Celtnet Eliza Acton Chapter 19 — Soufflés, Omlets, &c.

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CHAPTER XIX.

Soufflés, Omlets, &c.

SOUFFLÉS.

     The admirable lightness* and delicacy of a well-made soufflé render it generally a very favourite dish, and it is now a fashionable one also. It may be greatly varied in its composition, but in all cases must be served the very instant it is taken from the oven; and even in passing to the dining-room it should, if possible, be prevented from sinking by a heated iron or salamander held above it. A common soufflé-pan may be purchased for four or five shillings, but those of silver or plated metal, which are of the form shown at the commencement of this chapter, are of course expensive; the part in which the soufflé is baked is placed within the more ornamental dish when it is drawn from the oven. A plain, round, cake-mould, with a strip of writing paper six inches high, placed inside the rim, will answer on an emergency to bake a soufflé in. The following receipt will serve as a guide for the proper mode of making it: the process is always the same whether the principal ingredient be whole rice boiled very tender in milk and pressed through a sieve, bread-crumbs soaked as for a pudding and worked through a sieve also, arrow-root, potato-flour, or aught else of which light puddings in general are made.
     Take from a pint and a half of new milk or of cream sufficient to mix four ounces of flour of rice to a perfectly smooth batter; put the remainder into a very clean, well-tinned saucepan or stewpan, and when it boils, stir the rice briskly to it; let it simmer, keeping it stirred all the time, for ten minutes, or more should it not be very thick; then mix well with it two ounces of fresh butter, one and a half of pounded sugar, and the grated rind of a fine lemon (or let the sugar which is used for it be well rubbed on the lemon before it is crushed to powder); in two or three minutes take it from the fire, and beat quickly and carefully to it by degrees the yolks of six eggs; whisk the whites to a very firm and solid froth, and when the pan is buttered, and all else quite ready for the oven, stir them gently to the other ingredients; pour the soufflé immediately into the pan and place it in a moderate oven, of which keep the door closed for a quarter of an hour at least. When the soufflé has risen very high, is of a fine colour, and quite done in the centre, which it will be from half to three-quarters of an hour, send instantly to table. The exact time for baking it depends so much on the oven that it cannot be precisely specified. We have known quite a small one not too much baked in forty-five minutes in an iron oven; but generally less time will suffice for them : the heat, however, should always be moderate.
     New milk or cream, 1 1/2 pint; flour of rice, 4 oz.; fresh butter, 2 oz.; pounded sugar, 1 1/2 oz.; eggs, 6; grain of salt; rind, 1 lemon. 30 to 45 minutes.
     Obs. 1.—The soufflé may be flavoured with vanilla, or orange-flowers, or aught else that is liked. Chocolate and coffee also may be used for it with soaked bread: a very strong infusion of the last, and an ounce or two of the other, melted with a little water, are to be added to the milk and bread.
     Obs. 2.—A soufflé is commonly served in a dinner of ceremony as a remove of the second-course roast; but a good plan for this, as for a fondu, is to have it quickly handed round, instead of being placed upon the table.

LOUISE FRANKS' CITRON SOUFFLÉ.

     To obtain the flavour of the citron-rind for this celebrated Swedish soufflé, take a lump of sugar which weighs two ounces and a half, and rub it on the fruit to extract the essence. or should the citron not be sufficiently fresh to yield it by this means, pare it off in the thinnest possible strips and infuse it by the side of the fire in the cream of which the soufflé is to be made. Should the first method be pursued, crush the sugar to powder and dry it a little before it is added to the other ingredients. Blend very smoothly two ounces of potato-flour with a quarter of a pint of milk, and pour boiling to them a pint of good cream; stir the mixture in a large basin or bowl until it thickens, then throw in a grain of salt, two ounces of fresh butter just dissolved in a small saucepan, and the sugar which has been rubbed on the citron; or should the rind have been pared, the same weight some of which is merely pounded. Add next, by degrees, the thoroughly whisked yolks of six fresh eggs, or seven should they be very small. Beat the whites lightly and quickly until they are sufficiently firm to remain standing in points when dropped from the whisk; mix them with the other ingredients at the mouth of the oven, but without beating them; fill the soufflé-pan less than half full; set it instantly into the oven, which should be gentle, but not exceedingly slow, close the door immediately, and do not open it for fifteen or twenty minutes: in from thirty to forty the soufflé will be ready for table unless the oven should be very cool: a fierce degree of heat will have a most unfavourable effect upon it.
     Rind of half citron (that of a Seville orange may be substituted on occasions); sugar, 2 1/2 oz.; cream, 1 pint; potato-flour, 2 oz.; milk, 1/4 pint; butter, 2 oz.; yolks and white of 6 large or of 7 small eggs: 30 to 40 minutes, or more in very slow oven.
     Obs.—The fresh citron would appear to be brought as yet but very sparingly into the English market, though it may sometimes be procured of first-rate fruiterers. Nothing can well be finer than its highly aromatic flavour, which is infinitely superior to that of any other fruit of its species that we have ever tasted. We have had delicious preparations made too from the young green citron when extremely small, of which we may have occasion to speak elsewhere.

A FONDU, OR CHEESE SOUFFLÉ.

     Mix to a smooth batter, with a quarter of a pint of new milk, two ounces of potato-flour, arrow-root, or tous les mois; pour boiling to them three-quarters of a pint more of milk, or of cream in preference: stir them well together, and then throw in two ounces of butter cut small. When this is melted, and well-beaten into the mixture, add the well-whisked yolks of four large or of five small eggs, half a teaspoonful of salt, somethings less of cayenne, and three ounces of lightly-grated cheese, Parmesan or English, or equal parts of both. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a quite firm and solid froth; then proceed, as for soufflé, to mix and bake the fondu.
     20 minutes.

OBSERVATIONS ON OMLETS, FRITTERS, &c.

     The composition and nature of a soufflé, as we have shown, are altogether different, but there is no difficulty in making good omlets, pancakes, or fritters; and as they may be expeditiously prepared and served, they are often a very convenient resource when, on short notice, an addition is required to a dinner. The eggs for all of them should be well and lightly whisked; the lard or frying batter should be extremely pure in flavour, and quite hot when the fritters are dropped in; the batter itself should be smooth as cream, and it should be briskly beaten the instant before it is used. All fried pastes should be perfectly drained from the fat before they are served, and sent to table promptly when they are ready. Eggs may be dressed in a multiplicity of ways, but are seldom more relished in any form than in a well-made and expeditiously served omlet. This may be plain, or seasoned with minced herbs and a very little eschalot, when the last is liked, and is then called an "Omelette aux fines herbes;" or it may be mixed with minced ham, or grated cheese; in any case, it should be light, thick, full-tasted, and fried only on one side; if turned in the pan, as it frequently is in England, it will at once be flattened and rendered tough. Should the slight rawness which is sometimes found in the middle of the inside, when the omlet is made in the French way, be objected to, a heated shovel, or a salamander, may be held over it for an instant, before it is folded on the dish. The pan for frying it should be quite small; for if it be composed of four or five eggs only, and then put into a large one, it will necessarily spread over it and be thin, which would render it more like a pancake than an omlet; the only partial remedy for this, when a pan of proper size cannot be had, is to raise the handle of it high, and to keep the opposite side close down to the fire, which will confine the eggs into a smaller space. No gravy should be poured into the dish with it, and indeed, if properly made, it will require none. Lard is preferable to butter for frying batter, as it renders it lighter; but it must not be used for omlets.

A COMMON OMLET.

     Six eggs are sufficient for an omlet of moderate size. Let them be very fresh; break them singly and carefully; clear them in the way we have already pointed out in the introduction to boiled puddings, or when they are sufficiently whisked pour them through a sieve, and resume the beating until they are very light. Add to them from half to a whole teaspoonful of salt, and a seasoning of pepper. Dissolve in a small frying-pan a couple of ounces of butter, pour in the eggs, and as soon as the omlet is well risen and firm throughout, slide it on to a hot dish, fold it together like a turnover, and serve it immediately; from five to seven minutes will fry it.
     For other varieties of the omlet, see the observations which precede this.
     Eggs, 5; butter, 2 oz.; seasoning of salt and pepper: 5 to 7 minutes

AN OMELETTE SOUFFLÉE. SECOND COURSE REMOVE OF ROAST.*
     Separate, as they are broken, the whites from the yolks of six fine fresh eggs; beat these last thoroughly, first by themselves and then with four tablespoonsful of dry, white sifted sugar, and the rind of half a lemon grated on a fine grater. Whisk the whites to a solid froth, and just before the omlet is poured into the pan, mix them well, but lightly, with the yolks. Put four ounces of fresh butter into a very small delicately clean omlet or frying pan, and as soon as it is all dissolved, add the eggs and stir them round that they may absorb it entirely. When the under side is just set, turn the omlet into a well-buttered dish, and send it to a tolerably brisk oven. From five to ten minutes will bake it; and it must be served the instant it is taken out; carried, indeed, as quickly as possible to table from the oven. It will have risen to a great height, but will sink and become heavy in a very short space of time : if sugar be sifted over it, let it be done with the utmost expedition.
     Eggs, 6; sugar, 4 tablespoonsful; rind, 1/2 lemon; butter, 4 oz.: omlet baked, 5 to 10 minutes.
     Obs.—This omlette may be served on a layer of apricot-marmalade, which must be spread over the dish in which it is to be baked, and sent to table before the omelette is turned into it.

PLAIN COMMON FRITTERS.

     Mix with three well-whisked eggs a quarter of a pint of milk, and strain them through a fine sieve; add them gradually to three large tablespoonsful of flour, and thin the batter with as much more milk as will bring it to the consistence of cream; beat it up thoroughly at the moment of using it, that the fritters may he light. Drop it in small portions from a spouted jug or basin into boiling lard; when lightly coloured on one side, turn the fritters, drain them well from the lard as they are lifted out, and serve them very quickly. They are eaten generally with fine sugar, and orange or lemon juice: the first of these may be sifted quickly over them after they are dished, and the oranges or lemons halved or quartered, and sent to table with them. The lard used for frying them should be fresh and pure-flavoured: it renders them more crisp and light than butter, and is, therefore, better suited to the purpose. These fritters may be agreeably varied by mingling with the batter just before it is used two or three ounces of well cleaned and well dried currants, or three or four apples of a good boiling kind not very finely minced. Double the quantity of batter will be required for a large dish.
     Eggs, 3; flour, 3 tablespoonsful; milk, 1/4 to 1/2 pint.

PANCAKES.

     These may be made with the same batter as fritters, if it be sufficiently thinned with an additional egg or two, or a little milk or cream, to spread quickly over the pan: to fry them well, this ought to be small. When the batter is ready, heat the pan over a clear fire and rub it with butter in every part, then pour in sufficient batter to spread over it entirely, and let the pancake be very thin: in this case it will require no turning, but otherwise it must be tossed over with a sudden jerk of the pan, in which the cook who is not somewhat expert will not always succeed; therefore the safer plan is to make them so thin that they will not require this. Keep them hot before the fire or in the stove-oven until a sufficient number are ready to send to table, then proceed with a second supply, as they should always be quickly served. Either pile them one on the other with sugar strewed between, or spread quickly over them, as they are done, some apricot or other good preserve, and roll them up: in the latter case, they may be neatly divided and dished in a circle. Clotted cream is sometimes sent to table with them. A richer kind of pancake may be made with a pint of cream, or of cream and new milk mixed, five eggs or their yolks only, a couple of ounces of flour, a little pounded cinnamon or lemon-rind rasped on sugar and scraped into them, with two ounces more of pounded sugar, and two ounces of clarified butter : a few ratafias rolled to powder may be added at pleasure, or three or four macaroons.
     From 4 to 5 minutes.

FRITTERS OF CAKE AND PUDDING.

     Cut plain pound, or rice cake, or rich seed cake, into small square slices half an inch thick; trim away the crust, fry them slowly a light brown in a small quantity of fresh butter, and spread over them when done a layer of apricot-jam, or of any other preserve, and serve them immediately. These fritters are improved by being moistened with a little good cream before they are fried: they must then be slightly floured. Cold plum-pudding sliced down as thick as the cake, and divided into portions of equal size and good form, then dipped into French or English batter and gently fried, will also make an agreeable variety of fritter. Orange marmalade and Devonshire cream may be served in separate layers on the seed cake fritters. The whole of the above may be cut of uniform size and shaped with a round cake-cutter.

MINCEMEAT FRITTERS.
     With half a pound of mincemeat mix two ounces of fine bread-crumbs (or a tablespoonful of flour), two eggs well beaten, and the strained juice of a small lemon. Mix these well, and drop the fritters with a dessertspoon into plenty of very pure lard or fresh butter; fry them from seven to eight minutes, drain them on a napkin or on white blotting paper, and send them very hot to table: they should be unite small.
     Mincemeat, 1/2 lb.; bread-crumbs, 2 oz. (or flour, 1 tablespoonful); eggs, 2; juice of 1/2 lemon: 7 to 8 minutes.

VENETIAN FRITTERS.

(Very good.)

     Wash and drain three ounces of whole rice, put it into a full pint of cold milk, and bring it very slowly to boil; stir it often, and let it simmer gently until it is quite thick and dry. When about three parts done, add to it two ounces of pounded sugar, and one of fresh butter, a grain of salt, and the grated rind of half a small lemon. Let it cool in the saucepan, and when only just warm, mix with it thoroughly three ounces of currants, four of apples chopped fine, a teaspoonful of flour, and three large or four small well-beaten eggs. Drop the mixture in small fritters, fry them in butter from five to seven minutes, and let them become quite firm on one side before they are turned: do this with a slice. Drain them as they are taken up, and sift white sugar over them after they are dished.
     Whole rice, 3 oz.; milk, 1 pint; sugar, 2 oz.; butter, 1 oz.; grated rind of 1/2 lemon; currants, 3 oz.; minced apples, 4 oz.; flour, 1 teaspoonful; a little salt; eggs, 3 large, or 4 small : 5 to 7 minutes.

RHUBARB FRITTERS.

     The rhubarb for these should be of a good sort, quickly grown, and tender. Pare, cut it into equal lengths, and throw it into the French batter of page 130; with a fork lift the stalks separately, and put them into a pan of boiling lard or butter: in from five to six minutes they will be done. Drain them well and dish them on a napkin, or pile them high without one, and strew sifted sugar plentifully over them: they should be of a very light brown, and quite dry and crisp. The young stalks look well when left the length of the dish in which they are served, and only slightly encrusted with the batter, through which they should be merely drawm.
     5 to 6 minutes.

APPLE, PEACH, APRICOT, OR ORANGE FRITTERS.

     Pare and core without dividing the apples, slice them into rounds the full size of the fruit, dip them into the same batter as that directed for the preceding fritters, fry them a pale brown, and let them be very dry. Serve them heaped high upon a folded napkin, and strew sifted sugar over them. After having stripped the outer rind from the oranges, remove carefully the white inner skin, and in slicing them take out the pips; then dip them into the batter and proceed as for the apple fritters. The peaches and apricots should be merely skinned, halved, and stoned before they are drawn through the batter, unless they should not be fully ripe, when they must first be stewed tender in a thin syrup.
     8 to 12 minutes

BRIOCHE FRITTERS.

     The brioche-paste,* when good, makes very superior cannelons and fritters; it is, we should say, better in this form than in that of the bun or cake, in which it is seen so commonly abroad. Make it, for the fritters, into very small balls: roll them quite thin, put a teaspoonful or less of rich preserve into each, moisten the edges and fold the paste together securely, or with a small tin shape cut as many rounds of the brioche as are wanted, place some preserve in the centre of one half of these, moisten the edges, lay the remainder lightly over them, press them carefully together and restore them to a good form with the tin-cutter, by trimming them with it to their original size; glide them gently into a pan of boiling lard, and fry them from four and a half to five minutes. Serve them very hot, crisp, and dry, piled on a folded napkin. The cannelons are made like those of paste, and are very good. They are sometimes filled with lemon-cheesecake mixture, or with Madame Werner°s (see Chapter XVIII.)
     Fritters, 4 1/2 to 5 minutes; cannelons, 5 to 6 minutes.

POTATO FRITTERS. (ENTREMETS.)

     The same mixture as for potato puddings, Chapter XXI., if dropped in small portions into boiling butter, and fried until brown on both sides, will make potato-fritters. Half the proportion of ingredients will be quite sufficient for a dish of these.

LEMON FRITTERS. (ENTREMETS.)

     Mix with six ounces of very fine bread-crumbs four of beef suet minced as small as possible, four ounces of pounded sugar, a small tablespoonful of flour, four whole eggs well and lightly whisked, and the grated rind of one large or of two small lemons, with half or the whole of the juice, at choice; but before this last is stirred in, add a spoonful or two of milk or cream if needed. Fry the mixture in small fritters for five or six minutes.

CANNELONS. (ENTRBMETS.)

     Roll out very thin and evenly some fine puff-paste into a long strip of from three to four inches wide, moisten the surface with a feather dipped in white of egg, and cut it into bands of nearly two inches wide; lay some apricot or peach marmalade equally along these, and fold the paste twice over it, close the ends carefully, and when all are ready, slide them gently into a pan of boiling lard;* as soon as they begin to brown, raise the pan from the fire that they may not take too much colour before the paste is done quite through. Five minutes will fry them. Drain them well, and dry them on a soft cloth before the fire; dish them on a napkin, and place one layer crossing another, or merely pile them high in the centre. If well made, and served of a light brown and very dry, these cannelons are excellent: when lard is objected to butter may be used instead, but the paste will then be somewhat less light. Only lard of the purest quality will answer for the purpose.
     5 minutes.

CANNELONS OF BRIOCHE PASTE. (ENTREMETS.)

     Proceed exactly as for the cannelons above, substituting the brioche for the puff-paste, and rolling it as thin as possible, as it swells very much in the pan. Fine sugar may be sifted over these after they are dried and dished.
     4 or 5 minutes.

CROQUETTES OF RICE. (ENTREMETS.)

     Wipe very clean, in a dry cloth, seven ounces of rice, put it into a clean stew-pan, and pour on it a quart of new milk; let it swell gently by the side of the fire, and stir it often that it may not stick to the pan, nor burn ; when it is about half done, stir to it five ounces of pounded sugar, and six bitter almonds beaten extremely fine : the thin rind of half a fresh lemon may be added in the first instance. The rice must be simmered until it is soft, and very thick and dry; it should then be spread on a dish, and left until cold, when it is to be rolled into small balls, which must be dipped into beaten egg, and then covered in every part with the finest bread-crumbs. When all are ready, fry them a light brown in fresh butter, and dry them well before the fire, upon a sieve reversed and covered with a very soft cloth, or with a sheet of white blotting paper. Pile them in a hot dish, and send them to table quickly.
     Rice, 7 oz.; milk, 1 quart; rind of lemon: 3/4 hour. Sugar, 5 oz. bitter almonds, 6: 40 to 60 minutes or more. Fried, 5 to 7 minutes.

FINER CROQUETTES OF RICE. (ENTREMETS.)

     Swell the rice in thin cream, or in new milk strongly flavoured with vanilla or cocoa-nut; add the same ingredients as in the foregoing receipt, and when the rice is cold, form it into balls, and with the thumb of the right hand hollow them sufficiently to admit in the centre a small portion of peach jam, or of apricot marmalade; close the rice well over it; egg, crumb, and fry the croquettes as usual. As, from the difference of quality, the same proportions of rice and mail will not always produce the same effect, the cook must use her discretion in adding, should it be needed, sufficient liquid to soften the rice perfectly : but she must bear in mind that if not boiled extremely thick and dry, it will be difficult to make it into croquettes.*

SAVOURY CROQUETTES OF RICE. (ENTRÉE.)

     These are made with the same preparation as the casserole of rice of Chapter XVIII., but it must be boiled very dry, and left to become quite cold before it is used. A few spoonsful of rich white sauce stirred into it when it is nearly tender, will improve it much. Form and hollow the croquettes as directed in the last receipt; fill them with a small portion of minced fowl, partridge, or pheasant in a thick sauce, or with a stewed oyster or two cut in quarters; close the rice perfectly over them; egg, and crumb the croquettes, fry and serve them garnished with crisped parsley. French cooks mix sometimes a little grated Parmesan cheese with the rice at the moment it is taken from the fire, and roll the croquettes in more after they are egged ; they press this on and dip them again in egg, and then in the crumbs. Raise the pan high above the fire when the croquettes are lightly browned, that they may heat through; then heighten the colour, and lift them out immediately.

RISSOLES. (ENTRÉE.)

     This is the French name for small fried pastry of various forms, filled with meat or fish previously cooked ; they may be made with brioche, or with light puff-paste, either of which must be rolled extremely thin. Cut it with a small round cutter fluted or plain; put a little rich mince, or good pounded meat, in the centre, and moisten the edges, and press them securely together that they may not burst open in the frying. The rissoles may be formed like small patties, by laying a second round of paste over the meat, or like cannelons; they may, likewise, be brushed with and sprinkled with vermicelli, broken small, or with fine crumbs. They are sometimes made in the form of croquettes, the paste being gathered round the meat, which must form a ball.*
     In frying them, adopt the same plan as for the croquettes, raising the pan as soon as the paste is lightly coloured. Serve all these fried dishes well drained, and on a napkin.
     From 5 to 7 minutes, or less.

VERY SAVOURY ENGLISH RISSOLES. (ENTRÉE.)
     Make the forcemeat. No. 1, Chapter VIII., sufficiently firm with unbeaten yolk of egg, to roll rather thin on a well-floured board; cut it into very small rounds, put a little pounded chicken in the centre of one half, moistening the edges with water, or white of egg, lay the remaining rounds over these, close them securely, and fry them in butter a fine light brown; drain and dry them well, and heap them in the middle of a hot dish, upon a napkin folded flat: these rissoles may be egged and crumbed before they are fried.

SMALL FRIED BREAD PATTIES, OR CROUSTADES OF VARIOUS KINDS.

     These may be either sweet or savoury, and many of them may be so promptly prepared, that they offer a ready resource when an extra dish is unexpectedly required. They should be carefully fried very crisp, and of a fine equal gold colour, either in clarified marrow, for which we give our own receipt, or in really good butter.

DRESDEN PATTIES, OR CROUSTADES.

(Very delicate.)

     Pure the crust neatly from one or two French rolls, slice off the ends, and divide the remainder into as many patties as the size of the rolls will allow; hollow them in the centre, dip them into milk or thin cream, and lay them on a drainer over a dish; pour a spoonful or two more of milk over them at intervals, but not sufficient to cause them to break; brush them with eggs, rasp the crust of the rolls over them, fry and drain them well, fill them with a good mince, or with stewed mushrooms or oysters, and serve them very hot upon a napkin; they may be filled for the second course with warm apricot marmalade, cherry-jam, or other good preserve.
     This receipt came to us direct from Dresden, and on testing it we found it answer excellently, and inserted it in an earlier edition of the present work. We name this simply because it has been appropriated, with many other of our receipts, by a contemporary writer without a word of acknowledgement.

TO PREPARE BEEF MARROW FOR FRYING CROUSTADES, SAVOURY TOASTS, &c.

     At a season when butter of pure flavour is often procured with difficulty, beef-marrow, carefully clarified, is a valuable substitute for it; and, as it is abundantly contained in the joints which are in constant request for soup-making, it is of slight comparative cost in a well managed kitchen. It is often thrown into the stockpot by careless or indolent cooks, instead of being rendered available for the many purposes to which it is admirably adapted. Take it from the bones as fresh as possible, put it into a white jar, and melt it with a very gentle degree of heat at the mouth of the oven, or by the side of the stove, taking all reaction to prevent its being smoked or discoloured; strain it off through a very fine sieve or muslin, into a clean pan or pans, and set it aside for use. It will be entirely flavourless if prepared with due care and attention; but if dissolved with too great a degree of heat, it will soon acquire the taste almost of dripping. A small quantity of fine salt may be sprinkled into the pan with it when it is used for frying.

SMALL CROUSTADES, OR BREAD PATTIES, DRESSED IN MARROW.
(Author's Receipt.)

     Cut very evenly, from a firm stale loaf, slices nearly an inch and a half thick, and with a plain or fluted paste-cutter of between two and three inches wide press out the number of patties required, loosening them gently from the tin, to prevent their breaking ; then, with a plain cutter, scarcely more than half the size, mark out the space which is afterwards to be hollowed from it. Melt some clarified beef-marrow in a small saucepan or frying-pan, and, when it begins to boil, put in the patties, and fry them gently until they are equally coloured of a pale golden brown. In lifting them from the pan, let the marrow (or butter) drain well from them; take out the rounds which have been marked on the tops, and scoop out part of the inside crumb, but leave them thick enough to contain securely the gravy of the preparation put into them. Fill them with any good patty-meat, and serve them very hot on a napkin.
     Obs.—These croustades are equally good if dipped into clarified butter or marrow, and baked in a tolerably quick oven. It is well, in either case, to place them on a warm sheet of double white blotting-paper while they are being filled, as it will absorb the superfluous fat. A rich mince, with a thick, well-adhering sauce, either of mutton and mushrooms, or oysters, or with fine herbs and an eschalot or two; or of venison, or hare, or partridges, may be appropriately used for them.

SMALL CROUSTADES A LA BONNE MAMAN.

(The Grandmama's Patties.)

     Prepare the croustades as above, or use for them French rolls of very even shape, cut in thick equal slices. If quite round, the crust may be left on ; mark each slice with a small cutter in the centre, dip the croustades into butter or marrow, fry them lightly, or bake them without permitting them to become very hard; empty, and then fill them; dish them without a napkin, and pour some good brown gravy round, but not over them.
     Obs.—From being cooked without butter, these and the preceding patties are adapted to a Jewish table.

CURRIED TOASTS WITH ANCHOVIES.

     Fry lightly, in good butter, clarified marrow, or very pure olive oil, some slices of bread, free from crust, of about half an inch thick, and two inches and a half square; lift them on to a dish, and spread a not very thick layer of Captain White's currie-paste on the top; place them in a gentle oven for three or four minutes, then lay two or three fillets of anchovies on each, replace them in the oven for a couple of minutes, and send them immediately to table. Their pungency may be heightened by the addition of cayenne pepper, when a very hot preparation is liked.
     Obs.—We have spoken but slightly in our chapter of curries ofCaptain White's currie-paste, though for many years we have had it used in preference to any other, and always found it excellent. Latterly, however, it has been obtained with rather less facility than when attention was first attracted to it. The last which we procured directed, on the label of the jar, that orders for it should be sent per post to 83, Copenhagen Street, Islington. It may, however, be procured without doubt from any good purveyor of sauces and other condiments. It is sold in jars of all sizes, the price of the smallest being one-and-sixpence. We certainly think it much superior to any of the others which we have tested, its flavour being peculiarly agreeable.

TO FILLET ANCHOVIES.

     Drain them well from the pickle, take off the heads and fins, lay them separately on a plate, and scrape off the skin entirely; then place them on a clean dish and with a sharp-edged knife raise the flesh on either side of the back-bone, passing it from the tail to the shoulders, and keeping it nearly flat as it is worked along. Divide each side (or fillet) in tow, and use them as directed for the preceding toasts or other purposes. They make excellent simple sandwiches with slices of bread and butter only ; but very superior ones when they are potted or made into anchovy butter.

SAVOURY TOASTS.

     Cut some slices of bread free from crust, about half an inch thick and two inches and a half square; butter the tops thickly, spread a little mustard on them, and then cover them with a deep layer of grated cheese and of ham seasoned rather highly with cayenne; fry them in good butter, but do not turn them in the pan; lift them out, and place them in a Dutch oven for three or minutes to dissolve the cheese: serve them very hot.
     To 4 tablespoonsful of grated English cheese, and equal portion of very finely minced, or grated ham; but of Parmesan or Gruyère, 6 tablespoonsful. Seasoning of mustard and cayenne.
     Obs.—These toasts for which we give the original receipt unaltered, may be served in the cheese-course of a dinner. Such mere "relishes" as they are called, do not seem to us to demand much of our space, or many of them which are very easy of preparation might be inserted here: a good cook, however, will easily supply them at slight expense. Truffles minced, seasoned, and stewed tender in butter with an eschalot or two, may be served on fried toasts or croûtons and will generally be liked.

TO CHOOSE MACCARONI AND OTHER ITALIAN PASTES.

     The Naples maccaroni, of which the pipes are large, and somewhat thin, should be selected for the table in preference to the Genoa, which is less in size, but more substantial, and better suited to the formation of the various fanciful timbales* for which it is usually chosen. We have inserted here no receipts for these, because unless very skilfully prepared they are sure to fail, and they are not in much request in this country, unless it be at the tables of the aristocracy, for which they are prepared by efficient cooks. Of the ribbon macaroni (or lazanges) we have given particulars in the pages which follow. The macaroncini, though not much larger than a straw, requires much boiling for its size, to render it soft. The celery-maccaroni is made very large and of an ornamental form, but in short lengths. It is used by "professed" cooks as a sort of crust or case for quenelle-forcemeat, or other expensive preparations of the same nature. The ring or cut macaroni is another form given to the Italian paste: it may be had at almost any good foreign warehouse.
     All these pastes should be of a yellowish tint (by no means white as one sees them when they are of inferior quality); they should also be quite fresh, as they contract a most unpleasant flavour from being too long stored. The Naples vermicelli, which is much larger than any other, may be dressed like maccaroni: by many persons it is also preferred to the smaller varieties for serving in soup.

TO BOIL MACCARONI.

     We have always found the continental mode of dressing maccaroni the best. English cooks sometimes soak it in milk and water for an hour or more, before it is boiled, that the pipes may be swollen to the utmost, but this is apt to render it pulpy, though its appearance may be improved by it. Drop it lightly, and by degrees, into a large pan of fast-boiling water, into which a little salt, and a bit of butter the size of a walnut, have previously been thrown, and of which the boiling should not be stopped by the addition of the maccaroni. In about three-quarters of an hour the Naples macaroni will be sufficiently tender: every kind should always be perfectly cooked, for otherwise it will prove very indigestible, but the pipes of that commonly served should remain entire. Pour it into a large cullender, and drain the water well from it. It should be very softly boiled after the first minute or two.
     Time of boiling:—Naples maccaroni, about 3/4 hour; Genoa, nearly or quite 1 hour; macaroncini, 20 to 25 minutes; cut maccaroni, 10 minutes; Naples vermicelli (in water), about 20 minutes; longer in soup, or milk.

RIBBON MACCARONI.*

     This kind of maccaroni, though more delicate in flavour and much more quickly boiled than the pipe maccaroni, is far less frequently seen at English tables; yet it is extremely good in many simple forms and very wholesome, therefore well suited to invalids and children as well as to persons in health. Drop it gradually into plenty of boiling water, and turn it over occasionally that it may be equally done. Drain it thoroughly when it is perfectly tender, and serve it quickly either quite plain, to be eaten instead of vegetables or rice; or with a compote of fruit; or with sugar and cinnamon, or lemon-juice; or prepared in any of the modes indicated for the Naples maccaroni.
     To be boiled 15 to 18 minutes.

DRESSED MACCARONI.

     Alter careful and repeated trial of different modes of dressing various kinds of maccaroni, we find that in preparing them with Parmesan cheese, unmixed with any of a more mellow nature, there is always a chance of failure, from its tendency to gather into lumps; we would therefore recommend the inexperienced reader to substitute for it in part, at least, any finely flavoured English cheese; and the better to ensure its blending smoothly with the other ingredients (when neither white, nor any other thickened sauce is used with it), to dissolve the butter, and to stir to it a small teaspoonful of flour, before any liquid is added, then carefully to mix with it the cream or gravy, as directed for Sauce Tournée, Chapter V., and to give this a boil before the maccaroni and cheese are added: if gently tossed as these become hot, the whole will be smooth, and the cheese will adhere properly to the paste. Four ounces of pipe maccaroni is sufficient for a small dish, but from six to eight should be prepared for a family party where it is liked. The common English mode of dressing it is with grated cheese, butter, and cream, or milk. French cooks substitute generally a spoonful or two of very strong rich jellied gravy for the cream; and the Italians, amongst their many other modes of serving it, toss it in rich brown gravy, with sufficient grated cheese to flavour the whole strongly; they send it to table also simply laid into a good Espagnole or brown gravy (that drawn from the stufato,* for example), accompanied by a plate of grated cheese. Another, and an easy mode of dressing it is to boil and drain it well, and to put it into a deep dish, strewing grated cheese on every layer, and adding bits of fresh butter to it. The top, in this case, should be covered with a layer of fine bread-crumbs, mixed with grated cheese; these should be moistened plentifully with clarified butter, and colour given to them in the oven, or before the fire; the crumbs may be omitted, and a layer of cheese substituted for them. An excellent preparation of maccaroni may be made with any well-flavoured, dry white cheese, which can be grated easily, at much less cost than with the Parmesan, which is expensive, and in the country not always procurable: and we think that the brown gravy and a seasoning of cayenne are great improvements to it.
     Macaroni, 6 oz.; butter, 3 oz.; Parmesan (or other) cheese, 6 oz.; cream, 4 tablespoonsful.
     Obs.—Less of butter and cheese can be used by the strict economist.

MACCARONI A LA REINE.

     This is a very excellent and delicate mode of dressing macaroni. Boil eight ounces in the usual way, and by the time it is sufficiently tender, dissolve gently ten ounces of any rich, well flavoured white cheese in full three-quarters of a pint of good cream; add a little salt, a rather full seasoning of cayenne, from half to a whole saltspoonful of pounded mace, and a couple of ounces of sweet fresh butter. The cheese should, in the first instance, be sliced very thin, and taken quite free of the hard part adjoining the rind; it should be stirred in the cream without intermission until it is entirely dissolved, and the whole is perfectly smooth: the macaroni, previously well drained, may then be tossed gently in it, or after it is dished, the cheese may then be poured equally over the maccaroni. The whole, in either case, may be thickly covered before it is sent to table, with fine crumbs of bread fried of a pale gold colour, and dried perfectly, either before the fire or in an oven, when such an addition is considered an improvement. As a matter of precaution, it is better to boil the cream before the cheese is melted in it; rich white sauce, or béchamel, made not very thick, with an additional ounce or two of butter, may be used to vary and enrich this preparation. If Parmesan cheese be used for it, it must of course be grated; but, as we have said before, it will not easily blend with the other ingredients so as to be smooth. A portion of Stilton, free from the blue mould, would have a good effect in the present receipt. Half the quantity may be served.
     Maccaroni, 1/2 lb.; cheese, 10 oz.; good cream, 3/4 pint (or rich white sauce); butter, 2 oz (or more); little salt, fine cayenne, and mace.

SEMOULINA AND POLENTA A L'ITALIENNE. (GOOD.)

(To serve instead of Maccaroni.)

     Throw into a quart of milk, when it is fast boiling, half a teaspoonful of salt, and then shake lightly into it five ounces of the best semolina; stir the milk as this is added, and continue to do so from eight to ten minutes, letting the mixture boil gently during the time. It should be very thick, and great care must be taken to prevent its sticking to the saucepan, which should be placed over a clear fire on a bar or trivet, but not upon the coals. Pour the semoulina, when it is done, into a basin, or a plain mould which it will not fill by an inch or two, and let it remain some hours in a cool place, that it may become perfectly cold; it will then turn out quite solid, and like a pudding in appearance. Cut it with a large, sharp carving-knife, or a bit of thin wire, into half-inch slices; wash the basin into which it was poured at first, and butter it well; grate from six to eight ounces of good cheese (Parmesan, or any other), and mix with it a half-teaspoonful of cayenne, and twice as much pounded mace; clarify from two to three ounces of fresh butter, and put a small quantity into the basin, strew in a little of the cheese, and lay in the first slice of the semoulina, on this put a thick layer of cheese, moisten it with some drops of butter, and place the second slice upon it; then more cheese and butter, and continue this until all the semoulina is replaced in the basin; put plenty of cheese upon the top, add the remainder of the clarified butter, and bake the mixture for about half an hour in a gentle oven. It should be of a fine golden colour when served. Turn it carefully into a dish, and send it instantly to table. A little rich brown gravy poured round might, to some tastes, improve it, but it is excellent without, and may be substituted for maccaroni, which it much resembles in flavour. It may be enriched by adding butter to the milk, or by mixing with it a proportion of cream; and it may be browned in a Dutch oven, when no other is in use.
     In Italy the flour of Indian corn, which is much grown there, and eaten by all ranks of people, is used for this dish; but the semoulina is perhaps rather better suited to English taste and habits of diet, from being somewhat lighter and more delicate. The maize-flour imported from Italy is sold at the foreign warehouses here under the name of polenta,* though that properly speaking is, we believe, a boiled or stewed preparation of it, which forms the most common food of the poorer classes of the inhabitants of may of the Italian states. It seems to us superior in quality to the Indian corn flour grown in America.
     New milk (or milk mixed with cream), 1 quart; salt, large 1/2 teaspoonful; semoulina, 5 oz.: 10 minutes. Grated cheese, 6 to 8 oz.; cayenne, 1/2 teaspoonful; mace, 1 small teaspoonful; butter, 2 to 3 oz.: baked 1/2 hour, gentle oven.
     Obs.—A plain mould can be used instead of the basin.

for various modes of dressing eggs, see chapter xxii.