A guide to modern cookery

1927—GRIVES OU MERLES A LA LIEGEOISE Cook the birds in butter on the stove, in an uncovered earthenware saucepan. When they are nearly done, sprinkle them with two finely-chopped juniper berries per bird; add some round croutons of bread-crumb fried in butter; cover, and serve very hot. This procedure particularly suits thrushes, more especially when these come from the Ardennes. 1928—GRIVES ET MERLES FROIDS The various, cold preparations of ‘quails, except those comprising a Granité, may be applied to thrushes. ALOUETTES OU MAUVIETTES (LARKS) These birds are generally served to the number of two or three for each person. 1929—MAUVIETTES A LA BONNE-FEMME Proceed exactly as directed for the thrushes. 1930—MAUVIETTES A LA MERE MARIANNE Slice some peeled and cored russet apples, and three-parts cook them in butter. Spread this stew in thick layers on a buttered dish. Simply stiffen the seasoned larks in nut-brown butter, and place them upon the stewed apples, pressing them slightly into the latter. Sprinkle with very fine bread-crumbs and melted butter, and set to glaze in the oven or at the Salamander, just long enough to complete the cooking of the larks. 193I—ALOUETTES DU PERE PHILIPPE Clean some fine, medium-sized potatoes, allowing one to each lark; and cut a cover from each, which thin down until it is only one-sixth inch thick. With a root-spoon, hollow out the potatoes in such wise as to allow of their each enclosing a lark. Stiffen the larks in butter, and add thereto some salted breast of bacon, cut into small dice and blanched, and in the proportion of one-third oz. per lark. Place a lark in each potato, together with a few bacon dice and some of the cooking-fat ; return cover of each potato to its place; fix it there by means of cotton, and wrap each potato in oiled paper. Lay them on the hearth, cover them with hot cinders, and cook for about forty minutes, taking care to renew the cinders _ from time to time. 1932—MAUVIETTES FROIDES When cold, larks may be prepared in plain chaud-froid fashion, in cases, in Belle-vue, in Aspic, as Mousses, &c., in pursuance of the directions given under these various recipes. 1933—ORTOLANS Serve ortolans as plainly as possible; but the best method of preparing them is roasting. However, for the sake of variety, they may be prepared as follows :— 1934—SYLPHIDES D’ORTOLANS Butter some very small porcelain or silver cassolettes, and garnish them half-full with mousseline forcemeat of ortolans prepared with truffle essence. Set these cassolettes in the front of the oven, that the forcemeat may poach. Cook in butter, for three minutes only, as many ortolans as there are garnished cassolettes, and proceed so as to have them just ready when the forcemeat is poached. Place an ortolan in each cassolette, and sprinkle them with nut-brown butter, combined with a little pale melted glaze and pineapple juice. 1935—BECS-FIGUES ET BEGUINETTES (Fig Peckers) These birds are not met with in English markets; it is therefore useless to give the recipes concerning them. I will only say that they may be prepared like the larks. 1936—CANARDS SAUVAGES (Wild Duck) 1937—SARCELLES (Teal) 1938—PILETS (Pintails and Widgeons) Birds of this class are mostly served roasted. They may, however, be used in preparing excellent Salmis, which may be made after ‘‘ Salmis de Faisan’’ (No. 1847) or after ‘‘ Salmis 4 la Rouennaise’”’ (No. 1763). They may also be prepared after all the recipes of ‘‘ Caneton 4 la Rouennaise.”’ 1939 -PLUVIERS DORES (Golden Plover) 1940—VANNEAUX (Lapwings) 1941 —CHEVALIERS DIVERS (Various Sandpipers) These various birds are generally served roasted. They may also be served ‘‘en Salmis,’’ but in that case the skin must be discarded in the preparation of the cullis.