The Epicurean
By Chas. Ranhofer
An All-Around Cook Book for the Kitchen, Pastry Room, Pantry, Storeroom, and Beverage Room
The opening chapter is on "Table Service," and leads off with the arrangement of the bill of fare, followed with a chapter on wines, including a list of the different wines appropriate for the different courses, and the wines usually called for at dinners of Americans, Frenchmen and Germans, respectively. This is followed by a system of menu-compiling for course dinners ranging from 4 to 36 covers, and stating the time it should take to serve the dinners.
How to lay and decorate the table; the seating of the host and guests; the fixing of the sideboard; the duties of the steward and waiters; dinner table etiquette, the manner of serving the different courses, including wines, and the windup with the tea service are cleverly explained. The French and Russian service are explained and a list is presented of the china, glassware, silver, etc., required for a dinner of twenty-four persons. Next comes valuable information regarding breakfasts, luncheons and suppers.
Note the Diversity of the Contents
There is a table of supplies in which is given the French and English names of the foods and the time of year each is in season. This table includes "fish and shell fish," "poultry," "fruits," "game," "meats," and "vegetables." This is followed with a model market list to show at a glance quantities received, on hand, and needed.
We have so far got to page 24 and we come to "Bills of Fare." These occupy 144 pages and present specimens for breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, buffet or standing suppers, collations, hunting parties, garden parties served ambigue, sit down suppers, and dancing parties, including the refreshments and supper. Every dish is numbered to correspond with a recipe for its preparation in another part of the book, the 3,715 recipes given being all represented in these bills of fare.
Next comes a chapter on "Elementary Methods," in which is taught such information as how to peel almonds, to blanch vegetables, to make paste borders, to prepare bouchées, to braise, bread, carve, mold jellies, make vegetable colors, prepare different style creams, make puff paste, beat up eggs, clean fish, prepare forcemeats and bread stuffing and gelatines, grate cheese, cook icing, prepare jellies, cut fat pork for larding, lard meat, poultry and game, cut lemons, dress meringues, make mince meat, flute mushrooms, stone olives, fix parsley for garnishing, make almond and many other pastes; press meats, gelatines, breasts, sweetbreads, etc., prepare quenelles, clean currants, reduce and strain sauces, prepare rissoles, cut roots with a spoon and with a vegetable cutter; to prepare salpicon; to scald and sieve; the use of spices, aromatics and seasonings for cooking purposes; to cast and color stearine, to strain purees, cook sugar, make tarts; make thickenings for soups, sauces and stews; to line and bake timbale crusts, brush and peel truffles, dress, singe and truss poultry and game for entrees and roasting; make vol-au-vent crust, white stock for meats and vegetables, etc., etc., etc.