The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book Part 20

=Citron preserves.= Pare some sound fruit, divide into quarters, remove the seeds, and cut in small pieces. To every pound of fruit allow one-half pound of granulated cane sugar. Cook the citron in water until quite clear, then drain through a colander. Melt the sugar with a few spoonfuls of water, and boil until very clear, then put in the drained citron, add two sliced large lemons, a small piece of ginger root, and cook for about fifteen minutes. Fill the jars with the citron, and cover with the syrup.

MARCH 30

BREAKFAST Honey in comb Scrambled eggs with chives Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Canape of fresh Astrachan caviar Saddle of hare, sour cream sauce Palestine potatoes Spatzle Green peas au beurre French pastry Coffee

DINNER Lobster chowder Ripe California olives Broiled barracouda Roast leg of lamb, mint sauce String beans Alsatian potatoes Escarole salad Biscuit Tortoni a.s.sorted cakes Coffee

=Scrambled eggs with chives.= Make some plain scrambled eggs, and just before serving add some finely-cut chives, mix, and season well.

=Sweet potato croquettes.= Boil four large potatoes in salt water, when soft, peel, and pa.s.s through a sieve. Then put in a ca.s.serole, add two ounces of b.u.t.ter, the yolks of three eggs, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. When cold, roll in flour, shape in the form of a large cork, then roll in beaten eggs and bread crumbs, and fry in very hot swimming lard. When nice and brown serve on a napkin.

=Palestine potatoes.= Sweet potato croquettes formed in the shape of a small pear. When fried, dress on a napkin with the pointed end up, and stick a sprig of parsley in the top.

=Alsatian potatoes.= Put in a ca.s.serole two ounces of b.u.t.ter and one chopped onion, and simmer until golden yellow. Add four potatoes cut in small dices, one bay leaf, one clove, one cup of water, and season with salt and pepper. Cover, and simmer slowly for thirty minutes. Add fresh chopped parsley before serving.

=Biscuit Tortoni.= Same as biscuit glace, with the addition of a pony of good maraschino and two ounces of macaroon crumbs. To make the crumbs, crush some dry macaroons and pa.s.s through a sieve or colander. Put in round paper cases, filling above the edge, and allow to set in ice box for several hours until frozen. Dip the top of the biscuit in macaroon crumbs before serving.

=Saddle of hare, sour cream sauce.= Remove the skins from the saddles of two hares, and lard them with thin strips of larding pork. Put them in an agate pan, add a little salt, and one-half cup of whole black peppers wrapped in cheese cloth. Cover with from two to three quarts of sour cream, and stand in a cool place for forty-eight hours. Then put the saddles in a roasting pan with a sliced onion and carrot, and a little b.u.t.ter on top, and roast in a hot oven for about ten minutes, or until brown. Then strain the sour cream, and add little by little to the saddles, while roasting. Baste continually, and after forty minutes you should have a nice brown sauce. Remove the saddles to a platter, reduce the sauce one-half, season with salt if necessary, and a little paprika, strain part over the saddles, and serve the remainder in a bowl.

MARCH 31

BREAKFAST Hothouse raspberries with cream Browned corned beef hash Poached eggs on toast Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Grapefruit with cherries Frogs' legs, saute a sec Lamb chops Watercress salad French fried potatoes Camembert cheese with crackers Coffee

DINNER Pet.i.te marmite Radishes Crab a la Louis Boiled beef, horseradish sauce Boiled potatoes Stuffed cabbage Hearts of lettuce salad Apple water ice Cakes Coffee

=Corned beef hash.= Chop an onion very fine and put in a ca.s.serole with two ounces of b.u.t.ter. Simmer until the onion is cooked, then add two pounds of boiled corned beef cut in small dices, and one pound of boiled potatoes cut very small, or chopped. Mix well, season with a little pepper, and salt if necessary, add one cup of bouillon, and simmer for ten minutes. Before serving add a little chopped parsley.

=Browned corned beef hash.= Same as above, but use only one-half cup of bouillon. Before serving put the hash in a frying pan with two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and allow it to brown. Serve in the shape of an omelet.

=Corned beef hash au gratin.= Make a corned beef hash and put in a b.u.t.tered, deep, silver vegetable dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs, put a small piece of b.u.t.ter on top, and bake in oven until brown.

=Lamb cutlets in papers.= Fry the cutlets in a saute pan, in melted fat pork, turning frequently. Brown only slightly, allowing them to remain rare. Then remove the cutlets, and in the fat simmer some minced onions, mushrooms and parsley for a few minutes. When nearly done add some shredded lean ham. Now prepare some oiled paper, tearing it heart-shaped, lay the cutlet on one half, surrounding it with the minced herbs, with a little on top also; then fold over the paper, creasing the edges together like a hem. Lay on a b.u.t.tered dish, and set in oven until nicely colored.

=Puree of onions (Soubise).= Peel and slice one dozen large white onions, put in a ca.s.serole with one-quarter pound of b.u.t.ter, cover, and put in oven for about forty-five minutes, or until soft; but do not allow them to become brown. Then drain off the b.u.t.ter and add one pint of thick cream sauce, season well with salt and white pepper, and strain through a fine sieve.

=Apple water ice.= See Normandy water ice.

APRIL 1

BREAKFAST Fresh strawberries with cream Boiled eggs Dry toast Coffee

LUNCHEON Canape Romanoff Eggs, Voltaire Tripe a la mode de Caen Baked potatoes Coffee eclairs Demi ta.s.se

DINNER Cream of chicken, Reine Hortense Ripe olives Terrapin Baltimore Roast saddle of mutton Chateau potatoes Braised sweetbreads, Marie Louise Lettuce salad Pears in syrup Lady fingers Coffee

SUPPER Venetian egg in chafing dish

=Venetian egg in chafing dish.= Mince an onion and cook in saute pan in two ounces of b.u.t.ter, then add half a can of firm tomatoes and cook for twenty minutes. Add a pound of eastern cheese, broken into small bits; season with salt, paprika, a little Worcesters.h.i.+re sauce, and half a teaspoonful of mustard. Stir continuously. Last, add three lightly beaten eggs, and stir until thick. It should be of the same consistency as a Welsh rabbit. Serve either with, or on, toast or toasted crackers.

=Eggs, Voltaire.= In the bottom of a b.u.t.tered cocotte or egg dish place a spoonful of chicken hash, on top break a raw egg, and season. Cover with cream sauce and grated cheese. Bake until the tops are brown.

=Cream of chicken, Reine Hortense.= Make a cream of chicken soup in the usual way. Take a cup of peeled almonds to each quart of the soup, pound into a pulp in a mortar, pulverizing thoroughly; mix with milk, strain, and add to the soup.

=Canape Romanoff.= Mix a boxful of smoked Norwegian sardines with three ounces of hot b.u.t.ter, mash fine, and force through a sieve. Stir in four spoonfuls of cream, and spread over toast cut in fancy shapes. Garnish with ripe and green olives. Serve as a fancy sandwich at tea or bridge parties, or as an appetiser for dinner.

=Braised sweetbreads, Marie Louise.= Soak the sweetbreads in cold water for no less than three hours, changing the water two or three times.

This draws all the blood from the sweetbreads. Then put into a large pot, with plenty of cold water, and bring to the boiling point; then drench with cold water to cool. In a saucepan put a sliced carrot, a sliced onion, a bay leaf, a clove, parsley in branches, a piece of salt pork rind, b.u.t.ter the size of half an egg, and one cup of stock or broth of any kind. Place the sweetbreads on top, and place in oven and cook for half an hour, basting frequently. The sweetbreads should turn an even yellow. Trim some artichoke bottoms, cut in half, and place the sweetbreads on top. Mix the juice from the baked sweetbreads with a cup of cream sauce and a sherry gla.s.sful of dry sherry. Pour this over the top, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and return to oven for two minutes.

=Pears in syrup.= Make a syrup with a cup of sugar, and water enough to cover. Add the juice or rind of a lemon, a few cloves, and a stick of cinnamon. Quarter the pears, remove the cores, and cook in the syrup for eight or ten minutes, or until tender. Old hard pears may require a half an hour or more before they are sufficiently cooked. A little claret or white wine may be added, if desired.

APRIL 2

BREAKFAST Preserved figs with cream Ham and eggs Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Terrine de foie gras a la gelee Eggs, Texas clover Broiled squab with fresh mushrooms French fried potatoes Romaine salad Brie cheese and crackers Coffee

DINNER Blue Point oysters on half sh.e.l.l Clear green turtle soup, au Madere Queen olives Crab poulette Roast chicken Fresh asparagus, Hollandaise Rissolee potatoes Sliced tomatoes, French dressing Omelette Robespierre Coffee

=Eggs, Texas clover.= Chop a green pepper, put in ca.s.serole with one ounce of b.u.t.ter, and simmer until the peppers are soft; then add ten beaten eggs, season with salt and pepper, and scramble. Before serving add a dozen parboiled oysters, a little cream, and a piece of fresh b.u.t.ter.

=Terrine de foie gras a la gelee.= Serve as an appetiser, cold, with meat jelly. The foie gras comes from Europe, being a particular specialty of Strasbourg, Alsace. It is a goose liver pie, baked in terrines.

=Broiled squab.= Split the squab, season well, roll in oil and broil.

Serve on a piece of freshly-made toast, cover with maitre d'hotel sauce, and garnish with half a lemon and watercress.

=Broiled squab with fresh mushrooms.= Prepare as above, with the addition of four broiled heads of fresh mushrooms on top of the squab.

=Clear green turtle soup.= May be made from live turtle, or the Florida canned turtle, which is the most common for home use. Put a can of green turtle meat in a pot and bring to a boil, then drain off the broth, and save. Cut the meat in one-half inch squares. In a ca.s.serole put one sprig of thyme, one sprig of sweet basilic herb, one gla.s.s of sherry, and reduce until nearly dry. Then add two quarts of strong consomme, bring to a boil, and thicken with a soupspoonful of arrowroot diluted with a little cold water. Add the arrowroot while the consomme is boiling. After boiling for five minutes strain through a fine cloth, put back in the ca.s.serole, add the turtle meat, and season with salt and Cayenne pepper. Before serving add a gla.s.s of very old Madeira and the turtle juice.

=Omelette Robespierre.= Take six canned apricots, or six fresh apricots boiled in syrup, and cut in one-quarter inch squares. Make an omelette with ten eggs, and with very little salt. Make the omelet soft. Put on a platter, sprinkle with plenty of powdered sugar, and burn with a red-hot poker. Warm the apricots, and put at both ends of the omelet; pour two ponies of absinthe over the top, and light before bringing to the table.

Anisette liqueur may be used in place of the absinthe if more convenient.

APRIL 3

BREAKFAST Fresh raspberries with cream Broiled Yarmouth bloaters Potatoes hashed in cream Rolls Coffee

LUNCHEON Eggs, St. Laurent Clam broth in cups Planked shad and roe Chicory and beet salad Cream puffs Demi ta.s.se

DINNER Oyster soup, family style Radishes Fillet of turbot, Nesles Fondante potatoes Salmon steak, Chambord sauce Peas au cerfeuil Hot baked apples Macaroons Coffee