Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1923)
Famous Dishes of Foreign Nations (Continued From Page 5.) It has been my good fortune to enjoy and help to prepare these national dishes of foreign countries and since so many of our famous dishes are either taken or are the result of the extensive Study and research of for eign chefs, it would be well that American housewives become familiar with these dishes and the way they are prepared. Interesting' Facts About ln^ Foreign Foods In each of these differ ent dishes the character W and surroundings of each nation may be easily ana- v*8?! lyzed. In Marseilles it is ' | only natural that the na tional dish should be pre pared from fish, because of the importance of Marseilles as a fishing port. miliar with the actual preparation as given here. Oysters Bourguignonne The delectable savour of oysters delighted the palates of epicures as 4'ar back as the time of Apicius, the celebrated Roman gourmet, who moved his palace to the seashore in order to have fresh shellfish for his table. When Apicius discovered how to keep oysters alive during long journeys he narrowly escaped be ing deified. But the bivalves which he knew were tiny dwarfs—like our clams. How he would have been transported at the sight of a dozen luscious Sadde Roehs or Malpeques. Recipe The oysters are placed in a pan moistened with olive oil. A touch of garlic and just a suspicion of piquant sauce which sole requires, M. Mar guery supplied in a flavoring with a little mussel in it. So delightfully did it enhance the dish that a distinguished company of bon vivants who happened into the humble Mar guery restaurant one night, pronounced it a triumph. The next day M. Marguerv awoke to find himself and his sole famous. He was on the road to wealth, and the dingy little eating shop grew into the magnificent estab lishment with which visitors to Paris are familiar. Recipe Take the sole, preferably an English sole, but otherwise use the flanders. In either case, bone the fish in filet. Poach same in salt and chopped parsley until the filet is thoroughly cooked. You should be careful not to put the fish in the water until the water is boiling and has boiled for some time, so as the flavor of the vegetables will be - extracted, using your own judg This dish is called bouillabaisse and is the accumulation of the dif ferent kinds of fish, shell, mole and many others. Here the fam ilies of the sea towns and cities eagerly await the coming of their men folk from fishing excursions. Pots and pans are in readiness and no sooner do the men arrive until the work of preparing the famous bouillabaisse begins. Great rivalry exists among the women in cooking this dish and when one of them is pronounced the premier in preparing it she is at once made a star among the in habitants of the village and is con sidered the matrimonial “catch” of the year. What the bouillabaisse is to France the polio sevilliano is to Spain and interwoven with the ro mance of this delightful dish is the true characteristics and environ ment of the Spanish people. The polio sevilliano is named from the city of Seville, Spain. Because we find that people of the warmer climates demand spicy foods as a necessity in supplying the physical being with reactionaries against the heat, we find that the polio sevilliano is more heavily spiced than the national dishes of north ern countries. Famous Recipes Made Easily Available , While a great deal may be learned from culinary books by well-known chefs of international reputation, Escoffier, Perigourdin, Bone and others who have classi fied many of the most popular recipes from all over the world, many housewives might feel these recipes were very difficult to understand and duplicate suc cessfully. I will try, through my articles each month in Popular Cookery magazine, to make my in ■tructions as clear and easily un derstood as is possible without ac tual demonstration. "My observations of the cooking of the average housewifesays Mr. Muller/ias been that in many cases the question of economy has been almost entirely disregarded. Too much stress * cannot be laid upon the importance of economy • in cooking . . . Extravagance . . . does not mean that the dish will be that much better but, on the contrary, it often spoils the dish altogether ★ ★ ★ WE know of no other cooking authority better able to handle the sub ject of “Famous Dishes of Foreign Nations’’ than Mr. Muller. His has been rather an exceptional experience, entirely practical, gleaned from his professional services demanded in many foreign countries. His interest in the art of cooking began at a very early age. A native of St. Pierre, Switzerland, he helped his parents cater to the travelers passing through, performing all manner of duties required of a small boy, in the pension (restaurant) operated by his father. A desire to travel and see something of other countries, led Mr. Muller to Rome, Italy, where at age 11 he was employed as apprentice by Hotel Quirinal. Experience gained there later provided a place on the staff of Hotel Terminus at Paris for several years. Seeking other worlds to conquer, he decided to try his fortunes in London. During the years spent there, he served on the catering staffs of London’s famous Ititz-Carleton, Savoy and Romanos hotels. Here his edu cation received finish, in the preparation of choice dishes enjoyed by royalty and the high society of London. The late King Edward, then the prince of Wales, was a frequent patron who relished the tasty dishes prepared under his direction. Through the friendly interest of Captain Lord Beresford, he made a trip around the world as steward of the Beresford yatch. Impressed with the educational advantages of sea travel to various distant porta—and his love for learning the customs of various races—he later served as steward on vessels of the Italian Navigation company, the Castle line to South Africa, and eventually the Cunard line to North America. Rejoining for an interval the staff of London’s Hotel Romanos he finally moved his abode to New York, on the opening of the Winter Garden of the Hotel Waldorf, where he directed the large force of waiters. Before moving to Omaha to become manager of the Brandeis Store restaurants, he resided in Chicago for approximately 14 years dividing the time with Hotel Congress and Hotel La Salle as manager of these well patronized dining rooms. THE EDITOR. ment. The filet being thoroughly cooked, strain offi the water. For the sauce use a small quan tity of the water which the fish was boiled in, put same in casserole or pan, only as a matter of flavoring. Mix some cream, yolk of an egg, salt, pepper, touch of paprika, and if fortunate enough small quantity of white wine, adding small quan tity of flour, medium thickness. At the first sign of boiling, stir fast, so your cream will not turn. After a few seconds when the sauce^ bubbling, take from fire and strain. On a china or silver plat ter dispose your filet with a few slices of fresh mushrooms fried in butter, lobster and shrimp monies and oysters poached (having been poached at the same time as the filet, separately.) Pour sauce over and put in the oven or under grill, and as soon as the brown crust ap pears, take from oven and serve Noisettes of Beef Tenderl oin a la Rossini Rossini, a contemporary and friend of Dumas and Balzac, two famous fourchettes, was not only a distinguished composer, but also a cook of ability. This dish of his invention bears witness of his skill and rivals in seductiveness the sweet strains of “The Barber of Seville.” Dumas once complained to Rossini that he had tasted every thing edible and sighed, like Alex ander, for new culinary worlds to conquer. Whereupon the musician promised the great romancist that his palate should enjov a new -< n sation. Recipe That evening at Rossini’s table, Dumas sat down before a wonder ful dish. Dainty slices of tender loin were fried in oil, portions^N^ chicken livers sauted in butter were placed on these, the whole being capped with a slice of truf fle and bathed in a delightful Ma deira sauce, Dumas, himself a master juggler of the saucepans, I shall exercise great care to consider the economical value of each recipe as given. I hope my readers will bear in mind that these articles will not include dishes im practical to prepare in the average home kitchen. Avoid Extravagance in Cooking My observations of the cooking of the aver age housewife has been that in many cases the question of economy has been almost entirely disregarded. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of economy in cooking and a close application to the principles I shall try to give in these monthly articles should re sult In a very material saving to the housewife. Extravagance in cooking does not mean that the dish will be that much better, but, on the contrary, it often spoils the dish altogether. It is only with the proper items and the proper quantity that success may he assured. To those of my readers who have traveled or resided in Europe and who thereby culti vated a taste for European cooking the follow ing famous dishes will perhaps recall most pleasant memories of the famous eating places visited, although they /nay not be fa onion. The bivalves are placed in the oven and roasted in their own fortresses, as it were. Soon the shells open and the rich liquor pours out. Thus, bathed in thist delicious juice, they are brought to the table and served. It was Napoleon III, who upon tasting this crustacean delicacy, exclaimed: “A delicious flash of gustatory lightning.” ( Filet of Sole Marguery "The cook produced an umple dish Of frizzled sole, those best of fish, Embrowned, and wafting through the room, All sputtering still, a rich perfume.” . The crisped tenderness of the browned sole and the piquant fla vor of the sauce accompaniment is the tribute of an artist to the im mortal name of Marguery. By oritrinatinj? this <lish. an obHcmv rcslanr ant keeper ol I uris Achieved a place juhouvc the immortals of cookery. The hi>h relief of pronounced the dish a more gift ous creation than any of the compost > operas. Poularde de Portugal ft is to the friars of Portugal that we are iinlet for this famous contribution to the world’s stcn > cookery. When the French troops sacked a Portugui ' n astery during the Peninsular war tin » was forced to flee from his snnctor leaving hchind his precious book recettes. This the invaders seized, with i spoil, and carried back to Paris. Here the culinary grammar fell i the hands of a noted chef, who .. happened upo nthe recette for l'milanli de Portugal, a dish that took 11> * French capital by storm. Recipe this olden monastic recette is prepan the following manner: A large, plump clo is first very carefully selected and \ until the rich jnus attains the eon-i-t' \ jelly. fjf! 1 ^ hen frcHh niUMhrooms are milled. E whole beirtK scaled up in a casserole nirl t 11 j **} oven- In this way evaporation is cut off ccm I P 'A*., nni* the delightful flavor slays in tie I’ | i 1,1,1 casserole is brought to the <]i>■ >■'ir sad unsealed before the truest* the fragrant aron arise- attests U,(. „f ,, \