To roast a Quarter of Lamb
Lard one half of it, and drudge the other very well with small crumbs of Bread; wrap it up in paper before you lay it down, for fear it should burn; when it is almost roasted, drudge, as before, the part of it that is not larded, with crumbs of Bread, adding to them some Salt, and Parsley shred very small; make a brisk fire to brown it well, and serve it with juice of Lemon or Orange.
To make a Ragoo of Lamb
Cut a quarter of Lamb into four pieces, lard it, and toss it up a little in a saucepan to brown it. Then stew it in good Broth with Salt, pepper, Cloves, Mushrooms, and a bunch of Herbs. When it is enough, put to it some Veal-Cullis, and serve it.
Another Ragoo of Lamb
Roast a quarter of Lamb and when it is near roasted, drudge it well with Crumbs of Bread. Put into the dish you intend to serve it in, a Cullis of Veal with an Anchovie, a few Chives, some pounded Pepper, Salt and juice of Lemon, heat it a little, lay your Lamb on this Cullis, so serve it.
To dress Lambs Trotters
Scald them well and boil them; then take out the middle bone, and stuff them with a good farce, dip them in beaten Eggs, drudge them well with crumm’d Bread, and fry them brown; let your garnishing be fry’d Parsley, so serve them.
Are a seafish very like an Eel. They are found likewise in some rivers; We eat them either fry’d or broil’d as follows:
To fry Lampreys
Bleed them and keep the blood; then wash them in hot water to take off their slime, and cut them in pieces. Fry them in clarify’d Butter, with a little fry’d Flour, white Wine, Salt, Pepper, Nutmeg a bunch of fine Herbs and a Bayleaf; fry all this together very well, then put in the blood, with a few Capers, and serve it hot.
To dress Lampreys with sweet Sauce
Having slimed and cut them in pieces, take out the string that runs along their backs; toss them up in butter and a little fry’d Flour till they are brown; then add some red Wine, a little Sugar, Cinnamon, Salt, Pepper, and two or three slices of Lemon. When they are enough done, put in the blood, give them a turn or two more; so dish up your Ragoo and serve it hot.
To make a Lamprey-Pye
Cleanse them well from the slime; set by the blood, and let your seasoning be Salt, Pepper, Currants, Dates, beaten Cinnamon, candy’d Lemon peel and Sugar. Then put them into a pye, when it is bak’d, pour in the blood and a little white Wine, and when you serve it, squeeze in the juice of a small Lemon.
To broil Lampreys
Having taken off the slime, cut them in pieces as you do Eels that you do intend to broil. Melt a lump of Butter, and put to is some shred Chives, Parsley and savoury Herbs with Pepper and Salt; put your pieces of Lamprey into the saucepan, and stir it all well together. Then take them out, and drudge them with very fine crumbs of Bread, and broil them over a gentle fire. Serve them with a brown sauce made as follows: Take a little lump of Butter, put it into the saucepan with a pinch of Flour, and brown it; add some Chives, Parsley and Mushrooms, all shred very small, a few Capers and an Anchovie, and season the whole with pepper and salt; moisten it with a little fish broth, and thicken it with a Cray-fish or other cullis. Pour this sauce into the bottom of your dish, lay your Lamprey all round it, and serve them hot.
We serve it likewise with a sweet sauce made with Wine or Vinegar, a lump of Sugar, a small stick of Cinnamon and a Bay-leaf, all boil’d together. Then we take out the Cinnamon and Bayleaf, pour the sauce into a dish, and lay the broil’d Lamprey round it. So serve it warm.
Sometimes we serve a broil’d Lamprey with oil in this manner. We take some oil and Vinegar, pepper, Salt, a little Mustard, one Anchovie, a few Capers and a little Parsley, shred very small; we beat all this together in a porrenger, then pour it into a saucer, which we place in the middle of the dish, and garnish it all round with our Lampreys, so serve it.
At other times we serve our broil’d Lamprey dry, in plates or little dishes.
To roast LARKS
We never draw our Larks that we intend to roast, nor cut off their feet, but truss them handsomely on the back of them. We lard them will small Lardons, or else split them on a wooden skewer, with a little bard of Bacon between two. When they are almost roasted, we drudge them with powder’d Salt and very small crumbs of Bread; then give them a turn more on the spit, and serve them with Verjuice, Pepper and Salt, and some juice of Orange, having rubb’d the dish with a Shalot. They are likewise eaten dry with Salt and Orange.
To dress Larks in Ragoo
Having drawn your Larks, toss them up in melted Bacon, with an Onion stuck with Cloves, and such ingredients as you have to put to it, as Truffles, Mushrooms, Capons Livers, etc. Toss it up all together, and if you have Cullis, powder it with a little flour, then moisten it with good Beef or Veal Gravy. Let is waste away to the degree it ought, then beat up an Egg in a little Cream, with some shred Parsley amongst it; pour this into your stewpan, give it a turn or two over the stove to thicken it, and take off the fat at the same time, then squeeze in some juice of Lemon and serve it.
To farce Lettuce a la Dame Simone
Take some Cabbage-Lettuce and but just dip them in scalding water to blanch them, then take them out and drain them. Take the breasts of a roasted Capon or Pullet hash it with some boil’d Ham, and some Mushrooms, a little Parsley and some Chives, a little blanch’d Bacon, the crumb of a French roll soak’d in Cream, and the yolks of four or five raw Eggs. Season this with Salt, Pepper, savoury Herbs, and Spices. When it is minced very small, pound it all in a mortar. Next squeeze your Lettuce one by one; then hold them in your hand by the stalk, and spread them leaf by leaf without breaking them, till you come to the little heart, which you must take out, and in the room of it put some of the Farce, and raise up all the leaves one by one over it, then bind it about with a pack thread, and continue to farce all the lettuces in like manner. Next, take two pounds of a fillet of Veal, cut it in slices, and lay them on the Bottom of a stewpan, with some bards of Bacon and some slices of Onion; then cover it and set it a sweating over a stove, that it may brown a little; moisten with half gravy and half broth, and season it with Salt, pepper, Clovers, a Bayleaf, Basil, Parsley and a whole Leek. Place your farc’d lettuces on the bottom of a stewpan and pour the braise upon them to stew them in it. When they are enough done, if you would serve them with a white Sauce, take them out of the stewpan, unbind them, drain them well, and put them again into a stewpan with a white Cullis (See the method of making it in Letter C) which must be thicker than for a Soop; set your Lettuces to simmer in the Cullis, lay them handsomely in the dish, and serve them for Hors-d’Oeuvres in plates or little dishes.
When we serve these Lettuces with a brown sauce, instead of the white Cullis, we make use of the essence of a ham; see how to make it in Letter G. Article Gammon.
At other times we serve them with a Ragoo of Mushrooms, or of Truffles. We use them likewise to garnish all sorts of Soops de Sante; but then instead of stewing them a la Braise, we boil them in good strong broth.
Lastly, we sometimes fry these Lettuces a la Dame-Simone as follows. When they are stewed a la Braise we take them up, unbind the pack thread and set them a draining; then we beat up three or four eggs, and dip the Lettuces in them one by one, and drudge them with the crumb of the whitest Bread, crumm’d very small; after which we fry them in Hog’s Lard till they are very brown, and then serve them on a folded Napkin, with fry’d Parsley for Hors d’Oeuvres. We likewise use them to garnish our dishes of the first course.
To make a Ragoo of Lettuce
Take the Cabbages of the Lettuce, blanch them in boiling water, throw them into cold water, take them out and squeeze them well; then stew them a la Braise as above. When they are stew’d set them a draining, cut them in dice, and set them to simmer in some essence of Ham and a clear Cullis. We serve these Lettuces under a leg of Mutton, or with Partridges, chickens, Pullets, Ducks a la Braise, etc in the same manner as we do other Ragoos of Legumes.
Besides we have another way of making this Ragoo. Instead of stewing the Lettuce a la Braise, when they are blanch’d and squeezed dry, we cut them in dice and put them into a saucepan to simmer in Veal-Gravy and when we are ready to serve, we pour on them some Cullis, and essence of a ham, and use them as above for our dishes of the first course.
To stew Cabbage-Lettuce
Let your Cabbage-Lettuce be clean wash’d in several waters; take twelve for a plate, boil them up in a brass dish of boiling water, half an hour; then take them up with a skimmer, and throw them into cold water, squeeze the water from them one by one, with your hand, and place them into a little saucepan; put to them a quarter of a spoonful of Flour, a Blade of Mace, a Bit of Bacon as big as your thumb, stuck with six Cloves, put to them as much Veal Broth as covers them quite; a little Pepper and Salt; put them over a clear fire an hour before you use them, or more, according to the oldness of your Lettuce; for your Summer Lettuce will not take half the boiling that winter-lettuce will do; then your Broth is boil’d down as thick as a cream about your Lettuce, pour over it a little drawn Butter, and shake your saucepan till it leers together like a fricassee but toss it not for fear of breaking your Lettuce; then slide it all out at once into your plate or little dish, throwing out the bit of Bacon and blade of Mace. Let your garnishing be some toasts of Bread, or fry’d Bread about three inches long and two inches broad each. This is proper for a plate or little dish for supper, or to put under boil’d chickens for dinner; ;then you may add to it a little cream, and the yolk of an Egg, just as you serve it. So serve it.
You may stew Celery or Endive the same way.
LIVERS
Take the Livers of any tame Fowls, as Turkeys, Geese, Capons, Pullets, etc. Take the leanest and mince them with blanch’d Bacon and Marrow, some Truffles, Mushrooms and Veal-sweetbreads, a few Leeks, a little Parsley and the lean of a boil’d Ham of Bacon; mince all this very small and bind it with the yolk of Eggs. Cut a Calf’s or Sheep’s Caul in pieces, according to the bigness of your Livers, so as that you may roll them in it. Lay some of this Farce on the cut caul., and a fat Liver upon it, then some more of the Farce, then another liver, till you have laid the whole on the Caul. Then lay the caul with these livers, that you have thus order’d on a sheet of paper, to fry it in melted bacon; or else put them into a pasty-pan and bake them in the oven. When they are enough, let the fat drain away from them, lay them in a dish, pour some warm gravy on them, season’d with a little pepper and slat, squeeze in some juice of orange and serve them hot.
To dress a Calf’s Liver in a Caul
Take the whitest Calf’s Liver you can get; take off the under skins and shred the liver very small, and with it a Ragoo of Mushrooms and Truffles and a little Parsley. Roast tow Onions in hot embers, and then pull off the outmost coats. Pound a dozen Coriander Seeds and half a dozen Cloves, and put the Onions to them. When they are pounded together, take them out of the mortar, and mix them with the Calf’s Liver. Beat up the yolks of eight new laid Eggs in a Saucepan with half a pint of milk and a pint of milk and a pint of Cream; make it boil over a stove and take care that it do not curdle. Take a pound of Suet, shred it as small as possible, half melt it in a sauce pan, and pour it into your Cream; then put to it your hash’d Liver and mix it all well together, seasoning it with Salt, Pepper and savoury Herbs. Take a stewpan and spread a Caul within it, but so that it may come four inches all round over the edges of it. When the farce is cold, put it into the pan where you have laid your Caul, form it into the Figure of a Calf’s Liver, and fold it up in the same Caul; then turn it upside down in a pastypan or silver dish, rub it with beaten egg, drudge it with crumbs of bread very small and bake it in an Oven. Take care that it be of a fine brown colour; so serve it hot for the first course.
To dress a Calf’s Liver a la Braise
Lard it with large high season’d lardoons. Take a small pot of the size of your Liver; garnish it with bards of Bacon and slices of Beef, cut thin and season’d with Salt, Pepper, Spices, and savoury Herbs, slic’d Onion, Carrots, and Parsnips, some shred Parsley, and a whole Leek; put your Liver into the pot, and season and cover it above as beneath. Cover your pot, and put fire over and under it. Make a Ragoo with Veal sweetbreads, Cocks-combs, Mushrooms, Artichoke bottoms or Asparagus tops, according to the season; toss it up in a sauce pan with melted Bacon; when it is ready, take off the fat very clean, and thicken it with a good Cullis of Veal and Ham. When your Calf’s liver is enough done, take it out of the pot, lay it in a dish, pour your Ragoo upon it, and serve it hot for first course.
At other times we serve this Calf’s Liver dress’d a la Braise with a hashed sauce, or with a Ragoo of Succory or of Cucumbers, or with sliced ham as follows:
Cut some thin slices of a Ham of Bacon and lay them on the bottom of a stew pan; cover it, and set your Ham a sweating. When it begins to stick, moisten it with gravy, let it boil a little, and thicken it with a cullis of Partridges, or with an ordinary cullis. When your Calf’s Liver is stewed a la Braise as before, lay it into your saingaraz, and pour it on your Liver, so serve it hot.
To roast a Calf’s Liver
Take a Calf’s Liver, lard it with small Lardons; fasten it to the spit, and roast it at a gentle fire; when it is roasted, serve it with a Poivrade, or with good Gravy.
To make puddings of a Calf’s Liver
Cut some of the Liver into small dice, and mince the rest with Hog’s Fat, a third part as much as Liver. Season with Salt, Pepper, grated Nutmeg, Cloves and Cinnamon pounded, shred Chives and savoury Herbs. Mix the whole with half a dozen Yolks of Eggs, and a quart, or more of Cream, as you shall see occasion. Put this into guts, as you do marrow-puddings; boil them in white wine with salt and Bayleaves over a gentle fire, and let them cool in the liquor. Broil them and serve them up hot.
To dress Livers with Mushrooms
Take the Livers of tame Fowls, and after having cut off the Galls, take a tart pan cover the bottom with bards of Bacon, and lay the livers upon them; season them then cover them with other bards, and set them to bake in the oven taking care that they dry not too much; take some Mushrooms, pick and wash them well; dry them over the stove, then lay them in a dish with a little Bacon and a drop of Vinegar. Toss up by themselves some slices of a Ham with a little flour and a bunch of Herbs, in melted Bacon; then add to it some Veal Gravy that has no Salt in it; and boil the Livers and the Mushrooms after they are well drain’d, all in the same sauce. Take off all the fat, and serve it warm.
Run a small Bird-Spit through the Lobster’s belly, then tie them fast to the spit with pack thread, and when they crackle, they are enough; lay a whole one, the largest of all in the middle of the dish, butter the rest in the shells, as in the follow Receipt, with Pepper, Lemon and an Anchovie dissolv’d in White wine; mix the whole together, and serve them up with Lemon and Oysters.
To butter Lobsters
Having taken out the Meat, mince it small, and set it to stew gently in a sauce-pan over a stove, with white-wine, Salt, and a blade of mace; when it is very hot, put to it some Butter and Crumbs of Bread. Warm the shells before the fire, fill them with the meat, and so serve them up.
To roast Lobsters alive
Having tied them fast on the spit, baste them with salt and water till they look red, and then with Butter and Salt. Let the Sauce be anchovies dissolved in White Wine, a little pepper, and the Juice of a Lemon.
To broil Lobsters
First broil them, then lay them on the Grid-iron, baste them either with butter alone, or mixed with Vinegar. Let them broil leisurely, and when you think they are enough, serve them up with Butter and Vinegar beat thick, to which put some grated Nutmeg and sliced Lemon.
