One large cupful of cooked rice, half a cupful of milk, one egg, one table-spoonful of sugar, one of b.u.t.ter, half a teaspoonful of salt, a slight grating of nutmeg. Put milk on to boil, and add rice and seasoning. When it boils up, add the egg, well beaten. Stir one minute; then take off and cool. When cold, shape, and roll in egg and crumbs, as directed. Serve very hot. Any flavoring can be subst.i.tuted for the nutmeg.
Potato Croquettes.
Pare, boil and mash six good-sized potatoes. Add one table-spoonful of b.u.t.ter, two-thirds of a cupful of hot cream or milk, the whites of two eggs, well beaten, and salt and pepper to taste. If you wish, use also a slight grating of nutmeg, or a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Let the mixture cool slightly, then shape, roll in egg and crumbs, and fry.
Chicken Croquettes.
One _solid_ pint of finely-chopped cooked chicken, one table- spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one cupful of cream or chicken stock, one table-spoonful of flour, four eggs, one teaspoonful of onion juice, one table-spoonful of lemon juice, one pint of crumbs, three table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter. Put the cream or stock on to boil.
Mix the flour and b.u.t.ter together, and stir into the boiling cream; then add the chicken and seasoning. Boil for two minutes, and add two of the eggs, well beaten. Take from the fire immediately, and set away to cool. When cold, shape and fry.
Many people think a teaspoonful of chopped parsley an improvement,
Other Croquettes.
Veal, mutton, lamb, beef and turkey can be prepared in the same manner as chicken. Very dry, tough meat is not suitable for croquettes.
Tender roasted pieces give the finest flavor.
Large Vol-au-Vent.
Make puff or chopped paste, according to the rule given, and let it get chilled through; roll it again four times, the last time leaving it a piece about seven inches square. Put in the ice chest for at least half an hour; then roll into a ten-inch square. Place on this a plate or a round tin, nine and a half inches in diameter, and, with a sharp knife, cut around the edge. Place another plate, measuring seven inches or a little more, in the centre. Dip a case-knife in hot water and cut around the plate, having the knife go two-thirds through the paste. Place the paste in a flat baking pan and put in a hot oven.
After twelve or fifteen minutes close the drafts, to slacken the heat, and cook half an hour longer, being careful not to let it burn. As soon as the _vol-au-vent_ is taken from the oven, lift out the centre piece with a case-knife, and take out the uncooked paste with a spoon. Return the cover. At the time of serving place in the oven to heat through; then fill and cover, and serve while hot The _vol-au- vent_ can be made and baked the day before using, if more convenient. Heat it and fill as directed.
Vol-au-Vent of Chicken.
Cut into dice one and a half pints of cooked chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Make a cream sauce, which season well with salt and pepper; and, if you like, add half a teaspoonful of onion juice and the same quant.i.ty of mixed mustard. Heat the chicken in this, and fill the _vol-au-vent_. All kinds of poultry and other meats can be used for a _vol-au-vent_ with this sauce.
Vol-au-Vent of Sweetbreads.
Clean and wash two sweetbreads, and boil twenty minutes in water to cover. Drain and cool them, and cut into dice. Heat in cream sauce, and fill the _vol-au-vent_. Serve hot.
Vol-au-Vent of Salmon.
Heat one pint and a half of cooked salmon in cream sauce. Fill the _vol-au-vent_, and serve hot. Any rich, delicate fish can be served in a _vol-au-vent_.
Vol-au-Vent of Oysters.
Prepare the vol-au-vent as directed. Put one quart of oysters on to boil in their own liquor. As soon as a sc.u.m, rises, skim it off, and drain the oysters. Return half a pint of the oyster liquor to the sauce-pan. Mix two heaping table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter with a scant one of flour, and when light and creamy, gradually turn on it the boiling oyster liquor. Season well with salt, pepper and, if you like, a little nutmeg or mace, (it must be only a "shadow"). Boil up once, and add three table-spoonfuls of cream and the oysters. Stir over the fire for half a minute. Fill the case, cover, and serve immediately.
Vol-au-Vent of Lobster.
Rub together four table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and one and a half of flour. Pour on this, gradually, one pint of boiling white stock. Let it boil up once, and add the juice of half a lemon, salt and a speck of cayenne; add, also, the yolks of two eggs, beaten with a spoonful of cold water, and the meat of two small lobsters, cut into dice. Stir for one minute over the fire. Fill the case, put on the cover, and serve.
Patties.
Make puff paste as directed. (See puff paste.) After it has been rolled four times, put it on ice to harden. When hard, roll again twice. The last time leave the paste about an inch thick. Put in the ice chest to get very firm; then put on the board, and gently roll it down to three-quarters of an inch in thickness. Great care must be taken to have every part equally thick. Cut out pieces with a round tin cutter three and a half inches in diameter, and place in the pans.
Take another cutter two and a half inches in diameter, dip it in hot water, place in the centre of the patty, and cut about two-thirds through. In doing this, do not press down directly, but use a rotary motion. These centre pieces, which are to form the covers, easily separate from the rest when baked. Place in a very hot oven. When they have been baking ten minutes close the drafts, to reduce the heat; bake twenty minutes longer. Take from the oven, remove the centre pieces, and, with a teaspoon, dig out the uncooked paste. Fill with prepared fish or meat, put on the covers, and serve. Or, if more convenient to bake them early in the day, or, indeed, the previous day, put them in the oven twelve minutes before serving, and they will be nearly as nice as if fresh baked. The quant.i.ties given will make eighteen patties.
Chicken Patties.
Prepare the cream the same as for oysters, and add to it one pint of cold chicken, cut into dice. Boil three minutes. Fill the sh.e.l.ls and serve. Where it is liked, one teaspoonful of onion juice is an improvement. Other poultry and all game can be served in patties the same as chicken.
Veal Patties.
Put in a stew-pan a generous half pint of white sauce with a pint of cooked veal, cut into dice, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Stir until very hot. Fill the sh.e.l.ls, and serve.
Lobster Patties.
One pint of lobster, cut into dice; half a pint of white sauce, a speck of cayenne, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of mustard. Heat all together. Fill the sh.e.l.ls and serve.
Oyster Patties.
One pint of small oysters, half a pint of cream, a large tea-spoonful of flour, salt, pepper. Let the cream come to a boil. Mix the flour with a little cold milk, and stir into the boiling cream. Season with salt and pepper. While the cream is cooking let the oysters come to a boil in their own liquor. Skim carefully, and drain off all the liquor. Add the oysters to the cream, and boil up once. Fill the patty sh.e.l.ls, and serve. The quant.i.ties given are enough for eighteen sh.e.l.ls.
Crust Patties.
Cut a loaf of stale bread in slices an inch thick. With the patty cutter, press out as many pieces as you wish patties, and with a smaller cutter, press half through each piece. Place this second cutter as near the centre as possible when using. Put the pieces in the frying basket and plunge into boiling fat for half a minute. Take out and drain, and with a knife, remove the centre crusts and take out the soft bread; then fill, and put on the centre pieces.
Filling for crusts: Put two table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter in the frying- pan, and when hot, add one of flour. Stir until smooth and brown. Add one cupful of stock. Boil one minute, and stir in one pint of cooked veal, cut rather fine. Season with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice. When hot, fill the crusts. Any kind of cold meat can be served in this manner.
Sweetbreads.
Sweetbreads are found in calves and lambs. The demand for calves"
sweetbreads has grown wonderfully within the past ten years. In all our large cities they sell at all times of the year for a high price, but in winter and early spring they cost more than twice as much as they do late in the spring and during the summer. The throat and heart sweetbreads are often sold as one, but in winter, when they bring a very high price, the former is sold for the same price as the latter.
The throat sweetbread is found immediately below the throat. It has an elongated form, is not so firm and fat, and has not the fine flavor of the heart sweetbread. The heart sweetbread is attached to the last rib, and lies near the heart. The form is somewhat rounded, and it is smooth and firm.
To Clean Sweetbreads.
Carefully pull off all the tough and fibrous skin. Place them in a dish of cold water for ten minutes or more, and they are then ready to be boiled. They must always be boiled twenty minutes, no matter what the mode of cooking is to be.
Sweetbreads Larded and Baked.