LUNCH DISHES

Fish shells (169)
Medici Eggs (122)
Artichoke confit (148)
Tunisian-style filet mignon (170)
Eggplant fritters (171)
Filled brioche (91)

DINNER DISHES

Turnip purée with cream (172)
Russian-style poached eggs (96)
Lobster cutlets (173)
Breaded beef brisket (174)
Peas in juice (156)
Praline chocolate cream (136)

169. Fish shells.
Four shells, 200 grams of fish, 100 grams of mushrooms, 80 grams of butter, a glass of milk, a little cream, a spoonful of flour, a lemon, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg.

Remove the skins and bones from the fish flesh; Cut them into small cubes and set them aside.

Melt 30 grams of butter separately in a saucepan, add the flour, mix taking care not to let it take on color, add the hot milk, add the cream; if there is no cream, add a little more milk and cook gently for a quarter of an hour; the sauce should become consistent.

At this time, add salt, pepper, nutmeg. Then add the mushrooms, which will have been cooked separately in salted water with lemon juice, cut into thin slices; add the fish cut into small cubes. Leave to heat for a while longer and garnish the scallops that you have carefully buttered. Sprinkle them with fine breadcrumbs and put in the hot oven for a few minutes.

170. Tunisian-style filet mignon.
Four thin slices of beef fillet cut in the middle, a pound of shelled peas, 100 grams of butter, four medium artichokes, meat juice, salt, pepper, a spoonful of flour, two deciliters of broth, a glass of madeira madeira, lemon.

Cook very fine peas in the butter. Cook four pretty medium, very fresh artichokes in salted and lemon water.

As soon as they soften, remove them. Cut the leaves at the heart, remove the hay and drain them well, then simmer them gently in a few spoonfuls of good juice, pepper, but do not add salt.

With 40 grams of butter, a tablespoon of flour, make a brown roux; add two deciliters of broth or good broth; add salt and pepper and put in a Madeira glass; let it cook slowly.

In a frying pan or large saucepan, put 60 grams of butter; when it is very hot, put the fillets in it; sauté them briskly for four to five minutes on each side. Meanwhile, remove the artichokes from cooking; place them on a serving dish kept warm; put in the heart of each one or two spoonfuls of peas, and arrange them on the dish so as to leave room free to put the fillets.

Once the fillets are cooked, salt them and place them in the middle of the dish; put the artichokes all around and pour the Madeira sauce over everything. Serve on warm plates.

171. Eggplant fritters.
Two small, firm eggplants, salt, four spoonfuls of flour, two egg yolks, one tablespoon of oil, two to three spoonfuls of water, two egg whites, frying.

Peel the eggplants, cut them into slices, chop them and sprinkle them with fine salt, then let them sweat for a while. At the end of this time, remove them from the salt and place them on a cloth to let them drain well.

Make a dough with four spoonfuls of flour, two egg yolks, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of good oil; moisten with two to three spoonfuls of water, work the dough, then leave to rest for a while. Beat the two egg whites until stiff, mix them with the dough and add the eggplant slices.

Take a mouthful of this mixture, put in the hot frying pan, repeat the operation until the frying pan is full, but not too full, so as to allow the fritters to swell; fry on both sides and sprinkle lightly with fine salt. Repeat until the dough is completely used up. Serve quickly as you go.

172. Turnip purée with cream.
Ten new turnips, 40 grams of butter, a spoonful of powdered sugar, a spoonful of flour, three quarters of a liter of milk, bread croutons, two deciliters of cream.

Peel and roughly dice ten new turnips, immerse in boiling water for a few minutes and drain.

Put 30 grams of butter in a saucepan, add the turnips and sprinkle them with a spoonful of powdered sugar. Cook them over low heat until they are very melted; gradually add a spoonful of flour, turn continuously and cook without letting it brown; Slowly add the milk and salt.

Brown some bread croutons in the butter and put them in the soup bowl. Pass the turnip puree through a sieve, return it to a low heat, add two deciliters of cream, do not stop stirring the puree and, as soon as it begins to boil, remove from the heat and pour into the soup bowl over bread croutons .

This soup is delicious, much appreciated by gourmets, and above all it is excellent for your health.

173. Lobster cutlets.
A heavy, red and very lively lobster, four to five liters of sea water, twenty-five grains of pepper, a bouquet garni, a carrot, an onion, three deciliters of dry white wine, two deciliters of vinegar.

To be successful, this recipe can only be prepared by the sea, because, to have all its flavor, the lobster must cook in sea water.

Take a lobster that is heavy because of its size, take it red and alive. Tie it very gently.
Put in a large pot, so that the lobster, being offshore, cooks better and does not get hurt, four to five liters of sea water, twenty-five peppercorns, a bouquet garni, a carrot, an onion, three deciliters of dry white wine, two deciliters of vinegar. Cook over very high heat, so as to surprise the lobster when you immerse it; cook the court broth for a quarter of an hour. Then take the lobster by the horns and plunge it quickly into the pot, in order to quickly suffocate it. Cover and cook for thirty minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, let the lobster cool while cooking which makes it better.

When cold, remove her and place her on her stomach; put something very heavy on it and leave it like that until it's time to cut it up. Then turn it over, belly in the air, split it from the end of the tail to the joint of the head. Remove skins and fins, and, with a spoon carefully slid along the carapace, remove the abdomen without deforming it. Remove the eggs and the creamy parts and set aside to prepare the shrimp coulis.

Shrimp coulis. A few nice pink shrimps, a few sweet almonds, two deciliters of parfait, 250 grams of butter, a touch of nutmeg.

Cook the shrimp in a very spicy court-bouillon, pound them in a mortar, adding a few sweet almonds.

Put two deciliters of broth in a saucepan; add the crushed shrimp; cook over very low heat for fifteen minutes, season well with pepper. At the last moment, add the eggs and the creamy parts of the lobster that you had set aside; pass this puree through a sieve; add 50 grams of butter and a touch of nutmeg, keep on the corner of the fire. Cut the lobster meat into thin escalopes.

Place, on the fire-safe serving dish, 200 grams of fine butter; place the escalopes on top, let simmer for three to four minutes; sprinkle with the shrimp coulis and serve. This dish must be very spicy.

174. Breaded beef brisket.
A kilo of beef ribs, salt, pepper, vegetables from the stew, a glass of sherry or Madeira, two eggs, a tablespoon of oil or melted butter, bread crumbs or breadcrumbs, mayonnaise sauce, capers and pickles.

Cook your beef in a pot as if you were making a stew, add salt, pepper and add the vegetables as usual. Cook for two and a half hours. Remove the meat and remove the bones. Press between two dishes by placing a weight on top.

The next day, cut the meat into long squares of equal size and thickness; heat over low heat in a covered saucepan with a glass of sherry or Madeira, or simply with a little broth if you consider it too expensive; pepper with cayenne, as the meat needs to be spicy.

Beat two whole eggs, salt them and add a spoonful of oil or melted butter; dip each piece in it and then bread it with fresh breadcrumbs or breadcrumbs. To make it adhere well, beat each piece with the flat side of a knife blade. Cook these pieces again, either on a grill placed over glowing embers, or in the oven, until they are dark brown in color. This takes about twenty minutes. Cut these pieces of meat into thin slices along the grain of the meat. Arrange them on a round dish. At the same time serve a good mayonnaise sauce seasoned with mustard, pepper, vinegar and a good tablespoon of capers and very finely chopped gherkins.

THE HOUSEHOLD CRICKET.