The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual Part 66

[263-*] If you have no suet, the best subst.i.tute for it is about one-third part the quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter.

[267-*] A _baine-marie_. See note to No. 485.

[275-*] The fragrant _aroma_ of ginger is so extremely volatile, that it evaporates almost as soon as it is powdered; and the fine lemon-peel _gout_ flies off presently.

[275-+] Tinctures are much finer flavoured than essences.

[277-*] For the season, &c. when these herbs, &c. come in perfection, and how to dry them, see No. 461.

[278-*] We hope this t.i.tle will not offend those who may quote against it the old adage, "that good appet.i.te is the best sauce."--Allowing this to be generally true (which is a more candid confession than could be expected from a cook), we dare say, the majority of our readers will vote with us, that there are many good things (fish especially) that would be rather insipid without a little sauce of another kind.

"Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth, With such a full and unwithdrawing hand, Covering the earth with odours, fruits, and flocks, Thronging the sea with sp.a.w.n innumerable; But all to please and sate the curious taste?"

MILTON.

[280-*] "Several samples which we examined of this fish sauce, have been found contaminated with lead."--See ACc.u.m _on Adulteration_, page 328.

[280-+] They may do very well for common palates; but to imitate the fine flavour of the Gorgona fish, so as to impose upon a well-educated _gourmand_, still remains in the catalogue of the sauce-maker's desiderata.

[280-++] The economist may take the thick remains that wont pa.s.s through the sieve, and pound it with some flour, and make anchovy paste, or powder. See Nos. 434 and 435.

[281-*] Epicure QUIN used to say, "Of all the banns of marriage I ever heard, none gave me half such pleasure as the union of delicate ANN-CHOVY with good JOHN-DORY."

[281-+] "Rust in anchovies, if I'm not mistaken, Is as bad as rust in steel, or rust in bacon."

YOUNG'S _Epicure_, page 14.

[281-++] If you are not contented with the natural colour, break some lobsters' eggs into it, and you will not only heighten the complexion of your sauce, but improve its flavour. This is the only _rouge_ we can recommend. See note to No. 284.

[283-*] "The mushrooms employed for preparing ready-made catchup, are generally those which are in a putrefactive state. In a few days after those _fungi_ have been gathered, they become the habitations of myriads of insects."--ACc.u.m _on Culinary Poisons_, 12mo. 1820, p. 350.

[284-*] The squeezings are the perquisite of the cook, to make sauce for the second table: do not deprive her of it; it is the most profitable _save-all_ you can give her, and will enable her to make up a good family dinner, with what would otherwise be wasted. After the mushrooms have been squeezed, dry them in the Dutch oven, and make mushroom powder.

[286-*] "Potatoes, in whatever condition, whether spoiled by frost, germination, &c., provided they are raw, constantly afford starch, differing only in quality, the round gray ones the most; a pound producing about two ounces."--PARMENTIER _on Nutritive Vegetables_, 8vo.

p. 31.

"100lb. of potatoes yield 10lb. of starch."--S. GRAY'S _Supplement to the Pharmacopia_, 8vo. 1821, p. 198.

[288-*] If you like the flavour, and do not dislike the expense, instead of allspice, put in mace and cloves. The above is very similar to the _powder-fort_ used in King Richard the Second's kitchen, A. D. 1390. See "_Pegge Forme of Cury_" p. x.x.x.

[288-+] The back part of these ovens is so much hotter than that which is next the fire, that to dry things equally, their situation must be frequently changed, or those at the back of the oven will be done too much, before those in the front are done enough.

[291-*] This is sadly neglected by those who dry herbs for sale. If you buy them ready dried, before you pound them, cleanse them from dirt and dust by stripping the leaves from the stalks, and rub them between your hands over a hair-sieve; put them into the sieve, and shake them well, and the dust will go through.

[291-+] The common custom is to put them into paper bags, and lay them on a shelf in the kitchen, exposed to all the fumes, steam, and smoke, &c.: thus they soon lose their flavour.

[291-++] A delicious herb, that deserves to be better known.

[292-*] If the bottles are square, and marked to quarter ounces, as LYNE'S graduated measures are, it will save trouble in compounding.

[294-*] "BORRAGE is one of the four _cordial_ flowers;" it comforts the heart, cheers melancholy, and revives the fainting spirits, says SALMON, in the 45th page of his "_Household Companion_" London, 1710. And EVELYN, in page 13 of his _Acetaria_, says, "The sprigs in _wine_ are of known virtue to revive the hypochondriac, and cheer the hard student."--Combined with the ingredients in the above receipt, we have frequently observed it produce all the cardiac and exhilarating effects ascribed to it.

[297-*] Tartaric is only half the price of citric acid; but it is very inferior in flavour, &c.; and those who prepare this syrup for home consumption, will always use the citric.

[298-*] The native blackberry of this country makes a very fine jelly, and is medicinal in bowel complaints of children. A.

MADE DISHES, &C.

_Receipts for economical_ Made Dishes,_ written for the_ Cook's Oracle, _by an accomplished_ English Lady.--(No. 483.)

These experiments have arisen from my aversion to cold meat, and my preference for what are termed French dishes; with which, by a certain management, I think I can furnish my table at far less expense than is generally incurred in getting up a plain dinner.

Gravy or soup meats I never buy; and yet am seldom without a good provision of what is technically denominated stock.

When, as it frequently happens, we have ham dressed; if the joint be above the weight of seven pounds, I have it cut in half, and prepared in the following manner: first, ensure that it has been properly soaked, sc.r.a.ped, and cleaned to a nicety; then put it into an earthen vessel, as near its own size as possible, with just as much water as will cover it; to which add four onions, a clove of garlic, half a dozen eschalots, a bay-leaf, a bunch of sweet herbs, half a dozen cloves, a few peppercorns and allspice: this should be well closed, and kept simmering about three hours. It is then served with raspings or with glazing, the rind having first been taken off neatly. The liquor is strained, and kept till poultry of any sort, or meat, is boiled; when the liquor in which they have been dressed should be added to it, and boiled down fast till reduced to about three pints; when cold, it will be a highly flavoured, well-coloured jelly,[300-*] and ready for sauce for all kinds of ragouts and hashes, &c. &c.

A fillet of veal I divide into three parts; the meat before it is skewered, will of itself indicate where the part.i.tion is natural, and will pull asunder as you would quarter an orange; the largest piece should be stuffed with No. 374 or No. 375, and rolled up, compactly skewered, &c., and makes a very pretty small fillet: the square flat piece will either cut into cutlets (No. 90, or No. 521), or slice for a pie; and the thick piece must be well larded and dressed as a fricandeau; which I do in the following-manner: put the larded veal into a stew-pan just big enough to contain it, with as much water as will cover it; when it has simmered till delicately white, and so tender as to be cut with a spoon, it must be taken out of the water and set apart; and it will be ready to serve up either with sorrel, tomata, mushrooms (No. 305, or No. 439), or some of the above-mentioned stock, the fricandeau being previously coloured with glazing; if with mushrooms, they should be first parboiled in salt and vinegar, and water, which gives them flavour, and keeps them of a good colour.

The sirloin of beef I likewise divide into three parts; I first have it nicely boned.

The under part, or fillet, as the French call it, will dress (when cut into slices) excellently, either as plain steaks (No. 94), curry (No.

197), or it may be larded whole, and gently stewed in two quarts of water (a bay-leaf, two onions, their skins roasted brown, four cloves, allspice, &c. &c.) till tender, when it should be taken out, drained quite dry, and put away; it is then ready to be used at any time in the following manner: season and dredge it well, then put it into a stewpan in which a piece of b.u.t.ter has been previously fried to a fine froth; when the meat is sufficiently brown, take it out, and throw into the pan half a dozen middle-sized onions, to do a fine gold colour; that accomplished, (during which the dredger should be in constant use,) add half a pint of stock, and a tea-spoonful of tarragon vinegar (No. 396), and let the onions stew gently till nearly tender: the beef should then be returned to the stew-pan, and the whole suffered to simmer till the meat is warm through: care must be taken that the onions do not break, and they should be served round the beef with as much sauce as will look graceful in the dish. The fillet is likewise very good without the fried onions; in that case you should chop and mix up together an eschalot, some parsley, a few capers, and the yelk of a hard egg, and strew them lightly over the surface of the beef.

The fat end of the sirloin and bones should be put to simmer in the liquor in which the fillet was first stewed, and done till the beef looks loose; it should then be put away into a deep vessel, and the soup strained over it, which cooling with the fat upon the top (thereby excluding the air), will keep as long as may be required: when the soup is to be used, the fat must be cleared from it; a carrot, parsnip, a head of celery, a leek, and three turnips, cleaned and scalded, should be added to it, and the whole suffered to simmer gently till the vegetables are quite done, when they must be strained from the liquor, and the soup served up with large square thick pieces of toasted bread.

Those who like a plain bouilli warm the beef in the soup, and serve it up with the turnips and carrots which had been strained before from the soup. A white cabbage quartered is no bad addition to the garnish of the bouilli, or to the flavour of the soup. If it is a dressed bouilli, sliced carrots and b.u.t.ton onions should be stewed in thickened stock, and poured over the meat.

A neck of mutton boned, sprinkled with dried sage, powdered fine, or (No. 378) seasoned, rolled, and roasted, is very good. The bones and scrag make excellent gravy stewed down, and if done very gently, the meat is not bad eating. The same herbs should be put to it as to other stocks, with the addition of a carrot; this will make very good mutton broth. In short, wherever there are bones or tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs to be got out of any meat that is dressed in my kitchen, they are made to contribute towards soup or gravy, or No. 252.

Instead of roasting a hare, (which at best is but dry food), stew it, if young, plain; if an old one, lard it. The shoulders and legs should be taken off, and the back cut into three pieces; these, with a bay-leaf, half a dozen eschalots, one onion pierced with four cloves, should be laid with as much good vinegar as will cover them, for twenty-four hours, in a deep dish. In the mean time, the head, neck, ribs, liver, heart, &c. &c. should be browned in frothed b.u.t.ter well seasoned; add half a pound of lean bacon, cut into small pieces, a large bunch of herbs, a carrot, and a few allspice; simmer these in a quart of water till it be reduced to about half the quant.i.ty, when it should be strained, and those parts of the hare which have been infused in the vinegar, should (with the whole contents of the dish) be added to it, and stewed till quite done. Those who like onions may brown half a dozen, stew them in a part of the gravy, and dish them round the hare.

When it comes from the table, supposing some to be left, the meat should be taken from the bones, and with a few forcemeat b.a.l.l.s, the remains of the gravy, about a quarter of a pint of red wine, and a proportionable quant.i.ty of water, it will make a very pretty soup; to those who have no objection to catchup (No. 439,) a spoonful in the original gravy is an improvement, as indeed it is in every made dish, where the mushroom itself is not at command.

Every ragout, in my opinion, should be dressed the day before it is wanted, that any fat which has escaped the skimming spoon, may with ease be taken off when cold.

CALF'S HEAD.--Take the half of one, with the skin on; put it into a large stew-pan, with, as much water as will cover it, a knuckle of ham, and the usual accompaniments of onions, herbs, &c. &c., and let it simmer till the flesh may be separated from the bone with a spoon; do so, and while still hot, cut it into as large a sized square as the piece will admit of; the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and half the liquor put by in a tureen; to the remaining half add a gill of white wine, and reduce the whole of that by quick boiling till it is again half consumed, when it should be poured over the large square piece in an earthen vessel, surrounded with mushrooms, white b.u.t.ton onions, small pieces of pickled pork, half an inch in breadth, and one and a half in length, and the tongue in slices, and simmered till the whole is fit to serve up; some browned forcemeat b.a.l.l.s are a pretty addition. After this comes from the table, the remains should be cut into small pieces, and mixed up with the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and liquor, which (with a little more wine), properly thickened, will make a very good mock turtle soup for a future occasion.

_To hash Mutton, &c._--(No. 484.)

Cut the meat into slices, about the thickness of two shillings, trim off all the sinews, skin, gristle, &c.; put in nothing but what is to be eaten, lay them on a plate, ready; prepare your sauce to warm it in, as receipt (No. 360, or No. 451, or No. 486), put in the meat, and let it simmer gently till it is thoroughly warm: do not let it boil, as that will make the meat tough and hard,[303-*] and it will be, as Joan Cromwell[303-+] has it, a harsh.

_Obs._--Select for your hash those parts of the joint that are least done.