To Melt Butter, the French Sauce Blanche.
Break ¼ lb. of good butter in small pieces, into a saucepan, with 3 table-spoonsful of sweet cream, or milk, milk and water, or water alone; dredge fine dried flour over, hold the saucepan over the fire, toss it quickly round (always one way) while the butter melts, and becomes as thick as very thick cream; let it just boil, turn the saucepan quickly, and it is done.
Butter for oysters, shrimps, lobsters, eggs, or any thickening ingredient, should be made rather thin, and if to be rich, a great proportion of cream. If for catsup or any flavouring ingredient, melt the butter with water only, and stir the ingredients in, by degrees, just before you serve it.
To Brown Butter.
Toss a lump of butter in a frying-pan, over the fire, till it becomes brown. Skim, then dredge browned flour over, stir round with a spoon till it boils; it ought to be quite smooth. This, adding cayenne, and some flavouring vinegar, is a good fish sauce.
Parsley and Butter, or Maitre d'Hotel Sauce.
Tie the parsley in a bunch, and boil it in salt and water, 5 or 10 minutes, according to its age, drain it, cut off the stalks, mince very fine, and stir it into melted butter.
Fennel, basil, burnet, cress, chervil, and tarragon the same. When you have not the fresh vegetable, boil celery or parsley seeds in the water to be used with the butter.
Ham Extract.
Cut away all skin and the fat of an undressed ham; cut out the bone, and put it into a large saucepan, with 3 quarts of water, 2 large carrots, 3 onions (2 in slices), a bunch of sweet basil and parsley, 3 cloves, and a table-spoonful of mushroom powder: let this simmer by the fire two hours; stirring up the vegetables from time to time; then take out the bone, put in the meat, and stew it 3 hours, or till the liquor, when strained and cold, is a jelly. A table-spoonful will flavour a tureenful of soup, and half the quantity in melted butter, is good sauce for poultry and game. Also good in veal and chicken pie.