Just French Recipes

French Sauces, Simple and Otherwise

2012-01-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

Excerpted from "Twenty-four Little French Dinners and How to Cook and Serve Them", 1919.

It is well that the American cook who desires to bring variety to her board should have some knowledge of those Gallic creations, the sauces, by which she is enabled to transform plain dishes into seemingly pretentious ones.

In the first place every French chef keeps three kinds of what he calls roux on hand, ready for making meat and fish sauces. These are made by cooking together eight ounces of butter and nine ounces of flour. That intended for use with brown meats is stirred together till it becomes a medium brown in shade; white roux is cooked only sufficiently to banish the raw taste and not allowed to color, while pale roux is kept over the fire just long enough to attain a deep cream color. These are mixed with milk, soup stock, water or gravy as the case may be when a sauce for fish, meat or vegetables is needed.

For instance, to make Sauce à la Crème, for use with white entrées, take two tablespoonfuls of the white roux in a saucepan with a cup of milk and a tablespoonful each of finely chopped parsley, shallots and chives. Boil fifteen minutes, pass through a colander into another saucepan, add a small lump of butter, more finely chopped parsley and salt and pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon and it is ready for the table.

To make a favorite Sauce Piquante, cut two onions into slices, also a carrot and two shallots and put into a saucepan with a scant tablespoonful of butter. While heating over a moderate fire, add a sprig of thyme, a tablespoonful of minced parsley, a bayleaf and two or three cloves. When the onions are golden brown add a tablespoonful of flour, a little plain stock and a tablespoonful of vinegar. Boil again, pass through a sieve and season with salt and pepper.

A simple sauce is that Maître d'Hôtel, which is rarely made at home though so generally liked. Put a lump of butter into a small saucepan over a moderate fire and add to it chopped parsley and chives, or parsley alone. Season with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice and while it is sizzling pour over the hot steak or fish.

Sauce d'Anchois, than which there isn't anything better with baked fish, is also easy to make. Take three or four anchovies and mash them up well with two tablespoonfuls of butter. Now make about a pint of brown sauce with brown roux and milk, and stir the anchovy butter into it. Just before taking from the fire add the juice of half a lemon or more, according to taste.

Sauce Bearnaise was a favorite of Henry of Navarre, and it is excellent with steaks, chops and, particularly, roast beef. To make it beat the yolks of three or four eggs in a saucepan, add a tablespoonful of butter and a little salt. Stir over a slow fire till the eggs begin to thicken, then remove and stir in two more tablespoonfuls of butter, stirring till the butter is dissolved. Season with chopped fine herbs and parsley and pour in a teaspoonful of French vinegar.

In many parts of France they have a favorite dressing for boiled fish called Sauce Ravigote. To make it mix half a pint of stock in a saucepan with a small amount of white wine or cider, then chop fine herbs such as chervil, tarragon, chives and parsley, or whatever other herbs are in season, to the amount of about three tablespoonfuls, and mix with the stock, adding salt and pepper. Stew gently for about twenty minutes, then blend a tablespoonful each of flour and butter, stir into the sauce and continue to stir till thick. Just before serving squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.

The word “Ravigote” means, literally, “pick me up,” and it is applied to minced tarragon, chervil, chives and parsley, the herbs being kept separate and served with salad on four little saucers. Ravigote butter, made by kneading butter with the four herbs and adding pepper, salt and lemon juice, spread between thin slices of bread, makes delicious sandwiches.

To make the very generally liked Sauce Blanquette, which is used to raise cold meats to the dignity of a fricassée, take about four ounces of pale roux, thin slightly with boiling water added by degrees, then put in a bunch of sweet herbs, cooked button mushrooms and small onions and pepper and salt to taste. Put in whatever cold meat you have, cook till it is well heated and serve.

The following is called Sauce d'Havre, and through the use of it it will be discovered that the taste of curry is an agreeable one in many another case than in connection with the veal and rice arrangement to which most American cooks restrict it. Peel and slice four onions and two apples and place in a stewpan with four ounces of butter, six peppercorns, a sprig of thyme, two bayleaves and a blade of mace. When the onions have become slightly brown over the moderate fire, stir in a mixture of two tablespoonfuls of flour and the same amount of curry powder, shortly afterward adding six gills of white stock and half a pint of white sauce. Season with salt and half a teaspoonful of moist sugar, boil for a quarter of an hour, adding more white stock if necessary, and stirring constantly. Put through a strainer into another saucepan, boil up again, skim, and use when required.

Fricasseed chicken takes on a new glory when it is prepared with Sauce Lyons. This is made by stirring gradually three well-beaten eggs into half a pint of plain white sauce, then placing the mixture in a jar and standing in boiling water till the sauce thickens. Just prior to pouring over the chicken add the strained juice of half a lemon.

French Potato Pancakes (Croquettes de Pommes)

2011-09-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

From "Easy French Cookery", by Auguste Mario, 1910.

Boil some potatoes in the ordinary way, drain off the water, and allow to steam in front of the fire for ten minutes ; mash by pressing through a fine sieve ; replace in saucepan, with a piece of butter, the yolks of four eggs, a pinch of sugar, salt to taste, and a little nutmeg ; add finally half a teacupful of grated Parmesan cheese, mix thoroughly together, and let cook for five minutes.

Next divide the mixture into equal parts and roll in the form of a big cork on a floured table. Dip in beaten egg and breadcrumbs, plunge into boiling fat, cook till brown, season with salt, and serve.

Tomato Sauce (Sauce aux tomates fraiches)

2011-08-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

Cut in two five or six medium tomatoes (very ripe) ; squeeze out the seeds ; put them in a stewpan with a cupful of water or stock ; salt, pepper ; a bouquet of laurel, thyme, parsley ; a chopped onion. Let the tomatoes dissolve ; they must be covered and on a good fire until all moisture has disappeared, then pass through a tammy-cloth.

Prepare a white thickening with i oz. of butter, the same of flour ; add the pure'e of tomatoes into it ; thin the sauce with stock. Let it cook ten to fifteen minutes ; see if seasoned to taste ; finish with a pinch of sugar and i oz. of fresh butter. This sauce should be of a good thickness.

Sole with Chablis Sauce (Sole au Chablis)

2011-03-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Excerpted from "Easy French Cookery", 1910

Cut into long thin strips one onion, a leek, two carrots, and a stick of celery, and boil for five minutes. Mince finely half an onion and half a leek, cook until quite brown in a little butter. Drain the boiled vegetables, add them to the saucepan containing the browned minced onion and leek, and fry all together until brown; season with salt and pepper and withdraw from fire.

Clean two good-sized soles and cut them each into three pieces; put in saucepan, season to taste, and place the vegetables with them; just cover the soles with a little white wine, thicken the sauce by adding a small piece of butter rolled in flour. Dress the soles on a dish with the vegetables and sauce.

Or, for Filets de Sole au Vin blanc, simply cut four fillets from each sole and prepare these the same way as above, omitting the long, thin Julienne vegetables.

Beef Broth (Pot-au-Feu)

2010-06-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

From "Easy French Cookery", by Auguste Mario "Late of the Carlton, Cecil Cafe Royal and Criterion", 1910.

This soup is one that finds most favour with the bourgeoise, or French housewife, forming, as it does, a most nourishing and sustaining food. It is at the same time very economical, as the meat utilised is afterwards served as a dish, with the vegetables arranged around, or is converted into Beef Salad.

The beef most suitable is the hindquarter or shoulder, which should be boned and bound together with string ; the bones can also be boiled at the same time. Put the meat in an earthenware or enamelled saucepan, add some chicken giblets and the bones of the meat, cold water, and rough, ordinary salt.

Place the saucepan on the fire and allow to boil, skimming off the fat as it rises. As soon as the water boils, add a glass of cold water and continue to skim off the fat; when it has boiled again, withdraw to edge of fire and allow to simmer for four or five hours with the lid partly tilted. After it has simmered for two and a
half hours, add carrots, leeks, and, finally, some chervil; plenty of vegetables should be used, and they should be quite fresh, as the parts that are not dissolved in the soup will be afterwards served with the beef.

Remove the beef from the soup, place it on a hot dish, and arrange some carrots and leeks round the meat; keep warm by the side of the fire, and serve later on with a separate dish of boiled potatoes and a remoulade sauce.

Cut a few of the vegetables into thin slices and place in the bottom of the soup tureen; pass the soup either through a fine sieve or a coarse linen cloth into a basin; add three or four drops of essence of caramel to clarify it, pour into tureen, and serve very hot.

Bouillabaisse

2010-06-09T17:55:00.001-07:00

From "Twenty-four Little French Dinners and How to Cook and Serve them", by Cora Moore, 1919.

As for the Bouillabaisse, it is like our own Welsh Rabbit in so far as hardly any two persons make it alike. Here are two recipes which gastronomic authorities have accorded the meed of highest praise:

No. l. : Cut into pieces and remove the bones from three pounds of fish; say one pound each of cod, halibut and bluefish, though any fish of like nature will do. To these add the cooked meat of one lobster or two crabs, and six shrimps and put all into a casserole in half a pint or more of olive oil to cook, adding one lemon, sliced, two tomatoes, one onion, one sliced carrot, a bunch of saffron, a bunch of parsley, a bayleaf and a clove of garlic or have the casserole rubbed with the garlic. Cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently, then add one cup of soup stock and a glass of wine or cider.

Cook for fifteen minutes longer, remove to a hot bowl, line the casserole with slices of toast, and pour back the bouillabaisse. Serve at once.

No. 2. Place the pieces of fish to any desired amount in a large saucepan, add two or three sliced onions, one or two sliced carrots, three shallots, two cloves of garlic, a bunch of thyme and parsley, three or four cloves, two bay- leaves, half a teaspoonful of capsicum, a wine-glass of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the above mixture two quarts of water and boil gently for half an hour, the pan covered. Drain and lay on a hot dish. Then mix a teaspoonful of saffron in the liquid, pass through a strainer into a soup tureen. Serve the soup with the fish
and a plate of croutons of fried bread or sippets of toast.

French Stuffed Tomatoes

2010-06-09T11:33:00.001-07:00

From "Domestic French Cookery", 1836

Scoop out the inside of a dozen large tomatoes, without spoiling their shape. Pass the inside through a sieve, and then mix it with grated bread, chopped sweet-herbs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stew it ten minutes, with a laurel leaf, or two peach leaves. Remove the leaves, and stuff the tomatas with the mixture, tying a string round each to keep them in shape. Sprinkle them all over with rasped bread-crust. Set them in a buttered dish, and bake them in an oven. Take off the strings, and serve up the tomatoes.

Egg-plants may be cooked in the same manner.

Pommes de Terre, Barigoule

2010-06-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

From "Twenty-four Little French Dinners and How to Cook and Serve them", by Cora Moore, 1919.

Place ten potatoes in a saucepan with enough broth to cover them and boil slowly till done. Drain, taking care not to break them. Put a teacupful of olive oil into a deep frying pan, heat, put in the potatoes, tossing them till they are browned all over lightly. Place on a dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper and vinegar. Serve piping hot.

Choufleur au Gratin

2010-06-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

From "Twenty-four Little French Dinners and How to Cook and Serve them", by Cora Moore, 1919.

Soak a cauliflower in water with plenty of salt, then boil in plenty of salted water for fifteen minutes. Remove and take away all the green leaves, lay it on a flat buttered dish, previously rubbed with an onion, and pour over it a sauce made as follows: Melt an ounce and a half of butter in a saucepan, add a dessert-spoonful of flour, mix and add a cup of milk. Stir till it thickens, add pepper and salt and add two or three table-spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.

Mix well and after pouring over the cauliflower sprinkle all over with bread-crumbs and place the dish in the oven till nicely browned.

Codfish Done in the French Style

2010-02-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

From "French Cookery Adapted for English Families", 1853

COD AU BLANC.

Take a fine cod sprinkle salt over it for a day or two; put it in a fish-kettle full of cold water; take it off after it boils up, cover the kettle for ten or fifteen minutes, drain it, melt some butter in a stewpan, add a little flour, pepper, and some cream ; put your cod quite hot on your dish, and serve with the sauce poured over it. Slices of cod that has been dressed can be served with the same sauce, but in this case the fish must be warmed in the sauce. Nutmeg grated, or a blade of mace is an improvement.

COD A LA MAITRE D'HOTEL.

Dress your cod as before, put on your dish with a piece of butter some pepper, chives, and parsley chopped fine, grated nutmeg, and verjuice or vinegar. Mix well with butter, and serve your fish on it.

COD WITH CAPERS.

Dress it as before, and pour over it some white sauce with capers. You may also serve cod with small potatoes boiled in water, with white sauce, with or without capers, and anchovy essence.

Gigot de Mouton aux Epinards

2010-02-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

From "Twenty-four little French dinners and how to cook and serve them", 1919

Gigot de Mouton aux Epinards. Roast a small leg of mutton, putting some salt and a small quantity of water at the bottom of the tin. When half cooked, remove the meat and carefully skim the gravy of all fat. Return the mutton to the tin, pour gravy over it and surround it with potatoes cut to the size of walnuts. Put back in the oven, letting the potatoes cook in the juice of the meat. Meanwhile cook about three pounds of spinach, drain, squeeze out all water and pass through a sieve. Return to a saucepan in which about two ounces of butter has been heated and season with pepper and salt. Add a tablespoonful of gravy from the mutton and allow the spinach to simmer till the meat is done. Then pile the spinach with the potatoes about the meat and serve, having the gravy in a sauceboat.

Turkey en Daube

2010-02-23T07:49:00.001-08:00

From "Domestic French Cookery", 1836

Take a large turkey ; lard it and stuff it as for roasting. Then cover it all over with a seasoning made of salt, pepper, nutmeg, and sweet-herbs, parsley and onions, minced fine. Put it into a stew-pan, with some slices of bacon, one or two calves-feet, some onions and carrots, one or two laurel leaves, a few cloves, a beaten nutmeg, salt, pepper, and, if you choose, a clove of garlic. Pour in a pint of water, and a pint of white wine or brandy.

Put on the cover of the stew-pan, and lay round its edge on the outside a wet cloth, which must be kept wet. Stew it slowly for five or six hours or more, and turn the turkey when about half done. When it is finished, withdraw the fire, and skim
and strain the gravy. Serve up the turkey with the gravy under it.

A goose done this way is very fine.

A round of beef may be stewed in the same manner. It will be the better for lying all night in the seasoning, and it should be put in to stew early in the morning.

Larding in French Cooking

2010-02-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

From "Domestic French Cookery", 1836

Larding with slips of fat bacon greatly improves the taste and appearance of meat, poultry, game, etc. and is much used in French cookery.

For this purpose, you must have a larding-pin (which may be purchased at the hardware stores); it is a steel instrument about a foot in length, sharp at one end, and cleft at the other into four divisions which are near two inches long, and resembling tweezers.

Bacon is the proper meat to lard with ; the fat only is used. Cut it into slips not exceeding two inches in length, half an inch in breadth, and half an inch in thickness, and smaller if intended for poultry ; they will diminish in cooking. Put these slips of bacon (one at a time) into the cleft or split end of the larding-pin. Give each slip a slight twist and press it down hard into the pin, with
your fingers. Then run the pin through the meat or fowl (avoiding the bones), and when you draw it out on the under side it will have left the slip of bacon sticking in the upper side. Take care to arrange the slips in regular rows and at equal distances ; have them all of the same size, and let every one stick up about an inch from the surface of the meat. If any are wrong, take them out and do them over again.

Fowls and birds are generally larded on the breast only. To lard handsomely and neatly, practice and dexterity are requisite.

Cold poultry may be larded with slips of the fat of cold boiled ham, and when not to be cooked again, it may be made to look very tastefully.

The slips for cold poultry should be very small, scarcely thicker than a straw.

Classic French Bechamel Sauce

2010-02-19T06:33:00.000-08:00

BECHAMEL.

Put into a sauce-pan a quarter of a pound of butter sprinkled with flour, three or four onions, and a carrot cut small, a little parsley, and a dozen mushrooms. Set it over the fire until the butter is melted, and then add three table-spoonfuls of flour stirred into a pint of cream or rich milk, with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to your taste. Stir it till it boils ; then reduce the fire, and let the bechamel
stew gently for three quarters of an hour. When it is done, strain it, and then stir in the yolks of three eggs.

ANOTHER BECHAMEL.

Cut into dice, or small square pieces, half a pound of bacon or ham, a carrot, a turnip, and two onions. Put them into a sauce-pan, with two large spoonfuls of veal-dripping ; add a little butter (about two ounces), and two large spoonfuls of flour. Moisten it with boiling water, or broth. Add nutmeg, cloves, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper to your taste ; also a laurel-leaf. Let it stew for an hour. Strain it, and before you serve it up, squeeze in a little lemon-juice.

French Almond Soup

2010-02-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

From "Domestic French Cookery", 1836.

Take half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and two ounces of shelled bitter almonds. Scald them, to make the skins peel soft easily, and when they are blanched, throw them into cold water. Then drain and wipe them dry. Beat them (a few at a time) in a marble mortar, adding as you beat them, a little milk and a little grated lemon-peel.

Have ready two quarts of rich milk, boiled with two sticks of cinnamon and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Stir the almonds gradually into the milk, and let them have one boil up. Prepare some slices of toasted bread, take out a little of the soup and soak them in it. Then lay them in the bottom of a tureen, and pour the soup over them. Grate on some nutmeg.

French Omelettes

2010-02-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

From "Easy French Cookery", 1910.

It is not often that one makes a complete success of the first omelet, but the young housewife who essays this delicate form of cookery must not be discouraged. Even if the first omelet is a comparative failure, it is almost certain that, with patient attention to the following instructions, the fifth or sixth attempt will be a decided success.

Butter a frying pan, beat the eggs (seasoned with salt and pepper) and pour into the frying-pan, stir briskly with a fork, and as soon as the eggs begin to set, tilt the pan on one side, and work the eggs together with the fork, till the omelet assumes an oblong shape and is evenly united.

Now drop the omelet on to a dish by placing the dish on the uneven part of the eggs and turning the pan on to the dish, thus getting the smooth side uppermost; trim the edges and serve.

(Omelette aux Fines Herbes)

When beating the eggs, mix a little parsley, or spice, or dried herbs, as may be desired, and cook in the same manner as above.

(Omelette aux Champignons)

Finely slice a few fresh mushrooms and cook in a frying-pan with a little butter. Make a plain omelet, and mix the mushrooms just before the eggs commence to set.

(Omelette aux Tomates)

Skin two or three tomatoes after placing in boiling water for a few minutes, cut into eighths, remove the seeds, and mix with the eggs.

Make a slit in the centre of the omelet and pour a thickened tomato sauce into it.

(Omelette aux Truffes)

Either fresh or bottled truffles may be used, fresh, of course, being preferable. Skin and mince one or two small truffles and put into a frying-pan with a little butter, salt and pepper ; cook for about five minutes.

Beat eggs as for plain omelet, add truffles, make omelet, and serve very hot.

Consomme Julienne

2010-02-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

From "Easy French Cookery", 1910.

Take four carrots, three turnips, two onions, two leeks, three hearts of lettuce, a small heart of cabbage, and two small sticks of celery ; cut the turnips and carrots into thin slices about one inch long, also the celery, onion, and leeks.

Place the onions and leeks in a saucepan with some cooking butter, and let cook till brown ; now add all the remaining vegetables, with the exception of the cabbage and lettuce, and allow to cook till all the moisture has evaporated ; add salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar.

Mix with two quarts of hot consomme (clear soup of either beef or chicken).

As soon as all comes to the boil, draw to the side of the fire and allow to simmer for one hour; now add the cabbage and, one hour afterwards, the lettuce. A handful or two of green peas may be added if desired.

As soon as the last vegetables are thoroughly cooked, pour all into tureen and serve.

Sweet French Salad Dressing

2009-12-04T17:51:00.001-08:00

Mix well a scant teaspoonful of granulated sugar, the same of dry mustard, half a teaspoonful salt, as much black pepper and paprika mixed, put in the bottom of a deep small bowl, and stir for two minutes. Wet with claret vinegar, adding it gradually, and stirring smooth. Make as thick as cream. Add twenty drops tabasco, twenty drops onion juice, the strained juice of half a lemon, and half a teaspoonful of brandy, rum or whiskey. Mix well, then add, tablespoonful at a time, a gill of salad oil, stirring hard between spoonfuls. Put in more vinegar, more oil—the seasoning suffices for half a pint of dressing. Stir till it thickens—it should be like an emulsion when poured upon the salad.

Keep on ice. The oil and vinegar will separate, but the dressing can be brought back by stirring hard.

From "Dishes and Beverages of the Old South", 1913

Simple French Soup

2009-09-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

2 carrots
1 turnip
1 leek
1 stick celery
1/2 cabbage
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
6 peppercorns
3 quarts water

Scrape and cut up carrots and turnip. Slice the leek, and cut celery into dice. Shred the cabbage. Put into the jar with the water, and place in a moderate oven, or on the top of a closed range. If it is necessary to use a gas ring, turn very low and stand jar on an heat-resistant pad. Bring to the boil slowly and then simmer for 2-1/2 hours.

From "The Healthy Life Cook Book", 2d ed., by Florence Daniel, 1915.

The French Way of Cooking Cabbage

2009-09-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Chop cold boiled white cabbage and let it drain till perfectly dry: stir in some melted butter to taste; pepper, salt and four tablespoonfuls of cream; after it is heated through add two well-beaten eggs; then turn the mixture into a buttered frying pan, stirring until it is very hot and becomes a delicate brown on the under side.

Place a hot dish over the pan, which must be reversed when turned out to be served.

From "The Whitehouse Cookbook", 1887, by Mrs. F.L. Gillette

French Oil-Vinegar Salad Dressing

2009-07-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

One tablespoon of vinegar; three tablespoons of olive oil; one saltspoon (1/4 teaspoon) of pepper, and one saltspoon (1/4 teaspoon) of salt. (This is half a spoon too much pepper for Americans.) Add a trifle of onion, scraped fine, or rubbed on the salad bowl, if it is desired at all. Pour the oil, mixed with the pepper and salt, over the salad; mix them well together; then add the vinegar, and mix again. Serve on a leaf of crisp lettuce.

From "Favorite Dishes", by Carrie V. Shuman, 1893

French Prune Soufflé.

2009-06-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Cook 1/2 pound of prunes until soft; remove the stones and cut the prunes into small pieces. Mix with some chopped nuts and the yolks of 3 eggs well beaten with 3 tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar. Add 1 teaspoonful of vanilla and the whites of the eggs beaten stiff. Put in a pudding-dish and bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes and serve.

From "365 Foreign Dishes, A Foreign Dish for every day in the year", 1908

New Orleans Bouillabaisse

2009-06-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

While time endures New Orleans will plume itself upon this dish which drew from Thackeray a world-famous tribute. "In New Orleans you can eat a Bouillabaisse, the like of which was never eaten in Marseilles or Paris." Which is much, very much, from the laureate of Bouillabaisse, as native to Marseilles. The reason of superiority is not far to seek—it lies in the excellence and flavor of the fish native to the Gulf of Mexico. Lacking Pompano, Red Snapper, and Redfish, even Milly could not quite do her knowledge justice. But she made shift with what the market offered, choosing generally halibut, with fresh cod, or bluefish, or sea trout. Two kinds of fish in equal quantity are imperative. The better, finer and firmer the fish, the better the Bouillabaisse.

Cut each sort in six equal slices, saving trimmings, heads, etc. Boil them in three pints of water, with a sliced onion, and a bouquet of herbs, until reduced to one pint. Remove fish-heads and herbs, then strain the stock, and set aside until needed. Meantime rub the fish over very well with salt and pepper, then with a mixture made by mincing very fine three bay leaves, three sprigs each of thyme and parsley, three cloves of garlic, and six allspice pounded to powder. Rub the mixture in well and thoroughly—here is the key to success. The seasoning must go through and through the fish.

Put into a very wide pan, two tablespoonfuls of olive oil, heat it gently, add two mild onions, chopped and let them cook a little without browning. Now lay in the fish, slice by slice, so one slice does not touch another, cover the pan, and let the slices smother for about ten minutes, turning them once, so as to cook each side partly. Take up, lay separately in a large dish, pour half a bottle of white wine into the pan, and stir hard. Add six large, fresh tomatoes, sliced very thin, let boil a few minutes, then half a lemon, also in very thin slices, and a pint of the fish stock strained. Season well, with salt, pepper, and Cayenne—here the palate is guide. Boil all together until reduced almost one half, then lay in the fish slices, taking care they do not touch, and boil briskly for five minutes. While the boiling goes on, chop fine a pinch of saffron, put it in a small, deep dish, and mix smooth with a spoonful of the boiling liquor. Dissolve the saffron very well, and when the fish has cooked its allotted five minutes, spread the saffron on top of the fish.

Fry in butter as many slices of toast as you have slices of fish—lay the fish on the toast, pour the sauce over it, and serve immediately, very hot.

From "Dishes and Beverages of the Old South", by Martha McCulloch Williams, 1913.

Potatoes au Cochon

2009-05-08T05:51:00.001-07:00

Slice two hot, meaty potatoes; cut the slices into squares; put them in a saucepan, and add scalded cream enough to cover them, salt, and white pepper. Cut into very small pieces half an ounce of fat, boiled, salt pork; add a tablespoonful to the potato; simmer until thoroughly blended together; pour the contents of the dish into a small au gratin dish (or vegetable baker); grate a little Parmesan cheese over it; add a small bit of butter; place in the oven a moment to brown, and serve in the same dish.

Veal Cutlets

2009-04-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

French cooks cut them thinner than the English, and trim them into rounds of the size of a tea-cup; they must be brushed over with egg, and sprinkled with salt, white pepper, mushroom powder, and grated lemon peel; put them into a _sauté_ pan and fry of a very light brown; pieces of bread, smoked meat or tongue cut of the same size as the cutlets, and prepared in the same manner, are laid alternately in the dish with them; they should be served without sauce and with a _purée_ of mushrooms or spinach in the centre of the dish.