Hand-Book of Practical Cookery for Ladies and Professional Cooks Part 57

Place the paste still folded on the paste and mixture in the pan, the circular side on the border and the point right in the middle; open it gently, and the whole will be covered. Glaze with egg, and put in an oven at from 430 to 460 deg. Fahr. The same cake may be filled with a frangipane, and prepared as the above for the rest.

_Rissoles (also called Fourres)._--Cut round pieces of puff-paste about three inches in diameter; wet the edge with water, put a teaspoonful of compote or any kind of sweetmeat on one side of it, then fold the paste in two, so as to cover the sweetmeat; pinch the paste around to cause it to adhere, in order to envelop the sweetmeat; you have then a cake of a semicircular shape. Glaze with egg, bake in a quick oven, dust with sugar, and serve.

_Galette du Gymnase._--Make puff-paste with half a pound of b.u.t.ter to a pound of flour, and when done as directed, knead it. Then roll it down to the thickness of about one-fourth of an inch, cut it in strips of any length and about an inch and a half wide, glaze with egg, bake in a quick oven, about 420 deg. Fahr. The two ends of the strips may be brought together and joined, forming a crown. The same _galette_ is made with tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of puff-paste, kneaded and rolled as above.

_Fanchonnettes._--These are made with the same puff-paste as the _galette_ above; then cut it in round pieces, place them on small moulds, fill them with any kind of sweetmeats and frangipane, with almonds, half of each; bake, dust with sugar, and serve. Instead of frangipane, spread raisins over the sweetmeats, or almonds, peanuts, hazel-nuts, etc., all cut in small strips, lengthwise; you make then an infinite number of different small cakes.

_Fans._--Make some puff-paste with equal weight of flour and b.u.t.ter, fold and roll it down six times, and put in a cold place. Leave it of a thickness of about one-quarter of an inch; cut it with a sharp knife in pieces of a rectangular shape, about four inches long and two broad, which cut again in two, across and from one corner to the other, so that you make two pieces of a right-angled triangle shape. Place the pieces on their sides in a bake-pan, on their sides, far apart, and bake in a very quick oven. When done, dust with sugar, and serve.

_Vol-au-vent_ and _bouchees_ for the day's use are baked early in the morning. They are warmed in a slow oven just before filling them.

_Vol-au-vent._--A _vol-au-vent_ is made with puff-paste and filled with oysters, meat, etc., when baked; that is, when the cake is baked and emptied, it is warmed in the oven, filled, and served warm. It is made of an oval or round shape. When made small it is generally of a round shape, but when made rather large it is generally of an oval shape. When the puff-paste is ready to be used, roll down to any thickness from one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch; cut it with a sharp-pointed knife of the size and shape you wish, then with the same knife cut what is called the cover, _i. e._, make a cut all around, about half an inch from the edge or border, and about one-third through the paste, leaving two-thirds of the thickness of the paste uncut. This operation is called marking out the cover. Glaze the top of the paste with egg, and bake it in a very quick oven, about 500 deg. Fahr. In glazing, be careful not to glaze the sides or allow any egg to run on the sides; it would prevent the paste from rising. Some drawings may be made on the cover with the back of a knife, according to fancy: leaves, for instance, are very easily imitated; it is only necessary to run the knife on the paste, without cutting it. When in the oven, do not look at it for at least seven or eight minutes, for in opening the door of the oven it might cause the paste to fall and even after that time open and shut the door quickly; take off when properly baked. When the oven is hot enough it takes about twelve minutes, and even less time when the _vol-au-vent_ is small. Take from the oven when baked, and immediately run the point of the knife all around and in the same place as you did before being baked, which place is well marked. Thus you cut off the cover and remove it, then remove also all the unbaked paste that is inside of the _vol-au-vent_, so that you have left what may be called a sh.e.l.l. Keep it then till the oysters or meat are ready to put in it. About five minutes before the filling is ready, put the sh.e.l.l or baked paste in a slow oven to warm it, turn the filling into it, enough to fill it entirely; place the cover on the top, and serve warm. The unbaked paste removed from the inside is baked, and makes an excellent cake, though not a sightly one.

_Another._--Cut a piece of puff-paste the same as for the above one, that is, either round or oval, and of the size you wish. Instead of marking a cover, glaze the border with egg. It is understood here by "the border," a s.p.a.ce about three-quarters of an inch broad and all around it, the s.p.a.ce being measured from the edge toward the centre.

Then cut a strip of puff-paste about three-quarters of an inch broad, long enough to cover the place or s.p.a.ce glazed, which strip you put all around the first paste, and you then have a border. The place between the two pastes being glazed, they will adhere in baking. Then also glaze the upper side of the border carefully with egg. With a knife or fork, p.r.i.c.k the paste, inside of the border only, in ten, fifteen, or twenty places, according to the size of the _vol-au-vent_, and in order to prevent that part from rising as much as it would if not p.r.i.c.ked. Bake in the same oven as the above--a very quick one.

A _vol-au-vent_ thus made is deeper than the first one, having two thicknesses of paste. Generally there is little or no paste (unbaked) to remove; having p.r.i.c.ked the centre, it prevents it from rising and bakes it evenly, but if there is any, remove it. A cover may be made by cutting a piece of puff-paste of the size of the _vol-au-vent_ and baking it separately. It may be decorated with the back of the knife as the above one, and made convex on the top by baking it on a piece of tin. It is warmed, filled, and served the same as the above.

A _vol-au-vent_ is filled with the following:

_With Oysters._--The quant.i.ty is according to the size of the _vol-au-vent_. Blanch one quart of oysters. Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan, set it on the fire, and when melted add a tablespoonful of flour; stir, and when turning rather yellow add also about a pint of milk, and the liquor from the oysters; stir, and as soon as it turns rather thick put the oysters in, taking care to have them free from pieces of the sh.e.l.l. Give one boil, add salt to taste, two yolks of eggs, stir again, turn into the warm paste, place the cover on, and serve warm.

_With Lobster._--Prepare the lobster as for _bouchees_, fill the sh.e.l.l with it, and serve warm.

_With Cod-fish._--Prepare fresh cod-fish _a la Bechamel_, fill the _vol-au-vent_ or sh.e.l.l with it, and serve warm.

_With Turbot._--Proceed as for cod-fish in every particular.

_With Eels._--Fill the _vol-au-vent_ with eels, oyster sauce, or in _poulette_, and serve warm.

_With Chicken._--Fill with a chicken or part of a chicken in _frica.s.see_ or _saute_.

_With Livers and Combs of Chicken._--Prepare combs and livers of chicken in _frica.s.see_, the same as a chicken, fill the _vol-au-vent_ with them.

Serve hot.

_With Sweetbreads._--Cook the sweetbreads as directed, and fill the _vol-au-vent_ with them. Serve warm.

_With Veal._--Fill the _vol-au-vent_ with veal in _blanquette_, in _ragout_, or in _bourgeoise_, and serve. It is generally filled with what has been left the day previous, as it requires very little for a _vol-au-vent_.

_With Brains._--It may be filled with brains of calf, pig, sheep, or veal; prepared in _poulette_, or stewed.

_With Rabbit._--Fill it with part of a rabbit _saute_.

It may also be filled with any other _meat_ or _fish_, according to taste, and being cooked previously.

_With Fruits._--Fill the _vol-au-vent_ with any kind of stewed fruit, jelly, sweetmeats, etc. It may be only filled, or the fruit may be dressed in pyramid inside of it.

_Bouchees._--_Bouchees_, or _pet.i.tes bouchees_, as they are sometimes called, are small, round _vol-au-vent_, served warm. They are also called _bouchees de dames_ and _pet.i.tes bouchees_. Roll puff-paste down to a thickness of about one-quarter of an inch, cut it with a paste-cutter of any size, mark the cover, and bake in an oven at about 450 Fahr. A good size is about three inches in diameter. When cut, take another paste-cutter about two inches in diameter, place it on the piece of paste; press on it just enough to mark the place where it was, but not enough to cut the paste, remove it and then the cover is marked; that is, you have a circle on the top of the paste, half an inch from the edge all around. Glaze with egg and bake. Make one for each person.

Immediately on taking them from the oven, cut off the cover with a sharp-pointed knife. That is easily done; it is only necessary to follow the mark made with the paste-cutter, which is just as visible as before baking. Remove the cover and then carefully take out some unbaked paste inside of the _bouchee_, fill with lobster prepared as directed below, put the cover on, and serve as warm as possible.

_The Filling._--Cut some flesh of boiled lobster in dice. Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan and set it on the fire; when melted, add a tablespoonful of flour, stir for about one minute, and add also broth (the quant.i.ty must be according to the number of _bouchees_, but we will give here the quant.i.ty necessary for five or six _bouchees_), about three gills, also salt, pepper, then the cut lobster; stir now and then for five or six minutes, and use.

_Of Oysters._--Prepare, fill and serve exactly as the above, except that you fill with oysters prepared as for _vol-au-vent_, instead of filling with lobster.

_Of Cod-fish._--Fill the _bouchees_ with cod-fish, prepared _a la Bechamel_, and serve warm.

_Of Eels._--Have some eels prepared either in _poulette_ or oyster-sauce, fill the _bouchees_, and serve warm.

_Of Turbot._--It is filled with turbot _a la creme_ or _a la Bechamel_.

It may also be filled with any kind of fish, prepared _a la Bechamel_, _a la creme_, in white sauce, oyster-sauce, etc.

_Of Truffles._--Cut the white flesh of a chicken in dice, prepare it as a chicken _saute_, using truffles but no mushrooms, fill the _bouchees_ with it and serve warm.

_Of Puree of Chicken, or Bouchees de Dames._--It is filled with some _puree_ of chicken, and served as warm as possible.

Do the same with a _puree_ of game.

_Of Bobolink._--Prepare and clean twelve bobolinks as directed for birds, put a teaspoonful of truffles, cut in small dice, in each bird, for stuffing; sew the incision, and bake or roast the birds. Put each bird in a _bouchee_, and serve warm. A more delicate dish cannot be made.

The same may be done with any kind of _small bird_.

_Bouchees_ are generally served on a napkin and on a dish, in pyramid.

_Pate a choux._--Weigh four ounces of flour, to which add half a teaspoonful of sugar. Put two gills of cold water in a tin saucepan with two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and set it on the fire, stir a little with a wooden spoon to melt the b.u.t.ter before the water boils. At the first boiling of the water, throw into it the four ounces of flour and stir very fast with the spoon, holding the pan fast with the left hand. As soon as the whole is thoroughly mixed, take from the fire, but continue stirring for about fifteen or twenty seconds. It takes hardly half a minute from the time the flour is dropped in the pan to that when taken from the fire. The quicker it is done, the better. When properly done, nothing at all sticks to the pan, and by touching it with the finger it feels as soft as velvet, and does not adhere to it at all. Let it stand two or three minutes, then mix well with it, by means of a spoon, one egg; then another, and so on; in all four. It takes some time and work to mix the eggs, especially to mix the first one, the paste being rather stiff. They are added one at a time, in order to mix them better. If the eggs are small, add half of one or one more. To use only half a one, it is necessary to beat it first. Let the paste stand half an hour, stir again a little, and use. If it is left standing for some time and is found rather dry, add a little egg, which mix, and then use.

_Beignets Souffles_--(_also called Pets de Nonne_).--Make some _pate a choux_; take a small tablespoonful of it, holding the spoon with the left hand, and with the forefinger of the right cause the paste to fall in hot fat on the fire (_see_ Frying), turn over and over again till fried, then turn into a colander, dust with sugar, and serve hot. In frying, the paste will swell four or five times its size, and by dropping it carefully and as nearly of a round shape as possible, the cakes will be nearly round when done.

_Choux or Cream Cakes._--Make some _pate a choux_: have a b.u.t.tered bakepan, and drop the paste upon it in the same way as you drop the _beignets_ above; glaze with egg, and bake in an oven at about 380 Fahr. When baked and cold, make a cut on one side, about two-thirds through, the cut to be horizontal, a little above the middle, then, by raising the top a little, fill the cake, which is hollow, with one of the following creams: _whipped_, _Chantilly_, _cuite_, _frangipane_, or _legere_; dust with sugar, and serve.

_The same, with Almonds._--Blanch sweet almonds and cut them in small strips, lengthwise; then, when the choux are in the bakepan and glazed with egg, spread the almonds all over, bake, fill, and serve as the above.

_Saint Honore._--Make some _pate a choux_. Then put four tablespoonfuls of flour on the paste-board with two of sugar, one egg, one ounce of b.u.t.ter, salt, and a pinch of cinnamon; mix and knead the whole well; roll the paste down to a thickness of about one quarter of an inch and place it in a bakepan. Put a dessert-plate upside down on the paste, and cut it all around the plate with a knife; remove what is cut off and also the plate. Spread some _pate a choux_, about a teaspoonful, all over the paste left in the bakepan, about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness; put some of it also in the pastry-bag, and by squeezing it out, make a border with it about the size of the finger; p.r.i.c.k the middle of the paste in about a dozen places with a fork and inside of the border; glaze the border with egg, and then bake in an oven at about 400 Fahr. While the above is baking, make very small _choux_ (about the size of a macaroon), and bake them also. When both are baked, and while they are cooking, make some _creme legere_, fill the inside of the cake with it, so as to imitate a sugar-loaf or mound, about four inches in height, smooth it or scallop it with a knife. Put two tablespoonfuls of sugar and two of water in a saucepan, set it on the fire, toss the pan occasionally to boil evenly, and till it becomes like syrup. Do not stir too much, else it will turn white and somewhat like mola.s.ses-candy. It is reduced enough when, by dipping (not stirring) a little stick in it and dipping it again immediately in cold water, the syrup-like liquor that has adhered to it breaks easily and is very transparent. It must be as transparent as gla.s.s. As soon as reduced thus, take from the fire and use. Dip the top of each small _chou_ in it, holding the _chou_ with a small knife stuck in it; place a piece of candy (generally, sugar-plums of various colors are used) on the top of each _chou_; place them apart and around the _creme legere_, and upon the border of the cake, with one a little larger than the others on the top of it; serve cold. This cake is as good as it is sightly.

_Eclairs._--_Eclairs_ are also called _pet.i.ts pains_ or _profiterolles au chocolat_.

_Eclairs au Chocolat._--Make some _pate a choux_ as directed above, and put it in the pastry-bag with tube No. 1 at the end of it. Force it out of the bag into a baking-pan greased with b.u.t.ter. By closing and holding up the larger end of the bag and by pressing it downward, it will come out of the tube in a rope-like shape and of the size of the tube. Draw the bag toward you while pressing, and stop when you have spread a length of about four inches. Repeat this operation till the baking-pan is full or till the paste is all out. Leave a s.p.a.ce of about two inches between each cake, as they swell in baking. Bake in an oven at about 370 degrees. When baked and cold, slit one side about half through, open gently and fill each cake with the following cream, and then close it.

Cream: put in a block-tin saucepan three tablespoonfuls of sugar, two of flour, four yolks of eggs, and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add a pint of milk, little by little, and mixing the while; set on the fire, stir continually till it becomes rather thick, and take off. Have one ounce of chocolate melted on a slow fire in half a gill of milk, and mix it with the rest, and use. Put one ounce of chocolate in a tin saucepan with a teaspoonful of water, and set on a slow fire; when melted, mix with it two tablespoonfuls of sugar, stir for a while; that is, till it is just thick enough to spread it over the cakes, and not liquid enough to run down the sides. A thickness of about one-sixteenth of an inch is sufficient. The cakes may either be dipped in the chocolate or the chocolate may be spread over them with a knife. Serve cold.

_Eclairs au Cafe._--It is made exactly like the above, except that you mix with the cream three tablespoonfuls of strong coffee, instead of chocolate and milk.

_Eclairs au The._--It is made like the preceding one, with the exception that strong tea is used instead of strong coffee.

_Eclairs a la Vanille._--Proceed as for the above, but mix a teaspoonful of essence of vanilla in the cream instead of tea.

_Eclairs a l'Essence._--The meaning of _eclairs a l'essence_ is, that a few drops of any kind of essence are mixed with the cream instead of chocolate and milk, and prepared and served like the others.

_Eclairs aux Fraises._--Instead of filling the cakes with cream, fill them with strawberry-jelly, and for the rest proceed as for _eclairs au chocolat_.