reach to half their height; stew them very softly until the under sides
are done, then turn, and finish stewing them. Thicken the gravy with a
little arrow-root and cream, or with flour and butter, and serve it
round them.
FORCED TOMATAS.
(_English Receipt._)
Cut the stems quite close, slice off the tops of eight fine tomatas, and
scoop out the insides; press the pulp through a sieve, and mix with it
one ounce of fine crumbs of bread, one of butter broken very small, some
pepper or cayenne, and salt. Fill the tomatas with the mixture, and bake
them for ten minutes in a moderate oven; serve them with brown gravy in
the dish. A few small mushrooms stewed tender in a little butter, then
minced and added to the tomata pulp, will very much improve this
receipt.
Bake 10 minutes.
FORCED TOMATAS.
(_French Receipt._)
Let the tomatas be well shaped and of equal size; divide them nearly in
the middle leaving the blossom-side the largest, as this only is to be
used; empty them carefully of their seeds and juice, and fill them with
the following ingredients, which must previously be stewed tender in
butter but without being allowed to brown: minced mushrooms and shalots,
with a moderate proportion of parsley, some lean of ham chopped small, a
seasoning of cayenne, and a little fine salt, if needed; let them cool,
then mix with them about a third as much of fine crumbs of bread, and
two yolks of eggs; fill the tomatas, cover them with fine crumbs,
moisten them with clarified butter, and bake them in a brisk oven until
they are well coloured. Serve them as a garnish to stewed rump or
sirloin of beef, or to a boned and forced leg of mutton.
Minced lean of ham, 2 oz.; mushrooms, 2 oz.; bread-crumbs, 2 oz.;
shalots, 4 to 8; parsley, full teaspoonful; cayenne, quarter
saltspoonful; little salt, if needed; butter, 2 oz.; yolks of eggs, 2 to
3: baked 10 to 20 minutes.
_Obs._—The French pound the whole of these ingredients with a bit of
garlic, before they fill the tomatas with them, but this is not
absolutely necessary, and the garlic, if added at all, should be
parboiled first, as its strong flavour, combined with that of the
eschalots, would scarcely suit the general taste. When the lean of a
dressed ham is at hand, only the herbs and vegetables will need to be
stewed in the butter; this should be mixed with them into the forcemeat,
which an intelligent cook will vary in many ways.
PURÉE OF TOMATAS.
Divide a dozen fine ripe tomatas, squeeze out the seeds, and take off
the stalks; put them with one small mild onion (or more, if liked), and
about half a pint of very good gravy, into a well-tinned stewpan or
saucepan, and simmer them for nearly or quite an hour; a couple of
bay-leaves, some cayenne, and as much salt as the dish may require,
should be added when they begin to boil. Press them through a sieve,
heat them again, and stir to them a quarter of a pint of good cream,
previously mixed and boiled for five minutes with a teaspoonful of
flour. This purée is to be served with calf’s head, veal cutlets, boiled
knuckle of veal, calf’s brains, or beef palates. For pork, beef, geese,
and other brown meats, the tomatas should be reduced to a proper
consistence in rich and highly-flavoured brown gravy, or Spanish sauce.
TO BOIL GREEN INDIAN CORN.
When still quite green and tender, the ears of maize or Indian corn are
very good boiled and served as a vegetable; and as they will not ripen
well in this country unless the summer be unusually warm and favourable,
it is an advantageous mode of turning them to account. Strip away the
sheath which encloses them, and take off the long silken fibres from the
tops; put the corn into boiling water salted as for asparagus, and boil
it for about half an hour. Drain it well, dish it on a toast, and send
it to table with melted butter. The Americans, who have it served
commonly at their tables, use it when more fully grown than we have
recommended, and boil it without removing the inner leaves of the
sheath; but it is sweeter and more delicate before it has reached so
advanced a state. The grains may be freed from the corn-stalks with a
knife, and tossed up with a slice of fresh butter and some pepper and
salt, or served simply like green peas. Other modes of dressing the
young maize will readily suggest themselves to an intelligent cook, and
our space will not permit us to enumerate them.
25 to 30 minutes.
MUSHROOMS AU BEURRE.
(_Delicious._)
Cut the stems from some fine meadow mushroom-buttons, and clean them
with a bit of new flannel, and some fine salt; then either wipe them dry
with a soft cloth, or rinse them in fresh water, drain them quickly,
spread them in a clean cloth, fold it over them, and leave them for ten
minutes, or more, to dry. For every pint of them thus prepared, put an
ounce and a half of fresh butter into a thick iron saucepan, shake it
over the fire until it _just_ begins to brown, throw in the mushrooms,
continue to shake the saucepan over a clear fire that they may not stick
to it nor burn, and when they have simmered three or four minutes, strew
over them a little salt, some cayenne, and pounded mace; stew them until
they are perfectly tender, heap them in a dish, and serve them with
their own sauce only, for breakfast, supper, or luncheon. Nothing can be
finer than the flavour of the mushrooms thus prepared; and the addition
of any liquid is far from an improvement to it. They are very good when
drained from the butter, and served cold, and in a cool larder may be
kept for several days. The butter in which they are stewed is admirable
for flavouring gravies, sauces, or potted meats. Small flaps, freed from
the fur and skin, may be stewed in the same way; and either these, or
the buttons, served under roast poultry or partridges, will give a dish
of very superior relish.
Meadow mushrooms, 3 pints; fresh butter 4-1/2 oz.: 3 to 5 minutes. Salt,
1 small teaspoonful; mace, half as much; cayenne, third of saltspoonful:
10 to 15 minutes. More spices to be added if required—much depending on
their quality; but they should not overpower the flavour of the
mushrooms.
_Obs._—Persons inhabiting parts of the country where mushrooms are
abundant, may send them easily, when thus prepared (or when potted by
the following receipt), to their friends in cities, or in less
productive counties. If poured into jars, with sufficient butter to
cover them, they will travel any distance, and can be re-warmed for use.
POTTED MUSHROOMS.
Prepare either small flaps or buttons with great nicety, without wetting
them, and wipe the former very dry, after the application of the salt
and flannel. Stew them quite tender, with the same proportion of butter
as the mushrooms _au beurre_, but increase a little the quantity of
spice; when they are done turn them into a large dish, spread them over
one end of it, and raise it two or three inches that they may be well
drained from the butter. As soon as they are quite cold, press them very
closely into small potting-pans; pour lukewarm clarified butter thickly
over them, and store them in a cool dry place. If intended for present
use, merely turn them down upon a clean shelf; but for longer keeping
cover the tops first with very dry paper, and then with melted
mutton-suet. We have ourselves had the mushrooms, after being simply
spread upon a dish while hot, remain perfectly good in that state for
seven or eight weeks: they were prepared late in the season, and the
weather was consequently cool during the interval.
MUSHROOM-TOAST, OR CROÛTE AUX CHAMPIGNONS.
(_Excellent._)
Cut the stems closely from a quart or more, of small just-opened
mushrooms; peel them, and take out the gills. Dissolve from two to three
ounces of fresh butter in a well-tinned saucepan or stewpan, put in the
mushrooms, strew over them a quarter of a teaspoonful of pounded mace
mixed with a little cayenne, and let them stew over a gentle fire from
ten to fifteen minutes; toss or stir them often during the time; then
add a small dessertspoonful of flour, and shake the pan round until it
is lightly browned. Next pour in, by slow degrees, half a pint of gravy
or of good beef-broth; and when the mushrooms have stewed softly in this
for a couple of minutes, throw in a little salt, and a squeeze of
lemon-juice, and pour them on to a crust, cut about an inch and a
quarter thick, from the under part of a moderate-sized loaf, and fried
in good butter a light brown, after having been first slightly hollowed
in the inside. New milk, or thin cream, may be used with very good
effect instead of the gravy; but a few strips of lemon-rind, and a small
portion of nutmeg and mushroom-catsup should then be added to the sauce.
The bread may be buttered and grilled over a gentle fire instead of
being fried, and is better so.
Small mushrooms, 4 to 5 half pints; butter, 3 to 4 oz.; mace, mixed with
a little cayenne, 1/4 teaspoonful: stewed softly 10 to 15 minutes.
Flour, 1 small dessertspoonful: 3 to 5 minutes. Gravy or broth, 1/2
pint: 2 minutes. Little salt and lemon-juice.
TRUFFLES AND THEIR USES.
The truffle, or underground mushroom, as it has sometimes been called,
is held in almost extravagant estimation by epicures,[109] and enters
largely into what may be termed first-class cookery, both in England and
abroad; though it is much less generally known and used here than in
France, Germany, and other parts of the Continent, where it is far more
abundant, and of very superior quality.
Footnote 109:
It has been named by a celebrated gastronomer of past days, “_Le
diamant de la cuisine_.”
As it is in constant demand for luxuriously-served tables, and has
hitherto, we believe, baffled all attempts to increase it by
cultivation, it bears usually a high price in the English market,[110]
and is seldom to be had cheap in any; but although too costly for common
consumption, where the expenditure is regulated by rational economy, it
may at times be made to supply, at a reasonable expense, some excellent
store-preparations for the breakfast and luncheon-table; as a small
portion will impart its peculiar flavour to them.
Footnote 110:
Varying from eight to sixteen shillings the pound at the best foreign
warehouses. The truffles which are pared, bottled and steamed like
fruit, are more expensive still; but they can be kept after the season
of the fresh ones is entirely past. English truffles—which are found
in Hampshire (in the New Forest)—and in some few other of our
counties, are very good, though seldom or ever equal in quality to
those of France, Germany, and of different parts of Italy. The most
esteemed of the French ones are from _Perigord_.
The blackest truffles are considered the best. All are in their
perfection during the latter part of November, December, and January;
though they may be procured usually from October to March; yet as they
are peculiarly subject to decay—or, properly speaking, become really
_putrid_—from exposure to the air, it is an advantage to have them as
early in their season as may be. In sumptuous households the very finest
foreign truffles are often served _as a vegetable_ in the second course.
TO PREPARE TRUFFLES FOR USE.
First soak them for an hour or two in fresh water, to loosen the earth
which adheres to them; then rinse them well from it, and with a hard
brush scrub them until not a particle of the mould in which they have
been embedded can be seen upon them. This part of the operation should
be especially attended to, because the parings are as useful as the
truffles themselves. It is often needful to leave them longer in the
water after it has been changed; and even to soak them sometimes in
lukewarm water also: when they are _perfectly_ cleaned, wipe them gently
with a soft cloth, or fold them in to dry, should they be wanted for any
preparation to which moisture would be injurious.
TRUFFLES À LA SERVIETTE.
Select the finest truffles for this dish, be particular in smelling
them, and reject any that have a musty smell. Wash and brush them well
with cold water only, change it several times, and when they are
perfectly clean line a stewpan with slices of bacon; put in the truffles
with a bunch of parsley, green onions, and thyme, two or three
bay-leaves, half a dozen cloves, and a little sweet basil; pour in
sufficient rich veal gravy to cover them, with the addition of from half
a pint to half a bottle of champagne; boil them very softly for an hour,
then draw them aside and let them cool in the gravy. Heat them afresh in
it when they are wanted for table; lift them out and drain them in a
very clean cloth, and dish them neatly in a fine and beautifully white
napkin, which will contrast as strongly as possible with the dark hue of
the truffles.
TRUFFLES À L’ITALIENNE.
Wash perfectly clean, wipe, and pare some truffles extremely thin; slice
them about the size of a penny; put them into a sauté-pan (or small
frying-pan), with a slice of fresh butter, some minced parsley and
eschalot, salt and pepper; put them on the fire and stir them, that they
may fry equally; when they are done, which will be in about ten minutes,
drain off part of the butter, and throw in a bit of fresh butter, a
small ladleful of Spanish sauce (see page 101), the juice of one lemon,
and a little cayenne pepper. This is a dish of high relish.
TO BOIL SPROUTS, CABBAGES, SAVOYS, LETTUCES, OR ENDIVE.
All green vegetables should be thrown into abundance of fast boiling
water ready salted and skimmed, with the addition of the small quantity
of carbonate of soda which we have recommended, in a previous page of
this chapter; the pan should be left uncovered, and every precaution
taken to prevent the smoke from reaching its contents. Endive, sprouts,
and spring greens, will only require copious washing before they are
boiled; but savoys, large lettuces, and close-leaved cabbages should be
thrown into salt and water for half an hour or more before they are
dressed, with the tops downwards to draw out the insects. The stems of
these last should be cut off, the decayed leaves stripped away, and the
vegetable halved or quartered, or split deeply across the stalk-end, and
divided entirely before it is dished.
Very young greens, 15 to 20 minutes; lettuces, 20 to 30 minutes, large
savoys, or cabbages, 1 to 1-1/2 hour, or more.
_Obs._—When the stalk of any kind of cabbage is tender it is ready to
serve. Turnip-greens should be well washed in several waters, and boiled
in a very large quantity to deprive them of their bitterness.
STEWED CABBAGE.
Cut out the stalk entirely, and slice a fine firm cabbage or two in very
thin strips; throw them after they have been well washed and drained,
into a large pan of boiling water ready salted and skimmed, and when
they are tender, which will be in from ten to fifteen minutes, pour them
into a sieve or strainer, press the water thoroughly from them, and chop
them slightly. Put into a very clean saucepan about a couple of ounces
of butter, and when it is dissolved add the cabbage with sufficient
pepper and salt to season it, and stir it over a clear fire until it
appears tolerably dry; then shake lightly in a tablespoonful of flour,
turn the whole well, and add by slow degrees a cup of thick cream: veal
gravy or good white sauce may be substituted for this, when preferred to
it.
TO BOIL TURNIPS.
Pare entirely from them the fibrous rind, and either split the turnips
once or leave them whole; throw them into boiling water slightly salted,
and keep them closely covered from smoke and dust until they are tender.
When small and young they will be done in from fifteen to twenty
minutes; at their full growth they will require from three quarters to a
full hour, or more, of gentle boiling. After they become old and woolly
they are not worth dressing in any way. When boiled in their skins and
pared afterwards, they are said to be of better flavour and much less
watery than when cooked in the usual way.
Young turnips, 15 to 20 minutes: full grown, 3/4 to 1 hour, or more.
TO MASH TURNIPS.
Split them once or even twice should they be large after they are pared;
boil them very tender, and press the water thoroughly from them with a
couple of trenchers, or with the back of a large plate and one trencher.
To ensure their being free from lumps, it is better to pass them through
a cullender or coarse hair-sieve, with a wooden spoon; though, when
quite young, they may be worked sufficiently smooth without this. Put
them into a clean saucepan, and stir them constantly for some minutes
over a gentle fire, that they may be very dry; then add some salt, a bit
of fresh butter, and a little cream, or in lieu of this new milk (we
would also recommend a seasoning of white pepper or cayenne, when
appearance and fashion are not particularly regarded), and continue to
simmer and to stir them for five or six minutes longer, or until they
have quite absorbed all the liquid which has been poured to them. Serve
them always as hot as possible. This is an excellent receipt; but the
addition of a little good white sauce would render it still better.
Turnips, weighed after they are pared, 3 lbs.: dried 5 to 8 minutes.
Salt, 1 teaspoonful; butter, 1 oz. to 1-1/2 oz.; cream or milk, nearly
1/2 pint: 5 or 6 minutes.
TURNIPS IN WHITE SAUCE. (ENTREMETS.)
When no scoop for the purpose is at hand, cut some small finely-grained
turnips into quarters, and pare them into balls, or into the shape of
plums or pears of equal size; arrange them evenly in a broad stewpan or
saucepan, and cover them nearly with good veal broth, throw in a little
salt, and a morsel of sugar, and boil them rather quickly until they are
quite tender, but preserve them unbroken; lift them out, draining them
well from the broth; dish, and pour over them some thick white sauce. As
an economy, a cup of cream, and a teaspoonful of arrow-root, may be
added to the broth in which the turnips have stewed, to make the sauce;
and when it boils, a small slice of butter may be stirred and well
worked into it, should it not be sufficiently rich without.
TURNIPS STEWED IN BUTTER. (GOOD.)
This is an excellent way of dressing the vegetable when it is mild and
finely grained; but its flavour otherwise is too strong to be agreeable.
After they have been washed, wiped quite dry, and pared, slice the
turnips nearly half an inch thick, and divide them into dice,. Just
dissolve an ounce of butter for each half-pound of the turnips, put them
in as flat as they can be, and stew them very gently indeed, from three
quarters of an hour to a full hour. Add a seasoning of salt and white
pepper when they are half done. When thus prepared, they may be dished
in the centre of fried or nicely broiled mutton cutlets, or served by
themselves.
For a small dish: turnips, 1-1/2 lb.; butter, 3 oz.; seasoning of white
pepper; salt, 1/2 teaspoonful, or more: 3/4 to 1 hour. Large dish:
turnips, 2 lbs.; butter 4 oz.
TURNIPS IN GRAVY.
To a pound of turnips sliced and cut into dice, pour a quarter of a pint
of boiling veal gravy, add a small lump of sugar, some salt and cayenne,
or white pepper, and boil them quickly from fifty to sixty minutes.
Serve them very hot.
TO BOIL CARROTS.
Wash the mould from them, and scrape the skin off lightly with the edge
of a sharp knife, or, should this be objected to, pare them as thin and
as equally as possible; in either case free them from all blemishes, and
should they be very large, divide them, and cut the thick parts into
quarters; rinse them well, and throw them into plenty of boiling water
with some salt in it. The skin of very young carrots may be rubbed off
like that of new potatoes, and from twenty to thirty minutes will then
be sufficient to boil them; but at their full growth they will require
from an hour and a half to two hours. It was formerly the custom to tie
them in a cloth, and to wipe the skin from them with it after they were
dressed; and old-fashioned cooks still use one to remove it; but all
vegetables should, we think, be dished and served with the least
possible delay after they are ready for table. Melted butter should
accompany boiled carrots.
Very young carrots, 20 to 30 minutes. Full-grown ones, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
CARROTS. (ENTRÉE.)
(_The Windsor Receipt._)
Select some good carrots of equal size, and cut the upper parts into
even lengths of about two inches and a half, then trim one end of each
into a point, so as to give the carrot the form of a sugar loaf.[111]
When all are ready, throw them into plenty of ready-salted boiling
water, and boil them three quarters of an hour. Lift them out, and drain
them well, then arrange them upright, and all on a level in a broad
stewpan or saucepan, and pour in good hot beef-broth or veal gravy to
half their height; add as much salt as may be needed, and a small
teaspoonful of sugar, and boil them briskly for half an hour, or longer,
should they require it. Place them again upright in dishing them, and
keep them hot while a little good brown gravy is thickened to pour over
them, and mixed with a large teaspoonful of parsley and a little
lemon-juice; or sauce them with common _béchamel_ (see Chapter V.), or
white sauce, with or without the addition of parsley.
Footnote 111:
See plate, page 338.
Thick part of carrots cut in cones: boiled 3/4 hour. With gravy or
broth, little salt and sugar: 1/2 hour, or more. Sauce: thickened gravy,
_béchamel_ made without meat, or common white sauce.
_Obs._—The carrots dressed thus are exceedingly good without any sauce
beyond the small quantity of liquid which will remain in the stewpan
with them, or with a few spoonsful more of gravy added to this, and
thickened with butter and a little flour.
SWEET CARROTS. (ENTREMETS.)
Boil quite tender some fine highly-flavoured carrots, press the water
from them, and rub them through the back of a fine hair-sieve; put them
into a clean saucepan or stewpan, and dry them thoroughly over a gentle
fire; then add a slice of fresh butter, and when this is dissolved and
well mixed with them, strew in a dessertspoonful or more of powdered
sugar, and a little salt; next, stir in by degrees some good cream, and
when this is quite absorbed, and the carrots again appear dry, dish and
serve them quickly with small sippets _à la Reine_ (see page 5), placed
round them.
Carrots, 3 lbs., boiled quite tender: stirred over a gentle fire 5 to 10
minutes. Butter, 2 oz.; salt, 1/2 teaspoonful; pounded sugar, 1
dessertspoonful; cream, 1/2 pint, stewed gently together until quite
dry.
_Obs._—For excellent _mashed carrots_ omit the sugar, add a good
seasoning of salt and white pepper, and half a pint of rich brown gravy;
or for a plain dinner rather less than this of milk.
MASHED (OR BUTTERED) CARROTS.
(_A Dutch Receipt._)
Prepare some finely flavoured carrots as above, and dry them over a
gentle fire like mashed turnips; then for a dish of moderate size mix
well with them from two to three ounces of good butter, cut into small
bits, keeping them _well stirred_. Add a seasoning of salt and cayenne,
and serve them very hot, garnished or not at pleasure with small sippets
(_croutons_) of fried bread.
CARROTS AU BEURRE, OR BUTTERED CARROTS.
(_French._)
Either boil sufficient carrots for a dish quite tender, and then cut
them into slices a quarter of an inch thick, or first slice, and then
boil them: the latter method is the most expeditious, but the other best
preserves the flavour of the vegetable. Drain them well, and while this
is being done just dissolve from two to three ounces of butter in a
saucepan, and strew in some minced parsley, some salt, and white pepper
or cayenne; then add the carrots, and toss them very gently until they
are equally covered with the sauce, which should not be allowed to boil:
the parsley may be omitted at pleasure. Cold carrots may be re-warmed in
this way.
CARROTS IN THEIR OWN JUICE.
(_A simple but excellent Receipt._)
By the following mode of dressing carrots, whether young or old, their
full flavour and all the nutriment they contain are entirely preserved;
and they are at the same time rendered so palatable by it that they
furnish at once an admirable dish to eat without meat, as well as with
it. Wash the roots very clean, and scrape or lightly pare them, cutting
out any discoloured parts. Have ready boiling and salted, as much water
as will cover them; slice them rather thick, throw them into it, and
should there be more than sufficient to just _float_ them (and barely
that), pour it away. Boil them gently until they are tolerably tender,
and then very quickly, to evaporate the water, of which only a spoonful
or so should be left in the saucepan. Dust a seasoning of pepper on
them, throw in a morsel of butter rolled in flour, and turn and toss
them gently until their juice is thickened by them and adheres to the
roots. Send them immediately to table. They are excellent without _any_
addition but the pepper; though they may be in many ways improved. A
dessertspoonful of minced parsley may be strewed over them when the
butter is added, and a little thick cream mixed with a _small_
proportion of flour to prevent its curdling, may be strewed amongst
them, or a spoonful or two of good gravy.
TO BOIL PARSNEPS.
These are dressed in precisely the same manner as carrots, but require
much less boiling. According to their quality and the time of year, they
will take from twenty minutes to nearly an hour. Every speck or blemish
should be cut from them after they are scraped, and the water in which
they are boiled should be well skimmed. They are a favourite
accompaniment to salt fish and boiled pork, and may be served either
mashed or plain.
20 to 25 minutes.
FRIED PARSNEPS.
Boil them until they are about half done, lift them out, and let them
cool; slice them rather thickly, sprinkle them with fine salt and white
pepper, and fry them a pale brown in good butter. Serve them with roast
meat, or dish them under it.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.
Wash the artichokes, pare them quickly, and throw them as they are done
into a saucepan of cold water, or of equal parts of milk and water; and
when they are about half boiled add a little salt to them. Take them up
the instant they are perfectly tender: this will be in from fifteen to
twenty-five minutes, so much do they vary in size and as to the time
necessary to dress them. If allowed to remain in the water after they
are done, they become black and flavourless. Melted butter should always
be sent to table with them.
15 to 25 minutes.
TO FRY JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. (ENTREMETS.)
Boil them from eight to twelve minutes; lift them out, drain them on a
sieve, and let them cool; dip them into beaten eggs, and cover them with
fine bread-crumbs. Fry them a light brown, drain, pile them in a hot
dish, and serve them quickly.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES, À LA REINE.
[Illustration:
Artichokes à la Reine.
]
Wash and wipe the artichokes, cut off one end of each quite flat, and
trim the other into a point; boil them in milk and water, lift them out
the instant they are done, place them upright in the dish in which they
are to be served, and sauce them with a good _béchamel_, or with nearly
half a pint of cream thickened with a rice-crustspoonful of flour, mixed
with an ounce and a half of butter, and seasoned with a little mace and
some salt. When cream cannot be procured use new milk, and increase the
proportion of flour and butter.
MASHED JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.
Boil them tender, press the water well from them, and then proceed
exactly as for mashed turnips, taking care to dry the artichokes well,
both before and after the milk or cream is added to them; they will be
excellent if good white sauce be substituted for either of these.
HARICOTS BLANCS.
The _haricot blanc_ is the seed of a particular kind of French bean, of
which we find some difficulty in ascertaining the English name, for
though we have tried several which resembled it in appearance, we have
found their flavour, after they were dressed, very different, and far
from agreeable. The large white Dutch runner, is, we believe, the proper
variety for cooking; at least we have obtained a small quantity under
that name, which approached much more nearly than any others we had
tried to those which we had eaten abroad. The haricots, when fresh may
be thrown into plenty of boiling water, with some salt and a small bit
of butter; if dry, they must be previously soaked for an hour or two,
put into cold water, brought to boil gently, and simmered until they are
tender, for if boiled fast the skins will burst before the beans are
done. Drain them thoroughly from the water when they are ready, and lay
them into a clean saucepan over two or three ounces of fresh butter, a
small dessertspoonful of chopped parsley, and sufficient salt and pepper
to season the whole; then gently shake or toss the beans until they are
quite hot and equally covered with the sauce; add the strained juice of
half a lemon, and serve them quickly. The vegetable thus dressed, is
excellent; and it affords a convenient resource in the season when the
supply of other kinds is scantiest. In some countries the dried beans
are placed in water, over-night, upon a stove, and by a very gentle
degree of warmth are sufficiently softened by the following day to be
served as follows:—they are drained from the water, spread on a clean
cloth and wiped quite dry, then lightly floured and fried in oil or
butter, with a seasoning of pepper and salt, lifted into a hot dish, and
served under roast beef, or mutton.
TO BOIL BEET ROOT.
Wash the roots delicately clean, but neither scrape nor cut them, for
should even the small fibres be taken off before they are cooked, their
beautiful colour would be much injured. Throw them into boiling water,
and, according to their size, which varies greatly, as they are
sometimes of enormous growth, boil them from one hour and a half to two
and a half, or longer if requisite. Pare and serve them whole, or cut
into thick slices and neatly dished in a close circle: send melted
butter to table with them. Cold red beet root is often intermingled with
other vegetables for winter salads; and it makes a pickle of remarkably
brilliant hue. A common mode of serving it at the present day is in the
last course of a dinner with the cheese: it is merely pared and sliced
after having been baked or boiled tender.
1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, or longer.
TO BAKE BEET ROOT.
Beet root if slowly and carefully baked until it is tender quite
through, is very rich and sweet in flavour, although less bright in
colour than when it is boiled: it is also, we believe, remarkably
nutritious and wholesome. Wash and wipe it very dry, but neither cut nor
break any part of it; then lay it into a coarse earthen dish, and bake
it in a gentle oven for four or five hours: it will sometimes require
even a longer time than this. Pare it quickly if it be served hot; but
leave it to cool first, when it is to be sent to table cold.
In slow oven from 4 to 6 hours.
STEWED BEET ROOT.
Bake or boil it tolerably tender, and let it remain until it is cold,
then pare and cut it into slices; heat and stew it for a short time in
some good pale veal gravy (or in strong veal broth for ordinary
occasions), thicken this with a teaspoonful of arrow-root, and half a
cupful or more of good cream, and stir in, as it is taken from the fire,
from a tea to a tablespoonful of chili vinegar. The beet root may be
served likewise in thick white sauce, to which, just before it is
dished, the mild eschalots of page 128 may be added.
TO STEW RED CABBAGE.
(_Flemish Receipt._)
Strip the outer leaves from a fine and fresh red cabbage; wash it well,
and cut it into the thinnest possible slices, beginning at the top; put
it into a thick saucepan in which two or three ounces of good butter
have been just dissolved; add some pepper and salt, and stew it very
slowly indeed for three or four hours in its own juice, keeping it often
stirred, and well pressed down. When it is perfectly tender add a
tablespoonful of vinegar; mix the whole up thoroughly, heap the cabbage
in a hot dish, and serve broiled sausages round it; or omit these last,
and substitute lemon-juice, cayenne pepper, and a half-cupful of good
gravy.
The stalk of the cabbage should be split in quarters and taken entirely
out in the first instance.
3 to 4 hours.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS.
These delicate little sprouts, or miniature cabbages, which at their
fullest growth scarcely exceed a large walnut in size, should be quite
freshly gathered. Free them from all discoloured leaves, cut the stems
even, and wash the sprouts thoroughly. Throw them into a pan of water
properly salted, and boil them quickly from eight to ten minutes; drain
them _well_, and serve them upon a rather thick round of toasted bread
buttered on both sides. Send good melted butter to table with them. This
is the Belgian mode of dressing this excellent vegetable, which is
served in France with the sauce poured over it, or it is tossed in a
stewpan with a slice of butter and some pepper and salt: a spoonful or
two of veal gravy (and sometimes a little lemon-juice) is added when
these are perfectly mixed.
8 to 10 minutes.
SALSIFY.
We are surprised that a vegetable so excellent as this should be so
little cared for in England. Delicately fried in batter—which is a
common mode of serving it abroad—it forms a delicious second course
dish: it is also good when plain-boiled, drained, and served in gravy,
or even with melted butter. Wash the roots, scrape gently off the dark
outside skin, and throw them into cold water as they are done, to
prevent their turning black; cut them into lengths of three or four
inches, and when all are ready put them into plenty of boiling water
with a little salt, a small bit of butter, and a couple of spoonsful of
white vinegar or the juice of a lemon: they will be done in from three
quarters of an hour to an hour. Try them with a fork, and when perfectly
tender, drain, and serve them with white sauce, rich brown gravy, or
melted butter.
3/4 to 1 hour.
FRIED SALSIFY. (ENTREMETS.)
Boil the salsify tender, as directed above, drain, and then press it
lightly in a soft cloth. Make some French batter (see Chapter V.), throw
the bits of salsify into it, take them out separately, and fry them a
light brown, drain them well from the fat, sprinkle a little fine salt
over them after they are dished, and serve them quickly. At English
tables, salsify occasionally makes its appearance fried with egg and
bread-crumbs instead of batter. Scorgonera is dressed in precisely the
same manner as the salsify.
BOILED CELERY.
This vegetable is extremely good dressed like sea-kale, and served on a
toast with rich melted butter. Let it be freshly dug, wash it with great
nicety, trim the ends, take off the coarse outer-leaves, cut the roots
of equal length, tie them in bunches, and boil them in plenty of water,
with the usual proportion of salt, from twenty to thirty minutes.
20 to 30 minutes.
STEWED CELERY.
Cut five or six fine roots of celery to the length of the inside of the
dish in which they are to be served; free them from all the coarser
leaves, and from the green tops, trim the root ends neatly, and wash the
vegetable in several waters until it is as clean as possible; then,
either boil it tender with a little salt, and a bit of fresh butter the
size of a walnut, in just sufficient water to cover it quite, drain it
well, arrange it on a very hot dish, and pour a thick _béchamel_, or
white sauce over it; or stew it in broth or common stock, and serve it
with very rich, thickened, Espagnole or brown gravy. It has a higher
flavour when partially stewed in the sauce, after being drained
thoroughly from the broth. Unless very large and old, it will be done in
from twenty-five to thirty minutes, but if not quite tender, longer time
must be allowed for it. A cheap and expeditious method of preparing this
dish is to slice the celery, to simmer it until soft in as much good
broth as will only just cover it, and to add a thickening of flour and
butter, or arrow-root, with some salt, pepper, and a small cupful of
cream.
25 to 30 minutes, or more.
STEWED ONIONS.
Strip the outer skin from four or five fine Portugal onions, and trim
the ends, but without cutting into the vegetable; arrange them in a
saucepan of sufficient size to contain them all in one layer, just cover
them with good beef or veal gravy, and stew them very gently indeed for
a couple of hours: they should be tender quite through, but should not
be allowed to fall to pieces. When large, but not _mild_ onions are
used, they should be first boiled for half an hour in plenty of water,
then drained from it, and put into boiling gravy: strong, well-flavoured
broth of veal or beef, is sometimes substituted for this, and with the
addition of a little catsup, spice, and thickening, answers very well.
The savour of this dish is heightened by flouring lightly and frying the
onions of a pale brown before they are stewed.
Portugal onions, 4 or 5 (if fried, 15 to 20 minutes); broth or gravy, 1
to 1-1/2 pint: nearly or quite 2 hours.
_Obs._—When the quantity of gravy is considered too much, the onions may
be only half covered, and turned when the under side is tender, but
longer time must then be allowed for stewing them.
STEWED CHESTNUTS.
Strip the outer rind from forty or fifty fine sound Spanish chestnuts,
throw them into a large saucepan of hot water, and bring it to the point
of boiling; when the second skin parts from them easily, lift them out,
and throw them into plenty of cold water; peel, and wipe them dry; then
put them into a stewpan or bright saucepan, with as much
highly-flavoured cold beef or veal gravy as will nearly cover them, and
stew them very gently from three-quarters of an hour to a full hour:
they should be quite tender, but unbroken. Add salt, cayenne, and
thickening if required, and serve the chestnuts in their gravy. We have
found it an improvement to have them floured and lightly browned in a
little good butter before they are stewed, and also to add some thin
strips of fresh lemon-rind to the gravy.
Chestnuts, 40 or 50; gravy, 3/4 pint, or more: 3/4 to 1 hour.
_Obs._—A couple of bay-leaves and a slice of lean ham will give an
improved flavour to the sauce should it not be sufficiently rich: the
ham should be laid under the chestnuts, but not served with them. When
these are to be browned, or even otherwise, they may be freed readily
from the second skin by shaking them with a small bit of butter in a
frying-pan over a gentle fire.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XVIII.
=Pastry.=
[Illustration:
Timbale or Paté Chaud.
]
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
[Illustration:
Raised Pie Mould.
]
THE greatest possible cleanliness and nicety should be observed in
making pastry. The slab or board, paste-rollers, tins, cutters, moulds,
everything, in fact, used for it, and especially the hands, should be
equally free from the slightest soil or particle of dust. The more
expeditiously the finer kinds of paste are made and despatched to the
oven, and the less they are touched the better. Much of their excellence
depends upon the baking also. They should have a sufficient degree of
heat to raise them quickly, but not so fierce a one as to colour them
too much before they are done, and still less to burn them. The oven
door should remain closed after they are put in, and not removed until
the paste is _set_. Large raised pies require a steadily sustained, or,
what is technically called a soaking heat, and to ensure this the oven
should be made very hot, then cleared, and closely shut from half to a
whole hour before it is used, to concentrate the heat. It is an
advantage in this case to have a large log or two of cord-wood burned in
it, in addition to the usual fuel.
In mixing paste, the water should be added gradually, and the whole
gently drawn together with the fingers, until sufficient has been added,
when it should be lightly kneaded until it is as smooth as possible.
When carelessly made, the surface is often left covered with small dry
crumbs or lumps; or the water is poured in heedlessly in so large a
proportion that it becomes necessary to add more flour to render it
_workable_ in any way; and this ought particularly to be avoided when a
certain weight of all the ingredients has been taken.
TO GLAZE OR ICE PASTRY.[112]
Footnote 112:
For other pastry icings see chapter of “cakes.”.
The fine yellow glaze appropriate to meat pies is given with beaten yolk
of egg, which should be laid on with a paste brush, or a small bunch of
feathers: if a lighter colour be wished for, whisk the whole of the egg
together, or mix a little milk with the yolk.
The best mode of icing fruit-tarts before they are sent to the oven is,
to moisten the paste with cold water, to sift sugar thickly upon it, and
to press it lightly on with the hand; but when a _whiter_ icing is
preferred, the pastry must be drawn from the oven when nearly baked, and
brushed with white of egg, wisked to a froth; then well covered with the
sifted sugar, and sprinkled with a few drops of water before it is put
in again: this glazing answers also very well, though it takes a slight
colour, if used before the pastry is baked.
FEUILLETAGE, OR FINE FRENCH PUFF PASTE.
This, when made by a good French cook, is the perfection of rich light
paste, and will rise in the oven from one to six inches in height: but
some practice is, without doubt, necessary to accomplish this. In summer
it is a great advantage to have ice at hand, and to harden the butter
over it before it is used; the paste also between the intervals of
rolling is improved by being laid on an oven-leaf over a vessel
containing it. Take an equal weight of good butter free from the coarse
salt which is found in some, and which is disadvantageous for this
paste, and of fine dry, sifted flour; to each pound of these allow the
yolks of a couple of eggs, and a small teaspoonful of salt. Break a few
small bits of the butter very lightly into the flour, put the salt into
the centre, and pour on it sufficient water to dissolve it (we do not
understand why the doing this should be better than mixing it with the
flour, as in other pastes, but such is the method always pursued for
it); add a little more water to the eggs, moisten the flour gradually,
and make it into a _very_ smooth paste, rather lithe in summer, and
never _exceedingly_ stiff, though the opposite fault, in the extreme,
would render the crust unmanageable. Press, in a soft thin cloth, all
the moisture from the remainder of the butter and form it into a ball,
but in doing this be careful not to soften it too much. Should it be in
an unfit state for pastry from the heat of the weather, put it into a
basin, and set the basin into a pan of water mixed with plenty of salt
and saltpetre, and let it remain in a cool place for an hour if possible
before it is used. When it is ready (and the paste should never be
commenced until it is so), roll the crust out square,[113] and of
sufficient size to enclose the butter, flatten this a little upon it in
the centre, and then fold the crust well over it, and roll it out thin
as lightly as possible, after having dredged the board and paste roller
with a little flour: this is called giving it _one turn_. Then fold it
in three, give it another turn, and set it aside where it will be very
cool, for a few minutes; give it two more turns in the same way, rolling
it each time very lightly but of equal thickness, and to the full length
that it will reach, taking always especial care that the butter shall
not break through the paste. Let it again be set aside to become cold;
and after it has been twice more rolled and folded in three, give it a
half turn, by folding it once only, and it will be ready for use.
Footnote 113:
The learner will perhaps find it easier to fold the paste securely
round it in the form of a dumpling, until a little experience has been
acquired.
Equal weight of the finest flour and good butter; to each pound of
these, the yolks of two eggs, and a small saltspoonful of salt: 6-1/2
turns to be given to the paste.
VERY GOOD LIGHT PASTE.
Mix with a pound of sifted flour six ounces of fresh, pure lard, and
make them into a smooth paste with cold water; press the buttermilk from
ten ounces of butter, and form it into a ball, by twisting it in a clean
cloth. Roll out the paste, put the ball of butter in the middle, close
it like an apple-dumpling, and roll it very lightly until it is less
than an inch thick; fold the ends into the middle, dust a little flour
over the board and paste-roller, and roll the paste thin a second time,
then set it aside for three or four minutes in a very cool place; give
it two more _turns_, after it has again been left for a few minutes,
roll it out twice more, folding it each time in three. This ought to
render it fit for use. The sooner this paste is sent to the oven after
it is made, the lighter it will be: if allowed to remain long before it
is baked, it will be tough and heavy.
Flour, 1 lb.; lard, 6 oz.; butter, 10 oz.; little salt.
ENGLISH PUFF-PASTE.
Break lightly into a couple of pounds of dried and sifted flour eight
ounces of butter; add a pinch of salt, and sufficient cold water to make
the paste; work it as quickly and as lightly as possible, until it is
smooth and pliable, then level it with the paste-roller until it is
three-quarters of an inch thick, and place regularly upon it six ounces
of butter in small bits; fold the paste like a blanket pudding, roll it
out again, lay on it six ounces more of butter, repeat the rolling,
dusting each time a little flour over the board and paste, add again six
ounces of butter, and roll the paste out thin three or four times,
folding the ends into the middle.
Flour, 2 lbs.; little salt; butter, 1 lb. 10 oz.
If very rich paste be required, equal portions of flour and butter must
be used; and the latter may be divided into two, instead of three parts,
when it is to be rolled in.
CREAM CRUST.
(_Authors Receipt. Very good._)
Stir a little fine salt into a pound of dry flour, and mix gradually
with it sufficient very thick, sweet cream to form a smooth paste; it
will be found sufficiently good for common family dinners, without the
addition of butter; but to make an excellent crust, roll in four ounces
in the usual way, after having given the paste a couple of _turns_.
Handle it as lightly as possible in making it, and send it to the oven
as soon as it is ready: it may be used for fruit tarts, cannelons,
puffs, and other varieties of small pastry, or for good meat pies. Six
ounces of butter to the pound of flour will give a _very rich_ crust.
Flour, 1 lb.; salt, 1 small saltspoonful (more for meat pies); rich
cream, 1/2 to 3/4 pint; butter, 4 oz.; for richest crust, 6 oz.
PATE BRISÉE, OR FRENCH CRUST FOR HOT OR COLD MEAT PIES.
Sift two pounds and a quarter of fine dry flour, and break into it one
pound of butter, work them together with the fingers until they resemble
fine crumbs of bread, then add a small teaspoonful of salt, and make
them into a firm paste, with the yolks of four eggs, well beaten, mixed
with half a pint of cold water, and strained; or for a somewhat richer
crust of the same kind, take two pounds of flour, one of butter, the
yolks of four eggs, half an ounce of salt, and less than the half pint
of water, and work the whole well until the paste is perfectly smooth.
Flour, 2-1/4 lbs.; butter, 1 lb.; salt, 1 small teaspoonful; yolks of
eggs, 4; water, 1/2 pint. Or: flour, 2 lbs.; butter, 1 lb.; yolks of
eggs, 4; water, less than 1/2 pint.
FLEAD CRUST.
_Flead_ is the provincial name for the leaf, or inside fat of a pig,
which makes excellent crust when fresh, much finer, indeed, than after
it is melted into lard. Clear it quite from skin, and slice it very thin
into the flour, add sufficient salt to give flavour to the paste, and
make the whole up smooth and firm with cold water; lay it on a clean
dresser, and beat it forcibly with a rolling-pin until the flead is
blended perfectly with the flour. It may then be made into cakes with a
paste-cutter, or used for pies, round the edges of which a knife should
be passed, as the crust rises better when _cut_ than if merely rolled to
the proper size. With the addition of a small quantity of butter, which
may either be broken into the flour before the flead is mixed with it,
or rolled into the paste after it is beaten, it will be found equal to
fine puff crust, with the advantage of being more easy of digestion.
Quite common crust: flour, 1-1/4 lb.; flead, 8 oz.; salt, 1 small
teaspoonful. Good common crust: flour, 1 lb.; flead, 6 oz.; butter, 2
oz. Rich crust: flead, 3/4 lb.; butter, 2 oz.; flour, 1 lb. The crust is
very good when made without any butter.
COMMON SUET-CRUST FOR PIES.
In many families this is preferred both for pies and tarts, to crust
made with butter, as being much more wholesome; but it should never be
served unless especially ordered, as it is to some persons peculiarly
distasteful. Chop the suet extremely small, and add from six to eight
ounces of it to a pound of flour, with a few grains of salt; mix these
with cold water into a firm paste, and work it very smooth. Some cooks
beat it with a paste-roller, until the suet is perfectly blended with
flour; but the crust is lighter without this. In exceedingly sultry
weather the suet, not being firm enough to chop, may be sliced as thin
as possible, and well beaten into the paste after it is worked up.
Flour, 2 lbs.; beef or veal kidney-suet, 12 to 16 oz.; salt (for
fruit-pies), 1/4 teaspoonful, for meat-pies, 1 teaspoonful.
VERY SUPERIOR SUET-CRUST.
Strip the skin entirely from some fresh veal or beef kidney-suet; chop,
and then put it into the mortar, with a small quantity of pure-flavoured
lard, oil, or butter, and pound it perfectly smooth: it may then be used
for crust in the same way that butter is, in making puff-paste, and in
this form will be found a most excellent substitute for it, for _hot_
pies or tarts. It is not quite so good for those which are to be served
cold. Eight ounces of suet pounded with two of butter, and worked with
the fingers into a pound of flour, will make an exceedingly good short
crust; but for a very rich one the proportion must be increased.
Good short crust: flour, 1 lb.; suet, 8 oz.; butter, 2 oz.; salt, 1/2
teaspoonful. Richer crust: suet, 16 oz.; butter, 4 oz.; flour, 1-1/2
lb.; salt, 1 small teaspoonful.
VERY RICH SHORT CRUST FOR TARTS.
Break lightly, with the least possible handling, six ounces of butter
into eight of flour; add a dessertspoonful of pounded sugar, and two or
three of water; roll the paste, for several minutes, to blend the
ingredients well, folding it together like puff-crust, and touch it as
little as possible.
Flour, 8 oz.; butter, 6 oz.; pounded sugar, 1 dessertspoonful; water, 1
to 2 spoonsful.
EXCELLENT SHORT CRUST FOR SWEET PASTRY.
Crumble down very lightly half a pound of butter into a pound of flour,
breaking it quite small. Mix well with these a slight pinch of salt and
two ounces of sifted sugar, and add sufficient milk to make them up into
a very smooth and somewhat firm paste. Bake this slowly, and keep it
pale. It will be found an admirable crust if well made and lightly
handled, and will answer for many dishes much better than puff-paste. It
will rise in the oven too, and be extremely light. Ten ounces of butter
will render it very rich, but we find eight quite sufficient.
BRIOCHE PASTE.
The _brioche_ is a rich, light kind of unsweetened bun or cake, very
commonly sold, and served to all classes of people in France, where it
is made in great perfection by good cooks and pastry cooks. It is
fashionable now at English tables, though in a different form, serving
principally as a crust to enclose _rissoles_, or to make _cannelons_ and
fritters. We have seen it recommended for a _vol-au-vent_, for which we
should say it does not answer by any means so well as the fine
puff-paste called _feuilletage_. The large proportion of butter and eggs
which it contains render it to many persons highly indigestible; and we
mention this to warn invalids against it, as we have known it to cause
great suffering to persons out of health. To make it, take a couple of
pounds[114] of fine dry flour, sifted as for cakes, and separate eight
ounces of this from the remainder to make the leaven. Put it into a
small pan, and mix it lightly into a lithe paste, with half an ounce of
yeast, and a spoonful or two of warm water; make two or three slight
incisions across the top, throw a cloth over the pan, and place it near
the fire for about twenty minutes to rise. In the interval make a hollow
space in the centre of the remainder of the flour, and put into it half
an ounce of salt, as much fine sifted sugar, and half a gill of cream,
or a dessertspoonful of water; add a pound of butter as free from
moisture as it can be, and quite so from large grains of salt; cut it
into small bits, put it into the flour, and pour on it one by one six
fresh eggs freed from the specks; then with the fingers work the flour
gently into this mass until the whole forms a perfectly smooth, and not
stiff paste: a seventh egg, or the yolk of one, or even of two, may be
added with advantage if the flour will absorb them; but the brioche must
always be _workable_, and not so moist as to adhere to the board and
roller disagreeably. When the leaven is well risen spread this paste
out, and the leaven over it; mix them well together with the hands, then
cut the whole into several portions, and change them about that the
leaven may be incorporated perfectly and equally with the other
ingredients: when this is done, and the brioche is perfectly smooth and
pliable, dust some flour on a cloth, roll the brioche in it, and lay it
into a pan. Place it in summer in a cool place, in winter in a warm one.
It is usually made over-night, and baked in the early part of the
following day. It should then be kneaded up afresh the first thing in
the morning. To mould it in the usual form, make it into balls of
uniform size, hollow these a little at the top by pressing the thumb
round them, brush them over with yolk of egg, and put a second much
smaller ball into the hollow part of each; glaze them entirely with yolk
of egg, and send them to a quick oven for half an hour or more. The
paste may also be made into the form of a large cake, then placed on a
tin, or copper oven-leaf, and supported with a pasteboard in the baking;
for the form of which see introductory page of Chapter XXVII.
Footnote 114:
It should be remarked, that the directions for brioche-making are
principally derived from the French, and that the pound in their
country weighs two ounces more than with us: this difference will
account for the difficulty of working in the number of eggs which they
generally specify, and which render the paste too moist.
Flour, 2 lbs.; yeast, 1/2 oz.; salt and sugar, each 1/2 oz.; butter, 1
lb.; eggs, 6 to 8.
MODERN POTATO PASTY.
(_An excellent family dish._)
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
A tin mould of the construction shown in the plate, with a perforated
moveable top, and a small valve to allow the escape of the steam, must
be had for this pasty, which is a good family dish, and which may be
varied in numberless ways. Arrange at the bottom of the mould from two
to three pounds of mutton cutlets, freed, according to the taste, from
all, or from the greater portion of the fat, then washed, lightly
dredged on both sides with flour, and seasoned with salt and pepper, or
cayenne. Pour to them sufficient broth or water to make the gravy, and
add to it at pleasure, a tablespoonful of mushroom catsup or of Harvey’s
sauce. Have ready boiled, and _very_ smoothly mashed, with about an
ounce of butter, and a spoonful or two of milk or cream to each pound,
as many good potatoes as will form a crust to the pasty of quite three
inches thick; put the cover on the mould and arrange these equally upon
it, leaving them a little rough on the surface. Bake the pasty in a
moderate oven from three-quarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter,
according to its size and its contents. Pin a folded napkin neatly round
the mould, before it is served, and have ready a hot dish to receive the
cover, which must not be lifted off until after the pasty is on the
table.
Chicken, or veal and oysters; delicate pork chops with a seasoning of
sage and a little parboiled onion, or an eschalot or two finely minced;
partridges or rabbits neatly carved, mixed with small mushrooms, and
moistened with a little good stock, will all give excellent varieties of
this dish, which may be made likewise with highly seasoned slices of
salmon freed from the skin, sprinkled with fine herbs or intermixed with
shrimps; clarified butter, rich veal stock, or good white wine, may be
poured to them to form the gravy. To thicken this, a little flour should
be dredged upon the fish before it is laid into the mould. Other kinds,
such as cod, mullet, mackerel in fillets, salt fish (previously kept at
the point of boiling until three parts done, then pulled into flakes,
and put into the mould with hard eggs sliced, a little cream, flour,
butter, cayenne, and anchovy-essence, and baked with mashed parsneps on
the top), will all answer well for this pasty. Veal, when used for it,
should be well beaten first: sweetbreads, sliced, may be laid in with
it. For a pasty of moderate size, two pounds, or two and a half of meat,
and from three to four of potatoes, will be sufficient; a quarter of a
pint of milk or cream, two small teaspoonsful of salt, and from one to
two ounces of butter must be mixed up with these last.[115]
Footnote 115:
A larger proportion of cream and butter well dried into the potatoes
over a gentle fire after they are mashed, will render the crust of the
pasty richer and finer.
CASSEROLE OF RICE.
Proceed exactly as for Gabrielle’s pudding (see Chapter XXI.), but
substitute good veal broth or stock for the milk, and add a couple of
ounces more of butter. Fill the casserole when it is emptied, with a
rich mince or fricassee, or with stewed oysters in a _béchamel_ sauce.
French cooks make a very troublesome and elaborate affair of this dish,
putting to the rice to make it “_mellow_,” a great deal of pot-top fat,
slices of fat ham, &c., which must afterwards be well drained off, or
picked out from it; but the dish, made as we have directed, will be
found excellent eating, and of very elegant appearance, if it be moulded
in a tasteful shape. It must have a _quick_ oven to colour, without too
much drying it. The rice for it must be boiled sufficiently tender to be
crushed easily to a smooth paste, and it must be mashed with a strong
wooden spoon against the sides of the stewpan until all the grains are
broken. It may then, when cool, be made like a raised pie with the
hands, and decorated with a design formed on it with a carrot cut into a
point like a graver. For a large casserole, a pound of rice and a quart
of gravy will be required: a bit of bread is sometimes used in filling
the mould, cut to the shape, and occupying nearly half the inside, but
always so as to leave a thick and compact crust in every part. Part of
the rice which is scooped from the inside is sometimes mixed with the
mince, or other preparation, with which the casserole is filled.
A GOOD COMMON ENGLISH GAME PIE.
Raise the flesh entire from the upper side of the best end of a
well-kept neck of venison, trim it to the length of the dish in which
the pie is to be served, and rub it with a mixture of salt, cayenne,
pounded mace, and nutmeg. Cut down into joints a fine young hare which
has hung from eight to fourteen days, bone the back and thighs, and fill
them with forcemeat No. 1 (Chapter VIII., page 157), but put into it a
double portion of butter, and a small quantity of minced eschalots,
should their flavour be liked, and the raw liver of the hare, chopped
small. Line the dish with a rich short crust (see page 337), lay the
venison in the centre, and the hare closely round and on it; fill the
vacant spaces with more forcemeat, add a few spoonsful of well-jellied
gravy, fasten on the cover securely, ornament it or not, at pleasure,
and bake the pie for two hours in a well heated oven. The remnants and
bones of the hare and venison may be stewed down into a small quantity
of excellent soup, or with a less proportion of water into an admirable
gravy, part of which, after having been cleared from fat, may be poured
into the pie. The jelly, added to its contents at first, can be made,
when no such stock is at hand, of a couple of pounds of shin of beef,
boiled down in a quart of water, which must be reduced quite half, and
seasoned only with a good slice of lean ham, a few peppercorns, seven or
eight cloves, a blade of mace, and a little salt. One pound and a half
of flour will be sufficient for the crust; this, when it is so
preferred, may be laid round the sides only of the dish, instead of
entirely over it. The prime joints of a second hare may be substituted
for the venison when it can be more easily procured; but the pie made
entirely of venison, without the forcemeat, will be far better.
Baked 2 hours.
_Obs._—These same ingredients will make an excellent raised pie, if the
venison be divided and intermixed with the hare: the whole should be
highly seasoned, and all the cavities filled with the forcemeat No. 18
(Chapter VIII.),[116] or with the truffled sausage-meat of page 263. The
top, before the paste is laid over, should be covered with slices of fat
bacon, or with plenty of butter, to prevent the surface of the meat from
becoming hard. No liquid is to be put into the pie until after it is
baked, if at all. It will require from half to a full hour more of the
oven than if baked in a dish.
Footnote 116:
The second or third forcemeat mentioned under this No. (18), would be
the most appropriate for a game pie.
MODERN CHICKEN PIE.
Skin, and cut down into joints a couple of fowls, take out all the bones
and season the flesh highly with salt, cayenne, pounded mace, and
nutmeg; line a dish with a thin paste, and spread over it a layer of the
finest sausage-meat, which has previously been moistened with a spoonful
or two of cold water; over this place closely together some of the boned
chicken joints, then more sausage-meat, and continue thus with alternate
layers of each, until the dish is full; roll out, and fasten securely at
the edges, a cover half an inch thick, trim off the superfluous paste,
make an incision in the top, lay some paste leaves round it, glaze the
whole with yolk of egg, and bake the pie from an hour and a half to two
hours in a well heated oven. Lay a sheet or two of writing-paper over
the crust, should it brown too quickly. Minced herbs can be mixed with
the sausage-meat at pleasure, and a small quantity of eschalot also,
when its flavour is much liked: it should be well moistened with water,
or the whole will be unpalatably dry. The pie may be served hot or cold,
but we would rather recommend the latter.
A couple of very young tender rabbits will answer exceedingly well for
it instead of fowls, and a border, or half paste in the dish will
generally be preferred to an entire lining of the crust, which is now
but rarely served, unless for pastry, which is to be taken out of the
dish or mould in which it is baked before it is sent to table.
A COMMON CHICKEN PIE.
Prepare the fowls as for boiling, cut them down into joints, and season
them with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg or pounded mace; arrange them
neatly in a dish bordered with paste, lay amongst them three or four
fresh eggs boiled hard, and cut in halves, pour in some cold water, put
on a thick cover, pare the edge, and ornament it, make a hole in the
centre, lay a roll of paste, or a few leaves round it, and bake the pie
in a moderate oven from an hour to an hour and a half. The back and neck
bones may be boiled down with a bit or two of lean ham, to make a little
additional gravy, which can be poured into the pie after it is baked.
PIGEON PIE.
Lay a border of fine puff paste round a large dish, and cover the bottom
with a veal cutlet or tender rump steak, free from fat and bone, and
seasoned with salt, cayenne, and nutmeg or pounded mace; prepare with
great nicety as many freshly-killed young pigeons as the dish will
contain in one layer; put into each a slice or ball of butter, seasoned
with a little cayenne and mace, lay them into the dish with the breasts
downwards, and between and over them put the yolks of half a dozen or
more of hard-boiled eggs; stick plenty of butter on them, season the
whole well with salt and spice, pour in some cold water or veal broth
for the gravy, roll out the cover three-quarters of an inch thick,
secure it well round the edge, ornament it highly, and bake the pie for
an hour or more in a well-heated oven. It is a great improvement to fill
the birds with small mushroom-buttons, prepared as for partridges (see
Chapter XV.): their livers also may be put into them.
BEEF-STEAK PIE.
From a couple to three pounds of rump-steak will be sufficient for a
good family pie. It should be well kept though perfectly sweet, for in
no form can tainted meat be more offensive than when it is enclosed in
paste. Trim off the coarse skin, and part of the fat should there be
much of it (many eaters dislike it altogether in pies, and when this is
the case every morsel should be carefully cut away). If the beef should
not appear very tender, it may be gently beaten with a paste-roller
until the fibre is broken, then divided into slices half as large as the
hand, and laid into a dish bordered with paste. It should be seasoned
with salt and pepper, or cayenne, and sufficient water poured in to make
the gravy, and keep the meat moist. Lay on the cover, and be careful
always to brush the edge in every part with egg or cold water, then join
it securely to the paste which is round the rim, trim both off close to
the dish, pass the point of the knife through the middle of the cover,
lay some slight roll or ornament of paste round it, and decorate the
border of the pie in any of the usual modes, which are too common to
require description. Send the pie to a well-heated, but not fierce oven
for about an hour and twenty minutes. To make a richer beef-steak pie
put bearded oysters in alternate layers with the meat, add their
strained liquor to a little good gravy in which the beards may be
simmered for a few minutes to give it further flavour, and make a light
puff paste for the crust. Some caters like it seasoned with a small
portion of minced onion or eschalot when the oysters are omitted.
Mushrooms improve all meat-pies. Veal pies may be made by this receipt,
or by the second of those which follow. Slices of lean ham, or parboiled
ox-tongue, may be added to them.
1 to 1-1/2 hour.
COMMON MUTTON PIE.
A pound and a quarter of flour will make sufficient paste for a
moderate-sized pie, and two pounds of mutton freed from the greater
portion of the fat will fill it. Butter a dish and line it with about
half the paste rolled thin; lay in the mutton evenly, and sprinkle over
it three-quarters of an ounce of salt, and from half to a whole
teaspoonful of pepper according to the taste; pour in cold water to
within an inch of the brim. Roll the cover, which should be quite half
an inch thick, to the size of the dish; wet the edges of the paste with
cold water or white of egg, be careful to close them securely, cut them
off close to the rim of the dish, stick the point of the knife through
the centre, and bake the pie an hour and a quarter in a well-heated
oven.
Flour, 1-1/4 lb.; minced suet rather less than 1/2 lb.; or, butter, 4
oz., and very pure lard, 2 or 3 oz.; mutton, 2 lbs.; salt, 3/4 oz.;
pepper, half to a whole teaspoonful; water, 1/4 pint: 1-1/4 hour.
A GOOD MUTTON PIE.
Lay a half-paste of short or of puff crust round a buttered dish, take
the whole or part of a loin of mutton, strip off the fat entirely, and
raise the flesh clear from the bones without dividing it, then slice it
into cutlets of equal thickness, season them well with salt and pepper,
or cayenne, and strew between the layers some finely-minced herbs mixed
with two or three eschalots, when the flavour of these last is liked; or
omit them, and roll quite thin some good forcemeat (which can be
flavoured with a little minced eschalot at pleasure), and lay it between
the cutlets: two or three mutton kidneys intermingled with the meat will
greatly enrich the gravy; pour in a little cold water, roll the cover
half an inch thick, or more should the crust be short, as it will not
rise like puff paste, close the pie very securely, trim the edges even
with the dish, ornament the pie according to the taste, make a hole in
the centre, and bake it from an hour and a half to a couple of hours.
The proportions of paste and meat may be ascertained by consulting the
last receipt. Gravy made with part of the bones, quite cleared from fat,
and left to become cold, may be used to fill the pie instead of water.
RAISED PIES.
[Illustration:
Raised Pie.
]
These may be made of any size, and with any kind of meat, poultry, or
game, but the whole must be entirely free from bone. When the crust is
not to be eaten, it is made simply with a few ounces of lard or butter
dissolved in boiling water, with which the flour is to be mixed (with a
spoon at first, as the heat would be too great for the hands, but
afterwards with the fingers) to a smooth and firm paste. The French, who
excel greatly in this form of pie,[117] use for it a good crust which
they call a _pâté brisée_ (see page 347), and this is eaten usually with
the meat which it contains. In either case the paste must be
sufficiently stiff to retain its form perfectly after it is raised, as
it will have no support to prevent its falling. The celebrated Monsieur
Ude gives the following directions for moulding it to a proper shape
without difficulty; and as inexperienced cooks generally find a little
at first in giving a good appearance to these pies, we copy his
instructions for them: “Take a lump of paste proportionate to the size
of the pie you are to make, mould it in the shape of a sugar loaf, put
it upright on the table, then with the palms of your hands flatten the
sides of it; when you have equalized it all round and it is quite
smooth, squeeze the middle of the point down to half the height of the
paste,” then hollow the inside by pressing it with the fingers, and in
doing this be careful to keep it in every part of equal thickness. Fill
it,[118] roll out the cover, egg the edges, press them securely
together, make a hole in the centre, lay a roll of paste round it, and
encircle this with a wreath of leaves, or ornament the pie in any other
way, according to the taste; glaze it with beaten yolk of egg, and bake
it from two to three hours in a well-heated oven if it be small, and
from four to five hours if it be large; though the time must be
regulated in some measure by the nature of the contents, as well as by
the size of the dish.
Footnote 117:
We remember having partaken of one which was brought from Bordeaux,
and which contained a small boned ham of delicious flavour, surmounted
by boned partridges, above which were placed fine larks likewise
boned; all the interstices were filled with super-excellent forcemeat,
and the whole, being a solid mass of nourishing viands, would have
formed an admirable traveller’s larder in itself.
Footnote 118:
For the mode of doing this, see observations, page 253, and Chapter
XXXIV. A ham must be boiled or stewed tender, and freed from the skin
and blackened parts before it is laid in; poultry and game boned; and
all meat highly seasoned.
_Obs._—We know not if we have succeeded in making the reader comprehend
that this sort of pie (with the exception of the cover, for which a
portion must at first be taken off) is made from one solid lump of
paste, which, after having been shaped into a cone, as Monsieur Ude
directs, or into a high round, or oval form, is hollowed by pressing
down the centre with the knuckles, and continuing to knead the inside
equally round with the one hand, while the other is pressed close to the
outside. It is desirable that the mode of doing this should be once
_seen_ by the learner, if possible, as mere verbal instructions are
scarcely sufficient to enable the quite-inexperienced cook to comprehend
at once the exact form and appearance which should be given to the
paste, and some degree of expertness? is always necessary to mould a pie
of this kind _well_ with the fingers only. The first attempts should be
made with very small pies, which are less difficult to manage.
A VOL-AU-VENT. (ENTRÉE.)
[Illustration]
This dish can be successfully made only with the finest and lightest
puff-paste (see _feuilletage_, page 345), as its height, which ought to
be from four to five inches, depends entirely on its rising in the oven.
Roll it to something more than an inch in thickness, and cut it to the
shape and size of the inside of the dish in which it is to be served, or
stamp it out with a fluted tin of proper dimensions; then mark the cover
evenly about an inch from the edge all round, and ornament it and the
border also, with a knife, as fancy may direct; brush yolk of egg
quickly over them, and put the _vol-au-vent_ immediately into a brisk
oven, that it may rise well, and be finely coloured, but do not allow it
to be scorched. In from twenty to thirty minutes, should it appear baked
through, as well as sufficiently browned, draw it out, and with the
point of a knife detach the cover carefully where it has been marked,
and scoop out all the soft unbaked crumb from the inside of the
_vol-au-vent_; then turn it gently on to a sheet of clean paper, to
drain the butter from it. At the instant of serving, fill it with a rich
fricassee of lobster, or of sweetbreads, or with _turbot à la crême_, or
with the white part of cold roast veal cut in thin collops not larger
than a shilling, and heated in good white sauce with oysters (see minced
veal and oysters, page 251), or with any other of the preparations which
we shall indicate in their proper places, and send it immediately to
table. The _vol-au-vent_, as the reader will perceive, is but the case,
or crust, in which various kinds of delicate ragouts are served in an
elegant form. As these are most frequently composed of fish, or of meats
which have been already dressed, it is an economical as well as an
excellent mode of employing such remains. The sauces in which they are
heated must be quite thick, for they would otherwise soften, or even run
through the crust. This, we ought to observe, should be examined before
it is filled, and should any part appear too thin, a portion of the
crumb which has been taken out, should be fastened to it with some
beaten egg, and the whole of the inside brushed lightly with more egg,
in order to make the loose parts of the _vol-au-vent_ stick well
together. This method is recommended by an admirable and highly
experienced cook, but it need only be resorted to when the crust is not
solid enough to hold the contents securely.
For moderate-sized _vol-au-vent_, flour, 1/2 lb.; butter, 1/2 lb.; salt,
small saltspoonful; yolk, 1 egg; little water. Larger _vol-au-vent_, 3/4
lb. flour; other ingredients in proportion: baked 20 to 30 minutes.
_Obs._—When the _vol-au-vent_ is cut out with the fluted cutter, a
second, some sizes smaller, after being just dipped into hot water,
should be pressed nearly half through the paste, to mark the cover. The
border ought to be from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a half
wide.
A VOL-AU-VENT OF FRUIT. (ENTREMETS.)
After the crust has been made and baked as above, fill it at the moment
of serving with peaches, apricots, mogul, or any other richly flavoured
plums, which have been stewed tender in syrup; lift them from this, and
keep them hot while it is boiled rapidly almost to jelly; then arrange
the fruit in the _vol-au-vent_, and pour the syrup over it. For the
manner of preparing it, see compotes of fruit, Chapter XXIV.; but
increase the proportion of sugar nearly half, that the juice may be
reduced quickly to the proper consistency for the _vol-au-vent_. Skin
and divide the apricots, and quarter the peaches, unless they should be
very small.
VOL-AU-VENT À LA CRÊME. (ENTREMETS.)
After having raised the cover and emptied the _vol-au-vent_, lay it on a
sheet of paper, and let it become cold. Fill it just before it is sent
to table with fruit, either boiled down to a rich marmalade, or stewed
as for the preceding _vol-au-vent_, and heap well flavoured, but not too
highly sweetened, whipped cream over it. The edge of the crust may be
glazed by sifting sugar over it, when it is drawn from the oven, and
holding a salamander or red hot shovel above it; or it may be left
unglazed, and ornamented with bright coloured fruit jelly.
OYSTER PATTIES.[119] (ENTRÉE).
Footnote 119:
These patties should be made small, with a thin crust, and _well
filled_ with the oysters and their sauce. The substitution of fried
crumbs for the covers will vary them very agreeably. For lobster
patties, prepare the fish as for a _vol-au-vent_ but cut it smaller.
Line some small pattypans with fine puff-paste, rolled thin and to
preserve their form when baked, put a bit of bread into each; lay on the
covers, pinch and trim the edges, and send the patties to a brisk oven.
Plump and beard from two to three dozens of small oysters; mix very
smoothly a teaspoonful of flour with an ounce of butter, put them into a
clean saucepan, shake them round over a gentle fire, and let them simmer
for two or three minutes; throw in a little salt, pounded mace, and
cayenne, then add, by slow degrees, two or three spoonsful of rich
cream, give these a boil, and pour in the strained liquor of the
oysters; next, lay in the fish, and keep at the point of boiling for a
couple of minutes. Raise the covers from the patties, take out the
bread, fill them with the oysters and their sauce, and replace the
covers. We have found it an improvement to stew the beards of the fish
with a strip or two of lemon-peel, in a little good veal stock for a
quarter of an hour, then to strain and add it to the sauce. The oysters,
unless very small, should be once or twice divided.
COMMON LOBSTER PATTIES.
Prepare the fish for these as directed for fricasseed lobster, Chapter
II., increasing a little the proportion of sauce. Fill the patty-cases
with the mixture quite hot, and serve immediately.
SUPERLATIVE LOBSTER-PATTIES.
(_Author’s Receipt._)
[Illustration]
Form into balls about half the size of a filbert either the
cutlet-mixture or the pounded lobster of Chapter III., roll them in the
sifted coral, warm them through very gently, have ready some hot
patty-cases (see page 361), pour into each a small spoonful of rich
white sauce, or _Sauce à l’Aurore_ (see page 118), lay the balls round
the edge, pile a larger one in the centre, and serve the whole very
quickly. The Dresden patties of page 387 may be thus filled.
GOOD CHICKEN PATTIES. (ENTRÉE.)
Raise the white flesh entirely from a young undressed fowl, divide it
once or twice, and lay it into a small clean saucepan, in which about an
ounce of butter has been dissolved, and just begins to simmer; strew in
a slight seasoning of salt, mace, and cayenne, and stew the chicken very
softly indeed for about ten minutes, taking every precaution against its
browning: turn it into a dish with the butter, and its own gravy, and
let it become cold. Mince it with a sharp knife; heat it, without
allowing it to boil, in a little good white sauce (which may be made of
some of the bones of the fowl), and fill ready-baked patty-crusts, or
small _vol-au-vents_ with it, just before they are sent to table; or
stew the flesh only just sufficiently to render it firm, mix it after it
is minced and seasoned with a spoonful or two of strong gravy, fill the
patties, and bake them from fifteen to eighteen minutes. It is a great
improvement to stew and mince a few mushrooms with the chicken.
The breasts of cold turkeys, fowls, partridges, or pheasants, or the
white part of cold veal, minced, heated in a _béchamel_ sauce, will
serve at once for patties: they may also be made of cold game, heated in
an _Espagnole_, or in a good brown gravy.
PATTIES À LA PONTIFE. (ENTRÉE.)
(_A fast day, or Maigre dish._)
Mince, but not very small, the yolks of six fresh hard-boiled eggs;
mince also and mix with them a couple of fine truffles,[120] a large
saltspoonful of salt, half the quantity of mace and nutmeg, and a fourth
as much of cayenne. Moisten these ingredients with a spoonful of thick
cream, or _béchamel maigre_ (see page 109), or with a dessertspoonful of
clarified butter; line the patty-moulds, fill them with the mixture,
cover, and bake them from twelve to fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.
They are excellent made with the cream-crust of page 347.
Footnote 120:
The bottled ones will answer _well_ for these.
Yolks hard-boiled eggs, 6; truffles, 2 large; seasoning of salt, mace,
nutmeg, and cayenne; cream, or _béchamel maigre_, 1 tablespoonful, or
clarified butter, 1 dessertspoonful: baked moderate oven, 12 to 15
minutes.
_Obs._—A spoonful or two of jellied stock or gravy, or of good white
sauce, converts these into admirable patties: the same ingredients make
also very superior rolls or cannelons. For Patties à la Cardinale, small
mushroom-buttons stewed as for partridges, Chapter XIII., before they
are minced, must be substituted for truffles; and the butter in which
they are simmered should be added with them to the eggs.
EXCELLENT MEAT ROLLS.
Pound, as for potting (see page 305), and with the same proportion of
butter and of seasonings, some half-roasted veal, chicken, or turkey.
Make some forcemeat by the receipt No. 1, Chapter VI., and form it into
small rolls, not larger than a finger; wrap twice or thrice as much of
the pounded meat equally round each of these, first moistening it with a
teaspoonful of water; fold them in good puff-paste, and bake them from
fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the crust is perfectly done. A small
quantity of the lean of a boiled ham may be finely minced and pounded
with the veal, and very small mushrooms, prepared as for a partridge
(page 329), may be substituted for the forcemeat.
SMALL VOLS-AU-VENTS, OR PATTY-CASES.
[Illustration]
These are quickly and easily made with two round paste-cutters, of which
one should be little more than half the size of the other: to give the
pastry a better appearance, they should be fluted. Roll out some of the
lightest puff-paste to a half-inch of thickness, and with the larger of
the tins cut the number of patties required; then dip the edge of the
small shape into hot water, and press it about half through them. Bake
them in a moderately quick oven from ten to twelve minutes, and when
they are done, with the point of a sharp knife, take out the small
rounds of crust from the tops, and scoop all the crumb from the inside
of the patties, which may then be filled with shrimps, oysters, lobster,
chicken, pheasant, or any other of the ordinary varieties of patty meat,
prepared with white sauce. Fried crumbs may be laid over them instead of
the covers, or these last can be replaced.
For sweet dishes, glaze the pastry, and fill it with rich whipped cream,
preserve, or boiled custard; if with the last of these put it back into
a very gentle oven until the custards are set.
ANOTHER RECEIPT FOR TARTLETS.
For a dozen tartlets, cut twenty-four rounds of paste of the usual size,
and form twelve of them into rings by pressing the small cutter quite
through them; moisten these with cold water, or white of egg, and lay
them on the remainder of the rounds of paste, so as to form the rims of
the tartlets. Bake them from ten to twelve minutes, fill them with
preserve while they are still warm, and place over it a small ornament
of paste cut from the remnants, and baked gently of a light colour.
Serve the tartlets cold, or if wanted hot for table put them back into
the oven for one minute after they are filled.
A SEFTON, OR VEAL CUSTARD.
Pour boiling, a pint of rich, clear, pale veal gravy on six fresh eggs,
which have been well beaten and strained: sprinkle in directly the
grated rind of a fine lemon, a little cayenne, some salt if needed, and
a quarter-teaspoonful of mace. Put a paste border round a dish, pour in,
first two ounces of clarified butter, and then the other ingredients;
bake the Sefton in a very slow oven from twenty-five to thirty minutes,
or until it is quite firm in the middle, and send it to table with a
little good gravy. Very highly flavoured game stock, in which a few
mushrooms have been stewed, may be used for this dish with great
advantage in lieu of veal gravy; and a sauce made of the smallest
mushroom buttons, may be served with it in either case. The mixture can
be baked in a whole paste, if preferred so, or in well buttered cups;
then turned out and covered with the sauce before it is sent to table.
Rich veal or game stock, 1 pint; fresh eggs, 6; rind, 1 lemon; little
salt and cayenne; pounded mace, 1/4 teaspoonful; butter, 2 oz.: baked,
25 to 30 minutes, _slow_ oven.
APPLE CAKE, OR GERMAN TART.
Work together with the fingers, ten ounces of butter and a pound of
flour, until they resemble fine crumbs of bread; throw in a _small_
pinch of salt, and make them into a firm smooth paste with the yolks of
two eggs and a spoonful or two of water. Butter thickly, a plain tin
cake, or pie mould (those which open at the sides, see plate, page 344,
are best adapted for the purpose); roll out the paste thin, place the
mould upon it, trim a bit to its exact size, cover the bottom of the
mould with this, then cut a band the height of the sides, and press it
smoothly round them, joining the edge, which must be moistened with egg
or water, to the bottom crust; and fasten upon them, to prevent their
separation, a narrow and thin band of paste, also moistened. Next, fill
the mould nearly from the brim with the following marmalade, which must
be quite cold when it is put in. Boil together, over a gentle fire at
first, but more quickly afterwards, three pounds of good apples with
fourteen ounces of pounded sugar, or of the finest Lisbon, the strained
juice of a large lemon, three ounces of fresh butter, and a teaspoonful
of pounded cinnamon, or the lightly grated rind of a couple of lemons:
when the whole is perfectly smooth and dry, turn it into a pan to cool,
and let it be quite cold before it is put into the paste. In early
autumn, a larger proportion of sugar may be required, but this can be
regulated by the taste. When the mould is filled, roll out the cover,
lay it carefully over the marmalade that it may not touch it; and when
the cake is securely closed, trim off the superfluous paste, add a
little pounded sugar to the parings, spread them out very thin, and cut
them into leaves to ornament the top of the cake, round which they may
be placed as a sort of wreath.[121] Bake it for an hour in a moderately
brisk oven; take it from the mould, and should the sides not be
sufficiently coloured put it back for a few minutes into the oven upon a
baking tin. Lay a paper over the top, when it is of a fine light brown,
to prevent its being too deeply coloured. This cake should be served
hot.
Footnote 121:
Or, instead of these, fasten on it with a little white of egg, after
it is taken from the oven, some ready-baked leaves of almond-paste
(see page 355), either plain or coloured.
Paste: flour, 1 lb.; butter, 10 oz.; yolks of eggs, 2; little water.
Marmalade: apples, 3 lbs.; sugar, 14 oz. (more if needed); juice of
lemon, 1; rinds of lemons, 2; butter, 3 oz.: baked, 1 hour.
TOURTE MERINGUÉE, OR TART WITH ROYAL ICING.[122]
Footnote 122:
The limits to which we are obliged to confine this volume, compel us
to omit many receipts which we would gladly insert; we have,
therefore, rejected those which may be found in almost every English
cookery book, for such as are, we apprehend, less known to the reader:
this will account for the small number of receipts for pies and fruit
tarts to be found in the present chapter.
Lay a band of fine paste round the rim of a tart-dish, fill it with any
kind of fruit mixed with a moderate proportion of sugar, roll out the
cover very evenly, moisten the edges of the paste, press them together
carefully, and trim them off close to the dish; spread equally over the
top, to within rather more than an inch of the edge all round, the
whites of three fresh eggs beaten to a quite solid froth and mixed
quickly at the moment of using them with three tablespoonsful of dry
sifted sugar. Put the tart into a moderately brisk oven, and when the
crust has risen well and the icing is set, either lay a sheet of
writing-paper lightly over it, or draw it to a part of the oven where it
will not take too much colour. This is now a fashionable mode of icing
tarts, and greatly improves their appearance.
Bake half an hour.
A GOOD APPLE TART.
A pound and a quarter of apples weighed after they are pared and cored,
will be sufficient for a small tart, and four ounces more for one of
moderate size. Lay a border of English puff-paste, or of cream-crust
round the dish, just dip the apples into water, arrange them very
compactly in it, higher in the centre than at the sides, and strew
amongst them from three to four ounces of pounded sugar, or more should
they be very acid: the grated rind and the strained juice of half a
lemon will much improve their flavour. Lay on the cover rolled thin, and
ice it or not at pleasure. Send the tart to a moderate oven for about
half an hour. This may be converted into the old-fashioned _creamed_
apple tart, by cutting out the cover while it is still quite hot,
leaving only about an inch-wide border of paste round the edge, and
pouring over the apples when they have become cold, from half to
three-quarters of a pint of rich boiled custard. The cover divided into
triangular sippets, was formerly stuck round the inside of the tart, but
ornamental leaves of pale puff-paste have a better effect. Well-drained
whipped cream may be substituted for the custard, and be piled high, and
lightly over the fruit.
TART OF VERY YOUNG GREEN APPLES. (GOOD.)
Take very young apples from the tree before the cores are formed, clear
off the buds and stalks, wash them well, and fill a tart-dish with them
after having rolled them in plenty of sugar, or strew layers of sugar
between them; add a very small quantity of water and bake the tart
rather slowly, that the fruit may be tender quite through. It will
resemble a green apricot-tart if carefully made. We give this receipt
from recollection, having had the dish served often formerly, and having
found it _very_ good.
BARBERRY TART.
Barberries, with half their weight of fine brown sugar, when they are
thoroughly ripe, and with two ounces more when they are not quite so,
make an admirable tart. For one of moderate size, put into a dish
bordered with paste three quarters of a pound of barberries stripped
from their stalks, and six ounces of sugar in alternate layers; pour
over them three tablespoonsful of water, put on the cover, and bake the
tart for half an hour. Another way of making it is, to line a shallow
tin pan with very thin crust, to mix the fruit and sugar well together
with a spoon before they are laid in, and to put bars of paste across
instead of a cover; or it may be baked without either.[123]
Footnote 123:
The French make their fruit-tarts generally thus, in large shallow
pans. Plums, split and stoned (or if of small kinds, left entire),
cherries and currants freed from the stalks, and various other fruits,
all rolled in plenty of sugar, are baked in the uncovered crust; or
this is baked by itself, and then filled afterwards with fruit
previously stewed tender.
THE LADY’S TOURTE, AND CHRISTMAS TOURTE À LA CHÂTELAINE.
[Illustration:
Lady’s Tourte.
]
To make this _Tourte_, which, when filled, is of pretty appearance, two
paste-cutters are requisite, one the size, or nearly so, of the inside
of the dish in which the _entremets_ is to be served, the other not more
than an inch in diameter, and both of them fluted, as will be seen by
the engraving. To make the paste for it, throw a small half saltspoonful
of salt into half a pound of the finest flour, and break lightly into it
four ounces of fresh butter, which should be firm. Make these up
smoothly with cold milk or water, of which nearly a quarter of a pint
will be sufficient, unless the butter should be very hard, when a
spoonful or two more must be added. Roll the paste out as lightly as
possible twice or _thrice_ if needful, to blend the butter thoroughly
with it, and each time either fold it in three by wrapping the ends over
each other, or fold it over and over like a roll pudding. An additional
ounce, or even two, of butter can be used for it when very rich pastry
is liked, but the _tourte_ will not then retain its form so well. Roll
it out evenly to something more than three-quarters of an inch in
thickness, and press the large cutter firmly through it; draw away the
superfluous paste, and lay the _tourte_ on a lightly floured baking-tin.
Roll the remainder of the paste until it is less than a quarter of an
inch thick, and stamp out with the smaller cutter—of which the edge
should be dipped into hot water, or slightly encrusted with flour—as
many rounds as will form the border of the _tourte_. In placing them
upon it, lay the edge of one over the other just sufficiently to give a
shell-like appearance to the whole; and with the finger press lightly on
the opposite part of the round to make it adhere to the under paste.
Next, with a sharp-pointed knife, make an incision very evenly round the
inside of the _tourte_ nearly close to the border, but be extremely
careful not to cut too deeply into the paste. Bake it in a gentle oven,
from twenty to thirty minutes. When it is done, detach the crust from
the centre, where it has been marked with the knife, take out part of
the crumb, fill the space high with apricot-jam, or with any other
choice preserve, set it again for an instant into the oven, and serve it
hot or cold. Spikes of blanched almonds, filberts, or pistachio-nuts,
may be strewed over the preserve, when they are considered an
improvement; and the border of the pastry may be glazed or ornamented to
the fancy; but if well made, it will generally please in its quite
simple form. It may be converted into a delicious _entrée_, by filling
it either with oysters, or sliced sweetbreads, stewed, and served in
thick, rich, white sauce, or _béchamel_. Lobster also prepared and
moulded as for the new lobster patties of page 359, will form a superior
dish even to these.
_Obs._—Six ounces of flour, and three of butter, will make sufficient
paste for this _tourte_, when it is required only of the usual moderate
size. If richer paste be used for it, it must have two or three
additional turns or rollings to prevent its losing its form in the oven.
_Christmas Tourte à la Châtelaine._—Make the case for this _tourte_ as
for the preceding one, and put sufficient mincemeat to fill it
handsomely into a jar, cover it very securely with paste, or with two or
three folds of thick paper, and bake it _gently_ for half an hour or
longer, should the currants, raisins, &c., not be fully tender. Take out
the inside of the _tourte_, heap the hot mincemeat in it, pour a little
fresh brandy over; just touch it with a strip of lighted writing-paper
at the door of the dining-room, and serve it in a blaze; or if better
liked so, serve it very hot without the brandy, and with Devonshire
cream as an accompaniment.[124]
Footnote 124:
Sufficient of cream for this purpose can easily be prepared from good
milk.
GENOISES À LA REINE, OR HER MAJESTY’S PASTRY.
Make some _nouilles_ (see page 5), with the yolks of four fresh eggs,
and when they are all cut as directed there, drop them lightly into a
pint and a half of boiling cream (new milk will answer quite as well, or
a portion of each may be used), in which six ounces of fresh butter have
been dissolved. When these have boiled quickly for a minute or two,
during which time they must be stirred to prevent their gathering into
lumps, add a small pinch of salt, and six ounces of sugar on which the
rinds of two lemons have been rasped; place the saucepan over a clear
and very gentle fire, and when the mixture has simmered from thirty to
forty minutes take it off, stir briskly in the yolks of six eggs, and
pour it out upon a delicately clean baking-tin which has been slightly
rubbed in every part with butter; level the _nouilles_ with a knife to
something less than a quarter of an inch of thickness, and let them be
very evenly spread; put them into a moderate oven, and bake them of a
fine equal brown: should any air-bladders appear, pierce them with the
point of a knife. On taking the paste from the oven, divide it into two
equal parts; turn one of these, the underside uppermost, on to a clean
tin or a large dish, and spread quickly over it a jar of fine
apricot-jam, place the other half upon it, the brown side outwards, and
leave the paste to become cold; then stamp it out with a round or
diamond-shaped cutter, and arrange the _genoises_ tastefully in a dish.
This pastry will be found _delicious_ the day it is baked, but its
excellence is destroyed by keeping. Peach, green-gage, or magnum bonum
jam, will serve for it quite as well as apricot. We strongly recommend
to our readers this preparation, baked in pattypans, and served hot; or
the whole quantity made into a pudding. From the smaller ones a little
may be taken out with a teaspoon, and replaced with some preserve just
before they are sent to table; or they may thus be eaten cold.
_Nouilles_ of 4 eggs; cream or milk, 1-1/2 pint; butter, 6 oz.; sugar 6
oz.; rasped rinds of lemons, 2; grain of salt: 30 to 40 minutes. Yolks
of eggs, 6: baked from 15 to 25 minutes.
ALMOND PASTE.
For a single dish of pastry, blanch seven ounces of fine Jordan almonds
and one of bitter;[125] throw them into cold water as they are done, and
let them remain in it for an hour or two; then wipe, and pound them to
the finest paste, moistening them occasionally with a few drops of cold
water, to prevent their oiling; next, add to, and mix thoroughly with
them, seven ounces of highly-refined, dried, and sifted sugar; put them
into a small preserving-pan, or enamelled stewpan, and stir them over a
clear and very gentle fire until they are so dry as not to adhere to the
finger when touched; turn the paste immediately into an earthen pan or
jar, and when cold it will be ready for use.
Footnote 125:
When these are objected to, use half a pound of the sweet almonds.
Jordan almonds, 7 oz.; bitter almonds, 1 oz.; cold water, 1
tablespoonful; sugar, 7 oz.
_Obs._—The pan in which the paste is dried, should by no means be placed
_upon_ the fire, but high above it on a bar or trevet: should it be
allowed by accident to harden too much, it must be sprinkled plentifully
with water, broken up quite small, and worked, as it warms, with a
strong wooden spoon to a smooth paste again. We have found this method
perfectly successful; but, if time will permit, it should be moistened
some hours before it is again set over the fire.
TARTLETS OF ALMOND PASTE.
Butter slightly the smallest-sized pattypans, and line them with the
almond-paste rolled as thin as possible; cut it with a sharp knife close
to their edges, and bake or rather _dry_ the tartlets slowly at the
mouth of a very cool oven. If at all coloured, they should be only of
the palest brown; but they will become perfectly crisp without losing
their whiteness if left for some hours in a very gently-heated stove or
oven. They should be taken from the pans when two-thirds done, and laid,
reversed, upon a sheet of paper placed on a dish or board, before they
are put back into the oven. At the instant of serving, fill them with
bright-coloured whipped cream, or with peach or apricot jam; if the
preserve be used, lay over it a small star or other ornament cut from
the same paste, and dried with the tartlets. Sifted sugar, instead of
flour, must be dredged upon the board and roller in using almond paste.
Leaves and flowers formed of it, and dried gradually until perfectly
crisp, will keep for a long time in a tin box or canister, and they form
elegant decorations for pastry. When a fluted cutter the size of the
pattypans is at hand, it will be an improvement to cut out the paste
with it, and then to press it lightly into them, as it is rather apt to
break when pared off with a knife. To colour it, prepared cochineal, or
spinach-green, must be added to it in the mortar.
FAIRY FANCIES.
(_Fantaisies de Fées._)
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
A small, but very inexpensive set of tin cutters must be had for this
pretty form of pastry, which is, however, quite worthy of so slight a
cost. The short crust, of page 349, answers for it better than puff
paste. Roll it thin and very even, and with the larger tin, shaped thus,
cut out a dozen or more of small sheets; then, with a couple of round
cutters, of which one should be about an inch in diameter, and the other
only half the size, form four times the number of rings, and lay them on
the sheets in the manner shown in the engraving. The easier mode of
placing them regularly, is to raise each ring without removing the small
cutter from it, to moisten it with a camel’s hair brush dipped in white
of egg, and to lay it on the paste as it is gently loosened from the tin
When all the pastry is prepared, set it into a very gentle oven, that it
may become crisp and yet remain quite pale. Before it is sent to table,
fill the four divisions of each _fantaisie_ with preserve of a different
colour. For example: one ring with apple or strawberry jelly, another
with apricot jam, a third with peach or green-gage, and a fourth with
raspberry jelly. The cases may be iced, and ornamented in various ways
before they are baked. They are prettiest when formed of white
almond-paste, with pink or pale green rings: they may then be filled, at
the instant of serving, with well-drained whipped cream.
MINCEMEAT.
(_Author’s Receipt._)
To one pound of an unsalted ox-tongue, boiled tender and cut free from
the rind, add two pounds of fine stoned raisins, two of beef
kidney-suet, two pounds and a half of currants well cleaned and dried,
two of good apples, two and a half of fine Lisbon sugar, from half to a
whole pound of candied peel according to the taste, the grated rinds of
two large lemons, and two more boiled quite tender, and chopped up
entirely, with the exception of the pips, two small nutmegs, half an
ounce of salt, a large teaspoonful of pounded mace, rather more of
ginger in powder, half a pint of brandy, and as much good sherry or
Madeira. Mince these ingredients separately, and mix the others all
_well_ before the brandy and the wine are added; press the whole into a
jar or jars, and keep it closely covered. It should be stored for a few
days before it is used, and will remain good for many weeks. Some
persons like a slight flavouring of cloves in addition to the other
spices; others add the juice of two or three lemons, and a larger
quantity of brandy. The inside of a tender and well-roasted sirloin of
beef will answer quite as well as the tongue.
Of a fresh-boiled ox-tongue, or inside of roasted sirloin, 1 lb.; stoned
raisins and minced apples, each 2 lbs.; currants and fine Lisbon sugar,
each 2-1/2 lbs.; candied orange, lemon or citron rind, 8 to 16 oz.;
boiled lemons, 2 large; rinds of two others, grated; salt, 1/2 oz.;
nutmegs, 2 small; pounded mace, 1 large teaspoonful, and rather more of
ginger; good sherry or Madeira, 1/2 pint; brandy, 1/2 pint.
_Obs._—The lemons will be sufficiently boiled in from one hour to one
and a quarter.
SUPERLATIVE MINCEMEAT.
Take four large lemons, with their weight of golden pippins pared and
cored, of jar-raisins, currants, candied citron and orange-rind, and the
finest suet, and a fourth part more of pounded sugar. Boil the lemons
tender, chop them small, but be careful first to extract all the pips;
add them to the other ingredients, after all have been prepared with
great nicety, and mix the whole _well_ with from three to four glasses
of good brandy. Apportion salt and spice by the preceding receipt. We
think that the weight of one lemon, in meat, improves this mixture; or,
in lieu of it, a small quantity of crushed macaroons added just before
it is baked.
MINCE PIES. (ENTREMETS.)
Butter some tin pattypans well, and line them evenly with fine puff
paste rolled thin; fill them with mincemeat, moisten the edges of the
covers, which should be nearly a quarter of an inch thick, close the
pies carefully, trim off the superfluous paste, make a small aperture in
the centre of the crust with a fork or the point of a knife, ice the
pies or not, at pleasure, and bake them half an hour in a well-heated
but not fierce oven: lay a paper over them when they are partially done,
should they appear likely to take too much colour.
1/2 hour.
MINCE PIES ROYAL. (ENTREMETS.)
Add to half a pound of good mincemeat an ounce and a half of pounded
sugar, the grated rind and the strained juice of a large lemon, one
ounce of clarified butter, and the yolks of four eggs; beat these well
together, and half fill, or rather more, with the mixture, some
pattypans lined with fine paste; put them into a moderate oven, and when
the insides are just set, ice them thickly with the whites of the eggs
beaten to snow, and mixed quickly at the moment with four heaped
tablespoonsful of pounded sugar; set them immediately into the oven
again, and bake them slowly of a fine light brown.
Mincemeat, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 1-1/2 oz.; rind and juice, 1 large lemon;
butter, 1 oz.; yolks, 4 eggs. Icing: whites, 4 eggs; sugar, 4
tablespoonsful.
THE MONITOR’S TART, OR TOURTE À LA JUDD.
Put into an enamelled stewpan, or into a delicately clean saucepan,
three quarters of a pound of well-flavoured apples, weighed after they
are pared and cored; add to them from three to four ounces of pounded
sugar, an ounce and a half of fresh butter cut small, and half a
teaspoonful of pounded cinnamon, or the lightly grated rind of a small
lemon. Let them stand over, or by the side of a gentle fire until they
begin to soften, and toss them now and then to mingle the whole well,
but do not stir them with a spoon; they should all remain unbroken and
rather firm. Turn them into a dish, and let them become cold. Divide
three-quarters of a pound of good light paste into two equal portions;
roll out one quite thin and round, flour an oven-leaf and lay it on, as
the tart cannot so well be moved after it is made; place the apples upon
it in the form of a dome, but leave a clear space of an inch or more
round the edge; moisten this with white of egg, and press the remaining
half of the paste (which should be rolled out to the same size, and laid
carefully over the apples) closely upon it: they should be well secured,
that the syrup from the fruit may not burst through. Whisk the white of
an egg to a froth, brush it over the tart with a paste brush or a small
bunch of feathers, sift sugar thickly over, and then strew upon it some
almonds blanched and roughly chopped; bake the tart in a moderate oven
from thirty-five to forty-five minutes. It may be filled with peaches,
or apricots, half stewed like the apples, or with cherries merely rolled
in fine sugar; or with the pastry cream of page 173.
Light paste, 1/2 to 3/4 lb.; apples, 12 oz.; butter, 1-1/2 oz.; sugar, 4
oz.; glazing of egg and sugar; some almonds: 35 to 45 minutes.
PUDDING PIES. (ENTREMETS.)
This form of pastry (or its name at least) is, we believe, peculiar to
the county of Kent, where it is made in abundance, and eaten by all
classes of people during Lent. Boil for fifteen minutes three ounces of
ground rice[126] in a pint and a half of new milk, and when taken from
the fire stir into it three ounces of butter and four of sugar; add to
these six well-beaten eggs, a grain or two of salt, and a flavouring of
nutmeg or lemon-rind at pleasure. When the mixture is nearly cold, line
some large pattypans or some saucers with thin puff paste, fill them
with it three parts full, strew the tops thickly with currants which
have been cleaned and dried, and bake the pudding-pies from fifteen to
twenty minutes in a gentle oven.
Footnote 126:
Or _rice-flour_.
Milk, 1-1/2 pint; ground rice, 3 oz.: 15 minutes. Butter, 3 oz.; sugar,
1/4 lb.; nutmeg or lemon-rind; eggs, 6; currants, 4 to 6 oz.: 15 to 30
minutes.
PUDDING PIES.
(_A commoner kind._)
One quart of new milk, five ounces of ground rice, butter, one ounce and
a half (or more), four ounces of sugar, half a small nutmeg grated, a
pinch of salt, four large eggs, and three ounces of currants.
COCOA-NUT CHEESE-CAKES. (ENTREMETS.)
(_Jamaica Receipt._)
Break carefully the shell of the nut, that the liquid it contains may
not escape.[127] Take out the kernel, pare thinly off the dark skin, and
grate the nut on a delicately clean grater; put it, with its weight of
pounded sugar, and its own milk, or a couple of spoonsful or rather more
of water, into a silver or block-tin saucepan, or a very small copper
stewpan perfectly tinned, and keep it gently stirred over a quite clear
fire until it is tender: it will sometimes require an hour’s stewing to
make it so. When a little cooled, add to the nut, and beat well with it,
some eggs properly whisked and strained, and the grated rind of half a
lemon. Line some pattypans with fine paste, put in the mixture, and bake
the cheese-cakes from thirteen to fifteen minutes.
Footnote 127:
This, as we have elsewhere stated, is best secured by boring the shell
before it is broken. The milk of the nut should never be used unless
it be _very_ fresh.
Grated cocoa-nut, 6 oz.; sugar, 6 oz.; the milk of the nut, or of water,
2 large tablespoonsful: 1/2 to 1 hour. Eggs, 5; lemon-rind, 1/2 of 1: 13
to 15 minutes.
_Obs._—We have found the cheese-cakes made with these proportions very
excellent indeed, but should the mixture be considered too sweet,
another egg or two can be added, and a little brandy also. With a
spoonful or two more of liquid too, the nut would become tender in a
shorter time.
COMMON LEMON TARTLETS.
Beat four eggs until they are exceedingly light, add to them gradually
four ounces of pounded sugar, and whisk these together for five minutes;
strew lightly in, if it be at hand, a dessertspoonful of potato flour,
if not, of common flour well dried and sifted,[128] then throw into the
mixture by slow degrees, three ounces of good butter, which should be
dissolved, but only just lukewarm: beat the whole well, then stir
briskly in, the strained juice and the grated rind of one lemon and a
half. Line some pattypans with fine puff-paste rolled very thin, fill
them two-thirds full, and bake the tartlets about twenty minutes, in a
moderate oven.
Footnote 128:
A few ratifias, or three or four macaroons rolled to powder, or a
stale sponge or Naples biscuit or two, reduced to the finest crumbs,
may be substituted for either of these: more lemon, too, can be added
to the taste.
Eggs, 4; sugar, 4 oz.; potato-flour, or common flour, 1 dessertspoonful;
butter, 3 oz.; juice and rind of 1-1/2 full-sized lemon: baked 15 to 20
minutes.
MADAME WERNER’S ROSENVIK CHEESE-CAKES.
Blanch and pound to the finest possible paste, four ounces of fine fresh
Jordan almonds, with a few drops of lemon-juice or water, then mix with
them, very gradually indeed, six fresh, and thoroughly well-whisked
eggs; throw in by degrees twelve ounces of pounded sugar, and beat the
mixture without intermission all the time: add then the finely grated
rinds of four small, or of three large lemons, and afterwards, by very
slow degrees, the strained juice of all. When these ingredients are
perfectly blended, pour to them in small portions, four ounces of just
liquefied butter (six of clarified if exceedingly rich cheese-cakes are
wished for), and again whisk the mixture lightly for several minutes;
thicken it over the fire like boiled custard, and either put it into
small pans or jars for storing,[129] or fill with it, one-third full,
some pattypans lined with the finest paste; place lightly on it a layer
of apricot, orange, or lemon-marmalade, and on this pour as much more of
the mixture. Bake the cheese-cakes from fifteen to twenty minutes in a
moderate oven. They are very good _without_ the layer of preserve.
Footnote 129:
This preparation will make excellent _fanchonettes_, or
pastry-sandwiches. It will not curdle if gently boiled for two or
three minutes (and stirred without ceasing), and it may be long kept
afterwards.
Jordan almonds, 4 oz.; eggs, 6; sugar, 12 oz.; rinds and strained juice
of 4 small, or of 3 quite large lemons; butter, 4 oz. (6 for _rich_
cheese-cakes); layers of preserve. Baked 15 to 20 minutes, moderate
oven.
APFEL KRAPFEN.
(_German Receipt._)
Boil down three-quarters of a pound of good apples with four ounces of
pounded sugar, and a small glass of white wine, or the strained juice of
a lemon; when they are stewed quite to a pulp, keep them stirred until
they are thick and dry; then mix them gradually with four ounces of
almonds, beaten to a paste, or very finely chopped, two ounces of
candied orange or lemon-rind shred extremely small, and six ounces of
jar raisins stoned and quartered: to these the Germans add a rather high
flavouring of cinnamon, which is a very favourite spice with them, but a
grating of nutmeg, and some fresh lemon-peel, are, we think, preferable
for this composition. Mix all the ingredients well together; roll out
some butter-crust a full back-of-knife thickness, cut it into four-inch
squares, brush the edges to the depth of an inch round with beaten egg,
fill them with the mixture, lay another square of paste on each, press
them very securely together, make, with the point of a knife, a small
incision in the top of each, glaze them or not at pleasure, and bake
them rather slowly, that the raisins may have time to become tender.
They are very good. The proportion of sugar must be regulated by the
nature of the fruit; and that of the almonds can be diminished when it
is thought too much. A delicious tart of the kind is made by
substituting for the raisins and candied orange-rind, two heaped
tablespoonsful of very fine apricot jam.
CRÊME PATISSIÈRE, OR PASTRY CREAM.
To one ounce of fine flour add, very gradually, the beaten yolks of
three fresh eggs; stir to them briskly, and in small portions at first,
three-quarters of a pint of boiling cream, or of cream and new milk
mixed; then turn the whole into a clean stewpan, and stir it over a very
gentle fire until it is quite thick, take it off, and stir it well up
and round; replace it over the fire, and let it just simmer from six to
eight minutes; pour it into a basin, and add to it immediately a couple
of ounces of pounded sugar, one and a half of fresh butter, cut small,
or clarified, and a spoonful of the store mixture of page 153, or a
little sugar which has been rubbed on the rind of a lemon. The cream is
rich enough for common use without further addition; but an ounce and a
half of ratifias, crushed almost to powder with a paste-roller improves
it much, and they should be mixed with it for the receipt which follows.
Flour, 1 oz.; yolks of eggs, 3; boiling cream, or milk and cream mixed,
3/4 pint: just simmered, 6 to 8 minutes. Butter, 1-1/2 oz.; sugar, 2
oz.; little store-flavouring, or rasped lemon-rind; ratifias, 1-1/2 oz.
_Obs._—This is an excellent preparation, which may be used for tartlets,
cannelons, and other forms of pastry, with extremely good effect.
SMALL VOLS-AU-VENTS, À LA PARISIENNE. (ENTREMETS.)
Make some small _vols-au-vents_ by the directions of page 361, either in
the usual way, or with the rings of paste placed upon the rounds. Ice
the edges as soon as they are taken from the oven, by sifting fine sugar
thickly on them, and then holding a salamander or heated shovel over
them, until it melts and forms a sort of pale barley-sugar glaze. Have
ready, and quite hot, some _crême patissière_, made as above; fill the
_vols-au-vents_ with it, and send them to table instantly. These will be
found very good without the icing.
PASTRY SANDWICHES.
Divide equally in two, and roll off square and as thin as possible, some
rich puff paste;[130] lay one half on a buttered tin, or copper
oven-leaf, and spread it lightly with fine currant, strawberry or
raspberry jelly; lay the remaining half closely over, pressing it a
little with the rolling pin after the edges are well cemented together;
then mark it into divisions, and bake it from fifteen to twenty minutes
in a moderate oven.
Footnote 130:
Almond-paste is sometimes substituted for this.
LEMON SANDWICHES.
Substitute for preserve, in the preceding receipt, the lemon cheesecake
mixture of page 372, with or without the almonds in it.
FANCHONNETTES. (ENTREMETS).
Roll out very thin and square some fine puff paste, lay it on a tin or
copper oven-leaf, and cover it equally to within something less than an
inch of the edge with peach or apricot jam; roll a second bit of paste
to the same size, and lay it carefully over the other, having first
moistened the edges with beaten egg, or water; press them together
securely, that the preserve may not escape; pass a paste-brush or small
bunch of feathers dipped in water over the top, sift sugar thickly on
it, then with the back of a knife, mark the paste into divisions of
uniform size, bake it in a well-heated but not fierce oven for twenty
minutes, or rather more, and cut it while it is still hot, where it is
marked. The fanchonnettes should be about three inches in length and two
in width. In order to lay the second crust over the preserve without
disturbing it, wind it lightly round the paste-roller, and in untwisting
it, let it fall gently over the other part.
This is not the form of pastry called by the French _fanchonnettes_.
Fine puff paste, 1 lb.; apricot or peach jam, 4 to 6 oz.: baked 20 to 25
minutes.
JELLY TARTLETS, OR CUSTARDS.
Put four tablespoonsful of fine fruit-jelly into a basin, and stir to it
gradually twelve spoonsful of beaten egg; if the preserve be rich and
sweet, no sugar will be required. Line some pans with paste rolled very
thin, fill them with the custard, and bake them about ten minutes.[131]
Footnote 131:
Strawberry or raspberry jelly will answer admirably for these.
STRAWBERRY TARTLETS. (GOOD.)
Take a full half-pint of freshly-gathered strawberries, without the
stalks; first crush, and then mix them with two ounces and a half of
powdered sugar; stir to them by degrees four well-whisked eggs, beat the
mixture a little, and put it into pattypans lined with fine paste: they
should be only three parts filled. Bake the tartlets from ten to twelve
minutes.
RASPBERRY PUFFS.
Roll out thin some fine puff-paste, cut it in rounds or squares of equal
size, lay some raspberry jam into each, moisten the edges of the paste,
fold and press them together, and bake the puffs from fifteen to
eighteen minutes. Strawberry, or any other jam will serve for them
equally well.
CREAMED TARTLETS.
Line some pattypans with very fine paste, and put into each a layer of
apricot jam; on this pour some thick boiled custard, or the pastry cream
of page 373. Whisk the whites of a couple of eggs to a solid froth, mix
a couple of tablespoonsful of sifted sugar with them, lay this icing
lightly over the tartlets, and bake them in a gentle oven from twenty to
thirty minutes, unless they should be very small, when less time must be
allowed for them.
RAMEKINS À L’UDE, OR SEFTON FANCIES.
Roll out, rather thin, from six to eight ounces of fine cream-crust, or
_feuilletage_ (see page 345); take nearly or quite half its weight of
grated Parmesan, or something less of dry white English cheese; sprinkle
it equally over the paste, fold it together, roll it out very lightly
twice, and continue thus until the cheese and crust are well mixed. Cut
the ramekins with a small paste-cutter; wash them with yolk of egg mixed
with a little milk, and bake them about fifteen minutes. Serve them very
hot.
Cream-crust, or _feuilletage_, 6 oz.; Parmesan, 3 oz.; or English
cheese, 2-1/2 oz.: baked 12 to 15 minutes.
[Illustration:
Mould for large Vols-au-vents or Tourtes.
]
[Illustration:
Paste Pincers.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XIX.
=Soufflés, Omlets, &c.=
[Illustration]
SOUFFLÉS.
THE admirable lightness[132] and delicacy of a well-made _soufflé_
render it generally a very favourite dish, and it is now a fashionable
one also. It may be greatly varied in its composition, but in all cases
must be served the very instant it is taken from the oven; and even in
passing to the dining-room it should, if possible, be prevented from
sinking by a heated iron or salamander held above it. A common
soufflé-pan may be purchased for four or five shillings, but those of
silver or plated metal, which are of the form shown at the commencement
of this chapter, are of course expensive; the part in which the
_soufflé_ is baked is placed within the more ornamental dish when it is
drawn from the oven. A plain, round, cake-mould, with a strip of writing
paper six inches high, placed inside the rim, will answer on an
emergency to bake a _soufflé_ in. The following receipt will serve as a
guide for the proper mode of making it: the process is always the same
whether the principal ingredient be whole rice boiled very tender in
milk and pressed through a sieve, bread-crumbs soaked as for a pudding
and worked through a sieve also, arrow-root, potato-flour, or aught else
of which light puddings in general are made.
Footnote 132:
This is given to every description of _soufflé_ in the same manner as
to Savoy or sponge-cakes, by mingling gently with the other
ingredients the whites of eggs whisked to a solid mass or _snow
froth_,—that is to say, that no portion of them must remain in a
liquid state. For the proper mode of preparing them, see commencement
of the chapter of Cakes, page 540: _soufflé_-puddings are rendered
light in the same manner, and steamed instead of being boiled.
Take from a pint and a half of new milk or of cream sufficient to mix
four ounces of flour of rice to a perfectly smooth batter; put the
remainder into a very clean, well-tinned saucepan or stewpan, and when
it boils, stir the rice briskly to it; let it simmer, keeping it stirred
all the time, for ten minutes, or more should it not be very thick; then
mix well with it two ounces of fresh butter, one and a half of pounded
sugar, and the grated rind of a fine lemon (or let the sugar which is
used for it be well rubbed on the lemon before it is crushed to powder);
in two or three minutes take it from the fire, and beat quickly and
carefully to it by degrees the yolks of six eggs; whisk the whites to a
very firm solid froth, and when the pan is buttered, and all else quite
ready for the oven, stir them gently to the other ingredients; pour the
_soufflé_ immediately into the pan and place it in a moderate oven, of
which keep the door closed for a quarter of an hour at least. When the
_soufflé_ has risen very high, is of a fine colour, and quite done in
the centre, which it will be in from half to three-quarters of an hour,
send it instantly to table. The exact time for baking it depends so much
on the oven that it cannot be precisely specified. We have known quite a
small one not too much baked in forty-five minutes in an _iron_ oven;
but generally less time will suffice for them: the heat, however, should
always be moderate.
New milk or cream, 1-1/2 pint; flour of rice, 4 oz.; fresh butter, 2
oz.; pounded sugar, 1-1/2 oz.; eggs, 6; grain of salt; rind, 1 lemon: 30
to 45 minutes.
_Obs. 1._—The _soufflé_ may be flavoured with vanilla, orange-flowers,
or aught else that is liked. Chocolate and coffee also may be used for
it with soaked bread: a very strong infusion of the last, and an ounce
or two of the other, melted with a little water, are to be added to the
milk and bread.
_Obs. 2._—A _soufflé_ is commonly served in a dinner of ceremony as a
remove of the second-course roast; but a good plan for this, as for a
_fondu_, is to have it quickly handed round, instead of being placed
upon the table.
LOUISE FRANKS’ CITRON SOUFFLÉ.
To obtain the flavour of the citron-rind for this celebrated Swedish
_soufflé_, take a lump of sugar which weighs two ounces and a half, and
rub it on the fruit to extract the essence, or should the citron not be
sufficiently fresh to yield it by this means, pare it off in the
thinnest possible strips and infuse it by the side of the fire in the
cream of which the _soufflé_ is to be made. Should the first method be
pursued, crush the sugar to powder and dry it a little before it is
added to the other ingredients. Blend very smoothly two ounces of
potato-flour with a quarter of a pint of milk, and pour boiling to them
a pint of good cream; stir the mixture in a large basin or bowl until it
thickens, then throw in a grain of salt, two ounces of fresh butter just
dissolved in a small saucepan, and the sugar which has been rubbed on
the citron; or should the rind have been pared, the same weight some of
which is merely pounded. Add next, by degrees, the thoroughly whisked
yolks of six fresh eggs, or seven should they be _very_ small. Beat the
whites lightly and quickly until they are sufficiently firm to remain
standing in points when dropped from the whisk; mix them with the other
ingredients at the mouth of the oven, but without _beating_ them; fill
the _soufflé_-pan less than half full; set it instantly into the oven,
which should be gentle, but not exceedingly slow, close the door
immediately, and do not open it for fifteen or twenty minutes: in from
thirty to forty the _soufflé_ will be ready for table unless the oven
should be very cool: a fierce degree of heat will have a most
unfavourable effect upon it.
Rind of half citron (that of a Seville orange may be substituted on
occasions); sugar, 2-1/2 oz.; cream, 1 pint; potato-flour, 2 oz.; milk,
1/4 pint; butter, 2 oz.; yolks and white of 6 large or of 7 small eggs:
30 to 40 minutes, or more in very slow oven.
_Obs._—The fresh citron would appear to be brought as yet but very
sparingly into the English market, though it may sometimes be procured
of first-rate fruiterers. Nothing can well be finer than its highly
aromatic flavour, which is infinitely superior to that of any other
fruit of its species that we have ever tasted. We have had delicious
preparations made too from the young green citron when extremely small,
of which we may have occasion to speak elsewhere.
A FONDU, OR CHEESE SOUFFLÉ.
Mix to a smooth batter, with a quarter of a pint of new milk, two ounces
of potato-flour, arrow-root, or _tous les mois_; pour boiling to them
three-quarters of a pint more of milk, or of cream in preference: stir
them well together, and then throw in two ounces of butter cut small.
When this is melted, and well-beaten into the mixture, add the
well-whisked yolks of four large or of five small eggs, half a
teaspoonful of salt, something less of cayenne, and three ounces of
lightly-grated cheese, Parmesan or English, or equal parts of both.
Whisk the whites of the eggs to a quite firm and solid froth; then
proceed, as for a _soufflé_, to mix and bake the _fondu_.
20 minutes.
OBSERVATIONS ON OMLETS, FRITTERS, &C.