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CHOICE COOKERY
BY
CATHERINE OWEN
AUTHOR OF
"TEN DOLLARS ENOUGH" "GENTLE BREAD-WINNERS" ETC.
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
1889
Copyright, 1889, by HARPER & BROTHERS.
_All rights reserved._
PREFACE.
Choice cookery is not intended for households that have to study
economy, except where economy is a relative term; where, perhaps, the
housekeeper could easily spend a dollar for the materials of a luxury,
but could not spare the four or five dollars a caterer would charge.
Many families enjoy giving little dinners, or otherwise exercising
hospitality, but are debarred from doing so by the fact that anything
beyond the ordinary daily fare has to be ordered in, or an expensive
extra cook engaged. And although we may regret that hospitality should
ever be dependent on fine cooking, we have to take things as they are.
It is not every hostess who loves simplicity that dares to practise it.
It was to help the women who wish to know at a glance what is newest and
best in modern cookery that these chapters were written for _Harper's
Bazar_, and are now gathered into a book. It is hoped by the writer that
the copious details and simplification of different matters will enable
those who have already achieved success in the plainer branches of
cookery to venture further, and realize for themselves that it is only
the "first step that costs."
I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mrs. Clarke, of the South
Kensington School of Cookery, to Madame de Salis, and those epicurean
friends who have cast their nets in foreign waters, and sent me the
daintiest fish they caught.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. SAUCES 11
III. WHITE SAUCES 23
IV. BROWN SAUCES 33
V. COLD SAUCES 42
VI. SOUPS 51
VII. FISH ENTREES 61
VIII. VARIOUS WAYS OF SERVING OYSTERS 71
IX. VARIOUS CULINARY MATTERS 79
X. ENTREES 86
XI. ENTREES OF MUTTON CUTLETS OR CHOPS 98
XII. ON THE MANNER OF PREPARING CROQUETTES, CUTLETS,
KROMESKIES, RISSOLES, AND CIGARETTES 107
XIII. PATTIES 116
XIV. ENTREES 125
XV. ENTREES--_continued_ 134
XVI. ENTREES--_continued_ 143
XVII. COLD ENTREES, OR CHAUDFROIDS 153
XVIII. COLD ENTREES 162
XIX. GALANTINES, BALLOTINES, ETC. 172
XX. HOW TO "FILLET."--COLD GAME PIES 181
XXI. GARNISHES 191
XXII. VARIOUS WAYS OF SERVING VEGETABLES 199
XXIII. JELLIES 208
XXIV. JELLIES--_continued_ 217
XXV. COLD SWEETS.--CREAMS 226
XXVI. CREAMS AND FROZEN PUDDINGS 235
XXVII. ICED PUDDINGS 243
XXVIII. ICE-CREAMS AND WATER-ICES 252
XXIX. MISCELLANEOUS SWEETS 262
XXX. MISCELLANEOUS SWEETS--_continued_ 271
XXXI. MISCELLANEOUS SWEETS--_continued_ 281
XXXII. FINE CAKES AND SAUCES 291
XXXIII. SALADS AND CHEESE DISHES 300
INDEX 309
CHOICE COOKERY.
I.
INTRODUCTION.
By choice cookery is meant exactly what the words imply. There will be
no attempt to teach family or inexpensive cooking, those branches of
domestic economy having been so excellently treated by capable hands
already. It may be said _en passant_, however, that even choice cooking
is not necessarily expensive. Many dishes cost little for the materials,
but owe their daintiness and expensiveness to the care bestowed in
cooking or to a fine sauce. For instance: cod, one of the cheapest of
fish, and considered coarse food as usually served, becomes an
epicurean dish when served with a fine Hollandaise or oyster sauce, and
it will not even then be more expensive than any average-priced boiling
fish. Flounder served as _sole Normande_ conjures up memories of the
famous Philippe, whose fortune it made, or it may be of luxurious little
dinners at other famous restaurants, and is suggestive, in fact, of
anything but economy. Yet it is really an inexpensive dish.
But while it is quite true that fine cooking does not always mean
expensive cooking, it is also true that it requires the best materials
and sufficient of them; that if satisfactory results are to be obtained
there must be no attempt to stint or change proportions from a false
idea of economy, although it must never be forgotten that all good
cooking is economical, by which I mean that there is no waste, every
cent's worth of material being made to do its full duty.
In this book the object will be to give the newest and most _recherche_
dishes, and these will naturally be expensive. Yet for those families
who depend upon the caterer for everything in the way of fine soups,
_entrees_, or sauces, because the cook can achieve only the plain part
of the dinner, it will be found a great economy as well as convenience
to be independent of this outside resource, which is always very costly,
and invariably destroys the individuality of a repast. Many new recipes
will be given, and others little known in private kitchens, or thought
to be quite beyond the attainment of any but an accomplished _chef_. But
if strict attention be paid to small matters, and the directions
faithfully carried out, there will be no difficulty in a lady becoming
her own _chef_.
I propose to begin with sauces. This is reversing the usual mode, and
yet I think the reader will not regret the innovation. The cooking to be
taught in these pages, being emphatically what is popularly known as
"Delmonico cooking," very much depends on the excellence of the sauces
served with each dish; and as it is no time to learn to make a fine
sauce when the dish it is served with is being cooked, I think the
better plan is to give the sauces first. They will be frequently
referred to, but no repetition of the recipes will be given.
Before proceeding further I will say a few words that may save time and
patience hereafter. Of course it is not expected that any one will hope
to succeed with elaborate dishes without understanding the principles of
simple cooking, but many do this without perceiving that in that
knowledge they hold the key to very much more, and I would ask readers
who are in earnest about the matter to acquire the habit of putting two
and two together in cooking as they would in fancy-work. If you know
half a dozen embroidery or lace stitches, you see at once that you can
produce the elaborate combinations in which those stitches are used. So
it is with cooking. The most elaborate dish will only be a combination
of two or three simpler processes of cooking, _perfectly_ done--that is
a _sine qua non_--something fried, roasted, boiled, or braised to
perfection, and a sauce that no _chef_ could improve upon; but to
recognize that this is so--that when you can make a Chateaubriand sauce
or a Bearnaise perfectly, and can _saute_ a steak, the famed filets a la
Chateaubriand or a la Bearnaise are no longer a mystery, or that one who
can make clear meat jelly and roast a chicken has learned all but the
arrangement of a _chaudfroid_ in aspic--will make apparently complicated
dishes simple.
I go into these matters because I hope to cause my readers to _think_
about the recipes they will use, when they will see for themselves that
even the finest cooking is not intricate nor in any way difficult. It
requires intelligence and great care about details: no half-attention
will do, any more than it will in any other thing we attempt, whether it
be high art or domestic art.
In making sauces or reading recipes for them it simplifies matters to
remember that in savory sauces--by which I mean those served with meats
or fish--there are what the French call the two "mother sauces," white
sauce and brown; all others, with few exceptions, are modifications of
these two; that is to say, bechamel is only white sauce made with white
stock and cream instead of milk; Allemande is the same, only yolks of
eggs replace the cream; and so on through the long list of sauces
belonging to the blond variety. The simple brown sauce becomes the
famous Chateaubriand by the addition of glaze (or very strong gravy) and
a glass of white wine, and is the "mother" of many others equally fine.
This being so, it will be seen that it is of the first importance that
the making of these two "mother sauces" should be thoroughly understood,
in order for the finer ones based on them to be successfully
accomplished.
It will clear the way for easy work if I here give the directions for
making one of the most necessary and convenient aids to fine
cooking--the above-named glaze. To have it in the house saves much worry
and work. If the soup is not just so strong as we wish, the addition of
a small piece of glaze will make it excellent; or we wish to make brown
sauce, and have no stock, the glaze comes to our aid. To have stock in
the house at all times is by no means easy in a small family, especially
in summer; with glaze, which is solidified stock, one is independent of
it.
Six pounds of lean beef from the leg, or a knuckle of veal and beef to
make six pounds. Cut this in pieces two inches square or less; do the
same with half a pound of lean ham, free from rind or smoky outside, and
which has been scalded five minutes. Put the meat into a two-gallon pot
with three medium-sized onions with two cloves in each, a turnip, a
carrot, and a _small_ head of celery. Pour over them five quarts of cold
water; let it come slowly to the boiling-point, when skim, and draw to
a spot where it will gently simmer for six hours. This stock as it is
will be an excellent foundation for all kinds of clear soups or gravies,
with the addition of salt, which must on no account be added for glaze.
To reduce this stock to glaze, do as follows: Strain the stock first
through a colander, and return meat and vegetables to the pot; put to
them four quarts of _hot_ water, and let it boil four hours longer. The
importance of this second boiling, which may at first sight appear
useless economy, will be seen if you let the two stocks get cold; the
first will be of delightful flavor, but probably quite liquid; the last
will be flavorless, but if the boiling process has been slow enough it
will be a jelly, the second boiling having been necessary to extract the
gelatine from the bones, which is indispensable for the formation of
glaze.
Strain both these stocks through a scalded cloth. (If they have been
allowed to get cool, heat them in order to strain.) Put both stocks
together into one large pot, and let it boil as fast as possible with
the cover off, leaving a large spoon in it to prevent it boiling over,
also to stir occasionally; when it is reduced to three pints put it into
a small saucepan, and let it boil more slowly. Stir frequently with a
wooden spoon until it begins to thicken and has a fine yellowish-brown
color, which will be when it is reduced to a quart or rather less. At
this point watch closely, as it quickly burns. When there is only a pint
and a half it will be fit to pour into small cups or jars, or it may be
dried in thin sheets, if required for soup in travelling; to do this,
pour it into oiled tin pans an inch deep. When cold it can be cut out in
two-inch squares and dried by exposure to the air till it is like glue.
One square makes a cup of strong soup if dissolved in boiling water and
seasoned. If, however, it is put into pots, it must _not be covered_
until all moisture has evaporated and the glaze shrinks from the sides
of the jar. This may take a month.
The most convenient of all ways for preserving glaze is to get from your
butcher a yard of sausage-skin. Tie one end very tightly, then pour in
the glaze while warm by means of a large funnel. Tie the skin just as
you would sausage as close to the glaze as possible, cut off any
remaining skin, and hang the one containing the glaze up to dry. When
needed, a slice is cut from this.
Of course any strong meat and bone-soup can be boiled down in the same
way, and where there is meat on hand in danger of spoiling from sudden
change of weather it can be turned into glaze, and kept indefinitely. I
have found glaze five years old as good as the first week.
II.
SAUCES.
In addition to the glaze, for which the recipe is given in the preceding
pages, and which will make you independent of the stock pot, there are
several other articles involving very small outlay which it is
absolutely necessary to have at hand in order to follow directions
without trouble and worry.
It is often said by thoughtless housekeepers that cooking-books are of
little use, because the recipes always call for something that is not in
the house. This is a habit of mind only, for the very women who say it
keep their work-baskets supplied with everything necessary for work, not
only the everyday white and black spools, nor would they hesitate to
undertake a piece of embroidery which required quite unusual
combinations of color or material, and to be obtained only with
difficulty. Grant a little of this earnest painstaking to the
requirements of the cooking-book at the start, see that the herb-bottles
are supplied with dried herbs (when fresh are not attainable), the
spice-boxes contain the small quantity of fresh fine spices that is
sufficient for a good deal of cooking, and red and white wine and brandy
are in the house, all of which should be kept in the store-closet for
cooking alone, and not liable to be "out" when wanted.
The so-called "French herbs" are rarely found in American gardens, yet
might be very readily sown in early spring, as parsley is; but although
seldom home-grown, they are to be found at the French market-gardener's
in Washington Market, and can be bought fresh and dried in paper bags
quickly for use. I say dried quickly, because unless the sun is very hot
much of the aroma will pass into the air; it is, therefore, better to
dry them in a cool oven. When they are dry enough to crumble to dust,
free the herbs from stems and twigs, and put them separately into tin
boxes or wide-mouthed bottles, each labelled. The expense of herbs and
spices is very slight, and they are certainly not neglected among
kitchen stores on that account; it is merely the want of habit in
ordering them. In addition to these articles a bottle of capers, one of
olives, one of anchovies, canned mushrooms, and canned truffles should
be on hand--the latter should be bought in the smallest-sized cans, as
they are very costly, but a little goes a long way. Families living in
the country often have for a season more mushrooms than they can use. In
the few days in which they are plentiful opportunity should be taken to
peel and dry as many as possible; when powdered they give a finer flavor
than the canned mushroom, and may be used to great advantage in dark
sauces.
The French _chef_ classes all white sauces as _blonde_, and calls the
jar of very smooth thick white sauce, which he keeps ready made as a
foundation for most of the family of light sauces, his _blonde_ or
_veloute_. This explanation is given because directions are often found
in French recipes to "take half a pint of veloute" or of "blonde." The
mistress of a private house may not find it wise or necessary to keep a
supply of sauce ready made, although to one who has to supply a variety
of sauces each day it is indispensable; but the day before a
dinner-party sauces can be so made, and covered with a film of butter to
prevent skin forming, and can then be heated in a bain-marie when
required for use. Almost every _chef_ has his favorite recipe for
veloute, or white sauce, but they differ only in points that are little
essential; the foundation is always the same, as follows: Put two ounces
of butter in a thick saucepan with two ounces of flour (tablespoonfuls
approximate the ounce, but weight only should be relied on for fine
cooking). Let these melt over the fire, stirring them so that the
butter and flour become well mixed; then let them bubble together,
stirring enough to prevent the flour sticking or changing color. Three
minutes will suffice to cook the flour; add a pint of clear hot white
stock that has been strained through a cloth. This stock must not be
poured slowly, or the sauce will thicken too fast. Hold the pint-measure
or other vessel in which the stock may be in the left hand, stir the
butter and flour quickly with the right, then turn the broth to it _all
at once_. Let this simmer an hour until very thick, then add a gill of
very rich cream, stir, and the sauce is ready.
This is undoubtedly the best way to make white sauce, which is to serve
as a foundation for others, or is intended to mask meat or poultry, the
long, slow simmering producing an extreme blandness not to be attained
by a quicker method. But circumstances sometimes prevent the previous
preparation of the sauce, in which case it may be made exactly in the
same way, only instead of a pint of broth, but three gills should be
poured on the butter and flour, and a gill of thick cream stirred in
when it boils; the sauce is finished when it again reaches the
boiling-point.
This is the foundation for the following "grand" sauces: Poulette,
Allemande, Uxelles, Soubise, Ste. Menehould, Perigueux, Supreme, besides
all the simpler ones, which take their name from the chief ingredient,
such as caper, cauliflower, celery, lobster, etc., etc.
For sauces that have vinegar or lemon juice, it is better that the
veloute, or white sauce, should have no cream until the last minute, or
it may curdle. My object in giving the recipes for sauces in the way I
intend--that is to say, by building on to, or omitting from, one
foundation sauce--is to dispel some of the confusion which exists in the
minds of many people about the exact difference between several sauces
differing from each other very slightly--a confusion which is only
added to by reading over the fully written recipes for each, as many a
painstaking, intelligent woman's headache will testify. As we progress,
the exact difference between each will be explained.
_Bechamel._--This sauce differs from the white sauce only in the fact
that the white stock used for the latter need not be very strong; for
bechamel it should either be very strong or boiled down rapidly to make
it so, and there should always be half cream instead of one third, as in
white sauce, and when required for fish the stock may be of fish. White
sauce is frequently (perhaps most frequently) made with milk, or milk
and cream, in place of stock, in this country, and answers admirably for
many purposes, but would not be what is required for the kind of cooking
intended in these pages.
Most readers know how "to stir," and it may seem quite an unnecessary
matter to go into. Yet if only one reader does not know that to stir
means a regular, even, slow circling of the spoon, _not only in the
centre_ of the saucepan, but round the sides, she will fail in making
good sauce. Stir, then, slowly, gently, going over every part of the
bottom of the saucepan till the sides are reached, pass the spoon gently
round them, thence back to the middle, and so on. In this way the sauce
gets no chance to stick to any particular spot. A small copper saucepan
is the best possible utensil for making sauce, as it does not burn.
The rule for seasoning is a level salt-spoonful of salt to half a pint;
pepper, one fourth the quantity. This, however, is only when the stock
is unseasoned; if seasoned, only salt enough must be added to season the
cream and eggs.
_Allemande._--Take half a pint of white sauce, add to it half the liquor
from a can of mushrooms, and half a dozen of the mushrooms chopped fine.
Let them simmer--stirring all the time--five minutes, then remove from
the fire. Set the saucepan into another containing boiling water. Have
the yolks of three eggs ready beaten, put a little of the sauce to them,
beat together, then add the eggs gradually to the rest of the sauce,
which must be returned to the fire, and stirred until the eggs _begin_
to thicken; then it must be quickly removed, and stirred until slightly
cool. Season with a saltspoonful of salt, a fourth of one of pepper, and
strain carefully.
It must never be forgotten that in thickening with eggs the sauce or
soup must _not boil_ after they are added, or they will curdle. Yet if
they do not reach the boiling-point they will not thicken. Only keen
attention to the first sign of thickening will insure success. If a
failure is made the first time, look upon it as the first step to
success, for you have learned what the danger _looks like_. Make the
sauce again as soon as possible, so that your eye may not lose the
impression. It is worth considerable effort (and it is really only a
matter of a few minutes each time) to make Allemande sauce well, for in
doing so you also learn to make Hollandaise and several choice sauces,
as will be seen by those that follow.
_Poulette Sauce._--Make Allemande sauce as directed in the foregoing
recipe; add a wineglass of white wine. If sweetbreads or chicken are to
be cooked in the sauce, as is not unusual, of course the eggs must be
left out until the last thing. Anything served with this sauce is called
_a la poulette_.
_Sauce a la d'Uxelles._--Chop fine a dozen _small_ button mushrooms, or
half a dozen large ones; parsley and chives, of each enough to make a
teaspoonful when finely chopped; of lean ham a tablespoonful, and one
small shallot. Fry gently in a tablespoonful of butter, but do not let
them brown. Stir these into half a pint of white sauce, simmer three or
four minutes, then add two yolks of eggs, as for Allemande, and the last
thing a half-teaspoonful of lemon-juice, and just enough glaze to make
the sauce the shade of a pale Suede glove. This sauce is used cold to
coat meats that have to be cooked in paper, and many that are afterwards
to be fried in bread-crumbs, for which directions will be given in the
_entrees_. Dishes termed _a la d'Uxelles_ are among the most _recherche_
productions of the French kitchen.
_Villeroi Sauce._--Make half a pint of white sauce, which, as in the
case of bechamel, may be made of fish stock when for use with fish; chop
half a dozen mushrooms, and add a gill of the liquor to the sauce, half
a saltspoonful of powdered thyme (or one sprig, if fresh), two sprigs of
parsley, and half a bay-leaf; simmer for fifteen minutes; strain through
a scalded cloth; replace on the fire; add a piece of glaze as large as a
hazel-nut, or a tablespoonful of strong meat-gravy, just enough to give
it the shade of _palest_ cafe au lait; thicken with two yolks of eggs,
as for Allemande sauce. All articles served with this sauce are termed
_a la Villeroi_. It differs from d'Uxelles only in having no ham, nor
acidity from the lemon; also, all flavor of onion is omitted.
III.
WHITE SAUCES.
Supreme sauce gives its name to several dishes dear to epicures--supreme
de volaille, supreme de Toulouse, etc. It is made with a pint of thick
white sauce, a pint of very strong chicken broth, four stalks of
parsley, and six white pepper-corns, boiled down to half a pint. Stir
sauce and broth together until thoroughly blended, then boil rapidly
down till thick again, taking great care it does not burn. Add one gill
of double cream, and half a saltspoonful of salt (if the stock was
already seasoned). Boil up till thick enough _to mask the back of a
spoon_, strain, and the last thing add a small teaspoonful of lemon
juice.
When the white sauce has to be made expressly for the supreme, it is
easier to use strong chicken broth in place of ordinary white stock;
then it is not necessary to add it after. The term "to mask the back of
a spoon" is a common one to indicate the proper thickness for sauces,
but to the untrained eye it may not be easy to decide just what
"masking" means. Most sauces should be thin enough to run quite freely
from the spoon, yet not so thin as to leave the color of the spoon
visible through the coating of sauce it will retain if it be dipped into
it; there should be a thin _opaque_ coating or "mask" to the back of the
spoon. Sauce of this thickness is produced by using one ounce (exact
weight) of flour of fine quality to half a pint of liquid. Meat, fish,
or vegetables over which sauce of this consistency has been poured will
be quite masked, but the sauce will not be too thick to serve readily
with a spoon. This consistency is worth some practice to attain, for it
is the perfection of sauce-making.
White sauce, when intended for the foundation of others, it must be
observed, is made twice as thick, to allow for the addition of cream,
wine, or stock. The only advantage in a private family of making it thus
thick is when, perhaps, two or three sauces are needed for a dinner; for
example, a plain white sauce for a vegetable, caper, lobster, or
cardinal for other purposes, and perhaps poulette, d'Uxelles, or other
pale sauce for an entree; but when one sauce only is required, it is
best to make that one from the beginning; that is to say, make white
sauce with the additions that form it into Allemande, supreme, or
whatever you require.
_Ste. Menehould Sauce_ is in these days chiefly associated with "pigs'
feet a la Ste. Menehould," but is good for several purposes. It is
simply half a pint of white sauce into which a dozen bruised mushrooms,
a gill of the mushroom liquor, a large teaspoonful of finely chopped
chives, with the sixth of a saltspoonful of pepper and one of salt are
allowed to simmer until the sauce is the same thickness as before the
addition of the mushroom liquor; that is to say, thick enough to mask
the spoon. Strain, return to the saucepan, and add a teaspoonful of
finely chopped sage leaves, if for pigs' feet, or parsley for other
purposes; boil once, add half a teaspoonful of lemon juice, and the
sauce is ready.
_Bearnaise Sauce._--This is one of the most difficult sauces to make, on
account of the danger of the eggs curdling; but by the following method
the work is rendered more sure than by the usual plan. It has been said
that the terrors of a cook are Bearnaise sauce and omelette soufflee,
but neither is really difficult; great care only is necessary for
success with each.
Chop four shallots fine, put them into a saucepan with half a gill of
Tarragon vinegar and half a gill of plain vinegar; boil till reduced to
one tablespoonful; then add one gill of white sauce, mixing well. Stand
the saucepan in another of boiling water; then add, one at a time, three
yolks of eggs, beating each, one well in before adding another, _and on
no account let the sauce boil_. Remove the saucepan from the fire when
the eggs are all in and show signs of thickening. Have ready three
ounces of butter cut into small pieces; drop one in at a time, and with
an egg-whisk beat the sauce till the butter is blended; then add another
piece, and so on, till all the butter is used. If added too quickly the
butter will oil, therefore great care must be taken to see one piece
entirely blend before adding another. The butter will probably salt the
sauce enough, but if not, add a very little salt. This sauce should have
the appearance of a Welsh-rabbit when ready to spread; in other words,
it should be very thick, smooth, and dark yellow.
_Soubise._--This sauce, which transforms ordinary mutton-chops into
"cotelettes a la Soubise," is very easily made. Boil half a dozen
Bermuda onions (medium size) in milk till quite tender; press out all
the milk; chop them as fine as possible; sprinkle a quarter of a
saltspoonful of white pepper and one of salt over them; then stir them
with a tablespoonful of butter into half a pint of white sauce. If the
onions should thin the sauce too much (they are sometimes very watery),
thicken with a yolk of egg, or blend a teaspoonful of flour with the
butter before stirring it in. Boil the sauce three minutes. Needless to
say, if the yolk of egg is added, it must be beaten in after the sauce
is removed from the stove, and only allowed to thicken, not boil.
The sauces so far given are what French cooks call "grand sauces." They
are the most important part of the dish with which they are served, and,
as we have seen, give the name to it. There are numberless other sauces
of which the white sauce is parent that are, however, not indispensable
to the dish they are served with--by which I mean a boiled fish may be
served with oyster sauce or Dutch sauce, the sauce being in this case
simply the adjunct.
A dessertspoonful of capers put into half a pint of white sauce, with a
teaspoonful of the vinegar, makes caper sauce.
Celery sauce is, again, white sauce with the pulp of boiled celery. Boil
the white part of four heads of celery (sliced thin) in milk till it
will mash; this will take an hour, perhaps more; then rub the pulp
through a coarse sieve, and stir it into half a pint of white sauce made
with half rich cream.
Oyster sauce is white sauce made by using the oyster liquor instead of
stock. The oysters should be bearded, just allowed to plump in the
liquor, which must then be strained for the sauce, using a gill of it
with a gill of thick cream to make half a pint; for this quantity a
dozen and a half of small oysters will be required.
Shrimp sauce, parsley sauce, lobster sauce, cucumber sauce, and all the
family are white sauce with the addition of the ingredient naming it.
Cucumber sauce, which is approved for fish, is made by grating a
cucumber, and adding it, with the water from it, to some white sauce;
boil till well flavored, and then strain. If too thin, boil till thick,
stirring carefully.
For shrimp sauce canned shrimps serve very well indeed; they must be
thrown for a minute into cold water, well stirred in it to remove
superfluous salt, then drained, and dried on a cloth. Put a gill of
shrimps to half a pint of bechamel made with fish stock, boil once, and
stir in just enough essence of anchovy to make the sauce a pale shrimp
pink.
Cardinal sauce is a handsome sauce for boiled fish. It is made by drying
the coral from a lobster, then pounding it quite smooth, with one ounce
of butter, until it is a perfectly smooth paste. Stir this into half a
pint of bechamel. It should be a fine red when mixed; pass through a
sieve, and add as much cayenne as will go on the end of the blade of a
small penknife.
Hollandaise or Dutch sauce is best made in the following way. There are
other methods, but this one meets general approval, is not difficult,
and agrees with many who cannot possibly eat it when oil is used.
Make half a pint of drawn butter by melting one ounce of butter with one
ounce of flour over the fire; let them bubble together (stirring the
while) for one minute; then stir in half a pint of boiling water and
half a teaspoonful of salt. So far, the making is exactly the same as
for white sauce, except that water is used instead of cream and stock.
Boil once, then set the saucepan in another of water, and break up an
ounce of butter into small pieces and add them; stir briskly after each
piece is added, and see it blend before putting more. When all is in,
add the beaten yolks of five eggs, removing the saucepan from the fire
while doing it. They must be very carefully and gradually stirred in,
and when well mixed returned to the fire until they _begin_ to thicken.
The eggs must be kept from curdling. Squeeze in two teaspoonfuls of
lemon juice, and add just a dust of cayenne. This should be a thick,
yellow, custard-like sauce, and have a perceptible acidity without being
sour.
IV.
BROWN SAUCES.
It has been already stated that the family of brown sauces, like the
white, have one parent, _Espagnole_, or Spanish sauce, which is the
foundation for Chateaubriand, Financiere, Robert, Poivrade, Piquante,
and other sauces. Ordinary brown sauce, like ordinary white, is often
made without stock--simply an ounce of flour, one of butter, browned
together, and half a pint of boiling water added, then boiled till thick
and smooth. But it may be safely said that in high-class dark sauces
water should play no part; its place must be taken by stock of good
quality, which is often enriched by reducing or adding glaze.
The characteristics of finely made Spanish sauce are a clear beautiful
brown, by no means approaching black, absolute freedom from grease, and
a fine high flavor, so well blended that no particular spice or herb can
be detected. Spanish sauce is made as follows: Wash, peel, and cut small
six mushrooms (or a dessertspoonful of mushroom powder), one small
carrot, one small onion, and one shallot; dry them, and fry them a fine
brown in a tablespoonful of butter, but do not let them burn; drain off
the butter. Melt in a copper saucepan two ounces of butter and two
ounces of flour, stir them together over the fire till of a pale bright
brown, then add a pint of stock, the fried vegetables, and a gill of
tomato sauce; let all gently simmer for half an hour with the cover off.
Strain through a fine sieve. When Spanish sauce is to be served without
any addition, and not as a foundation, a wineglass of sherry is used and
the same quantity of stock omitted.
It becomes Chateaubriand by the addition of a wineglass of sherry
reduced to half a glass by boiling in a tiny saucepan, a
dessertspoonful of fresh parsley very finely chopped, and the juice of
half a small lemon. These must be added to _one third_ the quantity of
Espagnole, or Spanish sauce, given in the foregoing recipe. Then stir in
gradually, bit by bit, one ounce of butter, letting each piece blend
before adding more.
I have said here and elsewhere, "the juice of half a small lemon." Yet I
would caution the reader to squeeze it in gradually, because some lemons
are intensely sour, and a very few drops of juice from such go farther
than that of the whole half of an average lemon. Chateaubriand sauce is
by no means acid; there must be only a just perceptible dash of acidity,
and only so much lemon juice used as will give it zest. Piquante sauce
is different; there should be acidity enough to provoke appetite; yet
even this should be by no means sour.
To make _Piquante sauce_, chop a shallot fine, put it, with a
tablespoonful of vinegar, into a very small saucepan; let them stew
together until the vinegar is _entirely absorbed_, but do not let it
burn. Then add to it half a pint of Spanish sauce and a gill of stock,
with a bay-leaf and a sprig of thyme; cook very gently ten minutes,
remove the thyme and bay-leaf, and add a dessertspoonful of chopped
pickled cucumber, a teaspoonful of capers, and a dessertspoonful of
_finely_ chopped parsley. Simmer very slowly ten minutes more; then add
enough cayenne to lay on the tip of a penknife blade.
_Poivrade_ resembles piquante sauce very closely, differing from it,
however, by the addition of wine and higher flavoring. To make it, fry
an onion and a small carrot cut fine, a tomato sliced, and an ounce of
lean ham in two ounces of butter; let them brown slightly; then add to
them half a pint of claret, a bouquet of herbs, two cloves, and six
peppercorns; let them simmer till the wine is reduced one half; then add
half a pint of good Spanish sauce, boil gently ten minutes, strain, and
serve very hot. A true French poivrade has a _soupcon_ of garlic,
obtained by rubbing a crust on a clove of it, and simmering it in the
sauce before straining it; but although many would like the scarcely
perceptible zest imparted by this cautious use of garlic, no one should
try the experiment unless sure of her company.
A "bouquet of herbs" always means two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme,
one of marjoram, and a bay-leaf, so rolled together (the bay-leaf in the
middle) and tied that there is no difficulty in removing it from any
dish which is not to be strained.
The well-known _Bordelaise sauce_ is simply Spanish sauce with the
addition of white wine and shallots. Scald a tablespoonful of chopped
shallots; put them to half a pint of Chablis, Sauterne, or any similar
white wine; let the wine reduce to one gill; then mix with it half a
pint of Spanish sauce and the sixth part of a saltspoonful of pepper.
Strain and serve.
_Robert sauce_, that excellent adjunct to beefsteak, varies again from
Bordelaise, vinegar and mustard and fried onions taking the place of the
wine and shallot. Chop three medium-sized onions quite fine; fry them in
a tablespoonful of butter until they are a clear yellowish-brown,
stirring them constantly as they fry; drain them, and put them to a
half-pint of Spanish sauce, to which you add a wineglass of stock (to
allow for boiling away); simmer gently twenty minutes; add a pinch of
pepper; strain; then mix a teaspoonful of vinegar in a cup with a
teaspoonful of mustard; stir this into the sauce.
_Sauce a la Normande_ is one of the most delicious sauces for baked fish
of any kind, although usually associated with sole. To half a pint of
Spanish sauce add a dozen mushrooms sliced in half, a dozen small
oysters with the beards removed, and a dozen crawfish, if they are to be
had, or their place may be taken by a tablespoonful of shrimps picked
(canned shrimps, washed and dried, answer very well), one tablespoonful
of essence of anchovy, and just a dust of Cayenne pepper.
Light _Normande_ is made by using bechamel instead of Spanish sauce,
adding all the other materials; it is then a pale salmon-colored sauce,
excellent for boiled fish.
A favorite English sauce for fish, which is also brown or pink,
according to whether it is intended for baked or boiled fish, is the
_Downton sauce_. To three quarters of a pint of bechamel add a
dessertspoonful of anchovy essence and a small wineglass of sherry, mix
well, and serve.
_Orange sauce_ for game is made with half a pint of Spanish sauce boiled
five minutes to make it rather thicker than usual, the juice of three
sweet oranges, and the peel of one. This peel must be so thinly pared as
to be transparent. Boil this peel half an hour in water, then shred it
into fine even strips half an inch long, and not thicker than broom
straw. Stew this shredded peel another half-hour in a gill of stock,
with a scant teaspoonful of sugar; then add it to the sauce, with half
a saltspoonful of salt, and boil five minutes.
_Matelote_ may come in with the brown sauces, although it is not made
with Spanish sauce as a foundation, but only with strong stock. It is
used to simmer fish in when directed to be _a la matelote_, and if it
were already thickened the whole would burn. It is made as follows: Half
a pint of Sauterne or Chablis, half a pint of rich stock, two
bay-leaves, three leaves of tarragon, chervil, and chive, a scant
saltspoonful of salt, a quarter one of pepper; simmer these until
reduced to one half-pint. A _touch_ of garlic is indispensable to the
true matelote, but when used it must be done with the greatest caution;
a fork stuck into a clove of it, then stirred in the sauce (the fork,
when withdrawn, not the garlic), or a crust rubbed once across a piece
of it, is the only way in which it should be used.
Like the white sauces, the family of brown ones is very large, but I
have given those which require special directions. Others are simply
Spanish sauce with the addition of the ingredient which gives its name
to it, as brown oyster sauce is simply Spanish sauce with oysters,
celery sauce, mushroom sauce, and so on. It should always be remembered
that the consistency must be preserved; that is to say, except when
special mention is made of the sauce being thinner, it should "mask the
spoon," and if the addition made to it is of a kind to dilute it, as
mushrooms and part of their liquor, it must be rapidly boiled down to
the original thickness. In the same way, when ingredients have to be
simmered in the sauce--and this is very often the case--then a
wineglassful or half one of broth or stock should be allowed for the
wasting.
In the next chapter we will make acquaintance with the miscellaneous
sauces which are not built on the foundation of either white or brown
sauce. These are chiefly cold sauces, although served with hot dishes at
times, as Tartare, Remoulade, etc.
V.
COLD SAUCES.
Cold dishes, which are such a pleasing feature of foreign cookery, are
much neglected with us, at least in private kitchens, or they are
limited to two or three articles served in mayonnaise, or a galantine,
yet the dishes which the French call _chaudfroids_ are both delicious
and ornamental, and it only requires a little taste, care, and _perfect
sauce_ to convert the ordinary cold chicken, turkey, or game into an
elaborate and choice dish.
Among cold sauces, of course mayonnaise, both green, red, and yellow,
reigns supreme; indeed, of late years it has become almost hackneyed.
Yet no work on choice eating would be complete without the different
forms of mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise is one of those sauces in which everything depends on care,
and very little on skill, and yet some women have quite a reputation for
making it among their friends who often declare how unsuccessful their
own efforts have been, and that to succeed is a gift. It is not as a
novelty, therefore, that the manner of making it is given here, but that
those who believe they have not the "magic fingers" may take courage and
try again.
First of all let me explain what seems to puzzle many. I have been
frequently asked, "How much oil can I use to two eggs?" the answer is,
"As much as you choose;" or, again, "How many eggs ought I to take to a
quart of oil?" again the answer is, "One, two, three, or four." The egg
is only a foundation, and mayonnaise will "come" no better with two
yolks than one, although some _chefs_ consider it keeps better when two
eggs are used to a pint of oil.
A cool room is always insisted on for making the sauce, but to the
amateur I say, oil, eggs, and bowl also, should be put in the ice-box
until well chilled, and even then mishaps may come from using a warm
spoon from a hot kitchen drawer or closet; that, therefore, must be cool
also. Of course it is often successfully made with only the usual
precaution of a cool room, but with everything well chilled it is hard
to fail.
If very little of the sauce is wanted, one yolk of egg will be better
than two. Separate the yolks very carefully, allowing not a speck of
white to remain; remove also the germ which is attached to the yolk.
_Stir the yolk at least a minute before_ beginning to add oil; then
arrange your bottle or a sharp-spouted pitcher in your left hand so that
it rests on the edge of the bowl, and you can keep up a pretty steady
drop, drop, into the egg, while you stir with your right steadily. The
oil must be added drop by drop, but this does not mean a drop every two
or three minutes; you may add a drop to every one or two circuits of
the spoon. The reason for adding it slowly is that each drop may form an
emulsion with the egg before more goes in. After two or three minutes
look carefully at the mixture; if it has not begun to look pale and
opaque, but retains a dark, oily appearance, stir it steadily for two
minutes, and then add oil slowly, drop by drop, stirring all the time.
If it has not now begun to thicken, it probably will not; but the
materials are not lost. Put the yolk of another egg into a cool bowl,
and begin again using the egg and oil you have already mixed, in place
of fresh oil. When this is all used, proceed with the oil (it is hoped,
however, that the work will have proceeded without the necessity for
beginning afresh). When the mayonnaise becomes quite thick, use a few
drops of vinegar to thin it; then more oil, until sufficient sauce is
made. Then white pepper and salt should be added for seasoning. The
vinegar used should be very strong, so that very little of it will be
sufficient to give the necessary acidity, without making it too thin.
This is especially the case when the sauce is required to mask salad. It
should for this purpose be set on ice until firm, but in all cases be
kept cold. The best mayonnaise, left in a warm kitchen, would separate
and become oily. The stirring must be steady and constant, and the task
must not be left until completed.
Mayonnaise is the basis of several other sauces, so that in
accomplishing it a great deal is done.
Green mayonnaise is made by dropping a bunch of parsley into boiling
water, and in a minute or two, when it becomes intensely green, take it
up, pound it in a mortar, and then through a sieve. Use as much pulp as
will color the sauce a delicate green.
Red mayonnaise, used for cardinal salad and other purposes, is made by
pounding lobster coral very fine and stirring it in. It must not be
forgotten that anything added to mayonnaise must be ice-cold.
_Aspic mayonnaise_ is another form of the sauce, used in dressing cold
dishes, and while more delicious than the usual sauce, will keep its
form for hours after the dish is dressed. It is absolutely necessary to
prepare it on ice. Put half a pint of stiff aspic jelly into a bowl set
in cracked ice, whisk it with an egg-beater until it is a white froth
(usually the motion will melt it, but to save labor it may be set in
lukewarm water to soften, then beaten, but no oil must be added until it
is again ice-cold froth); then beat in very gradually a quarter of a
pint of olive oil and a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, proceeding
with the same care as for the usual mayonnaise; add a saltspoonful of
salt, a pinch of pepper, and the same of powdered sugar.
_Norwegian sauce_ is preferred by many to Tartare for some purposes, and
is made by adding _freshly_ grated horseradish to mayonnaise in the
proportion of two tablespoonfuls to half a pint.
_Tartare sauce_ is mayonnaise with the addition of mustard, chives,
pickles, and tarragon, chopped. As usually served, it has only mustard
and capers or chopped cucumber, but for those to whom a slight flavor of
onion is not disagreeable, chives should be added. To half a pint of
mayonnaise use a teaspoonful of dry mustard mixed with two of tarragon
vinegar, then stir into the sauce. To this add a tablespoonful either of
capers or chopped pickled cucumber; this is the usual Tartare sauce; but
the French recipe is a tablespoonful of very finely chopped chives, a
teaspoonful each of fresh tarragon and chervil in place of the pickles.
_Cold cucumber sauce_ is mayonnaise with an equal quantity of grated
cucumber, drained, pressed, and stirred into it, with a saltspoonful of
salt and a few drops of very strong vinegar.
_Horseradish sauce_ is a very good sauce for hot or cold beef, roast or
boiled. Grate three tablespoonfuls of horseradish fine, put to it a
teaspoonful of sugar, one of salt, and one of vinegar, or a
tablespoonful of Chablis wine; let them soak an hour or two, and the
last thing before serving stir in four tablespoonfuls of cream that is
whipped very solid. A half-teaspoonful of dry mustard is sometimes mixed
with the horseradish, but that is a matter of taste. When the sauce is
to be served hot, two yolks of egg and two tablespoonfuls of water must
be substituted for cream, which would curdle. The water, horseradish,
etc., must first come to the boiling-point, then the eggs added
gradually, and just allowed to thicken, not to boil.
_Mint Sauce._--Take only the young, tender leaves, not a bit of stem,
and chop very fine indeed. To two tablespoonfuls add a tablespoonful and
a half of brown sugar and three of vinegar. It should be quite thick,
not as we so often see it--vinegar with a few bits of mint floating
around.
_Mint Jelly_ for masking cold lamb or cutlets.--Take two tablespoonfuls
of Spanish sauce, and dissolve in it a good teaspoonful of gelatine
softened in cold stock, a tablespoonful of aspic, and one of thick mint
sauce. If no aspic is ready, it is not worth while to make for the small
quantity needed; a teaspoonful of glaze, two of gelatine, and half a
wineglass of Sauterne may be dissolved together to take its place. No
gelatine will be needed with the Spanish sauce in this case.
Sweet sauces will be left until the desserts are treated of.
VI.
SOUPS.
It is not proposed to give the soups to be found readily in most
cooking-books in these pages, but only those less known or of peculiar
excellence.