Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (189 page)

4 egg whites (at room temperature)

Pinch of salt

¼ tsp cream of tartar

A clean, dry bowl and electric mixer or balloon whip

Beat the egg whites until foaming, beat in the salt and cream of tartar, and continue until egg whites form stiff peaks. Then beat the egg whites into the hot custard with your whip, making a foamy mass—the mousse.

The pineapple wedges

A 6-cup metal mold, fluted or decorated if you wish

Half the orange peel

A large bowl with 2 trayfuls of ice cubes and water to cover them

A rubber spatula

Plastic wrap

Arrange a handful of pineapple wedges in the bottom of the mold for decoration. Drain the pineapple maceration liqueur into the mousse, then fold it in along with the orange peel. Set bowl with mousse in
bowl of ice cubes and water; stir every few minutes with rubber spatula until mousse thickens and is about to set. (Beat with wire whip if necessary to smooth it again.) Rapidly turn ⅓ of the mousse into the mold, spread half the pineapple wedges over it, cover with half the remaining mousse, then the rest of the pineapple and finally the last of the mousse. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until serving time.

(*) May be made a day of two ahead; may be frozen and served either frozen or thawed.

3)
Serving

A large bowl of hot water

A chilled serving dish

The rest of the orange peel

Either
crème Chantilly
(lightly whipped cream with confectioner’s sugar and flavoring);

Or crème anglaise
(
custard sauce
), with a little heavy cream stirred in

Shortly before serving, dip mold for 5 seconds in hot water, turn serving dish upside down on top of mold and reverse the two, unmolding dessert onto dish. Fold remaining orange peel into whatever sauce you have chosen, and pass separately.

RIZ DES HESPÉRIDES

[Mold of Orange-flavored Rice and Cherries]

In the long-ago European days before frozen strawberries and canned apricots, the only fruits to be had during the winter were dried or glacéed; when once in a while fresh oranges came in from Italy or Spain, they would be combined into something very special, like this unusual rice dessert. You will find it a delicious illustration of what wonders can be wrought with simple and inexpensive ingredients—the rice is simmered in milk and puréed orange peel, then molded with glacéed orange and lemon peel, cherries, and almonds; it is served with custard sauce or whipped cream.

For a 6-cup mold, serving 8 to 10

Make this the morning, or the day, or several days before you wish to serve.

1)
The orange rice

¾ cup plain, raw, white rice

3 quarts rapidly boiling water in a saucepan

2 large, bright-skinned oranges

A vegetable peeler

An electric blender

2 cups milk

A heavy 2-quart flame-proof baking dish with cover

2 Tb butter

⅛ tsp salt

Pinch nutmeg

Waxed paper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sprinkle rice into boiling water and boil rapidly for exactly 5 minutes; drain immediately. Wash oranges. Remove the zests (orange part of peel) with vegetable peeler, and place in blender with ½ cup of the milk. Purée zests and milk, and pour into baking dish; add rest of milk, blanched rice, butter, salt, and nutmeg. Bring just to the simmer on top of the stove, then lay waxed paper over surface of milk, cover dish, and place in middle level of preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until rice is tender and all liquid has absorbed. While rice is cooking, prepare ingredients in next step.

2)
The fruit garniture

⅓ cup glacéed cherries

A pan of boiling water and a sieve

A small bowl

2 Tb Cognac

⅔ cup mixed, diced glacéed orange peel, lemon peel, and citron

A small saucepan

1 package (1 Tb) plain, unflavored gelatin

2 Tb strained lemon juice

3 Tb strained orange juice

3 Tb orange liqueur

A pan of hot water to hold the pan of glacéed fruits and gelatin

Slice cherries in half lengthwise (through stem end) and drop into boiling water to wash off preservatives. Drain, and place ½ in the small bowl with the Cognac. Then drop rest of glacéed fruit into boiling water and leave for several minutes—to soften as well as wash them. Drain, and put into small saucepan with the remaining cherries. Sprinkle on the gelatin, and stir in the lemon juice, orange juice, and orange liqueur. Let gelatin soften for several minutes, then set the pan in hot water, stirring occasionally, so gelatin will dissolve completely by the time you are ready to use it. (Reheat water, as necessary.)

3)
Assembling the mold

A 6-cup charlotte mold or cylindrical dish 3 to 3½ inches deep, bottom lined with waxed paper

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

A small, heavy saucepan and cover

A cup of iced water or a candy thermometer

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup sliced almonds with or without skins

As soon as you remove the rice from the oven, make the sugar syrup: blend sugar and water in saucepan and bring to boil over moderately high heat, swishing pan by handle until sugar has dissolved completely and liquid is perfectly clear. Cover pan and boil rapidly for 1 to 2 minutes, until syrup is forming large, thick bubbles. Uncover and in a few seconds test: syrup should form a soft ball in the iced
water, or be at a temperature of 238 degrees. By spoonfuls, rapidly but gently fold the syrup into the rice. Fold in the diced fruits and gelatin mixture, and the vanilla; drain in the Cognac from the cherries, and fold in along with the sliced almonds. Mixture should cool somewhat before being molded; set in a pan of cold water or over cracked ice and water, folding occasionally until liquids and rice form a homogeneous blend.