Adjuncts to Braised Vegetables
According to the case, the adjunct is either the braising-liquor, reduced and with all grease removed, or the same completed by means of an addition of meat-glaze.
[133]
]Occasionally, it may be the braising-liquor slightly thickened with half-glaze and finished with butter and the juice of a lemon.
[276—LEASON OF GREEN VEGETABLES WITH BUTTER]
First thoroughly drain the vegetables and toss them over the fire for a few minutes, in order to completely rid them of their moisture. Season according to the kind of vegetable; add the butter away from the fire, and slightly toss, rolling the saucepan meanwhile on the stove with the view of effecting the leason by means of the mixing of the butter with the treated vegetables.
[277—LEASON OF VEGETABLES WITH CREAM]
Vegetables to be treated in this way must be kept somewhat firm. After having thoroughly drained them, put them into a saucepan with enough boiling fresh cream to well moisten without covering them.
Finish their cooking process in the cream, stirring occasionally the while.
When the cream is almost entirely reduced, finish, away from the fire, with a little butter.
The leason may be slightly stiffened, if necessary, by means of a few tablespoonfuls of cream sauce.
[278—VEGETABLE CREAMS AND PURÉES[!-- TN: acute invisible --]
Purées of dry and farinaceous vegetables may be obtained by rubbing the latter through a sieve.
Put the purée into a sautépan, and dry it over a brisk fire, adding one and one-half oz. of butter per pint of purée; then add milk or cream in small quantities at a time, until the purée has reached the required degree of consistence.
For purées of aqueous vegetables, such as French beans, cauliflowers, celery, &c., a quarter of their volume of mashed potatoes should be added to them in order to effect their leason.
In the case of vegetable creams, substitute for the thickening of mashed potatoes an equivalent quantity of succulent and stiff Béchamel sauce.
[279—GARNISHES]
In cookery, although garnishes only play a minor part, they are, nevertheless, very important, for, besides being the principal accompaniments to dishes, they are very often the [134] ]adornment thereof, while it frequently happens that their harmonious arrangement considerably helps to throw the beauty of a fine joint or bird into relief.
A garnish may consist of one or more products. Be this as it may, its name, as a rule, distinctly denotes, in a word, what it is and how it is made.
In any case, it should always bear some relation to the piece it accompanies, either in the constituents of its preparation or with regard to the size of the piece constituting the dish.
I merely add that, since the constituents of garnishes are strictly denoted by the name the latter bear, any addition of products foreign to their nature would be a grave mistake. Likewise, the omission of any constituent is to be avoided, as the garnish would thereby be out of keeping with its specified character.
Only in very exceptional circumstances should any change of this kind be allowed to take place.
The constituents of garnishes are supplied by vegetables, farinaceous products, quenelles of all kinds, cocks’ combs and kidneys, truffles and mushrooms, plain or stuffed olives, molluscs (mussels or oysters), shell-fish (crayfish, shrimps, lobster, &c.), butcher’s supplies, such as lamb’s sweet-bread, calf’s brains, and calf’s spine-marrow.
As a rule, garnishes are independent of the dish itself—that is to say, they are prepared entirely apart. At other times they are mixed with it, playing the double part of garnish and condimentary principle, as in the case of Matelotes, Compotes, Civets, &c.
Vegetables for garnishing are fashioned and treated in accordance with the use and shape implied by the name of the dish, which should always be the operator’s guide in this respect.
The farinaceous ones, the molluscs and shell-fish, undergo the customary preparation.
I have already described (Chapter X.) the preparation of quenelles and forcemeats for garnishing. Other recipes which have the same purpose will be treated in their respective order.
[135]
]PART II
RECIPES AND MODES OF PROCEDURE
In [Part I.] of this work I treated of the general principles on which the science of cookery is founded, and the leading operations constituting the basis of the work.
In Part II. I shall proceed from the general to the particular—in other words, I shall set forth the recipes of every dish I touch upon, its method of preparation, and its constituent parts.
With the view of making reference as easy as possible, without departing from a certain logical order, I have adopted the method of classifying these recipes in accordance with the position the dishes they represent hold in the ordinary menu, and thus, starting with the hors-d’œuvres, I go straight on to the dessert. I was compelled, however, to alter my plan in the case of eggs, which never appear on the menu of a dinner save in Lent.
These I have therefore placed immediately after the hors-d’œuvres, which, like eggs, should only be served at luncheons, for reasons I shall explain later.
It will be seen that I have placed the Savouries before the Entremets, instead of after the Ices, as is customary in England. My reason for this apparent anomaly is that I consider it a positive gastronomical heresy to eat fish, meats, fowl-remains, &c., after delicate Entremets and Ices, the subtle flavour of the latter, which form such an agreeable item in a dinner, being quite destroyed by the violent seasoning of the former.
Moreover, the very pretext brought forward in support of this practice, so erroneous from the gastronomical standpoint, namely, “that after a good dinner it is necessary to serve something strange and highly seasoned, in order to whet the diner’s thirst,” is its own condemnation.
For, if appetite is satiated and thirst is quenched, it follows [136] ]that the consumer has taken all that is necessary. Therefore, anything more that he may be stimulated to take will only amount to excess, and excess in gastronomy, as in everything else, is a fault that can find no excuse.
At all events, I could agree to no more than the placing of the Savouries before mild Entremets, and, even so, the former would have to consist of light, dry preparations, very moderately seasoned, such as [Paillettes] with Parmesan, various kinds of dry biscuits, and small tartlets garnished with cheese [soufflé].
In short, if I expressed my plain opinion on the matter, I should advise the total suppression of Savouries in a dinner.