The English Housewife: Fricasees and Quelquechoses

Now to proceed to your Fricases, or Quelquechoses, which are dishes of many compositions, and ingredients, as Flesh, Fish, Eggs, Herbs, and many other things, all being prepared and made ready in a Frying-pan, they are likewise of two sorts, simple and compound.

Your simple Fricases are Eggs and Collops fryed, whether the Collops be of Bacon, Ling, Beef or young Pork, the frying whereof is so ordinary, that it needeth not any relation, or the frying of any Flesh, or Fish simple of it self, with Butter or sweet Oyl.

To have the best Collops and Eggs, you shall take the whitest and youngest Bacon, and cutting away the sword, cut the Collops into thin slices, lay them in a dish, and put hot water unto them, and so let them stand an hour or two, for that will take away the extream saltness, then drain away the water clean, and put them in a dry Pewter dish, and lay them one by one, and set them before the heat of the fire so as they may toast; and turn them so, as they may toast sufficiently thorow & thorow, which done, take your Eggs and break them into a dish, and put a spoonful of Venegar unto them: then set a clean Skillet with fair water on the fire, and as soon as the water boyleth, put in the Eggs, and let them take a boyl or two; then with a spoon try if they be hard enough, and then take them up and trim them, and dry them, and then dishup up the Collops, lay the Eggs upon them, and so serve them up: and in this sort you may poach Eggs when you please, for it is the best and most wholesome.

Now the compound Fricases are those which consist of many things, as Tansies, Fritters, Pancakes, and any Quelquechose whatsoever, being things of great Request and Estimation in France, Spain and Italy, and the most curious Nations.

First, then for the making of the best Tansie, you shall take a certain number of Eggs, according to the bigness of your Frying-pan, and break them into a dish, abating ever the white of every third Egge: then with a spoon, you shall cleanse away the little white Chicken knots, which stick unto the yelks; then with a little Cream beat them exceedingly together: then take of green Wheat blades, Violet leaves, Strawberry leaves, Spinage, and Succory, of each a like quantity, and a few Walnut Tree buds; chop and beat all these very well, and then strain out the juyce, and mixing it with a little more Cream, put it to the Eggs, and stir all well together; then put in a few Crums of bread, fine grated bread, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Salt; and put some sweet Butter into the Frying-pan, and so soon as it is dissolved or melted, put in the Tansey, and fry it brown without burning and with a dish turn it in the pan as occasion shall serve; then serve it up, having strewed good store of Sugar upon it, for to put in Sugar before, will make it heavy: Some use to put of the herb Tansey into it, but the Walnut-Tree buds do give the better taste of rellish, and therefore when you please for to use the one, do not use the other.

To make the best Fritters, take a pint of Cream and warm it; then take eight Eggs, only abate four of the Whites, and beat them well in a dish, and so mix them with the Cream; then put in a little Cloves, Mace, Nutmeg and Saffron, and stir them well together: then put in two spoonfuls of the best Ale barm, and a little Salt, and stir it again, then make it thick according unto your pleasure with Wheat flower; which done, set it within the air of the fire, that it may rise and swell; which when it doth, you shall beat it in once or twice, then put it into a penny pot of Sack: All this being done, you shall take a pound or two of very sweet seam, and put it into a pan, and set it over the fire, and when it is moulten, and begins to bubble, you shall take the Fritters-batter, and setting it by you, put thick slices of well pared Apples into the Batter, and then taking the Apples and Batter out together with a spoon, put it into the boyling seam, and boyl your Fritters crisp and brown: And when you find the strength of your seam consume or decay, you shall renew it with more seam: and of all sorts of seam, that which is made of the Beef-suet is the best and strongest: when your Fritters are made, strow good store of Sugar and Cinnamon upon them, being fair disht, and serve them up.

To make the best Pancakes, take two or three Eggs, and break them into a dish, and beat them well; then add unto them a pretty quantity of fair running Water, and beat all well together: then put in Cloves, Mace, Cinnamon and Nutmeg, and season it with Salt; which done, make it as thick as you think good with fine Wheat-flower, then fry the Cakes as thin as may be with sweet butter, or sweet seam, and make them brown, and so serve them up with Sugar, strewed upon them. There be some which mix Pancakes with new Milk or Cream, but that makes them tough, cloying, and not so crisp, pleasant and savory as running water.

To make the best Veal Toasts, take the Kidney, fat and all, of a loyn of Veal fosted, and shred it as small as is possible; Then take a couple of Eggs and heat them very well, which done, take Spinage, Succory, Violet-leaves, and Marigold-leaves, and beat them, and strain out the juyce, and mix it with the Eggs: then put it to your Veal, and stir it exceedingly well in a dish, then put to good store of Currants clean washt and pickt, Cloves, Mace, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Sugar, and Salt, and mix them all perfectly well together: then take a manchet and cut it into Toasts, and toast them well before the fire; then with a spoon lay upon the Toast in a good thickness, the Veal, prepared as before-said; which done, put into your Frying-pan good store of sweet butter, and when it is well melted and very hot put your Toasts into the same with the bread side upward, and the flesh side down-ward; and as soon as you see they are fried brown, lay upon the upper side of the Toasts which are bare, more of the flesh meat, and then turn them, and fry that side brown also, then take them out of the pan, and dish them up, and strew Sugar uon them, and so serve them forth.

There be some Cooks which will do this but upon one side of the Tosts, but to do it on both is much better; if you add cream it is not amiss.

To make the best Pamperdy, Take a dozen Eggs, and break them, and beat them very well; then put unto them Cloves, Mace, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and good store of Sugar, with as much Salt as shall season it: then take a Manchet, and cut it into thick slices like Toasts; which done, take your Frying-pan, and put into it good store of sweet butter, and being mlted, lay in your slices of bread, then pour upon them one half of your Eggs, then when it is fryed, with a dish turn your slices of bread upward, and then pour on them the other half of your Eggs, and so turn them till both sides be brown; then dish it up, and serve it with Sugar strewed upon it.

To make a Quelquechose, which is a mixture of many things together; take the Eggs and break them, and do away one half of the Whites, and after they are beaten, put them to a good quantity of sweet Cream, Currants, Cinnamon, Cloves, Mace, Salt, and a little Ginger, Spinage, Endive, and Mary-gold flowers grosly chopt, and beat them all very well together; then take Pigs Petitoes slic'd and grosly chopt, mixt them with the Eggs, and with your hand stir them exceeding well together; then put in sweet Butter in your Frying-pan, and being melted, put in all the rest, and fry it brown without burning, ever and anon turning it, till it be Fryed enough; then dish it upon a flat plate, and so serve it forth. Onely here is to be observed, that your Pettitoes must be very well boyled before you put them into the Fry-case.

And in this manner as you make this Quelquechose, so you may make any other, whether it be of flesh, small Birds, sweet Roots, Oysters, Muscles, Cockles, Giblets, Lemmons, Oranges, or any Fruit, Pulse, or other Sallet herb whatsoever; of which to speak severally, were a Labour infinite, because they vary with mens opinion. Onely the composition and work is no other than this before prescribed: and who can do these need no further instruction for the rest. And thus much for Sallets and Fricases.