Practical gastronomy and culinary dictionary

Cream the sugar and butter in a basin, add the egg and the lemon rind finely grated. Beat with a wooden spoon until quite smooth. Mix the Vienna flour and Paisley flour, add a pinch of salt, and rub through a sieve. Stir the flour into the above mixture, moisten with a little cream at first, work it thoL'oughly and add the remainder of the cream. Blanch the almonds, cut them into shreds, and dry in the oven. Mix about a teaspoonful of lemon juice and the shredded almonds with the dough. Drop the mixture in little heaps about 1^ inches apart from each other on to a well- buttered baking-tin, dust over with a little castor sugar, and bake in a moderately-heated oven from 15 to 20 minutes. 788. Biscuit a la Cuillere. — 8 eggs, i lb. castor sugar, 6 oz. flour, sifted (or 4 oz. fecule). Separate the yolks from the whites of eggs. Put the yolks in a basin with the sugar, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until quite smooth and creamy. Whisk the whites of eggs to a stiff froth (add a pinch of salt before beginning to whisk). Work the flour and whites of eggs in small quantities into the creamed yolks (if the eggs are small it will not require more than 5 oz. flour). Fill a forcing-bag three-parts full with the mixture, and with a plain pipe (^-inch) press out the paste on to a baking- sheet, covered with white paper, in the shape of fingers about 3 inches long ; keep them about an inch apart. Proceed thus until the mixture is used up. Dust over with castor sugar. Bake in a moderately- heated oven a golden colour. Let them cool on the paper, and remove carefully with a palette knife. Pack into an air-tight tin, and use as required. 789. Pain Perdu. — | stale tin-loaf, 1 quart milk, 1 pod of vanilla, 2 eggs, ^ teaspoonful ground cinnamon, castor sugar, frying lard or clarified butter. Cut the bread into slices about ^ inch thick, trim off the crust, cut into fancy shapes, round, diamond, or 688 RECHERCHE COOKERY. half-moons. Put the milk in a stewpan, add the vanilla, sweeten to taste, and boil up. When nearly cold, pour over the pieces of bread and let them soak. Beat up two whites and one yolk of eggs, add a pinch of salt, immerse the pieces of bread and fry in hot butter or lard to a light colour, drain on paper or cloth, sprinkle w^ith castor sugar in which the ground cinnamon has been amalgamated. Dish up in a pile and serve vnih a boat of custard, made with the remaining yolk of egg, the milk, and a teaspoonful of cornflour. 790. Pulled Bread. — Procure a few French rolls, cut off the crust, pull the crumby part into rough pieces, sprinkle over with a little warm milk, place the pieces on a baking-tin, and bake in a very slow oven until crisp and of a pretty golden colour. 791. Crime Patissiere (Confectioner's Custard). — ^ pint milk, 4 oz. sugar, 4 yolks of eggs, J oz. potato flour (fecule de pommes de terre), 3 sheets French gelatine, flavouring essence. Boil the milk, add the sugar and flavouring. Beat the yolks of eggs with the fecule, pour gradually the hot milk on to this, and stir over a slow fire until it begins to thicken. Dissolve the gelatine and mix with the above, strain through a fine sieve, let cool, and use as directed. 792. Feuilletage (Puff-paste). —1 lb. flour, ^ oz. salt, 1 lb. butter, about ^ pint water, 1 teaspoonful lemon juice.