Take some large [nuishrooms, peel them and scrape them
clean, put them in a saucepan with a little salt, cover them,
and let them boil a little, then put in a gill of milk, an
ounce of butter rolled in flour, seasoned with mace✪ Randalled Eggs and
nutn^esf ; boil the whole till it is of a ooocl consistence. Have
ready six hard-boiled eggs, take out the yolks whole. Put
some toasted sippets in a dish, and the yolks upon them;
then pour over them the whole of your ragoiit.
16. Eggs with. Onions and Mushrooms.
When 3^ou have boiled the eggs hard, take out the
yolks whole, and cut the whites in slips, with some onions
and mushrooms. Fry the onions and mushrooms, then
add the whites, turn them about a little, dredge them
with flour, and add a^ little mushroom catsup. Boil this up,
then put in the yolks, and add pepper and salt✪ Eggs with Onions and Mushrooms. Let the
whole sinuner for about a minute, then serve it up.
EGGS\ 395
17. Plovers' Eggs in Aspic.
When the eggs are boiled, take off the shells, and cut
off a small slice at the broad end of the eggs, that they msij
stand upright ; have some aspic jelly that is very firm, turn
it out on a marble slab, and cut it in half-diamond shapes
or rings, and place these round the dish you intend to
serve the eggs on ; put chopped aspic in the centre, and
the eggs on the top. Plovers' eggs may also be served in
a mould of aspic jelly, garnished with truffles and white
of eggs✪ Plovers' Eggs in Aspic.
18. "Surprise" Eggs.
When I was young culinary " surprises " were common :
at present one scarcely ever meets Avith one ; which fact
induces in my mind the conclusion that the England of
sixty 3^ears ago was a much merrier England than the ex-
isting prim, overdressed, Mrs. Grundy-ridden country of my
birth. At all events, the culinary " surprises " were as
innocent as they were clever. They made us laugh ; and
every wise doctor will tell you that laughter helps digestion.
Good digestion means happiness and virtue. One-third of
the crime in this world springs from congenital causes :
the sins of the fathers are literally visited on the children.
Another third is due to the direct, although inscrutable,
instrumentality of the Devil. For the rest indigestion is
mainly responsible. Indigestion had quite as much to do
as had Madame de Maintenon in inducing the superstitious
glutton, Louis XIV., to revoke the Edict of Nantes. The
digestion of Napoleon the Great was normally deplorable;
and I should not be in the least astonished if indigestion
were, an fond, the cause of the murder of the Due d'Enghien,
Thackeray told me that he was suffering from an atrocious
attack of indigestion when he wrote that bullymg letter to
396 THE THOROUGH GOOD COOK.
Edmund Yates which eventuated in the expulsion of the
latter from the Garrick Club — a social slur which he never
got over : and whenever Edmund, whom I knew for thirty
years, and who was the warmest-hearted and most can-
tankerous of mankind, used to sneer at or " pitch into " me
in the World, I always set down his abuse to the account of
indigestion.
Now, after this long preamble, for " surprise eggs." Poach
your eggs and trim the edges neatly. Let them remain for
a quarter of an hour in the pan, with lemon-juice, pepper,
salt, and a little chopped parsley✪ Surprise Eggs. . Then fry them in batter
precisely as though they were fritters, and serve hot on a
napkin garnished with parsley.
397
Page 211 · 6 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Take some large mushrooms, peel them and scrape them clean, put them in a saucepan with a little salt, cover them, and let them boil a little, then put in a gill of milk, an ounce of butter rolled in flour, seasoned with mace and nutmeg ; boil the whole till it is of a good consistence. Have ready six hard-boiled eggs, take out the yolks whole. Put some toasted sippets in a dish, and the yolks upon them; then pour over them the whole of your ragout.
16. Eggs with. Onions and Mushrooms.
When 3^ou have boiled the eggs hard, take out the yolks whole, and cut the whites in slips, with some onions and mushrooms. Fry the onions and mushrooms, then add the whites, turn them about a little, dredge them with flour, and add a little mushroom catsup. Boil this up, then put in the yolks, and add pepper and salt. Let the whole sinuner for about a minute, then serve it up.
EGGS. 395
17. Plovers' Eggs in Aspic.
When the eggs are boiled, take off the shells, and cut off a small slice at the broad end of the eggs, that they may stand upright ; have some aspic jelly that is very firm, turn it out on a marble slab, and cut it in half-diamond shapes or rings, and place these round the dish you intend to serve the eggs on ; put chopped aspic in the centre, and the eggs on the top. Plovers' eggs may also be served in a mould of aspic jelly, garnished with truffles and white of eggs.
18. "Surprise" Eggs.
When I was young culinary " surprises " were common : at present one scarcely ever meets with one ; which fact induces in my mind the conclusion that the England of sixty 3^ears ago was a much merrier England than the existing prim, overdressed, Mrs. Grundy-ridden country of my birth. At all events, the culinary " surprises " were as innocent as they were clever. They made us laugh ; and every wise doctor will tell you that laughter helps digestion. Good digestion means happiness and virtue. One-third of the crime in this world springs from congenital causes : the sins of the fathers are literally visited on the children. Another third is due to the direct, although inscrutable, instrumentality of the Devil. For the rest indigestion is mainly responsible. Indigestion had quite as much to do as had Madame de Maintenon in inducing the superstitious glutton, Louis XIV., to revoke the Edict of Nantes. The digestion of Napoleon the Great was normally deplorable; and I should not be in the least astonished if indigestion were, an fond, the cause of the murder of the Due d'Enghien, Thackeray told me that he was suffering from an atrocious attack of indigestion when he wrote that bullymg letter to
Edmund Yates which eventuated in the expulsion of the latter from the Garrick Club — a social slur which he never got over : and whenever Edmund, whom I knew for thirty years, and who was the warmest-hearted and most cantankerous of mankind, used to sneer at or " pitch into " me in the World, I always set down his abuse to the account of indigestion.
Now, after this long preamble, for " surprise eggs." Poach your eggs and trim the edges neatly. Let them remain for a quarter of an hour in the pan, with lemon-juice, pepper, salt, and a little chopped parsley. . Then fry them in batter precisely as though they were fritters, and serve hot on a napkin garnished with parsley.
Records on this page
Randalled EggsRagout of Eggs and MushroomsRagout with EggsEggs with Onions and MushroomsPlovers' Eggs in AspicSurprise Eggs