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CHAPTER XII
EGGS
Of all the products put into requisition by the art of cookery, not one is so fruitful of variety, so universally liked, and so complete in itself as the egg. There are very few culinary recipes that do not include eggs, either as a principal constituent or as an ingredient.
The many and various egg-preparations constitute chiefly breakfast or luncheon dishes; nevertheless, at a Lenten dinner they may be served as entrées with advantage, for, at a time when fish, shell-fish and water-game are the only resources in this respect, eggs form a pleasant and welcome change.
395—EGGS ON THE DISH
Eggs cooked in this way derive all their quality from the way in which the cooking process is conducted. They must be evenly cooked, on top and underneath, and should remain soft. An important condition of the process is that the eggs should be exceedingly fresh. After having heated sufficient butter in the dish to cover the whole of the bottom, break two eggs into it, baste the yolks with a little very hot butter, salt them slightly, and push them into the oven. As soon as the white of the eggs assumes a milky-white colour, they are cooked and should be withdrawn from the oven to be served immediately.
Great attention should be bestowed upon the cooking process, a few seconds more or less than the required time being sufficient to spoil the eggs. Special care ought to be taken that they do not cook either too much or too quickly, for it should be remembered that, even were the cooking checked before the proper time, the heat of the dish does, to a certain extent, make good the deficiency.
Eggs à la poêle, which, in England, are called “fried eggs,” are a variety of eggs on the dish, very often served on toast, or accompanied by sausages or fried bacon. They are [165] cooked in an omelet-pan, trimmed neatly with a fancy-cutter, and placed, by means of a spatula, upon the prepared toast.
About one-half oz. of butter should be allowed for every two eggs, which number constitutes the working-base of the following recipes.
396—BERCY EGGS
Put half of the butter to be used in a dish; let it melt, break the eggs, taking care not to burst the yolks; baste the latter with the rest of the butter, and season. Cook as directed—that is to say, until the whites are quite done and the yolks are glossy. Garnish with a small, grilled sausage, placed between the yolks, and surround with a thread of tomato sauce.
397—EGGS WITH BROWN BUTTER
There are two methods: (1) Cook the eggs in a dish as usual, and then cover them with one-quarter oz. of brown butter and a few drops of vinegar, which should be added after the butter.
(2) Put one-half oz. of butter into a small omelet-pan, and cook it until it is almost black. Break the eggs into it, season, cook, tilt them gently on to a dish, and besprinkle with a few drops of vinegar, with which the omelet-pan has been rinsed.
398—EGGS CHASSEUR
Cook the eggs as per No. 395. This done, garnish on either side with a tablespoonful of sliced chicken’s liver, rapidly sautéd and cohered with a little Chasseur sauce.
399—DEVILLED EGGS
Cook the eggs in the omelet-pan; turn them, after the manner of pancakes, taking care lest they break. Slide them gently into a dish, and besprinkle them with brown butter and a few drops of vinegar with which the omelet-pan has been rinsed.
400—EGGS A LA FLORENTINE
Garnish the bottom of a dish with spinach-leaves stewed in butter; sprinkle thereon two pinches of grated cheese; break the eggs upon this garnish, and cover them with two tablespoonfuls of Mornay sauce. Place in a fierce oven, so that the cooking and glazing of the eggs may be effected simultaneously.
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401—EGGS AU GRATIN
Put a tablespoonful of very hot Mornay sauce into a dish. Break the eggs into it, cover them with Mornay sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese mixed with fine raspings, and cook in a fierce oven, in order that the eggs and the gratin may be done at the same time.
402—ISOLINE EGGS
Cook the eggs according to No. 395. Place between them, and all round the dish, some small, halved tomatoes à la Provençale. Put in the centre of each halved tomato a fine chicken’s liver sautéd with Madeira.
403—JOCKEY CLUB EGGS
Cook the eggs in an omelet-pan; tilt them gently on to a dish, and trim them with a round fancy-cutter. Place each egg upon a round, thin piece of toast, and then cover them with foie-gras purée. Arrange them in the form of a crown, on a dish, and pour into the middle a garnish of calf’s kidneys cut into dice and sautéd, and truffles similarly cut, the latter being cohered by means of some dense half-glaze.
404—LULLY EGGS
Cook the eggs in an omelet-pan, and cut them with a round fancy-cutter. Place each egg on a slice of raw ham, cut to the same shape as the former, and fried in butter. Then place the egg and ham on toast similarly shaped and of the same size. Arrange the eggs in a circle round the dish, and garnish the middle of it with macaroni combined with concassed tomatoes stewed in butter.
405—MEYERBEER EGGS
Cook the eggs as in No. 395. Place a small, grilled sheep’s or lamb’s kidney between each yolk, and surround with a thread of Périgueux sauce.
406—MIRABEAU EGGS
Substitute for ordinary butter, anchovy butter. Break the eggs and cook them. Surround each yolk with anchovy fillets, and garnish each of these with a spray of parboiled tarragon leaves. Place a large olive stuffed with tarragon butter on either side of the yolks.
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407—OMER-PACHA EGGS
Garnish a dish with a large tablespoonful of minced onions cooked in butter and unbrowned. Break the eggs over the garnish, sprinkle them with a small tablespoonful of dry, grated Parmesan cheese, and cook in a sufficiently fierce oven for a slight gratin to form as soon as the eggs are done.
408—PARMENTIER EGGS
Bake some fine Dutch potatoes in the oven. Open them, from above, with an oval fancy-cutter; remove the pulp from the inside, rub it through a sieve, and make a smooth purée of it. Half-fill the potato-shells with this purée, break an egg into each, besprinkle with cream, and cook in the oven. Replace the part of the baked shell removed in the first instance, and dish up on a napkin.
409—EGGS A LA PORTUGAISE
Put a tablespoonful of tomato fondue into a dish. Break the eggs upon this, season, and cook. Between the eggs and at each end of the dish put a little heap of tomato fondue, and on each of the heaps drop a pinch of chopped parsley.
410—EGGS A LA REINE
Cook the eggs in an omelet-pan, and trim them with a round fancy-cutter. Put each egg upon a small disc of Duchesse potatoes, of the same size as the egg, previously browned in the oven. Arrange the eggs in a circle round the dish; in the middle put a chicken mincemeat, and surround with a border of Suprême sauce.
Poached and Soft-boiled Eggs
All the recipes given hereafter apply equally to poached and soft-boiled eggs, wherefore I shall only mention “poached” in the titles, leaving soft-boiled to be understood.
411—PROCEDURE FOR POACHED EGGS
The one and only essential condition in this case is the use of perfectly fresh eggs, for it is quite impossible to expect an even poaching if this condition is not fulfilled.
(1) Have ready a sauté-pan containing boiling salted water (one-third oz. of salt per quart of water), slightly acidulated with vinegar. Break the eggs over that part of the water which is actually boiling.
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(2) In order that the eggs may poach freely, do not put more
than eight or ten at a time into the same sauté-pan; better even
poach them six at a time, for then the poaching will be effected
more equally.
(3) As soon as the eggs are in the water, let the latter simmer. The egg is poached when the white has enveloped the yolk, reassuming, as it were, the form of a raw egg, and when it may be touched without breaking. The usual time allowed for poaching is three minutes.
(4) Withdraw the eggs by means of a slice; dip them into cold water, trim their whites, and put them back into moderately warm water until ready to serve.
412—THE COOKING OF SOFT-BOILED EGGS
These ought to be very fresh, as in the case of poached eggs. With a view to equalising their cooking, it is a good plan to put them in a colander perforated with large holes, whereby they may be plunged into and withdrawn from the water together. Keep the water boiling; plunge the eggs therein as directed; leave them to cook for six minutes from the time the water has regained the boiling-point; drain, steep for a moment in a bowl of cold water, and shell the eggs carefully. Keep them in moderately-salted hot water until ready to serve.
413—THE DISHING OF POACHED AND SOFT-BOILED EGGS
There are many ways of doing this, viz.:—
(1) On rusks of bread-crumb, slightly hollowed, ornamented according to taste (i.e., indented by means of the point of a small knife) and fried in clarified butter. Their shape is oval for poached eggs, and round for soft-boiled eggs, the latter being generally dished upright.
(2) On little, oval feuilletés for poached eggs, on feuilletés in the shape of indented crowns, or in small patties for soft-boiled eggs.
(3) In borders of forcemeat or other preparations, the kind of which is indicated by the name of the particular egg-preparation. These borders are laid on the dish by means of a piping-bag or by hand; they are either oval or round, plain or indented, poached or oven-browned, according to the nature of the preparation used.
(4) On tartlet-crusts which are garnished so as to be in keeping with the method of dressing the eggs.
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Remarks.—(1) Poached or soft-boiled eggs, when dished
upon fried rusks, feuilletés, or tartlets, should, before being
placed on the latter, be covered with sauce. Also before being
treated with sauce they should be well drained.
(2) Having given the general outlines of the procedure, I shall now pass on to the particular recipes, stating them briefly, and reminding the reader that all of them apply equally to poached and soft-boiled eggs. Thus “Poached Eggs Mireille” stands for “Poached or Soft-boiled Eggs Mireille.”
414—POACHED EGGS ARGENTEUIL
Garnish the bottom of some tartlet-crusts with asparagus cut into pieces and cooked, and six green asparagus-heads, about one and one-half inches in length, arranged like a star. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce mixed with half its volume of asparagus purée, upon each tartlet.
415—POACHED EGGS A L’AURORE
Coat the eggs with Aurora sauce, and dish them on oval feuilletés if poached, or upright on feuilletés in the shape of rings if soft-boiled.
416—POACHED EGGS EN BERCEAU
Bake some fine Dutch potatoes in the oven. Cut each potato in half, lengthwise, with the point of a small knife, and remove the pulp. Emptied in this way, the halved potatoes resemble little cradles. Coat the interior of each cradle with a fine chicken mincemeat mixed with cream, and place an egg coated with Aurora sauce in each.
417—POACHED EGGS A LA BOHÉMIENNE
Garnish the bottom of some tartlet-crusts with a salpicon of foie-gras and truffles cohered with a few tablespoonfuls of the following sauce:—For six eggs, dissolve one teaspoonful of white-meat glaze; add thereto half a teaspoonful of truffle essence, and finish with a lump of butter about the size of a pigeon’s egg. Take enough of this sauce to effect the cohering of the salpicon; coat the eggs with Hungarian sauce, and place one upon each garnished tartlet.
418—POACHED EGGS BOÏELDIEU
Garnish the tartlets with a white-chicken-meat, foie-gras, and truffle salpicon cohered with poultry velouté. Coat the eggs with a reduced and thickened poultry gravy.
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419—POACHED EGGS A LA BRUXELLOISE
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with braised, minced endives thickened with cream. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce, upon each; sprinkle moderately with biscotte raspings, and set to glaze quickly in a fierce oven.
420—POACHED EGGS A LA CLAMART
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with small, green peas, cooked à la française (No. 2193), and mixed with finely ciseled lettuce which should have cooked with them. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce which has been finished with fresh-pea butter, upon each.
421—POACHED EGGS COLBERT
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with a macédoine cohered with Béchamel. Place a plainly-poached egg upon each, and send Colbert butter, separately, to the table with the tartlets.
422—POACHED EGGS A LA COMTESSE
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with white asparagus purée. Place an egg coated with Allemande sauce upon each, and sprinkle with very black chopped truffles.
423—POACHED EGGS GRAND DUC
There are two modes of procedure:—(a) Place the eggs on fried rusks, with a nice slice of truffle on each; arrange them in a circle round the dish, coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze in a fierce oven. On withdrawing the dish from the oven, put in the centre a garnish composed of asparagus-heads and a small faggot of the latter, very green and cooked. (b) Prepare a croustade, moulded in a flawn ring, the size of which must be in proportion to the number of eggs to be served. Arrange the eggs in a circle in the croustade, coat them with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze in a fierce oven. On withdrawing the croustade from the oven, garnish its centre with asparagus-heads and a small faggot as above.
424—POACHED EGGS MAINTENON
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with a Soubise à la Béchamel, slightly thickened by reduction. Coat the eggs with Mornay sauce, besprinkle with grated cheese, and place them in the crusts by means of a slice.
Set to glaze in a fierce oven, and, on withdrawing the dish [171] from the oven, surround the crusts with a thread of melted meat-glaze.
425—POACHED EGGS MASSÉNA
Heat some medium-sized artichoke-bottoms in butter. Slightly hollow them, if necessary, and garnish each with a tablespoonful of Béarnaise sauce. Place an egg, coated with tomato sauce, upon each artichoke-bottom; then place a slice of poached marrow upon each egg, and a little chopped parsley upon each slice of marrow.
426—POACHED EGGS MIREILLE
Slightly press some saffroned pilaff rice in buttered tartlet moulds.
Prepare as many pieces of toast of the same size as the tartlets, and fry them in oil. Place an egg, coated with cream sauce, finished with saffron, upon each. Turn the rice-tartlets out of the moulds, and arrange them in a circle on a dish, alternating them with the eggs on toast; put a coffeespoonful of concassed tomatoes, stewed in butter and kept rather thick, upon each rice-tartlet.
427—POACHED EGGS MORNAY
Coat the eggs with Mornay sauce, and besprinkle with grated Gruyère and Parmesan cheese mixed with fine raspings. Then, by means of a slice, carefully transfer the eggs to pieces of toast fried in oil. Arrange them in a circle on a dish, sprinkle each egg with a few drops of melted butter, and set to glaze quickly in a fierce oven.
428—POACHED EGGS D’ORSAY
Place the eggs upon toast fried in butter. Arrange them in a circle on a dish, and coat them with Châteaubriand sauce.
429—POACHED EGGS ROSSINI
Garnish some tartlet-crusts, each with a slice of foie gras (raw if possible) seasoned, dredged with flour, and fried in butter. Place an egg, coated with thickened veal gravy with Madeira, on each tartlet, and complete by means of a large slice of very black truffle on each egg.
430—POACHED EGGS SÉVIGNÉ
Prepare some thin rusks; fry them in clarified butter, and stuff them with a mince of braised lettuce. Place an egg on [172] each stuffed rusk; coat with velouté mixed with poultry essence; arrange in a circle on a dish, and complete by means of a ring of very black truffle on each egg.
431—POACHED EGGS VICTORIA
Garnish some tartlet-crusts with a salpicon made from three oz. of spiny-lobster meat and one-half oz. of truffles, cohered with three tablespoonfuls of Diplomate sauce. Place an egg, coated with Diplomate sauce, on each tartlet. Dish, and set to glaze in a fierce oven.
432—POACHED EGGS WITH RED WINE
These eggs may either be poached with red wine, or in the ordinary way.
In the first case, the wine used for poaching may serve to prepare the red wine or Bordelaise sauce (No. 32). In either case, the eggs are dished on oval rusks, slightly hollowed and fried in butter; they are coated with the sauce, after having been dished, and they are quickly glazed.
433—HARD-BOILED EGGS
Boiling eggs hard may seem an insignificant matter, but, like the other modes of procedure, it is, in reality, of some importance, and should be effected in a given period of time. If, for a special purpose, they have to be just done, it is pointless and even harmful to boil them beyond a certain time-limit, seeing that any excess in the boiling only makes them tough, and the whites particularly so, owing to their albuminous nature. In order to boil eggs uniformly, they should be put into a colander with large holes, whereby they may be plunged at the same moment of time into the boiling water. From the time the water regains the boiling point, eight minutes should be allowed in the case of medium-sized eggs, and ten minutes in the case of larger ones; but these times should never be exceeded. As soon as they are done drain the eggs and dip them in cold water, and then shell them carefully.
434—HARD-BOILED EGGS CARÊME
Have ready beforehand a timbale crust (No. 2394), somewhat shallow.
For six hard-boiled eggs, slice four artichoke-bottoms of medium size, and stew them in butter; cut some truffles into slices, allowing four slices to each egg, and cut up the eggs [173] into discs about one-half inch thick. Prepare also in advance one-half pint of Nantua sauce.
Garnish the crust with alternate layers of sliced artichoke-bottoms, egg-discs, and sliced truffles. Finish with a coating of sauce and a ring of sliced truffles.
Dish up the crust on a napkin.
435—HARD-BOILED EGGS CHIMAY
Cut the eggs, lengthwise, in two. Remove the yolks, pound them into a paste, and add thereto an equal quantity of dry Duxelle (No. 223). Fill the empty whites with the preparation; place them on a buttered gratin-dish; cover them with Mornay sauce; besprinkle with grated cheese; pour a few drops of melted butter upon the sauce, and set to glaze in a fierce oven.
436—HARD-BOILED EGGS IN CROQUETTES
Cut the eggs into small dice (white and yolks). Per six eggs add five oz. of cooked mushrooms and one oz. of truffles, cut into dice.
Thicken the whole with one-quarter pint of reduced Béchamel, and spread on a plate to cool.
When cold, divide the preparation into portions weighing about two oz.; roll these portions into balls on a floured mixing-board, and then shape them like eggs. Dip them into an anglaise (No. 174), taking care to cover them well with it, and then roll them in fine and fresh bread-crumbs, letting this operation avail for finishing off the shape. Put them into hot fat seven or eight minutes before dishing up; drain, salt moderately, place on a napkin, with a centre garnish of very green, fried parsley, and send a cream sauce to the table with them.
437—HARD-BOILED EGGS IN RISSOLES
Make a preparation of eggs, as for the croquettes, using a little more sauce. Roll some puff-paste trimmings to a thickness of one-quarter inch, and stamp it with a round indented cutter two and one-half inches in diameter.
Place a small tablespoonful of the preparation in the middle of each piece of paste; moisten slightly all round, and make the rissoles by folding the outside edges of the paste over one another to look like a closed purse, taking care to press them well together so as to join them, thus completely enclosing the preparation. Treat them à l’anglaise; put them into hot fat [174] eight minutes before serving, and dish up on a napkin, with a centre garnish of parsley.
438—EGGS A LA TRIPE
For six eggs, finely mince two onions, and stew them in butter, without letting them acquire any colour. Add thereto one-half pint of Béchamel sauce, and set to cook gently for ten minutes. A few minutes before serving add the eggs, cut into large slices, to the sauce.
Dish up in a timbale.
439—EGGS A LA TRIPE, BOURGEOISE
For six eggs chop up two large onions and stew them in butter without colouration. Sprinkle them with one-half oz. of flour, moisten with one pint of boiling milk, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Set to cook, gently, for twenty minutes; rub through a fine sieve or through tammy, and transfer the preparation to a saucepan, and heat it well. Dish up the eggs, which should be quartered, in a timbale, and cover them with the preparation of onions, very hot.
440—EGGS EN COCOTTE
The poaching of eggs en cocotte is done in the bain-marie.
Cocottes for eggs, which may be replaced by little china or plaited cases, are a kind of small saucepan in earthenware, in porcelain, or in silver, provided with a little handle. The time generally allowed for the cooking or poaching of eggs in this way is ten minutes, but this time is subject to variations either way. In order to accelerate the process I should advise the warming of the cocottes before the insertion of the eggs.
Mode of Procedure.—Having garnished the cocottes and broken the eggs into them, as directed in the recipes given hereafter, set them in a sauté-pan and pour therein enough boiling water to reach within one-half inch of the brims of the cocottes. Place in the oven and cover, just leaving sufficient opening for the steam to escape.
The eggs are done when the whites are almost set and the yolks are glossy. After having properly wiped the cocottes, dish them on a napkin or on a fancy dish-paper.
441—EGGS EN COCOTTE AU CHAMBERTIN
Prepare a red-wine sauce au Chambertin. Fill the cocottes, one-third full, with this sauce. Set to boil on a corner of the [175] stove; break the eggs into the boiling sauce, season with a grain of salt, and put the cocottes, one by one, into a sauté-pan containing the necessary quantity of boiling water.
Poach as directed, and set to glaze quickly at the last moment.
442—EGGS EN COCOTTE WITH CREAM
This preparation constitutes the radical type of this series of eggs, and, for a long time, was the only one in use. Heat the cocottes beforehand; pour a tablespoonful of boiling cream into each, followed by an egg, broken; season, and add two little lumps of butter, the size of peas. Place the cocottes in a bain-marie, and poach as before.
443—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA JEANNETTE
Garnish the bottom and the sides of the cocottes with a thickness of one-third inch of chicken-forcemeat with cream, mixed with a fifth of its volume of foie gras. Break the egg over the middle, season, and poach in the usual way. When about to serve, surround the eggs with a thread of poultry velouté.
444—EGGS EN COCOTTE WITH GRAVY
Break the eggs into buttered cocottes. Season, poach, and, when about to serve, surround the yolks with a thread of reduced veal gravy.
445—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA LORRAINE
Put a teaspoonful of breast of pork, cut into dice and fried, into each cocotte, also three thin slices of Gruyère cheese and one tablespoonful of boiling cream. Break the eggs, season, and poach in the usual way.
446—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA MARAICHÈRE
Garnish the bottom and sides of the cocottes with cooked spinach, chopped and pressed, and sorrel and lettuce leaves, both of which should be stewed in butter. Break the eggs, season, poach in the usual way, and, when about to send the eggs to the table, drop a fine chervil pluche on each yolk.
447—EGGS EN COCOTTE WITH MORELS
Garnish the bottom and sides of the cocottes with minced morels fried in butter and thickened with a little reduced half-glaze. Break the eggs, season, poach, and surround the yolks with a thread of half-glaze when dishing up.
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448—EGGS EN COCOTTE A LA SOUBISE
Garnish the bottom and sides of the cocottes with a coating of thick Soubise purée. Break the eggs, season, and poach. When dishing up, surround the yolks with a thread of melted meat-glaze.
449—MOULDED EGGS
These form a very ornamental dish, but the time required to prepare them being comparatively long, poached, soft-boiled, and other kinds of eggs are generally preferred in their stead. They are made in variously shaped moulds, ornamented according to the nature of the preparation, and the eggs are broken into them direct, or they may be inserted in the form of scrambled eggs, together with raw eggs poached in a bain-marie.
Whatever be the mode of preparation, the moulds should always be liberally buttered. The usual time allowed for the poaching of the eggs in moulds is from ten to twelve minutes, but when withdrawn from the bain-marie it is well to let the moulds stand awhile with the view of promoting a settling of their contents, which action facilitates the ultimate turning out of the latter.
Empty the moulds on small pieces of toast or tartlets, and arrange these in a circle round the dish.
450—MOULDED EGGS A LA CARIGNAN
Butter some Madeleine-moulds, shaped like elongated shells, and garnish them with a thin coating of chicken-stuffing or crayfish butter. Break the eggs in the middle of the forcemeat; season, place carefully in a bain-marie, and poach, with cover on, in the oven, leaving a small opening for the escape of the generated vapour. Empty the moulds on toast cut to the same shape as the moulds and fried in butter; arrange them on the dish, and coat with a Châteaubriand sauce.
451—MOULDED EGGS A LA DUCHESSE
Butter some baba-moulds; garnish the bottom of each with a large slice of truffle; break an egg into each, and poach in the bain-marie. Turn out the moulds on to little fluted galettes made from Duchesse potatoes and coloured in the oven after having been gilded.
Dish up in the form of a crown, and coat with a thickened veal gravy.
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452—GALLI-MARIÉ, MOULDED EGGS
For four people: (1) Prepare five scrambled eggs, keeping them very soft; add thereto three raw, beaten eggs and one teaspoonful of capsicum, cut into dice. Mould this preparation in four little shallow cassolettes, well buttered, and poach in the bain-marie.
(2) Have ready and hot as many cooked artichoke-bottoms as there are cassolettes; the former should have had their edges fluted. Have also ready a “Rice à la Grecque” (No. 2253).
(3) Garnish the artichoke-bottoms with the rice; turn out the cassolettes upon the latter; arrange on a dish, and cover with highly-seasoned and buttered Béchamel sauce. Put the dish in a fierce oven, so as to glaze quickly, and serve immediately.
453—MOULDED EGGS A LA MORTEMART
Scramble five eggs, keeping them soft, and add thereto three raw, beaten eggs. Butter some shallow, timbale moulds; garnish their bottoms with a fine slice of truffle, and fill them with the preparation of eggs. Poach in a bain-marie.
Turn out each mould on a tartlet-crust, garnished with mushroom purée à la crème (No. 2079), and arrange in a circle on a round dish. Send a sauceboat containing some melted and buttered meat-glaze to the table with the eggs.
454—NEAPOLITAN MOULDED EGGS
Make a preparation consisting of scrambled eggs and Parmesan cheese, keeping it very soft; add thereto, per five scrambled eggs, two raw eggs. Fill some little, well-buttered brioche-moulds with this preparation, and poach in the bain-marie. As soon as their contents are properly set, turn out the moulds on to a buttered gratin dish, besprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and coat the eggs with reduced and buttered half-glaze, well saturated with tomato.
455—MOULDED EGGS PALERMITAINE
Butter some baba-moulds; garnish the bottoms with a slice of truffle, and besprinkle the sides with very red, chopped tongue. Put the moulds in ice for a while, in order that the tongue may set in the butter. Break an egg into each mould, season, and poach in the bain-marie. Turn out the moulds on tartlet-crusts garnished with macaroni with cream.
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456—POLIGNAC MOULDED EGGS
Butter some baba-moulds, and garnish the bottoms with a slice of truffle. Break an egg into each; season, and poach in a bain-marie.
Turn out the moulds upon little round pieces of toast; arrange them in a circle on a dish, and coat the eggs with Maître-d’Hôtel butter, the latter being dissolved and mixed with three tablespoonfuls of melted meat-glaze per every one-quarter lb. of its weight.
457—PRINCESS MOULDED EGGS
Butter some narrow and deep dariole-moulds; garnish their bottoms with a slice of very black truffle, and their sides with a very thin coating of chicken forcemeat.
Make a preparation of scrambled eggs, asparagus-heads, and truffles cut into dice, keeping them very soft, and add thereto raw, beaten eggs in the proportion of one raw egg to every four scrambled.
Fill the moulds, two-thirds full, with this preparation; cover the eggs with a coating of forcemeat, and poach in a bain-marie for twelve minutes.
Turn out the moulds upon little, round pieces of toast; set these in a circle on a dish, and surround them with a thread of clear poultry velouté. Or the velouté may be sent to the table separately, in a sauceboat.
458—PRINTANIER MOULDED EGGS
Butter some hexagonal moulds, and garnish them, Chartreuse-fashion, with cut-up, cooked vegetables, varying the shades. Break an egg into each mould; season, and poach in a bain-marie. Turn out the moulds upon little, round pieces of toast; arrange these in a circle on a dish, and pour in their midst a cream sauce finished by means of a Printanier butter with herbs, in the proportion of one oz. of butter to one-quarter pint of sauce.
459—SCRAMBLED EGGS
This dish is undoubtedly the finest of all egg-preparations, provided the eggs be not over-cooked, and they be kept soft and creamy.
Scrambled eggs are mostly served in silver timbales, but, in certain cases, they may also be dished in special little croustades, in little receptacles made from hollowed brioches, or in tartlet-crusts. [179] Formerly, it was customary to garnish scrambled eggs served in a silver timbale with small, variously-shaped pieces of toast, or with small scraps of puff-paste, cooked without colouration, and shaped like crescents, lozenges, rings, palmettes, &c. This method has something to recommend it, and may always be adopted. In old cookery, scrambled eggs were sanctioned only when cooked in a bain-marie. This measure certainly ensured their being properly cooked, but it considerably lengthened the procedure. The latter may therefore be shortened by cooking the eggs in the usual way, i.e., in a utensil in direct contact with the fire; but in this case the heat must be moderate, in order that, the process of cooking being progressive and gradual, perfect homogeneity of the particles of the eggs (effecting the smoothness of the preparation) may result.
460—METHOD OF SCRAMBLING EGGS
For six eggs, slightly heat one oz. of butter in a thick-bottomed sauté-pan. Add the six eggs, beaten moderately, together with a large pinch of salt and a little pepper; place the pan on a moderate fire, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, taking care to avoid anything in the way of sudden, fierce heat, which, by instantaneously solidifying the egg-molecules, would cause lumps to form in the mass—a thing which, above all, should be guarded against.
When, by cooking, the eggs have acquired the proper consistence, and are still smooth and creamy, take the sauté-pan off the fire, and finish the preparation by means of one and one-half oz. of butter (divided into small quantities) and three tablespoonfuls of cream. Only whisk the eggs to be scrambled when absolutely necessary.
N.B.—Having given the mode of procedure, which is unalterable for scrambled eggs, I shall now pass on, in the following recipes, to the various garnishes suited to this kind of dish. The quantities I give are those required for six scrambled eggs.
461—SCRAMBLED EGGS A LA BOHÉMIENNE
Take one cottage brioche for every two eggs. Remove the tops of the brioches, and the crumb from the remaining portions, so as to form cases of these. Add one-half oz. of foie gras to the scrambled eggs, and half as much truffles, cut into dice, for every two eggs. Fill the emptied brioches with this preparation, and place a slice of truffle coated with meat-glaze upon each.
[180]
462—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MUSHROOMS
Add to the scrambled eggs one oz. of cooked mushrooms cut into dice, or raw mushrooms, minced and sautéd in butter, for every two eggs.
Dish in a timbale; put a fine, cooked, and grooved mushroom in the middle, and surround with a crown of sliced mushrooms, also cooked.
463—SCRAMBLED EGGS, CHASSEUR
Dish the scrambled eggs in a timbale. Hollow out the middle, and place therein a garnish of one fine chicken’s liver, sautéd, per every two eggs. Sprinkle a pinch of chervil and tarragon on the garnish, and surround with a thread of chasseur sauce (No. 33).
464—SCRAMBLED EGGS, CHATILLON
Dish the eggs in a timbale, and place a garnish of mushrooms in the centre. The mushrooms should first be minced raw, and then sautéd in butter. Sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley on the garnish, and surround with a thread of melted meat-glaze. Border the whole, close to the sides of the timbale, with small crescents of puff-paste, baked pale.
465—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SHRIMPS
Dish the scrambled eggs in a silver timbale. Place a little heap of shrimps’ tails bound with a few tablespoonfuls of shrimp sauce in the middle, and surround with a thread of the same sauce.
466—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH HERBS
Add to the scrambled eggs a tablespoonful of parsley, chervil pluches, chives, and tarragon leaves in equal quantities and chopped.
467—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH CHEESE
Break the eggs, beat them, season, and add thereto, for every two eggs, one-half oz. of fresh grated Gruyère cheese, and as much grated Parmesan. Cook the eggs in the usual way on a very moderate fire, in order to keep them creamy.
[181]
468—SCRAMBLED EGGS GRAND-MÈRE
Add to the scrambled eggs a tablespoonful of little crusts, cut into dice, fried in clarified butter, and prepared in time to be inserted into the eggs very hot. Dish in a timbale with a pinch of chopped parsley in the middle.
469—SCRAMBLED EGGS, GEORGETTE
Bake three fine Dutch potatoes, or six smaller ones, in the oven. Open them by means of an incision on their tops; withdraw the pulp from the interior with the handle of a spoon, and keep the remaining shells hot. Prepare the scrambled eggs in the usual way, and finish them away from the fire with one and one-half oz. of crayfish butter, and eight or ten shelled crayfish tails. Garnish the potato shells with this preparation, and dish up on a napkin.
470—SCRAMBLED EGGS FOR HOT LUNCHEON HORS-D’ŒUVRE
I only give one recipe of this kind, but the series may be extended at will without involving much deep research, since all that is needed for the purpose of variety is the modification of the garnish and a change in the soufflé preparation. The mode of procedure remains unalterable. Prepare the scrambled eggs, and garnish them as fancy may suggest. Also make a “Soufflé with Parmesan Cheese” (No. 2295a).
Put the scrambled eggs into a large tartlet-crust, cook without colouration, filling them only two-thirds full. Cover with the soufflé preparation, taking care to make it project in a mound above the tartlets; place these on a tray, poach quickly in a hot oven, and glaze at the same time.
471—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MORELS
Add to the scrambled eggs some minced morels, sautéd in butter and seasoned. Dish in timbales, and place a fine, cooked morel in the centre of each.
472—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MOUSSERONS
Proceed as for No. 471.
473—SCRAMBLED EGGS, ORLOFF
Break the eggs; beat them, and add thereto a little fresh, thick cream. Cook them in the usual way, and add three [182] crayfishes’ tails per every two eggs. Dish in little porcelain cases, place a fine slice of truffle in each of the cases, and arrange these upon a napkin lying on a dish.
474—SCRAMBLED EGGS A LA PIÉMONTAISE
Add to the scrambled eggs, per every two of the latter, one-half oz. of grated Parmesan cheese and a coffeespoonful of raw, grated, Piedmont truffles. Dish in a timbale, and garnish with a fine crown of sliced truffles of the same kind as the above.
475—SCRAMBLED EGGS A LA PORTUGAISE
Dish the eggs in a timbale, and place, in the middle, some fine, concassed tomatoes, seasoned and sautéd in butter. Sprinkle a pinch of concassed parsley on the tomatoes, and surround with a thread of meat-glaze.
476—SCRAMBLED EGGS, PRINCESS MARY
Prepare some small timbales in dariole-moulds from puff-paste scraps, and bake them without colouration; also some little covers of puff-paste, stamped out with an indented fancy-cutter, two inches in diameter. Set the covers on a tray, gild them slightly, place on each a scrap of indented paste, and leave this uncoloured. Bake the timbales and the covers in a moderate oven.
Make a preparation of scrambled eggs and Parmesan cheese; add to this, away from the fire, two tablespoonfuls of reduced velouté with truffle essence and truffles cut into dice.
Garnish the timbales, put a cover on each, and dish up on a napkin.
477—SCRAMBLED EGGS, RACHEL
Add some truffles, cut into dice, and some asparagus-heads to the scrambled eggs. Dish on a timbale; put a fine little faggot of asparagus-heads in the middle, and surround with a crown of sliced truffles.
478—SCRAMBLED EGGS, REINE MARGOT
Prepare the scrambled eggs in the usual way, and finish them with the necessary quantity of almond butter. Place this preparation in small tartlet-crusts, baked without colouration, and surround the tartlets with a thread of Béchamel sauce, finished with pistachio butter, the thread of sauce being close up to the edge of the tartlets.
[183]
480—SCRAMBLED EGGS, ROTHSCHILD
Finely pound the remains of six crayfish (cooked in Mirepoix) the tails of which have been put aside, and add thereto, little by little, two tablespoonfuls of thick cream. Rub through tammy.
Add this crayfish cream to the six beaten eggs; season, and cook on a moderate fire with the object of obtaining a smooth, soft, and creamy preparation. Serve in a timbale and garnish, firstly with a small faggot of asparagus-heads placed in the middle of the eggs, secondly with crayfish tails arranged in a circle round the asparagus, and thirdly with large slices of very black truffles arranged in a crown around the crayfish tails.
481—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH TRUFFLES
Add one tablespoonful of truffles, cooked in Madeira and cut into dice, to the scrambled eggs. Place these in a timbale, and garnish with a crown of sliced truffles.
Or place the preparation in tartlet-crusts, made from trimmings of puff-paste and baked without colouration, with a large slice of truffle on the eggs, in each tartlet.
482—FRIED EGGS
In the long series of egg-preparations, fried eggs are those which hold the least important place, for the fried eggs which are so commonly served at breakfasts in England and America are really eggs à la poêle. The real fried egg is almost unknown in England and America. As a rule, the garnish given to this kind of eggs is served apart, while the latter are dished, either on a napkin or on pieces of toast, with a little fried parsley laid in the middle of the dish.
483—THE PREPARATION OF FRIED EGGS
Any fat, provided it be well purified, may be used for these eggs, but oil is the more customary frying medium. To do these eggs properly, only one should be dealt with at a time.
Heat some oil in an omelet-pan until it begins to smoke slightly; break the egg on a plate; season it, and let it slide into the pan. Then, with a wooden spoon, quickly cover up the yolk with the solidified portions of the white, in order to keep the former soft.
Drain the egg on a piece of stretched linen, and proceed in the same way with the other eggs until the required quantity has been treated.
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484—FRIED EGGS A LA BORDELAISE
Prepare as many halved tomatoes à la Provençale (see tomatoes) as there are eggs, adding a pinch of chopped shallots to each halved tomato. When cooked, garnish them with cèpes, finely minced and sautéd à la Bordelaise; place a fried egg on each garnished half-tomato, and arrange them in a circle on a dish, with fried parsley in the middle.
485—HARVESTERS’ FRIED EGGS
Fry as many blanched rashers of breast of bacon as there are eggs. Arrange in a circle on a dish, alternating the rasher with the eggs. Garnish the centre with large peas, cooked with ciseled lettuce and finely-sliced potatoes.
486—FRIED POACHED EGGS
This kind is recommended, because it may be served with various garnishes—either vegetables of the same nature, a macédoine, vegetable purées, or divers cullises, sauces in keeping with the eggs, artichoke-bottoms, mushrooms, morels, &c. (sliced and sautéd in butter), or tomato-fondue, &c.
After having properly drained and dried the poached eggs, which should have been prepared beforehand, dip them carefully in a Villeroy sauce (No. 108), and arrange them, one by one, on a dish. When the sauce has set, pass the point of a small knife round the eggs to remove any excess of sauce; take them off the dish to treat them with an anglaise (No. 174), and then roll them in very fine, fresh bread-crumbs.
Plunge them into very hot fat three or four minutes before serving; drain them on a piece of linen; salt slightly, arrange in a circle on a dish, and set the selected garnish in the middle.