Four teaspoonfuls make a quart of very good coffee for breakfast. It would be rather strong for children, but can be diluted to a proper state with milk.
No matter what quantity of coffee is put in the filter, the liquor must be clear; the more is used, the blacker the substance is, but it must never be muddy. If muddy at all, be sure you have not used good coffee.
One pound of good coffee to a quart of water, should make black but clear coffee.
CAFÉ AU LAIT.
This is coffee and milk for breakfast. The milk is set on the fire in a tin saucepan, and taken off when it rises; then mixed with the coffee, either in the cup or any kind of vessel. The proportions are pint for pint.
CAFÉ NOIR.
Café noir is the name given to the coffee taken after dinner. It is generally made rather strong. Gentlemen sometimes put liquor in it—a glass of brandy, or rum, or kirschwasser; and ladies, a little cold milk.
Taken fifteen or twenty minutes after dinner, it helps digestion. It excites the faculties of the mind, and gives what physiologists call "agreeable sensations."
Coffee is nutritious, and to a certain extent prevents waste of the system.
CHOCOLATE.
The quantity of chocolate for a certain quantity of milk is according to taste. Two ounces of chocolate make a good cup of it, and rather thick.
Break the chocolate in pieces, put it in a tin saucepan with a tablespoonful of water to an ounce of chocolate, and set it on a rather slow fire. Stir now and then till thoroughly melted.
While the chocolate is melting, set the quantity of milk desired in another tin saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it rises and when the chocolate is melted, as directed above, turn the milk into the chocolate, little by little, beating well at the same time with an egg-beater. Keep beating and boiling after being mixed, for three or four minutes; take off and serve.
If both chocolate and milk are good, it will be frothy; and no better or more nutritious drink can be had.
CHOCA.
Choca is nothing more nor less than one cup of coffee and milk mixed with a cup of chocolate, and for breakfast.
COCOA.
Put in a tea or coffee cup one or two tablespoonfuls of ground cocoa, pour boiling water or boiling milk on it, little by little, stirring with a spoon the while; sweeten it to taste. A few drops of essence of vanilla may be added, according to taste.
ESSENCE OF SPINACH, OR GREEN ESSENCE.
Put two handfuls of very green and fresh spinach in a mortar and pound it well. Then put it in a saucepan, set on a rather slow fire, and when on the point of boiling take it off, pass it through a sieve and use. It may be kept for some time with a little sugar.
ESSENCE OF BEEF.
The essence of beef of commerce is well known.
To make essence of beef used in cooking and called glace in French, set three or four quarts of broth on a slow fire, in a saucepan and reduce it to jelly. Keep it simmering all the time; it may take twenty hours to reduce. When properly reduced, it is of a very dark-brown color and has a very pleasant odor.
When cold, it must be rather hard.
When essence of beef tastes like glue and has an unpleasant odor, it is not made properly, or with good beef.
If properly made, it will keep any length of time.
It is used to thicken sauces, to decorate boned birds, etc.; when in a hurry, it may be used to make soup, but, like every thing preserved, is of course inferior to fresh broth.
ICING.
Put about three tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar in a bowl with the white of a small egg; and then mix and work well for at least five minutes with a piece of wood. When done it is perfectly white and rather thick.
Make a kind of funnel with thick, white paper; put the mixture in it, and by squeezing it out, you make decorations according to fancy, on cakes, charlotte russe, etc. You make the decorations of the size you please, by cutting the smaller end of the paper-funnel of the size you wish.
The mixture may also be spread on cakes with a knife, according to what kind of decoration is desired.
A charlotte russe may be decorated in the same way, with the same cream as that used to fill it.
MEAT JELLIES.
Put in a saucepan two ounces of gelatine with three eggs and shells, a tablespoonful of salt, the rind of half a lemon, a liquor-glass of rum or brandy, or a wine-glass of sherry, port, or madeira wine; mix well the whole. Add one quart of broth, twelve pepper-corns; beat the whole well with an egg-beater and set on a good fire; stir gently till it comes to a boil; then move it on a rather slow fire; boil slowly for about eight minutes and turn into the jelly-bag. Have two bowls at hand to be used alternately; have one under the bag before turning the jelly into it; and when it has passed through the bag once, turn it into the bag again, putting the other bowl under; repeat this three or four times, and it will be perfectly clear. Just before turning into the bag the first time, a few drops of burnt sugar are added to give the jelly an amber color. Use the jelly immediately if wanted in liquid form, as to fill a meat-pie, etc., or put it on ice to congeal.
Boned-turkey Jelly.—As soon as the water in which you have boiled a boned turkey is cold, skim off the fat and strain it. Then proceed exactly as for meat jelly, except that you take one quart of the above instead of one quart of beef broth.
Boned-chicken Jelly.—Prepare the water in which the boned chicken has been cooked, the same as above; take a quart of it and proceed as for meat jelly for the rest.
For jelly to decorate any boned bird, the water in which it has been cooked may be used, as described above.
Calves'-feet Jelly.—Scald well four calves' feet, and split each in two lengthwise. Put them in a saucepan with about three pints of water, two onions, two cloves, two cloves of garlic, six sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a stalk of celery if handy, salt, and half a dozen pepper-corns. Set on the fire, boil gently till well cooked. Serve the feet with a poulette or vinaigrette.
Strain the liquor; put in it two eggs with their shells, salt, rum or wine, as in meat jelly; beat the whole well with an egg-beater; set on a good fire, and finish like meat jelly.
Calf's-head Jelly.—Proceed as for the above in every particular, except that you use four eggs, having about twice as much liquor, therefore making twice as much jelly. A little gelatine may be added, if not found firm enough.
MEAT GRAVY.
When you are short of gravy, cut a little piece of veal, say half a pound of the breast or neck piece, or trimmings of veal-cutlets; set on the fire with about an ounce of butter, and half of a rather small carrot cut in slices; stir, and when the meat is turning rather brown, add two or three onions in slices also; stir again till the onions are nearly fried; when covered with broth or water, add salt, a dozen whole peppers, a bay-leaf, and two stalks of thyme; boil gently for two or three hours, and strain.
If it is boiling away, add water to fill up.
Trimmings of mutton, lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey, may be added to the veal.
In case of hurry, it may be done quickly and by boiling rather fast, but it is not as good, and there is less of it with the same quantity of meat.
For a grand dinner, the gravy may be made one or two and even three days in advance; then simmer it for five or six hours.
MELONS.
Musk-melons are always served as a hors-d'oeuvre, but must be eaten immediately after soup, or the first thing of all if no soup is served.
It is a great mistake to serve melons as a dessert.
Water-melons, though eaten abundantly, are considered very unwholesome by the great majority of doctors, chemists, and physiologists.
Musk-melons are served in slices with sugar, or with salt and pepper, according to taste.
MEUNIÈRE.
Mix well together in a cup one teaspoonful of flour with a tablespoonful of cold water.
It is used to thicken sauces and different dishes.
MINT.
Put four sprigs of mint into a quart of brandy, cork well, or cover air-tight if in a pot, and leave thus forty-eight hours; then strain through a cloth. Put half a pound of loaf sugar in a stewpan with a pint of water, set it on the fire, and, at the first boiling, pour it into the quart of brandy; cover with a cloth, let it cool, and again strain the whole through a fine cloth. Bottle and cork carefully, and use when wanted.
A small liquor-glass of it is very good for stomach-ache; it is also useful after having eaten any thing difficult of digestion.
PANADE.
Break in pieces the soft part of a small stale loaf of bread; put it in a tin saucepan, cover it with cold water, and leave thus about an hour; then mash it well, set it on the fire, add salt, butter, and sugar, to taste; simmer about an hour, then add again two yolks of eggs beaten with two tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; mix the whole well together, and serve.
It makes an excellent food for infants.
PAP.
Put an ounce of butter in a tin saucepan, set it on the fire, and when melted, turn into it two tablespoonfuls of flour, thoroughly mixed with half a pint of milk; stir with a wooden spoon, boil gently for about twelve minutes, stirring the while; take off, turn into a bowl, add salt and sugar to taste, and use.
If wanted richer, an egg may be mixed with the flour and milk, or a yolk of egg may be added as soon as taken from the fire.
RAISINS.
When the stems of raisins or of currants are removed, put them in a bowl, dust them well with flour, move them round a little, then turn them into a sieve and shake them well. This process will remove the sand as well as washing them, and will not take away the sweetness.
SANDWICHES.
These are too well known to require any direction.
SAUSAGE-MEAT.
Butchers generally, with an eye to economy, make sausage-meat of bad or tainted pork.
We recommend our readers, as far as possible, never to buy sausage-meat ready made, but to make it themselves, or have it made according to their directions.
A chopping-machine costs very little, and saves a great deal of work, besides chopping much better than can be done by hand.
The proportions are: one pound of lean pork and one pound of lean veal, chopped very fine, well mixed, and both very fresh. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and clove grated, and with cinnamon, if liked.
A yolk of egg may be added to a pound of meat.
It may also be made with one pound of veal and half a pound or less of pork, or with veal only or pork only, according to taste.
SOUSE.
Put three ounces of butter in a saucepan, and set it on the fire; when melted, add two carrots and two onions sliced, stir now and then till they begin to turn brown; then add about three pints of warm water, half a pint of vinegar, one clove of garlic, four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a clove, a bay-leaf, six pepper-corns, a little grated nutmeg, and salt. Simmer about an hour, strain, and it is ready for use.
Another.—Put two quarts of vinegar and about ten quarts of water in a stone or crockery vessel, with four cloves of garlic, a handful of parsley, six cloves, four stalks of thyme, four bay-leaves, half a nutmeg grated, three or four carrots, and three or four onions sliced, a little salt, and two dozen pepper-corns. Stir and mix the whole well, and it is ready for use.
Pieces of mutton, beef, pork, venison, and bear-meat, may be soaked in one of the above preparations from four to six days before cooking them. A piece of tough meat will be more tender and juicy after being soaked.
More or less may be made, according to the size of the piece of meat.
TEA.
There are many ways of making tea; we might say that every one makes it in his own way; but, after many experiments and much information, we have found the following to be the best:
Warm the teapot either by pouring boiling water in it and emptying it, or by placing it on a corner of the range.
Then put good tea in it (the quantity to be according to the strength and also to the quantity you want), and pour boiling water on the leaves, just enough to wet them; leave thus about one minute, then pour on all the water you want.
Let it steep no longer than about six minutes, and not less than four minutes, before drawing it.
If allowed to steep longer than six minutes, all the astringency of the tea is extracted, and it acts and has a bad effect on the nervous system, besides losing most of its aroma.
Chemists and physiologists generally recommend black tea, as not affecting the nervous system as much as green tea.
Tea being naturally very astringent, should never be served at breakfast.
Taken after dinner, instead of café noir, it has the same effect, and brandy may be mixed with it as in coffee.
Tea is excellent in damp climates and marshy countries, but it must be taken after a substantial meal.
Drinking warm tea while eating causes the food to pass through the system without nourishing it, or supplying its waste.
TOAST.
Cut several slices of bread of even size, and spread some anchovy-butter on them; cut anchovies in small strips, lengthwise, lay them on the bread also, and then spread over some hard-boiled egg chopped fine, and on it some parsley also chopped fine, finish with capers here and there.
Place the toast or slices of bread on a dish, tastefully arranged all around, a few sprigs of parsley in the middle, and you have a fine hors-d'oeuvre.
Sardines, Dutch herrings, or red herrings may be used the same as anchovies.
WELSH RAREBIT.
This dish is not generally understood. It is thought by many to be Welsh rabbit, that is, a rabbit prepared Welsh fashion.
It is not a rabbit, but Welsh cheese (a certain kind only, and prepared for that purpose), melted to a certain degree, and then spread on toast of Welsh bread.
Grate some Gloucester or Gruyère cheese and pepper it with Cayenne pepper. Fry some slices of bread with a little butter, but on one side only, until perfectly yellow, then spread a thick coat of grated cheese on the fried side of the bread, place the slices in a baking-pan, put them in a pretty warm oven, take off when it begins to melt, and serve warm.
Then you have as good a Welsh rarebit as can be made here. The receipt was given to us by an English lady.
POTAGES OR SOUPS.
Potage is the modern word for soup, and is used in bills of fare everywhere.
Three kinds of liquor are used to make potages: broth, milk, and water.
Besides the liquor, meat, fish, and vegetables are used.
The richest potages are made with consommé and some other compounds; such as bread, Italian pastes, vegetables, etc.
Consommé means rich broth; literally, it means consumed, perfect, that is, properly reduced and partly consumed, as it is the case in making it. Consommé is broth reduced to a certain point, according to want or taste.
Broth.—Broth is to good cooking what wheat is to bread. Dishes (with some exceptions) prepared without broth are, to those prepared with it, what rye or corn bread is to wheat bread. Broth, and especially consommé, are to old age what milk is to the infant. Broth is called bouillon in France, and stock in England. The word pot-au-feu means the meat, vegetables, seasonings, spices, and the "pot" or soup-kettle itself, i. e., every thing made use of in making broth. The popular meaning of the term in France is, the soup and the beef and vegetables served as relevés; and, with the working-classes, the only thing (with bread, wine, and fruit) composing the family dinner. The French army is fed on this pot-au-feu three hundred and sixty days in the year.
It is a great mistake to believe that bones or veal make good broth; by boiling or simmering bones or veal, you obtain a gelatinous liquid, but not a rich broth with a pleasant flavor. When properly made, broth is clear. If milky, it has been made with bones, veal, or very inferior beef.
Broth for Potages.—Take three pounds of good, lean, fresh beef, from any part except the shin. There must not be more than two ounces of bone to a pound of meat, and the less bone the better. Place the meat in a soup-kettle or iron saucepan lined with tin, with three quarts of cold water and salt, and set it on a good fire. After about thirty minutes, the scum or albumen of the meat will gather on the surface, and the water will commence boiling. Now place the kettle on a more moderate fire, add one gill of cold water, and begin to skim off the scum, which will take only a few minutes. Then add one middle-sized carrot, half as much turnip, one middle-sized leek, a stalk of celery, one of parsley, a bay-leaf, one onion with two cloves stuck in it, and two cloves of garlic. Keep the kettle between simmering and boiling heat for about five hours. Dish the meat with carrot, turnip, and leek around it, and serve it as a relevé. Strain the broth, and it is ready for use.
If the broth is required to be richer, use more beef and less water, but follow the same process; if weaker, use more water and less beef, but still follow the same process.
Broth for Sauces and Gravies.—Place in a soup-kettle or saucepan fresh bones of beef, mutton, lamb, veal, or poultry—of either, or of all; also, bones of the same meats from roasted pieces; also trimmings of the same, if very fresh, with one quart of cold water to every pound of bones or meat; skim it like the preceding, add the same vegetables and seasonings, and simmer for at least six hours. Then skim off very carefully all the fat on the surface, pass the remainder through a strainer or a sieve, and it is ready for use. This broth is certainly very inferior to the preceding one, but it is excellent for sauces and gravies, and is very cheaply made. It may be used for potages also; but, as we have said above, it is very gelatinous, and cannot be compared with the highly nutritious beef-broth.
Broth that is not to be used immediately must be cooled quickly after being strained, as the quicker it is cooled the longer it keeps. As soon as cold, put it in a stone jar or crockery vessel, and place it in a cool, dry, and dark place. It will keep three or four days in winter, but only one day in summer. If the weather is stormy, it will not keep even for twelve hours; it turns sour very quickly.
I do not put parsnips or thyme in broth, the taste of these two vegetables being too strong. They really neutralize the fine aroma of broth. Even in this nineteenth century there are some pretty good cooks who put thyme and parsnip in broth, but they do it by routine. Routine is in every thing the greatest enemy of progress. Ancient cookery used to put in the pot (old name for soup-kettle) a burnt onion to give an amber color to the broth. This has exactly the same effect as thyme and parsnip, giving it a bad taste, and neutralizing the flavor given to the broth by the osmazome of the meat. When broth of an amber color is desired, add to it a few drops of burnt sugar, the receipt for making which will be found elsewhere.
Consommé.—There are two ways of making consommé: one is to make broth as above, with the exception that five pounds of lean beef, instead of three, are used with three quarts of water, and simmered from seven to eight hours, instead of five, the vegetables and seasonings being the same; or by boiling broth gently till properly reduced.
The other way is to roast, until they are only one-third done, one, two, or three fowls, not under two years old; then place them in a soup-kettle with three pounds of lean beef; wet with three quarts of cold water; skim off as above directed; add the same vegetables and seasonings as for broth for potages. After having simmered the whole for three hours, the fowl or fowls must be taken out of the kettle, and the rest is to be simmered for about three hours longer. The meat, vegetables, and seasonings are then taken from the kettle or saucepan; the liquor is strained, and that liquor is the best consommé that can be made; or by boiling the same, gently, in three quarts of good broth, you make consommé also.
The reason for directing to use one, two, or three fowls is, that the more fowls used, the better and richer the broth. The fowls after having been thus used may be prepared in salad, and make a very excellent dish.
One pound of beef is enough to make broth for a potage for three or four persons.
Always use fresh meat; meat with a venison taste or tainted would spoil if not entirely destroy the broth.
To clarify Broth.—If not as clear as wanted, beat the white of an egg with a gill of cold broth, and turn into the broth; boil gently about ten minutes, and strain through a cloth or towel.
Any kind of potage made with broth may be made with consommé. It may also be made with water, adding butter. With consommé it is richer, and with water much inferior, than with broth.
When a rump-piece is used to make broth, it is better to bone it first, and take it from the soup-kettle after three or four hours; it is served as a relevé, or prepared as cold beef. The broth is finished as directed; the bones and vegetables being kept on the fire longer than the meat.
Chicken and turkey broth are often called potage de santé (potage of health).
Chicken.—Roast or bake till turning yellow, a chicken over two years old. Put it in a soup-kettle with three pints of water, and set it on a rather slow fire; skim off the scum, add a middling-sized onion, a leek, a few stalks of chervil if handy, a middling-sized head of lettuce, and salt; simmer about three hours. Take out the chicken and vegetables, skim off the fat, strain, and use. This broth is excellent for a weak stomach, and is easy of digestion. The chicken is served in salad.
Turkey.—Procure a rather old turkey and roast or bake it till about one-third done; put it in a soup-kettle with about a pint of water to a pound of meat, and set it on a rather slow fire. As soon as the scum comes on the surface, skim it off carefully; then add two onions, two leeks, two or three heads of lettuce, a small handful of chervil if handy, and salt. Simmer about five hours.
Use the broth as chicken-broth above, and serve the turkey in salad.
Fish (also called à la Lucullus).—Slice three middling-sized onions and fry them with one ounce of butter till turning yellow; add three or four pounds of fish (bass, pike, trout, salmon, and the like), any fish having a firm and compact flesh, of one or several kinds; add also two carrots, two onions, and one leek, all sliced; four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, one clove of garlic, a bay-leaf, one clove, six pepper-corns, salt; cover the whole with cold water, set on a good but not brisk fire, boil gently for about two hours. If the water is boiling away, add some more; then strain, and use.
This broth may be used for bisque and fish sauces, instead of beef-broth.
It may be made rich; for instance, instead of three pounds of fish, use six, seven, eight pounds, or more, and seasonings in proportion.
Louis XV. was on a visit to the monastery of Saint Denis one day during Lent; after having walked all over the grounds and gardens, he was offered a cup of broth by the superior.
Being a little fatigued, he took the cup and drank the whole at one draught.
In going back to Versailles, one of his suite, who did not like the monk-superior, adroitly alluded to the cup of broth, and managed to persuade the king that the monk had done it on purpose; that is, had made the king partake of meat-broth, when it was forbidden by the Church.
The next day the monk-superior was sent for and brought before the king. On hearing the object of the summons, he asked the king if the broth had indisposed him. Being answered in the negative, he begged to be allowed to prepare the same broth before the king himself, which he did, and from that time till his death the king used to send several hundred pounds of fish during Lent to the monks of Saint-Denis.
Frog.—Skin and put the hind-legs of two dozen of frogs in cold water for an hour; drain and put them in a saucepan, and set it on a slow fire; stir now and then till they are turning yellow, then take them off and chop the flesh rather fine; put back in the pan with a carrot sliced, a stalk of celery and one leek, both chopped, a little salt, and cover the whole with water. Simmer for about two hours; mash the whole through a colander, add butter which you stir and mix in, and it is ready for use.
This broth, taken warm before retiring, is excellent for persons having a cough or cold.
It is also excellent for consumptive persons, and is only second to snail-broth.
Another.—Take the hind-legs of fifty well-skinned green frogs, put them in cold water and a little salt for half an hour—drain them; then put them in a crockery kettle, with a leek, half a carrot, two stalks of celery, a middling-sized parsnip, a turnip, two onions, one clove of garlic, two ounces of fat bacon, a little salt, and white pepper; cover the whole well with cold water, set on the fire, simmer gently about four hours; strain, pour on croutons, and serve.
The hind-legs of the frogs are taken from the strainer, placed on a dish, and served at breakfast the next day, with a white sauce, or in fricassee, as a chicken.
Game.—Roast or bake, till about one-third done, two prairie-hens, and put them in a soup-kettle with about one pound of lean beef, salt, and five pints of water. Set the kettle on a rather slow fire, skim off the scum when it gathers on the surface, and then add half a carrot, two stalks of parsley, one of celery, one onion with a clove stuck in it, a bay-leaf, six pepper-corns, and two cloves of garlic. Simmer about three hours, and take the birds out of the kettle; simmer then two hours longer; strain, and the broth is ready for use.
Game-broth is warming and stimulating; it may be taken alone, or prepared with croutons, rice, vermicelli, or other Italian pastes, the same as beef-broth.
The prairie-hens are served in salmis, and the beef is served as boiled beef.
Snail.—Clean and prepare twenty-five snails as directed. Put them in a saucepan, with a carrot, an onion, and a head of lettuce, all chopped, a small handful of chervil, a few leaves of sorrel, and a little salt; cover the whole with three pints of cold water. Boil slowly for about three hours, strain the broth, add a little butter to it, and it is ready for use.
A tumblerful of this broth, taken warm before retiring, is certainly the best thing for a consumptive person.
It is also excellent for a cough.
Just salt the snails to taste, and eat them as they are, warm or cold.
Veal.—Procure two pounds of veal, from the neck or breast piece. Put the meat in a soup-kettle with two quarts of cold water and a little salt; set it on a good fire, and skim off the scum as soon as it gathers on the surface. When skimmed, add a head of lettuce, a leek (and a few stalks of chervil if handy); simmer for about three hours; strain, and use.
This broth, as well as chicken and turkey broth, is excellent for convalescent persons.
It may be made richer by putting a little more meat, according to taste; but generally the physician gives directions.
Another.—Soak a calf's liver in cold water for two hours, clean and wash it well; put it in a soup-kettle with about three pints of cold water, salt, boil gently for an hour and a half, and then add a handful of water-cresses; simmer fifteen minutes longer, strain and use.
Another.—Proceed as above in every particular, except that you use a handful of chervil instead of water-cresses.
Another.—Use three or four leeks instead of water-cresses, and proceed as above for every other particular.
The last three especially make a very refreshing drink, and are a great relief in some cases of fever.
Vegetable Broth (called also Bouillon Maigre).—Scrape, clean, and slice three carrots and three turnips, peel three onions; fry the whole with a little butter till it turns rather yellow; and then add two plants of celery cut in pieces, three or four leeks, also cut in pieces; stir and fry the whole for about six minutes. When fried, add also one clove of garlic, salt, pepper, two cloves, two stalks of parsley, a little nutmeg grated; cover with about three quarts of water. Keep on a rather slow fire, skim off the scum carefully, and then simmer for about three hours. Strain, and use.
This liquor is called vegetable broth, and is used instead of broth in time of Lent by persons who do not want to use beef-broth.
Another.—Proceed as above, and with the same vegetables till they are fried. Then add salt, pepper, two cloves of garlic, four stalks of parsley, three cloves, a little nutmeg grated, two quarts of white beans previously soaked in cold water for twenty-four hours, and five or six quarts of water. Skim it as above; simmer for about four hours; strain, and use.
The beans, carrots, turnips, and leeks may be mashed through a colander and served in purée.
Another.—Proceed as above in every particular, with the exception that instead of using beans, you use peas, lentils, chestnuts, or samp. Peas and lentils are soaked in water only for four or five hours. Chestnuts must be shelled. Some other vegetables may be added, according to taste, and also according to the nature of the vegetables.
Another.—Clean and put in a bowl a head of lettuce, a handful of sorrel, same of chervil, same of purslane, and all chopped fine; pour over nearly a quart of boiling water, add two ounces of butter, cover the bowl with a wet towel; leave thus half an hour, and strain.
When cold it makes a very refreshing drink, and is taken morning and evening with salt, to taste.
It may also be taken warm.
A la Minute, or made quickly.—Cut four ounces of fat salt pork in dice and set it on the fire in a saucepan; stir, and when it is turning rather brown add one onion chopped, and half a middling-sized carrot, sliced; stir, and when they are partly fried, add also two pounds of lean beef cut in small dice; stir and fry for five minutes. Then pour in it about three pints of boiling water, salt, boil gently about forty minutes. Strain, and use.
The beef may be served with the broth, or separately as an entrée, with a piquante, ravigote, or Robert sauce.
Bisque of Lobster.—Boil one or several lobsters as directed, and when cold split the tail in two, lengthwise, take the flesh out of the shell, remove the black vein that is on the back, take out the meat of the two large claws, and keep the flesh of the claws and tail for the following day's breakfast.
For a bisque, nothing is thrown away but the head, stomach, and black vein. The head is the part immediately under the eyes; the stomach is a small, round pouch immediately behind the head; and the vein runs from the stomach to the end of the tail.
Put all the rest, shell, small claws, all the matter found in the large shell (green, white, or yellow), in a mortar and pound well. Then put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan, set it on the fire, and when the butter is melted, put what is in the mortar in, stir with a wooden spoon for about ten minutes, then add one pint of warm broth, stir for about twenty minutes, and strain. Put the liquor back on the fire with about four ounces of toasted bread, boil five minutes, and mash through a colander. Put the liquor back again on the fire, add one quart of broth, boil gently ten minutes, and turn into the soup-dish.
While it is boiling, chop fine the coral-piece of the lobster or lobsters, knead it with a piece of butter of about the same bulk, then rub both through a wire sieve; put them in the soup-dish with croutons and about two or three ounces of the flesh of the lobster cut in very small dice. Turn the broth into the soup-dish also, and as directed above, and serve warm.
When there is no coral in the lobster or lobsters, knead a hard-boiled yolk of egg with butter in its stead.
Use one, two, three, or more lobsters, according to how much soup is wanted. It is not costly, because the flesh, or most of it, is kept to make a salad the next day, for breakfast or lunch.
The salad might be served the same day at dinner, but lobster is a rather heavy food, and it is more prudent not to eat any late in the day.
Bisque of Lobster à la Colbert.—Make a bisque as above, and while it is on the fire, poach as directed as many eggs as there will be persons at dinner; put them in the soup-dish instead of croutons, and serve as above.
Of Crabs.—Proceed as for a bisque of lobster in every particular, except that you use hard-shell crabs instead of lobster.
The same à la Colbert.—Add to the above as many poached eggs as you have guests.
Of Craw-fish (Bisque d'Ecrevisses).—Our readers who have been in Europe will certainly remember the name of one of the best soups that can be made. It is made of craw-fish the same as with lobster, and is certainly more delicate than a bisque of lobster or of crabs. (See Craw-fish for other particulars.)
A bisque of craw-fish may also be served à la Colbert the same as a bisque of lobster.
Bouillabaisse.—The real bouillabaisse is made in Marseilles; they make an imitation of it in Bordeaux, and in many other parts of France and the Continent; but, like a Welsh rarebit prepared out of Wales, it is very inferior to the real one. However, we will give the receipt to make it here, and as good as possible with the fish that can be procured.
Put a gill of sweet-oil in a tin saucepan and set it on a sharp fire; when hot, add two onions and two cloves of garlic sliced; stir so as to partly fry them, and then take from the fire. Put also in the pan three pounds of fish, such as haddock, halibut, turbot, white-fish—of all if possible, but at least of two kinds; also a dozen muscles, just blanched and taken from the shell (some put them whole, properly cleaned). The fish is cut in pieces about two inches long. Then add one gill of Catawba or Sauterne wine, a bay-leaf, two cloves, two slices of lemon, the juice of a tomato, salt, pepper, a pinch of saffron, cover with cold water, and set the pan back on a brisk fire. After about thirty minutes add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley; boil ten minutes longer, and it is done.
The pieces of fish are then placed on a dish and served.
Put in a deep dish, and to be served at the same time, some slices of bread, over which you turn the sauce through a strainer.
One slice of bread and one piece of fish is served to each person, also some sauce.
It is put in two different dishes, to avoid breaking the pieces of fish.
There are over a hundred ways of making a bouillabaisse; the above is one of the best.
There are also about as many ways of spelling the same.
A bouillabaisse is served as a soup.
POTAGES.
A la Colbert.—Scrape carrots and turnips and cut them in small dice or with a vegetable spoon; add green peas and string-beans, if handy, the beans cut in pieces; set them on the fire in a pan with cold water and salt; boil gently till done, and drain. Put them back on the fire, covered with warm broth, salt to taste, boil gently about two or three minutes, and turn into the soup-dish, in which you have put as many poached eggs as there are or will be persons at table. A poached egg with soup is served to every person. Proportions of broth and vegetables according to taste.
Julienne.—Scrape two carrots and two turnips and cut them in pieces about an inch and a half long; cut slices lengthwise about one-eighth of an inch thick, then cut again across, so as to make square strips. Put them in a saucepan with about two ounces of butter, three tablespoonfuls of cabbage chopped fine, and half a middling-sized onion, also chopped; set on the fire and stir till about half fried. Add broth to make it as you wish, thin or thick; boil gently till done; salt to taste, skim off the fat, and serve. It takes about two hours.
Julienne with Rice.—Boil two ounces of rice in water and a little salt, till about three-quarters done; drain and put in the julienne after having added the broth; finish as above.
Julienne with Barley.—Boil barley till done; add it to the julienne at the same time the broth is added, and serve as the above.
Julienne aux Croutons.—Put some croutons in the soup-dish, and when the julienne is done, pour it over them, and serve.
Brunoise.—Put an ounce of butter in a saucepan on the fire, and when melted, add one carrot, one turnip, a little celery, all cut in dice; stir till they turn yellow, then add about a quart of broth, a middling-sized leek cut in pieces, a few leaves of lettuce and of sorrel, if handy, and a pinch of sugar. Simmer about two hours; skim off the fat; add a few drops of burnt sugar to color.
Have croutons in the soup-dish, turn the potage over them, and serve.
Brunoise with Rice.—Proceed as above, except that you add from two to four ounces of boiled rice to the potage ten minutes before taking from the fire. Serve without croutons.
Another.—Use boiled barley instead of boiled rice.
A la Monaco.—Put some thin slices of stale bread in the soup-dish, sprinkle pulverized sugar and orange-rind grated all over. Pour boiling milk over; cover the dish for five minutes, and serve.
A la Régence.—Put about two dozen quenelles made with chicken into the soup-dish with half a pint of boiled green peas; turn boiling consommé over, and serve warm.
A la Royale.—Make a custard with a dozen yolks of eggs, about the same volume of good cream, season with sugar, salt, and a little nutmeg; cook, and when perfectly cold, cut it in slices and again cut in fancy shapes with paste-cutters or with a knife; place it in the soup-dish, pour boiling consommé gently over, and serve warm.
Potage Printanier (called also Jardinière and à la Paysanne).—It is a potage julienne, to which is added the top or eatable part of six asparagus, six turnip-rooted red radishes, and two or three tablespoonfuls of green peas. They are fried, boiled, and served with the other vegetables.
Velouté.—Put yolks of eggs in the soup-dish and beat them a little with cold or lukewarm broth; then pour boiling broth over them, little by little, stirring the while, and serve warm.
It is made thin or thick, according to taste.
With Arrow-root.—Set broth in a saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it boils, sprinkle some arrow-root into it, stirring the while with a wooden spoon; boil gently for about half an hour, stirring now and then the while, and serve warm, adding salt to taste.
Milk or consommé may be used instead of broth.
If you use milk, add a very little salt and sugar, to taste.
The proportion of arrow-root to a certain quantity of broth is according to taste; it can be made thick or thin.
With Corn-starch.—Proceed as for arrow-root.
With Bread.—This is the simplest of all. Dry some slices of bread, either stale or fresh, in the oven, place them in the soup-dish, pour boiling broth over them, cover the dish for two or three minutes, and serve.
With Fecula.—Proceed as for arrow-root. Being finer, it does not require more than about twelve or fifteen minutes.
With Barley.—Wash the barley in cold water, then drop it in boiling broth, little by little, stirring the while; when in, keep simmering till perfectly done, which you ascertain easily by tasting; add then salt to taste, a pinch of sugar, and serve warm.
It must be stirred occasionally while on the fire.
With Gruel (French Gruau).—It is made as with arrow-root.
With Indian Meal.—Proceed as with arrow-root.
With Sago.—Sago must be boiled gently about an hour; but for the rest, proceed as with arrow-root in every particular.
With Semoule.—With semoule it is the same as with arrow-root, except that it is boiled only about fifteen minutes.
With Tapioca.—Tapioca is prepared like arrow-root, but must be boiled about forty-five minutes.
All the above, like arrow-root, may be prepared with consommé, or with milk, as well as with broth.
With Giblets.—Throw the giblets in boiling water and a little salt, boil for ten minutes, take off and drain. Drop them in broth, boil gently till done, and turn the whole into the soup dish, in which you have some leeks, boiled and cut in pieces. Serve warm.
Some croutons may be added, and chervil chopped fine, just before turning into the soup-dish; or they may be placed in the soup-dish before pouring in the broth.