ANSWERS TO QUERIES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XI, Issue 43, 28 October 1893, Page 358

ANSWERS TO QUERIES.

Little Spring Dinner (‘Madame B.’).—Menu: Consomme a la Kursel. Souffle de merlan. Cotelettes a la Soubise. Tournedos aux olives. Poulet a I’estragon. Rhubarb fool. Mousseline a I’orange. Croiites a I’ltalienne. Consomme a la Kursel is clear soup, garnished with blanched spring vegetables cut into shapes, small peas, asparagas sprue, and lettuce cut into dice. Cotelettes ala Soubise are nicely trimmed and broiled cutlets from the best end of the neck of mutton, brushed over with hot butter just before serving, dished on a border of mashed potato with soubise — i.e., delicately madeonion sauce poured round. Tornedos aux olives consist of fillets cut from the undercut of the sirloin (across, not with the grain of the meat), sauteed in a buttered pan, with a buttered paper over it, and sprinkled with pepper, salt, and lemon juice, and served round a ragout of olives (stone the olives and toss them in a little butter with some minced parsley and a very little shallot, then let it all cook in some good Espagnole sauce, thickened with a little brown roux and flavoured with a few drops of anchovy sauce, lemon juice, and a spoonful of sherry), with nicely flavoured Espagnole sauce round it. The fowl is stutt'ed with the liver, some bacon, minced tarragon and parsley, onion, and lemon juice, then braised for three quarters of an hour, and served with veloute sauce, flavoured with finely-minced tarragon. For the rhubarb fool, wash some rhubarb, cut it in inch length, and simmer it till tender, with sugar to taste. Now press it all through a sieve, and let it cool. Boil a pint of milk (a tablespoonful of condensed milk stirred into this is a great addition), with a strip of lemon peel, a bay leaf, and sugar to taste; mix with this (off the fire) four eggs lightly beaten, then stir over it the fire, or in the bain-marie, till it thickens. It is very apt, unless watched, to catch, and if it boils it is spoilt. When quite cold, stir this into the fruit, adding a little more sugar if necessary. The custard should be thicker than usual, to make up for the wateriness of the rhubarb. Pour it into a glass bowl, and when about to serve it pile on it some stiffly whipped cream, flavoured with very finely grated lemon peel.—Mousseline a I’Orange : Melt together 4oz. of fresh butter, 4oz. of sugar, the juice of two oranges (strained), and the yolks of six eggs ; stir it over the fire till thoroughly blended, being careful thst it does not boil ; let it cool, and then stir into it the whites of the eggs, whipped to a stiff froth, pour it into a well buttered mould, and steam it for half an hour. Serve with a sweet sauce strongly flavoured with orange or a hot mousseline sauce. For the croiites a I'ltalienne prepare some little square croutons of fried bread, lay on each a round slice of beetroot, on this a smaller slice of hard-boiled egg cut through yolk and white, and on the top a turned olive stuffed with a washed fillet of anchovy. (The stuffed anchovies in oil, to be bought in bottles, do admirably for this.) Sardine toast and anchovy eggs are both very pretty savouries.