Make puff paste as before described; give it six or seven turns, wetting
the top of the paste, before turning it the last time, with water or a
little lemon-juice; roll it out evenly about a third of an inch thick.
Cut out as many cakes as are required with a circular tin cutter (a
scolloped one is prettier) about two inches in diameter. Now take a
second cutter about half an inch smaller in diameter than the first, and
press it into the tops of the patties, allowing it to sink half-way
through the crust; or cut the patties with a sharp penknife, tracing it
around a little paste-board model.
[Illustration]
When all are cut, brush over the tops with beaten egg, being careful not
to moisten the edges; if they are to be filled with sweetmeats, sprinkle
sugar over the tops. When baked, take off the marked-out covers, and cut
out the centres without defacing the outsides. Keep them in a warm place
until just before serving, when they should be filled, and covered with
the little crust tops.
In entertaining, it will be found very convenient to purchase
patty-cases at the confectioner’s. They can be reheated the last five
minutes, and filled with any thing preferred made at home. They are also
quite cheap.
OYSTERS FOR VOLS-AU-VENT, SCALLOP-SHELLS, OR SERVED ON BUTTERED TOAST
FOR BREAKFAST (No. 1).
Bring a canful or a quart of oysters to the boiling-point in their
liquor; then drain them. Put butter the size of half an egg into a
saucepan, and when hot add half a small onion (cut very fine) and a
tea-spoonful of flour, stirring them well; add then half a tea-cupful of
the juice in a can of mushrooms, pepper, salt, a sprig of parsley (cut
very fine), half a box of mushrooms (chopped not too fine); then add the
oysters. Stir all together over the fire for a minute; add a few drops
of lemon-juice. This is a very nice filling for _vols-au-vent_ made as
in receipt.
OYSTERS FOR VOLS-AU-VENT, SCALLOP-SHELLS, OR SERVED ON BUTTERED TOAST
FOR BREAKFAST (No. 2).
Put the oysters on the fire in their own liquor, and when they are just
beginning to simmer skim them out quickly with a perforated ladle; if
there is too much juice in the saucepan, pour out all except what is
necessary for making a sauce of creamy thickness for the oysters; skim
this well, and make it as thick as rich cream with flour and butter
smoothed together (_roux_). Season it well with salt and Cayenne pepper;
some add also a little nutmeg. When cooked enough, take the sauce off
the fire, add the yolks of two or three eggs well beaten, and the
oysters. Let them merely become hot again on the range without allowing
them to boil. Serve immediately. If these preparations are used for
scallop-shells, sprinkle some cracker-crumbs over the tops, and brown
them quickly with a salamander.
VOLS-AU-VENT OF OYSTERS (No. 3).
Fill the _vols-au-vent_ (made as in preceding article) with oysters
prepared as follows: Beard and put them into a stew-pan with a little
stock; as soon as they are cooked, cut them in two; add three or four
table-spoonfuls of the oyster-liquor to the stock, and add to it a
_roux_ of a little butter and flour; add then a very little cayenne, a
little nutmeg, and two or three table-spoonfuls of cream. It should be
rather thicker than cream. Fill the pastry the last thing before
serving, and cover with the tops.