Every great chef is something of an artist. The potager, the saucier, the rôtisseur-the chef who keeps close to the soup kettle, the saucepan, or the roasting oven-encounters few artistic problems. But in the departments where salads, appetizers, aspics, pastries, and desserts are made, and garnishing and decorations are of major importance, the chef is lost if he is not a little bit the artist. At the very least, he must have good taste to guide a deft hand and knowing eye.
Fashions in food embellishment change with the times; unlike recipes, they rapidly become outdated. How ridiculous the elaborate 19th-century decorations would look on today's simpler tables! Yet some garnishing tricks have stood the test of time because they are in good taste. It is with these garnishes, and the basic rules that apply to them, that this class in classic cuisine deals.
Classic French cuisine assigns prime importance to the appearance of food. A plat must be enticing, it must pique the appetite. And in the finest French cooking, it must also have an air of sophistication. The embellishment must never be heavy-handed, never gauche, never overdone. The artist-chef has a light touch-and he strives to achieve tasteful design and garnishes of suitable size, shape, and color. He can indulge in humor, too. and in sentiment decorations très gai for New Year's Eve, tres doux for an anniversary.
I will never forget the flair Theodore Tzarvas, the famous Theodore who was maitre d'hôtel at the old Ritz-Carlton roof garden, had for that sort of thing, or the way he had of making more work for the kitchen, usually when we were busiest. When guests whom Theodore knew well and liked gave formal dinners, he would promptly ascertain the color of the hostess” gown. Hurrying into action, we would create a pink or green or yellow mousse or bombe for dessert-or sometimes one in two colors to match the lady's dress. Then Theodore would take the exquisite bombe in on a shining silver platter and say, 'To match your gown. Madame.” It was most impressive. Only favorites received this accolade.
When the reference is to food. the words “garnish” and “decoration” mean practically the same thing-but not quite. In French cooking, anything served with a dish is spoken of as the “garniture.” Vegetables, for instance. that are put in the stew with the meat, are often called “la garniture.” But the piped figures on petits fours and patterns arranged on aspic-covered food-these are “decorations.” Garnishes are often, but not always, decorations, and decorations are often, but not always, garnishes.
A careful look at garnished dishes in restaurants, in pictures, or at formal dinners or buffets will give you many ideas, and a few simple rules will help you carry them out. A sharp knife is your best tool.
Consider first the over-all effect. Choose a dish large enough to hold food and garnish without crowding, and never, never let the garnish spill over the edge; there should be a definite border of china or silver. Select a flat plate for a frozen bombe, a cake, or a pâté that must be sliced, then keep the garnish out of the way of the server. A garnish of stuffed vegetables is one thing around chops, which have merely to be lifted off the plate, quite another when it gets in the way of a carver slicing a ham. Put only as much sauce-if there is any-on a platter as it can comfortably hold; pass the remainder in a sauceboat.
Now, take color. The most popular color, because it is the easiest to come by, is the green of parsley and water cress. The bright accents of tomato and pimento arc the red favorites; hard-cooked egg provides white and yellow; truffles and black olives, black. Suppose you decide to garnish a cold main dish with tomato. Peel firm, rather small tomatoes that are bright red. Here are some of the ways you can use them:
Cut off the tops, gently squeeze out the surplus juice, and fill the tomatoes with a salad made either of seeded and finely sliced cucumbers or of finely diced vegetables. Replace the tops and on each put a tiny tip of parsley. Or cut the tomatoes in eighths and make fan shapes with hard-cooked eggs that have been cut in quarters or sixths. Or place slices of hard-cooked egg on tomato slices and top each with a center of a slice of ripe or stuffed green olive. Or overlap very thin tomato slices around a dish and sprinkle them with a band of finely chopped parsley. Whole stuffed tomatoes show up best on nests of small lettuce leaves; slices look best with a few sprigs of parsley or water cress tucked sparingly around them.
Because parsley is not only the easiest garnish to get, but the quickest and simplest to use, it has become the backbone, so to speak, of the garnishing art. Handle it, however, with discretion. Use a large quantity only around such a dish as a whole cold turkey on a large platter. Ordinarily, a few sprigs will serve. Show off only the leafy part of whole parsley; tuck the stems, cut short, under the food. Prepare chopped parsley this way: bunch the stems in your left hand, lay the bouquet of leaves on the cutting board, and make fine, even cuts from the leaf tips back. Discard the stems, and placing the point of the knife on the board, rock the blade up and down over the cut parsley until you have fine uniform bits.
You should also be acquainted with mimosa, bouquets de légumes. and certain aspic decorations. Mimosa is a mixture of hard-cooked egg and parsley. the egg white and parsley chopped very, very line and the yolk pressed through a fine sieve. This is simple to prepare and very attractive sprinkled in a band around appetizers or salads, or used in the center. A bouquet de légumes usually includes-and your aim here is daintiness and colorfulness-string beans cut in small pieces, peas, little Lima beans. small white turnip and carrot dice, and flowerets of cauliflower, all cooked until barely tender in salted water. Dress the vegetables with butter and make parsley decorated mounds around hot food; for Cold platters, dress them with a little vinaigrette and make dainty piles in lettuce nests.
When you decorate aspies first get all the materials ready on your board; if you are lining a mold, set it in a bowl of cracked ice to keep the aspic firm as you work. Aspic decorations include hardcooked egg, tarragon leaves, and truffles -or their substitute, black olives. Chefs usually make daisies of eggs, the white cut to simulate small petals and the center made of sieved yolk. There are special cutters to make fancy shapes of truffles and olives. Pinch off and discard the tarragon steins, cover the leaves with boiling water, plunge them into cold water, then drain them and dry them carefully on a paper towel. You will find tarragon prepared this way pliable and easy to arrange gracefully. A final word before we go on to the preparation of the ham mousse that is on GOURMET'S cover this month. Many of the basic formulas for aspic dishes were given in GOURMET for July 1 suggest that you refer to the “Classes in Classic Cuisine” article in that issue when necessary.
Mousse de Jambon (Ham Mousse)
Coat a mold-or individual molds with aspic and as the aspic Congeals, arrange on it in an attractive pattern truffles cut in fancy shapes. Or you may use hard-cooked eggs cut in various shapes and tarragon leaves, or chervil and parsley. Chill the aspic thoroughly so that the decorations adhere firmly, then coat the mold with another layer of aspic and chill it. Fill the coated mold with prepared mousse and again chill it thoroughly.
To make the mousse, put 2/3 cup cooked lean ham, cut in pieces, through the food grinder two or three times. (If you use highly seasoned Virginia h3m, ½ cup will be enough.) You should have a little more than ½ cup firmly packed ground ham. Add 1 cup stock or consomme, 1 cup tomato juice, and ½ teaspoon paprika. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook it slowly until it is reduced to two-thirds the original quantity. Force the mixture through a sieve or puree it in an electric blender and add to it 2 tablespoons gelatin that has been softened in 4 tablespoons cold water. Cool the mixture and chill it in the refrigerator, stirring it occasionally. When it starts to congeal, fold in with a spatula 1 cup cream, whipped. Add 1 tablespoon Sherry and correct the seasoning with salt. Turn the mixture into the decorated mold.
To serve the mousse, unmold it onto a serving dish. Individual molds of ham mousse are sometimes served with a cold trimmed poached egg on top of each, or they may be unmolded onto slices of chicken breast.
Boeuf à la Mode en Gelée (Jellied Braised Beef)
Soak 12 strips of larding pork in brandy, sprinkle the strips with parsley and lard a 4-pound piece of beef cut from the rump, Sprinkle the meat with salt, freshly ground pepper and a little grated nutmeg, put it in a large mixing bowl and cover it with the following marinade: Combine 1 small onion and 1 small carrot, thinly sliced, 3 sprigs of parsley, 1/8 teaspoon thyme, 2 whole cloves, 1 large bay leaf, crushed, 2 tarragon leaves. 6 bruised peppercorns, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1 cup red wine and ¼ cup water. Put the bowl in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning the meat occasionally in the marinade.
Dry the meat thoroughly and scar it quickly on all sides in 3 tablespoons hot lard in a heavy skillet. Transfer the meat to a heavy kettle or Dutch oven. Discard the fat from the skillet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon Hour into the skillet and add ½ cup water. Cook, stirring in all the brown bits and juices in the pan. Pour this sauce over the meat in the Dutch oven, add the strained marinade, 1 cup cooked tomatoes or ½ cup tomato purée, 2 calf's feet that have been cleaned, split and blanched, some veal bones, 2 cups red wine, 3 tablespoons brandy, 1 small clove garlic, crushed, and 1 bay leaf tied with a few tops of green celery and 4 sprigs of parsley. Cover the pot, bring the liquid to a boil and braise the meat in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 3 hours. Turn the meat twice dating the cooking.
Transfer the meat to another kettle. remove the calf's feet, skim all the fat from the surface of the liquid and strain the liquid over the meat. Add 12 small young carrots and 12 small white onions. Remove the meat from the calf's feet, cut the meat into small tubes and add it to the kettle with the meat. Cover the kettle tightly, return it to the oven and continue cooking for I hour or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the meat from the kettle and cool it. When the meat is cold, place it on a serving dish and chill it in the refrigerator. Remove the onions and the carrots and chill them. Strain the sauce, add ½ cup Madeira and cool it. Arrange the meat with the vegetables around it and spread the sauce over them. Chill until the sauce is congealed, then coat the whole with clear aspic. Or slice enough of the meat for the first serving, arrange the slices in front of the rump and coat the meat and the vegetables as indicated above.
Oeufs Pocbés Rachel (Poached Eggs Rachel)
Poach 6 eggs, trim them evenly and put them on a rack to cool. Prepare white cbaud-froid sauce, using sauce supréme for the base. Coat the cold eggs with the cold sauce, chill them until the sauce is set and repeat twice more to give each egg a generous coating. Fill the hollows of 6 cooked and chilled artichoke bottoms with mousse de foie gras and set one of the coated eggs on each. Decorate the eggs with sliced truffles or with tarragon leaves and chervil, Chill thoroughly and finish with a final coat of aspic.
Mousse de Volatile en Gelée (Jellied Chicken Mousse)
Cut up enough freshly poached breast of chicken to make 2 cups and put the chicken through the finest blade of the food chopper with I cup sauce velouté made with chicken stock (page 52). Rub the mixture through a fine sieve and cool it. Gradually add to it 2 cups chicken aspic. If the aspic does not jell. reheat it and add 1 tablespoon gelatin softened in ¼ cup cold water Fold in 1 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff. and season the mixture to taste. Coat the inside of a large mold (or individual molds) with clear aspic and decorate it with miffles cut in fancy shapes. Chill until the aspic is set, and coat again with more aspic. When the second coat of aspic is set. fill the mold with the chicken mixture and chill thoroughly. To serve, unmold on a chilled serving dish.
Chicken Pie in Jelly
Remove the breasts from a tender 3to 3 ½-pound chicken and cut each breast in two pieces. Remove the skin and bones from the second joints and cut each joint in two pieces. Put the meat in a casserole and add 8 to 10 mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, a little pepper. 1 glass (3 ounces) Sherry and 1 quart chicken aspic. Cover the casserole with a rich dough, slash the dough in a decorative pattern, and bake the pic in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool the pie and chill it in the refrigerator until the jelly sets. Carefully lift off the crust and garnish the filling with sliced cooked ham and sliced hard-cooked eggs. Replace the crust, cover it with a glaze of clear aspic jelly, and sprinkle it with chopped parsley.
Poularde Jeannette (Chicken Jeannette)
Tic the legs and wings of a cleaned and singed capon, or large roasting chicken, close to the body. Poach the capon in chicken broth only until the meat is tender and a fork inserted in the second joint brings no red juke; the skin and bones should be firm. This will take 1 hour or longer, depending upon the bird's size. Drain the bird thoroughly and let it cool. Remove all the breast meat and slice it. With kitchen scissors, carefully cut away the breastbones, leaving wings and legs attached to the back with their skin intact. Restore the bird to its original shape by filling the cavity with alternate layers of mousse of goose liver and rouennaise (below) and sliced breast meat. Put the bird on a rack and coat it generously with white cbaudfroid. Chill it. When the sauce is firm, decorate the re-formed breast with truffles cut in fancy shapes, with tarragon leaves or chervil, or with daisies made of hard-cooked eggs (page 32). Coat the chicken with clear aspic and chill it. Serve it on a dish that has been coated with aspic, or surround it with chopped aspic.
Mousse de Foie Gras et Rouennaise (Mousse of Goose Liver and Rouennaise)
In a shallow pan, cook until brown 2 tablespoons fat salt pork cut in fine dice. Add 1 cup duck or chicken livers, a little thyme, 1 bay leaf, ½ teaspoon salt, and a little pepper, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes longer. Stir in 1 tablespoon Cognac. Force the mixture through a fine sieve or puree it in an electric blender, and let it cool. Rub 1 cup purée of foie gras through a fine sieve and combine it with the rouennaise liver mixture. Cream thoroughly ½ cup butter. Set the saucepan containing the liver mixture in a bowl of cracked ice and with a wooden spoon gradually work in the creamed butter. Correct the seasoning with salt.
Poularde Rose Marie (Chicken Rose Marie)
Prepare a capon or a large roasting chicken as described for poularde Jeannette (above).
While the chicken is cooling, prepare the following tomato mousse: Soften 2 ½ tablespoons gelatin in 1 cup tomato juice, then heat the juice to dissolve the gelatin. Add 1 cup tomato puree, a little paprika, and ½ teaspoon salt. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Chill the mixture until it begins to congeal, stirring it occasionally. Fold in 1 cup cream, whipped. For a deeper color, add a few drops red vegetable coloring.
Restore the original shape of the bird by filling the cavity with alternate layers of tomato mousse and sliced breast meat. Smooth the surface with a wet spatula and decorate it with thin sections of tomato in flower patterns, with leaves of tarragon or chervil, or with daisies made of hard-cooked eggs (page 32). Coat the chicken with aspic and chill it.
Serve poularde Rose Marie on a platter coated with aspic and garnish it with tiny tomatoes filled with vegetable salad or cucumber salad (July, 1956).
File of Sea Bass à l'Orientale
Spread 1 tablespoon butler in a large shallow pan, add 1 tablespoon chopped shallot or onion and arrange on top 6 filets of sea bass, or other fish, seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Add 1 glass (4 ounces) white wine and ½ cup fish stock (page 52). Cover the pan with a circle of wax paper with a tiny hole in the center, adjust the lid, cover the pan, and cook the fish for 10 to 12 minutes, until it flakes readily. Remove the filets to a rack to cool. Reduce the liquid in the pan to a third of its original quantity and add a generous pinch of chopped saffron and 1 tablespoon gelatin softened in ¼ cup cold water. Peel, seed and chop 3 tomatoes and cook them until soft, add 1 cup tomato puree, cook 5 to 10 minutes and add 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley and tarragon, mixed, and 1 teaspoon chopped chives. Correct the seasoning with salt and add a little freshly ground pepper. Combine this sauce with the gelatin mixture and chill it. When the gelatin begins to congeal, coat the fish filets. Arrange the filets in a serving dish, garnish the dish with lobster claws or with shrimp, and cover all with clear aspic Arrange cucumber salad (July, 1956) in lettuce nests around the fish.
Turban Crustaces en Gelée (Ring of Shellfish in Aspic)'
Coat a ring mold with aspic. When the aspic begins to set, arrange slices of hard-cooked egg all around the sides of the mold, and garnish the bottom with capers and sliced ripe olives. Chill well. Add 1 teaspoon prepared mustard, ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and ½ teaspoon mixed chopped tarragon, chervil and chives to 2 cups mayonnaise chaud-froid. Combine this sauce with 1/3 cup shrimp cut in pieces, 1/3 cup diced lobster and 1 cup lump crab meat. Fill the mold with the seafood salad and cover the salad with a layer of clear aspic. Chill until thoroughly set. Spread a thin layer of clear aspic On a serving dish and chill it until set. Unmold the salad on the dish and garnish it with tomatoes stuffed with cucumber salad (July, 1956).