Tartare must be of good shape and exquisitely clean; therefore, when
using oysters on the half-shell, always pick out any that may be deep
yet stand well, and have a good shape; scald and scrub them, and keep
for use. Scald as many fat oysters as required in their own liquor till
firm--three minutes at boiling-point will usually do this; the oysters
must be just plump, yet if underdone they will be flabby. Put them on
ice, choose as many tiny leaves as you have oysters from the heart of a
lettuce; they must all be of a size, or trimmed so, and the size only
just large enough to line the shells without coming over them. Lay a
leaf on each shell, cut each oyster in half, lay four halves in pyramid
fashion on the lettuce leaf, and mask the top of each, just before
serving, with Tartare sauce. Allow two to each person.
FOOTNOTES:
[71-*] See No. II.
[77-*] See No. II.
IX.
VARIOUS CULINARY MATTERS.
This little book does not pretend to go into what may be called the
principles of cooking, except in so far as they are involved in the
production of all choice cookery; and where it is considered that a
principle is little known or too little attended to, the effort will be
made to give it emphasis by reiteration here.
By principles of cooking I mean the simple rules by which roasting,
boiling, stewing, etc., are successfully accomplished. Any book or
series of articles written a dozen years ago would have been of no real
use without these rudiments, but within that period there have been
cooking-schools started and cookery books written so exceedingly exact
in directions that it will be unnecessary to repeat them in "Choice
Cookery," which does not pretend to include family cooking.
For this reason the cooking of joints of meat will not be entered into.
Nevertheless there are certain rudiments of cooking which are not dwelt
on usually in books. They are taught in the cooking-schools, and those
of my readers who have had the advantage of attending them will not need
the instruction here given. But I meet with many women who devote much
time to the art of cooking, and who have taught themselves by book and
experiment all they know, who yet, when told to chop a small quantity of
herbs very fine, will struggle and chop almost leaf by leaf in their
faithful endeavor to carry out the direction. Others, less faithful,
finding their method chops some parts fine and leaves some leaves almost
whole, let it go at that, with the reflection that "that _must_ do, as
it would take all day" to get them all one degree of fineness. So,
although it may seem almost too trivial a point to need mention, we
will go into the matter of herb-chopping, lemon-grating, etc., that the
simple operations may be performed easily and in a very short time.
_To Chop Herbs._--Use the leaves only, never the stems; let them be
fresh and crisp, or, if wilted, leave them in water for a time. Gather
the leaves firmly between the thumb and three fingers of the left hand;
shave them through with a sharp knife as you push them forward under it.
(The process resembles chaff-cutting by hand machine.) Turn them round;
gather them up again, and cut across them in the same way; then finish
by chopping quickly, holding the point of the knife with the left hand
and bringing it down on the little heap of herbs with the right, always
gathering them together as fast as the chopping scatters them. Five
minutes will chop a tablespoonful of mint or parsley almost to pulp. A
sharp steel knife and a small board must be used, not the
chopping-bowl.
French books often direct so much _fine herbs_ to be used; English books
mean the same thing when they call for "sweet herbs," and a mixture of
one part marjoram, two parts thyme, and three parts parsley is meant by
both.
The grating of a lemon is a most simple operation, and it may seem that
every one must know how to do it; but this is far from being the case.
As many dishes of curdled custards and sauces are caused by this fact,
the right way in this case is very important. The object of using grated
rind of lemon is to obtain the fragrance and flavor, which differ very
greatly from any extracts, however good. Now the whole of the oil which
contains this fragrance is at the surface--is, in fact, the yellow
portion of the rind; therefore this, and only this, must be removed with
the grater. The white part underneath is bitter, and will cause milk or
cream to curdle, but it contains no particle of lemon flavor. Yet when
lemon flavor is called for the lemon is often grated right down to the
pulp in parts, while the yellow rind is left on in patches.
A lemon should be grated evenly, beginning at the end and working round
it, using as small a surface of the grater as possible, to prevent
waste. The habit of turning the lemon as you grate comes as easily as to
turn an apple under the knife when peeling. Generally twice across the
grater and back between each turn will remove all the essential oil,
but, while guarding against grating too deeply, care must be taken to
remove the whole of the yellow surface. A well-grated lemon should be
exactly of the same shape as before, have no deep scores into the pith,
and have an oily-looking surface.
Perhaps before proceeding to the preparation of the combination dishes
known as made dishes or entrees, a few words may be useful to those
readers whose ambition to accomplish results may cause them to defeat
their own ends. To such I would say, go slowly; never attempt the more
difficult thing until the simpler one is beyond chance of failure. Thus
in following the instructions in this book the wiser women will have
accomplished, perhaps, each week one or two things they may have
selected, and it must not be forgotten the plan of the work is that one
recipe shall serve as a key to many others.
A great many will very likely have delayed trying to make the sauces
until the dish for which they will be required is given. This is a
mistake, because it is less annoying to fail with a sauce with no dish
depending on it, than, say, when you have decided to have sole _a la
Villeroi_, the soles being ready, and fail with the sauce.
I hope that no failure will come to any one trying the recipes here
given, but in some cases, especially in sauces thickened with eggs, a
second's diverted attention may cause failure without fault of the cook.
Therefore it is best to make single experiments when there is no danger
of being disturbed, and when there is nothing else to be attended to.
The successful result need never be lost, for in the case of sauces they
can be reheated the next day in a bain-marie, or pan of hot water; the
same with the soups, and, indeed, most other things, except soufflees
and omelets.
But, above all things, never try a recipe for the first time the day you
wish it to appear perfect on your table; try it long before, and if you
fail, make the same thing over again, reading the directions very
carefully; some trifling caution or precaution may have escaped you. No
one ever learns to draw so simple a thing as a circle who is discouraged
at the first bad curve, and leaves it for easier lines. Keep on at the
thing you select to do until you succeed, always choosing _and
perfecting_ the easiest thing in each class first.
X.
ENTREES.
_Fillet of Beef._--This favorite dish with French and Americans may be
roasted whole, or cut so as to serve individually. To roast it whole, it
must be trimmed perfectly round, and either larded or not as taste may
dictate. A fillet weighing four pounds should be roasted three quarters
of an hour in a sharp oven. It may then be served _a la Chateaubriand_
by pouring over it half a pint of the sauce of that name, with
horseradish sauce, or brown mushroom sauce (brown sauce with mushrooms
added).
To serve individually, fillets are prepared in the following way: Cut a
fillet into eight slices three quarters of an inch thick; trim the
slices into perfect circles, all exactly the same size; flatten them;
put them in a hot pan, and saute for seven or eight minutes in two
ounces of butter; dress them round a dish, and pour over them the sauce
from which the dish will take its name.
_Filets de Boeuf a la Bearnaise._--Serve with half a pint of Bearnaise
sauce.
_Filets de Boeuf aux Champignons._--Dress as before; leave in the centre
of the dish room for a mound of stewed mushrooms; pour over the fillets
half a pint of rich brown sauce. Serve these dishes as soon as cooked:
the meat is spoiled by waiting.
I have received several letters from readers living where lobster is
only to be had in cans, asking if there is no substitute for the coral
in making cardinal sauce. Canned lobster frequently contains a great
deal of coral, which is as good for coloring and flavoring as the fresh.
This can only be known, however, before opening, when the cans are of
glass. The pulp of red beet-root passed through a sieve and added to
white sauce or mayonnaise gives a beautiful red tint; but the flavor,
while excellent for a salad or as vegetable sauce, would be unsuitable
for serving with fish.
_Grenadines of Beef with Mushrooms and Poivrade Sauce._--Take as many
slices of fillet of beef, cut three quarters of an inch thick, as you
require. Trim them to a pear shape, three and a half inches long and
three wide at the broadest part. Lard these with bacon, and put them
into a saute pan with a gill of brown sauce and a glass of sherry (half
the sauce if there are very few grenadines); let them cook gently for
fifteen minutes. Dissolve a piece of glaze the size of a walnut by
putting it in a cup which is set in boiling water; when dissolved, take
up the grenadines, dish them in a circle, and glaze them (a brush is
properly used for this purpose, but the glaze can be spread with a knife
dipped in hot water). Fill the centre of the circle with a pyramid of
small mushrooms mixed with a gill and a half of poivrade sauce.[88-*]
_Fillets of Beef a la Grande-Bretagne._--Cut two pounds of fillet into
neat slices an inch thick; slit them (with a small French boning-knife
or small penknife) in such a way that you form a pocket in each the
mouth or opening of which is smaller than the pocket itself. This can be
done by laying the fillet flat on a board, laying your hand on the top
of it, making a slit two inches wide, then with the point of the knife
enlarging the slit inside, but not the entrance to it. The opening
should extend half-way through; into this put a force-meat made of
horseradish sauce[89-*] and macaroni boiled and cut fine. The force-meat
must be used sparingly, so as not to increase materially the thickness
of the fillet; fasten the opening of each with a wooden toothpick. Saute
these fillets for fifteen minutes; glaze them as directed in last
recipe; arrange them in a circle, with a pyramid of tiny potato balls in
the centre. Pour rich brown sauce round.
_Mutton Cutlets a la d'Uxelles._--Cut some cutlets from the neck of
mutton, leaving two bones to each, trim very carefully, remove the upper
part of one bone, split the cutlets without separating them at the bone,
spread some thick d'Uxelles sauce[90-*] inside, fold the cutlets
together, run a toothpick through them, and broil for four minutes on
each side over a hot fire. Have a layer of chopped mushrooms stewed in
butter in the dish, lay the cutlets on it, pour over some d'Uxelles
sauce, and garnish with truffles, cut in very thin circles.
_Mutton Cutlets a la Milanais._--Take six cutlets from a neck of mutton
("French chops," many butchers term them), mix equal quantities of
grated Parmesan cheese and cracker meal. Dip the cutlets into rich thick
brown sauce,[90-[+]] then into the cracker and Parmesan; shake off loose
crumbs; dip them now into beaten egg in which a little salt and very
finely chopped parsley and chives have been mixed, and then dip them a
second time in the Parmesan and bread crumbs; drop them into a kettle of
very hot fat; in four minutes they will be done. Do not fry more than
four at a time, as too many cool the fat. Dish them in a circle with
spaghetti dressed with Parmesan in the centre.
It seems to me just here that before giving further recipes for fried
articles I had better make sure that all my readers understand the
process of frying in deep fat. I have used the word _saute_ too, and
although no doubt both these processes are familiar to most readers who
would be likely to practise "Choice Cookery," for those who are not
adepts many of the recipes would be impossible to execute. Frying, once
understood, is so easy a process one wonders that so few should excel in
it. To those who are not sure of themselves I recommend practice. A
couple of hours' practice and careful observance of rules will enable a
bright woman to fry successfully.
For this practice you may prepare several different articles and fry one
after the other--one or two very soft and creamy croquettes, one or two
breaded articles, especially such as are dipped in thick sauce before
being crumbed, etc.
The principle on which articles that are very soft and creamy,
underneath the surface of egg and crumbs, are fried is this: the creamy
substances, whether rich sauce like d'Uxelles and Villeroi, or the cream
used to mix croquettes, must always be made of stock that will jelly
when cold. The sauce is used warm, and the articles are put to chill on
ice, so that they are in a jellied condition. Now the fat into which
they are plunged must be so hot that it sets the coating of egg and
crumbs, which forms a thin shell, as it were, before the jelly has had
time to melt; the shell once formed, the interior cooks in the intense
heat very quickly. If the fat were not hot enough, croquettes would go
all to pieces, and articles coated with sauce would lose the better
part of it.
To fry, you require a stewpan or iron kettle; those called Scotch
kettles are best, as they set into the range readily. A frying-pan is
only useful for sauteing in little fat. Articles to be fried must be
immersed in fat, and no frying-pan is deep enough to do this safely. Put
two to three pounds of clarified dripping or lard into the kettle, and
let it get very hot. This will be after it ceases to sputter--some time
after, perhaps; but you must now begin to watch for smoke to rise from
the _centre_. Have near you some little squares of bread crumb; drop one
in from time to time; only when it colors _immediately_ is the fat hot
enough. At this point no time must be lost, and your frying begins.
Of course you will have the articles you intend to fry right at hand.
You will also need a large dish, in which you lay common butcher's
wrapping-paper (often called "kitchen paper") and a perforated
skimmer--some like a frying-basket, and for very small things it is an
assistance; but for croquettes, cutlets, etc., it is not necessary: they
can be laid on the skimmer and dropped in the fat.
The easiest and safest way to fry is to use a cooking thermometer
(pyrometers or frimometers they are sometimes called), and let the fat
be 380 deg. for croquettes, oysters, and articles that only require two
minutes' cooking; 360 deg. for cutlets and heavier articles.
The time required for articles to cook in the frying-kettle seems
astonishingly short. For instance, a breaded chop will be cooked to a
medium degree in two and a half minutes, well done in three minutes; but
it must be remembered the heat is intense. Croquettes must never be left
longer than two minutes, while whitebait (which, however, require
special instruction to fry without getting them into a cake) need less
than a minute. Potatoes require longer than most things; but the fat
need not be cooler at first, as would seem necessary, because they are
so full of water, even when well dried, that they cool the fat rapidly.
_Sauteing_ (a word that would be expressive of the process in English
would be a boon to writers on cooking).--The process generally meant by
"frying" is really sauteing; yet so general has been the misconception
among all but professed cooks, that one has to take the precaution in
giving directions for frying to say, "Fry _in deep_ fat." It ought to be
understood that to fry is to _immerse_ in hot fat. If some term suitable
for kitchen use could be found, half the difficulty would be over. In
old English books a very fair translation was used; they told you to
"toss the article in butter," but though it rendered saute "jump"
fairly, it did not express the process. There is neither tossing nor
jumping about it, unless an occasional shake to the pan be called so;
and as "flat frying," "dry frying," are awkward, the sooner we boldly
take saute into common use, and let it become a kitchen word as familiar
as fricassee (which surely must have been very unfamiliar once), the
better.
To saute--although every Bridget or Gretchen fancies she can do
it--requires nicety and care to do it well, and is far more difficult
than "frying in deep fat." The pan requires to be hot, also the fat or
butter used, which should cover the bottom of the pan; a bright fire is
required. Things that take long to cook require more fat than those that
require but a short time. Effort must be made to adjust the proportion,
as adding cold fat prevents browning. Veal cutlets and many other things
are far better sauted than fried. The articles sauted require to be
watched that they do not burn; yet they must not be too often turned, or
they will not brown--except, of course, such things as are chopped,
which require frequent stirring up.
In speaking of chilling articles coated with sauce to be fried, I
omitted to give the caution that, in the case of meats, care must be
taken not to leave them long enough to freeze the meat.
FOOTNOTES:
[88-*] See No. IV.
[89-*] See No. V.
[90-*] See No. II.
[90-[+]] See No. IV.
XI.
ENTREES OF MUTTON CUTLETS OR CHOPS.
_Mutton Cutlets a la Duchesse._--Take as many cutlets (or French chops)
as required. Stew them in stock, with a small bouquet of herbs, very
gently until they are perfectly tender. Take them up, skim the stock,
and strain it; return to a small saucepan, and reduce the liquid to a
glaze; dip each cutlet in the glaze and lay it aside. Have ready what
cooks now call a "panada," made of a gill of thick white sauce, two
yolks of eggs stirred into it and allowed to approach the boiling-point,
but not to boil (this, of course, must be done in a double boiler), or
the eggs will curdle; chop a dessertspoonful of parsley very fine;
parboil and chop also very fine three onions; pound thoroughly in a
mortar eight mushrooms; stir these all into the thick sauce, with a
saltspoonful of salt and a quarter one of pepper. Roll each cutlet in
this force-meat (if found too stiff to adhere properly, moisten with a
little cream or a little liquor from the mushrooms), lay them on a
fire-proof dish, and cover with bread crumbs and bits of butter. Bake
them until they are a golden brown. Serve with brown Soubise sauce.
_Lamb Cutlets en Concombre._--Trim and cut six lamb cutlets three
quarters of an inch thick, flatten them a little to make them of equal
size and thickness; flour them, and saute them in butter five minutes.
The fire must be sharp, because they must be a nice brown on both sides.
Arrange them round an entree dish, with a gill of brown sauce poured
outside, and a pint of fillets of cucumber in the centre.
_To Prepare Fillets of Cucumber._--Cut firm fresh cucumbers lengthwise
through the middle, remove seeds and all soft parts, cut into inch
lengths and into olive shapes all the same size. Put them into a
stewpan with an ounce of butter, a pinch of pepper, a saltspoonful of
sugar and one of salt, and let them stew until quite tender, without
acquiring any color. To do this the stewpan must be closely covered and
frequently shaken.
_Lamb Cutlets with a Puree of Mushrooms._--Trim and cook and serve the
cutlets as in the foregoing recipe, only in place of the cucumbers make
a puree of mushrooms in the following way: stew half a pint of button
mushrooms and part of their liquor in half a pint of white sauce until
they are very tender (taking care the sauce does not burn), pound them
in a mortar, then force them through a vegetable strainer; then add
enough of the white sauce in which they were stewed to make the puree
the substance of very thick cream.
_Cold Lamb Cutlets in Mint Jelly._--Roast a piece of what butchers call
the rack of lamb, which is really the neck and ribs. Let it get cold;
cut from it six cutlets, which trim just as if they were uncooked; that
is to say, remove meat and fat from the bone, and scrape it. Mask each
of the cutlets in mint jelly[101-*] warmed enough to be half fluid.
Arrange very carefully round an entree dish when they are perfectly set,
so that the jelly will not come off. Have a Russian salad in the centre.
_How to Prepare the Salad._--To prepare this you require two or three
small vegetable cutters of pretty shape; use them to trim carrots, white
turnips, and cucumbers into small, attractive forms; boil these in
separate waters till tender; also green peas, sprays of cauliflower, and
very tiny young string-beans. Throw each vegetable as it is cooked into
ice-cold water to keep the color. Have some red beet-root boiled
_before_ it is cut into shapes. Use equal quantities of each vegetable.
Arrange them with peas in the centre, and the others in circles round,
studying the effect of color; then dress, but do not mask, them with
green mayonnaise.
At seasons when materials for Russian salad cannot readily be obtained
the chops may be served with a centre of cucumber salad, or one made of
the small white leaves of lettuce.
_Cutlets Chaudfroid a la Russe._--For this cold dish mutton cutlets are
used. They must be of the finest quality, and from mutton not newly
killed. Cut as many cutlets as required, trim, and scrape the bone.
Braise for an hour in a moderate oven till the meat is very tender,
remove, and press between two dishes until they are cold. Then trim each
cutlet into perfect shape. Boil a quart of strong stock (which already
jellies) down to less than half a pint; dip each chop into this glaze
once or twice, till they look "varnished." You now require a pint of
stiff aspic jelly; turn it out of the bowl, cut one or two slices a
quarter of an inch thick from it, to be cut into shapes (or croutons)
with a cutter to garnish the cutlets. Chop the rest of the aspic, lay
it round the dish, and the cutlets against it, with the croutons of
aspic to form the outer edge. The centre must be filled with a Russian
salad, in this case stirred up with very thick mayonnaise, instead of
being formally arranged. The mayonnaise must be only sufficient to dress
the vegetables, none to run into the other materials, and beet-root must
be added last, as it discolors the sauce if stirred up in it.
ENTREES OF SWEETBREADS.
_Sweetbreads a la Supreme._--Take two plump sweetbreads, lay them an
hour in strong salt and water, then boil them for ten minutes in fresh
water; put them between two plates to flatten till cold. Cut off all the
gristle and loose skin from underneath; put them to stew _very gently_
in half a pint of good-flavored stock. Take them up, drain well, and
stew them in half a pint of sauce supreme, with a dozen small mushrooms,
for ten minutes.
_Sweetbreads with Oysters._--Prepare the sweetbreads as in the foregoing
recipe, quarter them, and put them in a stewpan with a gill of white
stock, the strained liquor from two dozen oysters, a saltspoonful of
salt, a pinch of pepper, and a suspicion of nutmeg. Put two ounces of
butter in a stewpan over the fire, stir into it one tablespoonful of
fine flour; let them bubble together, stirring the while, one minute.
When the sweetbreads have been simmering twenty minutes, pour the gravy
from them to the sauce; stir quickly till smooth. If thicker than very
thick cream, add a little more stock. In five minutes add the oysters.
Keep _at boiling-point_, but not boiling, till the oysters are firm and
plump. Do not leave them in the sauce a minute beyond this, or they will
begin to shrink. Take them and the sweetbreads up, and if the sauce is
too thin to bear a wineglass of cream, boil it rapidly down till _very
thick_; then skim, and just before pouring over the sweetbreads stir in
a wineglass of thick cream. If it goes in earlier it may curdle.