The Hotel St. Francis cook book

Puree of pea soup. Soak three-quarters of a pound of green split peas in cold water for three hours. Wash well and put on fire in cold water. Put in saute pan one sliced onion, carrot, stalk of leek, a little celery and parsley, a bay leaf and clove, and a ham bone or skin of bacon or salt pork. Simmer in butter until soft. Add the peas and boil together until soft. Salt and pepper to taste and strain through sieve. If too thick add some stock of broth of any kind. Varsovienne. Fried thin-sliced bacon. Aux croutons. Bread cut in small dices and fried in butter. Sand dabs, meuniere. Remove the skin from the sand dabs, salt, pepper and roll in flour, and fry in fresh butter in shallow frying pan. When brown remove fish to platter, place piece of butter in pan, cook till brown, and pour over fish. Add the juice of one lemon and chopped parsley. Garnish the platter with parsley and quartered lemons. Roast chicken, plain. Prepare sauce as for loin of pork. Omit flour for thickening. Serve with its own gravy. Hollandaise sauce. Put the yolks of five eggs in saucepan. Place the saucepan in pot containing very hot water, on range. Stir the yolks well and add pieces of sweet butter the size of a hazelnut, until one pound is used. As the butter melts in the eggs be careful that the sauce does not get too hot. Add salt and Cayenne pepper to taste. Salted almonds. Scald the almonds, allow to cool and remove the thin paper-shells. Put the almonds on a pan and roast in hot oven until brown. Wet with a solution of gum arabic and water, using about four teaspoonfuls to the pound of nuts. Dust over with table salt and stir until dry. Meringue shells. To the whites of eight eggs use one pound of powdered sugar. Beat the whites very firm and stiff. Add a handful of sugar and beat thoroughly. Remove the whip and stir in the remainder of the sugar with a large spoon. Form in the size of an egg and dress on a buttered pan dusted with flour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and bake in a moderate oven. Vanilla ice cream. One pint of cream, one quart of milk, eight yolks of eggs, half pound of sugar and one vanilla bean. Place the milk, half of the sugar and the split vanilla bean on the fire to boil. Mix the remainder of sugar with the yolks of eggs, stir in the boiling milk and cook until creamy. Allow to cool, strain and freeze. Plain omelet. Beat six eggs. Put in hot frying pan a piece of butter, add the eggs and roll quickly over hot fire to form. Salt. For a sweet omelet sprinkle with sugar. Omelet with strawberries. Dust a plain omelet with plenty of powdered sugar. Burn bands across the top with a red-hot poker or special iron, and garnish with stewed strawberries. Stewed strawberries. Wash a basket of strawberries thoroughly. Dry in napkin and roll in two ounces of granulated sugar. Put in saucepan and place on fire. Allow to remain until sugar is melted and berries are soft. Do not leave on fire too long. French dressing for salad. To one-third of white wine vinegar use twothirds of olive oil. Mix with salt, pepper, a little powdered mustard, dash of Worcestershire sauce and a little paprika.