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THE ELEGANT ART OF DINING
Some Food Variants
Variants of food preparation sometimes typify nationalities better even
than variants of language or clothing. Take the lowly corn meal, for
instance. We find that Italian polenti, Spanish tamale, Philadelphia
scrapple and Southern Darkey crackling corn bread are but variants of
the preparation of corn meal in delectable foods. It is a long step from
plain corn meal mush to scrapple, which we consider the highest and best
form of preparing this sort of dish, but all the intermediate steps come
from a desire to please the taste with a change from simple corn meal.
Crackling corn bread is the first step, and here we find that the
darkies of the South found good use for the remnants of the pork after
lard was tried out at hog-killing time, by mixing the cracklings with
their corn meal and making a pone which they cooked before an open fire
on a hoe blade, the first of this being called "cracklin' hoe cake."
Good scrapple is one of the finest breakfast dishes that we know during
the winter, and when prepared after the recipe given here it precedes
all other forms of serving corn meal. To mix it properly one must know
the proper values of herbs and condiments, and this recipe is the result
of much discriminating study. Modesty prevents us giving it more than
the name of "scrapple." It is prepared in the following manner,
differing from that made in Philadelphia:
Scrapple
Take a young pig's head and boil it until the flesh drops from the
bones, in water to which has been added two good-sized onions,
quartered, five bruised cloves of garlic, one bay leaf, sweet marjoram,
thyme, rosemary, a little sage, salt, and pepper. Separate the meat from
the bones and chop fine. Strain off the liquor and boil with corn meal,
adding the chopped meat. Put in the corn meal gradually, until it makes
a stiff mush, then cook for half an hour with the meat. Put in shallow
pans and let cool. To serve slice about half an inch thick and fry in
olive oil or butter to a light brown.
As originally prepared the tamale was made for conveyance, hence the
wrappings of corn husk. This is a Spanish dish, having been brought to
this country by the early Spanish explorers, and adopted by the Indian
tribes with whom they came in contact. In the genuine tamale the
interior is the sauce and meat that goes with the corn meal which is
alternately laid with the husks, and when made the ends are tied with
fine husk. For meat, chicken, pork, and veal are considered the best.
There is also a sweet tamale, made with raisins or preserves.
The following recipe for tamales was given us by Luna:
Tamales
Boil one chicken until the meat comes from the bones. Chop the neat fine
and moisten it with the liquor in which it was boiled. Boil six large
chili peppers in a little water until cooked so they can be strained
through a fine strainer, and add to this the chopped chicken, with salt
to taste and a little chopped parsley. Take corn meal and work into it a
lump of butter the size of an egg, adding boiling water and working
constantly until it makes a paste the consistency of biscuit dough. Have
ready a pile of the soft inner husks of green corn and on each husk
spread a lump of dough, the size of a walnut, into a flat cake covering
the husk. In the center of the dough put a teaspoonful of the chopped
meat with minced olive. On a large husk put several tablespoonfuls of
chopped meat with olives. Roll this together and lay on them other husks
until the tamale is of the size desired. Tie the ends together with
strips of fine husk and put in boiling water for twenty minutes. Either
veal or pork may be used instead of chicken.
Polenti, properly prepared, is a dish that requires much labor, and
scarcely repays for the time and exertion spent in its making. It
differs from scrapple in that the ingredients are mixed in a sauce and
poured over the mush instead of being mixed in the meal. In the New Buon
Gusto restaurant, in Broadway, they cook polenti to perfection, and when
it is served with cippino it leaves nothing to be desired. This is the
recipe:
Polenti
For the gravy: Make a little broth with veal bone, a small piece of
beef, a pig's foot, neck, feet and gizzard of chicken. In a separate
kettle cook in hot oil one sliced onion, one clove of garlic, a little
parsley, one bell pepper, one tomato, a small piece of celery, and a
carrot. Cook until soft and then add this to the broth with a few dried
mushrooms. Cook slowly for thirty minutes and then strain.
For the mush: Boil corn meal until it is thoroughly done and then cool
it until it can be cut in slices for frying. Mix butter and olive oil
and heat in a frying pan and into this put the slices of corn meal,
frying to a light brown. Place the fried corn meal in a platter in
layers, sprinkling each with grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.
Take parsley and one clove of garlic chopped fine and a can of French
mushrooms cut in quarters, and fry in butter, then add enough gravy to
pour over the fried corn meal. Place this in an oven for a few minutes
then serve.
The Elegant Art of Dining
Contents
Foreword
The Good Gray City
The Land of Bohemia
When the Gringo Came
Early Italian Impression
Birth of the French Restaurant
At the Cliff House
Some Italian Restaurants
Impress of Mexico
On the Barbary Coast
The City That Was Passes
Bohemia of the Present
As it is in Germany
In the Heart of Italy
A Breath of the Orient
Artistic Japan
Old and New Palace
At the Hotel St. Francis
Amid the Bright Lights
Around Little Italy
Where Fish Come In
Fish in Their Variety
Where Fish Abound
Some Food Variants
About Dining
Something About Cooking
Told in A Whisper
Out of Nothing
Paste Makes Waist
Tips and Tipping
The Mythical Land
A Good Bohemian Dinner
Restaurant Famous Recipes
Appendix (How to Serve Wines, Recipes)
Art of Dining Index
Mailing Lists
Forums
Webrings
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