A guide to modern cookery

by A. Escoffier

Homard à la New-burg

This dish may be prepared in two ways—with raw lobster and with the latter cooked some time beforehand. The second way is the more correct, but the first, which is less troublesome to prepare, is more suited to the work of large establishments.

[948—HOMARD A LA NEW-BURG (with raw lobster)]

Cut up the live lobster, and fry it in oil and butter as explained under “[Homard à l’Américaine].” When the pieces of lobster are stiffened and coloured, clear them of all grease; swill the sautépan with one tablespoonful of burnt brandy and one-half pint of Marsala.

Reduce by a third; season, and add two-thirds pint of cream and one-sixth pint of fish [fumet]. Cover and set to cook for fifteen minutes.

Take out the pieces of lobster; withdraw the meat therefrom, and keep it hot in a covered timbale. Thicken the sauce with the reserved intestines and coral of the lobster, which should be chopped in combination with one oz. of butter.

Set to boil a second time; rub the sauce through tammy, and pour it over the pieces of lobster.

[949—HOMARD A LA NEW-BURG (with the lobster cooked)]

Cook the lobster in court-bouillon. Remove the shell from the tail; take the meat therefrom, and cut it into regular slices. Lay these slices in a liberally-buttered sautépan, season strongly, and heat the slices on both sides until the outside membrane acquires a fine red colour.

Moisten with enough Madeira to almost cover the slices, and reduce the moistening almost entirely. When dishing up, pour a leason, composed of one and one-quarter pints of cream and two egg-yolks, over the slices. Stir gently on the side of the fire until the thickening has been effected by the cooking of the egg-yolks, and serve in a lukewarm timbale.

[950—HOMARD A LA PALESTINE]

Cut up the live lobster and toss it in butter with a [mirepoix] prepared in advance, as for crayfish intended for potage bisque.

Moisten with two-thirds pint of white wine, one pint of [321] ]fish [fumet]

, and three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy. Cover and cook for fifteen minutes.

Now detach the sections of the tail and the claws; withdraw the meat from them, and keep them hot in a small covered saucepan with a little butter. Pound the carapace and remains of the lobster in a mortar; fry them in four tablespoonfuls of very hot oil, and add thereto an ordinary [mirepoix], cut very fine. Moisten with the cooking-liquor of the lobster, and set to cook for one-quarter hour. Strain through muslin; leave to stand for five minutes, that the oil may rise to the surface, and then completely remove it. Reduce this liquid to one-quarter pint; thicken it with the reserved creamy parts of the lobster, rubbed through tammy, and two tablespoonfuls of fish velouté, and finish this sauce with two and one-half oz. of curry butter.

Arrange a border of pilaff rice (No. [2255]) on the dish intended for the lobster; set the pieces of lobster, kept hot, in the centre, and coat these with a few tablespoonfuls of curry sauce.

Serve the remainder of the sauce separately.

[951—MOUSSELINES DE HOMARD]

In the matter of crustaceans, the term [mousse] stands, as a rule, for a cold preparation, whereas the term [mousseline] is only applied to warm dishes. The special [mousselines] or quenelles of lobster are made with a [mousseline] forcemeat, the recipe for which I gave under No. [195]. This forcemeat is prepared with the raw meat of the lobster.

As with the other crustaceans, their meat produces forcemeat which is somewhat too flimsy to be spoon-moulded, and it is preferable to poach it in special well-buttered quenelle- or [dariole-moulds].

[Mousselines] are poached under cover in a moderate oven.

All the garnishes and sauces given in respect of salmon [mousselines] may be applied here. The reader will therefore refer to:—

Mousselines de Saumon Alexandra (No. [798]).

Mousselines de Saumon à la Tosca (No. [799]).

[952—SOUFFLÉS DE HOMARD]

For lobster [soufflés] the same forcemeat is used as for the [mousselines]; but, unlike the latter, it is poached in the half-carapaces of the lobster, the meat of which has served in its preparation. The procedure is as follows:—First cook the two half-carapaces carefully, that they may not lose their shape in the process.

[322]
]After having drained and dried them, fill them with [mousseline] forcemeat and surround them with strong, buttered paper, which should be tied on with string, and should overreach the edges of the carapaces by one inch.

The object of this measure is to prevent the forcemeat from spilling during the poaching.

Lay the two garnished carapaces on a tray containing just enough boiling water to moisten its whole surface. Put the tray in a moderate oven or in a steamer, and allow from fifteen to twenty minutes for the [soufflé] to poach.

This done, carefully drain the two carapaces; remove the paper holding in the forcemeat; dish them on a napkin, and surround them with bunches of very green, curled-leaf parsley. Serve separately a sauce in keeping with the preparation; i.e., a Normande, a White-wine, a Diplomate, or a Béchamel finished with lobster butter, &c.

N.B.—The above constitutes the model-recipe of lobster [soufflé], and I need scarcely point out that the latter may be varied almost indefinitely in accordance with the fancy of the cook and the taste of the consumer.

Thus the forcemeat may be garnished with truffles in dice, slices of lobster, milt, or poached oysters, &c., which garnishes may also be laid on the [soufflé] when it is finished. I therefore leave to the operator, who should now see his way quite clearly, the task of imagining the various possible combinations, a description of which would but unnecessarily delay the progress of this work.

[953—COLD LOBSTER WITH VARIOUS SAUCES]

Cook the lobster in court-bouillon, and let it cool in the latter. Drain it, sever the claws, and break them open in order to withdraw their meat. Split the lobster into two lengthwise, remove the intestines and the queen, and dish it on a napkin. Lay the claws on either side of it, and surround it either with curled-leaf parsley or with a few hearts of lettuce.

Send to the table separately one of the derivative sauces of the Mayonnaise (Nos. [122] to [132]).

[954—ASPIC DE HOMARD]

Under “Aspic de filets de soles” (No. [915]), I pointed out the preparatory principles of an aspic; in this case, therefore, I shall only refer to the various details very cursorily.

Let a thin coating of white fish jelly set on the bottom of an aspic-mould incrusted in ice. The reader is reminded of the great care that must be observed in the preparation of an [323] ]aspic jelly, that the latter be limpid, succulent, and just sufficiently firm not to break when withdrawn from the mould. Decorate the bottom of the mould with bits of truffle, poached white of egg, lobster coral, capers, and tarragon leaves.

The decorative design cannot be described; it must be left to the taste and fancy of the operator; all I can urge is that it be as regular and symmetrical as possible.

Fix the decoration by means of a few drops of jelly; then cover the whole with a thickness of one inch of the same jelly, and leave the latter to set. Upon this layer of jelly arrange rows of thin slices of lobster meat and slices of truffles placed alternately and slightly overlapping. Now add enough jelly to cover these slices, and continue filling up the mould with varying layers consisting respectively of jelly (one inch thick) and the slices above described.

When about to serve, dip the mould in hot water; dry it, and turn out the aspic upon a dish covered with a napkin.

[955—CÔTELETTES DE HOMARD ARKANGEL]

Prepare a [salpicon] of lobster meat in dice combined with its weight of caviare, the whole quantity being in proportion to the number of côtelettes required.

Thicken the [salpicon] with an equal quantity of lobster [mousse] (No. [956]), and at once garnish some moderately oiled cutlet-moulds with the preparation. As soon as the latter has set, turn out the cutlets; coat them with a fish chaud-froid sauce, finished with lobster butter; and deck each with a fine, grooved slice of truffle. Glaze them with cold melted jelly, and keep them in the cool until required to be served.

Arrange them in a circle on a round dish; garnish the centre with chopped white jelly, and serve a Russian salad separately.

[956—MOUSSE DE HOMARD]

Cook the lobster in a few tablespoonfuls of previously-prepared fine [mirepoix], one half-bottle of white wine, and a small glass of burnt brandy. Leave to cool in the cooking-liquor. Now split the lobster in two, with the view of withdrawing its meat. Finely pound the latter while adding thereto, little by little, one-third pint of cold fish velouté per lb. of meat. Rub through a sieve; put the resulting purée in a vegetable-pan lying on ice, and stir for a few minutes. This done, add a little good fish jelly, melted and cold, and one-third pint of barely-whipped cream. Taste; rectify the seasoning, and warm it slightly with cayenne.

[324]
][957—MOUSSE DE HOMARD MOULÉE]

When the [mousse] is intended for moulding, it is well to decorate and “[clothe]” the mould with fish jelly some time in advance. I have already explained that to “[clothe]” a mould with jelly, all that is needed is to pour therein a few tablespoonfuls of melted jelly, and then to rock the utensil on ice. By this means a thin even coating sets on the bottom and sides of the mould, which, when the moulding is turned out, swathes the latter in a transparent film.

This “[clothing]” of jelly may be made more or less thick, according to the requirements, by simply using more or less jelly, and by proportionately lengthening or shortening the time for rocking the mould.

When the mould is [clothed], decorate the sides with large slices of very black truffle dipped in melted jelly, that they may stick.

This done, fill the receptacle with the prepared [mousse] (see the preceding recipe), and leave to set in the cool.

For the turning out of the mould and the dishing of the moulding, proceed as for the aspic.

[958—PETITES MOUSSES DE HOMARD]

For these small [mousses], use little [cassolettes] or silver timbales. First let a thin layer of jelly (one or two tablespoonfuls, according to their size) set on the bottom of each utensil, and then surround the latter with bands of white paper, the ends of which should be stuck together, and should reach one inch above the brims of the [cassolettes]. The preparation of [mousse] may now be placed in the [cassolettes] in a sufficient quantity to overflow the brims, so that, when the paper is removed, their appearance is that of small [soufflés].

When the [cassolettes] have been garnished, put them aside on ice or in a refrigerator until they are served.

[959—HOMARD A LA GRAMMONT]

Split the lobster open lengthwise down the middle. Withdraw the meat from the tail; trim it, and cut it into regular collops. Coat the latter again and again with aspic jelly, that they may be well covered with it; decorate each with a slice of truffle, and glaze it with the same aspic.

Also coat with jelly as many very white poached and dried oysters as there are collops.

Now take the creamy parts and the meat of the claws, and pound them finely with one tablespoonful of cold Béchamel [325] ]sauce; rub through a sieve, and, with the resulting purée combined with melted fish jelly and cream (see lobster mousse No. [956]), prepare a [mousse] “au paprika” of a decided pink colour.

Fill the two half-carapaces to their edges with this [mousse], and leave it to set on ice.

When about to serve, lay the collops, glazed with jelly, upon this [mousse], and place an oyster between each pair. Dish the two garnished half-carapaces, back to back, upon a napkin, and put the heart of a lettuce in the middle, and a bunch of curled-leaf parsley at either end.

Serve a mayonnaise or other cold sauce separately.

[960—HOMARD A LA PARISIENNE]

Tie a lobster to a little board; stretch out its tail to the fullest extent; cook it in court-bouillon, and leave it to cool in the latter.

When it is quite cold, with the help of scissors, carefully cut a strip of the shell from the back of the head to the tail. The aperture left by the removed strip of shell ought to be sufficiently wide to allow of the meat of the tail being removed without breaking it. Having emptied the tail, refill it with salad leaves, and return the strip of shell (upside down) to its place. Cut the meat of the tail into even collops, and lay on each a roundel of truffle stamped out with the fancy-cutter, and dipped in half-melted jelly. Then coat these slices, which should be on a dish, again and again, with cold melted jelly until they are well covered with it.

Now break the claws and remove their meat, as also that remaining in the carapace, and cut both meats into dice. Take the creamy parts, and rub them through a sieve.

Prepare a small vegetable salad; add thereto the meat dice, and cohere the two with a mayonnaise sauce combined with melted jelly and the creamy parts rubbed through a sieve. When the salad begins to set, owing to the jelly contained in the mayonnaise, garnish twelve small artichoke-bottoms with it, arranging the salad in them in pyramid form. Set a bit of truffle on each pyramid, and sprinkle the salad with melted fish jelly in order to make it glossy.

Dishing.—Dish the lobster on a cushion of buttered bread on which a [julienne] of lettuce has been stuck, or on one of carved rice. The cushion should have the shape of a wedge, in order that the lobster may lie at an angle of about 45°, with its head raised, when laid upon it. Arrange the slices (slightly overlapping one another) along the back of the lobster, [326] ]beginning at its head with the smallest of them, and progressing down towards the tail, gradually increasing their size.

Surround the lobster alternately with artichoke-bottoms garnished with salad, and quartered hard-boiled eggs, or halved hard-boiled eggs (set upright with their yolks facing outwards).

Border the dish with very clear jelly in large cubes or triangles, etc.

[961—HOMARD A LA RUSSE]

Proceed exactly as above with regard to the cooking of the lobster, the extraction of the meat, and the cutting of it into slices. Coat the slices with mayonnaise sauce combined with melted jelly; or, better still, with a white fish chaud-froid sauce combined with the lobster’s creamy parts rubbed through a sieve.

Decorate each slice with a bit of coral and two little chervil leaves; coat them again and again with cold melted aspic, and put them aside in the cool. “[Clothe]” ten [dariole-moulds], and decorate the bottom of each with a slice of truffle. Also prepare ten hard-boiled eggs.

Prepare a Salade Russe (without meat); add to this the remains of the lobster meat cut into dice, and thicken with mayonnaise and melted aspic, mixed. With this thickened salad fill the [dariole-moulds], and leave to set in the cool.

Dishing.—Set the lobster on a cushion, after the manner of the preceding recipe. Trim the slices, and lay them, as before, on the lobster’s back, taking care to graduate their sizes. Surround the lobster with the small moulded salads, and alternate these with the hard-boiled eggs. The latter should be cut in two at a point one-third of their height above their base; their yolks should be removed, the space filled with caviare moulded to the form of a pyramid, and, this done, the eggs should be set upright.

Border the dish with roundels of very clear fish jelly, stamped out by a fancy-cutter, and lay a bit of truffle upon each.

N.B.—(1) The moulds of salad must, of course, be dipped in hot water before being turned out.

(2) The lobster may also be served “à la Néva,” “à la Moscovite,” “à la Sibérienne,” &c., but these preparations are only minor forms of “Homard à la Russe” under different names.

Changes may be effected in the preparation by altering the constituents of the salad and its dishing. It may, for instance, be made in small cucumber or beetroot [barquettes], while the caviare, instead of being laid in hard-boiled eggs, may be served in little pleated cases.

[327]
]As these preparations, however, are based neither on fixed principles nor on classical rules, I shall refrain from giving them.

[962—MAYONNAISE DE HOMARD]

Proceed as for Mayonnaise de Saumon—that is to say, garnish the bottom of a salad-bowl with [ciseled] lettuce leaves, and season them moderately.

Upon this salad lay the remains of the lobster, and upon the latter place the thin slices of the tail. Cover with mayonnaise sauce, and decorate with strips of anchovy fillets, capers, olives, hard-boiled eggs, roundels of pink radishes, the hearts of lettuce, &c.

N.B.—I have already pointed out the futility of prescribing a decorative design. As a rule, the matter is so intimately connected with the taste and fancy of the individual, and the products used for the purpose lend themselves to such indefinite variation, that I prefer merely to enumerate these products, and to leave the question of their arrangement to the artistic ingenuity of the operator.

[963—SALADE DE HOMARD]

See “Salade de Saumon” (No. [810]). As the preparation and seasoning of the latter are identical with those of the dish under consideration, all that is needed is to replace the salmon of recipe No. [810] by the collops of lobster.

Spiny Lobsters. (Langouste.)

All culinary preparations dealing with lobsters may be adapted to spiny lobsters. There is, therefore, no need to repeat them here. Of the cold recipes, two are much better suited to the spiny than to the ordinary kind, though, as they are used for both specimens, I gave them earlier in the book. The two recipes referred to are:—

[964—LANGOUSTE A LA PARISIENNE;]

[965—LANGOUSTE A LA RUSSE;]

Crayfish. (Écrevisses.)

When crayfish are prepared after one of the recipes most commonly used on the Continent, i.e., whole, they are not much relished in England. This is doubtless accounted for by the fact that ladies, dining in evening dress, find them somewhat difficult to manage.

They are therefore only served in the form of an aspic, a [328] ][mousse], [mousselines], timbales, &c., or as the garnish of some other fish; for in all these cases they are shelled.

Be all this as it may, I give below the various recipes relating to them, and from among these it ought to be possible to choose one which will meet the requirements of any particular case.

[966—ÉCREVISSES A LA BORDELAISE]

N.B.—Whatever be their mode of preparation, crayfish should always be thoroughly cleansed and cleared of their intestines, the extreme end of which is to be found under the middle of the tail. In order to remove the intestines, take the telson or tail-segment between the point of a small knife and the thumb, and pull gently. If this were not done, the intestines, especially in the breeding season, might render the crayfish disagreeably bitter.

As soon as their intestines have been removed, the crayfish should be set to cook, otherwise, i.e., if they be left to wait, their juices escape through the anal wound, and they empty.

For twelve crayfish, after having cleaned and eviscerated them, put them into a vegetable-pan with one tablespoonful of very fine [mirepoix], completely cooked beforehand, and two-thirds oz. of butter. Toss them over an open fire until the shells have acquired a fine, red colour. Moisten with three tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy and one-quarter pint of white wine; reduce by a third, and complete with one tablespoonful of Espagnole, two tablespoonfuls of fish [fumet], the same quantity of tomato purée, and one spoonful of special mirepoix (No. [229]).

Put the lid on, and set to cook for ten minutes.

Dish the crayfish in a timbale; reduce the sauce by a quarter, and finish it with a few drops of meat glaze, one oz. of butter, a very little cayenne, chopped chervil, and tarragon. Pour this over the crayfish, and serve instantly.

[967—ÉCREVISSES A LA MARINIÈRE[!-- TN: grave invisible --]

In the case of twelve crayfish, toss them in two-thirds oz. of butter over an open fire, until the shells are of a fine red. Season with salt and pepper; add two finely chopped shallots, a bit of thyme and a bit of bay; moisten with one-third pint of white wine; cover; cook for ten minutes, and dish in a timbale.

Reduce the cooking-liquor to half; thicken with two tablespoonfuls of fish velouté; finish the sauce with one oz. of butter, and pour it over the crayfish.

[329]
]Sprinkle with a pinch of chopped parsley, and serve at once.

[968—ÉCREVISSES A LA NAGE]

For twelve crayfish, ten minutes beforehand prepare a court-bouillon of one-half pint of white wine, one-quarter pint of fish [fumet], a few roundels of carrot and onion, one stalk of parsley cut into dice, a small pinch of powdered thyme and bay, and a very little salt and cayenne pepper.

Put the crayfish into the boiling court-bouillon; cover, and leave to cook for ten minutes, taking care to toss the crayfish from time to time.

When about to serve, pour the crayfish with the court-bouillon and the aromatics into a timbale.

[969—ÉCREVISSES A LA LIÉGEOISE[!-- TN: acute invisible --]

Cook the crayfish in court-bouillon as explained in the preceding recipe. Dish them in a timbale, and keep them hot. Strain the court-bouillon; reduce it by a quarter; add one oz. of butter, and pour it over the crayfish.

Sprinkle with a pinch of [concassed] parsley.

[970—MOUSSELINES D’ÉCREVISSES]

What I said with reference to “Mousseline de Homard” (No. [951]) applies perfectly here, and my remarks relative to the variation of the garnishing ingredients, which are the same as those in No. [951], also hold good.

[971—TIMBALE DE QUEUES D’ÉCREVISSES A LA NANTUA]

For ten people prepare (1) a shallow timbale crust, and a cover decorated with a design of leaves or some other ornamental treatment; (2) toss sixty crayfish in butter with two tablespoonfuls of very fine [mirepoix] cooked in butter beforehand. When the crayfish are of a distinct red, moisten with one glass of white wine and three tablespoonfuls of burned brandy; season with salt and cayenne pepper; cover them, and keep them on the side of the fire for ten minutes, taking care to toss them again from time to time; (3) shell the tails and put them into a small saucepan with twenty small quenelles of whiting forcemeat, finished with crayfish butter; fifteen small, grooved mushrooms, cooked and very white, and three oz. of truffles in slices. Add a few drops of the mushroom cooking-liquor to this garnish, and keep it hot; (4) pound the remains and carcasses of the crayfish very finely; add two-thirds pint of cream sauce to the resulting purée; rub it through tammy, and add it to the garnish; (5) when about to serve, pour [330] ]this garnish into the timbale crust, which should be very hot, and deck the top with a crown of fine slices of very black truffle. Close the timbale with its cover, and dish it on a napkin.

[972—SOUFFLÉ D’ÉCREVISSES A LA FLORENTINE]

Make a preparation of Soufflé au Parmesan (No. [2295a]

) combined with two tablespoonfuls of crayfish cream per pint. The cream is prepared after the manner of lobster cream (No. [295]).

Put this preparation in a buttered timbale in alternate layers separated by litters of sliced truffle and crayfish tails. Cook the [soufflé] after the manner of an ordinary one.

[973—SOUFFLÉ D’ÉCREVISSES LÉOPOLD DE ROTHSCHILD]

Prepare a [soufflé] as above, and add thereto a bare tablespoonful of freshly-cooked asparagus and slices of truffle, and crayfish tails placed between the layers of the [soufflé] preparation. Cook as above.

[974—SOUFFLÉ D’ÉCREVISSES A LA PIÉMONTAISE]

This is identical with No. [972], except that the ordinary truffles are replaced by shavings of Piedmont truffles.

[975—ASPIC DE QUEUES D’ÉCREVISSES A LA MODERNE]

Cook twelve fine crayfish in accordance with the directions under No. [966], but substitute champagne for the white wine.

Shell the tails; trim them evenly; cut them in two lengthwise, and keep them in the cool until they are wanted. Remove the creamy parts from the carapaces of the crayfish; add the trimmings of the tails, the meat from the claws, and the [mirepoix] in which the crayfish have cooked.

Pound the whole very finely in a mortar, and rub it through a sieve. Put the resulting purée in a receptacle; add thereto one-quarter pint of very cold, melted aspic, and three tablespoonfuls of barely beaten cream. Leave this preparation to settle.

Trim the crayfish carapaces; fill them with a little prepared [mousse], and decorate each carapace with a small roundel of truffle.

Put the remainder of the [mousse] in the middle of a little crystal bowl, and mould it to the shape of a cone, narrow towards the base, and as high as possible.

Arrange the garnished crayfish carapaces on their backs in the bowl around the cone of [mousse], and set some crayfish tails in superposed rings up the cone. The crayfish tails should [331] ]be dipped in half-melted jelly, that they may stick fast to the cone. Lay a small, very round truffle on the top of the cone to complete the decoration. This done, coat the whole again and again by means of a spoon with half-melted, succulent, clear fish jelly, and incrust the timbale in a block of ice, or set it amidst the latter broken up.

[976—MOUSSE D’ÉCREVISSES]

For ten people cook thirty crayfish as for potage Bisque. This done, remove the tails, and reserve a dozen fine carapaces. Finely pound the remainder, together with the [mirepoix] in which the crayfish have cooked, and add thereto one-half oz. of butter, one oz. of red butter (No. [142]), one-quarter pint of cold fish velouté, and six tablespoonfuls of melted fish jelly. Rub through tammy, and put the resulting purée in a saucepan; stir it over ice for two or three minutes; add three-quarters pint of half-beaten cream, and the crayfish tails cut into dice or finely sliced.

Before beginning to prepare the [mousse], line the bottom and side of a Charlotte-mould with paper, that the [mousse] may be moulded as soon as ready.

Pour the preparation into the mould, taking care to reserve enough for the twelve carapaces already put aside, and put the [mousse] on ice or in a refrigerator until dishing it. Fill the twelve trimmed carapaces with the reserved [mousse], and decorate each with a round slice of truffle. When about to serve, turn out the [mousse] on a small, round cushion of semolina or rice, one-half inch thick, lying on a dish. Remove all the paper, and decorate the top of the [mousse] with a crown of fine slices of truffle dipped in melted jelly, that they may be glossy.

Surround the semolina or rice cushion with a border of chopped jelly, and arrange the garnished carapaces upon this jelly, setting them almost upright.

N.B.—(1) Instead of being served on a cushion, the crayfish [mousse] may be sent to the table in a deep silver dish with a border of chopped jelly, and surrounded by the garnished carapaces. The utensil is then laid on a flat dish in a bed of broken ice, or it is incrusted direct in a block of carved ice.

(2) For the moulding of crayfish [mousse], the mould may be “[clothed]” with fish jelly and decorated with slices of truffle, as directed under “Mousse de Homard moulée” (No. [957]).

A [mousse] prepared in this way may be either dished on a semolina or rice cushion, or in a deep silver entrée dish, as described above.

[332]
][976a—SUPRÊMES D’ÉCREVISSES AU CHAMPAGNE]

Select forty medium-sized crayfish that seem full of life; cook them quickly in a highly-seasoned [mirepoix], moistened with one half-bottle of dry champagne. This done, shell them; trim their tails, and keep them in the cool in a small bowl. Pound their shells as finely as possible with one-quarter lb. of fresh butter, and put the resulting purée in a saucepan, together with one-half pint of boiling velouté containing four or five leaves of gelatine, and the cooking-liquor of the crayfish passed through a fine strainer.

Set to boil for a few minutes, that the remains may exude all their flavour; rub through tammy over a basin lying on ice, and whisk the preparation in order to accelerate its cooling. As soon as it begins to thicken, add one pint of half-whipped cream to it. Then pour the whole into a silver or porcelain timbale, taking care that the utensil be not more than three-quarters full.

When the [mousse] has set, decorate the surface with the reserved crayfish tails, to which are added, as a finish, bits of truffle and chervil leaves. Cover the decoration with a thin coating of easily-melting and amber-coloured fish jelly, and put the timbale on ice. When about to serve, incrust it in a block of carved ice, or place it on a silver dish with broken ice all round.

[977—MOUSSE D’ÉCREVISSES CARDINAL]

For ten people cook the crayfish as explained in No. [976], but take forty instead of thirty. Shell the tails; trim them and cut them into dice. Prepare the [mousse] in the same way, but use twice as much red butter. Garnish twelve carapaces after the same manner, and decorate each with a slice of truffle.

[Clothe] a dome- or Charlotte-mould somewhat thickly with jelly; garnish its bottom and sides with crayfish tails, previously dipped in half-melted jelly, and arranged in superposed rows; and place the crayfish so that the tails of the first row lie to the left, those of the second row to the right, and so on. As often as possible, do this work before preparing the [mousse], in order that the latter may be put into the mould as soon as ready.

When about to fill the mould, add twenty fine slices of truffle to the [mousse]. Dish after one of the two methods directed in the appended note to No. [970], and take care to dip the mould quickly into hot water before attempting to turn out its contents.

[333]
][978—PETITS SOUFFLÉS FROIDS D’ÉCREVISSES]

Prepare the crayfish [mousse] as directed under No. [976], and replace the fish velouté by cold Béchamel. The addition of sauce is even unnecessary in this case, and the preparation may be all the more delicate for consisting only of the crayfish cullis and two tablespoonfuls of fish jelly.

For the moulding of these small [soufflés] I can only repeat what I said under “Petites Mousses de Homard” (No. [958]). Let a thin coating of jelly set on the bottom of the small [cassolettes] or timbales used; garnish their insides with a band of white paper, reaching one inch above their brims; stick the end of this band with a little batter.

Now garnish the timbales with [mousse], letting it project above their edges to the extent of two-thirds of an inch, and leave it to set in the cool. When about to serve, remove the band of paper, holding in the projecting [mousse], and the appearance of the garnished timbales is exactly that of small, hot [soufflés]. Allow one [soufflé] for each person.

[979—SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS (Crevettes Grises et Crevettes Roses)]

Prawns are chiefly used for hors-d’œuvres, but they may, nevertheless, be prepared in Aspics; [Mousses]; small cold [Soufflés], &c.

As regards shrimps, their use is entirely limited to garnishes, hors-d’œuvres, and to the preparation of soups, shrimp butters, and creams.

OYSTERS. (HUÎTRES.)

Though oysters are nicer raw, there are so many culinary preparations of which they form the leading constituent, and such a number of garnishing uses to which they may be put, that I feel compelled to mention some of these.

[980—HUÎTRES A LA FAVORITE]

Poach the oysters (cleared of their beards) in their own liquor, which should have been carefully collected when opening them. Clean their hollow shells, and place them on a tray covered with a layer of salt one-half inch thick. Garnish them with Béchamel; upon the latter, in each shell, lay an oyster decked with a slice of truffle; cover with the same sauce; besprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter, and set to glaze quickly. Serve immediately.

[334]
][981—HUÎTRES AU GRATIN]

Open the oysters; cut them free, and lay them in the hollow halves of their shells, which should be incrusted in a layer of salt covering a tray. On each oyster put a drop of lemon juice, a pinch of fried bread-crumbs, a little melted butter, and a piece of fresh butter the size of a pea.

Set the [gratin] to form in a fierce oven or at the salamander, and serve immediately.

[982—HUÎTRES A LA MORNAY]

Poach the oysters, and allow two per shell.

Set the hollow shells, thoroughly cleansed, on a tray covered with salt. Cover the bottom of the shells with Mornay sauce; put two poached oysters into each; cover with the same sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter, and set to glaze quickly. Serve instantly.

[983—HUÎTRES SOUFFLÉES]

Make a preparation of Soufflé au Parmesan (No. [2295a]

). Slightly poach the oysters, clean their hollow shells, and set these on a tray covered with kitchen salt. Spread a layer of the preparation on each shell; put an oyster thereon, and cover the latter with the soufflé au Parmesan.

Heat the base of the tray on the stove, and, when the [soufflé] begins to rise, put the tray in the oven, that the [soufflé] may cook and colour at the same time. Serve at once.

[984—HUÎTRES A LA FLORENTINE]

Poach the oysters. Set their hollow shells on a tray as above; garnish the bottom of each of these with shredded spinach stewed in butter; lay an oyster on the spinach in each shell; cover with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly. Serve immediately.

[985—HUÎTRES GRILLÉES]

Open the oysters, and leave them in their hollow shells; lay them (very straight) on a tray covered with salt, incrusting them in the latter; besprinkle with a drop of lemon juice and a little mignonette pepper and put them in a fierce oven, that their top surfaces may be speedily poached.

Dish them on a napkin; pour a coffeespoonful of “Sauce Diable Escoffier” over each, and serve directly.

[986—QUENELLES D’HUÎTRES A LA REINE]

With four oz. of chicken fillets and six raw oysters, prepare a [mousseline] forcemeat in accordance with the directions given [335] ]under No. [195]. Mould this forcemeat, by means of a tablespoon, into large quenelles, in the centre of which lay two cold poached oysters.

Poach these quenelles after the manner of ordinary [mousselines]. This done, drain them on a piece of linen; arrange them in a circle on a round dish, and cover them with highly-seasoned Suprême sauce. Decorate each quenelle with a fine slice of truffle, and garnish the middle of the dish with some asparagus-tops, cohered with butter.

[987—BASS (Bar)]

This excellent fish is very little known, and, consequently, rarely sought after in England.

The large specimens are served, boiled, with the same kind of sauce as for turbot. The smaller ones are chiefly served à la Meunière or fried.

[988—BRILL (Barbue)]

Served whole, brill may be looked upon as the understudy, as it were, of the chicken-turbot, and all the preparations given for the latter may be adapted to the former.

If it be preferred filleted, it may be treated after the recipes given for fillets of sole. Hence for brill cooked whole refer to chicken-turbot and the recipes Nos. [925] to [938], and for filleted brill see recipes Nos. [865] to [922].

[989—BLOATERS]

Bloaters, or herrings partially dried in smoke, form one of the nicest breakfast dishes. As a rule, they are simply grilled over a moderate fire. It should be borne in mind that, as these fish are only partially salted and smoked, they will not keep very long.

COD. (CABILLAUD.)

If cod were less common, it would be held in as high esteem as salmon; for, when it is really fresh and of good quality, the delicacy and delicious flavour of its flesh admit of its ranking among the finest of fish.

[990—CABILLAUD BOUILLI]

Fresh cod is mostly served boiled, either whole, in sections, or in [darnes], and the directions given under “The Boiling of Fish” (No. [776]) apply particularly to this fish.

Boiled fresh cod is always accompanied by its liver, poached in salted water, and very floury potatoes, boiled at the last minute, must always be sent to the table with it.

Served thus with an oyster sauce, a Hollandaise sauce, or [336] ]melted butter, fresh cod constitutes a Relevé which would satisfy the most exacting of gourmets.

[991—CABILLAUD GRILLÉ]

Cut the fish into slices one inch or two inches thick. Season these slices; dredge them; sprinkle them copiously with melted butter, and set them to grill, remembering to baste them frequently the while with melted butter.

Serve them on a hot dish; garnish them with slices of lemon, and surround with bunches of parsley.

Send a Maître-d’Hôtel or Anchovy butter, or a grilled-fish sauce to the table with the dish.

[992—CABILLAUD FRIT]

Cut some slices of fresh cod, from one inch to one and one-half inches thick. Season them, treat them [à l’anglaise], and fry them sufficiently to allow of their being well cooked all through. Dish them on a napkin with fried parsley and lemon, and send a butter sauce (No. [66]), a tartare sauce, or a tomato sauce to the table at the same time as the fish.

[993—CABILLAUD CRÈME GRATIN]

For ten people take two lbs. of boiled fresh cod divided into small pieces; clear these of all bones and skin, and keep them hot in a little of their cooking-liquor.

Now, with the necessary quantity of Duchesse potatoes (No. [221]), and by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, lay a border, one and one-half inches high, round a dish, shaping it in such wise that it is thickest at its base. The dish may be either round or oval. Carefully [gild] this border with egg-yolks.

This done, pour a few tablespoonfuls of Mornay sauce on the dish; lay thereon the drained pieces of cod, and cover the latter with enough Mornay sauce to reach within one-third of an inch of the brim of the border. If more sauce were used, it would flow over the border during the process of glazing.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter; set to glaze, and see that the border gets evenly coloured.

Serve the moment the dish is withdrawn from the oven.

N.B.—This mode of preparation is not restricted to fresh cod. It may be applied to all other boiled fish—turbot, chicken-turbot, brill, bass, salmon, &c.

[994—CABILLAUD A LA FLAMANDE]

Cut the fresh cod into slices one inch thick; season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and put them in a sautépan or a [337] ]deep, liberally-buttered tray. Moisten with white wine to the height of the slices; add chopped shallots and “fines herbes,” and garnish the fish with roundels of pipped lemon, peeled to the pulp.

Set to boil, and then poach in the oven for twelve minutes. Place the slices on a dish; thicken their cooking-liquor with crushed [biscotte]; cook it for five minutes; pour it over the slices, and serve.

[995—CABILLAUD A LA PORTUGAISE]

For ten people, cut five slices of fresh cod, each weighing one-half lb., and season them with salt and pepper. Put these slices into a sautépan containing the following garnish, into which they should be pressed:—Three oz. of butter and one-sixth pint of oil; one large onion, chopped and lightly coloured in butter; a bit of crushed garlic the size of a pea; one faggot; two pinches of [concassed] parsley; eight medium-sized, peeled, pressed, and minced tomatoes, and one-third pint of white wine.

Cover the sautépan, and set to boil on an open fire for five minutes.

Now take the lid off the saucepan, and leave it to cook for twelve minutes on the side of the fire, in order that the liquid may be reduced and the fish cooked at the same moment of time.

Set the slices on a long dish; withdraw the faggot, and pour the garnish and the cooking-liquor over the fish.

[996—LAITANCES DE CARPE (Carp’s Milt)]

The milt of a carp makes a very delicate dish. It is served either as a second fish at a dinner; as a garnish to large fish Relevés, after having been poached in salted water; or cut while raw into slices which are generally treated à la Meunière.

[997—LAITANCES A LA MEUNIÈRE]

Prepare them whole or in collops, in pursuance of the directions given under “The Cooking of Fish à la Meunière” (No. [778]).

[998—BARQUETTES DE LAITANCES A LA FLORENTINE]

Poach the milts in salted water; cut them into small, long slices, and set them in [barquette] crusts prepared in advance.

Cover the sliced milts with a soufflé au Parmesan (No. [2295a]), and shape the latter slightly after the manner of a dome.

Arrange the [barquettes] on a dish, and put them in a moderate oven, that they may cook and the [soufflé] be glazed at the same [338] ]time. When taking them out of the oven, dish them on a napkin and serve immediately.

[999—CAISSES DE LAITANCES A LA NANTUA]

Poach the milts in salted water. Drain them, and cut them into small slices thicker than their length.

Place these slices in small pleated porcelain cases with two crayfish tails in each. Fill up the cases with Nantua sauce, and lay a fine slice of truffle over the centre of each case.

[1000—JOHN DORY (St. Pierre)]

This fish, which is in the highest degree unsightly, is possessed of flesh whose firmness, whiteness, and delicacy are of the rarest excellence; and, when quite fresh, its fillets are certainly equal in quality to those of the chicken-turbot and the sole.

Albeit the dory is not as popular as it deserves to be, and this is owing either to its unsightliness, which may prejudice the opinion of gourmets against it, to people’s indifference with regard to it, or to a mere trick of fashion.

While I admit its unpopularity, however, I should strongly recommend all lovers of fish to give it a trial. Let them prepare the dory’s fillets after the recipes given under Fillets of Sole and Chicken-turbot, and, provided the directions be properly carried out, I venture to believe that the prevailing aversion to dory will very soon be found to have no warrant in fact.

[1001—FRESH HADDOCK (Eglefin)]

This fish is chiefly eaten smoked, under the name of haddock.

When it is fresh, it may be prepared after the recipes given for cod, to which it is quite equal in the matter of delicacy.

[1002—SMELT (Éperlans)]

Owing to their small size, smelts only lend themselves to a very limited number of preparations. They are usually served either on little skewers or dished in a heap on a napkin, with fried parsley and grooved half-lemons; those on skewers are dished flat with the same garnish.

Large smelts may be treated after the recipes immediately following.

[1003—ÉPERLANS A L’ANGLAISE]

Open the smelts down the back and carefully bone, without disfiguring them. Treat them [à l’anglaise] with fine bread-crumbs, and pat them lightly with the flat of a knife, that the bread-crumbs may adhere well.

[339]
]Cook them in clarified butter; set them on a long hot dish, and besprinkle them with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel (No. [150]).

[1004—ÉPERLANS AU GRATIN]

Proceed as for “Merlans au Gratin” (No. [1018]), but allowing for the difference between the sizes of the two fish, put the smelts in a fiercer oven than the whiting, in order that they may be cooked simultaneously with the formation of the [gratin].

[1005—ÉPERLANS GRILLÉS]

Open them down the back, and remove the bulk of their spine, leaving a small piece only in the region of the tail, and another small piece at the head. Season, dredge, and sprinkle them with melted butter, and grill them quickly.

Set them on a long, hot dish; surround them with slices of lemon and bunches of fried parsley, and serve separately either some half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel, or a sauce suited to grilled fish.

[1006—MOUSSELINES D’ÉPERLANS]

Proceed exactly as for Mousselines de Saumon (No. [797]). To prepare the forcemeat, follow the directions under No. [195]; but note the following changes:—Of the whole quantity of the meat of fish, that of the smelt should only measure one-third; the other two-thirds should be supplied by the sole, dory, or whiting.

The object of this disproportion has already been explained under “Velouté d’Éperlans” (No. [680]). The flesh of the smelt is of a much too decided flavour to be used alone, and when this flavour dominates, it becomes positively disagreeable; hence the need of a fish whose flesh is almost neutral in so far as taste is concerned. But this addition of a fish foreign to the base of the preparation fulfils a double purpose; for, while it effectually weakens the pungency of the smelt’s flesh, it also enables the whole preparation to absorb a much larger quantity of cream, and this last circumstance can only allow of the [mousselines] being lighter and mellower.

[1007—MOUSSE CHAUDE D’ÉPERLANS A LA ROYALE]

Take a Charlotte-mould, of a size in proportion to the number of people to be served, and butter its bottom and sides. Cover the bottom of the mould with a round piece of buttered kitchen paper, and do the same on the sides.

Prepare the required quantity of smelts’ fillets; slightly flatten them in order to break their fibres, and trim them all to the same length and width.

[340]
]Then garnish the bottom of the mould with the fillets of smelt, placing them so that their skin-sides are against the mould. Between each of the fillets set a small strip of truffle, one quarter of the width of the former.

Garnish the sides in the same way, putting a strip of truffle between each; but take care to place the fillets aslant instead of upright. Having thus lined the mould with fillets of smelt and truffle, cover the whole with a layer of [mousseline] forcemeat, one-half inch thick.

Now fill the mould in the following way:—On the layer of forcemeat covering the fillets at the bottom of the mould set as many slices of truffle as will cover it; spread another layer of forcemeat on the truffle, and over that lay, alternately, a sufficient quantity of fillets of smelt and anchovy. Follow with a fresh layer of forcemeat, slices of truffle, &c., until the mould is full, and finish with a layer of forcemeat.

Poach the [mousse] (covered) in a moderate oven, and allow fifty minutes for one prepared in a quart-mould. It is very easy, however, to tell when the [mousse] is done, by simply thrusting a small knife into it; if the blade of the knife withdraws quite clean, the [mousse] is cooked.

As soon as it is ready, turn the mould upside-down on a dish, and raise it a little in order to allow the liquid, which always accumulates in more or less large quantities, to drain away. Soak up this liquid; gently draw off the mould; take off the paper, and remove the froth which may have formed on the fillets by means of a wet brush.

Lay a fine, grooved mushroom on the top of the [mousse]; surround it with mousseline sauce (No. [92]), finished with crayfish butter, and send a sauceboat of the same mousseline sauce to the table with the dish.

N.B.—This [mousse] may also be prepared with fillets of sole, of salmon, or of trout, &c.

[1008—HADDOCK]

Sometimes the fish is grilled, but, after having boned it and removed its fins and the greater part of its belly, it is more often cooked in water or milk, either of which moistening is usually short.

It is plunged in slightly salted boiling water, and then it is moved to the side of the fire to poach, with lid on. Allow about fifteen minutes for a fish weighing one and one-half lbs.

Dish it with a few tablespoonfuls of its cooking-liquor, and, subject to the consumer’s taste, serve some fresh or melted butter separately.

[341]
]When haddock is served at lunch, send to the table with it an egg-sauce and a timbale of potatoes, freshly cooked [à l’anglaise].