When I write of hors-d'oeuvre, it is not only my years at the old Ritz that I recall I think even more nostalgically of the châteaux country of France, where I served my early apprenticeship. As an apprentice for Maison Calondre in Monlins. I used to jog over these roads to the great châteaux, carrying huge hampers of hors-d'oeuvre and other delicacies which I had helped prepare. Upon arrival I had to unpack the baskets and garnish the food for serving. We five apprentis in training soon found out how important this petite entrée course was to the local haut monde, We worked every day. of course —there were no eight-hour days or five- day weeks, then—but on Sundays and holidays we worked hardest of all.
We worked hard and, as you say in America, we worked for love, as we received no pay. On the contrary, we all knew that our fathers were paying good round sums for us to learn our trade and that we had to prove ourselves worthy of the expense by learning our lessons well.
And it is true that preparing this delicious food was really a labor of love. The people we served all had a fine, almost exquisite, feeling for food, an appreciation which was not limited to the gourmets but was shared by all who prepared and supplied the food: chefs and cuisiniers and charcutiers.
I remember, too, how l'Hôtel de Paris and I'Hôtel Dauphin used to purchase from our Maison Calondre all the pastry shells for their petites entrées. However. they prepared the fillings for these pastries in their own kitchens, using the day's leftovers and sauces based on the stock which was regularly made from bones and pieces of meat not suitable for serving in the dining room and was always on hand. At Maison Calondre we also cooked for the buffet restaurant at the railroad station. The Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée Express stopped too briefly at Moulins to give the passengers time to eat anything in the station restaurant, so they used to buy warm little pâtés— deep, two-crust pies—of chicken or turkey or game, when it was in season, to eat on the train with a bottle of wine.
The French often serve hot hors 'doeuvre as the main course of light luncheons. These petites entrées are then sometimes preceded by cold hors d'oeuvre and are usually followed by fresh fruit served au naturel or in a macédoine or compote. Most restaurants in France, even the small table d'hôte restaurants, serve this kind of luncheon. Many Americans also enjoy a light meal in the middle of the day. and hors-d'oeuvre luncheons were a favorite at the old Ritz-Carlton.
The English, instead of eating their hot hors-d'oeuvre before dinner, often serve a savory at the end of the meal, after the sweet or dessert. It usually consists of a tartelette or croustade with a very highly seasoned filling. In this case, what suits the English does not suit the French; the English savory is nor their goût—the Frenchman docs not care for such sharp, biting flavors at the end of dinner. Rabelais expressed the French point of view when he said of these sharp savories, “Ce sont des hors-d'oeuvre endiablés”—they arc hors-d'oeuvre full of the devil.
Hot hors-d'oeuvre consumed with cocktails must be minuscule, so small that they may be readily eaten with the fingers or speared with a toothpick, and so thick in consistency that they are easy to hold. At the table, the hors-d'oeuvre are eaten with a fork, so the pieces may be larger and the fillings may be softer and more fluid.
It is encouraging to know that though the fillings for hot hors-d'oeuvre have a wide variation in flavor, the pattern for preparing them is basically the same. Cooked meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish is combined with mushrooms, truffles, and other vegetables in a rich sauce. selected according to the method of cooking. For example, with coquilles, which are browned in the oven or broiler before serving, the sauce is often of the Mornay type. If you learn how to make some of these fillings, you will easily be able to vary them for use in all types of pastry shells. The trick is to have the fillings for the tiny cocktail choux and brioches not quite so soft and thin as those in the larger bouchbées, croustades, and timbales eaten at the table.
Like cold, hors-d'oeuvre, the hot savories should look as attractive as they taste. A pastry tube will serve you well for this end; useit, for instance, to pur a border of pommes ducbesse around a coquille. Cut and arrange a truffle carefully to top a filling, and brighten up your hors-d'oeuvre assortment with neat sprinklings of paprika. All the dishes that are fried or sautéed should be a nice golden brown. The new automatic deep fryers achieve this result very successfully. They are equipped with baskets for easy draining, and the temperature of the fat has the same automatic controls as a modern oven, thus avoiding the dangers of fat soaked or over browned foods.
Finally, it is well to prepare the hors-d'oeuvre early in the day so that you will be free to devote yourself to your guests. Make your sauces in advance to reheat at the last minute, and drop your pastry into the hot fat just before you arc ready to begin serving. A few minutes' work and you have an abundance of food, beautiful and delicious enough for any party.
Croquettes arc the most popular of all deep-fried hors-d'oeuvre. For most croquettes a thick bechamel sauce is combined with other ingredients The croquette mixture must be well chilled so that it can be shaped into balls, cones. or cylinders. The croquettes are then covered with an anglaise coating and fried in hot deep fat (390° F.).
Béchamel Sauce for Croquettes
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a sauce- pan, stir in 6 tablespoons flour, and cook, stirring, until the roux turns golden. Stir in gradually 1 ½ cups hot milk and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sauce is smooth and very thick. Add ½ teaspoon salt and a little while pepper and stir in 2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg beaten with a little sauce.
Anglaise Coating
To coat the croquettes à Vanglaiose, dip the shaped croquettes in flour and roll them in a mixture made by beating l egg with 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon salad oil, and ½ teaspoon salt. Drain surplus liquid and dip the croquettes in fine dry bread crumbs.
Chicken Croquettes
Combine 2 cups finely diced cooked chicken, 6 cooked mushrooms, finely diced, and 2 cups hot thick béchamel sauce for croquettes (see page 34). Cook, stirring, until the mixture rolls away from the sides of the pan without sticking. Correcr the seasoning with salt and spread the mixture on a flat buttered dish to cool. Shape as desired, coat à I'anglaise, and fry in hot deep fat (390° F.) until golden brown.
Cooked sweetbreads may be substituted for half the chicken, or a few tablespoons of finely chopped truffles or cooked ham may be added.
Lobster Croquettes
Combine 2 cups finely diced cooked lobster, 6 cooked mushrooms, finely diced, 1I tablespoon chopped truffles, and 2 cups hot thick béchamel sauce for croquettes (see page 34). Cook, surfing, until the mixture rolls away from the sides of the pan without sticking. Correct the seasoning with salt and spread the mixture on a flat buttered dish to cool. Shape as desired, coat à l'anglaise, and fry in hot deep fat (390° F.) until golden brown.
Fish Croquettes
Follow the recipe for lobster croquettes, substituting cooked fish, such as haddock, sole, or cod, without the skin or bones, for the lobster.
Fish Balls
Combine 1 cup freshly mashed potato with 1 cup cooked fish, such as haddock, sole, or cod, without the skin or bones. Stir in 2 eggs or i egg yolks. slightly beaten, and cool. Add salt and pepper to taste. Shape into balls, coat à l'anglaise and fry in hot deep fat (390° F.) until golden brown.
Croquettes Printanières
Combine 2 cups finely chopped assorted cooked vegetables with 1 cup béchamel sauce for croquettes (see page 34) and cool. Shape as desired, coat à l'anglaise, and fry in hot deep fat (390° F.) until golden brown.
Coquilles gratinées can be ready to go into the oven when the guests arrive. For the following recipes use real scallop shells or the heatproof glass or porcelain ones.
Coquilles de Volatile à la Parisienne
Mix together small thin slices of cooked chicken and sliced looked mushrooms. Prepare enough Mornay sauce (see below) to hold the mixture together plus an extra ½ cup. Put a narrow border of duchess potatoes (see below) around the edge of baking shells and fill the centers with the chicken mixture. Add 1 or 2 hipped cream to the remaining sauce and spread it over the filling. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, brown in a hot oven (450° F.) or under the broiler flame, and serve immediately.
Sauce Mornay
Beat 3 egg yolks lightly with ¼ cup cream and stir the mixture into 2 cups hot béchamel sauce. Cook, stirring. until the sauce almost reaches a boil, but do not let it boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Swiss cheese.
Pommes de Terre Duchesse (Duchess Potatoes)
Peel 2 pounds of potatoes, cut them into even pieces, and cook in boiling salted water to cover until they arc soft but not mushy. Drain and dry by shaking the pan over the fire until the moisture has evaporated. Rub the potatoes through sieve or put them through a ricer. Add 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, a little nutmeg, and 2 whole eggs slightly beaten with 2 egg yolks and beat the mixture with a spoon until it is fluffy.
Coquilles de Volatile Rossini
Put a border of duchess potatoes (see above) around the baking shells and brown in a hot oven (450° F.). Mix together small thin slices of cooked chicken, slices of truffle, and enough hot thick Madeira sauce to hold the mixture together. Fill the shells with this mixture, top with a slice of goose liver, sautéd in butter, and a slice of truffle and serve immediately.
Madeira Sauce
Reduce 2 cups brown sauce (see January 1953) to 1 cup. Add 1/3 cup Madeira. Bring the sauce to a boil but do not let it actually boil or the fine flavor of the wine will be lost.
Brainsor Sweetbreads en Coquilles
Cut cooked brains or sweetbreads into small, thin pieces. Prepare enough cream sauce (see January 1953) to hold the mixture together, and thicken the Sauce with 1 or 2 egg yolks. Mix all together, fill the baking shells, and brown in a hot oven (450° F.) or under the broiler flame. Serve immediately.
Fish on Coquilles
Cut cooked fish in small pieces. Prepare enough Moroay sauce (see page 36) to hold the mixture together plus an extra ½ cup. Put a narrow border of duchess potatoes around the baking shells and fill the centers with the fish mixture. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons whipped cream to the remaining sauce and spread it over the filling. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, brown in a hot oven (450° F.) or under the broiler flame, and serve immediately.
Sweetbreads Florentine en Coquilles
Dice cooked sweetbreads and heat them in cream sauce (see January 1953). Heat about ½cup cooked, drained spinach in a little butter, Put a narrow border of duchess potatoes around the baking shells and brown in a hot oven (450° F.)or under the broiler flame. Arrange spinach in the center of each shell and cover with the hot creamed sweetbreads. Sprinkle with finely chopped cooked ox tongue or cooked ham and serve immediately.
Oysters and Shrimp en Coquilles
Poach oysters in their own juice for a few minutes, allowing 2 or 3 for each serving. Drain and trim off the beards.Make enough Mornay sauce (see page 36) to mix with the oysters plus an extra ½ cup. Put a narrow border of duchess potatoes around the baking shells. Arrange oysters and sauce with 1 or 2 shrimp in the center. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons whipped cream to the remaining sauce and spread it over the filling. Sprinkle with grated cheese, brown in a hot oven (450° F.) or under the broiler flame, and serve immediately.
Tiny open tarts filled with savory mixtures, browned in the oven, and served hot are called tartelettes or barquettes. The round ones are tastelettes and the oval ones, barquettes. Roll out flaky pie dough very thinly and cut it into the right size and shape for the special little molds, either fluted or . plain. Fit the cutouts into the molds and press the dough firmly against the bottom and sides. Prick the dough, cover with wax paper, and fill the molds with rice or dried beans so the dough won't rise out of shape during baking. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375°- 400° P.) for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the rice or beans (they can be used over and over again) and the wax paper. Unmold and fill the pastry shells as desired.
Tartelettes Homard de Maine
Mix together finely diced cooked lobster with thick hot sauce américaine and fill the pastry shells. Sprinkle with fine bread crumbs sautéed in butter until golden brown amd heat thoroughly in a hot oven (400° F.).
Sauce Américaine
Cook 4 cups stewed tomatoes until most of the liquid has cooked away and Strain through a line sieve.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and add 2 shallots, finely chopped, 1 clove of garlic, and 1 tablespoon each of chopped parsley and chervil, Add (he tomato puree and simmer until the shallots are soft. Remove the clove of garlic, add 2 tablespoons brandy, and cook for a few minutes without lining the sauce boil.
Oysters Bourguignonne en Barquettes
Poach small oysters in their own liquor for a few minutes and drain well. Put them in pastry shells and cover them with escargot butter, made by creaming butter with finely chopped shallots and garlic. Sprinkle with fine crumbs made from water crackers and browning a hot oven (450° F.) or under the broiler flame.
Mussels Poulette en Barquettes
Steam 18 to 20 well-scrubbed mussels with 2 finely chopped shallots or 1 small white onion and ½ cup white wine for 6 to 8minutes, or until the shells open. Remove the mussels from their shells, draining all the liquor from them into the wine in the pan. Cook the liquor until it is reduced to about 1/3 and chicken it with manié better. made by creaming together 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon Hour. Add 1 teaspoon on chopped parsley and 4 or 5 cooked mushrooms, thinly sliced, combine the sauce and mussels, and turn into pastry shells. Sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in a hot oven (450° F.).
Tartclettes Rachel
Mix together equal parts of finely diced cooked mushrooms and truffles and add enough hot cream sauce (see January 1953) to hold the mixture together. Fill pastry shells, sprinkle with fine bread crumbs sautéed in butter until golden brown, and place a small slice of sweetbread sautéed in butter on top of each. Bake in a hot oven (400° F.) for 2 to 3 minutes, or until very hot.