European and American cuisine

Spring Herb Soup. — Place a saucepan with a shank of veal over the fire, cover with cold water (if at hand, add some poultry trimmings) ; as soon as it boils add ⅛ tablespoonful salt, 1 carrot, a little celery, 2 onions, 1 leek, and 1 white turnip ; cook slowly 2 hours ; then strain, and remove all the fat. In the meantime wash and cut fine a small handful of sorrel, 1 head of lettuce, small handful of chervil and dandelion, and a little balm; place them in a saucepan with 1 tablespoonful butter ; cook 10 minutes, stirring all the time; then add ly^ quart of the veal broth; cook slowly 30 minutes; and, if necessary, add more salt. Five minutes before serving mix the yolks of 2 eggs with y, cup cream, add them to the soup with ⅛ teaspoonful grated nutmeg and ⅛ teaspoonful sugar. (Do not allow the soup to boil after the yolks have been added.) Serve with duchess crust prepared as follows : Cut the crust from a loaf of bread into strips, then cut into rounds with a small cutter the size of a 25-cent piece, and dry them in the oven. Soup à la Chesterfield. — Remove the meat from the breast of a well-cleaned chicken, chop it fine, and set aside ; cut the remain- ing chicken into pieces ; place it in a soup kettle, with 1 pound of beef and 1 pound of veal; cover with cold water; set the kettle over a moderate fire ; as soon as it commences to boil add 1 onion, 1 leek, a bouquet, and ½ tablespoonful salt ; cover and boil slowly. In the meantime put into a small saucepan ⅛ pint sherry wine, 9 cloves, ¼ teaspoonful of thyme or 1 sprig of thyme, 1 blade of mace, cover tightly, and simmer 30 minutes; place in another small saucepan 2 ounces of tapioca, previously soaked in cold water ; cover with cold water; add 1 teaspoonful butter, ¼ teaspoonful salt ; set over moderate fire, and cook till soft Soak 2 ounces of bread in cold water, press it out in a towel, put it with 1 ounce butter in a small saucepan, stir this over the fire 5 minutes ; transfer it to a dish, and when cold add the chopped chicken meat mentioned above ; season with 1 even teaspoonful salt, ⅛ even teaspoonful pepper, ¼ teaspoonful nutmeg ; add the yolks of 2 eggs and the 2 whites beaten to a stiff froth. Divide this forcemeat into 3 parts, leave 1 part white, add to the second part 1 tablespoonful crab butter, and mix the third part with 2 tablespoonfuls fine-minced truffles; form the 3 parts, each separately, into small balls, like marbles. When the chicken is done, transfer it to a hot dish, remove the fat from the soup, season with salt, if necessary. Strain the soup; return it to kettle again; set it over the fire; strain the wine essence through a napkin, add it to the soup ; add the boiled tapioca; boil the whole slowly 10 minutes; drop the forcemeat balls into boiling salted water, or meat broth, cook 5 minutes ; remove with a skimmer, lay them in the tureen, and pour the soup over it. If at hand, ½ pint of turtle meat cut into inchsized pieces, dipped in beaten egg, and covered with bread crumbs fried in butter, and, after laying on blotting paper to absorb the grease, may be added to the soup when ready to serve.