No. 90. Stewed Oysters. Blanch and beard the oysters as above, when done, put them with their liquor in a stewpan, with four cloves, a blade of mace, and a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, with a little chopped parsley and cayenne; let simmer a minute, stir in two pats of butter, with which you have mixed half a teaspoonful of flour, let simmer a little longer, lay the oysters in your dish upon a piece of toast, and sauce over.
No. 91. Gratin of Lobsters. Procure a good-sized lobster, cut it in halves, detaching the head from the body, take out all the meat, and save the four shells; cut the meat into dice, then take a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a piece of butter the size of two walnuts, pass them a few minutes over a fire, add a tablespoonful of flour (mix well in), half a pint of milk, stir over the fire, boiling about five minutes, then add the lobster, which season with a little cayenne, salt, chopped parsley, and essence of anchovies; stand it again upon the fire, stirring until boiling, then stir in the yolk of an egg; take off the fire, fill the shells of the lobster, sprinkle bread-crumbs over, put them into the oven about ten minutes, the top requiring to be browned; serve upon a napkin garnished with parsley.
SIMPLE HORS-D’ŒUVRES.
No. 92. Rissoles of Oysters. Prepare two dozen of blanched oysters as directed for escaloped oysters, but cutting each oyster into six pieces, turn it out upon a dish, where leave it until quite cold; then have the trimmings of some puff paste,[25] which roll very thin; put some of the oysters upon it in pieces the size of a walnut, fold them over with the paste, which cut out with a round cutter, giving each the shape of a turnover, egg with a paste brush, and throw them into bread-crumbs, cover well, have ready a stewpan in which there is some very hot lard or white dripping (as for frying fish), in which fry your rissoles of a light brown colour; dress upon a napkin in a plate, garnish with fried parsley, and serve to be handed round the table.
No. 93. Rissoles of Lamb. Cut up about a pound of cooked lamb (the remains of a previous day) into very small dice, with a quarter of a pound of lean cooked ham, then put a teaspoonful of chopped eschalots in a stewpan, with a piece of butter the size of a nut, pass them over the fire a couple of minutes, then stir in a teaspoonful of flour, after which add nearly half a pint of melted butter and the meat; stir it over the fire until it boils, season well with a little pepper and salt, and stir in the yolks of a couple of eggs, put it out upon a dish till cold, and proceed as directed in the last article.
The flesh of any poultry or game may be used exactly the same.
No. 94. Rocambole, or Croquettes of Meat, Game, or Poultry. Make a preparation as above with some description of cold cooked meat, or poultry; when cold divide it into pieces, each rather larger than a walnut, roll them to about two inches and a half in length, have three eggs in a basin well whisked, into which dip them, throw them into bread-crumbs, take them out, well covered, and smooth them by gently patting them with a knife, then dip them into clarified butter, and again into bread-crumbs, smooth them again, and fry them of a light colour in a stewpan of hot lard, and serve precisely the same as for rissoles.
No. 95. Lamb’s Fry. See the other department of this work, page 312; nothing can be more simplified.
REMOVES SIMPLIFIED.
No. 96. Stewed Rump of Beef. Choose a small rump of beef, cut it away from the bone, cut about twenty long pieces of fat bacon, which run through the flesh in a slanting direction, then chop up the bone, place it at the bottom of a large stewpan, with six cloves, three onions, one carrot, a turnip, head of celery, a leek, and a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, then lay in the rump (previously tying it up with string), which just cover with water, add a good handful of salt and two burnt onions, place upon the fire, and when boiling stand it at the corner, let simmer nearly four hours, keeping it skimmed; when done pass part of the stock it was cooked in (keeping the beef hot in the remainder) through a hair sieve into a basin; in another stewpan have ready a quarter of a pound of butter, melt it over the fire, add six ounces of flour, mix well together, stirring over the fire until becoming a little brownish, take off, and when cold add two quarts of the stock, stir it over the fire until it boils, then have four carrots, four turnips (cut into small pieces with cutters), and forty button onions peeled, put them into the sauce, when again boiling draw it to the corner, where let simmer until tender, keeping it skimmed, add a little powdered sugar and a bunch of parsley; if it should become too thick add a little more of the stock, dress the beef upon a dish, sauce round and serve.