A guide to modern cookery

of the soups on the table; they _relieved_ the soups; hence their name, which now, of course, is quite meaningless. The Russian method of serving greatly simplified the practice just described. Nowadays a dinner rarely consists of more than two soups, two Relevés (one of which is fish), and two or three Entrées for the first service. Very often the fish Relevé, instead of being a large piece of fish, only consists of fillets of sole, of chicken-turbots, &c., or timbales, which are real entrées; while the Relevés (consisting of large pieces of butcher’s meat or game), instead of being served as common sense would dictate, _i.e._, after the fish Relevé, when the diner’s appetite is still keen, are placed, according to English custom, after the Entrées. Thus, as the two above examples show, the parts played by the Relevés and Entrées respectively are very far from being clearly defined; and I therefore resolved to treat of them both in the same chapter, and to append a few grills (usually accompanied by various sauces and garnishes), which are really only luncheon-roasts. The indications given concerning the class to which the recipes belong will suffice to avoid confusion. RELEVÉS AND ENTRÉES OF BUTCHER’S MEAT BEEF 1043—FILLET OF BEEF (Relevé) Fillet of beef for a Relevé may consist either of the whole piece, trimmed, studded, or larded, or a more or less large piece cut from the whole, and treated after one of the methods suited to the whole fillet. The fillet may be braised, _poëled_, or roasted; but the last two modes of preparation suit it best, as it is generally preferred underdone and somewhat red towards the centre. The garnishes for a Relevé of fillet of beef are as numerous as they are varied; and, as they are applicable not only to fillet of beef but to all Relevés of butcher’s meat, I give them here in preference, since fillet of beef may be considered the choicest of Relevés. 1044—FILETS DE BŒUF ANDALOUSE Having removed all the connective tissue from the fillet, lard it with thin strips of bacon, and