Part 11

Into 1 tablespoon of reduced vinegar beat slowly the yolks of 4 eggs to which has been added 2 tablespoons of cold water, and when well mixed hold in a small saucepan above a slow fire; put in a small bit of butter, and when melted stir in another, and so continue until 1 1/2 tablespoons have been used. When the sauce is smooth and creamy, season with salt and pepper or paprika, and add 1/2 teaspoon of tarragon vinegar, or 1 teaspoon of minced tarragon leaves. The sauce cannot be served very hot or it will curdle. It may be served cold also.

BLACK BUTTER SAUCE

Put 3 or 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan with 1 saltspoon of salt and a little pepper, and let cook slowly until browned; then add 1 teaspoon of reduced vinegar or lemon juice, and serve hot.

BREAD SAUCE

Put 1 large slice of bread, cut an inch thick, into 2 cups of milk with 1 onion with 4 cloves stuck in it, add pepper, salt, and 1 teaspoon of butter. Let simmer until the bread is quite soft, lift out the onion and cloves, beat well with a fork, and serve. Serve fine golden brown bread crumbs with the sauce, as these belong with it.

BROWN SAUCE

Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, and when well browned, remove from fire, add 1 tablespoon of flour, stirring until smooth; then add gradually 1 cup of vegetable stock or milk, and, when all is smooth and well thickened, 1/2 teaspoon of brown colouring, and salt and pepper. It improves the flavour to let the stock to be used simmer for ten minutes with 1 bay leaf and 1/2 an onion added to it.

VARIATIONS OF BROWN SAUCE

Add chopped button mushrooms, chopped fried peppers, tiny pearl onions, boiled eggs, etc., to vary brown sauce.

SAUCE BORDELAISE

To 1 cup of brown sauce add 1 teaspoon of grated onion, 3 minced fresh mushrooms (or 1 tablespoon of chopped canned ones), 2 teaspoons of chopped parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir over a slow fire for five minutes before serving.

DRAWN BUTTER

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter, and stir in until smooth 2 tablespoons of flour; then add slowly 2 cups of boiling vegetable stock, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a little cayenne or paprika.

CURRY SAUCE

Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, and when melted stir into it 1 large onion chopped fine, and let simmer for six or seven minutes; then add 1 sour apple chopped fine (or, if it can be had, 1 tablespoon of tamarind chutney), stir for three or four minutes, then add 1/2 cup of strong vegetable stock or water, and let cook gently for five minutes; pour on another 1/2 cup of vegetable stock and 1 cup of milk, into which 1 dessert spoon of curry powder has been stirred until smooth; let all boil up once, then press through a sieve, pressing well to get the juices, return to the fire, and to thicken, use 1 tablespoon of flour blended with 1 tablespoon of butter to every cup of liquid. Stir until the consistency of thick cream, and add a little salt before serving. The quantity of curry powder here named will make a mild curry sauce.

CAPER SAUCE

Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and when melted add 1 tablespoon of flour and stir until smooth. Now add, a little at a time, 2 cups of vegetable broth, and stir until it boils and is smooth. Put in 2 heaping tablespoons of capers and 1 chopped hard-boiled egg, and season well with salt and pepper. One tablespoon of cream may be added at the last to enrich the sauce if desired.

CHEESE SAUCE

Make 1 cup of highly seasoned white sauce, and add to it 1 scant cup of grated cheese; stir in a double boiler until the cheese is melted, then add a few drops of yellow colouring extract, and salt and paprika.

FRENCH CUCUMBER SAUCE

Grate 1 cucumber and drain it well, then add to it 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a dash of cayenne, and 1 tablespoon of vinegar.

DUTCH BUTTER

To every tablespoon of melted butter add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice; season with salt.

DEVILLED SAUCE

Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add 1 tablespoon of chopped onion, and let cook slowly for five minutes. Then add 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of walnut or mushroom catsup, 1 tablespoon of English mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 saltspoon of black pepper, and a little cayenne. Thicken with 1 tablespoon of flour, and when smooth add enough vegetable stock to make the consistency of cream. The sauce may be used as it is or pressed through a sieve to strain.

EGG SAUCE

To 1 cup of well-made white sauce add 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, and 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley, and a little salt and paprika.

FRENCH SAUCE

Rub together 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 of butter, and put in a saucepan; as it melts add slowly 1 cup of boiling water or vegetable stock, let boil, stirring constantly, then remove from the fire, and when somewhat cooled add the juice of 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons of tarragon or chervil vinegar, 2 egg-yolks slightly beaten, and salt and pepper.

GERMAN SAUCE

Make brown sauce, add 1/2 can halved button mushrooms and 1 tablespoon of reduced vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

GERMAN EGG SAUCE

Mix 3 beaten egg-yolks with 1 teaspoon of flour, 1 scant cup of cream or milk, 1 tablespoon of butter, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and beat vigorously, until thickened, over a hot fire, but do not let the sauce boil at all. Add 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped fine, and 1 tablespoon of minced parsley before serving.

HERB SAUCES

Make a good white sauce and to each 2 cups of sauce add the herbs selected, prepared as follows: Take a handful of the leaves, and after washing them well put them in a pan with a little salted boiling water; let cook for five minutes, then drain, and dry with a cloth, and put in a mortar with 1 tablespoon of butter, and macerate until fine; add this to the white sauce. In this way parsley, mint, tarragon, chervil, and other herb sauces can be made.

SAUCE HOLLANDAISE

To 1 tablespoon of reduced vinegar add the yolks of 4 eggs mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water; stir well together, and cook by holding above a very slow fire, in order to prevent curdling; add 2 tablespoons of butter, stirring it in a little at a time until all is used. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm or cold.

HORSE-RADISH SAUCE

Rub together 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 of flour and put in a saucepan. When melted and smooth from stirring, add slowly 1 1/2 cups of heated milk; when properly thickened by slow cooking, put in 3 tablespoons of grated horse-radish, stir well, season with salt, add 1 teaspoon of butter, and serve on croquettes, etc.

MAÎTRE D'HÔTEL SAUCE

This is made by using sauce Hollandaise and adding to it 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley.

MINT SAUCE

Wash the mint and take 1/2 cup of the leaves; chop them fine, macerate in a mortar, then cover with 1 cup of hot vinegar, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, and let stand a few moments before using.

MUSHROOM SAUCE

Make brown sauce and add to it 1/2 can of button mushrooms, halved. Let heat through before serving.

NUT SAUCES

For these use pignola (pine) nuts, almonds, chestnuts, or any other sort. Remove the shells, blanch in boiling water to remove the inner skin, and chop them very fine. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and when melted add to it 1 tablespoon of chopped onion, and let cook for five minutes; then add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts and stir until brown, scrape the contents of the pan into a mortar, and pound them well. Blend 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of butter, put in a saucepan, and when melted and smooth add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 of the nuts; let cook slowly two or three minutes, add another 1/2 cup of milk and the remaining nuts. Salt well, and add a little pepper; let cook very slowly, and when the sauce is the proper thickness stir in 1 tablespoon of thick cream.

The sauce can be darkened with brown colouring, or by browning the thickening flour in butter.

ONION SAUCE

Chop 4 onions very fine and brown them in 3 tablespoons of butter; add 1 tablespoon of flour, let this brown also, and thin with 1 cup of broth or water or milk. Add pepper and salt, and beat 1 egg-yolk into it before serving. Serve either strained or unstrained.

PARSLEY BUTTER

Put butter in a saucepan, and when melted add finely chopped parsley and some salt, using 1 teaspoon of parsley to every tablespoon of butter used. Serve on boiled potatoes, asparagus, etc.

PARSLEY SAUCE

Into 2 cups of white sauce stir 1 beaten egg and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley.

SAUCE PROVENÇAL

To 1 cup of Spanish sauce add 1 tablespoon of white wine, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce, and 1 tablespoon of chopped chives, and cook together slowly ten minutes before serving. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

PIQUANT SAUCE

Put 4 tablespoons of vinegar in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of chopped shallots or onions, and let cook slowly until only 1 tablespoon remains; add to this 1 cup of Spanish sauce, and when at boiling point put in the sauce 2 teaspoons of minced sour pickles, 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley, and some salt and pepper; serve with croquettes or vegetables.

SAUCE RAVIGOTE

Ravigote is merely the name applied to the mixture of herbs combined with flavouring for this sauce. These are chives, cress, burnet and chervil, in equal proportions. Use 2 tablespoons of the mixed herbs, scald them in tarragon vinegar, drain them, chop them fine, and add them to 1 cup of plain mayonnaise.

SAUCE ROBERT

This is made by adding to 1 cup of Spanish sauce 2 tablespoons of white wine, 1 teaspoon of onion juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of mustard mixed with 2 teaspoons tarragon vinegar. Season, and make hot in a double boiler, letting all cook slowly together ten minutes.

SPANISH SAUCE

This is a rich sauce which is used as a basis for many sauces, and can be made at a leisure time and used any time within a few days. Any stock in which vegetables have been cooked may be used, but the best one is made as follows: Wash 4 or 5 cups of red beans or lentils, and after soaking them in 2 quarts of water for ten hours or more empty them with the same water into a saucepan, and put with them 3 onions halved, 3 sprigs of parsley, 1 cup of carrots quartered, 1/2 cup of diced turnips, 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 stalks of celery cut in short lengths, and a small bag containing 1 teaspoon of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 6 cloves, 6 whole peppers, and 1 teaspoon of allspice berries. Let boil hard for one minute, then set on the stove where it will simmer slowly for two hours. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, and use the vegetables in a stew, a deep pie, or a curry. To finish the Spanish sauce put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted stir into it 2 tablespoons of flour and let brown, stirring constantly; then add a little stock at a time until about 2 cups have been used and the sauce is the consistency of thick cream. Darken with 1 teaspoon of brown colouring, add 1 tablespoon of sherry, and pepper and salt.

SPINACH SAUCE

Put 1 cup of freshly cooked or canned spinach, from which the juice has been pressed, into a basin or mortar, and chop or mash to a pulp. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, add to it 1 small onion chopped fine, let cook slowly for five minutes, then add the spinach, and let cook for ten minutes more. Put 1 cup of milk into a double boiler with 1 bay leaf, 1 stalk of celery (or some celery seed), and when it boils add 1 tablespoon of flour blended with 1 tablespoon of butter; season with salt and pepper, and when thickened stir the spinach into this, sprinkle with grated nutmeg, and let cook together for ten minutes. Press through a sieve before serving.

SAUCE TARTARE

Make a plain mayonnaise sauce (see Salads), and to each cup add 1 teaspoon of gherkins and 2 teaspoons of capers, both very finely minced; sprinkle a little cayenne on the sauce before serving.

TOMATO SAUCE

Use 6 fresh tomatoes, and after washing them slice them, skins and all. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion, let cook slowly for five minutes, then put with them the tomatoes, 2 bay leaves, 1 clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon of sugar, some pepper and salt, and let cook gently for fifteen minutes; then strain, pressing through a sieve, and return the liquid to the fire to simmer until reduced to the proper consistency.

TOMATO SAUCE WITH OTHER VEGETABLES

Make tomato sauce, using with it chopped celery, chopped peppers, or chopped mushrooms, which have been fried for ten minutes in hot butter and added after the sauce is strained.

TOMATO SAUCE WITH NUTS

Chop 2 tablespoons of blanched nuts, fry them for ten minutes in 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and add these to strained tomato sauce.

TOMATO SAUCE WITH EGG

To each cup of strained tomato sauce add 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped fine.

SAUCE VINAIGRETTE

To each cup of French dressing add 1 tablespoon of minced onion and 1 tablespoon of macerated parsley.

WHITE SAUCE

Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and as soon as it is melted stir into it slowly 3 tablespoons of flour, using 1 tablespoon at a time, then add slowly 2 cups of warm vegetable stock or milk, stirring all the while; then add 2/3 of a teaspoon of salt, 1 saltspoon of pepper, and cook slowly for five minutes, stirring constantly; add 1 tablespoon of butter, and stir for another minute. Some flour thickens more than others, and if the sauce seems too thick, thin with a little cream or milk.

White sauce may be varied in many ways by using onion juice, mushroom catsup, chopped chives, etc.

The white sauce may be made in a double boiler. Put the milk in the top receptacle, and when boiling add the flour dissolved in a little cold milk, then the butter, etc., and let cook ten minutes or until thickened.

Some people are not to be persuaded to taste of any creatures they have daily seen and been acquainted with whilst they were alive.--In this behaviour, methinks there appears something like a consciousness of guilt; it looks as if they endeavoured to save themselves from the imputation of a crime (which they know sticks somewhere) by removing the cause of it as far as they can from themselves.

From the Essays of Douglas Jerrold.

EGGS

BOILED EGGS

Eggs are very palatable when put in boiling water and cooked for three or three and a half minutes, but some cooks recommend that "boiled eggs" should never boil, but instead, be placed in a large saucepan which is filled with water that has boiled and just been removed from the fire. The instructions are to cover the saucepan closely after putting the eggs in the water, and let it stand on the back of the stove, the eggs to be removed in ten minutes if wanted soft, and in twenty minutes if liked well set. Hard-boiled eggs are certainly more palatable cooked in this way than when boiled for ten minutes in the ordinary way.

FRIED EGGS

Put a little butter into a small frying pan, and when melted break an egg into a saucer, and slide it carefully into the hot butter, and let it fry until the white is thoroughly set, cooking as many as are required, separately, in the same way. If a tight cover is put over the frying pan when the egg is put in, the yolk of the egg will be as pink as a nicely poached egg when done. Season with pepper and salt before serving. A little Worcestershire sauce or walnut catsup heated in the pan and poured over fried eggs adds variety.

POACHED EGGS

Fill a deep frying pan 2/3 full of hot water, and stir into it one teaspoon of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. When the water reaches boiling point break the eggs carefully one by one into it, remove the pan from the intense heat, cover it, and let the eggs cook until the whites are firmly set. If the water is shallow the eggs will spread and be more flat, in which case the boiling water must be dipped up over the yolks with a spoon to make them pink; if the water is deep the eggs will be more round than flat. When the eggs are done lift them carefully from the water with a perforated strainer in order to drain off the water thoroughly, and serve them on hot toast.

POACHED EGGS WITH GRAVY

Poach eggs and serve them with Sauce Bernaise, or any piquant sauce.

POACHED EGGS INDIENNE

Poach the number of eggs required, and after placing them on toast pour over them a thin curry sauce.

EGGS WALDORF

Place nicely poached eggs on toast, and fit a freshly cooked mushroom as a cap over each yolk. Surround the toast with brown sauce containing quartered mushrooms.

SCRAMBLED EGGS

Break six or more into a bowl, beat them lightly with a fork, and pour them into a frying pan into which 1 tablespoon of butter has been melted; stir continually over a very slow fire until they are well set, seasoning them meanwhile with pepper and salt, and adding another 1/2 tablespoon of butter in small pieces during the cooking. Serve with a garnish of small triangular pieces of toast. One tablespoon of cream can be added to the eggs before serving if desired. Eggs may be scrambled with milk, using 1/2 cup of milk to 4 eggs, and then proceeding as above.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH CHEESE

Make plain scrambled eggs, and when nearly set add 2 tablespoons of grated cheese for every 6 eggs used, and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley. Serve on toast.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH MUSHROOMS, PEAS, ETC.

Scramble 6 eggs, and two or three minutes before removing from the fire add to them a can of button mushrooms cut in slices, lengthwise, and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley. In the same way peas, tomatoes, asparagus tips, chopped sweet peppers, etc., can be used.

SAVOURY SCRAMBLED EGGS

Prepare plain scrambled eggs, and just before taking off the fire add 2 tablespoons of chopped chives (or green stems of young onions or shallots can be used instead), and 1/2 a tablespoon of finely chopped parsley; serve on hot toast.

SCRAMBLED EGGS INDIENNE

Make plain scrambled eggs, and just before serving stir into them 1 tablespoon of cream, into which has been stirred 1 teaspoon of curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon of onion juice. Serve on hot toast.

SPANISH EGGS

For 6 eggs use 1 large tomato and 1 small onion. Chop the onion fine, and fry it five minutes in 1 tablespoon of butter; then add the chopped tomato, and stir another minute over the fire. Now pour in the eggs and scramble them, adding 1 teaspoon of salt and a saltspoon of pepper. Garnish with small triangles of toast.

SHIRRED EGGS

Butter individual gratin dishes, and break into them 1 or 2 eggs as desired. Season with salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley, and put into the oven for five minutes, or until the eggs are set. Place each dish on a small plate with a paper doily.

SHIRRED EGGS WITH TOMATOES

Use as many shallow, individual gratin dishes as there are persons to be served, and, after buttering each dish, break into it 1 egg, taking care not to break the yolk. Halve some small tomatoes, and set one half, cut side up, in each dish; season the whole with pepper and salt, and set in the oven for ten minutes or less.

GRIDDLED EGGS

Heat a griddle and butter it slightly, and break upon it 3 or 4 eggs, disturbing the yolks so as to break them. When a little browned on one side turn them with a cake-turner and fry the other side.

PLAIN OMELET

Put 3 or 4 eggs in a bowl and beat them ten or twelve times with a fork vigorously. Put 1 scant tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and as soon as melted turn in the eggs and shake over a slow fire until they are set; season with salt and pepper, turn the omelet together as it is let to slide from the pan, and place on a hot dish. Make several small omelets rather than one large one, and place on white paper doilies, and garnish with parsley to serve. The trick of shaking an omelet is the secret of making a good one, and the egg mixture should be not over 1/2 an inch deep in the pan.

OMELET SOUFFLÉ

Take 4 to 6 fresh eggs, separate the yolks and whites, and beat each until as light as possible. Butter a deep frying pan, mix the yolks and whites lightly together with a fork, and put in the hot frying pan, smoothing somewhat with a fork to level. Season the top with pepper and salt, and shake over a slow fire until the omelet is delicately browned on the bottom; turn it together and serve on a hot platter.

HERB OMELET

Make like plain omelet, stirring with every 4 eggs used 1 teaspoon each of powdered thyme, or sweet marjoram, sage, chopped onion tops or chives, and parsley.

CHEESE OMELET

For omelet soufflé made with 6 eggs add 1/4 cup of grated cheese to the yolks of the eggs, and 1/4 cup to the beaten whites before putting them together.

In making plain omelet with cheese add 1/4 cup of cheese to 4 eggs after they are in the omelet pan. Sprinkle with grated cheese to serve, and garnish with watercress or parsley.

RUM OMELET

Make an omelet soufflé, put on a hot dish, and pour 1/2 cup of heated rum around it, and light it with a match. Rum is easily made to blaze if a teaspoon is filled with it and a lighted match held under the tip of the spoon. The rum on the platter can then be easily lighted with that in the spoon.

BAKED OMELET SOUFFLÉ

Beat the whites of 6 eggs very stiff and the yolks of 3. Mix the whites and the yolks, using a fork; then stir in the juice of half a lemon and 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Heap in a buttered baking dish, and cook in a hot oven about fifteen minutes.

EGGS CARMELITE

Prepare 1 cup of very finely chopped boiled spinach by adding to it 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 saltspoon of grated nutmeg, and put where it will keep warm. Hard boil 6 or 8 eggs, then cut each carefully in two, lengthwise; remove the yolks and stir them into the spinach, mashing them well, and mashing all together until the yolks are thoroughly mixed with the spinach; then season with salt and pepper and neatly fill the halves of the whites of the eggs with the spinach. Make a sauce with 2 cups of milk, 1 teaspoon of butter, and 2 tablespoons of flour, a dash of paprika, and 1 cup of grated cheese. When this has thickened arrange 2 or 3 halved eggs in each individual gratin dish, and pour around them some of the sauce, and set in the oven five minutes to make thoroughly hot, or serve on a large dish garnished with small triangular pieces of toast.

EGG WITH MASHED POTATO

Use a long, narrow gratin dish, and arrange cold mashed potato in it in ridges with a spoon, and make three or four hollows in the surface. Into each of these break an egg, and let all bake in the oven until the eggs are set. Tomato or white sauce can be served with this.

EGGS NEWBURG

Hard boil 6 eggs, plunge them into cold water for a moment, then peel, and when cooled, so they will not crumble in cutting, cut them in half. Have ready a sauce made of 1 cup of cream (or milk) and 3 tablespoons of butter, to which when hot is added 2 tablespoons of sherry, 2 tablespoons of brandy (the latter may be omitted), 1 saltspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Let cook three minutes, then beat in vigorously the beaten yolks of 4 eggs, stir until thickened, add a dash of paprika, and serve over the hard-boiled eggs on toast.

EGGS LYONNAISE

Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan, and when melted add 1 finely chopped onion, and let simmer slowly for eight or ten minutes; then add 1 tablespoon of flour, and stir well until smooth. Add to this 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 saltspoon of pepper, and let cook three or four minutes only. Pour into a deep gratin dish, and break upon it 6 eggs; sprinkle with 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, and let cook in a moderate oven about five minutes, or until the eggs are set. Serve in the same dish.

DEVILLED EGGS

Hard boil the number of eggs required, halve them, and serve on toast with devilled sauce.

JAPANESE EGGS