Place the jelly on a cold plate, and with a knife cut it very slowly until it is of the right size. The chopped jelly is used to cover the top of meats, or to place like a wreath around it on the dish. It may be either fine or coa.r.s.e, but each piece should be separate and distinct, and can be kept so if cut slowly in a cool place, and not allowed to become warm.
=TO MOLD JELLY=
(SEE ILl.u.s.tRATIONS)
Where the mold is to be only coated with jelly, first paste a piece of paper over the top of the mold; when it is firm, cut an opening in the paper, and pour in some cold, but liquid, jelly; and turn the mold on ice slowly, so that every part may be coated. Pour off any of the jelly that has not adhered to the sides; remove the paper, and lay in the material which is to fill the center of the mold. This method is employed where only a thin coating of jelly is required. Where it is to be an inch or more in thickness it is better to use a double mold as explained below.
When molding jelly have a pan of cracked ice, and set the mold into it.
The jelly will then quickly harden. The mold must be perfectly firm and upright, or the jelly will not stand straight when unmolded. Do not oil or grease a mold used for jelly. (See ill.u.s.trations facing pages 326 and 386.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: 1. SMALL MOLDS FOR ASPIC. 2. MOLD WITH PAPER PASTED OVER THE TOP FOR COATING THE MOLD. (SEE PAGE 323.)]
=TO UNMOLD JELLY=
Dip the mold quickly into warm (not hot) water; wipe it dry, place the dish over the top of the mold, and turn them over together. If the jelly fails to slip out, rub the mold with a cloth wrung out of hot water. It takes only a low degree of heat to melt jelly, and if too much is used the fine points and edges will be destroyed. Do not unmold jelly until it is time to serve it. Do not shake the mold in trying to get it free, or the jelly is liable to break.
=TO ORNAMENT MOLDS=
Lay whatever fancy pieces are used for the decoration carefully in place on the bottom of the mold. With a spoon add only enough jelly to moisten them; if too much is used, the pieces will float out of place. Let the jelly harden and fix the decoration; then add as much as will make a layer one half inch thick; let that set; then place the material which is to fill the center. If it is a bird, or anything in one piece, add a little jelly to fix it in place; then fill up the mold. If the material is a soft substance, set in the double mold (see below); or, if one is not at hand, add a few spoonfuls at a time of the filling, leaving a s.p.a.ce of one half an inch around the sides, and fill this with jelly.
Proceed in this way until the mold is full, having the top covered with jelly, so that when unmolded it will form a complete case. If ornament is used on the sides of the mold, arrange the decoration when the mold is filled to the right height, dip the pieces in jelly to make them adhere, and cover them very slowly at first, so they will not float off. When the filling is to be in alternate layers with jelly, proceed in the same way, adding one layer at a time, and letting each one harden before the next is placed. The mold should not be moved while being filled; one layer should not become too hard before the next one is added, and no dampness must settle on them. Any of these causes will make the jelly liable to separate when unmolded. If the mold is placed on ice, as directed, the jelly hardens quickly, and the filling is soon accomplished.
=DOUBLE MOLDS=
For salads, and also in many cases for sweet jellies, it is easier to use a double mold. If one is not at hand two Charlotte Russe molds may be subst.i.tuted, or any two molds or tins of the same shape, one of which is an inch smaller than the other. Place the larger one on ice, and pour into it enough jelly to make a layer on the bottom the same thickness as the width of s.p.a.ce between the two molds. When it is set, place the smaller mold, filled with ice, on it; and fill the s.p.a.ce between the two with jelly. When that has set, remove with a spoon the ice from the small mold, and pour in carefully a little warm water. It can then be easily lifted out. Be careful not to have the water too warm. Fill the s.p.a.ce left by the small mold with the material to be used, leaving a s.p.a.ce on top to cover with jelly--to encase it. Another way of molding jellies double, besides using the double mold and the method given above in ornamenting molds, is to fill the mold entirely with jelly, and when it has hardened, scoop out with a teaspoon, heated in hot water and wiped dry, enough of the center to give the s.p.a.ce desired. This has to be done very carefully, as there is danger of the sides falling in. (See page 386.)
=DECORATIONS FOR MEAT JELLY=
DAISY DESIGN
Cut a hard-boiled egg into slices one eighth of an inch thick. With a pastry-bag tube or a small round vegetable-cutter stamp circles from the yolk. Cut the white strips diagonally, so they form diamond-shaped pieces. Lay a round piece of yolk in the mold, and the white pieces around it to simulate a daisy; place small pieces of parsley beside it, and use the stem of parsley for the stem of the daisy. This decoration fits very well in a Charlotte Russe mold, or in individual molds. Make two or three daisies on the large mold, only one on the small ones.
[Ill.u.s.tration: DAISY DESIGN FOR ASPIC JELLY FORMS. (SEE PAGE 326.)
1. Yolk of hard-boiled egg.
2. White of hard-boiled egg.
3. Parsley leaves.
4. Parsley stems.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: SLICE OF WHITE OF HARD-BOILED EGG CUT INTO PETALS.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: SLICES OF TONGUE IN ASPIC (EN BELLEVUE). (SEE PAGE 83.)
DECORATED WITH HARD-BOILED EGG IN DAISY DESIGN. (SEE PAGE 326.)
DISH GARNISHED WITH OLIVES CUT IN HALVES.]
BERRY DESIGN
Use capers, grouped like berries, along the stem. Use water-cress for leaves and parsley for stems. This design, being dark, looks well in chicken or veal jelly.
[Ill.u.s.tration: BERRY DESIGN FOR ASPIC. (SEE PAGE 326.)
1. Capers.
2. Parsley or water-cress.
3. Parsley stems.]
TO DECORATE WITH TRUFFLES
Slice the truffles very thin; stamp them into any form desired. Take each piece on a long pin, and place it in a well-b.u.t.tered mold; or for jelly molds dip them in cold jelly, and they will then adhere to the sides of the mold. Arrange the pieces symmetrically in any design. If the truffle is cut in strips, make geometrical forms. Some dishes may be ornamented after they are unmolded by dipping the pieces of truffle in cold but liquid jelly, and then applying them. The latter is the method used for chaudfroid dishes, which are usually much ornamented. (See ill.u.s.tration facing page 320.)
Green peas, carrots, beets, pickles, string-beans, radishes, parsley, etc., in combinations, can be made into various designs.
[Ill.u.s.tration: VEGETABLES AND TRUFFLES CUT AND ARRANGED IN DESIGNS FOR DECORATING MOLDS, MOLDED DISHES, OR CHAUDFROID DISHES. (SEE PAGE 326.)
1. Vegetables. 2. Truffles.]
=SOCLES=
Socles are stands on which to raise birds, chops, or other articles above the dish to give them a better appearance, and allow more garnishing. They are also used as supports against which to rest larger pieces of meat, fish, tongue, etc., to keep them in place.
Elaborate socles of various shapes are made of tallow by caterers, but these are not practicable for ordinary cooks to undertake, and they are also in questionable taste. The simple supports given below are easily made, and well repay the trouble, especially for cold dishes. They should be stuck to the dish with white of egg, so they will be firm. The simplest way of making a socle is to take a loaf of stale bread, remove the crust, and cut the crumb to the desired shape. Then spread it with b.u.t.ter, and cover it with parsley chopped very fine. If to be used for a hot dish, immerse the bread in hot fat until it takes a golden brown.
Another simple socle can be made of hominy. Fill a well-b.u.t.tered cake-tin or plain mold with boiled hominy. When cold it will retain the form of the mold. If desired, the sides of the mold can be ornamented with vegetables of different colors cut into fancy shapes. (See picture.)
[Ill.u.s.tration: SOCLES OR SUPPORTS FOR CHOPS, BIRDS, ETC. FORM MADE OF RICE, HOMINY OR WHITE CORN MEAL MOLDED IN A TIN BASIN. (SEE PAGE 326.)
1. Green string beans.
2. b.a.l.l.s of carrot or beet cut in halves, or slices stamped into small rounds.
3. Parsley stalk.
4. b.a.l.l.s of carrot, large green peas or capers.
5. Slices of string beans.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: BLOCKS OF BREAD FOR SUPPORT OF MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, GAME, ETC.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: BONED BIRDS IN ASPIC AROUND SOCLE.
The boned birds are molded in fluted individual molds and decorated with hard-boiled egg in daisy design as directed on page 326. Dish garnished with parsley.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: BONED BIRDS IN ASPIC, THE SAME AS PRECEDING CUT, SERVED ON FLAT DISH AND GARNISHED WITH PARSLEY.]
=RICE SOCLE OR Ca.s.sEROLE=