Or the grill may be served with what Soyer calls his
MepMsto2jhelian sauce, which he especially designed for
serving with deviled meats. Chop six shallots or small
onions, wash and press them in the corner of a clean
cloth, put them in a stew-pan with half a wineglass of
chili vinegar (pepper sauce), a chopped clove, a tiny bit
of garlic, two bay leaves, an ounce of glaze; boil all to-
gether ten minutes ; then add four tablespoonfuls of
tomato sauce, a little sugar, and ten of broth thickened
with roux✪ MepMsto2jhelian Sauce (or water will do if you have no broth).
It will be remarked that in many French recipes a
little sugar is ordered. This is not meant to sweeten, or
even be perceptible; but it enriches, softens, tones, as it
were, the other ingredients as salt does.
Soyee's Fritadella (twenty recipes in one). — Put
half a pound of bread-crumb to soak in a pint of cold
water; take the same quantity of any kind of roast, or
boiled meat, with a little fat, chop it fine, press the
4*
82 Culture and Cooking.
bread in a clean cloth to extract the water ; put in a
stew-pan two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of chopped
onions ; fry two minutes and stir, then add the bread,
stir and fry till rather dry, then the meat ; season with a
teaspoonf ul of salt, half of pepper, and a little grated nut-
meg, and lemon peel; stir continually till yery hot, then
add two eggs, one at a time; mix well and pour on a dish
to get cold. Then take a piece, shape it like a small egg,
flatten it a little, egg and bread-crumb it all over, tak-
ing care to keep in good shape. Do all the same way,
then put into a frying-pan a quarter of a pound of lard
or dripping✪ Soyee's Fritadella, let it get hot, and put in the pieces, and
saute (or as we call it "fry '^) them a fine yellow brown.
Serve very hot with a border of mashed potatoes, or any
garniture you fancy. Sauce piquant, or not, as you
please.
The above can be made with any kind of meat, poul-
try, game, fish, or even vegetables; hard eggs, or potatoes,
may be introduced in small quantities, and they may be
fried instead of sauteed (frying in the French and strict
sense, meaning as I need hardly say, entire immersion in
very hot fat). To fry them you require at least two
pounds of fat in your pan.
Oysters or lobsters prepared as above are excellent.
Boileau says, '^ Un diner rechauffe ne valut ja7nais
rien.^^ But I think a good French cook of the present
day would make him alter his opinion.
Indeed Savarin quotes a friend of his own, a notable
gourmand, who considered spinach cooked on Monday
only reached perfection the following Saturday, having
each day of the week been warmed up with butter, and
each day gaining succulence and a more marrowy consist-
ency.
Warjning Over, 83
Page 45 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1885. 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
Or the grill may be served with what Soyer calls his Mephistophelian sauce, which he especially designed for serving with deviled meats. Chop six shallots or small onions, wash and press them in the corner of a clean cloth, put them in a stew-pan with half a wineglass of chili vinegar (pepper sauce), a chopped clove, a tiny bit of garlic, two bay leaves, an ounce of glaze; boil all together ten minutes ; then add four tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce, a little sugar, and ten of broth thickened with roux (or water will do if you have no broth).
It will be remarked that in many French recipes a little sugar is ordered. This is not meant to sweeten, or even be perceptible; but it enriches, softens, tones, as it were, the other ingredients as salt does.
Soyee's Fritadella (twenty recipes in one). — Put
half a pound of bread-crumb to soak in a pint of cold
water; take the same quantity of any kind of roast, or
boiled meat, with a little fat, chop it fine, press the
4*
82 Culture and Cooking.
bread in a clean cloth to extract the water ; put in a stew-pan two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of chopped onions ; fry two minutes and stir, then add the bread, stir and fry till rather dry, then the meat ; season with a teaspoonf ul of salt, half of pepper, and a little grated nutmeg, and lemon peel; stir continually till very hot, then add two eggs, one at a time; mix well and pour on a dish to get cold. Then take a piece, shape it like a small egg, flatten it a little, egg and bread-crumb it all over, taking care to keep in good shape. Do all the same way, then put into a frying-pan a quarter of a pound of lard or dripping, let it get hot, and put in the pieces, and saute (or as we call it "fry '^) them a fine yellow brown. Serve very hot with a border of mashed potatoes, or any garniture you fancy. Sauce piquant, or not, as you please.
The above can be made with any kind of meat, poultry, game, fish, or even vegetables; hard eggs, or potatoes, may be introduced in small quantities, and they may be fried instead of sauteed (frying in the French and strict sense, meaning as I need hardly say, entire immersion in very hot fat). To fry them you require at least two pounds of fat in your pan.
Oysters or lobsters prepared as above are excellent.
Boileau says, "Un diner rechauffe ne valut jamais rien." But I think a good French cook of the present day would make him alter his opinion.
Indeed Savarin quotes a friend of his own, a notable gourmand, who considered spinach cooked on Monday only reached perfection the following Saturday, having each day of the week been warmed up with butter, and each day gaining succulence and a more marrowy consistency.
Warjning Over, 83
Records on this page
MepMsto2jhelian SauceSoyee's Fritadella