478. Braised Beef à la Morlaisienne.
—Procure a rump-piece of beef weighing three pounds, lard it with four large pieces of salt pork, seasoned with a pinch of chopped parsley and a crushed garlic. Lay the beef in a saucepan, with pieces of salt pork or fat at the bottom, add one sliced onion, the round slices of one carrot, one sprig of thyme, and a bay-leaf; season with a pinch of salt and half a pinch of pepper, then cover, and brown it well on both sides for ten minutes. Moisten with half a pint of white broth ([No. 99]) and half a pint of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]), then cook for one hour. When finished, lay it on a dish, garnishing with six stuffed cabbages ([No. 919]). Skim off the fat, strain the gravy, and pour the sauce over, or else serve it in a separate sauce-bowl.
479. Braised Beef à la Mode.
—Lard and prepare a piece of beef weighing three pounds as for the above ([No. 478]). Let it marinate for twelve hours in the juice of half a lemon, with one good pinch of salt, the same quantity of pepper, one sprig of thyme, two bay-leaves, and half a bunch of parsley-roots. Put the meat in a saucepan with half an ounce of butter, and let both sides brown well for ten minutes; take it out and lay it on a dish, then add to the gravy about two tablespoonfuls of flour, stirring it well, and moisten with one quart of broth ([No. 99]), mingling it carefully while the sauce is boiling. Replace the beef in the saucepan with two sliced carrots and twelve small glazed onions ([No. 972]), and cook for one hour, adding a strong bouquet ([No. 254]), a glassful of claret wine, if desired, and a little crushed garlic, also half a pinch of salt, and the third of a pinch of pepper. Serve on a hot dish, skim the fat off the gravy, straining it over. Arrange the carrots and onions in clusters around the dish, and serve.
All braised beef to be prepared exactly the same, only adding different garnishings.
480. Braised Beef à la Providence.
—Braise a piece of beef of three pounds, as for [No. 479], adding a quarter of a cooked cauliflower, half a cupful of flageolet-beans, and a cupful of cooked carrots cut with a vegetable-scoop five minutes before serving. Place the vegetables with the skimmed gravy in a pan, reduce for five minutes. Dress the beef on a hot dish, arrange the vegetables in four heaps, one at each end of the dish and one on each side of it. Pour the gravy over the beef, and serve.
481. Braised Beef à l’Orsini.
—Braise a piece of beef as for [No. 479], serve it on a dish garnished with rice, prepared as follows: with some cold risotto ([No. 1017]) form six balls the size of an egg; roll them in bread crumbs, then dip them in beaten eggs, lard them with half-inch slices of cooked, smoked tongue, and fry in hot fat for three minutes. Serve these round the beef, with its own gravy well skimmed and strained over.