Beat up the yolk of one egg, and add it slowly to a quart of warm milk previously boiled; whisk the milk into the soup; taste for seasoning. Now take the crab meat and heat it in a little boiling water, drain, put it into a hot soup tureen, pour the soup over it and serve.
Bisque of Lobster.—Procure two large live lobsters; chop them up while raw, shells and all; put them into a mortar with three-fourths of a pound of butter, three raw eggs, and one quarter of a pound of cold boiled rice: pound to a paste, moisten with a little water or stock, then set aside. Fry out two slices of bacon fat, add to it one minced onion, a tablespoonful of chopped celery tops, one chopped long red pepper, one sliced carrot, and a quart of stock, boil and pour the whole into a saucepan. Add the lobster and three pints more of stock; boil slowly for two hours; strain, and rub the ingredients through a sieve. Return to the soup; keep it warm, but do not allow it to boil. If too thick, add a little more stock; add salt to taste. Boil one quart of cream; whisk it into the soup; taste again for seasoning; pour it into a hot soup tureen, and send to table.
This soup can be prepared by following receipt for bisque of crab, or it may be prepared by adding boiled lobster to a strong veal stock, and colored red by pounding the coral with butter, and adding this to the soup.
Bouille-abaisse.—Take six pounds of cod-fish; cut it up into small pieces; chop two red onions; put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter; let them brown without burning. Now add the fish and four tablespoonfuls of fine olive-oil, a bruised clove of garlic, two bay leaves, four slices of lemon peeled and quartered, half a pint of Shrewsbury tomato catsup, and half a salt-spoonful of saffron. Add sufficient hot soup stock to cover the whole; boil slowly for half to three-quarters of an hour; skim carefully while boiling; when ready to serve add a tablespoonful of chopped celery tops.
Cauliflower Soup.—Fry half an onion in a very little butter; when it is a light brown add a tablespoonful of minced raw ham and two or three stalks of celery, then add a quart of soup stock; simmer slowly for half an hour. Boil for twenty-five or thirty minutes one medium-sized head of cauliflower in water slightly salted. Strain the contents of the frying-pan into a saucepan, and add one quart more of stock. Drain the cauliflower; rub it through a fine sieve into the stock; boil just once; draw to one side of the fire; taste for seasoning. Now dissolve a teaspoonful of rice flour in half a cupful of cold milk; whisk the soup thoroughly; pour into a hot tureen, and serve.
Chestnut Soup.—Remove the outer peel or coating from twenty-five Italian chestnuts; pour scalding water over them, and rub off the inner coating. Put them into a saucepan with one quart of soup stock, and boil for three-quarters of an hours; drain; rub them through a colander, then through a sieve, with one tablespoonful of cracker dust, or pound to a paste in a mortar; season with salt and pepper; add gradually the stock in which they were boiled; add one pint more of stock; boil once, and draw to one side of the fire.
Beat up the yolks of two raw eggs; add them to one quart of warm milk; whisk the milk into the soup; taste for seasoning; pour into a hot tureen, and send to table with croutons.
Chicken Broth for the Invalid.—Procure a dry-picked Philadelphia roasting chicken; cut it in halves; put one half in the ice box; chop the other half into neat pieces; put it into a small saucepan; add one quart of cold water, a little salt and a leaf of celery; simmer gently for two hours; remove the oily particles thoroughly; strain the broth into a bowl; when cooled a little, serve to the convalescent. Serve the meat with the broth.
Chicken Soup.—Take three young male chickens; cut them up; put them in a saucepan with three quarts of veal stock. (A sliced carrot, one turnip, and one head of celery may be put with them and removed before the soup is thickened.) Let them simmer for an hour. Remove all the white flesh; return the rest of the birds to the soup, and boil gently for two hours. Pour a little of the liquid over a quarter of a pound of bread crumbs, and when they are well soaked put it in a mortar with the white flesh of the birds, and pound the whole to a smooth paste: add a pinch of ground mace, salt, and a little cayenne pepper; press the mixture through a sieve, and boil once more, adding a pint of boiling cream; thicken with a little flour mixed in cold milk; remove the bones, and serve.
Chicken Soup, No. 2.—Cut up one chicken, put into a stewpan two quarts of cold water, a teaspoonful of salt, and one pod of red pepper; when half done add two desert spoonfuls of well washed rice: when thoroughly cooked, remove the bird from the soup, tear a part of the breast into shreds (saving the remainder of the fowl for a salad), and add it to the soup with a wine-glass full of cream.