A Thousand Ways to Please a Husband With Bettina's Best Recipes (50 page)

"Well, it looked good to me before, but now that I think of it, I believe there is an extra shine on things. What makes that nickel there look so bright and silvery?"

"I cleaned it with a damp cloth dipped in powdered borax. That always makes nickel bright and clean."

"I might have done that for you, Betty. Why didn't you suggest it to me?"

"Oh, this house is so small and dear that I enjoyed every minute of my house-cleaning. And I didn't want to bother you with it at all."

"Well, I'll help now with dinner. What can I do?"

"Will you cut the bread, dear? There's the steel bread knife; doesn't it look bright and shiny, too? I cleaned all my steel knives by dipping them into the earth in a flower pot I keep filled for that purpose. Well, I think dinner is ready now, Bob."

For dinner they had:

Broiled Steak French Fried Potatoes
Stuffed Onions
Bread Currant Jelly
Orange Tapioca Whipped Cream
Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Stuffed Onions
(Two portions)

2 large Spanish onions
3 T-soft bread crumbs
1 t-egg
½ t-chopped parsley
½ t-salt
2 t-melted butter
½ t-celery salt
¼ C-milk

Cook the whole onions in boiling water until tender, but not broken. When the fork pierces them easily, drain off the water and rinse in cold water. This makes them firm for stuffing.

Remove the centers carefully. Add the removed portion, chopped fine, to the crumbs, egg, parsley, salt, butter and celery salt. Mix thoroughly. Fill the holes with the mixture. Place the onions in a small pan. Sprinkle the salt over the onion and pour over it the milk. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes.

Orange Tapioca
(Two portions)

4 T-orange juice
2 t-lemon juice
5 T-sugar
²
/
₃
C-boiling water
2 T-powdered tapioca
¼ t-salt
1 orange

Stir the tapioca into the orange and lemon juice. Add the sugar and salt. Let it stand for three minutes while boiling the water. Add the water. Place directly over the fire. Stir constantly and cook till thick (about three minutes). Peel the orange and break apart in sections. Line a glass serving dish with it and pour the tapioca over the sections. Serve cold with whipped cream.

Whipped Cream

¹
/
₃
C-thick cream
2 T-sugar
½ t-lemon extract
½ t-vanilla extract

Place the cream in a round-bottomed, chilled bowl. Beat until thick and fluffy. Add the sugar, lemon and vanilla. Mix well. Pile lightly on the orange tapioca and serve very cold.

"I
'VE been to the market, Bettina," said Charlotte, "and I thought I'd stop here just a moment to rest."

"Come in," said Bettina, "and set that heavy basket down. Why didn't you leave it for Frank to bring?"

"Because I needed the things for dinner."

"What did you get?"

"Oh, the same old fresh vegetables," said Charlotte wearily. "A month ago they seemed so wonderful—strawberries, asparagus, new potatoes and all—but there are no new ways to cook them! One day I cream the asparagus and the next day I serve it on toast."

"Do you ever make asparagus salad?" asked Bettina. "We are very fond of it. Cold cooked asparagus is good with any kind of salad dressing, but we like best a very simple kind that I often make—oil and lemon juice and cheese."

"Cheese?" echoed Charlotte in surprise.

"Yes, cottage cheese and Roquefort cheese are equally good. And, Charlotte, if you want some delicious strawberry desserts——"

"Oh, I do! We're so tired of shortcake and plain strawberries!"

"I know several good strawberry dishes. Come, let me show you one that I made today!"

Bettina's dinner consisted of:

Veal Steak New Potatoes in Cream
Bread Butter
Asparagus Salad Salad Dressing
Strawberry Tapioca

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Asparagus Salad
(Three portions)

18 stalks of asparagus
½ t-salt
3 C-water
3 pieces of lettuce

Wash the asparagus and cut it in six-inch pieces. Cook for ten minutes in boiling salted water (longer if necessary). Rinse with cold water, handling carefully. Arrange six stalks on each piece of lettuce. Serve with salad dressing.

Asparagus Salad Dressing
(Three portions)

4 T-olive oil
2 T-lemon juice
¼ t-salt
¼ t-paprika
1 T-cottage cheese

Beat the oil, and add the lemon juice slowly. Add the salt and paprika. Beat one minute. Add the cheese. Serve very cold, poured over the asparagus salad.

Strawberry Tapioca

3 T-granulated tapioca
4 T-sugar
1¼ C-hot water
¹
/
₈
t-salt
½ t-vanilla
1 C-strawberries
¼ C-sugar

Wash and hull the strawberries, and cut in halves with a spoon. Add the sugar, mix well, and set in a cold place. Mix the tapioca, the sugar and the salt. Add the boiling water slowly. Cook ten minutes in the upper part of the double boiler. Add the vanilla. When cold, add the strawberries. Serve very cold with plain or whipped cream.

"O
H, Bob!" cried Bettina, "don't you hope it won't rain?"

"Rain? When? Tonight?" asked Bob, absent-mindedly, for he was busily eating the first cherry cobbler of the season, and enjoying it, too.

"No, stupid! I'm thinking about the wedding—Ruth's wedding."

"And Fred's wedding, too," added Bob. "You talk as if Ruth were the only one who is vitally interested."

"Fred's wedding, then. For, you see, the ceremony is to be in that darling summer house if it doesn't rain. If it does it will have to be in the solarium. The bridesmaids and matrons (if it is an outdoor wedding) are to carry the prettiest green silk parasols that you ever saw. They will be Ruth's gifts to us. Over our arms we'll carry plain soft straw hats filled with pink peonies, and lots of trailing greenery. Won't that be lovely? For you know we are all to wear short white dresses and white shoes."

"And what am I to do?"

"You're to be an usher and help carry the green ropes that form the aisle."

"Ropes?"

"Yes, plain ropes covered with greenery. Will you have some more cherry cobbler, Bob?"

That night for dinner Bettina served:

Pork Tenderloin Creamed New Potatoes
Cauliflower with Butter Sauce
Vegetable Salad French Dressing
Cherry Cobbler Cream
Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Vegetable Salad
(Four portions)

2 tomatoes
12 slices of cucumber
4 T-cottage cheese
½ t-celery salt
1 t-salt
¼ t-paprika
8 pieces of lettuce

Arrange two pieces of lettuce on each salad plate. Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange on the lettuce. Place three slices of cucumber on each piece of tomato. Add a tablespoon of cheese to each portion. Sprinkle with celery salt, salt and paprika. Serve at once with French dressing.

Bettina's French Dressing
(Four portions)

2 T-lemon juice
5 T-olive oil
1 t-salt
¼ t-paprika
1 t-chopped parsley

Mix the lemon juice, salt, paprika and parsley. Add the oil slowly, beating vigorously with a Dover egg-beater or a fork. Beat until the mixture becomes a little thick. Pour over the salad.

Cherry Cobbler
(Four portions)

2 C-cherries, stemmed and pitted
²
/
₃
C-sugar
2 t-flour
1 T-water
¹
/
₈
t-salt
1 C-flour
1 t-baking powder
¼ t-salt
1 T-sugar
2 T-butter
6 T-milk

Mix the cherries, sugar, flour and salt. Allow to stand five minutes. Add the water. Pour the mixture into a deep glass or china baking dish. Mix and sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter with a knife. Add the milk, mixing until a soft dough is formed. Shape it with the hands to fit over the cherries. Make three slits in the dough to permit the steam to escape. Place in a moderate oven and bake for thirty minutes, Serve in the baking dish. Plain cream or whipped cream should be served with the cobbler.

"I
F you girls only would, my dear," Ruth's mother had responded to Bettina's suggestion that she and Alice entertain Ruth's house guests the entire day before the wedding, "you have no idea what a load would be taken off my mind!"

"And Alice and I would so enjoy helping you," Bettina had replied. "And remember, we mean the whole day, breakfast and all!"

Luckily, the day before the wedding dawned warm and clear At eight o'clock Harry and Bob drove them all in automobiles to a lovely country spot in which the girls served an outdoor breakfast. The morning was spent in motoring and luncheon was eaten at a charming downtown tea-room. Then they were whisked off to Bettina's little home for an informal afternoon, and Harry and Bob, feeling that they had indeed been model husbands, departed for their respective offices.

"The girl from Kentucky has volunteered to sing," whispered Alice to Ruth. "She's a dear. Do you suppose we can keep Aunt Jenny from talking for half an hour?"

That afternoon the following refreshments were served on trays:

Fruit Salad Bettina Sandwiches
Orange Sherbet
Bettina's Cake, White Mountain Cream Icing
Coffee
Nuts Candy

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

Fruit Salad
(Twelve portions)

3 C-diced pineapple
1 C-nut meats, cut in small pieces
½ C-oranges, cut in small pieces
½ C-marshmallows, cut fine
½ C-red cherries, cut fine
¹
/
₃
C-figs, cut fine
1 C-salad dressing
½ C-whipped cream
12 pieces lettuce

Mix the pineapple, nut meats, oranges, marshmallows, cherries and figs. Mix the whipped cream and the salad dressing. Pour this over the fruit. Serve on lettuce leaves which have been washed and placed on serving plates. Serve immediately.

Bettina Sandwiches
(Twelve portions)

½ C-creamed cheese
3 T-pickles, chopped fine
½ C-pimento olives, chopped fine
2 T-salad dressing
¼ t-salt

Mix the cheese, pickles, olives and salt. Add the salad dressing. Spread this mixture between two thin pieces of buttered bread. Press firmly together and cut into fancy shapes.

Bettina Cake
(Twelve squares)

¼ C-butter
½ C-sugar
4 egg-yolks
⁷
/
₈
C-flour
1 t-baking powder
¼ C-strained orange juice
½ t-orange extract
½ t-lemon extract

Cream the butter, add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg-yolks which have been well beaten. Mix and sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and add these, with the orange juice and the orange and lemon extracts to the first mixture. Beat vigorously for two minutes. Fill a twelve-inch square pan which has been prepared with waxed paper, with the mixture. Bake thirty minutes in a moderate oven. When cool, cover with the icing and cut into twelve pieces.

R
UTH'S wedding colors were to be pink and green, and pink and green were, therefore, the colors which decorated the charming dinner table laid for the wedding party and close relatives the night before the wedding. A bud vase holding a half-opened pink rose bud stood before every two places. A large, low dish in the center of the table held pink roses, while at either end was another low arrangement of the same flowers.

Tiny paper slipper nut cups at each place held the pecans, and at the places laid for the best man and the ushers, silver pencils, Fred's gifts to the groomsmen, were found.

"They are cunning, of course," chattered Bernadette, Ruth's cousin and maid-of-honor, "but you men just wait till you see the green parasols that we bridesmaids are to carry! Ruth is giving them to us, you know!"

The dinner menu was as follows:

Watermelon Balls
Celery Bouillon Bread Sticks
Veal Birds
Creamed New Potatoes Buttered New Beets
Rolls Butter Balls
Mint Frappé
Blackstone Salad French Dressing
Thin Bread and Butter Sandwiches
Brick Ice Cream White Cake
Coffee
Salted Pecans