Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 11

Put in a tea or coffee cup one or two tablespoonfuls of ground cocoa, pour boiling water or boiling milk on it, little by little, stirring with a spoon the while; sweeten it to taste. A few drops of essence of vanilla may be added, according to taste.

ESSENCE OF SPINACH, OR GREEN ESSENCE.

Put two handfuls of very green and fresh spinach in a mortar and pound it well. Then put it in a saucepan, set on a rather slow fire, and when on the point of boiling take it off, pa.s.s it through a sieve and use. It may be kept for some time with a little sugar.

ESSENCE OF BEEF.

The essence of beef of commerce is well known.

To make essence of beef used in cooking and called _glace_ in French, set three or four quarts of broth on a slow fire, in a saucepan and reduce it to jelly. Keep it simmering all the time; it may take twenty hours to reduce. When properly reduced, it is of a very dark-brown color and has a very pleasant odor.

When cold, it must be rather hard.

When essence of beef tastes like glue and has an unpleasant odor, it is not made properly, or with good beef.

If properly made, it will keep any length of time.

It is used to thicken sauces, to decorate boned birds, etc.; when in a hurry, it may be used to make soup, but, like every thing preserved, is of course inferior to fresh broth.

ICING.

Put about three tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar in a bowl with the white of a small egg; and then mix and work well for at least five minutes with a piece of wood. When done it is perfectly white and rather thick.

Make a kind of funnel with thick, white paper; put the mixture in it, and by squeezing it out, you make decorations according to fancy, on cakes, charlotte russe, etc. You make the decorations of the size you please, by cutting the smaller end of the paper-funnel of the size you wish.

The mixture may also be spread on cakes with a knife, according to what kind of decoration is desired.

A charlotte russe may be decorated in the same way, with the same cream as that used to fill it.

MEAT JELLIES.

Put in a saucepan two ounces of gelatine with three eggs and sh.e.l.ls, a tablespoonful of salt, the rind of half a lemon, a liquor-gla.s.s of rum or brandy, or a wine-gla.s.s of sherry, port, or madeira wine; mix well the whole. Add one quart of broth, twelve pepper-corns; beat the whole well with an egg-beater and set on a good fire; stir gently till it comes to a boil; then move it on a rather slow fire; boil slowly for about eight minutes and turn into the jelly-bag. Have two bowls at hand to be used alternately; have one under the bag before turning the jelly into it; and when it has pa.s.sed through the bag once, turn it into the bag again, putting the other bowl under; repeat this three or four times, and it will be perfectly clear. Just before turning into the bag the first time, a few drops of burnt sugar are added to give the jelly an amber color. Use the jelly immediately if wanted in liquid form, as to fill a meat-pie, etc., or put it on ice to congeal.

_Boned-turkey Jelly._--As soon as the water in which you have boiled a boned turkey is cold, skim off the fat and strain it. Then proceed exactly as for meat jelly, except that you take one quart of the above instead of one quart of beef broth.

_Boned-chicken Jelly._--Prepare the water in which the boned chicken has been cooked, the same as above; take a quart of it and proceed as for meat jelly for the rest.

For jelly to decorate any boned bird, the water in which it has been cooked may be used, as described above.

_Calves'-feet Jelly._--Scald well four calves' feet, and split each in two lengthwise. Put them in a saucepan with about three pints of water, two onions, two cloves, two cloves of garlic, six sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a stalk of celery if handy, salt, and half a dozen pepper-corns. Set on the fire, boil gently till well cooked. Serve the feet with a _poulette_ or _vinaigrette_.

Strain the liquor; put in it two eggs with their sh.e.l.ls, salt, rum or wine, as in meat jelly; beat the whole well with an egg-beater; set on a good fire, and finish like meat jelly.

_Calf's-head Jelly._--Proceed as for the above in every particular, except that you use four eggs, having about twice as much liquor, therefore making twice as much jelly. A little gelatine may be added, if not found firm enough.

MEAT GRAVY.

When you are short of gravy, cut a little piece of veal, say half a pound of the breast or neck piece, or tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of veal-cutlets; set on the fire with about an ounce of b.u.t.ter, and half of a rather small carrot cut in slices; stir, and when the meat is turning rather brown, add two or three onions in slices also; stir again till the onions are nearly fried; when covered with broth or water, add salt, a dozen whole peppers, a bay-leaf, and two stalks of thyme; boil gently for two or three hours, and strain.

If it is boiling away, add water to fill up.

Tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of mutton, lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey, may be added to the veal.

In case of hurry, it may be done quickly and by boiling rather fast, but it is not as good, and there is less of it with the same quant.i.ty of meat.

For a grand dinner, the gravy may be made one or two and even three days in advance; then simmer it for five or six hours.

MELONS.

Musk-melons are always served as a _hors-d'oeuvre_, but must be eaten immediately after soup, or the first thing of all if no soup is served.

It is a great mistake to serve melons as a dessert.

Water-melons, though eaten abundantly, are considered very unwholesome by the great majority of doctors, chemists, and physiologists.

Musk-melons are served in slices with sugar, or with salt and pepper, according to taste.

MEUNIeRE.

Mix well together in a cup one teaspoonful of flour with a tablespoonful of cold water.

It is used to thicken sauces and different dishes.

MINT.

Put four sprigs of mint into a quart of brandy, cork well, or cover air-tight if in a pot, and leave thus forty-eight hours; then strain through a cloth. Put half a pound of loaf sugar in a stewpan with a pint of water, set it on the fire, and, at the first boiling, pour it into the quart of brandy; cover with a cloth, let it cool, and again strain the whole through a fine cloth. Bottle and cork carefully, and use when wanted.

A small liquor-gla.s.s of it is very good for stomach-ache; it is also useful after having eaten any thing difficult of digestion.

PANADE.

Break in pieces the soft part of a small stale loaf of bread; put it in a tin saucepan, cover it with cold water, and leave thus about an hour; then mash it well, set it on the fire, add salt, b.u.t.ter, and sugar, to taste; simmer about an hour, then add again two yolks of eggs beaten with two tablespoonfuls of cream or milk; mix the whole well together, and serve.

It makes an excellent food for infants.

PAP.

Put an ounce of b.u.t.ter in a tin saucepan, set it on the fire, and when melted, turn into it two tablespoonfuls of flour, thoroughly mixed with half a pint of milk; stir with a wooden spoon, boil gently for about twelve minutes, stirring the while; take off, turn into a bowl, add salt and sugar to taste, and use.