1 pint vanilla ice cream ½ pint strawberry or raspberry ice cream ½ pint pistachio ice cream Chopped crystallised fruits Chopped nuts Crystallised fruits for decoration
Mould vanilla ice cream around the inside of a 2-pint bombe mould or pudding basin, and place a smaller bombe mould or basin in the centre to hold the ice cream in position. Freeze. Carefully remove the inner mould. Mould the strawberry ice cream inside the vanilla layer and, as before, place a still smaller mould or basin in the centre. Freeze. Carefully remove the inner mould.
Stir the chopped crystallised fruits and chopped nuts into the pistachio ice cream. Remove the centre mould and fill with the pistachio ice cream. Freeze once more.
To serve: unfold and decorate with crystallised fruits.
4 eggs, separated 4 ounces sugar 4 ounces plain flour, sifted Pinch of salt Strega liqueur (or a mixture of cognac and rum) ½ pint double cream, whipped ¾ pint vanilla pastry cream (see below) 1 pint chocolate pastry cream (see below) 2 ounces chopped nuts Coarsely grated orange peel Chopped glacé cherries
Combine eggs and sugar in the top of a double saucepan and whisk over hot but not boiling water until thick and creamy. The mixture must not boil, or eggs will curdle. Remove from heat and allow to cool a little. Then lightly fold in sifted flour and salt.
Divide mixture into 3 sponge tins (7-inch, 6-inch, and 4-inch) and bake layers in a moderately hot oven (400° – M5) for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool and turn out of tins.
Cut each of the three sponge cakes into 2 layers and then cut 1 layer of each pair 1 inch smaller than the other. Sprinkle each layer with a little liqueur. Then sandwich sponge layers alternately with whipped cream, vanilla pastry cream, and chocolate pastry cream mixed with chopped nuts.
Assemble cake like an upturned “flowerpot”. Spread outside of cake with remaining chocolate pastry cream. Pipe with whipped cream and decorate with grated orange peel and glacé cherries.
Vanilla pastry cream: Cream 3 ounces sugar, 3 egg yolks and 11/2 ounces plan flour with a little milk in a bowl. Heat 3/4 pint milk infused with a vanilla pod in the top of a double saucepan. Stir gradually into the sugar and egg yolk mixture. Return mixture to top of double saucepan and cook over water, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and creamy. (Note: do not let mixture boil or eggs will curdle.) Cool.
Chocolate pastry cream: Cream 4 ounces sugar, 4 egg yolks and 2 ounces plain flour with a little milk in a bowl. Heat 1 pint milk with 3 ounces grated chocolate in the top of a double saucepan. Stir gradually into sugar and egg yolk mixture. Return mixture to top of double saucepan and cook over water, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and creamy. (Do not let boil.) Allow to cool before using.
1 roasting chicken ½ pound gammon 1 Spanish onion, quartered 1 bay leaf Chicken stock 12 button mushrooms, quartered 4 small carrots, thickly sliced 4 tablespoons butter ¼ pint dry white wine 1-2 tablespoons Madeira or brandy ½ ounce powdered gelatine Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chervil and tarragon)
Place chicken, gammon, quartered onion and bay leaf in a heatproof casserole just large enough to hold them. Moisten with about 1½ pints light chicken stock and simmer, covered until chicken and gammon are tender. Allow to cool in stock.
Cut chicken from bones and cut gammon into large dice. Place in an oval earthenware gratin dish or shallow terrine. Simmer quartered button mushrooms and sliced carrots in butter until tender. Drain and scatter over chicken and gammon.
Add ¼ pint dry white wine and 1 to 2 tablespoons Madeira or brandy. to the stock, and tri in gelatine which you have dissolved in a little water. Simmer for a moment, then strain. Correct seasoning; add chopped fresh herbs and pour over chicken and gammon pieces, adding more stock to cover. Allow to set. Serve gold from gratin dish or shallow terrine. A delicious first course, or light luncheon or supper dish.
6 fillets of sole Butter Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 pound fish fillets 1 egg white Cayenne pepper ⅔ cup heavy cream Sprigs of parsley
Sauce 1 small package frozen asparagus Salt ⅔ heavy cream 1 egg Freshly ground black pepper
Lightly butter six individual soufflé dishes. Line each one with a sole fillet which you have seasoned generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Put fish fillets through a grinder. Add egg white, season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and cayenne, and blend until smooth in an electric blender or press through a fine sieve. Beat in cream and continue beating over ice until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Correct seasoning.
Fill the center of each dish with the fish mousse.
Please soufflé dishes in an ovenproof dish containing 1 inch of boiling water. Bake in a slow oven (325° F.) for 25 minutes, or until mousse tests firm and sole flakes easily with a fork.
Sauce: Cook asparagus in lightly salted boiling water until just tender. Drain and blend in an electric blender with heavy cream and egg. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve the soufflés in their dishes (or, if desired, turned out), garnished with sauce and a sprig of parsley. Serves 6.
1 young salmon (about 6 pounds) 3 envelopes gelatin ⅔ cup lukewarm water 1 egg white and shell 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced Mayonnaise or Sauce Verte (see card 39)
Court-bouillon 7 ½ cups water 1 bottle dry white wine 1 large onion sliced 4 carrots, sliced 2 stalks celery, sliced 2 bay leaves Bouquet Garni
Decoration Cucumber peel for “stalks” and “leaves” Flesh of skinned tomatoes and hard-boiled egg whites for “flowers” Hard-boiled egg yolks or radishes for “flower” centers
To poach salmon: combine elements of court-bouillon in a kettle large enough to hold salmon (court-bouillon must cover salmon; if necessary, add a little more water and dry white wine); bring to a boil; skim; lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Let court-bouillon cool slightly; lower the cleaned salmon into it. Bring to a boil; lower heat and allow fish to simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Let fish cool in court-bouillon, then transfer to a large board or platter. Remove the skin carefully, cutting it at the tail and stripping it to the head. Wash fish carefully under gently running water, and dry carefully with a clean cloth. Salmon must be dry.
Prepare aspic: reduce court-bouillon to 6 cups. Let cool. Dissolve gelatin in ½ cup water and add to court-bouillon. Crush egg shell, mix with white of egg, chopped onion and celery, and place mixture in the bottom of a large saucepan. Our over court-bouillon; simmer for 10 minutes and strain through a clean cloth.
Decorate salmon as desired with cucumber peel, tomato, white of egg, and hard-boiled egg yolks or radishes, and chill in refrigerator before covering with liquid aspic. Serve with mayonnaise or Sauce Verte.
Sauce Verte ⅔ cup well-flavored mayonnaise ½ cup puréed spinach Salt, fresh ground black pepper and cayenne Lemon juice
Make a Sauce Verte by combining well-flavored mayonnaise with puréed spinach. Season to taste with salt, pepper, cayenne and a little lemon juice, and pass through a fine sieve.
2-3 pounds new carrots Butter ¼ pint chicken stock 1 tablespoon sugar Salt 2 eggs 6-8 tablespoons grated cheese Freshly ground black pepper Cooked peas and button onions
Wash carrots; slice thickly and place in a saucepan; cover with cold water and cook over a high heat until water boils. Drain.
Simmer balanced carrots in 4 tablespoons butter, the chicken stock, sugar, and salt, to taste, until carrots have absorbed the liquid without burning and are tender.
Mash carrot mixture and mix well with 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons softened butter, cheese, and salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Press into a well-buttered ring mould and heat through in a slow oven (350-M3) for 15 minutes. Turn carrot ring out on a heated serving dish and fill centre with cooked peas and button onions. Surround with remaining peas and onions. Serves 6.
4 fresh salmon steaks 1 pint water ½ Spanish onion, sliced 1 stalk celery, sliced 1 bay leaf Juice of 1 lemon Salta and freshly ground black pepper
Watercress mousseline 2 bunches watercress ¼ pint double cream Salt and freshly ground black pepper Juice of ½ lemon
Combine water, sliced onion, celery, bay leaf and lemon juice, and salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, in a wide saucepan. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add salmon steaks to the simmering liquid, carefully placing them on the bottom of the pan without letting them overlap. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Chill the steaks in their own liquid. Just before serving, drain. Serve with Watercress mousseline. Serves 4.
Watercress mousseline: Remove leaves from watercress; place them in cold water, bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Rinse well in cold water; drain and pass through a fine sieve. Bring double cream to a boil in a saucepan; add sieved watercress, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Chill. Just before serving, whisk with lemon juice until thick and smooth.
4-6 young pigeons (275g- 325g/9-11 oz each) olive oil coarse salt freshly-ground pepper powdered cinnamon 4-6 tbls finely-chopped shallots 600ml/1 pt well-flavoured chicken stock salt 8 juniper berries 4-6 sheets lasagna 2-4 tbls butter
Brush pigeons with olive oil and season generously with coarse salt, pepper and cinnamon. Reserve.
To prepare thefumet in a medium-sized saucepan, saute chopped shallots in 3 tbls olive oil until lightly browned. Add the chicken stock; season with salt, freshly-ground black pepper and ½ tsp cinnamon. Add the juniper berries and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the fumet has reduced to about one-third of its original quantity. Remove from heat and reserve.
Heat the govern to 240°C/475°F/Gas 9. Bake the birds 15 minutes for quite rare, or 5 minutes more, if desired.
In the meantime, cook lasagna sheets in boiling salted water until well-cooked. Drain. With a large pastry cutter, cut lasagna into circles. When ready to serve, melt the butter gently over a very low heat until it begins to turn light gold (about 2 minutes). ‘Seize’ each pasta circle in the beurre noisette, pushing it to the side of the pan to give it a drape-like shape while still in the pan.
Skim the fat from the pigeon pan juices; add the fumet and warm up over high heat. Reduce heat to keep warm.
To serve Cut each pigeon into quarters; slice the breasts and arrange the birds on heated dinner plates. Garnish each dish with a portion of flat pasta and spoon 2-3 tbls of fumet over each serving. Serve immediately.
¾ pound fresh chicken livers Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion 4 tablespoons butter ¾ pint aspic Port wine Fresh tarragon Watercress
Season whole chicken livers with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and sauté with finely chopped onion in butter until chicken livers are cooked through, but still a little pink inside. Remove from pan and drain well on paper towels.
Line bottoms of individual moulds (we used white porcelain ramekins for photograph) with a little liquid aspic jelly which you have flavoured to taste with port. Place 3 leaves of fresh tarragon in the bottom of each mould (or ramekin). Then place chicken livers in moulds and fill to the top with the port flavoured aspic. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
When ready to serve: loosen apsic from sides of moulds with your fingers and turn out on to a serving plate. Garnish with sprigs of fresh watercress and, if desired, a little chopped aspic.
Note: If you have difficulty in turning out the jellies, dip the bottom of each mould into hot water for a minute or two.
1 large cauliflower Salt 3 eggs 1 egg yolk ¼ pint double cream Freshly ground black pepper Grated nutmeg Butter Hollandaise sauce Flowerets of cauliflower, poached Sprigs of parsley
Clean cauliflower and cut into quarters. Cook in boiling salted water until tender. Pass through fine sieve. Beat in the eggs, egg yolk and cream. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and grated nutmeg. Transfer to a well-buttered soufflé dish with a band of aluminum foil tied around it, or a deep charlotte tin, and place in a pan of hot water on top of the stove. Bring water to a boil; then place it in a slow oven (350 -M3) and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until set. Unmould on to a serving dish and mask with Hollandaise sauce. Garnish with sprigs of poached cauliflower and sprigs of parsley. Serves 4 to 6.
Vintage Recipe Cards 