424
RECEIPTS
FOR SOUP AND FISH .
Cutlets a la Maintenon.-Cut and trim cutlets from a neck or loin of mutton ; chop very finely a quantity of parsley, a little thyme, and a shalot ; fry the chops a little with the herbs ; then allow them to cool ; add some fresh parsley chopped and a few crumbs of bread, and seasoning ; spread this over the cutlets with a knife, wrap them in buttered paper, and broil them over a slow fire. Serve a sauce piquant in a boat. Or :-Cut them handsomely from the loin or back end of the neck ; half fry them, and then cover them with herbs, crumbs of bread, and seasoning ; lay this on very thickly and put them into a stewpan with a little gravy: stew until tender, then wrap them in writing-paper, and finish them on the gridiron. To Dress Scarlet Beef.-Tako a brisket or thin flank of beef, and rub it well all over with equal quantities of common and bay salt, and an ounce of saltpetre ; let it remain for four or five days in an earthen pan, when it will become red; it should be turned once every day. Boil it gently for four hours, and serve it hot, with savoys or any kind of greens; or press it with a weight, and leave it to get cold. If served up hot, add a wineglassful of port wine, a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, a teaspoonful of shalot vinegar, and some butter rolled in flour, to half a pint of gravy. Place the meat neatly in the dish, and pour the sauce over it. Veal Cutlets and Rice.-Boil a cupful of rice in milk until quite soft, then pound it in a mortar with a little salt and some white pepper; pound also separately equal parts of cold veal or chicken ; mix them together with yolk of egg, form them into cutlets, brush over with yolk of egg, and fry them: send them up with a very piquant sauce, made of good stock, thickened, and flavored with lemonpickle, or Harvey's sauce. The cutlets may be sent to table covered with the small pickled mushrooms. Cutlets and Beans.- Having dressed French beans as usual, drain the water from them, and simmer them with pepper and salt in a good piece of butter. A few minutes before serving add the beaten yolk of an egg, and shakethe pan over the fire ; but they must not boil. In the mean time have ready three mutton-cutlets, neatly trimmed, seasoned with pepper, salt, and a few crumbs, and nicely fried; and serve them on the French or string beans. To Stew a Loin of Mutton.- Bone a loin of well-hung mutton; take off the skin, and remove the fat from the inside ; put it into a stewpan, with broth enough to cover it, and let it stew gently till it becomes of a good brown color; add a glass of port wine, a large spoonful of mushroom ketchup, and some vegetables cut in shapes. To Stew Tripe.-Simmer it in beef or veal gravy; thicken it with butter rolled in a very little flour, and add a spoonful of mushroom ketchup. Or boil it tender in milk, and serve with white sauce. Tripe and Tomato- Sauce.- Select some double tripe : boil it until tender ; let it cool ; cut it into small pieces ; dip them in egg and bread-crumbs ; fry them a light brown; serve with tomato-sauce. To Fry Tripe.-Dip it into batter of flour and eggs, and fry it of a good brown. Serve with onions fried.
RECEIPTS FOR SOUP AND FISH. Potato Soup.-Take some large, mealy potatoes ; peel and cut them into small slices, with an onion ; boil them in three pints of water till tender, and then pulp them through a colander ; add a small piece of butter, a little cayenne pepper and salt, and, just before the soup is served, two spoonfuls of good cream. The soup must not be allowed to boil after the cream has been put into it. This will be found a most excellent soup, and, being easily and quickly made, is useful upon an emergency, when such an addition is suddenly required to the dinner.
Soupe a la Flamande.-Take carrots, turnips, and onions of a large size, two of each; a small quantity of lettuce, lecks, chervil, and endive. Shred them in pieces, and put them in a stewpan, with a small piece of butter and a teacupful of gravy ; set them over a slow fire, and let them be frequently shaken in the pan until they become tender ; then add a quart of any sort of broth, and let it all stew gently for an hour, seasoning it with salt, a small quantity of mace, a little sugar, and a little cayenne. Mix thoroughly the yolks of three eggs with half a pint of cream, and add them to the soup the last thing before you serve it up. Keep stirring it after the eggs are in, until it almost boils, but not quite. Or:-Wash, peel, and slice twelve potatoes and six onions, cut six or eight heads of celery into small pieces ; put these into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter and about a pint of water; let them simmer one hour; fill up the pan with a good stock ; let it boil till the potatoes are dissolved ; rub it through a sieve ; add a pint of cream. Asparagus Soup.- Take two quarts of good beef or veal broth; put to it four onions, two or three turnips, and some sweet herbs, with the white parts of a hundred of young asparagus ; but, if old, or very large in the stem, half that quantity will do ; and let them simmer till sufficiently tender to be rubbed through a sieve, which is not an easy matter if they be not very young. Then strain and season it; have ready the boiled tops of the asparagus, and add them to the soup. Or:-Poach six eggs rather hard ; have ready one hundred of asparagus heads boiled tender : boil three quarts of clear gravy soup ; put into it, for a minute or two, a fowljust roasted ; then add a few tarragon leaves; season with a little salt; put the eggs and asparagus heads quite hot into the tureen, and pour the soup over them without breaking them. The fowl will be just as good as before for made dishes. Eel Soup.- Take three pounds of small eels, and skin them; bone one or two ; cut them in very small pieces ; fry them very lightly, in a stewpan, with a bit of butter and a sprig of parsley. Put to the remainder three quarts of water, a crust of bread, three blades of mace, some whole pepper, an onion, and a bunch of sweet herbs ; cover them close, and stew till the fish breaks from the bones ; then strain it off; pound it to a paste, and pass it through a sieve. Toast some bread, cut it into dice, and pour the soup on it boiling. Add the scollops of eel and serve. The soup will be as rich as if made of meat. A quarter of a pint of cream or milk, with a teaspoonful of flour rubbed smooth in it, is a great improvement. Croquettes of Fish.-Take dressed fish of any kind, separate it from the bones, mince it with a little seasoning, an egg beaten with a teaspoonful of flour, and one of milk; roll it into balls ; brush the outside with egg, and dredge it well with bread-crumbs , fry them of a nice color; the bones, heads, tails, with an onion, an anchovy, and a pint of water, stewed together, will make the gravy. Lobsters make delicate croquettes ; in which case the shell should be broken and boiled down for the gravy. Summer Soup.-Take two cucumbers, twelve or fourteen onions, three potatoes, one lettuce, one head of white cabbage; fry these together in butter, stew them three or four hours in three pints of stock ; add a little green mint, parsley, and a pint of green peas ; let it stew for two hours more; press it through a sieve, and thicken it with flour and butter. Salmon Cutlets.-Cut the slices one inch thick and season them with pepper and salt; butter a sheet of white paper, lay each slice on a separate piece, with its ends twisted ; broil gently over a clear fire, and serve with anchovy or caper-sauce. When higher seasoning is required, add a few chopped herbs and a little spice. Cook from five to ten minutes.
