Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 17

When no tomatoes are used, it is not necessary to boil fifteen minutes longer, serve as soon as done.

_Simple._--Use water instead of broth; season with carrot, turnip, parsley, leek, onions, cloves, salt, and pepper. Serve as the above.

_Ox-cheek._--An ox-cheek soup is made the same as an ox-tail soup. The broth is made with ox-cheek instead of with other parts of the beef, and the potage or soup made with the broth. A little wine--Madeira, Port, or Sherry--is sometimes added, as for mock-turtle.

_Sheep's-tail._--Proceed as for ox-tail in every particular.

_Sheep's-neck._--Made the same as ox-cheek soup.

_Sorrel._--Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan, set it on the fire, and as soon as melted, put a good handful of sorrel in, stir for about one minute; then add a pint and a half of water, salt; boil two or three minutes; add again a little b.u.t.ter, give one boil and turn into the soup-dish in which you have _croutons_.

As soon as taken from the fire, two, three, or four yolks of eggs, beaten with a tablespoonful of water, may be added.

Broth may be used instead of water.

_Oyster._--Put one quart of oysters with their liquor in a saucepan, with one pint of cold water, and set it on a good fire. Take from the fire at the first boil, and skim off the sc.u.m. Take the oysters from the pan with a skimmer and put them in the soup-dish. By keeping the soup-dish in a warm but not hot place, the oysters will not harden. Add to the juice in the saucepan a gill of white wine; give one boil, and take from the fire. Mix two ounces of b.u.t.ter with two tablespoonfuls of flour in a bowl; turn the juice and wine into the bowl also, and mix the whole well; put the mixture back in the saucepan, and set it on the fire, adding about half a dozen mushrooms, two or three stalks of parsley, and pepper to taste. Boil two minutes, turn over the oysters through a strainer, and serve.

The mushrooms may also be turned into the soup-dish.

_Cabbage._--Put in a kettle with two quarts and a half of water a pound of salted pork, same of breast of mutton; also, if handy, the remains of a roasted piece; set on a slow fire; skim before it boils, and then boil for about an hour and a half; strain, to remove the small bones, if any; put back in the kettle broth and meat, also one middling-sized cabbage, which you must have previously thrown in boiling water and boiled ten minutes; add then two carrots, one turnip, two leeks, half a head of celery, one onion with a clove stuck in it, a little salt and pepper, and about half a pound of sausage (not smoked); then boil gently about two hours, strain the broth, pour it on _croutons_ in the soup-dish, and serve.

The pork, mutton, and sausage, with the cabbage around, may be served on a dish after the soup at a family dinner, or kept for breakfast the next day.

_Cauliflower._--Clean and cut in small pieces three middling-sized cauliflowers. Put in a stewpan two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and set it on a moderate fire; when hot put the cauliflowers in; stir now and then till it turns brown, then add a sprig of thyme, same of parsley, a bay-leaf, one onion with a clove stuck in it, salt, and white pepper; simmer gently till the whole is well cooked, throw away the onion, clove, thyme, and bay-leaf; mash well the cauliflowers, strain and put back on the fire with the broth; give one boil, pour on _croutons_, and serve.

_Cheese._--Put four ounces of b.u.t.ter in a soup-kettle, with an onion chopped fine; set on a brisk fire, stir now and then till it has a yellow color, then sprinkle on it half a tablespoonful of flour, keep stirring till it turns brown; then add two quarts of water, salt, and pepper; boil about five minutes. Have prepared in the soup-dish the following: a thin layer of grated cheese, Gruyere or pine-apple cheese; on it a layer of thin slices of bread, then another of cheese, again another of bread, etc., three or four of each; strain, and pour the liquor in the kettle on the whole; keep in a warm place five minutes, and serve.

_Milk._--Put a quart of milk in a tin saucepan and set it on the fire; when it begins to rise, sweeten it to taste; give one boil, pour on toasted bread, or on _croutons_, or on two ounces of boiled rice, and serve.

Yolks of eggs may be stirred in, just before turning the milk into the soup-dish, and when taken from the fire.

_Maigre_ (called _Soup aux Herbes_, _Herb-Broth_, etc.).--Wash, drain, and chop fine a handful of sorrel, a dozen sprigs of chervil, and half a head of lettuce; put an ounce of b.u.t.ter in a stewpan, set it on a good fire; when melted, put the sorrel, chervil, and lettuce in, add salt and pepper, stir till the whole is cooked; then cover with lukewarm water; boil three minutes, beat well three yolks of eggs with a tablespoonful of water, take from the fire and put the eggs in while stirring; pour immediately on _croutons_, and serve.

_With Leeks._--Clean six leeks; cut them in pieces about half an inch long, then fry them with a little b.u.t.ter till turning rather yellow; add then about a pint and a half of water, boil gently till the leeks are perfectly cooked, salt to taste, and it is ready for use.

This broth may be taken warm or cold.

It is a demulcent, and at the same time the most refres.h.i.+ng drink that can be taken.

_With Clams._--Wash and clean the clams well. Then put them in a saucepan with half a pint of water (say one quart of clams), set on the fire, and at the first boil, take off and drain. Put the pan back on the fire with two ounces of b.u.t.ter in it; when melted, fry a chopped onion in the b.u.t.ter, add then the liquor drained, a pint of water, salt, pepper, parsley chopped fine, and the clams; boil two minutes, add also a little b.u.t.ter, and when melted and mixed, turn over some _croutons_ in the soup-dish, and serve warm.

_With Muscles._--Proceed as for clams in every particular.

_Allemande, or German Soup._--Soak four ounces of pearl-barley in tepid water for eight or ten hours, and strain. Put it in a saucepan with one quart of broth, a piece of leek, one of celery, and boil gently about one hour and a half. While it is boiling, mix well together in a bowl one tablespoonful of flour and half a gill of broth, which turn into the saucepan, also grated nutmeg and sugar to taste; boil ten minutes longer, and serve.

_Another, called a la Maria Theresa._--Proceed as for the above, except that you mix in a bowl six yolks of eggs with half a gill of broth, and no flour; and finish as in the preceding.

_Another way._--Instead of using pearl-barley, use flour that you have dried in a bakepan till it turns yellow.

_Indian, or Curry._--Put in a saucepan one ounce of b.u.t.ter and set it on the fire; when melted, fry in it two large onions, one carrot, and half a turnip, all sliced; also one leek, a stalk of celery, and four of parsley, all cut fine. When the whole is fried, cover with about one quart of broth, season with two cloves, a bay-leaf, half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, same of pimento, two stalks of thyme; boil gently about one hour and a quarter, and drain. Put the liquor back in the saucepan and add four ounces of boiled rice, a little saffron to color, simmer about fifteen minutes longer, and serve.

This soup is good and healthy for southern countries, but is too highly spiced for this climate.

_Polish, or Barscz._--Peel and clean fifteen or twenty red beets, split them in two or four lengthwise, and put them in an earthen vessel with a pail of water and about a pound of rye bread; cover the vessel as air-tight as possible, and set it in a warm place (about 80 degrees Fahr.) for about eight days. After that time the liquor is rather sour, then drain.

Put in a saucepan four pounds of lean beef, one pound of smoked pork, half a pound of ham, four onions, two leeks, and about four quarts of the liquor made as above. Simmer till the whole is done; skim off the sc.u.m that may gather on the surface, and then strain.

Roast till half done, three chickens, or one chicken and one rabbit, or one chicken and one duck; put them on the fire in a saucepan with the liquor strained from the beef, pork, etc., as described above. Boil gently about half an hour, strain the liquor again. Then cut the beef, smoked pork, and ham, in small dice, put the whole in the soup-dish, with the strained liquor, and serve warm, as soup.

The chicken, or chicken and rabbit, or chicken and duck, are generally served separately, with some of the beets used to make the liquor, and with the addition of mushrooms, parsley, celery, onions, and sausages, raw or cooked, according to taste; and salt, pepper, and spices, according to taste also.

The poorer cla.s.ses make this soup with water instead of beet-juice, and very often with mutton instead of beef; but proceed as described above in every other particular.

_Russian, or Uka._--The _uka_ is made in Russia with sterlets. It may be made here with the sturgeon of the lakes, or with salmon or trout.

Cut the fish in pieces about two inches long, and put them in salt water for one hour, and drain. Cut in small pieces two roots of parsley and two of celery, throw them into boiling water five minutes and drain them. Then fry them with a little b.u.t.ter till they turn yellow, when add a gill of broth, and boil gently till it becomes rather thick. Put the pieces of fish in also, add salt and pepper, to taste, cover the whole with fish-broth, boil gently till the fish is cooked, and serve warm.

Some _caviare_ may be added just before serving.

_Another, or Tstchy._--Put four pounds of beef in a soup-kettle (the poorer cla.s.ses always use mutton), with a chicken or a duck, half a pound of smoked pork, same of smoked sausages, four carrots, four cloves, twelve pepper-corns, salt, two leeks, two onions, four stalks of parsley, and one of celery; cover the whole with fish-broth, and set on a good fire. Skim off the sc.u.m carefully, and boil gently till the whole is done. As soon as either the chicken or duck, etc., is done, take it from the kettle. When the whole is cooked, drain.

Put the liquor back in the kettle with a middling-sized head of cabbage cut in four, or about the same quant.i.ty of sour-krout, slices of carrots and onions, pearl-barley, _semoule_, or gruel; simmer about three hours, and it is done.

It is served in two ways: first, all the meat and vegetables are cut in small pieces and served with the broth as soup; second, the broth is served with the vegetables cut up, and the meat is served after and separately, as a _releve_.

Nothing is thrown away but the pepper-corns and cloves.

_Spanish, or Olla Podrida._--Put four ounces of lean and fat salt pork into a saucepan and set it on a good fire; when partly fried, add half a pound of beef, same of mutton, same of veal (occasionally a chicken or partridge is added also), and four ounces of ham. Just cover the whole with cold water, and skim carefully as soon as the sc.u.m comes on the surface. When skimmed, add a gill of dry peas, previously soaked in water for an hour, half a small head of cabbage, pimento to taste, one carrot, one turnip, two leeks, three or four stalks of celery, same of parsley, two of thyme, two cloves, two onions, two cloves of garlic, ten pepper-corns, and some mace; fill up with water so that the whole is just covered, and simmer for about five hours.

In case the water should simmer away too much, add a little more.

When done, dish the pork, beef, mutton, veal, ham, and chicken. Put the peas, cabbage, carrots, turnips, leeks, celery, and onions on another dish.

Strain the liquor, pour it on _croutons_ in the soup-dish, and serve the three dishes at the same time.

The Spanish peasantry and the lower cla.s.ses in cities, serve the whole in the same dish, and generally omit the beef and veal. The better cla.s.s serve the soup first, and then the meat and vegetables afterward.

_Another._--Chop very fine two onions, one cuc.u.mber peeled and seeded, a little pimento, two cloves of garlic, four sprigs of parsley, same of chervil, and mix the whole in a bowl with the juice of four tomatoes, and to which add two or three tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs. Then season with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, and water to taste, and serve.

The Spanish call it a cool and refres.h.i.+ng soup.

SAUCES.

There is no good cooking possible without good sauces. Many excellent pieces of meat, etc., are spoiled by being served with a poor sauce.