Anchois - anchovy

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Anchovy, a small fish of the sea, usually preserved in salt in small barrels; one usually makes salads of them--it is the most common way to eat them; wash [soak] them in wine or water, then split them in two [at this point you may have to clean them if they were preserved whole--innards & fins] & remove fillets; properly arrange them on small lettuces & garnish with fresh chervil. Puréed anchovy is used in ragouts, as well for fat [days] as for thin [fast days]. Fry them if you want crisp anchovies for hors d’œuvres after dipping them in a batter made with water, flour, an egg, a little salt & pepper; serve with a drizzle of orange juice & [sprinkle with] fried parsley.

La nouvelle maison rustique, ou, Économie generale de tous les biens de campagne: la manière de les entretenir & de les multiplier : donée ci-devant au public / par le Sieur Louis Liger. Paris : Saugrain, 1755, Tome II, IV. Part. LIV. IV. Chap. I. La Cuisine. B., p. 795-796.

Anchois, petits poissons de mer qu’on apporte tout confits au sel dans de petits barils; on en fait ordinairement des salades, & c’est la façon la plus commune de les manger; on les lave pour cela dans du vin ou de l’eau, puis on les fend en deux & on leve l’arrête du milieu; on les arrange proprement sur de petites laitues & l’on garnit de jeune cerfeuil. On fait aussi un coulis d’anchois, & il entre dans plusieurs ragouts, tant gras que maigres. On frit si l’on veut les arêttes d’anchois qui ont servi, après les avoir trempés dans une pâte faite avec de l’eau, de la farine, un œuf, un peu de sel & poivre; ils servent de garnitures ou hors-d’œures, avec oranges & persil frit.

Champignons ragoût - mushroom ragout

Mushroom Ragout. After they are well cleansed [brushed off], pass them in the pan with very fresh butter, parsley and chibol [scallions] minced, season and stove [cook] them, and when you are ready to serve, put into it the juice and peel of lemon and serve.

The French Cook, François Pierre La Varenne, Englished in 1653, p. 96.

Timbales

Timbale—drum-shaped mold, either small or large, used to shape and bake a filling in a container [crust]. Some people believe that timbale is actually a thimble and some molds reflect this shape. Think of a large timbale being baked in a soufflé dish or a charlotte mold. Small timbales can be baked in ramekins, special molds or even oven-proof cups.

As we learned in Darioles, by mid-18thC people were becoming concerned about the necessity of baking in crusts—an added calorie count—and were looking for ways of cooking without having to eat the container. Most modern timbales reflect this continued idea, and are usually layers of cooked pastes or custards, pasta or rice and vegetables and/or meats baked in molds and inverted onto sauces when plated. Ingredients and sauces can be served either hot or cold and are especially tasty when served in season.

As an example, Dione Lucas suggests using lobster coral to line a buttered timbale mold in which to bake an egg. Both she and Julia Child suggest using crepes to line the mold and to fold over the top [which ends up being the bottom when unmolded] to contain savory ragouts.

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Dictionnaire Portatif de Cuisine, d'Office, et de Distillation. Chez Vincent, Paris 1767, p. 350.

Name given to any sort of ragout that one locks up in a pie [either a pastry crust or other manner of food used to contain the ragout once it is cooked and will hold its shape when unmolded], & which one bakes in an oven. Only your imagination and your mold limits you in the size or [crust] or filling of your timbale—any kind of ragout can be baked in a [crust] in a timbale.

Nom qu’on a donné à toute espece de ragout qu’on enferme dans un pâté, & qu’on fait cuire au four. On en peur faire, & imaginer d’autant de façons qu’il y a de sorte de ragouts, qui peuvent se mettre en pâté.