The Pytchley book of refined cookery and bills of fare

Many books give only the rudiments of the art, others such proportions that they are quite unsuitable to ordinary people ; the Bills of Fare so large, the Receipts given so intricate that they are difficult to understand, and the various ingredients impossible to procure. They remind one of the story told of the Prince of Soubise in the “ Art of Dining.” “The Prince rejoiced in an excellent chef, as one with such a name should, and his notions of expenditure were also princely. The Prince one day announced that it was his intention to give a supper, B o THE PYTCHLEY COOKERY BOOK. and asked for a ‘ Menu/ The chef presented one with an estimate ; the first article which caught the Prince’s eye was ‘ Fifty Hams.’ f What ! ’ said he, ‘ why, Ber- trand, you must be out of your mind ; are you going to feast my whole regiment?’ ‘No, Monseigneur, only one ham will appear on the table ; the rest are necessary for my Espagnoles, my blonds , my garnitures .’ ‘ Bertrand, you are plundering me, and this article shall not pass.’ ‘Oh, my lord,’ rejoined the indignant artist, ‘you do not understand our resources ; give the word and those fifty hams, which confound you, I will put them all in a glass bottle no bigger than your thumb.’ ” This is the kind of cookery the Author wishes to avoid, he does not wish fifty hams to be used for one dinner, he does not wish a dish to cost £i when 5s. will do equally well ; he does not for one moment pretend that all the Receipts given are original, as he is quite aware that there is nothing new under the sun, but he claims origi- nality in the Bills of Fare, in the proportions, and in many of the Receipts given, and he hopes that the various cooks who read this, may take as much trouble in serving the various dinners with hot dishes, hot covers, and hot plates as he has in preparing this little work. Think, reader, count on your fingers the few houses you know in which a really nice little dinner is served. Think of the greasy gravies called “clear soup,” or the horrible mixtures called “thick soup,” of the sodden, boiled to death, or half- raw “joints of fish,” the flour- and-water sauces, called “melted butter,” and “white sauce,” the tasteless stews, the poor mangled remains of chicken, ducks, pigeons, and game flavoured with highly spiced sauces, walnut catsup, allspice, clove, etc., and called entries. Think of the joint either hung until it might easily walk into the room, making every one wish to walk out, or the hard, either dried-up or raw leg of mutton, which requires a set of steel teeth and an iron jaw to iTi3.stica.tc • Think of the jellies without taste, the milk blanc- manges, the dry puddings which requite at least three INTRODUCTION. j bumpers of champagne to wash down, and of which only one half-glass well frothed is- generally doled out. Think, reader, think of all these discomforts, and if the Author can remedy them, he will feel amply repaid ; and in case you have the misfortune to have a cook who will not learn, he has thought it better to tell you where you can buy really excellent soups, and gravies, at no greater expense than you can make them at home.