LUNCH DISHES

Milanese Timbale (36)

Polish-Style Pike (94)

Poultry Blanquette (102)

Cabbage Au Gratin (103)

Roast Veal

Marzipan Royale (104)

DINNER DISHES

Parmentier Soup (16)

Bordeaux Omelette (52)

Stuffed Pigeons in Jus (105)

Spinach in Jus (106)

Chicken in Jelly (53)

Apricot Cream (107)

102. Poultry Blanquette.

One chicken, 125 grams of mushrooms, one and a half liters of water, 10 grams of salt, two egg yolks, 60 grams of butter, 40 grams of flour.

Grub, flambé, and carve a chicken. Place the pieces in a saucepan. Cover with cold water, add salt, and place over moderate heat. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for half an hour; skim off any scum, then remove from the heat, cover three-quarters of the pan, and simmer for half an hour.

Make a white roux with 30 grams of butter and 10 grams of flour. Add the cooked liquid and let it thicken, stirring for a few minutes. Stir the chicken pieces into the sauce and simmer over low heat. Add the mushrooms, washed in acidulated water, patted dry, and squeezed dry, then sauté them in 20 grams of butter for seven or eight minutes. Add them to the sauce.

When ready to serve, remove the chicken pieces, arrange them on a platter, and thicken the sauce with one or two egg yolks and the remaining divided butter. You can also add one or two spoonfuls of double cream to the sauce just before serving.

103. Cabbage Gratin. One cabbage, 60 grams of thinly sliced ​​lean bacon, 30 grams of grated Gruyère cheese, a tablespoon of breadcrumbs, 30 grams of butter, salt, and pepper. For the sauce, 30 grams of butter, 30 grams of flour, salt, and pepper, and half a liter of milk.

Cut the cabbage core, remove any spoiled leaves, and immerse it in boiling salted water. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over moderate heat for 30 to 40 minutes. Drain and chop it. Season with salt and pepper and gather it into a pile. Place the bacon slices in the bottom of a gratin dish, add the cabbage tightly, sprinkle with the grated cheese and breadcrumbs, dot with the divided butter, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve piping hot, and at the same time add a white sauce made by mixing 30 grams of butter with 30 grams of flour, moistened with half a liter of milk. Bring to a boil and simmer until ready to serve.

104. Marzipan Royale.

500 grams of sweet almonds, a little orange blossom water, 265 grams of sifted sugar, one egg white.

Take 500 grams of sweet almonds; scald them, peel them, then place them in fresh water; drain them in a sieve, and pound them in a mortar to make a very fine paste, which you gradually sprinkle with a little orange blossom water. Put your almonds in a pan with 250 grams of sifted sugar and dry them over low heat until the paste no longer sticks to the pan; by touching it with the back of your hand, you will judge that it is at its point, if nothing sticks to it; sprinkle a turn with fine sugar; put your paste on it and powder it with sugar on top; leave it for a while, in this state to rest and cool; when cold, cut your paste into pieces, which you roll into threads the size of your finger; then cut these threads into rings the size of an egg Take an egg white, 15 grams of sifted sugar and a little orange blossom water; beat everything together, dip your rings in it, drain them, and coat them with powdered sugar. Arrange your marzipans on a sheet of paper, and cook them over low heat; Once cooked, let them cool, remove them from the paper and serve.

105. Stuffed Pigeons with Jus.

Two pigeons, 250 grams of veal, 120 grams of butter, two deciliters of water, 50 grams of flour, three eggs, 50 grams of breadcrumbs, one deciliter of milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, a quarter of a liter of double cream, one carrot, one onion, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, half a liter of stock, 5 grams of starch, and a small glass of good Madeira wine.

Debone the pigeons and season them internally with salt and pepper. Prepare the stuffing as follows: melt 60 grams of butter and mix with 50 grams of flour. Moisten with two deciliters of water and let dry over the stove, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add a whole egg. Then pound the veal, add breadcrumbs soaked in milk and pressed. When the mixture is well blended, add 30 grams of butter, then a whole egg and a yolk. Mix everything well and season with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. Pass this stuffing through a sieve, then work it in, gradually adding the double cream.

Fill the pigeons with this stuffing, sew them up, and wrap each one in a light muslin cloth.

Brown the pigeons in a saucepan with 20 grams of butter, the chopped carrot and onion. Add the thyme and bay leaf, then the pigeons. Let them brown for ten minutes.

Add the stock. Bring back to a boil, cover, and cook gently in the oven for three-quarters of an hour.

When ready to serve, remove the pigeons, unwrap them, and place them on a serving platter. Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch dissolved in a little cold stock. Add the Madeira, then the remaining divided butter. Drizzle the sauce over the pigeons.

106. Spinach in Juice

One kilo of spinach, 60 grams of butter, 20 grams of flour, two deciliters of stock, salt, pepper, and four hard-boiled eggs.

Clean the spinach leaf by leaf. Remove the large stems and place the leaves in a basin of cold salted water. Wash thoroughly and rinse in several waters. Drain; place them in a basin of boiling water and simmer vigorously for fifteen minutes. Drain and chop. Dry the spinach on the corner of the stove in a saucepan with 40 grams of butter. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with flour and stir for a few minutes over low heat. Moisten with the stock and simmer for ten minutes. Add the remaining butter. Serve with a garnish of eggs, hard-boiled for ten minutes in boiling water. Poached eggs are also often served with spinach juice.

107. Apricot Cream.

Twelve beautiful apricots, 250 grams of sugar, a small glass of pitted ratafia, six egg yolks, and sugar.

Cook twelve beautiful apricots with 250 grams of sugar; pass through a sieve and let cool; then add a small glass of pitted ratafia or four fruits. Mix in six egg yolks, strain this mixture through a cheesecloth, add sugar to taste, and cook in a bain-marie in a bowl or in pots intended for serving the cream. To cook, proceed as for ordinary creams. You can substitute white wine for the ratafia, but don't use too much white wine or too rich wine to avoid overpowering the apricot flavor. This cream is excellent.

THE HEARTH CRICKET.

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

Dry your potato peelings in your stovetop oven; once thoroughly dried, they will light your fire perfectly and rekindle it when needed.

Leave orange and lemon peels in the oven until they are as hard as shavings; they will make excellent firelighters.

How to waterproof non-rubberized fabrics? Dissolve 500 grams of alum in seven liters of water. Also dissolve 500 grams of lead acetate; mix the two liquids, decant, and immerse the fabrics to be waterproofed. Then dry in the shade.

N.B. Alum and lead acetate are available in all rural pharmacies and, in the city, at drugstores.

Cream of Pumpkin Soup. Pumpkin is excellent in soup, as a vegetable, in bread, or in cream. A piece of pumpkin, peeled, cut into large cubes, is cooked in salted water. Drain and pass through a sieve. Add a little skimmed milk and make a thick, slightly sweetened porridge. Bake.

Egg-free mayonnaise. Add the remaining béchamel sauce, drop by drop, stirring constantly, and finish with a little salt and mustard.

Polish timbale. Twenty-five to thirty pieces of whole macaroni, 200 grams of diced ham, 125 grams of Gruyère cheese, 25 grams of butter, and one egg. Cook the macaroni in water without breaking it. Drain it, still without breaking it, and arrange it in spirals in a large buttered bowl. Fill the center with the macaroni pieces, ham, cheese, butter, and beaten egg, as for an omelet. Bake for one hour in a bain-marie, remove from the mold, and coat with tomato sauce.

Eggless Apricot Fritters. Prepare a good batter using a spoonful of vinegar instead of the egg. Peel the apricots, cut them in half, dip them in the batter, and toss them into the very hot frying oil. Before serving, sprinkle them with sugar.