The "Queen" cookery books: Entrees

thick, spread thickly on the cutlets which are again egged and crumbed, and served dry on a bed of any nice vegetables. These of course take their name from the sauce coating, for instance if coated with a very rich allemaude sauce delicately flavoured with lemon juice, mushrooms, &c., they are called cotelettes a la Villeroi (a rich white sauce thickened almost to a paste by reduction, being known as a Villeroi), aux petits pois (or whatever vegetables form the garnish). Again cutlets, abroad especially, are often braised, i.e., they are placed on a layer of soup vegetables, with a slice or two of ham, a good bouquet of herbs, seasoning to taste, and lastly sufficient strong stock to just cover them, a buttered paper is put over them and they are then simmered very gently till cooked, when they are lifted out, and placed to press between two plates under a weight till perfectly cold ; they are then trimmed, the liquor in which they were cooked is strained, freed from fat, and reduced a little by rapid boiling, the cold trimmed cutlets being then gently heated in •this sauce and served with any garnish to taste. Lastly there is the Maintenon cutlet, for which various methods of cooking are often given. The nicest I think is this : cut the cutlets rather thick, then split them through horizontally to the bone, and lay in this a good spoonful of cV TJxelles mixture (i.e., a mixture cf minced parsley, mushrooms, chives, and tongue or ham, all tossed till cooked in a little butter), close down the cutlet skewering it into shape with very tiny skewers, and broil it for four minutes or so each side (a variation of this dish is cutlets a la Rothschild, when a puree of foie gras is used instead of the d' Uxelles ) ; more frequently these cutlets are broiled in oiled paper cases, a spoonful of d' TJxelles sauce being added to each case for the Maintenon, and a spoonful of sauce Rothschild for the Rothschild cutlets. But for this the boneless noisettes or grenadins are to be preferred. If liked, any of these cutlets can be cooked as noisettes, i.e., deprived of their bones, rounded neatly, and broiled or sautes, as you choose. But if so served they should always be mounted on something, say a round of fried bread, carefully fried in clarified butter to a delicate golden brown, or on a mushroom, or an artichoke bottom, or a sliced tomato, or on a mound of stiff vegetable puree, as you please. These noisettes make a delicious dish if placed on a delicately fried crouton, spread with a little savoury butter, finished off with a tiny pat of the same and sent up at once very hot. Maitre d’hotel, Perigord, Provencal, ham, or curry butter, or stiff mayonnaise, tartare, or Bearnaise sauce can all be utilized, and present an agreeable variety. Lamb cutlets can be treated in the same way, the recipes with white sauce being specially suitable for lamb. Fillets of beef, however served, can be dressed by many of the recipes given for cutlets, savoury butters of all kinds being especially suitable and appetising. As a general rule it may be broadly stated that when beef is served as fillets, it is unlarded, whereas as grenadins or medaillons, it is all but invariably larded or barded (i.e, wrapped in thin slices of fat bacon.) Kemember that many recipes (especially if rich ones) given for fillets can be applied to the smarter form.