FoodNet

The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

1880

Page 208

Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
SNIPE PATE', TRUFFLED.— A most delicious pat4 preserved in tins is now made from snipes with the assistance of forcemeat and truffles. These pates can be used for a variety of purposes, and are particularly valuable in summer when game itself is out of season. The pate can be opened by removing the strip of tin round the top, for which purpose patent openers are sold. The advantage of opening the tin in this way is that the pate can be turned out whole without breaking. These pates are specially suited for picnics, and when served in summer time at picnics they should always be placed for half an horn- or rather more in some iced water before they are opened. They are very nice when quite stone cold, but when they are partially heated by the sun or the warmth of a hot room they are not so good. They are very rich and go a long way. The re- 143 HOUSEKEEPERS GUIDE. mains of these pates should never bo thrown away on any account, as the cook will find them exceedingly valuable to assist her in making any kind of forcemeat. Under the heading of “ Chicken-and-Ham Pate ” I have al- ready given descriptions how to make rissoles and kromeslcies. In making either of these dishes the cook will find that the remains of snipe pate truffled will be particularly valuable to increase the delicacy of flavour of the forcemeat ; indeed all kinds of these truffled pates are very useful, as they impart a de- cided truffle flavour to the forcemeat, and are of course very much cheaper than having to purchase a bottle of truffles themselves. Another very use- ful account to which the remains of these patds can be turned is for mak- ing Italian fritters. A full receipt of how to make Italian fritters will be found under the heading Foie Gras. In every kind of savoury pate when game is used the remains of the pates are perhaps more suited for making Italian fritters than for mixing with ordinary meat. When, however, ris- soles or kromeskies are made from the remains' of chicken-and-ham the addi- tion of game is very good. SNIPES, TRUFFLED.— Snipes are now sold whole in tins stuffed with truffles. They are very nice eaten just as they are, cold, when they form a very agreeable breakfast-dish. In summer, when game is out of season, a very deli- cious entree can be made from snipes truffled, or they can be served up as a course by themselves instead of game. Part of the forcemeat can be placed in little paper cups, and portions of the snipe itself can be placed on the top. Another very nice form of serving snipes truffled, when they are preserved whole, is to take the birds out of the fat by which they are surrounded, bearing in mind that this fat is very valuable for assisting the cook to make any kind of rich forcemeat. Then the birds should be placed in a circle on a silver dish and f lazed over the entire of their surface. f the birds are inclined to fall to pieces this glaze will often enable the cook to keep them together, as it acts as a species of glue. Any kind of salad can now be placed in the centre of the dish, such as German salad made from a tin of macedoines, and the birds themselves can be surrounded on the outside with aspic jelly. This makes a very rich and excellent dish suitable to be served at ball suppers. Of course the birds can be further decorated by a little piping on the breast of each.