Now stew the toma-
toes gently over the fire till they are
done, taking care not to overcook
them, as if they are overcooked they
are apt to burst. Twenty minutes will
perhaps be sufficient, and the heat
should not be too great. Take them
carefully out, place them in the dish,
and pour a little rich brown- gravy
round the base. This is a very nice
entrie. Mushrooms au (jratin can be
made from fresh mushrooms exactly in
the same way, only you must for this
purpose obtain some good cup-mush-
rooms, whose diameter should be about
a little over three inches. Peel the
mushrooms, cut off the stalks, and
scrape out the cup till it is quite hol-
low. Now chop up all the trimmings
that have been removed and proceed
exactly as before. Fill the cups with
the forcemeat after it has been cooked,
shake some bread -raspings over them,
and stew them in oil, or they can be
placed in a tin in the oven, with a little
butter, but they are best cooked the
other way. When I mention lemon
*thyme as seasoning I suppose it to be
dried in bottle ; if fresh thyme is used,
a saltspoonful will be far too much.
Mushrooms are also' used for making
rissoles and kromeskies, a receipt for
making which will be found under the
heading, Chicken-and-Ham Pates.
Mushrooms are also used for making
oyster pates from tinned oysters, a re-
ceipt for which will be found under the
heading of Oystebs, Tinned. Mush-
rooms are also essential for making
finaneiere ragout, vol-au-vent a la Tou-
louse, and a number of other dishes
which our present space renders it im-
possible to enumerate.
MUSHROOM CATSUP. — Mushroom
catsup is by far the most useful of all
sauces ; indeed, it is the base of nearly
every kind of sauce which is made.
Mushroom catsup is used for flavouring
a very great number of sauces and
dishes, but I would here give one word
of warning to cooks who are too fond
of using it to flavour soups. I have
no hesitation in saying that no soup
whatever is improved by the addi-
tion of mushroom catsup. The essen-
tial qualities of good soup are — first,
that we should taste the flavour of the
meat, and, secondly, that we should get
as much nourishment out of the meat as
possible. By adding catsup t<« soups
you entirely destroy, or, at any rate,
obliterate, the flavour of the meat.
Catsup can, however, be added to gravy.
A little catsup is an improvement to
every kind of rich brown gravy, and
every kind of white sauce can be im-
proved by the addition of a little essence
of mushroom when the essence is
104
CEOSSE AND BLACKWELL'S
white. Mushroom catsup is extremely
useful to assist in flavouring gravies
that are intended for any kind of white
poultry, such as chicken, turkey, etc.
Of course, if chickens are improved by
being served with mushroom sauce,
when it cannot be obtained they are
also improved by being served with
fravy that contains mushroom flavour.
’erhaps the most general form of
using catsup is to have it with
fish. Nearly every kind of fish,
Page 153
Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Now stew the tomatoes gently over the fire till they are done, taking care not to overcook them, as if they are overcooked they are apt to burst. Twenty minutes will perhaps be sufficient, and the heat should not be too great. Take them carefully out, place them in the dish, and pour a little rich brown- gravy
round the base. This is a very nice entrie. Mushrooms au gratin can be made from fresh mushrooms exactly in the same way, only you must for this purpose obtain some good cup-mushrooms, whose diameter should be about a little over three inches. Peel the mushrooms, cut off the stalks, and scrape out the cup till it is quite hollow. Now chop up all the trimmings that have been removed and proceed exactly as before. Fill the cups with the forcemeat after it has been cooked, shake some bread -raspings over them, and stew them in oil, or they can be placed in a tin in the oven, with a little butter, but they are best cooked the other way. When I mention lemon *thyme as seasoning I suppose it to be dried in bottle ; if fresh thyme is used, a saltspoonful will be far too much. Mushrooms are also' used for making rissoles and kromeskies, a receipt for making which will be found under the heading, Chicken-and-Ham Pates. Mushrooms are also used for making oyster pates from tinned oysters, a receipt for which will be found under the heading of Oystebs, Tinned. Mushrooms are also essential for making financiere ragout, vol-au-vent a la Toulouse, and a number of other dishes which our present space renders it impossible to enumerate.
MUSHROOM CATSUP. — Mushroom catsup is by far the most useful of all sauces ; indeed, it is the base of nearly every kind of sauce which is made. Mushroom catsup is used for flavouring a very great number of sauces and dishes, but I would here give one word of warning to cooks who are too fond of using it to flavour soups. I have no hesitation in saying that no soup whatever is improved by the addition of mushroom catsup. The essential qualities of good soup are — first, that we should taste the flavour of the meat, and, secondly, that we should get as much nourishment out of the meat as possible. By adding catsup t<« soups you entirely destroy, or, at any rate, obliterate, the flavour of the meat. Catsup can, however, be added to gravy. A little catsup is an improvement to every kind of rich brown gravy, and every kind of white sauce can be improved by the addition of a little essence of mushroom when the essence is
white. Mushroom catsup is extremely useful to assist in flavouring gravies that are intended for any kind of white poultry, such as chicken, turkey, etc. Of course, if chickens are improved by being served with mushroom sauce, when it cannot be obtained they are also improved by being served with
fravy that contains mushroom flavour.
’erhaps the most general form of using catsup is to have it with fish. Nearly every kind of fish,