Chapter III: Part 3

_Method._--Trim the potatoes, after peeling them, so that they are round and as nearly the same size as possible (the trimmings can be used for soup), and cut a piece from one end so that they will stand upright; put them into a baking tin containing some hot vegetable butter and bake in a well-heated oven until they are nicely browned, basting them frequently. When done remove the centre of the inside with an apple corer or small tubular-shaped cutter and fill the cavity with mushrooms, prepared as below. Replace the potatoes in the oven for about ten minutes, and serve them surrounded by some thick brown sauce flavoured with a few drops of Maggi’s essence, and a little piece of parsley on the top of each. For the stuffing, fry the mushrooms and onion in the butter for ten minutes, stirring gently all the time, then add the breadcrumbs and the chopped parsley, season with salt, pepper, and a little mace or nutmeg, and stir over the fire for six minutes more; remove the pan at the end of the time and moisten the mixture with sufficient beaten egg to bring it to a fairly stiff paste and use as directed.

ROMAN PIE

Half a pound puff paste, 2 ozs. cooked macaroni (the large, straight kind), ¹⁄₂ pint salsify (cooked, and cut into small pieces), six champignons, ¹⁄₄ pint cooked Japanese artichokes, 1 gill thick white sauce, parsley, lemon, 1 teaspoonful onion (scalded and minced), grated Parmesan, brown sauce.

_Method._--Line a buttered mould with the paste rolled out to a moderate thickness, and fill it with alternate layers of the macaroni, cut into small pieces, salsify, and artichokes, and over each layer scatter a few slices of champignons, a little grated cheese, a few drops of lemon-juice, and season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and nutmeg. When the mould is full, pour in as much sauce, mixed with some of the liquor in which the champignons were preserved, as is required, then cover in with a round of paste and bake in a moderately quick oven for from three-quarters to one hour; turn out carefully on to a hot dish and surround with brown sauce.

SALSIFY OMELET

Four ounces salsify, colourless vegetable stock, small quantity very thick white sauce, 3 eggs, 1³⁄₄ ozs. butter, seasoning, fried breadcrumbs.

_Method._--Prepare the salsify (freshly cut) in the usual way and cook it until tender in the stock, then drain thoroughly, cut it into pieces of about an inch in length, and put into a saucepan containing a quarter of an ounce of butter seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne, and lemon-juice; cover it with the white sauce and keep it hot by the side of the stove until the omelet is made. To prepare the latter, break the eggs, which should be new laid, into a basin, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and whisk them well, then add half an ounce of butter cut into tiny pieces. Melt one ounce of butter in an omelet pan of suitable size and, directly it is hot, pour in the eggs; draw the pan to the hottest part of the stove (the fire should be clear and brisk) and stir the mixture with a fork until it begins to set; then loosen it round the sides and thrust the fork through it in two or three places to prevent the omelet sticking and to allow the unset portion to come into contact with the hot pan; when it is almost set enough, spread the salsify over one half of the omelet and fold the other half over and carefully turn it on to a hot dish, surround it with fried breadcrumbs (prepared in the same way as for game), and serve at once. The appearance of the omelet will be improved if the uppermost side is brushed over with warm butter and sprinkled with parsley.

SALSIFY PATTIES

Salsify (also named vegetable oyster), white sauce, cream, lemon-juice, seasoning, puff-paste pattie-cases, white stock, butter.

_Method._--Scrape the salsify thoroughly, wash it, and cook it until tender in colourless vegetable stock; drain well and cut it into pieces of about two inches in length, pour over them a small quantity of warm butter which has been seasoned with lemon-juice, black pepper, and salt, and leave until the butter is cold. Make a small quantity of nicely-flavoured thick white sauce and mix it with an equal quantity of boiling cream (if practicable); season with salt, black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne, and add a squeeze of lemon-juice, then put the pieces of salsify into the sauce and heat them gradually. Have ready the requisite number of pattie cases; fill them with the salsify, put them into the oven for a few moments, and serve as soon as they are thoroughly hot.

SAVOURY MACARONI

Three ounces of Swiss egg macaroni, rather more than 1 pint brown vegetable stock, grated cheese, ¹⁄₂ oz. flour, 1 oz. butter, 1 tablespoonful tomato catsup, seasoning.

_Method._--Put the macaroni into boiling salted water for ten minutes, then drain it, put it into a stewpan, cover with the brown stock, which should be boiling, and cook steadily until it is done. Then drain it and pile it up on a hot dish; let the stock in which it was cooked boil up and thicken it by stirring in the butter, which should be worked up smoothly with the flour; add the tomato catsup and strain over the macaroni; scatter a little dry, grated cheese over the top and surround by some carefully cooked Brussels sprouts, which have been finished with some warm, seasoned butter and a squeeze of lemon-juice.

SAVOURY MINCE WITH SPINACH

Three ounces finely-ground Brazil nuts (taking care they are fresh), 4 ozs. cooked rice, 1¹⁄₂ ozs. onion (scalded and chopped), 1 teaspoonful minced parsley, a little lemon-thyme if the flavour is liked, 1 pint good brown sauce flavoured with a few drops of Maggi’s essence, 2 ozs. butter, seasoning, spinach, sippets.

_Method._--Fry the nuts with the onion and butter for eight minutes, taking care they do not become brown, then add the rice and herbs and moisten with three-quarters of a pint of the sauce; cover with a greased paper and put the mince into the oven for half an hour; if the rice absorbs too much sauce, so as to leave the mince dry, add some of the remaining sauce and a few drops of browning if it is not a nice rich colour, and serve in the middle of a surround of spinach garnished with fried sippets of bread. Cabbage can be substituted for spinach if preferred, and if prepared in the same way will answer the purpose very well.

SAVOURY PASTIES

Two ounces breadcrumbs, 1 gill cream, 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls thick brown sauce, 3 ozs. finely-ground pine kernels (previously blanched), ¹⁄₂ oz. chopped onion, 1 teaspoonful parsley, 1¹⁄₂ ozs. butter, lemon-juice, seasoning, 6 ozs. short paste.

_Method._--Fry the onion and nuts together in one ounce of butter for six or eight minutes, then pour the cream, which should be boiling, over the bread and beat it to a paste, add the remainder of the butter and the fried nuts, parsley, a few drops of lemon-juice, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and moisten with a few tablespoonfuls of thick brown sauce. Roll out the paste to about the eighth of an inch in thickness and cut it into rounds of about the size of a claret glass; spread half the rounds with the mince and cover it with the remainder of the pieces of paste; wet the edges and pinch them together, brush over the top of the pasties with beaten egg, and bake them in a quick oven.

SAVOURY ROLL

Six ounces of finely-ground pine kernels (blanched), 4 ozs. butter, 3 ozs. onion (scalded and chopped), 1 tablespoonful parsley, 6 ozs. breadcrumb, ¹⁄₂ gill thick white sauce, 2 eggs, 2 minced mushrooms, seasoning, some thick brown sauce flavoured with sherry.

_Method._--Fry the nuts and onion together in two ounces of butter until the onion begins to change colour, then turn the mixture into a mortar and pound to a smooth consistency. Make the white sauce hot and pour it on the breadcrumbs; add one and a half ounces of warm butter and beat it to a paste, then put in the fried nuts, parsley, and mushrooms and season with salt, pepper, a little powdered mace, and moisten it with the eggs, adding first one and then the other, and pound very thoroughly for five minutes. Turn the mixture on to a floured board and form it into a smooth, compact roll; brush it over with the remaining half ounce of butter (warmed) and place it on a well-buttered baking tin and cook in the oven until nicely browned. Serve the roll surrounded by the brown sauce and accompanied by a dish of potatoes in sauce. The same mixture can be wrapped in buttered muslin (like a galantine), cooked in boiling vegetable stock, and served with mushroom sauce, or it can be stewed in a casserole with a thick brown sauce. The potatoes should be prepared in the following manner: Peel four or five potatoes, cut them into moderately thin slices, and wrap them in a floured cloth for a short time before they are cooked. Melt two ounces of palmine, or dairy butter, in a stewpan and stir in one ounce of flour by degrees; then add a pint of colourless vegetable stock, and when the sauce has boiled and thickened, season it, add a teaspoonful of lemon-juice and a teaspoonful of shallot vinegar, and then put in the sliced potatoes. Cover the pan closely, and let them cook gently until they are tender, then put the potatoes (not the sauce) into a hot vegetable dish and place it in the oven for a few minutes. Beat the yolk of an egg with a tablespoonful of cream and stir into the sauce, which should be boiling, scatter in a large teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and pour at once over the potatoes.

SCALLOPED CURRY

Almost any kind of cooked vegetables cut into neat pieces (including potatoes), 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls cooked white haricot beans, curry sauce (_see_ page 104), boiled rice, butter, breadcrumbs.

_Method._--Let the vegetables simmer gently in a small quantity of butter (seasoning them with salt, pepper, and a dust of sugar) for fifteen minutes, then pour the curry sauce over them and let them cook in a moderate oven for half an hour. Fill some buttered china scallop shells with the curry; cover the top with rice, place some small pieces of butter on it, and scatter with finely-sieved dried breadcrumbs, and bake in a quick oven for about a quarter of an hour.

SCOTCH EGGS

Three hard-boiled eggs, nut mixture as for Rissolettes (page 77), 1 raw egg, breadcrumbs, mashed potato, French beans, Dutch sauce (_see_ page 104).

_Method._--Take the shells from the eggs and dust them lightly with flour, then cover them evenly with the nut mixture, brush them over with beaten egg, and cover them thickly with finely sifted breadcrumbs. Have ready a pan of deep, boiling fat; fry the eggs in it until they are nicely browned and drain them on taking them from the fat; cut each through the middle with a sharp knife, arrange the pieces on a border of mashed potato, and fill the middle of the dish with some carefully boiled French beans (or any other suitable vegetable) masked with Dutch sauce.

SPAGHETTI A L’ITALIENNE

Three ounces of spaghetti, 2 ozs. butter, 3 ozs. grated Parmesan cheese, tomato conserve, croutons, seasoning.

_Method._--Cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water until it is tender, then drain it well and put it into a saucepan containing one ounce of warm butter; season it with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a little cayenne, and stir over the fire for a few minutes, then add sufficient tomato conserve to moisten the spaghetti, and the remaining ounce of butter divided into small pieces; when it is thoroughly hot scatter in the cheese, turning the spaghetti lightly and quickly with a fork while doing so, and directly the cheese “spins” into long threads, turn it on to a hot dish and serve at once garnished with little croutons of fried bread.

STUFFED POTATOES

Six medium-sized potatoes, some quenelle forcemeat (_see_ page 79), 1 truffle (coarsely minced), 3 olives (also minced), 1 oz. butter, small quantity cream (or milk), seasoning.

_Method._--Wash the potatoes thoroughly and bake them, without removing the skins, until they are well cooked. Cut a small piece from the top of each, remove the inside, taking care not to break the skin, and pass it through a potato presser into a basin; add the butter, a little cream or milk, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and beat the potato with a wooden spoon until it is very light and quite white. Then carefully replace some of it in the skins, pressing it back against the sides with the handle of a small spoon, thus leaving the middle hollow; prepare a forcemeat according to the recipe given for Quenelles à la Reine, and after passing it through the sieve add the truffle and olives and use it for filling the centre of the potatoes. Add sufficient carmine to the potato left over to colour it a pretty clear red, fill a forcer (with a small rose pipe) with it and make a rose on the top of each potato sufficiently large to cover the hole; put the potatoes into a hot oven for fifteen minutes, and serve them garnished with watercress and accompanied by a watercress, tomato, and celery salad.

STUFFED VEGETABLE MARROW

A small marrow, 3 ozs. freshly-sieved breadcrumbs, 3 tablespoonfuls cream, 1 tablespoonful minced parsley, ¹⁄₄ teaspoonful mixed herbs (if the flavour is not disliked), 1 saltspoonful grated lemon-peel, 1 oz. onion (scalded and minced), 1¹⁄₂ ozs. butter, 3 ozs. finely ground pine kernels (Cashu, or Brazil nuts) (blanched), 1 tablespoonful grated Parmesan cheese, 1 egg, ¹⁄₂ pint thick tomato or white sauce, seasoning.

_Method._--Peel the marrow and cook it until tender in boiling salted water (it must not be over done), then cut a piece from one end, carefully remove all the seeds and stringy inside portion, and drain it well on a cloth. Fry the onion and nuts in the butter until the onion begins to change colour, but do not let it brown; mix the bread to a paste in a basin with the cream, which should be boiling, and season with salt, pepper, and a little mixed spice; add the egg (not beaten), the onion, nuts and cheese, beat the mixture well, and then stuff the marrow with it. Place it on a china gratin dish which has been well buttered, sprinkle the marrow with freshly-ground white pepper (which gives a subtle flavour), pour a quarter of a pint of tomato sauce (or white sauce may be substituted) over it, and cover it with dried breadcrumbs; put a few pieces of butter on the top and bake in a quick oven for about twenty minutes. Heat the remainder of the sauce and pour it round the marrow.

TOMATO OMELET WITH VEGETABLE SALAD

Four eggs, 2 ozs. butter, 2 tablespoonfuls tomato purée (or tomato conserve), seasoning.

_Method._--Break the eggs into a basin and beat them well, season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add rather less than half an ounce of butter broken into small pieces. Melt the remainder of the butter in an omelet pan over a very clear, quick fire, and when it is quite hot (care must be taken that it does not burn) pour in the eggs. Raise the mixture all over the surface by thrusting a fork into it, which will allow the soft portion on the top to run through to the hot pan, then loosen the omelet round the edge as it sets, and keep shaking the pan to prevent it from “catching,” and just before it is sufficiently set, spread the tomato pulp (which should be heated with a little butter) over half, then fold the other half over, and deftly turn the omelet on to a hot dish; serve at once with a salad prepared in the following manner: Slice equal quantities of new potatoes (which have been cooked and allowed to get cold), tomatoes (peeled), and cucumber (also peeled), and arrange neatly in a salad bowl, then cover with chopped celery (which has been kept in water to preserve the crispness) and fill the middle of the bowl with young green peas (cooked) or a carefully drained cauliflower which has been divided into small pieces; cover the centre vegetable with a thick mayonnaise sauce and sprinkle some chopped parsley over it.

TOMATO PATTIES

Four tomatoes, 2 ozs. minced mushrooms, ¹⁄₂ oz. onion (scalded and minced), 2 ozs. breadcrumbs, 1³⁄₄ ozs. butter, ¹⁄₂ gill cream (or milk), 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley, seasoning, 8 pattie-cases.

_Method._--Scald the tomatoes and remove the skin, and with a sharp knife cut them in half, take out all the seeds, and put them on a cloth to drain. Fry the mushrooms and onion in one ounce of butter for eight minutes; moisten the bread with the cream, which should be hot, and half an ounce of warm butter, then add the parsley and fried mushrooms and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Fill the halves of the tomatoes with the mixture, put a little piece of butter on each, and cook them on a buttered tin in a quick oven until they are just soft, but they must not lose their shape. The pattie cases must be made a suitable size and shape for holding the halves of the tomatoes, and they should be hot when the tomatoes are done; place one piece in each case and serve at once. If preferred the cases can be made of potato paste (for recipe see page 71).

TOMATO SHAPE WITH PEAS

One pound ripe tomatoes, ¹⁄₂ teaspoonful minced onion, 1 oz. butter, ¹⁄₂ teaspoonful tarragon vinegar, ¹⁄₂ pint aspic jelly, 1 tablespoonful white wine, ¹⁄₄ pint stiffly whipped cream, carmine, seasoning, ¹⁄₂ pint cooked peas, ¹⁄₂ gill thick mayonnaise sauce.

_Method._--Put the tomatoes into a stewpan with the butter and tarragon vinegar; season with celery salt, cayenne, a dust of castor sugar, and a little curry powder, and let them cook gently until they are quite soft. Then pour off the liquid (which can be used with advantage to flavour soup or sauce) and pass the fruit through a sieve into a basin; add one gill of the aspic jelly (which should be liquid), the white wine, a few drops of carmine, and, when it is just cold, the cream; whisk the mixture for a few moments then put it into a border-mould, which has been previously lined with aspic jelly, and leave it in a cool place until set. Dress the cooked peas with the mayonnaise sauce and, after turning out the tomato shape, fill the hollow in the middle with the peas, and garnish with watercress or parsley.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MACARONI

Six medium-sized tomatoes, 2 ozs. macaroni, 1¹⁄₂ ozs. butter, 1 oz. flour, quarter pint cream (or milk), 1 oz. grated cheese, seasoning, breadcrumbs, vegetable stock.

_Method._--Cut a small piece from the tomatoes, carefully remove all the seeds, and leave them on a sieve to drain for some time before they have to be filled. Break the macaroni into small pieces and cook it in boiling vegetable stock until it is quite tender, then drain it well. Melt one ounce of butter and mix the flour with it until a smooth paste is formed, then add the cream and stir quickly until the sauce is quite thick; remove the pan from the stove and add the cheese, seasoning, and macaroni, and fill the tomatoes with it; cover the top with breadcrumbs, put a little piece of butter on each, and bake in a fairly quick oven until the tomatoes are cooked, but they should not be allowed to lose their shape. Serve them round a mound of potatoes prepared thus: Select some rather close potatoes (the floury kind would not be suitable), and after peeling them cut them into thin slices and leave them in cold water for about a quarter of an hour, then dry them on a soft cloth. Butter a china soufflé mould (or a basin will do) and put in a layer of the potatoes; sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg (not too much of the latter) over them, and put a few little pieces of butter on the top; then add the remainder of the potatoes in the same way, layer by layer, and when the mould is full tie a buttered paper over it, place an enamelled plate on the top of the paper, and stand the mould in a pan of hot water in a moderately quick oven for fully an hour. Half an hour before the potatoes are done pour a small quantity (a quarter of a pint to a pint mould) of milk over them, then replace the paper, and let them finish cooking. When ready, turn the potatoes out of the mould (they will be a compact mass) and sprinkle some chopped parsley over the top.

TOMATO SOUFFLÉ

One pound tomatoes, 3 ozs. butter, 1¹⁄₂ ozs. potato flour, 1 oz. onion (scalded and minced), 3 eggs, rather less than ¹⁄₂ pint milk, Parmesan or Gruyère cheese (grated), seasoning, ¹⁄₂ pint celery sauce.

_Method._--Slice the tomatoes and cook them with the onion in one ounce of butter until they are tender, then pass them through a sieve. Melt two ounces of butter and stir in the flour, and when smoothly mixed, moisten gradually with the milk, stirring quickly until a very thick sauce is made; turn the latter into a basin, and add the yolks of the eggs, season with salt, pepper, a very little mixed spice, and a large tablespoonful of grated cheese, then stir in half a pint of the tomato pulp (straining off any excess of juice), and lastly the whites of the eggs whisked to a very stiff froth. Put the mixture into a buttered soufflé mould (or basin) without quite filling it; tie a buttered paper over the top and steam steadily (but not rapidly) for from half an hour to forty minutes, when the soufflé should feel firm. Turn it out carefully, surround it with celery sauce, and serve with fried potatoes prepared as follows: Peel some potatoes, cut them into quarters (select the firm, not floury kind), and parboil them in hot salted water, then drain them and turn them on to a floured cloth to dry. Heat plenty of fat in a sauté pan, and when it reaches boiling point put in the potatoes and let them cook until they are a golden brown; drain them from the fat, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some chopped parsley, and they will be ready to serve.

VEGETABLE CREAM WITH AIGRETTES

Half a peck young peas (cooked and sieved), 1 teaspoonful very finely minced onion (previously scalded), 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. flour, ¹⁄₄ pint milk, 1 teaspoonful tomato catsup, 1 tablespoonful grated Parmesan cheese, seasoning, chopped mint, ³⁄₄ pint aspic jelly, 1 gill stiffly whipped cream.

_Method._--Cook the onion in the butter with a little finely chopped mint (the quantity should depend on whether the flavour is liked) for a few moments, then stir in the flour, and when it is smoothly mixed add the milk and continue to stir until a very thick sauce is formed; season it with a little salt and pepper, rub it through a gravy-strainer into the basin containing the sieved peas, and mix well. Then add the tomato catsup and Parmesan cheese and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; whisk one and a half gills of cool aspic jelly until it is quite white, add the whipped cream to it, and then the prepared peas, by degrees, and as soon as the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, pour the cream into a mould which has been lined with aspic jelly and leave until the following day, when it should be turned out and served with aigrettes, made according to the directions given below. If the peas are carefully cooked in an uncovered pan they should produce a bright green purée, but should the colour not be good a few drops of vegetable greening must be added. The cream may be iced with advantage.

_For the Aigrettes._--Put one ounce of butter into a small saucepan with half a pint of cold water; when it boils, draw the pan to the side of the stove and stir in, gradually, four ounces of flour, and continue to stir until a smooth and very thick paste is formed, which leaves the sides of the pan and collects round the spoon in the middle; then take the pan from the stove and, when the mixture has cooled a little, beat two whole eggs and an additional yolk into it, adding each separately, and when these are mixed stir in three ounces of dry, grated cheese (preferably Parmesan and Gruyère mixed) and season with salt, white pepper, and a little curry powder. As soon as the paste is cool, dip a teaspoon into a stewpan containing plenty (it must be deep) of clear fat, which has been heated to just under boiling point; fill it with some of the paste and drop the latter into the fat. Avoid putting many aigrettes into the pan at the same time, and be careful to remove them as soon as they are a deep golden colour. Let the aigrettes cool on a wire tray, and serve them cold with the vegetable cream; they should not be made too long before they are required. The above makes a good dish for a cold supper.

VEGETABLE PIE

Four large, close potatoes (parboiled), ¹⁄₂ pint haricot beans (cooked until just tender and skinned), 6 large mushrooms (cleansed and peeled), 4 tomatoes, 1 stick celery (parboiled), butter, 2 hard-boiled eggs, forcemeat balls, 1 dessertspoonful onion (scalded and minced), seasoning, brown vegetable stock (slightly thickened), ¹⁄₂ lb. short paste.

_Method._--Butter a pie-dish and put in a layer of sliced potatoes, then a few slices of tomato, three mushrooms (cut in half), some of the beans, some pieces of celery (about an inch in length), one hard-boiled egg divided into quarters, and four or five little forcemeat balls; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and scatter half the quantity of onion over the surface, then use the remaining ingredients in the same way. Moisten the pie with the stock and cover it with the paste, brush over with beaten egg (if practicable), and bake in a well-heated oven for an hour. For the forcemeat balls proceed thus: Mix together four ounces Hovis breadcrumbs, one dessertspoonful of minced parsley, a little lemon-thyme (if the flavour is not disliked), a teaspoonful of onion (scalded and minced), a very little grated lemon-peel, and season with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and cayenne; then add two ounces of warm butter and sufficient beaten egg to form a fairly stiff paste. Divide the latter into little balls, roll them on a floured board, and they will be ready for use.

VEGETABLE STEAKS

Half a pound of red haricot beans, 2 ozs. butter, 3 ozs. minced onion, 2 large tomatoes (sliced), 1 small stick of celery, seasoning, ¹⁄₂ pint brown vegetable stock, 1¹⁄₂ eggs.

_Method._--Soak the beans over-night, boil them until tender, then remove their skins and put them into an earthenware casserole with the butter, onion, tomatoes, and celery, and fry for six minutes, stirring well; season with salt, pepper, and a dust of mixed spice, and pour in the stock. Cover the beans closely with greased paper before putting on the lid of the casserole, and let them cook in a moderate oven for about two hours, or until they are reduced to a soft mass and the stock is all absorbed. Pass the beans and vegetables through a wire sieve; add the yolk of egg to the purée, mixing it thoroughly; put it aside to get cold, and then form on a floured board into six little steaks; brush them over with beaten egg, dredge a little flour over them, and fry until nicely browned in boiling fat; serve with celery fritters in the middle and ribbon potatoes round the dish.

YORKSHIRE MINCE

Four ounces of mushrooms, 1 oz. butter, 1 gill thick brown sauce, 1 tablespoonful thick cream, lemon-juice, parsley, seasoning, Yorkshire pudding mixture.

_Method._--Cleanse and peel the mushrooms and remove the stalks (which can be used to flavour stock) and fry them in the butter for five minutes, seasoning them with salt, pepper, and a little powdered mace; then cover them with the sauce; place a greased paper over the pan and let them stew by the side of the fire for half an hour. Pass the mushrooms through a fine mincer, add a squeeze of lemon-juice, and reheat them in the pan previously used, with a tablespoonful of cream, stirring them occasionally to prevent them from burning. Prepare a Yorkshire pudding in the usual way, and bake it carefully so that it is nicely browned; when ready, spread the minced mushrooms evenly on the top, scatter some parsley over it, and with a sharp knife cut it into neat squares, and serve with, or without, a boat of thick brown sauce.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING WITH MUSHROOMS AND TOMATOES

Three ounces dry, sifted flour, 3 eggs, rather more than ¹⁄₄ pint milk, baking powder, 2 ozs. butter, 4 mushrooms, 2 tomatoes, maître d’hôtel butter, seasoning.

_Method._--Put the flour into a basin, add a little salt and some freshly-ground black pepper, and make a hollow in the middle; whisk the eggs well and mix the milk with them, then pour by degrees into the flour, mixing it with a wooden spoon; when a perfectly smooth batter is formed cover the basin with a cloth and let it stand for an hour or two before cooking. Then melt the butter in a Yorkshire pudding tin (ten by six inches), and when it is hot stir a saltspoonful of baking powder into the batter, pour it into the hot tin, and bake in a well-heated oven for from twenty to thirty minutes. While the pudding is being cooked, fry two medium-sized tomatoes cut in half and four fairly large mushrooms (cleansed and peeled); when the pudding is done cut it into eight squares with a sharp knife and arrange them on a very hot flat fireproof dish, place the mushrooms and tomatoes alternately on the pieces, and put a little pat of maître d’hôtel butter on each; it should be prepared thus: Beat three ounces of butter (or two ounces if only for a small dish) until it is soft and creamy; season it with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and add, by degrees, a tablespoonful of lemon-juice; when it is thoroughly worked into the butter sprinkle in a tablespoonful of finely-minced parsley and put into a cool place until it is firm. Then take a small portion of the butter at a time, and roll it into eight neat little balls; flatten them slightly into a little pat and use as directed.

SAUCES

BROWN SAUCE

Two and a half ounces of butter, 1 onion, 1 large or 2 small carrots, a few pieces of celery, 1 tomato, ¹⁄₂ turnip, 1 thick slice parsnip, 2 or 3 pieces parsley, 1 clove, seasoning, browning, Maggi’s essence.

_Method._--Slice the vegetables and let them simmer gently in one ounce of the butter for a quarter of an hour; then add a pint of boiling water, a teaspoonful of browning, a teaspoonful of Maggi’s essence, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a dust of curry powder, and let it boil rapidly for ten minutes; at the end of the time draw the pan to the side of the stove and let the stock cook slowly for three quarters of an hour. When it is ready thicken it with two ounces of flour, and one and a half ounces of butter, cooked together, add a squeeze of lemon-juice, or a few drops of tarragon vinegar, and strain.

CURRY SAUCE

Two ounces of butter, 4 ozs. onion, 1 or 2 tomatoes, ¹⁄₂ a sweet apple, 2 teaspoonfuls sweet chutney, 1 dessertspoonful curry powder, 1 dessertspoonful flour, 1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar (or lemon-juice), ³⁄₄ pint brown vegetable stock.

_Method._--Slice the onion, tomatoes, and apple and fry in the butter until the onion begins to show signs of becoming a golden colour; then add the curry powder, and draw the pan to a cooler part of the stove, and let the contents simmer for twelve minutes. At the end of the time stir in the flour, taking care no lumps form, and when it is smoothly mixed with the butter, pour in the stock gradually, and stir until the sauce has boiled and thickened, then add the chutney and tarragon vinegar, and let it simmer for half an hour, when it should be passed through a gravy strainer into a basin (rubbing the ingredients through with the back of a small wooden spoon) to be re-heated when required.

DUTCH SAUCE

Half a pint of thick white sauce, 1 raw yolk of egg, 1¹⁄₂ teaspoonfuls lemon-juice, ¹⁄₂ oz. butter.

_Method._--Make the white sauce hot, ascertain that it has sufficient seasoning, and when it reaches boiling point draw the pan to the side of the stove and stir in the yolk of egg beaten up with the lemon-juice and continue to stir for a few moments until the egg has thickened, but it must not boil or it will curdle and be spoilt. Then remove the pan from the stove and stir in the butter (which should be divided into little pieces) by degrees, and if the sauce is not to be used at once, keep it hot by placing the saucepan in a larger vessel of hot water. Dutch sauce is nice with almost any kind of vegetable (including potatoes), and also with macaroni.

TOMATO AND CELERY SAUCE

Half a pound of tomatoes, 3 or 4 nice white sticks of celery, 1 oz. butter, seasoning, carmine, ¹⁄₂ pint white sauce.

_Method._--Slice the tomatoes and cut the celery into small pieces; melt the butter in a saucepan, put in the vegetables, season them with salt, pepper, a very little powdered mace, and let them simmer (not fry) for ten minutes. Then add the white sauce and leave the pan where the heat is moderate until the vegetables are quite tender, but the sauce must not be allowed to boil. When it is ready, add a few drops of carmine and a squeeze of lemon-juice, and pass it either through a perforated gravy strainer or a sieve, and re-heat it carefully, letting it only just reach boiling point.

TOMATO SAUCE

Three or four large tomatoes, 1¹⁄₂ ozs. sliced onion, 1¹⁄₂ ozs. butter, 1¹⁄₂ pints thick brown sauce, seasoning, Chili vinegar, carmine.

_Method._--Cut the tomatoes into slices and fry them gently with the onion in one ounce of the butter; season with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, nutmeg, and a dust of castor sugar, and as soon as the tomatoes are quite soft, add the brown sauce, a few drops of Chili vinegar, and sufficient carmine to make it a clear red; then pass it through a sieve and re-heat it when required, stirring in the remaining half ounce of butter after taking the saucepan from the stove; this will add richness to the sauce, but it should not be re-heated after the butter is put in, or it will become oily instead of blending with the sauce.

WHITE SAUCE

One onion, a few pieces of celery, 2 or 3 thin strips lemon-peel, 2 or 3 pieces parsley, small blade of mace, salt, pepper, ³⁄₄ pint milk, ¹⁄₄ pint Plasmon stock, 2¹⁄₂ ozs. butter, 2 ozs. flour.

_Method._--Cut the onion in slices and put it into a saucepan with the celery and one ounce of butter, and let it simmer gently for ten minutes, taking great care that the butter does not become discoloured, then add the milk, Plasmon, lemon-peel, parsley, mace, salt, and pepper, and let the stock simmer gently (it must not boil) until the vegetables are soft, when it should be strained into a basin. Melt the remainder of the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. As soon as the latter is well mixed, pour in the flavoured milk, by degrees, stirring quickly all the time with a wooden spoon, so that no lumps may form; then place the pan on a slightly hotter part of the stove, so that the sauce may boil and thicken satisfactorily. If carefully prepared, it will be perfectly smooth, otherwise it should be passed through a gravy strainer; if an additional half ounce of butter can be spared, it will improve the sauce to have it stirred in the last thing before it is served.

WHITE STOCK

One onion, 1 carrot, 1 small turnip, a few pieces of celery, a thick slice of parsnip, 2 artichokes, a little bunch of parsley, a little piece of lemon-thyme, 1 clove, a little piece of mace, salt, pepper, ¹⁄₂ pint milk, ³⁄₄ pint water or Plasmon stock, 1 oz. of crumbs from a milk loaf.

_Method._--Slice the vegetables and put them into a saucepan with the water, bread, herbs, and seasoning; let the water or stock reach boiling point, and then simmer for half an hour; at the end of the time add the milk and simmer again for twenty minutes, when the stock should be strained and put aside until it is required.

LETCHWORTH
THE TEMPLE PRESS
PRINTERS

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation errors have been fixed.

Page 20: “with sphaghetti” changed to “with spaghetti”

Page 47: “for brasing” changed to “for braising”