The "Queen" cookery books: Entrees

kind. Bechamel on the contrary requires the addition of milk, the butter and flour being prepared as before, and diluted with half colourless stock, half new milk, its excellence when served alone depending on the careful flavouring of the liquids with which it is diluted, and the use of more or less rich stock and the substitution of cream for milk. Needless to observe that where the cook keeps las she should do) roux at hand, a couple of spoonfuls of this, according to the thickness, is diluted with the liquid, in any case allowing the whole to boil-in rapidly till reduced a fourth part, a reduction on which, be it added, the success of the sauce greatly depends. Brown sauce is simply veloute made with a flour and butter roux, which has been cooked till of a pale coflee brown, and then diluted with more or less strongly flavoured brown stock, and seasoning to taste. Of course, when used as a groundwork to more elaborate sauces, it is flavoured, and seasoned additionally, but its original taste should be of strong, well made stock, without any predominant flavour beyond that of meat. The fourth sauce on the list, espagnole, derives its name from the Spanish ham and Spanish wine which originally were indispensable parts of its flavour. Many French cooks call any good brown sauce, espagnole nowadays, but this, with all due humility, may be classed as a mistake, for the above is the real origin of the name. When your cook has really mastered the art of making veloute and bechamel, and has succeeded o in differentiating tlie two, you may easily teach her to vary her condiments ad infinitum. Thus, veloute may he used for any sauce which does not need to he absolutely snowy white, as for instance, the alleviande mentioned above, which is made as follows : Pour into a delicately clean pan rather more than half a pint of good veloute (made with more or less rich stock, according to the use you intend making of it), add to this a gill of veal or poultry stock, previously strongly flavoured with mushrooms (it must be impressed on cooks that the stems and trimmings of mushrooms, the trimmings of truffles, and the stalks of parsley are all excellent for flavouring purposes and economise the use of the original article, which is frequently a consideration), and stir this altogether over a sharp fire till reduced, or boiled-in, a fourth part ; have ready the yolk of one or more eggs beaten up with two or three tablespoonfuls of cold white stock, a dash of lemon juice, and the very smallest grate of nutmeg, and stir this all into the reduced sauce ; when perfectly blended rub it all through a tammy, heat it in the bainmarie, and mix into it just at the last, as you are about to dish it, a morsel of butter ; stir this till dissolved, and then pour it all into a previously scalded sauce boat. Many cooks use alleviande as a foundation, but this is to be deprecated on the score of expense. An observation must be made re the tammy. Where there is a kitchenmaid its use should be insisted on, as nothing gives the velvety texture so characteristic of a well made sauce as the tammy ; but for household purposes, or where the