3/4 of a cup of Indian meal
1 quart of milk
Boil the milk, and add the Indian meal, a little at a time, when
milk is boiling, stirring constantly. Cook for one-half an hour,
stirring constantly. Add salt just before taking off the fire. The
Indian meal should be stiff when finished. Turn it onto the
breadboard, and spread it out to the thickness of two fingers. While
it is cooking prepare a meat sauce, and a Bechamel sauce as follows:
Meat Sauce
Take a small piece of beef, a small piece of ham, fat and lean, one
tablespoon of butter, a small piece of onion, a small piece of
carrot, a small piece of celery, a pinch of flour, one-half cup of
bouillon (or same amount of water), pepper. Cut the meat into small
dice; chop up fine together the ham, onion, carrot, and celery. Put
these all together with some pepper into a saucepan with the butter,
and when the meat is brown, add the pinch of flour, and the bouillon
a little at a time (or the water), and cook for about one-half an
hour. This sauce should not be strained.
Bechamel Sauce
Take one tablespoon of flour, and one tablespoon of butter. Put them
into a saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until they have become
a golden-brown color. Then add, a little at a time, one pint of
milk; stir constantly until the sauce is as thick as custard, and is
white in color. If it grows too thick, a little more milk may be
added; or if it is too thin, a tiny lump of butter rolled in flour
will thicken it.
Now take the cold Indian meal and cut it into squares about two
inches across. Take a baking dish of medium depth, butter well, then
put in a layer of squares of Indian meal close together, to entirely
cover the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle over it grated cheese; then
pour on the top enough meat sauce to cover the layer (about two
tablespoons), then on the top of this add a layer of Bechamel sauce.
Then put another layer of the squares of Indian meal, sprinkle with
grated cheese as before, add meat sauce, then Bechamel sauce, and
continue in this way until the baking dish is full, having for the
top layer the Bechamel sauce. Put the dish into a moderate oven, and
bake until it is a golden brown on top.
