130. White Sauce.—Cut and chop a knuckle of veal, weighing about four pounds, into large dice; also half a pound of lean bacon; 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 bouquet of a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, and six of parsley, 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, will be referred to very often in the receipts.
131. Brown Sauce.—Put two ounces of butter into a stewpan, rub it over the bottom, peel two or three large onions, cut them in thick slices, lay them on the bottom, cut into small pieces about two pounds of knuckle of veal,[3] all meat, or three pounds if with bone, a quarter of a pound of lean bacon cut small, two cloves, a few peppercorns, a tablespoonful of salt, two bay-leaves, a gill of water; set it on a brisk fire, let it remain ten minutes, when stir it well round, subdue the fire, let it remain a few minutes longer, and stir now and then until it has a nice brown color; fill your pan with three quarts of water; when boiling, set it on the corner of the stove, with the lid three parts on the saucepan; when boiling, skim fat and all; after one hour, or one hour and a half simmering, pass it through a sieve into a basin. To make the thickening or roux for it, proceed as follows:—Put two ounces of butter into a pan, which melt on a slow fire, then add three ounces of flour, stir it until getting a thin deep yellow color; this in France is called roux, being very useful in cookery, and will be often referred to in these receipts. This process will take five minutes, when remove from the fire for two minutes to cool, then add at once three and a quarter pints of the above stock, very quickly set it on the fire to boil, remove to corner to simmer, and skim; it ought to be entirely free from grease, and of a light chestnut color.
132. Demi-Glaze—Thin Brown Sauce for Made Dishes.—When I have a small dinner-party, I always, as I told you before, make small quantities of white and brown sauce as above, but this is a nice way of clarifying a brown sauce without much trouble, and makes it a beautiful transparent brown color: but although I have made it quite a study, that each entrée, or made dish for daily use, should make its own sauce, yet I must impress upon you that this sauce is the real key to cooking a good and ceremonious dinner. Put a pint of brown sauce in a middle-sized stewpan, add to it half a pint of broth or consommé, put it on the stove, stir with wooden spoon, let it boil as fast as possible, take the scum off which will rise to the surface, reduce it until it adheres lightly to the spoon, pass it through a sieve or tammy into a basin, stir now and then until cold, to prevent a skin forming on the top, put it by until wanted for use. It will keep for a week in winter, by adding half a gill of white broth every other day, and giving it a boil; the addition of a tablespoonful of tomatos, gives it a beautiful color; use where indicated.
133. Thin Brown Sauce of Mushrooms.—Put twelve tablespoonfuls of thin brown sauce in a small stewpan to boil, then have six or eight small mushrooms well cleaned and washed, chop them fine, and place in sauce, and boil for five minutes; taste if it is to your liking; the addition of a little sugar is an improvement: a little cayenne, if liked, may be introduced. This sauce is good for cutlets, broiled fowl and game, &c.
134. Eschalot Sauce.—Chop fine about a good tablespoonful of eschalot, wash them by placing them in the corner of a napkin, and pouring water over them; press them until dry, put them in a small stewpan with two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, one clove, a little mace; boil two minutes, add ten tablespoonfuls of demi-glaze, boil a little longer, add a little sugar, and serve.