The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book

Omelette Célestine. Prepare an omelet, and before turning on platter fill with a little currant jelly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and burn with a hot iron. Cut some lady fingers in two, mix with a little sweetened whipped cream, and place at one end of the omelet. At the other end place some macaroons mixed with sweetened whipped cream.

Mutton soup, Kitchener. Put in a casserole three pounds of shin of beef, and a rack of lamb consisting of about six chops. Cover with about a gallon of water, add a little salt, bring to a boil, and skim. Then add two carrots, two turnips, one stalk of celery, two stalks of leeks, a bouquet garni, a spoonful of whole black peppers tied in cheese cloth, and one-half pound of large barley. Boil slowly. When the lamb is done remove, cut the chops apart and lay in soup tureen. When the vegetables are done remove the bouquet and the pepper bag; and cut the leeks, celery, carrots and turnips in small squares. Continue boiling the beef and barley until soft. Then remove the beef, which may be used the following day for an entrée dish if desired. Add to the soup two ounces of sweet butter, a glass of dry sherry wine, and the cut vegetables. Test for seasoning; and pour over the chops in the tureen. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Poached eggs, Florentine. Cut a can of pimentos in strips their full length and about one-quarter inch wide. Heat in a sauté pan with a little butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Lay them on a platter, crosswise, and place six poached eggs on top. Pour Madeira sauce around them.

Eggs Chambery. Make a purée of chestnuts, spread on four pieces of buttered toast, lay a poached egg on each, and cover with brown sauce (sauce Madère).

Cream of farina, lié. Bring to a boil one pint of chicken broth, then let one-half pound of farina run into it; and cook for about thirty minutes. Then add one pint of boiling milk, season with salt and pepper; and boil again. Then pass through a sieve, put back in the casserole, and bind with the yolks of two eggs mixed with a large cup of cream. Strain again.

Fillet of sole, Pondichery. Cut four fillets of sole, season with salt and pepper, place in a buttered sauté pan, add one-half glass of white wine and one-half cup of fish broth. Cover with buttered paper, and cook in oven for ten minutes. Then place the fish on a platter. Make a sauce as follows: Heat two ounces of butter in a casserole, add one heaping spoonful of flour and heat through. Then add the broth from the fillet of sole, and an additional cup of broth; one spoonful of curry powder, and a cup of tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper, boil for a few minutes, and strain over the fish.

Veal chops, Montgolfier. Season four veal chops with salt and pepper, and place in a sauté pan with two ounces of butter and an onion cut in four. Sauté until the onion and chops are golden yellow. Then place the chops on a platter. In the sauté pan put one-half spoonful of flour, and simmer; then add one cup of broth or stock, and boil for a few minutes. Cut a stalk of celery in small squares, and parboil in salted water for ten minutes. Then drain off the water, and add the celery to the sauce from the chops; and boil for ten minutes. Then add the chops, and simmer for ten minutes. Remove the chops to the platter, and season the sauce well with salt and pepper. Add one ounce of sweet butter and some chopped parsley, and pour over the chops.

Rice darioles. Cook one-quarter pound of rice in one quart of milk; with one-half split vanilla bean. When cooked add one-quarter pound of sugar, one gill of cream, and the yolks of four eggs. Mix well. Line one dozen dariole moulds with thin dough, cover the bottoms with a little apricot marmalade, and fill with the rice. Put a small piece of butter on top of each, and bake in oven. Serve with apricot sauce.

Eggs Molière. Cut off the tops from four medium tomatoes, scoop out the insides, season with salt and pepper, lay an egg Mollet in each, and fill to the top with cream sauce to which has been added a few slices of mushrooms and truffles. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake in hot oven until brown on top.

Frogs' legs, Greenway. Heat two ounces of butter in a sauté pan; then add two dozen hind legs of frogs, cut in two and seasoned with salt and pepper. Toss for two minutes in the pan over the fire; then sprinkle with a spoonful of flour, and toss again; then add a half glass of white wine and one large cup of chicken broth, and simmer for five minutes. Then bind with the yolks of two eggs mixed with one-half cup of cream, add a little chopped tarragon, chives and parsley. Serve in chafing dish.

Sauce Maximilienne. Add some chopped truffles to lobster sauce.

Filet mignon, Du Barry. Broiled filet mignons garnished with fresh bottoms of artichokes filled with cauliflower; and with a sauce Madère to which has been added some sliced canned French mushrooms.

Pancakes with raspberry syrup. Make a French pancake dough or batter. Cook small individual flat pancakes, place in a buttered chafing dish, and pour a little raspberry syrup over each in turn. Serve in the chafing dish.

Scrambled eggs, with lobster. Cut the tail of a boiled lobster in small squares, put in a sauté pan with two ounces of butter, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for a few minutes. Then add twelve beaten eggs, one-half cup of cream, and one ounce of sweet butter. Season with salt and pepper, and scramble in the usual manner.

Egg salad. Boil one dozen eggs eight minutes, remove the shells, and cut the eggs in half. Place on a platter on lettuce leaves, season with salt and fresh-ground blackpepper, sprinkle with two spoonfuls of vinegar, three of olive oil, and some chopped chervil and parsley.

Scrambled eggs, Nantaise. Split some sardines and lay on four pieces of buttered toast. Cook the scrambled eggs, and pour over the sardines.

Deviled ham. Slice some boiled or raw ham, spread with French and English mustard mixed, roll in fresh bread crumbs, and broil. Then place on platter, and serve with sauce diable, tomato sauce, or sauce Colbert. Garnish the platter with watercress and quartered lemons.

York potatoes. Add some boiled ham cut in small squares to Duchesse potatoes.

Consommé Napier. Add to boiling consommé a marrow bone cut as thin as your butcher can cut it with a saw. Serve at once.

Oysters Mornay. Parboil two dozen oysters in their own juice, then place them on a flat buttered baking dish, season with salt and pepper, cover with cream sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese, put small bits of butter on top, and bake in oven until brown.

Stewed onions. Peel some small white onions, and boil in salted water until tender. Then drain, and turn into a hot vegetable dish. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a sauce pan, stir in one tablespoonful of flour, mix well, add one-half pint of boiling milk, season with salt and pepper, boil for five minutes, and pour over the onions.

Scalloped pumpkin and rice. Use a buttered fireproof dish. Put in a layer of stewed pumpkin, cover with a layer of boiled rice, then a spoonful of cream sauce, and continue in this order until the dish is nearly full. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, put small bits of butter on top, and bake in oven until brown.

Stewed pumpkin. Peel the pumpkin, cut in one-inch squares, place in a well-buttered casserole, season with salt and pepper, put small pieces of butter on top, add one spoonful of broth, cover, and bake in oven for thirty minutes. Serve in a vegetable dish, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Stuffed eggs, Epicure. Boil six eggs until hard, remove the shells, and cut in two lengthwise. Mix the yolks with one spoonful of purée de foie gras, and the chopped breast of a boiled chicken. Season with salt and pepper, pass through a fine sieve, put in bowl, add two ounces of sweet butter, mix well, and fill the eggs. Serve on lettuce leaves.

Salisbury steak, Stanley. Pass two pounds of raw beef through a fine meat grinder, season with salt and pepper and add a cup of thick cream. Make four, or six, oval steaks, roll in fresh bread crumbs, then in oil, and broil. Place on a platter. Split some bananas, roll in flour, fry in butter, and lay two pieces on top of each steak. Pour horseradish sauce around the steaks.

Spanish beans. One pint of red kidney beans, one pint of tomatoes, one onion chopped fine, one clove of garlic, one tablespoonful of oil, one-half pound of bacon or pork, one-half pound of beef cut in dices, one tablespoonful of powdered Spanish pepper, and a little salt and pepper. Soak the beans over night, parboil, and drain. Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, meat, etc., season with salt and pepper, and pour in enough water to keep it from being too sticky, or thick. Cook slowly all day, or until the meat is tender, and the beans thoroughly cooked. About half an hour before serving add the Spanish pepper, and a tablespoonful of corn meal. The cooking may be finished in a fireproof dish, in the oven, if preferred.

Wine jelly with apricots. Fill some individual moulds, or glasses, half full of liquid jelly, place in the center of each one-half of a canned, or fully ripe, apricot; and place in ice box to set. When firm, fill to the tops with more jelly, and again set in ice box until ready to use.

Wine jelly with peaches. Prepare in the same manner as above.

Wine jelly with any kind of berries. Prepare in the same manner as above, using selected ripe berries of any kind.

Corn oysters. Mix well together two cupfuls of grated green corn, one beaten egg, one cup of flour, and a little salt and pepper. Drop from a spoon into very hot fat, in a frying pan. Serve on a napkin.

Omelette Bayonnaise. For four persons, take the bottoms of two boiled artichokes and cut in squares. Add one-half can of French mushrooms, sliced. Mix with a very little tomato sauce. Make the omelet, and before turning over on the platter fill with the above preparation. Make four fillets of anchovies on top of the omelet, and pour Béarnaise sauce around it.

Pulled bread. Take a large loaf of fresh bread and remove the inside, pulling it into large flakes. Put the flakes on a baking pan and bake in a moderate oven until crisp and brown.

Consommé with stuffed cabbage. Add to hot consommé one small stuffed cabbage to each person.

Stuffed cabbage. May be made any size, using the whole cabbage; or as small around as a silver half dollar, for garnishing. Parboil a whole cabbage; or some leaves only. Make a stuffing as follows: Soak two rolls in milk for ten minutes, then squeeze out, and chop fine. Add one onion, chopped and fried in butter; one pound of sausage meat; a whole raw egg, and some chopped parsley, chervil and chives. Season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Fill the whole head of cabbage if desired. Or, take two leaves and season with salt and pepper, put a spoonful of the stuffing in the center, and fold the leaves in the form of a ball. Place the stuffed cabbage in a buttered pan with a sliced carrot and onion, a bay leaf and a clove. Cover with bouillon, put a buttered paper over the top of the pan, and cook in the oven until the cabbage is soft. If served as a vegetable serve a brown meat gravy, or sauce Madère, or tomato sauce.

Broiled oysters with bacon. Drain the juice from two dozen large oysters, season with salt and pepper, roll in melted butter, then in fresh bread crumbs, place in a thin-wired special oyster broiler, sprinkle with olive oil, and broil. When done, place on four pieces of buttered toast, put a spoonful of maître d'hôtel butter on top, and two strips of broiled bacon on top of all. Serve with lemons cut in half, and parsley in branches.

Pig's knuckles and sauerkraut. If fresh pig's knuckles are used salt must be added to the water; with salted knuckles it is unnecessary. Put the knuckles in a kettle filled with cold water, and bring to a boil. Skim, then add one onion, one carrot, one leek, one branch of celery, and a bouquet garni. Boil slowly until soft. Place on a platter and garnish with sauerkraut.

Ditalini soup à la royal. Ditalini is a species of macaroni, prepared in small pieces. Bring two quarts of chicken broth to a boil, add one-half pound of ditalini, and boil until the paste is soft. Then bind the soup with the yolks of three eggs mixed with half a pint of cream. Season well with salt and pepper, and serve at once. Serve grated cheese separate.

Sand dabs, Carnot. Place four cleaned and well seasoned sand dabs in a buttered pan, add one-half glass of white wine and one-half cup of fish stock; cover, and cook. When done place on a platter and pour a white wine sauce over the fish. Garnish with small patties filled with oyster crabs.

Poached eggs, Dauphine. Lay some poached eggs on toast and garnish with asparagus tips. Pour over the eggs some sauce Madère, to which has been added some sliced French mushrooms.

Lorenzo salad. Cut some pears in squares, and add equal parts of watercress and lettuce. Season with French dressing to which has been added two spoonfuls of chutney sauce.

Kalte Schahle. This is a German summer drink, and is made as follows: Put in a pitcher a large piece of ice, and then add three large glasses of beer, two large glasses of lemonade made with very little sugar, two spoonfuls of small raisins, and three spoonfuls of grated pumpernickel.

Baked bananas. Peel six bananas and cut them in half, lengthwise. Lay in a pan close together. Mix a little powdered cinnamon with some sugar, and spread over the bananas. Put some small bits of butter on top, and bake for twenty minutes. While baking, baste a couple of times with a little syrup. Serve with its own juice.

Orange soufflé glacé, St. Francis. Take six nice oranges and cut off the tops. Take out the insides. Put some sliced fruit, such as apples, oranges, pineapple, grapefruit, etc., in the bottom of the orange shell, and fill about one-third full. Add one-third of vanilla ice cream, and finally finish with a meringue made of the whites of three eggs, six ounces of sugar, and the grated rind of an orange. Dust some powdered sugar on top, and bake in a very hot oven until brown.

Eggs, Isabella. Put some thick Créole sauce on a platter, lay four poached eggs on top, and cover with a little cream sauce.

Petaluma cream cheese. This cheese is a specialty of Petaluma, California. Serve plain; or mixed with salt, pepper, chopped chives, and caraway seeds. Or serve with powdered sugar and cream, separate.

Tango cake. One-quarter pound of burnt almonds, powdered very fine, one-quarter pound of melted butter, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, two ounces of grated chocolate, one-quarter pound of biscuit crumbs, the grated rind of one lemon, the yolks of seven eggs, three whole eggs, the whites of seven eggs beaten very hard, and one pony of rum. Beat the eggs and yolks with the sugar until light; then add the almonds, chocolate, crumbs and lemon rind, and mix well. Add the rum and melted butter; and finally the whites of eggs, mixing lightly. Line a ring mould with very thin tartelette dough, cover the bottom with apricot jam, and then fill with the above preparation. Bake in a warm (not hot), oven. When done, glace with icing flavored with rum. While the icing is still soft sprinkle with assorted colored nonpareil seeds. These seeds may be obtained of grocers dealing in fancy groceries.

Steamboat fried potatoes. Peel three fresh-boiled potatoes, and cut crosswise in pieces one and one-half inches thick. Fry in a pan with half butter and half chicken fat. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until golden yellow.

Stewed pears with claret. Peel a dozen nice pears, put them in an earthen pot, add one pint of water, one-half pint of claret, one-half pound of sugar, and a piece of cinnamon stick. Cover the pot, and cook in oven for about two hours. Serve cold.

Shrimp salad, Anastine. Six shallots, one-half stalk of celery, one-half can of pimentos, and some parsley. Chop all very fine, and put in salad bowl with two pounds of picked shrimps. Mix, and add one-half teaspoonful of salt, some fresh-ground black pepper, two spoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, and four spoonfuls of olive oil. Serve in a salad bowl, with leaves of lettuce around the sides; and with hard-boiled eggs cut in four.

Shirred eggs, Imperial. Cut fresh goose liver in small pieces, and fry in pan seasoned with salt and pepper. Then place the liver in a buttered shirred egg dish, break eggs on top, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the eggs are done.

Breast of squab, au jus. Cut the breasts from four large squabs, season with salt and pepper, and roll in flour. Heat two ounces of butter in a sauté pan, add the breasts, and fry for ten minutes. Place the breasts on a platter, and put in the pan one spoonful of meat extract and one-half cup of stock. Season with salt and pepper, reduce one-half by boiling, and pour over the squab. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Chocolate cream pie. One quart of milk, the yolks of eight eggs, one-half pound of sugar, two ounces of corn starch, two ounces of powdered cocoa, and one ounce of butter. Dissolve the corn starch in a little milk, and stir into the yolks of eggs. Put the milk on the fire, add the sugar, cocoa, and butter, and bring to a boil. Then pour it into the yolks and corn starch, and set back on the stove until it thickens. Have a pie crust already baked, fill it with this cream, decorate the top with meringue, and set it in the oven to brown the top. Serve cold. The above will make about two pies.

Eggs, Derby. Cut a can of goose liver au natural in slices one-half inch thick, season with salt and pepper, roll in flour, and fry in butter. Place on a platter, put a poached egg on top of each slice, and pour sauce Madère, to which has been added sliced mushrooms, over the eggs.

Cold chicken, Isabella. Boil a fat chicken. When cold, slice the breast very thin. Make a pint of mayonnaise, and add a spoonful of paprika to it. Mix a cup of cold boiled rice with one spoonful of the mayonnaise, season with salt, and place in the center of a china platter. Lay the breast of chicken on top, and pour the rest of the sauce over all. Lay a few leaves of tarragon crosswise on top. At each end of the platter place two bouquets of asparagus tips. Sprinkle with finely chopped chervil.

Baisés (chocolate drops). One pound of sugar (half powdered and half icing), the whites of three eggs, two ounces of chocolate, and vanilla flavoring. Dissolve the chocolate, and stir into the sugar and whites of eggs, over the fire, until all is melted and smooth; but do not let it come to a boil. Dress on a buttered pan, like peppermint drops. Allow to dry out for a few hours, and bake in a moderate oven.

Bean and cabbage soup. Soak two pounds of white beans in water over night. Put in a vessel two pounds of salt pork, three pounds of shin of beef, two gallons of cold water, and a tablespoonful of salt. Bring slowly to a boil, and skim well. Add the beans, and boil for an hour. Then add a small head of cabbage that has been cut in one-inch squares, one onion, one carrot, a bouquet garni, and one mashed clove of garlic. Boil slowly for two hours, then remove the pork, beef, carrot, onion and bouquet garni. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add a little chopped parsley.

Cold chocolate pudding. One pint of cream, one-half pint of milk, the yolks of four eggs, six ounces of sugar, three ounces of chocolate, one-half ounce of gelatine, and a little vanilla flavoring. Soak the gelatine in a little cold water. Dissolve the chocolate and sugar on the fire; then add the yolks and milk, and stir until it thickens, but do not let it come to a boil. Remove from the fire, add the gelatine and vanilla flavoring, and stir until the gelatine is melted. Then strain, and cool. Whip the cream until stiff, mix with the foregoing, and immediately pour into pudding moulds. Set in the ice box to harden. Serve with cold chocolate sauce.

Cold chocolate sauce. Three-quarters of a pound of sugar, one-half pound of water, and four ounces of powdered chocolate. Bring the water to a boil, and dissolve the chocolate and sugar in it. Bring to a boil again; take off the fire, and allow to become cool. Serve with bavarois, puddings, blanc mange, ice creams, etc.

Italian wine sauce, for puddings. Two ounces of sago, one-half pint of water, one-half pint of claret, one-quarter pound of sugar, the juice of an orange, and a pony of rum. Soak the sago in the water for over an hour; then boil until clear. Then add the claret, sugar, and orange juice, and continue on fire until it thickens. Then add the rum. Serve with corn meal, sago, tapioca, or rice pudding.

Consommé Trianon. Cut some green, red, and natural royal in triangle shapes, and serve in hot consommé.

Consommé with green royal. Mix four eggs with one pint of warm consommé, add green coloring, strain, put in buttered timbale moulds, and cook in bain-marie. Cut in any shape, and serve in hot consommé.

Consommé with red royal. Obtain some red coloring from a fancy grocer. Mix the yolks of four eggs with one pint of warm consommé, add some coloring, strain, and cook in bain-marie. Cut in any shape desired, and serve in hot consommé.

Fried eels, sauce rémoulade. Cut the eels in pieces two inches long, and boil in water with a little salt and vinegar, one sliced onion, one carrot, and a bouquet garni. Allow to become cool in its own gravy. Then take out of the gravy, roll in flour, then in beaten eggs, then in bread crumbs, and fry in very hot swimming fat until golden yellow. Season with salt, and serve on a platter, on a napkin. Garnish with fried parsley and quartered lemons. Serve sauce rémoulade separate.

Breast of chicken with figs. Cut the breasts from two young raw roasting chickens, remove the skin, season with salt and pepper, roll in table cream, then in flour, and fry in very hot melted butter. When the breasts are done, pour three spoonfuls of cream on a platter and lay the breasts on top. Heat some preserved figs, and garnish with two for each person. Or dry figs may be warmed in consommé, and used instead, if desired.

Eggs Belley. Slice some smoked beef very fine, parboil, and add to plain scrambled eggs, with a little chopped chives.

Chicken broth, San Remo. Make two quarts of plain chicken broth, add to it one-half cup of sliced soft-boiled carrots, and one cup of boiled rice. Serve grated cheese separate.

Oysters, Victor Hugo. Season two dozen oysters on the half shell with salt and pepper. Put in a bowl one cupful of fresh-grated horse radish, a little chopped parsley, one-half cup of fresh bread crumbs, one spoonful of grated cheese, and one spoonful of butter. Mix well, and spread over the oysters. Put in oven to bake, and when done serve in the same shells. Serve one-half lemon to each person.

Small tenderloin steak, Cercle Militaire. Season four small tenderloin steaks with salt and pepper, roll in oil, and broil. Broil in the same manner, and at the same time, four whole lamb kidneys. When done place the steaks on a platter with the kidneys on top. Boil four artichokes, remove the leaves, and toss the bottoms in a sauté pan with a little butter. Season with salt and pepper, and use to garnish the steaks. Heat two ounces of butter in a sauté pan, add six chopped shallots, when hot add a piece of lemon and a little chopped parsley, and pour over the kidneys and steaks.

Poached eggs, Mexicaine. Slice one green pepper, and simmer in butter. Slice one-half can of cèpes, and toss in olive oil over fire. Slice two pimentos; and mix all together with one cup of tomato sauce. Season well, pour on a platter, and lay six poached eggs on top.

Roast Muscovy duck. Clean a Muscovy duck, season with salt and pepper, and stuff with a piece of celery and two shallots chopped very fine. Put the duck in a roasting pan with a sliced onion and carrot, add a little water, and put in a hot oven. The water will evaporate quickly, and the fat from the duck will be sufficient to roast it. Baste often. When done place the duck on a platter, remove the fat from the pan, add one cup of stock and a spoonful of meat extract, boil for five minutes, and pour over the duck.

Artichokes, Barigoule. Parboil six artichokes in salted water for two minutes. Then remove the hairy part, between the leaves and the bottoms; and fill with a stuffing made as follows: Simmer twelve chopped shallots in a casserole in two ounces of butter; then add one-half pound of chopped fresh mushrooms, and simmer again for ten minutes. Then add one-half glass of white wine, and boil until nearly dry, but be careful that it does not burn. Then add one-half cup of brown gravy, season with salt and pepper and a little chopped garlic and parsley, and boil for five minutes. Then thicken with the yolks of three raw eggs, and if necessary add a very little fresh bread crumbs. When the artichokes are filled tie a thin slice of salt pork over the tops, lay in a sauté pan, with sliced onions, sliced carrots, a bouquet garni, and one-half pint of bouillon. Cover, set in the oven and cook for about forty-five minutes. If the leaves loosen easily they are done. Serve on a platter with sauce Madère.

Fresh asparagus and Westphalia ham. Boil some fresh asparagus, and serve with Hollandaise sauce. Serve at the same time raw sliced Westphalian ham.