The cook book - Oscar Tschirky

1025 Pages·2021·3.16 MB·English

This book made available by the Internet Archive.

TX7I T27J

AGRIC. LIBRARY

Preface.

In placing this work before my friends at The Waldorf and the public in general, it is with
the feeling that I am giving them a book illustrative of the best methods of preparing food
at the present day.

The collection of recipes embodies many which have been rendered easy of
comprehension and arranged in such a manner as to meet the wants of all —the caterer to
large dinners or receptions, as well as the more modest entertainment furnished at the
hearthside. There has been more particular attention devoted to the requirements of the
latter than to those of the former, as, in the writer's opinion, the giver of a small reception
has been, it might be said, rather neglected in such works as have come before the notice
of the undersigned, relative to cookery.

The title selected for the book is: THE COOK BOOK BY "OSCAR" OF THE WALDORF,
and it is with great honor dedicated to the patrons of The Waldorf, with the hope that they
will receive it as a token of my high esteem and sincere appreciation of their kindness as
shown to me at all times.

In conclusion, let me state that I enter the arena as an author with the hope that my
experience may prove entertaining to my friends, as well as enable them to prepare a
Waldorf Dinner at their own homes.

With the hope that my friends and the public will appreciate the work here presented to
them, I am

Very respectfully,

OSCAR TSCHIRKY,

Maitre d'Hotel, The Waldorf.

M362152

A few Suggestions with Regard to the

Kitchen.

In the construction of a kitchen range—that is, one that is intended for cooking—it is
necessary to consider whether it is advisable or not to erect a stove for each particular
purpose or process, or whether a stove can be so constructed as it will enable all processes

to be carried on with it at one time, or independently. The old-fashioned open stove, with
boiler and oven attached, permitted the carrying out of more processes at once than any
other, such as roasting, baking, boiling, stewing, frying, and, at the same time, keeping up
a supply of hot water for any purpose for which it might be required. But for the
perfection of modern cooking something further is required in the way of a hot plate,
upon which the contents of saucepans and other vessels can be kept simmering or boiling
fast at the cook's discretion; and this demand is not met with in the close-fire range. The
evils of the open range may be described as very great; the vessels used being exposed to
the open fire become dirty with soot, there is great loss of heat, the kitchen itself
receiving more than its fair share. Then, again, it is difficult on an open range to modify
the heat according to certain requirements, and the chimney requires sweeping
frequently. As rapidly as improvements are made in this country in stoves and ranges,
there would be some foundation for hoping that sooner or later this would be the most
expert of cooking countries, for in no other part of the world have such vast strides been
made, or have such clever inventions been placed before the public as in the United States
during the past quarter of a century. The excellence of style and perfection of use have
created for them a demand in all civilized portions of the globe. In France, which may be
considered the queen of cooking countries, American and British stoves are preferred to
all others, not only on account of their superior manufacture and metal, but also because
they do their work best.

A very important piece of furniture is the kitchen table. There are many dresser boards,
shelves and flaps, but they are useless to the cook as compared with a good kitchen table.
It should be made of stout deal, as large as the size of the kitchen will permit, fitted with a
convenient drawer for holding knives, forks, spoons, clean kitchen cloths, and other
necessaries. Not only should the table be the most prominent of the furniture in the
kitchen, to which all other fittings must play a supplementary part, but it should be kept
at all times ready for immediate use, uncovered and scrupulously clean. The practice of
using the table for a chopping-board, trimming-

board, pot-board, or for making paste, cannot be too carefully avoided. In such cases the
surface soon becomes scratched and unsightly.

A well-ventilated kitchen is a pleasure to the cook and conducive to the health of all
concerned in or about it. Open windows are the best form of ventilators. When the
windows are opened, they should be pulled down from the top; but as some kitchen
windows open from pantries or entries or passages, some form of independent ventilation
should be adopted.

A very practical writer on kitchen management observes : " I would mention the extreme
importance of including among the list of household requisites a pair of scales and a set
of weights. There is no check so effectual against short weights as the practice of
weighing. With the butcher's meats this is particularly important, joints often being
unaccountably changed, from one being so like another, except in weight. Aside from this,

it is almost impossible to cook meat accurately unless it is previously weighed and timed.
A pair of scales and a set of weights, large enough for all domestic purposes, can be
bought for three or four dollars, and I have no hesitation in saying that they will defray
their cost in less than a year's use."

There should be no such thing as waste in a well-ordered kitchen. The term is often
misapplied to the refuse that results from the preparation of vegetables and other things
for cooking. But the term " kitchen waste " is also oftentimes more correctly applied than
intended by the cook who uses it; that is, if the legitimate meaning is to be accepted, of
anything spoiled, destroyed or thrown away. Waste is the outcome of extravagance, hence
it is advisable for those in authority carefully to calculate the return from the foods
supplied for kitchen use. Kitchen cloths are often objects of indiscriminate use. Dresser
cloths, tea cloths and dusters, pudding-cloths and window rags are frequently
misappropriated, thus leading to waste. Remnants of food and drippings are invariably
wasted by an untidy servant. Scraps of meat, bones and shanks can be put into the
stockpot, which should be found in every kitchen. Something may be added to the
stockpot daily and this prevents, by using up, accumulations that otherwise would be
troublesome and offensive. Small quantities of cold vegetables—potatoes, carrots, turnips,
cauliflower, spinach, etc.—are used for thickening and flavoring plain soups, and cold
cabbage and potatoes can be fried for the kitchen dinner. Dripping, melted down and put
into jars, keeps well, and is very useful. The fat skimmed off cold broth is good for adding
to vegetables when mashed, and for other purposes. Strong paper and wooden skewers
are handy at any time; but it must not be forgotten that heaps of grocers' and other papers
are often the cause of cockroaches swarming in the kitchen. When there is no use at
home for so-called "kitchen waste," it should be carefully sorted, and either sold or given
away.

As it would be impossible to organize a system of keeping kitchen accounts that would be
found perfect enough to meet all purposes, something must be left to the cook and the
master, each of whom will prove his ability to deal with the subject by

SUGGESTIONS. Hi

formulating a system to meet his own requirements, based upon a few suggestions we are
able to make for general guidance. We here have to deal with accounts, and not with
losses from indiscreet marketing or bad cooking; these matters have to be treated on their
own merits.

Every cook should have an order book, with counterfoils, upon which an exact copy of the
order issued should be taken. With each parcel of goods, care should be taken to receive
an invoice, and no goods should be received without one. The invoice should coincide
with the counterfoils of the order book, and be marked with the weight and measure and
price of each article. After the weights and measures have been corroborated by actual
weighing and measuring, which is so often neglected, and the price is ascertained to be

correct, according to the markets, the invoice is to be filed for future reference, or, where
a kitchen clerk is kept, it may be entered up fully in the invoice book kept for the purpose.
This is your check upon the tradesman, whose petty defalcations are not in all cases a
fable. When once it is understood that the goods are weighed and measured when
received, the necessity for it will disappear; but the system should not be relaxed, for all
that. Instead of an order form, books are sometimes used, in which the order is written
and signed and filled up with prices and quantities by the tradesmen, and returned with
the goods. This system saves much writing, but it is open to this objection, the book
mjght be lost, and then the cook would have no existing check upon the account of the
tradesman.

The cook should also keep a journal or diary—that is to say, a book in which can be jotted
down at any moment circumstances worthy of note, especially such as cash paid out or
received for kitchen purposes, orders received and executed, memoranda for a future day,
and notes of new ideas. Besides this there should be an account or cash book in which
tradesmen's bills, wages and cash transactions generally are entered; a petty cash book in
which small sums under a certain amount can be quickly entered without reference to the
account book, and a slate hung up in a convenient spot.

Cooks in large kitchens have a style of bookkeeping convenient to themselves, as also
have proprietors and managers of hotels ; but the small householder is often the victim of
the fraudulent tradesman, because the cook is not expected to keep accounts, and the
mistress is too indolent or careless to do so. If the amount of money wasted yearly could
be calculated, it is certain that the total would be astonishing.

Every good housekeeper will have a room in which stores can be kept under lock and key.
Groceries should always, if possible, be bought in quantity, and it is well to remember
that at certain times of the year, some goods are cheaper than at others; all these details
should be carefully noted, and a book kept to enter dates of purchase, quantities and
prices paid.

A dry room should be chosen for keeping stores, and this should be amply fitted with
drawers, shelves and nails or hooks. There should be earthenware jars

for sugar, tins for tea, coffee, biscuits and loaf-sugar, and a net for lemons. Jams, pickles,
and preserves should be kept in the coolest part of the room. Soap should be cut up and
stood with spaces between the pieces, being turned at regular intervals of time. Starch
must be kept very dry. Rice, tapioca and sago must be kept in covered vessels or insects
will get into them. Flour is usually kept in the pantry in a flour box Onions, shallots,
leaks, etc., should not be kept in a storeroom for obvious reasons. Dried herbs in separate
bags may be conveniently suspended from the ceiling or walls. Apples must be stored in a
near-by room, etc.

Menus, or Bills of Fare.

Menus are prepared for breakfasts, luncheons, dinners and suppers, but the dinner menu
is of the greatest importance. The menus or bills of fare are generally selected a few days
in advance, in order that the necessary provisions may be purchased, and that there may
be ample time to prepare everything necessary, thereby avoiding much confusion.

The menu should be strictly followed in every case. If the dinner is to include ladies, it
should be of light, fancy dishes; but, on the contrary, if intended for gentlemen alone, it
should be more substantial and at the same time shorter.

The color of the various meats and sauces should be as different from each other as
possible, from one course to another, offering all the foods in their respective seasons,
and have the early products of the finest quality (See Table of Supplies, Page xv), and only
use preserved articles when it is impossible to obtain others

Oysters, as a rule, are always served at the beginning of a dinner, though they are used
only in such months of the year in which the letter "r" occurs, such as January, February,
March, April, September, October, November and December, and little neck clams are
used in their stead.

After the oysters, come the soups. If two soups are to be served, select one clear and one
thick; but if one is to be used, give the preference to the clear soup.

Hot hors d'ceuvre generally consist of timbales, croustades, palmettes, mousse-lines,
bouchees, etc. Cold side dishes are served with the same course, such as olives, radishes,
canapes, caviar, anchovies, etc.

The fish, if it is boiled or fried, should have potatoes served with it; if broiled or cooked in
any fancy manner, serve cucumber salad with it.

If two entrees are chosen in a dinner, the first entree should be made the lightest of the
two, and they should be made in a fancy way, so as to avoid any carving. Terrapin, oysters,
crabs, lobsters, shrimps and frogs are allowable as entrees, especially during Lent.

The roasts or solid joints are composed of saddles of either veal, mutton, lamb, venison or
antelope, or beef tenderloins. Also, turkey, goose, duck, capon, etc,, may be served,
accompanied by one or two vegetables.

After the roasts and vegetables, and before the game, a punch or sherbet is always served,
but should not be given an extra heading on the menu, simply placing them on a line by
themselves.

Games are served immediately following the sherbet; a roast usually being pre-

ferred for dinner, but poultry may be served instead, such as turkey, capon, duck, squabs,
etc.