—Mix in a saucepan a teacupful of barley, an onion, a small piece of cinnamon, half a blade of mace and three pints of water in which potatoes have been boiled. When the mixture boils remove from the center of the fire and allow to simmer slowly for three hours or more. Pass through a fine sieve and return to saucepan. Mix in two tablespoonfuls of butter and half a pint of boiling milk, season with pepper and salt. Beat an egg yolk in a teacupful of milk, mix in the soup but do not allow to boil after egg is added. Serve with croutons.
—Take the under part of a round of beef, place it in a deep earthen dish and pour over it spiced vinegar. Let the meat remain in this for several hours, then dress it with strips of salt pork, a third of an inch square, inserted in incisions made a few inches apart. Stuff larger incisions with breadcrumbs highly seasoned with salt, pepper, onions, thyme and marjoram. Bind the beef into a shape to retain the dressing and dredge with flour. Then cut up two onions, half a carrot and half a turnip and fry in fat drippings till brown and place in a stewpan. Brown the meat all over with the same fat, place on a trivet in the pan, half cover with boiling water, add a small quantity of mixed herbs tied in a bag, cover and simmer for about four hours, or till done. Take out carefully, remove strings and cloth, and place on a large dish. Skim off the fat from the gravy, add more seasoning, thicken with wetted flour worked smooth, boil for eight or ten minutes and strain overthe meat. Decorate with small onions and potato balls.
—Boil potatoes until almost done, cut into quarters or slices of medium thickness. Melt butter or clarified drippings in a frying pan, put in the potatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper and finely chopped parsley and toss over the fire till they are a fine golden brown color. Serve with chopped parsley.
—Put crisp leaves of romaine in a salad bowl rubbed lightly with a shallot or new onion. Make the following dressing. Take one hard-boiled egg and mash it as finely as possible with a fork, add a little paprika, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoonful of French mustard, a teaspoonful of hashed chives, the same of hashed tarragon, two tablespoonfuls of oil and three of vinegar. Add this to the romaine, toss well and serve.
—Mix a small tablespoonful of starch with a gill of milk and when quite smooth add two ounces ofpowdered sugar and two ounces of butter. Put the mixture into a saucepan and stir over the fire till it boils. When cold stir in an ounce of grated chocolate and the yolks of two eggs. Beat well together till perfectly smooth, then mix in the whites of the eggs. Pour into a buttered souffle dish and bake for forty minutes.
—Pour into a saucepan about a quart of the water in which potatoes have been boiled, add a small amount of cold chicken cut in small dice, two tablespoonfuls of boiled rice, two tablespoonfuls of cooked green peas and one truffle cut into dice, also pepper and salt, along with one or two whole cloves. Bring to a boil, allow to simmer for fifteen minutes, and serve.
—Cut a cleaned haddock open at the back on each side of the bone,dustwith pepperand salt, dip in flour, place on a gridiron over a clear fire and cook for about twenty minutes, turning carefully from time to time. Remove from the fire, place two ounces of butter on the back of the fish, place it in the oven to melt the butter, then, put the fish on a hot platter and sprinkle with mince parsley and lemon juice, the latter heated.
—Boil a pound or two of potatoes, drain and mash and make into a stiff paste by adding butter and milk together with a little salt. Form into a casserole, put on a dish, make an opening in the top, brown in the oven and serve.
—Split the white leaves of lettuce into quarters and place in a bowl. Cut tomatoes into thin slices and place over the lettuce. Season with a sauce made of one part of vinegar, two of oil, a little salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over just before serving.
—Roast two wild ducks over a brisk fire, havingthem underdone, more or less, according to taste. Baste all the time they are cooking with butter and the juice of lemon and serve with the following sauce. Shred finely the rind of two oranges and parboil in a little water. Melt an ounce of butter and stir into it a dessertspoonful of flour moistened with a little water. Stir well over the fire and then add the juice of the two oranges, some very clear gravy, flavor with pepper and salt and cayenne, then add the parboiled orange rind. Let the sauce boil and keep hot till wanted.
—Put three egg yolks and three ounces of powdered sugar into a basin with the grated rind of a lemon and a half and stir till quite thick. Add slowly a tablespoonful of lemon juice and then, quickly, the well beaten whites of the three eggs. Pour into a pie dish and bake in a medium oven for twenty minutes. When the surface is a golden brown it is done. Serve immediately.
—Take the fillets of two firm flounders, trim and flour each piece lightly. Dip in egg beaten with pepper and salt, cover on both sides with stale breadcrumbs and fry in boiling olive oil. When the fillets are a golden brown place on a sieve in front of the fire with a soft paper beneath them that they may drain. Serve with fried parsley and quarters of lemon.
—Chop raw potatoes fine and place them in a saucepan with butter and a seasoning of pepper,salt, paprika and a trace of nutmeg. Cover and cook very slowly, agitating them constantly. When they become soft, beat well and arrange a layer on a vegetable dish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, put on another layer of potatoes, then more cheese, and so on, having the top layer of cheese. Pour over all melted butter and bake about twenty minutes in a slow oven.
—Tie a thin slice of bacon over the breast of each quail, roast them at a clear fire for fifteen minutes, basting frequently. Lay them on crisp buttered toast, sprinkle with mincedparsley, salt and paprika, and serve with a rich wine jelly on a separate dish.
—Cut the under part of boiled artichokes into slices and take the same number of slices of tomato. Dip both into a dressing made of olive oil, vinegar, tarragon, chervil, salt and pepper, with a little mustard and arrange in a salad bowl. Pour over the remainder of the dressing and serve.
—Roll a pound of puff paste to about an eighth of an inch in thickness and cut out about thirty rounds with a fluted cutter, about two and a half inches in diameter. Then cut out the center of these with a cutter about an inch across. Roll out the paste taken from the centers and cut out more rings in the same way. Brush the rings over with egg, place one on top of another, two by two, press together so that they will stick, place on a baking sheet, brush over with egg and bake in a brisk oven. When almost done sprinkle with sugar and allow to remain in the oven till they are glazed and fully done. Remove and place on a warmed platter and fill with any sort of cream desired, or jam or tart marmalade.
—Cut carrots, onions, leeks and turnips into thin slices or strips of equal size with a head of celery. Put all into two ounces of butter melted in a saucepan and toss over a slow fire for a few minutes. If desired other vegetables in season such as cauliflower, peas or asparagus may be added. Pour clear chicken broth over the vegetables, put in some pieces of cold chicken, allow to come to a boil, then simmer till the vegetables are tender and pour the whole into the tureen with sippets of toast.
—Cut a small carrot and an onion into fine pieces and boil for five minutes in a wineglassful of red wine. Now add the meat from two lobsters, cut in small pieces, say, about a pound and a half. Season with a very little pepper, salt, and a trace of nutmeg, adding, just before the lobster is cooked, about half a pint of velouté sauce. Stew well together and serve at once.
—Cut off one wing of a duck and half the breast from the same side, remove the skin, take out the bone and fill the place with quenelle forcemeat. Lard the breast and put it into a braising pan over slices of leeks, carrots and onions and a little thyme, chervil, bayleaves and lemon peel. Add sufficient stock to prevent burning, set the pan on the fire and braise the duck, then glaze it. Serve with a purée of beans for garnish.
—Cut cold chicken and salmon into thin slices, arrange in a salad dish and mix with finely cutcooked asparagus heads, carrots and cauliflower, a few capers and a little caviare. The dressing is made with three parts of oil and one of vinegar, a little mustard and cayenne pepper and a tablespoonful of minced onion. Pour over the salad and stand on the ice till served.
—Grind half a pound of green coffee, roast in a sugar boiler without burning it or even browning and soak a quart of milk with it for about an hour. Now stir into a cupful of flour a teaspoonful of castor sugar into which has been dropped a little vanilla extract, and a little salt. Stir this all in with the strained coffee-flavored milk, bring to a boil, remove from the fire and stir in the yolks, then the whites of three eggs, all beaten firm. Fill paper cases with the mixture, bake, sprinkle castor sugar over the tops and serve at once.
—Place in a sauce bowl a heaped teaspoonful of salt, three-quarters of a teaspoonful of white pepper, a medium sized onion, chopped, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley. Mix lightly together along with a teaspoonful of olive oil, six drops of tobasco sauce, a little Worcestershire sauce and a gill of vinegar. Put a teaspoonful of this mixture on each raw oyster just before taking to the table.
—Season two steaks of about three-quarters of a pound each (any ordinary cut will do) with salt andpepper, baste on either side with a little oil and broil over a brisk fire for six minutes. Place on a hot dish and serve with the following sauce poured over: Mix in a saucepan a small glass of mushroom liquor with half a pint of bechamel sauce, half an ounce of butter and two or three tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce. Place on the fire, stir for ten minutes and just before removing add whole mushrooms cut in squares.
—Chop fine a bunch of parsley, two small onions and six anchovies. Lay them in a bowl and mix with salt and mustard to taste, two tablespoonfuls of salad oil and a gill of vinegar. Stir all well together and then add, one at a time, some very thin strips of cold roasted or boiled meat, not more than three or four inches long. Shake the slices well in the dressing. Cover the bowl closely and allow to stand for at least three hours. Serve garnished with parsley.
—Cut into round slices eight boiled potatoes, laythem in a frying pan with an ounce and a half of butter and the slices of a partly cooked onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook till the potatoes become well browned, tossing all the while. Serve with chopped parsley sprinkled over.
—Put into a saucepan a pint of milk, half a pound of lump sugar, the grated rind of two lemons and an ounce of gelatine, previously soaked in water. Cook till the sugar dissolves over a slow fire, then allow the mixture to cool somewhat before stirring in the yolks of two eggs, unbeaten. Place on the fire to curdle. Strain, and when cool add the juice of the two lemons and the whites of the eggs beaten stiffly. Stir all well together and pour into a wet mould. Turn out when well set.
—Boil in strong bouillon small forcemeat balls made of any left-over game or meat. Then soak croutons in the same bouillon. Add the forcemeat balls and serve.
—Prepare several trout and lay them in a pan with a quarter pound of butter and some strong spices. Allow to heat slowly in an open oven and when the butter is entirely melted, drop on the trout two well beaten yolks of eggs. Grate cheese over this and cover all with a quantity of fine breadcrumbs. Brown lightly in a hot oven and serve.
—Boiland drain about two and a half pounds of potatoes. Add a generous quantity of butter, yolks of two eggs, salt and pepper and the white of the eggs beaten to a snow. Beat the whole up briskly, shape the mixture into balls and fry in a pan.
—Trim carefully a bunch of celery, leaving on as much of the root as possible. Cut in half and boil in salted water till tender. Then trim into even sticks and season it very piquantly with French mustard, a few young onions, pepper, salt and finely chopped parsley. Garnish with lettuce-leaves and slices of beet.
—Mix in a large bowl a cupful of breadcrumbs, half a cup of farina, a pinch of salt, a cup of suet, cut fine, a cup of powdered sugar, a minced carrot and a cup and a half of chopped figs. Grease a baking mould, line it with whole figs, and empty the mixture into it. Cook for four hours, the pan standing in water. Serve hot with a rum sauce.
A FAMOUS FRENCH LUNCHEON À L'AMÉRICAINE
Only in the Latin countries has fish as an edible ever been fully appreciated and, as is the case with most other things gastronomic, it is in France that the food possibilities of the denizens of the water have been brought nearest perfection.
Over here we have always seemed to regard fish as useful chiefly for stocking aquariums or for furnishing sport for the vacationist, along with golf, tennis and bowling. True, we have become rather well acquainted with certain sea foods, the oysters, Blue Points and Cape Cods; we have a nodding acquaintance with some of the clam clan, especially the Rhode Island branch, and the Little Necks, the blue bloods of the family. And, of course, we are familiarwith the crustaceans, the lobsters and the crabs.
And we know, too, certain succulent sea delicacies that come to us from Palm Beach shores and California and Oregon regions, tuna and halibut, bluefish and salmon as it comes to us variously prepared for the table. In short, we Americans are fairly friendly with a number of the aristocrats of the water, but on analyzing the situation we come to realize that as for knowing the “finny tribe” as a whole well enough to get complete gastronomic joy out of the situation, it remains that it is only the French people who are so blessed.
Time and the hour and the high price of meat, however, render it advisable, even absolutely necessary, that we workallour resources instead of only a part of them, to economize whenever and wherever we can, and the waters in our midst and around us are surely one of the most important resources not already worked to the limit.
Therefore, let us eat fish—but firstlet us learn of the French about fish, even as we have learned of them concerning other foods, or as we have learned fashions, for, verily, the turning out of a proper fish dish for the table has ever been regarded by the French as no less an art than the creation of a beautiful frock in one of their ateliers. Moreover, their ways with fish are so broadly inclusive that one may make up an entire menu from one end to the other, with only a cup of coffee needed as a final fillip to make a perfect meal—and all of fish.
By way of furnishing inspiration to our own appetites, herewith is a suggestion for a fish luncheon, a favorite menu of France, which its wealth and fashion delighted to have set before it in those good old days before the war. Substitutes are given for any fish not indigenous to American waters; otherwise it is just as it would be served at one of the Riviera restaurants, with the exception, of course, that on the Riviera or at any of the noted marinerestaurants, the visitor himself was permitted to select the fish for each course from among the different specimens swimming in the reserves, altogether unconscious of impending fate.
No French restauranteur worthy the name ever kept dead fish in stock, for nothing deteriorates so quickly. There is rarely over here the natural reserve that the Riviera takes as a matter of course, although there is, in some restaurants, the tank of running water in which the fish are kept in condition till required.
Hors d'Œuvres. Little Necks or Blue Points.(At Monte Carlo one would be served Clovisses.)Lobster with Sauce Piquante.(A substitute for the French langouste, which is similar to a giant lobster minus the two long nippers. Or there might be served abroad for this course a little gelatinous fellow called supion, or sea-hedgehog, or perhaps nonnots, smaller and more delicate than our own whitefish.)French Sardines Grilled, or Shad Planked.(Shad is a most satisfactory substitute for the French restauranteur's delight—loup de mer.)Flounder, Sauce Meunière, or Shrimps.(In Dieppe sole and certain crevettes are both specialties and are served at this juncture, but little sole is being received here and our own flounder answers requirements admirably. Shrimps, too, will please an American palate fully as well as thecrevettes.)Bouillabaisse.(This, for which we have no nearer synonym than fish stew, which is a libel, is the pièce de résistance of the luncheon. It is probably the most famous fish dish of France.)Salade de Poisson with Aioli.(Aioli is a Mediterranean mayonnaise and “the dressing,” the French say, “is the soul of thesalad.”)
(At Monte Carlo one would be served Clovisses.)
(A substitute for the French langouste, which is similar to a giant lobster minus the two long nippers. Or there might be served abroad for this course a little gelatinous fellow called supion, or sea-hedgehog, or perhaps nonnots, smaller and more delicate than our own whitefish.)
(Shad is a most satisfactory substitute for the French restauranteur's delight—loup de mer.)
(In Dieppe sole and certain crevettes are both specialties and are served at this juncture, but little sole is being received here and our own flounder answers requirements admirably. Shrimps, too, will please an American palate fully as well as thecrevettes.)
(This, for which we have no nearer synonym than fish stew, which is a libel, is the pièce de résistance of the luncheon. It is probably the most famous fish dish of France.)
(Aioli is a Mediterranean mayonnaise and “the dressing,” the French say, “is the soul of thesalad.”)
It will be noted that there is no dessert given with the above menu, but the repast may be gracefully topped off with crackers and cheese and café noir. Tea is never served with fish, as the tannin is said to render fish particularly indigestible.
The French disdain the pepper, horseradish and tomato mixtures with which we are wont to dress raw oysters, preferring to get the full coppery taste peculiar to their home product, but the American oyster, even these artists of the culinary department agree, requires a dressing to bring out the flavor. As for the clovisse, which is, by the way, first cousin to our clam, it is eaten from the shell, each clovisse being opened immediately before being disposed of.
Lobster as here served to take the place of the French langouste, tastes much like deviled lobster. The sauce piquante is made as follows: Into a saucepan put a tablespoonful of finely chopped onion with a little salt, grated nutmeg, black pepper and an ounce of butter. When this melts and blends add a little chopped red pepper alongwith three tablespoonfuls of vinegar and a teaspoonful of mustard. Stir together well, then mix in half an ounce of flour and half a pint of fish stock. Simmer for half an hour, skimming occasionally and, finally add a chopped pickled gherkin.
Sauce Meunière, served with the sole, or, in this case with the flounder, is made by adding a few shrimps and mussels, minced, to a pint of white wine in a saucepan, along with a cupful of minced mushrooms, a teaspoonful of butter, salt and pepper and three or four cloves. Simmer for twenty minutes and pour over the fish just before serving.
Salade de Poisson, Aioli, is made by taking any cold fish, say salmon, with this menu. It is flaked and marinaded in oil and vinegar seasoned well with pepper and salt. Allow to remain for an hour or so, then remove and arrange compactly in a salad bowl. The aioli, the Mediterranean delicacy with which it is served, is made by whipping two eggs, four teaspoonfuls of olive oil, ahalf teaspoonful of French mustard and a half cupful of cream together till stiff, in a bowl rubbed with garlic. Heap this on the center of the fish.
As for theBouillabaisse, it is like our own Welsh Rabbit in so far as hardly any two persons make it alike. Here are two recipes which gastronomic authorities have accorded the meed of highest praise:
No. 1.—Cut into pieces and remove the bones from three pounds of fish; say one pound each of cod, halibut and bluefish, though any fish of like nature will do. To these add the cooked meat of one lobster or two crabs, and six shrimps and put all into a casserole in half a pint or more of olive oil to cook, adding one lemon, sliced, two tomatoes, one onion, one sliced carrot, a bunch of saffron, a bunch of parsley, a bayleaf and a clove of garlic—or have the casserole rubbed with the garlic. Cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently, then add one cup of soup stock and a glass of wine or cider. Cook for fifteenminutes longer, remove to a hot bowl, line the casserole with slices of toast, and pour back the bouillabaisse. Serve at once.
No. 2.—Place the pieces of fish to any desired amount in a large saucepan, add two or three sliced onions, one or two sliced carrots, three shallots, two cloves of garlic, a bunch of thyme and parsley, three or four cloves, two bayleaves, half a teaspoonful of capsicum, a wine-glass of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the above mixture two quarts of water and boil gently for half an hour, the pan covered. Drain and lay on a hot dish. Then mix a teaspoonful of saffron in the liquid, pass through a strainer into a soup tureen. Serve the soup with the fish and a plate of croutons of fried bread or sippets of toast.
The French have another fish dish which, like bouillabaisse, is practically a meal in itself and which in these days should be better known to the American table. It is a specialty in the vicinity of Marseilles and made there, of course, with fish peculiar to the home waters, but M. Auguste Gay, Chef of the Yale Club, New York, who, incidentally, has probably given more attention to the adaptation of French cookery to American requirements than any other chef, is authority for the statement that the following recipe produces an almost perfect substitute for the French dish:
Chop into fine bits a small sweet Chile pepper and toss it about in a saucepan over the fire with a third of a cupful of olive oil or butter. When hot add a cupful of okra and the sameamount of stewed fresh or canned tomatoes. Cook fifteen minutes and add a full cupful of cooked fresh fish—cod, haddock, etc., and a half cupful of flaked salt fish, mackerel, for instance. Cover and cook for twenty minutes longer and serve with water crackers.
One secret of the French cook's superiority to the American in preparing fish is that the former has almost a congenital knowledge of his subject. To him all fish is not just fish. He differentiates sharply as to species, tempering his treatment to varied requirements.
Roughly, there are two classes of fish: those which have dark flesh or flesh with a pinkish tone which is streaked with fat, and those which have white, firm flesh and are the more digestible. Best known in the first class are shad, butterfish, bluefish, salmon, mackerel and sturgeon, and in the second, cod, halibut, flounder, trout, rock and sea bass, pompano, weakfish and perch.
One matter-of-course rule is that no fish of whatever kind shall be allowed to enter the kitchen unless it is perfectlyfresh. To be sure of this see that the gills are bright and shining and the flesh firm, not readily separating from the bones. That settled, you have an almost endless choice of ways of cooking.
Fish may be boiled, broiled, fried, baked, planked, creamed, steamed, cooked en casserole, jellied or pickled, but of all these ways none produces quite the universally satisfactory results with a sizable fish that planking does, and planking is not more difficult or expensive than other methods.
All that is required in the way of accoutrements is a half-inch-thick hardwood board which is heated in advance in the oven when planked fish is to figure on the menu. Then having thoroughly cleaned the fish, removed its head and tail, split it up the back half through the bone so that it will open out flat, brush it with butter and season with pepper and salt, place it skin-side down on the board.
Put it in the oven and when it isdone, which can be easily ascertained by lifting a bit of the flesh, you, being American, may garnish the board with mashed and seasoned potatoes, set the board back in the oven till the potatoes are browned and serve. The French, on taking the cooked fish from the oven, merely brush it with a little oil or melted butter, squeeze some lemon juice over, sprinkle a few bits of parsley about, and send the fish thus to the table.
Small fish, such as perch, smelts, etc., are best fried in deep fat or its substitute, first being dipped in egg and rolled in fine cracker or breadcrumbs, then served with a Sauce Mousseline, mashed potatoes or boiled new ones, and a crisp salad.
This Sauce Mousseline is made by beating two eggs in a saucepan, adding a cupful of top milk, butter the size of a walnut and pepper and salt, then stirring over the fire till it begins to thicken. When of the proper consistency, add a tablespoonful of lemon juice and it is ready for the table.
A tart sauce for boiled fish that is much favored in the south of France but which, if it has ever crossed the water, has kept its arrival very quiet, is quite simply made and will be much liked as a decided change. To make it dissolve a tablespoonful of powdered mustard in a half cupful of fish stock and add two tablespoonfuls of white wine vinegar by preference, though other vinegar will do. Let this come to a boil, add two or three slices of lemon and boil a few minutes longer. Take from the fire and add two eggs that have been beaten with a teaspoonful of water. Season with salt and pepper and heat again but do not allow to boil.