Strange to say, la cuisine does not begin in the kitchen. That is a paradox, seemingly, but it is true; a gourmet meal does not begin in the kitchen, no, nor even in the market. A truly memorable repast begins with its menu, and that, as any chef knows, must be planned before the marketing is done and long before the cooking begins. Judging from my experience in planning parties for the guests at the old Ritz-Carlton, I feel sure that menu planning is a bewildering chore for most hosts and hostesses. And unfortunately it is true that all the good foods that you may buy, all the fine dishes you may make, all the eye-catching garnishes over which you work and work, will suffer a gastronomic defeat if the menu itself has been poorly planned. So a lesson in menu-making should not be overlooked, among these classes in the classic cuisine.
There are many ways to approach menu-making, each with its special advantages, and all of them good. For example, menus may be based on the availability of certain seasonal foods, or, on the other hand, on the very difficulty of obtaining foods not in season. And if the latter approach seems surprising, let me remind you that the dinners of some very well known hostesses became famous just because the guests knew chat something out of season and from far away would always be served, such as melon, strawberries, and asparagus when the snow was a foot deep, Dover sole from the English Channel, pré-salé lamb from the salt meadows of France. Other cooks take equal pride in serving the best of local products, bought at the height of each season. These gourmets believe that nothing can surpass the foods supplied by nature right at your door, eaten at the very moment when they are in their prime. I must admit that I tend to lean, myself, just the least bit in that direction.
Also, there are the menus for special occasions, the ones which require traditional foods. Thanksgiving, for instance, calls for its turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin or mince pie, and deviations are frowned on; such a menu is de rigueur. There are menus planned around the tastes of guests with known dislikes, or those for whom certain foods are proscribed because of diets or allergies. And, enfin, there is the best kind of menu, the one planned by an especially thoughtful person who remembers the foods that he and his guest have enjoyed together in the past; in effect, a nostalgic' menu. A memorable supper I had on my last trip to France immediately comes to mind.
About seventy miles south of Paris the famous cathedral city of Vézelay rises out of the otherwise level countryside. Its dramatic charm and beauty, and its history that goes back to the Crusades, made the friends with whom I was traveling want to stop there on our way to the Burgundy wine country. And I was more than pleased because I would be e to see an old friend who was living in retirement in the little town of Saint-Père, tucked under the hillside in the shadow of the great cathedral. My letter to him brought an invitation to dinner. Monsieur Chapuis had owned and managed one of the finest hotels in that area, and no one could be better qualified to serve an elaborate dinner, perfect in every detail. No one, either, would have been more happy to do so, but Monsieur was a devout Catholic, and the day, Good Friday, required a simple meatless supper. However, any gourmet would have pronounced this simple supper a perfect one. The thing that made it so wonderful to me was the fact that Monsieur had gone out of his way to put together a menu that included the country foods he knew I loved, and would not find in the restaurants we visited-the simple foods I had eaten at home as a boy in France.
This was the menu: Hors-d'oeuvre of sardines, stuffed eggs on nests of shredded lettuce, and a lightly dressed potato salad the sight of which took me back fifty years to the days when I watched my mother make a potato salad like this. Then, fresh brook trout caught that afternoon in the stream that ran alongside the chateau, a beautiful dish of the fish laid diagonally in precise order on a long silver fish platter, each glistening with golden brown beurre à la meunière, each topped with a parsley-Sprinkled slice of lemon. How many trout had my brother and I caught long ago in the turbulent streams near our Bourbonnais home and eaten, like these, only an hour or two out of the water! liven the pnmmes frites were cut and cooked as I remembered them at home, about half the size of those that we serve in America, fried to a light color, and as crispy outside as the tenters were soft. But for me the pièce de résistance, la grande surprise, was the next course. A large oval bowl with two rounds of cheese in it was brought in. Cheese, mon dieu, just like my petite grand'-mère had made on the farm-I hadn't tasted its like in years. This is a soft type that is served with a spoon and eaten with a little very heavy cream and a sprinkling of fine sugar, a cheese that has lightness and delicacy like cottage cheese and the fine smoothness of cream cheese without, however, the ilatter's compact richness. And we finished this supper with a confiture of pears, made from home-grown fruits, an amber-colored conserve in which the succulent pieces of fruit were large and quite firm. I only wish that I could repeat again, on any Good Friday, this supper.
The rules of menu-making are built primarily around the utilization of flavor and texture, particularly of such Characteristics as tart or sweet, strong or delicate, crisp or smooth, firm or soft, to achieve interesting and delecte combinations. There is also, of course, the need for good common sense.
Let us start our little lesson in menu-making with common sense. This involves such mailers as selecting foods appropriate to a place or a season—hot soups and hearty entrees in cold weather, chilled dishes when the thermometer is climbing to uncomforte heights. It means that the host or hostess who is also the cook should decide upon dishes that can be prepared and served with comparative ease—certainly not more than one complicated spécialté in a menu, certainly some dishes that can be made or started ahead, perhaps the day before. Common sense reminds you that a few perfect courses are always to be preferred to a profusion of poorly prepared dishes. And when guests have been invited, common sense warns you against recipes that are inconvenient, if not impossible, to prepare and serve well because enough time, or a special skill, or unusual equipment is lacking, It also tells you to avoid foods that may be unaccepted to guests even though they are favorites of yours; kidneys, brains, even certain root vegetables, for example, are borderline foods for many American tastes.
In building a menu from beginning to end, it is best to decide first on the pièce de résistance or main course and then select foods that are both contrasting and harmonious to precede and to follow it. Try to alternate courses that are mild flavored and smooth in texture with those that are piquant and crisp, or have a contrasting texture. Sautéed, fish, for example, can follow a cream soup, and a green salad is right just before a rich frozen mousse. In a long menu of many courses, the fact that a good menu does not include the same kind of meat or fish in more than one course should be obvious. But less obvious to some people is the fact that no type of food should be repeated too often through a meal, a rule which applies to everything, from highly spiced foods or creamed mixtures to fruits. Par example, a dinner that starts with a fruit appetizer, includes a fruit accompaniment with the main dish, and then ends with a fruit dessert, has not been wisely planned. In the same way, the profusion of delicious creamed dishes there is to choose from makes it only too easy to forget that a cream soup, cream sauce, creamy salad dressing and a crème dessert in one menu will not do. Also, one must be very careful to avoid having too many rich sauces in a meal. If the fish entrée is richly sauced, serve the meat au jus. But if you have decided upon a richly sauced main entrée, such as beef filet with Madeira mushroom sauce, then serve the fish with just a little brown butter and a sprinkling of lemon juice.
The menus that I am giving you here are all suite for the Easier season, and typical of the classic French cuisine. The dishes should not tax the abilities of those who have been following the classes in this series, because all the cooking principles involved in making them properly have been covered.
EASTER DINNER I
Potage Crème d'Epinards
Truite de Rivière Meunière
Caneton Bonne Femme
Pommes de Terre Persillées
Salade Verte Mélangée
Soufflé au Cbocolat
Petits Fours
Demitasse
Potage Crème d'Epinards (Cream of Spinach Soup)
Cook ½ pound fresh well-cleaned spinach leaves in a little salted boiling wafer for 5 to 6 minutes. Cool the spinach by adding cold water to the pan, drain it thoroughly, and rub it through a sieve. Add the spinach puree to 2 quarts hot cream of chicken base (March, 1957) and bring the soup to a boil, mixing it well. Mix 2 beaten egg yolks with 1 cup cream, and add the mixture to the soup. Heat the soup for a few minutes, stirring constantly, but do not allow it to boiL If the soup is too thick, add a little hot milk or cream. Correct the seasoning with salt.
Truite dc Rivière Meiniière (Brook Trout Meunière)
Allow one trout for each serving. Clean the fish and remove the tails and side fins. Make two or three shallow diagonal CUES through the skin on each side of the fish, to keep them from curling up in conking. Dip each fish in milk, then in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat ¼ inch of salad oil in a frying pan until it just begins to smoke. Reduce the heat and cook the fish in the oil, for 5 to 7 minutes for each side, until it is golden brown. Test the fish to see if it is done by lifting the head carefully; the flesh underneath should separate easily. Remove the trout to a serving dish and sprinkle them with salt, freshly ground pepper, and a few drops of lemon juice. For each serving, brown lightly 1 tablespoon butter and pour this beurre noisette over the fish. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley and garnish with a slice of peeled lemon.
Canton aux Petits Pois et Carottes (Duckling with Peas and Carrots)
Clean and singe a 5- to 6-pound duckling and truss the legs and wings close to the body. Season the bird with salt, put it in a casserole and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes in a hot oven (400° P.). Remove the duckling from the casserole and pour off the fat. Add to the casserole 2 cups shelled green peas, 1 cup carrots, cut in dice or small rounds, ½ cup diced fat salt pork that has been parboiled, drained, and sautéed Until crisp, 3 or 4 green lettuce leaves, chopped, and 6 to 8 small onions. Add a bouquet garni of 3 sprigs each of parsley and chervil and 1 piece celery, tied together, and ½ cup water. Lay the duckling on top of the vegetables, cover the casserole, return it to the oven and continue to cook for 45 minutes or until the duckling is done. Remove the bird to a serving dish. Skim all fat from the cooking liquid, correct the seasoning with salt, and thicken the juices with manié butter made by creaming together 1 tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon flour. Carve the duckling, and pour the vegetes and the sauce around it.
Pommes De Terre Persillées (Parsley Potatoes)
Peel 12 small potatoes and put them in a saucepan with ½ teaspoon salt, a little pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon butter. Add Water ( or while stock) to about half the height of the potatoes, and cover the pan with a circle of buttered paper that has a tiny hole in (he center to vent the steam. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover the pan with a lid, and cook the potatoes over direct hear or in a hot oven (400° F.) for 30 minutes, or about they are done, There should be about ¼ cup liquid left in the pan; if there is more, reduce it quickly. Turn potatoes and liquid into a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Salade Verte Mélangée (Tossed Green Salad)
Select a mixture of salad greens in season, such as lettuce, romaine, chicory, escarole, and water cress. Separate the leaves and wash client well in a large amount of water. Drain the leaves, dry them thoroughly, wrap them in a towel, and chill them. Rub a salad bowl with a cut piece of garlic, or put in the bowl chapons made by rubbing small pieces of the crust of French bread with garlic. Put the greens in the bowl and toss them with French dressing. There should be just enough dressing to coat the leaves.
French Dressing
Mix together 1 tablespoon vinegar, 3 to 4 tablespoons olive or salad oil. a little salt and freshly ground pepper and pinch of dry mustard or ¼ teaspoon prepared mustard.
Soufflé au Chocolat (Chocolate Soufflé)
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a sauce-pan, add 1 tablespoon flour and cook, stirring, until the roux starts to turn golden. In another pan, cook 1 ½ ounces grated semi-sweet or unsweetened chocolate and ½ cup hot milk until the chocolate is completely melted and combined with the milk. Add this to the butter and flour and cook the batter until it thickens, stirring constantly. Continue to cook it, stirring occasionally, for 3 or 4 minutes longer.
Beat 4 egg yolks and 4 tablespoons sugar together, adding an extra tablespoon of sugar if unsweetened chocolate was used. Warm the egg yolks with a little of the hot chocolate mixture and combine the two thoroughly. Beat 5 egg whites stiff, adding 1 tablespoon sugar during the last few minutes of beating. Fold ¼ of the egg whites and sugar thoroughly into the mixture, and cur and fold the rest in very, very lightly. Pour the souffle into a buttered and sugared soufflé dish, and bake it in a hot oven (400° F.) 18 to 20 minutes, until the souffle is well puffed, but still semi-liquid in the center. Longer baking will produce a soufflé which is firm throughout. Serve with sauce vanille.
Sauce Vanille (Vanilla Sauce)
With a wooden spoon cream 1/3 cup sugar well with 2 or 3 egg yolks. Stir in 1 teaspoon Hour. Scald 1 ½ cups milk with a small piece of vanilla bean and add the milk little by little to the egg yolk mixture, stirring well. Return the mixture to the pan and cook it over very low heat, stirring constantly, until it almost reaches the boiling point. Remove the vanilla bean and strain the sauce. Cool the sauce, stirring vigorously at first and then occasionally, to prevent a crust from forming. Serve it hot or cold. If desired, 2 tablespoons whipped cream may be added to each cup of sauce.
EASTER DINNER II
Cocktail d'Homard
Potage Germiny
L'Agneau de Lait Mireille
Pommes de Terre Rissolées
Macédoine de Fruits an Kirsch
Petits Gateaux Secs
Demitasse
Cocktail d'Homard (lobster Cocktail)
Prepare the following cocktail sauce: Mix together 1 cup tomato ketchup, ½ cup chili sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, the juice of 1 lemon, ¼ teaspoon celery salt, and 5 drops Tabasco sauce. Cut cooked chilled lobster into pieces of any desired size. Serve in either of the following ways: Arrange finely crushed ice on chilled plates and place 2 leaves of lettuce on the ice. Put a small glass of cocktail sauce and a wedge of lemon in the center, and arrange the lobster on the lettuce. Or put coarsely shredded lettuce in the bottom of glass cocktail dishes and till the dishes with lobster mixed with the sauce. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.
Potage Germiny (Cream of Sorrel Soup)
Clean and wash thoroughly about a pound of fresh sorrel leaves, drain them, and cur them into fine shreds. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, add the sorrel, and cook it until all the liquid is evaporated and the sorrel is reduced to a purée. (This can be done ahead of time; in fact, the sorrel puree can be kept for weeks in the refrigerator if it is put in a sterilized jar and covered with good fat.)
Bring 6 cups chicken consomme to a boil and remove it from the heat. Combine 6 beaten eggs with 1 cup warm cream, and add this very slowly to the consomme, stirring vigorously with a wire whip. Return the pan to the heat and cook slowly, stirring constantly, until the soup is thick. Do not allow it to boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and ¼ cup cream, correct the seasoning with salt, and add 3 to 4 tablespoons cooked sorrel. Serve it immediately.
L'Agneau de Lait Mireille (Roast Spring Lamb Garnished with Vegetes)
Spring lamb must be roasted according to the age of the animal. Very small, very young lamb, like all very young animals—in France it is called the paschal lamb, here spoken of as baby lamb—should be cooked to the well-done stage. Usually the leg is cooked along with part of the loin; or the two legs with the whole saddle, called a baron; or the rack and shoulder. When heavier lamb is cooked, the leg, the saddle. and the rack are separated and cooked Separately, These heavier, more mature pieces are cooked only to the pink stage. Since young lamb is not apt to have much fat, it is desire to spread it generously with good fat; beef drippings arc the best choice. Place the meat in a hot oven (400° F.) and after 25 minutes reduce the heat to moderately hot (375° F.). Cook about 2 hours in all, basting frequently, for well-done lamb, and 1 ½ to 2 hours for lamb done to the pink stage. The exact time will depend on the size of the piece. Take the lamb from the oven and let it reposer while making the gravy and arranging the garniture.
To make gravy, pour off all fat from the pan and add 1 cup water or stock. Cook the liquid until it is reduced to about ½ cup. Correct the seasoning with salt and add 1 tablespoon butler, swirling it into the gravy. Strain the gravy through a fine sieve.
Garniture Mireille (Vegete Garnish')
This garnish consists of asparagus tips, cooked and dressed with butter; sliced potatoes (about the size and thickness of a silver dollar) sautéed in butter until golden brown; tomatoes à l'étuvée: peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped fresh tomatoes sautéed in butter until the juice has cooked away; and artichoke bottoms prepared as follows: Trim leaves down to the bottoms and rub the bottoms and all cut surfaces with a piece of lemon. Bring to a boil 1 quart water with 1 tablespoon flour, the juice of 1 lemon (or ¼ cup vinegar) and a little salt. Add the artichoke bottoms and cook them slowly 35 to 40 minutes or until they are done. Drain them and pull out the prickly chokes from the centers. Arrange all the vegetes attractively on the platter around the lamb. If it is a baron of lamb, fill the space between the legs with water cress.
Pommes de Terre Rissolées (Potato Balls)
Peel potatoes and cut them into balls, or use whole tiny new potatoes and parboil them 3 to 4 minutes in salted water to cover. Drain them well. For each cup of potatoes, allow 2 tablespoons good far. Heat the fat quite hot, add the potatoes and cook, rolling them in the fat until they are golden brown all over. Remove them from the pan and drain them on absorbent paper. Discard the fat from the pan. Return the potatoes to the pan and add 1 tablespoon butter for each cup of potatoes. Cook the potato balls, rolling them in the butter until they are thoroughly coated. Season them with salt and serve sprinkled with finely chopped parsley and a little paprika if desired.
Macédoine de Fruits au Kirscb Cut fresh fruits, such as pineapple, grapefruit, oranges, apples or pears into slices or chunks. Add sugar to taste, a few drops lemon juice, about ½ cup orange juice and 1 or 2 tablespoons kirsch. Set the fruit in a cool place while it marinates in the liquid. At serving time, decorate the top with sections of orange and grapefruit, and a few strawberries or pitted cherries. Serve with petits gateaux secs.