834.—BEEFSTEAK AND FRIED POTATOES. (Fr.—Bifteck aux Pommes de Terre Frites.)
Ingredients.—2 lb. of rump steak, 1½ ozs. of butter, 1 good teaspoonful of finely-chopped parsley, ½ a teaspoonful of lemon-juice cayenne, salt, 4 or 5 potatoes, frying-fat.
Method.—Knead the butter, parsley, lemon-juice, and a little cayenne together, spread the mixture smoothly on a plate, and put it aside, to become firm and cold. Peel the potatoes, cut them across into slices, and dry thoroughly in a cloth. Have ready a deep pan of fat, put the potatoes into a frying-basket, lower them into the fat, and cook until tender. Stand the basket and potatoes on a plate or baking sheet until the fat boils up again, then replace them in the pan, and fry for 2 or 3 minutes to make them crisp. Meanwhile, grill the steak over a clear bright fire (see p. 497), and stamp the maître d'hôtel butter into rounds, by means of a small cutter. Serve the steak on a hot dish, garnished with the potatoes, with the pats of butter placed on the top of it.
Time.—7 to 10 minutes to cook the steak, according to thickness. Average Cost, 2s. 6d. to 2s. 10d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
835.—BEEFSTEAK PIE. (Fr.—Pâté de Bœuf.)
Ingredients.—2 lb. of beefsteak, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 level teaspoonful of salt, ½ a teaspoonful of pepper, the yolk of an egg, puff paste or short crust paste.
Method.—Cut the meat into thin slices, about 3 inches in length and width, but of no particular shape. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together on a plate, dip the slices of meat in the mixture, and place them in a pie-dish, which should be sufficiently small to allow the meat to be well raised in the centre, and thus give to the pie a desirable plump appearance. Sprinkle the rest of the seasoning mixture between the layers of meat, and pour in enough boiling water to ¾ fill the dish. Make the paste as directed, roll it out to a suitable thickness, invert a pie-dish of the same size as the one filled with meat, in the centre of the paste, and cut round, leaving a margin of about ¾ of an inch. Line the edge of the dish with the trimmings, for paste is always lighter when not re-rolled. Put on the cover, ease it well over the raised meat, for which purpose the ¾ of an inch margin was allowed, moisten and press the edges together, and notch them at regular intervals. Make a hole in the centre of the top, decorate with leaves, and brush over with the yolk of egg. The pie must be baked in a hot oven until the paste has risen and set, afterwards it must be cooked more slowly, otherwise the paste will be overbaked before the meat is done. Before serving, pour in through the
