Choice Cookery - free ebook by Catherine Owen

CHOICE COOKERY

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PREFACE.

Choice cookery is not intended for households that have to study economy, except where economy is a relative term; where, perhaps, the housekeeper could easily spend a dollar for the materials of a luxury, but could not spare the four or five dollars a caterer would charge. Many families enjoy giving little dinners, or otherwise exercising hospitality, but are debarred from doing so by the fact that anything beyond the ordinary daily fare has to be ordered in, or an expensive extra cook engaged.

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I. INTRODUCTION.

By choice cookery is meant exactly what the words imply. There will be no attempt to teach family or inexpensive cooking, those branches of domestic economy having been so excellently treated by capable hands already. It may be said en passant , however, that even choice cooking is not necessarily expensive. Many dishes cost little for the materials, but owe their daintiness and expensiveness to the care bestowed in cooking or to a fine sauce. For instance: cod, one of the cheapest of fish, and

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II. SAUCES.

In addition to the glaze, for which the recipe is given in the preceding pages, and which will make you independent of the stock pot, there are several other articles involving very small outlay which it is absolutely necessary to have at hand in order to follow directions without trouble and worry. It is often said by thoughtless housekeepers that cooking-books are of little use, because the recipes always call for something that is not in the house. This is a habit of mind only, for the very w

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III. WHITE SAUCES.

Suprême sauce gives its name to several dishes dear to epicures—suprême de volaille, suprême de Toulouse, etc. It is made with a pint of thick white sauce, a pint of very strong chicken broth, four stalks of parsley, and six white pepper-corns, boiled down to half a pint. Stir sauce and broth together until thoroughly blended, then boil rapidly down till thick again, taking great care it does not burn. Add one gill of double cream, and half a saltspoonful of salt (if the stock was already season

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IV. BROWN SAUCES.

It has been already stated that the family of brown sauces, like the white, have one parent, Espagnole , or Spanish sauce, which is the foundation for Châteaubriand, Financière, Robert, Poivrade, Piquante, and other sauces. Ordinary brown sauce, like ordinary white, is often made without stock—simply an ounce of flour, one of butter, browned together, and half a pint of boiling water added, then boiled till thick and smooth. But it may be safely said that in high-class dark sauces water should p

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V. COLD SAUCES.

Cold dishes, which are such a pleasing feature of foreign cookery, are much neglected with us, at least in private kitchens, or they are limited to two or three articles served in mayonnaise, or a galantine, yet the dishes which the French call chaudfroids are both delicious and ornamental, and it only requires a little taste, care, and perfect sauce to convert the ordinary cold chicken, turkey, or game into an elaborate and choice dish. Among cold sauces, of course mayonnaise, both green, red,

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VI. SOUPS.

It is not proposed to give the soups to be found readily in most cooking-books in these pages, but only those less known or of peculiar excellence. It is supposed that the reader understands the making of good beef or veal stock, and perhaps the usual way of clearing it. But since cooking has been studied scientifically, improvements on methods have been introduced; one of these is the clearing of soup with albumen of meat instead of egg. The advantages of this method are that the soup is streng

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VII. FISH ENTRÉES.

Instead of giving recipes for cooking fish whole, for which excellent directions are to be found in several modern cookery books, recipes for fish entrées will be substituted. They are now frequently served at the fish course, and by their convenience and economy, as well as the variety they afford, are likely to grow in favor. Another point for them is that they can often be made hours before, and simply heated when needed, thus relieving the cook of the most critical part of her work at the ti

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VIII. VARIOUS WAYS OF SERVING OYSTERS.

Oysters à la Villeroi. —Scald (or blanch) some large oysters, dry them, then drop them into some very thick Villeroi sauce, 71-* let them get hot in it, but not boil. Take them out one by one; be sure they are thickly coated with the sauce; have a large dish heaped with sifted crumbs or cracker meal; as you lift each oyster from the sauce lay it on the meal, turn it gently over in the meal, so that a light coat adheres, and the sauce is by no means rubbed off. Place them on an oiled plate where

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IX. VARIOUS CULINARY MATTERS.

This little book does not pretend to go into what may be called the principles of cooking, except in so far as they are involved in the production of all choice cookery; and where it is considered that a principle is little known or too little attended to, the effort will be made to give it emphasis by reiteration here. By principles of cooking I mean the simple rules by which roasting, boiling, stewing, etc., are successfully accomplished. Any book or series of articles written a dozen years ag

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X. ENTRÉES.

Fillet of Beef. —This favorite dish with French and Americans may be roasted whole, or cut so as to serve individually. To roast it whole, it must be trimmed perfectly round, and either larded or not as taste may dictate. A fillet weighing four pounds should be roasted three quarters of an hour in a sharp oven. It may then be served à la Châteaubriand by pouring over it half a pint of the sauce of that name, with horseradish sauce, or brown mushroom sauce (brown sauce with mushrooms added). To s

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ENTRÉES OF SWEETBREADS.

Sweetbreads à la Suprême. —Take two plump sweetbreads, lay them an hour in strong salt and water, then boil them for ten minutes in fresh water; put them between two plates to flatten till cold. Cut off all the gristle and loose skin from underneath; put them to stew very gently in half a pint of good-flavored stock. Take them up, drain well, and stew them in half a pint of sauce suprême, with a dozen small mushrooms, for ten minutes. Sweetbreads with Oysters. —Prepare the sweetbreads as in the

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XII. ON THE MANNER OF PREPARING CROQUETTES, CUTLETS, KROMESKIES, RISSOLES, AND CIGARETTES.

Although these ever-popular dishes are all or may all be prepared from one mixture, there is a difference in the manner of using it which I will here explain. Croquettes are made from a soft creamy mixture chilled on ice till firm enough to mould, then simply dipped into egg and crumbs and fried in very hot fat. Cutlets are the same (of course fancy cutlets are meant, not the French chops, so called), only they are shaped to imitate a real cutlet, with a little bone inserted; or, in the case of

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XIII. PATTIES.

The directions for making one kind will serve for patties generally. In cities the cases are very easily bought, but where they have to be made at home, only one who is already an expert in making puff-paste should attempt them. Patties when served as an entrée should be quite small, or half of them will certainly be left on the plates. Roll puff-paste a quarter of an inch thick for each patty, cut three circles from it, moisten the surface of two very slightly with water, place one on the other

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XIV. ENTRÉES.

In an earlier chapter I gave directions for quenelles as an adjunct to soups and for garnishing. Used in this way, they are only a revival of an old French fashion, coarsely imitated in the benighted days of Anglo-Saxon cookery by the English “force-meat balls.” Lately, however, not only are quenelles a great feature in high-class cookery as additions to made dishes, but they are a most fashionable and delicious entrée, and replace with great advantage the too-frequent croquette. To prepare quen

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XV. ENTRÉES.—Continued.

Cigarettes à la Reine. —These are the newest development of the rissole and croquette. They require strict attention to details to secure perfect form. Roll puff-paste a quarter of an inch thick; prick it all over—this is to deaden it; roll it now till it is no thicker than cartridge-paper. Cut it with a sharp knife dipped in flour into strips about two inches and a half wide and about the length of a cigar; lay on each strip a roll of chicken quenelle meat that is very firm, and the roll not th

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XVI. ENTRÉES.—Continued.

Pigeon Cutlets. —Take half a dozen young pigeons, split them down the back, and bone them, all but the leg, cutting off the wings at the second joint. Cut each bird in two down the breast; trim off all ragged edges, so that each half-bird has as much as possible the appearance of a cutlet, the leg serving for the bone. Sauté these cutlets, having seasoned them with pepper and salt, for three minutes in hot butter, then put them in the oven for five minutes. When done, press between two plates ti

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XVII. COLD ENTRÉES, OR CHAUDFROIDS.

These elegant dishes are suitable for formal breakfasts, luncheons, and suppers, and while presenting an unusually attractive appearance, are easier to manage than less elaborate dishes, because they can usually be prepared, all but garnishing, the day before. Although in giving the recipes meat cooked for the purpose will always be directed, and for formal purposes no care or expense should be spared, the intelligent reader will see where she may make a very pretty dish by utilizing cold fowl,

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XVIII. COLD ENTRÉES.

Iced Savory Soufflé. —This dish can be made of fish, game, or chicken, but is considered best made of crab. Cut up the crab, or whatever it may be, into small pieces; let it soak in mayonnaise sauce for two or three hours. Have some well-flavored aspic jelly, half liquid; whip it till it is very frothy; put some of this at the bottom of the dish it is to be served in—a silver one is most effective; then place a layer of crab well seasoned, and fill it up with aspic and crab alternately until the

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XIX. GALANTINES, BALLOTINES, ETC.

Galantines are so useful and handsome a dish in a large family, or one where many visitors are received, that it is well worth while to learn the art of boning birds in order to achieve them. Nor, if the amateur cook is satisfied with the unambitious mode of boning hereafter to be described, need the achievement be very difficult. Experts bone a bird whole without breaking the skin, but to accomplish it much practice is required; and even where it is desirable to preserve the shape of the bird,

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XX. HOW TO “FILLET.”—COLD GAME PIES.

I have spoken several times of “filleting.” To some readers an explanation of the term may be necessary. To “cut up” a bird does not indicate the meaning, nor does the term “to carve” it do so, because to carve means to cut up or divide with an exact observance of joints and “cuts.” Filleting, when applied to anything without bones, as the breast of a bird or boned fish, means to cut into very neat strips that are thicker than slices; but when you are directed to “fillet” a grouse or a chicken,

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XXI. GARNISHES.

In all choice cookery the appearance of dishes has to be carefully studied. However good the taste may be, the effect will be spoiled if its appearance on the table does not come up to the expectation raised by the name on the menu . For this reason the subject of garnishes requires to be considered apart from the dishes they adorn. In the old time garnishes were few and simple, and when not simple, very ugly, as the camellias cut from turnips and stained with beet juice. Nowadays garnishes are

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XXII. VARIOUS WAYS OF SERVING VEGETABLES.

Stuffed Cucumbers. —Cut large-sized young cucumbers into slices about two inches thick, rejecting the ends. Peel, and remove the seeds; scald the slices for ten minutes, plunge them into cold water, and drain them. Line a fire-proof china dish with very thin slices of unsmoked bacon which has been scalded; make some veal force-meat such as directed for galantines; fill the holes in the centre of the rings of cucumber till it is level with the surface on both sides; wrap each up in a slice of bac

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XXIII. JELLIES.

In this country culinary skill seems to run to sweet rather than to savory cooking; very few housekeepers but make excellent preserves and cakes, yet the list of sweet dishes manufactured at home is very limited; as soon as anything not in this category is required the caterer is applied to, and he has his list of water-ices, cream-ices, and méringues, with very little variation; sometimes, indeed, a new name appears on the list, but it turns out to be some old friend with a new garnish, or put

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XXIV. JELLIES.—Continued.

If it is kept in mind that two ounces of gelatine to the quart of liquid is the right proportion, and that if even a tablespoonful of flavoring, fruit juice, or what not, is added, exactly the same quantity of other liquid must be omitted, there will not be much danger of formless jelly. Many forget this when not working from an exact recipe, and remembering only that a quart of cream or water or wine requires two ounces of gelatine to set it, they do not deduct for the glass of wine or juice of

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XXV. COLD SWEETS.—CREAMS.

Coffee Cream. —Make half a pint of custard with two eggs and half a pint of milk; dissolve an ounce of gelatine and three ounces of sugar in half a gill of strong coffee; add the custard, and strain; whip half a pint of cream quite firm; stir lightly into the custard; when it is cool, pour into a mould, and set on ice. The excellence of this cream depends on the coffee, which must be filtered, not boiled, freshly made, and very strong—three tablespoonfuls of coffee to the half-pint. Curaçoa Crea

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XXVI. CREAMS AND FROZEN PUDDINGS.

Nut creams, with the exception of almond, are not very well known, but are so delicious that they ought to be. One reason perhaps is that it is not generally known that kernels of nuts, such as hazel-nuts, walnuts, hickory-nuts, etc., can be bought by the pound at confectioners’ supply stores. This, of course, saves the tedious work of cracking and shelling. To use with creams or for frozen puddings the nuts must be pounded very well, with very little white of egg—just enough to moisten and rend

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XXVII. ICED PUDDINGS.

Filbert and Wine Iced Pudding. —To one pint of cream put four tablespoonfuls of sugar and two glasses of fine sherry. The cream must be perfectly sweet, but should be at least twenty-four hours old, and be ice cold. Whip this solid; then freeze. Put a pint of filberts in a cool oven till the skins will nearly all rub off; put them between two coarse cloths, and rub as much as possible of the brown coating off them; pound them to a paste with a little thick cream, mix four ounces of sugar with th

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XXVIII. ICE-CREAMS AND WATER-ICES.

To those very fond of tea, ice-cream made with it is very acceptable, and is very much used at English garden parties. Tea Ice-Cream. —To one pound of granulated sugar put a pint of strong green tea, a pint and a half of cream, and two quarts of rich milk, and a very little cinnamon water. Let the whole simmer one minute, not stirring, but keeping the mixture in motion by gently swinging the saucepan. Freeze as usual. This recipe may be used for coffee and chocolate; it will make a large quantit

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XXIX. MISCELLANEOUS SWEETS.

Under this head I intend to give a few sweets that seem to me unusually good, although they may not always be novel, except in manner of serving. A compote of fruit has nothing new about it, yet by the way in which it is served it may simply be “stewed fruit,” or it may be a dish fit to find a place even in choice cookery. In making compotes great care must be taken to preserve the shape and color of the fruits. In order to do this they must be quickly peeled and dipped into strong lemon juice a

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XXX. MISCELLANEOUS SWEETS.—Continued.

Strawberries, raspberries, currants, etc., need very little cooking, and that little in high candy. If it is understood that strong syrup tends to make fruit firm, and weak syrup to make it tender, it will be seen why all soft fruit, in order to keep its shape, should be dropped into candy boiled till brittle, and why apples and other hard fruits should be first stewed in weak syrup until soft; yet there are degrees; for instance, hard peaches require thin syrup, and very luscious ones must be p

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XXXI. MISCELLANEOUS SWEETS.—Continued.

Raspberry Charlotte Russe. —The simplest and quite the most effective way of making charlottes of any kind is the following: Take a strip of light cartridge or drawing paper from two to three inches wide, measure it round a mould the size you wish the charlotte to be, and cut it an inch larger; piece the two ends together, lapping an inch. Lay this paper circle on an ornamental dish (the one you wish to use), split lady-fingers, and stand them around it inside like a picket-fence, only as close

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FRENCH SWEET SAUCES FOR PUDDINGS, ETC.

Sauce Madère à la Marmalade. —A half-pound of apricot marmalade; half a tumbler of Madeira or sherry; boil three minutes, then pass through a sieve, and serve as sauce to soufflées, cabinet puddings, etc. Sauce des Œufs au Kirsch. —Beat the yolks of eight eggs, put them in a saucepan with half a tumbler of kirsch, five ounces of powdered sugar, and half the rind of a lemon grated. Stir all in a double boiler till the mixture sticks to the spoon; then remove from the boiling water; stir for a min

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XXXIII. SALADS AND CHEESE DISHES.

Salad has come to form part of even the simplest dinners; and certainly cold meat and salad and excellent bread and butter make a meal by no means to be despised even by an epicure, while cold meat and bread and butter sound very untempting. The best dinner salad will perhaps always be white, crisp lettuce, with a simple French dressing, although, to those acquainted with it, escarole runs it hard, with its cool, watery ribs and crisp leaves. Elaborate salads, or those dressed with mayonnaise, a

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MISS CORSON’S FAMILY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR.

Family Living on $500 a Year. A Daily Reference Book for Young and Inexperienced Housewives. By Juliet Corson . 16mo, Cloth, $1 25. If we ever get as much as $500 a year we shall purchase this book and live like a prince.... It goes carefully through the expenses of daily living, and indicates the thousand and one ways in which a penny can be saved and another penny put where it will do most good. A book of this kind placed in the hands of those who have very limited means will show that they ca

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MRS. SHERWOOD’S MANNERS AND SOCIAL USAGES IN AMERICA.

Manners and Social Usages in America. A Book of Etiquette. By Mrs. John Sherwood . pp. 448. New and Enlarged Edition, Revised by the Author. 16mo, Extra Cloth, $1 25. Mrs. Sherwood’s admirable little volume differs from ordinary works on the subject of etiquette, chiefly in the two facts that it is founded on its author’s personal familiarity with the usages of really good society, and that it is inspired by good-sense and a helpful spirit.... We think Mrs. Sherwood’s little book the very best a

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BOOKS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD.

MRS. HENDERSON’S PRACTICAL COOKING. Practical Cooking and Dinner Giving. A Treatise containing Practical Instructions in Cooking; in the Combination and Serving of Dishes, and in the Fashionable modes of Entertaining at Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. By Mary F. Henderson . Illustrated. 12mo, Water-proof Cover, $1 50. MRS. HENDERSON’S DIET FOR THE SICK. Diet for the Sick. A Treatise on the Values of Foods, their Application to Special Conditions of Health and Disease, and on the Best Methods of th

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