The chafing-dish, although a time-honored utensil, has recently had a renaissance. To-day it is not more valued for the convenience than for the fun of it. Amateurs and epicures alike find pleasure in brewing and stewing over the alcohol lamp; in preparing a luncheon dish, or a novelty for “tea;” but, best of all, at the midnight hour the chafing-dish does its best though most disastrous service, for matutinal headaches have been called the desserts, and just deserts of late suppers.
Kind of chafing-dish to use. The chafing-dish with double pan (the lower one to hold hot water) is the preferable one, because dishes may be kept warm in the hot water, and also because articles cooked with milk are liable to burn if cooked directly over the flame.
For safety from fire and staining, the chafing-dish should stand on a large metal tray, and the lamp should not be filled too full. Wood alcohol, which is much cheaper than high-proof spirits, answers just as well the purpose of heating, but has an unpleasant odor.
Russian bowls. The various articles to be used in the preparation of the dish should be put into Russian bowls, and the bowls placed on a Japanese tray. These bowls are of wood, and are made of all sizes. They do not break, they make no noise, and are ornamental: the last is a consideration which recommends them, other things being equal, where fancy work is being done. The preliminary preparation of the foods should be done in the kitchen, rather than before the party assembled to assist in the cooking operation with their advice, praise, and appetite.
Wooden spoons. Wooden spoons, which come in all sizes, are also desirable to use, as they do not become hot, do not scratch the dish, and are noiseless. Articles prepared in the chafing-dish are served directly from it, therefore garnishing has no part, but toast or croÛtons go well with most of the preparations, and these can be toasted or reheated on an asbestos pad placed over the flame. The water-pan containing hot water should be placed under the cooking-pan as soon as the flame is extinguished. It will keep the dish warm, and serve as a bain-marie (the utensil employed in large kitchens for keeping dishes hot until time for serving). Two chafing-dishes are almost a requisite where no other fire than the lamp is to be called upon, but with this batterie de cuisine a supper can be easily and quickly prepared without one half of it spoiling while the other half is being made ready—the toast and hot water, for instance.
Dishes suitable for chafing-dish. The dishes most suitable for chafing-dish cooking are stews, eggs, and cheese. Stews can be modified in a great variety of ways, the barbecue being a favorite one. The simplest way of cooking in a chafing-dish is to put a little butter in the dish, and when it bubbles add oysters, mushrooms or any article which makes its own liquor; this lacking, a little water or milk is added, and seasoning to taste.
Canned chicken, tongue, salmon, crabs, and shrimps make good dishes and are easily prepared. Paprica, a kind of red pepper, is especially good for use in chafing-dish cookery instead of cayenne.
PANNED OYSTERS
For twenty-five oysters, put in a chafing-dish one tablespoonful of butter. When it is melted, add the juice of half a lemon and one teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Then add the oysters, which should be well drained. Cook, stirring carefully, until they are plump and the gills a little frilled—no longer. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once on toast. The oysters exude enough juice to soften the toast. Or let the butter brown in the chafing-dish, then add the oysters and cook until plump or the gills are curled. Then add a wineglassful of sherry or Madeira. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once. When wine is used, omit the lemon and parsley, and do not season until after the wine is added, as wine augments the flavor of salt. Have ready some toasted bread and pour the oysters over it; or cut the toast into small squares, stir them into the oysters and serve directly from the chafing-dish.
OYSTER STEW
Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish; add a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and cook a few minutes, stirring all the time so it will not color. Add a cupful of milk slowly and stir until it begins to thicken; then add the oyster liquor (have the liquor strained so it will be free from pieces of shell), and lastly the oysters; season with salt and pepper and a little celery salt if liked. As soon as the edges of the oysters curl they are done, and the cooking must be arrested, or they will become tough.
CREAMED OYSTERS AND CLAMS
See receipt for creamed clams (page 135). This receipt can easily be prepared in the chafing-dish. Also oysters À la Poulette given on page 133.
BARBECUE OF FISH
Marinate one pound of any cold boiled white fish in one tablespoonful of oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar, one slice of onion, pepper and salt. Leave the fish in as large pieces as possible. Put in a chafing-dish three tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup, three tablespoonfuls of sherry, three tablespoonfuls of butter. Put the butter in first, and when melted add the catsup and wine and then the fish. Baste the fish with the liquor until it is thoroughly heated, and it is then ready to serve. Thin slices of cooked cold beef, veal, or ham may also be cooked in this way.
EGGS WITH TOMATOES
Put into the chafing-dish a cupful of canned tomatoes, and cook until they begin to soften; then season with one tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Add two beaten eggs, and stir constantly until they begin to thicken. Then extinguish the flame, and the heat of the dish will be sufficient to complete the cooking. Stir constantly until they are of the consistency of scrambled eggs. Serve at once, or they will separate.
TOMATOES AND RICE
Put into a chafing-dish a half cupful of tomatoes; add a bay-leaf, a few drops of onion-juice, pepper and salt to taste. Let them cook until tender, then remove the bay-leaf and stir in as much boiled rice as can be well coated and moistened with the tomatoes. Serve with cracker biscuits.
CREAMED DISHES
(EGGS, CHICKEN, OR VEAL)
Use the double pan with water. Make a white sauce by putting in the chafing-dish one tablespoonful of butter; let it bubble, then stir in one tablespoonful of flour; let it cook a few minutes, but not brown; then add a cupful of milk slowly, stirring all the time until it is a little thickened. Season with pepper and salt. Lay in carefully thick slices of hard-boiled egg. As soon as they are heated, place them on slices of toast softened with hot water, and pour the thickened sauce over them. For chicken or meat, season the sauce with a few drops of onion-juice, a little chopped celery if convenient, salt, pepper, and paprica. Have the chicken in good-sized pieces, or meat in thin slices, and leave them in the sauce only long enough to become well heated; canned chicken or turkey may be used. Any kind of meat can be minced and used in this way, in which case the sauce should be made with half milk and half stock. If stock is not at hand extract of beef (one teaspoonful to a cupful of boiling water) may be substituted. With chicken or oysters, the yolk of an egg is added just before it is removed, which makes it “À la poulette.”
DISHES À LA NEWBURG
These are favorite chafing-dish preparations, and may be made of lobster, crabs, shrimps, soft-shelled clams, chicken, or cold boiled halibut. Lobster: Take the meat of one boiled lobster, put it in a chafing-dish with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne or of paprica. Stir lightly with a fork for three minutes, or until the lobster is well heated; then add a wineglassful of sherry or of Madeira, cook for another three minutes, and then add the beaten yolks of three eggs, diluted with a half pint of cream. Stir the mixture constantly for a minute, or just long enough to set the egg. If cooked too long it will curdle; serve at once. Prepare the dishes À la Newburg with a double pan. For soft-shell clams use only the soft half of the clam. For chicken use the white meat cut into inch squares. For halibut leave the pieces large, and break them as little as possible.
TERRAPIN
The prepared terrapin which comes in cans is the best for the chafing-dish, and needs only to be heated and seasoned to taste.
CHICKEN LIVERS WITH MADEIRA
Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish; add the livers cut into pieces; cook them directly over the flame, turning them constantly, and dredge them while cooking with a tablespoonful of flour. It will take about five minutes to cook them; add a cupful of stock, and a few drops of kitchen bouquet. Then place the pan in the double pan containing water already hot; add to the livers a half cupful of Madeira and a few stoned olives; season with salt, pepper, and paprica after the wine is in; cover and let it simmer for ten minutes. Serve with croÛtons.
CRAB TOAST
Put into the chafing-dish a tablespoonful of butter; when it is melted, add a tablespoonful of chopped celery, a teaspoonful of flour, a half cupful of cream or milk, and a canful of crab meat. Stir until the moisture is nearly evaporated; add a tablespoonful of sherry, salt and pepper, and paprica to taste; spread on toasted biscuits, or on thin slices of toast.
SMELTS À LA TOULOUSE
- 12 smelts.
- ½ cupful of white wine.
- 3 tablespoonfuls of liquor from the mushroom can.
- 1 tablespoonful of butter.
- 1 tablespoonful of flour.
- 1 dozen canned mushrooms.
- 1 truffle.
Cut down the back of the smelts, and remove the bone; close the fish, and lay them in the chafing-dish with the wine and mushroom liquor taken from the can. Cook until done, which will take five or six minutes. Remove and place the smelts on a hot dish. Mix with the liquor in which they were boiled one cupful of stock; rub together the butter and flour, and stir this in also, leaving it on the spoon until by stirring it is dissolved. (This method prevents its getting lumpy.) Then add the chopped mushrooms and chopped truffle. Season with salt and paprica or a dash of cayenne. Cook, stirring all the time until the sauce is creamy; then pour it over the fish. Serve with croÛtons.
This is a good supper dish.
MEATS
VENISON
Put a tablespoonful of butter in a chafing-dish. When it is very hot, lay in a piece of venison steak; let it cook a minute on both sides. Use spoons for turning the meat, so as not to pierce it. When the surfaces are seared, add a glassful of currant jelly, and baste the venison constantly with the liquid jelly until cooked rare. Extinguish the flame, and cut and serve the meat from the chafing-dish.
MUTTON
Lay a slice of mutton cut from the leg into a hot chafing-dish; turn it constantly, using two spoons, until it is cooked rare. Extinguish the flame, and cover the meat with a maÎtre d’hÔtel sauce (page 286). If preferred, spread it with currant jelly or with plum sauce; or prepare it the same as venison, with a little butter, and, instead of jelly, add a half canful of tomatoes, and finish the cooking in the same way. Season with a little onion-juice, pepper, and salt.
BEEF
A small steak can be pan-broiled in the same way. For beef a maÎtre d’hÔtel sauce must be used. A Delmonico steak or a small porterhouse steak, with the bones removed, are the best cuts to use.
Any meat cooked in the chafing-dish should have all the fat trimmed off, so that there will be less odor.
WELSH RAREBIT AND GOLDEN BUCK
Receipts for Welsh Rarebit and Golden Buck are given on pages 371 and 372.
FONDUE
BRILLAT-SAVARIN
Savarin gives this receipt, which he says is taken from the papers of a Swiss bailiff. He says: “It is a dish of Swiss origin, is healthy, savory, appetizing, quickly made, and, moreover, is always ready to present to unexpected guests.”
He relates an anecdote of the sixteenth century of a M. de Madot, newly appointed Bishop of Belley, who at a feast given in honor of his arrival, mistaking the fondue for cream, eat it with a spoon instead of a fork. This caused so much comment that the next day no two people met who did not say: “Do you know how the new bishop eat his fondue last night?” “Yes; he eat it with a spoon. I have it from an eye-witness.” And soon the news spread over the diocese.
RECEIPT
“Weigh as many eggs as you have guests. Take one third their weight of GruyÈre cheese, and one sixth their weight of butter. Beat the eggs well in a saucepan; add the cheese, grated, and the butter. Put the saucepan on the fire and stir until the mixture is soft and creamy; then add salt, more or less, according to the age of the cheese, and a generous amount of pepper, which is one of the positive characters of the dish. Serve on a hot plate. Bring in the best wine, drink roundly of it, and you will see wonders.”
PINEAPPLE CANAPÉS
Split in two some square sponge-cakes, which can be bought at the baker’s for two cents each. Put a little butter in the chafing-dish. When it is hot put in the slices of cake, and brown them a little on both sides. Lay the slices on a plate, and spread each one with a layer of canned chopped pineapple. Turn the juice from the can into the chafing-dish. Moisten a teaspoonful of arrowroot with cold water, stir it slowly into the hot juice, and continue to stir until it becomes thickened and clear. Pour the sauce over the slices of spread cake. If more than a cupful of juice is used, add more arrowroot in proportion. Any kind of fruit, and slices of sponge cake or of brioche, can be used instead of the square individual cakes. Strawberries, raspberries, or peaches make good sweet canapÉs.
CHOCOLATE MADE WITH CONDENSED MILK
Fill the cups to be used about one third full of condensed milk; add a heaping teaspoonful of instantaneous chocolate, which is chocolate ground to a fine powder. Mix them well together; then fill the cup with boiling water, and stir until the chocolate and milk are dissolved. No sugar is needed, as the milk is sweetened to preserve it.
