The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book Part 23

=Omelet with fine herbs.= Mix equal parts of chopped parsley, chervil, and chives with the beaten eggs, season well with salt and white pepper, and make the omelet in the usual manner.

=Lamb chops, sauce Soubise.= Season the chops well, roll in oil, then in bread crumbs, and broil. Put a cupful of sauce Soubise on a platter, and lay the broiled chops on top.

=Strawberry shortcake.= Bake two layers of sponge cake (see layer cake).

Place on top of one some well-sweetened strawberries, put the other cake on top, and press well together. Cut in individual portions, put some selected berries on top, and decorate with sweetened whipped cream.

Serve cream separate.

=Old fashioned strawberry shortcake.= Make some biscuit dough as follows: Mix three-quarters of a pound of flour, one ounce of baking powder, two ounces of sugar, two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and a pinch of salt.

Mix to a dough with half a pint of milk. Roll out about one-half inch thick, and bake. When cold split in two, place on one layer some crushed strawberries, and spread some sugar over them. Put the other layer on top and cut in squares. Serve with well-sweetened crushed strawberries on top, and plain cream separate.

=Raspberry shortcake.= Prepare in the same manner as either of the above, using raspberries in place of strawberries.

=Potage Chatelaine.= Simmer in two ounces of b.u.t.ter one onion, one-half stalk of celery, and one leek, all chopped very fine. Then add one-half pound of lean beef cut in small squares, sprinkle with three ounces of flour, and simmer until well browned. Then add two quarts of stock or bouillon and boil for an hour. Season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper, and add a gla.s.s of good sherry wine before serving.

=String beans, Alsacienne.= Simmer in a ca.s.serole in three ounces of b.u.t.ter one chopped onion. When just colored golden yellow, add one spoonful of flour, one quart of bouillon, stock, or chicken broth, and three pounds of cleaned and well-washed string beans. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and simmer for forty minutes. Then add one-half gla.s.s of white wine and cook for fifteen minutes. Do not add the wine to the beans until they are soft. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

APRIL 12

BREAKFAST Baked apples with cream Waffles Honey in comb Coffee

LUNCHEON Poached eggs, Virginia Minced tenderloin of beef, a l'Estragon Lyonnaise potatoes Escarole salad Port de Salut cheese with crackers Coffee

DINNER Potage Portugaise Salted pecans Fillet of turbot, Sarcey Boiled ham with spinach Hollandaise potatoes Lallah Rookh Lady fingers Coffee

=Boiled ham with spinach.= Soak an eight-pound ham in water over night.

Then put on fire, in a pot, covered with cold water, and bring to a boil. Then set to side of stove where it will simmer, but not boil, for about three and one-half hours, when the ham should be done. Try to pull off the skin. If it comes off easily the ham is cooked. Serve with plain spinach, and with either champagne or Madeira sauce, or plain bouillon.

=Dandelion salad.= Clean and wash the dandelion well, and dry in a towel. Put in a salad bowl, lay two hard-boiled eggs cut in four, on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and one-third vinegar to two-thirds of olive oil. Mix just before serving.

=Dandelion salad, German style.= Put the salad in a bowl. Cut six slices of bacon in small dices, and fry until crisp. Pour the hot fat and bacon over the salad, add a spoonful of vinegar, salt if necessary, and a little fresh-ground black pepper. Mix well.

=Poached eggs, Virginia.= Put four corn fritters on a platter, lay a poached egg on each, and cover with tomato sauce.

=Potage Portugaise.= Mix one quart of tomato sauce with one quart of consomme and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, and add a cup of boiled rice before serving.

=Fillet of turbot, Sarcey.= This is fillet of sole au vin blanc. Before serving lay three slices of truffle on each fillet.

=Lallah Rookh.= To a quart of vanilla ice cream add a pony of Jamaica rum, and mix well. Serve flat in gla.s.ses with a little rum on top.

=Apple sauce.= Peel and core six apples and cut in small pieces. Put into a vessel, add a pony of white wine, two ounces of water, one ounce of sweet b.u.t.ter, two ounces of sugar, and a small stick of cinnamon.

Cover, boil for thirty minutes, and strain through a fine sieve.

=Rump of beef, Windsor.= Larded rump of beef, braise, with its own gravy, garnished with Parisian potatoes, fresh green peas, and beets Frouard.

=Virginia ham and eggs.= Broil or fry two slices of Virginia ham and place on platter. Lay two fried eggs on top.

APRIL 13

BREAKFAST Fresh raspberries with cream Bacon and eggs Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Crab, Portola (cold) Eggs, Coquelin Calf's head, sauce piquante Fondante potatoes Apple strudel Coffee

DINNER Blue Points on half sh.e.l.l Creme Parisienne (soup) Sand dabs, meuniere Roast tenderloin of beef Summer squash Potatoes rissolees Chartreuse jelly a.s.sorted cakes Coffee

=Eggs, Coquelin.= Cut in two, six hard-boiled eggs. Mix the yolks with a cupful of well-seasoned puree of mushrooms, and fill the half eggs. Set them on a b.u.t.tered china platter, cover with cream, and put in the oven to bake. When very hot remove, lay twelve fillets of anchovies over the eggs, and serve.

=Calf's head, sauce piquante.= Boiled calf's head served on a napkin, with the brain and tongue. Garnish with parsley in branches, sliced pickles, sliced pickled beets, and lemon in halves. Serve sauce piquante separate.

=Apple strudel.= Roll out some puff paste about one-eighth inch thick and eight inches wide. On it spread some sliced apples mixed with sugar and powdered cinnamon. Wet the edges and fold up both sides, forming a roll. Place on a baking pan, wash the top with egg, and bake in a hot oven. When done cut in slices about two inches wide, and serve hot, with hard and brandy sauces.

=Crab, Portola.= Remove the boiled crab meat from the sh.e.l.l, taking care to keep as entire as possible. On a salad plate arrange hearts of lettuce, cut into eighths. On the lettuce lay a whole sweet red pimento, using the canned ones which come ready for use. On top of the pepper place three spoonfuls of crab meat. Cover all with French dressing made with tarragon vinegar, using one spoonful to three of olive oil; seasoned with salt and some fresh-ground pepper.

=Creme Parisienne.= Cream of chicken and cream of chicory soups mixed.

Serve bread cut in small squares and fried in b.u.t.ter.

=Stuffed tomatoes with anchovies.= Chop the contents of one bottle of anchovies in oil, in small pieces, add two hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, a little fresh-ground pepper, and two spoonfuls of mayonnaise.

Peel six tomatoes, cut off the tops and scoop out the insides with a spoon. Then fill with the prepared anchovies, cover with the piece cut from the top, and serve on leaves of lettuce garnished with quartered lemons and parsley in branches.

=Brook trout saute, Miller style.= Clean four brook trout and dry in a napkin. Season with salt and pepper, roll in flour, put in a frying pan with two spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and the grease from two slices of salt pork that have been fried in their own fat. Fry the trout on both sides, place on platter, and lay the fried pork on top. Then put in the same frying pan two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and cook until the color of chestnuts.

Pour over the fish, and sprinkle with some chopped parsley and the juice of two lemons. Garnish with parsley in branches.

APRIL 14

BREAKFAST Grapefruit juice Wheatcakes Breakfast sausages Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Sardines with lemon Scrambled eggs, Raspail Fillet mignon, Trianon Peas Pineapple, Creole Coffee

DINNER Consomme aux quenelles Fillet of sole, Voisin Sweetbreads braise, ancienne Roast rack of mutton Fresh string beans Potato croquettes Alligator pear salad Punch Palermitaine a.s.sorted cakes Coffee

=Scrambled eggs, Raspail.= Cut a stalk of celery in small dices, wash well, and boil in salt water. When soft drain off the water. In a pot put two ounces of b.u.t.ter and two peeled tomatoes cut in small dices.

Simmer for five minutes, add ten beaten eggs and the celery, season with salt and pepper, and add one-half cup of thick cream. Cook and serve.

=Fillet mignon.= A very small tenderloin steak. Broil or saute in pan with b.u.t.ter. Serve with maitre d'hotel sauce, and garnish with watercress and half of lemon.

=Fillet mignon, Trianon.= Dress the fillet on a platter and cover with Bearnaise sauce. Lay three triangular shaped pieces of truffle on top and garnish with Julienne potatoes.

=Pineapple, Creole.= Cook a quarter pound of rice in a quart of milk.

Add a quarter pound of sugar and one cup chopped fresh or canned pineapple, and mix well. Dress on a platter and decorate the top with sliced pineapple and candied cherries. Serve hot with apricot sauce poured over all.

=Consomme aux quenelles.= Make small chicken dumplings from chicken force meat, boil them in, and serve with, consomme. These small dumplings are called in French, quenelles.

=Fillet of sole, Voisin.= In a b.u.t.tered sauce pan put four fillets of sole, sprinkle with one-half teaspoonful of very finely chopped onions, a little chopped parsley, chives, chervil, and one peeled and finely chopped tomato. Season with salt and pepper, add one-half gla.s.s of white wine, cover, and put in oven for fifteen minutes. Then remove the fish to a platter, and put in the same saute pan one pint of white wine; cook and mix well, and pour over the fish.

=Sweetbreads braise, ancienne.= Dish up on a platter four sweetbreads braise, and garnish with four croustades financiere. Pour sauce Madere around the sweetbreads on platter.

=Roast rack of mutton.= Secure from the butcher a rack of mutton of ten chops, season well with salt and pepper, place in a roasting pan with sliced carrots, onions, a spoonful of pepper berries, and a small piece of b.u.t.ter on top; and roast, basting well, for ten minutes. Then put the rack on a platter; drain off the grease and add to the pan one-half cup of stock and a spoonful of meat extract, season well, bring to a boil, and strain over the roast.