Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 15

_With Fecula._--Proceed as for arrow-root. Being finer, it does not require more than about twelve or fifteen minutes.

_With Barley._--Wash the barley in cold water, then drop it in boiling broth, little by little, stirring the while; when in, keep simmering till perfectly done, which you ascertain easily by tasting; add then salt to taste, a pinch of sugar, and serve warm.

It must be stirred occasionally while on the fire.

_With Gruel_ (_French Gruau_).--It is made as with arrow-root.

_With Indian Meal._--Proceed as with arrow-root.

_With Sago._--Sago must be boiled gently about an hour; but for the rest, proceed as with arrow-root in every particular.

_With Semoule._--With _semoule_ it is the same as with arrow-root, except that it is boiled only about fifteen minutes.

_With Tapioca._--Tapioca is prepared like arrow-root, but must be boiled about forty-five minutes.

All the above, like arrow-root, may be prepared with _consomme_, or with milk, as well as with broth.

_With Giblets._--Throw the giblets in boiling water and a little salt, boil for ten minutes, take off and drain. Drop them in broth, boil gently till done, and turn the whole into the soup dish, in which you have some leeks, boiled and cut in pieces. Serve warm.

Some _croutons_ may be added, and chervil chopped fine, just before turning into the soup-dish; or they may be placed in the soup-dish before pouring in the broth.

_With Mackerel._--Clean, prepare, and cut in pieces about one inch and a half long, a mackerel weighing about one pound and a half; fry it with two ounces of b.u.t.ter till it turns rather brown, then cover with nearly a quart of water; add a few slices of carrot, same of turnip, a small onion, two or three stalks of parsley, salt, pepper, a clove of garlic, and a stalk of celery if handy; boil slowly for about an hour; mash gently through a colander, put what has pa.s.sed through the colander back on the fire, add a little b.u.t.ter, give one more boil, turn into the soup dish over _croutons_, and serve.

_With new Carrots._--Take small, young carrots, clean and wash them, then blanch them for about five minutes. Set them on the fire, cover with broth or _consomme_; boil gently till done, and serve.

_Another._--With carrots and peas. Proceed as above till the carrots are half done, then add blanched green peas; finish the cooking, and serve.

_Another._--Make as the above, but using one or two heads of cabbage-lettuce, blanched for two minutes, instead of green peas.

_Fancy Potage._--Take twelve very small rolls; cut off one end and remove all the soft part of it; fill them with _quenelles_ of chicken; replace the piece cut off as well as possible; place them in the soup-dish; pour boiling _consomme_ or good broth over them; cover the dish for ten minutes, and serve warm.

_With Vermicelli._--Drop the vermicelli in boiling water, and in which you have put a little salt; boil ten minutes, drain, drop again in cold water, drain again and put it in boiling broth; boil ten minutes; add salt to taste, and serve.

_With Macaroni._--Proceed as for vermicelli in every particular, except that it takes twice as long to cook.

_With Macaroni and Cheese._--Proceed as for the above, and when done, put grated cheese in the soup-dish, turn the macaroni over it, and serve.

_With Italian Pastes._--No matter of what shape are the pastes, proceed as for vermicelli; the only difference is in the time of cooking, which depends on the size.

_Consomme_ may be used instead of broth. If milk is used, sugar must be added.

_With Macaroni a la Corinne._--Set two quarts of cold water on the fire, with an ounce of salt, and two ounces of b.u.t.ter; at the first boil, drop into it four ounces of macaroni; boil five minutes, and drain.

Immediately drop the macaroni in boiling _consomme_, and boil gently till done. Drain it again and place a layer of it in the soup-dish, over the macaroni; place a thin layer of Parmesan cheese grated; then a layer of _macedoine_ of vegetables; then again, a layer of macaroni, one of cheese, etc.; pour _consomme_ to taste on the whole, and serve warm.

_With Macaroni a la Medici_ (also called _a la Napolitaine_).--Proceed as for macaroni _a la Corinne_ in every particular, with the exception that you put also in the soup-dish a layer of _quenelles_ of chicken over that of _macedoine_ of vegetables, and serve in the same way.

The _quenelles_ are boiled till done, in broth in which you put a few sprigs of mignonette.

_Another._--Add to the above about a gill of thick tomato-sauce, just before pouring the _consomme_ over the macaroni, etc.

_Macaroni a la Romulus._--Prepare eight ounces of macaroni as directed for macaroni _a la Corinne_; place a layer of it in the soup-dish; then over it a layer of _quenelles_ of chicken; over the _quenelles_, a thin layer of grated Parmesan cheese; then a layer of thin slices of salt beef tongue, boiled and skimmed; over the latter a layer of sweetbreads boiled in broth and cut in thin slices also; and lastly a layer of thin slices of boiled flounders. Several layers of each of the above may be placed in the soup dish, in the same order; then boiling _consomme_ is poured over the whole; the dish is covered, put in a warm place for ten minutes, and served.

Although this dish is a regular potage, and served as such, still many Italians make a meal of it.

_With Macaroni a La Rossini._--Proceed as for macaroni _a la Corinne_ above, with two exceptions: first, that you add a layer of _quenelles_ of partridge; and second, that you use _consomme_ of partridge.

_With Macaroni a la St. Pierre._--Proceed also as for potage macaroni _a la Corinne_ as far as placing a layer of macaroni in the soup-dish; then put over it a layer of boiled soft roe of fish; over which put a thin layer of grated Parmesan cheese; then a layer of _quenelles_ of fish; another layer of macaroni; over it, a layer of boiled thin slices of salmon; macaroni again, etc. Pour boiling _consomme_ over the whole, and serve.

Although bearing the name of Saint Pierre (St. Peter), the above dish has not been devised by the saint; but, like all the above, save that _a la Corinne_, it has been invented by monks.

_With Nouilles._--Set broth on the fire in a saucepan, and at the first boiling take the _nouilles_ from the water with a skimmer and put in the broth, stir occasionally and boil gently till done. The proportions are according to taste. The more broth used for a certain quant.i.ty of _nouilles_ the thinner the soup will be, and _vice versa_. Salt to taste, and serve.

_With Potatoes._--Cut about half a pint of potatoes with a vegetable spoon (it is understood half a pint when cut, the rest being used to make mashed potatoes), and blanch them for three minutes, drain and put them in boiling broth; boil gently till about half done, add then two or three tablespoonfuls of green peas; finish the cooking; and just before serving add a pinch of sugar, salt to taste, turn into the soup-dish, and serve with or without croutons.

_With Quenelles._--Drop _quenelles_ in broth; boil gently till done, and serve.

The proportion according to taste. Half a dozen _quenelles_ for each person, and about half a pint of broth, make a good proportion.

_With Rice._--Put boiled rice in the soup-dish, turn boiling broth over it, and serve warm.

_With Turnips._--When clean, cut the turnips in slices, drop them in boiling water, add a little salt, boil for five minutes, and drain. Set them on the fire in a saucepan, cover them with milk, and boil gently till done. Mash them through a colander, put them back on the fire with milk, b.u.t.ter, a little sugar and salt; stir and boil gently a few minutes; then add a yolk of egg for two turnips, stir in also two or three tablespoonfuls of cream; stir, but do not boil; put some _croutons_ in the soup-dish, turn the turnips over, and serve.

_Puree of Split Peas._--The proportions vary according to taste; the more peas that are used with a certain quant.i.ty of broth, the thicker the potage will be, and _vice versa_.

Soak one pint of split peas in cold water over night and drain. Put them in a saucepan with a few slices of carrot, same of turnip, same of onion and salt. Cover with cold water, set on the fire and boil till done.

Drain, and then mash through a colander. Put back on the fire with warm broth to taste--that is, to make the potage thin or thick, season with salt or pepper; boil gently for five minutes, stirring the while; turn into the soup-dish over _croutons_, and serve warm. It may be served without _croutons_.

_Puree of Green Peas._--It is sometimes called _a la Chantilly_, or _a la Francaise_. Put cold water and a little salt on the fire, and at the first boiling throw the peas in; if they are very tender, leave them in only a few seconds; if large and rather hard, boil one or two minutes; drain, mash them through a colander, and finish as the above.

_Puree of Dry Beans._--White and dry beans have several names, but no matter what kind, they are prepared alike. If you are not sure that the beans are new, soak them in cold water for about twenty-four hours, and drain. Cook, mash, and serve them the same as split peas.

_Puree of Lentils._--Wash the lentils in cold water and proceed as for split peas for the rest.

_Puree of Peas._--Proceed as for split peas.

_With Lima Beans._--Proceed as with green peas.

_With Potatoes._--Steam potatoes, then peel and mash them through a colander. Put them back on the fire with broth, b.u.t.ter, and salt to taste; stir, boil a few minutes, and serve with _croutons_. Water or milk may be used instead of broth.

_With Pumpkins._--Peel, take away the seed and cut the pumpkin in small pieces; put them in a stewpan with water just enough to cover them, a little salt and white pepper, set on the fire and take off when cooked; throw away the water, mash and strain the pumpkin, put it back in the stewpan, cover with milk, add a little sugar, set it again on the fire, and take off at the first boiling; pour a little of it on _croutons_ in the soup-dish, and keep covered in a warm place for ten minutes; then pour also the remainder in, and serve.

_Another._--Prepare as above, throw the pieces in boiling water with a little salt for five minutes, mash and drain; put b.u.t.ter in a stewpan, set it on the fire; when melted put the pumpkin in, stir about five minutes; have ready in your soup-dish some slices of bread fried in b.u.t.ter, and dusted with sugar, pour on them some boiling milk, keep covered in a warm place two or three minutes; then turn the pumpkin on, at the same time mixing the whole gently, and serve.

_With Squash._--It is made as with pumpkin.

_With Asparagus._--Proceed as for green peas.

_With Jerusalem Artichokes._--It is made like that of potatoes.