Title: A guide to modern cookery
Author: A. Escoffier
Release Date: August 12, 2023 [eBook #71395]
Language: English
Credits: ellinora, Fox in the Stars, David Wilson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
A GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY
[i]
A GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY.
“This is probably one of the most important cookery books issued this century, and will, it may be presumed, eventually take its place alongside the familiar culinary classics of former days. It is especially interesting as marking the inauguration of an entirely new style of living. M. Escoffier’s book is a culinary education in itself, and should take rank as a standard, be studied by all housekeepers who have either large households or gourmets to cater for, and should most certainly be placed in the hands of all persons training for high-class cookery teachers.”—Queen.
“His book is comprehensive. It begins at the beginning and explains the principles, so that a lady who reads it may talk learnedly to her cook; it deals fully with all the old-established dishes of different countries; but its main feature is the number of delightful novelties which it introduces to notice. There are plenty of recipes which may be applied with advantage in the middle-class household where the lady in the kitchen has nobody under her, for M. Escoffier’s directions deal alike with humble and elaborate preparations.”—Outlook.
“It is a big book written by a great cook, and it will be useful not only to accomplished cooks and experienced housekeepers, but also to beginners in the kitchen and the housekeeper’s room, for M. Escoffier takes nothing for granted and explains very patiently all the groundwork of the art of cookery before he discussed the haute cuisine. It contains much that is interesting to the gourmet as well as much that is useful to the cook, for he has little tales to tell concerning some of the dishes; and now and again a scrap of history crops up.”—Tatler.
“Even as you take up the volume a sense of pleasurable anticipation takes possession of you, so pleasing is the cover, so clear and bold is the type, and so delightful to the touch is the paper on which is printed the garnered wisdom of the famous chef. A little reading will soon show you that it is as full of sound wisdom, and of fresh and interesting information, as Brillat-Savarin’s “Physiologie du Goût”.”—The Westminster Gazette.
“The ordinary good plain British cook will discover something worth the learning on every page; the worried mistresses of small establishments will cherish the book as a treasure-house of new ideas; the man who likes a good dinner but has no special knowledge of the art of the kitchen will find the preface and the introductions to the chapters capital reading; and every English-speaking gourmet will have a well thumbed copy of this very modern “Guide” upon his book-shelf. The book is a comprehensive one, and at the same time a simple one. It is a book that should be in every house.”—Pall Mall Gazette.
If the art of Cookery in all its branches were not undergoing a process of evolution, and if its canons could be once and for ever fixed, as are those of certain scientific operations and mathematical procedures, the present work would have no raison d’être; inasmuch as there already exist several excellent culinary text-books in the English language. But everything is so unstable in these times of progress at any cost, and social customs and methods of life alter so rapidly, that a few years now suffice to change completely the face of usages which at their inception bade fair to outlive the age—so enthusiastically were they welcomed by the public.
In regard to the traditions of the festal board, it is but twenty years ago since the ancestral English customs began to make way before the newer methods, and we must look to the great impetus given to travelling by steam traction and navigation, in order to account for the gradual but unquestionable revolution.
In the wake of the demand came the supply. Palatial hotels were built, sumptuous restaurants were opened, both of which offered their customers luxuries undreamt of theretofore in such establishments.
Modern society contracted the habit of partaking of light suppers in these places, after the theatres of the Metropolis had closed; and the well-to-do began to flock to them on Sundays, in order to give their servants the required weekly rest. And, since restaurants allow of observing and of being observed, since they are eminently adapted to the exhibiting of magnificent dresses, it was not long before they entered into the life of Fortune’s favourites.
But these new-fangled habits had to be met by novel methods of Cookery—better adapted to the particular environment in which they were to be practised. The admirable productions popularised by the old Masters of the Culinary Art of the [vi] preceding Century did not become the light and more frivolous atmosphere of restaurants; were, in fact, ill-suited to the brisk waiters, and their customers who only had eyes for one another.
The pompous splendour of those bygone dinners, served in the majestic dining-halls of Manors and Palaces, by liveried footmen, was part and parcel of the etiquette of Courts and lordly mansions.
It is eminently suited to State dinners, which are in sooth veritable ceremonies, possessing their ritual, traditions, and—one might even say—their high priests; but it is a mere hindrance to the modern, rapid service. The complicated and sometimes heavy menus would be unwelcome to the hypercritical appetites so common nowadays; hence the need of a radical change not only in the culinary preparations themselves, but in the arrangements of the menus, and the service.
Circumstances ordained that I should be one of the movers in this revolution, and that I should manage the kitchens of two establishments which have done most to bring it about. I therefore venture to suppose that a book containing a record of all the changes which have come into being in kitchen work—changes whereof I am in a great part author—may have some chance of a good reception at the hands of the public, i.e., at the hands of those very members of it who have profited by the changes I refer to.
For it was only with the view of meeting the many and persistent demands for such a record that the present volume was written.
I had at first contemplated the possibility of including only new recipes in this formulary. But it should be borne in mind that the changes that have transformed kitchen procedure during the last twenty-five years could not all be classed under the head of new recipes; for, apart from the fundamental principles of the science, which we owe to Carême, and which will last as long as Cooking itself, scarcely one old-fashioned method has escaped the necessary new moulding required by modern demands. For fear of giving my work an incomplete appearance, therefore, I had to refer to these old-fashioned practices and to include among my new recipes those of the former which most deserved to survive. But it should not be forgotten that in a few years, judging from the rate at which things are going, the publication of a fresh selection of recipes may become necessary; I hope to live long enough to see this accomplished, in order that I may follow the evolution, started in my time, and add a few more original creations to those I have already [-9] had the pleasure of seeing adopted; despite the fact that the discovery of new dishes grows daily more difficult.
But novelty is the universal cry—novelty by hook or by crook! It is an exceedingly common mania among people of inordinate wealth to exact incessantly new or so-called new dishes. Sometimes the demand comes from a host whose luxurious table has exhausted all the resources of the modern cook’s repertory, and who, having partaken of every delicacy, and often had too much of good things, anxiously seeks new sensations for his blasé palate. Anon, we have a hostess, anxious to outshine friends with whom she has been invited to dine, and whom she afterwards invites to dine with her.
Novelty! It is the prevailing cry; it is imperiously demanded by everyone.
For all that, the number of alimentary substances is comparatively small, the number of their combinations is not infinite, and the amount of raw material placed either by art or by nature at the disposal of a cook does not grow in proportion to the whims of the public.
What feats of ingenuity have we not been forced to perform, at times, in order to meet our customers’ wishes? Those only who have had charge of a large, modern kitchen can tell the tale. Personally, I have ceased counting the nights spent in the attempt to discover new combinations, when, completely broken with the fatigue of a heavy day, my body ought to have been at rest.
Yet, the Chef who has had the felicity to succeed in turning out an original and skilful preparation approved by his public and producing a vogue, cannot, even for a time, claim the monopoly of his secret discovery, or derive any profit therefrom. The painter, sculptor, writer and musician are protected by law. So are inventors. But the chef has absolutely no redress for plagiarism on his work; on the contrary, the more the latter is liked and appreciated, the more will people clamour for his recipes. Many hours of hard work perhaps underlie his latest creation, if it have reached the desired degree of perfection.
He may have forfeited his recreation and even his night’s rest, and have laboured without a break over his combination; and, as a reward, he finds himself compelled, morally at least, to convey the result of his study to the first person who asks, and who, very often, subsequently claims the invention of the recipe—to the detriment of the real author’s chances and reputation.
This frantic love of novelty is also responsible for many of [viii] the difficulties attending the arrangement of menus; for very few people know what an arduous task the composing of a perfect menu represents.
The majority—even of those who are accustomed to receptions and the giving of dinners—suppose that a certain routine alone is necessary, together with some culinary practice, in order to write a menu; and few imagine that a good deal more is needed than the mere inscription of Courses upon a slip of pasteboard.
In reality the planning of these alimentary programmes is among the most difficult problems of our art, and it is in this very matter that perfection is so rarely reached. In the course of more than forty years’ experience as a chef, I have been responsible for thousands of menus, some of which have since become classical and have ranked among the finest served in modern times; and I can safely say, that in spite of the familiarity such a period of time ought to give one with the work, the setting-up of a presentable menu is rarely accomplished without lengthy labour and much thought, and for all that the result is not always to my satisfaction. From this it may be seen how slender are the claims of those who, without any knowledge of our art, and quite unaware of the various properties belonging to the substances we use, pretend to arrange a proper menu.
However difficult the elaboration of a menu may be, it is but the first and by no means the only difficulty which results from the rapidity with which meals are served nowadays. The number of dishes set before the diners being considerably reduced, and the dishes themselves having been deprived of all the advantages which their sumptuous decorations formerly lent them, they must recover, by means of perfection and delicacy, sufficient in the way of quality to compensate for their diminished bulk and reduced splendour. They must be faultless in regard to quality; they must be savoury and light. The choice of the raw material, therefore, is a matter demanding vast experience on the part of the chef; for the old French adage which says that “La sauce fait passer le poisson” has long since ceased to be true, and if one do not wish to court disapprobation—often well earned—the fish should not be in the slightest degree inferior to its accompanying sauce.
While on the subject of raw material, I should like, en passant, to call attention to a misguided policy which seems to be spreading in private houses and even in some commercial establishments; I refer to the custom which, arising as it doubtless [ix] does from a mistaken idea of economy, consists of entrusting the choice of kitchen provisions to people unacquainted with the profession, and who, never having used the goods which they have to buy, are able to judge only very superficially of their quality or real value, and cannot form any estimate of their probable worth after the cooking process.
If economy were verily the result of such a policy none would object to it. But the case is exactly the reverse; for, in the matter of provisions, as in all commercial matters, the cheapest is the dearest in the end. To obtain good results, good material in a sufficient quantity must be used, and, in order to obtain good material, the latter should be selected by the person who is going to use it, and who knows its qualities and properties. Amphitryons who set aside these essential principles may hope in vain to found a reputation for their tables.
It will be seen that the greater part of the titles in this work have been left in French. I introduced, or rather promulgated this system, because, since it is growing every day more customary to write menus in French, it will allow those who are unacquainted with the language to accomplish the task with greater ease. Moreover, many of the titles—especially those of recent creations—are quite untranslatable. As the index, however, is in English, and in every case the order number of each recipe accompanies the number of the page where it is to be found, no confusion can possibly arise. I have also allowed certain French technical terms, for which there exist no English equivalents, to remain in their original form, and these will be found explained in a glossary at the end of the book.
I preferred to do this rather than strain the meaning of certain English words, in order to fit them to a slightly unusual application; and in so doing I only followed a precedent which has been established on a more or less large scale by such authors of English books on French cooking as Francatelli, Gouffé, Ranhoffer, etc.
But the example for such verbal adoptions was set long ago in France, where sporting and other terms, for which no suitable native words could be found, were borrowed wholesale from the English language, and gallicised. It is therefore not unreasonable to apply the principle to terms in cookery which, though plentiful and varied in France, are scarce in this country.
To facilitate the reading of the recipes, all words which are not in common use, and of which the explanation will be found in the Glossary, are italicised in the text.
In concluding this preface, which, I fear, has already [x] overreached the bounds I intended for it, I should like to thank those of my lady clients as well as many English epicures whose kind appreciation has been conducive to the writing of this work. I trust they will favour the latter with the generous consideration of which they have so frequently given the author valuable proofs, and for which he is glad of an opportunity of expressing his deep gratitude.
| PART I | |
| FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS | |
| CHAPTER I | |
| PAGE | |
| 1 | |
| CHAPTER II | |
| 15 | |
| CHAPTER III | |
| 24 | |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| 48 | |
| CHAPTER V | |
| 59 | |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| 64 | |
| CHAPTER VII | |
| 70 | |
| CHAPTER VIII | |
| 87 | |
| CHAPTER IX | |
| 92 | |
| CHAPTER X | |
| 97 | |
| [xii] PART II | |
| RECIPES AND MODES OF PROCEDURE | |
| CHAPTER XI | |
| PAGE | |
| 137 | |
| CHAPTER XII | |
| 164 | |
| CHAPTER XIII | |
| 197 | |
| CHAPTER XIV | |
| 260 | |
| CHAPTER XV | |
| 352 | |
| CHAPTER XVI | |
| 473 | |
| CHAPTER XVII | |
| 605 | |
| CHAPTER XVIII | |
| 624 | |
| CHAPTER XIX | |
| 678 | |
| CHAPTER XX | |
| 687 | |
| CHAPTER XXI | |
| 788 | |
| CHAPTER XXII | |
| 816 | |
| CHAPTER XXIII | |
| 820 | |
Before undertaking the description of the different kinds of dishes whose recipes I purpose giving in this work, it will be necessary to reveal the groundwork whereon these recipes are built. And, although this has already been done again and again, and is wearisome in the extreme, a text-book on cooking that did not include it would be not only incomplete, but in many cases incomprehensible.
Notwithstanding the fact that it is the usual procedure, in culinary matters, to insist upon the importance of the part played by stock, I feel compelled to refer to it at the outset of this work, and to lay even further stress upon what has already been written on the subject.
Indeed, stock is everything in cooking, at least in French cooking. Without it, nothing can be done. If one’s stock is good, what remains of the work is easy; if, on the other hand, it is bad or merely mediocre, it is quite hopeless to expect anything approaching a satisfactory result.
The workman mindful of success, therefore, will naturally direct his attention to the faultless preparation of his stock, and, in order to achieve this result, he will find it necessary not merely to make use of the freshest and finest goods, but also to exercise the most scrupulous care in their preparation, for, in cooking, care is half the battle. Unfortunately, no theories, no formulæ, and no recipes, however well written, can take the place of practical experience in the acquisition of a full knowledge concerning this part of the work—the most important, the most essential, and certainly the most difficult part.
In the matter of stock it is, above all, necessary to have a sufficient quantity of the finest materials at one’s disposal. The master or mistress of a house who stints in this respect thereby deliberately forfeits his or her right to make any remark [2] whatsoever to the chef concerning his work, for, let the talent or merits of the latter be what they may, they are crippled by insufficient or inferior material. It is just as absurd to exact excellent cooking from a chef whom one provides with defective or scanty goods, as to hope to obtain wine from a bottled decoction of logwood.
The principal kinds of fonds de cuisine are:—
1. Ordinary and clarified consommés.
2. The brown stock or “estouffade,” game stocks, the bases of thickened gravies and of brown sauces.
3. White stock, basis of white sauces.
4. Fish stock.
5. The various essences of poultry, game, fish, &c., the complements of small sauces.
6. The various glazes: meat, game, and poultry.
7. The basic sauces: Espagnole, Velouté, Béchamel, Tomato, and Hollandaise.
8. The savoury jellies or aspics of old-fashioned cooking.
To these kinds of stock, which, in short, represent the buttresses of the culinary edifice, must now be added the following preparations, which are, in a measure, the auxiliaries of the above:—
1. The roux, the cohering element in sauces.
2. The “Mirepoix” and “Matignon” aromatic and flavouring elements.
3. The “Court-Bouillon” and the “Blancs.”
4. The various stuffings.
5. The marinades.
6. The various garnishes for soups, for relevés, for entrées, &c. (“Duxelle,” “Duchesse,” “Dauphine,” Pâte à choux, frying batters, various Salpicons, Profiterolles, Royales, Œufs filés, Diablotins, Pastes, &c.).
3 lbs. of shin of beef.
3 lbs. of lean beef.
1½ lbs. of fowls’ carcases.
1 lb. of carrots.
½ lb. of turnips.
¾ lb. of leeks and 1 stick of celery.
¼ lb. of parsnips.
1 medium-sized onion with a clove stuck in it.
[3]
Preparation.—Put the meat into a stock-pot of suitable
dimensions, after having previously strung it together; add
the poultry carcase, five quarts of water, and one-half oz. of
grey salt. Place the stock-pot on a moderate fire in such a
manner that it may not boil too quickly, and remember to
stir the meat from time to time. Under the influence of the
heat, the water gradually reaches the interior of the meat,
where, after having dissolved the liquid portions, it duly combines
with them. These liquid portions contain a large proportion
of albumen, and as the temperature of the water rises
this substance has a tendency to coagulate. It also increases
in volume, and, by virtue of its lightness, escapes from the
water and accumulates on the surface in the form of scum.
Carefully remove this scum as it forms, and occasionally add
a little cold water before the boil is reached in order that, the
latter being retarded, a complete expulsion of the scum may
be effected. The clearness of the consommé largely depends
upon the manner in which this skimming has been carried
out. Then the vegetable garnishing is added. The scum from
these is removed as in the previous case, and the edge of the
stock-pot should be carefully wiped to the level of the fluid, so
as to free it from the deposit which has been formed there.
The stock-pot is then moved to a corner of the fire where it
may continue cooking slowly for four or five hours. At the
end of this time it should be taken right away from the fire,
and, after half a pint of cold water has been added to its contents,
it should be left to rest a few minutes with a view to
allowing the grease to accumulate on the surface of the liquid,
whence it must be carefully removed before the consommé is
strained. This last operation is effected by means of a very
fine strainer, placed on the top of a white tureen (clean and
wide), which should then be placed in a draught to hasten the
cooling of the consommé. The tureen should not on any
account be covered, and this more particularly in summer,
when rapid cooling is a precautionary measure against fermentation.
It will be seen that I have not made any mention in the above formula of the meat and the vegetables which have helped to make the consommé, my reason being that it is preferable to remove them from the stock-pot only after the [4] broth has been strained, so as not to run the risk of disturbing the latter.
The quality of the meat goes a long way towards settling the quality of the consommé. In order that the latter be perfect, it is essential that the meat used should be that of comparatively old animals whose flesh is well set and rich in flavour. This is a sine quâ non, and the lack of meat coming from old animals in England accounts for the difficulty attaching to the making of a good consommé and savoury sauces in this country. Cattle in England are killed at an age varying from three to four years at the most; the meat thus obtained has no equal for the purpose of roasts and grills, and anything approaching it is rarely met with on the Continent. But when this same meat is used for boiling or braising, it does not contain enough juice or flavour to yield a satisfactory result.
This shortcoming is furthermore aggravated by a fault that many commit who are employed in the making of consommés and stock. The fault in question consists in cooking the bones simultaneously with the meat. Now to extract that gelatinous element from bone which produces the mellowness characteristic of all good consommés, it is necessary that the gelatigenous bodies should be cooked for twelve hours at least, and even after that time has elapsed they are still not entirely spent. On the Continent the quality of the meat easily compensates for this technical error, but such is certainly not the case in England, where five hours’ stewing only results in a flat and insipid consommé.
I therefore believe that, in the case of either consommé or stock, the formulæ of which I shall give later, it would be advisable for the bones to stew at least twelve hours, and this only after they have been well broken up, while the quantity of water used should be so calculated as to suffice exactly for the immersion of the meat that must follow. The contents of this first stock-pot should include half of the vegetables mentioned, and the consommé thus obtained, after having been strained and cooled, will take the place of the water in the recipe, in accordance with the directions I have given above.
White consommé is used in the preparation of clarified consommés, in which case it undergoes a process of clarifying, the directions for which will be given later. It also serves as the liquor for thick soups, poached fowls, &c. It must be limpid, [5] as colourless as possible, and very slightly salted, for, whatever the use may be for which it is intended, it has to undergo a process of concentration.
Quantities for making four quarts.—Five quarts of ordinary consommé, one and one-half lbs. of very lean beef, the white of an egg, one fowl’s carcase (roasted if possible). First, mince the beef and pound it in a mortar with the fowl’s carcase and the white of egg, adding a little cold white consommé. Put the whole into a tall, narrow, and thick-bottomed stewpan; then gradually add the cold, white broth, from which all grease has been removed, that the whole may be well mixed. Then the stewpan may be put on the fire, and its contents thoroughly stirred, for fear of their burning at the bottom. When boiling-point is reached, move the stewpan to a corner of the fire, so that the soup may only simmer, for anything approaching the boil would disturb the contents. A good hour should be enough to properly finish the consommé, and any longer time on the fire would be rather prejudicial than the reverse, as it would probably impair the flavour of the preparation. Now carefully remove what little grease may have collected on the surface of the consommé, and strain the latter through muslin into another clean stewpan. It is now ready for the addition of the garnishes that are to form part of it, which I shall enumerate in due course.
For clarified consommés, even more than for the ordinary kind, it is eminently advisable that the meat should be that of old animals. Indeed, it is safe to say that one lb. of meat coming from an animal of eight years will yield much better consommé than two lbs. would, coming from a fattened animal of about three or four years. The consommé will be stronger, mellower, and certainly more tasty, as the flesh of young animals has absolutely no richness of flavour.
It will be seen that I do not refer to any vegetable for the clarification. If the white consommé has been well carried out, it should be able to dispense with all supplementary flavouring, and, the customary error of cooks being rather to overdo the quantity of vegetables—even to the extent of disguising the natural aroma of the consommé—I preferred to entirely abandon [6] the idea of vegetable garnishes in clarifications, and thus avoid a common stumbling-block.
White chicken consommé is prepared in exactly the same way as ordinary white consommé. There need only be added to the meat, the quantity of which may be lessened, an old hen or a cock, slightly coloured on the spit or in the oven.
For the clarification, the quantity of roast fowl-carcases used may be increased, provided the latter be not too fat. The process, however, is the same as in the clarification of ordinary consommés.
The colour of chicken consommé should be lighter than that of the ordinary kind—namely, a light, amber yellow, limpid and warm.
These consommés are rarely used, for Lenten soups with a fish basis are generally thick soups, for the preparation of which the fish fumet whereof I shall give the formula later (Formula No. 11) should avail. Whenever there is no definite reason for the use of an absolutely Lenten consommé, it would be advisable to resort to one of the ordinary kind, and to finish off the same by means of a good fish essence extracted from the bones of a sole or whiting. An excellent consommé is thus obtained, more palatable and less flat than the plain fish consommé.
If, however, one were obliged to make a plain fish consommé, the following procedure should be adopted:—
Quantities for making Four Quarts.—Four and one-half quarts of ordinary fish fumet having a decided taste; one-half lb. of good fresh caviare, or pressed caviare.
Mode of Procedure.—Pound the caviare and mix the resulting pulp with the cold fish fumet. Put the whole into a saucepan, place it on the open fire, and stir with a spatula until the contents reach the boil. Then move the saucepan to a corner of the fire, and let the consommé simmer gently for twenty minutes, after which strain it through muslin with great caution, and keep it well covered and in the warmth, so as to prevent the formation of a gelatinous film on the surface.
Fish consommés are greatly improved by the addition of [7] such aromatics as saffron or curry, both of which considerably add to their quality.
The necks, breasts, and shoulders of venison and of hare, old wild rabbits, old pheasants, and old partridges may be used in the production of game consommés. An ordinary consommé may likewise be made, in which half the beef can be replaced by veal, and to which may be added, while clarifying, a succulent game essence. This last method is even preferable when dealing with feathered game, but in either case it is essential that the meat used should be half-roasted beforehand, in order to strengthen the fumet.
The formula that I give below must therefore only be looked upon as a model, necessarily alterable according to the resources at one’s disposal, the circumstances, and the end in view.
3 lbs. of neck, shoulder, or breast of venison.
1½ lbs. of hare-trimmings.
1 old pheasant or 2 partridges.
4 oz. of sliced carrots, browned in butter.
½ lb. of mushrooms, likewise browned in butter.
1 medium-sized leek and 2 sticks of celery.
1 bunch of herbs with extra thyme and bay leaves.
1 onion, oven-browned, with 2 cloves stuck into it.
Liquor.—Five and one-half quarts of water.
Seasoning.—One oz. of salt and a few peppercorns, these to be added ten minutes previous to straining the consommé.
Time allowed for cooking.—Three hours.
Mode of Procedure.—Proceed in exactly the same way as for ordinary consommés, taking care only to half-roast the meat, as I pointed out above, before putting it in the stewpan.
The constituents of the clarification of game consommés vary according to the kind of consommé desired. If it is to have a partridge flavour, one partridge should be allowed for each quart of the consommé, whereas if its flavour is to be that of the pheasant, half an old pheasant will be required per each quart of the liquid. Lastly, in the case of plain game consommés, one lb. of lean venison, hare, or wild rabbit should be allowed for each quart of the required consommé.
Mode of Procedure.—Whatever be the kind of game used, the latter must be thoroughly boned and the meat well pounded, together with the white of an egg per four quarts of consommé. [8] About two oz. per quart of dried mushrooms should now be added if they can be procured, while the bones and the remains or carcases of game should be browned in the oven and completely drained of all grease. The whole can now be mixed with the cold game consommé. The clarification is then put over an open fire (stirring incessantly the while), and as soon as the boil is reached the saucepan must be moved to a corner of the fire, where its contents may gently boil for three-quarters of an hour. The fat should then be removed, and the consommé strained through muslin, after which cover up until wanted.
The consommés whose formulæ I have just given are intended more particularly for dinners. They are always finished off by some kind of garnish, which, besides lending them an additional touch of flavour, gives them their special and definite character when they are served up in the diner’s plate.
But the case is otherwise with the consommés served for suppers. These, being only served in cups, either hot or cold, do not allow of any garnishing, since they are to be drunk at table. They must therefore be perfect in themselves, delicate, and quite clear.
These special consommés are made in a similar manner to the others, though it is needful to slightly increase the quantity of meat used for the clarification, and to add to that clarification the particular flavour mentioned on the menu—to wit, a few stalks of celery, if the consommé is a celery one; a small quantity of curry, if the consommé is given as “à l’Indienne”; or a few old roast partridges if it is to be termed “Consommé au fumet de perdreau”; and so on.
The means by which one may vary the aroma of consommés are legion, but it is highly important, what aroma soever be used, that the latter be not too pronounced. It ought only to lend a distinctive and, at the same time, subtle finish to the consommé, which, besides sharpening the latter, should increase its succulence.
When the consommé is served cold it ought to have the qualities of an extremely light and easily-melting jelly, barely firm; but when it is too liquid, it rarely gives that sensation of perfection and succulence to the palate of the consumer which the latter expects. When too firm and too gelatinous it is positively disagreeable; therefore, if it is to be relished, it should be just right in respect of consistency.
4 lbs. of shin of beef (flesh and bone).
4 lbs. of shin of veal (flesh and bone).
½ lb. of lean, raw ham.
½ lb. of fresh pork rind, rinsed in tepid water.
¾ lb. of minced carrots, browned in butter.
¾ lb. of minced onions, browned in butter.
1 faggot, containing a little parsley, a stick of celery, a small sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf.
Preparation.—Bone and string the meat, and keep it in readiness for the morrow. Break the bones as finely as possible, and, after having besprinkled them with a little stock-fat, brown them in an oven; also stir them repeatedly. When they are slightly browned, put them in a conveniently large saucepan with the carrots, the onions, and the faggot. Add five quarts of cold water, and put the saucepan on an open fire to boil. As soon as the boil is reached skim carefully; wipe the edge of the saucepan; put the lid half on, and allow the stock to cook gently for twelve hours; then roughly remove the fat; pass the liquid through a sieve, and let it cool.
This being done, put the meat in a saucepan just large enough to hold it. Brown it a little in some stock-fat, and clear it entirely of the latter. Add half a pint of the prepared stock, cover the saucepan, and let the meat simmer on the side of the fire until the stock is almost entirely reduced. Meanwhile the meat should have been repeatedly turned, that it may be equally affected throughout. Now pour the remainder of the stock, prepared from bones, into the saucepan, bring the whole to the boil, and then move the saucepan to a corner of the fire for the boiling to continue very slowly and regularly with the lid off. As soon as the meat is well cooked the fat should be removed from the stock, and the latter should be strained or rubbed through a sieve, after which it should be put aside to be used when required.
Remarks Relative to the Making of Brown Stock.—Instead of stringing the meat after having boned it, if time presses, it may be cut into large cubes before browning. In this case one hour and a half would suffice to cook it and to extract all its juice.
Whether brown or white, stock should never be salted, because it is never served in its original state. It is either reduced in order to make glazes or sauces—in which case the concentration answers the purpose of seasoning—or else it is [10] used to cook meat which must be salted before being cooked, and which, therefore, imparts the necessary salt to its surrounding liquor.
Brown stock ought to be the colour of fine burnt amber, and it must be transparent. It is used in making meat-glazes after reduction, also to moisten meat for braising and to prepare brown sauces.
There is no difference between the game consommés and game stock, or, otherwise stated, ordinary game consommé and brown game stock are one and the same thing. The distinction lies in the ultimate use of this preparation; it is clarified, as we have shown (Formula 5), if it be intended for a clear soup, and it is used in its original state if it is to be used for a thick game soup, for a sauce, or for reducing.
Brown veal stock requires the same quantities of shin and trimmings of veal as white veal stock (Formula 10). The time allowed for cooking is, however, a little shorter, and this operation may be completed within eight hours. This stock is mostly used as the liquor for poultry and poëled game, while it may also serve in the preparation of thickened veal stock. Being quite neutral in taste, it lends itself to all purposes, and readily takes up the aroma of the meat with which it may happen to be combined. It is admirably suited to the poaching of quails, and nothing can supplant it in this particular.
8 lbs. of shin of veal, or lean and fresh veal trimmings.
1 or 2 fowls’ carcases, raw if they are handy.
12 oz. of carrots.
6 oz. of onions stuck with a clove.
5½ quarts of cold water.
4 oz. of leeks strung with a stick of celery.
1 faggot, including 1 oz. of parsley, 1 bay leaf, and a small sprig of thyme.
Preparation.—Bone the shins, string the meat, break up the bones as small as possible, and put them in a stewpan with the water. Place on an open fire, allow to boil, skim carefully, and then move to a side of the fire to cook very gently for [11] five hours. At the end of this time put the stock into another stewpan, add the meat and the vegetables, add water, if necessary, to keep the quantity of liquid at five quarts, let it boil, and allow it to cook slowly for another three hours, after which remove all grease from the stock, pass the latter through a fine strainer or a colander, and put it aside until wanted.
Remarks upon White Stock.—One should contrive to make this stock as gelatinous as possible. It is therefore an indispensable measure that the bones be well broken up and cooked for at least eight hours. Veal never yields such clear stock as beef; nevertheless, the consommé obtained from veal should not be turbid. It must, on the contrary, be kept as clear and as white as possible.
Poultry Stock is made by adding two old fowls to the above veal stock, and these should be put into the liquor with the meat.
4 lbs. of trimmings and bones of sole or whiting.
½ lb. of sliced, blanched onions.
2 oz. of parsley, root or stalks.
½ bottle of white wine.
Preparation.—Butter the bottom of a thick, tall stewpan, put in the blanched onions and the parsley-stalks, and upon these aromatics lay the fish remains. Add the juice of a lemon, cover the stewpan, put it on the fire, and allow the fish to exude its essence, jerking the pan at intervals. Moisten, in the first place, with the white wine; then, with the lid off, reduce the liquid to about half. Now add four quarts of cold water, bring to the boil, skim, and then leave to cook for twenty minutes, only, on a moderate fire. The time allowed is ample for the purpose of extracting the aromatic and gelatinous properties contained in the bones, and a more protracted stewing would only impair the savour of the stock.
Remarks upon White Fish Stock.—The formula which I give above diverges considerably from that commonly used, for, as a rule, fish stock is diluted far too much, and is stewed for much too long a time. I have observed that fish stock may be greatly improved by rapid cooking, and it was this consideration that led me to dilute it scantily, so as to avoid prolonged reduction.
[12]
It is likewise necessary to remember that in order to make
perfect fish stock, only the sole or whiting should be used. In
a case of emergency, however, i.e., if the supply of the latter
were to run short, a quarter of their weight of brill bones might
be added to them. But all other kinds of fish should be avoided
in the preparation.
This stock is comparatively rarely used, because, in practice, it is naturally obtained in the cooking of the fish itself, as, for instance, in the case of the “Matelotes.” Be this as it may, with the recent incursion of a custom which seems to demand, ever more and more, the serving of fish without bones, the following formula will be worthy of interest, as it is likely that its need will henceforth be felt with increasing urgency.
Fish fumet with red wine may be prepared from all fresh-water fish, as well as from the remains of sole, whiting, chicken-turbot, and brill. It is generally better, however, to have recourse to the bones and remains of that fish which happens to be constituting the dish—that is to say, the bones and trimmings of sole in a stock for fillet of sole, the bones and trimmings of a chicken-turbot in a fumet for a chicken-turbot, and so on. The preparatory formula remains the same, whatever the kind of fish used may be.
Quantities for making Four Quarts of Fumet with Red Wine.—Four lbs. of bones, heads, and trimmings of the fish to be served; three-quarters lb. of minced white onions; three oz. of parsley stalks, two bay leaves, four small sprigs of thyme, and four cloves of garlic; two bottles of red wine and four pints of water.
Mode of Procedure.—Put all the above-mentioned ingredients in a thick and tall stewpan, boil, skim carefully, and allow to cook twenty to thirty minutes on a moderate fire; then strain the stock through a colander into a tureen, to be used when required.
Remarks upon Fish Stock with Red Wine.—This stock stands reduction far better than white fish stock. Nevertheless, I urge the advisability of trying to obtain the required quantity without reduction. In its preparation, one may use some mushroom parings, as in the case of white stock, if these are handy, and they will be found to lend an agreeable flavour to the fish fumet.
As their name implies, essences are stock which hold a large proportion of a substance’s aroma in a concentrated form. They are, in fact, ordinary stock, only less diluted, with the idea of intensifying the flavour of the treated ingredients; hence their utility is nil if the stock which they are intended to finish has been reasonably and judiciously treated. It is infinitely simpler to make savoury and succulent stock in the first place than to produce a mediocre stock, and finally complete it by a specially prepared essence. The result in the first instance is better, and there is economy of time and material.
The most one can do is to recommend, in certain circumstances, the use of essences extracted from particularly well-flavoured products, as, for instance, mushrooms, truffles, morels, and celery. But it would be well to remember that, nine times out of ten, it is preferable to add the product itself to the stock during the preparation of the same than to prepare essences.
For this reason I do not think it necessary to dilate upon the subject of essences, the need of which should not be felt in good cooking.
The various glazes of meat, fowl, game, and fish are merely stock reduced to the point of viscosity. Their uses are legion. Occasionally they serve in decking dishes with a brilliant and unctuous coating which makes them sightly; at other times they may help to strengthen the consistence of a sauce or other culinary preparation, while again they may be used as sauces proper after they have been correctly creamed or buttered.
Glazes are distinguished from essences by the fact that the latter are only prepared with the object of extracting all the flavour of the product under treatment, whereas the former are, on the contrary, constituted by the whole base of the substance itself. They therefore have not only its savour, but also its succulence and mellowness, whereby they are superior to the essences, and cooking can but be improved by substituting them for the latter. Nevertheless, many chefs of the old school do not permit the use of glazes in culinary preparations, or, rather, they are of opinion that each cooking operation should produce them on its own account, and thus be sufficient unto itself. Certainly, the theory is correct when neither time nor cost is limited. But nowadays the establishments are scarce where these theories may be applied, and, indeed, if one does [14] not make an abuse of glazes, and if they be prepared with care, their use gives excellent results, while they lend themselves admirably to the very complex demands of modern customs.
Meat glaze is made by reducing brown stock (Formula 7) in a large stewpan upon an open fire. As often as the stock is appreciably reduced, during ebullition, it may be transferred to smaller stewpans, taking care to strain it through muslin at each change of stewpan. The glaze may be considered sufficiently reduced when it evenly veneers a withdrawn spoon. The fire used for reducing should gradually wane as the concentration progresses, and the last phase must be effected slowly and on a moderate fire.
When it is necessary to obtain a lighter and clearer glaze, the brown veal stock (Formula No. 9) should be reduced instead of the “Estouffade.”
Reduce the poultry base indicated in Formula 10, and proceed in exactly the same way as for meat glaze (Formula 15).
Use the game base (Formula 8), and proceed as for meat glaze (Formula 15).
This glaze is used less often than the preceding ones. As it is only used to intensify the savour of sauces, it is sufficient for this purpose to prepare a white fish stock (Formula 11), which may be diluted with the stock already prepared, and which may be reduced according to the requirements. The name of fish fumet or fish essence is given to this preparation; its flavour is more delicate than that of fish glaze, which it replaces with advantage.
Warm sauces are of two kinds: the leading sauces, also called “mother sauces,” and the small sauces, which are usually derived from the first-named, and are generally only modified forms thereof. Cooking stock only includes the leading sauces, but I shall refer to the small hot sauces and the cold sauces at the end of the auxiliary stock.
Experience, which plays such an important part in culinary work, is nowhere so necessary as in the preparation of sauces, for not only must the latter flatter the palate, but they must also vary in savour, consistence and viscosity, in accordance with the dishes they accompany. By this means, in a well-ordered dinner, each dish differs from the preceding ones and from those that follow.
Furthermore, sauces must, through the perfection of their preparation, obey the general laws of a rational hygiene, wherefore they should be served and combined in such wise as to allow of easy digestion by the frequently disordered stomachs of their consumers.
Carême was quite justified in pluming himself upon the fact that during his stay at the English Court his master—the Prince Regent—had assured him that he (Carême) was the only one among those who had served his Highness whose cooking had been at all easy of digestion. Carême had grasped the essential truth that the richer the cooking is, the more speedily do the stomach and palate tire of it. And, indeed, it is a great mistake to suppose that, in order to do good cooking, it is necessary to be prodigal in one’s use of all things. In reality, practice dictates fixed and regular quantities, and from these one cannot diverge without upsetting the hygienic and sapid equilibrium on which the value of a sauce depends. The requisite quantities of each ingredient must, of course, be used, but neither more nor less, as there are objections to either extreme.
Any sauce whatsoever should be smooth, light (without [16] being liquid), glossy to the eye, and decided in taste. When these conditions are fulfilled it is always easy to digest even for tired stomachs.
An essential point in the making of sauces is the seasoning, and it would be impossible for me to lay sufficient stress on the importance of not indulging in any excess in this respect. It too often happens that the insipidness of a badly-made sauce is corrected by excessive seasoning; this is an absolutely deplorable practice.
Seasoning should be so calculated as to be merely a complementary factor, which, though it must throw the savour of dishes into relief, may not form a recognisable part of them. If it be excessive, it modifies and even destroys the taste peculiar to every dish—to the great detriment of the latter and of the consumer’s health.
It is therefore desirable that each sauce should possess its own special flavour, well defined, the result of the combined flavours of all its ingredients.
If, in the making of sauces, one allowed oneself to be guided by those principles which are the very foundation of good cookery, the general denunciation of sauces by the medical faculty would be averted; and this denunciation no sauce deserves if it be carefully prepared, conformably with the laws prescribed by practice and its resulting experience.
The roux being the cohering element of leading sauces, it is necessary to reveal its preparation and constituents before giving one’s attention to the latter.
Three kinds of roux are used—namely, brown roux, for brown sauces; pale roux, for veloutés, or cream sauces; and white roux, for white sauces and Béchamel.
Quantities for making about One lb.—Eight oz. of clarified butter, nine oz. of best-quality flour.
Preparation.—Mix the flour and butter in a very thick stewpan, and put it on the side of the fire or in a moderate oven. Stir the mixture repeatedly so that the heat may be evenly distributed throughout the whole of its volume.
The time allowed for the cooking of brown roux cannot be precisely determined, as it depends upon the degree of heat [17] employed. The more intense the latter, the speedier will be the cooking, while the stirring will of necessity be more rapid. Brown roux is known to be cooked when it has acquired a fine, light brown colour, and when it exudes a scent resembling that of the hazel-nut, characteristic of baked flour.
It is very important that brown roux should not be cooked too rapidly. As a matter of fact, among the various constituent elements of flour, the starch alone acts as the cohering principle. This starch is contained in little cells, which tightly constrain it, but which are sufficiently porous to permit the percolation of liquid and fatty substances. Under the influence of moderate heat and the infiltered butter, the cells burst through the swelling of the starch, and the latter thereupon completely combines with the butter to form a mass capable of absorbing six times its own weight of liquid when cooked.
When the cooking takes place with a very high initial heat the starch gets burned within its shrivelled cells, and swelling is then possible only in those parts which have been least burned.
The cohering principle is thus destroyed, and double or treble the quantity of roux becomes necessary in order to obtain the required consistency. But this excess of roux in the sauce chokes it up without binding it, and prevents it from despumating or becoming clear. At the same time, the cellulose and the burnt starch lend a bitterness to the sauce of which no subsequent treatment can rid it.
From the above it follows that, starch being the only one from among the different constituents of flour which really effects the coherence of sauces, there would be considerable advantage in preparing roux either from a pure form of it, or from substances with kindred properties, such as fecula, arrow-root, &c. It is only habit that causes flour to be still used as the cohering element of roux, and, indeed, the hour is not so far distant when the advantages of the changes I propose will be better understood—changes which have been already recommended by Favre in his dictionary.
With a roux well made from the purest starch—in which case the volume of starch and butter would equal about half that of the flour and butter of the old method—and with strong and succulent brown stock, a Spanish sauce or Espagnole may be made in one hour. And this sauce will be clearer, more brilliant, and better than that of the old processes, which needed three days at least to despumate.
The quantities are the same as for brown roux, but cooking must cease as soon as the colour of the roux begins to change, and before the appearance of any colouring whatsoever.
The observations I made relative to brown roux, concerning the cohering element, apply also to pale roux.
Same quantities as for brown and pale roux, but the time of cooking is limited to a few minutes, as it is only needful, in this case, to do away with the disagreeable taste of raw flour which is typical of those sauces whose roux has not been sufficiently cooked.
Quantities Required for Four Quarts.—One lb. of brown roux dissolved in a tall, thick saucepan with six quarts of brown stock or estouffade. Put the saucepan on an open fire, and stir the sauce with a spatula or a whisk, and do not leave it until it begins to boil. Then remove the spatula, and put the saucepan on a corner of the fire, letting it lean slightly to one side with the help of a wedge, so that boiling may only take place at one point, and that the inert principles thrown out by the sauce during despumation may accumulate high up in the saucepan, whence they can be easily removed as they collect.
It is advisable during despumation to change saucepans twice or even three times, straining every time, and adding a quart of brown stock to replace what has evaporated. At length, when the sauce begins to get lighter, and about two hours before finally straining it, two lbs. of fresh tomatoes, roughly cut up, should be added, or an equivalent quantity of tomato purée, and about one lb. of Mirepoix, prepared according to Formula No. 228. The sauce is then reduced so as to measure four quarts when strained, after which it is poured into a wide tureen, and must be kept in motion until quite cool lest a skin should form on its surface.
The time required for the despumation of an Espagnole varies according to the quality of the stock and roux. We saw above that one hour sufficed for a concentrated stock and starch roux, in which case the Mirepoix and the tomato are inserted from the first. But much more time is required if one is dealing with a roux whose base is flour. In the latter case six hours [19] should be allowed, provided one have excellent stock and well-made roux. More often than not this work is done in two stages, thus: after having despumated the Espagnole for six or eight hours the first day, it is put on the fire the next day with half its volume of stock, and it is left to despumate a few hours more before it is finally strained.
Summing up my opinion on this subject, I can only give my colleagues the following advice, based upon long experience:—
1. Only use strong, clear stock with a decided taste.
2. Be scrupulously careful of the roux, however it may be made. By following these two rules, a clear, brilliant, and consistent Espagnole will always be obtained in a fairly short time.
This is the Espagnole sauce, having reached the limit of perfection by final despumation. It is obtained by reducing one quart of Espagnole and one quart of first-class brown stock until its volume is reduced to nine-tenths of a quart. It is then strained into a bain-marie of convenient dimensions, and it is finished, away from the fire, with one-tenth of a quart of excellent sherry. Cover the bain-marie, or slightly butter the top to avoid the formation of a skin. This sauce is the base of all the smaller brown sauces.
Practical men are not agreed as to the need of Lenten Espagnole. The ordinary Espagnole being really a neutral sauce in flavour, it is quite simple to give it the necessary flavour by the addition of the required quantity of fish fumet. It is only, therefore, when one wishes to conform with the demands of a genuine Lent sauce that a fish Espagnole is needed. And, certainly in this case, nothing can take its place.
The preparation of this Espagnole does not differ from that of the ordinary kind, except that the bacon is replaced by mushroom parings in the Mirepoix, and that the sauce must be despumated for only one hour.
This sauce takes the place of the ordinary Espagnole, for Lenten preparations, in every case where the latter is generally used, in Gratins, in the Genevoise sauce, &c.
Quantities Required for Four Quarts.—One lb. of pale roux (Formula 20), five quarts of white veal stock (Formula 10).
Dissolve the roux in the cold white veal stock and put the saucepan containing this mixture on an open fire, stirring the sauce with a spatula or whisk, so as to avoid its burning at the bottom. Add one oz. of table-salt, a pinch of nutmeg and white powdered pepper, together with one-quarter lb. of nice white mushroom parings, if these are handy. Now boil and move to a corner of the fire to despumate slowly for one and a half hours, at the same time observing the precautions advised for ordinary Espagnole (Formula 22). Strain through muslin into a smaller saucepan, add one pint of white stock, and despumate for another half hour. Strain it again through a tammy or a sieve into a wide tureen, and keep moving it with a spatula until it is quite cold.
I am not partial to garnishing Velouté Sauce with carrots, an onion with a clove stuck into it, and a faggot, as many do. The stock should be sufficiently fragrant of itself, without requiring the addition of anything beyond the usual condiments. The only exception I should make would be for mushroom parings, even though it is preferable, when possible, to replace these by mushroom liquor. But this is always scarce in kitchens where it is used for other purposes; wherefore it is often imperative to have recourse to parings in its stead. The latter may not, however, be added to the stock itself, as they would blacken it; hence I advise their addition to the Velouté during its preparation.
This is identical with ordinary Velouté, except that instead of having white veal stock for its liquor, it is diluted with white poultry stock. The mode of procedure and the time allowed for cooking are the same.
Velouté is the base of various fish sauces whose recipes will be given in Part II.
Prepare it in precisely the same way as poultry velouté, but instead of using poultry stock, use very clear fish fumet, and let it despumate for twenty minutes only. (See fish fumet No. 11.)
Allemande Sauce is not, strictly speaking, a basic sauce. However, it is so often resorted to in the preparation of other sauces that I think it necessary to give it after the Veloutés, from which it is derived.
The yolks of 5 eggs.
1 pint of cold white stock.
1 quart of Velouté, well despumated.
½ the juice of a lemon.
¼ pint of mushroom liquor.
Mode of Procedure.—Put the various ingredients in a thick-bottomed sauté-pan and mix them carefully. Then put the pan on an open fire, and stir the sauce with a metal spatula, lest it burn at the bottom. When the sauce has been reduced to about one quart, add one-third pint of fresh cream to it, and reduce further for a few minutes. It should then be passed through a fine strainer into a tureen and kept moving until quite cold.
Prepared thus, the Allemande Sauce is ready for the preparation of the smaller sauces. Butter must only be added at the very last moment, for if it were buttered any earlier it would most surely turn. The same injunction holds good with this sauce when it is to be served in its original state; it should then receive a small addition of cream, and be buttered so that it may attain its required delicacy; but this addition of butter and cream ought only to be made at the last moment, and away from the fire. When a sauce thickened with egg yolks has any fat substance added to it, it cannot be exposed to a higher temperature than 140 degrees Fahrenheit without risking decomposition.
1 lb. of white roux.
4½ quarts of boiling milk.
½ lb. of lean veal.
⅔ oz. of salt, 1 pinch of mignonette, and grated nutmeg, and 1 small sprig of thyme.
1 minced onion.
Preparation.—Pour the boiling milk on the roux, which should be almost cold, and whisk it well so as to avoid lumps. Let it boil, then cook on the side of the fire. Meanwhile the lean veal should have been cut into small cubes, and fried with butter in a saucepan, together with the minced onion. When the veal has stiffened without becoming coloured, it is added to the Béchamel, together with salt and the other aromatics. Let the sauce boil slowly for about one hour in all, [22] and then pass it through a tammy into a tureen; butter the top, lest a crust should form.
When Béchamel is intended for Lenten preparations, the veal must be omitted.
There is another way of making the sauce. After having boiled the milk, the seasoning and aromatics should be added; the saucepan is then covered and placed on a corner of the stove, so as to ensure a thorough infusion. The boiling milk must now be poured on to the roux which has been separately prepared, and the sauce should then cook for one quarter of an hour only.
5 oz. of salted breast of pork, rather fat.
6 oz. of carrots cut into cubes.
6 oz. of onions cut into cubes.
1 bay leaf and 1 small sprig of thyme.
5 oz. of flour.
2 oz. of butter, ½ oz. of salt, 1 oz. of sugar, a pinch of pepper.
10 lbs. of raw tomatoes or 4 quarts of same, mashed.
2 quarts of white stock.
Preparation.—Fry the pork with the butter in a tall, thick-bottomed saucepan. When the pork is nearly melted, add the carrots, onions, and aromatics. Cook and stir the vegetables, then add the flour, which should be allowed to cook until it begins to brown. Now put in the tomatoes and white stock, mix the whole well, and set to boil on an open fire. At this point add the seasoning and a crushed clove of garlic, cover the saucepan, and place in a moderate oven, where it may cook for one and one-half hours. At the end of this time the sauce should be passed through a sieve or tammy, and it should boil while being stirred. Finally, pour it into a tureen, and butter its surface to avoid the formation of a skin.
Remarks.—A purée of tomatoes is also used in cookery; it is prepared in precisely the same fashion, except that the flour is omitted and only one pint of white stock is added.
Quantities Required for One Quart.—One and one-half lbs. of butter, the yolks of six eggs, one pinch of mignonette pepper and one-quarter oz. of salt, three tablespoonfuls of good vinegar.
Preparation.—Put the salt, the mignonette, the vinegar, and as much water in a small saucepan, and reduce by three-quarters on the fire. Move the saucepan to a corner of the fire or into [23] a bain-marie, and add a spoonful of fresh water and the yolks. Work the whole with a whisk until the yolks thicken and have the consistence of cream. Then remove the saucepan to a tepid place and gradually pour the butter on the yolks while briskly stirring the sauce. When the butter is absorbed, the sauce ought to be thick and firm. It is brought to the correct consistence with a little water, which also lightens it slightly, but the addition of water is optional. The sauce is completed by a drop of lemon juice, and it is rubbed through a tammy.
Remarks.—The consistence of sauces whose processes are identical with those of the Hollandaise may be varied at will; for instance, the number of yolks may be increased if a very thick sauce is desired, and it may be lessened in the reverse case. Also similar results may be obtained by cooking the eggs either more or less. As a rule, if a thick sauce be required, the yolks ought to be well cooked and the sauce kept almost cold in the making. Experience alone—the fruit of long practice—can teach the various devices which enable the skilled worker to obtain different results from the same kind and quality of material.
Remarks.—In order that the classification of the small sauces should be clear and methodical, I divide them into three parts.
The first part includes the small brown sauces; the second deals with the small white sauces and those suited to this part of the classification; while the third is concerned with the English sauces.
This sauce is principally used to accompany braised and poëled ducklings. In the first case, the duckling’s braising stock, being thickened, constitutes a sauce. In the second case, the stock is clear, and the procedure in both cases is as follows:—
1. After having strained the braising sauce, completely remove its grease, and reduce it until it is very dense. Strain it once more through muslin, twisting the latter; then, in order to bring the sauce to its normal consistence, add the juice of six oranges and one lemon per quart of sauce. Finish with a small piece of lemon and orange rind cut regularly and finely, Julienne-fashion, and scalded for five minutes.
2. Strain the poëling stock, for ducklings or wild ducks, through linen; entirely remove the grease, and add four pieces of caramel sugar dissolved in one tablespoonful of vinegar per one-half point of stock, the juice of the oranges and the lemon and the Julienne of rinds, as for the braised-ducklings sauce indicated above.
Put into a vegetable-pan two oz. of very finely minced shallots, one-half pint of good red wine, a pinch of mignonette pepper, and bits of thyme and bay. Reduce the wine by three-quarters, and add one-half pint of half-glaze. Keep the sauce simmering for half an hour; despumate it from time to time, and strain it through linen or a sieve. When dishing it up, finish it with two tablespoonfuls of dissolved meat glaze, a few drops of lemon-juice, and four oz. of beef-marrow, cut into slices or cubes and poached in slightly salted boiling water. This sauce may be buttered to the extent of about three oz. per pint, which makes it smoother, but less clear. It is especially suitable for grilled butcher’s meat.
Peel and mince six medium-sized mushrooms. Heat one-half oz. of butter and as much olive oil in a vegetable-pan; put in the mushrooms, and fry the latter quickly until they are slightly browned. Now add a coffeespoonful of minced shallots, and immediately remove half the butter; pour one-half pint of white wine and one glass of liqueur brandy into the stewpan; reduce this liquid to half, and finish the sauce with: one-half pint of half-glaze, one-quarter pint of tomato sauce, and one tablespoonful of meat-glaze. Set to boil for five minutes more, and complete with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Put one quart of half-glaze into a sauté-pan with one-fifth pint of truffle essence. Put the pan on an open fire, and reduce its contents; while making same add to the sauce, in small quantities at a time, one and one-half pints of jelly.
The degree of reduction in this sauce is a good third, but, to be quite certain, a test of its consistence may be made by allowing it to cool a little. After the reduction, carefully taste, and rectify the seasoning if necessary; mix a little Madeira or Port with the sauce, away from the fire, and strain through muslin or, preferably, through a Venetian-hair sieve. Stir the sauce now and then while it cools, until it is sufficiently liquid, and at the same time consistent enough, to coat immersed solids evenly with a film of sauce. Its use will be explained among the formulæ of the different kinds of Chaud-froids.
For Ducks.—Prepare the sauce as above, adding to it (for the prescribed quantity) one-half pint of duck fumet obtained from the carcases and remains of roast duckling, and finish it, away from the fire, with the juice of four oranges and a heaped tablespoonful of orange rind, cut finely, Julienne-fashion, and scalded for five minutes.
For Feathered Game.—Treat the Chaud-Froid sauce as indicated in No. 34, adding one-half pint of the fumet of the game constituting the dish in order to lend it that game’s characteristic taste. Observe the same precaution for the cooling.
For Fish.—Proceed as in No. 34, but (1) substitute the Espagnole of fish for the half glaze; (2) intensify the first Espagnole with one-half pint of very clear fish essence; (3) use Lenten jelly instead of meat jelly.
Remarks upon the Use of Chaud-Froid Sauces.—The chaud-froid sauce may be prepared beforehand, and when it is wanted it need only be gently melted without heating it too much. It ought simply to be made sufficiently liquid to give a good coating to substances immersed in it.
Put in a vegetable pan two oz. of sliced shallots and one-third pint of white wine. Reduce the latter to two-thirds, add one-half pint of half-glaze, reduce to two-thirds, season strongly with cayenne pepper, and strain through muslin. This sauce may be served with grilled fowls or pigeons. It also forms an excellent accompaniment to re-dished meat which needs a spicy sauce.
This sauce, which may be bought ready-made, is admirably fitted to accompany grilled fish and grills in general. In order to make it ready, all that is needed is to add its own volume of fresh butter to it, the latter being previously well softened so as to ensure its perfect mixture with the sauce.
Heat two oz. of butter in a stewpan; insert one lb. of Mirepoix (No. 228) without bacon. Slightly brown, add two lbs. of head of salmon and remains or bones of fish, and stew with lid on for twenty minutes. Let the stewpan lean slightly to [27] one side, so that the butter may be drained; moisten with one bottle of excellent red wine; reduce the latter by half; add one pint of Lenten Espagnole, and allow to cook gently for half an hour.
Rub the sauce through a sieve, pressing it so as to extract all the essence. Let it rest awhile; carefully remove the fat which has risen to the surface, and add one liqueur-glass of burnt brandy, one-half pint of red wine, and as much fish fumet. Boil again, then move stewpan to the side of fire to despumate for one and one-half hours. Frequently remove what the ebullition causes to rise to the surface, this second period of cooking being only to ensure the purification of the sauce. If the ebullition has been well effected, the sauce should reach the proper degree of reduction and despumation at the same moment of time. It is then strained through muslin or tammy, and it is finished at the last minute with a few drops of anchovy essence and four oz. of butter per quart of sauce.
N.B.—The Genevoise Sauce, like all red-wine sauces, may be served without being buttered. It is thus clearer and more sightly in colour, but the addition of butter in small quantities makes it mellower and more palatable.
In the general repertory of cooking we also have, in the way of red-wine sauces, the “Bourguignonne,” “Matelote,” and “Red-Wine” sauces, which are closely allied to the “Genevoise,” and only differ from it in details of procedure.
The “Bourguignonne” Sauce is composed of red-wine accompanied by aromatics, and reduced by half. In accordance with ordinary principles, it is thickened by means of three oz. of manied butter per quart of reduced wine. This sauce is buttered with four oz. of butter per quart, and is especially regarded as a domestic preparation for poached, moulded, and hard-boiled eggs.
“Matelote” Sauce is made from Court-bouillon, with red wine which has been used for cooking fish. This Court-bouillon, with the mushroom parings added, is reduced by two-thirds, and is thickened with one pint of Lenten Espagnole per pint of the reduced Court-bouillon.
This sauce should be reduced by a third, strained through a tammy, and finished by means of two oz. of butter and a little cayenne per pint of sauce.
The Red-Wine Sauce resembles the two preceding ones in so far as it contains mirepoix browned in butter and diluted [28] with red wine. The wine is reduced by half, thickened by a pint of Lenten Espagnole per pint of the reduction, and the sauce is despumated for about twenty minutes. It is strained through a tammy, and finished, when ready, by a few drops of anchovy essence, a little cayenne, and two oz. of butter per pint of sauce.
Take one pint of Poivrade Sauce (No. 49) and boil it, adding one pint of game stock to keep it light; reduce the sauce by a good third; remove it from the fire, and add four tablespoonfuls of red-currant jelly. When the latter is well dissolved, complete the sauce by one-quarter pint of cream per pint of sauce.
This sauce is the proper accompaniment for joints of venison.
Ordinary Italian Sauce.—Put into a stewpan six tablespoonfuls of Duxelles (see No. 223), two oz. of very lean, cooked ham, cut very finely, brunoise-fashion, and one pint of half-glaze tomatée. Boil for ten minutes, and complete, at the moment of dishing up, with one teaspoonful of parsley, chervil, and tarragon, minced and mixed.
Lenten Italian Sauce.—Same preparation, only (1) omit the Ham, and (2) substitute Lent Espagnole (combined with fish fumet made from the fish for which the sauce is intended) for half glaze with tomatoes.
Boil one pint of poultry or veal stock (according to the nature of the dish the gravy is intended for). Thicken this sauce by means of three-quarters oz. of fecula, diluted cold, with a little water or gravy, and pour this leason into the boiling gravy, being careful to stir briskly.
The thickened gravy with the veal-stock base is used for choicest pieces of butcher’s meat; that with a poultry-stock base is for fillets of poultry.
Add to one pint of veal stock two oz. of purée and one-quarter pint of tomato juice, and reduce by a fifth. Strain the gravy through linen. This gravy is for butcher’s meat.
Finely mince two oz. of onions and brown them slightly in two oz. of butter. Moisten with one-quarter pint of white wine and as much vinegar; almost entirely reduce the liquid; add one and one-half pints of clear half-glaze, and set to cook slowly for half an hour. Rub the sauce through a tammy.
N.B.—The onion may be left in the sauce or not, according to the preparation for which it is intended and the taste of the consumer.
Put one and one-half pints of half-glaze into a sauté-pan, and reduce it on a brisk fire to a stiff consistence. When it reaches this point, take it off the fire and add one-fifth pint of Madeira to it, which brings it back to its normal consistence. Strain through a tammy, and keep it warm without allowing it to boil.
Follow the proportions as indicated under “Sauce Bordelaise” (No. 32) for the necessary quantity of this sauce, the Marrow Sauce being only a variety of the Bordelaise. Finish it with six oz. per quart of beef marrow, cut into cubes, poached and well drained, and one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, scalded for a second. If the sauce is to accompany vegetables, finish it, away from the fire, with three oz. of butter, and then add the cubes of marrow and the parsley.
Take the necessary amount of Poivrade Sauce prepared according to Formula No. 49, and let it boil. Now, for one pint of sauce, prepare an infusion of juniper berries, with one-quarter pint of water and two oz. of concassed berries; one oz. of grilled fir-apple kernels, and one oz. of raisins, stoned and washed, and left to soak in tepid water for about an hour. Finish the sauce, when dishing up, by adding the infusion of juniper berries strained through linen, the grilled kernels, the soaked raisins, and one-eighth pint of Madeira wine.
This sauce is specially suited to joints of venison.
Prepare a “Sauce Madère” as explained in No. 44, and add to the half-glaze, to be reduced, half its volume of very strong veal stock, and keep it a little denser than usual. Finish this [30] sauce by adding one-sixth pint of truffle essence and three oz. of chopped truffles per quart of Madeira Sauce. It is used for numerous small entrées, timbales, hot pâtés, &c.
Put into a vegetable pan two oz. of minced shallots, one-quarter pint of vinegar, and as much white wine. Reduce the liquid by a good half, and add one pint of half-glaze; set the sauce to boil, and despumate it for half an hour. At the last moment finish it, away from the fire, with two oz. of gherkins, one oz. of capers, and a teaspoonful of chervil, parsley, and tarragon, mixed; all the ingredients to be finely chopped. This sauce generally accompanies grilled or boiled pork, and cold meat re-dished and minced which needs spicy flavouring.
1. Heat two oz. of butter in a stewpan, and insert one lb. of raw Mirepoix (No. 228). Fry the vegetables until they are well browned; moisten with one-quarter pint of vinegar and one-half pint of Marinade (Formula 169); reduce to two-thirds; add one pint of Espagnole Sauce, and cook for three-quarters of an hour. Ten minutes before straining the sauce, put in a few crushed peppercorns. If the pepper were put in the sauce earlier, it might make it bitter.
2. Pass the sauce through a strainer, pressing the aromatics; add a further one-half pint of Marinade, and despumate for one-quarter of an hour, keeping it simmering the while. Strain again through tammy, and finish the sauce, when ready for dishing, with two oz. of butter.
This sauce is suitable for joints marinaded or not.
Fry, with two oz. of butter and two oz. of oil, one lb. of raw Mirepoix (No. 228) to which are added four lbs. of well-broken bones and ground-game trimmings. When the whole is well browned, drain the grease away, and dilute with one pint of vinegar and one pint of white wine. Reduce this liquid by three-quarters, then add three quarts of game stock and a quart of Espagnole Sauce. Boil, cover the saucepan, and put into a moderate oven, where it should stay for at least three hours. At the end of this time take out the saucepan and pour its contents into a fine sieve placed over a tureen; press the remains so as to expel all the sauce they hold, and pour the [31] sauce into a tall, thick saucepan. Add enough game stock and Marinade, mixed in equal parts, to produce three quarts in all of sauce, and gently reduce the latter while despumating it. As it diminishes in volume, it should be passed through muslin into smaller saucepans, and the reduction should be stopped when only a quart of sauce remains.
N.B.—This sauce, like red-wine sauces, may be served as it stands. It is brilliant, clear, and perhaps more sightly thus, but the addition of a certain quantity of butter (four oz. per quart) makes it perfectly mellow, and admirably completes its fragrance.
Peel, remove the seeds, press and concass twelve medium tomatoes. Heat in a sauté-pan one-fifth pint of oil, until it begins to smoke a little; insert the tomatoes seasoned with pepper and salt; add a crushed garlic clove, a pinch of powdered sugar, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and allow to melt gently for half an hour. In reality, true Provençale is nothing but a fine fondue of tomatoes with garlic.
Finely mince a large onion and put it into a stewpan with butter. Fry the onion gently and without letting it acquire any colour. Dilute with one-third pint of white wine, reduce the latter by one-third, add one pint of half-glaze, and leave to simmer for twenty minutes. When dishing up, finish the sauce with one tablespoonful of meat glaze, one teaspoonful of mustard, and one pinch of powdered sugar. If, when finished, the sauce has to wait, it should be kept warm in a bain-marie, as it must not boil again. This sauce—of a spicy flavour—is best suited to grilled and boiled pork. It may also be used for a mince of the same meat.
This sauce may be bought ready-made. It is used either hot or cold. It is especially suitable for pork, veal, poultry, and even fish, and is generally used hot with grills after the equivalent of its volume of excellent brown stock has been added to it. It may also be served cold to accompany cold meat.
Prepare a “Bordelaise” sauce according to Formula No. 32. The diluent of this sauce must be an excellent red wine. For one pint of sauce, pass four raw ducks’ livers through a [32] sieve; add the resulting purée to the Bordelaise, and heat the latter for a few minutes in order to poach the liver. Be careful, however, not to heat the sauce too much nor too long, lest the liver be cooked. Serve this sauce with duckling à la Rouennaise.
The base of this sauce, which rather resembles the cullis, is unchangeable. Its diluent only changes according to the kind of birds or game to be treated, and whether this game is to be considered ordinary or Lenten.
Cut and gently brown in butter five oz. of Mirepoix (Formula 228). Add the shin detached from the limbs and the chopped carcase of the bird under treatment, and moisten with one pint of white wine. Reduce the latter to two-thirds, add one-half pint of half glaze, and boil gently for three-quarters of an hour. Pass through a strainer, while pressing upon the carcase and the aromatics, with the view of extracting their quintessence, and thin the cullis thus obtained by means of one-half pint of game stock or mushroom liquor, if the game be Lenten. Now despumate for about one hour, finally reduce the sauce, bring it to its proper consistency with a little mushroom liquor and truffle essence, rub it through tammy, and butter it slightly at the last moment.
Boil one-half pint of veal stock, adding a small sprig of sage, sweet marjoram, rosemary, basil, thyme, and as much bay, two oz. of mushroom parings, and one oz. of parsley. Cover and allow to infuse for half an hour. Two minutes before straining the infusion, add four concassed peppercorns.
After straining through fine linen, add one-half pint of half-glaze and as much tomato sauce (away from the fire) with four tablespoonfuls of sherry, a little truffle essence, and a good pinch of cayenne.
N.B.—As this sauce must be spicy, the use of cayenne suggests itself, but great caution should be observed, as there must be no excess of this condiment.
Prepare a Poivrade sauce for game, as explained in No. 50. Finish this sauce with two tablespoonfuls of red-currant jelly, previously dissolved, and mixed with five tablespoonfuls of [33] fresh cream per pint of sauce. This addition of cream and red-currants must be made away from the fire.
Serve this sauce with big ground-game.
This sauce is that of lobster prepared “à l’Américaine” (see No. 939). As it generally accompanies a fish, the meat of the lobster or lobsters which have served in its preparation is sliced and used as the garnish of the fish.
Put into a small stewpan one pint of unbuttered “Normande Sauce” (No. 99), and finish it, away from the fire, with three oz. of anchovy butter, and one oz. of anchovy fillets, washed, well sponged, and cut into small pieces.
Into one-half pint of boiling velouté put the same quantity of very red tomato purée (No. 29), and mix the two. Let the sauce boil a little, pass it through a tammy, and finish, away from the fire, with three oz. of butter.
This sauce is made like the preceding one, i.e., with the same quantities of velouté and tomato purée, replacing ordinary velouté by fish velouté.
Put into a small stewpan one teaspoonful of chopped shallots, two oz. of chopped tarragon stalks, three oz. of chervil, some mignonette pepper, a pinch of salt, and four tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Reduce the vinegar by two-thirds, take off the fire, let the stewpan cool a little, and add to this reduction the yolks of five eggs. Now put the stewpan on a low fire and gradually combine with the yolks six oz. of melted butter. Whisk the sauce briskly, so as to ensure the cooking of the yolks, which alone, by gradual cooking, effect the leason of the sauce.
When the butter is combined with the sauce, rub the latter through tammy, and finish it with a teaspoonful of chervil parings and chopped tarragon leaves. Complete the seasoning with a suspicion of cayenne. This sauce should not be served very hot, as it is really a mayonnaise with butter. It need only [34] be tepid, for it would probably turn if it were over-heated. Serve it with grilled, butcher’s meat and poultry.
Prepare a Béarnaise sauce as explained in No. 62. Complete it with three tablespoonfuls of dissolved pale meat glaze, which may be added in small quantities at a time. Serve it with butcher’s meat.
Proceed in exactly the same way as for Béarnaise No. 62. When the sauce is made and rubbed through tammy, finish it with one-third pint of very red tomato purée. In this case the final addition of chervil and tarragon should not be made.
This is proper to “Tournedos Choron,” but it may accompany grilled poultry and white, butcher’s meat.
Heat two oz. of chopped shallots. Moisten with one-half pint of white wine and as much fish fumet, or, when possible, the same quantity of fish liquor, the latter being, of course, that of a fish similar to the one the sauce is to accompany. Reduce to a good third, add one-third pint of velouté, let the sauce boil some time, and finish it, away from the fire, with four oz. of butter (added by degrees), a few drops of fish glaze, half the juice of a lemon, and one oz. of chopped parsley.
Serve with medium-sized poached fish.
Mix two oz. of sifted flour with two oz. of melted butter. Dilute with one quart of boiling water, salted to the extent of one-quarter oz. per quart. Stir briskly to ensure a perfect leason, and do not allow to boil. Add immediately the yolks of six eggs mixed with one-quarter pint of cream and the juice of half a lemon. Rub through a tammy, and finish the sauce with five oz. of best fresh butter.
Be careful that the sauce does not boil after it has been thickened.
Put in a stewpan two oz. of minced shallots and one-half pint of Graves, Sauterne, or any other excellent white [35] Bordeaux. Reduce the wine almost entirely, add one-quarter pint of velouté, let it simmer twenty minutes, and rub it through a tammy. Finish it, away from the fire, with six oz. of butter and a little chopped tarragon.
Serve it with grilled fish and grilled white meat.
This is a derivative of the Butter Sauce described under No. 66, and there need only be added two tablespoonfuls of capers per pint of sauce. It frequently accompanies boiled fish of all kinds.
Boil one pint of Béchamel, to which add one-half pint of fish fumet and a little truffle essence, and reduce by a quarter. Finish the sauce, when dishing up, with three tablespoonfuls of cream and three oz. of very red lobster butter (No. 149).
This sauce is poured over the fish.
If this be intended for poultry, add one-fifth pint of mushroom liquor and eight oz. of button-mushroom heads turned or channelled and cooked, to one pint of very stiff Allemande Sauce.
If it be intended for fish, take one pint of fish velouté, thickened with the yolks of four eggs, and finish it with mushroom liquor, as above.
The sauce that I suggest for poultry may also be used for fish, after adding the necessary quantity of fish fumet.
Put one oz. of chopped shallots, a sprig of thyme and a bit of bay, one oz. of mushroom parings, and one-quarter pint of white wine into a stewpan. Reduce the wine almost entirely, add one-half pint of veal gravy, and reduce again until the liquid only measures one-quarter pint. Strain through muslin, and finish the sauce away from the fire with four oz. of butter “Maître d’Hôtel” (No. 150), to which may be added a little chopped tarragon. Serve with grilled fillet of beef, otherwise “Châteaubriand.”
Boil one pint of velouté in a stewpan, and add three-quarters pint of melted white poultry jelly. Put the stewpan on an open [36] fire, reduce the sauce by a third, stirring constantly the while, and gradually add one-half pint of very fresh cream. When the sauce has reached the desired degree of consistency rub it through a tammy, and stir it frequently while it cools, for fear of a skin forming on its surface, for if this happened it would have to be strained again. When dishing up, this sauce should be cold, so that it may properly coat immersed solids and yet be liquid enough to admit of the latter being easily steeped into it.
Proceed exactly as above, substituting Allemande Sauce for the velouté, and reducing the quantity of cream to one-quarter pint. Observe the same precautions while cooling.
Prepare a white Chaud-Froid (No. 72). The same may be coloured by the addition of fine red tomato purée—more or less to match the desired shade—or by an infusion of paprika, according to the use for which it is intended. This last product is preferable when not too deep a shade is required.
Add to the velouté of the white Chaud-Froid sauce, at the same time as the jelly, an infusion prepared thus:—Boil one-quarter pint of white wine, and add to it one pinch of chervil stalks, a similar quantity of tarragon leaves, chives, and parsley leaves. Cover, allow infusion to proceed away from the fire for ten minutes, and strain through linen.
Treat the sauce as explained, and finish with spinach-green (No. 143). The shade of the sauce must not be too pronounced, but must remain a pale green. The colouring principle must therefore be added with caution and in small quantities, until the correct shade is obtained. Use this sauce for Chaud-froids of fowl, particularly that kind distinguished as “Printanier.”
Proceed as for white Chaud-Froid, using the same quantities, and taking note of the following modifications:—
1. Substitute fish velouté for ordinary velouté.
2. Substitute white fish jelly for poultry jelly.
Remarks.—I have adopted the use of this ordinary Chaud-Froid sauce for the glazing of fillets and escalopes of fish and Shell-fish, instead of cleared Mayonnaise, formerly used, which [37] had certain inconveniences—not the least being the oozing away of the oil under the shrinkage of the gelatine. This difficulty does not obtain in the ordinary Chaud-Froid, the definite and pronounced flavour of which is better than that of the cleared Mayonnaise.
This sauce may be bought ready-made. Like the Roberts Sauce, it can be served hot or cold. It is an excellent adjunct to venison, and even to small ground-game. Saddle of venison with this sauce constitutes one of the greatest dainties that an epicure could desire.
In one-half pint of boiling poultry stock put a large pinch of chervil pluches, tarragon and parsley leaves, a head of young pimpernel (the qualification here is very important, for this aromatic plant grows bitter as it matures), and a good pinch of chives. Cover up, and let infusion proceed for ten to twelve minutes; then add the liquid (strained through linen) to one pint of velouté. Boil, reduce by a quarter, and complete it with two oz. of Green Butter (No. 143). Chivry Sauce is admirably suited to boiled or poached poultry.
Boil one pint of Béchamel Sauce, and add one-quarter pint of cream to it. Reduce on an open fire until the sauce has become very thick; then pass through tammy. Bring to its normal degree of consistency by gradually adding, away from the fire, one-quarter pint of very fresh cream and a few drops of lemon-juice. Serve this sauce with boiled fish, poultry, eggs, and various vegetables.
Boil one pint of fish velouté or, failing this, Béchamel sauce, and add to it one-quarter pint of cream and one-quarter pint of very clear fish fumet. Reduce to one pint, and finish the sauce, away from the fire, with two oz. of Shrimp Butter (No. 145) and two oz. of shelled shrimps’ tails.
Slightly brown the following vegetables in butter:—Twelve oz. of minced onions, one oz. of parsley roots, four oz. of minced celery, a small sprig of thyme, a bit of bay, and a little mace. Sprinkle with two oz. of flour and a teaspoonful of curry pepper. [38] Cook the flour for some minutes without letting it acquire any colour, and dilute with one and one-half pints of white stock. Boil, cook gently for three-quarters of an hour, and rub through a tammy. Now heat the sauce, remove its grease, and keep it in the bain-marie. Serve this sauce with fish, shell-fish, poultry, and various egg-preparations.
N.B.—This sauce is sometimes flavoured with cocoa-nut milk in the proportion of one-quarter of the diluent.
Take one pint of Normande Sauce, prepared according to No. 99, and finish it with two oz. of lobster butter and three tablespoonfuls of lobster meat, and truffles cut into small, regular tubes.
Prepare one pint of white-wine sauce (No. 111). Finish it away from the fire with three oz. of shallot butter, a tablespoonful of parsley, chervil, tarragon, and chives, chopped and mixed. Serve this sauce with boiled or poached fish.
Prepare one pint of butter sauce, Formula No. 66. Meanwhile put one lb. of green gooseberries into a small copper saucepan containing boiling water. Boil for five minutes, then drain the gooseberries, and put them in a little stewpan with one-half pint of white wine and three oz. of powdered sugar. Gently cook the gooseberries, rub them through a tammy, and add the resulting pulp to the butter sauce. This sauce is excellent with grilled mackerel and the poached fillets of that fish.
Gently fry in butter, without colouring, two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions seasoned with table-salt and half a teaspoonful of paprika. Moisten with one-quarter pint of white wine, add a small faggot, reduce the wine by two-thirds, and remove the herbs.
Finish with one pint of ordinary or Lenten Velouté, according to the use for which the sauce is intended, and boil moderately for five minutes. Then rub the sauce through a tammy, and complete it with two oz. of butter. Remember this sauce should be of a tender, pink shade, which it must owe to the paprika alone.
[39]
It forms an ideal accompaniment to choice morsels of lamb
and veal, eggs, poultry, and fish.
Take one pint of Normande Sauce, finish it as directed in that recipe, and complete it with one-quarter pint of reduced oyster liquor, strained through linen, and twelve poached and trimmed oysters.
Take the necessary quantity of Suprême Sauce, prepared as explained in No. 106a. Add to this four tablespoonfuls of dissolved, pale, meat glaze per quart of sauce, in order to lend the latter that ivory-white tint which characterises it. Serve this sauce chiefly with poultry and poached sweet-bread.
Prepare one pint of Normande Sauce (No. 99), as given in the first part of its formula, and complete it with two oz. of shrimp butter and two oz. of crayfish butter. If this sauce is to accompany a fish à la Joinville, which includes a special garnish, it is served as it stands. If it is served with a large, boiled, ungarnished fish, one oz. of very black truffles cut Julienne-fashion should be added. As may be seen, Joinville Sauce differs from similar preparations in the final operation where crayfish and shrimp butter are combined.
To the Hollandaise Sauce, given under No. 30, add, when dishing up, the juice of two blood oranges (these late-season oranges being especially suitable for this sauce) and half a coffeespoonful of grated orange-rind.
Maltese Sauce is the finest for asparagus.
Take the necessary quantity of Bercy Sauce (No. 65), and add, per pint of sauce, one-quarter pint of mussel liquor and a leason composed of the yolks of three eggs.
Serve this with small poached fish and more particularly with mussels.
Boil one pint of Béchamel Sauce with one-quarter pint of the fumet of the fish, poultry, or vegetable, which is to constitute [40] the dish. Reduce by a good quarter, and add two oz. of Gruyère and two oz. of grated Parmesan.
Put the sauce on the fire again for a few minutes, and ensure the melting of the cheese by stirring with a small whisk. Finish the sauce away from the fire with two oz. of butter added by degrees.
To a Hollandaise Sauce, prepared as explained (No. 30), add, just before dishing up, one-half pint of stiffly-whipped cream per pint of sauce.
Scald and wipe a small vegetable-pan, and put into it one-half lb. of stiffly-manied butter, properly softened. Season this butter with table-salt and a few drops of lemon-juice, and whisk it while gradually adding one-third pint of cold water. Finish with two tablespoonfuls of very firm, whipped cream. This preparation, though classified as a sauce, is really a compound butter, which is served with boiled fish. The heat of the fish alone suffices to melt it, and its appearance is infinitely more agreeable than that of plain, melted butter.
Take the necessary quantity of butter sauce and complete it, away from the fire, with one tablespoonful of mustard per pint of sauce.
N.B.—If the sauce has to wait, it must be kept in a bain-marie, for it should not on any account boil. It is served with certain small grilled fish, especially fresh herrings.
Boil one pint of Béchamel Sauce, add one-half pint of cream, and reduce by a third. Rub it through a tammy, and finish it with a further addition of two tablespoonfuls of cream, three oz. of very fine crayfish butter, and one tablespoonful of small, shelled crayfishes’ tails.
First Method (with Raw Lobsters).—Divide a two lb. lobster into four parts. Remove its creamy parts, pound them finely with two oz. of butter, and put them aside.
[41]
Heat in a sautépan one and one-half oz. of butter and as
much oil, and insert the pieces of lobster, well seasoned with
salt and cayenne. Fry until the pieces assume a fine, red colour;
entirely drain away the butter, and add two tablespoonfuls of
burnt brandy and one-third pint of Marsala or old Sherry.
Reduce the wine by two-thirds, and wet the lobster with one-third pint of cream and one-half pint of fish fumet. Now add a faggot, cover the sautépan, and gently cook for twenty-five minutes. Then drain the lobster on a sieve, remove the meat and cut it into cubes, and finish the sauce by adding the creamy portions put aside from the first. Boil so as to ensure the cooking of these latter portions; add the meat, cut into cubes, and verify the seasoning.
N.B.—The addition of the meat to the sauce is optional; instead of cutting it into cubes it may be stewed and displayed on the fish constituting the dish.
The lobster having been cooked in a Court-bouillon, shell the tail and slice it up. Arrange these slices in a sautépan liberally buttered at the bottom; season them strongly with salt and cayenne, and heat them on both sides so as to effect the reddening of the skin. Immerse, so as to cover, in a good Sherry, and almost entirely reduce same.
When dishing up, pour on to the slices a leason composed of one-third pint of fresh cream and the yolks of two eggs. Gently stir, away from the fire, and roll the saucepan about until the leason is completed.
Originally, these two sauces, like the American, were exclusively composed of, and served with, lobster. They were one with the two very excellent preparations of lobster which bear their name. In its two forms lobster may only be served at lunch, many people with delicate stomachs being unable to digest it at night. To obviate this serious difficulty, I have made it a practice to serve lobster sauce with fillets or Mousselines of sole, adding the lobster as a garnish only. And this innovation proved most welcome to the public.
By using such condiments as curry and paprika, excellent varieties of this sauce may be obtained, which are particularly suited to sole and other white Lenten fish. In either of these cases it is well to add a little rice “à l’Indienne” to the fish.
Prepare a Hollandaise Sauce according to the recipe under No. 30. Add two oz. of hazel-nut butter at the last moment.
Serve this with salmon, trout, and all boiled fish in general.
Put in a sautépan one pint of fish velouté, three tablespoonfuls of mushroom liquor, as much oyster liquor, and twice as much sole fumet, the yolks of three eggs, a few drops of lemon-juice, and one-quarter pint of cream. Reduce by a good third on an open fire, season with a little cayenne, rub through a tammy, and finish with two oz. of butter and four tablespoonfuls of good cream.
This sauce is proper to fillet of sole “à la Normande,” but it is also frequently used as the base of other small sauces.
Take one pint of American sauce, season with curry, and reduce to a third. Then add, away from the fire, one-quarter pint of cream per pint of sauce.
Serve this sauce in the same way as American Sauce.
Boil for a few minutes one pint of Sauce Allemande, and add six tablespoonfuls of mushroom liquor. Finish, away from the fire, with two oz. of butter, a few drops of lemon-juice, and one teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Use this sauce with certain vegetables, but more generally with sheep’s trotters.
Reduce by half, one-quarter pint of white wine with half as much vinegar. Add one pint of ordinary velouté, boil gently for a few minutes, and finish with one and one-half oz. of shallot butter and one teaspoonful of chervil, tarragon, and chopped chives. This sauce accompanies boiled poultry and certain white “abats.”
If this sauce is to garnish poultry, boil one pint of Allemande Sauce with six tablespoonfuls of mushroom essence and two tablespoonfuls of truffle essence. Finish with four tablespoonfuls of poultry glaze.
[43]
If it is to garnish fish, substitute for the Allemande Sauce
some fish velouté thickened with egg-yolks and the essences of
mushroom and truffle as above. Complete with some fish
essence.
Stew in butter two lbs. of finely-minced onions, scalded for three minutes and well dried. This stewing of the onions in butter increases their flavour. Now add one-half pint of thickened Béchamel; season with salt and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar. Cook gently for half an hour, rub through a tammy, and complete the sauce with some tablespoonfuls of cream and two oz. of butter.
The same quantity as above of minced onions, scalded and well drained. Garnish the bottom and the sides of a tall, medium stewpan with some thin rashers of fat bacon. Insert the onions, together with one-quarter lb. of Carolina rice, one pint of white consommé, a large pinch of powdered sugar, and the necessary salt. Cook gently in the front of the oven for three-quarters of an hour. Then pound the onions and rice in a mortar, rub the resulting purée through a tammy, and finish with cream and butter as in the preceding case.
N.B.—This sauce, being more consistent than the former, is used as a garnish just as often as a sauce.
Prepare a soubise in accordance with the first of the two above formulæ, and add to it one-third of its volume of very red tomato purée.
1. The Soubise is rather a cullis than a sauce; i.e., its consistence must be greater than that of a sauce.
2. The admixture of Béchamel in Soubise is preferable to that of rice, seeing that it makes it smoother. If, in certain cases, rice is used as a cohering element, in order to give the Soubise more stiffness.
3. In accordance with the uses to which it may be put, the Soubise Tomatée may be finally seasoned either with curry or paprika.
The salient characteristics of Suprême Sauce are its perfect whiteness and consummate delicacy. It is generally prepared in small quantities only.
Preparation.—Put one and one-half pints of very clear poultry stock and one-quarter pint of mushroom cooking liquor into a sautépan. Reduce to two-thirds; add one pint of “poultry velouté”; reduce on an open fire, stirring with the spatula the while, and combine one-half pint of excellent cream with the sauce, this last ingredient being added little by little.
When the sauce has reached the desired consistence, strain it through a sieve, and add another one-quarter pint of cream and two oz. of best butter. Stir with a spoon, from time to time, or keep the pan well covered.
Put into a stewpan one tablespoonful of chopped shallots, one tablespoonful of chervil, and one-quarter pint of white wine and tarragon vinegar, mixed in equal quantities. Reduce the vinegar by two-thirds; add one pint of white wine sauce (No. 111); boil for a few minutes; rub through a tammy, and finish the sauce with a sufficient quantity of Herb Juice (No. 183) and one teaspoonful of chopped chervil and tarragon. This sauce accompanies various fish.
Put into a sautépan one pint of Allemande Sauce to which have been added two tablespoonfuls of truffle essence and as much ham essence.
Reduce on an open fire and constantly stir until the sauce is sufficiently stiff to coat immersed solids thickly.
Put into a sautépan two-thirds pint of Allemande Sauce and one-third pint of Soubise purée (Formula 105). Reduce as in the preceding case, as the uses to which this is put are the same. Now, according to the circumstances and the nature of the solid it is intended for, a few teaspoonfuls of very black, chopped truffles may be added to this sauce.
Prepare the sauce as explained under No. 108, and add to it the third of its volume of very fine tomato purée. Reduce in the same way.
[45]
Remarks.—1. Villeroy sauce, of whatsoever kind, is solely
used for the coating of preparations said to be “à la Villeroy.”
2. The Villeroy Tomatée may be finally seasoned with curry or paprika, according to the preparation for which it is intended.
The three following methods are employed in making it:—
1. Add one-quarter pint of fish fumet to one pint of thickened Velouté, and reduce by half. Finish the sauce, away from the fire, with four oz. of butter. Thus prepared, this white wine sauce is suitable for glazed fish.
2. Almost entirely reduce one-quarter pint of fish fumet. To this reduction add the yolks of four eggs, mixing them well in it, and follow with one lb. of butter, added by degrees, paying heed to the precautions indicated under sauce Hollandaise No. 30.
3. Put the yolks of five eggs into a small stewpan and mix them with one tablespoonful of cold fish-stock. Put the stewpan in a bain-marie and finish the sauce with one lb. of butter, meanwhile adding from time to time, and in small quantities, six tablespoonfuls of excellent fish fumet. The procedure in this sauce is, in short, exactly that of the Hollandaise, with this distinction, that here fish fumet takes the place of the water.
Quarter, peel, core, and chop two lbs. of medium-sized apples; place these in a stewpan with one tablespoonful of powdered sugar, a bit of cinnamon, and a few tablespoonfuls of water. Cook the whole gently with lid on, and smooth the purée with a whisk when dishing up.
Serve this sauce lukewarm with duck, goose, roast hare, &c.
Boil one pint of milk, and add three oz. of fresh, white bread-crumb, a little salt, a small onion with a clove stuck in it, and one oz. of butter. Cook gently for about a quarter of an hour, remove the onion, smooth the sauce with a whisk, and finish it with a few tablespoonfuls of cream.
This sauce is served with roast fowl and roast feathered game.
Clean six stalks of celery (only use the hearts), put them in a sautépan, wholly immerse in consommé, add a faggot and one onion with a clove stuck in it, and cook gently. Drain the celery, pound it in a mortar, then rub it through a tammy and put the purée in a stewpan. Now thin the purée with an equal quantity of cream sauce and a little reduced celery liquor. Heat it moderately, and, if it has to wait, put it in a bain-marie.
This sauce is suited to boiled or braised poultry. It is excellent, and has been adopted in French cookery.
Cook one pint of cranberries with one quart of water in a stewpan, and cover the stewpan. When the berries are cooked drain them in a fine sieve through which they are strained. To the purée thus obtained add the necessary quantity of their cooking liquor, so as to make a somewhat thick sauce. Sugar should be added according to the taste of the consumer.
This sauce is mostly served with roast turkey. It is to be bought ready-made, and, if this kind be used, it need only be heated with a little water.
Take one pint of butter sauce (No. 66) and finish it with two tablespoonfuls of chopped fennel, scalded for a few seconds.
This is principally used with mackerel.
Dissolve one-quarter pound of butter, and add to it the necessary salt, a little pepper, half the juice of a lemon, and three hard-boiled eggs (hot and cut into large cubes); also a teaspoonful of chopped and scalded parsley.
Make a white roux with one and one-half oz. of butter and one oz. of flour. Mix in one pint of boiling milk, season with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg, and boil gently for ten minutes. Then add three hot hard-boiled eggs, cut into cubes (the whites and the yolks).
This sauce usually accompanies boiled fish, especially fresh haddocks and fresh and salted cod.
Rasp five oz. of horse-radish and place them in a stewpan with one-quarter pint of white consommé. Boil gently for twenty minutes and add a good one-half pint of butter sauce, as much cream, and one-half oz. of bread-crumb; thicken by reducing on a brisk fire and rub through tammy. Then thicken with the yolks of two eggs, and complete the seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper, and a teaspoonful of mustard dissolved in a tablespoonful of vinegar.
Serve this sauce with braised or roast beef—especially fillets.
This is the Butter Sauce (No. 66), to which is added, per pint, a heaped tablespoonful of freshly-chopped parsley.
Put into a small stewpan and boil one pint of half-glaze sauce and one-half pint of ordinary Poivrade sauce. Complete with a garnish composed of one-half oz. of gherkins, one-half oz. of the hard-boiled white of an egg, one oz. of salted tongue, one oz. of truffles, and one oz. of mushrooms. All these to be cut Julienne-fashion and short.
This sauce is for mutton cutlets when these are “à la Reform.”
Pound one oz. of garlic cloves as finely as possible in a mortar, and add the yolk of one raw egg, a pinch of salt, and one-half pint of oil, letting the latter gradually fall in a thread and wielding the pestle meanwhile, so as to effect a complete amalgamation. Add a few drops of lemon juice and cold water to the sauce as it thickens, these being to avoid its turning.
Should it decompose while in the process of making or when made, the only thing to be done is to begin it again with the yolk of an egg.
Take the required quantity of Mayonnaise sauce (No. 126) and add to it the quarter of its volume of very red and concentrated tomato purée, and finally add two oz. of capsicum cut finely, Julienne-fashion, per pint of sauce.
Put in a bowl one-quarter pint of cold Béchamel, the yolks of four eggs, a little table salt and white pepper. Add a quart of oil and three tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, proceeding as for the Mayonnaise.
Finish the sauce with a tablespoonful of mustard.
Pound in a mortar, and make into a smooth, fine paste, one oz. of pistachios and one oz. of fir-apple kernels, or, if these are not available, one oz. of sweet almonds; add one-half tablespoonful of cold Béchamel. Put this paste into a bowl, add the yolks of six eggs, a little salt and pepper, and finish the sauce with one quart of oil, the juice of two lemons, and proceed as for the Mayonnaise.
[49]
Complete with three tablespoonfuls of purée of herbs, prepared
with equal quantities of chervil, parsley, tarragon, and
fresh pimpernel, scalded for one minute. Cool quickly, press
so as to expel the water, and pass through a fine sieve.
Serve this sauce with cold fish.
Crush in a basin the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs, and work them into a smooth paste, together with a large tablespoonful of French mustard, the necessary salt, a little pepper, and make up the sauce with one pint of oil. Complete with one dessertspoonful of parsley, chervil, and tarragon (chopped and mixed), as many capers and gherkins, evenly mixed, and the hard-boiled whites of three eggs, cut short, Julienne-fashion.
This sauce is chiefly used with cold fish.
Put in a basin the yolks of six raw eggs, after having removed the cores. Season them with one-half oz. of table-salt and a little cayenne pepper. Gradually pour one-fifth pint of vinegar on the yolks while whisking them briskly. When the vinegar is absorbed add one quart of oil, letting the latter trickle down in a thread, constantly stirring the sauce meanwhile. The sauce is finished by the addition of the juice of a lemon and three tablespoonfuls of boiling water—the purpose of the latter being to ensure the coherence of the sauce and to prevent its turning.
Mayonnaise prepared in this way is rather liquid, but it need only be left to rest a few hours in order to thicken considerably. Unless it be exposed to too low a temperature, the Mayonnaise, prepared as above, never turns, and may be kept for several days without the fear of anything happening to it. Merely cover it to keep the dust away.
Remarks.—In the matter of that sauce there exist endless prejudices, which I must attempt to refute:—
1. If the sauce forms badly, or not at all, the reason is that the oil has been added too rapidly at first, before the addition of the vinegar, and that its assimilation by the yolks has not operated normally.
2. It is quite an error to suppose that it is necessary to work over ice or in a cold room. Cold is rather deleterious to the Mayonnaise, and is invariably the cause of this sauce turning in winter. In the cold season the oil should be slightly [50] warmed, or, at least, kept at the temperature of the kitchen, though it is best to make it in a moderately warm place.
3. It is a further error to suppose that the seasoning interferes with the making of the sauce, for salt, in solution, rather provokes the cohering force of the yolks.
Causes of the Disintegration of the Mayonnaise:—
1. The too rapid addition of the oil at the start.
2. The use of congealed, or too cold, an oil.
3. Excess of oil in proportion to the number of yolks, the assimilating power of an egg being limited to two and one-half oz. of oil (if the sauce be made some time in advance), and three oz. if it is to be used immediately.
Means of Bringing Turned Mayonnaise Back to its Normal State.—Put the yolk of an egg into a basin with a few drops of vinegar, and mix the turned Mayonnaise in it, little by little. If it be a matter of only a small quantity of Mayonnaise, one-half a coffeespoonful of mustard can take the place of the egg-yolk. Finally, with regard to acid seasoning, a whiter sauce is obtained by the use of lemon juice instead of vinegar.
Take the necessary quantity of Mayonnaise and gradually add to it, per one and one-half pints of the sauce, one-half pint of cold and rather firm melting aspic jelly—Lenten or ordinary, according to the nature of the products for which the sauce is intended.
Remarks.—It is this very Mayonnaise, formerly used almost exclusively for coating entrées and cold relevées of fish, filleted fish, escalopes of common and spiny-lobster, &c., which I have allowed the Lenten Chaud-froid (see remarks No. 76) to supersede.
Put into a copper basin or other bowl three-quarters pint of melted jelly, two-thirds pint of Mayonnaise, one tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, and as much rasped or finely-chopped horse-radish. Mix up the whole, place the utensil on ice, and whisk gently until the contents get very frothy. Stop whisking as soon as the sauce begins to solidify, for it must remain almost fluid so as to enable it to mix with the products for which it is intended.
This sauce is used principally for vegetable salads.
Put into a bowl one pint of oil, one-third pint of vinegar, a little salt and pepper, two oz. of small capers, three tablespoonfuls of fine herbs, comprising some very finely chopped onion, as much parsley, and half as much chervil, tarragon, and chives. Mix thoroughly. The Ravigote accompanies calf’s head or foot, sheep’s trotters, &c.
Two or three tablespoonfuls of the liquor with which its accompanying solids have been cooked, i.e., calf’s head or sheep’s trotters liquor, &c., are often added to this sauce when dishing up.
To one pint of Mayonnaise add one large tablespoonful of mustard, another of gherkins, and yet another of chopped and pressed capers, one tablespoonful of fine herbs, parsley, chervil, and tarragon, all chopped and mixed, and a coffeespoonful of anchovy essence.
This sauce accompanies cold meat and poultry, and, more particularly, common and spiny lobster.
Take the necessary quantity of thick Mayonnaise and spicy seasoning, and add to these, per pint of sauce, one-third pint of herb juice, prepared as indicated hereafter (No. 132).
This is suitable for cold fish and shell fish.
Prepare and carefully wash the following herbs:—One oz. each of parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives, sorrel-leaves, and fresh pimpernel, two oz. of water-cress and two oz. of spinach. Put all these herbs into a copper bowl containing salted, boiling water. Boil for two minutes only; then drain the herbs in a sieve and immerse them in a basin of fresh water. When they are cold they are once more drained until quite dry; then they must be finely pounded with the yolks of eight hard-boiled eggs. Rub the purée thus obtained through a sieve first, then through tammy, add one pint of very stiff Mayonnaise to it and finish the sauce with a dessertspoonful of Worcestershire sauce.
Pound together the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs, the washed and dried fillets of four anchovies, a teaspoonful of capers, a dessertspoonful of chervil, tarragon, and chives, mixed. When the whole forms a fine paste, add one tablespoonful of mustard, one-fifth pint of oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar, and proceed as for a Mayonnaise. Season with a little cayenne; rub through tammy, applying pressure with a spoon, and put the sauce in a bowl. Stir it awhile with a whisk to smooth it, and finish with one teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
It is suited to cold meats in general; in fact, it is an Anglicised version of Vincent Sauce.
Dissolve four tablespoonfuls of red-currant jelly, to which are added one-fifth pint of port wine, one teaspoonful of finely-chopped shallots, scalded for a few seconds and pressed, one teaspoonful of small pieces of orange rind and as much lemon rind (cut finely, Julienne-fashion, scalded for two minutes, well-drained, and cooled), the juice of an orange and that of half a lemon, one teaspoonful of mustard, a little cayenne pepper, and as much powdered ginger. Mix the whole well.
Serve this sauce with cold venison.
Take one pint of very thick Mayonnaise and complete it with one-fifth pint of sour cream with the juice of a lemon added, and combine with the Mayonnaise by degrees; one teaspoonful of chopped fennel and as much Worcester sauce.
Serve this with all cold meats.
Cut finely, Julienne-fashion, or chop, two oz. of mint leaves. Put these in a bowl with a little less than one oz. of white cassonade or castor sugar, one-quarter pint of fresh vinegar, and four tablespoonfuls of water.
Special sauce for hot or cold lamb.
Make a Cumberland sauce according to No. 134, with this difference: that the Julienne of orange and lemon rinds should be replaced by rasped or finely-chopped rinds, and that the quantities of same should be less, i.e., two-thirds of a teaspoonful of each.
Dilute one tablespoonful of mustard with two tablespoonfuls of vinegar in a basin, and add one lb. of finely-rasped horse-radish, two oz. of powdered sugar, a little salt, one pint of cream, and one lb. of bread-crumb steeped in milk and pressed. Serve this sauce very cold.
It accompanies boiled and roast joints of beef.
With the exception of those of the shell-fish order, the butters, whose formulæ I am about to give, are not greatly used in kitchens. Nevertheless, in some cases, as, for instance, in accentuating the savour of sauces, they answer a real and useful purpose, and I therefore recommend them, since they enable one to give a flavour to the derivatives of the Velouté and Béchamel sauces which these could not acquire by any other means.
With regard to shell-fish butters, and particularly those of the common and spiny lobster and the crayfish, experience has shown that when they are prepared with heat (that is to say, by melting in a bain-marie a quantity of butter which has been previously pounded with shell-fish remains and afterwards strained through muslin into a basin of iced-water where it has solidified) they are of a finer colour than the other kind and quite free from shell particles. But the heat, besides dissipating a large proportion of their delicacy, involves considerable risk, for the slightest neglect gives the above preparation quite a disagreeable taste. To obviate these difficulties I have adopted a system of two distinct butters, one which is exclusively calorific and prepared with heat, and the other which is prepared with all the creamy parts, the trimmings and the remains of common and spiny lobsters, without the shells, pounded with the required quantity of fresh butter and passed through a sieve. The latter is used to complete sauces, particularly those with a Béchamel base to which it lends a perfect savour.
I follow the same procedure with shrimp and crayfish butters, [54] sometimes substituting for the butter good cream, which, I find, absorbs the aromatic principles perhaps better than the former. With the above method it is advisable to pass the butter or the cream through a very fine sieve first and afterwards through tammy, so as to avoid small particles of the pounded shell being present in the sauce.
Put into a small stewpan one-quarter pint of white wine and one oz. of finely-chopped shallots, scalded a moment. Reduce the wine by one-half, and add one-half lb. of butter softened into a cream; one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, two oz. of beef marrow cut into cubes, poached in slightly salted water and well drained, the necessary table-salt, and, when dishing up, a little ground pepper and a few drops of lemon-juice.
This butter must not be completely melted, and it is principally served with grilled beef.
Put into a small saucepan of salted, boiling water six oz. of chervil, parsley, tarragon, fresh pimpernel, and chives, in equal quantities, and two oz. of chopped shallots. Boil quickly for two minutes, drain, cool in cold water, press in a towel to completely remove the water, and pound in a mortar. Now add one-half lb. of half-melted butter, mix well with the purée of herbs, and pass through tammy.
This butter is used to complete Chivry sauce and other sauces that contain herb juices, such as the Venetian, &c.
Reduce by two-thirds four-fifths pint of white wine containing four chopped shallots, fragments of thyme and bay, and four oz. of mushroom parings. Add four-fifths pint of veal gravy, reduce the whole to half, rub it through tammy, and finish it away from the fire with eight oz. of Maître d’Hôtel butter (No. 150) and half a tablespoonful of chopped tarragon.
Take one lb. of Maître d’Hôtel butter (No. 150) and add six tablespoonfuls of dissolved, pale meat glaze and one teaspoonful of chopped tarragon.
Serve this sauce with fish prepared à la Colbert.
Put on to a dish any available remains of shell-fish after having thoroughly emptied and well dried them in the oven. Pound them until they form a fine powder, and add their weight of butter.
Put the whole into a saucepan and melt in a bain-marie, stirring frequently the while. When the butter is quite clarified strain it through muslin, twisting the latter over a tureen of iced-water in which the strained butter solidifies. Put the congealed butter in a towel, press it heavily so as to expel the water, and keep cool in a small bowl.
Remarks.—A very fine and decided red colour is obtained by using paprika as a condiment for sauces intended for poultry and certain butcher’s meats, in accordance with the procedure I recommend for the Hongroise. But only the very best quality should be used—that which is mild and at the same time produces a nice pink colour without entailing any excess of the condiment. Among the various kinds of paprika on the market I can highly recommend that of Messrs. Kotangi, which I have invariably found satisfactory.
Peel, wash, and thoroughly shake (so as to get rid of every drop of water) two lbs. of spinach. Pound it raw and then press it in a strong towel, twisting the latter so as to extract all the vegetable juice. Pour this juice into a sautépan, let it coagulate in a bain-marie, and pour it on to a serviette stretched over a bowl in order to drain away the water. Collect the remains of the colouring substance on the serviette, making use of a palette-knife for the purpose, and put these into a mortar; mix with half their weight of butter, strain through a sieve or tammy, and put aside to cool. This green butter should in all cases take the place of the liquid green found on the market.
Finely pound shrimp and crayfish shells, and combine with these the available creamy parts and spawn of the common and spiny lobsters; add one-quarter pint of rich cream per lb. of the above remains, and strain, first through a fine sieve and then through tammy. This cullis is prepared just in time for dishing up, and serves as a refining principle in certain fish sauces.
Finely pound any available shrimp remains, add to these their weight of butter, and strain through tammy. Place in a bowl and put aside in the cool.
Put eight oz. of roughly minced shallots in the corner of a clean towel, and wash them quickly in boiling water. Cool, and press them heavily. Then pound them finely with their own weight of fresh butter and strain through tammy.
This butter accentuates the savour of certain sauces, such as Bercy, Ravigote, &c.
Pound, very finely, the remains and shells of crayfish cooked in Mirepoix. Add their weight of butter, and strain through a fine sieve, and again through tammy, so as to avoid the presence of any shell particles. This latter precaution applies to all shell-fish butters.
Quickly scald and cool eight oz. of fresh tarragon, drain, press in a towel, pound in a mortar, and add to them one lb. of butter. Strain through tammy, and put aside in the cool if it is not to be used immediately.
Reduce to a paste in the mortar the spawn, shell, and creamy parts of lobster. Add their equal in weight of butter and strain through tammy.
First manie and then soften into a cream one-half lb. of butter. Add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little salt and pepper, and a few drops of lemon-juice.
Serve this with grills in general.
Mix, until perfectly combined, four oz. of butter and three oz. of sifted flour. This butter is made immediately before the time of dishing up, and is used for quick leasons like the Matelotes, &c.
[57]
The sauce to which manied butter has been added should not
boil if this can possibly be avoided, as it would thereby acquire a
very disagreeable taste of raw flour.
This preparation, which is used principally as a fish sauce, should consist of butter, only just melted, and combined with a little table-salt and a few drops of lemon-juice. It should therefore be prepared only at the last minute; for, should it wait and be allowed to clarify, besides losing its flavour it will be found to disagree with certain people.
Put into a frying-pan the necessary quantity of butter, and cook it gently until it has acquired a golden tint and exudes a slight smell of nut. Add a few drops of lemon-juice, and pour on the fish under treatment, which should have been previously sprinkled with concassed parsley.
This butter is proper to fish “à la Meunière” and is always served on the fish.
Put into a saucepan containing boiling water equal quantities of watercress leaves, parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon (six oz. in all), one and one-half oz. of chopped shallots, and one-half oz. of spinach leaves. Boil for two minutes, then drain, cool, press in a towel to expel water, and pound in a mortar with one tablespoonful of pressed capers, four oz. of gherkins, a garlic clove, and the fillets of four anchovies well washed.
Mix this paste with one and one-half lbs. of butter; then add the yolks of three boiled eggs and two raw eggs, and finally pour in, by degrees, two-fifths pint of oil. Strain through a fine sieve or through tammy, put the butter into a basin, and stir it well with a wooden spoon so as to make it smooth. Season with table-salt and a little cayenne.
Use this butter to deck large fish, such as salmon and trout; but it is also used for smaller pieces and slices of fish.
Remarks.—When this butter is specially prepared to form a coat on fish, the oil and the egg yolks are omitted and only butter is used.
Put into a frying-pan the necessary amount of butter, and cook it until it has assumed a brown colour and begins to smoke. At this moment add a large pinch of concassed parsley leaves and spread it immediately over the object to be treated.
Put eight oz. of shelled hazel-nuts, for a moment, in the front of the oven, in order to slightly grill their skins and make them easily removable. Now crush the nuts in a mortar until they form a paste, and add a few drops of cold water with a view to preventing their producing any oil. Add their equivalent in weight of butter and rub through tammy.
Put into boiling water eight oz. of pistachios, and keep them on the side of the fire until the peel may be easily removed. Drain, cool in cold water, clean the pistachios, and finely pound while moistening them with a few drops of water.
Add two oz. of butter and pass through tammy.
These butters are made from all early-season vegetables, such as carrots, French beans, peas, and asparagus heads.
When dealing with green vegetables cook quickly in boiling, salted water, drain, dry, pound with their weight of butter, and rub through tammy.
With carrots: Mince and cook with consommé, sugar, and butter until the diluent is quite reduced. After cooling they are pounded with their own weight of butter and rubbed through tammy.
Jellies are to cold cookery what consommés and stock are to hot. If anything, the former are perhaps more important, for a cold entrée—however perfect it may be in itself—is nothing without its accompanying jelly.
In the recipes which I give hereafter I have made a point of showing how melting jellies may be obtained, i.e., served in a sauce-boat simultaneously with the cold comestible, or actually poured over it when the latter lies in a deep dish—a common custom nowadays.
This method of serving cold entrées, which I inaugurated at the Savoy Hotel with the “Suprême de Volaille Jeannette,” is the only one which allows of serving a jelly in a state of absolute perfection.
Nevertheless, if a more solid jelly were required, either for the decking of cold dishes or for a moulded entrée, there need only be added to the following formulæ a few gelatine leaves—more or less—according to the required firmness of the jelly.
But it should not be forgotten that the greater the viscosity of the jelly the less value will the same possess.
The various uses of jellies are dealt with in Part II. of this work, where the formulæ of their divers accompanying dishes will also appear.
4 lbs. of strung knuckle of veal.
3 lbs. of strung knuckle of beef.
3 lbs. of veal bones, well broken up.
Mode of Procedure.—Put the meats in a very clean and well-tinned stockpot or stewpan. Add eight quarts of cold water, boil, and skim after the manner indicated under No. 1. Having well skimmed the stock add one oz. of salt, put it on the side of [60] the fire, and let it boil gently for four hours. Then remove the meat, taking care not to disturb the stock. Carefully remove the fat, and garnish with one-half lb. of carrots, six oz. of onions, two oz. of leeks, a stick of celery, and a large faggot. Put the whole back on to the fire and cook gently for a further two hours. Strain through a sieve into a very clean basin and leave to cool.
Clarification of Aspic.—When the stock, prepared according to the above directions, has cooled, the grease that has formed on its surface should be removed. Then pour off gently into a stewpan of convenient size in such a way as to prevent the deposit at the bottom of the basin from mixing with the clear liquor. Test the consistence of the aspic, when it should be found that the quantities given above have proved sufficient to form a fairly firm jelly. If, however, this be not the case, a few leaves of gelatine steeped in cold water should be added, being careful not to overdo the quantity. Now add to the stock two lbs. of lean beef (first minced and then pounded together with the white of an egg), a little chervil and tarragon, and a few drops of lemon-juice. Place the saucepan on an open fire, stir its contents with a spatula until the liquid begins to boil, remove it from the fire, and place it on the side of the stove, where it may boil gently for half an hour.
At the end of this time take the saucepan off the fire and remove what little grease has formed on the aspic while cooking. Strain through a serviette stretched and fastened across the legs of an overturned stool, and let the aspic fall into a basin placed between the legs. Ascertain whether the liquid is quite clear, and if, as frequently happens, this be not the case, what has already been strained should once more be passed through the serviette, renewing the operation until the aspic becomes quite transparent.
Flavouring the Aspic.—The aspic obtained as above is limpid, has an agreeable savour, and is the colour of fine amber. It now only requires flavouring according to the tastes of the consumer and the purpose for which it is intended. For this operation it should be allowed to become quite tepid, and the following quantities of choice wine are added to it, viz.:—
If the wine is of a liqueur kind, such as Sherry, Marsala, Madeira, &c., one-fifth pint per quart.
If it is another kind of wine, for example, champagne, hock, &c., one-fourth pint per quart.
The wine used should be very clear, free from any deposit, and as perfect as possible in taste.
The quantities of meat are the same as for ordinary aspic; there need only be added to it either two oven-browned hens, or their equivalent in weight of roasted fowl carcases, and poultry giblets if these are handy. It is always better, however, to prepare the stock with the hens and giblets and to keep the carcases for the clarification. This clarification follows the same rules as that of the ordinary aspic, except that a few roasted-fowl carcases, previously well freed from fat, are added to it.
In the case of this particularly delicate aspic, it is more than ever necessary not to overdo the amount of gelatine. It should be easily soluble to the palate in order to be perfect.
Prepare this aspic stock in exactly the same way as that of ordinary aspic, only substitute game, such as deer, roebuck, doe, or hare, or wild rabbit (previously browned in the oven), for the beef. When possible also add to this stock a few old specimens of feathered game, such as partridges or pheasants that are too tough for other purposes and which suit admirably here.
The clarification changes according to the different flavours which are to be given to the aspic. If it is not necessary to give it a special characteristic, it should be prepared with the meat of that ground game which happens to be most available at the time, adding to the quantity used roast carcases of feathered game, the respective amounts of both ingredients being the same as for ordinary aspic. If, on the other hand, the aspic is to have a well-defined flavour, the meat used for the clarification should naturally be that producing the flavour in question, i.e., either partridge or pheasant, or hazel-hen, &c.
Some aspics are greatly improved by being flavoured with a small quantity of old brandy. Rather than use an inferior kind of this ingredient, however, I should advise its total omission from the aspic.
Without aromatisation the aspic, though imperfect, is passable; but aromatised with bad brandy it is invariably spoilt.
The stock for this aspic is prepared in precisely the same manner as fish stock, No. 1. The stewpan need not, however, be buttered previous to the insertion of the onions, parsley-stalks, [62] and fish-bones. If the aspic is not required to be quite white, a little saffron may be added to it, as the aroma of this condiment blends so perfectly with that of fish.
When the stock is prepared its consistence should be tested, and rectified, if necessary, by means of gelatine. The quantity of this substance should on no account exceed eight leaves per quart of aspic, and, at the risk of repeating myself, I remind the reader that the less gelatine is used the better the aspic will be.
The clarification should be made with fresh caviare if possible, but pressed caviare is also admirably suited to this purpose. The quantities are the same as for the clarification of fish consommé, No. 4.
In flavouring white fish aspics either dry champagne or a good Bordeaux or Burgundy may be used. Take care, however—
1. That the wine used be of an unquestionably good quality.
2. That it be only added to the aspic when the latter is already cold and on the point of coagulating, as this is the only means of preserving all the aroma of the wine.
Finally, in certain cases, a special flavour may be obtained by the use of crayfish, which are cooked, as for bisque, then pounded, and added to the fish stock No. 11 ten minutes before straining it. A proportion of four little crayfish à bisque per quart of aspic is sufficient to secure an excellent aroma.
This aspic stock is the Court-bouillon with red wine No. 165, which has served in cooking the fish for which the aspic is intended; this fish is generally either trout or salmon; sometimes also, but less commonly, a carp or a pike.
This stock must first of all have its grease thoroughly removed; it should then be poured carefully away, reduced if necessary, and the required quantity of gelatine added. This cannot be easily determined, as all gelatines are not alike, and the stock may have contracted a certain consistence from its contact with the fish. One can, therefore, only be guided by testing small quantities cooled in ice, but care should be taken that the aspic be not too firm.
The clarification of this aspic is generally made with white of egg in the proportion of one white per quart. The white, half-whisked, is added to the cold stock, and the latter is put over an open fire and stirred with a spatula. As soon as it boils, the aspic is poured through a serviette fixed on to [63] the legs of an overturned stool. The first drippings of the fluid are put back on to the serviette if they do not seem clear, and this operation is repeated until the required clearness is obtained.
It almost invariably happens that, either during the cooking of the fish or during the clarification, the wine loses its colour through the precipitation of the colouring elements derived from the tannin.
The only way of overcoming this difficulty is to add a few drops of liquid carmine or vegetable red; but, in any case, it is well to remember that the colour of red-wine aspic must never be deeper than a sombre pink.
5 quarts of water.
½ pint of vinegar.
2 oz. of gray salt.
½ oz. of peppercorns.
¾ lb. of carrots.
1 lb. of onions.
A little thyme and bay.
2 oz. of parsley stalks.
Preparation.—Put into a saucepan the water, salt, and vinegar, the minced carrots and onions, and the parsley, thyme, and bay, gathered into a bunch. Boil, allow to simmer for one hour, rub through tammy, and put aside until wanted.
Remarks.—Put the peppercorns into the court-bouillon only twelve minutes before straining the latter. If the pepper were in for too long a time it would give a bitterness to the preparation. This rule also applies to the formulæ that follow, in which the use of peppercorns is also required.
This court-bouillon is principally used for cooking trout and salmon, as well as for various shell-fish.
1 quart of white wine.
1 quart of water.
3 oz. of minced onions.
1 large faggot.
½ oz. of gray salt.
A few peppercorns.
Preparation.—This is the same as for the court-bouillon with vinegar, except that it is boiled for half an hour and is strained through tammy.
Remarks.—If the court-bouillon has to be reduced the quantity of salt should be proportionately less. This preparation is principally used for poaching fresh-water fish.
Use the same quantities as for court-bouillon with white wine, taking care—
1. To replace white wine by excellent red wine.
[65]
2. To add four oz. of minced carrots.
3. To apportion the wine and water in the ratio of two-thirds to one-third.
Preparation.—The same as that of the former, with the same time for boiling.
Remarks.—If the court-bouillon is to be reduced, the salt should be less accordingly. When the court-bouillon with red wine is to constitute an aspic stock, fish fumet with enough gelatine takes the place of the water.
The uses of court-bouillon with red wine are similar to those of the white-wine kind.
The quantity of court-bouillon is determined by the size of the piece which it is to cover. It is composed of cold, salt water (the salt amounting to a little less than one-half oz. per quart of water), one-quarter pint of milk per quart of water, and one thin slice of peeled lemon in the same proportion. The fish is immersed while the liquor is cold; the latter is very slowly brought to the boil, and as soon as this is reached, the receptacle is moved to the side of the fire, where the cooking of the fish is completed.
This court-bouillon, which is used with large pieces of turbot and brill, is never prepared beforehand.
This preparation is a genuine court-bouillon, though it is not used in cooking fish.
A little less than 2 oz. of flour.
1½ oz. of grey salt.
The juice of 3 lemons or ⅛ pint of good vinegar.
5 quarts of cold water.
Gradually mix the flour and the water; add the salt and the lemon juice, and pass through a strainer. Set to boil, and stir the mixture the while, in order to prevent the flour from precipitating; as soon as the boil is reached, immerse the objects to be treated. These are usually calf’s head or foot, previously blanched; sheep’s trotters, cocks’ kidneys or combs, or such vegetables as salsify, cardoon, &c.
1. Court-bouillon must always be prepared in advance for all fish, the time for poaching which is less than half an hour, except turbots and brills.
[66]
2. When a fish is of such a size as to need more than half
an hour’s poaching, proceed as follows:—Place under the
drainer of the fish-kettle the minced carrots and onions and
the faggot; put the fish on the drainer, and cover it with
water and vinegar, or white wine, in accordance with the
kind of court-bouillon wanted and the quantity required. Add
the salt, boil, and keep the court-bouillon gently simmering for
a period of time fixed by the weight of the fish. The time
allowed for poaching the latter will be given in their respective
formulæ.
3. Fish, when whole, should be immersed in cold court-bouillon; when sliced, in the same liquor, boiling. The exceptions to this rule are small trout “au bleu” and shell-fish.
4. If fish be cooked in short liquor the aromatics are put under the drainer and the liquid elements of the selected court-bouillon (as, for example, that with red or white wine) are so calculated as to cover only one-third of the solid body. Fish cooked in this way should be frequently basted.
5. Court-bouillon for ordinary and spiny lobsters should always be at full boiling pitch when these are immersed. The case is the same for small or medium fish “au bleu.”
6. Fish which is to be served cold, also shell-fish, should cool in the court-bouillon itself; the cooking period is consequently curtailed.
Marinades play but a small part in English cookery, venison or other ground-game being generally preferred fresh. However, in the event of its being necessary to resort to these methods of preparation, I shall give two formulæ for venison and two for mutton.
The use of the marinade for venison is very much debated. Certainly it is often desirable that the fibre of those meats that come from old specimens of the deer and boar species be softened, but there is no doubt that what the meat gains in tenderness it loses in flavour. On the whole, therefore, it would be best to use only those joints which come from young beasts.
In the case of the latter, the marinade may well be dispensed with. It would add nothing to the savour of a haunch of venison, such as may be got in England, while it would be equally ineffectual in the case of the roebuck or hare. A summary treatment of these two, with raw marinade, may well be adopted, as also for deer.
[67]
As for cooked marinade, its real and only use lies in the
fact that during stormy summer weather it enables one to preserve
meat which would otherwise have to be wasted. It may,
moreover, be used for braised venison, but this treatment of
game is very uncommon nowadays.
½ lb. of minced carrots.
½ lb. of minced onions.
2 oz. of minced shallots.
1 crushed garlic clove.
1 faggot, including 1 oz. of parsley stalks, 2 sprigs of rosemary, as much thyme, and 2 bay leaves.
Preparation.—Heat one-half pint of oil in a stewpan, add the carrots and onions, and fry them while stirring frequently. When they begin to brown add the shallots, the garlic, and the faggot, then one pint of vinegar, two bottles of white wine, and three quarts of water. Cook this marinade for twenty minutes, and add a further two oz. of salt, one-half oz. of peppercorns, and four oz. of brown sugar. Ten minutes afterwards pass it through a strainer and let it cool before inserting the meats.
N.B.—In summer the marinade very often decomposes, because of the blood contained by the meat under treatment in it. The only means of averting this is to boil the marinade every two or three days at least.
This marinade is prepared immediately before using. The meat to be treated is first salted and peppered on all sides, then it is put in a receptacle just large enough to hold it, and laid therein on a litter of aromatics, including minced carrots and onions, a few chopped shallots, parsley stalks, thyme, and bay in proportion to the rest. Now sprinkle the meat copiously with oil and half as much vinegar; cover the dish with oil-paper, and put it somewhere in the cool. Remember to turn the meat over three or four times a day, covering it each time with a layer of vegetables.
This marinade is very active, and is admirably suited to all butcher’s meat and venison, provided these be not allowed to remain in it for too long a time. It is very difficult to say how long the meat must stay in these marinades; the time varies according to the size and quality of the joints, and the taste of the consumer, &c. All that can be said is that three hours should be sufficient to marinade a cutlet or escalope of roebuck, [68] and that for big joints such as saddle or leg the time should not exceed four days.
This is exactly the same as cooked marinade, No. 168. There need only be added one oz. of juniper berries, a few sprigs of rosemary, wild thyme, and basil, two extra garlic cloves, and one quart less of water.
By substituting red wine for white in the preceding formula—the quantity of the liquid equalling that of the water—and by slightly increasing the quantity of aromatics, an excellent marinade for mutton is obtained, which in summer enables one to preserve meat, otherwise perishable, for some days.
56 lbs. of gray salt.
50 quarts of water.
6 lbs. of saltpetre.
3½ lbs. of brown sugar.
Mode of Procedure.—Put the salt and the water in a tinned copper pan, and put it on an open fire. When the water boils, throw in a peeled potato, and, if the latter float, add water until it begins to sink. If, on the contrary, the potato should sink immediately, reduce the liquid until it is able to buoy the tuber up. At this stage the sugar and saltpetre are added; let them dissolve, and the brine is then removed from the fire and is allowed to cool. It is then poured into the receptacle intended for it, which must be either of slate, stone, cement, or well-jointed tiles. It is well to place in the bottom of this reservoir a wooden lattice, whereon the meats to be salted may be laid, for, were the immersed objects to lie directly on the bottom of the receptacle, the under parts would be entirely shielded from the brine.
If the meats to be salted are of an appreciable size, they should be inoculated with brine by means of a special syringe. Without this measure it would be impossible to salt regularly, as the sides would already be over-saturated before the centre had even been properly reached.
Eight days should be allowed for salting a piece of beef of what size soever, above eight or ten lb., since the process of inoculation equalises the salting.
Ox-tongue intended for salting, besides having to be as [69] fresh as possible, must be trimmed of almost all the cartilage of the throat, and carefully beaten either with a beater or roller. Then it must be pricked on all sides with a string-needle, and immersed in the liquid, where it should be slightly weighted by some means or other in order to prevent its rising to the surface. A medium-sized tongue would need about seven days’ immersion in the brine.
Though brine does not turn as easily as the cooked marinades, it would be well, especially in stormy weather, to watch it and occasionally to boil it. But, as the process of boiling invariably concentrates the brine, a little water should be added to it every time it is so treated, and the test of the potato, described above, should always be resorted to.
Before broaching the question of the numerous preparations which constitute the various soup, relevé, and entrée garnishes, it will be necessary to give the formulæ of the elementary preparations, or what are technically called the mise en place. If the various operations which go to make the mise en place were not, at least summarily, discussed here, I should be compelled to repeat them in each formula for which they are required—that is to say, in almost every formula. I should thus resemble those bad operators who, having neglected their mise en place, are obliged to make it in the course of other work, and thereby not only run the risk of making it badly, but also of losing valuable time which might be used to better advantage.
Elementary preparations consist of those things whereof one is constantly in need, which may be prepared in advance, and which are kept available for use at a moment’s notice.
Whether they be for hors d’œuvres or for culinary use, it is always best to have these handy.
After having washed and well wiped them, in order to remove the white powder resulting from the little scales with which they are covered, they should be neatly trimmed to the shape of extended oblongs. Then detach the fillets from the bones by gentle pulling, divide each fillet lengthwise into three or four smaller fillets, put the latter into a small narrow dish or a little bowl, and cover them with oil. The fillets may also be kept whole with a view to rolling them into rings.
It is well to have this always ready for those dishes which are to be panés à l’anglaise, or as many of the recipes direct: treated à l’anglaise.
[71]
It is made of well-whisked eggs, salt, pepper, and one
dessertspoonful of oil per couple of eggs.
Its Uses.—The solids to be panés à l’anglaise are dipped into the preparation described above, taking care that the latter coats them thoroughly; whereupon, according to the requirements, they are rolled either in bread-crumbs or in fine raspings. From this combination of egg with bread-crumbs or raspings there results a kind of coat which, at the moment of contact with the hot fat, is immediately converted into a resisting crust. In croquettes this crust checks the escape, into the fat, of the substances it encloses, and this is more especially the case when the croquettes contain some reduced sauce, or are composed of raw meats or fish whose juices are thereby entirely retained. A solid prepared à l’anglaise and cooked in fat should always be put into the latter when this is very hot, so as to ensure the instantaneous solidification of the egg and bread-crumbs.
N.B.—Objects to be treated à l’anglaise are generally rolled in flour before being immersed in the anglaise, for the flour helps the foregoing to adhere to the object.
The crust formed over the solid thus acquires a density which is indispensable.
Aromatics play a very prominent part in cookery, and their combination with the condiments constitutes, as Grimod de la Reynière said, “the hidden soul of cooking.” Their real object, in fact, is to throw the savour of dishes into relief, to intensify that savour, and to give each culinary preparation its particular stamp.
They are all derived from the vegetable kingdom; but, while some are used dry, others are used fresh.
The first-named should belong to the permanent kitchen stock; they are: sage, basil, rosemary, sweet marjoram, thyme, and bay.
Also to be included in the permanent stock are: cinnamon, ginger, juniper-berries, nutmeg, cloves, mace, and vanilla.
The last-named comprise those aromatic herbs used fresh, such as: parsley, chervil, tarragon, pimpernel, and common savory; while, under this head, there may also be included: bits of common- and Seville-orange rind and zests of lemon rind.
Seasonings are divided into several classes, which comprise:—
[72]
1. Saline seasonings.—Salt, spiced salt, saltpetre.
2. Acid seasonings.—Plain vinegar, or the same aromatised with tarragon; verjuice, lemon juice, and common- or Seville-orange juices.
3. Hot seasonings.—Peppercorns, ground or concassed pepper, or mignonette; paprika, curry, cayenne, and compound spices.
4. Saccharine seasonings.—Sugar and honey.
Condiments are likewise subdivided, the three classes being:—
1. The pungents.—Onions, shallots, garlic, chives, and horseradish.
2. Hot condiments.—Mustard, gherkins, capers, English sauces, such as Worcester, Harvey, Ketchup, Escoffier’s sauces, &c.; the wines used in reductions and braisings; the finishing elements of sauces and soups.
3. Fatty substances.—Most animal fats, butter, vegetable greases (edible oils and cocoanut butter).
Remarks.—In cookery it should be borne in mind that both excellence and eatableness depend entirely upon a judicious use and a rational blending of the aromatics, seasonings, and condiments. And, according as the latter have been used and apportioned, their action will be either beneficial or injurious to the health of the consumer.
In the matter of seasoning there can be no question of approximation or half measures; the quantities must be exact, allowing only of slight elasticity in respect of the various tastes to be satisfied.
A certain quantity of clarified butter should always be kept ready and handy.
To prepare this butter, put one lb. to melt in a saucepan large enough to hold twice that amount. Place the saucepan on the side of the fire, over moderate heat; remove all the scum which rises to the surface, and, when the butter looks quite clear and all foreign substances have dropped to the bottom, put the liquid carefully away and strain it through muslin.
The name “faggot” is given to those little bunches of aromatics which, when the contrary is not stated, are generally composed (in order to weigh one ounce) of eight-tenths oz. of [73] parsley stalks and roots, one-tenth oz. of bay leaves, and one-tenth oz. of thyme. These various aromatics are put neatly together so that no sprig of the one sticks out beyond the others, and they are properly strung together.
Chopped Chervil.—Clean the chervil and remove the stalks; wash, dry it well while tossing it, then chop it finely and put it aside on a plate in the cool, if it is not for immediate use.
Concassed Chervil.—Proceed as above, except that, instead of chopping it, compress it between the fingers and slice it after the manner of a chaff-cutter. Concassed and chopped chervil are, if possible, only prepared at the last moment.
Chervil Pluches.—The pluches are greatly used in the finishing off of soups. They are, practically, the serrated portions only of the leaves, which are torn away in such a manner as to show no trace of the veinings. They are immersed in water, and at the last moment withdrawn, so as to be added, raw, to either soups or boiling consommés.
Golden raspings are obtained by pounding and passing through a fine sieve bread-crusts which have been previously well dried in the oven.
White raspings are similarly prepared, except that very dry, white crumb is used.
Lemons are greatly used in cookery, as dish and comestible garnish. When a whole lemon is used for marinades of fish, for the “blancs,” &c., it is well to peel it to the pulp, i.e., to remove the peel and the whole of the underlying white. The lemon is then cut into more or less large slices, according to the use for which it is intended.
The rind of a lemon thus peeled may be cut into bits and used in this form as the necessity arises. When cutting it up, flatten the rind inside uppermost on the table, and, with a very sharp and flexible knife, remove all the white; then slice the remaining peel (which constitutes what is called zest) into strips about one inch wide, and cut these laterally in fine julienne-fashion.
Scald the resulting bits for five minutes, cool them, drain them carefully, and put them aside until wanted. Sometimes, instead of cutting julienne-fashion, the zest may be finely chopped, but the rest of the process remains the same.
[74]
Lemons are channelled by means of a little knife, or a special
instrument for the purpose, which excises parallel ribbons from
the surface of the rind and lays the white bare. A lemon
channelled in this way is cut in two, lengthwise with the core;
its two extremities are removed, and the two halves are cut
laterally into thin, regular slices to look like serrated half-discs.
The lemon may also be cut at right angles to the core.
Fried fish, oysters, and certain game are generally garnished with lemon slices fashioned according to the taste of the cook; but the simplest, and perhaps the best, way is to cut the lemon through the centre, after having trimmed the two ends quite straight, and then to remove the rind roughly from the edge.
For whatever purpose the lemon be intended, it should be, as far as possible, only prepared at the last moment. If it must be prepared beforehand, it would be well to keep it in a bowl of fresh water.
Chopped Shallots.—Clean the shallots, and, by means of a very sharp knife, cut them lengthwise into thin slices; let these cling together by not allowing the knife to cut quite through them, and, this done, turn them half round and proceed in the same way at right angles to the other cuts.
Finally, cut them laterally, and this will be found to produce very fine and regular, small cubes.
Ciseled Shallots.—The name “ciseled shallots” is often erroneously given to those shallots resulting from the above process.
But ciseled shallots are merely laterally sliced, the result of which operation is a series of thin, regular discs. Ciseled or chopped shallots should, when possible, only be prepared when required; if, however, they must be treated in advance, they should be kept somewhere in the cool until wanted.
Strictly speaking, spices include cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, mace; and the many varieties of peppers and pimenta, cayenne, paprika, &c.
These various condiments are found ready-made on the market, and they need only be kept dry in air-tight boxes in order to prevent the escape of their aroma.
But there is another kind of preparation, in cookery, to which the name of spice or all-spice is more especially given. [75] Nowadays several market varieties of this preparation exist, and vie with each other for custom, though in most cases they deserve it equally well.
Formerly this was not so, and every chef had his own formula.
The following is a recipe for the spice in question, which would be found useful if it had to be prepared at a moment’s notice:—
5 oz. of bay leaves.
3 oz. of thyme (half of it wild, if possible).
3 oz. of coriander.
4 oz. of cinnamon.
6 oz. of nutmeg.
4 oz. of cloves.
3 oz. of ginger-root.
3 oz. of mace.
10 oz. of mixed pepper (half black and half white).
1 oz. of cayenne.
Put all these ingredients into a mortar and pound them until they are all able to pass through a very fine sieve. Put the resulting powder into an air-tight box, which must be kept dry.
Before being used, this spice is generally mixed with salt (No. 188).
For whatever use the flour is intended, it is always best to sift it. This is more particularly necessary in the case of flour used for coating objects to be fried; for the latter, being first dipped into milk, must of necessity let a few drops of that liquid fall into the flour they are rolled in. Lumps would therefore form, which might adhere to the objects to be fried if the flour were not sifted.
This is to finish or intensify certain preparations.
To prepare it, throw into a small saucepan of boiling water some parsley, chervil, and tarragon and chive leaves, in equal quantities, according to the amount of juice required.
Set to boil for two minutes, drain, cool, press the herbs in a towel, twisting the latter; pound very finely, and extract the juice from the resulting paste by twisting a strong towel round it.
Keep this juice in the cool.
Thoroughly rub, in a closed towel, some stale bread-crumb previously well broken up. Pass it through a fine sieve or colander, according as to whether it is required very fine or not, and put it aside in a convenient receptacle.
Cut the onion finely, like the shallots, but if it is to be minced with a view to making it even finer, it should be freed of its pungent juice, which would cause it to blacken with exposure to the air.
To accomplish this, put the onion in the corner of a towel, pour plenty of cold water over it, and twist the towel in order to express the water. By this means the onion remains quite white.
There are special instruments for stoning olives, but, failing these, cut the fruit spirally from the stone with the point of a small knife.
Keep the olives in slightly salted water.
Chopped Parsley.—If parsley be properly chopped, no juice should be produced. If, on the contrary, the operation be performed badly, it amounts to a process of pounding which, perforce, expresses the juice.
In the latter case the particles cohere, and they are sprinkled with difficulty over an object. To remedy this shortcoming, wash the choppings in fresh water, as in the case of the onion, pressing in a similar manner so as to expel the water.
Concassed Parsley is that kind which is roughly chopped. When a culinary preparation is dressed with concassed parsley, the latter should be added to it a few moments before serving, in order to undergo a slight cooking process; whereas chopped parsley may be strewn over a dish at the last moment.
It should be remembered that parsley, when quite fresh and used in moderation, is an excellent thing; but, should it have remained too long in the heat, it becomes quite insufferable.
I cannot, therefore, too strongly urge the advisability of using it in the freshest possible state, and it would even be wiser to discard it entirely than to be forced to ignore this condition.
Parsley Sprays.—These are chiefly used in garnishing dishes, and it is well for the purpose to make as much use as possible of the curled-leaf kind, after having removed the long stalks. Keep the sprays in fresh water until required.
Fried Parsley.—This consists of the sprays, well drained of water after washing, and immersed for an instant in very hot fat. The moment it is fried carefully drain it, salt it, and place [77] it in a clean towel, where it may get rid of any superfluous grease. It is used to dress fried viands.
Two kinds of salt are used in cooking, viz., grey, or sea-salt, and rock-salt. Grey-salt is used more especially for Brines and in the preparation of ices, as its grey colour does not allow of its being used indiscriminately.
Be this as it may, many prefer it to rock-salt for the salting of stock-pots, roasts, and grills. For the last two purposes it is crushed with a roller, without being pounded, and the result should be such that every grain is distinctly perceptible to the touch.
This salt, in melting over a roast or a grill, certainly imparts a supplementary flavour to the latter which could not be got with the use of rock-salt.
Rock-salt.—This is found on the market in the forms of cooking and table-salt. If the kitchen is only supplied with cooking salt, the quantity required for several days should be dried, pounded in the mortar, and passed through a fine sieve; and then put aside in a dry place for use when wanted. Even table-salt, as it reaches one from the purveyor, sometimes needs drying and passing through a sieve before being used.
Spiced Salt.—This condiment, which serves an important purpose in the preparation of pies and galantines, is obtained from a mixture of one lb. of table salt with three and one-half oz. of spices (No. 181).
This kind of salt should be carefully kept in a very dry place.
Panadas are those preparations which go to make the leason of forcemeats and which ensure their proper consistence when they are cooked. They are not necessary to every forcemeat; for the mousseline kind, which are the finest and lightest, do not require them. Nevertheless, they are useful for varying the taste and the uses of forcemeats, and I thought it advisable to introduce them here. The reader will thus be able to use either forcemeats with a panada base or mousseline forcemeats; in accordance with the requirements and his resources.
Put one-half lb. of the crumb of bread and one-half oz. of salt into one-half pint of boiling milk. When the crumb has absorbed all the milk, place the saucepan over a brisk fire and stir with a spatula until the paste has become so thick as not to cling any longer to the end of the spatula. Turn the contents of the saucepan into a buttered platter, and lightly butter the surface of the panada in order to avoid its drying while it cools.
Put into a small saucepan one-half pint of water, a little salt, and two oz. of butter. When the liquid boils add five oz. of sifted flour thereto, stirring the while over a brisk fire until it reaches the consistence described in the case of bread panada. Use the same precautions with regard to cooling.
Put into a stewpan four oz. of sifted flour, the yolks of four eggs, a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Now add by degrees three oz. of melted butter and dilute with one-half pint of boiled milk. Pass through a strainer, stir over the fire until the boil is reached; set to cook for five minutes while gently wielding the whisk, and cool as in the preceding cases.
Remove the tendons from, and cut into cubes, one lb. of chicken-meat. Pound, and add one-third oz. of salt, a little pepper and nutmeg. When the meat is well pounded remove it from the mortar, and place in its stead one-half lb. of very cold panada (see No. 190). Finely pound this panada, and then add one-half lb. of butter thereto, taking care that the two ingredients mix thoroughly. Now put in the chicken-meat, and wield the pestle vigorously until the whole mass is completely mixed. Finally, add consecutively two whole eggs and the yolks of four, stirring incessantly the while and seeing that each egg is only inserted when the one preceding it has become perfectly incorporated with the mass. Rub through a sieve, put the forcemeat into a basin, and smooth it with a wooden spoon.
Test the forcemeat by poaching a small portion of it in salted, boiling water. This test, which is indispensable, allows of rectifying the seasoning and the consistence if necessary. If it be found that the forcemeat is too light, a little white of egg could [79] be mingled with it; if, on the other hand, it should be too stiff add a little softened butter.
N.B.—By substituting for chicken veal, game, or fish, &c., any kind of forcemeat may be made; for the quantities of the other ingredients remain the same whatever the basic meat may be.
Finely pound one lb. of chicken-meat after having removed the tendons, and seasoned with one-quarter oz. of salt, a little pepper and nutmeg.
When the meat has been reduced to a fine paste, add, very gradually, two oz. of white of egg. Finish with seven oz. of Frangipan panada (No. 192), and work vigorously with the pestle until the whole is amalgamated. Strain through a fine sieve, put the forcemeat into a vegetable-pan sufficiently large to allow of ultimately working it with ease, and place it on ice for a good hour.
This done, stir the forcemeat (still on the ice) for a few seconds with a wooden spoon, then add, in small quantities at a time, one pint of raw cream. At this stage complete the preparation by adding thereto one-half pint of whipped cream. It should then be found to be very white, smooth, and mellow. Test as directed in the preceding recipe, and add a little white of egg if it be too light, and a little cream if it be too stiff.
N.B.—This forcemeat may be prepared from all butcher’s meats, game, or fish.
Remove the tendons from, trim, and cut into cubes, one lb. of chicken-meat. Season with one oz. of salt, a little pepper and nutmeg.
Finely pound, and, when it is reduced to a paste, gradually add the whites of two eggs, vigorously working with the pestle meanwhile.
Strain through a fine sieve, put the forcemeat into a vegetable-pan, stir it once more with the wooden spoon for a moment or two, and combine with it, gradually, one pint of thick, fresh cream, working with great caution and keeping the receptacle on ice.
Remarks Relative to Mousseline Forcemeat.—This, like the preceding forcemeats, may be prepared from any kind of meat. [80] The addition of the white of egg is not essential if the meats used already possess a certain quantity of albumen; but without the white of egg the forcemeat absorbs much less cream.
This forcemeat is particularly suited to preparations with a shell-fish base. Incomparably delicate results are obtained by the process, while it also furnishes ideal quenelles for the purpose of garnishing soup. In a word, it may be said of mousseline forcemeat that, whereas it can replace all other kinds, none of these can replace it.
N.B.—Mousseline forcemeats of all kinds, with meat, poultry, game, fish, or shell-fish, may be made according to the principles and quantities given above.
Remove the tendons of, and cut into large cubes, two lbs. of fillet of pork, and the same weight of fresh, fat bacon. Season with one and three-quarter oz. of spiced salt (No. 188), chop the fillet and bacon up, together or separately, pound them finely in the mortar, and finish with two eggs and two tablespoonfuls of brandy.
This forcemeat is used for ordinary pies and terrines. Strictly speaking, it is “sausage-meat.” The inclusion of eggs in this forcemeat really only obtains when it is used to stuff joints that are to be braised, such as stuffed breast of veal; or in the case of pies and terrines. The addition of the egg in these cases prevents the grease from melting too quickly, and thus averts the drying of the forcemeat.
Remove the tendons from, and cut into cubes, one lb. of fillet of veal and as much fillet of pork; add to these two lbs. of fresh, fat bacon, also cut into cubes. Season with three oz. of spiced salt, chop the three ingredients together or apart, and then finely pound them. Finish with three eggs and three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy, strain through a sieve, and place in a basin.
When about to serve this stuffing, add to it a little fumet corresponding with the meat that is to constitute the dish. For terrines, pies, and galantines of game, one-quarter or one-fifth of the forcemeat’s weight of gratin stuffing (proper to the game under treatment) is added.
Remove the tendons from, and cut into cubes, one lb. of fillet of veal; also pare, i.e., detach skin and filaments from, two lbs. [81] of the very dry fat of kidneys of beef. First, chop these up separately, then combine and pound them in the mortar. Season with one-half oz. of salt, a little pepper, some nutmeg, and pound afresh until the veal and fat become a homogeneous mass. Now add four eggs, consecutively, and at intervals of a few minutes, without ceasing to pound, and taking care only to insert each egg after the preceding one has been properly mixed with the mass. Spread the forcemeat thus prepared on a dish, and put the latter on ice until the next day.
The next day pound once more, and add little by little fourteen oz. of very clean ice (in small pieces); or, instead, an equal weight of iced water, adding this also very gradually.
When the godiveau is properly moistened, poach a small portion of it in boiling water in order to test its consistence. If it be too firm, add some more ice to it; if, on the other hand, it seem too flimsy, add a little of the white of an egg. For the uses of godiveau and quenelles see No. 205.
Chop finely and apart one lb. of very white fillet of veal, with tendons removed, cut into cubes, and one lb. of the fat of pared kidney of beef.
Combine the veal and the fat in the mortar, and pound until the two ingredients form a fine and even paste. Season with one-half oz. of salt, a little pepper, and some nutmeg, and add consecutively two eggs and two yolks, after the manner of the preceding recipe and without ceasing to pound. Strain through a sieve, spread the forcemeat on a dish, and keep it on ice until the next day.
Next day pound the forcemeat again for a few minutes, and add to it, little by little, one and one-half pints of cream.
Test as before, and rectify if necessary, either by adding cream or by thickening with the white of an egg.
The exact weight of chicken-meat used as the base of this forcemeat determines the quantities of its other ingredients. Thus the weight of meat afforded by a fowl weighing four lbs. is estimated at twenty oz. after deducting the fillets which are always reserved. Hence the quantities for the forcemeat are regulated thus:—
Chicken-meat, twenty oz.; lean pork, eight oz.; fillet of veal, [82] eight oz.; fresh, fat bacon, thirty oz.; whole eggs, five; spiced salt, two oz.; brandy, one-fifth pint.
Chop up, either together or apart, the chicken-meat, the veal, the pork, and the bacon. Put all these into the mortar, pound them very finely with the seasoning, add the eggs consecutively, and, last of all, pour in the brandy.
1. The quantity of spiced salt varies, a few grammes either way, according as to whether the atmosphere be dry or damp.
2. According to the purpose of the forcemeat, and with a view to giving it a finer flavour, one may, subject to the resources at one’s disposal, add a little raw trimmings of foie gras to it; but the latter must not, in any case, exceed one-fifth of the forcemeat in weight.
3. As a rule, forcemeat should always be rubbed through a sieve so as to ensure its being fine and even.
4. Whether the foie gras be added or not, chicken forcemeat may always be completed with two or three oz. of chopped truffles per lb. of its volume.
This follows the same principles as the chicken forcemeat, i.e., the weight of the game-meat determines the quantities of the other ingredients. The proportions are precisely the same as above as regards the veal, the pork, the bacon, and the seasoning. The procedure is also the same, while the appended remarks likewise apply.
Put into a sautépan containing one oz. of very hot butter, one-half lb. of fresh, fat bacon, cut into large cubes, brown quickly, and drain on a dish.
Quickly brown in the same butter one-half lb. of fillet of veal cut like the bacon and drain in the same way.
Now rapidly brown one-half lb. of pale, calf’s liver, also cut into large cubes. Put the veal and the bacon back into the sautépan with the liver, add the necessary quantity of salt and pepper, two oz. of mushroom parings, one oz. of truffle parings (raw if possible), chopped shallots, a sprig of thyme, and a fragment of bay. Put the whole on the fire for two minutes, drain the bacon, the veal, and the liver, and put the gravy aside. Swill the sautépan with one-quarter pint of Madeira.
[83]
Pound the bacon, veal, and liver quickly and finely, while
adding consecutively six oz. of butter, the yolks of six eggs, the
gravy that has been put aside, one-third pint of cold, reduced
Espagnole, and the Madeira used for swilling.
Strain through a sieve, place in a tureen, and smooth with the wooden spoon.
N.B.—To make a gratin forcemeat with game, substitute for the veal that game-meat which may happen to be required.
Forcemeats prepared with the flesh of the pike are extremely delicate. Subject to circumstances, they may be prepared according to any one of the three formulæ (Nos. 193, 194, 195). There is another excellent method of preparing this forcemeat which I shall submit here, as it is specially used for the preparation of pike forcemeat à la Lyonnaise.
Pound in a mortar one lb. of the meat of a pike, without the skin or bones; combine with this one-half lb. of stiff frangipan, season with salt and nutmeg, pass through a sieve, and put back into the mortar.
Vigorously work the forcemeat in order to make it cohere, and gradually add to it one-half lb. of melted beef-fat. The whole half-pound, however, need not necessarily be beef-fat; beef-marrow or butter may form part of it in the proportion of half the weight of the beef-fat.
When the forcemeat is very fine and smooth, withdraw it from the mortar and place it in a bowl surrounded with ice until wanted.
These preparations diverge slightly from the forcemeats given above, and they are of two kinds. They are used to stuff such fish as mackerel, herring, shad, &c., to which they lend a condimentary touch that makes these fish more agreeable to the taste, and certainly more digestible.
First Method.—Put into a bowl four oz. of raw, chopped milt, two oz. of bread-crumb, steeped in milk and well pressed, and one and one-half oz. of the following fine herbs, mixed in equal quantities and finely chopped:—Chives, parsley, chervil, shallots, sweet basil, half a garlic clove (crushed), then two whole eggs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Chop up all these ingredients together so as to mix them thoroughly.
Second Method.—Put into a bowl four oz. of bread-crumb [84] steeped in milk and well pressed; one-half oz. of onion and one-half oz. of chopped shallots, slightly cooked in butter, and cold; one oz. of raw mushrooms, chopped and well pressed in a towel; a tablespoonful of chopped parsley; a piece of garlic the size of a pea, crushed; salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and two eggs.
Mix it as above.
Divers ways of Moulding and Poaching them.—Whatever be the required size or shape of quenelles there are four ways of making them:—(1) By rolling them; (2) by moulding them with a spoon; (3) by forming them with a piping-bag; (4) by moulding them by hand into the shape of a kidney.
1. To roll quenelles it is necessary to keep the forcemeat somewhat stiff, and therefore this process could not well apply to the mousseline forcemeats. Place one-quarter lb. of forcemeat, when ready, on a floured board, and, with hands covered in flour, roll the preparation until it has lengthened itself into the form of a sausage, the thickness of which depends upon the required size of the intended quenelles.
Cut up the sausage of forcemeat laterally with a floured knife, and roll each section with the finger-ends until the length it assumes is thrice that of its diameter. The balls should be put aside on a floured tray as soon as they are made.
The Poaching of Rolled Quenelles.—When all the forcemeat has been used up, the balls are gently tilted into a saucepan containing boiling, salted water, so calculated in quantity as to allow of their not being too tightly squeezed. The saucepan is covered and kept on the side of the fire until all the balls have risen to the surface and are almost out of the water. They are then removed with a skimmer and placed in a bowl of cold water.
At last, when they have properly cooled, they are carefully drained on a cloth and put aside on a dish until required.
When the quenelles are needed for immediate use it would be better not to cool them.
2. To Mould Quenelles with a Spoon.—This method may be applied to all forcemeats, and allows of the balls being much softer, as the forcemeat need not be so stiff. First, butter the sautépan or the tray, whereon the balls are to be laid, by means of a brush, and let the butter cool.
Put the sautépan on the table in front and a little to the right of one; on the left, place the sautépan or bowl containing the forcemeat, and on the further side of the buttered sautépan [85] there should be a receptacle containing hot water, into which the spoon used for moulding is inserted. For ordinary quenelles two coffee-spoons are used, one of which is kept in the hot water as stated above. Now, with the other held in the left hand, take up a little of the forcemeat (just enough to fill the spoon); withdraw the second spoon from the hot water and place it, with its convex side uppermost, on the other spoon.
This smoothens the upper surface of the forcemeat. Now, with the help of the second spoon, remove the whole of the contents of the first spoon, and overturn the second spoon on the spot in the tray or sautépan which the ball is intended to occupy. The second spoon, being at once moist and hot, allows the forcemeat to leave it quite easily in the shape of a large olive. Renew this operation until the whole of the forcemeat has been used.
The Poaching of Spoon-moulded Quenelles.—When all the balls have been moulded, place the tray on the side of the stove and pour enough boiling, salted water over them to moisten them abundantly. Leave them to poach, and from time to time move the tray; then, when they have swollen sufficiently and seem soft and firm to the touch, drain them. If they are to be used at once they should be placed directly in the sauce. If they have been prepared in advance, it would be well to cool them as directed under rolled quenelles.
3. To Form Quenelles with a Piping-bag.—This process is especially recommended for small, fine, and light forcemeat balls intended for soup garnish. For, besides being extremely quick, it allows of making them in any desirable size or shape.
Butter a tray or a sautépan, and leave to cool. Put the forcemeat into a bag fitted with a pipe at its narrowest end. The pipe may be grooved or smooth, and its size must be in accordance with that intended for the proposed balls. Now squeeze out the latter, proceeding in the usual way and laying them very closely.
The Poaching of Quenelles made by the above Process, with ordinary or Mousseline Forcemeat.—These quenelles are poached in exactly the same way as the spoon-moulded ones.
The Poaching of Godiveau Quenelles made with a Piping-bag.—These quenelles or balls are laid on a piece of fine, buttered paper, which in its turn is placed upon a buttered tray. The godiveau must not be too stiff, and the balls are laid by means of the piping-bag side by side and slightly touching one another. When the tray is covered push it into a very moderate oven for a few minutes. The balls are poached [86] when a thin dew of grease may be seen to glisten on their surfaces. On the appearance of this dew withdraw them from the oven and overturn the tray, carefully, upon a marble slab, taking care that the tray does not press at all upon the balls, lest it crush them. When the latter are nearly cold the paper which covers them is taken off with caution, and all that remains to be done is to put them carefully away on a dish until they are wanted.
4. To Mould Forcemeat with the Fingers.—This excellent process is as expedient as that of the bag, and it produces beautifully shaped balls. Place on the edge of a table, in front of one, a saucepan three-quarters full of boiling, salted water, the handle of the receptacle being turned to the far side. Now take a piece of string one yard in length, double it over, and tie the free ends to a weight of two lbs., letting the two strands twist round each other.
This done, there should be a loop at the top of the string. Put this loop round the handle of the saucepan, and draw the string diametrically across the latter, letting the weight pull the string tightly down on the side opposite to the handle. When this has been effected the operator, with his left hand, takes some of the forcemeat, smoothening it with a spoon, and, placing the spoon near the string with his right, first finger, he removes from its extremity a portion of the preparation about equal to the intended size of the balls. This portion of the forcemeat remaining suspended on his first finger, the operator now scrapes the latter across the string, and the ball falls beneath into the saucepan containing the water. When all the stuffing has been moulded in this way the saucepan is placed on the fire to complete the poaching of the balls, and the precautions indicated in the preceding processes are observed.
Put one oz. of chervil into one pint of boiling consommé, cover the saucepan, and let infusion proceed away from the fire for twenty minutes. Now pour this infusion over two eggs and six yolks, beaten briskly in a basin, and mix with the whisk. Strain through muslin, and carefully remove therefrom the froth that has formed. Pour into buttered moulds; poach in a bain-marie, as in the case of cream, and take great care that the water in the bain-marie does not boil.
According to the way in which the royale is to be divided, it may be poached either in large or small “Charlotte” moulds; but the latter, large and small alike, must be well buttered.
If the preparation be put into large moulds, thirty-five or forty minutes should be allowed for poaching; if, on the other hand, the moulds are small, about fifteen minutes would suffice.
Always let the royale cool in the moulds.
Boil one pint of thin cream, and pour it, little by little, over one egg and six yolks, well whisked in a basin. Season with a little salt and nutmeg, strain through muslin, and, for the poaching, follow the directions given above.
Finely pound three oz. of cooked white chicken-meat, and add thereto three tablespoonfuls of cold Béchamel. Put this paste in a bowl, season with a little salt and a dash of nutmeg, dilute with one-fifth pint of cream, and strain through tammy.
Thicken this preparation with one egg and the yolks of three, [88] and poach in small or large moulds, in accordance with the procedure already described.
Finely pound three oz. of the cooked meat of that game which gives its name to the preparation, and add three tablespoonfuls of cold Espagnole Sauce and one-fifth pint of rich cream, in small quantities at a time. Warm the seasoning with a very little cayenne, strain through tammy, thicken with one egg and three yolks, and poach as before.
Stew in butter four oz. of fillet of sole cut into cubes, or the same quantity of any other fish suited to the nature of the intended soup. Cool, pound finely, and add, little by little, two tablespoonfuls of cold Béchamel and one-quarter pint of cream. Season with salt and a pinch of nutmeg, and strain through tammy. Thicken by means of the yolks of five eggs, and poach in large or small moulds.
Stew gently in butter five oz. of the red part only of carrots. Cool, crush in a mortar, and gradually add two tablespoonfuls of Béchamel and one-fifth pint of rich cream. Season with table-salt and a pinch of castor sugar, and deepen the tint of the royale with a few drops of vegetable red. Strain through tammy, thicken with one egg and four yolks, put into moulds, and poach.
Cook one-half lb. of fresh, small peas in boiling water with a bunch of chervil and a few leaves of fresh mint. Pass through a sieve, and dilute the resulting purée (in a saucepan) with two-fifths of its volume of the liquor it has been cooked in and one-fifth of cream. Add a little sugar, the necessary salt, one egg, and two yolks. Pass through a fine strainer, and poach in well-buttered moulds.
Royales may also be made with leeks, celery, &c., the procedure being as follows:—
Finely mince six or seven oz. of the chosen vegetable; stew [89] the same gently and thoroughly in butter, and strain through tammy. Add to the resulting purée three tablespoonfuls of Béchamel, one-fifth pint of cream, two eggs, and four yolks. Put into large or small moulds, and poach.
Remarks.—In order that these royales may have the required delicacy, I should urge the reader not to exceed the prescribed quantities of eggs and yolks, these being so calculated as to exactly produce the density required.
When the poaching is done take the mould or moulds out of water, and leave the royale to cool in them. Do not turn out the moulds whilst the preparation is hot, as it would surely scatter. It only assumes the necessary solidity for being divided up by means of the aggregation and contraction of its various constituents during the cooling process.
If the royale has been poached in small moulds, slightly trim the cylinders of royale, divide them up laterally into discs, and stamp them uniformly with a plain or indented fancy cutter.
If the royale has been poached in large moulds, withdraw it from these, and place it on a serviette; trim the tops, cut into half-inch slices, and stamp with small, fancy cutters of different shapes. These little divisions of royale must always be stamped very neatly and quite regularly.
The name “Chiffonade” is given to a mince of sorrel or lettuce, intended as a complement for such soups as “Potage de santé,” “le Germiny,” &c., or various clear consommés like “Julienne.”
To prepare Chiffonade, first carefully shred the sorrel or lettuce, and remove therefrom all the leaf-ribs. Carefully wash the leaves, and squeeze the latter tightly between the fingers of the left hand and the table. Now cut them into fine strips with a sharp knife.
If the chiffonade be intended for a consommé, add it to the latter half an hour before dishing up; it is thus actually cooked in the soup itself. If, as is most often the case, it be intended for a thick soup, it is better to let it melt well in butter, to moisten it with a little consommé, and to let it boil for ten minutes before adding it to the soup.
Whatever the purpose be for which it is made, chiffonade should always be prepared with very tender sorrel or lettuce.
Vermicelli and the various Italian pastes should measure about three oz. per quart of consommé. They should first be thrown into boiling, salted water, where they are left to poach for three minutes, whereupon they are drained, cooled, and their cooking is completed in the consommé.
The parboiling of these pastes is necessary in order to get rid of the little agglomerations of flour which adhere to them, and which would otherwise make the consommé cloudy.
Tapioca, sago, salep, &c., should also be apportioned at about three oz. per quart. But this is only an average, for the quality of this kind of products varies greatly, and it is best to choose the goods of an excellent maker, and, in order to avoid surprises, to abide by that choice.
These products need no parboiling; they are merely sprinkled into the boiling consommé while stirring the latter, and they are left to cook until the soup is quite clear. The boiling should be gentle, and the scum should be removed as often as it forms.
The time allowed for cooking naturally varies in accordance with the quality of the goods, but the absolute transparency of the consommé is an infallible sign of its having been completed.
Brazilian, Japanese, and other pearls are used in the same quantities, but they should poach for thirty minutes if required to be very transparent.
Beat up three eggs in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and strain through a sieve. Now pour the eggs into a fine strainer, hold same over a sautépan containing some boiling consommé, and shift it about in such wise as to let the egg fall in threads into the boiling liquid beneath, and thus immediately coagulate. Drain the egg-threads very carefully lest they break.
These consist of little choux about the size of a large hazel-nut, stuffed with some kinds of purée, such as that of foie gras with cream, or of chicken, or of vegetables, &c. Four profiterolles should be allowed for each person.
To make profiterolles, put a few tablespoonfuls of “pâte à choux” without sugar (No. 2374) into a piping-bag fitted with [91] a smooth pipe, whose orifice should be about one-quarter inch in diameter. Squeeze out portions of the preparation on to a tray, so as to form balls about the size of a small hazel-nut; gild by means of beaten egg applied with a fine brush, and cook in a moderate oven.
Do not take the profiterolles from the oven until they are quite dry.
Cook quickly in salted water two lb. of peeled and quartered potatoes. As soon as they seem soft to the finger, drain them, place them in the front of the oven for a few minutes in order to dry them, and then tilt them into a sieve lying on a cloth, and press them through the former without rubbing.
Place the purée in a sautépan; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; add one oz. of butter, and dry; i.e., stir over a brisk fire until the purée becomes a consistent paste.
Take off the fire, complete with the yolks of three eggs, well mixed with the rest, and turn the paste out on to a buttered dish, taking care to spread it in a rather thin layer, so as to precipitate its cooling. Butter the surface to prevent the preparation’s drying.
To make croquettes, equal portions of this paste, i.e., portions weighing about one and one-half oz. of it, are rolled on a flour-dusted board into the shape of a cork, a ball, or a quoit. These are now dipped into an Anglaise (No. 174) and rolled in bread-crumbs or raspings, the latter being well patted on to the surface of the croquettes, lest they should fall into the frying fat. Let the patting also avail for finishing off the selected shape of the objects. These are then plunged into hot fat, where they should remain until they have acquired a fine, golden colour.
Prepare as above the required quantity of paste, and add thereto per lb. six oz. of pâte à choux without sugar (No. 2374).
Mix the two constituents thoroughly.
Dauphine potatoes are moulded in the shape of small cylinders, and they are treated à l’Anglaise, like the croquettes.
These are the same as the croquettes, though they are differently treated. They are made on a floured board in the shape of diminutive cottage-loaves, little shuttle-shaped loaves, small quoits, and lozenges or rectangles. They are gilded with beaten egg, and when their shape is that of quoits, rectangles, or lozenges, they are streaked by means of a small knife.
After this operation, which is to prevent the gilding from blistering, they are baked in the oven for a few minutes previous to being used in dressing the dishes they accompany.
Take one lb. of croquette paste and add thereto six oz. of very red, reduced tomato-purée. Pour this mixture into a bag fitted with a large, grooved pipe, and squeeze it out upon a baking-tray in shapes resembling large meringues.
Slightly gild their surfaces with beaten egg, and put them into the oven for a few minutes before using them to dress the dish.
The uses of Duxelle are legion, and it is prepared thus:—Slightly fry one teaspoonful of onions in one tablespoonful of butter and oil mixed. Add to this four tablespoonfuls of mushroom stalks and parings, chopped and well pressed in a towel with the view of expelling their vegetable moisture. Stir over a brisk fire until the latter has completely evaporated; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and one coffeespoonful of well-chopped parsley, mixing the whole thoroughly.
Transfer to a bowl, cover with a piece of white, buttered paper, and put aside until wanted.
Put six tablespoonfuls of dry duxelle into a small stewpan, and add thereto three tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce containing plenty of tomato, crushed garlic the size of a pea, and two tablespoonfuls of white wine. Set to simmer until the required degree of consistence is reached.
N.B.—A tablespoonful of fine, fresh bread-crumbs may be added to the duxelle in order to thicken it.
To four tablespoonfuls of dry duxelle add four tablespoonfuls of ordinary pork forcemeat (No. 196).
Put one pint of Béchamel into a vegetable-pan with one-half pint of Soubise (No. 104), and reduce to half while stirring over a brisk fire. Thicken, away from the fire, by means of the yolks of five eggs, and add four tablespoonfuls of minced mushrooms, either cooked in the ordinary way or stewed in butter.
This preparation serves chiefly for covering certain large joints of butcher’s meat, or fowl, to which it imparts an appropriate flavour. It is made as follows:—Finely mince two medium carrots (the red part only), two onions, and two sticks of celery taken from the heart. Add one tablespoonful of raw lean ham, cut paysanne-fashion, a sprig of thyme, and half a leaf of bay, crushed.
Stew in butter, and finally swill the saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of Madeira.
The purpose of Mirepoix in culinary preparations is the same as that of Matignon, but its mode of use is different.
Its constituents are the same as those of the Matignon, but instead of being minced they are cut up into more or less fine dice, in accordance with the use for which the preparation is intended.
Instead of the ham, fresh and slightly-salted breast of pork may be used, while both the ham and the bacon may be excluded under certain circumstances.
Coarse Mirepoix, which are added to certain preparations in order to lend these the proper flavour, are generally made immediately before being used, but this is not so in the case of the finer Mirepoix, which chiefly serves as an adjunct to crayfish and lobsters. This is made in advance, and as follows:—
[95]
Cut into dice four oz. of the red part only of carrots, the
same quantity of onion, and one oz. of parsley stalks. In
order that the Mirepoix may be still finer, these ingredients
may now be chopped, but in this case it is advisable to thoroughly
press them in a corner of a towel, so as to squeeze out
their vegetable moisture, the mere process of stewing not being
sufficient for this purpose.
Should this water be allowed to remain in the Mirepoix, more particularly if the latter must be kept some time, it would probably give rise to mustiness or fermentation.
Put the ingredients into a small stewpan with one and one-half oz. of butter and a little powdered thyme and bay, and stew until all are well cooked. This done, turn the preparation out into a small bowl, heap it together with the back of a fork, cover it with a piece of white, buttered paper, and put aside until wanted.
This term stands for a certain preparatory method applied to a series of preparations.
Salpicons are simple or compound. Simple if they only contain one product, such as the meat of a fowl, or of game, butcher’s meat, foie gras, various fish, ham or tongue, mushrooms, truffles, &c. Compound if they consist of two or more of the above-mentioned ingredients which may happen to combine suitably.
The preparatory method consists in cutting the various ingredients into dice.
The series of preparations arises from the many possible combinations of the products, each particular combination bearing its own name.
Thus Salpicons may be Royal, Financier, Chasseur, Parisien, Montglas, &c.; of whichever kind, however, Salpicons are always incorporated with a vehicular sauce which is in accordance with their constituents.
Put into a bowl one lb. of sifted flour, one-quarter oz. of salt, one tablespoonful of oil or melted butter, and the necessary quantity of barely lukewarm water. If the batter is to be used at once mix the ingredients by turning them over and over without stirring with the spoon, for this would give the preparation an elasticity which would prevent its adhering to immersed solids. Should the batter be prepared beforehand, however, it may be [96] stirred, since it loses its elasticity when left to stand any length of time.
Before using it add the whites of two eggs whisked to a froth.
Put one lb. of sifted flour into a bowl with one-quarter oz. of salt and two tablespoonfuls of oil or melted butter. Dilute with one egg and the necessary quantity of cold water. Keep this batter somewhat thin, do not stir it, and let it rest for a few hours before using.
Put one lb. of flour into a bowl with one-quarter oz. of salt and two tablespoonfuls of oil or melted butter. Dilute gradually with one-quarter pint of beer and a little tepid water.
When about to use the batter mix therewith the whites of two eggs whisked to a froth.
N.B.—Keep this batter thin, if anything, and above all do not stir overmuch.
Mix one lb. of flour with two tablespoonfuls of oil, a grain of salt, two eggs (added one after the other), the necessary quantity of water, and one oz. of sugar. Keep this preparation in a lukewarm place to let it ferment, and stir it with a wooden spoon before using it to immerse the solids.
Remarks.—Batter for fruit fritters may contain a few tablespoonfuls of brandy, in which case an equal quantity of the water must be suppressed.
Put one pint of Béchamel into a vegetable-pan and reduce it until it has become quite dense. Thicken it with the yolks of four eggs, and finish it away from the fire with a crushed piece of garlic as large as a pea, and one-quarter lb. of grated cheese.
The nutritious liquids known under the name of Soups are of comparatively recent origin. Indeed, as they are now served, they do not date any further back than the early years of the nineteenth century.
The soups of old cookery were, really, complete dishes, wherein the meats and vegetables used in their preparation were assembled. They, moreover, suffered from the effects of the general confusion which reigned in the menus of those days. These menus seem to have depended in no wise, for their items, upon the progressive satisfaction of the consumers’ appetites, and a long procession of dishes was far more characteristic of the meal than their judicious order and diversity.
In this respect, as in so many others, Carême was the reformer, and, if he were not, strictly speaking, the actual initiator of the changes which ushered in our present methods, he certainly had a large share in the establishment of the new theories.
Nevertheless, it took his followers almost a century to bring soups to the perfection of to-day, for modern cookery has replaced those stodgy dishes of yore by comparatively simple and savoury preparations which are veritable wonders of delicacy and taste. Now, my attention has been called to the desirability of drawing up some sort of classification of soups, if only with the view of obviating the absurdity of placing such preparations as are indiscriminately called Bisque, Purée, Cullis, or Cream under the same head. Logically, each preparation should have its own special formula, and it is impossible to admit that one and the same can apply to all.
It is generally admitted that the terms Veloutés and Creams, whose introduction into the vocabulary of cookery is comparatively recent, are peculiarly well suited to supplant those of Bisque and Cullis, which are steadily becoming obsolete, as well as that too vulgar term Purée. Considerations [98] of this kind naturally led me to a new classification of soups, and this I shall disclose later.
I shall not make any lengthy attempt here to refute the arguments of certain autocrats of the dinner-table who, not so many years ago, urged the total abolition of soups. I shall only submit to their notice the following quotation from Grimod de la Reynière, one of our most illustrious gastronomists: “Soup is to a dinner what the porch or gateway is to a building,” that is to say, it must not only form the first portion thereof, but it must be so devised as to convey some idea of the whole to which it belongs; or, after the manner of an overture in a light opera, it should divulge what is to be the dominant phrase of the melody throughout.
I am at one with Grimod in this, and believe that soups have come to stay. Of all the items on a menu, soup is that which exacts the most delicate perfection and the strictest attention, for upon the first impression it gives to the diner the success of the latter part of the meal largely depends.
Soups should be served as hot as possible in very warm plates, especially in the case of consommés when these have been preceded by cold hors-d’œuvres.
Hors-d’œuvres are pointless in a dinner, and even when oysters stand as such they should only be allowed at meals which include no soup.
Those hors-d’œuvres which consist of various fish, smoked or in oil, and strongly seasoned salads, leave a disagreeable taste on the consumer’s palate and make the soup which follows seem flat and insipid if the latter be not served boiling hot.
This includes (1) clear soups, (2) thick soups, (3) special soups of various kinds, (4) classical vegetable soups, including some local preparations.
Clear soups, of whatever nature the base thereof may be, whether butcher’s meat, poultry, game, fish, shell-fish, or turtle, &c., are made according to one method only. They are always clear consommés to which has been added a slight garnish in keeping with the nature of the consommé.
These are divided into three leading classes as follows:—(1) The Purées, Cullises, or Bisques. (2) Various Veloutés. (3) Various Creams.
Remarks.—Though the three preparations of the first class are practically the same, and, generally speaking, the Cullises and the Bisques may be considered as purées of fowl, game, or shell-fish, it is advisable to distinguish one from another by giving each a special name of its own.
Thus the word Purée is most suitably applied to any preparation with a vegetable base. The term Cullis is best fitted to preparations having either poultry, game, or fish for base, while bisque, in spite of the fact that in former days it was applied indiscriminately to purées of shell-fish, poultry, pigeons, &c., distinctly denotes a purée of shell-fish (either lobster, crayfish, or shrimp, &c.).
In short, it is imperative to avoid all ambiguities and to give everything its proper name, or, at least, that name which identifies it most correctly.
Farinaceous vegetables, such as haricot-beans and lentils, and the floury ones, such as the potato, need no additional thickening ingredient, since the flour or fecula which they contain amply suffices for the leason of their purées.
On the other hand, aqueous vegetables like carrots, pumpkins, turnips, celery, and herbs cannot dispense with a thickening ingredient, as their purées of themselves do not cohere in the least.
Cohering or Thickening Elements; their Quantities.—In order to effect the coherence of vegetable purées, either rice, potato, or bread-crumb cut into dice and fried in butter may be used.
The proportion of these per pound of vegetables should be respectively three oz., ten oz., and ten oz. Bread-crumb dice, prepared as described above, were greatly used in old cookery, and they lend a mellowness to a purée which is quite peculiar to them.
The Dilution of Purées.—Generally this is done by means of ordinary white consommé, though in certain cases, as, for instance, if the soup is a Lenten one, milk is used.
The Finishing.—When the purées have been strained and brought to the required consistence they should be boiled and stirred. Then they are placed on the side of the fire to simmer [100] for twenty-five or thirty minutes. It is at this stage that they are purified by means of the careful removal of all the scum that forms on their surface.
When dishing up complete them, away from the fire, with three oz. of butter per quart of soup, and pass them once more through a strainer.
Purée Garnishes.—These are usually either small fried crusts, small dice of potato fried in butter, a chiffonade, some kind of little brunoise, or, more generally, chervil pluches.
Cullises have for their base either poultry, game, or fish.
The thickening ingredients used are:—
For fowl, two or three oz. of rice, or three-quarters pint of poultry velouté per lb. of fowl.
For game, three or four oz. of lentils, or three-quarters pint of game Espagnole per lb. of game.
For fish, a clear panada made up of French bread soaked in boiling salted milk. Use five oz. of bread and one good pint of milk per lb. of fish. Having strained and made up the Cullises, boil them while stirring (except in the case of fish cullises, which must not boil, and must be served as soon as they are made), then place them in a bain-marie and butter their surfaces lest a skin should form.
At the last moment complete them with two or three oz. of butter per quart.
The garnish of poultry or game cullises consists of either small dice of game or fowl-fillets, which should be kept aside for the purpose; a fine julienne of these fillets, or small quenelles made from the latter, raw.
The garnish of fish cullis is generally fish-fillets poached in butter and cut up into small dice or in julienne-fashion.
The invariable base of Bisques is shell-fish cooked in mirepoix.
Their thickening ingredients are, or may be, rice, fish velouté, or crusts of bread fried in butter, the proportion being three oz. of rice, ten oz. of bread-crusts, or three-quarters pint of fish velouté per lb. of shell-fish cooked in mirepoix (No. 228).
When the soup is strained, treat it in precisely the same way as the cullises.
The garnish consists of small dice of the meat from the [101] shell-fish used. These pieces should have been put aside from the first.
These differ from the purées, cullises, and bisques in that their invariable thickening element is a velouté whose preparation is in harmony with the nature of the ingredients of the soup, these being either vegetables, poultry, game, fish, or shell-fish.
The Preparation of the Velouté.—Allow three and one-half oz. of white roux per quart of the diluent. This diluent should be ordinary consommé for a velouté of vegetables or herbs, chicken consommé for a poultry velouté, or very clear fish fumet for a fish or shell-fish velouté. The procedure is exactly the same as that described under No. 25 of the leading sauces.
The Apportionment of the Ingredients.—In general, the quantities of each constituent are in the following proportion:—Velouté, one-half; the purée of the substance which characterises the soup, one-quarter; the consommé used to bring the soup to its proper consistence, one-quarter. In respect of finishing ingredients, use, for thickening, the yolks of three eggs and one-fifth pint of cream per quart of soup.
Thus for four quarts of poultry velouté we arrive at the following quantities:—
Poultry velouté, three pints; purée of fowl obtained from a cleaned and drawn hen weighing about three lbs., one quart; consommé for regulating consistence, one quart; leason, twelve yolks and four-fifths pint of cream.
Rules Relative to the Preparation.—If the velouté is to be of lettuce, chicory, celery, or mixed herbs, these ingredients are scalded for five minutes, drained, gently stewed in butter, and added to the prepared velouté in which their cooking is completed.
If carrots, turnips, onions, &c., are to be treated, finely mince them, stew them in butter without allowing them to acquire any colour, and add them to the velouté.
If fowl be the base, cook it in the velouté. This done, withdraw it, remove the meat, finely pound same, and add it to the velouté, which is then rubbed through tammy.
In the case of fish the procedure is the same as for fowl. For game, roast or sauté the selected piece, bone it, finely pound the meat, and combine the latter with the velouté, which should then be rubbed through tammy.
For shell-fish, cook these in a mirepoix, finely pound them together with the latter, add to the velouté, and pass the whole through tammy.
[102]
The Completing of Velouté.—Having passed the soup
through tammy, bring it to its proper degree of consistence
with the necessary quantity of consommé, boil while stirring,
and place in a bain-marie.
At the last moment finish the soup with the leason and two oz. of butter per quart of liquid.
Garnish for Velouté.—In the case of vegetables: Chiffonade, fine printaniers, or brunoise.
For fowl and game: The fillets of one or the other, poached and cut into small dice or in julienne-fashion; little quenelles made with the raw fillets, or either fowl or game royales.
For fish: Small dice or fine julienne of fish fillets poached in butter.
For shell-fish: Small dice of cooked shell-fish meat put aside for the purpose.
Remarks.—In certain circumstances these garnishes are increased by means of three tablespoonfuls of poached rice per quart of the soup.
Practically speaking, the preparation of the creams is the same as that of the veloutés, but for the following exceptions:—
1. In all circumstances, i.e., whatever be the nature of the soup, velouté is substituted for clear Béchamel.
2. The correct consistence of the soup is got by means of milk instead of consommé.
3. Creams do not require egg-yolk leasons.
4. They are not buttered, but they are finished with one-fifth or two-fifths pint of fresh cream per quart.
Creams allow of the same garnishes as the veloutés.
These are of different kinds, though their preparation remains the same, and they do not lend themselves to the requirements of veloutés or creams. I should quote as types of this class the Ambassador, à l’Américaine, Darblay, Faubonne, &c.
The same holds good with thickened consommés, such as “Germiny,” “Coquelin,” &c.
These soups, of which the “Paysanne” is the radical type, do not demand very great precision in the apportionment of [103] the vegetables of which they are composed; but they need great care and attention, notwithstanding.
The vegetables, in the majority of cases, must undergo a long stewing in butter, an operation the object of which is to expel their vegetable moisture and to saturate them with butter.
In respect of others which have a local character, the vegetables should be cooked with the diluent, without a preparatory stewing.
In the course of Part II. of this work I shall allude to certain soups which have a foreign origin, and whose use, although it may not be general, is yet sufficiently common. If only for the sake of novelty or variety, it is occasionally permissible to poach upon the preserves of foreign nations; but apart from this there exist among the recipes of foreigners many which can but enrich their adopter, besides being generally appreciated.
Except for the roasts, grills, and fryings, which will be discussed later, all culinary operations dealing with meat are related to one of the four following methods: Braising, poëling, poaching, and sautés.
These four methods of cooking belong, however, to the sauces, and this explains how it is that the latter hold such a pre-eminent position in French cookery.
Before devoting any attention to particular formulæ, which will be given in the second part of this work, it seemed desirable to me to recapitulate in a general way the theory of each of these cooking methods. These theories are of paramount importance, since it is only with a complete knowledge of them that good results may be obtained by the culinary operator.
Of all the various culinary operations, braisings are the most expensive and the most difficult. Long and assiduous practice alone can teach the many difficulties that this mode of procedure entails, for it is one which demands extraordinary care and the most constant attention. Over and above the question of care and that of the quality of meat used, which latter consideration is neither more nor less important here than in any other cooking operation, there are also these conditions to be fulfilled in order that a good braising may be obtained, namely, that excellent stock should be used in moistening, and that the braising base be well prepared.
Meats that are Braised.—Mutton and beef are braised in the ordinary way, but veal, lamb, and poultry are braised in a manner which I shall treat of later.
Meat intended for braising need not, as in the case of roasts, be that of young beasts. The best for the purpose is that derived from an animal of three to six years of age in the case of beef, and one to two years in the case of mutton. Good meat is rarely procured from animals more advanced than these in years, and, even so, should it be used, it would not only be necessary to protract the time of cooking inordinately, but the resulting food would probably be fibrous and dry.
Properly speaking, meat derived from old or ill-nourished beasts only answers two purposes in cookery, viz., the preparation of consommés and that of various kinds of stock.
[105]
The Larding of Meats for Braising.—When the meat to be
braised is ribs or fillet of beef, it is always interlarded, and consequently
never dry if of decent quality. But this is not the
case with the meat of the rumps, or with leg of mutton. These
meats are not sufficiently fat of themselves to allow of prolonged
cooking without their becoming dry. For this reason they are
larded with square strips of bacon fat, which should be as long
as the meat under treatment, and about half an inch thick.
These strips of fat are first seasoned with pepper, nutmeg, and
spices, besprinkled with chopped parsley, and then marinaded
for two hours in a little brandy. They should be inserted into
the meat equidistantly by means of special larding needles.
The proportion of fat to the meat should be about three oz.
per lb.
To Marinade Braisings.—Larded or not, the meats intended for braising gain considerably from being marinaded for a few hours in the wines which are to supply their moistening and the aromatics constituting the base of their liquor. Before doing this season them with salt, pepper, and spices, rolling them over and over in these in order that they may absorb the seasoning thoroughly. Then place them in a receptacle just large enough to contain them, between two litters of aromatics, which will be detailed hereafter; cover them with the wine which forms part of their braising-liquor, and which is generally a white or red “vin ordinaire,” in the proportion of one-quarter pint per lb. of meat, and leave them to marinade for about six hours, taking care to turn them over three or four times during that period.
The Aromatics or Base of the Braising.—These are thickly sliced and fried carrots and onions, in the proportion of one oz. per lb. of meat, one faggot, including one garlic clove and one and one-half oz. of fresh, blanched bacon-rind.
To Fry, Prepare, and Cook Braised Meat.—Having sufficiently marinaded the meat, drain it on a sieve for half an hour, and wipe it dry with a clean piece of linen. Heat some clarified fat of white consommé in a thick saucepan of convenient size, or a braising-pan, and when it is sufficiently hot put the meat in the saucepan and let it acquire colour on all sides. The object of this operation is to cause a contraction of the pores of the meat, thereby surrounding the latter with a species of cuirass, which prevents the inner juices from escaping too soon and converting the braising into a boiling process. The frying should, therefore, be a short or lengthy process according as to whether the amount of meat to be braised be small or large.
[106]
Having properly fried the meat, withdraw it from the
braising-pan, cover it with slices of larding-bacon if it be lean,
and string it. In the case of fillets and ribs of beef, this treatment
may be dispensed with, as they are sufficiently well
supplied with their own fat.
Now pour the marinade prepared for the meat into the braising-pan, and place the meat on a litter composed of the vegetables the marinade contained. Cover the pan and rapidly reduce the wine therein. When this has assumed the consistency of syrup add sufficient brown stock to cover the meat (it being understood that the latter only just conveniently fills the pan), cover the braising-pan, set to boil, and then put it in a moderate oven. Let the meat cook until it may be deeply pricked with a braiding needle without any blood being drawn. At this stage the first phase of braising, whereof the theory shall be given hereafter, comes to an end, and the meat is transferred to another clean utensil just large enough to hold it.
With respect to the cooking liquor, either of the two following modes of procedure may now be adopted:—
1. If the liquor is required to be clear it need only be strained, over the meat, through muslin, while the braising-pan should be placed in the oven, where the cooking may go on until completed, interrupting it only from time to time in order to baste the meat. This done, thicken the liquor with arrow-root, after the manner of an ordinary thickened gravy (No. 41).
2. If, on the contrary, a sauce be required, the liquor should be reduced to half before being put back on the meat, and it is restored to its former volume by means of two-thirds of its quantity of Espagnole sauce and one-third of tomato purée, or an equivalent quantity of fresh tomatoes.
The cooking of the meat is completed in this sauce, and the basting should be carried on as before. When it is cooked—that is to say, when the point of a knife may easily be thrust into it without meeting with any resistance whatsoever—it should be carefully withdrawn from the sauce; the latter should be again strained through muslin and then left to rest, with a view to letting the grease settle on the surface.
Carefully remove this grease, and rectify the sauce with a little excellent stock if it is too thick, or by reduction if it is too thin.
The Glazing of Braised Meat.—Braised meat is glazed in order to make it more sightly, but this operation is by no means essential, and it is quite useless when the meat is cut up previous to being served.
[107]
To glaze meat place it as soon as cooked in the front of the
oven, sprinkle it slightly with its cooking liquor (gravy or
sauce), and push it into the oven so that this liquor may dry.
Being very gelatinous, the latter adheres to the meat, while its
superfluous water evaporates, and thus coats the solid with a
thin film of meat-glaze. This operation is renewed eight or
ten times, whereupon the meat is withdrawn from the oven,
placed on a dish, and covered until it is served.
Various Remarks relative to Braising.—When a braised meat is to be accompanied by vegetables, as in the case of beef à la mode, these vegetables may either be cooked with the meat during the second braising phase, after they have been duly coloured in butter with a little salt and sugar, or they may be cooked separately with a portion of the braising-liquor. The first procedure is the better, but it lends itself less to a correct final dressing. It is, therefore, the operator’s business to decide according to circumstances which is the more suitable of the two.
I pointed out above that the cooking of braised meat consists of two phases, and I shall now proceed to discuss each of these, so that the reader may thoroughly understand their processes.
It has been seen that meat, to be braised, must in the first place be fried all over, and this more particularly when it is very thick. The object of this operation is to hold in the meat’s juices, which would otherwise escape from the cut surfaces. Now, this frying produces a kind of cuirass around the flesh, which gradually thickens during the cooking process until it reaches the centre. Under the influence of the heat of the surrounding liquor the meat fibres contract, and steadily drive the contained juices towards the centre. Soon the heat reaches the centre, where, after having effected a decomposition of the juices therein collected, the latter release the superfluous water they contain. This water quickly vaporises, and by so doing distends and separates the tissues surrounding it. Thus, during this first phase, a concentration of juices takes place in the centre of the meat. It will now be seen that they undergo an absolutely different process in the second.
As shown, the disaggregation of the muscular tissue begins in the centre of the meat as soon as the temperature which reaches there is sufficiently intense to vaporise the collected juices. The tension of the vapour given off by the latter perforce increases by dint of finding no issue; it therefore exerts considerable pressure upon the tissues, though now its direction [108] is the reverse of what it was in the first place, i.e., from the centre to the periphery.
Gradually the tissues relax under the pressure and the effects of cooking, and, the work of disaggregation having gradually reached the fried surface, the latter also relaxes in its turn and allows the constrained juices to escape and to mix with the sauce. At the same time, however, the latter begins to filter through the meat, and this it does in accordance with a well-known physical law, namely, capillarity. This stage of the braising demands the most attentive care. The braising-liquor is found to be considerably reduced and no longer covers the meat, for the operation is nearing its end. The bared meat would, therefore, dry very quickly, if care were not taken to baste it constantly and to turn it over and over, so that the whole of the muscular tissue is moistened and thoroughly saturated with the sauce. By this means the meat acquires that mellowness which is typical of braisings and distinguishes them from other preparations.
I should be loth to dismiss this subject before pointing out two practices in the cooking of braisings which are as common as they are absolutely wrong. The first of these is the “pinçage” of the braising base. Instead of laying the fried meat on a litter of aromatics, likewise fried beforehand, many operators place the meat, which they often omit to fry, on raw aromatics at the bottom of the braising-pan. The whole is sprinkled with a little melted fat, and the aromatics are left to fry, on one side only, until they begin to burn on the bottom of the receptacle.
If this operation were properly conducted it might be tolerated, even though aromatics which are only fried on one side cannot exude the same savour as those which are fried all over. But nine times out of ten the frying is too lengthy a process; from neglect or absent-mindedness the aromatics are left to burn on the bottom of the pan, and there results a bitterness which pervades and spoils the whole sauce.
As a matter of fact, this process of “pinçage” is an absurd caricature of a method of preparing braisings which was very common in old cookery, the custom of which was not to prepare the braising-liquor in advance, but to cook it and its ingredients simultaneously with the meat to be braised. This method, though excellent, was very expensive, the meats forming the base of the braising-liquor consisting of thick slices of raw ham or veal. The observance of economy, therefore, long ago compelled cooks to abandon this procedure. But routine has [109] perpetuated the form of the latter without insisting upon the use of its constituents, which were undoubtedly its essential part. Routine has even, in certain cases, aggravated the first error by instituting a habit consisting of substituting bones for the meats formerly employed—an obviously ridiculous practice.
In the production of ordinary consommé (No. 1) we saw that bones, even when taken from veal, as is customary in the case of braising-liquor, require, at the very least, ten to twelve hours of cooking before they can yield all their soluble properties. As a proof of this it is interesting to note that, if bones undergo only five or six hours of cooking, and are moistened afresh and cooked for a further six hours, the liquor of the second cooking yields more meat-glaze than that of the first; though it must be admitted that, while the latter is more gelatinous, it has less savour. But this gelatinous property of bones is no less useful to braisings than is their savour, since it is the former that supplies the mellowness, which nothing can replace and without which the sauce can have no quality.
Since, therefore, the longest time that a braising can cook is from four to five hours, it follows that, if bones be added thereto, their properties will scarcely have begun disaggregating when the meat is cooked. They will, in fact, have yielded but an infinitesimal portion of these properties; wherefore their addition to the braising is, to say the least, quite useless.
It now remains to be proved that the above method is bad from another point of view.
I suppose I need not fear contradiction when I assert that, in order that a braising may be good, its sauce should be short and correspondingly substantial; also that the sauce obtained from a piece of meat moistened with a quart of liquid cannot be so good as that resulting from the moistening of a pint only.
It is more particularly on this account that I advise a braising utensil which can only just hold the meat, for since, in the first stage, the meat is only moistened with the braising-liquor, the smaller the receptacle may be the less liquor will it require, and the latter will in consequence be the tastier. Hence, if bones be added to the braising, the utensil must necessarily be larger, and a greater quantity of braising-liquor must be used. But this liquor will not be nearly so savoury as that obtained from the process I recommend; in fact, it will be but a rather strong broth, quite unfit for the impregnation of the meat, and the final result will be a tasteless lump of fibre instead of a succulent braising.
I must apologise to the reader for my insistence with regard [110] to these questions, but their importance is such that success is beyond reach in the matter of brown sauces and braisings unless the above details have been thoroughly grasped. Moreover, the explanations given will afford considerable help in the understanding of operations which I shall give later; therefore it is to be hoped that the examination of the theories involved, however long this has been, will prove of use and assistance.
The braising of white meats as it is now effected in modern cookery is, strictly speaking, not braising at all, inasmuch as the cooking is stopped at the close of the first of the two phases which I mentioned when discussing brown braisings. True, old cookery did not understand braising in the way that the modern school does, and under the ancient régime large pieces, especially of veal, were frequently cooked until they could almost be scooped with a spoon. This practice has been generally, though mistakenly, eschewed, but its name survives.
White braisings are made with the neck, the saddle, the loin, the fillets, the fricandeaus, and the sweet-bread of veal, young turkeys and fat pullets, and sometimes, though less frequently, relevés of lamb, hindquarters or saddle. The procedure is the same for all these meats; the time of cooking alone varies in accordance with their size. The aromatics are the same as those of the brown braisings, but the frying of them is optional.
The moistening liquor is brown veal stock (No. 9).
Mode of Procedure.—Except for the veal sweet-bread, which is always blanched before being braised, the meats or poultry to be treated may always be slightly stiffened and browned in butter, on all sides. This is not essential in all cases, but I think that when they do undergo something of the kind they dry less quickly. Now place them in a utensil just large enough to hold them and deep enough to keep the lid from touching them. Place the aromatics under them and moisten with a little veal stock; set to boil on a moderate fire, and reduce the veal stock with the lid on. When this stock has assumed the consistence of a glaze, add a further similar quantity of fresh stock, and reduce as before. The third time moisten the veal until it is half covered, and push the pan into a moderate oven.
The meat needs constant basting while it cooks, in order to avoid its drying; and, as the stock is very gelatinous, it forms a coating on the surface which resists the evaporation of the contained juices; for these, being insufficiently constrained by the slight frying the meat has undergone, tend to vaporise under the influence of the heat.
[111]
It is for this reason that the stock must be reduced to a
glaze before finally moistening. If the moistening were all
done at once, the liquor would not be sufficiently dense to
form the coating mentioned above, and the meat would consequently
dry on being set to cook.
Braised white meat is known to be cooked when, after having deeply pricked it with a braiding needle, it exudes an absolutely colourless liquid. This liquid denotes that the piece is cooked to the centre, and as a result thereof the blood has decomposed.
There lies the great difference between brown braisings and white-meat braisings. The latter are practically roasts, and they should not be made with any but young poultry or meats, very fat and tender, for they cannot go beyond their correct time of cooking, which equals that of roasts, without immediately losing all their quality. A quarter of an hour too much in the cooking of a kernel of veal weighing about six lbs. is enough to make the meat dry and unpalatable, and to thoroughly spoil it, whereas a brown braising cannot be over-cooked, provided it do not burn.
White braised meats are generally glazed, and this process is especially recommended for larded pieces, which, though less common nowadays than formerly, can still claim many votaries.
However nonsensical it may sound, the best possible definition of a poaching is a boiling that does not boil. The term poach is extended to all slow processes of cooking which involve the use of a liquor, however small. Thus the term poach applies to the cooking in court-bouillon of large pieces of turbot and salmon, as well as to fillets of sole cooked with a little fish fumet, to hot mousselines and mousses, cooked in moulds, to quenelles which are cooked in salted water, to eggs announced as “poached,” to creams, various royales, &c. It will readily be seen that among so many different products, the time allowed for the cooking in each case must differ sometimes widely from the rest. The treatment of them all, however, is subject to this unalterable principle, namely, that the poaching liquor must not boil, though it should reach a degree of heat as approximate as possible to boiling-point. Another principle is that large pieces of fish or poultry be set to boil in cold liquor, after which the latter is brought to the required temperature as rapidly as possible. The case may be the same with fillets of sole, or poultry, which are poached almost [112] dry; but all other preparations whose mode of cooking is poaching gain by being immersed in liquor which has reached the required temperature beforehand.
Having regard to the multitudinous forms and kinds of products that are poached, it would be somewhat difficult to state here the details and peculiarities proper to each in the matter of poaching; I think, therefore, I should do better to leave these details to the respective recipes of each product, though it will now be necessary to disclose the way of poaching poultry, if only with a view to thoroughly acquainting the reader with the theory propounded above.
Properly prepare the piece of poultry to be poached, and truss it with its legs folded back alongside of the breast.
If it is to be stuffed, this should be done before trussing.
If it is to be larded or studded, either with truffles, ham, or tongue, rub it when trussed on the fillets and legs with half a lemon, and dip the same portions of its body (namely, those to be larded or studded) for a few moments in boiling white stock. The object of this operation is to slightly stiffen the skin, thus facilitating the larding or studding.
The Cooking of the Piece of Poultry.—Having stuffed, larded, or studded it, if necessary, and having, in any case, trussed it, place it in a receptacle just large enough to hold it, and moisten with some excellent white stock previously prepared.
Set to boil, skim, put the lid on, and continue the cooking at a low simmer. It is useless to work too quickly, as the operation would not be shortened a second by so doing. The only results would be:—
1. Too violent evaporation, which would reduce the liquor and disturb its limpidness.
2. The running of a considerable risk of bursting the piece of poultry, especially when the latter is stuffed.
The fowl, or whatever it may be, is known to be cooked when, after pricking the thick of the leg close to the “drumstick,” the issuing liquid is white.
Remarks.—(a) The need of poaching poultry in a receptacle just large enough to hold the piece is accounted for as follows: (1) The piece must be wholly immersed in the stock during the cooking process. (2) As the liquor used is afterwards served as an accompanying sauce to the dish, the less there is of it the more saturated does it become with the juices of the meat, and, consequently, the better it is.
(b) (1) The white stock used in poaching should be prepared beforehand, and be very clear.
[113]
(2) If the piece of poultry were set to cook with the products
constituting the stock, even if these were more than liberally
apportioned, the result would be bad, for inasmuch as a fowl,
for example, can only take one and one-half hours, at the most,
to cook, and the time required for extracting the nutritious and
aromatic principles from the constituents of the stock would
be at least six hours, it follows that the fowl would be cooking
in little more than hot water, and the resulting sauce would
be quite devoid of savour.
Poëlings are, practically speaking, roasts, for the cooking periods of each are the same, except that the former are cooked entirely or almost entirely with butter. They represent a simplified process of old cookery, which consisted in enveloping the object to be treated, after frying it, in a thick coating of Matignon. It was then wrapped with thin slices of pork fat, covered with buttered paper, placed in the oven or on a spit, and basted with melted butter while it cooked. This done, its grease was drained away, and the vegetables of the matignon were inserted in the braising-pan wherein the piece had cooked, or in a saucepan, and were moistened with excellent Madeira or highly seasoned stock. Then, when the liquor had thoroughly absorbed the aroma of the vegetables, it was strained, and its grease was removed just before dishing up. This excellent method is worthy of continued use in the case of large pieces of poultry.
Preparation of Poëled Meats.—Place in the bottom of a deep and thick receptacle, just large enough to hold the piece to be poëled, a layer of raw matignon (No. 227). The meat or piece of poultry is placed on the vegetables after it has been well seasoned, and is copiously sprinkled with melted butter; cover the utensil, and push it into an oven whose heat is not too fierce. Set it to cook gently in this way, after the manner of a stew, and frequently sprinkle with melted butter.
When the meats or the pieces of poultry are cooked, the utensil is uncovered so that the former may acquire a fine colour; then they are transferred to a dish which should be kept covered until taken to the table. Now add to the vegetables (which must not be burned) a sufficient quantity of brown veal stock (No. 9), transparent and highly seasoned; set the whole to boil gently for ten minutes, strain through a serviette, carefully remove all grease from the poëling stock and send it to the table in a sauceboat at the same time as the meat or poultry, which, by the bye, is generally garnished.
[114]
Remarks on Poëlings.—It is of paramount importance that
these be not moistened during the process of cooking, for in
that case their savour would be the same as that of braised
white meats.
Nevertheless, an exception may be made in the case of such feathered game as pheasants, partridges, and quails, to which is added, when nearly cooked, a small quantity of burnt brandy.
It is also very important that the vegetables should not have their grease removed before their moistening stock is added to them. The butter used in the cooking absorbs a large proportion of the savour of both the vegetables and the meat under treatment, and, to make good this loss, it is essential that the moistening stock remain at least ten minutes in contact with the butter. At the end of this time it may be removed without in the least impairing the aroma of the stock.
Special Poëlings known as “En Casserole,” or “En Cocotte.”—The preparations of butcher’s meats, of poultry, or game, known as “en casserole” or “en cocotte,” are actual poëlings cooked in special earthenware utensils and served in the same. Generally, preparations known as “en casserole” are simply cooked in butter, without the addition of vegetables.
When the cooking is done, the piece under treatment is withdrawn for a moment, and some excellent brown veal stock (No. 9) is poured into the utensil. This is left to simmer for a few minutes; the superfluous butter is then removed; the piece is returned to the earthenware utensil, and it is kept hot, without being allowed to boil, until it is dished up.
For preparations termed “en cocotte,” the procedure is the same, except that the piece is garnished with such vegetables as mushrooms, the bottoms of artichokes, small onions, carrots, turnips, &c., which are either turned or regularly pared, and half cooked in butter before being used.
One should endeavour to use only fresh vegetables, and these should be added to the piece constituting the dish in such wise as to complete their cooking with it.
The earthenware utensils used for this purpose improve with use, provided they be cleaned with clean, fresh water, without any soda or soap. If new utensils have to be used, these should be filled with water, which is set to boil, and they should then undergo at least twelve hours’ soaking. For the prescribed time this water should be kept gently boiling, and then the utensil should be well wiped and soaked anew, in fresh water, before being used.
What characterises the process we call “sauté” is that the object treated is cooked dry—that is to say, solely by means of a fatty substance such as butter, oil, or grease.
Sautés are made with cut-up fowl or game, or with butcher’s meat suitably divided up for the purpose.
All products treated in this way must be frizzled—that is to say, they must be put into the fat when it is very hot in order that a hardened coating may form around them which will keep their juices within. This is more particularly desirable for red meats such as beef and mutton.
The cooking of fowl sautés must, after the meats have been frizzled, be completed on the stove or, with lid off, in the oven, where they should be basted with butter after the manner of a roast.
The pieces are withdrawn from the utensil with a view to swilling the latter, after which, if they be put back into the sauce or accompanying garnish, they should only remain therein a few moments or just sufficiently long to become properly warm.
The procedure is the same for game sautés.
Sautés of butcher’s meats (red meats), such as tournedos, kernels, cutlets, fillets, and noisettes, are always effected on the stove; the meats are frizzled and cooked with a small quantity of clarified butter.
The thinner and smaller they are, the more rapidly should the frizzling process be effected.
When blood appears on the surface of their raw side, they should be turned over; when drops of blood begin to bedew their other side, they are known to be cooked.
The swilling of the utensil obtains in all sautés. After having withdrawn the treated product from the saucepan, remove the grease and pour the condimentary liquid (a wine), that forms part of the accompanying sauce, into the saucepan.
Set to boil, so that the solidified gravy lying on the bottom may dissolve, and add the sauce; or simply add the swilling liquid to the prepared sauce or accompanying garnish of the sauté. The utensil used must always be just large enough to hold the objects to be treated. If it be too large, the parts left uncovered by the treated meats burn, and swilling is then impossible, whence there results a loss of the solidified gravy which is an important constituent in the sauce.
Sautés of white, butcher’s meats, such as veal and lamb, must also be frizzled in hot fat, but their cooking must be completed gently on the side of the fire, and in many cases with lid on.
[116]
Preparations of a mixed nature, which partly resemble
sautés and partly braisings, are also called sautés. Stews, however,
is their most suitable name.
These dishes are made from beef, veal, lamb, game, &c., and they are to be found in Part II. under the headings Estouffade; Goulash; Sautés: Chasseur, Marengo, Bourgeoise; Navarin; Civet; &c.
In the first stage of their preparation, the meats are cut up small and fried like those of the sautés; in the second, slow cooking with sauce or garnish makes them akin to braised meats.
Of the two usual methods of roasting, the spit will always be used in preference to the oven, if only on account of the conditions under which the operation is effected, and whatever be the kind of fuel used—wood, coal, or gas.
The reason of this preference is clear if it be remembered that, in spite of every possible precaution during the progress of an oven roast, it is impossible to avoid an accumulation of vapour around the cooking object in a closed oven. And this steam is more particularly objectionable inasmuch as it is excessive in the case of delicately flavoured meats, which latter are almost if not entirely impaired thereby.
The spitted roast, on the contrary, cooks in the open in a dry atmosphere, and by this means retains its own peculiar flavour. Hence the unquestionable superiority of spitted roasts over the oven kind, especially in respect of small feathered game.
In certain circumstances and places there is no choice of means, and, nolens volens, the oven has to be used; but, in this case at least, all possible precautions should be observed in order to counteract the effects of the steam above mentioned.
Poultry and game to be roasted ought generally to be partly covered with a large thin slice of larding bacon, except those pieces of game which in special cases are larded.
The object and use of these slices are not only to shield the fillets of fowl and game from the severe heat of the fires but also to prevent these from drying while the legs, which the heat takes much longer to penetrate than the other parts, are cooking. The slices of bacon should therefore completely cover the [117] breasts of fowl and game, and they should be tied on to the latter by means of string.
In some cases roasts of butcher’s meat are covered with layers of veal- or beef-fat, the object of which is similar to that of the bacon prescribed above.
The whole theory of roasts on the spit might be condensed as follows:—
In the case of butcher’s meat, calculate the intensity of the heat used according to the piece to be roasted, the latter’s size and quality, and the time it has hung. Experience, however, is the best guide, for any theory, whatever be its exactness, can only give the leading principles and general rules, and cannot pretend to supply the place of the practised eye and the accuracy which are the result of experience alone.
Nevertheless, I do not say with Brillat Savarin that a roaster is born and not made; I merely state that one may become a good roaster with application, observation, care, and a little aptitude.
The three following rules will be found to cover all the necessary directions for spitted roasts:—
1. All red meats containing a large quantity of juice should be properly set, and then, according to their size, made to undergo the action of a fire capable of radiating a very penetrating heat with little or no flame.
2. In the case of white meats, whose cooking should be thorough, the fire ought to be so regulated as to allow the roast to cook and colour simultaneously.
3. With small game the fuel should be wood, but whatever fuel be used the fire ought to be made up in suchwise as to produce more flame than glowing embers.
The degree of heat used for each roast must be regulated according to the nature and size of the latter after the manner of spitted roasts.
An oven roast, in the first place, should always be placed on a meatstand, and this should be of such a height that at no given moment during the cooking process the meat may come in contact with the juices and fat which have drained from it into the utensil beneath. Failing a proper stand, a spit resting upon the edges of the utensil may be used.
No liquid of any kind, gravy or water, need be put in the baking-pan. The addition of any liquid is rather prejudicial [118] than otherwise, since by producing vapour which hangs over the roast it transforms the latter into a stew.
Remarks.—Whether spitted or in the oven, a roast must always be frequently basted with a fatty substance, but never with any other liquid.
The real and most natural gravy for roasts is made from the swilling of the baking- or dripping-pan, even if water be used as the diluent, since the contents of these utensils represent a portion of the essential principles of the roast fallen from it in the process of cooking. But to obtain this result neither the utensils nor the gravy ought to have burned; the latter should merely have solidified, and for this reason a roast cooked in a very fierce oven ought to be laid on a pan only just large enough to hold it, so that the fat may not burn.
The swilling can in any case only produce a very small quantity of gravy, consequently, when it happens that a greater quantity is required, the need is met beforehand by preparing a stock made from bones and trimmings of a similar nature to the roast for which the gravy is required. The procedure for this is as follows:—
Place the bones and trimmings in a pan with a little fat and literally roast them. Then transfer them to a saucepan, moisten so as to cover with tepid, slightly-salted water, and add thereto the swillings of the pan wherein they were roasted. Boil, skim, and set to cook gently for three or four hours, according to the nature of the products used. This done, almost entirely remove the grease, strain through muslin, and put aside for the purpose of swilling the dripping- or baking-pan of the roast.
Swilling.—Having removed the roast from the spit or oven, take off a portion of the grease from the baking- or dripping-pan, and pour into it the required quantity of prepared gravy. Reduce the whole by half, strain through muslin, and almost entirely remove grease.
It is a mistake to remove all the grease from, and to clarify, the gravy of roasts. Treated thus they are certainly clearer and more sightly, but a large proportion of their savour is lost, and it should be borne in mind that the gravy of a roast is not a consommé.
In the matter of roast feathered game, the accompanying gravy is supplied by the swilling of the utensil, either with water or a small quantity of brandy. This is a certain means of obtaining a gravy whose savour is precisely that of the game; but occasionally veal gravy is used, as its flavour is neutral, [119] and it therefore cannot impair the particular flavour of the reduced game gravy lying on the bottom of the utensil. The use of stock prepared from the bones and trimmings of game similar to that constituting the dish is also common.
As a rule, a roast ought not to wait. It ought only to leave the spit or oven in order to be served. All roasts should be placed on very hot dishes, slightly besprinkled with fresh butter, and surrounded by bunches of watercress (this is optional). The gravy is invariably served separately.
Roasts of butcher’s meat and poultry are dished up as simply as possible.
Small roasted game may be dished up on fried slices of bread-crumb masked with gratin stuffing (No. 202).
When lemons accompany a roast, they should be served separately. Pieces of lemon that have once served to garnish a dish must not be used, for they have mostly been tainted by grease.
The mediæval custom of dishing game with the plumage has been abandoned.
Roast feathered game à l’anglaise is dished up with or without potato chips, and the three adjuncts are gravy, bread-crumbs, and bread-sauce.
In northern countries game roasts are always accompanied either by slightly sugared stewed apples, or by cherry or apricot jam.
Those culinary preparations effected by means of grilling belong to the order called cooking by concentration. And, indeed, in almost all cases, the great object of these operations, I might even say the greatest object, is the concentration, in the centre, of the juices and essences which represent, most essentially, the nutritive principles of the products cooked.
A grill, which is, in short, but a roast on an open fire, stands, in my opinion, as the remote starting-point, the very genesis of our art.
It was the primæval notion of our forefathers’ infantile brains; it was progress born of an instinctive desire to eat with greater pleasure; and it was the first culinary method ever employed.
A little later, and following naturally, as it were, upon this first attempt, the spit was born of the grill; gradually, intelligence supplanted rude instinct; reason began to deduce effects from supposed causes; and thus cooking was launched forth [120] upon that highroad along which it has not yet ceased steadily to advance.
Fuel for Grills.—That mostly used, and certainly the best for the purpose, is live coal or small pieces of charcoal. Whatever fuel be used, however, it is essential that it produce no smoke, even though the grill fire be ventilated by powerful blowers which draw the smoke off. More especially is this necessary, though I admit the contingency is rare, when artificial ventilation has to be effected owing to the fire’s burning in the open without the usual help of systematic draughts; for if smoke occasioned by foreign substances or by the falling of the fat itself on to the glowing embers were not immediately carried away, either artificially or by a convenient draught, the grills would most surely acquire a very disagreeable taste therefrom.
The Bed of Charcoal.—The arrangement of the bed of charcoal under the grill is of some importance, and it must not only be regulated according to the size and kind of the products to be grilled, but also in such wise as to allow of the production of more or less heat under given circumstances.
The bed should therefore be set in equal layers in the centre, but varying in thickness according as to whether the fire has to be more or less fierce; it should also be slightly raised on those sides which are in contact with the air, in order that the whole burning surface may radiate equal degrees of heat.
The grill must always be placed over the glowing fuel in advance, and it should be very hot when the objects to be grilled are placed upon it, otherwise they would stick to the bars, and would probably be spoiled when turned.
Grills may be divided into four classes, of which each demands particular care. They are: (1) Red-meat grills (beef and mutton); (2) White-meat grills (veal, lamb, poultry); (3) Fish; (4) Grills coated with butter and bread-crumbs.
I submit as a principle that the golden rule in grills is to strictly observe the correct degree of heat which is proper to each treated object, never forgetting that the larger and richer in nutrition the piece of meat, the quicker and more thorough must be its initial setting.
I have already explained, under braisings, the part played by, and the use of, rissoling or setting; but it is necessary to revert to this question and its bearing upon grills.
If large pieces of meat (beef or mutton) are in question, the [121] better their quality and the richer they are in juices, the more resisting must be the rissoled coating they receive. The pressure of the contained juices upon the rissoled coating of this meat will be proportionately great or small according to whether the latter be rich or poor, and this pressure will gradually increase with the waxing heat.
If the grill fire be so regulated as to ensure the progressive penetration of heat into the cooking object, this is what happens:—
The heat, striking that surface of the meat which is in direct communication with the fire, penetrates the tissues, and spreads stratiformly through the body, driving the latter’s juices in front of it. When these reach the opposite, rissoled, or set side of the meat, they are checked, and thereupon, absorbing the incoming heat, effect the cooking of the inner parts.
Of course, if the piece of meat under treatment is very thick, the fierceness of the fire should be proportionately abated the moment the initial process of rissoling or setting of the meat’s surface has been effected, the object being to allow the heat to penetrate the cooking body more regularly. If the fierceness of the fire were maintained, the rissoled coating on the meat would probably char, and the resulting thickness of carbon would so successfully resist the passage of any heat into the interior that, in the end, while the meat would probably be found to be completely burnt on the outside, the inside would be quite raw.
If somewhat thinner pieces are in question, a quick rissoling of their surfaces over a fierce fire, and a few minutes of subsequent cooking, will be all they need. No alteration in the intensity of the fire need be sought in this case.
Examples.—A rumpsteak or Châteaubriand, in order to be properly cooked, should first have its outsides rissoled on a very fierce fire with a view to preserving its juices, after which cooking may proceed over a moderate fire so as to allow of the gradual penetration of the heat into the centre of the body.
Small pieces such as tournedos, small fillets, noisettes, chops, may, after the preliminary process of outside rissoling, be cooked over the same degree of heat as effected the latter, because the thickness of meat to be penetrated is less.
The Care of Grills while Cooking.—Before placing the meats on the grill, baste them slightly with clarified butter, and repeat this operation frequently during the cooking process, so as to avoid the possible drying of the rissoled surfaces.
Grilled red meat should always be turned by means of special tongs, and great care should be observed that its surface [122] be not torn or pierced, lest the object of the preliminary precautions be defeated, and the contained juices escape.
Time of Cooking.—This, in the case of red meats, is arrived at by the following test: if, on touching the meat with one’s finger, the former resist any pressure, it is sufficiently cooked: if it give, it is clear that in the centre, at least, the reverse is the case. The most certain sign, however, that cooking has been completed is the appearance of little beads of blood upon the rissoled surface of the meat.
That superficial rissoling which is so necessary in the case of red meats is not at all so in the case of white, for in the latter there can be no question of the concentration of juices, since these are only present in the form of albumen—that is to say, in the form of juices “in the making,” so to speak, which is peculiar to veal and lamb.
For this kind of grills keep a moderate fire, so that the cooking and colouring of the meat may take place simultaneously.
White-meat grills should be fairly often basted by means of a brush, with clarified butter, while cooking, lest their outsides dry.
They are known to be cooked when the juice issuing from them is quite white.
Use a moderate fire with these, and only grill after having copiously sprinkled them with clarified butter or oil. Sprinkle them similarly while cooking.
A grilled fish is cooked when the bones are easily separated from the meat. Except for the fatty kind, such as mackerel, red mullet, or herrings, always roll fish to be grilled in flour before sprinkling them with melted butter. The object of so doing is to give them a golden external crust, which, besides making them more sightly, keeps them from drying.
These grills generally consist of only small objects; they must be effected on a very moderate fire, with the view of enabling them to cook and acquire colour simultaneously. They should also be frequently besprinkled with clarified butter, and turned with care, so as not to break their coating, the object of which is to withhold their contained juices.
Frying is one of the principal cooking processes, for the number of preparations that are accomplished by its means is very considerable. Its procedure is governed by stringent laws and rules which it is best not to break, lest the double danger of failure and impairment of material be incurred.
The former is easily averted if one is familiar with the process, and pays proper attention to it, while the latter is obviated by precautions which have every raison d’être, and the neglect of which only leads to trouble.
The question of the kind of utensil to employ is not so immaterial as some would think, for very often accidents result from the mere disregard of the importance of this matter.
Very often imprudence and bluster on the part of the operator may be the cause of imperfections, the greatest care being needed in the handling of utensils containing overheated fat.
Utensils used in frying should be made of copper, or other resisting metal; they should be in one piece, oval or round in shape, and sufficiently large and deep to allow, while only half-filled with fat, of the objects being properly affected by the latter. The necessity of this condition is obvious, seeing that if the utensil contain too much fat the slightest jerking of it on the stove would spill some of the liquid, and the operator would probably be badly burnt.
Finally, utensils with vertical sides are preferable to those with the slanting kind; more especially is this so in large kitchens where, the work involving much frying, capacious receptacles are required.
Any animal or vegetable grease is suitable for frying, provided it be quite pure and possess a resisting force allowing it to reach a very high temperature without burning. But for frying on a large scale, the use of cooked and clarified fats, such as the fat of “pot-au-feu” and roasts, should be avoided.
A frying medium is only perfect when it is able to meet the demands of a protracted operation, and consists of fresh or raw fats, chosen with care and thoroughly purified by cooking.
Under no circumstances may butter be used for frying on a large scale, seeing that, even when thoroughly purified, it can only reach a comparatively low degree of heat. It may be used only for small, occasional fryings.
The fat of kidney of beef generally forms the base of the grease intended for frying on a large scale. It is preferable [124] to all others on account of its cheapness and the great length of time it can be worked, provided it receives the proper care.
Veal-fat yields a finer frying medium, but its resistance is small, and it must, moreover, always be strengthened with the fat of beef.
Mutton-fat should be deliberately discarded, for, if it happen to be that of an old beast, it smells of tallow, and, if it be that of a young one, it causes the hot grease to foam and to overflow down the sides of the utensil, this leading to serious accidents.
Pork-fat is also used for frying, either alone, or combined with some other kind.
In brief, the fat of kidney of beef is that which is best suited to fryings on a large scale. Ordinary household frying, which does not demand a very resisting grease, may well be effected by means of the above, combined with an equal quantity of veal-fat, or a mixture composed of the fat of kidney of beef, veal, and pork in the proportions of one-half, one-quarter, and one-quarter respectively.
The grease used for frying ought not only to be melted down, but also thoroughly cooked, so that it may be quite pure. If insufficiently cooked, it foams on first being used, and so demands all kinds of extra precautions, which only cease to be necessary when constant heating at last rectifies it. Moreover, if it be not quite pure, it easily penetrates immersed solids and makes them indigestible.
All grease used in frying should first be cut into pieces and then put into the saucepan with one pint of water per every ten lbs.
The object of the water is to assist in the melting, and this it does by filtering into the grease, vaporising, and thereby causing the latter to swell. So long as the water has not completely evaporated, the grease only undergoes the action of liquefaction, i.e., the dissolution of its molecules; but its thorough cooking process, ending with its purification, only begins when all the water is gone.
The grease is cooked when (1) the membranes which enveloped it alone remain intact and are converted into greaves; (2) it gives off smoke which has a distinct smell.
At this stage it has reached such a high temperature that it is best to remove it from the fire for about ten minutes, so that it may cool; then it must be strained through a sieve, or a coarse towel, which must be tightly twisted.
The temperature reached by a frying medium depends upon [125] the latter’s constituents and its purity. The various degrees may be classified as moderately hot, hot, very hot.
The expression “boiling hot” is unsuitable, seeing that fat never boils. Butter (an occasional frying medium) cannot overreach 248° F. without burning, whereas if it be thoroughly purified it can attain from 269° to 275° F.—a temperature which is clearly below what would be needed for work on a large scale.
Animal greases used in ordinary frying reach from 275° to 284° F. when moderately hot, 320° F. when hot, and 356° F. when very hot; in the last case they smoke slightly.
Pork-fat (lard), when used alone, reaches 392° F. without burning. Very pure goose dripping withstands 428° F.; and, finally, vegetable fats may reach, without burning, 482° F. in the case of cocoa-nut butter, 518° F. with ordinary oils, and 554° in the case of olive oil.
The temperature of ordinary frying fat may be tested thus: it is moderately hot when, after throwing a sprig of parsley or a crust of bread into it, it begins to bubble immediately; it is hot if it crackles when a slightly moist object is thrust into it; it is very hot when it gives off a thin white smoke perceptible to the smell.
The first temperature, “moderately hot,” is used (1) for all products containing vegetable water the complete evaporation of which is necessary; (2) for fish whose volume exacts a cooking process by means of penetration, previous to that with concentration.
In the first degree of heat with which it is used the frying fat therefore only effects a kind of preparatory operation.
The second temperature, “hot,” is used for all products which have previously undergone an initial cooking process in the first temperature, either for evaporation or penetration, and its object is either to finish them or to cover them with a crimped coating.
It is also applicable to those products upon which the frying fat must act immediately by concentration—that is to say, by forming a set coating around them which prevents the escape of the contained substances.
Objects treated with this temperature are: all those panés à l’anglaise or covered with batter, such as various croquettes, cromesquis, cutlets, and collops à la Villeroy, fritters of all kinds, fried creams, &c.
In this case the frying medium acts by setting, which in certain cases is exceedingly necessary.
1. If the objects in question are panés à l’anglaise, i.e., [126] dipped in beaten eggs and rolled in bread-crumbs, the sudden contact of the hot grease converts this coating of egg and bread-crumbs into a resisting crust, which prevents the escape of the substances and the liquefied sauce contained within.
If these objects were plunged in a fat that was not sufficiently hot, the coating of egg and bread-crumbs would not only imbibe the frying medium, but it would run the risk of breaking, thereby allowing the escape of the very substances it was intended to withhold.
2. The same holds with objects treated with batter. Hence the absolute necessity of ensuring that setting which means that the covering of batter solidifies immediately. As the substances constituting these various dishes are cooked in advance, it follows that their second heating and the colouring of the coating (egg and bread-crumbs or batter) take place at the same time and in a few minutes.
The third temperature, “very hot,” is used (1) for all objects that need a sharp and firm setting; (2) for all small objects the setting of which is of supreme importance, and whose cooking is effected in a few minutes, as in the case of whitebait.
Every frying medium, used for work on a large scale, which has acquired a too decided colouring through repeated use, may serve in the preparation of fish even until its whole strength is exhausted.
Oil is best suited to the frying of fish, especially the very small kind, owing to the tremendous heat it can withstand without burning, for this heat guarantees that setting which is so indispensable.
Except in this case, however, the temperature of the frying medium should be regulated strictly in accordance with the size of the fish to be fried, in order that its cooking and colouring may be effected simultaneously.
Except Nonats and whitebait, which are simply rolled in flour, fish to be fried are previously steeped in slightly salted milk and then rolled in flour. From this combination of milk and flour there results a crisp coating which withholds those particular principles that the fish exude while cooking.
When finished, fried fish are drained, dried, slightly salted, and dished on a serviette or on paper, with a garnish of fried parsley-sprays and sections of channelled lemon.
This should always be in proportion to the quantity or size [127] of the objects to be fried, bearing in mind that these must always be entirely submerged.
Without necessarily exaggerating, the quantity should invariably be rather in excess of the requirements, and for this reason, viz., the greater the amount of fat, the higher will be the temperature reached, and the less need one fear a sudden cooling of the fat when the objects to be treated are immersed. This sudden cooling is often the cause of great trouble, unless one be working over a fire of such fierceness that the fat can return in a few seconds to the temperature it was at before the objects were immersed.
Every time a frying fat is used it should, after having been melted, be strained through a towel, for the majority of objects which it has served to cook must have left some particles behind them which might prove prejudicial to the objects that are to follow.
Objects that are “panés” always leave some raspings, for instance, which in time assume the form of black powder, while those that have been treated with flour likewise drop some of their coating, which, in accumulating, produces a muddy precipitate on the bottom of the utensil.
Not only do these foreign substances disturb the clearness of the fat and render it liable to burn, but they are exceedingly detrimental to the objects that are treated later.
Therefore, always strain the fat whenever it is used—in the first place because the proper treatment of the objects demands it, and, secondly, because its very existence as a serviceable medium depends upon this measure.
This culinary operation plays a sufficiently important part in the work to warrant my detailing at least its leading points.
The various kinds of the order “Gratins” are (1) the Complete Gratin; (2) the Rapid Gratin; (3) the Light Gratin; (4) Glazing, which is a form of Rapid Gratin.
This is the first example of the series; it is that whose preparation is longest and most tiresome; for its principal constituent, whatever this is, must be completely cooked. Its cooking must moreover be coincident with the reduction of the sauce, which is the base of the gratin, and with the formation of the gratin proper, i.e., the crimped crust which forms on the surface and is the result of the combination of the sauce [128] with the raspings and the butter, under the direct influence of the heat.
In the preparation of complete gratin, two things must be taken into account:—(1) The nature and size of the object to be treated, and (2) the degree of heat which must be used in order that the cooking of the object, the reduction of the sauce, and the formation of the gratin may be effected simultaneously.
The base of complete gratin is almost invariably ordinary or Lenten duxelle sauce (No. 223), in accordance with the requirements.
The object to be treated with the gratin is laid on a buttered dish, surrounded with slices of raw mushrooms and chopped shallots, and covered with duxelle sauce. The surface is then sprinkled with raspings, and copiously moistened with melted butter. Should the piece be large, the amount of sauce used will be proportionately greater, and the reverse, of course, applies to medium or smaller sizes.
Take note of the following remarks in the making of complete gratins:—
1. If too much sauce were used in proportion to the size of the object, the latter would cook and the gratin form before the sauce could reach the correct degree of consistence by means of reduction. Hence it would be necessary to reduce the sauce still further on the stove, and thereby give rise to steam which would soften the coating of the gratin.
2. If the sauce used were insufficient, it would be reduced before the cooking of the object had been effected, and, more sauce having to be added, the resulting gratin would be uneven.
3. The larger the piece, and consequently the longer it takes to cook, the more moderate should be the heat used. Conversely, the smaller it is, the fiercer should the fire be.
When withdrawing the gratin from the oven squeeze a few drops of lemon-juice over it, and besprinkle it with chopped parsley.
Proceed as above, with duxelle sauce, but the products treated with it, viz., meats, fish, or vegetables, are always cooked and warmed in advance. All that is required, therefore, is to effect the formation of the gratin as quickly as possible.
To do this, cover the object under treatment with the necessary quantity of salt, besprinkle with raspings and butter, and set the gratin to form in a fierce oven.
This is proper to farinaceous products, such as macaroni, lazagnes, noodles, gnocchi, &c., and consists of a combination of grated cheese, raspings, and butter. In this case, again, the only end in view is the formation of the gratin coating, which must be evenly coloured, and is the result of the cheese melting. A moderate heat is all that is wanted for this kind of gratin.
Also considered as light gratins are those which serve as the complement of stuffed vegetables such as tomatoes, mushrooms, egg-plant, and cucumber. With these the gratin is composed of raspings sprinkled with butter or oil, and it is placed in a more or less fierce heat according to whether the vegetables have already been cooked or partially cooked, or are quite raw.
These are of two kinds—they either consist of a heavily buttered sauce, or they form from a sprinkling of cheese upon the sauce with which the object to be glazed is covered.
In the first case, after having poured sauce over the object to be treated, place the dish on another dish containing a little water. This is to prevent the sauce decomposing and boiling. The greater the quantity of butter used, the more intense will be the heat required, in order that a slight golden film may form almost instantaneously.
In the second case, the sauce used is always a Mornay (No. 91). Cover the object under treatment with the sauce, besprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter, and place in fairly intense heat, so that a slight golden crust may form almost immediately, this crust being the result of the combined cheese and butter.
The essentially unsuitable term blanchings is applied in the culinary technology of France to three classes of operations which entirely differ one from the other in the end they have in view.
1. The blanching of meats.
2. The blanching, or, better, the parboiling of certain vegetables.
3. The blanching of certain other vegetables, which in reality amounts to a process of cooking.
The blanching of meats obtains mostly in the case of calf’s head and foot and the sweet-bread of veal, sheep’s and lambs’ [130] trotters, and lamb’s sweet-bread. These meats are first set to soak in cold, running water until they have quite got rid of the blood with which they are naturally saturated. They are then placed on the fire in a saucepan containing enough cold water to abundantly cover them, and the water is gradually brought to the boil.
For calf’s head or feet, boiling may last for fifteen or twenty minutes; veal sweet-bread must not boil for more than ten or twelve minutes; while lamb sweet-bread is withdrawn the moment the boil is reached.
As soon as blanched, the meats are cooled in plenty of fresh water before undergoing their final treatment.
The blanching of cocks’ combs is exceptional in this, namely, that after the combs have been cleansed of blood—that is to say, soaked in cold water, they are placed on the fire in cold water, the temperature of which must be carefully kept below 113° F. When this degree is approached, take the saucepan off the fire and rub each comb with a cloth, dusted with table-salt, in order to remove the skins; then cool the combs with fresh water before cooking them.
Many people use the blanching process with meats intended for “blanquette” or “fricassée.” I regard this procedure as quite erroneous, as also the preliminary soaking in cold water.
If the meats or pieces of poultry intended for the above-mentioned preparations be of a good quality (and no others should be used), they need only be set to cook in cold water, or cold stock, and gradually brought to the boil, being stirred repeatedly the while. The scum formed should be carefully removed, and, in this way, perfectly white meats and stock, with all their savour, are obtained.
As to meats or pieces of poultry of an inferior quality, no soaking and no blanching can make good their defects. Whichever way they are treated they remain dry, gray, and savourless. It is therefore simpler and better to use only the finest quality goods.
An excellent proof of the futility of soaking and blanching meats intended for “fricassées” and “blanquettes” lies in the fact that these very meats, if of good quality, are always perfectly white when they are braised, poëled, or roasted, notwithstanding the fact that these three operations are less calculated to preserve their whiteness than the kind of treatment they are subjected to in the case of “blanquettes” and “fricassées.”
Mere routine alone can account for this practice of soaking [131] and blanching meats—a practice that is absolutely condemned by common sense.
The term “blanching” is wrongly applied to the cooking of green vegetables, such as French beans, green peas, Brussels sprouts, spinach, &c. The cooking of these, which is effected by means of boiling salted water, ought really to be termed “à l’anglaise.” All the details of the procedure, however, will be given when I deal with the vegetables to which the latter apply.
Lastly, under the name of “blanching,” there exists another operation which consists in partly cooking certain vegetables in plenty of water, in order to rid them of any bitter or pungent flavour they may possess. The time allowed for this blanching varies according to the age of the vegetables, but when the latter are young and in season, it amounts to little more than a mere scalding.
Blanching is chiefly resorted to for lettuce, chicory, endives, celery, artichokes, cabbages, and the green vegetables; carrots, turnips, and small onions when they are out of season. In respect of vegetable-marrows, cucumbers, and chow-chow, blanching is often left to the definite cooking process, which should then come under the head of the “à l’anglaise” cooking.
After the process of blanching, the vegetables I have just enumerated are always cooled—that is to say, steeped in cold water until they are barely lukewarm. They are then left to drain on a sieve, previous to undergoing the final cooking process to which they are best suited, this generally being braising.
It is wrong to soak dry vegetables. If they are of good quality, and the produce of the year, they need only be put into a saucepan with enough cold water to completely cover them, and with one oz. of salt per five quarts of water.
Set to boil gently, skim, add the aromatic garnish, quartered carrots, onions, with or without garlic cloves, and a faggot, and set to cook gently with lid on.
Remarks.—If the vegetables used are old or inferior in quality, they might be put to soak in soft water; but this only long enough to swell them slightly, i.e., about one and one-half hours.
A prolonged soaking of dry vegetables may give rise to incipient germination, and this, by impairing the principles of the vegetables, depreciates the value of the food, and may even cause some harm to the consumer.
Vegetables to be braised must be first blanched, cooled, pared, and strung.
Garnish the bottom of a saucepan with blanched pork-rind, sliced carrots and onions, and a faggot, and cover the sides of the utensil with thin slices of bacon. Lay the vegetables upon the prepared litter, and leave them to sweat in the oven for about ten minutes with lid on. The object of this oven-sweating is to expel the water. Now moisten enough to cover with white stock, and set to cook gently.
This done, drain, remove string, and cut to the shape required. Lay them in a sautépan, and, if they are to be served soon, cover them with their reduced stock from which the grease has been removed.
If they are prepared in advance, simply put them aside in suitable basins, cover them with their cooking-liquor, which should be strained over them, boiling, and without its grease removed, and cover with buttered paper.
According to the case, the adjunct is either the braising-liquor, reduced and with all grease removed, or the same completed by means of an addition of meat-glaze.
[133]
Occasionally, it may be the braising-liquor slightly thickened
with half-glaze and finished with butter and the juice of a
lemon.
First thoroughly drain the vegetables and toss them over the fire for a few minutes, in order to completely rid them of their moisture. Season according to the kind of vegetable; add the butter away from the fire, and slightly toss, rolling the saucepan meanwhile on the stove with the view of effecting the leason by means of the mixing of the butter with the treated vegetables.
Vegetables to be treated in this way must be kept somewhat firm. After having thoroughly drained them, put them into a saucepan with enough boiling fresh cream to well moisten without covering them.
Finish their cooking process in the cream, stirring occasionally the while.
When the cream is almost entirely reduced, finish, away from the fire, with a little butter.
The leason may be slightly stiffened, if necessary, by means of a few tablespoonfuls of cream sauce.
Purées of dry and farinaceous vegetables may be obtained by rubbing the latter through a sieve.
Put the purée into a sautépan, and dry it over a brisk fire, adding one and one-half oz. of butter per pint of purée; then add milk or cream in small quantities at a time, until the purée has reached the required degree of consistence.
For purées of aqueous vegetables, such as French beans, cauliflowers, celery, &c., a quarter of their volume of mashed potatoes should be added to them in order to effect their leason.
In the case of vegetable creams, substitute for the thickening of mashed potatoes an equivalent quantity of succulent and stiff Béchamel sauce.
In cookery, although garnishes only play a minor part, they are, nevertheless, very important, for, besides being the principal accompaniments to dishes, they are very often the [134] adornment thereof, while it frequently happens that their harmonious arrangement considerably helps to throw the beauty of a fine joint or bird into relief.
A garnish may consist of one or more products. Be this as it may, its name, as a rule, distinctly denotes, in a word, what it is and how it is made.
In any case, it should always bear some relation to the piece it accompanies, either in the constituents of its preparation or with regard to the size of the piece constituting the dish.
I merely add that, since the constituents of garnishes are strictly denoted by the name the latter bear, any addition of products foreign to their nature would be a grave mistake. Likewise, the omission of any constituent is to be avoided, as the garnish would thereby be out of keeping with its specified character.
Only in very exceptional circumstances should any change of this kind be allowed to take place.
The constituents of garnishes are supplied by vegetables, farinaceous products, quenelles of all kinds, cocks’ combs and kidneys, truffles and mushrooms, plain or stuffed olives, molluscs (mussels or oysters), shell-fish (crayfish, shrimps, lobster, &c.), butcher’s supplies, such as lamb’s sweet-bread, calf’s brains, and calf’s spine-marrow.
As a rule, garnishes are independent of the dish itself—that is to say, they are prepared entirely apart. At other times they are mixed with it, playing the double part of garnish and condimentary principle, as in the case of Matelotes, Compotes, Civets, &c.
Vegetables for garnishing are fashioned and treated in accordance with the use and shape implied by the name of the dish, which should always be the operator’s guide in this respect.
The farinaceous ones, the molluscs and shell-fish, undergo the customary preparation.
I have already described (Chapter X.) the preparation of quenelles and forcemeats for garnishing. Other recipes which have the same purpose will be treated in their respective order.
In Part I. of this work I treated of the general principles on which the science of cookery is founded, and the leading operations constituting the basis of the work.
In Part II. I shall proceed from the general to the particular—in other words, I shall set forth the recipes of every dish I touch upon, its method of preparation, and its constituent parts.
With the view of making reference as easy as possible, without departing from a certain logical order, I have adopted the method of classifying these recipes in accordance with the position the dishes they represent hold in the ordinary menu, and thus, starting with the hors-d’œuvres, I go straight on to the dessert. I was compelled, however, to alter my plan in the case of eggs, which never appear on the menu of a dinner save in Lent.
These I have therefore placed immediately after the hors-d’œuvres, which, like eggs, should only be served at luncheons, for reasons I shall explain later.
It will be seen that I have placed the Savouries before the Entremets, instead of after the Ices, as is customary in England. My reason for this apparent anomaly is that I consider it a positive gastronomical heresy to eat fish, meats, fowl-remains, &c., after delicate Entremets and Ices, the subtle flavour of the latter, which form such an agreeable item in a dinner, being quite destroyed by the violent seasoning of the former.
Moreover, the very pretext brought forward in support of this practice, so erroneous from the gastronomical standpoint, namely, “that after a good dinner it is necessary to serve something strange and highly seasoned, in order to whet the diner’s thirst,” is its own condemnation.
For, if appetite is satiated and thirst is quenched, it follows [136] that the consumer has taken all that is necessary. Therefore, anything more that he may be stimulated to take will only amount to excess, and excess in gastronomy, as in everything else, is a fault that can find no excuse.
At all events, I could agree to no more than the placing of the Savouries before mild Entremets, and, even so, the former would have to consist of light, dry preparations, very moderately seasoned, such as Paillettes with Parmesan, various kinds of dry biscuits, and small tartlets garnished with cheese soufflé.
In short, if I expressed my plain opinion on the matter, I should advise the total suppression of Savouries in a dinner.
The preparations described hereafter all belong to the order of cold hors-d’œuvres. I did not deem it necessary to touch upon the hot kind, for, apart from the fact that these are very seldom served in England, at least under the head of hors-d’œuvres, they are mostly to be found either among the hot Entrées or the Savouries proper.
Generally speaking, hors-d’œuvres should only form part of a meal that does not comprise soup, while the rule of serving them at luncheons only ought to be looked upon as absolute.
It is true that restaurants à la carte deliberately deviate from this rule, but it should be remembered, in their case, that, in addition to the fact that “hors-d’œuvres de luxe,” such as caviare, oysters, plovers’ and lapwings’ eggs, &c., are mostly in question, they also find the use of hors-d’œuvres expedient if only as a means of whiling away the customers’ time during the preparation of the various dishes that may have been ordered.
Moreover, the hors-d’œuvres enumerated are not subject to the same objection as those composed of fish, salads, and marinaded vegetables. The use of cold hors-d’œuvres in these special cases is thus, to a certain extent, justified, but it is nevertheless to be regretted that an exception of this kind should degenerate into a habit, and that it should be made to prevail under circumstances which, in themselves, are insufficient warrant for the abuse.
In Russia it is customary to have a sideboard in a room adjoining the dining-room, dressed with all kinds of special pastries, smoked fish, and other products, and these the diners partake of, standing, together with strong liqueurs, before taking their seats at the table. The general name given to the items on the sideboard is “Zakouski.” Caterers and hotel-keepers in different parts of the world, more zealous than judicious, introduced the custom of the zakouski without allowing for the [138] differences of race, which are due, to some extent, to the influence of climate; and at first, probably owing to everybody’s enthusiasm for things Russian, the innovation enjoyed a certain vogue, in spite of the fact that, in many cases, the dishes served resembled the Zakouski in name alone, and consisted of cold and very ordinary hors-d’œuvres, served at the dining-table itself.
At length the absurdity of investing such common things as hors-d’œuvres with an exotic title began to be perceived, and nowadays the occasions are rare when the Russian term is to be found on a menu; nevertheless, the custom unfortunately survives.
For my own part, I regard cold hors-d’œuvres as quite unnecessary in a dinner; I even consider them counter to the dictates of common sense, and they are certainly prejudicial to the flavour of the soup that follows.
At the most, caviare might be tolerated, the nutty taste of which, when it is quite fresh, can but favourably impress the consumer’s palate, as also certain fine oysters, provided they be served with very dry Rhine wine or white Bordeaux. But I repeat that hors-d’œuvres consisting of any kind of fish, salad, marinaded vegetables, &c., should be strictly proscribed from the items of a dinner.
The custom of serving cold hors-d’œuvres at lunch is, on the contrary, not only traditional, but indispensable, and their varied combinations, thrown into relief by tasteful and proper arrangement, besides lending a cheerful aspect to the table, beguile the consumer’s attention and fancy from the very moment of his entering the dining-room. It has been said, with reason, that soups should foretell the dominant note of the whole dinner, and cold hors-d’œuvres should in the same way reveal that of a luncheon.
Possibly it was with a sense of the importance of hors-d’œuvres, from this standpoint, that their preparation was transferred from the office (the exclusive concern whereof used, formerly, to be the hors-d’œuvres) to the kitchen.
The results of this change manifested themselves immediately in prodigious variations and transformations of the hors-d’œuvres, both in respect of their preparation and dishing-up, so much so, indeed, that perhaps in no other department of culinary art has there been such progress of recent years.
Their variety is infinite, and it would be impossible to compute, even approximately, the number of combinations an ingenious artist could effect in their preparation, seeing that [139] the latter embraces almost every possible use of every conceivable esculent product.
Well may it be said that a good hors-d’œuvrier is a man to be prized in any kitchen, for, although his duties do not by any means rank first in importance, they nevertheless demand in him who performs them the possession of such qualities as are rarely found united in one person, viz., reliable and experienced taste, originality, keen artistic sense, and professional knowledge.
The hors-d’œuvrier should be able to produce something sightly and good out of very little, and the beauty and attractiveness of a hors-d’œuvre should depend to a much greater degree upon his work and the judicious treatment of his material than upon the nature of the latter.
The seasoning of butters for hors-d’œuvres is effected when dishing them up. When prepared in advance, they ought to be placed in a bowl and put aside somewhere in the cool, covered with a piece of clean paper.
Wash twelve or fifteen anchovies in cold water, and dry them thoroughly. Remove the fillets from the bones, pound them smoothly with four oz. of butter, rub the whole through a fine sieve, smooth it with a spoon, and put it aside.
Pound three oz. of pressed caviare with four oz. of butter, and rub through a fine sieve.
Pound four oz. of shrimps with four oz. of butter; rub through a fine sieve first, then through muslin, after having softened the preparation.
This may also be made from the shelled tails of shrimps, which process, though it is easier, does not yield a butter of such delicate taste as the former.
Soften four oz. of butter in a bowl, and add thereto sufficient curry-powder to ensure a decided taste. The exact quantity of curry cannot be prescribed, since the quality of the latter entirely governs its apportionment.
Cook the crayfish with mirepoix, as for Bisque. Finely pound the shells after having removed the tails, and add thereto four oz. of butter per two oz.; rub through a fine sieve first, then through muslin.
N.B.—The whole crayfish may be pounded, but the tails are usually laid aside with a view to supplying the garnish of the toasts for which the butter is intended.
Take the fillets of three red-herrings; remove the skins, and pound finely with three oz. of butter. Rub through a fine sieve.
Pound four oz. of lobster trimmings and spawn, and a little of the coral with four oz. of butter. Rub through a fine sieve.
Poach four oz. of milt in a covered and buttered sauté-pan, with the juice of half a lemon; pound in the mortar, and add to the preparation its weight of butter and a teaspoonful of mustard. Rub through a fine sieve.
See Compound Butter for Sauces (No. 153).
Grate two oz. of horse-radish and pound with four oz. of butter. Rub through a fine sieve.
Finely pound four oz. of smoked salmon with as much butter, and rub through a fine sieve.
Soften four oz. of butter in a bowl, and mix therewith a small teaspoonful of paprika infused in a few drops of white wine or consommé, with a view to strengthening the colour of the paprika.
Pound four oz. of preserved or freshly-cooked capsicum; add as much butter thereto, and rub through a fine sieve.
Pound four oz. of preserved caviare and add thereto, little by little, two tablespoonfuls of fresh cream and two oz. of softened butter. Rub through a fine sieve, and finish the preparation by an addition of three tablespoonfuls of whisked cream.
N.B.—This cream and those that follow often take the place of the butters in the preparation of hors-d’œuvres. The addition of previously well-softened butter to these creams is necessary in order to make them sufficiently consistent when they cool.
Pound four oz. of lobster trimmings, spawn, and coral, and add thereto three tablespoonfuls of fresh cream and two oz. of softened butter.
Rub through a sieve, and complete the preparation with whisked cream, as above.
Pound four oz. of cold, cooked game-meat with three tablespoonfuls of fresh cream and two oz. of softened butter. Rub through a sieve, and finish the preparation with three tablespoonfuls of whisked cream.
Finely pound four oz. of smoked salmon, and add thereto, little by little, three tablespoonfuls of fresh cream and two oz. of softened butter. Rub the whole through a sieve, and finish with an addition of three tablespoonfuls of whisked cream.
Finely pound four oz. of tunny in oil, and finish the cream similarly to that of the Smoked Salmon.
Finely pound four oz. of cold fowl (white parts only) and add thereto two tablespoonfuls of fresh cream and two oz. of softened butter. Rub through a sieve, and finish with three tablespoonfuls of whisked cream.
N.B.—This cream ought to be made and seasoned with salt immediately before being served.
Put three tablespoonfuls of mustard in a bowl with a little salt, pepper, and a few drops of lemon-juice. Mix the whole and add, little by little, the necessary quantity of very fresh cream.
Roll some puff-paste trimmings into rectangular strips two and one-half inches wide and one-eighth inch thick. Spread thereon a thin coating of fish stuffing, finished with anchovy butter; lay the anchovy fillets, prepared beforehand, lengthwise on this stuffing, and cut into pieces about one inch wide. Place the pieces on a baking-tray, and set to bake in the oven for twelve minutes.
Cut each halved anchovy, which should have been previously marinaded in oil, into two or three little fillets. Place them across each other in a hors-d’œuvre dish, after the manner of a lattice; garnish with chopped parsley and the chopped white and yolk of a hard-boiled egg, alternating the colours. Put a few capers on the fillets, and besprinkle moderately with oil. Anchovy fillets may also be served on a salad of ciseled lettuce, for the sake of variety.
Take a few live anchovies, cleanse them, and put them in salt for two hours. This done, plunge them in smoking oil, where they may remain only just long enough to stiffen. Drain, place them in a moderately acid marinade, and serve on a hors-d’œuvre dish with a little marinade.
Turn some fine olives and stuff them with anchovy butter; when quite cold, encircle them with a ring of anchovy fillet, kept whole.
Cut into discs, about the size of half-a-crown, potatoes boiled in water or baked beetroot. Cover their edges with fine [143] anchovy fillets marinaded in oil, and garnish their centres either with caviare, chopped hard-boiled egg, or milt purée, &c.
Prepare some thick slices of blanched and marinaded cucumber, about the size of half-crowns, and hollow their centres slightly. Place rings composed of the fillets of anchovies in oil upon these slices, and fill up their centres with tunny cream or the cream of any fish or shell-fish.
Prepare some anchovy fillets in oil, and place them across each other in a lattice, using fillets of pimento alternately with those of the anchovies. Garnish in the same way as for anchovy fillets, i.e., with the chopped white and yolk of a hard-boiled egg, and chopped parsley.
These are found ready-prepared on the market. Place them on a hors-d’œuvre dish with some of their liquor, and without any garnish.
Serve it plain, cut into fillets.
Divide the eel into lengths of three and one-half inches; poach these in exactly the same way as for matelote, but with white wine and paprika seasoning. Let them cool in their cooking-liquor; cut the pieces lengthwise into large fillets, and cover them with the liquor after all grease has been removed therefrom and it has been clarified and cleared.
Stew in butter two oz. of sorrel, one-quarter oz. of parsley, as much chervil, a few tarragon leaves, a little fresh pimpernel, two oz. of tender nettle, one-quarter oz. of savory, a sprig of green thyme, and a few sage-leaves, all of which must be ciseled. Remove the skins from two lbs. of small eels, suppress the heads, and cut into pieces two inches long. Put these pieces with the herbs, stiffen them well, and add one pint of white wine and a little salt and pepper. Set to cook for ten minutes, thicken with the yolks of four eggs and a few drops of lemon-juice, and leave to cool in a bowl. This preparation of eel is served very cold.
Remove the skin from, and cut into small pieces, two lbs. of small eels. Stiffen the pieces in butter, moisten with one pint of beer, season, and set to cook for ten minutes. Add the herbs enumerated above, raw and roughly chopped. Once more set to cook for seven or eight minutes, thicken with fecula if the sauce is too thin, and transfer the whole to a bowl to cool. Serve very cold.
Take some very small and tender artichokes. Pare them, cut the leaves short, and plunge them into a large saucepan of acidulated water. Set to parboil for eight or ten minutes, drain, cool in fresh water, and drain once more in a sieve.
For twenty artichokes prepare the following liquor:—one pint of water, one-quarter pint of oil, a little salt, the juice of three lemons, a few fennel and coriander seeds, some peppercorns, a sprig of thyme, and a bay-leaf. Set to boil, add the parboiled artichokes, and leave to cook for twenty minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Serve these artichokes very cold upon a hors-d’œuvre dish, accompanied by a few tablespoonfuls of their cooking-liquor.
Remove the leaves and the hearts of some little artichokes; trim their remaining bases, and plunge each as soon as trimmed into acidulated water lest they blacken. Cook them “au blanc” (No. 167), and leave them to cool in their liquor.
Drain them well, dry them, place them in a pan, and marinade them for twenty minutes in oil and lemon-juice. This done, garnish them, either with a salpicon thickened with mayonnaise, a milt or other purée, a small macédoine, or a vegetable salad, &c. Place on a hors-d’œuvre dish with a garnish of parsley sprays.
These are a kind of small Croustades with indented edges, made in very small, boat-shaped moulds, and they may be garnished in any conceivable way.
As their preparation is the same as that of Tartlets, see the latter (No. 387); also refer to “Frivolities” (No. 350).
Cut it into very thin slices; divide these up into triangles, and roll the latter into the shape of cones. The slices may also be served flat.
Dish up at the last moment, and serve very cold.
In the matter of hors-d’œuvres, the two above names have the same meaning. The preparation consists of small slices of the crumb of bread, about one-quarter inch thick, slightly toasted and with a garnish on one of their sides. The garnish is subject to the taste of the consumer, the resources at the disposal of the cook, or the latter’s fancy, which may here be fully indulged.
But the garnish, par excellence, for Canapés or Toast, is fresh butter combined with a fine mince of white roast chicken-meat, the meat of shell-fish or fish, or cheese, &c., as I pointed out above under the butters for hors-d’œuvres.
Whatever be the garnish of Canapés or Toast, and even when it would be unreasonable to let butter form a part of it, as, for example, in the case of marinaded fish, anchovies, filleted herring, &c., it is always best to put plenty of butter on the pieces of toast while they are still hot, with the view of keeping them soft.
When the garnish consists of a purée, i.e., a compound butter, I should advise the use of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, for laying the preparation upon the toast. This method is both clean and expeditious, and lends itself to any fanciful arrangement which the varying shape of the toast may suggest.
The principal shapes given to the toast are as follows: round, square, rectangular, oval, triangular, crescented, star-like, crossed, &c.
They should never exceed one and one-half inches in diameter, and a corresponding size in the other shapes.
I shall only indicate here a few kinds of specially garnished toast, and leave the thousand and one other kinds for the operator himself to discover.
Make the pieces of toast oval. Cover with anchovy butter, and place thereon, lattice-wise, some fillets of anchovy cut to the length of the toast. Garnish the pieces of toast all round [146] with the separately chopped whites and yolks of hard-boiled eggs, alternating the colours.
Make the pieces of toast round; cover with caviare butter; garnish the edges with a thread of softened butter, laid on by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe. Put fresh caviare in the centre.
Make the pieces of toast round; cover with shrimp butter, and garnish by means of a border composed of shelled shrimps’ tails with a caper in the centre.
Make the pieces of toast round, and cover with a thick coating of the following preparation, viz.:—Four oz. of fresh butter, softened; two oz. of fresh Gruyère and two oz. of Parmesan, both grated; a dessertspoonful of cream, and a little salt and cayenne. Cover this preparation with two half-discs, which when juxtaposed are equal in circumference to the round of the toast. The half-discs should be cut respectively from a Lyons sausage and a Gruyère cheese; both should be thin, and equal in thickness.
Prepare some slices of brown bread, equal in thickness to the toast; but only heat, do not grill them. Spread some horse-radish butter over them, and cover with alternate strips of smoked salmon, caviare, and filleted herrings marinaded in white wine. Now stamp the garnished slices with a sharp fancy-cutter, the shape of which is optional.
Make the pieces of toast crescented; cover with crayfish butter, deck the edges with a string of softened butter, and garnish with a crayfish’s tail, cut into two lengthwise. The two halves of the tail should be placed in the middle of each crescent, close together and with their thickest side innermost.
Prepare some slices of crumb of bread, equal in thickness, and toast them. Now garnish with a coating, half as thick [147] as the slices themselves, of mustard butter. Cover the butter with thin slices of very red, salted tongue, and let the butter harden.
Stamp out the pieces of toast with a star-shaped fancy-cutter, which should be dipped from time to time in boiling water in order to facilitate the operation. Finally, make a rosette of mustard butter in the middle of each piece of toast.
Make the pieces of toast oval, cover with mustard butter, and border their edges with a line of finely chopped and very red tongue. Garnish the middle of each with chopped white chicken-meat, and in the centre drop a pinch of chopped truffle.
These are very small éclairs of pâte à choux without sugar. When quite cold, garnish them inside with a purée, either of tongue, fowl, game, or foie gras, &c., then coat them thinly with a chaud-froid sauce in keeping with the purée forming the inside garnish.
When the sauce has cooled, glaze it, by means of a brush, with a little cold melted jelly, with a view to making it glossy.
N.B.—Carolines are also used as a garnish for certain cold preparations, aspics, &c.
Caviare is undoubtedly the richest and most delicate of hors-d’œuvres, granted, of course, that it be of good quality and consist of large, light-coloured, and transparent particles. Its price is always high, owing to the difficulty attending its importation. It is served very simply, either in a silver timbale or in its original receptacle, surrounded with ice, and accompanied by a dish of Blinis, whereof the preparation is as follows:—
Make a thin paste with one oz. of yeast and one lb. of sifted flour diluted with one pint of lukewarm milk. Leave this paste to ferment for two hours in a lukewarm atmosphere, and then add thereto one-half lb. of flour, the yolks of four eggs, a pinch of salt, one-half pint of tepid milk; mix the whole without letting it acquire any body, and finally add the whites of four eggs, whisked. Let the preparation ferment for half an hour, and, when about to serve, cook the Blinis quickly, after the manner of pancakes, in special little omelet-pans. Dish them up very hot on a napkin.
[148]
Failing fresh caviare, the pressed and salted kind may also
be used for hors-d’œuvres. Some cooks serve finely-chopped
onions with fresh caviare, but a worse practice could not be
imagined. Fresh caviare, the flavour of which is perfect, does
not need any supplementary condiment.
Take equal quantities of very tender celery sticks and peeled, quartered and cored russet apples. Finely mince the celery and apples, season with a mustard-and-cream sauce, and place on a hors-d’œuvre dish.
Select a few hearts of celery, very equal; trim, wash, and parboil them in acidulated water, as directed under “artichokes à la Grecque.” Prepare the cooking-liquor from the same ingredients, using the same quantities thereof, and cook similarly.
Serve very cold on a crystal hors-d’œuvre dish with a portion of the cooking-liquor.
Quarter, peel, and cut the vegetable in julienne fashion. Prepare the seasoning with mustard, salt, pepper, and vinegar; add the julienne of Celeriac and mix thoroughly. When the roots are quite soft, a seasoning consisting of mustard-and-cream sauce is preferable.
Select some very small and fresh cèpes. Parboil them for eight minutes, drain and cool them, put them into a basin, and cover them with the boiling marinade after having passed the latter through a strainer.
Marinade for Two lbs. of Cèpes.—Put into a saucepan one pint of vinegar, one-third pint of oil, a crushed clove of garlic, a fragment of bay, and a little thyme, six peppercorns, a pinch of coriander, a few fennel leaves, and a small root of parsley. Set to boil for five minutes. Leave the mushrooms to marinade for five or six hours before using them.
Take five lbs. of Morella cherries, put them into a bottle, as in the case of cherry brandy, and add thereto three cloves, a [149] fragment of cinnamon, some grated nutmeg, and a sprig of tarragon. Pour over the cherries two quarts of vinegar, boiled with one-half lb. of brown sugar and properly cooled. Cork the bottle, and leave the fruit to macerate for a fortnight.
Cook well-cleansed sheep’s or lamb’s brains in court-bouillon, and cool. Divide them up into thin and regular slices, and place them on a hors-d’œuvre dish. Rub the brain remains through a fine sieve, combine the resulting purée with a mustard-and-cream sauce, and add thereto a fine julienne of the white part only of celery.
Cover the slices of brain with the sauce.
Cut the cucumber to the shape of small cassolettes or barquettes, blanch and marinade them.
Garnish with a preparation composed of a purée of salmon mixed with fillets of herring and chopped, hard-boiled eggs in equal quantities.
Sprinkle a little chopped horse-radish over the garnish.
Prepare them as above, in the shape of small barquettes or cassolettes. Cook them, at the same time keeping them firm; marinade them for twenty minutes, when they are quite cold, in oil and vinegar, and garnish them, by means of a piping-bag, either with a thick purée, some mince-meat thickened with mayonnaise, or a small vegetable macédoine, &c.
Carefully peel the cucumbers, cut them into two lengthwise, remove their seeds, and mince finely. Place them in a bowl, sprinkle with table-salt, and leave them to exude their vegetable moisture for twenty-five minutes. This done, drain them, press them in a towel, season with pepper, oil, and vinegar, and add some chopped chervil.
Select some very fresh, medium-sized cucumbers, peel them, and cut them into pieces two inches in length. Cut these pieces spirally, beginning at their peripheries and working towards their centres; then cut them diametrally, so as to produce curved [150] strips of the vegetable. Add an equal quantity of pimentos cut into strips, and season as in the case of cucumber salad.
Cut slices from a York ham as thinly as possible, and trim them to the shape of triangles. Roll the triangles into cones, and garnish their insides (by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe) with any butter or cream. (See Nos. 280 to 299.)
Proceed as for York Cones.
Prepare a hors-d’œuvre cream in accordance with any one of the recipes (Nos. 294 to 299). Put this cream into very small, slightly-oiled, and ornamented moulds, and leave it to set in the cool or on ice. Empty the moulds, at the moment of dishing up, either directly upon a dish, on tartlets garnished with a purée in keeping with the cream, or on toast. With these moulded creams, endless varieties of delicate and recommendable little hors-d’œuvres may be prepared, while in their preparation the moulds used in pastry for “petits fours” may serve a useful purpose.
Get these very fresh and serve them on boat-shaped hors-d’œuvre dishes, arranging them so that they overlap one another. Either garnish the middle of the dishes with curled-leaf parsley, or lay the crustacean directly upon parsley.
This hors-d’œuvre is almost equivalent to the Carolines (No. 325), except that the shape of the Duchesses is that of little choux, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, and that, as a rule, they are merely glazed with some melted jelly, and not covered with a chaud-froid sauce. Sprinkle them with chopped pistachios, and serve them very cold on ornamented dish-papers.
Stuff the little choux, referred to above, with crayfish purée, and sprinkle them, again and again, with cold, melted jelly, in order to cover them with a transparent film.
Stuff the little choux with a purée of fowl with cream. Glaze with jelly, as above, and sprinkle some very black, finely-chopped truffles over the jelly.
Stuff the little choux with a purée of fowl, completed with pistachio butter. Glaze with jelly, and sprinkle a little chopped pistachio upon each little chou.
Stuff with fresh caviare or caviare cream. Glaze with jelly and serve iced.
Stuff the little choux with a purée of smoked salmon and butter, and glaze them with a maigre jelly.
Stuff the choux with a purée of Kilkis and butter, and glaze with jelly.
These are little éclairs stuffed with a purée made from the entrails of woodcock with champagne. The purée is buttered and slightly seasoned. Cover the éclairs with a brown chaud-froid sauce, mask them with game jelly, and serve them, iced, on ornamented dish-papers.
Prepare them in accordance with the recipes “à la nage” or “à la marinière,” and serve them very cold.
Fry some well-dried and floured smelts in oil; as soon as this is done, put them in a deep dish or a bowl. Add to the oil, per pint (which quantity should be allowed for every two lbs. of the fish), eight unpeeled garlic-cloves, an onion, and a carrot cut into thin, round slices, all of which vegetables should be slightly fried. Drain off the oil, moisten with one-quarter pint of vinegar and as much water, and season with a little salt, two small pimentos, a small bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, and a few parsley stalks. Dip the smelts for twelve [152] minutes in this marinade, and transfer them to the dish, where they may be left to marinade for twenty-four hours.
Serve very cold with a portion of the marinade.
Same process as for artichokes and celery à la Grecque.
Place them on a layer of very green leaves, and surround them with broken ice.
If in the form of a sausage, cut it into thin slices. If potted, shape it into little shells, after the manner in which butter is sometimes served, only a little smaller. In all cases serve it iced, and as soon as it is ready.
I adopted the above term for those small, light, and elegant little preparations, the radical types whereof are barquettes and tartlets, which often take the place of hors-d’œuvres on a menu. The term seems plain, clear, and explicit, and no other could denote more happily this series of trifles which constitute mere gewgaws of the dining-table.
For various reasons, I thought it best, in the past, to substitute the mythological name “Nymphs” for the more vulgar term “Frogs” on menus, and the former has been universally adopted, more particularly in reference to the following “Chaud-froid à l’Aurore”:—
Poach the frogs’ legs in an excellent white-wine court-bouillon. When cooled, trim them properly, dry them thoroughly in a piece of fine linen, and steep them, one after the other, in a chaud-froid sauce of fish with paprika, the tint of which should be golden. This done, arrange the treated legs on a layer of champagne jelly, which should have set beforehand on the bottom of a square, silver dish or crystal bowl. Now lay some chervil pluches and tarragon leaves between the legs in imitation of water-grasses, and cover the whole with champagne jelly to counterfeit the effect of water.
Send the dish to the table, set in a block of ice, fashioned as fancy may suggest.
Remove the fillets whole; take off the skins; set to soak and then trim them. Dish, and cover them with the following sauce:—Add the purée of eight soft roes, moistened with two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, to four tablespoonfuls of mayonnaise. Season with onion, parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon, all finely chopped; flavour moderately with cayenne.
For twelve herrings, put one pint of white wine into a saucepan, with one-quarter pint of vinegar, an onion cut into thin slices, half a carrot cut into grooved roundels, a faggot, the necessary salt, and a few peppercorns. Set to boil gently for twenty minutes.
Place the cleaned herrings in a sauté-pan, pour the boiling marinade upon them, and let them poach for fifteen minutes.
Serve them very cold with the marinade, the roundels of carrot, and thin strips of onion.
Raise the fillets from fine salted herrings, soak them first in cold water, and then in milk for an hour.
Prepare a sauce as follows:—Beat up the yolks of two eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper and one tablespoonful of mustard; add five tablespoonfuls of oil and two of vinegar, proceeding as in the case of mayonnaise, and complete with shallots and one dessertspoonful of chopped chervil and gherkins. Season with cayenne, immerse the drained and dried fillets of herrings in this sauce, and send them to the table on a hors-d’œuvre dish.
Take some fine salted herrings’ fillets, clean them, and cut them into dice. Place these in a bowl, and add thereto, in equal quantities, some cold, boiled potatoes and russet apples cut into dice, parsley, chervil, and chopped fennel and tarragon. Season with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper; make the preparation into shapes resembling herrings, and place the heads and tails, which should have been put aside for the purpose, at each extremity of every supposed herring.
Cut some fine, cleaned fillets of salted herrings into thin slices. Dish up, and alternate the rows of sliced fillets with [154] rows of sliced, cold, boiled potatoes. Season with oil and vinegar, and finish up with chopped chervil, fennel, tarragon, and shallots.
These hors-d’œuvres can only be served at their best in the months of September and October, when the first shoals of herrings begin to appear. Dutch fishermen know of a means of salting and marinading this fish, which greatly increases its value, and it is not unusual to pay as much as two or three shillings for one in the early part of the season. They can only be kept a few days, but they form an excellent dish, and their flavour is exquisite. Before serving them, it is only needful to skin them, whereupon they may be dished up with a little chopped parsley. Send a bowl of French beans to the table with them, the vegetables having been freshly cooked, kept somewhat firm, buttered, and not cooled. Some cooks serve the beans cold, in the form of a salad, but as a rule they are preferred hot with butter, while the herrings should be very cold.
The best oysters to be had are those of Whitstable, Colchester, Burnham, and Zeeland. The green, French Marennes, which might equal the above, are not favoured by everyone on account of their colour. Ostend oysters are also excellent, but they are neither as delicate nor as fleshy as the English ones.
Oysters are the dish par excellence; their delicacy satisfies the most fastidious of epicures, and they are so easily digested that the most delicate invalid can partake of them freely. With the exception of caviare, they are the only hors-d’œuvres which should ever appear on the menu of a well-ordered dinner.
Oysters ought to be served very cold; hence the prevailing custom of dishing them on ice. In England they are served plain on the flat half of the shell, whereas in France and elsewhere they are left in the hollow half, which is better calculated to retain the natural liquor of the oyster, held in high esteem by many. Send some slices of brown bread and butter to the table with the oysters.
The various methods of treating oysters will be given hereafter in the chapter dealing with fish. I have given them merely because consumers and caterers alike may wish to have them; but the real and best way of serving oysters is to send them to the table raw.
This is served like smoked breast of goose, cut, raw, into thin and even slices.
Melon makes an excellent hors-d’œuvre for summer luncheons. It should be just ripe, and have a nice perfume. Serve it as fresh as possible.
The English variety of melons is inferior in quality to the French.
Their shape is oval, their peel is yellow, thin, and smooth, and their pulp, which is white, more nearly resembles the water-melon than the melon in flavour.
Select a Cantaloup or other melon of the same kind as the former, and let it be just ripe. Make a round incision about the stalk, three inches in diameter; withdraw the plug thus cut, and through the resulting hole thoroughly remove all the pips by means of a silver spoon.
Now pour one-half pint of best Port, Marsala, or Sherry into the melon, replace the plug, and keep the melon for two or three hours in a cooler surrounded by broken ice. Do not cut the melon into slices when serving it. It should be taken to the table, whole, and then the piece containing the stalk is withdrawn and the fruit is cut into shell-like slices with a silver spoon, and served with a little of the accompanying wine upon iced plates.
France produces a large variety of melons, of which the principal kinds are the Sucrins of Tours, the St. Laud melon, the black melons of the Carmes, &c. They are all excellent, and are served like the Cantaloups.
This is a typically luxurious hors-d’œuvre. Cook some little tartlet crusts for hors-d’œuvre (No. 387). When about to dish up, garnish these with a tablespoonful of fine, fresh caviare; make a hollow in the latter and place therein a fine Whitstable oyster (cleared of its beard), seasoned with a little powdered pepper and a drop of lemon-juice.
Cut it into the thinnest possible slices, and garnish with very green parsley.
Olives of all kinds are suitable for hors-d’œuvres, and they are served plain. Three or four varieties are known, all of which are excellent, provided they be fleshy, firm, very green, and moderately salted.
For this purpose, select large Spanish olives and stone them, either by cutting them spirally, or by means of a special machine. In the place of the stone, put one of the butters or creams for hors-d’œuvres (Nos. 280 to 299). Before serving these olives, it is well to let them rest awhile in a moderately warm atmosphere. For, since stuffed olives are generally kept in the cool, immersed in oil with which they become thoroughly saturated, it follows that the moment they are put into contact with a slightly higher temperature they will exude that oil. Wherefore, if the above precaution were not observed, by the time the olives reached the table they would, more often than not, be swimming in oil, when they would be neither nice nor appetising.
Though the lapwing and the plover are different in respect of their plumage, they are, nevertheless, birds of similar habits and haunts, and their eggs are remarkably alike. The latter, which are a little larger than pigeons’ eggs, have a light-green shell covered with black spots.
When cooked, the albuminous portions acquire a milky colour, and never assume the solidity of the whites of other eggs.
When served as a hors-d’œuvre, these eggs are always boiled hard. Put them in a saucepan of cold water, and leave them to cook for eight minutes after the boil is reached. Cool them, shell their pointed ends, and serve them in a nest composed of watercress or curled-leaf parsley.
N.B.—Test the freshness of the eggs before boiling them by plunging them in a bowl of cold water. If they float, their freshness is doubtful, and they should be discarded.
Decorate a border-mould according to taste, and let a thin coating of very clear aspic jelly set on the bottom of the utensil. Besprinkle the articles used in decorating with a few drops of melted jelly, in order to keep them from shifting; then cover them with a few tablespoonfuls of jelly, and let it set. On this coating of jelly arrange the shelled, hard-boiled lapwings’ eggs with their points downwards, so that they may appear upright when the aspic is withdrawn from the mould. Fill up the mould by means of successive layers of melted jelly.
When about to serve, dip the mould into hot water; quickly wipe it, and then turn the aspic out on to a folded napkin lying on a dish.
Boil the eggs soft; mould them in dariole-moulds, coated with jelly, and garnished in Chartreuse fashion. Heap a vegetable-salad, thickened with mayonnaise, in the middle of the dish, and place the eggs removed from their moulds all round.
Cook the eggs as above; shell them; slice a piece off their thicker ends to make them stand, and arrange them on a dish, placing them upon little tartlet-crusts, garnished with a foie-gras purée.
For twelve eggs put two tablespoonfuls of foie-gras purée in a small saucepan; add thereto one tablespoonful of chopped truffles and as much melted jelly, the latter with a view to making the preparation more liquid. Take some of this preparation in a tablespoon and pour it over the eggs, taking care that each of these gets well covered with it. Let the coating set in the cool, and dish up the tartlets on a napkin, arranging them in the form of a circle with curled-leaf parsley as a centre-garnish.
Boil the eggs hard; cool and shell them. Prepare as many tartlet-crusts as there are eggs. When dishing up, garnish the tartlets with a coffeespoonful of caviare, and place one egg in the middle of each.
With hard-boiled eggs for base, a large number of hors-d’œuvres may be made. I shall limit myself to a few only, which, by means of a small change in their form, garnish, or ornamentation, may be varied at will:—
Egg Discs.—Cut the eggs laterally into roundels one-third inch in thickness, and discard the two end-pieces of each egg, in order that the shapes may be almost uniform, and that the yolks may appear about the same size throughout. In the centre of each roundel make a little rosette of butter, by means of a small, grooved pipe. Different butters, such as the Shrimp, Montpellier, Caviare, and other kinds, may be used with the view of varying the colours.
Halved, Stuffed Eggs.—Take some very small, hard-boiled eggs; cut them into two, lengthwise; remove the yolks, and trim the oval hollow of each of the remaining whites to the shape of an oblong, the edges of which may then be indented.
Garnish, either with a purée of tunny, salmon, milt, &c., or a hash or salpicon of lobster, shrimp, &c., thickened by means of a mayonnaise with jelly, or a fine macédoine of vegetables with mayonnaise, or a purée composed of the withdrawn yolks combined with a little butter, some cold Béchamel sauce, and herbs.
Quartered, Stuffed Eggs.—The simplest way of doing this is to proceed as above; to stuff the halved white with a buttered purée, or a purée mixed with jelly, to leave the stuffing to set, and then to cut the halves in two.
Salad of Eggs.—With alternate rows of sliced eggs and either tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, or beetroot, and a salad-seasoning composed of oil and vinegar or cream, a dozen different salads may be prepared, each of which constitutes an excellent hors-d’œuvre.
For this hors-d’œuvre use the ready-made pâte, which is obtained either in pots or crusts. Thoroughly set it by means of ice; turn it out of its receptacle, cut it into very small and thin slices, and arrange them on a hors-d’œuvre dish with a little broken jelly in the middle.
Grill the capsicum on a moderate fire until the skins are so scorched as to be easily removed.
[159]
Now cut them up julienne-fashion, and season with oil and
vinegar.
In the preparation of hors-d’œuvres by the kitchen, radishes are used chiefly as a garnish. When they constitute a hors-d’œuvre of themselves, their preparation is relegated to the pantry.
They are used especially in imitating the pendulous flowers of the fuchsia; sometimes, too, they are sliced and placed on cut cucumber to form a dish-border; but their uses in garnishing are as numerous as they are various.
These consist of divers kinds of fruit and of small onions and gherkins, prepared with vinegar, seasoned with sugar and cinnamon, and flavoured with cayenne.
They resemble what the Italians call “Aceto-dolce.” This hors-d’œuvre is accompanied by special cinnamon biscuits, and remains on the table throughout the meal.
Both these preparations, which belong to the province of the pork-butcher, may be found on the market.
The rillettes are served in their pots, and are always sent to the table very cold.
Select small ones, as far as possible. Place them in an oiled pan, and add peeled and concassed tomatoes, parsley-root, fennel, thyme, bay, a little garlic, peppercorns, coriander, and saffron, the latter being the dominating ingredient.
Cover the whole with white wine; salt moderately, set to boil, and then leave to poach on the side of the fire for twelve or eighteen minutes, in accordance with the size of the mullet.
Leave the fish to cool in their cooking-liquor, and serve them with a little of the latter and a few slices of peeled lemon.
The various kinds of sardines for hors-d’œuvres may be found on the market.
Salads for hors-d’œuvres may consist of an endless diversity of products, and their preparation varies so that it would be [160] impossible to prescribe fixed rules for the latter. I shall therefore restrict myself to saying merely that they should be made as light and as sightly as possible, in order that they may be in keeping with the general idea and purpose of hors-d’œuvre.
Cut these into very thin slices, and place them, one on top of the other, on a hors-d’œuvre dish, in the form of a crown, with a sprig of curled-leaf parsley in the middle. They may also be laid flat upon a litter of parsley.
Cut these up and arrange them like the Salami.
Cut into thin roundels and dish up with chopped aspic jelly as a centre-garnish.
Cut into triangular, thin slices; roll these into cones, and arrange in the form of a crown with curled-leaf parsley in the middle.
These are smoked sardines. Select the very fleshy ones, for there exist many kinds, a few of which are dry and quite flavourless.
In order to prepare them, suppress the heads and remove or leave on the skins, in accordance with the consumer’s taste. Put them on a dish with some finely-chopped shallots, chopped parsley, and oil and vinegar, using a very little of each ingredient. Leave them to marinade for five or six hours, taking care to turn them over from time to time so as to thoroughly saturate them with the marinade.
These articles play an important part in the service of hors-d’œuvres, and represent the class I designated under the name of Frivolities.
The garnishes suitable for tartlets are likewise used with barquettes, the latter only differing from the former in their shape. The directions which follow below, and which should be carefully noted, apply equally to both.
[161]
Special Paste for Tartlets and Barquettes.—Sift one lb. of
flour on to a mixing-board; make a hole in the centre, into
which put one-eighth oz. of salt, one-half lb. of cold, melted
butter, one egg, the yolks of two, and a few drops of water.
Mix the whole into a paste, handling it as little as possible;
roll it into a ball, and put it aside in the cool for two hours.
The Preparation of Tartlet- and Barquette-crusts.—Roll out the paste to the thickness of one-eighth inch, and stamp it with an indented fancy-cutter into pieces of the same size as the tartlet-moulds to be used, which in this case are the same as for “petits fours,” and, therefore, very small.
The fancy-cutter should be round for tartlets, and oval for barquettes. Lay the paste in the moulds, prick the parts lying on the bottom, lest they should blister, garnish the insides with pieces of kitchen-paper to protect the paste, and fill them with rice or flour. Bake in a moderate oven; remove the rice or flour, the sole object of which was to preserve the shape of the tartlets or barquettes; turn the latter out of their moulds, and set them to cool.
The Garnishes of Tartlets and Barquettes.—These may be divided into two classes, viz., (1) those with a compound butter for base, (2) those with an aspic jelly base.
The first class comprises all the garnishes I gave for Canapés and Toast, as also all those which the operator’s fancy, taste, and inventiveness may devise.
The second class generally consists of a layer, on the bottom, of some kind of mousse, upon which a whole piece of a different colour from the mousse is placed, and which is then coated with a very clear jelly.
Example.—Garnish the bottom of a tartlet or barquette with a coating of pink, shrimp, crayfish or lobster mousse. Upon this lay a very white poached oyster, or a slice of hard-boiled egg, stamped with an indented fancy-cutter. In the centre of the yolk put a little lobster coral, and coat the whole with jelly to the level of the tartlet edges.
The explanations given above warrant my refraining from a more detailed discussion of these delicate preparations. Sufficient has been said to allow of any operator, with a little taste and inventiveness, easily making an endless variety of combinations.
This is found on the market, and it may be served as it stands. It is very greatly used as a garnish for hors-d’œuvres.
Lay alternate slices of tunny and tomato upon a hors-d’œuvre dish, and between each slice lay a thin round of onion. Garnish the edge of the dish with a border composed of sliced potato, and sprinkle the whole with an ordinary salad seasoning.
Select some about the size of a walnut, and peel them carefully. Press them in a piece of linen, and set them to marinade for half an hour in oil and vinegar. Then stick a small piece of parsley stalk into each tomato, in imitation of the stalk, and surround it with little leaves made from green butter by means of a small piping-bag.
Select some firm, medium-sized tomatoes, and cut them into thin slices. Put them into a dish with salt, pepper, oil, and a few drops of vinegar, and leave them to marinade for twenty minutes. Then arrange them on a hors-d’œuvre dish, garnishing the border with fine rings of onion.
Select some small tomatoes about the size of walnuts, and cut a slice from each in the region of the stalk. Squeeze out all their water and seeds, and marinade them, inside, for twenty minutes. Prepare a mince of tunny with oil, and add thereto, per two oz. of the fish, half a tablespoonful of finely-chopped onion, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, chervil, and tarragon, and a small, hard-boiled egg, also chopped.
Thicken the whole with a tablespoonful of thick mayonnaise; put it into a bag fitted with a smooth, medium-sized pipe, and garnish the tomatoes with the preparation, using enough of the latter to form a kind of dome upon each tomato.
Use medium-sized tomatoes, somewhat firm and with very smooth skins. Peel them and empty them, and then fill them, either with a fish purée cleared with jelly, or with a macédoine of vegetables thickened by means of a mayonnaise with jelly. Place on ice for half an hour, and cut the tomatoes into regular quarters. The tomatoes may also be cut into four, previous to stuffing them, whereupon they may, with the help [163] of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, be filled with one of the compound butters.
Select some very small trout, clean and dress them, and poach them in a white-wine court-bouillon (No. 164) to which vinegar has been added in the proportion of one-third of its volume.
Leave the fish to cool in the liquor, and dish up with a few tablespoonfuls of the latter, placing some thin, grooved slices of lemon upon the fish.
Of all the products put into requisition by the art of cookery, not one is so fruitful of variety, so universally liked, and so complete in itself as the egg. There are very few culinary recipes that do not include eggs, either as a principal constituent or as an ingredient.
The many and various egg-preparations constitute chiefly breakfast or luncheon dishes; nevertheless, at a Lenten dinner they may be served as entrées with advantage, for, at a time when fish, shell-fish and water-game are the only resources in this respect, eggs form a pleasant and welcome change.
Eggs cooked in this way derive all their quality from the way in which the cooking process is conducted. They must be evenly cooked, on top and underneath, and should remain soft. An important condition of the process is that the eggs should be exceedingly fresh. After having heated sufficient butter in the dish to cover the whole of the bottom, break two eggs into it, baste the yolks with a little very hot butter, salt them slightly, and push them into the oven. As soon as the white of the eggs assumes a milky-white colour, they are cooked and should be withdrawn from the oven to be served immediately.
Great attention should be bestowed upon the cooking process, a few seconds more or less than the required time being sufficient to spoil the eggs. Special care ought to be taken that they do not cook either too much or too quickly, for it should be remembered that, even were the cooking checked before the proper time, the heat of the dish does, to a certain extent, make good the deficiency.
Eggs à la poêle, which, in England, are called “fried eggs,” are a variety of eggs on the dish, very often served on toast, or accompanied by sausages or fried bacon. They are [165] cooked in an omelet-pan, trimmed neatly with a fancy-cutter, and placed, by means of a spatula, upon the prepared toast.
About one-half oz. of butter should be allowed for every two eggs, which number constitutes the working-base of the following recipes.
Put half of the butter to be used in a dish; let it melt, break the eggs, taking care not to burst the yolks; baste the latter with the rest of the butter, and season. Cook as directed—that is to say, until the whites are quite done and the yolks are glossy. Garnish with a small, grilled sausage, placed between the yolks, and surround with a thread of tomato sauce.
There are two methods: (1) Cook the eggs in a dish as usual, and then cover them with one-quarter oz. of brown butter and a few drops of vinegar, which should be added after the butter.
(2) Put one-half oz. of butter into a small omelet-pan, and cook it until it is almost black. Break the eggs into it, season, cook, tilt them gently on to a dish, and besprinkle with a few drops of vinegar, with which the omelet-pan has been rinsed.
Cook the eggs as per No. 395. This done, garnish on either side with a tablespoonful of sliced chicken’s liver, rapidly sautéd and cohered with a little Chasseur sauce.
Cook the eggs in the omelet-pan; turn them, after the manner of pancakes, taking care lest they break. Slide them gently into a dish, and besprinkle them with brown butter and a few drops of vinegar with which the omelet-pan has been rinsed.
Garnish the bottom of a dish with spinach-leaves stewed in butter; sprinkle thereon two pinches of grated cheese; break the eggs upon this garnish, and cover them with two tablespoonfuls of Mornay sauce. Place in a fierce oven, so that the cooking and glazing of the eggs may be effected simultaneously.
Put a tablespoonful of very hot Mornay sauce into a dish. Break the eggs into it, cover them with Mornay sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese mixed with fine raspings, and cook in a fierce oven, in order that the eggs and the gratin may be done at the same time.
Cook the eggs according to No. 395. Place between them, and all round the dish, some small, halved tomatoes à la Provençale. Put in the centre of each halved tomato a fine chicken’s liver sautéd with Madeira.
Cook the eggs in an omelet-pan; tilt them gently on to a dish, and trim them with a round fancy-cutter. Place each egg upon a round, thin piece of toast, and then cover them with foie-gras purée. Arrange them in the form of a crown, on a dish, and pour into the middle a garnish of calf’s kidneys cut into dice and sautéd, and truffles similarly cut, the latter being cohered by means of some dense half-glaze.
Cook the eggs in an omelet-pan, and cut them with a round fancy-cutter. Place each egg on a slice of raw ham, cut to the same shape as the former, and fried in butter. Then place the egg and ham on toast similarly shaped and of the same size. Arrange the eggs in a circle round the dish, and garnish the middle of it with macaroni combined with concassed tomatoes stewed in butter.
Cook the eggs as in No. 395. Place a small, grilled sheep’s or lamb’s kidney between each yolk, and surround with a thread of Périgueux sauce.
Substitute for ordinary butter, anchovy butter. Break the eggs and cook them. Surround each yolk with anchovy fillets, and garnish each of these with a spray of parboiled tarragon leaves. Place a large olive stuffed with tarragon butter on either side of the yolks.
Garnish a dish with a large tablespoonful of minced onions cooked in butter and unbrowned. Break the eggs over the garnish, sprinkle them with a small tablespoonful of dry, grated Parmesan cheese, and cook in a sufficiently fierce oven for a slight gratin to form as soon as the eggs are done.
Bake some fine Dutch potatoes in the oven. Open them, from above, with an oval fancy-cutter; remove the pulp from the inside, rub it through a sieve, and make a smooth purée of it. Half-fill the potato-shells with this purée, break an egg into each, besprinkle with cream, and cook in the oven. Replace the part of the baked shell removed in the first instance, and dish up on a napkin.
Put a tablespoonful of tomato fondue into a dish. Break the eggs upon this, season, and cook. Between the eggs and at each end of the dish put a little heap of tomato fondue, and on each of the heaps drop a pinch of chopped parsley.
Cook the eggs in an omelet-pan, and trim them with a round fancy-cutter. Put each egg upon a small disc of Duchesse potatoes, of the same size as the egg, previously browned in the oven. Arrange the eggs in a circle round the dish; in the middle put a chicken mincemeat, and surround with a border of Suprême sauce.
All the recipes given hereafter apply equally to poached and soft-boiled eggs, wherefore I shall only mention “poached” in the titles, leaving soft-boiled to be understood.
The one and only essential condition in this case is the use of perfectly fresh eggs, for it is quite impossible to expect an even poaching if this condition is not fulfilled.
(1) Have ready a sauté-pan containing boiling salted water (one-third oz. of salt per quart of water), slightly acidulated with vinegar. Break the eggs over that part of the water which is actually boiling.
[168]
(2) In order that the eggs may poach freely, do not put more
than eight or ten at a time into the same sauté-pan; better even
poach them six at a time, for then the poaching will be effected
more equally.
(3) As soon as the eggs are in the water, let the latter simmer. The egg is poached when the white has enveloped the yolk, reassuming, as it were, the form of a raw egg, and when it may be touched without breaking. The usual time allowed for poaching is three minutes.
(4) Withdraw the eggs by means of a slice; dip them into cold water, trim their whites, and put them back into moderately warm water until ready to serve.
These ought to be very fresh, as in the case of poached eggs. With a view to equalising their cooking, it is a good plan to put them in a colander perforated with large holes, whereby they may be plunged into and withdrawn from the water together. Keep the water boiling; plunge the eggs therein as directed; leave them to cook for six minutes from the time the water has regained the boiling-point; drain, steep for a moment in a bowl of cold water, and shell the eggs carefully. Keep them in moderately-salted hot water until ready to serve.
There are many ways of doing this, viz.:—
(1) On rusks of bread-crumb, slightly hollowed, ornamented according to taste (i.e., indented by means of the point of a small knife) and fried in clarified butter. Their shape is oval for poached eggs, and round for soft-boiled eggs, the latter being generally dished upright.
(2) On little, oval feuilletés for poached eggs, on feuilletés in the shape of indented crowns, or in small patties for soft-boiled eggs.
(3) In borders of forcemeat or other preparations, the kind of which is indicated by the name of the particular egg-preparation. These borders are laid on the dish by means of a piping-bag or by hand; they are either oval or round, plain or indented, poached or oven-browned, according to the nature of the preparation used.
(4) On tartlet-crusts which are garnished so as to be in keeping with the method of dressing the eggs.
[169]
Remarks.—(1) Poached or soft-boiled eggs, when dished
upon fried rusks, feuilletés, or tartlets, should, before being
placed on the latter, be covered with sauce. Also before being
treated with sauce they should be well drained.
(2) Having given the general outlines of the procedure, I shall now pass on to the particular recipes, stating them briefly, and reminding the reader that all of them apply equally to poached and soft-boiled eggs. Thus “Poached Eggs Mireille” stands for “Poached or Soft-boiled Eggs Mireille.”
Garnish the bottom of some tartlet-crusts with asparagus cut into pieces and cooked, and six green asparagus-heads, about one and one-half inches in length, arranged like a star. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce mixed with half its volume of asparagus purée, upon each tartlet.
Coat the eggs with Aurora sauce, and dish them on oval feuilletés if poached, or upright on feuilletés in the shape of rings if soft-boiled.
Bake some fine Dutch potatoes in the oven. Cut each potato in half, lengthwise, with the point of a small knife, and remove the pulp. Emptied in this way, the halved potatoes resemble little cradles. Coat the interior of each cradle with a fine chicken mincemeat mixed with cream, and place an egg coated with Aurora sauce in each.
Garnish the bottom of some tartlet-crusts with a salpicon of foie-gras and truffles cohered with a few tablespoonfuls of the following sauce:—For six eggs, dissolve one teaspoonful of white-meat glaze; add thereto half a teaspoonful of truffle essence, and finish with a lump of butter about the size of a pigeon’s egg. Take enough of this sauce to effect the cohering of the salpicon; coat the eggs with Hungarian sauce, and place one upon each garnished tartlet.
Garnish the tartlets with a white-chicken-meat, foie-gras, and truffle salpicon cohered with poultry velouté. Coat the eggs with a reduced and thickened poultry gravy.
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with braised, minced endives thickened with cream. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce, upon each; sprinkle moderately with biscotte raspings, and set to glaze quickly in a fierce oven.
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with small, green peas, cooked à la française (No. 2193), and mixed with finely ciseled lettuce which should have cooked with them. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce which has been finished with fresh-pea butter, upon each.
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with a macédoine cohered with Béchamel. Place a plainly-poached egg upon each, and send Colbert butter, separately, to the table with the tartlets.
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with white asparagus purée. Place an egg coated with Allemande sauce upon each, and sprinkle with very black chopped truffles.
There are two modes of procedure:—(a) Place the eggs on fried rusks, with a nice slice of truffle on each; arrange them in a circle round the dish, coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze in a fierce oven. On withdrawing the dish from the oven, put in the centre a garnish composed of asparagus-heads and a small faggot of the latter, very green and cooked. (b) Prepare a croustade, moulded in a flawn ring, the size of which must be in proportion to the number of eggs to be served. Arrange the eggs in a circle in the croustade, coat them with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze in a fierce oven. On withdrawing the croustade from the oven, garnish its centre with asparagus-heads and a small faggot as above.
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with a Soubise à la Béchamel, slightly thickened by reduction. Coat the eggs with Mornay sauce, besprinkle with grated cheese, and place them in the crusts by means of a slice.
Set to glaze in a fierce oven, and, on withdrawing the dish [171] from the oven, surround the crusts with a thread of melted meat-glaze.
Heat some medium-sized artichoke-bottoms in butter. Slightly hollow them, if necessary, and garnish each with a tablespoonful of Béarnaise sauce. Place an egg, coated with tomato sauce, upon each artichoke-bottom; then place a slice of poached marrow upon each egg, and a little chopped parsley upon each slice of marrow.
Slightly press some saffroned pilaff rice in buttered tartlet moulds.
Prepare as many pieces of toast of the same size as the tartlets, and fry them in oil. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce, finished with saffron, upon each. Turn the rice-tartlets out of the moulds, and arrange them in a circle on a dish, alternating them with the eggs on toast; put a coffeespoonful of concassed tomatoes, stewed in butter and kept rather thick, upon each rice-tartlet.
Coat the eggs with Mornay sauce, and besprinkle with grated Gruyère and Parmesan cheese mixed with fine raspings. Then, by means of a slice, carefully transfer the eggs to pieces of toast fried in oil. Arrange them in a circle on a dish, sprinkle each egg with a few drops of melted butter, and set to glaze quickly in a fierce oven.
Place the eggs upon toast fried in butter. Arrange them in a circle on a dish, and coat them with Châteaubriand sauce.
Garnish some tartlet-crusts, each with a slice of foie gras (raw if possible) seasoned, dredged with flour, and fried in butter. Place an egg, coated with thickened veal gravy with Madeira, on each tartlet, and complete by means of a large slice of very black truffle on each egg.
Prepare some thin rusks; fry them in clarified butter, and stuff them with a mince of braised lettuce. Place an egg on [172] each stuffed rusk; coat with velouté mixed with poultry essence; arrange in a circle on a dish, and complete by means of a ring of very black truffle on each egg.
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with a salpicon made from three oz. of spiny-lobster meat and one-half oz. of truffles, cohered with three tablespoonfuls of Diplomate sauce. Place an egg, coated with Diplomate sauce, on each tartlet. Dish, and set to glaze in a fierce oven.
These eggs may either be poached with red wine, or in the ordinary way.
In the first case, the wine used for poaching may serve to prepare the red wine or Bordelaise sauce (No. 32). In either case, the eggs are dished on oval rusks, slightly hollowed and fried in butter; they are coated with the sauce, after having been dished, and they are quickly glazed.
Boiling eggs hard may seem an insignificant matter, but, like the other modes of procedure, it is, in reality, of some importance, and should be effected in a given period of time. If, for a special purpose, they have to be just done, it is pointless and even harmful to boil them beyond a certain time-limit, seeing that any excess in the boiling only makes them tough, and the whites particularly so, owing to their albuminous nature. In order to boil eggs uniformly, they should be put into a colander with large holes, whereby they may be plunged at the same moment of time into the boiling water. From the time the water regains the boiling point, eight minutes should be allowed in the case of medium-sized eggs, and ten minutes in the case of larger ones; but these times should never be exceeded. As soon as they are done drain the eggs and dip them in cold water, and then shell them carefully.
Have ready beforehand a timbale crust (No. 2394), somewhat shallow.
For six hard-boiled eggs, slice four artichoke-bottoms of medium size, and stew them in butter; cut some truffles into slices, allowing four slices to each egg, and cut up the eggs [173] into discs about one-half inch thick. Prepare also in advance one-half pint of Nantua sauce.
Garnish the crust with alternate layers of sliced artichoke-bottoms, egg-discs, and sliced truffles. Finish with a coating of sauce and a ring of sliced truffles.
Dish up the crust on a napkin.
Cut the eggs, lengthwise, in two. Remove the yolks, pound them into a paste, and add thereto an equal quantity of dry Duxelle (No. 223). Fill the empty whites with the preparation; place them on a buttered gratin-dish; cover them with Mornay sauce; besprinkle with grated cheese; pour a few drops of melted butter upon the sauce, and set to glaze in a fierce oven.
Cut the eggs into small dice (white and yolks). Per six eggs add five oz. of cooked mushrooms and one oz. of truffles, cut into dice.
Thicken the whole with one-quarter pint of reduced Béchamel, and spread on a plate to cool.
When cold, divide the preparation into portions weighing about two oz.; roll these portions into balls on a floured mixing-board, and then shape them like eggs. Dip them into an anglaise (No. 174), taking care to cover them well with it, and then roll them in fine and fresh bread-crumbs, letting this operation avail for finishing off the shape. Put them into hot fat seven or eight minutes before dishing up; drain, salt moderately, place on a napkin, with a centre garnish of very green, fried parsley, and send a cream sauce to the table with them.
Make a preparation of eggs, as for the croquettes, using a little more sauce. Roll some puff-paste trimmings to a thickness of one-quarter inch, and stamp it with a round indented cutter two and one-half inches in diameter.
Place a small tablespoonful of the preparation in the middle of each piece of paste; moisten slightly all round, and make the rissoles by folding the outside edges of the paste over one another to look like a closed purse, taking care to press them well together so as to join them, thus completely enclosing the preparation. Treat them à l’anglaise; put them into hot fat [174] eight minutes before serving, and dish up on a napkin, with a centre garnish of parsley.
For six eggs, finely mince two onions, and stew them in butter, without letting them acquire any colour. Add thereto one-half pint of Béchamel sauce, and set to cook gently for ten minutes. A few minutes before serving add the eggs, cut into large slices, to the sauce.
Dish up in a timbale.
For six eggs chop up two large onions and stew them in butter without colouration. Sprinkle them with one-half oz. of flour, moisten with one pint of boiling milk, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Set to cook, gently, for twenty minutes; rub through a fine sieve or through tammy, and transfer the preparation to a saucepan, and heat it well. Dish up the eggs, which should be quartered, in a timbale, and cover them with the preparation of onions, very hot.
The poaching of eggs en cocotte is done in the bain-marie.
Cocottes for eggs, which may be replaced by little china or plaited cases, are a kind of small saucepan in earthenware, in porcelain, or in silver, provided with a little handle. The time generally allowed for the cooking or poaching of eggs in this way is ten minutes, but this time is subject to variations either way. In order to accelerate the process I should advise the warming of the cocottes before the insertion of the eggs.
Mode of Procedure.—Having garnished the cocottes and broken the eggs into them, as directed in the recipes given hereafter, set them in a sauté-pan and pour therein enough boiling water to reach within one-half inch of the brims of the cocottes. Place in the oven and cover, just leaving sufficient opening for the steam to escape.
The eggs are done when the whites are almost set and the yolks are glossy. After having properly wiped the cocottes, dish them on a napkin or on a fancy dish-paper.
Prepare a red-wine sauce au Chambertin. Fill the cocottes, one-third full, with this sauce. Set to boil on a corner of the [175] stove; break the eggs into the boiling sauce, season with a grain of salt, and put the cocottes, one by one, into a sauté-pan containing the necessary quantity of boiling water.
Poach as directed, and set to glaze quickly at the last moment.
This preparation constitutes the radical type of this series of eggs, and, for a long time, was the only one in use. Heat the cocottes beforehand; pour a tablespoonful of boiling cream into each, followed by an egg, broken; season, and add two little lumps of butter, the size of peas. Place the cocottes in a bain-marie, and poach as before.
Garnish the bottom and the sides of the cocottes with a thickness of one-third inch of chicken-forcemeat with cream, mixed with a fifth of its volume of foie gras. Break the egg over the middle, season, and poach in the usual way. When about to serve, surround the eggs with a thread of poultry velouté.
Break the eggs into buttered cocottes. Season, poach, and, when about to serve, surround the yolks with a thread of reduced veal gravy.
Put a teaspoonful of breast of pork, cut into dice and fried, into each cocotte, also three thin slices of Gruyère cheese and one tablespoonful of boiling cream. Break the eggs, season, and poach in the usual way.
Garnish the bottom and sides of the cocottes with cooked spinach, chopped and pressed, and sorrel and lettuce leaves, both of which should be stewed in butter. Break the eggs, season, poach in the usual way, and, when about to send the eggs to the table, drop a fine chervil pluche on each yolk.
Garnish the bottom and sides of the cocottes with minced morels fried in butter and thickened with a little reduced half-glaze. Break the eggs, season, poach, and surround the yolks with a thread of half-glaze when dishing up.
Garnish the bottom and sides of the cocottes with a coating of thick Soubise purée. Break the eggs, season, and poach. When dishing up, surround the yolks with a thread of melted meat-glaze.
These form a very ornamental dish, but the time required to prepare them being comparatively long, poached, soft-boiled, and other kinds of eggs are generally preferred in their stead. They are made in variously shaped moulds, ornamented according to the nature of the preparation, and the eggs are broken into them direct, or they may be inserted in the form of scrambled eggs, together with raw eggs poached in a bain-marie.
Whatever be the mode of preparation, the moulds should always be liberally buttered. The usual time allowed for the poaching of the eggs in moulds is from ten to twelve minutes, but when withdrawn from the bain-marie it is well to let the moulds stand awhile with the view of promoting a settling of their contents, which action facilitates the ultimate turning out of the latter.
Empty the moulds on small pieces of toast or tartlets, and arrange these in a circle round the dish.
Butter some Madeleine-moulds, shaped like elongated shells, and garnish them with a thin coating of chicken-stuffing or crayfish butter. Break the eggs in the middle of the forcemeat; season, place carefully in a bain-marie, and poach, with cover on, in the oven, leaving a small opening for the escape of the generated vapour. Empty the moulds on toast cut to the same shape as the moulds and fried in butter; arrange them on the dish, and coat with a Châteaubriand sauce.
Butter some baba-moulds; garnish the bottom of each with a large slice of truffle; break an egg into each, and poach in the bain-marie. Turn out the moulds on to little fluted galettes made from Duchesse potatoes and coloured in the oven after having been gilded.
Dish up in the form of a crown, and coat with a thickened veal gravy.
For four people: (1) Prepare five scrambled eggs, keeping them very soft; add thereto three raw, beaten eggs and one teaspoonful of capsicum, cut into dice. Mould this preparation in four little shallow cassolettes, well buttered, and poach in the bain-marie.
(2) Have ready and hot as many cooked artichoke-bottoms as there are cassolettes; the former should have had their edges fluted. Have also ready a “Rice à la Grecque” (No. 2253).
(3) Garnish the artichoke-bottoms with the rice; turn out the cassolettes upon the latter; arrange on a dish, and cover with highly-seasoned and buttered Béchamel sauce. Put the dish in a fierce oven, so as to glaze quickly, and serve immediately.
Scramble five eggs, keeping them soft, and add thereto three raw, beaten eggs. Butter some shallow, timbale moulds; garnish their bottoms with a fine slice of truffle, and fill them with the preparation of eggs. Poach in a bain-marie.
Turn out each mould on a tartlet-crust, garnished with mushroom purée à la crème (No. 2079), and arrange in a circle on a round dish. Send a sauceboat containing some melted and buttered meat-glaze to the table with the eggs.
Make a preparation consisting of scrambled eggs and Parmesan cheese, keeping it very soft; add thereto, per five scrambled eggs, two raw eggs. Fill some little, well-buttered brioche-moulds with this preparation, and poach in the bain-marie. As soon as their contents are properly set, turn out the moulds on to a buttered gratin dish, besprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and coat the eggs with reduced and buttered half-glaze, well saturated with tomato.
Butter some baba-moulds; garnish the bottoms with a slice of truffle, and besprinkle the sides with very red, chopped tongue. Put the moulds in ice for a while, in order that the tongue may set in the butter. Break an egg into each mould, season, and poach in the bain-marie. Turn out the moulds on tartlet-crusts garnished with macaroni with cream.
Butter some baba-moulds, and garnish the bottoms with a slice of truffle. Break an egg into each; season, and poach in a bain-marie.
Turn out the moulds upon little round pieces of toast; arrange them in a circle on a dish, and coat the eggs with Maître-d’Hôtel butter, the latter being dissolved and mixed with three tablespoonfuls of melted meat-glaze per every one-quarter lb. of its weight.
Butter some narrow and deep dariole-moulds; garnish their bottoms with a slice of very black truffle, and their sides with a very thin coating of chicken forcemeat.
Make a preparation of scrambled eggs, asparagus-heads, and truffles cut into dice, keeping them very soft, and add thereto raw, beaten eggs in the proportion of one raw egg to every four scrambled.
Fill the moulds, two-thirds full, with this preparation; cover the eggs with a coating of forcemeat, and poach in a bain-marie for twelve minutes.
Turn out the moulds upon little, round pieces of toast; set these in a circle on a dish, and surround them with a thread of clear poultry velouté. Or the velouté may be sent to the table separately, in a sauceboat.
Butter some hexagonal moulds, and garnish them, Chartreuse-fashion, with cut-up, cooked vegetables, varying the shades. Break an egg into each mould; season, and poach in a bain-marie. Turn out the moulds upon little, round pieces of toast; arrange these in a circle on a dish, and pour in their midst a cream sauce finished by means of a Printanier butter with herbs, in the proportion of one oz. of butter to one-quarter pint of sauce.
This dish is undoubtedly the finest of all egg-preparations, provided the eggs be not over-cooked, and they be kept soft and creamy.
Scrambled eggs are mostly served in silver timbales, but, in certain cases, they may also be dished in special little croustades, in little receptacles made from hollowed brioches, or in tartlet-crusts. [179] Formerly, it was customary to garnish scrambled eggs served in a silver timbale with small, variously-shaped pieces of toast, or with small scraps of puff-paste, cooked without colouration, and shaped like crescents, lozenges, rings, palmettes, &c. This method has something to recommend it, and may always be adopted. In old cookery, scrambled eggs were sanctioned only when cooked in a bain-marie. This measure certainly ensured their being properly cooked, but it considerably lengthened the procedure. The latter may therefore be shortened by cooking the eggs in the usual way, i.e., in a utensil in direct contact with the fire; but in this case the heat must be moderate, in order that, the process of cooking being progressive and gradual, perfect homogeneity of the particles of the eggs (effecting the smoothness of the preparation) may result.
For six eggs, slightly heat one oz. of butter in a thick-bottomed sauté-pan. Add the six eggs, beaten moderately, together with a large pinch of salt and a little pepper; place the pan on a moderate fire, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, taking care to avoid anything in the way of sudden, fierce heat, which, by instantaneously solidifying the egg-molecules, would cause lumps to form in the mass—a thing which, above all, should be guarded against.
When, by cooking, the eggs have acquired the proper consistence, and are still smooth and creamy, take the sauté-pan off the fire, and finish the preparation by means of one and one-half oz. of butter (divided into small quantities) and three tablespoonfuls of cream. Only whisk the eggs to be scrambled when absolutely necessary.
N.B.—Having given the mode of procedure, which is unalterable for scrambled eggs, I shall now pass on, in the following recipes, to the various garnishes suited to this kind of dish. The quantities I give are those required for six scrambled eggs.
Take one cottage brioche for every two eggs. Remove the tops of the brioches, and the crumb from the remaining portions, so as to form cases of these. Add one-half oz. of foie gras to the scrambled eggs, and half as much truffles, cut into dice, for every two eggs. Fill the emptied brioches with this preparation, and place a slice of truffle coated with meat-glaze upon each.
Add to the scrambled eggs one oz. of cooked mushrooms cut into dice, or raw mushrooms, minced and sautéd in butter, for every two eggs.
Dish in a timbale; put a fine, cooked, and grooved mushroom in the middle, and surround with a crown of sliced mushrooms, also cooked.
Dish the scrambled eggs in a timbale. Hollow out the middle, and place therein a garnish of one fine chicken’s liver, sautéd, per every two eggs. Sprinkle a pinch of chervil and tarragon on the garnish, and surround with a thread of chasseur sauce (No. 33).
Dish the eggs in a timbale, and place a garnish of mushrooms in the centre. The mushrooms should first be minced raw, and then sautéd in butter. Sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley on the garnish, and surround with a thread of melted meat-glaze. Border the whole, close to the sides of the timbale, with small crescents of puff-paste, baked pale.
Dish the scrambled eggs in a silver timbale. Place a little heap of shrimps’ tails bound with a few tablespoonfuls of shrimp sauce in the middle, and surround with a thread of the same sauce.
Add to the scrambled eggs a tablespoonful of parsley, chervil pluches, chives, and tarragon leaves in equal quantities and chopped.
Break the eggs, beat them, season, and add thereto, for every two eggs, one-half oz. of fresh grated Gruyère cheese, and as much grated Parmesan. Cook the eggs in the usual way on a very moderate fire, in order to keep them creamy.
Add to the scrambled eggs a tablespoonful of little crusts, cut into dice, fried in clarified butter, and prepared in time to be inserted into the eggs very hot. Dish in a timbale with a pinch of chopped parsley in the middle.
Bake three fine Dutch potatoes, or six smaller ones, in the oven. Open them by means of an incision on their tops; withdraw the pulp from the interior with the handle of a spoon, and keep the remaining shells hot. Prepare the scrambled eggs in the usual way, and finish them away from the fire with one and one-half oz. of crayfish butter, and eight or ten shelled crayfish tails. Garnish the potato shells with this preparation, and dish up on a napkin.
I only give one recipe of this kind, but the series may be extended at will without involving much deep research, since all that is needed for the purpose of variety is the modification of the garnish and a change in the soufflé preparation. The mode of procedure remains unalterable. Prepare the scrambled eggs, and garnish them as fancy may suggest. Also make a “Soufflé with Parmesan Cheese” (No. 2295a).
Put the scrambled eggs into a large tartlet-crust, cook without colouration, filling them only two-thirds full. Cover with the soufflé preparation, taking care to make it project in a mound above the tartlets; place these on a tray, poach quickly in a hot oven, and glaze at the same time.
Add to the scrambled eggs some minced morels, sautéd in butter and seasoned. Dish in timbales, and place a fine, cooked morel in the centre of each.
Proceed as for No. 471.
Break the eggs; beat them, and add thereto a little fresh, thick cream. Cook them in the usual way, and add three [182] crayfishes’ tails per every two eggs. Dish in little porcelain cases, place a fine slice of truffle in each of the cases, and arrange these upon a napkin lying on a dish.
Add to the scrambled eggs, per every two of the latter, one-half oz. of grated Parmesan cheese and a coffeespoonful of raw, grated, Piedmont truffles. Dish in a timbale, and garnish with a fine crown of sliced truffles of the same kind as the above.
Dish the eggs in a timbale, and place, in the middle, some fine, concassed tomatoes, seasoned and sautéd in butter. Sprinkle a pinch of concassed parsley on the tomatoes, and surround with a thread of meat-glaze.
Prepare some small timbales in dariole-moulds from puff-paste scraps, and bake them without colouration; also some little covers of puff-paste, stamped out with an indented fancy-cutter, two inches in diameter. Set the covers on a tray, gild them slightly, place on each a scrap of indented paste, and leave this uncoloured. Bake the timbales and the covers in a moderate oven.
Make a preparation of scrambled eggs and Parmesan cheese; add to this, away from the fire, two tablespoonfuls of reduced velouté with truffle essence and truffles cut into dice.
Garnish the timbales, put a cover on each, and dish up on a napkin.
Add some truffles, cut into dice, and some asparagus-heads to the scrambled eggs. Dish on a timbale; put a fine little faggot of asparagus-heads in the middle, and surround with a crown of sliced truffles.
Prepare the scrambled eggs in the usual way, and finish them with the necessary quantity of almond butter. Place this preparation in small tartlet-crusts, baked without colouration, and surround the tartlets with a thread of Béchamel sauce, finished with pistachio butter, the thread of sauce being close up to the edge of the tartlets.
Finely pound the remains of six crayfish (cooked in Mirepoix) the tails of which have been put aside, and add thereto, little by little, two tablespoonfuls of thick cream. Rub through tammy.
Add this crayfish cream to the six beaten eggs; season, and cook on a moderate fire with the object of obtaining a smooth, soft, and creamy preparation. Serve in a timbale and garnish, firstly with a small faggot of asparagus-heads placed in the middle of the eggs, secondly with crayfish tails arranged in a circle round the asparagus, and thirdly with large slices of very black truffles arranged in a crown around the crayfish tails.
Add one tablespoonful of truffles, cooked in Madeira and cut into dice, to the scrambled eggs. Place these in a timbale, and garnish with a crown of sliced truffles.
Or place the preparation in tartlet-crusts, made from trimmings of puff-paste and baked without colouration, with a large slice of truffle on the eggs, in each tartlet.
In the long series of egg-preparations, fried eggs are those which hold the least important place, for the fried eggs which are so commonly served at breakfasts in England and America are really eggs à la poêle. The real fried egg is almost unknown in England and America. As a rule, the garnish given to this kind of eggs is served apart, while the latter are dished, either on a napkin or on pieces of toast, with a little fried parsley laid in the middle of the dish.
Any fat, provided it be well purified, may be used for these eggs, but oil is the more customary frying medium. To do these eggs properly, only one should be dealt with at a time.
Heat some oil in an omelet-pan until it begins to smoke slightly; break the egg on a plate; season it, and let it slide into the pan. Then, with a wooden spoon, quickly cover up the yolk with the solidified portions of the white, in order to keep the former soft.
Drain the egg on a piece of stretched linen, and proceed in the same way with the other eggs until the required quantity has been treated.
Prepare as many halved tomatoes à la Provençale (see tomatoes) as there are eggs, adding a pinch of chopped shallots to each halved tomato. When cooked, garnish them with cèpes, finely minced and sautéd à la Bordelaise; place a fried egg on each garnished half-tomato, and arrange them in a circle on a dish, with fried parsley in the middle.
Fry as many blanched rashers of breast of bacon as there are eggs. Arrange in a circle on a dish, alternating the rasher with the eggs. Garnish the centre with large peas, cooked with ciseled lettuce and finely-sliced potatoes.
This kind is recommended, because it may be served with various garnishes—either vegetables of the same nature, a macédoine, vegetable purées, or divers cullises, sauces in keeping with the eggs, artichoke-bottoms, mushrooms, morels, &c. (sliced and sautéd in butter), or tomato-fondue, &c.
After having properly drained and dried the poached eggs, which should have been prepared beforehand, dip them carefully in a Villeroy sauce (No. 108), and arrange them, one by one, on a dish. When the sauce has set, pass the point of a small knife round the eggs to remove any excess of sauce; take them off the dish to treat them with an anglaise (No. 174), and then roll them in very fine, fresh bread-crumbs.
Plunge them into very hot fat three or four minutes before serving; drain them on a piece of linen; salt slightly, arrange in a circle on a dish, and set the selected garnish in the middle.
Place each of the fried eggs upon a half-tomato à la Portugaise, i.e., stuffed with rice after having been previously half-baked in the oven. Arrange in a circle on a dish, and garnish the centre with concassed tomatoes sautéd in butter.
Put each fried egg on a half-tomato on a large, thick slice of egg-plant, seasoned, rolled in flour, and fried in oil.
Set in a circle on a dish, with fried parsley in the centre.
Place the eggs, fried in oil, on little, oval subrics of spinach. The preparation of spinach should have anchovy fillets, cut into dice, added to it.
Cut six hard-boiled eggs lengthwise. Remove the yolks, pound them with two oz. of butter, and add thereto two tablespoonfuls of thick, cold Béchamel, two tablespoonfuls of cooked herbs, and one tablespoonful of lean ham, cooked and chopped. Garnish each half-white of egg with a good tablespoonful of this preparation, and smooth it with the blade of a small knife, shaping it in such wise as to represent the other half of the egg. Dip each whole egg, thus formed, into an anglaise, and roll in fine, fresh bread-crumbs. Plunge in hot fat six minutes before serving, and dish on a napkin, with fried parsley in the centre. Send, separately, to the table a garnish composed of asparagus-heads.
Prepare the eggs, poached beforehand, as explained under No. 486. Fry them similarly, and dish them on a napkin, with a garnish of fried parsley in the centre.
The procedure for omelets is at once very simple and very difficult, for tastes differ considerably in respect of their preparation. Some like them well done, others insist upon their being just done, while there are yet others who only enjoy them when they are almost liquid.
Nevertheless, the following conditions apply to all—namely, that there should be homogeneity of the egg-molecules; that the whole mass should be smooth and soft; and that it should be borne in mind that an omelet is in reality scrambled eggs enclosed in a coat composed of coagulated egg.
I take as my standard an omelet consisting of three eggs, the seasoning of which comprises a small pinch of table-salt and a little pepper, and which requires one-half oz. of butter for its preparation. The quantities of garnishing ingredients given below, therefore, are based upon this standard.
Heat the butter in the omelet-pan, until it exhales the characteristic nutty smell. This will not only lend an exquisite taste to the omelet, but the degree of heat reached in order to produce the aroma will be found to ensure the perfect setting of the eggs.
Pour in the beaten and seasoned eggs, and stir briskly with a fork, in order to heat the whole mass evenly. If the omelet is to be garnished inside, this ought to be done at the present stage, and then the omelet should be speedily rolled up and transferred to a dish, to be finished in accordance with the nature of its designation.
When the omelet is on the dish, a piece of butter may be quickly drawn across its surface, to make it glossy.
Stuff the omelet with one tablespoonful of mushrooms, minced and sautéd in butter. Roll it up, and transfer it to a dish.
Then lay eight small slices of very red tongue upon it, letting their edges overlap; surround with a thread of veal gravy.
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of braised endives, ciseled and thickened with cream. Surround with a thread of cream sauce.
Finely mince two oz. of cèpes; toss them in butter in an omelet-pan until they have acquired a brown colour; add thereto a pinch of chopped shallots, and toss them again for a moment.
Pour the eggs into the omelet-pan; make the omelet; dish up, and surround with a thread of half-glaze.
Mince two oz. of raw mushrooms; toss them in butter in an omelet-pan; add the eggs thereto, and make the omelet. Transfer it to a dish, lay three little cooked and grooved mushrooms upon it, and surround with a thread of half-glaze.
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of braised lettuce; the latter should have been ciseled and cohered by means of cream sauce.
Roll and dish the omelet, and surround it with a thread of cream sauce.
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of fresh peas, bound by means of butter and combined with a portion of the lettuce used in cooking them, finely ciseled. Roll and dish the omelet, make an opening lengthwise in the centre, and fill the interspace with a tablespoonful of fresh peas.
Combine with the beaten and seasoned eggs two tablespoonfuls of small crusts, cut into dice, fried in clarified butter, and very hot.
Make the omelet very quickly.
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of spinach with cream, and surround with a thread of cream sauce.
Add to the beaten and seasoned eggs one tablespoonful of very lean, cooked ham cut into dice. Pour the eggs into the omelet-pan, and cook them quickly, taking care to keep them very soft. Let the outside harden slightly; tilt into the dish after the manner of a pancake, and besprinkle the surface with a pinch of chopped parsley.
Add to the eggs one tablespoonful of parsley, chervil, chive, and tarragon leaves, all to be finely chopped and almost equally apportioned.
Make the omelet in the usual way.
Add to the eggs one and one-half oz. of the calices of freshly-plucked and young vegetable-marrow flowers; cisel and [188] stew them, and add thereto a pinch of chopped parsley. Surround the omelet with a thread of tomato sauce.
N.B.—This omelet may be made with oil, as well as with butter.
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of chicken’s liver, which should be cut into dice or finely sliced, seasoned, quickly sautéd in butter, and cohered with half-glaze. Dish the omelet, make an opening lengthwise in the centre, and place one tablespoonful of chicken’s liver, prepared as above, in the interspaces. Besprinkle with chopped parsley, and surround the omelet with a thread of half-glaze.
Finely mince two small artichoke-bottoms (raw if possible), season them, and slightly colour them in butter. Add the beaten and seasoned eggs, and make the omelet in the usual way.
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of young shoots of hops, cohered with cream, and finish it in the usual way. Open it slightly along the top, and garnish with a few young shoots of hops put aside for the purpose.
The omelet may be surrounded with a thread of cream sauce, but this is optional.
Finely mince half an onion, and cook it with butter in an omelet-pan, letting it brown slightly. Add the eggs, with which a large pinch of chopped parsley has been mixed, and make the omelet in the usual way.
Make the omelet in the usual way. Lay upon it alternate rows of crayfish tails and slices of truffle. Surround the omelet with a fine border of frogs’ legs “sautéd à la Meunière,” i.e., seasoned raw, rolled in flour, and sautéd in butter until quite cooked and well gilded.
Mince and toss in butter two oz. of very firm morels. Two should be put aside, which, after having been cut in two, lengthwise, and sautéd with the others, should be placed on a dish when the omelet is about to be made. Having dished the latter, place the four sautéd and reserved pieces of morels upon it, and surround it with a thread of half-glaze.
Beat the yolks of three eggs in a bowl with a small pinch of salt and a tablespoonful of very thick cream. Add thereto the three whites, whisked to a stiff froth, and pour this preparation into a wide omelet-pan containing one oz. of very hot butter. Sauté the omelet, tossing it very quickly, and taking care to turn the outside edges of the preparation constantly towards the centre; when the whole mass seems uniformly set, roll the omelet up quickly, and dish it. This omelet should be sent to the table immediately.
Mince two oz. of very fresh mousserons; toss them in butter in the omelet-pan; add thereto the eggs mixed with a pinch of chopped parsley; make the omelet, dish it, and surround it with a thread of half-glaze.
Add to the omelet six little crayfishes’ tails, each of which must be cut into three, and the whole mixed with a little Nantua sauce. Put two fine crayfishes’ tails on the omelet, making them touch at their thicker ends, and surround with a thread of Nantua sauce.
Add a pinch of chopped parsley to the eggs, and, when about to pour the latter into the omelet-pan, add two tablespoonfuls of potato cut into dice, seasoned, sautéd in butter, and very hot. Make the omelet in the usual way.
Frizzle with butter, in the omelet-pan, two oz. of breast of bacon cut into dice. Add to the eggs one tablespoonful of finely-sliced potatoes sautéd in butter, one-half tablespoonful of ciseled sorrel stewed in butter, and a pinch of concassed chervil.
Pour the whole over the bacon-dice; cook the eggs quickly, [190] keeping them soft; turn the omelet after the manner of a pancake, and tilt it immediately on to a round dish.
Add one and one-half tablespoonfuls of blanched asparagus-tops, stewed in butter, to the omelet. Having dished the omelet, open it along the middle, and lay a nice little faggot of asparagus-tops in the interspace.
Rub the bottom of the omelet-pan lightly with a clove of garlic; put two tablespoonfuls of oil into the utensil, and heat it until it smokes.
Throw into the oil a fine, peeled, pressed, and pipped tomato, cut into dice and besprinkled with a pinch of concassed parsley. Cook it quickly, tossing it the while, and add it to the beaten and seasoned eggs. Make the omelet in the usual way.
N.B.—The nature of this preparation demands the use of oil in treating the tomato, but, failing oil, clarified butter may be used.
Add to the omelet a tablespoonful of calf’s or sheep’s kidney, cut into dice, seasoned with salt and pepper, sautéd quickly in butter, and cohered by means of half-glaze. Having dished the omelet, divide it down the middle, lay some reserved kidney-dice in the interspace, and surround with a thread of half-glaze.
Add to the beaten and seasoned eggs one dessertspoonful of cooked foie gras and as much truffle, cut into small dice. Having dished the omelet, place in the middle thereof a small rectangular piece of heated foie gras, and two slices of truffle on either side of the latter. Surround it with a thread of half-glaze flavoured with truffle essence.
Add to the omelet one tablespoonful of truffles, cut into dice. Make the omelet, dish it, and lay a row of fine slices of truffles upon it. Surround it with a thread of melted meat-glaze.
Note.—In the chapter on hors-d’œuvres, where recipes were given which deal with lapwings’ eggs, I made a few remarks relative to their freshness, and indicated the procedure for boiling them soft and hard.
Proceed as for ordinary scrambled eggs, all the recipes given for the latter being perfectly applicable to lapwings’ eggs. They require, however, very great care in their preparation, and it should be borne in mind that one ordinary hen’s egg is equal to about three lapwings’ eggs.
Poach the eggs as directed in the recipe dealing with the process, and dish them up in tartlet-crusts garnished with a purée of smoked salmon.
Proceed as for other omelets, but one ordinary hen’s egg is generally added to every six lapwings’ eggs in order to give more body to the preparation. All the omelet recipes already given may be applied to lapwings’ eggs.
Garnish as many small tartlet moulds as there are eggs with chicken-forcemeat. Poach, turn out the moulds, and hollow out the centres of the tartlets in such wise as to be able to set an egg upright in each.
Place a soft- or hard-boiled egg on each forcemeat tartlet, coat the eggs with a light purée of mushrooms, besprinkle with chopped truffles, and arrange in a circle on a dish.
Select as many large morels as there are eggs. Remove the stalks, and widen the openings of the morels; season them, and stew them in butter. Boil the lapwings’ eggs soft.
Garnish each stewed morel with an egg; set them on little tartlet-crusts garnished with a light, foie-gras purée, and arrange them in a circle on a dish.
The preparation of cold eggs is not limited by classical rules; it rests with the skill and artistic imagination of the operator, and, since fancifulness and originality are always closely allied to artistic imagination, it follows that the varieties evolved may be infinite.
Indeed, so various and numerous are the recipes dealing with this kind of egg-preparations that I must limit myself to a selection only of the more customary ones, culled as far as possible from my own repertory.
Take some cold, well-trimmed, poached eggs; dry them and cover them with a white chaud-froid sauce. Place a fine indented slice of truffle in the centre of each, and sprinkle with a cold, white, melted aspic jelly until they are thinly coated therewith. Slip the point of a small knife round each egg with the view of moving them more easily, and transfer them to oval tartlet-crusts made from puff-paste trimmings, baked without colouration.
Lay a border of caviare round the eggs; dish them in the form of a crown, and put some chopped jelly in the centre.
Cover some cold, well-dried, poached eggs with a tomato purée combined with a full third of its volume of Soubise purée and one-half pint of melted aspic jelly per pint of sauce. Cut some pimentos, marinaded in oil, into very thin strips, and lay these, after the manner of a lattice, upon each egg.
Now garnish as many oiled, oval tartlet-moulds as there are eggs with tomato purée, thickened with jelly, and let the garnish set on ice. Turn out the moulds, and put an egg upon each of the tomato tartlets; arrange the latter in a circle on a dish surrounded with a chain composed of linked rings of onion, and garnish the centre with chopped, white jelly.
Coat some well-dried, soft-boiled eggs, slightly cut at their base to make them stand, with a white chaud-froid sauce combined with a good third of its volume of asparagus-tops purée. Sprinkle repeatedly with cold, melted, white jelly, until a glossy coating is obtained.
[193]
Garnish the centre of a dish with a salad of asparagus-tops;
surround this with fine slices of cold potato, cooked in water and
cut up with an even fancy-cutter, one inch in diameter, and
arrange the eggs all round.
Carefully dry some cold, poached eggs, and half-coat them lengthwise with a white chaud-froid sauce; complete the coating on the other side with a smooth purée of truffles, thickened with jelly. Leave these two coats to set, placing the eggs in the cool or on ice for that purpose.
Garnish the centre of a round dish with a small pyramid of cold, truffled Brandade of morue, and set the eggs round the latter.
Cook the eggs on the dish, leave them to cool, and trim them with an even fancy-cutter, oval in shape. Place each egg on an oval tartlet-crust, garnished with dice of cooked salmon, cohered with mayonnaise.
Surround with a thread of caviare, and lay a thin slice of very black truffle on each egg.
Garnish some small, oval moulds in Chartreuse fashion, i.e., like a draught-board. Put a small, cold, poached egg into each mould, fill up with melted, white jelly, and leave to set. Garnish the centre of a dish with a heaped vegetable salad; arrange the eggs taken from their moulds around this, and surround with a little chopped jelly.
Let a thin coat of white jelly set upon the bottom and sides of some small, oval moulds. Garnish the latter with some small dice, consisting of white of egg and truffles, placing them so as to simulate a draught-board; now insert a very small, cold, poached egg into each mould, and fill up with a melted jelly.
Garnish the centre of a dish with a “Rachel” salad, encircled by a ring of sliced, cold potatoes, cooked in water, and place the eggs, removed from their moulds, all round. Border the dish with indented crescents of white jelly.
Mould these in baba-moulds, or in porcelain cocottes; sometimes they may simply be dished up on small tartlet-crusts.
[194]
The preparation consists of poached or soft-boiled eggs,
garnished with blanched tarragon leaves, or coated or moulded
with a very fine tarragon jelly.
Select some very small poached eggs of equal size, cover them with a white chaud-froid sauce combined with about a third of its volume of a purée of hard-boiled egg-yolks.
Garnish the top of each egg with an indented ring of very black truffle, and surround the base of the eggs with a narrow ribbon composed of chopped truffles. Glaze with jelly, and leave to set on ice.
Prepare a salad of green vegetables (peas, French beans cut into dice or lozenges, asparagus-tops); thicken it with a very little mayonnaise mixed with melted jelly. Pour this preparation into an oiled mould, and leave it to set. For dishing, turn out the salad in the middle of a dish; surround the base with a line of chopped jelly; encircle the whole with the eggs, letting them rest on the jelly, and garnish the dish with a border of dice cut in very clear, white jelly.
Slightly level both ends of some shelled, hard-boiled eggs. Surround the tops and the bases with three little anchovy fillets, and place a bit of truffle just half-way along each egg. Eggs prepared in this way resemble little barrels, whereof the anchovy fillets imitate the iron hoops, and the bits of truffle the bungs. By means of a tubular cutter empty the eggs with care; garnish them with caviare, and shape the latter to a point, outside the edges of the egg.
Lay each egg in an artichoke-bottom, cooked white, and garnished with finely-chopped jelly, and arrange them in a circle on a dish with chopped jelly in the centre.
Prepare some hard-boiled eggs to resemble little barrels, after the manner described above. For every six eggs keep ready and cold eighteen crayfish cooked à la Bordelaise. Shell the tails, put two aside for each egg, and cut the remainder into dice; finely pound the bodies and remains, add thereto three [195] tablespoonfuls of thick cream, and rub through tammy. Add to this cullis one tablespoonful of thick mayonnaise.
Bind the crayfish tails, cut into dice, with a few tablespoonfuls of this sauce, and garnish the eggs, emptied by the method indicated above, with the preparation of dice, making it stand out of the eggs in the shape of a small dome. Garnish each dome with a rosette composed of four halved crayfish tails and four truffle lozenges.
Glaze well with jelly; set the eggs upon artichoke-bottoms garnished with a mayonnaise with crayfish cullis, and arrange in a circle on a dish.
Prepare some eggs à la Polignac, as explained under “Moulded Eggs,” and leave them to cool. Select some moulds a little larger than those used in the cooking of the eggs; pour into each half a tablespoonful of melted, white jelly, and leave to set. Then put an egg into each mould, and fill up the space around the eggs with melted, white jelly.
Leave to set, turn out the moulds, arrange the mouldings on a dish, and surround them with dice of faintly coloured jelly.
Prepare some soft-boiled eggs, and leave them to cool. Take as many cottage brioches as there are eggs; trim them to the level of the fluting, and remove the crumb from the inside, so as to form little croustades of them. Garnish the bottom and the sides of these croustades with a fine mince of white chicken-meat, thickened with mayonnaise, and season moderately with cayenne. Place a shelled, soft-boiled egg in each croustade; coat thinly with mayonnaise slightly thickened by means of a jelly; lay a fine piece of truffle on each egg, and, when the sauce has set, glaze with jelly, using a fine brush for the purpose.
Dish up on a napkin.
Season some cooked young shoots of hops with salt and freshly-ground pepper; add thereto some chopped parsley and chervil, and a purée of plainly-cooked tomatoes combined with just sufficient jelly to ensure the cohesion of the hops. Mould in oiled tartlet-moulds.
[196]
Coat some well-dried, cold, poached eggs with white chaud-froid
sauce; garnish with pieces of tarragon leaves, and glaze
with jelly.
Turn out the tartlet-moulds; set an egg on each of the mouldings, and arrange them in a circle on a dish, placing between each egg a piece of very clear jelly, cut to the shape of a cock’s comb.
Garnish the centre of the dish with chopped jelly.
Soups are divided into two leading classes, viz.:—
1. Clear soups, which include plain and garnished consommés.
2. Thick soups, which comprise the Purées, Veloutés, and Creams.
A third class, which is independent of either of the above, inasmuch as it forms part of plain, household cookery, embraces vegetable soups and Garbures or gratined soups. But in important dinners—by this I mean rich dinners—only the first two classes are recognised.
When a menu contains two soups, one must be clear and the other thick. If only one is to be served, it may be either clear or thick, in which case the two kinds are represented alternately at different meals.
In Part I. of this work I indicated the general mode of procedure for consommés and thick soups; I explained how the latter might be converted from plain purées into veloutés or creams, or from veloutés into creams; and all that now remains is to reveal the recipes proper to each of those soups.
Remarks.—In the course of the recipes for consommés, given hereafter, the use of Royales (Nos. 206 to 213) and of Quenelles, variously prepared (Nos. 193 to 195 and 205), will often be enjoined. For the preparation of these garnishes, therefore, the reader will have to refer to the numbers indicated.
The quantities for the clear soups that follow are all calculated to be sufficient for a standard number of six people, and the quantity of Royales is always given in so many dariole-moulds, which contain about one-eighth pint, or baba-moulds, which hold about one-fifth pint.
Of course, it will be understood that the poaching need not necessarily have been effected in these moulds, for very small “Charlotte” moulds would do quite as well. But I had recourse to the particular utensils mentioned above, in order that [198] there might be no sort of doubt as to the exact quantity of royale it would be necessary to prepare for any one of the soups.
Have a quart of excellent chicken consommé ready; add thereto, in order to thicken it slightly, three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca, strained through muslin, and very clear.
Put the following garnish into the soup-tureen: One tablespoonful of white chicken-meat cut in fine julienne-fashion, one tablespoonful of small chicken quenelles, grooved and long in shape, and one tablespoonful of lettuce chiffonade.
Pour the boiling consommé upon this garnish, and send to the table immediately.
Have one quart of chicken consommé ready; also there should have been prepared beforehand, with the view of using them quite cold, three different kinds of royales, consisting respectively of truffle purée, tomato purée, and purée of peas, each of which should have been poached in a dariole-mould.
Cut these royales up into regular dice, and put them in the soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of chicken fillet and an equal quantity of small, freshly-cooked mushrooms, finely minced. Pour the boiling consommé over these garnishes, and serve at once.
Prepare a baba-mould of royale made from tomato purée. When quite cold, cut it into dice, and put these in the soup-tureen with one small tablespoonful of cooked ham cut in julienne-fashion, one tablespoonful of boiled rice, with every grain distinct and separate, and two tablespoonfuls of threaded eggs (No. 217).
When about to serve, pour one quart of very clear chicken consommé over the garnish.
With a small spoon-cutter, pick out a spoonful of carrot pearls and the same quantity of turnip pearls. Cook these vegetables by boiling them in consommé, taking care that the latter be reduced to a glaze when the vegetables are cooked. [199] With the same spoon take the same quantity as above of very black truffle; also prepare a dariole-mould of royale made from asparagus heads, and a dozen small chicken-forcemeat quenelles, which should be moulded to the shape of large pearls.
Poach the quenelles, cut the royales up into slices, which must be stamped with an indented fancy-cutter, and put the whole into the soup-tureen with the carrots, turnips, and truffle pearls, and one tablespoonful of very green peas.
Pour a quart of chicken consommé over the garnish, and send to the table at once.
Prepare three dariole-moulds of foie-gras royale, and twelve profiterolles (No. 218) of the size of hazel-nuts, the latter being made very crisp.
When the royale is cold, cut it into little, regular squares, and put these into the soup-tureen.
When about to serve, pour over this garnish a quart of chicken consommé, thickened by means of three tablespoonfuls of tapioca, poached and strained through linen.
Send the profiterolles to the table separately, and very hot.
Prepare eighteen chicken-forcemeat quenelles, moulded by means of a small teaspoon; some should be stuffed with foie-gras purée, moistened with a little velouté; others with chicken purée; and yet others with truffle purée—in short, six of each kind.
Place these, one by one, on a buttered sauté-pan; poach them, drain them, and put them in the soup-tureen with a tablespoonful of white chicken-meat, cut into dice.
When about to serve, pour one quart of chicken consommé, thickened as above with tapioca, over the garnish.
Prepare a garnish of carrots and turnips, cut with the tubular cutter or with the spoon; French beans cut into lozenges, asparagus-heads, and green peas, all of which vegetables should be fresh and young. Cook each vegetable according to its nature, and put the whole into the soup-tureen.
When about to serve, pour over the garnish one quart of chicken consommé thickened with two tablespoonfuls of tapioca, poached and strained through fine linen.
Prepare a dariole-mould of each of the four following royales:—
1. Of a purée of haricot-beans with a slight addition of tomato.
2. Of a chicken purée moistened with velouté.
3. Of a purée of asparagus-tops combined with a few cooked spinach leaves, to deepen the colour.
4. Of a carrot purée (Purée Crécy).
Having poached and cooled the royales, cut them as follows:—
(1) Into dice, (2) into lozenges, (3) into little leaves, and (4) into stars.
Place them all in the soup-tureen, and, when about to serve, pour one quart of boiling and very clear chicken consommé over them.
Cut in julienne-fashion the heads of two leeks, one carrot, half of an onion, four oz. of the white of cabbage leaves, half a root of parsley, the white part of a stick of celery, and four oz. of beetroot; set the whole to stew gently in butter.
Moisten with one quart of white consommé and two or three tablespoonfuls of the juice of grated beetroot; add a small bunch of fennel and sweet marjoram, two lbs. of moderately fat breast of beef, and the half of a semi-roasted duck; set to cook gently for four hours.
When about to serve, cut the breast of beef into large dice, and cut the duck into small slices; finish the soup with one-quarter pint of beetroot juice, extracted from grated beetroot pressed in linen, and a little blanched and chopped fennel and parsley. Put the beef dice and sliced duck into the soup, with twelve grilled and despumated chipolatas.
Serve, separately, a sauceboat of sour cream.
N.B.—The chipolatas may be replaced by very small patties with duck forcemeat, which should be served separately.
Cut into small dice the red part only of two small carrots, one small turnip, the heads of two leeks, a small stick of celery, and the third of an onion of medium size.
Season the vegetables moderately with salt and a pinch of sugar, and stew them in butter. Moisten with one-half pint [201] of consommé, and complete the cooking of the Brunoise gently. Five minutes before serving, finish with one quart of boiling, ordinary consommé, a moderate tablespoonful of peas, and the same quantity of French beans, cut into dice and kept very green.
Pour into the soup-tureen, and add a pinch of fine chervil pluches.
Prepare one quart of consommé, to which add, while clarifying, one-quarter pint of raw tomato purée, in order to give it a faint, pink tinge.
Also peel and press a small and rather firm tomato; cut into dice, and poach the latter in some of the consommé; put them in the soup-tureen with a small tablespoonful of mild capsicum, cut in fine julienne-fashion, and one tablespoonful of plain-boiled rice.
When about to serve, pour the boiling consommé over the garnish, and add a small pinch of chervil pluches.
Prepare (1) one quart of game consommé, flavoured with a fumet of woodcock; (2) two baba-moulds of royale, two-thirds of which consists of a purée of woodcock and one-third of lentils, with half the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, chopped and thickened with the usual leason.
Cut this royale into slices, about the size of a florin, one-half inch thick. Put these into the soup-tureen, together with one tablespoonful of a julienne of roast woodcock fillets, and pour thereon the boiling game consommé.
Prepare one quart of chicken consommé, and add thereto three small tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca, strained through fine linen.
For the garnish make three pannequets (No. 2403 and 2476) without sugar, and spread over each a thin coating of chicken forcemeat with cream. Place one on top of the other, sprinkle the layer of forcemeat on the uppermost one with finely-chopped, very black truffles, and place in the front of the oven for a few minutes, in order to poach the forcemeat.
Stamp the pannequets out with an even fancy-cutter about one inch in diameter. Put the pieces into a soup-tureen, and, when about to serve, pour in the boiling consommé.
Prepare (1) eighteen small ravioles (No. 2296)—six from spinach purée, six from foie-gras purée, and the remaining six from chopped mushrooms; (2) two small tablespoonfuls of tomato dice. Ten minutes before serving, poach the ravioles in boiling, salted water, and the tomato dice in some of the consommé.
Put the ravioles and the tomato dice (well drained) into the soup-tureen, and pour over them one quart of consommé with a moderate addition of tapioca. Add a pinch of chervil pluches.
About two minutes before serving, plunge three oz. of very fine vermicelli, known as Angel’s Hair (Cheveux d’Ange) into one quart of excellent, boiling consommé.
An instant only is needed to poach the vermicelli, and the latter does not require to be blanched.
This soup, like those containing pastes, should be accompanied by freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
Have ready one quart of excellent Printanier chicken consommé (No. 601). Also poach six small eggs in slightly salted and acidulated water. The eggs should be as small and as fresh as possible, both of which conditions are absolutely necessary for a proper poaching (see poached eggs, No. 411). Set these eggs in a small timbale with a little consommé, and send them to the table with the Printanier. Having poured the latter into the plates, put one of the eggs into each of these.
Prepare a good tablespoonful of carrot pearls, and as many turnip pearls, keeping the latter very white. Cook them in the customary way, and put them in the soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of very green peas, one tablespoonful of a julienne of roast-pigeon fillets, and six poached pigeons’ eggs, which latter should be sent to the table in a timbale at the same time as the consommé.
Pour over the other garnish one quart of very clear, boiling, chicken consommé, and serve immediately.
This soup can only appear on summer and spring menus, when the pigeons’ eggs are in season.
Prepare a freshly-cooked vegetable garnish for a stockpot:—Carrots and turnips cut into small sticks and trimmed; a few heads of leeks, and cabbage, parboiled, minced, and cooked in very fat consommé.
Put these vegetables in a somewhat greasy broth for ten minutes.
Also prepare seven or eight crusts of French soup “flutes”; besprinkle them with stock grease, and dry them in the oven. Put the vegetable garnish into the soup-tureen; pour thereon one quart of consommé of the Petite Marmite (No. 598), and add to the dried crusts.
Prepare (1) one quart of consommé with a fumet of duck; (2) twelve small quenelles of duck forcemeat, which should be made flat and oval. Having poached the quenelles, drain them, and set them in a small, shallow earthen pan or timbale; sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan cheese and a few drops of chicken glaze, and set to glaze in the oven.
The quenelles are served separately in the pan in which they have been glazed, and the consommé is sent to the table in a soup-tureen.
With the small spoon-cutter, pick out a good tablespoonful of carrot, and the same quantity of turnip pearls. Cook these vegetables in the customary way, and put them in the soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of truffle pearls, the same quantity of peas, and small, poached, chicken-forcemeat quenelles with herbs. Pour one quart of boiling chicken consommé over this garnish, and add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Prepare (1) two small, stuffed lettuces, rolled into sausage form and poached; (2) two baba-moulds of royale with cream. Cut the royale into small, regular dice; trim the lettuce, and cut it into slices; put this garnish into the soup-tureen, and pour thereon one quart of boiling chicken consommé, thickened with three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca, strained through linen. Add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Cut a French soup “flute” into twelve slices one-quarter inch thick. Reduce about one-quarter pint of Béchamel to a thick consistence; add thereto, away from the fire, two heaped tablespoonfuls of grated Gruyère cheese, and season with a little cayenne.
Garnish the slices of soup “flute” with this preparation, arranged in the form of a dome, upon a tray, and set it to glaze a few minutes before serving.
Pour one quart of chicken consommé into the soup-tureen, and add the diablotins.
Roll into small sausage-form three oz. of chicken forcemeat, finished with crayfish butter. Poach the sausages, cut them into thin roundels, and put them into the soup-tureen with one dessertspoonful of very black truffle, cut in julienne-fashion.
Pour over this garnish one quart of boiling chicken consommé, thickened with two tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca, strained through linen.
Prepare two baba-moulds of royale made from crayfish velouté, eighteen small quenelles of smelt forcemeat, moulded to the shape of pearls, and one tablespoonful of small pearls of very black truffle.
Cut the royale into oval slices, and put these into the soup with the poached quenelles and the truffle pearls.
Pour one quart of very clear, boiling consommé over the garnish.
Prepare the following garnish:—Thirty pellets of cucumber in the shape of large pearls; eighteen small quenelles of chicken forcemeat, long in shape and grooved; six little pellets, about the size of a large pea, of pâte à choux, combined with grated cheese, rolled by hand; and one and one-half tablespoonfuls of Japanese pearls, poached in some of the consommé.
Put the cucumber pellets, cooked in consommé, into the soup-tureen; add the poached quenelles and the Japanese pearls.
Four minutes before serving, plunge the pellets of pâte à choux into hot fat, keeping them crisp.
[205]
When about to serve, pour over the garnish one quart of
boiling chicken consommé; complete with a pinch of chervil
pluches, and serve the little, fried pellets separately.
With an even cutter, the size of a penny, cut up some braised and cooled sweetbread into twelve roundels one-third inch thick; with the same cutter cut out twelve more roundels from some cooked artichoke-bottoms, and put the whole into the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of very green asparagus-heads.
When about to serve, pour one quart of boiling, highly seasoned, ordinary consommé upon the garnish.
Prepare a special mutton broth, and, at the same time, cook a fine piece of breast of mutton for the garnish.
Per two quarts of broth, put into the soup-tureen four tablespoonfuls of pearl-barley, cooked very gently beforehand; two tablespoonfuls of French beans, cut into lozenges, and the breast of mutton cut into regular dice of one-half inch side, in the proportion of one tablespoonful for each person.
Pour the boiling mutton broth over this garnish, after having removed all the grease and strained it through linen.
With a spoon-cutter, pick from out some violet potatoes eighteen pellets the size of small hazel-nuts, and cook them in salted water in good time for them to be ready for the dishing up of the soup. Put them in the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of a julienne of artichoke-bottoms and the same quantity of cooked mushrooms, also cut in julienne-fashion.
Pour over the garnish one quart of chicken consommé, thickened with three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca strained through linen. Add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Mince, somewhat finely, one small carrot, one small turnip, the heads of two leeks, and the half of an onion. Slightly stew these vegetables in one and one-half oz. of butter; moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé; add two oz. of parboiled cabbage, cut roughly into a julienne, and complete [206] the cooking gently, taking care to remove all grease, with the view of obtaining a very clear consommé.
Pour into the soup-tureen, and add a few thin slices of French soup “flute,” slightly dried.
With fine chicken forcemeat make twenty-four small quenelles on a buttered tray, their shape being that of small Mecca loaves. To the forcemeat of six of these quenelles add some very finely chopped tongue; add white chicken-meat to that of another six; and to that of the remaining twelve add some very reduced spinach purée. The quenelles with spinach should number twice those with the other two ingredients, in order that the preparation may be in keeping with its designation “à la Florentine.”
Poach the quenelles; put them in the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of very green, cooked peas.
When about to serve, pour one quart of very clear, boiling chicken consommé over this garnish, and add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Prepare two dariole-moulds of ham royale, and poach the latter in a small, well-buttered Charlotte mould. When quite cold, cut it into large lozenges, and put these into the soup-tureen with six small cocks’ combs and six small cocks’ kidneys (these latter as small as possible).
When about to serve, pour over this garnish one quart of chicken consommé, thickened slightly with two tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca, strained through linen.
Have ready one quart of consommé flavoured with very clear fish fumet. Also prepare twelve small quenelles of whiting forcemeat, finished with crayfish butter; stew twelve morels, which should be left whole if very small, and cut into two if they are of medium size; twelve small slices of poached carps’ milt, and twelve little roundels of French soup “flutes.”
Put the poached quenelles and the stewed morels into the soup-tureen; pour therein the boiling, fish consommé, and send the slices of carps’ milt set on the roundels of French soup “flute” separately to the table.
Prepare two dariole-moulds of royale made from a purée of very green peas, combined with a tablespoonful of Mirepoix stewed in butter, and a strong pinch of small, chervil pluches; eighteen small quenelles of chicken forcemeat with cream, moulded to the form of pastils.
When the royale is cold, cut it into regular roundels, and put these into the soup-tureen with the poached quenelles.
When about to serve, pour one quart of boiling chicken consommé over the garnish.
Prepare (1) one quart of highly-seasoned beef consommé; (2) two baba-moulds of ordinary royale made with whole eggs and combined with two tablespoonfuls of cooked and finely-chopped lean ham; (3) three tablespoonfuls of a julienne of carrots (the red part only) stewed in butter, the cooking of which should be completed in the consommé.
Put the royale, cut into large, regular lozenges, and the julienne of carrots into the soup-tureen, and pour in the boiling beef consommé.
Have ready one quart of excellent ordinary consommé, to which have been added, while clarifying, four tablespoonfuls of raw tomato purée, strained through fine linen.
Also prepare two dariole-moulds of ordinary royale, and three tablespoonfuls of a fine julienne of the white of celery, stewed in butter, finally cooked in the consommé, and with all grease removed.
Put the royale, cut into large dice, and the julienne of celery into the soup-tureen, and pour thereon the boiling consommé with tomatoes.
Prepare three dariole-moulds of mousseline forcemeat of fowl (No. 195), and put it to poach in a small Charlotte mould.
When quite cold, cut it, by means of a cutter, into roundels the size of a penny, and put these in the soup-tureen with six small blanched cocks’ combs and three sliced cocks’ kidneys, and two tablespoonfuls of very green peas.
Pour over this garnish one quart of chicken consommé, thickened with three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca strained through linen.
Have ready one quart of ordinary consommé seasoned with curry. Also prepare three baba-moulds of royale made from cocoanut milk, and, when quite cold, cut into small dice.
Put this royale into the soup-tureen; pour on it the boiling consommé with curry, and send to the table, separately, four tablespoonfuls of Rice à l’Indienne (No. 2254).
With some pâte à choux (No. 2374) prepare eighteen profiterolles of the size of hazel-nuts. Cook them, taking care to keep them very crisp, and stuff them when cold with purée de foie gras moistened with velouté.
Put two tablespoonfuls of a fine julienne of mild capsicum into the soup-tureen, and pour thereon one quart of boiling chicken consommé, moderately thickened with poached tapioca strained through linen.
Serve the profiterolles of foie gras separately, after having heated them in the front of the oven.
N.B.—The garnish of Consommé à l’Infante may consist only of the profiterolles, and the julienne of capsicum may be suppressed; this is a matter of taste.
With a small spoon-cutter, pick from out some carrots twenty-four little oval pellets, which should be cooked in the consommé. Prepare two baba-moulds of royale with cream.
Put into the soup-tureen the pellets of carrots and the royale cut to the shape of pastils, one tablespoonful of peas, the same quantity of very green asparagus-heads, and one tablespoonful of rice.
When about to serve, pour one quart of boiling chicken consommé over this garnish.
Cut into fillets, two inches in length, the red part only of two medium-sized carrots, one medium-sized turnip, one leek, half a stick of celery, some cabbage leaves, and half an onion. Season these vegetables with a pinch of salt and as much castor sugar; stew them in one oz. of butter; moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé, and then add two oz. of small parboiled cabbages, cut after the manner of the other vegetables.
Finish the cooking gently, removing the grease the while, [209] and complete with one small tablespoonful of very green, cooked peas, one tablespoonful of sorrel and lettuce chiffonade, and one pinch of chervil pluches.
Have ready one quart of chicken consommé. Also prepare two tablespoonfuls of a fine julienne of celery stewed in butter and cooked in the consommé; twelve small “pommes à la lorette” (No. 2226), the size of hazel-nuts, and shaped like small crescents. These potatoes should be fried in hot fat four minutes before serving.
Put into the soup-tureen the julienne of celery, twelve small, freshly-poached cocks’ kidneys, and one tablespoonful of a julienne of pimentos; pour the boiling consommé over this garnish; add a pinch of chervil pluches, and send the lorette potatoes to the table separately.
Prepare (1) one quart of highly seasoned beef consommé, (2) two dariole-moulds of brain-purée royale; (3) two tablespoonfuls of cucumbers cut into small dice and cooked in consommé until the latter is reduced to a glaze; (4) five little ravioles garnished with chicken forcemeat combined with a third of its volume of spinach. Put these ravioles to poach in salted boiling water twelve minutes before serving.
Put into the soup-tureen the royale of brains cut into roundels one-third inch thick, the dice of cucumber, and the ravioles poached and well drained.
Pour the boiling beef consommé over this garnish just before serving.
Take two tablespoonfuls of chicken forcemeat with cream, and roll it into sausage-form on the floured mixing-board. Put the sausage to poach. Rub the yolk of an egg through a fine sieve, and cohere it with half a teaspoonful of raw forcemeat.
Having poached and cooled the chicken sausage, cut it into thin roundels, and stamp each roundel with a fancy-cutter to the shape of a marguerite. Arrange the marguerites on a dish, and lay in the middle of each a bit of the egg and forcemeat, in imitation of the flower-centre.
Put these marguerites into the soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of small, green asparagus cut into lengths of one inch. When about to serve, pour one quart of very clear, boiling chicken consommé over this garnish.
Prepare one quart of good, ordinary consommé, to which three sticks of celery have been added, while clarifying, in order that the taste of the celery may be very decided.
Make thirty small quenelles of chicken forcemeat combined with finely-chopped filberts, giving them the shape of pastils.
Poach these quenelles ten minutes before serving. Also poach in court-bouillon two calf’s piths, and cut them into thin roundels.
Put the poached quenelles and the roundels of calf’s piths into the soup-tureen, and pour thereon the boiling consommé.
Prepare one quart of chicken consommé with pimentos, combined, at the last minute, away from the fire, with one-half pint of sherry.
Put into the soup-tureen two tablespoonfuls of capsicum, cut in fine julienne-fashion and short, and some small, freshly-cooked cocks’ combs.
When about to serve, pour the consommé over this garnish.
Prepare one quart of chicken consommé, and add thereto, while clarifying, one-quarter pint of tomato essence, obtained by reducing the moisture contained by the tomato to a syrup.
Put into the soup-tureen twelve small, freshly-poached cocks’ combs, two tablespoonfuls of Spanish capsicum cut into a julienne and poached in the consommé if fresh (this should have been previously grilled, with the view of removing the skins), and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice, every grain of which should be distinct.
Pour the boiling consommé over this garnish.
Prepare one quart of game consommé with pheasant fumet. Also poach two dariole-moulds of royale, made from a purée of artichokes combined with some tablespoonfuls of the reduced game Espagnole. Cut this royale into dice; put these into a soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of a julienne of pheasant fillets, and pour thereon the boiling consommé.
Cook in slightly salted boiling water two oz. of moderately thick macaroni. As soon as it is cooked, drain it, lay it on a piece of linen, and cut it into small rings. Also prepare [211] one-quarter pint of Béchamel, thickened with the yolk of one egg combined with one oz. of grated cheese, and keep it very dense.
Mix the rings of macaroni with this sauce; spread the whole on a dish, and leave to cool. Now divide up the preparation into portions the size of walnuts; roll these into balls, and then flatten them out to form quoits about the size of shillings. Treat these quoits with an anglaise, and very fine bread-crumbs, and plunge into hot fat four minutes before serving. Drain them when they have acquired a fine golden colour.
Pour one quart of boiling chicken consommé into the soup-tureen, and send to the table, separately, (1) the fried macaroni quoits; (2) one and one-half oz. of Gruyère and Parmesan cheese, in equal quantities, grated and mixed.
Add one tablespoonful of very concentrated tomato purée to three oz. of chicken forcemeat; roll this preparation into the form of a somewhat large sausage, and poach it. When cold, cut it into roundels, one-quarter inch thick, and stamp each roundel with an oval fancy-cutter in the shape of a medallion. Put these medallions in the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of saffroned pilaff rice (No. 2255), and, when about to serve, pour thereon one quart of very clear, boiling chicken consommé.
Make eighteen quenelles of chicken forcemeat in the shape of large pearls, and poach them. Prepare two tablespoonfuls of lettuce chiffonade (the heart of one lettuce cut julienne-fashion and stewed in butter); make eighteen paillettes with Parmesan (No. 2322), and put them in a very hot oven eight or ten minutes before serving.
Put the poached quenelles and the lettuce chiffonade into the soup-tureen; pour thereon one quart of boiling consommé of the Petite Marmite, and one pinch of chervil pluches.
Send the paillettes au Parmesan to the table separately, and have them very hot.
Make and poach thirty small quenelles of chicken forcemeat; cisel and stew in butter the heart of one lettuce; prepare twelve little profiterolles of pâte à choux, the size of hazel-nuts, and cook them, taking care to keep them crisp.
Put the quenelles and the lettuce chiffonade into the soup-tureen; pour thereon one quart of very clear, boiling, chicken consommé, and add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Serve the profiterolles separately and very hot.
Have ready one quart of chicken consommé thickened with three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca, strained through linen.
Prepare eighteen small grooved quenelles of chicken forcemeat. Poach, drain, and put them into the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of very green asparagus-heads and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice, every grain of which should be distinct and separate.
Prepare one quart of sterlet or sturgeon consommé, and add thereto some cucumber essence, obtained by pounding a cored and peeled cucumber, and straining the resulting purée through linen.
Put into the soup-tureen two tablespoonfuls of a julienne of salted mushrooms, one oz. of soaked vesiga cut into dice and cooked in broth, and pour thereon the boiling consommé.
N.B.—Vesiga or the spine-marrow of the sturgeon ought to be soaked in cold water for a few hours in order to soften and swell it, after which it should be cut into dice and cooked in broth. For every four tablespoonfuls of cooked vesiga, one oz. of dry vesiga should be allowed.
Have ready one quart of game consommé, prepared with hazel-hen fumet. Poach two baba-moulds of royale made from chestnut purée with two small tablespoonfuls of game salmis sauce added thereto; cut it into roundels half-inch thick, and trim these with a grooved fancy-cutter.
Put them into the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of a julienne of hazel-hen fillets, the same quantity of a julienne of mushrooms, and pour thereon the boiling game consommé.
The nests used for this soup are those of the esculent swallow, and their shape somewhat resembles that of the rind of a quartered, dry orange.
In the first place, prepare a chicken consommé containing a large proportion of nutritious principles. Set three nests to soak in cold water for twenty-four hours, the object being to swell the mucilaginous elements of which they are composed and to make them transparent.
When they have soaked sufficiently remove any pieces of feather which may have remained in them, using for this [213] purpose the point of a needle, and, when the nests are quite clean, drain them and put them into the consommé. At this stage set the consommé to boil, gently, for thirty or thirty-five minutes without interruption. During this time the gummy portions of the nests will melt into the consommé, giving the latter its characteristic viscidity, and there will only remain visible those portions which, in the natural state, constitute the framework of the nests; that is to say, little threads not unlike superfine transparent vermicelli.
I introduced this consommé in honour of the illustrious singer, Adelina Patti.
It consists of a chicken consommé, which should be made as perfect as possible, and a garnish composed of the poached eggs of small birds.
Prepare one quart of excellent ordinary consommé, and add thereto, when about to serve and away from the fire, one-quarter pint of port wine.
Also cut into a fine julienne the quarter of a small celeriac, the white of a leek, and the red part only of a small carrot. Stew this julienne in butter and complete its cooking in consommé, reducing the latter to a glaze.
When about to serve put this julienne in a soup tureen, add a few tablespoonfuls of a julienne of salted gherkins, and pour thereon the consommé with port.
Lay on a buttered tray ten small quenelles of ordinary chicken forcemeat, ten others of chicken forcemeat combined with a very red tomato purée, and ten more of the same forcemeat, combined with a purée of spinach, all the quenelles being grooved.
Ten minutes before serving poach these quenelles, drain them, put them in the soup-tureen, and pour therein one quart of chicken consommé thickened with three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca strained through linen. Add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Prepare one quart of very clear chicken consommé, also make fifteen small quenelles of pigeon forcemeat moulded to the shape of eggs by means of a very small spoon, and poach the yolks of ten eggs, taking care to keep them very soft.
[214]
Put the quenelles and the poached yolks into the soup-tureen
with a julienne of three fillets of pigeon and a tablespoonful of
asparagus-heads, and pour thereon the boiling consommé.
Serve at once.
For Ten People.—Garnish the bottom of a small stock-pot or stewpan with one fine carrot and two medium-sized onions cut into roundels and browned in butter, and one faggot. Add two small ox-tails, or one of medium size weighing about four lbs. (The tails should be cut into sections, each of which should contain one of the caudal vertebræ, and they should then be browned in the oven.) Also add two lbs. of gelatinous bones, broken very small and likewise browned in the oven.
Now proceed exactly as for brown veal stock (No. 9), taking note that the whole moistening must consist of no more than two and one-half quarts of ordinary broth and one quart of water.
Set to boil very gently for four and one-half or five hours. This done, strain the broth, which should be reduced to two and one-half quarts, and completely remove its grease. Transfer the largest sections of the tails, by means of a braiding-needle, one by one to another saucepan. Cover them with broth, and keep them warm for the garnish.
Finely chop one lb. of very lean beef; put this mince into a saucepan with the white of a leek cut into dice and half the white of an egg, and mix thoroughly. Add the broth, the grease of which has been removed, set to boil, stirring constantly the while, and then leave to simmer for one hour, which is the time required for the beef to exude all its juices and for the clarification of the broth.
While the clarification is in progress cut a small carrot in brunoise fashion, or turn it by means of a very small spoon. Cook this garnish in a little water with butter, salt, and sugar.
A few minutes before serving strain the ox-tail broth through a napkin, put the sections of ox-tail and brunoise into the soup-tureen, and pour thereon the prepared broth. This soup may be flavoured with port or sherry, but this is optional.
N.B.—If a thickened ox-tail soup be required add to the broth per every quart of it one-third of an oz. of arrowroot diluted with a little of the broth or some cold water.
Have one quart of chicken consommé ready.
For the garnish prepare two dariole-moulds of royale made [215] from a purée of ordinary julienne, a small macédoine of vegetables, comprising one heaped tablespoonful each of carrots and turnips divided up by means of a small grooved spoon and cooked in the usual way, one tablespoonful of small peas, the same quantity of fine French beans cut into lozenges, and one tablespoonful of asparagus-heads.
Cut the royale into regular roundels; put these in the soup-tureen with the macédoine of vegetables, and, when about to serve, pour thereon the boiling chicken consommé. Add a pinch of fine chervil pluches.
For Ten People.—Prepare a consommé in a special earthenware stock-pot in accordance with the procedure indicated in recipe No. 1, but with the following quantities, viz., two lbs. of lean beef and as much breast of beef, one marrow-bone tied in a muslin-bag, and the necks, the pinions, and the gizzards of six large fowls, these giblets being inserted in the stewpan one hour before dishing up.
Moisten with three and one-half quarts of water and add three-quarters of an oz. of salt. Set to boil, skim as indicated, and cook gently with the view of obtaining a very clear broth. One hour before serving add six oz. of carrots and the same quantity of turnips, both cut to the shape of large olives, five oz. of the white of leeks, and a heart of celery.
Cook a quarter of a very white, properly blanched cabbage, separately, in a saucepan with a little consommé and some stock grease.
When about to serve test the seasoning of the consommé, which latter should be very clear; thoroughly clean the stewpan, which may even be covered with a clean napkin; withdraw the marrow-bone; take it out of its muslin-bag, and send it and the cabbage to the table separately, accompanied by a plate of small pieces of hot toast for the marrow.
Prepare this exactly like the Petite Marmite.
This is a variation of the Petite Marmite, in which a tender and very fleshy hen is substituted for the giblets of fowl.
Strictly observe the rule of never using a new earthenware stock-pot before having boiled water in it for at least twelve hours. Also bear in mind that earthenware stock-pots should be washed in hot water only, without any soda or soap.
Have ready one quart of chicken consommé, also cut one carrot and one turnip into roundels one-half inch thick. With a tubular cutter one-eighth inch in diameter, cut these roundels into little rods, making a sufficient number to fill one tablespoonful with each vegetable. Cook these little rods in consommé, and reduce the latter to a glaze.
Put the carrot and turnip rods into the soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of small peas, the same quantity of small French beans and asparagus-heads, the former cut into lozenges, ten roundels of sorrel leaves, and as many of lettuce leaves, the latter being poached in some consommé. When about to serve pour the boiling consommé over these garnishes and add a large pinch of small chervil pluches.
Prepare the printanier exactly as directed above, but slightly lessen the quantities of the vegetables constituting the garnish.
Make eighteen small quenelles of chicken forcemeat in the shape of little grooved meringues, and poach them ten minutes before dishing up.
Drain them, put them into the soup-tureen with the other garnishes, and pour thereon the boiling consommé.
Prepare forty very dry profiterolles (No. 218), and add an excellent chicken consommé to them at the last moment.
The profiterolles may also be made to the size of walnuts, in which case they may be stuffed with a purée of chicken, foie gras, &c.
Prepare one quart of chicken consommé, and thicken it with three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca strained through linen. With a round, even cutter stamp out twelve roundels of crumb of bread the size of pennies and one-half inch thick. Poach in consommé as many slices of very fresh beef-marrow as there are roundels of bread.
Six minutes before serving fry the roundels of bread in clarified butter, hollow out their centres, and place on each a slice of poached beef-marrow suitably trimmed.
Put three tablespoonfuls of a julienne of cooked artichoke bottoms into the soup-tureen, pour thereon the thickened consommé, and add the roundels of bread garnished with marrow.
Prepare one quart of excellent white consommé, set it to boil, and add a julienne of the white of half a fowl and the heads of two leeks cut similarly to the fowl. Set to cook gently for ten minutes, taking care to disturb the consommé as little as possible, add three oz. of potatoes cut into a julienne, complete the cooking, and serve immediately.
Prepare one quart of clear chicken consommé.
For the garnish make two dariole-moulds of royale with a purée of early-season herbs thickened with velouté and whole eggs; with a small grooved spoon-cutter pick out one tablespoonful of pellets from a turnip and the red part only of a carrot. Cook these vegetables in the usual way. Cut the royale with a grooved fancy-cutter into pieces of the shape of small leaves. Put the leaves of royale into the soup-tureen with the carrot and turnip pellets, one tablespoonful of very green peas, the same quantity of French beans cut into lozenges, one tablespoonful of asparagus-heads, and twelve very small particles of very white cauliflower. Pour the boiling consommé over these garnishes, and add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Have ready one quart of highly-seasoned beef consommé. Also (1) prepare twelve quenelles of chicken forcemeat moulded by means of a small coffee-spoon, proceeding as follows:—Line the spoon with a thin coating of the forcemeat, and in the middle lay some chopped, reduced, cold chicken aspic. Cover the jelly with a layer of forcemeat, shaping it like a dome; insert another spoon (first dipped in hot water) under the quenelle, and place the latter upon a buttered sautépan. Repeat the operation until the required number of quenelles have been moulded. Treated in this way, the quenelles, when poached, contain, so to speak, a liquid core. Five minutes before dishing up, poach the quenelles.
2. Cut six rectangles out of lettuce leaves; spread a thin layer of forcemeat over each; roll into paupiettes, and poach in some of the consommé.
3. Prepare two tablespoonfuls of a coarse julienne of carrots and turnips, stew them in butter, and complete their cooking in the consommé, which should be thoroughly cleared of grease.
Put the julienne, the paupiettes, and the stuffed quenelles [218] into the soup-tureen; pour therein the boiling beef consommé, and add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Prepare one quart of chicken consommé, slightly thickened with two tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca strained through linen.
Make eighteen profiterolles, from pâte à choux without sugar (No. 2374), to the size of hazel-nuts. Bake them in a moderate oven, keeping them very crisp, and garnish them, inside, with a foie-gras and truffle purée.
When about to serve, pour the consommé into the soup-tureen, and dish the profiterolles separately, after having placed them in good time in the front of the oven, so that they may reach the table very hot.
Have ready one quart of game consommé, prepared with pheasant fumet. Add thereto, when about to serve, one-quarter pint of reduced Sauterne. Make two dariole-moulds of royale from a preparation consisting of one-third of the whole of purée of pheasant, one-third of chestnut purée, and one-third of pheasant salmis sauce. Poach the royale; cut it into grooved roundels, and place these in the soup-tureen with one tablespoonful of a julienne of fillets of pheasant.
When about to serve, pour the boiling consommé over the garnish.
Take one quart of game consommé, prepared with venison fumet. Finish the consommé, at the time of serving, with one-quarter pint of Marsala.
Make three dariole-moulds of royale from a preparation consisting of one-third of the whole of venison purée, one-third of lentil purée, and one-third of reduced game Espagnole. Poach the royale in a small Charlotte mould, and, when it has cooled, cut it up with a fancy-cutter of the shape of a cross. Put the crosses of royale into the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of a julienne consisting of fillets of hare, and pour thereon the boiling consommé.
Sprinkle three tablespoonfuls of tapioca into one quart of boiling chicken consommé, and leave to poach gently for fifteen or eighteen minutes.
[219]
Make twenty small quenelles from chicken forcemeat,
finished by means of crayfish butter, and mould them to the
shape of small, grooved meringues. Poach these quenelles.
Cut twelve roundels, the size of a penny, from a piece of beef-marrow,
and poach them in the consommé.
Put the drained quenelles and the poached roundels of marrow into the soup-tureen; add one tablespoonful of a julienne of very black truffles, and the same quantity of asparagus-heads. Pour the boiling consommé, with tapioca, over this garnish.
Keep one quart of very clear chicken consommé very warm.
Prepare ten quenelles of chicken forcemeat, moulded by means of a small coffee-spoon, and poach them; also have ready four braised lettuces.
Put the quenelles, the lettuce cut into small sections and properly trimmed, and one tablespoonful of peas into the soup-tureen; pour therein the boiling consommé and a pinch of chervil pluches.
Have ready one quart of chicken consommé.
Make ten large quenelles from chicken forcemeat, and stuff them with a very fine brunoise, proceeding as follows:—Line a dessertspoon with a thin coat of forcemeat, and garnish the centre with the brunoise, previously cooked in consommé, and cold. Cover the brunoise with a layer of forcemeat, shaping it like a dome; insert another dessertspoon dipped into hot water under the quenelle, and transfer the latter to a buttered sautépan. Repeat the operation until the required number of quenelles have been moulded.
Allow eight minutes for the poaching of these quenelles; put them into the soup-tureen with two tablespoonfuls of peas; pour thereon the boiling consommé, and add a pinch of chervil pluches.
With the exception of a few leading London restaurants, where a large quantity of this preparation is constantly in demand, turtle soup is very rarely prepared in the kitchens of catering establishments. It is more generally obtained ready-made, either fresh or preserved, and as a rule of exceptional quality, from firms whose speciality it is to make it, and who deliver it in excellent condition.
From among the London firms who have deservedly earned [220] a reputation for this soup, “Pécriaux” may be quoted as one whose produce is quite irreproachable.
When a comparatively small quantity of this soup is required, it is best to buy it ready-made; in the event of its being desirable to prepare it oneself, the following recipe will be found the simplest and most practical for the purpose.
The Slaughtering of the Turtle.—For soup, take a turtle weighing from 120 to 180 lbs., and let it be very fleshy and full of life.
To slaughter it, lay it on its back on a table, with its head hanging over the side. By means of a double butcher’s hook, one spike of which is thrust into the turtle’s lower jaw, while the other suspends an adequately heavy weight, make the animal hold its head back; then, with all possible dispatch, sever the head from the body.
Now immediately hang the body over a receptacle, that the blood may be collected, and leave it thus for one and one-half or two hours.
Then follows the dismemberment:—To begin with, thrust a strong knife between the carapace or upper shell and the plastron or lower shell, exactly where the two meet, and separate the one from the other. The turtle being on its back, cut all the adhering flesh from the plastron, and put the latter aside. Now cut off the flippers; remove the intestines, which throw away, and carefully collect all the green fat. Whereupon cut away the flesh adhering to the carapace; once more remove all fat, and keep both in reserve.
The Treatment of the Carapace, the Plastron, and the Flippers.—The carapace and plastron, which are the outside bony framework of the turtle, constitute the only portions wherefrom the gelatinous flesh, used as the garnish of the soup, are obtained.
Saw the carapace into six or eight pieces, and the plastron into four.
Put these pieces with the flippers into boiling water or into steam, to blanch. Withdraw the flippers as soon as they are sufficiently stiff for their skin to be removed, and leave the pieces of carapace and plastron to blanch for five minutes, in order that they may admit of being scraped. Now cool the pieces of carapace and plastron and the flippers, and put them into a stewpan containing enough water to abundantly cover [221] them. Set to boil; garnish with vegetables, as in the case of an ordinary broth, and add a small quantity of turtle herbs.
Five or six hours should be allowed for the cooking of the carapace and the plastron, but the flippers, which are put to further uses in other culinary preparations, should be withdrawn at the end of five hours.
When the pieces are taken from the cooking-liquor, remove all the flesh from the bones, and cool the former; then trim it carefully, and cut it into little squares of one and one-half inches side. It is these squares together with the green fat (poached in salted water and sliced) which constitute the garnish of the soup.
The Preparation of Turtle Soup.—There are two modes of procedure, though their respective results are almost identical.
1. Make a broth of the flesh of turtle alone, and then add a very gelatinous beef consommé to it, in pursuance of the method employed when the turtle soup is bought ready-made.
This procedure is practically the best, more particularly if the soup has to be kept some time.
2. Make an ordinary broth of shin of beef, using the same quantity of the latter as of turtle. Also include half a calf’s foot and one-half lb. of calf’s shin per 3 lbs. of the beef. Add the flesh of the turtle, or, in the event of its being thought necessary to clarify, which operation I do not in the least advise, reserve it for that purpose.
The condiments and aromatics being the same for both methods, I shall now describe the procedure for method No. 1.
The Ingredients of the Soup.—Put into a stewpan of convenient size the flesh of the turtle and its head and bones. Moisten partly with the cooking-liquor of the carapace, and complete the moistening, in the case of a turtle weighing 120 lbs., with enough water to bring the whole to 50 quarts. By this means a soup of about thirty to thirty-five quarts will be obtained at the end of the operation. Add salt in the proportion of one oz. per every five quarts; set to boil; skim, and garnish with twelve carrots, a bunch of leeks (about ten bound with a head of celery), one lb. of parsley stalks, eight onions with ten cloves stuck into them, two lbs. of shallots, and one head of garlic. Set to boil gently for eight hours. An hour before straining the soup, add to the garnish four strips of lemon-peel, a bunch of herbs for turtle, comprising sweet basil, sweet marjoram, sage, rosemary, savory, and thyme, and a bag containing four oz. of coriander and two oz. of peppercorns.
[222]
Finally, strain the soup through a napkin; add the pieces
of flesh from the carapace and plastron which were put aside
for the garnish, and keep it until wanted in specially-made
sandstone jars.
The Serving of the Soup.—When about to serve this soup, heat it; test and rectify its seasoning, and finish it off by means of a port wine glass of very old Madeira to every quart.
Very often a milk punch is served with turtle soup, the recipe being:—
Milk Punch.—Prepare a syrup from one-half pint of water and three and one-half oz. of sugar, the consistence at the boil being 170° (Baumé’s Hydrometer). Set to infuse in this syrup two orange and two lemon zests. Strain at the end of ten minutes, and add one-half pint of rum, one-fifth pint of kirsch, two-thirds pint of milk, and the juice of three oranges and three lemons. Mix thoroughly. Let it stand for three hours; filter, and serve cold.
Have ready one quart of chicken consommé thickened with three tablespoonfuls of poached tapioca strained through linen.
Also prepare two tablespoonfuls of a julienne of carrots stewed in butter, the cooking of which is completed in the consommé; ten small quenelles of chicken forcemeat, combined, in the proportion of one-third, with foie gras and chopped truffles; ten small, very crisp profiterolles, stuffed with a purée of chicken with pistachio kernels.
Put the quenelles and the julienne into the soup-tureen, pour therein the boiling consommé, and send the profiterolles to the table separately, and very hot.
Sprinkle two tablespoonfuls of tapioca into one quart of boiling consommé, and set to cook gently for a quarter of an hour.
Put into the soup-tureen one tablespoonful of asparagus-heads, the same quantity of peas and of French beans cut into lozenges, a few roundels of sorrel leaves, and as many roundels of poached lettuce leaves.
Pour the boiling consommé, with tapioca, over this garnish, and add a large pinch of chervil pluches.
Have ready one quart of chicken consommé.
Prepare the following garnish:—Two small blanched lettuces, stuffed with chicken forcemeat combined with braised and chopped salted tongue; two dariole-moulds of ordinary royale, and two pancakes coated with a layer of chicken forcemeat, which should be placed in the front of the oven for a few moments with the view of poaching the forcemeat.
Put the cut-up lettuces, the pancakes cut into small, narrow lozenges, and the royale cut into pastils, into the soup-tureen; and, when about to serve, pour the boiling consommé over the whole.
Remarks Relative to the Consommés.—I gave the recipes of these consommés in Part I. of this work (No. 6), and shall now, therefore, limit myself to the following remarks, which are of paramount importance:—
1. These consommés must be perfect in limpidness and quality.
2. The flavour which typifies them should be at once decided and yet not too pronounced.
3. When the flavour is imparted by a wine, the latter should be of the best possible quality. Rather than make use of inferior wines, the presence of which in the soup would tend to depreciate its quality, completely discard wine flavourings.
4. Supper consommés never contain any garnish.
Use roast quails in the proportion of two for each pint of consommé; the fillets may be reserved for a cold entrée.
It is impossible to state exactly how much celery should be used, the quantity being entirely subject to the more or less decided flavour of the vegetables at one’s disposal.
Experience alone can guide the operator in this matter.
Allow five oz. of small fresh morels, or three oz. of dry ones per quart of the consommé. Pound them and mix them with the clarification.
Use fresh truffles only in this case. Allow two oz. of peelings and trimmings per quart of the consommé; pound them and mix them with the clarification.
Proceed as in No. 618; allow one partridge for each quart of the consommé.
Take a very superior chicken consommé; add thereto, per quart, a glass of excellent liqueur brandy, and, in the same proportion, one gold-leaf cut into small spangles.
Add one-half oz. of fresh or preserved capsicum to every quart of the consommé. The product should be pounded and mixed with the clarification.
Add four oz. of raw tomato and one oz. of capsicum to the consommé per every quart of the latter. Mix these ingredients with the clarification, and serve as cold as possible.
Add to the consommé for every quart one-third pint of raw tomato purée and one-sixth pint of tomato juice. Cook with lid on for twenty minutes, taking care not to let it reach the boil; strain through muslin, pressing lightly the while, and season moderately with cayenne. Set to cool, and serve very cold.
By adding a port wine glass full of the chosen wine to one pint of excellent cold chicken consommé, the following series of consommés may be made:—
Proceed as for the “Consommé Portugaise,” and use that variety of small tomatoes which, in Provence, are called “Pommes d’amour.”
Proceed as for the “Consommé Portugaise,” but finish it with one port wine-glassful of port or old Marsala per quart.
In Part I., Chapter I., of this work I pointed out what thick soups consist of. I likewise touched upon the general rules which should be observed in the preparation of each class of these soups, and showed how most of them could, if necessary, be converted into and served as cullises, purées, bisques, veloutés, or creams. The principles governing these alterations are very simple, and after a moment’s reflection the operator will thoroughly grasp their import. Be this as it may, the reader will find the necessary directions at the end of each recipe that admits of various methods of preparation.
With regard to those recipes which are not followed by any directions of the sort referred to, and which I simply class under the name of Potages, these are unalterable preparations which may only be served in accordance with the directions given. This being clear, the reader will understand that I have refrained from repeating the quantities of butter, cream, thickening ingredients, &c., in each recipe. These particulars having been given in Part I., it will be necessary to refer to that part of the book for them.
Cut one lb. of the red part only of carrots into fine slices; chop one onion, and put the whole into a stewpan with a sprig of thyme and two oz. of butter. Stew gently for twenty minutes, and season with a pinch of salt and sugar. Add the thickening ingredient, i.e., either two oz. of rice or five and one-half oz. of bread dice fried in butter; also add one and one-half pints of white consommé, and set to cook very gently.
Rub through tammy, test the consistence, despumate, and add butter when dishing up.
Ordinary garnish: small bread dice fried in butter.
Occasional garnish: poached Japanese pearls in the proportion of two tablespoonfuls per quart of the soup.
[226]
This soup may also be prepared as a cream or a velouté
à la Nivernaise (see No. 674).
Make one pint of carrot purée as above, and poach two tablespoonfuls of tapioca in a pint of white consommé.
When about to serve, and after having buttered the purée of carrots, mix therewith the prepared tapioca.
Finely mince one lb. of celeriac; blanch it; thoroughly drain it, and stew it gently in one oz. of butter. Moisten with one quart of white consommé; add two medium-sized potatoes, minced, and set to cook gently. Rub through tammy; despumate the purée gently for half an hour, and add butter when dishing up.
Garnish: small bread dice fried in butter.
Parboil and drain one lb. of very fresh Brussels sprouts. Set them to stew gently in three oz. of butter; moisten with one pint of white consommé; for the leason add two medium-sized quartered potatoes, and complete the cooking.
Rub the whole through tammy, finish the purée with milk, despumate it in the usual way, and add butter when dishing up. Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.
Parboil one lb. of cauliflower divided into bunches.
Drain them and put them in a saucepan with one pint of boiled milk and two medium-sized minced potatoes for the thickening. Set to cook gently, rub through tammy, finish with boiled milk, despumate, and add butter.
Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream with small pieces of cauliflower as garnish.
Parboil and drain one lb. of well-cleaned stachys. Stew them in one oz. of butter; moisten with one pint of boiled [227] milk or white consommé, according as to whether the purée is to be a Lenten one or not; add two medium-sized minced potatoes, and complete the cooking gently.
Rub through tammy, test the consistence, and add, if necessary, either a little boiled milk or some consommé; despumate, and add butter.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of Japanese pearls poached in consommé or milk.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Cook together with the ordinary aromatic garnish three-quarters pint of dry flageolets, or, if they are in season, use twice that quantity of fresh ones.
Drain, pound, and moisten the purée with a little of the cooking-liquor of the flageolets, rub through tammy, and rectify the consistence with some white consommé and the necessary quantity of boiled milk. Despumate, and butter it when about to dish up.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of small bread dice fried in butter.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream, but for either of the latter it is preferable to use fresh flageolets, the garnish for both consisting of very small flageolets and chervil pluches.
Cook in the usual way, that is to say, with carrots, a faggot, and one onion stuck with a clove, a good half-pint of dry haricot beans.
Crush all these, moisten with a few tablespoonfuls of their cooking-liquor, and rub through tammy.
Rectify the consistence of the purée with the necessary quantity of white consommé and milk, despumate, add butter when about to dish up, and garnish with small bread dice.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Parboil one and one-half lbs. of French beans and keep them very green. After having well drained them, stew them for ten or twelve minutes in one oz. of butter, moisten with one pint of white consommé, and add two medium-sized minced potatoes for the thickening.
[228]
Set to cook gently, rub through tammy, rectify the consistence
of the purée with a little boiled milk, despumate, and
add butter when dishing up.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of cooked French beans cut into narrow lozenges.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Put a heaped pint of red beans into cold water, set to boil slowly, skim, add three oz. of carrots, one small faggot, one onion stuck with a clove, and a bottleful of boiling red wine. Set to cook gently.
Drain the beans and crush them in a mortar. Moisten the purée with a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of the beans, rub through tammy, rectify the consistence of the purée with some white consommé, follow the procedure of all purées, and add butter when about to serve.
Garnish with bread dice fried in butter.
Soak three-quarters of a pint of lentils in lukewarm water for two hours. Put them in a stewpan with two oz. of very lean breast of bacon, blanched, cooled, and cut into dice, and one quart of white consommé. Set to boil, skim, add three oz. of carrots, one onion, and one faggot, and cook very gently.
Drain the lentils, pound them together with the bacon, moisten the purée with a few tablespoonfuls of cooking-liquor, and rub through tammy. Rectify the consistence with some reserved cooking-liquor, then treat the purée in the usual way and add butter when about to serve.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of bread dice fried in butter and a pinch of chervil pluches.
N.B.—It should be borne in mind that the aromatic garnish used in cooking dry vegetables of what kind soever should be withdrawn before pounding the latter, that they may be rubbed through tammy.
Finely mince one lb. of very firm turnips, parboil, drain, and stew them in one and one-half oz. of butter, the necessary salt, and one-half oz. of sugar, until they are almost completely cooked. Moisten with one-half pint of white consommé, and [229] complete the cooking. Meantime, cook two medium-sized, peeled and quartered potatoes in some consommé.
Now put the turnips and the potato into the same stewpan; crush them, and rub them through tammy. Bring the purée to the proper consistence by means of boiled milk, and finish it in the usual way.
Garnish with some small bread dice fried in butter.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Sprinkle three oz. of well-separated vermicelli into one pint of boiling milk or white consommé (according as to whether the preparation be a Lenten one or not). Let the vermicelli poach gently for twenty-five minutes, and then add four tablespoonfuls of sorrel cooked in butter.
Rub the whole through tammy; finish the purée with sufficient milk or thin cream; heat until the boil is reached, and, when about to serve, complete by means of a leason composed of the yolks of two eggs and one-quarter pint of very fresh cream.
For the garnish, refer to the remarks under No. 646.
Proceed exactly as directed in the preceding recipe; but instead of vermicelli use three oz. of sago. Allow the usual time for cooking, and add the same quantity of sorrel cooked in butter.
Use the same quantities of milk or consommé in order to bring the purée to the proper consistence, and make use of a precisely similar leason.
The same as the above, but use three oz. of semolina. All other particulars remain the same.
Procedure like that of No. 642, using instead of the vermicelli three oz. of tapioca.
A large variety of this kind of soups may be prepared by using the quantity prescribed of salep, buckwheat, oatmeal, barley-meal, &c.
[230]
These soups derive a particular and agreeable flavour from
their cohering element.
The chief point to be remembered in their preparation is their consistence, which should be that of a thin cream.
When too thick, these soups are pasty and disagreeable; when too thin, they are insipid; hence the desirability of aiming at a happy medium.
Their garnish is exceedingly variable, the more preferable forms being small bread dice fried in clarified butter, pressed; peeled tomatoes cut into dice and tossed in butter; small printaniers, brunoises, juliennes, paysannes, or well-poached rice.
Thus, from the typical recipe of these soups, a whole series may be prepared, which need not be gone into separately here.
Wash three-quarters of a pint of split peas in cold water and put them into a stewpan with one quart of cold water, a little salt, and one-half lb. of raw ham. Set to boil, skim, and add two oz. of mirepoix, the minced green leaves of three leeks, a fragment of thyme and bay, salt, and one-half oz. of sugar. Set to cook very gently.
Rub through tammy, bring the purée to the proper consistence by means of white consommé, despumate it sufficiently, and add butter to it when dishing up.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of small bread dice fried in butter.
The two following methods may be employed, viz.:—
(1) Cook quickly one and one-quarter pints of fresh peas, just shelled, in boiling, salted water. Drain them, pound them in a mortar, moisten the purée with one pint of white consommé, and rub it through tammy. Bring it to the proper degree of heat, and add butter when about to serve. Prepared in this way, the purée should be of a perfect shade.
(2) Stew one and one-quarter pints of fresh peas in one and one-half oz. of butter, a little lettuce chiffonade, one and one-half oz. of the green part of leeks, a pinch of chervil, a little salt and sugar, and one-seventh pint of water.
Pound the peas as soon as they are cooked, moisten the purée with one pint of white consommé, and rub through tammy. Bring the preparation to the proper degree of heat and add butter at the last moment.
[231]
Treated thus, the purée will be of a fainter shade than the
preceding one, but its flavour will be more delicate.
Garnish, in both cases, with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of very green, fine peas, and some chervil pluches. This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Make the purée according to one of the above-mentioned methods, and add to the peas, while cooking, a faggot consisting of three little sprigs of fresh mint. Finish with consommé, and add butter in the usual way.
Garnish with nice peas, as above, and some very tender mint-leaves, chopped, instead of the chervil pluches.
Remarks Relative to those Soups which have a Purée of Peas for Base.—A large number of soups may be made from purées of fresh peas; among others I may mention the following, with brief directions as to their constituents and garnish, viz.:—
Purée of fresh peas, quite ready for soup; finish with a small tablespoonful of sorrel and lettuce chiffonade, and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice per quart of purée.
Prepare this after the recipe of potage Lamballe; finish with one tablespoonful of a julienne of the white of a leek and one tablespoonful of white chicken meat, cut julienne-fashion, per quart of the soup.
Purée of fresh peas ready for soup; add two tablespoonfuls of a chiffonade of sorrel and a pinch of chervil pluches per quart of the purée, and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice.
Half of this consists of a finished purée of peas, and the other half of tapioca poached in consommé as for the ordinary “potage au tapioca.”
This is the “potage Fontange,” kept somewhat clear, and with a garnish composed of one and one-half oz. of vermicelli, poached in consommé, and a pinch of chervil pluches per quart of the soup.
Proceed as for “potage Fontange,” and add a garnish of one tablespoonful of peas and one tablespoonful of fine French beans cut into lozenges.
Half of this consists of a purée of peas and the other half of a purée of chicken. Prepare these purées in the usual way and mix them together when about to serve.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of Japanese pearls poached in consommé and twelve small quenelles of chicken forcemeat, in the shape of pearls, per quart of the soup.
This is an ordinary purée of peas with butter, combined with two tablespoonfuls of a julienne consisting of the white of a leek and some chervil pluches per quart of the purée. This list could be considerably lengthened, but what there is of it amply suffices to show the great number of soups that may be obtained from the combination of other suitable products with the purée of peas and the modification of the garnish in each case.
Finely mince the white of two medium-sized leeks, and fry them without colouration in one oz. of butter. Add three medium-sized peeled and quartered potatoes, one pint of white consommé, and cook quickly. The moment the potatoes seem soft to the touch crush them and rub them through tammy.
Finish the purée with some boiled milk or thin cream, heat until the boil is reached, and add butter when dishing up.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of small bread dice fried in butter and some chervil pluches.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Fry in one oz. of butter a somewhat finely-cut mirepoix consisting of one oz. of breast of bacon cut into dice, one-third of a carrot, half an onion, a fragment of thyme and bay. Add to this fried mirepoix eight medium-sized tomatoes, pressed and cut into pieces the size of a clove of garlic, a pinch of sugar, two and one-half oz. of rice, and one pint of white consommé. [233] Set to cook gently, rub through tammy, and finish with the necessary quantity of consommé.
When about to serve complete the purée by adding thereto, away from the fire, two oz. of butter.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of poached rice, each grain being separate, and the same quantity of peeled tomatoes cut into dice and briskly tossed in butter.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Prepare one and one-half pints of tapioca in white consommé, and keep it a little lighter than ordinary tapioca. Also press, peel, and cut into dice the pulp of three medium-sized, very red tomatoes; poach these dice in some consommé and mix them with the tapioca.
Or, failing fresh tomatoes, add to the tapioca two tablespoonfuls of concentrated tomato purée diluted in a bowl with some white consommé.
Send two oz. of grated cheese to the table separately.
Finely mince two lbs. of Jerusalem artichokes and stew them in one oz. of butter. Add five torrefied and crushed filberts, moistened with one pint of white consommé, and set to cook gently. Rub through tammy; finish the purée with one-quarter pint of milk, in which one tablespoonful of fecula has been diluted, cold. Set to boil and add butter when dishing up.
Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
(1) Cut into very small dice one oz. of carrot, one oz. of onion, and two parsley stalks. Add a fragment of thyme and bay; brown this mirepoix with butter, in a sautépan; throw in fifteen crayfish for “Bisque” (their average weight being about one and one-third oz.), and toss them in the mirepoix until they acquire a very red colour. Sprinkle with two tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy and one-quarter pint of white wine, season with a large pinch of salt and a pinch of ground pepper, and set to reduce.
This done, moisten with one-quarter pint of white consommé and leave to cook for ten minutes.
[234]
Also cook three oz. of rice in one and one-half pints of
white consommé.
(2) Shell the crayfishes’ tails and put them aside; also reserve eight carapaces. Drain the crayfishes of all their cooking-liquor; finely pound them and their remains and the mirepoix. Add the rice, properly cooked, and the cooking-liquor of the crayfish, and rub through a sieve, first, and then through tammy.
Add to the resulting purée one-half pint of white consommé, set to boil, wielding a whisk the while, pass through a strainer, and then keep the preparation in a bain-marie, taking care to place a few lumps of butter on its surface lest a skin should form while the bisque is waiting to be served.
Finish the preparation when dishing up with two and one-half oz. of butter, three tablespoonfuls of excellent thick cream, and a very little cayenne.
Garnish with the crayfish tails cut into dice, and the eight carapaces stuffed with a fish forcemeat with cream and poached seven or eight minutes previously.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
After substituting for the crayfish a raw lobster weighing three lbs., cut into small sections, the procedure is the same as that of No. 662. It is only necessary, therefore, to refer to that recipe for all particulars relating to preparation and quantities.
Garnish with the meat taken from the tail; this should have been kept aside and cut into small dice.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
The mode of procedure for this bisque, the mirepoix, the thickening ingredients, the moistening, and the finishing of the soup are identical with those of No. 662.
All that is needed, therefore, is to substitute for the crayfish two lbs. of raw shrimps.
Instead of using ordinary butter in finishing this bisque, use three oz. of shrimp butter. Garnish with twenty-five reserved tails, these being shelled and trimmed.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
Prepare six oz. of the meat of a wild rabbit, six oz. of that of a partridge, and six oz. of that of a pheasant. These meats should be roasted and their roast-cases swilled with a liqueur-glass [235] of burnt brandy. The resulting gravy should be added to the soup.
Now finely pound these meats together with one-half pint of cooked and drained lentils. When the whole has become a smooth purée add the cooking-liquor of the lentils and the swillings referred to above and rub through tammy.
Finish the cullis with the necessary quantity of consommé, heat it, and pass it through a strainer. Add butter at the last moment and season moderately.
Garnish with three tablespoonfuls of small, very fresh mushrooms; these to be finely minced and tossed in butter.
Fry four fine thrushes in butter and complete their cooking in one pint of feathered game consommé containing five oz. of rye-bread dice fried in butter. These dice constitute in this case the thickening element of the soup. Remove and put aside the thrushes’ fillets, finely pound the carcasses together with two juniper-berries, add the leason of bread dice, and rub through tammy.
Add to the resulting purée one-quarter pint of feathered-game consommé, set to boil, and pass through a strainer. Finish the cullis with two and one-half oz. of butter and four tablespoonfuls of cream.
Garnish with the reserved fillets cut into thin slices or into a julienne.
Proceed as in No. 666 in so far as the preparatory details and the quantities are concerned, but take note of the following changes in other directions:—
(1) Substitute for the thrushes two grouse or two hazel-hens, taking care to discard the legs and the carcasses.
(2) Use ordinary bread dice instead of those of rye-bread.
Cut the legs of a young wild rabbit into small pieces, stiffen these in butter, and put them into the stewpan with a few roundels of carrot and onion, one small faggot of parsley and celery, and one quart of white consommé. Set to cook gently.
Also lightly brown in butter two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion, besprinkle with one-half tablespoonful of fecula and a [236] sufficient quantity of curry, moisten with the strained cooking-liquor of the pieces of rabbit, bring to the boil, and set to simmer for seven or eight minutes. Rub through tammy and then despumate for twenty minutes, adding from time to time one or two tablespoonfuls of consommé with the view of promoting the clarification of the cullis. When about to serve finish the latter with three or four tablespoonfuls of cream.
Garnish with eighteen very small slices taken from the pieces of rabbit and two oz. of rice à l’Indienne, serving the latter separately.
Split the shells of fifteen fine chestnuts, put them in a stewpan with water, boil them for five minutes, and shell and peel them quickly while they are still very hot. Then cook them gently in one-half pint of white consommé with one-third of a stick of celery, minced, and one piece of loaf-sugar.
Poële a partridge, remove the fillets for the purpose of garnish, bone the rest, and pound it finely together with the carcass and the poëling liquor. Add the chestnuts, pound the whole, and add some consommé to the resulting purée with the object of facilitating the rubbing through tammy. This done, add to the preparation about one-quarter pint of very clear game stock, bring the whole to the boil, pass it through a strainer, and finish the cullis, when dishing up, with a very little cayenne and one and one-half oz. of butter.
Garnish with the fillets of partridge cut into a small julienne.
Poach in one quart of white consommé a cleaned fowl weighing about three lbs. and two oz. of rice previously blanched. Having cooked the fowl, withdraw it, raise its fillets, and put them aside. Bone the remainder and finely pound the meat. When the latter is a smooth paste mix therewith the rice, which should be very well cooked, add the necessary amount of white consommé to the purée, and rub through tammy. Bring the cullis to the boil and pass it through a fine strainer.
Finish the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason composed of the yolks of three eggs, one-sixth pint of cream, and three oz. of butter.
Garnish with the reserved fillets cut into small, regular dice.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.
(1) Prepare one and one-half pints of poultry velouté, keeping it somewhat thin.
(2) Clean, wash, peel, and quickly pound eight oz. of very fresh mushrooms, newly gathered if possible.
Rub through a fine sieve, and add the resulting purée of raw mushrooms to the velouté. Bring the whole to the boil once or twice, and this done rub through tammy immediately. Finish with the leason and add butter when dishing up.
Garnish with one tablespoonful of a julienne of raw mushrooms tossed in butter, one tablespoonful of chicken fillets, and as much salted tongue, both of which should also be cut in julienne-fashion.
N.B.—With regard to veloutés I remind the reader that the velouté of ordinary consistence represents one-half of the soup, the purée typifying the latter represents one-quarter, while the consommé required to bring the soup to the correct degree of consistence should be in the proportion of the remaining quarter.
The leason, per quart of the soup, should consist of the yolks of three eggs and one-sixth pint of cream, while the average quantity of butter should measure about two and one-half oz. (see No. 242).
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Bear in mind that this soup ought to be made and served within the space of twenty minutes, for if it be left to stand for however short a time, it will most probably turn, in spite of every possible precaution.
Cook three oz. of finely chopped onion in butter without colouration, besprinkle with one-half coffeespoonful of curry, moisten with one and one-half pints of boiling water, add a faggot, a pinch of salt, a few sprigs of saffron (or a little of it powdered), and two oz. of Viennese bread.
Set to boil for ten minutes; this done add three-quarters lb. of very fresh Blanchailles, and cook over a brisk fire.
Rub through a hair-sieve, finish by means of a leason consisting of the yolks of three eggs and one-fifth pint of cream, and pour the whole into the soup-tureen over some dried slices of bread (buttered), over rice, or over some previously poached vermicelli. Serve at once.
Prepare one and one-half pints of fish velouté, stew four oz. of fillets of sole and the same quantity of fillets of whiting in one and one-half oz. of butter and lemon juice. Pound the fish, add it to the velouté, and rub through tammy.
Add the necessary quantity of consommé, heat the velouté, and finish it, when about to serve, with a leason and butter.
Garnish with one tablespoonful of a julienne of poached fillets of sole and twelve small quenelles of smelt forcemeat.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Cut into thin slices one lb. of the red part only of carrots, season with a pinch of table-salt and twice that amount of castor-sugar, and stew in one oz. of butter.
Add one pint of ordinary thin velouté and let the cooking of the carrots be completed therein. Rub through tammy, finish with one-half pint of white consommé, set to boil, and complete the preparation, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.
Garnish with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of a fine brunoise of the red part of carrots.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Prepare one pint of ordinary velouté, parboil one and one-half lbs. of white asparagus, and put them into the velouté. Complete the cooking gently. Rub through tammy, add one-half pint of white consommé, heat, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.
Garnish with one tablespoonful of a lettuce chiffonade and twelve small white asparagus-heads wherefrom all leaves have been removed.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Peel, remove the seeds from, mince, and stew in butter one lb. of parboil cucumber. Add this to one pint of ordinary velouté, which should have been prepared at the same time, and complete the cooking quickly. Rub through tammy, add the necessary quantity of white consommé, heat, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason and butter in the usual quantities.
[239]
Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
After having slightly parboiled them, stew one lb. of very fresh watercress leaves in one and one-half oz. of butter, add them to one pint of ordinary velouté. Set to simmer for seven or eight minutes, rub through tammy, add one and one-half pints of ordinary white consommé, heat, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason and butter.
Garnish with one oz. of watercress leaves parboiled for three minutes.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Prepare one and one-half pints of clear poultry velouté. Also finely pound ten or twelve well-washed sweet almonds, moisten them, little by little, with one-sixth pint of fresh water, and rub through a strong towel, twisting the latter to assist the process.
Add this almond milk to the velouté, and finish the latter, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.
Garnish with one tablespoonful of the white of a chicken cut into small dice, and twelve small quenelles of chicken forcemeat (in the shape of pearls) poached just before dishing up.
Prepare one pint of ordinary velouté, and mix therewith one-half pint of a purée of haricot beans. Rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé; heat, and finish the whole, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of an ordinary julienne and a pinch of chervil pluches.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Prepare a thin panada with one pint of boiled milk and two and one-half oz. of crumbled bread. Season with a pinch of salt and a very small quantity of mignonette. Also stew gently, in one oz. of butter, two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion, two and one-half oz. of fillets of smelt, one-half lb. of fillets of sole, or the meat of a dory, and the juice of the quarter of a lemon.
[240]
Add the fish, stewed in butter and pounded, to the panada,
together with one-half pint of ordinary thin velouté.
Rub through tammy; heat; season with a very little cayenne, and finish the whole, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of butter.
N.B.—1. In view of the decided flavour of the smelt, and the really disagreeable taste it imparts to a preparation which contains overmuch of it, its flesh should never exceed the proportion of one-third of the required quantity of fish. The remaining two-thirds should be supplied by a fish of neutral flavour, such as the sole or dory, both of which are admirably suited to this purpose.
2. The velouté d’éperlans should, like almost all fish veloutés, be prepared as quickly as possible, and at the last moment. The process should not last longer than thirty minutes, for, if there be any delay, the preparation will turn and lose its flavour.
3. For this soup I elected to use a panada as the thickening element, instead of a fish velouté, the reason being that, were the latter used, the taste of fish would in the end be too pronounced.
Proceed in the matter of the base of the soup as in No. 680.
Finish the velouté with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of shrimp butter.
Garnish with six crayfish tails, cut into four pieces, and one tablespoonful of a short julienne of truffles and mushrooms.
The same as above, with twelve small quenelles of smelt forcemeat with crayfish butter, and one tablespoonful of very green asparagus-heads per quart of velouté.
Prepare one and one-half pints of delicate and rather thin fish velouté.
Trim fifteen or twenty frogs’ legs; toss them in butter without letting them acquire any colour, and set them to poach for ten minutes in two tablespoonfuls of white wine and the juice of a lemon. Pound them in a mortar; add the resulting purée to the velouté; set to simmer for seven or eight minutes, and rub through tammy.
[241]
Heat the velouté, and finish it, when dishing up, with the
ordinary leason and three and one-half oz. of best butter.
Do not garnish this velouté.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Prepare one and three-quarter pints of bisque de homard (No. 663), but substitute velouté for the thickening with rice. Rub through tammy; heat, and complete, when dishing up, with two and one-half oz. of lobster butter and three-quarters oz. of red butter.
Garnish with two baba-moulds of a royale of lobster, cut by means of a fancy-cutter in the shape of a cross.
Shell-fish veloutés do not admit of an egg-yolk leason.
Break up two small live lobsters or one medium-sized one, and prepare it à l’Américaine (see “Lobster à l’Américaine”). Reserve a few slices of the meat for garnishing purposes. Finely pound the rest with the shell; combine the purée with one quart of ordinary velouté prepared beforehand, and add the lobster sauce. Rub through a sieve, first, then through tammy; heat without allowing to boil; add the required quantity of consommé, and once more pass the whole through a strainer.
Complete, when dishing up, with three oz. of best butter.
Garnish with one-half tablespoonful of peeled tomato pulp, cut into dice and half-melted in butter, and the reserved slices of lobster cut into dice.
Prepare the lobster à l’Américaine as above, and flavour it with curry. Preserve a sufficient quantity of meat from the tail to afford an abundant garnish.
For the rest of the process proceed exactly as the preceding recipe directs.
Garnish with the reserved meat cut into dice, and four tablespoonfuls of rice à l’Indienne; send the latter to the table separately.
Prepare a medium-sized lobster after the manner directed in “Homard à la Newburg with raw lobster” (see No. 948), and season with curry.
Reserve a few slices of the meat of the tail for the garnish; [242] finely pound the remaining portions and the shell; add the lobster sauce, and combine the whole with one quart of ordinary velouté, kept somewhat light.
Rub through a sieve, first, then through tammy; heat the velouté without letting it boil; add the necessary quantity of consommé, and finish the preparation, when about to serve, with three oz. of butter.
Garnish with the reserved meat cut into dice, and two tablespoonfuls of rice à l’Indienne, each grain of which should be kept distinct and separate.
Prepare a medium-sized lobster à l’Américaine, and, in addition to the usual ingredients of the preparation, include two concassed tomatoes and two roughly chopped onions. Season with paprika.
For the rest of the operation, proceed exactly as directed under “Velouté à la Cleveland.”
Garnish with lobster meat cut into dice, two tablespoonfuls of rice, and one tablespoonful of pimentos cut into dice.
Proceed exactly as for “Velouté de Homard à l’Orientale.”
Garnish with lobster meat in dice, one tablespoonful of pimentos in dice, and two tablespoonfuls of pilaff rice, to which add a very little saffron.
Remarks relating to the Variation of these Veloutés.—By merely substituting an equivalent quantity of crayfish, shrimps, or crabs, for the lobster, the recipes dealing with veloutés of lobster, given above, may be applied to Veloutés of Crayfish, Shrimps, or Crabs.
It would therefore be pointless to repeat them, since all that is needed is to read crayfish, shrimps, or crabs wherever the word lobster appears.
Thus I shall only point out that the number of these veloutés may be increased at will, the only requisites being the change of the basic ingredient and the modification of the garnish.
Prepare one quart of very delicate fish velouté, and bear in mind that the preparation must be made as speedily as possible. (See the remarks dealing with this question which follow upon the model recipe of the velouté d’éperlans.)
[243]
Add to the velouté the carefully collected liquor of the
twenty-four oysters constituting the garnish, and complete,
when about to serve, with a leason and butter.
Garnish with four poached oysters (cleared of their beards) per each person.
Prepare one quart of poultry velouté. Complete it, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and three oz. of crayfish butter.
Garnish with three tablespoonfuls of Japanese pearls poached in white consommé.
Prepare one pint of poultry velouté; mix therewith one-half pint of barley cream (No. 712), and rub through tammy. Add one-half pint of white consommé, and heat the velouté without letting it boil.
Finish it, when about to serve, with a leason and butter. Garnish with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of best macaroni, poached and cut into dice.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Prepare a poultry velouté with barley cream, as above. Finish it, when about to serve, with a leason and butter.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of a brunoise, and the same quantity of fine pearl barley cooked in white consommé.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
Proceed exactly as directed under “Velouté Cressonière” (No. 677), but substitute purslain for the watercress.
Prepare one quart of poultry velouté. Finish it, when dishing up, with a leason composed of the yolks of three eggs diluted with one-fifth pint of sweet-almond milk (made by pounding eighteen sweet almonds, mixing therewith one-fifth pint of water, and straining the whole through a twisted towel), and three oz. of pistachio butter. The velouté should be of a pale green shade.
Garnish with small crescents of chicken forcemeat prepared with crayfish butter, kept of a pink shade. These crescents [244] should be laid, by means of a piping-bag, upon thin roundels of truffle, and poached in consommé.
This soup may also be prepared as a cream.
The preparation of these veloutés requires the utmost care, but, as a rule, they are very much liked.
Prepare a white roux from one oz. of butter and one and one-sixth oz. of flour per quart of the moistening. Dilute with some very strong clear consommé, thoroughly cleared of grease; boil, and despumate for one and one-half hours, adding meanwhile half as much consommé as served in the moistening of the velouté.
When the velouté is thoroughly despumated and entirely cleared of grease, strain it through a silk sieve, and add, per quart, one-quarter pint of very fresh thin cream. Cool, stirring incessantly the while; once more strain the velouté through the sieve when it is cold, and, if necessary, add some of the consommé already used, in order to give the velouté the consistence of a thickened consommé. Serve it in cups, and see that it be sufficiently thin to not impaste the mouth of the consumer.
This velouté is usually served as it stands, but it allows of various condimentary adjuncts. Such are:—Tomato and capsicum essences; crayfish, shrimp, or game creams. These creams or essences should be of consummate delicacy, and ought to lend only a very delicate flavour to the velouté.
Have ready one and one-half pints of Béchamel. Parboil, finely mince, and stew in butter four large artichoke-bottoms. Pound the latter; put them in the Béchamel, and rub the whole through tammy.
Add the necessary quantity of white consommé or milk, and set to heat without allowing to boil. Finish the preparation, when dishing up, with one-quarter pint of cream and one oz. of hazel-nut butter (No. 155).
Remarks relative to Creams.—I remind the reader here that (1) the thickening element of creams is a Béchamel prepared in the usual way (see No. 28); (2) in the preparation of a cream, of what kind soever, the Béchamel should constitute half of the whole, the basic ingredient a quarter, and the white consommé or milk the remaining quarter.
[245]
As a rule, they comprise no butter, but are finished by means
of one-third pint of very fresh cream per quart. Be this as it
may, if it be desirable to butter them, one may do so, but in
very small quantities, and taking care to use the very best
butter.
This class of soups is more particularly suited to Lenten menus.
Parboil for five or six minutes one and one-half lbs. of Argenteuil asparagus, broken off at the spot where the hard part of the stalk begins. Drain them, and set them to complete their cooking gently in one and one-quarter pints of previously prepared Béchamel.
Rub through tammy; add the necessary quantity of white consommé, and heat without allowing to boil.
Finish with cream when dishing up.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of white asparagus-heads and a pinch of chervil pluches.
Proceed exactly as for “Crème Argenteuil,” but substitute green asparagus for Argenteuil asparagus.
Put one lb. of dry, green wheat to soak in cold water for four hours. Then cook it slowly in one-half pint of water and as much white consommé. Mix therewith one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel and rub through tammy.
Add the necessary amount of white consommé to the purée; heat the whole without boiling, and finish it with cream when dishing up.
Garnish with a pinch of chervil pluches.
This soup may also be prepared as a purée or a velouté.
Mince one lb. of the white of celery; parboil for seven or eight minutes; drain, and stew in one oz. of butter. Mix one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel with it; complete the cooking slowly, and rub through tammy.
Add one-half pint of white consommé; heat without allowing to boil, and finish the preparation with cream when about to serve.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of a brunoise of celery.
This soup may also be prepared as a purée or a velouté.
Mince and stew in butter one lb. of bulbous chervil, and mix therewith one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel. Complete the cooking slowly; rub through tammy; add sufficient white consommé; heat, and finish with cream when dishing up. Garnish with one tablespoonful of a fine julienne of chicken fillets and the same quantity of a julienne of truffles.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Take one lb. of very fresh chicory, and stew it for a good half-hour in one and one-half oz. of butter and the juice of one lemon.
Now mix one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel with it, and finish the cooking very slowly. Rub through tammy; add the necessary quantity of white consommé; heat, and complete with cream when serving.
Garnish with a julienne of Belgian chicory, stewed and well drained.
Quickly parboil one lb. of shredded and well-washed spinach to which a little sorrel may be added; drain, press, and add thereto one and one-half pints of somewhat thin Béchamel. Complete the cooking; rub the whole through tammy, and finish it with the necessary amount of fresh cream.
Garnish with a julienne of spinach, quickly parboiled and stewed in butter.
Skin two-thirds lb. of new broad beans, freshly gathered, if possible. Cook them for ten minutes in boiling salted water containing a sprig of savory, and then add one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel. Complete the cooking of the broad beans in the Béchamel; rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé or milk; heat without allowing to boil, and finish the preparation with cream when dishing up.
Garnish with very small skinned broad beans, split in two and parboiled with a sprig of savory.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Bake the yams in the oven, without peeling them. As soon as this is done, cut them in two, remove their pulp, and quickly rub the latter through a sieve while it is still hot. Dilute the purée with boiling milk or thin Béchamel in the proportion of one pint of the former and one-half pint of the latter per lb. of the purée. (This Béchamel should be made from one and one-half oz. of butter and one oz. of flour per quart of milk.)
Rub the whole through tammy, and finish the preparation in the usual way. Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of Brazilian pearls, poached in consommé.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Parboil and stew in butter two medium-sized ciseled lettuces, the greenest leaves of which should have been discarded. Add these to one and one-half pints of Béchamel.
Rub through tammy; add one pint of white consommé; heat, and finish as usual with cream.
Garnish with roundels of lettuce leaves, lightly coated with chicken forcemeat, a bit of truffle laid in their centre, and the whole poached at the last minute.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Cook some fresh maize in salted water (or use the preserved kind if the fresh is out of season), and combine therewith an equal quantity of thin Béchamel. Rub through tammy; heat, and finish with cream when dishing up.
Garnish with grains of maize cooked in salted water.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté by substituting for the Béchamel an excellent poultry velouté.
Pour one-quarter lb. of oatmeal diluted with one-half pint of cold milk into one quart of slightly salted boiling milk. Stir over the fire until the boil is reached; move the stewpan to the side of the fire, and simmer for two hours.
This done, add six tablespoonfuls of a fondue of sorrel and butter; set to simmer again for one-quarter hour, and rub the whole through tammy.
Complete the operation after the manner common to all creams.
Proceed exactly as for No. 708, using the same quantities, but substituting barley-meal for oatmeal.
Remarks upon the Two above Creams.—They may also be prepared as veloutés. Their garnish may be greatly varied, and may consist of chiffonade of lettuce and sorrel; pressed peeled tomatoes, cut into dice and cooked in butter; poached rice or pastes (i.e., vermicelli, &c.); fine well-cooked pearl barley; brunoise; small printaniers, &c.
They belong, in fact, to the same order of soups as the purées of sorrel with pastes, the recipes of which were given earlier in the chapter.
Peel and slice the oxalis roots, and half-cook them in salted water. Drain, add it to one and one-half pints of Béchamel, and complete its cooking gently in the sauce.
Rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé, and finish after the manner of other creams. Garnish with chervil pluches.
This soup may also be prepared as a purée or a velouté.
Wash one-half lb. of rice in cold water; blanch it; cool it, and cook it very gently in one quart of white consommé. Crush in the mortar; rub through tammy, and dilute the rice purée with one pint of white consommé. Heat and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with the necessary quantity of cream.
Or pour four tablespoonfuls of rice cream, diluted with one-half pint of cold milk, into three pints of boiling milk; set to boil, stirring the while, and leave to cook very gently for twenty-five minutes. Rub through tammy, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with the required quantity of cream.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Wash three-quarters lb. of coarse pearl barley in lukewarm water, and cook it gently for about two and one-half hours in one pint of white consommé containing one piece of the white part of a stick of celery.
Crush in a mortar; rub through tammy; dilute the purée of barley with one pint of white consommé; heat, and finish the [249] preparation, when dishing up, with the necessary quantity of cream.
This soup may also be prepared with barley-meal, the procedure in that case being the same as that of the “Crème de Riz” above.
Garnish with very fine, well-cooked pearl barley.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Mix one and one-half pints of thin Béchamel with one-half pint of chicken purée. Rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé to the preparation, or the same quantity of boiled milk; heat without allowing to boil, and finish with cream when dishing up.
Garnish with twenty very small slices of chicken fillets, white asparagus-heads, and chervil pluches.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Mix one-half pint of chicken purée with one pint of thin Béchamel. Rub through tammy; add one and one-half pints of white consommé and one-quarter pint of almond milk (No. 678). Heat without allowing to boil, and finish with cream.
Garnish with very small grooved quenelles of chicken forcemeat combined with one oz. of pistachio purée per three oz. of forcemeat.
This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.
Wash one-quarter lb. of fine pearl barley in plenty of water. Put it into a stewpan with one quart of consommé, as much water, a faggot comprising parsley, celery, and chervil, and set to cook very gently for five hours. While the cooking progresses, take care to remove all the skin which forms on the surface, in order that the cooking-liquor may remain very clear.
When the barley is well cooked, transfer it to another stewpan, and add to it four tablespoonfuls of a thick and very red tomato purée, strained through muslin, and two tablespoonfuls of celery, minced in paysanne-fashion, stewed in butter, and finally cooked in consommé.
This excellent soup should not be made too thick.
Cut two-thirds lb. of very white fillet of veal into large dice, and stiffen these in butter without letting them acquire any [250] colour. Add one and one-quarter pints of thin velouté with a veal base, and set to cook very gently.
Finely pound the veal; dilute the purée with velouté, and rub through tammy. Add one pint of white consommé; heat without boiling, and complete the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason of the yolks of three eggs diluted with four tablespoonfuls of cream and two oz. of butter.
Garnish with thin macaroni cut into short lengths, and send some grated cheese to the table separately.
Prepare one and one-half pints of fresh velouté, and mix therewith one-quarter pint of mushroom velouté. (For making this, see “Velouté Agnès Sorel,” No. 671.)
Heat without boiling; pass through a strainer, and finish, when about to serve, with the same leason as for ordinary velouté, and two and one-half oz. of butter. Garnish with one fillet of sole, poached very white, and cut into a julienne; twelve small quenelles of sole or whiting forcemeat finished with crayfish butter, and six crayfishes’ tails cut into small pieces.
Prepare a “purée Conti” (No. 640) with an excellent fumet of game.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of sorrel, ciseled and cooked in butter, and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice.
Prepare a light “Purée Soissonnaise”; butter it well, and add thereto as garnish three tablespoonfuls of ciseled sorrel cooked in butter, and chervil pluches.
Add one-half pint of Soubise purée (No. 104) to one pint of “Crème de Riz” (No. 711) flavoured with a very little curry. Rub the whole through tammy.
Add one-half pint of white consommé, and heat without boiling. Complete, when about to serve, with an ordinary leason and three oz. of butter.
Garnish with twelve small quenelles of chicken forcemeat combined with one-third of its volume of foie-gras purée, one tablespoonful of little truffle pearls, and an equal quantity of poached rice, each grain of which must be kept distinct and separate.
Cook one-half lb. of lentils with the usual garnish. Roast two medium-sized partridges, keeping them slightly underdone, and remove their fillets. Complete the cooking of the partridges with the lentils, drained of their cooking-liquor, in one pint of game consommé.
Prepare a royale (No. 209) with the reserved fillets.
When the birds are cooked, bone them; pound their meat, and add thereto the lentils and the cooking-liquor; rub through tammy.
Finish the purée with one and one-half pints of excellent thin game stock, and complete the soup, when dishing up, with two oz. of butter and two tablespoonfuls of reduced Madeira.
Garnish with the royale, cut into small regular crescents, and twelve small crescents of very black truffle.
Prepare one and one-half pints of poultry velouté, and rub it through tammy. Complete with one-half pint of white consommé; heat without boiling, and finish, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason, two and one-half oz. of butter, and two tablespoonfuls of a fondue of sorrel.
Prepare one pint of a velouté of green asparagus; one-half pint of a velouté of lettuce, and one-half pint of poultry velouté. Put all three into a stewpan; add thereto the necessary quantity of white consommé to bring the soup to the correct degree of consistence; heat without boiling, and pass through a strainer.
Finish the soup, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and two oz. of butter. Garnish with one tablespoonful of a chiffonade of sorrel, and one tablespoonful of green asparagus-heads.
Cisel and melt in butter three oz. of shredded sorrel, and add thereto one and one-half pints of white consommé. A few minutes before serving, pour into the consommé a leason composed of the yolks of six eggs diluted with one-quarter pint of cream; set on the fire and stir, after the manner of an English custard, i.e., until the preparation begins to show signs of boiling.
Finish, away from the fire, with two and one-half oz. of butter, and add a pinch of chervil pluches.
[252]
Remarks concerning the Possible Variation of this Soup.—The
mode of procedure adopted in the case of the Germiny
could, if necessary, be applied to all thick soups, and it would
then constitute a class to which the term “Cream” would be
better suited than it is at present to the soups thus designated.
Instead of the ordinary white consommé, which is used in its preparation, a consommé may be used in which such vegetables as carrots, turnips, peas, &c., are cooked, the latter being reserved for the garnish, while the cooking-liquor is thickened with egg-yolks and cream in accordance with the quantities and directions given in the above recipe.
A carrot cream, a cream of fresh peas, or of asparagus-heads, prepared in this way, would be much more delicate than those prepared after the ordinary recipes.
The essential point in this series of soups is the leason; this should consist of enough egg-yolks to render the preparations sufficiently thick and creamy.
Cut two oz. of sorrel leaves into a julienne, and stew them in butter with one oz. of watercress leaves, one oz. of chervil pluches, and young pimpernel. Add one and one-half pints of water, the necessary salt, three medium-sized, peeled, and quartered potatoes, and cook gently.
Drain and reserve the cooking-liquor; crush the potatoes; dilute the purée with the cooking-liquor, and rub through tammy. Set to boil, and finish, when dishing up, with three oz. of Printanier butter with herbs, combined with a few leaves of sweet basil.
Add a pinch of chervil pluches.
Prepare, according to the directions given (No. 648), one and one-half pints of a purée of fresh peas, and add thereto one-half pint of consommé of “La Petite Marmite.” Set to boil, and finish with two oz. of butter.
Garnish with the vegetables from the Marmite, prepared as for Croûte au Pot.
Refer to the derivative soups of the “Purée de Pois” (No. 654).
Prepare one and one-half pints of “Crème de Volaille” (No. 713), finished with a leason of egg-yolks and cream; also [253] two-thirds pint of “Crème de Céleri,” similarly finished, and combine the two creams.
Garnish with twelve small profiterolles, stuffed with chicken forcemeat, and a royale of celery in dice.
Prepare and combine the following purées:—One-third pint of artichoke purée, one-fifth pint of haricot-bean purée, one-seventh pint of Soubise purée. Add one pint of white consommé; set to boil; pass through a strainer, and finish, when dishing up, with two oz. of butter.
Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of sago poached in one-half pint of white consommé.
Proceed exactly as for “Potage à l’Aurore” (No. 715), but (1) flavour potage Miss Betsy with curry; (2) substitute for the celery peeled, cored apples cut into dice and cooked in butter.
N.B.—Both these soups (Aurore and Miss Betsy) are subject to much variation. All that is needed is to alter the flavouring element and the garnish. Thus the quantity of tomato may be reduced by half, and combined with one-quarter lb. of peas and their cooking-liquor (the peas in this case being cooked in one pint of water with a little salt and sugar); or with the same quantity of French beans, asparagus-heads, or sorrel cooked in butter, &c.
Add one-half pint of somewhat thick tapioca to one and one-half pints of “Crème d’Asperges” (No. 697), prepared as directed. Garnish with very fine peas cooked in the English fashion.
Mix one and one-half pints of rather liquid poultry velouté with one-half pint of chicken purée. When serving, add an ordinary leason, and finish with two and one-half oz. of hazel-nut butter.
Garnish with very small quenelles of chicken forcemeat combined with one tablespoonful of hazel-nut powder per three oz. of the forcemeat.
Take a fine woodcock; raise and reserve one of its fillets, and roast it, taking care to keep it very underdone. Then remove the other fillet, and with it prepare two dariole-moulds [254] of royale (No. 209). Finely pound what remains of the woodcock, and combine with the resulting purée one and one-half pints of game velouté prepared with essence of woodcock. Cover the stewpan and place it in the bain-marie for thirty-five minutes. Now rub the whole through tammy; heat without boiling, and finish, when dishing up, with one and one-half oz. of butter, one and one-half oz. of cooked foie-gras purée, diluted with a few tablespoonfuls of the soup, one and one-half tablespoonfuls of cream, and one and one-half tablespoonfuls of burnt liqueur brandy.
Garnish with the royale cut into dice, and the reserved fillet of woodcock, stiffened in butter at the last moment, and cut into thin slices.
Prepare one quart of barley cream in accordance with the directions under No. 712. Finish it, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of crayfish butter.
Garnish with twelve small, grooved quenelles of chicken forcemeat finished with crayfish butter; one tablespoonful of small pearl barley, well cooked; and six small cocks’ combs, freshly poached and very white.
Prepare (1) one quart of light, poultry velouté combined with cucumber juice; (2) ten pieces of parsley root and the same quantity of celery root, turned to the shape of small, new carrots, and split crosswise at their base; (3) twenty small lozenges of salted cucumber.
Parboil the roots and the cucumber lozenges for fifteen minutes, and add them to the velouté when about to cook the latter. Cook the whole gently for forty minutes, despumating the velouté the while. Finish with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of cucumber juice, and an ordinary leason.
Garnish with small chicken-forcemeat quenelles.
Cook quickly, in salted water, three medium-sized, peeled, and quartered potatoes. When their pulps seem soft to the touch, drain them; rub them through a fine sieve, and dilute the resulting purée with one and one-half pints of white consommé. Add two tablespoonfuls of sorrel melted in butter, and finish the preparation with an ordinary leason and one oz. of butter.
[255]
Garnish with very thin roundels of French soup-flute and
chervil pluches.
Prepare one pint of “Velouté Parmentier” and one pint of tomato velouté. Combine the two; heat, and finish, when dishing up, with two and one-half oz. of butter.
Garnish with twenty small quenelles of chicken forcemeat, combined with one coffeespoonful of chopped capsicum, or capsicum in dice, per three oz. of the forcemeat.
Mince the white of two leeks, the third of a medium-sized carrot, and half an onion, and stew the whole in one and one-half oz. of butter. Add one-half lb. of pressed tomatoes cut into pieces, two medium-sized, peeled potatoes, minced; moisten with two-thirds pint of white consommé, and cook gently. Crush the vegetables; rub them through tammy; complete the purée with the necessary quantity of white consommé; set to boil, and finish, when dishing up, with two and one-half oz. of butter.
Garnish with twelve little balls of potato, raised by means of the spoon-cutter, and cooked in salted water; two tablespoonfuls of French beans cut into lozenges; and some chervil pluches.
Prepare one quart of “Crème de Volaille” (No. 713), and finish it with the usual leason. Garnish with one tablespoonful of artichoke-bottom, cut into dice, the same quantity of carrot dice, both gently cooked in butter, and one tablespoonful of truffle dice.
Blanch and cool one small, boned calf’s foot, and cook it gently in a good white-wine mirepoix. Prepare one and one-half pints of “Crème de Riz” (No. 711), and add thereto the cooking-liquor of the calf’s foot, strained through muslin.
Finish this cream, when about to serve, with an ordinary leason, one and one-half tablespoonfuls of a slight infusion of turtle-soup herbs, and one and one-half oz. of butter.
Garnish with a julienne of half of the calf’s foot and twenty small quenelles consisting of a purée of hard-boiled egg-yolks and chicken forcemeat, these two preparations being in the proportion of two-thirds and one-third respectively.
Cut the necks into three, the gizzards into four, and the pinions into two. Brown one-half lb. of these giblets in a thick-bottomed stewpan with one oz. of butter. Sprinkle with one tablespoonful of flour; slightly colour the latter, and moisten with one quart of white consommé and one pint of water. Add a faggot containing one stick of celery, and set to cook gently for three hours.
When the pieces of giblets are cooked, drain them, trim them, and put them into a stewpan with one dessertspoonful of parboiled rice and a heaped tablespoonful of the white of celery, minced and fried in butter. Strain the cooking-liquor of the giblets, through a strainer, over the enumerated garnishes; set to cook gently for another quarter of an hour; season strongly with pepper, and serve.
Stone two-thirds lb. of small, fleshy cherries, and put twenty aside for garnishing purposes. Put the others into a sugar-boiler with two-thirds pint of hot water, a small strip of lemon rind, and a fragment of cinnamon, and set to boil quickly for eight minutes.
Also boil in another sugar-boiler one-half pint of Port or Bordeaux wine. Crush half of the cherry-stones in the mortar; put them into the boiled wine, and let them infuse, away from the fire.
Rub the cooked cherries through a fine sieve; dilute the purée with the juice thickened by means of one tablespoonful of fecula moistened with cold water; add the cherries put aside for the garnish, and one-half tablespoonful of castor sugar, and again set to boil for four minutes.
Complete the preparation with the infusion strained through muslin; pour it into the soup-tureen, and add a few biscottes.
For the sake of variety, lady’s-finger biscuits may be substituted for the biscottes.
Set half a fowl to cook very gently in one and one-half pints of light and clear veal stock with a few aromatics.
Also prepare a julienne of the white of three leeks; stew this in butter without colouration, and complete the cooking thereof in the cooking-liquor of the fowl, strained and poured carefully away.
[257]
Pour the preparation into the soup-tureen, and add the meat
of the fowl, cut into a julienne.
Serve some stewed prunes separately, but this is optional.
Make a roux from one and one-half oz. of butter and as much flour. When it has acquired a nice, light-brown colour, moisten it with one quart of white consommé or brown stock, and set to boil, stirring the while.
Add one-half lb. of raw chickens’ livers rubbed through a sieve, and set to cook for fifteen minutes. Rub the whole through tammy; season strongly with pepper; heat, and complete the preparation, at the last moment, with one-quarter lb. of sliced chickens’ livers, tossed in butter, and one wineglass of good Madeira.
Cook quickly in salted water two small, peeled, and quartered potatoes. Drain them, rub them through a fine sieve, and dilute the purée with one and one-half pints of white consommé. Add three tablespoonfuls of a julienne made in accordance with the above recipe; heat, and finish the preparation with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of butter.
Brown the minced white of two small leeks and one-third of an onion, also minced, in one oz. of chopped, fresh breast of bacon, and one-half oz. of grated, fat bacon. Moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé, and add one-third of a carrot, one-third of a turnip, half a stick of celery, two oz. of small cabbage, and one small potato, or one-half of a medium-sized one, all of which vegetables must be finely minced.
About twenty-five minutes after the soup has started cooking, complete it with two tablespoonfuls of peas, a few French beans cut into lozenges, and one and one-half oz. of rice, or the same quantity of very thin macaroni broken into very small pieces.
This done, set to cook again for thirty minutes. A few minutes before serving, add to the soup one small, crushed clove of garlic, three leaves of sweet basil, and a small pinch of chopped chervil pluches; mix the whole with one-half tablespoonful of grated bacon.
Send to the table, separately, at the same time as the soup some freshly grated Gruyère.
First make the following preparation:—Beat two small eggs to a stiff froth, and mix therewith one and one-half oz. of the crumb of very good white bread, one oz. of grated Parmesan, and a little nutmeg. Boil one and two-thirds pints of white consommé, and pour the above preparation therein, little by little, stirring briskly the while with the whisk. Then move the stewpan to the side of the fire, put the lid on, and set to cook gently for seven or eight minutes.
When about to serve, stir the soup with a whisk, and pour it into the soup-tureen.
Cut a small fowl, or half a medium-sized one, into little pieces, and put these in a stewpan with a few roundels of carrot and onion, a small bunch of parsley and celery, one-half oz. of mushroom parings and one quart of white consommé. Set to boil, and then let cook gently.
Also lightly brown in butter half a medium-sized onion, chopped; besprinkle it with one dessertspoonful of fecula and one coffeespoonful of curry; moisten with the cooking-liquor of the fowl, strained through a sieve; boil, and set to cook gently for seven or eight minutes. Now rub the whole through tammy, and leave it to despumate for twenty minutes, adding one tablespoonful of consommé, from time to time, with the view of promoting the despumation, i.e., the purification of the soup.
When about to serve, finish the preparation with three or four tablespoonfuls of cream. Pour the whole into the soup-tureen; add a portion of the meat of the fowl, cut into thin slices, and serve separately two oz. of rice à l’Indienne.
This soup is held in high esteem by Americans. It is served either with garnish, as I direct below, or as a consommé, hot or cold, or in cups, after it has been strained.
Fry one medium-sized chopped onion in two oz. of butter, without letting it acquire any colour. Add one-quarter lb. of fresh lean bacon, or raw ham cut into medium-sized dice; fry for a few minutes, and add about one lb. of boned chicken-meat cut into large dice (the white parts of the chicken are used in preference); let these ingredients stiffen well; take care to stir fairly often, and moisten with two quarts of white chicken consommé. Boil, and set to cook gently for twenty or twenty-five minutes with lid on.
[259]
Now add about one-half lb. of peeled gombo, cut in coarse
paysanne-fashion, and three or four medium-sized tomatoes,
peeled, concassed, and with their seeds withdrawn.
When the gombos are well cooked, carefully remove all grease from the preparation; test the seasoning, and, if necessary, add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce.
Garnish the soup with two or three tablespoonfuls of plainly-cooked rice.
N.B.—This soup is excellent if it be finished with one-quarter pint of cream per quart. A cream of gombos may also be prepared, which may be garnished with the dice of chicken meat. In the latter case, the garnish of rice is optional.
Finely mince one small carrot, one small turnip, one leek, one-third of a stick of celery, one-third of an onion, and some cabbage leaves. Stew the vegetables in one oz. of butter; moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé, and set to boil. A few minutes having elapsed, add two small potatoes minced like the other vegetables, and complete the cooking gently. Send separately some roundels of soup-flutes.
Finely mince the white of four medium-sized leeks. Put this into a stewpan with one oz. of butter, and stew gently for a quarter of an hour. Then add three medium-sized quartered potatoes, cut into roundels the thickness of pennies. Moisten with one pint of white consommé; add the necessary quantity of salt, and set to cook gently. When about to serve, finish the soup with one pint of boiled milk and one and one-half oz. of butter; pour it into the soup-tureen, and add twelve roundels of French soup-flutes, cut as thinly as possible.
Proceed exactly as for “Soupe aux Foies de Volaille,” but substitute for the garnish of sliced livers one of calf’s or sheep’s kidney cut into large dice, or sliced, and briskly tossed in butter just before dishing up.
Finish the soup similarly to the preceding one, i.e., with Madeira.
In matters culinary, fish comprise not only the vertebrates of the sea and river, but also the esculent crustacea, mollusca, and chelonia, and one batrachian. Of course, the animals representing these various classes differ enormously in respect of their importance as articles of diet. Fresh-water fish, for instance, with the exception of salmon and some kinds of trout, are scarcely ever eaten in England; and the same applies to the frog. As regards salt-water fish, although certain species, such as the sole and the turbot, are in great demand, many other and excellent ones which are looked upon as inferior are seldom put into requisition by first-class cookery. Thus, Brill, Red Mullet, and Bass are not nearly so popular as they deserve to be, and never appear on a menu of any importance. No doubt, Fashion—ever illogical and wayward—exercises her tyrannical sway here, as in other matters of opinion; for it will be found, even when the distinctions among fish are once established, that there exist a host of incongruities in the unwritten law. Fresh cod is a case in point; should this fish appear on the menu of a grand dinner given by Royalty, the guests would not think it at all out of place; but if the chef of a large modern hotel ventured to include it among the items of a plain table-d’hôte dinner he would most probably incur the scorn and indignation of his clientèle.
This example, than which none could be better suited to our case, successfully shows that the culinary value of the fish has far less to do with the vogue the latter enjoys than the very often freakish whims of the public.
One can but deplore the arbitrary proscription which so materially reduces the resources at the disposal of a cook, more particularly at a time when the universally imperious cry is for novelty and variety in dishes and menus respectively; and one can only hope that reason and good sense may, at no remote period, intervene to check the purposeless demands of both entertainers and their guests in this respect.
[261]
Having regard to these considerations, I have omitted from
this work, which is really a thesaurus of selected recipes and
not a complete formulary, all those fish enumerated below,
which are very rarely eaten in England, and the recipes for
which could therefore serve no purpose:—
I do not think it at all necessary to lay any further stress upon the series of preparations bearing the names of Croquettes, Cromesquis, Côtelettes (côtelettes here only mean those prepared from cooked fish, and which are really but a form of croquettes), Coquilles, Bouchées, Palets, &c., which may be made from any kind of cooked fish. These preparations are so well known that it would be almost superfluous to repeat their recipes.
The divers ways of cooking fish are all derived from one or another of the following methods:—
(1) Boiling in salted water, which may be applied equally well to large pieces and slices of fish.
(2) Frying, particularly suited to small specimens and thin slices of larger ones.
(3) Cooking in butter, otherwise “à la Meunière,” best suited to the same pieces as No. 2.
(4) Poaching, with short moistening, especially suited to fillets or small specimens.
(5) Braising, used particularly for large pieces.
(6) Grilling, for small specimens and collops.
(7) Cooking au Gratin, same as grilling.
The procedure changes according as to whether the fish is to be cooked whole or in slices. If whole, after having [263] properly cleaned, washed, and trimmed it, lay it on the drainer of the utensil best suited to its shape; i.e., a fish-kettle. Cover it with water, salt it in the proportion of one-quarter oz. of salt per quart of water, cover the utensil, and bring the liquid to the boil. As soon as this is done skim and move the kettle to the side of the fire, where the cooking of the fish may be completed without boiling.
If the fish is cut into slices, plunge these, which should never be cut too thin, into boiling salted water, and move the fish-kettle containing them to the side of the fire; complete their cooking slowly without allowing the water to boil.
The object of this process is to concentrate, inside the fish, all the juices contained in its flesh, whereof a large portion escapes when the cut fish is plunged in cold water gradually brought to the boil. If this method is not applied to large fish, cooked whole, the reason is that the sudden immersion of these in boiling water would cause such a shrinking of their flesh that they would burst and thereby be spoiled.
In the case of certain kinds of fish, such as Turbot and Brill, milk is added to the water in the proportion of one-eighth of the latter, the object being to increase the whiteness of the fish.
For the various kinds of Salmon and Trout, the court-bouillon (No. 163) is used in the place of salted water, but the general working process remains the same.
The boiled fish is dished on a napkin and drainer; it is garnished with fresh parsley; and the sauce announced on the menu, together with some plain-boiled and floury potatoes, is sent to the table separately.
In Part I. of this work I explained the general theory of frying (Chapter X., No. 262); I shall now, therefore, only concern myself with the details of the operation in its relation to fish.
As a rule, frying should never be resorted to for very large fish or very thick slices of the latter, for, owing to the very high temperature that the operation enjoins, the outside of the fish would be dried up before the inside had even become affected.
If the fish to be fried is somewhat thick, it is best to cut several gashes in it, lengthwise and across, these being deeper and closer together the thicker the fish may be. The object of this measure is to facilitate the cooking, but the measure itself is quite unnecessary when dealing with small fish. In [264] the case of flat-fish, partly detach the two underlying fillets on either side of the back-bone instead of gashing them.
All fish intended for frying (except Blanchailles and Whitebait) should first be steeped in salted milk, then rolled in flour before being plunged into the hot fat. If they be “panés à l’anglaise,” however, as they generally are in England, the milk may be dispensed with, in which case, after they have been lightly coated with flour, they are completely dipped in an anglaise (No. 174) and afterwards rolled in white bread-crumbs. They should then be patted with the blade of a knife so as to ensure the cohesion of the whole coating, and, finally, the latter should be criss-crossed with the back of a knife with the view of improving the appearance when fried.
Fried fish are served either on a napkin, on a drainer, or on special dish-papers. They are garnished with fried parsley and properly trimmed half-lemons.
This excellent mode of procedure is only suited to small fish or the slices of larger ones. Nevertheless, it may be resorted to for chicken-turbots, provided their weight do not exceed four lbs.
The operation consists in cooking the fish (or slices or fillets of fish) in the frying-pan with very hot butter, after having seasoned them and sprinkled them with flour. If the fish are very small, ordinary butter is used; if, on the other hand, they are large, the procedure demands clarified butter. When the fish is sufficiently coloured on one side, it is turned over for the completion of the operation. This done, it is transferred, by means of a spatula, to a hot dish, whereon, after having been salted, it is sent to the table.
It may be served as it is with a garnish of trimmed half-lemons.
Fish prepared in this way are termed “dorés” (gilded), “Soles dorés,” “Turbotins dorés,” &c., in order to distinguish them from those prepared à la Meunière.
If the fish is announced “à la Meunière,” a few drops of lemon should be sprinkled upon it; it should be seasoned with salt and pepper, and garnished with concassed, scalded parsley. At the last moment a piece of butter, in proportion to the size of the fish, is put in the frying-pan, and is heated until it begins to brown slightly. This is poured over the fish immediately, and the latter is sent to the table at once while still [265] covered by the froth resulting from the contact of the butter with the parsley.
This method is best suited to sole, chicken-turbots, and brill, as well as to the fillets of various fish.
Having laid the fish to be poached in a baking-tray or a sautépan, either of which should have been previously buttered, season it moderately with salt and moisten with a little very white fish or mushroom fumet; very often the two latter are mixed. Cover the utensil, push it into a moderate oven, and baste from time to time, especially when a large fish is cooking. When the fish is done, drain it carefully, place it on a dish, and, as a rule, reduce the poaching-liquor and add it to the sauce. Poached fish are always served sauced; i.e., covered with the sauce which properly forms their accompaniment. More often than not they are garnished after the manner which will be described later.
I most emphatically urge: (1) the use of very little fish fumet for the poaching, but this fumet should be perfect and should, above all, not be cooked for longer than the required time; (2) that the fish be not covered with buttered paper as is often done, for nowadays a suitable paper is very rarely found. All papers found on the market are, owing to the chemical products used in their manufacture, liable to impart a more or less pungent smell to the objects they enclose, which in either degree would prove seriously prejudicial to the preparation.
These remarks not only apply to fish, but to all those objects with which paper was formerly used at some stage in their cooking process.
This method is generally applied to whole or sliced salmon, to trout, and to chicken-turbot. Sometimes the fish treated in this way is larded on one side with strips of bacon-fat, truffles, gherkins, or carrots. The mode of procedure is exactly the same as that described under the “Braising of White Meats” (No. 248). Moisten these braisings in the proportion of one-half with white wine or red wine (according as to how the fish is to be served), and for the other half use a light fish fumet. Place the fish on the drainer of a fish-kettle just large enough to hold the former, and moisten in such wise that the cooking-liquor at the beginning of the operation does not cover more than three-quarters of the depth of the fish. Unless it be for [266] a Lenten dish, the fish may be covered with slices of bacon while cooking. In any case, baste it often. Take care not to close the lid down too tightly, in order that the liquor may be reduced simultaneously with the cooking of the fish.
When the operation is almost completed, take the lid off the fish-kettle with the view of glazing the fish; then take the former off the fire. Now withdraw the drainer with the fish upon it, and lay it athwart the top of the fish-kettle, and let it drain; tilt the fish on to a dish, and cover the latter pending its despatch to the table. Strain the stock remaining in the fish-kettle through a strainer; let it stand for ten minutes, remove all the grease that has formed on its surface, and use it to complete the sauce as I directed above.
Braised fish are generally accompanied by a garnish, the constituents of which I shall give in the particular recipes relating to braising.
This method is best suited to small fish, to medium-sized chicken-turbots, and to large-sectioned fish.
Unless they are very small, it is best to gash both sides of fish intended for grilling; the reasons given above for this measure likewise apply here.
All white and naturally dry fish should be rolled in flour and besprinkled with butter or very good oil before being placed on the grill to be exposed to the heat of the fire. The flour forms a crust around the fish, which keeps it from drying and gives it that golden colour quite peculiar to objects thus treated.
Salmon, trout, red mullet, mackerel, and herrings, the flesh whereof is fatty, need not be floured, but only besprinkled with melted butter.
Owing to the somewhat fragile texture of most fish, a special double gridiron is used, by means of which they may be turned without fear of damage. This gridiron is placed upon the ordinary grill. I have already given in Part I. of this work the radical principles of grilling (Nos. 257 and 260); to this, therefore, the reader is begged to refer.
Grilled fish are served on a very hot dish, without paper or a napkin; they are garnished with fresh parsley and grooved slices of lemon.
Butter à la Maître d’Hôtel, anchovy butter, devilled sauce, Roberts’ sauce Escoffier, and butter à la Ravigote constitute the best adjuncts to grilled fish.
I described all the details of this method under Complete Gratin (No. 269), to which I must ask the reader to refer. This process is best suited to small fish, such as sole, whiting, red mullet, chicken-turbot, &c.
Crimped fish is quite an English speciality. This method of preparation is applied more particularly to salmon, fresh cod, haddock, and skate. The first three of these fish may be prepared whole or in slices, while skate is always cut into more or less large pieces after it has been skinned on both sides.
In order to crimp a whole fish, it should be taken as it leaves the water. Lay it on something flat, and make deep lateral gashes on both its sides from head to tail. Allow a space of about one and one-half inches to two inches between each gash. This done, put the fish to soak in very cold water for an hour or so. When the fish is to be cooked sliced, divide it up as soon as it is caught, and put the slices to soak in very cold water, as in the case of the whole fish.
But does this barbarous method, which stiffens and contracts the flesh of the fish, affect its quality so materially as connoisseurs would have us believe?
It is very difficult to say, and opinions on the matter are divided. This, however, is certain, that fish prepared in the way above described is greatly relished by many.
Whether whole or sliced, crimped fish is always boiled in salted water. Its cooking presents a real difficulty, in that it must be stopped at the precise moment when it is completed, any delay in this respect proving prejudicial to the quality of the dish.
Crimped fish is served like the boiled kind, and all the sauces suited to the latter likewise obtain with the former. Besides the selected sauce, send a sauceboat to the table containing some of the cooking-liquor of the fish.
Salmon caught on the Rhine, or Dutch salmon, is generally considered the most delicate that may be had, though, in my opinion, that obtained from certain English rivers, such, for instance, as the Severn, is by no means inferior to the foregoing. Here in England this excellent fish is held in the high esteem it deserves, and the quantity consumed in this country is considerable. It is served as plainly as possible, either [268] boiled, cold or hot, grilled, or à la Meunière; but whatever be the method of preparation, it is always accompanied by cucumber salad.
The slices of salmon, however, thick or thin, large or small, take the name of “Darnes.”
Boiled salmon, whether whole or sliced, should be cooked in court-bouillon in accordance with directions given at the beginning of the chapter (No. 776). All fish sauces are suited to it, but more especially the following, viz.:—Hollandaise sauce, Mousseline sauce, Melted butter, Shrimp sauce, Nantua sauce, Cardinal sauce, &c.
Crimped salmon admits of precisely the same sauces.
Cut the salmon to be grilled in slices from one inch to one and one-half inches thick. Season with table-salt, sprinkle with melted butter or oil, and grill it for the first part on a rather brisk fire, taking care to moderate the latter towards the close of the operation. Allow about twenty-five minutes for the grilling of a slice of salmon one and one-half inches thick. Butter à la Maître d’Hôtel, anchovy butter, and devilled sauce Escoffier are the most usual adjuncts to grilled salmon.
Having cut the salmon into moderately thick slices, season these, dredge them slightly, and cook them in the frying-pan with very hot clarified butter.
It is important that the salmon be set and that the cooking be rapid.
Serve it in either of the two ways indicated above (No. 778).
In addition to the three methods of serving salmon described above, and those cold preparations with which I shall deal later, the fish in question lends itself to a whole host of dressings which are of the greatest utility in the varying of menus. The principles of these dressings I shall now give.
Prepare one lb. of cooked salmon, cleared of bones and skin, and cut into small pieces; four hard-boiled eggs cut into [269] dice; one lb. of well-cooked pilaff rice; and three-quarters pint of Béchamel flavoured with curry.
Dish in a hot timbale, alternating the various products, and finish with a coating of sauce.
Prepare some mousseline forcemeat for salmon, the quantity whereof will be in accordance with the number of cutlets to be made, and rub it through a coarse sieve. Line the bottom and sides of some buttered tin moulds, shaped like cutlets, with a coating one-half inch thick of the prepared forcemeat.
Fill the moulds to within one-third inch of their brims with a cold salpicon of mushrooms and truffles, thickened by means of reduced Allemande sauce, and cover this with the forcemeat.
Set the cutlets to poach, turn out the moulds; treat the cutlets à l’anglaise, and cook them with clarified butter.
Arrange in a circle round a dish, put a frill on a piece of fried bread counterfeiting the bone of the cutlet, garnish with fried parsley, and send to the table, separately, a “Dieppoise” sauce, Shrimp sauce, or a purée of fresh vegetables, such as peas, carrots, &c. In the latter case, serve at the same time a sauce in keeping with the garnish.
Preparation.—Have ready two lbs. of ordinary brioche paste without sugar (No. 2368). Stiffen in butter one and one-half lbs. of small salmon collops, and prepare one-sixth lb. of mushrooms and one chopped onion (both of which should be fried in butter), one-half lb. of semolina kache (No. 2292) or the same weight of rice cooked in consommé; two hard-boiled eggs, chopped; and one lb. of vesiga, roughly chopped and cooked in consommé.
For this weight of cooked vesiga about two and one-half oz. of dried vesiga will be needed, which should be soaked for at least four hours in cold water, and then cooked for three and one-half hours in white consommé. It may also be cooked in water.
Roll the brioche paste into rectangles twelve inches long by eight inches wide, and spread thereon in successive layers the kache or the rice, the collops of salmon, the chopped vesiga, the eggs, the mushrooms, and the onion, and finish with a layer of kache or rice. Moisten the edges of the paste and draw the longest ends of it towards each other over the [270] enumerated layers of garnish, and join them so as to properly enclose the latter.
Now fold the two remaining ends over to the centre in a similar way. Place the coulibiac thus formed on a baking-tray, and take care to turn it over in order that the joining parts of the paste lie underneath.
Set the paste to rise for twenty-five minutes, sprinkle some melted butter over the coulibiac, sprinkle with some very fine raspings, make a slit in the top for the escape of vapour, and bake in a moderate oven for forty-five or fifty minutes. Fill the coulibiac with freshly-melted butter when withdrawing it from the oven.
The few recipes dealing with “Darnes de Saumon,” which I give below, may also be adapted to whole salmon after the size of the fish has been taken into account in measuring the time allowed for cooking.
As already explained, the term “darne” stands for a piece of salmon cut from the middle of that fish, and the size of a darne is in proportion to the number of people it is intended for.
Proceed after the manner directed under “The Braising of Fish” (No. 780); moisten in the proportion of two-thirds with excellent red wine and one-third with fish stock, calculating the quantity in such wise that it may cover no more than two-thirds of the depth of the darne. Bring to the boil, then set to braise gently, and glaze the darne at the last moment.
Garnish and Sauce.—Garnish with quenelles of truffled mousseline forcemeat for fish, moulded by means of a spoon; two large ornamented quenelles; truffles fashioned like olives; pieces of milt dipped in Villeroy sauce, treated à l’anglaise and fried when about to dish up; small gudgeon or smelts treated similarly to the milt, and trussed crayfish cooked in court-bouillon.
The sauce is a Genevoise, made from the reduced cooking-liquor of the darne.
Dishing Up.—Surround the darne by the garnishes enumerated, arranging them tastefully, and pierce it with two hatelets, each garnished with a small truffle, an ornamented quenelle, and a crayfish.
Send the sauce to the table separately.
Poach the darne in a court-bouillon prepared beforehand.
Dishing Up and Garnish.—Surround the darne by medium-sized mushrooms stewed in butter and garnished with small crayfish tails cohered by means of a few tablespoonfuls of Nantua sauce; small round quenelles of mousseline forcemeat for fish, decorated with truffles, and some slices of milt treated à l’anglaise, and fried when about to dish up.
Serve the Nantua sauce separately.
Skin one side of the darne, lard it with truffles, and braise it in champagne.
The Garnish Round the Darne.—Very small garnished patties of crayfish tails; small cassolettes of milt; small mousselines of oysters, poached in dariole-moulds.
Sauce.—The braising-liquor of the darne finished by means of ordinary and crayfish butter in equal quantities. Send it to the table separately.
Remove the spine and all other internal bones. Stuff the darne with raw lobster mousse stiffened by means of a little pike forcemeat.
Line a well-buttered, round and even raised-pie mould with a thin layer of hot-water, raised-pie paste (this is made from one lb. of flour, four oz. of lard, one egg, and a little lukewarm water), which should be prepared in advance and made somewhat stiff. Now garnish the inside of the pie with thin slices of bacon and place the darne upright in it. (To simplify the operation the darne may be stuffed at this stage.) Cover the pie with a layer of the same paste, pinch its edges with those of the original lining, make a slit in the top for the steam to escape, and cook in a good oven.
When the pie is almost baked, prod it repeatedly with a larding-needle; when the latter is withdrawn clear of all stuffing the pie should be taken from the oven. This done, turn it upside down in order to drain away the melted bacon and other liquids inside it, but do not let it drop from the mould. Then tilt it on to a dish and take off the mould. Do not break the crust except at the dining-table.
Sauce.—Serve an American sauce with the pie, the former being prepared from the remains of the lobsters used in making the mousse, finished with cream, and garnished with very fine oysters (cleared of their beards), poached when about to dish up.
Braise the darne in white wine in accordance with the directions given in No. 780.
Garnish.—Surround the darne by spoon-moulded quenelles of whiting forcemeat prepared with crayfish butter, oysters cleared of their beards and poached, small, very white mushrooms, and poached slices of milt.
Normande sauce finished with truffle essence.
Braise the darne in Sauterne wine.
Garnish.—Bunches of crayfishes’ tails, small quenelles of mousseline forcemeat for fish, small mushrooms, slices of truffle, and little balls of potato raised by means of the large, round spoon-cutter, and cooked à l’anglaise.
Send a Normande sauce separately.
Poach the darne in a white wine court-bouillon.
Garnish.—Potato balls raised with the spoon-cutter or turned to the shape of olives, and cooked in salted water, poached slices of milt, and trussed crayfish cooked in court-bouillon.
Send a Valois sauce separately.
In Part I. I dealt with the preparation of mousseline forcemeat (No. 195), and also the method of poaching spoon-moulded quenelles (No. 205). Now mousselines are only large quenelles which derive their name from the very light forcemeat of which they are composed. These mousseline quenelles are always moulded with the ordinary tablespoon, they are garnished on top with a fine, raw slice of the fish under treatment, and poached after the manner already described.
Having made the salmon mousseline forcemeat, mould the quenelles and place them, one by one, in a buttered sautépan. Place a small, round and very thin slice of salmon on each, and poach them in a very moderate oven with lid on the utensil containing them.
Drain on a piece of linen, arrange them in a circle on a dish, place a slice of truffle upon each slice of salmon, coat with Mornay sauce, and glaze.
Garnish the centre of the dish with very small peas or asparagus-heads cohered with butter just before dishing up.
Combine one and one-half oz. of crayfish cream-cullis with each pound of the salmon mousseline forcemeat. Mould and poach as above, drain, and arrange in a circle on a dish.
Garnish each mousseline with a thin slice of milt cooked in lightly-browned butter, four crayfish tails cut lengthwise into two, and a slice of truffle at each end. Coat with a light Mornay sauce, finished with crayfish butter, and glaze quickly.
N.B.—In addition to these two recipes, all the garnishes suitable for fillets of sole may be applied to mousselines. Garnishes of early-season vegetable purées also suit them admirably, and therein lies an almost inexhaustible source of variety.
When salmon is to be served cold it should, as far as possible, be cooked, either whole or in large pieces, in the court-bouillon given under No. 163 and cooled in the latter. Pieces cooked separately may seem better or may be more easily made to look sightly, but their meat is drier than that of the salmon cooked whole. And what is lost in appearance with the very large pieces is more than compensated for by their extra quality.
In dishing cold salmon the skin may be removed and the fillets bared, so that the fish may be more easily decorated, but the real gourmet will always prefer the salmon served in its natural silver vestment.
In decorating cold salmon use pieces of cucumber, anchovy fillets, capers, slices of tomato, curled-leaf parsley, &c.
I am not partial to the decorating of salmon with softened butter, coloured or not, laid on by means of the piping-bag. Apart from the fact that this method of decoration is rarely artistic, the butter used combines badly with the cold sauces and the meat of the salmon on the diner’s plate. Very green tarragon leaves, chervil, lobster coral, &c., afford a more natural and more delicate means of ornamentation. The only butter fit to be served with cold salmon is Montpellier butter (No. 153), though this, in fact, is but a cold sauce often resorted to for the coating of the cold fish in question.
Among the garnishes which suit cold salmon, I might mention small peeled, and emptied tomatoes garnished with some kind of salad; hard-boiled eggs, either wholly stuffed, or stuffed in halves or in quarters, barquettes, tartlets and cassolettes made from cucumber or beetroot, parboiled until almost completely cooked and garnished with a purée of tunny, of [274] sardines, of anchovies, &c.; small aspics of shrimps or of crayfishes’ tails; small slices of lobster, &c.
Almost all the cold sauces may accompany cold salmon.
Having drained and dried the salmon or the darne, remove the skin from one of its sides, and coat the bared fillets with a layer of a preparation of mousse de saumon, letting it lie rather more thickly over the middle than the sides. Coat the layer of mousse with mayonnaise sauce thickened by means of fish jelly, and leave to set.
Now let some clear fish jelly set on the bottom of the dish to be sent to the table; place the salmon or the darne on this jelly, and surround the piece with a border consisting of Montpellier butter, using for the purpose a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe.
Decorate the centre of the piece by means of a fine fleur-de-lys made from truffles, and encircle it with two royale crowns made from anchovy fillets.
Remove the skin in suchwise as to leave the bared portion in the shape of a regular rectangle, equidistant from the tail and the head; or, in the case of a darne, occupying two-thirds of its surface.
Cover the bared portion with mayonnaise sauce thickened with fish jelly and leave it to set.
Now stand the piece on a small cushion of rice or semolina, shaping the latter like the piece itself; trim the sauced rectangle with a border of Montpellier butter, laid on by means of a piping-bag fitted with a small grooved pipe. Garnish the centre of the rectangle with pieces of lobster coral, the chopped, hard-boiled white and yolk of an egg, chervil leaves, &c.
Encircle the piece with a border of small artichoke-bottoms, garnished, in the form of a dome, with a small macédoine of vegetables cohered with cleared mayonnaise.
Send a mayonnaise sauce to the table separately.
Prepare a salmon or a darne as in the preceding recipe, and dish it on a cushion in order that it may be slightly raised.
[275]
Surround it with grooved sections of cucumber hollowed to
represent small timbales, well parboiled, marinaded with a few
drops of oil and lemon-juice and filled with a vegetable salad
thickened with mayonnaise; indented, halved eggs filled with
caviare; and tartlets of vegetable salad cohered with mayonnaise,
and garnished, each with a crayfish-shell stuffed with
crayfish mousse; alternate these various garnishes, and encircle
with a border of jelly dice.
Skin the salmon or the darne, set the piece upright upon the belly side, and decorate the fillets with pieces of truffles, poached white of egg, chervil leaves, and tarragon, &c.
Coat the garnish with a little melted fish aspic so as to fix it.
This done, sprinkle the piece, again and again, with the same melted aspic jelly in order to cover it with a kind of transparent veil.
Place the piece thus prepared in a crystal receptacle similarly shaped to the fish, and fill the former to the brim with very clear, melted jelly.
When dishing up, incrust the receptacle containing the fish in a block of clean ice which, in its turn, is laid on the dish to be sent to the table. Another way is to place the crystal utensil direct upon the dish and to surround the former with broken ice.
Poach the salmon or the darne in a court-bouillon consisting of very clear fish fumet and Chambertin wine, in equal quantities, and leave to cool. Prepare an aspic jelly from the court-bouillon.
Skin and decorate the salmon or the darne and glaze it with white aspic jelly, exactly as directed above, in the case of the Belle-vue.
Dish in the same way, in a crystal receptacle, and fill the latter with the prepared aspic jelly. Serve on a block of ice, or with broken ice around the utensil.
Skin and decorate the salmon or the darne, and glaze it with white aspic jelly precisely as in No. 804.
Let a coating of very clear jelly set on the bottom of the [276] dish to be sent to the table. Upon this aspic jelly lay a cushion the same shape as the fish, of semolina, or of carved rice.
Set the piece (salmon or darne), decorated and glazed, upon this cushion, and lay thereon a row of fine prawns, cleared of their abdominal shell.
Surround with a garnish of small cucumber timbales, well parboiled, marinaded, and garnished dome-fashion, with a purée of smoked salmon; halved, hard-boiled eggs, glazed with aspic; very small tomatoes, or halved medium-sized ones, peeled, pressed in the corner of a towel to return them to their original shape, stuck with a bit of parsley-stalk, and decorated with leaves of green butter moulded by means of the piping-bag; and small barquettes of cooked and marinaded beetroot, garnished with shrimps’ tails cohered with mayonnaise.
Send a Russe sauce separately.
Liberally butter some tin cutlet-shaped moulds. Line their bottoms and sides with a very red slice of salmon, as thin as a piece of cardboard. This slice should be long enough to project outside the brim of the mould to the extent of one-half inch.
Garnish the insides of the moulds with well-seasoned salmon meat, and draw the projecting lengths of salmon across this meat so as to enclose the latter and finish off the cutlets.
Arrange the moulds on a baking-tray; poach the cutlets, dry, in a moderate oven; turn them out of their moulds on to another tray as soon as they are poached, and let them cool. Then coat them with a half-melted aspic, and decorate them according to fancy, either with very green peas or a leaf of chervil with a bit of lobster coral in its centre—in a word, something simple and neat.
These cutlets, which are generally served at ball-suppers, may be dished on a tazza, on a cushion of rice, semolina, corn-flour, or stearine, and laid almost vertically against a pyramid of vegetable salad cohered by means of mayonnaise with aspic. In this case the dish is finished off with a hatelet stuck into the middle of the pyramid.
The cutlets may also be arranged in a circle on a flat, shallow, silver or crystal dish, and covered with a delicate cold melted jelly.
Whatever be the selected method of dishing, always send to the table with the cutlet a sauceboat of cold sauce.
These médaillons have the same purpose as the cutlets already described, and are prepared thus:—
[277]
Cut some small slices, one-third inch thick, from a fillet of
salmon.
Arrange them on a buttered tray; poach them, dry, in a moderate oven, and cool them under a light weight.
Now trim them neatly, with an even cutter, oval or round, in accordance with the shape they are intended to have.
Coat them, according to their purpose, either with mayonnaise sauce or one of its derivatives, thickened with jelly, or a white, pink, or green chaud-froid sauce. Decorate it in any way that may be fancied, and glaze them with cold melted aspic jelly.
Dish after the manner described under “Côtelettes” (see above).
Garnish the bottom of a salad-bowl with moderately seasoned, ciseled lettuce. Cover with cold, cooked and flaked salmon, thoroughly cleared of all skin and bones.
Coat with mayonnaise sauce, and decorate with anchovy fillets, capers, stoned olives, small slices or roundels or quarters of hard-boiled eggs, small hearts of lettuce, a border of little roundels of radish, &c.
This preparation comprises the same ingredients as the above, with the exception of the mayonnaise sauce. The decorating garnish is placed directly upon the salmon, and the whole is seasoned in precisely the same way as an ordinary salad.
From the culinary standpoint, trout are divided into two quite distinct classes, viz., large trout, whereof the typical specimen is Salmon-trout, and small or fresh-water trout.
In its many preparations, salmon-trout may be replaced by salmon, and all the recipes relating to the former may be adapted to the latter.
In any case, however, as its size is less than that of salmon, it is very rarely cut into darnes, being more generally served whole.
The few recipes that follow are proper to salmon-trout.
Select a male trout in preference; clean it, and remove its gills without opening it in the region of the belly.
[278]
Skin it on one side, starting at a distance of one inch from
the head and finishing within two and one-half inches of the
root of the tail.
Lard the bared portions with truffles and the red part only of carrots cut into rods.
This done, spread out a napkin, lay the trout thereon, belly under, and, with a sharp knife, separate the two fillets from the bones, beginning in the region of the head and proceeding straight down to where the body converges towards the tail.
The spine being thus liberated, sever it at both ends; i.e., from the tail and the head, and withdraw it, together with all the adhering ventral bones. The intestines are then removed, the inside of the fish is well cleaned, the fillets are seasoned on their insides, and the trout is stuffed with a mousseline forcemeat of raw crayfish. The two fillets are drawn together, and the trout, thus reconstructed, is covered with thin slices of bacon and laid on the drainer of the fish-kettle and braised in Sauterne wine.
When the fish is done, remove the slices of bacon, glaze it, and dish it up. Surround it with alternate heaps of morels tossed in butter and milt à la Meunière.
Send to the table, separately, a fine Béchamel sauce, combined with the braising-liquor of the trout, strained and reduced, and finished with crayfish butter.
We are now concerned with a whole series of unpublished “Trout” preparations, which are at once of superfine delicacy and agreeable aspect, and which admit of clean and easy dishing.
Cook a trout weighing from two to three lbs. in court-bouillon, and let it cool in the latter. Then drain it; sever the head and tail from the body, and put them aside. Completely skin the whole fish, and carefully separate the two fillets from the bones.
Deck each fillet with tarragon and chervil leaves, lobster coral, poached white of eggs, &c., and set them, back to back, upon a mousse of tomatoes lying in a special, long white or coloured porcelain dish about one and one-half to two inches deep.
Replace the head and tail, and cover the whole with a coating of half-melted, succulent fish aspic, somewhat clear. Let the aspic set, and incrust the dish containing the trout in a block of ice, or surround it with the latter broken.
This mousse, like those which I shall give later, is really a bavarois without sugar. Its recipe is exactly the same as that of the “bavarois of fruit,” except with regard to the question of sugar.
Cook one-half lb. of tomato pulp (cleared of skin and seeds, and roughly chopped) in one oz. of butter. When the pulp has thoroughly mingled with the butter, add thereto two tablespoonfuls of velouté thickened by means of eight leaves of gelatine per quart of the sauce.
Rub through tammy, and add to the preparation, when almost cold, half of its volume of barely-whipped cream. Taste the mousse; season with a few drops of lemon juice, and if it still seems flat, add the necessary salt and a very little cayenne.
N.B.—It will be seen that I prescribe cream only half-whipped. This precaution, however, does not apply to “Mousse de Tomates” alone, but to all mousses. Well-whipped cream imparts a dry and woolly taste to them, whereas, when it is only half-whipped, it renders them unctuous and fresh to the palate.
From the point of view of delicacy, the respective results of the two methods do not bear comparison.
By proceeding exactly as directed in the foregoing recipe, and by substituting one of the following mousses for the “Mousse de Tomates,” it will be found that considerable variety may be introduced into menus:—
1. Crayfish Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with crayfish tails and tarragon leaves.
2. Lobster Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with slices of lobster, coral, and chervil.
3. Shrimp Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with crayfish tails and capers.
4. Capsicum Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with strips of grilled capsicum.
5. Physalia Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with chervil, tarragon, and bunches of physalia around the fillets.
6. Green Pimentos Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with strips of green pimentos.
7. Early-season Herb Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with chopped, hard-boiled eggs, and chopped parsley.
8. Volnay Mousse with fillets of trout, decked with anchovy fillets, capers, and olives.
[280]
9. Chambertin Mousse with fillets of trout decked like No. 8.
N.B.—In the making of “Mousse au Volnay” and “au Chambertin” the base of the preparations is supplied by cleared velouté, to which is added the reduced cooking-liquor of the trout.
All these recipes are equally suitable for sole or chicken-turbot.
Prepare a very delicate trout mousse, mould it in egg-moulds, and garnish the centre with trimmed prawns’ tails. Let the mousse set; then speedily turn the ondines out of their moulds, and lay them in a deep entrée-dish. Between each of them lay a few prawns, the tails of which should be shelled. Cover the whole, little by little, with some excellent, half-melted jelly; here and there add a few sprigs of chervil, and then fill up the dish with jelly, so as to completely cover the mousses.
The best are those procured in mountainous districts, where the clear water they inhabit is constantly refreshed by strong currents.
The two leading methods of preparing them are called, respectively, “Au bleu” and “à la Meunière.” Having already described the latter, I shall now give my attention to “Truite au bleu.”
This preparation is held in very high esteem in Switzerland and Germany, where fresh-water trout are not only plentiful, but of excellent quality.
The essential condition for this dish consists in having live trout. Prepare a court-bouillon with plenty of vinegar (No. 163), and keep it boiling in a rather shallow basin.
About ten minutes before dishing them, take the trout out of water; stun them by a blow on the head; empty and clean them very quickly, and plunge them into the boiling liquid, where they will immediately shrivel, while their skin will break in all directions.
A few minutes will suffice to cook trout the average weight of which is one-third lb.
Drain them and dish them immediately upon a napkin, with curled-leaf parsley all round. Serve them with a Hollandaise sauce or melted butter.
[281]
N.B.—Fresh-water trout may also be served fried or grilled,
but neither of these methods of preparation suits them so well
as “à la Meunière” or “au bleu,” which I have given.
Sole may be served whole or filleted, and a large number of the recipes given for the whole fish may be adapted to its fillets.
As a rule, the fillets are made to appear on the menu of a dinner owing to the fact that they dish more elegantly and are more easily served than the whole fish, the latter being generally served at luncheons.
Nevertheless, in cases where great ceremony is not observed at a dinner, soles may well be served whole, inasmuch as no hard-and-fast rule has ever obtained in this matter.
This sole is prepared, or rather its preparation is completed, at the table.
Have an excellent fish fumet (No. 11), short and very white. Trim the sole; put it into a special, deep earthenware dish, the bottom of which should be buttered; pour the fumet over it and poach gently.
Now send it to the table with a plate containing separate heaps of one finely-chopped onion, a little powdered thyme, and three finely-crushed biscottes.
In the dining-room the waiter places the dish on a chafer, and, taking off the sole, he raises the fillets therefrom, and places them between two hot plates. He then adds to the cooking-liquor of the sole the chopped onion, which he leaves to cook for a few moments, the powdered thyme and a sufficient quantity of the biscotte raspings to allow of thickening the whole.
At the last minute he adds six raw oysters and one oz. of butter divided into small pieces.
As soon as the oysters are stiff, he returns the fillets of sole to the dish, besprinkles them copiously with the sauce, and then serves them very hot.
N.B.—In order to promote the poaching of the soles, more particularly when they are large, the fillets on the upper side of the fish should be slightly separated from the bones. By this means the heat is able to reach the inside of the fish very quickly, and the operation is accelerated.
[282]
The sole is always laid on the dish with its opened side
undermost—that is to say, on its back.
Lay the sole on a buttered dish; sprinkle a little fish fumet over it, and add one-half oz. of butter divided into small pieces. Poach gently.
Coat the bottom of the dish on which the sole is to be served with Mornay sauce; drain the fish, lay it on the prepared dish; cover it with the same sauce; sprinkle with grated Gruyère and Parmesan, and glaze at a Salamander.
This sole, which used to be served at the famous restaurant of the “Frères Provençaux,” was prepared, and always may be prepared, as follows:—
Poach the sole in fish fumet and butter, as directed in the preceding recipe; drain it, and place it on a dish; cover it with white-wine sauce; sprinkle liberally with grated cheese, and glaze quickly.
Poach the sole in a buttered dish with one-half pint of champagne. Dish it; reduce its cooking-liquor to half; add thereto one-sixth pint of velouté, and complete with one and one-half oz. of best butter.
Cover the sole with this sauce; glaze, and garnish each side of the dish with a little heap of a julienne of filleted sole, seasoned, dredged, and tossed in clarified butter at the last moment in order to have it very crisp.
N.B.—By substituting a good white wine for the champagne, a variety of dishes may be made, among which may be mentioned: Soles au Chablis, Soles au Sauterne, Sole au Samos, Sole au Château Yquem, &c., &c.
On the upper side of the fish separate the fillets from the spine, and break the latter in several places. Dip the sole in milk; roll it in flour; treat it à l’anglaise, and roll the separated fillets back a little, so that they may be quite free from the bones.
Fry; drain on a piece of linen; remove the bones, and fill the resulting space with butter à la Maître d’Hôtel.
Serve the sole on a very hot dish.
Bone the sole; i.e., sever the spine near the tail and the head; remove it, and leave those portions of the fillets which lie on the remaining extremities of it intact. Garnish the inside with whiting forcemeat finished with crayfish butter, and rearrange the fillets in such wise as to give a natural and untouched appearance to the fish. Poach it on a buttered dish with one-sixth pint of white wine, the same quantity of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and one oz. of butter cut into small lumps.
Drain and dish the sole, and cover it with Nantua sauce. Place around it four mushrooms stewed in butter and garnished with crayfish tails in Nantua sauce; four small, round quenelles of whiting forcemeat with cream, decked with truffles; and four slices of milt treated à l’anglaise and fried at the last moment.
As I explained under “Fish à la Meunière” (No. 778), “Sole Dorée” is a sole fried in clarified butter, dished dry, and garnished with slices of carefully peeled lemon.
All fish treated after this recipe, with the exception of soles, should be divided up.
Put the sole in a buttered dish with one and one-half oz. of chopped onion, one-half lb. of peeled and concassed tomatoes, a little roughly-chopped parsley, a pinch of table salt, a very little pepper, and one-eighth pint of white wine. Set to poach gently, and then dish the sole.
Reduce the cooking-liquor; thicken it with two tablespoonfuls of fish velouté; complete with one oz. of butter and a few drops of lemon juice, and cover the fish with this sauce.
Season the sole; sprinkle oil thereon, and grill the fish very gently. Send it, garnished with slices of lemon, on a very hot dish.
This sole may be either grilled or poached, almost dry, in butter and lemon juice. With the procedure remaining the same, it may also be prepared in fillets. Whatever be the mode of procedure, serve it on a very hot dish, and surround [284] it at the last moment with six oysters poached in a little boiling Worcestershire sauce.
Cover the sole immediately with very hot fried bread-crumbs, and add thereto a pinch of chopped parsley.
Put the sole, seasoned, on a buttered dish with a few aromatics. Add one-third pint of excellent red wine, and poach gently with lid on.
Dish up; strain the cooking-liquor, and reduce it to half; thicken it with a lump of manied butter the size of a hazel-nut, and finish the sauce with one oz. of butter.
Encircle the sole with a border of mushrooms sliced raw and tossed in butter. Pour the prepared sauce over the sole, and set to glaze quickly.
Break the spine of the sole by folding it over in several places. Put the fish in a deep dish; cover it with slightly salted water; set to boil, and then poach gently for ten minutes with lid on.
Drain and dish on a napkin with very green parsley all round. Serve at the same time some plainly boiled potatoes, freshly done, and two oz. of melted butter.
Season the sole; dip it in melted butter, and cover it with fresh bread-crumbs, taking care to pat the latter with the flat of a knife, in order that they may combine with the butter to form a kind of crust. Sprinkle with some more melted butter, and grill the fish gently so that its coating of bread-crumbs may acquire a nice golden colour. Dish the sole, and surround it with potatoes turned to the shape of olives, and cooked in butter.
Send a Béarnaise sauce to the table separately.
Poach the sole in a fish fumet and butter. Spread a layer of shredded spinach, stewed in butter, on the bottom of a dish; place the sole thereon; cover it with Mornay sauce; sprinkle with a little grated cheese, and set to glaze quickly in the oven or at a salamander.
Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of fish fumet, one-sixth pint of white wine, and one-half oz. of butter.
[285]
Drain as soon as poached, and surround with potato-balls
the size of walnuts, cooked in salted water, and kept whole.
Cover the sole with white-wine sauce, and lay a thread of shrimp
sauce over the garnish.
Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the fish, and slip a lump of butter, the size of a walnut, under each.
This done, place the sole on a well-buttered gratin dish, on the bottom of which a pinch of chopped shallots and parsley has been sprinkled, together with one or two tablespoonfuls of Gratin sauce.
Lay four cooked mushrooms along the sole, and surround it with one oz. of raw mushrooms, cut into rather thin slices.
Add two tablespoonfuls of white wine; cover the sole with Gratin sauce; sprinkle with fine raspings followed by melted butter, and set the gratin to form in pursuance of the directions given under complete Gratin (No. 269).
When taking the sole from the oven, sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of chopped parsley upon it, and serve at once.
Season the sole and poach it on a buttered dish with one-third pint of Chambertin wine.
As soon as it is poached, drain it, dish it, and keep it hot. Reduce the cooking-liquor to half, add thereto a little freshly-ground pepper and two or three drops of lemon-juice, thicken with a lump of manied butter the size of a walnut, and finish the sauce with one and one-half oz. of butter.
Cover the sole with the sauce, set to glaze quickly, and garnish both sides of the dish with a little heap of julienne of filleted sole, seasoned, dredged, and tossed in clarified butter at the last moment so that it may be very crisp.
Taking recipe No. 834 as a model, and putting into requisition all the good wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, the following varieties are obtained, viz.:—Soles au Volnay, au Pommard, au Romanée, au Clos-Vougeot, or soles au Saint-Estèphe, au Château-Larose, au Saint-Émilion, &c., &c.
Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of white wine and as much of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Drain, dish, and cover it [286] with a white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the sole and one tablespoonful of a fine julienne of spiny lobster’s tail, mushrooms, and very black truffles. Surround the sole with a border of little palmettes made from puff-paste and cooked without colouration.
Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the fish, and slip a piece of butter the size of a walnut under each.
Lay the sole on a liberally buttered dish, moisten with one-fifth pint of the cooking-liquor of fish, and add a few drops of lemon-juice.
Cook in the oven, basting often the while, until the cooking-liquor has by reduction acquired the consistence of a syrup and covers the sole with a translucent and glossy coat.
N.B.—By substituting for the mushroom cooking-liquor a good white or red wine, to which a little melted pale meat-glaze has been added, the following series of dishes may be prepared, viz.:—Sole sur le plat au Chambertin. Sole sur le plat au vin rouge. Sole sur le plat au Champagne. Sole sur le plat au Chablis, &c., &c.
Poach the sole in a little white wine and two-thirds oz. of butter cut into small pieces.
Drain the sole, dish it, and surround it with six quenelles of whiting forcemeat finished with crayfish butter, moulded by means of a small spoon; four poached oysters (cleared of their beards); four small cooked and very white mushrooms; four small truffles, turned to the shape of olives; and four small poached slices of milt. Cover the sole and the garnish with a Normande sauce finished with a little truffle essence.
Poach the sole in white wine and the cooking-liquor of fish. Drain, dish, and surround with a garnish consisting of two medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, pressed, minced, cooked in butter, and combined with minced and cooked mushrooms, and a large pinch of chopped chives.
Coat the sole with white wine sauce, plentifully buttered, and take care that none of the sauce touches the garnish.
Set to glaze quickly, sprinkle the garnish with a pinch of chopped parsley when taking the sole from the oven, and serve immediately.
Poach the sole in one-fifth pint of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms and one-half oz. of butter cut into small pieces.
Coat the bottom of the dish intended for the sole with a purée of mushrooms, place the drained sole on this purée, lay six fine slices of truffle along the fish, coat with Mornay sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and glaze quickly.
Open and poach six oysters. Poach the sole in the liquor of the oysters, drain it, dish it, and surround it with the oysters (cleared of their beards).
Coat with a white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the sole, and glaze quickly.
Proceed for this dish as directed under “Fish à la Meunière” (No. 778).
Prepare a sole à la Meunière. Garnish it at both ends with little heaps of cucumber, turned and cooked in butter with a little salt and a pinch of sugar.
Prepare a sole à la Meunière in the usual way. Surround it with a fine border of egg-plant rundles one-third inch thick, seasoned, dredged, and fried in clarified butter, just in time to be arranged round the sole when it is ready. The question of time is important, for if the fried rundles be allowed to wait at all they very quickly lose their crispness.
Prepare the sole à la Meunière in the usual way and surround it with a border of sliced cèpes frizzled in butter just before dishing up.
Surround the sole with very fresh morels cooked in salted water and then tossed in butter just before dishing up. Sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley over the morels.
The sole being ready, encircle it with fresh skinned Muscadel grapes prepared in advance.
When the sole is cooked and dished, lay thereon a row of orange slices, peeled to the pulp and thoroughly pipped, or some sections of oranges, likewise peeled to the pulp and carefully pipped. This done, cover the sole and the garnish with lightly-browned butter and serve instantly.
Line the bottom of the dish intended for the sole with a coating of shredded spinach tossed in lightly-browned butter. Place the sole, prepared à la Meunière, upon this spinach; lay a few rundles of onion and slices of artichoke-bottom tossed in butter upon the fish; and on either side of the sole lay a border of potato-slices, freshly cooked in salted water and well browned in butter.
At the last moment cover the whole with lightly-browned butter.
Toss in butter, separately (1) one medium-sized potato cut into dice; (2) two small raw artichoke-bottoms, likewise cut into dice. Prepare the sole à la Meunière, dish it, and surround it with the tossed potato and artichoke-bottom, mixed when cooked. Lay on the sole five slices of tomato, one-half inch thick, seasoned, dredged, and tossed in very hot oil; sprinkle a few drops of pale melted meat-glaze, a little lemon-juice, and a pinch of concassed parsley over the sole, and cover the whole with slightly-browned butter. Serve instantly.
Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of fish fumet, two tablespoonfuls of oil and a piece, the size of a pea, of garlic, well crushed. Drain and dish the sole. Coat it with Provençale sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor, and sprinkle a little concassed parsley over it.
Surround the sole with four little tomatoes and four medium-sized mushrooms stuffed with duxelles flavoured with a mite of garlic; these latter should be put in the oven just in time for them to be ready at the dishing up of the fish.
Poach the sole in a little fish fumet. Dish it, reduce the fumet, and add thereto the following garnish:—Cook a little chopped onion in butter, add two medium-sized, peeled, emptied, and concassed tomatoes, a bit of garlic, and some concassed parsley. Cook with lid on, add the reduced fumet and twelve pieces of vegetable-marrow, turned to the shape of olives and cooked in butter.
Cover the sole with this garnish and set a little heap of fried onion at each end of the dish.
Poach the sole in a few tablespoonfuls of fish fumet and two-thirds oz. of butter cut into small lumps. Dish the sole and set upon it four small cooked mushrooms, four small quenelles of fish forcemeat, four crayfishes’ tails, and four slices of truffle.
Surround the sole with potato-balls, raised by means of the round spoon-cutter and cooked à l’anglaise, and coat the sole and garnish with Normande sauce.
Prepare twelve grooved and very thin roundels of carrots, cut a small onion into fine slices. Put these vegetables into and cut a small onion into fine slices. Put these vegetables into one-seventh pint of white wine, and one-third pint of fish fumet. Cook and, in the process, reduce the moistening by half, and pour this preparation into a deep dish.
Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the sole, slip a piece of butter, the size of a walnut, under each fillet, and put the fish into a deep dish containing the preparation. Poach and baste frequently the while.
As soon as it is poached, dish the sole, also the vegetables used in cooking, and keep the whole hot.
Reduce the cooking-liquor to one-eighth pint, add a few drops of lemon juice, and finish it away from the fire with one and one-half oz. of butter. Coat the sole and the garnish with this sauce.
Prepare the sole exactly as directed under “Sole à la Colbert” (No. 822). When it is fried, remove the bones and dish it. Garnish the inside with butter à la maître-d’hôtel, and lay thereon a row of sliced truffles.
Poach the sole on a buttered dish with one-sixth pint of fish fumet, and the same quantity of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Drain and dish the sole, and surround it with mussels, poached oysters (cleared of their beards), shrimps’ tails, and small cooked mushrooms. Put the sole in the oven for a few minutes, tilt the dish in order to get rid of all liquid, and coat the sole and the garnish with Normande sauce. Make a little garland of pale meat-glaze on the sauce, and finish the garnish with the following articles:—Six fine slices of truffle set in a row upon the sole; six small crusts in the shape of lozenges, fried in clarified butter and arranged round the truffles; four gudgeons treated à l’anglaise and fried at the last moment; and four medium-sized trussed crayfish cooked in court-bouillon.
Set the gudgeons and the crayfish round the dish.
Poach the sole in white wine and fish fumet in the proportions already given.
Drain and dish the sole, and surround it with a border of mussels and shrimps’ tails. Coat the sole and the garnish with white wine sauce, well finished with butter, and set to glaze quickly.
Liberally butter a dish, sprinkle a coffeespoonful of chopped shallots on the bottom, lay the sole thereon, and poach the latter with one-sixth pint of white wine and the same quantity of the very clear cooking-liquor of mussels. Drain and dish the sole, surround it with mussels (cleared of their beards), and keep it hot.
Reduce the cooking-liquor to half; thicken with a tablespoonful of velouté, and the yolks of two eggs, and finish it, away from the fire, with two and one-half oz. of butter and a pinch of chopped parsley.
Tilt the dish so as to rid it of the liquid accumulated on the bottom, coat the sole and the garnish with the prepared sauce, and glaze quickly.
Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the sole, and slip a piece of butter, as large as a walnut, under each fillet. Lay the sole in a dish, the bottom of which [291] should be buttered and garnished with a small onion, chopped. Moisten with one-quarter pint of ordinary white wine, as much fish fumet, and a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Poach gently with lid on.
Drain and dish the sole, and coat it with a white wine sauce, prepared in accordance with one of the methods given in the chapter on Sauces (No. 111). Glaze quickly, or serve without glazing.
N.B.—“Sole au Vin Blanc” may be prepared after the above recipe, but ordinary white wine may be replaced by one of the Rhine wines or Moselle, by some Johannisberg, or by a good white Burgundy or Bordeaux wine, such as Chablis-Moutonne, Savigny, Montrachet, Barsac, Sauternes, and even Château-Yquem or Château-Latour.
In any of these cases the name of the wine may be mentioned, and on the menu may be written Sole au Barsac, Sole au Château-Yquem, &c.
Poach the sole with one-sixth pint of fish fumet and a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mussels.
Drain and dish the sole, surround it with poached mussels (shelled and cleared of their beards) and shrimps’ tails, and coat the fish and the garnish with a white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor.
Poach the sole in very clear fish fumet.
Drain it, dish it, and coat it with Diplomate sauce.
Set upon it a row of six fine slices of black truffle; these should have been previously glazed with pale meat-glaze.
Butter the bottom of the dish intended for the sole, and besprinkle it with two chopped shallots, one pinch of parsley, and one and one-half oz. of raw minced mushrooms. Lay the sole upon this garnish, moisten with one-quarter pint of white wine and as much fish fumet, and poach gently, taking care to baste from time to time.
When the sole is poached, drain off the cooking-liquor into a vegetable-pan, and reduce it quickly to half; effect the leason with two tablespoonfuls of fish velouté, and finish the sauce with two oz. of butter. Coat the sole with this sauce and set it to glaze in a fierce oven or at a salamander.
Poach the sole in white wine, the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and some butter. Drain it thoroughly, dish it, and coat it with white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the sole. Garnish with a row of six slices of truffle and six fine roundels of cooked mushrooms kept very white, and finish with four medium-sized trussed crayfish.
Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of fish fumet and a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms.
Drain and dish the sole, surround it with twelve shelled crayfishes’ tails, and coat it with Nantua sauce.
Lay a row of very black truffle slices along the middle of the fish.
Subject to the kind of dish required, fillets of sole are either kept in their natural state, they are stuffed and folded over, or they are simply folded over without being stuffed, each of which methods of preparation will be specially referred to in the recipes.
Whatever be the method adopted, always skin the fillets thoroughly; i.e., remove the thin membrane which lies beneath the skin, the tendency of which, during the cooking process, is to shrink and thereby disfigure the fillet.
This done, flatten out the fillets with the broad side of a wet knife, and trim them slightly if necessary. The poaching of fillets of sole must be effected without allowing the cooking-liquor to boil, the object being to prevent the pieces losing their shape. Fillets should also be kept very white.
In cases where the exact amount of the poaching-liquor is not given, allow one-quarter pint to every four fillets, i.e., to every sole.
Arrange the folded fillets in a deep, buttered dish, and poach them in fish fumet.
Drain, and dish them in the form of an oval, letting them overlap one another with their tail-ends hidden. Garnish the centre of the dish with slices of lobster prepared à l’américaine (No. 939), and coat the whole with the lobster’s sauce.
Treat the fillets à l’anglaise with fresh and fine bread-crumbs. Pat the bread-crumbs over the egg with the flat of a knife, that [293] the two may be well combined; and, with the back of a knife, criss-cross the coating of the fillets.
Cook them gently in clarified butter. Serve on a hot dish, and sprinkle the fillets with half-melted butter à la maître-d’hôtel.
Coat the upper sides of the fillets with fish forcemeat combined, per pound, with three oz. of chopped capsicum. Roll them up, after the manner of a scroll (see No. 914), and smooth the forcemeat on the top. Poach the fillets in butter and fish fumet.
The following should have been prepared beforehand:—(1) As many small half-tomatoes, stewed in butter and garnished by means of rizotto with capsicums, as there are fillets of sole; (2) the same number of roundels of egg-plant, seasoned, dredged, and fried in oil.
When dishing, arrange the roundels of egg-plant round the dish; place a stuffed tomato on each roundel of egg-plant, and a poached fillet of sole upon each tomato. Sprinkle with lightly-browned butter, and serve at once.
Dip the fillets in melted, seasoned butter, and then roll them in fresh and fine bread-crumbs. Pat the bread-crumbs with the flat of the knife, and with the back of the same instrument criss-cross the surface of the fillets. Sprinkle with melted butter, and set to grill gently, taking care that the coating of bread-crumbs acquires a nice, light-brown colour.
Lay on each grilled fillet the half of a peeled banana, cooked in butter, and send to the table, separately, a Roberts sauce Escoffier, finished with butter.
Poach, in the oven, as many emptied and seasoned half-tomatoes as there are fillets of sole. Cook some very finely-minced onion in oil, without letting it acquire any colour, and allow one tablespoonful of the onion to each half-tomato.
Fold the fillets of sole, and poach them in fish fumet just a few minutes before dishing them. Garnish the half-tomatoes with onion; arrange them in a circle on a dish, and place a fillet of sole upon each. Quickly reduce the cooking-liquor of the fillets, and finish it with butter in the proportion of one oz. per one-eighth pint of reduced fumet.
Coat the fillets and set to glaze quickly.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish fumet.
They may be dished after the two following methods:—
1. Put a preparation of Duchesse potatoes in a piping-bag fitted with a large, grooved pipe, and describe therewith an ornamental design containing as many divisions as there are fillets of sole. Lightly gild and brown in the oven. This design, consisting of scroll-work, should be prepared before poaching the fillets. Lay a fillet in each division of the design, and coat with American sauce, prepared with curry and combined with the meat of the lobster (cut into small dice) which has served in the preparation of the sauce. Take care that no sauce touches the scroll-work, which should remain well-defined.
2. Bake some large potatoes in the oven. Open them; remove their pulp, and put into each baked shell a tablespoonful of American sauce au currie referred to above. Add a poached fillet of sole; coat with American sauce; dish these garnished potatoes on a napkin, and serve very hot.
Stew two oz. of small mushrooms in butter. Fold the fillets, and poach them in one-sixth pint of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Arrange the fillets in an oval, and garnish the centre of the dish with the stewed mushrooms.
Reduce the cooking-liquor of the fillets to one-third; add thereto two tablespoonfuls of velouté; finish the sauce with one oz. of butter, and coat the fillets and the garnish.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish fumet.
Dish them in an oval; garnish the middle with one oz. of shelled shrimps’ tails, kept very hot, and coat the fillets and the garnish with shrimp sauce.
Poach the fillets of sole, folded, in butter and lemon juice.
Coat the bottom of a dish with Mornay sauce, and set the fillets of sole thereon in the form of an oval. Surround the fish with roundels of cooked potatoes turned to the shape of corks.
Cover the fillets and the garnish with Mornay sauce, and glaze quickly in a fierce oven or at the salamander.
Butter the bottom of the dish intended for the soles, and sprinkle it with two finely-chopped shallots. Lay the fillets [295] lengthwise upon the dish, side by side; moisten with three tablespoonfuls of white wine and as much fish fumet, and add one-half oz. of butter cut into small pieces.
Cook in the oven, basting frequently the while, and glaze at the last minute. Besprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice, and when about to serve drop a pinch of chopped parsley upon each fillet.
Or, poach the fillets with chopped shallots, and increase the moistening. As soon as the fillets are ready, drain off their cooking-liquor into a vegetable-pan; reduce it speedily to one-third, and add a few drops of meat-glaze, a little lemon juice, one-half oz. of butter, and one pinch of chopped parsley.
Coat the fillets, and set to glaze quickly.
N.B.—Sole à la Bercy may be prepared after either of the two methods.
Treat the fillets of sole à l’anglaise and grill them as explained under No. 830.
Dish them, cover them thinly with half-melted tarragon butter, and deck each fillet with five or six parboiled, tarragon leaves.
Fold the fillets of soles over, and poach them in fish fumet and the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Arrange them in an oval on a dish, with their tails pointing inwards; place a fine slice of truffle in the middle of each fillet, and between each of the latter three shelled crayfishes’ tails.
Coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly.
When taking the dish from the oven, set in its centre a fine heap of very green asparagus-heads, cohered with butter at the moment of dishing.
Select some fine fillets of soles; fold them, and poach them in the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and butter, taking care to keep them very white. Arrange them in an oval, with their tails pointing upwards and the carapace of a crayfish fixed on each fillet; and garnish the middle of the dish with a salpicon or a short julienne, consisting of one and one-half oz. of cooked mushrooms, one-half oz. of truffle, and one and one-half oz. of shrimps’ tails cohered by means of a few tablespoonfuls of Joinville sauce. Coat the fillets and the garnish with the same sauce, and deck each fillet with a fine slice of truffle coated with meat-glaze.
[296]
They may also be served after the old-fashioned way, as
follows:—
Set the garnish in the middle of the dish, shaping it like a dome; coat it with Joinville sauce, and surround it with the fillets of sole, which should slightly overlap one another and have their tails uppermost. Fix a carapace of crayfish on the tail of each fillet, and deck each with a slice of very black truffle.
With this method of dishing, the garnish alone is coated with sauce, the fillets thus forming a white, encircling border.
Fold, and poach the fillets in butter and lemon juice.
Arrange them in an oval round a dish, laying each upon a nice little braised and trimmed half lettuce, and place upon each fillet a quenelle of sole mousseline-forcemeat in the shape of a flattened oval, poached at the time of dishing up.
Coat with Mornay sauce and glaze quickly. When taking the dish out of the oven, encircle the fillets of sole with a thread of buttered meat-glaze.
Fry in butter, without colouration, one small tablespoonful of chopped onion seasoned with a very little paprika; moisten with three tablespoonfuls of white wine and one-sixth pint of fish fumet; add two small peeled, pressed, and roughly-chopped tomatoes, and set to cook for seven or eight minutes.
Fold the fillets of sole; lay them on a buttered dish; pour the above preparation thereon, and poach them. Arrange them in a circle on a dish; reduce their cooking-liquor to a stiff consistence; add a few tablespoonfuls of cream and a few drops of lemon juice, and coat the fillets with this sauce.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in a few tablespoonfuls of excellent fish fumet.
Also for every four fillets (i.e., per sole) finely mince one oz. of well-cleaned mushrooms, and cook them quickly in butter, lemon juice, a little salt, and pepper. This done, add the cooking-liquor to the fish fumet, and keep the cooked minced mushrooms hot.
Reduce the combined cooking-liquor and fish fumet to half; add thereto one oz. of butter and two tablespoonfuls of cream; and to the resulting sauce add the reserved minced mushrooms and two tablespoonfuls of freshly-cooked and well-drained asparagus-heads, uncooled.
[297]
Serve the fillets of sole on an earthenware dish, coat them
with the above garnish, and set to glaze quickly in a fierce
oven or at the salamander.
Poach a sole in fish fumet and the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and drain it on a napkin. When it is still lukewarm, carefully raise its fillets and trim them.
Break an egg into a bowl; beat it well, and add enough grated Gruyère and Parmesan to it (mixed in equal quantities) to produce a dense paste. Mix a dessertspoonful of cold Béchamel sauce with this paste; add salt and cayenne pepper; spread an even thickness of one inch of it over two of the fillets of sole; lay thereon the two remaining fillets, and put aside in the cool.
When the egg and cheese paste is very stiff, dip the fillets in a Villeroy sauce, and leave the latter to cool. Then treat the stuffed and sauced fillets à l’anglaise, and fry them, just before serving, in very hot fat.
Dish on a napkin with very green parsley all round.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish fumet. Arrange them in an oval on a dish; coat them with the sauce given under “Filets de soles à la New-burg” (No. 890), and place on each fillet a quenelle of fish forcemeat in the shape of a quoit and decked with a slice of truffle. These quenelles should, if possible, be poached just before dishing up, and well drained before being laid on the fillets of sole.
Cook the fillets in butter, and set them in a hot timbale.
Surround them with potato-balls the size of peas, raised by means of the round spoon-cutter, and cooked beforehand in butter.
Lay upon the fillets eight or ten slices of fresh truffle heated in one-sixth pint of very light meat-glaze.
Finish the glaze in which the slices of truffle have been heated with two-thirds oz. of butter and a few drops of lemon juice, and pour it over the fillets and their garnish. Serve very hot.
Divide a live lobster into two, lengthwise, and prepare it à l’américaine, taking care to keep the sauce short.
When the lobster is cooked, take the meat from the tail; cut [298] it into as many slices as there are fillets of sole, and keep them hot.
Remove all the meat from the claws, and that remaining in the carcass; pound all of it smoothly, add two tablespoonfuls of cream, and rub through a fine sieve. Prepare a garnish of spaghetti with cream, and add thereto the purée of lobster.
Fold the fillets of sole, and poach them in Chablis wine and butter. All this being done, lay the two emptied halves of the lobster on a napkin lying on a dish, setting them back to back. Fill these lobster shells to the brim with the prepared garnish of spaghetti. Upon this garnish lay the poached fillets of sole, sandwiching a slice of lobster between every two; besprinkle the whole with a short and fine julienne of very black truffle.
Send the lobster sauce, finished with a few tablespoonfuls of cream, to the table separately. Proceed as quickly as possible with the dishing up, in order that the dish may reach the table very hot.
Coat the fillets with fish forcemeat, and roll them to resemble scrolls (see No. 914). Poach them in fish fumet as directed for the paupiettes. Lay each rolled fillet in a grilled mushroom garnished with one-half tablespoonful of peeled, pressed, and concassed tomato cooked in butter, and arrange them in an oval on a dish.
Coat them with Béchamel sauce combined with a purée of tomatoes and capsicums cut into small dice, in the proportion of two tablespoonfuls of the purée and two-thirds oz. of the capsicums per pint of the sauce.
Poach the fillets, left in their natural state, in fish fumet.
Dish them and coat with white wine and Genevoise sauces, alternating the two, white and brown. Lay a thin strip of anchovy fillet between each of the fillets of sole; deck those of the latter coated with white sauce with a slice of truffle, and those coated with brown sauce with a star of blanched tarragon leaves.
Divide each of the fillets into slices; season them and cook them in butter. Cut fifteen roundels (one-third inch thick) of egg-plant; season, dredge, and toss them in butter, taking care to keep them very crisp.
Take a timbale of suitable size, and line its sides with a layer (three-quarters inch thick) of pilaff rice.
[299]
Put the roundels of egg-plant and the sliced fillets of sole
(mixed and tossed together for a moment) in the middle of the
dish.
Just before serving, sprinkle with one oz. of lightly-browned butter.
Open and poach twelve oysters. Poach the fillets of sole, folded, in the oyster liquor strained through linen, and a piece of butter as large as a walnut.
Arrange in an oval on a dish; garnish the centre with the poached oysters (cleared of their beards), and coat the fillets of sole and the oysters with Normande sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the fillets.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish fumet.
Arrange them in a circle on a dish; coat them with white-wine sauce, and glaze quickly.
Garnish the centre of the dish with a pyramid of potato-balls cooked in butter and of a light-brown colour. Surround the fillets with poached milt.
Prepare a lobster à la New-burg, in accordance with one of the recipes given (No. 948 and 949). Cut the tail into as many slices as there are fillets of sole, and keep them hot.
Cut the remainder of the lobster meat into dice, and add these to the sauce. Fold the fillets of sole, and poach them in fish fumet. Arrange them in an oval on a dish; lay a slice of lobster upon each fillet, and coat with the lobster-sauce combined with the dice, prepared as directed above.
Prepare the fillets exactly as those à la New-burg, but season the sauce with curry.
Having dished and sauced the fillets, set a pyramid of rice à l’Indienne in the middle of the dish, or send the rice to the table separately, in a timbale; either way will be found to answer.
Prepare the fillets as in the case of those à la New-burg, but season the sauce with paprika, and add thereto one oz. of capsicums cut into large dice. Send some pilaff rice with saffron to the table separately.
Season the fillets; dip them into batter and, a few minutes before serving, put them into very hot fat. Drain them; dish them on a napkin with fried parsley, and serve a tomato sauce separately.
N.B.—There are several ways of preparing these fillets of sole. Thus they may be simply dipped in milk, dredged, and impaled on a hatelet. They may also be marinaded, treated à l’anglaise, and twisted into cork-screw shape.
Always, however, dish them on a napkin with fried parsley and, in every case, send a tomato sauce to the table separately.
This last accompaniment is essential.
Bake beforehand, in the oven, as many fine, well-washed potatoes as there are fillets of sole. As soon as they are done, remove a piece of the baked shell, and withdraw the pulp in such wise as to leave nothing but the long, parched shells. Fold the fillets, and poach them with a little excellent fish fumet. Garnish the bottom of each prepared shell with a tablespoonful of shelled shrimps’ tails, cohered with a white-wine sauce.
Put a poached fillet of sole upon this garnish; cover with sufficient Mornay sauce to completely fill the shell; sprinkle with grated cheese, and glaze quickly. Dish on a napkin the moment the fillets have been taken from the oven, and serve immediately.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in one-quarter pint of white wine, a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and a piece of butter about the size of a walnut.
Dish the fillets in an oval. Reduce the cooking-liquor to half; thicken it by means of two tablespoonfuls, bare, of fish velouté; finish the sauce with one oz. of butter, and add thereto three small, cooked, finely-minced mushrooms, and one tablespoonful of a julienne of truffles.
Coat the fillets with sauce, and set to glaze.
For the fillets of soles, cut two small carrots, two new onions, a stick of celery, and the white of one leek in paysanne fashion. Season these vegetables with a very little table-salt and a pinch of sugar; stew them in butter; moisten sufficiently to cover them with lukewarm water; and add a few pieces of broccoli, a tablespoonful of peas, and the same quantity of French beans cut into lozenges.
[301]
Complete the cooking of the vegetables while reducing the
cooking-liquor. Season the fillets of sole, and lay them on a
buttered earthenware dish. Pour thereon the garnish of vegetables;
put the cover on the dish, and gently poach the fillets.
When they are cooked, tilt the dish so as to pour all the liquor away into a vegetable-pan; this done, reduce the liquor to one-fifth pint, and add to it three oz. of butter.
Pour this sauce into the dish containing the fillets and the vegetable garnish, and serve immediately.
Cut the fillets into collops, and toss these in butter. Prepare some pilaff rice after the usual recipe (No. 2255), and add thereto one oz. of capsicum cut into dice.
Also toss in butter one and one-half oz. of egg-plant, cut into dice and seasoned, and put these with the fillets of sole. Mould the rice into a border round the dish; put the fillets and the egg-plant in the middle, and coat the two with curry sauce without letting the latter touch the rice.
N.B.—In the case of pilaff rice with fillets of sole, the rice should border the dish, and the fillets of sole, tossed in butter, should be laid in the middle and coated with brown butter.
Treat the fillets with butter and bread-crumbs, and grill them. Garnish them all round with a thread of very firm Béarnaise tomatée. Dish and surround them with a border of Château potatoes (No. 2208).
Lay a fine slice of truffle, moistened with melted meat-glaze, on each fillet.
Coat the fillets with some delicate fish forcemeat; put four slices of truffle on the forcemeat of each of the fillets; fold the latter, and poach them in one-sixth pint of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut, cut into small pieces.
Arrange the fillets in an oval on a dish, and coat them with white-wine sauce combined with one tablespoonful of freshly-cooked and uncooled asparagus-heads, and one tablespoonful of truffle in dice per every one-half pint of the sauce.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish fumet.
Arrange them in a circle on a dish, alternating them with thin crusts, in the shape of hearts, fried in butter. Coat with [302] Venetian sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the fillets.
Prepare a garnish of macaroni cut into dice; cohere this with cream and grated Gruyère and Parmesan, and add three oz. of lobster meat and one and one-half oz. of truffles in dice per every one-half lb. of the macaroni.
Poach the fillets of sole in fish fumet, keeping the fillets in their natural state. Lay the macaroni very evenly on the dish; set the poached fillets of sole upon it; coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly.
Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish fumet.
Arrange them in an oval on a dish, and garnish the centre with three oz. of the meat from the tail of the spiny lobster, and one oz. of truffle in dice per every four fillets.
Coat the fillets and the garnish with Victoria sauce, and set to glaze quickly.
Raise the fillets of a fine sole; beat them slightly; fold and season them, and put them in a special earthenware, buttered dish.
With the bones, some of the trimmings of the fish, a little minced onion, some parsley stalks, a few drops of lemon juice, and white wine and water, prepare two spoonfuls of fumet.
This done, strain it over the fillets, and poach them gently.
Drain them carefully; reduce the fumet to the consistence of a syrup, and finish it with one and one-half oz. of butter. Arrange the fillets in an oval on the dish whereon they have been poached; cover them with the buttered fumet, and set to glaze quickly. When about to serve, set a pyramid of skinned and very cold muscadel grapes in the middle of the dish.
Put a cover on the dish, and serve immediately.
Poach the fillets in fish fumet, keeping them in their natural state.
Dish, and surround them with three langoustines’ tails cut into two lengthwise, and stewed in butter (with lid on) with six fine slices of raw truffle.
Coat with a delicate Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly.
N.B.—The Mornay sauce may, according to circumstances, be combined with one and one-half oz. of langoustine butter per pint.
Prepare some potato shells as directed under “Filets de soles Olga” (No. 894). Garnish them with a tablespoonful of cucumber with cream; put a fillet of sole into each garnished shell, a fine Zeeland oyster on each fillet, and cover with Mornay sauce.
Set to glaze quickly, and dish on a napkin.
The directions given under “Mousselines de Saumon” (No. 797) apply in all circumstances to Mousselines of Sole. I shall therefore refrain from repeating the recipe, since, the quantities remaining the same, all that is needed is the substitution of the meat of sole for that of salmon. Thus, I shall only state here, by way of reminding the reader, that these excellent preparations admit of all the fish sauces and garnishes, and that they may also be accompanied by all purées of fresh vegetables.
Raise the fillets of three soles; flatten them slightly with a moistened beater, and trim them very straight on either side.
Liberally butter a medium-sized savarin-mould. Lay the fillets aslant in this mould, with their tail-ends over-reaching its inner edge and their other ends projecting over its outer edge; slip a fine slice of truffle between each, and let them slightly overlap one another.
When the mould is completely lined with the fillets of sole, fill it up with lobster mousseline forcemeat. Gently tap the mould on a folded napkin lying on the table, with the object of settling the forcemeat, and then draw the overhanging ends of the fillets across the latter.
Set to poach in a bain-marie in a moderate oven.
This done, take the mould out of the bain-marie; let it stand for a few minutes, and then turn it upside-down upon the dish. Leave it to drain; soak up the liquid that has leaked out on to the dish; take off the mould, and moisten the surface of the fillets by means of a small brush dipped in melted butter. The object of this last measure is to glaze the fish and to remove therefrom the froth resulting from its poached albumen.
Now garnish the centre of the moulding with shrimps’ tails, mushrooms, poached milt, and slices of truffle, the whole cohered by means of Béchamel sauce finished with lobster butter.
[304]
Send a sauceboat of Béchamel sauce, finished with lobster
butter, to the table at the same time as the fish.
Proceed as in the preceding recipe, but alternate the fillets of sole with very red slices of salmon of the same size as the fillets.
The combination yields an excellent result, and the varying strips of white and orange which constitute the body of the moulded crown lend sightliness to the dish.
N.B.—The designation “à la Villaret,” relating to the crown alone, in no wise affects the constituents of the garnish; these may either remain the same as those of the preceding recipe, or may be replaced by something similar. The sauce alone remains unalterable, and this should be a good Béchamel finished with lobster butter.
For ten people, prepare a timbale crust (No. 2394) the diameter of which should be greater than the height; line it with fine, short paste, and decorate it with noodle paste.
Raise the fillets of three medium-sized soles, flatten them slightly; coat them with whiting forcemeat prepared with crayfish butter, and roll them into scroll-form. Also prepare ten small slices of the meat of a medium-sized ordinary or spiny lobster’s tail, ten small grooved and cooked mushrooms, fifteen slices of truffle, and three-quarters pint of Cardinal sauce finished with a lobster butter.
When about to serve, lay the poached, rolled fillets of sole (well drained) in a circle round the bottom of the timbale; put the slices of lobster and the mushrooms in the centre, and cover the whole with Cardinal sauce.
Set upon the sauce, just over the centre of the timbale, a large, grooved mushroom (cooked and kept very white), and encircle the latter with fifteen slices of truffle.
Place the timbale, thus garnished, on a folded napkin lying on a dish, and serve at once.
Prepare (1) a timbale crust as above; (2) a lobster à la New-burg made from raw lobster (No. 948); (3) twelve rolled fillets of sole stuffed with fish forcemeat finished with lobster butter; (4) three oz. of sliced truffles.
Poach the rolled fillets in fish fumet; slice the meat of the lobster’s tail, and put the poached fillets, the slices of lobster [305] and the slices of truffle into the lobster sauce. Heat the whole well, without boiling; pour the sauce and garnish into the timbale crust, and deck the top with twelve fine slices of truffle.
Dish the timbale on a folded napkin, and serve instantly.
Prepare:—(1) A rather deep timbale crust, and decorate it with noodle paste. (2) Cook, as for bisque, twenty-four small langoustines; wrench off their tails; cut them into two lengthwise, and keep them hot in butter. (3) Finely pound the langoustines’ carapaces, and add thereto one-third pint of fine Béchamel. Rub through a fine sieve first, and then through tammy. Put the resulting cullis into a saucepan, and heat without boiling it; intensify the seasoning; add a few tablespoonfuls of cream, little by little; put the prepared tails in the cullis, and keep the latter in the bain-marie. (4) Cut four oz. of blanched and somewhat stiff macaroni into pieces, and add thereto one-sixth pint of cream and three oz. of sliced truffle. Heat until the macaroni has completely absorbed the cream; thicken with one-sixth pint of Béchamel sauce finished with fish fumet; add one and one-half oz. of butter cut into small lumps, and keep hot. (5) Coat sixteen fillets of sole with truffled fish forcemeat; roll the fillets into scroll-form, and, at the last minute, poach them in fish fumet.
To garnish the timbale, spread a layer of macaroni on the bottom thereof, lay half of the rolled fillets upon the macaroni, and cover these with half of the langoustines’ tails in the cullis.
Repeat the procedure, in the same order, with what is left of the garnishes, and finish the timbale with a layer of the langoustines’ tails.
Set the timbale on a folded napkin lying on a dish, and serve immediately.
Flatten the fillets of three medium-sized soles, and trim them neatly.
Liberally butter a pound-cake mould, and line it with the fillets, placing them side by side with their tails lying round the centre of the bottom of the mould, and their opposite ends projecting above the brim. Press them well, that they may take the shape of the mould.
Completely coat the fillets with a layer, one-half inch thick, of fish forcemeat.
Put the mould in the front of the oven for a few minutes [306] in order to poach the forcemeat, which, in adhering to the fillets, gives the required firmness to the timbale.
When the forcemeat has been poached and is stiff, withdraw the timbale from the oven, and cut off the pieces of fillet that project above the edges of the mould. Fill the timbale to within one-third inch of its brim with a garnish of shrimps and poached oysters and mussels, small button-mushrooms, and slices of truffle, all of which should be cohered with a thick and highly-seasoned Béchamel sauce. Cover this garnish with the projecting pieces of fillets, already cut off, and close the timbale by means of a thin layer of that forcemeat which served in coating the fillets. Poach for thirty minutes in a bain-marie and in a moderate oven. After taking the timbale out of the bain-marie, let it stand for a few minutes; overturn it on a round dish; take off the mould; deck it on top with a garland consisting of six little paupiettes of salmon, each stuffed with a crayfish tail, and surmounted by an encrusted crayfish carapace.
Serve a Nantua sauce separately.
For a timbale large enough for ten people, prepare:—
1. An even or fluted timbale crust.
2. A garnish consisting of twelve rolled or folded fillets of sole poached in fish fumet, twelve poached oysters (cleared of their beards), twenty-four small quenelles of salmon, and twenty slices of truffle.
Heat this garnish after having added a few drops of fish fumet to it, and then thicken it with one-half pint of white-wine sauce prepared with paprika.
Put the above garnish into the timbale, which should be very hot; set the latter on a folded napkin, and serve at once.
The paupiettes (or fillets rolled after the manner of a scroll) are served either as entrées like fillets of sole, of which they are but a special kind, or as a garnish. For the second purpose, not only should they be smaller than for the first, but very small fillets are generally selected for the preparation of the paupiettes.
In order to make paupiettes, first remove the nervous film from the outside surfaces of the fillets, and then slightly flatten the latter with the blade of a large knife; trim them on both sides, and coat them on their flayed side with a thin layer of fish forcemeat, truffled or not, in accordance with the requirements.
[307]
Now roll them into scroll-form; smooth the forcemeat that
projects from the top end, and the paupiettes are done.
Stand them upright in a buttered sautépan to poach, and take care to place them snugly together lest they lose their shape while the operation is in progress. Moisten them with sufficient fish fumet (No. 11) to cover them; poach them in a moderate oven, and remember, as in the case of fillets of sole, not to let the poaching-liquor boil.
All the garnishes and sauces suited to fillets of sole likewise obtain with paupiettes, provided the difference in their shape be taken into account when dishing up.
For salmon paupiettes, cut slices two-thirds inch wide, one-half inch thick, and the length of a fillet of sole, from a skinned fillet of salmon. In view of the unusual fragility of salmon’s flesh, the slices of fillets should be carefully flattened in order to give them the width and thickness of a fillet of sole. This done, spread forcemeat on them, and roll them as explained above.
An essential point in the making of an aspic is the clearness of the fish jelly. For a sole aspic, take some white fish aspic, which is at once succulent, limpid, and just sufficiently viscous to allow of its being turned out of a mould without breaking.
For the purpose under consideration, moulds with plain or decorated borders are generally used, and there are two modes of procedure:—
1. For a mould capable of holding one quart, fold twelve small fillets of sole and poach them in butter and lemon juice, taking care to keep them very white. This done, set them to cool under a light weight.
Pour a few tablespoonfuls of melted fish jelly into the mould, which should be lying amidst broken ice. As soon as the jelly begins to set, decorate it tastefully with pieces (lozenges, crescents, &c.) of very black truffle and the poached white of an egg. Capers, tarragon leaves, thin roundels of small radishes, &c., may also be used for the purpose of decoration.
When this part of the procedure has been satisfactorily effected, sprinkle a few drops of the same jelly over the decorating particles, in order to fix them and prevent their shifting during the subsequent stages of the process. Now add enough melted jelly to cover the bottom of the mould with a layer one inch thick, and leave this to set.
[308]
On this set jelly, arrange the six fillets of sole; let their tail-ends
overlap, and cover them with jelly. Continue adding
coat upon coat of jelly until the thickness covering the fillets
measures about one-half inch.
Now arrange the remaining fillets in the reverse order, and fill up the mould with cold, melted jelly. Leave to cool for one hour.
When about to serve, quickly dip the mould in a saucepan of hot water; wipe it, and turn out the aspic upon a folded napkin lying on a dish.
Coat ten fine fillets of sole with a thin layer of truffled fish forcemeat finished with crayfish butter, and roll them round a little rod of truffle, twice as thick as an ordinary penholder. Tie these paupiettes, once or twice round, with cotton; poach them very gently in fish fumet and cool them on ice. Take a border-mould, even if possible; pour therein a few tablespoonfuls of melted fish jelly, and then rock it about on broken ice, with the object of evenly coating it with a thin layer of the jelly.
This operation is technically called “clothing the mould.”
Decorate the bottom of the mould as explained above; fix the decorating particles, and cover them with a layer one-half inch thick of fish jelly.
After having properly trimmed the ends of the paupiettes, cut them into roundels one-half inch thick; set these upright against the sides of the mould, keeping them close together; add a few drops of melted jelly to fix the roundels, and as soon as this has set, add a further quantity, sufficient to completely cover them.
As soon as this jelly sets, repeat the operation with the paupiette roundels and the jelly, and do so again and again until the mould is filled. For turning out the aspic, proceed as directed above.
Line a border-mould with jelly; i.e., coat its bottom and sides with a thin layer of fish jelly, rocking it upon ice as already explained.
Now fill it, two-thirds full, with a garnish consisting of a julienne of cold, poached fillets of sole, a julienne of truffles (two oz. per two filleted soles), and a julienne of capsicum (one and one-half oz. per two filleted soles). Fill up the mould with melted fish jelly, and leave the latter to set.
[309]
When about to serve, turn out the mould upon a little, low
cushion of rice, lying on a dish, and set an Italian salad in the
centre.
Serve a Mayonnaise sauce with this dish.
Flatten the fillets, and roll them into paupiettes around little rods of wood two-thirds inch thick. Lay the paupiettes in a buttered sautépan, with their joined sides undermost, and poach them in very clear fish fumet and lemon juice, taking care to keep them very white.
Let them cool, and remove the pieces of wood, whereupon they will have the appearance of rings.
Take as many small tomatoes as there are paupiettes; cut them in two at a point two-thirds of their height below their stem-end; empty, and peel them. Set a paupiette, upright, in each tomato; fill the centre with crayfish mousse combined with crayfishes’ tails in dice; lay a round piece of milt (stamped out with a cutter, poached, and cold) on each, and, finally, the shelled tail of a crayfish on each roundel of milt.
Arrange the tomatoes in a circle round a dish; surround them with little triangles of white fish jelly, and garnish the centre of the dish with the same fish jelly, chopped.
Fold the fillets; poach them in fish fumet, and let them cool.
Trim them; coat them with pink chaud-froid sauce; decorate each fillet by means of a rosette of chervil leaves, in the centre of which rests a bit of lobster coral, and glaze them with fish jelly.
Set them, tail end uppermost, against a mousse of milt with horse-radish, moulded in a narrow dome-mould, which should have been coated with fish jelly and besprinkled with chopped coral.
Surround with a border of regularly-cut jelly dice.
Prepare (1) some paupiettes of filleted sole, in rings, as explained under “Filets de Soles à la Calypso” (No. 918); (2) as many round, fluted cases made from hollowed cucumber as there are paupiettes. The cucumber cases should be well blanched and marinaded inside. Set each paupiette in a cucumber case; garnish their centre with caviare, and arrange them in a circle on a dish.
Send a sauce Russe to the table, separately, at the same time as the dish.
Select some fine, fleshy fillets; slightly flatten them; poach them in a little of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, some lemon juice and butter, and set them to cool under a light weight. When the fillets are cold, trim them and cut them into regular rectangles the size of dominoes.
Coat the rectangles with a maigre, white, chaud-froid sauce; decorate them in imitation of dominoes, with little spots of truffle; glaze them with cold, melted fish jelly, and put them aside.
Pound the trimmings of the fish together with their weight of caviare, and rub the whole through a fine sieve. Add to this preparation half its weight of highly-coloured jelly, and leave it to set in a somewhat deep and moderately-oiled tray, the thickness of the preparation on the tray being not greater than that of a fillet of sole.
When the jelly is set, cut it into rectangles exactly the same size as the prepared dominoes, and then, by means of a little melted, cold jelly, fix the dominoes of sole to the rectangles just prepared.
Put some chopped jelly in the centre of the dish, and on this lay the dominoes in a muddled heap.
What I pointed out above, I repeat here for the reader’s guidance—namely, that fillets of sole may be prepared after all the recipes given for trout (No. 813).
As the fillets of sole in this dish remain very conspicuous, it is advisable to keep them very white in the poaching. Set them to cool under a light weight, and decorate them in a way that will be in keeping with the mousse on which they are dished. This mousse is set on a special dish, as already explained, and the decorated fillets are laid upon it and covered with melted jelly.
For the variation of mousses, see the table given under No. 815.
Turbot is generally served boiled, accompanied by freshly cooked, floury potatoes, and the cases are exceptional when, cooked in this way, it is dished with any other garnish.
All fish sauces may be served with turbot. When, for the sake of variety, or in pursuance of the consumer’s wishes, turbot has to be braised or garnished, it is best to select a medium-sized [311] fish, i.e., one weighing from eight to twelve lbs., thick, very fleshy, and white.
Unless expressly ordered, it is best to avoid surrounding the piece with its garnish. Preferably, send the latter to the table in a separate dish, as also the sauce. By this means the service is expedited, and, more important still, the fish is quite hot when it reaches the table. It is granted that the sight of a dish containing a fine, richly garnished and tastefully arranged piece is flattering to the host, but it would be a pity that the quality of the fish should thereby suffer, more particularly as the gourmet is not satisfied with sightliness alone.
I explained at the beginning of this chapter, under “Boiled Fish” (No. 776 and 779), the details relating to this method of cooking, especially with regard to its application to turbot. For the braising and garnishing of turbot, the reader is begged to refer to the recipes concerned with chicken-turbot. These recipes may be applied to turbot, provided the difference in the size of the fish be taken into account in reference to the time allowed for braising and the quantities of the garnishing ingredients.
Whether whole or sliced, cold turbot makes an excellent dish, if the fish have not been cooked too long beforehand. It will be found that turbot, especially when sliced, tends to harden, crumple, and lose its flavour while cooling. It is therefore of the greatest importance that the fish should have just cooled after cooking, and that the cooking-liquor should have barely time to set; otherwise the evil effects of cooling, mentioned above, will surely ensue. When served, just cooled, with one of the cold sauces suited to fish, turbot can vie in delicacy even with such fish as salmon or trout, which are usually served cold.
Turbotins (chicken-turbots) may rank among the most delicate and nicest of fish. Their varying sizes allow of their being served either for three, four, or ten, or twelve people; they are, moreover, tender and white, and they lend themselves to quite a vast number of culinary preparations.
They may be served boiled, like the turbot; grilled; à la Meunière; fried; au gratin, like the soles; or braised, like the salmon and the trout. They are most often served whole, garnished and with sauce; but, in order to simplify the process, they may be filleted, the fillets being poached and dished with a garnish and the selected sauce.
[312]
Whatever be the method of preparing the chicken-turbot,
whether it be boiled, poached, or braised, the spine should
always be cut in one or two places. The gash should be
just in the middle of the back where the flesh is thickest, and
the fillets on either side of the gash should be partly separated
from the bone. The object of this measure is to prevent deformation
during the cooking process and, also, to precipitate
the latter.
Gash the back of the fish, and partly separate the under fillets from the bones. Lay it on a grill, and moisten, sufficiently to cover it, with previously-cooked court-bouillon with Sauterne wine. As soon as the court-bouillon boils, allow the fish to cook ten or twelve minutes for every two lbs. of its weight.
This done, drain it; dish it, and coat it twice with melted, red butter.
Now surround it with the following garnish, which should be in proportion to the size of the fish, viz., little heaps of large mussels and oysters, prepared à la Villeroy, and fried at the time of dishing; small patties of crayfish tails; large mushroom-heads grooved and cooked, and slices of truffle.
Serve, separately, (1) a timbale of potatoes à l’anglaise; (2) Normande sauce, combined with one-sixth pint of reduced court-bouillon per quart of sauce, finished with crayfish butter and seasoned with cayenne.
Cut it in the region of the back; season it, and lay it in a deep earthenware dish of convenient size, liberally buttered. In the case of a chicken-turbot weighing two and one-half lbs., moisten with one-third pint of white wine and one-quarter pint of fish fumet.
Finely mince two medium-sized onions, and toss them in butter until they have acquired a yellow colour.
Peel, press and mince three tomatoes, and add thereto three large, raw, sliced mushrooms. Cut two mild capsicums into strips.
Spread the onion on the chicken-turbot; put the tomatoes and the sliced mushrooms on top, and upon these arrange the grilled strips of mild capsicum. Besprinkle moderately with raspings; lay one oz. of butter, cut into small pieces, on the top, and set to cook gently in the oven.
[313]
Allow thirty minutes for the cooking. By reducing the
moistening-liquor, which has perforce absorbed some of the
gelatinous properties of the fish, the leason forms of itself.
For a chicken-turbot weighing from two to two and one-half lbs. sprinkle on the bottom of a buttered tray one dessertspoonful of chopped shallots, one pinch of concassed parsley, and three oz. of minced mushrooms.
Cut the chicken-turbot in the back, and partly separate the fillets from the bone; lay it on the tray, and moisten with one-third pint of white wine and one-third pint of fish fumet. Cook gently in the oven, and baste frequently the while.
When the chicken-turbot is cooked, dish it and keep it hot. Pour the cooking-liquor into a sautépan; reduce it to half, and add three tablespoonfuls of fish velouté and three oz. of butter.
Cover the fish with this sauce and the garnish, and glaze quickly.
Poach the chicken-turbot in salted water.
Prepare the following garnish per one person:—Three potato balls cut to the size of hazel-nuts and cooked à l’anglaise; one medium-sized, trussed crayfish; one quenelle of fish; one small lobster croquette; and one oyster prepared à la Villeroy.
All these products should be treated according to their nature, and just in time to be ready for the dishing up. A few moments before serving, drain the turbot; dish it, and surround it with the garnish detailed above, arranged in alternate heaps.
Serve a Normande sauce, finished with anchovy butter, separately.
Proceed exactly as directed under “Sole Daumont” (No. 823), taking into account the size of the fish, and increasing the sauce and the garnishing ingredients accordingly.
Sprinkle on the bottom of a buttered tray two minced shallots, a few roundels of carrot and onion, some parsley stalks, thyme, and bay.
Lay the chicken-turbot on these aromatics, and season moderately. For a fish weighing two lbs. moisten with two-thirds pint of excellent red wine; add one-half oz. of butter, cut into small pieces, and poach gently, taking care to baste frequently.
[314]
Meantime toss three oz. of minced mushrooms in three oz.
of butter. When the turbot is ready, drain it; dish it; surround
it with the tossed mushrooms, and keep it hot.
Strain the cooking-liquor into a vegetable-pan, and reduce it to half. Thicken it with a piece of manied butter the size of a walnut; add three oz. of butter; pour this sauce over the chicken-turbot and its garnish, and set to glaze quickly.
Poach the chicken-turbot in salted water. Drain it, dish it, and upon it lay a lobster cooked in court-bouillon. The shell of the lobster should have been opened along the top of the tail, and the meat of the tail should have been quickly sliced and returned to its place.
Send to the table at the same time (1) a timbale of floury potatoes, freshly cooked à l’anglaise; (2) a sauceboat containing egg sauce with melted butter (No. 117).
Poach the fish in court-bouillon with Sauterne wine, as directed under “Turbotin à l’Amiral” (No. 926).
Drain it; dish it, and coat it in alternate bands with white wine and Genevoise sauces. Along the lines formed by the meeting of the sauces lay thin strips of anchovy fillets placed end to end. Decorate the bands of white sauce with slices of truffle, and the bands of brown sauce with blanched tarragon leaves.
Poach the fish in court-bouillon with Sauterne wine. Drain it, dish it, and round it arrange a border composed of alternate slices of truffles and mushrooms. Coat the fish with white-wine sauce, and surround it with trussed crayfish cooked in court-bouillon.
N.B.—For fish à la Parisienne, the garnish of sliced truffles and mushrooms may be set on the dish, either conspicuously or the reverse; i.e., it may be laid round the fish and covered by the sauce, or arranged in the form of an oval on the fish after the latter has been sauced. In either case the slices of truffles and mushrooms should be laid alternately.
Poach the chicken-turbot in a sufficient quantity of previously-prepared court-bouillon with Chablis wine.
For a fish weighing three lbs. (enough for ten people), prepare the following garnish:—Twenty small spoon-moulded [315] quenelles of whiting forcemeat with crayfish butter; ten poached oysters (cleared of their beards); ten small mushroom-heads (very white); ten truffles in the shape of olives, and ten poached slices of milt.
Drain the chicken-turbot just before dishing it, and slip it on to a dish. Surround it with the garnish detailed above, arranged in alternate heaps, and serve a Normande sauce, finished with two tablespoonfuls of truffle essence per pint, separately.
Lay the chicken-turbot on its belly, and make two gashes in its back, on either side of the spine, from the head to the tail. Completely separate the fillets from the bones; cut the spine at both ends; carefully raise it from the underlying, ventral fillets, and entirely remove it.
Season the inside of the fish, and garnish it with enough fish mousseline forcemeat to give it a rounded appearance. Close in the forcemeat by drawing the two separated fillets over it; turn the piece over, and lay it on a well-buttered, deep, oval dish, the size of which should be in proportion to that of the chicken-turbot.
Poach it gently, almost dry, with lid on, in fish fumet and the cooking-liquor of mushrooms mixed, i.e., two-thirds pint of the one and one-third pint of the other. This done, dish it carefully, and lay a row of grooved and white mushroom-heads down the centre of it. On either side put some very white, poached milt, alternating the latter with whole anchovy fillets, in such wise as to form an oval enframing the row of mushrooms.
Send to the table, separately, a sauce composed of Soubise cullis and white-wine sauce, in the proportion of one-third and two-thirds respectively, combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the chicken-turbot.
Stuff the chicken-turbot after the method described in the preceding recipe, but substitute lobster mousseline forcemeat for that mentioned above.
Poach as directed above, and dish.
Coat the fish with lobster butter, made as red as possible, from the carcass of the lobster whose meat has been used for the forcemeat.
From head to tail and down the centre of the fish lay a row of fine slices of truffle, letting them overlap each other slightly. [316] Frame the row of truffle with two lines of very white, poached oysters, so placed as to form a regular oval.
Send to the table, separately, a fine Béchamel sauce seasoned with cayenne.
My remarks relative to cold turbot apply here with even greater force, for chicken-turbots are particularly well suited to cold dishing.
The chicken-turbots to be served cold should not be too small; the best for the purpose would be those weighing four lbs. or more.
In dismissing the subject I can but recommend cold chicken-turbot as a dish admitting of the most tasteful arrangement and decoration.
Whereas the ordinary lobster is a very favourite dish with English gourmets, the spiny kind has scarcely any vogue. This is no doubt accounted for by the fact that the former is not only very plentiful, but also of excellent quality, while the latter is comparatively scarce.
The first essential condition is that the lobster should be alive. Sever and slightly crush the claws, with the view of withdrawing their meat after cooking; cut the tail into sections; split the carapace in two lengthwise, and remove the queen (a little bag near the head containing some gravel). Put aside, on a plate, the intestines and the coral, which will be used in the finishing of the sauce, and season the pieces of lobster with salt and pepper.
Put these pieces into a sautépan containing one-sixth pint of oil and one oz. of butter, both very hot. Fry them over an open fire until the meat has stiffened well and the carapace is of a fine red colour.
Then remove all grease by tilting the sautépan on its side with its lid on; sprinkle the pieces of lobster with two chopped shallots and one crushed clove of garlic; add one-third pint of white wine, one-quarter pint of fish fumet, a small glassful of burnt brandy, one tablespoonful of melted meat-glaze, three small, fresh, pressed, and chopped tomatoes (or, failing fresh tomatoes, two tablespoonfuls of tomato purée), a pinch of concassed parsley, and a very little cayenne. Cover the sautépan, and set to cook in the oven for eighteen or twenty minutes.
[317]
This done, transfer the pieces of lobster to a dish; withdraw
the meat from the section of the tail and the claws, and put
them in a timbale; set upright thereon the two halves of the
carapace, and let them lie against each other. Keep the whole
hot.
Now reduce the cooking-sauce of the lobster to one-third pint; add thereto the intestines and the chopped coral, together with a piece of butter the size of a walnut; set to cook for a moment, and pass through a strainer.
Put this cullis into a vegetable-pan; heat it without letting it boil, and add, away from the fire, three oz. of butter cut into small pieces.
Pour this sauce over the pieces of lobster which have been kept hot, and sprinkle the whole with a pinch of concassed and scalded parsley.
Section the live lobster as directed above.
Stiffen the meat and colour the carapace in a sautépan with two oz. of clarified butter. When the meat is quite stiff and the carapace is red, pour away two-thirds of the butter. Then add two tablespoonfuls of chopped shallots, a crushed piece of garlic the size of a pea, one-sixth pint of white wine, three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy, and reduce the whole to half. Complete with one-half pint of fish fumet, one-third pint of maigre Espagnole, one-quarter pint of tomato sauce, one small faggot, one pinch of salt, and a very little cayenne.
Put the lid on, and set to cook for one-quarter hour.
Take the meat from the sections of the tail and the claws, as in the case of the preparation à l’américaine; put these into a small sautépan, and keep them hot. Add the intestines and the chopped coral, reduce the sauce to one-third pint; pass it through a strainer, and pour it over the pieces of lobster.
Heat the whole without boiling; add a few drops of lemon juice, two and one-half oz. of butter cut into small pieces, and one-half tablespoonful of chopped chervil and tarragon, and stir over the stove with the view of thoroughly mixing the whole.
Dish as directed in the preceding recipe.
Cook the lobster in a court-bouillon (No. 163), allowing twenty minutes for a specimen weighing two lbs.
As soon as the lobster is cooked, drain it; split it in two lengthwise without completely severing the two halves; lay it [318] on a long dish covered with a napkin, and surround it with very green, curled-leaf parsley.
Serve with it, at the same time, a timbale of floury potatoes freshly cooked à l’anglaise, and a sauceboat of melted butter.
Select a lobster that seems full of life, and, after killing it, fix it on the spit. Put into the dripping-pan six oz. of butter, one-half bottle of champagne, salt, and peppercorns. In order to cook it to perfection, frequently baste it with this mixture, and allow one hour before a red fire for a specimen weighing three lbs. It may be dished with two accompaniments:—
1. A hot ravigote sauce combined with the gravy of the lobster, from which all grease has been removed.
2. Strain the contents of the dripping-pan (cleared of all grease) through a fine sieve; reduce it by a quarter over a brisk fire; add three tablespoonfuls of meat-glaze, two tablespoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce, and a little chopped parsley, and finish this sauce with three oz. of butter and a few drops of lemon juice.
Plunge the live lobster into boiling court-bouillon, and cook it after the manner directed under “Homard à la Hollandaise” (No. 941).
The moment it is cooked, cut it in two lengthwise; withdraw the meat from the tail, slice it, and keep it hot in a little Cardinal sauce. Disconnect the claws; open them sideways, and withdraw all their meat without breaking them. Cut the withdrawn meat into dice, as also the creamy parts from the carapace, and add thereto their weight of cooked mushrooms and half that quantity of truffles—both of which products should also be in dice. Thicken this salpicon with a few tablespoonfuls of lobster sauce, and spread it in even layers on the bottom of each half-carapace.
Reserve, however, two tablespoonfuls of it for garnishing the emptied claws.
Upon the salpicon lay the slices of lobster, kept hot, alternating these with fine slices of truffles. Set the two half-carapaces, thus garnished, on a dish, and wedge them upright by means of the two claws.
Coat the slices and the claws with Cardinal sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter; set to glaze quickly in a fierce oven or at the salamander, and serve instantly.
Cook the lobster in court-bouillon, and drain it as soon as it is done.
When it is only lukewarm, split it open lengthwise; take the meat from the tail; slice it, and keep it hot in a vegetable-pan with a few drops of fish fumet or the cooking-liquor of mushrooms.
Remove the remains of meat and the creamy parts from the carapace; pound the two former together with two tablespoonfuls of cream; strain through a fine sieve, and add to the resulting cullis one-half pint of Béchamel sauce with curry.
Garnish the two half-carapaces, two-thirds full, with rice à l’Indienne; set the slices of lobster on this rice, intercalating them with slices of truffle; coat thinly with the prepared Béchamel sauce, and set the two garnished and sauced half-carapaces on a long, hot dish.
Send to the table, at the same time, a sauceboat containing Béchamel with curry.
Proceed as for “Homard à la New-burg à cru” (No. 948), but swill with brandy only, and add, immediately, four oz. of fresh, peeled truffles cut into slices.
Moisten, almost sufficiently to cover, with very fresh, thin cream; season with salt and cayenne, and cook the lobster. Then take the meat from the carapaces, and put it into a timbale; reduce the cream to one-third pint, and mix therewith three tablespoonfuls of melted, white meat-glaze and a few drops of lemon juice.
Strain this sauce through muslin, and pour it over the pieces of lobster.
For this purpose, the lobster may be taken raw, but it is better, first, to have it three-parts cooked in court-bouillon.
Now split it into two lengthwise; sprinkle it with melted butter, and set it on the grill for its cooking to be completed.
Treated thus, the meat of the lobster does not harden as when it is grilled raw. Dish the grilled lobster on a napkin or on a drainer, after having broken the shell of the claws in order to facilitate the withdrawal of the meat, and surround with curled-leaf parsley.
Serve a “Devilled sauce Escoffier,” or any other sauce suited to grilled fish, with the lobster, but remember that the first-named sauce is the fittest that could be found for this particular dish.
Proceed in all points as directed under “Homard Cardinal” (No. 943), but substitute Mornay sauce for Cardinal.
This dish may be prepared in two ways—with raw lobster and with the latter cooked some time beforehand. The second way is the more correct, but the first, which is less troublesome to prepare, is more suited to the work of large establishments.
Cut up the live lobster, and fry it in oil and butter as explained under “Homard à l’Américaine.” When the pieces of lobster are stiffened and coloured, clear them of all grease; swill the sautépan with one tablespoonful of burnt brandy and one-half pint of Marsala.
Reduce by a third; season, and add two-thirds pint of cream and one-sixth pint of fish fumet. Cover and set to cook for fifteen minutes.
Take out the pieces of lobster; withdraw the meat therefrom, and keep it hot in a covered timbale. Thicken the sauce with the reserved intestines and coral of the lobster, which should be chopped in combination with one oz. of butter.
Set to boil a second time; rub the sauce through tammy, and pour it over the pieces of lobster.
Cook the lobster in court-bouillon. Remove the shell from the tail; take the meat therefrom, and cut it into regular slices. Lay these slices in a liberally-buttered sautépan, season strongly, and heat the slices on both sides until the outside membrane acquires a fine red colour.
Moisten with enough Madeira to almost cover the slices, and reduce the moistening almost entirely. When dishing up, pour a leason, composed of one and one-quarter pints of cream and two egg-yolks, over the slices. Stir gently on the side of the fire until the thickening has been effected by the cooking of the egg-yolks, and serve in a lukewarm timbale.
Cut up the live lobster and toss it in butter with a mirepoix prepared in advance, as for crayfish intended for potage bisque.
Moisten with two-thirds pint of white wine, one pint of [321] fish fumet, and three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy. Cover and cook for fifteen minutes.
Now detach the sections of the tail and the claws; withdraw the meat from them, and keep them hot in a small covered saucepan with a little butter. Pound the carapace and remains of the lobster in a mortar; fry them in four tablespoonfuls of very hot oil, and add thereto an ordinary mirepoix, cut very fine. Moisten with the cooking-liquor of the lobster, and set to cook for one-quarter hour. Strain through muslin; leave to stand for five minutes, that the oil may rise to the surface, and then completely remove it. Reduce this liquid to one-quarter pint; thicken it with the reserved creamy parts of the lobster, rubbed through tammy, and two tablespoonfuls of fish velouté, and finish this sauce with two and one-half oz. of curry butter.
Arrange a border of pilaff rice (No. 2255) on the dish intended for the lobster; set the pieces of lobster, kept hot, in the centre, and coat these with a few tablespoonfuls of curry sauce.
Serve the remainder of the sauce separately.
In the matter of crustaceans, the term mousse stands, as a rule, for a cold preparation, whereas the term mousseline is only applied to warm dishes. The special mousselines or quenelles of lobster are made with a mousseline forcemeat, the recipe for which I gave under No. 195. This forcemeat is prepared with the raw meat of the lobster.
As with the other crustaceans, their meat produces forcemeat which is somewhat too flimsy to be spoon-moulded, and it is preferable to poach it in special well-buttered quenelle- or dariole-moulds.
Mousselines are poached under cover in a moderate oven.
All the garnishes and sauces given in respect of salmon mousselines may be applied here. The reader will therefore refer to:—
Mousselines de Saumon Alexandra (No. 798).
Mousselines de Saumon à la Tosca (No. 799).
For lobster soufflés the same forcemeat is used as for the mousselines; but, unlike the latter, it is poached in the half-carapaces of the lobster, the meat of which has served in its preparation. The procedure is as follows:—First cook the two half-carapaces carefully, that they may not lose their shape in the process.
[322]
After having drained and dried them, fill them with mousseline
forcemeat and surround them with strong, buttered paper,
which should be tied on with string, and should overreach the
edges of the carapaces by one inch.
The object of this measure is to prevent the forcemeat from spilling during the poaching.
Lay the two garnished carapaces on a tray containing just enough boiling water to moisten its whole surface. Put the tray in a moderate oven or in a steamer, and allow from fifteen to twenty minutes for the soufflé to poach.
This done, carefully drain the two carapaces; remove the paper holding in the forcemeat; dish them on a napkin, and surround them with bunches of very green, curled-leaf parsley. Serve separately a sauce in keeping with the preparation; i.e., a Normande, a White-wine, a Diplomate, or a Béchamel finished with lobster butter, &c.
N.B.—The above constitutes the model-recipe of lobster soufflé, and I need scarcely point out that the latter may be varied almost indefinitely in accordance with the fancy of the cook and the taste of the consumer.
Thus the forcemeat may be garnished with truffles in dice, slices of lobster, milt, or poached oysters, &c., which garnishes may also be laid on the soufflé when it is finished. I therefore leave to the operator, who should now see his way quite clearly, the task of imagining the various possible combinations, a description of which would but unnecessarily delay the progress of this work.
Cook the lobster in court-bouillon, and let it cool in the latter. Drain it, sever the claws, and break them open in order to withdraw their meat. Split the lobster into two lengthwise, remove the intestines and the queen, and dish it on a napkin. Lay the claws on either side of it, and surround it either with curled-leaf parsley or with a few hearts of lettuce.
Send to the table separately one of the derivative sauces of the Mayonnaise (Nos. 122 to 132).
Under “Aspic de filets de soles” (No. 915), I pointed out the preparatory principles of an aspic; in this case, therefore, I shall only refer to the various details very cursorily.
Let a thin coating of white fish jelly set on the bottom of an aspic-mould incrusted in ice. The reader is reminded of the great care that must be observed in the preparation of an [323] aspic jelly, that the latter be limpid, succulent, and just sufficiently firm not to break when withdrawn from the mould. Decorate the bottom of the mould with bits of truffle, poached white of egg, lobster coral, capers, and tarragon leaves.
The decorative design cannot be described; it must be left to the taste and fancy of the operator; all I can urge is that it be as regular and symmetrical as possible.
Fix the decoration by means of a few drops of jelly; then cover the whole with a thickness of one inch of the same jelly, and leave the latter to set. Upon this layer of jelly arrange rows of thin slices of lobster meat and slices of truffles placed alternately and slightly overlapping. Now add enough jelly to cover these slices, and continue filling up the mould with varying layers consisting respectively of jelly (one inch thick) and the slices above described.
When about to serve, dip the mould in hot water; dry it, and turn out the aspic upon a dish covered with a napkin.
Prepare a salpicon of lobster meat in dice combined with its weight of caviare, the whole quantity being in proportion to the number of côtelettes required.
Thicken the salpicon with an equal quantity of lobster mousse (No. 956), and at once garnish some moderately oiled cutlet-moulds with the preparation. As soon as the latter has set, turn out the cutlets; coat them with a fish chaud-froid sauce, finished with lobster butter; and deck each with a fine, grooved slice of truffle. Glaze them with cold melted jelly, and keep them in the cool until required to be served.
Arrange them in a circle on a round dish; garnish the centre with chopped white jelly, and serve a Russian salad separately.
Cook the lobster in a few tablespoonfuls of previously-prepared fine mirepoix, one half-bottle of white wine, and a small glass of burnt brandy. Leave to cool in the cooking-liquor. Now split the lobster in two, with the view of withdrawing its meat. Finely pound the latter while adding thereto, little by little, one-third pint of cold fish velouté per lb. of meat. Rub through a sieve; put the resulting purée in a vegetable-pan lying on ice, and stir for a few minutes. This done, add a little good fish jelly, melted and cold, and one-third pint of barely-whipped cream. Taste; rectify the seasoning, and warm it slightly with cayenne.
When the mousse is intended for moulding, it is well to decorate and “clothe” the mould with fish jelly some time in advance. I have already explained that to “clothe” a mould with jelly, all that is needed is to pour therein a few tablespoonfuls of melted jelly, and then to rock the utensil on ice. By this means a thin even coating sets on the bottom and sides of the mould, which, when the moulding is turned out, swathes the latter in a transparent film.
This “clothing” of jelly may be made more or less thick, according to the requirements, by simply using more or less jelly, and by proportionately lengthening or shortening the time for rocking the mould.
When the mould is clothed, decorate the sides with large slices of very black truffle dipped in melted jelly, that they may stick.
This done, fill the receptacle with the prepared mousse (see the preceding recipe), and leave to set in the cool.
For the turning out of the mould and the dishing of the moulding, proceed as for the aspic.
For these small mousses, use little cassolettes or silver timbales. First let a thin layer of jelly (one or two tablespoonfuls, according to their size) set on the bottom of each utensil, and then surround the latter with bands of white paper, the ends of which should be stuck together, and should reach one inch above the brims of the cassolettes. The preparation of mousse may now be placed in the cassolettes in a sufficient quantity to overflow the brims, so that, when the paper is removed, their appearance is that of small soufflés.
When the cassolettes have been garnished, put them aside on ice or in a refrigerator until they are served.
Split the lobster open lengthwise down the middle. Withdraw the meat from the tail; trim it, and cut it into regular collops. Coat the latter again and again with aspic jelly, that they may be well covered with it; decorate each with a slice of truffle, and glaze it with the same aspic.
Also coat with jelly as many very white poached and dried oysters as there are collops.
Now take the creamy parts and the meat of the claws, and pound them finely with one tablespoonful of cold Béchamel [325] sauce; rub through a sieve, and, with the resulting purée combined with melted fish jelly and cream (see lobster mousse No. 956), prepare a mousse “au paprika” of a decided pink colour.
Fill the two half-carapaces to their edges with this mousse, and leave it to set on ice.
When about to serve, lay the collops, glazed with jelly, upon this mousse, and place an oyster between each pair. Dish the two garnished half-carapaces, back to back, upon a napkin, and put the heart of a lettuce in the middle, and a bunch of curled-leaf parsley at either end.
Serve a mayonnaise or other cold sauce separately.
Tie a lobster to a little board; stretch out its tail to the fullest extent; cook it in court-bouillon, and leave it to cool in the latter.
When it is quite cold, with the help of scissors, carefully cut a strip of the shell from the back of the head to the tail. The aperture left by the removed strip of shell ought to be sufficiently wide to allow of the meat of the tail being removed without breaking it. Having emptied the tail, refill it with salad leaves, and return the strip of shell (upside down) to its place. Cut the meat of the tail into even collops, and lay on each a roundel of truffle stamped out with the fancy-cutter, and dipped in half-melted jelly. Then coat these slices, which should be on a dish, again and again, with cold melted jelly until they are well covered with it.
Now break the claws and remove their meat, as also that remaining in the carapace, and cut both meats into dice. Take the creamy parts, and rub them through a sieve.
Prepare a small vegetable salad; add thereto the meat dice, and cohere the two with a mayonnaise sauce combined with melted jelly and the creamy parts rubbed through a sieve. When the salad begins to set, owing to the jelly contained in the mayonnaise, garnish twelve small artichoke-bottoms with it, arranging the salad in them in pyramid form. Set a bit of truffle on each pyramid, and sprinkle the salad with melted fish jelly in order to make it glossy.
Dishing.—Dish the lobster on a cushion of buttered bread on which a julienne of lettuce has been stuck, or on one of carved rice. The cushion should have the shape of a wedge, in order that the lobster may lie at an angle of about 45°, with its head raised, when laid upon it. Arrange the slices (slightly overlapping one another) along the back of the lobster, [326] beginning at its head with the smallest of them, and progressing down towards the tail, gradually increasing their size.
Surround the lobster alternately with artichoke-bottoms garnished with salad, and quartered hard-boiled eggs, or halved hard-boiled eggs (set upright with their yolks facing outwards).
Border the dish with very clear jelly in large cubes or triangles, etc.
Proceed exactly as above with regard to the cooking of the lobster, the extraction of the meat, and the cutting of it into slices. Coat the slices with mayonnaise sauce combined with melted jelly; or, better still, with a white fish chaud-froid sauce combined with the lobster’s creamy parts rubbed through a sieve.
Decorate each slice with a bit of coral and two little chervil leaves; coat them again and again with cold melted aspic, and put them aside in the cool. “Clothe” ten dariole-moulds, and decorate the bottom of each with a slice of truffle. Also prepare ten hard-boiled eggs.
Prepare a Salade Russe (without meat); add to this the remains of the lobster meat cut into dice, and thicken with mayonnaise and melted aspic, mixed. With this thickened salad fill the dariole-moulds, and leave to set in the cool.
Dishing.—Set the lobster on a cushion, after the manner of the preceding recipe. Trim the slices, and lay them, as before, on the lobster’s back, taking care to graduate their sizes. Surround the lobster with the small moulded salads, and alternate these with the hard-boiled eggs. The latter should be cut in two at a point one-third of their height above their base; their yolks should be removed, the space filled with caviare moulded to the form of a pyramid, and, this done, the eggs should be set upright.
Border the dish with roundels of very clear fish jelly, stamped out by a fancy-cutter, and lay a bit of truffle upon each.
N.B.—(1) The moulds of salad must, of course, be dipped in hot water before being turned out.
(2) The lobster may also be served “à la Néva,” “à la Moscovite,” “à la Sibérienne,” &c., but these preparations are only minor forms of “Homard à la Russe” under different names.
Changes may be effected in the preparation by altering the constituents of the salad and its dishing. It may, for instance, be made in small cucumber or beetroot barquettes, while the caviare, instead of being laid in hard-boiled eggs, may be served in little pleated cases.
[327]
As these preparations, however, are based neither on fixed
principles nor on classical rules, I shall refrain from giving
them.
Proceed as for Mayonnaise de Saumon—that is to say, garnish the bottom of a salad-bowl with ciseled lettuce leaves, and season them moderately.
Upon this salad lay the remains of the lobster, and upon the latter place the thin slices of the tail. Cover with mayonnaise sauce, and decorate with strips of anchovy fillets, capers, olives, hard-boiled eggs, roundels of pink radishes, the hearts of lettuce, &c.
N.B.—I have already pointed out the futility of prescribing a decorative design. As a rule, the matter is so intimately connected with the taste and fancy of the individual, and the products used for the purpose lend themselves to such indefinite variation, that I prefer merely to enumerate these products, and to leave the question of their arrangement to the artistic ingenuity of the operator.
See “Salade de Saumon” (No. 810). As the preparation and seasoning of the latter are identical with those of the dish under consideration, all that is needed is to replace the salmon of recipe No. 810 by the collops of lobster.
All culinary preparations dealing with lobsters may be adapted to spiny lobsters. There is, therefore, no need to repeat them here. Of the cold recipes, two are much better suited to the spiny than to the ordinary kind, though, as they are used for both specimens, I gave them earlier in the book. The two recipes referred to are:—
When crayfish are prepared after one of the recipes most commonly used on the Continent, i.e., whole, they are not much relished in England. This is doubtless accounted for by the fact that ladies, dining in evening dress, find them somewhat difficult to manage.
They are therefore only served in the form of an aspic, a [328] mousse, mousselines, timbales, &c., or as the garnish of some other fish; for in all these cases they are shelled.
Be all this as it may, I give below the various recipes relating to them, and from among these it ought to be possible to choose one which will meet the requirements of any particular case.
N.B.—Whatever be their mode of preparation, crayfish should always be thoroughly cleansed and cleared of their intestines, the extreme end of which is to be found under the middle of the tail. In order to remove the intestines, take the telson or tail-segment between the point of a small knife and the thumb, and pull gently. If this were not done, the intestines, especially in the breeding season, might render the crayfish disagreeably bitter.
As soon as their intestines have been removed, the crayfish should be set to cook, otherwise, i.e., if they be left to wait, their juices escape through the anal wound, and they empty.
For twelve crayfish, after having cleaned and eviscerated them, put them into a vegetable-pan with one tablespoonful of very fine mirepoix, completely cooked beforehand, and two-thirds oz. of butter. Toss them over an open fire until the shells have acquired a fine, red colour. Moisten with three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy and one-quarter pint of white wine; reduce by a third, and complete with one tablespoonful of Espagnole, two tablespoonfuls of fish fumet, the same quantity of tomato purée, and one spoonful of special mirepoix (No. 229).
Put the lid on, and set to cook for ten minutes.
Dish the crayfish in a timbale; reduce the sauce by a quarter, and finish it with a few drops of meat glaze, one oz. of butter, a very little cayenne, chopped chervil, and tarragon. Pour this over the crayfish, and serve instantly.
In the case of twelve crayfish, toss them in two-thirds oz. of butter over an open fire, until the shells are of a fine red. Season with salt and pepper; add two finely chopped shallots, a bit of thyme and a bit of bay; moisten with one-third pint of white wine; cover; cook for ten minutes, and dish in a timbale.
Reduce the cooking-liquor to half; thicken with two tablespoonfuls of fish velouté; finish the sauce with one oz. of butter, and pour it over the crayfish.
[329]
Sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley, and serve at
once.
For twelve crayfish, ten minutes beforehand prepare a court-bouillon of one-half pint of white wine, one-quarter pint of fish fumet, a few roundels of carrot and onion, one stalk of parsley cut into dice, a small pinch of powdered thyme and bay, and a very little salt and cayenne pepper.
Put the crayfish into the boiling court-bouillon; cover, and leave to cook for ten minutes, taking care to toss the crayfish from time to time.
When about to serve, pour the crayfish with the court-bouillon and the aromatics into a timbale.
Cook the crayfish in court-bouillon as explained in the preceding recipe. Dish them in a timbale, and keep them hot. Strain the court-bouillon; reduce it by a quarter; add one oz. of butter, and pour it over the crayfish.
Sprinkle with a pinch of concassed parsley.
What I said with reference to “Mousseline de Homard” (No. 951) applies perfectly here, and my remarks relative to the variation of the garnishing ingredients, which are the same as those in No. 951, also hold good.
For ten people prepare (1) a shallow timbale crust, and a cover decorated with a design of leaves or some other ornamental treatment; (2) toss sixty crayfish in butter with two tablespoonfuls of very fine mirepoix cooked in butter beforehand. When the crayfish are of a distinct red, moisten with one glass of white wine and three tablespoonfuls of burned brandy; season with salt and cayenne pepper; cover them, and keep them on the side of the fire for ten minutes, taking care to toss them again from time to time; (3) shell the tails and put them into a small saucepan with twenty small quenelles of whiting forcemeat, finished with crayfish butter; fifteen small, grooved mushrooms, cooked and very white, and three oz. of truffles in slices. Add a few drops of the mushroom cooking-liquor to this garnish, and keep it hot; (4) pound the remains and carcasses of the crayfish very finely; add two-thirds pint of cream sauce to the resulting purée; rub it through tammy, and add it to the garnish; (5) when about to serve, pour [330] this garnish into the timbale crust, which should be very hot, and deck the top with a crown of fine slices of very black truffle. Close the timbale with its cover, and dish it on a napkin.
Make a preparation of Soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a) combined with two tablespoonfuls of crayfish cream per pint. The cream is prepared after the manner of lobster cream (No. 295).
Put this preparation in a buttered timbale in alternate layers separated by litters of sliced truffle and crayfish tails. Cook the soufflé after the manner of an ordinary one.
Prepare a soufflé as above, and add thereto a bare tablespoonful of freshly-cooked asparagus and slices of truffle, and crayfish tails placed between the layers of the soufflé preparation. Cook as above.
This is identical with No. 972, except that the ordinary truffles are replaced by shavings of Piedmont truffles.
Cook twelve fine crayfish in accordance with the directions under No. 966, but substitute champagne for the white wine.
Shell the tails; trim them evenly; cut them in two lengthwise, and keep them in the cool until they are wanted. Remove the creamy parts from the carapaces of the crayfish; add the trimmings of the tails, the meat from the claws, and the mirepoix in which the crayfish have cooked.
Pound the whole very finely in a mortar, and rub it through a sieve. Put the resulting purée in a receptacle; add thereto one-quarter pint of very cold, melted aspic, and three tablespoonfuls of barely beaten cream. Leave this preparation to settle.
Trim the crayfish carapaces; fill them with a little prepared mousse, and decorate each carapace with a small roundel of truffle.
Put the remainder of the mousse in the middle of a little crystal bowl, and mould it to the shape of a cone, narrow towards the base, and as high as possible.
Arrange the garnished crayfish carapaces on their backs in the bowl around the cone of mousse, and set some crayfish tails in superposed rings up the cone. The crayfish tails should [331] be dipped in half-melted jelly, that they may stick fast to the cone. Lay a small, very round truffle on the top of the cone to complete the decoration. This done, coat the whole again and again by means of a spoon with half-melted, succulent, clear fish jelly, and incrust the timbale in a block of ice, or set it amidst the latter broken up.
For ten people cook thirty crayfish as for potage Bisque. This done, remove the tails, and reserve a dozen fine carapaces. Finely pound the remainder, together with the mirepoix in which the crayfish have cooked, and add thereto one-half oz. of butter, one oz. of red butter (No. 142), one-quarter pint of cold fish velouté, and six tablespoonfuls of melted fish jelly. Rub through tammy, and put the resulting purée in a saucepan; stir it over ice for two or three minutes; add three-quarters pint of half-beaten cream, and the crayfish tails cut into dice or finely sliced.
Before beginning to prepare the mousse, line the bottom and side of a Charlotte-mould with paper, that the mousse may be moulded as soon as ready.
Pour the preparation into the mould, taking care to reserve enough for the twelve carapaces already put aside, and put the mousse on ice or in a refrigerator until dishing it. Fill the twelve trimmed carapaces with the reserved mousse, and decorate each with a round slice of truffle. When about to serve, turn out the mousse on a small, round cushion of semolina or rice, one-half inch thick, lying on a dish. Remove all the paper, and decorate the top of the mousse with a crown of fine slices of truffle dipped in melted jelly, that they may be glossy.
Surround the semolina or rice cushion with a border of chopped jelly, and arrange the garnished carapaces upon this jelly, setting them almost upright.
N.B.—(1) Instead of being served on a cushion, the crayfish mousse may be sent to the table in a deep silver dish with a border of chopped jelly, and surrounded by the garnished carapaces. The utensil is then laid on a flat dish in a bed of broken ice, or it is incrusted direct in a block of carved ice.
(2) For the moulding of crayfish mousse, the mould may be “clothed” with fish jelly and decorated with slices of truffle, as directed under “Mousse de Homard moulée” (No. 957).
A mousse prepared in this way may be either dished on a semolina or rice cushion, or in a deep silver entrée dish, as described above.
Select forty medium-sized crayfish that seem full of life; cook them quickly in a highly-seasoned mirepoix, moistened with one half-bottle of dry champagne. This done, shell them; trim their tails, and keep them in the cool in a small bowl. Pound their shells as finely as possible with one-quarter lb. of fresh butter, and put the resulting purée in a saucepan, together with one-half pint of boiling velouté containing four or five leaves of gelatine, and the cooking-liquor of the crayfish passed through a fine strainer.
Set to boil for a few minutes, that the remains may exude all their flavour; rub through tammy over a basin lying on ice, and whisk the preparation in order to accelerate its cooling. As soon as it begins to thicken, add one pint of half-whipped cream to it. Then pour the whole into a silver or porcelain timbale, taking care that the utensil be not more than three-quarters full.
When the mousse has set, decorate the surface with the reserved crayfish tails, to which are added, as a finish, bits of truffle and chervil leaves. Cover the decoration with a thin coating of easily-melting and amber-coloured fish jelly, and put the timbale on ice. When about to serve, incrust it in a block of carved ice, or place it on a silver dish with broken ice all round.
For ten people cook the crayfish as explained in No. 976, but take forty instead of thirty. Shell the tails; trim them and cut them into dice. Prepare the mousse in the same way, but use twice as much red butter. Garnish twelve carapaces after the same manner, and decorate each with a slice of truffle.
Clothe a dome- or Charlotte-mould somewhat thickly with jelly; garnish its bottom and sides with crayfish tails, previously dipped in half-melted jelly, and arranged in superposed rows; and place the crayfish so that the tails of the first row lie to the left, those of the second row to the right, and so on. As often as possible, do this work before preparing the mousse, in order that the latter may be put into the mould as soon as ready.
When about to fill the mould, add twenty fine slices of truffle to the mousse. Dish after one of the two methods directed in the appended note to No. 970, and take care to dip the mould quickly into hot water before attempting to turn out its contents.
Prepare the crayfish mousse as directed under No. 976, and replace the fish velouté by cold Béchamel. The addition of sauce is even unnecessary in this case, and the preparation may be all the more delicate for consisting only of the crayfish cullis and two tablespoonfuls of fish jelly.
For the moulding of these small soufflés I can only repeat what I said under “Petites Mousses de Homard” (No. 958). Let a thin coating of jelly set on the bottom of the small cassolettes or timbales used; garnish their insides with a band of white paper, reaching one inch above their brims; stick the end of this band with a little batter.
Now garnish the timbales with mousse, letting it project above their edges to the extent of two-thirds of an inch, and leave it to set in the cool. When about to serve, remove the band of paper, holding in the projecting mousse, and the appearance of the garnished timbales is exactly that of small, hot soufflés. Allow one soufflé for each person.
Prawns are chiefly used for hors-d’œuvres, but they may, nevertheless, be prepared in Aspics; Mousses; small cold Soufflés, &c.
As regards shrimps, their use is entirely limited to garnishes, hors-d’œuvres, and to the preparation of soups, shrimp butters, and creams.
Though oysters are nicer raw, there are so many culinary preparations of which they form the leading constituent, and such a number of garnishing uses to which they may be put, that I feel compelled to mention some of these.
Poach the oysters (cleared of their beards) in their own liquor, which should have been carefully collected when opening them. Clean their hollow shells, and place them on a tray covered with a layer of salt one-half inch thick. Garnish them with Béchamel; upon the latter, in each shell, lay an oyster decked with a slice of truffle; cover with the same sauce; besprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter, and set to glaze quickly. Serve immediately.
Open the oysters; cut them free, and lay them in the hollow halves of their shells, which should be incrusted in a layer of salt covering a tray. On each oyster put a drop of lemon juice, a pinch of fried bread-crumbs, a little melted butter, and a piece of fresh butter the size of a pea.
Set the gratin to form in a fierce oven or at the salamander, and serve immediately.
Poach the oysters, and allow two per shell.
Set the hollow shells, thoroughly cleansed, on a tray covered with salt. Cover the bottom of the shells with Mornay sauce; put two poached oysters into each; cover with the same sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter, and set to glaze quickly. Serve instantly.
Make a preparation of Soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a). Slightly poach the oysters, clean their hollow shells, and set these on a tray covered with kitchen salt. Spread a layer of the preparation on each shell; put an oyster thereon, and cover the latter with the soufflé au Parmesan.
Heat the base of the tray on the stove, and, when the soufflé begins to rise, put the tray in the oven, that the soufflé may cook and colour at the same time. Serve at once.
Poach the oysters. Set their hollow shells on a tray as above; garnish the bottom of each of these with shredded spinach stewed in butter; lay an oyster on the spinach in each shell; cover with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly. Serve immediately.
Open the oysters, and leave them in their hollow shells; lay them (very straight) on a tray covered with salt, incrusting them in the latter; besprinkle with a drop of lemon juice and a little mignonette pepper and put them in a fierce oven, that their top surfaces may be speedily poached.
Dish them on a napkin; pour a coffeespoonful of “Sauce Diable Escoffier” over each, and serve directly.
With four oz. of chicken fillets and six raw oysters, prepare a mousseline forcemeat in accordance with the directions given [335] under No. 195. Mould this forcemeat, by means of a tablespoon, into large quenelles, in the centre of which lay two cold poached oysters.
Poach these quenelles after the manner of ordinary mousselines. This done, drain them on a piece of linen; arrange them in a circle on a round dish, and cover them with highly-seasoned Suprême sauce. Decorate each quenelle with a fine slice of truffle, and garnish the middle of the dish with some asparagus-tops, cohered with butter.
This excellent fish is very little known, and, consequently, rarely sought after in England.
The large specimens are served, boiled, with the same kind of sauce as for turbot. The smaller ones are chiefly served à la Meunière or fried.
Served whole, brill may be looked upon as the understudy, as it were, of the chicken-turbot, and all the preparations given for the latter may be adapted to the former.
If it be preferred filleted, it may be treated after the recipes given for fillets of sole. Hence for brill cooked whole refer to chicken-turbot and the recipes Nos. 925 to 938, and for filleted brill see recipes Nos. 865 to 922.
Bloaters, or herrings partially dried in smoke, form one of the nicest breakfast dishes. As a rule, they are simply grilled over a moderate fire. It should be borne in mind that, as these fish are only partially salted and smoked, they will not keep very long.
If cod were less common, it would be held in as high esteem as salmon; for, when it is really fresh and of good quality, the delicacy and delicious flavour of its flesh admit of its ranking among the finest of fish.
Fresh cod is mostly served boiled, either whole, in sections, or in darnes, and the directions given under “The Boiling of Fish” (No. 776) apply particularly to this fish.
Boiled fresh cod is always accompanied by its liver, poached in salted water, and very floury potatoes, boiled at the last minute, must always be sent to the table with it.
Served thus with an oyster sauce, a Hollandaise sauce, or [336] melted butter, fresh cod constitutes a Relevé which would satisfy the most exacting of gourmets.
Cut the fish into slices one inch or two inches thick. Season these slices; dredge them; sprinkle them copiously with melted butter, and set them to grill, remembering to baste them frequently the while with melted butter.
Serve them on a hot dish; garnish them with slices of lemon, and surround with bunches of parsley.
Send a Maître-d’Hôtel or Anchovy butter, or a grilled-fish sauce to the table with the dish.
Cut some slices of fresh cod, from one inch to one and one-half inches thick. Season them, treat them à l’anglaise, and fry them sufficiently to allow of their being well cooked all through. Dish them on a napkin with fried parsley and lemon, and send a butter sauce (No. 66), a tartare sauce, or a tomato sauce to the table at the same time as the fish.
For ten people take two lbs. of boiled fresh cod divided into small pieces; clear these of all bones and skin, and keep them hot in a little of their cooking-liquor.
Now, with the necessary quantity of Duchesse potatoes (No. 221), and by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, lay a border, one and one-half inches high, round a dish, shaping it in such wise that it is thickest at its base. The dish may be either round or oval. Carefully gild this border with egg-yolks.
This done, pour a few tablespoonfuls of Mornay sauce on the dish; lay thereon the drained pieces of cod, and cover the latter with enough Mornay sauce to reach within one-third of an inch of the brim of the border. If more sauce were used, it would flow over the border during the process of glazing.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter; set to glaze, and see that the border gets evenly coloured.
Serve the moment the dish is withdrawn from the oven.
N.B.—This mode of preparation is not restricted to fresh cod. It may be applied to all other boiled fish—turbot, chicken-turbot, brill, bass, salmon, &c.
Cut the fresh cod into slices one inch thick; season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and put them in a sautépan or a [337] deep, liberally-buttered tray. Moisten with white wine to the height of the slices; add chopped shallots and “fines herbes,” and garnish the fish with roundels of pipped lemon, peeled to the pulp.
Set to boil, and then poach in the oven for twelve minutes. Place the slices on a dish; thicken their cooking-liquor with crushed biscotte; cook it for five minutes; pour it over the slices, and serve.
For ten people, cut five slices of fresh cod, each weighing one-half lb., and season them with salt and pepper. Put these slices into a sautépan containing the following garnish, into which they should be pressed:—Three oz. of butter and one-sixth pint of oil; one large onion, chopped and lightly coloured in butter; a bit of crushed garlic the size of a pea; one faggot; two pinches of concassed parsley; eight medium-sized, peeled, pressed, and minced tomatoes, and one-third pint of white wine.
Cover the sautépan, and set to boil on an open fire for five minutes.
Now take the lid off the saucepan, and leave it to cook for twelve minutes on the side of the fire, in order that the liquid may be reduced and the fish cooked at the same moment of time.
Set the slices on a long dish; withdraw the faggot, and pour the garnish and the cooking-liquor over the fish.
The milt of a carp makes a very delicate dish. It is served either as a second fish at a dinner; as a garnish to large fish Relevés, after having been poached in salted water; or cut while raw into slices which are generally treated à la Meunière.
Prepare them whole or in collops, in pursuance of the directions given under “The Cooking of Fish à la Meunière” (No. 778).
Poach the milts in salted water; cut them into small, long slices, and set them in barquette crusts prepared in advance.
Cover the sliced milts with a soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a), and shape the latter slightly after the manner of a dome.
Arrange the barquettes on a dish, and put them in a moderate oven, that they may cook and the soufflé be glazed at the same [338] time. When taking them out of the oven, dish them on a napkin and serve immediately.
Poach the milts in salted water. Drain them, and cut them into small slices thicker than their length.
Place these slices in small pleated porcelain cases with two crayfish tails in each. Fill up the cases with Nantua sauce, and lay a fine slice of truffle over the centre of each case.
This fish, which is in the highest degree unsightly, is possessed of flesh whose firmness, whiteness, and delicacy are of the rarest excellence; and, when quite fresh, its fillets are certainly equal in quality to those of the chicken-turbot and the sole.
Albeit the dory is not as popular as it deserves to be, and this is owing either to its unsightliness, which may prejudice the opinion of gourmets against it, to people’s indifference with regard to it, or to a mere trick of fashion.
While I admit its unpopularity, however, I should strongly recommend all lovers of fish to give it a trial. Let them prepare the dory’s fillets after the recipes given under Fillets of Sole and Chicken-turbot, and, provided the directions be properly carried out, I venture to believe that the prevailing aversion to dory will very soon be found to have no warrant in fact.
This fish is chiefly eaten smoked, under the name of haddock.
When it is fresh, it may be prepared after the recipes given for cod, to which it is quite equal in the matter of delicacy.
Owing to their small size, smelts only lend themselves to a very limited number of preparations. They are usually served either on little skewers or dished in a heap on a napkin, with fried parsley and grooved half-lemons; those on skewers are dished flat with the same garnish.
Large smelts may be treated after the recipes immediately following.
Open the smelts down the back and carefully bone, without disfiguring them. Treat them à l’anglaise with fine bread-crumbs, and pat them lightly with the flat of a knife, that the bread-crumbs may adhere well.
[339]
Cook them in clarified butter; set them on a long hot dish,
and besprinkle them with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel
(No. 150).
Proceed as for “Merlans au Gratin” (No. 1018), but allowing for the difference between the sizes of the two fish, put the smelts in a fiercer oven than the whiting, in order that they may be cooked simultaneously with the formation of the gratin.
Open them down the back, and remove the bulk of their spine, leaving a small piece only in the region of the tail, and another small piece at the head. Season, dredge, and sprinkle them with melted butter, and grill them quickly.
Set them on a long, hot dish; surround them with slices of lemon and bunches of fried parsley, and serve separately either some half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel, or a sauce suited to grilled fish.
Proceed exactly as for Mousselines de Saumon (No. 797). To prepare the forcemeat, follow the directions under No. 195; but note the following changes:—Of the whole quantity of the meat of fish, that of the smelt should only measure one-third; the other two-thirds should be supplied by the sole, dory, or whiting.
The object of this disproportion has already been explained under “Velouté d’Éperlans” (No. 680). The flesh of the smelt is of a much too decided flavour to be used alone, and when this flavour dominates, it becomes positively disagreeable; hence the need of a fish whose flesh is almost neutral in so far as taste is concerned. But this addition of a fish foreign to the base of the preparation fulfils a double purpose; for, while it effectually weakens the pungency of the smelt’s flesh, it also enables the whole preparation to absorb a much larger quantity of cream, and this last circumstance can only allow of the mousselines being lighter and mellower.
Take a Charlotte-mould, of a size in proportion to the number of people to be served, and butter its bottom and sides. Cover the bottom of the mould with a round piece of buttered kitchen paper, and do the same on the sides.
Prepare the required quantity of smelts’ fillets; slightly flatten them in order to break their fibres, and trim them all to the same length and width.
[340]
Then garnish the bottom of the mould with the fillets of
smelt, placing them so that their skin-sides are against the
mould. Between each of the fillets set a small strip of truffle,
one quarter of the width of the former.
Garnish the sides in the same way, putting a strip of truffle between each; but take care to place the fillets aslant instead of upright. Having thus lined the mould with fillets of smelt and truffle, cover the whole with a layer of mousseline forcemeat, one-half inch thick.
Now fill the mould in the following way:—On the layer of forcemeat covering the fillets at the bottom of the mould set as many slices of truffle as will cover it; spread another layer of forcemeat on the truffle, and over that lay, alternately, a sufficient quantity of fillets of smelt and anchovy. Follow with a fresh layer of forcemeat, slices of truffle, &c., until the mould is full, and finish with a layer of forcemeat.
Poach the mousse (covered) in a moderate oven, and allow fifty minutes for one prepared in a quart-mould. It is very easy, however, to tell when the mousse is done, by simply thrusting a small knife into it; if the blade of the knife withdraws quite clean, the mousse is cooked.
As soon as it is ready, turn the mould upside-down on a dish, and raise it a little in order to allow the liquid, which always accumulates in more or less large quantities, to drain away. Soak up this liquid; gently draw off the mould; take off the paper, and remove the froth which may have formed on the fillets by means of a wet brush.
Lay a fine, grooved mushroom on the top of the mousse; surround it with mousseline sauce (No. 92), finished with crayfish butter, and send a sauceboat of the same mousseline sauce to the table with the dish.
N.B.—This mousse may also be prepared with fillets of sole, of salmon, or of trout, &c.
Sometimes the fish is grilled, but, after having boned it and removed its fins and the greater part of its belly, it is more often cooked in water or milk, either of which moistening is usually short.
It is plunged in slightly salted boiling water, and then it is moved to the side of the fire to poach, with lid on. Allow about fifteen minutes for a fish weighing one and one-half lbs.
Dish it with a few tablespoonfuls of its cooking-liquor, and, subject to the consumer’s taste, serve some fresh or melted butter separately.
[341]
When haddock is served at lunch, send to the table with
it an egg-sauce and a timbale of potatoes, freshly cooked à
l’anglaise.
Cut the mackerels into three, crosswise, and poach them in court-bouillon with vinegar (No. 163), seasoned with a pinch of fennel per pint. Drain them on a napkin; skin them, and dish them with curled-leaf parsley all round.
With the mackerels serve a gooseberry sauce prepared as follows:—
Green Gooseberry Sauce proper to Mackerel.—Cook one lb. of green gooseberries in a copper sugar boiler with three oz. of sugar and enough water to cover them, and then rub them through tammy.
Cut off the extremity of the mackerels’ mouths; open them down the back, without dividing them into two.
Season them; sprinkle them with melted butter, and grill them gently, taking care to baste them by means of a brush with melted butter while they are cooking.
Set them on a round, hot dish, and sprinkle them with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel, after having drawn their halves together, that they may seem natural and untouched.
Or surround them with grooved slices of lemon, and send a “Sauce Diable Escoffier” to the table separately. This sauce constitutes an excellent adjunct to grilled mackerel.
Raise some mackerels’ fillets in such wise as to leave the bones quite clean. Arrange the fillets on a buttered dish, and poach them in white wine and the cooking-liquor of mushrooms in equal quantities. Take care to cover them while they are being poached.
This done, drain them; skin them; set them on a long dish, and cover them with a herb sauce (No. 83), combined with their cooking-liquor strained through linen and reduced.
Raise the fillets as before, and poach them in a white-wine court-bouillon with one-half oz. of parsley leaves per pint. Drain them; skin them; set them on a long dish, and cover [342] them with a parsley sauce. This latter is a butter sauce (No. 66) to which some freshly-chopped parsley is added at the last moment.
Poach the fillets in a court-bouillon with white wine. Drain them; skin them; set them on a long dish, and cover them with a Venetian sauce (No. 107).
Open the whitings down the back; loosen the spine, and completely remove it. Season them inside, and treat them à l’anglaise with very fresh and fine bread-crumbs.
Cook the whitings very quickly in clarified butter; set them on a long dish, and sprinkle them with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel.
N.B.—Whitings à l’anglaise may also be grilled, but it is preferable to cook them in clarified butter.
Slightly open the whitings down the back, with the view of promoting their cooking process. Lay them on a buttered dish sprinkled with finely-chopped shallots, and moisten them with white wine and fish fumet. Add one-half oz. of butter per whiting, and cook in the oven, basting often the while. The moment when the whitings are quite done should be coincident with the almost complete reduction of their cooking-liquor.
Set to glaze at the last moment.
When taking the whitings out of the oven, sprinkle them with a few drops of lemon juice and a little chopped parsley.
Open the whitings down the back, and bone them. Season them; dip them in milk; roll them in flour; and treat them à l’anglaise. Fry them; drain them; set them on a long dish; garnish the openings in their backs with butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel and border the dish with grooved slices of lemon.
For the preparation of the mousseline forcemeat, refer to No. 195. The moulding and poaching of these mousselines [343] are the same as for salmon mousselines, and the preparations suited to the latter may likewise be applied to mousselines de merlans. (See Mousselines de Saumon, Nos. 797 to 799.)
Raise the fillets from some whitings, and leave the bones quite clean. Lay them on a buttered dish besprinkled with chopped shallots, the bottom of which should have been covered with a few tablespoonfuls of gratin sauce. Surround the fillets with slices of raw mushrooms; set two small, cooked mushrooms upon each fillet; pour a few tablespoonfuls of white wine into the dish, and cover the whole with gratin sauce.
Sprinkle with fine raspings and melted butter, and put the dish in a sufficiently fierce oven to (1) reduce the sauce; (2) allow the gratin to form; and (3) cook the fillets at the same moment of time. In respect of this operation, refer to Complete Gratin, No. 269.
When taking the dish from the oven, sprinkle a little chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice over it.
N.B.—If the whiting be treated whole, the procedure remains the same.
Raise some fillets of whiting; coat them with a fish forcemeat combined with fine herbs, and roll them into scrolls. Set these rolled fillets on a round, buttered gratin dish sprinkled with chopped shallots, the bottom of which should have been covered with gratin sauce.
Surround them with a border of sliced, raw mushrooms; place a small, cooked mushroom on each fillet, and proceed for the rest of the operation exactly as explained under “Filets de Merlan au Gratin.”
Separate the fillets from the bones, proceeding from the tail to the head, and completely remove the spine near the head. Cover the fillets with fish forcemeat “aux fines herbes,” and roll them into scrolls with their tail-ends inside.
Set them on a round dish sprinkled with chopped shallots and covered with gratin sauce, placing them side by side, all round the dish, with the whitings’ heads in the centre; and proceed for the rest of the operation as explained under No. 1018.
N.B.—Whitings prepared in this way may be treated with white wine, Dieppoise, Bercy, fried, &c.
Raise the fillets and proceed as for “Filets de Soles Olga,” No. 893.
Proceed as for “Sole sur le Plat,” No. 837.
Prepare six “Merlans à l’anglaise,” No. 1014. Lay thereon a few slices of truffle. Or dish them simply on their sides; garnish their top surfaces with the butter prescribed above, and put a row of truffle slices on the butter.
Salted cod bought in England has generally been fished somewhere along the English coast, and is, as a rule, of recent salting. It has not the peculiar flavour of the Icelandic morue, or that of the Newfoundland specimens, and it does not lend itself to such a large variety of preparations as these two.
At the end of each of the following recipes, I indicate the kind of cod to which the procedure may be applied.
Morue, especially the Newfoundland kind, should be set to soak at least twelve hours before being used, and the water during that time should be frequently changed.
When about to cook it, suppress its fins, and cut it up in a way befitting the selected mode of preparation.
Allow four oz. gross of the fish for each person.
Put the fish into cold water; set to boil, and as soon as this point is reached, leave the fish to poach on the side of the fire for fifteen minutes.
Drain, skin, dish on a napkin, and serve, separately, a timbale of parsnips and an egg-sauce à l’Écossaise.
Both kinds of cod may be used for this dish.
Poach one and one-half lbs. of morue as above; drain it and cut into small pieces, cleared of all skin and bone. Pound it quickly while it is still hot, and add to it half its weight of potatoes cooked as for a purée, drained, and dried in the oven for a few minutes. When the whole has been reduced to a fine paste, add one-sixth pint of oil, and one-quarter pint of boiled milk. The oil and the milk should be added little by little, and the paste should be more mellow than stiff.
[345]
Serve in a buttered gratin dish; arrange the preparation in
the form of a dome; sprinkle with melted butter, and set
to colour in the oven.
Icelandic and Newfoundland morue.
Cut the morue into squares or rectangles; roll these into paupiettes or scrolls, and bind these with a piece of string. Poach them in the usual way; drain them; scrape their skins, and dish them. Sprinkle with concassed parsley; add lemon juice, and cover with brown or lightly-browned butter. Either kind of cod may be used.
Cut one lb. of morue into pieces, and poach these for eight minutes. The eight minutes should be counted from the time the water begins to boil.
Drain on a sieve, and clear the pieces of all skin and bones. Heat in a sautépan one-sixth pint of oil until the latter smokes; throw the cleaned pieces of morue into the oil; add a piece of crushed garlic the size of a haricot-bean, and stir over a brisk fire with a wooden spoon until the morue is reduced to shreds.
Then take the saucepan off the fire, and, without ceasing to stir the paste, add thereto, little by little, as for a mayonnaise, about one-half pint of oil. When the paste begins to stiffen through the addition of the oil, now and again add a tablespoonful of milk. For the amount of morue used, one-quarter pint of boiling milk should thus be added by degrees.
When the Brandade is finished, it should have the consistence of an ordinary potato purée. When about to serve, taste the preparation, and rectify its seasoning.
Dish the Brandade in a hot timbale, building it up in the shape of a pyramid, and set thereon a crown of bread-crumb triangles fried in butter just before dishing up.
N.B.—The triangles of fried bread may, with advantage, be replaced by lozenges made from puff-paste, which are baked without colouration. For the Brandade use only well-soaked Icelandic or Newfoundland morue.
Follow the directions given above, but instead of oil and milk, use two-thirds pint of cream, which should be added to the morue paste by spoonfuls.
Finely mince an onion, and cook it gently in butter until it is of a nice golden colour. Spread it on the bottom of a little oval earthenware dish, and set three tomatoes prepared à la Provençale (No. 2268) upon it.
Poach one lb. of morue; drain it as soon as ready, and flake it while clearing it of all skin and bones. Lay this flaked morue on the slices of tomato; cover it with three mild capsicums, split and broiled; sprinkle the whole with a few drops of lemon juice and one oz. of lightly-browned butter, and put the dish in the oven for a few minutes. Serve very hot.
Icelandic or Newfoundland morue may be used.
Proceed exactly as for “Sole à la Hollandaise” (No. 829). Both kinds suit this preparation.
Poach one lb. of salted cod or morue, and flake it while clearing it of all skin and bones. Mix this flaked fish with two-thirds pint of Indienne sauce, and dish it in a hot timbale.
Serve some rice à l’Indienne separately.
Both kinds of fish are suited to this dish.
Poach one lb. of morue, and flake it as explained above. Finely mince a medium-sized onion, and toss it in butter. Also toss three medium-sized potatoes cut into roundels. Heat one oz. of butter and two tablespoonfuls of oil in a frying-pan; put therein the flaked morue and the potatoes, and toss the whole over a brisk fire for a few minutes.
When about to dish up, add a few drops of vinegar.
Dish in a hot timbale, and sprinkle the morue with a pinch of chopped parsley. Use either the Icelandic or the Newfoundland fish for this preparation.
Finely pound one-quarter lb. of freshly poached and flaked morue, and add thereto, little by little, two tablespoonfuls of hot and very thick Béchamel sauce. When the paste is very smooth, season it; put into a saucepan, heat it, and add the yolks of three eggs, and four whites beaten to a stiff froth.
Put the whole into a buttered soufflé-saucepan, and cook after the manner of an ordinary soufflé. Take either Icelandic or Newfoundland morue for this dish.
The char is a fish of the salmon family, which is culinarily treated in exactly the same way as the trout. When it is large, the recipes given for salmon trout may be adapted to it, but it is mostly used small—that is to say, from five inches to ten inches long. The fishing of char is restricted chiefly to lake countries, such as Scotland and Switzerland, and it is only in season during two months of the year. Moreover, as this fish loses much of its quality in transit, its scarcity on the market will be easily understood. The lake of Zug, in Switzerland, supplies the most famous specimens, which are called Rothel by the people of the locality. The delicacy of the fish is remarkable, and in this it may vie even with the best river trout.
The char of the Scotch lakes may be treated after the same recipes as the Swiss specimens, but they are more often used in the preparation of potted char, the recipe for which is as follows:—
Cook the chars in a fine mirepoix with white wine, exactly after the manner of trout. When the fish are cooked, leave them to cool completely in their cooking-liquor. Drain them; skin them; separate their fillets, and thoroughly bone them. Set the fillets in a special earthenware pot; entirely cover them with clarified butter, and put them in a moderate oven for one quarter of an hour.
Leave them to cool until the next day, and add sufficient clarified butter to cover them with a layer one-third inch thick.
If Potted Char be left in the cool, it will keep for some considerable time.
Red mullet, especially the Mediterranean rock kind, is one of the greatest fish delicacies known; and the surname “Sea Woodcock,” which gourmets sometimes give it, is quite justified, not only by its quality, but by the fact that, except for its gills, it is generally left whole, and not even emptied.
It is best grilled.
Carefully wipe the mullet; cisel it on either side to a depth in proportion to the thickness of its flesh and at closer intervals the thicker the latter is, in order to facilitate the cooking; season it with salt and pepper; sprinkle it with a little oil and a few drops of lemon juice; spread a few slices of lemon and a few [348] parsley stalks upon and beneath it; and let it marinade for an hour or two, turning it over frequently the while.
Twenty minutes before serving, set the red mullet on a double fish grill, and cook it over a rather fierce fire, sprinkling it often the while with its marinade. Dish and serve it as soon as it is ready, and serve a little half-melted maître-d’hôtel butter separately.
Grill or sauté the red mullet. At the same time serve a sauce Bordelaise Bonnefoy (No. 67).
Cisel and marinade the red mullet as directed under No. 1035a, and add a certain quantity of chopped fennel to the aromatics. Twenty minutes before serving, add two oz. of roughly-chopped raw pork fat and a little parsley to the marinade; wrap the red mullets in strong, oiled paper, together with its marinade, grill it gently, and serve it as it stands.
Grill it as directed above, and serve it with the garnish given under “Sole à la Niçoise.”
Grill and wrap it in strong, oiled paper between two layers of somewhat thick Duxelle sauce. When about to serve, put the papillote for five minutes in the oven, that it may be souffléd.
Thames whitebait, which has many points in common with the “Nonat” of the Mediterranean, is one of the riddles of ichthyology; for, while it is generally admitted that it is the fry of one of the many species of fish, its real parentage is quite unknown.
At dinners in London it usually stands as a second fish-course, and, fried after the customary manner, it constitutes a dish the delicacy of which is incomparable. Whitebait, like the nonat, are extremely fragile, and ought to be cooked as soon as they are caught. They are always served fried, and the frying-medium used in their preparation should be fresh, abundant, and just smoking when the fish are plunged into it. Previous to this operation, however, the whitebait ought to be thoroughly dredged with flour and placed in a special sieve [349] or frying basket, either of which should be well shaken, in order to rid the fish of any superfluous flour.
They are then plunged into the smoking frying-medium, in small quantities at a time, and one minute’s stay therein suffices to render them sufficiently crisp.
Draining is the next operation, effected upon a spread piece of linen, that the fish may be easily seasoned with table-salt and cayenne, mixed. This done, the whitebait are dished upon a napkin and sent to the table with very green, fried parsley.
The fish used for the Matelote are eel, carp, tench, bream, perch, &c.
It may be prepared from one or many kinds of fish.
Put the fish, cut into sections, into a sautépan. For two lbs. of it, add one minced onion, one faggot, two cloves of garlic, one pint of red wine, a pinch of salt, and another of pepper or four peppercorns.
Set to boil; add three tablespoonfuls of heated and burnt brandy; cover the sautépan, and complete the cooking of the fish.
This done, transfer the pieces to another saucepan; strain the cooking-liquor, reduce it by a third, and thicken it with manied butter (consisting of one and one-half oz. of butter and one tablespoonful of flour), cut into small pieces.
When the leason has been properly effected, pour the resulting sauce over the pieces of fish; heat, and dish in a timbale.
Prepare the fish as above, but use white wine instead of red, and burn the brandy as before. When the pieces of fish are cooked, transfer them to another saucepan with small onions, previously cooked in butter, and small, cooked mushrooms. Strain the cooking-liquor, reduce it to a little less than half, thicken it with fish velouté, and finish with one oz. of butter.
Pour this sauce over the fish and the garnish; dish the whole in a timbale or a deep dish, and surround with crayfish, cooked in court-bouillon, and little crusts in the shape of hearts, fried in butter.
The fish for Bouillabaisse are rascasse, chapon, dory, whiting, fiélas, boudreuil, spiny lobster, red mullet, gurnet, &c.
Cut the larger fish into slices; leave the smaller ones whole, and with the exception of the whiting and the red mullet, which cook more speedily than the others, put them all into a saucepan.
For two lbs. of fish, add one small onion, the chopped white of one leek, one small, peeled, pressed and chopped tomato, two crushed cloves of garlic, a large pinch of concassed parsley, a pinch of powdered saffron, a bit of bay, a little savory and fennel, and two tablespoonfuls of oil.
Moisten the fish with just enough cold water to cover it, and season with one-third oz. of salt and a pinch of pepper per quart of water.
Set to boil, and cook over a brisk fire. At the end of eight minutes add the pieces of whiting and red mullet, and leave to cook for a further seven minutes.
Pour the liquor of the bouillabaisse over some slices of household bread lying on the bottom of a deep dish; set the fish on another dish with the sections of spiny lobster all round, and serve.
Pound separately one lb. of the meat of pike, cleared of all skin and bones, and one lb. of the fat of kidney of beef, very dry, cleaned, and cut into small pieces. If desired, half of the weight of the fat of kidney of beef may be replaced by one-half lb. of beef marrow.
Put the pounded meat of the pike and the kidney fat on separate plates. Now pound one lb. of frangipan Panada (No. 192) and add thereto, little by little, the white of four little eggs. Put the pike meat and the fat back into the mortar, and finely pound the whole until a fine, smooth paste is obtained. Rub the latter through a sieve; put the resulting purée into a basin, and work it well with a wooden spoon in order to smooth it.
With this forcemeat mould some quenelles with a spoon, and poach them in salted water.
If these quenelles are to be served with an ordinary fish sauce, put them into it as soon as they are poached and drained, and simmer them in it for ten minutes that they may swell.
If the sauce intended for them is to be thickened with egg-yolks, and buttered at the last moment, put them into a saucepan [351] with a few tablespoonfuls of fumet, and simmer them as directed in the case of an ordinary fish sauce, taking care to keep the saucepan well covered that the concentrated steam may assist the swelling of the quenelles. In this case they are added to the sauce at the last moment.
N.B.—Slices of truffle may always be added to the sauce. The quenelles are dished either in a silver timbale, in a shallow timbale-crust, or in a fine vol-au-vent crust, in accordance with the arrangement of the menu.
Fish cakes or balls, which are greatly appreciated in both England and America, are made from any boiled fish. Salted cod, however, is best suited to their preparation, and is therefore used much more often than other kinds of fish.
Flake one lb. of cooked cod, and clear it of all skin and bones; pound it with one-half lb. of freshly-cooked, floury potatoes, two tablespoonfuls of reduced Béchamel sauce, and two whole eggs. Season with salt and pepper. When the paste has been well beaten and is smooth, take it out of the mortar and divide it into portions weighing about two oz. Roll these portions into balls upon a flour-dusted mixing-board, flatten them out to the shape of thick quoits, and treat them à l’anglaise.
Fry them at the last moment in very hot fat, and dish them on a napkin with fried parsley all round.
In order to prepare Waterzoi, it is best, when possible, to have live fish at one’s disposal, not only because these are better able to resist the cooking process, but also owing to the fact that they are richer in gelatine in the live state.
The fish more generally used are the eel, the perch, the tench, the carp, the pike, &c.
After having scaled and emptied them, trim them and cut off their heads and tails. Cut the fish into sections; moisten these with just enough cold water to cover them; add a piece of butter, sufficient parsley roots or stalks to produce a decided taste, a few peppercorns, and some salt.
Set to cook on a brisk fire, and take care that the cooking-liquor be reduced and sufficiently thickened when the fish are cooked.
Serve in a timbale or on a dish, and send some slices of bread and butter to the table at the same time.
The difference between Relevés and Entrées needs only to be examined very superficially in order for it to be seen how entirely the classification hangs on the question of bulk. Indeed, with very few exceptions, the same alimentary products—butcher’s meat, fish, poultry, and game—may be used with perfect propriety in the preparation of either Relevés or Entrées. And if the mode of preparation and the nature of the garnishing ingredients are sometimes dissimilar, it is owing to that difference in bulk referred to above, on account of which the Relevés, being more voluminous, are usually braised, poëled, poached, or roasted; while the Entrées, consisting of smaller pieces, are chiefly sautéd, poached, or grilled.
In the menus of old-fashioned dinners à la Française, the line of demarcation between Relevés and Entrées was far more clearly defined, the latter being generally twice, if not thrice, as numerous as the former. The first service of a dinner for twenty people, for instance, comprised eight or twelve Entrées and four soups, all of which were set on the dining-table before the admission of the diners. As soon as the soups were served, the Relevés, to the number of four, two of which consisted of fish, took the place of the soups on the table; they relieved the soups; hence their name, which now, of course, is quite meaningless.
The Russian method of serving greatly simplified the practice just described. Nowadays a dinner rarely consists of more than two soups, two Relevés (one of which is fish), and two or three Entrées for the first service. Very often the fish Relevé, instead of being a large piece of fish, only consists of fillets of sole, of chicken-turbots, &c., or timbales, which are real entrées; while the Relevés (consisting of large pieces of butcher’s meat or game), instead of being served as common sense would dictate, i.e., after the fish Relevé, when the diner’s appetite is still keen, are placed, according to English custom, after the Entrées.
[353]
Thus, as the two above examples show, the parts played
by the Relevés and Entrées respectively are very far from
being clearly defined; and I therefore resolved to treat of them
both in the same chapter, and to append a few grills (usually
accompanied by various sauces and garnishes), which are really
only luncheon-roasts. The indications given concerning the
class to which the recipes belong will suffice to avoid confusion.
Fillet of beef for a Relevé may consist either of the whole piece, trimmed, studded, or larded, or a more or less large piece cut from the whole, and treated after one of the methods suited to the whole fillet. The fillet may be braised, poëled, or roasted; but the last two modes of preparation suit it best, as it is generally preferred underdone and somewhat red towards the centre.
The garnishes for a Relevé of fillet of beef are as numerous as they are varied; and, as they are applicable not only to fillet of beef but to all Relevés of butcher’s meat, I give them here in preference, since fillet of beef may be considered the choicest of Relevés.
Having removed all the connective tissue from the fillet, lard it with thin strips of bacon, and poële or roast it. Glaze it at the last moment; set it on a long dish, and surround it with:—(1) Some grilled half-capsicums, filled with rice à la grecque (No. 2253); (2) roundels of egg-plant, two inches in diameter and one inch thick, hollowed out to form cases, fried in oil, and garnished with concassed tomatoes tossed in oil. Arrange the half-capsicums and the egg-plant alternately round the fillet, and place a grilled chipolata sausage between each.
Sauce to be sent separately.—The gravy taken from the poëling-stock, strained, cleared of all grease, and thickened.
Having larded the fillet and poëled or roasted it, set it on a long dish and surround it with:—(1) Small heaps of carrots and turnips, turned by means of a small grooved spoon, and cooked in consommé; (2) small heaps of little potatoes turned to the shape of olives and cooked in butter; (3) small heaps of [354] peas and of French beans, cut into lozenges and cohered with butter; (4) five bunches of cauliflower.
Arrange these different products in such wise as to vary their colours and throw them into relief.
Serve the gravy of the fillet separately, after having cleared it of all grease and strained it.
Trim the fillet; suppress the long muscle lying on its thicker side (Fr. chaîne), and open the meat lengthwise from the same side. Withdraw the meat from the inside of the fillet so as to leave a wall of meat only one-half inch thick all round. Finely chop the withdrawn meat and combine with it, per lb., little by little, from four to five tablespoonfuls of cream and four oz. of fresh foie gras. Season with salt and pepper, rectify the consistence of the paste, and add thereto, per lb., two oz. of chopped truffles.
Fill the hollow fillet with this forcemeat, thereby returning it to its original shape, and stud its top surface with pointed pieces of truffle one inch long by one-quarter inch wide, stuck into the meat aslant. In order to facilitate this operation, bore the meat, before the insertion of the pieces of truffles, by means of a small knife.
Now cover the fillet with slices of bacon and string it laterally, leaving a space of one inch between each strand.
Poële the meat carefully, and take care that the forcemeat inside be well, but not over-done. This may be ascertained by thrusting a braiding needle into the thickest part of the fillet, as soon as the meat seems resisting and elastic to the touch. If the needle withdraws clean, the fillet is ready.
Now glaze it, after having cut away the string and removed the slices of bacon; dish it, and surround it with the following garnish:—Small tartlet-crusts garnished by means of noodles with cream; a slice of foie gras stamped out with a round cutter and tossed in butter, upon the noodles; and a fine slice of truffle on the foie gras.
Sauce to be sent to the table separately.—The reduced poëling-liquor of the fillet, cleared of all grease, and added to a Périgueux sauce.
Lard the fillet, poële it, and glaze it just before dishing up. Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish:—(1) Medium-sized artichoke-bottoms garnished with thick Soubise; (2) fine, peeled chestnuts cooked in the [355] poëling-liquor; (3) small heaps of lightly browned potatoes, cooked in butter at the last moment.
Sauce to be sent separately.—The reduced poëling-liquor of the fillet, cleared of all grease and added to a Madeira sauce.
Lard the fillet and roast it.
Set it on a long dish and surround it with:—(1) Little tartlet-crusts garnished with peas, prepared à la Française (No. 2193), combined with the ciseled lettuce used in their cooking-process, and cohered with butter; (2) small quoits of “Pommes Macaire” (No. 2228). Arrange the tartlet-crusts and the quoits alternately.
Sauce to be sent separately.—The gravy slightly thickened.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it at the last moment; set it on a long dish, and surround it with a garnish of potato croquettes à la Dauphine, moulded to the shape of corks, and fried just before dishing up.
Sauce to be sent separately.—Pale half-glaze with Madeira.
Lard the fillet with bacon, and roast it.
Set it on a long dish, and surround it with small heaps of cauliflower moulded to the shape of balls, coated with Mornay sauce, besprinkled with grated cheese, and put in the oven for the gratin to form just in time for the dishing up.
Send a thickened gravy to the table separately.
Either roast or poële the larded fillet. If it be poëled, glaze it at the last moment.
Set it on a long dish and surround it with potatoes à la Duchesse (the shape of which may be varied according to fancy), lightly browned and coloured in the oven for a few minutes before the dishing.
Sauce to be sent separately.—Half-glaze with Madeira.
Poële the larded fillet.
Glaze it at the last moment and set it on a long dish.
Surround it with a garnish consisting of (1) quenelles of ordinary forcemeat; (2) grooved and cooked button-mushroom heads; (3) cocks’ combs and kidneys; (4) turned and blanched olives. Each garnish should be placed on the dish in distinct heaps.
[356]
Cover the garnish with a little financière sauce, and send
the same sauce separately.
Insert truffles, cut to the shape of ordinary larding-bacon, into the fillet, and set the latter to marinade for four or five hours in one-quarter pint of Madeira.
This done, thoroughly wipe it; cover it with slices of bacon, and braise it in Madeira. When about to serve it, remove the slices of bacon; glaze it slightly, and set it on a long dish.
Surround it with a garnish consisting of (1) large and thick slices of truffle, cooked in a fine mirepoix with champagne; (2) fine chestnuts cooked in consommé and glazed; (3) fine cocks’ kidneys, rolled in pale, thin meat-glaze; (4) noodles tossed in butter. These different garnishes should be arranged in alternate heaps, and connected by means of medium-sized truffles cooked in Madeira.
Sauce to be sent separately.—Half-glaze combined with the cooking-liquor of the truffles, strained through linen and reduced to two-thirds.
Lard the fillet with alternate strips of bacon and salted tongue, and poële it. Glaze it a few minutes before serving; set it on a long dish, and surround it with a garnish consisting of (1) quenelles of ordinary forcemeat with chopped mushrooms and truffles added thereto, moulded by means of a coffee-spoon, and poached just before dishing up; (2) turned and cooked button-mushroom heads; (3) glazed lamb sweet-breads; (4) cocks’ combs and kidneys; (5) truffles fashioned like olives.
Slightly coat these garnishes, which should be arranged in heaps, with sauce; finish the dish with four oval quenelles decked with tongue and truffle, and place one of these at either end and side of the dish.
Sauce to be sent separately.—A Godard sauce combined with the cooking-liquor of the fillet, cleared of all grease and reduced.
Lard the fillet and roast it.
Set it on a long dish and surround it with a garnish consisting of medium-sized onions, cooked in white consommé, and glazed in butter at the last minute.
Sauce to be sent separately.—Thin Soubise with paprika.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it just before dishing; set it on a long dish, and surround it with a garnish consisting of (1) small croustades cooked in grooved brioche-moulds and garnished with Japanese artichokes cohered by means of velouté; (2) potato croquettes moulded to the shape of eggs and fried just before dishing up. Arrange the croustades and the croquettes alternately.
Send the gravy of the fillet, strained and cleared of all grease, to the table separately.
Lard the fillet and roast it.
Set it on a long dish and surround it with the following garnishes, which should be arranged in distinct heaps in such wise as to alternate their colours:—Carrots and turnips, raised by means of a grooved spoon-cutter and cooked separately in consommé; peas, French beans in lozenge-form and small flageolets, each of which vegetables should be cooked in a manner in keeping with its nature, and separately cohered with butter; portions of freshly-cooked cauliflower, kept very white and of tight growth.
Send some Hollandaise sauce for the cauliflower, and some clear gravy, to the table, separately.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it at the last moment; set it on a long dish, and surround it with a garnish as follows:—(1) A small pyramid of Lorette potatoes (No. 2226) at either end of the fillet; (2) fine heaps of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, on either side.
Send some tomatéd half-glaze separately.
Prepare the fillet as directed under “Filet de Bœuf Jardinière.” Set it on a long dish and surround it with a Macédoine garnish. The latter comprises the same ingredients as the “Jardinière”; but, instead of their being heaped separately, they are mixed together and cohered by means of butter.
Lard and poële the fillet.
Glaze it; dish it as before, and surround it with fine mushroom-heads, turned and grooved.
[358]
Send to the table, separately, a Madeira sauce finished with
the poëling-liquor, cleared of all grease and reduced.
Lard the fillet alternately with bacon and tongue, and poële it.
Glaze it just before dishing; set it on a long dish, and surround it with garnish as follows:—On either side of the fillet lay a row of small “chartreuses,” made in small, hexagonal moulds.
To make these “chartreuses,” butter the moulds and deck the bottom of each with a slice of truffle, big enough to almost entirely cover it. Now line the sides of the moulds with various vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, peas, and French beans; each of which vegetables should be cooked as its nature requires.
Arrange them in such wise as to vary their colours, and spread over the whole a thin layer of rather flimsy forcemeat.
Fill up the moulds with braised cabbage, which should be well pressed with the view of ridding it of all its moisture, and put the chartreuses in a bain-marie ten minutes before dishing the fillet.
At either end of the fillet set some braised half-lettuces, arranging them so that they frame the ends of the fillet in half-circles.
Between the lettuce and the chartreuses set four round quenelles, decorated with salted tongue and poached in time to be ready for the dishing of the meat.
Send to the table, separately, the poëling-liquor of the fillet, cleared of all grease, strained, and slightly thickened with arrowroot.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it just before dishing up, and set it on a long dish.
Send to the table, separately, a Madeira sauce finished with the poëling-liquor of the fillet, to which add (per pint of the sauce) three tablespoonfuls of red-currant jelly; two tablespoonfuls of finely-grated horse-radish, or the latter finely grated first, and then chopped; thirty moderately-sweetened cherries, set to soak in tepid water seven or eight minutes beforehand, and drained just before being added to the sauce.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it at the last moment; set it on a long dish, and [359] surround it with garnish as follows:—(1) Heaps of small carrots, shaped like elongated olives, cooked in white consommé and a little butter and sugar, and rolled in their cooking-liquor (reduced to the consistence of syrup), with the view of glazing them.
Send the poëling-liquor (cleared of all grease and strained) to the table separately.
Roast the fillet “plain,” i.e., without previously larding it.
Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish, taking care to alternate the ingredients, viz., (1) timbales of rice à la grecque (No. 2253) moulded in buttered dariole-moulds, each timbale being placed on a medium-sized half-tomato, seasoned and tossed in butter; (2) croquettes of sweet potatoes, moulded to the shape of corks, and fried just before dishing up.
Send to the table, separately, a highly seasoned tomato sauce.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it just before dishing up; set it on a long dish, and surround it with medium-sized truffles, freshly cooked in Madeira and fine mirepoix, and glazed. Send a Périgueux sauce separately.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it in good time; set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish:—(1) crisp, small patties of puff paste garnished with asparagus-heads cohered by means of cream sauce; (2) medium-sized artichoke-bottoms, prepared in the usual way, and garnished with slices of truffle.
Send, separately, a light, meat glaze, combined with four oz. of butter per one-half pint.
Lard the fillet and roast it.
Set it on a long dish, and garnish it as follows:—
1. A row of medium-sized, stuffed tomatoes on either side.
2. At either end a nice heap of potatoes, shaped like long olives, and cooked in butter just before dishing up.
Send a light, Portugaise sauce separately.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it at the last minute; set it on a long dish, and [360] surround it with the following, alternated:—Tomatoes and mushrooms stuffed à la Provençale (Nos. 2266 and 2075).
Send a tomatéd half-glaze sauce, separately.
Marinade the fillet in Rhine wine two or three hours in advance; cover it with a Matignon (No. 227); envelop the fillet and the Matignon in slices of bacon, and set the whole to braise with its marinade.
A few minutes before dishing up, remove the slices of bacon and the Matignon, and glaze the fillet.
Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish, which, except for the decorated quenelles, which are left plain, should be arranged in distinct heaps, and slightly coated with sauce:—(1) quenelles of ordinary forcemeat, combined with chopped tongue, moulded by means of a coffeespoon, and poached at the last minute; (2) collops of foie gras tossed in butter; (3) fine cocks’ combs; (4) very white, cooked mushroom-heads, and truffles shaped like large olives.
Send, separately, the braising-liquor of the fillet, cleared of all grease, strained with pressure, reduced, and added to a half-glaze sauce.
Lard the fillet and poële it.
Glaze it at the last minute; set it on a long dish, and surround it with a garnish of early-season vegetables, comprising carrots and turnips, raised by means of a large, round, grooved spoon-cutter, cooked in consommé and glazed; very green peas; small French beans; small faggots of asparagus-heads; portions of cauliflowers, and small potatoes cooked in butter.
Renaissance garnish is, however, subject to no fixed rules, and it may consist of all the available early-season vegetables, small artichoke-bottoms included.
Send a clear gravy separately.
Lard the fillet, and either poële or roast it.
If it be poëled, glaze it in good time; set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish, which should be arranged in distinct heaps and in such wise as to contrast its colouring:—(1) Small tomatoes and medium-sized mushrooms, stuffed; (2) small or half-lettuces, braised and well trimmed; (3) potatoes, the size of pigeons’ eggs, cooked in butter and prepared just in time for the dishing up.
[361]
Send the cooking-liquor, cleared of all grease, and slightly
thickened, separately.
Lard the fillet and roast it.
Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish:—(1) At either end, a heap of cèpes, prepared à la Bordelaise at the last minute; (2) croquettes of potatoes à la Saint-Florentin, on either side. These croquettes are prepared from the same potato-paste as “Pommes Duchesse,” but in this case the paste receives a copious addition of chopped tongue. Mould them to the shape of lozenges, and treat them à l’anglaise, using for the purpose very fine vermicelli instead of bread-crumbs.
Fry the croquettes just before dishing up.
Send, separately, a Bordelaise sauce with white wine, kept somewhat light.
Lard the fillet and roast it.
Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish:—(1) At either end of the fillet a nice heap of glazed carrots, cut to the shape of olives; (2) a heap of very small potatoes, cooked in butter, on either side of the carrots; (3) a row of small timbales of very green peas purée (No. 2196) on either side of the fillet.
Cut up the necessary number of raw truffles for the garnishing of the fillet. The pieces of truffle should be one inch long and one-quarter inch wide, and so pointed as to enable them to be easily stuck into the meat.
To stick them in, make small incisions in the fillet, and in these set the bits of truffle. Marinade the fillet for three hours in Madeira; wrap it in slices of bacon; string it, and set it to braise with its marinade.
This done, remove the slices of bacon; glaze it, and set it on a long dish. Send the following garnish separately:—Poached macaroni, cut into pieces one and one-half inches long, and combined per lb. with three oz. of grated Gruyère and Parmesan, one and one-half oz. of butter, three oz. of a julienne of truffles, and three oz. of cooked foie gras, cut into large dice.
As an adjunct, send a Périgueux sauce with a fine julienne of truffles instead of the latter chopped.
Fillet of beef, when properly dished, makes an excellent cold Relevé.
For this purpose lard it, roast it (keeping it somewhat underdone towards the centre), and, when it is quite cold, trim, and coat it with half-melted jelly.
Then set it either directly upon a dish or upon a cushion of bread or carved rice, which makes the dish more sightly when the garnish is added.
Before setting the fillet on the dish or on the cushion of rice, it is well to cut a slice one-fifth inch thick from the whole of its base; leave this slice under the fillet when dishing; by this means, when the carving is proceeded with, each slice will be found to be neatly trimmed.
Cold fillet of beef allows of every possible cold vegetable garnish.
The vegetables should be cooked with the greatest care and be left to cool naturally.
When they are quite cold, either cohere them by means of jelly, or set them round the fillet in neat heaps, taking care to alternate their shades, and coat them with almost melted aspic.
Finally, between each heap of vegetables lay a little chopped and very clear aspic, and, round the whole, arrange a border consisting of bits of aspic (round, oval, square, lozenge-shaped, &c.) very regularly cut.
I see no reason for devoting any further space to this subject. What has been said should, I think, suffice to show how varied and numerous are the possible ways of dishing cold fillet of beef, the minute details of which may, with advantage, be left to the ingenuity of the operator.
By fillet steaks are understood those pieces of meat cut laterally from the thickest part of the fillet of beef.
They ought to be about one and one-half inches thick, and weigh from six to seven oz. Tournedos are half-fillets in respect of their weight, and might well be called the “kernels” of the fillet of beef. The usual thickness of a tournedos is about one and one-quarter inches, and they should be cut to a nice, round shape. With the object of preserving their shape, they may be tied round with string.
Châteaubriand is also procured from the centre of fillet of [363] beef, and its weight is often twice, thrice, and sometimes more than thrice as much as that of the ordinary fillet steaks.
As a rule, especially when grilled, it constitutes a special roast for luncheons; when it is cooked in the saucepan, i.e., sautéd, it is more often served as a Relevé.
The same garnishes suit fillet, Châteaubriands, and tournedos, the only necessary modifications being in respect of size and arrangement, which should be subject to the size of the piece of meat.
The garnishes detailed hereafter are for the tournedos, which supply the greatest number of the dishes prepared from the three different cuts of fillet. If a fillet steak be prepared after one of the following recipes, the garnish should be made a little stronger, and its constituents modified in the dishing, neither of which changes need in any way alter the formula.
The same holds with regard to a Châteaubriand. Thus, for example, if it be required to prepare a fillet steak or a Châteaubriand, after the recipe “Tournedos à l’Algérienne,” the number of croquettes and tomatoes should be half as much again, and they should be arranged alternately round the meat, instead of the latter being placed on the croquettes, as in the case of the tournedos.
If the fillets are to be treated “à l’Alsacienne,” after the recipe for tournedos, the sauerkraut should be dished in a timbale instead of in tartlet-crusts, &c.
All that is needed, therefore, is a change in the method of arrangement, and this can be decided upon at a glance, without necessarily interfering with the principle of the recipe.
It should be borne in mind that nearly all the garnishes given under fillet of beef, served whole, may be applied to Châteaubriands, fillet steak, and tournedos, provided they be made in proportion to the size of the different pieces. I see no need, therefore, to repeat these vegetable recipes in so far as they relate to the various cuts of fillet of beef.
It is only necessary to add that for the fillet of beef, as well as for tournedos, noisettes, &c., a large number of plain vegetable garnishes may be used, the details of which I prefer to omit for fear of unduly lengthening this work.
Whole fillets, fillet steak, and tournedos may thus be served with garnishes of braised celery, tuberous fennel, cardoons with gravy, chow-chow and endives, braised lettuce, various purées, &c., and, generally, with all the vegetable preparations given in Chapter XVII.
The derivative sauces of the Espagnole are not, as a rule, suited to entrées garnished with vegetables. Thickened gravy is better.
The finest adjunct, however, is meat-glaze, which should receive an addition of four oz. of butter per pint, and should be slightly acidulated by means of a few drops of lemon juice. This glaze ought to be so light as not to impaste the vegetables.
Such vegetables as asparagus-heads, peas, French beans, macédoines, &c., have a disintegrating action upon the sauces, and this is owing either to their natural moisture or to their leason. As a result of this action the preparation has an unsightly appearance when served upon the diner’s plate.
With Châteaubriand sauce (No. 71) or buttered meat-glaze this objection does not obtain, seeing that this sauce does not decompose, but combines admirably with the garnish, and lends the latter a certain noticeable mellowness.
I therefore emphasise this point, viz., that the derivative sauces of the Espagnole and tomato sauces should be exclusively used with such preparations garnished with truffles, cock’s combs and kidneys, quenelles and mushrooms, as “la Financière,” “la Godard,” &c.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in clarified butter.
Arrange them in the form of a crown on a round dish, and set a croquette of sweet potato, moulded to a round shape, upon each.
Around the whole lay some small, emptied, and seasoned half-tomatoes, stewed in oil.
Season and grill the tournedos.
There should have been prepared in advance as many small tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos.
Garnish these tartlets with well-drained, braised sauerkraut, and set on each a roundel of the lean of ham, stamped out with an even cutter. Arrange them in the form of a crown on a dish, and set a tournedos upon each tartlet.
Fry the tournedos in butter and oil.
When about to serve, set the tournedos on a dish, and surround them with fried roundels of egg-plant and tossed tomatoes, alternating the two garnishes, and placing roundels of fried onions on the tournedos.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in clarified butter.
Set them in the form of a crown on small tartlets garnished by means of maize with cream.
Upon each tournedos set a roundel of tomato, seasoned and tossed in butter, and a smaller slice of green capsicum, also tossed in butter, on each roundel of tomato.
Accompanying sauce: a Châteaubriand (No. 71).
Season the tournedos, and grill them.
Set them on round crusts, half an inch thick, fried in clarified butter; slightly coat the surface of the tournedos with meat-glaze, and surround them with a thread of Béarnaise sauce (No. 62).
In the centre arrange a heap of small potatoes cooked in butter and kept very soft, and sprinkle thereon a pinch of chopped parsley.
N.B.—The tournedos may be simply coated with glaze and the Béarnaise sauce served separately.
Prepare as many small croquettes of asparagus-tops, shaped like quoits, as there are tournedos, and fry them while the latter are being cooked. Season the tournedos, and fry them in clarified butter.
Arrange them, in the form of a crown, on a dish; place a croquette on each tournedos, and a large, glazed slice of truffle on each croquette.
Grill the tournedos, and coat them lightly with pale meat-glaze.
Dish them in the form of a crown, and serve a half-melted “Beurre à la Bercy” (No. 139) separately.
Grill the tournedos, and dish them in the form of a crown.
Set a large slice of poached marrow on each, and serve a Bordelaise sauce (No. 32) separately.
Prepare as many tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos.
Garnish them with very small parboiled Brussels sprouts, stewed in butter; cover these with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze a few moments before dishing.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter; set them on the prepared tartlets of sprouts, and surround with a border of small “pommes de terre fondantes” (No. 2214).
Prepare (1) as many tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos; (2) peeled, pressed, and seasoned tomatoes, cooked in butter; these should be in the proportion of one tablespoonful per tartlet; (3) rings of onion, fried in oil as for “Tournedos à l’Arlésienne”; (4) a garnish of one tablespoonful of small French beans, cohered with butter, per tartlet.
Season the tournedos; fry them in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown on fried crusts.
Place a tartlet, garnished with a fondue of tomatoes, on each tournedos; all round arrange a border of the fried roundels of onion, and serve the French beans, either in the middle of the dish or separately in a timbale.
Prepare (1) as many fine artichoke-bottoms as there are tournedos; (2) a Soubise purée, combined with chopped truffles, and well buttered.
A few moments before the tournedos are ready, garnish the artichoke-bottoms with the Soubise, and set them to glaze in a fierce oven.
Season the tournedos; fry them in clarified butter, and set them on the artichoke-bottoms, which should be arranged in a circle round the dish.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter.
Dish them in the form of a crown; drain the butter from the sautépan; swill the latter with some mushroom cooking-liquor, and add thereto a proportional quantity of mushroom sauce. Set to boil for a few minutes, and pour the sauce, with the mushrooms, in the midst of the circle of tournedos.
Season the tournedos; fry them in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown.
[367]
Drain the butter away; swill the sautépan with white wine,
and add to this a quantity of Chasseur sauce, which should be
in proportion to the number of tournedos.
Set to boil for a moment or two, and pour the sauce over the tournedos.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter.
Set them on crusts fried in butter; round the top of each lay a thread of Choron sauce (No. 64), and in the middle of each set a medium-sized artichoke-bottom garnished with peas or asparagus-heads cohered with butter.
All round, arrange a border of potatoes, lightly browned in butter, or heap them in the middle of the crown of tournedos.
N.B.—The sauce may be served separately.
1. With a preparation of sweet potatoes, made after the manner of “Duchesse potatoes” (No. 221), make as many small galettes as there are tournedos, and of the same size as the latter.
Place them on a tray; gild them, and set them to brown in the oven a few minutes before the tournedos are ready.
2. Cut some chow-chows in thick slices, paysanne fashion; parboil them; stew them in butter, and add thereto an equal quantity of Provençale sauce.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter; dish them in the form of a crown, on the galettes of potato, and cover them with the paysanne of chow-chow.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter.
Dish them in the form of a crown, and on each set either a spray of parboiled tarragon leaves or a lattice composed of the latter. Send separately a thickened gravy with tarragon (No. 41).
Season the tournedos; fry them in clarified butter, and dish them, in the form of a crown, on crusts stamped out with an indented cutter and fried in butter.
On each tournedos place a round collop of foie gras, a little smaller than the piece of meat; the collop should be seasoned, dredged, and tossed in butter. On each collop of foie gras put a fine, glazed slice of indented truffle. Garnish the centre of the dish with a fine heap of asparagus-tops cohered with butter, or merely set these in small heaps round the tournedos.
[368]
Serve separately a timbale of potatoes (of the size of hazel-nuts)
cooked in butter, rolled in pale meat-glaze, and slightly
sprinkled with chopped parsley.
Prepare (1) as many subrics of shredded spinach as there are tournedos; make them of the same size as the latter, and cook them at the same time as the tournedos; (2) small, round croquettes of semolina the size of walnuts; these should be fried a few minutes before the tournedos are ready.
Grill the tournedos, and dish them, in the form of a crown, on the spinach subrics. The croquettes of semolina may be arranged either in the middle or all round.
Season the tournedos, and sauté them. Set them on crusts fried in butter. Surround them with alternate heaps of noodles and potatoes cut into large dice and tossed in butter.
The potatoes may also be placed in the midst of the tournedos with the noodles all round, or vice versâ.
Make a preparation from the white meat of a chicken and truffles—both cut into dice and cohered with the necessary quantity of somewhat light “Duchesse-potatoes” paste.
With this preparation make as many small quoit-shaped croquettes as there are tournedos, and fry them while the latter are being cooked.
Season the tournedos, and fry them with oil and butter in equal quantities. Dish them, in the form of a crown, on the prepared croquettes, and on each tournedos set a fine roundel of poached marrow and one slice of truffle.
Around the tournedos arrange some very small, braised, and well-trimmed lettuces.
Grill the tournedos, and set them on crusts fried in butter.
Round the edge of each tournedos lay a thread of Béarnaise sauce, and on top of each an artichoke-bottom garnished with very small potatoes (of the size of hazel-nuts) cooked in butter.
N.B.—Instead of putting the sauce on the edge of the tournedos, it may be served separately.
Season the tournedos; fry them in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown on crusts fried in butter. On each [369] tournedos set a crown of truffle slices, with a cock’s kidney in the centre, and surround with braised, trimmed, and quartered lettuces.
Prepare (1) as many small tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos; (2) the same number of grilled, medium-sized mushrooms; (3) a garnish of one tablespoonful of broad beans with cream per tartlet.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in clarified butter.
Dish them in the form of a crown, each on a tartlet garnished with broad beans, and set a grilled mushroom on each tournedos.
Select onions sufficiently large to admit of placing the tournedos upon them, and let their number equal that of the tournedos.
Trim their tops, and parboil them almost long enough to cook them.
Then, by means of a small knife, cut out their insides so that they may form little cases. Fill the latter, two-thirds full, with spinach prepared with cream, cover the spinach with Mornay sauce, and set them to glaze in a fierce oven a few moments before the tournedos are ready.
Grill the tournedos; dish them in the form of a crown, each on an onion.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter.
Dish them, in the form of a crown, each on a crust of “Pommes de terre Anna” (No. 2203), stamped out with a round, even cutter of the same size as the tournedos.
On each tournedos set an artichoke-bottom garnished with a roundel of foie gras tossed in butter, and on the foie gras place a slice of truffle. Send, separately, a reduced and well-buttered Périgueux sauce.
Season the tournedos; fry them in clarified butter, and dish them, in the form of a crown, on fried crusts. Surround them with a garnish consisting of quenelles of chicken forcemeat, cocks’ combs, truffles, and blanched olives, and coat the whole with half-glaze sauce prepared with truffle essence.
For ten tournedos prepare (1) ten timbales of a purée of haricot beans. For these timbales the purée of haricot beans [370] must be cohered per lb. with one egg and three yolks, finished with two oz. of butter, put into well-buttered dariole-moulds, and set these to poach fifteen minutes in advance.
(2) Ten small artichoke-bottoms garnished with reduced Soubise.
Season the tournedos; fry them in butter; dish them, and surround them with the timbales and the artichoke-bottoms, alternating the two garnishes.
Season the tournedos; fry them in butter, and dish them upon fried crusts. On each of the tournedos set a large, glazed slice of truffle, and surround them with little heaps of asparagus-heads cohered with butter.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter.
Dish them, in the form of a crown, upon crusts one-third inch thick, fried in butter. On each tournedos set a small artichoke-bottom, stewed in butter, garnished in the shape of a dome, by means of a piping-bag, with a purée of mushrooms combined with a quart of very reduced Soubise.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter.
Have a garnish ready consisting of raw, quartered artichoke-bottoms fried in butter; small, olive-shaped potatoes, also cooked in butter; and olive-shaped truffles.
When about to serve, dish the tournedos in a cocotte with the garnish above described.
Swill the sauté-pan with white wine; add thereto a little gravy; reduce the whole, strain it into the cocotte, and put the latter in the front of the oven for a minute or two.
Season the tournedos and fry them in butter; dish them on fried crusts of the same size, and, in the middle of each tournedos, set a large slice of poached marrow.
Surround with a row of small artichoke-bottoms, garnished with very stiff Béarnaise sauce.
Put into an earthenware cocotte the following vegetables, which should be in proportion to the number of tournedos:—Haricot butter or “Princesse” cut into small pieces, minced new carrots, very small new onions, and very fresh peas.
[371]
All these vegetables should be equally apportioned.
Add salt, butter, and a very little water, for the cooking of the vegetables should be effected mainly by the concentration of steam inside the cocotte, which, for the purpose, should therefore be well closed.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them upon the vegetables in the cocotte at the last moment.
Prepare (1) a fondue of peeled and pressed tomatoes, cooked in butter, well reduced, and in the proportion of one tablespoonful per mushroom; (2) as many large grilled mushrooms as there are tournedos, while the latter are being fried; (3) some grilled or fried capsicums in the proportion of half a one per tournedos.
Season the tournedos, and fry them in oil and butter in equal quantities. Dish them each on a mushroom garnished with the fondue of tomatoes, and cover them with the grilled or fried capsicums.
Select some fine, rather firm tomatoes—“Mikados,” as they are called—and cut them in two laterally. Squeeze them with the object of expressing all their juice and seeds; season them inside, and grill them so that they may be ready at the same time as the tournedos.
Season the latter and fry them in butter.
Dish them in the form of a crown, each on a grilled half-tomato, and garnish the centre of the dish with Japanese artichokes tossed in butter.
Grill the tournedos.
Lay eight fine strips of anchovy fillets upon each, crossing the former after the manner of a lattice. Cover the edges with a crown of blanched tarragon leaves, and set a large stoned olive in the middle of each tournedos.
Send some half-melted anchovy butter separately, and allow two-thirds oz. of it for each tournedos.
For ten tournedos, prepare in advance, (1) five croustades from the preparation used for “pommes Duchesse.” To make these croustades, fill some buttered dariole-moulds with the preparation referred to, taking care to press it snugly into them. Dip the moulds into tepid water, turn out, treat the mouldings [372] à l’anglaise, fry them, hollow out their centres, and keep them hot.
(2) A fondue of tomatoes in the proportion of one heaped tablespoonful per croustade.
(3) Five timbales of pilaff rice, made after the same manner as the croustades, and kept hot until required for dishing.
Season the tournedos, fry them in butter, and dish them as soon as they are ready.
Surround them with timbales of rice, and the croustades garnished with the fondue, the two garnishes to be alternated.
Prepare as many small timbales of “pommes Mirette” (No. 2234) as there are tournedos.
Turn them out on a dish, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and a few drops of melted butter, and set them to glaze a few minutes before the tournedos are ready. Grill the tournedos, dish them in the form of a crown, and set a timbale of pommes Mirette upon each.
Swill the sauté-pan with white wine; add thereto a little meat-glaze, finish with butter, and pour the resulting sauce over the tournedos.
Grill the tournedos and dish them in the form of a crown.
Lay on each of them a large slice of poached marrow, and either surround them with Bordelaise sauce or send the latter to the table separately.
Season the tournedos and fry them in butter.
Dish them upon a pancake of spinach (No. 2138), cooked in a tartlet-mould. Deck each tournedos with a rosette of reduced Soubise, made by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, and put a fine slice of truffle in the centre of the rosette.
Prepare (1) as many tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos; (2) a garnish of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, in the proportion of one heaped tablespoonful per tartlet.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them upon fried crusts.
On each of them set a tartlet garnished with asparagus-heads, with a slice of truffle in the middle.
Grill the tournedos or fry them in butter.
Dish them in the form of a crown; in the centre arrange a heap of morels tossed in butter, and besprinkle them moderately with chopped parsley.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown.
In the centre of each tournedos set a small heap, consisting of one half-tablespoonful of peeled, pressed, and concassed tomatoes, tossed in butter, together with a little crushed garlic and chopped tarragon.
Surround with small heaps of French beans cohered with butter, and other heaps of small potatoes, cooked in butter, alternating the two garnishes.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them upon crusts of “pommes Anna,” stamped out with a round fancy-cutter of the same size as the tournedos. On each of the latter set a small patty, garnished with asparagus-heads, cohered with butter and combined with a fine and short julienne of truffles.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown.
In the middle of the dish or round it set a fine heap of potatoes, cut into regular cubes of two-thirds inch side, or raised by means of an oval, grooved spoon-cutter. The potatoes should be cooked in butter and kept very soft.
Slightly sprinkle the potatoes with chopped parsley.
Prepare as many green capsicums, stuffed with rice moulded to the shape of balls and braised, and as many grilled half-tomatoes as there are tournedos. Also have some fried slices of banana ready, and allow three for each tournedos.
Fry the tournedos in butter and dish them, in the form of a crown, on the grilled half-tomatoes. On each tournedos set a stuffed and braised capsicum.
In the centre of the dish arrange the fried slices of banana in a nice heap. Send separately to the table a Châteaubriand sauce, combined with the reduced braising-liquor of the capsicums.
Prepare, after the manner described below, as many oxalis roots as there are tournedos.
Peel the oxalis roots; cut a slice from underneath them, in order to make them stand upright, and hollow them out to form little cases.
Chop up the pulp extracted from them in the last operation, and add it to a preparation of duxelles, made as for stuffed mushrooms.
Fill the oxalis cases with this preparation, shaping it above their edges after the manner of a dome; besprinkle with raspings and oil, and put them in the oven in good time for them to be ready at the same time as the tournedos.
Grill the tournedos, dish them in the form of a crown, and surround them with the oxalis cases.
Butter as many tartlet-moulds as there are tournedos; fill them with Rizotto à la Piémontaise, combined with white truffles cut into dice, and keep them hot.
Fry the tournedos in clarified butter; dish them, in the form of a crown, on the rizotto tartlets, turned out at the last minute.
For ten tournedos, prepare (1) ten medium-sized mushrooms, stuffed with duxelles, slightly flavoured with garlic, and put in the oven in good time; (2) ten half-tomatoes à la Provençale (No. 2266).
Fry the tournedos in equal quantities of butter and oil; dish them, in the form of a crown, on fried crusts, with a half-tomato upon each, and around them set the stuffed mushrooms.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them, in the form of a crown, on fried crusts one-third inch thick.
On each tournedos set a small artichoke-bottom, garnished with a large slice of poached marrow.
Send a Bordelaise sauce separately.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them, in the form of a crown, upon fried crusts.
On each tournedos set a round slice of foie gras, just a little smaller than the former; the slices should be seasoned, dredged, and fried in butter.
On each slice of foie-gras, set a fine slice of truffle.
Cut the tournedos a little smaller than usual. Season them; fry them in butter, and dish them in a circle on grilled half-tomatoes.
Coat the tournedos with Mornay sauce, and set them to glaze quickly.
In the middle of each tournedos set a large stuffed and poached olive, encircled by a ring consisting of an anchovy fillet.
In the centre of the dish arrange a fine heap of egg-plant roundels, seasoned with salt and pepper, dredged, fried in oil, and kept very crisp.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them, in the form of a circle, each on a little cushion of “pommes de terre Macaire,” moulded in ordinary tartlet-moulds.
In the centre of the dish set a garnish consisting of peas cohered with butter.
Prepare a garnish of (1) hollowed, parboiled, and braised sections of cucumber, stuffed with duxelles, and gratined; (2) small tomatoes, similarly treated; (3) small round croquettes of rice flavoured with saffron, thickened with egg-yolks, treated à l’anglaise, and fried.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown.
Set a croquette of rice upon each tournedos, and frame the whole with the stuffed cucumber cases and the stuffed tomatoes, laid alternately.
Grill the tournedos and dish them in the form of a crown.
Serve a light Soubise purée separately.
For ten tournedos, prepare ten small grilled mushrooms, and allow one half-tomato tossed in butter for each mushroom.
Fry the tournedos in butter and dish them, in the form of a crown, upon fried crusts. On each tournedos set a grilled mushroom, garnished with a tossed half-tomato, and all round set some fine “pommes soufflées” made in ribbon-form, of a round shape, and in the proportion of one potato to each tournedos.
Send a Béarnaise sauce separately.
For ten tournedos, prepare the following sauce:—Gently cook one chopped onion in butter; add two peeled, pressed, and roughly-chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and a little crushed garlic.
When the tomatoes are sufficiently cooked, add thereto a few tablespoonfuls of poivrade sauce, and set to boil for five minutes.
Fry the tournedos in butter; dish them in the form of a crown, and cover them with the prepared sauce.
Fry the tournedos in butter; dish them in the form of a crown, each on a small, round, and flat croquette of noodles and ham, fried just before dishing up.
Send a Châteaubriand sauce separately.
Prepare as many pieces of turnips, of the same diameter as the tournedos and one and one-half inch thick, as there are tournedos. Cut them neatly round, stamp them with an even and round cutter, and parboil them until they are almost completely cooked. Hollow them out, by means of a spoon, inside the mark left by the fancy-cutter, and stuff them with a preparation of semolina with Parmesan.
Put these stuffed pieces of turnip in a sautépan; add a little water, butter, and sugar, and glaze them while finishing their cooking-process.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them in a circle, each on a stuffed case of turnip.
Grill the tournedos, and dish them simply with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel upon them.
Surround them with alternate heaps of water-cress and freshly-fried straw potatoes.
Fry the tournedos in butter.
Dish them in a circle, each on a little round and flat croquette of chicken-meat. On each tournedos set a half-tomato tossed in butter.
Prepare (1) as many tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos; (2) a sufficient quantity of very smooth flageolet purée to garnish the tartlets; (3) a fine grilled tomato per each tournedos.
[377]
Grill the tournedos, and dish them on the garnished tartlets.
On each tournedos set a grilled mushroom, the hollow of which
should have been filled with Châteaubriand sauce.
Fry the tournedos in butter, and dish them in a circle on little quoit-shaped croquettes of chicken-meat, fried at the last moment.
On each tournedos set a crown of small roundels of tongue and truffle, laid alternately, and a small grooved mushroom in the middle.
Send a Châteaubriand sauce separately.
Grill the tournedos, and dish them in a circle, each on a fried, hollowed-out crust, garnished with truffled Soubise.
On each tournedos set a large slice of truffle coated with meat-glaze.
For the “en chevreuil” treatment, the meat used is generally cut from the narrowest end of the fillet of beef. The weight of the pieces cut should average about three oz. each.
After having slightly flattened and trimmed them, lard them with very thin strips of bacon, and marinade them for a few hours in the raw marinade given under No. 169. When about to cook them, dry them thoroughly, and fry them quickly in hot oil, taking care that the latter be smoking, and therefore hot enough to set the meat and to cause its external moisture to evaporate.
The fillets may be accompanied by all vegetable purées and highly-seasoned sauces, the most suitable of the latter being the Poivrade and the Chasseur.
Sirloin of beef is that part of the bullock’s back reaching from the haunch to the floating ribs, which is equivalent to the saddle in veal and mutton. This piece, however, cannot properly be called “sirloin,” except when it comprises the fillet or undercut, and the upper fillet (Fr.: contrefilet), so-called to distinguish it from the undercut. If this joint be treated whole, it need only be shortened by suppressing the flank, and by sectioning the ligament lying alongside of the chine on the upper fillet, in different places.
A little fat is left on the undercut, but none whatever must be removed from the upper fillet. As a rule, when sirloin of beef is braised, it is cut laterally into pieces weighing from [378] six to seven lbs. If it is to be roasted, it is best to keep it whole.
When served as a relevé, it is braised or roasted, and is kept underdone if so desired. Unless it be of excellent quality, however, braised sirloin generally turns out to be dry.
All garnishes given for “Filet de Bœuf” may be served with sirloin; but, as a rule, the bulkiest, such as the “Richelieu,” the “Provençale,” the “Godard,” &c., are selected.
The accompanying sauce is that indicated for the above garnishes.
Porterhouse-steak is a slice from the sirloin of beef, which may be more or less thick. It is cleared of the flank and of the bones of the chine, and it is always grilled.
It may be served with any of the various garnishes and sauces suited to grills; but it is more often served plain.
The upper fillet is that part of beef which lies between the top of the haunch and the floating ribs, alongside of the chine. It may be treated like the fillet, and all the garnishes suited to the latter may also be applied here.
If the piece is to be braised, it should be completely boned; if intended for roasting, it is best to retain the bones. In the latter case, the large ligament should be cut at various points with the view of preventing distortion, while the bones constituting the spinous process should be broken close to the point where they join the body of the vertebræ, that they may be easily removed when the meat is being carved.
The upper fillet, especially when it is of good quality, is best roasted.
Ribs of beef may likewise be braised or roasted.
In either case, the meat should be properly trimmed and cleared of all the bones of the spinous process.
This piece should only be used after having been well hung, in order that it may be as tender as possible.
The sirloin steak may be cut either from the upper fillet or the ribs of beef, i.e., between two rib-bones. In order that its cooking may be regular, it should not weigh more than from two to three lbs.
Ribs of beef may also be grilled, provided they be sufficiently tender.
[379]
They may be braised, too, and in this case they are served
with any of the various garnishes given under Fillet of Beef.
The piece of beef called rump is the one preferred for boiling and braising. Whatever be the use for which the meat is intended, the weight of the pieces should not be more than six or eight lbs. at the most, and they should be cut in the length rather than in the thickness, that the cooking process may be facilitated.
All the garnishes of braised sirloin of beef are suited to braised pieces of beef.
Boiled beef is generally accompanied by the vegetables used in its cooking-process, by purées, green or dry vegetables, pastes, macaroni, &c., &c.
Lard the piece of beef, and marinade it for three hours in brandy and red wine. Braise it after the manner described under No. 247; moisten first with the wine of the marinade, and, when the latter is reduced, with some veal gravy and one-half pint of Espagnole sauce per quart of liquid, taking care that the whole moistening reaches the top of the piece of meat. Add a faggot and some mushroom parings; set to boil, and cook gently in the oven.
When the meat is two-thirds cooked, transfer it to another saucepan, and surround it with mushrooms cut into two or four, according to their size, and tossed in butter; breast of bacon, cut into dice, blanched and tossed in butter, and some small onions half-glazed with butter.
Strain the sauce through a sieve over the piece of beef and its garnish, and complete the cooking gently.
A few minutes before serving, put the meat on a dish and glaze it in the oven. Transfer the meat to the dish intended for the table; quickly reduce the sauce if necessary, and pour it over the piece of beef and the garnish.
Select a very square or oval piece of beef, and bear in mind, in selecting it, that it will have to be fashioned to the shape of a case when it has been cooked.
String it, and braise it after the manner described under No. 247, almost entirely covering it with moistening liquor.
Set it to cook gently; withdraw the piece when the meat is still somewhat firm, and let it cool under slight pressure.
[380]
This done, cut out the meat from the inside; leave a thickness
of about half-inch round the sides and on the bottom, and
the piece thus emptied should constitute a square or oval case,
in accordance with the shape originally adopted.
Coat the outside of the whole piece with a mixture of beaten eggs and fine bread-crumbs, combined with Parmesan; sprinkle melted butter over it with a brush, and put the case into a sufficiently hot oven to allow of a crust forming round it.
Meanwhile chop up the meat extracted from the inside of the piece; add thereto a little salted tongue, some braised slices of sweet-bread, and mushrooms; put the whole into a sautépan with an Italian or a half-glaze sauce, according to the requirements, and heat this garnish.
N.B.—This preparation was quite common in old-fashioned cookery, but though it is still served occasionally, it is now looked upon more as a curiosity than anything else. As a curiosity, therefore, I chose to include it among these recipes; but it does not follow from this that I in any way recommend it.
Lard the piece of beef, and braise it as explained under No. 247.
Meanwhile prepare the following garnish:—(1) Cut a nice firm cabbage into four, remove the heart, and parboil it for seven or eight minutes. Drain it; cool it; divide up the quarters, leaf by leaf, so as to remove the hard ribs, and season with salt and pepper.
Mould them to the shape of balls by pressing them in the corner of a towel into balls weighing about three oz. each, or simply put them into a saucepan with a quartered carrot, an onion stuck with a clove, a faggot, six oz. of blanched breast of pork, and a little raw sausage with garlic, which latter must be withdrawn after cooking has gone on for one and one-half hours.
Moisten the cabbage with just sufficient consommé to cover it; add a few tablespoonfuls of good stock-fat; set to boil, and cook gently in the oven for one and one-half hours.
(2) Cut the required quantity of carrots and turnips to the shape of olives; cook them in consommé, and reduce the latter for the purpose of glazing.
(3) Prepare some potatoes à l’anglaise.
Set the piece of beef on a dish large enough to allow of the former being surrounded with the moulded or plainly-heaped cabbages, the glazed carrots and turnips, and the potatoes à [381] l’anglaise. The last two vegetables should be set in alternate heaps with the cabbages and the bacon (cut into small rectangles) and the sausage (cut into roundels) should be distributed all round.
Serve separately the gravy of the piece of beef, cleared of all grease, reduced to a half-glaze and strained.
Lard the piece of beef, which should not, if possible, weigh more than from four to five lbs. The strips of bacon used for larding ought to have been prepared fifteen or twenty minutes in advance, marinaded in a few tablespoonfuls of brandy, and sprinkled with parsley just before being used.
Rub the piece with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and put it into a basin with one bottle of red wine and one-fifth pint of brandy, and set it to marinade for four or five hours, taking care to turn it over from time to time.
Then set it to braise after the manner described under No. 247; add its marinade to the moistening, and surround it with three small, boned, blanched, and strung calf’s feet.
When the cooking is three-quarters done, transfer the piece of beef to another saucepan, and surround it with the following garnish:—
1. About one-quarter lb. of carrots turned to the shape of elongated olives, and already two-thirds cooked.
2. Small onions coloured in two-thirds lb. of butter.
3. The calf’s feet cut into small, square, or rectangular pieces.
Strain the braising-liquor over the whole, and complete the cooking gently. When about to serve, either glaze the piece of beef, or dish it plain; coat it lightly with sauce, and send what remains of the latter, with the garnish, in a timbale.
Bœuf à la mode is very rarely prepared specially for cold dishing, the remains of a fine piece being generally used for that purpose. The piece of meat must first be well trimmed. If the quantity of sauce do not seem enough, or if the sauce itself seem too stiff, add a third of its volume of aspic jelly to it.
For moulding, take a terrine à pâté, a mould, or other utensil capable of holding the piece of meat, its garnish, and its sauce. Deck the bottom of the utensil in any suitable way with the carrots and the onions, and surround the piece with what remains of the latter and the dice of calf’s foot.
[382]
Add the sauce, combined with the jelly, after having passed
it through a strainer, and put the whole in the cool for a few
hours. Turn out just before serving, and surround with very
light, chopped jelly.
Lard the piece of beef, and marinade it in brandy and red wine.
This done, dry it thoroughly, and brown it evenly in butter all over; moisten it with its marinade and an equal quantity of veal gravy, and set to cook gently.
When the meat is half-cooked, surround it with two lbs. of minced onions, tossed in butter, and three oz. of rice. Complete the cooking of the piece with onions and rice.
Now withdraw the piece of beef, and quickly rub the onions and the rice through tammy. Reduce this Soubise with rice for a few moments.
Neatly trim the piece of beef; cut it into even slices; reconstruct it on a dish, and between each slice pour a tablespoonful of Soubise purée.
Cover the reconstructed piece of beef with the remainder of the Soubise; sprinkle the surface with two tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs fried in butter, and some melted butter, and put the whole in the oven, that the gratin may form speedily.
The rump is that portion of the sirloin of beef which touches the top of the haunch.
It may be braised, but it is more often grilled in slices from one inch to one and one-half inches thick, which are called “rumpsteaks.”
With reference to this subject, it is as well to point out that the term “Beefsteak,” so hackneyed in France, is scarcely used in England, owing to its want of precision.
In France, beefsteak is either a cut from the fillet, the upper-fillet, or the rump, according to the standing of the catering-house which supplies it. But the nature of the piece cannot very well be mistaken, inasmuch as the term beefsteak, which designates it, is generally followed by other French words which reveal its origin, whereas in England the term “Beefsteak” does not convey any particular meaning.
Rumpsteak is either grilled or sautéd, but whatever be the method of cooking it, it is generally served plain.
[383]
All garnishes suited to fillets, however, may be served with
it, as also the various butters and sauces generally used with
grills.
Ox tongue is served fresh or salted, but, even when it is to be served fresh, it is all the better for having been put in salt a few days previously. In order to salt it, put it into a special brine, as explained under No. 172. When salted, it is cooked in boiling water; when fresh, it is braised exactly after the manner of any other piece of meat.
Ox tongue may be served with almost all the garnishes suited to relevés of fillet of beef, but more particularly with the following:—Bourgeoise; Flamande; Milanaise; Noodles or Macaroni with cream, cheese or tomatoes; and all vegetable purées.
The most suitable sauces are:—Madeira sauce, Piquante sauce, Tomato sauce, or their derivatives.
Braise the tongue as described under No. 247, and glaze it at the last moment. Dish it, and send to the table separately (1) a timbale of well-braised sauerkraut; (2) a timbale of potato purée; (3) a Madeira sauce, combined with the braising-liquor of the tongue, cleared of all grease, and reduced.
Braise the tongue in the usual way.
When it is two-thirds cooked, surround it with carrots fashioned to the shape of olives and already two-thirds cooked, and small onions browned in butter.
Complete the cooking gently, and for the rest of the operation, proceed as for “Pièce de Bœuf à la Mode chaude.”
Tongue intended for this preparation should be put in salt a few days in advance.
Boil it in the usual way and very gently; glaze it when about to serve, and dish it. Send to the table separately (1) a timbale of very fresh, skinned, broad beans, cooked in salted water with a spray of savory, and cohered with butter at the last moment.
(2) A Madeira sauce.
Braise the tongue, and glaze it at the last moment. Surround it with the garnish “à la Flamande” given under the beef [384] recipe of that name, i.e., braised cabbages, glazed carrots and turnips, potatoes à l’anglaise, rectangles of lean bacon, and roundels of sausage.
Ox tongues intended for cold dishing should be kept in brine (No. 172) for eight or ten days. When about to use them, put them to soak in cold water for a few hours, and then cook them plainly in water for three hours.
This done, withdraw them from their cooking-liquor; skin them; cover them with buttered paper, and let them cool. The object of the paper is to keep off the air, the tendency of which is to blacken the surface of the meat.
When quite cool, coat the tongues with a glaze composed of one-half lb. of gelatine dissolved in one pint of water; the latter is given a scarlet tint by means of carmine and caramel.
Cold ox tongues are dished amidst aspic jelly dice and curled-leaf parsley.
N.B.—The gelatine glaze described above will be found a great improvement upon the coating of reddened gold-beaters’ skin.
Ox tails, sectioned or unsectioned, are usually braised, and only the thicker half of the caudal appendage is ever used.
Section the tail, and braise it in white wine, after recipe No. 247.
Prepare a garnish of rectangles of lean bacon, large chestnuts cooked in consommé and glazed, and small onions cooked in butter.
Put the sections of the tail in an earthenware cocotte with the garnish.
Section the tail, and braise it in a moistening two-thirds of which is brown stock and one-third white wine. It is well for the moistening to be somewhat abundant. Set to cook very gently, until the meat falls from the bones, i.e., for a matter of about four and one-half or five hours.
This done, dish the sections of the tail in a cocotte; add some small, cooked mushrooms; clear the cooking-liquor of grease; reduce it, and thicken it slightly with fecula. Strain [385] this thickened cooking-liquor over the sections of the tail and the mushrooms, and set to boil very gently for ten minutes.
Serve thus in the cocotte set on a dish, and send a timbale of chestnut purée to the table at the same time.
Choose a large ox tail, and bone it carefully without bursting it.
Lay it on a napkin, and stuff it with a forcemeat consisting of the following ingredients:—Three-quarters lb. of very lean beef and one-half lb. of chopped fat bacon, the two mixed with four oz. of bread-crumbs soaked in milk and pressed; two whole eggs; three oz. of truffle peel; one-half oz. of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a very little spice.
Sew up the tail, cover it with a piece of linen after the manner of a galantine, and cook it gently for three hours in a very light stock with vegetables as for boiled beef.
At the end of the three hours take it out of the linen; put it into a sautépan, the bottom of which should be garnished as for a braising; add a little of the cooking-liquor of the tail, and complete the cooking, basting often the while. Take care to baste more frequently towards the close of the operation with the view of properly glazing the meat.
When about to serve, dish it, after having removed all string, and lightly coat the bottom of the dish with a sauce consisting of the cooking-liquor, reduced and thickened with arrow-root. Send what remains of the cooking-liquor in a sauceboat.
Serve separately either a purée, a garnish of braised vegetables, or one of the sauces suited to pieces of beef.
Cut the tail into sections twice the usual length, and cook these in a stewpan for five hours with salted water and aromatics.
Drain the sections; dry them well; dip them in melted butter, and roll them in very fine bread-crumbs. Sprinkle with melted butter, and set to grill gently.
Grilled ox tail may be served with any vegetable purée. An ordinary Soubise, or one prepared “à la Noailles,” as explained under the piece of beef of that name, also suits very well.
In any case, the Soubise should be sufficiently thick.
Such sauces as à la Diable, Hachée, Piquante, Robert, Tomato, Italienne, &c., are also suited to grilled ox tail.
N.B.—When the adjunct to grilled ox tail is a [386] highly-seasoned sauce, the sections should first be covered with a coat of mustard, then dipped in melted butter, and finally rolled in bread-crumbs.
Cut the tail into sections, and put these into a stewpan of convenient size, with two pig’s trotters, each of which must be cut into four or five pieces, and one pig’s ear. Cover the whole with cold water; add salt to the extent of one-third oz. per quart of the liquid; set to boil; skim, and leave to cook gently for two hours.
This done, add one small cabbage, cut into quarters, parboiled and cooled; ten small onions; five oz. of carrots, and the same weight of turnips, cut to the shape of large, garlic cloves.
Set the whole to cook for a further two hours at least.
When about to serve, dish the sections of tail in a circle; put the vegetable garnish in the centre, and surround the latter with the pig’s ear cut into small, narrow strips, and ten grilled chipolata sausages.
Serve, separately, a timbale of potatoes cooked à l’anglaise.
Select some steaks one and one-third inches thick; fry them in butter on both sides, and set them to braise in short moistening, with a sufficient quantity of quartered and browned onions to constitute an abundant garnish.
Leave the whole to cook gently for three hours.
Dish the steak, and surround it with the onions and the braising-liquor cleared of all grease and reduced.
The pieces of beef chiefly selected for salting are brisket, silver side, and round of beef, and these are always boiled for a more or less lengthy period, according to their size.
To the cooking-liquor is added a copious garnish of carrots and turnips. These are served with the meat, together with a sauceboat of cooking-liquor and a suet dumpling, prepared as follows:—
Finely chop up some suet; add to it an equal quantity of flour and about one-quarter oz. of salt per lb. of suet and flour.
Moisten with just enough water to make a thick paste of [387] about the same consistence as brioche-paste. Cut this paste into portions weighing about one oz., and roll them into small balls. Put the latter in a sautépan containing some boiling beef cooking-liquor, which need not have been cleared of grease, and let them poach for one and one-half hours.
Now drain the dumplings, and arrange them around the meat with the garnish of carrots and turnips, as explained above.
Salt beef, served cold, constitutes an excellent sideboard dish for luncheons.
It need only be neatly trimmed all round, care being taken to preserve all the fat so highly esteemed by some. Indeed, a piece of cold salt fat is sometimes added to that already existing around and in the meat, in which case the extra quantity is fixed to the beef by means of a hatelet.
Salt beef also serves in the preparation of “Pressed Beef,” but, for this purpose, the breast is generally used.
After having thoroughly cooked the salted breast of beef in accordance with the procedure indicated for salt beef, cut it into large pieces of the same size as the moulds into which the meat is going to be pressed. Lay the pieces of beef one on top of another in a square or rectangular mould, and cover with a thick board, cut flush with the inside edge of the mould. Now apply pressure, either by means of a strong press or heavy weight, and leave the beef to cool under the applied pressure.
When the meat is quite cold, turn it out; trim it carefully on all sides, and glaze it, i.e., cover it entirely with a coating of rather firm, clarified gelatine, brought by means of carmine and caramel to a nice red-brown colour.
Cut three lbs. of very lean beef into slices one-third inch thick.
Season these slices with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add a little chopped onion and parsley. Take a pudding-basin; line it with a firm layer of suet-dough (No. 1166), and garnish the bottom and sides of the basin with the slices of beef.
In the middle put one lb. of kidney of beef, of veal, or of mutton, cut up as for tossing, and seasoned like the steaks. Moisten with just sufficient water to cover.
Now close up the basin with a layer of the same paste as that used in lining, pinching it with the latter, all round, that it may adhere thoroughly. In order to effect this with greater [388] certainty, the respective edges of the two layers of paste may be moistened.
This done, cover the basin with a buttered and dredged napkin, fastened on by means of string tied round just beneath the lip of the utensil. Cook for five hours, either in boiling water or in steam, and, after having removed the napkin, serve the pudding as it stands.
Make some rather stiff paste with two lbs. of flour, one and one-quarter lbs. of the chopped fat of kidney of beef, a pinch of salt, and one-quarter pint of water.
With the rolling-pin, roll out this paste to a round layer one-quarter inch thick, and put it into a buttered dome-mould or pudding-basin.
Cut the lean beef into pieces, and season them, exactly as for steak and kidney pudding. Fill up the basin with the pieces arranged in layers; moisten with just enough water to cover, and close up the basin with a layer of the same paste as that used for its lining.
Carefully join the edges of the two layers of paste, assisting the operation with a little moisture applied by means of a brush; swathe the basin in a buttered pudding-cloth, and fasten the latter firmly with string.
Put the pudding in a saucepan of boiling water or a steamer, and leave it to cook for three hours if the beef has been cut from the fillet, and for four hours if cut from any other piece.
At the end of the required time take the pudding out of the saucepan and remove the cloth.
Dish on a folded napkin.
Proceed exactly as for steak and kidney pudding, but take only two lbs. of beef, and replace the odd pound by forty fine oysters.
Cut four lbs. of shoulder or cushion of beef into cubes weighing about four oz. each. Lard each piece of meat with a strip of bacon two inches long by one-half inch wide, and put the cubes or pieces into a bowl with salt, pepper, a very little spice, five or six tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and a glass of red wine. Leave to marinade for two or three hours, and toss the pieces, from time to time, in the marinading liquor, in order that each may be well saturated with it. Heat six oz. of [389] grated bacon in an earthenware stewpan, and brown therein twelve small onions, fifteen carrots in the shape of olives, two sticks of celery cut into pieces of the same size as the carrots, and four cloves of garlic. Add the marinaded pieces of meat, which should have been properly dried; fry the whole, meat and vegetables, for a further seven or eight minutes, and moisten with the marinade and two glasses more of red wine.
Complete with one-half lb. of fresh bacon rind, blanched and cut into square pieces of two-thirds inch side; a faggot made up of parsley stalks, thyme, bay, and, in the centre, a small piece of dry lemon rind. Set to boil, completely close the stewpan, and leave to cook in a moderate oven for six or seven hours.
When about to serve, remove the faggot, clear all grease from the gravy, and dish in a hot timbale, or serve the “daube” in the stewpan itself.
A daube is rarely prepared specially for cold dishing; generally the remains of one already served hot are used.
Take the pieces, one by one, with a fork, and place them in a terrine à pâté with the carrots, onions, and squares of bacon rind, which have remained almost untouched.
Strain the gravy over them through an ordinary strainer, pressing lightly the while, and leave to cool.
When about to serve, turn out the daube on a cold dish, and surround with chopped aspic jelly.
Cut three lbs. of lean shoulder or cushion of beef into thin, short slices. Season the latter with salt and pepper, and brown them quickly on both sides in stock fat. At the same time toss one and one-quarter lbs. of minced onions in butter, until they are well browned.
Put the slices of beef and the onions in alternate layers into a saucepan, and in their midst place a faggot.
Drain the grease from the sautépan in which the slices were fried; swill with one and one-half pints of beer (old Lambic in preference); add the same quantity of brown stock, thicken with four oz. of brown roux; finish the seasoning with one and one-half oz. of powdered sugar; set to boil, stirring the while, and strain this sauce over the slices of beef and the onions.
Cover and cook gently in the oven for from two and one-half to three hours.
N.B.—Carbonnades are served thus, mingled with the onions; but they may also be dished in a timbale and covered [390] with a Soubise consisting of the onion and the sauce rubbed through tammy.
Cold roast or boiled meats may be warmed up in many different ways.
In their preparation, however, the reader should follow one rule, the non-observance of which invariably leads to failure.
Whatever the meat be, it should first be cut into the thinnest possible slices; set on a dish, and covered with a boiling sauce or garnish, which should effect its warming up. If the meat boil in the sauce or garnish, it toughens, and this, above all, should be avoided when roast meat is used.
Sauces suited to Émincés are the Bordelaise, the Piquante, the Italienne, the Chasseur, the Poivrade, the Périgueux, and the Tomato.
For one lb. of beef mince two fine onions somewhat finely, and toss them in butter until they are evenly and well gilded.
Sprinkle with one-half tablespoonful of flour; set to cook for a moment, and then moisten with one-half glassful of white wine and one-half pint of consommé; season with a pinch of pepper; boil, and leave to cook gently for seven or eight minutes.
The flour may be dispensed with, but, in this case, the white wine is reduced to two-thirds, one-half pint of half-glaze is added, and the whole is cooked for seven or eight minutes.
Cut the beef into very thin slices, and set these on a dish.
A minute before serving, add a few drops of vinegar to the onions; cover the meat with the onions and the sauce; stand the dish for a moment on the hob, and sprinkle it slightly with chopped parsley.
N.B.—When the miroton is prepared with boiled beef, the slices should be cut somewhat more thickly, and left to simmer gently in the sauce for as long as possible—an hour or more if necessary.
The miroton is then dished with some minced gherkins, sprinkled with raspings, and placed in the oven at the last moment for the gratin to form.
Cut three lbs. of ribs or shoulder of beef into squares weighing about three oz. each. Fry these pieces on a moderate fire in four oz. of lard, together with one-half lb. of onions cut into large dice, until the latter acquire a nice, even, golden colour. [391] Season with one-third oz. of salt and the necessary quantity of paprika; add one and one-quarter lbs. of peeled, pressed, and quartered tomatoes, and one-sixth pint of water.
Cover and cook in the oven for one and one-half hours.
This done, add one-third pint of water and one and one-quarter lbs. of quartered potatoes to the Goulash.
Continue the cooking in the oven, basting often the while, and do not stop the operation until the moistening-liquor is entirely reduced. When about to serve, dish the Goulash in a timbale.
Cut the meat into small cubes.
Also cut into dice the same weight of potatoes as of meat.
Season these potatoes and toss them in butter.
This done, put half their quantity into a saucepan with the meat dice, and cohere the whole with a few tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce and reduced veal gravy. Heat without allowing to boil; dish in a hot timbale; distribute the remainder of the potatoes, which should be crisply fried, over the hash, and sprinkle with a pinch of freshly-chopped parsley.
Bake some fine potatoes in the oven.
The moment they are done, slice off a piece of their baked shell, and remove the pulp from their insides by means of a spoon handle.
Crush this pulp with a fork, and toss it in butter as for “pommes de terre Macaire.” Then add to it as much beef in dice as there is pulp; two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion cooked in butter per lb. of the preparation; a pinch of chopped parsley, and a few drops of vinegar. Now toss the whole together for a few minutes, and then fill the empty potato shells with the preparation.
Sprinkle with Lyonnaise sauce rubbed through tammy, and add as much of it as the hash will absorb.
Replace the portion of shell cut off at the first, that the potatoes may seem untouched; arrange them on a dish, and put the latter in the oven for ten minutes. When about to serve, dish the stuffed potatoes on a napkin.
In the preparation of this culinary speciality of Normandy, a very common mistake is often made; to wit, that of using calves’ feet instead of those of the ox, an innovation to which there are many objections.
[392]
In the first place, the gravy of the tripe cannot absorb so
much gelatine, and is indifferently thickened in consequence;
secondly, since calves’ feet are much more tender than those
of the ox, the former get boiled to shreds before the cooking of
the tripe has been properly effected. This supposed improvement
on the old method is thus seen to actually run counter to
the end in view; but means there are, nevertheless, whereby
those who insist upon the use of calves’ feet may be satisfied.
It is only necessary to braise a number of calves’ feet beforehand,
the number being in proportion to the quantity of tripe,
and to add these to the latter a quarter of an hour before
serving.
Another mistake which obtains somewhat widely in respect of this dish is the serving of it in a silver utensil—a method quite as unreasonable as that of serving a Chaudfroid in an earthenware dish.
By virtue of its simplicity, tripe should be served in either sandstone or special earthenware stewpans, wherein heat is best retained; and the operator should rather direct his attention to the serving of tripe as hot as possible, than to this or that fanciful method of dishing, which really has no raison d’être in this case.
The Preparation of Tripe.—Under the head of “beef tripe” are understood: (1) The feet; (2) tripe proper, which comprises the Paunch, the Honey-comb Bag, the Manyplies, and the Reed.
First soak the tripe in cold water for some considerable time; then cut it into squares of two inches side.
For the seasoning and flavouring of tripe, complete in all its parts, take: (Seasoning) one-quarter oz. of salt and a pinch of pepper per lb.; (flavouring) four lbs. of onions stuck with four cloves; three lbs. of carrots; one faggot, comprising two lbs. of leeks, one-third lb. of parsley stalks, a sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf.
Moisten with two quarts of good cider (not likely to turn black while cooking, otherwise use water); one-half pint of brandy or liqueur-cider.
The quantity of the moistening-liquor largely depends upon the shape of the utensil; a little less will be needed in the case of a narrow one, and a little more in the case of a wide one.
In any case, however, the tripe should be just covered.
Treatment and Cooking-process.—Take a stewpan or braising-pan, just large enough to hold the tripe and the garnish.
On the bottom of this lay carrots, onions, seasoning, and the four ox feet, bound and cut into fair-sized pieces.
[393]
Add the tripe, placing the faggot in its midst; upon the
tripe lay the bones of the feet, broken lengthwise; some slices
of beef-fat, well soaked in cold water; and, finally, the
moistening.
Cover the whole with a kind of galette of paste, consisting of flour mixed with hot water and kept somewhat stiff, and fix the paste well on to the edges of the utensil.
Place in the oven, and, when about two hours have elapsed and the paste is well baked, close the utensil with its own cover.
In a regular and moderate oven, allow about ten hours for the cooking.
The Dishing and Serving.—After taking the tripe out of the oven, remove the cover of paste, the bones, the fat, the carrots, the onions, and the faggot, and by means of a slice withdraw the pieces of tripe and set them in the special earthenware bowls, taking care to distribute the pieces, coming from different portions of tripe, in such wise as to meet the demands or fancies of the various consumers.
When the tripe has been transferred to the bowls, clear the gravy of all grease, and dole it out evenly among the number of receptacles. It is best, now, to put the latter in a bain-marie, for they must only be served quite hot, on chafers or otherwise.
N.B.—(1) To make the dish to perfection, the tripe should be put into special earthenware pots (wherein the heat is more effectively concentrated), and cooked in a baker’s or pastry-cook’s oven.
I dealt with the alternative of cooking tripe in a stewpan in order to make provision for those who can avail themselves of neither special pots nor a baker’s oven.
(2) The measures I prescribe, namely, those of first laying the slices of beef-fat upon the tripe, and then covering the whole with a lid of paste, are intended to stop a too rapid evaporation of the liquid—a contingency that must be guarded against, more particularly in a kitchen oven—and to preserve the whiteness of the tripe.
The cover of paste would be quite useless if a baker’s oven were available, for the latter not only ensures perfectly regular heat, but also wanes regularly.
With the exception of veal sweetbreads, it cannot be denied that this meat is considerably less popular in England than abroad, nor does it ever seem to appear on important menus in this country.
Of course, and the fact must not be lost sight of, English veal is admittedly inferior in quality—badly fattened, and mostly red, soft, and dry. Probably, therefore, its unpopularity may be the indirect cause of its poor quality; for it is inconceivable that a country so famous for cattle-rearing as England undoubtedly is could not produce veal equal in quality to its beef, mutton, and pork, if rearers thought it worth their while to perfect that special branch of their business. Be this as it may, almost all the best veal consumed in England comes from the Continent, principally from France, Belgium, and Holland; and, in this respect, I not only refer to the larger joints, but to those odd parts such as the head, the liver, the sweetbreads, &c., the continental quality of which is likewise very superior to that of the English produce.
Saddle of veal is the only Relevé of this meat which is sometimes allowed to appear on an important menu, and it is, in fact, a splendid and succulent joint.
It may be roasted, but I should urge the adoption of the braising treatment, not only as a precaution against dryness, but because of the fine stock yielded by the operation.
Whatever be the method of cooking, trim the saddle on one side, flush with the bones of the pelvis, and up to the first ribs on the other side. Then cut out the kidneys, leaving a thick layer of fat on the under fillets or “filets mignons”; pare the flank on either side, in such wise that what is left of it, when drawn under the saddle on either side, may just cover the fillets above referred to. This flank should only be drawn over the fillets after the inside of the joint has been salted; then cover the top surface of the joint with slices of bacon, and tie round with string, five or six times, that the bacon and the flank may not shift.
When the saddle is intended for only a small number of people, half of it may be used at a time; that is to say, one fillet, in which case the joint may be cut in two, lengthwise.
The procedure for braising this piece is in pursuance of the directions given under “The Braising of White Meats” (No. 248).
[395]
The process of braising, whether it be in respect of the
saddle or other veal Relevés, such as the cushion, the loin, the
neck, &c., demands particular care, must be accompanied by
frequent basting, and should always be carried on with short
moistening.
Braise the saddle, and glaze it at the last moment, after having removed the slices of bacon. Set it on a long dish, and, at each end of the latter, place a chartreuse of vegetables.
Round the joint put a few tablespoonfuls of the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease, reduced, and well-strained; and serve what remains in a sauceboat.
Chartreuses of Vegetables.—Take two dome- or Charlotte-moulds, capable of holding two-thirds of a quart. Butter them liberally; line them with buttered paper, and on the latter, over the bottom and sides of the utensil, lay carrots, turnips, peas, and French beans; each of which vegetables should be cooked in a way suited to its nature. This operation, which is somewhat finicking, may either be effected on the plan of a draught-board, or the different vegetables may be superposed in alternate rows of varying colours.
When the moulds are garnished in this way, spread thereon, over the vegetables, a layer of forcemeat softened with beaten white of egg; the object of this measure is to keep the vegetable decoration in position, and this is effected by the poaching of the forcemeat before the chartreuse is filled with its garnish.
This done, fill the moulds to within one-third inch of their brims with a Macédoine of vegetables cohered by means of stiff Béchamel and cream, and cover with a layer of forcemeat.
Set these chartreuses to poach thirty-five minutes before serving, and take care to let them rest for five minutes before unmoulding them on either side of the saddle.
Braise the saddle, and, when it is ready, put it on a dish. Now draw a line within one-half inch of its extreme edge on either side and end, pressing the point of a small knife along the meat in so doing.
Proceed in the same way on either side of the chine, and remove the fillets from the joint, severing them from the bone with care.
Cut the fillets into regular collops, keeping the knife somewhat at a slant.
In the double cavity left by the fillets spread a few tablespoonfuls of Béchamel with paprika; return the colloped fillets [396] to their respective places in the joint, reconstructing them in such wise as to make them appear untouched; and between the collops pour one-half tablespoonful of Béchamel and lay two slices of truffle.
This done, cover the whole surface of the joint with Béchamel sauce with paprika, and set to glaze quickly at the salamander. Now, with a large slice, carefully transfer the saddle to a dish.
Serve separately (1) the braising-liquor of the saddle, cleared of all grease and reduced; (2) a timbale of pilaff rice.
Braise the saddle. When it is ready, remove the fillets, proceeding exactly as described under “Selle à la Metternich,” and cut the fillets in a similar manner.
In the cavities left by the fillets spread a few tablespoonfuls of Soubise; return the colloped fillets to their place, and, between the collops, place a thin slice of ham, of the same size and shape as the adjacent piece of meat, and a little Soubise sauce.
Having reconstructed the joint, cover its surface with a layer, about one inch thick, of “Soufflé au Parmesan,” combined with one quart of truffle purée.
Bind the joint with a strong band of buttered paper, for the purpose of holding in the soufflé, and set it to cook in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes. After having taken the saddle out of the oven, remove the paper band, and send it to the table without changing the dish.
Send the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease, reduced and strained, to the table separately.
Braise the saddle; remove the fillets, and cut them into collops as for “Selle à la Metternich.” Garnish the cavities with Soubise sauce “au currie”; reconstruct the fillets, putting a little of the same sauce between the collops, and coat the surface of the piece with the sauce already referred to.
Surround the joint with braised celery, and serve its cooking liquor and a timbale of pilaff rice separately.
Braise the saddle, and cut the fillets into collops as before. When reconstructing the fillets, between the collops put a little Béchamel sauce, combined with three and one-half oz. of grated Parmesan and three and one-half oz. of grated white truffles per quart of the sauce.
[397]
Coat the surface of the joint with the same sauce, and set
to glaze quickly.
Serve the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease and strained, separately; as also a timbale of rizotto à la Piémontaise (No. 2258).
Braise the saddle and proceed as above, placing between the collops of fillet a little Soubise sauce and a fine slice of truffle.
Coat the surface of the joint with Mornay sauce, combined with one quart of highly-seasoned Soubise, and set to glaze quickly.
N.B.—This saddle may be accompanied either by a garnish of asparagus-heads or by cucumbers with cream.
Braise the saddle; remove the fillets, and cut the latter into collops as for “Selle à la Metternich.” Reconstruct the fillets, placing a small quantity of minced mushrooms, cohered by means of a few tablespoonfuls of cream, between the collops, and coat the surface of the joint with highly-seasoned Béchamel sauce, finished with four oz. of crayfish butter per quart.
Surround the piece with a border of braised half-fennels. Serve the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease, reduced and strained, separately.
Braise the saddle, and then prepare it as for No. 1183. Almost completely fill the cavities left by the fillets with a garnish of macaroni, cut into short lengths, cohered with cream, and combined with a julienne of truffles.
Reconstruct the fillets upon this garnish and coat the collops with Mornay sauce, placing a slice of truffle between the collops. The reconstructed fillets thus appear raised on either side of the chine.
Coat the surface of the joint with the same sauce as that already used, and set to glaze quickly. Send the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease and strained, to the table separately.
Braise the saddle, and glaze it at the last moment. Dish it and surround it with a large heap of cauliflower at either end; on either side, nice heaps of carrots and turnips, raised by means of an oval, grooved spoon-cutter, cooked in consommé and glazed; peas; French beans in lozenge-form; asparagus-heads [398] cohered with butter; and some small potatoes cooked in butter.
Send the braising-liquor of the joint, cleared of grease and strained, separately.
Prepare twenty studs of truffle, about one inch long and one-third oz. in weight. Stick them upright and symmetrically into the meat of the joint, making way for them by means of little incisions cut with a small knife. Now envelop the joint in slices of larding bacon, string it, braise it, and glaze it at the last moment.
Dish it with some of its braising-liquor, cleared of all grease and reduced.
Serve separately (1) what remains of the braising-liquor; (2) a garnish of macaroni, cut into half-inch lengths, cohered with one and one-half oz. of butter, three oz. of grated Gruyère and Parmesan, combined with three oz. of foie gras, cut into large dice, and three oz. of a julienne of truffles, per lb. of macaroni.
Cold saddle of veal makes an excellent sideboard dish which admits of all cold-dish garnishes, such as Macédoines of vegetables cohered with jelly or mayonnaise sauce; artichoke-bottoms and tomatoes, variously garnished; small, moulded vegetable salads, &c.
Decorate it with fine, regular, jelly dice; but its usual and essential adjunct is its own braising-liquor, cooked, cleared of grease poured carefully away, and served in a sauceboat without having been either clarified or cleared.
All the pieces of veal given as relevés, the cushion, the loin, the fillet, and the fricandeau, may be served cold like the saddle, and are generally much appreciated, more particularly in summer.
I have grouped these various Relevés together owing to the identicalness of their garnishes.
The directions I give below for cushion of veal are, with a very few exceptions which I shall point out, applicable to all other large veal joints. In the circumstances, therefore, it would be quite unnecessary to repeat the recipe in each case.
[399]
Loin of Veal is that piece which corresponds with the sirloin
in beef. It extends from the floating ribs to the extreme end
of the haunch, the latter being cut flush with the pelvic bone
at its junction with the femur, and following the direction of
the former bone. The loin thus consists of two distinct parts:—(1) the caudal region (called the chump end; Fr. quasi), which
comprises the bones of the pelvis and the haunch, up to the
level of the latter, and is one of the best pieces of veal for
braising; and (2) the region extending from the haunch to the
floating ribs, comprising the fillet and the upper fillet. This
last portion also constitutes a choice joint, to which the kidneys
are generally left attached, after all their superfluous fat has
been removed.
Neck or Best End of Veal consists of the first eight or nine ribs, cut two inches above the kernel of meat. The ends of the rib-bones are cleared of meat to a height of about two-thirds inch, and the naked bone is then called the “handle” of the cutlet, which ultimately holds the ornamental frill of paper.
The vertebræ are then suppressed, so that the bones of the ribs alone remain; the yellow ligament is cut away; and the bared parts are covered with slices of bacon, tied on by means of string.
Cushion of Veal consists of an enormous muscle, which represents almost half of the haunch and all the inside part of it, from the pelvis to its junction with the tibia. A certain quantity of white fat will always be found to lie over the cushion, and it should be carefully reserved.
If the cushion is to be larded, a procedure which I do not advise, it should be done on the bared part adjoining the fat-covered region.
The various pieces of veal enumerated above may be roasted, but, as in the case of the saddle, I prefer braising, owing to the greater succulence of the dish resulting from this process, and its accompanying gravy, which has an incomparable flavour. (See Braising of White Meats, No. 248.)
Cushion of veal, like the other large pieces of veal, admits of an almost unlimited number of vegetable garnishes, simple or compound, as also garnishes of various pastes.
From among these garnishes the following may be quoted, viz.:—Bouquetière, Bourgeoise, Chartreuse, Choisy, Chicorée, Cardoons, Clamart, Braised Celery, Japanese Artichokes, Chow-chow, Endives, Spinach, Braised Lettuce, à la Vichy, à la Nemours, &c.; Jardinière, Macédoine, Renaissance, &c.
[400]
Among the paste garnishes:—Noodles, Macaroni, Spaghetti,
variously prepared; various Gnocchi, &c.
And, in addition to all these, the garnishes already given under Beef Relevés, which need not be repeated here.
I shall, therefore, give only three recipes which are proper to cushion of veal; though even these should be regarded as mere curiosities, seeing that, far from recommending them, I consider them rather as gastronomical mistakes. But some provision must be made for outlandish tastes, and, for this reason alone, I include the following recipes.
Braise the cushion of veal, keeping it somewhat firm. This done, set it on a dish, and let it almost cool.
Then cut a slice from it laterally, at a point one-third inch of its height from the top; and, within one-half inch of its edges, make a circular incision, pressing the point of a sharp knife into the meat, and withdraw the centre of the cushion. Take care to leave the same thickness of meat on the sides as on the bottom, that is to say, about one-half inch. The cushion of veal, thus emptied, should have the appearance of a round or oval case.
If the meat withdrawn from the centre of the cushion is to serve for the garnish, or is to be used sliced to surround the case, cut it from out the whole in the largest possible pieces, in order that slices may easily be cut therefrom.
The inside of the emptied cushion of veal is then garnished according to fancy; the top of the piece that was cut off at the start is returned to its place, with the view of giving the piece an untouched appearance, and the whole is put in the oven for a few minutes that it may be hot for serving.
The braising-liquor, cleared of grease and strained, should be sent to the table separately.
Braise the cushion of veal, and hollow it out as explained above.
Meanwhile (1) prepare a Macédoine garnish, or mixed Jardinière (cohered with butter or cream), the quantity of which should be in proportion to the size of the case; (2) cut the meat, withdrawn from the centre of the cushion, into thin rectangles.
Garnish the bottom of the case with a layer of Macédoine, and set thereon a litter consisting of the rectangles of meat. Cover with Macédoine; set thereon another litter of the pieces [401] of meat, and renew the operation until the case is filled. Finish up with a layer of Macédoine.
Replace the slice cut from the cushion at the start; put the case in the oven for a few minutes; serve, and send the braising-liquor separately.
Braise the cushion of veal, and prepare the case as directed above.
Stuff fifteen larks without boning them; that is to say, put a lump of stuffing about the size of a hazel-nut into each. Fry them in butter with one-half lb. of mushrooms and three oz. of truffles, each of which vegetables should be raw and minced. Cohere the whole with the necessary quantity of half-glaze sauce, flavoured with game essence; put this garnish in the case; return the sliced piece to its place; seal the cover to the case by means of a thread of almost liquid forcemeat, and set in the oven for seven or eight minutes.
When taking the case out of the oven, surround with the withdrawn meat, which should have been cut into thin slices and kept warm until required for the dressing.
The larks may be replaced by quails or thrushes, or other small birds, but the name of the particular bird used must be referred to in the title of the dish.
Braise the cushion and cut it to the shape of a case as explained above. Pour therein a garnish consisting of quenelles of chicken forcemeat; lamb sweetbreads, or collops of veal sweetbreads, braised without colouration; cocks’ combs; small mushrooms, cooked and very white; and slices of truffle; the whole to be cohered by means of an Allemande sauce, flavoured with mushroom essence.
Return the piece sliced off at the start to its place, and surround with slices of the meat withdrawn from the inside of the cushion.
N.B.—All the garnishes suited to Vol-au-vent and timbales may be served with cushion-of-veal case, which latter thus stands in the stead of the Vol-au-vent and Timbale crusts.
Finally, I must ask the reader to bear in mind that methods like those described above have no place in really good cookery, the ruling principle of which should always be simplicity.
Cut a cold cushion of veal into slices two inches long by one-half inch wide by one-sixth inch thick.
[402]
On each slice spread a little butter seasoned with salt and
pepper, combined with finely-chopped chives and anchovy fillets
cut into dice.
Couple the slices together as for sandwiches; round off their angles and put them under slight pressure. Prepare a Purée of tomatoes with jelly; mould it in a dome- or Bombe-mould, and let it set on ice.
When this moulding of tomatoes is quite firm, turn it out in the middle of a round, cold dish; arrange the meat slices all round, and border the dish with cubes of very clear veal jelly.
(1) From the widest part of a cold cushion of veal, cut a lateral slice one and one-third inch thick, and trim it nicely round.
(2) Let a coating of aspic jelly set on the bottom of a round dish, and upon this jelly, when it is quite firm, lay the slice of veal.
(3) Cut what remains of the piece of veal into slices two inches long, by one and one-half inch broad, by one-eighth inch thick. Prepare the same number of rectangles of salted tongue, of the same size, though slightly thinner than those of veal.
(4) Cohere a nice vegetable salad with cleared mayonnaise; mould it in an oiled, Bombe-shaped or narrow pyramid mould, and put it on ice to set.
Coat the rectangles of veal with horse-radish butter; place a rectangle of tongue on each, and finish off these sandwiches by rounding their corners.
For Dishing.—By means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, garnish the edges of the slice of veal with a thread of previously softened butter.
Turn out the vegetable salad in the centre of the piece of meat; set on it the heart of a small lettuce (nicely opened), and arrange the veal and tongue sandwiches all round.
Serve a cold sauce, derived from the mayonnaise, separately.
What was said in respect of cold saddle of veal likewise applies to the different pieces mentioned in the above title. They may be coated with aspic jelly and dished with Macédoines of vegetables, cohered with jelly; small salads, cohered with cleared mayonnaise; garnished artichoke-bottoms, &c.
The dishes should always be bordered with cubes of very clear jelly.
Fricandeau is a lateral cut from the cushion of veal; that is to say, a piece cut with the grain of the meat. It should not be thicker than one and one-half inches.
After beating it with a beater or the flat of a chopper, to break the fibres of the meat, finely lard the piece of meat on the cut side with strips of bacon, somewhat smaller than those used for fillet of beef. Only when the piece is larded may it be called “Fricandeau”; for, when not treated thus, it is nothing else than an ordinary piece of veal. Fricandeau is invariably braised; but it differs from other braisings of white meat in this, namely, that it must be so cooked as to be easily cut with a spoon. Connoisseurs maintain that Fricandeau should never be touched with a knife.
It is glazed at the last moment, like other braisings, and, in view of its prolonged cooking, should be dished with great care.
All the garnishes enumerated for cushion of veal may be adapted to Fricandeau.
Cold fricandeau constitutes an excellent luncheon dish. It is dished and surrounded with its braising-liquor, cleared of grease and strained. This braising-liquor sets to a jelly, and is the finest adjunct to fricandeau that could be found.
The piece may be glazed with half-melted jelly, smeared over it by means of a brush.
This is really a family dish, admirably suited for a luncheon relevé. It is accompanied chiefly by vegetable purées, but all the vegetable and other garnishes given under Cushion of Veal may be served with it.
Breast of veal is prepared thus:—After having boned the piece, open it where it is thickest, without touching the ends. A kind of pocket is thus obtained, into which put the previously-prepared stuffing, taking care to spread it very evenly.
Now, with coarse cotton, sew up the opening, and remember to withdraw the cotton when the piece is cooked.
Stuffing for Breast of Veal.—For a piece weighing four lbs., add to one lb. of very fine sausage-meat (No. 196), two oz. of dry duxelles, two oz. of butter, a pinch of chopped parsley, tarragon and chives, a small beaten egg, and a little salt and pepper.
Cooking.—Breast of veal is usually braised; the moistening [404] should be short and the cooking process gentle. For a piece weighing four lbs. when stuffed, allow three hours in a moderate and regular oven. Glaze breast of veal at the last moment, as in the case of other braised meats.
Nowadays, calf’s head is rarely served whole, as was the custom formerly. Still more rarely, however, is it served at a dinner of any importance; and it has now, by almost general consent, been relegated to luncheon menus where, indeed, it has found its proper place.
After having boned the head, soak it or hold it under a running tap, for a sufficiently long time to allow of its being entirely cleared of blood. Then, blanch it for a good half-hour; cool it in cold water; drain it, and rub it with a piece of lemon to avoid its blackening.
If it is to be cooked whole, as sometimes happens, wrap it in a napkin, that it may be easily handled; if not, cut it into pieces. In either case, plunge it immediately into a boiling blanc (No. 167).
With a view of keeping the calf’s head from contact with the air, which would blacken it, cover it with a napkin, or cover the liquid with chopped suet. A layer of chopped suet is the best possible means of keeping the air from the calf’s head.
Whatever be the method of serving calf’s head, it is the rule to send slices of tongue and collops of brain to the table with it.
The tongue may be cooked simultaneously with the head, and the brain is poached as described under No. 1289.
Calf’s head à l’anglaise is cooked in a blanc, as explained above; but in halves and unboned.
Dish it on a napkin with sprays of very green parsley and a piece of boiled bacon.
Send a sauceboat of parsley sauce (No. 119a) to the table at the same time.
Cook the calf’s head in a blanc as already directed. Suppress portions of the meat, where the latter is thick, in such wise as to leave only a very little on the skin.
Cut off pieces into squares of one, two or three in. side; [405] put them in a timbale, and cover them with a financière garnish; adding a few small slices of tongue and brain.
Cook the calf’s head in a blanc.
Cut the pieces of the head into small slices, somewhat aslant, and toss them into a previously-prepared poulette sauce (No. 101).
Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley.
With a round cutter one, two, or three in. in diameter, cut up the pieces of calf’s head, the meat of which must be entirely suppressed. For this preparation, only the skin of the head should be used.
Put the pieces of head in a timbale or on a dish, and cover them with a Tortue garnish.
Tortue garnish consists of: Small quenelles of veal forcemeat with butter; cock’s combs and kidneys; small mushrooms; stoned, stuffed and poached olives; slices of truffle; gherkins cut to the shape of olives (these should only be put into the sauce at the last moment); and Tortue sauce.
This garnish comprises, besides, among unsauced ingredients: Slices of tongue and calf’s brain; small, trussed crayfish, cooked in court-bouillon; fried eggs, the half of whose raw whites should be suppressed; and small croûtons of bread-crumb, fried in butter at the last moment.
Set the boiling pieces of calf’s head on a napkin, lying on a dish. Surround them with slices of tongue, collops of brain, and sprigs of very green, curled-leaf parsley.
Serve separately, on a hors-d’œuvre dish, without mixing them, capers, chopped onion and parsley.
Send to the table at the same time a sauceboat of vinaigrette or sauce à l’huile, prepared by mixing one part of vinegar, two parts of oil, and one part of the calf’s-head cooking-liquor, together with the necessary salt and pepper.
Collops of veal may be cut from either the fillet or the saddle; but they are more often cut from the cushion. Their weight varies from three to four oz., and they should always be cleared of all connective tissue. They may be fashioned to the shape of ovals, or curve-based triangles, and they should [406] be more or less flattened, according to their use. Thus, when they are to be plainly tossed, to be afterwards served with a sauced garnish or with a sauce, they are simply beaten in order to break the fibres of the meat, without flattening the latter too much; but if, on the contrary, they are to be treated à l’anglaise, they should be beaten very thin with the moistened beater.
In either case, they should be cooked somewhat quickly in clarified butter; for, if their cooking lag at all, their meat hardens.
All the garnishes of veal cutlets, and a large number of those of the cushion, may be served with the collops. These garnishes may be set on the same dish with the collops when the latter are plainly tossed; but, in the case of collops treated à l’anglaise, the garnish or sauce which accompanies them should be served separately, lest its moisture soften the crisp coating of the collops.
Grenadins are veal collops larded with rows of very thin bacon strips, and cut somewhat thicker than ordinary collops. They are really small fricandeaux, the braising of which is a comparatively lengthy operation; for their cooking must be the same as that of the fricandeaux, and needs quite as much attention. In order that the grenadins be not too dry, they should be frequently basted with their braising-liquor.
When they are cooked, glaze them rapidly, and dish them with one of the garnishes given for the cushion of veal.
This dish may be prepared in several more or less complicated ways; here is a simple way:—
Take as many shell-shaped hors-d’œuvre dishes as there are grenadins. Let a thin coat of jelly set on the bottom of each, and set thereon a slight decoration composed of bits of carrot, turnip, peas, French beans in lozenge-form, &c. Put a grenadin, larded side undermost (i.e., upside down) into each hors-d’œuvre dish; add enough melted aspic jelly to reach half-way up the thickness of the grenadin.
When this jelly has set, lay on it, all round the grenadin, a border consisting of carrots, turnips, French beans and peas. Sprinkle these vegetables with a few drops of jelly, so as to fix them, and keep them from floating, and then fill up the hors-d’œuvre dishes with jelly.
When about to serve, dip the hors-d’œuvre dishes into hot [407] water; turn out the grenadins on a very cold dish, and arrange them on it to form a crown.
Surround with a border of very clear, chopped aspic jelly.
Veal sweetbreads may be looked upon as one of the greatest delicacies in butchers’ meats, and may be served at any dinner, however sumptuous. Select them very white, entirely free of blood stains, and leave them to soak in fresh water, which should be frequently changed, for as long as possible; or, better still, place them under a running tap.
To blanch them (an operation the purpose of which is to harden the surface) put them in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover them completely, and bring to the boil gently. Let them boil for ten minutes; withdraw them and plunge them into a basin of fresh water.
When the sweetbreads are cold, trim them; that is to say, cut away all cartilaginous and connective tissue; lay them between two pieces of linen, and put them under a light weight for two hours.
Now lard them with fine bacon, tongue or truffle, subject to the way in which they are to be served. They may also be studded with either tongue or truffles, or they may be left unlarded and unstudded, and plainly braised, just as they are.
Certain it is, that neither studding nor larding enhances in any way whatsoever their quality or sightliness.
Veal sweetbread consists of two parts, as unequal in quality as in shape. They are: the “kernel” or heart sweetbread, which is the round and most delicate part, and the “throat,” or throat sweetbread, which is the elongated part, and not of such fine quality as the former.
In a well-ordered dinner, heart sweetbreads only should be used, as far as possible.
There are three ways of cooking sweetbreads, viz.:—Braising (No. 248), poaching (No. 249), and grilling (No. 259). In the following recipes, therefore, the reader will kindly refer to the directions given under one of the numbers just mentioned, according as to whether the dish is to be a braising, a poaching, or a grill.
Cut some veal sweetbreads (preferably the throat kind) into roundels one and one-third in. in diameter and one-third in. thick. Prepare an equal number of mushrooms and truffle roundels, somewhat thinner than those of sweetbread.
[408]
Impale these roundels on little wooden skewers, the size of
matches, and about four in. long; alternating the different
products in so doing. Dip these skewers into a Villeroy sauce,
and set them on a dish. When the sauce is quite cold, remove
the attereaux; clear them of any superfluous sauce that may
have fallen on to the dish; dip them in an anglaise (No. 174);
roll them in very fine and fresh bread-crumbs, and turn them
with the fingers, so as to shape them like small cylinders.
Plunge them into plenty of hot fat eight minutes before serving;
drain them on a piece of linen; carefully withdraw the wooden
skewers and put little silver ones in their place. Dish the
attereaux on a folded napkin, with fried parsley in the centre;
or set them upright in a circle, on a rice or semolina cushion
lying on a dish, and put some very green, fried parsley in the
middle.
Serve a Périgueux sauce separately.
Prepare (1) one and one-quarter lbs. of fine forcemeat with cream (No. 194); (2) two poached, veal throat sweetbreads, cut into slices; (3) one-half lb. of cooked mushrooms, cut into large slices, and three oz. of sliced truffles; (4) a garnish of carrots and turnips, raised by means of a tube- or spoon-cutter, or cut into grooved roundels two-thirds inch in diameter; and peas and French beans. Each of these vegetables should be cooked in a way befitting its nature, and kept somewhat firm.
Liberally butter a quart Charlotte-mould. Line its bottom and sides with the vegetables, arranged in alternate and vari-coloured rows, and spread thereon a layer of forcemeat, one-half inch thick.
This done, set upon the layer of forcemeat just spread, another of slices of sweetbread, mushrooms, and truffles; cover the whole with a coat of forcemeat; start the operation again with a litter of sweetbread, mushroom, and truffle slices, and proceed as before until the mould is filled. Finish with a layer of forcemeat. Cover with a round piece of buttered paper, and set to poach in a bain-marie and in the oven, for from forty-five to fifty minutes.
When taking the chartreuse out of the bain-marie, let it stand for seven or eight minutes, that the ingredients inside may settle a little, and then turn it out in the middle of a round dish; place a large, cooked, grooved, and very white mushroom on the top of it, and encircle its base with a crown of small braised and well-trimmed half-lettuces.
[409]
Send to the table, separately, a sauceboat of Velouté
flavoured with mushroom essence.
Cut the vegetables intended for the braising stock into a short and coarse julienne, and add thereto an equal quantity of similarly-cut celery.
Braise the veal sweetbreads with this julienne, after the manner described under No. 248, and moisten with excellent veal stock. Take particular care of the vegetables, that they do not burn.
When the sweetbreads are ready, glaze them and dish them in a shallow, round cocotte with the julienne of vegetables and the braising-liquor all round.
Cover the cocotte, and serve it on a folded napkin.
For this dish take either some white throat sweetbreads, or some remains of the latter, from which slices have already been cut.
Chop up the throat sweetbreads or the remains, together with their weight of raw calf’s udder.
Season with one-half oz. of salt and a pinch of pepper; add five oz. of chopped truffles and two whole eggs per lb. of the mince-meat. Mix the whole well; divide it up into portions weighing three oz., and wrap each portion in a piece of very soft pig’s caul.
Sprinkle with melted butter and bread-crumbs, and grill gently.
Dish in the form of a crown, and serve a Périgueux sauce at the same time.
Braise the veal sweetbreads and glaze them at the last moment.
Dish them with a heap of small glazed onions at either end, and serve, at the same time, a purée of chestnuts and a sauceboat of thickened gravy.
Lard the sweetbreads with bacon and truffles; braise them brown, and only half-cook them. Then place them in a shallow cocotte, and surround them with the following garnish:—Two oz. of carrots and the same weight of turnips, both cut into grooved crescents; an equal quantity of small onions, cut into large roundels, and some celery cut paysanne-fashion. All these vegetables should be first stewed in butter.
[410]
Add the braising-liquor of the sweetbreads, and one oz. of
minced truffles, and complete the cooking of the former. Clear
of all grease and serve in the cocotte.
Braise the veal sweetbreads and cut each piece into four medium-sized slices. Trim each slice with an even, oval fancy-cutter; and, by means of a piping-bag fitted with an even pipe, one-sixth inch in diameter, garnish the edge of each slice with a thick border of mousseline forcemeat, combined with chopped salted tongue. Set the slices on a tray, and put them in a moderate oven to poach the forcemeat.
Now, by means of another piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, garnish the centre of the slices with a nice rosette of fine and very white Soubise purée; and, in the middle of each rosette, place a little ball of very black truffle.
Set each slice on a thin, oval croûton of the same size as the former and fried in butter. Serve at the same time, in a sauceboat, the braising-liquor of the sweetbreads, cleared of all grease, and a timbale of fresh peas.
Blanch the veal sweetbreads; cool them under pressure, and cut them into slices. Season the latter and toss them in clarified butter.
At the same time, toss an equal number of slices of foie gras of the same size as those of the sweetbread, after having seasoned and dredged them.
Dish in a circle, alternating the foie gras and the sweetbread slices; put a crown of sliced truffle on the circle already arranged; and, in the centre, pour a garnish of asparagus-heads cohered with butter.
Send, separately, a Madeira sauce flavoured with truffle essence.
Blanch and cool the sweetbreads, and cut them into slices. Season the latter and cook them in butter without colouration. Dish them in the form of a crown, placing a large slice of truffle between each; coat with Mornay sauce, and glaze quickly.
When taking the dish out of the oven, arrange a heap of asparagus-heads cohered with butter, in the middle of the dish, and serve instantly.
Blanch and cool the sweetbreads, and cut them into slices.
Prepare and poach a roll of chicken forcemeat, large enough to allow of slices being cut therefrom of the same size as those of the sweetbreads.
Season, dredge, and toss the slices of sweetbread in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown, each on a roundel of the poached chicken forcemeat.
On each slice place a very small, braised, and well-trimmed lettuce, a slice of truffle, and a cock’s kidney.
Send a sauceboat of thickened gravy separately.
Braise the veal sweetbreads, keeping them somewhat firm, and cut them into slices.
Treat the latter à l’anglaise; brown them in clarified butter, and dish them in a circle, placing a fine slice of truffle between each.
In the middle of the dish arrange a fine heap of asparagus-heads cohered with butter.
After having blanched, cooked, and trimmed the sweetbreads, set them to get quite cold under pressure. Then cut them in two, laterally, at their thickest point; dip each piece into melted butter, and grill gently, basting frequently the while with melted butter.
The sweetbreads may also be grilled whole, but the process is perforce a more lengthy one.
Cook a brioche, without sugar, in a fluted mould, the aperture of which is a little larger than the veal sweetbreads. Carefully remove the top of the brioche, following the direction of the fluting, and withdraw all the crumb from the inside.
Fill this kind of croustade, two-thirds full, with a garnish consisting of peas, prepared “à la française,” and carrots “à la Vichy,” in equal quantities.
Set the grilled veal sweetbreads on this garnish, and cover it with slices of grilled bacon.
Dish on a napkin and serve at once.
Prepare a shallow croustade, without colouration, in an oval flawn ring of the same length as the veal sweetbread. Grill the veal sweetbread after the manner already described.
[412]
Garnish the bottom of the croustade with equal quantities of
artichoke-bottoms and mushrooms, minced raw, tossed in butter,
and cohered with cream sauce.
Set the grilled sweetbread on the garnish, and place the croustade on a folded napkin.
Serve, separately, a slightly buttered meat-glaze.
Cut some potatoes into roundels one and one-half inch thick and of the same size as the veal sweetbread. Stamp the roundels, close up to their edges, with a round, even cutter, and cook them in butter. Grill the sweetbread at the same time.
When the potatoes are cooked, withdraw all their inside in such wise as to give them the appearance of cases, and fill them with Soubise prepared with curry.
Dish them and set the grilled sweetbread upon them. On the sweetbread lay a small half-tomato and a green half-capsicum, both grilled.
Blanch, prepare, and grill the veal sweetbreads as already explained. Set them on a long dish, and surround them with alternate heaps of small potatoes cooked in butter and of a nice golden colour, and carrots cut to the shape of elongated olives, cooked in consommé and glazed.
Serve a Béarnaise sauce and a purée of fresh peas, separately.
Braise the veal sweetbreads, and, as soon as they are ready, set them in a round, flat cocotte, just large enough to hold them. Cover them with raw truffles, cut into thick slices; strain the braising-liquor over the whole; cover the cocotte, and seal the cover to the edges of the utensil by means of a thread of soft paste, made simply from a mixture of flour and water.
The object of this last precaution is to prevent any escape whatsoever of steam, and to hold the aroma of the truffles within.
Put the cocotte into a very hot oven for ten minutes; set it on a dish, and serve it as it stands. The cover should be removed only when the dish reaches the table.
Stud the sweetbreads with truffle and braise them without colouration. Dish them, and, on either side, set a heap of crayfishes’ tails (in the proportion of four to each person), cohered with cream.
[413]
At either end place some crayfishes’ carapaces (in the proportion
of two to each sweetbread), garnished with chicken
forcemeat combined with crayfish butter, and poached.
Serve, separately, an Allemande sauce prepared with crayfish butter.
Stud the sweetbreads with truffles, and braise them without colouration.
Dish them; pour their reduced braising-liquor round the dish, and surround them with a Régence garnish, arranged in alternate heaps representing the constituents of the former, which are: quenelles of fine truffled chicken forcemeat; small grooved mushrooms; curled cocks’ combs, and truffles cut to the shape of olives. Serve separately an Allemande sauce, flavoured with truffle essence.
Stud the veal sweetbreads with truffles and tongue, and three-parts braise them.
Cut some slices of salted tongue of the same size as the sweetbreads, garnish them with slices of truffle, and set a sweetbread on each.
Cover each sweetbread with a layer of short paste (No. 2358); set them on a tray; gild; flute; make a small incision on the top of the paste to allow the escape of steam, and bake in a hot oven for thirty minutes.
When withdrawing them from the oven, pour in some half-glaze sauce with Madeira, and dish them on a napkin.
Stud the sweetbreads with truffles and braise them without colouration.
Dish them with the Toulousaine garnish, arranged in heaps all round, and surround the latter with a thread of meat-glaze.
Toulousaine garnish comprises small chicken-forcemeat quenelles; cocks’ combs and kidneys; very white button-mushroom heads, and slices of truffle.
Serve, separately, an Allemande flavoured with mushroom essence.
Prepare (1) the required number of small, fluted croustades, baked without colouration in rather large tartlet moulds. (2) The same number of slices of braised veal sweetbread as there are croustades, and of the same size. (3) A financière garnish, consisting of very small chicken-forcemeat quenelles; grooved [414] button-mushrooms, and sliced cocks’ combs and kidneys. The whole covered by half-glaze with Madeira, in the proportion of one tablespoonful per croustade. (5) As many fine slices of truffle as there are croustades.
Put a tablespoonful of the garnish into each croustade; set thereon a slice of sweetbread; put a slice of truffle upon that, and dish the croustades on a folded napkin.
Butter an ordinary round hot raised pie, or a Charlotte-mould. Take about one and one-half lbs. of short paste and roll it into galettes, one-third inch thick; fold the paste over after having dredged it slightly; draw the two ends gently towards the centre, to form a kind of skullcap, which, when placed in the mould, immediately lines the latter. Avoid making folds in the paste while preparing the skullcap, for they would spoil the look of the patty when turned out.
Press the paste on the bottom and sides of the mould, that the latter may impart its shape to its lining, and cut the projecting paste to within half inch of the brim. Now coat the bottom and sides of the mould with a layer of chicken forcemeat, of an even thickness of two-thirds of an inch.
Pour into the centre of the mould a garnish composed of slices of poached veal sweetbread; sliced and cooked mushrooms and sliced truffles; the whole covered with reduced and somewhat stiff Allemande sauce, flavoured with mushroom essence.
Cover the garnish with a coating of forcemeat, and close the patty with a layer of paste, the edges of which should be moistened and sealed down all round the brim of the mould. Pinch the rim of paste inside and outside, and finish off with leaves of paste stamped out with a fancy-cutter, ribbed by means of the back of a knife, and laid upon the paste cover. Gild with beaten egg; make a central slit for the escape of steam, and set to bake in a hot oven, for from forty-five to fifty minutes.
When taking the patty out of the oven, turn it out and dish it on a napkin.
Butter a timbale mould and decorate its sides with thin pieces of noodle paste, in the shape of lozenges, crescents, indented rings, discs and imitation-leaves. Excellent ornamental arrangements may be effected thus; but the reader should bear in mind that the simplest are the best.
Prepare a skullcap of paste as explained under No. 1241; [415] slightly moisten the ornamental work in the mould, that it may cling to the paste of the timbale, and line the latter with paste which should be well pressed in all directions, that it may take the shape of the mould.
Then pierce the paste on the bottom, to prevent its blistering during the baking process; line the bottom and sides with buttered paper, and fill the timbale, three-quarters full, with split peas or lentils.
Cover the latter with a round piece of paper, and close the timbale by means of a round layer of paste, which should be sealed down round the edges. Make and trim the crest of the timbale; pinch it inside and out, and finish the cover, by means of applied imitation-leaves of paste, superposed to form a kind of dome.
Set in a moderate oven, and when the timbale is baked, remove its cover with the view of withdrawing the lentils or peas and the paper, the sole object of which was to provide a support for the cover. Besmear the inside of the timbale with a brush dipped in the beaten white of an egg; keep it for a minute or two in front of the oven, with the view of drying it inside; turn it out, and spread upon its bottom and sides a very thin coat of chicken or ordinary forcemeat, the purpose of which is to shield the crust from the softening effects of the juices of the garnish.
Put the timbale in the front of the oven for a moment or two, that this coating of forcemeat may poach.
Garnish.—Veal sweetbreads, braised without colouration and cut into collops; small mushrooms; cocks’ combs and kidneys; small quenelles of chicken, mousseline forcemeat, or roundels of chicken forcemeat rolls one-third inch thick, trimmed with the fancy-cutter; and slices of truffles, half of which should be kept for the purposes of decoration.
Cover this garnish with Allemande sauce, prepared with mushroom essence. Pour it into the timbale, just before serving; upon it set the reserved slices of truffle, in the form of a crown; replace the cover; dish upon a folded napkin, and serve.
N.B. (1) As already stated the garnish of the timbale may be cohered with a half-glaze sauce, flavoured with Madeira or truffle essence.
(2) In this garnish, whether it be cohered by means of a white or brown sauce, the slices of veal sweetbreads are always the principal ingredient; but, subject to the circumstances, the other details may be altered or modified.
Vol au vent, which formerly held the place of honour on bourgeois menus, has now fallen somewhat into the background; nevertheless, I wished it to appear among the recipes in this work.
The preparation of the paste: Make the vol au vent crust as explained under No. 2390.
Garnish.—Prepare it exactly as explained under “Timbale de ris de Veau.” This garnish may also be cohered with a brown sauce, and its minor ingredients may be modified; but the slices of veal sweetbread must always stand as the dominating element.
Whatever be the selected kind of garnish, vol au vent should always be accompanied by medium-sized, trussed crayfish, cooked in court-bouillon.
Dishing.—Set the vol au vent crust upon a dish covered with a napkin; pour the garnish into it; decorate with slices of truffle; arrange the crayfish round the edge, and lay the cover upon the crayfish.
Braise the veal sweetbreads exactly as described under “Ris de Veau Bonne Maman,” taking care to keep the braising-liquor sufficiently plentiful to well cover the sweetbreads in the cocotte.
When the sweetbreads are in the cocotte, together with the julienne of vegetables and a julienne of truffles, strain the braising-liquor over the whole; leave to cool well, and, when the liquid has turned to a jelly, remove the grease that has risen to the surface.
Dish the cocotte on a napkin.
Poach the veal sweetbreads without colouration, and, when they are quite cold, cut them into thin and regular collops. Spread some horse-radish butter over the latter, and cover with a slice of tongue of the same size as the underlying collop.
Bake a crust without colouration in a flawn ring, of a size in proportion to the number of slices, and garnish it with a vegetable salad cohered with mayonnaise. This crust must necessarily be made in advance.
Upon the salad now set the collops, either in the form of a crown or in that of a small turban; in the middle place a fine lettuce heart, the leaves of which should be slightly opened out.
Poach the sweetbreads; when they are cold, cut them into collops half-an-inch thick, and trim them with a round, even cutter. Stamp out some roundels of salted tongue with the same cutter, but let them be only one-eighth inch thick, and twice as many as the collops of veal sweetbread.
Coat the latter, on either side, with butter prepared with mustard; and cover with a roundel of tongue.
Set the prepared collops on a tray; let the butter harden, coat with jelly, and deck the middle of each quoit with a fine slice of truffle.
Arrange the quoits in a circle on a round dish; put some chopped jelly in the centre, and border the dish with very regularly-cut jelly dice.
Serve a horse-radish sauce and an Italian salad separately.
Calf’s liver is served chiefly as a breakfast or luncheon entrée.
Nevertheless, in ordinary menus, it is sometimes served as a relevé, braised and whole.
Lard the piece with large, seasoned strips of bacon, as for “Bœuf à la Mode.” Brown it slightly in the oven, and then put it into a saucepan garnished for braising. (No. 247.)
Moisten with one pint of white wine, and reduce it completely. This done, moisten again with brown stock, adding one pint of Espagnole sauce per quart of the moistening.
It is sufficient if the moistening and the sauce reach a little above the middle of the piece of liver.
When the cooking is two-thirds completed, transfer the liver to another saucepan; surround it with carrots, shaped like elongated olives and half-cooked in consommé; and some small onions, half-cooked in butter.
The amount of this garnish of carrots and onions should naturally be in proportion to the size of the piece of liver.
Strain the sauce over the whole, and complete the cooking gently in the oven. Dish the liver with the carrots and onions all round; reduce the sauce if necessary, and pour it over the garnish.
N.B. The latter need not be arranged symmetrically.
On the contrary simplicity should be made a feature of these bourgeois dishes.
Cut the calf’s liver into fairly thin slices, from two-and-a-half oz. to three oz. in weight. Season them with salt and pepper; dredge them, and toss them in butter. Grill an equal number of rashers of bacon.
Dish the slices of liver and the rashers of bacon alternately, and sprinkle them with the butter in which the liver was cooked, or with a brown butter.
Select a pale piece of calf’s liver and cut it into square pieces two-thirds of an inch thick. Season with salt and pepper, and toss the pieces in butter, just to stiffen them.
Put them into a basin with an equal quantity of blanched salted breast of pork, cut into squares, and of slices of cooked mushrooms. Add a few tablespoonfuls of stiff Duxelles sauce, and toss the whole together, that each particle of the various ingredients may become coated with Duxelles.
This done, impale the squares of liver and pork and the slices of mushrooms upon a ringed skewer, alternating them in so doing; sprinkle copiously with fine raspings and melted butter, and set to grill gently.
These brochettes are served, either on a maître-d’hôtel butter, or on a Duxelles, Fines Herbes, an Italian or other sauce.
Cut the calf’s liver into slices weighing three and a half oz.; season these with salt and pepper; dredge them; sprinkle them with oil, and grill them gently.
Meanwhile, prepare:—(1) As many grilled half-tomatoes as there are pieces of liver; (2) onions cut into thin roundels, seasoned, dredged, and fried in oil; (3) a proportionate quantity of fried parsley.
Arrange the grilled slices of liver along the centre of an oval dish; place a half-tomato upon each; and, on one side, set the fried onions, on the other, the fried parsley.
Cut the calf’s liver into slices, as above; season these with salt and pepper; dredge them, and toss them in butter.
Arrange the slices in a circle on a round dish; and either pour the herb sauce over the slices, or serve it separately.
For a calf’s liver loaf made in a quart mould: Cut one lb. of calf’s liver into dice, and finely pound these together with [419] one-third oz. of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a little nutmeg. Add, little by little, five oz. of very cold frangipan panada, and two eggs.
Rub through a sieve; put the forcemeat in a bowl; work it over ice, and finish it with two tablespoonfuls of chopped onions, cooked in butter, without colouration; the yolks of two eggs, and quarter pint of thick cream, added by degrees.
Pour this forcemeat into a well-buttered quart Charlotte-mould; knock the latter gently on a folded serviette, with the view of settling its contents, and put it to poach in the oven in a bain-marie, for about forty-five minutes.
When taking the loaf out of the oven, let it stand for five minutes, that the forcemeat inside may thoroughly settle; turn it out on a round dish, and cover it with a Duxelles, Italienne, Bordelaise, brown caper, or other sauce.
Veal cutlets may either be grilled or sautéd, but the second method of cooking them is, in most cases, preferable.
When they are sautéd, the cutlets should be cooked in clarified butter, over a somewhat fierce fire and in a utensil large enough to hold them without crowding.
This done, dish them; pour away the butter in which they have been cooked; swill the saucepan, i.e., dissolve the concentrated gravy adhering to the sides and bottom of it with a liquid in keeping with the garnish; either mushroom cooking-liquor, white or red wine, or Madeira, etc.; and add this swilling-liquor, reduced, to the accompanying sauce. The latter is generally a buttered half-glaze, but the best adjunct to veal cutlets is a pale meat glaze, moderately buttered.
All vegetable and paste garnishes, given under Cushion of Veal, suit veal cutlets. I must therefore beg the reader to refer to those recipes, as circumstances may dictate; and restrict myself to a few formulæ which, in my opinion, are suited more particularly to veal cutlets.
Put the veal cutlet into an earthenware saucepan, with one and one-half oz. of butter, and brown it well on both sides. Add six small onions cooked in butter, three oz. of potatoes cut into roundels; and complete the cooking gently in the oven, keeping the saucepan covered.
Serve the preparation in the saucepan as it stands.
Heat one oz. of butter in an earthenware saucepan; insert the veal cutlet, seasoned, and cook it gently, taking care to turn it over from time to time.
At the last moment, add a tablespoonful of excellent veal gravy, and serve in the saucepan.
Toss the veal cutlet in butter, in the cocotte, with two small slices of blanched salted breast of pork. Add four small onions, and two small, long potatoes, cut paysanne-fashion; and complete the cooking of the cutlets and the garnish very gently in the oven.
Send the preparation to the table in the cocotte.
Stud the kernel of the veal cutlet with tongue, ham and truffle, and cook it gently in butter. This done, trim it to the quick on both sides, that the studding may be clean and neat; dish it with a frill on the bare bone, and, beside it, arrange a small garnish of quenelles, mushrooms, cocks’ combs and kidneys, and turned and blanched olives.
Pour a little half-glaze sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, over the garnish.
With a moistened butcher’s beater, flatten the meat in suchwise as to reduce it to half its normal thickness. Dip the veal cutlet into beaten egg; roll it in bread-crumbs, mixed with half as much grated Parmesan, and cook it in clarified butter, or butter and oil in equal quantities.
Dish it with a frill on the bare bone, and the garnish beside it.
Milanaise garnish consists of cooked macaroni, seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cohered with butter, grated Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses, and very red tomato purée; and combined with a julienne of very lean cooked ham, salted tongue, mushrooms and truffles, heated in Madeira.
Toss the veal cutlet in butter, and prepare, meanwhile:—
(1) Two tablespoonfuls of Duxelles sauce, combined with a cooked and sliced mushroom.
(2) Two heart-shaped slices of ham, of about the same size as the cutlet.
(3) A doubled sheet of strong paper, cut to the shape of a heart and well-oiled.
[421]
Spread out the sheet of paper, and, in the middle thereof,
lay a slice of ham; spread a tablespoonful of Duxelles on the
latter; put the cutlet on the sauce; cover it with the remainder
of the Duxelles, and finish with the other slice of ham.
Fold the sheet of paper so as to enclose the whole; pleat the edges nicely; put the cutlet on a tray, and blow out the papillote in a fairly hot oven. When taking it out of the oven, transfer it to a dish, and serve instantly.
Completely separate the meat of the veal cutlet from the bone; clear it of all skin and gristle, and chop it up with half its weight of butter, salt and pepper. Mass this mince-meat close up to the bone, shaping it like a cutlet, and cook the whole in clarified butter, turning it over very carefully in the process.
Dish with a suitable garnish.
Cook the veal cutlet in butter; at the same time prepare a slice of raw ham, cut to the shape of the cutlet, and likewise tossed in butter.
Dish the cutlet; set the slice of ham upon it, and surround with a few tablespoonfuls of Zingara sauce.
Zingara sauce is prepared thus: Reduce a few tablespoonfuls of white wine and mushroom cooking-liquor to half. Add one-fifth pint of half-glaze, two tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce, one tablespoonful of veal stock, one oz. of a julienne of tongue, mushrooms and truffles; and set to boil for a few seconds.
Let a little jelly set in a utensil somewhat resembling a cutlet in shape. Trim the veal cutlet; decorate it with various little vegetables, and sprinkle the latter with half-melted jelly, so as to fix them.
Put the cutlet on the layer of set jelly, inside the utensil, and let it lie with its decorated side undermost.
Add enough jelly to cover the cutlet, and let the former set.
This done, pass the blade of a small knife (dipped in hot water) round the cutlet; set the utensil for a moment upon a napkin dipped in hot water, turn out the cutlet with care, and set it on a cold dish, with a border of chopped aspic, and a frill on the bone.
Trim the veal cutlet; coat it with half-melted aspic, and cover it with young hop shoots, cohered with tomato sauce cleared by means of aspic.
Let the sauce thoroughly set, and then put the cutlet between two layers of aspic as explained above.
N.B. Cold veal cutlets may also be served Belle-vue fashion, after the very simple manner described under “Grenadins en Belle-vue” (No. 1217).
When sautéd after the usual manner, veal kidney admits of all the preparations given for sheep’s kidney. (See the chapter on Mutton.)
I shall now, therefore, only give those recipes which are proper to veal kidney.
Trim the veal kidney and only leave a very slight layer of fat all round it.
Heat one oz. of butter in a small, earthenware saucepan, also called “cocotte”; put the seasoned kidney into the latter, and cook it gently for about thirty minutes, taking care to turn it often the while.
At the last minute sprinkle it with a tablespoonful of good veal gravy. Serve it in the cocotte as it stands.
Prepare the veal kidney and fry it in butter, as in the case of the “en casserole” dish. Surround it with one and one-half oz. of small pieces of blanched bacon, tossed in butter; one and one-half oz. of raw, quartered mushrooms, also tossed, and one and one-half oz. of small blanched potatoes, of the size and shape of garlic cloves, and the same quantity of small, glazed onions. Complete the cooking of the whole gently.
At the last minute, add a tablespoonful of good, veal gravy, and serve the cocotte as it stands.
Trim the veal kidney, and leave a slight layer of fat all round it. Cut it in half lengthwise, without completely separating the two halves, and impale it on a small skewer, with the view of keeping it in shape.
Season with salt and pepper, and grill it gently; basting it often the while with melted butter.
[423]
Send separately, either a Maître-d’hôtel, a Bercy, or other
butter suited to grills.
Prepare the veal kidney as for “en casserole.” One minute before serving, add one small wineglassful of burned gin, two crushed juniper berries, and one tablespoonful of good veal gravy. Serve in the cooking-utensil.
Trim the veal kidney, leaving a slight coating of fat all round it, and cut into five or six slices. Season the latter, toss them in butter over a brisk fire, and transfer them to a plate.
Swill the saucepan with one tablespoonful of Madeira, and add thereto three tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze, a few drops of lemon juice, one and one-half oz. of butter, and a pinch of chopped parsley.
Dish the pieces of kidney, or set them in a timbale; sprinkle them with the sauce, and in their midst set a heap of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, and one and one-half oz. of truffle slices.
Cut up the veal kidney, and toss it in butter, after the manner described under No. 1269.
Dish the pieces in a circle on a dish; set a very small, stuffed half-tomato upon each, and garnish the centre of the dish with a very reduced tomato fondue. Surround the kidney with a sauce prepared as directed above.
Heat one oz. of butter in a small cocotte; put the seasoned veal kidney therein; fry it over a brisk fire, and set it to cook in the oven for about fifteen minutes. Serve the kidney as it leaves the oven, and complete the procedure, at the table, in the following manner:—
Transfer the kidney to a hot plate. Place the cocotte on a spirit lamp; pour into the former one glassful of excellent liqueur brandy, and reduce to half. Meanwhile, quickly cut the kidney into extremely thin slices, and cover these with an overturned plate.
Add to the reduced liqueur brandy one coffeespoonful of mustard, one oz. of butter cut into small pieces, the juice of a quarter of a lemon, and a pinch of chopped parsley; and work the whole well with a fork, with the view of effecting the leason.
Put the sliced kidney into this sauce, together with the [424] gravy that has drained from it; heat the whole well, without boiling, and serve on very hot plates.
The tendrons are cut from breast of veal. They are, in fact, the extreme ends of the ribs, including the cartilage of the sternum.
If the tendrons are braised, treat them after the manner described under “The Braising of White Meats” (No. 248); or, simply stew them in butter; moisten them with excellent veal stock, and baste them frequently while cooking them. They may also be treated like an ordinary veal sauté, from which they only differ in shape, and the various preparations of which may be adapted to them.
The garnishes best suited to them are those of early-season vegetables, and, as a matter of fact, the latter, together with such pastes as noodles, macaroni, spaghetti, etc., are the garnishes most often served with them.
Cut the veal tendrons into pieces weighing about three oz. Then, slightly blanch them; cool them, and put them into a saucepan with enough white stock to cover; add a very little salt; set to boil, and skim.
For two lbs. of tendrons, add one small carrot; one fair-sized onion, stuck with a clove; a faggot, consisting of one leek, parsley stalks, and a fragment of thyme and bay; and set to cook gently for one and one-half hours.
Prepare a white roux from one and one-half oz. of butter and one and one-half oz. of flour; moisten with one pint of veal cooking-liquor; add one oz. of mushroom parings, and cook for a quarter of an hour, despumating the sauce the while.
Transfer the pieces of tendron, one by one, to a sautépan with twelve small onions cooked in consommé, and fifteen small, cooked and very white mushrooms. Finish the sauce with a leason of two egg-yolks, mixed with three tablespoonfuls of cream and a few drops of lemon juice; strain it over the veal and its garnish; heat without boiling; dish in a timbale, and sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley.
N.B. This blanquette may also be prepared with noodles or cèpes, instead of with ordinary mushrooms.
Prepare the blanquette exactly as explained above, and set it to cook with the veal and the vegetable selected for the garnish, [425] i.e., either small heads of celery cut into two or four, or cardoons, cut into pieces and well blanched. The endives are not blanched; they need only be well washed and put with the veal.
When cooked, drain the vegetables, trim them, and dish them in a timbale with the veal and the sauce; the latter prepared as directed and strained over the meat.
Proceed as for “Blanquette à l’ancienne,” but suppress the garnish of onions and mushrooms.
When the blanquette is dished, set thereon heaps of noodles, parboiled and cohered with butter, and cover these with raw noodles tossed quickly in butter; allow three oz. of tossed noodles per lb. of those cohered.
Fricassée differs from blanquette in this, namely, that the pieces of veal in the former are stiffened in butter without colouration.
When the meat has been well stiffened, besprinkle it with about one oz. of flour per lb.; cook this flour with the meat for a few minutes; then moisten the fricassée with white stock; season, and set to boil, stirring the while. All the garnishes of mushrooms and vegetables given for blanquette may be served with fricassée; but in the case of the latter, both the meat and the garnish are cooked in the sauce, the leason of which is effected by means of egg-yolks and cream, as for blanquette.
Fricadelles are a kind of meat balls, somewhat like those commonly prepared in private households. They are made from raw or cooked meat, in the following manner:—
Fricadelles with Raw Meat.—For ten fricadelles, each weighing three and one-half oz., chop up one lb. of very lean veal, cleared of all fat and gristle, together with two-thirds of a lb. of butter. Put the whole into a bowl, and add thereto five oz. of soaked and well-pressed crumb of bread, two eggs, half an oz. of salt, a pinch of pepper and a little nutmeg, and two oz. of chopped onion cooked in butter without colouration.
Mix the whole well, and divide it up into portions weighing three and one-half oz.
Fashion these portions to the shape of quoits, by first rolling them into balls on a flour-dusted board, and afterwards flattening them out with the flat of a knife.
Heat some butter or very pure fat in a sautépan; put the [426] fricadelles therein; brown them on both sides, and then complete their cooking in the oven.
This done, set them on a round dish, and serve them, either with a vegetable purée, a Piquante or a Robert sauce.
Fricadelles with Cooked Meat.—For ten fricadelles, each weighing two and one-half oz., chop one lb. of cooked veal, fat and lean, somewhat finely.
Put it into a bowl with a large pinch of salt, another of pepper, and a little nutmeg. Add the pulp of three fair-sized potatoes, baked in the oven; three oz. of chopped onions, cooked in butter without colouration; one large egg, and one tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Mix well; divide up into portions of the weight already given, and shape and cook them as in the previous case.
These fricadelles are served with vegetable purées and the sauces suited to those prepared from raw meat.
Paupiettes or scrolls are made from extremely thin slices of veal, four in. long by two in. wide. After having seasoned them, cover them with forcemeat or very fine mincemeat; roll them, with their forcemeat-coat inside, into scrolls, and tie them round, once or twice, with string, that they may keep their shape while cooking. They are sometimes covered with thin rashers of bacon. Paupiettes are always braised, gently and protractedly.
They are generally garnished with vegetable purées; but they may be served just as well with all vegetable garnishes.
By making them half the usual size, they may, after having been braised, serve as the garnish for a timbale, together with noodles, gniokis, spaghetti, or with Financière, Milanaise or Napolitaine garnish, etc.
The pieces best suited to veal sautés are: the breast and the shoulder, as also those parts of the haunch other than the cushion and undercushion.
Heat one pint of oil in a sautépan, until it smokes. Put therein two lbs. of veal, cut into pieces, each weighing two oz., and fry until the latter are well set. Add a chopped half onion and a crushed half-clove of garlic, and fry again for a few moments.
Drain away the oil, tilting the sautépan with its lid on, for [427] the purpose; moisten with a quarter of a pint of white wine; reduce, and add two-thirds of a quart of thin Espagnole sauce, one and one-half lbs. of tomatoes, pressed and cut into pieces (or one pint of tomato sauce), and a faggot.
Set to boil, and cook in the oven gently for one and one-half hours.
At the end of that time, transfer the pieces of veal, one by one, to another saucepan with fifteen small glazed onions, and five oz. of mushrooms. Reduce the sauce; strain it over the veal and its garnish, add two large pinches of concassed parsley, and cook for a further quarter of an hour.
When about to serve, clear of all grease, dish in a timbale, and surround with small heart-shaped croûtons of bread-crumb, fried in oil.
Cut the veal into pieces as above, and fry these well in butter or oil.
Drain away the grease; moisten with one quart of brown stock, add two tablespoonfuls of tomato purée, and a faggot; set to boil, and cook in the oven gently for one and one-half hours.
Transfer the pieces to another saucepan; strain; reduce their cooking-liquor by a quarter, and add it to one-quarter of a pint of Chasseur sauce (No. 33).
Pour this sauce over the pieces of veal, and cook again for a quarter of an hour. Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Fry the pieces of veal in butter. Moisten with two-thirds of a quart of brown stock and one-fifth of a pint of half-glaze; add a faggot; boil, and cook in the oven gently for one hour.
This done, transfer the pieces to another saucepan; add thereto a garnish of carrots, new turnips, and small, new potatoes; strain the sauce over the veal and the garnish, and cook for a further three-quarters of an hour.
Dish in a timbale and distribute over the sauté a few tablespoonfuls of peas and French beans in lozenge-form, both cooked à l’anglaise.
Cut up, sauté, and cook the veal gently for one and one-half hours, as for No. 1280.
Transfer the pieces of veal to another saucepan, and add [428] to them three small peeled and pressed tomatoes, quartered and tossed in butter; ten small onions cooked in butter; six oz. of raw, quartered mushrooms; ten chestnuts, three-parts cooked in consommé, and eight Chipolata sausages.
Reduce the sauce to one-third of a pint; strain it over the veal and its garnish; cook for a further quarter of an hour, and dish in a timbale.
Veal sauté may also be prepared with mushrooms, fines herbes, egg-plant, tomatoes, or “Currie à l’Indienne,” etc.
Prepare “Pain de Veau” exactly as directed under No. 1252; but substitute for the liver some very white veal.
Pain de veau is generally accompanied by a white sauce, such as velouté prepared with mushroom essence, Allemande sauce prepared with mushrooms, Suprême sauce, etc.
Calf’s feet serve chiefly in supplying the gelatinous element of aspics, and the body of braising stock. They are rarely used in the preparation of a special dish; but, should they be so used, they may be cooked and served after the manner directed in the recipes treating of calf’s head.
Provided the difference of size be allowed for, calf’s tongue may be prepared like ox tongue, and served with the same garnishes. (See Ox Tongue, Nos. 1153 to 1158 inclusive.)
Calf’s brains form the most wholesome and reparative diet for all those who are debilitated by excessive head-work; and the same remark applies to the brains of the ox and the sheep.
The amourettes mentioned here, which almost always accompany ox brains, are only the spinal marrow of the ox or the calf. This may be used in the preparation of a few special dishes; but all the recipes dealing with brains may be applied to it.
Carefully remove the membrane enveloping the brains or the amourettes, and put them to soak in fresh water, until they are quite white. Put the brains in a saucepan with enough boiling [429] court-bouillon (No. 163) to cover them well; skim and then set to cook gently.
Brains have this peculiarity, namely, that prolonged cooking only stiffens them; thus, calf’s brains only take half an hour to cook; but they may cook for two hours more without harm, seeing that the process only tends to make them firmer.
Cut the brains into slices; on each slice put a layer of gratin force-meat (No. 202) prepared from foie gras and softened by means of a little cold, brown sauce, and a slice of truffle. Reconstruct the brains by putting the coated slices together again.
Roll some puff-paste remains into a galette one-fifth of an inch thick, the diameter of which should be in proportion to the size of the brains under treatment. Put the brains in the middle of the galette, and cover them with the same forcemeat as that laid on the slices; sprinkle with chopped truffles; moisten the edges of the paste, and draw these over the brains so as to enclose the latter completely.
Gild; make a slit in the top for the escape of steam, and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. After taking the pie out of the oven, pour a few tablespoonfuls of Périgueux sauce into the former, and dish on a napkin.
Slice the brains; set the slices on a dish, and season them with salt and pepper.
Cook two oz. of butter in the frying-pan until it is slightly blackened; throw therein a pinch of parsley pluches, and sprinkle the brains with this butter. Pour a few drops of vinegar into the burning frying-pan, and add it to the brains.
Slice and season the brains as above. Cook the butter until it has acquired a golden colour and exhales a nutty smell; pour it over the brains, and finish with a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of chopped parsley.
Cut the brains into regular slices, one-third of an inch thick; treat them à l’anglaise with very fine bread-crumbs, and brown them in clarified butter.
Dish them in the form of a circle, with a slice of truffle on each, and garnish the centre of the dish with a fine heap of asparagus-heads cohered with butter.
Prepare half a pint of poulette sauce (No. 101), combined with three oz. of small, cooked, and very white mushrooms.
Add the brains, cut into slices; toss them gently in the sauce, taking care lest they break; dish them in a timbale, and sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley.
Cut the raw brains into slices; season them, and poach them in butter.
Dip the slices into an almost cold Villeroy sauce, in suchwise as to cover them with a thick coating of it. Leave to cool, and treat them à l’anglaise. Set to cook for a few minutes before serving, and dish on a napkin with fried parsley.
Serve a light Périgueux sauce separately.
Prepare a vol-au-vent crust, as explained under No. 2390. Slice the brains, and put the slices into half-a-pint of Allemande sauce, with twelve quenelles of ordinary forcemeat, poached just before dishing up; four oz. of small, cooked mushrooms, and one oz. of truffle slices, five or six of which should be reserved.
Pour the garnish into the vol au vent; set upon the latter the reserved slices of truffle, and dish on a folded napkin.
Poach one lb. of amourettes, as explained above, and cut them into lengths of one in.
Prepare a garnish of macaroni cohered with butter and grated Parmesan, and add thereto four tablespoonfuls of a crayfish cullis per four oz. of macaroni; three crayfishes’ tails for each person, and two-thirds of the pieces of amourettes. Toss well, in order to thoroughly mix the whole; dish in a timbale; cover the macaroni with what remains of the pieces of amourettes, and cover them slightly with crayfish cullis.
From the culinary standpoint, the ovine species supplies three kinds of meat, viz:—
Mutton—properly so-called when the meat is derived from the adult animal.
Lamb—the young, weaned sheep, not yet fully grown, the meat of which is the more highly esteemed the younger the animal is.
House Lamb—the sheep’s unweaned young that has not yet grazed.
The “Pauillac” lamb, which is imported from France, is the most excellent example of the last kind. Good house lambs are also killed in England; they are quite equal to Pauillac lamb, but their season is short. As regards ordinary English mutton and lamb, however, the delicacy and quality of these meats are unrivalled.
But for its greater delicacy and tenderness, grass lamb, which corresponds with what the French call “agneau de pré-salé” is scarcely distinguishable from mutton. The recipes suited to it are the same as those given for mutton; and all that is necessary is to allow for differences of quality in calculating the time of cooking.
House lamb, the white flesh of which is quite different, admits of some of the mutton recipes; but it is generally prepared after special formulæ, the details of which I shall give hereafter.
When served roasted, hot or cold, mutton and grass and house lamb are always accompanied by mint sauce, the recipe for which I gave under No. 136.
In view of the similarity of their preparations, and in order to avoid finicking repetitions, I have refrained from giving separate recipes for lamb and mutton respectively. The reader will therefore bear in mind that the formulæ relating to mutton also apply to grass lamb.
Saddle of mutton is that part of the sheep which reaches from the bone of the haunch to the floating ribs.
Baron of mutton comprises the saddle and the two legs, i.e., a pair of hind-quarters.
Double consists of the two unseparated legs, minus the saddle.
The Baron and the Double are almost always cuts of lamb.
The fillet is one half of the saddle, when the latter is cut into two, lengthwise; that is to say, divided down the middle in suchwise as to bisect the spinal column. These fillets are sometimes boned, rolled over with the kernel of meat in the centre, and strung, in which case the skin should be removed before rolling. Saddle of mutton, before being roasted, should be cleared of all its superfluous underlying fat; and the flanks should be so shortened as to just meet when drawn over the fillets. The overlying skin should be removed, and the saddle should be strung in five or six places to keep it in shape.
In the case of a saddle of lamb, the skin need not be completely removed, but slit in various places. As to neck of mutton, this should be shortened as for the cutting of ordinary cutlets; the skin and the bones of the chine should be removed, as also the meat at the end of the rib-bones, down to two-thirds in. from the extremity of each. The cushion is then covered with slices of bacon, tied on with string.
When the piece is roasted and dished, a frill should be placed on the end of each bared bone. Neck of mutton ought never to comprise more than nine to ten ribs, counting from the floating ones; it should consist of rather less if anything.
Mutton Relevés allow more particularly of vegetable and rice garnishes.
Garnishes with sauces do not suit them so well, even when the pieces are braised. As for paste garnishes, such as macaroni, noodles, gniokis; they are seldom used.
Garnishes for mutton relevés should therefore be chosen, in preference, from among the following, the details of which I gave under “Filet de Bœuf” (Nos. 1044 to 1074) and which I recall hereafter:—
Andalouse, Bouquetière, Châtelaine, Clamart, Dauphine, [433] Dubarry, Duchesse, Japonaise, Jardinière, Lorette, Macédoine, Montmorency, Moderne, Nivernaise, Orientale, Petit-Duc, Provençale, Renaissance, Richelieu, St. Germain.
Apart from these compound garnishes, the following simple garnishes also suit admirably, either alone, or separated by some kind of potato preparation:—
Braised Lettuce, stuffed with ordinary forcemeat or rice.
Cabbages, moulded to the shape of small balls, braised and stuffed with fine mince-meat or rice.
Haricot-beans, Peas and Broad-beans, cohered with butter.
Asparagus-heads, white or green, cooked and cohered with butter.
Celery, Endives, and Chicory, all braised. Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflowers, Broccoli, etc.
Finally, the garnishes and modes of preparation termed: à l’Anglaise, à la Boulangère, Braisés, Mariné en Chevreuil, which I give below for the leg and the shoulder, may be applied perfectly well to other large pieces of mutton.
Refer to Cold Beef; in all cases keep the dishing simple.
The garnishing is optional.
Legs of mutton or lamb ought never to appear on any but an ordinary luncheon menu. Although, strictly speaking, they should always be served after one of the ways described hereafter, all the garnishes given above may be applied to them.
Shoulders may be roasted whole; but they may also be boned, seasoned inside, rolled up, and firmly strung. They may be treated like the legs, and the same garnishes are suited to them.
Trim the leg, shorten it in the region of the tibia bone, and plunge it into a stewpan of boiling water, salted in the proportion of one-third oz. of salt per quart of water.
For an ordinary leg, add: three medium-sized carrots, two onions, each stuck with a clove, a faggot, and two cloves of garlic.
Let the leg cook for a quarter of an hour for each two lbs. of its weight.
Dish with vegetables all round, and serve at the same time a butter sauce with capers.
N.B.—Leg of mutton à l’anglaise may be accompanied by [434] purées of turnips, celery, etc., and these vegetables should cook with the meat. A purée of potatoes or of haricot beans may be sent to the table with the meat; but, in this case, of course, the vegetables would be served separately.
Suppress the pelvic bone, shorten the end bone and brown the leg in the oven.
Now, put it in an oval utensil, garnished for braising; add just enough white stock to barely cover the joint, and cook gently, allowing forty minutes per lb. of meat.
Transfer the leg to a tray; strain the braising-liquor; clear it of all grease, and reduce it to half. Sprinkle the meat with a few tablespoonfuls of this reduced gravy, and set it to glaze in the oven.
Serve at the same time:—
(1) Either a purée of potatoes, of turnips, of haricot-beans, of cauliflower, etc., or
(2) The reduced braising-liquor.
The leg may either be boned, seasoned inside and strung; or the end-bone may simply be shortened and that of the pelvis removed.
In either case, put it in an earthenware dish, and brown it well in the oven, on both sides; then complete its cooking, all but a third.
This done, set round the joint four large, sliced onions, just tossed in butter, that they may acquire some colour, and eight large, peeled potatoes cut into roundels one half in. thick. Sprinkle this garnish with the grease of the joint, and then complete the cooking of the leg and its garnish.
Serve in the dish in which the joint has cooked.
Shorten the end-bone; remove the bone of the pelvis, and skin the top of the leg, leaving the meat in that region quite bare. Lard with very small strips of bacon, and put the meat into a marinade prepared after the manner described under No. 170. The length of its stay in the marinade should be based upon the tenderness of the meat and atmospheric conditions. In winter the time averages about three or four days, and in summer two days.
To Roast the Joint.—Withdraw it from the marinade and dry it thoroughly; set it on a stand in the baking-tray; and put [435] it into a very fierce oven, that the meat may set immediately. The object of the very fierce oven is to prevent the juices absorbed from the marinade escaping in steam and thereby hardening the meat.
Towards the close of the operation, rissole the larding bacon well.
Set on a long dish; fix a frill to the bone, and serve a Chevreuil sauce separately.
Chevreuil Sauce à la Française.—With the marinade of the joint and a Mirepoix with ham, prepare a sufficient quantity of Poivrade sauce (No. 49) to obtain two-thirds of a pint of it after it has been strained through a colander—an operation which should be effected with the application of great pressure to the aromatics.
Despumate this sauce for thirty minutes, and add, little by little, half a wine-glassful of excellent red wine. Finish the seasoning with a little cayenne and a pinch of powdered sugar, and once more rub the whole through tammy or a fine strainer.
Braise the leg of mutton as shown under No. 247. When it is two-thirds done, transfer it to another utensil; strain the braising-liquor over it, and add thereto three lbs. of sliced onions and two-third lb. of rice.
Gently complete the cooking of the joint, together with the onions and the rice. This done:—(1) put it on a baking-tray and glaze it in the oven; (2) quickly rub the onions and the rice through a fine sieve or tammy.
Set the leg of mutton on a long dish; put a frill on the bone, and serve, separately, the well-heated Soubise, finished with one oz. of butter.
N.B.—This Soubise may be prepared separately; but in this case it has much less flavour than when it is made from the onions and the rice which have cooked in the braising-liquor. I therefore urge the adoption of the recipe as it stands.
Dish it very simply, like other cold large joints of mutton.
Mutton and lamb cutlets are sometimes sautéd; but grilling is the most suitable method of cooking them. When the nature of their preparation requires that they should be treated à l’anglaise, fry them in clarified butter. All the garnishes, given [436] under “Tournedos,” except those served with sauces, may be applied to cutlets.
The latter also allow of a few special garnishes, and these I give in the following recipes.
Take some cutlets from the region underlying the shoulder; that is to say, those uncovered by the removal of this joint. And do not clear the bone-ends of their meat, as when frills are to be fixed to them.
Season them with salt and pepper, and brown them in butter on both sides. This done, put them in an earthenware dish with half lb. of sliced onions, tossed in butter without colouration; moisten with enough white stock to almost cover the cutlets and the onions; add the quarter of a clove of garlic, crushed, and a faggot; boil, and set in the oven. At the end of twenty minutes, add one and one-half lbs. of potatoes, fashioned to the shape of corks, and cut into thin roundels; season, and complete the cooking, basting often the while.
When the cutlets are cooked, the moistening should be almost entirely reduced.
Grill the cutlets, and, meanwhile, prepare a garnish (the quantity of which should be such as to allow two and one-half oz. of it per cutlet) of parboiled macaroni, cut into half-inch lengths, cohered with cream, and combined, per lb., with three and one-half oz. of peeled, pressed, and concassed tomatoes, tossed in butter.
Or, when white truffles are in season, prepare some macaroni with cream, as above, combined with the peelings of raw, white truffles.
Cut some very soft pig’s caul into triangles, proportionate in size to the cutlets; spread a little macaroni on each triangle; on the latter set a cutlet; cover the cutlets with some more macaroni, and enclose the whole in the caul. Lay the cutlets on a dish.
Sprinkle with fine raspings and melted butter, and set to grill at the salamander, or in a fierce oven, for seven or eight minutes.
Dish the cutlets in the form of a crown, and surround them with a thread of clear half-glaze sauce, combined with tomatoes.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. This done, put a heaped tablespoonful of a Maintenon preparation (No. 226) [437] on each; shape it like a dome, by means of the blade of a small knife dipped in tepid water, and put the cutlets, one by one, on a tray. The Maintenon preparation should be laid on the cooked side of each cutlet and sprinkled with fine raspings and melted butter. Now put the cutlets in a rather hot oven for seven or eight minutes in order to:—
(1) Allow a gratin to form over the surface of the garnish.
(2) Finish the cooking of the cutlets.
Dish the latter in the form of a crown, and serve, separately, a sauceboat of meat glaze finished with butter.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only; and garnish the cooked side, dome-fashion, with a fine hash of mushrooms, cohered with a little very reduced Béchamel sauce.
Set them on a tray; sprinkle with grated Parmesan and a few drops of melted butter, and glaze in a fierce oven. Dish the cutlets in the form of a crown; fix a frill to each, and surround them with mild capsicums and tomatoes, both of which should be sliced, tossed in butter, and mixed.
For ten cutlets:—(1) Reduce one-half pint of Béchamel sauce to a third, and add thereto the third of a garlic clove, crushed, and the yolks of three eggs; (2) prepare at the same time as the cutlets, ten grilled mushrooms; and ten stoned, stuffed and poached olives, girded by a strip of anchovy fillet.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. Cover the cooked side of each with the preparation described above; set them on a tray; sprinkle them with a few drops of melted butter, and put them in the oven, that their garnish may be glazed and that their cooking may be completed.
Dish in the form of a circle; place a grilled mushroom (convex side uppermost) in the middle of each cutlet, and, on each mushroom, a stuffed olive.
Trim six mutton cutlets; season them; dip them in melted butter, and roll them in bread-crumbs, combined with finely-chopped ham in the proportion of a third of the weight of the bread-crumbs. Now cook them gently in clarified butter.
Dish them in a circle on a hot dish, and send the following sauce to the table with them:—
Take a small saucepan, and mix therein three tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce, the same quantity of Poivrade sauce, [438] and one coffeespoonful of red-currant jelly; add one coffeespoonful of each of the following short julienne garnishes to the sauce; viz.: hard-boiled white of egg; very red, salted tongue; gherkins; mushrooms, and truffles.
Have ready a preparation of mushroom and artichoke-bottom croquettes, in the proportion of one heaped tablespoonful for each cutlet.
Fry the cutlets in butter, on one side only. Garnish the fried side of each, dome-fashion, with the above preparation; treat them à l’anglaise, and sprinkle them with melted butter.
Put them in the oven to complete their cooking, and, at the same time, to colour their coating of egg and bread-crumbs.
Dish in the form of a crown.
Place the cutlets on a dish, and drop thereon some minced onions and shallots, bits of parsley stalks, thyme and bay. Sprinkle them with the juice of a lemon and a few drops of oil, and leave them to marinade for thirty minutes, turning them over the while, from time to time.
This done, dry them; dip them in melted butter, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs, and grill them.
Dish them in the form of a crown, and garnish the centre of the dish with the following, which may also be sent separately: one-half lb. of peeled and finely-sliced apples, quickly stewed to a purée with the third of a wineglassful of white wine. When about to serve, add to this purée two and one-half oz. of finely-grated horse-radish, or the latter grated and afterwards finely chopped.
Proceed after one of the recipes given for veal cutlets and grenadins “en Belle Vue.”
Cut some very regular cutlets from a neck of mutton or lamb, which should have been trimmed as explained, braised, and left to cook in its braising-liquor. Clear all grease from the latter; strain it; reduce it, and add to it a brown chaud-froid sauce (No. 34).
Dip the cutlets in the sauce when it is almost cold; set them on a tray; deck the kernel of meat in each with a fine slice [439] of truffle, and sprinkle with cold, melted aspic. When the sauce has set well, pass the point of a small knife round the cutlets, with the view of removing the superfluous sauce; and either dish them round a vegetable salad, cohered and moulded, or simply dish them in the form of a circle and place a pyramid of cohered, vegetable salad in their midst.
Mutton noisettes, and especially those of lamb, may be classed among the choicest of entrées. They are cut from either the fillet or the neck; but, in the latter case, only the first six or seven ribs are used.
Noisettes are grilled or sautéd, and all the recipes given for Tournedos (Nos. 1077 to 1139) and for cutlets, may be applied to them.
The minion fillets of mutton or lamb consist of the two muscles which lie under the saddle. Their mode of preparation changes according to their size. Thus, if they are small, they are served whole, after having been trimmed, sometimes larded; and sautéd.
If they are large, they are divided into two or three parts, cut laterally and aslant; they are flattened, trimmed to the shape of ellipses, seasoned, dipped in melted butter, sprinkled with fine bread-crumbs, and finally, gently grilled.
Minion fillets of beef, obtained from the narrow extremity or head of the fillet, are also used occasionally; and these are generally flattened, dipped in butter and fine bread-crumbs, and grilled.
These fillets are served chiefly with vegetable purées or with macédoines of fresh vegetables.
The sauces best suited to them are the Béarnaise and the Robert Escoffier.
Salted or fresh sheep’s tongues make an excellent luncheon entrée.
They are cooked after the manner of ox and calf’s tongues, due allowance being made for the difference of size.
The various garnishes given for ox and calf’s tongues may also be used in this case.
Sheep’s trotters, as they reach us from the purveyor, should first be well singed over spirits of wine, and then rubbed with a clean piece of linen. The little tuft of hair in the cleft of [440] the hoof is next removed, the hoof itself is suppressed, and the trotters are split open lengthwise and boned. Sheep’s trotters are cooked like calf’s feet, in the special court-bouillon or blanc, given under No. 167.
Fifteen minutes before frying them, put the sheep’s trotters into a receptacle with lemon juice, a few drops of oil and some chopped parsley; keeping the quantity of these ingredients in proportion to the number of trotters. Be careful to toss the latter from time to time in the marinade.
A few moments before serving, dip the half-trotters into batter (No. 232) and plunge them into an abundant and hot frying-medium.
Drain them when the batter is nicely dry and golden; and dish on a napkin with a border of very green fried parsley.
Serve a tomato sauce separately.
For this dish the trotters should, as far as possible, be freshly cooked. For twenty trotters prepare two-thirds of a pint of poulette sauce; add the trotters thereto, well drained; toss them in the sauce, and dish them in a timbale with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Instead of cooking the sheep’s trotters in a blanc, braise them; add a little Madeira to their braising-liquor, and cook them thoroughly.
Prepare a forcemeat, consisting of one and one-half lbs. of very fine sausage-meat; three oz. of chopped onions, cooked in butter without colouration, and a large pinch of parsley.
When the trotters are cooked, transfer them to a dish; almost entirely reduce their braising-liquor; add to this two liqueur-glassfuls of burnt brandy, for each ten trotters, and add this reduced braising-liquor to the forcemeat. Cut ten rectangles six inches long by four inches wide out of pig’s caul.
Spread a tablespoonful of forcemeat over each; set two trotters on the forcemeat of each rectangle; cover up with forcemeat, and draw the ends of the caul together in suchwise as to enclose the whole.
Sprinkle with bread-crumbs and melted butter; grill gently, and serve.
Cook a fair-sized chopped onion in butter, together with three peeled, pressed, and roughly-chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper; add a pinch of chopped parsley, a little crushed garlic, one-sixth of a pint of Poivrade sauce, and twenty freshly-cooked and well-drained sheep’s trotters.
Simmer for ten minutes and dish in a timbale.
Mutton kidneys are either grilled or sautéd. When they are to be grilled, first remove the fine skin enveloping them, cut them in halves, without completely severing them on their concave side, and impale them on a small skewer, with the view of keeping them open during the grilling operation. Before grilling they may or may not be dipped in melted butter and rolled in bread-crumb.
When they are to be sautéd, clear the kidneys, as before, of the thin skin which envelops them; cut them into halves, and then into slices one-quarter in. thick.
Kidneys, of what kind soever, should be cooked very quickly, otherwise they harden. After having seasoned them, put them into very hot butter, and toss them over a fierce fire in order to stiffen them. This done, drain them; and let them stand for a few minutes, that they may exude the blood they contain, which sometimes has a distinct ammoniacal smell.
Meanwhile, swill the utensil in which they have been sautéd, and finish the sauce, to which they are added when dishing up. Never let the kidneys boil in the sauce, for they would immediately harden.
Slice, season, and quickly toss the mutton kidneys in butter, and drain them.
For six kidneys put one tablespoonful of finely-chopped shallots into the saucepan, and just heat it. Moisten with one-sixth of a pint of white wine; reduce to half; add two tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze, and a few drops of lemon-juice, and put the kidneys in this sauce. Add two and one-half oz. of butter, cut into small pieces; melt this on the corner of the stove, tossing and rolling the pan the while; dish in a timbale, and sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley over the kidneys.
Fry the mutton kidneys, and drain them as above.
Put into the saucepan one-third of a pint of Bordelaise sauce [442] combined with poached dice of marrow, a pinch of chopped parsley, and three oz. of sliced cèpes, tossed in butter and oil and well drained.
Return the kidneys to the saucepan; toss them in the sauce, and dish in a timbale.
Fry the skinned, halved and seasoned mutton kidneys in butter, and dish them, each on a small croûton of bread-crumb, cut to the shape of a cock’s comb and fried in butter. On each half-kidney, set a small cooked mushroom and a slice of truffle.
Swill the saucepan with Madeira; add a little half-glaze; put in a small quantity of butter, away from the fire, and pour this sauce over the kidneys.
Remove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys; cut them in two lengthwise; season them; fry them quickly in butter, and dish in a timbale.
Swill the saucepan with one-half pint of champagne per six kidneys; reduce almost entirely; add two tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze; add a small quantity of butter, and pour this sauce over the kidneys.
N.B.—The preparation of kidneys sautéd with wine always follows the same principle; that is to say, the saucepan in which the kidneys have cooked is always swilled with a quantity of wine, in proportion to the number of kidneys; a proportionate amount of meat glaze is then added, and after the sauce has been slightly buttered, the kidneys are tossed in it.
Remove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys; cut them into halves; slice and season them; fry them in butter, and drain them.
In the saucepan that has served in the cooking of the kidneys, fry a chopped onion with butter, and add thereto a pinch of paprika.
Moisten with a tablespoonful of cream, and reduce; add one-sixth of a pint of velouté, boil for a moment, and rub through tammy.
Heat this sauce; put the kidneys into it, toss them for a minute, so as to heat without boiling them, and dish in a timbale.
Quickly fry the sliced mutton kidneys in butter and drain them.
[443]
Swill the saucepan with white wine and almost entirely
reduce; add one-third of a pint of Chausseur sauce for each six
kidneys; put the kidneys in this sauce, toss them for an instant;
dish them in a timbale, and sprinkle with a pinch of chopped
parsley.
For six mutton kidneys: fry a chopped onion in butter and add a large pinch of curry thereto. Moisten with one-sixth pint of velouté; cook for a few minutes, and rub through tammy.
Clear the kidneys of their outer skin; slice and season them, and fry them quickly in butter. Put them into the sauce; dish them in a timbale, and serve some rice “à l’Indienne” separately.
Clear the mutton kidneys of their outer skin and cut them in halves; season them; fry them quickly in butter, and dish them in a circle in a timbale.
In their midst set a garnish of small, cooked mushrooms, and grilled chipolata sausages; and pour thereon a highly-seasoned, tomatéd half-glaze sauce.
Cut some crusts two and one-half in. in diameter and one and one-third in. thick, from a tin-loaf, and allow one for each person. Remove the crumb from their inside, leaving only a slight thickness at the bottom; butter them, and dry them in the oven.
Garnish these crusts with mutton kidneys sautéd with mushrooms, and combined with small, ordinary forcemeat quenelles, and slices of truffle.
Dish on a napkin, and serve very hot.
Garnish a border or a Savarin-mould with “rizotto à la Piémontaise,” press the latter lightly into the utensil, and keep the mould hot.
Clear the mutton kidneys of their outer skin; cut them into halves; season them, and fry them quickly in butter.
Turn out on a round dish, set the half-kidneys in a circle on the “Turban,” alternating them with fine slices of truffle, and pour a tomatéd half-glaze sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, in the middle.
Cut the mutton kidneys into halves, as explained, without dividing them; impale them two or four at a time, on a skewer; [444] season them, and grill them in a somewhat fierce oven. Set them, with the skewers withdrawn, upon a hot dish, and put into the cavity of each a piece of softened, Maître-d’hôtel butter, the size of a hazel nut.
Prepare the mutton kidneys as above.
Grill the same quantity of small, pressed and seasoned half-tomatoes. Garnish these tomatoes with a piece, the size of a walnut, of Maître-d’hôtel butter, combined with two-thirds oz. of chopped capsicum per three oz. of butter. Dish these tomatoes in a circle; set a kidney on each, and surround with a border consisting of rings of onion, seasoned, dredged and crisply fried in oil.
Prepare the mutton kidneys exactly as explained under the first of this kind of recipes, and surround them with small heaps of straw potatoes and bunches of very green parsley.
Remove the outer skin from the mutton kidneys, and cut them into roundels one-third in. thick. Season these roundels and stiffen them in butter over a very fierce fire. Impale them on skewers, alternating them with squares of blanched lean bacon and slices of sautéd mushrooms. Sprinkle with melted butter and raspings, and grill.
These brochettes are generally served as they stand.
(1) Set one quart of haricot beans to cook with two quarts of water, one-third oz. of salt, one carrot, one onion stuck with a clove, one faggot, six garlic cloves, and two-thirds lb. of fresh pork rind, blanched and strung together. Boil; skim; cover, and cook gently for one hour. At the end of this time, add two-thirds lb. of breast of pork, and a sausage with garlic, of the same weight as the pork. Salt the beans very moderately, allowing for the reduction which they have ultimately to undergo.
Complete the cooking of the whole gently.
(2) Fry gently in lard one lb. of shoulder, and the same weight of breast, of mutton; both cut into pieces one and one-half oz. in weight.
This done, drain away half the grease; add two chopped [445] onions and two crushed cloves of garlic, and fry again until the onions have acquired a slight colour. Now pour in one-sixth pint of good tomato purée; moisten the meat, enough to cover, with the cooking-liquor of haricot beans, and cook gently in the oven for one and one-half hours at least.
(3) Garnish the bottom and sides of some cocottes or deep dishes with bacon rind; fill these with alternate layers of the pieces of mutton, the beans, the bacon cut into dice, and the sausage cut into roundels.
Sprinkle the surface with raspings, and set the gratin to form in a moderate oven for one hour; taking care to baste from time to time with some reserved haricot-beans cooking-liquor.
Cut two lbs. of lean mutton into cubes of one and one-third in. side, and fry these in three oz. of lard, with one chopped onion, salt, and a pinch of powdered curry. When the meat is frizzled and the onions begin to colour, sprinkle with one and one-third oz. of flour; cook the latter a while; moisten with one and one-third pints of water or stock; boil, stirring the while, so as to dissolve the roux, and then cook gently in the oven for one and one-half hours. When about to serve, clear of all grease and dish in a timbale.
Send a timbale of rice à l’Indienne separately.
Bone a medium-sized leg of mutton, and cut the meat into squares, three oz. in weight. Lard each square with a large, seasoned strip of bacon, inserted with the grain of the meat. Put the pieces into a daubière with a sliced half-carrot and onion, three cloves of garlic, a little thyme, bay, and parsley stalks. Moisten with one and one-third pints of good, red wine and four tablespoonfuls of oil, and marinade in the cool for two hours.
Prepare:—(1) Three chopped onions mixed with two crushed garlic cloves; (2) one-half lb. of lean bacon, cut into dice and blanched; (3) one-half lb. of fresh, bacon rind, blanched and cut into squares of one in. side; (4) a large bunch of parsley, containing a small piece of dry, orange peel. Garnish the bottom and sides of a daubière with thin slices of bacon; set the pieces of mutton in layers inside, and alternate them with layers of onion, bacon and bacon rind; sprinkle a pinch of powdered thyme and bay on each layer of meat. Put the faggot in the middle.
[446]
Moisten with the marinade, strained through a sieve, and
one-fifth pint of brown stock; cover with slices of bacon; close
the daubière, and seal down the lid by means of a thread
of soft paste, in order that the steam may be concentrated inside.
Boil on the side of the stove; put the daubière in an oven of regular heat (a baker’s oven if possible) that the cooking process may be gentle and steady, and cook for five hours.
When about to serve, uncover the daubière; remove the overlying slices of bacon; clear of grease; remove the faggot, and dish the daubière on a napkin.
N.B.—According to the household method, the “Daube” is served in the daubière itself; but, subject to the demands of the service and in order that the preparation may keep its bucolic character, it may be served in small earthenware utensils.
Cold Daube constitutes an excellent luncheon dish. All that is needed is to put what is left into a small daubière, where, as a result of the binding properties of the pork rinds, it will set in a mass.
When about to serve, turn out on a round dish; surround with very light, chopped jelly; and carve into very thin slices.
An unalterable principle governs the preparation of émincés and hashes, which is that the meats constituting these dishes should never boil if it be desired that they be not hard.
They should, therefore, only be heated in their accompanying garnish or sauce, and in the case of émincés, cut as finely as possible.
For the various recipes under this head, see the Chapter on Beef. (Nos. 1175, 1178 and 1179.)
Heat three oz. of lard in a sautépan. Put therein one-half lb. of lean bacon, cut into dice and blanched, and twenty small onions. When the bacon is frizzled and the onions have acquired a good colour, drain both on a dish. In the same fat, fry three lbs. of breast, neck and shoulder of mutton, all three being cut into pieces weighing about three oz. Keep the meat in the fat until each piece of it has acquired a frizzled coat.
Drain away half of the grease; add three crushed cloves of garlic; dust with two tablespoonfuls of flour, and cook the latter, stirring the while.
Moisten with one quart of water; season with one-third oz. [447] of salt and a pinch of pepper; boil and stir; add a faggot, and cook in the oven for thirty minutes.
This done, transfer the pieces to another saucepan; add the bacon and the onions and a quart of half-cooked haricot beans; strain the sauce over the whole, and complete the cooking in the oven for one hour.
Dish in a timbale or in small cocottes.
Cut two lbs. of boned breast and shoulder of mutton into pieces, as above.
Slice two lbs. of potatoes and chop four medium-sized onions.
Take a saucepan just large enough to hold these ingredients and the moistening; line the bottom of the utensil with a layer of the pieces of meat, and season the latter with salt and pepper. Upon the meat spread a litter of sliced potatoes and chopped onions; repeat the operation, again and again, until all the ingredients are used up, and remember to place a faggot in the middle.
Moisten with one and one-third pint of water, and cook gently in the oven for one and one-half hours. The potatoes in this preparation answer the double purpose of garnish and leason.
Dish in a timbale and serve boiling.
(1) Cut six fine egg-plants into halves, lengthwise; cisel the pulp somewhat deeply with the point of a small knife, and fry them until their pulp may be easily removed. Do this with a spoon, and put the pulp aside with the skins of the egg-plants.
(2) Peel two fair-sized egg-plants; cut them into roundels one-third in. thick; season them, dredge them; fry them in oil, and put them aside.
(3) Chop up the pulp withdrawn from the egg-plants, and put it into a basin with one and one-half lbs. of very lean, cooked mutton, chopped or cut into very small dice; two tablespoonfuls of very finely-chopped onion, fried in butter; a pinch of parsley; a piece of crushed garlic as large as a pea; three oz. of roughly-chopped raw mushrooms, fried in butter; two eggs; two tablespoonfuls of cold Espagnole sauce; one tablespoonful of tomato purée; a pinch of salt, and another of pepper. Mix the whole well.
(4) Butter a low-bordered quart Charlotte mould; line it all over with the egg-plant skins, and lay these black side [448] uppermost. Garnish the bottom of the mould with a layer of mincemeat, one in. thick; on this layer place a few fried roundels of egg-plant, and continue thus with alternate layers of mince and egg-plant. Cover the last layer of mince-meat with the remains of the egg-plant skins, and cook in a bain-marie for one hour.
When taking the mould out of the oven, let it stand for five minutes in order that the ingredients may settle; turn out on a round dish, and besprinkle the surface of the Moussaka with chopped parsley.
Follow the directions given under beefsteak pudding (No. 1170) exactly. The preparation is just the same, but for the substitution of mutton for the beef.
Heat four oz. of clarified fat in a sautépan, and put into it four lbs. of breast, neck and shoulder of mutton; all three cut into pieces weighing two and one-half oz. Fry over a very brisk fire; season with one-third oz. of salt, a pinch of ground pepper, and another of sugar.
The sugar settles slowly on the bottom of the sautépan, where it turns to caramel; it is then dissolved by the moistening, and thus gives the sauce the required colour.
When the meat is well fried, remove almost all the fat; sprinkle with one and one-half oz. of flour; cook the latter for a few minutes, and moisten with one and one-half quarts of water or stock.
Boil, stirring the while, and add two-thirds lb. of fresh concassed tomatoes or one-fifth pint of tomato purée; one crushed clove of garlic, and a large faggot. Cover and cook in the oven for one hour.
This done, transfer the pieces of mutton, one by one, to another saucepan with twenty small, new onions; twenty pieces of new trimmed carrots; twenty pieces of new turnips, cut to the shape of long olives and tossed with butter in a frying-pan; twenty small, new potatoes, cut into two, and trimmed, or whole; one-sixth pint of fresh peas, and an equal quantity of raw French beans, cut into lozenges. Strain the sauce over the whole; set to boil, and continue cooking slowly in the oven for one hour; taking care from time to time to baste the overlying vegetables with sauce.
Dish in a timbale and serve very hot.
N.B.—When put into the sauce, the vegetables cook much less quickly than in boiling water. In the Navarin, moreover, [449] they are cooked by means of gradual penetration; thus, by slackening the cooking speed of the Navarin, they are cooked to the required extent.
Mutton Pilaff is, in fact, nothing but a Navarin in which the tomatoes dominate the other ingredients; it is flavoured with ginger or saffron, according to circumstances, and the usual vegetables are replaced by rice. Prepared in this way, it does not lend itself very well to the exigencies of a restaurant service.
More often, therefore, it is treated like curried mutton; but, instead of serving it with rice à l’Indienne, it is dished in the midst of a pilaff-rice border. Sometimes, too, the rice is served separately, after the manner of a curry dish.
Large joints of lamb for Relevés are cut like those of mutton.
One joint, however, should be added, which is “The Haunch”; and this consists of one leg and half the loin attached.
Large joints of house lamb should be poëled or roasted. Their most suitable adjunct is either their own stock, or a thickened, highly seasoned and clear gravy.
House Lamb Relevés are chiefly garnished with early-season or new vegetables; but all the garnishes given under Mutton Relevés may also be served with them, provided the difference in size be taken into account. In addition to these garnishes, saddle of lamb admits of all the preparations given under saddle of veal (Nos. 1181 to 1191).
Completely bone the saddle from underneath, in suchwise as to leave the skin intact; season it inside, and place in the middle a fine foie gras, studded with truffles and marinaded in Marsala.
Reconstruct the saddle, and wrap it tightly in a piece of muslin; put it in a saucepan just large enough to hold it, on a litter of pieces of bacon rind, cleared of all fat and blanched. [450] Moisten, enough to cover, with the braising-liquor of a cushion of veal; add thereto the Marsala used in marinading the foie gras, and poach for about forty-five minutes.
Before withdrawing the saddle, make sure that the foie gras is sufficiently cooked. Remove the muslin, and put the saddle in an oval terrine à pâté just large enough to hold it. Strain the cooking-liquor over it, without clearing the former of grease, and set it to cool.
When the saddle is quite cold, carefully clear away the grease that lies upon it, first by means of a spoon and then by means of boiling water. Serve it very cold, in the terrine as it stands.
Having trimmed the neck of lamb, as explained, brown it in butter; surround it with eight small, Provence half-artichokes, and cook gently in the oven. The artichokes in question have no chokes and are very tender.
Meanwhile, peel, press, concass and season four or five tomatoes, and fry them in butter. When they are ready, add a large pinch of chopped tarragon to them.
Dish the tomatoes; set the neck upon them, and surround it with the stewed half-artichokes.
Fry a shortened and well-trimmed neck of lamb, in butter.
This done, transfer it to an oval cocotte with ten small onions browned in butter, and two medium-sized potatoes, cut into large dice, shaped like garlic cloves, and blanched. Sprinkle the whole with melted butter and cook gently in the oven.
Serve the preparation as it stands, in the cocotte, placing the latter on a folded napkin.
Fry the neck of lamb with butter, in an earthenware dish, and surround it with sliced onions, tossed in butter, and sliced potatoes; both of which vegetables should be in quantities in proportion to the size of the piece of meat. The “à la Boulangère” procedure is always the same, and was explained under No. 1307, but allowances should always be made for the particular size and tenderness of the piece.
Having shortened and well trimmed the neck, season it; sprinkle it with melted butter, and grill it gently.
[451]
When it is almost cooked, sprinkle it again with melted
butter and bread-crumbs, and let it acquire a golden colour
while completely cooking it.
Serve very hot with mint sauce and a suitable garnish.
Prepare some Anna potatoes (No. 2203) in an oval earthenware dish, and add a third of the quantity of potatoes of raw, minced artichoke-bottoms.
When the potatoes are three-parts cooked, stiffen the neck in butter; place it on the potatoes, and complete the cooking of the two, basting often the while with melted butter.
Send the preparation to the table on the dish that has served in the cooking process.
Prepare the following garnish: eight small onions, half-cooked in butter; ten carrots of the size and shape of garlic cloves, cooked in consommé and glazed; and ten turnips of the same shape and size, similarly treated.
Put these vegetables into a cocotte with three tablespoonfuls of fresh peas; the same quantity of raw, French beans, cut into lozenge form; two or three tablespoonfuls of good and very clear stock, and complete the cooking of the whole.
Meanwhile, poële the neck of lamb, which should have been shortened and trimmed in the usual way. Dish the neck of lamb and serve the vegetables in the cocotte.
Having shortened and trimmed the neck of lamb, stiffen it in butter; surround it with one-half lb. of finely-minced and well-blanched onions, and complete the cooking of both by stewing.
This done, transfer the neck to a dish and keep it hot. Add one-quarter pint of boiling Béchamel sauce to the onions, and rub them quickly through tammy or a fine sieve. Heat this Soubise; finish it with one and one-half oz. of butter, and pour it over the neck.
Border the dish with a thread of rather light meat glaze, and serve.
Shorten the neck of lamb; suppress the cartilaginous portions and stiffen it in butter. Garnish the bottom of an oval earthenware dish, of the same size as the neck, with a layer of Anna potatoes (No. 2203). Set the neck on this layer, and cover it [452] over with a second layer of the same potato preparation. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan; cook in the oven as for Anna potatoes, and take care that the bottom be so well set as to prevent any of the juices of the joint from exuding and depositing on it.
Serve the dish as it stands.
All the recipes given under Haunch and Double (pair of legs), may be applied to the legs and shoulders of house lamb.
The shoulders are often grilled, the operation being effected over a moderate fire after the joints have been incised lattice-fashion, and the same applies to the breast. The “à la Boulangère” treatment (No. 1307) admirably suits the legs and shoulders of house lamb.
According to custom, lamb cutlets are usually served like “Noisettes,” i.e., two are allowed for each person.
As a rule, when they are to be grilled, they are previously dipped in melted butter and sprinkled with fine bread-crumbs.
When they are to be sautéd they are treated à l’anglaise (egg and bread-crumbs) except when, subject to their mode of preparation, they have to be served plain or stuffed.
Prepare:—(1) a rizotto (No. 2238) with truffles, in proportion to the number of cutlets; (2) some very reduced Béchamel sauce, combined with one-half oz. of grated Parmesan per one-fifth pint of the sauce, and allowing one small tablespoonful of it for each cutlet.
Half-grill the cutlets; dry them, and cover them, on both sides, with the reduced sauce. As soon as the cutlets have received their coat of sauce, dip them, one by one, into beaten egg (anglaise); roll them in very fine bread-crumbs mixed with grated Parmesan. Thoroughly press this coating of bread-crumbs with the flat of a knife, that it may adhere well to the egg and produce a crust at the close of the operation. This done, set the cutlets in a sautépan of very hot, clarified butter, and brown them on both sides.
Dish the rizotto in a very even layer; set the cutlets in a circle on the rice, and fix a frill to the bone of each.
Treat the cutlets à l’anglaise, and cook them in clarified butter.
Dish them in a circle, with a fine slice of truffle upon each; [453] and, in their midst, set a nice heap of asparagus-heads cohered with butter.
Treat the cutlets à l’anglaise, but add to the bread-crumbs the quarter of their weight of grated Parmesan.
Cook the cutlets in clarified butter. Dish them in a circle, and, in their midst, arrange a garnish “à la milanaise” (see Côte de Veau à la Milanaise, No. 1258.)
Slightly flatten the cutlets, dip them in beaten egg, and roll them in finely-chopped truffle, which in this case answers the purpose of bread-crumbs. Press the truffle with the flat of a knife, that it may thoroughly combine with the egg, and cook the cutlets in clarified butter. Dish them in a circle; garnish the centre of the dish with a mushroom purée (No. 2059), and surround the cutlets with a thread of buttered meat glaze.
For twelve cutlets, make a preparation consisting of four oz. of ham, four oz. of cooked mushrooms, and one-half oz. of chopped, red capsicums; the whole being cohered by means of a very reduced Béchamel sauce, flavoured with truffle essence.
Grill the cutlets on one side only, and garnish them on their grilled side with a tablespoonful of the above preparation, which should be shaped like a dome upon them.
Set the cutlets upon a tray as soon as they are garnished; sprinkle the surface of the preparation, covering them with grated cheese and melted butter, and place them in the oven, that their cooking may be completed and the gratin formed. Meanwhile, toss twelve seasoned half-tomatoes in oil. Dish these tomatoes in a circle; set a cutlet upon each, and border with a thread of tomato sauce.
Grill the cutlets, and, at the same time, prepare as many bread-crumb croûtons as there are cutlets, and of exactly the same shape as the latter. Fry the croûtons in butter, and coat them with foie-gras purée.
Place a grilled cutlet on each coated croûton, and a slice of truffle on the kernel of each cutlet. Now, by means of a [454] piping-bag, fitted with an even pipe, cover the cutlets with some soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a); dish them in a circle, and put them in the oven for five minutes, that the soufflé may poach.
After withdrawing them from the oven, garnish the centre of the dish with a heap of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter.
Cook the cutlets in butter on one side only, and cool them under slight pressure.
Garnish the cooked side of each with a tablespoonful of forcemeat with butter (No. 193), which should have received a copious addition of chopped truffles. Shape this forcemeat dome-fashion, by means of the flat of a small knife, dipped in tepid water, and set the cutlets, one by one, on a tray. Now put them in the front of the oven for seven or eight minutes that the forcemeat may be poached.
Dish them in a circle, and pour a Périgueux sauce in their midst.
A lamb “epigram” consists of a cutlet, and a piece of braised breast, cooled under slight pressure and cut to the shape of a heart of the same size as the cutlets. The cutlets and the pieces of breast must be treated à l’anglaise, and sautéd or grilled according to circumstance.
Epigrams should be dished in a circle, the cutlets and the pieces being alternated.
They are usually garnished with braised chicory, or macédoines of early-season vegetables.
Lamb sweetbreads are, according to circumstances, either used as the principal constituent of various preparations, or they answer the purpose of a garnish.
Due allowance having been made for their particular size, they may be treated after the same manner as veal sweetbreads; that is to say, once they have been cleared of blood, they are blanched and braised according to the nature of the selected mode of preparation.
If they are to form part of a large garnish, cohered by means of a brown sauce, they are braised brown and glazed. If they stand as an adjunct to poached fowl, they may be either studded or left plain, and braised white.
Apart from their two uses as principal and garnishing [455] constituents, the undermentioned methods of preparation, explained in the various preceding series, may be applied to them; viz.:—
Attereaux, Brochettes, Croustades, Pâté chaud, Vol au vent, &c.
Prepare the following garnish:—Twenty new carrots, cut to the shape of large olives, cooked in consommé and glazed; twenty pieces of turnip, similarly treated; fifteen small, new onions, cooked in butter; twenty very small new potatoes, cooked in butter (or à l’anglaise if desired); three tablespoonfuls of peas; the same quantity of French beans cut into lozenge-form, and an equal quantity of small flageolet beans. The three last vegetables should be cooked à l’anglaise, and kept rather firm.
Cut two lbs. of shoulder and breast of lamb into pieces weighing two oz., and completely cook them in butter without any moistening.
This done, transfer them to a dish. Swill the saucepan with three tablespoonfuls of water; add five tablespoonfuls of pale meat glaze; heat without boiling, and finish with two and one-half oz. of butter.
Put the pieces of lamb and the vegetables into this sauce, and gently rock the saucepan, that all the ingredients may partake of the sauce.
Serve in a hot timbale.
Proceed exactly as explained under “Pilaw de Mouton” (No. 1354), only bear in mind that the time allowed for cooking should be proportionately shortened in view of the greater tenderness of lamb’s meat.
Proceed as for “Currie de Mouton,” after duly allowing, as above, for the greater tenderness of the meat.
Relevés of fresh pork are only served at family and bourgeois meals. They are always roasts and allow of all the dry or fresh vegetable garnishes, as well as the various vegetable purées, and the pastes, such as macaroni, noodles, polenta, gnochi, &c. I shall, therefore, give only a few recipes, and shall select Fresh Neck of Pork as the typical joint.
Roast the neck of pork and withdraw it from the oven a few minutes before it is done.
Keep it in the stove for an hour, that its cooking may be completed gently; but remember, that if a stove is not available, the cooking of the piece should be well finished in the oven; for pork is indigestible when it is not thoroughly well cooked.
Meanwhile, prepare a garnish of sauerkraut (No. 2097), and, during the last hour of its cooking, sprinkle it frequently with the fat of the neck.
Dish the neck; clear the sauerkraut of any superfluous fat, and set it round the piece of meat in spoonfuls; slightly pressing it in so doing.
Roast the neck of pork. Three-parts cook the Brussels sprouts; completely drain them, and put them round the piece of meat, that they may complete their cooking in its gravy and fat, being frequently basted the while.
For this preparation it is well to roast the neck in an earthenware dish, in which it may be served with its garnish—a much better plan than that of transferring it to another dish.
Roast the neck of pork; dish it and surround it with a garnish of red cabbages, prepared à la Flamande (No. 2098).
[457]
Sprinkle the garnish of vegetables with the gravy of the
joint, three-parts cleared of grease.
Roast the neck of pork and see that it is well done.
Meanwhile, peel and mince one lb. of apples; put them in a saucepan with one oz. of sugar and a few tablespoonfuls of water; seal the lid of the saucepan well down, so as to concentrate the steam inside, and cook quickly. When about to serve, thoroughly work the apple purée with a wire whisk, in order to smooth it. Dish the neck with its gravy, three-parts cleared of grease, and serve the apple purée separately in a timbale.
Roast the neck on a dish that may be sent to the table.
When it is three-parts done, set one quart of cooked and well-drained haricot beans round it, and complete the cooking gently. Serve the dish as it stands.
Cook plainly in water three lbs. of shoulder, breast, or gammon of bacon, and add thereto a garnish of vegetables as for boiled beef, and six parsnips.
Serve the vegetables round the piece of meat, and send a pease-pudding (prepared as directed below) separately.
Pease-pudding: put one lb. of a purée of yellow or green, split peas into a basin, and mix therewith three oz. of melted or softened butter, three eggs, a pinch of salt, another of pepper, and a little nutmeg. Pour this purée into a pudding basin, and poach it in steam or in a bain-marie.
This preparation may also be put into a buttered and flour-dusted napkin; in which case, close the napkin up purse-fashion, tying it up securely with string, and cook the pudding in the same stewpan with the pork. This procedure is simpler than the first and quite as good.
Very often a purée prepared from split, yellow or green peas, is used instead of the pudding given above.
Completely line the bottom and sides of a pie-dish with thin slices of raw ham, and prepare, for a medium-sized dish:—(1) one and one-half lbs. of fresh pork in collops, seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with two tablespoonfuls of dry Duxelles (No. 223), a pinch of parsley and another of chopped [458] sage; (2) one and one-half lbs. of raw, sliced potatoes, and one large, chopped onion.
Garnish the bottom of the dish with a litter of collops; cover with potatoes and onions; spread another litter of collops, and begin again in the same order. Add one-quarter pint of water; cover with a layer of fine paste or puff-paste trimmings, which should be well sealed down round the edges; gild with beaten egg; streak the paste with the prongs of a fork; make a slit in the centre of the covering of paste for the escape of steam, and bake in a moderate oven for about two hours.
Season the cutlets; dip them in melted butter, and sprinkle them with fine raspings. Grill them gently, and baste them from time to time.
Dish them in a circle; pour a Charcutière sauce in their midst, and serve a timbale of potato purée separately.
Charcutière sauce for eight or ten cutlets: prepare one pint of Robert sauce (No. 52) and mix with it, just before dishing up, two oz. of gherkins, cut in short julienne fashion or minced.
Season the cutlets, and fry them on both sides in butter or fat.
Meanwhile, peel and slice some eating apples, allowing three oz. of the latter for each cutlet, and put them in an earthenware dish. Set upon them the half-fried cutlets; sprinkle with fat, and complete their cooking, as well as that of the apples, in the oven.
Serve the dish as it stands.
Treat the cutlets à l’anglaise, but remember to add one quart of grated Parmesan to the bread-crumbs. Cook them gently in butter.
Dish in a circle; set a milanaise garnish (No. 1258) in the centre, and serve a tomato sauce separately.
Season and grill or sauté the cutlets. Dish them in a circle, with Piquante or Robert sauce in their midst.
N.B.—(1) Cutlets accompanied by either of the two above-mentioned sauces, may be treated with melted butter and bread-crumbs [459] and grilled or sautéd; but, in this case, the sauce should be served separately.
(2) For cutlets with Piquante sauce, border the dish on which they are served with gherkins, and send the sauce either separately or on the dish.
(3) All the garnishes given under fresh neck of pork may accompany grilled or sautéd pork cutlets.
Stuffed or not stuffed, sucking pigs are always roasted whole, and the essential point of the procedure is that they should be just done when their skin is crisp and golden.
While cooking, they should be frequently basted with oil; the latter being used in preference to any other fatty substance owing to the greater crispness it gives to the skin of the sucking pig.
Serve a sauceboat of good gravy at the same time.
For a sucking pig of medium weight, prepare the following forcemeat:—Cook three lbs. of large onions with their skins, and let them cool. This done, peel and finely chop them, and put them in a basin with one lb. of the chopped fat of kidney of beef, one lb. of soaked and well-pressed bread-crumb, four oz. of parboiled and chopped sage, two eggs, one oz. of salt, a pinch of pepper and a little nutmeg.
Mix the whole well, and put this stuffing inside the sucking pig. Sew up the latter’s belly; put it on the spit, and roast as directed above.
Serve separately, either a timbale of apple sauce or of mashed potatoes. Four oz. per lb. of selected raisins, washed and swelled in tepid water, are sometimes combined with the apple sauce.
Zampino, or stuffed leg of pork, is a product of Italian pork-butchery.
It is cooked like a ham, after having been tied in a napkin lest its skin burst.
Served hot, it is accompanied by a Madeira or tomato sauce, a garnish of boiled, braised, or gratined cabbages; of French beans, or of potato purée.
Zampino is served cold, alone or mixed with other meats; but it is used more particularly as a hors-d’œuvre. For this purpose, cut it into the thinnest possible slices.
After having singed and well cleaned the inside of the pig’s ears, cook them in water, salted to the extent of one-third oz. of salt per quart, together with a garnish of vegetables as for pot-au-feu. This done, cut them across in suchwise as to have the end where the flesh is thickest on one side, and the thinnest end on the other side of the strips.
Chop up the thick portion; cut the other into collops, and put the whole into a saucepan with one-quarter pint of half-glaze with Madeira.
Cook gently for thirty minutes. This done, add to the minced ears, one and one-half lbs. of sausage meat and a pinch of chopped parsley. Divide up the whole into portions, weighing three oz; wrap each portion in a piece of pig’s caul, insert a collop of ear into the wrapping, and give the latter the shape of ordinary crépinettes. Grill gently, until the cooking is three-parts done; sprinkle with butter and raspings, and complete the cooking of the crépinettes, colouring them in so doing.
Dish in a circle, and serve a Madeira sauce at the same time.
Cook the ears as explained above, and let them cool.
Cut them in two, lengthwise; coat them with mustard; sprinkle them with melted butter and raspings, and grill them gently.
Ears are usually served plain, but they may be accompanied by apple sauce.
Truffled pig’s trotters may be bought already prepared; all that remains to be done, therefore, is to grill them.
Sprinkle them with melted butter; grill them very gently, basting them from time to time the while, and serve them with a Périgueux sauce.
Sprinkle the pig’s trotters copiously with melted butter, and put them on the grill, which should be very hot.
Grill them very gently, turning them with care; and serve them plain, or with a tomato purée separately.
Chop and afterwards pound one-half lb. of very lean fresh pork, and three-quarters lb. of fat fresh bacon. Add one and one-half oz. of foie gras, and rub through a fine sieve.
Put this forcemeat into a basin, and finish it with two fresh eggs; one and one-half oz. of chopped onion, cooked in butter without colouration; one-sixth pint of thick cream; one-half oz. of salt, a pinch of white pepper, and a little nutmeg.
Mix the whole well; put it into the gut, without overfilling the latter, and tie round with string at regular intervals. Now set the boudins on a willow lattice, and plunge them into a receptacle full of boiling water. From this moment keep the water at 203° F., and let the boudins poach for twelve minutes. This done, withdraw them, and let them cool.
Before serving them, grill them very gently, and, as a precautionary measure, wrap them in buttered paper. Do not cisel them, but prick them with a pin.
Serve a purée of potatoes with cream at the same time.
Pound separately one lb. of raw chicken fillets and three-quarters lb. of fresh fat bacon.
Combine the two products in the mortar; pound again with the view of thoroughly mixing them, and add three oz. of chopped onion, cooked in butter without colouration, together with a little thyme and bay; one-half oz. of salt, a pinch of white pepper, and a little nutmeg.
Mix the whole well, and add four eggs, one by one, working the forcemeat vigorously the while with the pestle.
Rub through a fine sieve; return the forcemeat to the mortar, and add thereto, little by little, one pint of boiled and very cold milk.
Put the forcemeat into the gut; poach it in the bain-marie, and set it to grill, observing the same precautions as in the preceding recipe.
Serve a purée of potatoes with cream at the same time as the boudins.
Make the following preparation, putting the various ingredients into a basin:—One lb. of very fresh pork fat, cut into large dice, and half-melted; one sixth pint of thick cream; two eggs; six oz. of chopped onions, cooked in lard without colouration; [462] two-thirds oz. of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a little spice; a pinch of wild-thyme leaves, and a leaf of bay, both chopped.
Mix the whole well with one pint of blood of pork, and put it into the gut without over-filling it, for it should be borne in mind that the preparation swells in poaching.
Set the boudins on willow lattices or baskets; plunge them into boiling water, and, from that time, keep the latter at 203° F.
Let them poach for twenty minutes, and remember to prick all those that, by rising to the surface, show they contain air, which might burst their skins. When about to serve them, cisel them on both sides, and grill them very gently.
They are generally accompanied by a potato purée with cream.
Have ready the same preparation as for black boudins, given above, and add to it three-quarters lb. of rice, cooked in consommé and kept somewhat firm. Poach as before, and leave to cool. Cisel the boudins, and grill them over a moderate fire.
Serve very hot with an apple purée.
Have ready the same preparation as for black boudins, and add to it three oz. of moist sugar, two oz. of raisins, and the same quantity of currants, washed and swelled in lukewarm water.
Put the preparation into the gut, and poach in the usual way.
When about to serve, grill these boudins gently, after the manner of black boudins, and send them to the table with a sugared apple sauce.
Add to two lbs. of very good sausage-meat, four oz. of chopped truffles, and two tablespoonfuls of truffles cooking-liquor. Mix the whole well; divide into portions weighing two and one-half oz., and wrap each portion in a square of pig’s caul. Shape the crépinettes thus formed rectangularly. Sprinkle with melted butter, and grill gently.
Dish them in a circle; pour a Périgueux sauce in their midst, and serve a potato purée with cream separately.
Prepare the crépinettes as above; wrap them in a double sheet of buttered paper; over them set a heap of cinders covered with burning embers, and keep the latter alive for a space of twenty minutes, when the cooking operation should be completed.
Formerly, the above was the mode of procedure, but nowadays the crépinettes are merely enveloped, each in an oval layer of paste. They are then gilded, their tops are streaked, and, after having been laid on a tray, they are baked in a warm oven for twenty minutes.
This done, they are dished on a napkin.
The most well-known of English sausages are those of Cambridge.
They are cooked like the French kind, and they are often served at breakfasts as an adjunct to bacon. Sometimes, too, they serve as a garnish to roast fowls, young turkeys, &c.
Their seasoning is often excessive.
First Method.—Put the sausages in a well-buttered sautépan; poach them gently in the oven, and dish them on thin crusts of bread fried in butter.
For twelve sausages, swill the sautépan with one-sixth pint of white wine; reduce this to half; add one-sixth pint of half-glaze sauce; boil for a few minutes, and finish, away from the fire, with one and one-half oz. of butter. Pour this sauce over the sausages.
Second Method.—Stiffen the sausages in butter; add one-third pint of white wine, and complete their poaching. Set them on fried crusts; reduce the wine by two-thirds, and add thereto the yolk of one egg, a few drops of lemon juice, two tablespoonfuls of pale melted meat-glaze, and three oz. of butter. Pour the sauce over the sausages.
Plunge the sausages into a saucepanful of boiling water, and then poach them for no more than ten minutes; should they be allowed to cook for a longer time, they would only lose their quality.
They may be served with a hors-d’œuvre dish of grated horse-radish, and an apple sauce separately; but their proper adjunct is braised sauerkraut.
However deservedly pork may be praised, it could never have been included among the preparations of first-class cookery (except subsidiarily) had it not been for the culinary value of hams.
With the latter it triumphs, and, be they of Bayonne or York, of Prague or Westphalia, no other joints enjoy more favour than these as Relevés.
Though it is somewhat difficult to decide which one of the various kinds of ham should be adopted, in my opinion that of Bohemia, known as Prague ham, is best for a warm dish, and that of York for a cold dish.
The latter is also excellent when served hot, but, even so, for this purpose it is inferior to the Prague kind, the delicacy of which is incomparable.
Still, York ham ranks first in the opinion of many, for it should be remembered that England has no rival in the preparation of seasoned pork, and her famous bacon, the renown of which is enormous, constitutes one of the greatest discoveries in the science of gastronomy.
York ham is the kind chiefly used.
After having soaked it in cold water for six hours, brush it and remove the pelvic bone; put it into a stewpan of cold water, and set to boil. This done, keep the water just simmering, that the ham may cook after the poaching method.
There is no need of any seasoning or aromatic garnish. As often as possible, leave the ham to cool in its cooking-liquor. If the ham is to be braised, take it out of the water thirty minutes before it is cooked. Skin it; clear it of any superfluous fat, and put it in a braising-pan, just large enough to hold it, with two-thirds pint of some such wine as Madeira, Port, Xeres, Chypre, &c. Select the wine in accordance with the title of the dish on the menu.
Having thoroughly sealed down the lid of the pan, put it in the oven, and continue the cooking of the ham gently for one hour, turning it over from time to time during the operation. If it have to reach the table whole, glaze it at the last moment.
Its usual adjunct is a light and highly seasoned half-glaze sauce, combined with some of the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease.
Having poached the ham as explained above, braise it in white wine, adding thereto three oz. of mushroom parings.
Dish and send separately a garnish of large, fresh noodles, cohered with butter and a Soubise purée, and completed with a julienne of truffles.
Serve separately a half-glaze sauce, combined with the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease and reduced.
Completely cook the ham by poaching; skin and trim it.
If served whole, send, separately, some braised sauerkraut and potatoes, freshly cooked à l’anglaise. Serve a half-glaze sauce with Rhine wine at the same time.
If served already carved, arrange the slices in a circle on a round dish; put the sauerkraut in their midst, and border with the potatoes.
Serve, separately, the same sauce as before.
Poach the ham; braise it, and glaze it at the last moment. Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish, arranged in alternate heaps:—Carrots and turnips, cut to the shape of large, elongated olives, cooked separately in consommé, and glazed; small onions cooked in butter; braised and trimmed half-lettuces; peas and French beans cohered with butter separately.
Serve apart a thickened gravy combined with some of the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease.
Poach the ham and drain it on a dish. Remove the skin and all the black, outside parts. Prepare a piece of patty paste large enough to enclose the ham. Besprinkle the surface of the ham with powdered sugar; glaze quickly at the salamander, and place the ham (glazed side undermost) on the layer of paste.
Draw the ends of the paste towards each other; seal them together, with the help of a little moisture, in such wise as to enclose the ham completely; turn the latter over, and put it on a tray with the sealed side of the paste lying underneath. Gild and streak, make a slit in the middle of the paste for the escape of steam, and put the joint in the oven.
Leave it there until the paste is dry and well coloured. After taking the ham out of the oven, inject into it, through a [466] prepared hole, a large wineglassful of Port wine or Sherry. Stop up the hole with a little pellet of paste; dish, and serve immediately.
Serve at the same time a garnish of Gnochi, spinach, or Soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a).
The best adjunct to Prague ham is a very light glaze prepared with Port wine, and buttered at the last minute.
Prepare a ham “sous la cendre” as described above.
Send to the table with it as many fine collops of foie-gras, tossed in butter and each covered with a nice slice of truffle, as there are diners. Send also a timbale of asparagus-heads.
The waiter in charge then puts a slice of ham, a collop of foie-gras, and a tablespoonful of asparagus-heads on each plate and serves.
The sauce should be a Madeira flavoured with truffle essence.
Prepare a ham as in No. 1419. Serve each slice of it with one collop of braised veal sweetbread and one tablespoonful of fresh peas à la paysanne.
Send as an adjunct the braising-liquor of the veal sweetbread.
The garnishes best suited to ham relevés are:—
Spinach; new broad beans; braised lettuce; endives; fresh peas à la paysanne.
Noodles; Spaghetti; various Macaronis; Gnochi; Purées of fresh beans, broad beans.
The most usual accompanying sauce is half-glaze with Madeira.
This is a variety of the ham soufflés given hereafter. The preparation used is the same, and it may be made either from raw or from cooked ham.
After having completely boned it, but for the end bone, which must be kept, cook the ham, and cool it.
Now cut it horizontally, one-half inch above its bone, from the extremity of the end bone to the head of the latter. At the last-mentioned point, make a vertical incision meeting and ending at the first; remove the cushion of ham, which should by now be quite separated from the rest of the joint, and put aside for some future purpose.
[467]
All that remains of the ham, therefore, is a thick piece
adhering to the end-bone. Carefully trim this piece, and surround
it with a strong band of buttered paper, tied on by means
of string, the purpose of which is to hold in the soufflé.
This done, put a sufficient quantity of soufflé de Jambon (described hereafter) on the remaining meat of the ham to reconstruct it entirely. Smooth the surface of the preparation with the flat of a knife (dipped in cold water), and so finish off the contour of the ham. Decorate according to fancy; place the dish containing the ham on a saucepanful of boiling water, and put the two in the oven with the view of obtaining the maximum amount of steam, which latter helps to poach the soufflé. This souffléd ham may be poached just as well in a steamer.
When the preparation is properly poached, remove the band of paper; dish the ham, and send one of the garnishes or sauces given for braised ham separately.
Ham soufflés are prepared after two recipes; in the first, cooked ham is used, and in the second the ham is raw. This last procedure is derived from mousseline forcemeat, and, inasmuch as the preparation resulting from it is less flimsy than that of the first, it is preferred when a large number of people have to be served.
Finely pound one lb. of lean, cooked ham, and add thereto, one after the other, three tablespoonfuls of very cold Béchamel sauce. Rub through a fine sieve; put the resulting purée into a sautépan, and finish with one-quarter pint of very creamy and boiling Béchamel sauce, flavoured with ham essence; four egg-yolks, and the whites of six eggs, beaten to a stiff froth.
This preparation may be combined with three oz. of grated Parmesan, and the two flavours will be found to blend very agreeably.
Prepared in this way, it is particularly well suited to the “Jambon Soufflé,” the recipe whereof is given above (No. 1421).
Following the quantities given under “Farce mousseline” (No. 195), make the soufflé preparation, and add thereto four [468] tablespoonfuls of reduced and very cold Béchamel sauce per lb. of raw ham.
Keep the forcemeat somewhat stiff, and finish it with the whites of four eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, per lb. of ham.
Make the soufflé preparation after one of the methods given above. Spread it in layers in a buttered timbale, alternating the layers of soufflé with others of asparagus-heads cohered with butter. Smooth the surface to the shape of a dome; decorate with a fine slice of truffle, and cook in a moderate oven, of a temperature suited to this kind of preparation. Serve the soufflé as soon as it is ready. If it be small, spread only one layer of asparagus-heads in the middle of it.
If it be large, spread two or three layers of asparagus-heads.
Add to the selected one of the two soufflé preparations—either will do—for one lb. of ham, the purée of one-half lb. of pressed tomatoes, cooked in butter with one half-capsicum, rubbed through a sieve and very much reduced.
Dish the soufflé in a buttered timbale; sprinkle the surface with a pinch of red capsicum, cut in fine julienne fashion, and cook as described above.
Dish the selected ham soufflé preparation in layers in a buttered timbale, and between each layer of it spread a litter of noodles, tossed in butter.
Sprinkle the surface with chopped truffles; set a ball of truffle well in the centre of the soufflé, and cook in the usual way.
Dish the ham soufflé preparation in a buttered timbale, and spread it in alternate layers with a fine garnish à la Milanaise (No. 1258).
Deck the surface with small pieces of poached macaroni, fried in butter; sprinkle with grated cheese, and cook the soufflé in a moderate oven.
Dish the soufflé preparation in layers in a buttered timbale, and between each layer spread a litter of truffle slices. Besprinkle the surface with chopped truffles, and cook the soufflé in the usual way.
Mousses and Mousselines are made from the same preparation as “Farce mousseline de jambon,” in pursuance of the general principles given under No. 195.
The need of differentiating the terms arises from the fact that mousses are poached in a mould the contents of which are sufficient for a number of people, whereas mousselines are spoon-moulded quenelles, shaped like eggs.
In the preparation of “Farce mousseline de jambon” it is necessary to allow, in the salt seasoning, for the amount of salting the ham has already received.
If the meat of the ham is not very red, the colour of the forcemeat may be intensified by means of a little vegetable red, in order that it may be of a distinct pink shade.
Put the forcemeat in a deep border-mould, somewhat like a Charlotte, and poach it under cover in a bain-marie.
That the poaching may be regular, keep in water at a constant temperature of 205° or 208° Fahrenheit, and allow forty-five minutes for the operation in the case of a mousse made in a quart mould.
The preparation is seen to be cooked when it swells and rises in the mould.
As soon as this occurs, withdraw the latter from the bain-marie; let it stand for five minutes, that its contents may settle; turn it upside-down on a dish, and wait two minutes before removing the mould. In any case, do not take off the mould until the liquid which has drained from it, all round the dish, has been soaked up. Ham mousses are chiefly accompanied by Suprême sauce, or Veloutés with curry or paprika; sometimes, too, a highly-seasoned and buttered half-glaze sauce, with Madeira, Port, or Marsala may be used. The most suitable garnishes for ham mousses are those I have already given for Ham.
As I have already stated, mousselines, like quenelles, are moulded with a spoon.
They may also be laid, by means of a piping-bag, on the bottom of the well-buttered sautépan in which they are to be poached; they are shaped like meringues, even or grooved, [470] and, in either case, they are decorated with lozenges, crescents, or discs, &c., of ham or truffle.
Having carried out the selected method of preparation, cover them with boiling water, salted to the extent of one-third oz. per quart, and poach them for from eighteen to twenty minutes, taking care to keep the water at a constant temperature of 208° F. These mousselines may also be poached dry in a steamer or in a drying stove.
Decorate the mousselines, prepared according to one of the two methods above described, with one lozenge of ham and another of truffle. Poach them; drain them well, and dish them in the form of a crown. Cover them with an Allemande sauce, flavoured with ham essence, and combined with two oz. of grated Parmesan per pint of the sauce, and glaze quickly.
After taking the mousselines out of the oven, set in their midst a heap of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter.
Spread a layer of shredded spinach, fried in butter, on a dish.
Upon it set the poached and well-drained mousselines; cover them with the same sauce as that prescribed for the “Mousselines Alexandra,” and glaze them quickly.
Poach the mousselines, the forcemeat of which must be flavoured with paprika. Drain them; dish them in a circle; cover them with Hongroise sauce, and glaze them quickly.
On withdrawing the dish from the oven, set a fine heap of baked cauliflowers with cheese in the middle of it.
Proceed exactly as described under No. 1433, but substitute for the asparagus-heads a garnish of very small peas cohered with butter.
When ham is to be dished cold, it should, if possible, be allowed to cool in its cooking-liquor, except when it has to be boned. In the latter case, take it out as soon as it is cooked; incise it underneath, following the edge of the cushion; detach and remove the bones.
[471]
Now roll up the ham; bind it tightly in a piece of linen, and
cool it under pressure.
Whether boned or unboned, skin it when it is cold; remove some of its fat, and sprinkle it with cold, melted aspic until the latter covers it evenly.
Dish it up; fix a frill to it, and surround it with fine aspic dice.
Proceed exactly as in No. 1421, but substitute for the soufflé preparation therein described the cold ham mousse below.
The Preparation of the Mousse.—Finely pound one lb. of very lean, cooked ham; add to it one-third pint of cold Velouté, and rub through a fine sieve.
Put the resulting purée into a basin; season it; work it on ice for a few minutes, and mix therewith, little by little, one-quarter pint of melted aspic. Finally combine two-thirds pint of half-beaten cream with it.
The mousse may be moulded, either in an aspic-clothed mould, decorated with truffles, as explained under No. 956, or in small cassolettes, lined with a thin strip of paper inside their brims, after the manner of small, cold soufflés.
As the dishing and serving of mousses are always the same, the reader is begged to refer to those recipes dealing with the question.
Take a deep, square dish and garnish it, half-full, with fine, ham mousse. Even the surface of this layer of mousse, and, when it has set, arrange upon it some shells, raised by means of a spoon dipped in hot water, from a foie-gras Parfait. As soon as this is done, pour over the foie-gras shells, a sufficient quantity to cover them of half-melted succulent chicken aspic with Madeira, and let this jelly set.
When about to serve, incrust the dish in a block of ice.
Garnish a deep, square dish with some ham mousse. When the latter has set, arrange thereon the suprêmes of a very white, poached fowl. These suprêmes, cut into regular collops, should be coated with a white chaud-froid sauce.
Cover with aspic, as directed under “Mousse à l’Alsacienne,” and serve.
N.B.—If desired, the collops need not be coated with chaud-froid sauce, but, in this case, they should be covered with aspic.
These mousselines are made from the same preparation as that used for the mousse, and, but for the basic ingredient, which is not the same, they are treated after the manner described under “Petites Mousses de Homard” (No. 958). To avoid needless repetition, therefore, the reader will kindly substitute the word ham for lobster in the recipe just referred to.
Although the term “poultry” (Fr. volaille), in its general sense, implies Turkeys, Geese, Ducks and Pigeons, just as well as Fowls, only the latter are meant, from the culinary standpoint, when the word “Volaille” appears on a menu.
Four qualities of fowl are recognised in cookery, and each plays its part, has its uses, and is quite distinct from the other three. We have:—
(1) Pullets and capons; usually served whole, either as relevés or roasts.
(2) Chickens, so-called “à la Reine”; used for sautés and chiefly for roasts.
(3) Spring chickens; best suited to en cocotte or grilled preparations.
(4) Chicks; served only en cocotte or grilled.
Suprêmes and ailerons of fowl, which are among the finest entrées, are supplied by chickens à la Reine or by Spring chickens.
Finally, there are the giblets, consisting of the pinions, necks, gizzards, and livers of fowl, which give rise to a number of preparations, the recipes whereof I shall give briefly at the end of the series.
Pullets and capons for relevés and entrées are poached or poëled; sometimes, but more rarely, they are braised.
The birds to be treated by poaching are trussed with the claws folded back and inserted into the belly; their fillets and legs are rubbed with lemon, so as to keep them white, and they are then covered with thin slices of larding bacon.
The ingredients for chicken poaching stock were given under No. 249. The bird is known to be cooked when the blood which issues from a prick on the leg is white or faintly pink.
These fowls are sometimes larded or studded. When this is to be done, dip the legs and belly of a trussed and [474] lemon-rubbed fowl into boiling white stock; this will be found to sufficiently harden the flesh to allow of its being treated in the required way. The products used for studding and larding are, according to circumstances, ham or tongue, truffles or mushrooms, and sometimes, the red part of a carrot for the larding. Only truffles, ham and tongue are used for studding.
Poëled fowls are trussed as above; they are covered with slices of bacon in order that the fillets may be protected during the first stages of the cooking; then they are cooked in butter on poëling-aromatics, under cover and in a deep, thick saucepan. When the piece is almost cooked, just moisten it a little, either with rich poultry-stock, with the cooking-liquor of truffles or mushrooms, with Madeira, red or white wine, &c. This moistening serves in the basting of the fowl and must therefore be renewed if it reduces too quickly. After having been cleared of all grease, it is always added to the sauce which accompanies the piece of poultry.
Braised fowls are always treated after the manner described under No. 248; they are not rubbed with lemon, but they are covered with slices of bacon. The latter should only cover the breast, but be thick, notwithstanding; for they protect the belly, which, without them, would shrivel by the time the legs cooked.
The covering of bacon is essential to all pieces of poultry, whether these be poached, poëled, braised or roasted.
I feel bound to call the reader’s attention to this very important point in culinary work:—
Owing to the difficulties involved in the carving of the fowl and the placing and arranging of the pieces and their garnish upon the consumers’ plates—both of which operations require dexterity and expertness, which those in charge very often do not possess, or thanks to the inefficiency of particular installations, or what not, I have noticed for some considerable time, that the method of serving large pieces of poultry is, in many cases, very far from being the right one.
For, indeed, how often does not the diner find himself presented with a plate of fowl which is neither appetisingly dainty nor yet sufficiently hot! It follows from this, that all the care and trouble devoted by a chef to the preparation of the dish are entirely wasted. Now, I have tried to improve this state of affairs, by planning a method of serving which would be at once simple and expeditious, without necessarily being devoid of tastefulness and presentability.
[475]
In the first place, it is my practice to remove the fowl’s two
suprêmes, in the kitchen, and to keep them warm in a little
cooking-liquor until the last minute. Secondly, I remove all
the bones of the breast, and I reconstruct the fowl with a
garnish in keeping with the dish, i.e., either a mousseline forcemeat,
pilaff rice combined with cream, foie gras and truffles,
spaghetti, or noodles with cream.
Having properly smoothed and arranged the selected garnish, the fowl may now be placed, either at one end of any but a round dish, or on a low cushion of fried bread, on which it may be set firmly.
It may also be entirely coated with Mornay sauce, sprinkled with grated cheese, and speedily glazed.
When the body of the bird is dished, its garnish should be set round it in fine, tartlet crusts; its suprêmes, quickly sliced, should be distributed among the tartlets, and the dish sent to the table with the sauce separately.
By this means, it reaches the table hot, it is served quickly and cleanly; and every person gets a slice of meat, and not garnish only, as was so often the case formerly.
Instead of tartlets, one may use thin croûtons of bread, of the size of the slices of chicken, and fried in fresh butter.
Thus, for a “Poularde à la Derby,” after having stuffed the pullet with rice, suppressed the bones of the breast, and removed the suprêmes; all that is necessary is to properly shape the rice, and to dish the fowl on a cushion.
This done, prepare as many croûtons and slices of foie-gras, sautéd in butter, as there are diners, and arrange them round the pullet—the slices of foie-gras lying on the croûtons. Now, quickly cut the suprêmes into slices; put one of these on each slice of foie-gras, and on each of the latter put a slice of truffle. Put the pullet, thus prepared, in the oven for a few minutes; let it get very hot, and send it to the table with the sauce separately.
In the dining-room the Maître-d’hôtel quickly serves the garnished croûtons on hot plates, beside each croûton he puts a tablespoonful of the rice with which the pullet has been stuffed, and, finally, a tablespoonful of sauce.
In less than two minutes after its entrance into the dining-room, the pullet is thus served warm to each person.
Of course, the above measures refer to the fowl that has to be dished whole and presented; but, when this is not required, the rice withdrawn from the cooked bird need only be set in the centre of a deep, square entrée dish (fitted with a cover), [476] and surrounded by the sliced suprêmes, with intercalated slices of foie-gras and truffle. The sauce is also served separately in this case. Cover the dish, so that it may stand and keep hot a few minutes, if necessary, without spoiling.
The legs, which are rarely served at a well-ordered dinner, remain in the kitchen together with the carcass.
I cannot too strongly recommend the system just described, whenever the circumstances allow of its being put into practice. It is the only one that ensures an efficient service, calculated to give entire satisfaction to all concerned.
Stuff the pullet with the rice prescribed under No. 2256, and poach it. Dish it and coat with Albuféra sauce.
Surround with small tartlet crusts, garnished with truffles raised by means of a spoon the size of a pea; quenelles of the same shape; small button mushrooms, and cocks’ kidneys. Cohere this garnish with Albuféra sauce.
Between each tartlet, place a slice of salted tongue, cut to the shape of a cock’s comb.
Having larded the pullet with tongue and truffle, poach it.
This done, remove the suprêmes, and replace them by mousseline forcemeat; smooth this forcemeat, giving it the shape of the pullet in so doing, and set to poach in the front of the oven.
Now, coat the piece with Mornay sauce, and glaze quickly. Dish, and surround with tartlet-crusts garnished with asparagus-heads, cohered with butter; place a collop of the reserved suprêmes (which should have been kept hot) on each tartlet, and border the dish with a thread of pale glaze.
Stud the pullet with truffles, cover it with a Matignon (No. 227), wrap it in muslin, and braise it.
Remove the suprêmes; suppress the bones of the breast; fill the carcass with a garnish of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, and arrange this garnish as already described under No. 1444.
Slice the suprêmes, and put them back on the garnish, in suchwise as to reconstruct the breast of the fowl. Coat the piece with somewhat stiff and fine suprême sauce; dish it, and surround it with lamb sweet-breads, studded with truffles, [477] braised and glazed, and alternate the sweetbreads with little faggots of asparagus-heads.
Poële the pullet. Dish it, and coat it with its poëling-liquor, combined with tomatéd half-glaze sauce. On either side of it set some capsicums, stuffed with rice, and some roundels of egg-plant, seasoned, dredged and tossed in butter; alternating the two products.
Poach the pullet, and coat it with a Béchamel sauce flavoured with chicken-essence.
Dish it and surround it with slices of salted tongue, laid tile-fashion on either side; and heaps of carrots and turnips (cut to the shape of balls) and peas and celery, at either end. All these vegetables should be cooked à l’anglaise; i.e., either in boiling water or in steam.
Poach the pullet without colouration; dish it, and coat it with an “Aurore Sauce” (No. 60). Surround it with medium-sized, decorated quenelles; and trimmed oval slices of salted tongue, arranged according to fancy.
Stuff the pullet with a fine foie-gras, stiffened in the oven for twenty minutes with a little Madeira, and cooled.
Fill up the pullet with a little, fine sausage-meat; stud it with truffles, and braise it in short moistening.
Dish it on a low cushion, and surround it with braised, lambs’ tongues, alternated with artichoke-bottoms, garnished with a rosette of Soubise purée. As an adjunct, use the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease.
Cook the pullet in light, white stock with one lb. of breast of bacon and a garnish of vegetables as for pot-au-feu. Dish, and surround with the bacon, cut into slices.
Serve, separately, an English parsley sauce, and a sauceboat of the pullet’s cooking-liquor.
Poële the pullet, and baste it towards the close of the operation with strong veal stock.
Prepare a garnish of braised celery.
[478]
Dish the pullet; surround it with the braised celery, and
cover the latter with the poëling-liquor.
Poële the pullet, and swill the saucepan with mushroom essence. Add this swilling-liquor (reduced) to one-quarter pint of half-glaze with Madeira.
Dish the pullet, and surround it with twenty grooved and cooked mushroom-heads. Serve separately the reduced half-glaze, to which add two oz. of fresh butter.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it, and coat it with an Allemande sauce flavoured with mushroom essence.
Surround it with twenty grooved, cooked and very white mushroom-heads.
Prepare a “Poularde Soufflée” after recipe No. 1518. Dish it, and surround it with small heaps of crayfishes’ tails, alternated with small croûtons of fried bread, on each of which place a collop of the suprêmes. Finish off with a slice of truffle on each collop of the suprêmes.
Serve a Mornay sauce, finished with crayfish butter, separately.
Poële the pullet without letting it acquire too much colour.
Dish it, and surround it with small artichoke-bottoms, stewed in butter and garnished with Soubise.
Alternate the artichoke-bottoms with small heaps of chestnuts cooked in consommé and glazed.
Pour a little thickened poëling-liquor on the bottom of the dish, and serve what remains of it, separately, in a sauceboat.
Remove the suprêmes, and the minion fillets. Lard the former with two rows of truffles and two rows of tongue; trim the minion fillets; make five or six slits in each; insert a thin slice of truffle half-way into each slit, and draw the respective ends of the two fillets together in suchwise as to form two rings. Put the suprêmes and the minion fillets each into a buttered sautépan, and cover the latter.
Remove the pullet’s legs, keeping the skin as long as possible; bone them to within one and one-third inches of the [479] joints, and cut off the claws, aslant, just below the same joints. Garnish the boned regions with godiveau prepared with cream close the opening by means of a few stitches of strong cotton, and truss each leg in such a manner as to imitate a small duck.
Poach these stuffed legs in stock made from the pullet’s carcass.
Also poach the suprêmes and the minion fillets in good time, with a little mushroom cooking-liquor, and a few drops of lemon juice.
With a pinch of flour mixed with water, stick a fried croûton (the shape of a pyramid, three inches high and of two inch base) in the middle of a dish.
Around this pyramid, arrange the two stuffed legs and the two suprêmes; putting each of them on a decorated quenelle with the view of slightly raising them. Set the minion fillets on the legs, and, between the latter and the suprêmes, lay small heaps of cocks’ combs and kidneys, and some very white mushroom-heads. Pierce the croûton with a hatelet garnished with one truffle, one fine cock’s comb, and a large mushroom.
Serve a suprême sauce separately.
N.B.—This dish is generally bordered, either with noodle-paste, white English paste, or with a chased silver border.
Stuff the pullet with one-half lb. of half-poached noodles, tossed in butter, and combined with a little cream and three oz. of foie-gras cut into large dice.
Poële it gently; dish it, and coat it with some of its poëling-liquor, thickened.
Distribute over the pullet a copious amount of raw noodles, sautéd in clarified butter; and serve the remainder of the thickened poëling-liquor separately.
Poële the pullet and put it into a terrine à pâté with a garnish consisting of small, glazed onions; chipolata sausages, poached in butter; chestnuts cooked in consommé; fried pieces of bacon; and, if desired, some small glazed carrots.
Add the pullet’s cooking-liquor, and simmer for ten minutes before serving.
Poach the pullet. Dish it and coat it with Chivry sauce (No. 78).
Serve a Macédoine of new vegetables; cohered with butter or cream, separately.
Braise the pullet. Dish it and surround it with whole truffles, cooked in Mirepoix with Madeira, and alternated with fine, grilled mushrooms, garnished with artichoke purée.
In front of the pullet set a small, silver shell, in which shape a pyramid of large cocks’ combs, heated in butter.
Between the skin and the fillets of the fowl insert a few fine slices of raw truffle. Lard the pullet and poach it.
When it is ready, strain the cooking-liquor through a napkin; reduce it, and add it to a very white suprême sauce, containing slices of truffle.
Dish the pullet; cook it with some of the sauce, and send what remains, separately, in a sauceboat.
Poële the pullet. When it is three-parts done, put it into a cocotte and surround it with the following garnish, prepared in advance and stewed in butter; viz:—one-half lb. of carrots and five oz. of turnips, cut into grooved crescents, one inch in diameter; five oz. of small onions cut into thin roundels, and five oz. of celery.
Complete the cooking of the pullet with this garnish, and add to it, when about to serve, three oz. of truffles, cut to the shape of crescents, and one-sixth pint of chicken stock.
Serve the preparation in the cocotte, after having cleared the liquor of all grease.
Stuff the pullet with rice, prepared after recipe No. 2256; and poële it. Dish, and surround it with collops of foie-gras, tossed in butter (each set on a small, fried croûton), and alternate these with large, whole truffles, cooked in champagne.
As an adjunct, serve the pullet’s cooking-liquor, cleared of all grease, combined with the cooking-liquor of the truffles and one-sixth pint of veal gravy. Reduce the whole to one-sixth pint and thicken with arrow-root.
Stuff the pullet with rice, prepared after recipe No. 2256, and poach it without colouration.
Dish it, and coat it with suprême sauce, flavoured with paprika.
Send a garnish consisting of cèpes with cream, separately.
[481]
N.B.—This dish was served for the first time to Mme. Adelina Patti, the great singer.
Bone the breast of a fine pullet; season it inside, and fill it with a chicken forcemeat, prepared with cream and mixed with half its weight of very fine sausage-meat.
In the middle of the pullet set a nice salted and cooked calf’s tongue, trimmed and cleared of all cartilage; and place it so that its thin end lies in the region of the bird’s tail.
Sew up the pullet’s belly with thin string, allowing the skin sufficient play not to tear under the pressure of the forcemeat, which swells while cooking. Truss, cover the pullet with a slice of larding bacon, poach, and drain it.
When about to serve, make an incision around the breast with the point of a knife; detach the stuffing with the blade of a knife, passed horizontally on a level with the spine, and cut off, at a stroke, the piece consisting of the pullet’s breast, the stuffing, and the calf’s tongue.
Dish the carcass with the legs and wings still attached, on a low cushion. Cut the breast, lengthwise, into two; and, if the fowl has been properly stuffed, the tongue should then be found neatly bisected. Slice each half, and return them to the carcass in suchwise as to reconstruct the bird and give it an untouched appearance.
Coat lightly with Allemande sauce, combined with very red tongue, cut into dice; and surround with a border of timbales made from a purée of fresh peas (No. 2196), each set on an artichoke bottom. Serve a sauceboat of the same sauce as that with which the pullet was coated.
Stuff the pullet with pearl barley cooked in white consommé, well drained, and combined, per lb., with an equal quantity of fine sausage-meat (to which has been added a chopped onion, cooked in butter), and two tablespoonfuls of cream.
Poach the pullet in the usual way; dish it and coat it with Écossaise sauce, i.e., an Allemande sauce, combined with a brunoise of vegetables: carrots, onions, leeks, and celery, and a large part of the reduced pullet’s poaching-liquor.
Serve a garnish of French beans with cream, separately.
Stuff the pullet with rice, prepared after recipe No. 2256, and poach it without colouration. Dish it, and coat it with a [482] curry sauce, combined with two oz. of red capsicums in dice, per pint of sauce.
Serve a garnish of cucumbers with cream, separately.
N.B.—This dish was originated at the Carlton Hotel on the occasion of His Majesty King Edward VII.’s Coronation.
Half-poële the pullet in a saucepan.
Line the bottom and sides of an oval cocotte with thin slices of ham. Put the half-poëled pullet into this cocotte, together with one lb. of carrots, onions, and celery, all three sliced, fried in butter and moderately seasoned with salt and pepper.
Swill the saucepan with one-third pint of strong veal stock; reduce to half; put this reduced stock into the cocotte; cover the latter; seal down the lid with a thread of paste, and complete the cooking of the pullet in a somewhat hot oven for three-quarters of an hour.
Poach the pullet, and add to the ordinary garnish a bunch consisting of five or six sprigs of tarragon.
Dish, and decorate the pullet’s breast with a nice spray of blanched tarragon leaves.
Reduce and strain the pullet’s cooking-liquor, and serve it separately.
Stuff the pullet with one-half lb. of rice, prepared after recipe No. 2256.
Poach it; dish it, and coat with a suprême sauce.
Surround with a garnish of cocks’ combs and kidneys, and slices of truffle.
Prepare the pullet as for No. 1470; but, instead of lining the cocotte with slices of ham, cut the latter into dice and add these to the garnish, together with four oz. of peas and four oz. of French beans, cut into small lozenges.
Braise the pullet.
Dish it, and surround it with a garnish consisting of small heaps of quenelles made from chicken, mousseline forcemeat; grooved, button-mushroom heads; cocks’ combs and kidneys; [483] slices of truffle, and blanched olives. Add a small quantity of half-glaze sauce prepared with truffle essence.
Send a sauceboat of the same sauce separately.
Stuff the pullet with one-half lb. of noodles, slightly tossed in butter, and poële it.
Swill the saucepan with one-quarter pint of champagne. Dish the pullet and surround it with medium-sized truffles, cooked in champagne, alternated with small heaps of cooked and glazed chestnuts, and place a cock’s kidney between each heap.
Serve, separately, a half-glaze sauce, flavoured with truffle essence and combined with the reduced swilling-liquor.
Braise the pullet brown.
Dish it and surround it with spoon-moulded quenelles of forcemeat, combined with chopped mushrooms and truffles; large oval quenelles, decorated with tongue and truffle; grooved button-mushroom heads; cocks’ combs and kidneys; glazed small lambs’ sweetbreads; and olive-shaped truffles.
Slightly coat this garnish with Godard sauce, combined with some reduced braising-liquor, and send what remains of the latter in a sauceboat.
Poach the pullet, and let it half-cool.
Now remove the suprêmes and the bones of the breast; fill up the cavity in the carcass with a garnish consisting of larks’ fillets, sautéd just before dishing; grooved button-mushroom heads; cocks’ combs and kidneys; and cohere the whole by means of Béchamel sauce, finished with truffle essence.
Slice the suprêmes, and return them to their place, setting a slice of truffle between each. Coat the pullet with a stiff Allemande sauce; sprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter; glaze quickly, and serve at once.
Cut up the fowl as for a sauté dish, and cook it in butter, under cover. Then set the pieces in a very hot cocotte, and distribute thereupon five oz. of raw truffles cut into thick slices and slightly salted and peppered.
Swill the sautépan with a few tablespoonfuls of white wine; add a little chicken stock; pour this liquor into the cocotte; [484] thoroughly close the latter, and put it in a very hot oven for eight or ten minutes with the view of cooking the truffles.
Serve the preparation as it stands in the cocotte.
N.B.—This dish was invented at the Grand Hotel at Monte Carlo, as a means of offering to those who could not wait for the preparation of truffled pullets a substitute of a somewhat similar nature to the latter.
Poach the pullet, and add to it ten small olive-shaped carrots and ten small onions.
Dish, and surround the bird with the carrots and the onions, arranged in small heaps.
Serve, separately, a sauceboat containing the pullet’s cooking-liquor, and a cellar of kitchen salt.
Stuff the pullet with rice, prepared after recipe No. 2253, and poële it.
Dish it, and coat it with very strong reduced chicken stock, thickened by means of arrowroot.
Poële the pullet.
Dish it; coat it with Hongroise sauce, and surround it with timbales of pilaff rice, combined with tomato pulp, cut into dice.
Send a Hongroise sauce separately.
Boil the pullet gently in light, white stock, until it is well cooked. With the cooking-liquor prepare a suprême sauce, and add thereto the almost entirely reduced poaching-liquor of twenty-four oysters, one-half pint of cream, and the twenty-four oysters (cleared of their beards).
Dish the pullet, and pour this sauce over it.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it; coat with Indienne sauce, and serve a timbale of rice à l’Indienne, prepared after recipe No. 2254, separately.
Stuff the pullet with rizotto, combined with two oz. of truffle slices and eighteen crayfishes’ tails, and poach it in white stock containing one bottle of Chablis wine.
With the pullet’s cooking-liquor prepare a highly-seasoned [485] suprême sauce. Dish the bird on a small cushion; coat it with sauce, and surround it with fine black truffles, cooked in champagne, and set each on a small, round, and slightly hollowed croûton of fried bread.
Serve the remainder of the sauce separately.
Poach the pullet, keeping it very white. Dish it, and serve it plain.
Send, separately, an ivory sauce, a sauceboat of the pullet’s cooking-liquor, and some kind of garnish, such as macaroni or noodles with cream cèpes, cucumber, &c.
Stuff the pullet with rice, prepared after recipe No. 2256, and poach it.
Dish it, and coat it with an Indienne sauce.
A garnish of cèpes or cucumber with cream may be served at the same time.
Insert a whole foie gras into the pullet, the former having been studded with truffles, poached for fifteen minutes in some succulent veal stock, and one glassful of old Madeira, and afterwards cooled.
Stiffen and colour the pullet for twenty minutes in the oven, sprinkling it with butter the while.
Cover it entirely with thick slices of truffles; cover these with slices of bacon, and envelop the whole in a layer of plain dough, which should be well sealed up. Set the pullet, prepared in this way, on a baking-tray; make a slit in the top of the paste for the escape of steam during the cooking process, and cook in a moderate oven for one and three-quarter hours.
This pullet is served as it stands, cold or hot.
Stuff the pullet with one lb. of maize with cream, combined with one and one-half oz. of capsicums cut into dice, and poële it. Dish it and border it, on either side, with timbales of rice and fried bananas, arranged alternately. At either end of the dish set a croustade of lining paste, garnished with maize “à la crème.”
Braise the pullet.
Dish it, and surround it with (1) fine truffles, cooked in champagne, alternated with (2) large, round quenelles of mousseline forcemeat. At either end of the dish, which should [486] be oval, set a small silver shell of the same height as the cushion on which the pullet lies.
Garnish these shells with very white, curled cocks’ combs and cocks’ kidneys. Add the reduced braising-liquor to a half-glaze sauce, flavoured with truffle essence; cover the bottom of the dish with some of this sauce, and send what remains, separately, in a sauceboat.
Poach the pullet.
Remove the suprêmes; suppress the bones of the breast without touching either the pinions or the legs, and set the carcass, thus prepared, on a very low cushion of bread or rice, so that it may be steady.
Fill the carcass with macaroni, cohered with cheese and cream, and combined with three oz. of foie gras in dice, and one-half oz. of a julienne of truffles.
Slice the suprêmes, and reconstruct them on the macaroni, placing a fine slice of truffle between each. Coat the pullet with a stiff and unctuous cream sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese, and glaze quickly at the salamander.
Serve separately a creamy suprême sauce.
Fry quickly ten larks in butter, insert these into a fine pullet, and braise the latter in veal stock and white Savoy wine, in equal quantities. Prepare a milk polenta (No. 2294); spread it on a tray in layers one inch thick, and let it cool. Now stamp it with a round cutter one and one-half inches in diameter, and, a few minutes before serving, dredge these roundels of polenta, and brown them in clarified butter.
Just before dishing up, sprinkle them with grated Parmesan, and glaze them quickly at the salamander.
Dish the pullet on a very low cushion of fried bread; surround it with the glazed roundels of polenta; pour a little of the fowl’s cooking-liquor, thickened, over the dish, and send what remains of it in a sauceboat.
Serve at the same time a vegetable-dish of white Piedmont truffles, slightly heated in a little butter and some consommé.
Poach the pullet in some rather gelatinous white stock. Slice six carrots, six new potatoes, six new onions; put the whole into a saucepan, and cook gently in the fowl’s poaching-liquor, with the lid of the saucepan off. When the vegetables [487] are cooked, and the liquor is sufficiently reduced, set the pullet in a special oval cocotte, and cover it with the prepared vegetables and their cooking-liquor.
Poële the pullet.
Dish it; surround it with small timbales of rice with saffron, alternated with tartlet crusts, garnished with concassed tomatoes cooked in butter, and set a fine, stoned olive on each tartlet.
Serve a tomato sauce separately.
Stud the pullet with truffles, and poach it.
Dish it; coat it with suprême sauce, and surround it with poached lamb sweetbreads, spoon-moulded quenelles of mousseline, chicken forcemeat, and grooved mushroom heads, arranged alternately.
Serve a suprême sauce separately.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it; coat it with suprême sauce, and surround it on the one side with quenelles of pink, mousseline, chicken forcemeat, and on the other with a border of fair-sized, very black truffles.
Lard the pullet with truffles, and braise it in Madeira.
Set it on an oval dish, and, at either end of the latter, place a fine, decorated quenelle; on either side of the fowl arrange some artichoke-bottoms, garnished with asparagus-heads, cohered with butter.
Serve separately a half-glaze sauce with Madeira, to which the braising-liquor of the pullet has been added.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it; coat it with a suprême sauce, finished with crayfish butter, and surround it with small heaps of quenelles with crayfish butter, crayfishes’ tails, and slices of truffle.
Stuff the pullet with one lb. of pilaff rice with saffron, and poach it.
Remove its suprêmes; suppress the breast-bones by means of scissors, without touching the rice, and coat the latter with [488] Béchamel sauce coloured with tomato sauce and flavoured with saffron.
Dish; reconstruct the sliced suprêmes on the rice, and set between each slice another of chow-chow stewed in butter. Cover the pullet with the same sauce as that indicated above, and surround it with quarters of chow-chow cooked in butter, or serve this garnish separately.
Poële the pullet without letting it acquire overmuch colour.
Strain the poëling-liquor; clear it of all grease; add thereto a little tomato purée, and thicken it with arrowroot. Finish with three oz. of butter, the juice of half a lemon, and a little cayenne.
Dish the pullet; surround it with a border of egg-shaped croquettes of egg with truffles, and send the sauce separately.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it; cover it with Allemande sauce, and decorate it on top with slices of truffles and salted tongue cut to the shape of cocks’ combs.
Surround with spoon-moulded quenelles of chicken forcemeat, half of which should have been combined with chopped truffles, and the other half with chopped, salted ox-tongue.
Arrange the quenelles round the fowl, alternately, and border the dish with a thread of pale glaze.
Stuff the pullet with rice, prepared after recipe No. 2256, and poach it in white, chicken stock. Dish it on a low cushion; cover it with a suprême sauce, flavoured with paprika, and surround it with fair-sized artichoke-bottoms, each garnished with a fine truffle, coated with pale meat glaze.
Serve separately a sauceboat of the same sauce as that already used in coating the pullet.
Brown the pullet in butter, and put it into an oval cocotte.
Around it set a garnish consisting of four oz. of the red part of a carrot, three oz. of onion, and two oz. of celery, all three minced somewhat finely. Complete the cooking of the pullet with the vegetables, sprinkling it often the while with good veal stock.
Serve the preparation as it stands in the cocotte.
Stuff the pullet with one-half lb. of truffles in the shape of large olives, cooked in two oz. of melted pork fat, and mixed, while hot, with one lb. of fresh, grated pork fat, rubbed through a sieve. String the piece, taking care to close all its openings, and poële it gently.
Dish it; coat it with a very fine half-glaze sauce, made from the poëling-liquor and finished with truffle essence.
Poach the pullet in a little white stock, and surround it (when setting it to cook) with six small new onions, six small carrots, six small new potatoes, and one-quarter pint of freshly-shelled peas.
Set the pullet in a cocotte with the garnish of vegetables, and coat it with its reduced cooking-liquor, combined with some excellent suprême sauce.
Stuff the pullet with two-thirds lb. of rizotto combined with one-half lb. of white sliced truffles, and poële it in the usual way.
Dish it, and serve at the same time a thickened chicken gravy to which has been added the reduced poëling-liquor.
Stuff the pullet with three-quarters lb. of rice, combined with five oz. of peeled and concassed tomatoes, cooked in butter.
Poële the pullet. Dish it; coat it with a Portugaise sauce, combined with the poëling-liquor, and surround it with a garnish of medium-sized tomatoes, stuffed with rice “à la Portugaise.”
Poach the pullet.
Dish it, and coat it with an Allemande sauce, flavoured with mushroom essence and finished with two oz. of asparagus-head butter per pint of sauce. Surround it with croustades of Duchesse potatoes, rolled in breadcrumbs and melted butter, fried, emptied, then garnished with asparagus-heads cohered with butter, and each surmounted by a fine slice of truffle. Between each croustade set a faggot of very green asparagus-heads.
Stuff the pullet with rice prepared after recipe (No. 2256), and poach it. Dish it; coat it with suprême sauce, and surround it with spinach subrics, cooked at the last moment; add [490] to this garnish some shavings of white truffles, barely heated in butter, and set in a shell placed behind the fowl.
Stuff the pullet with one lb. of mousseline forcemeat of chicken, combined with three oz. of crayfish purée, and poach it.
Dish it; coat it with Allemande sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, and surround it with the following garnish, arranged in small heaps:—Spoon-moulded quenelles of mousseline, chicken forcemeat; white, curled, cocks’ combs; slices of raw foie gras, stamped out with a round cutter, and tossed in butter; small, grooved, cooked, and very white mushrooms; olive-shaped truffles, and one round quenelle decorated with truffles at either end of the dish.
Poële the pullet.
When it is ready, remove the suprêmes and the breast bones, and fill the carcass with a garnish of macaroni and cream, combined with foie gras and truffle dice. Cover the macaroni with Mornay sauce; glaze quickly, and dish the pullet on a low cushion.
Surround it with small tartlet crusts garnished with cocks’ combs and kidneys, cohered with Allemande sauce, and set a slice of the suprêmes on each tartlet. Put a silver shell containing a pyramid of truffles behind the fowl.
Serve an Allemande sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, separately.
Stuff the pullet with two-thirds lb. of mousseline forcemeat of chicken, combined with two oz. of almond purée, and poach it.
Dish it; coat it with suprême sauce, finished with a little almond milk, and surround it with quenelles prepared with pistachio butter and quenelles prepared with crayfish butter, arranged alternately.
Poach the pullet.
Remove the suprêmes and the breast bone, without touching either the wings or the legs, and set the carcass, thus trimmed, on a low cushion of bread or rice. Finely slice the suprêmes; add as many slices of truffle as there are collops of suprêmes, and combine the whole with a soufflé preparation with Parmesan, which should not be too light.
[491]
Reconstruct the pullet with this preparation; smooth the
surface, and surround the base of the pullet with a band of
paper, so that it may keep its form. Set some thin slices of
Gruyère cheese upon it; dish it, and cook it in a moderately
hot oven.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it, and coat it with an Allemande sauce, flavoured with chicken essence. Surround it with a garnish of rice, cooked in the pullet’s poaching-liquor, and moulded in small, buttered, timbale moulds.
Poële the pullet.
Remove the suprêmes; slice them, and dish them in the form of a crown upon a round dish, alternating them with collops of foie gras, tossed in butter. Pour a very strong chicken stock finished with truffle essence in their midst.
Serve, separately, a timbale of noodles with butter covered with raw noodles tossed in butter.
Heat in butter ten fine truffles seasoned with salt and pepper; sprinkle them with a glassful of excellent Madeira, and leave them to cool thus in a thoroughly sealed utensil. Now put these truffles into a fine pullet, and poële it just in time for it to be sent to the table.
When the pullet is ready, quickly cook as many ortolans, and toss in butter as many collops of foie gras as there are diners, and send them to the table at the same time as the pullet, together with the latter’s poëling-liquor, strained and in a sauceboat.
The waiter in charge should be ready for it with three assistants at hand, and he should have a very hot chafer on the sideboard. The moment it arrives he quickly removes the suprêmes, cuts them into slices, and sets each one of these upon a collop of foie gras, which assistant No. 1 has placed ready on a plate, together with one of the truffles inserted into the pullet at the start.
Assistant No. 2, to whom the plate is handed forthwith, adds an ortolan and a little juice, and then assistant No. 3 straightway places the plate before the diner.
The pullet is thus served very quickly, and in such wise as to render it a dish of very exceptional gastronomical quality.
N.B.—The name “Sainte Alliance” which I give to this dish (a name that Brillat-Savarin employs in his “Physiology [492] of Taste” in order to identify a certain famous toast) struck me as an admirable title for a preparation in which four such veritable gems of cookery are found united—the suprêmes of a fine pullet, foie gras, truffles, and ortolans.
This dish was originally served at the Carlton Hotel in 1905.
Stuff the pullet with truffles, prepared as for No. 1515, and braise it in Marsala. Dish it on a low cushion, and surround it with small tartlets of Gnochi “à la Romaine,” alternated with collops of foie gras, tossed in butter.
Poach the pullet.
Raise the fillets, leaving the wing-bones on the carcass; suppress the breast bones, and fill the resulting cavity with macaroni, cohered with the strong liquor of braised beef “à la Napolitaine,” and combined with dice of truffles and foie gras, cocks’ combs and kidneys.
Envelop the piece in pig’s caul, giving the former its natural shape; sprinkle with raspings and melted butter, and set in the oven that the pig’s caul may cook and colour.
Dish on a low cushion, and coat with chicken glaze with butter.
Surround with tartlet crusts, each garnished with a slice of the suprêmes, covered with a slice of foie gras tossed in butter, and surmounted by a slice of truffle.
Send a chicken glaze with butter separately.
Poach the pullet.
Raise the suprêmes, and cut them into thin slices; suppress the breast-bones by means of scissors, and stuff the bird with one lb. two oz. of mousseline forcemeat of chicken, combined with one-third lb. of foie-gras purée. Spread this preparation in layers, and between each of the latter set alternate slices of suprême and truffle.
Reconstruct the bird exactly; smooth its surface; deck it with bits of truffle, salted tongue, and boiled white of egg; place the dish on a deep tray containing a little boiling water, the steam of which assists the poaching of the preparation, and poach in a moderate oven.
When about to serve, coat the pullet with Allemande sauce flavoured with truffle essence.
N.B.—The use of a bain-marie consisting of a deep pan [493] containing boiling water, wherein the dish which holds the pullet is placed, is highly recommended, but the ideal method of poaching this sort of preparations is by means of a steamer.
Stuff the pullet with one-half lb. of rice, three oz. of mushrooms, and three oz. of a julienne of truffles. Poach it with one lb. two oz. of sliced and blanched onions, seasoned with a pinch of curry. When the pullet is ready, rub the cooking-liquor and the onions through tammy. Add one-third pint of Velouté and one-third pint of cream to this cullis; reduce to a stiff consistence; rub once more through tammy, and finish with one-sixth pint of cream.
Stuff the pullet with one-half lb. of foie gras and five oz. of truffles cut into large dice, and three-parts poële it.
Now put it into a cocotte with ten fair-sized truffles stewed in Madeira for a few minutes in the same saucepan as that in which the pullet was poëled. Moisten with one-sixth pint of veal stock; close the cocotte; seal the cover with a thread of paste, and complete the cooking in a moderate oven for thirty minutes.
Serve the fowl as it stands in the cocotte.
Stuff the pullet with one lb. of mushrooms, tossed in brown butter, and half-brown it in the oven.
Meanwhile put one pint of fresh peas into a saucepan, together with ten small new onions, one small lettuce cut julienne-fashion, and a faggot consisting of parsley stalks, chervil, and a sprig of mint. Add salt, sugar, two oz. of butter, and mix the whole up together.
Moisten with two small tablespoonfuls of water; cover and half-cook, taking care to toss from time to time during the operation. When the pullet is half-cooked, put it into a cocotte lined with a thin layer of paste, overreaching the edges of the cocotte by about two inches.
Surround it with a garnish of peas; cover it with a slice of bacon, and close the cocotte with its cover. Draw the overlapping paste over the latter; seal it down with some white of egg, that it may be hermetically closed, and set in the oven for about forty-five minutes.
Serve the preparation as it stands in the cocotte. A sauceboat of good chicken gravy may be served separately.
Poële the pullet; raise the suprêmes, and cut these into large dice. Mix them with an equal quantity of macaroni, cut short, and thickened with cream sauce combined with Parmesan, and add enough foie gras and truffles, cut into large dice, to equal half the weight of the suprêmes.
Suppress the breast-bones; fill the fowl with the above preparation, and cover the latter with a layer of mousseline forcemeat, reconstructing the bird naturally in so doing. Deck the surface with a crown of truffle slices; cover with buttered paper, and set in the oven (1) to poach the forcemeat, (2) to thoroughly heat the preparation beneath.
Dish the pullet; pour a little half-glaze sauce, flavoured with truffle essence and combined with slices of truffle, over the dish, and serve what remains of the sauce separately.
Stuff the pullet with rice, prepared after No. 2256, and poële it in short moistening. Dish it on a low cushion of fried bread, and surround it with a garnish of braised, tuberous fennel-roots.
Send the pullet’s poëling liquor separately, after having reduced and finished it with butter.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it; coat it with Allemande sauce, flavoured with mushroom essence, and surround it with the following garnish, arranged in heaps:—Quenelles of mousseline chicken forcemeat; slices of poached, veal sweetbreads; cocks’ combs and kidneys; cooked and very white button-mushroom heads, and slices of truffle.
Serve an Allemande sauce, flavoured with mushroom essence, separately.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it, and surround it with quenelles of chicken forcemeat, stuffed with foie-gras purée. Arrange these quenelles in heaps, and set a nice, whole truffle between each heap.
Pierce the pullet with a hatelet, garnished with one grooved mushroom, one fair-sized glazed truffle, and a quenelle decorated with salted tongue.
Serve a suprême sauce at the same time.
Poële the pullet.
Dish it, and surround it with a garnish of rizotto, combined with ham dice. Set a crown of grilled slices of ham upon the rizotto.
Serve a well-seasoned tomatéd suprême sauce separately.
Poach the pullet.
Dish it; coat it with a suprême sauce, finished with printanier butter (No. 157), in the proportion of two oz. per pint of sauce; and surround it with a garnish consisting of peas, French beans, and asparagus-heads, cohered with butter.
Stuff the pullet with ordinary pilaff rice, and braise it white. Dish it, coat it with a suprême sauce, combined with the reduced braising-liquor, and surround with small tartlet crusts, garnished with carrots à la Vichy.
Stuff the pullet with truffles and foie gras, and three-parts poële it, exactly as directed under “Poularde Souvaroff.”
Put it into a cocotte with one lb. of potatoes, cut into large dice and tossed in butter, and complete its cooking and that of the potatoes in the oven.
Stuff the pullet with ten oz. of green maize, three-parts cooked, and combined with one chopped onion cooked in butter and three oz. of good sausage-meat, fried in butter for one moment with the onion. Braise the pullet, and glaze it at the last minute.
Serve separately and at the same time a timbale of maize with cream.
Stuff the capon with fine truffles, and envelop it in very thin slices of cushion of veal. Braise it with best liqueur-brandy.
Dish and serve separately (1) the braising liquor in a sauceboat; (2) a timbale of cardoons with gravy.
As I pointed out at the beginning of Part V. of this chapter, the chickens best suited to the sauté treatment are those termed [496] “à la Reine”; they should be of medium size, very fleshy, and tender.
In an extreme case, small pullets or large chickens might be used, but neither of these are so eminently suited to the procedure in question as chickens “à la Reine.”
The fowl which is to be sautéd should be cut up thus: after having emptied, singed, and thoroughly cleaned it; cut off its legs—quite a simple matter, since all that is necessary is the disjunction of the thigh-bones, after having cut the skin. Cut off the claws just below the joint of the tibia, and pare the spurs. Now cut the tibia above the joint, and remove the thigh-bone.
Cut the pinions at the first joint; remove the wings, after having cut round a portion of the breast in such wise that each wing holds one half of it; finally detach the centrepiece or breast-bone, which should be left whole if the fowl be small and cut into two if it be otherwise.
The carcass thus remains. Cut it into two, and trim each piece on both sides.
Before setting them to cook, moderately season the pieces of fowl with salt and pepper. Whatever the demands of a particular recipe may be, the preparatory principle of sautéd chickens is always as follows:—
Take a sautépan just large enough to hold the pieces of fowl, and heat therein two oz. of clarified butter; or, according to circumstances, half butter and half good oil. When the selected fat is quite hot, insert the pieces of fowl; let them colour quickly, and turn them over from time to time, that they may do so evenly. Now cover the utensil, and put it in a sufficiently hot oven to ensure the complete cooking of the fowl. Some tender pieces, such as the wings and the breast, should be withdrawn after a few minutes have elapsed, and kept warm; but the legs, the meat of which is firmer and thicker, should cook seven or eight minutes more at least.
When all the pieces are cooked, withdraw them; drain away their butter, and swill the sautépan with the prescribed liquor, which is either some kind of wine, mushroom cooking-liquor, or chicken stock, &c. This swilling forms, as I have already pointed out, an essential part of the procedure, inasmuch as its object is to dissolve those portions of solidified gravy which adhere to the bottom of the sautépan.
Reduce the swilling-liquor to half, and add thereto the sauce given in the recipe. Put the pieces of carcass, the claws, the pinions and the legs into this sauce, and simmer for a few [497] minutes. The other pieces, i.e., the wings and breast, are then added, but when the sauce is sufficiently reduced, it must stop boiling. When the pieces are completely cooked, it is obviously unnecessary for the sauce to boil, since the former would only be hardened thereby.
A few minutes before serving, put the pieces into a deep entrée dish (fitted with a cover) in the following order:—The pieces of carcass, the claws and the pinions on the bottom of the dish, upon these the legs and the breast, and, last of all, the wings.
The sauce is then finished according to the directions of the recipe, and is poured over the pieces of fowl.
Some chickens are prepared without colouration—that is to say, the pieces are merely stiffened in butter without browning, and their cooking is completed in the oven as above. In this case the swilling-liquor is invariably white, as also the supplementary sauces, and the latter are finished with cream.
Fry the pieces of fowl without colouration, i.e., merely stiffen them. Add four oz. of onions, previously cooked in butter, and complete the cooking of the onions and the fowl together.
Withdraw the pieces; dish them; cover the dish, and keep it hot. Moisten the onions with a small glassful of liqueur brandy; reduce the latter; add thereto one-sixth pint of cream and one-sixth pint of velouté, and rub through tammy.
Reduce this sauce to a stiff consistence; finish it, away from the fire, with one and one-half oz. of butter, the juice of the quarter of a lemon, and a tablespoonful of Madeira, and pour it over the fowl.
Set about ten slices of truffle on the latter, and serve.
Sauté the chicken in oil, and withdraw the pieces.
Swill with one-quarter pint of white wine; add a piece of crushed garlic as large as a pea, one-sixth pint of tomatéd half-glaze sauce, and reduce by a third. Dish the chicken, and surround with alternate heaps of onion and egg-plant roundels, seasoned, dredged, and fried in oil, and concassed tomatoes cooked in butter.
Cook the pieces of chicken in butter without colouration; add thereto three and one-half oz. of raw slices of truffle, and dish in a shallow cocotte.
Swill with a small glassful of old liqueur brandy; add a few [498] drops of lemon juice and one-sixth pint of cream; heat; finish this sauce, away from the fire, with two oz. of crayfish butter, and pour it over the fowl.
Serve in the cocotte.
Sauté the chicken in butter, and dish the pieces.
Swill with three tablespoonfuls of Madeira, and add one-seventh pint of light, pale meat glaze, four small quartered artichoke-bottoms, tossed in butter, ten carrots shaped like olives, cooked in consommé and glazed, and eight small onions cooked in butter.
Finish with one and one-half oz. of butter and a pinch of chopped chives, and pour this sauce over the pieces of fowl.
Sauté the chicken in butter, and add to it five oz. of new potatoes (the size of hazel-nuts) and the same quantity of small quartered artichoke-bottoms, cooked in butter beforehand with the potatoes.
Keep the whole in the oven, under cover, for ten minutes.
Set the pieces of fowl, the potatoes and the artichoke-bottoms in an earthenware saucepan, and add twelve black olives.
Swill the saucepan with a few tablespoonfuls of white wine and a little lemon juice; complete with a tablespoonful of veal stock, and pour into the cocotte.
Simmer for five minutes, in the utensil, and serve the preparation as it stands.
Sauté the chicken in butter, and dish it. Surround it with small quartered artichoke-bottoms stewed in butter; sliced potatoes cooked in butter, and roundels of fried onions, arranged in small heaps, with a small tuft of fried parsley between each heap.
Swill the saucepan with a few tablespoonfuls of chicken gravy, and sprinkle the fowl with the latter.
Fry the chicken in butter and add twelve small onions; three quartered artichokes, small and very tender; twenty-four small potatoes of the size of hazel-nuts. Cover and cook the whole together, in the oven.
Dish the chicken with the onions and potatoes over it, and surround it with the artichokes.
[499]
Swill the saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of consommé;
add three tablespoonfuls of pale glaze, a few drops of lemon
juice, and one and one-half oz. of butter; and pour this sauce
over the chicken.
Stiffen the pieces without colouring them, and add thereto three oz. of the white of a leek and the half of an onion, both sliced and stewed in butter beforehand. Cover and set in the oven.
About five minutes before the fowl is quite cooked, add three oz. of mushrooms, minced raw and tossed in butter.
Dish the pullet, add one-sixth pint of suprême sauce and as much cream to the vegetables; reduce to half, and pour the sauce and the vegetables over the chicken.
Sauté the chicken in oil. When it is cooked, drain away the oil, dish it; heat three chopped shallots in the sautépan; swill with one-quarter pint of white wine; reduce, and complete with one and one-half oz. of butter.
Pour this sauce over the chicken, and surround the latter with eight oz. of cèpes, sautéd à la Bordelaise.
Sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley over the chicken.
Sauté the chicken in butter; dish it, and surround it with small onions and potatoes (the size of hazel-nuts), both cooked in butter beforehand. Swill with a little white wine; add one-sixth pint of veal gravy and one tablespoonful of meat glaze; reduce; finish with one and one-half oz. of butter; and pour this sauce over the chicken.
Sauté the chicken in equal quantities of butter and oil, and dish it. Swill the saucepan with a few tablespoonfuls of white wine, and reduce; add one-quarter, pint of Chasseur Sauce Escoffier; heat; pour over the chicken, and sprinkle the latter with a pinch of concassed parsley.
Sauté the chicken in butter and dish it.
Swill the saucepan with a glass of dry champagne; reduce to half; add one tablespoonful of light poultry glaze; finish with two and one-half oz. of butter, the juice of half a lemon, and one tablespoonful of dry curaçao; pour this sauce over the chicken.
[500]
Surround the latter with three oz. of grapes, cleared of all
skin and pips, and ten sections of an orange, peeled in suchwise
that the pulp of the fruit is raw.
Colour the chicken in butter; add the vegetable garnish given for “Poularde à la Demidoff” (1464), and put the two to stew in the oven. About ten minutes before the cooking is completed, add two oz. of truffles, cut to the shape of crescents like the carrots and turnips, and three tablespoonfuls of good veal stock.
Dish the pieces of chicken, and cover them with the garnish.
Colour the pieces of chicken in oil and butter; add thereto one-half lb. of cucumber cut to the shape of garlic cloves; and complete the cooking by stewing in the oven.
Dish the chicken with the cucumber upon it. Swill the saucepan with one tablespoonful of veal gravy and a few drops of lemon juice; and sprinkle the chicken and its garnish with this swilling-liquor, to which add one and one-half oz. of brown butter.
Dredge the seasoned pieces of chicken, and toss them in oil.
Dish them in the form of a crown; garnish their midst with a fine heap of roundels of fried onion; and, in the centre of the latter, set a cone, made from a very thin slice of ham and filled with concassed tomatoes cooked in butter.
Colour the pieces of chicken in oil. Toss in oil, together, three oz. of onion, and two oz. of mushrooms, sliced; and six oz. of raw ham, cut into dice.
Set the pieces of chicken in a cocotte, alternating them with the garnish, which should have been well-drained; cover with two tomatoes, cut into thick slices; cover the cocotte, and complete the cooking in the oven for twenty minutes.
When about to serve, sprinkle with a tablespoonful of veal stock.
Sauté the chicken in oil. Drain the latter away, and add one-half lb. of pilaff rice, combined with one and one-half oz. of capsicums in dice; three oz. of large green peas, cooked à l’anglaise, and two sliced and poached sausages.
[501]
Cover the sautépan, and set the whole to stew in the oven
for ten minutes.
Dish the chicken; cover it with the garnish, and surround it with six small grilled tomatoes.
Toss the chicken in butter, and dish it.
Swill the sautépan with one-sixth pint of white wine; reduce to half; add one-sixth pint of gravy in which tarragon has been infused, and thicken with arrowroot.
Pour this sauce over the chicken, and decorate its wings with sprays of parboiled tarragon leaves.
Sauté the chicken in butter, without colouration, with four oz. of raw, sliced truffles; and dish.
Swill with one-sixth pint of cream; add three tablespoonfuls of Béchamel sauce, and reduce to half. Finish, away from the fire, with one and one-half oz. of crayfish butter, a few drops of lemon juice, and a little cayenne; add four oz. of parboiled asparagus-heads to this sauce, and pour it over the chicken. Or, after having cohered them with butter, the asparagus-heads may be arranged in heaps round the fowl.
Sauté the chicken in butter, without colouration; swill with cream; add three quartered tuberose fennels, trimmed to the shape of garlic cloves and parboiled, and complete the cooking of the fennels and the chicken, together.
Set the pieces of fennel in the form of a crown on a special earthenware dish, and put the chicken in their midst, placing the pieces side by side. Coat with Mornay sauce, flavoured with chicken essence, and set to glaze.
Slice three oz. of the red part of a carrot, the same quantity of turnip, two oz. of celery, and half an onion. Season with a little salt and sugar, and half-stew in butter.
Brown the pieces of chicken in butter; put them in the cocotte with the garnish of vegetables; add thereto two and one-half oz. of ham cut into dice, and complete the cooking of both the chicken and the vegetables, in the oven.
When about to serve, sprinkle with four or five tablespoonfuls of veal stock.
Sauté the chicken in butter, and two minutes before dishing it, sprinkle it with one-half oz. of chopped shallots. Swill the sautépan with one-sixth pint of white wine; reduce; add three tablespoonfuls of strong, veal gravy and as much half-glaze sauce; and finish the sauce, away from the fire, with one and one-half oz. of butter and a coffeespoonful of chopped parsley, chervil, and tarragon. Pour it over the chicken.
Sauté the chicken in butter; sprinkle it with a tablespoonful of chopped shallots; add five oz. of quartered morels; stew in the oven for ten minutes, and dish the chicken.
Swill with white wine; add one-sixth pint of veal stock; reduce, and pour over the chicken with the morels. Surround with four small heaps of potatoes, cut into large dice and tossed in butter; put a rectangle of frizzled bacon between each heap, and sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley over the chicken.
Sauté the chicken in butter, without colouration, and dish it.
Swill with one-eighth pint of mushroom cooking-liquor; add three tablespoonfuls of Béchamel sauce, and three tablespoonfuls of cream; reduce, and finish the sauce, away from the fire, with one and one-half oz. of butter.
Pour this sauce over the chicken; sprinkle on it some very black truffle, cut julienne-fashion, and surround it with little leaves of puff-paste, baked white.
Sauté the pullet in butter with twelve small new onions and a small faggot, containing a sprig of fennel. Dish the chicken.
Swill with three tablespoonfuls of mushroom cooking-liquor and as much Rhine wine; add one-fifth pint of cream; twelve mushroom-heads, sliced; and reduce the cream to half.
Complete with a pinch of chopped chervil and tarragon, and pour over the chicken.
Prepare a sufficient quantity of pilaff rice, combined with concassed tomatoes, to make a border.
Sauté the chicken in butter, without colouration, with a chopped half-onion and a little paprika. When the onion is slightly coloured, add three peeled and quartered tomatoes, and [503] complete the cooking of the whole. Mould the rice to form a border, and set the chicken in the middle.
Add one-sixth pint of cream to the tomatoes; reduce to half; rub through tammy; heat this sauce, and pour it over the chicken.
Cut the chicken into small pieces, and fry them in oil with a sliced onion and a large pinch of curry. Swill with one-sixth pint of cocoanut milk or, failing this, almond milk; add one-third pint of velouté, and complete the cooking of the chicken while reducing the sauce to half. Set in a deep dish, and serve a timbale of rice à l’Indienne separately.
Fry the chicken in butter; add one lb. of cleaned and parboiled stachys and complete the cooking of the whole, chicken and stachys, in the oven.
Dish the chicken with the stachys upon it. Swill with one-sixth pint of slightly thickened veal stock; complete, away from the fire, with one and one-half oz. of butter, and pour this over the chicken.
Sauté the chicken in butter and, when it is ready, add to it one-half lb. of blanched breast of fresh pork, cut into strips and well fried in butter. Drain away three-quarters of the chicken’s grease; swill with one-sixth pint of light half-glaze sauce, and dish the chicken.
Complete the sauce with a pinch of chopped chives, and pour it over the chicken with the strips of bacon.
Heat three oz. of butter in a sautépan, just large enough to hold the chicken and its garnish. Set the pieces of chicken in this butter, together with one-half lb. of potatoes and five oz. of raw artichoke-bottoms, both cut into fair-sized dice.
When the chicken and the vegetables are coloured underneath, turn the whole over at one stroke and complete the cooking on the other side; sprinkle the chicken with three tablespoonfuls of meat glaze and a pinch of chopped parsley containing a mite of crushed garlic, and set the chicken and the garnish on a dish, after the manner of “Pommes Anna.”
Pour two and one-half oz. of nut-brown butter over the whole, and surround with roundels of seasoned onions, dredged [504] and fried in oil, and very green, fried parsley, arranged in alternate heaps.
Sauté the chicken in butter and, when it is half-cooked, add three fair-sized onions, finely sliced, tossed in butter and slightly coloured.
Complete the cooking of the chicken and the onions together, and dish the former. Swill with one-sixth pint of veal gravy; reduce; pour this liquor and the onions over the chicken, and sprinkle the whole with a pinch of chopped parsley.
Sauté the chicken in oil. Swill the sautépan with white wine; add two peeled and concassed tomatoes, or one and one-half tablespoonfuls of tomato purée, a mite of crushed garlic, ten small mushrooms, and ten slices of truffle.
Dish the chicken; cover it with sauce and garnish; surround it with heart-shaped croûtons, fried in butter; small, fried eggs, and trussed crayfish cooked in court-bouillon, and sprinkle the whole with a pinch of concassed parsley.
Season the pieces of chicken; dip them in butter; roll them in bread-crumbs, and cook them in clarified butter. Dish, placing a slice of grilled bacon between each piece of chicken; surround with small, fried galettes of maize flour, and fried slices of banana.
Serve a horse-radish sauce with cream, separately.
Sauté the chicken in oil, and, when it is half-cooked, add thereto two crushed cloves of garlic; three oz. of ciseled, green capsicums, and the same weight of quartered tomatoes—all three tossed in oil.
When the chicken is cooked, drain away the oil; swill the pan with one-sixth pint of white wine and a few drops of lemon juice, and reduce almost entirely.
Dish the chicken; cover it with the garnish, and sprinkle with a pinch of concassed parsley.
Sauté the chicken in oil; swill the sautépan with a few tablespoonfuls of white wine; reduce, and add one-sixth pint of tomatéd veal gravy.
[505]
Dish the chicken; pour the sauce over it, and surround it
with grilled capsicums and mushrooms, garnished with concassed
tomatoes cooked in butter.
Sauté the chicken in oil and add to it, when half-cooked, one chopped onion, four concassed tomatoes, and one pimento cut into dice. Ten minutes before serving, flavour with a small piece of crushed garlic.
Dish the chicken; pour the juice of the tomatoes into the sautépan; reduce to half, and strain over the chicken.
Serve a timbale of rice, flavoured with saffron, separately.
Colour the chicken in butter and three-parts cook it; add to it two-thirds lb. of morels, stewed in butter, and complete the cooking of the chicken, under cover, in the oven.
Dish the chicken with the morels upon it; swill the sautépan with a tablespoonful of brandy; add thereto the juice of the morels, two tablespoonfuls of meat glaze, and one and one-half oz. of butter, and pour this sauce over the chicken.
Half-sauté the chicken in butter, and set the pieces in a cocotte with one lb. of peeled and sliced russet apples. Swill with a small glassful of liqueur cider; put this liquor in the cocotte; cover, and set in the oven, that the chicken may be completely cooked and the apples as well.
Serve the preparation, as it stands, in the cocotte.
Brown the chicken in butter, and add one lb. of potatoes, raised by means of an oval spoon-cutter, or cut into large dice, and already slightly frizzled in butter.
Complete the cooking in the oven, and dish the chicken with the potatoes arranged in heaps all round. Swill with a few tablespoonfuls of white wine; add to it a tablespoonful of veal gravy; pour this over the chicken, and sprinkle the latter with a pinch of chopped parsley.
Sauté the chicken in butter and dish it.
Swill with a few tablespoonfuls of white wine; add thereto a tablespoonful of melted pale meat glaze, and pour this over the chicken. Sprinkle it at the last moment with two oz. of [506] nut-brown butter, and finally with chopped parsley, and serve a timbale of rizotto with white truffles separately.
Sauté the chicken in butter and oil, and dish it. Drain away a portion of the butter used in the cooking, add to the remainder a mite of crushed garlic and a chopped half-onion; and, when the latter is fried, add four oz. of peeled and concassed tomatoes, two oz. of sliced mushrooms, a few drops of white wine, and a pinch of concassed parsley.
Complete the cooking of the whole, taking care to reduce all moisture.
Cover the chicken with its garnish, and surround it with half-tomatoes or tomatoes stuffed with rice.
Sauté the chicken in oil and dish it. Swill with white wine and add thereto a mite of crushed garlic, three oz. of concassed tomatoes, four anchovy fillets cut into dice, twelve black olives stoned and parboiled, and a pinch of chopped sweet basil.
Leave the whole to simmer for five minutes, and cover the chicken with it.
Colour the chicken in butter, and complete its cooking under cover with one-half lb. of minced onions. Dish it in a flat, earthenware cocotte, setting a heap of mushrooms on either side of it; add one-third pint of cream to the onions; simmer for ten minutes; rub through tammy, and reduce.
Finish this sauce with one oz. of butter, a little curry, and pour it over the chicken.
Set ten slices of truffle on the latter.
Half-sauté the chicken in butter; add six oz. of raw truffles, cut into slices, and complete the cooking under cover. Dish; swill with a few tablespoonfuls of Madeira; reduce; add three tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce; finish with one and one-half oz. of butter, and pour this sauce over the chicken.
Cook the chicken in butter without letting it brown; swill with one-sixth pint of cream; add one-sixth pint of suprême sauce, and reduce by a third.
Mix one-half lb. of young parboiled hop-sprouts to the [507] sauce; simmer for two minutes, and pour over the chicken, which should be dished in a cocotte.
Colour the chicken in butter; add one-half lb. of half-cooked carrots à la Vichy (No. 2061) to it, and complete the cooking of the chicken and the carrots under cover in the oven.
Swill with a few tablespoonfuls of veal stock; dish the pullet, and cover it with the garnish of carrots.
Prepare a border of rizotto à la Piémontaise.
Sauté the chicken in butter; set it in the centre of the border, and on the latter arrange a crown of slices of foie gras, tossed in butter, alternated with slices of truffle, resting against the chicken.
Swill with Asti wine; reduce; add three tablespoonfuls of veal stock and one and one-half oz. of butter, and pour this sauce over the pieces of chicken.
The terms “Fillet” and “Suprême” are synonymous, and either one or the other may be used for variety to express the same thing on a menu. They are names given to the breast of the fowl, divided into two along the sternum, and cleared of all skin. Each fillet or suprême comprises the large and the minion fillets.
When suprêmes are taken from a small chicken, the minion fillets are not removed; if the chicken be an ordinary one or a pullet, the minion fillets are removed, cleared of all tendons, and twisted into rings or crescents, after having been contised with slices of truffle that are half-inserted into the little incisions, made at regular intervals in the meat with the point of a knife.
Prepared in this way, these fillets are generally included in the garnish of the suprêmes. Chicken ailerons and cutlets (the latter must not be mistaken for those prepared from cooked meat and which are only a kind of croquette) are suprêmes to which the humerus-bone of the wing is left adhering.
Cutlets are always cut from such fowls as chickens à la Reine, or very fleshy, spring chickens. The same rule applies to suprêmes: though, sometimes, the latter are cut from pullets. But, in that case, as they would be too large, they are cut into three or four very regular pieces, which are slightly flattened, and trimmed to the shape of hearts or ovals; except when they have to be stuffed.
[508]
In the latter case, they are opened in the thickness, by means
of the point of a small knife, to form sacks; and, in the
resulting interstice the selected stuffing is inserted, with the
help of a piping-bag fitted with a little, even pipe, and in a
sufficient quantity to fill out the suprêmes well.
Suprêmes and cutlets are always cooked without liquor, or almost so; for should any moistening liquid even approach the boil, it would immediately harden them. If they be desired poached, it would be best to cook the whole fowl, and cut them from the latter when it is cooked.
This is how they are prepared, according as to whether they be required colourless or sautéd; though the brown method of preparing them is applied more particularly to cutlets.
Cutlets or suprêmes sautéd: Season them with salt; roll them in flour; set them in a vegetable pan containing some very hot clarified butter, and quickly gild them on both sides. These pieces of fowl are so tender that they are cooked and gilded at the same moment of time.
Cutlets or suprêmes prepared without colouration: Season them, and set them in a vegetable-pan, containing some fresh, melted, unclarified butter. Roll the suprêmes in this butter; add a few drops of lemon juice; thoroughly seal the vegetable-pan, and put it in a very hot oven.
A few minutes suffice for the poaching of the suprêmes, which are known to be ready when they seem resilient to the touch, and are perfectly white.
Important Remarks: Chicken Suprêmes or cutlets should never be allowed to wait, lest they harden. They should be cooked quickly, at the last moment; dished and served immediately. The shortest wait is enough to spoil them, and to make an insipid and dry preparation of what should be an exquisite dish.
N.B.—The recipes given hereafter for suprêmes may of course be applied to fillets, cutlets, ailerons, blanc de poulet, &c.
Line some oval buttered tartlet-moulds with mousseline forcemeat. Upon the latter, put some raw, sliced mushrooms, tossed in butter; cover with forcemeat so as to fill the mould, and poach in the bain-marie.
Turn out in a circle on a round dish; put a poached suprême on each tartlet; coat with Allemande sauce; deck with a truffle girt by a ring of very red tongue, and surround the suprême with a thread of pale, meat glaze.
Poach the suprêmes dry. Dish them with a few slices of truffle set upon them; coat them with Mornay sauce, flavoured with chicken essence, and glaze quickly. Surround with small heaps of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter.
Poach the suprêmes dry. Dish them; coat them with suprême sauce, and surround them with lamb sweetbreads, studded with truffles and cooked without colouration, alternated with faggots of asparagus-heads.
Season and dredge the suprêmes, and toss them in clarified butter.
Meanwhile, fry in oil some egg-plant roundels and some seasoned and dredged roundels of onion. Also prepare a garnish of tomatoes tossed in oil. Dish the egg-plant roundels in a circle on a round dish; set the suprêmes thereon, and garnish the latter with the tossed tomatoes and the fried onions, set in small heaps upon them.
Serve a delicate, tomatéd half-glaze sauce separately.
Cut the suprêmes into heart shapes, and stuff them with mousseline forcemeat combined with half its bulk of mashed raw mushrooms.
Put the suprêmes in a buttered vegetable-pan, with two-thirds lb. of peeled, minced, raw mushrooms; season with salt, white pepper and lemon juice, and set to poach slowly in a moderate oven.
Dish in the form of a crown, in a timbale, with the mushrooms in the centre.
Add to the liquor, which should only consist of the moisture of the mushrooms, two and one-half oz. of butter and a few drops of lemon juice; pour this sauce over the suprêmes, and complete with a pinch of chopped parsley.
Poach the suprêmes in a little mushroom cooking-liquor.
Dish them in the form of a crown, with some fine very white cooked mushroom-heads. Coat them moderately with Allemande sauce, combined with the cooking-liquor of the suprêmes.
Serve what remains of the sauce separately.
Cook the suprêmes in clarified butter, as already described.
Dish them; surround them with mushrooms, minced raw and tossed in butter, and coat them with a light mushroom sauce.
Cook the suprêmes in clarified butter.
Dish them; garnish them with tossed morels and asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, and surround with a thread of good thickened gravy.
Collop the suprêmes; slightly flatten each collop; trim them round, dredge them, and toss them in butter.
Set each collop of suprême upon an artichoke-bottom about equal in size to the former; put a thick slice of glazed truffle on each collop, and a very white cock’s kidney upon each slice of truffle.
Serve a thickened gravy separately.
Season and dredge the suprêmes, and toss them quickly in clarified butter. Dish them and surround them with pieces of cucumber, shaped like garlic cloves and cooked in butter.
When about to serve, sprinkle them with a little nut-brown butter, and a few drops of lemon juice.
Make some incisions, at short intervals, in the suprêmes, and half-insert into these, alternate roundels of truffle and salted tongue. Poach them dry. Dish; surround with a garnish of cocks’ combs and kidneys, and slices of truffle, and pour a moderate quantity of Allemande sauce over this garnish.
Incise the suprêmes as above; but garnish them only with roundels of tongue. Poach them dry, and set them on oval, flat quenelles of mousseline forcemeat, sprinkled with very red chopped tongue.
Coat with clear suprême sauce, that the red of the tongue may be seen.
Poach the suprêmes.
Dish them; coat them with Écossaise sauce, and surround them with small heaps of French beans, cohered with butter.
Sauté the suprêmes in clarified butter.
Dish them in a crown, on tossed slices of foie gras, with three slices of truffle on each suprême.
In their midst set a heap of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, and serve, separately, a sauceboat of light meat-glaze, buttered.
Sauté the suprêmes in clarified butter.
Dish them in the form of a crown, upon fried croûtons of the same size; in their midst arrange a garnish à la financière (No. 1474), and coat the suprêmes and their garnish with financière sauce.
Sauté the suprêmes in clarified butter.
Dish them with a garnish of raw artichoke-bottoms, sliced, tossed in butter, and sprinkled with fine herbs. Sprinkle a few drops of nut-brown butter over the suprêmes, and serve a thickened gravy separately.
Prepare as many “pommes Georgette” as there are suprêmes, and take care to choose potatoes of the same size as the suprêmes.
Poach the suprêmes. Set one on each potato, with a fine slice of truffle in the middle, and arrange in the form of a crown on a round dish.
Collop the suprêmes; slightly flatten the collops, and trim them round. Season and dredge them; sauté them in clarified butter, and set each collop on an artichoke bottom, slightly garnished with buttered meat-glaze.
Serve a Béarnaise sauce separately.
Prepare some pilaff rice, combined with concassed tomatoes, and dish it in a shallow timbale.
Season the suprêmes with paprika; toss them in clarified butter, and set them in a timbale, upon the pilaff rice.
Swill the vegetable-pan with a few tablespoonfuls of cream; add the necessary quantity of Hongroise sauce, and coat the suprêmes with this sauce.
Sauté the suprêmes in butter, and put them for a few minutes in a curry sauce à l’Indienne, but without letting the latter boil.
Dish the suprêmes in a timbale with the curry sauce.
Serve a timbale of rice à l’Indienne, separately.
Sauté the suprêmes in butter. Dish and surround with small heaps of vegetables, arranged very neatly, as explained in the case of the Jardinière garnish.
Sprinkle the suprêmes with a few drops of nut-brown butter, just before serving.
Cut the suprêmes into heart shapes; season them, and poach them dry.
Dish them in a crown, upon little braised lettuces; and set a slice of truffle and a cock’s kidney upon each heart of suprême. Coat slightly with thickened gravy.
It is the rule that all preparations termed “à la Maréchale” should be treated with chopped truffle; that is to say that the latter takes the place of the customary bread-crumbs.
For the sake of economy the à l’anglaise treatment (i.e., egg and bread-crumbs) is more commonly applied; so the reader may choose which of the two he prefers. In any case, sauté the suprêmes in butter; dish them in the form of a crown, with a fine slice of truffle on each, and set in their midst a garnish of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter.
N.B.—Formerly, these suprêmes, like all preparations “à la Maréchale,” were gently grilled upon buttered paper.
Proceed exactly as directed under “Poulet sauté à la Maryland” (No. 1565).
Roll the suprêmes in beaten egg and bread-crumbs, and sauté them in clarified butter. Dish them in a crown with a slice of truffle upon each, and surround with small heaps of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter.
Sprinkle the suprêmes with a few drops of nut-brown butter.
Take some suprêmes of chicken à la Reine, and set them on a dish with parsley stalks and finely sliced onions; sprinkle with a little oil and lemon juice, and set to marinade for an hour.
When about to prepare them, dry them by means of a piece of linen; dip them into light batter, and put them in a very hot frying fat that they may cook quickly.
Drain; dish on a napkin with bunches or a border of very green fried parsley, and serve a tomato sauce separately.
Sauté the suprêmes in butter, and dish them each upon a thick slice of chow-chow, cut to the same shape, parboiled, and stewed in butter beforehand. Coat with Suprême sauce, combined with a quarter of its bulk of tomato purée, and flavoured moderately with saffron.
Cut out as many heart-shaped pieces of kitchen paper as there are suprêmes, and either butter or oil them.
Quickly stiffen the suprêmes in butter. In the centre of each paper heart, set a slice of ham cut to the shape of a triangle; cover the ham with a tablespoonful of reduced Italienne sauce; set the suprêmes on the sauce, and cover it with the same sauce and another triangle of ham. Close the pieces of paper, and pleat their edges in such wise as to entirely enclose their contents; set the papillotes, thus prepared, on a tray; and put them in a sufficiently hot oven to allow of completing the cooking of the suprêmes and blowing out the papillotes.
Season the suprêmes; dip them in beaten egg and roll them in grated Parmesan. Sauté them in butter, and dish them on croûtons of polenta (No. 2294), shaped somewhat like the suprêmes and browned in clarified butter. When about to serve, sprinkle the suprêmes with nut-brown butter.
Poach the suprêmes dry, and dish them.
Coat them with Suprême sauce, combined with a julienne of truffles and mushrooms.
Mince the suprêmes, and, in so doing, combine with them, first, the quarter of their weight of bread-crumbs dipped in milk [514] and well squeezed, and the same weight of fresh butter; and then an equal quantity of fresh cream, which should be added little by little. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Divide up this preparation into portions equal in size to the suprêmes, and shape them exactly like the latter; in short, reconstruct the suprêmes exactly with this mince-meat.
Dredge; cook in clarified butter, and serve as soon as ready.
There is no hard and fast rule for the garnishing of these suprêmes; the garnish is therefore optional.
Cut the suprêmes into heart shapes; flatten them slightly, and poach them. Set each suprême on a quenelle of chicken forcemeat, prepared with crayfish butter, and dish in the form of a crown. Coat with Allemande sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, and, on each suprême, set an olive-shaped truffle and a cock’s kidney—the two separated by a cock’s comb.
Treat the suprêmes à l’anglaise, and cook them in clarified butter.
Dish them; coat them with half-melted butter à la Maître d’hôtel, and set four fine slices of truffle on each suprême.
Sauté the suprêmes in butter, and dish them on collops of foie gras, arranged in the form of a crown and also tossed in butter. Coat with a strong Madeira sauce, combined with slices of truffle.
Prepare:—(1) a croustade of lining paste, of a size in proportion to the garnish to be put inside it, just as the garnish should be in proportion to the number of suprêmes:—(2) a garnish of macaroni with cream, combined with three oz. of foie gras and three oz. of truffles in dice, per one-half lb. of macaroni.
Cut the suprêmes to the shape of hearts; stuff them with godiveau with cream (No. 198), mixed with half its bulk of a purée of foie gras, and poach them dry.
Put the macaroni in the croustade, shaping it like a dome in so doing; coat the suprêmes with Allemande sauce, and set them in a crown on the timbale and round the dome of macaroni.
Send a sauceboat of velouté to the table separately.
Stuff the suprêmes with truffles, cut into small dice and cohered with very reduced Allemande sauce. Treat them à l’anglaise and cook them in butter.
Prepare some fried croûtons, shaped like cocks’ combs, in the proportion of two for each suprême; cover these with a dome of fine truffled forcemeat, and put them in a moderate oven that the forcemeat may poach.
Dish the suprêmes in the form of a crown; surround them with the croûtons; and, in their midst, pour a purée of mushrooms.
Treat the suprêmes à l’anglaise, and cook them in clarified butter.
Dish them with a garnish of small, stoned olives, stuffed and poached at the last moment.
Serve a Valois sauce separately.
Marinade the suprêmes as for No. 1609; treat them à l’anglaise, and cook them in clarified butter. Dish them in the form of a crown, and coat them with Colbert sauce.
Serve separately a purée of artichokes, combined with finely-minced truffles.
Poach the suprêmes without completely cooking them.
Dip them in a Villeroy sauce, in such wise that they may be well coated with it. Leave them to cool; treat them à l’anglaise; and, a few minutes before serving, put them in some very hot frying fat. Dish them in the form of a crown, and serve a Périgueux sauce separately.
Raise the suprêmes of two small chickens; poach them in butter and lemon juice, and coat them with Suprême sauce.
Dish them around a low, very cold cushion of bread, placed on the dish at the last moment. Upon the cushion, quickly set a dozen shelled oysters, which should have been kept in ice for at least two hours before dishing.
Serve very quickly in order that the suprêmes may be very hot and the oysters very cold. Send a Suprême sauce separately.
Take the required number of fillets, which is determined by the size of the mould to be used. Flatten these fillets out somewhat thinly, and trim them neatly on both sides.
With these fillets, line a buttered savarin-mould; setting a row of thin slices of truffle between each of the fillets, and allowing the latter to hang over the edge of the mould. Over the fillets spread a layer of mousseline forcemeat, two-thirds in. thick.
Three-parts fill the remaining space with a large tongue, truffles and mushrooms salpicon, cohered by means of a reduced Allemande sauce.
Cover this salpicon with forcemeat, so as to fill the mould, and then draw the overlapping ends of the fillets across the forcemeat.
Set to poach in the bain-marie for about forty minutes; and, upon withdrawing the mould, let it stand for five minutes, that its contents may settle. Turn out upon a round dish; pour a Toulousaine garnish (see Poularde No. 1524) in the middle, and surround the turban with a thread of Allemande sauce.
Take the required number of small, minion fillets of pullet: trim them; make six incisions in each, and half-insert into each of these incisions alternate thin roundels of truffle and tongue.
Set these minion fillets on a buttered dish, and shape them like rings.
Trim and indent the edges of as many artichoke-bottoms as there are minion fillets, and heat them in butter. Garnish these artichoke-bottoms, dome-fashion, with a very white and somewhat stiff chicken purée. Sprinkle the minion fillets with a little mushroom cooking-liquor, and poach them in the oven for from five to six minutes.
Set the artichoke-bottoms in a circle on a round dish, and set a minion fillet upon each.
Serve a very delicate Suprême sauce, separately.
Truss twelve ortolans for entrées, and stiffen them in butter for a moment.
Raise the fillets of twelve spring chickens; trim them; flatten them slightly and pair them off, putting the edges of one on the other, that a larger surface may be obtained.
[517]
In the middle of these joined suprêmes of chicken, put an
ortolan; wrap it in them, and tie them round once or twice
with string, that they may keep the shape of a paupiette.
Set these paupiettes in a shallow sautépan, and, five minutes before serving, sprinkle them with four oz. of boiling butter; salt moderately, and cook in a fierce oven.
After having removed the string, set each nonnette on a square, hollowed crouton of bread-crumb, fried in butter, and coated inside with foie-gras purée. Coat moderately with a light chicken glaze, finished with butter, and squeeze a drop of lemon juice on each nonnette.
Prepare some barquette crusts.
Mould some chicken forcemeat into large, round, regular quenelles, and poach them in some white consommé, in time for them to be ready when the Ursulines are being dished.
A few moments before serving, garnish the barquette crusts with foie-gras purée, thinned with a little good half-glaze, flavoured with port or sherry wine. In the middle of each garnished barquette, set a well-drained mousseline quenelle; deck each quenelle with a thin and wide slice of truffle; set a small heap of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, at either end of the barquettes, that is to say, on either side of the quenelle; and slightly coat the latter with chicken glaze, finished with butter.
Serve, separately, a sauceboat containing some of the same chicken glaze with butter.
Season the fillets, dip them in melted butter and roll them in bread-crumbs; grill them gently, each on a sheet of oiled paper, and sprinkle with clarified butter during the operation.
Dish the grilled fillets, and serve at the same time:—(1) a Béarnaise sauce; (2) a timbale containing a purée of foie gras with cream.
Prepare a garnish as for No. 1365; i.e., sliced, raw potatoes and artichoke-bottoms, set in a small earthenware dish and cooked as “Pommes Anna.”
Sauté the fillets in butter at the last moment; put them on the garnish, and sprinkle them with nut-brown butter.
Spring chickens are usually either grilled or prepared “en casserole” in accordance with one or another of the many recipes applicable to them.
Stuff the chicken with four sliced chickens’ livers and three oz. of raw, quartered mushrooms, slightly tossed in butter. Slip five or six fine slices of truffle under the skin of the breast; truss the chicken as for an entrée, and brown it in butter.
This done, put it into an oval cocotte, with two oz. of butter, four rectangles of blanched breast of pork, and three oz. of raw quartered mushrooms, quickly tossed in butter beforehand.
Cook in the oven, under cover, and add two tablespoonfuls of veal gravy, just before serving.
Fry in butter four oz. of blanched breast of pork, cut into dice, and one-half lb. of small, whole mushrooms. Drain, and set to brown in the same butter, the chicken stuffed with a half-onion and three oz. of mushrooms, chopped and fried in butter, and mixed with three oz. of butter and a coffeespoonful of chopped parsley.
When the chicken is well coloured or gilded, put the bacon and the mushrooms round it; swill with one-sixth pint of white wine; reduce by two-thirds; add four tablespoonfuls of veal gravy, and complete the cooking of the chicken in the oven.
Set it on a round dish; thicken the cooking-liquor with a piece of manied butter, the size of a hazel-nut, or a little arrow-root; pour the sauce and the garnish round the chicken, and surround it with a border of freshly-fried straw potatoes.
Fry in butter four oz. of breast of fresh or salted pork, cut into slices and blanched. Drain; colour the chicken in the same fat, and put it in an oval cocotte with the slices of bacon.
With the same fat, fry in a frying-pan two-thirds lb. of potatoes cut to the shape of corks and divided into roundels; put these round the chicken, and set to cook in the oven, under cover.
When about to serve, sprinkle the fowl with a few tablespoonfuls of veal gravy.
Serve the preparation in the cocotte.
Poële the chicken with butter in an earthenware saucepan, and baste it often the while. When about to serve, clear of all grease, and add a tablespoonful of veal gravy.
This chicken is served plain, without any garnish.
Brown the chicken in butter, in a cocotte, and under cover.
When it is half-done, surround it with two oz. of frizzled pieces of fresh or salted pork cut in dice, twelve small onions partly cooked in butter, and twenty small potatoes, the size and shape of olives.
Complete the cooking of the whole together, and, when about to serve, sprinkle with a little veal gravy.
Brown the chicken in butter; half-cook it, and put it in a cocotte with one-half pint of half-cooked peas à la Française (No. 2193), the cooking-liquor of which should be very short. Complete the cooking of the whole, together, and serve the preparation as it stands, without cohering the peas.
Truss the chicken as for an entrée; split it open lengthwise along the middle of the back; flatten it with a butcher’s beater, and remove as many bones as possible. Season it; sprinkle it with melted butter, and half-cook it in the oven.
This done, coat it thoroughly with mustard strengthened by means of cayenne; sprinkle copiously with bread-crumbs; press upon the latter with the flat of a knife, that they may adhere to the mustard; sprinkle a little melted butter over the bird, and complete the latter’s cooking gently on the grill.
Set on a round dish, bordered with thin slices of lemon, and serve a Devilled Sauce Escoffier separately.
Split the chicken open, laterally, proceeding from the extremity of the belly to the wing-joints. Open it without separating the two halves, flatten it so as to break the joints and the bones, and remove the fragments of the latter with great care.
Fix the wings by means of a skewer; sprinkle the chicken with melted butter, season it, and half-cook it in the oven.
This done, sprinkle it with bread-crumbs and melted butter, and complete its cooking on the grill. Set it on a round dish, bordered with gherkins, and serve it as it stands.
Brown the chicken in butter, and put it in a cocotte with five fair-sized artichoke-bottoms, sliced while raw, and tossed in butter.
Complete its cooking gently in the oven, and, when about to serve, add a tablespoonful of veal gravy and a few drops of lemon juice.
Bone the chicken’s breast; stuff it with one-half lb. of good sausage-meat, and truss it as for an entrée. Brown it with butter in an earthenware saucepan, and put it in the oven.
When it is two-thirds done, add to it four oz. of quartered mushrooms, sautéd in butter, complete its cooking, and, when about to serve, finish it with three tablespoonfuls of veal gravy.
Split the chicken open along the back, and half-cook it in the oven as in No. 1636. This done, complete its cooking on the grill.
Meanwhile, mould on a round, buttered dish a sort of galette of Duchesse potatoes (No. 2212), one inch thick. Gild, and colour in the oven.
Dish the grilled chicken on this galette, and surround the latter with a thread of strong veal gravy.
Stuff the chicken with one-half lb. of good sausage-meat, combined with two oz. of chopped mushrooms fried in butter. Put the chicken in a cocotte with one oz. of butter and six rectangles of blanched breast of bacon, and cook gently in the oven.
When about to serve, add two or three tablespoonfuls of veal gravy.
Send, separately, six fine chestnuts cooked in consommé.
Brown the chicken in butter, and cook it “en casserole” with four oz. of potatoes the size and shape of olives and tossed in butter.
When the chicken is almost cooked, put it in a cocotte with the potatoes all round, two tablespoonfuls of veal gravy, and two oz. of sliced truffles set upon it.
Cover the cocotte; put the chicken in the front of the oven for ten minutes, and serve it as it stands.
Prepare this chicken like the one “en casserole,” and surround it with one-half lb. of morels, tossed in butter for a moment. Complete the cooking under cover, and, when about to serve, finish with one tablespoonful of veal gravy.
Proceed exactly as explained under No. 1520, but reduce the garnish by half.
Proceed as for No. 1636, but serve a Tartare sauce at the same time.
The most perfect example of this class would be the Hamburg chick, were it not for the fact that it is too often kept in confinement and fed on fish, which gives a disagreeable flavour to the young bird.
When it is bred rationally, however, this chick is a great delicacy.
Open the chicks along the back, and brown them in butter. This done, season them with salt and cayenne, and put them between two layers of pork forcemeat. Wrap them in very soft pig’s caul. Dip them in melted butter; roll them in bread-crumbs, and grill them gently for twenty or twenty-five minutes.
Dish, and serve a Périgueux sauce separately.
Stuff each chick with one and one-half oz. of white Piedmont truffles, pounded with an equal weight of very fresh pork fat. Now truss them as for an entrée; string them and fry them in butter over a fierce fire. At the end of ten minutes put them in a cocotte; partly surround and cover them with rizotto à la Piémontaise, and complete the cooking in the oven with lid off.
A few minutes before serving, sprinkle the rizotto with grated Parmesan; glaze; and, at the last minute, sprinkle with nut-brown butter.
Stuff each chick with one and one-half oz. of gratin forcemeat, two-thirds oz. of soaked and pressed bread-crumbs, one-third oz. of butter, and a pinch of chopped parsley. Truss as for entrées; string; quickly fry the chicks in butter in a very [522] hot oven; put them in a cocotte, and complete their cooking in the oven.
At the last moment sprinkle them with a few drops of lemon juice and nut-brown butter, combined with one oz. of bread-crumbs per four oz. of butter.
Proceed exactly as for “Poulet à la Tartare.”
Prepare a round layer of short paste, ten inches in diameter. Upon this paste spread two-thirds lb. of sausage-meat, combined with five oz. of dry Duxelles, taking care to leave a margin two inches wide of bare paste all round.
Upon this coating of forcemeat set ten half-chicks, stiffened in butter; sprinkle two-thirds lb. of chopped mushrooms, sautéd in butter, over them; spread a second coating of sausage-meat and Duxelles over the whole; cover with a very thin slice of bacon, and close the whole with a layer of paste a little larger than the underlying one, the edges of which should have been moistened. Seal the two edges, and pleat regularly; gild; streak; make a slit in the top, and bake in a moderate oven for about forty minutes.
When taking the tourte out of the oven, pour into it, through the slit in its cover, a few tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce.
Cut the chicks each into four pieces; season them; dredge them; dip them in beaten egg, and roll them in bread-crumbs.
A few minutes before serving, put them in hot fat; drain them, and dish them in pyramid form on a folded napkin. Surround with fried parsley and sections of lemon, and serve very hot.
Fry one-half lb. of blanched breast of pork, cut into dice, in butter. Drain, and fry in the same sautépan three lbs. of giblets, cut into pieces (all except the livers, which are only added one-quarter hour before dishing). Sprinkle with two and one-half oz. of flour; mix the latter with the pieces, and cook it in the oven for seven or eight minutes; moisten with three pints of white stock. Season with a pinch of pepper; add a faggot and a crushed, garlic clove; set to boil, stirring the while; cover, and place in a somewhat hot oven, that the preparation may boil gently.
[523]
At the end of thirty-five minutes transfer the pieces to another
saucepan; put back the bacon; add twenty-four small
onions, tossed in butter, one lb. of turnips shaped like elongated
olives and glazed, and strain the sauce over the whole.
Complete the cooking gently, and serve in a timbale.
N.B.—With the same procedure, the giblets may be prepared with peas; with mixed, new vegetables; à la chipolata, &c.
Fry the giblets, cut into pieces, in butter; sprinkle them moderately with flour; cook the latter, and moisten with just sufficient consommé to make a clear sauce which will just cover the pieces. Three-parts cook, and leave to cool.
This done, pour the whole into a pie-dish; cover with a layer of puff-paste, which should be sealed down to a strip of paste, stuck to the edge of the dish; gild; streak, and bake in a moderately warm oven for from twenty-five to thirty minutes.
These preparations are useful for disposing of any odd legs of fowls, the other parts of which have been already used. The legs are boned and stuffed, and the skin, which should be purposely left long if this preparation be contemplated, is then sewn up. The stuffing used varies according to the kind of dish in preparation, but good sausage-meat is most commonly used.
Ballotines or Jambonneaux are braised, and they may be accompanied by any garnish suited to fowl.
If they be prepared for serving cold, coat them with jelly, or cover them with brown or white chaud-froid sauce, and garnish them according to fancy.
Take the required amount of chicken forcemeat, prepared with panada and cream, and divide it into three-oz. portions. Roll these portions into sausage-form, and open them so as to stuff them with some white chicken-meat, truffle and mushroom salpicon, cohered with reduced Allemande sauce. These quenelles may also be moulded in little, rectangular cases, used in biscuit-making, as follows:—Line the bottom and sides of the moulds, which should be well buttered, with a thickness of one-third inch of forcemeat; garnish the centre with salpicon; cover with forcemeat up to the edges, and smooth with the blade of a small knife dipped in tepid water.
[524]
Whichever way they are made, however, the boudins are
poached like quenelles, and are afterwards drained on a piece of
linen. They are then dipped in beaten egg and rolled in bread-crumbs,
and, finally, gently coloured in clarified butter, that
their inside may get heated at the same time.
Dish them in a circle on a folded napkin, and serve a Périgueux sauce separately.
Prepare the boudins with some forcemeat as above, but replace the salpicon inside by a very reduced and cold truffled Soubise purée.
Poach, dip in beaten egg, and roll in bread-crumbs, and colour as before in clarified butter.
Serve a clear Soubise separately.
Mould some portions of somewhat firm chicken mousseline forcemeat into the shape of oval quenelles, three oz. in weight. Dip them in beaten egg; roll them in finely minced truffle, and press lightly on the latter with the blade of a knife, in order that it may combine with the egg.
Poach gently in clarified butter, under cover, that the forcemeat may be well cooked.
Dish in a circle, and in the middle pour a mushroom purée.
Line the bottom and sides of some oval buttered quenelle moulds with chicken forcemeat prepared with panada and cream. Garnish the middle with a mince of the white of chicken meat cohered with reduced Allemande sauce, and cover with forcemeat.
Poach the quenelles in good time; drain them on a piece of linen; set them in a circle on a round dish, and coat with Aurore sauce. Garnish the centre of the circle with a fine Julienne of truffles.
Prepare an Italienne sauce, combined with cooked, sliced mushrooms. Add to this sauce some thin slices of cold fowl remains, and heat without allowing to boil at all.
Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle a little chopped parsley over the preparation.
Cut a fowl into pieces as for a fricassée; season the pieces, and sprinkle them with three finely-chopped onions, one and [525] one-half oz. of chopped mushrooms cooked in butter, and a pinch of chopped parsley.
Line the bottom and sides of a pie-dish with thin slices of veal; set the pieces of fowl inside, putting the legs undermost; add five oz. of thin slices of bacon; the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs cut into two; and moisten sufficiently to three-parts cover with chicken consommé. Cover with a layer of puff-paste, which should be sealed down to a strip of paste stuck to the edges of the pie-dish; gild; streak; make a slit in the middle of the paste, and bake in a moderate oven for one and one-half hours.
When taking the pie out of the oven, pour a few tablespoonfuls of strong gravy into it.
In order to prepare cocks’ combs and kidneys, they should be first set to soak in cold water for a few hours.
If they are fresh, they should be put in a saucepan of cold water; the latter should be made lukewarm, and they should then be drained and rubbed in a towel that their skins may be removed. This done, they are trimmed, and kept in fresh water, which ought to be frequently changed until they are quite white.
They may then be cooked in a very light Blanc (No. 167).
The kidneys are merely soaked in cold water for a few hours, and put to cook with the combs a few minutes before the latter are ready.
Cocks’ combs and kidneys are mostly used as garnish; nevertheless, they also serve in the preparation of special dishes, for which I shall now give a few recipes.
About twenty-five minutes before serving, prepare a pint of pilaff rice, combined with one half-capsicum cut into dice, and a very little saffron.
Also prepare ten roundels of egg-plant, seasoned, dredged, and fried in oil just before dishing. The moment the rice is cooked, add thereto twenty-four very fresh cocks’ kidneys, frizzled in butter, and twelve fine blanched cocks’ combs, poëled after the manner of lambs’ sweetbreads.
Set the whole in a silver saucepan, arrange the egg-plant roundels in a circle on the rice, and serve instantly.
Put three oz. of butter in a vegetable-pan, and fry it nut-brown.
[526]
Add to this butter twenty-four fine cocks’ kidneys (it is
essential that these should be fresh); season them with salt,
pepper, and a little red pepper, and cook them for from five
to six minutes, which should prove sufficient.
Meanwhile, prepare twelve croûtons of bread-crumbs, one-third inch thick, stamped out with a round cutter two-thirds inch in diameter. Fry these croûtons in butter at the last minute.
Put four fine, very black truffles, cut into somewhat thick slices, into the required quantity of reduced half-glaze sauce; add the kidneys, drained of their butter, as well as the fried crusts, one and one-half oz. of very best butter, and a few drops of lemon juice, and roll the saucepan gently, that the butter may thoroughly combine with the sauce.
Dish immediately in a very hot, silver timbale, and serve instantly.
Choose some fine, cooked kidneys, and cut them into two lengthwise. Trim them slightly underneath, that they may lie steady.
Stuff them by means of a piping-bag with a highly seasoned purée of foie gras, or of ham, of the white of a chicken and truffles, combined with an equal weight of fresh butter.
Coat them with a pink or white chaud-froid sauce, according to the requirements; set them in a low timbale, and cover them with light jelly.
They may also be put into petits-fours moulds, surrounded with jelly, and used as a garnish for cold fowls.
The croquettes and cutlets with which we are now concerned are made up of exactly the same constituents, and only differ in the matter of shape, the croquettes, as a rule, being shaped either like corks or rectangles; sometimes, too, like quoits; whereas the cutlets, as their name implies, are made in cutlet-shaped moulds.
The preparation from which they are made is as follows:—One lb. of the meat of a poached or roast fowl, thoroughly cleared of all skin, cartilage, and bones, and cut into small regular dice[Footnote 1]; six oz. of cooked mushrooms; an equal amount of salted ox-tongue or York ham, and four oz. of truffles. Cut [527] these various products like the chicken, and mix them therewith; then add one-half pint of very reduced and finished Allemande sauce to the whole; set the preparation to dry for a few minutes over an open fire; this done, remove it from the latter, and thicken it with the yolks of four raw eggs, which should be quickly mixed with it. Now pour the preparation into a very clean, buttered tray, and butter its surface, lest a crust form thereon during the cooling.
When the preparation is quite cold, transfer it, by means of a spoon, in pieces weighing about two oz., to a flour-dusted mixing board. Make the croquettes and cutlets about the desired shape; dip them into an anglaise, and roll them in fine bread-crumbs. Definitely shape them; plunge them into very hot fat; keep them therein till they have acquired a fine golden colour; drain them, and dish them in a crown on a napkin, with a heap of fried parsley in the middle.
Croquettes and cutlets may be garnished as fancy suggests, but the accompaniment should always be served separately. Tomato and Périgueux sauces are the most commonly used, and the best garnishes for the purpose are all the purées, peas, French beans, and jardinières.
[Footnote 1: When prepared as directed above, all meats, whether of poultry, game, fish, crustacea or mollusca, &c., may serve in the preparation of croquettes or cutlets.] Return to text
Collop the livers; quickly stiffen them in butter, and then treat them exactly as explained under “Brochettes de Rognons” (No. 1343).
Proceed according to the recipe given under “Rognons Sautés au Champagne” (No. 1333), using sliced chickens’ livers and cocks’ kidneys in equal quantities, and substituting excellent red wine for the Champagne.
N.B.—Chickens’ livers are also prepared sautés chasseur; sautés fines herbes, au gratin; en coquilles; en pilaw, &c. Refer to sheep’s kidneys for these preparations.
For a fricassée cut up the chicken as for a sauté, but divide the legs into two. The procedure is exactly that of “Fricassée de Veau” (No. 1276)—that is to say, the chicken is cooked in the sauce.
About ten minutes before serving, add ten small onions, [528] cooked in white consommé, and ten small grooved mushroom-heads. Finish at the last moment with a pinch of chopped parsley and chives. Thicken the sauce at the last moment with the yolks of two eggs, four tablespoonfuls of cream, and one oz. of best butter.
Dish in a timbale, and surround the fricassée with little flowerets of puff-paste, baked without colouration.
Prepare the fricassée as above, and add thereto as garnish ten small, cooked mushrooms, and the shelled tails of twelve crayfish, cooked as for bisque. When about to serve, finish the fricassée with two and one-half oz. of crayfish butter, made from the crayfishes’ carcasses and their cooking-liquor rubbed through linen.
Dish in a timbale.
Cut some boiled or roast fowl into slices, and marinade these in a few drops of oil, lemon juice, and some chopped herbs for one-quarter hour. Boiled fowl is preferable, in that the greater porousness of its meat facilitates the percolation of the marinade through it.
A few minutes before serving, dip the slices into very light batter, and put them into very hot fat. Drain, the moment the batter is well gilded; dish on a napkin with fried parsley, and serve a tomato sauce separately.
N.B.—Nowadays Fritôt and Marinade of fowl are identically the same dish, but formerly they differed in this, namely, that the Fritôt was prepared from cooked fowl, and the Marinade from pieces of uncooked fowl which were marinaded beforehand.
Both these preparations have for basic ingredient the mousseline forcemeat of No. 195. They differ in that the “Mousses” are prepared singly for one service, i.e., for several people at once, and that the “Mousselines,” which are virtually special quenelles, are prepared in the proportion of one or two for each person.
In different parts of this work, especially under No. 797, the subject has already been exhaustively treated; there is no need now, therefore, to go over the ground again.
Mould and poach the Mousselines. Drain them, and set them in a circle on a round dish; place on each a fine slice of cooked fowl, and upon the latter a slice of truffle. Coat with Mornay sauce, glaze quickly, and, in the middle of the mousselines, set a heap of asparagus-heads or small peas, cohered with butter.
Prepare the mousselines as above; set them in a circle on a round dish; coat with Indienne sauce, and serve a timbale of rice à l’Indienne separately.
When the mousselines are poached and dished, set upon each a fine collop of suprême, and coat with suprême sauce with paprika. Surround them with small timbales of pilaff rice combined with concassed tomatoes cooked in butter.
Proceed as for “Mousselines Alexandra,” but coat them with suprême sauce, finished with crayfish butter. In their midst set a heap of asparagus-heads, cohered with butter, and upon these lay some fine slices of glazed truffles.
Prepare the mousselines as above, and set them, each on an oval tartlet, garnished with macaroni à la Napolitaine. Coat them with suprême sauce; besprinkle with grated Parmesan, and glaze quickly.
Prepare and poach the mousselines in the usual way. Garnish the bottom of some barquettes with Mornay sauce, and put a mousseline into each barquette.
Set a collop of fowl on each mousseline, and cover them with a somewhat stiff preparation of soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a), applied ornamentally by means of a piping-bag fitted with an even pipe. Put the sylphides in the oven, in order to cook the soufflé, and serve instantly.
Proceed as for the sylphides; taking note only of this difference, viz., that the bottom of the barquettes must be garnished with shredded spinach stewed in butter. For the other details of the operation the procedure is the same.
Pilaff, which is the national dish of Orientals, gives rise to an endless number of recipes. The various curries of veal, lamb, and fowl are “pilaffs,” and all except the one “à la Parisienne,” which I give below, follow the same method of preparation—namely, that of curry; but for a change in the condiments and the treatment of the rice, which is not the same as that of “Riz à l’Indienne.”
Cut the fowl into small pieces, and fry it in mutton fat with three oz. of chopped onions. Sprinkle with one oz. of flour; moisten with one pint of white consommé; add two-thirds of a capsicum, cut into dice, and one and one-half oz. of currants and sultanas, and cook gently.
Dish in a timbale, and serve some pilaw rice separately.
Prepare the fowl as above, only flavour it with a little powdered ginger, and add three green braised and quartered capsicums to the sauce.
Serve a timbale of pilaff rice at the same time.
Cut up the fowl as for a fricassée; season it; fry it in butter, and add thereto three and one-half oz. of rice, browned in butter, with one chopped onion, a leaf of bay, and two peeled and concassed tomatoes. Moisten with enough white broth to more than cover, and cook in a very hot oven for twenty-five minutes. At the end of this time the fowl and rice are cooked, and the rice should be quite dry.
Sprinkle then with one-sixth pint of veal stock; mix the latter with the pilaff by means of a fork, and dish with care in a timbale.
Serve a sauceboat of tomato sauce separately.
Prepare the fowl as for “Pilaw à la Parisienne,” and flavour with a little cayenne and another of saffron. Dish in a timbale.
N.B.—Pilaff may also be prepared with cooked fowl, cut into slices which are heated in butter. In this case, garnish the bottoms and sides of a timbale with tomatéd pilaff rice; put the slices of fowl in the middle; cover with rice, and turn out the timbale on the dish.
Surround the timbale with a thread of tomato sauce.
For dinners on a large scale, it is in every way preferable to use raw chicken-meat. For small services, cooked chicken-meat suits perfectly.
N.B.—The time allowed for cooking chicken soufflés with cooked chicken-meat is comparatively long, and it is better to cook them a little too much than not enough.
For a soufflé made in a quart timbale, and cooked in a moderate oven as directed, allow from about twenty-five to thirty minutes.
Prepare two lbs. of mousseline forcemeat of chicken, according to recipe No. 195; add to this the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Dish in buttered timbales, and cook in a moderate oven.
Finely pound one lb. of the white of cooked chicken-meat; add thereto six tablespoonfuls of cold, reduced, Béchamel sauce. Rub through tammy.
Heat this preparation in a saucepan, without allowing it to boil, and add to it one and one-half oz. of butter, the yolks of five eggs, and the whites of six, beaten to a stiff froth.
Dish in a buttered timbale, and cook in a moderate oven.
Suprême sauce and the other derivatives of Allemande sauce form the best accompaniments to chicken soufflés.
This may be made from either one of the two above-mentioned preparations, but there must be added to it three and one-half oz. of chopped truffles. The preparation is then spread in layers separated by slices of truffle, which should weigh about three and one-half oz. in all, in order to be in proportion to the quantities already given.
Poach the pullet; raise the suprêmes and remove their skin; slice them; coat them with white chaud-froid sauce, and decorate them soberly with pieces of truffle. Trim the carcass; coat it outside with white chaud-froid sauce, and fill it with a fine crayfish mousse, reconstructing it exactly in so doing.
Cause a mousse to set in a refrigerator; place the collops of [532] suprême neatly upon it, in two rows, and between each row lay a dozen fine crayfish tails shelled and trimmed.
Coat the whole with half-melted aspic jelly; set in a deep dish; incrust the latter in a block of ice, and pour enough very good, melting aspic jelly (No. 159) over the pullet to half-immerse it.
Stuff a pullet two days beforehand with a whole foie gras studded with truffles and stiffened in butter for twenty minutes. Poële it in champagne; put it in a cocotte; cover it with its poëling-liquor, containing a sufficient addition of succulent jelly, and leave it to cool.
On the morrow remove, by means of a spoon, the grease that has settled on the jelly, and scald the latter twice or thrice with boiling water, in order to remove the last traces of grease.
Serve this pullet very cold, in the same cocotte in which it has cooled.
Poach the pullet; let it cool in its cooking-liquor; cut it up, and clear the pieces of all skin. Dip the pieces in chaud-froid sauce, already prepared from the pullet’s cooking-liquor if possible, and arrange them on a tray. Decorate each piece with a fine slice of truffle; glaze with cold, melted jelly; leave to set, and trim the edges of the pieces, just before dishing them.
Old method of dishing: Formerly, chaud-froids were dished on a cushion of bread or rice, placed in the middle of a border of jelly; and, between each piece, cocks’ combs and mushrooms, covered with chaud-froid sauce or jelly, were set.
They were also dished on stearine tazzas, made in special moulds; but these methods, however much they may have been honoured by old cookery, are generally scouted at the present day.
The method of dishing detailed hereafter is steadily ousting them; it allows of serving much more delicate and more agreeable chaud-froids in the simplest possible way, and was inaugurated at my suggestion at the Savoy Hotel.
Modern method of dishing: Set the decorated pieces, coated with chaud-froid sauce, side by side on a layer of excellent aspic jelly, lying on the bottom of a deep square dish. Cover them with the same aspic, which should be half melted, and leave to set. When about to serve, incrust the dish in a block of carved ice, or surround it with the latter fragmented.
[533]
This procedure allows of using less gelatinous products in
the preparation of the aspic, and the latter is therefore much
more delicate, mellow, and melting.
Having poached and cooled the pullets, raise the suprêmes, and cut each into three or four collops. Garnish these collops, dome-fashion, with a salpicon consisting of the meat cut from the carcass, combined with an equal quantity of salted tongue and truffle, and cohered with reduced chicken jelly.
Coat these collops with white chaud-froid sauce; sprinkle them immediately with very red tongue, truffle, gherkins, and hard-boiled white of egg; all chopped, mixed, and glazed with jelly.
Now set the collops in a deep, square silver dish, alternating them with oval slices of salted tongue.
Garnish their midst with a salad of French beans, cut lozenge-form and cohered with aspic.
Raise the suprêmes of a fine pullet; cut them in two in the thick part, without separating them, and slightly flatten them. Lay them on a piece of linen; season them; and, on one of their halves, spread a layer of foie-gras purée thickened with a little chicken forcemeat. Upon this layer set some rectangles of raw foie gras, one-third in. thick; cover with purée, set some slices of truffle upon the latter; coat again with purée; moisten with white of egg, and over the whole press the other half of the suprême. Wrap each suprême, prepared in this way, in a piece of muslin; poach them in a moderate oven, after having moistened them to within half their height with chicken stock; and leave them to cool in their cooking-liquor under slight pressure.
This done, take off the muslin, and cut each suprême into ten or twelve medallions. Envelop each medallion in a mousse of chicken made with the meat of the poached eggs, and leave to set. Then coat each medallion with white chaud-froid sauce, and deck each with a fine slice of truffle.
Clothe a dome-mould with a fine chicken jelly, and decorate it with slices of truffle; put the medallions inside, proceeding as for an aspic, and leave to set.
When about to serve, turn out on a serviette.
Raise the suprêmes of a poached pullet, and cool them under pressure.
[534]
Then cut them into rectangles of equal sizes; and, if necessary,
bisect them in the thickness.
Prepare a slab of mousse (made from the legs and the trimmings), twice as thick as the rectangles. Smoothen this mousse neatly, and put it in the refrigerator that it may get firm. This done, cut it into pieces exactly equal in size to the suprêmes; to do this, all that is necessary is to stick the latter on the mousse by means of jelly.
Now coat each suprême garnished with mousse with white chaud-froid sauce, and decorate with a bar of notes, imitated with truffles.
Set in a square, deep silver dish; cover with limpid and melting chicken jelly; leave to set, and serve the dish incrusted in a block of ice.
Prepare the pieces as for ordinary chaud-froid, and coat them with chaud-froid sauce combined with a quarter of its bulk of very smooth foie-gras purée. Decorate each piece with a lyre composed of truffle stamped out with a “lyre” fancy-cutter, set them on a deep, square dish, and cover with chicken jelly as above.
Completely bone the pullet’s breast, and stuff it with a preparation of chicken forcemeat (No. 200). Sew up the piece, truss it as for an entrée, and poach it in a chicken stock.
When it is cold, trim it, and coat it with a white chaud-froid sauce, combined with a little almond milk. Glaze with aspic jelly, and set it, without decorating it, on a low cushion lying on a long dish.
Surround it with six small, ham mousses and six small, chicken mousses, moulded in deep dariole-moulds, and arranged alternately.
Border the dish with croûtons of jelly, cut very neatly.
Bone the breasts of three fair-sized chickens; stuff and poach them as explained above. When they are quite cold, cover them with white chaud-froid sauce; decorate with pieces of truffle; glaze with aspic jelly, and leave to set.
This done, set them upright on a dish, letting them lean one against the other. Between each chicken set a salted calf’s tongue, upright, with the tip of the tongue pointing upwards; and, on either side of the tongues, a large glazed truffle.
[535]
Border the dish with fine croûtons of jelly, and serve a
mayonnaise sauce at the same time.
Poach the pullet and let it cool thoroughly.
Raise the suprêmes, suppress the bones of the breast and garnish the cavity with a cold chicken mousse, combined with a quarter of its volume of foie-gras purée, shaping the latter in such wise as to reconstruct the bird.
Cut the suprêmes into thin, long slices; coat them with white chaud-froid sauce, and place them on the mousse, pressing them lightly one upon the other. Deck with pieces of truffle; glaze with chicken jelly; set in a square, entrée dish, and surround with melted jelly.
When about to serve, incrust the dish in a block of ice.
Stuff the pullet with chicken forcemeat (No. 200), combined with foie gras and truffles, cut into dice; poach it in chicken stock and let it cool. This done, coat the piece with white chaud-froid sauce, decorate with jelly, and leave to set.
Set the pullet on a cushion of rice, lying on a long dish. Behind the bird, arrange a fine, vegetable salad in a shell of carved rice, or in a large, silver shell.
Border the dish with neatly-cut croûtons of pale jelly.
Poach the pullet and, when it is quite cold, raise its suprêmes and remove the bones of the breast. Coat the carcass with a white chaud-froid sauce; decorate as fancy may dictate; garnish with a mousse of tomatoes (No. 814), and arrange the latter in such wise as to reconstruct the bird.
Slice the suprêmes; coat them with white chaud-froid sauce; decorate with truffles, and glaze with chicken jelly. Garnish with the same mousse as that already used for the pullet, as many small, barquette-moulds as there are chaud-froid-coated slices, and leave to set.
Put the pullets on a low cushion of rice, placed on a long dish; surround it with the barquettes of mousse, turned out at the last moment; set a chaud-froid-coated slice on each barquette, and distribute croûtons of jelly over the dish.
Having poached and cooled the pullet, raise its suprêmes; cut these into collops, and coat them with white chaud-froid sauce. Trim the carcass, leaving the wings attached; garnish [536] it with very smooth and pink, ham mousse, giving the latter the shape of the pullet, and put to set in the refrigerator.
Mould in small, oval moulds, as many barquettes of the same ham mousse as there are collops.
When the mousse in the fowl has properly set, coat it with chaud-froid sauce, prepared with paprika of a fine, tender, pink shade; decorate according to fancy, and glaze with chicken jelly.
Set the pullet on a low cushion of rice, placed on a dish; place the barquettes of ham mousse around it; set a collop on each mousse and a fine slice of truffle on each collop, and border the dish with croûtons of aspic.
Poële the pullet in white wine, and leave it to cool in its cooking-liquor. This done, raise the fillets; cut them into regular slices; coat them with white chaud-froid sauce and decorate.
Meanwhile, sauté fifteen larks in a mirepoix; remove the fillets of six of them; glaze them with brown, chaud-froid sauce, and decorate them with bits of hard-boiled white of egg.
With the remainder of the larks and five oz. of foie gras, prepare a mousse, and use the latter for reconstructing the pullet as explained in the preceding recipes. When the mousse has set properly, coat it with brown, chaud-froid sauce. Arrange the chicken fillets, coated with white, chaud-froid sauce, on either side of the mousse; in the middle put the larks’ fillets, coated with brown, chaud-froid sauce, and let them slightly overlap one another.
Set the pullet in a deep, square dish; surround it with melted, chicken jelly; let the latter set, and serve the dish incrusted in a block of ice.
Bone the pullet all but the legs, and stuff it with a forcemeat consisting of: three and one-half oz. of veal; three and one-half oz. of fresh pork fat; three and one-half oz. of gratin forcemeat, prepared from fowls’ livers; two tablespoonfuls of brandy; two tablespoonfuls of truffle essence, and the yolk of an egg.
In the midst of the stuffing, set half of a raw foie gras and one raw, quartered truffle on each side. Reconstruct the pullet; truss it as for an entrée; cover it with slices of bacon, and poële in Madeira for one and one-half hours.
Leave to half-cool in the cooking-liquor; withdraw the pullet; remove the slices of bacon, and put it in a terrine just large enough to hold it.
[537]
Add a little chicken jelly to the bird’s cooking-liquor, which
should not have been cleared of grease, but merely strained
through a napkin; and pour this sauce over the pullet.
Do not serve until twenty-four hours have elapsed, and clear of grease as directed under “Poularde au Champagne” (No. 1688).
Serve the terrine in a block of ice, or on a dish with broken ice all round.
Prepare the pullet as explained above, and put it in a box just large enough to hold it. Seal up the box; mark the top with a bit of tin; put it in a stewpan with enough water to cover it, and boil for two hours.
This done, withdraw the box and cool it, placing it upside down, that the grease may be at the bottom and the breast coated with jelly.
Poach a chicken à la Reine; let it cool; raise its suprêmes and leave the humerus bones attached, after having duly cleared them of all meat; skin the suprêmes, and coat them with a little jelly.
Garnish a timbale, just large enough to hold the two wings, half-way up with crayfish mousse. Upon this mousse, set the two suprêmes, opposite one another, and between them set a row of shelled and trimmed crayfishes’ tails, cooked as for bisque. Cover the whole with a succulent half-set chicken jelly, and place in the refrigerator for two hours.
Poach three fleshy, spring chickens, taking care to have the suprêmes just cooked. Leave to cool, and raise the wings as in the preceding recipe, trim them and coat them with jelly.
With the meat of three legs, prepare a chicken mousse, and mould it in a dome-mould. When the mousse is set, turn it out on a dish, and place the wings all round, fixing them on the mousse, with their points upwards, by means of a little half-set jelly.
Cover the mousse on top, and the gaps between the points of the suprêmes with chopped truffle and chopped tongue, laid alternately. In the middle of the mousse, set a fine, glazed truffle, pierced by a small hatelet.
Clothe a border mould with aspic jelly, in accordance with the procedure described under “Aspic de Homard” (No. 954), [538] and decorate it with large slices of truffles. Fill the mould with a coarse julienne of chicken fillets, salted tongue and truffles, spread in successive layers and besprinkled with cold, melted aspic.
When about to serve, turn out the aspic on a very cold dish; set a salad “à l’Italienne” in its midst, and serve a Rémoulade sauce separately.
Clothe an ornamented mould with jelly, and decorate its bottom and sides with truffles. Fill it with successive and alternate layers of: aspic jelly, collops of chicken fillets, cocks’ combs coated with brown, chaud-froid sauce, fine cocks’ kidneys, coated with white chaud-froid sauce, and slices of salted tongue cut into oval shapes.
When about to serve, turn out, and surround with fine croûtons of aspic.
Prepare some chicken suprêmes as explained under “Chaud-froid Félix Faure” (No. 1691), and cut them into collops. Trim these collops with a round, even cutter, and coat them with aspic.
Prepare a mousse from the meat of the legs. Spread this mousse on a tray in a layer one-third in. thick and leave it to set. When it is quite firm, stamp it out with a round, even cutter, dipped in hot water, and a little larger than the one used in trimming the collops.
Set a medallion on each roundel of mousse, fixing it there by means of a little half-set jelly, and arrange the medallion prepared in this way on a square dish.
In their midst set a fine faggot of asparagus-heads; fill the gaps between the medallions with a garnish consisting of a salad of asparagus-heads with cream.
Serve on a block of ice or surround the dish with ice.
For galantines, fowls may be used which are a little too tough to be roasted, but old fowls should be discarded. The latter invariably yield a dry forcemeat, whatever measures one may take in the preparation.
The fowl should be cleaned but not emptied, and it should be carefully boned; the process beginning from an incision down the skin of the back, from the head to the tail.
This done, carefully remove the meat with the point of a [539] small, sharp knife, until the carcass is quite bare. Cut off the wings and the legs, flush with the articulations of the trunk; remove all the meat that the skin may be quite clean, and spread the skin on a clean piece of linen. Trim the meat of the breast, cut it into pieces one-third inch square, and put the resulting trimmings aside.
Season these pieces and marinade them in a few drops of brandy; prepare other pieces of the same size and length from four oz. of truffles; six oz. of salted, fat pork; four oz. of cooked ham, and four oz. of salted and cooked ox-tongue. Then clear the meat of the legs of all tendons; add to it the trimmings cut from the breast, as much very white veal and twice as much very fat, fresh pork; season these meats with salt, pepper and nutmeg; chop them up very finely; pound them, and rub them through a sieve. Add the brandy in which the fillets were marinaded.
Spread a layer, three in. wide, of this forcemeat along the whole of the middle of the chicken’s skin; upon this layer of forcemeat set the strips of bacon, fowl, truffle, ham, and tongue, arranging them alternately and regularly; upon them spread another layer of forcemeat, equal to the first; then another layer of the various pieces, and finally cover and envelop the whole in what remains of the forcemeat.
Draw the skin of the fowl over the whole and completely wrap the former round the latter. Carefully sew up the edges of the skin, and roll the galantine in a napkin, either end of which should be tightly strung.
With six lbs. of shin of veal, one-half lb. of fresh blanched pork rind, and the fowl’s carcass, prepare a white veal stock (No. 10). When this stock has cooked for about five hours, add the galantine to it, and gently cook the latter for about one and one-quarter hours.
At the end of this time take the galantine off the fire; drain it on a dish, and let it cool for ten minutes; remove the napkin in which it has cooked, and roll it in another one which should be similarly tied at both ends. This done, put the galantine to cool under a weight not exceeding five or six lbs.
The cooking-liquor, once it has been cleared of grease and clarified as for an aspic (No. 158), constitutes a jelly which accompanies the galantine. When the latter is quite cold, remove the napkin covering it, trim it neatly at either end; coat it with half-melted jelly, and dish it on a low cushion of carved rice. Finally, decorate it as fancy may dictate with pieces of jelly.
Poële a very tender chicken; do not colour it and have it only just done. Withdraw it and leave it to cool. Add two tablespoonfuls of strong veal stock and one tablespoonful of burned brandy to the poëling-liquor.
Simmer for ten minutes. Strain this stock through a sieve, and slightly press the vegetables in so doing, that all their juices may be expressed.
Clear of grease, and reduce until the liquor does not measure more than two tablespoonfuls. Put it on the side of the fire, add the yolks of three eggs, stirring briskly the while, and add, little by little, six oz. of very good, fresh butter, just as for a Hollandaise sauce. Finally, add one and one-half leaves of gelatine, dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of boiling water, and rub the whole through tammy.
Meanwhile, raise the chicken’s fillets and cut them into wide and thin collops, after having cleared them of skin. Cover each collop with a slice of truffle dipped in good, half-melted jelly, and with them line the bottom and sides of a timbale-mould, already clothed with jelly and incrusted in ice.
Then completely bone the chicken; finely pound the remainder of its meat as well as the skin; rub the whole through a fine sieve, and add the resulting purée to the prepared sauce. Mix the whole well, and fill the mould with it. Allow to set well, and turn out on a cushion of rice surrounded by fine croûtons of jelly.
N.B.—By substituting young ducks, young pigeons, or some kind of game such as pheasant, woodcock, &c., for the chicken, this recipe may be applied to any piece of poultry or game.
Poach a fowl; let it cool; raise its suprêmes, and cut each into four collops, trimmed to the shape of ovals. Coat these collops with white chaud-froid sauce, and decorate them with tarragon leaves, blanched, cooled, well-drained and very green.
Let a layer of aspic jelly one-half in. thick set on the bottom of a timbale or a square dish; upon this layer set some slices of foie-gras Parfait, cut to the shape of the collops, and place one of the latter on each slice of the Parfait. This done, cover with fine half-melted chicken jelly.
When about to serve, incrust the dish or the timbale in a block of carved ice.
The carefully boned and skinned meat of a poached fowl may be used in the preparation of this mousse, but a freshly-roasted fowl, scarcely cooled, is preferable; the latter’s flavour being more delicate and more distinct.
The quantities and the mode of procedure for cold fowl mousse are those given under “mousse de tomates” (No. 814).
The various mousse recipes which I gave for trout (Nos. 813 and 815) may be applied to cold fillets of fowl. In this case, the latter may be coated with some kind of chaud-froid sauce, or simply glazed with jelly, and soberly decorated.
These mousses constitute excellent dishes for suppers, and from a very long list of them I may quote:—
Garnish the bottom of a salad-bowl with ciseled lettuce, arranging it in the shape of a dome. Season with a little salt and a few drops of vinegar. Upon this salad arrange the cold collops of boiled or roast fowl, carefully cleared of all skin.
Cover with mayonnaise sauce; smooth the latter and decorate with capers; small stoned olives; anchovy fillets; quartered hard-boiled eggs; small quartered or whole lettuce hearts.
Arrange these decorating constituents according to fancy, as no hard and fast rule can be given.
When about to serve, mix as for a salad.
This dish consists of the same ingredients as the preceding one, except for the mayonnaise, which is replaced by an ordinary seasoning added just before mixing and serving.
Line a raised-pie mould with patty paste (No. 2359), taking care to leave a fine crest.
Bone a fowl weighing about four or five lbs. Set the suprêmes (each cut into three collops) to marinade in a glass [542] of brandy, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and five medium-sized peeled truffles, each cut into four or five thick slices.
With what remains of the fowl’s meat, as much lean pork and veal (mixed in equal quantities) and twice as much fresh, pork fat (i.e., a quantity equal in weight to all the other meats put together), prepare a very smooth forcemeat; chopping the whole first, then pounding it and rubbing it through a sieve. Add to this forcemeat a little truffle essence; the marinade of the fillets; one raw egg, and the necessary seasoning, to wit: salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Line the bottom and sides of the pie with this forcemeat; on this first layer of forcemeat lay a thin slice of bacon and thick slices of tongue, beef, or ham. Place thereon another slice of bacon, followed by a thin layer of forcemeat, a layer of truffle slices, another layer of forcemeat, the collops of fowl, another layer of forcemeat, one more layer of truffles, one more layer of forcemeat, one more layer of tongue or ham (between two thin slices of bacon); and finally cover the whole with what remains of the forcemeat and a slice of larding bacon superposed by a bay-leaf. Now close the pie with a cover of the same paste as that already used, carefully seal down the cover to the crest of the underlying paste, trim and pinch the crest, and deck this cover of paste with imitation-leaves of the same paste.
Make a slit in the top of the pie, for the escape of steam; carefully gild the cover and the crest, and bake in a moderate oven for about one and one-quarter hours. On withdrawing the pie from the oven, let it half cool, and fill it with a succulent, chicken jelly. Allow this dish to cool for at least twenty-four hours before serving.
N.B.—With this recipe as model, and by substituting another piece of poultry or game for the fowl, raised pies may be prepared from every kind of game or poultry, except water-game, which only yields mediocre results.
In the case of game pies, the forcemeat is combined with one-sixth of its weight of gratin forcemeat (No. 202) and an equal quantity of fat bacon is suppressed. The chicken jelly is also replaced by a jelly prepared from the carcasses of the birds under treatment.
Dish these raised pies plainly, on napkins, and very cold.
See No. 1660.
Young turkeys, served as relevés or entrées, admit of all the recipes given for pullets; therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the reader is begged to refer to those recipes.
Those most generally applied to young turkeys are the ones termed “à l’Anglaise”—with celery, à la Financière, à la Godard, and à la Jardinière.
In addition to these preparations, there are others which are better suited and are more proper to young turkeys, and these I give below.
Cut open the shells of two and one-quarter lbs. of chestnuts; immerse them for a few seconds in smoking fat; peel them, and almost completely cook them in consommé. Then mix them with two lbs. of very finely-chopped pork, rubbed through tammy. Fill the bird with this preparation; truss it, and roast it on the spit or in the oven, basting frequently the while.
Serve with the gravy separately. The latter should be somewhat fat.
Cut up the young turkey as for a fricassée, and fry the pieces in three oz. of butter. When the pieces are nicely browned, swill the utensil with one pint of white wine; season with salt and pepper; add a piece, the size of a pea, of crushed garlic, and completely reduce. Then moisten with sufficient tomato purée and equal quantities of Espagnole and brown stock to just cover the pieces.
Cook in the oven for forty minutes; transfer the pieces to another dish after having trimmed them, and add one-half lb. of raw, quartered mushrooms, sautéd in butter; twenty chestnuts cooked in consommé; twenty small, glazed onions; five quartered tomatoes, and ten sausages.
Strain the sauce over the pieces of turkey; complete the cooking for twenty-five minutes, and dish in a timbale.
This may be prepared in two ways, according as to whether it be intended for lunch or for dinner.
(1) Cut up the young turkey and fry the pieces in butter as above. Swill with one glassful of white wine; add a sufficient quantity of tomatéd half-glaze sauce, just to cover the pieces, and cook in the oven for forty minutes.
[544]
This done, transfer the pieces to another stewpan and add
thereto twenty small, glazed onions, twenty chestnuts cooked
in consommé, ten chipolata sausages, one-third lb. of frizzled
pieces of fresh pork cut into dice, and twenty olive-shaped and
glazed carrots. Strain the sauce over the whole, complete the
cooking and dish in a timbale.
(2) Braise the young turkey; glaze it at the last moment, and set on a long dish. Surround it with the garnish given above, combined with the reduced braising-liquor.
Bone the young turkey’s breast, and stuff it, arranging its meat as for a galantine, with very good sausage-meat combined with a glassful of liqueur brandy per two lbs. of the former; bacon, truffles; and a very small and red ox-tongue, covered with slices of bacon and set in the centre of the garnish.
Reconstruct the young turkey; sew it; truss it, and put it in a terrine just large enough to hold it and its moistening.
With the bones and the trimmings of the young turkey, two slices of veal, two lbs. of frizzled beef, aromatics, one pint of white wine, and two quarts of water, prepare a brown stock after recipe No. 9. Reduce this stock to one and one-half quarts; put it into the terrine; cover and thoroughly close up the latter with a strip of paste, and cook in a hot oven for two and one-half hours.
Leave to cool in the terrine, and, when about to serve, slightly heat the latter in order to turn out the daube.
Remove and bone the young turkey’s legs. With the meat, carefully cleared of all tendons, prepare a mousseline forcemeat; spread the latter on a tray in a layer one-third in. thick, and poach it. Stamp it out with an even, oval fancy-cutter, about three in. by two in.
Braise or poële the young turkey’s breast with the greatest care, keeping it underdone. This done, raise the two suprêmes, skin them, and cut them into collops of a size that will allow of their being trimmed with the fancy-cutter already used. With a little raw forcemeat, stick a collop to each oval of poached forcemeat; then, by means of a piping-bag fitted with an even pipe, garnish the borders of the collops with the same forcemeat combined with twice its bulk of chopped salted tongue. Set the medallions thus prepared on a covered tray, and put them in the steamer that the forcemeat may poach.
[545]
When about to serve, take the piping-bag and make a
fine rosette of a purée of peas in the centre of each medallion.
Set these medallions in a circle on a round dish, around a
little bowl of carved, fried bread, garnished with the same
purée of peas.
Serve separately a velouté prepared from the bones of the dindonneau.
Poële the young turkey. When it is cooked, raise its suprêmes, skin them, and cut them into somewhat thick collops.
Dish these collops in a circle, and set a collop of foie gras, sautéd in butter, between each.
Pour a Toulousaine garnish in their midst, and surround with a thread of light glaze.
The pinions referred to in this recipe are pinions properly so called; that is to say, they consist of the two last joints of the wing. When they are properly prepared, they constitute one of the most savoury luncheon entrées that can be served.
The pinions of large pullets may be treated in this way.
Clear and singe the pinions, and set them in a buttered sautépan, just large enough to hold them. Colour gently on both sides and drain.
In the same butter, gently brown a sliced carrot and onion, to which add a few parsley stalks and a little thyme and bay. Set the pinions on these aromatics; season moderately with salt and pepper; cover the sautépan, and continue cooking gently in a very slow oven, basting often the while.
The dish will be all the better for having been cooked slowly and regularly. Do not moisten, if possible, or, at the most, only do so with a few drops of water, in order to keep the butter from clarifying—not an unusual occurrence when the heat is too fierce.
When the pinions are cooked, dish them radially, and cover them that they may keep warm. Add a few tablespoonfuls of light stock or some water to the cooking butter, and set to boil gently for fifteen minutes. When this stock is sufficiently reduced to only half-immerse the pinions, pass it through a fine strainer and clear of some of the grease if necessary; remember, however, that this stock should be somewhat fat.
Pour it over the pinions, and serve a timbale of a fine purée of marrons separately.
All the recipes given for cold pullets may be applied to this bird.
The principal value of the goose from the culinary point of view lies in the fact that it supplies the best, most delicate and firmest foie gras.
Apart from this property, the preciousness of which is truly inestimable, goose is really only served at bourgeois or family tables.
Completely bone the gosling’s breast; season it inside, and stuff it with quartered, peeled and cored apples, half-cooked in butter.
Sew up the openings, and braise gently, basting with fat the while.
When the gosling is cooked, dish it and surround it with peeled apples, cored by means of the tube-cutter, cooked in butter, and garnished with red-currant jelly. Drain away three-quarters of the grease; swill the braising-pan with the required quantity of good gravy for roasts; strain this gravy, and serve it separately.
Stuff the gosling with very good sausage-meat; truss; colour in butter and poële. Dish and surround with sauerkraut braised in goose grease, and rectangles of lean bacon, cooked with the sauerkraut.
Cook one lb. of unpeeled onions in the oven. When they are cold, peel them; chop them, and add to them an equal weight of soaked and pressed bread, one oz. of fresh or chopped sage, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Stuff the gosling with this preparation; truss it, and roast it on the spit or in the oven.
Dish it; surround it with the gravy, which should be somewhat fat, and serve a sauceboat of slightly-sugared, stewed apples, separately.
When killing the gosling, carefully collect its blood. Add the juice of a lemon and beat it, so as to prevent coagulation, until it is quite cold.
[547]
Cut the gosling into pieces and proceed exactly as for “Civet
de Lièvre” (No. 1821).
Braise the gosling.
Dish it and surround it, either with noodles with butter, or rice au gras (No. 2252). Besprinkle the garnish with the reduced braising-liquor, and serve a horse-radish sauce with cream (No. 138), separately.
N.B.—Besides these various recipes, goslings may also be prepared like young turkeys, i.e., with chestnuts, à la Chipolata, en Daube; or with turnips, peas, and “en Salmis,” like Duck.
Foies gras are supplied either by geese or ducks. Goose’s liver is larger, firmer and less readily melted than that of the duck. As a rule the former should be selected in preference, more particularly in the matter of hot dishes. Nevertheless, failing goose’s liver, duck’s liver may be used and with very good results when its quality is good.
Foies gras are used in the preparation of terrines, raised pies, parfaits and mousses, which are among the most delicate and richest of cold dishes.
They may also be used as a garnishing ingredient, in the form of collops or mousseline quenelles. Finally, they may also be served as hot entrées.
When a whole foie gras is to be served hot, it must first be trimmed, studded with raw truffles which have been previously peeled, quartered, seasoned with salt and pepper, stiffened in a glassful of brandy, together with a bay-leaf, and cooled in a thoroughly closed terrine.
When the foie gras has been studded with truffles, wrap it in thin slices of bacon or a piece of pig’s caul, and set it in a thoroughly-sealed terrine before cooking it.
The best way to cook foie gras, when it is to be served whole and hot, is to bake it in a crust of paste that can absorb the excess of grease produced by the melting of the liver. For this purpose prepare two layers of patty paste, a little larger than the liver.
On one of these layers, set the liver wrapped in slices of bacon; and, if possible, surround it with whole fair-sized truffles, peeled. Set half a bay-leaf on the liver; moisten the edges of the paste; cover the whole with the other layer of paste; seal it down with the thumb, and fold over the edges of the paste to form a regular, ornamented border which, besides [548] finishing off the preparation, also increases the strength of the welding.
Gild the top; streak; make a slit in the top for the escape of the steam; and, in the case of a medium-sized liver, cook in a good, moderate oven for from forty to forty-five minutes.
Serve this crust as it stands, and send the garnish separately.
In the dining-room, the waiter in charge removes the top of the crust, cuts out the liver with a spoon, setting a piece on each plate, and arranges around each piece the garnish mentioned on the menu.
I am not partial to the cooking of foie gras in a terrine when it is to be served hot. In any case the method described above strikes me as being much the best, whatever be the garnish that is served with the liver.
I particularly recommend a garnish of noodles, macaroni, lazagnes, spaghetti and even rice, with hot foie gras.
These pastes should simply be cooked in water and finished with cream.
This accompaniment makes the foie gras much more digestible and palatable. The best garnishes for hot foie gras, besides those given above, are truffles, whole or in slices, or a Financière. In the matter of brown sauces, a Madeira sauce suits admirably, provided it be of great delicacy and not overcharged with Madeira; but a very light buttered, veal or chicken glaze, combined with a little old Sherry or old Port, is even superior. A Hongroise sauce with paprika or an excellent suprême sauce may also be served when the garnish admits of it.
For this dish the foie gras is cooked differently; the result is almost the same as that yielded by the crust prescribed above, except that it is much more delicate. This method, moreover, allows of obtaining a foie gras clear of all grease (the latter being completely absorbed by the paste), and is therefore best suited to cold dishing.
After having studded the foie gras with truffles and placed it in a closed terrine as above, wrap it in slices of bacon, set it to poach in a moderate oven for twenty minutes, and leave it to cool.
Line a buttered timbale-mould, of a size in proportion to that of the liver, with a thick layer of ordinary unsugared brioche paste (No. 2370).
Put the foie gras upright in the mould, which it should almost fill; close the timbale with a cover of the same paste; [549] make a slit in the top; surround the top of the mould with a band of strong, buttered paper, that the paste may be prevented from running over, and let it rest for about thirty minutes in a temperature of 86° F. to allow the paste to work.
Bake in a rather hot oven, until a needle inserted through the centre withdraws quite clean.
Serve the dish as it stands with one of the ordinary foie-gras garnishes.
Cut some slices two and one-half oz. in weight from a raw foie gras. Season them with salt and pepper; dip in beaten egg; roll in finely-chopped truffle, and sauté in clarified butter.
Dish in a circle, and, in the middle, pour a Madeira sauce flavoured with truffle essence.
From a layer of unsugared brioche paste, one-third in. thick, cut twenty roundels two and one-half in. in diameter. On ten of these roundels, spread a coating of chicken forcemeat, leaving a margin one-third in. wide of bare paste on each roundel.
Set a slice of truffle in the middle, a thick roundel of raw foie gras on the truffle, another slice of truffle upon that, a coat of forcemeat over the whole; and cover with the ten remaining roundels, after having slightly moistened the latter, that the two edges of paste may be sealed. Press with the back of a round cutter; gild, and cook in a hot oven for fifteen minutes.
Dish in a circle, and serve a Périgueux sauce at the same time.
Prepare: (1) a crust made in a flawn-mould, six in. in diameter; (2) a garnish of blanched macaroni, cut into lengths of one in., cohered with four oz. of grated Gruyère and Parmesan cheese per lb. of macaroni, and combined with two oz. of butter, four oz. of a julienne of truffles and four oz. of foie gras cut into large dice.
Dish in a circle in the crust ten collops of foie gras sautéd in butter, alternating them with fine slices of truffle. Put the macaroni in the middle, shaping it like a dome, sprinkle with grated cheese and glaze quickly.
Dish on a napkin, and serve separately a clear chicken glaze, flavoured with truffles and well buttered.
Rub two-thirds lb. of foie gras and three and one-half oz. of raw truffles through a fine sieve. Mix the two purées in a basin, and add two-thirds lb. of raw chicken-meat, pounded with the whites of four eggs, and rubbed through a fine sieve. Season; work the preparation on ice, and add to it, little by little, one-half pint of rich, thick, and very fresh cream, then the well-stiffened whites of four eggs.
Dish in a buttered soufflé saucepan, and poach under cover in the bain-marie for from thirty to thirty-five minutes.
Serve a Madeira sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, separately.
Prepare an ordinary timbale crust. When about to serve, fill it with layers of noodles with cream, separated by alternate layers of foie-gras collops, sautéd in butter, and slices of truffles. Complete with some raw noodles, tossed in butter and distributed over the last layer of cohered noodles.
Cover the timbale, and serve a suprême sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, separately.
Line a buttered dome-mould with rings of large poached macaroni.
These rings should be one-fifth inch thick, and should be garnished inside with very black truffle purée, cohered by means of a little forcemeat.
When the mould is lined, coat it inside with a layer of chicken forcemeat combined with truffle purée. Put the mould for a few minutes in a moderate oven, that the forcemeat may poach.
Reduce one-third pint of Béchamel sauce, combined with four to five tablespoonfuls of truffle and chicken essence, to half; mix therewith one-half lb. of poached macaroni, cut into lengths of one inch, and four tablespoonfuls of foie-gras and truffle purée, made from trimmings. Mix the whole thoroughly.
Garnish the timbale with this macaroni, spreading it in layers, separated by other alternate layers of foie-gras collops, poached in Madeira, and slices of truffle. Cover the garnish with a layer of forcemeat, and poach in the bain-marie, allowing forty-five minutes for a quart-mould.
Let the mould stand for a few minutes before emptying it; turn out the timbale upon a round dish; surround it with a [551] border of Périgueux sauce, and serve a sauceboat of Périgueux sauce separately.
Spread a very even layer, one-third inch thick, of chicken forcemeat upon a sheet of buttered paper. Moisten the surface with some white of egg; sprinkle with chopped truffle, and press on the latter by means of the flat of a knife.
Set to poach gently; cool, and then stamp out with a round, even cutter, one inch in diameter. With the resulting roundels, garnish the bottom and sides of a Charlotte mould, placing their truffled sides against the mould. Then, with the view of binding these roundels together, as they are to constitute the outside of the timbale, coat the whole of the mould inside with some fairly firm chicken forcemeat, combined with a quarter of its bulk of foie-gras purée.
Fill the mould with a foie-gras Parfait with truffles cut into very large dice and cohered by means of mousseline chicken forcemeat.
Cover the whole with a layer of the same forcemeat as that used for the purpose of binding the roundels, and set to poach under cover.
Turn out, following the same precautions as above; surround the timbale with a border of nice, pink, Hungarian sauce with paprika, and send a sauceboat of this sauce to the table at the same time.
Clothe an even or ornamented mould (fitted with a central tube) with aspic, and decorate it with poached white of egg and truffle. Fill it with rows of well-trimmed foie-gras rectangles, or shells raised by means of a spoon dipped in hot water, separating each row with a coat of aspic.
Except for its principal ingredient, which may vary, the preparation of aspic is always the same as that described under “Aspic de Homard” (No. 954).
For the turning out and dishing, proceed in exactly the same way.
Take a plain foie-gras Parfait, i.e., one without a crust; trim it neatly to the shape of an egg, and completely cover it with a chaud-froid sauce with paprika. Decorate it according to fancy, and glaze it with cold melted jelly.
Cut out a crust, proportionate in size to the egg, and shape [552] it like a cushion. Coat it with a chaud-froid sauce of a different colour; deck it with softened butter, applied by means of a piping-bag fitted with a narrow, grooved pipe; set it on the dish, and place the foie-gras egg upon it.
Surround the cushion with fine fair-sized truffles, glazed with aspic jelly.
Trim a fine, fresh foie gras; salt it; sprinkle it with a coffeespoonful of paprika; put it into a saucepan with a large sliced Spanish onion and a bay-leaf, and cook in the oven for thirty minutes.
This done, set it instantly in an oval terrine, after having carefully removed every bit of onion; cover it with its own grease; fill up the terrine with jelly, and leave to cool.
Keep in the cool until ready for serving.
N.B.—In Vienna, where this dish is usually served as a hors-d’œuvre, with baked potatoes, the onion is not removed. The foie gras is left to cool in the terrine in which it has cooked, with all its grease, and it is served thus, very cold.
This piece of information was kindly given to me by Madame Katinka.
From a terrine of very firm foie gras cut the required number of collops, giving them an oval shape. Make a preparation of “pain de foie gras” (No. 1741) with the remains of the terrine, and cover the collops with the preparation, shaping the latter in a dome upon them. Coat these garnished collops with cream chaud-froid sauce; decorate with a slice of truffle, and glaze with aspic.
With some foie-gras purée prepare some balls (of the shape of bigaroons); in the centre of each place a little ball of truffle in imitation of the stone of the fruit, and coat them with a reddish-brown, chaud-froid sauce. This done, glaze them with jelly.
Dish the collops round a circular cushion, set upon a very cold dish; arrange the bigaroons in a pyramid on the cushion, and border the dish with fine, jelly croûtons.
For the preparation of the mousse, see No. 814. The procedure and the quantities are always the same, and only the principal ingredient changes. The moulding is also effected in the same way in a jelly-clothed and decorated mould, [553] generally just large enough to hold the requisite amount for one service, or in a silver timbale, incrusted in ice.
I have oftentimes explained that the substance is the same from which mousses and mousselines are prepared, and I have pointed out wherein the difference between them lies.
Just like the other mousselines, those of foie gras are made in egg- or quenelle-moulds, or others of the same kind. Foie-gras mousselines are, according to circumstances, either simply glazed with aspic, or coated with chaud-froid sauce and dished in a timbale with jelly. They may also be moulded in little paper cases.
From a cold foie gras, braised in Madeira, cut a few collops and put them aside. Clear the cooking-liquor of all grease, reduce to half, and add the yolks of four eggs and one-half lb. of butter, proceeding as for a Hollandaise sauce. Complete with a grilled, crushed, hazel-nut, two leaves of dissolved gelatine, and, when the preparation is only lukewarm, mix therewith (without working the whole overmuch) what remains of the foie gras, rubbed through a sieve.
Spread this preparation in layers in an aspic-clothed and decorated mould, separating each layer with other alternate layers consisting of the reserved collops and some slices of truffle.
Cover the last layer with aspic, and set the mould in a refrigerator for a few hours.
When about to serve, turn out, and border the dish with fine, aspic jelly croûtons.
Fresh foies gras do not bear transport very well, and, when sent from a distance, often reach their destination tainted. It is, therefore, difficult, whatever care may have been bestowed on their preparation, to obtain the results which are achieved by manufacturers who are renowned for this kind of produce. Consequently, it is preferable to buy the Parfait of foie gras ready-made from a good firm rather than to try to make it oneself.
Let a coat of aspic, one-half inch thick, set on the bottom of a square timbale, and lay thereon a few slices of truffle. Upon this jelly spread a layer, two-thirds inch thick, of foie-gras purée, thinned by means of a little melted jelly. When this purée has set, lay on it a few foie-gras collops and slices of [554] truffle; cover with aspic, and continue thus with alternate layers of purée, collops, and aspic. Fill up the mould with a layer of aspic jelly; put it in the refrigerator for a few hours, and dish on a block of ice, cut to the shape of a flagstone.
Line a timbale-mould with ordinary patty paste, and cover the inside all over with slices of larding bacon. Just in the middle set a fresh foie gras, seasoned with salt, pepper, and allspice; surround it with quails stuffed with a piece of truffle, and set upright with their breasts against the slices of bacon. Fill up the mould with whole, raw, and peeled truffles; cover the whole with a round slice of the same bacon; cover the timbale with a layer of paste, well sealed down round the edges; make a slit in the top for the escape of steam, and bake in a good, moderate oven for one and one-quarter hours.
On withdrawing the timbale from the oven, pour into it some succulent veal stock, flavoured with Madeira, and sufficiently gelatinous to form a nice jelly.
Keep the timbale in the cool for one or two days before serving it.
Three varieties of the duck family are recognised in cookery, viz., the Nantes duck, the Rouen duck, and the different kinds of wild duck. The latter are generally used for roasts and in salmis.
The Rouen duck is also served more often as a roast than as an entrée. The characteristic trait of its preparation lies in its being kept very underdone, and it is very rarely braised. It is killed by suffocation, and not by bleeding, which is the usual mode of killing other birds.
The Nantes duck, which is similar to the Aylesbury one, is not so fleshy as the Rouen duck, and may be roasted, poëled, or braised.
Take a piece of manied butter the size of an egg, and insert it into the duckling with chopped parsley and shallots. Truss the bird as for an entrée; brown it in the oven, and put it in a stewpan already lined for braising.
Moisten, just enough to cover, with white veal stock and Rhine wine (in the proportion of two-thirds of the former to one-third of the latter), or ordinary good white wine, and braise slowly until cooking is completed.
[555]
Meanwhile, braise in the usual way two lbs. of sauerkraut
with one-half lb. of salted breast of pork.
When it is three-parts done, drain it, and complete its cooking with one-third pint of veal gravy and one-sixth pint of white wine, until this moistening is completely reduced.
Set the sauerkraut in a border round a dish, and surround it with the pork cut into small rectangles. Place the carved duck in the centre, and coat it moderately with half-glaze sauce combined with the reduced braising-liquor. Send the remains of this sauce separately.
Stuff the duckling with one oz. of butter combined with a pinch of chopped mint, and poële it. Dish it; swill the stewpan with one-sixth pint of clear, veal gravy and a little lemon juice; strain, add a pinch of chopped mint, and pour this sauce over the duckling.
Bone the duckling, and stuff it with one lb. of gratin foie-gras forcemeat, combined with two-thirds lb. of good sausage-meat. Set two rows of truffles in the middle of the thickest part of the forcemeat, lengthwise, along the duckling. Reconstruct; sew up the skin, wrap in a serviette, after the manner of a galantine, and poach in a stock made from the carcass.
Glaze the duckling with some of this stock, strained, cleared of all grease, and reduced. With what remains prepare a Madeira sauce, and add thereto two oz. of sliced truffles.
Dish the duckling, after having removed all stitches from it, and coat it with this sauce.
Brown the duckling well in butter, and withdraw it from the saucepan.
Drain away the butter; swill with a little white wine; add two-thirds pint of brown stock, as much Espagnole, and a faggot; return the duck to this sauce, and braise gently.
With the reserved butter brown one lb. of turnips, shaped like elongated garlic-cloves, and sprinkle them with a large pinch of powdered sugar, that they may be glazed to a nice, light brown colour. Also have ready twenty small onions, which should have been gently cooked in butter.
When the duckling is half cooked, transfer it to another saucepan; put the turnips and the onions round it; strain the sauce over the whole, and complete the cooking gently.
[556]
Dish with the garnish of turnips and onions, arranged round
the bird.
Prepare the duckling as above, and keep the sauce short and succulent. A few minutes before serving, add one-half lb. of stoned and blanched olives. Glaze the duckling at the last moment, and dish it surrounded with the olives and the sauce.
This braised duckling must not be confused with roast duckling, which is also served “a l’orange,” for the two dishes are quite distinct.
As in the case of the roast, this duckling may be prepared with Seville oranges; but, in this case, the sections of orange must not appear as garnish, owing to their bitterness, and only the juice is used for the sauce.
Braise the duckling in one-third pint of brown stock and two-thirds pint of Espagnole sauce, and cook it sufficiently to allow of its being cut with a spoon.
Clear the sauce of grease; reduce it to a stiff consistence; rub it through tammy, and add the juice of two oranges and one half-lemon to it, which should bring the sauce back to its original consistence.
Now add a julienne of the blanched yellow part only of the rind of a half-orange and a half-lemon, but remember that the addition of the juice and rind of the orange and the half-lemon only takes place at the last moment, after which the sauce must not boil again. Glaze the duckling, dish it, coat it slightly with sauce, and surround it with sections of orange, skinned raw.
Serve what remains of the sauce separately.
Brown in butter six oz. of salted breast of pork, cut into large dice and blanched, and fifteen small onions. Drain the pork and the onions, and set the duckling to fry in the same butter. When it is well coloured, remove the butter; swill with a little brown stock, and add one-half pint of thin, half-glaze sauce, one and one-half pints of fresh peas, one faggot, the pork dice and the onions, and complete the cooking of the whole gently.
Dish the duckling, and cover it with the garnish and the sauce, after having withdrawn the faggot therefrom and reduced the sauce so that it only just covers the garnish.
Roast the duckling, keeping it somewhat underdone, and cut the whole of the breast into long collops or very thin slices. Line a buttered Charlotte mould with short paste, and cover the whole of the inside with a layer of gratin forcemeat (No. 202), combined with four tablespoonfuls of very reduced half-glaze sauce per one and two-thirds lb. of forcemeat—the necessary quantity for this pie.
On the layer of forcemeat arrange a litter of the slices of breast; sliced, cooked mushrooms, and slices of truffle; and fill the mould in this way, taking care to alternate the layers of forcemeat, slices of breast, &c. Complete with a coat of forcemeat, upon which sprinkle a pinch of powdered thyme and bay-leaf; close the mould with a thin layer of paste, sealed down round the edges; make a slit in the top; gild, and bake in a moderate oven for one hour.
When taking the pie out of the oven, turn it upside-down on a dish; detach the base; cut the latter into triangles, and set these triangles round the pie. Cover the forcemeat, thus bared, with a few tablespoonfuls of Madeira sauce; set a large, grooved, cooked mushroom just in the middle, and surround it with a crown of sliced truffle.
Serve a Madeira sauce separately.
Bone the duckling, and completely clear the bones of all meat.
Remove all tendons from the latter, and chop it, together with half its weight of veal, as much fresh pork fat, a third as much panada (No. 190), the yolks of four eggs, one-half oz. of salt, and a little pepper and nutmeg. Pound; rub through a sieve, and mix with this forcemeat, three oz. of gratin foie-gras forcemeat and three oz. of chopped mushrooms, sautéd in butter. Divide up into portions weighing two oz.; wrap each portion in a piece of the duckling’s skin; envelop in muslin, and poach in a stock prepared from the duckling’s carcass. At the last moment, remove the pieces of muslin and glaze the ballotines.
Dish in a circle, and set the selected garnish, which may be turnips, peas, olives, or sauerkraut, &c., in the middle.
Except for the one case when they are served cold “à la cuiller,” Rouen ducklings are not braised: they are roasted and always kept underdone. When they have to be stuffed, the forcemeat is prepared as follows:—Fry four oz. of larding [558] bacon, cut into dice, with one oz. of chopped onion, and add one-half lb. of sliced ducks’ livers, a pinch of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little spice.
Keep the livers underdone, merely stiffened; let the whole half-cool; pound, and rub through a fine sieve.
Poële the duckling and only just cook it, bearing in mind that twenty minutes is the time allowed for cooking a fair-sized bird. Remove the fillets lengthwise, each in ten slices, and set the latter on a lukewarm dish.
Add a few tablespoonfuls of veal gravy to the poëling-liquor; set to boil for a few minutes; strain clear of grease, and finish as directed under sauce Bigarrade claire (No. 31).
Cover the slices of breast with some of the sauce, and serve the remainder separately. “Aiguillettes” (or thin slices of breast cut lengthwise) à l’orange are prepared in the same way, except that they are surrounded with sections of orange, skinned raw.
Prepare the duckling as above, but add a little Madeira to the braising-liquor. Clear the latter of grease; thicken with arrowroot; strain through muslin, and add one-half lb. of stoned morello cherries, at the last moment. Set the cherries round the aiguillettes; coat the latter thinly with sauce, and serve what remains of the latter, separately.
Poële the duckling, and only just cook it.
Add one-sixth pint of Chambertin wine to the poëling-liquor, and cook therein five medium-sized, peeled truffles. This done, reduce the liquor, clear of grease, strain it, and add it to a somewhat light Rouennaise sauce.
Raise the duckling’s aiguillettes, slice the truffles, and set on a lukewarm dish, alternating the aiguillettes with the slices of truffle.
Coat thinly with sauce, and send what remains of the latter separately.
Poële the duckling as above.
Add one-half pint of dry Saint Marceaux champagne to the poëling-liquor; reduce, and complete with one-sixth pint of thickened, veal stock.
[559]
Strain this sauce through muslin; clear it of grease, and
send it in a sauceboat at the same time as the duckling.
Stuff the duckling with the preparation given under No. 1754; truss it as for an entrée; insert it into a well-soaked bladder, and string the end of the latter close to the bird’s tail. Wrap the bladder in a napkin, also strung, and poach gently for about forty-five minutes in a very strong brown stock. When about to serve, remove the napkin, and leave the duckling in the bladder.
Serve a Rouennaise sauce as an accompaniment.
Roast the duckling “en casserole,” keeping it only just done.
Swill with one-fifth pint of port wine; reduce to half, and add this reduced swilling-liquor to one-half pint of duckling gravy, thickened with arrowroot.
Roast the duckling for twenty minutes, and send it instantly to the table, where it should be treated as follows:—Remove the legs, which are not served; carve the fillets into fine slices, laid one against the other on a lukewarm dish.
Chop up the carcass and press it, sprinkling it the while with a glassful of good red wine. Collect the gravy; add thereto a few drops of brandy, and with this liquor sprinkle the slices of breast, which should have been well seasoned.
Put the dish on a chafer, and thoroughly heat without allowing to boil.
Serve instantly.
Stuff the duckling with the forcemeat given under No. 1754, and roast it before a fierce fire for from twenty-five to thirty minutes, according to its size.
Send a Rouennaise sauce to the table with it.
If it be served carved, remove the legs, cisel them inside, season them well with salt and pepper, and grill them.
Cut the fillets into thin slices, set these on either side of a long dish, and, in the middle, place the forcemeat withdrawn from the inside.
Set the grilled legs at either end of the dish.
Roughly chop up the carcass and press it, sprinkling it [560] the while with a glass of liqueur-brandy and a few drops of lemon juice. Add the collected gravy to the Rouennaise sauce: coat the slices of breast thinly with sauce, and serve what remains of the sauce separately.
After having suppressed the clavicle, truss the duckling.
Put it in a red oven, where it should only stay eight minutes, i.e., four minutes each side.
If possible, let it cool for a few minutes, that it may be more easily carved. Take care, also, to wipe it, for, as a rule, the fierceness of the oven blackens it. Remove the legs; cisel them inside; season and grill them.
Sprinkle a long, buttered dish with chopped shallots, kitchen salt not too finely powdered, freshly-ground pepper, nutmeg, and allspice.
Cut the fillets into very thin slices lengthwise, fifteen from each fillet, and set them one against the other on the dish. Sprinkle them with the same seasoning as that lying on the dish, except for the shallots.
Remove the remaining stumps of the wings, as also the small, remaining skin of the breast; season both, and set them to grill by the side of the legs. Roughly chop up the carcass; press it while sprinkling it with half a glassful of red wine, and sprinkle the slices of breast with the collected gravy.
When about to serve, set a few small pieces of butter on the slices of breast; heat for a moment on the stove, and put the dish in a very hot oven, or at the salamander, that the glazing may be instantaneous.
Withdraw the dish the moment the edges of the aiguillettes begin to curl, set the grilled legs at either end of the dish, the two wing-stumps, with the skin of the breast, in the middle, and serve immediately.
Poële the duckling, and only just cook it.
Raise the suprêmes, and keep them hot, and cut the bones from the carcass in such a way as to imitate a case, as I described in a number of pullet recipes. With the duckling’s liver, the raw meat of another half-duckling, the white of an egg, and three oz. of raw foie gras, prepare a mousseline forcemeat.
Fill the carcass with this forcemeat, shaping it so as to reconstruct the bird. Surround it with a band of strong, buttered paper, so as to avoid loss of shape, and poach gently, under cover, for twenty minutes.
[561]
With some reserved forcemeat, combined with an equal
weight of foie-gras purée, garnish some tartlet crusts, and poach
them at the same time as the soufflé.
Dish the piece; surround it with the tartlets; set a collop of suprême on each of the latter and serve a Rouennaise sauce separately.
Braise the duckling with Madeira, and cook it well. Put into a terrine just large enough to hold it; cover with the braising-liquor, strained through a napkin, and combined with enough aspic jelly to completely coat the duckling. Leave to cool.
When about to serve, clear the surface of grease, first by means of a spoon, then with boiling water, and dish on a napkin.
Poële the duckling, and let it cool in its liquor.
When it is quite cold, set it on its back; glaze it with aspic jelly, and place it on a low rice or carved-bread cushion lying on a long dish.
Surround it with emptied tangerines, filled with cold mousse made from ducklings’ livers and foie gras. Alternate the tangerines with small timbales of aspic, combined with the poëling-liquor and the juice squeezed from the sections of the tangerines.
Roast the duckling, and keep it underdone.
When it is quite cold, remove the breast, and remove the bones in such wise as to form a case with the carcass. Cut each fillet into eight thin slices; coat them with a brown chaud-froid sauce, and decorate with truffles. Fill the carcass with a mousse made from the remains of the meat, the duckling’s liver, and some foie gras, and shape it so as to imitate the convex breast of the bird.
Glaze with aspic, and set in the refrigerator, that the mousse may harden. When the latter is firm, lay the chaud-froid-coated collops upon it, and set the piece in a deep, square dish. Surround with cold, stoned, morello cherries, poached in Bordeaux wine, and cover these with an aspic jelly flavoured with duckling essence.
Poële a Rouen duckling until it is just cooked, and let it cool in its liquor. Raise the fillets; skin them, and cut them each into eight thin slices. Coat them with a brown chaud-froid sauce, and decorate with truffles. Prepare an equal number of slices of tongue the size and shape of the slices of duckling, and coat them with aspic.
With the remains and the meat of the legs, prepare a mousse, and pour it into a square or oval silver dish; let it cool, and then set the aiguillettes of duckling and the slices of tongue upon it, alternating them in so doing, and cover the mousse with aspic.
These are prepared with the same quantities as the chicken mousses and mousselines, but they allow of no other sauce than the Rouennaise or the Bigarrade, nor of any other garnishes than sections of orange, cherries, vegetable purées, or creams.
With the exception of the nature of the principal ingredient, the preparation, quantities, and moulding of this mousse are the same as for chicken mousse. The reader is, therefore, begged to refer to No. 1670, which may be applied perfectly well to Rouen duckling.
Proceed as for the “Caneton aux cerises,” but with this difference, that the duckling is used entirely for the mousse.
Serve, similarly, in a square dish, and surround with sections of oranges skinned raw. Cover with an aspic jelly flavoured with the juice of Seville oranges, and combined with a liqueur-glassful of curaçao per pint of jelly.
First prepare the following forcemeat:—Heat three oz. of fat bacon, cut into small dice, and three oz. of butter in a frying-pan. Throw six fine ducks’ livers (seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with a pinch of powdered thyme, bay-leaf, and half an onion chopped) into this fat. Toss them over a fierce fire, just long enough to heat them; leave them to cool, and rub them through a sieve.
Bone the breast of a Rouen duckling and its back as far as the region of the legs, and suppress the tail. Stuff it with the preparation given above; truss as for an entrée, and put [563] it in a terrine just large enough to hold it. Sprinkle it with a glassful of brandy; cover with a slice of bacon, and cook it in the bain-marie, in the oven, and under cover for forty minutes.
With the carcass and some strong veal stock, prepare two-thirds pint of excellent aspic, and, when withdrawing the duckling from the oven, cover it with this aspic, and let it cool. When about to serve, remove all grease, first by means of a spoon, and then by means of boiling water, and set the terrine on a napkin lying on a long dish.
Roast a Rouen duckling, and keep it underdone; let it cool, and raise its fillets. With the carcass prepare a Salmis sauce, and thicken it with aspic as for a chaud-froid sauce.
Cut the fillets into slices, coat them with Salmis sauce, and leave this to set. Let a thickness of sauce set on the bottom of a timbale.
Upon this sauce lay some of the coated slices, alternating them with slices of truffle, and cover with a thin layer of aspic jelly. Lay another row of slices of fillet and of truffles, followed as before by a layer of aspic, and continue thus in the same order. Complete with a somewhat thick layer of aspic, and keep in the cool until ready for serving.
N.B.—This old and excellent cold entrée is really only a cold salmis. The procedure may be applied to all game suited to the salmis method of preparation. It is the simplest and certainly the best way of serving them cold.
The guinea-fowl is not equal to the pheasant from the gastronomical standpoint, though it often takes the place of the latter among the roasts after the shooting season. But, though it has neither the fine flavour nor the delicate meat of the pheasant, it does good service notwithstanding. The majority of pheasant recipes may be applied to it, especially à la Bohémienne, à la crème, en Chartreuse, en salmis, à la choucroûte, &c.
Young pigeons are not very highly esteemed by English gourmets, and this is more particularly to be regretted, since, when the birds are of excellent quality, they are worthy the best tables.
Open the squabs down the back; season them; slightly flatten them, and toss them in butter. They may just as [564] well be halved as left whole. Dish, and surround with the garnish given under “Poulet à la Bordelaise” (No. 1538).
Cook the squabs in the oven in an earthenware saucepan.
When they are two-thirds done, surround them with one and one-half oz. of salted breast of pork, cut into small dice and blanched, and two oz. of sliced and sautéd potatoes for each pigeon. Complete the cooking of the whole gently, and, when about to serve, add a little good gravy.
Prepare the Chartreuse in a Charlotte mould, as explained under No. 1182. Line the bottom and sides with a layer of braised, drained, and pressed cabbages; in the centre set the squabs, cooked “à la casserole” and cut into two lengthwise, and alternate them with small rectangles of blanched, salted breast of pork, and sausage roundels. Cover with cabbages, and steam in a bain-marie for thirty minutes.
Let the Chartreuse stand for five minutes after withdrawing from the bain-marie; turn out on a round dish, and surround with a few tablespoonfuls of half-glaze sauce.
Cut the young pigeons horizontally in two, from the apex of the breast to the wings. Open them; flatten them slightly; season them; dip them in melted butter, roll them in bread-crumbs, and grill them gently.
Serve a devilled sauce at the same time.
Fry in butter two oz. of blanched, salted breast of pork and two oz. of raw mushrooms, peeled and quartered. Drain the bacon and the mushrooms, and set the squabs, trussed as for an entrée, to fry in the same butter.
Withdraw them when they are brown; drain them of butter; swill with half a glassful of white wine; reduce the latter, and add sufficient brown stock and half-glaze sauce (tomatéd), in equal quantities, to cover the birds. Plunge them into this sauce, with a faggot, and simmer until they are cooked and the sauce is reduced to half.
This done, transfer the squabs to another saucepan; add the pieces of bacon, the mushrooms, and six small onions, glazed with butter, for each bird; strain the sauce over the [565] whole through a fine sieve; simmer for ten minutes more, and serve very hot.
Line the bottom and sides of a pie-dish with very thin, flattened collops of lean beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with chopped shallots.
Set the quartered pigeons inside the dish, and separate them with a halved hard-boiled egg-yolk for each pigeon. Moisten half-way up with good gravy; cover with a layer of puff paste; gild; streak; make a slit in the top, and bake for about one and one-half hours in a good, moderate oven.
Suppress the feet and the pinions; poële the squabs, and only just cook them.
Cut each bird into four, and mix them with a garnish “à la Financière” (No. 1474) combined with the poëling-liquor. Pour the whole into a vol-au-vent crust, and dish on a napkin.
Cut them in two, and reserve the claw, which serves as the bone of the cutlet. Flatten them slightly; season, and fry them in butter on one side only. Cool them under slight pressure; coat their fried side, dome-fashion, with some godiveau with cream, combined with a third of its bulk of gratin forcemeat and chopped truffles. Set them on a tray, and place in a moderate oven to complete the cooking, and poach the forcemeat. Dish in a circle, and separate the cutlets with collops of veal sweetbreads, dipped in beaten eggs, rolled in bread-crumbs, and tossed in butter. Garnish their midst with mushrooms and sliced fowls’ livers, tossed in butter and cohered with a few tablespoonfuls of Madeira sauce.
Cut the pigeons in two, as above; stiffen them in butter, and enclose them in papillotes as explained under “Côtelettes de Veau en Papillotes” (No. 1259).
Sauté the half-pigeons in butter, and leave them to cool under slight pressure. Garnish their cut sides dome-fashion with a salpicon of white chicken-meat, mushrooms, and truffles, the whole cohered by means of a cold Allemande sauce.
Dip them in beaten egg, roll them in bread-crumbs, and cook them gently in clarified butter.
[566]
Dish them in a circle; garnish their midst with asparagus-heads
cohered with butter, and serve a light, Madeira sauce
separately.
Raise the fillets and slightly flatten them; stiffen them in butter, and leave them to cool under slight pressure. This done, dip them in a Villeroy sauce, combined with chopped herbs and mushrooms, and cool them. Dip each fillet in beaten egg; roll them in bread-crumbs, and fry just before serving.
Dish in a circle, and in their midst set a heap of fried parsley. Send separately a garnish of pigeon quenelles, mushrooms, and small, olive-shaped truffles, to which a half-glaze sauce flavoured with pigeon essence has been added.
With the meat of the legs prepare a mousseline forcemeat, and, with the latter, make some quenelles the size of small olives, and set them to poach. Poële the breasts, without colouration, on a thick litter of sliced onions, and keep them underdone. Add a little velouté to the onions; rub them through tammy, and put the quenelles in this sauce.
In the middle of a shallow croustade, set a pyramid of cèpes tossed in butter. Raise the fillets; skin them, and set them on the cèpes; coat them with the prepared sauce; surround with a thread of meat glaze, and place the quenelles all round.
Cut off the legs, and, with their meat, prepare a forcemeat. Poach the latter on a tray, and stamp it out with an oval cutter into pieces the size of the suprêmes.
Cover the breasts with slices of bacon, and poële them, taking care to only just cook them.
Quickly raise the suprêmes, skin them, and set each upon an oval of forcemeat, sticking them on by means of a little gratin forcemeat.
Put the suprêmes in the oven for a moment, that this forcemeat may poach. Dish the suprêmes round a pyramid consisting of a smooth purée of peas, and coat with a velouté sauce, finished with an essence prepared from the remains and the poëling-liquor of the breasts.
Raise the suprêmes, flatten them slightly; toss them in clarified butter, and set them on a border of smooth forcemeat, [567] laid on a dish by means of a piping-bag, and poached in the front of the oven.
Swill the vegetable-pan with Madeira; add four fine slices of truffle for each suprême, and a little pale melted meat glaze, and finish with a moderate amount of butter.
Coat the suprêmes with this sauce, and set the slices of truffle upon it.
Prepare and poach these mousselines like the chicken ones, but make them a little smaller. Dish them in the form of a crown; set thereon a young pigeon’s fillet roasted, and in their midst arrange a garnish of peas with lettuce. Coat with a fumet prepared from the carcasses and cohered with a few tablespoonfuls of velouté.
N.B.—Pigeons and squabs may also be prepared after the recipes given for chicks.
The stag (Fr. Cerf) and the fallow deer (Fr. Daim) supply the only venison that is consumed in England, where the roebuck (Fr. Chevreuil) is not held in very high esteem. True, the latter’s flesh is very often mediocre in quality, and saddles and legs of roebuck often have to be imported from the Continent when they are to appear on an important menu.
On the other hand, venison derived from the stag or red deer and the fallow deer proper is generally of superior quality. The former has perhaps more flavour, but the latter, which is supplied by animals bred in herds on large private estates, has no equal as far as delicacy and tenderness are concerned, while it is covered with white and scented fat, which is greatly appreciated by English connoisseurs.
Although these two kinds of venison are generally served as relevés, they belong more properly to the roasts, and I shall give their recipes a little later on. In any case, only half of the hind-quarters (that is to say, the leg together with that part of the saddle which reaches from it to the floating ribs) is served at high-class tables.
I shall now, therefore, only give the various recipes dealing with roebuck, it being understood that these, if desired, may be applied to corresponding joints of the stag or deer.
Saddles and legs of roebuck may be prepared after the same recipes, and allow of the same garnishes. The recipes for saddle which I give hereafter may therefore be applied equally well to legs.
Whichever joint be selected, it must first be cleared of all tendons and then larded with larding bacon. The last operation is no more essential than is the marinading which in France has become customary with such pieces. It might even be said with justice that marinading is not only useless, but harmful, more particularly in the case of young animals whose meat has been well hung.
Unlike many other specimens of game, roebuck has to be eaten fresh; it does not suit it to be in the least tainted. I should like to point out here that game shot in ambush is best, owing to the fact that animals killed after a chase decompose very quickly, and thereby lose a large proportion of their flavour.
The saddle of the roebuck generally consists of the whole of the latter’s back, from the withers to the tail, in which case the bones of the ribs are cut very short, that the joint may lie steady at all points.
At the croup-end, cut the joint on either side diagonally, from the point of the haunch to the root of the tail. Sometimes, however, the saddle only consists of the lumbar portion of the back, and, in this case, the ribs are cut up to be cooked as cutlets.
Marinade the saddle for two or three days in raw marinade No. 169, and roast it, on a narrow baking-tray, upon the vegetables of the marinade.
As soon as the joint is cooked, withdraw it; swill the tray with a little marinade, and almost entirely reduce. Clear of grease; add two-thirds pint of cream and one powdered juniper berry; reduce by a third; complete with a few drops of melted glaze, and rub through tammy.
Serve this sauce at the same time as the saddle, which set on a long dish.
The saddle should be marinaded and well dried before being set to cook.
Poële it on the vegetables of the marinade.
When it is cooked, put it on a long dish, and, at either end [569] of it, set a garnish of stewed pears, unsugared, but flavoured with cinnamon and lemon-rind. Pour one-third pint of game stock into the tray in which the joint was cooked; cook for ten minutes; strain; clear of grease, and thicken with arrowroot.
Serve this thickened stock separately, and send some red-currant jelly to the table at the same time.
Keep the saddle for twelve hours in marinade (No. 169) made from verjuice instead of vinegar. Roast it on the spit, basting it with the marinade, and keep it slightly underdone.
At the same time, serve a cherry sauce consisting of equal quantities of poivrade sauce and red-currant jelly, to each pint of which add three oz. of semi-candied cherries, set to soak in hot water thirty minutes beforehand.
N.B.—This saddle need not be marinaded if it be desired plain.
Roast it like a haunch of venison, without marinading it. Send it to the table with a timbale of French beans, cohered with butter, and serve a Cumberland sauce (No. 134) separately.
Marinade it for a few hours only, and roast it on the spit, basting it the while with the marinade.
Set it on a long dish, and surround it with bananas tossed in butter.
At the same time serve a Roberts sauce, combined with a third of its bulk of Poivrade sauce, and one oz. of fresh butter per pint.
Lard and roast it. Set it on a long dish, and surround it with artichoke-bottoms, garnished with lentil purée, and alternated with chestnuts cooked in a small quantity of consommé and glazed.
Serve a venison sauce separately.
Lard the saddle, and roast it. Swill the baking-tray with a small glassful of burned gin; add one powdered juniper berry and one-sixth pint of double cream. Reduce the cream to half; complete with a few tablespoonfuls of poivrade sauce and a few drops of lemon juice. Serve this sauce with the saddle, and send separately some hot stewed apples, very slightly sugared.
Saddle of roebuck may also be served with the following sauces:—Poivrade, Venison, Grand-Veneur, Moscovite, Roberts, &c. The selected accompaniment determines the title of the dish.
The same recipes may be applied to both. Trim them after the manner of lamb noisettes or cutlets. They may be moderately marinaded, but they may also be used fresh. In the latter case, fry them in butter over a somewhat fierce fire, like the lamb noisettes.
If they have been marinaded, it is better to toss them very quickly in very hot oil, and then to dry them before dishing them.
It is in the dishing only that the noisettes and the cutlets differ; for, whereas the latter are always dished in a crown, one overlapping the other, or each separated from the rest by croûtons of bread-crumb fried in butter, the noisettes are always dished in a circle on small, oval croûtons fried in butter, or on tartlet crusts containing some kind of garnish.
Sauté the cutlets in very hot oil; dry them; dish them in a crown, and separate them by similarly-shaped collops of salted tongue.
Swill the saucepan with a little white wine; add this liquor to a Poivrade sauce, and coat the cutlets with it.
Serve a light, buttered purée of lentils at the same time.
Spread an even layer, one-third inch thick, of mousseline game forcemeat on a tray. Poach this forcemeat in a steamer or in a very moderate oven, and cut it into triangles equal in size to the cutlets.
Toss the latter as already explained; dish them in a crown, and separate them by croûtons of forcemeat already prepared.
Coat the whole with poivrade sauce, thinned by means of a little beaten cream, and garnished with crescents of truffle and hard-boiled white of egg, and serve a purée of chestnuts at the same time.
Cook the noisettes in smoking oil. Dry them, dish them, [571] and coat them with the same sauce as that given under “Selle au Genièvre” (No. 1798).
Serve some stewed apples at the same time.
Cook the noisettes; set them on stuffed sections of cucumber, prepared after No. 2124a, and place a slice of truffle on each noisette. Coat with a Poivrade sauce with cream, and serve a mushroom purée separately.
Cook the noisettes, and dish them in a circle, each on a round croûton of brioche fried in butter, and coat lightly with bigarrade sauce.
Serve a sauceboat of bigarrade sauce and an orange salad at the same time.
Carefully clear the meat of the roebuck of all tendons, and chop it up with a knife, combining with it the while the third of its weight of fresh butter, as much bread-crumb, soaked in milk, and pressed, and one-third pint of fresh cream per lb. of meat. Season, divide into portions weighing two oz., mould to a nice round shape, wrap in pig’s caul, cook quickly at the last moment, and dish in the form of a crown.
Coat with Chasseur sauce, and send a timbale of celery purée separately.
Sauté the noisettes in the usual way, and dish them in the form of a crown, each on a small quoit of “Pommes Berny” (No. 2184). On each noisette lay a fine, grilled mushroom, garnished with a rosette of Soubise purée, made by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe. Pour a little venison sauce over the dish, and send a sauceboat of it separately.
N.B.—Roebuck noisettes and cutlets are still served with purées of chestnuts or celery, with truffles, cèpes, mushrooms, &c.
The sauces best suited to them are Poivrade sauce and its derivatives, such as Venison sauce, Grand-Veneur sauce, Romaine sauce, &c., also Roberts sauce Escoffier.
For “Civet de Chevreuil” the shoulders, the neck, and the breast are used, and these pieces are cut up and set to marinade six hours beforehand with the aromatics and the same red wine as that with which the civet will be moistened.
[572]
When about to prepare the civet, drain and dry these pieces,
and proceed exactly as for “Civet de Lièvre” (No. 1821),
except for the thickening by means of blood, which the difficulty
of obtaining the blood of the roebuck perforce precludes.
This civet, which should be classed among dishes for the home, is usually served in the form of a stew; for, inasmuch as the final thickening with blood is lacking, it can only be an imitation of the civet. When, therefore, hare’s blood is available, it should always be used in finishing this dish exactly after the manner of No. 1821—that is to say, the preparation should be given the characteristic stamp of civet by means of a final thickening with blood.
When the wild boar is over two years of age, it is no more fit to be served as food. Between one and two years it should be used with caution, and the various roebuck recipes may then be applied to it. But only the young boar less than twelve months old should be prepared in decent kitchens.
The hams of a young boar, salted and smoked, supply a very passable relevé, which allows of varying the ordinary menu. They are treated exactly like pork hams.
The saddle and the cushions may be prepared after the recipes given for saddle of roebuck, and the same holds good with the cutlets and the noisettes.
Finally, the saddle may be served cold, in a daube, when it is prepared after No. 1173.
As the various parts of the young boar are covered with fat, it is understood that they are not larded, nor do they need it.
As a result of one of those freaks of taste, of which I have already pointed out some few examples, hare is not nearly so highly esteemed as it deserves in England; and the fact seems all the more strange when one remembers that in many of her counties excellent specimens of the species are to be found.
Whatever be the purpose for which it is required, always select a young hare, five or six lbs. in weight. The age may be ascertained as follows:—Grasp one ear close to its extremity with both hands, and pull in opposite directions; if the ear tear, the beast is young; if it resist the strain, the hare is old, and should be set aside for soups and the preparation of fumets and forcemeats.
Take care to collect all the blood when emptying the hare; break the bones of the legs, that they may be easily trussed; clear the legs and the fillets of all tendons, and lard them. Chop up the liver, the lungs, the heart, and four fowls’ livers, together with five oz. of fat bacon.
Add to this mincemeat five oz. of soaked and pressed bread-crumbs, the blood, two oz. of chopped onion, cooked in butter and cold; a pinch of chopped parsley, a piece of crushed garlic the size of a pea, and three oz. of raw truffle parings. Mix the whole up well; fill the hare with this stuffing; sew up the skin of the belly; truss the animal, and braise it in white wine for about two and one-half hours, basting it often the while. Glaze at the last moment. Serve the hare on a long dish.
Add two-thirds pint of half-glaze game sauce to the braising-liquor; reduce; clear of grease; strain, and add three oz. of chopped truffles to this sauce.
Pour a little sauce over the dish on which the hare has been set, and serve what remains of the sauce separately.
The French term “râble” means the whole of the back of the hare, from the root of the neck to the tail, with the ribs cut very short.
Often, however, that piece which corresponds with the saddle in butchers’ meat alone is taken, i.e., the piece reaching from the croup to the floating ribs. Whatever be the particular cut, the piece should be well cleared of all tendons, and finely larded before being set to marinade; and this last operation may even be dispensed with when the “râble” is derived from a young hare.
Marinading would only become necessary if the piece had to be kept some considerable time.
Set the râble well dried on the vegetables of the marinade, which should be laid on the bottom of a long, narrow dish. When it is nearly cooked, remove the vegetables, pour one-quarter pint of cream into the dish, and complete the cooking of the râble, basting it the while with that cream.
Finish at the last minute with a few drops of lemon juice.
Dish the râble, and surround it with the cream stock, strained through a fine strainer.
Roast it, as above, on the vegetables of the marinade.
Swill the dish with a small glassful of gin and two or three tablespoonfuls of marinade, and reduce to half. Add one-sixth pint of cream, two tablespoonfuls of poivrade sauce, and four powdered juniper berries.
Strain and serve this sauce separately at the same time as the râble.
Use the legs of young hares only; those of old animals may be used for the “civet” and forcemeat alone. After having cleared them of tendons and larded them with very thin strips of bacon, treat them like the râble.
Take five leverets’ fillets; contise them with slices of truffle, after the manner directed for “Suprêmes de Volaille à la Chevalière” (No. 1458); shape them like crescents, and set them on a buttered dish.
Lard the minion fillets with a rosette consisting of strips of salted tongue, and set them also on a buttered dish.
With what remains of the meat of the leverets, prepare a mousseline forcemeat, and add thereto some truffle essence and some chopped truffles.
Dish this forcemeat, shaping it like a truncated cone two and one-half inches high, the radius of which should be the length of a leveret’s fillet.
Set this forcemeat to poach in the front of the oven.
Sprinkle the fillets and the minion fillets with a little brandy and melted butter; cover them, and poach them likewise in the front of the oven. This done, arrange them radially on the cone of forcemeat, alternating the fillets and the minion fillets. Place a fine, glazed truffle in the middle of the rosette, and surround the base with mushrooms, separated by chestnuts cooked in consommé and glazed, and small onions cooked in butter.
Serve a poivrade sauce at the same time, combined with the fillets’ cooking-liquor.
Trim two leverets’ fillets, and cut them into collops, one inch in diameter and one-third inch thick. Prepare (1) the [575] same number of bread-crumb croûtons as there are collops, and make them of the same size as the latter, though half as thick; (2) the same number of thick slices of truffle, cooked at the last minute in a little Madeira.
Toss the collops of fillet quickly in clarified butter; colour the croûtons in butter at the same time, and mix the latter with the collops and the truffles in a saucepan.
Swill the sautépan with the Madeira in which the truffles have cooked; add a little succulent pale glaze; reduce sufficiently; strain the sauce through a sieve; finish it liberally with butter; add it to the sautéd collops, and serve the latter in a very hot timbale.
N.B.—This recipe was given by the Comte de Mornay himself to the proprietors of the famous Parisian restaurant, and for a long while the dish was one of the specialities of a house no longer extant.
After having contised the leveret’s fillets, roll them round a buttered tin mould, and fasten them with a string, that they may form rings.
Set to poach. Meanwhile, spread on a buttered tray a layer one-half inch thick of game forcemeat; poach the latter; stamp it out by means of an even cutter into roundels of the same size as the rings, and set one of these on each of the forcemeat roundels, fixing it by means of a little raw forcemeat.
Cut the minion fillets into collops, and quickly toss them in butter with an equal quantity of mushrooms and five oz. of raw, sliced truffles.
Swill the saucepan with a little brandy and the poaching-liquor of the fillet-rings; add a little poivrade sauce; finish this sauce with butter, and plunge therein the collops of fillet, the mushrooms, and the truffles.
Set the rings in a circle on a dish, and fill them with this garnish. Serve separately a sauceboat of poivrade sauce and a timbale of chestnut purée.
Proceed exactly as for all other mousses and mousselines, except, of course, in regard to the basic ingredient, which in this case is the meat of a hare.
With one lb. of the meat of a hare, prepare a light mousseline forcemeat; add thereto the whites of two eggs, [576] whisked to a stiff froth; poach the mousseline in a soufflé saucepan.
Cut the hare’s minion fillets into collops, and toss them in butter at the last moment.
Cook the soufflé in a moderate oven; coat the top lightly with half-glaze sauce flavoured with hare fumet, and surround it with the minion-fillet collops, alternated with slices of truffles.
The minion-fillet collops and the slices of truffles may be added to the sauce, and this garnish is served separately in another timbale.
Skin and clean the hare, taking care to collect all the blood in so doing. Put the liver aside, after having carefully freed it from the gall-bladder, as also from those portions touching the latter.
Cut up the hare, and put the pieces in a basin with a few tablespoonfuls of brandy and an equal quantity of olive oil, salt, pepper, and an onion cut into thin roundels. Cover and leave to marinade for a few hours in the very red wine used for the moistening. Fry one-half lb. of lean bacon, cut into large dice, in butter, and drain it as soon as it is brown. In the same butter brown two fair-sized, quartered onions; add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and cook this roux gently until it acquires a golden tinge. Put the pieces of hare into this roux, after having well dried them, and stiffen them.
Moisten with the wine used for the marinade. Add a large faggot, in which place a garlic clove; cover, and leave to cook gently on the side of the stove.
A few minutes before serving, thicken the civet with the reserved blood, which should be gradually heated, and mix therewith a few tablespoonfuls of sauce. Then transfer the pieces of hare, one by one, to another saucepan with the fried pieces of bacon, twenty small, glazed onions, and twenty cooked mushrooms.
Strain the sauce over the whole through a strainer.
Dish in a warm timbale, and surround with heart-shaped croûtons fried in butter at the last moment.
Take a fresh hare, and bone it from the back without emptying it, that the skin of the belly may be untouched.
Detach the shoulders and the legs; do not touch the head; [577] season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with a few drops of brandy, and leave to marinade. With the hare’s liver, some fat bacon, and some truffle parings, prepare a gratin forcemeat. Prepare another forcemeat with the meat of the shoulders and the legs, an equal weight of fat bacon, one egg, a pinch of wild thyme, salt, pepper, spices, and the brandy of the marinade. Rub this forcemeat through a sieve, and add to it the gratin forcemeat, one-half lb. of fat bacon, and five oz. of truffles cut into dice.
Fill the boned hare with this preparation; sew it up, and tie the head to the back in such wise as to give the piece the appearance of the animal at rest.
Wrap it in slices of bacon, and set it in a terrine lined with the latter; sprinkle with a glassful of brandy, and place in the oven for thirty minutes with lid off.
Then pour into the terrine a fumet prepared with red wine from the hare’s bones; cover, and then cook in the oven gently for three hours.
Leave to half-cool; drain away the cooking-liquor, and carefully remove the slices of bacon. Strain the cooking-liquor through muslin; return it to the terrine, and fill up the latter with savoury jelly.
Keep in the cool for two hours before serving.
This “Pain” is prepared according to No. 1689, and it may be served in “Belle-vue,” after the manner described for cold pieces prepared in this way.
Clear the fillets, the minion fillets, and the legs of all tendons; moderately lard them; season them; set them in a dish with an equal quantity of truffles and fat bacon strips; sprinkle with some brandy, and leave to marinade for one hour. With what remains of the meat, some fillets of veal and pork, in the proportion of six oz. per lb. of hare; fresh, fat bacon in the proportion of one and one-half lbs. per lb. of hare; and spiced salt, prepare a forcemeat, and finish it with one egg and three tablespoonfuls of brandy per lb. of forcemeat.
Rub through tammy, and add a portion of the hare’s blood.
Line a round or oval buttered mould with raised-pie paste, and completely cover the paste with slices of bacon. Then coat inside with forcemeat, and fill up the mould with alternate layers of forcemeat, hares’ fillets, truffle, and fat bacon strips.
[578]
Finish with a layer of forcemeat; cover with a slice of
bacon; sprinkle a pinch of powdered thyme and bay over the
latter; close the pie with a layer of paste, which should be
sealed down round the moistened edges; pinch the crest inside
and out, and finish off the pie by means of imitation leaves
made from paste.
Gild; bake in a moderate oven, and, when the pie is almost cold, pour some jelly flavoured with hare fumet into it.
A “Terrine” or Patty is only a pie without a crust, and it allows of the same forcemeat and of the same garnish of bacon strips as the latter. The terrine should first be lined with slices of bacon, whereupon it is garnished like the pie with alternate layers of forcemeat, bacon strips, hares’ fillets, and truffles.
Cover with a slice of bacon; sprinkle the centre of the latter with a little powdered thyme and bay, and a little spice. Put the lid on the terrine, place it in a saucepan containing a little water, and set it to cook in the oven.
The time allowed for cooking is naturally subject to the size of the terrine. It is known to be quite cooked when the grease which rises to the surface is quite clear.
As long as this grease is turbid, raw juices are still issuing from the forcemeat and the garnish inside. Another method of telling is by the insertion of a needle. If the latter withdraws evenly heated throughout its length, the terrine is cooked.
If the patty is to be served immediately, add some aspic to it when it is just tepid, and set it to cool under slight pressure. When quite cold, clear it of grease; trim its surface, and cut it up in the utensil.
If it is to be served whole and presented, set it to cool under greater pressure; turn it out, and trim it all round. This done, cause a layer of jelly to set on the bottom of the terrine; return the trimmed patty to the latter, and surround it with melted aspic jelly.
When about to serve, turn it out after the manner of an aspic; set it on a long dish, and border the latter with jelly croûtons.
If it have to be kept some time, proceed as above, but use lard instead of aspic, and keep it well covered and in the cool.
Use the wild rather than the tame young rabbit, and test its age after the manner described in regard to the hare, and [579] also by means of a little lentil-shaped bone, which is to be found in the region of the patella.
As the wild rabbit ages, this bone shrinks and finally combines with the other bones of the articulation.
When the wild rabbit is old, it is tough, and can only be used for stock or forcemeats.
All the recipes given for “Poulet Sauté,” and those given for hare, may be applied to wild rabbit; the reader is, therefore, begged to refer to these.
Feathered game comprises all esculent birds that live in freedom.
The number of species involved, therefore, is considerable, but from the culinary standpoint they may be grouped into ten principal classes, which are:—
The birds of Classes 1 and 4 are better high—that is to say, they should be hung for a few days, before being plucked, in a moderate draught, that they may begin to decompose, and that the particular flavour of their flesh may be accentuated, a process which increases their culinary value. Whatever opinion may be held in regard to the gaminess of these birds, one thing is quite certain—namely, that the meat of a fresh pheasant and that of a high one are two totally different things. When fresh, the meat is flavourless, whereas when it is reasonably high it is tender, full of taste, and of an incomparable flavour.
Formerly, it was the custom to lard the birds of Class 1, especially when they were to be roasted. But this practice should be resolutely discarded, for, if the bird be young, it can only impair the latter’s flavour, and, if it be old, it cannot possibly restore those qualities to it which it has already lost.
[580]
Besides, an old bird should never be served; it ought only
to be used in the preparation of game stock or forcemeats.
The birds belonging to the remaining classes are prepared fresh; or, if it be thought necessary to let them hang for a few days, at least they should not be allowed to get high, more particularly the aquatic ones, because gaminess is, if anything, deleterious to the flavour of their flesh.
When this bird is young, its legs are grey and the ventral end of the sternum is tender and flexible. But with pheasants, as with partridges, an infallible sign of youth may be discovered at the extremity of the last large feather in the wing. If this feather be pointed, the bird is young; if it be round, the reverse is the case.
This recipe comes from the famous Alcantara convent. History tells us that at the beginning of the Portuguese campaign in 1807 the convent’s library was pillaged by Junot’s soldiers, and its precious manuscripts were used in the making of cartridges.
Now it happened that an officer of the commissariat who was witnessing the event found, among a collection of recipes selected by the monks, the particular one now under our notice, which was applied only to partridges.
It struck him as interesting, and after trying it when he returned to France in the following year, he surrendered it to the Duchess of Abrantès, who noted it in her memoirs.
It represents, perhaps, the only good thing the French derived from that unfortunate campaign, and it would tend to prove that foie gras and truffles, which had been known for so long in Languedoc and Gascony, were also known in Estremadura, where, even at the present day, tolerably good truffles are to be found.
The procedure is as follows:—
Empty the pheasant from the front; bone its breast, and stuff it with fine ducks’ foies gras, mixed with quartered truffles, cooked in port wine.
Marinade the pheasant for three days in port wine, taking care that it be well covered therewith. This done, cook it “en casserole” (the original recipe says on the spit, but the saucepan is more suitable). Reduce the port wine of the marinade; add to it a dozen medium-sized truffles; set the pheasant on these truffles, and heat for a further ten minutes.
[581]
N.B.—This last part of the recipe may be advantageously
replaced by the “à la Souvaroff” treatment—that is to say,
having placed the pheasant and the truffles in a terrine, sprinkle
them with the reduced port combined with slightly buttered
game glaze; then hermetically seal down the lid of the terrine,
and complete the cooking in the oven.
Stuff the pheasant with a preparation consisting of two-thirds lb. of very fresh pork fat, rubbed through a sieve; four oz. of raw, peeled, and quartered truffles, and four oz. of fine chestnuts, cooked in consommé.
This preparation, which should be seasoned as for the ordinary truffling (No. 1956), ought to be quite cold when inserted into the pheasant.
Wrap the bird in slices of bacon; roast it gently for three-quarters of an hour, and take care to remove the slices of bacon seven or eight minutes before the cooking is completed, that the outside of the piece may be coloured.
Set on a long dish, and serve a Périgueux sauce at the same time.
Season a small foie gras with salt and paprika; stud it with raw quartered truffles, and poach it in Madeira for twenty minutes.
When it is cold, insert it into the pheasant, which should be high. Truss the bird, and cook it in butter in a saucepan or a cocotte for forty-five minutes. When about to serve, remove some of the butter used in cooking; sprinkle the pheasant with a glassful of burnt brandy, and add a few tablespoonfuls of reduced game gravy to the cooking-liquor.
Serve the pheasant in its cooking utensil.
Truss the pheasant as for an entrée, and poële it in butter only. This done, swill the saucepan with a few drops of brandy and a tablespoonful of game gravy.
Cover the utensil, and serve the dish burning hot.
Proceed exactly as for pheasant “en casserole,” and, when the cooking is two-thirds done, surround it with a garnish of small onions cooked in butter; small, cooked mushroom-heads and olive-shaped truffles, the latter taking the place of the [582] potatoes, which are one of the garnishing ingredients of fowls “en cocotte.”
Parboil a fine, round-headed, quartered cabbage, and braise it as directed under No. 2100, adding thereto an old, oven-browned pheasant.
The chartreuse may be made with the pheasant kept whole or cut into pieces, but in any case, roasted or poëled, it should be very tender and only just cooked. The old pheasant put in with the cabbage only serves in imparting its flavour to the latter, but it must not and cannot be used for the chartreuse.
If the chartreuse be made with a cut-up pheasant, proceed as in the case of No. 1778. If whole, line an oval mould chartreuse-fashion; coat the inside with a portion of the braised cabbage, which should be slightly pressed; set the pheasant, breast undermost, in the mould; cover it with what remains of the cabbage, and then turn it out on a dish.
Send a sauceboat of excellent half-glaze, flavoured with pheasant fumet, separately.
Prepare the sauerkraut after No. 2097, and bear in mind that when it is specially prepared to accompany a pheasant, it is considerably improved by being braised with foie-gras fat.
Poële a very tender pheasant, and only just cook it. Lay the well-drained sauerkraut on a long dish; set the pheasant upon it, and surround it with a border consisting of rectangles of bacon, cooked in the sauerkraut.
Serve separately the poëling-liquor combined with a little game fumet, strained, and kept somewhat greasy.
Cook the pheasant in butter, in a saucepan, with a medium-sized, quartered onion. When the cooking is three-parts done, sprinkle the bird with one-quarter pint of cream (sour if possible), or with ordinary cream, acidulated by means of a few drops of lemon juice.
Finish the cooking, basting the piece the while with cream and serve in the saucepan.
Proceed exactly as directed under “Poulet à la Demidoff” (No. 1464).
Truss the pheasant as for an entrée, and put it into a saucepan with thirty fresh, halved, and well-peeled walnuts; the juice of two lbs. of grapes and of four oranges, pressed on a sieve; a wineglassful of Malmsey wine; a glassful of strong, green tea; one and one-half oz. of butter, and the necessary seasoning.
Poach the pheasant in this preparation for about thirty minutes, and colour it when it is almost cooked.
When about to serve, dish it and surround it with fresh walnuts.
Strain the cooking-liquor through a napkin; add thereto one-third pint of game Espagnole, and reduce to half.
Slightly coat the pheasant and its garnish with the sauce, and serve what remains of the latter separately.
For this preparation only young pheasants are used; although, provided they be tender, adult pheasants will answer the purpose. The procedure is precisely the same as that described under “Poulet Grillé” (No. 1636).
Cook the pheasant “en casserole,” and add to it, when it is almost done, two oz. of fine, raw truffle slices, and a little excellent game glaze, clear and well buttered.
Serve the following garnish separately:—Fry in butter four oz. of blanched, fresh breast of bacon, cut into dice. When the pieces are properly frizzled, add to them one lb. of freshly-cooked, well-drained, uncooled, and roughly-chopped Brussels sprouts. Add two oz. of fresh butter, a little pepper and grated nutmeg, and stew gently for one-half hour, that the garnish may just be ready in time for dishing.
Colour the pheasant in butter.
Meanwhile quarter, peel, mince, and slightly toss in butter six medium-sized apples.
Garnish the bottom of a terrine with a layer of these apples; set the browned pheasant thereon; surround it with what remains of the apples; sprinkle it with a few tablespoonfuls of fresh cream; cover the terrine, and cook in the oven for from twenty to twenty-eight minutes.
Serve the preparation in the terrine.
Stuff the pheasant with truffles, proceeding as for ordinary truffling (No. 1956). Poële it in Madeira; dish, and surround it with a border of quenelles consisting of truffled game forcemeat, moulded by means of a coffeespoon, and poached at the last moment.
Serve separately a Périgueux sauce combined with the reduced poëling-liquor, cleared of all grease.
Poële the pheasant, and dish it on a low croûton, carved from a sandwich-loaf and fried in butter.
Surround it with small, decorated, round game quenelles; large, grooved, cooked mushrooms; and cocks’ kidneys; all three arranged alternately.
Serve separately a Salmis sauce, flavoured with truffle essence, and combined with the strained and reduced poëling-liquor, cleared of all grease.
Bone two woodcocks, and put their livers and intestines aside.
Chop up their meat, together with a quarter of its weight of poached and cooled beef-marrow, and as much fresh, fat bacon; salt, pepper, and herbs. Add to this hash six oz. of raw, peeled, and quartered truffles, slightly cooked in butter.
Stuff the pheasant with this preparation; truss it; wrap it in slices of bacon, and keep it in the cool for twenty-four hours, that the aroma of the truffles may be concentrated.
Roast the pheasant on the spit, or, if in the oven, set it on a somewhat high stand in a baking-pan. Cut a large croûton from a sandwich-loaf, and fry it in clarified butter.
Pound the woodcocks’ livers and intestines with an equal weight of grated fresh fat bacon, the well-washed fillets of an anchovy, one oz. of butter, and one-half oz. of raw truffle. When this forcemeat is very smooth and all its ingredients thoroughly mixed, spread it over the fried croûtons.
When the pheasant is two-thirds cooked, set this coated croûton under the bird in such wise as to allow the juices escaping from the latter to drop upon the croûton. Complete the cooking, and dish the pheasant on the croûton. Surround with slices of bitter orange, and send the gravy separately.
When serving, accompany each piece of pheasant with a slice of orange and a small slice of the coated croûton.
Cook six fair-sized truffles for five minutes in a glassful of Madeira and an equal quantity of light meat glaze. Withdraw the truffles and put them in the terrine in which the pheasant will complete its cooking.
Cut one-half lb. of foie gras into large dice; stiffen these in the truffles’ cooking-liquor, and stuff the pheasant therewith. Truss the latter; wrap it in slices of bacon, and two-thirds poële it.
This done, put it into the terrine containing the truffles; add the poëling-liquor, a small glassful of Madeira, and the same quantity of game gravy; hermetically close the terrine, and continue cooking for about a quarter of an hour.
Serve the preparation as it stands.
Pheasant Suprêmes, Cutlets and Fillets, allow of the same garnishes as those of fowl. But, whereas in the case of the latter, they are raised raw, and then poached, my advice in regard to pheasant is, that it should be previously roasted or poëled (keeping it just underdone) and that the suprêmes be only raised at the last moment.
By this means, a much better result is obtained than by the poaching of raw fillets; which, once cooked, are generally dry if they have to wait but a few seconds.
I also advise, when the garnish consists only of foie-gras collops and truffles (as in the case of the Rossini garnish), the sending separately of a small timbale of noodles with cream.
Salmis is perhaps the most delicate and most perfect of the game preparations bequeathed to us by old-fashioned cookery. If it be less highly esteemed nowadays, it is owing to the fact that this recipe has been literally spoiled by the haphazard fashion in which it has been applied right and left to game already cooked, and cooked again for the purpose.
But the Salmis given above may always be included in any menu, however sumptuous. It is applied more particularly to game of the 1st and 2nd classes, which should be somewhat high when treated.
The recipe I give may be applied to all the birds in the two classes referred to.
Roast the pheasant, keeping it moderately underdone. Quickly cut it into eight pieces, thus: two legs, two wings (separated from the pinions), and the breast cut into four lengthwise. [586] Skin the pieces; trim them neatly, and keep them at a temperate heat in a covered vegetable-pan, with a few drops of burnt brandy and a little clear melted meat glaze.
Pound the carcass and the trimmings, and add to them half a bottleful of red wine (almost entirely reduced), three chopped shallots and a few mignonette pepper. Add one-quarter pint of good game Espagnole sauce; cook for ten minutes; rub through a sieve, pressing well the while, and then strain through a strainer.
Reduce this sauce to about one-third, and despumate it; strain it once more through a close strainer; add a small quantity of butter, and pour it over the pieces of pheasant, to which add a fine, sliced truffle and six grooved mushroom-heads.
I advise the discarding of the old method of dishing upon a cushion of bread fried in butter, as also of the triangular croûtons fried in butter and coated with gratin forcemeat, which usually accompanied the Salmis.
A speedy preparation and a simple method of dishing, which facilitate the service and allow of the Salmis being eaten hot, are the only necessary conditions. Moreover, the goodness of the preparation is such as to be independent of a fantastic method of dishing.
Unless it be prepared with the greatest care, sautéd pheasant is always dry. I therefore do not recommend it; but, should it be necessary to make a dish of it, care should be observed in selecting a young, plump bird. It should be cut up like a fowl, cooked in butter on a moderate fire and kept somewhat underdone.
Dish it after the manner of a “poulet sauté” and cover it. Swill the sautépan and prepare a sauce after the recipe in common use.
This sauce must always be short, and it should be poured over the pheasant just before serving it.
The preparation of hot, raised pheasant pies is the same as usual; the ingredients alone changing. The reader will, therefore, kindly refer to “Pâté chaud de Canard” (No. 1752), and duly note the following modifications:—
(1) Use a gratin forcemeat (No. 202) prepared from game livers and meat.
(2) Roast the pheasant, keeping it underdone, and mix the pieces of cooked mushroom with the sliced truffles.
[587]
(3) Accompany the pie by a Salmis sauce, prepared from
the pheasant’s carcass and remains.
As already stated in various parts of this work, the constituents and their quantities are the same for mousses and mousselines, and but for the basic ingredient, which is pheasant in this case, the procedure does not differ from that already described.
The base of the sauces served with these mousses and mousselines is a fumet made from the carcasses and remains.
Prepare a very light, mousseline forcemeat of pheasant.
Set in a buttered soufflé saucepan, and cook in a moderate oven.
Send a fine, half-glaze sauce, flavoured with game essence, at the same time.
Proceed as for “Faisan à la Bohémienne” hot (No. 1831). Cook it in an earthenware terrine, and add thereto, at the same time as the prescribed brandy, enough succulent, savoury jelly to fill up the terrine.
Leave to cool for a day or two, and, when about to serve, remove the grease that has settled on the surface, by means of a spoon. Remove the last vestiges of grease by repeated scaldings; carefully wipe the terrine, and serve it incrusted in a block of ice.
Proceed exactly as for “Chaud-froid de Volaille” (No. 1689), and use a brown chaud-froid sauce, flavoured with pheasant fumet.
In regard to the decoration, dishing, &c., follow the recipe already referred to.
Poële a pheasant, keeping it underdone; raise its suprêmes, and cut these into thin collops.
With a fumet prepared from the carcass and the poëling-liquor, prepare a brown chaud-froid sauce. Coat the collops with this sauce, and also coat ten cooked and grooved mushrooms with a white chaud-froid sauce.
[588]
Clothe a dome-mould with clear aspic jelly, and deck it with
truffles.
Set the collops of pheasant and the chaud-froid-coated truffles inside, alternating the two in so doing; fill up the mould with the same jelly, and let it set on ice. When about to serve, turn out after the manner of an aspic, on a low cushion of rice or semolina, lying on a round dish.
Border with neatly-cut croûtons of very clear aspic.
Roast the pheasant and keep it underdone. When it is quite cold, raise its fillets and leave the legs and the wings attached to the carcass.
By means of scissors, completely bone the carcass; garnish its inside with a truffled foie-gras Parfait, and cover it with a thin coat of foie-gras Mousse.
Replace the fillets upon this Mousse, after having sliced them, and fill any gaps that may exist between the slices with some of the same Mousse: thus reconstructing the bird.
Let the Mousse set thoroughly, and glaze with aspic jelly.
Meanwhile, coat eight boned, stuffed, poached and cold larks with brown chaud-froid sauce. Decorate them with pieces of truffle and salted tongue, and glaze them with aspic jelly.
Dish the pheasant on a low cushion; surround it with the larks, and garnish the gaps between the latter with chopped and very clear aspic.
Proceed as for “Terrine de Poularde à la gelée” (No. 1701), making due allowance, in the cooking, for the difference between the sizes of the two birds.
Proceed as for “Côtelettes froides de Volaille.”
See “Galantine de Volaille” (No. 1708).
Prepare the Mousse according to the usual procedure, and mould it after the manner of “Mousse de Volaille” (No. 1711).
The procedure follows that of No. 1709, but for the difference in the basic ingredient, which in this case is pheasant.
Raise the suprêmes and prepare them exactly like the suprêmes of fowl in “Chaud-froid Félix Faure” (No. 1691). Poach them; cool them, and cut them into medallions as explained.
Cover half of these medallions with chicken Mousse, and the other half with pheasant Mousse. Keep on ice for some time that the Mousse may set. This done, coat the first lot with brown chaud-froid sauce and the second lot with white chaud-froid sauce. Deck each medallion with small pieces of truffle. Set them in a deep, square dish (alternating the two colours), and cover with very clear, succulent aspic jelly. Leave to set and serve on a block of ice.
Poële the pheasant in Madeira and let it cool. Raise the fillets; cut them into thin, regular slices; coat them with brown chaud-froid sauce, and decorate according to fancy. With the trimmings and the meat of the legs, prepare a pheasant Mousse after the manner described under No. 1711, and mould it in a Parfait mould which should have the depth of the chaud-froid-coated slices.
When this Mousse has set, turn it out on a dish and place the slices all round, standing them upright and letting them lean one against the other.
Surround with a crown of fine, fair-sized, peeled truffles, cooked in Champagne, and set one of them on the top of the Mousse, fixing it there by means of a hatelet.
Border the dish with fine croûtons of aspic.
Prepare it after the manner of the “Terrine de Lièvre” (No. 1825), and take care to make due allowance, in the cooking, for the difference, in the matter of tenderness, between the two meats. But the explanations already given on this subject ought to suffice for ascertaining whether or not the patty have cooked sufficiently.
Three kinds of partridges are used in Cookery:—the Grey Partridge, which is commonest in flat country, and which is also the most highly esteemed; the Red Partridge, which is to be found in hilly and wooded country; and the Bartavelle (perdix vertevella), which is a somewhat larger species than the two former. To these three kinds may be added the American [590] Colin (Ortix Virginianus), an excellent bird sometimes seen in English markets.
All the recipes given for pheasants may be applied to partridge, and below, I shall only give those which are proper to the latter.
Truss the partridge as for an entrée; three-parts poële it, and place it in a terrine with six small glazed onions and as many small, cooked mushroom heads. Swill the saucepan with a glassful of red wine; reduce it two-thirds, and add a tablespoonful of game half-glaze. Strain; clear of grease; pour this sauce over the partridge, and complete the latter’s cooking for seven or eight minutes.
Bone the breast and fill the partridge with truffled partridge forcemeat, prepared with panada or butter. Between the skin and the fillets, slip a few slices of very black truffle; truss as for an entrée; wrap the piece in muslin, and poach it for thirty minutes in a game fumet.
When about to serve, remove the muslin; take the string off, and dish the partridge. Reduce the fumet in which the partridge has poached; strain it; add thereto a liqueur-glassful of burnt liqueur-brandy, and send this reduced fumet separately.
Brown the partridge in the oven and set in a terrine just large enough to hold it, with a tablespoonful of Matignon (No. 227) and one crushed juniper berry, on top and beneath.
Add one-half oz. of butter, a liqueur-glassful of burnt brandy, and twice that amount of game fumet. Close the terrine; seal down the lid with a strip of paste; bake in a hot oven for twenty-five minutes and serve the dish as it stands.
Select a young partridge; open its back; slightly flatten it with a butcher’s beater; pierce it through with a skewer; season it with salt, pepper and melted butter, and gently grill.
At the same time grill six small mushroom-heads.
Dish the partridge; on either side of it set the mushrooms, each of which should be garnished with a coffeespoonful of Maître-d’hôtel butter; surround the mushrooms with a thread of melted meat glaze and sprinkle the partridge with a few drops of lemon juice.
Cook the partridge in butter in a saucepan. When it is three-parts done, surround it with two oz. of fine slices of raw truffle; add a liqueur-glassful of burnt brandy and one tablespoonful of clear melted meat glaze.
Serve a Soubise sauce at the same time and separately.
Prepare a garnish of braised cabbages as explained under No. 2100, and add thereto an old partridge, browned in the oven or on the spit. Meanwhile, roast or poële a very tender young partridge and keep it underdone.
Dish the cabbages, which should be well drained; set the young partridge upon them, and surround with small rectangles of very lean bacon, cooked with the cabbages, and a thread of half-glaze sauce, flavoured with game fumet.
N.B.—This dish may be given a more decorative appearance by means of a sort of Chartreuse, which is prepared as follows:—Line a large bowl or a buttered, round-bottomed timbale with roundels of sausages; roundels of carrots arranged in superposed rows, separated by a line of French beans or peas; and small rectangles of bacon, laid side by side.
Line the inside of the timbale with a thick layer of cabbages, and put the young partridge, breast undermost, in the middle (the partridge may also be carved up). Cover the cabbages and press the latter with a fork; turn the timbale out on a dish and tilt the latter that all the grease may fall before withdrawing the timbale, which answers the purpose of a mould.
Surround with a thread of half-glaze sauce, flavoured with game fumet.
After substituting the meat of a young partridge, cleared of all tendons, for the veal sweetbreads, and fresh bacon for calf’s udder, proceed exactly as directed (as regards quantities and other particulars) under “Crépinettes de ris de Veau” (No. 1222), taking care to add three oz. of chopped truffles per lb. of the forcemeat.
Divide up the forcemeat into portions one and one-half oz. to two oz. in weight; wrap them in pig’s caul; roll them first in melted butter and then in bread-crumbs, and grill them gently.
The usual accompaniment to these crépinettes is a light chestnut or lentil purée.
Raise the young partridge’s fillets, leaving the wing-bone attached to the carcass, and put them aside. From the minion fillets and the meat of the legs, prepare a mousseline forcemeat; mould the latter in very small buttered cutlet moulds, and set to poach.
Roll the fillets in melted butter and bread-crumbs, and grill them gently. Dip the cutlets in beaten egg; roll them in finely-chopped truffles; press upon the latter with the flat of a knife, that they may combine with the egg; adjust the shape of the cutlets, and toss them in butter.
Dish in the form of a circle, alternating the fillets and the cutlets; pour in their midst a cullis prepared from the partridge’s carcasses, and serve a chestnut purée separately.
Line a liberally-buttered, shallow mould with crescents of truffle arranged in superposed rows, and then completely cover the bottom and sides of the mould with a layer, two-thirds in. thick, of raw partridge forcemeat.
Place the mould in the front of the oven that the forcemeat may be poached; and then spread another layer of gratin forcemeat of game.
Fill the utensil with a garnish of small quenelles consisting of truffled partridge forcemeat, mushrooms and slices of truffles, cohered with a reduced Madeira sauce. Cover the garnish with a small coat of forcemeat, and poach in the bain-marie for from thirty to thirty-five minutes.
When about to serve, turn out on a dish, and deck the timbale with a crown of partridges’ suprêmes, raised from birds fresh from the spit or the oven. Surround the base of the timbale with a thread of Diane sauce, and send a sauceboat of the latter separately.
The various recipes given for cold pheasant also suit cold partridge; it is only necessary therefore to replace the word “pheasant” by “partridge” in the formulæ referred to.
If grouse, which can only be thoroughly appreciated in its native country, were extinct, woodcock would be the leading feathered game. But the latter have this advantage over the former, namely: that their fumet is not so fugitive, and that they may be kept much longer. Woodcock does not yield its full quality unless it be moderately high.
Sprinkle the woodcock with a few drops of oil, and roast it, keeping it underdone. As soon as it is cooked, divide it into two lengthwise, and cut each half of the breast into two collops. Mix half a coffeespoonful of French mustard in a small vegetable-pan, with a few drops of lemon juice. Roll the pieces of woodcock in this mustard, and keep them hot.
Chop up the carcass and the intestines; sprinkle with a glassful of burnt liqueur brandy; reduce; add a tablespoonful of game fumet, and cook for five minutes.
Strain through a strainer, pressing on the pieces of woodcock in so doing, and rock the saucepan, that the pieces may be coated with the cullis. Dish in a hot timbale, and, upon the pieces, set the woodcock’s head.
N.B.—Bécasse à la fine Champagne is prepared in the same way, but without mustard. Cut it into six pieces: wings, legs and two halves of the breast, and put these pieces into a round cocotte. Swill the saucepan with burnt liqueur brandy; add the chopped intestines, mixed with the juices of the pressed carcass; add a tablespoonful of fumet, a little lemon juice, and a little cayenne, and pour this cullis (heated but not boiled) over the pieces.
Bécasse à la Riche is prepared in the same way, but:—(1) the pieces are dished on a croûton of fried bread, coated with gratin forcemeat of game; (2) the sauce is thickened with a little foie-gras purée and one oz. of butter, and then strained over the pieces through a coarse strainer, during which process the operator should press with a spoon or a whisk.
Proceed as for “Caneton Rouennais Soufflé” (No. 1764), and remember to add the woodcock’s intestines to the forcemeat.
When the carcass is garnished, set the sliced suprêmes on the forcemeat, with a row of sliced truffles in the middle. The forcemeat should poach for about twenty minutes.
Serve at the same time a half-glaze sauce, flavoured with woodcock fumet.
Under the article “Pheasant,” I gave the generic recipe for Salmis, which may be applied to all feathered game. In regard to the Woodcock Salmis, the operator should remember to add the bird’s intestines to the sauce, and to keep the meat rather under- than overdone.
Proceed exactly as for “Faisan à la Souvaroff” (No. 1845), after making due allowance for the size of the bird in regard to the quantity of truffles and foie gras.
Proceed as indicated in No. 1850.
Prepare a somewhat shallow, decorated timbale crust.
Roast the woodcocks and keep them underdone.
Raise the suprêmes and put them in the timbale, separating them by collops of fresh foie gras, sautéd at the last moment.
Pound the remains of the woodcocks, including their carcasses; thin the purée with truffle essence; rub it through a sieve, pressing heavily the while, and then rub it through tammy.
Heat the cullis thus obtained, without letting it boil; finish it with a little lemon juice, liqueur-brandy and butter, and pour it into the timbale over the pieces of woodcock and the foie gras collops.
Dish the timbale on a folded napkin, lying on a round dish.
Poële the woodcocks and keep them underdone.
As soon as they are cooked, raise their fillets and put these aside.
Bone the remains, and pound the meat thus obtained, together with a quarter of its weight of raw foie gras.
Rub through a sieve, and add an equal weight of game forcemeat, prepared with panada and butter. Add the chopped carcasses and a glassful of liqueur brandy to the poëling-liquor; cook for a few minutes; strain, and in this stock poach five oz. of olive-shaped truffles (for an ordinary timbale).
Line a buttered Charlotte-mould with short paste; cover its bottom and sides with the prepared forcemeat, and against this forcemeat set the woodcock’s suprêmes, cut into collops. Garnish the centre with the truffles, and cover these with a few tablespoonfuls of Espagnole, reduced with some of the fumet. Close the timbale with a layer of paste, as explained in the various preceding timbale recipes, and bake in a good, moderate oven for about forty-five minutes.
When about to serve, turn out the timbale on a dish; pour into the former some half-glaze sauce combined with what remains of the fumet, and send a sauceboat of the same sauce separately.
[595]
N.B.—This “Timbale Nesselrode” may be prepared after
the same recipe, from Pheasant, Partridge, Woodcock or Hazel-Hen,
but the name of the selected bird should, of course, appear
on the menu.
All the recipes given for cold pheasant and partridge may be applied to woodcocks and snipes.
Quails should always be chosen plump, and their fat should be white and very firm. Besides the spit, which should always be used in preference to the oven for roasting, they allow of two other methods of cooking: they may be cooked in butter, in a saucepan; or they may be poached in excellent strong and gelatinous veal stock.
This last mode of procedure greatly enhances the quail’s quality and is frequently used.
Cook them in butter, in the saucepan in which they will be served.
Swill with a few drops of brandy; add a little game fumet; cover, and serve very hot.
For four quails:—Truss them as for an entrée and cook them with butter in a saucepan. Swill with a little brandy and a glass of port, in which a piece of orange rind should have soaked.
Add three tablespoonfuls of excellent veal stock, three tablespoonfuls of red-currant jelly and about forty cherries, previously poached in a boiling syrup of about 18° (Saccharometer) and cooled in the syrup.
Drain them before adding them to the quail, and, if the sauce be too insipid, sharpen it with a few drops of lemon juice.
Wrap each quail in a buttered vine-leaf and a thin, square slice of bacon, and roast them for ten minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare a well-seasoned purée of fresh peas with lettuce, and reduce it to a somewhat stiff consistence.
Line the bottom and sides of a deep dish with very thin slices of ham; pour the purée into it; smooth the surface, and half-plunge the quails into this purée.
Place in the oven for ten minutes, and this done, send the dish to the table immediately.
Insert a piece of truffle into each quail, and wrap them each in a piece of gut together with a bit of pale veal glaze, the size of a pigeon’s egg. String the pieces of gut at two points one in. from either extremity of the quails, that the envelope may not burst while cooking. Poach the quails in good veal stock, that they may not be washed as they would be if the gut happened to burst in a poaching-liquor consisting of salted water.
Serve the quails as they leave their cooking-liquor.
Cook the quails in a saucepan, and set them in a timbale, half-garnished with “Riz à la Grecque.” Swill the saucepan with a few tablespoonfuls of game fumet, and pour this swilling-liquor over the quails, without clearing it of grease.
Divide the quails into two along the back and do not separate the two halves; season them; sprinkle them with melted butter and finely-chopped truffle. Wrap each quail in a piece of pig’s caul; sprinkle again with melted butter and fine raspings, and grill gently.
Dish the quails and sprinkle them with a few drops of verjuice.
Poële the quails.
Dish them in the form of a crown, each on a small, braised lettuce, with a cock’s kidney on either side and a truffle on top. Coat with a half-glaze sauce prepared with quail fumet.
Cook the quails in butter. Dish them in a circle on a round dish, each on an oval or rectangular fried croûton, and between each set a fine truffle cooked in Champagne and chicken glaze.
Peel, mince and toss some apples in butter, as explained under “Faisan à la Normande.” Allow half an apple per quail. Garnish the bottom of a cocotte with some of these apples; upon them set the quails, browned in butter; add what remains of the apples; sprinkle with a few tablespoonfuls of cream, and complete the cooking in the oven.
Cook the quails in butter. At the same time, fry in butter one small new onion and two-thirds oz. of raw, chopped ham, for each quail. Add some peas, shelled at the last moment, and cook without any moistening whatsoever.
The moisture contained in the ham and peas is sufficient for the cooking. The peas should be ready simultaneously with the quails.
Serve the quails and the peas separately, in little, closed timbales. The diner mixes them.
Cook the quails in butter. Swill the utensil with a few drops of dry, white wine and a little verjuice; add half a tablespoonful of strong game fumet for each quail; and dish in a very hot cocotte with about one oz. of fresh peeled grapes for each quail.
Select some fresh and plump quails; remove their gizzards; season them inside with a grain of salt and a few drops of brandy; insert a piece of raw truffle into each bird, and truss them as for an entrée. Set them in a sautépan, snugly pressed one against the other, and season them with salt. Cover them with a coarse julienne of carrots, onions and celery, cooked in butter, and prepared as far as possible from new vegetables.
Moisten, just enough to cover, with some succulent amber-coloured veal stock, gelatinous and fine; cover, boil, and then poach gently for twelve minutes.
This done, add a julienne of truffles (raw if possible) which should equal only half of the vegetable julienne, and poach for a further two minutes, that the truffles may cook and the quails be done.
Dish in a timbale, clear of grease, and pour the cooking-liquor and the julienne over the quails.
Pilaff rice is often served with quails prepared in this way.
Into each quail insert a piece of fresh, pounded pork fat, the size of a hazel nut, combined with an equal quantity of white truffle; and cook them in a saucepan with butter.
Add their fat to a previously-prepared Rizotto. Dish this rizotto in a timbale, and hollow it out so as to make a nest for the quails.
Sprinkle the latter with the saucepan-swillings, consisting of game fumet; and send the dish to the table at once.
Stuff the quails with a little smooth truffled game forcemeat, and wrap them each in a buttered vine-leaf, followed by a slice of bacon, and finally by two sheets of buttered paper.
Place them on the hearth-stone; cover them with very hot cinders, and cook thus for thirty-five minutes, taking care to renew the hot cinders from time to time.
When about to serve them, remove the outside covering of paper which is charred, but leave the other coverings.
N.B.—A log fire is essential for this recipe.
Prepare these as described under “Faisan à la Souvaroff” (No. 1845).
Truss the quails as for an entrée; brown them in butter, and complete their cooking in pilaff rice, combined with a quarter of its weight of cooked and chopped egg-plant pulp.
Set the rice in a pyramid on a dish; place the quails all round (upright against the rice), and surround with a thread of quail fumet.
Coat a well-buttered timbale mould with patty paste, and line it with slices of bacon so as to completely cover the paste. The slices of bacon in this case are there to prevent the moistening of the timbale from reaching the paste. Insert a piece of foie gras into each quail; stiffen them in butter, and set them against the sides of the timbale in successive tiers.
Completely garnish the middle with small, peeled truffles; add one-quarter pint of excellent stock with Madeira (per six quails), and a few bits of bay-leaf. Close the timbale with a layer of paste and cook in a moderately hot oven for one and one-quarter hours.
Turn out upon withdrawing from the oven, and serve the dish as it stands.
N.B.—(1) The shell of paste merely serves to hold in the quails and their garnish, and ought not to be eaten.
(2) The same timbale may be prepared with ortolans, except that these need only forty-five minutes’ cooking.
The quails should be boned for a chaud-froid, and stuffed with gratin forcemeat of game with a rod of foie gras and another of truffle set in the middle. This done, reshape them; wrap them each in a square of muslin; poach them for twenty minutes in an excellent veal stock, and let them cool therein.
When they are quite cold, dry them; and dip them, so as to veneer them all over, in a good brown chaud-froid sauce (No. 34), prepared with quail fumet. Decorate the breast of each quail elegantly with bits of truffle and poached white of egg; sprinkle with cold melted savoury jelly, so as to fix the decoration; and leave to set.
Remove the excess of sauce from around the quails; set them in a square, deep dish; cover them with very good limpid savoury jelly, and place them in a refrigerator until they are required.
Prepare the quails as for a chaud-froid, as above; but set each in an oval, pleated case of delicate porcelain or paper. Border with a thin thread of chopped jelly, and on each quail set a head, the eyes of which may be imitated by means of a ring of white of egg and a central spot of truffle.
I shall only give a few recipes of this class; for the series is a long one, and I recommend them more particularly on account of their quaintness. These dishes, wherein a sugary and glazed preparation is introduced, are highly esteemed in summer; but they really belong to the culinary repertory of hot countries.
This preliminary procedure applies to all quail dishes in this series.
Now prepare a Granité with cherry juice (see No. 2930).
Set this Granité in a pyramid on a dish incrusted in ice. Turn out the quails and place them round the Granité; fill up the gaps between them with small heaps of stoned cherries, poached in syrup for a few minutes and quite cold.
Roast the quails, keeping them juicy, and leave them to cool.
This done, raise their fillets and skin these; then, with the remains of the meat and an equal quantity of foie gras, prepare a purée.
Set each fillet of quail on a similarly-shaped slice of liver, causing it to adhere by means of the prepared purée, and coat with brown chaud-froid sauce.
When the sauce has quite set, place these fillets in an even border-mould, clothed with very limpid aspic, and decorated with truffles. Fill up the mould with the same aspic jelly, and let the latter set.
When about to serve, turn out on a napkin, after the manner of an aspic.
Prepare the quails like those “à la Richelieu” (No. 1895). After having added the julienne, sprinkle them with Château-Yquem; cover; reduce, and complete their cooking as directed.
When they are poached, transfer them to another saucepan; add ten slices of truffle per quail; strain their cooking-liquor, through muslin, over them, and poach them for a further two minutes.
This done, place the quails in a timbale; cover them with the cooking-liquor cleared of all grease; leave it to set, and serve on a block of ice.
Slice the tangerine rinds at their stem-ends with an even round cutter; remove the sections; put them to dry, and skin them raw.
Three-parts garnish the tangerine rinds with a quail Mousse, combined with foie gras, cut into dice; set a roasted quail’s fillet on the Mousse; coat with brown chaud-froid sauce, and cover with the sections of tangerine, glazed with aspic jelly. Keep in the cool for some time and dish on a napkin.
Proceed as for “Cailles au Château-Yquem,” and set each quail in a small, silver cassolette. Cover with the cooking-liquor, cleared of grease and strained, and surround each quail with four small very white cocks’ kidneys.
Prepare these like the “Hot Cailles Richelieu”; place them in a square, deep dish; cover with the cooking-liquor and the garnish and let them cool until the cooking-liquor sets. Then clear the dish of all grease and serve on a block of ice.
Line a round pie-dish with ordinary paste, and coat it inside with slices of bacon. In the middle, place a fresh foie gras seasoned with salt, pepper and allspice, and surround it with quails, stuffed with quarters of truffles, set upright with their breasts against the bacon.
Fill up the timbale with whole raw and peeled truffles; cover with a round slice of bacon; close the timbale with a layer of paste sealed down round the edges; make a slit in the top, and bake in a hot oven for one and one-quarter hours.
When withdrawing the timbale from the oven, pour into it some veal stock flavoured with Madeira, and let it be sufficiently gelatinous to set like a jelly.
Keep the timbale in the cool for one or two days before serving it.
Roast the quails; let them cool, and set them, each in a little dosser of dry paste, resting against a cushion lying on a round dish. On top of the cushion plant a leafy vine-shoot bearing grapes. Surround the quails with white and black grapes (peeled and pipped) and cover with a slightly gelatinous aspic jelly, prepared with liqueur brandy.
See the various remarks made concerning this subject, under Pheasant, Partridge and Woodcock.
The Land Rail, which must not be confused with the Water Rail, is most often served roasted, but all the quail recipes, hot or cold (except those in which Granité forms an accompaniment) may be applied to it.
1919—HAZEL-HENS |
1920—BLACK GAME |
1921—PRAIRIE-HENS |
1922—PTARMIGAN |
1923—GROUSE |
1924—GANGAS |
These birds, one or two of which, such as grouse and the hazel-hen, are of incomparable delicacy and high culinary value, are mostly served roasted.
Mousses, Mousselines and Salmis are also prepared from them, after the directions already given. But I must remind the reader that when they serve in the preparation of a salmis, their skins and legs, which are bitter, must be discarded.
All these birds must be treated while still very fresh.
The greater part of the quail recipes, more particularly the “en casserole” and “sous la cendre” ones, may be applied to these excellent birds.
The two following recipes are proper to them.
Cook the birds in butter, with one oz. of very small dice of salted breast of bacon to each bird. Put them into a hot cocotte with two-thirds oz. of butter per bird; heat; add some square croûtons fried in butter; sprinkle with the saucepan-swillings, which should be a few drops of brandy; cover, and serve very hot immediately.
Cook the birds in butter on the stove, in an uncovered earthenware saucepan. When they are nearly done, sprinkle them with two finely-chopped juniper berries per bird; add some round croûtons of bread-crumb fried in butter; cover, and serve very hot.
This procedure particularly suits thrushes, more especially when these come from the Ardennes.
The various, cold preparations of quails, except those comprising a Granité, may be applied to thrushes.
These birds are generally served to the number of two or three for each person.
Proceed exactly as directed for the thrushes.
Slice some peeled and cored russet apples, and three-parts cook them in butter. Spread this stew in thick layers on a buttered dish.
Simply stiffen the seasoned larks in nut-brown butter, and place them upon the stewed apples, pressing them slightly into the latter. Sprinkle with very fine bread-crumbs and melted butter, and set to glaze in the oven or at the Salamander, just long enough to complete the cooking of the larks.
Clean some fine, medium-sized potatoes, allowing one to each lark; and cut a cover from each, which thin down until it is only one-sixth inch thick. With a root-spoon, hollow out the potatoes in such wise as to allow of their each enclosing a lark.
Stiffen the larks in butter, and add thereto some salted breast of bacon, cut into small dice and blanched, and in the proportion of one-third oz. per lark. Place a lark in each potato, together with a few bacon dice and some of the cooking-fat; return cover of each potato to its place; fix it there by means of cotton, and wrap each potato in oiled paper.
Lay them on the hearth, cover them with hot cinders, and cook for about forty minutes, taking care to renew the cinders from time to time.
When cold, larks may be prepared in plain chaud-froid fashion, in cases, in Belle-vue, in Aspic, as Mousses, &c., in pursuance of the directions given under these various recipes.
Serve ortolans as plainly as possible; but the best method of preparing them is roasting. However, for the sake of variety, they may be prepared as follows:—
Butter some very small porcelain or silver cassolettes, and garnish them half-full with mousseline forcemeat of ortolans prepared with truffle essence.
Set these cassolettes in the front of the oven, that the forcemeat may poach. Cook in butter, for three minutes only, as many ortolans as there are garnished cassolettes, and proceed so as to have them just ready when the forcemeat is poached.
Place an ortolan in each cassolette, and sprinkle them with nut-brown butter, combined with a little pale melted glaze and pineapple juice.
These birds are not met with in English markets; it is therefore useless to give the recipes concerning them. I will only say that they may be prepared like the larks.
Birds of this class are mostly served roasted.
They may, however, be used in preparing excellent Salmis, which may be made after “Salmis de Faisan” (No. 1847) or after “Salmis à la Rouennaise” (No. 1763).
They may also be prepared after all the recipes of “Caneton à la Rouennaise.”
These various birds are generally served roasted.
They may also be served “en Salmis,” but in that case the skin must be discarded in the preparation of the cullis.
They only appear on very ordinary menus, and could not be served at an important dinner.
In the first part of this work I explained the fundamental principles governing the treatment of Roasts, and I now have to add only a few words to what has already been said. Recipes may be consummate in detail and in accuracy, and still they will be found wanting in the matter of Roasts; for experience alone can tell the operator whether the joint he is treating be old or young, fresh or stale; whether it must be cooked quickly or slowly, and all the theories that I might advance on this subject, though perhaps they might not be useless, would at least prove impracticable nine times out of ten.
I shall not prescribe any limit of time for Roasts, except in very special cases, and even so that limit will only be approximate.
Nothing can be made precise in the matter; long practice alone, away from books, will teach it; for book-rules can only be understood when the light of practical knowledge is focussed upon them.
It struck me as desirable that I should give in this chapter the recipes of the various preparations which, in England, are served with Roasts:—Yorkshire Pudding, Veal Stuffing, &c. Having treated of the accompanying sauces to Roasts in Part I, I need only recall them here.
Mix one-half lb. of sifted flour with six eggs and one quart of boiled milk, adding the eggs one by one and the milk little by little. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Pour this preparation into a deep baking-pan, containing some very hot dripping, and bake in the oven. If the joint be roasted on the spit, put the Yorkshire pudding under it, on taking the former out of the oven, and let it thus become saturated with the gravy and fat that fall from the roast.
[606]
Cut into squares or lozenges, and set these round the Roast
or serve them separately.
Bake four large onions in the oven with their skins on. This done, peel them and finely chop them; fry them in butter with a pinch of dry green chopped sage. Add bread-crumbs, soaked in milk and pressed, equal in weight to the onions, and half the weight of chopped veal fat.
This stuffing is made from equal quantities of chopped suet, sifted bread-crumbs, and chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper as for an ordinary forcemeat, and be liberal with the nutmeg.
Cohere this forcemeat with three small eggs per two lbs. of the above preparation.
I must remind the reader of this principle, viz.: that however natural it may seem in a dinner to serve a roasted joint as a Remove, a piece of butcher’s meat must never stand as a Roast.
Roasts really only comprise Fowl and Feathered Game, provided the menu only announces one roast. If two are announced, the second generally consists of some kind of crustacean, such as a Lobster, a Spiny Lobster or Crayfish, generally served in the form of a Mousse; or of a preparation of foie gras, i.e.: either a Pâté, a Terrine, a Mousse or a Parfait; sometimes, too, by a very good ham or a derivative preparation thereof.
Clear the joint of the vertebræ and the yellow ligaments. Roast before a moderately fierce fire, and place the joint if possible in an uncovered braising-pan, the sides of which may protect the meat during the cooking process.
Break the projecting bones of the vertebræ, and sever the yellow ligament at various points. For this joint the heat should be fiercer than in the previous case, the limit of time being less.
These enormous pieces are scarcely trimmed; the excess of flank alone is suppressed; but the fillet must remain covered by a considerable thickness of fat, which protects it while roasting.
Without this precautionary measure, the under-cut would be cooked long before the upper-fillet, and would dry up.
The fire should be concentrated, regular and not too fierce for this joint. The flat bones of the vertebræ must be broken at their base, but not detached.
Fillet of beef intended for roasting should be carefully cleared of its two sinewy envelopes. But, since this trimming tends to let it dry while cooking, were the meat left as it stands, it is customary to lard it with strips of fresh fat bacon, which protect it; or it may be wrapped in slices of bacon. In certain circumstances, it is covered on top and beneath with slices of beef fat, flattened to the thickness of a rasher of bacon by means of a beater, and tied on with string.
Fillet of beef should be cooked with a somewhat fierce fire, and, in England, it is usually kept underdone towards the centre.
N.B.—Large roast joints of beef are always accompanied by Yorkshire pudding, grated Horse-radish or Horse-radish sauce (No. 119 or 138).
In my opinion, the spit does not suit veal, whatever be the quality of the latter. Poëling (No. 250) is preferable and suits it better.
The quality of meat can but be enhanced under the treatment I suggest, more particularly as the poëling-liquor constitutes a much richer gravy than that which generally accompanies veal roasted on the spit. In English cookery roast veal is always accompanied by boiled ham or breast of bacon. Veal Stuffing (No. 1945) poached in steam in a special mould, and cut into slices, is sent at the same time.
Roast joints of veal are generally the Loin, the best end, the Neck or the Fillet.
Sometimes, too, but more rarely, the Cushion is roasted.
Mutton and Lamb are the best possible meats to roast, and, as far as they are concerned, the culinary treatment might be limited to roasting.
[608]
True, good results are obtained from poaching mutton and
poëling home-lamb; but it is advisable only to have recourse
to these methods when a menu requires varying.
The Mutton joints roasted are the Leg, the Double or Pair of Hind-legs, the Baron or (Hindquarters), the Saddle and the Neck.
The Shoulder also makes an excellent roast, but it may only appear on more or less unimportant menus.
Roast joints of mutton and lamb are always accompanied by Mint Sauce (No. 136).
Pork roasts may only appear on very ordinary menus, and really belong to domestic cookery. The pork joints for roasting are the Legs, the Fillets, and the Neck.
The joints selected should be those derived from very young animals, and the rind should be left upon them, and cut deeply in criss-cross lines, so as to form a lozenge pattern.
Pork should always be roasted before a fierce fire, and it is accompanied by its gravy and Sage and Onions (No. 1944) or Apple sauce (No. 112). Sometimes Apple sauce is replaced by Cranberry sauce (No. 115); while Roberts sauce Escoffier is also admirably suited to these roasts.
I have already pointed out that Roebuck is not very much eaten in England, and that this excellent ground game must be used without having been marinaded. Every piece of roebuck must be trimmed and cleared of tendons, larded with larding bacon, or, at least, carefully wrapped in the latter; and roasted before a fierce fire and kept underdone towards the centre.
The joints of roebuck most commonly roasted are the Legs and the Saddle.
The fallow Deer and the Stag supply the greater part of the Venison consumed in England; and when these animals are of good quality their flesh is covered by a thick coat of white fat, which is very highly esteemed by connoisseurs. Only the neck and the haunch are roasted, and the latter consists of one leg with half of the saddle attached.
This venison is never marinaded, but it should be kept for as long as possible in a dry and well-aired place, that the meat may be gamy.
Before hanging the joint, dredge it well with a mixture of flour and pepper, that it may keep dry and free from the flies.
[609]
When about to prepare this Venison, scrape off the coating
of flour; wrap it in an envelope of firm suet dough. Cover the
whole with oiled paper, tied on with string; and place the
joint before a regular, red fire, concentrated and fierce.
When the joint is thought to be cooked, peel off its envelope; season it with salt; sprinkle it with a few pinches of flour, and plenty of melted butter, and brown it as quickly as possible.
Large joints of Venison allow of the following adjuncts:—Poivrade sauce and its derivatives, such as Venison sauce and Grand-Veneur sauce; also the Cumberland and Oxford sauces of English cookery. Generally a sauceboat of red-currant jelly is sent with these joints, unless the accompanying sauce already contains some of it.
Large birds, when roasted, should always be salted inside, trussed and covered with slices of bacon. They should be cooked before a concentrated and moderately fierce fire. About ten minutes before unhooking them, remove their covering of bacon, that their breasts may colour.
A bird is known to be cooked when the juice which issues from it, if it be held over a plate, is white. Having ascertained that it is cooked, set it on a very hot dish and serve it instantly.
In England it is customary to surround the fowl with grilled sausages or slices of bacon, and to send a sauceboat of bread sauce (No. 113) at the same time as the gravy.
Empty the pullet intended for truffling, by means of a little hole on the side of the belly, and remember to keep the skin of the neck whole. This done, remove the collar bone at the summit of the breast, and detach the skin from the whole of the breast.
For a fine pullet, there will be needed one and one-half lbs. of truffles.
After having well brushed and washed the truffles, carefully peel them; select one of the largest; cut it into slices, and put these aside.
Now quarter the other, letting each piece weigh about three oz.
Pound the truffle peel with two lbs. of very fresh pork fat, and rub the whole through a sieve. Take about one-half lb. of this fat; melt it, together with a bay-leaf; and, when it is quite [610] liquid, add the quartered truffles to it (seasoned with salt and pepper), and simmer the whole for about ten minutes.
This done, take it off the fire; leave to cool almost entirely under cover, and mix with what remains of the truffled fat.
Stuff the pullet with this preparation, and slip between the bird’s skin and the flesh of its breast some thin slices of bacon. Upon the slices of bacon place the reserved slice of truffle; carefully sew up all the openings in the pullet with very thin string; wrap it in one or two sheets of buttered paper; put it on the spit, and stand it before a concentrated fire which should be kept at an even heat throughout the process of roasting.
About one-quarter of an hour before serving, remove the paper and the slices of bacon, that the breast may colour. Set on a hot dish, and send the gravy, which should be kept rather fat, separately.
The time allowed for roasting a fine fowl is somewhere between one and one-quarter to one and one-half hours.
The directions given for the pullet also apply to other kinds of fowl, provided the difference in size be taken into account.
Truss the chicken and soak its breast for five minutes in boiling water, that the flesh and the skin may be stiff.
Lard it with thin strips of bacon and anchovy fillets; fill it with smooth, truffled sausage-meat, and roast it on the spit.
At the last moment, when the bird is cooked, baste it by means of a special paper horn, with burning melted bacon fat, which should frizzle the fowl’s skin as it falls upon it.
Serve a Rémoulade sauce separately.
These birds should, if possible, be cooked “à la casserole.”
Before trussing the young turkey, clear its legs of all tendons; an operation effected by means of two incisions made on the inside of the legs, above and below the last joint. Seize the tendons one by one; fasten them to a braiding needle, and gently turn the latter, thus rolling the tendons round it.
Young turkey is covered with slices of bacon and roasted like the Pullet.
It may be stuffed with Sage and Onions (No. 1944), or it may be accompanied by Veal Stuffing (No. 1945), poached in [611] steam in a special mould, and cut into slices set around the bird.
It is often accompanied, also, by boiled or grilled bacon, or grilled sausages. A Bread sauce or a Cranberry sauce may be served in addition to the gravy.
Proceed as for truffled pullet, after taking the difference of size into account in order to increase the quantity of truffles and fat, as also the time limit.
The Gosling, in order to be roasted, should just have reached its full growth. In England the bird is stuffed with Sage and Onions (No. 1944), and it is always accompanied by Apple Sauce (No. 112).
This roast must not stand waiting, and ought to be served very hot.
Aylesbury duckling, which is equal to the Nantes variety, is generally stuffed with Sage and Onions before being roasted.
Its most usual adjunct is Apple Sauce, which is sometimes replaced by melted, red-currant jelly or a Cranberry Sauce.
See the various recipes dealing with this bird (Nos. 1761 and 1762).
This bird is only roasted when quite young, and it is treated like the pheasant, with which it has some points in common.
Select them fresh from the nest and very plump. They must be roasted before a very fierce fire and only just done. Their skin must be kept crisp.
The piece supplied by the hare for roasting is the “Râble” (the back), which constitutes that part of the animal reaching from the root of the neck to the tail, the latter being included.
The “Râble” should be cleared of all tendons, and delicately larded with bacon.
Roast before a fierce fire for twenty minutes, and have it only just done. The usual adjunct to this piece is Poivrade Sauce. In Northern countries, the adjunct is most commonly some slightly-sugared, stewed apples, or red currant jelly.
[612]
In Germany, the pan in which the Râble is roasted is
swilled with sour cream, and this cream constitutes the accompaniment.
Sometimes a few drops of lemon juice or a tablespoon
of melted meat glaze is added.
The various recipes for Hare also apply to the young wild rabbit.
Everything I said in the preceding chapter concerning the classification of feathered game applies in this instance.
All birds intended for roasting should be young, plump, and fat. They should also be high in the case of pheasants, partridges, and the various kinds of woodcock and snipe.
A pheasant for roasting should always be covered with slices of bacon.
An excellent practice which greatly improves the bird is that of stuffing it with a piece of fresh pork fat, pounded with peelings of fresh truffles, if possible.
Instead of well-pounded fresh pork fat, an equal weight of fresh butter may be used.
This fatty substance impregnates the meat when it melts, and keeps the bird from becoming dry while cooking. The method also applies to partridge. Roast pheasant is generally accompanied by two trimmed half-lemons and a dish of potato chips. The gravy, which should be fat, is served in a sauceboat, and bread sauce or some bread-crumbs fried in butter are sent at the same time.
Stuff the pheasant with two oz. of pounded fresh pork fat, two oz. of foie-gras trimmings, and a similar quantity of raw-truffle parings, the whole pounded together and combined with one-half lb. of raw truffles, cut into large dice.
After having covered the pheasant with slices of bacon, roast it in accordance with the directions given under Truffled Pullet. It is better, however, to cook and serve it in a cocotte.
Bone two fine snipes; empty them of their intestines; fry these in butter, and crush them on a plate. Chop up the meat of the snipes, combining half its weight of cream with it, and as much butter; season with salt and pepper, and add the crushed intestines and four oz. of truffles cut into large dice.
[613]
Stuff a fine pheasant with this preparation; roast it “en
casserole,” or rather in a cocotte.
At the last moment sprinkle with a little fumet, prepared from the snipes’ carcasses.
The above recipes, dealing with pheasants, may be applied to partridges.
Select them white, very fat, and with the fat firm.
Wrap them in a buttered vine-leaf and a thin slice of bacon, and roast them before a fierce fire for ten or twelve minutes.
Dish on small bread-crumb croûtons, fried in butter with half-lemons.
Serve their gravy, which, of course, should be very short, separately.
Wrap each in a vine-leaf; set them on a tray, moistened with salted water, and cause them to set in a fierce oven for four or five minutes.
The small amount of water lying on the bottom of the utensil produces an evaporation which prevents the ortolans’ fat from melting; consequently there is no need of slices of bacon, butter, or gravy.
Each ortolan may be served in a half-lemon, shaped like a basket.
N.B.—The ortolan is sufficient in itself, and it ought only to be eaten roasted. The products sometimes served as adjuncts to it, such as truffles and foie gras, are deleterious, if anything, to its quality, for they modify the delicacy of its flavour, and this modification is more particularly noticeable the more highly flavoured the adjunctive products may be.
With its accompaniments it becomes a sumptuous dish, for the simple reason that it is expensive; but it does not follow that the true connoisseur will like it; it must be plainly roasted to suit him.
Cut two large questches into halves, and allow one half for each ortolan. Garnish the inside of each with a piece of butter the size of a hazel-nut; set them on a tray, and put them in the oven. When they are almost cooked, on each half of the questches place a moistened ortolan, wrapped in a vine-leaf, and bake them in a very hot oven for four minutes.
Salt them when taking them out of the oven, and sprinkle them, by means of a brush, with verjuice.
[614]
Serve them as they stand, but the questches are not eaten;
they only serve as a support for the ortolan.
Heat some fresh butter in a flat, earthenware cocotte, and allow one-quarter oz. of it to each ortolan. Roll the previously salted ortolans in this butter, and put them in a very hot oven for three minutes.
When taking them out of the oven, sprinkle them with a few tablespoonfuls of very cold pine-apple juice. Cover the cocotte, and serve immediately.
The cocotte should be just large enough to hold the ortolans.
It should be just sufficiently high. Remove its gizzard; truss it, piercing the legs with the beak, after having drawn the eyes; cover it with slices of bacon, and cook it before a good fire for from fifteen to eighteen minutes. Dish on a cushion of fried bread, and serve the swilling-liquor separately, which in this case should be brandy and a few drops of good game gravy.
For the preparation, proceed as for the woodcock.
Cause to set before a fierce fire, and cook for nine minutes.
Truss them, and wrap them in slices of bacon. Insert a juniper berry into the thrushes. Roast before a moderately fierce fire for ten or twelve minutes, and dish on small cushions of fried bread.
Serve a very short gravy separately.
Wrap them in very thin slices of bacon, and impale them on a skewer, or discard the slices of bacon, and merely impale them on a skewer, separating them by blanched squares of breast of bacon.
Roast for ten minutes before a fierce fire.
Dish on small fried croûtons, with quarters of lemon and bunches of watercress all round.
These birds are not covered with slices of bacon, and are roasted before a fierce fire.
[615]
Wild duck must be kept underdone, and, in view of this,
twenty minutes suffice for the roasting. Dish with lemons and
bunches of watercress all round.
Wild duck, roasted English-fashion.—Treat it as above; send an apple sauce to the table with it.
Wild duck à la Bigarrade.—This is roasted in a similar manner.
Surround it with sections of orange, skinned raw, and serve a clear Bigarrade sauce separately.
The teal, which is a small, wild duck, is roasted before a fierce fire for from ten to twelve minutes, and is surrounded with lemons and watercress.
Widgeons and pintails are treated like the teal, but they are allowed three or four minutes more in the roasting.
These birds are not covered with slices of bacon; they must be roasted before a very fierce fire, and kept somewhat underdone. They must be served as soon as ready, as waiting is prejudicial to them.
They admit of no accompaniment or garnish, except a very short gravy.
These birds must be very fresh when roasted, and should be kept moderately underdone.
They allow of the same adjuncts as pheasant, i.e., bread sauce, bread-crumbs, potato chips, and gravy; and their breasts alone are served as a rule. Grouse and hazel-hens, when they are young, make incomparably fine roasts.
Salads are of two kinds: simple, or compound. Simple, or raw salads always accompany hot roasts; compound salads, which generally consist of cooked vegetables, accompany cold roasts.
1. Oil seasoning may be applied to all salads, and is made up of three parts of oil to one part of vinegar, with salt and pepper.
2. Cream seasoning is particularly well suited to salads of [616] early-season lettuce and cos lettuce, and is made up of three parts of very fresh and not very thick cream to one part of vinegar.
3. Egg seasoning is prepared from crushed hard-boiled yolks of egg, mixed in the salad-bowl with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. The whites of egg, cut into thin strips, are added to the salad. This seasoning may also be a light mayonnaise sauce.
4. Bacon seasoning is used especially for dandelion, red-cabbage, and corn salads. In this case the oil is replaced by the grease of the bacon dice, which are melted and frizzled in the omelet-pan. This grease is poured, while hot, with the bacon dice, over the salad, which should be in a hot salad-bowl and already seasoned with salt, pepper, and the vinegar which has served in swilling the omelet-pan.
5. Mustard with cream seasoning is used particularly with beetroot salads, with salads of celeriac, and with green salads wherein beetroot plays a major part. It is made up of a small tablespoonful of mustard, mixed with one-third pint of fresh and somewhat thin cream, the juice of a fair-sized lemon, salt, and pepper.
N.B.—I should like to point out that mayonnaise sauce must only be used in very small quantities in the seasoning of salads. It is indigestible, and many constitutions cannot suffer it, especially at night at the end of a dinner.
Raw onion should likewise only be used in salads with great moderation, in view of the fact that so many do not like it. In any case, it should be finely ciseled, washed in fresh water, and pressed in the corner of a towel.
They comprise, in the first place, those salads known under the name of green salads. Such are lettuce, cos lettuce, chicory, endive, batavia, celery, corn-salad, dandelion, purslain, dittander, rampion, salsify leaves, white dandelion, &c.
Beetroot is really the accompaniment of compound and simple salads, and it is always best to cook it in the oven. If it be prepared specially as a salad, cut it into a julienne or into thin roundels; flavour it with onions, first baked in cinders and then finely chopped, and season it with mustard sauce or with oil, according to fancy. Always add some chopped herbs.
For salads, only the fibreless, white celery is used—commonly known as English celery. Cut it into pieces, and cisel these into very thin strips without altogether separating the latter at their base. Place in cold water for a few hours, that the strips may curl; drain and season with a mustard sauce with cream.
Cut the celeriac into a fine julienne or paysanne.
Season, according to fancy, with a mustard sauce with cream, or a clear mayonnaise sauce containing plenty of mustard.
Divide the cooked and somewhat firm cauliflowers into small bunches, cleared of all stalk. Season with oil and vinegar, and flavour with chopped chervil.
Suppress the midribs of the leaves; cut the leaves into a julienne, and season them with oil and vinegar six hours in advance. The julienne of cabbages may be parboiled for a few minutes to modify the rawness of the vegetable; it should then be cooled and seasoned as above.
Peel and thinly slice them; sprinkle the slices with table-salt, and let them stand for two hours. Dry, and season them with oil, vinegar, and chopped chervil.
Thoroughly drain the vegetable, whatever be its kind; season with oil and vinegar, and add some chopped parsley. Serve separately some thinly-ciseled, washed, and pressed onion.
Cut some long, fair-sized potatoes, cooked in salted water and lukewarm, to the shape of corks, and divide up the latter into thin roundels.
Season with oil and vinegar, and add some chopped herbs.
Select potatoes which do not crumble, such as the vitelottes or new kidney potatoes. Cook them in salted water; cut them to the shape of corks, and slice them (while still lukewarm) into thin roundels. Put them into a salad-bowl, and sprinkle them with two-thirds pint of white wine per two lbs. of potatoes. [618] Then season with oil and vinegar, add some chopped chervil and parsley, and stir with care lest the roundels break.
Select some medium-sized and rather firm tomatoes, and scald them. Then skin them; cut them in two crosswise; press them to clear them of juice and seeds; cut them into thin strips; season them with oil and vinegar, and add some chopped tarragon.
Unless they leave the kitchen to be served immediately, compound salads are dished without their constituents being mixed. As the latter are generally of various colours, they are seasoned and dished in distinct heaps of contrasted shades.
The dishing of compound salads is finished by means of borders consisting of pieces of very red beetroot, gherkins, truffles, roundels of potatoes, and radishes. The method of arranging these vegetables constitutes the decoration, and the latter, being subject to no rules, is merely a matter of taste.
I do not advise the moulding of compound salads, for the increased sightliness resulting therefrom is small compared with the loss in the taste of the preparation. The simplest form of dishing is the best, and fancifulness should not be indulged in, beyond the arrangement of the vegetables in a pyramid, surrounded by a decorated border of jelly.
Take equal quantities of potatoes and apples, gherkins, and herring-fillets, all cut into dice and arranged in heaps. Season with hard-boiled egg sauce, and decorate with very red beetroot.
Peel and press some tomatoes, and cut them into thin slices; cut some potatoes into thin roundels, and prepare a short julienne of celery.
Decorate with roundels of hard-boiled eggs and thin onion rings.
Season with oil and vinegar.
Peel and quarter some small tomatoes; cut some mild capsicums julienne-fashion; cook some rice plainly in salted water, keeping each grain separate; add a little crushed garlic and chopped onion and parsley.
Season with oil and vinegar.
This salad consists of curled celery and equal quantities of plain-boiled potatoes, beetroot, and capsicum—all these vegetables cut julienne-fashion, the celery measuring one-third, and the other ingredients two-thirds of the whole.
Season with mustard sauce with cream.
This consists of potatoes à la Parisienne (No. 2017) and watercress leaves, in equal quantities. Sprinkle with parsley, chervil, and hard-boiled egg, mixed.
Thinly slice equal quantities of raw mushrooms, celery, cooked potatoes, and artichoke-bottoms. Dish in distinct heaps.
Season with oil and vinegar, and add some chopped chervil.
Take equal quantities of sliced and blanched celeriac, thin roundels of potatoes, slices of artichoke-bottoms, strips of raw mushrooms, and green asparagus-heads, and arrange them in heaps.
Deck with crayfishes’ tails, hard-boiled eggs, and truffles. Season with mayonnaise sauce.
Take equal quantities of a julienne of potatoes and a julienne of very black truffles. Decorate with rings of truffle girding small roundels of potato, and rings of potato girding small roundels of truffle. Alternate the two forms of rings.
Season with a mustard sauce with cream.
Take equal quantities of curled celery and a moderately small julienne of raw truffles. Season, when about to dish up, with a mayonnaise sauce with mustard, slightly flavoured with cayenne.
This consists of a coarse julienne of endives, a similar julienne of potatoes, an onion baked in its skin, cooled, peeled, and chopped, and some fillets of herring cut into dice, the quantities being in the proportion of one-half of the whole for the endives, one-quarter of the whole for the potatoes, and the remaining quarter for the onion and fillets of herring.
Season with oil and vinegar, and add some chopped parsley and chervil.
Take some potato salad “à la Parisienne” (No. 2017), previously marinaded in Chablis wine, some mussels (cleared of their beards, and poached with celery), and slices of very black truffle, the three constituents being in the proportion of one-half, one-quarter, and one-quarter respectively.
Set the potato salad on the bottom of the salad bowl, and lay thereon, by way of decoration, the mussels and the truffles in alternate layers.
Take equal quantities of carrots, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, and French beans—all cut into regular dice; also peas, small stoned olives, capers, anchovy fillets in small dice, and herbs for the seasoning.
Use hard-boiled eggs for the decoration.
Season with mayonnaise sauce.
Take equal quantities of asparagus-heads and a julienne of raw truffles; the two should be seasoned separately some time in advance.
Cohere, when about to dish, with a very little highly-seasoned mayonnaise sauce.
Take equal quantities of red capsicums and tomato sauce; plain-boiled rice, kept very white, and with each grain distinct; and ciseled, washed, and pressed onion.
Season with oil and vinegar, and flavour with curry.
Take equal quantities of carrots and turnips, raised by means of a grooved spoon-cutter; potato dice; French beans cut lozenge-form; peas; small flageolets, and asparagus-heads; arrange them in distinct heaps, and set a fine bunch of cauliflower in the middle.
Season with oil and vinegar, and add some chopped parsley and chervil.
N.B.—For vegetable salad, use freshly-cooked and uncooled vegetables as much as possible.
Take equal quantities of corn salad, and a julienne of beetroot and celery. Season with oil and vinegar.
Take equal quantities of shelled shrimps’ tails, artichoke-bottoms, cut into dice, and very thin slices of black truffle arranged to form a border. Season with highly-seasoned mayonnaise sauce with cream.
Take equal quantities of lobster-meat, cooked truffles, and potatoes and hard-boiled eggs in dice, and arrange them in distinct heaps.
In their midst place the very white heart of a lettuce. Season with mayonnaise sauce with mustard, and add some chopped tarragon.
Take equal quantities of French beans, potato dice, and quartered tomatoes. Decorate with capers, small, stoned olives, and anchovy fillets.
Season with oil and vinegar.
Take equal quantities of white chicken meat, very red tongue, celery-sticks cut julienne-fashion, and a julienne of truffles. Arrange these constituents in very regular heaps, and in the middle of them set a heap of asparagus-heads. Decorate with a border consisting of roundels of cocks’ kidneys and roundels of gherkins, laid alternately.
Season with very thin mayonnaise sauce.
Clothe a Charlotte-mould with very clear jelly, and garnish its bottom and sides with thin collops of spiny-lobster’s tail decked with truffles. Fill the mould with a vegetable salad (No. 2011) combined with a quarter of its volume of lobster or spiny-lobster remains, cut into dice, and cohered by means of a cleared mayonnaise.
Leave to set in the cool, and, when about to serve, turn out on a napkin.
Take some green asparagus-heads, some hard-boiled lapwings’ eggs, some sliced cocks’ kidneys, some slices of truffle, and some crayfishes’ tails.
Decorate according to fancy, making use of the ingredients of the salad for the purpose.
Season with mustard sauce with cream.
Take equal quantities of sticks of celery, raw artichoke-bottoms, truffles, potatoes, and asparagus-heads, all, except the latter, being cut julienne-fashion.
Slightly cohere the salad with mayonnaise sauce.
Take equal quantities of sliced cocks’ kidneys, shavings of raw truffles, asparagus-heads, and celery cut lengthwise into extremely thin strips.
Season strongly with oil and lemon juice.
Take equal quantities of carrots, potatoes, French beans, peas, truffles, capers, gherkins, sliced and cooked mushrooms, lobster meat, and lean ham—all cut julienne-fashion, and add some anchovy fillets.
Cohere the whole with mayonnaise sauce; dish, and decorate with some of the ingredients of the salad, together with beetroot and caviare.
Take equal quantities of celeriac, russet apples, tomatoes, and artichoke-bottoms—all four cut into dice.
Season with oil and lemon juice.
Take twenty-four crayfishes’ tails, cooked as for bisque, and cut lengthwise; twenty-four oysters (cleared of their beards), poached in lemon juice; and three tablespoonfuls of asparagus-heads. The three constituents should have barely cooled. Complete with fine shavings of raw truffles.
Season with condimented mayonnaise sauce, combined with a purée made from the crayfishes’ carcasses, pounded with two tablespoonfuls of fresh cream.
Cut some raw, peeled truffles into very thin shavings.
Season with a sauce consisting of hard-boiled egg-yolks, seasoned with salt and freshly-ground pepper, and finished with oil and lemon juice.
Cut some raw, white, Piedmont truffles into thin shavings.
Season with a sauce consisting of hard-boiled egg-yolks seasoned with salt and pepper, and finished with mustard, oil, and vinegar.
Take equal quantities of spiny-lobster trimmings, asparagus-heads, truffles, and cucumbers—all cut into dice.
Season with a mayonnaise sauce, combined with the spiny-lobster’s creamy parts and a purée of coral.
Take equal quantities of russet apples and celeriac, both cut into dice, and halved and peeled walnuts, soaked in fresh water for one-quarter hour, and well drained.
Season with clear mayonnaise sauce.
The preparatory treatment of vegetables—parboiling and braising, &c.—having been explained in Chapter X., as also the preparation of purées, creams, and vegetable garnishes, it is now only necessary to deal with each vegetable separately.
Take some very fresh and tender artichokes. After having trimmed their tops, take off the outermost leaves; parboil the artichokes; remove their hearts, and completely clear them of their chokes. Season them inside, and fill them with a preparation of Duxelles (No. 224), combined with a quarter of its weight of fresh, grated, fat bacon, and as much butter.
Wrap the stuffed artichokes in thin slices of bacon; string them, and set them in a saucepan prepared for braising. Braise them gently with white wine, and cook them well.
When about to serve them, remove the string and the bacon, and dish them.
Strain the braising-liquor, and clear it of grease; thicken it with the necessary quantity of good half-glaze sauce; reduce it sufficiently to produce only a very little sauce, and pour the latter over the artichokes.
Select some very tender small artichokes, and trim them.
Set them in a buttered cocotte, with a small quartered carrot and three tablespoonfuls of freshly-shelled peas to each artichoke, add a large faggot and a little water, and salt moderately. Cover and cook gently in a steamer. When about to serve, withdraw the faggot, and slightly thicken the liquor with a little manied butter.
Serve the preparation in the cocotte.
Cut the artichokes evenly to within two-thirds of their height; trim them all round; string them, and plunge them into slightly-salted boiling water. Cook them rather quickly; drain them well, just before serving them, and remove the string.
Dish on a napkin, and send a butter, a Hollandaise, or a mousseline sauce, &c., at the same time.
When artichokes, cooked in this way, have to be served cold, remove their chokes, dish them on a napkin, and send a Vinaigrette sauce separately.
Select some very small Provençal artichokes; trim them, and put them in an earthenware stewpan containing some very hot oil. Season with salt and pepper; cover the stewpan, and leave to cook for about ten minutes.
Then add, for each twelve artichokes, one pint of very tender, freshly-shelled peas, and a coarse julienne of one lettuce.
Cover once more, and cook gently without moistening. The moisture of the peas and the lettuce suffices for the moistening, provided the stewpan be well covered and the fire be not too fierce—both of which conditions are necessary to prevent evaporation on too large a scale.
Turn, trim, and quarter some fair-sized artichokes. Trim the quarters, removing the chokes therefrom; rub them with a piece of lemon to prevent their blackening; plunge them one by one into fresh water; parboil and drain them. This done, set them in a sautépan on a litter of aromatics, as for braising; make them sweat in the oven for seven or eight minutes; moisten with white wine; reduce the latter; and moisten again, to within half their height, with brown stock. Cook gently in the oven until the quarters are very tender.
When about to serve, set them in a vegetable dish; strain the cooking-liquor; clear it of grease, and reduce it; add an Italian sauce to it, and pour this sauce over the quartered artichokes.
Select some medium-sized artichokes; clear them of their leaves and their chokes; trim their bottoms, rub them with lemon to prevent their blackening, and cook them in a Blanc (No. 167), keeping them somewhat firm.
After having drained them, stuff them with a little Duxelles, [626] prepared according to No. 224. Arrange them on a buttered dish; sprinkle the Duxelles with fine raspings and a little melted butter, and set in a hot oven for a gratin to form.
Serve a Madeira sauce at the same time.
Prepare the artichoke-bottoms as above.
Meanwhile fry a large, chopped onion in butter; add thereto two-thirds lb. of parboiled and chopped spinach per twelve artichokes. Stir over an open fire, that all moisture may evaporate, and add salt and pepper, a piece of crushed garlic the size of a pea, a tablespoonful of anchovy purée, and two tablespoonfuls of Velouté. Cook gently for ten minutes.
Stuff the artichoke-bottoms with this preparation; arrange them on a buttered dish; coat with Mornay sauce; sprinkle with Gruyère, cut brunoise-fashion, and set to glaze in a fierce oven.
Upon withdrawing the dish from the oven, sprinkle the artichoke-bottoms with a few drops of melted anchovy butter.
Prepare the artichoke-bottoms as above; stew them in butter, and garnish them with asparagus-heads, cohered with cream, and heaped in pyramid-form.
Lay them on a buttered dish; coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly.
Remove the leaves and the chokes from the artichokes, trim the bottoms, and slice them up raw. Season them with salt and pepper; toss them in butter; set them in a vegetable-dish, and sprinkle them with herbs.
Take some very tender artichokes; trim and turn the bottoms, and half-cook them, keeping them very white. Complete their cooking in butter, and rub them through a fine sieve, together with the butter used in cooking.
Put the purée thus obtained in a saucepan, and add to it the half of its bulk of mashed, very smooth, and creamy potatoes.
Finish the purée with a little fresh and a little hazel-nut butter, the latter being used to increase the flavour of the artichokes.
The best-known varieties of asparagus in England are:—
1. The Lauris asparagus, which is par excellence the early-season kind.
2. The green, Parisian asparagus, which is very small, and of which the most diminutive sticks, also called sprew, serve for garnishes.
3. The Argenteuil asparagus—very much in demand while it is in season.
4. English asparagus, which is somewhat delicate in quality, but inclined to be small. During the season there are, besides, several other kinds of asparagus imported from Spain or France, which, though not equal to the four kinds above mentioned, may nevertheless be used for soups or garnishes instead of asparagus-heads or sprew.
Asparagus should be had as fresh as possible; it should be cleaned with care, quickly washed, tied into faggots, and cooked in plenty of salted water. Certain kinds, the flavour of which is somewhat bitter, should be transferred to other water as soon as cooked, with the view of reducing their bitterness.
Asparagus is dished on special silver drainers, or on napkins.
According to Flemish custom, asparagus is served with one hot, hard-boiled half-egg, and one oz. of melted butter per person. The egg-yolk is crushed, seasoned, and finished with the butter by the consumers themselves. This accompaniment may also be prepared beforehand and served in a sauceboat.
Dish the asparagus in rows, and coat the heads of each row with a little Mornay sauce. When all are dished, two-thirds cover the bunch with a band of buttered paper, and coat the uncovered portion with Mornay sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan; glaze quickly at the salamander, remove the paper, and serve at once.
Having thoroughly drained the asparagus, set it on a long, buttered dish sprinkled with grated Parmesan; arrange it in successive rows, each of which sprinkle in the region of the heads with grated Parmesan. When about to serve, cover the cheese-powdered parts copiously with nut-brown butter, and set to glaze slightly at the salamander.
Thoroughly drain the asparagus; set it on a long dish, in rows, and besprinkle the heads with hard-boiled egg-yolk and chopped parsley, mixed. When about to serve, cover the heads with nut-brown butter, combined with one oz. of very fresh and fine bread-crumbs per four oz. of butter.
Butter sauce, Hollandaise, Mousseline, and Maltese sauces are the most usual adjuncts to asparagus. Béarnaise sauce without herbs is also served occasionally, likewise melted butter.
When eaten cold, it may be served with oil and vinegar or a mayonnaise—more particularly a Chantilly mayonnaise, i.e., one to which beaten cream has been added.
Sprew or green asparagus is chiefly used for garnishing or as a garnishing ingredient, but it may also be served as a vegetable with perfect propriety. Cut the heads into two-inch lengths, and put them together in faggots.
Cut what remains of them into bits the size of peas. After having washed the latter, plunge them into boiling salted water, and cook them quickly, that they may keep green.
This done, thoroughly drain them; let their moisture evaporate by tossing them over the fire; cohere them with butter, away from the fire, and dish them in a timbale with the faggots on top.
They are usually served in small patty crusts, or in small tartlet crusts, with a few sprew tops on each small patty or tartlet.
Prepare them, and cook them in salted water as above.
Their cohesion with cream is in pursuance of the procedure common to other vegetables similarly prepared, and they are served like those of No. 2044.
Cut them into two lengthwise; trim them round the edges; cisel the middle of each with the view of facilitating the cooking process, and cook them.
Drain them; remove the pulp from their insides, and set the shells on a buttered gratin dish.
This done, chop up the withdrawn pulp; add thereto a little [629] chopped onion cooked in oil, and the same quantity of very lean, chopped, and cooked mutton as there is egg-plant pulp.
Fill the egg-plant shells with this preparation; sprinkle with a few drops of oil, and set in the oven for fifteen minutes. On withdrawing the dish from the oven, set on each egg-plant a few roundels of tomato, tossed in oil; sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve.
Fry the egg-plants as above; empty them, chop up their pulps, and add to it an equal weight of dry Duxelles (No. 223). Garnish the shells with this preparation, set them on a gratin dish, sprinkle them with raspings and a few drops of oil, and cause the gratin to form.
Surround the egg-plants with a border of light half-glaze sauce when serving.
Cut the egg-plants into thin roundels; season and dredge them, and fry them in smoking oil. Dish them on a napkin, and serve immediately, that they may be eaten crisp. If they wait at all, they soften, and thereby lose quality.
Proceed as for No. 2047, but replace the Duxelles by tomatoes tossed in oil and flavoured with a little garlic.
Set the gratin to form in the same way, and surround the egg-plants with a border of tomato sauce when taking them out of the oven.
Cut some fine egg-plants into two; cisel them, and fry them in the usual way; remove the pulp from their insides, and set the shells on a buttered gratin dish. Finely chop the withdrawn pulp, and mix therewith an equal quantity of reduced Béchamel sauce, combined with grated Parmesan.
Add some white of egg beaten to a stiff froth, allowing as much of it as for an ordinary soufflé.
Garnish the egg-plant shells with this preparation, and cook in a moderate oven, as for ordinary soufflé. On withdrawing the dish from the oven, serve instantly.
Peel the egg-plants and cut them, each lengthwise, into six slices.
Season, dredge, and fry these slices in oil; pair them off, and join them together by means of a very firm preparation of raw [630] egg-yolks and grated, fresh cheese. When about to serve, dip them into batter, and fry them in smoking oil.
Dish on a napkin with very green fried parsley.
These stuffed slices of egg-plant may be treated à l’anglaise instead of with batter.
Treatment and Cooking Process.—After having suppressed the green outside leaf-stalks, detach the white ones all round, and cut these into three-inch lengths. Peel these lengths, rub them with lemon, that they may not blacken, and throw them, one by one, into fresh acidulated water.
Prepare the heart of the cardoon in the same way, after having withdrawn the fibrous parts, and cook the whole in a Blanc (No. 167), with one lb. of chopped veal fat, sprinkled over its surface, that the cardoon may be kept from blackening by exposure to the air.
Cook gently for about one and one-half hours.
After having well drained the sections, build them into a pyramid in successive layers. Sprinkle each row with a few drops of good half-glaze sauce, and with grated Parmesan. Cover the whole with the same sauce; sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and set to glaze quickly.
Proceed exactly as above, but replace half-glaze sauce by Mornay sauce. Glaze quickly, and serve immediately.
Proceed as for “Asperges à la Milanaise” (No. 2041).
They may be served either with gravy, or Half-glaze, Cream, Hollandaise, Mousseline, Italienne, or Bordelaise sauces.
The sauce is either poured over them or served separately.
If the sauce be poured over the cardoons, they are dished in a timbale; if the sauce be sent separately, they may be served on a silver drainer, like asparagus.
Dish the cardoons in a pyramid on a round dish; cover them with a marrow sauce (No. 45), and surround them with very small puff-paste patties garnished with poached marrow dice. Or dish the cardoons in a timbale, and set thereon the heart [631] cut into roundels and arranged in a crown, with a slice of poached marrow on each roundel of heart.
Cover the whole with marrow sauce.
Having cooked the heart of the cardoon, trim it all round so as to give it the cylindrical shape, and cut it laterally into roundels one-third inch thick.
Roll these roundels in some pale, thin, buttered meat glaze, combined with chopped herbs. Prepared in this way, the heart of a cardoon constitutes an excellent garnish for Tournedos and sautéd chickens.
New carrots are not parboiled; they are turned, whole, halved, or quartered, according to their size, and then trimmed. If old, they should be turned to the shape of elongated olives, and parboiled before being set to cook.
Put the carrots in a saucepan with enough water to cover them well, one-half oz. of salt, one oz. of sugar, and two oz. of butter per pint of water.
Cook until the water has almost entirely evaporated, so that the reduction may have the consistence of a syrup. Sauté the carrots in this reduction, that they may be covered with a brilliant coat.
Whatever be the ultimate purpose for which the carrots are intended, they should be prepared in this way.
Prepare the carrots as above, and, when the moistening is reduced to the consistence of a syrup, cover them with boiling cream.
Sufficiently reduce the latter, and dish in a timbale.
Slice the carrots, and, if they be old, parboil them.
Treat them exactly after the manner of the “Glazed Carrots” of No. 2059; dish them in a timbale, and sprinkle them with chopped parsley.
Slice the carrots, and cook them in slightly-salted water, with sugar and butter, as for “Glazed Carrots,” and a quarter of their weight of rice. Drain them as soon as they are cooked; rub them through a fine sieve; transfer the purée to a sautépan, [632] and dry it over a fierce fire, together with three oz. of butter per lb. of purée.
Now add a sufficient quantity of either milk or consommé to give it the consistence of an ordinary purée. Dish in a timbale with triangular croûtons of bread-crumbs, fried in butter at the last moment.
This purée is very commonly served as a garnish with braised pieces of veal.
This is served either as a vegetable or a sweet.
Line a flawn ring with good, short paste (No. 2358); coat the inside of the flawn with a round piece of paper, and fill it with rice or split peas. Bake it without letting it brown; remove the split peas or the rice, as also the paper, and garnish the flawn crust with a slightly sugared purée of carrots. Cover this purée with half-discs of carrot cooked as for No. 2059, and kept unbroken. Coat with the cooking-liquor of the carrots reduced to a syrup, and put the flawn in the oven for five minutes.
Celery for braising should be non-fibrous, white, and very tender. Cut the sticks till they measure only eight inches from their roots; remove the green leaves all round; trim the root; wash with great care, parboil for one-quarter hour, and cool.
This done, braise them after recipe No. 275. When they are cooked, cut each stick into three pieces, and double up each section before dishing and serving.
The recipes given for cardoons may be applied to celery. On referring to the respective recipes, therefore, celery may be prepared:—
Au Parmesan, Sauce Mornay, à la Milanaise, Italienne, Hollandaise, with gravy, &c.
Slice the celery; parboil it, and stew it, until it is quite cooked, in a little very fat consommé.
Drain as soon as cooked; rub through a sieve, adding the while the cooking-liquor cleared of all grease; thicken the purée with about one quart of very white and firm potato purée; heat; add butter at the last moment, and dish in a timbale.
Peel the celeriac; cut it into sections, and cook it in salted water.
Drain and rub it through tammy, adding plain-boiled, quartered potatoes the while in the proportion of one-third of the weight of the purée of celeriac.
Put the purée in a sautépan; add to it three oz. of butter per lb.; dry it over a fierce fire, and bring it to its normal consistence by means of milk. When about to serve, add butter, away from the fire, and dish in a timbale.
Those cèpes which are barely opened or not opened at all are not parboiled. Contrariwise, those which are open should be washed, parboiled, and stewed in butter, after having been well dried.
Collop the cèpes; season them with salt and pepper; put them into very hot oil, and toss them until they are thoroughly frizzled. Almost at the last moment add, per one-half lb. of cèpes, one oz. of cèpe stalks, which should have been put aside and chopped up, one teaspoonful of chopped shallots, and a tablespoonful of bread-crumbs—the object of which is to absorb any excess of oil, once the cèpes have been served.
Toss the whole together for a few minutes; dish in a timbale, and complete with a few drops of lemon juice and some chopped parsley.
Collop the cèpes, and stew them in butter with a dessertspoonful of chopped onion per one-half lb. of cèpes; the onion should have been cooked in butter, without colouration.
When they are stewed, drain them; cover them with boiling cream, and boil gently until the latter is completely reduced. At the last moment finish with a little thin cream, and dish in a timbale.
Proceed as for No. 2068, but substitute for the shallots some chopped onion and a mite of crushed garlic.
Dish in a timbale, and complete with a few drops of lemon juice and some chopped parsley.
Proceed as for No. 2069, and add to the cèpes one-third of their weight of thickly-sliced, raw truffles, stewed at the same [634] time as the former. When about to serve, finish with a little pale melted meat glaze, and dish in a timbale.
Cookery includes under this head only the white Parisian mushroom and the meadow mushroom, which is the kind so commonly used in England.
The other kinds are always identified by special and proper terms.
Proceed as described under No. 2069.
After having washed the mushrooms, dried, and ciseled them, and seasoned them with salt and pepper, toss them with butter in a frying-pan over a fierce fire. Sprinkle them with chopped parsley at the last moment, and dish them in a timbale.
Take some large Parisian or meadow mushrooms. Carefully peel them; season them; smear them with oil, by means of a brush, and grill them gently.
Set them on a round dish, and garnish their midst with well-softened, Maître-d’Hôtel butter.
Select some fine, medium-sized mushrooms; suppress their stalks; wash them, and dry them well. Set them on a dish; season them; sprinkle them with a few drops of oil; put them in the oven for five minutes, and garnish their midst with Duxelles (No. 224) shaped like a dome, and thickened or not with bread-crumbs.
Sprinkle the surface with fine raspings and a few drops of oil or melted butter, and set the gratin to form in a somewhat fierce oven.
Line a buttered flawn-mould with good lining paste (No. 2358).
Garnish it with very fresh and barely opened English mushrooms, tossed in butter with a little chopped onion, cohered with cream, and cooled.
Moisten the edges of the flawn-mould, and deck it with criss-cross strips of short paste, as for a latticed apple-flawn.
Gild the lattice work; bake the flawn in a very hot oven, and serve it the moment it is withdrawn.
These tartlets constitute an excellent and beautiful garnish, more particularly for Tournedos and Noisettes. Proceed exactly as for No. 2076, but use tartlet moulds the size of which is determined by the dimensions of the piece or preparation which they are to accompany.
Take some very fresh mushrooms; wash and drain them quickly.
Suppress their stalks flush with their heads; turn or groove the latter with the point of a small knife, and throw them, one by one, into a boiling liquor prepared as follows:—
For two lbs. of mushrooms, put one-sixth pint of water, one-third oz. of salt, two oz. of butter, and the juice of one and one-half lemons, in a saucepan. Boil; add the mushrooms, and cook for five minutes. Transfer to a bowl immediately, and cover with a piece of buttered paper.
Clean, wash, and dry two lbs. of mushrooms. Quickly peel them, and rub them through a sieve. Put this purée of raw mushrooms into a sautépan with two-thirds pint of reduced Béchamel sauce, and one-sixth pint of cream. Season with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg; reduce over an open fire for a few minutes, and finish, away from the fire, with three oz. of best butter.
The Spring mushroom or Morel is the one most preferred by connoisseurs. There are two kinds of morels—the pale and the brown kind—both excellent, though some prefer the former to the latter, and vice versâ.
In spite of what connoisseurs may say regarding the error of washing morels, I advocate the operation, and urge the reader to effect it carefully, and without omitting to open out the alveolate parts, so as to wash away any sand particles that may be lodged therein.
The Cooking of Morels.—If they be small, leave them whole; if large, halve or quarter them. After having properly drained them, put them in a saucepan with two oz. of butter, the juice of a lemon, and a pinch of salt and another of pepper per lb. of morels. Boil, and then stew for ten or twelve minutes. Never forget that the vegetable juices produced by the morels should be reduced and added to their accompanying sauce.
Proceed as for Cèpes and Mushrooms with Cream.
Select some large morels, and wash them well.
Suppress their stems; chop them up, and prepare them like a Duxelles (No. 223).
Add to this Duxelles half of its bulk of very smooth sausage-meat.
Open the morels on one side; fill them with the prepared forcemeat, and set them on a buttered dish, opened side nethermost.
Sprinkle with fine raspings, and use plenty of melted butter; cook for twenty minutes in a moderate oven, and serve the dish as it stands.
Cook them as described under No. 2080, and add them to a Poulette sauce (No. 101), together with their cooking-liquor reduced.
Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley.
After having thoroughly washed the morels, dry them well in a towel, and halve or quarter them according to their size.
Season them with salt and pepper, and sauté them with butter in an omelet-pan, over a sufficiently fierce fire, to avoid the exudation of their vegetable moisture. Dish them in a timbale; squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over them, and sprinkle them with chopped parsley.
Cook the morels as explained under No. 2080, and drain them well.
Reduce their cooking-liquor by a quarter, and add to it two tablespoonfuls of very thick cream and one oz. of butter per lb. of morels.
Heat this sauce without boiling it, toss the morels in it, and set them in a tourte crust, or merely in the centre of a crown of puff-paste, lying on a dish.
Morels prepared in this way may also be served in a Vol-au-vent crust (No. 2390).
These varieties of esculent fungi are not much liked in England.
[637]
The best way to prepare them is to toss them quickly in
butter.
This excellent vegetable, which has only become known quite recently, is beginning to be appreciated by connoisseurs. It is in season from the end of October to the end of March—that is to say, at a time when cucumbers and vegetable marrows are over. It greatly resembles these last-named vegetables, and is prepared like them, while the recipes given for cardoons may also be applied to it.
Three kinds of chicory are used for cooking, viz:—
1. Curled chicory, improperly termed “Endive” in England.
2. Flemish chicory, which is genuine endive in its primitive state, i.e., grown in the open air. It greatly resembles Escarole.
3. Brussels chicory, or the Belgian kind; obtained from cultivating the root of Flemish chicory in the dark.
This last kind is quite different from the first two, both with regard to its quality and its culinary treatment, and it will be dealt with later under the name of “Endive.”
Parboil the chicory for ten minutes in plenty of boiling water. Cool it; press the water out of it, and chop it up.
Cohere it with four and one-half oz. of pale roux per two lbs. of chicory; moisten with one quart of consommé; season with salt and a pinch of powdered sugar, and braise in the oven, under cover, for one and one-half hours.
Upon withdrawing it from the oven, transfer it to another saucepan; add three-fifths pint of cream and two oz. of butter, and dish in a timbale.
Braise the chicory as described above.
Upon withdrawing it from the oven, mix with it (per lb.) five stiffly-beaten eggs; put it into an even, buttered mould, and set to poach in a bain-marie.
Before unmoulding the “loaf,” let it rest awhile, that the middle may settle. Turn out just before serving, and cover with a cream sauce.
Braise the chicory, and rub it through a sieve. Mix it with one-third of its bulk of smooth mashed potatoes with cream; heat; add butter away from the fire, and dish in a timbale.
Braise about one-half lb. of chicory, keeping it somewhat stiff, and rub it through a sieve. Add to it the yolks of three eggs, also two oz. of grated Parmesan and the whites of three eggs, beaten to a stiff froth.
Dish in a buttered timbale; sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and cook after the manner of an ordinary soufflé.
N.B.—This soufflé of chicory may also be cooked in small cases, and it makes an excellent garnish for large pieces of veal or ham.
Cut the chicory into two-inch lengths; parboil it; cool it, and then proceed for the rest of the operation as described under No. 2089—the only difference being that it is not chopped.
Whatever be the purpose for which they are intended, endives should always be cooked preparatively as follows:—
After having washed and cleaned them, put them in a well-tinned saucepan containing (per three lbs. of endives) a liquor prepared from the juice of a lemon, a pinch of salt, one oz. of butter, and one-fifth pint of water. Cover the saucepan; boil quickly, and complete the cooking on the side of the fire for from thirty to thirty-five minutes.
Endives may thus be served plain, and constitute a very favourite vegetable or garnish. They may accompany all Relevés of butcher’s meat.
Some cardoon recipes may also be applied to them, more particularly à la Mornay, à la Crème, and à la Milanaise—all of which suit them admirably.
From the culinary standpoint, cabbages may be divided into seven classes, as follows:—
1. White cabbages: used almost solely in the preparation of sauerkraut.
2. Red cabbages: used as a vegetable, as a hors-d’œuvre, or as a condiment.
3. Round-headed or Savoy cabbages: specially suited to braising and the English method of cooking.
4. Scotch kale and spring cabbages: always prepared in the English fashion.
5. Cauliflowers and broccoli: the flower of these is most [639] commonly used, but the leaves are cooked in the English way when they are tender.
6. Brussels sprouts.
7. Kohlrabi: the roots of these may be dished as turnips, and the leaves cooked in the English way, provided they be young and tender.
In an extreme case, these cabbages may be braised like the green Savoys, but they are usually too firm, and they are therefore only used in the preparation of sauerkraut.
If the sauerkraut be somewhat old, set it to soak in cold water for a few hours. It is best, however, to avoid this measure, if possible, and to use only fresh sauerkraut.
When about to cook it, drain it, if it has been soaked, and press all the water out of it. Then pull it to pieces in such a way as to leave no massed leaves; season it with salt and pepper, and put it into a braising-pan lined with slices of bacon. Add, for ten lbs. of sauerkraut, three quartered carrots, three medium-sized onions, each stuck with a clove, a large faggot, three oz. of juniper berries and one-half oz. of peppercorns contained in a canvas bag, six oz. of goose dripping or lard, and one lb. of blanched breast of bacon, the latter to be withdrawn after one hour’s cooking.
Moisten, just enough to cover, with white consommé; cover with slices of bacon; boil, and then cook in the oven for five hours with lid on.
To serve Sauerkraut.—Withdraw the vegetables, the faggot, and the juniper berries, and set the sauerkraut in a timbale, after having well drained it.
Surround it with thin slices of ham, rectangles of bacon, and some poached Frankfort or Strasburg sausages.
Quarter the cabbages, suppress the outside leaves and the stumps, and cut the trimmed leaves into a fine julienne. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; sprinkle with vinegar, and put this julienne into a well-buttered earthenware cocotte. Cover and cook in a moderate oven.
When the cooking is three-parts done, add four peeled and quartered russet apples and a tablespoonful of moist or powdered sugar.
[640]
Take note that the cooking must be gentle from start to
finish, and that the only moistening should be the vinegar.
Cut the cabbages into a small julienne as above, and put them into a bowl or deep dish. Sprinkle with table salt, and leave to macerate for two days, stirring frequently the while.
Then drain, and put them into a pot with garlic cloves, peppercorns, and one bay leaf. Cover with raw vinegar, or the latter boiled and cooled, and leave to marinade for a day or two.
This marinaded cabbage forms an excellent adjunct to boiled beef.
Quarter the cabbage; parboil and cool it.
Defoliate the quarters; suppress the outside leaves and the midribs of the remaining leaves; season with salt and pepper, and put the cabbage in a saucepan garnished with slices of bacon, and containing one quartered carrot, one onion stuck with a garlic clove, one faggot, two-thirds pint of consommé, and three tablespoonfuls of stock fat per two lbs. of cabbage. Cover with slices of bacon; boil, and then braise gently for two hours.
Plainly boil or steam the cabbage. Press all the water out of it, between two plates, and cut it into lozenges or squares.
Take a medium-sized round-headed or Savoy cabbage; parboil it; cool it, and suppress its stump. Slightly open out its leaves, and insert between them raw or cooked mince-meat, combined with chopped onion and parsley, and highly seasoned. Reconstruct the cabbage, pressing it closely together; wrap it in slices of bacon; string it, and braise it gently for three hours with stock and stock fat.
When about to serve, drain the cabbage; remove the string and the slices of bacon; set it on a dish, and cover it with a few tablespoonfuls of the braising-liquor, cleared of all grease, reduced, and thickened with some half-glaze sauce.
Send what remains of the braising-liquor separately.
N.B.—The preparation is improved if the mince-meat with which the cabbage is stuffed be combined with a quarter of its bulk of pilaff rice and the same quantity of foie-gras fat.
Parboil and cool the cabbage as above; remove the outer large leaves, and set them on a net.
Upon this litter of cabbage leaves lay the following products, mixed:—
The inside leaves of the cabbage, chopped up and seasoned; one-half lb. of ciseled and blanched white of a leek; one and three-quarter lbs. of sausage-meat; six oz. of lean bacon, cut into dice and frizzled; one chopped onion, fried in butter; two chopped tomatoes; a crushed clove of garlic; three oz. of blanched rice and four oz. of fresh, young peas.
Gather up the ends of the net, and close it in such a way as to reconstruct the cabbage.
Cook it in mutton broth or in ordinary stock for three and one-half or four hours.
Serve the sou-fassum plain, on a round dish.
Parboil, cool, and thoroughly drain the cabbage. Remove as many large leaves as there are balls of stuffed cabbage required, and, if the leaves be too small, use two for each ball.
Chop up the remains of the cabbage; season them with salt and pepper; put a small portion of them on each of the leaves; close the latter in the shape of balls, and set them one by one in a sautépan.
Then proceed, for the cooking, as directed under “Braised Cabbage.”
Prepare the cabbage as above; insert into the centre of each ball a portion of smooth pork forcemeat, the size of a pigeon’s egg, and braise in the same way.
Parboil the necessary quantity of cabbage leaves, in accordance with the number of balls required. Cool them; spread them out; garnish the middle of each with one tablespoonful of pilaff rice, mixed with foie-gras purée, and close up the leaves to form small packets.
Braise as in the case of No. 2104.
These various kinds of greens are prepared in the English way, as described above, or they may be prepared with butter, like Brussels sprouts. The two above-mentioned modes of preparation are the only ones that suit them.
Broccoli differs from cauliflower in the colour of its flower and the arrangement of the parts of the latter. In the broccoli the flower is of a deep violet. English broccoli never reach the size of those grown in the South of France.
Many do not even grow to a head, while their flowers—the size of hazel-nuts—are scattered among the interstices of the surrounding leaves.
Cauliflowers and large broccoli allow of the same treatment.
Cut the cauliflowers into bunches; remove the small leaves which are attached, and cook the cauliflower in salted water.
Thoroughly drain; set the bunches in a timbale, reconstructing the cauliflower in so doing, or on a dish covered with a folded napkin, and serve a cream sauce separately.
Having well drained the cauliflower, dry it in butter for a few minutes; mould it in a bowl, and pour a few tablespoonfuls of Mornay sauce into it.
Coat the bottom of a dish with the same sauce, and turn out the cauliflower on the dish; completely cover with Mornay sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese mixed with raspings; bedew with melted butter, and set the gratin to form.
Set the cauliflower on a buttered dish sprinkled with grated cheese. Also sprinkle the cauliflower with cheese; add a few pieces of butter, and set the gratin to form.
On taking the dish out of the oven, sprinkle the cauliflower with nut-brown butter, and serve immediately.
Thoroughly drain the cauliflower, and set it on a buttered dish.
Sprinkle it with chopped, hard-boiled egg-yolks and chopped parsley, mixed. When about to serve, bedew with nut-brown butter, in which one-half oz. of fine bread-crumbs (per three oz. of butter) should have been fried.
Cook the cauliflower in salted water. Drain it thoroughly, and set it in a timbale. Serve at the same time either a sauceboat of Melted Butter, a Butter, a Hollandaise, or a Mousseline sauce, &c.
Cook the cauliflower in salted water; drain it well; rub it through tammy, and combine the resulting purée with one quarter of its bulk of somewhat firm, mashed potatoes with cream. Heat; add butter away from the fire, and dish in a timbale.
Cook them in salted water; drain them well, and dish them on a drainer or in a timbale.
Cook the sprouts; drain them well without cooling them; stew them in butter, and chop them up. Then combine them with as much fresh cream as possible.
Cook them, and, after having thoroughly drained them, throw them into an omelet-pan containing some very hot butter. Toss them until they are nicely frizzled; dish them in a timbale, and sprinkle them with chopped parsley.
Cook them, keeping them somewhat firm, and drain without cooling them.
Put them into a sautépan; season them with salt and pepper; add two oz. of butter (per lb. of sprouts) cut into small pieces; cover, and stew in the oven for one-quarter hour.
Three-parts cook the sprouts; drain them well without cooling them, and complete their cooking by stewing them in butter. Rub them through tammy, and add to the resulting purée one-third of its bulk of mashed potatoes.
Heat, add butter away from the fire, and dish in a timbale.
This is one of the best and most delicate of English vegetables.
It is trimmed with great care, washed, and then tied into bunches of from five to six plants, and these are plainly cooked in salted water.
All cardoon recipes, and sauces given for asparagus, may be applied to sea kale.
Though of different shapes, these two vegetables allow of almost the same treatment when they are cooked. They are especially used as garnishes.
Peel, and cut the cucumber to shapes resembling olives; parboil and drain these pieces. This done, three-parts cook them in butter; moisten with boiling cream, and finish the cooking in reducing the cream. At the very last moment add a little Béchamel sauce with the view of slightly thickening the preparation, and dish in a timbale.
After having shaped them like large garlic cloves, quickly parboil them. This done, treat them as directed under “Carottes glacées,” and roll them sufficiently in their cooking-liquor, reduced to the consistence of a thick syrup, to thoroughly coat them with it.
Cut the cucumbers into two-inch lengths; peel, parboil, and drain them. Then hollow them out to form small, round cases; set them side by side in a sautépan, and cook them in butter. When they are three-parts cooked, fill them with a raw, chicken forcemeat, effecting this operation by means of a piping-bag. The forcemeat should be slightly moulded in the cucumber cases.
Complete the cooking of the cucumber, gently, while poaching the forcemeat.
Peel the cucumbers; split them open lengthwise, and empty them by means of a root-spoon. This done, parboil and drain without cooling them.
Garnish each half-cucumber, level with the edges, with a chicken forcemeat, prepared with frangipan, and combined with a third of its weight of Duxelles. Reconstruct the cucumbers by placing the halves one against the other; wrap them each in a slice of bacon, and then in a piece of muslin, and finally string them. This done, braise them in the usual way. When they are cooked, remove their wrappings, and cut them into roundels the thickness of which is determined by the size of the piece of which they are the adjuncts.
Whatever be their mode of preparation, stachys must be cleaned, parboiled, and kept firm, and cooked in butter without colouration.
After having parboiled the stachys and three-parts cooked them in butter, moisten with boiling cream, and complete their cooking while reducing the cream. Add a little thin, fresh cream at the last moment, and dish in a timbale.
After having parboiled, drained, and dried the stachys, put them in an omelet-pan containing some very hot butter, and toss them over a fierce fire, until they are well frizzled. Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle moderately with chopped parsley.
Completely cook the stachys in salted water. Drain them, and cohere them with the required quantity of Velouté flavoured with mushroom essence.
Having cooked the stachys in salted water, and kept them somewhat firm, thoroughly drain them and mix them with a very reduced Allemande sauce, in the proportion of one-fifth pint per lb. of stachys. Spread this preparation on a buttered dish, and cool. Now cut this preparation into portions weighing about two oz.; shape these portions like balls, pears, quoits, or otherwise, dip them in beaten eggs, and roll them in very fine bread-crumbs.
Plunge these croquettes into very hot fat five or six minutes before serving; drain them on a piece of linen; salt moderately, and dish on a napkin with very green, fried parsley.
Cook the stachys in salted water, keeping them somewhat firm, and add thereto four oz. of quartered potatoes per lb. of stachys.
As soon as they are cooked, drain the stachys and the potatoes; rub them through a sieve, and dry the purée over a very fierce fire. Add the necessary quantity of milk to bring the purée to its proper consistence; heat; add butter away from the fire, and dish in a timbale.
Spinach should only be prepared at the last moment, if possible.
After having parboiled it in plenty of boiling salted water, [646] cool it, press out all its contained water, and, according to circumstances, either chop it up or rub it through a sieve.
If it has to be served with the leaves left whole, merely drain it on a sieve, without either pressing or cooling it.
Cook it after having carefully shredded it; drain it well, and dish in a timbale without cooling.
Having chopped up or rubbed the spinach through a sieve, put it into a sautépan with two oz. of butter per lb., and dry it over a fierce fire.
Now add the quarter of its bulk of cream sauce to it, and simmer gently for ten minutes.
Dish in a timbale when about to serve, and sprinkle the surface with fresh cream.
Dry the spinach as above in three oz. of butter per lb., and then, in the same proportion, add two and one-half oz. of grated cheese.
Set on a buttered gratin-dish; sprinkle copiously with grated cheese and melted butter, and set the gratin to form in a fierce oven.
Spread some large leaves of blanched spinach on a napkin, and in the middle of each lay a subric, the substance of which should have been combined with very small croûtons of bread-crumb fried in butter. Wrap the subrics in the spinach leaves; cover with Mornay sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter, and set to glaze in a fierce oven.
Dry the spinach in butter as described above, and add to it per lb. of spinach (away from the fire) one-sixth pint of very reduced Béchamel sauce; two tablespoonfuls of thick cream; one egg and the yolks of three, well beaten; salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Make a sufficient quantity of clarified butter very hot in an omelet-pan.
Take up some of the preparation of spinach by means of a spoon, and let the contents of the latter drop (propelled by the finger) into the butter. Proceed thus in the making of the subrics, and take care that they do not touch. When a minute [647] has elapsed, turn them over with a spatula or a fork, that their other sides may colour.
Set on a dish or in a timbale, and serve a cream sauce separately.
Parboil some well-shredded spinach; dry it in butter; season it, and add to it an equal quantity of Yorkshire-pudding paste (No. 1943).
Cook this preparation in a small, well-buttered omelet-pan or in deep tartlet-moulds.
N.B.—These spinach pancakes constitute an excellent garnish for Relevés of Beef, Veal, and Ham.
Make a composition after the directions given under No. 2092. Spread this composition in two or three layers, and set on each of the latter a litter of well-cleaned and soaked anchovy fillets, arranged to form a lattice. Finish with a layer of spinach shaped like a dome, and set thereon two crossed rows of anchovy fillets. Cook after the manner of an ordinary soufflé.
Proceed as directed in the preceding recipe, but substitute anchovy fillets for some fine slices of truffle.
N.B.—Both these spinach soufflés may be served either as vegetables, in which case they are moulded in large timbales, or as garnishes, when they are dished in small cassolettes of appropriate size.
They are very delicate preparations, which may be varied by watercress soufflé—prepared in the same way.
Provided the vine-leaves be very tender, they may serve in the preparation of the following garnish:—Suppress their stalks; parboil the leaves; drain them well, and arrange three or four at a time in the form of a circular tray, in the centre of which lay a tablespoonful of pilaff rice to which some foie-gras purée has been added. This done, draw the ends of the leaves over the rice, so as to enclose it and to form regular balls of equal size.
Put these balls, well-pressed, one against the other in a sautépan, the bottom of which should be garnished with slices of bacon; cover with thin slices of bacon; moisten just enough to cover, with good consommé; boil, and then braise gently.
This vegetable is not very well known in England, where it is sold only by the leading merchants of early-season vegetables. It is prepared like the cardoons and the marrows.
Broad beans should be shelled just before being cooked, and it is quite the rule to peel them. Boil them in salted water containing a bunch of savory, the size of which should be in proportion to the quantity of broad beans. When they are cooked and drained, add the leaves of savory (chopped) to them.
Having well-drained and peeled the broad beans, toss them over a fierce fire to dry them, and then finish them, away from the fire, with three oz. of butter per lb. of beans.
After having dried and peeled the broad beans, cohere them (per lb.) with three tablespoonfuls of thick, fresh cream.
Proceed exactly as for purée of peas. This purée constitutes a very delicate garnish, which is particularly well suited to ham.
This vegetable—so common in America and the East—is only very rarely used in England, where, however, it is now beginning to be better known.
There are two kinds of Gombos: the long and the round kind. The latter is also called Bamia or Bamiès. Both kinds are prepared after the same recipes.
After having trimmed them, parboil them in salted water and drain them. Then cook them in butter, and, just before serving them, cohere them with a cream sauce.
Parboil the gombos until they are two-thirds cooked. Drain them well, and complete their cooking in the braising-liquor of the piece they are to accompany.
If they are to garnish a poulet sauté, complete their cooking in some thin veal gravy.
The eatable part is separated from the fibrous by breaking off the ends of the sprouts, as in the case of asparagus or sprew. [649] After having washed them in several waters, cook them in salted water containing, per every quart, the juice of one half-lemon.
Hop sprouts may be prepared with butter, cream, velouté, &c. When served as a vegetable, they are invariably accompanied by poached eggs, which are laid in a crown round them and alternated by comb-shaped croûtons fried in butter.
Cook the beans as described under No. 274. But add to the prescribed ingredients one-half lb. of lean bacon per pint of dry beans.
When they are cooked and well drained, mix them with the bacon cut into dice, and cohere them with some good tomato sauce.
Having well drained the haricot-beans, season them with salt and pepper and cohere them with two oz. of butter per lb. of cooked beans. Dish in a timbale and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Drain them well and cohere them with a Bretonne sauce, in the proportion of one-third pint of sauce per lb. of cooked haricot-beans. Dish in a timbale with chopped parsley.
Rub the haricot-beans through a sieve while they are burning-hot. Add to the purée (per lb. thereof) three oz. of butter; dry it over a very fierce fire, and then add some milk to it, to bring it to its proper consistence.
These beans are used more especially fresh; but, when they are out of season, recourse is often had to preserved or dried flageolets.
They are prepared in the same way as haricot-beans. Their purée, which is very delicate, is known under the name of “Purée Musard,” and it is particularly suitable for the garnishing of mutton. It is also used as a thickening ingredient in the purée of French beans, and nothing can equal it for the purpose; for, not only is it an unctuous thickening medium, but its flavour is peculiarly adapted to the throwing into relief of that of the French beans.
Red beans are cooked in salted water with one-third lb. of lean bacon, one pint of red wine, one carrot, one onion stuck with a clove, and one faggot per quart of beans. The bacon should be withdrawn as soon as cooked. These beans are cohered by means of manied butter, and they are then mixed with the bacon, which is cut into dice and frizzled in butter.
French beans are among the greatest vegetable delicacies; but they have to be prepared with the utmost care.
Their quality is such that they are almost always good, in spite of faulty preparation—so common in their case; but, when they are cooked with care, no other vegetable can surpass them in perfection of flavour. They should be taken quite fresh, and they should not be cooked too long. They are best when they seem a little firm to the teeth, without, of course, being in the least hard.
They must not be cooled when cooked; they should only be sautéd over the fire with the view of causing the evaporation of their moisture.
After having seasoned them with salt and pepper, add to them (per lb.) about three oz. of very fresh butter, cut into small pieces; sauté them so as to effect their leason, and straightway serve them.
Do not add chopped parsley to French beans, unless it be very tender and gathered and chopped at the last moment.
This consists of French beans and flageolets, in equal quantities, cohered with butter.
Cook the French beans in salted water; drain them well, and stew them in butter for eight or ten minutes. Rub them through a fine sieve, and mix the resulting purée with half its bulk of very creamy, flageolet purée.
After having parboiled, cooled, and pressed the water out of them, tie them together in twos or threes, and braise them as directed under No. 275. This done, cut them in two, unfold the end of each half, and set them on a dish, in the form of a crown; alternating them with heart-shaped croûtons fried in butter. Or, merely dish them in a timbale.
[651]
Coat them with the reduced braising-liquor combined with
some thickened veal gravy.
N.B.—Braised lettuces may also be stuffed after the manner described under No. 2106.
Braise and dish the lettuces as above.
Upon the turban of lettuces, set a crown of large slices of poached marrow, and coat with a moderately thick buttered gravy.
Parboil, cool, and press the lettuces.
This done, open them in the middle without touching their stems, and garnish them with good forcemeat, combined with half its bulk of dry Duxelles (No. 223). Reconstruct the lettuces; string them; braise them, and dish them as directed under No. 2160.
Proceed as directed under Nos. 2104 to 2106.
Proceed as directed under No. 2089.
Proceed as directed under No. 2139.
Lentils are cooked as directed under the “preparation of dry vegetables” (No. 274).
Carefully drain the lentils; dry them by tossing them over the fire, and cohere them with butter in the proportion of two oz. of the latter per lb. of lentils.
Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley.
Proceed as for the purée of haricot-beans.
As this vegetable is sold already cooked at English markets, it is only necessary to add enough good Espagnole sauce to it, when heating it, to make a properly consistent purée.
Take the maize when it is quite fresh and still milky, and cook it either in steam or salted water; taking care to retain the leaves on the ears. When cooked, the leaves are drawn [652] back so as to represent stalks, and the ears are bared if they be served whole. This done, set the ears on a napkin, and send a hors-d’œuvre dish of fresh butter to the table with them.
If the maize has to be grilled, put the ears on a grill in the oven, and, when they have swollen and are of a golden colour, withdraw the grains and set the latter on a napkin. Sometimes, too, the ears are served whole.
When maize is served as an accompaniment, the grains are separated from the stalk and cohered with butter or cream, exactly like peas.
Failing fresh maize, excellent preserved kinds are to be found on the market.
Cook the maize in water or steam; rub it quickly through tammy; put it into a saucepan with a small piece of butter, and quickly dry it.
This done, add sufficient fresh cream to this purée to make a somewhat soft paste. Thicken this paste with the yolks of three eggs, per lb. of purée, and combine it with the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Mould and cook after the manner of an ordinary soufflé.
Before rubbing the maize through a sieve, add to it two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion fried in butter, and a large pinch of paprika per lb. of maize. Proceed for the rest of the operation as in the case of No. 2170.
N.B.—These two soufflés are served as a garnish and may be cooked either in a timbale or in small cassolettes. They constitute excellent adjuncts to large, poached fowls.
Slightly split open the shell on the convex sides of the nuts, and put them in the oven for from seven to eight minutes, on a tray containing a little water, that they may be shelled with ease.
Or, split them open in the same way; put them in small quantities at a time in a frying-basket, and plunge them into very hot fat. Peel them while they are still quite hot.
As soon as they are peeled, cook them in enough consommé to just cover them, and add half a stick of celery per lb. of chestnuts.
[653]
If they are intended for the stuffing of a goose or a turkey,
keep them somewhat firm.
Take some very large chestnuts, and dip them in hot fat in order to peel them. Then set them in one layer, one against the other in a sautépan. If they were heaped, only a poor result could be obtained.
Moisten them, just enough to cover, with strong veal stock, and stir them as little as possible while they are cooking, so as to avoid breaking them.
When they are three-parts cooked, reduce the moistening, and gently roll the chestnuts in the glaze resulting from this reduction, that they may be covered with a brilliant coating.
Chestnuts prepared in this way serve more particularly as a garnish.
Having thoroughly peeled the chestnuts, cook them in white consommé, with a celery stalk as in the case of No. 2173, and one-half oz. of sugar per lb. of chestnuts. Continue cooking until they may be easily crushed; rub them through tammy, and treat the purée as directed in the case of the preceding ones.
Whether served as vegetables or as a garnish, turnips are prepared like carrots. They may, therefore, either be served glazed, or “à la Crème,” &c.
They may also be served stuffed, after the following recipes:—
Take some round, medium-sized turnips, fairly equal in size. Peel them, and, in so doing, shape them nicely; then, by means of a round fancy-cutter, cut them deeply at their base, pressing the instrument into the pulp.
This done, thoroughly parboil and empty them.
With the withdrawn pulp, prepare a purée, to which add an equal quantity of mashed potatoes. Garnish the turnips with this purée, and shape the visible portion of the latter dome-fashion.
Set the stuffed turnips in a sautépan, and complete their cooking in butter, taking care to baste them frequently.
Prepare the turnips as above; but stuff them with a preparation of semolina cooked in consommé and combined with grated Parmesan.
[654]
Complete the cooking as directed in the preceding recipe.
N.B.—Proceeding in the same way, turnips may be stuffed with spinach, chicory, and even with farinaceous vegetables or rice, kept very creamy. All these garnishes are at once sightly and excellent.
Slice the turnips and cook them in a little butter, salt, sugar, and the necessary amount of water. Rub through tammy, and thicken the resulting purée with only just the required quantity of very good mashed potatoes.
Young turnip-tops are very much liked in England as a luncheon vegetable. They should be prepared like “Choux verts cooked à l’anglaise.”
Take some medium-sized, mild, Spanish onions; cut them at a point one-quarter of their height from the top, and parboil them thoroughly.
Empty them, leaving only a wall one-third in. thick; chop up the withdrawn parts, and mix them with an equal quantity of Duxelles (No. 225).
Garnish the emptied onions with this preparation; complete their cooking by braising them, and glaze them at the last moment, simultaneously with the formation of the gratin.
N.B.—Proceed in the same way for onions stuffed with spinach, Rizotto, or semolina, &c., as suggested under Nos. 2177 and 2178.
Onions may also be garnished with a soufflé preparation of spinach, tomatoes, chicory, &c. Herein lies scope for a great variety of excellent and uncommon garnishes.
Cut them into roundels one-fifth in. thick; separate the rings; season them with salt and pepper; dredge them and fry them in very hot oil.
Drain on a piece of linen and salt slightly.
Onions prepared in this way are used particularly as an accompaniment.
For the preparation without colouration: Peel some small onions of equal size without grazing them. Set them to cook [655] in enough white consommé to almost cover them, and two oz. of butter per pint of consommé.
At the last moment roll them in their cooking-liquor, reduced to a glaze.
For the preparation with colouration: Cook the onions very gently in butter, with a pinch of powdered sugar, so that the cooking and the colouring may be effected together.
See No. 104, in the chapter on sauces.
Having shredded the sorrel and washed it in several waters, set it to cook gently in a little water. This done, thoroughly drain it on a sieve and mix it with a pale roux, consisting of two oz. of butter and one oz. of flour. Add one and one-quarter pints of consommé, salt, and a pinch of sugar to it, and braise it in the oven for two hours.
Then rub it through tammy; thicken it with the yolks of six eggs or three whole eggs beaten to a stiff froth and strained through a strainer. Heat, and finish with one-sixth pint of cream and five oz. of butter.
Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle with strong, veal stock.
Cook this in boiling salted water after having well cleaned and washed it. It may then be prepared “à la Crème,” stuffed, or “au Gratin.”
Oxalis purée is called Purée Brésilienne, and is prepared in the same way as turnip purée.
Sweet potatoes are generally served, baked in their skins, and accompanied by fresh butter. They may also be prepared according to the majority of potato-recipes, especially the following:—
Sautées, Gratinées, Mashed, Duchesse, &c.
They may also be fried; but, in that case, they should be served the moment they are ready, for they soften very quickly.
Finally, they may be prepared soufflé-fashion, after the directions given under “Soufflé de Pommes de Terre.”
Whatever be the treatment to which peas are to be subjected, always take them very green and freshly gathered, and shell them only at the last minute. Peas are one of the vegetables most prone to lose their quality through want of care. If [656] prepared with pains, the delicacy of their flavour is incomparable; but the slightest neglect on the part of the operator renders them savourless and commonplace.
Cook them quickly in salted boiling water; drain them, and dry them by tossing them over a fierce fire. Dish them in a timbale, and serve some pats of very fresh butter separately.
As soon as the peas are cooked, drain them and toss them over a fierce fire, to dry. Then season them with a pinch of powdered sugar, and cohere them, away from the fire, with butter, in the proportion of three oz. per pint of peas.
Fry twelve oz. of small onions and four oz. of breast of bacon, cut into dice and blanched in butter; add one-half oz. of flour to the latter; cook the roux for a moment; moisten with one-half pint of consommé and boil.
Put one quart of freshly-shelled peas into this sauce; add the onions and the bacon, together with a bunch of parsley; and cook, reducing the sauce to half in so doing.
Prepare one-half lb. of new carrots as though they were to be glazed.
When half-cooked, add two-thirds pint of freshly-shelled peas to them. Complete the cooking of the two vegetables together, and, at the last moment, add butter away from the fire.
Take a saucepan, of a size a little larger than would be necessary to just hold the following products, and put into it one quart of freshly-shelled peas; a faggot containing the heart of a lettuce, two sprays of parsley, and two of chervil; twelve small onions, four oz. of butter, one-third oz. of salt, and two-thirds oz. of loaf-sugar. Mix the whole together until it forms a compact mass, and place in the cool until ready for cooking. Add three tablespoonfuls of water, when about to cook the peas, and cook gently with lid on.
When about to serve, withdraw the faggot; cisel the lettuce; add it to the peas, and cohere the whole with butter, away from the fire.
N.B.—Raw, ciseled lettuce may be added to the peas; but, as various tastes must be allowed for, it is better to insert the [657] lettuce whole, and to mix it with the peas afterwards, if it be so desired. The lettuce may also be quartered and laid on the peas without being mixed with them.
Cook the peas in salted water, together with a bunch of fresh mint.
Then prepare them in the English way or “au Beurre,” and lay a few parboiled mint leaves upon them when serving.
Cook the peas with just enough boiling water to cover them, and season it with one-half oz. of salt, and one-sixth oz. of sugar per quart. Add a lettuce and a few parsley leaves (tied together). When the peas are cooked, drain them; and reduce their cooking-liquor while they are being rubbed through a sieve.
Work the purée with four oz. of fresh butter per quart, and finally add to it the cooking-liquor, reduced almost to a glaze.
Prepare the purée as above; but keep it a little creamier. Mix with it, per quart, two whole eggs and the yolks of three, beaten and strained through muslin. With this preparation, fill some dariole- or baba-moulds, according to the piece for which the timbales are intended, and poach them in a bain-marie for from twenty to twenty-five minutes.
Remember to let them stand for five minutes before unmoulding them.
N.B.—Timbales of haricot-beans, flageolets, or lentil purée, are prepared similarly.
The capsicums used in cookery are of various kinds: the Chilian and Cayenne kinds (Chili and Cayenne peppers) which have a strong, burning taste, are only used as condiments.
The large or mild capsicums, green, red, or yellow, are used more particularly as garnishes. Although the difference in their colouration is accompanied by a difference of quality, they are not easily distinguished in this respect; and, although the large, red Spanish capsicums are the best, the other varieties may be treated in the same way as the former.
Whatever be the kind of capsicums used, either grill or scald them in order to skin them, and clear them of their seeds. According to the purpose they are intended for, they are either cut up or left whole.
For this purpose take some small, green, carrot-shaped capsicums.
Remove their stems, after having skinned them; empty them, and half-fill them with half-cooked, pilaff rice.
Then set them in a sautépan, and carefully braise them with excellent stock.
For this purpose, the large red, Spanish capsicums are best.
Braise them when they are peeled, and, when cooked, cut them up as the requirements may suggest.
Braise some large, red capsicums, with two-thirds of their weight of rice. When the whole is well cooked, rub it through a sieve, and add butter to the extent of two oz. per quart of the preparation.
N.B.—This purée is particularly well suited to poached fowls and white meats, and it is well to keep it thin.
Ordinary potatoes are rarely of good quality in England, and they do not lend themselves as well as certain Continental varieties do to the various culinary uses to which this valuable tuber may be put.
The very best kinds of potato are almost unknown in England, and the Dutch and Vitelotte potatoes have to be imported.
Turn the potatoes to the shape of large garlic cloves, and cook them in salted water or steam. They accompany more especially boiled fish.
The English method is to cook them without salt.
Cut them to the shape of cylinders; slice these into thin roundels; wash them, and dry them in a piece of linen.
Set these roundels in circles on the bottom of the mould proper to this potato preparation, or in a well-buttered thick-bottomed sautépan; let them overlap one another, and let the lay of each circle be reversed.
Season; spread a coat of butter upon the first layer, and proceed in the same way with a second layer.
Make five or six layers in this way, seasoning and spreading butter over each.
Cover the utensil; cook in a good oven for thirty minutes; [659] turn the whole over, if necessary, to equalise the colouring; turn out upon a saucepan-lid, to drain away the butter, and then tilt the whole on to a dish.
Either dariole- or baba-moulds may be used for this purpose; but they should be tinned copper ones if possible. After having thoroughly buttered them, garnish them with thin roundels of potato, cut to the diameter of the moulds, seasoned, and set one upon the other. Set the moulds on a tray containing enough very hot fat to reach half-way up to their brims, and cook in a very hot oven for twenty-five minutes.
Turn out just before serving.
Add chopped truffles to some “Croquette” paste (No. 219), in the proportion of two oz. of the former to one lb. of the latter; and divide up this preparation into two-oz. portions. Mould these to shapes resembling apricots; dip them in beaten eggs (No. 174), and roll them in almonds cut into the thinnest possible splinters. Plunge the potato balls into hot fat five or six minutes before serving.
This preparation has been given in various recipes (see No. 1307).
Prepare the required amount of “Pommes Macaire” (No. 2228), and cook in butter in a small frying-pan. Dish; sprinkle copiously with cream and grated cheese, and set to glaze quickly.
Turn them to the shape of large olives; season them; cook them gently in clarified butter, that they may be golden and very soft; and, just before serving, sprinkle them moderately with chopped parsley.
Vitelotte or new kidney potatoes are needed for this preparation.
Cook them in salted water; peel them as soon as this is done, and cut them into rather thick roundels. Put them in a sautépan; moisten, enough to cover them, with boiling cream; season, and reduce the cream.
At the last moment, finish with raw cream.
Prepare the necessary quantity of “Croquette” paste (No. 219), and divide it into two-oz. portions. Roll these to the shape of corks or pears; treat them à l’anglaise, and put them into very hot fat, five or six minutes before serving.
Take the required amount of “Pommes Dauphine” preparation (No. 220); divide it into two-oz. portions; mould these to the shape of corks; treat them à l’anglaise, and fry them like ordinary croquettes.
Use the same preparation as for No. 2210. Mould the portions to the shape of small cottage-brioches, galettes or small loaves, or shape them by means of the piping-bag. Arrange them on a buttered tray; gild them with beaten egg, and colour them in a fierce oven for seven or eight minutes before serving them.
Use the same preparation as for No. 2210, and combine it with two oz. of grated Chester per lb. Mould it to the shape of very small galettes; set these portions on a buttered tray; gild them with beaten eggs; cover each with a thin slice of Chester, and set them in the oven for seven or eight minutes before serving.
Cut the potatoes to the shape of large, elongated olives, and let each weigh about three oz. Gently cook them in butter, in a sautépan, and take care to turn them over.
When they are cooked, withdraw them, so as to slightly flatten them with a fork without breaking them. Drain away their butter; return them to the sautépan with three oz. of fresh butter per every two lbs. of their weight, and cook them with lid on until they have entirely absorbed the butter.
Trim the potatoes square, and then cut them into small rods, of one-fifth in. sides. Put them in hot fat, and let them dry well before draining them.
Trim the potatoes, and cut them into long even ribbons one-eighth in. thick. Treat these ribbons like “Pommes soufflées” (see No. 2221).
Cut the potatoes into thin roundels, by means of a special plane; put them into cold water for ten minutes; drain them; dry them in linen, and fry them, keeping them very crisp. Serve them cold or hot, with game roasted in the English way.
Turn the potatoes to the shape of corks, and cut them with a special knife which grooves them. Treat them like chipped potatoes.
Cut the potatoes into a long, thin julienne; wash them and thoroughly dry them on a piece of linen.
Put them into hot fat; and, at the end of a few minutes, drain them in a frying-basket. Just before serving them, plunge them afresh into smoking fat, that they may be very crisp; drain them on a piece of linen, and salt them moderately.
Trim the potatoes square, and cut them into rods of half-inch sides. Plunge them into hot fat, and leave them there until they are crisp outside and creamy in.
This preparation represents the generic type of fried potatoes.
Trim the potatoes square, and carefully cut them into slices one-eighth inch thick. Wash them in cold water; thoroughly dry them, and put them into moderately hot fat. As soon as the potatoes are in it, gradually heat the fat until they are cooked—which they are known to be when they rise to the surface of the frying fat.
Drain them in the frying-basket, and at once immerse them in fresh and hotter fat. This final immersion effects the puffing, which results from the sudden contact with intense heat.
Leave the potatoes to dry; drain them on a stretched piece of linen; salt them moderately, and dish them.
Finely slice two lbs. of fair-sized Dutch potatoes. Put them in a basin, and add thereto salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, one beaten egg, one and one-half pints of boiled milk, and four oz. of fresh, grated Gruyère.
Thoroughly mix up the whole.
Pour this preparation into earthenware dishes, rubbed with garlic and well buttered; copiously sprinkle with grated [662] Gruyère; add a few pieces of butter, and cook in a moderate oven for from forty to forty-five minutes.
Fry four oz. of chopped onion in butter, together with a coffeespoonful of paprika. Add two peeled, pressed, and sliced tomatoes; two lbs. of potatoes, cut into somewhat thick roundels, and moisten, just enough to cover, with consommé. Cook, while almost entirely reducing the moistening, and sprinkle with chopped parsley at the last moment.
This preparation may be made in two ways as follows:—
(1) Make a smooth potato purée; this done, put it into a deep, buttered gratin-dish; smooth its surface; sprinkle the latter with grated cheese mixed with fine raspings; bedew with melted butter, and set the gratin to form in a fierce oven.
(2) Bake some fine, well-washed, Dutch potatoes in the oven. As soon as they are cooked, open them lengthwise; withdraw their pulp; rub the latter through a sieve while it is still quite hot, and finish it after the manner of an ordinary purée.
Fill the half-shells with purée; sprinkle the latter with grated cheese and raspings; lay the half-shells on a tray, and set the gratin to form as above.
On taking the potatoes out of the oven, dish them on a napkin, and serve them immediately.
Frizzle in butter one-half lb. of breast of salted pork, cut into dice and blanched, and twelve small onions. Drain the bacon and the onions; mix one oz. of flour with the butter; brown for a few minutes, and moisten with one and one-quarter pints of consommé. Season with a pinch of pepper, and add two lbs. of medium-sized, quartered and well-trimmed potatoes, the bacon and the onions, and a faggot. Cover and cook gently.
Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle moderately with chopped parsley.
Add some grated cheese to the preparation for “Pommes Dauphine,” in the proportion of one oz. of the former per lb. of the latter.
Divide up this mixture into one and one-half oz. portions; mould these to the shape of crescents, and dredge them moderately.
[663]
Plunge these crescents into very hot fat about six minutes
before serving.
Cut some peeled and plain-boiled potatoes into roundels, and toss these in butter in a frying-pan. Likewise toss some sliced onions in butter, the quantity of the former measuring one-fourth of that of the potatoes. When the onions are of a nice golden colour, add them to the sautéd potatoes; season with salt and pepper; sauté the two products together for a few minutes, that they may mix thoroughly, and dish them in a timbale with chopped parsley.
Bake some Dutch potatoes in the oven. As soon as they are done, empty them and collect their pulp on a dish; season it with salt and pepper, and work it with a fork; adding to it, the while, one and one-half oz. of butter per lb.
Spread this preparation in the form of a galette on the bottom of an omelet-pan containing some very hot, clarified butter, and brown it well on both sides.
Prepare these exactly like “Pommes à la Crème.”
Cook some medium-sized Dutch potatoes in salted water; peel them; cut them into roundels while they are still quite hot, and cover them with boiling milk.
Season them with salt and white pepper; completely reduce the milk, and dish them in a timbale with chopped parsley.
Mix some very reduced and very red tomato purée with the preparation for “Pommes Duchesse,” in the proportion of three tablespoonfuls of the former per lb. of the latter.
Set this preparation on buttered trays (by means of a piping-bag fitted with a large, grooved pipe) in shapes resembling half-eggs.
Gild them slightly with beaten eggs, and set them in a somewhat hot oven seven or eight minutes before serving.
Cook some fair-sized new potatoes in the English way, and add a bunch of mint to them. Dish them in a timbale, and set a mint-leaf (from the bunch) upon each potato.
Cut some medium-sized, raw potatoes into roundels. Season them and sauté them in butter. When they are ready, add to them, per lb., four oz. of sliced artichoke-bottoms, tossed in butter, and one and one-half oz. of truffle slices.
Sauté the whole so as to ensure a complete mixture, and dish in a timbale.
Cut some raw potatoes into a julienne one-eighth inch wide, and cook them in butter, keeping them very creamy. Add to them, per lb., two oz. of a julienne of truffles and three tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze.
Mix; dish in a timbale; sprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter, and set to glaze quickly.
Prepare a flawn-crust, baked without colouration.
Meanwhile, bake a few Dutch potatoes in the oven; withdraw their pulp; season it with salt and white pepper, and work it over the fire with four oz. of butter and the yolks of two eggs per lb. of its weight. Add one-sixth pint of whisked cream, and set the preparation in the crust, shaping it like a dome. Decorate by means of a piping-bag, fitted with a grooved pipe, with some of the preparation which should have been put aside; sprinkle with melted butter, and set to glaze quickly.
Cut the potatoes, by means of a round spoon-cutter, into pieces the size of hazel-nuts. Season and cook them in butter, and take care to keep them nicely golden and creamy.
Prepare some “Pommes Noisettes” as above; but cut them a little smaller. When they are cooked, roll them in melted meat glaze, and sprinkle them with chopped parsley.
Proceed as directed under “Pommes au Chester” (No. 2213), but substitute Parmesan for the latter.
Cook the potatoes in the English way, that is to say, boil them plainly; drain them well, and roll them in melted butter and chopped parsley.
Prepare a composition of “Pomme Macaire,” and add thereto, per lb., three eggs and a large pinch of chopped chives. Cook in the frying-pan as for “Pomme Macaire.”
Bake six fine Dutch potatoes in the oven. Withdraw the pulp from their insides, and work it, together with one-third lb. of butter and four egg-yolks, and enough fresh cream to thin it. Complete with the whites of two eggs, beaten to a stiff froth.
Set this preparation in small timbales, made from brioches the knobs of which have been removed, and the under halves of which have been emptied of all crumb. Sprinkle with chopped truffle, and bake in a mild oven as for a soufflé.
Proceed as for No. 2222; but replace the milk by some consommé.
Prepare some “Pommes Croquettes” paste (No. 219). Combine therewith (per lb.) two oz. of chopped, lean ham. Roll the portions into the shape of corks; dip them in beaten eggs, and roll them in vermicelli. This done, flatten so as to give them a rectangular shape, and fry them in very hot fat.
Proceed as directed under No. 2230; but for the milk substitute some consommé. Reduce in the same way, and finish with butter, melted meat glaze, and chopped parsley.
Peel some fine, Dutch potatoes, and turn them to the shape of eggs. Cut them flat at one end that they may stand upright, and bake them on a tray in the oven.
Open them like a boiled egg; put aside the pieces thus cut off, and withdraw the pulp from their insides. Season this pulp, and work it; adding to it the while, per lb., two oz. of butter, two egg-yolks, a few tablespoonfuls of thick cream, and a little salpicon of the white of a chicken, tongue, truffles, and mushrooms. Fill the potato-shells with this preparation; readjust the covers, and set them in the oven for ten minutes.
On withdrawing them from the oven, set the potatoes on a dish, and glaze them with melted butter.
Prepare these exactly like “Pommes Anna,” but sprinkle each layer of potato-roundels with grated cheese. The cooking is the same.
Cut the potatoes into a julienne; season them, and mould them by heaping them into well-buttered, dariole-moulds. Cook them, like “Pommes Anna” (for garnishing), on a tray containing some very hot fat.
On taking them out of the oven, turn them out and sprinkle them with Château sauce.
Peel and quarter some Dutch potatoes, and quickly cook them in salted water. When they feel soft to the touch, drain them; rub them through a sieve, and work the purée vigorously with three oz. of butter per lb. of potatoes. Then add, little by little, about one-half pint of boiling milk, in order to bring the purée to the required consistence. Heat without boiling, and serve.
Remember that mashed potatoes should be only just cooked, and that if they be allowed to wait they lose all their quality.
Prepare a composition as for “Pommes Duchesse,” and add thereto (per two lbs.) three whole eggs and one-third lb. of flour. Divide up the preparation into one and one-half oz. portions; mould these to the shape of corks or quoits, or mould them by means of a spoon, and set them in a buttered sautépan. Poach them in salted water; drain them; set them on a buttered dish sprinkled with grated cheese; dredge with grated cheese; sprinkle with melted butter, and set the gratin to form.
On taking the dish out of the oven, sprinkle the quenelles with nut-brown butter.
Prepare a pint of mashed potatoes with cream; add thereto the raw yolks of three eggs and their whites beaten to a stiff froth. Set in a buttered soufflé saucepan, or in small porcelain cases, and cook like an ordinary soufflé.
Wash one-half lb. of Carolina rice; put it into a saucepan; cover it with plenty of cold water; salt it, and parboil it for one-quarter hour.
[667]
This done, drain it and put it into a sautépan with two and
one-half oz. of butter cut into small pieces. Mix with a fork;
cover, and place in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes.
Parboil one-half lb. of Carolina rice; drain it; fry it in butter, and moisten it with twice as much white and rather fat consommé as would be needed just to cover it. Set to boil, and then cook it gently in the oven for fifteen minutes.
Prepare some “Pilaff” rice. Add to it, per lb. of its weight one half-onion, chopped and fried in butter, together with two oz. of fat sausage-meat, divided into small portions, and two oz. of ciseled lettuce; cook the whole, and complete with one-quarter pint of peas, cooked “à la Française,” and one and one-half oz. of red capsicums cut into dice.
This garnish is mixed with the rice seven or eight minutes before serving.
Parboil one-half lb. of Patna rice in salted water, for fifteen minutes; stirring it from time to time the while.
Drain it; wash it in several cold waters; lay it on a napkin, and set the latter on a tray or on a sieve. Dry for fifteen minutes in a steamer or in a very moderate oven.
Fry one chopped half-onion and one-half lb. of Carolina rice in two oz. of butter. Stir over the fire, until the rice is well affected all over; moisten with one quart of white consommé; cover, and cook in a moderate oven for eighteen minutes. Transfer it to another saucepan as soon as it is cooked.
Pilaff rice is frequently used in stuffing fowls.
For this purpose, when it is cooked, it is combined (per quart) with a little cream, four oz. of foie-gras dice, and as much truffle, also in dice. The rice should only be three-parts cooked for stuffings; for it completes its cooking inside the bird. For this reason the cream is added, that the rice may absorb it while its cooking is being completed.
Prepare some pilaff rice as directed under No. 2255, and, while it is cooking, add to it enough saffron to make it of a nice, golden colour. When cooked, add four oz. of peeled and concassed tomatoes to it.
Fry a medium-sized onion in butter, and add to it one-half lb. of Piedmont rice. Put the rice on the side of the stove; add some saffron to it and stir it until it is well saturated with butter. Moisten the rice with about one quart of consommé per lb. The consommé should be added to the rice in seven or eight instalments, and as fast as it becomes absorbed, a fresh supply should be forthcoming. When adding the liquor, stir the rice with a wooden spoon.
Cook the rice under cover, and, to the resulting preparation, which should thus be creamy, add a few pieces of fresh butter and some grated Parmesan.
The dish may be finished, either with shavings of white truffles or ham cut into dice.
There are two kinds of salsify:—the white and the black, which is also called “viper’s grass.”
After having carefully scraped and washed it, cook it in a blanc. The same preparations suit the two kinds.
After having thoroughly drained it, cut it into three and one-half lengths, and put these on a dish.
Season with salt and pepper; add lemon juice, a few drops of oil, some chopped parsley, and leave to marinade for from twenty-five to thirty minutes, taking care to toss the salsify from time to time. This done, drain the lengths of salsify, dip them in some thin batter; plunge them in very hot fat, and drain them when the batter is quite dry. Dish them on a napkin with fried parsley.
N.B.—It is not absolutely necessary to marinade salsify; the question is one of taste.
Cut it into two-inch lengths; dry them very well, and toss these in butter in an omelet-pan, until they are of a nice golden colour. Season, and dish in a timbale with fried parsley.
Proceed as directed in the case of other vegetables prepared in this way.
Take some whole tomatoes, if possible; oil them copiously, and grill them gently.
If the tomatoes to be stuffed be large, cut them in two laterally; if they be medium-sized or small, a lateral slice cut from their stem-ends is sufficient. In any case, press them slightly in order to exude their juice and seeds; season them inside with salt and pepper; set them on an oiled tray, and half-cook them in the oven.
Finally, stuff them as their designation on the menu requires.
Having prepared the tomatoes as above, stuff them with somewhat stiff Duxelles; sprinkle with raspings and a few drops of oil, and set the gratin to form in a hot oven.
On taking the dish out of the oven, surround the tomatoes with a thread of clear tomatéd half-glaze sauce.
Prepare the tomatoes as follows:—Cut them in two; remove their seeds; season them, and place them, cut side undermost, in an omelet-pan containing very hot oil. Turn them over when they are half-cooked; cook them for a little while longer; lay them on a gratin-dish, and stuff them with the following preparation:—For six tomatoes, fry two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion in oil; add four peeled, pressed, and concassed tomatoes, a pinch of chopped parsley, and a crushed clove of garlic, and cook under cover for twelve minutes. Complete with four tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, soaked in consommé and rubbed through a sieve; two anchovies also rubbed through a sieve, and finish with some somewhat fat, braised-beef gravy. When the tomatoes are stuffed, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs combined with grated cheese; sprinkle with oil, and set the gratin to form.
These tomatoes may be served either hot or cold.
Stuff the tomatoes with pilaff rice combined with a quarter of its volume of concassed tomatoes. Dish this rice in the shape of a regular dome, and sprinkle it with chopped parsley.
N.B.—In addition to the above recipes, tomatoes prepared as already directed may also be garnished with minced chicken [670] or lamb meat, or with scrambled eggs, sprinkled with grated Parmesan, and then set to glaze at the salamander.
Having halved, pressed, and seasoned the tomatoes, put them, cut side undermost, in an omelet-pan containing very hot oil. Turn them over when they are half-cooked, and sprinkle them with a little chopped parsley, together with a mite of garlic, and some bread-crumbs. Place them in a moderate oven in order to finish their cooking, and dish the tomatoes the moment they are withdrawn from the oven.
See Tomato Sauce (No. 29).
Prepare one-half pint of very reduced tomato purée, and combine therewith two oz. of grated Parmesan, two tablespoonfuls of very stiff Béchamel sauce, and the yolks of three eggs.
Add the three whites, beaten to a stiff froth, and spread the preparation in layers in a buttered, soufflé timbale; setting upon each layer a litter of freshly-cooked macaroni, cohered with butter and grated Parmesan. Cook like an ordinary soufflé.
Cut the Jerusalem artichokes to the shape of large olives, and gently cook them in butter, without colouration. Season them, and cohere them with a little thin Béchamel sauce.
Peel and cut the Jerusalem artichokes into thick slices. Cook these in butter; dip them in batter, and fry them at the last moment.
Peel, slice, and cook the Jerusalem artichokes in butter. Rub them through a sieve, and work the purée over the fire, with two oz. of butter per lb. Add enough mashed potatoes to thicken the preparation, and complete with a few tablespoonfuls of boiling milk.
Proceed as for No. 2250.
Truffles are used especially as a garnish; but they may also be served as a vegetable or a hors-d’œuvre.
When so served, they should be prepared very simply; for they require no refining treatment to make them perfect.
Take some large truffles, and clean them well. Season them with salt and pepper and a few drops of liqueur brandy; completely enclose them in a layer of patty paste, and bake them in the oven from twenty-five to thirty minutes.
Serve them in their case of paste.
Take some fine, well-cleaned truffles; season them, and cook them, with lid on, in champagne.
This done, set them in a timbale, or in small silver saucepans.
Almost completely reduce the champagne; add thereto a little thin, strong, veal stock; strain the whole through muslin; pour it over the truffles, and place these on the side of the stove for ten minutes without allowing the stock to boil.
Cut one lb. of raw, peeled truffles into thick slices. Season them with salt and pepper, and cook them very gently in two oz. of butter and a few drops of burnt liqueur brandy.
Reduce to a stiff consistence one-half pint of cream with three tablespoonfuls of Béchamel sauce; add some truffle cooking-liquor and the necessary quantity of cream; complete with two oz. of best butter; mix the truffles with this sauce, and serve in a vol-au-vent crust.
Under this head are served “Truffes au Champagne,” the recipe for which is given above, but the champagne should be replaced by Madeira.
Dish them in a timbale, set in a napkin folded to represent an artichoke. But it would be very much more reasonable to serve “Truffes à la cendre” under this head, serving them under a folded napkin, as for “Pommes de terre en robe de chambre” (potatoes in their skins).
Line a buttered timbale mould with ordinary patty paste.
Garnish its bottom and sides with slices of bacon, and fill [672] up the mould with raw, peeled truffles, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Add a glassful of Madeira, two tablespoonfuls of pale chicken or veal glaze; cover with a slice of bacon, and close up the timbale, in the usual way, with a layer of paste.
Gild with beaten eggs, and bake in a hot oven for fifty minutes. When about to serve, turn out and dish on a napkin.
Prepare a “pâte à choux” after recipe No. 2374, from the following ingredients:—one pint of milk, a pinch of salt, and a little nutmeg, four oz. of butter, two-thirds lb. of flour, and six eggs. When the paste is ready, combine with it four oz. of grated Parmesan. Divide this paste into portions the size of walnuts; drop them into boiling, salted water, and poach them.
As soon as the gnochi rise to the surface of the water, and seem resilient to the touch, drain them on a piece of linen.
Coat the bottom of a gratin-dish with Mornay sauce; set the gnochi upon the latter; cover them with the same sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter, and set the gratin to form in a moderate oven for from fifteen to twenty minutes.
Scatter two-thirds lb. of semolina over a quart of boiling milk. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and cook gently for twenty minutes. Take the utensil off the fire; thicken the semolina with the yolks of two eggs, and spread it on a moistened tray, in a layer one-half in. thick.
When it is quite cold stamp it out with a round cutter, two in. in diameter. Set the gnochi in shallow, buttered timbales; sprinkle with grated Gruyère and Parmesan, and with a little melted butter, and set the gratin to form.
Cook two lbs. of potatoes in the English way. Drain them as soon as they are cooked, and work the purée, while it is very hot, with one and one-half oz. of butter, two small eggs, two egg-yolks, one-third lb. of flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Divide up this preparation into portions the size of walnuts; roll them into balls; press upon them lightly with a fork to give them a criss-cross pattern, and poach them in boiling water.
Drain them on a piece of linen; dish them in layers, sprinkling [673] some grated cheese between each layer; sprinkle some grated cheese over the top surface; bedew liberally with melted butter, and set the gratin to form in a hot oven.
Put into a previously-heated basin one-half lb. of manied butter, and work the latter with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; adding to it, little by little, two eggs and two well-beaten egg-yolks, five oz. of flour, and the white of an egg, also beaten to a stiff froth.
Divide up the preparation into portions the size of hazel-nuts; drop these portions into a sautépan of boiling, salted water, and let them poach.
Drain the noques on a piece of linen; dish them in a timbale; sprinkle them copiously with grated cheese and with nut-brown butter.
Under this head are included all tubular pastes from Spaghetti, the size of which is not larger than thick vermicelli, to canneloni, the bore of which is one-half in. in diameter.
All these pastes are cooked in boiling water, salted to the extent of one-third oz. per quart. Macaroni, like other pastes of a similar nature, should not be cooled.
The most one can do, if the cooking has to be stopped at a given moment, is to pour a little cold water into the saucepan and then to take it off the fire.
Cook the macaroni in boiling water; completely drain it; put it into a sautépan, and toss it over the fire to dry.
Season it with salt, pepper and nutmeg; cohere it with five oz. of grated Gruyère and Parmesan, in equal quantities, and two oz. of butter, cut into small pieces, per lb. of macaroni. Sauté the whole well to ensure the leason, and dish in a timbale.
Prepare the macaroni after No. 2285, adding to it a little Béchamel sauce; and set it on a buttered gratin-dish, besprinkled with grated cheese. Sprinkle the surface of the preparation with grated cheese and raspings, mixed, and with melted butter, and set the gratin to form in a fierce oven.
Parboil the macaroni in salted water, keeping it somewhat firm: drain it, cut it into short lengths, and simmer it in beef [674] braising-liquor, until the macaroni has almost entirely absorbed the latter.
Dish in a timbale, and sprinkle with a few tablespoonfuls of the same liquor.
Having cooked, drained and dried the macaroni, cohere it with crayfish cream, and mix therewith twenty-four crayfishes’ tails per lb. of macaroni.
Dish in a timbale, and cover the macaroni with a julienne of very black truffles.
Prepare a beef estouffade with red wine and tomatoes; cook it for from ten to twelve hours, that it may be reduced to a purée.
Rub this estouffade through a sieve and put it aside.
Parboil some thick macaroni, keeping it somewhat firm; drain it; cut it into short lengths, and cohere it with butter.
Sprinkle the bottom of a timbale with grated cheese; cover with a layer of estouffade purée; spread a layer of macaroni upon the latter, and proceed in the same order until the timbale is full. Serve the preparation as it stands.
Prepare the macaroni as directed under No. 2285, and add to it six oz. of white Piedmont truffles (cut into thin shavings), per lb. of macaroni.
Leave the preparation covered for five minutes and dish in a timbale.
These are generally bought ready-made. If one wish to prepare them oneself, the constituents of the paste are:—one lb. of flour, one-half oz. of salt, three whole eggs, and five egg-yolks. Moisten as for an ordinary paste, roll it out twice on a board, and leave it to stand for one or two hours before cutting it up.
All macaroni recipes may be applied to noodles.
For “Nouilles à l’Alsacienne,” it is usual, when the preparation is ready in the timbale, to distribute over it a few raw noodles sautéd in butter and kept very crisp.
Kache is not a vegetable; but since this preparation has appeared either as a constituent or an accompaniment of certain [675] Russian dishes which occur in this work, I am obliged to refer to it.
Take some coarse, yellow semolina, and scatter it over three times its bulk of boiling consommé. Cook it gently for twenty-five minutes; drain it on a sieve; spread it on a tray, and place it in a moderate oven to dry. This done, rub it lightly through a coarse sieve with the view of separating the grains, and put it aside in the dry until wanted.
Moisten one lb. of concassed buckwheat with enough tepid water to make a stiff paste; add the necessary salt, and put this paste in a large Charlotte-mould. Bake in a hot oven for two hours. Then remove the thick crust which has formed upon the preparation, and transfer what remains, by means of a spoon, to a basin. Mix therewith two oz. of butter while it is still hot.
Kache prepared in this way may be served in a special timbale. But it is more often spread in a thin layer on a buttered tray, and left to cool.
It is then cut into roundels one in. in diameter, and these are rolled in flour and coloured on both sides in very hot, clarified butter.
In a quart of boiling water containing one-half oz. of salt, immerse two-thirds lb. of maize flour, stirring the while with a spoon, that the two may mix. Cook for twenty-five minutes; add two oz. of butter and two and one-half oz. of grated Parmesan. If the Polenta be prepared for a vegetable or a garnish, it is spread in a thin layer on a moistened tray. When cold, it is cut into roundels or lozenges, which are first browned in butter, dished, and then sprinkled with grated cheese and nut-brown butter.
Boil one pint of milk with one-fifth oz. of salt; sprinkle on it two oz. of maize flour; mix well; cover, and cook in a mild oven for twenty-five minutes.
Then transfer the paste to another saucepan; work it with one and one-half oz. of butter and as much grated Parmesan; mix therewith one egg, two egg-yolks, and the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Dish in a buttered timbale; sprinkle with grated cheese, and cook like an ordinary soufflé.
Mix one lb. of flour and two and one-half pints of milk in a saucepan. Add a little salt, pepper and nutmeg, and set the preparation to boil, stirring it constantly the while.
As soon as the boil is reached, take the saucepan off the fire, and add one lb. of grated Parmesan, three oz. of butter, and ten egg-yolks. Rub the whole through tammy and then combine with it the whites of ten eggs whisked to a stiff froth.
Mould in a silver timbale, lined with a band of buttered paper, and bake in the oven for from twenty to twenty-five minutes.
Whatever be their garnish, ravioli are always prepared in the same way. The stuffings given below represent the most usual forms of garnish.
Mix one-half lb. of finely-chopped, cooked chicken-meat; five oz. of cooked and crushed brains; three oz. of pressed white cheese; three oz. of chopped, pressed and blanched spinach; three oz. of parboiled green borage; a pinch of green sweet basil; five oz. of grated Parmesan; two eggs; two egg-yolks; salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Mix two-thirds lb. of well-cooked, cold and finely-chopped daube of beef; two-thirds lb. of parboiled, pressed, and chopped spinach; one oz. of chopped shallots; five oz. of a purée of cooked brain; two whole eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Toss one-half lb. of chickens’ livers in butter; add to it two chopped shallots, a pinch of parsley, and a little crushed garlic. Finely pound the livers, and add successively one-half lb. of parboiled, cooled and fresh spinach; two anchovy fillets; three oz. of butter; three eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a pinch of sweet basil. Rub the whole through a sieve.
They may be made in various shapes as follows:—
(1) Roll a piece of noodle paste to a thin layer and stamp it out with a grooved cutter, two and one-half in. in diameter. Moisten the edges of each roundel of paste; garnish the centre [677] of each with a ball of one of the above stuffings, the size of a hazel-nut, and fold in slipper-form.
(2) Roll the paste into a rectangle of four-in. sides; garnish with stuffing, leaving a gap between the portions of the latter; moisten the edges of the paste, and close up by drawing these together. Finally stamp out with a grooved, crescent-shaped fancy-cutter.
(3) Prepare a square layer of paste; garnish it with lines consisting of portions of paste; leave a space of two in. between the lines. Moisten; cover with a second layer of paste, of the same dimensions as the first, and divide up, by means of the roulette, into squares of two-in. sides. Whatever be the shape of the ravioli, plunge them into a saucepan of slightly salted boiling water; poach them for from eight to ten minutes, and drain them.
Set them on a buttered gratin-dish, sprinkled with grated cheese; sprinkle them with good beef gravy; then again with grated cheese, and set the gratin to form. Or, dish the ravioli in layers, sprinkling each layer with grated cheese and gravy. Complete with some grated cheese, and set the gratin to form in the usual way.
N.B.—The ravioli may also be served, merely sprinkled with grated cheese and nut-brown butter.
I have already expressed my opinion in regard to Savouries. I consider their use opposed to gastronomical principles, and that they have no raison d’être on a good menu. But, not wishing to seem didactic, I shall give, hereafter, a few savoury recipes, selected from among those which are gastronomically the best, and which custom has sanctified.
I resolved to make these recipes appear after the Vegetables and before the Ices, because I deem that Dessert alone is admissible after the Entremets and Ices.
There is much in common between Hors-d’œuvres and Savouries. Many of the former, the recipes for which I have given, may appear as Savouries, once their seasoning has been intensified. Among the latter class may be quoted the various Tartlets (No. 387, &c.); the Barquettes (No. 314); Frivolities (No. 350); Éclairs à la Karoly (No. 344); Allumettes aux Anchois (No. 300); City Toasts (No. 320), &c.
Prepare a ribbon of puff-paste three inches wide by one-fifth inch thick, leaving the length to come as it will. Spread on it some very reduced Béchamel sauce, combined with two tablespoonfuls of grated Gruyère cheese per one-half pint, and season with cayenne. Sprinkle the surface with grated Parmesan; press the latter into the sauce by means of the flat of a knife; cut into rectangles one inch wide; set these on a slightly-moistened tray, and bake them in a moderate oven for twelve minutes.
Prepare some ordinary “pâte à choux” without sugar (No. 2375), and combine it, per lb., with five oz. of a Brunoise of Gruyère.
Divide up this paste into portions the size of hazel-nut, and fry them in fat like other Beignets soufflés.
Reduce the required amount of Béchamel sauce to a thick consistence; mix it with an equal quantity of Gruyère dice; season with cayenne, and spread the preparation on a dish to cool.
Then divide it up into portions the size of fine walnuts; shape these like cigars, wrap each portion in a very thin layer of noodle paste; treat them à l’anglaise, and fry them at the last moment in very hot fat.
By means of a piping-bag, form some “choux,” a little larger than the Saint-Honoré ones, from ordinary paste (see No. 2375). Gild them with beaten eggs; bake them in a moderate oven, and keep them dry. When cold, cut them at the top; garnish them with “Fondue au fromage” seasoned with cayenne, and complete with some Chantilly cream, combined with grated Parmesan; this should be laid on by means of a piping-bag, as in the case of “choux à la crème.”
Clear the cheese of its crust, and cut it into elongated lozenges. Sprinkle the latter with cayenne, treat them twice à l’anglaise, and fry them at the last moment in hot fat.
These are nothing more than pieces of toast, i.e., slices of bread, trimmed according to fancy, grilled, buttered, and garnished in some way.
As the garnishes for toast are innumerable, I shall quote only a few typical examples.
Canapés Garnished with Scrambled Eggs.—Set the scrambled eggs in domes upon the Canapés; sprinkle with grated Parmesan, and set to glaze quickly.
Or arrange the scrambled eggs as above, and cover them with a lattice of anchovy fillets.
Canapés de Haddock.—Cook the haddock; rub it through a sieve; add a little butter and Béchamel sauce to the resulting purée, and set the latter in domes on the toast.
For Variety.—Sprinkle the purée with grated Parmesan, and set to glaze.
Or garnish the purée with oysters poached in a little Worcestershire sauce.
Or again: cover the purée with a lattice of anchovy fillets.
Canapés with Kippers or Bloaters.—Grill them and make a purée from them like the haddock.
[680]
Canapés with Halved or Filleted Anchovies.—In the case of
fillets, set them to form a grill upon the toast; if the anchovies
be halved, lay them lengthwise on the toast.
Canapés with Sardines in Oil.—Clear the fish of their skins and bones, and set the fillets on the canapés.
Canapés with Grilled Sprats.—Proceed as for sardines.
Canapés of Salmon.—Toast may be garnished with thin slices of smoked or fresh salmon, or with the latter prepared in a purée like the haddock.
Various Canapés.—Once the pieces of toast or canapés are grilled and buttered, they may be garnished with chopped smoked tongue or ham, cohered with a little butter and mustard, with grilled slices of mushrooms or tomatoes, &c.
A few of the preparations have names, while others are only distinguished by the nature of their garnish.
Take oval and slightly hollowed pieces of toast, fried in butter and garnished with spinach prepared with butter. Lay two oysters on the spinach of each piece of toast; cover with Mornay sauce, and glaze quickly.
Prepare some very thin pieces of toast; fry them in butter, and garnish them with a cheese fondue. Pair them off, and sandwich a piece of grilled bacon between each pair.
Take some round, buttered pieces of toast, garnished with haddock purée, and set a very small, grilled mushroom on the purée of each piece of toast.
Take some round, buttered pieces of toast, garnished with haddock purée, and glazed.
N.B.—I see no use in extending this list any further; the above directions should suffice to show the variety to which these preparations lend themselves.
Take in preference the carcasses of fowls cooked without colouration.
After having trimmed them, coat them with mustard and cayenne, and grill them.
Trim the mushrooms; season them with salt and pepper, and garnish the hollow of each with a piece of Maître-d’hôtel [681] butter, the size of a hazel-nut, and one-half coffeespoonful of cream.
Set a mushroom on each piece of toast, which should be two inches in diameter and fried in butter. Dish them on an egg-tray, and cover them with a special, small, glass bell, four inches in diameter and two inches high, the rim of which must rest on the bottom of a dish, the diameter of which should be such as to fit the bell.
Put the dishes on the side of the stove, and cook in moderate heat for about twenty-five minutes.
Prepare a ribbon from puff-paste trimmings, as in the case of No. 2299.
Spread thereon a thick layer of very reduced Béchamel sauce, flavoured with cayenne, and combined, when cold, with very small dice of Gruyère and Parmesan. Cut up and cook as for No. 2299.
Mix together four oz. of flour, two and one-half oz. of rice cream, three eggs, and two egg-yolks. Dilute with one pint of milk; season with salt, cayenne, and nutmeg; boil, and cook for five minutes over an open fire, stirring incessantly the while.
Add four oz. of grated Gruyère; spread this preparation on a buttered tray; leave it to cool, and then cut it into elongated lozenges. Roll the latter in beaten egg and bread-crumbs mixed with grated cheese, and fry them at the last moment. Dish them on a napkin.
Dilute two oz. of flour and two oz. of rice cream with one-third pint of milk.
Add one lb. of cleaned camembert, cut into dice, five oz. of butter, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg.
Cook the preparation, stirring it the while; cool it; spread it on a tray; mould it to the shape of small quoits; treat these twice à l’anglaise, and fry them.
Take some fresh, well-seasoned foie gras, studded with truffles, and covered with slices of bacon, and poach it in a basin with good aspic jelly flavoured with dry champagne or Rhine wine. Leave to cool for twenty-four hours; clear the jelly of grease, first by means of a spoon, and then with boiling water.
[682]
Serve the preparation as it stands, very cold, and accompany
it with grilled, crisp, and very hot slices of bread-crumb.
These are very small, poached Gnochi, sprinkled with grated cheese, flavoured with a very little cayenne, and set for their gratin to form at the last moment.
Moisten one-half lb. of flour, an equal quantity of butter and grated cheese, a pinch of salt, and a very little cayenne, with a few tablespoonfuls of water.
Cut the paste into small galettes, two inches in diameter; gild them with beaten eggs; streak them with a fork, and bake them in a moderate oven.
When cold, pair the galettes off, and stick them together with a tablespoonful of fondant cream, prepared thus:—
Mix six egg-yolks with two-thirds pint of cream; season with salt and cayenne; leave to set on moderate fire, like an English custard, and, when the preparation is almost cold, finish it with five oz. of best butter and as much grated cheese.
Wrap some fine oysters, each in a thin slice of bacon. Impale them on a skewer; season and grill them, and dish them on small pieces of toast.
Sprinkle with bread-crumbs and cayenne when about to serve.
Poach some fine native oysters in their own liquor; clear them of their beards; dry them, and dip them in thin mustard. Impale them, six at a time, on skewers, and treat them à l’anglaise.
Fry them at the last moment, and dish them on a napkin.
Take some fresh herring milts; salt them; sprinkle them with cayenne and chopped chives, parsley, and chervil; wrap each in a thin slice of smoked salmon, and poach them gently in butter.
Set them aslant in the centre of an “omelette aux fines herbes”; cover them well with the latter, and roll it up.
See No. 502.
Take the trimmed bones of a roast sirloin, and let there be still some meat upon them. Sprinkle them with cayenne; coat them with mustard, and grill them.
Prepare some puff-paste with two-thirds lb. of butter; roll it out ten times, dusting it and the table well the while with grated Parmesan and a little cayenne, that the paste may absorb as much as possible of these. Then roll it into square layers of four-inch sides and one-eighth inch thick; cut these up into ribbons one-eighth inch wide; set them on buttered trays; bake them in a very hot oven, and serve them on a napkin.
Take some ordinary, unsugared Pannequets; cut them into rectangles three inches long by one and one-half inches wide. Coat them with caviare, flavoured with cayenne; roll them into cigarettes, and serve them on crystal hors-d’œuvre dishes.
Set some thin slices of stale, buttered and cheese-sprinkled bread in a pie-dish. Having three-parts filled the dish with it, cover the slices with a preparation consisting of the yolks of four eggs mixed with one-quarter pint of broth—which quantities are suited to a pint dish.
Sprinkle copiously with grated cheese; bake in the oven, and glaze at the last moment.
Take fresh sardines, if possible. Skin and bone them; coat them with mustard and cayenne; treat them à l’anglaise; fry them at the last moment, and dish them on small fried croûtons, the shape of sardines.
N.B.—Fresh anchovies and smelts may be prepared in the same way.
Toast some large slices of bread, one-third inch thick, and cover them with a very thick English butter sauce, combined with plenty of capers and anchovy purée.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan; glaze quickly at the salamander; speedily cut up into small rectangles, and serve very hot.
Line some grooved tartlet moulds with good paste, and garnish them with a preparation of Quiche with cheese, [684] flavoured with cayenne. Cook them at the last moment, and, on taking them out of the oven, set a roundel of poached marrow rolled in pale melted meat glaze and chopped parsley on each tartlet.
Take some tartlet crusts, baked without colouration, and garnish them at the last moment with a haddock purée, cohered with Béchamel sauce.
Garnish some colourlessly-baked tartlet crusts with a salpicon of poached haddock, mixed with curry sauce. Sprinkle the surface of each with fine raspings, and dish them on a napkin.
Garnish some colourlessly-baked tartlet crusts with Soufflé with Parmesan, combined with grated truffles and crayfishes’ tails cut into dice, and strongly seasoned with mignonette.
Bake in the oven for about three minutes.
Line some tartlets with good paste; garnish their bottom and sides with a thread of gnochis preparation, laid by means of a piping-bag fitted with an even pipe, the orifice of which should be equal in diameter to macaroni.
Fill up the tartlets with Mornay sauce flavoured with cayenne; sprinkle with grated cheese, and bake in a fierce oven.
Garnish the bottom of some colourlessly-baked tartlets with a smoked herring-milt purée. Cover the latter with haddock soufflé, shaped like a hive by means of a piping-bag fitted with a small, grooved pipe. Place in the oven for six minutes, and serve instantly.
Garnish some tartlet crusts with crayfishes’ tails, prepared “à l’Américaine.” Cover with Soufflé with Parmesan, and place in the oven for three minutes.
Line some tartlet moulds with good paste; prick the bottom of each, and garnish them with the following preparation.
For twelve tartlets:—One and one-half oz. of chopped shallots, heated in butter; three oz. of sautéd and finely chopped [685] cèpes; one and one-half oz. of raw marrow in dice; one small hard-boiled and chopped egg; one oz. of bread-crumbs, salt, cayenne, a few drops of lemon juice, and three tablespoonfuls of melted meat glaze. Set a large slice of marrow on each tartlet, and cook at the last moment.
This may be prepared in two ways, but always on square or rectangular pieces of buttered toast, one-third inch thick.
1. The simplest way is to cover the pieces of toast with a thick layer of grated Gloucester or Chester cheese, to sprinkle them with cayenne, and then to place them in the oven for the cheese to melt and thereby glaze their surfaces.
2. The original method consists in melting the dice or slices of cheese in a few tablespoonfuls of pale ale and a little English mustard.
As soon as the cheese has melted, it is poured over the pieces of buttered toast, quickly smoothed with the flat of a knife, and sprinkled with cayenne. The pieces may be cut up if required.
Sandwiches are prepared in two ways, according to their purposes.
They generally consist of two slices of buttered bread, with mustard spread upon them, covering a slice of ham or tongue, &c. Sandwiches are usually rectangular, and they should measure about three inches by one and one-half inches. The kind served at ball buffets are much smaller, and therefore it is best to cut the sandwiched product (whatever this be) into dice, and to mix it with an equal weight of butter containing mustard.
When sandwiches have to be kept, they should be placed under a slight weight to prevent the bread from drying. Sandwiches may also be made from thick, toasted slices of bread, cut laterally into two, and then garnished according to fancy.
Ham Sandwich.
Tongue Sandwich.
Beef Sandwich.
Pressed-beef Sandwich.
Veal Sandwich.
Chicken Sandwich.
Foie-Gras Sandwich.
Hard-boiled Egg Sandwich.
Caviare Sandwich.
Tomato Sandwich.
Cucumber Sandwich.
Watercress Sandwich.
Mustard-and-cress Sandwich.
In his book, “La Cuisine Anglaise,” Mr. Suzanne gives the following kind of sandwich, which deserves attention:—
[686]
This kind of sandwich, which is liked by racing people, is a
most substantial affair, and it will be seen from the following
recipe that a sandwich of the nature prescribed might, in an
emergency, answer the purpose of a meal.
Take an English tin-loaf, and cut off its two end crusts, leaving on them about one-third inch of crumb. Butter these crusts. Meanwhile grill a thick steak, well seasoned with salt and pepper. When it is cooked, cool it; sprinkle it with grated horse-radish and mustard, and lay it between the two crusts. String the whole together as for a galantine, and wrap it in several sheets of blotting-paper. Then place the parcel under a letter-press, the screw of which should be gradually tightened, and leave the sandwich thus for one-half hour.
At the end of this time the insides of the slices of bread have, owing to the pressure, become saturated with meat juice, which is prevented from escaping by the covering of crust.
Remove the blotting-paper, and pack the sandwich in a box or in several sheets of white paper.
Pastry, Confectionery, and Ices are so closely allied to Cookery, and they are so surely its complements, that it is impossible to omit them when dealing with Entremets, even though the latter be limited to the kind proper to the kitchen.
However, these subjects, which could supply matter for voluminous works, are too complex for it to be possible to cope thoroughly with them here.
I shall therefore confine myself to the expounding of their fundamental principles and the essential operations relating thereto, a knowledge of which is absolutely necessary for the successful preparation of Kitchen Entremets and Ices. The directions given hereafter are certainly too inadequate to convert an ordinary cook into a pastry-cook, a confectioner, or a “glacier”; but they will at least admit of his carrying out a complete dinner, if the necessity so to do should occur.
It is important that one should have skinned, splintered, and chopped almonds.
To Skin Almonds.—Throw them in a saucepan of boiling water, place the utensil on the side of the fire without allowing the boiling to continue, and let the almonds soak for seven or eight minutes. As soon as the skin slips when pressing them between one’s fingers, turn them out on to a strainer; cool them in cold water, and skin them. This done, wash them in cold water; drain them well; spread them on a very clean tray, and dry them in a mild oven.
Splintered Almonds.—Having skinned and washed the almonds, split them in two, and cut each half into five or six splinters. Dry the latter in the drying-box, and place them in the front of the oven for a while to colour slightly.
[688]
They serve for nougat, and sometimes take the place of
pignolis.
Chopped Almonds.—Having skinned the almonds, slightly dry them and chop them with a knife; rub them through a canvas sieve, the coarseness of which should be in accordance with that required for the chopped almonds.
Spread the latter on a tray covered with a sheet of paper, and dry them in the drying-box, stirring them from time to time the while.
Grilled Almonds.—These are either splintered or chopped almonds set to bake on a tray in a moderate oven. Be sure to stir them frequently, that they may colour evenly, and withdraw them when they are of a nice golden shade.
Pralined Almonds.—Proceed as for grilled almonds, but sprinkle them frequently with icing sugar, which turns to caramel under the influence of the heat of the oven, and swathes the almonds in a pale-brown coat of sugar.
Filberts are a large kind of hazel-nut, generally covered with red skins.
After having cracked and suppressed the shells, set the filberts on a dish, and place them in the front of the oven until their skins are slightly grilled. They need then only be rubbed between the fingers in order to clear them of their skins. Chopped filberts are prepared like chopped almonds, and should be included in the permanent “mise en place” of the pastry cook.
Softened Butter.—More particularly in winter, when it is very hard, butter should be softened, i.e., thoroughly kneaded in a towel, to:—
1. Extract the butter-milk, which is always present in more or less large quantities.
2. Make it sufficiently soft to mix with the various ingredients of which the pastes are made up.
Pomaded Butter.—After having well softened it as above, put it in a bowl or basin, previously rinsed with hot water and thoroughly wiped. Work the butter with a spatula or a wooden spoon until it acquires the consistence of a pomade—a necessary condition for certain of its uses.
Clarified Butter.—In pastry, clarified butter is used more especially for the buttering of moulds. Put the butter to be clarified into a saucepan, and cook it over a very slow fire until [689] (1) the caseous substances liberated in the cooking process have accumulated and solidified on the bottom of the saucepan; (2) it appears limpid, of a golden colour, and exhales a slight, nutty smell.
Strain it through muslin, and put it aside until required.
All moulds, large and small, should be buttered so as to ensure the easy turning-out of cakes cooked in them. Clarified butter, owing to its purity, is the best for the purpose. It may be applied with a brush, care being taken that all the inside surfaces get uniformly covered with it. One unbuttered spot is sufficient to make a moulding stick, or to completely spoil a cake.
For certain cakes, chopped or splintered almonds are sprinkled in the mould. For others, especially biscuits, the moulds are flour-dusted—that is to say, a veil of very dry flour or fecula is allowed to settle on the layer of butter, which, at the turning out, appears like a glazed crust upon the cake.
The best utensil for the purpose is a copper or nickel basin in which the whisk may act at all points owing to the spherical shape of the receptacle. Tinned or enamelled utensils set up a kind of greasiness which does not allow of one’s bringing the whites to the stiffness necessary for some purposes.
Begin whisking the whites gently, and draw them up with the whisk until all their molecules have disaggregated and they begin to stiffen. They may then be whisked until they are sufficiently stiff to be taken up bodily by the whisk.
Preventive Means.—To facilitate the beating of whites of eggs, there may be added to them at the start a pinch either of salt or alum per ten whites. When, towards the close of the operation, the whites begin to granulate, owing to any one of the various causes, add immediately one tablespoonful of powdered sugar per ten whites, and then whisk briskly, to restore them to their normal state.
Every pastry-cook’s stock should include a series of vegetable colouring matters, comprising carmine, liquid spinach green, yellow, &c.
When required, the blending of these colours yields the intermediate tones. The colours may be bought.
From the state of syrup to the most highly-concentrated state in which it is used in pastry sugar passes through various stages of cooking, which are:—The small thread (215° F.) and the large thread (222° F.), the small ball (236° F.) and the large ball (248° F.), the small crack (285° F.) and the large crack (315° F.). When the last state is overreached, the sugar has become caramel (360° F.).
Put the necessary quantity of loaf sugar in a small, copper saucepan; moisten with enough water to melt it, and boil. Carefully remove the scum which forms, and which might cause the sugar to granulate.
As soon as the sugar begins to move stiffly in boiling, it is a sign that the water has almost entirely evaporated, and that the real cooking of the sugar has begun.
From this moment, with moistened fingers or a little piece of moistened linen, take care to remove the crystallised sugar from the sides of the utensil, lest it makes the remaining portion turn.
The cooking of the sugar then progresses very rapidly, and the states of its various stages, coming one upon the other in quick succession at intervals of a few minutes, may be ascertained as follows:—
It has reached the small-thread stage, when a drop of it held between the thumb and the first finger forms small resistless strings when the thumb and finger are drawn apart.
It has reached the large-thread stage, when, proceeding in the same way, the strings formed between the parted finger and thumb are more numerous and stronger.
From this moment recourse must be had to cold water in order to ascertain the states of the sugar.
When a few minutes have elapsed after the test for the large-thread state, dip the end of the first finger, first into cold water, then into the sugar, and plunge it again immediately into the bowl of cold water, which should be ready at hand. The sugar taken from the finger forms a kind of soft ball, and it is this state which is called the small ball.
When, upon repeating the procedure, the sugar removed from the finger rolls into a firmer ball, the large-ball stage is reached.
After the cooking has continued for a few seconds longer, the sugar lying on the finger peels off in the form of a thin, flexible film, which sticks to the teeth. This is the small-crack stage. Tests should then be made in quick succession, until [691] the film taken from the end of the finger breaks “clean” in the teeth, like glass. This is the large-crack state, the last of the cooking stages, and as soon as it has been reached the utensil should be taken off the fire, lest a few seconds more turn the sugar to caramel.
To prevent the granulating of the sugar, a few drops of lemon juice may be added to it; or, better still, a tablespoonful of glucose per lb.
Put the required amount of icing sugar in a small saucepan, the quantity used being in proportion to the object to be glazed.
If it be flavoured with vanilla, orange, or lemon, dilute it with a little water, keeping it somewhat stiff; add some vanilla-flavoured sugar or grated orange-rind, and stir it up well for a few minutes. Then make it lukewarm, so that it may run easily and dry quickly, and pour it over the object to be treated.
For the above-mentioned flavours, an infusion of vanilla or orange-rind may be prepared, and this may serve in diluting the glaze. The flavours may also be used in the form of essences, provided it be remembered that they are usually very strong thus, and must be used with caution.
If liqueur glazes are in question, such as Kirsch, Rum, Anisette, or Marasquin, &c., the glaze is diluted with the liqueur and made lukewarm as directed above.
Preparation of the “Fondant.”—Put some loaf sugar into a small saucepan, the quantity being in accordance with the amount of “Fondant” required.
Moisten with just enough water to melt the sugar, and set to cook as directed under “The Cooking of Sugar.”
Stop the cooking precisely at 230° F. between the large-thread stage and the small-ball stage, and pour the sugar on a moderately-oiled marble slab. Let it half cool for a few minutes; then, with a spatula, move it about well in all directions, taking care that no portion of the sugar on the marble is left untouched by the spatula, for any such portion would harden and form lumps in the Fondant.
After ten to fifteen minutes’ work with the spatula, the sugar should have become a white, slightly granulated paste. Heap the latter together, and scrape the marble slab with the blade of a strong knife. Carefully knead this paste (No. 2357) with the palm of the hand until it is very thin and smooth, whereupon the Fondant is ready for use.
[692]
It need now only be heaped in a receptacle, covered with a
damp cloth, and kept somewhat dry.
To Glaze with “Fondant.”—Put the required amount of it into a saucepan; work it over a slow fire for a while, in order to soften it, and moisten it, little by little, with water when a dry flavour or an essence is used, or, otherwise, with the selected liqueur.
Warm slightly in order to make the glaze very liquid and to ensure its speedy drying, and pour it, at one tilt, over the object to be glazed.
With the help of some colour, the glaze is generally given the tint of the fruit which flavours it.
This is sugar strained through a silken drum-sieve. The sugar strained through this silk has the delicacy of starch. At times it is used instead of Fondant for the glazing of cakes, but it is mostly used for white and caramel glazings. For this purpose the sugar is held in a tin box, covered with a lid pierced with small holes, called a sugar dredger.
To glaze white is to cover a cake, a fritter, or other object with a coat of icing sugar. This operation is effected by shaking the sugar dredger over the object to be glazed.
To glaze with caramel is to cover a Soufflé, a souffléd omelet, fruit fritters, a custard, Pannequets, or other objects with a coat of icing sugar. By placing the sugar-coated object in fierce heat, a few minutes suffice to melt the sugar, which is converted into a brilliant covering of caramel.
These are used in pastry to border certain cakes, or to surround the sugared-paste bases on which cakes are set. For this purpose the parts to which the sugar is expected to adhere must be besmeared with cooked apricot.
To make them, roughly pound some loaf sugar, and sift the latter first through a coarse strainer, and then through a finer one, according to the size the sugar grains are required to be. The powder will, of course, fall and leave the grains clean.
To colour sugar grains, spread them on a piece of paper, and add a drop of liquid vegetable-colouring or a very little coloured paste per tablespoonful of sugar. The amount of colouring matter may either be lessened or increased, according to the strength the shade is required to be.
Rub the sugar in the hand to colour it evenly; dry it in a [693] moderately warm drying-box, and keep it in the dry in well-closed boxes.
The vanilla sticks which have served in preparing infusions still possess some flavour. Reserve them, therefore, for the making of vanilla sugar.
After having gently dried them in the drying-box, finely pound them with twice their weight of loaf sugar; sift through a silken sieve, and again pound the bits remaining on the silk of the sieve until every particle goes through. Keep the preparation in a well-closed box in the dry.
These are used in the decoration of certain cakes, and as the constituent ingredients of others.
They comprise angelica, golden and green chinois, cherries, plums, red and white pears, &c.
Candied fruit may be bought ready-prepared.
Quarter, peel, and core the apples (preferably russets), and throw them, one by one, in a bowl of fresh water to prevent their getting brown.
Then put them in a copper basin with one and one-half pints of water per two lbs. of apples, and cook them gently without touching them.
This done, pour away their juice, and return it to the basin together with two lbs. of sugar per quart. Boil; skim with great care, that the jelly may be clear, and cook over a fierce fire until the jelly has reached a stage which may be ascertained thus:—(1) When on taking the skimmer out of the basin, the jelly adhering to it seems to mass itself towards the middle of the skimmer; or:—(2) When the jelly breaks up into large drops, separated one from the other.
Then take the jelly off the fire; add some carmine to it, drop by drop, until it acquires a rosy hue; strain it again through a fine piece of linen, that it may be perfectly limpid, and finally pour it into tin receptacles to cool.
Put aside until wanted.
(1) If it be for the purpose of covering certain cakes, or for forming a glaze on a fruit entremet, prepare it thus:—Put the whites of two eggs and three tablespoonfuls of icing sugar in a small basin. Mix and stir briskly with a small, wooden spoon, until the paste becomes somewhat thick. Then, subject to the [694] purpose for which it is intended, add a more or less large quantity of chopped almonds, according as to whether the pralin be required thick or slightly liquid for spreading. Cover it with a piece of white paper, moistened with white of egg, that it may remain moist if kept for some time.
(2) If it is to be added to a soufflé preparation, to a souffléd omelet, to a preparation of ice, or to a custard, it is a nougat powder which is prepared as follows:—
Gently melt one lb. of powdered sugar in a small saucepan, taking care not to let it acquire a deeper shade than old gold. Mix twenty oz. of dried almonds with it; turn the whole out on to the corner of a slightly-oiled marble slab (or on an overturned saucepan-lid), and leave to cool. When the nougat is quite cold, pound it and rub it through a sieve.
Pound and rub what remains in the sieve until the whole goes through.
Put the powder in a well-closed box, and place the latter in a dry place.
Sultanas and currants should always be at hand, ready and cleaned. To clean them, first dredge them and then rub them in a towel, closed to form a sort of purse. Now, turn them into a sieve or colander, which shake vigorously, that the flour and the detached stems may be eliminated; then examine them, one by one, to make sure that no stems remain.
Currants should be examined with very particular care, as small stones often get in among them.
Put the currants and the sultanas aside, each in a box or a drawer.
The various essences used in pastry are bought ready-made. The flavourings consist of those products treated by infusion, such as vanilla; of grated or infused products, such as lemon and orange rinds; and liqueurs in general.
Fruit juices only become flavours when a liqueur in keeping with the fruit from which they were extracted has been added to them.
This consists of beaten eggs. Its purpose is to ensure the colouration of certain cakes, whereon it is smeared by means of a brush. In some cases this gilding may be combined with a little water, as, for instance, when the heat of the oven is too [695] fierce, and cakes are required of a light colour. In some cases, especially in that of small, dry cakes, it consists entirely of egg-yolks diluted with a few drops of water.
Sift one lb. of flour over the mixing-board; make a hollow in its midst, and put therein one-sixth oz. of salt, one-third pint of cold water, and one-half lb. of butter well softened—especially in winter. Mix the flour gradually with the butter and the water; mass the whole a moment or two, and knead it (see No. 2357) twice. Then roll it up in a ball; wrap it in a piece of linen that its surface may not dry, and put it aside in the cool.
Remarks: A kneaded paste should be prepared either one day, or at least a few hours, in advance, in order that it may lose that elasticity which it acquires from the kneading.
Pastes, after they have rested awhile, are much more easily treated, and bake a much more definite and lighter colour, than those that are used as soon as they are prepared.
The object of kneading paste is to combine the ingredients of which it is composed thoroughly, and also to smooth it. Proceed as follows:—
When the paste is mixed, roll it into a mass; put it in front of one; then press it away from one, little by little, between the board and the palm of the hand. For the paste to be perfectly smooth, it ought to be treated twice in this way.
Sift one lb. of flour on to the mixing-board, and hollow it out. Put in the hollow one-third oz. of salt, one and one-half oz. of powdered sugar, an egg, one-fourth pint of cold water, and ten oz. of butter. First, thoroughly mix the butter, the egg, the water, and the seasoning, and then gradually combine the flour with it.
Knead the paste; press it out twice; roll it into a ball, and wrap it up as before with the view of setting it aside in the cool to rest.
Take one lb. of sifted flour, four oz. of butter, one egg, one-third oz. of salt, and one-fourth pint of water. Mix as already [696] directed; knead twice; roll up the paste, and set it in the cool to rest. This paste should be kept somewhat firm.
Take one lb. of sifted flour, four oz. of lard, one-quarter pint of tepid water, one egg, one-third oz. of salt, and proceed exactly as in the case of No. 2359.
Break up ten oz. of very dry beef suet, and carefully clear it of all little pieces of skin and connective tissue. Chop it up as finely as possible; sift one lb. of flour on to the mixing-board; hollow it out; and put into the hollow one-half oz. of salt, one and one-half oz. of sugar, one-third pint of water, and the chopped suet. Mix up these various ingredients, and, by degrees, combine the flour with them.
Mass the paste together, without kneading it, and put it aside in the cool until it is wanted.
Take one lb. of sifted flour, seven oz. of butter, five oz. of powdered sugar, three eggs, and one-half tablespoonful of orange-flower water.
Mix in the usual way, knead it twice; roll it into a ball, and keep it wrapped up, in the cool, until required.
Take one lb. of sifted flour, ten oz. of butter, ten oz. of sugar, one egg, the yolks of four, and a tablespoonful of orange-flower water.
Mix up gradually; mass the paste together, and roll it out into a thin layer, twice. Roll it up, and let it rest awhile in the cool before it is used.
In the case of certain small cakes, especially those served at tea, it is usual to gum their surfaces in order to make them glossy. For this purpose a thin solution of gum arabic is used, and it is smeared over the cakes as they leave the oven, by means of a small brush.
Cakes may also be gummed with a syrup formed from milk and sugar, which mixture may be used instead of gum arabic with advantage.
Hollow out one lb. of sifted flour and put in its midst one-third oz. of salt, two oz. of powdered sugar, one-quarter pint of water, and one-half lb. of softened butter.
Mix, taking care to include the flour only by degrees; [697] thoroughly knead, that the ingredients may be well combined, and mass the paste together without making it too elastic. Leave it to rest in the cool for at least an hour; then roll it out thrice, at intervals of eight minutes, for the reasons given under the directions for puff-paste.
(1) Sift one lb. of flour on to the mixing-board. Make a hollow in it, and put therein one-third oz. of table salt and about one-half pint of cold water, and mix without kneading. Mass the paste together, and let it rest for twenty minutes, that it may lose its elasticity, which will be all the more pronounced for its having been very much worked. It is to avoid this elasticity, therefore, that the mixing of puff-paste should be effected with the smallest amount of kneading possible.
(2) Spread the prepared paste on a flour-dusted board, in the shape of an even galette. Spread thereon one lb. of softened butter, without completely covering the paste; draw the edges of the paste towards the centre, in such wise as to enclose the butter completely, and to form a square thickness of paste.
(3) Leave to rest for a further ten minutes and then begin the working of the paste; rolling it out to the length of one and one-half feet, and keeping it one in. thick. Fold this layer over thrice, and press upon it with the roller so as to join the superposed layers. The whole of this operation constitutes one turn.
Begin another turn immediately, turning the paste the reverse way, and folding it as before. Set it to rest in the cool for eight or ten minutes, and then effect two more turns.
Ten minutes after the two last turns (there should be six in all), the puff-paste is ready to be cut up and used.
Remarks relative to puff-paste: Good puff-paste should be buttered to the extent of one lb. per one and one-half lbs., i.e., one lb. of butter for every one lb. of flour mixed with one-half pint of water. The consistence of the paste and the butter should be exactly the same, if they are to be evenly mixed; the butter ought therefore to be softened—more particularly in winter.
In preparing puff-paste, remember to put it in a cool place while it is resting; but never directly upon ice; for, though the ice would not affect the paste, it might seriously affect the butter.
It would harden it to the extent of preventing its perfect mixture with the mass, and lumps would form. Puff-paste should be rolled out very regularly, with the view of thoroughly distributing the butter throughout the preparation, and thus ensuring its uniform rising.
Puff-paste should not be worked too speedily; for, if it be so [698] worked, it will be found to acquire an elasticity which not only makes it difficult to cut up, but also tends to make it shrink in the baking.
These are very useful in pastry work, for tartlets, barquettes, croûtons, &c. When the puff-paste is cut up, the trimmings should therefore be rolled into a ball, and put aside in the cool. Nevertheless they must be used within the space of two days in summer and four days in winter.
(1) Sift one lb. of flour on to the board; take a quarter of it, make a hollow in it, and put therein one-quarter oz. of very fresh, dry yeast. Mix the yeast and the flour with a little tepid water, so as to obtain a soft paste which is the leaven. Roll this paste into a ball; make two slits in its top, at right angles to one another, and place it in a small basin.
Cover the latter, and put it in a somewhat warm place, that the leaven may be sure to ferment.
(2) Make a hollow in the remaining flour, and put into it one-quarter oz. of salt, and one and one-half oz. of sugar, together with two tablespoonfuls of milk to melt it, one-third of the whole amount of the butter to be used, namely, four oz., and four eggs.
Begin by thoroughly mixing the butter, eggs and seasoning, and then combine the flour therewith, by degrees. When the paste forms a compact mass, knead and pull it about with the hands, that it may be light. When, at the end of a few minutes, it has acquired a certain resilience, make a hole in the middle of it and add one egg. Mix the latter with the paste; work it afresh, and after an interval of two minutes add one more egg in the same way. The total number of eggs for the quantities of other ingredients given above should be six.
(3) Add the remaining butter (eight oz.) to the paste; the former being manied and even softened, just sufficiently to make it of the same consistence as the paste.
Spread it on the latter, and mix the two; kneading small portions at a time, and combining those portions so as to mix the two elements completely.
At this stage, overturn the paste and spread the leaven (which should now be equal to twice its original bulk) upon it.
Mix it well as in the case of the butter, without working the paste.
[699]
Finally, put the paste into a basin; cover it, and place it in
a temperate room.
For it to have the desired lightness, this paste should ferment for from ten to twelve hours. However, at the end of five or six hours, the process is arrested by the working of the paste; that is to say, by turning it out upon a flour-dusted board and beating it with the palm of the hand.
It is then returned to the basin to ferment afresh, for five or six hours; and then it is once more beaten just before being used.
Mousseline brioche paste is made from the ordinary kind, combined with a little butter and developed in the mould by fermentation before the baking process—which procedure makes it exceedingly light and delicate.
This paste is used in the preparation of certain timbales for fruit sweets, and it is prepared as follows:—
Take the required amount of ordinary brioche paste, and add to it, per lb. of paste, two oz. of best butter, softened to the consistence of an ointment, that it may thoroughly mix with the paste. Roll the paste into a ball, and put it in a liberally-buttered mould, only filling two-thirds of the latter with it. The remaining third of the mould gets filled by the rising of the paste. Place the mould in a temperate room, until the paste has risen to the edges of the mould; besmear the surface of the paste with a brush dipped in melted butter, and bake in a moderate oven.
Quantities: one lb. of flour, seven oz. of butter, four fair-sized eggs, salt, a pinch of powdered sugar; one-third oz. of very dry, fresh yeast, and a little tepid milk.
(1) Make the leaven with a quarter of the flour, the yeast and the lukewarm milk, and set it to ferment while the paste is being prepared.
(2) Prepare the paste as already directed, and keep it fermenting as before for ten hours, taking care to arrest the process once.
The work is the same as in the preceding case, in every particular, except in regard to the amount of butter, which in this instance is only half as much; in regard to the amount of sugar, which should only be just sufficient to ensure the colouring of the paste; and finally in regard to its firmness, which should admit of the paste being worked with a rolling-pin.
Quantities: One lb. of flour; twelve oz. of butter; one-half oz. of very dry, fresh yeast; eight eggs; about one-third pint of milk; one-half oz. of salt, and one oz. of sugar.
Procedure: Savarin paste may be prepared in several ways; but the one given below is as simple and expeditious as could be desired.
Sift the flour into a basin (or a round wooden bowl, better suited to the work); hollow it out; add the yeast, and dissolve the latter by means of tepid milk, stirring slightly with the tip of the finger.
Add the eggs; mix the whole; work the paste by hand for a few minutes; detach those portions of it which have adhered to the side of the utensil, and add them to the whole.
Distribute the softened butter in small quantities over the paste. Cover, and place in a temperate room until the paste has grown to twice its original bulk. Then add salt; knead the paste, that it may thoroughly absorb the butter, and pat it briskly until it is sufficiently elastic to be taken up in one lump.
At this stage add the sugar, and work the paste again that the former may thoroughly mix with it. The sugar should only be added at the close of the operation; for, since it impairs the cohesiveness of the paste, it would render the latter much more difficult to work were it added at the start.
If it be for Savarins with syrup, it is customary to sprinkle the previously-buttered moulds with slightly-grilled, chopped or splintered almonds. Take the paste in small quantities at a time, and line the moulds with it to the extent of one-third of their height.
The remaining two-thirds of each mould become covered when the paste rises owing to fermentation.
Proceed in the same way for Savarins which are to be kept dry, for fruit crusts or other uses; but then the sprinkling of the moulds with almond may be omitted.
Quantities: One lb. of flour; one-half lb. of butter; seven eggs; two-thirds oz. of yeast; one-fifth pint of milk; one-third oz. of salt; two-thirds oz. of sugar; three oz. of currants and sultanas in equal quantities.
Procedure: Proceed exactly as for Savarin paste, and add the currants and sultanas at the last with the sugar. In moulding, [701] a few pipped Malaga raisins may be laid on the bottom of the moulds. As in the case of the Savarin, the paste should only fill one-third of the mould.
Quantities.—One pint of water; eight oz. of butter; one-third oz. of salt; one oz. of sugar; one lb. of sifted flour; sixteen fair-sized eggs, and a tablespoonful of orange-flower water.
Procedure.—Put the water, butter, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and boil. When the liquid boils and rises, take the saucepan off the fire; add the flour, and mix. Return the saucepan to a moderate fire, and stir the paste until it ceases to stick to the spoon, and the butter begins to ooze slightly.
Take the saucepan off the fire; add the eggs, two at a time, taking care to mix each couple thoroughly with the paste before inserting the succeeding couple. When all the eggs have been absorbed, finish the paste with orange-flower water.
Proceed as directed above, but reduce the quantity of butter to three oz., and the number of eggs to twelve; avoid drying this paste overmuch.
This is prepared exactly like ordinary “Pâte à Choux,” except that:—
1. Milk takes the place of water.
2. The sugar and orange-flower water are omitted.
3. For the quantities given (No. 2373), eight oz. of fresh Gruyère, cut into dice, are added to the paste, after all the eggs have been added to it.
Put into a copper basin one lb. of powdered sugar and sixteen eggs. Mix the two; place the basin upon hot cinders or on the hob, and whisk its contents until they reach the “ribbon” stage (see remarks below). Then add the selected aroma (vanilla sugar, orange rind, or liqueur, in the proportion of one tablespoonful of vanilla sugar or orange rind, and one liqueur-glass of liqueur, to the quantities given above), twelve oz. of sifted flour, and eight oz. of melted butter, the latter being carefully poured into the paste without allowing it to bubble. Mix these ingredients with the paste, raising the latter by means of a spatula that it may not get heavy.
Bake it in buttered and dredged moulds.
Remarks.—A preparation of Biscuit or Génoise reaches the [702] “ribbon” stage when it becomes thick, draws out in ribbon-form, and takes some time to level itself again when a spoon is pulled out of it. This state of the paste is also indicative of its lightness.
Quantities.—One lb. of sugar, twelve eggs, thirteen oz. of flour, eight oz. of butter, and the quantity of flavouring thought sufficient.
Proceed exactly as in the preceding recipe, in everything pertaining to the working of the paste.
This paste is baked in buttered and dredged cases, in which it is spread in layers one and one-quarter inches thick, that it may rise to about one and three-quarter inches thick, while baking.
Stir one lb. of sugar and sixteen egg-yolks in a basin until the preparation has whitened slightly and has reached the ribbon stage. Now add a tablespoonful of orange-flower water; mix therewith twelve oz. of sifted flour, followed by sixteen egg-whites, whisked to a stiff froth. Take care to effect the mixture by raising and cutting the preparation with the spatula, that the former may be quite light.
To Shape the Biscuits.—Put the paste, little by little, into a canvas piping-bag, fitted with a pipe of one-half inch bore. Close the bag; lay the biscuits on sheets of strong paper; sprinkle them with powdered sugar, and rid them of any superfluous sugar by holding the sheets end upwards.
Jerk a few drops of water upon the biscuits by means of a moistened brush in order to assist the beading of the sugar, and remember that a very moderate oven is the best for the effecting of this beading.
Stir one lb. of sugar and fourteen egg-yolks in a basin until the preparation reaches the ribbon stage. Flavour with vanilla sugar; add six oz. of very dry, sifted flour mixed with six oz. of fecula, and finally mix therewith the fourteen egg-whites, which should be in a very stiff froth.
Carefully set the preparation in buttered and fecula-dredged moulds, filling the latter only two-thirds full, and leaving the remaining third to be covered by the rising of the paste while baking.
Bake in a regular, moderate oven.
Stir one lb. of sugar with eighteen egg-yolks in a basin until the preparation is white and light. Add three tablespoonfuls of rum, thirteen oz. of sifted flour, and ten oz. of melted butter, carefully poured away. Mix, raising it with the spatula in so doing.
Set the preparation in special buttered and dredged moulds, filling the latter only two-thirds full with it. Bake in a moderate oven.
Stir one lb. of sugar, twelve egg-yolks, and three eggs in a basin, until the whole becomes frothy. Aromatise with a bare tablespoonful of orange sugar, the same amount of lemon sugar, and three tablespoonfuls of best rum, and add twelve oz. of sifted flour, ten oz. of melted butter, and the whites of eight eggs whisked to a stiff froth. Mix with the usual precautions, that the paste may not be heavy.
Bake the preparation in buttered moulds, in cases or in rings, according to the purpose it is intended for. Use a moderate oven.
Whisk the whites of eight eggs until they are as stiff as it is possible to make them. Sprinkle them with one lb. of powdered sugar, and mix them with the latter carefully, that they may retain all their lightness.
Cook one lb. of sugar to the large-ball stage, and meanwhile whisk the whites of eight eggs to a stiff froth, so as to have them ready simultaneously with the sugar.
Pour the cooked sugar into the egg-whites, slowly and without a pause, and mix up briskly with the whisk.
Mix one lb. of very best powdered sugar and the whites of eight eggs in an untinned copper basin. Place the utensil on hot cinders or on the side of the stove, that the preparation may be lukewarm while in progress.
Whisk the meringue until it is sufficiently consistent to span the members of the whisk. If it is not to be used at once, transfer the paste to a small basin; cover it with a round piece of paper, and set it in the cool.
Instead of the antiquated and difficult method of making almond pastes in the mortar, a crushing machine is now used [704] which not only yields a much smoother paste, but also greatly simplifies the work. Almond paste, which consists of almonds, sugar, and egg-whites, in quantities varying in accordance with the purpose of the paste, is now sold ready-made. It has only to be finished with a little sugar, white of egg, and other things, subject to the use to which it is to be put.
Pass eight oz. of dry, skinned almonds through the crusher.
Place them in the mortar, together with the selected aromatic essence; either a tablespoonful of vanilla sugar or a small glassful of liqueur; and add to them, little by little, working the while with the pestle, one lb. of sugar cooked to the small-crack stage.
With this generic recipe, the melting paste may be varied at will by an increase or decrease in the quantity of sugar.
These should belong to the pastry-cook’s stock, but, as a rule, they are only prepared just before being served. To skin them, proceed as in the case of almonds.
As soon as the pistachios are skinned, washed, and dried, crush them in the mortar to a very smooth paste, which set in boiled milk, to infuse.
As the colour of pistachios is weak, it is strengthened in preparations containing them with a few drops of vegetable green, while its aroma is thrown into relief with a trifle of vanilla.
Put seven oz. of pistachios and two oz. of almonds through the crusher; both should have been just skinned. Put the paste into the mortar; add to it two tablespoonfuls of syrup, strongly flavoured with vanilla, followed by eight oz. of sugar, cooked to the small-crack stage, and added to the paste little by little.
Transfer the paste to a marble slab, and finish it by combining three tablespoonfuls of icing sugar with it.
Prepare the puff-paste as directed under No. 2366. Make the layer of paste of an even thickness of four-fifths inch; set [705] thereon an overturned plate or a saucepan-lid, the size of which should be that intended for the Vol-au-vent, and cut the paste obliquely, following round the edges of the lid or plate with a small knife. Turn the layer of paste over, and set it on a slightly moistened round baking sheet; groove it all round; gild it, and describe a circle on top of it with the point of a knife, one and one-quarter inches away from the edge, to form the cover of the Vol-au-vent. Streak this cover criss-cross-fashion; also streak the body of the Vol-au-vent with the point of a small knife, and bake it in a rather hot oven.
Upon withdrawing the Vol-au-vent from the oven, remove its cover, and clear it of the soft crumb which will be found on its inside.
Bouchées are really small Vol-au-vents. Roll out the paste, making it a good one-third inch thick. Cut this layer with a grooved round cutter three inches in diameter; set the roundels of stamped-out paste on a moistened tray; gild, and make a circular incision in each of them, one-half inch from their edges, either with the point of a small knife or with an even, round cutter dipped in hot water.
Bake in a hot oven, and clear the insides of the bouchées of their crumb on taking them out of the oven. “Mignonnes Bouchées,” which are used as a garnish, are stamped out with a round cutter two inches in diameter, and are slightly thicker than ordinary bouchées.
Roll out the puff-paste to a thickness of one-sixth inch, and stamp it out with an even round cutter three inches in diameter. With the trimmings resulting from this operation, rolled somewhat more thinly, make an equal quantity of roundels, and lay them on a tray. Slightly moisten the edges of these roundels with a brush; garnish their centres with some forcemeat, rolled to the size of a hazel-nut; cover the forcemeat with the roundels stamped out from the first; press upon these with the back of a round cutter two inches in diameter; gild them, and bake them in a hot oven for twelve or fourteen minutes.
For tartlet crusts, which are put to various uses, take either even or grooved, large or small moulds, subject to the requirements.
Roll out a piece of short paste to a thickness of one-fifth inch; stamp it out with a grooved round cutter of a size in proportion to the moulds used; line the buttered moulds with these roundels [706] of paste; pierce the paste on the bottom of each with the point of a small knife; line with good-quality paper; fill up with lentils, split peas, or rice, and bake in a moderate oven. When the paste is baked, withdraw the dry vegetable used and the paper, and place the crusts in the drying-box, that they may be quite dry; or gild them inside, and set them in the front of the oven for a few minutes.
Butter a Charlotte-mould, and decorate its sides with some sort of design made from noodle-paste trimmings to which a little powdered sugar has been added. Shape a piece of short paste (of a size in proportion to the mould) like a ball; roll it out to a disc; sprinkle it with flour, and fold it in two. Draw the ends gently towards the centre, so as to form a kind of skullcap, and take care to not crease the paste. Make this skullcap of an even thickness of one-third inch, and place it in the mould.
Press it well upon the bottom and sides of the mould, that it may acquire the shape of the latter; line the mould inside with good buttered paper; fill up with lentils or split peas, letting them project in a dome above the edges of the paste, and cover with a round sheet of paper.
Prepare a round layer of paste, one-fifth inch thick, a little larger diametrally than the timbale one. Slightly moisten the inside edges of the timbale; cover it with the prepared disc of paste, and seal it well down to the edges of the timbale, pressing it between the fingers in such wise as to form a crest reaching one-half inch beyond the brim of the mould all round.
Pinch this crest with paste-pincers inside and out.
With a round or oval grooved fancy-cutter stamp out some imitation leaves from a very thin layer of paste, and imitate the veins of the leaves with the back of a knife; or stamp out some triangles of paste; shape them like leaves, and set these (slightly overlapping one another) upon the dome of the timbale in superposed rows.
Finish with three roundels of paste, stamped out with a grooved round cutter of a different size from the first, and make a hole in the centre of each roundel with a round, even fancy-cutter. Gild and bake in a moderate oven. When the outside of the timbale is well browned, detach and remove the cover formed by the leaves. Withdraw the split peas and the paper; gild the timbale inside, and leave it to dry in the front of the oven or in the drying-box.
With short or any other kind of paste prepare a layer one-sixth inch thick, the diameter of which should be one-fourth as long again as that of the flawn-ring used. Raise this layer, and place it upon the previously-buttered flawn-ring, pressing it with the fingers, that it may assume the shape of the mould. Then roll the pin across the ring, in order that the overlapping paste may be cut away; press the thickness of paste that has been formed between the fingers in such a way as to make it project above the edges of the flawn-ring, and form a regular crest. Pinch this crest with the pastry pincers, and set the flawn-ring on a small round baking sheet.
Prick it with the point of a small knife; line its bottom and sides with slightly-buttered, good paper; fill the ring with dry lentils or split peas, and bake in a moderately hot oven for about twenty-five minutes.
Then remove the lentils and paper, as also the ring, and return the flawn to the oven for a few minutes to brown, if it is not already sufficiently coloured.
If the paste be required very dry, place the flawn in the drying-box for a little while, or gild it inside, and set it in the front of the oven for a few minutes.
The moulds for Raised Pies are oval or round. If they are round, make a layer of patty paste, one-half inch thick, in proportion to the size of the mould.
Sprinkle this paste with flour, fold it in two, and shape it like a skullcap, after the manner described under “Timbale Crust.” It is only necessary to press this skullcap of paste into the buttered mould in order to give it the shape of the latter. If the mould is oval, proceed in the same way, giving the skullcap an oval shape.
When the raised pie is filled, first cover the garnish with a somewhat thin, round, or oval layer of paste, in accordance with the shape of the mould, and seal it well down upon the moistened edges. Then cut away the superfluous paste of the crest, so as to make the latter even and neat, and pinch it outside and in. Raised pies are covered in two ways—either with a layer of puff-paste, or with leaves of paste stamped out with a round cutter or a knife, the veins being imitated with the back of a knife.
In the first case, prepare a layer of puff-paste one-third inch thick, equal in size to the inside of the patty. Drop this layer [708] of paste upon the cover of the pie, after having slightly moistened it; gild and streak it, and make a slit in the top for the escape of steam.
In the second case, prepare the paste leaves as directed above, and lay them on the pie (slightly overlapping one another) in superposed rows, starting from the bottom. On the top of the pie set three or four indented roundels of paste, graduated in size, and stuck one upon the other, each roundel having a hole in its centre for the escape of steam.
Gild and set the pie in the oven.
The baking of raised pies made with raw forcemeat is effected in a moderately-heated oven. Bear in mind that the larger the pie is, the more moderate should be the oven.
This custard allows of various methods of preparation which are subject to the purpose for which it is intended. It is the chief sauce for entremets, and whether it be poached in a deep dish or in a mould, it constitutes one of the oldest and best-known entremets. This last kind of custard will be examined hereafter. At present I shall only deal with the variety used either as a sauce or an accompaniment, cold or hot. It is extremely difficult to prescribe fixed quantities for this custard, for the former depend a great deal upon the consumers’ tastes, and, whereas some like a thick custard, others go to the extreme of wishing it just liquid enough to be drunk like any other beverage.
The quantities given below are suited to a custard of medium consistence, but if a thicker custard were desired, the number of egg-yolks would have to be proportionately increased, and vice-versâ.
The quantity of sugar also varies, subject to the consumers’ tastes, and, as the amount used (except in the case of unreasonable excess) does not affect the consistence of the custard, it may be graduated from three to ten or twelve oz. per quart, as taste may dictate. Six oz. of sugar per quart of milk constitutes a happy medium.
English custard admits of all the aromatic essences used for entremets, but the one which suits it best is vanilla. When this last-named flavour or that of filberts, almond pralin, or coffee is used, it is well to put the required quantity to infuse for [709] twenty minutes in the boiling milk, after the latter has been measured off. Chocolate is first melted and then gradually added to the custard before it is cooked. Other aromatic essences or liqueurs are added to the custard after it has been strained.
English custard admits of two methods of preparation:—
Recipe A.—Put twelve raw egg-yolks and three-quarters lb. of powdered sugar in a bowl. Mix the sugar a little with the yolks, and stir the latter briskly with a spatula until they have entirely absorbed the sugar, and the resulting paste is white and has reached the ribbon stage. Then pour one quart of boiling milk into the paste, little by little, mixing the whole the while with a whisk. Then put the preparation on the fire, stirring it with a spatula, and cook it until it approaches the boil and properly coats the withdrawn spoon. Take care not to let it boil, for this would turn the preparation. In any case, when the sauce is intended for hot sweets, by adding a tablespoonful of arrowroot, it may be prevented from turning.
When the custard is cooked, as already explained, strain it, either through a strainer, into a bain-marie, if it is to be served hot, or through a sieve into a large, enamelled basin, where it should be frequently stirred to be kept smooth while cooling.
Custard prepared in this way forms the base of all ice-creams, of which I shall speak later on. It may serve as an adjunct to all cold or hot sweets which allow of a sauce. When, while it is still lukewarm, it is combined with its weight of best butter, it constitutes the delicious butter cream, which is the richest and most delicate of the pastry-cook’s confections.
Finally, if eight melted gelatine leaves per quart of cooled milk be added to it, and it be mixed with twice its volume of whipped cream, it represents the preparation for “Cream Bavarois” and “Russian Charlottes.”
Recipe B.—Melt six oz. of sugar in one quart of milk; boil, and pour the mixture, little by little, over twelve egg-yolks, whisking the latter briskly the while. When this custard is to be moulded, or is intended for a Cabinet Pudding, or some other similar preparation, which must be ultimately poached, strain it as soon as it is mixed, without cooking it.
If, on the other hand, it be intended for an accompaniment, or for the preparation of butter creams or ices, cook it as directed in Recipe A.
For this purpose English custard is made from only ten egg-yolks per quart of milk. Serve it in shallow silver or porcelain [710] dishes; sprinkle its surface copiously with icing sugar, and criss-cross it with a red-hot iron.
As in the case of English custard, Frangipan custard varies in the quantities of its ingredients in accordance with its purpose and the taste of its consumers. The recipe given below is an average one, which the reader will be able to modify, in regard to consistence, by increasing or decreasing the amount of flour.
Mix one-half lb. of powdered sugar, two oz. of flour, two whole eggs, and the yolks of five in a basin. Pour one pint of boiling milk over this paste, stirring it briskly the while; add a grain of salt and the selected aromatic essence, and set the saucepan on the fire, that the Frangipan may cook. Do not cease stirring this cream while it is cooking, for it easily burns.
Let it boil a few minutes; pour it into a bowl, and combine three oz. of fresh butter and two tablespoonfuls of dry, crushed macaroons with it. When the whole is well mixed, smooth the surface of the custard with a well-buttered spoon, so that no crust may form while the cooling progresses.
Proceed as above, but so apportion the quantities as to obtain a very firm cream. The quantities should be as follows:—Six oz. of flour, six oz. of sugar, ten egg-yolks, four whole eggs, one quart of milk, and one oz. of butter.
When this cream is cooked, spread it in a layer one inch thick on a buttered tray or on a marble slab; carefully butter its surface, and let it cool before using it.
Mix one lb. of powdered sugar with four oz. of flour and twelve egg-yolks, and dilute with one quart of boiling milk. Cook this cream, stirring it continually the while; and, as soon as it boils, add to it a few drops of orange-flower water and four gelatine leaves, softened in cold water. Boil the cream a few minutes; take it off the fire, and, while stirring it briskly, carefully combine with it twelve egg-whites, beaten to a stiff froth.
N.B.—Some operators call this St. Honoré cream (for, as a matter of fact, it serves chiefly in the garnishing of sweets bearing that name), and give the name of Pastry cream to the [711] same preparation minus the egg-whites and the gelatine. I prefer to abide by the principle given above, and to consider the cream without whisked egg-whites merely as a Frangipan, with which it has many points in common.
Pastry cream may be flavoured according to fancy. The addition of the gelatine is not necessary when the cream is to be served immediately, or when it only has a moment or two to wait. But it is indispensable to prevent the decomposition of the preparation, especially in hot weather, if it have to wait at all.
Nothing could be simpler or more exquisite than this preparation, which is obtained by whipping the best cream (kept fresh for twenty-four hours in ice) over ice. The cream speedily increases in volume and becomes frothy. The operation should then be stopped, lest the cream turn to butter, and there should be immediately added to the former four oz. of powdered sugar (part of which should be the vanilla kind) per quart, and then the preparation should be placed in the cool until required.
N.B.—The addition of a little dissolved or powdered tragacanth gum to the cream allows of a more frothy cream being obtained, but the result is neither as fresh nor as perfect in taste when it is not combined with a sweet or ice preparation.
Preparation A.—Put into a basin one lb. of sifted flour, six oz. of powdered sugar, and a pinch of table-salt. Dilute with ten eggs and one quart of milk, added by degrees. Flavour with one heaped tablespoonful of orange, lemon or vanilla sugar, which should form part of the total weight of sugar prescribed; or with one-eighth pint of some liqueur such as brandy, kirsch, rum, &c., which should form part of the total moistening.
Preparation B.—Dilute one lb. of flour, three and one-half oz. of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, with nine eggs and a half-pint of cream. Add one-eighth pint of brandy, two and a half-oz. of melted butter and one and a half-pints of milk. Pass the whole through a fine strainer, and finish it with one-eighth pint of orgeat syrup (or almond milk) and three oz. of finely-crushed macaroons.
Preparation C.—Dilute one lb. of flour, three and a half oz. of powdered sugar and a pinch of table salt in nine eggs. Stir the [712] mixture well; add to it a half-pint of raw cream and one pint of milk. Finish with a half-pint of whipped cream, and flavour as fancy may suggest.
Preparation D.—Dilute one lb. of flour, three and a half oz. of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, in five eggs and the yolks of three. Add one and three-quarter pints of milk and five egg-whites whisked to a stiff froth.
Flavour according to fancy.
Wash one lb. of Carolina or Patna rice; cover it with plenty of cold water; boil, and drain it the moment it has boiled. Wash it once more in lukewarm water; drain it, and set it to cook with two pints of boiled milk, two-thirds lb. of sugar, a pinch of salt and three oz. of butter.
Flavour with a stick of vanilla or a few strips of orange or lemon rind, strung together with cotton. When the liquor begins to boil, cover the saucepan; place it in the oven, and let it cook gently for twenty or twenty-five minutes, without once touching the rice the while.
On withdrawing it from the oven, thicken it with the yolks of sixteen eggs, which should be mixed with it by means of a fork in such wise as not to break the rice grains, which ought to remain whole.
N.B.—In some cases, the milk and the sugar may be replaced (for the cooking process) by an equal amount of syrup at 12° (Saccharometer).
Soufflé preparations are of two kinds:—
(1) Those prepared with cream, which if necessary may serve for all soufflés; (2) those with a fruit-purée base, which allow of a more pronounced flavour for fruit soufflés than if these were prepared with cream.
Cream-soufflé Preparation for Four People.—Boil one-sixth pint of milk with one oz. of sugar; add a tablespoonful of flour diluted in a little cold milk; cook for two minutes, and finish, away from the fire, with a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and two egg-yolks with three whites whisked to a stiff froth.
Soufflé Preparation for a Big Party.—Thoroughly mix half-lb. of flour, half-lb. of sugar, four eggs and the yolks of three, in a saucepan. Dilute with one quart of boiling milk; add a stick of vanilla; boil, and cook for two minutes, stirring incessantly the while.
[713]
Finish, away from the fire, with four oz. of butter, five egg-yolks,
and twelve whites, whisked to a very stiff froth.
Soufflé Preparation with a Fruit Base.—Take one lb. of sugar cooked to the small-crack stage; add thereto one lb. of the pulp or purée of the fruit under treatment, and ten egg-whites, beaten to a stiff froth.
Proceed thus: Having cooked the sugar to the extent stated above, add to it the fruit pulp. If the latter reduces the sugar a stage or two, cook it afresh in order to return it to the small-crack stage; and, when this is reached, pour it over the whites.
Dishing and Cooking of Soufflés.—Whatever the soufflés may consist of, dish them in a timbale, or in a special false-bottomed dish, buttered and sugared inside. Cook in a somewhat moderate oven, that the heat may reach the centre of the soufflé by degrees.
Two minutes before withdrawing the soufflé from the oven, sprinkle it with icing sugar, which, when it becomes caramel upon the surface of the soufflé, constitutes the glazing.
The decoration of soufflés is optional, and, in any case, should not be overdone.
See the Custard recipe (No. 2397).
Dissolve half-lb. of grated chocolate in two-thirds pint of water. Add a tablespoonful of vanilla sugar; cook gently for twenty-five minutes, and complete at the last moment with three tablespoonfuls of cream and a piece of best butter, the size of a walnut.
Mix one lb. of powdered sugar with twelve egg-yolks, in a basin, until the mixture has whitened slightly. Dilute with one quart of dry, white wine; pour the whole in a narrow bain-marie, which should be placed in a receptacle containing boiling water, and whisk it until it is four times its former size, and is firm and frothy.
N.B.—Sabayon may also be made with milk instead of white wine, and it may be flavoured according to fancy.
Apricots, red-currants, greengages and mirabelle plums are the best fruits for sweet sauces. Other fruits, such as peaches, William [714] pears, apples, &c., may also be used in the form of light purées or cullises.
Rub some very ripe or stewed apricots through a sieve, and thin the purée with the required quantity of syrup at 28° (Saccharom.). Boil, skimming carefully the while; take off the fire when the sauce veneers the withdrawn spoon, and flavour according to fancy.
If this sauce is to be used with crusts, a little best butter may be added to it.
Melt some red-currant jelly and flavour it with kirsch.
This sauce may be slightly thickened with arrowroot.
Rub some orange marmalade through a sieve; add thereto one-third of its bulk of apricot sauce, and flavour with curaçao.
Flavour some English custard with an infusion of grilled hazel-nuts, and add two tablespoonfuls of moulded filbert pralin per quart of custard.
Proceed as for apricot sauce and flavour with kirsch.
Take the syrup of some stewed cherries, add an equal quantity of red-currant jelly, and flavour with kirsch.
Take the required quantity of melted raspberry jelly; thicken it slightly with arrowroot, and flavour with kirsch.
Proceed as for No. 2416.
These accompaniments of sweets, which are commonly used in Germany, have this in their favour, that they are economical; but they should be used in moderation. To make them, take some syrup at 15°, thickened with arrowroot, coloured according to the purpose for which it is required, and flavoured with some liqueur or essence at the last moment.
It is with this kind of sauce that flawns and all other sorts of tartlets are coated in northern countries.
The numerous fritter recipes for sweets may all be grouped into five leading classes, viz.:—
(1) Fruit fritters.
(2) Custard fritters.
(3) Viennese fritters.
(4) Souffléd fritters.
(5) Sundry other fritters which are more or less like the four former ones without entirely resembling them.
Subject to the treatment undergone by them, fruits for fritters are of two kinds: firm fruits, such as apples and pears, and aqueous fruits, such as strawberries, &c.
Select some apricots that are not over-ripe; cut them in two; sprinkle them with sugar, and set them to macerate for an hour in kirsch, brandy, or rum, subject to the consumers’ tastes. A few minutes before serving, dry the halved apricots, dip them in batter (No. 234), and fry them in hot fat. Drain them on a napkin; set the fritters on a tray; cover them with icing sugar, and glaze them in a hot oven or at the salamander. Dish them on a napkin, and serve them at once.
N.B.—Proceed in precisely the same way for Apple, Pear, Peach, or Banana fritters.
Select some large, somewhat firm strawberries; sugar them copiously; sprinkle them with kirsch, and let them macerate on ice for thirty minutes.
It is most essential that the strawberries be well sugared before macerating, because the heat of the fat sours them while the fritters are being fried, and they consequently become tart.
A few minutes before serving, drain the strawberries, dip them in batter (No. 234), and plunge them into very hot fat. Drain them, dish them on lace paper, and sprinkle them with icing sugar, by means of a dredger.
[716]
N.B.—The procedure is the same for Raspberry, Red-currant,
Cherry, Orange, and Tangerine fritters. For the last-named, it is
better to quarter them and peel them raw, than to slice them.
Select some blown acacia flowers; besprinkle them with sugar and liqueur brandy, and leave them to macerate for thirty minutes.
Dip them in batter (No. 234); plunge them into plenty of hot fat; drain them; sprinkle them with best sugar and dish them on a napkin.
N.B.—Proceed as above for Elder-flower, Lily, and Vegetable-marrow-flower fritters; but in the case of the last two, the quartered corollæ, alone, are used.
Custard fritters may be prepared in the three following totally different ways.
1st Method.—Cut up preparation No. 2400 with a round, square, or lozenge-shaped fancy cutter, as taste may dictate. Treat the resulting pieces of custard twice à l’anglaise, using very fine and fresh bread-crumbs for the purpose. Press upon the bread-crumbs with the blade of a knife that they may adhere properly, and fry the pieces of cream in very hot fat. On taking the fritters out of the fat sprinkle them with icing sugar, and dish them on a napkin.
N.B.—Instead of treating these fritters à l’anglaise, they may be dipped into batter and treated as directed in the case of Apricot fritters.
2nd Method.—Prepare a custard as for a “crème renversée” (No. 2639), using only whole eggs, that it may be firm; and poach it in a utensil of a shape which will facilitate the cutting-up of the preparation. When the latter is quite cool, cut it up as fancy may suggest; dip the pieces in batter (No. 234) and plunge them in plenty of hot fat. Drain them on a piece of linen; sprinkle them with icing sugar; glaze them in a fierce oven, and dish them on a napkin.
3rd Method.—Prepare some common-shaped meringues, and keep them very dry.
When they have cooled, open them slightly on top, and, through the hole in each, fill them either with a Bavarois preparation, with some kind of ice-cream, or with a fruit salpicon thickened with stewed apricots or plums. Close the holes with the pieces that were cut out, and place the meringues in the refrigerator for an hour.
[717]
When about to serve them, quickly treat them à l’anglaise; set
them (opened side uppermost) in a frying-basket, and dip them for a
few seconds in smoking fat. Withdraw them as soon as their crusts
have acquired a golden colour; sprinkle them with icing sugar;
dish them on a napkin, and serve them immediately.
Quantities for the paste of Viennese fritters: one lb. of flour; six oz. of butter; half oz. of yeast; five eggs; half oz. of salt; two-third oz. of sugar; and one-sixth pint of milk. This paste is prepared exactly like Brioche paste (No. 2368).
In any case, as it has to be worked with the rolling-pin, always keep it a little firm.
Roll out a piece of the paste given above to a thickness of one-fifth inch.
Spread upon it, at regular intervals, small quantities (about the size of a large walnut) either of stewed fruit or jam. Moisten slightly; cover with a second layer of paste, of the same size and thickness as the former; press upon it with the back of a round cutter, so as to ensure the joining of the two layers of paste, and then stamp the whole out with an even cutter two and a half inches in diameter.
Set the fritters on a tray covered with a flour-dusted piece of linen; let the paste ferment for thirty minutes, and then fry them in plenty of hot fat. Drain them; sprinkle them with icing sugar and dish them on a napkin.
N.B.—These fritters may be accompanied by frothy sauces, flavoured with vanilla, lemon, orange, coffee, or kirsch, &c., the type of which is the Sabayon with cream.
Roll out a piece of the paste prescribed, which should be kept somewhat soft, and stamp it out with a round cutter two and a half inches in diameter. Set half of these roundels of paste on buttered sheets of paper, lying on trays; garnish them either with stewed fruit or jam; slightly moisten their edges; cover them with the remaining roundels of paste, and let the paste ferment for thirty minutes.
A few minutes before serving, grasp the ends of the sheets of paper; plunge the fritters into plenty of hot fat, and withdraw the sheets of paper as soon as the fritters fall from them.
[718]
Drain them as soon as they begin to colour; and plunge them
immediately into a light, hot syrup, flavoured as fancy may dictate.
Withdraw them as soon as they are beginning to be saturated, and
serve them cold.
N.B.—In the case of either of these two methods of serving Viennese fritters, the latter, which are served under the name of “fritters à la Dauphine,” may be garnished with fruit salpicons or cream preparations.
Put one pint of water, three and a half oz. of butter, a pinch of salt and two pinches of sugar into a saucepan. Boil; take the utensil off the fire in order to add two-thirds lb. of sifted flour, and mix up the whole. Then dry this paste as directed for pâte à choux (No. 2373); and finish it, away from the fire, with seven eggs, added one by one.
Flavour according to taste.
Take this paste in portions, the size of small walnuts; put these portions in moderately hot fat, and gradually increase the heat of the latter, so as to ensure the rising of the paste.
When the fritters are quite dry outside, drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.
Prepare the fritters exactly like the preceding ones. When taking them out of the fat, open them slightly and garnish them, by means of the piping-bag, either with stewed fruit, jam, a very fine, thickened salpicon of fruit, or some kind of cream, especially frangipan or pastry cream.
Cut the pineapple into roundels, one-third inch thick; cut each roundel in two; sprinkle the half-discs with sugar and kirsch, and let them macerate for thirty minutes. Then dry them and dip them into a very thick and almost cold frangipan cream, combined with chopped pistachios. Set the cream-coated roundels on a tray, and let them cool completely.
[719]
A little while before serving, detach the roundels from the
tray; dip them in somewhat thin batter, and fry them in plenty of
hot fat.
Drain them; sprinkle them with icing sugar; glaze them in a fierce oven, and dish them on a napkin.
Cut a stale brioche crown into slices, one-third inch thick, and dip these into fresh, sugared cream, flavoured according to fancy. Drain them; dry them slightly; dip them into thin batter, and fry them in very hot fat.
Drain them; sprinkle them with sugar, and dish them on a napkin.
Hollow out some small round brioches, preserving the crusts for covers, and dip them in some thin, sugared and flavoured fresh cream. Then garnish them with a small fruit salpicon with kirsch; cover this with the reserved covers; dip them into thin batter, and fry them in plenty of hot fat.
Drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.
Spread upon a moistened tray a layer half inch thick of very reduced, stewed fruit. Cut it up according to fancy; dip the pieces in batter (No. 234), and fry them in plenty of hot fat.
On withdrawing the fritters from the fat, sprinkle them with icing sugar and set them to glaze in a fierce oven.
Shape some lady’s-finger biscuits (preparation No. 2378) into large half-balls, one and a half inch in diameter; bake these in a moderate oven and cool them. Then hollow out these half-balls; garnish them with apricot or some other jam; join them in couples, and dip them so as to thoroughly soak them in some fresh cream flavoured with maraschino.
Drain them; treat them à l’anglaise with very fine bread-crumbs, and fry them in plenty of hot fat.
Drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.
Proceed as above, but substitute for biscuit half-balls soft macaroons, saturated with kirsch syrup. For the rest of the operation, follow the procedure of No. 2433.
Make a preparation of “rice for entremets,” and spread it in a thin layer upon a tray, to cool. Divide it up into discs three and a half inches in diameter; garnish the centre of these with a very stiff fruit salpicon; roll the discs into balls, so as to enclose the salpicon; dip these balls into thin batter, and fry them in plenty of hot fat.
Drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.
Copiously butter a quart Charlotte-mould. Garnish its bottom with heart-shaped croûtons of bread-crumb, slightly overlapping one another; and garnish its sides with rectangles of bread of exactly the same height as the mould, and also slightly overlapping one another. The croûtons and the rectangles should be one-eighth inch thick, and ought to have been dipped in melted butter before taking their place in the mould.
Meanwhile, quarter twelve fine russet apples; peel, slice, and cook them in a sautépan with one oz. of butter, two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and half the rind of a lemon and a little cinnamon—both tied into a faggot.
When the apples are cooked, and reduced to a thick purée, remove the faggot of aromatics and add three tablespoonfuls of stewed apricots.
Fill up the mould with this preparation, and remember to shape the latter in a projecting dome above the mould; for it settles in cooking.
Bake in a good, moderate oven for from thirty to thirty-five minutes.
Prepare the Charlotte as directed above, but in a shallow mould.
When it is moulded on the dish, completely cover it with an even coat, half inch thick, of very firm “pastry cream” (No. 2401), and take care not to spoil the shape of the Charlotte.
Sprinkle the cream copiously with icing sugar; then, with a red-hot iron, criss-cross the Charlotte regularly all round; pressing the iron upon the sugar-sprinkled cream.
Surround the base of the Charlotte with a row of beads made [721] by means of the piping-bag, from the same cream as that already used.
Charlottes may be made with pears, peaches, apricots, &c., after the same procedure as that directed under No. 2436. The most important point to be remembered in their preparation is that the stewed fruit used should be very stiff; otherwise it so softens the shell of bread that the Charlotte collapses as soon as it is turned out.
It is no less important that the mould should be as full as possible of the preparation used; for, as already explained, the latter settles in the cooking process.
Saturate half a pound of “Biscuits à la Cuiller” with Maraschino-Kirsch, and then dip them into a quart of boiled milk. Rub them through a silk sieve, and add eight eggs, ten egg-yolks, two-thirds pound of powdered sugar and a small pinch of table salt. Pour the whole into a shallow, Charlotte mould, and set to poach in a bain-marie for about thirty-five minutes.
Let the mould rest for a few minutes; turn out its contents on a dish and surround the base of the cream with a crown of stewed half-apricots, each garnished with a preserved cherry. Coat the whole with an apricot syrup, flavoured with Kirsch and Maraschino.
Prepare some “Crème à la Régence” as above, and poach it in a buttered deep border-mould. Poach in a bain-marie; turn out on a dish, and garnish the middle of the border with Italian meringue (No. 2383), combined with a salpicon of preserved fruit, macerated in Kirsch.
Decorate the border by means of a piping-bag, fitted with a grooved pipe and filled with plain, Italian meringue, without the fruit; and set to brown in a moderate oven.
Serve an orange-flavoured, English custard separately.
Saturate five ounces of dry biscuits with Kirsch and Anisette, and set them in a deep dish in layers, alternated with coatings of stewed, seasonable fruit, such as pears, apples, etc.
Cover the whole with the following preparation: one-half pound of powdered sugar mixed with eight eggs and the yolks of four, and [722] diluted with one and three-quarter pints of milk. Poach in a bain-marie, in the oven.
Custard pudding is a form of the English custard mentioned under No. 2397.
The difference between the two is that for the former whole eggs are used instead of the yolks alone, and that it is prepared according to the second method only. The average quantities for the preparation are:
Six eggs and six ounces of sugar per quart of milk. The custard is cooked in pie-dishes in a bain-marie, which should be placed in the oven or in a steamer.
According as to whether the custard be required milky or thick, the number of eggs is either lessened or increased. In regard to the sugar, the guide should be the consumers’ tastes. If necessary, it may be suppressed altogether, and saccharine or glycerine may be used in its stead, as is customary for diabetic patients.
Custard is generally flavoured with vanilla, but any other flavour suited to sweets may be used with it.
Pour into a buttered and hot omelet-pan some preparation A, sprinkle thereon some William pears, cut into small dice; cover the latter with some more preparation A; toss the pancake in order to turn it; sprinkle it with powdered sugar, dish it on a napkin and serve it burning-hot.
Proceed as for Convent pancakes, but substitute for pear-dice some very thin slices of pine-apple, macerated in Maraschino.
Make the following preparation: work three ounces of best butter in a bowl until it acquires the consistence of a pomade. Mix therewith three ounces of powdered sugar, three tablespoonfuls of liqueur brandy, a piece of butter the size of a filbert, and a few drops of lemon juice.
Make the pancakes with preparation C; spread the prepared butter upon them; fold each pancake twice, and dish them on a napkin.
Proceed as for Convent Pancakes, but for the pear dice substitute fine slices of apple, previously sautéd in butter.
These are made from preparation B, and are ungarnished.
Make these from preparation B (the orgeat syrup and the macaroons being suppressed), and flavour with orange-flower water.
Add to preparation C, a quarter of its volume of broken biscuits saturated with kümmel and liqueur brandy, and make the pancakes in the usual way.
Make these from preparation A, flavoured with curaçao and tangerine juice. Coat them, like Gil-Blas pancakes, with softened butter, flavoured with curaçao and tangerine juice.
Peel the chestnuts after one of the ways directed (No. 2172), and cook them in a thin syrup, flavoured with vanilla. Reserve one small, whole chestnut for each croquette. Rub the remainder through a sieve; dry the purée over a fierce fire, and thicken it with five egg-yolks and one and a half oz. of butter per lb. of purée. Let it cool.
Then divide the preparation up into portions the size of pigeons’ eggs, and roll these portions into balls, with a chestnut in the centre of each.
Treat them à l’anglaise with some very fine bread-crumbs; fry them in some very hot fat, and dish them on a napkin.
Serve a vanilla-flavoured apricot sauce, separately.
Make a preparation as directed under No. 2404. Divide it up into two-oz. portions, moulded to the shape of such fruit as pears apples, apricots, etc.; treat these à l’anglaise, like the chestnut croquettes, and fry them in the same way.
Serve an apricot sauce or a vanilla-flavoured Sabayon separately.
Croquettes may also be made from tapioca, semolina, vermicelli or fresh noodles, etc., in which case the procedure is that of the Rice Croquettes.
The preparation may be combined with currants and sultanas, and the croquettes are served with any suitable sauce.
Cut some slices one-fifth inch thick from a stale Savarin which has not been moistened with syrup, and allow two for each person. Set these slices on a tray; sprinkle them with icing sugar, and put them in the oven so as to dry and glaze them at the same time. Arrange them in a circle round a cushion of fried bread-crumbs, and between each lay a slice of pine-apple of exactly the same size as the slices.
Upon this crown of crusts, set some quartered apples and some stewed pears. The pears may be stewed in a pinkish syrup, which, by varying the colours, makes the croûte more sightly.
Decorate with preserved cherries, lozenges of angelica, quartered yellow and green chinois, etc. Fix a small, turned and white or pink pear on the top of the cushion, by means of a hatelet, and coat with an apricot sauce, flavoured with Kirsch.
Prepare the crusts as described above, and coat them with a smooth chestnut purée, flavoured with vanilla; then, cover them with an apricot purée, cooked to the small-thread stage; sprinkle with finely-splintered and slightly-browned almonds, and dish in a circle.
Garnish the middle of the circle with chestnuts cooked in syrup, and pipped Malaga raisins, currants, and sultanas (washed and swelled in tepid water); the whole cohered with an apricot purée thinned with a few tablespoonsful of Malaga wine.
Dish the glazed crusts in a circle as already described. Pour into their midst a garnish consisting of equal parts of pipped, Malaga raisins, currants, and sultanas, swelled in tepid water and moistened with a Madeira-flavoured, apricot syrup.
Cut from a stale mousseline brioche, some triangles of the same thickness as the ordinary crusts. Coat them with pralin [725] (No. 2352), and then set them on a tray; sprinkle them with sugar glaze, and dry the pralin in a moderate oven.
Stick a fried-bread-crumb cushion, four inches high, on a dish, and surround it with a salpicon of pineapple, raisins, cherries, and sugared orange-rind, cohered with some stiff stewed apples, combined with a little apricot purée. Set the pralin-coated triangles upright alongside of the salpicon, and surround them with a border of half-pears, stewed in syrup, half their quantity being white and the other pink.
On the top of the cushion, set a small pear, cooked in pink syrup, which fix with a small hatelet, surround the border of half-pears with a thread of apricot purée, flavoured slightly with vanilla, and serve a sauceboat of the same purée separately.
Prepare the crusts as indicated under No. 2454, coat them with very stiffly stewed apples, and dish them in a circle.
Garnish their midst with stewed apples, prepared as for a Charlotte, and upon the apples set a pyramid of quartered, white and pink apples, cooked in syrup. Cover with reduced apple syrup, thickened with a little very smooth stewed apples flavoured with Kirsch or old rum.
Coat the crusts with pralin, as explained under No. 2457, and dish them in a circle. In their midst set some thin slices of pine-apple, the ends of which should rest upon the circle of crusts; in the middle, pour a garnish of various fruits, cohered with an apricot purée, flavoured with Madeira, and coat the circle of crusts with apricot syrup flavoured with Madeira.
Cook some Savarin paste in buttered tartlet moulds. When these tartlets are cooked, hollow them out at the top, taking care to leave a somewhat thick border all round.
Coat them inside with pralin (No. 2352), and dry them in a moderate oven. Then garnish the centre of the tartlets with frangipan cream, combined with filbert pralin. Upon this cream set a stoned apricot poached in Maraschino.
Surround the apricot with small, candied half-cherries, alternated with lozenges of angelica. Serve an apricot sauce, flavoured with Maraschino, separately.
Prepare a crust after No. 2456, and garnish the centre with [726] candied cherries and glazed chestnuts. Serve an apricot sauce, flavoured with rum, separately.
Sweet omelets may be divided into four distinct classes, which are:—
Season the omelet with sugar and a little salt, and cook it in the usual way. Set it on a long dish, sprinkle it with sugar and heated rum, and set a light to it on bringing it to the table.
Season the omelet as above, and, when about to roll it up, garnish it inside with two tablespoonfuls of apricot jam per six eggs. Set on a long dish; sprinkle with icing sugar, and either criss-cross the surface with a red-hot iron or glaze the omelet at the salamander.
Beat the eggs with salt and sugar and add, per six eggs: two tablespoonfuls of cream, a pinch of orange or lemon rind, and one tablespoonful of rum. When about to roll up the omelet, garnish it copiously with mincemeat, set it on a long dish; sprinkle it with heated rum, and set it alight at the table.
Mix eight oz. of sugar and eight egg-yolks in a basin, until the mixture has whitened slightly, and draws up in ribbons when the spatula is pulled out of it. Add ten egg-whites, beaten to a very stiff froth, and mix the two preparations gently; cutting and raising the whole with the spoon.
Set this preparation on a long, buttered and sugar-dusted dish, in the shape of an oval mound, and take care to put some of it aside in a piping-bag.
[727]
Smooth it all round with the blade of a knife; decorate
according to fancy with the contents of the piping-bag, and cook
in a good, moderate oven, for as long as the size of the omelet
requires.
Two minutes before withdrawing it from the oven, sprinkle it with icing sugar, that the latter, when melted, may cover the omelet with a brilliant coat.
Flavour according to fancy, with vanilla, orange or lemon rind, rum, Kirsch, &c.; but remember to add the selected flavour to the preparation before the egg-whites are added to it.
Place an oval cushion one and one half in. thick of Génoise upon a long dish, and let the cushion be as long as the desired omelet. Upon this cushion set a pyramid of ice-cream with fruit. Cover the ice-cream with ordinary meringue (No. 2382); smooth it with a knife, making it of an even thickness of two-thirds of an inch in so doing; decorate it, by means of the piping-bag, with the same meringue, and set in a very hot oven, that the meringue may cook and colour quickly, without the heat reaching the ice inside.
Proceed as directed above; but garnish the cushion of Génoise with coats of vanilla ice-cream, alternated with coats of stewed pears. Cover with meringue and cook in the same way.
The procedure is the same, but the vanilla ice-cream is replaced by tangerine ice. On taking the omelet out of the oven, surround it with tangerines glazed with sugar, cooked to the large-crack stage.
Garnish the cushion of Génoise with red-currant ice, flavoured with raspberries and mixed with equal quantities of cherry ice and half-sugared cherries, macerated in Kirsch.
Finish it like the Norwegian Omelet.
On taking it out of the oven, surround the omelet with drained cherries, preserved in brandy, and sprinkle it with heated Kirsch, to which set a light at the table.
This is a surprise omelet, garnished with very firm raspberry ice, in which are incrusted a circle of fine peaches, poached in vanilla.
The whole is then covered with Italian meringue, flavoured with Maraschino, and laid in suchwise that those portions of the peaches which project from the glaze remain bare.
Decorate the surface of the omelet with the same meringue; sprinkle it with icing sugar, and set it to a glaze quickly.
Garnish the cushion of Génoise with coats of vanilla and strawberry ice, alternated with layers of broken candied-chestnut. Cover the whole with Italian meringue prepared with Kirsch, which keep flat and somewhat thick towards the centre. On top, set a barquette of a size in proportion to the omelet, made by means of the piping-bag with ordinary meringue and baked in the oven without colouration. Decorate with Italian meringue, covering the barquette in so doing, and quickly brown the omelet in the oven. When about to serve, garnish the omelet with Jubilee cherries (No. 2566), which set alight at the last moment.
Garnish the cushion of Génoise with vanilla ice and crystallised-violets.
Cover it with meringue; decorate its surface with crystallised-violets, and treat the omelet as in No. 2466.
When about to serve it, cover the omelet with a veil of spun sugar.
Make the cushion of Génoise round instead of oval; set it on a round dish, and garnish it with some sort of ice, which should be shaped like a truncated cone. Cover with meringue; set a small case on the top, made from meringue, as explained under No. 2471, but round instead of oval; conceal all but its inside with meringue, decorating the omelet in so doing, and set to brown quickly.
When about to serve, pour a glassful of heated rum into the meringue case and set it alight.
Dip a freshly-cooked savarin into a syrup of maraschino, and stick it on a base of dry paste exactly equal in size.
[729]
In the centre of the savarin set a cushion of Génoise
sufficiently thick to reach half-way up the former.
At the last moment, turn out upon this cushion an iced strawberry mousse, made in an iced madeleine-mould, the diameter of which should be that of the bore of the savarin. Cover the mousse with a coat of Italian meringue with kirsch, shaping it like a cone of which the base rests upon the top of the savarin.
By means of a piping-bag, fitted with a small pipe, quickly decorate the cone, as also the savarin, with the same meringue; colour it in the oven, and serve it instantly.
With the generic example given this kind of omelets may be indefinitely varied by changing the ice preparation inside.
The superficial appearance remains the same, but every change in the inside garnish should be made known in the title of the dish.
Prepare some very thin pancakes; coat them with some kind of jam, roll them up, trim them aslant at either end, and cut them into two lozenges.
Place these lozenges on a tray, sprinkle them with icing sugar, set them to glaze in a fierce oven, and dish them on a napkin.
Coat the pancakes with frangipan cream, and sprinkle the latter with crushed macaroons. For the rest of the procedure follow No. 2476.
Coat the pancakes with Italian meringue, flavoured with kirsch and maraschino; roll them up, cut them into lozenges as above, and set them on a tray. Decorate them by means of the piping-bag with the same meringue; sprinkle them with icing sugar, and set them to colour quickly in the oven.
English puddings are almost innumerable; but many of them lie more within the pastrycook’s than the cook’s province, and their enumeration here could not serve a very useful purpose. The name Pudding is, moreover, applied to a whole host of preparations which are really nothing more than custards—as, for example, “custard pudding.” If both of the foregoing kinds of puddings be passed over, puddings proper which belong to hot sweets may be divided into eight classes, of which I shall first give the generic recipes, from [730] which all pudding entremets given hereafter are derived. The eight classes are:—
Puddings allow of various accompanying sauces, which will be given in each recipe. The majority of English puddings may be accompanied by stewed fruit, Melba sauce, or whipped cream “à la Chantilly.”
Make a preparation for souffléd pudding (No. 2505), moistened with almond milk. Pour it into copiously-buttered moulds, sprinkled inside with splintered and grilled almonds.
Set to poach in the bain-marie. As an accompaniment serve a sabayon prepared with white wine and flavoured with orgeat.
Mix to the consistence of a pomade four oz. of butter and five oz. of powdered sugar; add eight oz. of finely-chopped almonds, a pinch of table salt, a half table-spoonful of orange-flower water, two eggs, two egg-yolks, and one-sixth pint of cream. Pour this preparation into a buttered pie-dish, and cook in a bain-marie in the oven.
N.B.—English puddings of what kind soever are served in the dishes or basins in which they have cooked.
Crush eight oz. of lady’s-finger biscuits in a saucepan, and moisten them with one pint of boiling milk containing five oz. of sugar. Stir the whole over the fire, and add five oz. of candied fruit, cut into dice and mixed with currants (both products having been macerated in kirsch), three egg-yolks, four oz. of melted butter, and the white of five eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Set to poach in a bain-marie, in a low, even Charlotte mould, or in a pie-dish, and serve an apricot sauce at the same time.
Garnish a buttered cylinder-mould with lady’s-finger biscuits or slices of buttered biscuit, saturated with some kind of liqueur; [731] arranging them in alternate layers with a salpicon of candied fruit and currants, macerated in liqueur. Here and there spread a little apricot jam.
Fill up the mould, little by little, with preparation No. 2639, flavoured according to fancy. Poach in a bain-marie.
Turn out the pudding at the last moment, and coat it with English custard flavoured with vanilla.
This pudding requires very careful treatment. The custard which serves as its base is the same as that of Cabinet Pudding, except that it is thickened by seven eggs and seven egg-yolks per quart of milk. This preparation is, moreover, combined with a purée of fruit suited to the pudding.
Procedure: Butter a mould; set it in a bain-marie, and pour a few table-spoonfuls of the above preparation into it. Let it set, and upon this set custard sprinkle a layer of suitable fruit, sliced. This fruit may be apricots, peaches, pears, etc. Cover the fruit with a fresh coat of custard, but more copiously than in the first case; let this custard set as before; cover it with fruit, and proceed in the same order until the mould is full.
It is, in short, another form of aspic-jelly preparation, but hot instead of cold. If the solidification of the layers of custard were not ensured, the fruit would fall to the bottom of the mould instead of remaining distributed between the layers of custard, and the result would be the collapse of the pudding as soon as it was turned out.
Continue the cooking in the bain-marie; let the preparation stand a few minutes before turning it out, and serve at the same time a sauce made from the same fruit as that used for the pudding.
Prepare a suet paste from one lb. of flour, ten oz. of finely-chopped suet, quarter of a pint of water and a pinch of salt.
Let the paste rest for an hour, and roll it out to a thickness of one-third of an inch.
With this layer of paste, line a well-buttered dome-mould or large pudding-basin. Garnish with sliced apples mixed with powdered sugar and flavoured with a chopped piece of lemon peel.
Close the mould with a well-sealed-down layer of paste; wrap the mould in a piece of linen, which should be firmly fastened with string; plunge it into a saucepan containing boiling water, and in [732] the case of a quart pudding-basin or mould, let it cook for about three hours.
N.B.—This pudding may be made with other fleshy fruit, as also with certain vegetables such as the pumpkin, etc.
Put into a basin one lb. of chopped suet; one lb. of bread-crumb; half lb. of flour; half lb. of peeled and chopped apples; half lb. each of Malaga raisins, currants and sultanas; two oz. each of candied orange, lemon and cedrat rinds, cut into small dice; two oz. of ginger; four oz. of chopped almonds; eight oz. of powdered sugar; the juice and the chopped rind of half an orange and half a lemon; one-third oz. of mixed spices, containing a large quantity of cinnamon; three eggs; quarter of a pint of rum or brandy, and one-third of a pint of stout. The fruit should, if possible, have previously macerated in liqueur for a long time.
Thoroughly mix the whole.
Pour the preparation into white earthenware pudding-basins, with projecting rims; press it into them, and then wrap them in a buttered and flour-dusted cloth which tie into a knot on top.
Cook in boiling water or in steam for four hours.
When about to serve, sprinkle the puddings with heated brandy or rum, and set them alight, or accompany them, either with a sabayon with rum, with Brandy Butter (as directed under “Gil-Blas pancakes” but without sugar), or with an English custard thickened with arrowroot.
Put into a basin two and a half oz. of bread-crumb; three oz. of powdered sugar; three oz. of flour; two and a half oz. of marrow and an equal quantity of suet (both chopped); three oz. of candied fruit cut into dice; one egg and three egg-yolks, a pinch of chopped orange or lemon zest; a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and a liqueur-glassful of brandy or rum.
Mix up the whole; pour the preparation into a buttered and dredged mould or basin, and cook in the bain-marie.
Serve a sabayon with rum at the same time.
Melt half a lb. of beef-marrow and two oz. of suet, in a bain-marie, and let it get tepid. Then work this grease in a basin with half a lb. of powdered sugar; three oz. of bread-crumbs, dipped in milk and pressed; three whole eggs and eight egg-yolks; half a lb. of candied fruit, cut into dice; three oz. of sultanas and two oz. of pipped, Malaga raisins.
[733]
Pour this preparation into an even, deep, buttered and dredged
border-mould; and poach in the bain-marie.
Serve a sabayon with rum at the same time.
Butter some thin slices of crumb of bread and distribute over them some currants and sultanas, swelled in tepid water and well drained. Set these slices in a pie-dish; cover with preparation No. 2638, and poach in front of the oven.
Soak two-thirds of a lb. of white bread-crumb in one and three-quarter pints of boiled milk, flavoured with vanilla and containing eight oz. of sugar. Rub through a sieve and add: four whole eggs, six egg-yolks, and four egg-whites, beaten to a stiff froth.
Pour this preparation into a deep, buttered border-mould, dusted with bread-crumbs; and poach in bain-marie.
As an accompaniment, serve either an English custard, a vanilla-flavoured sabayon, or a fruit sauce.
Soak two-thirds of a lb. of brown bread-crumb in one and three quarter pints of Rhine wine, Moselle or beer, containing half a lb. of moist sugar and a little cinnamon. Rub through a sieve and add four eggs, six egg-yolks, five oz. of melted butter, and the whites of four eggs beaten to a froth. Poach in a bain-marie as in the preceding case. The adjunct to this pudding is invariably a fruit syrup.
Proceed exactly as for No. 2490, but add five oz. of sliced seasonable fruit. Mould and poach in the same way, and serve a red-currant sauce flavoured with raspberries, as an accompaniment.
Sprinkle eight oz. of tapioca into one and three-quarter pints of boiling milk, containing four oz. of sugar, a pinch of salt and three oz. of butter.
Cook in the oven for twenty minutes; transfer the preparation to another saucepan, and add to it six egg-yolks, two and a half oz. of butter, and the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Pour the whole into a well-buttered cylinder-mould, sprinkled with tapioca, and poach in the bain-marie until the preparation [734] seems resilient to the touch. Let the pudding stand for seven or eight minutes before turning it out. Serve an English custard, a sabayon or a fruit sauce as accompaniment.
Proceed as above, but substitute sago for the tapioca, and sprinkle the inside of the mould with sago. The treatment and adjuncts are the same.
Proceed as for No. 2493, but use semolina instead of tapioca, and sprinkle the mould with granulated semolina.
Proceed as for No. 2493, but use vermicelli, and sprinkle the mould with bits of vermicelli, which should not be broken up overmuch.
Proceed in exactly the same way as for No. 2493.
Whatever be the paste used, it should be cooked in very slightly-sugared milk, flavoured according to fancy, and in the quantities given above. Thicken by means of two eggs per pint of the preparation; pour the whole into a buttered pie-dish, and cook in the oven in a bain-marie.
N.B.—All English puddings of this class are made in the same way, and, as already stated, are served in the dish in which they have cooked.
Make the preparation for tapioca pudding and pour it into a mould, clothed with sugar cooked to the caramel stage.
Poach in a bain-marie and serve plain.
This is semolina pudding served with a Sabayon, flavoured with kirsch.
Prepare the rice as directed under No. 2404, and mix with it (per lb. of raw rice) the whites of fifteen eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Mould in buttered moulds sprinkled with raspings.
The cooking and the adjuncts are the same as for Nos. 2493, 2494, etc.
The quantities for this pudding are: six oz. of rice, one quart of milk (flavoured according to fancy), two oz. of sugar and three oz. of butter. The grains of rice should be kept somewhat firm, but the whole should be rather liquid. Thicken with three eggs; cook the preparation in the oven, in a pie-dish; and on taking the pudding out of the oven sprinkle its surface with icing sugar.
Add two oz. of chocolate to every lb. of the preparation of rice, made after No. 2404, and combine therewith the whites of three eggs beaten to a fairly stiff froth; pour the preparation into a buttered pie-dish, and cook in the oven.
Serve some chocolate custard (combined with its bulk of whisked cream) separately.
N.B.—This sweet may be served hot or cold.
Work four oz. of butter to a pomade in a basin. Add four oz. of powdered sugar and four oz. of sifted flour, and dilute with two-thirds pint of boiled milk.
Boil this preparation, stirring it the while; and dry it over a fierce fire as in the case of a panada for a “Pâte à choux.”
Take off the fire; thicken with five egg-yolks; and then carefully mix with it the five whites beaten to a stiff froth. Pour into well-buttered moulds, and poach in a bain-marie.
As an accompaniment serve an English custard or a Sabayon, flavoured according to fancy.
Make a preparation as for No. 2504, but use almond milk instead of cow’s milk. Pour the preparation into buttered moulds, sprinkled with splintered and grilled almonds, and poach in a bain-marie.
As an accompaniment serve a white-wine Sabayon flavoured with orgeat.
Finely pound four oz. of freshly-washed and peeled almonds, and add thereto, from time to time, a few drops of fresh water. When the almonds form a smooth paste, add the necessary quantity of water to them to produce one pint of milk. Strain through muslin and slightly twist the latter in order to express all the contained liquid.
[736]
With this almond milk, dilute three oz. of flour and three oz.
of rice cream, mixed in a saucepan, and take care that no lumps
form. Strain the whole through a strainer, and add five oz. of sugar,
three oz. of butter and a little salt.
Set the saucepan on the fire; boil, stirring the while, and then stir briskly with a spatula until the preparation acquires the consistence of a thick paste and falls from the spatula without leaving any adhering portions. Pour this paste into a basin and combine therewith: first, little by little, two oz. of fresh butter; then, eight egg-yolks, two ounces of finely-pounded almonds moistened with a tablespoonful of kirsch and as much maraschino, and the whites of five eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
This pudding is cooked in a bain-marie in one of the following ways:
(1) In a buttered pie dish. In this case, on taking the pudding out of the bain-marie, sprinkle its surface with icing sugar, and criss-cross it with a red-hot iron.
(2) In a shallow, buttered and dredged, Charlotte-mould.
(3) In fairly shallow, buttered dome-moulds, lined inside with roundels one inch in diameter, stamped (by means of a fancy-cutter) out of a layer of Génoise or a layer of “lady’s-finger-biscuit” preparation, about one-third of an inch thick.
In the two last cases, the pudding is coated with an apricot sauce, mixed with almond milk, and a sauceboat of the same sauce is served separately.
Make the preparation for No. 2504, and flavour it with a piece of lemon rind. The treatment is the same.
Serve an English custard, flavoured with lemon separately.
For all these puddings the procedure is the same as for No. 2504, and only the flavour changes.
Accompany each with an English custard, flavoured like the particular pudding.
Take some souffléd-pudding preparation and add to it two oz. of powdered ginger, and five oz. of candied ginger, cut into dice. Proceed in the same way as for No. 2504.
As an accompaniment, serve an English custard flavoured with ginger.
Cook two lbs. of peeled chestnuts in a light, vanilla-flavoured syrup.
Rub them through a sieve, add five oz. of powdered sugar and three oz. of butter to the purée, and dry it over a fierce fire. Thicken it with eight egg-yolks and finish it with the whites of six eggs, beaten to a stiff froth.
Poach in buttered moulds in a bain-marie.
As an accompaniment, serve, either an English custard, or a vanilla-flavoured apricot syrup.
Work four oz. of butter and four oz. of powdered sugar to a pomade, and add the yolks of ten eggs, one by one; meanwhile stirring the preparation.
Set the latter on a moderate fire until it veneers the withdrawn spoon; then immediately add the whites of seven eggs beaten to a stiff froth.
Pour the whole into a deep, buttered border-mould, which only half fill, in view of the subsequent expansion of the preparation while cooking.
Poach in a bain-marie for about thirty minutes, and let the pudding stand for ten minutes before turning it out.
As an accompaniment serve a light Sabayon or a fruit sauce.
Make a souffléd-pudding preparation flavoured with vanilla, and poach it in a bain-marie, in a mould clothed with sugar cooked to the caramel stage. Serve an English custard, prepared with caramel, separately.
Take some vanilla-flavoured, souffléd-pudding preparation. Take a mould with a central tube; butter it, and besprinkle it with chopped pistachios and crushed macaroons. Set the preparation in the mould in layers, alternated by coats of chopped pistachios and crushed macaroons; and poach in a bain-marie.
As an accompaniment serve an English custard combined with pralin.
Line the bottom and sides of a buttered Charlotte-mould with thin slices of biscuit spread with jam and rolled up. Garnish the mould with a souffléd-pudding preparation, and poach in a bain-marie.
Serve an apricot sauce flavoured with Marsala, separately.
Copiously butter a mould, and sprinkle its bottom and sides with well-washed currants. Garnish with a souffléd-pudding preparation, combined per two lbs. with one lb. of peeled apples, cut into dice and cooked in butter.
Poach in a bain-marie.
Make a souffléd-pudding preparation, and add to it for the quantities given in the original recipe one and a half oz. of tomato jam and the same quantity of pipped Malaga raisins. Poach in a bain-marie in a mould with a central tube.
When the pudding is turned out, surround it with apricot sauce, and pour in the middle some heated rum, which light when serving.
Proceed as for No. 2361: prepare a firm paste from one lb. of flour, nine oz. of chopped suet, one and a half oz. of sugar, a pinch of salt, and one-sixth pint of water. Let this paste rest for one hour before using it.
Roll it out to the shape of a rectangle one-fifth of an inch thick; spread a layer of jam upon it, and roll it up like a Swiss roll.
Wrap it in a buttered and dredged cloth, and cook it in boiling water or in steam for one and a half hours.
When about to serve, cut the roll into roundels half an inch thick, and dish them in a crown. As an accompaniment serve a fruit sauce.
The preparation of rissoles for sweets is the same as that for rissoles served as hors-d’œuvres, except that the former are garnished with marmalade or jam, with a fruit salpicon or with stewed fruit, with plain or pralined creams, etc.
The best paste for the purpose is derived from puff-paste trimmings.
The shape of rissoles varies very much. They may be shaped like half-moons, purses, small, round or oval patties, etc.
Rissoles for entremets are also frequently made from ordinary brioche paste, and constitute a variety of Viennese fritters. In this case they are invariably mentioned on the menu as “à la Dauphine.”
Although soufflés are generally served unaccompanied, some stewed, seasonable fruit, or a macédoine of fresh fruit, may, nevertheless, be served with them. This, of course, only applies to soufflés with a fruit base.
I have already given the formulæ for soufflés (No. 2405); I need now, therefore, only give the peculiarities of each particular soufflé.
Line a round, shallow, well-buttered, croustade-mould with a very thin layer of sugared paste. Spread some vanilla-flavoured, stewed apples on the bottom, and upon it lay a garnish of various seasonable fresh stewed fruits—quartered if large. The mould ought now to be half-filled.
Fill it up with a vanilla-flavoured soufflé preparation, and cook it in a moderate oven for about twenty-five minutes.
On withdrawing it from the oven, carefully turn it out on a dish; pour a few tablespoonfuls of heated rum into the latter, and set a light to it when serving.
Make a preparation of soufflé with cream, but use almond milk instead of cow’s milk, add one and a half oz. of slightly-grilled, chopped almonds, per half pint of almond milk. Dish and cook in the usual way.
Proceed exactly as above, but use fresh splintered almonds instead of grilled, chopped ones.
Make the soufflé preparation from milk in which two oz. of filbert pralin per one-sixth pint have previously been infused.
Dish and cook the soufflé in the usual way.
Make a soufflé preparation of tangerines, and another of filberts as above. Dish the two preparations in layers, alternated by “lady’s-finger biscuits,” saturated with Curaçao liqueur.
Take vanilla-flavoured, soufflé preparation, thickened somewhat more than the ordinary kind, and add to it five tablespoonfuls of strawberry purée. Serve some well-cooled strawberries, coated with raspberry purée, separately.
Prepare a soufflé with Kirsch, accompany it with some stewed stoned cherries, covered with a raspberry purée.
This is a soufflé with Kirsch, accompanied by iced strawberries macerated in orange juice.
Make a soufflé preparation, slightly flavoured with vanilla. Dish it in layers in a timbale, alternated by “lady’s-finger biscuits” saturated with Grenadine and Kirsch. On withdrawing the soufflé from the oven, cover it with a veil of spun sugar, and sprinkle the latter with small sweets, flavoured with Grenadine, in imitation of pomegranate seeds.
Make the soufflé preparation, but use tea instead of milk, and add thereto one and a half oz. of chopped pistachios per one-sixth pint of the tea.
Take some ordinary soufflé preparation, flavoured with Lérina liqueur, which is a kind of Chartreuse, made in the Lérins islands.
This soufflé may be made, either from the soufflé with cream preparation or from that with fruit, given in the note.
The soufflés made from cream are flavoured with such liqueurs as rum, curaçao, anisette, vanilla, etc.
Those made from fruit are flavoured with Kirsch, Kümmel, etc.
Set a savarin, saturated with Kirsch-flavoured syrup, upon a dish, and surround it with a band of paper, tied on with string, in order to prevent the soufflé from drying during the cooking process.
Make a soufflé preparation with a fruit base, set it in the centre of the savarin, and cook it in the usual way.
This is a lemon soufflé, accompanied by fine strawberries, well cooled and coated with a purée of fresh raspberries.
Take some cream soufflé-preparation, combined with pieces of Jeanne-d’Arc biscuits (a kind of Rheims biscuit), saturated with peach liqueur and Kirsch, and one oz. each of half-sugared cherries and angelica, cut into dice.
Take some vanilla-flavoured soufflé preparation. Set it in a timbale, in layers alternated by lady’s-finger biscuits saturated with anisette and Kirsch. Cook in the usual way.
Take some vanilla-flavoured soufflé preparation; add to it two ounces of almond pralin which should have previously infused in milk. When the soufflé is dished, sprinkle its surface with grilled chopped almonds, or crushed, burnt almonds.
Take some cream soufflé-preparation, combined with three ounces of candied fruit, cut into dice and macerated in Dantzig brandy, containing plenty of gold spangles.
When the soufflé is almost cooked, set on it a border of fine strawberries (in season), or half-sugared, preserved cherries.
It should be remembered, however, that the correct procedure demands the use of strawberries in full season.
Take some vanilla-flavoured, soufflé-preparation. Dish it in a timbale in alternate layers with lady’s-finger biscuits, saturated with Kirsch; and distribute thereon such fruits as pine-apple, cherries, angelica and grapes—all cut into dice, and previously macerated in Kirsch.
Take some cream soufflé-preparation, made from milk in which a stick of vanilla has been previously infused.
Take some vanilla-flavoured soufflé preparation, combined with crushed crystallised violets. When the soufflé is dished, set on it a crown of large crystallised violets, and cook in the usual way.
Into one pint of vanilla-flavoured boiled milk, containing three and a half oz. of sugar, drop four oz. of semolina. Add one and a half oz. of butter and a grain of salt; mix thoroughly, and gently cook in the oven under cover for twenty-five minutes.
Thicken with six egg-yolks, and spread the preparation in layers two-thirds of an inch thick over a buttered tray. Pass a piece of butter over the surface to prevent its drying, and leave to cool.
Then cut up this preparation into rings three inches in diameter.
Heat some clarified butter in a frying-pan; set the rings
in it; brown them on both sides, and dish them in a circle.
[742]
Garnish the centre of each ring with a tablespoonful of red-currant
jelly, or very firm quince jelly.
Line a buttered Charlotte mould with some fairly firm Brioche paste. Garnish the mould with quartered pears, cooked in vanilla-flavoured syrup, kept rather firm and alternated by apricot jam.
Close the timbale with a layer of the same paste, well sealed down round the slightly-moistened edges, and cut a slit in the middle for the escape of steam. Cook in a good moderate oven for about forty minutes.
On taking the timbale out of the oven, turn it out on a dish, and accompany it with a maraschino-flavoured apricot sauce.
Prepare a dry paste, combined with four ounces of finely-chopped almonds per one lb. of flour.
With this paste line a buttered timbale mould, and garnish it with various stewed fruits, alternated by layers of frangipan cream. Cover with a layer of the same paste, and bake in a good moderate oven.
When the timbale is turned out, coat it with a vanilla-flavoured apricot syrup.
Take a stale Génoise cooked in a deep Charlotte mould; press the blade of a knife into it and cut it all round, leaving a base.
Remove the inside crumb in one piece which should resemble a large cork in shape. Cut this crumb into slices half-inch thick; coat each slice with Italian meringue, and, upon the latter, distribute a salpicon of peaches, cherries and pine-apple.
Coat the outside of the timbale with the same meringue, and decorate it; put the slices back inside, and set them one upon the other. Owing to the inserted garnish these slices naturally project above the sides of the timbale; surround them therefore with a border of poached peaches, separated by a bit of meringue.
Put the timbale in a mild oven to colour the meringue, and serve a Kirsch-flavoured peach sauce at the same time.
Cook a brioche in a mould of the required size. When it is quite cold, remove all the crumb from its inside, leaving a thickness of three-quarters of an inch on the bottom and sides. Coat all round, by means of a brush, with apricot jam cooked to the small-thread [743] stage, and decorate with pieces of puff-paste in the shape of crescents, lozenges, roundels, etc., colourlessly baked in a moderate oven. When about to serve, pour in a garnish of stoned cherries, cooked in a thin syrup, thickened with raspberry-flavoured red-currant jelly.
Cook a brioche in a Charlotte-mould, and, when it is quite cold, remove the crumb from its inside as above. Coat the outside with apricot jam, and decorate with candied fruit. When about to serve, pour into it a garnish consisting of peeled and quartered pears, apples, peaches and apricots, cooked in vanilla-flavoured syrup; pine-apple cut into large dice, lozenges of angelica; half-almonds; and raisins, swelled in tepid water. Cohere this garnish with a Kirsch-flavoured apricot purée.
Cook a brioche in a Richelieu-mould, and hollow it out and decorate it as above. The garnish of this timbale consists of only whole or halved fruit, and vanilla-flavoured chestnuts; and these are cohered with Kirsch-flavoured apricot syrup, combined with one quart of a purée of chestnut remains.
Pour the garnish into the timbale just before serving.
Whether fresh or preserved, apricots used for sweets should always be peeled. When preserved apricots are used, it is well to cook them again before using them, for sometimes they are inclined to be too firm.
Prepare a flawn-crust, and bake it without colouration. Garnish its bottom with a layer of thin frangipan cream, combined with crushed macaroons. Upon this cream set some half-apricots, poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and cover them with a layer of the same cream.
Sprinkle the surface with crushed macaroons and melted butter and glaze quickly.
N.B.—The above is the usual procedure, but fruit “à la Bourdaloue” may also be prepared in the following ways: (1) Set the fruit in a shallow timbale, between two layers of cream, the upper one of which should be covered with gratin; (2) set the fruit in a border of rice or semolina, with the same coat of gratin upon the [744] cream; (3) set the fruit in a border of Génoise, combined with apricots.
Poach some fine half-apricots in syrup, keeping them somewhat firm.
Drain them; dry them, and garnish their hollows with “rice for entremets” (No. 2404) in suchwise as to reconstruct the fruit. Treat them à l’anglaise, with very fine bread-crumbs; fry just before dishing, and drain. Stick a small stalk of angelica into each apricot, in imitation of the stems, and dish them on a napkin.
Serve a Kirsch-flavoured apricot sauce separately.
On a round dish prepare a border of vanilla-flavoured, sweet rice, either by means of a knife, or by means of an even, buttered, border-mould.
Upon this border set some apricots poached in syrup; decorate with candied fruit, and coat with a Kirsch-flavoured apricot syrup.
Set a crown of small Génoise roundels on a dish; on each roundel set a fine poached half-apricot (convex side undermost), and set a half-sugared cherry in the hollow of each half-apricot. In the middle of the crown arrange a pyramid of rice croquettes, the size and shape of apricots.
Serve a Kirsch-flavoured apricot sauce separately.
Garnish the flat side of some macaroons with a layer of smooth fruit salpicon, cohered with an apricot purée; set a fine poached half-apricot on each macaroon, coat with Italian meringue; dish in the form of a crown, and place the dish in a moderate oven for a few minutes to dry, but not to colour, the meringue.
Serve a Kirsch-flavoured apricot sauce separately.
Spread an even layer, one inch thick, of stiff stewed apples or stewed semolina (prepared like rice for entremets) on a dish. Set thereon some fine half-apricots poached in syrup; entirely cover the latter with a somewhat thin preparation of “Pralin à Condé,” sprinkle with icing sugar, and set the dish in the oven to slightly colour the pralin.
Spread a layer of vanilla-flavoured sweet rice on a dish, and set some poached half-apricots thereon. Cover with ordinary meringue; shaping the latter like a dome or a Charlotte; decorate with the same meringue; sprinkle with icing sugar, and place the dish in the oven in order to slightly cook the meringue.
On withdrawing the dish from the oven, garnish the decorative portions alternately with apricot and red-currant jam.
Prepare a colourlessly-baked deep flawn-crust. Garnish the bottom either with a layer of frangipan cream or with vanilla-flavoured semolina, or sweet rice. Set on this some poached half-apricots; cover with meringue, smooth the latter on top and all round with the blade of a knife, and decorate with meringue by means of a piping-bag fitted with a small even pipe. For the rest of the procedure follow the preceding recipe.
Prepare a Génoise, cooked in a somewhat deep border-mould, and stick it by means of some apricot, cooked to the small-thread stage, to a base of dry paste of the same size. Coat it all round with ordinary meringue; decorate it with a piping-bag fitted with a small even pipe, and brown it in a moderate oven.
Then garnish the inside of the border with a preparation of vanilla-flavoured rice, combined with a little frangipan cream and some splintered pistachios; taking care to keep the preparation sufficiently stiff to be able to shape it like a dome. Upon the rice set some fine half-apricots, poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and sprinkle these with chopped pistachios.
As an accompaniment serve a syrup prepared with almond milk, and finished with a piece of butter as big as a hazel-nut.
See No. 2429.
Macerate in sugar and Kirsch some half-slices of pine-apple. Dish them in a circle upon a border of rice, prepared as directed under No. 2551; decorate with half-sugared cherries and lozenges of angelica, and coat with a Kirsch-flavoured apricot syrup.
Cook a pine-apple in a Kirsch-flavoured syrup; cut it vertically in two, and cut each half into vertical, thin and regular slices.
[746]
Line a dome-mould with these slices, and fill it up with
vanilla-flavoured rice; leaving a hollow in the middle. Garnish
this hollow with the pine-apple parings, cut into dice, and custard
apples and bananas, likewise cut into dice and cooked in syrup.
Turn out upon a round dish; decorate the top with large leaves of angelica, and surround the base with bananas poached in Kirsch-flavoured syrup.
Serve a Kirsch-flavoured apricot syrup separately.
Peel the bananas and poach them gently in a vanilla-flavoured syrup. For the rest of the operation, proceed as directed under No. 2549.
Poach the bananas in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and then treat them as directed under No. 2551.
Poach the bananas in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and then treat them as directed under the apricot recipes (Nos. 2555 and 2556); leaving them either whole or cutting them into roundels.
Cut a slice of the peel from each banana, and remove the pulp from their insides. Fill the emptied peels, three parts full, with banana ice, and quickly cover the latter by means of a piping-bag fitted with a small grooved pipe, with an Italian meringue flavoured with rum.
Lay the prepared bananas on a dish; set the latter on a tray containing broken ice, and place the tray in a sufficiently hot oven to ensure the speedy browning of the meringue.
Cut off a quarter of each banana, and withdraw the pulp from their insides without bursting the peel. Rub this pulp through a sieve; add it to a cream soufflé-preparation; finish the latter with the necessary quantity of egg-whites, and fill the emptied peels with it.
Set the filled peels in a star on a dish, and put the latter in the oven for six minutes.
Stone some fine cherries; poach them in syrup, and set them in small silver timbales. Reduce the syrup and thicken it with a little arrowroot, diluted with cold water; allowing one table-spoonful of arrowroot per half-pint of syrup. Cover the cherries with the thickened syrup; pour a coffee-spoonful of heated Kirsch into each timbale, and set a light to each when serving.
Prepare some tartlet crusts for sugared paste. Garnish the bottom of each with red-currant ice, combined with cream, and cover the latter with vanilla-flavoured, Italian meringue, laid on by means of a piping-bag. Upon this meringue set the stoned cherries, poached in sugared Bordeaux wine, and arrange the tartlets on a dish.
Lay the dish on a tray containing broken ice, and set the tray in the oven in order to dry the meringue. On withdrawing the dish from the oven, quickly coat the cherries with red-currant syrup; sprinkle the latter with chopped pistachios, and dish the tartlets on a napkin.
Line a buttered flawn-ring with fine paste: prick the bottom; garnish with stoned cherries after the manner of an ordinary flawn, and fill up with custard (No. 2397). Cook in the usual way.
On taking the flawn out of the oven, remove the ring, and finish the former like an ordinary meringue-coated flawn.
N.B.—All fruits used in the preparation of ordinary flawns may be similarly prepared for meringue-coated flawns. Only such fruits as strawberries and grapes, which are not cooked with the crust, are unsuited to this kind of preparation.
Nectarines may be prepared after all the recipes given for peaches. I shall not, therefore, give any recipes which are proper to them. See peaches.
Cut a slice of peel from the top of each of the oranges, and empty them by means of a spoon. Three-parts fill the emptied peels with orange or tangerine ice, in accordance with the fruit [748] under treatment, and cover the ice with Italian meringue, by means of a piping-bag.
Set the dish containing the garnished peels on a tray covered with broken ice, and quickly colour the meringue at the salamander.
Cut the tangerines at the top and remove the sections without bursting the peel. Skin the sections raw. Fill the peels with rice for entremets, containing a little saffron; mould some of the same rice in a little dome-mould, and set it upon a carved cushion.
Cover this dome with the tangerine sections; coat the latter with some apricot syrup; and, all round, arrange the rice-garnished peels, opened side undermost.
Without splitting them, empty the orange or tangerine peels.
Half-fill them with orange or tangerine ice, according to the fruit under treatment, and cover the ice with orange- or tangerine-flavoured soufflé-preparation. Place the dish containing the garnished peels upon a tray covered with broken ice; set in the oven that the soufflé may cook quickly, and allow two minutes for tangerines and four minutes for oranges.
Poach the peaches (cut into two) in some vanilla-flavoured syrup, and then proceed exactly as for No. 2549.
Nos. 2551 and 2552 maybe applied in every respect to peaches.
Proceed exactly as for No. 2553.
These may be prepared in two ways as follows:—
(1) Poach the peaches whole in a Kirsch-flavoured syrup, and set them each in a small timbale. Thicken the syrup slightly with arrowroot, and pour it over the peaches. Add some heated Kirsch, and set it alight when serving.
(2) Poach the peaches as above, and set them on a fresh-strawberry purée. Sprinkle the whole with heated Kirsch, and set it alight at the last moment.
Proceed exactly as for No. 2554.
Prepare a colourlessly-baked, flawn crust; garnish the bottom of it with frangipan cream prepared with pralin, and upon this cream set whole or halved, poached peaches. Cover with meringue and finish as explained under No. 2555.
Take some biscuit, baked in a dome-mould and completely cooled. Cut it transversely into slices, and coat each of the latter with frangipan cream, combined with a salpicon of candied fruit and chopped, grilled almonds.
Join the slices together in suchwise as to reconstruct the biscuit, and cover the latter with Italian meringue. Decorate by means of the piping-bag, and dry in the oven.
Surround the biscuit with a border of fine half-peaches poached in a vanilla-flavoured syrup.
Poach the halved or whole peaches in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and set them in a timbale. Cover them to within half their height with the syrup used in poaching, thickened with arrowroot slightly tinted with pink, and combined with vanilla cream.
If the pears be of medium size, halve them; if they are large, quarter them. Carefully trim the sections. Cook the pears in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and for the rest of the operation follow No. 2549.
The remarks appended to No. 2549 apply equally to pears and to all fruit prepared according to the particular recipe referred to.
Very small pears turned with great care are admirably suited to this entremet. If they are of medium size, halve them. Cook them in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and dish them on a border of rice as directed under No. 2551.
Quarter and properly trim the pears, and cook them in vanilla-flavoured syrup. Dish them in a shallow timbale between two layers of vanilla-flavoured rice for entremets, combined with a little frangipan cream.
Sprinkle the upper layer with crushed macaroons and melted butter, and set the gratin to form.
Bake a Génoise base in a flawn-ring, and, when it is almost cold, saturate it with Kirsch-flavoured syrup.
In the middle of this base set a little dome of vanilla-flavoured rice, and surround it with pears, cooked in syrup and set upright. Border them with a thread of ordinary meringue, squeezed from a piping-bag, fitted with a fair-sized, grooved pipe; by the same means make a fine rosette of meringue on top of the dome, and bake this meringue in a mild oven.
On taking the dish out of the oven, glaze the pears with a brush dipped in rather stiff apricot-syrup, and surround them with a border of half-sugared cherries.
Halve or quarter the pears; trim them well, and cook them in a vanilla-flavoured syrup.
For the rest of the operation follow No. 2557.
Turn the pears; cook them whole in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and let them cool in the syrup. When they are cold cut them in two lengthwise, slightly hollow out the inside of each half; garnish the hollow with rice for entremets, combined with a quarter of its weight of frangipan cream and a fine salpicon of candied fruit, macerated in Kirsch.
Join the two halves of each pear, and treat them à l’anglaise with very fine bread-crumbs.
Fry them at the last moment, and, on taking them out of the fat, stick an angelica stalk into each. Dish them on a napkin, and serve a Kirsch-flavoured apricot sauce separately.
Two-thirds garnish a buttered Charlotte-mould with Savarin paste. Let the paste rise by fermentation; bake it, and let it cool.
Remove the top which acts as a cover, and put it aside; then remove all the crumb from the inside, leaving only the outside crust, and smear the latter with apricot syrup. Decorate with alternate bands of sugar grains and chopped, very green pistachios.
Treat the cover with apricot syrup and decorate it in the same way. Quarter some “Duchesse,” “Beurre,” “Doyenne” or other creamy pears; peel them; cut them into somewhat thick slices, and cook them in butter after the manner of Pommes à Charlotte. When the pears are well cooked, mix with them a quarter of their weight of apricot jam, and flavour with vanilla liqueur.
[751]
Serve the timbale with this preparation; put its cover on, and
set it on a warm dish.
Serve a Kirsch-flavoured apricot sauce separately.
Take some russet apples, which are the best for the purpose, and make a hole through their centres with a tube three-quarters of an inch in diameter, to remove the core and the pips. Peel them and cut them into roundels one-third of an inch thick, and macerate them for twenty minutes in powdered sugar and brandy or rum.
A few minutes before serving, dry them slightly; dip the roundels into thin batter, and plunge them into plenty of hot fat. Drain them, set them on a tray, sprinkle them with icing sugar, glaze them quickly, and dish them on a napkin.
Core some gray Calville or russet apples by means of the tube-cutter; peel them and parboil them for two minutes in boiling water, containing a little lemon juice. Then set them in a buttered sautépan; add a few tablespoonfuls of vanilla-flavoured syrup, and cook them under cover in the oven. Dish them on little, round, brioche croûtons, glazed in the oven, and fill the hollow with butter worked with an equal weight of powdered sugar, and mixed with a little brandy.
Cover the apples with their own syrup, slightly thickened with apricot purée.
Core some russet apples with the tube-cutter, and slightly cut them all round.
Dish them, fill the hollow of each with butter and powdered sugar mixed; pour a little water into the dish, and gently cook the apples in the oven.
Serve these apples as they stand.
Quarter, peel and trim the apples, and cook them in vanilla-flavoured syrup, keeping them somewhat firm. Proceed for the rest of the operation as directed under No. 2549.
See No. 2436.
Take some medium-sized apples, and prepare them like those of No. 2590. Set them on a buttered dish; fill the hollow in each with a salpicon of half-sugared cherries, cohered with apricot purée; cover with thin, frangipan cream; sprinkle with crushed biscuits and macaroons and melted butter, and set the gratin to form in a fierce oven.
On a dish, set a cushion of a preparation for semolina croquettes. All round arrange a close border of quartered apples cooked in vanilla-flavoured syrup; garnish the centre with a salpicon of candied fruit and raisins, cohered with an apricot purée, and cover with a thin coat of semolina.
Cover the whole with ordinary meringue, shaped like a dome; sprinkle some chopped pistachios upon the latter; dredge with icing sugar, and set to brown in a mild oven.
On taking the dish out of the oven deck the top of the dome, with a rosette of elongated angelica lozenges; place a small apple, cooked in pink syrup, in the middle of the rosette, and surround the base of the entremet with a circle of alternated white and pink, quartered apples.
Poach some fine, peeled and trimmed apples in vanilla-flavoured syrup. Dish them on a border of rice, decorated with cherries and angelica, as explained under No. 2551.
Set the quartered apples, poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup, upon a base of minced apples prepared as for a Charlotte and kept somewhat stiff. Cover with fairly thin pralin à Condé; sprinkle with icing sugar, and place the dish in a mild oven, that the pralin may dry and colour slightly.
Set the quartered apples, poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup, upon a base of rice for croquettes, or of a mince as for a Charlotte. Cover with ordinary meringue, and smooth the latter, giving it the shape of a dome or a Charlotte; decorate with the same meringue; sprinkle with icing sugar, and bake and brown in a mild oven.
Take some well-shaped apples, uniform in size; trim to within [753] two-thirds of their height, and withdraw the pulp from their insides in suchwise as to make them resemble a kind of cases.
Poach these cases in a thin syrup, keeping the pulp somewhat firm; drain them well, and set them on a dish.
Garnish them, one-third full, with a purée made from the withdrawn pulp, and fill them up with a Kümmel-flavoured, apple-soufflé preparation.
Cook in a mild oven for twenty minutes.
Proceed exactly as for No. 2584.
Make cases of the apples as under No. 2598, and poach them in the same way, keeping them somewhat firm.
Garnish them with stiff frangipan cream, combined with grated orange rind, crushed macaroons, and currants and sultanas (both washed and swelled in a Curaçao-flavoured, lukewarm syrup).
Dish these garnished apples on a base of semolina-croquette preparation, and set them in the oven for ten minutes. On taking them out of the oven, coat their surface with melted red-currant jelly, combined with a fine julienne of well-parboiled orange-zest.
Prepare the apples like those “à la Bonne-femme,” and enclose each in a layer of fine, short paste. Cover each rabotte with an indented roundel of the same paste; gild; streak, and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes.
Select some nice apples; peel them, and cook them in syrup, keeping them somewhat firm. When they are cold, carefully withdraw their pulp, that they may form a sort of cases.
Rub the pulp through a sieve, sugar it with vanilla sugar, and spread a layer of it on the bottom of each apple. Fill up the apple-cases with vanilla ice, combined with a purée of cooked plums; the proportions being one-third of the latter to one of the former.
Cover this ice with Kirsch-flavoured Italian meringue; set the latter to colour quickly, and serve instantly.
Prepare a colourlessly-baked flawn crust. Garnish it with apples stewed as for a Charlotte, and shape these in the form of a dome. Upon these stewed apples set pink and white quartered apples, alternating the latter regularly; and, by means of a brush [754] delicately coat these quarters of apple with some reduced white syrup.
Line a flawn-ring with some short paste, and garnish it with apples, stewed as for a Charlotte.
Cover the apples with a dome of somewhat creamy rice for entremets, combined with the whites of four eggs (beaten to a stiff froth) per lb. of cooked rice.
Bake the flawn in the usual way, and, on taking it out of the oven, sprinkle it copiously with icing sugar, and glaze with a red-hot iron.
Constituents.—One lb. of chopped suet; one and one-third lbs. of cold, cooked fillet of beef, cut into very small dice; one lb. of pipped raisins; one lb. of currants and an equal quantity of sultanas; one lb. of candied rinds; half lb. of peeled and chopped raw apples; the chopped zest and the juice of an orange; two-thirds oz. of allspice; one-sixth pint of brandy; and the same measure of Madeira and rum.
Thoroughly mix the whole; pour it into an earthenware jar; cover the latter, and let the preparation macerate for a month.
Preparation.—Line some deep, buttered tartlet moulds with ordinary short paste; garnish them with the above preparation; cover with a thin layer of puff-paste, having a hole in its centre; seal down this layer, gild, and bake in a hot oven.
Make an omelet from two eggs, and garnish it either with cream, stewed fruit or jam. Make a somewhat larger omelet, and stuff it with a different garnish from the one already used; enclose the first omelet in the second, and roll the latter up in the usual way. Sprinkle with icing sugar, and glaze in the oven or with a red-hot iron.
Bake a somewhat deep flawn-crust without colouration, and have it of a size in proportion to the number of eggs it has to contain. Coat it inside with a layer of pralin, and dry the latter well in a mild oven.
Meanwhile poach the required number of fresh eggs in boiling milk, sugared to the extent of a quarter lb. per quart, and keep them somewhat soft. Drain them, and set them in the crust. [755] Between each egg place a small slice of pine-apple, cut to the shape of a cock’s comb. Thicken the poaching-milk with five eggs and six egg-yolks per quart; pass it through a strainer: pour the preparation over the eggs, and put the flawn in a mild oven, that the cream may be poached and slightly coloured.
Cut some slices one-half inch thick from a brioche or a stale loaf and dip them in cold sugared and vanilla-flavoured milk. Drain the slices; dip them in some slightly-sugared beaten eggs, and place them in a frying-pan containing some very hot clarified butter. Brown them on both sides; drain them; sprinkle them with vanilla sugar, and dish them on a napkin.
Prepare (1) a border of apples, stewed as for a Charlotte, thickened with eggs, and poached in a buttered and ornamented border mould.
(2) A macédoine of fruit, the quantity of which should be in proportion to the capacity of the mould and consisting of quartered pears, cooked in syrup; pine-apple, cut into large lozenges; half-sugared cherries; angelica, stamped into leaf-shapes by means of the fancy-cutter; and currants and sultanas, swelled in syrup. Set all these fruits in a sautépan.
To every pint of the pear-syrup add one lb. of sugar, and cook the mixture to the small-ball stage. This done, reduce it by adding one-sixth pint of very thick almond milk; pour this over the fruit, and simmer very gently for ten minutes. Turn out the border of apples, poached in a bain-marie, upon a dish, and surround it with a border of candied cherries. Complete the macédoine away from the fire with a little very best butter; pour it into the border, and sprinkle on it some peeled and finely-splintered almonds.
Line a greased iron saucepan, or a large mould for “Pommes Anna,” with a thin layer of ordinary noodle paste, and fill it up with the following preparation:—For a utensil large enough to hold one and a half quarts:—one and three quarter lbs. of stiffly stewed russet apples; one and a quarter lbs. in all of pipped Malaga raisins, currants, and sultanas (swelled in tepid water) in equal quantities; the finely chopped half-zests of an orange and a lemon; a mite of grated nutmeg; four oz. powdered sugar; four whole eggs and the yolks of six; and a quarter of a pint of Malaga wine. Mix the whole well, in advance.
Cover with a layer of noodle paste; seal the latter well down [756] round the edges; gild, and make a slit in the top for the escape of steam. Bake it in a moderate oven for fifty minutes, and let it rest ten minutes before turning it out.
These tarts are made in deep pie or pastry-dishes. Whatever be the fruit used, clean it, peel it, or core it, according to its nature. Some fruits are sliced while others are merely quartered or left whole.
Set them in the dish, to within half inch of its brim; sprinkle them with moist or powdered sugar, and (in the case of fruit with firm pulps like apples) with a few tablespoonfuls of water.
This addition of water is optional and, in any case, may be dispensed with for aqueous fruits. First cover the edges of the dish, which should be moistened slightly, with a strip of short paste, an inch wide. Then cover the dish with a layer of puff-paste, which seal down well to the strip of paste, already in position and slightly moistened for the purpose. With a brush moisten the layer of paste constituting the cover of the tart; sprinkle it with sugar, and set the tart to bake in a moderate oven.
All English tarts are made in this way, and all fruits may be used with them even when, as in the case of gooseberries, they are green.
Accompany these tarts by a sauceboat of raw-cream or by a custard pudding (No. 2406).
Cold sweets allow of the following sauces:—
(1) English Custard (2397), flavoured according to fancy.
(2) Syrups of apricot, of mirabelle plums, of greengages, of red-currant, &c., the particular flavour of which should always be intensified by the addition of a liqueur in keeping with the fruit forming the base of the syrup. Kirsch and Maraschino are admirably suited to this purpose.
(3) Purées of fresh fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, red-currants, etc., combined with a little powdered sugar, and used plain or mixed with a little whipped cream.
(4) Chantilly Cream, flavoured as fancy may suggest.
Finally, certain entremets allow of the following sauce:—
Gently melt one lb. of raspberry-flavoured red-currant jelly. Pour it into a cold basin, and add to it an equal quantity of freshly-prepared cherry juice, the juice of two blood-oranges, a little powdered ginger, and a few drops of carmine; the latter with the view of giving the preparation a sufficiently strong and distinctive colour. Finally add a quarter of a lb. of half-sugared cherries, softened in a tepid, Kirsch-flavoured syrup.
These are of two kinds:—
(1) Bavarois with cream, and (2) Bavarois with fruit.
Preparation: Work one lb. of castor sugar with fourteen egg-yolks in a saucepan, dilute with a pint and a half of boiled milk, in which a stick of vanilla has previously been infused, and two-thirds of an oz. of gelatine dipped in cold water.
Put the preparation on a mild fire until it properly veneers the withdrawn spoon, and do not let it boil. Pass it through the strainer into an enamelled basin; let it cool, stirring it from time to time; and, when it begins to thicken, add one and a half pints of whipped cream, three oz. of powdered sugar, and two-thirds oz. of vanilla sugar.
Constituents.—One pint of fruit purée, diluted with one pint of syrup at 30° (saccharom.). Add the juice of three lemons, one oz. of dissolved gelatine, strained through linen, and one pint of whipped cream. The preparation for fruit Bavarois may be combined with fruit of the same nature as that used for the purée; and this fruit may be added raw in the case of strawberries, raspberries, red-currants, etc., and poached in the case of pulpy fruits, such as pears, peaches, apricots, etc.
Bavarois are generally moulded in fancy moulds fitted with a central tube, slightly greased with sweet almond oil. When they are greased they are incrusted in broken ice after the preparation has been covered with a round sheet of white paper.
When about to serve, the mould is quickly plunged into tepid water, wiped, and turned out upon a dish, which may or may not be covered with a folded napkin.
Instead of oiling the moulds they may be covered with a thin coat of sugar cooked to the caramel stage, which besides making [758] the Bavarois sightly, also gives it an excellent taste. Another very advisable method is that of serving the Bavarois in a deep silver timbale or dish, surrounded with ice. In this case, the entremet not having to be turned out, the preparation does not need to be so cohesive, and is therefore much more delicate.
When the Bavarois is served after this last method it is sometimes accompanied by stewed fruit or a Macédoine of fresh fruit; though, in reality, these fruit adjuncts are better suited to cold puddings, which, in some points, are not unlike Bavarois.
Finally, when the Bavarois is moulded, it may be decorated, just before being served, with Chantilly cream laid on by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe.
Take some vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation combined with three oz. of candied chestnut purée and three oz. of candied chestnuts, broken into small pieces, per pint of the preparation.
Having turned out the Bavarois, surround it with a crown of fine candied chestnuts.
Clothe a timbale mould with a layer of vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation. Fill it with chocolate and strawberry Bavarois preparations, spread in alternate and regular layers.
Clothe a Bavarois mould with a preparation of slightly-sugared raw cream, combined with dissolved gelatine. Then fill up the mould with a Bavarois preparation, made from strawberry purée and combined with large strawberries, macerated in Kirsch. When the entremet is turned out surround it with a border of large strawberries, also macerated in sugar and Kirsch.
Clothe a mould with some chocolate dissolved in a syrup containing a somewhat large proportion of gelatine. Garnish the inside of the mould with a vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation, made from plain instead of whipped cream.
This kind of Bavarois is made from differently-coloured and differently-flavoured preparations, spread in alternate layers in the mould.
It is therefore governed by no hard and fast rules, and every kind of Bavarois preparation may be used.
Almond, anisette, filbert, coffee, chocolate, Kirsch, fresh walnut, orange, and violet Bavarois, &c., may be prepared after No. 2614; the flavour alone undergoing any change.
After the generic recipe, Bavarois may be prepared from pine-apple, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, melon, etc.
Blanc-mange is scarcely ever served nowadays, and this is a pity; seeing that, when it is well prepared, it is one of the best entremets that can be set before a diner. Blanc-mange, as it is prepared in England, is quite different from that generally served; but it is nevertheless an excellent and very wholesome entremet, and that is why I have given its recipe below.
As a matter of fact, in order to justify its name, blanc-mange ought always to be beautifully white; but, for a long time since, the compound word has lost its original meaning. The adjective and noun composing it have fused one with the other to form a single generic title, which may now be applied with equal propriety to both coloured and white preparations; and the verbal error is so old, dating as it does from pre-Carême times, that it would be futile to try and correct it.
Preparation.—Skin one lb. of sweet almonds and four or five bitter almonds, and soak them well in fresh water that they may be quite white.
Pound them as finely as possible; adding to them the while (in spoonfuls at a time) one pint of water. Strain the whole through a strong towel, twisting the latter tightly; melt one lb. of loaf-sugar in the resulting milk (about one and half pints); add a bare oz. of gelatine dissolved in tepid syrup; strain the whole through muslin, and flavour according to taste.
Moulding:—Mould the blanc-mange in oiled moulds fitted with centre-tubes as for Bavarois. Incrust them in ice that their contents may set, and proceed for the turning-out as already directed.
N.B.—For the preparation of almond milk, modern Cookery has substituted for the procedure given above, which is antiquated, another which consists in pounding the almonds with only a few table-spoonfuls of water and some very thin cream.
All fruits, reduced to purées, may serve in the preparation of blanc-manges, and the apportionment of the ingredients should be as follows:—the purée of the selected fruit and the preparation given above (including the same amount of gelatine) should be mixed in equal quantities.
These blanc-manges take the name of the fruit with which they are prepared, i.e.: strawberries, raspberries, apricots, peaches, etc. They may also be prepared with liqueurs, which should be in the proportion of one liqueur glassful to one quart of the preparation. The best liqueurs for the purpose are Kirsch, Maraschino and Rum.
Blanc-manges are also made from chocolate and coffee, although the flavour of the latter does not blend so well with that of almonds as do the other products.
Prepare these as directed under No. 2621, spreading the differently flavoured and coloured blanc-mange preparations in alternate even and regular layers.
N.B.—Blanc-mange preparations may also be dished in silver timbales, in good china cases, or in deep dishes. By this means, to the great improvement of the preparation, the gelatine may be reduced to a minimum quantity, just enough to ensure the setting of the blanc-mange and no more. And the thing is quite possible inasmuch as there is no question of turning out the entremet.
In his book “The Parisian Cook,” Carême recommends the addition to the Blanc-mange of a quarter of its volume of very fresh, good cream; and the advice, coming as it does from such an authoritative source, is worth following.
Boil one quart of milk, containing four oz. of sugar, and pour it over a quarter of a lb. of corn-flour diluted with half a pint of cold milk; stirring briskly the while.
Smooth the preparation with the whisk, and cook it over an open fire for a few minutes, without ceasing to stir.
On taking it off the fire, flavour it according to taste; and pour it, very hot, into moulds previously moistened with syrup, that the mouldings may turn out glossy and smooth.
Let the contents of the moulds set; turn them out, and serve them very cold either plain or with an accompaniment of stewed fruit.
Line the bottom of a Charlotte mould with a round piece of paper, and garnish the sides with upright pieces of Génoise, glazed white, pink and pale-green; alternating the colours and pressing the uprights snugly one against the other. Meanwhile, take some strawberry, chocolate, pistachio and apricot Bavarois preparations, and let them set in flawn-rings, lying on pieces of oiled paper.
Cut the Bavarois preparations into large dice, and mix them with an ordinary, and somewhat liquid, cream Bavarois preparation. Pour the whole into the mould, and leave to cool. When about to serve, turn out the Charlotte; remove the piece of paper and replace it by a thin Génoise top, glazed with “fondant” and decorated with candied fruit.
Line the Charlotte with gaufrettes, and garnish it with the following preparation:—eight oz. of stewed tomatoes; four oz. of stewed red-capsicums, a pinch of powdered ginger, three oz. of candied ginger cut into dice, the juice of three lemons, half a pint of hot syrup at 32° (saccharom.), and five dissolved gelatine leaves.
Mix up the whole, and, when the preparation begins to thicken, add to it one and three-quarter pints of whisked cream.
Prepare the Charlotte with gaufrettes, stuck directly upon a round base of dry paste, either with apricot jam cooked to the small-thread stage or with sugar cooked to the small-crack stage. As a help, a Charlotte mould may be used for this operation; it may be laid on the dry-paste base and removed when the gaufrettes are all stuck.
Garnish with whisked, sugared and vanilla-flavoured cream built up in pyramid-form, and decorate its surface, by means of a spoon, with the same cream, slightly tinted with pink.
A “Baquet” (bucket) is made with lady’s-finger biscuits, well trimmed and stuck upon a base of dry paste with sugar cooked to the large-crack stage.
In the middle, and on either side of the baquet, set a biscuit, somewhat higher than the rest, with a hole in its top end, cut by means of a small round cutter; and surround the baquet with small threads of chocolate-flavoured almond paste, in imitation of iron hoops.
[762]
The “Panier” (basket) is made in the same way, but with biscuits
all of the same size, and without the imitation iron-hoops.
On the base and by means of sugar cooked to the large-crack stage,
fix a handle of pulled sugar, decked with sugar flowers.
The baquet and the panier are garnished with the same cream as the Chantilly Charlotte, and are finished in the same way, with a decoration of pink-tinted cream.
Line the bottom and sides of the mould with lady’s-finger biscuits. Garnish with a Bavarois preparation consisting of one pint of peach purée per quart of English custard, and the usual quantity of whisked cream.
Add some very ripe, sliced and sugared peaches, on putting the preparation into the mould.
Line a mould with Huntley and Palmer’s sugar wafers and garnish it with a vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation, combined with one-quarter of its bulk of a smooth purée of candied chestnuts, and a salpicon of candied fruit, macerated in Maraschino.
Line the Charlotte with lady’s-finger biscuits or with gaufrettes. When about to serve, garnish it with a Plombière ice (No. 2795) and turn it out upon a napkin.
Line the bottom of the mould with a round piece of white paper, and the sides with rectangles of Génoise, glazed white and pink. Set the glazed sides of the rectangles against the mould.
Fill the mould, thus lined, with a vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation, combined with raw peeled and sliced apricots and peaches, pine-apple cut into dice, and wild strawberries, all these fruits having been previously macerated in Kirsch. Let the preparation set in the cool or on ice.
When the Charlotte is turned out, remove the round piece of paper, and in its place lay a slice of pine-apple, cut from the thickest part of the fruit and decorated with candied fruit.
Make a rosette on the bottom of the mould with some heart-shaped lady’s-finger biscuits, and line the sides with the same biscuits trimmed, set upright and close together.
This Charlotte may be garnished with a vanilla-, pralin-, coffee-, orange- or chocolate-flavoured cream Bavarois preparation; or a [763] Bavarois preparation made from a purée of such fruits as apricots, pine-apple, bananas, peaches, strawberries, etc.
The flavour or product which determines the character of the Charlotte should always be referred to on the menu, thus: Charlotte Russe à l’Orange or Charlotte Russe aux Fraises, etc.
Cold creams, served as entremets, belong to two very distinct classes:
(1) Cooked Creams, which are, in short, but a variety of custard.
(2) The Creams derived from natural, fresh cream, whipped and sugared, the generic type of which is Chantilly cream.
Cooked Creams are prepared either in special little pots, in small silver or porcelain bowls, or in moulds. Those prepared in moulds are turned out when they are quite cold, and are called “Crèmes renversées” to distinguish them from the first two kinds which are always served in the utensil in which they have cooked.
For all that, the term “Crème renversée” has grown somewhat obsolete, and the modern expression for this kind of custards is “Crème moulée.”
Crème au Caramel represents a perfect type of this class.
The custards served in their cooking-receptacles are more delicate than the others, because their preparation does not demand such a large quantity of eggs; but they are only served in the home, like English custard. For a stylish luncheon or dinner, moulded custards (Fr. crèmes moulées) are best.
Boil one quart of milk containing one-half lb. of sugar; add a stick of vanilla, and let the latter infuse for twenty minutes. Pour this milk, little by little, over three eggs and eight yolks, previously whisked in a basin, and whisk briskly the while. Pass the whole through a fine sieve; let it rest for a moment or two; then completely remove all the froth lying on its surface, and pour the preparation into buttered moulds or into vases specially made for this purpose. Set to poach in a bain-marie, in a moderate oven, keeping lids on the utensils.
Not for one moment must the water in the bain-marie boil while the poaching is in progress; for the air contained by the preparation would then become over-heated, and the result would be an infinity of small holes throughout the depth of the custard, which would greatly mar its appearance.
As a matter of fact, the custard should poach, that is to say, [764] coagulate, as the result of the surrounding water being kept at a constant temperature of 185° F. As soon as it is poached, let the custard cool.
When it is poached in the utensils in which it is served, one egg and eight yolks per quart of milk will be found sufficient. The utensils should be carefully wiped and dished on a napkin.
If the custard is to be turned out, carefully overturn the mould upon a dish, and pull it off a few minutes later. Moulded and potted custards admit of all the flavourings proper to entremets; but those which suit them best are vanilla, almond milk, almond and filbert pralin, coffee, chocolate, etc. Unless used in the form of very concentrated essences, fruit flavours are less suited to them.
Clothe the bottom and sides of a mould with sugar cooked to the golden-caramel stage, and fill it up with a vanilla-flavoured, moulded-custard preparation. Poach and turn it out as directed.
This is a custard with caramel, but instead of clothing the mould with the latter, it is dissolved in the hot milk. The custard should be treated exactly like the vanilla-flavoured kind.
Make a preparation of pralin-flavoured custard with caramel and poach it.
When it is quite cold, turn it out on a dish; decorate it with Kirsch-flavoured Chantilly cream, and sprinkle its surface with chopped pistachios.
Poach, in an ornamented border-mould, a preparation of pralin-flavoured custard. When it is turned out, garnish its midst with a dome of Chantilly cream, aromatised with pralined violets. Upon the border set a crown of fine strawberries, macerated in a Kirsch-flavoured syrup, and cover with a veil of sugar cooked to the large-crack stage.
Take some fresh and somewhat thick cream, and whisk it until it is sufficiently stiff to span the members of the whisk. Add to it eight oz. of powdered sugar per quart of cream, and flavour with vanilla or fruit essence.
[765]
Whatever be the purpose of this cream, it should, if possible,
be prepared only at the last moment.
The constituents for this preparation are a purée of the selected fruit and Chantilly cream, in the proportion of one-third of the former to two-thirds of the latter.
The quantities of sugar and kind of flavour vary according to the nature of the fruit.
It is served either as an entremet garnish, or alone in a bowl, with a decoration of the same cream, laid by means of a piping-bag fitted with a small even or grooved pipe. Send some lady’s-finger biscuits separately.
Take some Chantilly cream, and add to it one-quarter of its bulk of roughly broken-up meringues. Put the preparation in an iced Madeleine-mould, lined with white paper; seal up thoroughly; string tightly, and keep the utensil in ice for two hours.
Turn out when about to serve; remove the paper; and decorate, by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, with Chantilly cream, tinted pink with strawberry and raspberry juice.
Take some violet-flavoured, slightly-iced Chantilly cream, and set in small dessert-dishes, by means of a spoon.
Take some Chantilly cream, aromatised with vanilla-flavoured strawberry purée, and dish it in small dessert-dishes, by means of a spoon.
Boil one pint of white wine and as much water, and sprinkle in it eight oz. of small semolina. Cook gently for twenty-five minutes. Then add to the preparation two-thirds lb. of powdered sugar, a pinch of table-salt, two eggs, and the whites of six, beaten to a stiff froth.
Pour it into moulds with buttered sides; set these to poach in the bain-marie, and leave them to cool. Turn out, and coat with a purée of raw fruit, such as strawberries, red-currants, cherries, etc., reasonably sugared.
From the standpoint of their preparation, jellies are of two kinds: (1) wine- or liqueur-flavoured jellies; (2) fruit jellies. But their base is the same in all cases, i.e., gelatine dissolved in a certain quantity of water.
[766]
The gelatine should be extracted from calf’s foot, by boiling
the latter; but, although this is the best that can be obtained, the
means of obtaining it are the most complicated. The gelatine
bought ready-made may also be used in the quantities given
below.
Take some fine soaked and blanched calves’ feet, and set them to cook in one and three-quarters pints of water apiece. Skim as thoroughly as possible; cover, and then cook very gently for seven hours. This done, strain the cooking-liquor and clear it of all grease; test its strength, after having cooled a little of it on ice; rectify it if necessary with sufficient filtered water, and once more test it by means of ice.
Per quart of calf’s-foot jelly, add eight oz. of sugar, a mite of cinnamon, half the rind of an orange and lemon, and all their juice.
For the clarification, proceed as directed hereafter.
Dissolve one oz. of strong gelatine in a quart of water. Add one-half lb. of sugar, one-sixth oz. of coriander, and the zest and juice of half a lemon and of a whole orange; boil, and then let the preparation stand for ten minutes away from the fire.
Whisk one and a half egg-whites in a very clean saucepan, together with a port wine-glassful of white wine, and pour the cleared syrup, little by little, over the egg-whites, whisking briskly the while. Set the saucepan on the fire, and continue whisking until the boil is reached; then move the utensil to a corner of the stove, and keep the jelly only just simmering for one-quarter of an hour.
At the end of that time the clarification is completed; strain the jelly through a woollen bag, placed over a very clean bowl, and, if the jelly is turbid after the first time of straining, strain it again and again until it becomes quite clear. Let it almost cool before adding any flavour.
The Flavouring.—Whether the jelly be prepared from calves’ feet or from gelatine, the above preparation is naught else than a cohered syrup, to which the addition of some flavour lends the character of a jelly. The complementary ingredients for jellies are liqueurs, good wines, and the juice of fruit; and the quantity of water prescribed should be so reduced as to allow for the ultimate addition of the liquid flavouring.
Thus, every jelly of which the flavour is a liqueur ought to be prepared with only nine-tenths of a quart of water; and the [767] remaining one-tenth of the measure is subsequently added in the form of Kirsch, Maraschino, Rum, or Anisette, etc.
A jelly flavoured with a good wine, such as Champagne, Madeira, Sherry, Marsala, etc., should contain only seven-tenths of a quart of water and three-tenths of a quart of the selected wine.
In the case of fruit jellies, the procedure differs in accordance with the kind of fruit used.
For red-fruit jellies, prepared from strawberries, raspberries, red-currants, cherries, and cranberries, these fruits, which should be very ripe, are rubbed through a sieve, and combined with one-tenth to three-tenths of a quart of water per lb., according as to whether the fruit be more or less juicy.
This done, filter the resulting juice, and add it to the jelly in the proportion of one part of the former to two parts of the latter. The jelly should therefore be twice as strong as for the previous preparation, in order that it may remain sufficiently consistent in spite of the added juice.
When the fruit is too juicy, rub it through a sieve; let the juice ferment for a few hours, and only filter the clear juice which results from the fermentation.
Aqueous-fruit jellies, prepared from grapes, oranges, lemons, and tangerines, are made in the same way. The filtering of these fruit juices is easily done, and, except for the grapes, they need not be set to ferment.
When these fruits are not quite ripe, their juices may be added to the jelly even before the clarification—a procedure which helps to modify their acidity. The apportionment of the fruit juices to the jelly is practically the same as that of the red-fruit juices.
Stone-fruit, such as apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, etc., are often used as jelly garnishes, but seldom serve as the flavouring base of a jelly. Whenever they are treated in this way, they are first plunged in boiling water, that they may be peeled; they are then poached and left to cool in the syrup which goes towards preparing the jelly.
This jelly, after it has been clarified and three-parts cooled, should have a little Kirsch or Maraschino added to it, that its fruit flavour may be intensified.
As a rule, jellies are served plain. Sometimes, however, they are garnished with variously-shaped, stewed fruits, symmetrically distributed in the jelly, with their colours nicely contrasted.
A jelly prepared in this way is called a “Suédoise of fruit.”
These are differently-flavoured and differently-coloured jellies moulded in alternate layers, even and equally thick.
They are generally served without garnish.
These are ordinary jellies which are whisked over ice until they begin to set. They are then speedily moulded. By skilfully mixing two or three of these jellies, of different shades and flavours, at the moment of moulding, very effective “Marbled Jellies” are obtained.
These are ordinary jellies, poured into tightly-closing moulds, the sealing of which is ensured by a thread of butter, laid round the edges of the lids. The moulds are then surrounded with broken ice, mixed with five lb. of freezing salt and eight oz. of saltpetre per twenty-five lb. of ice.
The cold produced by the salted ice causes a frosted coat to form round the jelly, the effect of which is exceedingly pretty. But the moulds should be withdrawn from the ice as soon as the frosted coat is formed and the jelly is set; for a longer sojourn in the cold would transform the jelly into an uneatable block of ice.
N.B.—Modern methods have greatly simplified the dishing and serving of jellies. They are now dished in special silver bowls or deep dishes, and they are not, as a rule, moulded. The bottom of these utensils is sometimes decked with stewed fruit or macédoines of fruit which are covered with the jelly; and, as the latter is served in the utensil itself, the quantity of gelatine may be reduced, and greater delicacy is the result.
These “pains” are made in ordinary Charlotte moulds.
Clothe the mould with a fairly thick coat of jelly, in keeping with the flavour of the fruit used, which may be apricots, strawberries, red-currants, cherries, peaches, etc. Fill up the mould with a preparation, made as for a fruit Bavarois, but without cream.
The amount of gelatine used should therefore be reduced.
Cold puddings have a great deal in common with Bavarois and, more often than not, these two kinds of sweets have the same base. Their distinguishing difference lies in the fact that Bavarois are generally served without a garnish or sauce, whereas puddings always have either one or the other, and sometimes both.
[769]
The sauces for puddings are those given at the beginning of
this chapter.
Their garnishes always consist of fruit, and the latter is either stewed and served separately, or it is candied and combined with the pudding paste.
Make some very small pancakes, and garnish them with a salpicon of candied fruits and currants swelled in tepid water, cohered with some fairly stiff, apple purée. Close up the pancakes to the shape of balls or rectangles, and set them in a buttered border-mould. Fill up the mould with a moulded-custard preparation (No. 2639), containing a good proportion of whole eggs, and poach in a bain-marie.
Leave the whole to cool in the mould; turn out at the last moment, and coat the pudding with a sabayon, flavoured according to fancy.
Decorate the bottom of an oiled deep Bavarois-mould with pieces of candied fruit. Fill up the mould with alternate layers of vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation and “lady’s-finger-biscuits,” saturated with Kirsch. On each layer of biscuit sprinkle some currants and raisins swelled in tepid water, and here and there set a tablespoonful of apricot jam.
Let the contents of the mould set in the cool or on ice, and turn out just before serving.
Prepare the pudding as above, but spread a few extra layers of fresh fruit in the mould, such as very ripe pears, peaches, apricots, etc., all peeled, cut into thin slices, and previously macerated with powdered sugar and half a port wine-glassful of either Kirsch, Maraschino, or Anisette, etc.
When the pudding is turned out, surround its base with some very cold stewed fruit the same as one of the kinds used inside the pudding, or some stewed, mixed fruit.
Prepare (1) a gelatinous English custard, combined with one pint of very fresh, raw cream per quart; (2) a stew of apples and pears, prepared as for an apple Charlotte; currants and sultanas, swelled in tepid syrup; fresh splintered almonds; candied orange rind, cut into dice; slices of stale biscuit, or lady’s-finger biscuits, saturated with liqueur. Oil a Charlotte mould, and pour into it a layer of cream half an inch thick. Upon this cream lay [770] a thickness of biscuits, copiously coated with marmalade, and sprinkle with raisins, almonds and orange-rind dice.
Cover with a layer of cream; lay a second thickness of biscuits, and proceed thus in the same order with a Kirsch-flavoured cold sabayon.
To an English custard, prepared after No. 2397, add eight oz. of a smooth, chestnut purée, and four oz. of currants and sultanas (swelled in tepid water), and candied orange-rind and cherries, cut into dice; these four products should be in almost equal quantities, and ought to have been previously macerated in sweetened Madeira.
Add some Maraschino-flavoured, whipped cream to the preparation; apportioning it as for a Bavarois.
Garnish the bottom and sides of a Charlotte mould with white paper; pour the preparation into the mould; completely close the latter, sealing the lid down with a thread of butter, and surround the utensil with plenty of salted ice. When about to serve, turn out on a napkin; remove the paper, and surround the base of the pudding with a crown of fine, candied chestnuts, or balls of chocolate-iced, candied chestnut purée.
N.B.—The English custard may be packed in the freezer, mixed with whipped cream when it is almost congealed, and then placed in a mould.
Rub some stewed prunes through a fine sieve, and add to the purée equal quantities of very stiff, Kirsch-flavoured jelly and the reduced juice of the prunes. Let a layer three-quarters of an inch thick, of the preparation set on the bottom of a Charlotte mould. In the latter set a smaller mould (tinned outside), filled with broken ice, and either fitted with handles that can rest on the brim of the first mould, or else sufficiently deep to be easily grasped and removed when necessary. The space between the sides of the two moulds should measure about three-quarters of an inch.
Fill up this space with what remains of the prune purée, thickened with jelly; leave the preparation to set; withdraw the ice from the little mould; pour some tepid water into the latter, that it may be immediately detached from the surrounding, iced preparation.
Fill the space left by the withdrawn mould with some vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation; leave to set, and turn out at the last moment on a napkin.
Prepare the whites of four eggs as for Italian meringue (No. 2383), and add to the sugar, while cooking, its bulk of quince jelly, and, at the last moment, one and a half ounces of candied fruit, cut into dice, macerated in Kirsch and carefully drained. Set the meringue, in shapes resembling large buttons, on a sheet of paper.
Boil in a utensil large enough to take the sheet of paper, four quarts of water, containing two and a half lb. of sugar and one-quarter pint of Kirsch. Slip the sheet of paper into this boiling syrup; withdraw it as soon as it easily separates from the pieces of meringue; poach the latter; drain them on a piece of linen and let them cool.
Meanwhile, make two Bavarois preparations; one white and vanilla-flavoured, and the other pink and flavoured with Curaçao. In these preparations the quantity of whisked cream should be twice as much as for ordinary Bavarois, whereas the quantity of gelatine should be reduced by half.
Set these preparations in even, alternate layers, in a slightly-oiled iced-Madeleine mould, distributing the meringues between each layer.
Cover the mould with a piece of paper and a lid, and keep it surrounded by ice for two hours. When about to serve, turn it out on a napkin.
Poach the halved apricots in vanilla-flavoured syrup. Cool them and drain them; and reconstruct the apricots by joining the halves together with a piece of vanilla ice-cream, the size of a walnut, in the centre.
Set these apricots upon some large overturned macaroons; cover with vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream, shaped like a cone and sprinkle with fine filbert pralin.
Take some fairly deep tartlet moulds, and set in them some fine, cold, half-apricots, poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup. Fill up the tartlet moulds with very limpid, Kirsch-flavoured jelly.
Prepare a shallow, Génoise border, glazed with red-currant jelly, cooked to the small-thread stage, and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
[772]
Turn out the tartlets of apricot jelly and place them in a crown
over the border. Garnish the centre of the latter with chopped
anisette-flavoured pink jelly.
Take a fine whole pine-apple, and hollow it out to within half an inch of its outside all round and at the bottom. Put aside the slice cut from the top, on which is the bunch of leaves.
Fill the inside with a Bavarois preparation made from pine-apple purée, combined with the withdrawn pine-apple pulp, cut into thin slices, and leave to set. Dish on a napkin, and return the top slice to the pine-apple, that it may seem untouched.
Proceed exactly as above, but replace the pine-apple Bavarois preparation by a strawberry kind, combined, as before, with the pulp withdrawn from the inside of the pine-apple, cut into dice.
Line the sides of a soufflé timbale with vanilla ice-cream, laying it in an oblique strip from the edge of the utensil to the centre of the bottom of the timbale. Upon this layer of ice-cream set two or three rows of thin pine-apple slices, in such a way as to make the slices of the last row project beyond the edge of the timbale.
In the centre of the mould build a pyramid of wild strawberries; cover this with a raspberry purée, and sprinkle the latter with chopped pistachios.
Take a fresh pine-apple and cut a slice from its top, containing the bunch of leaves. Withdraw the pulp from the inside, and leave a thickness of about half an inch all round and on the bottom.
Fill it with a macédoine of fresh fruit macerated in Kirsch; set it in the middle of a crystal bowl; and surround the base with a crown of fine Montreuil peaches, poached in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, alternated by large strawberries, macerated in Kirsch.
Return the bunch of leaves to its place upon the pine-apple.
Line a flawn-ring with good, short paste; set it on a small round baking-sheet; prick the paste on the bottom to prevent its blistering while baking, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and garnish with fine, stoned cherries, pressed snugly one against the other.
Bake the flawn in the usual way and let it cool.
When it is quite cold cover the cherries with Chantilly cream, combined either with ordinary pralin or with crushed macaroons.
Smooth the surface of the cream, as also the sides of the flawn; cover it with macaroon powder, and then decorate by means of the piping-bag with white and pink Chantilly cream.
Select some fine cherries; cut off the ends of their stalks, and set them in a silver timbale. Pour sufficient sweetened Bordeaux wine (flavoured with a mite of cinnamon) over them, to just cover them. Close the timbale, and keep it on the side of the fire for ten minutes, that the cherries may poach.
Let them cool in the syrup; drain the latter away; reduce it by a third, and add, in order to thicken it slightly, one tablespoonful of red-currant jelly per six tablespoonfuls of reduced syrup.
Serve the cherries quite cold, and some lady’s-finger biscuits separately.
Set some fine strawberries and an equal amount of pine-apple, cut into dice, to macerate in powdered sugar and Kirsch.
Arrange a close crown of pine-apple slices, also macerated in Kirsch, upon a tazza. In the middle of the crown build a pyramid of the strawberries and pine-apple, and sprinkle with a Kirsch-flavoured syrup.
Select some fine strawberries; sprinkle them with sugar and Grand-Marnier Curaçao, and leave them to macerate on ice for an hour.
When about to serve, spread on the bottom of a bowl or timbale a layer of orange-ice (which should be combined with the macerating liqueur) and set the strawberries thereon.
Set some wild strawberries to macerate in sugar and Kirsch. Drain them; cohere them with an equal quantity of pomegranate sherbet; set them in a silver timbale, already surrounded with ice; cover the strawberries with Maraschino-flavoured Chantilly cream, and decorate with the latter.
Set in a timbale surrounded with ice some Chantilly cream, combined with half its bulk of a purée of wild strawberries. Completely cover this cream with fine, fair-sized selected strawberries (macerated with Kirsch), rolled at the last minute in semolina sugar.
Garnish the bottom of a timbale with vanilla ice-cream. Upon this arrange a layer of choice strawberries, and cover the latter with a thick, slightly-sugared, fresh raspberry purée.
Prepare the strawberries as directed under No. 2675, and cohere them with pine-apple sherbet. Dish them as before in a timbale, and cover them with some Chantilly cream, tinted pink by means of a red-capsicum purée flavoured with ginger.
Macerate some fine strawberries with orange juice and Curaçao. Set them in a timbale surrounded with ice, and cover them with Chantilly cream, laid upon them by means of a piping-bag, fitted with a large, grooved pipe.
Macerate some fine, large strawberries with Kirsch, powdered sugar, and orange juice. Dish them in a timbale and serve a vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream separately.
Take a small black melon of Carmes; open it by cutting out a bung-shaped piece containing the stalk, and remove all its seeds. Then cut out all the pulp, by means of a dessert-spoon, and sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
Macerate the required number of strawberries in Lérina liqueur.
Garnish the inside of the melon with these strawberries and the withdrawn pulp; close the melon by replacing the bung cut out at [775] the start, and keep in a refrigerator for two hours, surrounded by ice.
Dish on a napkin at the last moment.
Select a fair-sized, very ripe pine-apple, cut off a slice of it at the top and withdraw all its pulp without bursting the rind.
Prepare a square cushion of Génoise, about two inches thick; slightly hollow it out towards its centre, that the emptied pine-apple may be set upright upon it; and stick the cushion upon a dry-paste base, of the same size and shape as the former. Glaze the Génoise cushion with pink fondant, decorate with “royale” glaze, and set a large strawberry at each corner.
Slice half of the withdrawn pine-apple pulp, and macerate it with Kirsch, Maraschino and sugar. Pound the remaining pulp and press it in order to extract its juice.
Set to macerate with this pine-apple juice a sufficient quantity of strawberries to three-parts fill the pine-apple.
When about to serve, fill the emptied pine-apple with successive and alternate layers of pine-apple with Kirsch and strawberries; and, between each layer, spread a coat of vanilla-flavoured, Chantilly cream.
Close the pine-apple with the slice cut off at the start, and set it upright in the hollow of the cushion. Serve the preparation very cold.
Set some well-sugared and cooled strawberries in a timbale, and cover them with the following preparation: rub half-pound of wild strawberries through a sieve; add a little Melba sauce to the purée, that it may acquire a pink tint; and then add the same quantity of very stiff vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream.
Thoroughly cool these strawberries before serving them.
Set some fine, cooled strawberries in a timbale; coat them with Melba sauce, or a purée of fresh raspberries, and sprinkle the latter with splintered fresh almonds.
Set some fine, cooled strawberries in a timbale. Cover them with a raspberry purée, combined with an equal quantity of Chantilly cream.
Decorate, by means of the piping-bag, with Chantilly cream, and sprinkle with a powdered pralin of filberts.
Poach one pound of green gooseberries in some thin syrup. When they are cooked, thoroughly drain them; rub them through a sieve, and collect the purée in a flat saucepan.
Work this purée on ice, and add the necessary amount of icing sugar to it.
The amount of the icing sugar varies according to the acidity of the fruit and the sweetness of the poaching-syrup.
Combine with the purée an equal quantity of very stiffly whipped cream; set the preparation in the shape of a dome in a timbale: decorate its surface, by means of a piping-bag, with Chantilly cream, and serve very cold.
Cut a slice of the rind from the stem-end of the tangerines by means of a round, even cutter, one inch in diameter. Then empty them, and fill the rinds with a preparation of Bavarois with violets, combined with crumbled lady’s-finger biscuits, sprinkled with Maraschino. Close the tangerines with the slice cut off at the start; let them set in a cool place, and, at the last moment, lay them on a dish covered with a folded napkin.
Empty the tangerines, and fill their peels with a somewhat thick tangerine Bavarois preparation, combined with a third of its bulk of fresh, raw cream.
Place them in ice until they have to be served; dish them as directed in the preceding recipe.
Proceed as for the oranges, but for the orange ice substitute tangerine jelly.
Cut the oranges and empty them as directed in the case of tangerines. Then fill them with French blanc-mange (No. 2625), and let it set. Close the oranges with the slices cut off at the start, and dish them on a napkin.
Garnish the empty orange-rinds with regular layers of variously coloured and flavoured blanc-manges, or with alternated fruit jellies. When about to serve, quarter the oranges.
N.B.—These quartered oranges are sometimes used for the garnishing of cold entremets.
Cut a lateral slice from each orange, representing about one-fourth of their height, and empty them. Garnish the peels with orange ice; cover the latter with Italian meringue; set the garnished peels on broken ice, lying on a tray, and set them in a sufficiently hot oven, to quickly colour the meringue. On taking the oranges out of the oven, close each with the slices cut from them at the start, in which are stuck imitation leaves and stalks, made from pulled sugar. Dish them on a napkin.
Empty the oranges as above; garnish the rinds with an orange soufflé preparation, and cook the latter.
On taking the oranges out of the oven, cover the soufflé with the slices cut off at the start; dish the oranges on a napkin, and serve them instantly.
As nectarines may be prepared after the same recipes as peaches, there is no need to give special recipes for the former.
After having peeled the peaches, poach them in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and leave them to cool therein. Drain them, dish them upon a layer of vanilla ice-cream, spread in a false-bottomed silver timbale, the inner compartment of which contains broken ice. Sprinkle crystallised violets over the peaches; set the timbale on a block of ice, carved to represent an eagle, and cover the whole with a veil of spun sugar.
Poach the peeled peaches in a Kirsch-flavoured syrup, and let them cool there. Drain them; dish them in a silver timbale, upon a layer of “iced mousse with strawberries,” and coat the whole with a Curaçao-flavoured sabayon.
Poach the peaches in a vanilla-flavoured syrup and let them completely cool. Dish them in a timbale surrounded by ice [778] containing on its bottom a layer of vanilla ice-cream, covered with a strawberry purée. Sprinkle the peaches with white and red rose-petals, and veil the whole with spun sugar.
Poach the peaches in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and, when they are quite cold, dish them in a timbale. Cover them with a very red, sweetened, raspberry purée, flavoured with Kirsch, and sprinkled with very white, splintered fresh almonds.
Poach the peaches in vanilla-flavoured syrup. When they are cold, set them in a timbale upon a layer of vanilla ice-cream, covered with thin slices of pine-apple macerated in Maraschino and Kirsch.
Between each peach, and in every crevice, put some balls of Chantilly cream, laid by means of a piping-bag, fitted with a grooved pipe.
Poach the peaches in vanilla-flavoured syrup. Dish them in a timbale upon a layer of vanilla ice-cream, and coat them with a raspberry purée.
Prepare the peaches as under No. 2698, but use small heaps of red-currant jelly instead of balls of cream.
Poach the peaches in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and let them cool.
Dish them in a timbale upon a layer of pistachio ice, and coat them with very cold, thickened syrup, flavoured with rose essence.
Veil the whole with spun sugar, and set the timbale upon a block of ice.
Scald the peaches; peel them, and cut them in two.
Poach them in sufficient Château-Laffite wine to cover them, and sugar the wine to the extent of ten oz. of sugar per bottle.
Leave them to cool in the syrup, and dish them in a silver timbale.
Reduce the wine by three-quarters; thicken it with a little raspberry-flavoured, red-currant jelly.
When this syrup is quite cold, sprinkle the peaches with it.
Cut the peaches in two; poach them in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and let them cool. Then drain and dry them; garnish the cut side of each of the half-peaches with enough vanilla ice-cream to give them the appearance of whole fruit. Coat the peach-side of each with some stiff apricot sauce, and roll them in pralined splintered almonds.
Dish these peaches upon a cushion of Génoise, saturated with Kirsch and Maraschino, set upon a dry-paste base, and glazed with raspberry glaze.
Veil the whole with spun sugar.
Poach the peaches in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and let them cool. Dish them in a timbale; cover them with a purée of pine-apple with Clicquot, and serve very cold.
Scald and peel some fine peaches; poach them in vanilla-flavoured syrup, and let them cool. Stone them without opening or breaking them overmuch, and in the place of the stone, put some very firm vanilla ice-cream.
Set these reconstructed peaches in a silver timbale, upon a layer of raspberry ice; cover them with pralined Chantilly cream; and before serving put them for thirty minutes in the refrigerator.
At the last moment, veil the timbale with pink, spun sugar.
Peel the pears and poach them in a syrup made from one quart of water, one-half pint of port wine, eight ounces of sugar, and the blanched and chopped zest of an orange. Cool: dish them in a timbale; sprinkle them with powdered pralin, and serve a Chantilly cream at the same time.
Poach the pears in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and then proceed as directed under No. 2697.
Evenly turn some very fine dessert pears, and cook them in a vanilla-flavoured syrup; keeping them fairly firm. Drain them on a dish and let them cool. This done, trim them flat at their base, and empty them from underneath by means of a root spoon, after having outlined the circumference of the opening with an even round cutter.
[780]
Fill them with a preparation of “Bombe au chocolat praliné”
(see Bombe, No. 2826).
Close them up with a little roundel of Génoise, stamped out by means of the same cutter as that used above.
Set the pears on a tray; coat them speedily with apricot jam cooked to the small-thread stage; glaze them with chocolate fondant, and keep them for three hours in a very cold refrigerator. Meanwhile, prepare as many small Génoise squares as there are pears; and make them one-quarter inch wider than the diameter of the pears. Saturate these square bases with Anisette, and by means of a little apricot jam cooked to the small-thread stage, stick each of them on to very thin, dry-paste bases of the same size. Coat these prepared bases with the same apricot jam, and garnish them all round, as also their uncovered corners, with pralined splintered almonds.
When about to serve, take the pears out of the refrigerator, set them on these bases: stick into each a stalk and a leaf, made from pulled sugar; and dish on a napkin.
N.B.—Each pear should be cut vertically into two, three, or four pieces, subject to its size.
Poach some quartered William pears in vanilla-flavoured syrup and let them cool. Cook also, in a pink syrup, some very small halved pears.
Dish the quarters in the middle of a border of Viennese cream (No. 2641) laid out upon a dish. Cover them with a pyramid of vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream, and sprinkle its surface with crushed, red pralines.
Surround the cream border with the pink half-pears.
Fill an oiled border-mould with a semolina Bavarois preparation, and let it set. Turn it out at the last moment, and garnish the middle of the border with stewed pears, cohered by means of a vanilla-flavoured apricot purée.
Poach the pears in vanilla-flavoured syrup and let them cool.
When about to serve, dish them in a timbale upon a layer of vanilla ice-cream, sprinkled with crystallised violets.
Serve a hot, chocolate sauce separately.
Cook the pears in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and drain them that they may cool. This done, coat them again and again with [781] some very stiff raspberry-flavoured red-currant jelly, and sprinkle them instantly with chopped, burnt almonds.
Set the pears on a “Diplomatic Pudding,” made in a manqué mould, and turned out on a round dish. Surround the base of the pudding with a border of apple-jelly croûtons, neatly cut to triangular shapes.
Cook the pears in syrup; cool them, and dish them on a timbale, upon a Melba sauce, combined with half-sugared cherries, softened in tepid water for a few minutes.
Decorate the pears with Chantilly cream.
Poach the pears in a vanilla-flavoured syrup, and proceed as directed under No. 2699.
Stew the pears and let them cool. Set them in a timbale, and coat with some Frangipan cream, thinned by means of a little raw cream.
Between each pear, set a well-moulded tablespoonful of Chantilly cream, and cover the whole with concassed-almond pralin.
Serve a cold or hot chocolate sauce at the same time.
Stew the pears in a vanilla-flavoured syrup; cool them, and dish them in a shallow porcelain timbale equal in depth to the length of the pears.
Cover them with a somewhat thin chocolate Bavarois preparation, and place the whole for two hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Stew the pears and set them in a timbale.
Thicken the syrup with arrowroot, colour it faintly with pink; flavour it with rum; pour it over the pears, and let them cool.
N.B.—These pears may also be served hot, after the same recipe; except that the rum is poured over the pears, hot, at the last moment, and set alight at the table.
Mould a Flamri preparation in an even border-mould, decorated with candied fruit. Set this to poach, and, when it is cold, turn it out on a round dish.
In the middle set a pyramid of quartered pears, stewed in a vanilla-flavoured syrup; coat the quarters with Frangipan cream, [782] combined with a quarter of its bulk of crushed, dry macaroons, and with double its volume of very stiff Chantilly cream.
Decorate the top, by means of a piping-bag, with Chantilly cream; and serve some Kirsch-flavoured apricot sauce separately.
Peel some small apples, core them by means of a tube-cutter, and poach them in vanilla-flavoured syrup. When they are quite cold, coat them with red-currant jelly, and dish them in a circle, each upon a tartlet of blanc-mange. Garnish their midst with chopped Maraschino jelly.
Cook, in a manqué mould, a Savoy-biscuit preparation, and let it cool.
With a little apricot jam, cooked to the small-thread stage, stick this biscuit on a dry-paste base; saturate it with cold syrup, flavoured with Kümmel, and by means of a piping-bag decorate it all round and on its edges with royale icing.
Turn out upon it a Bavarois with Maraschino, moulded in a Richelieu mould of proportionate size.
Cut some slices three inches long by one-third inch thick from a stale Génoise. Coat them with a Condé pralin, and dry them in a moderate oven.
Set these croûtes in a crown on a round dish, and garnish their midst with a rocky pyramid of plombière ice, projecting above them.
Prepare (1) a base of Génoise with fruit, glazed with apricot jam, cooked to the small-thread stage; (2) a Bavarois with fruits.
Turn out the latter upon the former, and surround the whole with stewed fruit of the same kind as those used for the Bavarois.
Take a stale Savoy biscuit, and cut it into thin slices.
Saturate the latter with Kirsch and Maraschino, coat them with apricot jam, and sprinkle the latter with currants and chopped almonds. Put the slices one upon the other, in suchwise [783] as to reconstruct the biscuit, and coat the latter with a layer of sweetened and vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream.
Sprinkle the cream with splintered pistachios and currants; set the whole on a tazza, and surround it with vanilla-flavoured English custard, or raspberry syrup.
Gently heat one quart of milk. When it has reached 95° F. take it off the fire; add two and one-half oz. of sugar to it; flavour it as fancy may suggest; put into it six drops of russet-apple essence (or two pastils of russet-apple essence, dissolved in six drops of water); pour it into a timbale, and serve it very cold.
N.B.—This very delicate and simple entremet is little else, indeed, than flavoured and sweetened milk, caused to set by the combined agencies of heat and russet-apple essence.
Take some fresh fruit of the season, such as ripe William pears and peaches, peeled and sliced apricots and bananas, and add to it some small or large strawberries, raspberries, white- and red-currants; skinned, fresh almonds, etc.
Set these fruits in a timbale surrounded by ice, mixing them well together; sprinkle them with a syrup at 30° (saccharom.), flavoured with Kirsch or Maraschino, and let them macerate for an hour or two; taking care to toss them from time to time.
Select some very ripe Eugenia; peel, slice, and set to macerate in a bowl, with Maraschino-flavoured syrup.
Set the fruit in a timbale, upon a layer of vanilla ice-cream; decorate them on top with Chantilly cream, and sprinkle the latter with crystallised violets.
Prepare a pralin-flavoured Bavarois in a manqué mould: garnish the inside with lady’s-finger biscuits, saturated with Anisette.
Turn it out on a dish, and completely cover it with an even coat of very stiff, sweetened and vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream.
On top, lay some parallel lines of red-currant jelly, by means of the piping-bag; and then cut these lines at right angles, with the point of a small knife. Surround the base with small puff-paste triangles, coated with “Pralin a Condé,” dried in the oven.
Take a melon that is just ripe; make a circular incision round its stalk, and remove the resulting bung. Get rid of the seeds and withdraw the pulp by means of a silver spoon. Cut the pulp into dice.
Copiously sprinkle the inside of the melon with icing-sugar and fill it up with wild strawberries and the pulp dice, spread in alternate layers, sprinkled with sugar. Complete with one-sixth pint of Kirsch; close the melon with the excised bung, seal the joint with a thread of butter, and keep the melon in the cool for two hours.
Dish it on a napkin, and serve gaufrettes at the same time.
Select two very ripe, medium-sized melons, and, with the entire pulp of one of them, cleared of all the rind and seeds and rubbed through tammy, prepare a Granité after No. 2930.
Cut the other melon round the stalk and open it. Completely remove the seeds; and, by means of a silver spoon, withdraw the pulp piecemeal, and set it to macerate on ice with a little sugar and one of the following wines or liqueurs: Port, Curaçao, Rum, Kirsch or Maraschino.
Keep the emptied rind for thirty minutes in a refrigerator.
When about to serve, set the emptied melon on a small block of fancifully carved ice, and fill it up with the Granité and the macerated pulp spread in alternate layers. When the melon is full, return the excised bung to its place.
N.B.—This melon is served, by means of a spoon, upon iced plates, and it often takes the place of ices at the end of a dinner.
Empty the melon as above, and fill it with a macédoine of fresh fruits, combined with the withdrawn pulp of the melon, cut into dice and cohered with a sugared and Kirsch-flavoured purée of wild strawberries.
Close the melon and keep it in the refrigerator for two hours.
Join the meringue shells together in couples, by means of some stiff sugared and flavoured Chantilly cream or with some sort of ice, and dish them on a napkin.
Add some small wild strawberries macerated in cold, vanilla-flavoured syrup and drained, to some very stiff Chantilly cream; the proportions being four oz. of the former per quart of the latter.
[785]
Dish in the shape of a dome; surround the base with large strawberries,
rolled in beaten egg-whites and then in semolina sugar, and
decorate the surface with large and very red half-strawberries.
Cook some chestnuts in sweetened and vanilla-flavoured milk and rub them through a sieve, over an overturned, even border-mould; in order that the chestnut purée, falling in the form of vermicelli, may garnish the mould naturally.
Fill up the mould with the purée that has fallen over the sides of the mould; turn out the border on a dish, and in the midst set an irregular and jagged mound of sugared and vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream.
Prepare a Charlotte, Plombière in a shallow Madeleine ice-mould.
Having turned out the Charlotte on a dish, cover it on top with tablespoonfuls of Chantilly cream, combined with a purée of fresh raspberries, and so shaped as to imitate a pyramidic rock.
Mould some ordinary meringue, by means of a spoon, to represent eggs; and drop the mouldings into a sautépan containing some boiling sugared and vanilla-flavoured milk. Turn the meringues over in the milk, that they may poach evenly, and, as soon as they are firm, drain them in a sieve.
Strain the milk through muslin; add six egg yolks, and with it prepare an English custard.
Set the egg-shaped meringues on a tazza and cover them with the prepared custard, kept very cold.
Prepare the meringues and the English custard as above; but to the latter add five or six gelatine leaves soaked in cold water. Set the egg-shaped meringues in an oiled border-mould; cover them with the very cold custard, which, however, should not have set; and let the preparation set in the cool, or surrounded by ice.
By means of a piping-bag, fitted with an even pipe, lay some ordinary meringues upon sheets of white paper, in shapes resembling large macaroons.
Slip the sheets of paper into boiling, sugared and vanilla-flavoured milk, and withdraw the sheets of paper as soon as the [786] meringues sever from them. Complete the poaching of the meringues, and drain them.
Set these meringues, two by two, in silver or porcelain egg-dishes; place a fine, poached half apricot in the middle of each, and cover the whole with a few teaspoonfuls of English custard.
This is a preparation of ordinary Italian meringue, poached in a bain-marie, in a caramel-clothed mould. Let the contents get quite cold before turning out, and serve some stewed, fresh fruit and an English custard separately.
Make a vanilla-flavoured preparation of rice for entremets, using the quantities of milk and sugar already prescribed. When the rice is cooked, and somewhat cold, add to it four oz. of a salpicon of candied fruit and four tablespoonfuls of apricot jam, per one-half lb. of raw rice. Then combine with it an equal quantity of Kirsch-flavoured Bavarois preparation, or one pint of thick English custard and one pint of whipped cream.
Let a layer of red-currant jelly set upon the bottom of a Bavarois mould; then pour the above preparation into the latter and let the whole set, either in the cool or surrounded by ice.
When about to serve, turn out on a napkin.
Prepare the rice with milk as above, but flavour it with orange rind, and omit the apricot jam and the candied fruit salpicon. Combine with it an equal quantity of orange Bavarois preparation; pour the whole into a dome-mould, and let it set on ice. When about to serve, turn out upon a round dish, and cover it with alternate rows of orange-sections, skinned raw and macerated in a syrup flavoured with orange-rind.
As I mentioned in my remarks upon the preparation of jellies, a Suédoise of fruit is a jelly moulded in an aspic mould and garnished with layers of stewed fruit, the colours and kinds of which should be contrasted as much as possible.
Prepare a timbale of Savarin paste in a Charlotte mould.
When it is baked and cooled, remove the crumb from its inside leaving a thickness of half an inch on its bottom and sides; smear it thinly with Kirsch-flavoured syrup, and return the timbale to the mould.
[787]
Now garnish it with alternate layers of vanilla-flavoured,
Bavarois preparation and wild strawberries, macerated in Kirsch.
Let it set in the cool, or surround the mould with ice. Turn out
the timbale first upon a plate; overturn it on a dish, and upon it
set a pyramid of vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream. Stud the latter
all over with small, very red strawberries, or garnish it with large
half-strawberries.
Surround the timbale with fine dice of strawberry jelly.
Clothe an ornamented mould, fitted with a central tube, with a thick coat of very clear, Kirsch-flavoured jelly. Fill the mould with a Bavarois preparation, combined with plenty of wild strawberry purée, and let its contents set. Turn it out, when about to serve, and surround it with very clear, chopped, Kirsch-flavoured jelly.
Ices, with their accompanying “petits fours,” bring the dinner to a close—at least as far as Cookery is concerned; and, when they are well prepared and daintily dished, they are the consummation of all that is delicate and good. In no other department of the work has the culinary artist so freely indulged his fancy, or created such delectable kickshaws; and, though Italy be the cradle of the ice-worker’s art, though the Neapolitans have deservedly maintained their reputation as authorities in this matter, to French workmen, certainly, is due the credit of those innovations which have perfected this important branch of dietetic science.
Whatever be the kind of ices required, they should always be prepared in advance; for none of these preparations can be made ready at a moment’s notice.
There are two distinct operations in the confection of ices:—
(1) The making of the preparation.
(2) The freezing and the moulding of the preparation. I shall begin by dealing with the second operation, which remains the same for all ices, and is the essential part of the procedure.
To freeze an ice preparation is to surround it with broken ice, mixed with sodium chloride (sea-salt or freezing salt) and saltpetre. The action of these two salts upon the ice causes a considerable drop in the temperature, which speedily congeals any contiguous liquid. Subject to their nature, ices are either moulded and frozen directly in their moulds, like the light ices: iced Biscuits, iced Soufflés, Puddings, Mousses, Parfaits, Bombes, etc.; or first frozen in a special utensil called a freezer, and then moulded and frozen afresh. Cream and syrup ices are prepared by the second method; and this I shall now describe.
The freezers, in which the freezing takes place, are generally wielded by hand, either directly or by means of some mechanism. They should be of pure tin, and fitted, at their base on to a central [789] pivot which turns in a socket, fixed in the wooden case which holds the freezer.
Having hermetically closed the latter, surround it with broken ice containing three lbs. of salt and eight oz. of saltpetre per twenty-five lbs.
The freezer should be one-third of its height out of the ice, in order that no particle of salted ice may accidentally fall into the preparation while it is being frozen. The ice should be snugly massed, by means of a special pestle, round the freezer. This operation constitutes the packing, and should be effected at least ten minutes in advance if possible.
Having thus prepared the freezer, pour into it the preparation to be frozen and then either keep it in motion by rocking the utensil to and fro, by grasping the handle on the cover (if the apparatus is worked by hand), or by turning the handle if the utensil is on a central axle, fitted with the usual mechanism. In either case, the rotary movement of the utensil causes the preparation to splash continually against the sides of the freezer, where it rapidly congeals, and the congealed portions are removed by means of a special spatula, as quickly as they form, until the whole becomes a smooth and homogeneous mass. The delicacy and creaminess of the ice depend a great deal upon the care with which this freezing operation is effected; hence the preference which is now given to freezers fitted with a mechanism whereby two fans revolve inside in a direction opposite to that of the body of the machine, and thus not only detach the congealed portions of the preparation under treatment from the sides of the receptacle, but also work it with a regularity impossible to human motion.
Having thus frozen the preparation, it may now be set in rock-form on a napkin, as it used sometimes to be served in the past, or in glasses. But as a rule it is put into special moulds, having closely-fitting covers. These moulds should be carefully filled, and banged on a folded napkin, that the ice may settle and drive out any air which might be the cause of holes being found in the preparation. When it is filled, place the mould in a receptacle of a suitable size, and surround it with broken ice, prepared as for the packing. The mould should remain at least an hour in the ice, in the case of an ordinary ice, and an extra two hours if the ice be light and not previously frozen as are the Bombes.
When about to serve, take the mould out of the ice; wash it to rid it of the taint of salt; dip it in tepid water for an instant, that the surface of the preparation inside may melt and separate easily [790] from the mould. Overturn the mould; and turn out the ice upon a folded napkin lying on a dish.
Preparations for simple ices are of two kinds: those made from cream, and those made from syrup; the latter being principally used for fruit ices.
As the quantities of sugar and eggs used for these preparations vary exceedingly, the following recipes have been based upon a working average.
If creamier ices be required, all that is needed is an increase in the sugar and egg-yolks per quart of milk; while, if the ices be required harder but less creamy, the two ingredients above mentioned should be proportionately reduced.
As an example of the difference that may exist between cream preparations, I might instance the case of ice-cream, which may be made from seven to sixteen egg-yolks, and six oz. to one lb. of sugar per quart of milk. In regard to ices made from syrups and fruit, their preparations may measure from 15° to 30° or 32°. (saccharometer) respectively.
Work two-thirds lb. of sugar and ten egg-yolks in a saucepan until the mixture reaches the ribbon-stage. Dilute it, little by little, with one quart of boiling milk, and stir over a moderate fire until the preparation veneers the withdrawn spoon. Avoid boiling, as it might decompose the custard.
Strain the whole into a basin and stir it from time to time until it is quite cold.
N.B.—For the various ice-cream preparations, the amount of sugar and number of egg-yolks, as also the procedure, do not change. They are only distinguishable by the particular flavour or infusion which may happen to characterise them.
Finely pound three and a half oz. of freshly-skinned sweet almonds and five bitter almonds; adding to them, little by little, in order to facilitate the pounding, a few tablespoonfuls of water.
Set this almond paste to infuse, twenty minutes beforehand, in the boiling milk, and prepare the cream as directed above, with the same quantities of sugar and egg-yolks.
Parboil six oz. of asparagus-tops or sprew for two minutes. Thoroughly drain them; quickly pound them, together with a few tablespoonfuls of milk, and set this asparagus paste to infuse in the boiled milk.
Slightly torrify three and half oz. of filberts; finely pound them, together with a few tablespoonfuls of milk, and set the resulting paste to infuse for twenty minutes in the boiled milk.
Add two oz. of freshly-grilled and crushed coffee seeds to the boiled milk, and let them infuse for twenty minutes.
Or, with an equivalent amount of ground coffee and half a pint of water, prepare a very strong infusion and add it to one and a half pints of boiled milk.
Dissolve eight oz. of grated chocolate in half pint of water, and add thereto one quart of boiled milk, in which a large stick of vanilla has previously been infused. For this preparation, eight oz. of sugar and seven egg-yolks will be found sufficient, if the chocolate used be sweet.
Finely pound three and a half oz. of well-peeled walnuts with a few tablespoonfuls of water, and set them to infuse for twenty minutes in boiling milk.
Pound two oz. of sweet almonds, and two and a half oz. of freshly-peeled pistachios; moistening them with a few drops of milk. Set the paste to infuse for twenty minutes in the boiled milk.
Pound and rub through a sieve four oz. of almond pralin, and add thereto one quart of previously-prepared vanilla-flavoured custard.
Add one pint of very strong tea to one and a half pints of boiled milk, and make the preparation in the usual way.
When the milk has boiled, infuse in it one large stick of vanilla for twenty minutes.
N.B.—If these various preparations be required more creamy, the milk may be wholly or partly replaced by fresh cream. Also [792] when the preparation is congealed, it may be combined with one-sixth pint of whipped cream per quart.
The base of these preparations is a syrup of sugar at 32° (saccharom.), to which a purée of fruit, an essence, or a liqueur is added, which will give the ice its character. All these preparations require lemon juice, the quantity of which varies according to the acidity of the fruit used, but which, even in the case of the tartest fruits, should not measure less than the amount that may be extracted from a whole lemon per quart of the preparation.
Orange juice may also be used, more especially for red-fruit ices; while the juices of the orange and the lemons combined throw the flavour of the fruit under treatment into remarkable relief.
In the season the juices are extracted from fresh fruit, pressed and rubbed through tammy. When the season is over the preserved juice of fruit is used.
All red-fruit ices are improved, once they are set, by an addition of half pint of raw, fresh cream per quart of the preparation.
These preparations are made in two ways as follows:—
(1) Rub the fruit through a fine sieve, after having pounded it if its nature admit of it. Dilute the purée with an equal quantity of cold sugar syrup at 32° (saccharom.), and add lemon juice in a quantity subject to the acidity of the treated fruit.
This mixture of ingredients should always be cold, and should be tested with saccharom (pèse-sirops). If the instrument marks more than the proper degree, dilute the preparation with a little water; if it mark less, add syrup until the required degree is reached.
(2) Pound the fruit with an average quantity of ten oz. of sugar per lb.; but remember that this proportion may be modified either way, subject to the sweetness of the fruit used.
Rub the whole through a sieve; and then, to obtain the proper degree of strength, add the necessary quantity of filtered water.
These preparations are made by adding to the syrup or the cream which forms the base of the ice a given quantity of the selected liqueur, the latter being generally added when the preparation is cold.
The proportion of one-fifth pint of liqueur per quart of syrup may be taken as an average. Subject to the requirements this liqueur [793] flavour may be intensified with strong tea for rum ices; with orange-rind for Curaçao-flavoured ices, with fresh, crushed cherry-stones for Kirsch ices, etc.
These preparations should always contain some lemon-juice, and their strength should reach the average degree indicated for fruit ices.
Take one pint of fresh apricot purée, one pint of syrup, and the juice of two lemons. The strength of the preparation should measure 18° or 19° (saccharometer).
Set to macerate for two hours one pint of grated or pounded skinned pine-apple in one pint of syrup. Rub the whole through a sieve, add the juice of one lemon and a few drops of Kirsch, and test the preparation, which should measure from 18° to 20°.
Set one pint of pounded banana pulp to macerate for two hours in one pint of Maraschino-flavoured syrup. Add the juice of three lemons, and rub through a sieve. This preparation should measure from 20° to 21°.
Crush one pint of stoned cherries, and pound their stones. Set the whole to macerate for one hour in one pint of syrup, flavoured with Kirsch. Rub through a sieve and add the juice of a half-lemon. The preparation should measure 21°.
Set the zests of three lemon peels to infuse for three hours in one pint of cold syrup. Add the juice of four lemons and of two oranges, and strain the whole. The preparation should measure 22°.
Mix one pint of strawberry purée with one pint of syrup, and add thereto the juice of two oranges and of two lemons. Or pound two lbs. of strawberries with one lb. of powdered sugar; add the juice of oranges and lemons as above; rub the whole through a sieve, and add the necessary amount of filtered water to bring the preparation to 16°or 18°.
Proceed as for No. 2766, and use the same quantities.
Mix one pint of red-currant juice with one pint of syrup. In view of the natural acidity of the fruit, lemon-juice may be dispensed with. The preparation should measure 20°.
Throw the zests of the rinds of four tangerines into one and one-half pints of boiling syrup. Let the whole cool; rub it through a sieve, and finish it with the juice of six tangerines, two oranges and one lemon. The preparation should measure 21°.
Mix one pint of very ripe melon pulp with one pint of syrup, the juice of two oranges and one lemon, and one tablespoonful of orange-flower water. Rub the whole through a sieve. The mixture should measure 22°.
Throw the zests of the rinds of four oranges into one quart of boiling syrup. Let the whole cool; add the juice of four oranges and one lemon, and rub it through a sieve. It should measure 21°.
Proceed as for No. 2761, using wall peaches if possible.
Peel, core, and pound some fine William pears, with one lb. of powdered sugar per two-thirds lb. of the fruit; and add thereto the juice of two lemons per lb. of pears. Rub the whole through a sieve, and add enough filtered water to bring it to 22°.
Proceed as for No. 2761, bringing the preparation to 20°.
Add to one and one-half pints of the juice of sweet, pressed grapes the juice of three lemons and the necessary quantity of powdered sugar to bring the preparation to 20°. Rub the whole through a sieve.
Put half a lb. of cleaned violet petals into one and one-half pints of boiling syrup. Let them infuse for ten minutes; strain the whole through a sieve; let it cool, and finish it with the juice of three lemons. The preparation should measure from 20° to 21°.
Take a Madeleine-mould; clothe its bottom and sides with vanilla ice-cream and fill it with Chantilly cream, combined with fresh strawberries, macerated for two hours in Kümmel, which should afterwards be added to the Chantilly cream.
Take a fluted mould. Garnish it with vertical and alternate layers of raspberry ice, coffee ice, and vanilla ice-cream.
Take a special square mould, even or ornamented on the top. Clothe it with strawberry ice; fill it with vanilla ice-cream; and, after turning it out, decorate it, by means of a piping-bag (fitted with a grooved pipe), with vanilla ice-cream.
Select one pound of fine very ripe strawberries, and put them in a silver timbale. Sprinkle them with ten ounces of powdered sugar and one liqueur-glass full of Grand-Marnier liqueur; cover the timbale and keep it on ice for half an hour.
Then rub the strawberries through a sieve; and, with their purée, make a preparation after the directions given under Fruit Ices. Freeze this preparation in the freezer, and, when it is set, combine with it one pint of Chantilly cream. Now cover the freezer; surround it afresh with ice if necessary, and keep it thus for thirty-five to forty minutes. This done, dish the ice preparation with care in pyramid form in crystal bowls.
N.B.—This ice gets its name from its colour, which should be that of the western sky during a fine sunset.
Take a Madeleine-mould; clothe it with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with Chantilly cream, combined with pralined orange flowers.
Take a Madeleine-mould; clothe it with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with Kirsch-flavoured Chantilly cream combined with pine-apple dice and Bar red-currant jam.
Take a star-shaped mould, or a Madeleine-mould with a star on its bottom. Clothe it with raspberry ice, and fill it with Bénédictine flavoured Mousse.
[796]
Turn it out upon a regular disc, consisting of a thick layer of
white spun sugar, lying on a dish. This spun sugar throws the
ice into relief, and emits rays which dart out from between the
points of the star.
Take a square mould. Garnish it with strawberry and pine-apple ice, laid in very regular, superposed layers. After turning it out decorate with lemon ice.
Take a square mould; clothe it with coffee ice, and fill it with liqueur-brandy ice.
These ices are made in fluted moulds, and generally with two differently flavoured and coloured ices, set vertically in the mould.
Take a “bombe” mould. Clothe it with pralined, vanilla-ice cream. Fill it with alternate layers of chestnut ice flavoured with rum, and vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream. When the ice is turned out, roll it in pralined splintered almonds.
These ices are made in large or small moulds.
The large ices are moulded in tin moulds, fitted with hinged covers, and ornamented with some design. The small ones, which are generally served at evening parties, or are used to garnish larger ices, are made in similar moulds, shaped like flowers, fruit, birds, leaf-sprays, etc.
Any ice preparation may be used for these ices; but, as a rule, the preparation should have something in keeping with the design of the mould used.
Small moulded ices may be kept packed until they are served. They may also be turned out in advance and kept in the refrigerator.
Take a Madeleine-mould; clothe it with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with pine-apple ice.
Take a Madeleine-mould. Fill it with vanilla ice-cream, combined with half its bulk of Chantilly cream and candied fruit macerated in Kirsch.
Cut the tangerines on top, with a round, even cutter, in suchwise as to remove a roundel of their peel with the stalk attached, and two leaves adhering thereto.
With the juice of the tangerines prepare some tangerine ice, after the directions given under Fruit-ice Preparations. Fill the tangerines with this ice; cover them with the roundels removed at the start; and, with a brush, sprinkle the rinds of the fruit with water, and place them in a refrigerator.
As soon as the tangerines are coated with frost, serve them on a napkin.
Empty the tangerines as above, and garnish them inside with tangerine mousse, with which Chartreuse bon-bons have been mixed. Cover them, and frost them as directed above.
Take a Madeleine-mould; clothe it with chocolate ice, and fill it with vanilla-flavoured Chantilly cream.
After turning out, decorate it with pine-apple ice.
Garnish some meringue shells with some kind of spoon-moulded ice, and set them on a napkin.
Or, garnish the shells more sparingly and join them together in twos.
Take a parfait mould. Garnish it with vanilla-ice cream combined with candied fruit, macerated in Kirsch; spreading the preparation in alternate layers with apricot jam.
We are now concerned with bowls garnished, either with differently-flavoured ices, or with ices combined with Chantilly cream or candied fruit. The bowls used for this purpose should be of crystal.
Three-parts fill the bowls with Alpine-strawberry ice, or, failing this, four-seasons strawberry ice, combined with very light and strongly-flavoured raw cream. The two most perfect examples of this cream are the “Fleurette Normande,” and that which in the South of France is called “Crème Niçoise,” and which comes from Alpine pastures.
[798]
Upon the ice of each bowl set a half-peach, poached in vanilla-flavoured
syrup; and veil the whole thinly with spun sugar.
Garnish the bottom of the bowls with vanilla-ice cream, combined with fragments of candied chestnuts, macerated in Maraschino. Set a candied chestnut in the middle of the ice, and surround it by means of a piping-bag with a border of Chantilly cream, containing strawberry purée.
Three-parts garnish the bowls with almond-milk ice. Upon the ice in each bowl set an overturned half-peach, poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup, the hollow of which should be filled with Bar red-currant jam. Surround the peaches with a thread of lemon ice, laid by means of a piping-bag.
Garnish the bowls with Moka ice, and sprinkle the latter with sweets containing liqueur (preferably rum). Cover with Chantilly cream laid on by means of the spoon.
Garnish the bottom of the bowls with vanilla ice-cream, and upon the latter set some very cold stewed cherries. Cover the latter with a cone of Chantilly cream, tinted pink by means of a fresh raspberry purée.
These coupes do not contain ice. They are garnished with very cold stewed choice bigaroon cherries, poached in a Kirsch- and cherry-brandy-flavoured syrup. The fruit is covered with Chantilly cream which is laid on by means of a spoon, and sprinkled with powdered spices in which cinnamon should predominate.
Garnish the bottom of the bowls with pralined vanilla ice-cream. Upon the latter set some Kirsch-flavoured stewed cherries, and cover the latter with raspberry purée.
Garnish the bowls with vanilla ice-cream, combined with broken candied chestnuts. Cover the ice with Chantilly cream and upon the latter sprinkle some crystallised violets.
Garnish the bowls vertically, half with Kirsch-Maraschino-flavoured ice, and half with vanilla ice-cream. Border them with a thread of pine-apple ice, and in the middle set some Chantilly cream combined with strawberry purée.
Garnish the bottom of the bowls with vanilla ice, and distribute over it half-sugared cherries, macerated in Kirsch. Cover the cherries with a dry purée of chestnuts, squeezed out to resemble vermicelli, and border the bowls with Chantilly cream.
Garnish the bottom of the bowls with vanilla ice-cream, and upon the latter in each bowl set three small macaroons, saturated with Kirsch. Upon the macaroons set an overturned poached half-peach, the hollow of which should be garnished with Bar red-currant jam. Surround the peaches with a border of Chantilly cream.
Garnish the bowls vertically, half with lemon and half with strawberry ice. Between the two ices, on top of the bowl, set a tablespoonful of a macédoine of fresh fruit, macerated in Kirsch.
Garnish the bowls with vanilla ice-cream, combined with peeled Muscadel grapes. Veil with spun sugar.
Garnish the bowls with tangerine ice, combined with pine-apple cut into very small dice.
Garnish the bowls, half with vanilla ice-cream, and half with red-currant ice with cream. In the middle of each bowl set a nectarine poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup, the stone of which should be replaced by Bar white-currant jam.
Decorate with Chantilly cream, and cover with a veil of spun sugar.
Garnish the bowls with vanilla ice-cream. Set in each a poached half-peach garnished with Bar red-currant jam. Surround the peaches with a thread of lemon ice.
Garnish the bowls, half with pine-apple ice and half with raspberry ice.
[800]
Between the two ices set a line of small strawberries, macerated
in orange juice. Border the bowls with Chantilly cream, and
sprinkle the latter with crystallised violets.
Garnish the bottom and sides of the bowls with a layer of vanilla ice-cream. Fill them with Bar red-currant jam, and cover the latter, by means of a spoon, with Chantilly cream.
Sprinkle the bottom of the bowls with various fresh fruits cut into dice; garnish the bowls with strawberry, pine-apple and lemon ices, spread alternately with layers of the same fruits.
Half-fill the bowls with vanilla ice-cream.
In the middle of each bowl set a small peach, poached in vanilla-flavoured syrup, with a very red, small cherry upon it.
Border the peaches with a thread of Chantilly cream.
These ices differ from those dealt with above, in that they are moulded and frozen directly, without a sojourn in the freezer.
To this class belong the ices most commonly served and the best; and, since their preparation requires no special utensils, they may be served everywhere: such are the “Iced Biscuits,” the “Bombes,” the “Mousses,” the “Parfaits,” the “Puddings,” and the “Iced Soufflés.”
These different kinds of ices greatly resemble one another, and their names, which are puzzling at times, are only a matter of fancy.
The old iced-biscuit preparation consisted of an English custard, prepared from one lb. of sugar, twelve egg-yolks, and one pint of milk.
When the custard was cooked, it used to be strained into a basin, left to cool (being fanned the while), and then placed upon ice, and finished with the whisk. Originally this cream was moulded at this stage; but now it is customary to add one quart of whipped cream to it; which operation renders the recipe more like that of a Bombe, which, in its turn, resembles that of the preparation for Mousses.
Whisk in a copper basin, in a bain-marie, twelve egg-yolks and one lb. of powdered sugar, until the paste gets very firm and reaches the ribbon-stage.
Take the basin off the fire, and whisk until the whole is quite cold. Then, add eight oz. of Italian meringue and one pint of whisked cream.
These biscuits are moulded in rectangular brick-shaped cases, fitted with lids, top and bottom.
Generally, the preparation moulded in the covers is of a different flavour and colour from the one filling the middle of the mould.
For example, one of the covers may be garnished with strawberry, and the other with violet preparation, while the central portion may hold a vanilla-flavoured preparation. After having frozen them for three hours, in a pail filled with freezing ice, and turned them out, these bricks are cut up vertically into rectangles, on the cut sides of which the differently coloured layers are distinctly marked. Place these rectangles in special paper cases; decorate them on top, if the directions admit of it, and place them in a refrigerator until about to serve.
Nearly all Bombe preparations may become the base of biscuits, which are then named after them; e.g.: from Bombe Odessa, Odessa Iced Biscuits may be prepared.
Mould the base with strawberry ice, the middle with Bénédictine ice, and the top with violet ice. Freeze and cut up as directed.
Mould with Kirsch and strawberry ices, alternated twice.
Mould the base with a rum-flavoured preparation, the middle with a chestnut preparation, and the top with a vanilla-flavoured preparation.
Mould the base with a vanilla-flavoured preparation, the middle with strawberry ice, and the top with a preparation of pralined biscuit.
Mould and leave to set a biscuit-pralined preparation. After having cut up the moulding, surround it with splintered and pralined almonds.
Decorate the pieces with vanilla ice-cream and tangerine ice.
Mould the base with strawberry and the top with pistachio biscuit preparation. When the biscuit is frozen, cut it into rectangular slices, and sandwich each slice between two sugar wafers.
Originally, Bombes were made from an ordinary ice preparation, in spherical moulds; hence their name, which is once more justified by their arrangement, consisting as it used to do of superposed and concentric layers, the outermost of which was very thin. Nowadays, Bombes are more often moulded in the shape of shells, but the preparation from which they are made is much more delicate than it was formerly.
Gradually mix thirty-two egg-yolks with one quart of syrup at 28°. Put the whole on a very moderate fire, whisking it as for a Génoise, and, when the preparation is firm enough and taken off the fire, continue whisking it over ice until it is quite cold. Then add the selected flavour, and one and one-third quarts of stiffly-whipped cream.
First clothe the bottom and sides of a mould with the ice preparation denoted by the name of the Bombe. This coat, which should vary in thickness in accordance with the size of the mould, should be somewhat thin, and made from an ordinary ice preparation, which is suited better than any other kind to this class of dish.
The middle is then filled with a Bombe preparation, flavoured as directed, or with a Mousse preparation. The whole is then covered with a round piece of white paper, and the mould is hermetically sealed with its cover, set to freeze, and left for two or three hours in the ice.
When about to serve, take the mould out of the ice; wash it with cold water; dip it quickly in tepid water; dry it with a towel, and overturn the mould on a napkin or on a block of ice.
Having clothed the mould with pistachio ice, fill it with a pralined Bombe-preparation, combined with chopped pistachios.
Clothe the mould with chocolate ice, and fill it with an apricot Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with a Kirsch-flavoured Bombe-preparation, laid in alternate layers with stewed apricots.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with a Kirsch-flavoured Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with Anisette ice, and fill it with a pomegranate Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and garnish it with a strawberry Bombe-preparation. After turning it out surround the Bombe with a crown of fine strawberries macerated in Kirsch.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with a tangerine Bombe-preparation. After turning out decorate the Bombe with pistachio ice.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with a vanilla Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with a pine-apple ice and fill it up with a strawberry Bombe-preparation, combined with candied ginger cut into dice.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it up with an Anisette Bombe-preparation.
After turning out decorate the Bombe with crystallised violets.
Clothe the mould with pine-apple ice, and fill it with a vanilla and rum Bombe-preparation combined with pine-apple dice.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a vanilla Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with a red-currant and raspberry ice, and fill it with a pralined vanilla Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice and fill it with a rum Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with a vanilla Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with banana ice, and fill it with a violet Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with Kirsch ice, and fill it with a pear Bombe-preparation. After turning out decorate the Bombe with half-sugared cherries.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a pralined Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice, and fill it with a Kümmel Bombe-preparation. After turning out decorate it with crystallised violets.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice, and fill it with an almond milk Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a Kirsch Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with a Kirsch Bombe-preparation, combined with half-sugared cherries.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with a Maraschino Bombe-preparation, combined with candied fruit.
Clothe the mould with banana-ice, and fill it with a pear Bombe-preparation flavoured with Kirsch.
Clothe the mould with pralined ice, and fill it with a Kirsch Bombe-preparation, containing some coffee-drops.
Clothe the mould with orange ice, and fill it with a pralined Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with raspberry ice, and fill it with a pralined Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with a strawberry Bombe-preparation, combined with big strawberries.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a Bombe-preparation flavoured with liqueur-brandy.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with a rum Bombe-preparation, combined with candied fruit.
Clothe the mould with pear ice, and fill it with a Chartreuse Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with pralined ice, and fill it with an Anisette Bombe-preparation, combined with Bar white-currant jam.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a vanilla and rum Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with filbert ice, and fill it with a Chartreuse Bombe-preparation, combined with filbert pralin.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with a Curaçao Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with pralined ice, and fill it with an orange Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with peach ice, and fill it with a tea mousse-preparation.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with a chocolate pralined Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a pistachio Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with almond ice, and fill it with a vanilla and Kirsch Bombe-preparation, combined with candied fruit.
Clothe the mould with blood-orange ice, and fill it with tangerine-flavoured Chantilly cream.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with alternate layers of pistachio, orange and vanilla Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with almond ice, and fill it with pistachio Bombe-preparation. After turning out, decorate with vanilla ice-cream.
Clothe the mould with raspberry ice, and fill it with a vanilla Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with a Champagne Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with peach-ice, and fill it with a Kirsch Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with an apricot Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with brandy ice, and fill it with a raspberry Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with a Chartreuse Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with nut Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with raspberry ice, and fill it with a vanilla Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a Kirsch Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with pine-apple ice, and fill it with a Curaçao Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with Kirsch ice, and fill it with a cherry Bombe-preparation. After turning out, surround it with half-candied cherries.
Clothe the mould with Kümmel ice, and fill it with a bitter-almond Bombe-preparation, combined with candied fruit.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with Chantilly cream, combined with strawberry purée.
Clothe the mould with pralined ice, and fill it with a liqueur-brandy Bombe-preparation, containing candied fruit.
Clothe the mould with filbert pralined ice, and fill it with a chocolate Bombe-preparation.
Take a dome-mould and clothe it with vanilla ice-cream with caramel; fill it with vanilla Mousse, combined with small, imitation truffles, the size of small nuts, made from chocolate.
Turn out the Bombe on a thin cushion of Punch Biscuit, of the same diameter as the Bombe. Cover the whole with a thin layer of Italian meringue; and, on top, set a small receptacle made of Italian meringue dried in an almost cold oven. Decorate the sides by means of a piping-bag with meringue, and set the whole in the oven to glaze quickly.
[808]
On taking the Bombe out of the oven, pour some hot rum into
the bowl, and set a light to it when serving.
Clothe the mould with raspberry ice, and fill it with alternate layers of melon Bombe-preparation and Chantilly cream.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with Chantilly cream, combined with chestnut purée.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with a pralined Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with a strawberry Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with ginger ice, and fill it with a pistachio Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with a pralin and chocolate Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with a hazel-nut Bombe-preparation, combined with Bar red-currant jam.
Clothe the mould with asparagus ice, and fill it with a pomegranate Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with pine-apple preparation.
Clothe the mould with rum ice; fill it with a coffee Bombe-preparation, and distribute coffee drops upon it after turning.
Clothe the mould with vanilla ice-cream, and fill it up with red-currant-flavoured Chantilly cream, combined with red-currants.
Clothe the mould with Kirsch ice, and fill it with a chocolate pralined Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with Brandy ice, and fill it with a pistachio Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with pralined ice, and fill it with a Curaçao Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with Vodka ice, and fill it with Kümmel-flavoured Chantilly cream.
Clothe the mould with peach ice, and fill it with a Champagne Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with Kirsch-flavoured Chantilly cream, combined with candied apricots cut into dice.
Clothe the mould with chocolate ice, and fill it with a pralined Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with pink rum ice, and fill it with vanilla Bombe-preparation, combined with Bar red-currant jam.
Clothe the mould with pralined ice, and fill it with coffee Bombe-preparation, containing coffee seeds.
Clothe the mould with apricot ice, and fill it with a Maraschino and fruit Bombe-preparation. After turning out, decorate the Bombe with lemon ice.
Clothe the mould with orange ice, combined with candied orange-rind, cut into small dice; and fill with alternate layers of Chantilly cream and roundels of filbert Génoise, cut in graduated sizes, and saturated with Curaçao syrup. Sprinkle some orange-zest dice on each roundel of Génoise.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with a lemon Bombe-preparation, combined with various candied fruits, cut into dice.
Clothe the mould with pralined ice, and fill it with Chantilly cream, combined with raspberries.
Clothe the mould half with vanilla and half with strawberry ice and fill it with a Maraschino and Kirsch Bombe-preparation.
Clothe the mould with strawberry ice, and fill it with Plombière ice.
Clothe the mould with coffee ice, and fill it with a Curaçao Bombe-preparation.
The composition for mousses is prepared either from English cream or from syrup. The last method is specially suited to fruit mousses.
This is a cold syrup at 35°, to which is added an equal quantity of a purée of the fruit under treatment, and twice that amount of very stiff Chantilly cream.
Make an English cream from one lb. of powdered sugar, sixteen egg-yolks, and one pint of milk, and leave it to cool.
When it is quite cold, add to it one pint of raw cream, two-thirds oz. of powdered tragacanth gum, and the flavour which is to characterise the preparation.
If the mousse be a fruit one, add to it one pint of a purée of fresh fruit.
Whisk over ice, until the preparation gets very frothy; put it into moulds, lined with white paper; thoroughly close them, and keep them in a refrigerator for two or three hours, subject to their size.
After the same procedure, mousses may be prepared with Anisette, Coffee, Chocolate, Kirsch, Maraschino, Rum, Tea, etc.; Apricots, Strawberries, Oranges and Tangerines, fresh Walnuts, Peaches, Vanilla, Violets, etc.
Mix thirty egg-yolks with one quart of cold syrup at 28°. Put the mixture on a slow fire, and cook it as for an English cream; strain it, and whisk it on ice until it is quite cold.
Add three pints of very stiff, whisked cream and one-fifth pint [811] of brandy or rum, in order to finish it; mould the preparation in Parfait moulds, and pack them in a freezer for from two to three hours.
N.B.—The term “Parfait,” which, formerly, was applied only to “Parfait au Café,” has become the common name for un-clothed ices, made from Bombe-preparations having but one flavour. And this is fairly logical, seeing that Bombe-preparations, but for a few insignificant distinctions, are exactly like Parfait-preparation.
It is therefore just as reasonable to make vanilla, chocolate, and pralined Parfaits, etc., as to make them with coffee.
Preparations of this class follow no hard and fast rules, and, in reality, they are not ices at all. They are nothing else than iced entremets, the bases of which generally consist of thick English custard, the same as that which serves in the preparation of Bavarois.
The few following recipes, however, are exceptions to this rule.
Clothe a Bombe mould with a thin layer of vanilla ice-cream, and fill it with two Bombe-preparations, spread in somewhat thick, alternate layers. One of the preparations should be of vanilla, on each thickness of which a layer of lady’s-finger biscuits, cut into dice and sprinkled with Anisette, should be spread; and the other preparation should be of tangerine.
Between the layers, sprinkle a few pinches of grated chocolate, and fill up the mould with a thickness of vanilla ice-cream.
Thoroughly close the utensil; pack it for about two or three hours. Turn it out on a folded napkin; sprinkle thereon a few red, crushed pralins; and serve an iced tangerine syrup separately.
Line a Charlotte mould with rolled gaufrettes; placing them snugly one against the other. By means of a piping-bag, fill the gaufrettes with very stiff strawberry ice, and then fill the mould with a vanilla pralined Bombe-preparation. Keep the mould in the refrigerator for three hours, and turn out the pudding on a napkin. Decorate it on top with pink and white Chantilly cream. Serve a chocolate ice-cream separately.
Garnish an iced, Madeleine-mould with lady’s-finger biscuits, saturated with Chartreuse, and alternate them with thin slices of fresh pine-apple, saturated in Kirsch, and pipped sections of tangerine, skinned raw.
[812]
Fill up the mould with a Bombe-preparation of pomegranate
juice, flavoured with Kirsch; close the mould, keep it in ice for
two hours, and turn out the pudding on a napkin when about to
serve.
Serve an iced, vanilla syrup separately.
Cut a Mousseline Brioche into thin slices, and set these to soak in raw, sweetened and Kirsch-flavoured cream. Peel and finely slice some peaches, and poach them in vanilla-flavoured syrup; also peel some very ripe William pears.
Prepare a pink Bombe-preparation, flavoured with Kirsch and Orgeat; and then fill up the mould with alternate layers of the slices of Brioche and of fruit, with Bar red-currant jam added; and the Bombe-preparation.
Close the mould, keep it in ice for two hours, and turn out the pudding on a napkin.
The preparation differs according as to whether the Soufflés be prepared with fruit, or with such flavours as Vanilla, Coffee, Chocolate, etc.
The last named are made with the Iced-Mousse preparation (No. 2916), which may also serve for the fruit Soufflés; but, in the case of the latter, the following preparation is preferable:—
Whisk the whites of ten eggs to a very stiff froth, and add to this one and one-tenth lbs. of sugar cooked to the small-crack stage. Transfer the whole to a basin; flavour according to fancy, and add one pint of a purée of fruit and one pint of very stiffly-whisked cream.
Mould the large ones in ordinary Soufflé timbales, which should be lined with bands of white paper, fixed with butter, and overreaching the edges of the timbales by one and a half to two inches, that the preparation, in projecting above the brims of the utensils, may appear like a Soufflé when the paper is removed.
The small Soufflés are moulded in cases or in small silver cassolettes, which are likewise wrapped in bands of paper, that the preparation may rise above their brims. As soon as they are moulded, put the Soufflés in a very cold refrigerator; and when about to serve them, carefully remove the bands of paper which, once the preparation has solidified, have served their purpose; and [813] dish the cases or silver cassolettes on a napkin or on a carved block of ice.
Like the Bombes, and the Iced Biscuits, Iced Soufflés may be indefinitely varied, owing to the multitudinous combinations to which they lend themselves.
Sherbets and their derivative preparations consist of very light and barely-congealed ices, served after the Entrées. They serve in freshening the stomach; preparing it to properly receive the roast.
They are at once appetisers and helps to digestion.
Sherbets are made from any liqueur ice preparation at 15°; or they may be prepared as follows:—For one quart of preparation, take the juice of two lemons and one orange, half-a-pint of port wine, of Samos wine, of Sauterne, or other good wine; and add cold syrup at 22°, until the saccharometer registers 15°.
For liqueur sherbets, allow about one-fifth pint of liqueur per quart of the preparation; but remember that this is subject to the kind of liqueur used. For the quantity just prescribed, use syrup at 18° or 19°, which the subsequent addition of liqueur reduces to the proper degree. Whatever be the kind of liqueur, the latter should only be added when the Sherbet is completely frozen; that is to say at the last moment.
Fruit Sorbets are generally prepared from the juices and syrups of aqueous fruits. Fruit purées are scarcely suited to this mode of procedure, and they are only resorted to in exceptional cases.
The Freezing of Sherbets.—Pour the preparation into the turbine or the freezer, which should have been previously packed, and keep the utensil on the move. Remove portions of the preparation from the sides of the receptacle as fast as they adhere thereto, and mix them with the whole, until the latter is completely congealed; remembering not to stir at all during the freezing process. When the preparation is firm enough, mix with it, gently, the quarter of its weight of Italian meringue or very stiffly whipped cream; and finish by the addition of the liqueur.
The Dishing of Sherbets.—Take some of the Sherbet preparation in a spoon, and set it in Sherbet or Sherry glasses, shaping it to a point.
When the Sherbet is prepared with wine, sprinkle the preparation when it is in the glasses with a tablespoonful of the selected wine.
[814]
The consistence of a Sherbet, of what kind soever, should be
such as to allow of its being drunk.
Having pointed out that Sherbets may be prepared from the juices of every fruit such as Pine-apple, Cherries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Red-currants, etc., and from every wine and liqueur such as Port, Samos wine, Marsala, Johannisberg, Rum, Kirsch, Liqueur-Brandy, etc., and since the procedure is the same in every case, there is no need to devote a special article to each.
Keep a very green water melon in the refrigerator for three hours.
One hour before serving, open it on top, as directed under “Surprise Melon,” and withdraw the seeds.
Then, detach the pulp by means of a silver spoon, without withdrawing it from the fruit; sprinkle it with Maraschino, and put the whole back into the refrigerator.
Dish on fragmented ice or on a block of the latter, and serve the pulp before the diners in Sherbet glasses.
Granités answer the same purpose as Sherbets, while they may also be introduced into certain culinary preparations.
The bases of these preparations consist of very thin syrups made from fruit juices, and not overreaching fourteen degrees (saccharometer).
Granités consist only of iced syrups, and are not combined with any Italian or other meringue.
As in the case of the Sherbets, but more particularly in regard to these, the operator should remember not to stir the syrup during the freezing process, lest it turn; and, when it is congealed, it should form a light, granulated mass.
Marquises are generally made from strawberries or pine-apple, with Kirsch. The preparation is that of a Sherbet with Kirsch, registering 17° by the saccharometer. The freezing is done as for Granités; but it should be carried a little further.
When about to serve, mix the preparation per pint thereof with half a pint of very stiff Chantilly cream, combined with a strawberry or pine-apple purée, subject to the designation of the Marquise.
Mix sufficient dry white wine, or dry champagne, with one pint of syrup at 22°, to reduce the latter to 17°; add the juice of two oranges and two lemons, a strip of orange and lemon zest, and let infusion proceed for one hour.
Strain the syrup and bring it to 18°.
Freeze in the freezer, until it is somewhat stiff, and mix it with the quarter of its volume of Italian meringue (prepared from two egg-whites and three and a half oz. of sugar).
When about to serve, complete with one-fifth pint of Rum, added little by little.
Serve the preparation in glasses, after the style of the Sherbets.
N.B.—For all Sherbets and Punches, one quart of the finished preparation should be allowed for every ten people.
Spoom is a kind of Sherbet prepared from a syrup at 20°. Add to it twice as much Italian meringue as was added to the Sherbets. Do not work it too briskly, that it may remain very light and frothy.
Spooms are made from fruit juices; but more often from such wines as Champagne, Samos, Muscat, Zucco, etc.
Serve it in glasses like the Sherbets.
N.B.—The quantities given below are calculated to be sufficient for fifteen glassfuls.
Work eight oz. of powdered sugar with eight egg-yolks in a saucepan, until the whole becomes white and reaches the ribbon stage. Then add consecutively: one-fifth pint of capillary syrup, one pint of freshly made, boiling hot tea, and the same amount of boiling milk; whisking briskly the while, that the drink may be very frothy. Complete at the last moment with one-third pint of the liqueur which is to characterise the Bavaroise, i.e., either Kirsch or Rum.
If the Bavaroise be flavoured with vanilla, orange or lemon, let the flavour infuse in the milk for fifteen minutes beforehand. If it be flavoured with chocolate, dissolve six oz. of the latter, and add the milk to it, flavoured with vanilla.
If it be coffee-flavoured, set three oz. of freshly-torrified and concassed coffee to infuse in the milk or flavour with one pint of freshly-made coffee.
Bavaroise is served in special glasses, and it must be frothy.
Put into a basin one bottleful of Champagne, one Sherry-glassful of “tilleul” infusion, one orange and one lemon, cut into thin slices, and enough syrup at 32° to bring the preparation to 18°. Let maceration proceed in the cool for an hour. This done, strain the whole; freeze it like a Granité, and finish it with four liqueur-glassfuls of liqueur-brandy.
Serve in bumpers.
Pour one and a half pints of boiling water, gradually, over ten oz. of freshly-ground coffee, and strain it gently. Put this coffee into a bowl with 20 oz. of loaf-sugar, and let the latter dissolve [817] while the coffee cools. Then add one quart of very cold, boiled milk, in which half a stick of vanilla should have infused, and one pint of very fresh cream.
Freeze the whole in a freezer, taking care to keep the preparation almost liquid, and serve it in very cold cups.
Dissolve half-lb. of loaf-sugar in one quart of filtered water. Add the juice and the zests of the rinds of two lemons, and let infusion proceed in the cool for three hours. Pass the whole through a fine strainer; add one syphonful of seltzer water, and serve with a thin roundel of lemon in each glass.
Finely chop one and a half lbs. of fresh or preserved pineapple; put it into a basin and pour over it one quart of boiling syrup at 20°. Let it cool, and infuse for two hours.
Strain through a woollen bag; add a piece of ice and sufficient seltzer water to reduce the liquid to 9°. Keep the preparation in the cool for a further twenty minutes, and complete it, when about to serve, with three liqueur-glassfuls of Kirsch.
Stone two lbs. of very ripe cherries, and rub them through a sieve. Put the purée into a basin with the stones, crushed in the mortar, and let the whole macerate for one hour. Then moisten with one pint of filtered water, and strain the juice through a woollen bag, or muslin folded in two and stretched.
Add a piece of well-washed ice and six oz. of loaf-sugar, and put the whole in the cool for twenty minutes. Flavour, when about to serve, with four liqueur-glassfuls of Kirsch.
The saccharometer should register 9° when inserted into this preparation.
Rub through a sieve, over a basin, twelve oz. of red and white currants, and four oz. of very ripe raspberries. Add to the currant-water one pint of filtered water, six oz. of loaf-sugar, and one piece of washed ice. Keep the whole in the cool for twenty minutes, and stir it from time to time with a silver spoon, that the sugar may dissolve.
Degree the same as in No. 2939.
Rub one lb. of just-ripe melon pulp through a sieve. Put it into a basin and pour over it one pint of boiling syrup at 20°. [818] Let the whole cool and infuse for two hours, and strain it through muslin or through a woollen bag. Add a piece of very clean ice and sufficient seltzer water to reduce the syrup to 9°. Keep the preparation in the cool for a further twenty minutes, and finish it, when about to serve, with two tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water.
Peel and slice one-half lb. of peaches and an equal quantity of pineapple; add four oz. of ripe, melon pulp, cut into dice, and four oz. of a mixture of raspberries and red and white currants, cleared of their stalks. Put these fruits in a silver timbale and keep the latter on ice. Set a little cinnamon to infuse in a half-bottleful of boiling, white wine; add six oz. of sugar and the zest of one lemon; and let the whole cool. Then add half a pint of a mixed purée of strawberries and red-currants to this infusion.
Filter the whole, and complete it by the addition of a bottle of champagne.
Pour this preparation over the fruit, and serve the timbale very cold.
Proceed as for lemonade, but use the juice and zests of orange rinds instead of those of lemons, and the juice of only half a lemon. Put very thin slices of orange in the glasses.
Throw a good half oz. of tea into one quart of boiling water, and let it infuse for ten minutes. Put into a punch or salad-bowl one lb. of loaf-sugar; strain the infusion of tea over the sugar, and dissolve the latter; stirring the while with a silver spoon.
Add one and a half pints of Kirsch, set it alight, and serve in glasses.
Make an infusion as above, with the same amount of tea and one quart of boiling water. Strain it over one lb. of loaf-sugar, in a punch-bowl, and let the sugar dissolve.
Add a few thin slices of lemon, and one and a half pints of rum, and set light to it. Serve with a slice of lemon in each glass.
Put into a small, copper saucepan one quart of Sauterne wine, half-lb. of loaf-sugar, and the zest of the rind of one lemon bound round a clove. Dissolve the sugar; heat the wine until it becomes [819] covered by thin white froth, and pour it into a punch-bowl after having withdrawn the zest and the clove.
Add half a pint of burnt brandy; set it alight and let it burn itself out.
Serve with a thin slice of lemon in each glass.
Prepare a Marquise Punch as above; when the wine is hot, take it off the fire; throw in a good half oz. of tea, and let the whole infuse under cover for ten minutes.
Pass the whole through a fine strainer; add one orange and one lemon, peeled raw and cut into slices, and some heated rum. Set alight; leave to cool, and reduce to 15°. Then freeze like a Granité, and serve in glasses.
Pour one bottleful of red wine over ten oz. of loaf-sugar, set in a small, copper basin. Dissolve the sugar. Add one orange zest, a bit of cinnamon and mace, and one clove. Heat the wine until it is covered by thin froth, and then pass it through a fine strainer.
Serve with a thin slice of lemon in each glass.
Pour half a pint of boiling water over ten oz. of loaf sugar. Add the zest of one orange and let infusion proceed for fifteen minutes. Withdraw the zest, and mix one bottleful of heated Burgundy wine with the infusion.
Serve with a roundel of orange in each glass.
Put eight oz. of sugar into a salad-bowl, and sprinkle thereon a few tablespoonfuls of water, that it may dissolve. Add one bottleful of excellent Bordeaux wine or red Burgundy, and the half of a lemon cut into thin slices. Stir the whole well with a silver spoon and serve with a slice of lemon in each glass.
N.B.—Always remember to free the lemons and oranges used of all pips, which would lend a bitterness to the drink.
Put into a crystal bowl one oz. of loaf-sugar, the rind of one lemon and three slices of the latter, an equal quantity of orange, one strip of cucumber peel, one tablespoonful of Angostura Bitter, and a liqueur-glassful of each of the following liqueurs:—Brandy, Maraschino and white Curaçao.
Complete with one and a half bottles of red wine and a bottle of Soda. Cover and let the whole infuse. Strain, add a few pieces of very clean ice and a few leaves of fresh mint.
Fruit for stewing is used whole, halved or quartered, and cooked or poached in a syrup, of a flavour in keeping with the fruit.
Dish these preparations in tazzas, bowls or deep dishes; cover them with their syrup, reduced or not; and, in certain cases, thicken the latter with arrowroot. They may be served hot or cold; but in any case, the fruit used should not be too ripe.
These preparations generally consist of stewed, fresh fruit of one or several kinds; combined with fruit purées.
Quince and apple jellies are greatly used, either in coating the preparations or in bordering them with dice, &c.
With this class of stewed fruits, which are merely a matter of fancy and taste, candied and preserved fruits are almost always used as auxiliary constituents.
Under this generic title the following preparations are classed:—
(1) Those in which the fruit is treated directly with the sugar:—
(2) Those in which the juice alone, owing to its gelatinous nature, produces, together with the sugar, consistent jellies.
The amount of sugar used is subject to the nature of the fruit and its sweetness; but in the case of nearly all tart fruits, the weight of sugar should equal that of the fruit, or nearly so.
If too much sugar be used, the flavour is impaired; while crystallisation will follow very shortly afterwards; if too little be used, the jam has to be overcooked in order to be made sufficiently consistent, and the flavour is once more impaired by protracted evaporation; finally if the time allowed for cooking be inadequate, rapid fermentation will be the result.
[821]
In making jam, therefore, the operator should base his measure
of sugar upon the nature of the fruit he intends treating.
The time allowed for cooking any jam whatsoever can only be approximately decided, and it is a gross mistake to suppose the case otherwise, since the matter is wholly dependent upon the intensity of the fire, and the resulting speed of the evaporation of the vegetable moisture. Theoretically, a jam is all the better for having been cooked quickly, seeing that it may thus more easily preserve its colour and flavour.
For all that, unless great care and attention be exercised, a whole-fruit jam ought not to be made on a too violent fire, lest it burn. Conversely, when jellies are in question, wherein the juice alone of the fruit is treated, the fire should be as intense as possible; in order that the required degree of consistence, which marks the close of the operation, may be reached as speedily as possible.
The degree of consistence is the same for all jellies, and may be ascertained thus: when the steam given off by the preparation loses its density, and the boiling movement becomes perceptible, it may be concluded that evaporation has ceased, and that the real cooking-process, which is very rapid, has begun. At this stage frequently take the skimmer out of the saucepan.
The jam adhering to it falls off, at first very quickly; then, in a few minutes, it is seen to accumulate towards the centre of the skimmer and to fall therefrom slowly at lengthy intervals, in large drops.
This stage, which is indubitably indicative of the cooking being at an end, is called the “nappe” and is equivalent to the large-thread stage in the cooking of sugar; and, as soon as it is reached the jam should be taken off the fire. Allow it to cool for seven or eight minutes, and pour it into pots, which, if of glass, should be gradually heated, lest they crack.
The following day, set a round piece of white paper saturated with rectified glycerine, on each pot, and drop these pieces of paper directly upon the jam. Rectified glycerine will be found preferable by far to the commonly-used sugared brandy.
Then close the pots with a double sheet of paper, fastened on with string, and place them somewhere in the dry.
Cut the apricots in two, and use very ripe fruit, grown in the open, if possible. Break the stones, skin the almonds, and cut them in two. Allow three-quarters lb. of loaf-sugar per lb. of fruit. Put this sugar in a preserving pan with one-third pint of water per [822] two lbs. of sugar, and, when the latter is dissolved, boil for a few minutes, carefully skimming the while. Add the apricots, set the whole to cook on a moderate fire, and stir incessantly, especially towards the end, when the jam is more particularly prone to burn on the bottom of the saucepan. Take the jam off the fire as soon as it reaches the “nappe” stage, as explained above, and mix the almonds with the jam.
Stone the cherries, and allow one and a half lbs. of loaf-sugar per two lbs. of the fruit; taking care to have equal weights of sugar and fruit if the latter be not over sweet. Put the sugar in the preserving pan; moisten it with water that it may dissolve, and boil it for five minutes, skimming carefully the while. Add the cherries and a half-pint of red-currant juice, and cook over a fierce fire until the “nappe” stage is reached.
Remarks:—(1) The addition of red-currant juice is advocated for this jam, seeing that by ensuring the proper consistence it obviates prolonged cooking; and, as I have already pointed out, red fruit is all the better, and preserves a more perfect colour, when it is cooked rapidly.
(2) When the fruit begins to boil, carefully skim it, otherwise the scum hardens, and not only spoils the jam but often sets it fermenting.
This is one of the most difficult jams to make. There are several ways of preparing it, and the one I give strikes me as the quickest and simplest. Clean the fruit, which should be just ripe. Only wash it when absolutely necessary, as, for instance, when mould has stuck to it.
Allow twelve oz. of sugar per lb. of fruit. Put this sugar in a preserving pan, sprinkle it with water that it may dissolve, and cook it to the large-ball stage (see No. 2344), taking care to skim thoroughly when boiling begins. Throw the strawberries into the sugar, and set the preserving pan on the side of the fire for seven or eight minutes; that is to say, until the moisture of the fruit has dissolved the sugar to a syrup.
Return the saucepan to a fierce fire, and cook the strawberries for ten or twelve minutes, remembering to carefully remove the scum that forms.
Then withdraw the strawberries by means of a slice and drain them in a basin. Continue cooking the syrup rapidly, until the “nappe” stage shows signs of appearing, then return the [823] strawberries for five minutes; that is to say, until the “nappe” stage is completely reached.
Fill the pots, little by little, that the strawberries may be well distributed in them and not rise in a mass to the top, as often happens when the receptacles are filled too quickly.
Select some oranges about equal in size, of a good colour, free from blemishes, and with thick and soft rinds. The latter consideration is important, seeing that the parboiling operation is effected more perfectly when the rinds are thick and supple.
Prick them somewhat deeply with a small, pointed stick (in order to precipitate the cooking process), and throw them into a preserving pan of boiling water. Boil for thirty minutes; drain the oranges, cool them, and put them under a running tap for twelve hours, or more if possible; or soak them in constantly changed, cold water for twenty hours. The object of this operation is to soften the rinds and extract their bitterness.
This done, drain the oranges; quarter them, remove their pips and filaments, and rub them through a coarse sieve.
Take the same weight of sugar as of orange purée. Melt the former in the preserving pan, and boil it for five or six minutes, skimming carefully the while. Then add the orange purée, and one-quarter pint of good apple juice per lb. of the former.
During the first stage of the cooking process, skim with great care, and during the second stage, stir almost incessantly until the “nappe” stage is reached.
Allow twelve oz. of loaf-sugar per lb. of stoned plums.
Dissolve the sugar; skim, set it to boil for seven or eight minutes, and proceed for the cooking as directed under apricot jam.
Remarks:—(1) It is a mistake to let the plums macerate in the sugar for some hours previously, for the acid they contain causes them to blacken, and the colour of the jam is thus spoiled. (2) In order to have greengage jam of a fine, green colour, do not cook more than from six to eight lbs. of it at a time, and cook that quantity as quickly as possible.
Rhubarb jam is one of the most difficult and tedious to make owing (1) to the abundant moisture contained by the vegetable; (2) to its proneness to burn on the bottom of the saucepan, especially towards the close of the cooking process.
If it be desired very green, select suitable natural rhubarb; if it be desired pink, only take the central stalks which are bordered [824] with red, or use forced rhubarb. In any case, it is best not to make more than five or six lbs. at once.
Suppress the ends of the stalks, cut what remains into pieces; by means of a small knife, scrape off the adhering skin and cut the stalks into three-inch lengths. Allow thirteen oz. of loaf-sugar per lb. of rhubarb. Dissolve the former, boil it for seven or eight minutes and then throw the rhubarb into it. Cover the preserving pan and, put it on the side of the stove for about twelve minutes that the fibres of the rhubarb may be disaggregated, and at the end of that time become like vermicelli.
Then set the saucepan upon a fierce fire, and stir constantly until the preparation reaches the “nappe” stage, whereupon the jam is finished.
There are also several ways of making this jam, of which the following seems the most expeditious:
The first fact that should be grasped is that the amount of pulp that can be used represents about one-fifth of the tomato, and this itself depends upon the kind of tomato used, and whether it be just ripe, nearly so, or very ripe.
In order to obtain one lb. of pulp, therefore, five lbs. of tomatoes should be used, or thereabouts.
Finely slice the tomatoes, and rub them through a sieve. Put the juice and the purée into the jam-saucepan, and boil for five minutes, stirring the while.
This done, pour the whole into a napkin, stretched between the four legs of an overturned stool, as for straining a jelly; and let it drain thoroughly.
At the end of the operation, therefore, all that remains on the napkin is the mere vegetable pulp, freed of all moisture.
Allow the same weight of sugar as of pulp. Put the former into the jam-saucepan, together with a small glassful of water; let it dissolve, and cook it to the small-ball stage (see the cooking of sugar); taking care to skim it well as soon as it begins to boil. A stick of vanilla may be put with the sugar before boiling it; or the jam may be flavoured with a good tablespoonful of vanilla sugar when it is taken off the fire; in any case, the jam ought to be flavoured with vanilla.
When the sugar has reached the small-ball stage, add the tomato pulp to it, and one-fourth pint of red-currant juice per lb. of pulp. Owing to the fact that tomato pulp of itself has no cohesive properties the mixing of red-currant juice with it is essential.
[825]
Set the preserving pan upon a fierce fire, stirring incessantly the
while, until the “nappe” stage is reached; then let the jam cook
for a few more minutes.
Take some very ripe black-currants: clean them; put them into the preserving-pan with half a glassful of water per two lbs. of fruit, and let them boil.
While this preparatory operation is in progress, the skins of the currants burst, and their juice flows into the pan. At this stage, transfer the fruit to a sieve lying on a bowl—a much simpler method than crushing and pressing them in a twisted towel.
Allow as many lbs. of sugar as there are quarts of juice; put this sugar into the preserving-pan; dissolve it, and cook it to the small-ball stage; thoroughly skimming the while. Add the black-currant juice, combined per quart with half pint of white-currant juice.
Move the utensil to the side of the stove for a few minutes, that the sugar may dissolve, and then cook the jelly on a fierce fire, carefully skimming the while, until the “nappe” stage is almost reached.
Remarks: The object of adding the white-currant jelly is to modify the blackness of pure black-currant jelly.
Select very ripe fruit; cut it into slices; peel and pip these, and throw them into a basin of fresh water.
Then put them into a preserving-pan with three and a half pints of water per lb. of quinces, and cook them without touching them. This done, transfer them to a sieve, and let them drain. Return the juice to the pan, together with twelve oz. of loaf-sugar per lb.; dissolve the sugar; and set the whole to cook on a fierce fire, meanwhile skimming with care, until the “nappe” stage is almost reached.
As soon as the jelly is cooked, strain it through a piece of muslin stretched over a basin; and by this means, a perfectly clear jelly will be obtained.
Take some red and white currants, in the proportion of two-thirds of the former to one-third of the latter, and combine with them, per two lbs., three oz. of raspberries. Crush the three products together in a basin, and then press them in small quantities at a time, in a strong towel, in order to extract their juice. Put the juice in the preserving-pan, together with eight oz. of loaf-sugar per pint. Thoroughly dissolve the sugar, and set the [826] whole to cook over a very fierce fire; meanwhile skimming carefully—more particularly at first, until the “nappe” stage is reached.
N.B.—The yield of juice from red-currants equals about two-thirds or three-fourths the weight of the raw fruit.
Take the same quantities of white and red currants, and of raspberries, as above. Carefully clean the fruit; wash it in cold water, and put it into the preserving-pan, with one wineglassful of water per lb.
Cook the whole gently on the side of the stove for ten or twelve minutes; transfer the fruit to a sieve, lying on a basin, and let it drain.
Put the juice into the preserving-pan, with twelve oz. of loaf-sugar per lb., and proceed with the cooking as before.
Take the same quantities as above of white-currants, red-currants, and raspberries. Remove the currants from their stalks by means of a fork, and collect them in a basin; clean the raspberries, and allow twelve oz. of loaf-sugar per lb. of the fruit.
Dissolve the sugar in the preserving-pan with a little water and cook it to the small-ball stage; meanwhile skimming carefully.
Throw the currants and the raspberries into it; put the pan on the side of the fire for seven or eight minutes, that the juice may exude from the fruit; and then cook on a fierce fire, skimming very carefully the while, until the “nappe” stage is reached.
This is made from fresh, very ripe white-currants and two oz. of raspberries per lb. of the latter. Any one of the three methods given above may be followed in its preparation, although Method C will be found to yield the clearest jelly.
Prepare the juice as directed under No. 2965. Add to it one lb. of icing-sugar per quart, and keep the whole in the cool for two or three hours, taking care to stir it frequently with a silver spoon in order to dissolve the sugar. Fill the pots and keep them uncovered for two or three days.
This done, cover them in the usual way, and set them in the sun for two or three hours per day for two days.
[827]
This jelly is as fragile as it is delicate, and should be kept
in the dry.
In order to make one quart of orange jelly, take twelve oranges, each weighing about five oz.; one-third pint of good apple juice, one lb. of loaf-sugar, and a tablespoonful of grated orange sugar. The latter is obtained by rubbing the rinds of the oranges with loaf-sugar, and then grating the sugar so coloured and flavoured with a hard knife.
If the jelly be desired garnished, insert a fair-sized, candied orange-rind cut into small strips.
Preparation:—Thoroughly press the oranges and filter the juice; prepare the apple juice, and set the sugar to dissolve with a few drops of water.
Add the orange and apple juice to the sugar, and cook the jelly like the preceding ones. Leave it to cool for ten minutes; mix with it the orange sugar and the candied rind, and pour it into pots.
Proceed exactly as for quince jelly, and strain the apple juice without pressing the fruit. Do not cook the latter over much, lest the juice becomes mixed with pulp. Nevertheless, this should be very carefully poured away; for, in spite of the greatest care, there is always a certain amount of deposit.
Put the juice into the preserving pan, with thirteen oz. of loaf-sugar and one-third of a stick of vanilla per quart.
Cook, and strain through muslin, as in the case of quince jelly.
Prepare the tomatoes as directed under No. 2962.
Per lb. of drained juice allow one good pint of apple jelly, twenty oz. of sugar, and a large vanilla stick.
Put into the preserving-pan the sugar, the apple jelly, and the vanilla-flavoured tomato juice, and put the utensil on the side of the fire for five minutes.
This done, set the whole to cook on a fierce fire, until the “nappe” stage is reached.
Take the same amount of juice as in the preceding case.
Use red-currant jelly instead of apple jelly, and prepare the former from red and white currants in the proportion of one-third of the former to two-thirds of the latter. Use the same amount of vanilla as above. Put the latter into the preserving-pan; [828] dissolve it with a little water; add the vanilla, and cook it to the small-crack stage; remembering to skin carefully at the start.
Add the tomato pulp and the red-currant jelly to the cooked sugar; put the whole on the side of the stove for a moment in order to reduce the sugar; and then proceed with the cooking on a very fierce fire until the “nappe” stage is reached.
The final three chapters have been renumbered to match the Table of Contents.
Inconsistencies in numbering—or not—of subheadings remain as printed.
Accenting of uppercase words in recipe headings has been regularised only if both accented and unaccented forms appear in recipe headings in the original. Where a word that would be accented if lowercase appears in the original consistently unaccented when uppercased the unaccented form is retained as printed (eg “A LA” but “à la”).
Recipe numbers have been corrected where the printed number was obviously out of sequence. Some cross-references have been corrected, and a redundant index entry has been removed.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation remain as printed.
![[Illustration: A. Escoffier]](images/frontis.png)
![[Publisher's device: Windmill 1920]](images/windmill.jpg)