Chapter IX
=Garnishing Preparations for Relevés and Entrées=
219—POTATO CROQUETTES
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.
220—DAUPHINE POTATOES
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.
221—DUCHESSE POTATOES
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.
222—MARQUISE POTATOES
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.
223—ORDINARY OR DRY DUXELLE
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.
224—DUXELLE FOR STUFFED VEGETABLES (Tomatoes, Mushrooms, &c.)
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.
225—DUXELLE FOR GARNISHING SMALL PIES, ONIONS, CUCUMBERS, ETC.
To four tablespoonfuls of dry duxelle add four tablespoonfuls of ordinary pork forcemeat (No. 196).
226—MAINTENON (preparation used in stuffing preparations à la Maintenon)
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.
227—MATIGNON
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.
228—MIREPOIX
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.
229—FINE OR BORDELAISE MIREPOIX
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:—
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.
230—VARIOUS SALPICONS
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.
231—BATTER FOR VARIOUS FRITTERS
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 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.
232—BATTER FOR VEGETABLES (Salsify, Celery, &c.)
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.
233—BATTER FOR FRUIT AND FLOWER FRITTERS
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.
234—BATTER FOR OVEN-GLAZED FRUIT FRITTERS
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.
235—PROVENÇALE (preparation for stuffing cutlets à la Provençale)
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.
Chapter X
=Leading Culinary Operations=
236—THE PREPARATION OF SOUPS
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 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.
=Classification of Soups=
This includes (1) clear soups, (2) thick soups, (3) special soups of various kinds, (4) classical vegetable soups, including some local preparations.
237—CLEAR SOUPS
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.
238—THICK SOUPS
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.
239—PURÉES
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 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.
240—CULLISES
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.
241—BISQUES
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 shell-fish used. These pieces should have been put aside from the first.
242—THE VELOUTÉS
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.
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.
243—THE CREAMS
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.
244—SPECIAL SOUPS AND THICKENED CONSOMMÉS
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.
245—VEGETABLE SOUPS
These soups, of which the “Paysanne” is the radical type, do not demand very great precision in the apportionment of 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.
246—FOREIGN SOUPS
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.
=2. Braising, Poaching, Sautés, and Poëling.=
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.
247—ORDINARY BRAISINGS
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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.
248—BRAISING OF WHITE MEATS
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.
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.
249—POACHINGS
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 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.
(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.
250—POËLINGS
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.
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.
251—THE SAUTÉS
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.
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.
=3. Roasts, Grills, Fryings.=
=Roasts.=
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.
252—LARDING BACON FOR ROASTS
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 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.
253—SPITTED ROASTS
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.
254—OVEN ROASTS
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 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.
255—THE GRAVY OF ROASTS
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, 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.
256—THE DRESSING AND ACCOMPANIMENTS OF ROASTS
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.
257—GRILLS
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 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 Classified.=
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.
258—RED MEAT GRILLS
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 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 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.
259—WHITE-MEAT GRILLS
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.
260—FISH GRILLS
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.
261—THE GRILLING OF PRODUCTS COATED WITH BUTTER AND BREAD-CRUMBS
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.
262—FRYINGS
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.
263—FRYING FAT—ITS PREPARATION
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 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.
264—THE VARIOUS DEGREES OF HEAT REACHED BY THE FRYING MEDIUM, AND THEIR APPLICATION
The temperature reached by a frying medium depends upon 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., 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.
265—FRYING MEDIUM FOR FISH
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.
266—THE QUANTITY OF THE FRYING MEDIUM
This should always be in proportion to the quantity or size 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.
267—THE CARE OF THE FRYING MEDIUM
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.
268—GRATINS
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.
269—COMPLETE 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 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.
270—RAPID GRATIN
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.
271—LIGHT GRATIN
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.
272—GLAZINGS
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.
273—BLANCHINGS
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’ 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 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.
=6. Vegetables and Garnishes=
Various Preparations.
274—THE TREATMENT OF DRY VEGETABLES
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.
275—BRAISED VEGETABLES
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.
=Adjuncts to Braised Vegetables=
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.
Occasionally, it may be the braising-liquor slightly thickened with half-glaze and finished with butter and the juice of a lemon.
276—LEASON OF GREEN VEGETABLES WITH BUTTER
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.
277—LEASON OF VEGETABLES WITH CREAM
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.
278—VEGETABLE CREAMS AND PURÉES
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.
279—GARNISHES
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 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.
II. RECIPES AND MODES OF PROCEDURE
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 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.
XI. HORS-D’ŒUVRES
=General Remarks=
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 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 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.
=Preparation for Hors-d’Œuvres=
280—BUTTERS AND CREAMS
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.
281—ANCHOVY BUTTER
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.
282—CAVIARE BUTTER
Pound three oz. of pressed caviare with four oz. of butter, and rub through a fine sieve.
283—SHRIMP BUTTER
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.
284—CURRY BUTTER
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.
285—CRAYFISH BUTTER
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.
286—RED-HERRING BUTTER
Take the fillets of three red-herrings; remove the skins, and pound finely with three oz. of butter. Rub through a fine sieve.
287—LOBSTER BUTTER
Pound four oz. of lobster trimmings and spawn, and a little of the coral with four oz. of butter. Rub through a fine sieve.
288—MILT BUTTER
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.
289—MONTPELLIER BUTTER (GREEN BUTTER)
See Compound Butter for Sauces (No. 153).
290—HORSE-RADISH BUTTER
Grate two oz. of horse-radish and pound with four oz. of butter. Rub through a fine sieve.
291—SMOKED SALMON BUTTER
Finely pound four oz. of smoked salmon with as much butter, and rub through a fine sieve.
292—PAPRIKA BUTTER
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.
293—PIMENTO BUTTER
Pound four oz. of preserved or freshly-cooked capsicum; add as much butter thereto, and rub through a fine sieve.
294—CAVIARE CREAM
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.
295—LOBSTER CREAM
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.
296—GAME CREAM
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.
297—SMOKED SALMON 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.
298—TUNNY CREAM
Finely pound four oz. of tunny in oil, and finish the cream similarly to that of the Smoked Salmon.
299—CHICKEN CREAM
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.
299a—MUSTARD SAUCE WITH CREAM
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.
HORS-D’ŒUVRES
300—ANCHOVY ALLUMETTES
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.
301—ANCHOVY FILLETS
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.
302—FRESH MARINADED ANCHOVIES
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.
303—ROLLED ANCHOVIES
Turn some fine olives and stuff them with anchovy butter; when quite cold, encircle them with a ring of anchovy fillet, kept whole.
304—ANCHOVY MEDALLIONS
Cut into discs, about the size of half-a-crown, potatoes boiled in water or baked beetroot. Cover their edges with fine anchovy fillets marinaded in oil, and garnish their centres either with caviare, chopped hard-boiled egg, or milt purée, &c.
305—ANCHOVY PAUPIETTES
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.
306—ANCHOVY WITH PIMENTOS
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.
307—NORWEGIAN ANCHOVIES OR KILKIS
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.
308—SMOKED EEL
Serve it plain, cut into fillets.
309—EEL WITH WHITE WINE AND PAPRIKA
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.
310—EEL AU VERT
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.
311—EEL AU VERT A LA FLAMANDE
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.
312—ARTICHOKES A LA GRECQUE
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.
313—SMALL ARTICHOKE-BOTTOMS
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.
314—BARQUETTES
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).
315—SMOKED HAMBURG BEEF
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.
316—CANAPÉS AND TOAST
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.
317—ANCHOVY TOAST
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 with the separately chopped whites and yolks of hard-boiled eggs, alternating the colours.
318—CAVIARE TOAST
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.
319—SHRIMP TOAST
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.
320—CITY TOAST
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.
321—DANISH TOAST
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.
322—CRAYFISH TOAST
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.
323—TONGUE TOAST
Prepare some slices of crumb of bread, equal in thickness, and toast them. Now garnish with a coating, half as thick 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.
324—LUCILE 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.
325—VARIOUS CAROLINES
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.
326—CAVIARE AND BLINIS
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.
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.
327—CELERY “A LA BONNE-FEMME”
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.
328—CELERY A LA GRECQUE
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.
329—CELERIAC
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.
329a—MARINADED CÈPES
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.
329b—CHERRIES A L’ALLEMANDE
Take five lbs. of Morella cherries, put them into a bottle, as in the case of cherry brandy, and add thereto three cloves, a 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.
329c—BRAINS A LA ROBERT
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.
329d—CUCUMBER A LA DANOISE
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.
330—STUFFED CUCUMBERS
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.
331—CUCUMBER SALAD
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.
332—CUCUMBER AND PIMENTO SALAD
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 strips of the vegetable. Add an equal quantity of pimentos cut into strips, and season as in the case of cucumber salad.
333—YORK CONES
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.)
334—TONGUE CONES
Proceed as for York Cones.
335—MOULDED CREAMS
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.
336—SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS
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.
337—DUCHESSES
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.
338—NANTUA DUCHESSES
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.
339—DUCHESSES A LA REINE
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.
340—DUCHESSES A LA SULTANE
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.
341—CAVIARE DUCHESSES
Stuff with fresh caviare or caviare cream. Glaze with jelly and serve iced.
342—SMOKED-SALMON DUCHESSES
Stuff the little choux with a purée of smoked salmon and butter, and glaze them with a maigre jelly.
343—NORWEGIAN DUCHESSES
Stuff the choux with a purée of Kilkis and butter, and glaze with jelly.
344—KAROLY ECLAIRS
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.
345—CRAYFISH EN BUISSON
Prepare them in accordance with the recipes “à la nage” or “à la marinière,” and serve them very cold.
346—MARINADED SMELTS
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 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.
347—FENNEL A LA GRECQUE
Same process as for artichokes and celery à la Grecque.
348—FRESH FIGS
Place them on a layer of very green leaves, and surround them with broken ice.
349—FOIE GRAS
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.
350—FRIVOLITIES
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.
351—FROGS OR NYMPHS A L’AURORE
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.
352—SALAD OF FILLETED SALTED HERRINGS
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.
353—FRESH HERRINGS MARINADED IN WHITE WINE
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.
354—LUCAS HERRINGS
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.
355—HERRINGS A LA LIVONIENNE
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.
356—HERRINGS A LA RUSSE
Cut some fine, cleaned fillets of salted herrings into thin slices. Dish up, and alternate the rows of sliced fillets with rows of sliced, cold, boiled potatoes. Season with oil and vinegar, and finish up with chopped chervil, fennel, tarragon, and shallots.
357—HERRINGS WITH FRENCH BEANS
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.
358—OYSTERS
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.
359—ARDENNES HAM
This is served like smoked breast of goose, cut, raw, into thin and even slices.
360—CANTALOUP MELON
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.
361—ENGLISH MELONS
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.
362—MELON WITH PORT, MARSALA, OR SHERRY, &c.
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.
363—VARIOUS MELONS
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.
364—NATIVES WITH CAVIARE
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.
365—SMOKED BREAST OF GOOSE
Cut it into the thinnest possible slices, and garnish with very green parsley.
366—PLAIN OLIVES
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.
367—STUFFED OLIVES
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.
368—PLAIN LAPWINGS’ AND PLOVERS’ EGGS
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.
369—LAPWINGS’ EGGS IN ASPIC
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.
370—LAPWINGS’ EGGS A LA MODERNE
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.
371—LAPWINGS’ EGGS A LA CHRISTIANA
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.
372—LAPWINGS’ EGGS A LA MOSCOVITE
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.
373—VARIOUS HARD-BOILED EGGS
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.
374—LARK PÂTE
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.
375—MILD, GRILLED CAPSICUM
Grill the capsicum on a moderate fire until the skins are so scorched as to be easily removed.
Now cut them up julienne-fashion, and season with oil and vinegar.
376—RADISHES
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.
377—AMERICAN RELISHES
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.
378—RILLETTES AND RILLONS
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.
379—RED MULLET A L’ORIENTALE
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.
380—SARDINES
The various kinds of sardines for hors-d’œuvres may be found on the market.
381—SALADS
Salads for hors-d’œuvres may consist of an endless diversity of products, and their preparation varies so that it would be 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.
382—GOTHA AND MILAN SALAMI
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.
383—ARLES, BOLOGNE OR LARGE LYONS SAUSAGES
Cut these up and arrange them like the Salami.
384—FOIE-GRAS SAUSAGES
Cut into thin roundels and dish up with chopped aspic jelly as a centre-garnish.
385—SMOKED SALMON
Cut into triangular, thin slices; roll these into cones, and arrange in the form of a crown with curled-leaf parsley in the middle.
386—SPRATS
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.
387—TARTLETS AND BARQUETTES
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.
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.
388—TUNNY IN OIL
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.
389—TUNNY WITH TOMATOES
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.
390—MOCK TOMATOES
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.
391—TOMATOES A L’AMÉRICAINE
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.
392—TOMATOES A LA MONÉGASQUE
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.
393—QUARTERED TOMATOES
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 of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, be filled with one of the compound butters.
394—MARINADED TROUT
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.
XII. EGGS
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.
395—EGGS ON THE DISH
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 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.
396—BERCY EGGS
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.
397—EGGS WITH BROWN BUTTER
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.
398—EGGS CHASSEUR
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.
399—DEVILLED EGGS
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.
400—EGGS A LA FLORENTINE
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.
401—EGGS AU GRATIN
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.
402—ISOLINE EGGS
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.
403—JOCKEY CLUB EGGS
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.
404—LULLY EGGS
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.
405—MEYERBEER EGGS
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.
406—MIRABEAU EGGS
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.
407—OMER-PACHA EGGS
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.
408—PARMENTIER EGGS
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.
409—EGGS A LA PORTUGAISE
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.
410—EGGS A LA REINE
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.
=Poached and Soft-boiled Eggs=
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.
411—PROCEDURE FOR POACHED EGGS
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.
(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.
412—THE COOKING OF SOFT-BOILED EGGS
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.
413—THE DISHING OF POACHED AND SOFT-BOILED EGGS
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.
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.”
414—POACHED EGGS ARGENTEUIL
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.
415—POACHED EGGS A L’AURORE
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.
416—POACHED EGGS EN BERCEAU
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.
417—POACHED EGGS A LA BOHÉMIENNE
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.
418—POACHED EGGS BOÏELDIEU
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.
419—POACHED EGGS A LA BRUXELLOISE
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.
420—POACHED EGGS A LA CLAMART
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.
421—POACHED EGGS COLBERT
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.
422—POACHED EGGS A LA COMTESSE
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with white asparagus purée. Place an egg coated with Allemande sauce upon each, and sprinkle with very black chopped truffles.
423—POACHED EGGS GRAND DUC
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.
424—POACHED EGGS MAINTENON
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 from the oven, surround the crusts with a thread of melted meat-glaze.
425—POACHED EGGS MASSÉNA
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.
426—POACHED EGGS MIREILLE
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.
427—POACHED EGGS MORNAY
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.
428—POACHED EGGS D’ORSAY
Place the eggs upon toast fried in butter. Arrange them in a circle on a dish, and coat them with Châteaubriand sauce.
429—POACHED EGGS ROSSINI
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.
430—POACHED EGGS SÉVIGNÉ
Prepare some thin rusks; fry them in clarified butter, and stuff them with a mince of braised lettuce. Place an egg on 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.
431—POACHED EGGS VICTORIA
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.
432—POACHED EGGS WITH RED WINE
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.
433—HARD-BOILED EGGS
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.
434—HARD-BOILED EGGS CARÊME
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 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.
435—HARD-BOILED EGGS CHIMAY
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.
436—HARD-BOILED EGGS IN CROQUETTES
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.
437—HARD-BOILED EGGS IN RISSOLES
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 eight minutes before serving, and dish up on a napkin, with a centre garnish of parsley.
438—EGGS A LA TRIPE
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.
439—EGGS A LA TRIPE, BOURGEOISE
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.
440—EGGS EN COCOTTE
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.
441—EGGS EN COCOTTE AU CHAMBERTIN
Prepare a red-wine sauce au Chambertin. Fill the cocottes, one-third full, with this sauce. Set to boil on a corner of the 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.
442—EGGS EN COCOTTE WITH CREAM
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.
443—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA JEANNETTE
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.
444—EGGS EN COCOTTE WITH GRAVY
Break the eggs into buttered cocottes. Season, poach, and, when about to serve, surround the yolks with a thread of reduced veal gravy.
445—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA LORRAINE
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.
446—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA MARAICHÈRE
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.
447—EGGS EN COCOTTE WITH MORELS
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.
448—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA SOUBISE
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.
449—MOULDED EGGS
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.
450—MOULDED EGGS A LA CARIGNAN
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.
451—MOULDED EGGS A LA DUCHESSE
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.
452—GALLI-MARIÉ, MOULDED EGGS
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.
453—MOULDED EGGS A LA MORTEMART
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.
454—NEAPOLITAN MOULDED 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.
455—MOULDED EGGS PALERMITAINE
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.
456—POLIGNAC MOULDED EGGS
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.
457—PRINCESS MOULDED EGGS
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.
458—PRINTANIER MOULDED EGGS
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.
459—SCRAMBLED EGGS
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. 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.
460—METHOD OF SCRAMBLING EGGS
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.
461—SCRAMBLED EGGS A LA BOHÉMIENNE
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.
462—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MUSHROOMS
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.
463—SCRAMBLED EGGS, CHASSEUR
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).
464—SCRAMBLED EGGS, CHATILLON
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.
465—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SHRIMPS
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.
466—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH HERBS
Add to the scrambled eggs a tablespoonful of parsley, chervil pluches, chives, and tarragon leaves in equal quantities and chopped.
467—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH CHEESE
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.
468—SCRAMBLED EGGS GRAND-MÈRE
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.
469—SCRAMBLED EGGS, GEORGETTE
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.
470—SCRAMBLED EGGS FOR HOT LUNCHEON HORS-D’ŒUVRE
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.
471—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MORELS
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.
472—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MOUSSERONS
Proceed as for No. 471.
473—SCRAMBLED EGGS, ORLOFF
Break the eggs; beat them, and add thereto a little fresh, thick cream. Cook them in the usual way, and add three 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.
474—SCRAMBLED EGGS A LA PIÉMONTAISE
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.
475—SCRAMBLED EGGS A LA PORTUGAISE
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.
476—SCRAMBLED EGGS, PRINCESS MARY
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.
477—SCRAMBLED EGGS, RACHEL
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.
478—SCRAMBLED EGGS, REINE MARGOT
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.
480—SCRAMBLED EGGS, ROTHSCHILD
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.
481—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH TRUFFLES
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.
482—FRIED EGGS
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.
483—THE PREPARATION OF FRIED EGGS
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.
484—FRIED EGGS A LA BORDELAISE
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.
485—HARVESTERS’ FRIED EGGS
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.
486—FRIED POACHED EGGS
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.
487—FRIED EGGS A LA PORTUGAISE
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.
488—FRIED EGGS A LA PROVENÇALE
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.
489—FRIED EGGS A LA ROMAINE
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.
490—FRIED EGGS A LA VERDI
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.
491—FRIED POACHED EGGS A LA VILLEROY
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.
=Omelets=
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.
492—THE PREPARATION OF OMELETS
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.
493—AGNÈS SOREL OMELET
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.
494—OMELET A LA BRUXELLOISE
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of braised endives, ciseled and thickened with cream. Surround with a thread of cream sauce.
495—OMELET WITH CÈPES
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.
496—OMELET WITH MUSHROOMS
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.
497—OMELET A LA CHOISY
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.
498—OMELET A LA CLAMART
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.
499—OMELET WITH CRUSTS
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.
500—OMELET WITH SPINACH
Stuff the omelet with two tablespoonfuls of spinach with cream, and surround with a thread of cream sauce.
501—OMELET A LA FERMIÈRE
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.
502—OMELET AUX FINES HERBES
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.
503—OMELET WITH VEGETABLE MARROW FLOWERS
Add to the eggs one and one-half oz. of the calices of freshly-plucked and young vegetable-marrow flowers; cisel and 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.
504—OMELET WITH CHICKEN’S LIVER
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.
505—OMELET WITH ARTICHOKE-BOTTOMS
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.
506—OMELET WITH YOUNG SHOOTS OF HOPS
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.
507—OMELET A LA LYONNAISE
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.
508—OMELET MAXIM
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.
509—OMELET WITH MORELS
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.
510—OMELET MOUSSELINE
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.
510a—OMELET WITH MOUSSERONS
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.
511—OMELET A LA NANTUA
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.
512—OMELET PARMENTIER
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.
513—OMELET A LA PAYSANNE
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, keeping them soft; turn the omelet after the manner of a pancake, and tilt it immediately on to a round dish.
514—OMELET WITH ASPARAGUS-TOPS
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.
515—OMELET A LA PROVENÇALE
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.
516—OMELET WITH KIDNEYS
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.
517—OMELET A LA ROSSINI
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.
518—OMELET WITH TRUFFLES
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.
519—HOT LAPWINGS’ AND PLOVERS’ EGGS
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.
520—SCRAMBLED LAPWINGS’ EGGS
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.
521—LAPWINGS’ EGGS A LA DANOISE
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.
522—OMELET OF LAPWINGS’ EGGS
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.
523—LAPWINGS’ EGGS A LA ROYALE
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.
524—LAPWINGS’ EGGS AU TROUBADOUR
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.
=Cold Eggs=
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.
525—COLD EGGS ALEXANDRA
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.
526—COLD EGGS A L’ANDALOUSE
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.
527—COLD EGGS ARGENTEUIL
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.
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.
528—COLD EGGS CAPUCINE
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.
529—COLD EGGS CARÊME
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.
530—COLD EGGS COLBERT
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.
531—COLD EGGS COLINETTE
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.
532—COLD EGGS WITH TARRAGON
Mould these in baba-moulds, or in porcelain cocottes; sometimes they may simply be dished up on small tartlet-crusts.
The preparation consists of poached or soft-boiled eggs, garnished with blanched tarragon leaves, or coated or moulded with a very fine tarragon jelly.
533—COLD EGGS, FROU-FROU
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.
534—COLD EGGS MOSCOVITE
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.
535—COLD EGGS A LA NANTUA
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 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.
536—COLD EGGS POLIGNAC
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.
537—COLD EGGS A LA REINE
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.
538—COLD EGGS, RUBENS
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.
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.