The International Cook Book

Over three thousand recipes from the man who cooked at Delmonico's — French sauces, Italian pastas, Indian curries and American pies, the whole eating world of 1906 in one volume.

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Colbert Sauce

Place in a small saucepan two gills demi-glace and one teaspoon meat extract then reduce it on the fire to one-half the quantity. Then add, little by little, one-half ounce good butter, briskly stirring while adding it. Squeeze in the juice of a sound lemon, adding a teaspoon finely minced parsley. Stir well and serve.

DEMI-GLACE (HALF-GLAZE) Have quite a large saucepan with ten quarts cold water on the hot range. Procure two fresh, white, calf's feet; cut them into small pieces and place in a small roasting pan with half pound raw ham, cut in pieces, one pound veal bones, two sliced carrots, two sliced onions, two sliced leeks, three branches parsley roots, one branch sliced celery; add ten cloves, four bay leaves, twenty allspices, two tablespoons whole black peppers, a teaspoon thyme and one and one-half tablespoons salt. Spread a little fat--about four tablespoons--over the vegetables. Place the pan in a hot oven and let get a nice golden colour. Remove from the oven, take up the feet and vegetables from the pan and plunge them into the pan with the ten quarts water; add one pint canned or the equivalent of fresh tomatoes. Let slowly boil for thirty minutes. Set the pan near the corner of the range, place the cover on and let slightly simmer. When any little parings of beef, veal, chicken, ham and vegetables are at hand, always place them into this important demi-glace. When opening cans of mushrooms add the mushroom liquor to this stock, also. Always keep the pan on the hot range until reduced to one-half the quantity. Heat in a large saucepan three ounces butter or good melted lard, adding six tablespoons flour. Stir well with a wooden spoon and let thoroughly brown on the fire for twenty minutes, occasionally stirring. Pour the above preparation into this pan, mix well, shift the pan on one side of the range, keeping it at a gentle simmering point for twelve hours. Then add half pint sherry; mix a little, strain the demi-glace through a Chinese strainer into a stone jar; let cool off, then cover the jar. Keep in a cool place and use as required. In winter it will keep in good condition for three or four weeks, but in hot weather it would be advisable to re-boil it once every week. This demi-glace is of vast importance, and it is necessary to always have some on hand. Therefore, when the supply is nearly exhausted, repeat the same operation.

N. B. Whatever quantity of demi-glace is required for each occasion, when taken up from the jar always dilute it with a little hot broth, so as to have it somewhat liquid before using.

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