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Culinary jottings

1885

Page 119 · 1 recipe record 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.
In an oval, or round cylinder-mould placed in ice, pour a very little well made liquid aspic jelly ; as soon as it is all but set, dispose neatly therein a number of little balls of green butter, and prawn butter (q. v.) alternately, cover them with some more of the jelly, set them, and repeat the process in layers as it were until the mould is packed. You must ice the balls of butter before you put them in, and alternate them differently in each layer, so that the colours may be checkered. The mould can now be left in ice to consolidate thoroughly. When turned out, you can garnish it externally with balls of the same fancy butters^ turned olives, strips of anchovy, and hard-boiled yolks of egcr^ and pack its hollow centre with the fish, or fowl, of which youi" mayonnaise is composed. Lettuce leaves culled from the golden heart should crown the centre, and be arranged with some whole boiled prawns in their shellsMayonnaise à la Gouffe round the margin of the dish outside the mould. The mould of jelly and its sauce should be kept in the ice box till the nick of time before serving, when (in this case) the latter should be poured over the contents in the centre of the mould. For aspic jelly, vide Menu, No. 9. My up-country readers have only to make their fancy butter from tinned lobster meat, instead of prawns, to turn out just as grand a mayonnaise as this. For fancy butters, please follow me in the next chapter. OPi^\.^^TEPB ^^: .II. VV?^: Mors d'cBuvres. E must now consider those attractive accessories of an artistic dinner, luncheon, or breakfast party, which, under the title of hors iVceuvreg, arc gradually becoming popular amongst English people whose minds have expanded under the bcneticial iiitlucnc^e of travel in foreign countries. J7or.? tVcsnvres, as you all doubtless know, are little dain- ties, or kickshaws, carefully prepared, and tastefully serv- ed, which, on the continent, are offered to the diner to whet his appetite prior to the more important discussion of the banquet itself. In Italy the service of these trifles under the title of " nntipasto,'' precedes every meal as a standard custom. We have not yet acquired this agree- able fashion, notwithstanding that the sending around of three or four oysters to each guest, with a slice of brown bread and butter, &c., has for a long time, been no novelty either in England, or in Madras. Our custom, as a general rule, is to reserve the hors cVoeuvres to accompany the cheese, and to advocate a change would, I fear, be lost labour on the part of the author of these jottings. As far as lun- cheon, and breakfast parties are concerned, however, surely we might adopt the Italian custom as a novelty, and watch its effect upon our friends, before passing an opinion upon the suitability of the introduction ? HORS D'CEUVRES. 213