The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book Part 29

=Eggs Chateaubriand.= Spread some foie gras on a piece of toast, lay a poached egg on top, and cover with tomato sauce.

=Breaded lamb chops, reforme.= Mix the crumbs made from one loaf of bread with two slices of chopped ham and one spoonful of chopped parsley. Season eight chops with salt and pepper, roll in flour, then in beaten eggs, and finally in the crumbs mixed as above. Fry in hot b.u.t.ter, and when done place on a platter and pour around them the following sauce: Cut in small strips, and in equal parts, some gherkins, beets, fresh mushrooms saute in b.u.t.ter, or canned mushrooms, smoked beef tongue, and the whites of hard-boiled eggs. Add one pint of good meat gravy and a spoonful of melted currant jelly. Season with salt and Cayenne pepper. Serve some of the sauce separate.

=Lamb broth, a la Grecque.= Cut a pound of raw lamb, from the shoulder or leg, in dices about one-half inch square. In a ca.s.serole put three ounces of b.u.t.ter and set on the stove. When hot add the lamb and one chopped onion and simmer together for ten or fifteen minutes. Then add two spoonfuls of flour and one spoonful of curry powder, and simmer for five minutes, then add two quarts of stock, bouillon or hot water. If water is used add a bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and cook for fifteen minutes, then add a cup of washed rice and boil until soft. Season with salt and pepper, remove the bouquet garni if used, add one tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoonful of sugar. Serve with a little chopped parsley.

=Calf's head, Providence.= Boil a calf's head with the brain and tongue.

Place one piece of each, for each person, on a platter, cover with sauce Madere with mushrooms and olives.

MAY 7

BREAKFAST Sliced bananas with cream Ham and eggs Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Crab salad, Louis Braised mutton chops with string beans Gendarme potatoes Orange meringue pie Demi ta.s.se

DINNER Little Neck clams Consomme Vivieurs Fillet of sole, Suchet Sweetbreads braise, G.o.dard Roast leg of reindeer, au jus Sweet potatoes, Southern style Puree of salad (vegetable) Vanilla ice cream a.s.sorted cakes Coffee

=Crab salad, Louis.= Arrange lettuce leaves around the inside of a salad bowl, with a few sliced leaves on the bottom. Put crab meat on top of the sliced leaves, and a few sliced hard-boiled eggs and sliced chives on top of the crab meat. In another bowl mix one-half cup of French dressing with one-half cup of Chili sauce, two spoonfuls of mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and one teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the salad, and serve very cold.

=Braised mutton chops.= Have six chops cut one and one-half inches thick, season with salt and pepper. In a saute pan on the stove put one spoonful of fat or lard, and when hot add the chops and fry on both sides until brown. Then drain off the fat, add two ounces of b.u.t.ter, sprinkle with a spoonful of flour, add one pint of stock, one crushed tomato, one bay leaf, one clove; and then simmer slowly for an hour and a half. When done place the chops on a platter, season the sauce well, and strain over the chops.

=Consomme Vivieurs.= Make a Julienne of beets, leeks and celery, in equal parts, parboil in salt water, and finish cooking in consomme. Then add the breast of a boiled chicken also cut Julienne. Chop a raw beet, press out the juice and add to the consomme. This will give it a nice reddish color. Serve croutons diable separate.

=Croutons diable (for soup).= Use either white or rye bread, and cut in round pieces the size of a quarter of a dollar. Mix some grated Parmesan cheese with Cayenne pepper, and put on the round pieces of bread. Place on a flat pan and bake in oven until brown. Serve on a napkin.

=Fillet of sole, Suchet.= Make a Julienne of vegetables in the same manner as for consomme. Prepare a fillet of sole, au vin blanc. When the sole is done add the Julienne of vegetables to the white wine sauce, together with a little chopped tarragon, and pour over the fish. Have the sauce well seasoned.

=Sweetbreads braise, G.o.dard.= Braise the sweetbreads and dish up on a platter. Garnish with whole truffles heated in sherry wine, and whole heads of mushrooms fried in b.u.t.ter, rooster combs, rooster fries, and sauce Madere around the platter.

MAY 8

BREAKFAST Guava jelly Rice cakes Breakfast sausages Chocolate with whipped cream Rolls

LUNCHEON Grapefruit en supreme au marasquin Consomme in cups Finnan haddie in cream Baked potatoes Italian salad Camembert cheese Coffee

DINNER Consomme with royal and carrots Ripe California olives Crab meat, Belle Helene Tournedos Bordelaise Julienne potatoes Cauliflower au gratin Fresh strawberry coupe a.s.sorted cakes Coffee

=Consomme with royal and carrots.= Boil one quart of French carrots in salted water. When done, drain off the water and pa.s.s the carrots through a fine sieve. Take a cup of this carrot puree and mix with two whole eggs and one yolk, season with salt and pepper, and strain again.

Put in a small b.u.t.tered pudding mould and cook in a bain-marie. When set, allow to become cool, remove from mould, and cut in any fancy shape desired. Serve in hot consomme.

=Tournedos Bordelaise.= Either fry in b.u.t.ter or broil a small tenderloin steak. Dish up on a platter, put some sliced parboiled beef marrow on top, and cover with Bordelaise sauce.

=Fresh strawberry coupe.= Select some nice strawberries and put them in a bowl with powdered sugar and a little maraschino, and mix well. Fill some coupe gla.s.ses about half full, pour some of the juice over each, and fill the remainder of the gla.s.s with vanilla ice cream. Decorate the top with selected strawberries.

=Fresh raspberry coupe.= Use raspberries, and prepare as above.

=Banana coupe.= Use sliced bananas, and prepare in the same manner as for strawberries.

=Orange coupe.= Use sliced oranges, and prepare as above.

=Grapefruit coupe.= Same as orange coupe, but use a little more sugar.

MAY 9

BREAKFAST Orange juice Omelet with cepes Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Crab ravigote Consomme in cups Chicken a la King Knickerbocker salad Baba au rhum Coffee

DINNER Puree of white beans, Soubise Fillet of ba.s.s, Duglere Rack of lamb, Montjo Sybil potatoes Artichokes, Hollandaise Chiffonnade salad Peach Norelli a.s.sorted cakes Coffee

=Knickerbocker salad.= On a long leaf of romaine salad put one slice of grapefruit, then one slice of orange, and so on until the leaf is full.

Then put four fresh strawberries on top, cover with French dressing and garnish with whipped cream. Serve on individual plates.

=Puree of white beans, Soubise.= Soak two pounds of white beans in cold water over night. Then put on fire with two quarts of water, six whole white onions, one bouquet garni, one ham bone, and two pounds of veal bones. Season with salt; and skim when it comes to a boil. When the beans are soft remove the bouquet garni, ham and veal bones, strain the rest through a fine sieve, and put back on the fire. Bring to a boil, and stir in three ounces of b.u.t.ter, adding it little by little. Season with salt and pepper, and if too thick add a little bouillon. Serve separate, some small squares of bread fried in b.u.t.ter.

=Crab ravigote.= Mix the meat of one boiled crab with a cup of Tartar sauce and a little Cayenne pepper. With this fill four Eastern crab sh.e.l.ls. These sh.e.l.ls are smaller and daintier than the Pacific Coast variety, and can be obtained from first-cla.s.s grocers. Sprinkle the tops with finely chopped parsley, then lay a band of pimento across the center, parallel this with chopped yolk of egg on one side, and with chopped whites on the other, and fringe the whole with chopped parsley.

Serve with quartered lemon and parsley.

=Fillet of ba.s.s, Duglere.= On a b.u.t.tered platter put four fillets of ba.s.s, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with a half of an onion, chopped fine, and a little chopped parsley, tarragon and chervil. Peel and chop two tomatoes and spread over the top of the fish. Put around the platter a little brown gravy and one-half gla.s.s of white wine. A spoonful of meat extract diluted with warm water may be used in place of the gravy if desired. Put a small piece of b.u.t.ter on top of each fillet, then place the platter in a moderate oven and bake for about thirty-five minutes. Serve on the same platter.

=Rack of lamb, Montjo.= Roast a rack of lamb, and serve with sauce Madere, to which has been added a can of French mushrooms and some stuffed olives.

=Omelet with cepes.= Melt two ounces of b.u.t.ter in an omelet pan, then add a can of sliced cepes, season with salt and pepper, and fry them.

Then add twelve beaten eggs, and make the omelet. Pour some brown gravy around the omelet. Cream or tomato sauce may be used, if desired.

MAY 10

BREAKFAST Cherries Poached eggs on toast Broiled bacon Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Crab meat in cream Radishes Loin of lamb chops, jardiniere Souffle potatoes Cold artichokes, mustard sauce a.s.sorted cheese with crackers Coffee

DINNER Consomme Valentienne Salted almonds Lake Tahoe trout, meuniere Chicken saute, Montpensier d.u.c.h.esse potatoes Jets de houblons Dandelion salad Dartois Chantilly Coffee

=Loin of lamb chops, jardiniere.= Season four lamb chops with salt and pepper, roll in oil, and broil. Then place on a platter, cover with Madeira sauce, and garnish with bouquets of fresh vegetables; such as peas in b.u.t.ter, cauliflower Hollandaise; or asparagus tips, string beans, young carrots, etc. Also add some kind of potatoes.

=Consomme Valentienne.= Make some small dumplings of cream puff paste and boil in salt water for two minutes. Cook some lettuce, cut Julienne style, in consomme. Boil some Italian paste. Serve equal parts of each in boiling consomme.

=Suggestions and recipes for preserves, jellies and pickles.= For jelly select your fruit before it is too ripe, as the flavor will then be much better. Put it on the stove and bring to a heat, to facilitate the easy extraction of the juice. Have a funnel-shaped bag made of flannel, to strain the juice through. The first time it is strained use a wire sieve with a revolving wire to crush the fruit. The juice should always be strained twice, and the second time if the flannel bag is used, and it is allowed to hang over night and drip, it will be much clearer. Put on the juice over a good fire and allow it to come to a heat, then add the sugar, which should be first heated in the oven. Boil rapidly in a pan with a very large bottom, so that as much surface can be on the stove as possible. If it is desired that the color be light add a little gelatine. From fifteen to twenty minutes is long enough to boil it, but it should not stop boiling during this time. Better success will probably be had if the jelly is cooked in small quant.i.ties. After pouring the jelly in gla.s.ses set in the hot sun until set, and then cover with melted paraffine.

If corn starch be put in the juice before adding the sugar it will make it clearer. Use two teaspoonfuls in two tablespoonfuls of water, to three pints of juice. A teaspoonful of sugar on top of jelly, in the gla.s.s, prevents moulding. (To one pint of juice 1 lbs. sugar).

=Preserves.= Small stone jars are best for preserves. If gla.s.s jars are used they should be wrapped in paper to exclude the light. To prevent preserves from sugaring add a little tartaric acid after they are cooked.

=Pickles.= Cider vinegar is best for pickles. If vinegar is too strong dilute it with water. The pickles should be tightly sealed to prevent the air reaching the vinegar, as this kills it. The vinegar should always be poured on hot, just as it comes to the first scald--never allowing it to boil.

Never put up pickles in anything that has held grease; and never let them freeze. If pickles are put into brine it should be strong enough to bear an egg. To make the brine, use a heaping pint of salt to each gallon of water. Put the pickles in bottles, and seal while the brine is hot. A half bushel of grape leaves added to the barrel of salt pickles will keep them sound and firm. A slice of horseradish added to each jar or bottle of vinegar pickles will keep the vinegar clear.