Pour Fond De Cuisine Sauce Au Veau

This recipe is drawn from the vibrant world of Louisiana Creole cooking at the turn of the twentieth century. 'Cooking in old Creole days' captures the everyday ingenuity of the petit ménage—the small, often frugal, urban households of Francophone New Orleans. In these kitchens, resourcefulness meant that nothing was wasted: stocks made from veal off-cuts and bones became the backbone of countless sauces and braises. Food was a celebration of both French culinary heritage and the local bounty. The book, written in both French and English, bridges two culinary cultures at a time when Creole identity was proudly asserted in America's bustling port cities.

Cooks of the era relied primarily on heavy iron or copper pots and skillets, wood-fired or coal stoves, kitchen knives for jointing meat, and a simple passoire (strainer) or cheesecloth to filter the stock. Fat was skimmed with large spoons after cooling in earthenware bowls. The absence of refrigeration meant stocks had to be used promptly or clarified for longer keeping.