SUPPLEMENT.
1358. Lobster à la Rushmore.
—Select three fine, fresh lobsters, each weighing two pounds; boil them in salted water for ten minutes, then take them out and put to cool for eighteen minutes. Pick out all the meat, leaving the main body-shells intact for further use. Mince up the tail-parts, coral, and claws into pieces a quarter of an inch thick by three quarters of an inch wide. Put a sautoire containing half an ounce of fresh butter on the hot stove; chop up very fine one good-sized, sound shallot, add it to the butter in the pan, also the minced lobster, and season with a light pinch of salt, a light saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, and half a glassful of good white wine; let the whole reduce for ten minutes, stirring it meanwhile with a wooden spoon. Add one tablespoonful of tomato sauce ([No. 205]), four tablespoonfuls of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), and six mushroom-stalks chopped up very fine. Let cook well for ten minutes longer, then set the sautoire on the corner of the stove to keep warm. Take the three main shells of the lobsters, split them evenly in two, lengthwise, pare the ends off neatly, wash them thoroughly, and wipe them dry. These shells should not be longer than four and a half inches. Fill the six shells with the prepared lobster, lay two mushroom heads on top of each, put them on a tin plate and pour over the remainder of the sauce in the sautoire. Set them in the hot oven to bake for five minutes, then remove and dress them on a hot dish with a folded napkin, and send to the table.
1359. Raw Hamburg Steak.
—Chop up two pounds of beef the same as for cooked Hamburg steak ([No. 526]), only selecting more tender pieces, and return it to the machine two or three times so as to have it finer. Season with one large pinch of salt, half a pinch of pepper, and the third of a pinch of nutmeg. Place the meat on a dish, divide it into six small, flattened steaks, and throw a raw egg yolk over each one; garnish with two shallots, one tablespoonful of parsley, the same quantity of capers, and three anchovies, all finely minced, and arranged in clusters around the dish.
1360. Mignons of Lamb, Sauce Béarnaise.
—Procure a fine, tender leg of lamb, bone it with a sharp knife so as to detach the meat from the knuckle, beginning from the hip-side downwards. Cut out from this six even pieces or steaks, one inch thick by two and a half in diameter, pare them nicely, and with a small, keen knife remove any sinews that are liable to adhere to the meat. Lay them on a cold dish, and season with a good pinch of salt and a light pinch of pepper, and roll them well, so that the seasoning be equally distributed. Put half an ounce of good butter in a frying-pan, set it on a brisk fire, and add the pieces, or mignons, immediately, being careful that they do not lay one on top of the other, and cook them very briskly for two and a half minutes on each side. Prepare half a pint of Béarnaise sauce ([No. 166]), pour it on a hot serving-dish, dress the six mignons nicely over, one overlapping the other, and send to the table immediately.
Any lamb that may be left over after cutting off the mignons can be utilized for minced lamb, soup, or any other purpose desired.
1361. Hind-quarter of Spring Lamb.
—Procure a medium-sized, fine, white hind-quarter of lamb; pare it neatly, trim the small handle-bone, and fold the flank over the ribs, to prevent them being overdone; that means that the leg and ribs will be equally cooked the same length of time. Tie it well together, then season with one and a half pinches of salt divided evenly, and envelop it well in its caul or leaf-fat; lay it in a roasting-pan, pouring in one tablespoonful of broth or water, then place it in a moderate oven, and let roast for one hour, basting it occasionally with its own dripping. Take it from the oven, remove the caul, untie, and dress it on a hot dish, adjusting a neat paper ruffle to the handle-bone. Skim the fat from off the gravy, strain the latter over the lamb and serve.
1362. Chicken, Sauté à la Ch. C. Delmonico.
—Select from a good poultry-dealer two fine, tender Philadelphia spring-chickens weighing two pounds each. Singe them over a little alcohol poured onto a plate, draw the entrails, wash well the interiors, then wipe them dry with a clean cloth. Cut each chicken into six pieces, place them in a sautoire with two tablespoonfuls of sweet oil, season with a good pinch of salt and one pinch of pepper, then set the sautoire on a very brisk fire, and let cook until the pieces assume a good, light brown color (ten minutes will suffice), stirring them lightly in the meanwhile. Chop up very fine one sound shallot; cut one green pepper into small, dice-shaped pieces, also the end part only of a medium-sized, peeled carrot; place all these with the chickens, and let cook together for one minute and a half, then add one glassful of good white wine, and let the liquid reduce to one-half, which will take ten minutes on a brisk fire, stirring it occasionally. Now add one gill of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), a tablespoonful of tomato sauce ([No. 205]), the juice of a good-sized, very sound lemon, and a quarter of an ounce of fresh butter; let all cook for ten minutes longer, stirring it lightly with a spoon. Plunge three canned artichoke-bottoms into very hot water, lift them up immediately with a skimmer, wipe them thoroughly dry with a napkin, then cut each one into four quarters; slice three medium-sized truffles very fine, and add all these to the chickens two minutes before serving. Dress the chickens and sauce on a very hot serving-dish, adjust paper ruffles to the ends of the four legs; garnish the dish artistically with the artichokes star-shaped. Place a slice of truffle on the centre of each artichoke, and a very small, round slice of Spanish sweet pepper on top of each truffle, and send to the table very hot.
1363. Chicken, Sauté à la Ranhofer.
—Select two fine, tender chickens weighing two pounds each; singe them well, draw the entrails, wash thoroughly, and wipe very dry; then cut each chicken into six pieces, and season them with a good pinch of salt and a light pinch of pepper. Place the pieces of chicken in a sautoire with three quarters of an ounce of good butter and half a tablespoonful of sweet oil, and set it on a very hot stove. Chop up one shallot very fine, and one sound, green pepper cut in small, dice-shaped pieces; when the chickens are of a light brown color, add the shallot and pepper, and stir well for one minute; then add a wine-glassful of good white wine, and let reduce to one quarter, which will take six minutes. Pour in one gill of tomato sauce ([No. 205]) and one and a half gills of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), and let cook rather slowly for ten minutes longer, stirring it occasionally. Dress the chickens and sauce on a very hot serving-dish, adjust paper ruffles on the ends of the four legs, and decorate the dish with the following garnishing: take six canned artichoke-bottoms, spread a tablespoonful of Duxelle ([No. 215]) in the centre of each one; empty the interiors of six fine, sound, medium-sized green peppers, cooked in the oven for five minutes, stuff them with Duxelle garnishing ([No. 189]), and arrange them on top of the artichokes, their thin part uppermost, so as to give them a pyramidal shape; then lay them on a buttered tin plate or dish, and set them in a slow oven to bake for five minutes; remove them, but while they are baking cut out six round pieces of fresh bread, half an inch thick by two and a half inches in diameter; place them on a hot stove in a frying-pan with half a tablespoonful of butter, and let get a light brown color for two minutes. Arrange the six artichokes and peppers on top of the pieces of bread, garnish the dish nicely, and send to the table at once.
1364. Filets Mignons à la Lorillard.
—After preparing six timbales as described below, and when removed from the oven, have ready six fine filets mignons as for [No. 509], and serve with the following garnishing and sauce: take six small timbale-molds, measuring one and three quarter inches in diameter and two inches deep; butter well the insides, and set them in the ice-box to get thoroughly cold. Have one medium-sized, cooked carrot, also one cooked turnip; cut them both with a tube a quarter of an inch in diameter by one inch long; have also half a medium-sized, fine, white cabbage, and trim the outer leaves neatly. Put into a stewpan one ounce of salt pork cut into small dice-shaped pieces; add the cabbage, and season with half a pinch of pepper; set the pan on a rather slow fire, cover it tightly, and let cook slowly for thirty minutes, without removing the lid; during this time decorate the six cold timbales by laying a slice of truffle, half an inch in diameter, at the bottom of each, and just in the centre, and with the aid of a larding-needle arrange a row of cooked green peas around this, then decorate half the interior of each timbale with half the prepared carrots and turnips, using the utmost care, and keeping them inclining slightly toward the right, and the other half inclining toward the left. Fill up the timbales with the cooked cabbage, using a spoon to press it in gently, so that they are filled entirely as far as the top. Put them on a roasting-pan, filling it with hot water to half the height of the timbales, then place them in a hot oven, and heat from three and a half to four minutes. Take them from the oven, and leave the pan on the corner of the stove to keep warm. Cut an oval-shaped slice from an American loaf of bread, one inch in thickness, pare the edges neatly, then butter it lightly, and place it in the oven on a tin plate to get a light brown color; two minutes will be sufficient for this; lay it on a very hot dish, and dress the six filets mignons on top of the bread croustade, each one lengthwise and slightly overlapping one another, and so on until all are used. Pour over the mignons half a pint of hot Colbert sauce ([No. 190]), to which add whatever parings or pieces of truffle remain, one minute before using; then with a towel remove the timbales from the pan, one after the other, turn them upside down, unmold, and with these decorate the dish, placing one at each end and two on each side, then send to the table immediately.
It would be advisable to prepare and cook the fillets after the timbales are removed from the oven.
1365. Flageolets Sautés au Beurre.
—Take three quarters of a quart can of fine, French flageolet beans, parboil them in boiling and lightly salted water for one and a half minutes, then drain them on a colander, and place them immediately in a saucepan on the hot stove with an ounce of good butter; season with a teaspoonful of salt, and shuffle lightly with a wooden spoon while cooking for three minutes, and when serving, add half a teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley. Dress them on a hot dish, and serve.
1366. Eggs à la Post.
—Wash and scrape neatly one good-sized, sound carrot, then, with a vegetable-scoop, scoop out twelve round pieces; place them in a sautoire with one gill of white broth ([No. 99]), and a teaspoonful of good butter. Cook them on the hot range for twenty minutes.
Place twelve fine, sound, roasted, and shelled Italian chestnuts into the sautoire with the carrots, let come to a boil. Remove all the skin from two uncooked sausages. Make twelve equal balls out of it, place on a tin plate, and bake in the hot oven four minutes. Remove, and add them to the carrots and chestnuts. Season with a light pinch of salt and the third of a saltspoonful of red pepper; add one gill of Madeira sauce ([No. 185]). Cook for two minutes longer. Have a silver dish sufficiently large to contain twelve eggs so that they do not touch one another. Place in the centre of the dish half a pint of hot purée of chestnuts ([No. 131]), then arrange twelve fried eggs over the purée prepared the same as in [No. 412]. Carefully and equally divide in clusters around the dish, the carrots, chestnuts, and sausage balls, then pour the sauce around the eggs with a spoon, but none over the eggs. Place on top of each egg one thin slice of truffle cut with a tube. Place in the hot oven to heat for one minute. Take from out the oven, and serve.
1367. Oysters Fried à la Arthur Sullivan.
—Carefully open thirty large, fine, fresh box-oysters; place them in a saucepan with their own juice, season with the third of a saltspoonful of red pepper, adding half a medium-sized fine, sound lemon, cut into thin slices, one sprig of thyme, a small bay-leaf, and a branch of well-washed parsley. Place on the hot range, and heat up very fast without boiling, for which, on a very brisk fire, it should be done in one minute and a quarter; then place the whole in an earthen bowl to cool.
Beat up one raw egg in a bowl with one gill of cold milk, seasoned with a light pinch of pepper and a light pinch of salt; steep the oysters in this, one by one, then lightly roll them in cracker-dust; give them a nice even shape in the palm of the hand, and lay them on a dish. Heat up thoroughly in a frying-pan on the hot range one gill of clarified butter and half a gill of olive oil (it must be very hot before placing in the oysters), and fry them for one minute on each side. Remove them with a skimmer, dress on a hot dish with a folded napkin, and serve with the following sauce separately:
Strain the juice of the oysters into a saucepan, and reduce it to one half on the hot range, with half a saltspoonful of red pepper, adding also the juice of half a sound lemon and a gill of sauce Espagnole ([No. 151]). Cook for three minutes, add a teaspoonful of chopped chives, pour it into a sauce-bowl, and send to the table.
1368. Lobster Salad à la Boardman.
—Split lengthwise two very fine medium-sized, freshly boiled, and cooled lobsters, pick all the meat out from the shells, as well as from the cracked claws, suppress both intestines and pouch. Cut the meat into very small, equal, square pieces, and place them in a salad-bowl. Finely chop up, as fine as hashed potatoes, three hard-boiled eggs; add them to the lobster. Peel and chop, also very fine, two small, sound shallots, and add to the lobster, with one and a half teaspoonfuls of very fine freshly chopped chives and one and a half teaspoonfuls of finely chopped parsley. Chop also, very fine, one root of thoroughly pared and well-cleaned sound celery (using nothing but the perfect white), add it to the lobster. Season with a light tablespoonful and a half of salt, a teaspoonful and a half of fresh, finely crushed white pepper, half a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoonful and a half of olive oil, two tablespoonfuls of very good white vinegar. Mix well, then add three tablespoonfuls of freshly made mayonnaise sauce ([No. 206]). Gently but thoroughly mix the whole well together; wipe neatly the edges of the salad-bowl with a napkin. Plant right in the centre a branch of parsley-greens, and send to the table.
1369. Game Pie à la Levi P. Morton.
—Take one fine partridge, one grouse, and one medium-sized rabbit; pick, draw, and singe well. Thoroughly bone them. Place the fillets in a saucepan with one tablespoonful of clarified butter. Season with one pinch of salt, half a pinch of pepper, and a quarter of a pinch of thyme. Cook on a brisk fire for one minute on each side; then add half a glassful of good Madeira wine, and reduce to one half, which will take five minutes. Place in a bowl and let thoroughly cool. Chop up the bones into fine pieces; place them in a saucepan with one medium-sized, sound onion cut into slices, a small carrot cut the same, one bay-leaf, three cloves, twelve whole peppers, and a blade of thyme. Cook all together with one ounce of butter until it has obtained a light brown color; then add one glassful of Madeira wine, half a medium-sized, sound lemon cut in slices, one quart of white broth ([No. 99]), and two ounces of gelatine. Let cook one hour. Then strain through a napkin or a fine sieve into a china bowl, and lay aside to thoroughly cool. Chop up very fine a quarter of a pound of lean, raw veal, a quarter of a pound of fresh pork, and six ounces of larding-pork. Season with one good pinch of salt and half a pinch of pepper. Cut into dice-shaped pieces eight truffles, three ounces of cooked smoked beef-tongue; mix well together, and it will be ready for use. Knead well together, on a marble table, wooden board, or in a vessel, half a pound of flour with four ounces of butter, then gradually add a gill of cold water, mixing well until it is a perfect dough, for five minutes at least without ceasing. Then place it in a cool place, and let rest ten minutes before using. Lightly butter the interior of an oval-shaped mold ten inches in length, six inches wide, and four and a half high. Place the mold in an iron roasting-pan. Roll out three quarters of the dough to one quarter of an inch thick, and with it evenly line the inside of the mold, taking special care not to make any holes in the dough. Cut some very thin slices of larding-pork, and line the dough all around with it. Then place one layer of the forcemeat and one layer of the game, and so on, until all is used. Make a hole with a teaspoon right in the centre down to half the depth of the patty (pâté). Roll out the other quarter of dough to the same thickness, quarter of an inch; cut a cover out oval-shaped, and with it cover the pâté, making a small hole in the centre to connect with the other. Decorate the surface with leaves made out of the dough, glaze it with the yolk of one fresh egg and half a gill of cold water. Place in a moderate oven to cook for two hours. Remove from the oven. Put away in the ice-box for six hours. Take the pie from the ice-box, melt the prepared jelly, and then fill the game-pie through the hole in the centre; then return it to the ice-box, and let thoroughly cool for at least two hours, and it will be ready to serve. N. B.—The jelly should never be poured into the pie until it is perfectly cooled off.
1370. Plombière à la Hamilton.
—Beat up one and a half pints of sweet cream as in [No. 1254]. Let it rest for half an hour. Neatly pick one and a half pints of sound, ripe strawberries; carefully wash them in cold water, then drain them on a colander. Transfer the whipped cream into another vessel with a skimmer. Briskly beat the cream again for two minutes. Mix in three ounces of powdered sugar, one teaspoonful of vanilla flavor, and half a gill of cognac. Mix the whole well together for one minute longer. Remove the wire whip, add the prepared strawberries, and with the aid of a wooden spoon gently mix for one minute. Pour the preparation into a well-cleaned, two-quart freezer, cover, and lay it into a pail; fill the pail all around with broken ice (but no rock-salt), and let freeze for one hour. Have a fruit-stand ready, then with an ice-cream spoon dress the plombière on the stand, giving a dome shape, and immediately send to the table. The above makes a delicious dessert, also, when served without being frozen.
1371. Tutti-frutti à la Gen. Harrison.
—Line the interior of a three-pint melon-form with a pint of vanilla ice-cream ([No. 1271]). Cut four ounces of candied apricots into small pieces, also four ounces of candied cherries into halves. Mix these together. Evenly spread half the quantity of the fruits all around the ice-cream in the form. Carefully arrange a pint of raspberry water-ice ([No. 1281]) evenly around the fruits. Spread the balance of the fruits all around the water-ice; then fill the form with a pint of pistache ice-cream ([No. 1275]). Tightly cover the form. Lay it in a pail with a layer of broken ice and rock-salt at the bottom, and then fill up to the surface with the same. Let freeze for one and a half hours. Unmold the tutti-frutti; dress on a glass stand, and serve with the following sauce: put in a vessel a pint of whipped cream ([No. 1254]) with two ounces of powdered sugar and a gill of maraschino. Beat the whole well together for two minutes. Pour it over the tutti-frutti, and immediately send to the table.
1372. Frogs’ Legs à la Merrill.
—Neatly pare off the claws of half a pound of very fine, fat, fresh frogs’ legs. Cut them into pieces at each joint. Place them in a saucepan on the hot range, with half an ounce of very good butter. Season with one pinch of salt and half a saltspoonful of red pepper. Cook on a brisk fire for five minutes, then add a wineglassful of Madeira wine, with two finely minced truffles; reduce for three minutes. Crack into a bowl three egg yolks, add to it half a pint of sweet cream, beat well together one minute, pour it into the pan with the frogs, then gently shuffle the pan in opposite directions until the sauce thickens, which will take two minutes and a half. Pour into a hot soup-tureen, and serve.
1373. Strawberries.
—After selecting and thoroughly washing the berries, fill the cans and cover with a twenty-five-degree syrup, seal up, and cook five minutes. Open the vent, to let hot air out, about one minute, then close the vent and put away. The best berries are in market between June 7 and 14.
1374. Pineapple.
—The best pineapples (the sugar-loaf) come to market between June 15 and July 15. After selecting the ripest fruit, pare and cut all the eyes out, take the core out, cut in slices, and fill cans; cover with a twenty-five-degree syrup; seal up and cook twenty minutes. Open vent to let hot air out, close, and put away.
1375. Asparagus.
—The best asparagus for canning is the Colossal, from Monmouth County, New Jersey, and the best time from May 12 to June 12. After selecting the large, perfect spears, wash thoroughly, then scald about ten minutes, and after filling the cans full, cover with a light salt water, and seal the cans up, leaving the vent open; then cook ten minutes; then close the vent and cook two and one half hours. Open vent to let the gas out, and close it again.
1376. Rhubarb, or Pie-plant.
—After peeling and cutting the rhubarb in pieces about one inch long, fill cans and cover with a light syrup, seal up, and boil five minutes; open vent to let the air out, close, and put away. The best time is from May 20 to June 1.
1377. Cherries.
—The best cherry, the white Ox-heart, ripens between June 20 and July 1. Select the fruit, fill cans, and cover with a twenty-five-degree syrup, seal up, cook fifteen minutes, open vent, close, and put away.
1378. Gooseberries.
—Select the berries when green, between June 17 and July 1. After filling the cans, cover with a light syrup, seal up, and bathe five minutes; open vent, close, and put away.
1379. Currant Jelly.
—The best jelly can only be made before the currants are fully ripe—between June 25 and July 3. After scalding the currants well, press them through a flannel bag, and while the juice is hot, boil six or seven pounds of the best crushed sugar with one gallon of juice, watching closely until it attains the proper consistency; then pour in molds to cool.
Another way to make a very delicate jelly is to boil one gallon of juice about ten minutes, and while boiling hot stir in eight pounds of granulated sugar, and keep stirring until all dissolved, then pour into molds.
1380. Raspberries.
—The best time is between July 5 and 15, and proceed same as strawberries.
1381. Blackberries and Whortleberries
between July 15 and August 15. After carefully washing the berries, put on any degree of syrup you wish, as this fruit will make pies or do for the table. Seal up, and cook eight minutes; open vent, close, and put away.
1382. Peas, Corn, and Lima Beans
are so hard to keep that it is impossible for a family to put them up. They require a greater heat than boiling water, and have to be cooked in a super-heated steam chest.
1383. Egg-plums and Green-gages
are best when nearly ripe—between August 15 and September 1. After filling cans cover with a twenty-five-degree syrup and cook ten minutes, then open the vents, close and put away.
1384. Tomatoes.
—Between August 15 and September 15, select thoroughly ripe tomatoes, scald them about two minutes in hot water, so that the skin will peel off very thin to leave the perfect shape of the fruit; then fill the cans as full as you can press them in; seal them and cook twenty minutes, then put away.
1385. Peaches and Bartlett Pears.
—Last of August to last of September, select ripe fruit; pare carefully; fill cans and cover with a twenty-five-degree syrup; seal up, cook twenty minutes, then open vent, close and put away.
1386. String Beans
are best in October. Select the small refugee beans; after taking strings off, wash and scald well; then fill cans with whole beans, and cover with a light brine. Seal up; cook one half hour, then open vent, close again, and cook three fourths of an hour more, then put away.
1387. Apples.
—Newtown pippins are the best about November 15. Pare and quarter; take cores out; then fill cans and cover with any strength syrup required. Seal up, and cook five minutes, open vent, close and put away.
Six pounds of the best crushed sugar to a gallon of water will make a syrup of twenty to twenty-five degrees.
1388. Tenderloin Broil à la Stanton.
—Prepare three fillets exactly as in [No. 503], and one minute before they are cooked, lightly devil them on both sides; then broil half a minute on each side.
Chop very fine one small, well-peeled, sound shallot, place it in a small saucepan on the hot range with a teaspoonful of butter, fry for one minute; then add half a glassful of good white wine, and reduce to one half. Add one medium-sized, sound pickle, and one sweet pepper cut into small dice-shaped pieces. Season with half a pinch of salt and half a saltspoonful of red pepper; add half a gill of Spanish sauce ([No. 151]). Cook for one minute rather briskly, then pour the sauce on a hot serving-dish, dress the fillets over it; arrange six heart-shaped croûtons ([No. 133]) around the dish, place a slice of truffle on top of each croûton, then a round slice of Spanish sweet pepper, cut with a tube, over each slice of truffle, and send to the table.
1389. Filets Mignons à la Brown.
—Chop very fine one medium-sized, sound, peeled shallot, place it in a small saucepan on the hot range, with a teaspoonful of very good butter; heat well for one minute without browning; add half a wine-glassful of good Madeira wine, boil for two minutes, then add half a teaspoonful of freshly chopped tarragon, one good-sized sweet pepper cut in small dice-shaped pieces, twelve stoned and stuffed olives, six whole mushrooms, and one artichoke-bottom, cut in dice-shape, also a gill of sauce Espagnole ([No. 151]). Season with half a pinch of salt and half a saltspoonful of red pepper. Cook for three minutes and a half, then pour this garnishing on a hot serving-dish. Nicely dress over it six freshly cooked mignons filets as in [No. 509], one overlapping another; decorate the dish with six heart-shaped croûtons ([No. 133]), and serve.
1390. Broiled Grouse à la Pomeroy.
—Prepare and broil three fine, tender grouse, precisely the same as for [No. 854], but one minute before they are cooked, lightly devil them, and then gently broil again for half a minute on each side.
Place in a small saucepan on the hot range one medium-sized, sound, peeled, and finely chopped shallot, with a tablespoonful of good butter; cook for one minute, then add two chopped mushrooms, one chopped pickle; moisten with a tablespoonful of English sauce; add a light teaspoonful of English mustard; mix all well together. Season with half a pinch of salt and half a saltspoonful of red pepper. Cook for one minute and a quarter. Pour the sauce on a hot serving-dish, place the grouse over it, decorate the dish with six slices of broiled bacon ([No. 754]), six thin half slices of lemon; arrange six slices of truffles in the centre of the slices of lemon, and serve very hot.
1391. Mazagran à la General Bugeau.
—This will be found a superior and pleasantly stimulating summer beverage for ladies, as well as for the sterner sex.
Prepare the same quantity of coffee as in [No. 1349]. Have six goblets half filled with clean ice, pour in the coffee, evenly divided; add a pony of good cognac to each glass, mix thoroughly with a teaspoon, and serve.
The above is a delicious and healthful after-dinner summer drink, and is enjoyed in nearly all the large cities of Europe, especially by military men, who prefer it to the usual after-dinner demi-tasse, or “gloria,” as they call it in Paris.
The name is derived from the village of Mazagran, Province d’Oran, Algeria, famous for a long and heroic siege in 1840, wherein one hundred and twenty-three French soldiers were victorious against twelve thousand Arabs.
1392. Mazagran à la Général Dufour.
—The same as above, only substituting a pony of Swiss kirsch instead of cognac.
1393. Smelts à la Van Volkenburgh.
—Wash well, and thoroughly dry, eighteen fine, fresh Long Island smelts. Split them right along the backbone in the centre; remove the backbone of each. Season with a pinch of salt and half a pinch of pepper; sprinkle them with half an ounce of flour, then place them in a pan with one ounce of good butter on the hot range, and fry for two minutes on each side, or until they obtain a good light brown color. Dress them on a hot dish; place in a pan one ounce of good butter, fry it until it becomes of a good nut-brown color; add to it a tablespoonful of vinegar, then pour over the smelts; decorate the dish all around with parsley-greens, and serve.
1394. Tomatoes with Rice à la Watson.
—Wash in cold water six fine, red, sound, equal-sized tomatoes, wipe them dry, then cut off the top of each tomato (keeping them on a plate until needed); remove the seeds of the tomatoes with a vegetable-scoop. Season the inside of each with half a pinch of pepper and half a pinch of salt.
Place them in a well-buttered pan. Place two ounces of well-picked rice in a cup or in a dish, add to it one teaspoonful of melted butter, half a medium-sized, sound, peeled, and finely chopped shallot; season with half a pinch of salt only, mix all well together, then put into each tomato one teaspoonful of rice; place the tops on as a cover, sprinkle a little clarified butter over, and then cover them with a well-buttered paper. Bake them in a moderate oven for thirty minutes.
Thoroughly wash six large, fresh mushrooms. Cut off the stalks, chop up very fine half a sound, peeled shallot, as well as the mushroom stalks, place in a pan with a tablespoonful of good butter and two drops of lemon juice. Season with half a pinch of salt and half a saltspoonful of pepper. Cook five minutes, without browning, then add the mushroom-tops, with half a glassful of Madeira wine; reduce for two minutes; add now half a gill of demi-glace ([No. 185]); let cook for five minutes longer.
Dress the tomatoes on a hot serving-dish, place one head of mushroom on top of each tomato, upside down, pour a little of the sauce over the six mushrooms, and the rest on the dish around the tomatoes; arrange a thin slice of truffle on top of each head of mushroom, and send to the table.