A Poetical Cook-Book Part 3

_'Tis no one thing_; it is not fruit, nor root, Nor poorly limited with head or foot.

DONNE.

Cut off the tops of some small French rolls, take out the crumb, fry them brown and crisp with clarified b.u.t.ter, then fry some breadcrumbs; stew the requisite quant.i.ty of oysters, bearded and cut in two, in their liquor, with a little white wine, some gravy, and seasoned with grated lemon-peel, powdered mace, pepper and salt; add a bit of b.u.t.ter, fill the rolls with oysters, and serve them with the fried breadcrumbs in a dish.

SCALLOPED OYSTERS.

What will not luxury taste? Earth, sea, and air, Are daily ransack'd for the bills of fare.

GAY.

Stew the oysters slowly in their own liquor for two or three minutes, take them out with a spoon, beard them, and skim the liquor, put a bit of b.u.t.ter into a stewpan; when it is melted, add as much fine breadcrumbs as will dry it up; then put to it the oyster liquor, and give it a boil up; put the oysters into scallop sh.e.l.ls that you have b.u.t.tered, and strewed with breadcrumbs, then a layer of oysters, then breadcrumbs, and then again oysters; moisten it with the oyster liquor, cover them with breadcrumbs, put about half a dozen little bits of b.u.t.ter on the top of each, and brown them in a Dutch oven.

Essence of anchovy, ketchup, cayenne, grated lemon-peel, mace, and other spices are added by those who prefer piquance to the genuine flavor of the oyster.

MEATS.

VENISON.

Thanks, my lord, for your _venison_; for finer or fatter Never ranged in a forest or smoked in a platter.

The haunch was a picture for painters to study, The fat was so white, and the lean was so ruddy.

GOLDSMITH.

The haunch of buck will take about three hours and three quarters roasting. Put a coa.r.s.e paste of brown flour and water, and a paper over that, to cover all the fat; baste it well with dripping, and keep it at a distance, to get hot at the bones by degrees. When near done, remove the covering, and baste it with b.u.t.ter, and froth it up before you serve. Gravy for it should be put in a boat, and not in the dish (unless there be none in the venison), and made thus: cut off the fat from two or three pounds of a loin of old mutton, and set it in steaks on a gridiron for a few minutes, just to brown one side; put them in a saucepan with a quart of water, cover quite close for an hour, and gently simmer it; then uncover, and stew till the gravy be reduced to a pint. Season only with salt.

VENISON PASTY.

And now that I think on't, as I am a sinner!

We wanted this venison to make out the dinner.

What say you? a _pasty_! it shall and it must, And my wife, little Kitty, is famous for crust.

"What the de'il, mon, a pasty!" re-echoed the Scot.

"Though splitting, I'll still keep a corner for that."

"We'll all keep a corner," the lady cried out; "We will all keep a corner!" was echoed about.

GOLDSMITH.

Cut a neck or breast into small steaks, rub them over with a seasoning of sweet herbs, grated nutmeg, pepper and salt; fry them slightly in b.u.t.ter. Line the sides and edges of a dish with puff paste, lay in the steaks, and add half a pint of rich gravy, made with the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of the venison; add a gla.s.s of port wine, and the juice of half a lemon or teaspoonful of vinegar; cover the dish with puff paste, and bake it nearly two hours; some more gravy may be poured into the pie before serving it.

ROAST BEEF.

And aye a rowth, a _roast beef_ and claret: Syne wha wad starve!

BURNS.

The n.o.ble sirloin of about fifteen pounds will require to be before the fire about three and a half to four hours; take care to spit it evenly, that it may not be heavier on one side than on the other; put a little clean dripping into the dripping-pan (tie a sheet of paper over to preserve the fat); baste it well as soon as it is put down, and every quarter of an hour all the time it is roasting, till the last half hour; then take off the paper and make some gravy for it. Stir the fire, and make it clear; to brown and froth it, sprinkle a little salt over it, baste it with b.u.t.ter, and dredge it with flour; let it go a few minutes longer till the froth rises, take it up, put it on the dish, and serve it.

BEEF a LA BRAISE.

In short, dear, "a Dandy" describes what I mean, And Bob's far the best of the gems I have seen, But just knows the names of French dishes and cooks, As dear Pa knows the t.i.tles and authors of books; Whose names, think how quick! he already knows pat, _A la braise_, pet.i.t pates, and--what d'ye call that They inflict on potatoes? Oh! maitre d'hotel.

I a.s.sure you, dear Dolly, he knows them as well As if nothing but these all his life he had eat, Though a bit of them Bobby has never touched yet.

I can scarce tell the difference, at least as to phrase, Between _beef a la Psyche_ and _curls a la braise_.

MOORE.

Bone a rump of beef, lard it very thickly with salt pork seasoned with pepper, salt, cloves, mace, and allspice, and season the beef with pepper and salt; put some slices of bacon into the bottom of the pan, with some whole black pepper, a little allspice, one or two bay leaves, two onions, a clove of garlic, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Put in the beef, and lay over it some slices of bacon, two quarts of weak stock, and half a pint of white wine. Cover it closely, and let it stew between six and seven hours. Sauce for the beef is made of part of the liquor it has been stewed in, strained, and thickened with a little flour and b.u.t.ter, adding some green onions cut small, and pickled mushrooms. Pour it over the beef.

BEEF BAKED WITH POTATOES.

The funeral _bak'd meats_ Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.

SHAKSPEARE.

Boil some potatoes, peel, and pound them in a mortar with two small onions; moisten them with milk and an egg beaten up, add a little salt and pepper. Season slices of beef or mutton-chops with salt and pepper, and more onion, if the flavor is approved. Rub the bottom of a pudding-dish with b.u.t.ter, and put a layer of the mashed potatoes, which should be as thick as a batter, and then a layer of meat, and so on alternately till the dish is filled, ending with potatoes. Bake it in an oven for an hour.

BEEF RAGOUT.

Is there, then, that o'er his _French ragout_, Looks down wi' sneering, scornful view, On sic a dinner?

BURNS.

Take a rump of beef, cut the meat from the bone, flour and fry it, pour over it a little boiling water, about a pint of small-beer, add a carrot or two, an onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, salt, a piece of lemon-peel, a bunch of sweet herbs; let it stew an hour, then add some good gravy; when the meat is tender take it out and strain the sauce; thicken it with a little flour; add a little celery ready boiled, a little ketchup, put in the meat; just simmer it up.

BEEF KIDNEYS.

Or one's _kidney_,--imagine, d.i.c.k,--done with champagne.

MOORE.

Having soaked a fresh kidney in cold water and dried it in a cloth, cut it into mouthfuls, and then mince it fine; dust it with flour. Put some b.u.t.ter into a stewpan over a moderate fire, and when it boils put in the minced kidneys. When you have browned it in the b.u.t.ter, sprinkle on a little salt and cayenne, and pour in a very little boiling water. Add a gla.s.s of champagne, or other wine, or a large teaspoonful of mushroom ketchup or walnut pickle; cover the pan closely, and let it stew till the kidney is tender. Send it to table hot, in a covered dish. It is eaten generally at breakfast.

BROILED BEEFSTEAKS.

_Time was_, when John Bull little difference spied 'Twixt the foe at his feet or the friend at his side; When he found, such his humor in fighting and eating, His foe, like _beefsteak_, the sweeter for beating.

MOORE.

If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well, It were done quickly.

SHAKSPEARE.

Cut the steaks off a rump or the ribs of a fore quarter. Have the gridiron perfectly clean, and heated over a clear quick fire, lay on the steaks, and with meat-tongs, keep turning them constantly, till they are done enough; throw a little salt over them before taking them off the fire. Serve as hot as possible, plain or with a made gravy and sliced onions, or rub a bit of b.u.t.ter on the steaks the moment of serving.

Mutton-chops are broiled in the same manner.

SCOTCH HAGGIS.