The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

The city of Lyons is second only to Paris for French feasting. Among its specialties are omelet of chicken liver, truffles and onions, Matelote stewed in the red juice of Beaujolais wine, gras-double a la Lyonnaise (tripe in spite of its name), quenelles (forcemeat of young rabbit) and Lyonnaise potatoes, now international. Here the wines of the Côte-du-Rhone are enjoyed: whites: Saint-Peray and Chateau Grillet; reds of the Cote-Rotie, St. Michel and the Fleurie of Beaujolais. Also St. Lager, the most inappropriate name ever given to a wine. Liqueurs as well, made of green walnuts, and of maiden hair fern distilled with orange flower water. Ile-de-France VEAL SAUTE HUNTER STYLE (Veau Saute Chasseur) 3 pounds breast of veal 1 herb bouquet Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon grated carrot 2 tablespoons butter 2 egg yolks, beaten 8 fresh mushrooms 2 hard-boiled eggs 6 shallots, chopped 1 teaspoon minced parsley 1 cup stock Large croutons 1 cup white wine 1 teaspoon minced tarragon Choose lean veal, and cut in convenient pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Melt butter and fry meat slowly without browning; add mushrooms, shallots and fry, still without allowing any of the ingredients to brown. Turn into a casserole. Heat stock and wine together and pour over, adding bouquet and carrot. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Cover and bake in moderate oven 45 minutes, basting occasionally. When done pour in beaten egg yolks here and there, shaking the casserole to mix. Garnish with egg slices and croutons, and sprinkle all with parsley and tarragon. Dauphiny SWEETBREADS DAUPHINY STYLE (Ris de Veau Dauphinoise) 1 pair sweetbreads 1 teaspoon minced parsley 5 tablespoons sweet butter % cup tomato puree Salt and pepper Juice l/2 lemon 2 shallots, minced 1 cup hot rich meat gravy Soak sweetbreads 2 hours in plenty of cold water. Blanch and remove skin and veins, then slice or dice. Heat 2 tablespoons butter, add sweetbreads, season, and saute until lightly colored. Make a Valentinoise sauce thus: Heat remaining butter and slowly fry shallots until tender, but only slightly colored. Add remaining ingredients, heat, and add to sweetbreads. The Alpine province of Dauphiny abounds in walnuts, so the oil of this nut is used in cooking in place of olive oil — as the Nicois uses peanut oil (huile de raschid) because it is cheaper. Long under Roman rule, Dauphiny carries down its ancient traditions of cooking, notably in sprinkling many dishes with grated cheese. Our own familiar potatoes au gratin was invented in Dauphiny within a century after Sir Walter took the first spuds from Virginia across to his estate near Cork, and from there let them spread all over Europe. The Dauphinois grate up their Saint-Marcellino or Sassenage hard cheeses and dust it over dishes of fish, game and vegetables. They use a * good deal of Alpine butter and cream in the kitchen, too, and also a creamy-white truffle native to the locality. We must pass over their pet plates of pig's liver and blood to recommend chicken-liver mousse a la Valentinoise in their stead, or shad, another distinctive dish of Valence, put to pan on a bed of shallots, onions and sorrel, taken up when almost done, doused with white wine and brandy and finished off in the oven.