Part 33

TO CHOOSE LOBSTERS.—This shellfish, if it has been cooked alive, as it ought to have been, will have a stiffness in the tail, which, if gently raised, will return with a spring. Care, however, must be taken in thus proving it; for if the tail is pulled straight out, it will not return; when the fish might be pronounced inferior, which, in reality, may not be the case. In order to be good, lobsters should be weighty for their bulk; if light, they will be watery; and those of the medium size, are always the best. Small-sized lobsters are cheapest, and answer very well for sauce. In boiling lobsters, the appearance of the shell will be much improved by rubbing over it a little butter or salad-oil on being immediately taken from the pot.

LOBSTER CURRY (an Entrée).

_Ingredients._—1 lobster, 2 onions, 1 oz. butter, 1 tablespoonful of curry-powder, ½ pint of medium stock, the juice of ½ lemon. _Mode._—Pick the meat from the shell, and cut into nice square pieces; fry the onions of a pale brown in the butter, stir in the curry-powder and stock, and simmer till it thickens, when put in the lobster; stew the whole slowly for ½ hour, stirring occasionally; and just before sending to table, put in the lemon-juice. Serve boiled rice with it, the same as for other curries. _Time._—Altogether, ¾ hour. _Average cost_, 3_s._ _Seasonable_ at any time.

LOBSTER CUTLETS (an Entrée).

_Ingredients._—1 large hen lobster, 1 oz. fresh butter, ½ saltspoonful of salt, pounded mace, grated nutmeg, cayenne and white pepper to taste, egg, and bread-crumbs. _Mode._—Pick the meat from the shell, and pound it in a mortar with the butter, and gradually add the mace and seasoning, well mixing the ingredients; beat all to a smooth paste, and add a little of the spawn; divide the mixture into pieces of an equal size, and shape them like cutlets. They should not be very thick. Brush them over with egg, and sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and stick a short piece of the small claw in the top of each; fry them of a nice brown in boiling lard, and drain them before the fire, on a sieve reversed; arrange them nicely on a dish, and pour béchamel in the middle, but not over the cutlets. _Time._—About 8 minutes after the cutlets are made. _Average cost_ for this dish, 2_s._ 9_d._ _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

LOBSTERS, to Dress.

When the lobster is boiled, rub it over with a little salad-oil, which wipe off again; separate the body from the tail, break off the great claws, and crack them at the joints, without injuring the meat; split the tail in halves, and arrange all neatly in a dish, with the body upright in the middle, and garnish with parsley.

LOBSTER, Hot.

_Ingredients._—1 lobster, 2 oz. of butter, grated nutmeg; salt, pepper, and pounded mace, to taste; broad crumbs, 2 eggs. _Mode._—Pound the meat of the lobster to a smooth paste with the butter and seasoning, and add a few bread-crumbs. Beat the eggs, and make the whole mixture into the form of a lobster; pound the spawn, and sprinkle over it. Bake ¼ hour, and just before serving, lay over it the tail and body shell, with the small claws underneath, to resemble a lobster. _Time._—¼ hour. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

LOBSTER PATTIES (an Entrée).

_Ingredients._—Minced lobster, 4 tablespoonfuls of béchamel, 6 drops of anchovy sauce, lemon-juice, cayenne to taste. _Mode._—Line the patty-pans with puff-paste, and put into each a small piece of bread; cover with paste, brush over with egg, and bake of a light colour. Take as much lobster as is required, mince the meat very fine, and add the above ingredients; stir it over the fire for 5 minutes; remove the lids of the patty-cases, take out the bread, fill with the mixture, and replace the covers. _Seasonably_ at any time.

LOBSTER, Potted.

_Ingredients._—2 lobsters; seasoning to taste, of nutmeg, pounded mace, white pepper, and salt; ¼ lb. of butter, 3 or 4 bay-leaves. _Mode._—Take out the meat carefully from the shell, but do not cut it up. Put some butter at the bottom of a dish, lay in the lobster as evenly as possible, with the bay-leaves and seasoning between. Cover with butter, and bake for ¾ hour in a gentle oven. When done, drain the whole on a sieve, and lay the pieces in potting-jars, with the seasoning about them. When cold, pour over it clarified butter, and, if very highly seasoned, it will keep some time. _Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 4_s._ 4_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—Potted lobster may be used cold, or as a _fricassee_ with cream sauce.

LOBSTER (à la Mode Française).

_Ingredients._—1 lobster, 4 tablespoonfuls of white stock, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, pounded mace, and cayenne to taste; bread-crumbs. _Mode._—Pick the meat from the shell, and cut it up into small square pieces; put the stock, cream, and seasoning into a stewpan, add the lobster, and let it simmer gently for 6 minutes. Serve it in the shell, which must be nicely cleaned, and have a border of puff-paste; cover it with bread-crumbs, place small pieces of butter over, and brown before the fire, or with a salamander. _Time._—¼ hour. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.

LOBSTER SALAD.

_Ingredients._—1 hen lobster, lettuces, endive, small salad (whatever is in season), a little chopped beetroot, 2 hard-boiled eggs, a few slices of cucumber. For dressing, 4 tablespoonfuls of oil, 2 do. of vinegar, 1 teaspoonful of made mustard, the yolks of 2 eggs; cayenne and salt to taste; ¼ teaspoonful of anchovy sauce. These ingredients should be mixed perfectly smooth, and form a creamy-looking sauce. _Mode._—Wash the salad, and thoroughly dry it by shaking it in a cloth. Cut up the lettuces and endive, pour the dressing on them, and lightly throw in the small salad. Mix all well together with the pickings from the body of the lobster; pick the meat from the shell, cut it up into nice square pieces, put half in the salad, the other half reserve for garnishing. Separate the yolks from the whites of 2 hard-boiled eggs; chop the whites very fine, and rub the yolks through a sieve, and afterwards the coral from the inside. Arrange the salad lightly on a glass dish, and garnish, first with a row of sliced cucumber, then with the pieces of lobster, the yolks and whites of the eggs, coral, and beetroot placed alternately, and arranged in small separate bunches, so that the colours contrast nicely. _Average cost_, 3_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from April to October; may be had all the year, but salad is scarce and expensive in winter.

_Note._—A few crayfish make a pretty garnishing to lobster salad.

LOBSTER SAUCE, to serve with Turbot, Salmon, Brill, &c. (very Good.)

_Ingredients._—1 middling-sized hen lobster, ¾ pint of melted butter, 1 tablespoonful of anchovy sauce, ½ oz. of butter, salt and cayenne to taste, a little pounded mace when liked, 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of cream. _Mode._—Choose a hen lobster, as this is indispensable, in order to render this sauce as good as it ought to be. Pick the meat from the shells, and cut it into small square pieces; put the spawn, which will be found under the tail of the lobster, into a mortar with ½ oz. of butter, and pound it quite smooth; rub it through a hair-sieve, and cover up till wanted. Make ¾ pint of melted butter; put in all the ingredients except the lobster-meat, and well mix the sauce before the lobster is added to it, as it should retain its square form, and not come to table shredded and ragged. Put in the meat, let it get thoroughly hot, but do not allow it to boil, as the colour would immediately be spoiled; for it must be remembered that this sauce should always have a bright red appearance. If it is intended to be served with turbot or brill, a little of the spawn (dried and rubbed through a sieve without butter) should be saved to garnish with; but as the goodness, flavour, and appearance of the sauce so much depend on having a proper quantity of spawn, the less used for garnishing the better. _Time._—1 minute to simmer. _Average cost_, for this quantity, 2_s._ _Seasonable_ at any time. _Sufficient_ to serve with a small turbot, a brill, or salmon for 6 persons.

_Note._—Melted butter made with milk, will be found to answer very well for lobster sauce, as by employing it a nice white colour will be obtained. Less quantity than the above may be made by using a very small lobster, to which add only ½ pint of melted butter, and season as above. Where economy is desired, the cream may be dispensed with, and the remains of a cold lobster left from table, may, with a little care, be converted into a very good sauce.

LOBSTER SOUP.

_Ingredients._—3 large lobsters, or 6 small ones; the crumb of a French roll, 2 anchovies, 1 onion, 1 small bunch of sweet herbs, 1 strip of lemon-peel, 2 oz. of butter, a little nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 1 pint of cream, 1 pint of milk; forcemeat balls, mace, salt, and pepper to taste, bread-crumbs, 1 egg, 2 quarts of water. _Mode._—Pick the meat from the lobsters, and beat the fins, chine, and small claws in a mortar, previously taking away the brown fin and the bag in the head. Put it in a stewpan, with the crumb of the roll, anchovies, onions, herbs, lemon-peel, and the water; simmer gently till all the goodness is extracted, and strain it off. Pound the spawn in a mortar, with the butter, nutmeg, and flour, and mix with it the cream and milk. Give one boil up, at the same time adding the tails cut in pieces. Make the forcemeat balls with the remainder of the lobster, seasoned with mace, pepper, and salt, adding a little flour, and a few bread-crumbs; moisten them with the egg, heat them in the soup, and serve. _Time._—2 hours, or rather more. _Average cost_, 3_s._ 6_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ from April to October. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

LUNCHEONS.

The remains of cold joints, nicely garnished, a few sweets, or a little hashed meat, poultry or game, are the usual articles placed on the table for luncheon, with bread, and cheese, biscuits, butter, &c. If a substantial meal is desired, rump-steaks or mutton chops may be served, as also veal cutlets, kidneys, or any dish of that kind. In families where there is a nursery, the mistress of the house often partakes of the meal with the children, and makes it her luncheon. In the summer, a few dishes of fresh fruit should be added to the luncheon, or, instead of this, a compôte of fruit or fruit tart, or pudding.

MACARONI, as usually served with the CHEESE COURSE.

I.

_Ingredients._—½ lb. of pipe macaroni, 1 lb. of butter, 6 oz. of Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, pepper and salt to taste, 1 pint of milk, 2 pints of water, bread-crumbs. _Mode._—Put the milk and water into a saucepan with sufficient salt to flavour it; place it on the fire, and, when it boils quickly, drop in the macaroni. Keep the water boiling until it is quite tender; drain the macaroni, and put it into a deep dish. Have ready the grated cheese, either Parmesan or Cheshire; sprinkle it amongst the macaroni and some of the butter cut into small pieces, reserving some of the cheese for the top layer. Season with a little pepper, and cover the top layer of cheese with some very fine bread-crumbs. Warm, without oiling, the remainder of the butter, and pour it gently over the bread-crumbs, Place the dish before a bright fire to brown the crumbs; turn it once or twice, that it may be equally coloured, and serve very hot. The top of the macaroni may be browned with a salamander, which is even better than placing it before the fire, as the process is more expeditious; but it should never be browned in the oven, as the butter would oil, and so impart a very disagreeable flavour to the dish. In boiling the macaroni, let it be perfectly tender but firm, no part beginning to melt, and the form entirely preserved. It may be boiled in plain-water, with a little salt instead of using milk, but should then have a small piece of butter mixed with it. _Time._—1 to 1½ hours to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to brown it before the fire. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—Riband macaroni may be dressed in the same manner, but does not require boiling so long a time.

II.

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of pipe or riband macaroni, ½ pint of milk, ½ pint of veal or beef gravy, the yolks of 2 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, 3 oz. of grated Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, 1 oz. of butter. _Mode._—Wash the macaroni, and boil it in the gravy and milk until quite tender, without being broken. Drain it, and put it into rather a deep dish. Beat the yolks of the eggs with the cream and 2 tablespoonfuls of the liquor the macaroni was boiled in; make this sufficiently hot to thicken, but do not allow it to boil; pour it over the macaroni, over which sprinkle the grated cheese and the butter broken into small pieces; brown with a salamander, or before the fire, and serve. _Time._—1 to 1½ hour to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to thicken the eggs and cream, 5 minutes to brown. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 2_d._ _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons, _Seasonable_ at any time.

III.

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of pipe macaroni, ½ pint of brown gravy No. 436, 6 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese. _Mode._—Wash the macaroni, and boil it in salt and water until quite tender; drain it, and put it into rather a deep dish. Have ready a pint of good brown gravy, pour it hot over the macaroni, and send it to table with grated Parmesan served on a separate dish. When the flavour is liked, a little pounded mace may be added to the water in which the macaroni is boiled; but this must always be sparingly added, as it will impart a very strong flavour. _Time._—1 to 1½ hour to boil the macaroni. _Average cost_, with the gravy and cheese, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

MACARONI, Sweet Pudding.

_Ingredients._—2½ oz. of macaroni, 2 pints, of milk, the rind of ½ lemon, 3 eggs, sugar and grated nutmeg to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy. _Mode._—Put the macaroni, with a pint of the milk, into a saucepan with the lemon-peel, and let it simmer gently until the macaroni is tender: then put it into a pie-dish without the peel; mix the other pint of milk with the eggs; stir these well together, adding the sugar and brandy, and pour the mixture over the macaroni. Grate a little nutmeg over the top, and bake in a moderate oven for ½ hour. To make this pudding look nice, a paste should be laid round the edges of the dish, and, for variety, a layer of preserve or marmalade may be placed on the macaroni: in this case, omit the brandy. _Time._—1 hour to simmer the macaroni; ½ hour to bake the pudding. _Average cost_, 11_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

MACARONI SOUP.

_Ingredients._—3 oz. of macaroni, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, salt to taste, 2 quarts of clear stock. _Mode._—Throw the macaroni and butter into boiling water, with a pinch of salt, and simmer for ½ an hour. When it is tender, drain and cut it into thin rings or lengths, and drop it into the boiling stock. Stew gently for 15 minutes, and serve grated Parmesan cheese with it. _Time._—¾ to 1 hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

MACARONI, a Sweet Dish of.

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of macaroni, 1½ pint of milk, the rind of ½ lemon, 3 oz. of lump sugar, ¾ pint of custard. _Mode._—Put the milk into a saucepan, with the lemon-peel and sugar; bring it to the boiling-point, drop in the macaroni, and let it gradually swell over a gentle fire, but do not allow the pipes to break. The form should be entirely preserved; and, though tender, should be firm, and not soft, with no part beginning to melt. Should the milk dry away before the macaroni is sufficiently swelled, add a little more. Make a custard, place the macaroni on a dish, and pour the custard over the hot macaroni; grate over it a little nutmeg, and, when cold, garnish the dish with slices of candied citron. _Time._—From 40 to 50 minutes to swell the macaroni. _Average cost_, with the custard, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

MACAROONS.

_Ingredients._—½ lb. of sweet almonds, ½ lb. of sifted loaf sugar, the whites of three eggs, wafer paper. _Mode._—Blanch, skin and dry the almonds, and pound them well with a little orange flower or plain water, then add the sifted sugar and the whites of the eggs, which should be beaten to a stiff froth, and mix all the ingredients well together. When the paste looks soft, drop it at equal distances from a biscuit syringe on to sheets of wafer paper: put a strip of almond on the top of each; strew some syrup over, and bake the macaroons in rather a slow oven, of a light brown colour. When hard and set, they are done. They must not be allowed to get very brown, as that would spoil their appearance. If the cakes when baked, appear heavy, add a little more white of egg, which should be well whisked up before it is added to the other ingredients. _Time._—From 15 to 20 minutes. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 8_d._ per lb.

MACKEREL.

In choosing this fish, purchasers should, to a great extent, be regulated by the brightness of its appearance. If it has a transparent, silvery hue, the flesh is good; but if it be red about the head, it is stale.

MACKEREL, Baked.

_Ingredients._— 4 middling-sized mackerel, a nice delicate forcemeat, 3 oz. of butter; pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Clean the fish, take out the roes, and fill up with forcemeat, and sew up the slit. Flour, and put them in a dish, heads and tails alternately, with the roes; and, between each layer, put some little pieces of butter, and pepper and salt. Bake for ½ an hour, and either serve with plain melted butter or a _maître d’hôtel_ sauce. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 1_s._ 10_d._ _Seasonable_ from April to July. _Sufficient_ for 6 persons.

_Note._—Baked mackerel may be dressed in the same way as baked herrings, and may also be stewed in wine.

MACKEREL, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. _Mode._—Cleanse the inside of the fish thoroughly, and lay it in the kettle with sufficient water to cover it with salt as above; bring it gradually to boil, skim well, and simmer gently till done; dish them on a hot napkin, heads and tails alternately, and garnish with fennel. Fennel sauce and plain melted butter are the usual accompaniments to boiled mackerel; but caper or anchovy sauce is sometimes served with it. _Time._—After the water boils, 10 minutes; for large mackerel, allow more time. _Average cost_, from 4_d._ _Seasonable_ from April to July.

_Note._—When variety is desired, fillet the mackerel, boil it, and pour over parsley and butter; send some of this, besides, in a tureen.

MACKEREL, Broiled.

_Ingredients._—Pepper and salt to taste, a small quantity of oil. _Mode._—Mackerel should never be washed when intended to be broiled, but merely wiped very clean and dry, after taking out the gills and insides. Open the back, and put in a little pepper, salt, and oil; broil it over a clear fire, turn it over on both sides, and also on the back. When sufficiently cooked, the flesh can be detached from the bone, which will be in about 10 minutes for a small mackerel. Chop a little parsley, work it up in the butter with pepper and salt to taste, and a squeeze of lemon-juice, and put it in the back. Serve before the butter is quite melted, with a _maître d’hôtel_ sauce in a tureen. _Time._—Small mackerel 10 minutes. _Average cost_, from 4_d._ _Seasonable_ from April to July.

MACKEREL, Fillets of.

_Ingredients._—2 large mackerel, 1 oz. butter, 1 small bunch of chopped herbs, 3 tablespoonfuls of medium stock, 3 tablespoonfuls of béchamel; salt, cayenne, and lemon-juice to taste. _Mode._—Clean the fish, and fillet it; scald the herbs, chop them fine, and put them with the butter and stock into a stewpan. Lay in the mackerel, and simmer very gently for 10 minutes; take them out, and put them on a hot dish. Dredge in a little flour, add the other ingredients, give one boil, and pour it over the mackerel. _Time._—20 minutes. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ from April to July. _Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Note._—Fillets of mackerel may be covered with egg and bread-crumbs, and fried of a nice brown. Serve with _maître d’hôtel_ sauce and plain melted butter.

MACKEREL, Pickled.

_Ingredients._—12 peppercorns, 2 bay-leaves, ½ pint of vinegar, 4 mackerel. _Mode._—Boil the mackerel, and lay them in a dish; take half the liquor they were boiled in; add as much vinegar, peppercorns, and bay-leaves; boil for 10 minutes, and when cold, pour over the fish. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._

MACKEREL, Potted.

_Ingredients._—Mackerel, a blade of mace, cayenne, salt, and 2 oz. or more butter, according to the quantity of mackerel. _Mode._—Any remains of cooked mackerel may be potted as follows; pick it well from the bones, break it into very small pieces, and put into a stewpan with the butter, pounded mace, and other ingredients; warm it thoroughly, but do not let it boil; press it into potting pots and pour clarified butter over it.

MAIGRE SOUP (i.e., Soup without Meat).

_Ingredients._—6 oz. butter, 6 onions sliced, 4 heads of celery, 2 lettuces, a small bunch of parsley, 2 handfuls of spinach, 3 pieces of bread-crust, 2 blades of mace, salt and pepper to taste, the yolks of 2 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls of vinegar, 2 quarts of water. _Mode._—Melt the butter in a stewpan, and put in the onions to stew gently for 3 or 4 minutes; then add the celery, spinach, lettuces, and parsley, cut small. Stir the ingredients well for 10 minutes. Now put in the water, bread, seasoning, and mace. Boil gently for 1½ hour, and, at the moment of serving, beat in the yolks of the eggs and the vinegar, but do not let it boil, or the eggs will curdle. _Time._—2 hours. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

MAIZE, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—The ears of young and green Indian wheat; to every ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. _Mode._—This vegetable, which makes one of the most delicious dishes, brought to table, is unfortunately very rarely seen in Britain; and we wonder that, in the gardens of the wealthy, it is not invariably cultivated. Our sun, it is true, possesses hardly power sufficient to ripen maize; but, with well-prepared ground, and in a favourable position, it might be sufficiently advanced by the beginning of autumn to serve as a vegetable. The outside sheath being taken off and the waving fibres removed, let the ears be placed in boiling water, where they should remain for about 25 minutes (a longer time may be necessary for larger ears than ordinary); and, when sufficiently boiled and well drained, they may be sent to table whole, and with a piece of toast underneath them. Melted butter should be served with them. _Time._—25 to 35 minutes. _Average cost._—Seldom bought. _Sufficient_ 1 ear for each person. _Seasonable_ in autumn.

MALT WINE.