The spirit of cookery

The merit of the casserole of rice, if it has any apart from the contents, consists exclusively in its appearance, for it can hardly be eatable, and even if it was accessible to a broad, good-humoured appetite, is certainly not eaten, and on that ground alone would appear to be a very superfluous contrivance. It is a coarse patAcase, has not a single attractive feature about it, and it requires a high degi’ee of imagination on the part of a cook to call it elegant. If such forms be wanted to serve entrees, by all means let us have them moulded in porcelain or clay, and burnt, and let the designs be really elegant ; but do not call clumsy inedible masses of mere rice paste of the shape of lialf a Stilton cheese artistic productions, and scrapings with bits of raw potatoes or turnips on its surface ornamental designs. After this confession we need not go into details regarding the possible contents of such casseroles. They might, of course, CASSEROLES, BORDERS, AND THEIR CONTENTS 575 be any of the hundreds of entrees in the shape of ragouts, fricassees, piir&cs, blanquettes, etc., which are honoured by being served in piite-cases, vol-au-vents, and tourtes ; but until better reason be shown for dissociating these historical preparations from their ancient cases, and presenting them in newer combinations than have hitherto been advanced, we advise our readers to adhere to the old recipes for the essential preparation of entrees, as well as their outer merely conventional form. What becomes of such recipes in the hands of the modern abstracters of recipes can be seen by comparison. Not even an experienced cook could produce any presentable object according to the notes given in most modern cookery-books. The only addition to the rice made in one of these, an onion, is totally inappropriate, and almost ridiculous by its isolation. Under the remarkable heading of Ornamental Borders of Potato Paste some modern culinary works describe what may be defined as rudivientary raised piie-crusts, which ascend only to the height of a kind of ringwall to keep a ragoixt and its sauce together, and are made of potato 'paste. This, word paste inserted in displacement of the usual puree indicates the train of thought and action which led to the: product. Although termed paste merely, the preparation; seems intended to be edible. The term ornamental should,, perhaps, be explained as meaning shaped to a design, or- ornamented (not ornamentaZ), with probably such produc- tions of the raw potato chisel as distinguished the casserole' att riz. Of garnishes to be placed inside such borders the; following are characteristic : Scollops of Larks and Truffles ; Lambs Feet loith Pascaline Sauce; Scollops of Ox-palates, luith Curry Sauce ; Scollops of Sheep’s Tongues with Fine Herbs Safeco; Calf’s Brain xoith Bavigote Sauce. We abstain from discussing in detail this list of culinary curi- osities. It is possible that the sounding French names of some of these dishes deceive the writers somewhat as to 576 THE SPIRIT OF COOKERY their value. For ourselves we find this potato jmste to be the most unsatisfactoiy preparation of potatoes in the culinary calendar. CHAPTER LI. CHARTREUSES, OR PUDDINGS OF GREEN VEGET- ABLES AND ROOTS, ORNAMENTAL CROUSTADES, TURBANS, AND MAZARINES.