Main Dishes

Shepherd’s Pie

Grease a 2-quart baking dish and cover the sides with a thin layer of seasoned mashed potato. Use about 2½ cups potato. Fill the center with about 4½ cups well-seasoned, slightly thickened stew, creamed chicken, or creamed fish. There should be no potatoes in the stew. Cover the top with 1 cup mashed potato and bake in a hot oven (400°F.) until the pie is hot through and slightly browned on top.

NOTE: The recipe for Beef Stew on page 13 may be used.

Fricasseed Chicken with Dumplings

Cut chicken into pieces for serving. Roll each piece in flour and brown in hot fat. Browning the chicken before cooking it helps retain and develop the flavor. After the pieces are browned, simmer until tender in enough water to cover. When it is done, take the chicken out and cook dumplings in the gravy. Serve the chicken in the center of a platter with the dumplings around the edge. Pour the gravy over the chicken.

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Dumplings

1 cup flour.

2½ teaspoons baking powder.

½ teaspoon salt.

1 egg.

⅓ cup milk.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat the egg well, add the milk, and mix with the dry ingredients. Drop by small spoonfuls into the chicken gravy. Cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. The top must not be removed while the dumplings are cooking. If the steam escapes, the dumplings will not be light.

Baked Cheese and Macaroni

2 cups macaroni or spaghetti, broken in small pieces.

4 tablespoons flour.

4 tablespoons butter.

2 cups milk.

¾ pound American cheese.

1 teaspoon salt.

Butter.

Soft bread crumbs.

Cook the macaroni or spaghetti in 2 quarts of boiling salted water until tender. Drain. Make a sauce with the flour, butter, milk, and salt. Grate or cut the cheese into the sauce, reserving a little to grate over the top of the dish.

Place the macaroni in a buttered baking dish, in alternate layers with the cheese sauce. Scatter the extra grated cheese over the top with buttered bread crumbs. Bake in a moderate oven (350°F.) until the sauce and macaroni are hot through and the crumbs are brown.

Smothered Ham with Sweetpotatoes

1 slice of smoked ham, cut into sizes for serving.

3 cups raw, sliced sweetpotatoes.

1 tablespoon butter or ham drippings.

2 tablespoons sugar.

1 cup hot water.

Brown the ham lightly on both sides and arrange it to cover the bottom of a baking dish. Spread the sliced sweetpotatoes over the ham. Sprinkle with sugar. Add the hot water and fat. Cover the dish and bake slowly at 350°F. (moderate oven) until the ham is tender. Baste the potatoes occasionally with the liquid. Brown the top well.

Creamed Oysters

1 quart oysters.

2½ cups milk and oyster liquor.

½ cup butter.

½ cup flour.

1 teaspoon salt.

⅛ teaspoon pepper.

¼ teaspoon onion juice, if desired.

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Cook the oysters in their liquor until the edges begin to curl. Do not let them cook too long or they will be tough. Strain off the liquor. To about 1 cup of this liquor, add enough milk to make 2½ cups. Melt the butter and add the flour, stirring until blended. Add the liquid. Cook for 5 or 10 minutes to do away with the starchy flavor of the flour. Add the oysters and seasoning and serve at once in patty shells or on toast. If creamed oysters stand, the sauce becomes thin.