Читать книгу Luncheons: A Cook's Picture Book - Mary Ronald - Страница 4

Table of Contents

One celebrated French chef says: “Il faut viser a charmer les yeux des gourmet avant d’en satisfaire le goût”; and another, in giving advice to beginners, says: “A cook should have that artistic feeling which imparts to everything, great and small, that harmony of style which captivates the eye.”

This necessity is well recognized by every good cook, and such a one tries to give dishes the inviting appearance justly demanded by epicures. It is not necessary that the dish belong to the category which in cooking parlance is termed “high class,” for the simplest one comes under the same rule and is capable of being raised to a higher rank by careful dishing and tasteful garnishing. The greatest cooks are renowned for such specialties.

It is said of Soyer, “for dishing up he was entitled to celebrity”; and of Carême, “he excelled in everything requiring perfect taste, and dealt in a new and very effective manner with the ornamentation of large cold dishes.”

There is nothing which so quickly indicates the grade of the cook as the manner in which she serves her dishes. One who has no pride in her work seldom takes time for ornamentation, though garnishing is the simplest part of her duty. When, however, attention is given to this branch, even though the result may not be perfect, it gives promise of better things, and one may confidently predict for the cook who thus shows desire to do well that she will attain a higher degree of excellence in her profession. There is no class of dishes, from breads to desserts, which are not more appetizing when made attractive in appearance. It has been said that “eyes do half the eating,” and as no expense need be incurred in the indulgence of tasteful arrangement of the dishes, there seems to be no reason why the simplest table should not share with the most expensive one this element of success. Care, taste, and ingenuity will do much to remedy the lack of money, and may change the standard of the table from coarseness to refinement. Many suggestions for decorations may be found in the show-windows of bakers, pastry-cooks, fishmongers, and of delicatessen shops. Many of the pieces displayed there may seem elaborate and difficult to the novice, but they are, in reality, simple enough when the use of materials is understood.

The word garnishing is used here in a broad interpretation of the term, meaning the general ornamentation of dishes, whether it be obtained by form, color, dishing, or by dressing them with those articles called garnishes.

NO. 198. SODA BISCUITS CUT WITH FLUTED STAMP.

For example, beginning with breads, embellishment is accomplished by means of form and color. The form is gained by molding and cutting; the color, by glazing with egg or sugar. A universal expedient, when short of bread, is the soda biscuit. These biscuits, when cut in very small rounds of uniform size, will tempt the scoffer of hot breads; while large or small crusty rolls, all of exactly the same size, and baked a golden color, will also make him forget his prejudices and find excuse in the delicious crust for eating them. But these same biscuits carelessly cut or molded or baked would offer him no excuse for inviting dyspepsia. Toast looks more inviting when cut into strips or triangles, or with the corners neatly cut off if served in whole slices. Any little thing which indicates care on the part of the cook recommends the dish to favor and almost guarantees its excellence—on the principle that straws show which way the wind blows.

For soups, there is to be found, in any cook book, a long list of garnishes which may be used. Certainly a clear soup is more beautiful when a few green peas or a few bits of celery increase its brilliancy; a cream soup is greatly improved by a few small croutons; and so on through the various classes of dishes.

The garnishes for meat dishes are so various, it may be said that their only limit is the ingenuity and resources of the cook.

It should be remembered that dishes which are served hot do not permit of as much garnishing as cold ones. The first requisite in the former is heat, and this must not be lost by time given to elaborate garnishing. It does not, however, exclude them from the privilege of being embellished; for if the garnishes are prepared and ready at hand, it takes but a minute to put them in place. Hot meat dishes can also rely on other things to improve their appearance, such as shapeliness and uniformity; therefore, strict attention should be given to the cutting and trimming of meats, to the molding of croquettes, of meat-balls, or of anything served in pieces, and also to the dishing of the same.

After meat is well cut, if a joint, it should be divested of all points and irregularities, and of cartilage which will interfere with the carving, and then should be trimmed into a well-balanced and symmetrical form, attention being given to the matter of its standing squarely and solidly upon the platter.

Chops and cutlets should be trimmed into uniform size and shape. This can be done without waste, as the trimmings have their uses. Careful dressing and trussing is essential for poultry, as the appearance of an untrussed fowl is enough to destroy the appetite and condemn the dinner. A fowl should be pressed into a rounded and smooth surface in order to dissociate the article served from the thing of life.

Meat should be placed exactly in the center of the platter, except in certain instances where studied irregularity is given for special garnishing. To place chops or cutlets neatly overlapping one another, either in rows or in a circle, requires some dexterity, perhaps, but this is acquired by a very little practice, and such an arrangement not only helps to keep the meats hot, but is in itself ornamental. The platter should be in right proportion to the article served upon it. A large joint on too small a platter gives the same sense of unsuitableness that an outgrown garment gives to a boy or a girl, and the carving of this seemingly overgrown joint usually results in accidents to the table-cloth. Again, too small a platter affords no room for garnishing.

The color given meat in cooking may be called its secondary garnish, space being the first. Care should be taken, if it is roasted, that it be well browned; if it is boiled, that it be white and clean-looking; if it is fried, that it be not blackened, but a clear lemon color. Poultry should have a golden color that suggests crispness. It is difficult to make the mediocre cook understand these points.

Larding also serves an ornamental purpose. Dry meats, like veal, and oftentimes fowls, are improved in flavor by being larded; and it should be so done as to make it an ornamental feature. There is no part in the preparation of dishes easier to perform than larding, and no novice need hesitate to undertake it.

Hashes and minces can, with very little trouble, be made attractive in appearance as well as in taste. Hash pressed into a mold, giving it a ring or a dome shape, then masked or not with a sauce, or simply turned upon a platter, can be prettily garnished with eggs and greens. Plain meat-balls and potato- or hominy-balls can be placed together on a platter with such regard to effect that the dish assumes the character of an entrée, instead of appearing like a makeshift from left-over pieces.

The next means after larding in what may be called natural garnishing is in the employment of gravies and sauces. No article should ever swim in sauce, but a little can be used with good effect on many dishes. A venison steak wet with a currant jelly sauce, and just enough of the sauce poured on the bottom of the platter to color it, gives a glaze and juicy look to the steak which improves its appearance. A very little tomato sauce under breaded veal chops or croquettes gives color and emphasis to the dish. White sauce poured over boiled dishes gives greater whiteness and often covers defects. In French cooking, much use is made of masking, which is often done by glazing and by the use of sauces. As white sauces will make white foods whiter, so brown ones will make brown ones browner. Fitness must of course be observed. If crispness is a part of the excellence of a dish, it would not do to destroy that quality by using a moistening garnish.

Vegetables as garnishes come next in order of suitableness and convenience. When vegetables are placed on the same platter with meats, they not only ornament the dish, but contribute to the ease of serving a dinner. When they are used the dish is called à la jardinière or à la printanière. Probably every cook knows how to serve mashed or fried potatoes or green peas in the center of a circle of chops. Similar combinations can be made in various ways and of many things. Spinach, beans, carrots, purées, macaroni, spaghetti, or rice may be placed so as to form a base, raising the chops like a crown, or grouped with them in rows, or alternating with the individual pieces. Macedoine is a mixture of any number of vegetables, such as peas, beans of various kinds, carrot and turnip balls, flowers of cauliflower and any other vegetable obtainable. They may be mixed together, or each vegetable may be kept distinct and placed in small piles around the platter. Small portions of vegetables left over may be used to advantage in this way. Very little need be used of any one, and any number may be combined on the same dish. Potatoes boiled or fried can be prepared in many fancy ways to make them suitable for garnishing. Well-seasoned spinach is excellent with chops, steaks, or roasts. Browned onions are often used. Meats with onion garnishes make dishes called à la soubise. Brussels sprouts, hot, are a suitable garnish for corned beef; or cold, with a French dressing, are an excellent salad to serve with cold beef. They should not be over-cooked or they will lose their shape. Stuffed tomatoes may be used with almost any meat dish.

Vegetable purée, in fancy form, is useful for embellishment, and may take the place of a fresh vegetable. Purée is made of any vegetable mashed and seasoned in the same manner as potato. Navy beans, lima beans, flageolets, and peas, either fresh or dried, are so used. The purée can be pressed through a pastry-bag into forms simulating roses, or placed in piles on rounds of toast. Vegetables intended to be eaten with the meats they garnish should be well seasoned before being placed on the platter; but where they are to serve only an ornamental purpose, they may sometimes, as in the case of carrots and turnips, be used uncooked, as they have a better color and more firmness when raw. These two vegetables are very useful, as they are obtainable all the year round. Carrots are particularly pretty when small. Large ones sliced and then stamped into fancy shapes, combined with turnips treated in the same way, are frequently used for making designs. Sometimes they are cut into balls, sometimes are carved into forms simulating roses. It is easy to make them into cups, using a fluted knife to shape the outside, and hollowing the center with a potato-scoop. These cups are good for holding any vegetable or for vegetable salads.

Rice is generally used for borders which are intended to keep creamed dishes and fricassees in shape. Sausages cut in halves or quarters, or fried bacon, make a good relish as well as a garnish for many meats; they are particularly good with egg dishes. Paper frills on protruding bones serve the excellent purpose of concealing these unsightly ends. They are easily made by folding a strip of paper lengthwise, then cutting it down about one and a half inches at intervals of one-eighth inch on the folded side, thus making a double fringe; next slip one side up a little, making the fringe round out; and, finally, roll this around a stick, leaving the openwork in a close spiral. These frills are used on the bones of a leg of mutton, on ham, on chops, and on drumsticks.

The green garnishes are parsley, watercress, small crisp lettuce leaves, green lettuce cut into ribbons, chicory, and celery tops. These are all edible, and all have places where they are especially appropriate. Parsley, which is most commonly used, is preëminent for convenience, beauty of leaf, and freshness. In many cases, however, greens which can be eaten with the dish are preferable, such as watercress with broiled or fried meats or fish. Parsley may be used with almost everything in its purely ornamental function, but it can be chopped and sprinkled over foods for both its flavoring and decorative qualities. A woman who has mastered the art of making an omelet will usually give it this finishing touch. Parsley should be very green and crisp, well washed, and dried with a cloth before being used; it may then be broken into sprigs and placed at intervals, or formed into a wreath. Sometimes a large bunch, like a bouquet, may be used with good effect.

NO. 1. LEMONS CUT FOR GARNISHES.

Lemons, like parsley, have convenience to recommend them, and, like watercress, are acceptable with fried meats. The acid of lemon is the best condiment for veal. When they serve the double purpose of garnish and condiment, they should be cut so the pieces can be taken in the hand and pressed without soiling the fingers. This is effected by cutting them in quarters lengthwise, or in halves and then in quarters. In some instances a half lemon is not too much to serve with one portion, but ordinarily quarters are sufficient. Slices are useless with meats, except as ornaments. Illustration No. 1 shows a lemon ready to be sliced. It has been channeled so as to give the notched edges which make the slices more ornamental. The illustration also shows a lemon made to simulate a pig. This form can be used with propriety on a ham or pork dish. The ears are formed by cutting and raising a triangular slice on each side of the pointed end, the eyes are made of cloves, the legs and tail of wooden toothpicks.

NO. 2. EGGS CUT FOR GARNISHES.

Hard-boiled eggs ornament in a variety of ways. They should be boiled very hard, then cut with a thin, sharp knife so the slices will be smooth and the edges clean. Illustration No. 2 shows plain slices, rings made by slipping the yolk out of slices, an egg cut into quarters and eighths, a whole yolk set into a ring, and a stuffed egg. Yolks pressed through a colander and sprinkled over creamed meat and fish dishes, cream toast, and some other dishes make a beautiful golden covering. Chopped whites in conjunction with crumbed yolks are used for tracing designs over salads, minces, and cold pieces.

Pickled beets are a useful and effective garnish. The color gives decided contrast, and the flavor is a good relish. Sliced beets can be stamped with vegetable-cutters into fancy shapes, or cut with a knife into diamonds, cubes, or strips. One can easily have them always at hand. Two or three boiled beets sliced thin and put into vinegar will last until all are used, and should be among the stores in the dresser awaiting the convenience of the cook. Cucumber pickles and gherkins are equally useful in point of color effects, and in giving piquancy to many foods. They are used in slices stamped into fancy shapes, or chopped and arranged in lines or in little heaps. Gherkins are usually left whole, but may be sliced, giving buttons of color. Capers and olives complete the list of condiment garnishes, though any pickle may be used with propriety on cold meat dishes. Illustration No. 3 shows various garnishes as explained in legend.

Croutons are an indispensable part of hot minced meat dishes, creamed mixtures, and eggs cooked in various ways. They serve also to ornament these dishes, which especially require garnishing to make them presentable. Croutons are pieces of bread browned in butter in a sauté-pan, or moistened with butter and browned in the oven. Care should be taken to cut them exactly, the shape depending on the dish with which they are to be used. For soups they should be quarter-inch cubes; for minced meats, triangles more or less acute. Circles, squares, and strips also have their places. The color should be light golden, not dark brown; the latter color betrays inexperience or carelessness.

NO. 3. GARNISHES.

1. A carrot cut into cup shape with a fluted knife and filled with tomato.

2. A lemon cut into basket shape, the center covered with chopped parsley.

3. A turnip cut into cup shape with fluted knife and filled with green peas.

4. A carrot cup holding parsley.

5. Graduated slices of carrot holding a sprig of parsley.

6. Olives.

7. Strips of the white of a hard boiled egg arranged in a circle, the whole yolk placed in the center. The white is cut lengthwise of the egg, the strips pointed at the ends and sliced so they will lie flat. A small slice is taken off the yolk to make it stand firm.

8. Cranberries.

9. Slices of celery that are crescent shaped.

10. Sliced pickled beet stamped into various shapes.

11. A gherkin sliced nearly to the end, the slices then spread out to resemble a leaf.

12. Chopped pickled beet.

13. A bottle of capers.

14. Aspic jelly cut into triangular, square, and diamond shaped pieces and into small dice.

On the front edge of the board are three pieces of chicken aspic which is so transparent that the pattern of the paper shows through it.

Fontage cups holding vegetables are useful for garnishing.

The articles in the following list are used for garnishing meats:

Parsley

Lettuce

Watercress

Chicory

Hard-boiled eggs

Lemons

Pickles

Capers

Olives

Beets

Croutons

Fancy skewers

Paper frills

Vegetables

Mushrooms

Macaroni

Spaghetti

Rice

Potato or purée forms

Sauces

Sausages

Bacon

A cook who has a desire to ornament her dishes can make an infinite variety of garnishings by combining various things, or by changing the form and arrangement of any one of them. Most of the articles used are within the reach of all. It is even not necessary to buy articles especially for this purpose, for odds and ends left over, or those standard stores always in the larder, will afford enough material tastefully to ornament the dishes.

It must be borne in mind that decorations should not be such as will embarrass the carver.