The Franco-American Cookery Book. By Felix J. Deli4e. (G. P.
Putnam's Sons.)—We feel quite unable to do justice to this monu- ment of industry and ingenuity, exhibiting, as it does, the result of French skill, itself the flower of an ancient culinary culture, mani- pulating the unbounded resources of the New World. But we can briefly set forth the plan, and give samples of its contents. It gives) then, a bill of fare of dinner for eight.persons for every day through- out the year, adding, by way of annotation, full directions for pre- paring each dish. We may give the menu for January 1st :— itisot k In Piemontaise.
Salmon I In Hollandaise. Boiled potatoes.
Fillet of Beef I Is Mescovienne. Cauliflower i, l'Espagnole.
Boned Turkey with jelly. Celery in glass. Plum padding with ram.
As the preface tells us that "economy is considered invariably," it is interesting to regard this bill of fare (which is a fair specimen of the whole) from the economical point of view. Salmon in England on January 1st is exceedingly dear ; in New York "it is coming plenti- fully into the market," and is presumably, as the author says, "not dear." But is not "six pounds of the middle cut" rather a large quantity ? For the soup, we see, "a pint of Italian rice" is prescribed. Unless "Italian rice," a term with which we are unacquainted, is a particular preparation, a pint is an exceedingly large quantity. Three quarts of broth are to be used with it, with half a pound of butter and about as much Parmesan cheese. As for the beef, a "tender loin"' is to be used, meaning, we gather, the undercut ; as the quantity is not specified, the whole is probably meant—this would be seven or eight pounds. This is ta be cooked with fat pork and a pint of Rhine wine and another of Espagnole sauce. The boiled turkey is a most elaborate dish, which we cannot attempt to describe. But generally the result is to enlarge our conceptions of American economy. But these criticisms do not touch the real substance of the book. Its treatment of the subject is thorough and suggestive. An English housekeeper will have to modify the recipes for practical use. Mach of the material is, of course, unattainable, but she will find it a most useful repository of culinary knowledge.
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