GOOD THINGS TO EAT
AS
SUGGESTED BY RUFUS
A COLLECTION OF PRACTICAL RECIPES FOR
PREPARING MEATS, GAME, FOWL, FISH,
PUDDINGS, PASTRIES, ETC.
BY
RUFUS ESTES
FORMERLY OF THE PULLMAN COMPANY PRIVATE CAR SERVICE, AND PRESENT
CHEF OF THE SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES OF THE UNITED STATES
STEEL CORPORATIONS IN CHICAGO
CHICAGO
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR
1911
Copyrighted 1911
By Rufus Estes, Chicago
FOREWORD
hat the average parent is blind to the faults of its offspring is afact so obvious that in attempting to prove or controvert it time andlogic are both wasted. Ill temper in a child is, alas! too oftenmistaken for an indication of genius; and impudence is sometimesregarded as a sign of precocity. The author, however, has honestlystriven to avoid this common prejudice. This book, the child of hisbrain, and experience, extending over a long period of time and varyingenvironment, he frankly admits is not without its faults—is far fromperfect; but he is satisfied that, notwithstanding its apparentshortcomings, it will serve in a humble way some useful purpose.
The recipes given in the following pages represent the labor of years.Their worth has been demonstrated, not experimentally, but by actualtests, day by day and month by month, under dissimilar, and, in manyinstances, not too favorable conditions.
One of the pleasures in life to the normal man is good eating, and if itbe true that real happiness consists in making others happy, the authorcan at least feel a sense of gratification in the thought that hisattempts to satisfy the cravings of the inner man have not been whollyunappreciated by the many that he has had the pleasure of serving—someof whom are now his stanchest friends. In fact, it was in response tothe insistence and encouragement of these friends that he embarked inthe rather hazardous undertaking of offering this collection to adiscriminating public.
To snatch from his daily toil a few moments, here and there, in order toarrange with some degree of symmetry, not the delicacies that wouldawaken the jaded appetite of the gourmet, but to prepare an ensemblethat might, with equal grace, adorn the home table or banquet board, hasproven a task of no mean proportions. Encouraged by his friends,however, he persevered and this volume is the results of his effort.
If, when gathered around the festal board, in camp or by fireside, ontrain or ship, "trying out" the recipes, his friends will pause,retrospectively, and with kindly feelings think from whence some of thegood things emanated, the author will feel amply compensated for thecare, the thought, the labor he has expended in the preparation of thebook; and to those friends, individually and collectively, it istherefore dedicated.
SKETCH OF MY LIFE
I was born in Murray County, Tennessee, in 1857, a slave. I was giventhe name of my master, D. J. Estes, who owned my mother's family,consisting of seven boys and two girls, I being the youngest of thefamily.
After the war broke out all the male slaves in the neighborhood formiles around ran off and joined the "Yankees." This left us little folksto bear the burdens. At the age of five I had