fritadella, and worthy the table of a crowned head. The flesh of fowls
instead of lamb or veal, with the addition of one or two fat livers cut
in dice. Proceed as in the former receipt, using the crumb of French
rolls, and one or two truffles chopped fine: then make some pancake
batter, and sauté two pancakes about one eighth of an inch thick, cover
one with the meat, &c., and lay the other over, and put by until cold;
when so cut them to any shape you like, but if like cutlets add the
small bone of fowl or pigeon, or the stalk of a sprig of parsley, egg
and bread-crumb them, and sauté them in oil or lard of a nice yellow
color, and dish them like cutlets, with any of the sauces or garnitures
described for mutton cutlets; or if plain, with fried parsley. They may
be made of any kind of meat, fish, or poultry. I have latterly had them
sent up to table when we have had a few friends, and they have been very
much liked; and, on inquiring the name, I baptized them Ramifolle,
without any particular meaning, which name having pleased as much as the
dish, therefore let them be called Ramifolles.
They may be made a plainer way with various meats or liver, and spread
over one pancake, which roll over, and when cold cut it into three equal
lengths, egg, bread-crumb, and sauté as above.
460. _Prussian Cutlets._--Take a piece of veal, say one pound, from any
part of the calf, as long as you extract the nerve, with a little fat,
chop it up, but not too fine, add to it two teaspoonfuls of chopped
eschalot, one of salt, half a one of pepper, little grated nutmeg, chop
it a little more, and make it into pieces of the size of two walnuts,
which give the shape of a cutlet; egg and bread-crumb each, keeping the
shape; insert a small bone at the small end, sauté in fat, oil, lard, or
butter, give it ten minutes on a slow fire till a nice brown color, dish
and serve, with demi-glaze sauce, in which you have put a spoonful of
Harvey's, and serve with any brown or white sauce or stewed vegetables
you like. Any kind of meat may be used.
461. _Cutlets à la Victime, or Victimized Cutlets._--Here, _ma
belle amie_, is a terrific title for a receipt but do not fear it,
as the time of the Inquisition is past, and you are not likely to
become one in partaking of it. I do not recommend it to you on the
score of economy, as it is the tip-top of extravagance; but forward
it as a curiosity, and also in case similar circumstances should
happen which caused its invention, which, you must know, was done
by a culinary artist of Louis XVIII. of France, at the palace of
the Tuileries, and first partaken of by this intellectual monarch
and gourmet, who, at the end of his stormy reign, through a serious
illness, was completely paralyzed, and, at the same time, the
functionary organs of digestion were much out of order; being also
a man of great corpulence, and a great admirer of the festive
board, much food was required to satisfy his royal appetite; and
the difficulty which his physicians experienced was to supply his
want of food in the smallest compass. The head-cook, on being
consulted, begged a few hours' reflection before he could give an
answer to so important a question, as nothing but mutton entirely
deprived of fat was to compose his Majesty's meal. After profound
study by the chief and his satellites, a voice was heard from the
larder, which was a considerable distance from the kitchen, crying,
"I have found it, I have found it." It was a young man of the name
of Alphonse Pottier, who, in saying so, made his appearance in the
kitchen with three beautiful mutton cutlets, tastefully trimmed and
tied together; he then, with a small skewer, fastened them to a
spit, and placed them, to the astonishment of all present, close to
the bars of the grate: two of the cutlets soon got brown (observe,
not a word was to be said until the trial was made), from brown
they soon turned black: every one gazed at each other in
astonishment whilst Pottier, with quite a composed countenance,
terminated his scientific experiment, took them off the spit, drew
the skewer out, cut the string, threw the two burnt cutlets away,
and merely served the middle one, which seems to have received all
the nutriment of the other two; it was served and greatly approved
of by the physicians, as well as by the gourmet potentate, who in
consequence of two being sacrificed for one, named it 'Cutlet à la
Victime,' and often afterwards used to partake of them when in the
enjoyment of health.
Cut three cutlets from the neck of mutton, about half an inch thick,
trim one very nicely, free from fat, leave the other two as cut off, put
the trimmed one between the two, flatten them together, so that the fat
of the outside ones meet over the middle one; tie them together thus,
and broil over a very strong fire for ten minutes; remove it from the
fire, cut the string, and dish up the middle one only on a very hot
dish, with a little salt sprinkled over it. If wanted roasted, proceed
as above.
462. _Roast and Braised Chicken, for Entrées._--Have a chicken trussed
for boiling; put it on a spit, envelop it as for turkey (No. 358), roast
half the time or little less, depending on the fire and the size of the
chicken; when done, remove it from the spit, and take off the envelope,
and serve with any of the following garniture:--jardinière, green peas,
oysters, cucumbers, Jerusalem artichokes, white mushroom sauce, ragout
of quenelles, juice of tarragon (No. 363), Dutch sauce, with a few heads
of cauliflower well boiled, and cut small.
463. _Braised Chicken._--If not convenient to roast, put a little bacon
in a stewpan, then a chicken, a large onion, half a carrot, half a head
of celery, two bay-leaves, two cloves, one peppercorn, one and a half
tablespoonfuls of salt, a little pepper, a bouquet garni, and a quart of
water, let simmer till tender; dish up, after having well drained it,
take the string off, pour any of the above sauces over or under them;
when the chicken is done, you can make, with the addition of a little
more water, a very good purée, and even sauces, and by adding some
trimmings of beef, veal, lamb, or mutton, it will make a first-rate
clear broth, after being clarified giving it a proper color.
464. _Chicken plain boiled._--Put two quarts of water into a stewpan, on
the fire, or two ounces of butter, and a tablespoonful of salt and a few
vegetables; when boiling, rub the breast of the chicken with half a
lemon, and put it in to simmer from a quarter of an hour to twenty
minutes; if a large fowl, increase the quantity of water, and boil
longer; sauce over with parsley and butter, or celery sauce, or any of
the above: use the broth.
The remains of any of the above, or of turkey, capon, guinea-fowl, or
other poultry, may be dressed as hash, by cutting them into neat pieces;
put them into a stewpan, put to it half a tablespoonful of salt, one of
flour, half a one of chopped onions, ditto of parsley, a bay-leaf, half
a pint of water, a few drops of coloring; set to simmer for twenty
minutes, and serve; the addition of a few mushrooms is excellent.
465. _Poultry en Capilotade._--Put with the pieces of fowl a
tablespoonful of oil, and one glass of sherry, into a pan, and proceed
as above; when ready to serve, chop a few gherkins, and put in.
466. _Indian Hash Fowl._--Make a pint of sauce (p. 70), warm, put into
it your pieces of fowl, and serve with rice plain-boiled.
467. _Fried Fowl._--When you have cut the pieces as before, put them
into a basin with a little salt, pepper, a spoonful of oil, and two of
vinegar, and a little chopped eschalot, stir them well in it, and let
remain for half an hour, have ready a quantity of batter, and take a
fork and dip each piece one after the other into it, and then let it
drop into the frying-pan, in which is sufficient hot fat to cover them;
fry a nice color, and serve in a pyramid, with fried parsley over, or
any sauce you like under.
468. _Blanquette of Fowl._--Put half a pint of white sauce in a stewpan,
with six tablespoonfuls of broth or milk, let it boil, having cut up
about a pound of the remains of any kind of poultry, put it in the
sauce, warm it, and add two spoonfuls of liaison to it; season with a
little salt, pepper, the juice of half a lemon, stir it, and serve. Do
not let it boil, or it will curdle, and be unsightly and unpalatable; a
little cooked ham or tongue are good in it, also oysters, and served
with bread sippets round. A little chopped parsley sprinkled over it
makes it look very inviting.
469. _Minced Fowl._--Cut the remains into small dice, with a little ham
or tongue, add thick white sauce, season mildly; it can be served with
poached eggs over.
470. _Sauté of Fowl._--See the article Sauté, which is applicable to all
kinds of poultry; if the fowl be old, it should be previously stewed.
471. _Broiled Fowl, with Sauce._--Have a fowl ready plucked and drawn,
open the back from one end to the other with a sharp knife, having
previously cut the feet off at the second joint, make an incision in the
skin, and pass the bone through to fix it internally; lay the fowl on
the table, breast down, beat it as flat as possible with a chopper, take
out the breast-bone, and also the rough part of the interior of the
back, especially if a large or old fowl; after you have it in a nice
shape, season all over with a teaspoonful of salt and half one of
pepper, put it on a gridiron, over a slow fire, turning it every five
minutes until done; if a young one, twenty-five minutes ought to do it
well; but by trying with the finger on the thick part, it will easily be
known by even an inexperienced hand, if firm under the finger, it is
done, or by pressing the wing, and if tender, it is also done; put on
dish, and pour over a brown mushroom sauce, or the following: put two
spoonfuls of Chili vinegar, two of Harvey's sauce, two of catsup, one of
chopped eschalot, ten of plain melted butter, put in a stewpan and boil
for twenty minutes; skim and serve under or over.
472. _Another way._--When the fowl is ready for broiling, put four
tablespoonfuls of oil or fat, or one ounce of butter, into a sauté-pan,
lay in the fowl, and sauté it gently until a nice yellow color, and then
broil as above; or egg and bread-crumb it over, melting a little butter,
and drop a little now and then when on the fire, and with care it will
be gold color; serve with either sharp, mushroom, tomato, or poivrade
sauce on.
473. _A la Tartare._--By making about half a pint of the above sauce,
and ornament an oval dish by placing on the border cut gherkins,
beet-root, olives, place the sauce on it, and lay the fowl very hot over
it; thus the fowl is hot and the sauce cold, but together very good.
474. _Croquettes of Fowl._--Take the lean of the remains of a fowl from
a previous dinner, and chop it up in small pieces, then put into a
stewpan a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots with half an ounce of butter,
pass them for about three minutes over the fire, add a teaspoonful of
flour, mix well, then add the fowl, and a gill of white sauce, or more
if not sufficiently moist; season with pepper, salt, and sugar; then
stir in the yolks of two eggs very quickly, stir it a little longer on
the fire, and turn it out on a dish to cool; when cold, take twelve
pieces, each of the size of a walnut, roll them out an inch and a half
in length, and bread-crumb thrice over; fry a good color, dress them on
a napkin, or a border of mashed potatoes. Every kind of remains of game,
meat, poultry, and fish, may be made the same way: if no sauce, add a
little more flour, and use milk or broth.
475. _Fricassée of Fowl._--Divide a fowl into eight pieces, wash it
well, put the pieces into a stewpan, and cover with boiling water,
season with a teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, a good bouquet of
parsley, four cloves, and a blade of mace, let it boil twenty minutes,
pass the stock through a sieve into a basin; take out the pieces of
fowl, trim nicely, then put into another stewpan two ounces of butter,
with which mix a good spoonful of flour, moisten with stock, put in the
pieces of fowl, stir occasionally until boiling, skim well, add twenty
button onions, let simmer until the onions are tender, when add a gill
of cream, with which you have mixed the yolks of two eggs, stir in
quickly over the fire, but do not let it boil; take out the pieces,
dress in pyramid upon the dish, and serve.
If you require to warm up the remainder of the above, put it into a
basin, which stand in a stewpan in which you have placed a little water,
put the cover over, and let it boil gently, by which means the contents
of the basin will get warm without turning the sauce; when hot, dish up
and serve. The same plan ought to be adopted to warm up any remains of
dishes in which a liaison has been introduced; it prevents its turning,
which is unavoidable in any other way.
476. _Fowl Sauté._--Pluck and draw a fowl, cut it into pieces, seven or
eight, as you like, that is, the two French wings, the two legs, the
breast in one or two pieces, and the back in two; trim nicely, put into
a sauté-pan two ounces of butter, put it on the fire; when hot, lay in
your pieces, add a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, sauté
gently, turn over; when of a nice gold color and tender, pour the fat of
the pan, add a glass of sherry and ten spoonfuls of brown sauce, boil
ten minutes longer but very slowly, and serve in pyramid; sauce over.
This done in oil, with the addition of twenty mushrooms and a little
garlic, is the celebrated dish of _poulet à la Marengo_.
477. _The Same, a plainer way._--When prepared and cooked as above,
instead of the sauce, which may not be handy, add a spoonful of flour,
which dredge over till it is well mixed, then add half a pint of boiling
water, a few drops of coloring or some mushroom-catsup, two teaspoonfuls
of salt and a half of pepper, add a bouquet of parsley, let it simmer
for twenty minutes, skim, taste if your sauce is well seasoned, dish
your fowl, reduce your sauce until adhering to the back of the spoon,
add the juice of half a lemon, and serve. A few mushrooms or English
truffles may be added to it, which is a great improvement; the color of
the sauce ought to be brownish; take out the bouquet which you have
previously squeezed.
478. _Sauté of Fowl with Vegetables._--Proceed exactly as above, only
omitting the wine, add to the sauce fifty heads of young green
scallions, or some small pieces of carrot and turnip, or a pint of green
peas, or cucumbers cut in nice pieces, stew till tender, add a spoonful
of powdered sugar, dish the fowl, skim the sauce, take out the parsley;
when your sauce is thickish and of a nice color, pour over the fowl, and
serve very hot.
479. _Blanquettes of Turkey._--Cut off the flesh from the remainder of a
roast or boiled turkey into as large slices as possible, then break up
the bones, which put into a stewpan, with a little lean bacon and an
onion, and a small bouquet of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, just cover
them with water, and boil gently for three quarters of an hour, skim,
and pass the stock through a cloth, and with it make a little white
sauce as directed, then put the meat into another stewpan, lightly
seasoned with a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg; just cover it
with some of the sauce, and warm it gradually, not, however, permitting
it to boil; when very hot, stir in three tablespoonfuls of cream, with
which you have mixed the yolk of an egg, and when beginning to thicken,
dress it upon a dish with toasted or fried sippets of bread around,
cucumbers cut and dressed as directed p. 67, and added to the blanquette
are a very great improvement, as are likewise button mushrooms or a few
slices of cooked ham or tongue.
For a blanquette of fowl proceed precisely the same.
480. _Boudins of Fowl or Turkey._--Cut up the remains of a turkey or
fowls into very small dice, with a quarter of a pound of lean cooked ham
to each pound of meat, make a stock with the bones as directed in the
last; put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots into a stewpan, with a
piece of butter of the size of a walnut, which stir over the fire until
the eschalots become a little yellowish, when stir in a good
tablespoonful of flour, add the meat and about a pint of the stock, let
boil gently a few minutes, season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar,
stir the yolks of two eggs in quickly, and pour it out upon a dish until
cold, when divide it into pieces of the size of eggs, which rub into
long pieces of the shape and size of flat sausages, which egg and
bread-crumb twice over, and fry of a nice brown color in hot fat or
dripping, drain upon a cloth, and serve very hot.
481. _Turban of Croquettes à l'Epigramme._--Croquettes are made from the
same preparation as the last, but made up into small pieces, two inches
in length and the thickness of your finger; egg, bread-crumb, and fry
the same, dress in a circle upon a border of mashed potatoes, and serve
with some blanquette of turkey or fowl in the centre.
482. _Hashed Goose._--Put a spoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan
with an ounce of butter, which fry over the fire until becoming rather
browned, then stir a tablespoonful of flour, put in the remains of a
goose, cut into neat pieces, and well seasoned with pepper and salt; add
a pint of stock, let the whole simmer about ten minutes, and it is ready
to serve. A little apple sauce may be served separately in a boat, or a
couple of apples sliced, a few leaves of bruised dried sage may be
stewed with the hash.
483. _Stewed Duck with Peas._--Truss a duck with the legs turned inside,
which put into a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a quarter of a
pound of streaked bacon, cut into small dice, set the stewpan over a
moderate fire, occasionally stirring its contents until it becomes
lightly browned, then add a good teaspoonful of flour, and when well
mixed, a pint of stock or water, stir occasionally until boiling, when
add twenty button onions and a bunch of parsley with a bay-leaf; let the
whole simmer a quarter of an hour, keeping it well skimmed, then add a
quart of young peas, and simmer half an hour longer, or until the peas
are quite tender, when take out the duck, draw out the string, and dress
it upon your dish; remove the parsley and bay-leaf, season the peas and
sauce with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, pour over the duck and
serve.
484. _Stewed Duck with Turnips._--Proceed as in the last, but, instead
of peas, use about forty pieces of good turnips, cut into
moderately-sized squares, and previously fried, of a yellowish color, in
a little lard or butter, dress the duck upon your dish, season the
turnips and sauce with a little salt, pepper and sugar, and reduce it
until thickish, not however to break the turnips; sauce over, and serve.
The remains of ducks left from a previous dinner may be hashed as
directed for goose, but the sage and apple should in all cases be
omitted; for variety, should peas be in season, a pint freshly boiled
may be mixed with the hash at the time of serving.
485. _Fowl Sauté in Oil._--Cut a fowl into eight pieces, that is, the
two wings, two legs, two pieces of the breast, and two of the back,
which put into a stewpan, with three tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, over a
moderate fire, shaking the stewpan round occasionally, until the pieces
of fowl are rather browned, when mix in a tablespoonful of flour, which
moisten with a pint of stock or water, let it simmer at the corner of
the fire twenty minutes, skimming off the oil as it rises to the
surface; add a few blanched mushrooms in slices, season with a little
salt, pepper, sugar, and a piece of scraped garlic the size of a pea;
take out the fowl, which pile upon your dish, laying the worst pieces at
the bottom; reduce the sauce over the fire, keeping it stirred until
sufficiently thick to adhere to the back of the spoon, when pour over
the fowl and serve. Use brown sauce, if handy.
486. _Fricassée of Rabbit._--Cut a nice young rabbit into neat joints,
and put them into lukewarm water to disgorge for half an hour, when
drain and put them into a stewpan, with a large onion cut into slices,
two cloves, a blade of mace, a little parsley, one bay-leaf, and a
quarter of a pound of streaky bacon cut into small dice; cover the whole
with water, and let it simmer twenty minutes, keeping it well skimmed;
then pass the stock through a sieve into a basin, take out the pieces of
rabbit with the bacon, then in another stewpan have two ounces of
butter, with which mix a good tablespoonful of flour, moisten with the
stock, and stir over the fire until boiling; then trim neatly the pieces
of rabbit, which, with the bacon and twenty button onions, put into the
sauce; let the whole simmer until the onions are tender, skimming off
all the fat as it rises to the surface; then pour in a gill of cream,
with which you have mixed the yolks of two eggs, leave it a moment upon
the fire to thicken (but not to boil), take out the rabbit, which pile
upon your dish, sauce over and serve.
487. _Gibelotte of Rabbit._--Cut up a young rabbit into neat joints, as
likewise a quarter of a pound of streaky bacon in small dice, put the
bacon into a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, and when a little
fried, put in the pieces of rabbit, which sauté of a light brown color,
moving them round occasionally with a wooden spoon; then add a good
tablespoonful of flour, working it well in, moisten with a pint of
water, season with a little pepper and salt, and when beginning to
simmer, skim off all the fat, and add thirty button onions, a few
blanched mushrooms, and a little brown gravy or coloring; let simmer a
quarter of an hour longer, when take out the rabbit, which dress upon
your dish; reduce the sauce until it adheres to the back of the spoon,
when pour it over the rabbit and serve.
488. _Compote of Pigeons._--Put a quarter of a pound of lean bacon cut
into small dice into a stewpan, with half an ounce of butter, and fry a
few seconds over the fire, then have three pigeons trussed, with their
legs turned inside, which place in the stewpan breast downwards, setting
them over the fire until of a light brown color, moving them round
occasionally; add a tablespoonful of flour, which work well in with a
wooden spoon, until becoming browned, when moisten with a pint of water,
add a good bunch of parsley, with a bay-leaf, and about thirty button
onions, season with a little pepper and salt, let the whole simmer three
quarters of an hour, keeping it well skimmed, then dress the pigeons
upon a dish with the bacon and onions round, reduce the sauce to a
proper consistency, take out the parsley and bay-leaf, sauce over and
serve.
489. _Stewed Pigeon with Peas._--Cook the pigeons precisely as described
in the last, but omitting the onions and bay-leaf, and adding a quart of
fresh green peas; when done, dress the pigeons in a dish, pour the sauce
and peas over and serve.
490. _Hot Lamb Pie (raised)._--To make this an oval, a tin or copper pie
mould would be required, which you would choose of a size most generally
useful. Butter the interior of the mould, which stand upon a
baking-sheet, then make the following paste: put a quarter of a pound of
butter and the same of chopped suet into a stewpan, with half a pint of
water, and let the whole boil together one minute, when strain it
through a sieve into a basin containing two pounds of flour, mixing it
first with a spoon, and when cool enough with the hand, until forming a
smooth paste; when partly cold roll it out into a sheet half an inch in
thickness, with which line the mould, pressing the paste evenly at all
parts; have ready cut sufficient small lamb chops from the loin, neatly
cut away the bones, and lay them round the interior of the pie
alternately with slices of raw potatoes (a quarter of an inch in
thickness), season rather highly as you proceed, with pepper, salt,
chopped onions, and parsley; make a neat cover with the trimmings of the
paste, and bake it rather better than two hours in a moderate oven; when
done lift the cover, pour out as much of the fat as possible, add a
little gravy and serve.