MODES OF COOKING THE COMMON MUSHROOMS.
The following modes of cooking mushrooms may prove useful to some:--
_To Stew Mushrooms._--Trim and rub clean half a pint of large button
mushrooms; put into a stew-pan two ounces of butter, shake it over the
fire till thoroughly melted; put in the mushrooms, a tea-spoonful of
salt, half as much pepper, and a blade of mace pounded; stew till the
mushrooms are tender, then serve them on a hot dish. They are usually
sent in as a breakfast dish, thus prepared in butter.
_Mushrooms à la Crême._--Trim and rub half a pint of button mushrooms,
dissolve two ounces of butter rolled in flour in a stew-pan; then put in
the mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, a tea-spoonful of salt, half a
tea-spoonful each of white pepper and of powdered sugar, shake the pan
round for ten minutes, then beat up the yolks of two eggs, with two
table-spoonfuls of cream, and add by degrees to the mushrooms; in two or
three minutes you can serve them in the sauce.
_Mushrooms on Toast._--Put a pint of mushrooms into a stew-pan, with two
ounces of butter rolled in flour; add a tea-spoonful of salt, half a
tea-spoonful of white pepper, a blade of mace powdered, and half a
tea-spoonful of grated lemon; stew till the butter is all absorbed, then
add as much white _roux_ as will moisten the mushrooms; fry a slice of
bread in butter, to fit the dish, and as soon as the mushrooms are
tender serve them on the toast.
_To Pot Mushrooms._--The small open mushrooms suit best for potting.
Trim and rub them; put into a stew-pan a quart of mushrooms, three
ounces of butter, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and half a tea-spoonful of
Cayenne and mace mixed, and stew for ten or fifteen minutes, or till the
mushrooms are tender; take them carefully out and drain them perfectly
on a sloping dish, and when cold press them into small pots, and pour
clarified butter over them, in which state they will keep for a week or
two. If required to be longer preserved, put writing paper over the
butter, and over that melted suet, which will effectually preserve them
for many weeks, if kept in a dry, cool place.
_To Pickle Mushrooms._--Select a number of small, sound, pasture
mushrooms as nearly as possible alike in size; throw them for a few
minutes into cold water; then drain them; cut off the stalks, and gently
rub off the outer skin with a moist flannel dipped in salt; then boil
the vinegar, adding to each quart two ounces of salt, half a nutmeg
sliced, a drachm of mace, and an ounce of white pepper-corns; put the
mushrooms into the vinegar for ten minutes over the fire; then pour the
whole into small jars, taking care that the spices are equally divided;
let them stand a day, then cover them.
_Another Method._--In pickling mushrooms take the buttons only and while
they are quite close, cut the stem off even with the gills and rub them
quite clean. Lay them in salt and water for forty-eight hours, and then
add pepper, and vinegar in which black pepper and a little mace have
been boiled. The vinegar must be applied cold. So pickled they will keep
for years.
_Mushrooms en Ragoût._--Put into a stew-pan a little stock, a small
quantity of vinegar, parsley, and green onions chopped up, salt, and
spices. When this is about to boil, the mushrooms being cleaned, put
them in. When done remove them from the fire, and thicken with yolks of
eggs.
_Mushrooms and Toast._--Peel the mushrooms, and take out the stems. Fry
them over a quick fire. When the butter is melted take off the pan.
Squeeze the juice of a lemon into it. Let the mushrooms fry again for
some minutes. Add salt, pepper, spices, and a spoonful of water, in
which a clove of garlic, having been cut into pieces, has soaked for
half an hour; let it stew. When the mushrooms are done, make a
thickening of yolks of eggs. Pour the mushrooms on bread fried in
butter, and laid in the dish ready for them.
_Mushrooms en Caisse._--Peel the mushrooms lightly, and cut them into
pieces. Put them into cases of buttered paper, with a bit of butter,
parsley, green onions, and shalots chopped up, salt and pepper. Dress
them on the gridiron over a gentle fire, and serve in the cases.
_Mushrooms à la Provençale._--Take mushrooms of good size. Remove the
stems, and soak them in olive oil. Cut up the stems with a clove of
garlic and some parsley. Add meat of sausages, and two yolks of eggs to
unite them. Dish the mushrooms, and garnish them with the forcemeat.
Sprinkle them with fine oil, and dress them in an oven, or in a _four de
campagne_.
_Baked Mushrooms._--Peel the tops of twenty mushrooms; cut off a portion
of the stalks, and wipe them carefully with a piece of flannel dipped in
salt. Lay the mushrooms in a tin dish, put a small piece of butter on
the top of each, and season them with pepper and salt. Set the dish in
the oven, and bake them from twenty minutes to half an hour. When done,
arrange them high in the centre of a very hot dish, pour the sauce round
them, and serve quickly, and as hot as you possibly can.
_Mushrooms au Gratin._--Take twelve large mushrooms about two inches in
diameter, pare the stalks, wash, and drain the mushrooms on a cloth; cut
off and chop the stalks. Put in a quart stew-pan an ounce of butter and
half an ounce of flour; stir over the fire for two minutes; then add one
pint of broth; stir till reduced to half the quantity. Drain the chopped
stalks of the mushrooms thoroughly in a cloth; put them in the sauce
with three table-spoonfuls of chopped and washed parsley, one
table-spoonful of chopped and washed shalot, two pinches of salt, a
small pinch of pepper; reduce on a brisk fire for eight minutes, put two
table-spoonfuls of oil in a _sauté_ pan; set the mushrooms in, the
hollow part upwards; fill them with the fine herbs, and sprinkle over
them lightly a table-spoonful of raspings; put in a brisk oven for ten
minutes, and serve.
_Mushroom Soup._--Take a good quantity of mushrooms, cut off the earthy
end, and pick and wash them. Stew them with some butter, pepper, and
salt in a little good stock till tender; take them out, and chop them up
quite small; prepare a good stock as for any other soup, and add it to
the mushrooms and the liquor they have been stewed in. Boil all
together, and serve. If white soup be desired, use the white button
mushrooms, and a good veal stock, adding a spoonful of cream or a little
milk, as the colour may require.
The following “family receipts” have been communicated by a friend:
Clean a dozen or so of medium-size, place two or three ounces of nice
clean beef-dripping in the frying-pan, and with it a table-spoonful or
more of nice beef gravy. Set the pan on a gentle fire, and as the
dripping melts place in the mushrooms, adding salt and pepper to taste.
In a few minutes they will be cooked, and being soaked in the gravy and
served upon a hot plate, will form a capital dish. In the absence of
gravy, a _soupçon_ of “extractum carnis” may be substituted.
_Mushrooms with Bacon._--Take some full-grown mushrooms, and having
cleaned them, procure a few rashers of nice streaky bacon, and fry it in
the usual manner. When nearly done, add a dozen or so of mushrooms, and
fry them slowly until they are cooked. In this process they will absorb
all the fat of the bacon, and with the addition of a little salt and
pepper, will form a most appetising breakfast relish.
_Mushroom Stems_, if young and fresh, make a capital dish for those who
are not privileged to eat the mushrooms. Rub them quite clean, and after
washing them in salt and water, slice them to the thickness of a
shilling, then place them in a saucepan with sufficient milk to stew
them tender; throw in a piece of butter and some flour for thickening,
and salt and pepper to taste. Serve upon a toast of bread, in a hot
dish, and add sippets of toasted bread. This makes a light and very
delicate supper dish, and is not bad sauce to a boiled fowl.