Timballe For Macaroni

The paste for a hot timballe must be a little more delicate than for a cold pie; put therefore more butter into it. Take a pound of flour, a little more than half a pound of butter, two yolks of eggs, and a pinch of salt; work this with half a glass of water, making the paste as smooth as possible; proceed then as follows: butter a plain mould all over well, decorate the bottom a little and the sides, spread the paste over a dresser, cut a piece of the size of the bottom of the mould (using the mould to measure with), and cover the bottom of the mould and all the decorations, without disturbing them; water the ornamented paste, as above; the stick the other paste lightly over, and cut a bit of paste to put all round over the decorated parts; roll a little paste also to stick the whole together round the bottom, then fill the mould with beef-suet chopped fine, and make a cover to it of the same length; put this into the oven for an hour, and when done empty it for use. It may be used for macaroni, fricassee, blanquettes of every kind, etc. etc.

Paste For Tourtes And Tarts

Take a pound and a half of flour, a pound and a quarter of fresh butter, a large pinch of salt, four yolks of eggs, and half a glass of water. Mix this paste as lightly as possible, without handling it too much; spread it over the dresser with a rolling-pin, and then fold it in three, as you do puff-paste. Roll it out, and fold it up again. Do this four times running; this is what is called four-turned. Use this paste either for tourte of entries, or pies of meat or fruit, or when it may be wanted.

How To Make Puff-Paste

Take the same quantity of butter as of flour, so that if you use two pounds of the one you must also use two pounds of the other; and so on. Weigh two pounds of very dry flour, and sift it; then lay it on the table, and make a very large hole in the middle; throw in a little pinch of salt, a few small pieces of butter, and three yolks of eggs: use a little cold water to melt the salt; take water enough to make the paste of the same consistence as the butter. In winter time you must make the paste very firm, because then the butter is so. In summer time you must make the paste very soft, on account of the butter being so. The reason why you are obliged to do so is, that if the paste were not made of the same substance as the butter, this latter, when you turn the paste, would break through. When you have worked lightly the flour, mould it into a targe ball, which you flatten as quickly as possible; turn it in a spiral direc-tion, and then flatten the middle. Lay butter on the table with a little water, handle it a little to extract the white liquid, and squeeze it in a clean towel, that no moisture may remain. Lay the ball of butter over the paste, flatten the butter with a cloth, then fold the paste over the butter all round, but in a square form, so as to wrap it well all over. Try whether the paste is firm enough to prevent the butter from breaking through it. Now powder a little flour over the table and the paste. Roll the paste as smooth as possible with the rolling-pin, as long as you can; fold it in three, and roll it over once again, taking care always to powder it over with a very little flour, to prevent its sticking to the table or to the rolling-pin. After having spread it well, fold it again in three. Make two marks on the top with the rolling-pin, to remember that it has been rolled twice. Then put it into a plafond trimmed with a little flour, and place it on the ground to keep it cool, and leave it there for a little while. A moment after put the paste on the dresser, and proceed twice more as before; then let it rest again, and give it two turnings more, which will make six in all. Now give it a long shape, and fold it in two. You may then use it to make a vol au vent. When at the latter end you fold the paste double only, and that is what is called half a turning, of course you are aware that the paste must have had six turnings and a half before you can make a vol au vent, and that you must keep the paste thicker than for other small articles of pastry. Cut the vol au vent of the size of the dish in which it is to be sent up, and immediately after put it into a plafond: brush it over with yolks of eggs, open it all round with the point of a knife, and put it into a very hot oven. Mind that puff-paste always requires the oven to be very hot. If you are not careful to keep the oven shut, the vol au vent will not rise properly. When it is well baked, and of a fine colour, and you are certain that it is done through, take it out of the oven, remove the middle, which served as a cover, empty, and throw away the paste of the middle which is not baked, and lay the vol au vent cleanly on some paper to extract the butter. When you are ready to serve up, dish the vol au vent, and fill it with whatever you think proper. With regard to small articles of pastry, spread more puff-paste, and cut it with cutters into different shapes; if intended for entries, brush the paste over with the yolk of eggs, but do not glaze it with sugar. By glazing, is here meant, the sifting of fine pounded sugar over the pastry when baked and emptied, and using over it a red-hot salamander, or else putting it into a very hot oven for the sugar to melt and glaze.