Choice Cookery Part 5

_Cutlets of Sweetbreads._--Soak a pair of sweetbreads in salt and water for an hour--longer if there is much blood about them; then cook them half an hour in stock. Drain them and let them get cold. Trim off all superfluous fat and gristle; chop them with one ounce of lean boiled ham to each pair of large sweetbreads, and half a can of mushrooms, a small teaspoonful of salt, the sixth of one of pepper. Put an ounce of flour in a small thick saucepan with an ounce of b.u.t.ter; stir them together over the fire until they bubble; then add a half-pint of liquid consisting of a gill of stiff jellied stock and a gill of thick cream; stir till they boil and form a smooth sauce; mix the sweetbread mixture with the sauce.

The mixture should be a soft, creamy ma.s.s, not in any way so stiff as sausage-meat, or so as to remain in a heap without spreading; when poured on a plate, it should be of a consistency that will _slowly_ settle, yet there must not be any liquid whatever. On this question of consistency depends the quality of the croquettes, cutlets, etc., made from it. If too stiff, they will be dry and only a superior sort of hash ball. What you have to aim at is a croquette or cutlet that will ooze out of the thin sh.e.l.l of egg and crumb when pressed with a fork. Success in attaining this can always be secured by taking care to moisten the minced meat with a sauce made of _very stiff jelly_ in the proportion of half a pint of liquid (the melted jelly and cream) and one ounce each of flour and b.u.t.ter. This will mix a pint of sweetbread and mushrooms, or rather less of dry meat, such as the breast of chicken, veal, etc.

I dwell on this point because this cla.s.s of entrees is always popular, and if the consistency is once well understood, success is certain to follow.

When the mixture is poured into shallow dishes or plates, a piece of b.u.t.tered paper should be laid over them, and then they should be placed on ice until quite firm. When ready, cut small pieces of the mixture, make them into shapes as nearly resembling a French chop as you can, using a very little cracker meal should they stick to your hands. Have before you a large dish of cracker meal and the yolks of two eggs beaten with two small tablespoonfuls of water, cover each cutlet thoroughly with egg, then with meal, gently patting them to make the meal adhere; insert anything you please to represent the bone (turkey ribs may be boiled white and kept for this purpose). Cutlets require to be dropped into very hot fat, and taken up within two minutes. Consult directions for frying in former chapter.

Sweetbread croquettes are simply made into cork or pear shapes, never large, instead of cutlets. When the white meat of chicken replaces half the sweetbread, they are called Cutlets, or Croquettes, a la Reine.

Make no attempt to mould croquettes or cutlets until the mixture is firm enough to cut; then handle very quickly, make into proper forms, finish them either as cutlets or what you wish, and let them remain in a cold place for an hour or two before cooking; this last direction may not be always possible, and to an expert is not necessary, but when time can be given the amateur should always plan to do it.

But though in experienced hands it is possible (though not so easy) to make croquettes and fry them as soon as breaded, do not be led to believe that you can dispense with putting the mixture on the ice the first time. I remember a young lady who was very proud of her croquettes telling me she never found it necessary to chill the mixture; she could secure perfect shape without. I asked to see the process, and decided in my own mind that she must go widely from the directions, and have her material as stiff as hash; but I found she solved the difficulty in a different way: she simply worked in quant.i.ties of cracker meal, using it like flour. Of course the croquettes were spoiled, although it was true they kept their shape, and I do not think the young lady realized at all that she was changing and impoverishing the preparation altogether.

_Braised Sweetbreads._--Take a pair of sweetbreads, lay in salt and water for an hour, then blanch. Press slightly between two dishes; when cold, remove all skin, fat, and gristle; cut up very fine a small carrot, a turnip, and an onion; put them in a stewpan with the sweetbreads, pour over them a pint of stock, lay a piece of b.u.t.tered paper over them, and braise carefully for half an hour. Take them out of the stewpan, put them in a small meat-pan, boil the liquor rapidly a couple of minutes, then baste the sweetbreads with it several times; put them in a quick oven to brown; serve on slices of fried bread, pour half a pint of Spanish sauce round, and garnish with mushrooms.

_Tartlettes of Chicken._--Cut six ounces of the breast of a cooked chicken into very small pieces, chop up one truffle, twelve mushrooms, and two ounces of lean boiled ham; stir them into a gill of white sauce.

b.u.t.ter thickly nine dariole moulds, line them neatly with quenelle meat,[114-*] of which you will require half a pound, fill the centre carefully with the mixed chicken, cover the top carefully with quenelle meat, and steam for twenty minutes; dish on a circle of spinach, pour bechamel sauce over and round, fill the centre of the dish with peas or mixed vegetables.

_Chicken a la Hollandaise._--Take out the breast-bone of a large _young_ fowl, and fill the s.p.a.ce with the following force-meat: half a pint of fine bread-crumbs, an ounce and a half of b.u.t.ter, a small boiled onion chopped, and a dozen oysters cut into small pieces; a saltspoonful of salt, a pinch of pepper; bind together with an egg, sew up the fowl, and truss for roasting. Make a nice batter, as for fine fritters, and when the fowl has been in the oven half an hour, pour part of the batter over it; when dry and beginning to brown, pour more, until it is thickly coated and a nice brown; baste often; cut up the chicken, and serve with Allemande sauce and lemon.

FOOTNOTES:

[114-*] See directions in No. IV.

XIII.

PATTIES.

The directions for making one kind will serve for patties generally. In cities the cases are very easily bought, but where they have to be made at home, only one who is already an expert in making puff-paste should attempt them.

Patties when served as an entree should be quite small, or half of them will certainly be left on the plates.

Roll puff-paste a quarter of an inch thick for each patty, cut three circles from it, moisten the surface of two very slightly with water, place one on the other, then with a sharp penknife cut a circle nearly through the third round, leaving a margin of one third of an inch; lay this round carefully on the other two; brush the top with white of egg (be sure not to touch the sides), and bake in a very quick oven. Patties must be watched, and turned if they show signs of rising unevenly. When they are a fine yellow-brown take them out, and leave five minutes for them to cool slightly, then with a penknife or a boning-knife carefully remove the top formed by the smaller circle you marked, and which (if the paste was very light and the oven in good condition) will probably have risen out of the centre. Be careful in handling these covers, for while warm they are very brittle. With a coffee-spoon remove the half-cooked dough from the centre of the patty, taking care, however, to leave sufficient thickness of inner crust to prevent the sauce from oozing through.

The filling for patties can be made before it is needed; but when that is done, it must be made quite hot before it is put into the cases, as, if it were put in cold, the pastry would burn before the inside became warm.

_Dresden Patty Cases._--These make a very pretty kind of patty when puff-paste is not to be had, and even when it is are a desirable variety. They are made from fine light baker's bread. Cut slices an inch and a half thick, then with a biscuit cutter about two inches in diameter cut circles from these slices, and with another cutter, a size smaller, press half-way through each. You will now have pieces of bread the size and shape of patties. Beat four eggs; mix with a pint of milk and a saltspoonful of salt; pour this into a shallow pan, and stand the bread patties in it. The amount of milk and eggs must of course depend on the number of patties; the proportion named is enough for six small ones. The patties must remain steeping until they are thoroughly soaked; they must be carefully turned upside down when the lower part is sufficiently steeped. The time required will depend on the quality of the bread, but one hour will generally suffice. The bread must be thoroughly penetrated by the custard, be almost as moist as mush, yet be in no danger (with careful handling) of breaking. When sufficiently steeped, take each one on a cake turner and lay it on a drainer. (They may be prepared some hours before they are needed for cooking.) When quite drained, baste each one carefully with beaten egg till every part is coated, then smother it in cracker meal. Gently pat it to make it adhere, then slip the patty on to a dish till you are ready to fry. Do not attempt to move the patties with the hand or a spoon, but with a flat skimmer or cake turner.

When prepared as directed, make three pounds of lard _very hot_ in a deep frying-kettle,[119-*] place three of the patties on a fine wire frying-basket, and fry brown. The fat should be excessively hot, as the patties, being full of cold custard, will not burn, and will rapidly cool it. They should be a delicate brown in six or seven minutes. Let the fat come back to the original intense heat before putting in the other patties. When they are fried, remove the centre you marked with the smaller cutter with a sharp thin knife and small teaspoon, leaving the sides about half an inch thick. They are now ready to fill. If the patties are just right, the inside you remove should be of a custard-like texture, _not_ like sopped bread: indeed, in eating them, the bread should not be easily detected. These patties are very delicious filled with any of the usual fillings, or, for dessert, with stiff preserve. They have no covers, consequently the filling should be piled high without allowing the sauce to run over, and garnished with parsley or water-cress.

_Sweetbread Patties._--Soak two very white sweetbreads in salt and water one hour; parboil for twenty minutes; then let them cool; remove the skin, fat, and gristle; cut them into half-inch dice, and lay them aside while you prepare the following sauce: Put a gill of strong white stock into a small saucepan with a gill of mushroom liquor (and a dozen small mushrooms cut in four if approved) to boil. In another saucepan cook an ounce of flour and one of b.u.t.ter together, stirring till they bubble; pour the two gills of stock quickly to it, and stir till smooth. Season with half a teaspoonful of salt and very little pepper; lay in the sweetbreads, and let them stew twenty minutes. Strain them off from the sauce, which boil down (stirring constantly to prevent burning) till very thick; then add a gill of thick fresh cream. The sauce should now be thick enough to mask the spoon _very heavily_; pour it over the sweetbreads, and stir together. This is now ready for filling the patties. If mushrooms are not liked they may be omitted, the liquor replaced by a gill of stock and a teaspoonful of white wine.

_Oyster Patties._--Take a dozen and a half Blue Points, scald them in their own liquor, but do not leave them a moment after they reach the boiling-point; strain the liquor from them; cut each oyster in four. Put a tablespoonful of flour and one of b.u.t.ter into a small saucepan over the fire, stir them together until they bubble; then pour to them half a pint of the strained liquor of the oysters, or part liquor and part stock. Stir continually, and let the sauce boil very thick; then lay in the oysters, and simmer half a minute. The amount of seasoning required will depend on the saltness of the oysters, but a saltspoonful of salt will probably not be too much, a little pepper, and a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies--just enough to make the sauce a delicate salmon-color. For the last thing, stir in one small teaspoonful of lemon juice. The consistency of the sauce for all patties should be that of very thick double cream. When it is not thick enough, it can always be reduced by boiling down, taking care not to boil the meat or oysters, etc., in it.

_Chicken Patties._--Take the breast of a boiled chicken, cut it into dice; use half a pint of the liquor in which it was boiled to make the sauce. Put this broth in a small saucepan with a teaspoonful of lean boiled ham chopped a little (take care there is not a particle of the outside of the ham, or it may impart a smoky flavor); let the ham simmer in the broth while you melt together a tablespoonful of flour and one of b.u.t.ter; when they bubble, and the broth has been boiled down to about one half, _strain_ the latter into a half-pint measure, fill up with cream, and stir this quickly to the flour and b.u.t.ter. When the sauce is thick and smooth, put in the chicken; keep the mixture at boiling-point five minutes, then set the saucepan in another of boiling water, and stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs; only just let them thicken; then remove from the fire, and use for filling the patty cases. A teaspoonful of sherry is often added to the sauce. If this filling is not used while hot, it must be reheated in a double boiler and watched, or the eggs will curdle; or the filling may be prepared and the eggs added after it is reheated.

_Bouchees_ of any kind are simply patties made very small indeed--for this reason the filling is always _chopped_ instead of being cut into dice.

The essence of anchovy mentioned is a most useful sauce for fish, and can be bought at any large grocery.

FOOTNOTES:

[119-*] See full directions for frying in No. X.

XIV.

ENTReES.

In an earlier chapter I gave directions for quenelles as an adjunct to soups and for garnishing. Used in this way, they are only a revival of an old French fashion, coa.r.s.ely imitated in the benighted days of Anglo-Saxon cookery by the English "force-meat b.a.l.l.s." Lately, however, not only are quenelles a great feature in high-cla.s.s cookery as additions to made dishes, but they are a most fashionable and delicious entree, and replace with great advantage the too-frequent croquette.

To prepare quenelle meat for entrees.

_Mode No. 1._--To make quenelle meat, a mortar is indispensable, as it must be pounded to a pulp that will go through a sieve, and I have known a persevering woman grate the breast of chicken on a large grater, but this is very slow work. Take the white meat from a large, young, uncooked chicken, and remove all skin, fat, and sinew. Melt together over the fire a scant tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and one of flour; when they are thick and smooth, stir in a gill of boiling water quickly. This should now be a thick paste; put it away to cool. Take half as much b.u.t.ter as you have of chicken, and half the quant.i.ty of paste (technically called panada) that you have of b.u.t.ter. Put the paste into a mortar; pound it well; add the b.u.t.ter; pound again till smooth; add the chicken, cut up very small, and pound until the whole forms a smooth pulp. Add one whole egg and the yolks of three, the third of a saltspoonful of white pepper (salt must depend on whether the b.u.t.ter seasons sufficiently). Work all well together, stir in half a gill of thick cream, and pa.s.s the whole through a wire sieve. Put the whole on ice to get firm. The quenelles should be about the size of a small egg flattened; shape with two tablespoons dipped in flour. Have ready a frying-pan with boiling water in which is a saltspoonful of salt, lay each quenelle carefully in, and poach for ten minutes. The water must boil very gently. Drain on a sieve; serve with mushroom or tomato sauce.

Have a little dried parsley and grated tongue or ham, and scatter alternately on each quenelle.

_Mode No. 2._--One pound of lean veal cutlet; pound it thoroughly in a mortar; then rub it through a sieve, or it may be forced (_after_ it is pounded) through a vegetable strainer. Steep a pound of bread crumb in tepid water; wring it in a cloth to get rid of the moisture; put it in a stewpan with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and a pinch of salt. Stir it over the fire until it ceases to stick to the pan and forms a smooth paste.

Place it between two plates to cool. This is called bread panada. Put into a mortar twelve ounces of the prepared veal, six ounces of fresh b.u.t.ter, and eight ounces of the panada. Pound all well together; mix in gradually one whole egg, two tablespoonfuls of thick cream, and the yolks of four more eggs, a scant teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter-saltspoonful of pepper. When this is all pounded into a smooth, compact ma.s.s, put it into a bowl and place it on ice until required for use. Mould and poach as described in last recipe.

Great care is required in cooking quenelles, as if they are overdone they become tough; ten minutes is enough for those the size of a small egg. Before moulding the whole, poach a small one, break it open, and ascertain if it is smooth, light, yet firm. They should melt in the mouth. If they are at all tough, add a little more cream to the mixture, unless the toughness comes from over-boiling, which you must guard against. Very elaborate quenelles are made with a core of dark meat, made by chopping up ham, tongue, or truffles very fine, and inserting it in the centre while forming the quenelles. Always serve quenelles with tomato, mushroom, or rich Spanish sauce. Dish in a circle, and fill the centre with spinach, green peas, or a macedoine of mixed vegetables.

The mode of preparing all quenelles is by one of the two methods just given, but they may be made of any kind of game, or the backs of hares or rabbits. Quenelles of salmon, lobster, or other fish must of course be served with appropriate fish sauce.

_Timbale of Chicken a la Champenois._--Chop a small slice of lean boiled ham, weighing about two ounces, put into a saucepan with four chopped mushrooms, four truffles, and an ounce of b.u.t.ter; stir in a moderate dessertspoonful of corn-starch and half a pint of stock and a gill of sherry; let this slowly simmer until reduced to one half. Skim off the fat, then stir in the finely chopped breast of a large chicken or of two small ones, six small pickled gherkins, a sprig of parsley, and six anchovies which have been soaked in milk. Make all hot over a slow fire, but do not let them boil. Line a mould with light puff-paste, pour the mixture into it, and bake one hour; turn out and serve very hot. Garnish with fried parsley.

_Scallops of Chicken a la Perigord._--This dish may conveniently be made when the white meat of chicken is required for other purposes.

Bone the legs of two large chickens; take half a pound of veal, a quarter of a pound of fat salt pork; pound both in a mortar, then pa.s.s through a sieve; add to this two tablespoonfuls of minced tongue, six truffles, and half a dozen b.u.t.ton mushrooms, the yolks of two eggs, a saltspoonful of salt, and a _very little_ cayenne. Mix well. Stuff the legs of the fowls with this. Sewing them up neatly, wrap each up in b.u.t.tered paper; put them in a stewpan with two ounces of b.u.t.ter and a carrot, turnip, and small onion cut up; add three quarters of a pint of brown stock. Put the stewpan in the oven, baste well, and cook gently one hour. When cooked, have ready a mound of spinach. Take a _very sharp_ knife, cut the legs in slices so as to make circles like slices of sausage; strain off the gravy. Cook together a dessertspoonful of b.u.t.ter and flour; when they bubble, pour the strained gravy to it, with a gill of sherry and a little salt and pepper; stir till smooth; boil till as thick as cream. Dress the scallops of chicken in a circle round the spinach, pour the sauce round all, and insert bits of truffle and of tongue between the scallops.

_Chicken Souffle._--Pound three ounces of the white meat of cooked chicken as fine as possible; mix with it half a pint of cream and three well beaten eggs, a few b.u.t.ton mushrooms finely chopped, a saltspoonful of salt, a sixth of one of pepper, a dust of cayenne, and a speck of powdered mace. Pour the mixture in a well-b.u.t.tered mould, tie a cloth over it, and steam it half an hour. It must stand quite upright in the steamer. Turn out on a hot dish, and pour any rich brown sauce preferred around it. This souffle may be made of sweetbreads, or half and half. If individual souffles are preferred, b.u.t.ter as many dariole moulds as the mixture will fill; lay at the bottom of each something by way of garnish--a little star or disk of tongue or ham for some, of truffle for others, of green gherkin for others--so that when turned out the top of the souffles will show spots of color. Half fill the moulds, and steam twenty minutes.

Souffles of all kinds depend for excellence on being served the moment they are ready, and on the steam being kept up all the time they are cooking. When baked the oven must be very steady.

_Fritot of Chicken._--Take a cold chicken, cut it into small neat joints, season rather highly with salt and pepper, strew over them a small grated onion (or one very finely chopped), and a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley. Cover them with oil, and then squeeze over them the juice of a lemon. Turn the pieces now and then, and let them remain until they have absorbed the flavor. Meanwhile make a batter of four tablespoonfuls of flour and about eight of milk, or as much as will make a thick smooth batter; stir into it a winegla.s.s of brandy and an egg, the whole beaten to a high froth. Leave this batter in a warm place an hour before using, dip the pieces of chicken into it, and fry in very hot, deep fat. Serve piled high on a dish garnished with fried parsley.

XV.