Book of Household Management — 065 - Recipes. Chapter 27. Part 7.
[Illustration: VOL-AU-VENT.
] _Mode_.
--Make from 3/4 to 1 lb.
of puff-paste, by recipe No. 1208, taking care that it is very evenly rolled out each time, to insure its rising properly; and if the paste is not extremely light, and put into a good hot oven, this cannot be accomplished, and the _vol-au-vent_ will look very badly.
Roll out the paste to the thickness of about 1-1/2 inch, and, with a fluted cutter, stamp it out to the desired shape, either round or oval, and, with the point of a small knife, make a slight incision in the paste all round the top, about an inch from the edge, which, when baked, forms the lid.
Put the _vol-au-vent_ into a good brisk oven, and keep the door shut for a few minutes after it is put in.
Particular attention should he paid to the heating of the oven, for the paste _cannot_ rise without a tolerable degree of heat When of a nice colour, without being scorched, withdraw it from the oven, instantly remove the cover where it was marked, and detach all the soft crumb from the centre: in doing this, be careful not to break the edges of the _vol-au-vent_; but should they look thin in places, stop them with small flakes of the inside paste, stuck on with the white of an egg.
This precaution is necessary to prevent the fricassee or ragoût from bursting the case, and so spoiling the appearance of the dish.
Fill the _vol-au-vent_ with a rich mince, or fricassee, or ragoût, or the remains of cold fish flaked and warmed in a good white sauce, and do not make them very liquid, for fear of the gravy bursting the crust: replace the lid, and serve.
To improve the appearance of the crust, brush it over with the yolk of an egg after it has risen properly.
--See coloured plate O1.
_Time_.
--3/4 hour to bake the _vol-au-vent_.
_Average cost_, exclusive of interior, 1s.
6d.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: SMALL VOL-AU-VENTS.
] _Note_.
--Small _vol-au-vents_ may be made like those shown in the engraving, and filled with minced veal, chicken, &c. They should be made of the same paste as the larger ones, and stamped out with a small fluted cutter.
SWEET VOL-AU-VENT OF PLUMS, APPLES, OR ANY OTHER FRESH FRUIT.
1380. INGREDIENTS.
--3/4 lb.
of puff-paste No. 1208, about 1 pint of fruit compôte.
_Mode_.
--Make 1/2 lb.
of puff-paste by recipe No. 1208, taking care to bake it in a good brisk oven, to draw it up nicely and make it look light.
Have ready sufficient stewed fruit, the syrup of which must be boiled down until very thick; fill the _vol-au-vent_ with this, and pile it high in the centre; powder a little sugar over it, and put it back in the oven to glaze, or use a salamander for the purpose: the _vol-au-vent_ is then ready to serve.
They may be made with any fruit that is in season, such as rhubarb, oranges, gooseberries, currants, cherries, apples, &c. ; but care must be taken not to have the syrup too thin, for fear of its breaking through the crust.
_Time_.
--1/2 hour to 40 minutes to bake the _vol-au-vent_.
_Average cost_, exclusive of the compôte, 1s.
1d.
_Sufficient_ for 1 entremets.
VOL-AU-VENT OF FRESH STRAWBERRIES WITH WHIPPED CREAM.
1381. INGREDIENTS.
--3/4 lb.
of puff-paste No. 1208, 1 pint of freshly-gathered strawberries, sugar to taste, a plateful of whipped cream.
_Mode_.
--Make a _vol-au-vent_ case by recipe No. 1379, only not quite so large nor so high as for a savoury one.
When nearly done, brush the paste over with the white of an egg, then sprinkle on it some pounded sugar, and put it back in the oven to set the glaze.
Remove the interior, or soft crumb, and, at the moment of serving, fill it with the strawberries, which should be picked, and broken up with sufficient sugar to sweeten them nicely.
Place a few spoonfuls of whipped cream on the top, and serve.
_Time_.
--1/2 hour to 40 minutes to bake the _vol-au-vent_.
_Average cost_, 2s.
3d.
_Sufficient_ for 1 _vol-au-vent_.
_Seasonable_ in June and July.
STRAWBERRY.
--Among the Greeks, the name of the strawberry indicated its tenuity, this fruit forming hardly a mouthful.
With the Latins, the name reminded one of the delicious perfume of this plant.
Both nations were equally fond of it, and applied the same care to its cultivation.
Virgil appears to place it in the same rank with flowers; and Ovid gives it a tender epithet, which delicate palates would not disavow.
Neither does this luxurious poet forget the wild strawberry, which disappears beneath its modest foliage, but whose presence the scented air reveals.
WEST-INDIAN PUDDING.
1382. INGREDIENTS.
--1 pint of cream, 1/2 lb.
of loaf-sugar, 1/2 lb.
of Savoy or sponge-cakes, 8 eggs, 3 oz.
of preserved green ginger.
_Mode_.
--Crumble down the cakes, put them into a basin, and pour over them the cream, which should be previously sweetened and brought to the boiling-point; cover the basin, well beat the eggs, and when the cream is soaked up, stir them in.
Butter a mould, arrange the ginger round it, pour in the pudding carefully, and tie it down with a cloth; steam or boil it slowly for 1-1/2 hour, and serve with the syrup from the ginger, which should be warmed, and poured over the pudding.
_Time_.
--1-1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, with cream at 1s.
per pint, 2s.
8d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
YEAST DUMPLINGS.
1383. INGREDIENTS.
--1/2 quartern of dough, boiling water.
Mode.
--Make a very light dough as for bread, using to mix it, milk, instead of water; divide it into 7 or 8 dumplings; plunge them into boiling water, and boil them for 20 minutes.
Serve the instant they are taken up, as they spoil directly, by falling and becoming heavy; and in eating them do not touch them with a knife, but tear them apart with two forks.
They may be eaten with meat gravy, or cold butter and sugar, and if not convenient to make the dough at home, a little from the baker's answers as well, only it must be placed for a few minutes near the fire, in a basin with a cloth over it, to let it rise again before it is made into dumplings.
_Time_.
--20 minutes.
_Average cost_, 4d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
YEAST consists principally of a substance very similar in composition, and in many of its sensible properties, to gluten;
and, when new or fresh, it is inflated and rendered frothy by a large quantity of carbonic acid.
When mixed with wort, this substance acts upon the saccharine matter; the temperature rises, carbonic acid is disengaged, and the result is _ale_, which always contains a considerable proportion of alcohol, or spirit.
The quantity of yeast employed in brewing ale being small, the saccharine matter is but imperfectly decomposed: hence a considerable portion of it remains in the liquor, and gives it that viscid quality and body for which it is remarkable.
The fermenting property of yeast is weakened by boiling for ten minutes, and is entirely destroyed by continuing the boiling.
Alcohol poured upon it likewise renders it inert;
on which account its power lessens as the alcohol is formed during fermentation.
YORKSHIRE PUDDING, to serve with hot Roast Beef.
1384. INGREDIENTS.
--1-1/2 pint of milk, 6 _large_ tablespoonfuls of flour, 3 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt.
[Illustration: YORKSHIRE PUDDING.
] _Mode_.
--Put the flour into a basin with the salt, and stir gradually to this enough milk to make it into a stiff batter.
When this is perfectly smooth, and all the lumps are well rubbed down, add the remainder of the milk and the eggs, which should be well beaten.
Beat the mixture for a few minutes, and pour it into a shallow tin, which has been previously well rubbed with beef dripping.
Put the pudding into the oven, and bake it for an hour; then, for another 1/2 hour, place it under the meat, to catch a little of the gravy that flows from it.
Cut the pudding into small square pieces, put them on a hot dish, and serve.
If the meat is baked, the pudding may at once be placed under it, resting the former on a small three-cornered stand.
_Time_.
--1-1/2 hour.
_Average cost_, 7d.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER XXVIII.
