SOUPS.
BEEF SOUP.
The best soup is made of the lean of fine fresh beef. The proportion is four pounds of meat to a gallon of water. It should boil at least six hours. Mutton soup may be made in the same manner.
Put the meat into cold water, with a little salt; set it over a good fire; let it boil slowly but constantly, and skim it well. When no more fat rises to the top, put in what quantity you please of carrots, turnips, leeks, celery, and parsley, all cut into small pieces; add, if you choose, a laurel-leaf, or two or three peach-leaves, a few cloves, and a large burnt onion, to heighten the color of the soup. Grate a large red carrot, and strew it over the top. Then continue to let it boil, gently but steadily, till dinner time. Next to the quantity and quality of the meat, nothing is more necessary to the excellence of soup than to keep the fire moderate, and to see that it is boiling all the time, but not too fast.
Have ready in the tureen some toasted bread, cut into small squares; pour the soup over the bread, passing it through a sieve, so as to strain it thoroughly. Some, however, prefer serving it up with all the vegetables in it.
The soup will be improved by boiling in it the remains of a piece of cold roast beef. Soups made of veal, chickens, &c. are only fit for invalids.
After you have strained out the vegetables, you may put into the soup some vermicelli (allowing two ounces to each quart), and then boil it ten minutes longer.
CONSOMMÉ, OR JELLY SOUP.
Into two quarts of cold water, put four pounds of the lean of the best beef-steaks, and a large fowl cut into pieces, four large carrots, four onions, four leeks, a bunch of sweet herbs (parsley, thyme, sweet marjoram, sweet basil, and chives), tied up with a laurel-leaf, or two peach-leaves, and four cloves; add a little salt and pepper. Boil it gently for eight hours, skimming it well; then strain it.
PEASE SOUP.
Take two quarts of dried split peas, the evening before you intend making the soup, and putting them into lukewarm water, let them soak all night. In the morning, put the peas into a pan or pot with three quarts of cold water, a pound of bacon, and a pound of the lean of fresh beef. Cut up two carrots, two onions, and two heads of celery, and put them into the soup, with a bunch of sweet herbs, and three or four cloves. Boil it slowly five or six hours, till the peas can no longer be distinguished, having lost all shape and form; then strain it, and serve it up.
MACCARONI SOUP.
First make some good beef soup (without any vegetables), and when it is sufficiently boiled, strain it through a sieve. Take some maccaroni, in the proportion of half a pound to two quarts of soup. Boil it in water until it is tender, adding to it a little butter. Then lay it on a sieve to drain, and cut it into small pieces. Throw it into the soup, and boil all together ten minutes or more. Grate some rich cheese over it before you send it to table.
CHESTNUT SOUP.
Having made some beef soup without vegetables, strain it, and put in a pint of peeled chestnuts for each quart of soup. Boil it again till the chestnuts have gone all to pieces, and have become a part of the liquid.
A still better way is, to roast or bake the chestnuts first, (having cut a slit in the shell of each,) then peel them, and throw them into the soup ten minutes before you take it from the fire.
ALMOND SOUP.
Take half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and two ounces of shelled bitter almonds, or peach-kernels. Scald them, to make the skins peel off easily, and when they are blanched, throw them into cold water. Then drain and wipe them dry. Beat them (a few at a time) in a marble mortar, adding as you beat them, a little milk and a little grated lemon-peel.
Have ready two quarts of rich milk, boiled with two sticks of cinnamon and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Stir the almonds gradually into the milk, and let them have one boil up. Prepare some slices of toasted bread, take out a little of the soup and soak them in it. Then lay them in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup over them. Grate on some nutmeg.
LOBSTER SOUP.
Having boiled a large lobster, extract all the meat from the shell. Fry in butter some thin slices of bread, put them into a marble mortar, one at a time, alternately with some of the meat of the lobster, and pound the whole to a paste till it is all done. Then melt some butter in a stew-pan, and put in the mixed bread and lobster. Add a quart of boiling milk, with salt, mace, and nutmeg to your taste. Let the whole stew gently for half an hour.
OYSTER SOUP.
Take two quarts of oysters; drain them, and cut out the hard part. Have ready a dozen eggs, boiled hard; cut them in pieces, and pound them in a mortar alternately with the oysters. Boil the liquor of the oysters with a head of celery cut small, two grated nutmegs, a tea-spoonful of mace, and a tea-spoonful of cloves, with two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and a tea-spoonful of whole pepper. When the liquor has boiled, stir in the pounded eggs and oysters, a little at a time. Give it one more boil, and then serve it up.
Salt oysters will not do for soup.
GREEN PEAS SOUP.
Make a good beef soup, with the proportion of four pounds of lean beef to a gallon of water. Boil it slowly, and skim it well. In another pot boil two quarts of green peas, with a large bunch of mint, a little salt, and three or four lumps of loaf sugar. When they are quite soft, take them out, strain them from the water, and mash them in a cullender till all the pulp drips through. Then stir it into the soup after you have taken it up and strained it. Prepare some toasted bread cut into small squares, lay it in a tureen, and pour the soup over it.
When you toast bread for soups, stews, &c. always cut off the crust.
GRAVIES, OR ESSENCES.
BROWN GRAVY. (Jus.)
Put into a sauce-pan, or skillet, five or six onions, and as many carrots cut into small pieces, with about two pounds of scraps of beef, in which there must be none of the fat. Pour over them a pint of water. Cover the pan, and begin with a brisk fire. When the gravy has become brown, add a little boiling water (or broth if you have it), with a tea-spoonful of salt, three or four cloves, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Diminish the fire, and let the gravy stew gently for an hour and a half. Occasionally prick the meat with a fork, and press it with the back of a spoon to extract its juices. Then strain it through a sieve, and let it stand a while before you use it.
In addition to the beef, you may put in pieces of cold goose, or cold duck.
WHITE GRAVY. (Coulis.)
Butter the bottom of a sauce-pan, and put in two pounds of scraps of veal, and, if you have it at hand, some cold fowl, or cold turkey; add two white onions, and four or five blades of mace; pour over it a pint of boiling water, or broth; cover the pan, and set it over a slow fire for five or six hours, pricking and pressing the meat with a fork and spoon. Strain it through a sieve, and if it is too thin, set it again over the fire, to stew a while longer.
ESSENCE OF GAME.
Take scraps of any kind of game (partridges, pheasants, hares, &c.), and also four calves feet, and a few small pieces of ham. Put them all into a stew-pan, with half a bottle of white wine, two carrots, two onions, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Stew them over a slow fire for four hours, and when they are reduced to a jelly, moisten it with four table-spoonfuls of hot water, or broth, stirred in gently. Strain it through a sieve, and then clear it by stirring in the whites of three eggs slightly beaten.
TO CLARIFY GRAVIES, OR ESSENCES
Having strained your gravy through a sieve, beat slightly the whites of three eggs, and stir them into it. Place it again on the fire, and stir it till it comes to a boil; then take it from the fire, and put it away to settle. Strain it then through a napkin, and you will have a transparent jelly excellent for making fine sauces.
VELOUTÉ, OR VELVET ESSENCE.
Take half a pound of scraps of veal, the same quantity of pieces of fowls, and twelve or fifteen mushrooms; stew them slowly in butter, and then add two onions, half a carrot, and a bunch of sweet herbs cut small, three table-spoonfuls of flour, three of boiling water or broth, and salt, pepper, and nutmeg to your taste. Let it stew an hour and a half, and then strain it.
SAUCES, &c.
When sauces are finished with eggs, use only the yolks, and mix them first with but a spoonful or two of the sauce; mix them off the fire. Set on the pan again for two or three moments, but do not let it boil after the eggs are in.
BECHAMEL.
Put into a sauce-pan a quarter of a pound of butter sprinkled with flour, three or four onions, and a carrot cut small, a little parsley, and a dozen mushrooms. Set it over the fire until the butter is melted, and then add three table-spoonfuls of flour stirred into a pint of cream or rich milk, with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to your taste. Stir it till it boils; then reduce the fire, and let the bechamel stew gently for three quarters of an hour. When it is done, strain it, and then stir in the yolks of three eggs.
ANOTHER BECHAMEL.
Cut into dice, or small square pieces, half a pound of bacon or ham, a carrot, a turnip, and two onions. Put them into a sauce-pan, with two large spoonfuls of veal-dripping; add a little butter (about two ounces), and two large spoonfuls of flour. Moisten it with boiling water, or broth. Add nutmeg, cloves, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper to your taste; also a laurel-leaf. Let it stew for an hour. Strain it, and before you serve it up, squeeze in a little lemon-juice.
DRAWN BUTTER.
Put into a small pan a table-spoonful of flour and a tumbler of water, with salt to your taste, and a little pepper. Stir it till it boils. Then withdraw it from the fire, and add two ounces of butter and a few drops of cold water, with a little lemon-juice, or vinegar. Set it on the stove, or near the fire, and keep it warm till it is wanted.
You may thicken it while boiling with mushrooms, cut small; or after it is done with hard eggs chopped fine, pickled cucumbers chopped, or capers.
MELTED BUTTER—another way.
Put into a sauce-pan a quarter of a pound of butter. When quite melted over the fire, throw in a large spoonful of flour, and add a half pint of boiling water, and salt to your taste. Boil it a few minutes, and then put in a tea-spoonful of cold water. If intended as sauce for a pudding, stir in at the last a glass of white wine, and half a grated nutmeg.
COLD SAUCE FOR FISH.
Cut small, and pound in a mortar, equal proportions of parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives and burnet, with two yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Pass these ingredients through a cullender, and then mix them on a plate with four table-spoonfuls of sweet oil, two of vinegar, and two of mustard. Use a wooden spoon.
SAUCE FOR VEGETABLES—SUCH AS ASPARAGUS, &c.
Take the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs; mash them on a plate with the back of a wooden spoon, and mix them with three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, a shalot or small onion minced fine, and a little salt and Cayenne pepper. Add three table-spoonfuls of olive oil, and mix the whole very well.
PUNGENT SAUCE. (Sauce Piquante.)
Put into a saucepan a half-pint of vinegar, a branch of thyme, two or three sprigs of sweet marjoram, a leaf of laurel, a clove of garlic, a shalot or a little onion, and Cayenne pepper and salt to your taste. Add a glass of broth or gravy. Stew the whole slowly till it is reduced to two thirds of the original quantity: then strain it.
ANCHOVY SAUCE—FOR FISH.
Cut the flesh of three anchovies into small shreds, and steep them in vinegar for half an hour or more. Then mince them fine, and throw them into a saucepan with a little butter rolled in flour. Add pepper and mustard to your taste. Pour in sufficient vinegar to cover it, and let it boil gently for a quarter of an hour. Strain it, and squeeze in a little lemon-juice before you serve it up.
CURRY SAUCE.
Put into a sauce-pan two ounces of butter and a table-spoonful of curry-powder (or of powdered turmeric if more convenient), half a grated nutmeg, half a spoonful of saffron, and two spoonfuls of flour. Add sufficient boiling water or broth to cover it, and let it stew a quarter of an hour. Strain it, stir in a little more butter, and serve it up.
TOMATA SAUCE.
Bake ten tomatas, with pepper and salt, till they become like a marmalade. Then add a little flour or grated bread crumbs, and a little broth or hot water. Stew it gently ten minutes, and before you send it to table add two ounces of butter and let it melt in the sauce.
CUCUMBER SAUCE.
Put into a sauce-pan a piece of butter rolled in flour, some salt, pepper, and one or two pickled cucumbers minced fine. Moisten it with boiling water. Let it stew gently a few minutes, and serve it up.
BREAD SAUCE.
Take four ounces of grated stale bread; pour over it sufficient milk to cover it, and let it soak about three quarters of an hour, or till it becomes incorporated with the milk. Then add a dozen corns of black pepper, a little salt, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Pour on a little more milk, and give it a boil. Serve it up in a sauce-boat, and eat it with roast wild fowl, or roast pig.
Instead of the pepper, you may boil in it a hand full of dried currants, well picked, washed, and floured.
SAUCE ROBERT.
Put into a sauce-pan a quarter of a pound of butter, with a spoonful of flour. Simmer them till of a fine brown color. Mince half a dozen large onions, and a large slice of cold ham. Put them into the pan, with another piece of butter, and a very little broth or warm water. Skim the sauce well, and let it stew gently for twenty minutes. Before you serve it up, stir in a table-spoonful of lemon-juice or vinegar, and a tea-spoonful of mustard. This sauce is used chiefly for fresh pork, or white poultry.
SHALOT OR ONION SAUCE. (Sauce Ravigote.)
Take a handful of sweet herbs and the same quantity of shalots or little onions, and cut them up small. Put them into a sauce-pan, with some vinegar, salt, pepper, and sufficient broth or warm water to cover them. Let them boil gently for a quarter of an hour. Take the sauce from the fire and set it on the stove, or on the hearth, and stir in (till it melts) a piece of butter rolled in flour, or a spoonful of olive oil.
UNIVERSAL SAUCE.
Take a pint of good broth, or a pint of drawn butter. Stir into it a glass of white wine, and half the peel of a lemon grated. Add a laurel leaf, or two or three peach-leaves, and a spoonful of vinegar. Let the mixture simmer on a few coals or on hot ashes, for five or six hours or more, and it will be good to pour over either meat, poultry, or fish, and will keep several days in a cool place.
LOBSTER SAUCE.
The lobster being boiled, extract the meat from the shell, and beat it in a mortar. Rub it through a cullender or sieve, and put it into a sauce-pan with a spoonful of veloutÉ (or velvet essence) if you have it, and one of broth. Mix it well, and add a piece of butter, some salt, and some Cayenne pepper. Stew it ten minutes, and serve it up, to eat with boiled fresh fish.
SPINACH FOR COLORING GREEN.
Take three handfuls of spinach, and pound it in a mortar to extract the juice. Then put it into a sauce-pan and set it over a slow fire. When it is just ready to boil, take it off and strain it. By stirring in a small quantity of spinach-juice, you may give any sauce a green color.
GARLIC BUTTER.
Take two large cloves of garlic and pound them to a paste in a mortar, adding, by degrees, a piece of butter the size of an egg. You may with a little of this butter give the taste of garlic to sauces. Some persons like a piece of garlic butter on the table, to eat with roast meat.
HAZELNUT BUTTER.
Having scalded and blanched some hazelnuts, pound them to a paste in a mortar, adding gradually a small quantity of butter.
This is good to eat with wild fowl, or to flavor the most delicate sauces.
LARDING.
Larding with slips of fat bacon greatly improves the taste and appearance of meat, poultry, game, &c. and is much used in French cookery.
For this purpose, you must have a larding-pin (which may be purchased at the hardware stores); it is a steel instrument about a foot in length, sharp at one end, and cleft at the other into four divisions which are near two inches long, and resembling tweezers.
Bacon is the proper meat to lard with; the fat only is used. Cut it into slips not exceeding two inches in length, half an inch in breadth, and half an inch in thickness, and smaller if intended for poultry; they will diminish in cooking. Put these slips of bacon (one at a time) into the cleft or split end of the larding-pin. Give each slip a slight twist and press it down hard into the pin, with your fingers. Then run the pin through the meat or fowl (avoiding the bones), and when you draw it out on the under side it will have left the slip of bacon sticking in the upper side. Take care to arrange the slips in regular rows and at equal distances; have them all of the same size, and let every one stick up about an inch from the surface of the meat. If any are wrong, take them out and do them over again.
Fowls and birds are generally larded on the breast only. To lard handsomely and neatly, practice and dexterity are requisite.
Cold poultry may be larded with slips of the fat of cold boiled ham, and when not to be cooked again, it may be made to look very tastefully.
The slips for cold poultry should be very small, scarcely thicker than a straw.
