Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 16

_With Carrots._--When made with young carrots, it is called potage _puree Crecy_, or _a la Crecy_. Add broth to taste to a _puree_ of carrots, turn into the soup-dish over _croutons_, and serve.

_With colored Beans._--When made with colored beans, it is called _a la Conde_. Proceed as with beans.

The Prince of Conde devised this potage, and besides cooking the beans in broth, he used to put in one or two partridges also, to give, as he used to say, "a good taste to the beans."

_With Cauliflowers._--Make a _puree_ of cauliflowers, to which you add broth to taste, and serve with _croutons_.

_With Chestnuts._--Add broth and _croutons_ to a _puree_ of chestnuts, and serve warm.

_With Turnips._--It is made as with carrots.

_With Wheat._--Cut ears of wheat when full, but not ripe, and put them away to dry. Sh.e.l.l the wheat; wash it in cold water, put it in a saucepan, cover it with broth and boil gently till done. Mash through a colander, put back on the fire with a little b.u.t.ter; add broth if too thick, stir now and then for about fifteen minutes; take from the fire, add two or three yolks of eggs beaten with a little cream and a pinch of sugar; mix them well with the rest, and serve warm.

_With Sweet Corn._--Proceed as with wheat in every particular. It makes a healthy and excellent potage.

Water may be used instead of broth, but it is not as nutritive.

_With Swallows' Nests, or Chinese Soup._--The nests are made a mucilaginous substance of, and built by the species of swallows called _Hirundo esculenta_; it would require several pages to describe them, together with their compound material, and would be out of place in a receipt book. Suffice it to say, that they sell for $100 a pound in London and Paris (gold of course), and the cheapest potage for one person costs about three dollars.

Soak about four ounces of it in cold water for ten hours, drain and clean. Put it in a saucepan, cover well with chicken-broth, place the saucepan in boiling water for about two hours, add salt to taste, and then drain again. Place the nests in the soup-dish, pour boiling _consomme_ over them, and serve warm.

The Chinese are said to use very rich _consomme_ of chicken to prepare them.

_With Tomatoes and Rice._--Blanch half a dozen tomatoes, and skin them.

Put them in a saucepan with a quart of broth, season with an onion sliced, three or four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, half a dozen pepper-corns, a bay-leaf, two cloves, two cloves of garlic; salt and pepper. Boil gently till reduced to about two-thirds, then mash gently through a colander. It is understood by mashing gently, to mash so that all the liquid part shall pa.s.s through the colander, and the seeds and spices shall be retained in it and thrown away.

While the tomatoes are on the fire boiling, set four ounces of rice on the fire with cold water and salt, and boil it till tender. Drain the rice, put it in a saucepan with the tomato-juice after being mashed, set the saucepan on the fire, add one ounce of b.u.t.ter, a teaspoonful of sugar, both according to taste; to make the potage thin or thick, boil gently fifteen minutes, turn into the soup-dish, and serve warm.

The same may be done with canned tomatoes; in that case, set a can of tomatoes on the fire with the same seasonings, and proceed exactly as for the above in every other particular.

_The same with Croutons._--Fry some _croutons_ with a little b.u.t.ter, put them in the soup-dish; turn the potage, or rather the same mixture as above, over them; cover the soup-dish for two or three minutes, and serve.

_With Tomatoes and Croutons only._--Fry the _croutons_ and put them in the soup-dish; turn the tomatoes only over them, after being prepared as above; cover the soup-dish for two or three minutes, and serve.

_Puree a la Reine._--Procure a rather old chicken and cut it in pieces as for frica.s.see; set it on the fire in a saucepan with about a quart of cold water, salt, and boil gently about one hour. Then add about four ounces of rice, washed in cold water, continue boiling until the chicken is overdone and tender. Take the pieces of chicken from the pan, sc.r.a.pe the flesh off the bones; cut the white flesh (the flesh that is on both sides of the breast-bone) in dice, and put it in the soup-dish; chop fine all the other flesh, and then mash it through a sieve or strainer, together with the rice. If it be rather too thick to mash through, moisten it with broth. A large iron spoon is the best utensil to mash through with. Then set the rice and flesh back on the fire in a saucepan with broth to taste, stir and add immediately from two to four ounces of b.u.t.ter, a gill of cream, or, if not handy, a gill of milk. Keep stirring on a slow fire for five or six minutes; salt to taste, turn into the soup-dish, and serve.

There is no danger of curdling if kept on a slow fire and not allowed to boil.

_The same with Broth._--To make the potage richer, cook the chicken and rice in broth instead of water, and proceed as above for the rest.

_The same with consomme._--The chicken and rice may also be cooked in _consomme_, and when mashed through the sieve, add _consomme_ also instead of broth, and you have an exceedingly rich soup. This is excellent for persons having throat diseases; it is easily swallowed, and very nutritious.

_The same a la Francaise._--The potage _puree a la francaise_ is the same as that a la reine, with the addition of _quenelles_ of chicken.

_The same a la Princesse._--Add to that _a la reine_, the white flesh of a roasted chicken, cut in dice, and put in the soup-dish.

Puree of Game.--Proceed as for potage _puree a la reine_, with the exception that you use prairie-hen, instead of chicken.

SOUPS.

_Maigre, or Vegetable Soup._--Proceed as for _julienne_ in every particular, except that water is used instead of broth. Four ounces of b.u.t.ter may be used instead or two.

_Beef and Mutton Soup._--Take three pounds of beef and two pounds of breast of mutton; put both pieces in a crockery kettle with four quarts of cold water, salt, and pepper, set on a slow fire; skim carefully, then add half a carrot, two turnips, two onions with one clove stuck in each, two stalks of celery, two leeks, one sprig of parsley, and one clove of garlic. Simmer four or five hours; dish the meat with carrots, turnips, and leeks around, to be served after the soup if you choose; strain the broth, skim the fat off, put back on the fire, give one boil; have _croutons_ in the soup-dish, pour over them, and serve.

_Mock Turtle._--Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan and set it on the fire, when melted, add a tablespoonful of flour, stir, and when turning brown, add three pints of broth (either beef-broth or broth made by boiling a calf's head, according to taste); boil five minutes then add a liquor gla.s.s of brandy or rum, from one to three gla.s.ses of Madeira, Port, or Sherry wine, about four ounces of calf's-head (the skin only) cut in dice, mushrooms or truffles, or both, also cut in dice; boil five minutes. While it is boiling, cut two hard-boiled eggs and half a lemon in dice and put them in the soup-dish; turn the broth over, and serve.

Made with beef broth it is certainly richer than when made with calf's-head broth, the latter is gelatinous but less nourishing than the former.

_Mock Turtle with consomme._--Use _consomme_ instead of broth, and you have as rich a soup as can be made.

Mock turtle is an English soup, very rich and very good.

_Au Cha.s.seur (Hunter's or Sportsman's Soup)._--A potage _au cha.s.seur_ is always made with game, such as rabbit, prairie-hen, grouse, venison, wild turkey, wild pigeon, etc., but never with aquatic birds. It might be made with quail, but that bird is really too delicate to make soup with. A whole bird or animal is never used, but the bones and tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs only. After having cut off the fleshy parts, the bones are cracked and used to make the potage.

Take the bones of two prairie-hens after having cut off the flesh on both sides of the breast-bone, also the legs; cut the bones in pieces about half an inch long and set them on the fire with half an ounce of b.u.t.ter, stir for two or three minutes, cover with broth, or game broth, and boil gently till well cooked, or about two hours.

Put in another pan, and set it on the fire at the same time as the above, half a head of cabbage, one carrot, one turnip, and one onion, all cut fine; about half a pound of lean salt pork; cover with cold water, and boil gently for about two hours also.

In case the water or broth should boil away, add a little more.

After having boiled both vegetables and bones about two hours, take off the salt pork from the pan in which the vegetables are, and turn what you have in the other pan over the vegetables, through a strainer; add some broth if it is too thick; boil ten minutes, and serve.

Proceed as above with the bones and tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of other birds.

_Turtle or Terrapin._--Cut the turtle in dice, throw it in boiling water for two or three minutes, and drain; put it in a stewpan with onions and ham, also cut in dice; season with thyme, parsley, bay-leaf, salt, pepper, and a wine-gla.s.s of Madeira wine or of good brandy; wet with _Espagnole_ sauce or with _consomme_, set on a good fire, boil about half an hour. Ten minutes before taking from the fire, chop the eggs of the turtle, after having boiled them, and put them in a stewpan; if the turtle has none, chop and use hard-boiled eggs instead. When done, throw away parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, turn into bowls, add a little chopped chervil, and a quarter of a rind of lemon, also chopped; the latter is enough for six persons. Serve warm.

It may be strained before putting it in bowls, according to taste.

Turtle-steaks are prepared like beef-steaks.

_With Rice and Milk._--Wash half a pound of rice in cold water. Set it on the fire with about one pint of milk, boil gently till done, filling with more milk, so as to keep the rice always covered. When cooked, add a little b.u.t.ter, milk according to taste, sugar or salt, or both, and serve. It will not take more than two quarts of milk.

The French name for the above is _riz au lait_.

_With Okra._--Okra or gumbo is little known here; yet it is good in pickles, used like cuc.u.mbers. It is much used for soup in the Southern States and in the West Indies.

When green and tender, cut it very fine, cook it in broth, add a few tomatoes or tomato-sauce, according to taste; season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. When the tomatoes are cooked, serve warm.

If dry, make a potage like that of tapioca, to which you add a little tomato-sauce and pepper.

_With Onions._--Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan, and when melted add a tablespoonful of flour, stir, and when turning rather yellow add also four or five onions sliced, stir till fried, when you add broth to taste (about one quart); boil gently about fifteen minutes; mash through a colander, put back on the fire; give one boil, salt and pepper to taste; turn into the soup-dish, in which you have some _croutons_, and serve.

More or less onions may be used, according to taste.

_Ox-Tail._--Chop the ox-tail in pieces about one inch long, set them on the fire, with about one ounce of b.u.t.ter, stir till it turns rather brown, and turn the fat off. Then add broth to taste, boil slowly till the pieces of tail are well done; add salt, pepper, and when handy add also three or four tomatoes whole; boil gently about fifteen minutes longer, turn into the soup-dish, and serve meat and all.

Some add wine and liquor, the same as to the mock-turtle soup, but this is according to taste. The soup is excellent served without wine or liquor.