To French gourmets September is the month of la renaissance culinaire and let no one tell you that connoisseurs don't look forward to this gastronomic awakening. To them, summer's languid days are like Lent, an interim of culinary restrictions endured, however, not because of religion, but became of Nature and the lethargy she imposes on appetites. The summer entracte is a fine way, as all of us well know, to recover from too much, too rich, too robust eating—an excellent way to get in shape to start all over again. And all we need to get us started are a few cool days in September and the sight of the fall delicacies that have returned: game birds and oysters, to name but two.
In those long past years when I was in Moulins, serving my apprenticeship at the Maison Colondre, one of our fall game specialties was lark pâté. We made them in great numbers for the Society people who opened up their chateaux in the neighboring countryside during the hunting season. We bought the birds from a farmer's wife, la mèere Françoise, who came each day with our milk and cream. I can still see her arriving in the morning with her big covered basket, lifting out the bundles of tiny, tiny birds—carefully tied together near the feet—which she sold in lots of a dozen. We apprentices had in pluck them, hundreds and hundreds during the course of the season, and it wasn't easy. But the patience, care, and infinite pains that it took to make those lark pâtés were a kind of discipline for which I am very grateful. It has made many tasks seem simple to me that, to others, were unbearably tedious and arduous.
Partridge were another favorite. They too are small game, smaller than pheasant, for instance, though certainly a lot bigger than lark. These birds 1 knew well. As a child I had learned about them during vacations from school my grandpère's farm. We would see them in the wheat and potato fields. where the mother birds usually laid their eggs. I remember that my uncle would watch for partridge eggs when he was cutting the hay that ripened in June. When he found any the would give them to my aunt, who hatched them under a hen and then raised them in her voliére—a large cage made especially for this purpose. When fall came she sold them along with the ones my uncle shot. And a very worthwhile little project this selling of partridge was. for every restaurant was avid to get them and was willing to pay a premium price—with the result that 1 never tasted partridge until I was in training to be a chef in Moulins.
At Monsieur Calondre's catering establishment in Moulins there were always five to seven of us apprentis in training, and we took turns going with the delivery man to the chateaux with the vol-au-vents, pâtés, frozen desserts, petits fours and so on, the specialties which were seldom prepared in their own kitchens. Unpacking them, unmolding them if necessary, and putting on the final garnishes was our responsibility. Our delivery vehicle with its maroon-colored enclosed body, glass windows and two side doors was really quite elegant. The carefully packed hampers of food were loaded inside and the driver and apprenti rode together on the high front seat perched at about the level of the roof. I rather enjoyed getting out of the hot kitchen at the end of the day and sitting behind two fine horses as they trotted along a country road, lined as they were in that section with evenly spaced trees trimmed to a matching tidiness. Then, when we got to the big kitchen of the chateau where a grand party was in progress, it wasn't unpleasant to wait with the cooks and servants until it was time to serve up our sauce vol-au-vents or elegantly garnished ice creams.
September also brings back oysters, which have been off the market during the “r-less” months. Oysters, of all hors-d'oeuvre, are the never-failing favorite of gourmets. Tor the first oysters of the season, serve them nature, well chilled with just a little lemon to accent their fine fresh flavor, Lobsters, too, are usually very good in September and probably more profuse than in the summer months, when many shed their shells and cannot be eaten. When I first came to New York it was a source of tremendous satisfaction to be able to get such quantities of good lobsters so easily. And as with any Other ambitious Chef, my immediate desire was to serve them in new ways. The recipe in this menu—which blends the flavors of wine, onion, carrot, a—was one way. I called the dish lobster à la Française and it soon became such a favorite that we put it on the menu once a week.
I can't pass September by without also calling your attention to fall mushrooms, and that special French kind called cèpes which are now obtainable in this country in cans. In France they are a favorite accompaniment for lamb. which has reached its full maturity at this time of year and, if properly fed and fattened, is as tender as spring lamb and more flavorful.
This menu, as you can see, brings together a gourmet's treasure trove of early fall foods. It is the menu for a truly regal dinner, with an interesting variety of flavors and many rich sauces. For most people, I'd suggest small servings and no scarcity of crusty bread.
The first service of wine should come with the lobster and for it a good choice would be a Puligny-Montracher or a Meursault 1947. With the noisette d'aguneau serve a Pontet-Canet 1943, with the partridge a Gevrey-Chambertin 1947, and a good champagne with the dessert. With the coffee a fine cognac, of course, and also a selection of liqueurs.
Crème de Champignons or Crème Forestière (Cream of Mushroom Soup)
In a saucepan melt 4 tablespoons butter and stir in ½ cup flour. Cook slowly until the mixture turns golden. Add gradually 5 cups chicken stock and cook, stirring, until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Tie together the white part of 2 leeks and 2 stalks of celery (if leeks are unobtainable use 1 small onion) and add the vegetables to the sauce with ½ teaspoon salt and a few chicken bones or a veal knuckle, par-boiled for a few minutes and then washed in cold water. Simmer slowly for 1 hour.
In another pan melt 1 tablespoon butter and in it sauté 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion until golden. Add ½ pound of mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped, and cook all together until most of the moisture is cooked away. Add the mushroom mixture to the soup and continue to cook for another hour. Skim if necessary. Remove bones, leeks, and celery, and rub the liquid through a fine sieve. Add ¾ cup cream and a little more stock or milk if the soup is too thick. Bring to a boil and correct the seasoning with salt. Mix 1 egg yolk with ¼ cup heavy cream and a little of the hot soup and stir it into the soup. Bring the soup almost to a boil, stirring constantly, and serve immediately.
Homard à la Française (Lobster Française)
Split lengthwise 3 live lobsters, each weighing 1 ¾ to 2 pounds (or 6 lobsters if they weigh less than a pound). Discard the sand sac at the back of head and the intestinal vein. Remove the claws. Season the lobsters with a little salt and pepper. Slice very thinly 3 medium carrots and 5 small onions, cover with water, and parboil 5 minutes. Drain. In a large shallow saucepan melt 3 tablespoons butter, spread the carrots and onion on it, and add 1 chopped shallot and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley. Place the lobsters with the claws in the pan and add 1 cup each of dry while wine and fish stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pun, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the lobsters are done. Remove the lobsters to a serving dish, remove the meat from the shells, discarding the inedible parts. and return the edible meat to the shells along with the vegetables from the pan. Remove the meat from the claws, arrange it near the heads of the lobsters and keep warm. Cook the liquid in the pan until it is reduced to one-third and add 1 ½ cups cream sauce. Correct the seasoning with salt and finish with 2 tablespoons butter. When ready to serve, add 3 tablespoons cognac to the sauce, bring to a boil, and pour the sauce over the hot lobsters Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon each of chopped parsley and chives.
Cream Sauce far Lobster Francaise
In a saucepan melt 3 to 4 tablespoons butter, add 3 tablespoons flour, and mix well. Cook the roux for a few minutes and add gradually 2 cups boiling milk, stirring constantly with a whip. Add ½ teaspoon salt and cook the sauce for 45 minutes over very low heat. Add ½ cup cream, bring back to a boil, and strain through a fine sieve.
Noisette d'Agneau Mont pewter (Kernel of Lamb Moutpensier)
Carefully remove the meat from each side of a saddle of lamb, cutting it out in lengthwise pieces. Trim away any sinews. Cut each piece crosswise into 4 or 6 slices and saute the slices in good fat or broil them for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. The meat should be a little pink when done à point. Place a slice of sautéed goose liver on each piece of meat and on the goose liver place a slice of truffle.
Cèpes à la Bordelaise
Drain a 1-pound can of cèpes. Cover the cèpes with hot water, drain, and dry them on a towel. Leave the small ones whole; cut the larger ones in pieces. Cover the bottom of a shallow pan with salad oil, heat the oil until it is very hot. and add the cèpes. Cook the cèpes until golden brown, turn them out of the pan, and drain the oil from them. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in the pan. add the cèpes, and season them with salt and pepper. Add 1 clove of garlic, crushed, and 1 tablespoon each of Chopped shallots, parsley, and fresh bread crumbs. Cook until the crumbs are golden brown, shaking the pan constantly to combine the ingredients. Serve very hot.
Aubergine à I'Orientale (Eggplant à l'Oriental)
Peel 2 eggplants and slice them ¼ inch thick. Allow 3 to 4 slices for each serving. Season the slices with salt and pepper, dip them in milk, ami dredge with Hour. Fry the slices in hot deep fat or saute in butter until golden brown and drain on absorbent paper.
Prepare a Portugaise sauce as follows: In a saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter, add 1 tablespoon chopped shallot and 4 or 5 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped, and cook until most of the moisture from the tomatoes has evaporated. Stir in 1 cup cream sauce, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Remove the sauce from the heat and combine it carefully with 3 egg yolks, beaten with 3 tablespoons cream and a little of the hot sauce. Finish the sauce with 1 to 2 tablespoons butter. Arrange half the cooked eggplant in a shallow heat-proof serving dish, cover with half the sauce, and add the remaining eggplant.
Add 2 tablespoons whipped cream to the remaining sauce and pour it over the eggplant. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan or dry Swiss cheese and cook in a hot oven (450° F.) or under the broilerflame until the top is brown.
Perdreau Rôti sur Canapé (Roast Young Partridge on Toast)
Clean 6 small or 3 large partridge and truss (he legs close to the bodies. Cover the breasts with sliced fat salt pork or bacon and tic the slices in place. Season with salt. Place the birds on their sides in a roasting pan and spread them with good fat. Roast the partridge in a hot oven (450° F.) for 30 to 35 minutes depending upon their size, basting often. Turn the birds on their backs and continue to cook for about 5 minutes longer, or until they are done. To test when done, lift up the bird and let the juice run out of it; If the juice is clear, with no pink tinge, the bird is done. (If the birds are preferred a little pink, roast them on their sides for 25 to 30 minutes only.)
Remove the partridge from the oven and take off the trussing strings amd the pieces of fat pork. Set aside the pork while making the gravy. Pour all of the fat from the pan, add 1 tablespoon butter and, when it melts, add ½ cup water or stock. Cook, stirring in all the brown crustiness around the pan, and Strain into a gravy boat. Serve a whole or half bird, according to size, on toast spread with rouennaise (see August, 1954) and garnish with the pieces of browned fat pork or bacon. Pass the gravy separately.
Poire Belle Dijonnaise (Pears Dijon Style)
Boil 1 quart water with 1 ½ cups sugar and half a vanilla bean for 5 minutes. Skim. Peel 6 pears, leaving them whole, and brush them with lemon juice. Put the pears in the boiling syrup and simmer until tender but not too soft. If a clean napkin or a piece of heavy cheese cloth is placed on top of the fruit (to hold it down under the surface of the liquid) it will prevent the part of that fruit which tends to rise out of (he liquid from darkening. Let the pears cool in the syrup.
Fill a ring mold with raspberry ice and put it in the freezing compartment or freezer. When ready to serve, unmold the ice and arrange the pears around or in (he center of the ice. Coat with sauce ricbe (sec August, 1954) flavored with prunelle liqueur instead of kirsch. Decorate with crystallized violets and, if desired, with spun sugar.