Those who desire to enjoy the true hceiif a la mode will do well to follow this recipe in its entirety. Observe that the piece of meat should be cut en bloc from the rumj) steak and have no bone. The white wine may be chahlis, santerne, graves, or hock. The remains of a good bottle of champagne left the night before — ' still,' yet perfectly sound — would be admirable. Four sheep's feet may be used instead of the calves'. The boiling should, in the first instance, be retarded (as in the case of the pot-aii-fen) by the addition from time to time of a little cold water. This will cause the scum to rise, all of which should be taken off before the addition of the vegetables. I would always put in a leek if I could get one, and some pieces of celery also. Please note that the gravy should be boiled BOILING AND STEAMING. 125 down a little to add to its strength, but not tliickened with butter and flour. Larger pieces of beef can be cooked in this manner, in- gi'edients in proportion to the extra weight being added. Indeed Gouffe says : — " I advise in regard of all braised meats, whether beef or veal, that the portions should be rather too large than too small ; a long process of cooking succeeds always better with such than with tiny portions. A second excellent dish can always be made, cold, with the addition of jelly. It appears to me better then, to eat twice following of a good dish thus varied, than to cook the small quantity which suffices only for one meal." This advice can be followed with advantage during the cold season, and at our Hill stations. .^^. Our Vegetables, ^^TRITICS of English cookery seem to agree m saymg ^^^^ that, wanting as we are, as a rule, in our general knowledge of kitchen work, our ignorance of the ti'eatment of vegetables is greater than in every other branch of the art. Until comparatively lately, the uni- versal method of serving vegetables at an English dinner table was with the joint alone. Dressed vegetables, or entremets de legumes^ wei*e never heaixi of. Of late years, however, facilities in the way of travelling abroad have been great, and by degrees the Briton has come to appre- ciate a dish of vegetables, specially prepared, such as he liked so much in Paris, at Dieppe, Nice, Monaco, or Pau ; and Martha has been " worritted," on the return of the family to England, to " mess about the cauliflower with cheese," or send up the green peas in solitary grandeur. A fillip has, in this way, been given to vegetable cookery in England, and peojDle with any claims to refined taste have at last come to perceive the absolute barbarism of heaping up two or three sorts of vegetables on the same plate with roast meat and gravy. From time immemorial tinned asparagus, — served alone, has occupied a prominent place in the menu of a dinner in India. I have often wondered how this spark of civiJiza- OUR VEGETABLES. 12 7 tion became kindled, and why the example thus given was never more generally followed with regard to other vege- tables. It will be, I think, admitted nem con that we live in a climate out here especially demanding vegetable diet. With the thermometer indicating 90 ° or thereabouts, plain animal food is not only distasteful to many, but absolutely unwholesome. We cannot, therefore, devote too much attention to the cookery of vegetables.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Those who desire to enjoy the true bœuf à la mode will do well to follow this recipe in its entirety. Observe that the piece of meat should be cut en bloc from the rump steak and have no bone. The white wine may be chablis, sauternes, graves, or hock. The remains of a good bottle of champagne left the night before — ' still,' yet perfectly sound — would be admirable. Four sheep's feet may be used instead of the calves'. The boiling should, in the first instance, be retarded (as in the case of the pot-au-feu) by the addition from time to time of a little cold water. This will cause the scum to rise, all of which should be taken off before the addition of the vegetables. I would always put in a leek if I could get one, and some pieces of celery also. Please note that the gravy should be boiled down a little to add to its strength, but not thickened with butter and flour. Larger pieces of beef can be cooked in this manner, ingredients in proportion to the extra weight being added. Indeed Gouffe says : — " I advise in regard of all braised meats, whether beef or veal, that the portions should be rather too large than too small ; a long process of cooking succeeds always better with such than with tiny portions. A second excellent dish can always be made, cold, with the addition of jelly. It appears to me better then, to eat twice following of a good dish thus varied, than to cook the small quantity which suffices only for one meal." This advice can be followed with advantage during the cold season, and at our Hill stations. .^^. Our Vegetables, ^^TRITICS of English cookery seem to agree m saymg that, wanting as we are, as a rule, in our general knowledge of kitchen work, our ignorance of the treatment of vegetables is greater than in every other branch of the art. Until comparatively lately, the universal method of serving vegetables at an English dinner table was with the joint alone. Dressed vegetables, or entremets de legumes^ were never heard of. Of late years, however, facilities in the way of travelling abroad have been great, and by degrees the Briton has come to appreciate a dish of vegetables, specially prepared, such as he liked so much in Paris, at Dieppe, Nice, Monaco, or Pau ; and Martha has been " worritted," on the return of the family to England, to " mess about the cauliflower with cheese," or send up the green peas in solitary grandeur. A fillip has, in this way, been given to vegetable cookery in England, and people with any claims to refined taste have at last come to perceive the absolute barbarism of heaping up two or three sorts of vegetables on the same plate with roast meat and gravy. From time immemorial tinned asparagus, — served alone, has occupied a prominent place in the menu of a dinner in India. I have often wondered how this spark of civilization tion became kindled, and why the example thus given was never more generally followed with regard to other vegetables. It will be, I think, admitted nem con that we live in a climate out here especially demanding vegetable diet. With the thermometer indicating 90 ° or thereabouts, plain animal food is not only distasteful to many, but absolutely unwholesome. We cannot, therefore, devote too much attention to the cookery of vegetables.

Culinary jottings