Turn out the moulds upon little, round pieces of toast; set these in a circle on a dish, and surround them with a thread of clear poultry velouté. Or the velouté may be sent to the table separately, in a sauceboat.
[458—PRINTANIER MOULDED EGGS]
Butter some hexagonal moulds, and garnish them, [Chartreuse-fashion], with cut-up, cooked vegetables, varying the shades. Break an egg into each mould; season, and poach in a [bain-marie]. Turn out the moulds upon little, round pieces of toast; arrange these in a circle on a dish, and pour in their midst a cream sauce finished by means of a [Printanier] butter with herbs, in the proportion of one oz. of butter to one-quarter pint of sauce.
[459—SCRAMBLED EGGS]
This dish is undoubtedly the finest of all egg-preparations, provided the eggs be not over-cooked, and they be kept soft and creamy.
Scrambled eggs are mostly served in silver timbales, but, in certain cases, they may also be dished in special little [croustades], in little receptacles made from hollowed brioches, or in tartlet-crusts. [179] ]Formerly, it was customary to garnish scrambled eggs served in a silver timbale with small, variously-shaped pieces of toast, or with small scraps of puff-paste, cooked without colouration, and shaped like crescents, lozenges, rings, [palmettes], &c. This method has something to recommend it, and may always be adopted. In old cookery, scrambled eggs were sanctioned only when cooked in a [bain-marie]. This measure certainly ensured their being properly cooked, but it considerably lengthened the procedure. The latter may therefore be shortened by cooking the eggs in the usual way, i.e., in a utensil in direct contact with the fire; but in this case the heat must be moderate, in order that, the process of cooking being progressive and gradual, perfect homogeneity of the particles of the eggs (effecting the smoothness of the preparation) may result.
[460—METHOD OF SCRAMBLING EGGS]
For six eggs, slightly heat one oz. of butter in a thick-bottomed sauté-pan. Add the six eggs, beaten moderately, together with a large pinch of salt and a little pepper; place the pan on a moderate fire, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, taking care to avoid anything in the way of sudden, fierce heat, which, by instantaneously solidifying the egg-molecules, would cause lumps to form in the mass—a thing which, above all, should be guarded against.
When, by cooking, the eggs have acquired the proper consistence, and are still smooth and creamy, take the sauté-pan off the fire, and finish the preparation by means of one and one-half oz. of butter (divided into small quantities) and three tablespoonfuls of cream. Only whisk the eggs to be scrambled when absolutely necessary.
N.B.—Having given the mode of procedure, which is unalterable for scrambled eggs, I shall now pass on, in the following recipes, to the various garnishes suited to this kind of dish. The quantities I give are those required for six scrambled eggs.