A guide to modern cookery by A. Escoffier

cooked in butter just before dishing up. Send a light, Portugaise sauce separately. 1068—FILET DE BŒUF PROVENÇALE Lard the fillet and _poële_ it. Glaze it at the last minute; set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following, alternated:—Tomatoes and mushrooms stuffed à la Provençale (Nos. 2266 and 2075). Send a _tomatéd_ half-glaze sauce, separately. 1069—FILET DE BŒUF RÉGENCE _Marinade_ the fillet in Rhine wine two or three hours in advance; cover it with a _Matignon_ (No. 227); envelop the fillet and the _Matignon_ in slices of bacon, and set the whole to braise with its _marinade_. A few minutes before dishing up, remove the slices of bacon and the _Matignon_, and glaze the fillet. Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish, which, except for the decorated quenelles, which are left plain, should be arranged in distinct heaps, and slightly coated with sauce:—(1) quenelles of ordinary forcemeat, combined with chopped tongue, moulded by means of a coffeespoon, and poached at the last minute; (2) collops of foie gras tossed in butter; (3) fine cocks’ combs; (4) very white, cooked mushroom-heads, and truffles shaped like large olives. Send, separately, the braising-liquor of the fillet, cleared of all grease, strained with pressure, reduced, and added to a half-glaze sauce. 1070—FILET DE BŒUF RENAISSANCE Lard the fillet and _poële_ it. Glaze it at the last minute; set it on a long dish, and surround it with a garnish of early-season vegetables, comprising carrots and turnips, raised by means of a large, round, grooved spoon-cutter, cooked in consommé and glazed; very green peas; small French beans; small faggots of asparagus-heads; portions of cauliflowers, and small potatoes cooked in butter. Renaissance garnish is, however, subject to no fixed rules, and it may consist of all the available early-season vegetables, small artichoke-bottoms included. Send a clear gravy separately. 1071—FILET DE BŒUF RICHELIEU Lard the fillet, and either _poële_ or roast it. If it be _poëled_, glaze it in good time; set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish, which should be arranged in distinct heaps and in such wise as to contrast its colouring:—(1) Small tomatoes and medium-sized mushrooms, stuffed; (2) small or half-lettuces, braised and well trimmed; (3) potatoes, the size of pigeons’ eggs, cooked in butter and prepared just in time for the dishing up. Send the cooking-liquor, cleared of all grease, and slightly thickened, separately. 1072—FILET DE BŒUF SAINT-FLORENTIN Lard the fillet and roast it. Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish:—(1) At either end, a heap of _cèpes_, prepared à la Bordelaise at the last minute; (2) _croquettes_ of potatoes à la Saint-Florentin, on either side. These _croquettes_ are prepared from the same potato-paste as “Pommes Duchesse,” but in this case the paste receives a copious addition of chopped tongue. Mould them to the shape of lozenges, and treat them _à l’anglaise_, using for the purpose very fine vermicelli instead of bread-crumbs. Fry the _croquettes_ just before dishing up. Send, separately, a Bordelaise sauce with white wine, kept somewhat light. 1073—FILET DE BŒUF SAINT-GERMAIN Lard the fillet and roast it. Set it on a long dish, and surround it with the following garnish:—(1) At either end of the fillet a nice heap of glazed carrots, cut to the shape of olives; (2) a heap of very small potatoes, cooked in butter, on either side of the carrots; (3) a row of small timbales of very green peas purée (No. 2196) on either side of the fillet. 1074—FILET DE BŒUF TALLEYRAND Cut up the necessary number of raw truffles for the garnishing of the fillet. The pieces of truffle should be one inch long and one-quarter inch wide, and so pointed as to enable them to be easily stuck into the meat. To stick them in, make small incisions in the fillet, and in these set the bits of truffle. _Marinade_ the fillet for three hours in Madeira; wrap it in slices of bacon; string it, and set it to braise with its _marinade_. This done, remove the slices of bacon; glaze it, and set it on a long dish. Send the following garnish separately:—Poached macaroni, cut into pieces one and one-half inches long, and combined per lb. with three oz. of grated Gruyère and Parmesan, one and one-half oz. of butter, three oz. of a _julienne_ of truffles, and three oz. of cooked foie gras, cut into large dice. As an adjunct, send a Périgueux sauce with a fine _julienne_ of truffles instead of the latter chopped. 1075—FILET DE BŒUF FROID (Relevé) Fillet of beef, when properly dished, makes an excellent cold Relevé. For this purpose lard it, roast it (keeping it somewhat underdone towards the centre), and, when it is quite cold, trim, and coat it with half-melted jelly. Then set it either directly upon a dish or upon a cushion of bread or carved rice, which makes the dish more sightly when the garnish is added. Before setting the fillet on the dish or on the cushion of rice, it is well to cut a slice one-fifth inch thick from the whole of its base; leave this slice under the fillet when dishing; by this means, when the carving is proceeded with, each slice will be found to be neatly trimmed. Cold fillet of beef allows of every possible cold vegetable garnish. The vegetables should be cooked with the greatest care and be left to cool naturally. When they are quite cold, either cohere them by means of jelly, or set them round the fillet in neat heaps, taking care to alternate their shades, and coat them with almost melted aspic. Finally, between each heap of vegetables lay a little chopped and very clear aspic, and, round the whole, arrange a border consisting of bits of aspic (round, oval, square, lozenge-shaped, &c.) very regularly cut. I see no reason for devoting any further space to this subject. What has been said should, I think, suffice to show how varied and numerous are the possible ways of dishing cold fillet of beef, the minute details of which may, with advantage, be left to the ingenuity of the operator. FILLET OF BEEF FOR ENTRÉES 1076—CHÂTEAUBRIAND, FILLET STEAK, TOURNEDOS By _fillet_ steaks are understood those pieces of meat cut laterally from the thickest part of the fillet of beef. They ought to be about one and one-half inches thick, and weigh from six to seven oz. Tournedos are half-fillets in respect of their weight, and might well be called the “kernels” of the fillet of beef. The usual thickness of a tournedos is about one and one-quarter inches, and they should be cut to a nice, round shape. With the object of preserving their shape, they may be tied round with string. Châteaubriand is also procured from the centre of fillet of beef, and its weight is often twice, thrice, and sometimes more than thrice as much as that of the ordinary fillet steaks. As a rule, especially when grilled, it constitutes a special roast for luncheons; when it is cooked in the saucepan, _i.e._, _sautéd_, it is more often served as a Relevé. The same garnishes suit fillet, Châteaubriands, and tournedos, the only necessary modifications being in respect of size and arrangement, which should be subject to the size of the piece of meat. The garnishes detailed hereafter are for the tournedos, which supply the greatest number of the dishes prepared from the three different cuts of fillet. If a fillet steak be prepared after one of the following recipes, the garnish should be made a little stronger, and its constituents modified in the dishing, neither of which changes need in any way alter the formula. The same holds with regard to a Châteaubriand. Thus, for example, if it be required to prepare a fillet steak or a Châteaubriand, after the recipe “Tournedos à l’Algérienne,” the number of _croquettes_ and tomatoes should be half as much again, and they should be arranged alternately round the meat, instead of the latter being placed on the _croquettes_, as in the case of the tournedos. If the fillets are to be treated “à l’Alsacienne,” after the recipe for tournedos, the sauerkraut should be dished in a timbale instead of in tartlet-crusts, &c. All that is needed, therefore, is a change in the method of arrangement, and this can be decided upon at a glance, without necessarily interfering with the principle of the recipe. It should be borne in mind that nearly all the garnishes given under fillet of beef, served whole, may be applied to Châteaubriands, fillet steak, and tournedos, provided they be made in proportion to the size of the different pieces. I see no need, therefore, to repeat these vegetable recipes in so far as they relate to the various cuts of fillet of beef. It is only necessary to add that for the fillet of beef, as well as for tournedos, noisettes, &c., a large number of plain vegetable garnishes may be used, the details of which I prefer to omit for fear of unduly lengthening this work. Whole fillets, fillet steak, and tournedos may thus be served with garnishes of braised celery, tuberous fennel, cardoons with gravy, chow-chow and endives, braised lettuce, various purées, &c., and, generally, with all the vegetable preparations given in Chapter XVII. =Important Remarks relative to the Sauces suited to Entrées of Butcher’s Meat, Garnished with Vegetables= The derivative sauces of the Espagnole are not, as a rule, suited to entrées garnished with vegetables. Thickened gravy is better. The finest adjunct, however, is meat-glaze, which should receive an addition of four oz. of butter per pint, and should be slightly acidulated by means of a few drops of lemon juice. This glaze ought to be so light as not to impaste the vegetables. Such vegetables as asparagus-heads, peas, French beans, _macédoines_, &c., have a disintegrating action upon the sauces, and this is owing either to their natural moisture or to their leason. As a result of this action the preparation has an unsightly appearance when served upon the diner’s plate. With Châteaubriand sauce (No. 71) or buttered meat-glaze this objection does not obtain, seeing that this sauce does not decompose, but combines admirably with the garnish, and lends the latter a certain noticeable mellowness. I therefore emphasise this point, viz., that the derivative sauces of the Espagnole and tomato sauces should be exclusively used with such preparations garnished with truffles, cock’s combs and kidneys, quenelles and mushrooms, as “la Financière,” “la Godard,” &c. TOURNEDOS 1077—TOURNEDOS ALGÉRIENNE Season the tournedos, and fry them in clarified butter. Arrange them in the form of a crown on a round dish, and set a _croquette_ of sweet potato, moulded to a round shape, upon each. Around the whole lay some small, emptied, and seasoned half-tomatoes, stewed in oil. 1078—TOURNEDOS ALSACIENNE Season and grill the tournedos. There should have been prepared in advance as many small tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos. Garnish these tartlets with well-drained, braised sauerkraut, and set on each a roundel of the lean of ham, stamped out with an even cutter. Arrange them in the form of a crown on a dish, and set a tournedos upon each tartlet. 1079—TOURNEDOS ARLÉSIENNE Fry the tournedos in butter and oil. When about to serve, set the tournedos on a dish, and surround them with fried roundels of egg-plant and tossed tomatoes, alternating the two garnishes, and placing roundels of fried onions on the tournedos. 1080—TOURNEDOS BALTIMORE Season the tournedos, and fry them in clarified butter. Set them in the form of a crown on small tartlets garnished by means of maize with cream. Upon each tournedos set a roundel of tomato, seasoned and tossed in butter, and a smaller slice of green capsicum, also tossed in butter, on each roundel of tomato. Accompanying sauce: a Châteaubriand (No. 71). 1081—TOURNEDOS BÉARNAISE Season the tournedos, and grill them. Set them on round crusts, half an inch thick, fried in clarified butter; slightly coat the surface of the tournedos with meat-glaze, and surround them with a thread of Béarnaise sauce (No. 62). In the centre arrange a heap of small potatoes cooked in butter and kept very soft, and sprinkle thereon a pinch of chopped parsley. N.B.—The tournedos may be simply coated with glaze and the Béarnaise sauce served separately. 1082—TOURNEDOS BELLE-HÉLÈNE Prepare as many small croquettes of asparagus-tops, shaped like quoits, as there are tournedos, and fry them while the latter are being cooked. Season the tournedos, and fry them in clarified butter. Arrange them, in the form of a crown, on a dish; place a _croquette_ on each tournedos, and a large, glazed slice of truffle on each _croquette_. 1083—TOURNEDOS BERCY Grill the tournedos, and coat them lightly with pale meat-glaze. Dish them in the form of a crown, and serve a half-melted “Beurre à la Bercy” (No. 139) separately. 1084—TOURNEDOS BORDELAISE Grill the tournedos, and dish them in the form of a crown. Set a large slice of poached marrow on each, and serve a Bordelaise sauce (No. 32) separately. 1085—TOURNEDOS BRABANÇONNE Prepare as many tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos. Garnish them with very small parboiled Brussels sprouts, stewed in butter; cover these with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze a few moments before dishing. Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter; set them on the prepared tartlets of sprouts, and surround with a border of small “pommes de terre fondantes” (No. 2214). 1086—TOURNEDOS CASTILLANE Prepare (1) as many tartlet-crusts as there are tournedos; (2) peeled, pressed, and seasoned tomatoes, cooked in butter; these should be in the proportion of one tablespoonful per tartlet; (3) rings of onion, fried in oil as for “Tournedos à l’Arlésienne”; (4) a garnish of one tablespoonful of small French beans, cohered with butter, per tartlet. Season the tournedos; fry them in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown on fried crusts. Place a tartlet, garnished with a _fondue_ of tomatoes, on each tournedos; all round arrange a border of the fried roundels of onion, and serve the French beans, either in the middle of the dish or separately in a timbale. 1087—TOURNEDOS CENDRILLON Prepare (1) as many fine artichoke-bottoms as there are tournedos; (2) a Soubise purée, combined with chopped truffles, and well buttered. A few moments before the tournedos are ready, garnish the artichoke-bottoms with the Soubise, and set them to glaze in a fierce oven. Season the tournedos; fry them in clarified butter, and set them on the artichoke-bottoms, which should be arranged in a circle round the dish. 1088—TOURNEDOS AUX CHAMPIGNONS Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter. Dish them in the form of a crown; drain the butter from the sautépan; swill the latter with some mushroom cooking-liquor, and add thereto a proportional quantity of mushroom sauce. Set to boil for a few minutes, and pour the sauce, with the mushrooms, in the midst of the circle of tournedos. 1089—TOURNEDOS CHASSEUR Season the tournedos; fry them in butter, and dish them in the form of a crown. Drain the butter away; swill the sautépan with white wine, and add to this a quantity of Chasseur sauce, which should be in proportion to the number of tournedos. Set to boil for a moment or two, and pour the sauce over the tournedos. 1090—TOURNEDOS CHORON Season the tournedos, and fry them in butter. Set them on crusts fried in butter; round the top of each lay a thread of Choron sauce (No. 64), and in the middle of each set a medium-sized artichoke-bottom garnished with peas or asparagus-heads cohered with butter. All round, arrange a border of potatoes, lightly browned in butter, or heap them in the middle of the crown of tournedos. N.B.—The sauce may be served separately. 1091—TOURNEDOS COLIGNY