Part 9

Chicken Patties.--Take the breast of a boiled chicken, cut it into dice; use half a pint of the liquor in which it was boiled to make the sauce. Put this broth in a small saucepan with a teaspoonful of lean boiled ham chopped a little (take care there is not a particle of the outside of the ham, or it may impart a smoky flavor); let the ham simmer in the broth while you melt together a tablespoonful of flour and one of butter; when they bubble, and the broth has been boiled down to about one half, strain the latter into a half-pint measure, fill up with cream, and stir this quickly to the flour and butter. When the sauce is thick and smooth, put in the chicken; keep the mixture at boiling-point five minutes, then set the saucepan in another of boiling water, and stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs; only just let them thicken; then remove from the fire, and use for filling the patty cases. A teaspoonful of sherry is often added to the sauce. If this filling is not used while hot, it must be reheated in a double boiler and watched, or the eggs will curdle; or the filling may be prepared and the eggs added after it is reheated.

Bouchées of any kind are simply patties made very small indeed--for this reason the filling is always chopped instead of being cut into dice.

The essence of anchovy mentioned is a most useful sauce for fish, and can be bought at any large grocery.

FOOTNOTES:

XIV.

ENTRÉES.

In an earlier chapter I gave directions for quenelles as an adjunct to soups and for garnishing. Used in this way, they are only a revival of an old French fashion, coarsely imitated in the benighted days of Anglo-Saxon cookery by the English “force-meat balls.” Lately, however, not only are quenelles a great feature in high-class cookery as additions to made dishes, but they are a most fashionable and delicious entrée, and replace with great advantage the too-frequent croquette.

To prepare quenelle meat for entrées.

Mode No. 1.--To make quenelle meat, a mortar is indispensable, as it must be pounded to a pulp that will go through a sieve, and I have known a persevering woman grate the breast of chicken on a large grater, but this is very slow work. Take the white meat from a large, young, uncooked chicken, and remove all skin, fat, and sinew. Melt together over the fire a scant tablespoonful of butter and one of flour; when they are thick and smooth, stir in a gill of boiling water quickly. This should now be a thick paste; put it away to cool. Take half as much butter as you have of chicken, and half the quantity of paste (technically called panada) that you have of butter. Put the paste into a mortar; pound it well; add the butter; pound again till smooth; add the chicken, cut up very small, and pound until the whole forms a smooth pulp. Add one whole egg and the yolks of three, the third of a saltspoonful of white pepper (salt must depend on whether the butter seasons sufficiently). Work all well together, stir in half a gill of thick cream, and pass the whole through a wire sieve. Put the whole on ice to get firm. The quenelles should be about the size of a small egg flattened; shape with two tablespoons dipped in flour. Have ready a frying-pan with boiling water in which is a saltspoonful of salt, lay each quenelle carefully in, and poach for ten minutes. The water must boil very gently. Drain on a sieve; serve with mushroom or tomato sauce. Have a little dried parsley and grated tongue or ham, and scatter alternately on each quenelle.

Mode No. 2.--One pound of lean veal cutlet; pound it thoroughly in a mortar; then rub it through a sieve, or it may be forced (after it is pounded) through a vegetable strainer. Steep a pound of bread crumb in tepid water; wring it in a cloth to get rid of the moisture; put it in a stewpan with a tablespoonful of butter and a pinch of salt. Stir it over the fire until it ceases to stick to the pan and forms a smooth paste. Place it between two plates to cool. This is called bread panada. Put into a mortar twelve ounces of the prepared veal, six ounces of fresh butter, and eight ounces of the panada. Pound all well together; mix in gradually one whole egg, two tablespoonfuls of thick cream, and the yolks of four more eggs, a scant teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter-saltspoonful of pepper. When this is all pounded into a smooth, compact mass, put it into a bowl and place it on ice until required for use. Mould and poach as described in last recipe.

Great care is required in cooking quenelles, as if they are overdone they become tough; ten minutes is enough for those the size of a small egg. Before moulding the whole, poach a small one, break it open, and ascertain if it is smooth, light, yet firm. They should melt in the mouth. If they are at all tough, add a little more cream to the mixture, unless the toughness comes from over-boiling, which you must guard against. Very elaborate quenelles are made with a core of dark meat, made by chopping up ham, tongue, or truffles very fine, and inserting it in the centre while forming the quenelles. Always serve quenelles with tomato, mushroom, or rich Spanish sauce. Dish in a circle, and fill the centre with spinach, green peas, or a macédoine of mixed vegetables.

The mode of preparing all quenelles is by one of the two methods just given, but they may be made of any kind of game, or the backs of hares or rabbits. Quenelles of salmon, lobster, or other fish must of course be served with appropriate fish sauce.

Timbale of Chicken à la Champenois.--Chop a small slice of lean boiled ham, weighing about two ounces, put into a saucepan with four chopped mushrooms, four truffles, and an ounce of butter; stir in a moderate dessertspoonful of corn-starch and half a pint of stock and a gill of sherry; let this slowly simmer until reduced to one half. Skim off the fat, then stir in the finely chopped breast of a large chicken or of two small ones, six small pickled gherkins, a sprig of parsley, and six anchovies which have been soaked in milk. Make all hot over a slow fire, but do not let them boil. Line a mould with light puff-paste, pour the mixture into it, and bake one hour; turn out and serve very hot. Garnish with fried parsley.

Scallops of Chicken à la Périgord.--This dish may conveniently be made when the white meat of chicken is required for other purposes.

Bone the legs of two large chickens; take half a pound of veal, a quarter of a pound of fat salt pork; pound both in a mortar, then pass through a sieve; add to this two tablespoonfuls of minced tongue, six truffles, and half a dozen button mushrooms, the yolks of two eggs, a saltspoonful of salt, and a very little cayenne. Mix well. Stuff the legs of the fowls with this. Sewing them up neatly, wrap each up in buttered paper; put them in a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a carrot, turnip, and small onion cut up; add three quarters of a pint of brown stock. Put the stewpan in the oven, baste well, and cook gently one hour. When cooked, have ready a mound of spinach. Take a very sharp knife, cut the legs in slices so as to make circles like slices of sausage; strain off the gravy. Cook together a dessertspoonful of butter and flour; when they bubble, pour the strained gravy to it, with a gill of sherry and a little salt and pepper; stir till smooth; boil till as thick as cream. Dress the scallops of chicken in a circle round the spinach, pour the sauce round all, and insert bits of truffle and of tongue between the scallops.

Chicken Soufflé.--Pound three ounces of the white meat of cooked chicken as fine as possible; mix with it half a pint of cream and three well beaten eggs, a few button mushrooms finely chopped, a saltspoonful of salt, a sixth of one of pepper, a dust of cayenne, and a speck of powdered mace. Pour the mixture in a well-buttered mould, tie a cloth over it, and steam it half an hour. It must stand quite upright in the steamer. Turn out on a hot dish, and pour any rich brown sauce preferred around it. This soufflé may be made of sweetbreads, or half and half. If individual soufflés are preferred, butter as many dariole moulds as the mixture will fill; lay at the bottom of each something by way of garnish--a little star or disk of tongue or ham for some, of truffle for others, of green gherkin for others--so that when turned out the top of the soufflés will show spots of color. Half fill the moulds, and steam twenty minutes.

Soufflés of all kinds depend for excellence on being served the moment they are ready, and on the steam being kept up all the time they are cooking. When baked the oven must be very steady.

Fritot of Chicken.--Take a cold chicken, cut it into small neat joints, season rather highly with salt and pepper, strew over them a small grated onion (or one very finely chopped), and a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley. Cover them with oil, and then squeeze over them the juice of a lemon. Turn the pieces now and then, and let them remain until they have absorbed the flavor. Meanwhile make a batter of four tablespoonfuls of flour and about eight of milk, or as much as will make a thick smooth batter; stir into it a wineglass of brandy and an egg, the whole beaten to a high froth. Leave this batter in a warm place an hour before using, dip the pieces of chicken into it, and fry in very hot, deep fat. Serve piled high on a dish garnished with fried parsley.

XV.

ENTRÉES.--Continued.

Cigarettes à la Reine.--These are the newest development of the rissole and croquette. They require strict attention to details to secure perfect form. Roll puff-paste a quarter of an inch thick; prick it all over--this is to deaden it; roll it now till it is no thicker than cartridge-paper. Cut it with a sharp knife dipped in flour into strips about two inches and a half wide and about the length of a cigar; lay on each strip a roll of chicken quenelle meat that is very firm, and the roll not thicker than a lady’s slender forefinger; be careful that the meat reaches nearly the whole length of the paste, yet leaves a margin for closing, as the least oozing will spoil the appearance. Moisten the edges of the paste all round with white of egg; fold the paste over half an inch; be very careful to see that it adheres thoroughly; then pinch the ends. Roll them gently with a cool hand on the floured board to round them without pressure, taper off the ends cigar fashion. If they are softening, lay them on a floured plate on ice to get firm; then roll them in egg and very finely sifted cracker meal. You may roll or improve the shape, if there is any irregularity, while crumbing them. Remember what you aim to imitate is a cigar. The great danger for the first time is getting them too large; they must therefore be very slender. Fry in deep fat just as rissoles; serve on a napkin, log-house fashion. These dainties, as will have been seen, have a large amount of butter, and soften in a warm room; they must therefore be made in a cold room, and if set on ice some hours before cooking will be much easier to fry without bending or twisting.

Cigarettes à la Chasseur are, as the name indicates, made of game, in exactly the same way as the last recipe.

Lobster Quenelles.--Prepare with bread panada as directed for quenelle meat. Poach and drain them. Then dish in a circle with thick Hollandaise sauce in the centre and round them.

Chicken, Turtle Fashion.--This requires a pullet or young hen about six months old. Bone the bird; stuff with a force-meat made of four parts minced veal, two parts chopped hard eggs, a half part lean boiled ham, two parts mushrooms, and two parts pâté de foie gras. First make the veal and ham hot in a little butter, then add the mushrooms and foie gras; moisten with stock or mushroom liquor, and gently simmer five minutes. Stir in two beaten yolks of eggs and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Season with a saltspoonful of salt, a quarter one of white pepper, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg, grated. Stuff the fowl with this mixture; sew it up with trussing-needle and string; turn the skin of the neck half over the head, and cut off part of the comb, which gives the appearance of the turtle’s head. Scald and skin four chickens’ feet; cut off the claws, and insert two where the wings ought to be and two in the thighs, so as to look like turtles’ feet. Put in a stewpan a tablespoonful of chopped boiled ham, an onion, and a small carrot cut up, with a tablespoonful of butter; let them brown very slightly, add half a pint of stock, skim it, lay the fowl in this stock, and stew gently for an hour and a half to two hours, or even longer, according to size. When quite tender take up the fowl, cut and remove the string with which it is sewn, lay it on its back on a dish, garnish the breast with sliced truffles cut in fancy shapes, place a crawfish tail to represent the turtle’s tail. When eaten hot serve velouté sauce. This is an excellent dish cold garnished with aspic.

Baked Ravioli.--Four ounces of veal, six ounces of butter, three ounces of lean sausage-meat, a teaspoonful of mixed sweet herbs, a little salt and pepper. Pound all in a mortar; when smooth, pound separately a gill of spinach that has been boiled till just tender without losing color, and a quarter of a pound of cream cheese or rich cottage cheese, which must be squeezed in a cloth to remove all the milk. When smooth, pound all together, and stir in the yolks of two eggs. Make some pastry with half a pound of butter, three quarters of a pound of flour, and the yolks of two eggs; mix stiff, and roll till about as thick as a fifty-cent piece. Cut the paste in two parts. Take a medium-sized biscuit-cutter, mark half as many circles on one half the paste as you wish ravioli. Lay in the centre of each circle a mound of the force-meat--perhaps a large teaspoonful, only be careful to leave a quarter-inch margin all round. Moisten this margin with a camel’s-hair brush dipped in white of egg; lay the second half of the pastry over these mounds; press the cutter on each to trim them, and you have a number of little round patties; press the edges together very well by curving the little finger round them. Have some rich stock boiling in a stewpan; poach the ravioli five minutes. Take them up, drain them well, arrange them in a fire-proof gratin dish, sprinkle them over with grated Parmesan cheese, pour in a very little stock, and bake brown in the oven.

Veal Cutlets à la Primrose.--Take a pound of veal cutlet; cut it up into small cutlets the size of a dollar, and perfectly round. Put two ounces of butter (which has been first melted to let the curd separate) into a saucepan, with three onions, two ounces of bacon cut into small dice, a bouquet of herbs (including bay-leaf). Fry, stirring frequently, for a quarter of an hour, then add a tablespoonful of corn-starch, a dessertspoonful of Tarragon vinegar, and a pint of strong stock. Let all simmer very gently for about one hour. Take up the cutlets, strain the gravy and pour it over them, then sprinkle with a tablespoonful of grated tongue, and the same quantity of parsley dried and crumbled small. Chicken may also be cooked in this way.

Quails à la Lucullus.--This, as its name implies, is a most expensive and luxurious way of serving these dainty birds, yet by management the livers of chickens may be saved a day or two by scalding them, and the opportunity taken when several are required for general use during a week. Bone very carefully six or eight quails. Cut up three ounces of unsmoked bacon, put it in a sauté pan, let it cook five minutes, then add the livers, a shallot sliced, a small bouquet, twelve white peppercorns, six cloves, a saltspoonful of salt. Let all cook carefully ten minutes: nothing must burn or get very brown. When cooked, pound well in a mortar, pass through a sieve, then add three truffles chopped; stuff each quail into shape, butter some paper cases known as “quail cases,” put a quail into each case, a few drops of olive oil on each breast. Then put them in a quick oven for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. For the gravy, put the bones of the quails in a stewpan, add a tablespoonful of glaze and a gill of brown sauce, with one tablespoonful of water. Simmer till the gravy is well flavored from the bones, then strain, and add two tablespoonfuls of chopped truffles and half a gill of sherry. Put one tablespoonful of this sauce over each quail before sending it to the table, after very carefully draining all grease from the quails. These are served in the papers, but rough paper cases may be made to bake them in, and the regular crimped ones set in the oven to get hot just before dishing up. Slip the quails into them after draining.

Quails à la Jubilee.--Bone as many birds as required. Lard them with pork and thin strips of truffles. Stuff them in shape with equal parts of sweetbreads and oysters, sew them up; roll them in buttered paper, and cook in the oven in enough Chablis to cover them. Pound some boiled potatoes and water-cresses together until thoroughly blended; put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan with one of milk; put in the potato, stir round till quite hot; use this to make a border on which to serve the quails. When they have cooked fifteen to twenty minutes, take them up, glaze them (melt glaze in a cup standing in hot water, and brush them over). Lay them on the potato border, and pour into the centre some Spanish sauce with mushrooms in which has been boiled a slice of lemon.