Dressed vegetables à la mode

About this book

"Dressed vegetables à la mode" by Mrs. De Salis is a cookbook written in the late 19th century. It offers fashionable, French-leaning ways to prepare vegetables, mushrooms, and truffles, from simple creams and stews to gratins, fritters, curries, soufflés, and decorative cold dishes with aspic. Organized by ingredient, it emphasizes elegant sauces, neat plating, and variety for the stylish home cook.

The opening of the volume presents a brief preface in which the author resumes her “à la mode” series at readers’ request and credits a few recipes to Madame de Joncourt’s “Wholesome Cookery.” It then moves straight into alphabetically arranged, concise recipes beginning with yams and artichokes and proceeding through asparagus, beetroot, beans, and beyond. Early entries showcase hallmark techniques—stuffed artichokes, béchamel and Espagnole sauces, omelets and fritters, gratins with Parmesan, delicate creams, curries, and cold presentations set in aspic—applied to vegetables such as asparagus, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, mushrooms, onions, and an especially large array of potatoes. The instructions are brisk and practical, using period measures (gills, ounces) and frequent garnishes (fried sippets, croûtons, Parmesan), establishing the book’s methodical, ingredient-by-ingredient approach from the outset.