PURÉES.
Purées are made with vegetables, but when the flesh or poultry or other birds is mashed through a sieve after being cooked, it is sometimes called a purée also.
The bones of a ham, after the flesh is disposed of, is the most excellent thing you can put with the vegetables to boil them in order to make purées.
One-third of the bones of a middling-sized ham is enough for about a quart of vegetables.
When you have no ham bones, use four ounces of good salt pork, as lean as possible; but never use smoked pork, it gives a disagreeable taste to the purée.
Of Dry Beans, white or colored, Kidney, Lima, or any other kind.—Dry beans must be soaked in cold water, or even in lukewarm water, when in a hurry. According to the nature of the beans, they must be soaked for from six to twenty-four hours.
Soak a quart of beans as directed above; drain and put them in a saucepan with one-third of the bones of a ham, or about four ounces of salt pork; cover with cold water, season with a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, two of parsley, two middling-sized onions, with two cloves stuck in them, and a carrot cut in pieces; when the whole is well cooked, throw away thyme, bay-leaf, onions, and cloves; mash well through a colander all the rest except the bacon.
While mashing them through the colander, wet them with some of the water in which they have boiled, else it would be difficult and long.
When mashed, put them in a saucepan with a little broth or water, salt, and two ounces of butter; stir now and then till the butter is melted and thoroughly mixed with the rest, and it is ready for use. The quantity of broth or water is according to how thick or thin they are wanted. The salt pork is good to eat.
Of Lentils.—It is made in the same way as that of beans, except that they do not require to be soaked more than five or six hours in cold water.
Of Peas (dry or split).—Proceed as for lentils in every particular.
Of Chestnuts.—Remove the skin of a quart of chestnuts and drop them in boiling water, with a little salt. As soon as the under skin comes off easily, take them from the fire, drain, drop them in cold water, and then remove the under or white skin; put them in a saucepan with about one quart of broth, set on the fire and boil gently till well done, and mash through a colander.
Then put the chestnuts, and what is left of the broth, in a saucepan, set on the fire, stir, add a pinch of sugar and an ounce of butter; give one boil, and it is made.
Of Green Peas.—Wash a quart of green peas in cold water, and drain; put two quarts of cold water on the fire in a saucepan, with a little salt, and at the first boil throw the peas in, season with three or four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, two onions, and two cloves, a carrot in slices, salt, and pepper; boil till tender. It may take only two minutes, or it may require half an hour, according to how tender the peas are.
Mash through a colander, and finish like purée of beans, using either broth or water. With broth it is richer and better.
Of Lima Beans.—Proceed for green Limas as for green peas.
Of Sweet Corn.—It is made like that of green peas.
Of Asparagus.—Cut the eatable part of the asparagus in pieces, and proceed as for purée of green peas.
Of Potatoes.—Steam a quart of potatoes, and then mash them well; put them in a saucepan with half a pint of milk, two ounces of butter, and salt; set on the fire, stir now and then, take off and use. It takes about fifteen minutes after being set back on the fire.
Another way.—Proceed as above, using broth or water instead of milk.
Of Jerusalem Artichokes.—Prepared as potatoes.
Of Carrots.—Clean well, and cut in slices, a dozen middling-sized carrots; put them in a stewpan with four ounces of butter, and set on the fire; when about half fried, cover with broth or water; season with half a bay-leaf, a small sprig of thyme, one of parsley, a small onion, and a clove stuck in it; when the whole is well cooked, throw away onion, clove, bay-leaf, and thyme, mash the rest through a colander; then put back on the fire, with a little butter; simmer for about two hours, stirring occasionally, and it is made.
In case it should turn too thick, add broth or water.
The longer they are simmered, the better the taste.
Of Turnips.—Proceed as with carrots in every particular.
Of Celery.—It is always made with turnip-rooted celery. Clean the celery well, wash and cut it in pieces, and prepare as purée of carrots, adding a teaspoonful of sugar.
Of Cauliflowers.—Separate the branches, and throw them in boiling water and salt; boil two minutes and drain. Put them on the fire with broth or water, enough just to cover them, two or three stalks of parsley, and salt to season.
Boil gently till tender; remove the parsley; mash through a colander; put back on the fire with a little butter and white pepper, simmer about ten minutes, stirring now and then the while, and it is ready for use.
Instead of butter, some cream may be added.
Of Pumpkin.—Made exactly the same as that of cauliflowers, after the pumpkin is peeled and cut in pieces.
Of Squash.—Same as pumpkin.
Of Spinach.—Clean the spinach, and cut off the stem; the leaf only is good; wash and drain it; put cold water and a little salt on the fire, and throw the spinach in at the first boil. When tender, drain and drop immediately in cold water; drain again, and then chop it very fine. After being chopped, it may be mashed through a sieve, to have it finer; put it back on the fire without any water at all, and when it gets rather dry, add a little flour; stir and mix; add again a little gravy or good broth; stir, then salt to taste, and it is ready for use.
If the spinach is young and tender, it takes only two or three minutes boiling before chopping it.
From the time it is put back on the fire, it takes about five or six minutes to finish it.
Of Sorrel.—Proceed as with spinach in every particular.
Of Mushrooms.—Clean well and cut in pieces a quart of fresh mushrooms; soak them in cold water, in which you have put the juice of a lemon; drain, and chop them fine. Put a stewpan on the fire, with a piece of butter the size of a duck's egg; when melted, put your mushrooms in; when half fried, add the juice of a lemon, finish frying, then cover with some roux-sauce; let simmer till it becomes rather thick, strain and use.
Of Onions.—Peel, quarter, and blanch for eight minutes, a dozen onions. Drain and put them in a saucepan with four or six ounces of butter, according to the size of the onions; set on a slow fire, stir now and then till well done; then season with salt, a little flour, stir for two minutes to cook the flour, and mix it thoroughly with the rest; take from the fire; add cream, little by little, stirring the while. It does not require much cream to make the purée of a proper thickness. Mash through a sieve or fine colander, add a pinch of sugar, and it is ready for use.
It makes an excellent purée, and is good served with nearly every kind of meat.
Made with white onions, and properly mashed through a sieve, it looks like cream, and is almost as white as snow.
FISH.
The Indians bleed the fish as soon as caught, because the flesh is firmer when cooked.
The Dutch and the French bleed the cod, which accounts for the better quality and whiteness of their cod-fish.
To select.—To be good, fish must be fresh. It is fresh when the eyes are clear, the fins stiff, the gills red, hard to open, and without bad odor.
To clean and prepare for boiling.—The sooner fish is cleaned the better. Cut the belly open, take the inside out, wash well and wipe dry immediately with a clean towel, inside and out. Place the eggs or soft roes inside, and tie with twine. It is then ready to be boiled.
If not cooked as soon as cleaned and prepared, keep it on ice.
To clean and prepare for baking, frying, roasting, and to cut in pieces, etc.—Scale the fish well, holding it by the head or tail; cut the belly open and take the inside out; trim off the fins, gills, and tail; wash well inside and out, and wipe dry immediately.
Keep it on ice if not used immediately.
Same Family, or Kind.—We give only one receipt for all the fishes of the same family, or having the same kind of flesh, as they are cooked alike, and require the same spices.
Almost every kind of fish is boiled, broiled, fried, or stewed. Some are better boiled than broiled, others better fried than stewed, etc. With few exceptions, any eatable fish may be cooked in these four ways. Few are roasted.
To know when cooked enough.—It is very difficult, if not entirely impossible, to tell how long it takes to cook fish, as it depends as much on the size, kind, or quality of the fish as on the fire; but as soon as the flesh comes off the bones easily, the fish is cooked; this is very easy to be ascertained with a knife.
To improve.—Clean the fish as for baking, etc., and lay it in a crockery vessel with the following seasonings under and upon it: parsley and onions chopped fine, salt, pepper, thyme, bay-leaves, and vinegar or oil; turn it over occasionally, and leave thus for two or three hours.
To bone.—Slit the fish on one side of the backbone and fins, from head to tail; then run the knife between the bones and the flesh so as to detach the whole side from the rest; do the same for the other side.
For a flounder, or any other flat fish, slit right in the middle of both sides of the fish so as to make four instead of two pieces.
The head, bones, and fins are not used at all, and are left in one piece.
To serve, when boiled.—The fish is placed on a napkin and on a dish or platter, surrounded with parsley, and the sauce served in a saucer.
To skin.—Take hold of the piece of fish by the smaller end, and with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand; run the knife between the flesh and skin, moving the knife to and fro as if you were sawing. Throw away the skin, and the fish is ready for cooking.
If the skin were breaking, as it happens sometimes, take hold of it again, and proceed as before.
To decorate.—Fish may be decorated with jelly, but it is easier and more sightly with craw-fish. The skewers are stuck in the fish as they are in a fillet of beef.
The craw-fish when boiled are red like the lobster, and, besides using them with skewers, some may be placed all around the fish; it is delicate eating as well as sightly. Skewers are never used with fish in vinaigrette, or when the fish is cut in pieces. The craw-fish has only to be boiled before using it for decorating fish.
Shrimps and prawns are used the same as craw-fish.
Oysters are also used, raw or blanched; run the skewer through a large oyster or craw-fish, then through a slice of truffle; again through an oyster, truffle, etc.; through two, three, or more of each, according to the size of the skewer or of the fish.
Fish-kettle.—A fish-kettle must have a double bottom. It is more handy to take the fish off without breaking it, and there is no danger of having it spoiled while cooking. Fish-kettles are found in every house-furnishing store.
Baked.—Clean and prepare the fish, as directed for baking; put it in a baking-pan with salt, pepper, and butter spread all over it; just cover the bottom of the pan with water or broth; place a piece of buttered paper over it and bake. Baste two or three times; take off when done, and serve warm with a sauce.
While the fish is baking you prepare the sauce, put it in a boat, and serve warm with the fish.
A baked fish may be served with its gravy only, adding a few drops of lemon-juice or vinegar, or with any kind of sauce, according to taste.
Balls.—Fish-balls are often called fish-cakes or fish-croquettes. They are generally made with cold fish, but it may be cooked especially to make balls.
Fish, full of bones, like shad, is not fit to make balls; cod is the easiest.
Commence by chopping the flesh very fine, then chop fine also a small piece of onion and fry it with butter (half a middling-sized onion with two ounces of butter are enough for half a pound of fish); when fried stir in it a tablespoonful of flour, and about half a minute after turn the fish in with about a gill of broth or water, salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg; stir till it turns rather thick, which will take two or three minutes; take from the fire, mix two yolks of eggs with it; put back on the fire for about one minute, stirring the while; then add two or three mushrooms or one truffle, or both, chopped fine. Turn the mixture into a dish, spread it, and put it away to cool for two or three hours, or over night.
Before cooking, mix the whole well, the upper part being more dry than that which is under; put it in parts on the paste-board, roll each part to the shape you wish, either round, oval, or flat; the paste-board must be dusted with bread-crumbs or flour to help in handling the mixture, then boil or fry, according to taste.
It may also be baked in cakes.
When fried, they may be dipped in beaten egg, rolled in bread-crumbs, and then fried in hot fat. (See Frying.)
Boiled.—Clean and prepare the fish as directed, and put it in a fish-kettle; cover it with cold water (sea-water is the best); add the following seasonings to a pound of fish: two stalks of parsley, one of tarragon if handy, one tablespoonful of vinegar, and half a middling-sized onion sliced; salt if boiled in fresh water. Set on the fire, and, for a fish weighing two pounds or under, take off at the first boiling—it is done enough. For a fish weighing five pounds, boil five minutes, etc., that is, about one minute for each pound. If it were a thick slice of fish instead of a whole one, weighing two or three pounds, it should be boiled two or three minutes longer, etc., according to thickness.
Broiled.—Slit the fish on the back and clean it; salt and pepper it; have a little melted butter and spread it all over the fish, on both sides, with a brush, and broil it. (See Broiling.)
While the fish is broiling, prepare a maître d'hotel sauce, spread it on the fish as soon as dished, and serve.
It may also be served with anchovy butter.
Fried.—Any small fish of the size of a smelt, or smaller, is better fried than prepared in any other way.
Clean and prepare the fish as directed, wipe it dry. Dip it in milk, place in a colander for five minutes, then roll in flour, and fry. It may also be fried just rolled in flour.
Another way.—When wiped dry, dip in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs, and fry.
Another.—When wiped dry, dip the fish in butter, and fry. Then the fish is dropped in hot fat (see Frying), turned into a colander, salted, and served hot, with fried parsley around or in the middle, according to how the fish is arranged in the dish.
Fry the following as above: carp, tench, frost, bass, perch, black and blue fish, gold, loach, mullet, porgy, weak, flounder, pike, pickerel, smelt, sun, herring, and white-fish of the lakes.
A la Orly.—If it is small fish, like the smelt, it is prepared whole; if the fish is larger, it must be boned and skinned, and cut in pieces about two inches long. Roll the fish, or pieces of fish, slightly in flour; dip it in beaten egg, and roll it again in bread-crumbs; then fry it in hot fat as above.
When fried, serve it with a tomato-sauce.
The fish may be served on a napkin in a dish, and the sauce in a boat or saucer.
Roasted.—The following fishes only are roasted: eel, salmon, shad, pike, turbot.
Clean and prepare as directed, and then tie with twine. Spread salt, pepper, and melted butter (with a brush) all over the fish, and then envelop it in buttered paper; set on the spit and roast. Baste with a little melted butter, and remove the paper about five minutes before it is done.
When on the dish the twine is cut off and removed, and it is served as hot as possible with the following sauces, to which tarragon is added in making them, if handy: caper, Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, piquante, poivrade, and rémolade. A roast fish is served after roast meat.
Another way.—Clean, and cut in slices half an inch thick, or leave entire, as it suits you; skin it well; lay it in a crockery vessel, spread over it some chopped parsley, grated nutmeg, salt, pepper, and two gills of white wine (this is for about three pounds), leave thus two hours; then take the fish only, envelop it in buttered paper, fix it on the spit before a good fire, baste with the wine and seasonings from the crockery dish, and when nearly done take the paper off; finish the cooking, basting the while, and serve with the drippings, to which you may add a little vinegar, sweet-oil, and mustard.
If there is any left, you can serve it cold the next day with an oil-sauce.
Sauté.—Scale, clean, and prepare the fish as directed. For one pound of fish put about one ounce of butter in a frying-pan on the fire, and when melted put the fish in; fry it on both sides, and serve it with a maître d'hotel.
Stewed.—Clean and prepare as directed three pounds of fish, cut it in pieces about two inches long. Put in a fish-kettle four ounces of butter, kneaded with a teaspoonful of flour, and the same of chopped parsley, add two or three mushrooms cut in pieces, salt and pepper, then the fish and a glass of claret wine, or a wine-glass of vinegar; cover with water, set on a good fire, boil gently till cooked; dish the pieces of fish, strain the sauce on them, spread the pieces of mushrooms over, and serve.
Stuffed.—When cleansed, cut out the backbone from the head to within two inches of the tail, and fill its place with the following mixture: soak stale bread in cold water and then squeeze the water out; put one ounce of butter into a saucepan and set it on the fire; as soon as melted, fry in it one middle-sized onion, chopped fine; then add the bread; stir for two minutes, add also salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, two or three tablespoonfuls of broth; stir again two or three minutes; take the pan from the fire, add a yolk of egg, put back on the fire for half a minute, stirring the while, take off again, add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and use. When full, tie the fish with twine; place it in a baking-pan, salt and pepper it; spread a little butter on it also; cover the bottom of the pan with cold water, bake and serve with its gravy.
If there is not gravy enough, or if it has dried away, add a little broth a few minutes before taking from the oven.
Fish au Gratin.—Bone and skin the fish as directed. For a fish weighing about two pounds, spread one ounce of butter on a tin plate or baking-pan, spread over it half an onion, chopped; place the pieces of fish on them; add salt, pepper, a tablespoonful of vinegar or a wine-glass of white wine, and half an ounce of butter; spread over and bake.
While it is baking, put in a small saucepan one ounce of butter, and set it on the fire; when melted, add half a tablespoonful of flour, stir, and, when it is turning yellow, add also about one gill of broth, two tablespoonfuls of meat-gravy, the juice of the fish when baked (if the fish be not done when the time comes to put the juice in the pan, keep the pan in a warm place, and wait), salt, and pepper; boil gently about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Place the fish in a tin or silver dish, spread three or four mushrooms sliced over it; turn the sauce gently over the whole, dust with bread-crumbs; put half an ounce of butter, in four or five pieces, on the whole; bake ten or twelve minutes, and serve in the dish in which it is.
In Matelote.—Every kind of fish is good in matelote, but the following are the best: bass, black-fish, blue-fish, carp, eel, perch, pickerel, pike, porgy, tench, trout, and craw-fish.
A matelote may be made of eels alone, but it is better with eels and one, two, or three other kinds of fish.
Eels tasting of mud are not good. There is a sure way of taking away the muddy taste, but it is a rather expensive one. Boil them a few minutes in claret wine and a little salt, before using them.
Clean, and prepare as directed, one pound of eels, one pound of pike, and one pound of trout, or one pound of any of the fishes named above—in all, three pounds. Cut the fish in pieces about two inches long, fry it slightly with a little butter, and put it away for awhile.
Put four ounces of butter in a saucepan and set it on the fire; when melted, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, stir, and, when the flour is turning rather brown, add also about a quart of broth, a pint of claret, a bunch of seasonings, composed of half a dozen stalks of parsley, two of thyme, two bay-leaves, and two cloves, also salt, pepper, two cloves of garlic, and six button onions; boil gently for about half an hour. Then put the fish in with from six to twelve mushrooms, broth enough to cover the whole, if the broth and wine already in do not cover it; boil gently for about half an hour, or till the fish is cooked, tossing the saucepan now and then; dish the fish; place the mushrooms and onions all over; sprinkle the sauce over it through a strainer, and serve warm. Croutons may be served around.
Another, or Marinière.—Prepare and cut the fish as for the above, but instead of frying it put it in a saucepan, into which you have put previously about half a dozen sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two bay-leaves, two cloves of garlic, twelve small onions, two cloves, salt, and pepper; when the fish is placed over the above seasonings, cover entirely with claret wine. Set the saucepan on a sharp fire, and, as soon as it boils, throw into it a glass of French brandy, set it on fire, and let it burn. It will not burn very long, but enough to give a good taste to it. As soon as it stops burning, knead four ounces of butter with a tablespoonful of flour, and put it in the pan; toss the pan gently now and then till done. It takes about forty minutes with a good fire.
When done, dish the fish carefully, place the mushrooms all over it, the onions all around, strain the sauce over the whole, and serve warm.
Croutons may also be served with the rest; put around the fish one crouton, then an onion, and so on, all around.
Another.—Proceed as for the above, in every particular, except that you cover the fish and seasonings with broth and white wine, half of each, instead of claret. Serve in the same way.
A matelote may be made three or four days in advance, and then warmed in boiling water (bain-marie) just before serving it.
Many prefer a matelote made four days before eating it, and prepared in the following way: When made, put it away to cool as quickly as possible; twenty-four hours after that, warm it in boiling water; cool, and warm again in the same way once a day. If the sauce becomes thick, add a little broth. Serve warm.
Vinaigrette.—Boil a fish as directed, take it from the kettle and let cool; then dish it. Chop fine the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs; do the same with the two whites; chop also a handful of parsley. Put a string of the yolks on both sides of the fish, then along that a string of the whites, and along these a string of the parsley; along the parsley, and about half an inch apart, a string of capers. Cut a lemon in sixteen slices, and in the following way: first split the lemon in two lengthwise, then split again each half in two and lengthwise also; by splitting four times, you have sixteen pieces, resembling somewhat the carpels of oranges. After the first splitting, hold the piece of lemon with the nail of the left thumb, the rind downward, and always split lengthwise and in the middle. Place eight pieces on each side of the dish and along the capers, and serve cold, with stalks of parsley on top of the fish, and also two or three in its mouth.
Serve with it a vinaigrette, in a saucer or boat.
The following fishes, bass, black and blue fish, carp, cat, dory, drum, gar, gurnard, herring, king, lump, mackerel, parr, perch, pickerel, pike, pilot, porgy, roach, rock, scup, sucker, sword, tautog, tench, trout, troutlet, weak, and weaver, after being baked or boiled as directed, may be served with the following sauces: anchovy, caper, génevoise, génoise, au gratin, Hollandaise, Italienne, matelote, tomato, Tartar, and vinaigrette.
It would be perfectly useless to have a receipt for each fish, since the preparation is the same.
The same fishes are also prepared au court bouillon. Clean and prepare about three pounds of fish, as directed for baking, etc. It may be one fish or several, according to size. Place the fish in a fish-kettle, just cover it with cold water and a gill of vinegar, or with half water and half white wine; season with three or four sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, one clove, one onion, half a carrot (in slices), two cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and a little tarragon, if handy. Set on the fire, and boil gently till done. Dish the fish, and serve it warm with a caper or anchovy sauce in a boat, or with currant jelly.
The same—à la Bretonne.—Slit the fish on the back, as for broiling, and clean it. When wiped dry, lay it in a bake-pan in which there is a little melted butter, the inside of the fish under; place thus on a good fire, turn over when done on one side, and, when cooked, spread some maître d'hôtel on it, and serve warm.
The same—aux fines herbes.—Clean and prepare as for baking, etc., and also improve it as directed. Envelop the fish in buttered paper, and also the seasonings in which it has been improved, except the thyme and bay-leaves, broil it, and serve with piquante sauce.
Cod-fish, cusk, haddock, hake, halibut, pollack, and torsk, after being baked or boiled as directed, are served with the following sauces:
Anchovy, Béchamel, caper, cream, egg, Hollandaise, maître d'hôtel, tomato, vinaigrette.