The Cook Book by “Oscar” of the Waldorf

Three thousand recipes from the maitre d'hotel of the Waldorf — the hotel kitchen that taught Gilded Age America how to dine, from beef tea to watermelon with champagne.

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Clam Chowder

Fry six slices of crisp, fat pork, after which chop them to pieces, and sprinkle them in the bottom of a pot; lay over a layer of clams, adding a little cayenne or black pepper and salt, and sprinkle on a few small lumps of butter, then place a layer of chopped onions, and another of small crackers, split and moistened with some warm milk. Over this preparation pour a little of the fat left in the pan in which the pork has been fried; then repeat the layers of pork, clams, and onions, until the pot is filled, or nearly so, then cover with water and stew slowly, keeping the pot closely covered the while, for three-quarters of an hour, then drain off all the liquor that will come off readily, turn the chowder into a tureen, and return the gravy to the pot. Thicken the gravy with some flour or pounded crackers, add a glass of wine, some catsup and a little spiced sauce, let it boil up and pour it over the contents in the tureen. Either walnut or butternut pickles may be served with it.

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