp should be whole and firm. Serves 4. _Shrimp Creole_ ♆ ¼ cup butter or margarine Salt, pepper, speck of cayenne 1 clove garlic, minced Pinch of dried rosemary or basil or thyme 1 large onion, chopped ¼ teaspoon paprika ½ cup minced bell pepper 1½ cups cleaned cooked shrimp 2 cups cooked or canned tomatoes Melt butter, sauté garlic, onion and pepper until tender. Add tomatoes, season and simmer for about 15 minutes. (If this sauce does not seem thick enough, add 1 tablespoon flour mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water.) Add shrimp and heat thoroughly. Serves 4. _Sautéed Scallops_ ♆ 4 tablespoons butter 3 cups bay or sea scallops, cut in half across the grain ½ teaspoon salt Fine dry or toasted bread crumbs Dash pepper Minced Parsley ¼ teaspoon paprika Lemon wedges 2 tablespoons minced onion Melt butter, add seasonings and onion. Roll scallops lightly in bread crumbs and sauté in butter. Sauté only enough at one time to cover bottom of skillet without crowding. Toss until scallops are golden, about 5 minutes. Remove to heated dish, and continue to sauté the others. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges. Serves 4. _Mussels_ ♆ I think many of us forget how good these are and how many ways there are to serve them—escalloped, au gratin, baked, Creole and even curried. In the early days on the Monterey Peninsula we always gathered our own mussels, taking only those exposed at an extreme low tide. Sometimes we had a beach party and steamed them in a big kettle of sea water with garlic, then dipped them in drawn butter and lemon juice. In our more ambitious moments we carried them home and had a feast of mussels cooked in white wine. _Mussels Marinière_ ♆ This will serve 4 to 6 people depending on the fervor of the mussel eaters. 2 quarts mussels Salt and pepper ¼ cup butter 1 cup dry white wine or pale, dry sherry 1 clove garlic, sliced 3 tablespoons butter, blended with 4 teaspoons flour ¼ cup finely chopped onion Minced parsley 2 tablespoons minced celery (optional) ½ small bay leaf Wash mussels in several waters, scrub them with a stiff brush (preferably metal) and trim off beards with a knife or scissors. Melt ¼ cup butter in a heavy kettle, add garlic, onion, celery and sauté lightly, then add mussels, seasonings and wine. Cover very tightly and simmer until mussels open. Remove mussels, discard the top shell and put mussels in a dish to keep warm. Strain the steaming liquor into a saucepan and reduce until about 2 cups, then thicken by stirring in mixture of butter and flour. Simmer this sauce a few minutes, add parsley and pour over the warm mussels. * * * * * Mussels Poulette are made by proceeding as above, then combine the sauce with 2 egg yolks which have been beaten with ½ cup cream, add chopped parsley and pour over mussels. _Abalone_ ♆ Before the twenties when we lived in Carmel, abalone parties were our big events. We could get abalones only at extreme low tide and even then they were not out of water. The men wore bathing suits and pried the abalones from the rocks with discarded automobile springs. Then we gathered at someone’s house for a supper. Because we always had a plentiful supply we were prodigal in cutting off the tough outside portion to get the good meat. And this is one of the secrets of really tender abalone. Then we sliced the steaks to ⅓-inch thickness and tenderized them by pounding with wooden mallets or potato mashers. As we pounded we sang George Sterling’s abalone song. It had grown out of abalone parties and had a perfect rhythm for the job. He had left Carmel but returned often to visit and when he was with us for an abalone supper we all took a hand at extemporizing fresh verses. The song had about 30 verses although only 12 appeared in the printed version. We cooked the steaks in butter, with no batter, seasoned lightly with salt, and served from the skillets. The fry cooks attended strictly to their duties. Some even counted to make sure the steaks were cooked only a quarter of a minute on each side. I’ve never had such tender and luscious abalone since. Now remembering all the empty abalone shells which lined the paths and gardens there and the many feasts we had, it seems incredible that today the abalone can be gathered only by divers and is so scarce that it cannot be shipped legally out of the state. Little did we think this would ever happen as we blithely sang those verses: _Some folks boast of quail on toast_ _Because they think it’s tony_ _But I’m content to owe my rent_ _And live on abalone._ _He hides in caves beneath the waves_ _His ancient patrimony_ _And so ’tis shown that faith alone_ _Reveals the abalone._ _The more we take, the more they make_ _In deep-sea matrimony_ _Race suicide cannot betide_ _The fertile abalone._ Main Dishes These are the dishes which are not made exclusively of fish, flesh or fowl, or are difficult to classify under other headings. _Pasta_ ♆ Many years ago I was fortunate in knowing a charming woman, Italian-born and a superb cook, and from her I learned to appreciate the pastas. As she dressed a bowl or platter of spaghetti, it was a rite and as highly styled a performance as that of any chef dressing a salad. Every piece was coated with the sauce and yet the spaghetti was dry and light and the grated cheese served with it made it seem even lighter. It was an entirely different dish than the dank masses of pasta with an unappetizing sauce oozing around the edges that we see far too often. Naturally, even if one wished to make the Italian sauces which are thickened through long simmering with no added thickening agent it would not be practical for shipboard cooking. But a canned sauce, carefully selected and as nearly like the homemade as possible, does the work for you and is the basis for many variations. It can be augmented and varied with mushrooms, chicken livers, ground meat, sausage, olives, clams, anchovy, herbs or whatever you have aboard. Use imagination and extemporize. But the meal need never be “just another dish of spaghetti.” The cooking of the pasta is simple, but most important. No matter what the directions on the package say, never rinse the hot pasta with cold water and then rewarm. Its delicious flavor is gone forever. Follow package directions for the amount of salt and water, bring water to a vigorous boil, put the pasta in so slowly the water does not cease to boil, cook until it is firm to the teeth or as tender as you’d like, then either add 1 cup or less of cold water to stop the cooking at that instant and pour through a colander or strainer, or just strain. The spaghetti should be dressed at once and hurried to the table. If you plan to use the pasta for a baked dish it is well not to cook the spaghetti past the _al dente_ stage since it will be cooked in the oven. In general 1 pound of spaghetti will make a spaghetti dinner for 6 people. One of the simplest dressings for spaghetti and delicious, too, is butter and grated cheese. Drain the spaghetti, put in a warm bowl which contains melted butter, toss until well coated, add ground black pepper, more butter and lots of grated cheese of the Parmesan variety. If you wish you can add either minced parsley or basil. Serve on hot plates. I think my favorite of all is _Spaghetti Al Pesto_, but this requires fresh basil. However, in British Columbia we often anchored off a home with an herb garden. Perhaps you, too, may be as lucky. Mash 1 clove garlic and ¾ cup tender, young basil leaves in a mortar. (If you haven’t a pestle and a mortar use a stout bowl and the end of a heavy wooden handle of a cooking tool.) As you work garlic and basil leaves together, add gradually ¼ cup olive oil. When this is a paste stir in ¼ cup melted butter. This will dress ¾ a pound of hot, freshly drained spaghetti. Serve with plenty of grated Romano cheese. _White Clam Sauce_ ♆ This is a change from the tomato-flavored varieties and very good. ¼ cup olive oil ¼ teaspoon orégano (optional) 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper 1 cup water 8-ounce can minced or small whole clams, with juice ½ teaspoon minced parsley ½ teaspoon salt Heat oil, sauté garlic until transparent, stir water in slowly, add parsley, salt, orégano, pepper, clams and juice. Simmer. This will dress ½ pound cooked spaghetti. Yield, about 1½ cups sauce. _Baked Spaghetti_ ♆ I have used this recipe often for short-cut cooking with minced dried vegetable seasonings, doctored spaghetti sauce and canned sliced mushrooms, but fresh mushrooms make a lighter dish. ¼ pound sliced bacon, diced 2 tablespoons chili sauce 2 medium cloves garlic, sliced thin Salt, pepper 2 medium onions, sliced thin Pinch of orégano 1 bell pepper, diced ¼ teaspoon paprika ½ pound mushrooms, sliced 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 No. 2½ can tomatoes (3½ cups) 1 pound spaghetti Try out bacon pieces, sauté garlic, onions, bell pepper and mushrooms, add tomatoes, chili sauce and seasonings. Add seasonings gradually, tasting as you add, to make sure the sauce is as you like it. Let this simmer while you cook the spaghetti. Combine sauce and spaghetti in greased casserole and cook in moderate oven until blended. Serve with a big bowl of grated Romano cheese. Serves 6. _Macaroni and Cheese_ ♆ If you have no elbow macaroni aboard ship, broken pieces of plain macaroni will give the same lightness. ¾ pound sharp Cheddar cheese 1 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons butter or margarine ⅛ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 3 tablespoons flour Few grains cayenne 3 cups milk ½ teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon dry mustard ½ pound elbow macaroni Shred cheese with a fork. This is easier if the cheese is at room temperature. Melt butter in double boiler, add flour and cook a moment, then add milk slowly, and the seasonings. Stir until it has boiled. It should be of the consistency of light cream. Cook macaroni as directed, and pour through strainer. In a greased casserole arrange layers of macaroni and shredded cheese, ending with a layer of cheese. Pour sauce over, making postholes so that the sauce will spread on bottom of the dish. Bake 30 minutes in 400° F. oven. This is good with cold sliced ham. Serves 6. _Chicken Tetrazzini_ ♆ This can be made of either a 3-pound chicken, cooked and chilled, or a canned whole chicken. 1 can whole chicken Dash of paprika 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms Salt and pepper 6 tablespoons butter 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten 3 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons sherry 1½ cups chicken broth ½ pound thin spaghetti ½ cup light cream ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese Skin and cube meat of canned chicken. Sauté mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter and reserve. Use 3 tablespoons butter, flour and chicken broth to make the sauce, adding any juice from the can to the broth. Add light cream, seasonings, egg and sherry to sauce and combine sauce, chicken meat and mushrooms. Cook spaghetti and form into a ring in a greased casserole, with chicken mixture in the center. Sprinkle with grated cheese, dot with remaining tablespoon butter and bake in moderate oven for 20 minutes. I prefer making a ring of the spaghetti, for if you pour the sauce over the spaghetti, the sauce seeps down and somewhat destroys the interesting contrast. Serves 4 to 6. * * * * * Something akin to Chicken Tetrazzini can be made of 2 cups cubed cooked ham, 2 3-ounce cans of sliced mushrooms, spaghetti, and a rich Cream Sauce, using part chicken bouillon. _Eggs Brouillés_ ♆ This is the simplest way I know to make sure of soft, custardy scrambled eggs, but the method will not work with less than 5 eggs, which are just right for 2 people. Served with broiled bacon, new potatoes or small, white canned potatoes heated in butter, this makes a supper. 5 eggs 1 teaspoon cold water Salt and pepper 1½ tablespoons butter Always cook these in a double boiler. Brush the bottom and sides of pot with a bit of butter before adding eggs. Beat eggs lightly with a fork, add salt and pepper and cold water, cook stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Scrape eggs from bottom and sides of pot. Take out of the hot water when eggs are consistency of very heavy cream. Continue to stir while adding butter in small pieces. If eggs do not seem firm enough return to double boiler for a moment, still stirring. Adding butter at the last keeps these scrambled eggs soft and very tender. Serves 2. Eggs Brouillés may be varied by adding minced anchovies, minced canned chicken livers, sautéed chopped mushrooms, finely chopped cooked shrimp, or even a minced vegetable. _Eggs Foo Yung_ ♆ Sing, the first Chinese cook to make this for us, insisted there was no definite recipe for this delightful dish, and proved it by producing it on request no matter what was in the cupboard. He preferred to make it of chopped green onion and cooked shrimp with Chinese vegetables, water chestnuts, bean sprouts and bamboo shoots. But he wasn’t adamant and would use crab, cooked abalone, chopped ham or chicken for the meat or fish, and green peppers in the vegetables but water chestnuts and green onions were a must with him. He had a point there. Chopped water chestnuts impart a delightful crispness and chopped green onions give zest. There is, however, a definite proportion to the recipe. 1½ cups chopped shellfish and chopped 4 eggs vegetables 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil Soy sauce For this I usually allow ⅓ cup chopped water chestnuts, ¼ cup chopped green onion, ⅓ cup chopped cooked or canned shrimp, and make up the rest with chopped bamboo shoots or bean sprouts or a mixture of both, whatever I happen to have. Combine chopped ingredients and sauté in oil for a few minutes, then cool. Beat eggs lightly, season with soy sauce and combine with the cooled mixture. Cook as cakes, dropping a large spoonful into hot oil in a skillet. Brown, turn at once and brown the other side. These cakes are often served in a sauce but this is not necessary. The sauce is made with 1 cup hot chicken broth. Season it with soy sauce and thicken with 3 teaspoons cornstarch, stirred first in cold water, and then cook until the sauce is transparent. If you like a thin sauce use 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Serves 4. It is not necessary to have Chinese vegetables for this dish. Celery, green pepper, mushrooms and leeks can be substituted. Also, almost any canned or cooked meat or shellfish can be used in place of shrimp. And if you haven’t time or work space to make Eggs Foo Yung in cakes it is quite as authentic to cook them as an omelet. _Curried Hard-Cooked Eggs_ ♆ The eggs should be tender, coddled hard instead of boiled, and are added hot and whole to the sauce. 3 tablespoons butter 1½ cups rich milk or mixture of cream and milk ¾ teaspoon curry Salt and dash paprika 2 tablespoons flour 4 hard-cooked eggs Melt butter, add curry and heat for about ½ minute or less, only long enough to give off an acrid smell. Take from fire, add flour, mix thoroughly, then slowly pour in milk. Season, and if the sauce hasn’t enough curry, add this now. Shell the hot eggs and add them to the sauce. _Frittata_ ♆ This Italian dish is something between an omelet and a pancake and is served in wedges like a pie. But it has no thickening agent, only cooked vegetables, beaten eggs and herbs. The vegetables are usually those which the Italians are particularly fond of, such as artichoke hearts, string beans, zucchini, peas, spinach, mushrooms, and can be a mixture of 2 or 3, or 1 vegetable alone. Zucchini is a great favorite. The vegetables may be either fresh or canned. It’s a hearty luncheon or supper dish and needs only bread and butter to make a complete meal. 3 tablespoons olive oil Sliced mushrooms (optional) 1 clove garlic, minced (optional) 1 teaspoon fresh herbs or ½ teaspoon dried parsley, thyme or basil 1 small onion, chopped or, even Salt and pepper better, several scallions 2 cups thinly sliced vegetables 8 eggs, or more, slightly beaten 1 cup solid-pack canned tomatoes Heat oil in skillet, sauté garlic and onion over low heat, add sliced vegetables, tomatoes, mushrooms and seasonings. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, then cool. Italian cooks differ on the next procedure. Some pour eggs over the cooled vegetables, cook for a moment, then put in 350° F. oven until eggs are set. Others mix eggs and cool vegetables in a bowl then return to hot skillet and cook like an omelet, lifting the outer edges and tilting skillet to let the soft eggs in the middle run outward. Either way is good. The frittata may be sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and browned quickly under low broiler heat. Serves 6 to 8. _Quiche_ ♆ This cheese-and-bacon custard pie has been developed into so many variations it is impossible to list them all. The basic recipe is simple and with that as a guide you can do almost anything to a quiche. Rich pastry for a 9-inch shell Pinch nutmeg 12 slices bacon ½ teaspoon salt ½ pound cheese, Swiss or Gruyère or Speck of cayenne aged sharp cheddar 4 eggs 2 cups light cream 1 tablespoon flour (optional) 1½ tablespoons butter, melted Line a 9-inch pie pan with pastry and bake in a 450° F. oven for 10 minutes. Crisp bacon, drain and crumble. Shred or grate cheese or cut Swiss cheese into paper-thin slices. Beat eggs with flour, nutmeg, salt and cayenne, combine with cream and add butter. Cover partially baked piecrust with crumbled bacon, then add remainder of bacon and cheese in layers. Pour custard of eggs and cream over layers, and bake in a 350° oven until custard is set and a silver knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cut into wedges and serve at once. Serves 6. Or you can use only 4 slices bacon and make up the difference with ham, sliced paper-thin and shredded. Then use dry mustard instead of nutmeg and add a few thin slices of sautéed onion. Instead of the ½ pound bacon use a like amount of cooked or canned sea food—lobster, shrimp, crab, flaked sardines or tuna—and proceed as in the basic recipe. Or make a California-style quiche by adding 1 cup sliced ripe olives to basic recipe. Sautéed sliced mushrooms and a bit of grated onion add an interesting flavor. _An All Sea-Food Quiche_ ♆ This can be made without cheese or bacon and is delicious made of either crab or scallops. The crab must be cooked but the scallops are used raw and marinated for 1 hour in a little sherry with chopped parsley. Bay scallops are used whole, but sea scallops should be cut in half. 9-inch pastry shell 1 tablespoon flour (optional) 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon minced onion Pinch of nutmeg 1 tablespoon minced celery or minced Dash of cayenne water chestnuts (optional) 4 eggs, lightly beaten 2 cups light cream 1½ cups crab meat or scallops Bake pastry shell 10 minutes in 450° F. oven. Melt butter and sauté onion and celery. In another dish combine eggs, flour and seasonings, add cream, sautéed onions and celery, then crab meat or scallops. Pour into partially baked piecrust and bake in a 350° oven until custard is set and a silver knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serves 6. _Pizza_ ♆ This is available in a package pizza-mix. Also, a quick dough can be made of Bisquick with any of the many variations for the filling. Here is one. 2 cups Bisquick Ground black pepper ½ cup water 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1¾ cups well-drained canned 1 small onion, minced tomatoes or 8-ounce can tomato sauce ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese ½ pound sharp cheese, chopped or Minced parsley shredded 1 can sardines, flaked, or 2 small cans anchovies, chopped Heat oven to 425° F. Mix Bisquick and water, roll into a circle ¼ inch thick, put on baking sheet and form a rim. Arrange ingredients on dough in order given. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Or make a raised dough, if you have a warm place for it to rise. 1 package hot-roll-mix ¼ teaspoon orégano, crushed ½ pound mushrooms, sliced Squeeze of garlic 2 tablespoons butter ½ pound Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin, or sharp Cheddar, shredded 1 pound link pork sausage ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese ½ cup minced onion Minced parsley 8-ounce can tomato sauce ⅔ cup tomato paste Prepare roll-mix according to directions on the package, and allow to rise until light. Sauté mushrooms in butter and remove. Pan-fry sausage in same skillet until slightly brown, remove and slice. Pour off drippings except for 1 tablespoon and sauté onion. Add tomato sauce and paste, orégano and garlic, and correct seasonings. When dough is light, divide in 2 parts, flatten and place in 2 pans of 12 × 8 inches or on a baking sheet, making a slight rim around each rectangle. Brush the dough with olive oil or sausage drippings. Arrange half the Mozzarella or Cheddar cheese on dough, cover with tomato mixture, then top with remainder of the cheese and sliced sausage links. Add sautéed mushrooms, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Bake in 450° F. oven for 20 minutes. Cut in wedges and serve hot. Serves 6 to 8. _Cheese Soufflé_ ♆ A never-fail recipe. And on a boat, where you have captive guests, you have no worry lest they won’t arrive when the soufflé is ready. 4 tablespoons butter or margarine ¼ teaspoon dry mustard 4 tablespoons flour Dash of Worcestershire sauce 1½ cups milk ½ teaspoon paprika (optional) 1 teaspoon salt ½ pound aged Cheddar cheese, crumbled (2 cups) Few grains cayenne 6 eggs, separated Melt butter in a double boiler, add flour and blend, then add milk slowly. Season. Cook until smooth and thickened, stirring constantly. Add cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat, combine with beaten egg yolks, cool slightly, then slowly fold this mixture into beaten egg whites. Pour into 2-quart buttered casserole. With tip of a tablespoon draw a circle about 2 inches from edge of dish, so top will rise and soufflé may wear its hat at a jaunty angle. Bake in preheated oven at 300° F. for 1¼ hours. Serves 6. _Cheese Puff_ ♆ 8 slices breed ½ inch thick, crusts 2 cups milk removed Butter ½ teaspoon salt ½ pound sharp Cheddar cheese, Few grains cayenne coarsely grated or shredded 3 eggs, beaten ¼ teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon grated onion (optional) Spread bread lightly with butter and cut into cubes. Arrange cubes and cheese in a buttered casserole. Combine eggs, milk, seasonings and onion, and pour over bread and cheese. Bake in a slow oven (325° F.) until a silver knife inserted in center comes out clean, about ¾ of an hour. Serves 6. _Welsh Rabbit_ ♆ This is never stringy, can be reheated in a double boiler or thinned and used as a cheese sauce. ½ pound aged Cheddar cheese 1 cup milk, or more, heated 1 tablespoon flour 1 tablespoon butter ¼ teaspoon mustard ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce Few grains cayenne 1 egg, slightly beaten Have cheese at room temperature, crush with fork, mix with flour, mustard and cayenne, then egg. Cook in double boiler, adding milk gradually and until desired consistency. Add butter and Worcestershire sauce. Correct seasoning and serve on toast or crackers. Serves 4. NOTE: If you use 2 eggs the rabbit will be slightly thicker but the flavor will not be quite so sharp. A good Welsh rabbit may be bought in cans and heated in a double boiler. A little beer stirred in while heating adds zest to the rabbit. _Eight-Bells Breakfast_ ♆ 6 slices bacon Salt and pepper 1 small onion, sliced 4 eggs, slightly beaten 4 cooked potatoes, sliced Place bacon in a cold skillet, fry until crisp, remove, drain on paper and crumble. Sauté onion in bacon fat until transparent, add potatoes, season, and fry until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Add eggs, crumbled bacon and scramble together until eggs are set. Serves 4. _Paella_ ♆ In Spanish cuisine this has many variations and all of them are good. On the Pacific coast I’ve eaten it often made of fish, shellfish and rice, but the combination of chicken, ham and shellfish has become the most popular in America. It’s a simple dish, despite the long list of ingredients, and well adapted to galley cooking since it can be made of either canned or raw foods, and either cooked on top of stove or baked in oven. Baking a paella makes a lighter dish, I believe, but since the portable cruiser oven is hardly large enough for a paella for a crowd, I suggest the Dutch-oven method. ½ cup olive oil ¼ teaspoon saffron, dissolved in hot broth or water (optional) 3-pound chicken, cut up, or 1 can of 1 pound raw or canned shrimp whole chicken 1 large onion, chopped 1 small can pimientos, chopped 1 green pepper, minced 1 dozen or more small clams or 8-ounce can whole clams 1½ cups uncooked rice 1 teaspoon salt 1 tomato, cut up, or 3 tablespoons Ground black pepper tomato sauce 1 cup cooked cubed ham 3 cups chicken broth, heated Heat olive oil, and if using raw chicken, brown the pieces lightly, remove and reserve. Canned chicken should only be cut in pieces and not browned. Sauté onion and green pepper until soft, add unwashed rice and stir until rice is golden. Add tomato, ham, chicken broth, saffron, fresh chicken and pimientos. Season. Cover and cook either in a 350° F. oven or over low heat on top of stove until rice has begun to soften. If you use raw shrimp and fresh clams, add these now but if you use canned shellfish and pieces of canned chicken add them later near end of cooking period but allow time enough for flavors to blend. This dish should be dry and the rice soft when liquid has been absorbed. Take the cover off for at least 5 minutes to allow rice to dry thoroughly. Serves 6 to 8. NOTE: There are almost as many versions of this Paella à la Valenciana as there are paella cooks. Some add minced garlic, others add ½ pound of cooked cod or haddock or fish of similar variety, or lobster or mussels or even vegetables such as peas or cooked white kidney beans. Some recipes call for cooked chicken added with the raw rice but unless this was undercooked it might possibly fall apart while the rice was softening. It is one of those convenient dishes in which you can use what is at hand but chicken, ham and shellfish of some sort are basic requirements for this particular paella, which is often spoken of as the queen of all the paellas. _Lettuce with Bacon-Custard Dressing_ ♆ I imagine this was an old-fashioned version of wilted lettuce but I have never been able to find it in any cookbook. It was a favorite in my family when garden lettuce was in season. Since then I have worked out the recipe for the dressing as I remembered seeing my mother make it. And I have discovered you do not have to grow your own garden lettuce. Boston lettuce is an excellent substitute. 2 heads Boston lettuce or like amount 3 tablespoons cider vinegar diluted of tender, young garden lettuce with 2 tablespoons cold water 12 slices bacon, diced 3 eggs, slightly beaten Small piece of ham, diced (optional) Salt and pepper Wash lettuce, dry and tear or wring into shreds. Put bacon into cold skillet, add ham and try out slowly over low fire until bacon is crisp. Remove from fire and cool enough so grease does not spatter as you add the vinegar. Reheat, dribble a bit of hot dressing into beaten eggs, then combine. Cook over very low heat, using asbestos pads and stirring constantly until sauce has begun to thicken. It should be a soft, almost liquid custard. Spoon over shredded lettuce, a little at a time, while cutting up lettuce between a sharp knife and fork until it is thoroughly wilted and blended with sauce. Serve with whole-wheat bread and butter. Serves 4. NOTE: This is a flexible dish. If you are very hungry add more bacon, but if you desire a lighter meal cut down the bacon and add another egg. _Boiled Rice, Oriental-Style_ ♆ This is especially adapted to galley cooking since it requires no sieves and no rinsing afterwards. Chinese cooks have several methods for determining the amount of water used. Our first Chinese cook was firm in his conviction that the water above the rice should reach the first joint of his forefinger. His successor was equally adamant about using the flat-of-the-hand measurement. In my efforts to achieve a dry, fluffy rice I wavered between the two schools and it was a great relief finally to come upon a government bulletin which gave the water in cups, but even here there was a warning that the amount would be different for different types of rice. I find the following works perfectly with Patna rice. 1 cup rice, unwashed 1 teaspoon salt 1½ cups tepid water Put rice, water and salt in kettle with heavy bottom and tight-fitting lid. Bring rice to boil quickly, then turn down heat. If some steam escapes it only means the grains are boiling furiously as they should. In about 10 minutes begin to watch for post holes where the last of the water is steaming up. Then immediately put kettle on very low heat, piling asbestos pads so that rice will only steam. It should be dry and fluffy in about 30 minutes and can be left to steam for an hour or 2 with no more watching. However, if you fear rice is sticking to pot, scatter a few drops of hot water over rice and the steam from this will soften that hard layer at bottom. Chinese cooks never bothered to do this and didn’t care if there was a bottom layer of burned rice. But I, despite all their warnings, will even gently lift the cooked grains with a fork to let them steam. Yield, about 3 cups. NOTE: Rice from Persia is now available in some shops which specialize in imported cereals and legumes. This rice is as light and delicate and has as fine a flavor as Chinese rice, which can no longer be exported. And if you are one of those who has mourned the lack of Chinese rice, the Persian variety is an answer. It is somewhat expensive but so satisfying that a Chinese-rice addict is more than repaid. _French-Canadian Browned Rice_ ♆ This is a campfire dish of the French-Canadian _voyageurs_. It is particularly good served with meat in brown gravy. 3 tablespoons bacon fat Boiling water 1 cup rice, unwashed Salt and pepper Heat fat in heavy skillet, add rice and stir constantly while rice colors to a faint brown. Take from heat, cool enough so grease will not spatter when you add water to make about ¾ inches of liquid in bottom of skillet. Season with salt and pepper, return to heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally. When this liquid cooks away and rice is beginning to dry add boiling water, a little at a time. The continual additions of boiling water cook the rice in steam so it will not become waterlogged and spongy. Cook until rice is fluffy and tender. Yield, about 3 cups. Adding a few sliced water chestnuts to this browned rice near the end of the cooking makes an interesting contrast in texture. _Wild Rice_ ♆ Nowadays this is a luxury as I know very well. When we lived in the Canadian wilderness we bought 50 pounds of wild rice every fall, paying the Ojibwa harvesters 10 cents a pound. Naturally we never ate any other kind. To us, store rice was much too expensive. But wild rice is good with chicken dishes and you might want a gala dinner sometime. ½ cup wild rice ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup of cold water I do not wash wild rice because this destroys the natural oil, but I pour enough water over it to float the chaff off. Put rice, water and salt in double boiler. As rice begins to cook I lift the grains with a fork a few times to help them steam. In 2 hours or less rice will be dry and fluffy. Serves 4. Adding a few sliced water chestnuts to wild rice at the end of the cooking is an elegant idea. _Risotto_ ♆ This rice dish is easily made and can be varied in all sorts of ways. ¼ cup olive oil ⅛ teaspoon saffron (optional) or pinch of dried thyme or basil (optional) ½ cup chopped onion ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup uncooked rice 2 cups hot chicken broth Salt and pepper Heat olive oil, sauté onion until transparent, add unwashed rice and cook, stirring, until rice is golden. Add chicken broth and seasonings. If you use saffron soak it for a few minutes in hot water or broth. Cover and cook until rice is tender, adding more broth if necessary. Add cheese when rice is almost soft. Serves 4 to 6. Almost anything in canned or cooked meats and fish can be added to risotto to give more substance for hearty appetites. Canned chicken livers, shredded crab meat, lobster, minced anchovy fillets, chopped beef or chopped calf’s liver are only the beginning of a long list. A few sliced water chestnuts make an interesting contrast in textures. The flavor can be changed by substituting tomato juice for all or part of the chicken broth. _Fried Rice_ ♆ This is a most convenient dish and a grand way to take care of leftovers. It’s so good you even welcome leftovers. It can be made of anything. Although Chinese cooks prefer to make it with cooked pork, shredded, I like it best made of mixture of meat or fish. In my long career of substitutions I have used bits of ham, corned beef, shredded shrimp, shredded crab, even minced liverwurst in place of cooked pork, also ripe olives, minced green peppers, chopped water chestnuts in place of mushrooms, and Worcestershire sauce in place of soy sauce. So I’ll give the basic recipe and let you roll your own. ¼ cup peanut or salad oil ¼ cup sliced mushrooms, drained 3 cups cooked rice 2 eggs 1 cup cooked shredded pork 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons shredded green onion or minced yellow onion Heat oil in skillet, add rice and cook for a few minutes until rice has absorbed oil, add meat, onion and mushrooms and cook until these are hot. Beat eggs, add soy sauce, and if you substitute Worcestershire sauce, use only half as much. Add eggs to skillet, scramble everything together and take off fire when eggs are set. Fried rice is good served on a bit of shredded lettuce just like tacos. But adding this touch is not authentically Chinese. Serves 6 to 8. _Jambalaya_ ♆ This is a natural galley dish. It can be made of cooked chicken and ham, with or without sausage, shrimp or lobster, and may be cooked on top of stove or in oven. It is a complete meal-in-one-dish, can be made in advance and reheated. 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 No. 2 can tomatoes (2½ cups) 1 cup finely chopped onion 1½ cups chicken broth 1 cup finely chopped bell pepper 1 cup uncooked rice 1 clove garlic, minced ½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed 1 cup diced cooked chicken 1 tablespoon minced parsley 1 cup diced cooked ham Salt and a generous grinding of black pepper 8-ounce can pork sausage or increase chicken and ham by this amount Melt fat, preferably in a Dutch oven, sauté onion, bell pepper and garlic until soft. Add chicken, ham and cut-up sausages. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes before adding tomatoes, broth, unwashed rice and seasonings. Cover and either cook in moderate oven (300° F.) for about 1 hour or until rice is soft, or finish cooking over very low heat on top of stove, stirring occasionally to make sure rice is not sticking. Serves 6 to 8. Shrimp Jambalaya is made in very much the same way. Allow 2 pounds of raw dressed shrimp or a combination of cooked shrimp and cooked diced lobster. _Enchiladas or Tacos_ ♆ These are easily made with canned tortillas. In Mexico a café owner once explained to me that tacos always contained meat and were sometimes served on shredded lettuce while enchiladas had only chopped onion and grated cheese. This rule, however, seems to hold no longer, and I doubt if there is any distinction made between the two. Canned enchilada sauce Finely chopped filling of lamb, beef, pork, chicken or a mixture, and chopped onion 2 tortillas per person Grated cheese Hot salad oil If the enchilada sauce needs pepping up try a bit of chili powder and crushed cumin seed. Dip tortillas very quickly into oil, then in sauce, spread with filling moistened with sauce, roll up, fasten with toothpicks, sprinkle with plenty of grated cheese and place in an oiled baking pan. Heat and serve with Refried Beans. _Mother Machado’s Tamale Supreme_ ♆ Mother Machado was famous for her tamales. No one who had eaten them ever visited Monterey Peninsula without carrying home at least a half-dozen. During the Second World War she could no longer get cornhusks to her liking and rather than use synthetic ones she closed her shop. But before this happened she had invented this casserole which her many fans refused to call anything so dull as tamale pie. _=Crust=_: 1½ cups hominy grits 1 No. 2 can whole white corn (2½ cups) 3 cups boiling salted water ½ cup margarine, melted 1 No. 2 can whole white hominy (2½ 1 tablespoon olive oil cups) Cook hominy grits in water for 30 minutes. Drain canned hominy and corn and grind using medium blade of grinder, add margarine and olive oil and combine with cooked grits. Pour mixture into buttered shallow casserole or baking pan, spreading thinly to cover bottom and sides, but reserve enough of mixture to use as a topping. _=Filling=_: 2 pounds stewing beef, free of fat 3 teaspoons chili powder, or more and gristle 1 pound boneless pork, free of fat ½ teaspoon orégano, crushed 1 bay leaf ¼ teaspoon crushed cumin seed 1 clove garlic, minced Salt and pepper 2 medium onions, chopped 18 large ripe olives, pitted 3 tablespoons flour 3 8-ounce cans chili sauce such as Las Palmas or equal amount of tomato sauce seasoned with chili powder, orégano and cumin seed Grind beef and pork through coarse blade of grinder, add bay leaf, garlic, onion and simmer in beef broth or water, using no more liquid than is necessary. When meat is tender, add flour, mix well, then add either canned chili sauce or seasoned tomato sauce. This filling should be fairly hot if you like Mexican food. Add ripe olives. Pour filling into lined casserole and top with thin crust of hominy mixture. Bake 1 hour at 350° F. temperature, covered the first ½ hour, then uncovered to brown. Let dish stand at least 10 minutes out of the oven before serving. Serves 6 to 8. _Cassoulet_ ♆ This is available in cans, imported from France, but is expensive, while the homemade product is anything but costly and a fine meal-in-one-dish for a crowd. It can be made of dried pea beans or white kidney beans but is far more delicate in flavor when made of the dried haricot, the mature seed of the French string bean. The meat can be chicken, ham or any cooked meat but lamb seems particularly good in this dish. 1 pound haricot beans 1 clove garlic, minced 1 small clove garlic 1 cup lamb stock Herb bouquet of parsley, thyme and ¼ cup tomato purée bay leaf Salt and pepper ¾ cup sherry 1 pound lamb with no fat or gristle, ½ teaspoon cornstarch cut in 2-inch cubes 1 pound link sausage ½ cup crumbs, buttered ½ cup chopped onion ¼ cup chopped parsley Soak beans overnight, drain, cover with fresh warm water, add clove garlic, herb bouquet, salt and simmer until not quite tender. Drain beans, discard garlic and herb bouquet. In the meanwhile cube lamb, add salt and pepper and simmer until tender. Drain and reserve stock. Brown sausage in skillet, remove and if links are large, cut in half. Sauté onion and minced garlic in sausage fat until transparent, remove and add to cooked sausage. Heat lamb stock in skillet, add tomato purée, sherry and cornstarch (which has been stirred to thin paste in either water or sherry). Season with salt and pepper. Then arrange in large pot or casserole a layer of beans, then a layer of lamb, then a layer of sausage. Continue until all material has been used. Add stock and wine from skillet, correct for seasoning. Top dish with buttered crumbs and parsley. Cover casserole and bake in 350° F. oven until beans are tender. Like so many combinations of meat and vegetables in sauces, this warms up well and is even better on the second day. Serves 6. Chicken With an assortment of canned chicken in the main-store locker you have the makings for any number of quick and easy meals. The whole canned chicken with the broth in which it was cooked is the most economical for a chicken dinner for 4 or 6 people, but in assembling the dish remember that you are using thoroughly cooked chicken so be careful not to overcook it. The smaller cans of chicken meat work well in chicken combined with other foods. _Chicken Pie_ ♆ 1 can whole chicken Dash of mace (optional) 10 small onions, fresh or canned Pinch dried tarragon (optional) 7 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 cup light cream or undiluted evaporated milk 6 tablespoons flour 3 tablespoons sherry 2 cups chicken broth Pastry for top crust Disjoint chicken. If you use raw onions simmer until these are almost tender, then drain. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, melt butter, add flour, cook until this bubbles, stir in broth from the canned chicken, season, then add cream slowly and cook, stirring, until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes and then cool. When sauce and onions are cold, arrange chicken and onions in a 2-quart casserole and pour sauce over. Top with pastry and make incisions to let steam escape. Bake at 450° F. for 10 minutes until piecrust rises, reduce heat to 350° and bake 20 minutes longer. Serves 6. This pie can be varied in many ways. Canned baby carrots slit lengthwise in quarters or canned carrot sticks go well with onions and chicken and are different from the proverbial peas. Sautéed mushroom caps, or stems and pieces, are very good. Or a few diced toasted almonds will change the flavor. To give more meat content, add small cocktail sausages which have been sautéed, or put a piece of ham in the bottom of the casserole. Or use a biscuit topping, either plain or with a pinch of rosemary or whatever herb you like. _Chicken Fricassee_ ♆ And if you like real pieces of chicken in your fricassee disjoint but don’t bone the chicken, discarding only the smaller rib bones. 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 cup cream 4 tablespoons flour 1 can whole chicken 2 cups chicken broth 2 teaspoons lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste Use butter, flour, chicken broth from can and cream to make the sauce and cook it thoroughly before spooning over the disjointed chicken. Add lemon juice and then cook only long enough to heat. Season and serve with rice or noodles or hot baking-powder biscuits. Serves 6. This sauce can be varied by using less cream or no cream and adding more chicken broth to make up the difference. Or it can be thickened with an egg yolk. Vary the seasoning by omitting lemon juice and using a pinch of tarragon or thyme or ½ teaspoon paprika or 3 tablespoons sherry, or one herb and wine. * * * * * Make _Chicken Indiana_ by using rich milk instead of cream, a dash of cayenne and a generous pinch of saffron dissolved in chicken broth. _Boned Chicken Fricassee_ ♆ This too can be dressed up in all sorts of ways. 1 can whole chicken Salt and pepper 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms Dash of cayenne 4 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons cream 3 tablespoons flour 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten 1½ cups chicken broth 2 tablespoons sherry (optional) Skin and bone canned chicken and cut in pieces. Sauté drained mushrooms in 1 tablespoon butter and add to chicken. Make sauce of the remaining butter, flour, chicken broth and seasonings. Simmer until thickened, add cream, combine with egg yolk and pour over chicken and mushrooms. Heat either in casserole in slow oven or cook over low heat on top of stove. Serves 4 to 6. Canned whole chicken, boned, is convenient for any of the recipes using cooked chicken, such as chicken à la king, chicken Tetrazzini, hash, soufflé or in a casserole combined with other foods when serving 4 to 6 people. For serving 2 or 3, the smaller cans of boned chicken are more practical and you’ll have no nuisance leftovers in the refrigerator. _Diced Chicken with Ripe Olives_ ♆ 4 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 cups diced chicken 4 tablespoons flour 3 tablespoons sliced ripe olives 1 cup rich milk or light cream 2 tablespoons sliced pimiento 1 cup chicken broth 2 tablespoons sherry Salt Cooked broad noodles Grated Parmesan cheese Using butter, flour, milk and chicken broth, make Cream Sauce in double boiler, season, add chicken, olives, pimiento, sherry and cook until hot. Pour sauce and chicken over noodles in a casserole, sprinkle with cheese and heat in oven until cheese has melted. Serves 4 to 6. _Chicken Terrapin_ ♆ 4 tablespoons butter 3 hard-cooked egg whites, slivered 4 tablespoons flour 1½ cups diced cooked chicken 2 cups milk, warmed 2 tablespoons slivered ripe olives 3 hard-cooked egg yolks 2 tablespoons slivered pimiento ½ teaspoon dry mustard, or more Juice of 1 lemon Dash of pepper 1 teaspoon salt Use butter, flour and milk to make White Sauce. Mash egg yolks, add mustard and seasonings. Combine yolks with sauce and cook in double boiler until thickened. Add egg whites, chicken and rest of ingredients. Serve over cooked noodles or rice or, if you have a heated oven, in patty shells, covered with buttered crumbs. Serves 6. _Chicken Hash_ ♆ This has any number of versions. It can be varied with sautéed mushrooms, chopped olives, diced cooked celery or potatoes, diced carrots and with Cream Sauce or heavy cream seasoned with herbs, sherry or toasted almonds. It can be baked either in oven, with or without a topping of grated cheese, or heated in double boiler with cream or cooked in skillet with Cream Sauce. In general there should be half as much sauce, gravy or cream as dry ingredients. _Moist Creamy Chicken Hash, Oven-Baked_ ♆ 2 cups diced canned chicken 1 tablespoon minced onion 1 cup diced cooked potatoes 1 tablespoon minced green pepper (optional) 1 cup heavy cream, or ¼ cup melted Salt and pepper butter and ¾ cup milk Combine all ingredients in a casserole and bake in moderate oven until bubbling hot, about 20 minutes. Serves 4. _Baked Chicken Hash with Vegetables_ ♆ 2 cups medium Cream Sauce ¼ cup finely diced cooked celery 1½ cups diced cooked chicken Salt and pepper ½ cup finely diced cooked potatoes 2 tablespoons sherry ¼ cup diced cooked carrots Grated Parmesan cheese Combine all ingredients except cheese, place in buttered casserole, sprinkle with cheese and bake in moderate oven until thoroughly hot. Serves 4 to 6. _Skillet Almond Chicken Hash_ ♆ 2 cups medium Cream Sauce ½ cup sautéed mushrooms 1½ cups diced cooked chicken ½ cup diced toasted almonds Combine all ingredients and heat in skillet. Serve on toast or with baked potatoes or over cooked noodles. Serves 4. _Oriental Chicken_ ♆ ¼ cup butter 1 tablespoon soy sauce ½ clove garlic, minced 2 cups diced cooked chicken 3 tablespoons flour Salt and pepper 2 cups chicken broth Melt butter, sauté garlic, add flour, cook until bubbling, add broth and soy sauce, stir until well mixed. Add chicken, season and serve on fried Chinese noodles. Serves 4 to 6. _Smothered Chicken_ ♆ This is of course a more luscious dish when made of frying chicken, browned in butter or margarine before adding to the sauce, but canned chicken is a very good substitute. 4 tablespoons butter Salt and pepper 4 tablespoons flour 2 cups diced cooked chicken 2 cups chicken broth 3 tablespoons sherry ½ cup light cream Make sauce of butter, flour, broth and cream. Season and add chicken and sherry and either heat on top of stove or bake in casserole with cooked thin spaghetti. Serves 4. * * * * * Smothered Chicken can be varied by adding any of the following: diced cooked ham, sautéed mushrooms, sliced hard-cooked eggs, pimientos, sliced water chestnuts, slivered toasted almonds, or a topping of grated cheese and paprika. Or smother the chicken in a different sauce altogether, making sure, however, it is one which goes well with whatever ingredients you have added to the chicken. If you haven’t added mushrooms, bake in Mushroom Sauce or a can of cream of mushroom soup, thinned with cream. Or if the dish is mostly chicken without too great a mixture of flavors, bake in a canned clam or crab bisque, thinned with cream. _Curried Chicken_ ♆ For this use the selected white meat which is available in cans of various sizes. 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup chicken broth 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon curry 1 cup light cream 3 tablespoons flour 1½ to 2 cups diced canned chicken Melt 2 tablespoons butter, sauté onion until transparent, then remove with slotted spoon. Add remaining butter and then curry and cook for ½ minute or until the curry gives off an acrid odor. Remove from heat, stir in flour, return to heat and add chicken broth slowly, stirring constantly, and cook for 5 minutes. Season. Stir in cream, add chicken, and let simmer until flavors blend. Correct seasoning and add more curry if required. Serve with fluffy rice. Serves 4. _Chicken Divan_ ♆ If you have a broiler this makes an easy dinner. 4 tablespoons butter Salt, dash of cayenne 3 tablespoons flour 1 package frozen broccoli or 12 spears canned asparagus 1 cup rich milk 4 portions cooked or canned sliced white meat 1 cup light cream Grated Parmesan cheese ¼ cup grated cheese 2 egg yolks, beaten 2 tablespoons sherry Make the Cream Sauce, add cheese, egg yolks and sherry. Season. Cook broccoli until barely tender or heat spears of asparagus. Arrange sliced chicken at one end of a shallow baking dish, hot vegetable at the other, meeting in the middle so bottom of dish is covered. Pour sauce over, sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan cheese and slide under the broiler to brown. Serves 4. _Chicken and Tarragon, Pot-Au-Feu_ ♆ Tarragon and wine can be omitted from the Court Bouillon and the dish served as chicken with vegetables, which may be either fresh or canned. 1 frying chicken, 3 pounds or over 2 cups white wine or pale, dry sherry Tarragon, fresh or dried Herb bouquet of parsley and either thyme, rosemary or basil 2 thin slices salt pork 12 small white onions 1 onion, thinly sliced 8 small white potatoes 1 carrot, thinly sliced Small yellow turnip cut in good-sized chunks (optional) 1 stalk celery, sliced Salt and peppercorns Stuff whole chicken with 6 sprigs of fresh tarragon or rub cavity with 2 teaspoons dried tarragon. Lay strips of salt pork on the breast, and truss firmly. Place chicken in pot with onion, carrot, celery, salt and peppercorns, wine, herb bouquet and enough warm water to immerse chicken in liquid. Cover, bring to a boil slowly, then simmer until tender. Remove chicken and keep as warm as possible. (Wrapping in aluminum foil helps somewhat.) Add whole vegetables to pot and cook until tender. Remove salt pork slices from chicken, return chicken to pot and heat. Serve chicken on hot platter, surrounded by vegetables and serve either with or without the following sauce. The sauce, however, really completes the dish. _Sauce_ ♆ 3 tablespoons butter 2 egg yolks, beaten 2½ tablespoons flour Salt, pepper 2 cups chicken Court Bouillon, 2 tablespoons brandy or sherry strained (optional) Melt butter, add flour, cook until it bubbles, stir in Court Bouillon, cook for 5 minutes, combine with egg yolks, season and add brandy. This sauce may either be poured over the chicken or served in a bowl. I prefer the latter since it allows each person a choice of using the sauce or not. Serves 4 to 6. _Chicken with Rice_ ♆ This combination is a natural, makes a hearty one-dish meal and can be cooked on top of the stove. 3- to 4-pound fowl for fricaseeing, Chicken broth or water or a frying chicken Chicken fat or butter or margarine ¾ cup uncooked rice Salt, pepper, parsley, bay leaf ¼ cup sliced mushrooms (optional) ½ small onion, chopped Herbs according to taste Cut up chicken, brown in fat, remove to Dutch oven or heavy pot and add seasonings. Sauté onion in remaining fat, add to chicken, simmer in either enough hot water or hot chicken broth to cover. When chicken is almost tender, skim fat from pot. (Wiping the surface with absorbent cotton will do this easily.) Add unwashed rice, making sure you have about 2½ cups of liquid in the pot. Add mushrooms, and herbs and simmer until rice is tender and fairly dry. Serves 4 to 6. * * * * * Or if you wish you can cook the rice by itself and then combine, or serve rice and chicken separately. 2 tablespoons butter 2 cups hot chicken stock taken from the simmering pot ½ onion, chopped Salt and pepper 1 cup uncooked rice Melt butter, sauté onion, add unwashed rice, stir until it begins to yellow. Add stock, season and cook until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender. _Chicken and Rice Creole_ ♆ This is more elaborate but is a richer dish and can be varied with pimientos, stuffed green olives or mushrooms, canned or dried. ¼ cup olive oil ½ cup tomatoes ½ cup chopped onion 1½ cups hot water or chicken broth made with 2 bouillon cubes 1 clove garlic, crushed Salt and pepper 1 frying chicken, cut up ¾ cup uncooked rice Heat olive oil, sauté onion and garlic. Discard garlic and transfer onion to Dutch oven or heavy pot. Brown chicken in oil and add to onion; then cook unwashed rice in remaining oil until barely yellow and add to chicken. Add tomatoes, broth or water, salt and pepper and any seasonings you desire. The Spanish recipe calls for a pinch of saffron, the Mexican suggests a pinch of chili powder or crushed cumin seed, while the Creole cuisine is content with parsley and a pinch of either basil or thyme. Cover and simmer over very low fire until rice is tender and liquid is practically absorbed. Serves 4 to 6. _Chicken Tarragon_ ♆ This can be cooked entirely on the top of the stove or it can be finished in a 300° F. oven. Dried tarragon 1 cup sherry 1 fryer-broiler chicken, cut up 1 tablespoon butter Butter 1 tablespoon flour ⅔ cup chicken broth Salt and pepper Rub ½ teaspoon dried tarragon on chicken pieces, brown in butter and sauté, covered, until almost tender. Meanwhile heat chicken broth and add ¼ teaspoon dried tarragon to steep until required. Remove sautéed chicken pieces, put sherry in skillet and boil down until reduced to one half. Make a roux of butter and flour and add to strained chicken broth. Add broth to wine, replace chicken, season, and cook over low heat until chicken is tender, adding more broth if necessary. This last top-of-stove cooking will take about 10 or 15 minutes. Finishing the dish in the oven will take longer. Serves 3 to 4. _Chicken Tracy_ ♆ 2½- to 3-pound fryer-broiler chicken 1½ cups light cream or undiluted evaporated milk 3 tablespoons butter or bacon fat ½ cup sherry Salt and pepper Cut up chicken and sauté in hot fat until golden brown, then place in casserole, add cream, sherry, salt and pepper. Cover tightly and bake in 350° F. oven for 30 minutes or more. The sauce will be thick and clotted. Serve with rice or noodles. Serves 2 or 3. _Chicken Breasts Baked in Skillet_ ♆ 4 half-breasts of chicken Pinch of tarragon (optional) Butter ¼ cup sherry Salt and pepper Juice of ½ lemon ¾ cup sour cream or light cream Dash of Worcestershire sauce (optional) 12 small white onions, fresh or Cornstarch for thickening canned Sauté chicken in butter until golden, season with salt and pepper, mask with sour cream, add onions and sprinkle with tarragon. Cover and finish cooking either on asbestos pads over low heat or in 300° F. oven. Bake until chicken is tender, adding cream if necessary. Remove chicken from skillet, add sherry, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce and thicken with a bit of cornstarch stirred in cold water. Simmer until this sauce is cooked, check seasoning, return chicken to skillet, rewarm and serve. Serves 4. _Coq au Vin_ ♆ This dish is popular and an easy solution for a complete meal-in-one-dish. It can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. Use either cut-up broilers or young fryers or chicken parts, and white or red wine or sherry. I find breasts and legs most satisfactory since they give a choice of white or dark meat. For 6 people I use: Enough chicken pieces and some 12 mushroom caps seconds 4 tablespoons butter 2 small cloves garlic 3 tablespoons brandy (optional) Herb bouquet of bay leaf, parsley and thyme ¼ cup finely diced salt pork 2 cups white wine, or 1 cup pale, (optional) dry sherry and 1 cup chicken broth 12 small onions Salt and pepper 12 3-inch pieces of young carrot (quartered) Sauté chicken in butter until golden, put in hot baking dish and flame with brandy. Flaming is not necessary but adds to flavor. Try out salt pork in remaining butter, remove brown bits and add to chicken. Sauté onions and carrots in the pork fat until lightly browned. Add these and mushroom caps to baking dish, and slice stems for bottom of dish. Spear the garlic cloves with toothpicks so they can be retrieved, and put herb bouquet in a muslin bag, most particularly if you use dried herbs. Add these and wine to baking dish and season to taste. Cover tightly and cook in a slow oven (200° F.) until chicken is tender. Remove garlic cloves and bag of herbs, correct seasoning, and if sauce seems too thin, thicken with a bit of cornstarch stirred into cold water. Serve with fluffy rice. Vegetables and Salads The variety of frozen vegetables has made many of us forget the possibilities of the canned ones but on a cruise when fresh vegetables are either aged or eaten you will rediscover all the things which may be done to dress up vegetables in cans. The possibilities are infinite. You can add lemon juice, horse-radish, curry powder, mustard, paprika, grated cheese, buttered crumbs, minced green peppers, minced onions, celery, water chestnuts, mushrooms, toasted almonds, thin or sour cream, bouillon cubes, crisp bits of bacon and the herbs—mint, basil, dill, rosemary, tarragon, sesame seed and many others. Also you can do quick tricks with salad dressings. The simplest method of all is to drain the liquid from the can, boil quickly to reduce to ⅓ of a cup, heat the vegetable in this concentrated juice, dress with butter and whatever seasonings you desire. And there are companionable vegetables such as corn and tomatoes, green beans and onions, Lima beans and corn, green beans and green peppers, carrots and niblet corn, peas and water chestnuts to mention only a few of the combinations in which one vegetable adds interest to the other. _Asparagus_ ♆ Asparagus, heated quickly in the reduced liquid from the can, lends itself to many treatments. Dress with melted butter and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Or lightly brown fine bread crumbs in butter, add a bit of lemon juice and sprinkle over the hot drained asparagus. A hard-cooked egg put through a sieve gives this dish an added touch. Or combine sour cream, a little mayonnaise and lemon juice and pour over hot drained asparagus. Or sauté minced onion and sliced mushrooms in butter, add a bit of cream or evaporated milk, season and reheat drained asparagus in this. Or melt butter or margarine, brown slightly, add almost any seasoning from the day-store locker—diced toasted almonds, minced onion, capers, grated cheese, mustard or a bit of horse-radish, lemon juice, bits of crisp bacon—and dress the hot asparagus. Or make a Lemon Sauce which will serve for hollandaise or a zesty Cheese Sauce which is good with all green vegetables. Or use one of the bottled cheese sauces. A recent arrival on the market under the Wishbone brand is not at all sweet but has a real tang of Roquefort and blue cheese. If you are using the oven for the meal serve the canned asparagus as a baked dish. Here are several versions: _Baked Asparagus with Mushrooms_ ♆ ½ cup sliced mushrooms 2 tablespoons sherry 2 tablespoons butter 1 No. 2 can asparagus spears (2½ cups) 2 tablespoons flour ⅓ cup diced toasted almonds 1 cup milk ¼ cup grated cheese ½ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon dry mustard Sauté mushrooms in butter and remove. Add flour to remaining butter, cook a moment, add milk and simmer until thickened, add salt, mustard and sherry. Put drained asparagus and mushrooms in baking dish, cover with almonds, pour sauce over, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in hot oven (400° F.) until cheese melts. _Baked Asparagus with Ham_ ♆ 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 No. 2 can asparagus spears (2½ cups) 2 tablespoons flour 2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced 1 cup chicken broth ½ cup cubed cooked ham 3 tablespoons light cream Grated Parmesan cheese Pinch of nutmeg Melt butter, add flour and stir in chicken broth, simmer until thick, add cream and nutmeg. Place asparagus, eggs and ham in layers. Pour sauce over, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake about 10 minutes in 400° F. oven. _Spinach_ ♆ Ashore, canned spinach may seem somewhat dull but on a boat when salad greens are hard to come by this takes on allure. And this, too, can be dressed up in many ways. To prepare for the various treatments, heat in reduced liquor from the can, drain and chop. Return the spinach to the saucepan and stir in ½ cup of thick Cream Sauce seasoned with ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Or even easier toss the spinach lightly with ¼ cup evaporated milk, onion juice and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Toss the drained spinach in this quick, hot, _Mock Vinaigrette Sauce_. Sauté 1 teaspoon minced onion in 1 tablespoon butter, add more butter, ⅛ teaspoon, or more, dry mustard, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, salt and pepper. A chopped hard-cooked egg may be added to this sauce. Or serve it in this _Cheese Sauce_: 1 cup medium White Sauce Dash of cayenne Pinch dry mustard 2 tablespoons of either light or sour cream ¼ cup grated Cheddar cheese Or dress it with light cream, minced onion and crisp bacon, crumbled. Add salt and pepper, heat and serve. _Spinach with Anchovy_ ♆ Minced anchovy is good with spinach or any green vegetable. 2 slices bacon, minced Butter 4 fillets of anchovy, chopped Salt and pepper 1 No. 2 can spinach (2½ cups), drained Sauté bacon, add anchovy and stir together, add spinach, butter, salt and pepper. Heat and serve. _Savory Spinach_ ♆ 1 No. 2 can spinach (2½ cups) ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine ½ teaspoon dry mustard 1 teaspoon sugar Lemon juice or lemon wedges Reduce liquid in can to ¼ cup, add butter, sugar, salt and mustard and then spinach. Toss lightly and add lemon juice or serve with lemon wedges. _Broccoli_ ♆ Broccoli responds to many of the dressings for asparagus or spinach. Vinaigrette or Lemon Sauce or toasted almonds are particularly good with broccoli. _Broccoli with Ripe Olives_ ♆ 1 No. 2 can broccoli (2½ cups) 3-ounce can minced ripe olives 1 small clove garlic 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons butter or margarine Salt and pepper Drain liquid from can of broccoli. Cook garlic in the liquid while reducing, then remove garlic. Chop broccoli coarsely and heat in liquid. Add butter, olives, lemon juice and salt and pepper. _Green Beans_ ♆ These are available in small whole beans, or French-style or cut. In general I’ve found the small whole beans to be crisper. Green beans fraternize with practically everything—onions, herbs, mushrooms, toasted almonds, celery, grated cheese, water chestnuts, minced anchovy or anchovy paste, chicken bouillon cubes, white wine or sherry. So a cook is never at a loss for a way to treat them. _Green Beans Amandine_ ♆ 1 No. 2 can small whole or 3 tablespoons butter French-style green beans (2½ cups) ¼ cup diced toasted almonds 1 chicken bouillon cube Salt and pepper Drain beans, reduce liquid to ¼ cup and add bouillon cube. Melt butter and brown slightly and add to beans. Sprinkle almonds through the beans. Combine beans and liquid, season, cover and heat slowly. Or put in baking dish, cover with aluminum foil and heat in a slow oven for 20 minutes. _Green Beans in Herb Sauce_ ♆ 1 No. 2 can green beans, French-style 1 small clove garlic, minced (2½ cups) 3 tablespoons butter Pinch dried rosemary ¼ cup minced onion Pinch dried basil ¼ cup chopped celery 1 tablespoon minced parsley Heat beans in reduced liquid, then drain. Melt butter, sauté onion, celery and garlic, add herbs and parsley, simmer a few minutes then toss through drained beans. * * * * * Top heated green beans with a little mayonnaise blended with lemon juice. Drain hot beans leaving only a bit of liquid and top with butter creamed with lemon juice and a teaspoon of anchovy paste. Dress with chopped sliced mushrooms which have been sautéed in butter. Or dress with a sour-cream sauce to which have been added sautéed mushrooms, bits of crisp bacon and a pinch of basil. Chop French-style green beans in sections and heat in very little reduced liquid from the can with either sliced water chestnuts or sliced cooked white onions. Dress with butter and chopped chives or parsley. _Pickled Beets_ ♆ These are convenient to have on shipboard to dress up meals or add color and flavor to cold platters. 1 No. 2 can whole baby beets (2½ 1 tablespoon sugar cups) Vinegar Slice of lemon or lemon juice 6 whole cloves (optional) 1 tablespoon chopped onion Drain beets, cover with vinegar, add cloves, sugar, lemon juice and chopped onion, bring to a boil, then cool in liquor and let stand for half a day. Strain vinegar, return beets to vinegar and store in refrigerator. _Baby Beets in Wine_ ♆ 2 tablespoons butter 4 teaspoons grated orange peel or concentrated orange juice or 1 tablespoon orange marmalade 3 tablespoons honey 1-pound can baby beets ¼ cup sherry Melt butter in double boiler, combine with honey, sherry, orange peel or juice or marmalade. Heat, add beets and let them stand in the warm liquid for 20 minutes. _Beets in Orange Sauce_ ♆ 1 tablespoon beet liquor 1 No. 2 can baby beets (2½ cups) 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons butter ½ cup orange juice 1 tablespoon grated orange peel or 1 teaspoon orange marmalade 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar ¼ teaspoon salt Stir beet liquor into cornstarch, add orange juice and vinegar, cook until clear, then add sugar, salt, beets. Heat gently and just before serving add butter and orange peel. _Beets in Sour Cream_ ♆ 3 cups canned sliced beets Bit of grated onion or onion juice ½ cup sour cream, or less Salt to taste 1 tablespoon horse-radish Chopped chives (optional) Heat ingredients in a double boiler. The proportions of this sauce aren’t too important. It should have zest. I sometimes add lemon juice or an herb. _Harvard Beets_ ♆ ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon minced onion (optional) ½ teaspoon salt 3 cups diced or sliced canned beets, heated 1 tablespoon cornstarch ½ cup cider vinegar 2 tablespoons butter or margarine Blend sugar, salt and cornstarch in double boiler, add vinegar, stir constantly until thickened. Add butter, onion and beets and heat for 15 minutes. _Carrots_ ♆ Carrots combine well with other vegetables and they don’t have to be green peas. Try them with onions, niblet corn, baby Limas or green beans. The canned baby carrots are tender and delicious. _Baby Carrots and White Onions au Gratin_ ♆ 2 tablespoons butter or margarine ⅓ cup shredded or grated cheese 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup whole canned baby carrots Salt 1 cup canned white onions Dash of dry mustard Grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup milk Paprika Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour, salt and mustard, cook until this bubbles, stir in milk, add cheese and stir until cheese has melted. Add carrots and onions and cook on top of stove or put in baking dish, top with Parmesan cheese and paprika and bake in moderate oven until hot and bubbling. _Carrots in Honey and Lemon_ ♆ 1-pound can carrots, whole or 1 tablespoon butter, melted julienne 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon lemon juice Salt and pepper Heat carrots in reduced liquid from can and drain. Make sauce of honey, butter and lemon juice, add to drained carrots, season with salt and pepper and heat to serve. _Carrots in Sweet and Sour Sauce_ ♆ Sing, who introduced this treatment to us, always finished carrots this way. Although he followed the Chinese tradition of thickening the sauce with cornstarch, I prefer one made with flour. 1-pound can baby carrots 2 tablespoons vinegar ½ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1½ tablespoons flour Dash of pepper ½ cup hot water Heat carrots in reduced liquid from can. Melt sugar in hot skillet, add flour, then add water slowly, then vinegar and seasonings. Cook until sauce has thickened. Combine with carrots and cook a few moments to let flavors blend. * * * * * To glaze carrots, sprinkle drained carrots with sugar, dot with butter, add enough boiled-down liquid from can to prevent carrots from scorching, heat in skillet or in oven, basting several times. To candy carrots, melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine in a skillet, add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt. Drain a 1-pound can whole or julienne carrots and simmer in this mixture, turning often until they are hot and glazed. _Cabbage_ ♆ Cabbage travels well if stored in a cool place on the skin of the boat. Seven-minute cabbage is delicious. Plunge finely shredded cabbage in boiling salted water. Simmer for 7 minutes, drain and dress with melted butter, salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. This can be herbed with celery seed, dried basil, minced parsley or chives. Grated cheese or bits of crisp bacon are other variations. Or serve cabbage in a sour-cream sauce. To dress 1 small new cabbage which has been shredded and cooked until tender allow 2 teaspoons dill seed, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper. Crush dill seeds, cook for a moment in butter, add sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Reheat drained cooked cabbage in this sauce over low heat. Or serve cabbage in medium Cream Sauce, seasoned with mustard and a little lemon juice, or with grated cheese cooked in the sauce until the cheese has melted and add a dash of paprika. _Escalloped Cabbage_ ♆ 1 small head cabbage, shredded ½ cup milk Salt and pepper 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons butter or margarine Lemon juice Grated cheese Cook cabbage until tender, drain and chop finely. Season with salt and pepper, add butter and mix through the warm cabbage. Combine milk and eggs, lemon juice and stir into cabbage. Pour into greased baking dish, top with cheese and bake in oven until top is golden brown. _Corn Fritters_ ♆ 1 egg, separated 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup canned corn niblets ½ teaspoon salt ⅓ cup flour ¼ teaspoon paprika Beat egg yolk, add corn, then flour which has been sifted with baking powder and salt. Add paprika and then fold in stiffly beaten egg white. Fry on well-greased skillet. Brown on one side, turn and brown other. Serve with butter. _Corn Pudding_ ♆ 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1 cup drained canned cream-style corn ¾ teaspoon salt 1 cup milk, scalded 1 teaspoon sugar Combine eggs and corn. Melt butter in milk, add salt and sugar, combine all ingredients and bake in buttered casserole, uncovered, in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. Serves 2 or 3. This pudding can be varied with minced cooked ham or grated cheese or seasoned with minced onion or paprika. _Canned Niblet Corn_ ♆ 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 tablespoon chopped green pepper 1 tablespoon minced onion or a bit of 2 tablespoons cream or evaporated onion juice milk 1 tablespoon chopped celery or celery 1 tablespoon flour (optional) juice 4 tablespoons butter 1 can niblet corn Salt and pepper Sauté parsley, onion, celery and green pepper in butter. Add cream and enough flour to take up liquid, then add drained niblets and season with salt and pepper to taste. _Hominy Grits_ ♆ This very easy and simple dish is good with sausage, ham or chicken. Boil according to the directions on the package. The double-boiler method takes a little longer but requires no stirring. Add butter to the thickened grits, and serve as is, or bake in a well-oiled casserole, dotted with butter, until brown. Don’t worry about leftovers. Pour the warm hominy in a small square dish, packing it firmly and store in the refrigerator. When cold, cut into slices, roll lightly in fine bread crumbs and fry in bacon fat. Whole canned hominy has possibilities, too. It can be drained, sautéed in butter or margarine and seasoned with grated onion or tossed with shredded Cheddar cheese or made into cakes by adding flour and a beaten egg. _Leeks_ ♆ These are a fairly durable vegetable if wrapped tightly in brown paper and stored in a cool place. There are many ways to serve them but they are so delicate a member of the onion family, the less you do to them the better. Split the leeks, cut off the tops, leaving about 2½ inches of the green. Wash thoroughly making sure you get all the sand out. Cut crosswise slices a bit thicker than ½ inch, simmer gently in salted water a few minutes until tender, drain, then dress with butter, salt and pepper. If there are any leftovers, which there won’t be, these are wonderful in tossed salads. _Peas_ ♆ Since frozen peas have been available throughout the country we’ve forgotten what can be done with a good brand of canned peas. Rub the saucepan with a clove of garlic, reduce the canned liquid to ⅓ cup, add an herb—mint or basil or tarragon or a mixture of _fines herbes_—heat the peas and dress with butter. Or add sautéed sliced mushrooms to the peas and heat together. The much-admired French _petits pois_ are a different variety of peas that have reached maturity, but the tiny pea of the American variety is still undeveloped. The mature, or so-called garden pea, is fully flavored and when packed at prime is preferred by many. These take on a fresh-garden quality when heated in rich milk or cream with a bit of sugar, salt, pepper and plenty of butter. Or make a real feature of a dish of peas: 2 tablespoons butter ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms Pinch of basil ¼ cup minced onion 2 tablespoons sherry Salt and pepper 2 cups canned peas, heated and drained Melt butter, sauté mushrooms and onion until tender, add seasonings and sherry, then peas. Heat and serve. _Peas à la Française_ ♆ This is my favorite of all the ways to serve peas. I had it first many years ago at the Victor Hugo Restaurant. In recent years when what are called fresh peas in city markets seemed a long time en route from the garden, I’d foresworn this dish, then discovered that M. F. K. Fisher hadn’t been defeated, but was using frozen peas. I pass on her recipe. I don’t follow the recipe precisely but substitute either Boston head lettuce or very young and tender leaf lettuce (when I can find it), instead of the iceberg lettuce which has more cellulose. Nor am I quite as profligate with butter. ½ cup water 2 pounds fresh or 2 packages frozen peas 1 head lettuce ¼ pound butter 6 green onions Salt, freshly ground pepper Chopped parsley Put water in heavy casserole or pot; shred lettuce coarsely into water; add onions which have been split and cut in 2-inch pieces, using tops; add parsley. Place peas on this bed with a good chunk of butter on top. Cover tightly, bring to boil very slowly, shaking now and then. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes, mix all together and season to taste. There should be almost no liquid. More butter can be added at the last if this seems desirable. I know this doesn’t seem exactly like cruising fare but occasionally in our coastwise visiting we anchored near friends who had a vegetable garden and then we enjoyed a feast. And since I’m one of those people who are always expecting miracles I hope you may be able to find this recipe useful. _Black-Eyed Peas_ ♆ The canned cooked black-eyed peas are excellent and a ready answer for a meal of sausage, ham, frankfurters or even corned beef. I always keep them in our can locker. A 1-pound can (2 cups) will serve 3. To heat and serve add a pinch of orégano, a bit of salt, 1 tablespoon of bacon fat and simmer for 10 minutes. Or add bacon and minced vegetables: 2 or 3 slices bacon, chopped 1-pound can cooked black-eyed peas 1 small onion, chopped ¼ teaspoon salt Piece of green pepper, chopped Dash of pepper Stalk of celery, chopped Pinch of orégano (optional) Try out bacon until lightly browned, add onion, pepper, celery and cook until tender. Add peas, seasonings and heat thoroughly. This dish is even better with minced ham. _Lou’s Black-Eyed Peas_ ♆ There is a saying that if you eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day you’ll have money in your pocket all the year. It’s a grand theory, but whether it’s New Year’s Day or not, a big pot of black-eyed peas cooked with smoked pork and seasonings makes an elegant one-dish meal. 1 pound dried black-eyed peas 1 carrot, chopped 4 chicken bouillon cubes 1 onion, minced ¼ pound salt pork Freshly ground black pepper 1 ham hock Dash of cayenne 1 small pig’s foot (optional) ⅛ teaspoon thyme or savory 1 large onion, sliced Salt to taste 1 bay leaf Pinch of rosemary or basil (optional) 1 stalk celery, chopped Soak peas overnight, then drain. Cook peas in pressure cooker or kettle with 1 quart water, bouillon cubes and the following: salt pork, ham hock, pig’s foot, sliced onion, bay leaf, celery and carrot. Cook about 1 hour under 15 pounds’ pressure, or longer in a kettle, but until meat has fallen from bones. Strain, reserve stock, discard skin and bones, dice meat from ham hock and pig’s foot into bite-size pieces and dice salt pork. Return peas to pressure cooker or pot with the drained stock and cook until peas are tender (about 30 minutes). Toward the end of the cooking time add diced meat and salt pork, pepper and cayenne, minced onion and herbs. Season to taste. This may be served with side dishes of chopped onion, chowchow and pepper sauce. Serves 6 to 8. _Baked Beans_ ♆ Seasoning and extra baking in the oven will do wonders for a can of Boston baked beans. They need at least 30 minutes’ baking and are improved by any extra baking time you can give them. Of course they won’t resemble a pot of homemade baked beans, but unless you are cruising in northern waters, have a built-in oven, and are using fuel for heat as well as cooking, these are pretty well out of the picture. For me a pot of real baked beans always brings a nostalgic yearning for our fall cruising days, the October coloring of the hills and our sense of snugness as the evening chill sets in. Baked beans and brown bread are natural companions. The canned bread may be heated in a double boiler but is much hotter if you improvise some sort of steamer or have a bun warmer. _Doctoring Canned Beans_ ♆ If you are one of those who feel mustard has no place in baked beans, mix 2 teaspoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and combine with 2 cans of baked beans. Sauté 4 slices of bacon very lightly, add fat to beans and lay slices on top. Bake 30 minutes or more. Serves 6. * * * * * Or sauté 1 medium onion, chopped, in 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Add onion and fat, 2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple sirup, ¾ teaspoon mustard and ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, to 2 cans of Boston baked beans. Top with 4 slices of lightly sautéed bacon and bake until bacon is crisp, or even longer. For bland and creamy baked beans put 2 cans of Boston baked beans in a shallow casserole and place 1 whole raw onion in the center. Add enough heavy or light cream to make the mixture almost soupy. Top the casserole with 4 slices of bacon and bake for 30 minutes or more in a 350° F. oven. _Canned Kidney Beans_ ♆ Either white or red, these respond to treatment and are top-of-the-stove dishes. ¼ cup chopped onion Salt to taste 2 tablespoons butter or margarine Pinch of basil, rosemary, thyme or tarragon 1 No. 2 can red kidney beans (2½ ¼ cup sherry cups) Sauté onion in butter until transparent, add to undrained beans with other ingredients and simmer slowly until the desired consistency. _Canned White Kidney Beans_ ♆ These are even more versatile. Or perhaps I only think this because I like them better. I always add some minced onion, sautéed in bacon fat, then go on from there with whatever occurs to me as desirable. Minced green peppers, sliced pimiento, bits of mushrooms, crumbled bacon, minced ham, or even corned beef, grated cheese, sliced frankfurters, a few grains of cayenne, a squeeze of garlic, perhaps, and certainly an herb. Rosemary is especially good with white kidney beans. When I asked an Italian woman who was bearing off a half-dozen cans of white kidney beans from a supermarket what she did with them, she said, “Add what I happen to have that would be good with them. Every day it’s different.” _Dried Baby Lima Beans_ ♆ On our long cruises we always carried dried legumes which were not bulky in the main-store locker and so had the makings of many meals. It is a good trick to add butter in the cooking which softens the skin and tenderizes the bean. 1 cup dried baby Lima beans 1 teaspoon salt 1 clove garlic Pinch of thyme, rosemary or tarragon, or a combination 1½ tablespoons butter Soak beans overnight, pour off water, add enough warm water to barely cover, add garlic, butter, seasonings and simmer until tender (about 1 hour). Discard garlic. Dress with more butter, salt and ground black pepper. These cooked Limas can be the basis for many dishes. Any recipe for canned mature or baby Limas may be used. _Lima Beans and Mushrooms_ ♆ 3 tablespoons butter ½ cup top milk or light cream 2 tablespoons chopped onion Salt and pepper 4-ounce can sliced mushrooms 2 tablespoons sherry 2 tablespoons flour 2 cups cooked Lima beans ½ cup chicken broth Buttered crumbs Melt 1 tablespoon butter, sauté onion and mushrooms, add remaining butter, stir in flour, cook until this bubbles, then stir in chicken broth and milk or cream, season, simmer, add sherry, and combine with beans. Place in buttered casserole, top with buttered crumbs and bake in moderate oven until crumbs have browned. _Lima Beans in Cheese Sauce_ ♆ 2 cups cooked Lima beans 4 to 6 tablespoons minced cheese 3 tablespoons butter or margarine Salt, pepper ¼ cup chopped onion Dash of paprika ¼ cup chopped celery (optional) Speck of cayenne 2 tablespoons flour ¼ teaspoon dry mustard Top milk or cream ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or more Pinch of thyme or basil Drain beans and reserve liquor. Melt butter, sauté onion and celery, add flour, add liquor from beans and enough top milk or cream to make 1½ cups, simmer, stir in cheese and cook until cheese melts. Add seasonings and herbs. Correct seasoning. The sauce should have real zest. Add beans and heat. _Other Legumes_ ♆ There are many legumes that are off the beaten track but are delicious and can be found in shops which specialize in imports. The dried green flageolets from France are so delicate and refreshing they seem like a fresh vegetable. 2 cups dried green flageolets Pinch of thyme 1 tablespoon butter Salt 1 teaspoon minced onion Soak flageolets overnight then drain and simmer in just enough warm water to cover. Add butter, onion, thyme and salt. Simmer until flageolets are tender (about 1 hour). Drain and dress with butter, salt and pepper. _Green Lentils from India_ ♆ These tiny bead-shaped lentils have an interestingly different flavor from the ones we are accustomed to. I discovered them one day in an importer’s shop and was astonished when the owner told me how many enthusiastic customers he had for them. Cooked, they have a lightness and give the impression of a fresh vegetable. I was delighted to have found them. They should not be soaked. 1 cup Indian green lentils 2 tablespoons minced green pepper 3 tablespoons chopped onion 1½ tablespoons lemon juice ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon celery juice (optional) 2 cups water Few grains of cayenne 3 tablespoons olive oil Pinch of rosemary 4 scallions, bulb and green top chopped, or like amount of minced onion Put lentils in fine sieve and rinse with cold water. Add lentils, onion and salt to water. Simmer until tender (about 45 minutes), adding water if necessary. The lentils should be dry when thoroughly tender and if not, drain off excess water. Heat olive oil, sauté scallions or minced onion and green pepper until transparent, add lemon juice, celery juice and seasonings and dress hot lentils. Rewarm over low fire. Correct seasonings and serve. Serves 4. I have varied this dish with either thinly sliced water chestnuts, sliced pimiento or sautéed sliced mushrooms. It is a very compatible vegetable. The importer told me that many people soak these lentils until soft, then add them to tossed vegetable salads. _Frijoles Refritos_ ♆ The year when Inez took charge of our kitchen we reveled in Mexican dishes. Not only was she an excellent cook of the food of her people but she knew where to find exactly the kind of chili pepper that she needed and who among her friends made the best tortillas. Robert emerged from that year with the firm conviction that a plate of tortillas and refried beans was the perfect meal. I looked back with yearning to the time when I could have chiles rellenos just by asking. Refried beans are available in cans but to a refried-bean addict 1 can is nothing, and they are so easily made. 1 pound Mexican beans, pink or red 6 quarts water, approximately 1 clove garlic, minced Salt to taste ½ cup lard or bacon fat The beans need not be soaked. Don’t ask me why—Mexican cooks just don’t. Simmer beans and garlic in water over low heat. When they begin to soften, add salt to taste. In 2 hours they should be tender, but unbroken, and ready to be fried. Heat fat in large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven. Inez was adamant about using lard for the first frying, although she compromised by using bacon fat for refrying. I have used bacon fat for both fryings. Add beans and liquor to fat, a small amount at a time, mashing with a big spoon. When one installment of beans are crushed and some of the liquor cooked away, add another installment until all the beans are crushed and the liquor has been reduced during cooking. Naturally, this operation could be done more quickly in a food mill or blender which would make a perfect purée, but the slow thickening and the partially crushed beans make better fried or refried beans. Cook and stir and mash until beans are proper consistency, almost dry. Then refry them. Heat bacon fat in heavy skillet, add beans and fry, turning the browned lower portion into the mass of beans so bits of crisp beans appear throughout. Serves 6. Serve these beans and canned tortillas with tamales, ravioli or enchiladas. And a real frijoles-refritos enthusiast likes them with toast and coffee for breakfast. _Onions_ ♆ The white canned onions may be used in so many ways. They may be combined with other vegetables, dressed with butter and any seasoning that you choose. Scalloped in Cream Sauce and combined with blanched or toasted almonds they are delicious. Or the scalloped onions can be topped with grated cheese. They may be dressed with sour cream and a seasoning salt. I like them in _Onion Pie_ which is really a sort of onion quiche and cooked in much the same fashion. Prebake the pastry shell 10 minutes. Make a thin Cream Sauce, add beaten eggs, season with nutmeg and use grated cheese if you wish, herbs such as basil, rosemary or chervil if you like. Add drained onions and put in pastry shell and cook in a 350° F. oven about 30 minutes. _Mashed Potatoes_ ♆ Instant mashed potatoes (French’s) are a great convenience but because they have a tendency to stiffen on standing they must be made at the last minute and aren’t as versatile as homemade. And _Homemade Mashed Potatoes_ can be prepared very quickly. Peel and cut potatoes into fairly small chunks, boil until tender, drain, dry by shaking over a low fire, then put through a potato ricer. Add butter, warm milk or cream and beat with a tablespoon until fluffy. Keep warm in a double boiler. Add an egg yoke mixed with cream for _Duchess Potatoes_. Or add grated cheese to Duchess Potatoes and bake in a buttered casserole until brown in a hot oven. Or add herbs to Mashed Potatoes. Chives, parsley, tarragon, basil, rosemary, thyme or almost any herb is good. Crushed sesame seed gives a pleasant nutty flavor. Or to 2 cups of Mashed Potatoes add 2 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons butter, ½ cup rich milk or cream, seasonings, and mix well, then fold in 2 stiffly beaten egg whites and pile in a buttered casserole to brown for a soufflé. Leftover mashed potatoes make wonderful patties. Shape, roll in slightly beaten egg, then in fine dry bread crumbs, then in egg again and brown in bacon fat. These are good for breakfast. _Skillet Potatoes, Raw-Fried_ ♆ These are particularly good with a brown meat stew. Allow 2 fairly large potatoes for each person. Slice very thinly (use a potato slicer if you have one aboard). Soak in cold water with a piece of ice if you have it, for 30 minutes, then dry on a towel. Heat about ¼ inch of bacon fat in a skillet which has a tight-fitting cover, put in half the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, add rest of potatoes and season again. Cover, and cook at reduced heat so that bottom layer will be a brown crust, and the whole mass of potatoes tender. With pancake turner or broad spatula turn entire mass, adding a little more fat to skillet, and brown other side. If this seems too difficult you can manage very nicely by loosening bottom crust, covering skillet with a large plate and turning skillet upside down, then sliding potatoes back into skillet with browned side up. Cover and brown the underside. The contrast of the crusty top and bottom with the soft potatoes in the middle is delicious. _Potato Pancakes_ ♆ When potatoes had to be grated at the last moment to prevent oxidation these pancakes were a nuisance. Now an antioxidant, Spud-Nu, makes it possible to grate them in advance at your convenience. After several unsuccessful experiments when I trustfully followed directions on the label I finally found a method which works like a charm. The actual grating can be done easily with a flat Acme grater across a bowl. Then let potatoes stand in a solution of ½ teaspoon Spud-Nu and 2 cups cold water for 1 minute, drain in a sieve, flush potatoes with cold water, drain again gently without pressing. Cover and store in refrigerator. Mix pancakes at mealtime, allowing 1 cup grated potato, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 lightly beaten egg for 6 pancakes of about 3 inches. Drop this mixture from a large spoon into shallow, hot fat in a heavy skillet. Bacon fat is excellent. Brown pancakes on one side, turn and brown the other. Drain on paper towels. Serve with either pot roast and brown gravy, or applesauce, or maple sirup. The last, with sausage or bacon, makes a perfect luncheon, supper or breakfast dish. SALADS On a boat the salad problem often becomes acute. And perhaps out of the perverseness of human nature even nonsalad eaters ashore begin to yearn for something green and crisp at sea. There are, however, various tricks you can use with such things as canned celery hearts, bamboo shoots, hearts of palm, water chestnuts (an excellent substitute for fresh celery), artichoke hearts and canned celery knobs. All these will give an illusion of fresh salad. Beets, cabbage, sweet onions, canned carrots and green beans all help in building attractive salads. By conniving a cook can always manage somehow. Aspics are a wonderful aid in salads when you are short of greens. These aspics can be made of almost anything. Tomato juice, seasoned with minced onion, minced celery, herbs or what-have-you, heated, then strained before adding the gelatin is of course a well-known stand-by. It doesn’t have to be served in a mold. A slice of tomato aspic served with cucumbers in a sour-cream dressing with plenty of tarragon has eye appeal and is a delicious combination. Nor do the aspics always have to be tomato. Vegetable juice, madrilène soup, cucumber aspic, combinations of vegetable juices and quick chicken consommé, all are useful. Fruit-juice aspics help to dress fruit salads. An infusion of hot fruit juice or water and dried mint adds zest and a few drops of green coloring carry out the illusion. Ginger ale is another liquid which can be added with profit. Lime juice or lemon juice can be added to the sirup in which the fruit is packed. There are any number of combinations a cook can work out. _Celery Victor_ ♆ This famous San Francisco salad was a lifesaver aboard the _Triton_. It is cool and delicious and simple with canned hearts of celery. Drain them, lay them on a plate, chill and dress. Victor, the inventor, used a sharp, white wine vinegar for his French dressing with minced fresh tarragon. But the tarragon flavor can be added by steeping warm cider vinegar with crushed dried tarragon and then straining. Go heavy on the oil in the French dressing. Sprinkle the drained celery hearts with freshly ground black pepper. Cover with the dressing. You can add minced fresh herbs such as basil, chervil, parsley and chives but this is not at all necessary. Many San Francisco restaurants now garnish this dish with other things, such as fillets of anchovy, slices of tomato, sliced hard-cooked eggs, pimiento and even crab legs. But I cling to the old tradition of celery hearts, ground pepper, tarragon and French dressing. I thought this salad was truly inspired the way Victor invented it. Canned hearts of palm may be given this same treatment. * * * * * Canned celery knobs, the cooked root of the plant, are very useful. In the West we bought the roots and cooked them especially for salads. They can be sliced, served alone with French Dressing, or alternated with sliced beets and thinly sliced sweet onions, or cubed and added to tossed salads. They are bland but have a solid texture and are never mushy. Canned water chestnuts are invaluable in salads for they have crispness and can pinch-hit for diced celery in sea-food and chicken salads or in Waldorf salad made with either apple or pineapple julienne and canned grapes. I was so delighted to discover that the inventor of Waldorf salad had not included nuts in the original recipe. For years I had wondered why so great a chef as he had done so. Hearts of artichoke are another bulwark in your salad making. A few sliced hearts do wonders in any tossed, vegetable or chef salad. The hearts can also be served by themselves with either zesty French Dressing or a combination of French Dressing and mayonnaise, seasoned with mustard, or with _Vinaigrette Dressing_, which is useful with many vegetables and also fish salads. To make _Vinaigrette Dressing_, add the following ingredients to ½ cup French dressing: 2 capers, chopped; 1 small sour pickle, chopped; ¼ teaspoon minced parsley; ½ teaspoon minced green pepper and a few drops of onion juice. _Chef Salads_ ♆ Chef salads may be produced out of almost anything, sea food, slivered meats, sliced olives, hard-cooked eggs, water chestnuts, pimiento, slivered cheese, celery knobs, even canned vegetables which are not limp or mushy. I have even made it with thinly cut green cabbage leaves as a fresh green. The only thing I’ve never used in a salad is pasta or some other starch! Dressing for chef salads and many of the others depends upon ingredients. Some obviously demand French Dressing, but if you desire a slightly richer dressing combine French dressing and mayonnaise. I prefer this combination for shrimp salad and in chicken salad I use French dressing as the marinade and add mayonnaise just before I serve it. _Molded Salads_ ♆ If your last head of lettuce has gone into a decline, molded salads, either fruit or vegetable, remind one less of the lack of greens. These molded salads can be of anything or almost any combination, fruits such as pineapple, grapefruit sections and mandarin oranges may be combined with canned vegetables and canned sea food. Proportions are not important, only make sure the combination holds promise. The aspic should be made whenever possible of juices, canned consommé, etc., to add flavor to the dish. Oil your mold with mayonnaise and the salad will come out more easily. Do not add the ingredients until the aspic is chilled and shows signs of beginning to congeal. Know which fruits and vegetables will sink to the bottom and which will float, and work accordingly. In making molds, mayonnaise can be combined with gelatin. The following is made of tuna fish but other sea foods can be substituted. _Sea-Food Mold_ ♆ 1 envelope gelatin 2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced or diced ¼ cup cold water ½ cup chopped ripe or green olives 1 cup boiling water 1 tablespoon minced onion 2 cups mayonnaise 2 6-ounce cans of tuna-fish, grated Soak gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes, then dissolve in boiling water. Add gelatin to mayonnaise, then add fish and other ingredients. Pour into mold. Serve with dressed cucumbers or other vegetables. Cucumbers are a nice addition in many salads and they travel well aboard a boat. I find them more digestible, whether in sour cream with onions or added to salads, if they have a preliminary treatment. Slice them thinly, sprinkle with salt, let them marinate at least ½ hour, then drain. _Salad Julienne_ ♆ This is really a meal-in-one-salad. 1 cup cooked or canned chicken ½ cup celery or water chestnuts 1 cup cooked or canned beef tongue ½ cup cooked carrots 1 cup cooked ham ½ cup shredded cabbage 2 hard-cooked eggs, quartered Shred all ingredients except eggs and combine. Put in salad bowl, surrounded if possible with crisp lettuce leaves. Serve with dressing made of mayonnaise, seasoned with prepared mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, salt and pepper. Top with quartered eggs. Serves 6. _Coleslaw_ ♆ This is a cruising stand-by. Cabbage is a sturdy vegetable and goes well with fish meals. There are many variations. I prefer to mix the grated cabbage and grated onion and to dress the coleslaw long enough ahead to have the flavors blend. The basis of the dressing can be either French, Mayonnaise, cooked dressing or sweet or sour cream. We like sour cream, if we have it, combined with a little lemon juice and a few tablespoons of mayonnaise to give body, seasoned with a speck of cayenne, mustard, salt, ground black pepper and perhaps a touch of Worcestershire sauce. Coleslaw dressing should be made by palate-instinct. In the _Triton_, where sour cream was very seldom in the lockers, I began the coleslaw dressing with a beaten egg, then salad oil, vinegar or lemon juice, the merest touch of minced garlic (about as much as the tip of a spoon would hold), celery juice and seasonings of cayenne, mustard, salt and ground black pepper. Celery seeds can be added instead of celery juice, and if you don’t add grated onion to the cabbage, onion in some form should be included in the dressing. _Jean Lafitte Salad_ ♆ This is a very mild salad to be named after a famous pirate but it calls for canned vegetables and will serve as a jump-off for innovations. 1 cup diced cooked meat, sea food or 2 tablespoons chopped sweet pickles chicken ½ cup diced cooked potatoes ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup diced cooked carrots ⅛ teaspoon pepper ½ cup diced celery (or canned water ¼ teaspoon M.S.G. chestnuts) ½ cup French dressing 1 hard-cooked egg, chopped Toss meat, vegetables, and sweet pickle together, add seasonings and French dressing. Chill at least 1 hour and then add chopped egg. _Mayonnaise_ ♆ This can be made in 10 minutes with an efficient egg beater and in less time with an electric beater. It keeps in the refrigerator, does not separate and is the basis for many dressings. I use only salt for seasoning which leaves me free to add others for special dishes, such as mustard for artichokes or Thousand Island dressing. The basic rule is to have egg, vinegar and oil at the same temperature, preferably room temperature. If the oil is cold and the egg and acid warm it is difficult to make the egg absorb the oil. A small bowl without too much surface at the bottom is best for making mayonnaise. 1 raw egg yolk ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 cup vegetable oil Place egg yolk, vinegar, salt and 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in bowl. Beat until this blends, add more oil, a little at a time, until the dressing has begun to thicken. Then add oil generously and continue beating. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator. A whole egg may be used in making mayonnaise but the dressing will be more bland and require more oil. _French Dressing_ ♆ I make this up for use ahead and because I don’t want any particles of garlic left in the dressing to go rancid I mash the garlic and salt together, then rinse only the essence of garlic out of the vinegar. A china cup and the handle of a kitchen knife will serve for mortar and pestle. I use a small glass apothecary’s mortar for the job because it washes easily and is useful for other tasks. In making the dressing I use more oil than is usually given in recipes. French dressing is very much like a Martini. Most of us have gone far beyond the rule of 3 to 1. Cut a clove garlic in several pieces, add salt and mash together. Add vinegar and let sit for a little while, although this isn’t strictly necessary. Strain the vinegar through a fine sieve. Here a tea strainer is useful. Add enough olive oil, measuring by eye, to make 5 parts oil to 1 of vinegar. Shake vigorously in a glass jar with a tight screw-top until the dressing is a smooth emulsion. Taste for seasoning and add ground black pepper. This is my basic French dressing which I can thin or enrich according to the ingredients I wish to dress. Breads On a long cruise with few ports of call for shopping, fresh bread is often a problem. On our Alaskan cruises we could always get a sour-dough “starter” from a friend. Sour dough is a perfect yeast for shipboard baking. It will rise in any temperature above freezing, requires no coddling and produces delicious bread, also such things as cinnamon rolls, coffeecakes and the lightest and most delicate pancakes imaginable. “Starters” are difficult to start, but once well started they will go on for years. When you make bread, pancakes or biscuits you only have to save a little of the mixture which becomes the starter for the next baking. Otherwise it needs no attention unless it hasn’t been used for some time. Then it is well to activate it with a little flour and water. Sour-dough cooks are very proud of the age of their yeast. The donor of one of our “starters” apologized because it was only 12 years old, and that was young by Alaskan standards. On the West Coast, and especially in the Northwest, sour-dough breads are made by many bakeries. The sour French bread of California spoils one for any other kind and I’ve never understood why it is not sold in the East. I was delighted to discover that two dehydrated sour-dough yeasts are now sold by mail order. One by a firm in Oregon, another by a man in Fairbanks, Alaska, who claims to be the inventor of the process. He prepares it from a 50-year-old starter and encloses directions for reactivating it for baking. He must have a rather original mind for he has estimated that 7 billion pancakes may descend from one package of starter. He might be right at that. A yeast spore and its progeny, given all the food they require, develop enormously. * * * * * The packaged mixes for hot breads are a tremendous aid to the galley cook. Their varied uses are suggested on package labels, in recipe booklets of manufacturers and in quick-trick hints in cookbooks and household columns of periodicals. But except for pancakes and dumplings, most of these require oven baking which can become a nuisance. However, a doubled amount can be baked at one session and the hot breads warmed up in a covered skillet with boiling water in the bottom and the biscuits, muffins or what-have-you set on a trivet to hold them in steam heat above hot water. If you have space for a bun warmer reheating is even more simple. A slotted inner wall insures a steam treatment and a “just baked” taste. These warmers even have a little gadget in the cover which can be adjusted for either steam or dry heat. (Incidentally they also can be used to bake potatoes.) _Bannock_ ♆ This old campfire stand-by is always cooked in a skillet. For 2 cups of biscuit-mix allow at least ¼ cup of extra shortening, and enough milk to make it a soft dough, well beyond the possibility of kneading. Heat bacon fat or shortening in a skillet, spoon the bannock in, turn down the flame and add asbestos pads so that the bannock can rise. When it is ready, increase the heat to let the bannock brown. When the bottom is brown and crisp, brown the other side. Experienced bannock makers are very proud of their ability to toss the bannock and have it land neatly reversed back in the skillet, then they lift it gently with a pancake turner and add more fat. I remove the bannock, add fat and slide the bannock cautiously, brown side up, into the skillet. The end result of both methods is the same—a delicious biscuit held between a crusty top and bottom. This bannock can be varied by adding an herb or ¼ cup of grated cheese to the dough. In our north-woods days we often added rolled oatmeal which gave it a nutty flavor. _Roll Ups_ ♆ This was another north-woods favorite and I understand it was often used in chuck-wagon cooking in the Western cattle country. But neither of these versions was anything as dressy as the present scissored tea ring which can step out proudly in company. It can be made of yeast bread but the baking-powder biscuit method doesn’t require a waiting period to rise. For 2 cups of biscuit-mix allow at least ¼ cup of shortening-butter, margarine or vegetable shortening. For liquid use sour cream, or undiluted evaporated milk, depending on how rich you wish to make the dough. Pat out into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick, spread it with almost any filling, then, beginning at the long side, roll it up. If the filling is fairly moist, tuck edges and ends in firmly and bake as a roll. If the filling is fairly dry, cut in ¾-inch-thick slices and bake as pin wheels. The baking pan should be well oiled. Spread with softened butter, and a mixture of sugar and cinnamon, you have cinnamon rolls. For a lunch or supper dish use heartier fillings, such as cheese softened in a little sweet or sour cream and seasoned with paprika, and perhaps a bit of mustard. Or spread with a minced ham or tongue spread. Or sautéed mushrooms, either with or without a sauce. Or thinly sliced onions sautéed until transparent. Or cooked shellfish combined with an herb and bound in Cream Sauce. _French Toast_ ♆ Unsliced bakery bread keeps fresh longer than the sliced, particularly if it is of a firm rather than a light texture. When it is too stale for eating, don’t forget the possibilities of French toast. 2 eggs ¼ cup milk ¼ teaspoon salt 6 slices bread 1 teaspoon sugar (optional) Butter or margarine or both Beat eggs in shallow dish with fork, add salt, sugar and milk. Dip bread until well coated on both sides and brown slowly in skillet in hot fat. Serve with maple sirup, honey, applesauce, marmalade, sugar and cinnamon or confectioners sugar and lemon juice. For _Sherried French Toast_, use 2 tablespoons light cream for milk, omit sugar and add from 2 to 4 tablespoons of sherry, enough to make a fairly liquid coating. Serve hot, sprinkled with sugar. _Spoon Bread_ ♆ There is no _one_ way to make spoon bread. The wide variations in the recipes depend entirely on the particular section of the South it came from. I had heard of this soufflé-like spoon bread, searched for it in cookbooks, and then discovered a friend had eaten it in the South, liked it enormously and had been given the recipe by her hostess. Since then many of our guests have asked for the formula. It calls for less corn meal than many recipes, resembles a soufflé but hasn’t that disconcerting tendency to collapse. 1 pint sweet milk 1 tablespoon sugar ½ cup white corn meal 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon butter ½ teaspoon baking powder 3 eggs, separated Heat milk until almost boiling, stir in corn meal slowly and then stir constantly until mixture is like thick mush. Remove from fire, add butter to hot mixture and let this cool partially. Beat egg yolks until light and pale yellow, add sugar, salt and baking powder. Then combine this mixture with the partially cooled mush, blend well and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Do not break down the whites too thoroughly for some clumps of beaten whites on top make an interesting effect. Bake in 325° F. oven for 10 minutes or until the spoon bread has risen, then in a 400° F. oven to finish and brown. Baking time about 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with lots of butter. Serves 4, only it never does! When serving spoon bread with a pork roast I sometimes add a generous teaspoon of onion juice. This same spoon bread is very good made with hominy grits. _Banana Bread_ courtesy of the _S. S. Harry Coulby_ ♆ This keeps for a week or even longer in the refrigerator and makes wonderful toast. ½ cup shortening ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 eggs ¼ cup chopped nuts (optional) 3 large ripe bananas, mashed ½ cup seedless raisins 2 cups sifted flour Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat well. Add bananas and blend well. Sift flour, salt, and soda together, add to mixture, then nuts and raisins. Bake in well-oiled loaf pan for 1 hour at 325° F. temperature. Do not attempt to slice until it is absolutely cold. _Skillet Corn Bread_ ♆ Despite the simplicity of corn-meal mixes we sometimes yearn for the old-fashioned, thin, crusty corn bread with a real corn-meal taste. 1½ cups corn meal 2 tablespoons sugar ½ cup flour 1⅓ cups milk 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 large egg, beaten 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon shortening Sift dry ingredients together. Add milk to egg and mix with dry ingredients. Melt shortening. (Save an extra saucepan by melting this in the skillet.) Add shortening to corn-meal mixture, which will tend to thicken it. Thin this out with a tablespoon or so of cold water so that when you drop the soft dough from a spoon it makes a sort of “plop.” Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, well greased with shortening. Sprinkle some dry corn meal in hot fat to make a crusty bottom. Pour in batter and bake in oven at 375° F. for about 30 minutes. If the top of the corn-meal bread isn’t browning well, move to top shelf of oven in the last half of the baking. _Yorkshire Pudding_ ♆ I had never cared much about the bready squares of Yorkshire pudding which so often accompany roast beef. Then one day we poked the nose of the _Triton_ into an out-of-the-way corner of British Columbia’s intricate coast line and found an English medical missionary and his wife established in a first-aid station. They were a delightful pair who had spent years in India and China. They invited us for dinner. And then I discovered what Yorkshire pudding could really be. And it was so simple! Only half as much flour as is called for in the usual recipe. I’ve never made it any other way since then. ½ cup flour 2 eggs ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup milk Sift flour and salt together. Beat eggs at least 2 minutes, add milk slowly to eggs, combine with flour and beat with egg beater until well blended. Heat ½ inch beef drippings in a heavy baking pan, 10 × 8 × 2½ inches. (These used to be called dripping pans for some odd reason I’ve never known.) Pour mixture into the hot fat. Bake for 15 minutes in a 450° F. oven, then reduce heat to 350° for another 15 minutes. The pudding should be like a popover, light, brown and crusty on the outside with a delectable soft custard in the center. This pudding can be baked in either pork or beef drippings in a baking pan or in small pyrex bowls. If you use pork fat add onion juice or even a small clove garlic, thoroughly mashed with salt and then stirred into milk. It makes an interesting variation. A Finnish maid told me that her family always saved beef and pork drippings for this dish, even served it at breakfast. Since then I haven’t waited for a roast beef dinner, but serve it often with steak, pork roast or even hamburgers. Desserts Food processors have been zealous in providing timesaving products for desserts. The reassuring word “Instant” leaps out at one from the labels of pudding- and pie-mixes, gelatins or rennets, tapiocas or creamed rice. Everything from a no-bake custard to an array of sauces in every imaginable flavor—coffee, chocolate, tutti-frutti, rum, butterscotch, lemon, mint-flavored sauces, even a prepared hard sauce. And you have all the fun of experimenting with a different seasoning spice or a new combination of canned fruits or a different sauce or even a new way of presenting the dish to give added interest. Even the whipped cream so often called for in the suggestions of how to use these prepared mixes and fillings is no problem. If you haven’t time to whip milk powder, both a low-calorie and a real cream whip are available in presurrized cans. And the 40 per cent butter fat sweetened cream promised for the market this year should be a lifesaver in quick desserts. _Fruit Desserts_ ♆ The range of canned fruits is the basis of any number of desserts, both hot and cold. These can be served in different fruit juices with perhaps slivered preserved ginger to add zest or they can be given a preliminary treatment with rum or sherry. But the combination of fruits should have contrast both in flavor and texture. Melon balls, slivered pineapple chunks, fresh seedless grapes, mandarin or Chinese summer oranges and sliced papaya all add zest to fruit compotes made with peaches, apricots, pears and other fruits. One of my favorite compotes which guests seem to like is made of 1 package frozen sliced peaches, 1¼ cups canned apricots, ½ pint fresh strawberries or, if these are not in season, a bunch of seedless green grapes, a little of the canned apricot juice, 1½ ounces white rum, and 2 tablespoons Cointreau or kirsch or Triple Sec. Defrost peaches, sprinkle a bit of lemon juice over them, cut up drained apricots, slice strawberries lengthwise, using a silver knife for this job. Make a cocktail of rum and a bit of juice from the canned apricots. Pour over fruit. Cover and chill for several hours. Just before serving add Cointreau or kirsch. Serve in chilled dishes. Yield 1 quart, or less. * * * * * Combinations of fruit are delicious when they are finished with melted raspberry jelly. When fresh fruits are in season I use peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines, bananas and try to get a contrast with a few blackberries or dark-red cherries. Peel the fruit, using a bit of lemon juice to prevent darkening. Melt the jelly on a low flame and spoon over the fruit. Sprinkle the contrasting berries or cherries on the top. Let this season for several hours. I have used canned fruit in a combination of any of the following: sliced peaches, halved apricots, halved pears, nectarines, dark sweet cherries, or canned fruits for salad and a banana if I happened to have one. _Fruit Thais_ ♆ This may be made of canned salad fruit or sliced canned pineapple and halved peaches, apricots or pears. My favorite combination is sliced pineapple and halved peaches, and I always have a can of each on the pantry shelf for a quick dessert. Place drained fruit in rows in a baking dish, topping slices of pineapple with half a peach, laid cut side down. For 6 servings of a slice of pineapple and halved peach sprinkle with the juice of 1 lemon, dot with butter and add 3 or 4 tablespoons of maraschino liqueur or kirsch. Bake in moderate oven for 20 minutes and serve hot in warmed dishes. There will be enough juice to serve as a sauce. _Wine Pears_ ♆ Pears seem especially companionable with wine or sherry and fortunately russet pears keep well and remain in season for a long time. 12 firm russet pears ¼ teaspoon vanilla 2 cups white wine or sherry 3 or 4 whole cloves 1 cup sugar Peel pears but try to leave stems on. Simmer in wine, sugar, vanilla and cloves until transparent. Remove pears with slotted spoon and cook sirup down until it is about the consistency of cream. Pour over pears and chill. These should be served very cold. Almost the same treatment may be used with canned pears. 1 cup sirup from can ¼ teaspoon vanilla 1 cup sherry 2 whole cloves ½ cup sugar, or less if you don’t 3½ cups canned pears want them really sweet Bring sirup, sherry, sugar, vanilla and cloves to a boil, add well-drained pears and simmer for about 10 minutes, until transparent but unbroken. Remove pears with slotted spoon, reduce sirup until the consistency of cream, remove cloves, pour sirup over pears and chill. _Pies_ ♆ The male part of the crew always greet these with loud cheers. Small turnovers and tarts are easily made with canned puréed fruit fillings of apricot, prune, pineapple and date. For other pies use the canned pie fillings, sliced apples, sour cherries, blueberries, pumpkin, etc. Remember to add a tablespoon of kirsch to the cherries which enlivens them and makes them taste somewhat like fresh cherries. Also a couple of tablespoons of brandy added to your favorite recipe for pumpkin pie accomplishes wonders. Somehow to me a deep-dish pie always seems only half the bother of a regular pie and doesn’t clutter up the galley. _Deep-Dish Apple Pie_ ♆ ¾ cup sugar 1 No. 2 can sliced pie apples (2½ cups) ½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter ½ teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons lemon juice ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg 4 tablespoons sherry 2 tablespoons flour Piecrust topping Mix dry ingredients, put in half the apples, sprinkle with half dry ingredients, add remaining apples, sprinkle with remaining dry ingredients, dot with butter and sprinkle on lemon juice and sherry. Top with crust and bake in 425° F. oven until crust is thoroughly cooked and brown. * * * * * If you don’t want to bother with an oven, make a graham-cracker crust and use any of the prepared chiffon fillings—coconut, lemon, pineapple, chocolate, etc. A little rum added to the chocolate filling does a great deal for the flavor. _Graham-Cracker Crust_ ♆ 1½ cups graham-cracker crumbs ¼ cup butter or margarine, melted ⅓ cup sugar Mix cracker crumbs and sugar, add butter and blend well. Press mixture firmly into pie pan, and chill thoroughly before filling. _Pots de Crème_ ♆ This requires no cooking whatsoever. A friend brought this recipe back from Paris and I like this version better than others which are much more trouble. 3 eggs, separated ½ teaspoon vanilla ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, free from Dash of cinnamon (optional) lumps 2¼ squares Baker’s Cooking Chocolate, melted As exact measurements are very important for success in this recipe if you have any doubt about the lumpiness of the confectioners’ sugar roll it on a piece of waxed paper before measuring. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored, add sugar, then beat again and well. Add melted chocolate and beat again. Add vanilla, then stiffly beaten egg whites and then beat these down thoroughly into chocolate mixture. I know, one is supposed to fold in beaten egg whites but this last thorough beating makes a soft, smooth crème. Pour into 4 ramekins or into 4 3-ounce cocktail glasses. Chill at least 6 hours before serving. The texture is even better on the second day. _Uncooked Spanish Cream_ ♆ 2 eggs, separated ½ cup boiling water ⅔ cup condensed milk ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon gelatin ⅛ teaspoon salt ¼ cup cold water 2 tablespoons sherry (optional) Beat egg yolks until thick, then stir in condensed milk. Soften gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes, then dissolve in boiling water. Combine gelatin with egg mixture, add vanilla, salt and sherry. Chill until mixture begins to set, then fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Turn into mold and chill. Serve with either chocolate, butterscotch or caramel sauce. Or with sweetened sour cream or whipped cream or with crushed frozen strawberries or raspberries. _Wine Gelatin_ ♆ This is the best wine jelly I’ve eaten. 2 tablespoons gelatin 1 cup sherry ½ cup cold water ¼ cup lemon juice 1 cup sugar ¾ cup boiling water 1 cup fresh orange juice 2 tablespoons brandy (optional) Soak gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes. Add sugar to orange juice, sherry and lemon juice and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add boiling water to softened gelatin, stir until dissolved and combine with fruit juices. Add brandy and pour into a 1-quart mold. Serve with either sweetened sour cream or whipped cream or surrounded with fruit. This jelly is so delicious you can make a feature of the dessert on your menu. I have made the jelly of frozen and canned juices and I have found that canned pineapple or papaya juice makes a more sparkling and zestful dish than canned orange juice. _Dried Fruits_ ♆ On our long cruises we always carried dried prunes and apricots and with recent improvements in processing these are more easily prepared than ever. However, I still believe in the long soaking period in water at room temperature which plumps them so they hardly need to be cooked. And I still take the trouble to buy them from some merchant who makes a specialty of the largest, finest dried fruit available. After the soaking, when they are restored to their original shape and size, I simmer them very gently for a few minutes, and when they are really tender, add sugar to taste and then chill. Cooked this way, either prunes or apricots are a breakfast treat. It is possible, however, with either of these fruits to use a no-cooking method. Apricots, soaked in tepid water for 24 hours at room temperature are plump. Many people prefer them to the simmered fruit and they are tender enough to use in soufflés and other desserts. The no-cooking method for prunes is a bit different. Add 3 cups of boiling water to 1 pound of tenderized prunes. Cover the jar and cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for a day or 2 and they will be plump. Both of these dried fruits are very useful to have aboard for fruit compotes or desserts. A roll up or what used to be called a roly-poly, made of enriched biscuit-mix and filled with either pitted prunes or apricots is delicious served with either hard sauce, or a clear sauce made with fruit juice or with wine. _Wine Sauce I_ ♆ ¼ cup butter ½ cup hot water ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar 1 cup sherry Pinch of nutmeg Cream butter, add sugar gradually and cream well. Add nutmeg, stir in hot water, bring to boil and add sherry. _Wine Sauce II_ ♆ ½ cup granulated sugar Few grains salt 1 cup sherry 1 egg, beaten Add sugar to sherry, then salt, then egg. Cook in double boiler until sauce has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. This will keep well in the refrigerator and is delicious on all sorts of cakes and cobblers. _Crusty Apricot Pudding_ ♆ 1 cup dried apricots ½ teaspoon salt 4 cups cold water ½ cup milk ¼ cup sugar 1 egg, beaten well 1½ cups flour 1 tablespoon shortening, melted 3 teaspoons baking powder Soak apricots overnight in cold water, bring to simmer, add sugar and cook slowly until tender. Drain, reserving sirup for sauce. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, add milk, egg, shortening and apricots. Bake at 400° F. for 25 minutes. Serve in squares with the following sauce. Measure sirup and add enough water to make 1¾ cups and bring to boiling point in a saucepan. Mix ¾ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, pinch of salt and add to hot sirup slowly, stirring constantly. Cook 10 minutes, add 1 tablespoon butter. A little rum or brandy or sherry is optional but it will improve the flavor. _Lemon Cake-Top Pudding_ ♆ This is an old English dessert and so easy. 2 tablespoons butter 5 tablespoons lemon juice 1 cup sugar Grated rind of 1 lemon 4 tablespoons flour 3 eggs, separated ½ teaspoon salt 1½ cups milk Melt butter. Blend sugar, flour and salt and mix with butter, add lemon juice and grated rind. Beat egg yolks, add to milk and combine with lemon mixture. Fold in beaten egg whites and bake in unbuttered casserole at 350° F. for 35 to 45 minutes. Serve warm. Serves 4. _Upside-Down Cake_ ♆ 6 tablespoons butter or margarine 3 eggs, separated 1 cup light brown sugar 1 cup sugar 1 No. 2½ can sliced pineapple, ½ eggshell of pineapple juice drained (3½ cups) 1 package white cake-mix or make the 1 cup flour following batter: ¼ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder Melt butter in heavy skillet, add brown sugar, stir until dissolved and a bit sirupy. Remove pan from fire, arrange pineapple slices in sirup, then either top with the white cake-mix made according to directions on the package or make your own batter. If you do the latter, beat egg whites and yolks separately, add sugar to beaten yolks, then pineapple juice, then flour, salt and baking powder which have been sifted together. Fold in beaten whites and pour over sliced pineapple. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) for 30 minutes. Serve with either sweetened whipped cream or a clear wine or rum pudding sauce. Canned peaches, apricots, cherries or sliced pie apples may be substituted for pineapple. Vary the amount of brown sugar according to the acidity of the fruit. _Fruit Cobblers_ ♆ These are very useful as they can be made of any canned fruit and an enriched biscuit dough. They can be served open-faced with biscuit for a bottom crust or as a deep-dish cobbler served with a pudding sauce. _Deep-Dish Cherry Cobbler_ ♆ 1 No. 2 can sour cherries (2½ cups) ¼ cup butter or margarine ½ to ¾ cups sugar 2 cups biscuit-mix 2 tablespoons flour ¾ cup light cream or evaporated milk, slightly diluted ¾ cup cherry juice 1 tablespoon kirsch (optional) Drain cherries. Mix sugar and flour in a saucepan, add cherry juice and cook until thickened, add drained cherries and heat. Cut softened butter into biscuit-mix, add cream and pat out to ⅓-inch thickness. Pour hot cherries and sauce into baking pan, add kirsch, cover with biscuit dough, and bake in 425° F. oven for 30 minutes. Serves 6. _Zabaglione_ ♆ This is simple except that the dessert must be made just before it is served. 6 egg yolks ⅓ cup sherry ⅓ cup granulated sugar Cook in a double boiler over low heat and on an asbestos pad. Have hot water in outer jacket low enough so it doesn’t boil around bottom of inner pot. Beat egg yolks with egg beater. Then beat sugar in slowly. Cook 5 minutes after sugar is added, beating or stirring with beater. Add sherry slowly, beating constantly and cook until zabaglione thickens. This happens very suddenly. Serve warm in glasses. Store the unused egg whites, covered, in the refrigerator for fruit-whip desserts later. _Prune Whip_ ♆ ½ cup sugar 5 egg whites 1 cup canned prune pulp Grated rind of 1 lemon (optional) ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar or ½ teaspoon lemon juice If you use sweetened prune pulp, reduce the sugar to ¼ cup. Fold sugar into prune pulp. If you use lemon juice add this to pulp. Beat egg whites until stiff, and if you use cream of tartar, add this to egg whites. Fold prune pulp into egg whites, add lemon rind and place mixture in casserole. Set casserole in pan of hot water and bake in slow oven (300° F.) for about 1 hour or until whip is set. Serve either hot or cold, with or without custard or pudding sauce. This is good with almost any fruit and even with bananas which have been beaten to a pulp. _French Pancakes_ ♆ These are delicious even if you don’t give them the elaborate Suzettes treatment. They can be made just before dinner and kept warm in the oven. ¾ cup sifted flour 2 eggs ½ teaspoon salt ⅔ cup milk 1 teaspoon baking powder ⅓ cup water 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla or grated lemon rind Resift flour with salt, baking powder and sugar into large bowl. Beat eggs thoroughly in another bowl, add milk, water, vanilla or lemon rind and beat again. Make a well in dry ingredients, pour in liquids and combine them with quick and vigorous strokes so that you do not have to beat too long to have a smooth batter. Heat skillet, grease with a bit of salad oil and ladle enough batter to make a 5-inch cake. Tilt skillet to make sure cake spreads evenly. Cook over moderate heat to brown lightly on both sides. Oil skillet lightly for each cake. Keep cakes warm in oven and when all are cooked, fill and roll them. Any of the following fillings may be used: Spread with currant or raspberry jelly, roll pancake and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Or combine drained canned grated pineapple, raspberry jam and 1 tablespoon of rum and spread with this. Or roll up and sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice. Or make a spread of grated orange rind, orange juice, a squeeze of lemon, confectioners’ sugar and rum or sherry. Or use orange marmalade as the basis for a spread. Or make them Crepes Suzettes and blaze them. Almost anything one does with French pancakes will be good. Keep them warm in a fairly hot oven until ready to serve. _Baked Bananas_ ♆ As bananas should be kept at room temperature they present no stowage problem. They can be baked either in the oven or on top of the stove and make an excellent and easy dessert. 1 banana per person Lime or lemon juice Butter ¼ cup rum or sherry, heated (optional) 1 tablespoon brown sugar per banana Peel and slice bananas lengthwise. Sauté in butter. Add brown sugar and let this melt and begin to caramelize. Sprinkle with lime or lemon juice. Take from fire, add rum or sherry, ignite and serve. Or bake bananas in a shallow buttered dish in a 350° F. oven for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle them with lemon juice, add sugar, either brown or confectioners’ or, dribble honey over them, allowing 1 tablespoon or so for each banana. Add warm sherry and blaze. _Rice Cream with Fruit_ ♆ 15-ounce can rice pudding Sweetened sour cream or sweet cream (optional) Canned fruits to garnish Chill rice pudding, using a brand which is thick enough to become a mold when chilled. Garnish with fruits which make a contrast, such as strawberries, loganberries, raspberries. Top with cream. Serves 3 or 4. _Gingerbread_ ♆ When you are cooking an oven dinner don’t forget that good old stand-by—warm gingerbread with a topping. Use your favorite gingerbread-mix and serve it with what you like best. My favorite is whipped milk powder, flavored with a little lemon juice, sweetened with sugar and ½ teaspoon of ground mace. There are, of course, any number of other toppings. Drained, grated pineapple with whipped cream. Applesauce with whipped cream and a pinch of nutmeg. A custard sauce with grated orange or lemon rind. Or spread with cream cheese, thinned with milk, and seasoned with a bit of nutmeg. _Rum Omelet_ ♆ Sweetened omelets are always good and can be made so quickly. Make a French omelet of 4 eggs beaten and blended with 4 teaspoons cold water. Cook over moderate heat in butter, fold, sprinkle sugar on top. Pour 5 tablespoons of rum in pan, ignite, dip hot rum over omelet with a long-handled spoon. When flame begins to flicker, put it out and serve immediately. _Almond Omelet_ ♆ 3 eggs, separated Scant tablespoon butter 3 tablespoons Caramel Sirup ½ cup shredded or minced almonds Few grains of salt ½ teaspoon vanilla This is best as a puffy omelet. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored, add Caramel Sirup, salt and vanilla. Fold in beaten egg whites. Heat butter in skillet, add almonds, pour in eggs and cook slowly over low fire, turning skillet occasionally to make sure omelet browns evenly. This omelet can be finished either in oven or, covered, on top of the stove. Test with your finger to make sure omelet is cooked thoroughly. If no egg white clings to your finger, fold and serve on a hot plate. _No-Name Pudding_ ♆ This was one of my favorite childhood desserts and was called Indian pudding in my family. It was only after I grew up and encountered a real Indian Pudding, and discovered how totally different the two were, that I refused ever to use that name again. Our family pudding was a very soft custard in a rich molasses sauce. I have never been able to find a recipe remotely resembling it in a cookbook. And so I reconstructed it from memories of watching my mother bake it. All I had to go on concerning the amounts was having heard her say to a friend, “I use only 2 ounces of corn meal.” 2 pints milk 1 cup dark molasses, such as Grandma’s brand ¼ cup yellow corn meal 3 eggs, beaten ¼ teaspoon salt 2 or 3 tablespoons evaporated milk undiluted (optional) ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ cup butter or margarine ¼ teaspoon cloves ¼ teaspoon ginger ¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed Heat 1 pint of milk, add corn meal gradually, stirring constantly until mixture thickens into mush. Remove from stove and add salt. Combine spices with brown sugar and stir into mush, blending well. Add molasses, then eggs, then second pint of milk. If you use nonfat milk powder for milk, add some undiluted evaporated milk for richness. Pour into buttered 2-quart casserole and dot with cubes of butter. Bake in 350° F. oven for 15 minutes, stirring fairly often in the beginning to make sure corn-meal mixture doesn’t lurk on bottom of casserole. When the pudding has begun to blend and become a soft mass, increase heat to 400° and bake for another 30 minutes or until center is custardy. I stir occasionally, turning the well-cooked pudding back from sides of casserole into the center. Then I let it brown. It should be soft, never solid, and the molasses and brown sugar serve as sauce. _Key Lime Pie_ ♆ If you are ever in Key waters when the limes are ripe and yellow don’t fail to make a Key Lime Pie. This recipe was given to me by one of the owners of the A&B Lobster House of Key West which was famous for this pie. He said it was an old Conch (pronounced Conk) recipe and they made it just as his mother had. 4 egg yolks ½ to ¾ cup lime juice 1½ cups condensed milk. Eagle brand 1 8-inch pastry shell, baked (since he made a point of this I have followed it faithfully) 3 egg whites 3 tablespoons granulated sugar Beat egg yolks, add condensed milk, then lime juice. When you have added ½ cup of juice, begin to taste, and go on adding lime juice until, as I was instructed, “the nerves in your cheekbones quiver.” I don’t know any better way to describe it. To get this effect I’ve never had to use more than ¾ cup of juice. Pour this thickened mixture into a cold, baked pie shell. Make a meringue by beating 3 of the egg whites with 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and bake in a 350° F. oven for about 12 minutes when the meringue should be nicely browned. NOTE: Key limes aren’t always quite ripe and if you have any doubts about yours, make the filling the evening before and let it ripen to a proper state of firmness in the refrigerator overnight. Then the pie will cut neatly. I find in the North that this ripening process is always necessary since limes are never shipped tree-ripened. You can identify the Key lime easily. It is small and round, and unlike the larger elliptical Persian lime, has no oil in its skin. Index Abalone, 156-157 chowder, 75-76 Accent, 52 Almond omelet, 262 Almonds, 50 Aluminum foil, 58-59 baking fish in, 136 Apple pie, deep-dish, 250 Apricot pudding, crusty, 254-255 Artichoke, hearts of, 231 Asbestos pads, 11, 14, 61 Asparagus, 201-202 baked, with ham, 202 with mushrooms, 202 Aspics, 229-230 Bacon, eight-bells breakfast, 172 quiche, 167 skillet-broiled, 97 Baked beans, 218-219 Baking pans, 14 Banana bread, 243 Bananas, baked, 260 Bannock, 239 Beans, baked, 218-219 frijoles refritos, 224-225 green, 205-207 amadine, 205-206 in herb sauce, 206-207 kidney, canned, 220 white, 220-221 Lima, baby, dried, 221 in cheese sauce, 222 mushrooms and, 222 Mexican, 224-225 refried, 225 Beef, beefsteak and veal kidney pie, 113-114 bourguignon, 94 canned, 43 Hungarian goulash, 100 pot-au-feu, 98-99 ragout of, with onions, 94 roast, canned, 99-101 steak, 96-97 and veal kidney pie, 113-114 stew, _see_ Stew Stroganoff, 97-98 Swiss steak, 111 with green olives, 95 _See also_ Corned beef; Dried beef Beef, ground, skillet cabbage rolls, 109 _See also_ Hamburgers Beets, 207-209 baby, in wine, 207-208 Harvard, 209 in orange sauce, 208 in sour cream, 208 pickled, 207 Bell pepper, 50 Bisque(s), 37, 82-84 chicken, 83 shrimp, 84 Bottle openers, 16 Bouillon cubes, 37 Bovril, 50 Bread(s), 238-245 banana, 243 bannock, 239-240 corn, skillet, 243-244 roll ups, 240-241 spoon, 242-243 Yorkshire pudding, 244-245 Breadbox, 16 Broccoli, 204-205 with ripe olives, 205 Broths, clear, 37 Brown gravy, 91 Butters, fish, 89-90 herb, 90 Cabbage, 211-212 coleslaw, 234 escalloped, 212 in medium cream sauce, 212 in sour-cream sauce, 211-212 skillet cabbage rolls, 109 Cake, upside-down, 256 Can openers, 16 Canned goods, chicken, 38-39 fish, 39-40 meat, 41-45 shellfish, 39-40 soups, 37-38 vegetables, 45-47 Capers, 50 Caramel sirup, 90 Carrots, 209-211 baby, and white onions au gratin, 209-210 candied, 211 glazed, 211 in honey and lemon, 210 in sweet and sour sauce, 211 Casserole, 15 Cassoulet, 183 Cayenne, 51 Celery, dried, 51 juice, 51 Victor (salad), 230 Cheese, 24, 36 macaroni and, 36, 161-162 puff, 171 quiche, 167 soufflé, 170-171 Cheese rabbit, 171-172 canned, 36 Cheese sauce, 89, 203 Chef salads, 231-232 Cherry cobbler, deep-dish, 257 Chicken, 185-199 and rice Creole, 196 and tarragon, pot-au-feu, 193-194 bisque, 83 breasts baked in skillet, 198 canned, 38-39 cassoulet, 183 coq au vin, 198-199 curried, 192 diced, with ripe olives, 188 Divan, 192-193 fricassee, 186-187 boned, 187-188 hash, 189-190 baked, with vegetables, 190 moist creamy, oven-baked, 189 skillet almond, 190 Jambalaya, 180-181 Oriental, 190-191 paella, 173-174 pie, 185-186 Rock Cornish game hen, canned, 43 skillet stew, 112-113 smothered, 191 tarragon, 196-197 terrapin, 188-189 Tetrazzini, 162 Tracy, 197 with rice, 195-196 Chili powder, 51 Chow mein, canned, 43 Chowder, abalone, 75-76 clam, New England variety, 73-74 fish, 74-75 Clams, 147 deviled, 149 hash, 151-152 pie, 152 soup, 72-73 Cobbler(s), cherry, deep-dish, 257 fruit, 256 Cod, salt, in egg sauce, 141 Coffee pot, 15 Colander, 17 Coleslaw, 234 Compotes, 247 Condiments, list of, 50-53 Coolers, portable, 8, 11, 12, 29 _See also_ Iceboxes; Refrigerators Corkscrews, 16 Corn, canned niblet, 213 fritters, 212 pudding, 213 Corn bread, skillet, 243 Corned beef, canned, 102-103 Lou’s casserole, 103 sauerkraut and, 102-103 skillet boiled dinner, 102 Crab, deviled, 147-148 in white sauce, 148-149 Dungeness, 144-147 Louis, 149-150 Newburg, 150 Cream sauce, 87 Crepes Suzettes, 258-259 Crust, pie, graham-cracker, 250 Cups, measuring, 17 Currant jelly sauce, 106 Curried chicken, 192 Curried hard-cooked eggs, 165-166 Curried lamb, 119-121 Curried shrimp, 153 Curry sauce, 87 Dairy products, list of, 34-36 Desserts, 246-265 almond omelet, 262 bananas, baked, 260 cake, 256 cobblers, 256-257 compotes, 247 French pancakes, 258-259 fruit, 246-249 dried, 253-254 gingerbread, 261 pies, 249-250, 264 pots de crème, 251 prepared, 49 prune whip, 258 puddings, 254-255, 262-264 rice cream with fruit, 260 rum omelet, 261-262 Spanish cream, uncooked, 251-252 zabaglione, 257 Dishes, 19-20 Double boiler, 14 Dressings, _see_ Salad dressings Dried beef, 103-105 canned, 44 frizzled, 103-104 soufflé, 104-105 Dried fruits, _see_ Fruits, dried Dry ice, 8, 12, 29 Dutch oven, 13, 19 Egg beaters, 17 Eggs, 24, 34 almond omelet, 262 brouillés, 163-164 curried hard-cooked, 165-166 eight-bells breakfast, 172 foo yung, 164-165 frittata, 166-167 rum omelet, 261-262 Eight-bells breakfast, 172 Enchiladas, 181 canned, 43 Fire precautions, 59-60 Fish, 127-144 baking, 129-130 in parchment or aluminum foil, 136 balls, 142 braising, 135 butters, 89-90 canned, 39-40 casserole, Alaskan-Russian style, 139-140 chowder, 74-75 Cioppino, 143-144 cleaning, 128-129 cod, salt, in egg sauce, 141 cooking methods, 129-138 dressing, 128-129 frying, 130-133 in almond sauce, 140-141 oven-broiled, 133-134 parchment cooking method, 135-136 poached in sour cream, 138-139 poaching, 134-135 sauces, 89 sea-food scallop, 150 soufflés, 138 _See also_ Shellfish Flageolets, 223 Flame tamer, 11 Forks, cooking, 17 _See also_ Silverware Frankfurters, blazed, 110 Freezers, 9, 11, 24, 29, 40 French dressing, 236-237 French pancakes, 258-259 French toast, 241-242 Frijoles refritos, 224-225 Frittata, 166-167 Fritters, corn, 212 Fruit, cobblers, 256 fillings, canned, 48 juices, 48 Fruit Thais, 248 Fruits, canned, 47-48 desserts, 246-249 dried, 49, 253-254 Galley, 5, 7, 8, 9, 22, 57-61 outfitting a, 10-21 Garbage receptacle, 19 Garlic, 51 Garlic press, 18 Gaspacho, 80-81 Gelatin, wine, 252 Ginger, 51 Gingerbread, 261 Glassware, 19, 21 Goulash, Hungarian, 100 Graters, 18 Gravy, 85, 90-92 brown, 91 caramel sirup, 90 contrived, 91-92 Green beans, _see_ Beans, green Green-pea soup, canned, 72 Grills, 12 Grits, hominy, 214 Ground beef, _see_ Beef, ground Ham, 121-126 à la king, 125 and oyster pie, 122-123 and veal pie, 123-124 baked asparagus with, 202 cassoulet, 183 Jambalaya, 180-181 mushrooms and, 124 scalloped, and potatoes, 123 skillet cabbage rolls, 109-110 slice in milk, 125-126 slices, sherried, 122 Hamburgers, in wine sauce, 108 Hash, chicken, 189-190 baked, with vegetables, 190 moist creamy, oven-baked, 189 skillet almond, 190 clam, 151-152 corned-beef, Lou’s casserole, 103 skillet cabbage rolls, 110 Herb vinegars, 51 Herbs, list of, 53-54 Hominy, 214 grits, 214 Hungarian goulash, 100 Ice picks, 16 Iceboxes, 5, 11, 12, 24 _See also_ Coolers; Refrigerators Jambalaya, 180-181 Juices, fruit, canned, 47-48 Kettles, 14 Key lime pie, 264 Kidneys, beefsteak and veal kidney pie, 113-114 Kitchen Bouquet, 51 Klim, 34 Knives, utility, 17 _See also_ Silverware Lamb, cassoulet, 183 canned, 43 curried, 119-121 shanks, braised, 118-119 shoulder, Dutch-oven, 119 Leeks, 214-215 Legumes, 223 canned, 45-46 dried, 32 Lemon cake-top pudding, 255 Lemon sauce, 88-89 Lentil soup, 69, 70-71 red, 76-77 Lentils, green, from India, 223-224 Lettuce, storage of, 24-25 with bacon-custard dressing, 174 Lima beans, _see_ Beans, Lima Lime pie, Key, 264 Lobster, 146 Jambalaya, 180-181 Newburg, 150 Lockers, 5, 7, 22 Lou’s casserole, 103 M.S.G., _see_ Monosodium glutimate Macaroni, and cheese, 36, 161-162 Main-dish meals, canned, 43 Marketing, 6, 7, 8, 23, 27 Mayonnaise, 235-236 Meat(s), 93-126 canned, list of, 41-45 skillet stew, 112-113 storage, 24-26 _See also_ Bacon; Beef; Lamb; Pork; Sausage Meat balls, canned, 44 Meat grinders, 19 Milk, 34-35 Minestrone, 69 Mixing bowls, 15 Mock vinaigrette sauce, 203 Monosodium glutimate, 51-52, 66 Mornay sauce, 108 Mushroom sauce, 88 Mushrooms, baked asparagus with, 202 canned, 46, 66 dried, 46, 66 ham and, 124 Lima beans and, 222 Mussels, 147, 154-155 marinière, 155 poulette, 155 Mustard, 52 No-name pudding, 262-264 Olives, 52 Omelet, almond, 262 rum, 261-262 Onion, juice, 52, 65 minced dehydrated, 52, 65 powder, 52 Onion pie, 226 Onion soup, cream of, 78-79 Bohemian Club, 79 French, 77-78 Onions, 226 canned, 46 scalloped, 226 white, and baby carrots au gratin, 209-210 _See also_ Leeks Ovens, 11, 13, 15, 93 Dutch, 13, 19 Oyster and ham pie, 122-123 Pads, asbestos, 11, 14, 61 Paella, 173-174 Pancake turners, 17 Pancakes, French, 258-259 potato, 228 Pans, 10, 13-16 Paprika, 52 Parchment, cooking, 58 baking fish in, 136 Pastas, 33, 158-162 _See also_ Macaroni; Spaghetti Pastry blender, 18 Pears, wine, 248-249 Peas, 215-218 à la Française, 216 black-eyed, 217 Lou’s, 217-218 Peppercorns, 52 Percolator, 15 Pickles, 52 Pie(s), 249-250, 264 apple, deep-dish, 250 crust, graham-cracker, 250 Pizza, 169-170 Plates, 20 Pork, sausage, Jambalaya, 180-181 skillet cabbage rolls, 109 Potato pancakes, 228 Potato ricers, 18 Potato slicers, 18 Potatoes, canned, 46 Duchess, 227 mashed, 226-227 scalloped, and ham, 123 skillet, raw-fried, 227-228 Pot-au-feu, beef, 98-99 chicken and tarragon, 193-194 smoked tongue, 99 Pots, 10, 13-16 Pots de crème, 251 Pream, 35 Pressure cookers, 15-16, 19 Prune whip, 258 Pudding, apricot, crusty, 254-255 corn, 213 lemon cake-top, 255 no-name, 262-264 Quiche, 167 all sea-food, 168 Rabbit, cheese, 171-172 canned, 36 Ragout, of beef with onions, 94 Ravioli, canned, 43 Red-lentil soup, 76-77 Refrigerator sets, 15 Refrigerators, 9, 10-11, 12-13, 29 _See also_ Coolers; Iceboxes Rice, boiled, Oriental-style, 175-177 browned, French-Canadian, 177 chicken with, 195-196 fried, 179-180 risotto, 178-179 wild, 177-178 Rice cream with fruit, 260 Risotto, 178-179 Rock Cornish game hen, canned, 43 Roll ups, 240 Rolling pins, 18 Rum omelet, 261-262 Saffron, 52 Salad(s), 229-237 celery Victor, 230 chef, 231-232 Jean Lafitte, 235 julienne, 233 molded, 232-233 sea-food mold, 233 vegetables, canned, 47 Salad dressings, French, 236-237 vinaigrette, 231 Salt, seasoning, 52 Sauce(s), 85 cheese, 87, 89, 203 cream, 87 currant jelly, 106 curry, 87 fish, 89 for blanquette of veal, 117 lemon, 88-89 mock vinaigrette, 203 Mornay, 108 mushroom, 88 soubise, 89 soy, 53 sweet and sour, 105, 106 using stock, 88 velouté, 88 white, medium, 86-87 variations, 87 white clam, 160 wine, 254 Worcestershire, 53 Sauerkraut, corned beef and, 102-103 spareribs and, 121 Sausage Jambalaya, 180-181 Scallops, Newburg, 150 sautéed, 154 Scrapers, rubber, 19 Sea food, _see_ Fish; Shellfish Sea-food scallop, 150 Seasoning mix, 53 Seasoning salt, 52 Seasonings, list of, 50-53 Shears, kitchen, 18 Shellfish, canned, 39-40 Cioppino, 143-144 Jambalaya, 180-181 quiche, 168 sea-food scallop, 150 _See also_ Abalone; Clams; Crab; Lobster; Mussels; Scallops; Shrimp Shrimp, 146 bisque, 84 Creole, 153 curried, 153 Jambalaya, 180-181 Newburg, 150 Sieves, 17 Silverware, 19, 21 Sirup, caramel, 90 Skillet boiled dinner, 102 Skillet cabbage rolls, 109-110 Skillet stew, 112-113 Skillets, 13-14 Sorrel soup, 79-80 Soubise sauce, 89 Soufflé, cheese, 170-171 dried-beef, 104-105 Ella’s versatile, 111 fish, 138 Soup(s), 37-38, 68-84 canned, 37, 68-69 clam, 72-73 dehydrated, 37 gaspacho, 80-81 green split-pea, 71 green-pea, canned, 72 lentil, 69, 70-71 red, 76-77 minestrone, 69 onion, cream of, 78-79 French, 77-78 sorrel, 79-80 vegetable, old-fashioned, 77 vichyssoise, 81-82 _See also_ Bisque(s) Sour cream, commercial, 35-36 beets in, 208 fish poached in, 138-139 Soy sauce, 53 Spaghetti, 159 baked, 160-161 Spanish cream, uncooked, 251-252 Spareribs, sauerkraut and, 121 Spices, 53 Spinach, 203-204 savory, 204 with anchovy, 203-204 Split-pea soup, green, 71 Spoon bread, 242-243 Spoons, cooking, 17 measuring, 17 _See also_ Silverware Spud-Nu, 46 Staples, list of, 31-33 Steak, beef, 96-97 and veal kidney pie, 113-114 Swiss, 111 Stew, baked, 100-101 skillet, 112-113 top-of-the-stove, 101 _See also_ Goulash; Ragout Stock, sauces using, 88 Stores, ship’s, 27-56 Stove-lite pellet, 11 Stoves, 5, 9, 10, 11-12, 15, 59, 93 Stowage space, 6, 7, 15, 22-26 Sweet and sour sauce, 105, 106 Swiss steak, 111 Tacos, 181 canned, 43 Tamales, canned, 43 Mother Machado’s supreme, 182-183 Tea, 15, 20, 23 Teapot, 15 Thermometer, oven, 11 Timers, 18 Toasters, 19 Tongs, cooking, 18 Tongue, boiled beef, and vegetables, 105 canned, 42, 45 hot braised, 106 sliced, in wine sauce, 107 smoked, Divan, 107-108 pot-au-feu, 99 Tools, cooking, 16-21 Top-of-the-stove stew, 101 Trivets, 19 Upside-down cake, 256 Utensils, 10-21 Veal, and ham pie, 123-124 blanquette of, 116 Parisienne with vegetables, 114-115 skillet, paprika, 117-118 Veal en daube, canned, 43 Veal kidney pie, and beefsteak, 113-114 Vegetable soup, old-fashioned, 77 Vegetables, 200-229 baked chicken hash with, 190 boiled beef tongue and, 105 canned, 45-47 salad, canned, 47 skillet boiled dinner, 102 skillet stew, 112-113 top-of-the-stove stew, 101 veal Parisienne with, 114-115 _See also_ names of vegetables Venison, canned, 43 Vichyssoise, 81-82 Vinegars, herb, 51 Water, fresh, conservation of, 57-58 Welsh rabbit, _see_ Cheese rabbit White sauce, medium, 86-87 variations, 87 Wine gelatin, 252 Wine pears, 248-249 Wine sauce, 254 Wines, 54-55 Worcestershire sauce, 53 Work space, 5, 65 Yorkshire pudding, 244 Zabaglione, 257 Zest, 52 TRANSCRIBER NOTES Misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected. Where multiple spellings occur, majority use has been employed; otherwise alternative spellings have been retained. Punctuation has been maintained except where obvious printer errors occur. Illustrations by Ginnie Hoffman (1920-2014) are not included as they are not in the public domain. A cover was created for this eBook and is placed in the public domain. [The end of _Cooking Afloat_, by Katherine Pinkerton.]