Part 1 (2/2)

Beat up the yolk of one egg, and add it slowly to a quart of warm milk previously boiled; whisk the milk into the soup; taste for seasoning.

Now take the crab meat and heat it in a little boiling water, drain, put it into a hot soup tureen, pour the soup over it and serve.

BISQUE OF LOBSTER.--Procure two large live lobsters; chop them up while raw, sh.e.l.ls and all; put them into a mortar with three-fourths of a pound of b.u.t.ter, three raw eggs, and one quarter of a pound of cold boiled rice: pound to a paste, moisten with a little water or stock, then set aside. Fry out two slices of bacon fat, add to it one minced onion, a tablespoonful of chopped celery tops, one chopped long red pepper, one sliced carrot, and a quart of stock, boil and pour the whole into a saucepan. Add the lobster and three pints more of stock; boil slowly for two hours; strain, and rub the ingredients through a sieve.

Return to the soup; keep it warm, but do not allow it to boil. If too thick, add a little more stock; add salt to taste. Boil one quart of cream; whisk it into the soup; taste again for seasoning; pour it into a hot soup tureen, and send to table.

This soup can be prepared by following receipt for bisque of crab, or it may be prepared by adding boiled lobster to a strong veal stock, and colored red by pounding the coral with b.u.t.ter, and adding this to the soup.

BOUILLE-ABAISSE.--Take six pounds of cod-fish; cut it up into small pieces; chop two red onions; put them in a stewpan with an ounce of b.u.t.ter; let them brown without burning. Now add the fish and four tablespoonfuls of fine olive-oil, a bruised clove of garlic, two bay leaves, four slices of lemon peeled and quartered, half a pint of Shrewsbury tomato catsup, and half a salt-spoonful of saffron. Add sufficient hot soup stock to cover the whole; boil slowly for half to three-quarters of an hour; skim carefully while boiling; when ready to serve add a tablespoonful of chopped celery tops.

CAULIFLOWER SOUP.--Fry half an onion in a very little b.u.t.ter; when it is a light brown add a tablespoonful of minced raw ham and two or three stalks of celery, then add a quart of soup stock; simmer slowly for half an hour. Boil for twenty-five or thirty minutes one medium-sized head of cauliflower in water slightly salted. Strain the contents of the frying-pan into a saucepan, and add one quart more of stock. Drain the cauliflower; rub it through a fine sieve into the stock; boil just once; draw to one side of the fire; taste for seasoning. Now dissolve a teaspoonful of rice flour in half a cupful of cold milk; whisk the soup thoroughly; pour into a hot tureen, and serve.

CHESTNUT SOUP.--Remove the outer peel or coating from twenty-five Italian chestnuts; pour scalding water over them, and rub off the inner coating. Put them into a saucepan with one quart of soup stock, and boil for three-quarters of an hours; drain; rub them through a colander, then through a sieve, with one tablespoonful of cracker dust, or pound to a paste in a mortar; season with salt and pepper; add gradually the stock in which they were boiled; add one pint more of stock; boil once, and draw to one side of the fire.

Beat up the yolks of two raw eggs; add them to one quart of warm milk; whisk the milk into the soup; taste for seasoning; pour into a hot tureen, and send to table with croutons.

CHICKEN BROTH FOR THE INVALID.--Procure a dry-picked Philadelphia roasting chicken; cut it in halves; put one half in the ice box; chop the other half into neat pieces; put it into a small saucepan; add one quart of cold water, a little salt and a leaf of celery; simmer gently for two hours; remove the oily particles thoroughly; strain the broth into a bowl; when cooled a little, serve to the convalescent. Serve the meat with the broth.

CHICKEN SOUP.--Take three young male chickens; cut them up; put them in a saucepan with three quarts of veal stock. (A sliced carrot, one turnip, and one head of celery may be put with them and removed before the soup is thickened.) Let them simmer for an hour. Remove all the white flesh; return the rest of the birds to the soup, and boil gently for two hours. Pour a little of the liquid over a quarter of a pound of bread crumbs, and when they are well soaked put it in a mortar with the white flesh of the birds, and pound the whole to a smooth paste: add a pinch of ground mace, salt, and a little cayenne pepper; press the mixture through a sieve, and boil once more, adding a pint of boiling cream; thicken with a little flour mixed in cold milk; remove the bones, and serve.

CHICKEN SOUP, NO. 2.--Cut up one chicken, put into a stewpan two quarts of cold water, a teaspoonful of salt, and one pod of red pepper; when half done add two desert spoonfuls of well washed rice: when thoroughly cooked, remove the bird from the soup, tear a part of the breast into shreds (saving the remainder of the fowl for a salad), and add it to the soup with a wine-gla.s.s full of cream.

CLAM BROTH.--Procure three dozen little-neck clams in the sh.e.l.l; wash them well in cold water; put them in a saucepan, cover with a quart of hot water; boil fifteen minutes; drain; remove the sh.e.l.ls; chop up the clams, and add them to the hot broth with a pat of b.u.t.ter; salt if necessary and add a little cayenne; boil ten minutes, pour into a soup tureen, add a slice of toast, and send to table. This is the mode adopted when we do not have a clam opener in the house.

Raw, freshly opened clams should be chopped fine and prepared in the manner above described. The large clams are better for chowders than for stews and broth.

CLAM CHOWDER.--Chop up fifty large clams; cut eight medium-sized potatoes into small square pieces, and keep them in cold water until wanted.

Chop one large, red onion fine, and cut up half a pound of larding pork into small pieces.

Procure an iron pot, and see that it is very clean and free from rust; set it on the range, and when very hot, throw the pieces of pork into it, fry them brown; next add the onion, and fry it brown; add one fourth of the chopped clams, then one fourth of the chopped potato, and two pilot crackers quartered, a teaspoonful of salt, one chopped, long, red pepper, a teaspoonful of powdered thyme and half a pint of canned tomato pulp. Repeat this process until the clams and potato are used, omitting the seasoning; add hot water enough to cover all, simmer slowly three hours. Should it become too thick, add more hot water; occasionally remove the pot from the range, take hold of the handle, and twist the pot round several times; this is done to prevent the chowder from burning. On no account disturb the chowder with a spoon or ladle until done; now taste for seasoning, as it is much easier to season properly after the chowder is cooked than before. A few celery tops may be added if desired.

CONSOMMe.--This is nothing more than beef stock, with a little more attention given to clarifying it. It is always acceptable if the dinner to follow is composed of heavy joints and side dishes. If the party consists of more than twenty, serve one thick soup and one light soup or consomme.

CONSOMMe COLBERT.--Prepare a strong consomme; add to two quarts of it a tablespoonful each of shredded young turnips and carrots and a tablespoonful of green peas; simmer until the vegetables are tender; taste for seasoning.

Poach four eggs in hot water in the usual manner; send these to table with the soup. In serving add one poached egg to each plate. It is well always to poach two extra eggs to be used should any of the others be broken in the service.

CREAM OF CELERY.--Cut up six stalks of celery into half-inch pieces; put them into a saucepan with one red onion quartered, one blade of mace, salt, and a few whole peppers; add a quart of veal stock, and boil for one hour. Rub the ingredients through a sieve; put the pulp into a saucepan, and add one quart more of veal stock; boil; then draw to one side of fire to keep hot.

Boil three pints of cream; strain it into the soup; whisk the soup at the same time (if not thick enough to suit your taste add a little flour); taste for seasoning; pour it into a hot tureen; serve with small pieces of toast or croutons.

CREAM OF RICE.--Wash thoroughly a half pound of rice; pick out all imperfect or colored grains; put it into a saucepan and add two quarts of stock. Boil slowly for one hour; then rub the rice through a sieve twice; return it to the stock; season with salt and pepper. Care must be exercised that the rice does not adhere to the bottom of the saucepan.

Simmer until wanted. Beat up the yolks of two eggs; add them slowly to a quart of warm, milk previously boiled; whisk the milk into the soup, which must not be very hot; then pour it into a hot tureen, and serve.

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