Ragout A La Financiere

YOU must procure cock's combs, cock's kidneys, fat livers, and a few fowls' eggs. The combs are to be scalded in the following manner. Put the whole of them into a towel, with a handful of salt that has not been pounded. Then lay hold of the four corners of the towel, and dip the part containing the cock's comb into boiling hot water. Leave it in for a minute, and then take it out, and rub the whole well together, to take off the first skin that is about the combs, and open your towel; if the combs be not skinned sufficiently, dip them into the boiling water a second time; but mind they do not get too firm, because that prevents them from whitening. When they are well skinned, or scalded, pare the little black points, that the blood may be extracted. Next put them into a pint of water, and lay them on the corner of your stove for two hours; in which there must be but a very little fire. Then blanch them, and put them into a little blanc, by which is meant butter, salt, water, and a slice of lemon. Try them frequently, lest they be too much done. The kidneys are not to boil, for then they would break. The eggs are to boil a little, in order that the first skin may come off. This being done, throw the whole into the blanc. As soon as the combs are done, have ready a nice Espagnole reduced, with large mushrooms turned, and some small quenelles, which have been poached separately. Mix together, and drain the ragout, the combs, the kidneys, and the eggs. Put the whole into the sauce with the quenelles; stir gently, not to break the latter; season well, and use it as occasion may require.

Les Nouilles

Nouilles are nothing but a French paste, which the cooks prepare themselves. Lay flat on your table, or dresser, half a dozen spoonfuls of flour; make a hole in the middle, and put in a small pinch of salt, a little water to melt the salt, the yolks of three eggs, a lump of butter of the size of a walnut; mix the whole well, flatten the paste with a roller, about one line thick, cut it into slices of about an inch broad, and next cut your nouilles nearly as thick. Blanch them in boiling water to take off the flour that sticks around, and when they are blanched, drain them and let them cool, that they may not stick together. Put them to boil in some good consomme. When done enough, drain them, and put them into whatever sauce you may fancy, either a blanquette, an Allemande, or a veloute. If they are to be served with a fowl, use veloute; and Parmesan cheese, if served for an entremet. But if for soup, serve them in the broth in which they were boiled. This soup is very good with Parmesan cheese; have the cheese scraped, and serve it separately in a plate.

The Macedoine

This sauce can never be good but in the spring season, as green peas, asparagus, French beans, and artichokebottoms, are indispensably requisite, besides carrots, turnips, heads of celery, and small cauliflower sprouts, As it is very difficult to procure those various vegetables and roots at the same time of the year, you must contrive to do your best, and put as many as you can procure. Cut some carrots in the shape either of olives, of balls, or small thin corks. Blanch them in a little water, then set them to stew with a little sugar and a few spoonfuls of consomme, over a large fire, that they may glaze without breaking. Stew the turnips in the like manner, but separately. Mind that the glaze of your roots be not made too high in colour. The other vegetables are to be boiled in salt and water. Lay them on a clean towel to drain; mix them with the carrots and turnips, and three spoonfuls of bechamel. Toss them gently, not to destroy the shape of the ingredients. If you are short of other vegetables, you may use cucumbers and mushrooms; be cautious however in using them, as they would make the sauce too thin, if you did not pay particular attention.

How to Cook Cucumber Sauce

Cucumbers, Or Blanquette

Cucumbers are good only when quite young; you must take care, however, that they have not a bitter taste. Those are the best that have a rough shaggy coat. Cucumbers are cooked in various ways, either for sauces or for entremets. It is useless to fry them white in clarified butter, (as practised in France). As soon as they have been pared, stew them in a little sauce tournee and sugar, but do not let them stew too long. Lay them in a hair-sieve to drain, reduce the liquor in which they have been stewing, and thicken it with the yolks of four eggs. Do not put the cucumbers into the sauce till you are going to send up, for the sauce would get too thin.