SIMPLIFIED ENTRÉES.
The word entrée is a French culinary term (universally known by the nobility and gentry of Europe), signifying a corner, or made dish, in which sauce is introduced, the importance of which is known in the kitchens of the wealthy as forming the size and magnitude of a dinner. Being considered as the principal dish upon which it is intended to dine well, the wealthy epicure orders his cook to prepare a dinner of four, six, or eight entrées, thus making a criterion for the second course, which, in the opinion of real gourmets, is a secondary consideration of delight, and very often left entirely to the cook. But when a lady of moderate income is consulted, she very properly devotes all her attention, good taste, and economy to the subject.
The entrées, however, which I am here about to describe, are very economical; whilst those entrées of importance, which are so well known for their excellence and unavoidable expense, I have left to those whose means will better afford it, and content myself with here offering to my readers those only with which I would be content in placing before my friends at home.
My readers will find that certain made dishes, instead of being expensive, tend to greater economy. Every ordinary cook might be perfect in roasting and boiling a joint, but quite incapable of making a single made dish to perfection, even from the remains of a joint. In a tradesman’s family it often happens that he dines once or twice a week from a Sunday joint, either in winter or summer; in the last it is partly excusable, but, in the former, hot meat for such an important meal is much more preferable, being more light than cold, and of course digests more freely. To prove the truth of this argument, pickles are continually used with cold meat to invigorate and open the appetite, and facilitate digestion. I would always advise to take a little cold lunch, and a hot late dinner, if circumstances permit, and avoid as much as possible a supper, particularly a late one.
SAUCES.—No. 136. For daily use I avoid making any foundation sauces, but when I want to give a little party at home, I generally previously provide a small quantity of white and brown sauce as follows:
Cut and chop a knuckle of veal, weighing about four pounds, into large dice; butter the bottom of a large stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter, add two onions, a small carrot, a turnip, three cloves, half a blade of mace, a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, and six of parsley tied in a bunch; add a gill of water, place over a sharp fire, stirring round occasionally, until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with whitish glaze, when fill up with three quarts of water, add a good teaspoonful of salt, and let simmer at the corner of the fire an hour and a half, keeping well skimmed, when pass it through a hair sieve into a basin; in another stewpan put a quarter of a pound of butter, with which mix six ounces of flour, stirring over the fire about three minutes, take off, keep stirring until partly cold, when add the stock all at once, continually stirring and boiling for a quarter of an hour; add half a pint of boiling milk, stir a few minutes longer, add a little chopped mushrooms if handy, pass through a hair sieve into a basin, until required for use, stirring it round occasionally until cold; the above being a simplified white sauce.
For a brown sauce I use the same proportion as for the white, but having beef instead of veal for the stock, which must be made brown by placing four large onions cut in halves at the bottom of the stewpan, which must be well buttered, placing the meat over, standing upon the fire, and drawing down to a brown glaze before filling up; the thickening must also be made brown, by stirring a few minutes longer over the fire, and the milk omitted. Sometimes I make both stocks in the same stewpan, pass one half for the white sauce, and put a couple of burnt onions into the remainder, allowing it to simmer an hour longer, when pass and use for a brown sauce.
No. 137. Melted Butter. Put two ounces of butter into a stewpan, with which mix a good teaspoonful of flour, using a wooden spoon, add a saltspoonful of salt, half a one of pepper, a little grated nutmeg, and half a pint of water, stir over the fire until just upon the point of boiling, when take off, add two ounces more butter, and half a tablespoonful of vinegar, keeping it stirred until quite smooth, and the butter well melted, when pass through a hair sieve or tammie if required (you can also use milk instead of water for the above); it is then ready for use. In making melted butter great attention ought to be paid to the above directions, it being almost in daily use.
No. 138. New and Economical Lobster Sauce. Break up a fresh lobster, use the solid flesh for salad or any other purpose, pound the soft part and shell together (in a mortar) very fine, place the whole in a stewpan, cover with a pint of boiling water, place over the fire, and let simmer ten minutes, when pass the liquor through a hair sieve into a basin, and use for making melted butter as in the last, to which add a little cayenne pepper and a piece of anchovy butter (see page 33, Kitchen of the Wealthy) the size of a walnut; if any red spawn in the lobster, pound and mix it with a small piece of fresh butter, and add to the sauce with a little lemon-juice when upon the point of serving; an anchovy pounded with the shells of the lobster would be an improvement; some of the flesh may be served in the sauce.
No. 139. Lobster Sauce à la Crème. Cut up a small lobster into slices, the size of half-crown pieces, put into a stewpan, pound the soft and white part with an ounce of butter, and rub it through a sieve; pour three spoonfuls of melted butter, and two of cream, over the slices in the stewpan, add half a blade of mace, a saltspoonful of salt, a quarter ditto of pepper, and a little cayenne, warm gently, and when upon the point of boiling add the butter and two spoonfuls of thick cream, shake round over the fire until quite hot, when it is ready to serve.
No. 140. Lobster Sauce simplified. Put the slices of lobster as above into a stewpan, with four spoonfuls of milk, add a little salt, pepper, cayenne, two cloves, and a quarter of a blade of mace, let boil, add a piece of butter the size of a walnut, with which you have mixed a little flour, shake round over the fire, and when getting thick, add half a gill of cream; when quite hot it is ready to serve.
No. 141. Shrimp Sauce is very excellent made by pounding half a pint of shrimps with their skins, boiling ten minutes in three parts of a pint of water, finishing as directed for lobster sauce (No. 138), and always serving very hot.
No. 142. Anchovy Sauce is made by adding a spoonful of Harvey sauce and two of essence of anchovy, with a little cayenne, to half a pint of melted butter; shrimps, prawns, or even blanched oysters may be served in it.
No. 143. Oyster Sauce. Put two dozen of oysters into a stewpan with their liquor, and two spoonfuls of water, add six peppercorns, and half a blade of mace, blanch them until just set, drain the oysters upon a sieve, catching the liquor in another stewpan, detach the beards from the oysters, which put again into the liquor, place over the fire; when beginning to simmer, add a piece of butter the size of a walnut, with which you have mixed sufficient flour to form a paste, breaking it in four or five pieces, shake round over the fire, when it thickens add a gill of milk, season with a little cayenne, salt, pepper, and a few drops of essence of anchovies, serve very hot.
Another way. Blanch and save the liquor as above, omitting the water; reduce to half, add eight spoonfuls of melted butter made with milk, season rather high, adding a teaspoonful of Harvey sauce and one of essence of anchovy; it is then ready for use.
No. 144. Caper Sauce. Make half a pint of good melted butter, to which add a tablespoonful of capers and a teaspoonful of their vinegar. Observe, that all fish sauces are better too thick than too thin, the fish being watery, the sauce would not envelope it if too thin.
No. 145. To chop Onions, Herbs, &c. Every practical cook knows how to chop the above ingredients to perfection, but many plain cooks instead of chopping, literally smash them with their knives, thus losing the succulence and flavour, which becomes absorbed by the wood they are smashed upon.
For onions, peel, and cut in halves lengthwise, then with a thin knife cut each half in slices, leaving them jointed at the root; again cut into slices contrarywise, and then from top to bottom, thus having cut it into very small squares; then take the knife lightly with the right hand, place two fingers of the left upon the point, and commence chopping, lifting the knife entirely every stroke, not digging the point into the board, and pressing heavily upon the handle, as is too commonly the case; when chopped very fine put them into the corner of a clean cloth, which rinse in water to wash them, squeeze quite dry in the cloth, they will be then as white as possible, and quite ready for use. Eschalots are chopped in the same manner, cutting first into small dice, without cutting them in halves.
For parsley or herbs, previously wash very clean, take the stalks in your left hand (when quite dry), pressing upon the leaves with your fingers, holding the knife with your right hand, cutting as fine as possible; chop as directed for the onions. By following the above directions you will be enabled to chop them very fine, scarcely staining the board; the above directions to some may appear superfluous, but the difference made in the flavour of sauces, by their being well or badly chopped, being so great, caused me to make these observations.
No. 146. To make a Colouring or Browning from Sugar. Put two ounces of white powdered sugar into a middling-sized stewpan, which place over a slow fire; when beginning to melt, stir round with a wooden spoon until getting quite black, when set it in a moderate oven upon a trivet about twenty minutes, pour a pint of cold water over, let dissolve, place in a bottle, and use wherever directed in My Kitchen at Home.