



Produced by David Starner, S.D., and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
produced from images made available by the HathiTrust
Digital Library.)









  California
  Mexican-Spanish
  Cook Book

  Selected
  Mexican and Spanish
  Recipes

  By

  Bertha Haffner-Ginger


[Illustration: Very Sincerely Yours.

Bertha Haffner-Ginger.]


This book is dedicated to my daughter, nicknamed Miss "Paprika" by our
pupils. She has been my inspiration and devoted companion through all
the years of my public life.

    B. H. G.




TO MY READERS


An announcement that my lesson for the day would be Spanish dishes,
invariably brought record-breaking crowds in any city in the United
States, and a demand for recipes induced me to search for the best to be
found.

My three years' stay in California has enabled me to learn how to
prepare the very best dishes directly from the natives, both Mexican and
Spanish.

It is not generally known that Spanish dishes as they are known in
California are really Mexican Indian dishes. Bread made of corn, sauces
of chile peppers, jerked beef, tortillas, enchiladas, etc., are unknown
in Spain as native foods; though the majority of Spanish people in
California are as devoted to peppery dishes as the Mexicans themselves,
and as the Mexicans speak Spanish, the foods are commonly called Spanish
dishes.

When made properly, there is great merit in this class of foods and I
have endeavored to select the very best recipes, and have revised them
into correct proportions and practical methods of preparation.

Many of the dishes are very delicious and will be found of great value
for luncheon, entries, and a zest to various menus, and especially
useful to those who desire to cater to the public. Please note the
classification of sauces and dressings which eliminates a repetition of
the same sauce in different dishes.

Wishing you as much pleasure in the preparation and serving of this
collection of recipes as I have had in compiling them, I am,

    Very sincerely yours,
    BERTHA HAFFNER-GINGER.


[Illustration: THE MISSION OF THE OLD PADRES WAS TO MAKE LIFE BRIGHTER
FOR SUCH AS THESE]


REGULAR SPANISH DINNER

60c

Including Table Claret

    SOUP
    SALAD
    ENCHILADAS
    CARNE CON CHILI
    SPANISH BEANS
    SPANISH RICE
    FRUIT AND COFFEE

    Special Spanish Dinner

    $1.50 per plate


[Illustration: A CALIFORNIA "RAMADA" CAFE]


LISTA DE LOS PLATOS

(TABLE D'HOTE)

[Illustration]

    Ensalada de Frijoles
    [Pink Bean Salad]

    Sopa de Papas
    [Potato Soup]

    Arroz a la Creole
    [Rice, Spanish]

    Enchiladas a la Brabo

    Enpanadas de Ternera, Espagnol
    [Veal Cutlet, Spanish]

    Frijoles Con Carne
    [Pink Beans with Cheese]

    Dulce de Naranja
    [Orange Pudding]

    Queso       Galletas
    [Cheese]    [Crackers]

    Cafe <DW64>
    [Black Coffee]

    DINNER, 75 Cents


[Illustration: CABARET DANCERS

Casa Verdugo Cafe, Los Angeles]




"Ensaladas Espanol"

(Spanish salads)


Prepared Vinegar for Spanish Salad Dressing

Put a button of garlic, large slice cucumber, slice onion, tablespoon
parsley, tablespoon taragon leaves, or two tablespoons taragon vinegar
into one pint cider vinegar. Bottle and let stand several days, strain
and keep for following salads and dressings.


Especially Prepared Dressings

Spanish Dressing No. 1

Rub mixing bowl with button of garlic, break into bowl one egg yolk,
whip stiff, add one-fourth cup best olive oil slowly, then one-fourth
cup lemon juice, tablespoon prepared vinegar, teaspoon sugar, half
teaspoon salt, tablespoon green chile pulp. Very fine.

Spanish Dressing No. 2

Six tablespoons of best olive oil in bowl, add gradually three
tablespoons lemon juice and one of prepared vinegar, one teaspoon brown
sugar, half teaspoon salt, tablespoon red chile pulp, stir with rotary
motion until a thick cream, serve at once on salad.

Spanish Salad Dressing No. 3

Lemon or lime juice. Six tablespoons to three of olive oil, teaspoon
sugar, one-half teaspoon salt, dash red pepper, teaspoon onion juice.


Spanish Salad, Avacado (Aligator Pear)

Peel and cut in half pears, sprinkle with salt and sugar twenty minutes
before using, then place in heart of small crisp lettuce head, pour over
Spanish dressing No. 3.


Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Select six fine ripe tomatoes; remove the hearts carefully; place on ice
until chilled; pare two cucumbers and chop them finely; mix with tomato
pulp; pour over a half cup of dressing No. 3 and fill the tomatoes.
Serve on lettuce leaves and decorate with thinly sliced sweet peppers.


Spanish Sweet Pepper Salad

Remove seed and fill half peppers with chopped cucumber and celery,
mixed with dressing No. 3, garnish with pimiento or beets, serve on
lettuce.


Spanish Bean Salad

One cup Spanish beans cooked tender, small pink (canned red kidney beans
will do); chop sweet green pepper, one-fourth cup, tablespoon each of
onion, ripe sweet pepper, parsley and cucumber, mix with beans, serve
with Spanish dressing No. 1.


Spanish Tomato and Egg Salad

Peel smooth just ripe tomatoes, slice in three slices across, place on
lettuce leaf, put border around of hard boiled whites of eggs, stand
hard boiled yolk in center, pour over Spanish dressing No. 1.


Stuffed Tomato Salad

Scald and peel large tomatoes, remove center, mix with equal parts
celery, green chile, onions, fry in little olive oil and lemon juice,
salt to taste, fill tomatoes, teaspoon Spanish dressing No. 1, sprinkle
little chopped parsley and grated cheese, set on ice, serve on lettuce.


Spanish California Ripe Olive Salad

Remove seed from ripe olives, fill with mixture of cottage cheese,
pimiento, salt, paprika, parsley, press together, serve on lettuce leaf,
cover with Spanish dressing No. 1.


Spanish Moulded Salad

Chop enough ripe tomatoes to fill a cup, half cup cucumber, one-fourth
cup celery, one-fourth cup green sweet peppers, tablespoon onion,
one-half teaspoon chile powder, salt to taste. Dissolve one tablespoon
gelatine in one cup tomato juice, pour over above, mix and mould, when
firm cut in squares, serve with Spanish sauce Nos. 1 or 2 in lettuce
leaf.


Spanish Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Pare and chop fine one good-sized fresh cucumber. Shred sufficient
cabbage to make one pint, throw in cold water for one hour; scald and
peel one good sized tomato and chop fine. Remove the seeds from one
large sweet pepper, chop and mix with the tomato. When ready to serve
drain and dry the cabbage. Put into salad bowl a layer of cabbage, then
a layer of cucumber, then a layer of tomato and a layer of pepper;
sprinkle with a few drops of onion juice; then another layer of cabbage
and continue until all the material is used. Serve with dressing No. 2.


Spanish Cabbage Salad

Two cups shredded cabbage red and white mixed, two tablespoons chopped
roasted chestnuts, two of pecans, mix with dressing No. 2 and serve in
lettuce cups.


Rice Salad

A cup of boiled rice; four hard-boiled eggs, and one head of lettuce.
Arrange on platter, alternate layers of rice, shredded lettuce leaves,
slices of hard-boiled eggs and dressing No. 1. Over the top layer of
dressing press the yolk of an egg through a sieve and garnish the edges
with a layer of lettuce leaves and radish tulip. Chop cress and cabbage,
equal parts, add few minced chives, add one-fourth cup cream to one-half
cup salad dressing No. 3 and serve over salad.

[Illustration: OVEN IN PATIO, RAMONA'S MARRIAGE PLACE]

[Illustration: OLD SPANISH KITCHEN IN CALIFORNIA]

[Illustration: INDIAN OVENS]




Sopa Espanol

(Spanish Soups)


Sopa de Frijoles (Bean Soup)

Cook one pint pink beans in two quarts beef stock till tender. Add one
cup chopped onions, two green, two ripe chiles (fresh or canned), one
quart canned tomatoes, two tablespoons chopped parsley. Cook all
thoroughly. Drop in Spanish meat balls and serve with Spanish cheese
fingers.


Spanish Meat Balls

Grind soup beef very fine. Add one egg to one cup meat, salt, little
onion juice, two tablespoons soaked bread, make into very small balls,
roll in crumbs, fry, drop in soup just before serving and sprinkle each
ball with finely chopped parsley and bits of pimiento for color effect.


Sopa de Papas (Potato Soup)

Add one cup mashed potatoes to one cup chicken, veal or beef stock, one
cup milk, tablespoon butter, salt, one bay leaf, tablespoon flour to
thicken, cook and strain, cut thinly sliced bread, round, the size of a
nickle, butter and toast, make little pile grated yellow cheese on
toast, top with red sweet pepper, pinch of chopped parsley on top. Serve
hot.


Spanish Hot Vegetable Broth

Make broth of one cup cabbage, one cup carrots, one-half cup onions, one
cup garlic, one-half cup turnips, one-half cup celery, one-fourth cup
green pepper. Add one quart canned tomatoes, one quart clarified meat
stock, cook thoroughly, strain, serve hot with spoonful well cooked rice
in bowl. For vegetable soup leave all vegetables in.


Spanish Fish Chowder

Fry one-half cup salt pork cut into small cubes, one-half cup chopped
onion to light brown, add tablespoon flour, then add two cups small
pieces of white boneless fish meat, brown slightly, strain two cups hot
milk, one cup prepared Spanish sauce, salt to taste, dash of paprika.
Clams or oysters may be used, allowing only one minute for clams or
oysters.




Tortillas


[Illustration: MEXICAN WOMAN MAKING TORTILLAS

Y. Y. Perez, Public Bakery, Sonora Town, Los Angeles. They refuse to
make them any other way and take the same pleasure in making a perfectly
thin and round tortilla that puffs up nicely while cooking, as you and I
do in trying to make a beautiful loaf of bread. Truly the heart of women
are the same the world over. Deep down, no matter what the environment,
the desire is always there, to be "loaf givers."]


Modern Way to Prepare Corn for Tortilla and Tamales

Put one gallon of shelled corn in enough water to cover; dissolve
one-half cup lime in a little water and add to cover; boil fifteen or
twenty minutes; remove from fire, pour off first water and add fresh
cold water; rub with hand to remove husk. Rinse in another water and it
is ready to grind. Don't wash too much or it will not be pasty enough to
make tortilla.


Tortillas No. 2

Another way and liked best by some people: Add to the corn dough (masa)
rounding tablespoon of lard to four cups dough, little salt.


Tortillas No. 3

Still another way: Corn meal and coarse flour half and half wet to stiff
dough, salt and lard.


Tortillas No. 4

But the best to my taste is the hominy or corn ground into a smooth
paste, three cups corn, one of flour, two tablespoons melted lard,
teaspoon salt, cook on ungreased iron, have ready enough hot salted lard
to dip tortilla in just before you add filling to make Enchiladas. When
flour is used, dough may be rolled out on a board, a small pie tin
placed on and cut round the edge to form cake; lift up with pancake
turner.


How to Shape Tortillas

Take piece of dough size of biscuit and press with hand into cake size
of small pie plate, toast on top of stove moderately warm. Do not brown.

[Illustration: A PLATE OF TORTILLA]

[Illustration: TACO

Made by putting chopped cooked beef and chile sauce in tortilla made of
meal and flour; folded, edges sealed together with egg; fried in deep
fat, chile sauce served over it.]

[Illustration: INDIAN WOMAN BAKING BREAD]

[Illustration: A PUBLIC BAKERY IN MEXICO

Women Making Tortilla]




Enchiladas


[Illustration: ENCHILADAS]


Enchiladas, No. 1 (Very fine)

Make Tortilla. Chop one cup onions very fine, slice and chop one-half
cup olives, cook in little lard; have cup grated cheese ready, dip
tortilla in hot salted lard, dip in chile sauce No. 1, spread with
grated cheese, put in center tablespoonful of cooked onions, tablespoon
chopped hard-boiled eggs, two tablespoons chopped chicken, six seedless
raisins soaked in claret, level tablespoon chopped olives, a sprinkle of
cheese and fourth cup Chile Sauce No. 1, fold both sides, one over the
other, pour Chile Sauce No. 5 over all, put tablespoon cooked onion on
center of top of each and several large pieces of cheese and three whole
olives. Place in hot oven till cheese is melted, serve very hot.


Enchiladas No. 2

Use green chile sauce for Enchiladas No. 2, and filling of beef or veal,
with onion or coddled or poached egg on top sprinkled with grated
cheese, spoonful red chile sauce dropped in spots for color, heat till
cheese melts.




Chile Pulp and Sauces for all Recipes


Chile peppers are the base of all Mexican and Spanish dishes, and I have
simplified the various recipes by making a list of different ways to
make the pepper pulps and sauces. Please note that they are numbered and
named, referred to by number and name in the recipes. Original way to
prepare chile for sauce is to remove seed and toast on coals, top of
stove or in oven, till they puff and look tender; and mash through sieve
or colander; add water or tomatoes for right consistency; scalding is
the quickest.


No. 1, Red Chile Sauce, for Enchiladas or Tamales, etc.

Split red chile pepper, remove all seeds and veins, soak several hours
in water, pour off, pour on boiling water, pour off and repeat again,
the last water just enough to cover peppers when pressed down. Mash in
this water and press through sieve, melt one-half cup pure lard, add
heaping tablespoon flour, brown and add three cups of chile pulp, salt
to taste, cook very slowly half hour.


No. 2, Green Chile Sauce for Enchiladas or Tamales, etc.

Split, remove seeds and veins from green chiles and boil in little hot
water till tender; mash, press through sieve, melt one-fourth cup lard,
add two tablespoons flour, teaspoon salt, brown just a little, add three
cups green pulp, cook slowly half hour.


Prepared Spanish Sauce

Take equal parts red and green chile peppers, same amount green and red
sweet peppers, split, remove seed from all, soak in water, drain, add
enough water to barely cover, boil tender, mash in water, press through
sieve, heat half cup olive oil, fry in it one-half cup onion, one-half
parsley, three garlic buttons, tablespoon aregano, two cups raw
tomatoes, six cloves, two cups of the pepper pulp, salt to taste, cook,
strain, may heat and bottle larger quantities, very fine.




Pickles and Relishes


Spanish Pickle

Heat quart apple vinegar, add tablespoon salt, twenty cloves, two
tablespoons aregano, two of cominos, boil five minutes, let cool, pour
over small red and green chiles, wild tamatillos (wild tomatoes) and put
up in jars.


Green Chile Relish, No. 1

Remove seed and veins from twelve large green chiles, soak over night in
water with little salt in it, chop and measure one quart green tomatoes,
chop chiles, one cup cucumber, 1 garlic button, cook altogether until a
pulp, press through sieve, add one-half cup lemon or lime juice,
tablespoon salt. Fine over cold meats, fish, oysters, eggs, croquettes,
roast pork, mix with apple sauce; serve on fried apple fritters.


Red Chile Relish, No. 2

Make same as green, substitute ripe tomatoes and red chiles. You may
bottle, seal tightly each sauce; will keep indefinitely.




Chile Con Carne


Mexican Red Hot Chile Con Carne

To each cup of raw or cooked, chopped or ground beef, one-half cup lard
or suet, add one cup pulp of red chile pepper, two cups beef stock,
salt, cook until a thick sauce is formed, serve with frijoles.


Chicken Giblet Chile

Cook chicken jiblets livers and hearts tender in small amount water;
chop and add equal amount chile sauce No. 1 or 2, salt to taste, serve
on Spanish rice put in dish, sprinkle with parmasan cheese or Mexican
grated cheese.


Chile Con Carne (Mild)

Two cups cooked chopped beef, one-half cup green chile pulp, one-half
cup suet, tablespoon lard, one cup tomatoes, one button garlic, one-half
cup chopped onion. Cook until thick, serve with frijoles.


Chile Con Carne

One-half cup chopped salt pork, one-half cup suet, add one-half cup
chopped onion, one teaspoon aregano, one-half teaspoon safron, fry all
together; add two cups cooked ground beef, two cups frijoles, two cups
red chile pulp, one cup water or three cups water and four tablespoons
chile powder, salt to taste and cook forty minutes.


Chicken Chile

Boil a fat chicken in small amount water with garlic button, or slice of
onion to flavor. When tender chop the meat in small pieces, heat some of
the chicken fat skimmed from the liquor and cut from chicken, add flour,
bit of onion, add one cup green chile pulp, two cups of water chicken
was boiled in, salt; add chopped chicken, stew few minutes, serve on
Spanish rice.


Chile Con Carne

Cook beef, veal or chicken with parsley, carrots, celery, onions, bay
leaf. Let it cook very slowly until tender, then cut meat into small
pieces, strain the juice, add to every pint one-half cup chile pulp and
one cup of cooked and mashed frijoles, add tablespoon butter or lard,
then meat, and if too hot add cup tomatoes, cook few minutes longer.




Tamales


[Illustration: Tamales

Chop one pound of beef, pork or chicken, add a little chopped tallow or
one tablespoonful of lard and a little salt; fry in a pan until tender;
chop again very fine; return to pan; add a little warm water and pulp of
two red chiles; stir and fry few minutes. Add to one quart of cornmeal
two tablespoonfuls of salt, two tablespoonfuls of lard, and boiling
water to make a thick dough. Cut off about one inch of corn husk stalk
ends and soak in hot water ten minutes; dry and rub over with hot lard.
Put a layer of dough on the husk about four inches long, one and
one-half inches wide and one-fourth inch thick; along the center spread
two teaspoonfuls of the prepared meat; roll and fold the small end of
the husk; place them folded end down in a strainer over hot water. Cover
and steam several hours. Serve hot.]


Chicken Tamales

Soak some trimmed corn husk (bought in Mexican stores) for several hours
in cold water, then boil until soft, remove; dry on cloth, and rub with
lard. Cut up a fat chicken, cook until very tender in just enough water
to leave about four cups. Chop up cooked chicken, add corn meal or masa
to boiling hot chicken broth until a thick dough; add salt to taste, one
tablespoon chile powder, or chile sauce No. 1; add tablespoon of lard
and knead all together until light and smooth. Now to all the chicken
add enough chile sauce No. 1 to mix thickly together; add about
one-fourth cup of sliced olives and a few whole ones and one-fourth cup
seedless raisins, and a few whole ones, salt to taste and cook together
for five minutes; spread corn dough evenly over shuck or husk about
one-eighth inch thick. In center of one larger husk place a large
kitchen spoonful of chicken; spread over this one tablespoonful of
dough; place another husk spread with dough; continue placing husk
around on all sides until about ten are used. Tie ends together with a
strip of husk and place on end in a colander over boiling water for two
or three hours, or place some corn husk in bottom of vessel, pile
tamales on top, pour in about a quart of water, bring to a boil and
steam slowly for three or four hours.


Tamale Pie

Make a crust of two cups of hot water, one-half cup lard, one teaspoon
salt, and cornmeal to make thick dough. Spread on bottom and sides of
pie tin. Mix beef, pork, veal or chicken with plenty of suet for
shortening--any two of above meats will do--measure two cups of meat,
add two tablespoons of cornmeal, one-half cup of chile pulp, one
teaspoon salt, one-half cup meat stock or water. Cook for a few minutes,
fill pie crust, spread more dough over top. Make little balls the size
of marbles set around edge. Pour a little melted lard over the top,
sprinkle with chile powder; bake about thirty minutes.


Beef Tamales

Ground beef fried in lard and suet, add chile sauce No. 2 and cook until
thick. Prepare cornmeal or masa by pouring on boiling hot water, salt to
taste, add one cup of lard to four cups meal or masa, add few olives and
raisins if desired. Prepare as for chicken tamale recipe. Steam. Texas
tamales made as above with olives and raisins left out and spoonful put
in one long shuck, fold ends over and press flat.

[Illustration: Corn Husk and Red Chile

There are firms in California putting up a specially prepared corn meal
for tortillas. There are chile powders and canned red and green hot
chile peppers; also the red sweet pepper, called pimiento, which makes
it possible to cook Spanish dishes anywhere.]




Eggs Espanol

(Eggs Cooked Spanish)


Spanish Omelet (Supreme)

A complete lesson--Fry a strip of bacon for each diner; remove from fat
and keep hot. Cook until tender, in the fat, one tablespoon minced onion
and sliver of garlic button (young green onion is best), one tablespoon
minced green sweet pepper, same of canned sweet red pepper (pimiento),
one tablespoon parsley, four sliced ripe olives, four seedless raisins,
six mushrooms. Add when done, level teaspoon flour, then add one cup
tomato--raw or canned; cook few minutes, salt to taste, add one teaspoon
chile powder or two tablespoons red chile sauce. Use the above amount
for every two eggs. Keep hot and prepare eggs by breaking in separate
bowl whites and yolk; beat yolk first very stiff till light in color,
add tablespoon water to each yolk and one-eighth teaspoon salt. Beat
whites stiff, add small pinch cream tartar while whipping. Fold
three-fourths of the whites into the yolks--do not break up too fine.
Have hot omelet pan bottom covered well with lard or butter; pour in
eggs; lower fire and cook slowly, lifting up with spatula at different
places to let raw egg to bottom. When nearly done, set under gas broiler
or in very hot oven for a few minutes until seared. Remove, and with
spoon, put prepared filling on one-half of omelet, fold other half over,
turn out on a hot platter. Put rest of whipped whites on top to form a
circular crown around edge. Sprinkle with salt and bits of butter; set
back in oven and brown but not too deeply. Remove; decorate with bits or
strips of pimiento, sliced olives, parsley, and last, the strips of
bacon and triangles of toast. A simple way, not so pretty and fluffy,
but good, is to mix the filling with whipped eggs; cook, fold and serve
hot.


Spanish Stuffed Tomato Omelet

Soak one cup bread crumbs in one-half cup boiling milk, add tablespoon
butter, salt, pepper, teaspoon onion juice. Remove centers from peeled
tomatoes, stuff with bread mixture, place in a serving platter, bake
until tender. Whip one egg for each tomato separately. Add tablespoon
water to each yolk, salt, chile pepper, teaspoon butter for each egg.
Pour around tomatoes to come to top. Bake in moderate oven. Serve hot,
or partly fill tomato with bread mixture, break egg on top, sprinkle
with cheese and bake. Cut tomatoes out in squares to get all the egg,
and serve on lettuce.


Eggs in Chile Blankets

Roll a long piece of cheese in strips of chile peppers roasted, peeled
and seeded, fry in hot lard and serve with prepared Spanish sauce on
toast.


Spanish Sausage Omelet

Mix level tablespoon fine sausage, tablespoon bread crumbs in tablespoon
milk for each egg, whip yolks of as many eggs as needed, little parsley,
salt and teaspoon red pepper pulp, or chile powder; add white of egg and
pour into hot greased pan; cook slowly, until done. Fold and turn out,
cover with Spanish sauce. Garnish with lettuce or parsley.


Spanish Creamed Eggs

Boil eggs hard fifteen minutes, shell, cut lengthwise; remove yolk
(reserve one egg). Mash yolk and add to each a teaspoon of thick white
sauce, or bread cooked smooth in milk; bits of butter, pinch of salt,
paprika and finely minced parsley. Fill white of eggs, fasten together
with toothpicks; roll in raw egg and bread crumbs; fry in deep hot olive
oil or other fat; drain. Remove toothpicks and where eggs are put
together separate with knife and sprinkle center with little crumbled
dry yolk, place on toast. Make a border of chopped whites cut in rings.
Pour hot Spanish sauce partly over and around egg; garnish with parsley,
and you have a delicious dish in truly Spanish colors.


Mexican Scrambled Eggs in Chile

Mix one tablespoon green chile pulp to each egg, whipped separately,
teaspoon lard or butter, a slice garlic or teaspoon onion juice,
scramble quickly, serve on toast, garnish with spoonful red chile sauce
and parsley.


Pimiento Egg

Hard boil small eggs, shell, salt, put each in a canned pimiento large
enough to close end with toothpick, salt well, dip in batter, fry in
deep fat, slice in half lengthwise, make cup white sauce, add tablespoon
green chile pulp, serve on egg, good and pretty Spanish color effect.


Spanish Eggs in Peppers

Scald large sweet peppers; peel, cut in half, remove seeds, half fill
with minced onion fried brown, one teaspoon red chile sauce, tablespoon
tomato sauce or catsup. Break one egg and scramble and pile on top.
Decorate with red chile powder and parsley. Or break egg whole on top of
sauce and bake in oven.


Spanish Eggs, Shirred

Brown in a teaspoon of butter or bacon fat, one teaspoon of minced
onion, add teaspoon of flour, salt to taste, one teaspoon prepared chile
sauce, one-fourth cup raw tomato. Cook and pour into individual baking
dish and break egg over top. Set in oven until eggs are covered with a
film. Garnish with sprigs of parsley and serve hot.




"Carne Espanol"

(Spanish Meats)


Spanish Steak (Elegante)

Slightly grease very hot skillet with olive oil. Select tender steak,
sear both sides, turning until cooked as desired. Make ready a sauce as
follows: Melt two tablespoons butter, one of olive oil together, add
tablespoon onion, one small button of garlic, one tablespoon parsley,
one green sweet pepper, and two tablespoons chili pulp. When well
browned, add tablespoon flour and brown, add one can prepared tomato
soup or two cups fresh chopped tomatoes, cook five minutes, strain and
pour over hot steak. Garnish with mushrooms and ripe olives browned in
butter, sprinkled with salt and chile pepper and sprigs of parsley, or
if cheese is liked, sprinkle grated yellow cheese over steak and sauce,
melt in oven, serve hot, or use Spanish prepared sauce.


Spanish Steak (Economical)

Select two pounds upper round steak, sear on hot skillet on both sides
till crust is formed; then one-half cup suet, half cup hot water, cover;
cook slowly half hour, add salt and pepper. Fry one cup chopped onions
in tablespoon lard until slightly brown; add tablespoon flour, can
tomatoes, teaspoon oregano, two tablespoons green chile pulp; spread
over steak, cover and cook twenty minutes longer. Place on serving dish,
sprinkle with cheese, set in oven to melt cheese and serve hot.


Flank Steak, Spanish

Have butcher cris cross a flank steak. Rub into it flour, seasoned with
salt and chile powder, not too much, spread with lard or melted suet,
make a filling of bread crumbs, tomato, chile pulp or powder, onion,
aregano, bay leaf, salt, roll up and tie. Put tablespoon lard, cup
tomato, little salt on top, cover and bake two or three hours slowly.


Spanish Pork Tenderloin Cutlets

Pound tenderloin out flat; cover with flour, seasoned with salt, pepper
and chili powder. Fry brown in hot olive oil or bacon fat. Place
triangles of toast in center of platter, arrange cutlets standing around
toast. Put lettuce cups around outside of cutlets and fill with half of
peeled tomato, sprinkled with cooked rice and parsley, salt and chile
powder, or, tomatoes stuffed with a mixture of meat and rice, seasoned
with salt, chile powder, onion and butter. Bake until brown on top.
Garnish with parsley and set twig of parsley in center of toast.


Mexican Meat Cakes

Mix pork sausage and hamburger equal parts, to two cups meat add one cup
wet bread, add one egg, one-fourth cup onion, teaspoon salt, tablespoon
green chile pulp, mix and make into cakes one inch thick, put one cup
prepared sauce in pan and heat, place meat in sauce, cover, simmer till
done.


Spanish Meat Cakes (Delicious)

Use finely ground beef, veal or chicken--raw or cooked. To each cup
meat, add one-half cup wet bread crumbs, one-fourth cup chopped
mushrooms, browned in a little butter, teaspoon onion juice, one-fourth
cup white sauce and salt to taste. Make into round flat cakes; fry in
small amount olive oil and butter, until brown; make a sauce of six
chopped olives, one-fourth cup mushrooms, tablespoon onion, tablespoon
flour in tablespoon each of olive oil and butter; add salt and paprika,
and cup of fresh or canned tomatoes, and tablespoon green chile pulp,
and pour around meat cakes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.


Mexican Meat Dumplings

Mix one cup meat raw or cooked, add one-half cup chopped bacon, one-half
cup tomatoes, teaspoon salt, tablespoon chile pulp or chile powder, mix
to thick dough with corn meal, make into balls size of walnuts, drop in
salted boiling water and tomatoes, little lard and corn meal to thicken
water when meat is done.


Spanish Beef Stew

Cut one pound stew beef or veal in small two-inch pieces, flour thickly
and brown in tablespoon of hot suet; add one-half cup chopped onion, one
bay leaf, four cups tomatoes; cook slowly until meat is tender; add
salt, one tablespoon chile pulp; one cup cold boiled potatoes--cut in
neat squares. When potatoes are hot, serve on triangles of buttered
toast.


Mexican Chicken Meat Balls

Two cups ground chicken, two tablespoons finely chopped onion, one-half
cup tomato, one-half garlic button, two tablespoons chopped sweet
pepper, one egg, one teaspoon mint leaves, one-half teaspoon aregano,
one teaspoon salt, one tablespoon butter, three tablespoons corn meal
mush, mix together, roll in flour, make into balls, fry in deep fat, or
bake in oven, serve with Spanish sauce.


Spanish Fish Stew

Cut fish in three-inch pieces, salt and roll in corn meal. Heat
tablespoon bacon fat and one of olive oil, add half cup sliced onion,
fry brown, add fish and brown, add enough tomato to barely cover fish,
two tablespoons chile sauce, salt to taste, pinch safron, and aregano;
cook few minutes. Serve on platter. Garnish with potato balls sprinkled
with chopped parsley.


Spanish Baked Fish

Make a filling of bread crumbs wet with one cup of tomatoes, add one
tablespoon minced onion, one tablespoon parsley, one-half cup red tomato
pulp, two tablespoons melted butter, ten sliced olives, one-half cup
seedless raisins; fill and sew up fish. Place in pan. When done, remove
carefully to hot platter and peel off skin. Pour hot prepared Spanish
sauce over fish; garnish with lemon and parsley. Awfully good.


Spanish Fried Fish

Salt and dip Barracuda or any tender fish in a batter made of egg,
flour, milk and salt. Fry in deep hot olive oil. Serve with sauce made
by browning tablespoon onion in tablespoon olive oil, adding tablespoon
flour and browning, then add one cup tomatoes, two tablespoons green or
red chile pulp, salt; cook and pour across center of fish, allowing
brown crisp ends to show. Garnish with slices of sweet green pepper,
lemon and parsley.


Spanish Hash

Put a layer of seasoned whipped potatoes one inch thick in a shallow
baking pan. Another layer of finely chopped beef, lamb, veal, fish, or
fowl; seasoned with salt and pepper and a little onion browned in lard;
prepare a top layer of one cup onions, one green and one sweet red
pepper, one tablespoon parsley, teaspoon chili powder or pulp, salt,
tablespoon flour--all browned in two tablespoons lard. Add one-half can
tomatoes; cook till thick; spread over meat layer, sprinkle with bread
crumbs, bits of cheese and bake. Dainty when baked in individual dishes.


Spanish Curry Hash

Brown in two tablespoons butter, three tablespoons chopped onions, one
cup ground meat,--one or more kinds, one cup tomatoes, ten sliced
olives, one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, one chopped green sweet
pepper, one-fourth teaspoon curry powder, one tablespoon flour; add cup
of any meat stock or hot water; salt to taste; add one cup cooked rice;
alternate in layer with hash. Pour little butter over top and bake.
Garnish with parsley and slices of hard cooked egg.


Spanish Stewed Rabbit

Gut and roll rabbit in meal and flour, salt and chile powder, fry nice
brown, cover with Spanish sauce, little hot water, add one-half cup
raisins, stew ten minutes, garnish with toast and mint.


Spanish Chicken Stew

Cut up tender chicken, salt and flour, brown in small amount of olive
oil. Keep hot. Add tablespoon butter to oil left in frying pan; add
one-half cup onions, one small clove of garlic, tablespoon parsley, two
tablespoons flour; brown all together and add two cups tomatoes, two
tablespoons chile pulp and one teaspoon sugar; cook until thick; pour
over chicken; garnish with buttered toast and green peas.


Spanish Style Stuffed Chicken

Brown a fat tender chicken in a small amount of lard by turning over and
over for a few minutes. Make a dressing of two cups bread crumbs, three
tablespoons pulp of sweet green peppers, one cup tomatoes, two
tablespoons chopped onion, one-half cup claret, two tablespoons sugar,
one-half cup sliced onions, one-half cup seeded raisins, one teaspoon
white pepper, and salt to taste. Stuff chicken and bake in closed pan
one hour. Make gravy of drippings by adding flour, mushroom sauce and
hot water. Pour over chicken.


Spanish Baked Chicken En Casserole

Salt a tender chicken, rub inside and out with onion, butter and flour.
Put in a large casserole. Pour in bottom one cup hot water, one teaspoon
oregano; add can mushrooms, stems and trimmings; one dozen sliced
olives, two tablespoons green Spanish sauce, and one chopped pimiento,
two cups of tomatoes, one tablespoon butter and tablespoon flour to
thicken; salt to taste; cover and cook till done; add cup of cream and
cook ten to fifteen minutes longer. Dip buttered toast in sherry--enough
toast for each guest; lay on top of chicken; cover; let stand few
minutes. Serve from casserole.


Spanish Dressing for Chicken or Turkey

One pint of cold corn bread, one cup rich chicken or turkey broth,
one-half cup roasted chopped chestnuts, one tablespoon butter, one
hard-boiled egg minced, one teaspoon black pepper, three tablespoons red
chile pulp, one-fourth cup minced onion, large tablespoon minced
parsley, one egg whipped very light, salt to taste, stuff turkey or
chicken, when baked, make the ordinary dressing of the drippings and
chile sauce, to serve on dressing.


Spanish Tripe

In three tablespoons butter, fry one-half cup onion. Cut one pound tripe
into narrow strips; salt and roll in flour. Add one tablespoon flour to
fat and brown; add to this one cup tomato, season with tablespoon chile
powder or pulp, one teaspoon sugar. Let simmer until very tender. Serve
hot.




Frijoles

(Spanish Beans)


How to Cook Beans

Soak over night, put in fresh water in the morning and add one-fourth
teaspoon of soda to each quart of water, boil until half done, drain and
add more boiling water and cook till tender. Boil longer when they are
to be mashed.


Frijoles (Bean) Sauce

Cook red Spanish beans tender, put in pan with hot lard, add onions,
green or red chile pulp, salt, brown a little flour with it, mash, press
through sieve, add meat stock to thin for sauce, serve over meat or
whole beans.


Frijoles

Soak pink or kidney beans over night, boil till tender in salted water
with pinch soda. Drain and add can tomatoes, pulp of three red and three
green chile peppers, one-half cup onions fried in bacon fat, salt to
taste, boil slowly till very soft.


Spanish Mashed Baked Beans

Cook pink or kidney beans in salted water with pinch of soda until very
soft. Drain and mash, fry bacon crisp, remove from pan and turn beans
into fat, let brown and turn out on hot platter, pour hot Spanish sauce
over, garnish with bacon and parsley.


Spanish Beans Au Gratin

Two cups of well-cooked beans, drained of water--into two tablespoons of
hot lard, two tablespoons of red chile pulp; brown; add one-half cup
grated cheese, stir until melted. Serve piping hot.




Arroz a la Espanol

(Spanish Rice)


How to Cook Rice

Wash rice in several waters, drain, rub between towels until dry, throw
the rice spoonful at a time, one cup to five cups, into boiling hot
salted water, boil hard for ten minutes then slowly until all water is
absorbed, put asbestos mat under vessel and do not stir; grains will be
dry and separate from each other.


Spanish Rice--Mint Flavor

Heat two tablespoons lard, bacon or olive oil, add tablespoon chopped
onion, one-half teaspoon salt, one-half teaspoon chile powder, pinch of
mint leaves, slightly cook, add one cup rice and stir about until rice
begins to color, add four cups hot water, cook slowly until all water is
absorbed. Pile on platter and cover with Spanish sauce.


Spanish Rice

Fry heaping tablespoon chipped bacon, add one garlic, stir, cook few
minutes, add one cup washed and dried rice, one can tomatoes, salt, add
one-half cup chile pulp, cook slowly; when about dry, add meat stock or
hot water to finish cooking, but just enough to have rice dry and grains
separated when done.


Spanish Rice au Gratin

Boil one cup rice in five cups water, add a button of garlic, teaspoon
salt; when done remove garlic. Drain any water and put in baking vessel
alternate layers of rice, Spanish sauce and cheese, topping with sauce
and cheese on top. Bake until hot through and cheese a rich brown.


Green Peppers With Rice

Chop two tablespoons onion, two tablespoons red sweet peppers, two
tablespoons green sweet peppers very fine, fry until tender with a
tablespoon chopped salt pork. Add two cups tomatoes, cook and add
tablespoon chile pepper, salt, fill green sweet peppers, put butter on
top, sprinkle of brown sugar, lemon juice; bake.




Spanish Stuffed Peppers


Stuffed Chile Pepper

Fry chile peppers until they puff under skin; cool and peel; cut out
stem, and with a spoon remove seed. Prepare a mixture of any kind of
meat, to a cup of meat, one tablespoon of chopped onion, one clove
garlic, one-half cup tomatoes, one-half cup of sliced olives, one-fourth
raisins--chopped very fine. Add one tablespoon vinegar, and cook in two
tablespoons hot lard; cool and fill the chile peppers. Beat desired
number of eggs separately, add a tablespoon flour, one of milk to each
egg, and season with salt and red pepper. Dip chile in batter, and fry
brown in hot lard, drain, sprinkle with chopped parsley; serve hot. A
prepared sauce may be served over chile or a white sauce with apple,
raisins, peach preserves or marmalades added to desired taste.
Delicious.


Spanish Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Mix one cup of ground meat, any kind, with half cup bread, two
tablespoons onion, one-half cup tomatoes, one tablespoon sugar, one-half
raisins, cook all together in one tablespoon hot butter for a few
minutes, cool, add one egg, salt, chile powder, fill large sweet pepper
that has all seed removed, set close together and fill in between with
raw tomato, salt, pinch aregano to reach top of tomatoes, sprinkle with
bread crumbs and bake until well done and brown.


Sweet Spanish Peppers With Sardines

Roast or scald and peel green sweet peppers, take out seed and veins,
mix with half cup vinegar, half cup water, add one-half garlic button,
one-half teaspoon aregano, piece of cinnamon; soak all night. Make
filling of one-half cup bread, tablespoon onion, one-half cup tomatoes,
tablespoon sliced olives, six seedless raisins, drain peppers and fill.
Cover with melted butter, bread and grated cheese. Bake and serve hot.


Spanish Cheese and Pepper Fritters

Heat and peel green hot or sweet peppers; remove seed and fill with salt
and red pepper, mixture of cheese and bread, wet in tomato juice--half
and half--fasten with toothpicks; dip in egg and roll in bread; fry in
deep fat; serve with Spanish sauce and circle of hard-boiled eggs.


Chiles Stuffed With Cheese

Mix half cup bread wet with one-half cup tomatoes and one-half cup Queso
Mexicano (a Mexican cheese), tablespoon onion, one-half button garlic,
tablespoon parsley, salt, pepper, one-fourth cup sliced olives, mushroom
or raisins chopped and fried in tablespoon lard until tender. Add the
bread and cheese, when cool, stuff chiles, dip in the egg batter and fry
in deep fat or saute in butter. To be eaten hot served with or without
sauce.


Spanish Onion

Grind one cup raw liver to a pulp, remove strings, add one whipped egg,
one tablespoon onion juice, one-fourth cup cracker crumbs wet, one and
one-half cup milk, one-half teaspoon salt; fill boiled onions (centers
removed); cover with grated cheese, cover and cook until liver is firm.
Remove cover, brown slightly, serve with a prepared Spanish sauce.


Spanish Onions

Brown two tablespoons of flour in two tablespoons butter; add two
tablespoons chopped onion, two tablespoons sliced olives, two
tablespoons raisins, chopped sour pickle, one tablespoon parsley, two
tablespoons chopped nuts, one-half cup bread crumbs, one-half cup cooked
chicken, pork or veal, one teaspoon salt. Fill onions that have been
boiled tender, and centers removed--pile high--put large lump cheese on
top and bake. Serve with sauce made of one tablespoon butter, one
tablespoon flour, two tablespoons lemon juice, one-half cup water and
finely chopped parsley.


Spanish Stuffed Potatoes

Rub lard on large smooth potatoes. Bake until soft; cut off a slice and
cut out center of potatoes, add two tablespoons butter, one tablespoon
of finely cut parsley, two tablespoons of pimiento--chopped--cucumber,
chopped--one-fourth teaspoon chile powder, two tablespoons hot milk,
one-half whipped egg; beat up until light, fill potato shell. Place two
strips of bacon on top, set in oven until bacon is crisp. Garnish with
stripe of pimiento and parsley.


Mexican Baked Macaroni or Spaghetti

Cook and drain macaroni or spaghetti, two cups of either; heat
one-fourth cup olive oil, add clove of garlic and one-half cup chipped
dried beef, cook until beef curls, add tablespoon flour, brown, add
one-half cup chopped mushrooms, two tablespoons green chile pulp, one
large pimiento chopped fine, add two cups tomatoes, cook all together,
salt to taste, mix with macaroni, put in baking dish, cover with grated
Mexican cheese (Queso Mexicano), bake till cheese is melted.


Calabasas (Summer Squash)

Cook round summer squash in salted water until tender; remove centers.
Mix with egg, bread crumbs and grated cheese, salt and chile powder.
Fill center of squash, pile high, sprinkle with cheese, and bits of
butter; bake in a hot oven. Garnish with bits of red chile pepper and
chopped parsley mixed with a little hot butter.




Finis


Spanish Cheese Fingers

To serve with all salads. Make very short pie paste with butter, salt;
roll and fold several times, sprinkle with grated cheese and chile
pepper; roll it into paste enough to make it stick, cut in strips, bake
in hot oven, tie in bunches with red ribbon, garnish with sprig of
parsley, or cut strips of bread; cover with paste of melted cheese and
chile pepper, toast in oven, serve with salads.


Mexican Sandwiches

Remove seeds from chiles, green and red, if canned, chop fine; if raw,
roast or scald and peel; first fry separately in a little butter, salt
to taste, little lemon juice, don't brown. Spread between layers of
thickly cut white and brown bread alternately, with one slice of bread
buttered and sprinkle thickly with grated cheese; the color effect is
pretty when cut in fancy shapes and served on crisp lettuce leaf, or mix
red and green chile together; fry, cool, add grated cheese, spread on
tortillas that have been dipped in hot butter, roll lightly, fasten with
toothpick; garnish with sprig parsley; serve on crisp lettuce leaves.


Spanish Brown Cake

Cream two cups brown sugar with one cup butter, pour around this one cup
sweet or sour milk, whip four eggs and pour on top, add three cups flour
with three teaspoons baking powder sifted through, two teaspoons
cinnamon, mix and pour into baking tins, sprinkle top with brown sugar,
ground pecans and cinnamon while raw; bake in medium oven. Or add enough
flour on rolling board to make a soft dough, cut into large round buns;
bake and spread with icing made of hot water and brown sugar cooked
until thick with pecan nuts added.


Spanish Chocolate Cake

Get the Spanish chocolate, a little round cake about three inches
across, flavor different from other chocolate. Melt two cakes, add
one-half cup butter, one cup brown sugar, beat four eggs separately, mix
yolk into chocolate, butter and sugar, beat well, pour one cup milk on
top, the beaten egg white on top of milk, three cups flour with two
tablespoons baking powder, stir all together, add teaspoon vanilla, bake
in loaf or layers, make icing of melted chocolate cake, tablespoon
butter, one-half cup brown sugar, cook; when cool spread on cake or use
as filling.


Mexican Candy

Two cups dark brown sugar, one-half cup water, teaspoon butter, cook
until it forms a soft ball in water, put pecan nuts in bottom of
buttered saucers and pour sugar on while hot; let cool and there is the
little thin round cakes one sees on the street sold by Mexicans.

[Illustration: A TYPE OF SPANISH WOMEN]

[Illustration: ANOTHER TYPE OF SPANISH WOMEN]

[Illustration: MRS. HAFFNER-GINGER IN HER KITCHEN]

[Illustration: MRS. HAFFNER-GINGER GIVING A LESSON IN HOW TO SET A
TABLE]

[Illustration: CALIFORNIA AUDIENCE WATCHING MRS. HAFFNER-GINGER MAKE A
SPANISH OMELET]




List of Mexican Supplies in Mexican Stores


  As safron (Safron), used for flavoring meat and chile
      dishes.

  Oregano (Mexican sage), used for flavoring all meat and
      chile dishes.

  Cominos (common seed), used for flavoring all meat and
      chile dishes.

  Cilantio (Cariandos seed), used for flavoring all meat and
      chile dishes.

  Frijoles Colorado (pink beans).

  Appelito Marado (a blue Mexican bean).

  Belotas (Mexican acorns).

  Pinones (pine nuts).

  Maize Blanco (white corn), used for Mexican dishes.

  Ojas (corn husk for Tamales).

  Queso de tina (cheese made of cactus sweetened).

  Queso Mexicano (a Mexican cheese).

  Panocha (dark cane sugar in cone shape cakes).

  Piloncillo (light brown cane sugar in cone shape cakes).

  Chile Colorado (red chile), chile sauce.

  Dule tipinos (small round red chile used for pepper
      sauces).

  Pinole corn or wheat parched ground for Mexican drink,
      flavored with cinnamon and sweetened with sugar, mixed
      with milk or water.

  Nixtamal Mexican Corn prepared old time way, ground in
      mortars.

  Choriso (Mexican sausage).

  Jammiello (Hamirello), candy made of pumpkin.

  Cojeta de membrio, preserves made of quinces and Panocha.

  Cojeta de camote, sweet potatoes and panocha, preserves.

  Tamarindo, a dried fruit to soak in water and sweetened
      for a drink.

  Tomatillas, a small wild green tomato.




Classification of Recipes


                                                   Page

  Spanish Dinner                                     17

  Spanish Menu                                       21

  Ensaladas Espanol (Spanish Salads)                 25

  Sopa Espanol (Spanish Soups)                       37

  Tortillas                                          43

  Enchiladas                                         55

  Chili Pulps and Sauces                             59

  Pickles and Relishes                               63

  Chili Con Carne                                    65

  Tamales                                            68

  Eggs, Omelets, Etc.                                75

  Carne Espanol (Spanish Meats)                      81

  Frijoles (Spanish Beans)                           91

  Arroz a la Espanol (Spanish Rice)                  97

  Spanish Stuffed Peppers and Onions                103

  Spaghetti, Macaroni                               106

  Stuffed Potatoes                                  106

  Summer Squash                                     107

  Spanish Cheese Fingers                            109

  Mexican Sandwiches                                109

  Spanish Brown Cake                                110

  Spanish Chocolate Cake                            110

  Mexican Candy                                     111




Transcriber's Note:


Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.
Inconsistent spacing and hyphenation (e.g. cornmeal vs. corn meal), and
capitalization (e.g. Au Gratin vs. au Gratin) have been retained.
Unusual spellings of ingredients and dishes have also been retained,
such as jiblet(s), tamatillos, aregano, parmasan, safron, taragon, and
Avacado.

Some illustration captions have been moved from before their
corresponding chapter headings to after them.

The following changes were also made to the text:

p. 86: cups to cup (add one cup cooked rice)

p. 88: add to and (dressing of the drippings and chile sauce)





End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of California Mexican-Spanish Cook Book, by 
Bertha Haffner-Ginger

*** 