The Art of Cookery Part 15

_Oyster Atlets._

BLANCH throat sweetbreads, and cut them into slices; then take rashers of bacon the bigness of the slices of the sweetbreads, and as many large oysters blanched as there are pieces of sweetbread and bacon. Put the whole into a stewpan with a bit of fresh b.u.t.ter, parsley, thyme, and eschallots, chopped very fine, pepper, salt, and lemon juice, a small quant.i.ty of each. Put them over a slow fire, and simmer them five minutes; then lay them on a dish, and when a little cool, put upon a small wooden or silver skewer a slice of sweetbread, a slice of bacon, and an oyster, and so alternately till the skewers are full; then put breadcrumbs over them, which should be rubbed through a hair sieve, and broil the atlets gently till done and of a light brown colour. Serve them up with a little cullis under them, together with the liquor from the blanched oysters reduced and added to it.

_Scollop Oysters._

BLANCH the oysters and strain them; then add to their liquor, which must be free from sediment, a good piece of fresh b.u.t.ter, a little pepper and salt, some lemon peel and grated nutmeg, a small quant.i.ty of each. Then beard and wash the oysters, add them to the ingredients, simmer them over a fire five minutes, and put the oysters into scollop sh.e.l.ls with the liquor. If there be more than sufficient, boil it till nearly reduced and add it; then put fine breadcrumbs over, smooth them with a knife, bake or set them over a fire upon a gridiron for half an hour, and colour the top part with a salamander.

_Oyster Loaves._

TAKE small french rasped rolls, and cut a little piece off the top part; then take the crumb entirely out, and afterwards fry the case and tops in boiling lard only till they are crisp and of a light colour. Drain them dry, keep them warm, and just before they are to be served up put oysters into them, done in the same manner as for scollops, with the top of the rolls over.

_Ragout of Sweetbreads (brown)._

TAKE throat sweetbreads blanched and cut into slices; morells blanched, cut into halves, and washed free from grit; some stewed mushrooms, egg b.a.l.l.s, artichoke bottoms, or jerusalem artichokes, boiled till half done and cut into pieces; green truffles pared, cut into slices half an inch thick, and stewed in a little stock till it is nearly reduced; and c.o.c.ks combs boiled till three parts done. Then mix all the ingredients together, add some cullis, stew them gently a quarter of an hour, and season to the palate.

_Ragout of Sweetbreads (white)._

PUT into a stewpan some stewed mushrooms, egg b.a.l.l.s, slices of blanched throat sweetbreads, c.o.c.ks combs boiled till nearly done, and half a pint of consume. Stew them ten minutes, then pour the liquor into another stewpan, and reduce it over a fire to one half the quant.i.ty. Beat up the yolks of two eggs, a gill of cream, a little salt, and strain them through a hair sieve to the sweetbreads, &c. then put them over a slow fire and let them simmer five minutes; or the above four articles may be put into a stewpan with some benshamelle only, and stewed till done.

_Poached Eggs with Sorrel or Endive._

TAKE a slice of bread round a loaf, and cut it to cover three parts of the inside of a dish; then fry it in boiling lard till of a light colour, drain it dry, and lay it in a warm place. Then wash and chop sorrel, squeeze and put it into a stewpan with a bit of fresh b.u.t.ter, cayenne pepper, and a table spoonful of essence of ham; simmer it till done, thicken it with flour and water, boil it five minutes, b.u.t.ter the toast, poach the eggs, and drain them; then lay them over the bread, put the sorrel sauce round, and serve them up very hot.

_b.u.t.tered Eggs._

BREAK twelve eggs into a stewpan, add a little parsley chopped fine, one anchovie picked and rubbed through a hair sieve, two table spoonfuls of consume or essence of ham, a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter made just warm, and a small quant.i.ty of cayenne pepper. Beat all together, set them over a fire, and keep stirring with a wooden spoon till they are of a good thickness, and to prevent their burning. Serve them up in a deep dish with a fresh toast under them.

_Fried Eggs, &c._

TAKE slices of ham or rashers of bacon, and broil, drain, and put them into a deep plate. Have ready a little boiling lard in a stewpan, break the eggs into it, and when they are set, turn and fry them not more than two minutes. Then take them out with a skimmer, drain them, and serve them up very hot over the bacon or ham. Put a strong cullis, with a little mustard and vinegar (but no salt) in it, under them.

_Eggs a la Trip._

BOIL the eggs gently five minutes, then peel, wash, and cut them in halves; put them into a stewpan, add a little warm strong benshamelle, and a small quant.i.ty of parsley chopped very fine. Simmer them over a fire a few minutes, and serve them up plain, or with fried oysters round them.

_Omlet of Eggs._

BREAK ten eggs, add to them a little parsley and one eschallot chopped fine, one anchovie picked and rubbed through a hair sieve, a small quant.i.ty of grated ham, a little pepper, and mix them well together.

Have ready an iron frying-pan, which has been prepared over a fire with a bit of b.u.t.ter burnt in it for some time, in order that the eggs might not adhere to the pan when turned out. Wipe the pan very clean and dry; put into it two ounces of fresh b.u.t.ter, and when hot put in the mixture of eggs; then stir it with a wooden spoon till it begins to thicken, mould it to one side of the pan, let it remain one minute to brown, put a stewpan cover over it, and turn it over into a dish, and if approved (which will be a good addition) pour round it a little strong cullis, and serve it up very hot.

There may be added also, a small quant.i.ty of boiled tops of asparagus or celery, some fowl, or oysters, or other ingredients, pounded and rubbed through a sieve, with a table spoonful of cream and one of ketchup. Then add the pulp to the eggs, beat them well together, and fry them as above. Or the mixture, instead of being fried, may be put over a fire and stirred till it begins to thicken; then put it on a toast, colour it with a hot salamander, and serve it up with a little cullis or benshamelle, or green truffle sauce underneath.

_Frica.s.see of Tripe._

CUT the tripe into small slips, and boil in a little consume till the liquor is nearly reduced; then add to it a leason, of two yolks of eggs and cream, a small quant.i.ty of salt, cayenne pepper, and chopped parsley. Simmer all together over a slow fire for five minutes, and serve it up immediately. Or instead of the leason, &c. a little benshamelle and chopped parsley may be added.

_Lambs Tails and Ears._

SCALD four tails and five ears very clean, and braise them in a pint of veal stock. When the tails are half done, take them out, egg and breadcrumb them over, and broil them gently. Let the ears be stewed till three parts done, and nearly reduce the liquor; then add cullis, stew them till tender, and serve them up with the sauce in the center of the dish, the tails round them, and a bunch of pickle barberries over each ear. Or the tails and ears may be stewed in a little stock till tender; then add a leason of eggs and cream, and serve them up with twelve heads of large asparagus cut three inches long, boiled till done, and put over plain. Let the heads be preserved as green as possible.

_Curried Atlets._

TAKE slices of throat sweetbreads, and slices of veal or mutton of the same size; put them into a stewpan with a bit of fresh b.u.t.ter, a table spoonful of currie powder, the juice of half a lemon, and a little salt.

Set them over a slow fire, and when they are half done add to them blanched and bearded oysters with their liquor free from sediment.

Simmer all together five minutes, lay them on a dish, and when cold put them alternately on small wooden or silver skewers. Then dip them in the liquor, strew fine breadcrumbs on each side, broil them over a clear fire till of a brown colour, and serve them up with some currie sauce under them.

N. B. The slices of sweetbread, oysters, veal, and mutton, to be of an equal number.

_To stew Maccaroni._

BOIL a quarter of a pound of riband maccaroni in beef stock till nearly done; then strain it and add a gill of cream, two ounces of fresh b.u.t.ter, a table spoonful of the essence of ham, three ounces of grated parmezan cheese, and a little cayenne pepper and salt. Mix them over a fire for five minutes, then put it on a dish, strew grated parmezan cheese over it, smooth it with a knife, and colour with a very hot salamander.

_Stewed Cheese._

CUT small into a stewpan ches.h.i.+re and gloucester cheese, a quarter of a pound of each; then add a gill of lisbon wine, a table spoonful of water, and (if approved) a tea spoonful of mustard. Mix them over a fire till the cheese is dissolved; then have ready a cheese plate with a lighted lamp beneath, put the mixture in, and serve it up directly. Send with it some fresh toasted bread in a toast rack.

_To prepare a Batter for frying the following different articles, being a sufficient quant.i.ty for one Dish._

Take four ounces of best flour sifted, a little salt and pepper, three eggs, and a gill of beer; beat them together with a wooden spoon or a whisk for ten minutes. Let it be of a good thickness to adhere to the different articles.

_Fried Celery._

CUT celery heads three inches long, boil them till half done, wipe them dry, and add to the batter. Have ready boiling lard, take out the heads singly with a fork, fry them of a light colour, drain them dry, and serve them up with fried parsley under.

_Fried Peths._

TO be done, and served up in the same manner as the above.

_Fried Sweetbreads._