Public-domain ebook
The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book
Language: en1,091 downloads on Project Gutenberg
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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #39550.
About this book
The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book is a professional kitchen manual written by Victor Hirtzler, the former chef of San Francisco’s famed Hotel St. Francis. First published in 1919, the work opens with a detailed preface in which Hirtzler explains his aim to capture the “art of cookery” as practiced in the modern hotel trade, drawing on his training in Europe and his observations of American, English, French, and Swiss cuisine. The book then proceeds day by day, listing breakfast, luncheon, and dinner menus for a full month, each entry accompanied by precise recipes, ranging from simple “sliced oranges” to elaborate dishes such as “Squab pot pie, a l’Anglaise.” The text preserves the original typographic quirks, while correcting obvious errors, and includes practical notes on technique, ingredient handling, and presentation.
Written in a straightforward, instructional voice, the book reflects the early‑20th‑century culinary world of upscale hotels. Its language is formal yet accessible, with clear step‑by‑step directions and occasional culinary terminology explained in the margins. Readers who enjoy historical gastronomy, professional chefs interested in classic hotel service, or home cooks fascinated by elaborate period menus will find Hirtzler’s meticulous recipes and the glimpse into a bygone era of American hospitality both informative and inspiring.
The opening · free to read
=Eggs Oriental.= Put on a plate one slice of tomato fried in butter, on top of the tomato place six slices of cucumber simmered in butter and well seasoned, on top of that one poached egg, and cover with sauce Hollandaise.
=Tripe and potatoes, family style.= Slice the white ends of six leeks very fine, put in sauce pan with four ounces of butter and simmer for five minutes. Then add a scant spoonful of flour and simmer again. Then add one pound of tripe cut in pieces one inch square, one pint of bouillon, two raw potatoes sliced fine, some chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and one-half glass of white wine. Cover and cook for an hour, or until all is soft.
=Boiled whitefish, Netherland style.= Boil, and serve on napkin with small boiled potatoes, lemon and parsley. Serve melted butter separate.
=Squab pot pie, à l'Anglaise.= Roast the squabs and cut in two. Fry a thin slice of fillet of beef on both sides, over a quick fire, in melted butter. Put both in a pie dish with a chopped shallot that was merely heated with the fillet, six heads of canned or fresh mushrooms, one-half of a hard-boiled egg, a little chopped parsley, and some flour gravy made from the roasted squab juice, and well seasoned with a little Worcestershire sauce. Cover with pie dough and bake for twenty minutes. This is for an individual pie; make in the same proportions for à large pie.
=Lemon water ice.= One quart of water, one pound of sugar, and four lemons. Dissolve the sugar in the water, add the rinds of two lemons and the juice of four lemons. Strain and freeze.
=Orange water ice.= One quart of water, one pound of sugar, three oranges and one lemon. Melt the sugar in the water, add the juice of the oranges and the lemon, and one drop of coloring. Strain and freeze.
=Strawberry water ice.= One-half pound of sugar, one pint of water, one pint of strawberry pulp, the juice of one lemon, and coloring. Strain and freeze.
=Raspberry water ice.= Same directions as for strawberry water ice. Use raspberry pulp instead.
=Cantaloupe water ice.= Add to one quart of cantaloupe pulp the juice of three lemons and a half pound of sugar. Pass through a fine sieve and freeze.
=Omelet with oysters.= Parboil six oysters, add one spoonful of cream sauce and season well. Make the omelet, and before turning over on platter place the oysters in the center. Serve with light cream around the omelet.
=Perch sauté, meunière.= Season the fish well with salt and pepper, roll in flour, put in frying pan and cook with butter. When done, put fish on platter, and put a fresh piece of butter in pan, over fire, and allow to become hazelnut color. Pour the butter and the juice of a lemon over the fish, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and garnish with quartered lemons and parsley in branches.
=Browned hashed potatoes.= Hash three cold boiled potatoes. Melt three ounces of butter in a frying pan, add the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and fry evenly. When nearly done form in the pan in the shape of a rolled omelet and fry again until well browned on the top. Turn over on platter in the same manner as an omelet, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
=Lobster salad.= Take the tails of two boiled lobsters, season with salt and pepper and a teaspoonful of vinegar, and let stand for a half hour, then add one cup of mayonnaise sauce. Put some sliced lettuce in the bottom of a salad bowl, the lobster salad on top, a few nice lettuce leaves around the sides, cover the salad again with mayonnaise, and decorate with hard-boiled eggs, beets and olives.
=Lobster salad with anchovies.= Same as above. Decorate with fillets of anchovies.
=Floating island.= Beat the whites of six eggs very stiff, add six ounces of powdered sugar and the inside of a vanilla bean. Mix well. Boil one quart of milk, one-quarter pound of sugar, and the remainder of the vanilla bean, in a wide vessel. Dip a tablespoon in hot water and form the beaten eggs, or meringue, into the shape and size of an egg, and drop into the boiling milk. Dip the spoon in hot water each time so the meringue will not stick. Take off the fire and let stand for a few minutes, turning the floating eggs several times. Then take out of the milk and dress on napkin to cool. Boil the milk again and bind with the yolks of two eggs, strain and cool. Put the sauce in a bowl, or deep dish, and float the "islands" on top. Serve very cold.
=Chicken salad, Victor.= Cut the breast of a boiled soup hen or boiled chicken in half-inch squares, add one-half cup of string beans cut in pieces one inch long, a cup of boiled rice, one peeled tomato cut in small squares and one sliced truffle. Season with salt, fresh-ground black pepper, a little chives, chervil, parsley, one spoonful of tarragon vinegar and two spoonsful of best olive oil. Mix well and serve on lettuce leaves.
=Potage Normande.= Velouté with Julienne of carrots and turnips.
=Fillet of turbot, Daumont.= Put the fillet in a buttered pan, season with salt and pepper, and add one glass of white wine. Boil six fresh mushrooms in a little water and strain the juice over the fish, or use the juice of canned mushrooms. Cook the fish, remove to platter, and reduce the sauce to glace, then add one pint of sauce au vin blanc (white wine sauce), strain, and before pouring over the fish add two ounces of sweet butter and the juice of one lemon.
=Sirloin of beef, Clermont.= Roast sirloin of beef, sauce Madère, garnished with tomatoes stuffed with whole chestnuts, and Bermuda onions stuffed with cabbage.
=Boiled chestnuts.= Cut the chestnut shells with a sharp knife and put on pan in oven for ten minutes. Then peel, put in vessel with a small piece of celery, salt, and cover with water. Boil slowly so they will remain whole when done. Use for garnishing, stuffing, etc.
=Tomatoes stuffed with chestnuts.= Peel four nice fresh tomatoes, cut off the tops, scoop out the insides, and fill with boiled chestnuts. Put a small piece of butter on top, and put in oven for five minutes. Serve as a garnish, or as an entrée with Madeira sauce.
=Boiled cabbage.= Cut a head of cabbage in four, trim and wash well. Have a kettle with salt water boiling. Put the cabbage in the kettle and cook until nearly soft, then drain off nine-tenths of the water, add a small piece of ham, or ham bone, and simmer till soft. Remove the ham or bone and prepare the cabbage with cream, or any other style. For stuffing onions, cut the cabbage up, add a little butter, and season with salt and pepper.
=Stuffed onions with cabbage.= Peel four large Bermuda or Spanish onions. Boil them in salt water until nearly done, then remove from the fire and allow to cool. Take out the inside and fill with cabbage prepared as above. Put the stuffed onions on a buttered dish with a piece of butter on top, and bake in oven.
=Consommé Julienne.= The word "Julienne" is a common kitchen term, signifying cut in slender strips, or match shape. For consommé garnish cut "Julienne" style one carrot, one turnip, one leek, a small piece of celery, four leaves of cabbage, and one-half of an onion. Season with a spoonful of salt, and one-half teaspoonful of sugar. Mix well. Put in a well-buttered casserole, cover with buttered paper and the casserole cover, put in oven moderately hot, and allow to simmer slowly. Turn occasionally, using a fork to avoid breaking the vegetables. They should simmer without adding liquid, but should they be too dry, a half cup of consommé may be added. Cook until soft, and drain on a sieve so all the juice will run off. Combine with two quarts of consommé, and before serving add a few peas and some chervil.
=Fillet of sole, Gasser.= Put four fillets of sole in cold milk seasoned with salt and pepper, and leave for four hours. Then wrap around raw potatoes, cut like a cork, and about three inches long. Let one side extend over the potato, and fasten with a toothpick. Fry slowly in swimming lard until golden brown, then take out, remove the toothpick, push out the potato, and fill the center of the sole with a very thick filling composed of two-thirds Béarnaise sauce and one-third of reduced tomato sauce. Serve on napkin with fried parsley, and tomato sauce, separate.
=Boiled salmon, sauce Princess.= Boil the salmon, serve the sauce separate. Make the sauce as follows: One pint of Hollandaise sauce, one spoonful of meat extract, and twelve parboiled oysters, thoroughly mixed.
=Stuffed capon, St. Antoine.= Season the capon well, both inside and out, and put in ice box. Prepare a stuffing as follows: The bread crumbs made from a five-cent loaf of bread, twelve whole boiled chestnuts, three boiled fresh, or canned, apricots, six stewed prunes, three boiled, or canned, pears, and two peaches. Put in a bowl, add an egg and one gill of brandy, and mix well. Fill the capon, wrap a piece of fat pork around it, and put in roasting pan with a carrot, onion, bouquet garni, and three ounces of butter. Put in oven and roast slowly, basting continually until done. Remove the capon to a platter and take off the fat pork. Return the pan to fire and bring to a boil. When the fat is clear drain it off and add to the pan one-half cup of bouillon and one cup of brown gravy. Season, boil, strain and pour over the capon. Garnish with watercress.
=Shirred eggs, Mornay.= Put on a buttered shirred egg dish one spoonful of cream sauce, break two fresh eggs on top, season with salt and pepper, cover the eggs with sauce Mornay, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in oven.
=Potage Marquis.= Cream of rice with breast of boiled chicken cut in small squares.
=Stuffed lobster.= Prepare the lobster as for croquettes. Clean the shells and fill with the prepared lobster. Sprinkle the top with cheese and bread crumbs mixed with a small piece of butter, and bake in oven. Serve on napkin with quartered lemon and parsley.
=Maître d'hôtel potatoes.= Peel and slice two boiled potatoes and put in pan. Season with salt and pepper, cover with thick cream, and boil for a few minutes. Then add two ounces of sweet butter and mix well, being careful not to break the potatoes. Just before serving add the juice of one-half lemon and some chopped parsley.
=Boiled Brussels sprouts.= Clean and wash the sprouts, boil in salt water till soft. Drain and cool. Be careful that the sprouts remain whole.
=Brussels sprouts with chestnuts.= Melt three ounces of butter in pan, add two cups of fresh-boiled sprouts, season with salt and pepper, and fry for a few minutes. Then add a cup of fresh-boiled chestnuts, mix well, and serve with a sprinkle of parsley on top.
=Boiled spinach.= Clean the spinach and wash in four or five waters, as it is difficult to remove the sand. It is sometimes necessary to wash as many as ten times to remove it all. Put a gallon of water and a handful of salt in a pot and bring to the boiling point. Add the spinach, and boil over a very hot fire, so it will remain green. It will require from five to ten minutes, depending upon the tenderness of the spinach. Drain off water and serve plain. Or, cool with cold water, press dry with the hand, and prepare as desired.
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