Spons' Household Manual A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management (part 4 of 9)

Spons' Household Manual A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management (part 4 of 9)

Clean the fish through as small an opening as is practicable, and lay them, without scaling, on a well-oiled gridiron on a brisk fire; keep turning them until you judge they are done, and send up to table with them, in a sauce boat, some liquefied butter, to which pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon have been added. There should be one perch for each person. Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

Pike (Brochet).--When they exceed 4-5 lb. in weight, they are excessively coarse and hardly worth carriage, but those of small or moderate size are not to be despised when stuffed with a veal stuffing--into which a liberal supply of lemon peel has entered--and baked.

Baked with Sour Cream.--Cut the pike in neat slices. Place them in an earthen baking dish with some butter at the bottom; divide 2 bay leaves into pieces, and put them with slices of onion between the fish; strew with salt, and pour over ½ pint sour cream. Bake about 20 minutes in a quick oven, basting at intervals; then strew over some fine breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese, bake a few minutes more till delicately coloured, dish without breaking the slices, but take away the bay leaf and onions. Pour enough broth or water into the baking dish to make a sauce; add pepper, salt, lemon juice, or vinegar; stir well round the crusting, and pour it over the fish.

Boiled.--Rub off the slime with salt and water, cut away gills and fins, draw, &c., and put into a fish kettle a handful of salt, 2 dr. cloves, also of mace, 2 sliced nutmegs, the peel of a lemon, and a small quantity of ginger peeled and sliced, 2 dr. whole pepper, 4 or 5 onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, equal quantities of rosemary, marjoram, thyme, winter savory and parsley, enough liquor, 3 parts water and one white wine, to cover the fish. Let it boil, put in the fish, and cook slowly. When done drain the liquor from it, and dish with the herbs and spices on it, sliced lemons and lemon peel, and with either of the following sauces: Sauce.--(1) To 1 ladleful melted butter add 2 of the boiling liquor in which the fish was cooked. (2) Add to the above some slices of lemon, and an anchovy or two pounded quite smooth. Garnish the fish with powdered ginger. (3) Add to the above some oysters, some sliced horseradish, and a small quantity of white wine, lastly, add the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs.

Broiled: see Carp.

Carbonade.--Slices of pike, neatly cut and cleared of skin and bone, must be coated with fine herbs and oiled butter; after which sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and ladle over some beaten egg with a spoon. Bake them a pale brown, and serve with a good sprinkling of lemon juice and a little gravy made in the baking dish.

Fried.--Choose small pike not more than 15 in. long, fry them until brown and crisp, drain off the butter, and put them into a pan with nutmeg, sliced ginger, a few anchovies, salt, and just sufficient claret to cover them. Boil until the liquor be half consumed, then add a piece of butter and a sliced lemon or orange. Serve on a dish previously rubbed with shallot, and garnish with lemon or orange.

Larded.--Choose a large fish. When cleaned, lard it thickly over with fresh bacon; put butter in a baking-dish with a little water; lay in the fish in a ring, with the tail in its mouth, and bake in a brisk oven; when half-done, strew fine breadcrumbs over, with pepper and salt; baste occasionally, and when done a delicate brown move the fish carefully on to a flat dish; pour into the baking-dish a brown caper sauce or a sardine sauce; add a good sprinkling of lemon juice; scrape in the crusting of the dish; pour the sauce over the fish, and serve.

Roast.--Stuff a large pike with veal stuffing, rather highly seasoned, and sew it up. Skewer its tail into its mouth and put it in a round baking tin. Pour over a teacupful of cream, and roast it in the oven, basting it frequently. Serve in a tureen melted butter sauce, with the liquor out of the dish added, and the juice of half a lemon. Hake would be good cooked in this way; one of moderate size must be chosen if it is to be cooked whole.

Soused: see Carp.

Stewed.--Having cleaned and scaled the pike, lay it in plenty of salted water. Put a good-sized piece of butter in a stewpan, with a large tablespoonful of chopped parsley and either a shallot, an onion, a clove of garlic, or some minced chives, 2 slices of lemon, 2 or 3 cloves, salt and pepper; cut up the fish into good-sized pieces. A pike of about 4 lb. weight is best this way. Add a glass of wine, the same of vinegar, and a large cup of broth or water to the stewed herbs. Lay in the fish packed closely together, cover, and let it simmer about ½ hour. Mix 3 or 4 yolks of eggs, with a cup of milk or cream, pour this over the fish; strew in breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce. Let it come to the boil; dish the fish carefully, put a piece of butter to melt in the sauce, and pour it over.

Prawns (Crevettes).--Prawns are in this country generally boiled for about 10 minutes, and served cold. Very pretty they look when built up over a buisson of parsley, and very nice they taste as a preparation for more serious dishes. In India and America, where they grow to a very large size, prawns are often curried or served in an omelette. In both of these cases they are first boiled, allowed to cool, and carefully picked. For an omelette they are then tossed in butter seasoned with a little pepper, and inserted into the fold of the omelette, and in curry are treated precisely like curried lobster. In the first form they are exquisitely delicate; in the second simply delicious.

Aspic.--Make a savoury jelly with 2-3 lb. knuckle of veal, an oxfoot, some lean bacon, carrots, onions, shallots, a faggot of herbs, spices, pepper, and salt, and 2 qt. water; stew till quite strong, strain, when cold remove all fat, and clear with the whites of 2 or 3 eggs, and a glass of sherry; strain through a jelly bag, and when nearly set pour a little into a jelly mould, put a layer of cooked prawns, another layer of jelly and so on, filling up the mould with alternate layers of jelly and prawns; when quite firm (it will require icing) dip the mould in hot water for an instant, and turn it out very carefully. Crayfish may be cooked in the same way.

Roach (Gardon, rosse).--Broiled: see Carp; Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

Salmon (Saumon).--A good fresh salmon is stiff, is bright and clear in the scale, and has a small head. When the head looks long and the jaws are hooked at the ends, it is no longer desirable. The fish should be thick and deep, and the flesh of a fine pink colour, and very firm. Flabbiness in substance, and a crimson or purplish colour, are infallible indices of a fish out of condition. Salmon may be eaten advantageously with shrimp or with Hollandaise sauce, with caper sauce, with simple beurre fondu, or perhaps best of all with fennel sauce.

À la Montpelier.--Take 6-8 lb. of the middle of a large salmon, put it into a braizing pan with 3 qt. stock, 2 qt. water, and ½ bottle chablis, with sliced carrots and onions, 6 bay leaves, some basil, thyme, and ¼ oz. fresh butter. Put it on the fire, and let it just boil, then withdraw it, and let it braize gently for 1 hour. Take equal proportions of chives and parsley, and a fourth part of anchovy. Blanch and then pound them in a mortar with fresh butter and cayenne to taste; when reduced to a smooth paste, pass it through a hair sieve, and put it on ice. When the salmon is cold, take it out of the braize and drain it, then cover it evenly with the above mixture. Serve ornamented with lobster spawn and aspic jelly, with truffles and chopped whites of egg.

Au bleu.--Cut the salmon into slices not quite 1 in. thick. If trout be used, let it be gutted by the gills, and not scaled, but only well washed. Lay the fish in a deep dish, pour over it about a teacupful of boiling vinegar, more or less, according to the quantity. Let the fish soak in this for an hour; then take it out, fold it in a nice clean piece of linen, place it in a stewpan with a piece of butter, an onion and a carrot thinly sliced, a bunch of parsley, a shallot, 2 bay leaves, a sprig of basil, spice, pepper, and salt to taste, 1 pint red wine (vin ordinaire), and a little broth. Let all simmer gently till the fish is cooked enough; the weight of the fish must decide the time. Let the fish remain in the liquor till cool, then serve it dry on a napkin, with the following sauce: 1 part vinegar to 2 of oil, with equal quantities of sorrel, chives, and chervil, chopped small, but not very fine.

Au gratin.--Take 2 slices salmon, about 1 in. thick, lay them in a buttered tin, having first sprinkled them on both sides with pepper and salt, put a few pieces of butter on them, and over all a sheet of buttered paper. Place the tin in the oven for ¼ hour, then take out the slices, lay them on a dish, pour the butter over them, and sprinkle them all over with grated Parmesan cheese, and a very little fine baked breadcrumbs on the top. Place the dish in the oven for 10 minutes, and serve in the same dish.

Boiled.--Put the fish--scaled and cleaned--into a fish kettle with sufficient cold water to cover it well, and with salt in the proportion of 1 lb. to 6 qt.; boil it quickly, skim carefully, and let it simmer till quite done. Remove it from the water, drain, brush the outer skin lightly with salad oil, and serve on a hot dish, with cut lemon and parsley.

Broiled.--Salmon for broiling should be cut in slices not more than 1 in. thick. These may be floured, dusted with a little pepper and salt, broiled on a gridiron previously rubbed with butter, and served with plain butter or anchovy sauce; but a better method is to rub the slices of salmon with a salad oil, instead of adopting the ancient process of flouring. Another and perhaps still better plan is--after drying the slices of fish thoroughly, to season them with a little pepper and salt, and a soupçon of grated nutmeg. Then take some sheets of white paper, considerably larger--when doubled--than the steaks, and anoint them either with butter or with oil. Wrap each slice of salmon in a sheet of paper, and fasten the paper by turning up a rim and pinching it over. Broil gently over a very clear fire for about 20 minutes, and serve on a very hot dish. See Carp.

Boudin.--Take equal quantities cold boiled salmon and breadcrumbs. Put the salmon, finely flaked and picked free from bone and skin, into a mortar; pound it, pass it through a sieve, and return it to the mortar, then work into it half its bulk of butter, the breadcrumbs soaked in milk and squeezed dry; season with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; then work in sufficient eggs, in the proportion of 2 yolks and 1 white, to bind the mixture. Put it into buttered moulds, and steam it for ½ hour in a saucepan full of boiling water. Serve with Dutch sauce.

Cakes.--Pound about 1 lb. cold boiled salmon free of skin, with about the same quantity of cold boiled potatoes, taking care first to remove any eyes or dark-coloured specks there may be; with these beat up some pounded spawn of lobster, an egg, and a little milk. Season with salt and pepper and a few grains of cayenne. Then, with 2 little flour, roll into cakes, and fry them a nice brown. Dress them, set round on a napkin in a dish, garnished with fried parsley.

Chaud-froid.--Cut a slice about 4 in. thick from a fine salmon. Wrap it round with thin slices of fat bacon, first detaching the skin, by passing a sharp knife under it, from the fish, without removing it, and placing a piece of carrot wrapped in bacon in the hollow of the slice to keep it in shape; tie it firmly round with string. Set it on a small strainer, and place this in a stewpan. Have ready a sauce made by putting into a stewpan ¼ lb. chopped suet, ¼ lb. fat bacon, with some sprigs of parsley, 2 small onions and 1 carrot, both to be sliced, 2 cloves, the juice of half a lemon, a saltspoonful of pepper, and a little salt. Let these remain on the fire about 10 minutes, stirring them carefully during the time to prevent their getting brown; add as much water as may be necessary to use for boiling the salmon in, and let it boil for 1 hour, strain it and let it get cool, when it will be ready to pour over the fish into the stewpan. This stewpan should be no larger than absolutely necessary, or a very large quantity of the sauce would be required in which to boil the fish. Set the stewpan on a moderate fire for about ¾ hour; remove it, and let the fish remain in the liquor till nearly cold; then remove it to an earthen strainer on a dish, and set it aside to become quite cold and firm. Take the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 anchovies, a dessertspoonful of capers, 2 green gherkins, a few chives, and some sprigs of parsley and tarragon, previously washed and well freed from water; pound all these well together in a mortar, and then mix in 2 oz. fresh butter, very gradually adding 2 tablespoonfuls salad oil, and 1 dessertspoonful tarragon vinegar; season with pepper and salt. Rub this all through a sieve and if too soft set it on the ice for a short time until sufficiently firm for use. Cut a slice of bread 1 in. thick, shape it into an oval form to suit the form of the salmon, fry it in butter a light colour, and spread some of the prepared butter all over it with a knife dipped in warm water. Place this on the dish in which it is to be served, set the fish on it, and spread the upper part of it with a rather thin coating of the same butter, smoothing it well with the blade of a knife. Cut a truffle into slices, and with a cutter stamp it into leaves, circles, &c. Some thin slices of white of hard-boiled egg should be stamped out in the same way, and be used for ornamenting the fish. A little bright red spawn of lobster should also be tastefully added here and there on the fish. The dish should be garnished with slices of cold aspic jelly cut into three-cornered pieces, and laid slightly one over the other to form a ring round the salmon.

Croquettes.--Carefully pick out the flesh of some remnants of boiled salmon and mince it slightly. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, add the smallest quantity of flour and some hot milk. Stir on the fire a minute or so, then add pepper, salt, a little grated nutmeg, some minced parsley, and lastly the fish; shake it well, and as soon as the fish is hot take the saucepan off the fire, and stir in the yolk of an egg beaten up with the juice of half a lemon; now spread out the mixture on a plate to get cold; when cold divide it in tablespoonfuls, and fashion them all in breadcrumbs into the shape of balls; roll these in beaten-up egg, breadcrumb them well and, after the lapse of about an hour, fry in very hot lard, serving with fried parsley.

Cutlets.--Take a piece of salmon 4 in. thick, remove the bones and skin carefully, cut it in slices ½ in. thick and flatten each on the chopping board with a cutlet bat or common chopper dipped in water. From these slices cut as many neatly-shaped cutlets of a uniform shape as is possible. Place them quite flat on a well-buttered baking tin, sprinkle butter and salt over them, and ten minutes before they are wanted put them into the oven, with a sheet of buttered white paper over them. Place all the trimmings of the salmon into a saucepan, with carrots, onions, thyme, a bay leaf, some parsley, pepper, and salt, and a pint of stock. Let this boil for ½ hour; melt a small piece of butter, add to it about a teaspoonful of flour; stir it till it begins to colour; then strain into it the above sauce, and add a little chopped parsley. Cut a large cucumber in rounds 1 in. long, cut each round into 4 quarters, remove the seeds and rind, and trim each piece to a uniform shape; then throw them into boiling water with a little salt; let them boil until nearly cooked. Strain, and throw into cold water, then strain again and put into a saucepan with a little butter, pepper, salt, and chopped parsley, to be kept covered up, and warm until wanted. To dish up, pour the sauce on a dish, arrange the cutlets slanting, overlapping each other round it, and fill the hollow space in the middle with the cucumber.

Devilled.--Some thin slices of kippered salmon, 3 captain’s biscuits in clarified butter or olive oil and some devil mixture. Soak some thin captain’s biscuits in clarified butter or olive oil, rub each side over well with the mixture, and toast them on the gridiron over a clear fire. Put them on a hot dish, place on each a very thin slice of kippered salmon, and brown with a salamander or before the fire. Serve quickly and very hot.

Grilled.--Grilled salmon may be served with many sauces. Plain beurre fondu is a very good accompaniment, as is also a rich maître d’hôtel. Sauce périgueux, sauce ravigote, sauce piquante, italienne, and sauce indienne, are also frequently served; but perhaps the very best sauce of all to a salmon steak or cutlet is tartare, whose most formidable rival is the shallot sauce, known as biérnaise. French cooks are very fond of submitting salmon steaks to a preliminary bath in a marinade, composed of oil, salt, sliced onions, and plenty of parsley.

Kromeskies.--Odds and ends of cold salmon, and the tail of the fish, are well employed in making neat little dishes, such as kromeskies. To make these, cook the salmon, free it from skin and bone, and put it under a weight. When it is cooled into solidity, cut it into dice, and add half its bulk of chopped cooked truffles, if you have them, or mushrooms if the more noble fungus be unattainable. Take some good gravy, thicken it with butter and yolk of egg, reduce it a little, put in the salmon and the truffles, give it a shake up, and let it cook. Form the kromeskies with sheet wafer, dip in batter, fry them in butter, drain carefully, and serve very hot.

Mayonnaise.--Boil 5 or 6 eggs hard; when cold remove the yolks, and pound them up with 2 saltspoonfuls salt, 1 teaspoonful mustard, a little cayenne, and the raw yolks of 2 or 3 eggs. When quite smooth add 10 dessertspoonfuls oil, 2 of tarragon, and 4 of common vinegar. Wash and chop some tarragon, chervil, spring onions. Divide 1 lb. cold boiled salmon (freed from bone and skin) into flakes. Put a layer of the above salad into a bowl, then half of the salmon, pour some sauce over, then another layer of salad, the rest of the salmon and the sauce; ornament with sliced cucumber.

Pie.--Salmon pie is an elegant dish. To prepare this, take a tail of salmon and pick it clean from the bones and weigh it. Then make half its weight of whiting stuffing. Strip the fillets from 2 whiting, pound the flesh and rub it through a tammy; add to this ¼ lb. butter, and a like weight of breadcrumbs soaked in milk; season with pepper and salt, add a little white sauce, bind with yolks of 2 eggs, and mix all well together. Now take a pie dish, and put in a thin layer of stuffing, and on that a layer of salmon, seasoned with pepper, salt, and a little spice; on this put another layer of stuffing, then salmon, and so till the dish is filled; cover with paste, and bake in a slow oven till done. This requires some care in its preparation; but a simpler salmon pie may be made by mixing the cold flaked fish with mashed potatoes and a liberal dose of anchovy or shrimp sauce, and putting the whole into a pie dish, which may remain in a moderate oven till nicely browned.

Salad.--Take some boiled and “soused” salmon, mince it with apples and onions, add some salad oil, vinegar, and pepper; garnish with lemons and capers.

Scalloped.--Cut the flesh in slices half a finger thick, and these again, according to their size, into 2, 3, or 4 pieces, as round as possible. Put them into a pan with plenty of butter, and some salt and pepper. Keep a brisk fire till they are cooked through. Arrange them on a dish in a circle, overlapping each other, with a piece of fried bread the same size between each. Into the middle of these pour a sauce, tomato, genevoise, or Italian, or a white sauce, Parisienne or Normande.

Salt fish (Morue).--In buying salt fish, care should be taken to select a thick, plump slice, which should be very white, as a yellow tinge often indicates fish that has been cured for a long time. That with a black skin should be preferred. Now take a sharp knife and pare the inside all over, wash the fish thoroughly, put it into a tub of spring water for 24 hours, then wash it out and put in fresh spring water for 12 hours longer. After this, lay it in hot water for a few minutes, and scrape off the tough outside pieces and scales without injuring the skin, which should be carefully preserved intact.

Wash the fish thoroughly, cut it into handsome pieces, and set it to drain. Have ready a kettle of boiling spring water, put in the fish, and boil it 20-30 minutes, according to thickness. Skim thoroughly, take up the fish and put it across the kettle to drain. Then with the paste brush wash it well, set it on a fish stand and napkin in a very hot dish, and garnish with hard eggs chopped small, and the whites of several more cut in rings. Surround the fish with pieces of boiled parsnips, and serve mashed parsnips and potatoes in separate dishes. If the fish be “dried” instead of merely salted, it will require soaking for 12-20 hours, according to its condition before commencing the operations just described. Salt fish is in this country invariably accompanied by egg sauce in boats, and it is important that this accompaniment be supplied in profusion. A little egg sauce is mere weak trifling. To make egg sauce, boil 6 eggs for 12 minutes, let them get cold, then cut the yolks into dice, and the whites in segments. Make 1 lb. good rich melted butter, add a little cream, season with pepper, salt, and a very little cayenne. Boil for a few minutes, then add the eggs, and shake them over the fire till they are quite hot through. Serve very hot.

Sardines.--Curried.--Prepare the sardines as in the next recipe, put them on toast, and pour over them, instead of the “devil” mixture, the following sauce. Put the oil from the sardines in a small saucepan, which has previously been rubbed with a clove of garlic cut in half. When the oil boils add 1 tablespoonful flour and 1 teaspoonful curry powder, then add 2 gills stock, and boil till a good consistency is reached; then pour it upon the yolk of an egg, beaten with ½ teaspoonful lemon juice; add cayenne pepper and salt; pour over the sardines, and serve very hot.

Devilled.--Split the sardines, and remove the bones, trim them neatly, and season with a little made mustard, pepper, salt, and a little lemon juice; leave them for a short time, then broil over a clear fire, serve with fried parsley or with rich brown gravy, well flavoured and seasoned with pepper, salt, and French mustard.

Dressed.--6 sardines, 6 or 8 croûtons of bread, 2 teaspoonfuls anchovy essence, 2 teaspoonfuls Worcester sauce, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 dessertspoonful flour, 3 oz. butter, ¼ pint boiling water. Scrape, bone, and pound the sardines in a mortar with 1 oz. butter, a teaspoonful of anchovy essence, a teaspoonful of Worcester sauce; have ready fried, in fresh lard or butter, 6-8 croûtons of bread, stamped out with a small round tin cutter; spread the prepared sardines on the croûtons, and keep hot while the sauce is being made; put into a small saucepan 2 oz. butter, let it dissolve over the fire a minute; stir into it 1 dessertspoonful flour, and stir into it from the kettle ¼ pint boiling water; add to it the remainder of the anchovy and Worcester, and a little lemon juice; pour this over the croutons and serve.

Eggs.--4 eggs, 4 sardines, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, boil the eggs 8-10 minutes, and put them in cold water; scrape the sardines gently, and pound in a mortar. Peel the shells off the eggs, and cut them in halves lengthways; take out the yolks, and add them to the sardines in the mortar, and to these add the parsley, a little salt, a little white pepper, and 1 oz. butter. Pound all together and use this mixture to fill the whites of the eggs; now put the two halves together, so as to give them the appearance of whole eggs, set them on a dish, and put between them some sprigs of parsley and some strips of toast, or a border of small salad sprinkled with a little salad oil and vinegar.

Grilled.--Open a box containing 1 doz. sardines, remove the skins, and place the sardines on a tin plate in the oven till they are heated through. Meanwhile pour the oil from the sardines into a small saucepan, set it on the fire, and when it boils put in an even tablespoonful flour, stir well; then add gradually 2 gills weak stock or water. Boil till it is as thick as rich cream, then add 1 teaspoonful Worcester sauce, with salt, and plenty of cayenne pepper; beat together the yolk of 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful French mustard, and 1 teaspoonful vinegar. Pour the sauce boiling hot on the eggs, &c., stir a moment, then pour it over the sardines.

Maître d’Hôtel.--6-8 sardines, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, 1 thin slice onion chopped fine, 1 tablespoonful chili vinegar, ¼ pint melted butter, a round of toast. Have ready some toast; scrape the sardines carefully, and arrange them neatly on the toast, keep them warm while you make the following sauce: Make ¼ pint melted butter or white sauce, put into it the parsley and onion finely minced; let it boil 1 minute; add the chili vinegar or a little lemon juice, and a pinch of cayenne; pour this over the sardines, stand in the oven a few minutes, and serve.

Salad.--Take some sardines from a tin, wipe them slightly, bone and divide them into small pieces. Cut up some nicely washed lettuce, chervil, cress, &c., lay them in a salad bowl with the sardines and some chopped capers. Boil 2 eggs hard, mash the yolks, with salt, pepper, mustard, and cayenne; add gradually 3 tablespoonfuls fresh oil and 2 of lemon juice, stir well; pour it over the salad, garnish with slices of lemon and pickled capsicums.

Sandwiches.--Take 2 boxes sardines, and throw the contents into hot water, having first drained away all the oil. A few minutes will free the sardines from grease. Pour away the water, and dry the fish in a cloth; then scrape away the skins, and pound the sardines in a mortar till reduced to paste; add pepper, salt, and some tiny pieces of lettuce, and spread on the sandwiches, which have been previously cut as above. The lettuce adds very much to the flavour of the sardines.

Toast.--Place them with some of the oil out of the box between 2 plates in a hot oven; when thoroughly hot through place on toast cut in long slices the length of the sardine; shake a little cayenne and salt mixed over them, with a gentle squeeze of lemon.

Scallops (Pitoncles).--Scallops are to be obtained during the colder months of the year, and in January and February are in full roe and at their best. Like all shell fish, scallops must be eaten quite fresh, or they are a failure; the flesh should be firm and white, the roe deep orange-coloured. In full season they are 6-8_d._ a doz., sometimes less, and being thick and fleshy, 1 doz. is generally considered enough for 4 persons.

Baked.--Trim off the beards and black part of the fish, and lay them in their own deep shells, or tin shells, 3 scallops in each; put a little vinegar in each, and pour over them the following mixture: a teacupful of breadcrumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped and scalded parsley, pepper, salt, and sufficient milk to make a thin paste; sprinkle a few dry crumbs, and put a tiny lump of butter on each shell; bake 20 minutes. Where vegetables are scarce and dear, or, as in this case, the bill of fare does not demand them, fried bread can be substituted. It should be cut into neat broad “fingers,” fried in bacon fat or beef dripping, and well drained before sending to table. A neat and pretty dish can be made by chopping up any remains of green vegetables, such as cabbage or sprouts, frying in a small proportion of fat, and piling it in the centre of a dish, with the bread round.

Fried.--Clean and beard them very carefully, and set them to drain; get ready a panful of boiling lard; flour the scallops thoroughly, put them in a frying basket, and fry to a light brown colour; garnish with fried parsley.

Stewed.--Put the scallops into a small saucepan with as much water as will thoroughly cover them, a little mace, and a little sugar. Let them stew gently till tender (probably about ½ hour), you can feel with your finger when they are sufficiently done. Make a sauce with 1-1½ oz. of butter dredged with flour and some of the liquor in which the scallops were stewed, add some cream and a little nutmeg. Stir this over the fire till it boils; then put the scallops in, and let them stew a little longer in the sauce beside the fire. In dishing up pour the sauce so as to cover the scallops.

Shad (Alose).--This fine and delicate fish is found in greater perfection and richer abundance in the United States than in Europe; nevertheless, Europe is not devoid of shad, the Loire and the Severn being perhaps the most highly favoured rivers. The shad of the Thames--called the “twaite”--is a poor fish, but the “allice,” or Severn shad, is a great delicacy.

Take a fine shad, firm and bright in the scale; empty from the gills, and wash it thoroughly. Now make a forcemeat--either whiting or oyster--mixed with the roe of the shad, fill the fish, and either sew or skewer it up carefully, wrap it in strong writing paper thickly buttered, broil gently for an hour over a smokeless fire, either of charcoal or coke, and serve with caper sauce.

Skate (Raie).--Boil some crimped skate in salted water, with some vinegar in it. Put a large piece of butter into a saucepan, and leave it on the fire until the butter becomes of a dark brown colour, but do not let it burn; then throw in some finely-chopped parsley, a wineglassful of tarragon vinegar, a little salt, and some powdered white pepper. Serve the sauce in a boat piping hot, with the fish on a napkin.

Smelts (Eperlans) Fried.--Carefully flour, and fry in plenty of hot lard. When done, drain well in front of the fire, sprinkle all over with very fine salt, and serve with fried parsley and lemon cut into “quarters.”

Sole (Sole) In jelly.--See Trout.

À la Normande.--Take a good-sized sole and put it into a fish kettle which will hold it flat; strew the sole with sprigs of parsley, minced onions, a little mace and thyme, and pepper and salt; now add some oysters, bearded, and some mussels, previously well cleaned, about 1 doz. of each; pour in a glass of chablis or any light white wine, and about the same quantity of white stock, or even water; cover over the kettle, and stew gently until cooked. Strain off the liquor and arrange the sole on a deep dish which will stand the oven, with the oysters and mussels all round; put the strained liquor into a saucepan, add to it ½ pint well flavoured good white stock; when quite hot add, off the fire, the beaten-up yolks of 2 eggs; pour the sauce over the fish, put it into the oven for a few minutes (it must not take colour), and then serve garnished with mushrooms previously stewed in lemon juice, slices of truffles stewed in white wine, and with fried bread croûtons.

À la Maître d’Hôtel.--Put into a saucepan full of water a bunch of parsley, an onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper and salt to taste. When the water boils throw in 8 fillets of soles, each tied up in a knot, and let them boil till done. Serve with maître d’hôtel sauce.

Aspic.--Take 6 fillets of soles, put them in a buttered tin, with pepper, salt, and a squeeze of lemon; cover the tin with a sheet of buttered paper, and put it in the oven just long enough to cook the fillets, then put them under a weight until cold. Clean and wash some fillets of anchovies, have a little parsley very finely minced, cut the fillets of soles in rounds the size of a penny, make a layer in a plain mould of very pale aspic jelly; on this, when it begins to set, dispose in some sort of pattern the fillets of anchovies and the pieces of sole, sprinkling each with a little parsley; fill up the interstices with aspic jelly, and keep on adding layer upon layer of soles and anchovies until the mould is full.

Au gratin.--Put 1 large sole in a proper fish-baking dish, or else place 2 small ones side by side and head to tail. Pour a glass of sauterne or any white wine into the dish, add some pepper and salt, a few very fine mixed sweet herbs sprinkled over lightly, a little onion finely minced, and a squeeze of lemon juice. A few little lumps of butter or dripping should be placed at the bottom of the dish to prevent dryness. Cover the whole rather thickly with breadcrumbs, and bake for ½ hour or until the top is a brown colour. The fish must be sent to table in the dish it is baked in, as it spoils it completely to move it.

Au vin blanc.--Butter a baking dish, lay 2 soles on it, add pepper and salt to taste, pour sufficient white wine and common stock free from fat in equal parts to cover the fish well. Put a piece of buttered paper on the top, and bake for 20 minutes. Melt 1 oz. butter in a saucepan, and mix with it a tablespoonful of flour, strain into this the liquor in which the soles have been cooked, add a little more stock or water if necessary, and stir on the fire till the sauce thickens, throw in some finely minced parsley, pour over the soles, and serve.

Broiled.--Clean and skin the fish, and thoroughly dry it in a cloth; dip it either in oil or liquefied butter; put it in a double gridiron, and broil it at a brisk fire for about 8-10 minutes, turning it once or twice during the operation. Serve with a piece of fresh butter under, and a lemon cut into quarters round it.

Consommé.--Remove the fillets from 2 soles, cut them out with a cutter in pieces the size of a penny. Put the bones and all the trimmings of the soles in a saucepan with 1 qt. plain white stock, a large handful of parsley, a piece of celery, 1 onion, 2 or 3 cloves, a blade of mace, and pepper and salt to taste. Let this boil slowly 3-4 hours, carefully skim and strain the liquor; then put it on the fire again, and when it boils put in the cut pieces of soles. When they are cooked take them out, put them in the soup tureen with a little chopped parsley, and having strained the liquor once more pour it over and serve.

En Matelote.--Put the fish in a stewpan with a bunch of sweet herbs, some butter, onions cut in rings, some white wine or cider and water, half of each, enough almost to cover the fish; add salt and pepper. Bring it to the boil, and boil for about 15 minutes. Place the fish on the dish on which it is to be served, having first covered the bottom of it with slices of fried bread. About 25 mushrooms may be added to the sauce. Boil it down till it is somewhat reduced; thicken it with a good-sized piece of butter rolled in flour; take out the bunch of herbs, and pour it over the fish.

Fillets.--(a) Fillet and fry soles in the usual manner. Make tartare sauce of the yolks of 2 eggs, dropping in 1 gill oil, with 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and 1 of tarragon vinegar, ½ gill cream, and 1 teaspoonful made mustard.

(b) Remove both skins of the sole; then, with a sharp-pointed knife, cut it around the inside of the fins. This done, make an incision along the backbone, and divide the fish from the bone by beginning at the head, and drawing the point of the knife horizontally down each side of the backbone, between the flesh and the ribs, and placing at the same time the 3 first fingers of the left hand on the fillet you are about to remove. Each sole should make but 4 fillets, except in the case of very large soles, when they may be either cut lengthways or across, as taste may direct. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

Fricassée.--Fillet a large pair of soles, put the bones in an enamelled stewpan with a pint of cold water, a small bunch of thyme and parsley, and ½ onion, a blade of mace and a little lemon rind pared thin, let them stew about 1 hour; when done strain the liquor off into a basin. Rinse the stewpan, and roll up each fillet separately, and fasten either with a small skewer, or tie round with a piece of darning cotton, and place them in the stewpan in one layer, and pour over them the liquor from the bones; stew about 20 minutes very gently, and thicken the sauce with 1 dessertspoonful arrowroot or cornflour, mixed with a little milk; when done, add to the sauce ¼ pint cream, the yolks of 2 eggs, the juice of ½ lemon, a pinch of pounded mace, and a little pepper and salt. The dish may be garnished with a border of potato croquettes.

Fried.--Clean and skin the fish, and dry it thoroughly in a cloth; dip it in an egg beaten up, and then strew it on both sides with very fine breadcrumbs, taking care that it is evenly covered with a very thin layer of them. Let the fish rest for 1-2 hours, then have ready in the frying-pan boiling hot fat in sufficient quantity to fairly float it; put in the fish, which will be cooked in 5-10 minutes, according to size, and should be skilfully turned over once during the operation. The fish should be laid on blotting-paper before the fire in the screen, in order to drain all fat from it. Serve with fried parsley and cut lemon.

In Brown Sauce.--Put into a small copper stewpan 3 oz. butter. Put this on the fire to dissolve; then stir into it 1 tablespoonful flour. Keep stirring on the fire till it assumes a golden-brown hue. Now stir into it ½ pint stock or gravy, and let it boil up to thicken the sauce. Now put into a wide shallow stewpan a pair of moderate-sized soles that have been previously cleaned, well dried in a cloth, floured and fried in some lard or butter over a rather sharp fire so as to brown them without being quite done. Pour over the soles the prepared sauce, adding a moderate-sized onion stuck with 4 or 5 cloves, a few sprigs of thyme, and a few peppercorns. Stew the fish 15-20 minutes very gently. When the soles are done lift them out carefully on to the dish in which they are to be served and keep warm while the sauce is being finished by adding to it a wineglass of sherry, a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, one of vinegar, and two teaspoonfuls of essence of anchovies. Pour some of the sauce over the fish and the rest in a boat and serve.

In Cases.--Take 2 parts finely minced mushrooms, 1 part shallots and parsley in equal proportions, also finely minced; toss them in plenty of butter for a few minutes, adding pepper and salt to taste, and put the mixture aside. When cold spread a thin layer of it on each fillet, roll them up, and cook them between 2 buttered plates in the oven. Have ready some paper cases, place one rolled fillet in each, then fill up the case with white sauce, and place a button mushroom on the top of each, and keep quite hot till time of serving. Sauce.--Take 2 parts butter and 1 of flour, mix thoroughly in a saucepan on the fire, add enough veal stock to get the sauce of a proper consistency, add a few button mushrooms; let the sauce boil for 10 minutes; stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of ½ lemon.

Roulettes.--Choose fine ones, take off the heads, fins, and tails, strip them from the bone; cut small oblong fillets, lay them in a marinade of salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a grate of nutmeg for ½ hour. Roll the fillets egg-shaped and bind them with thread; pack them closely together in a stewpan, with a little broth or water, to which add lemon juice and some butter; cover closely and stew gently till done. Serve in their own sauce, or glaze them brown and serve as a ragout.

Salad.--Take any remnants of sole, cut them up in small pieces, and put them to marinade for 2 hours in tarragon vinegar, with some sliced onions and sprigs of basil, thyme, and chervil. Strain and mix them with some fresh lettuce; beat up the yolk of a hard-boiled egg with salt, pepper, a very little of the tarragon vinegar, 3 tablespoons cream or sweet oil, and ½ teaspoon anchovy sauce. When quite smooth pour over the salad.

Savalada.--Take 2 Spanish onions, slice them, and stew them in a gill of olive oil, taking care that they do not burn or even brown; add 2 soles (filleted and fried a light brown in oil), and 1½ gills tomato sauce, or 3 fresh tomatoes, peeled, freed from pips, and cut in slices. Season with pepper and salt, let the whole stew a few minutes, and serve.

Stewed.--Cut up 2 large onions in slices, lay them flat in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, pepper, and salt, and enough water just to cover them. Let them simmer till tender. Cut in comely pieces a pair of soles, lay them on the top of the onions, and let them simmer till done. Strain off the liquor, and when it is cold stir into it the juice of 2 lemons beaten up with the yolks of 3 eggs, return it to the stewpan, and let the whole get hot again, but not boil; then arrange the fish and the onions on a dish, sprinkle them over with finely minced parsley, and pour the sauce over. To be served cold.

Water Souchet.--Take a number of small soles, fillet them, and cut the fillets into convenient pieces. Put the bones and all the trimmings into a saucepan, with some whole pepper, 6 roots of parsley, cut up small, a handful of parsley leaves, a blade of mace, and salt to taste; cover with cold water, and let the whole boil for 2 hours. Strain the liquor, put in it the pieces of fish, with a few parsley roots finely shredded; let it boil 10 minutes, then add some minced parsley; boil 5 minutes longer. Serve in a deep dish, with enough liquor just to cover the fish; garnish with lemon cut in quarters, and serve with brown bread and butter.

With Ravigote Sauce.--Lay a sole in a well-buttered tin, add pepper and salt, put a piece of buttered paper over it, cook it in the oven until done, drain, and serve with the following sauce over: Take equal parts of parsley, chervil, garden cress, and tarragon; mince them very finely. Rub a saucepan with shallot, melt a piece of butter in it, add a little flour, mix thoroughly, then add stock, pepper, salt, a glass of white wine, and the herbs. Let the sauce come to the boil, then throw in a small pat of butter, a squeeze of lemon, and serve.

Sprats (Harenguets).--Although these fish, of small marketable value, are considered more as food for the multitude, yet in these times of strict food economy it may not be amiss for any housekeeper--especially those in the country, where fish supplies come in seldom but in large quantities--to try the following modes, suitable for breakfast, luncheon, making out servants’ dinners, supper, &c., besides the more usual way of cooking by broiling or frying.

Baked.--After they have been cleaned, place them in a pie-dish, with some whole pepper, bay leaves, and a little salt sprinkled over them; cover them over, and put them in the oven; they will not take long to cook; let them stand in the liquor they make until cold, when pour the vinegar over them. (E. J. G.)

Fried.--After the sprats are washed, wipe them dry in a cloth, sprinkle a little salt over, and let them lie for 1 hour; put them on paper with flour, and turn them about until lightly coated with it. Throw as many as will cover the bottom of it into a wire frying basket, plunge it into hot fat, and keep gently moving the basket until the fish are crisp. Sprats should not be too small, and those of an average size take 5-6 minutes to fry. When the sprats are done, turn them on to a sheet of paper to free them from grease, and serve immediately with cayenne, cut lemon, and brown bread and butter. When not convenient to use a wire basket, the sprats can be thrown into the hot fat, and, when done, be taken out with a skimmer. (Mary Hooper.)

Patties.--Clean the sprats. When seasoned, add some vinegar to taste. Line some patty pans with pastry, fill with the fish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and a scrap of butler on each, and bake in a smart heat. (D.)

Pie.--(a) Cut off the heads and tails of 1 lb. sprats, and place them in a pie-dish; sprinkle pepper and salt between the layers, also a few peppercorns, add 3 tablespoonfuls water; cover it with a light paste and bake. Best eaten cold. (Mary Hooper).

(b) Scald, bone, and mash the sprats. Mash some freshly boiled floury potatoes, butter a pie-dish, put layers of potato and fish seasoned with pepper, more salt, and chopped onion if approved of. The cover should be potatoes. Put breadcrumbs and butter, or a beaten-up egg on the top, and bake, according to size, for ½-1 hour. Brown before the fire. Hard-boiled eggs, in slices or mashed, can be added if available or desired. (D.)

Rissoles.--Prepare the sprats as for potting. Bind with egg and breadcrumbs, and fry. The same can be prepared with mashed potatoes instead of breadcrumbs. (D.)

Soused.--Clean the sprats by washing and rubbing them in a cloth; lay them in a baking dish in layers, sprinkle over lightly pepper and salt, cover them with vinegar and one-fourth water. Put a tin or dish over, and set the sprats in a cool oven to cook very slowly for 2 hours, taking care they do not get broken. These can be eaten either hot or cold. (Mary Hooper.)

Toast.--Clean without the addition of salt. Add a few chopped and cleaned anchovies; spread out the fish 2 in. deep on a Yorkshire pudding tin or baking plate, and warm well before the fire. Have some toast ready hot, slightly buttered. Lay a spoonful of the fish on each piece, draining off any oil which may have gathered.

Tamarind Fish.--Tamarind fish is cured as follows: Cut the fish into slices about ½ in. thick; the slices are then rubbed well with salt; let them stand in the pickle 48 hours; then drain. Get some of the plain, sun-dried tamarinds, as imported from India; boil these in pickling vinegar, about 2 lb. to 1 qt., until the pulp separates from the seeds and stalks. Work through a sieve. Dip the slices of fish in this mixture when cold, and pack closely in large-mouthed jars, taking care the top layer is well covered with the tamarinds. Fish roes prepared in the same manner are excellent. Haddock, cod, herrings, and mackerel make good tamarind fish.

Tench (Tanche).--Tench, when large and fat, is not bad when it is possible by eternal cleanings and soakings to get rid of the muddy taste, which clings to it with singular tenacity. Perhaps the best way of dressing it is to stew it in red wine, or to let it form the central spot of a matelote, into the composition of which eels, perch, &c., have entered.

Roast: see Carp, Chub. Broiled: see Chub. Stewed: see Trout.

Trout (Truite).--Trout should be treated in the following way. Scrape, wash in salted water, remove gills, gut, and wipe with a linen cloth, flour one side, and fry in butter till brown and crisp; then flour the other side, and fry that likewise, put it on a hot dish, and lay on it some fried parsley and sage. Make a sauce with some fresh butter and boiling water, flavoured with anchovy. Pour over the fish and serve.

Baked.--Put inside the fish a piece of butter the size of an egg, into which a due quantity of salt, powdered pepper, and minced parsley have been worked. Lay it in a baking dish plentifully buttered, sprinkle pepper and salt over it, then lay a piece of oiled paper on the fish, and bake it in a moderate oven for about ½ hour, more or less according to the size of the fish. Serve garnished with pieces of lemon.

Broiled.--(a) Clean and split them down the back, notch them 3 or 4 times across, mix a little olive oil in a dish with pepper, salt, and powdered thyme; lay the trout in this, turn them over once or twice, so that they may be well oiled on both sides, then broil them over a moderate fire. (b) See Chub.

Grilled.--Small or moderately-sized trout may be advantageously dressed à la tartare--that is to say, grilled and served with a cold tartare sauce. Very small trout may also be fried and served with or without tomato sauce.

Jelly.--Wash the trout carefully; form them into rings with the tail in the mouth. Boil some water with a little vinegar, salt, sliced onion, bay leaf, spice, and pepper according to taste. Let this boil so as to get the various flavours; set it aside to cool. Lay in the fish, and simmer a few minutes after the water has just come to the boil. Take out the fish carefully, and when drained baste them with clear fish jelly. When the first basting has set repeat another, until they have a nice coating of jelly; then arrange them gently and garnish to taste. Haddocks, whitings, smelts, &c., are good in this way.

Soused: see Carp.

Stewed.--Wash, dry on a cloth, open, gut, and wipe very clean; notch 2 or 3 times to the bone on one side. Put into a fish-kettle enough liquor (half vinegar or white wine and half water) to cover the fish; add a good quantity of salt, the rind of a lemon, some grated horseradish, and a faggot of sweet herbs--rosemary, thyme, marjoram, parsley, and winter savory. When quite boiling, put in the fish--if many, one by one, so as not to lower the temperature. When quite done, put it on a dish sprinkled with horseradish and powdered ginger (or coarsely-bruised pepper); pour over it a sauce made of fresh butter, a little of the liquor in which the fish was boiled, and an anchovy. Grayling, carp, bream, roach, dace, perch, and tench may also be dressed in the same way. See Carp.

With Remoulade Sauce.--Fry some medium-sized trout, lay them on paper to remove all fat. Chop some chervil, chives, capers, parsley, cress, and a little shallot; pound them in a mortar; add a little French mustard, the yolks of raw eggs, season with salt and pepper; add drop by drop good olive oil, in the proportion of a dessertspoonful to each egg; beat up the mixture, and when quite smooth add a little chili vinegar. Dish the trout (when quite cold), pour the sauce over, and garnish with sprigs of chervil.

Turbot (Turbot).--Great size in a turbot is rather a drawback than otherwise. Provided that the fish be thick and firm, with the under or white side of excessive roundness and of a thick, opaque, creamy look, it can hardly be too small. In a very large fish the thick, massive white flesh is out of all proportion to the delicate morsels, and the major portion of the fish must of course appear in the form of a réchauffé--for which turbot is admirably adapted. In choosing turbot, it is well, unless for a large dinner party, to select a fine, plump, round, “chicken” turbot, such as may be bought in London for 6-7_s._ Particular attention should be given to the colour of the white skin, as if this present a semi-diaphanous or a bluish look, the fish should be rejected. The white side must also never be flat, but should “plump up” directly from the fins like a firm white cushion. As brill is sometimes palmed off on youthful housewives, it may be well to say to those unskilled in markets and fishes that a chicken turbot may be known by the small round spines on the back, which may be easily felt and even seen. The brill is also more oval in shape and much flatter than the juvenile turbot, whose form acquires at an early age the peculiar rotundity so much prized. As a rule turbot require a severe soaking in salt and water to discharge the slime.

À la Normande.--In every respect an admirable dish. Take a nice small turbot, cleanse it thoroughly, lift up the flesh from the backbone, insert a stuffing made of 6 oz. scraped and pounded whiting to 4 oz. soaked breadcrumbs rubbed smooth. To this add 3 oz. fresh butter with which the flesh of 24 shrimps or 12 prawns has been skilfully incorporated. Put in gradually 2 whole eggs and the yolk of one more, season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and after thorough pounding and mixing put the forcemeat on the ice till wanted for use. When the fish has been carefully stuffed--not filled to excess--prepare a stewpan by buttering it liberally, then put in 2 tablespoonfuls finely-minced shallots, 3 glasses sherry, Madeira, or any good white wine, salt, pepper, and a cupful of fine white stock, lay in the turbot, and set it to boil over a slow fire. On its reaching the boiling point, take it off the fire and put it into a moderate oven for ½-¾ hour. Meanwhile prepare a Normande sauce by putting a pint of béchamel into a stewpan and giving it a boil up. Stir it carefully, and strain through a tammy into another stewpan. Add 2 doz. blanched oysters, 2 doz. mussels, also blanched, and 2 doz. small mushrooms. Add a little milk and a teaspoonful of pounded loaf sugar, and reduce to a proper consistency. Then put in 8 tablespoonfuls cream and the juice of a lemon, stir all well together, pour the sauce over the turbot, and group the oysters, mussels, and mushrooms around. Although best with a combination of oysters and mussels, these shellfish are not always to be procured at the same time, in which case double the quantity of that in season should be used. Many people prefer to leave out the stuffing, and supply its place by a garnish of fish quenelles.

Au Gratin.--Mince finely 2 shallots and 2 or 3 mushrooms, toss them in butter till quite cooked, add a little minced parsley, the remnants of a boiled turbot, with pepper and salt to taste; moisten with a cupful of stock and ½ glass white wine; shake the saucepan a few minutes over the fire, then turn out the contents into a silver dish, smooth them well down and sprinkle plentifully with baked breadcrumbs. Put the dish in a quick oven 10-15 minutes, and serve.

Boiled.--The fish must be either scored across once or twice, or cut right down to the bone lengthwise, on the black side. This precaution is necessary in order to prevent the white side--which is always served uppermost--from cracking when the fish begins to swell in boiling. The next proceeding is to rub over the turbot very thoroughly with the juice of a lemon and a little salt. Then have ready a large turbot kettle--to every gallon of cold water put 11 oz. salt--and put in the fish with sufficient water to cover it well. As soon as it begins to boil draw it back and allow it to simmer till done, which may be seen by the skin cracking very slightly. Then remove the fish carefully, drain it over the fish-kettle, and slip it gently on to a dish, masked with a wooden or china bottom, covered with a napkin. Garnish with slices of lemon, laid on and around the fish, and sprigs of fresh parsley.

Fried.--Cut some remnants of boiled turbot into neat pieces, steep them in a marinade of lemon juice, oil, pepper, and salt for 1-2 hours, then dip them in batter and fry them a golden brown in plenty of hot lard.

Hashed.--Take the flesh off a cold turbot, carefully preserving the jelly and removing all the bones. Let the flakes be as large as will look well, and warm by steaming with the remains of the sauce, and serve with a wall of potatoes round the dish and the fish in the centre.

Sauté.--Pick out into neat flakes the remnants of a boiled turbot. Melt a large piece of butter in a saucepan, place the flakes of fish in it, and toss them on the fire till they are quite hot, add pepper and salt to taste, some finely minced parsley, and the juice of a lemon.

With Tomato Sauce.--Slice a Spanish onion, and fry it in butter or in olive oil till quite cooked, without being at all coloured, add the pieces of fish, of which there should be twice as many as there are onions, then moisten with a sufficient quantity of French tomato sauce, put in pepper and salt according to taste, and a small pinch of powdered sweet herbs, shake the saucepan on the fire till the fish is quite hot, and serve.

With White Sauce.--Pick out the remnants of a boiled turbot free from bones into flakes. Make some plain melted butter, not too thick, using plenty of butter and very little flour; season it with pepper, salt and nutmeg, and simmer in it 12 button mushrooms cut in two. When these are cooked add the turbot, and as soon as this is quite warm stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of a lemon and strained. A little minced parsley may be added.

With Wine Sauce.--Lay the turbot on a shallow tin or pan plentifully buttered, with slices of onion, some parsley, a few mushrooms, pepper, salt, 2 bay leaves and a few cloves, and enough white wine and water to come up to, but not over the fish; put a piece of buttered paper over the fish, and place the tin in the oven to bake for about 1½ hour, basting the fish frequently with the liquor. When done strain some of the liquor, thicken it with some of the browned butter and flour, add some grated nutmeg, and stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of a lemon, slip the fish on a dish, pour the sauce over, and serve.

Whitebait (Blanchaille). Fried.--The great secret of successful frying depends upon the fat being boiling, scrupulously clean utensils, a clear, bright fire, and plenty of good fat. There must be little time lost in serving any fried fish. Directly it is taken from the fire it should be sent to table, never covered with a dish cover; that renders it tough. It is not to be expected that any one can perfectly succeed in cooking whitebait the first time of trying, but if these directions are carefully carried out, two or three trials will ensure success. Everything must be prepared. Have a stewpan (copper is the best) that is perfectly clean, for if there is anything sticking at the bottom of the pan, it will quickly catch or burn, and so spoil the contents; a wire fish-basket that fits the stewpan, and can easily be moved in or out. Have a clean, fine cloth; some fine white flour (the finer quality is requisite, as it is less heavy). American flour is first-rate, being fine and dry. Place an inverted sieve before the fire on a stand, and on the top of the sieve a double sheet of thick white blotting-paper. For a pint of whitebait have 2 lb. pure lard. Put it in the stewpan and let it melt; when the fat boils and all the little bubbles cease to appear on the surface, and it begins to smoke, it is ready for use. The fat must be very hot (some people test the heat by a frimometer); the heat should be 345° Fahrenheit for ordinary frying, and 400° for whitebait. The little bubbles that rise on the surface show there is still water in the fat; this would at once spoil the fish and make it flabby. When the lard is quite ready it is time to prepare the fish. The whitebait is generally sent from the fishmonger’s in a tin pot full of water. Take it from the pot and throw it into some clean, fresh cold water. Take a handful of the fish and throw it in the clean cloth; shake it lightly so that all the moisture may be absorbed. Have a sheet of clean white paper with a good handful of flour on it. Take the whitebait and sprinkle them into the flour, fingering them as little as possible. Take up the paper and shake the whitebait well in the flour, so that they all get well floured. Turn the whitebait into a wire basket and sift all the loose flour back on to the paper. Turn the whitebait a few at the time into the frying basket, and immerse it at once in the stewpan of hot lard for 1 minute; the fish should be quite crisp. Quickly let the fat drain from the frying basket, and turn the fish out on the blotting-paper on the sieve. Repeat the process until all is done. Have a dish ready with an ornamented paper, and pile up the fish pyramid fashion, and serve as quickly as possible with a plate of thin brown bread and butter and lemon. Place them on a plate with a caster of cayenne pepper in the centre. 2 lb. lard seems extravagant, but, if carefully poured into a clean basin, and when cold the sediment at the bottom taken away, and the lard put again into a clean vessel, it will serve 10-15 times.

Whiting (Merlan). À la Venetienne.--Cut a large whiting into fillets, put them into a deep dish, with some salt, pepper, and the juice of a large lemon; let them marinade for an hour, then drain; flour the fillets well, and fry of a golden brown, serving them with whatever sauce is preferred. A good white sauce, with the squeeze of a lemon added at the last moment, is excellent with this fish.

Au Gratin.--Take a few mushrooms, 2 shallots, and some parsley, all finely minced; mix them together. Butter a tin very plentifully, strew in it some of the above mixture and some fine baked breadcrumbs with a little pepper and salt. On this place the whitings (split open), on them place the remainder of the mushrooms, &c., more pepper and salt, and cover up the whole with a thin layer of baked breadcrumbs. Pour in at the side a glass of white wine and a sufficient quantity of stock to come up to the fish, and soak the breadcrumbs without washing them off. Put the tin in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

Aux Fines Herbes.--Butter the bottom and sides of a pie-dish, put into it some whitings nicely cleaned, with a sufficient quantity, according to the number of fish, of chopped parsley, thyme, tarragon, and shallot, very finely chopped, moisten them with a small quantity of white wine, and put them into the oven; when the whitings are about half cooked, turn them, and when they are quite done thicken the sauce with a little butter and flour, pepper and salt should of course be added. In serving them let them go to table in the same dish, just adding a squeeze of lemon juice.

Baked.--This fish is very nice baked and served with caper sauce.

Dressed.--Take 4 or 5 whitings, according to size and number of people, 1-2 hours before they are wanted; sprinkle them with a little salt to make them firm, as they are apt to break. About ½ hour before dinner put the fish into a wide enamelled stewpan, so that they may form one layer. This stewpan should be shallow, so that the whitings may be more easily lifted out; pour over them a little stock or gravy (it should reach about half-way up the fish), and put with them one moderate-sized onion, cut into quarters, and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Stew the fish 20-25 minutes. Put into a saucepan 2 oz. butter and 1 tablespoonful flour, stir over the fire till the flour is well mixed with the butter. When the fish are done, with a slice lift them out on the dish in which they are to be served, and pour the liquor in which they were cooked into the saucepan with the butter and flour, stir well and boil up, then add the yolks of 2 eggs, a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, the same of lemon juice, a little pepper and salt, and serve. Be careful the sauce does not boil after the eggs are in.

Fillets.--Carefully skin and free from bones 3 or 4 small whitings. Put the heads and bones into the stockpot. Dip the fish into a beaten egg. Roll in finely-sifted breadcrumbs, and tie up with cotton before frying. The fish may be rolled up wholly or divided into slices. It may also be fried as fillets without rolling up. Serve up with parsley and slices of lemon.

Fried.--Flour the fish, and, having shaken the flour from them, brush them over carefully all over with egg beaten up with pepper and salt; then breadcrumb with fine breadcrumbs, and fry in plenty of lard to a light colour; sprinkle with fine salt; serve with fried parsley and cut lemon.

In jelly.--See Trout.

Puddings (Boudin).--Take the raw meat of some whiting, pound it in a mortar, and pass it through a sieve. Put ½ pint water into a saucepan with a pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when it boils stir in it enough flour to make a thick paste; when cold take of this paste half the quantity there is of fish, and take of butter half the quantity there is of paste; thoroughly amalgamate the whole in the mortar, season with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, work in 1-2 spoonfuls of white sauce (béchamel), and lastly as many eggs, in the proportion of 2 yolks to 1 white, as will bind the mixture. Butter some small moulds, fill them with the mixture, and steam them in a stewpan half full of water for 15-20 minutes. Then turn them out, and serve with white sauce (béchamel).

=Meat.=--Before proceeding to deal with the four recognised forms of culinary flesh, viz., beef, mutton, pork (including bacon), and veal, some space may be devoted to recipes for cooking frozen and tinned meats.

Frozen Meat.--This requires special treatment, for its juices are liquified by being first turned to ice, and then thawed that it may cook throughout the joint. A joint would be raw in the centre if it were roasted or boiled before it had been perfectly thawed. As an example, take a shoulder of New Zealand mutton to roast. The first thing to be done is to pitch 1-2 oz. of fat off it into the fire, and hold the inside, or lean side, of it in the blaze till the tubes of the lean become seared or hermetically sealed. This may be done by holding the joint with a pair of tongs, or laying it on a gridiron. Of course an absence of smoke from a coal fire is advisable during the few minutes this operation takes. If it be required to roast a leg, the thick end, where the cut lean is apparent, should be served in the same way. If the leg is to be boiled, the water should be made to boil rapidly, and the leg rested on the side of the boiler, so that the thick end is covered about an inch up the outside. This will require about 10 minutes. If the whole leg be put into the water, the boiling will at once cease, when the attempt to close the ends of the tubes will not be effectual. If a neck of New Zealand mutton is to be boiled, the lean end should be hung in the water when it is boiling rapidly, and the whole joint put into the water when it is at the same heat.

Another question of importance raised here, is that frozen meat requires to be thawed gradually to be fit to cook in the best condition. If taken from a frozen chamber into a warm or a muggy atmosphere, it will, of course, condense vapour as a bottle of wine taken from a cool cellar into a warm dining room does. This makes the outside of the meat pale from its being sopped. It needs first to be taken from the freezing chamber to another at about 40° F., then to another at, say, 55° F.; then to one at about 70° F., or the temperature of the outside air. Then the meat--if the water from the ice outside has been properly wiped off with soft, dry clothes--will appear in a retailer’s shop or larder as dry and fresh as home-killed meat. Of course these thawing chambers need to be provided with dry air by the use of ice and fans for circulating the air as above described.

Tinned Meats.--These having been cooked once already and deprived of bone, can only be used in stews and the like. The following recipes are well adapted:--

Collops.--Fry an onion to a golden colour in butter, add a tablespoonful of flour, mix well, add ½ pint stock, a sprig of thyme, one of parsley, a bay leaf, 6 cloves, some whole pepper, and some salt. Let the whole simmer for ½ hour; strain, add a little walnut or mushroom ketchup, and a little Worcester sauce. Lastly, put in the meat cut into neat collops, and let it remain by the side of the fire for about an hour. Serve with bread sippets round the dish.

In Batter.--Cut some pieces of beef 1 in. thick, dip them in a batter made of 3 tablespoonfuls flour, a teacup of milk, and one egg well beaten, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Handle the pieces of beef gently, so that they do not break. Fry a nice brown, and serve with fried potato slices.

Irish Stew.--Simmer 6 sliced onions and 12 sliced potatoes in a pint thin stock for ½ hour. Then add the contents of a 2 lb. tin of Australian mutton cut in slices. Season with pepper and salt, and let all simmer together for 15 minutes.

Mince.--(a) Boil 2 carrots in water, peel them, and cut in slices. Fry 3 large onions in golden brown rings, put these into a teacupful of gravy, and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Then thicken the gravy with a heaping teaspoonful of cornflour, mixed in a little water. 10 minutes before serving, put in 2 lb. minced Australian beef, and keep it quite hot, but not boiling. Serve with sippets of toast round the dish; or make a wall of mashed potato, and put the mince in the centre. A few slices of the red carrot can be dotted at the base of the white potato wall.

(b) Mince 1 lb. Australian mutton very finely, boil ¼ lb. rice to a pulp, mix it with the meat and add a teacupful of gravy in which an onion has been boiled; stir over the fire, only until the meat is heated through, turn into a dish; have ready turnips (which have been previously parboiled and cut in dice), onions sliced, carrots sliced, all well fried; dish up round the mince. Care should be taken not to cook the Australian meat too long, or it loses its flavour.

Patties.--Mince finely 1 lb. tinned beef, melt 1 oz. good butter, and mix it with the meat. Season the meat highly with pepper and salt, and a dash of powdered mace and nutmeg. Mix all these ingredients together, and add 2 tablespoonfuls rich beef gravy. Cut rounds of light paste to line the patty pans, put in a tablespoonful of minced feed, and cover with lids of paste, leaving a small hole in the centre. Bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven. Their appearance is improved by brushing the lids over with beaten yolk of egg.

Pie.--(a) Rub 6 oz. lard into 1 lb. flour and a dessertspoonful of baking powder; add 2 well-beaten eggs, and scarcely ½ gill milk: this should make a stiff paste. Cut off pieces, the size of an egg; line small tin cups with the paste, and fill with the same meat as for the raised pie, cover with a lid of paste and bake 20 minutes. When cooked, turn them out of the tins, pour a little gravy through the lid, and leave to get cold. This paste is very light and short; 6 of these little pies on a dish garnished with parsley, are useful for luncheon or supper. They can also be made the same shape as small pork pie by moulding the paste round the bottom of a bottle, filling the case with meat, and covering with a lid. They are rather tiresome to get into a good shape, but practice soon overcomes this difficulty.

(b) Fill a pie dish with alternate layers of beef, mutton, and bacon, all thinly sliced; season between each layer with chopped onion (boiled), chopped apple, sage, pepper, and salt; pour in a little good gravy, and bake with a crust over it for ½ hour. The onion, sage, apple and seasoning should be well mixed together. This dish is generally liked in the kitchen, and can also be covered with potatoes, mashed smoothly with milk and butter, and seasoned to taste.

Pudding.--(a) Cut 1 lb. Australian mutton into thick pieces, the length of one’s little finger, and 1 in. wide; cut up ½ lb. beef kidney, and season it with pepper and salt. Line a greased pudding basin with suet crust; put in the meat and kidney alternately; pour in half a teacupful of gravy, with a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup; cover with the crust, and boil for 2 hours. This makes a very savoury pudding.

(b) Make a crust of 1 lb. flour, a large teaspoonful of baking powder, ½ lb. suet, and ½ teaspoonful salt; add water sufficient to make rather a soft paste; roll out as for a roly-poly pudding; and spread over it a mince of Australian meat, seasoned with pepper, salt, ¼ lb. minced bacon, and 2 shallots finely chopped. Spread this an inch thick, roll it up, pinch the ends firmly, and boil for 2 hours. Serve with thick brown gravy.

Sausage Rolls.--Put 1 lb. Australian tinned beef through a mincing machine; mince with a chopper ¼ lb. pork; grate 1 oz. bread crumbs; mix all together, and season well with pepper, salt, sweet marjoram, and, if liked, a little thyme. Make some light paste, roll it thin into square pieces, put some meat on it, and fold the paste over it, pinch the edges and ends securely, and bake for 20 minutes. This mixture of meat can be made into flat cakes or rissoles, egged and bread crumbed, and fried a golden brown in Australian fat.

Shape.--Take ½ oz. gelatine previously soaked in water, an onion, a carrot, a little thyme and marjoram, and 1 qt. good stock; boil until reduced to 1½ pint, add a tablespoonful of ketchup, and pepper and salt to taste. Strain the liquor into a saucepan, take 2 lb. of the meat, and cut it into neat collops; put them also into the saucepan and let them get warm, then pour all into a mould, put it into a cool place until cold and firm.

Stew.--(a) Cook some potatoes and onions in stock, or with some of the jelly from the tin, until thoroughly done and falling to pieces; add salt and pepper, and about 10 minutes before serving put in some small slices of the meat; simmer gently just long enough to warm them through, and serve with the potatoes and onions all mixed together.

(b) Slice 2 large Portugal onions in thin slices, and fry them a golden brown; simmer them in ½ pint thin gravy for 20 minutes; then add 2 lb. tinned mutton finely minced, pepper and salt to taste. Thicken the stew with a dessertspoonful of corn flour, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut; add a few drops of colouring, if it is necessary, to make the stew look a nice colour, and serve very hot on toasted bread.

Vienna Steak.--Turn out a 2 lb. tin of Australian fresh beef, scrape all the fat and jelly from it, melt the jelly in a saucepan, and use the fat, if any, to fry the steak with. Mince the meat finely, and pepper and salt it to taste; mix with it some finely-chopped onion, fried a light brown, and form it into pats the size of the hand and 2 in. thick; brush the pats--which should be more oblong than round, and slightly irregular in form--with egg and bread crumbs, and fry to a dark brown in the fat. Pile them on a hot dish, and surround them with fried onions and good gravy, in which the melted jelly forms a part. The pats should be strewed over with chopped parsley just before they are sent to table.

Vinaigrette.--Cut some Australian mutton in slices, lay them in a dish, make a sauce of 2 tablespoonfuls oil, 1 dessertspoonful vinegar, chopped parsley, a little celery cut small, sliced potatoes, sliced cucumber (when not obtainable, beetroot), and put over the mutton.

Beef (Bœuf). A la financière.--This is simply grenadins of beef served with a ragout à la financière in the centre of the dish. It requires some little care and taste to cook properly. The best part of the beef for the purpose is the undercut, which should be neatly trimmed, all fat and skin removed, and then cut up into shapely pieces about ⅓ in. in thickness, and shaped something like a flat pear--a long oval, rather pointed at one end. These grenadins or fillets should then be finely larded, and afterwards braised by putting them in a stewpan on some slices of bacon, with a carrot and onion sliced, a little celery, if in season, some sweet herbs, parsley, spices, salt and pepper to taste, and a little stock. When sufficiently cooked, take them out, drain, and glaze them, then serve round a ragout made with truffles, cockscombs, quenelles of chicken, mushrooms, &c., all previously cooked, then tossed together in some good brown gravy, highly flavoured with chicken or game, mushrooms, and white wine.

A la Macédoine.--Cut some rump steak in slices a little more than ½ in. thick, trim them all to the same size in the shape of cutlets, and lard them thickly on one side with fine lardoons of bacon fat. Lay them out, the larded side uppermost, into a flat pan, and put into it as much highly flavoured rich stock or gravy as will come up to the grenadins without covering them. Cover the pan, and place it in the oven to braise gently for an hour. Then remove the cover, baste the grenadins with the gravy, and let them remain uncovered in the oven till the larding has taken colour; they are then ready. Take equal quantities of carrots and turnips cut into the shape of olives, also equal quantities of peas, of green haricot beans, of asparagus points, and of small sprigs of cauliflowers. Boil all these vegetables in salted water, then melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, add a tablespoonful of flour, stir in sufficient milk to make a sauce, add pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg. Put all the vegetables into this sauce, of which you should have just enough to make them hold together; toss them gently in it to make them quite hot. Dress them in the middle of a dish, round them dispose the grenadins in a circle, and, having removed the superfluous fat from their gravy, pour this round the grenadins, and serve.

Alamode.--Rub your beef with saltpetre, if it is a large round it will take 3 oz., and the same weight of coarse sugar, then salt it very thick. Strew some black pepper over it and turn it frequently. Do not salt in too wide a pan, as the beef should be nearly covered with the brine. Let it be 3 weeks in salt; then wash it, and rub over it some pounded cloves and mace, and Jamaica pepper, then bind it up, and put some chopped suet into the pan, and cover it with water, and bake it. You must have it from the oven hot, as it will want binding up afresh. Bind with strong wide tape, unbleached.

À la Napolitaine.--Take a piece of fresh silverside, make 2 or 3 holes in it, and insert in each a piece of bacon rolled in powdered sweet herbs and pepper. Tie up the meat with string carefully. Take a piece of the fat of bacon, mince it with a meat chopper, adding to it a clove of garlic, an onion, some parsley, thyme, and marjoram. When the whole is finely minced and well amalgamated, put it into a saucepan with the meat, and keep turning the latter until it is browned on all sides; then moisten with plenty of French tomato sauce, diluted with a little stock, add salt to taste, and let the meat stew slowly till done. Remove the string and serve with macaroni, dressed with the sauce, round the meat. Having boiled the macaroni, mix with it a fair allowance of the above sauce, strained and freed from any superfluity of fat, and plenty of grated Parmesan cheese. The macaroni should be mixed or dressed in a warmed tureen, not in a saucepan on the fire.

Boiled.--Take a piece of the round, silverside, aitch-bone, or brisket; skewer it if absolutely necessary, and tie it up with string. Put it into a saucepan, cover it with cold water, and let it come gradually to the boil, removing the scum as it rises, and throwing in a small quantity of cold water from time to time. When well skimmed add 2 or more carrots, an onion, and a bundle of sweet herbs, and salt to taste. Draw the pan to the side of the fire, and let the beef slowly boil till done. 2-2½ hours from the time of boiling for a piece of beef 10-12 lb. weight. Strain and preserve the liquor for stock.

Braised.--Put in a stewpan a layer of slices of onion, and over this a layer of slices of fat bacon ½ in. thick; on this place a piece of round of beef 8-10 lb. weight, neatly tied up with string; set the saucepan on the fire for 20 minutes, and turn the beef over once or twice during the process, then add a cupful of wine (red or white), 2 carrots, and an onion cut in slices, a bundle of sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste, and a few cloves. Lastly, fill up the saucepan with just enough common stock to come up to the top of the piece of beef; cover the pan close, and braise it for 4-5 hours, keeping a few hot cinders on the lid. Serve with its own gravy, freed from fat, and strained.

Brasciolette.--Take a piece of rump steak freed from fat, skin, and gristle, mince it finely, and pound it to a paste. Grate some breadcrumb and mix with it pepper, salt, spices, and chopped parsley to taste. Take some lean bacon and cut it in thin strips, 1 in. wide. Spread out the meat paste to the thickness of ½ in. Cut it into squares about 2½ by 4½ in. Put a strip of bacon on each square, with a small piece of butter, and 4 or 5 pine cone kernels (pignoli). Strew over a little breadcrumb prepared as above, and roll up tight on the table each brasciolette in meat paste, then roll it between the palms of the hands. When they are all done, pack them up close in one layer in a well-buttered baking tin. Strew plenty of the prepared breadcrumbs over them, and some little bits of butter. Bake in a quick oven. Look at them frequently, and when the brown gravy shows on the top they are done. They should not in any case be baked longer than 15 minutes. They may be served plain, or with some tomato sauce poured over them.

Bubble and Squeak.--Cut from a piece of boiled beef slices the thickness of a penny piece, trim and cut them into any shape you please--parts underdone being the best; plain boil 1 large cabbage, 1 carrot, 1 onion; when cooked, drain and mince them together very fine, removing any hard part of the cabbage. Put into a sauté pan a piece of butter the size of an egg; when melted put in the beef to warm, taking care it does not dry; this done, remove the meat and put in the vegetables; stir on the fire until they are very hot, moisten with a little good stock, add salt and pepper, a little grated nutmeg; place them and the meat on the dish in the same way as cutlets, pour over a little stock, and serve. (J. Burtenshaw.)

Bullock’s heart.--(a) A bullock’s heart, stuffed in the usual way, should first be gently simmered for an hour or more, according to size; then roasted slowly, being basted continuously, as all meat should; if preferred, it may be larded. Thus managed, it is an excellent dish.

(b) Put the heart in lukewarm water, and let it soak for 1½ hour, then have ready a good supply of veal stuffing, which put in the heart in every available place; sew it up carefully, and plunge it into boiling water, allowing it to boil 2 hours; then take it out, put it in the oven with a good piece of dripping on the top; baste occasionally, and bake 1½ hour. Have a tureen of good gravy, slightly thickened, sent to table with it, and, of course, currant jelly. (Kate Campion.)

Cow-heel.--(a) Wash, clean, and scald a cow-heel, and cut into pieces about 2 in. long and 1 wide. Dip these into the yolk of an egg beaten up. Cover them with breadcrumbs mixed with chopped parsley, pepper and salt, and a little cayenne. Fry them in boiling batter.

(b) Split the cow-heel, wash it, and place it in a stewpan with just enough water to cover it. Simmer gently for 3 hours, chop enough parsley to fill a tablespoon, put it into the stewpan. Mix 2 tablespoonfuls baked flour, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 saltspoonful pepper, and 1 teacupful cold water, pour it in, and stir till it thickens. Boil for 10 minutes longer, then serve.

Croquettes.--The croquettes can be made from any remains of cold beef, whether boiled or roast, that will cut into neat slices. These slices must be rather thin and nicely trimmed. Make a forcemeat by chopping parsley, fat bacon, dried herbs, and a suspicion of lemon peel together; season well, spread a little on each slice of meat, roll up and dip in a thin batter, then fry in boiling fat.

Fillet.--Take a piece of fillet of beef (the undercut of the sirloin), trim off the fat neatly and the thin skin next to it, lard not too finely the outside of the fillet with fat bacon, and lay it for a whole day in a pie dish with plenty of olive oil, pepper, salt, parsley, slices of onion, and bay leaves. Turn it occasionally. Cover the larded side with a piece of oiled paper, roast it at a brisk fire, and do not let it be overdone. Baste it frequently with butter, or with some of the marinade and a short time before serving remove the paper, sprinkle the fillet with salt, and cease basting, to let the larding take colour. Collect what gravy is in the dripping pan, free it entirely from fat, or serve it under the fillet; which may be garnished either with fried potatoes or with watercresses. If the gravy collected in the dripping pan is not sufficient, some well-flavoured and reduced clear beef stock can be added to it.

Frizzled.--Brown a piece of butter the size of an egg in a saucepan, add a cup of cream or milk, 1 teaspoonful flour, mixed with a little cold milk. Have ready ½ lb. of thinly-shaved smoked beef, add it to the mixture, let it just come to a boil; serve. (F. E. W.)

Hash.--(a) Two tumblers hot water, 1 large spoonful butter, 3 tablespoonfuls grated cheese, and the same of fine breadcrumbs; then season highly with cayenne pepper, adding three tumblers cold beef, minced. All stirred well together, and served as soon as hot.

(b) Fry a small onion, cut in thin slices in butter; when it begins to colour stir in a tablespoonful of flour, then add a cupful of stock, pepper and salt, a small pinch of powdered sweet herbs, and ½ wineglassful tarragon vinegar. When the sauce has boiled for a minute or two strain it into another saucepan; when cold, put in the beef cut in thin slices. If roast beef, all outside parts must be trimmed off. Set the saucepan by the side of the fire for the contents to get gradually warm; when nearly so, a fair allowance of sliced gherkins would be added. The longer the process of warming, the better the hash will be.

(c) Cut some thin slices of underdone roast or boiled beef, lay them in a buttered tin, strew over them some mushrooms and onions and a little parsley, all finely chopped, add pepper and salt, and pour in at the side as much stock as will come up to, but not over, the meat. Strew plenty of baked breadcrumbs over all, and put the tin in the oven for ½ hour, or till the moisture is nearly dried up. A very small quantity of wine may be added along with the stock.

Hung Beef.--(a) This is served in America, shaved very thin, so thin as to curl up; or grated, to spread on toast; also shred in omelettes.

(b) It should be soaked for a few hours, then boiled slowly until tender with carrots and cabbages. It is best eaten cold, or it may be shaved or grated, and served on buttered toast. Slices of it can be broiled on a gridiron and served with any green vegetables.

Kidney.--Parboil a beef kidney and cut it in slices, the thickness of a penny piece, toss them in a saucepan with a piece of butter for 5 minutes; in another saucepan put 1 oz. butter, and 1 dessertspoonful flour; stir on the fire until it begins to brown; moisten with 1 teacupful stock, add some finely minced parsley, the juice of a lemon, pepper and salt to taste; pour this sauce into the saucepan with the kidneys, and let them very gently simmer until thoroughly done.

Minced Collops.--Mince some raw beef very finely, put the mince into a saucepan with a bit of butter to prevent it sticking to the pan. When they are hot add 1 teaspoonful flour and a little gravy or water. They should be stirred often, to prevent their getting lumpy: they take about 20 minutes to cook. Onions minced may be added, or a little hot pickle. Hare collops are dressed the same way, with the addition of a little claret.

Mock Brawn.--Take 4 cowheels, clean and wash them thoroughly, boil them in plenty of water till very tender, then take them out and shred them in long pieces, which put in a stewpan; just cover them with stock, and let them stew a little. Have ready chopped a handful of capers, half as many gherkins, and one glass of vinegar stir in with the heels; put all into a mould; when quite cold turn out.

Ox Brains.--Lay the brains in plenty of lukewarm water to blanch. Put them into scalding water, with some salt, to boil slowly about ½ hour. Take them up, drain, and divide them into small pieces. Dip these into a well-beaten egg, sprinkle them with grated bread; fry them in plenty of butter a delicate brown. Sprinkle with lemon juice when done, and serve with slices of lemon as garnish.

Ox Cheek.--(a) One of the nicest dishes that comes to table is an ox cheek. It will require to be well washed, not soaked, and to be put on the fire in a large boiler full of cold water, and when it boils it must continue to do so for 4 hours. 1½-2 pints peas should be in soak all the night before, and put in with the cheek at first. Onions, carrots, turnips, and celery are also added, and require 2 or 3 hours’ boiling. This makes delicious soup for the following days, and the cheek itself a savoury and tender dish for a family. What is left can either be made into a shape for the breakfast or luncheon table, or cut into dice about 1 in. square and sent to table in the soup. Hard-boiled eggs, pepper, salt, and nutmeg must be added to the shape.

(b) It has long been in the north a favourite dish for breakfasts, or lunch when made into a pie; it is a most economical, excellent, and appetising dish, gentlemen like it for breakfast before a hard day’s shooting or hunting. Wash the ox cheek in several waters, let it soak 1 hour, then stew gently until the meat is cooked; remove it from the stew pot, take out all the bones, which return to the stew pot--use a digester for this purpose; put the meat on one side until quite cold, boil 2 eggs hard and leave until cold; any remnants of bacon or ham you have should be cut into pieces about ½ in. in size. Take 1½ pint of the stock from which you took the meat, reduce it one-third by boiling, flavour it with a teaspoonful of Yorkshire relish or Worcester sauce, pepper, and for those who like it, a little tarragon vinegar. Trim the meat, that is, take off the white skin, cut the rest into pieces, about 1 in. in size, lay them in your dish with the egg cut in slices, bacon or ham, till full, then pour in your gravy, cover with the paste, taking care to make an incision in the centre, and bake until the crust is sufficiently cooked. The pie should be eaten cold. If you have any other bones from meat they should be added to the stock and boiled for some hours; we always boil them for 3-4 days, removing the stock occasionally and filling up again with water, for the longer they are boiled, the more the stock is likely to jelly, you then have the foundation of many good soups. The ox cheek may be made into a galantine instead of pie. (M. E. S.)

Ox-head.--People who have to study economy are often puzzled as to what is the cheapest and most profitable dish for a Saturday early hot dinner when the boys and girls of the family are generally in from school. To those who are not already aware of the many excellencies and useful purposes to which half an ox head can be applied, this dish can be safely recommended. At a butcher’s in an unfashionable locality half a head can be bought uncooked for 5_d._ a lb. with the bones out, or 4_d._ with the bones in. The wary housekeeper will prefer having the bones left in as so much more stock is obtained in this case. The head must be soaked 12 hours in cold water. Then place it in a large saucepan, after dividing it into 2 portions, with about 4 gals. cold water, 2 onions stuck with cloves, 4 carrots, 3 turnips, ½ a burnt onion, a bay leaf, some mixed herbs in a muslin bag, salt and pepper to taste. Stew slowly for 4-5 hours. The liquor will gradually become reduced in quantity, and consequently, another gallon of water must be added. When quite tender, take it out of the saucepan and cut off sufficient slices to fill a dish: if the appearance of the head on the table is objected to, serve the meat with some of the gravy, and a fresh lot of vegetables. The slices do very well indeed for the dining room, and the servants can have a good dinner from what remains. Some nice pieces should be left, which can be made into a mould of collared head for Sunday night’s supper, in the following way: Cut the meat into little squares and also a small quantity of fat bacon. Put this into rather more than 1 pint stock with a teaspoonful of mixed herbs, 3 cloves in muslin, ½ teaspoonful of parsley, a dash of cayenne pepper, and some salt. Stew all these ingredients together for about 1 hour. When it has become tepid, wet a plain mould, pour in the mixture, and set it aside to get cool; serve garnished with aspic jelly made of gelatine and flavoured with tarragon vinegar. The first lot of stock makes splendid soup after all the fat has been carefully removed, and into which anything that is liked can be put, such as some pieces of ox tail from a tin containing tails only, because, the stock being so good, it is not necessary to add ox tail soup to it. A small quantity of French sago and the well beaten yolks of 2 eggs are a very good addition. The second stock, which is extracted from the bones, is naturally poorer; but it can be utilised very successfully for soup, thickened with tinned tomatoes, prepared tapioca, chestnuts, cold boiled potatoes, leeks, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, &c.; in fact, it can be employed in any way most handy. Such a large quantity of stock can be made from this very inexpensive dish, that, with the addition of 6_d._ worth of fresh bones, enough soup and gravy for a moderate-sized family can be obtained to last about a week. (C.)

Ox-tails.--Thoroughly wash and divide into 4 in. pieces 1 or 2 ox tails, put them into a stewpan, with a bunch of sweet herbs, a little salt and cayenne pepper, and rather more than 1½ pint stock. Simmer very gently for 2½ hours, then take out, and let them drain on a sieve. Brush them thickly over with the yolk of a well-beaten egg, and cover with breadcrumbs. Broil a fine brown on both sides very quickly, serve with a good gravy or sauce tartare.

Potted.--Take 1 lb. cold roast beef, free from skin and sinews, mince and then pound in a mortar to a paste. In pounding, add by degrees a large saltspoonful of salt, scarcely that quantity of black pepper, a pinch of cayenne, a little finely powdered mace, and 2 oz. clarified butter. Press into small jars, and cover with a slight coating of warm clarified butter; tie down tightly with bladder or paper. The clarified butter, after being used for covering, need not be wasted, but will do nicely for basting poultry or game.

Pressed.--(a) Take a piece of the brisket, or of the thick flank, trim it, and rub it well for 3 days with salt and saltpetre. Pound 3 oz. allspice, 1 oz. cloves, 1 oz. black pepper, 2 lb. salt, and ½ lb. brown sugar in a mortar. Tie up the beef, and put in a pan, rub it with the above ingredients every 12 hours for a week, drain it from the pickle, pour over it the juice of 2 or 3 lemons, and 1 glass brandy. Chop up 2-3 lb. beef suet, put a layer at the bottom of the dish, under the beef, and the rest on the top, cover it with a paste of flour and water, and bake for 6-7 hours. When done remove the crust (drain off the juice), and put the beef to press under heavy weights. Glaze it, and garnish with aspic jelly.

(b) To glaze.--The easiest way is to cut a thick slice from a piece of glaze, which may be bought at no great expense; remove the surrounding skin, and place it in a small-sized jam-pot to melt in the oven. When it has become quite liquid, and while it is still hot, apply it with a paste brush over the upper surface of the beef, which should be already trimmed and placed on the dish on which it is to be served, before the application of the glaze. It will soon get cold, and will then be ready for serving.

Pot au feu.--Take a piece of fresh silverside of beef weighing 6 lb., and about ½ lb. bones, tie up the meat neatly with string, and put both into a 6 qt. saucepan; fill it up with sufficient water to come well over the meat and bones, and set it on the fire; remove carefully with a skimmer the scum that will rise as the water gets warm but do not allow it to boil. Add at intervals during the process about 1 pint cold water in small quantities; this will have the effect of checking the ebullition, and will help the scum to rise. When the scum is all removed, put in about 1 oz. salt, a small handful of whole pepper and allspice, 1 onion stuck with 12 cloves, 1 onion toasted almost black before the fire or on the hob, 1 leek, 3 carrots of average size cut in 2 in. lengths, 2 turnips of average size each cut in 4, and a bouquet garni--i.e., 2 bay leaves, 2 or 3 sprigs each of thyme and marjoram, a clove of garlic, and a small handful of parsley, all tied together into a small faggot. The above vegetables should not be put in all at once, but gradually, so as not to check the gentle simmering of the pot au feu, which should be now skimmed for the last time, and placed by the side of the fire to simmer gently for at least 4 hours. According to the season, all or some of the following vegetables may be added: A head of celery cut in 2 in. lengths, 2 tomatoes, 2 parsnips, a handful of chervil. At the time of serving, strain the broth and skim off all the fat, add the least bit of sugar (not burnt sugar) and more salt if necessary; make the broth boiling hot, and pour it into the soup tureen over small slices of toasted bread, adding according to taste, a portion of the vegetables cut in thin slices.

Roast.--(a) Cut off most of the flap of the sirloin and trim the joint neatly. Have a clear, brisk fire well built up. Place the joint close to it for the first half-hour, then move it further off. Baste frequently. When nearly done sprinkle the joint well over with salt. Put a small quantity of water in the dripping pan, then pour off the gravy, free it effectually from fat, and pour it over the joint in the dish. Time of roasting about 3 hours for a 10-12 lb. sirloin. Garnish with scraped horseradish and Yorkshire pudding. Serve horseradish sauce in a tureen.

(b) Take a piece of the undercut of sirloin of beef, trim off the fat neatly, and the thin skin next to it; lard (not too finely) that side of it with fat bacon, and lay it for a whole day in a pie dish, with plenty of olive oil, pepper, salt, parsley, slices of onion, and laurel leaves. Tie it on the spit, cover the larded side with a piece of buttered paper, roast it at a brisk fire, and do not let it be overdone. Baste it frequently with its own gravy, and a short time before serving remove the piece of paper to let the larding take colour. Serve with its own gravy.

Salt.--Wash the piece of beef thoroughly, then proceed as in boiling fresh beef, omitting the salt. Serve garnished with carrots.

Scalloped.--Melt together 2 oz. Parmesan cheese and 2 oz. butter, finely mince ½ lb. tender and rather underdone cold roast beef; mix this with the cheese and butter, seasoning it with a little pepper and salt; have ready some tin or plated scallop shells, buttered and sprinkled over with breadcrumbs finely grated; pour in the mixture, sprinkle over it some more breadcrumbs, and then grate Parmesan cheese over the top; they may be baked either in the oven or in a Dutch oven before the fire. Serve very hot.

Spiced.--(a) Take the bones from a piece of thin flank, and put it for 10 days into the following pickle--it should be covered. Boil for 20 minutes 2 gal. water, 5 lb. salt, 2 lb. coarse sugar, 2 oz. saltpetre, 2 oz. black pepper and of mixed spice, bruised and tied in muslin, and bay leaves. Clear the scum as it rises, and let it stand till cold. To boil the meat, put it in cold water, to cover, with a wineglassful of vinegar and a few vegetables. Let it come very slowly to boiling point, simmer it very slowly, and leave it in the pickle till it is cold. If it is hard, it is cooked too fast. Vinegar helps to make it tender, and it (as well as all boiled meat) is much less dry if it is left till cold in the liquor. Before boiling, the thin flank should be sprinkled with chopped parsley, herbs, and allspice, rolled, and tied with tape. (E. A. B.)

(b) ½ lb. black pepper, ½ lb. white ditto, 3 oz. allspice, 3 oz. cloves, 2 oz. saltpetre, 1 lb. salt, 1 lb. coarse brown sugar. Grind all the spice, and pound the saltpetre fine; mix all the ingredients well together. Get a round of about 26 lb. small beef, with 2 lb. extra fat, to replace the marrow bone, which must be cut out of the centre; let the meat be as fresh as possible, remove any kernels, then thoroughly hand-rub every inch of the round, put it with all the ingredients into a stone crock, or pan, where it will make its own pickle, rub it well, and turn it in the pan every second day for 2-3 weeks. To cook it: Bind it into good shape with tape; put 1 qt. cold water, and a plate of suet or good dripping into a large pot; put in the beef, and completely cover it with suet or dripping; place another plate above all, and put the cover on the pot. Bake for 6 hours in an oven, turning the beef at the end of the third hour.

Steak (a). À la Bordelaise.--Take a rib of beef, remove the bone, and cut the meat into 2 steaks, trimming them neatly. Take a marrow bone, break it, remove the marrow in one piece, blanch it for a minute in hot water, and put it into the oven to keep it warm. Broil the steaks, and serve them over some Bordelaise sauce, placing on each the marrow, cut in slices and brushed over with a little thin glaze. Bordelaise Sauce.--Mince finely 2 or 3 shallots, blanch them for a few minutes, press out the water from them, and put them into a saucepan with a cupful of white wine; let them boil 20 minutes, then add 2 cupfuls Spanish sauce, a dust of pepper, and some parsley finely minced; let the sauce give a boil or two, and it is ready. Well-flavoured gravy, thickened with browned flour and butter, may be used instead of Spanish sauce.

(b) The great secret in cooking a steak lies in having a perfectly clear red fire-no black or smoking coal. It should also be quite even, so as to be at an equal distance all over (nearly 1 ft.) below the gridiron. Before putting on the gridiron throw a handful of salt on the top of the fire; then place the gridiron on to get quite hot. Before putting on the steak rub the gridiron well over with a piece of suet or fat. See that the steak is cut of an equal thickness-¾ in., certainly not less. It should on no account be beaten. Place it on the gridiron, and turn frequently with steak tongs. If these are not at hand, use a fork; but put it into the edge of the fat, on no account into the lean, as that would let out the gravy and spoil the steak. The time for cooking must depend on the thickness of the steak and on the fire--10 minutes is the rule. Serve on a very hot dish, on which should be ready, sliced very thin, a shallot. For gravy, use Cock’s Reading Sauce and a very little boiling water. After the steak is dished pepper and salt well, and rub it over with a piece of butter.

(c) Stewed.--Season and lay them in a stewpan, put in ½ pint water, a blade of mace, an anchovy, and small bunch of herbs, a piece of butter rolled in flour, a glass of white wine, and an onion, cover close, and let it stew till the steaks are tender, then take them out, strew some flour over them, fry them in butter till they are of a nice brown and pour off the fat; strain the sauce they were stewed in, pour it into the pan, and toss it up together till the sauce is quite hot and thick, then lay your steaks in the dish, pour the sauce over them, and serve with horseradish and pickles. (S. S.)

(d) Pie.--Have your steak cut up and placed in its dish (nearly covered with water) in the oven for 1½ hour, with a cover over the dish. The oven should be about the heat for rice pudding. Open the door if likely to dry the gravy. When cooked take it up, and after properly flavouring it, and adding a hard-boiled egg cut up, lay on the crust, and replace the pie in the oven until the paste is properly cooked.

(e) Ditto.--Cut up 1½ lb. fillet steak or rump steak, with 2 kidneys, previously boiled, 2 eggs boiled hard and cut lengthways in 4 pieces, pepper and salt lightly, flour the steak and kidneys, place some of the meat and some of the egg in the dish, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut; add a teacupful of good gravy, seasoned with a teaspoonful of Worcester and 1 dessertspoonful Harvey sauce; fill the dish with the remaining portions of meat and eggs. Cover with the paste, and bake slowly for 2½ hours.

(f) Pudding.--Line your basin with thin suet crust. For a small pudding take ¾ lb. rump steak, cut in thin slices, without fat or gristle; make a powder of pepper and salt, dip each slice into it, and lay it round in layers in the basin until nearly full. Fill up the centre with oysters or mushrooms, tie it tight, and boil for 3 hours; add water in the saucepan as required, but it must not reach the top of the pudding basin. Fill up the basin with good stock.

Tea.--(a) Use Gard’s patent meat juice extractor. Its principal virtue consists in the beef tea being cooked just enough to render it most digestible. Put about ¼ pint water to ½ lb. beef, the roll of the shoulder.

(b) Put the beef, cut in pieces or slashed, into a jar with a cover, and tie it over with paper; stand the jar in a saucepan with plenty of water, but not enough to make the jar float. Setting the jar in the oven dries the meat. It should be well boiled gently, and the lid kept on the saucepan to keep the steam in.

(c) Mince 8 oz. gravy beef very finely, pour over 8 oz. cold water, and let it stand 1 hour; pour off the liquor, and it is ready.

(d) Dr. Stutzer has exposed the common superstition about the nourishing powers of beef tea. He extracted all the extractible matter from 100 gr. of beef with 100 gr. water, and a good proportion of salt, at a gentle heat for 4 hours, but could only succeed in obtaining in solution 1/12th the nourishing matter of the beef, the other 11/12th remaining behind in the bouilli. In other words, we should have to take ½ gal. beef tea made with beef to each pint of water before we got as much nourishment as is contained in ¼ lb. of steak. We might, it is true, evaporate our beef tea down to, say ½ pint, but we doubt if it would be palatable to the least squeamish invalid.

Tongue.--(a) Never boil a tongue, only simmer, and allow 3 hours for a large one. Never cure small ones. ¼ hour to every lb. is the usual time given when meat is simmered, for meat should not boil, as it hardens it; but you may know when the tongue is done, by its peeling readily. The skin should peel off as a glove, when drawn, does from the hand; and if the tongue is to be eaten cold, it can be glazed; or if warm, a few well-browned and sifted breadcrumbs put over it, and a paper frill should encircle its root. Many garnish warm tongue with flowers in the old-fashioned way; but these adornments interfere with the carver; serve browned or glazed, with simply a frill.

(b) A dried tongue should be put to soak all night in cold water; if it is only pickled, 2-3 hours will suffice. Put the tongue in a saucepan sufficiently large, and with as much cold water as will cover it well; put it on the fire until it comes to boil, then remove it to the side, let it simmer but not boil. A bunch of herbs in the water when boiling is a great improvement; while cooking the water should be skimmed.

(c) Put the tongue into an earthen pan, and lay on the top of it a few slices of butter; then cover the pan with a flour-and-water crust, and bake, according to size, in a moderately hot oven. When done, take off the skin, and straighten the tongue on a board, by means of skewers at the tip and root. When cold, glaze it, ornament it with a frill of paper, vegetables cut into shapes, and curled parsley.

Tournedos.--Cut some rump steak or fillet of beef in slices about ½ in. thick, trim them all to the shape of cutlets (pear shape), lay them in a marinade composed as follows: Olive oil and tarragon vinegar in equal parts, an onion and a carrot sliced; pepper, salt, and bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, parsley, and a few cloves. There should be enough marinade to cover the fillets, and they should lie in it for 12 hours. When wanted, take them out of the marinade, fry them in butter quickly on both sides, and arrange them in a circle on a dish alternately with slices of bread cut to the same shape as the fillets, and fried a golden colour also in butter. Pour in the centre of the dish some well made sharp sauce (sauce piquante, or sauce poivrade), and serve.

Vinaigrette.--Cut in thin slices the cold beef of the pot au feu. Mix in a small basin 1 teaspoonful mustard with some water and the yolk of an egg; stir it continually, and at the same time drop in some olive oil, drop by drop, until the sauce becomes pretty thick; then add a little vinegar, and continue stirring and dropping in the oil until you have as much sauce as you require. Add a hard egg chopped up in small pieces some chopped-up parsley and chervil, a little salt, and 3 tablespoonfuls good cream. Arrange the slices of beef round the dish, and pour the sauce over them.

Mutton (mouton). Baking.--In baking a joint in any kind of oven, the following rules must be enforced to command success. First of all, the joint must be placed in a proper baking tin, which can be bought of any ironmonger for 6-8_s._ This baking tin is a double tin, one placed inside another and has raised grating to place the meat on, which prevents its being sodden in the fat. Water is put in the under-tin to prevent any scorching of the dripping, which imparts such an unpleasant taste to the meat; the small amount of steam from this water helps to keep the meat from drying and hardening, but is not sufficient to sodden it. Secondly, the joint must be put into a thoroughly hot oven, which hardens the outside enough to keep in the gravy. After the first ¼ hour of brisk heat, lower the fire a little, keeping a moderate fire for the rest of the time. The joint must be turned the under side uppermost when it is half cooked, or it will not be evenly done or browned, as the main heat in stoves or kitcheners proceeds from the top of the oven. Thirdly, the oven door should be opened every 10 minutes for a second or two to allow the vapour from the meat to escape: it is the confined vapour of meat in a close oven that makes a baked joint offensive to a sensitive palate. To sum all up in a few words, the oven must be thoroughly hot when the joint is first put in, the meat must be raised above the dripping, water must be used in the under tin, and the oven door must be opened every 10 minutes. Suppose we have a leg or shoulder of mutton to cook, in an ordinary kitchener or stove oven, place the joint, ready trimmed, on the grating of your baking tin, the underside uppermost, as when it is turned it will bring the proper side up to send to table, and be ready for the final browning. Dust it over lightly with flour, and put a lump of dripping in the upper tin to baste with; pour sufficient cold water in the underneath baking tin. Put the joint into the hot oven, and let it remain ¼ hour, if a joint of 10-12 lb.; but if only 5-6 lb., 10 minutes will be enough. Open the oven door once in that time, and baste it at the end of the ¼ hour, then lower the fire a little, and keep a steady even fire all the time the joint is cooking. Baste every 10 minutes, at the same time the door is opened to let the vapour escape. Turn the joint, when half cooked, and flour it a little; and ¼ hour before it is finally cooked dust it well with flour, and do not baste it again unless any part of the meat refuses to moisten and brown, when a very little dripping may be put on this part to bring it to its right colour. When the meat is ready to dish up, take the baking tin out of the oven, put the meat on a warm common dish, and return it to the oven to keep hot while the fat is being separated from the gravy, which is best done by pouring both fat and gravy into a hot basin, and then skimming the fat off quickly with a large spoon. A shoulder of mutton will make very little gravy, and should have some made gravy added to it. An economical way of making the gravy nice is to boil a teacupful of water in a saucepan with a good pinch of salt and a little white pepper in it. Mix ½ teaspoonful flour in a little water until smooth, and stir into the boiling water. Let it boil a minute, and when all the fat is skimmed off the gravy pour the gravy into the saucepan, letting it simmer a second, and pour it over the meat or into a gravy tureen, and send to table.

Breast.--(a) With the poor, to whom fat is a necessity, this dish is much in vogue, but to be economical, even from their point of view, it must be bought at a low price. Persons accustomed to the prime parts of mutton are wont to despise the breast; but it may, with a little care and skill, be made into excellent dishes. It is essential that it should be partly prepared the day before using, as it cannot be freed sufficiently from fat until cold. After preparing in the following manner the meat may be made either into a mutton pasty, Devonshire pie mutton pudding, stew, or curry. It is besides excellent eaten cold. Cut the breast into convenient pieces, and lay them in a saucepan, meat downwards, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and slice 3 onions over them. If it is desired to use the fat drawn from the mutton in any way in which the flavour of onions would be objectionable, they must be omitted. Set the stewpan at a low heat, and allow the meat to cook gradually in its own fat and juices. It will take about 3 hours. When done put away the meat on a dish, and the fat in a basin. The next morning a little gravy will be found beneath the cake of fat, which will, from a breast of mutton weighing about 3 lb., be as much as ¾-1 lb. It is excellent fat either for making family cakes and pies or for frying. Use the gravy, with the addition of a little water or stock, onion or other vegetables to dress the meat, in any of the ways above mentioned.

(b) Boil it tender, and take out the bones; have ready some parsley and thyme, well chopped, a little salt, pepper, and some breadcrumbs; mix them well, and lay on the top of the lamb, put it down before the fire to brown, and serve it up with a good gravy and a few capers.

Broth.--(a) Take ½ lb. Scotch barley, 5-6 lb. mutton (neck or breast), put on the fire with 5 qts. of water, and bring it slowly to a boil. Turnips, carrots, onions, or leeks and celery cut up small, with ½ pint dried green peas, to be added ½ hour after the meat and barley have boiled. The whole then to be simmered 2½ hours longer. The fat must be removed as it rises to the surface when boiling. If preferred, the meat can be served as a separate course, with some large vegetables round it.

(b) Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton (say 6 cutlets), saw, short off, the end of the ribs in one piece, also the chine, divide the cutlets, and trim off the fat. Put the cutlets, ribs, and chine into a saucepan with 2 qts. cold water, and 2 tablespoonfuls pearl barley; when the saucepan has been on the fire for ½ hour, throw in 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 turnip, and ½ head celery, all cut in small squares the size of peas. Keep on skimming the broth of all fat, and scum at intervals; when it has boiled another hour, add pepper and salt to taste, a pinch of powdered thyme, and a dessertspoonful of finely mixed parsley. Then let the broth simmer gently till wanted, removing the ribs and chine at the time of serving.

Casseroles.--Boil 6 large potatoes; when done add salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, 3 yolks of eggs, 1 oz. butter; beat all well together over the fire a few minutes, then pass through a sieve. Butter a large baking sheet; place the potato on it in a flat heap 1½ in. high. When cold, cut them out with a plain cutter the size of a patty, egg and breadcrumb; make an impression at one end with a smaller cutter, to represent the top of the patty; fry a golden colour in hot lard. Remove the inside, and fill them with the mince moistened in the same way as for patties. Serve very hot on a napkin.

Chops.--Take some chops from a loin of mutton, trim them neatly, and remove all fat; lay them in a deep dish, with slices of onion, a few cloves, whole pepper, salt, and sweet herbs; add oil and vinegar in equal parts just sufficient to cover them; let them marinade for 10-12 hours, turning them occasionally, then broil over a clear fire; arrange them neatly on a dish. Fry one or two shallots, minced very finely in butter; when just beginning to take colour, pour on the chops, and serve with sharp sauce in a boat.

Croquettes.--Roll up the mince in balls, egg and breadcrumb, and fry them in hot lard. They can be made into any shape, such as round balls, diamonds, sugar loaf, or cutlets. They must be served with fried parsley, and very hot.

Cutlets. (a) Cold.--Trim some neck cutlets very neatly, remove every particle of fat, and cut the bone quite short. Lard them finely with bacon or ham, and put them into a braising pan on a slice of fat bacon. Add a sliced carrot, a turnip, and an onion, also sliced, a bundle of sweet herbs, whole pepper, and salt to taste. Add a little gravy or good stock--if liked, a glass of white wine. Braise gently for an hour or so. When sufficiently done, drain and put them to press until cold between 2 dishes. Trim them again, glaze with some of the gravy reduced for the purpose, and serve with clarified aspic jelly and sprigs of chervil or tarragon, or with cold tomato sauce.

(b) Stewed.--Take some lean, neatly trimmed mutton chops from the loin, and fry them lightly a good brown. Have ready sufficient good, well-seasoned gravy, in which put a few slices of pickled cucumber. Add the chops, and stew most gently 1½-2 hours.

(c) With apples and gravy.--Take some cutlets from the neck, trim them neatly; season with pepper and salt, put them in a deep dish, with slices of apples and chopped onions over, pour in sufficient stock or gravy to cover them; put the dish in the oven, cover it over, and let the contents braise gently for ¾ hour, or until thoroughly cooked; serve in the dish in which they were cooked.

(d) À la maître d’hôtel.--These may be prepared over night by cutting from a neck of mutton as many as will be required; cut the bones rather short, and cut a cutlet from between every 2 bones, these with the bone being only the thickness of the bone itself; trim off some of the fat, flatten them, season with pepper and salt, and set them in the larder for the night. The next morning prepare the sauce before cooking the cutlets. For this take 1 oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful finely chopped parsley, and a few drops of lemon juice; mix these well together with a knife on a plate, then proceed to fry the cutlets in clarified butter on both sides till quite done; put them at once on to a very hot dish, and put little bits of the maître d’hôtel butter all over them; these at once melt and form a nice savoury gravy.

(e) Lamb cutlets.--Take a neck of lamb, divide it into cutlets, trim them neatly, dip them in liquefied butter, sprinkle them with pepper and salt, and broil them in a double gridiron in front of a brisk fire; dispose them in a circle on the dish round a pyramid of spinach.--Pick and wash perfectly clean 2-3 lb. spinach, put it into a saucepan with a little water, and let it boil till quite done. Turn it out on a hair sieve to drain, throw the water away, and pass the spinach through the sieve. Put a good lump of butter into a saucepan with a pinch of flour, mix well, add the spinach, pepper and salt to taste, and a little milk; stir well and serve.

(f) Savoury.--Cut the cutlets from a neck of mutton rather thick, lard and put them in a braising pan, with enough good gravy to cover them; add an onion stuck with cloves, a sliced carrot, a faggot of herbs; braise till quite tender. Remove them from the gravy, strain, then reduce it, and skim well. When cold trim the cutlets carefully, simmer till hot in the reduced gravy. Have ready a block of bread (pyramid shape), fry it in butter, put it in the centre of the dish, the cutlets round it (the gravy in the dish), and garnish with new carrots and turnips (cut up small, and previously tossed in butter), arranged alternately between the cutlets. Instead of the block of bread and garnish of carrots and turnips, they may be served with peas or beans, tossed in butter, or with any purée of vegetable, or with tomatoes, &c., according to the season.

Haggis.--The outer covering of this is made from the stomach or paunch of a sheep, which requires great care in the cleansing. It must be well washed, and then be allowed to soak for several hours in salt and water; after this, turn it inside out, put it into boiling water to scald, scrape it well, and then put it into a large basin of cold water to remain till wanted. Care must be taken in scraping that no thin places are left, or they will burst in the boiling. Take a sheep’s pluck, clean it well, piercing the liver and heart in several places to let out the blood. Boil the liver and lights for 1½ hour, putting them into fresh water after they have boiled for ¼ hour, and adding the remainder of the pluck to boil with them during the last ½ hour they are on the fire. Take them off and trim away any discoloured parts and the skin. Grate half the liver, and mince all the rest as finely as possible. Chop 2 good-sized onions and 1 lb. suet, and mix with ½ pint oatmeal previously well dried, 2 teaspoonfuls salt, a dash of cayenne, 1 teaspoonful black pepper, and a little grated nutmeg. To this add the juice of a small lemon, and ½ pint good brown gravy. Mix all thoroughly, take the bag or skin from the cold water in which it has lain since preparing, and into it put the mixture. Sew the skin up securely, not forgetting to leave room for it to swell, and at once put it into boiling water, to remain gently simmering for 3 hours after it again comes to the boil. Just at first it must be occasionally pricked with a needle, to let out the air, and prevent it from bursting. Some people tie it in a cloth as well, for fear of this happening; but it ought not to have one, and with attention it will turn out perfectly well without. A haggis is also sometimes made from the stomach or pluck of a calf or lamb, but that of the sheep is most generally used. If lamb is used for this purpose, great care must be taken to sew up any thin places, or possibly holes in the skin, which from being so tender often occur. Occasionally a small quantity of beef, finely minced, is added to the other ingredients, as described for filling the haggis, but it is more generally made without this addition. It must be served directly it is taken off the fire, as hot as possible, with no gravy or sauce of any kind, nor any garnish, as the gravy from the inside flows all over the dish directly the knife is put into it.

Haricot.--Toss some chops or mutton cutlets in butter till they are a good colour all over. Take them out. Have some carrots and turnips, also potatoes, all cut the same shape, and pass them in butter on the fire, each vegetable separately, till they are half-cooked. Strain the butter so used; add to it a good pinch of flour, or more according to quantity, to thicken the sauce. When the mixture begins to acquire a golden colour, put in as much water (or stock) as will be required for sauce, together with the meat, pepper, salt, a bunch of sweet herbs, with a clove of garlic or a shallot in it. When the meat is half-cooked, add the carrots, after a little time the potatoes, then the turnips. Serve when done, removing the sweet herbs.

Hashed.--(a) Mince an onion and fry it in butter to a brown colour, add 1 tablespoonful flour, stir well, pour in enough stock or broth to make the sauce, with a dash of vinegar, pepper, salt, and spices to taste. Let the sauce give a boil, then strain it, and when cold put in the slices of meat well trimmed of any outside parts, and a good allowance of pickled gherkins cut in slices. Let the whole get warm by gentle simmering, and keep it hot till wanted for table. Serve garnished with fried sippets. Cut out of a loaf slices 1 in. thick, shape them into triangles or arrow-heads all of a size; put some butter in a frying-pan, and when quite hot lay the sippets in it. Turn them frequently, adding more butter as it is wanted, and taking care that they are all fried to the same light golden colour. A readier way, but producing not so nice a sippet, is to lay the pieces of bread in the frying basket, and dip it in a saucepan full of boiling fat. They must afterwards be laid in front of the fire to drain.

(b) Cut your meat in slices, free from fat, gristle, and skin. Take a flat dish, and cover the bottom with dry flour, seasoned to taste with pepper and salt; rub each piece of meat all over in this flour, and lay them in a “Dutch oven,” i.e., a brown stoneware jar or pot with a lid, and one small hole in it. When you have packed as much meat as you require, pour on the whole some cold gravy free of fat (or stock), seasoned with a dessert spoonful of or more of Worcester or any other favourite sauce; put on the lid, and put it into a slow oven. It may be left any number of hours, and only requires to be occasionally looked at, and a little gravy or hot water added to it, and stir now and then to prevent it getting dry.

(c) Roast 1 large or 2 small onions until they are quite black; cut the meat in small thin pieces; put the fat, skin, and bones in a saucepan with the onions and water, allowing for the latter to waste; let all stew until the gravy looks good and rich; then strain, and put the meat and gravy on again, letting them simmer gently until the meat is quite cooked; put a sufficient quantity of mushroom or walnut ketchup in a cup, and stir in enough flour to make a very thick batter, also a liberal quantity of cayenne; add this to the hash, giving it one “boil up,” stirring occasionally, and serve as usual with sippets of toasted bread. (F. J. H.).

(d) Chop the bones of the meat and let them simmer 3-4 hours, with 2 good-sized onions previously fried, thicken with flour, and add a little Harvey sauce and soy, then strain. Put the meat (which should be cut into nice slices, but not too thin) into the gravy, and let it heat thoroughly; just before serving, stir in whilst on the fire a good-sized piece of butter. Add pepper and salt.

(e) Fry in a saucepan 3 small onions and 3 small slices bacon or ham until they are brown; then add a little more than ½ pint water, and thicken it with flour; then strain it, and add it to the meat, with a little Harvey’s sauce; pepper and salt to taste. It will take about an hour to hash.

(f) Cut the mutton into nice slices, free from skin and fat, and dredge each slice on both sides with flour; take 6 good-sized mushrooms, trim them, cut each into 4 pieces, and put them into a stewpan to stew, with a small piece of butter; add a little good stock, some pepper and salt, and, when sufficiently done, put in the meat. Let it heat through slowly, stirring frequently to prevent burning; but be careful that it does not boil, or the meat will be hard; and, as soon as the flour loses its raw taste and thickens the hash, it is done, and should be served immediately with sippets of neatly cut thin toast or fried bread round the dish.

Irish stew.--(a) Cut up into cutlets about 3 lb. best end of a neck of mutton, saw off the chine bone, and trim off the fat; season the cutlets well with pepper and salt, and put them with the bones into a stewpan, just covering them with cold water; stew gently for ½ hour, remove from the fire, skim the fat from the gravy, and then return it with the chops into the stewpan; add about 8 potatoes cut in halves, 4 onions sliced, 2 turnips, and 1½ pint of either stock or water; cover the stewpan, and simmer gently for 1½-2 hours. Serve with the potatoes in the centre of the dish, the cutlets arranged all round, and with the onions and gravy poured over.

(b) For a more economical stew, take the scrag of mutton, together with any trimmings, bones, &c., from the best end. To 1 lb. meat put 2 lb. old potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces, with 2 onions sliced, pepper and salt, cover with cold water or weak stock, and simmer gently for 2 hours; when half done add a few whole potatoes, and when the ingredients are well amalgamated skim off superfluous fat, and serve very hot.

(c) Take any thin pieces of mutton that have been cut off the loin or breast, and cut them in pieces 4 in. square. Put them in a stewpan, and cover them with boiling water. Add 2 doz. whole onions, pepper and salt, put on the cover closely, and draw it to the side of the fire, and let it boil slowly for 1 hour. Add a little boiling water to it. Wash and pare 2 doz. potatoes, put them in the stewpan amongst the mutton, and let them boil till quite soft. Stir the potatoes with the mutton till it becomes smooth, then dish it hot.

(d) Put some slices of cold boiled corned beef (never fresh), into a stewpan with a good deal of water or thin stock, 2 large onions sliced, and some cold boiled potatoes (whole), a little pepper. Stew gently until the potatoes are quite soft and have taken up nearly all the gravy; some will break, but they should be as whole as possible. Turn all out on a flat dish and serve. (M. M. F.)

Kidneys.--(a) À la maître d’hôtel.--Plunge some mutton kidneys in boiling water; open them down the centre, but do not separate them, peel, and pass a skewer across them to keep them open; pepper, salt, and dip them into melted butter; broil them over a clear fire on both sides, cooking the cut side first; remove the skewers, have ready some maître d’hôtel butter, viz. butter beaten up with chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice; put a small piece into the hollow of each kidney, and serve very hot.

(b) Devilled.--Skin and parboil the kidneys, split them in halves without separating them, dip them in liquefied butter, and sprinkle pepper and salt with a judicious proportion of cayenne over them; place them, spread open, in a double gridiron, and broil either in front of or on a brisk fire. Serve hot, placing on each kidney a piece of butter into which has been worked pepper, salt, cayenne, and minced parsley in due proportions.

(c) Fried.--Split asunder, and then free from skin and fat; sprinkle them with salt and cayenne pepper, and having put them in the frying-pan, which must be well heated, pour some clarified butter over them. Fry them over a brisk fire, place them in a dish, or upon slices of fried toast; make in the pan some gravy mixed with ketchup, or any sauce which is preferred, and pour it into the dish with the kidneys.

(d) Ditto.--For a breakfast dish they should be first skinned and cut open lengthwise down to the root, but without quite separating them. Then season them with pepper and salt, and fry them in butter for about 8 minutes, turning them when they are half done. Serve them very hot, each one on a small round piece of buttered toast, a tiny piece of butter being put upon each kidney.

(e) Ditto.--Take six kidneys, remove the skin, and cut them into quarters, fry them in butter for 5 minutes over a bright fire, powdering them over with flour; turn them a moment, in order that the flour may be well cooked. Throw in ½ glass white wine, some mushrooms ready prepared, some chopped parsley, a little shallot, pepper and salt, all to cook in the frying-pan for 8 minutes, stirring it during the time; then serve at once.

(f) Grilled.--Cut 3 kidneys in half, dip them in an egg previously beaten up with salt and pepper; pass them in white breadcrumbs; put a piece of butter the size of an egg to melt; when melted, dip in the kidneys and pass them again in breadcrumbs, then grill before a slow fire and serve with sauce piquante on a rich gravy. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

(g) Put upon a silver skewer about 6 in. long with ornamental head, and cook in a dish before the fire with a little bacon. The one imparts flavour to the other; they must be served up together.

(h) Stewed.--Cut them (after carefully skinning them) into halves, or, if large, into quarters, and simmer them gently in rich stock for 2-3 hours at least. The slower they are done the better, as they should be quite tender. Then take as much of the stock as is required for the dish in which they are to be served, thicken it with a little flour, add a little seasoning and a flavouring of mushroom ketchup, a dash of Worcester sauce and a teaspoonful of sugar, and let it just boil up. Then add a large wineglass of claret, and pour over the kidneys. There should be plenty of gravy, but not so much that the kidneys swim in it. If only a small dish is required, a wall of mashed potatoes may be put round the dish, with the kidneys in the middle; otherwise a great many are required to make it look nice. A garnish of fried sippets is an improvement.

(i) Toast.--Chop very fine some kidneys and a little of the surrounding fat; season with salt, pepper, a little cayenne pepper, and grated lemon peel; warm this mixture with a little butter, then place on thin slices of toast, first beating up and adding one egg to the kidneys, place the toast in a dish with a little butter; brown them in an oven, and serve very hot. This is a very appetising little dish.

Kromeskies.--Cut some pieces of fat bacon as thinly as possible, in size 1½ in. by 2 in., lay them flat, place a small piece of mince on each; roll up tightly, taking care that the mince does not escape; put aside in a cold place, dip each in batter, and fry a light brown colour. Serve with fried parsley.

Lamb Pie (Agneau).--Cut your lamb in thin slices, and season it with cloves, mace, nutmeg, sugar, salt, and a little small pepper, and lay it in your coffin (pie crust), and lay on it and between it a few raisins of the sun stoned, and a few currants, and a few skirret roots boiled and blanched, and the marrow of 2 or 3 bones, candied lemon, dates, and dried citron, preserved barberries, and candied lettuce, and sliced lemon, and some butter. Close your pie, and when it is baked let the caudle be white wine verjuice and sugar beaten up with the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs, and set it on the fire, and keep stirring it till it begins to be thick; then put it in the pie, shake it together, scrape on plenty of sugar, and send it up.

Lambs’ Tails.--Trim the tails. Place some slices of bacon in a saucepan, over them a layer of onions and carrots sliced, then the tails; then a clove of garlic, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, and some parsley tied up in a bundle, salt to taste, a few cloves, and some whole pepper. Place the saucepan over the fire for 10 minutes, then add 1 glass sherry and about 1 pint stock or water, and let the whole simmer gently for 2-3 hours. Take out the tails, strain the liquor; let it reduce almost to a glaze, put back the tails in it to get warm, and serve with a purée of spinach or sorrel.

Leg of Mutton. (a) Boiled.--Cut the leg of mutton cleanly across the meat and bone from the shank down, with as much meat as will suffice for the meal. Rub it and flour it all over, but specially the cut meat surface. Plunge it at once into a saucepan or pot of boiling water to cover it, together with some salt, a few grains of pepper, and a bunch of parsley. Draw away from the fire, and allow the water to cool almost completely; then put once more on the fire, and cook slowly according to weight, till quite done to taste. Serve with parsley, onions, caper, sorrel, or any sauce preferred; garnish with meat or potato rissoles. The flour and the plunging into boiling water will prevent the juice from escaping, and the meat will cut just as finely as from a whole boiled leg of mutton.

(b) Braised.--Take a small leg of mutton, trim it close of all superfluous fat, saw the shank bone short off, make an incision where it joins the other bone, bend it in, and tie up the leg with string. Line the bottom of a braising pan, just large enough to hold all the ingredients, with slices of fat bacon; place the leg on this, add 2 onions stuck with 6 cloves, 3 carrots cut in pieces, a bundle of sweet herbs, whole pepper and salt to taste; pack all these things round the leg, put 2 slices bacon on the top of all, and set the pan with the lid on the fire for about 15 minutes. Be careful it does not catch, then pour in enough common cold stock or water just to cover over the contents, put a piece of buttered paper on the top, then the lid, and, having placed some hot embers on that, set the whole to braise on a gentle fire for about 3½ hours. Strain off a small portion of the liquor, free it from fat, reduce it on the fire not quite to a glaze, place the leg in the dish, pour the reduced liquor over it, and round it a stiff purée of dried haricot beans.

(c) Roast.--For a 7 o’clock dinner, hang your mutton before the fire, but 3 yd. distance from it, by 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Wind up the jack, and let it just be under the influence of the fire, but no nearer, for 1 hour; then edge it a little nearer, until it is time really to begin roasting it, and then pay it constant attention until it goes to table. Dredge it well, so as to froth it, and preserve the juices, and baste it incessantly. Continue to dredge and baste it, until within 10 minutes of serving; then roll a piece of butter the size of a walnut in flour, and make it into a rich paste, and pick little bits off and stick them all over the leg of mutton, and let them melt over it for 10 minutes. Do not touch it with the basting ladle again. Then dish it on a really hot dish, not one that has been so hastily heated that it as quickly cools, but let dish and plates be heated well through. Never pour the gravy over the joint; if you do, you wash off all the brown and frothy appearance and taste that proper care in roasting should and does produce.

Loin. (a) Braised.--Bone and trim off from a loin of mutton all superfluous fat, lard the thin part, and roll it round; lay the joint in a stewpan over some slices of fat bacon, add whole pepper and salt to taste, an onion stuck with cloves, 2 sliced carrots, and a bunch of sweet herbs; moisten with stock, and let it braise gently for an hour or so. When done, strain the gravy, free it from fat, pour it over the joint in the dish, and serve garnished with vegetables plainly boiled.

(b) Stewed.--Select a loin with the flap on; it must not be a fat loin. Take off some of the fat, carefully remove the bones, which requires a very sharp knife; see that none of the lean meat is taken off at the same time. When boned, roll it up tightly, tie it round with broad tape, and skewer it also. Before serving, remove the tape; but it will be necessary to keep it skewered together. Place it in a stewpan with ¼ pint port or claret, and something less than 1 qt. stock or water. If the meat is fried a light-brown before stewing it is a great improvement. Add a small bouquet of sweet herbs, a carrot, turnip, an onion, a blade of mace, a tablespoonful of ketchup, a dessertspoonful of anchovy sauce, a teaspoonful of salt, and ½ teaspoonful pepper. Simmer all for 3 hours as gently as possible. Pour the gravy away from the meat, skim off all the fat, add a glass more wine and a tablespoonful of red currant jelly, thicken with a ball of flour and butter, rewarm the meat, and pour the gravy over when it is served. Garnish with carrot, neatly shaped with a vegetable cutter, and sliced lemon.

Minced Mutton.--Take some meat from a joint of roast, boiled, or braised mutton; remove the skin and outside parts, mince it very fine; put a small piece of butter into a stewpan, when melted add ½ tablespoonful flour; stir 2-3 minutes over the fire; add 1 gill well-flavoured stock; when boiling put in the mince; add salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, chopped parsley, a few leaves of thyme, also finely minced, and the yolk of 1 egg; stir all on the fire for some minutes; then serve with bread sippets or croquettes of potatoes. If put aside until cold this mince can be used in various ways.

Neck of Mutton.--(a) A la Duchesse.--Procure a whole neck of mutton, that is, the neck not divided down the middle, but cut entire from the sheep. This will be the scrags united, and will weigh about 3 lb. It must be perfectly fresh. Having well washed the neck, dry, flour, and fry it, turning it about until nicely browned, then place it in a deep stewpan or in the soup kettle. Cover it with nicely seasoned stock, and put in 6 onions, 2 turnips, and 1 carrot. Cover the pot close, and let it simmer until the vegetables are tender, as they will be in 1½-2 hours; take them out and set them aside to garnish the neck, which will take 4-5 hours’ gentle simmering. When done it should be as tender as chicken, and sufficient time for cooking should always be allowed, as it is rather improved than otherwise by standing at a low heat when finished. When the neck is done take it out of the gravy, which set aside to cool in a pan of cold water, in order that all the fat may be readily removed. Keep the neck hot in the meantime, by covering it close in the pot in which it was cooked. Having taken the fat off the gravy put it into a stewpan, and let it boil rapidly without the lid, until reduced to about a pint. If it is not then thick enough, add a teaspoonful of Brown and Polson’s corn flour and one of flour, mixed smooth in 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water or stock. This done, return the neck to its gravy, and let it simmer gently for ½ hour. Mince the vegetables cooked with the meat, place them in a stewpan with a little piece of butter, shake them over the fire until thoroughly hot; arrange them neatly in little heaps on the dish round the neck. Peas, asparagus tops, or sprigs of cauliflower, cooked separately, may be added to the above vegetables. They not only make an improvement, but look pretty. The carver will cut the meat from the bone longitudinally in large handsome slices. A whole neck of mutton gently boiled for 4-5 hours in salted water, with 2 carrots, 2 onions, and 3 turnips, and served with caper is very good.

(b) Boiled.--Prepare, trim, and tie it back in the same way, but entirely removing the skin, and paring off nearly all the fat; in boiling there is no waste, on the contrary, the fat swells; ¼ in. is therefore quite a sufficient thickness to leave. Put it into a stewpan on the fire with just enough cold water, salted to taste, to cover it. The instant it boils draw it to the side, and let it gently simmer until done, when it should be as tender and delicate as chicken. Allow ¼ hour to the lb. after simmering begins. Serve with plain melted butter, stirring a tablespoonful of slightly chopped capers, and a spoonful or two of milk into it, just before pouring the sauce over the mutton.

(c) Braised.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton, trim off all superfluous fat, lay the joint in a stewpan over a slice of fat bacon; add whole pepper and salt to taste, an onion stuck with cloves, 2 sliced carrots, and a bundle of sweet herbs; moisten with a little stock, and let it braise gently for about 1 hour. When done strain the gravy, free it from fat, pour it over the joint in the dish, and serve garnished with carrots cut as for Julienne, and cooked by being tossed in butter till done.

(d) Roast.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck, trim off all superfluous fat, saw off the chine, wrap up the joint in a piece of oiled paper. Roast it at a brisk fire, basting frequently. When it has roasted ½ hour remove the paper, sprinkle the joint freely with salt, and put it nearer the fire, and as soon as it has taken a good colour it is ready. Time of roasting must necessarily vary according to the nature of the fire, the size of the joint, and the taste of those for whom it is cooked for eating meat overdone or underdone. No hard and fast rule can be given for the time of roasting.

(e) Rolled.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton, with a sharp knife remove the skin, taking with it as much meat as possible from the bones except the fillet, which is to form the cutlets; saw off the bones, divide the cutlets, trim them, and gather all the meat from the trimmings and the bones. Lay the best pieces on the skin with a few pieces of bacon, pound the rest in a mortar with any other trimmings of raw or cooked meat that may be at hand, a small piece of butter, half an onion, some sweet herbs, pepper and salt. Pass this through a sieve, and spread it on the skin, fold up ½ inch of both the long sides, then roll up the skin tight from one of the narrow sides, tie it up with thread several times round. Fry an onion with a little bacon fat, put in the meat, turn it round once or twice, and when it has taken colour moisten with a very little stock, and let it simmer till done. Remove the string, and serve with the sauce strained over it. With the cutlets another dish can be made in the ordinary way.

(f) Scrag of Mutton à la Russe.--Take about 1½ lb. scrag of mutton in one piece, boil it gently for about 3 hours in 1 qt. water with 1 teaspoonful salt, 2 onions, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, and a pinch of pepper. When the meat is perfectly tender, so that the bones can easily be taken out, brush it over well with yolk of egg, then sprinkle over it a mixture of finely sifted breadcrumbs, raspings, a shake of flower, a little dried and sifted parsley, and sufficient pepper and salt to season it highly. Put the meat into the Dutch oven, baste it until brown with 1 oz. butter, and serve with good gravy or brown caper sauce. The broth may be served with the vegetables minced in it, a little celery being added, and for those who like it a small quantity of chopped parsley put into the tureen and the broth poured boiling on it. Take care to remove all fat from the broth; it will rise very quickly if the basin is set in a larger one containing cold water changed frequently.

(g) Scrag of Mutton may be used for yet another dish, either by simmering it gently (after flouring and seasoning it with pepper and salt, using only rice and an onion sliced in rings, and letting it stew in water), or it may be made into an Irish stew, for which it will require to be cut into small pieces, floured and seasoned, and stewed with potatoes and onions in just enough water to cover it for about 2 hours. Half the potatoes to be sent up with it should be cut into quarters, and should not be put in until the stew is half cooked.

Pasty.--The undercut of a shoulder is best for this purpose. With a sharp knife cut the lean meat away from an uncooked shoulder of mutton; let the slices be thin. This will not in the least interfere with the upper side, which may be hung as long as required after the undercut is removed. Lay the slices of meat in a pie-dish, sprinkle pepper and salt over them, and nearly fill the dish with a gravy that will jelly, made from mutton shanks and a little gravy beef, 2 nicely fried onions, a few pepper-corns, and a very small bit of mace. If for eating cold cover the pasty with a good puff paste, and bake in a quick oven. If to be served hot a cover of mashed potatoes, or a crust as for Devonshire pie, is suitable.

Patties.--Make ¼ lb. paste, roll thin, and line with it 4, 6, or 9 patty pans; the pans must be previously buttered, and the paste cut with a crimped cutter; fill them with rice. When baked remove the rice, fill the patties with mince made a little more moist with gravy. Serve on a napkin, arranging them nicely on the dish. Serve very hot. The patties can be ornamented with fried parsley, or in any way you please.

Pudding.--Get 1½ to 2 lb. scrag of mutton, take off all the fat, boil it gently for 2 hours, meat downwards, in 1 qt. water, with 2 onions and a good seasoning of pepper and salt. Take up the meat; set the broth aside to cool, in order that you may take off the fat. Carefully remove the meat from the bones. Make a crust with the fat from the scrag of mutton or beef suet, in the proportion of 2 oz. fat to 4 oz. flour; line a pudding basin with this, slice in 2 cooked potatoes, lightly pepper and salt them, then the onions cooked with the mutton, then the meat of the scrag, and, as a great improvement to the pudding, a sheep’s kidney sliced, or half an ox kidney; sprinkle pepper and salt over, and put on the top 2 more sliced potatoes. Fill up the basin with some of the broth, put on a lid of paste, and boil the pudding for 2 hours. Return the bones to the remainder of the broth, with an onion; let them boil until the pudding is ready, then serve the broth in a sauce-boat. All meat puddings should be served in the basins in which they are boiled, a napkin being neatly folded round. The carver should remove a round piece from the lid of the pudding, and pour in enough of the broth from the sauce boat to fill it up; this will ensure each person getting the same kind of gravy. This pudding may be made of sheep’s head after it has been boiled. To make the crust for a richer pudding, use equal quantities of suet and flour. Mix a pinch of salt with the flour and suet, make into a paste with cold water in the proportion of ½ pint to 1 lb. of flour. Flour the paste board, and roll out the crust ¼ in. thick. Dissolve a little butter, and brush the inside of a basin thickly with it, then line with the paste.

Rissoles.--Make a short paste with 6 oz. flour, 3 oz. butter, a pinch of salt, 1 whole egg, and 1 yolk; mix all into a paste, roll it out to the thickness of a penny piece; place the mince at equal distances, say 1½ in.; egg lightly, cover with paste of a similar thickness, press the paste around each piece of mince, and cut it out with a crimped cutter. Egg each rissole, and pass it in bread crumbs; fry in hot lard, and serve.

Roast Quarter of Lamb.--Let the fire be clear, but not too fierce. Cover the joint with greased paper, and baste it frequently; ½ hour before serving remove the paper and base the joint with butter and lemon juice, lastly sprinkle a little flour and salt over it. Time of roasting 2-2½ hours.

Roast Saddle of Mutton.--Trim the joint carefully, roast it at a brisk clear fire; baste frequently, and when done dredge it plentifully with salt, and serve with the gravy well freed from fat.

Saddle of Lamb, venison fashion.--Hang a saddle of lamb as long as it will keep, having previously dusted it all over with black pepper. After it has hung, chop together some shallots, a good-sized sprig of green rosemary, a small one of tarragon, or only a few small leaves of tarragon, and a sprig of marjoram. Pound together 6 cloves, 6 juniper berries, and 1 teaspoonful black pepper; mix these with the herbs. Rub the mixture well into the lamb all over, and lay it in a deep dish; sprinkle over any remains of the seasoning; mix a glass of red wine with a glass of vinegar, pour it over the meat, and let it lie in this marinade 2-3 days, turning and basting it every day. Before cooking, wipe off the herbs. Lard the joint if preferred. Put it in an earthen baking-pan and cover it with pieces of butter. Add a little broth or boiling water to the marinade in the picking dish. Put this on the fire to simmer a minute in a little saucepan; then strain and add some by degrees to baste the meat with, and when this is nicely browned, put the rest of the marinade in the baking dish with a good sprinkling of salt in the sauce and over the meat. The latter must be frequently basted to prevent its drying; 1½ hour is long enough to bake it. Pour a cup of cream or good milk over it a few minutes before serving it; stir this well round the crusting of the dish. Skim the fat off the sauce. Put the yolk of an egg in the same tureen, and stir the gravy boiling hot into it. Garnish the meat with slices of lemon.

Sausages.--Prick them lightly with a fork or trussing needle, and fry them in butter or lard, turning them frequently until thoroughly cooked.

Scollops.--Trim the mutton in the same way as for mince, but it must not be cut so small. It should be as thin as possible, about the size of threepenny pieces; make a sauce as for mince, and place it in scallop shells; sprinkle with baked breadcrumbs, pour a little warm butter over; arrange them on a napkin, and serve hot.

Sheep’s brains.--(a) Prepare the brains as directed in (b); when cold cut them into dice, and dip them into a batter made as follows:--Mix 2 large tablespoonfuls flour with 4 of water, a tablespoonful of dissolved butter or oil, the yolk of an egg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let it stand for 2 hours. When ready to use beat the white of the egg to a froth, and mix with the batter. Fry in oil or other good fat, taking care that it boils when you drop in the beignets one by one.

(b) Wash them thoroughly and boil them very fast so as to harden them, either in water highly seasoned and flavoured with onion or in stock. When done (they will take about 20 minutes), take them up and allow them to stand until cold, then cut them into thin slices, dip them in egg, and afterwards in very finely sifted breadcrumbs with an equal proportion of raspings, a pinch of flour, and enough pepper and salt to season highly. Fry in a little butter, first on one side, until brown and crisp, then on the other until finished. Serve on a hot dish with a little thick rich gravy.

(c) Take some lambs’ or sheeps’ brains, and first boil them in milk; then chop them finely, and mix with them a few bread crumbs, a small quantity of cream, seasoning of salt and pepper, and the yolk of an egg to bind the ingredients. Roll this mixture into small round balls, cover them with egg and breadcrumbs, and fry them a light brown. To be served on a napkin, with fried parsley, like rissoles.

(d) Well wash the brains and soak them in cold water till white. Parboil them till tender in a small saucepan for about ¼ hour; then thoroughly drain them, and place them on a board. Divide them into small pieces with a knife. Dip each piece into flour, and then roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in butter or well clarified dripping. Serve very hot with gravy. Another way of doing brains is to prepare them as above, and then stew them gently in rich stock, like stewed sweetbreads. They are also nice plainly boiled and served with parsley and butter sauce.

(e) Take off the skin, and let them soak for 2 hours in lukewarm water; when white blanch them in boiling water, to which salt and a little vinegar have been added; when quite firm lay them in cold water. Line a stewpan just large enough to hold the brains, with bacon, a very small onion stuck with a clove, a sprig or two of parsley, and a slice or two of lemon; cover with more bacon, and pour in a little broth. 15-20 minutes are quite enough to cook them, but they should be cooked an hour or two before dinner to be properly flavoured. When wanted, have ready some fried sippets of bread, and dish with a piece of bread and brains alternately, and in the centre pour some good white sauce, with mushrooms, or truffles if you have them, a tiny onion or two, or any rich flavouring, and serve very hot; or, having dished the brains and the sippets, work a couple of spoonfuls of rich white sauce with a little fresh butter, salt, cayenne, a sprig or two of parsley finely chopped, and the juice of half a lemon, till quite hot over the fire; pour this over the brains and serve quickly. Calves’ brains are very good in the same way, or served with tomato sauce, or brown butter, as follows: Fry some parsley, but keep it as green as possible; also fry some butter till it is a good dark brown; add to this a spoonful of vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Dish the brains, with the fried parsley in the centre, and pour the butter sauce carefully round them (not over), and serve.

Sheep’s heads.--(a) Clean the head well, boil it 2 hours, remove the bones; egg and breadcrumb the meat; boil the brains in a piece of muslin ¼ hour, chop with a little parsley and onion, serve round the head; the tongue boiled and served in the dish or separately; or the tongue and brains may be sent in one dish, and the meat served with gravy.

(b) Get a perfectly fresh sheep’s head, and having taken out the tongue and brains soak it in tepid water. With a blunt knife break all the soft bones inside the head, and take care most thoroughly to cleanse it. Put it into a saucepan, with enough water to cover it and a tablespoonful of salt. To ensure perfect cleanliness, when it has boiled 5 minutes take the head out and pour away this water. Put the head on again to boil with 2 qts. water, and 6 onions, 2 turnips and carrots, pepper and salt. Let it boil gently for 3-4 hours, or until so tender the meat will readily slip from the bones; having taken them all out carefully, place the meat of the head on a hot dish, and pour over it either a good onion, parsley, or caper sauce. Or take all the vegetables cooked with the head, rub them to a purée through a sieve, have ready a little good butter sauce made with milk, nicely season it, mix the purée, pour over the meat, and serve. The broth is very good with the addition of a little celery and chopped parsley, and may be served either with or without the vegetables cooked with it. A slight thickening of corn flour is liked by most persons. Excellent soup of any kind may be made of this broth, and an economical one by merely boiling a few bacon bones in it with any other bones or scraps. Chapman’s wheat flour makes a cheap thickening for plain soups, and tapioca is very good and nourishing.

(c) Steep the head for 2-3 hours, then split it, take out the brains and tongue, boil the head gently for 3 hours with a few carrots, onions, a stick of celery, a bundle of sweet herbs, a few cloves, whole pepper and salt to taste, then breadcrumb, and brown the head slightly in front of the fire. Mince the lights, cut the liver in slices, and fry them; boil the brains in a piece of muslin. In dishing up, put the mince on a dish, then the head opened out, the tongue cut in slices, the brains divided into four, and the slices of liver ranged artistically all round; judicious seasoning is essential.

(d) To singe.--The way in which this is done in Scotland is by heating an iron bar of any kind red hot (a poker would do quite well), and singeing all the wool off the head with it; 2 pieces of iron would save time, one to replace the other as it cools, but the operation does not take long. A piece of stick is put up the nostrils to hold the head steady by. When there is a smith’s forge convenient, the singeing is generally done there, as it would make an unpleasant smell in a house; but if there is none near, any outhouse would do. The head must be soaked and washed in cold water before boiling.

Sheep’s heart.--(a) Place them in boiling water for a few minutes, as it prevents the greasy taste after eating them, stuff with ordinary veal stuffing (suet, herbs, breadcrumbs, lemon, and an egg), place in a pan and bake for 1 hour, and serve on toast with gravy.

(b) Make a forcemeat with 2 oz. beef suet and 2 oz. fat bacon finely minced, add ¼ lb. breadcrumbs, pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley and thyme, and a little grated lemon peel; if liked, the very faintest soupçon of onion; this quantity will stuff 2 sheep’s hearts. Let the hearts lie in warm salt and water for ½ hour to disgorge the blood; then cut away as much as possible of the windpipe, and see that no clots of blood remain in the cavities of the heart. Mix your forcemeat with sufficient beaten egg to bind it--one should be sufficient for this quantity. Stuff the hearts with it, pressing it well down into the holes. Secure the flaps of skin over the top with a needle and thread, tie on a spit, and roast, basting constantly. Serve with plain gravy and red currant jelly. A sheep’s heart will take ½ hour.

(c) Having washed the hearts, stuff each with an onion parboiled, and then minced fine; add to it 2 tablespoonfuls of breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoonful chopped and dried sage, and sufficient black pepper and salt to season highly. Press the stuffing well into the hearts, and, if necessary, fasten a little muslin over the top to keep it in. Whilst roasting baste very frequently. Sheep’s hearts may be baked stuffed in this manner, but care must be taken not to let them get dry. Any heart that may be left is excellent hashed.

Sheep’s Liver.--(a) A fresh liver to be steeped in milk 12 hours, cut in slices, brown with dripping or butter and a dust of flour, onion and pepper. Make a sauce with flour and water, cold, and pour over the liver after it is brown. Let it simmer for an hour, or longer, until quite tender. This is a Polish recipe, and no salt used.

(b) À la Française.--Cut some slices of liver ½ in. thick, and lay them neatly in a stewpan slightly buttered, sprinkle pepper and salt over the upper sides. Slice 2 oz. fat bacon as fine as possible, chop a teaspoonful of parsley and a small shallot very fine, and spread them evenly over the liver, cover the stewpan closely, and set it on a fire so moderate that it will draw out all the juices without simmering--the least approach to this hardens the liver and spoils it. If the range is too hot, set the stewpan on an iron stand. When the liver has thus stood for 1½ hour it will be done. Take it up, put it on a hot dish, and cover it close whilst you boil the bacon and the gravy together for 2 minutes, then pour over the liver and serve immediately. Liver cooked in this manner is digestible, and can be eaten by persons who could not venture to do so when it is fried.

(c) Pudding.--Take 1 lb. boiled sheep’s liver, grate it, and mix with ½ lb. fat bacon or suet, ½ lb. breadcrusts soaked in water, or breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. flour, pepper and salt, and enough water or milk to make a paste. Grease a pudding basin, put in the mixture, cover with greased paper, and steam 1½ hour. Serve with brown gravy.

Sheep’s pluck.--Cut the liver and lights in thin slices, and put them in a pie-dish or jar with layers of sliced potatoes and onion, chopped sage and herbs, pepper and salt. A few slices of bacon may be added. Cover with a thin piece of suet or with greased paper, and bake 1½ hours. When there is no oven this may be stewed.

Sheep’s tongues.--(a) These are very good cooked fresh, with the addition to the water of a little common salt, a pinch of saltpetre, allspice, and black pepper. Boil gently until perfectly tender, and when skinned split them down the middle, dip them in dissolved butter, and then in raspings, and let them brown nicely on the gridiron. When ready to serve pour a little good gravy round them. For eating cold, after skinning, glaze the tongues.

(b) Wash and scald the tongues, and stew in some nicely flavoured stock till very tender, drain them on a sieve; then put each tongue in an oiled or buttered paper, with a seasoning over it of sweet herbs and mushrooms chopped finely, and mixed with a good piece of butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Boil or fry them, and serve the papers on a napkin. Great care should be taken that the papers are thoroughly greased, and that each end and side is securely folded twice to prevent the juices and butter from escaping; if this is not attended to, the tongues will be like pieces of indiarubber.

(c) Strew salt over the tongues, and let them lie until the next day, then drain off all that has run from them, and put them into a pickle made of a tablespoonful of salt, half a one of bay salt, a tablespoonful of saltpetre, a pinch of allspice and black pepper. Two days afterwards put a teaspoonful of coarse sugar. This quantity will salt 3 or 4 tongues, and can be used many times with the addition of a little common salt. Cook them as directed in (a).

Sheep’s trotters.--(a) Clean, scald, and skin 4 trotters, boil them in salted water until the large bone can be easily removed. Next put them in a saucepan with fresh water, and salt, and let them boil away till quite tender and glutinous: pour off the water, leaving just enough to make the sauce, add a piece of butter rolled in flour, 1 doz. button mushrooms sliced, and some white pepper, then stir in the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs beaten up with the juice of half a lemon, and strained. Let the whole simmer away gently until wanted, but on no account boil.

(b) Stew the trotters for about 3 hours. Take out the bones, so as not to injure the skin, and fill up the places from which the bones have been removed with forcemeat. Put them into a stewpan with sufficient of the water in which they were boiled to cover them, and add a spoonful of ketchup or Harvey’s sauce, and a little pepper and salt. Allow them to stew gently for ½ hour, take them out, strain the gravy, and boil it down to a glaze. With this glaze the trotters. Serve with croutons of fried bread round the dish.

Shoulder of Mutton.--(a) Rub it over with salt and pepper, fill the inside with a savoury forcemeat of herbs, with plenty of parsley and no eggs; roll it up and skewer it into a neat oval form, or bind it with a tape; lay it in a stewpan with 2 onions, 2 carrots, some herbs, a bay leaf, pepper, salt and a little broth or water; stew it gently over a slow fire or in the oven, basting it often. When nearly done, take off the cover, and let the meat brown in the oven. Before serving, take up the meat carefully, remove the binding, and place it on a dish to keep warm while you strain the gravy; take all the fat off, and boil it down to a strong glazing. Pour this over the meat. Tomato or sorrel sauce may be put round the dish, or cucumber sauce served with it.

(b) First take out the blade bone. Have a pointed knife, a French boning knife is best; make an incision all round the thin end of the bone, keep the knife close to it, and mark all round the bone first one way and then the other, being careful not to go through the flesh or skin. When you get to the joint, take hold of the bone with a cloth and twist it round, and it will come out. The sinews may want cutting here and there. It is much more difficult to take the bone out entire, but it can be done; yet it is seldom needful to take out more than the bladebone. Now make a forcemeat with the following ingredients: 3 oz. breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful chopped onion, 1 teaspoonful lemon thyme (green, if possible), a slice or two of lean ham chopped fine, 2 oz. butter, 2 yolks of eggs, a little grated nutmeg, a little salt and pepper; make this into forcemeat or stuffing. Use this forcemeat to fill the place of the bone; fasten the end with 2 small skewers. Now put the mutton before a sharp fire or in a brisk oven to brown without cooking through. When done, take from the fire, lay the joint in a shallow pot that will take it, pour off the fat from the dripping-pan, and put into it a little hot water; stir the gravy, and put it in with the joint, and a little water if necessary; the stock should reach half-way up the joint. Add an onion, a blade of mace, a carrot, and a little lemon rind pared thin. Let it stew about two hours, basting it now and then. When the joint has stewed about an hour, turn it over on the other side, and, when done, take it up on the dish in which it is to be served; take a little of the stock in which the mutton has been cooked, and thicken it with a little butter rolled in flour, adding 1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, a little lemon juice, pepper, and salt; pour this over the mutton, and serve. The stock would make a very good soup the next day, with the addition of a little sago or vermicelli. (E. A. Robbins.)

(c) Boned.--Take a shoulder of mutton not too fat, remove the bone as far as the first joint from the knuckle, sprinkle the incision with pepper and salt. Make a stuffing the same as for veal, with ½ lb. breadcrumbs, 4 oz. beef suet chopped fine, a little chopped parsley and thyme, a little onion minced, salt and pepper, also a little grated nutmeg, and one egg; place the stuffing into the above incision, fold over the meat into its former place, and tie it up tightly with string. Shoulder of mutton done in this way may be roasted, but should properly be braised--that is, first fried of a golden colour in oil or clarified butter, and then put into a stewpan with 1½ pint stock, and any trimmings of vegetables at hand; 4 or 5 cloves, 6 peppercorns, salt, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Leave it to boil gently for 2 hours, strain off the stock, remove the fat, let it reduce on the fire until it becomes like glaze poured over the mutton, and serve. Another very nice stuffing can be made by putting butter instead of suet; a little shallot and garlic may also be used. Another way of doing a shoulder of mutton when boned and stuffed as above is to tie it tightly in a cloth before putting it to braise, care being taken to arrange the shank bone and first joint so as to appear like a duck’s head, the shank bone making the beak. This is more appropriate for a cold dish, as it can be very prettily ornamented with white of eggs and beetroot, aspic and parsley. The shoulder should be glazed before being ornamented. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

(d) Cavalier’s Broil.--Half roast, or stew, or parboil a moderate-sized shoulder of mutton, lift it into a hot dish, score it on both sides down to the bone, season it well with fine salt and cayenne or pepper, and finish cooking it upon the gridiron over a brisk fire. Skim the fat from any gravy that may have flowed from it, and keep the dish which contains it quite hot to receive the joint again. Warm a cupful of pickled mushrooms, let a part of them be minced, and strew them over the broil; when it is ready to be served arrange the remainder round it, and send it to table instantly.

Squab Pie.--(a) Season mutton chops (those from the neck are best) pretty highly with pepper and salt, and place them in dish in layers, with plenty of sliced apples sweetened, and chopped onions; cover with a good suet crust and bake. When done pour out all the gravy at the side, take off the fat, and add a spoonful of mushroom ketchup, then return it to the pie.

(b) The quantities depend on the size of the pie. The following are the ingredients: Take the best end of the neck of mutton, cut it into chops, trim the fat; pare, core, and slice as for a tart 6 or 8 apples; chop up a small onion; put a layer of apples and a little onion at the bottom of the dish, then a layer of chops, next a layer of apples and onions, and so on till the dish is full. Scatter among the apples ½ teacupful moist sugar, and shake a very little pepper and salt over the meat. Put on a crust and bake as an ordinary meat pie. It may be eaten with either sugar or salt.

(c) Take 1½ lb. scrag of mutton, cut it up into convenient pieces, and put it into a stewpan with ½ pint water, 2 large pinches of salt and 1 of pepper, and 2 large onions sliced. Let it simmer for 2 hours or until perfectly tender, then set the gravy to cool. Draw all the bones out of the meat, and arrange it neatly in a pie dish, place on the top the onions cooked with it, sprinkle lightly with pepper and salt, and spread over a thin layer of nicely sweetened apple sauce or marmalade, and having removed the fat from the gravy pour it over the whole. Make a crust as follows: use suet finely shred, not chopped, in the proportion of 3 oz. to 5 oz. flour, and water in that of ½ pint to 1 lb. flour. Having mixed these ingredients with a pinch of salt into a smooth paste, roll it out and beat it until the suet and flour are thoroughly incorporated. Then roll it out in the usual manner and put it on the pie. This crust is very good eaten hot, and is wholesome and digestible. If a richer crust is desired, 1 oz. butter or lard may be added to the given proportions, which are about sufficient to make a crust for 1½ lb. mutton. If pie-crust is objected to, a layer of well mashed potatoes may be substituted, or slices of bread fried a light brown and laid on as a cover are very good. The whole of the contents of the pie having been thoroughly cooked it will be ready so soon as the crust, of whatever kind, is nicely baked.

Pork, &c. Bacon. With cabbage.--Take equal quantities of onion and bacon (fat and lean), chopped finely; fry the onion in butter, and before it takes colour add the bacon; when this is cooked, add some cabbage, parboiled and shredded; then put in pepper to taste, and toss the whole on the fire till quite done. Serve as a garnish, more particularly to goose or duck.

With potatoes.--(a) Mash some cold (previously boiled) potatoes roughly (not too fine) with a lump of butter and a little pepper, form them into a flat round cake about 2 in. thick; fry it in a frying-pan to a rich brown, turning both sides, and place slices of fried bacon round it in the dish. Serve hot; a little beef gravy put into it when done will give a good flavour. The bacon may be inserted into the mass of potato as in a pie, instead of being set round the edges.

(b) Slice up raw potatoes into round slices ¼ in. thick (or chop them into moderately sized dice), fry with butter, and serve hot with bacon, in same way as (a).

Boiled.--Take a square piece of bacon, scrape the rind quite clean, and cut off any part that is the least tainted or rusty. Soak the bacon for 2 hours in water, then turn it, and set it on the fire in a saucepan with plenty of cold water. Let it boil very slowly by the side of the fire, removing any scum as it rises. When thoroughly done drain it, remove the skin (to be preserved to flavour the stock pot), and cover the bacon with baked breadcrumbs.

Broiled.--(a) Cut thin slices from a piece of streaky bacon, trim them carefully, put them in a double gridiron, and broil them a few minutes on or in front of a clear fire, turning them frequently.

(b) Cut the slices all of a size, roll them up one by one on a thin skewer; then either broil them before the fire, or put them in a tin in the oven for a few minutes.

Fat.--The fat of cold boiled bacon is much better than anything else in which to fry onions for making curry. It should be cut into small pieces, and when melted in the frying-pan the slices of onions should be added and fried in the usual way. The flavour is much better for curry than when dripping or even butter is used. If there be not enough bacon to do the entire frying, whatever there may be should be added to the fat used. Cold bacon fat is also much better than when uncooked for wrapping round oyster or small balls of mince for frying, it is so much more delicate, and less greasy. It should be cut as thin as possible. The fat in which bacon has been fried is the best thing in which to fry liver, veal cutlets, or anything with which bacon is to be served. Slices of bread fried in it are excellent for breakfast, served quite hot with a slight shake of pepper over each; and if neatly cut and dished up, and garnished with a little parsley, they look as appetising as they taste.

Fried.--(a) Trim some slices of bacon, dip them in hot water, dry them in a cloth, then put them in a frying-pan, and turn them frequently till done.

(b) Slices from a piece of boiled bacon can be cooked as in (a), or broiled, and are better than those cut from raw bacon.

(c) Cut some thin slices of streaky bacon, cut off the rind, and trim them. Put them into a frying-pan on the fire, and turn them often, until quite hot; then roll up each slice, and garnish the dish.

With spinach.--Line a pudding-shape all through with thin slices of bacon. Take some boiled spinach, seasoned and chopped as if for table. Cut some carrot and turnips into square pieces, and a few small onions (if liked); whip up the yolk of an egg with a little pepper and salt. Mix the carrots and turnips well with the egg and seasoning, stick them thickly alternately at the bottom and round the sides of the tin, and fill up the middle with the dressed spinach. When the tin is full cover it with thin slices of bacon, steam it one hour, turn it out in a corner dish, and lift up the bacon whilst you pour in some rich brown gravy, then replace the bacon neatly.

Boar’s Head (Hure de sanglier).--To cure and prepare an ordinary pig’s head to have the appearance of a wild boar’s head, the head should be cut off deep into the shoulders before the pig is scalded. The bristles must be singed off with lighted straw. Bone it carefully, beginning under the throat; spread the head out on a large dish, and rub it well with the following ingredients, previously mixed together: 5 lb. common salt, 3½ oz. saltpetre, 5 oz. coarse brown sugar, rather less than ½ oz. juniper berries, 4 bay leaves, cloves, mace, marjoram, basil, and a small handful of thyme. Rub the head thoroughly with this, then pour over it a bottle of port wine (port wine lees will do as well), and let it remain in this pickle a fortnight, taking care to turn it over every day; it will then be ready for dressing. Take it out of the brine, wash it well and then thoroughly dry it with a clean cloth. Prepare a forcemeat as follows: Chop up about 1 lb. veal, and the same of fat bacon, season with chopped mushrooms, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and parsley. When all are finely chopped, put them into a mortar, and pound them together with the yolks of 3 eggs to make it bind. When pounded, remove the forcemeat into a basin. A boiled red tongue and about 2 lb. cold boiled fat bacon will also be wanted, and some truffles. Spread the head out on a board, pare off all the uneven pieces from the cheeks, cut these pieces into narrow slips, cut the tongue up into pieces of a similar shape, avoiding the skin and gristle. Spread the inside of the head with a thick layer of forcemeat, then place on it the fillets of tongue, fat bacon, &c., inserting rows of sliced truffles between, and here and there some pistachio nuts, of which the skin must have been removed by scalding; again spread a layer of forcemeat above these, then another layer of the fillets and truffles, and so on, until there is enough to completely fill up the head and keep it in shape; then close it, sew it up with fine twine, for which use a trussing needle, being sure to take up enough of the skin with each stitch to prevent the possibility of the forcemeat escaping. Spread a strong clean cloth with butter, sew the head up in this, giving it as much as possible its original form. Put it into a large braising pan together with 2 prepared cowheels cut into pieces, and any trimmings of meat there may be; if there should be any bones or remains of cold game in the house, especially grouse, they should be added and would much improve the flavour. Over this pour a sauce prepared in the following manner, and of which there should be enough to cover the head. Chop about 1 lb. beef suet, and the same of fat bacon; put them into a stewpan with a handful of parsley, 6 green onions, a bay leaf, and a sprig of thyme, these all being tied together, 2 carrots, 2 onions, each stuck with 4 cloves, the pulp of two lemons, salt, and a teaspoonful of whole pepper. Stir all these over the fire for about 10 minutes, watching that they do not get brown; then add a bottle of sherry or Madeira, and about 1 qt. or more of good broth; boil this by the side of the fire gently for 1½ hour, then strain it through a tammy, pressing it well to extract all the goodness, and pour the whole over the boar’s head. Set the braising pan over the fire, and as soon as it boils draw it to the side and allow it to gently simmer for about 5 hours. When nearly done, take the pan off the fire, and when the steam has passed off a little remove the head on to a dish. It will be probably found that it has shrunk a good deal in the cloth, so it will be necessary to tighten this to keep it in shape; having done this, put it back into the broth, and let it remain there until it has become quite cold and firm. The head must then be taken out of the stock, which will have set into a jelly; place it on a large baking dish, and put it in the oven for a few minutes to melt the jelly which has adhered to the cloth; when this has melted, at once take it out of the oven and remove the cloth carefully. Glaze the head with some rich brown glaze; place it on a dish standing on a bed of chopped aspic jelly. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled white of egg, and black truffles cut into diamonds, or any other shapes, also some sprigs of parsley. A little of the chopped aspic may also be put on the top of the head, small slices of cut lemon and cucumber are an improvement placed on the border of the dish beyond the chopped aspic.

Brawn (Fromage de cochon).--(a) The head, feet, tongue, and ears of a pig, having been salted, are boiled with the outside skin of a loin, also salted for a few days. Boil very gently for a long time, till the bones will easily slip out. Take great care that every one is carefully picked out. Keep the skin of the loin whole, but cut the rest into pieces about 2 in. square. Line the brawn mould with the skin, then roll each piece lightly in mixed spice and powdered herbs, flavoured to taste. Pack them tightly in the brawn tin, put on the top, and press it with a heavy weight 24 hours. It is then ready for turning out. Keep it in the following pickle:--Take a sufficient quantity of water (more than will be enough to cover your brawn), add to every gallon of water 2 handfuls of whole malt, and salt enough to give it a strong relish. Let the mixture boil for 1 hour; then strain it into a clean vessel. When quite cold, pour it off into another vessel, keeping back the white sediment; then put in your brawn. A little vinegar may be added, if liked. Fresh pickle should be made about once in 8 days, if the brawn is to be kept long. A common brawn tin is a cylinder of tin without top or bottom, but with 2 round pieces of tin which fit loosely inside it. The tin is about 5 in. in diameter and 1 ft. in height. A heavy weight must fit inside it.

(b) Take 4 pigs’ feet, the ears, the tongue, and any pieces you may have, and soak them in salt and water overnight till thoroughly cleansed. Boil them gently for 3 hours, with only enough water to moisten the meat and prevent it from burning; then take out all the bones, cut the tongue into slices, and the ears and bits of skin into strips. Season with pepper, salt, and allspice, and boil in the same liquor for an hour; 6-7 minutes before finished, add a carrot cut into small pieces and a little parsley, chopped fine and scalded. Put into moulds when done.

Ham (Jambon) Boiled.--Although the same principles apply to the boiling of hams as do to joints, it is very essential that hams should be soaked in water 24-48 hours, and the water should be changed 2 or 3 times; then they should be washed and scraped and scrubbed perfectly clean, and, being properly trimmed, they should be laid in a boiler filled with cold water, with the addition of carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, marjoram, bay leaves, cloves, and mace--the proportions of which things must be regulated by the size of the ham and the skill or taste of the cook. Many other things are put in by those who like them--coriander seeds, juniper berries, a small wisp of hay, and even leather shavings, which latter, in the words of an ancient authority, are supposed to give the ham a high flavour. A small handful of saltpetre some put in, to give the flesh a good colour. If the ham is a good one, the colour will be good without the addition of saltpetre, neither is it necessary to tie up a ham in cloth; but what is undoubtedly an improvement to a boiled ham is the addition of a bottle of sherry to the water it is boiled in. Great attention must be paid to the removal of the scum, and the temperature of the water should never be allowed to rise above simmering. An ordinary sized ham will take 4-5 hours to cook. When it is done, it should be allowed to remain in the liquor until it is nearly cold, then it is taken out, the skin is removed, and the top is covered with baked breadcrumbs, glazed, or ornamented as fancy may suggest, with lard, aspic, &c. If it is intended to cut a ham hot, then it should only be partly boiled, and finished by braising.

For a glaze, take 4 lb. shin of beef, 4 lb. knuckle of veal, and 1 lb. lean ham; cut them into small pieces, and put them into a stock pot, with about 2 qt. cold water--enough to cover the meat--let it come gradually to the boil, skim carefully, occasionally adding a dash of cold water; when clear, boil it for 8 hours more, and then strain it through a sieve into a pan. Remove the fat when cold. Pour it into a stewpan--be careful not to let the sediment go in--with 1 oz. whole black pepper, ½ oz. salt, and boil it over a clear fire, leaving the pan uncovered; skim, and when reduced to 1 qt. strain it through a tammy into another stewpan; then let it simmer till, on taking out some with a spoon and allowing it to cool, it will set into a jelly; great care is required to keep it from burning. It should be kept in earthenware pots, and when required for use melted by putting the pots into saucepans of boiling water. To glaze the ham and tongue, wash them over with the melted glaze, using a brush kept for the purpose.

Boned.--Boil the ham, remove the bone, then roll it and put it into a basin or large mould. Put a heavy weight over it, and when cold turn it out and garnish. Forcemeat may be inserted before rolling if liked, or it may be well soaked, then boned and braised, and either served hot or treated as above.

Cake.--A capital way of disposing of the remains of a ham, and makes an excellent dish for breakfast: Take 1½ lb. ham, fat and lean together; put it into a mortar, and pound it; or, if you have that invaluable auxiliary to a kitchen, a sausage machine, pass it through the latter; boil a large slice of bread in ½ pint milk, and beat it and the ham well together; add an egg beaten up. Put the whole into a mould, and bake it a rich brown.

Omelet.--Beat up 3 eggs with pepper and salt to taste, a pinch of parsley, the least bit of shallot, but chopped fine, and as much ham, half lean and half fat, cut up in very small dice as will fill a tablespoon. Cook in butter the usual way, but do not over do it.

Sandwiches.--(a) Use English mustard, and no salt; but be very careful not to have too much fat on the slices of ham, and, above all, to cut out every particle that is at all rancid.

(b) Grate finely as much well-cooked ham as you are likely to require, flavour it with a very little cayenne and some nutmeg. Roll out some good puff paste very thinly, cut it into two perfectly even portions, prick in one or two places to prevent it rising too highly, and bake in a quick oven till of a golden brown. Then take out and let it stand till cool, when spread a little fresh butter lightly over the whole. This should not be done till the paste is perfectly cool. Now spread the grated ham evenly over the paste, lay the second piece of puff paste over it, and with a very sharp knife cut into small-sized sandwiches. This is a charming supper dish.

Toast.--(a) Mince finely ¼ lb. cooked ham with an anchovy boned and washed; add to them a little cayenne and pounded mace. Beat up 2 eggs, mix with the mince, and add just sufficient cream to keep it moist; make it quite hot, and serve very hot on small rounds of toast or fried bread.

(b) Chop some ham (which has been previously dressed) very small, and to a large tablespoonful of it add an egg well beaten up, a small bit of butter, and a little cream. Mix all together over the fire till quite hot. Have ready some neatly cut pieces of bread, about the size of a crown piece, but a little thicker, fried in good butter; spread the mixture on these, and serve them on a napkin.

Westphalia Loaves.--Mix 4 oz. grated smoked ham with 1 lb. mealy potatoes, well beaten till quite light, a little butter and cream, and 2 eggs. The mixture must not be too moist. Form into small loaves or balls, and fry in butter a light brown. Serve in a napkin, dry; or if preferred, they may be sent up in a dish with brown gravy.

Pigs’ Feet.--(a) Put the feet into a stewpan with a thin slice of bacon, 1 blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 onion, and 1 pint good gravy, and stew them till perfectly tender; the time this will take must depend upon the size of the feet. When they are so tender that the bones separate easily from the flesh, strain the liquor; reserve the bacon, chop it up finely, and add it to the sauce with a thickening of butter and flour. Split each foot in two lengthways, and serve with the gravy poured round, and with nicely-cut sippets of fried bread.

(b) Stew 4 pigs’ feet till perfectly tender; if the feet are small they will only require 3 hours, but if large 4 will not be too long. Take them out of the stewpan most carefully, drain thoroughly, and cover them with some freshly made mustard, pepper and salt to taste, the mustard being laid on rather thickly; then put them in front of a very clear hot fire, and let them toast quickly. If this operation is carried out slowly, the feet will become so tough as to be perfectly uneatable. When they are a rich brown colour serve them on a very hot dish, with a good thick brown gravy. This dish is little known, but is most excellent.

Pigs’ Liver.--Wash and soak a pig’s liver till it is quite clean and free from blood; cut it into slices rather less than ½ in. thick, season with pepper; lay them in the sauté-pan with a little butter, and fry over a good fire. When done on one side turn them; put into the pan, and fry with them some shallots and a few sprigs of parsley. When done drain the liver and lay it on a very hot dish. Mix with the butter in which it was fried ½ wineglassful white wine and 1 teaspoonful flour well beaten up together. Do not let it boil. When the sauce is poured over the liver add the juice of a lemon, and serve very hot and quickly. Should the dish be ready before it is wanted, keep it hot over steam or in a bain-marie, but never put it in an oven.

Pork (Porc). And Kidney Pudding.--For a quart basin, mix a ¼ lb. suet, finely shred, with 1 lb. flour, make it into a paste with 1½ gill water. Roll it out and beat it, in order to break up any lumps of suet; line a greased basin with the paste, reserving sufficient of it to make a cover to the pudding. Cut thick slices from the chump end of a fore loin of pork, put a layer at the bottom of the basin, sprinkle pepper and salt over, then a layer of sausage meat, and a layer of mutton or pork kidneys cut in quarters, and so on until the basin is nearly full. About 1½ lb. pork, 1 lb. sausage meat, and 3 kidneys will be enough for a quart basin. Pour in as much stock, water, or gravy made from the bones of the pork as the basin will hold, put on the lid of paste, and having tied the pudding over with a cloth, boil it for 2 hours.

Chops.--Cut some cutlets from a neck of pork, trim them neatly, and take off the chine bone; give them a few blows with the bat, and grill them on, or in front of the fire; sprinkle them with salt, and arrange them in a circle on a dish with mashed potatoes in the centre and the sauce round them.

Croquettes.--Cold roast pork is the best for this purpose. Take about ½ lb., chop it very finely, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, well chop a small onion and a shallot, and boil them in a teacupful of good stock; add to this the floured meat, flavouring it with pepper, salt, and a tiny bit of sage, also well chopped. Make this up in the form of sausages, slightly flattened; egg and breadcrumb them, and fry them a light-brown colour. The remains of any cold meat may be used for croquettes made in the same way, omitting the sage, and adding a little mushroom ketchup or Harvey sauce; in doing so, care must be taken not to make the mixture too moist. A few spoonfuls of cold mashed potato, of bread crumbs, or of cold well-boiled rice may be mixed with the mince; less meat will then be required, and the croquettes will, if anything, be nicer.

Pie.--(a) Make a paste with ¼ lb. lard and ½ oz. butter to every lb. of flour. Rub a little of the lard into the flour, and then melt the rest of the butter and lard in hot milk and water. When it rises skim it off and mix it warm with the flour, adding sufficient milk or water to make the paste, and a little salt to taste. Knead it well, and then raise the crust in an oval shape. Take some pork with a little fat, cut it into small square pieces, season them with salt, pepper, and cayenne, a little mace, and some finely-shred sage; fill the pie closely, cover it and decorate with paste ornaments, then bake in a slow oven for about 2 hours or more, according to the size of the pie. When done, pour a little gravy made from the trimmings of the pork in through a hole at the top.

(b) For making little pork pies for breakfast, like those sold in the shops: 3½ lb. flour, 1 lb. lard, 1½ pint water, 3 teaspoonfuls pepper, 6 of salt, 5 lb. of meat. Boil the lard and water together, pour boiling on the flour, having first made a hole in the flour; mix well, and let it stand by the side of the fire--it must not be too cold or too hot, or it will not raise nicely; mould it as an ordinary raised pie the size you wish, fill the pies with the meat cut in very small square pieces, season it, pour a little water in, put on the lid, pinch the edges together, trim round with scissors, and ornament with leaves formed with a paste cutter; let the pies stand at least 4 hours before baking, put them in rather a slow oven, bake 1½-2 hours; when brought out of the oven, pour in the hole of the lid of the pies, through a funnel, as much gravy as they will take, previously made from the bones and trimmings of the pork.

Roast.--To ensure the crackling being crisp and eating short, care must be taken not to put the joint too near to the fire at first; it should be placed at some little distance, if not the crackling would harden before the meat would be warmed through. If very lean, a little good salad oil should be rubbed in before putting down to roast, and it must be kept thoroughly well basted during the time of roasting.

Sausages (Saucisses).--(a) Take of fat and lean about equal portions, rather less of fat; chop very fine, season with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and mace. When filling up the skins, have some warm water, and put in with the meat by degrees, just to soften the meat and make it go in easily.

(b) Take 2½ lb. lean of pork, 3 lb. fat, 3 tablespoonfuls finely-powdered sage, 1 oz. salt, 1 oz. pounded pepper; having cut the meat and fat into pieces, mix well together, and press it through some well-cleaned skins with a sausage machine, and twist the links into the lengths required.

(c) Mix equal quantities veal, pork, and beef suet, chopped up. To every 1 lb. of each add ½ lb. breadcrumbs, a little lemon peel and nutmeg, a few sage leaves, and a very little savory and marjoram. Season highly with pepper and salt, and proceed as in (b). Lovelock’s sausage-making machine greatly facilitates operations.

Sucking Pig (Cochon de lait).--Take a sucking pig about 3 weeks old the day it is killed; be particular to see it is well cleansed; when this is done and the stuffing sewed into the belly--before doing which the inside must be well wiped with a clean damp cloth--wipe the outside of the pig, and rub it well all over with some salad oil; while it is roasting baste it well very frequently with dripping, to keep the skin from blistering, till within ¼ hour of its being done, when you must baste it with a little fresh butter. When you serve the pig the 2 sides must be laid back to back in the dish, with half the head on each side, and one ear at each end, all with crackling side upwards; garnish the dish with slices of lemon, and serve it up with a rich brown gravy in the dish, and also a sauceboat of the same, with one likewise of bread sauce with a few currants in it. Some add a little port wine to the gravy. When the pig is baked, which is the best way of dressing it, you must mix the yolk of a raw egg with a tablespoonful of salad oil to rub it well all over with, basting it frequently with 2-3 oz. butter tied in a piece of clean rag. Stuffing for the pig:--4-5 oz. breadcrumbs, 2 oz. chopped sage leaves, one egg, a little butter, pepper, salt, and cayenne.

Tripe.--This requires to be well cooked and nicely served, and it is then both light and nutritious, and can often be eaten by invalids, or persons having a delicate digestion. Choose a nice white piece; wash it well, and put into a stewpan with sufficient milk and water in equal parts to cover it; let it simmer gently for about ½ hour after it has boiled up. Serve with white sauce, made as above, but omitting the parsley, and garnish the dish with slices of beetroot. Onion sauce may be substituted if preferred, or it may be served simply with a little of the liquor in which it has been cooked poured over it, and some plainly boiled Spanish onions handed round in a vegetable dish; but the first recipe is the most appetising way of sending it to table. It should always be remembered that a little time expended in garnishing tastefully goes far towards making economical cookery a success.

Veal (Veau).--Braised Loin.--Take about 2 oz. butter, 1 carrot, 1 onion, a little parsley, sweet herbs, a leaf or two of basil, and a bay leaf; brown a large crust of bread, and put it in a stewpan with the above things, and fry them until they are brown; then flour the meat, and brown it well, putting it back in the saucepan; add a little stock, and baste it in the gravy till done, and keep turning the meat. Simmer 4 lb. for 3-4 hours.

Calves’ Brains (a).--Lay the brains in cold water to whiten. Put them in a stewpan with a little water, a tablespoonful of vinegar, an onion, 2 or 3 cloves, a little white wine, salt, and white pepper. Simmer the brains ½ hour, then lay them on a sieve to drain. When cold cut them in slices, and dip them either in butter or egg and breadcrumbs, seasoned with salt and white pepper; fry them in butter. Serve as a side dish or accompaniment to any delicate vegetable.

(b) and Tongue.--After the brains have soaked with the head in cold water 6-8 hours, remove the thin pellicle covering them, and let them soak some time longer in cold water. Have ready a saucepan just large enough to hold the brains covered with water. Put into it a sufficiency of boiling water, and the juice of a lemon, salt to taste, and a bay leaf; lay the brains in this, and let them boil gently about 20 minutes. Lay the brains on a dish, with the tongue (previously boiled with the calf’s head) split in two, on either side of them. Serve with tarragon, tomato, or piquante sauce.

Calves’ Feet. Fritters.--If calf’s foot jelly has to be made, the meat remaining after the boiling down may be well utilised in this way. They must not be allowed to boil for jelly until they fall to pieces, nor would it be necessary for the jelly’s sake to do this; but while firm, though well-boiled, remove them from the stock, take out the bones (returning these to the stock to continue boiling for the sweet jelly), and lay the meat flatly on a dish to get cold. When cold cut them into small pieces, dip each in batter, and fry them a light brown colour; these must be well drained from the fat, piled high on a dish, and sent to table as hot as possible, with the following sauce poured round them: Thicken ½ pint stock with corn flour or arrowroot, add 2 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar, one of Mogul or other sauce, a little salt, and a lump of sugar, with a little browning, if necessary, to make it a good colour.

Jelly.--(a) Add to 2 feet 1½ pint water, and boil them for several hours. To 1 pint of this stock add nearly ½ pint wine and a little brandy, the rind and juice of a lemon, 3 oz. lump sugar, the white and the shell of one egg well beaten, and a small quantity of saffron, which improves the colour. Let all the ingredients boil, then let the stock stand in the saucepan a few minutes to settle, before straining it through a jelly bag till quite clear.

(b) Ditto.--To 4 calves’ feet, well cleaned and broken, pour 4 qts. of water, and let them stew until the stock is reduced to rather less than 2 qts. Put the stock in a brass pan, and when quite firm and cold clear it from all fat. Add to it a bottle of good sherry (or 1 pint brandy and 1 pint sherry) ¾ lb. white sugar, the juice of 6 lemons, and the whites and shells of 8 eggs, well beaten. Heat this over a clear fire, but do not stir it; just as it boils throw in ¾ oz. isinglass. When it has boiled 16 minutes take it off the fire and let it stand 3 minutes to cool. Put the rinds of 3 lemons, pared thin, into the jelly bag before the fire, and pour the jelly through. Once or twice put through the bag will render the jelly quite clear. The jelly should be put in wet china moulds.

Pie.--Put into a saucepan on the fire as many calves’ feet as you think you shall have occasion for, and water sufficient to cover them, with 2 or 3 blades of mace, and boil them till they are tender; then take out the feet, and strain off the liquor; lay a thin sheet of puff paste at the bottom and round the edge of a deep dish; then pick the flesh off the bones, and lay half of it in, strew ½ lb. currants clean washed and picked, and ½ lb. raisins stoned, overlay on the rest of the meat; skim the liquor, and sweeten as much of it as will nearly fill the pie with ½ pint of white wine, and pour it into the dish. Put on a lid of good puff paste, ornament the top, and bake it 1½ hour.

Pudding.--Take 1 lb. flesh of calves’ feet finely shred, ½ lb. suet shred as small, a nutmeg grated, some candied orange peel minced, some salt and some currants, a little grated bread, and 7 eggs, leaving out the whites of 3; mix all well together, tie up in a floured cloth, and boil 3 hours. The sauce is white wine, sugar, and butter melted.

Calf’s Head (a) Boiled.--Take a calf’s head, divested of hair by the butcher, let it be split in two lengthwise, and lay it in cold water to soak for 6-8 hours. On taking it out of the water, remove the tongue and brains, bone the head carefully, and cut it up in comely square pieces, making, say, 3 or 4 out of each half; lay the pieces in a saucepan full of cold water on the fire, and as it comes to the boil remove the scum. When it has boiled 20 minutes, lift up the pieces and lay them in cold water, to remain for an hour or two. Mix in a large saucepan on the fire ½ lb. cooking butter, or clarified beef suet or dripping, with 4 heaped tablespoonfuls flour, fill up with sufficient boiling water to well cover up the pieces of head, add 2 onions stuck with 6 cloves, a good-sized bunch of sweet herbs, and parsley, whole pepper and salt quant. suf., and the juice and thin rind of 2 or 3 lemons; stir well, and when the whole boils fast put in the pieces of head tied up in a thin cloth, as well as the tongue, skinned. Let the whole boil slowly for 2-3 hours. Drain the pieces of head, arrange them tastefully on a napkin in a dish, and serve hot or cold, with any of the following sauces in a boat: caper, parsley, piquante, poivrade, ravigote, remoulade, tarragon, tartare, tomato, &c.

(b) Fritters.--Cut into small round slices, lay them in a pie dish, strew over them some chopped chives, tarragon, and parsley, the juice of ½ lemon, and 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. After remaining in this pickle for 2-3 hours--not forgetting to turn them occasionally, so that both sides may obtain the flavouring--take them out, drain them well from the moisture, dip in batter, and fry a light golden colour in enough boiling fat to well cover them. They must be served very hot, piled high in a dish on a napkin.

(c) Hashed.--Cut the remnants of a boiled head into uniform pieces the size of half an apple. Melt in a saucepan 1-2 oz. butter, according to the quantity of meat to be hashed; amalgamate with it 1-2 tablespoonfuls flour, then stir in ½ pint, more or less, white stock. Stir well, then add a few button mushrooms, white pepper and salt to taste, and let the sauce boil for 10 minutes. Put the saucepan by the side of the fire, and lay the pieces of calf’s head in it; let them get hot slowly, but not boil. Just before serving stir in off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained; also a small quantity of either tarragon or parsley very finely minced.

(d) Pie.--Stew a knuckle of veal till fit for eating, with 2 onions, a few isinglass shavings, a bunch of herbs, a little mace, and a few white peppercorns in 3 pints water; keep the broth from the pie. Half boil the head, and cut it in square pieces; put a layer of ham at the bottom of your dish, then some head, first fat, then lean, with forcemeat balls and hard eggs cut in halves, and so on till the dish be full, but be careful not to place the pieces too close, or there will be no space for the jelly. The meat must be well seasoned, then put a little gravy and a little water in, and cover with rather a thick crust; bake in a slow oven, and when done put in as much gravy as it will possibly hold, and when perfectly cold turn it out. The different colours and clear jelly have a very pretty appearance.

Liver.--Cut up into slices ½ lb. calf’s liver and the same quantity of fat bacon; put first a layer of bacon at the bottom of a pie dish, then one of liver, sprinkle with pepper and salt, add 1 medium-sized onion and 1 apple, both cut up; cover down, and let it stew gently in the oven for about 1¼ hours. No water is required, as the liver makes sufficient gravy.

Croquettes.--Take some cold veal, remove carefully all fat and outside parts, and mince it finely; melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, add a little flour, stir; then add a small quantity of stock and the minced meat, with some parsley, finely chopped; season with pepper, salt, and a little powdered spices; stir well, and as soon as the mixture is quite hot remove it from the fire. Beat up and strain into a basin the yolks of 1 or 2 eggs with the juice of half or of a whole lemon, according to the quantity of mince; put 2-3 tablespoonfuls mince into the basin; mix them well with the egg and lemon; then add the whole to the rest of the mince; mix well, and turn it out on a dish. When cold, fashion it in breadcrumbs to the shape of corks, taking care to make them all of a uniform size; then roll them in egg, and again in breadcrumbs. Let them dry a short time; then fry in plenty of hot lard, and serve with fried parsley.

Curried.--Take a 2 qt. saucepan, put into it 2 tablespoonfuls fresh butter, place on the fire, and, when the butter is melted, throw in a middle-sized onion, sliced, and fry it until of a light brown colour. Add 1 tablespoonful curry powder, and 1 teaspoonful salt. Let the curry powder get well mixed with the butter and onions, then add a coffee-cupful of gravy; keep stirring, so that all may be well cooked; then put in the meat cut into small squares, each about the size of a small walnut, and with the most pour in ½ pint good gravy. Keep over a brisk fire for 5 minutes, stirring all the time; then cover up and leave it to stew gently till the meat be quite tender. If necessary, add a little more gravy while thus stewing, unless a dry curry be preferred. Serve hot, with rice in a separate dish. It will be an improvement to fry the pieces of meat in butter before putting them in the curry sauce.

Cutlets.--(a) Prepare some thin cutlets, trim them neatly, season with salt and pepper. Take some fat bacon, and some of the trimmings of the cutlets, chop them up very finely, add breadcrumbs, sweet herbs, a little shallot, all finely minced; beat them up with an egg, and cover the cutlets over with the forcemeat; then egg and breadcrumb them and fry to a golden brown colour. Serve with rich brown gravy round them, and garnish them with half-quarters of lemon.

(b) Remove every bit of skin, vein, or sinew from the veal, and chop it fine; well salt, pepper, and a little minced parsley, shape like cutlets (use an egg to bind them, if needed), and if you have them use the bones; egg and breadcrumb them twice, and fry in boiling butter; serve with sorrel, spinach, or tomatoes.

Fritters.--For these the remains of cold veal should be cut in small neat pieces; dip each in batter and fry a light brown; in serving pile them high on a dish, pouring over them a good brown sauce, well thickened with tomatoes when in season, or, if not, the gravy must itself be thick and strongly flavoured with tomato sauce. Fritters of cold calves’ head or feet both make a nice savoury dish; for the former, cut the pieces of calves’ head into round slices, laying them in a pie dish, and sprinkling over them chopped parsley, tarragon, and chives; squeeze over them the juice of a lemon, and add 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. After remaining in this mixture for 2-3 hours, turning them over from time to time, take them out, drain them well from the moisture, dip each piece into batter, and fry them a nice light golden colour, in plenty of hot fat. Serve very hot, and piled high, on a napkin. Fritters from calves’ feet may be made when the feet are being used for making jelly. When the meat is about half cooked, take off some of the best portion of it, returning the bones to the stock for jelly; let it simmer on a dish to get cold; when cold cut it into long or cutlet-shaped pieces, dip them in batter, and fry them a light colour; they must be well drained from the fat and piled high in the centre of the dish, pouring round them the following sauce, which should be ready prepared, and they must be sent to table very hot. For the sauce, take ½ pint stock, add to it 1 tablespoonful Mogul sauce, 2 of tarragon vinegar, a lump of sugar, a little salt, and enough browning to make it a good colour; thicken it with corn flour, and boil the sauce well, so that the flour may be well cooked before using.

Hashed.--Take some remnants of roast or braised veal, trim off all browned parts, and mince it very fine. Fry a shallot chopped small in plenty of butter; when it is a light straw colour add a large pinch of flour and a little stock; then the minced meat, with chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste; mix well; add more stock if necessary, and let the mince gradually get hot by the side of the fire. When quite hot stir into it off the fire a yolk of egg and the juice of a lemon strained and beaten up together. Serve with sippets of bread fried in butter round it, and 3 or 4 poached eggs on the top.

Minced.--(a) Remove all outside pieces, gristle, and fat from any cold veal, roast or boiled. Mince it finely either with a knife or mincing machine; season with pepper and salt, chopped lemon peel, and a blade of mace. Put it in a stewpan with sufficient white stock to moisten it well, and let it simmer gently until quite hot, but not boiling. Remove the mace, add sufficient cream to make it quite white, stir it over the fire, and serve in a dish with a border of mashed haricot beans, potatoes, or spinach. Poached eggs may be served on the top, or tiny rolls of bacon may be arranged symmetrically, either with or without the eggs.

(b) Take some remnants of roast or braised veal, trim off all brown parts, and mince it very finely. Fry a chopped shallot in plenty of butter; when it is a light straw colour, add a large pinch of flour and a little stock; then the minced meat, with chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste; mix well; add more stock if necessary, and let the mince gradually get hot by the side of the fire. When quite hot stir into it, off the fire, the yolk of egg and the juice of a lemon strained and beaten up together. Serve with sippets of bread fried in butter round it, and 3-4 poached eggs on the top.

Patties.--Prepare some patties; take some cold veal, trim off all browned parts, gristle, and fat, and mince it very finely with a little fat bacon; add a little cayenne, salt, mace, and the grated rind of half a lemon; mix well, and moisten with some white stock; simmer by the side of the fire till quite hot, then stir in (off the fire) the yolk of an egg and a little strained lemon juice. Fill the patties with the meat, put on the covers, and serve hot.

Pie.--(a) Cut the veal into square pieces, and put a layer of them at the bottom of a pie dish. Sprinkle over them a portion of minced savoury herbs, a little spice, lemon peel finely chopped, and some yolk of egg hard boiled, then a layer of ham cut thin. Proceed in this manner until the pie dish is full. Lay a puff paste on the edge of the dish, and pour in ½ pint water; then cover with crust, ornament with leaves, brush over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for 1-1½ hour--longer if the pie be very large. When you take it from the oven, pour in at the top, by means of a funnel, ½ pint strong gravy. This should be made sufficiently good that when cold it may be cut in a firm jelly. This pie may be very much enriched by the addition of mushrooms, oysters, or sweetbreads.

(b) Cut steaks from a neck or breast of veal, season well, slice 2 sweetbreads, lay a puff paste rim round the dish; then put in the meat, sweetbreads, some yolks of hard-boiled eggs, and some oysters when in season, on the top; lay on the whole some very thin slices of ham, and fill up the dish with water; cover with puff paste; bake, and when taken out of the oven pour in at the top a few spoonfuls of good veal gravy, and some cream to fill up; but first boil it up with a teaspoonful of flour.

(c) And Ham Pie.--Cut some thin slices off the leg or neck of veal, free them from skin and gristle, lard them well, and season with salt and pepper. Have some eggs boiled hard and some thin slices of ham. Make some forcemeat balls with fat bacon, the trimmings of the veal, chopped onions, parsley, and sweet herbs, grated lemon peel, salt, cayenne, and pounded mace. Pound all in a mortar, and bind with one or two eggs. Line a pie dish with good paste, and fill it with layers (not too close)--first one of ham, then one of veal--of forcemeat balls, of the eggs (cut in halves), and so on; a few mushrooms may be added; put in some gravy; lastly a layer of thin bacon; and cover all with tolerably thick crust, glaze. Bake for about 4 hours in a moderate oven. Make a hole in the top, and pour in some good savoury jelly, made with ox or calf’s foot, knuckle of veal, and trimming of bacon and ham, well flavoured with onions, more herbs and lemon peel, cleared with the whites of egg.

(d) Ditto.--Take 2 lb. veal cutlets, ½ lb. boiled ham, 2 doz. oysters, ½ lb. fresh-made sausages, 2 tablespoonfuls savoury minced herbs, ¼ teaspoonful grated nutmeg, a little mace, pepper and salt to taste, with a strip of lemon peel finely minced, 2 hard-boiled eggs, and ½ pint water; cut the veal into square pieces, put a layer of them at the bottom of a pie-dish. Sprinkle over this a little of the herbs, spice, seasoning, and lemon peel. Cut the eggs into slices, put some of the slices and about 8 oysters with part of the sausages, cut into 3, then a layer of the ham in thin slices. Proceed thus until the dish is full, arranging it so that the ham is at the top. Put puff paste on the edge of the dish, then pour in ½ pint cold water. Cover it with crust, and ornament with leaves, cut from the remaining paste; brush over with yolk of egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for 1-1½ hour. When removed from the oven, pour in at the top, through a funnel, ½ pint rich gravy, so that when cold it will form a jelly. Mushrooms may be added to this pie.

Quenelles.--Remove the skin from 1 lb. veal cutlet, and cut it into small pieces. Put into a stewpan 1 gill water, a pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when boiling stir in as much flour as will form a paste; when it is smooth put it away to get cold, then take half the quantity of butter that you have of veal, and half the quantity of paste you have of butter; put the paste into a mortar, pound it well, then add the butter, pound it, then add the veal; pound well for 10 minutes, add one whole egg, 3 yolks of egg, salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg; work well together, pass through a wire sieve, stir in ½ gill cream, shape the quenelles with 2 tablespoons, place them in a well-buttered sauté pan, leaving a clear space on one side; put a good pinch of salt in that space, pour in sufficient boiling water to cover the quenelles, and leave them to poach for 10 minutes; then drain them carefully on a cloth, arrange on a dish, and serve with rich gravy or any sauce you like. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

Roast.--Take 4-6 lb. best end of neck of veal, trim it neatly, and joint the cutlets. Put it to roast at a very moderate fire, and baste it plentifully every 10 minutes, first with butter and then with its own gravy. It will take 1½-2 hours. During the last ¼ hour bring the joint nearer to the fire, and sprinkle it plentifully with salt. Serve with the gravy over, carefully strained and freed from fat, and with the juice of a lemon and a small piece of fresh butter added to it.

Rolled.--Neck of veal, best end, 5 lb.; bacon, a few rashers; parsley, minced, 1 tablespoonful; breadcrumbs, 4-5 oz.; 1 good-sized onion, ¼ nutmeg, 3 cloves, 1 blade of mace, 1 egg, 1 oz. butter, a little glaze, pepper and salt, and little lemon thyme. Get the butcher to bone the veal; lay this on the table, the skin to the table. Split or cut nearly through the thick part of the veal, and turn the upper half over on the thin part, to make it all one thickness. Cut a few thin slices off it, about 5-6 oz., flatten the veal with a chopper or rolling pin, and prepare the forcemeat. Chop very fine the parsley, thyme, a very small bit of onion, and about 1 oz. of the lean of the bacon. Chop all these ingredients separately, and then all together. Next, with a sharp knife scrape the pieces of veal free from skin and fibre, also scrape about 2 oz. of the fat of the bacon; chop this and the veal together very fine, and pound in a mortar, adding to it the other ingredients, with butter, the nutmeg grated, and a little salt and pepper, and the breadcrumbs, and the egg to bind it. Mix well together, then take this forcemeat out of the mortar, and spread it on the veal; over this lay 2 or 3 rashers of bacon out of the back. Roll the veal up tight, sew it up with a needle and thread, and bind round with a piece of tape; place the meat in a stewpan just the size to hold it, and pour into it sufficient water or stock to nearly, but not quite, cover it, put round it any pieces of bacon or trimmings of the veal that may be left, the stalks of the parsley and thyme, the onion and cloves, a little celery, and a couple of bay leaves if you have them. Set the stewpan on the fire, and let the meat stew gently about 2 hours. When done take it from the fire, and let it remain in the stewpan till nearly cold, then take it up on one dish, lay another on it, with some heavy weights on it to press the meat. In the evening remove the top dish and weights, take off the tape, cut and draw out the threads, melt a little glaze, and glaze over the veal, and it will be ready to serve. It will cut and eat well, and the stock will make soup or aspic.

Scallops.--Let the meat be cut into very thin slices and then chopped, but not too finely; put it into a stewpan with a little white sauce, or, if here is none ready made, in another saucepan, thicken a little stock with flour, and add a tablespoonful of cream or good milk (if milk, a little bit of butter must be added); season with salt and pepper, and a very little nutmeg; let this boil, stirring constantly, until thick enough; add this sauce to the meat, and let it remain simmering, stirring it the while, for a few minutes; fill scallop shells with this, cover with fresh breadcrumbs, sprinkle them over with oiled butter, and put them in the oven until they are a light brown colour.

Shape.--Take 1½ lb. veal and stew gently with an onion, a stick of celery, carrot, bunch of herbs tied in muslin, pepper and salt, in water sufficient to cover it. It will take about 1¾ hours to cook, and should not be overdone, or it will lose flavour. While the meat is cooking take a mould, and set 2 cut hard-boiled eggs, some pieces of olive, and diamonds of beetroot, in aspic jelly, allowing about an inch of ornamental jelly to stand until firm. Mince the cooked veal, carefully excluding all fat, mix 1 pint liquid jelly with the veal, ornament with 2 hard-boiled eggs, olive, and beetroot round the sides of the mould, and when the mince is nearly cold place it carefully on the set jelly. Decorate with parsley and rings of finely sliced tongue. If aspic is not at hand, strain 1 pint of the stock from the stewing, dissolve ½ oz. Nelson’s gelatine in ½ tumbler cold water, boil it up, mix it with the mince; add 1 glass sherry and a squeeze of lemon, pour into a mould arranged with hard-boiled egg and a nice savoury shape will be obtained, though it will not look so well as with clear aspic. If the liquor is not wanted, it does for a white stock.

Stewed Breast (Blanquette).--(a) Put a breast of veal, after being blanched, into a stewpan, with a bunch of herbs, onions, cloves, pepper, salt, a blade of mace, some lemon peel, a good piece of butter (about 2-3 oz.). Let it simmer gently, then add a pint of veal broth, or hot water; when almost tender take it out, put it in a dish, get out the long bones, and strain the liquor to the veal again. If liked, add some fresh mushrooms, or some oysters blanched in their own liquor. Thicken it when done with a little flour, butter, some very thick cream, and the yolks of 2 eggs; stir it well together. It must not boil, but simmer, for fear the sauce should curdle. Squeeze some lemon juice just as you serve it, and stir it well. Garnish the dish with sliced lemon or fried oysters.

(b) Take 3-4 lb. breast of veal, cut it up into pieces 2 in. long, and put them into a saucepan with 2 carrots, an onion, and a head of celery cut into small pieces; add parsley, thyme, bay leaves, cloves, pepper and salt to taste, and sufficient stock or water to cover the meat. Simmer about an hour, or until quite tender. Take out the piece of veal and strain the gravy through a colander. Melt in a saucepan 1 oz. butter, and add 1 oz. flour; mix well, and put in as much liquor from the veal, well freed from fat, as will make sufficient sauce; let it get quite hot, then stir in, off the fire, the yolks of two eggs beaten up with a little lemon juice and strained. Put in the piece of veal, when quite hot add a little chopped parsley and a few mushrooms, and serve.

Suet Pudding (baked or boiled).--Chop ½ lb. veal suet, put it into 1 qt. rich milk, set it upon the fire, and when pretty hot pour it upon 8 oz. bread crumbs and sugar to your taste; add ½ lb. currants washed and dried, and 3 well-beaten eggs; put it into a floured cloth or buttered dish, and either boil or bake it an hour.

Sweetbread (Ris).--(a) Prepare the sweetbreads in the usual way for cooking. Place them on the fire in a saucepan with a piece of butter, sprinkle them with flour, stir and moisten with a little water, add salt and pepper, and a bunch of parsley. Cook them gently, and just before serving add some small onions and some mushrooms which have been previously cooked. Thicken the gravy with the yolk of 2 eggs and a little lemon juice, and serve hot.

(b) When well washed and cleared from skin, they may be larded with delicate strips of very fresh bacon or not, according to taste. Boil till nearly done, then put them into a thickly buttered deep dish which will stand the oven (metal or earthenware), strewing the bottom of the dish with thin slices of carrot and onion, add a ladlefull of good broth, salt and pepper, and brown in the oven till of a dark golden colour. Take out the sweetbreads, strain the juice, adding some good veal stock and a few drops of lemon juice, and serve.

(c) Butter a stewpan or good-sized saucepan thickly, line it with slices of carrot and onion, put in the sweetbreads prepared as above, i.e. washed and freed from skins, and larded, but not boiled. Let them brown well over a brisk oven, shaking occasionally to prevent adherence, and turning. When of a deep golden hue all over, moisten with 3-4 tablespoonsfuls thick cream, or cream of the previous day, slightly on the turn, add enough veal stock to nearly cover the sweetbreads, cover hermetically, and put charcoal on the lid; place over a moderate fire, as it were between 2 fires, which is the French equivalent for our oven-cooking, and let them stew gently for nearly an hour. To serve them, strain the sauce, add a little lemon juice. They are very good done in this way also, and served upon fresh young peas, spinach, or sorrel, done in the French way. It is essential that the stock used should be blond de veau or veal stock, because one of the first rules of all good cookery is that all meats should be cooked in their own sauces, i.e. that the sauce should be of the same meat as the thing cooked.

(d) Stewed.--Trim some sweetbreads, and soak them in warm water till quite white, blanch in boiling water, and then put them in cold water for a short time. When cold, dry them, and put them in some well-flavoured white stock, stew for ½ hour. Beat up the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs with some cream, a little finely-minced parsley, and grated nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste; add this to the sauce, put it on the fire to get quite hot; dish the sweetbreads, pour the sauce over, and serve.

Tea.--Cut into small dice 1 lb. lean meat, place on the fire with 2 tablespoonfuls water, 1 teaspoonful salt; stir this gently until the gravy is drawn, then add 1 qt. boiling water, simmer slowly for ¾ hour, skimming off the fat; when done strain through a sieve. It may be made richer and more tasty by adding, when first warming the meat, a little butter, onion, and parsley.

Vol-au-vent.--Roll out a sufficient quantity of good puff paste 1 in. thick, and stamp it out with a fluted cutter to the size of the dish upon which it is to come to table. Mark it out with another of a smaller size, leaving about 1½ in. at the edge of the paste, which brush over with a beaten-up egg. Put it into a quick oven to rise and become a good colour. When done, remove with the point of a knife the piece marked out for the top, and scoop out all the soft part from the inside; then turn upon a piece of writing paper to dry. Fill it with minced veal and a small quantity of white sauce. As it is only a professed cook who can make a vol-au-vent, it is much best to order it from a confectioner’s and only fill it at home.

=Game=, =Poultry=, =&c.=--The cooking of game and poultry demands especial care on the part of the cook, from the delicacy of flavour and tenderness of flesh of these viands. The fine aroma of all feathered game is best developed by roasting, and it may be observed that in the case of young birds a few days “hanging” will be found sufficient to render them tender, while in the case of old ones it is far better to first roast them slightly--to bring out the flavour--and then make them into a salmis, or to cut off the breast for fillets and use the remaining portions for making soup. The average time for hanging will vary as follows:--

In Mild In Cold Weather. Weather.

Capon 3 days. 6 days. Chickens 2 ” 4 ” Duck, Goose, Turkey 2 ” 6 ” Hare 3 ” 6 ” Partridge 2 ” 6 to 8 ” Pheasant 4 ” 10 ” Pigeons, young 2 ” 4 ” Pullet, young fat 4 ” 10 ” Rabbit 2 ” 4 ”

When the weather is moist or rainy, the articles must be kept somewhat less time. Keeping may be prolonged by putting a little finely powdered charcoal in a muslin bag inside the game, changing the charcoal daily.

The following general methods of dressing game may conveniently precede special recipes for each kind.

Aspic.--Cut the breast of a brace of birds into fillets, cook them in the oven, smothered in butter, in a tin with pepper and salt, and put them between 2 plates under a weight to get cold. With the rest of the flesh of the birds make a forcemeat as follows: Pound it in a mortar with an equal quantity of lean veal; add as much butter as there is game meat, and as much breadcrumbs soaked in stock and squeezed dry; mix the whole thoroughly well in the mortar, then pass the mixture through a sieve; return it to the mortar; work into it 1 tablespoonful Spanish sauce or chaudfroid sauce, pepper and salt, a little powdered sweet herbs or spices, then the yolks of 2 and the white of 1 egg. Put this composition into a plain buttered mould, steam it for ½ hour, and turn it out. When cold cut it in slices, and cut the slices into rounds all of a shape; cut all the fillets to the same size; cut also some ready-cooked truffles into slices; set some white of egg in a jam pot placed in a saucepan full of boiling water, turn it out, cut it in slices, and from them cut pieces all of a size. Pour a little well-flavoured aspic jelly into a mould: when it begins to set arrange the above materials, filling it up with jelly until the mould is full, and when quite set turn it out.

Boudin.--Pick out all the meat from any kind of cooked game, pound it in a mortar. To 4 oz. of this add 4 oz. of the raw flesh of veal or of fowl, also pounded; work the two together in a mortar, and add 4 oz. butter and 4 oz. paste made as for fish boudin, season with pepper and salt, a very little powdered sweet herbs, then pass the whole through a sieve. Return the composition to the mortar, work into it 1 tablespoonful brown sauce (Espagnole), the yolks of 2 and the white of 1 egg. Put the mixture into a buttered mould, and steam it for 1 hour, then serve with brown sauce.

Chaudfroid.--Roast 2 partridges, and when cold divide them into joints; trim each joint neatly, removing the skin from it; dip them in some chaudfroid sauce, made hot for the purpose, and if when cooled the pieces of partridge are not well covered over with it, repeat the operation. Arrange the pieces pyramidally on a dish, with a border of chopped-up aspic jelly round them. The wings and breasts cut from the birds used to make the sauce can be served in various ways in the form of fillets, and the legs can also be utilised, either to make a stew, or for the stock pot.

For the sauce, remove the legs, breast, and wings from 2 uncooked birds, pound the carcases in a mortar, put them into a saucepan, with a piece of ham or bacon chopped up, an onion, a carrot, 1 oz. butter, a bundle of sweet herbs and spices, pepper and salt to taste; put the saucepan on the fire, and when the contents are quite hot add a small cupful of white wine (sherry or marsala), and a few minutes after add rather more than a pint of good ordinary stock; let the whole gently simmer over an hour, then strain and remove all fat carefully; mix a little butter and flour in a saucepan, and stir on the fire till the mixture browns, then gradually add the liquor and a cupful of unclarified aspic jelly. If at hand a cupful of well-made Spanish sauce may be used instead of the thickening of butter and flour.

Croquettes.--Pick out from the remnants of any roast white game a quantity of meat from the breasts, mince it all finely, and put it into a saucepan, with a piece of butter previously melted, and amalgamated with a pinch of flour; add pepper and salt, and a grate of nutmeg. Stir well, and add, off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained. Spread out this mince (which should be pretty stiff) on a marble slab, and when it is nearly cold fashion it in breadcrumbs into small portions in the shape of balls or of corks. Dip each in a beaten-up egg, and then roll it in very fine baked breadcrumbs. Let the croquettes rest a while, then fry them in hot lard, to a golden colour. Serve on a napkin with plenty of fried parsley.

Croustades.--Boil a quantity of rice in salted water till done. Strain off the water, put the rice in a saucepan, and keep moistening with as much milk or stock as it will absorb; add a handful of Parmesan cheese and a little pepper. When the rice is thoroughly done, or rather overdone, spread it out evenly to the thickness of about 2 in. on a slab or dish. When quite cold, cut with a 2 in. patty cutter as many “rounds” as the layer of rice will admit. Beat up an egg, roll each “round” or “croustade” in it, and then cover it well with breadcrumbs, repeating the operation if necessary. Make an impression with a smaller patty-cutter on the top of each croustade, dispose them carefully in the frying-basket, and plunge it into very hot lard. When the croustades have taken a good colour, drain them, and, lifting the cover (formed by the impression of the smaller cutter), scoop out the rice from the inside of each croustade with a teaspoon. Fill them quickly with game purée, and serve.

Kromeskies.--Pick out all the meat from the remnants of any kind of game, pound it in a mortar with a little butter, and pass it through a hair sieve; put it into a saucepan with a little butter, pepper, salt, and spice to taste, give it a turn on the fire, then take it off; stir in, off the fire, the yolk of 1-2 eggs and some lemon juice. Spread out the mixture to get cold, and divide it into very small portions. Cut some slices of bacon as thin as possible, and to the size of 1½ in. by 2½ in., place on each slice a teaspoonful of the mince, and roll it up neatly in the bacon; beat up together the yolks of 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful brandy, 1 of olive oil, and 4-5 of cold water; incorporate with this about 3 tablespoonfuls flour and a good pinch of salt; keep on beating the mixture for a little time, then add as much water as will make it of the right consistency. When ready to use this batter, stir into it quickly the whites of 2 eggs beaten up to a froth. Dip each kromesky in it, and fry them a nice colour in hot lard.

Pie.--(a) Have ready a forcemeat as follows: Chop equal quantities of veal and fat bacon, with a little lean ham, and season it highly with pepper, salt, and spice, and, if at hand, a few truffles. Line a pie-dish with a layer of veal highly seasoned with pepper, salt, and spice, and pieces of bacon or ham. On this lay the game, either whole or in joints, as you choose, and fill up with forcemeat, and, if necessary, a little more veal and ham in pieces, and some truffles if handy. Cover with a good crust and bake.

(b) Can be made of a fowl, a rabbit, and 2 partridges (fowl only if a pheasant is not at hand). They must be dressed, and put into a large stewpan, and boiled until the flesh comes easily from the bones; then the different meats of each must be passed separately through a potting machine, or beaten well in a mortar (it is of little consequence which), and spread in layers in an ordinary game pie dish, with a layer of forcemeat between each layer--say a layer of chicken, then one of forcemeat, then one of partridge, then one of forcemeat, and so on--but on each layer pepper, a little salt, Worcester sauce, tomato sauce, chili vinegar, or other flavourings must be placed, and a few slices of shallot or truffles also. Then take the inner pie dish in which the layers are placed, and put it in the oven for 10 minutes. The jelly, which is generally served on the top, can be made of the liquor in which the game has stewed, flavoured to taste with vinegar, ketchup to taste, with gelatine added, and passed through the jelly bag as ordinary jelly.

Shikaree Pie.--Make a rich soup with 3 or 4 brace of partridges or grouse, and the knuckle of a ham cut in pieces; stew slowly until the breasts of the birds are done; take out the same, and some of the lean of the ham; pound these when cold in a mortar, with a little pepper, salt, allspice, lemon peel, and mushroom powder. When the soup is reduced so as to form a rich consommé, let it cool and take off the fat. Take a pheasant and 2 brace of partridges, or 3 brace of grouse, cut into nice pieces, stew slowly for a short time in the soup until tender; make a raised pie crust; when the game is cool place a layer of game, then of the forcemeat, then more game, and so on until the pie is full; add the gravy, place on the cover, and bake; when cooked carefully remove the cover, pour in the rest of the gravy; place the pie in a cool cellar or larder, so as all may be jellied next day when required. This may be made of any game.

Vol au Vent from cold Game.--Take the meat from a cold pheasant or a brace of partridges, and a little cold ham or tongue; cut up small into dice. Break up the bones and stew them with the trimmings in about a gill of white stock seasoned with a blade of mace, 3 or 4 allspice, a little nutmeg and salt. Let it simmer for ½ hour, strain; then add, if procurable, ½ pint of the smallest button mushrooms. These should be first rubbed with a bit of flannel and a little salt to take off the skin. When nearly done stir in 1 gill rich cream, and a large piece of butter into which some flour has been rubbed. Put in the meat and a few minced truffles; stir slowly until it boils. When the sauce has well thickened pour it into the paste. Garnish, and serve at once. Make some brioche paste into shapes by putting a piece of bread into the centre of a mould; also cut out a few flowers, leaves, &c., for ornament. Bake and take out the bread or mould. Some persons make a few little balls of the paste as well, boil, and serve them with the sauce. If button mushrooms cannot be had, use a small tin of French champignons or a few white pickled mushrooms.

The following are special recipes.

Cygnet (Cygne).--(a) The cygnet must not be skinned; pick the bird, and truss it like a goose. Take 2 lb. rump steak, which chop fine, and season with spice, a piece of onion or shallot, and butter; rub the breast of the bird inside and out with beaten cloves, then stuff it with the above, taking care to sew it up carefully and tie tightly on the spit, that the gravy may not escape; inclose the breast of the bird in a meal paste, after which cover it all over with paper well greased with beef dripping. About ¼ hour before the bird is taken up, remove paper and paste, and baste with butter and flour till brown and frothy. For gravy--strong beef and ½ pint port wine; pour over the bird, and serve with hot currant jelly. A squeeze of lemon is an improvement.

(b) Truss it as a turkey, cover it with strips of fat bacon, and roast it for 1 hour, then take it up and put it into a stewpan just large enough to hold it, at the bottom of which lay 2 blades of mace, 2 onions sliced, 1 carrot, 1 head celery, ½ lb. butter, 1 tablespoonful soy, 1 gill mushroom ketchup, 1 pint good gravy, 1 pint port wine. The bird to be stewed in the above until tender (about 1½ hour). When done, place it on a dish with a cover; strain the liquor into a stewpan, and boil away until only sufficient is left to serve with the bird; of course judgment must be used as to the quantity required. During the boiling of the sauce add ½ lb. Sultana raisins, and season the whole with a little lemon juice and cayenne to taste, then thicken with a little flour and butter mixed together, and boil with the sauce; pour over the bird, and serve very hot.

Duck (Canard, caneton). Roast.--Pluck, singe, and draw, blanche the feet and remove their skin; make a stuffing with sage, onions (previously blanched and chopped fine), and breadcrumbs, using twice as much onion as sage, and twice as much breadcrumbs as onion, add a little butter, pepper, and salt to taste. When stuffed, truss them, tie some thin slices of bacon over the breasts, roast for 15 minutes before a brisk fire, basting well with butter, remove the bacon from the birds a minute or two before they are ready. Serve with gravy in the dish, but not over the birds.

Stewed.--Half roast the duck, place it in a stewpan with 1 pint good gravy, 3 glasses red wine, an onion, a bit of lemon peel, a bunch of sweet herbs, an anchovy or a teaspoonful of the sauce, pepper, and salt. It will not need stewing more than an hour, and should be done very slowly. When done, strain the gravy, skim it, and add a dessertspoonful of Worcester sauce. Thicken with butter and flour, return the gravy to the stewpan, make the duck hot, and serve.

Fowl (Poulet, poularde, volaille). Boiled.--Place 2 fowls trussed for boiling, with an onion and a piece of butter inside each, into a saucepan with sufficient water and 3 oz. butter, 2 carrots, a bunch of sweet herbs (parsley, thyme, and celery), whole pepper and salt to taste; let them boil slowly till done--about 1 hour. Serve within a border of plainly boiled brussels sprouts, and with onion sauce poured over them.

Braised Drumsticks.--Braise some drumsticks of fowls, and arrange them upright round the outside of a small basin, which may contain finely chopped salad with its dressing. Slices of tongue and curled ham may be placed alternately between the drumsticks. The plate and lower part of the basin should be hidden by mustard and cress, relieved by thin slices of beetroot.

Chaudfroid.--Cut from the white part of a boiled chicken oval pieces about 2 in. long. Make some sauce with 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. flour, and ½ pint very strong stock. Let it boil up once, add ¼ oz. of gelatine if the stock is not quite a stiff jelly when cold. When the sauce is beginning to set, mask each piece of chicken thickly with it. Place a layer of aspic jelly, roughly broken up, on a dish, and when the sauce on the pieces of chicken is quite cold and set, lay them neatly on the aspic; in the centre of the dish heap up cold cooked peas or beans, or a macédoine of vegetables.

Cold Fowls.--(a) Boil the fowl in the stock-pot and let it stay in the stock till both are cold, it will be much better flavoured. For the sauce, either of these will do. (1) Melt 2 oz. butter, add 1½ oz. flour, and 1½ gills white stock or milk. When it boils, add ½ teaspoonful lemon juice, and 2 tablespoonfuls cream. (2) Like the above, but with the yolk of an egg instead of the cream. (3) Boil 1 or 2 heads of celery tender in white-stock or milk and water, and rub them through a fine sieve. Take ½ pint of the liquor, thicken with butter and flour, add the celery, and just boil. All these sauces must be thick enough not to run off the fowl into the dish. Crumbs coloured with cochineal, and then dried to crispness in a very slow oven, or tinted with beetroot juice or horseradish dyed red, makes a pretty garnish. The boiled liver rubbed through a sieve over the fowl, and contrasted with slices of boiled carrot cut into fanciful shapes, and put at intervals round the dish with parsley, makes a change in the mode of serving, and has the recommendation of being an eatable garnish.

(b) The meat of large cold roast fowls, however dark in colour, and however tough, may be made tender by gently simmering in a stewpan over the fire in the usual way, or better still, in the oven; for the latter, cut the fowl into joints, place them in a deep pie-dish with enough cold water to completely cover them; place the dish on the bottom shelf of the oven, which should not be too hot, and let it remain until sufficiently tender to draw out the bones; watch it in order to add more water as the first reduces. It must be kept quite under water all the time, or it would dry up and become hard and brown; at the same time it does not do to put it in too much water at first, as it would draw the goodness from the meat. It will probably take about 1½ hour to do; and prepared in this way, it will be ready to use for rissoles, croquettes, curry, or mince, taking care to chop up a little fat streaky bacon with it. The liquor in which it has been cooked will be very good to moisten it as required, or it may be added to the stock-pot.

Country Captain.--Cut up a chicken into small pieces, melt some butter in a saucepan, and put into it an onion shred very fine, fry until quite crisp, sprinkle the fowl well with curry powder, add some salt, and fry until thoroughly cooked, turning the pieces frequently. Serve very hot, with the fried onions on the top.

Curried.--Mix together 1 tablespoonful mild curry powder, 1½ tablespoonful dried flour, and 2 large saltspoonfuls salt; skin and cut in neat pieces the remains of cold fowl, dip them into the curry powder, pressing the powder in. Thinly slice one large onion, peel, core, and chop a sharp apple. Have in a fryingpan a piece of butter larger than a walnut; when hot, cook the onion in it, turning often. It should not be brown, and may require a little more butter. When tender, add the apple, just to make hot; then put the onion and apple into a hot stewpan, and keep warm. You will now require about 2 oz. butter, made hot in the fryingpan. Put in the fowl, turn frequently to prevent browning or burning, for the fowl should only be a deep yellow. When of that colour, and enriched with the butter, place it in the stewpan with the onion and apple. Pour over by degrees 1 pint hot, not boiling, milk. Shake the stewpan over a clear, slow fire 2-3 minutes, and leave by the side of the fire to simmer gently for ¾ hour. Skim from time to time. The curry should be as smooth as cream, but a little thicker. These quantities are for half a fine fowl. Send to table very hot, with a dish of rice and a cut of lemon. By strictly following this recipe, it will be scarcely possible to discover that the fowl has been previously cooked. Mild curry powder should be used.

Cutlets.--(a) Take the fillets of 3 chicken, which will give you 6 large and 6 small ones; flatten them with the handle of a knife which has been dipped in cold water; pull off the upper skin from the large fillets with the knife, and take the sinews from the smaller ones; dip them in oiled butter, and place them in a sautépan, shaking a little fine salt over them. Have ready prepared a rich white sauce, in which a few prepared cockscombs, quenelles of veal or chicken shaped into balls the size of a marble, some button mushrooms, and a few dice of truffles have been stewed. When it is time to dress the cutlets, fry them lightly and quickly, drain the butter from them, pour over them a few spoonfuls of white sauce, and just at the last a spoonful of thick cream; arrange them in a circle in the dish, alternately a large and a small fillet, filling the centre with the sauce of cockscombs, &c., which has been preparing. If you wish to have 10 cutlets, 5 chickens will be wanted for this dish. (b) Take the 10 fillets, pare them well; then take the small bones from the pinions, scrape them, and stick one of these bones into the point of each fillet--this must be very nicely done; season them with pepper and salt, dip them into yolk of egg (2 will be required), then into breadcrumbs, next into some melted butter, and breadcrumbs again; see that they are quite covered. Cut the small fillets into dice, and stew them in a purée of cucumbers and onions, thickened with the yolk of egg, and seasoned with salt and a very little sugar, also some mushrooms cut into dice; put this into the middle of the dish, and having broiled the cutlets, arrange them in a circle round it. They should not be broiled a minute before they are wanted. If preferred, the small fillets may also be broiled in the same way as the others; in that case the purée of cucumbers should be omitted, and they should be served with a good white sauce, into which a little cream has been stirred just at the last, and some slices of truffle lightly fried.

Devilled.--Cut the inner part of the leg in 4 long slits, taking care not to cut them through. Put in each cut a little piece of butter, some mustard, pepper, and salt, and a little lemon juice. Place the legs in a tin in front of the fire for about ¼ hour, taking care they do not get too brown; the last thing turn them over, and finish on the top side with a little more butter, pepper, salt, and mustard.

Fricassée.--The fowl is usually divided into 12 or 14 pieces. What are called the legs make 2 and sometimes 4, but this is seldom done; the wings make 4, and the breast and back are cut up, according to the size of the fowl, into 2 or 3 pieces respectively. The mode of proceeding is this: Having plucked and singed the bird, lay it on its side on a table, grasp the thigh and leg together with the left hand, and with a sharp knife cut down to the socket of the thigh bone; pull the limb back with the left hand, disengage the thigh bone from the socket, cut the skin neatly round the thigh, and put the limb on one side. Do the same with the other leg and thigh. Cut off the head and neck close to the body. To remove the wings, lay the fowl on its back, and make an incision along the breast bone 1 in. from the ridge of it, cutting down to the joint of the wing bone, which you disjoint from the carcase; Then cut right down, and remove the wing. Take off the other wing in the same way.

You now grasp the fowl with the left hand, and inserting the knife, cut right through towards the vent, then pull the breast back, and cut it off altogether. Having removed the inside of the fowl, you chop off the ribs on either side of the back, and trim this piece neatly as well as the breast piece. The breast and the back are each cut across into 3 or 2 pieces, according to circumstances. Taking now each leg in turn, you make an incision round the heel, and pull the flesh back, chop off the bone above the heel, and pull back the flesh; then chop off the head of the thigh bone. The 2 wings are divided at the second joint, the head of the bones being cut off, as well as the spur at the end of the second joint.

Care must be had in chopping off the bones to do so at one blow, and to have a sufficiently heavy knife to make a clean cut. The blow should be given with the part of the knife next the handle; a meat chopper would be too heavy. Another point which requires attention is to let each piece, especially the wings and legs, have its proper allowance of skin. The cuts should be given freely, and at one stroke, as it were, so as to avoid any little bits of flesh or skin hanging from any of the pieces.

Fillets.--Take 3 small fowls--the backs and legs cannot be used for this dish, but they will come in usefully in making white soup, and in many other ways. The fowls should be fat and white. Clean and pick them well, scalding the legs in boiling water. Having singed the chickens, cut the fillets from the breasts; flatten and trim the 6 large fillets; of the 6 small ones make 3, by sticking 2 together. Then lay them in a sauté or frying-pan (a delicately clean one), covering them with melted butter, and sprinkling fine salt over them, and let them remain until just before dinner time; then put the sautépan on the fire, and fry the fillets lightly on both sides until they are firm, which will show that they are done. Having drained off the butter gravy will be found at the bottom of the pan; add to this 3-4 spoonfuls of rich white sauce well seasoned, moving the pan over the fire, and not letting the sauce boil at all; were it to boil, the fillets of chicken would be spoiled. Cut some slices of stale bread, rather thicker than a penny piece, stamp it out either into rounds, or into pear-shaped pieces, one on the other; fry these pieces of bread in butter until of a light brown colour. Dress the 9 fillets in a circle, with a piece of the fried bread between each. Put the sauce into the middle of the dish, and put a little of it over each fillet with a spoon, taking care not to let it touch the fried bread, which should be nice and crisp. Serve them up at once very hot.

(b) Having prepared the fillets as (a), flatten them and garnish the larger ones with truffles as follows: Cut thin small rounds of truffles, and having made 3 or 4 round slits in each of the fillets, place a round of the truffle in each of these slits, taking care not to carry it through the fillets, which would break them. After garnishing, dip each fillet into melted butter, as also the smaller fillets, and fry them lightly, so as to leave them slightly underdone. Take them off the fire, drain off the butter, reduce the sauce as before, and add to it a few spoonfuls of well-flavoured white sauce; put the fillets into this, and let them simmer gently, moving them during the time until they become firm, which will show that they are done enough. Dish them up alternately, a large garnished fillet and then a small plain one. Stir a good spoonful of thick cream into the sauce, pour it into the centre of the dish, and with a spoon put some of the sauce over each of the small fillets, but not over those which are garnished. Serve very hot.

Galantine.--(a) Bone a large fowl, sprinkle the inside with salt and pepper, take 1½ lb. lean veal, ½ lb. fat bacon; pound together, and pass them through a wire sieve, add a little chopped parsley and thyme, a little grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper; when this is well mixed place it on the fowl with a few truffles, pieces of tongue, previously dressed, cut the same size as the truffles, place these at equal distances and fold over the fowl carefully, so that the forcemeat is well enclosed in it, tie it up tightly in a strong cloth, tying the ends in the same way as a roley poley pudding, place a large pin in the centre to keep it quite tight while boiling: put into a large stewpan any veal trimmings, lean bacon, and fowl trimming with the bones of the fowl, and 1 large carrot, 3 large onions, some parsley, thyme, 2 bay leaves, some peppercorns, and salt, fill with cold water; when boiling put in the galantine, leave it to boil gently for 1½-1¾ hour, according to the size, but not longer; then take off the cloth while hot, and roll the galantine tightly again in it, taking care which side is the breast; place the galantine between 2 common dishes or boards breasts uppermost, place a weight on it (for a galantine of this size a 7 lb. weight is sufficient); leave it until cold, when it should be garnished with some pale aspic jelly. If the galantine appears dry on the outside glaze it lightly and garnish with parsley. Galantines can be made of turkey, pheasant, partridge, or grouse in the same way as the above, only the livers should be lightly fried and added to the forcemeat. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

(b) To bone a fowl, proceed as follows: Give a blow to the legs just above the heel with a heavy kitchen knife, so as to break the bone; cut the skin round; then, holding the foot, give it a twist, and pull it off, thereby removing the strong sinews of the leg. Chop off the wings just above the second joint, then slit the skin of the neck lengthways; pull this out, cut it off close, and cut the skin square. Lay the fowl breast undermost and make an incision all along the back, from end to end; then with a pointed knife--what is called a vegetable knife will do very well--proceed to detach the flesh from the carcase, beginning at the neck end; when you come to the wing bone disjoint it from the carcase, and then make a slit inwardly along the wing joint, and remove the bone; work along down to the leg, and when you come to the thigh bone disjoint it from the carcase. Also do the other side in the same way. Now work along each side, detaching the breast; and this requires great care not to injure the skin, especially over the breast bone. When you have worked round both sides, remove the carcase--which can be drawn at leisure, and should be boiled along with the galantine when this is put to cook and you have the fowl all boned except the thigh and leg bones on each side. The mode of getting rid of these is this: Make an incision along the thigh, dissect the bone from the flesh, scrape the flesh along the leg bone, and finally pull this out, and it will carry the remaining sinews with it. All that now remains to be done is to cut out the “wishing-bone,” which will probably have remained in the flesh of the breast, as well as the two large white sinews of the breast. (The G. C.)

Grilled Legs.--Take the legs of cold fowl, score them well, and rub in plentifully some made mustard, salt, and cayenne; broil over a clear fire and serve with: grill sauce. Take 1 gill good gravy, add to it 1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, 1 teaspoonful French mustard, a few chopped capers, and a little grated lemon peel; add a little butter rolled in flour, a few drops of chili vinegar, simmer until quite hot, pour over the legs, and serve.

Old Hen.--(a) To make this tender, it should be divided into joints, after picking and drawing; place these pieces into a deep baking dish with a pinch or two of salt, filling the dish with cold water so as to more than cover the meat. Set it in the oven and let it remain there for 3-4 hours, or until it is sufficiently done to draw the bones out easily, which must be ascertained by occasionally taking it out to try; it will also require watching to see that the water does not dry up, or if it does, to keep adding from time to time a little hot water to keep the meat covered till it is sufficiently done. When this is the case, draw out the bones, remove all the skin, and take the sinews from the drumsticks. The meat will now be perfectly tender, and may be used for curries, rissoles, fricassées, or in any other way in which ordinary chickens are used.

(b) Pluck, draw, and singe the hen and put it into a saucepan with just enough water to cover; stew very gently for 1 hour, keeping the lid of the saucepan on all the time. Take up the bird, cut it into medium-sized pieces, and roll round each piece a thin slice of bacon; place in a pie dish, cut 2 hard-boiled eggs into slices, lay these among the pieces of fowl, sprinkle over a tablespoonful of minced parsley, season with pepper and salt, and pour over all the gravy in which the fowl was stewed, or as much of it as the dish will hold; cover with a light crust and bake one hour. Any gravy left over should be saved, as it makes excellent light stock for many purposes. (Bessie Tremaine.)

(c) Put 4 quarts water in a pot with 3 teaspoonfuls salt, 1 of pepper; stuff the hen with veal stuffing, after taking off the head; take off the legs and draw out the strings, and truss. When the water boils, put in the hen with 4 pieces salt pork, ½ lb. each, or whole if preferred; add ½ lb. onions, 1 lb. celery, 6 pepper-corns, a bunch of sweet herbs; boil slowly 1½ hour. Mix 3 oz. flour with 2 oz. butter, melt in a small pan with 1 pint of the liquor from the pot, ½ pint milk, the onions and celery cut up fine and added to it. Boil for 20 minutes until rather thick. Serve the hen on a dish with the pork, pouring the sauce over all. The remainder of the broth makes excellent white soup. (Soyer.)

(d) When plucked and drawn joint it as for a pie. Do not skin it. Stew 5 hours in a covered saucepan with salt, mace, onions, or any other flavouring; turn out into so deep a dish that the meat be covered with the liquor. Let it--and this is the secret of success--stand thus in its own jelly for a day or two; then serve as a curry hash or pie, and it will be found nearly equal to a pheasant.

(e) Stuff with forcemeat; put an onion inside; let the fowl simmer, not boil, for 4 hours, just covered with water. Send it to table with either onion or white sauce, with a small pickled cucumber cut finely in it; garnish with bacon; the stock will make Palestine soup.

(f) Pick, singe, and truss, as usual; put into the inside of the fowl a large lump of fat bacon, and sew the neck and vent, so as to fasten the bacon in securely; dust the fowl with flour, and tie it up in a cloth, put it into a pan with a close-fitting lid, and nearly cover the fowl with warm, not hot water; put in also 2 onions, a sliced carrot, and 1 or 2 cloves; let the water come to the boil as slowly as possible, and then let it simmer in the gentlest manner for 3 hours, or longer if the fowl be a large one. Take it carefully out of the cloth and completely smother it with any sauce you prefer. Next day break up the carcase of the cold fowl, and put it back into the liquor it was boiled in, with the drumsticks if you have them; add a cupful of rice, a blade of mace, and some pieces of turnip, boil 2 hours gently, and pulp through a sieve everything that will pass. You will have a small quantity of excellent soup; salt and pepper to taste.

(g) The following way makes excellent potted meat: After dressing the fowl, skin it, cut it up, and stew gently into a digester with a ham bone and 1 qt. water for 6 hours; strain the liquor off, pass the fowl through a sausage machine, then beat in a mortar or wooden bowl, keep adding the liquor to moisten it; season according to taste, put into pots, and cover with clarified butter.

Panada.--(a) Take the meat of a cold roast fowl, carefully removing all the skin, and put it in a stewpan with ¼ pint water, a few herbs and vegetables (if allowed), and a shallot. Boil these ingredients very gently, and, when quite tender, take out the meat and mince it, and then pound it in a mortar with 1 oz. butter, and as much of the liquor as is required to bring it to pulp. Put this back into a stewpan, after rubbing it through a hair sieve, with about 1 gill stock made from the bones of the fowl, a gill of cream, a slight seasoning of pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and a teaspoonful of flour. Let this simmer gently till it thickens sufficiently, and serve hot, with toast sippets; or it may be eaten cold.

(b) Skin the chicken and cut it up in joints. Take all the meat off the bones, and cut up into small pieces; put it in a jar with a little salt, tie it down, and set it in a saucepan of boiling water. It should boil 4-6 hours; then pass it through a sieve with a little of the broth. It could be made in a hurry in 2 hours; but it is better when longer time is allowed. Do not put the wings in the panada.

Poos-pass.--Put a fowl into a saucepan with 3½ qt. water and boil for ½ hour; then take it off the fire and strain and skim it. This done, put the gravy, fowl, and 4 oz. rice (or 2 oz. for each person) again into the saucepan, and stew them for ¾ hour, adding salt, cloves, and cardamoms to your taste.

Roast.--(a) Take a piece of butter the size of a walnut, mix with it some pepper and salt and a little flour, put it inside the fowl, then baste it with a little butter (a small tin is best to use instead of a dripping pan). When the fowl is done pour the gravy (made with the giblets, thickened with flour and flavoured with mushroom ketchup) into the tin, and strain over the bird. Tiny suet dumplings to be served in the dish with it.

(b) Fowls require constant attention in dredging and basting, and the last 10 minutes let butter rolled in flour be stuck over them in little bits, and allowed to melt, without basting. The gravy for fowls should always be thickened, and slightly flavoured with lemon-juice. Sausages or rolled bacon should be served on the same dish, and white mashed potatoes always be handed with poultry.

Salad.--Pick 1 lb. meat quite free from bone, and thoroughly cleanse a good head of celery; chop both very fine, or, better still, pass through a mincing machine; put this in a large basin. Beat the yolk of an egg until it is thick, mix with it 1 teaspoonful made mustard, a pinch of salt, and ¼ teaspoonful white pepper. Beat well into the mixture ½ teacupful thick cream, and add the juice of a small lemon drop by drop, beating the mixture with a fork all the time. Stir this dressing well among the minced chicken and celery. Mould with a spoon into any shape you like, and serve on a dish with beetroot cut into fanciful shapes. Some prefer a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar instead of lemon juice, and salad oil can be used instead of the cream; but the cream makes it much whiter and daintier in appearance, and gives a better flavour.

Soufflé.--Pound the white flesh of a roast or boiled chicken in a mortar with quarter of its bulk of butter, and with pepper, salt, and spices to taste. Mix all well together, add a gill of cream, or of Béchamel sauce, and leave it to get nearly cold; then add the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs, according to quantity, and lastly the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth. Put it at once into a soufflé tin, or into paper cases, and bake in the oven.

Stewed (sauté).--Slice 2 onions and fry them in oil or butter with a fowl cut up as for fricassée. When the pieces of fowl have taken colour, moisten with 3-4 tablespoonfuls French tomato sauce, and as much stock free from fat as may be necessary to make enough gravy; add 6 button mushrooms cut in half, some minced parsley, pepper, salt, and powdered spices to taste, and let the whole simmer till done.

Timballe.--Bone and cut up 2 chickens, lard the pieces, put them into a stewpan with some mushrooms, shallot, spices, pepper, minced parsley, a little butter, a glass of white wine, and two large spoonfuls of good stock; simmer till quite done. Boil some truffles in white wine, add them to the chicken, and let it all cool. Butter a mould, line it with rolled paste, beginning at the middle of the bottom, and continuing till it comes to the top; the rolls of paste must lie firmly one over the other. Have a piece of paste, a little larger than the bottom, to come up the sides; brush it over with the yolk of an egg and put it in, pressing it well down; put a lining of forcemeat balls round the sides nearly to the top, lay in the chicken and truffles, cover the whole with paste, fixing it firmly, make a hole in the top, bake 1½ hour, fill up the hole with a piece of paste, turn out the timballe, cut a small hole in the top, pour in some reduced gravy, and serve.

Vol-au-Vent.--Roll out some puff paste to the thickness of ¾ in. on a baking sheet. A plate or a piece of paper cut in a circle being used as a guide, cut the paste all round it with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and held at such an angle that the top of the disc of paste be slightly (not more than ⅛ in.) less in diameter than the base. Carefully brush over with beaten-up egg the round of paste, taking care not to egg the sides, then, using a knife dipped in hot water as above, make an incision ½ in. deep within 1 in. of the edge all round the top, and put the vol-au-vent case in a brisk oven. If the oven be at the right temperature, and the paste well made, ½ hour’s baking will cook it. Being removed from the oven, the top is lifted off, the inside is taken away in flakes, and, should it be necessary, the sides of the vol-au-vent are strengthened inside by having pieces of the flakes stuck against them with white of egg. Lastly, the vol-au-vent is placed at the mouth of the oven for 10-15 minutes to dry up the inside. Fill it with quenelles, adding as much as is wanted of sauce, and garnish the top with truffles, cockscombs and mushrooms. Or, more economically, use none of these last, and simply put on the paste cover.

Goose (Oie). Roast: see Fowl.

Liver patty (pâté de foie gras).--(a) Line some small moulds with puff paste, fill them with rice, and put on the covers, egg the top, and bake in a moderate oven; take off the covers, remove the rice, and fill them with sliced foies gras and truffles, tossed in some thick well-flavoured brown sauce; put on the covers, and serve hot.

(b) Take 1½ lb. turkey or goose livers (the latter is best) and ½ lb. calves’ liver, chop fine, and then pound in an iron mortar or pass through an iron sieve; then add ¼ lb. butter, put on the fire, and stir about 2 minutes, then add ⅛ pint cream, 12 drops rose water, and a little cayenne pepper and salt, keep it on the fire, and stir 5 minutes more; add truffles and a teaspoonful of brandy, put it again on the fire, and keep stirring till it becomes thick, when you may pour it into jars, and as soon as it is hard cover with butter.

Pie.--Boil a neat’s tongue till it is tender, peel it, and cut off the root and tip end. Bone a large goose and a large fowl. Mix ½ oz. beaten mace with a spoonful of pepper and one of salt; season the inside of the fowl and of the goose, put the fowl in the goose and the tongue in the fowl. Make some raising paste and raise it up high, put in the goose breast uppermost, sprinkle some seasoning on it, lay on ½ lb. butter; put on the lid. Rub the pie all over with the yolk of an egg, and ornament the sides and top. Bake 3 hours. If it is to be eaten hot, put the bones of the goose and fowl into a saucepan with 1 qt. water, a bundle of sweet herbs; 2 blades of mace, a little pepper and salt, and stew it till it is about half wasted; then strain it off, and 1 hour before the pie is done, take it out and put the liquor in, and when it is done send it up hot. If it is to be eaten cold, put no liquor in, but cut it in slices, cut across, put it in a dish, and garnish it with parsley.

Grouse (Coq de bruyère).--For roasting, grouse should be young, and in selecting them the wing feathers should be examined. If these are sharp and clearly defined at the ends, the bird is young and may be safely roasted. Very young grouse, partridges, and all woodcock and snipe are never better than on the day of their death; but when this opportunity of eating them in perfection has once been allowed to pass over and the flesh has been permitted to get thoroughly cold and stiff, it is the better for a few days “hanging,” to allow it to grow tender again. An old-fashioned rule is to wait till the feathers come away at the slightest tug, but the complete adoption of that plan is apt to make game too “high” for delicate palates. Grouse are very good about the 6th or 7th day after shooting, and when drawn, singed, and trussed with the head under the wing--the decapitation of a game bird is a barbarous innovation--should be skewered together and fastened to the spit. Then set them down before a very sharp clear fire, and keep them well basted with butter during the whole time they are cooking, about 30 minutes. When nearly done sprinkle over them a little flour, and put them to the fire again, and serve on a buttered toast soaked in the dipping pan; garnish with watercress, and accompany the grouse with good beef gravy, bread sauce, and fried crumbs in boats.

To make fried breadcrumbs, toast carefully in the oven a few thin slices of bread with the crusts cut off, and then rub them done and pass them through a colander. Put a liberal allowance of lard into a stewpan or frying pan, make it very hot, and take care that the fat is perfectly clear and transparent. Fry the prepared crumbs, taking care not to overdo them, and drain them before the fire very thoroughly and completely, as the whole success of fried crumbs consists in their being sent to table perfectly dry and quite hot. To make bread sauce take ¾ lb. stale breadcrumbs rubbed through a colander and put it in a stewpan with a little white stock, white peppercorns, salt, a blade of mace, and an onion. When this has soaked, add 1 pint of milk and a little butter; simmer gently, and keep stirring the sauce till it is smooth. Then remove the peppercorns, mace, and onion, beat up the sauce well with a spoon, make it hot and serve in a sauceboat.

Cold roast grouse are very well in a salmis made as follows: Cut the bird into pieces, and put the best of these into a stewpan. Take the bones and odds and ends, break them up and put them into another stewpan with some good gravy, a few fragments of cooked ham, a bit of lemon peel, 6 shallots, 2 glasses white wine, a bay leaf, parsley, pepper, and a little salt. Let this boil for about 1 hour, and strain it on to the grouse in the other stewpan. Simmer all together without letting it boil, and serve very hot with sippets around.

Excellent soup may be made either of roasted or half roasted old birds--let them be as tough as they may; or the soup may be made as follows: Skin 3 or 4 old grouse, cut them up, and fry them with slices of lean ham, sliced onions, carrots, turnips, and 2 shallots. Put the fry into a saucepan, and add 2 qt. good stock. Throw in a little chopped celery, minced parsley, and a faggot of sweet herbs. Let this simmer for 2 hours, strain, and serve. Fillets from a young bird, deftly prepared by frying, may be put into this soup, which should be very strong. In the north of England grouse pie is very popular, and is made either as a pastry or as a raised pie, and differs from other simple and compound game pie in no single particular.

Braised.--Truss as for boiling. Place the birds in an oval stewpan, the bottom of which must be first covered with slices of streaky bacon, a carrot sliced, a head of celery cut up, a good sized onion stuck with six cloves, a small bunch of parsley and sweet herbs, and 18 black peppercorns. Fry a raw beetroot in butter, after peeling and slicing it, and with it a few slices of onion, moistening it with about ½ pint broth; pour this over the grouse, add a teaspoonful of brandy, covered with buttered paper, put on the lid covered with live embers, or, if not, place the pan in the oven and let it remain until the birds are done, when they must be taken out and put on a dish to keep hot. Then strain the liquor from the vegetables, skim off the grease, and boil it down until it is a semi-glaze; add to it a spoonful or two of good brown sauce and a very little red wine; let this boil by the fire for 5 minutes; skim it and pass it through a tammy into a small stewpan to keep hot. Set the birds on their dish, garnish with the slices of bacon cut in neat pieces, and some small balls of carrot; pour the sauce over and serve. The carrot balls should be previously dressed by boiling them down in a stewpan with a little butter, about a wineglassful of vinegar, a little pounded sugar, grated nutmeg, and salt; let them stew steadily, turning them over occasionally, for about an hour, or until the moisture is absorbed. There should be enough liquid to cover them.

Broiled.--Cut off the pinions and legs and tuck the thighs inside the birds; split them down the back, season well with pepper and salt, and brush them over with clarified butter: place them on a gridiron, and when the fire is perfectly clear, broil them carefully, taking care they are not at all smoked. When done glaze them nicely and serve them with a border of fried potatoes or of small balls of mashed potato fried brown. Mix a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce with a pat of fresh butter, let it melt on the dish in which the grouse is to be served. When melted, place the grouse over it, and serve directly with a squeeze of lemon juice over the bird. It may be done in the same way, but instead of on the gridiron, which is not always convenient, the grouse may be placed in a sautépan with a little butter, setting the pan in the oven and basting them well until done.

Larded.--Lard the breasts in close rows, place slices of streaky bacon in an oval braising-pan, with vegetables; on these place the grouse, with enough liquor to cover them, the liquor being composed of ⅓ French vinegar and ⅔ of good stock; baste them frequently, and when done set them on a baking-sheet in the oven for a few minutes to dry the larding; after this glaze and dish them, garnish them with a border of stewed red cabbages, and on this some very small sausages, made of chopped calves’ liver, bacon, and breadcrumbs, seasoned with pepper, salt, lemon peel, chopped fine, a little nutmeg, chopped parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, and 2 yolks of eggs, mix thoroughly, and fry, in small round or flat cakes, a nice brown colour. Reduce the liquor in which the birds were stewed to a glaze, having first cleared it from all grease, strain it over the birds and serve.

Roast.--Pluck and truss them as a fowl for roasting. They should be well hung but not high. Draw the inside and well-wipe, but do not wash them. Place a round of buttered toast in the dripping-pan, and let the birds roast over it. The fire must be sharp and clear, and they must be kept well basted the whole of the time they are cooking. They should be well cooked, but not at all over-done, or they would be spoilt; they ought to look just a little pink near the bone when cut. When done remove the toast on to the hot dish, set the birds on it, and pour over each just enough melted butter to cover the breast. Fried breadcrumbs may be round them in the dish, or handed separately. No gravy is sent up with roast grouse; there is sufficient moisture in the toast. If more than 2 birds are sent up, one round of toast would not be sufficient; there should be a piece under each bird just large enough for it to rest upon.

Guinea Pigs.--Though in England the animal is usually treated as a pet, in its native country it has been reared for ages as a food supply. They should be in good condition, and 8-18 months old, as that is the period when they are in perfection, when older they are more fit for soup or stock. Kill them by dislocating the neck, and it is desirable to bleed them in the throat afterwards to avoid discolouration. The hair should be scalded off, and they must be emptied in the usual way. They present very much the appearance of little sucking pigs, and are ready for the best offices of the cook. They are generally cut up and stewed in a savoury way until the skin is quite soft and the meat comes easily from the bones. Being small, they may be tossed up quickly in a great many delicate ways, and are very useful as a game course when game is out of season. They are excellent in stews, curry, pies, puddings, brown or white soup, and make a first rate colourless stock for velouté, &c. They may be served as entrées in a great many ways. The pure white breed is the best for table use, as the skin of the darker varieties does not look so delicate when cooked. The easiest way for anyone to proceed who wishes to try guinea pig as food is to buy one or two, and hand them over to their pork butcher to be killed and scalded. It is essentially a delicacy, and must be paid for as such. (C. Cumberland.)

Hare (Lièvre).--Hares vary much in quality, according to the nature of their feeding ground. Mountain hares have their admirers, and for soup are excellent; but for a roast or jug most people justly prefer the plump natives of the Eastern Counties. When a hare is fresh the body is stiff, and if she is young the claws will be smooth and sharp, and the cleft in the lips not spread much. The ear, moreover, will tear easily. A leveret has a knob or small bone near the fore-foot; when this disappears it is a hare. In this country it is customary to dress hare either as a roast, jugged, or in soup. For a roast it is indispensable that the animal be young; in fact a ¾-grown hare makes a far more tender and succulent roast than when fully developed.

Fillets.--Take a fine fat hare, carefully clean and prepare it, then with a sharp knife take off at the joint the shoulders and legs. Make a sharp cut lengthways on each side close to the backbone, take off the slices of meat; also bone the legs; take the liver and scald it; then heat a pan on the fire, place in it 2 or 3 slices of fat bacon; when the drip or essence is boiling put in the meat cut from the back and that of the legs; it must be cut into pieces. Add 2 minced shallots and a little pepper and salt; fry of a nice brown colour. Meanwhile make some good hare stuffing, made into little balls, with a well-beaten egg; fry them also of a nice colour. Mince the liver finely, and stew it in some good gravy, flavour with 2 tablespoonfuls mushroom ketchup, a little taragon or chili vinegar, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice; thicken with a bit of butter, into which some flour has been rubbed, when ready pour this over the hare fillets and let all boil up. Serve very hot, garnish with crisp, hot sippets of fried bread alternately with stuffing balls and a few slices of lemon.

Jugged.--(a) The carcase and rest of the hare cut into joints, fry with some bacon until browned; take it out, dust over the meat some pounded dry parsley, thyme, savory, and a little pounded mace and allspice. Mince 2 shallots, put all into a jug or jar, cover the meat with some brown stock, add pepper and salt. Close the jug with a bladder, and place it over the fire in a saucepan of boiling water. Let it boil well for some 3 hours, more or less according to age of hare. When tender take the meat out, strain off the fat from the gravy, thicken with a little flour, boil it up, place the hare in a deep dish, and pour the gravy over. Care should be taken to keep the saucepan full of boiling water all the time. Some add to the seasoning given the juice of a lemon and ½ gill claret instead of stock. This, however, takes away the hare flavour.

(b) Put 1 lb. gravy beef in an earthenware stew mug, a bunch of herbs, consisting of celery top, parsley, sweet marjoram stems, and an onion, stuck with 6 cloves. Season each joint of the hare with a little pounded mace, pepper, and salt, lay them in the stew-mug, and cover with spring water, put on the lid, and place in the oven to stew for 2½ hours or longer. When quite done, lift out each joint in a hot soup tureen, strain the gravy, and thicken it with flour and a little butter; boil it up, add ¼ pint port wine, pour over the hare and serve.

(c) After skinning, let it soak in water for several hours, changing it 3 or 4 times. Then cut it up and wash it again; drain it in a colander. Put it in a jar with a sheep’s milt, lemon thyme, parsley, a very little sweet marjoram, nutmeg, mace, pepper and salt to taste. Tie it down with a cloth, and put it into a saucepan of water up to the neck. Boil for 3-4 hours, according to the size of the hare. Mix a little flour with Indian soy, ketchup, or any sauce that is approved of. Put it into a jar, and boil for another ¼ hour. Add forcemeat balls if preferred. (E. P.)

(d) This may be made with hare only, but the flavour is much improved by cooking some beefsteak with it in the proportion of 1½ lb. to a good sized hare. In any case about 1 lb. or rather less of fat streaky bacon should be added, cut into small slices. The beef should be cut up into small pieces, and the hare into joints. Flour these well on both sides, and sprinkle with black pepper and a little salt; lay them in alternate layers in a jar that will stand in a large saucepan of cold water. To this add a small onion stuck with 6 cloves, a very little allspice, and a bunch of sweet herbs tied in muslin. The best pieces of hare should be at the bottom. Pour into the jar about a pint of cold water, set the saucepan on the fire, and let it stew for about 4 hours after the water boils. Just before taking up add a tablespoonful of ketchup and ½ glass port wine. The beef and bacon will have almost disappeared, and if preferred, may be quite removed by straining the gravy over the hare, after having nicely arranged the several joints on the dish in which it is to be served; care must be taken to keep it very hot while straining. Should any of this dish be left from dinner, it will be quite as good when warmed up if it be again put into the jar and set in a saucepan of water to boil as before; as soon as it is quite hot through it should be taken off the fire, as it of course does not require any more cooking. Forcemeat balls should be made and fried in butter to serve in the dish with the jugged hare, keeping them hot in the oven until wanted.

(e) In France, civet de lièvre is a well-known stew of hare, varying in some important particulars from the national English jug. Having cased your hare, put by the liver, lungs, and heart, taking care to throw away the gall, and mix the juice of a lemon with the hare’s blood. Joint the hare into neat pieces, seasoning each with salt and pepper.

Take ¾ lb. lean bacon, chop it and plunge it into boiling water for 5 minutes, then throw it into a stewpan with 1½ oz. butter until it takes colour, when put the pieces of hare into the pan, and add a large onion stuck with cloves, a few peppercorns, and a little thyme, bay leaf, &c. Fry the meat for 12-15 minutes, and when its moisture is reduced add a bottle of red wine and reduce the liquid to ¾. Sprinkle the meat with a little flour, fill up with good hot stock, and stir the sauce until it boils. Cover the stewpan, and let it simmer over a moderate fire for 3-3½ hours. When the hare is done, take up the pieces and put them into another stewpan. Add to the sauce a glass of port wine or a little gravy, pass it through a sieve, and reduce it over a brisk fire. Thicken with the hare’s blood, let the sauce boil up, and pour it over the meat, adding at the same time 1-1½ doz. mushrooms (previously trimmed, blanched, and stewed in butter and lemon juice). Let simmer gently for a few minutes, and dish up garnished with small onions “glazed.”

Roast.--The trussing of a hare for roasting requires great attention. It is of the last importance that the ears and tail be carefully skinned, and that the ears be propped up with a skewer to keep them in an erect position. In casing a hare it is always well to preserve the blood, as this is an useful adjunct by no means to be thrown recklessly away. When the hare is properly trussed, prepare a stuffing as follows: Take the crumb of a penny loaf rubbed fine, ¼ lb. chopped beef suet, a little fresh butter, some parsley, sweet herbs, and a rather liberal proportion of lemon peel chopped fine. Season with pepper, salt, and a little powdered nutmeg. Remove the gall carefully from the liver, chop the liver very fine, and mix it together with the other ingredients of the stuffing, adding at the same time the yolks of 2 eggs and a glass of red wine. Fill the cavity with the stuffing, and sew or skewer it up. Then put the hare to roast before a sharp fire for about an hour--according to size--and baste it thoroughly well with butter, or, still better, put 1 qt. milk and ½ lb. butter into the dripping-pan, and baste constantly. When done the hare must be finally basted with butter, sprinkled with salt, and dredged with flour till it froths. Then serve it in a hot dish with gravy under, and gravy and red currant jelly served separately. Leverets may be roasted in the same way, but will not require more than 35-40 minutes’ cooking. Both hares and leverets may be larded previously to roasting, on the back and thighs, and when one is so unlucky as to have a full-grown hare to roast, this process of larding should never be omitted. When it is desired to get two dishes, an entrée and a roast, out of a hare, the animal should be cut in two, the hindquarters larded, stuffed, and roasted as above, and the forequarters cut in pieces, stewed with a pint of water, a gill of red wine, an onion stuck with cloves, a fagot of sweet herbs, a blade of mace, and a little pepper. When the hare is done take it out, then put a large lump of butter into a stewpan, melt it, put in a spoonful of flour, stir till it is smooth, and then by degrees pour in the strained gravy. Stir it well, put in the hare and a little ketchup, season with pepper and salt, give it a shake, serve hot, and garnish with lemon.

Salmis.--When the hare is trussed, fasten slices of fat bacon over the back, and lightly roast it, basting constantly to prevent its getting dry. Let the hare get cold, then divide the meat into neat pieces, using all the bones and trimmings to make gravy. Put these on to boil, with 1 lb. gravy meat cut small and fried, 4 onions fried, a carrot, a turnip, a slice of lean ham, a lump of sugar, and a small teaspoonful of salt and of black pepper, add 2 qt. water, and boil gently for 3 hours; then strain, cool, and take off all fat. This done, put the gravy into a stewpan, and boil it without the lid until it is reduced to a pint, and is very rich and thick, then stir in the juice of a lemon, and a gill of claret. Put the hare into the gravy, and let it stand for an hour, taking care it does not boil or even simmer.

Shape.--The remains of jugged hare may be used much in the same way as the veal. Remove the meat from the bones and pound it. Warm the gravy, adding a large glass of port, a tablespoonful of red jelly, and ½ oz. Nelson’s gelatine, making about 1¼ pints. Take a quart mould, ornament with small forcemeat balls, stir the strained gravy into the pounded meat, and, when nearly cold, pour on the balls. When set, turn out and ornament with rings of lemon and parsley, putting (last thing) a few dabs of jelly on the top.

Larks (Mauviettes).--The following recipes for cooking larks are mainly from the pen of A. G. F. Eliot-James:--

Broiled.--Chop some parsley very fine, mixing it with butter, pepper, and salt. Stuff the birds with this, tie them at both ends, and broil on a gridiron over a clear fire or gas. Serve on slices of fried bread on a very hot dish, and send melted butter to table with them.

Croustade.--A favourite entrée. The birds are prepared by being boned and stuffed (q.v.), after which they are baked in a croustade of fried bread, with a rich sauce.

In Cases.--Bone the larks skilfully, put the livers on one side, and set the bones and trimmings to boil in some good stock, broth, or even water, with carrots, onions, parsley, pepper, salt, a few cloves, a bay leaf, and a few pieces of ham or bacon. When well reduced, train this gravy, and put it by. Cut up the larks’ livers, as also some fowls’ livers, or some calf’s liver, all in small dice; do the same with half their quantity of bacon. Fry a few shallots a light yellow in plenty of butter, then put in the liver and bacon, with minced parsley, pepper, and salt, and a little powdered spices. Toss the whole on the fire for a few minutes, then turn out on a sieve, and pass them through while hot. Have some paper cases ready oiled, put a layer of this farce in each, then a moderate-sized piece in each lark, roll up the birds neatly, and place one in each case, with a thin slice of fat bacon over it. Bake them in the oven not longer than 10-15 minutes. At the time of serving, thicken the gravy by mixing a little flour with some butter, and then adding the gravy to it. Fill the cases with gravy, and stew a little finely-minced parsley over each. The pieces of bacon may be removed or not before serving.

Pie.--Pluck, singe, draw, and truss 1 doz. larks, save the trails, chop them fine, mixing with them some scraped bacon, 6 mushrooms, some sage, parsley, and sweet herbs, all finely chopped, with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and mace. Mix all thoroughly well together, divide into 12 portions, and stuff the birds with it. Spread over the bottom of a pie dish fat bacon pounded to a paste, with a seasoning of pepper, salt, and sweet herbs, with a little mace and nutmeg. Put in the larks, sprinkling some more seasoning over them. Fill up any hollows with scraped or pounded bacon; lay some thin slices of fresh butter, and then over them some very thin slices of fat bacon. Have ready some rich pastry, of which form the top crust; egg it over and bake. When ready, lift the crust, remove the bacon, and pour in some rich gravy; replace the crust, heat up again, and serve.

Potted.--An excellent breakfast dish. The birds must be very carefully picked, singed, and drawn, dried well, and seasoned inside and out with pepper, salt, and mace, then put into a stone jar with plenty of butter, tied down, and baked in a moderate oven. When quite cooked, the gravy should all be drained off, and the larks put into potting jars. Have clarified butter poured over them, be closely tied down, and kept in a dry place.

Roast.--The most usual method of dressing larks is, of course, by roasting. For plain roasting, they are simply plucked, singed, drawn, and trussed, have thin slices of bacon pinned over their breasts, and are set down before a brisk fire, being basted the whole time. The last 5 minutes or so the bacon is removed, and bread crumbs sprinkled over them until they are well covered. They are, of course, tied to the spit or else strung on a wooden skewer. The best way is to put each bird on a separate skewer, as they then get more thoroughly basted than when several are close together on one stick. They should be served on a layer of well-fried breadcrumbs, and the dish prettily garnished. Some people omit the breadcrumbs while roasting. The bacon should in that case be left on until quite the last thing, and the breast just frothed up with a little flour before serving. Either butter or bacon fat can be used for basting; if the latter, substitute butter for it for the last five minutes.

Stew.--(a) Pluck, singe, and truss 1 doz. fine larks; peel a large onion, stick 6 cloves into it, and put it into a stewpan with some melted fat bacon, toss it about a little, remove the onion, add some fresh mushrooms finely chopped, and some truffles; put in the larks, and toss all the ingredients together over the fire for a short time. Pour in some well made veal gravy and stew over the fire until the larks are quite tender. Chop a spoonful of parsley very fine, beat up the yoke of an egg in ¼ pint cream, and add to it by degrees the parsley; put this into the stewpan with the larks, stir it together, and then allow to stand; remove all fat, and squeeze in some lemon juice just before serving.

(b) (À la Florence).--Pluck, singe, and trim 8 larks; prepare a forcemeat of chopped mushrooms and parsley, grated ham and breadcrumbs, pepper and salt to taste--the mushrooms should predominate over the other ingredients; mix with butter. Place the larks in a stewpan, cover with rich veal stock, adding salt and pepper to taste, and a little colouring. Stew very gently for about ¾ hour. Have ready in a basin the following sauce: The yoke of an egg beaten up in a small glass of sherry, with the juice of half a lemon and a little cayenne, thicken with arrowroot or flour; rub some mashed potatoes through a sieve, make a wall of them round a rather deep dish, hold a salamander over for a few moments just to colour them, set the larks in the centre, place the dish in the oven to keep hot while you strain the stock, to which add the sauce, and stir over the fire in a lined saucepan until nearly boiling; then pour over the larks, garnish the dish with slices of lemon, and serve as hot as possible.

Stuffed. Baked.--Take 8-10 fine larks, pluck, singe, and draw them. Prepare the following stuffing: Mince very fine the white meat of a chicken, also a slice of boiled ham and a slice of raw bacon, chop some sage leaves, and mix all these ingredients together, with a little pepper and salt and some finely pounded mace. Divide this forcemeat into two parts, stuff the birds with one, and reserve the other to use in the following manner: Cut as many slices of bacon as there are birds, spreading over each slice some of the forcemeat; then place a lark on each slice of bacon and wrap it up in it. Lay them side by side in a baking-pan, put a cover over it, and bake in a moderate oven. When the larks are done, dish them on a very hot dish, pouring over them some rich veal gravy with a little lemon juice squeezed into it. Garnish with slices of lemon and serve.

Vol-au-vent.--For this dish the birds are boned and stuffed as if for serving in paper cases. They are then sent to table in a vol-au-vent case, with a rich white game sauce and mushrooms or truffles.

Ortolans. Fried.--Truss as for roasting; dip each bird in the yolk of eggs well beaten, and then sprinkle over thickly with breadcrumbs, fry in boiling lard, or butter, or oil. Serve on fried breadcrumbs mixed with a savoury powder made of mushrooms or truffles. The bread for the crumbs should have been soaked in lemon-juice and port wine.

In cases.--The birds for this dish are baked in paper cases. First pick, singe, and bone them, cut ¼ lb. bacon into small pieces, and put it in a sautépan with 2 shallots, 2 bay leaves, some parsley, thyme, and marjoram, 1 doz. whole peppercorns, and salt, fry until brown; then add ½ lb. calf’s liver, cut in pieces, cook this till brown; then turn the contents of the pan into a mortar and pound them, rub through a sieve, place back in the mortar and repound, adding the yolks of 3 hard-boiled eggs, when thoroughly mixed add 6 truffles chopped fine. Stuff the ortolans with this mixture, and place each bird in a well-oiled paper case, brush over with oil, and put into a quick oven. Make a rich sauce of the bones of the birds, half a pint of good gravy stock, and a glass of port wine, reduce to about a gill, and when the birds are ready to serve, pour a spoonful of this sauce over each, sending to table as hot as possible.

Roast.--Let the birds hang till quite tender, then pluck and singe, but do not draw, truss as you would quail, wiping them carefully all over first of all. Wrap each bird in a young, freshly-gathered vine leaf, and tie them on a bird spit, put down at a moderate distance from a brisk fire, and roast, according to size, 20-25 minutes. Place under the birds, in the dripping-pan, slices of toast to catch the trail, baste incessantly with butter during the time they are roasting, dish up on the toast, and serve on a very hot dish. Some people sprinkle the birds over with fine breadcrumbs just before serving, and serve on breadcrumbs, made from bread soaked in lemon-juice and port wine, instead of toast. Send to table with them a well-made orange or lemon gravy, prepared thus: Simmer in some good stock, about ½ pint, 4 or 5 strips orange or lemon peel (whichever flavour is preferred), a few basil leaves, the juice of the lemon or orange, salt and pepper to taste, and a glass of port wine; allow all these ingredients to simmer 15 minutes, strain, heat again, and serve as hot as possible in a sauce tureen with a cover. Bacon should never be wrapped round ortolans; it destroys their delicate flavour.

Stewed à la Provençale.--Cut off the feet and heads of the birds, provide the same number of large truffles as there are ortolans; cut a hole in each truffle and fill it with French forcemeat. Season the birds well, and lay them on their backs on the truffles. Set them in a deep stewpan, and cover with slices of bacon--in this method of cooking, bacon is admissible--and about ½ pint stock (veal) and ½ pint port wine. Stew for 20 minutes, or a trifle longer, closely covered. Take out the truffles and ortolans, strain the sauce through a hair sieve, and when cool remove every particle of fat; reduce it by gentle reboiling to about one half the quantity, then add ½ pint brown Spanish sauce; reduce again, and resoak toast in this sauce and arrange the truffles and ortolans on it, piling them up in the dish. Ortolans can be dressed in any of the ways suitable for other small birds, such as quails, larks, and wheat-ears, but, being so expensive, few people are disposed to other than cook them plainly without trying any experiments which may or may not answer. (E. J.)

Partridges (Perdrix, perdreaux).--Partridges are excellent in pies and puddings, or en salmis, made as directed for grouse, and any fragments left over are well disposed of in croustades and in little paper cases, while the carcases are invaluable for making stock.

Boiled.--(a) Take 2 partridges (not at all high), truss them as fowls are trussed for boiling, and put them into a panful of boiling water, salted to taste; let them boil slowly 15-20 minutes. Then serve on a bed of either celery, mushroom, onion, or tomato sauce.

(b) Put them in plenty of boiling water, boil them for 15 minutes, and serve with celery sauce made thus: Take the white part of 6 heads of celery, wash, pare, and cut it into pieces about 1 in. long; boil these in plenty of water until tender, and strain. Meanwhile, take 1 gill white gravy, ½ pint cream, and a little butter rolled in flour. Boil it up till it is thick and smooth, add a little grated nutmeg, put in the celery with a little salt, and give the whole a boil up. Stir in (off the fire) the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of a lemon, pour some of the sauce over the birds, and serve the remainder in boats. It is perhaps an improvement to boil the celery in stock instead of water.

Braised.--(a) Truss 2 birds as for boiling, and lard their breasts very finely with fat bacon, put them into a small braising pan over 2 slices bacon, add 2 small onions stuck with 6 cloves, 2 carrots cut in pieces, a bundle of sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste, a cupful of stock, and one of white wine; place a buttered paper over all, and braise them gently for 2 hours, keeping a few hot embers on the lid of the pan. Serve with their own liquor, strained, and well freed from fat.

(b) Aux choux.--To make this, truss a brace of partridges as fowls are trussed for boiling, mince about a ¼ lb. fat bacon, put it into a saucepan on the fire, and when it is quite hot put in the birds, and toss them in this till well coloured all over; meanwhile blanch a small cabbage or a savoy in salted water, drain it, squeeze all the water from it, chop it up, and put it into the saucepan with the birds; add pepper and salt to taste, a bundle of sweet herbs, and 2 or 3 pork sausages, moisten with a little stock, and let the whole simmer for 2 hours. Remove the bundle of herbs, and serve with the cabbage and the sausages each cut in two, round the birds.

Broiled.--Take a young partridge, by no means high, split it down the back, flatten it with the cutlet bat, brush it over with liquefied butter or olive oil, sprinkle it with pepper and salt, and put it into a double gridiron; broil over a brisk fire, first on one side and then on the other, just long enough to set the flesh; serve over a lump of maître d’hôtel butter.

Pie.--Cut the breasts or fillets and the legs off 2 or 3 birds, sprinkle them with pepper and salt, and cook them in the oven, smothered in butter and covered with a buttered paper. Pound the carcases and make of them some good gravy, but do not thicken it. Take the livers of the birds with an equal quantity of calf’s liver, mince both, and toss them in butter over the fire for a minute or two; then pound them in a mortar with an equal quantity of bacon, 2 shallots parboiled, with pepper, salt, powdered spice, and sweet herbs to taste. When this mixture is well pounded, pass it through a sieve. Put a layer of this forcemeat into a pie dish, arrange the pieces of partridge on it, filling up the interstices with the forcemeat. Then pour in as much gravy as is required, put on the cover of either puff or short paste, and bake for about an hour. When done, a little more gravy, boiling hot, may be introduced through a hole in the centre of the crust. If liked, the breasts of the birds may be larded with fat bacon, and truffles and mushrooms added, especially if to be eaten cold; also a little melted aspic or calves’-foot jelly may be added with the gravy. (The G. C.)

Pudding.--Skin a brace of birds, cut them up into comely pieces, and put them, with a few mushrooms, into a basin lined with suet paste, add 2 shallots and some minced parsley, season with pepper and salt, put in a very little stock or water, cover up the pudding, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it for about 3 hours.

Roast.--(a) Pick, draw, singe, and truss, placing a slice of bacon over the breast of each bird. Roast at a moderately brisk fire, removing the bacon a few minutes before the birds are done. Serve with plain gravy and bread sauce in boats. (b) Carefully drawn, singed, and trussed, the partridges should, with a piece of butter in the inside, be put down to a brisk fire, well basted with butter and dredged with flour to froth up well. Like grouse, they should be roasted quickly, and if in proper condition--that is to say, tender--not “high,” must not be overdone, or they will be frightfully dry. About 20 minutes, or a little less, if the birds are young, will suffice. Partridges should be served on a toast with gravy, fried crumbs and bread sauce, and may be garnished with watercress or lemon.

Salad.--Trim all pieces carefully, and remove the skin from them; beat up in a basin 3 parts olive oil and 1 of tarragon vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste, and some finely minced tarragon, chervil, or garden cress; dip the pieces of partridge in this, arrange them on a dish with some lettuce or endive dressed in the same sauce, and ornament the dish with hard-boiled eggs, pickled gherkins, anchovies (thoroughly washed), capers, &c. Mayonnaise sauce may be used instead of this plain dressing; and, if there is enough of the pieces of breast, they may be inclosed in a border of aspic jelly, and the salad put in the centre with the other pieces.

Pheasant (Faisan).--The hen pheasant is esteemed the better bird. Great caution must be exercised in “hanging” the pheasant just long enough to become tender and develop its fine aroma without getting too high. Pheasants are trussed in the same manner as partridges, and it is no longer customary to serve them with the tail feathers. A slice of fat bacon is fastened over the breast, and is removed towards the close of roasting to allow the bird to take colour. Pheasants are also often larded, and roasted with a piece of paper over the breast. The fire should be clear, but not too fierce, as the white flesh of the pheasant requires somewhat slower cooking than the brown meat of the grouse and partridge. About 40 minutes will generally be found sufficient to roast a pheasant, which should be thoroughly done, as nothing is more detestable than white meat in the slightest degree undercooked.

Roast.--Pick, draw, singe, and truss, placing 2 shallots and 1 oz. butter inside the bird. Lard the breast very finely, tie a thin slice of bacon over the larding, and roast the bird at a moderate fire, basting it frequently with butter. A few minutes before the bird is done remove the slice of bacon so as to let the larding take colour. Serve with plain gravy, fried breadcrumbs, and bread sauce. Time, about 30 minutes.

With Truffles.--Bone a pheasant, stuff it with some sliced truffles, place some thin slices of fat bacon in a casserole, skin the bird, and place over it some more bacon, covering it thoroughly; add a little veal gravy, seasoned with pepper and salt. Cover close and simmer until done, taking care it does not burn. This is served cold, garnished with clear jelly, 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs cut into shapes, and sliced gherkins.

Pigeon and Beefsteak Pie.--Take 2 pigeons and ¾ lb. rump steak, quarter the pigeons and slice the steak very thin, put on each slice of steak a small piece of fat bacon, season it with pepper, and roll it up. Season the pigeon with pepper, salt, and powdered spices, and put a piece of butter on to each piece, then arrange the pigeons, and the rolls of steak in a pie dish with a few hard boiled yolks of eggs; pour in a small quantity of meat or calves’-foot jelly, just made liquid, cover over the pie, and bake for about 1 hour in a well heated oven.

Plover (Pluvier, Vanneau). Fillets.--Take 3 plovers, and out of the breast of each skilfully cut 2 fillets, lay them in a buttered tin, sprinkle them with pepper and salt, and cover them with a buttered paper. Cut up the carcases, and put them in a saucepan with a piece of bacon and a little butter, an onion, and a carrot, sliced; toss them on the fire for 5 minutes, moisten with stock, add any mushroom trimmings, and let the sauce simmer for 2 hours; strain off the liquor, and, having carefully removed all fat, thicken it with a little butter rolled in flour, adding at the time of serving a few drops of lemon juice. Put the tin containing the fillets in the oven for a short time just to set them; then turn them into the sauce, and keep them quite hot until the time of serving; arrange a neat border of sippets, fried in butter, round a dish, dispose the fillets in the centre, and pour the sauce over.

Roast.--Pluck, singe, and remove the gizzard, but nothing else. Tie a thin slice of bacon over each bird; put them to roast at a brisk fire over slices of toasted or fried bread laid in the dripping-pan, one for each bird; baste well with butter; remove the bacon just before serving, and sprinkle the birds with salt. When done lay them on the toast, serve with plain white sauce in a boat, and garnish with cut lemon.

Toast.--See Snipe.

Quail (Caille).--Quail as seen in England, has generally been subjected to a process of artificial fattening, but the wild birds of the south--at least those taken in autumn--have some advantage in flavour over their semi-civilised compeers. The modes of dressing them are almost endless, but when simply roasted they are delicious. To roast quails, pluck, draw, singe, and truss them; then cover the breast of each bird with a vine leaf, and over that place a thin sheet of fat bacon; tie this on with thread, and put the quails on a long skewer, attach it to the spit, roast for 10-15 minutes before a clear fire, and serve (if preferred) on toast. The excessively delicate and ethereal aroma of the quail renders the addition of sauce not only unnecessary but injudicious.

In Cases.--Bone some quails, and divide each one in two; put the livers on one side, and set the bones and trimmings to boil in some good stock, broth, or even water, with carrots, onions, parsley, pepper, salt, a few cloves, a bay leaf, and a few pieces of ham or bacon. When well reduced, strain this gravy and put it by. Cut up the quails’ livers, as also some fowls’ livers, or some calves’ liver, all in small dice; do the same with half their quantity of bacon. Fry a few shallots a bright yellow in plenty of butter, then put in the liver and bacon with minced parsley, pepper, and salt, and a little powdered spices. Toss the whole on the fire for a few minutes, then turn out on a sieve and pass the mixture through while hot. Have some paper cases ready oiled, put a layer of this “farce” into each, then a moderate-sized piece into each half quail; roll it up neatly, and place in its case with a thin slice of fat bacon over it. Bake them in the oven not longer than 10-15 minutes. At the time of serving thicken the gravy mentioned above by mixing a little flour with some butter, and then adding the gravy to it. Fill with gravy, and strew a little finely-minced parsley over each case. The pieces of bacon may be removed or not at pleasure before serving.

Roast.--Pluck, draw, singe, and truss them; then cover the breast with a vine leaf (if obtainable), and over that place a thin sheet of fat bacon; tie this on with thread, and put the quails on a long skewer, attach it to the spit; roast for about 10 minutes before a clear fire, and serve (if preferred) on toast.

Rabbits (Lapereaux).--In selecting rabbits for the table, the housekeeper should know that small claws and teeth denote youth, and that when the claws are long, thick, and curved, protruding far beyond the fur, the animal is generally more than 4 years old, and, of course, on this account less desirable than his offspring. The Belgian hare-rabbits are considered the best of all as food; and, whatever the preference of the consumer may be, it should never be forgotten that wild rabbits, if not usually so plump, are as a rule more gamey in their flavour, and are said to be far less subject to diseases of all kinds than the tame, bred and pampered as these are upon a more or less artificial diet. A wild rabbit, carefully roasted and served with all the accessories which are given to a roasted hare, becomes a very fair imitation of this latter dainty; and if it will not actually “jug,” it makes a most excellent curry, whilst the liver, properly fried, is a very toothsome little mouthful indeed.

Baked.--Open a 2 lb. tin of rabbit round the side (all tins should be opened in this way if the meat is required to be turned out without breaking); place the tin in boiling water to melt the jelly; pour the liquid into a saucepan, and add half a teacupful of gravy, which should be seasoned, but not thickened. Grate 3 oz. breadcrumbs; add a dessert spoonful of marjoram, a teaspoonful of thyme, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and ½ lb. minced ham or bacon. Mix together, and season with pepper and salt; put a thin layer of this mixture at the bottom of a pie dish well buttered, then a layer of rabbit and a layer of seasoning alternately until the dish is full. Pour the gravy over all and cover with a dish, and bake 15 minutes.

Boiled.--Truss the rabbits, and put them in cold water for 2 hours, changing the water 2 or 3 times. Put them into boiling water with a lump of stale crumb of bread, and boil them for 40-45 minutes. Have ready abundance of onion sauce made thus: take 2 doz. large, or 3 doz. small silver onions, peel them, take off the first coat, split them and throw them into cold water, and boil them till they are tender, changing the water twice, then squeeze and rub them through a colander. Put into a stewpan ½ lb. butter, or ¼ lb. butter and 1 gill cream, dredge in carefully a little flour and a little salt, throw in the onions, and shake them up gently till the mixture is smooth; keep stirring all the time.

Having the rabbits piping hot, smother them in the onion sauce, and garnish with lemon and sippets. An excellent sauce for boiled rabbit may also be made by boiling and pounding the liver. Add to this some good veal stock, or broth from the rabbit, season with mace and allspice, boil up and strain; then roll a piece of butter in flour, throw it into a stewpan, and before it colours pour in the previous mixture and add a little minced and blanched parsley.

Curried.--Place ¼ lb. butter into a stewpan on the fire, slice into it a good-sized onion or 2 small ones, and fry till they become a golden brown (being very careful not to let them burn); add one tablespoonful of curry powder, mix and fry lightly; then put the rabbit (which ought to be previously cooked and cut in pieces) in the pan; keep stirring a few minutes; throw in gently a little salt, and add slowly a teacupful of milk; stir it all well together on the fire, keeping it covered for ¼ hour, and, when it looks thick, squeeze the juice of a lemon into it. If it appears too rich, skim the butter off, and add a little more milk.

Cutlets.--Soak the rabbits all night, and pour boiling water over them before cooking. Cut cutlets out of the back and hindlegs. Roll these in egg and breadcrumbs, and serve with potatoes cut thin and fried in butter.

Fricassée.--Fry 2 onions cut in slices to a nice brown, and lay them at the bottom of a stewpan. Open a 2 lb. tin of rabbit, and set it in a saucepan of boiling water. Keep the tin in the water long enough to melt the jelly from the pieces of rabbit; pour the melted jelly among the fried onion, add ½ teacupful gravy, and simmer while the rabbit is being fried; thicken the gravy slightly, and slide the rabbit out gently on a plate. Egg, breadcrumb, and quickly fry each piece brown, or roll each piece well in flour and fry. Put the pieces carefully into the gravy and onion, leave them 5 minutes near the fire to imbibe the gravy and get thoroughly hot; toast some thin slices of bacon in a Dutch oven, put them round a hot dish, and place the rabbit in the centre. The stew must not simmer after the pieces of the rabbit are put in, else they will break from the bone. The difficulty lies in keeping the pieces of rabbit whole, as they are too much cooked in the tins, and when heated again they often present a jumbled appearance of strips of flesh and bleached-looking bones.

Pie.--Skin 2 rabbits, wash them thoroughly, and cut them into small joints. Have ready some lean bacon and 1 lb. rump or beef steak. Cut both in small pieces, and place them all on a large dish or a chopping board, sprinkle them well with salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and thyme. Mix all well together, put them in a pie dish, adding forcemeat balls or the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Fill the dish with water, cover the whole with a light paste. Beat up an egg with a pinch of salt, glaze the pie with it, and bake in the oven for 2 hours.

Stewed.--Cut a rabbit in pieces, wash it in cold water, a little salted. Prepare in a stewpan some flour, and clarified dripping or butter; stir it up until it browns. Then put in the pieces of rabbit, and keep stirring and turning, until they are tinged with a little colour; then add 6 onions, peeled, but not cut up. Serve all together in a deep dish.

With Onion Sauce.--Place a tin of rabbit, when opened, in boiling water until the rabbit is thoroughly heated; pour off the liquid, and put a few pieces of butter on the top of the rabbit while in the tin. When the liquid butter has permeated all the rabbit, slide it out on a hot dish carefully, so as not to break the pieces, and cover it with good onion sauce. Serve with a piece of boiled bacon or streaky pork.

Rook Pie.--(a) Soak the rooks in salt and water (having previously removed the backs and giblets) to draw out the bitterness, and then proceed as if making a pigeon pie. (A. O. H.)

(b) Skin and draw the rooks (6 will make a large pie), cut out the backbones, taking great care not to break the gall. Put these aside, as they are not used. Season the other parts well with pepper and salt, lay them in a deep pie dish, and pour over them ½ pint water, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Cover with a good light crust, and lay over that again a sheet of buttered paper, as the pie will take 2½-3 hours baking. (Bessie Tremaine.)

Snipe (Bécassine).--Bisque. Take 6 nice plump snipes, cut the meat from the breasts, simmer half of them lightly in fresh butter, with a little salt, to be afterwards cut into scallops; make the rest into a forcemeat for quenelles to be served in the soup. Take out the larger bones from the carcases, roughly chopping the latter; put them all into a stewpan with a little butter, a sprig of thyme, a bayleaf, a little nutmeg, 3 shallots, and a pinch of pepper; fry them brown on a brisk fire, and add ½ a pottle mushrooms, chopped, and about a bottle of Sauterne wine; to this add ½ lb. rice which has been boiled in broth, 1 qt. white stock, letting it boil gently for 1 hour. Then drain this through a sieve into a basin, in which allow the liquor to remain, pounding the rest thoroughly in a mortar; replace this in the stewpan with the broth they were boiled in, stir it over the fire for a short time, and rub it through a tammy to remain till wanted. Let it remain in a cool place. Just before it is wanted for table, cut the fillets reserved from the breasts into small scallops, and make the forcemeat up into small quenelles or balls; put these into the soup tureen, and pour the bisque over them quite hot, but not boiling. Sippets of fried bread should be handed round with this soup; they should be cut round, and a small incision cut on one side of each before frying, so as to be easily able to take out a small piece from the centre, on which to place a little of the trail. This must be prepared by putting it into a stewpan with a small piece of butter, a little pepper and salt, and a spoonful or two of good brown sauce. They must be fried lightly, and then rubbed through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon. Fill the croutons with this, warm them for a minute or two in the oven, and serve them in a plate.

Fried.--Split them down the back, trussing like a spatchcock; put the trails and livers carefully aside. Heat a frying pan, put in sufficient lard to half fill it. When boiling, add a little salt; then fry the birds 10 minutes; place on a napkin in front of fire to drain and keep hot; pour off all the clear lard; throw a cupful of sifted breadcrumbs, with the trails and livers, into the gravy that remains in the pan; fry of a golden colour; serve up round the snipe: a dash of cayenne added to the crumbs is sometimes liked. All wildfowl cooked in this way are excellent, the larger birds being cut into joints.

Pie.--Take 6 couple of snipe, cut the birds into quarters, make a rich forcemeat of some cold ham, tongue, veal, or chicken, seasoning with a little sweet herbs, pepper, salt, cayenne, some breadcrumbs, mushrooms minced fine, mix all together with the yolks of 2 beaten eggs; place a layer of snipe breast downwards, either in the dish, or a raised crust--the latter is preferable--then forcemeat, then birds, then forcemeat, and so on; fill in with some rich gravy, and bake. When done raise the cover and fill up with gravy; next day place in ice, and serve cold. Drink Chablis or White Hermitage with this dish.

Roast.--Trim, but do not draw the birds, wrap each in a thin slice of fat bacon, and roast about 10-15 minutes at a brisk fire. Baste frequently with butter, keeping a piece of toast in the dripping pan. Serve on the toast.

Toast.--Half roast some snipe, plover, or woodcock, first removing the trails. When cold pound the meat, season with pepper, salt, and a little finely grated lemon peel, make into a mass with the beaten yolk of an egg; meanwhile place the bones and trimmings in a stewpan with a little brown stock, a glass of port wine, a little minced shallot, pepper and salt, let it simmer until the gravy is drawn; bruise the trails, add them with a little butter and flour to the gravy, bring to the boil, and strain, adding when ready a squeeze of lemon. Toast nicely on each side some thin slices bread, butter the toast and cut into shapes, spread the pounded snipe on these, place in a Dutch oven to warm, and when lightly brown serve in a hot dish, pouring the gravy over all.

Turkey (Dinde). Blanched.--Cut the meat into small pieces free from the bone; season with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg; put this into a saucepan with sufficient white sauce to moisten it; let it simmer very gently for 5 minutes; turn it out on a hot dish, and serve with tiny fried pieces of bacon all round it. To make the white sauce, put ¼ pint milk into a saucepan, and simmer, with a strip of lemon rind in it for 5 minutes; mix a dessertspoonful of cornflour in a little cold milk, and thicken the sauce with it; stir the sauce gently over the fire for one minute; take out the lemon rind, and stir in ½ oz. butter after the sauce has cooled for a minute; then heat the turkey in it.

Boiled.--Wash the turkey in tepid water, and rub it all over with lemon juice; then put it into a saucepan full of boiling water, with a large piece of butter, 2 onions, a head of celery, some sliced carrots, a bunch of parsley and sweet herbs, whole pepper, mace, cloves, and salt to taste. Let it boil slowly, and remove carefully any scum that may rise. Serve with celery sauce, or oyster sauce.

Braised.--Truss the turkey as for boiling; stuff it with truffle and chestnut stuffing. Line the bottom of a braising pan with slices of bacon; lay the turkey on these, and place more slices of bacon on the top of it. Put in 2 carrots and 2 onions cut in slices, and sweet herbs, parsley, bay leaf, a clove of garlic, and whole pepper, and salt to taste; moisten with some stock and a tumblerful of sherry. Lay a round of buttered paper on the top, put on the lid, and braise on a moderate fire for about four hours, then serve with the gravy strained and freed from excess of fat. Truffle and Chestnut Stuffing.--Remove the outer skin from a quantity of chestnuts, set them to boil in salted water with a handful of coriander seeds and 2 bay leaves. When nearly done, drain off the water, and remove the inner skin of the chestnuts. Mince 1 lb. fat bacon and 2 shallots, give them a turn on the fire in a saucepan, then put in 1 lb. of the chestnuts (boiled and peeled) and ½ lb. truffles, both cut up into moderate-sized pieces; add pepper, salt, and spices to taste, a little powdered thyme and marjoram; give the mixture another turn or two on the fire, and it is ready. A simple form of stuffing can be made by omitting the truffle. Chestnut Stuffing.--Boil the chestnuts as above. When cooked (they must be rather underdone), drain and remove the inner skin, sprinkle with pepper, salt, and spices, and stuff the turkey, inserting while so doing ½ lb. butter (or beef suet) cut into small pieces. An onion, chopped finely, may be added to the stuffing.

Devilled.--Take a cooked leg of turkey or large fowl, cut it all over to the bone, pepper and salt it well, using black pepper and cayenne, then get some mixed mustard, mix it with about a third its quantity of flour, and plaster the leg over with this mixture as thick as it will stick, also stuffing the gashes with it. When this is done, put it on a gridiron on a clear fire, serve hot.

Galantine.--Take a turkey, bone and trim it. Take 1 lb. veal and ½ lb. fat bacon, pound them together in a mortar, season with powdered spice and sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste, then pass the mixture through a wire sieve. Cut ½ lb. boiled tongue in pieces about 1 in. square, cut 6 truffles each into 3 or 4 pieces; lay the prepared turkey, skin downwards, on the table, sprinkle it with pepper, salt, and powdered spices; lay the pounded meat, the truffles, and the tongue on it, then roll it up neatly as a roly-poly pudding, and tie it up tightly in a cloth; put all the trimmings of the turkey into a saucepan large enough to hold the galantine; add a calf’s foot cut in pieces, the trimmings of the bacon (mind they are perfectly sweet), 2 or 3 onions, 2 carrots cut in pieces, a clove of garlic, a bundle of sweet herbs (thyme, marjoram, parsley, and bay leaf), cloves, whole pepper, mace, and salt in proportions according to taste; fill up with such a quantity of cold water as will leave room for the galantine to be put in, set the saucepan on the fire, and boil for 2 hours, strain, and when the liquor boils put in the galantine, let it boil 2-2½ hours; then lift it out, put it on a plate, and when it has cooled a little take off the cloth, tie it up afresh, and lay it between 2 dishes with a moderate weight upon it, to remain till cold. Care must be taken in this last operation that the “seam” of the galantine be made to come undermost. When quite cold, glaze the galantine, and garnish it with aspic jelly. Aspic Jelly.--Pack into a stewpan 2 calves’ feet, chopped in small pieces, a few slices of ham, and the carcase of a fowl, with 2 onions and 2 carrots cut into slices, a head of celery, 1 shallot, and parsley, sweet herbs, spices, pepper, and salt to taste; fill up with the liquor in which the galantine was boiled or with any other common stock, and set the whole to simmer gently for 3-4 hours. Strain off the liquor into a basin, and when cold carefully remove all the fat. Then put the jelly into a saucepan, and add to it as much suc colorant as may be required to give it the proper colour. Put the saucepan on the fire, and when the jelly is melted whisk into it the whites of 2 eggs and a wineglassful of tarragon vinegar; let it come to boiling point, and strain it through a jelly bag. If not quite clear warm it again, and strain it a second time. Glaze.--Take a small quantity of the above jelly, freed from fat and strained, but not clarified; set it on the fire to reduce till it presents the appearance of treacle, and keep on skimming it all the time, then lay it on hot with a paste brush. Boning.--There are two ways of boning. Knives are sold for the purpose, but a sharp pocket-knife will do. Lay the bird on its breast, and cut through the skin along the middle of the back. Keep the knife always close to the bone, and cut away the flesh on either side, turning it back as you go. Cut through the joints of the leg and wing bones, and keep cutting till you have separated the breast-bone, when the whole of the body will come out intact. The legs and wings are rather more difficult, but the only thing is to cut very carefully, and on no account to pierce the skin, turning the skin and flesh inside out, like a stocking, as you go along. The legs should be cut off at the first joint, and the last bone of the wing is sometimes left in. When all the bones are out, fill the bird with tongue, stuffing, chestnuts, or whatever else you may have, remaking it, as far as may be, into the shape of an unboned bird. Some persons prefer to lay it flat and roll it round, tying it with string. Another way is to make an incision at the back or the neck only, just as if the fowl were to be drawn, and to take all the bones out there, turning the skin back from the body, as directed above as for the limbs. The slits, whether intentional or accidental (and a beginner will probably have a few of these latter) should be sewn up with fine cotton.--(E. A. B.)

Grills.--For grilled fowl and turkey legs. Let them stand 10 minutes in boiling water, so as to get quite hot through, then well pepper them, and fry them in lard until they are nicely browned. (E. M. K.)

Patties.--A nice way of using up the small pieces of turkey. Mince some of the meat with grated lemon peel, nutmeg, a little salt, white pepper, cream and butter warmed, fill the patties, and bake as usual.

Roast.--Pluck, singe, draw, wipe thoroughly, and truss a fine turkey, stuff it with plain forcemeat, pack it up in some thin slices of fat bacon, and over that a sheet of buttered paper, roast before a clear fire, basting frequently with butter. ¼ hour before it is done, remove the paper and slices of bacon. Sprinkle with salt, just before serving. Garnish with pork sausages, and serve with a boat of gravy. Time of roasting 2-3 hours. Forcemeat.--(1) Take 1 part finely-shredded suet and 2 of breadcrumbs, season with pepper, salt, powered spices, sweet herbs, and finely minced parsley; mix all well together; then add as many eggs as will bind the ingredients together into a stiff paste. (2) Pound to a paste in a mortar, slightly rubbed with garlic, equal parts of veal and fat ham or bacon, then pass them through a wire sieve, and return them to the mortar. Work into the paste thus obtained ¼ its bulk of butter, and about the same quantity of breadcrumbs, soaked in milk or in stock, with the yolks of one or more eggs, according to quantity. Add minced parsley and pepper, salt, spices, and powdered sweet herbs to taste. Gravy.--Mince an onion finely, fry it in butter to a dark brown, then add ¾ pint of good stock, pepper and salt to taste, a small piece of ham minced small, a sprig of thyme, one of parsley, and a little Worcester sauce. Let the whole boil 5-10 minutes put it by till wanted, then strain it into a sauce boat.

With Mushrooms.--Open a tin of turkey, set in boiling water to melt the jelly, pour the melted jelly into a saucepan, slightly thicken it with cornflour and sufficient mushroom ketchup to make it a good flavour, season it, and keep hot while the turkey is being freed from bone and minced. Open a small tin of mushrooms, and mince them with the meat; mix well in the gravy; keep the mince hot for 10 minutes, and then serve on rounds of toast for breakfast. The turkey can be simply sliced, and the mushrooms left whole, if preferred.

With Oysters.--Open a tin of oysters and mince them finely, saving the liquor, and mix well together with them 5 oz. grated breadcrumbs, 1 oz. fresh butter slightly melted, the rind of ½ lemon chopped small, 1 tablespoonful minced parsley, a pinch of cayenne, a small teaspoonful of salt, and ½ teaspoonful white pepper. Cut into neat pieces the contents of a tin of turkey, leaving the bones in; butter a pie-dish, and put alternate layers of turkey and oyster forcemeat. Put a teacupful of the oyster liquor into a saucepan, melt a large teaspoonful of butter in it, and thicken with cornflour. Pour over the turkey and oysters, and bake 15 minutes in a hot oven.

To use up a Turkey.--If roasted, stuff it with pork sausage meat. Instead of paying 10_d._ per lb. for a mixture of pork, bread, and water, buy 1 lb. trimmings, and let the cook mince it herself. Roast turkey comes in cold several times in a small family. Sometimes the legs may be devilled. The meat should be carefully picked off the wing bones, back, &c. Let it be minced very finely, stewed in milk, a little pounded mace, salt, and thickening; then let it get cold, and make a top-and-bottom-crust pie of it. If economy be the order of the day, make the crust of “fleed” or “flick,” in this way: Pull all the skin off, beat it well with a mallet or rolling-pin till about the consistency of lard, then, having made 1 lb. flour into paste with water, roll it out, and dot the “flick” over it; give it a good coat of flour; repeat this process till you have put in ¾ lb. of “flick;” bake in a quick oven. If for tarts, 1 lb. “flick” to 1 lb. flour. Now comes the most important part of all. Take all the bones that have not been on the plates, break up the back and breast bones, put them in a saucepan with 2 qt. water, a carrot, a turnip, a few peppercorns, a little bit of mace, lemon peel, a little bit of ham, &c.; let it boil hard all day till reduced to 1 qt., strain through muslin or fine flannel; put it into a clean saucepan, have ready nearly a breakfast cupful of batter, not too thick. While boiling hard pour in the batter with one hand, stir quickly with the other. Let it boil for a few minutes, strain through a sieve into the tureen. Excellent soup.

Venison (Venaison).--This is of 3 kinds. The fallow deer, the red deer, and the roebuck supply venison of very different qualities. In the opinion of most competent judges, English park-fed buck venison is the best and richest, and is followed in order of excellence by the red deer venisons of Scotland and Germany, slightly coarser in fibre, and less abundantly supplied with fat. A great fuss is made on the Continent about the roe-deer or chevreuil, but this pretty little animal supplies rather poor venison--good as to flavour--but dry, and as a rule destitute of fat. A fat buck is usually divided into haunch, neck, shoulder, and breast. The haunch and neck are generally roasted, the shoulder and breast being reserved for pasties, stews, or chops. In buying venison for immediate cooking great caution should be observed, as if it has been hanging long enough to permit serious disintegration of the tissue, it will be uneatable. Its condition may be ascertained by running a skewer under the bone. If it smells sweet the meat is good. Venison may be hung 10-15 days, according to the weather, and should on no account be kept so long as to render overcooking necessary, as it is best cooked of all when, without being actually underdone, the meat still retains its gravy. While hanging--if possible in a clear draught of air--venison should be wiped and peppered occasionally, especially on the “cut” parts. The haunch, both on account of its size and the delicate quality of its fat, requires great care in cooking. It should be wiped, almost washed, rubbed over with butter, and sprinkled with salt. The next operation is to cover the haunch with a large sheet of buttered paper all over it, again covering with a sheet of common water paste about ½ in. thick. When the paste has been carefully applied and thoroughly joined, 3 sheets of buttered paper should be securely fastened with string over all. Placed then in a cradle-spit before a large fire, a fine haunch will take about 3-3½ hours roasting. It should be frequently basted. When done the paper and paste must be taken off, and the haunch salted, basted with butter, dredged with flour till it assumes a brown colour, and served on a hot-water dish. The best sauce for venison is made with a little of the gravy, ½ lb. red currant jelly, 2 or 3 knobs of sugar, and 1 gill red wine simmered together till the jelly is melted. Jelly should also be served separately. Roast venison may be accompanied by French beans, white haricots, or perhaps, best of all, with stuffed tomatoes. The neck is dressed in the same manner as the haunch, pasted and papered, and requires in roasting about ¼ hour to 1 lb. Venison should be carved as quickly as possible on to silver or hot-water plates.

Collops.--Venison collops or minced collops are both excellent, and must be made from the uncooked meat as follows: Cut the meat into collops (small thin cutlets or emincés, or mince it if you wish “minced” collops), and season this with pepper, salt, and mixed spices. Throw some butter into a stewpan, put in the collops, brown them and then add equal quantities of good brown gravy and red wine. Add to this a little fine sugar, a dash of vinegar, and a spoonful of ketchup. Stew slowly till done. Then take out the collops, strain the sauce and serve quickly. These collops may be served within a wall of well cooked white haricots, garnished with baked tomatoes.

Roast Haunch.--(a) Trim the joint neatly, wipe it well with a cloth, rub it over with butter, and sprinkle it with salt; then wrap it up in a sheet of buttered kitchen paper Make a paste with flour and water, roll it out to the thickness of ½ in., wrap the joint in this, and close up all the openings carefully by wetting the edges of the sheet of paste; lastly, pack up the haunch into a final sheet of well-buttered paper; put it to roast at a good fire for about 3 hours, basting it occasionally; then remove the paste and paper coverings, baste the haunch plentifully with butter, and when nearly done dredge some flour over it and some salt. Serve on a hot-water dish.

(b) As roe-deer is very dry, a haunch of it is much improved by being closely larded with fat bacon and then placed to marinade in equal parts of oil and red wine, with sliced carrots and onions and judicious flavourings of whole pepper, cloves, salt, chopped parsley, and sweet herbs. The joint may be left in this pickle for some days, and should be well basted with it. Then wrap the joint up in oiled or buttered paper, and baste it well while roasting before a clear fire. When nearly cooked remove the oiled paper to let the meat take colour, glaze the joint, and serve with rich gravy and with red currant jelly. Roe-deer also may be braised, in which case it should also be well larded. The neck may be jugged like hare, or it can be made into cutlets, haricot, &c.

Hashed.--Hashed venison is a very popular dish, and the modes of preparing it are many. The following is a good plan: Cut some cold haunch or neck of venison into thin slices, and put these aside. Put any of the venison gravy that may be left, the bones and trimmings, ½ pint red wine, and a little stock into a stewpan, with 4 shallots chopped very fine, 4 cloves, and 2 spoonfuls of ketchup. Let it simmer very slowly for 1½ hour, and strain it off. Put a piece of butter rolled in flour into a stewpan, add the gravy, pepper, and salt, and let it gradually advance to a boil; then take it off the fire, and when almost cold put in the venison; let it get quite hot through without boiling (or the meat may be hardened), and put it into a hot dish garnished with forcemeat balls or sippets. This method may also be very successfully applied to cold mutton. Red currant jelly should be served with either dish.

Pasty.--Venison pasty may be made in 2 ways, either by stewing the venison first, and then putting it into a pie, or in the following fashion: Take the breast and shoulder of a buck, remove all the bones and every particle of skin and sinew, wash thoroughly, and cut the venison into handsome pieces, saving the fat to put at the top. Should the venison be short of fat, mutton fat may supply its place if it be laid in a marinade of vinegar and red wine for 12 hours. Next proceed to make the paste, by rubbing 2 lb. butter into ½ a peck flour, and mixing it into a paste with cold water till it is moderately stiff. Cover the edge and sides of a pasty dish, and lay in the venison closely, peppering and salting each piece, and put in 1 gill water. Cover the pie with a piece of paste ½ in. thick, leaving a hole at the top, and then take the remainder of the paste, roll it out, add to it ½ lb. butter in lumps, sprinkle some flour on it, double it and roll it out 4 times; then wet the paste which already covers the pie, and apply the second paste over it. Make a round place at the top, and put on a rose, or any ornament you may think of: put a sheet of paper over the top, and bake for 4 hours in a sharp oven. When it is done, lift up the rose, and pour in 1 pint venison gravy; shake it about and serve.

Stew.--(a) Shoulder and breast of venison are rarely roasted, it being far more artistic to stew them or put them into a pasty. To stew a breast or shoulder of venison the skin and bones should first be carefully removed and the meat rolled or skewered together: then put into a stewpan with 1 qt. water, ½ pint red wine, a bundle of sweet herbs, cloves and mace in a bag, and a little pepper and salt, and stew very gently for about 3 hours. Then take out the meat, skim off the fat, take out the spice and herbs, throw in a piece of butter rolled in flour, and boil till it is thick and smooth; then season with a soupçon of cayenne pepper, put in the meat again, make it hot and serve in a hot dish with the sauce over. Currant jelly should be served with this very nice and inexpensive dish.

(b) Venison may also be cut into steaks or chops and broiled on a well anointed gridiron, but although very wholesome, it is not so toothsome in any way as when roasted or stewed. A neck of venison may also be divided into cutlets, which should be beaten with a cutlet bat, pared neatly and larded with finely-cut bacon. Next a stewpan is lined with bacon and bacon trimmings and minced vegetables, the cutlets are put in and covered with good stock. The liquid should be allowed to boil up and diminish to one-half. When the cutlets are done they may be taken out, and the sauce strengthened with a little port wine strained and poured over the cutlets, which may be served on a cushion of tomato sauce.

Wildfowl (Canard, Halbran). Grilled.--Take a tender fat young mallard or pintail, or a brace of widgeon, split down the back, after removing the head, neck, and wing bones, truss as for a spatchcock, carefully take out the breast bone, rub the inside with mushroom powder, chop up small the bones and trimmings, simmer slowly with the gizzard and liver for about ½ hour in a little good brown stock, add 1 teaspoonful made mustard, 2 large teaspoonfuls port wine, a little pepper and salt, and either some cayenne or else Chili vinegar; let it boil for a short time and strain. Grill the birds over a clear fire--a mallard or pintail will take about 20 minutes, widgeon 15 minutes--serve very hot, pour the boiling gravy over, first squeezing into it the juice of half a lemon.

Roast.--Wild duck should not be dressed too soon after being killed. In cold, dry weather it will be more tender and finer flavoured after keeping 7-8 days. Roast before a quick, clear fire, ardent enough to throw out a great heat. Let it remain without basting, for 5-6 minutes, to keep the gravy in, afterwards baste incessantly with plenty of butter. A few minutes before serving lightly dredge with flour, then baste and send to table brown and frothed. Wild duck, if overdone, loses its flavour; 20-25 minutes before the right kind of fire, will be sufficient. Serve on a very hot, dry dish. If dressed to perfection, the duck will give sufficient gravy. Send to table as hot as possible, with a cut lemon and sauce.

Salmis.--(a) Cut up any cold wildfowl, draw the gravy from the bones and trimmings by simmering in brown stock seasoned with minced shallot, pepper and salt; let it do slowly for ½ hour, then add 2 glasses port wine or claret, 1 teaspoonful Chili vinegar, 1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, and 1 of Worcester sauce, let it boil 10-15 minutes longer and then strain; pour the gravy over the cold bird in another stewpan, bring gently to the boil, add a little cayenne and lemon juice and serve very hot.

(b) Take any kind of wildfowl, half roast them, when cold cut into nice pieces, removing the skin; place the meat on one side. Then take the trimmings, head, neck, wings, bones, liver and gizzard, back, &c. Break all up small, place in a stewpan with some pepper and salt, a green chili, or if not procurable a little cayenne pepper, 2 shallots minced fine, and some good brown stock, simmer slowly for 1 hour, then add 1 oz. butter, into which a little flour has been rubbed, let it thicken, then strain; put the game into another stewpan, pour over the gravy, adding ½ pint button mushrooms or a small tin of champignons, boil up slowly and serve very hot, with a few slices of lemon and fried sippets for garnish.

Woodcock. Roast.--Remove the gizzard from each bird, truss and wrap the birds in bacon, and roast them at a brisk fire, basting them continually with butter. Place a slice of toast in the dripping pan to catch the trail, and serve the birds on that toast. Plain white sauce to be served in a boat with them. Time of roasting 10-15 minutes.

Toast.--See Snipe.

=Vegetables.=--Artichokes.--Boiled.--Parboil the artichokes for 10 minutes in water, with vinegar or lemon juice and salt to taste. Take them out, cutting off all the leaves and removing the “choke,” trim them neatly in the shape of diminutive pattypans. Lay them in a saucepan with plain white stock, and let them simmer gently till done. Drain them on a cloth. Arrange them on their dish, and pour over them some white sauce, made as follows: Mix in a saucepan 1½ oz. butter and 1 tablespoonful flour, stir in ½ tumblerful white stock or even hot water, add pepper and salt to taste, then stir in off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with the juice of a lemon and strained.

Fried.--Cut 2 green artichokes into 8 or more “quarters,” according to the size of the artichoke, and trim off all that is uneatable from each, putting them as they are trimmed in cold water with the juice of a lemon squeezed into it to prevent their turning black. When the “quarters” are all done, dip them in batter, see that each piece is well coated with it, and fry them in plenty of boiling lard; serve piled on a napkin and garnished with fried parsley.

Stewed.--Prepare the artichoke quarters as for fried. Boil them in salt and water, with a lemon squeezed into it, till nearly done. Melt 2 oz. butter in a saucepan, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, add as much water as will make sufficient sauce, then pepper, salt, and a little powdered nutmeg to taste; lay the artichokes in this, and when quite done stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs strained and beaten up with the juice of a lemon.

Stuffed.--Fill each with as much of the following forcemeat as it will hold: Pound to a paste, in a mortar slightly rubbed with garlic, equal parts of raw veal and ham, then pass them through a wire sieve and return them to the mortar; work into the paste thus obtained a fourth of its bulk of butter, and about the same quantity of breadcrumbs soaked in milk, with the yolks of one or more eggs, according to quantity; add, according to taste, pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg. Lay them all in a well-buttered saucepan, pour round as much tomato sauce as may be necessary, and let them simmer gently on a slow fire till done; or they may be cooked in a baking dish in the oven, in which case a buttered paper should be laid over them.

Asparagus.--Boiled.--Scrape each head with the back of a knife and tie the asparagus in small bundles of 1 doz. heads each; cut off the ends evenly. Put them into a panful of fast-boiling water, with plenty of salt, and in about 10 minutes they will be done. Drain at once, untie the bundles, and serve on a napkin with the following sauce in a boat: 3 parts olive oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, a little mustard, plenty of pepper and salt to taste, beaten up with a fork until perfectly amalgamated.

Beetroot.--Baked.--Wash, but be careful not to cut them; put them into a very slack oven for about 8 hours. When cold peel them and dress them as follows: Chop ½ onion finely, put it into a saucepan with a piece of butter. When it begins to take colour, add the beetroot, cut up into large dice, pepper and salt to taste, and 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar. When quite hot serve.

Boiled.--Wash the beetroot as for baked, and put it into fast-boiling salted water, to boil 1-2 hours, according to size, then dress as baked.

With Cream Sauce.--Boil the beetroot, and when cold peel and slice it; stew the slices until quite hot in some well-flavoured white stock well freed from grease; strain off the stock, and stir into it, off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with a little milk or cream. Arrange the beetroot in a dish, pour the sauce over, and serve; or serve plainly, boiled with a cream sauce made without stock. If wanted cold, serve with a mayonnaise sauce, or with a little plain cream poured over, and with a seasoning of pepper and salt.

Broad Beans.--Boiled.--Shell very young and newly gathered beans as much as possible all of a size. Boil them in plenty of fast-boiling salted water, with a sprig or two of savoury. When quite done, which is to be ascertained by tasting one, drain them and serve with the following sauce, either in a sauce-boat, or poured over them. Mix 2 oz. butter in a saucepan with 1 tablespoonful flour, add 1 tumblerful boiling water, pepper and salt to taste, and plenty of minced parsley; stir well until the sauce boils.

Broccoli and Cauliflower.--Au Gratin.--Boil a cauliflower, previously well washed and trimmed, in plenty of water, with a due quantity of salt; be careful not to overboil it; about 10 minutes will do it. Try the stem with a thin iron skewer, and the moment it, is soft remove the saucepan from the fire, and put the cauliflower to drain on a hair sieve. When it is quite cold, cut it up neatly and carefully, place the roughest pieces flat on a well-buttered dish, so as to form a sort of foundation; sprinkle this with pepper and salt, a little nutmeg, and cover it well with grated Parmesan cheese, dispose the remaining and best pieces on the top, add more pepper, salt, and nutmeg, cover with grated Parmesan, add a few baked breadcrumbs, and pour over all a little liquefied butter; bake in a quick oven 15-20 minutes, and serve. Rubbing the dish with garlic is an improvement.

Dressed.--Trim and boil a nice firm cauliflower; it should not be over large, and should be boiled with care, that it may be tender without being broken. To secure this it should not boil too quickly, and there should be put into the water used either a little common or a little soda carbonate and 1 tablespoonful salt. When done, take up carefully on a sieve to drain, and keep warm while you make the following sauce: Put into a clean stewpan 3 oz. fresh butter; let it dissolve on the stove, but do not let it get so hot that it will oil. Now mix with it 1 dessertspoonful cornflour, and pour on it ¼ pint boiling water and a little cream and let it boil up. Now put into it 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley and ¼ teaspoonful chopped onion. Let these boil 1 minute; take from the fire and stir into the sauce the beaten yolks of 2 or 3 fresh eggs, 1 tablespoonful chili vinegar, and a little salt. Divide the cauliflower into tufts, and arrange neatly on a dish. Pour the sauce over, put some sippets of toast round, and serve.

With White Sauce.--Pick out all the green leaves from a couple of broccoli, and cut off the stalks close. Put them head downwards into a saucepan full of boiling salted water. When done pick them out into sprigs and arrange them head downwards in a pudding basin, which must have been made quite hot. Press them in gently, then turn them out dexterously on a dish, and pour over them the following sauce, boiling hot: Melt 1½ oz. butter in a saucepan, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, and then add ½ pint boiling water; stir till it thickens; add salt and white pepper to taste; then take the saucepan off the fire and stir in the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of a lemon and strained.

Brussels Sprouts.--Boiled.--(a) Take about 1 qt. sprouts all of a size, not larger than walnuts, throw them into salt and water for 10 minutes, then put them in fast-boiling water, in which you have put a small piece of soda to preserve the green colour. When nearly done pour off the water, and put in as much fresh butter as you can lift on a teaspoon; toss the pan gently, but do not stir and keep the lid on by the side of the fire until you have prepared the sauce, which must be made of good stock, with some of the red gravy from roast beef added; take a breakfastcupful, and bring it to a boil, then mix a teaspoonful of cornflour in cold water; add a little browning and some Harvey’s sauce, or any other brown sauce, then pour the boiling stock on; give one boil up, and strain the sauce into the pan with the Brussels sprouts. Let them remain closely covered, and, when dishing up, squeeze a little lemon juice into the sauce.

(b) Trim each sprout neatly, and wash them in several waters. Put them to boil in plenty of boiling salted water, and, when almost done, strain them and dry them in a cloth. Put them in a saucepan with a large piece of butter, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste. Toss them gently on the fire until they are quite cooked.

Cabbage.--Boiled.--(a) Take 2 summer cabbages, trim off all the outer leaves, cut the cabbages in half lengthwise, and steep them in salted water for an hour, then throw them into fast-boiling water, and when they have boiled 20 minutes change the water for fresh boiling water, salted to taste. Let them boil till quite done. Put them on a sieve in the screen to drain all the water from them, and serve.

(b) First boil it very well, then chop it up with a little butter, add a small quantity of vinegar and pepper, and then fry it for 2 minutes; grate a little Parmesan cheese, and when ready to serve pour some melted butter over the cabbage and sprinkle the grated cheese over it.

Cold Slaugh.--Cut a head of hard white cabbage into very fine shavings; it is seldom shaved fine enough. For 1 qt. cabbage take the yolks of 3 eggs, beat them well; stir into 1½ tumbler vinegar 2 spoonfuls loaf sugar, 1 tablespoonful olive oil, 1 of thick sweet cream, or a piece of butter as large as a walnut, 1 heaped teaspoonful mustard, salt and pepper to taste; mix with the egg, and put this sauce into a stewpan; when hot add the cabbage, stew until thoroughly hot, which will only require 4-5 minutes. Toss it up from the bottom with a silver or wooden fork; take it up and set where it will become perfectly cold--on ice is best. The quantity of vinegar would depend upon its strength.

Hot Slaugh.--Take a fine hard head of white or red cabbage, shred it very finely, and put it into a stewpan with a piece of butter the size of an egg, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoonful chili and 1 of tarragon vinegar. Cover the stewpan and toss gently for about 5 minutes, when the cabbage should be thoroughly hot through. Care must be taken not to overcook hot slaugh, as it should be borne in mind that this very agreeable dish is a hot salad, and not stewed cabbage, and should therefore retain its crispness.

Stuffed.--Parboil a small cabbage or savoy, leaving it whole. Mince very finely any remains of cold meat, and half the quantity of beef suet, add a small quantity of chopped shallot, pepper, salt and minced herbs to taste, the same quantity of fine breadcrumbs as of suet, and the yolks of 2 or more eggs. Make an incision on the top of the cabbage, open the leaves lightly, insert the forcemeat and tie up the cabbage with thread. Line a saucepan with bacon, lay in the cabbage with a little stock or broth; simmer on the fire for 2-3 hours. At the time of serving, remove the thread from the cabbage; strain the sauce, free it from excess of fat, thicken with butter and flour, and pour it over the dish.

Cardoons.--Boiled.--Cut the stalks into convenient lengths, remove the prickles on either side of them, and parboil them for 15 minutes in salted water; drain them, and scrape and rub off the outer skin from each piece, putting them into cold water as they are done. When they are all ready, finish cooking them as artichokes.

Carrots.--À la Maître D’Hôtel.--Trim each carrot neatly, cut it in half, and boil them in salted water; when done drain off the water, add a piece of butter to the carrots, some parsley finely minced, a dust of pepper, a little powdered sugar, and a squeeze of lemon. Give the saucepan a toss or two on the fire to keep the contents hot till wanted.

À la Flamande.--When parboiled and drained, put the carrots into a saucepan with a piece of butter, a pinch of sugar, and as much water as may be necessary for sauce, add some finely minced parsley and white pepper and salt to taste. Let the carrots simmer till done (about 15 minutes), shaking them occasionally. Beat up together the yolks of 2 eggs and ½ gill cream, stir this into the carrots off the fire and serve.

À la Nivernaise.--Cut out the red portion of some carrots to the shape of olives, parboil and then put them into a saucepan with plenty of butter, a little pounded loaf sugar, pepper, and salt; add a little stock to prevent their burning, and keep shaking the saucepan till they are cooked.

Celeriac.--Boiled.--Peel the roots, and cut them into quarters or in slices; throw them into boiling salted water, and let them boil till quite done; drain them, and serve with white sauce.

Celery.--Boiled.--Trim the roots, and cut to the same length (about 6 in.) 3 heads celery, wash them carefully, tie them together with string; put them in a saucepan with an onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, salt, and sufficient boiling water to cover them. Let them boil till quite done, then drain them, remove the string, and serve with the following sauce over them: Melt 1 oz. butter in a saucepan, and mix with it 1 dessertspoonful flour, add as much of the water in which the celery was boiled as is wanted to make the sauce, put in salt to taste, and stir in off the fire the yolk of an egg beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained.

On Toast.--Trim the roots, and cut to the same length (about 6 in.) 3 heads of celery, wash them carefully, tie them together with string, parboil them a few minutes, and drain them. Put a layer of bacon in a saucepan, lay the celery on this, with an onion and a carrot sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, pepper, salt, a blade of mace, or a few cloves; fill up with enough stock just to cover the celery, and let it gently simmer till done. Take some of the liquor well freed from fat, thicken it with a little flour and butter; pour it on a dish. Have ready a number of slices of bread cut to a uniform shape, and fried in butter; arrange them on the sauce in a circle, disposing half a head of celery on each.

Stewed.--Trim and cut to the same length a number of heads of celery, split them in two lengthwise, tie them in bundles with thread, and parboil them for 10 minutes in salted water. Drain them, and arrange them in a saucepan over slices of bacon, with a bundle of sweet herbs, 2 onions, pepper and salt to taste, and a blade of mace. Add enough stock just to cover the contents, and simmer gently till the celery is quite tender. Having removed the string, dispose the celery neatly on a dish; take some of the stock in which it has been stewed, remove all fat from it, add a small piece of fresh butter, pour it over the celery, and serve.

Dandelions.--Pick before they blossom, and cut roots off just below the leaves, thus keeping them together. They should be picked over well, washed in cold spring water, chopped up into ½ in. lengths, and boiled with a little salted water, or steamed over salted water; the latter method is preferable. Spread a cloth over a colander, drain the dandelions through it, and squeeze out all the water; chop up fine, and put into a saucepan with a small lump of butter and some salt; stir it over the fire for a few minutes, then turn on to a hot dish, put a soup plate over it and set it over steam for a few seconds, remove the soup plate, cut it or mark it in squares like spinach, garnish with sippets and serve. Dandelions will be found more bitter in taste than spinach; if lemon juice is added to them while cooking, and a very little powdered white sugar, this bitterness will be counteracted. (Eliot-James.)

Egg-Plant Fruit.--Boil the fruit until tender, halve them lengthwise, and scoop out the inside, leaving a shell about ½ in. thick. Take a small quantity of any kind of meat or poultry previously cooked and well freed from fat, skin, and gristle; mince it finely, and then pound it quite smooth with the pulp of the vegetable (not the seeds), and with some sweet herbs, chopped mushrooms, or any flavouring preferred; season the whole with pepper and salt, toss it for a few minutes in a saucepan with a piece of butter, and a little stock to moisten it (if necessary), fill the cavities with this mixture, add a layer of fried breadcrumbs, pour over them some liquefied butter, put them into the oven for a few minutes, and serve very hot.

French Beans.--The nice flavour of this wholesome vegetable depends not only on its freshness, but also on the mode of cooking. When very young and very small, it is better not to cut them, but simply take off the tops and tails, and a thin stringy strip at each side of the bean, then wash, but do not leave them in water. Throw them into a saucepan of fast-boiling water, with 1 tablespoonful salt to each ½ gal. water. Boil quickly, with lid off, till tender, and at once drain in a colander, taking care to shake or press gently with a wooden spoon, every drop of water from them; serve very hot, with pieces of fresh butter between each layer of beans. When the beans are not so young or so small, they should be cut into thin, slanting strips, and dressed in the same way.

Haricot Beans.--(a) Soak them for 12 hours, put them in a saucepan of cold water, let it come gradually to the boil, then simmer till quite tender; drain and put them at once into a stewpan, with some fresh butter, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice, toss them well, and serve very hot.

(b) The usual way in America for cooking white haricot beans is in the old-fashioned New England dish, “pork and beans.” Parboil a piece of the middling of salt pork, and score the skin. Allow 1 lb. to 1 qt. of the dried beans which must be soaked overnight in lukewarm water. In the morning put them on to boil in cold water; when they are soft drain off the water, put the beans in a deep dish, half bury the pork in the middle, adding a very little warm water. Bake a nice brown. Some like a dessertspoonful of sugar mixed in with the beans before placing them in the dish.

Jerusalem Artichokes.--Wash them well, peel and shape them to a uniform size; throw them into boiling salted water, and let them boil 15-20 minutes; drain them at once thoroughly; put them on a dish and serve with the following sauce poured over them: Mix over the fire 1½ oz. butter, with 1 tablespoonful flour; add ½ pint boiling water, white pepper, and salt to taste; stir till the sauce thickens, then take the saucepan off the fire, and stir in the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with ½ gill cream.

Laver or Sloke.--Only good during the winter months. After being gathered and washed and picked clean, put it with water into an iron pot, and boil it until it is a pulp. If too thick, add a little more water, taking care it does not burn. It cannot be boiled too much, and the darker the colour the better laver it is. It will keep fresh for a week, and when wanted for table it must be heated, with a lump of butter put in, and served in a silver saucepan, which is kept hot by the fire. Laver is eaten with roast meat, with pepper and vinegar. Lemon juice is preferable to vinegar.

Lentils.--(a) Soak in cold water for 24 hours. Boil in plain water for 2½ hours, drain off the water, put with the lentils in the saucepan a small lump of butter, a little pepper and salt; stir well together and serve hot. Another way is to soak as above, and stew in good beef tea, gravy, or thin soup for 2½ hours. The German lentils are the best.

(b) Fry 3 or 4 onions sliced, in 1 oz. butter. Put into a saucepan with ½ pint red lentils, and 1 pint water; simmer 1 hour, then add 1 dessertspoonful curry powder and 1 teaspoonful lemon juice. Serve with boiled rice.

Mushrooms.--(a) Chop up half a small punnet of mushrooms, having first taken off the skins and stalks; also a handful of washed parsley and 3 small shallots. Scrape ¼ lb. ham, of which the proportions of fat and lean should be about equal; if the ham be too lean, some fat of bacon can be used with it. Also chop a little thyme. Mix all well together, seasoning with pepper and salt, and fry them over the fire for a few minutes, and until done; then mix in the yolks of 3 eggs, and set it aside while the mushrooms are preparing (these must be large ones); take off the skins and stalks, and, having trimmed the edges neatly, fill each one with some of the above preparation. Spread a sautépan thickly with butter, place the mushrooms in it side by side, shake some raspings of bread plentifully over them, and set them in the oven for about ¼ hour; they should be nicely browned. Arrange them on a dish in the form of a pyramid, and pour round them a little of the following sauce, which must have been previously prepared and be waiting hot and ready for use: Chop 2 shallots, wash them in several waters to take away the strong taste, wring them dry in the corner of a napkin, and put them into a stewpan with about 1 doz. small white mushrooms finely minced; add a little thyme, a small bay leaf, and a dessertspoonful of salad oil; shake these together over the fire for 5 minutes; add 1 small wineglassful white French wine, and then set it on to reduce to half its quantity; moisten this with a little good white sauce; let it boil up, free it from the oil, take out thyme and bay leaf. Let it be of the consistency of ordinary sauces, which can be regulated by adding a little white stock if too thick, or boiling up to reduce if too thin. When ready, set it aside in a small stewpan to keep hot till wanted.

(b) Pick and peel ½ pint mushrooms, wash them well, put them into a lined saucepan with ½ pint plain white sauce, made with rice, new milk, and well seasoned with mace, salt and paper, white or cayenne as preferred. Let the mushrooms stew until quite tender, then add 1 spoonful butter rolled in arrowroot sufficient to thicken it; simmer a few minutes longer and serve.

(c) Skin and wash the mushrooms, then dry in a cloth; butter each one on the inside, sprinkle salt and pepper over, and grill until tender.

(d) Peel 1 pint mushrooms and cut off their stalks; boil these and the parings; when ready, strain. Put the mushrooms, chopped fine, into a stewpan; pour in the gravy, add some chopped parsley, season well with pepper and salt, and stew the whole gently for 40 minutes over a moderate fire. Beat up 6 eggs, mix with the other ingredients; have ready some buttered cups, pour the mixture into them, and bake quickly; turn out on to a hot dish, and serve with white sauce. (Eliot-James.)

Nettles.--In some parts of Scotland the young shoots of nettles are used as greens, but chiefly by the poor. This is probably the result of prejudice. The following recipes will be found excellent as a vegetable: (a) Select the light green tops and leaves of the nettles, wash them carefully in 2 waters; a little salt and a small piece of soda should be dissolved in the second water. Boil till quite tender, then turn them into a colander and press them quite dry. Place on a hot vegetable or entrée dish, scoring them backwards and forwards 3 or 4 times. Place a small piece of butter the size of a walnut in the centre, and pepper and salt and send very hot to table. Melted butter can be served separately if desired. (b) A more savoury way of dressing the nettle tops would be the following. Wash and prepare the tops as before, drain and dry them, then chop them into a fine mince. Put this mince into a stewpan, in which has been placed a little good stock or gravy; add to this a pinch of salt, a little pepper and powdered sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice, or, if liked, a little finely chopped onion. When ready to serve thicken with a little flour and butter, and a teaspoonful of cream. Place on toast, and serve very hot with poached eggs, or garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in slices.

Olives.--Stir some chopped parsley and scallions into some butter melted over the fire. Moisten with some gravy or good broth, a glass of white wine, some capers, and an anchovy pounded in a spoonful of olive oil. Put into this sauce some olives, which have previously been stoned by peeling the fruit spirally off the nuts with a sharp knife. Bring it to the boil, and thicken the sauce with a little light colouring of butter and flour, made separately. If liked, the stones of the olives can be replaced by a veal stuffing, which has been cooked first.

Onions.--(a) Cut off the roots close of 2 Spanish onions, and remove the outer peels or any that are in the least dry, then parboil them in salted water for 10 minutes; dry them in a cloth, and cut them in half lengthwise. Put them in a saucepan over a slice of fat bacon, add a faggot of sweet herbs, 2 or 3 cloves, and some whole pepper, with salt to taste; pour in a sufficient quantity of very good stock to just cover them, and let them stew gently for 2 hours. Strain off a portion of the liquor, free it from superfluous fat, reduce it by letting it boil for ¼ hour, dish up the onions, pour the reduced sauce over, and serve.

(b) Peel off the very outer skins, cut off the pointed ends like a cigar, put them in a deep dish, and put a piece of butter and a little salt and pepper on the place where the point has been cut off, cover them with a plate or dish, and let them bake for not less than 3 hours. They will throw out a delicious gravy.

Parsnips.--(a) Scrape and boil some parsnips, then cut each lengthwise in 4, and fry them very brown, and dish in twos and twos. There is no vegetable so nourishing as parsnip, and when done in this way is much more tasty than the English way.

(b) Boil 4 or 5 parsnips till tender, mash them up, and add 1 teaspoonful flour, 1 beaten egg, and a little salt; make the mixture into small cakes with a spoon, and fry them in butter a delicate brown. Serve on a napkin.

Peas.--Melt ¼ lb. butter in a saucepan, then add 1½ pint young peas, pepper and salt to taste, 2 small onions (whole), a small bunch of parsley, and half a head of lettuce, tied up together, and a pinch of sugar. Toss on a slow fire till the peas are cooked, then remove the parsley, lettuce, and onions, and serve with a little finely minced parsley mixed in the peas.

Potatoes.--(a) With Cream.--Put into a stewpan a piece of butter rolled in flour, 1 gill cream, pepper, salt, and a very little nutmeg, also the juice of half a lemon; stir these over the fire till boiling. Then add slices of freshly boiled new potatoes, and after warming them up in the above sauce, serve very hot.

(b) A la Russe.--Cut some raw potatoes into dice, after washing and peeling, and fry them in olive oil, with half the quantity of mushrooms finely minced.

(c) Au Gratin.--Put a few spoonfuls of good white sauce into a stewpan with a ¼ lb. grated Parmesan cheese, and half that quantity of butter, also the yolks of 4 eggs, a small piece of glaze, lemon juice, pepper and salt, and nutmeg; stir all this over the fire until well mixed, but it must not boil. Cut some potatoes into slices, stick some well-pointed three-cornered croutons of fried bread round the edge of the dish, standing up to form a border, and place a close row of slices of potato within it, and a layer over the centre of the dish: spread a layer of the cheese preparation over them, then repeat the potatoes and mixture till the dish is complete, and smooth some of the sauce over the top. Shake breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan over the surface, so as to quite cover it, and put the whole into the oven for about ¼ hour, or until warmed through, and a nice colour.

(d) Balls.--Take ½ doz. potatoes, boil them, pass them through a sieve, and work into them, in a bowl, 1 gill of cream and the yolks of 3 eggs; add pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste, and some parsley finely chopped. When they are well mixed and smooth, take them up by tablespoonfuls, roll each in a ball, flatten it, and flour it slightly. Lay them all in a sautépan with plenty of butter melted, and cook them slowly. Turn them over when one side is done, and serve hot as soon as both sides are coloured.

(e) Cut very thin slices right across the largest potatoes; lay the slices in flat layers on a small plate that will bear the heat of the oven. Spread fresh butter freely over the potatoes; then add another layer, and so on until the potatoes are about 4 in. high. Give ½ lb. fresh butter to 2 large potatoes. Bake until the potatoes are tender, about ½ hour, in a quick oven.

(f) Fried.--Pare some potatoes so as to give each the form of a cylinder, then cut each cylinder in slices ⅛ in. thick. By this means all the pieces of potato will be the same size. Dry them thoroughly in a napkin; put them in the frying basket, and fry them a light colour in plenty of lard; drain, sprinkle freely with salt, and serve.

(g) Rissoles.--Take cold meat, veal or ham, cut it small and season with pepper, salt, cut pickles, and a little parsley; moisten with a little stock. Mash some potatoes and make them into a paste with the yolks of 1 or 2 eggs. Put some of the seasoned meat on one half, and fold over like a puff. Fry a light brown.

(h) Stewed.--Rub a saucepan with a clove of garlic, put 2 oz. butter into it, and when it is melted add 6 potatoes, peeled, and cut in quarters. Put in a little hot water, pepper and salt to taste, a small quantity of grated nutmeg, some minced parsley, and the juice of ½ lemon. Let the whole stew slowly till the potatoes are quite done.

(i) Cakes.--The following is an old country recipe for potato cakes: 1 lb. mashed potatoes, 2 oz. butter, 1 lb. flour, ½ teacupful cream, a pinch of salt, and 1 egg; roll out the cakes thin, and bake in a quick oven.

(j) Mashed.--Boil some potatoes, and pass them through a coarse hair sieve. Put them into a saucepan with a good lump of butter, and salt to taste; add a little milk, and work them well with a spoon on a slow fire for some minutes, adding small quantities of milk as they get dry.

(k) Calecannon.--Potatoes and greens mixed together, is an agreeable mixture and forms a pleasant change. The greens and potatoes are boiled separately, the former squeezed, when sufficiently dressed, quite dry and chopped up very fine; the latter mashed, the chopped greens added to them, with butter, pepper, and salt to taste, and the yolk of 1 egg or more. A pudding dish should be well buttered, the mixture put into it, and placed in a hot oven for about 6-7 minutes; the contents of the basin then turned out and served on a vegetable dish.

Pumpkin.--Take a slice of pumpkin, remove the rind, and cut the pulp into large dice, having first removed the pips. Put them into a saucepan with a piece of butter, pepper and salt to taste, and a little water. Let it stew slowly till quite done, then either mash it up with a spoon or pass it through a sieve. Mix a little flour and butter into a saucepan, add the pumpkin pulp and a little milk or cream, also a pinch of sugar and a little grated nutmeg. Work it well on the fire, and serve with sippets of bread, fried in butter, round it.

Red Cabbage.--(a) Wash, trim, and cut up a large cabbage into 5 or 6 slices. Put them into boiling water for ¼ hour; then stew them gently in broth till quite tender; drain, and serve with reduced brown gravy, flavoured with a dash of lemon juice or vinegar. If very small, they may be dressed whole in the same manner. (b) A Flemish recipe: Wash and trim a cabbage, put it into a saucepan, with sufficient cold water to cover it; let it come gradually to the boil, then add 4 or 5 apples peeled, cored, and quartered, a small piece of butter, pepper and salt; stew gently till quite tender, strain, add to the liquor a thickening of butter and flour, 1 teaspoonful vinegar, and 1 of currant or gooseberry jelly. Dish the cabbage with the apples round it, and the sauce over. (c) Having well washed the cabbage, shred it very small, and put it, with a slice of ham minced, into a stewpan with some melted grease (from the pot-au-feu), add an onion stuck with cloves, pepper and salt; simmer gently--tossing frequently--till quite tender. Just before serving remove the onion and cloves, add the yolks of 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoonful vinegar; serve very hot with fried sausages.

Salsify.--(a) Boiled.--Scrape the roots, cut them in short lengths, and throw them into vinegar and water as they are being done. Boil them till tender in salted water, drain them, toss them into a saucepan with a piece of butter, a little lemon juice and some minced parsley, add salt, and serve.

(b) Fried.--When boiled, split each piece in half, and steep them for ¼ hour in tarragon vinegar with pepper and salt, then drain, dip them in batter, and fry them in hot lard. Serve with fried parsley.

(c) Scolloped.--Boil the salsify as in (a), cut them into pieces ½ in. long. Add some cream to the sauce instead of lemon juice and parsley, with pepper and a little anchovy sauce; put in the salsify, give them a toss in the sauce, then put them into scollop shells, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on each, sprinkle plenty of breadcrumbs over, and put the shells in the oven to brown.

Scorzonera.--(a) Roots should be prepared by washing, scraping, and topping, as are carrots; then put them in cold water tied in small bundles, and boiled till tender, in the same way as asparagus, serve on toast with butter sauce; this for plain boiling.

(b) Fried.--Prepare as in (a), and boil till tender; then dip in a batter made as follows: Beat 2 eggs with ¼ lb. flour, 1 saltspoonful baking powder, and 1 teacupful water until as smooth as possible, adding the water by degrees; season with salt and pepper. This batter is very good for frying any vegetables.

(c) With Cheese.--Mix some grated Parmesan with butter which has been melted in white sauce, or plain cream, as preferred. Boil the scorzonera roots, and lay them neatly in a dish, pour over the sauce, which has been thoroughly heated, but not allowed to boil, sprinkle it well all over with grated Parmesan, then brown it in the oven, or with a salamander.

Seakale.--(a) Trim it and tie it up in bundles, and lay them in plenty of salted water, boiling fast; when quite done, drain them well, and serve with a plain salad dressing in a boat, or with white sauce over. Salad Dressing: 1 pinch of salt, 1 of pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls olive oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, and 1 teaspoonful mustard. Take the ingredients in the above proportions, and beat them smooth. White Sauce: Put into a saucepan, with 1 pint white stock, a small onion, one clove, a blade of mace, and a faggot of herbs; boil for 1 hour, strain, thicken with 1 dessertspoonful arrowroot, boil up again, and add by degrees ½ pint cream.

(b) Choose short, thick kale, trim it carefully and tie it in bundles, boil in water with plenty of salt; when tender, drain it carefully and lay it in a dish on toasted bread dipped in the water the kale has been boiled in; serve with melted butter sauce. Finely grated cheese sifted over the kale is considered by many an improvement. In this case the kale should be browned with a salamander before being sent to table.

Sorrel.--Pick and wash a quantity of sorrel, put it into a saucepan with a little water and some salt, when thoroughly done drain off all the moisture and pass the sorrel through a hair sieve. Amalgamate a piece of butter and 1 tablespoonful flour in a saucepan on the fire, put in the sorrel and stir well for some minutes, then add pepper and salt to taste, and the yolk of 1 egg beaten up with a little cold stock and strained.

Spinach.--(a) Pick and wash perfectly clean 2-3 lb. spinach, put it into a saucepan with a little water, and let it boil till quite done. Turn it out on a hair sieve to drain, throw the water away, and pass the spinach through the sieve. Put a good lump of butter into a saucepan with a pinch of flour, mix well, add the spinach, pepper and salt to taste, and a little milk; stir well and serve.

(b) Mashed.--Pick and wash the spinach very carefully, and then put it into boiling salted water, and boil 10 minutes, or until quite tender; drain, then pass it through a hair sieve, season with pepper, salt, and put it into a stewpan with a piece of butter and a few tablespoonfuls of cream or Béchamel sauce; stir over the fire until quite hot, and serve either with cutlets, fricandeau, grenadins, poached eggs, &c., or in a vegetable dish with fried sippets of bread.

Tomatoes.--(a) Baked.--Cut 6 tomatoes in halves, remove the pips, and fill the inside with a mixture of breadcrumbs, pepper, and salt, in due proportions; place a small piece of butter on each half tomato, and lay them then close together in a well-buttered tin. Bake in a slow oven about ½ hour, and serve. They may be eaten hot or cold.

(b) Forced.--Prepare the following forcemeat: 2 oz. mushrooms minced small, 2 shallots, likewise minced, a small quantity of parsley, a slice of lean ham chopped fine, a few savoury herbs, and a little cayenne and salt. Put all these ingredients into a saucepan with a lump of butter, and stew all together until quite tender, taking care that they do not burn. Put it by to cool, and then mix with them some breadcrumbs and the well-beaten yolks of 2 eggs. Choose large tomatoes as nearly of the same size as possible; cut a slice from the stalk end of each, and take out carefully the seeds and juice; fill them with the mixture which has already been prepared, strew them over with breadcrumbs and some melted butter, and bake them in a quick oven until they assume a rich colour.

(c) Meat Pudding.--Cover the bottom of a pudding dish with breadcrumbs; put on them a layer of underdone meat, cut in thin slices; then a layer of tomatoes, peeled and also sliced; to 1 pint add 1 even tablespoonful sugar; then a few bits of butter, pepper, salt, and a little onion if agreeable; then breadcrumbs, meat, and tomatoes, repeating until the dish is full; put over all a layer of breadcrumbs, and bake until a light brown. Serve hot.

(d) Stuffed.--Dip some tomatoes in hot water, peel them, cut them in half, and remove the pips. Rub a baking sheet with shallot, butter it well, and lay the tomatoes in it, filling each half with the following composition: 2 parts breadcrumbs, 1 part ham finely minced, and, according to taste, parsley and sweet herbs also finely minced, and pepper and salt. Put a small piece of butter on each half tomato, and bake them ¼ hour. Have ready some round pieces of buttered toast; on each of these put a half tomato, and serve.

Truffles.--First prepare the sauce. Put into a small clean stewpan 2 oz. butter, set on the stove, and slice into it 1 onion, 1 carrot, and a little lean ham cut into squares, fry altogether of a light brown. Now stir into these 1 dessertspoonful flour, add 1 bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, a few sprays of parsley, 3 cloves, a small blade of mace, a little salt and cayenne, and ½ pint of stock. Mix well together with a wooden spoon, and set on the fire to simmer ½ hour, taking off the scum as it rises. Next cut from a square loaf a thick slice of bread; it should be quite 1 in. thick. Scoop out the middle, so as to make a hollow about half-way through the bread, and fry in plenty of clean lard to a golden brown. Drain on a sieve and keep warm. Now wash 6 large truffles, and cut into thin slices, put them into a sautépan or frying pan, with a little butter and a small quantity of minced parsley and onion, fry gently about 10 minutes, taking care they do not get dry when done. Place the truffles in the hollow of the bread, strain the sauce over, put some of the ham on the corners of the bread, and sprinkle a little chopped hard-boiled eggs over the truffles. This makes a very pretty and savoury dish for the second course, and is a good way of finishing a bottle of truffles that may have been required for any other purpose.

Turnips.--(a) Boiled.--Take small new turnips, peel, and boil them in salted water; drain them thoroughly. Melt 1 oz. butter in a saucepan, add to it 1 dessertspoonful flour, pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, and a small quantity of milk or cream; put in the turnips; simmer gently a few minutes, and serve.

(b) Mashed.--Take new or old turnips, pare them, and put them to boil in salted water; when done drain them, squeeze out the water from them, and pass them through a hair sieve. Put the pulp into a saucepan with a piece of butter, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg; stir well, and moisten with a little milk or cream. Then work them with a spoon on a slow fire until sufficiently dried up.

Turnip Tops.--(a) When green vegetables are scarce, many people find desirable dishes made from turnip tops, if properly and presentably cooked. The growth of these turnip tops may be forced by placing the roots in a greenhouse, hot frame, or any warm place, when the tops will soon be seen to begin to sprout, and will prove far more delicate and edible than the ordinary turnip tops grown in a garden or field from turnips. When the tops are quite small and almost white (which they will be if the roots are covered over with straw) they may be dressed to resemble seakale, with white sauce, and will be found very delicious, having no strong turnipy flavour. When grown larger and the leaves are green, the stalks get fibrous and stringy; the leaves should then be stripped off and boiled with plenty of water. When sufficiently done, strain and squeeze off the water as much as possible, mince them fine, and put them through a sieve as is done with spinach. Serve very hot with sippets of fried toast, or with gravy if preferred.

(b) Take a quantity of turnip tops, picked clean and washed, put them in a saucepan with a little water. When thoroughly done put them on a hair sieve to drain. When all the water is thoroughly drained from them, pass them through the sieve. Mix in a saucepan 1 tablespoonful flour with about 1 oz. butter, add the turnip-top purée, stir well, put in pepper and salt to taste, and serve hot in a dish garnished with fried sippets of bread, and lay on the top ½ doz. poached eggs. Fill a shallow sautépan with water and sufficient salt, add a little vinegar, a few peppercorns, and some leaves of parsley. When the water is on the point of boiling (it should never be allowed to boil) break 2 or more eggs into it (according to the size of the pan), and put on the cover. When done, take them out carefully, brush them clean on both sides with a paste brush, and cut each egg with a round fluted paste cutter, so as to get them of a uniform shape.

Vegetable Marrow.--(a) Parboil 2 moderate-sized marrows, cut in 4 lengthwise, drain them carefully, and dispose them on a well-buttered dish, previously well rubbed with shallot or slightly rubbed with garlic. Sprinkle plenty of grated Parmesan over them, pepper and salt, and grated nutmeg; put a few pieces of butter on the top, and over all a good sprinkling of very fine baked breadcrumbs. Bake about 20 minutes, and serve in the dish.

(b) Stuffed.--Pound to a paste in a mortar, slightly rubbed with garlic, equal parts veal and ham; then pass them through a wire sieve, and return them to the mortar. Work into the paste thus obtained ¼ its bulk of butter, and about the same quantity of breadcrumbs, with the yolks of 1 or more eggs, according to quantity. Add some minced parsley, and according to taste, pepper, salt, spices, and powdered sweet herbs. Cut in half, lengthways, 2 average-sized vegetable marrows; take out the inside, fill each half with the stuffing, and wrap it up in a piece of white paper well buttered and tied with string; lay them all close together in a buttered tin, cover this up with a plate or another tin, and put it into the oven. When you judge the marrows are quite done, take them carefully out of the papers, lay them on a dish, and serve with a small quantity of well-flavoured clear gravy or some tomato sauce poured over them.

=Salads= (Salade, Mayonnaise).--These consist of uncooked vegetables dressed with a piquant liquor in which oil and vinegar play a prominent part.

Dressings.--The following are favourite recipes for salad dressings.

(a) 2 teaspoonfuls mixed mustard, 2 tablespoonfuls salad oil; mix well, and add 1 teaspoonful powdered sugar, 4 tablespoonfuls good cream, 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. Sufficient for a salad for 4 persons.

(b) 1 teaspoonful unmade mustard, the same of sugar, 1 saltspoonful salt, and the yolk of a fresh egg, beaten together; mix gradually 1 tablespoonful cream or milk, 2 of vinegar, and 1 or 2 of salad oil according to taste, with a little cayenne.

(c) The yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, cream, vinegar, pepper, salt, and mustard. Rub the yolks smoothly in a mortar, and add gently 4-5 large tablespoonfuls cream, a small teaspoonful of made mustard, pepper, salt, and lastly 2 large tablespoonfuls vinegar. Mix well, and pour over the salad.

(d) Put the salad into a bowl after being well drained, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour over 2 tablespoonfuls oil to every tablespoonful of vinegar. The vinegar should always be added at the last. On the Continent people often add a spoonful of powdered sugar to this mixture.

(e) 3 tablespoonfuls oil to 1 of vinegar is a better proportion, and yolks of eggs are not amiss in any salad.

(f) Put the lettuce, which should not be wet, in the salad bowl. Take some sprigs of tarragon, some chervil, 1 or 2 small chives, and a little bit of parsley, cut into small pieces, mix them with the lettuce, and sprinkle with a saltspoonful of salt and some pepper. Put into a tablespoon 1 mustardspoonful of mustard, fill up the spoon with vinegar, stir well, and pour over the lettuce, then add 3 tablespoonfuls best salad oil, and mix well. This is better than mixing the ingredients first. The chervil and tarragon should never be omitted. The leaves of the common dandelion are also a good addition to salad, as they have an agreeable, slightly bitter flavour.

(g) The yolk of 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 teaspoonful mustard, 2 tablespoonfuls oil, 1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar, 1 teaspoonful common ditto, ½ teaspoonful sugar. Rub the egg very smooth, add a little salt, then the mustard, then the oil by degrees, working it with the rest till quite smooth; then add the cream, and lastly the vinegar.

(h) Boil 2 eggs hard, pound up the yolks with 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar, 1 saltspoon salt, 1 of pepper, and the same of mustard. When well mixed, add 4 tablespoonfuls oil, and the white of the eggs chopped very fine.

(i) Mix the yolks of 2 unboiled eggs in a basin with a teaspoonful of salt; whisk; then add, by small quantities, 1 pint finest Florence oil (salad); mix thoroughly, and add 1 tablespoonful made mustard, 3 tablespoonfuls vinegar, 1 of tarragon vinegar, 1 dessertspoonful elder vinegar; add to the whole a small spoonful of pounded sugar, a little cayenne, and a small quantity of salt. Bottle for use.

(j) Carefully strain the yolks of 4 eggs into a basin, place it in a cool place, or, if necessary, on ice; add a teaspoonful of salt, mix well; then proceed to pour in, a few drops at a time, some salad oil, without ceasing to stir the mixture. When one spoonful of oil is well incorporated with the yolks of egg, put in, in the same manner, a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar; keep on adding oil and vinegar in these proportions until you get a sauce the consistency of very thick cream, then add white pepper to taste, and more salt if necessary.

The subjoined comprise all the vegetables, &c., ordinarily employed in salads.

Artichoke (de Topinambour).--Take some cold boiled Jerusalem artichokes and some onions, slice them, and pour over them a mixture of oil, vinegar, pepper and salt, garnish with cold boiled carrots cut to the shape of olives, and with some pickled cauliflower and beetroot.

Asparagus (d’asperges).--Scrape the end of each head with the back of a knife, and tie them in small bundles of 1 doz. heads each, cut off all the part of the asparagus which cannot be eaten, put them into a panful of fast-boiling water, with plenty of salt, and in about 10 minutes they will be done. Drain them, and leave them to get cold, then dispose them on a dish previously rubbed with a little shallot, and pour over them the following sauce: Strain the yolks of 2 eggs into a basin, mix with them a teaspoonful of salt, and then, without ceasing to stir, pour in, drop by drop, 4 tablespoonfuls oil and 1 of French white vinegar, adding the vinegar at intervals during the process of pouring the oil. Lastly, stir in a little pepper; garnish the dish with slices of hard-boiled eggs.

Beetroot (de Betterave).--(a) Take a well-washed beetroot, either bake it in the oven, or put it into a saucepan of boiling water and boil for 1-2 hours, according to size; when cold, peel and slice it, arrange the slices in a dish, and pour over the dressings.

(b) Arrange the slices of beetroot with alternate slices of hard-boiled eggs, pour over them a mixture of ¾ oil and ¼ plain vinegar, duly flavoured with pepper and salt; garnish the dish with small button onions, and with sprigs of chervil and tarragon.

(c) Slice a cold boiled or baked beetroot, arrange it in slices overlapping each other, pour over a mixture made with cream, a very little vinegar, pepper, and salt; garnish the dish with horseradish and hard-boiled eggs, whites and yolks separate.

Cabbage (de Chou).--(a) Wash the greens well, and take off the outside leaves. Tie them in small bunches, and boil in plenty of fast-boiling water, drain them in front of the fire, and serve cold with a mixture of 3 parts oil, 1 of vinegar, pepper and salt to taste, poured over them.

(b) Take some cold boiled Brussels sprouts, and put them into a dish previously rubbed with garlic or shallot, pour over them a salad mixture made with 3 parts oil and 1 of vinegar, pepper and salt to taste; garnish with pickled beetroot and minced sweet herbs.

(c) Chop up some greens or cabbage, and serve as in (b); garnish with slices of sausage and pickled gherkins.

Carrots (de Carottes).--Slice some cold boiled carrots, arrange them in a dish with a dressing made with cream and lemon juice, or oil and vinegar, with pepper and salt; garnish the dish with hard-boiled eggs shredded, with minced parsley and capers, and chopped olives.

Cauliflower (de Chou-fleur).--(a) Boil a cauliflower in salted water till tender, but not overdone; when cold cut up neatly in small sprigs. Beat up together 3 tablespoonfuls oil, and 1 of tarragon vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste; rub the dish very slightly with garlic, arrange the pieces of cauliflower on it, strew over them some capers, a little tarragon, chervil, and parsley, all finely minced, and the least bit of dried thyme and marjoram powdered. Pour the oil and vinegar over, and serve.

(b) Pick off the flower from 1 or 2 cold boiled cauliflowers, dispose them in a dish, and pour over them some dressing made of cream and lemon juice, or oil and vinegar with pepper and salt to taste; garnish with minced parsley, powdered sweet herbs, capers, and, if liked, anchovies and stoned olives.

Celery (de Céleri).--(a) Take the inner and tenderest stalks of 3 heads celery, cut them in strips 1 in. long, and about the thickness of young French beans. Rub the salad bowl slightly with shallot or even garlic. Mix the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs with 3 tablespoonfuls salad oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, the least bit of flour of mustard, and pepper and salt to taste. Add the celery to this sauce, turn it well over, garnish with the hard-boiled whites, and if at hand 2 truffles (fresh, not preserved), either minced or sliced.

(b) Cut up some raw or cold boiled celery into convenient lengths, put these into a salad dish, and mix with them some salad dressing, to which a small quantity of mustard has been added, garnish with boiled onions, chopped beetroot, and shredded whites and yolks of eggs, and cold boiled carrots cut to the shape of olives.

Cucumber (de Concombre).--Pare off the rind of a good-sized cucumber, slice it as thinly as possible and arrange it on a dish; sprinkle with pepper and salt; pour over it a mixture made with 3 parts oil and 1 of vinegar.

Egg (aux Œufs).--Wash and bone some anchovies, divide them into fillets the whole length of the fish. Wash, dry, and divide into quarters some small lettuces. Boil some eggs (6-8) hard, slice one-third of them, and chop up quite finely the rest, yolks and whites separately; arrange these symmetrically in the centre of a dish well raised in the centre, put the fillets of anchovies on the top so as to form squares, with a caper in the centre of each square. Make a border with the quarters of lettuce and the slices of egg, arranged alternately; sprinkle over the border some finely shred chervil, and pour over either a mayonnaise sauce or a mixture of 3 parts oil and 1 of tarragon vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste.

Endive (de Chicorée).--(a) Wash 2 heads endive, drain them thoroughly, and cut them up. Wash and cut up in small dice 1 head of celery. Work to a smooth paste in a basin the yolk of 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 teaspoonful mustard, white pepper and salt to taste, and the least bit of cayenne; add by degrees 3 dessertspoonfuls cream, 1 of tarragon vinegar, and 1 of plain vinegar; stir till quite smooth, add the salad, work it well, and garnish with pickled gherkins, hard-boiled eggs and beetroot. The salad should be mixed just before serving.

(b) Pick off the outer leaves of 1 or 2 heads of endive, and wash them well; when perfectly dry mix with them some salad dressing, made quite smooth with the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, oil, vinegar, pepper and salt, and, if liked, a little mustard.

(c) The same may be made in a dish previously rubbed with garlic or shallot, and with dressing, without the eggs, or with cream, vinegar, pepper and salt; it may be garnished with beetroot and chopped celery, and hard-boiled eggs.

Fish (au Poisson).--Cut into neat collops any remnants of fish, steep them for 1 hour in a mixture of 2 parts oil and 1 part vinegar, with a few slices of onions, a sprig of thyme, pepper and salt, and parsley. Make a foundation of lettuce, cut into convenient pieces, in a dish, dispose the fish over it, ornament with beetroot and hard-boiled eggs, and serve with the following plain mayonnaise sauce. Put the yolks of 4 eggs into a basin, add salt to taste, then proceed to pour in, a few drops at a time, some salad oil, without ceasing to stir the mixture. When about 1 tablespoonful oil is well incorporated with the yolks of eggs, put in, in the same manner, 1 teaspoonful French vinegar. Keep on adding oil and vinegar in these proportions until you get a sauce the consistency of very thick cream. Then add white pepper to taste, and mix well.

French Bean (de Haricots).--String some French beans and boil them whole in plenty of salted water, when cold dress them with oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt, some tarragon and capers finely minced, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs, anchovies, and beetroot. The dish must be well rubbed with a shallot.

Game (au Gibier).--Cold grouse, partridge, or pheasant may be used in this way. Cut them into joints, and put them into a pie-dish; season with salt and pepper, and pour over them the juice of a lemon and about 2 tablespoonfuls very fresh salad oil; let them remain in this for 3-4 hours. Having cut up and well dried a fresh lettuce, place it in a flat dish, and arrange the pieces of game which have been in the oil and lemon juice neatly in the centre; over the game pour a salad sauce, which should be of the consistency of thick cream. Ornament the top with slices of hard-boiled egg, fillets of well-washed and scraped anchovies, and garnish with tiny sprigs of parsley. Cold chicken, or the white meat from a cold turkey cut into small pieces, may be treated in this way.

Green Pea (aux petits Pois).--Put some cold boiled peas--marrowfats are best--into a dish previously rubbed with a shallot, and pour over them a mayonnaise sauce or a plain salad dressing, and garnish the peas with small heads of green mint.

Lettuce (de Laitue).--(a) Wash 2 heads lettuce, dry them thoroughly, and break the leaves or cut them into convenient pieces; put the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs into a basin with 1 teaspoonful mustard, pepper and salt to taste, and 1 tablespoonful oil; work the mixture into a smooth paste, and add consecutively 3 tablespoonfuls oil and 2 of tarragon vinegar, then add a handful of garden cress, a little tarragon finely minced, and the whites of the eggs coarsely chopped. The mixture must be well stirred. Lastly add the lettuce, turn it well over, and serve.

(b) Wash 2 heads lettuce, dry them thoroughly, and put them into the salad bowl. Take some sprigs of tarragon and chervil, 1 or 2 small chives, and a little bit of parsley, mince them finely, mix them with the lettuce, and sprinkle with a tablespoonful of salt, and some pepper. Put into a tablespoon 1 mustardspoonful of mustard, fill up the spoon with vinegar, stir well, and pour over the lettuce, then add 3 tablespoonfuls best salad oil, and mix well.

(c) Take a lettuce, remove the outer leaves, wash, drain it thoroughly, and cut it into small pieces; take some fresh-cut garden cress (also washed and drained), and a few spring onions, put them in a salad bowl, with the following dressing: Take the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, and rub them quite smooth in a mortar, add a teaspoonful of mustard, a little cayenne, with black pepper and salt to taste, and 4-5 tablespoonfuls cream; lastly, add a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar; mix well, and it is ready.

Lobster (de Homards).--(a) Cut a number of pieces of the flesh of a lobster into convenient sizes. Have some well-flavoured aspic jelly, just melt it, pour a layer of it ¼ in. thick, into a border mould; when it begins to set, arrange the pieces of lobster, reserving 2 or 3 of the best, in the mould, with leaves of tarragon; fill up with jelly, and lay the mould on ice to set. Cut the remainder of the lobster, and dress it with lettuce, as an ordinary salad. Turn out the border on a dish, fill the inside with salad heaped up, lay the reserved pieces of lobster on the top, and ornament with any design made of whites and yolks of eggs, truffles, and aspic jelly, all finely minced.

(b) Take 1 or 2 fresh lobsters, cut up all the flesh into convenient pieces, reserving the soft part to mix with the dressing, and a few of the best pieces to ornament the salad. Prepare some lettuces, as for an ordinary salad, mix the lobster and lettuce together with a fork in the bowl, and pour over it a mixture made as for asparagus salad, to which has been added the soft part of the lobster and a little mustard. Garnish the dish with the pieces of lobster reserved for the purpose, with the spawn, and with slices of hard-boiled egg, sprigs of chervil, or tarragon.

Meat (Vinaigrette).--Cut some cold meat into neat slices, brush them over with oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle a little vinegar over, and dispose them on a dish, upon a foundation of lettuce cut into convenient pieces, and ornament with hard-boiled eggs, beetroot, and pickles. Serve with plain tartare sauce, viz. put the yolks of 4 eggs into a basin with salt and mustard to taste, and stir olive oil over them, 1 tablespoonful at a time; after each tablespoonful oil put in 1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar. Keep on stirring this until the sauce is of the desired consistency; then add pepper, the least bit of cayenne, and 2 shallots, or a few pickled gherkins or onions chopped very finely.

Onion (d’oignons).--Cut up a cold boiled Spanish onion and some cold boiled potatoes, mix with them a dressing made with oil, vinegar, pepper and salt; sprinkle over some powdered sweet herbs, and garnish with pickled red cabbage, hard-boiled eggs, stoned and chopped olives, and capers.

Oyster (des Huîtres).--For this dish some little pail-shaped white china cups must be procured, in size about the same as a ramakin case: 6 make a pretty dish, 1 in the centre and 5 round it. In each cup place an oyster, free from beard, or if very small 2 oysters may be used. Above add 1-2 teaspoonfuls salad, cut very small, and with which some good creamy salad-sauce has been mixed. Each cup must be differently garnished, using for this beetroot, hard-boiled yolk of egg, hard-boiled white of egg, and mustard and cress, each to be finely and separately chopped. Fill up one cup with a layer of the beetroot, with a pinch of the yolk of egg in centre; another with a layer of white of egg, with a little beetroot in centre; a fourth with mustard and cress, with beetroot in centre, and so on; ringing the changes on the above, and taking care that no two are alike. It is a very pretty dish and very much liked. The little cups should be served standing on a flat dish, with a napkin beneath to prevent them from slipping about.

Potato (de Pommes de terre).--(a) Rub a dish with a shallot; dispose on it some cold boiled potatoes cut in slices; beat together 3 parts oil and 1 part (more or less according to strength) tarragon vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste. Pour this over the potatoes, and strew over all a small quantity of any of the following: powdered sweet herbs; mint, parsley, chervil, tarragon, or capers, or a combination of them all, finely minced.

(b) Cut cold boiled potatoes in small cubes. Bone and fillet a few anchovies, and chop them up; take the same quantity of capers. Mix all together with some finely-minced tarragon or powdered sweet herbs and a plain salad dressing as in (a). Put on a dish rubbed with shallot, and make a border round it of pieces of hard-boiled eggs and stoned olives.

(c) Take equal parts cold boiled potatoes and cold boiled Spanish onions; cut them into convenient pieces; sprinkle powdered sweet herbs over, and pour over them a salad dressing as in (a). Serve with a border of small radishes.

(d) Take 4 or 5 cold boiled potatoes, ½ small beetroot, ½ small Spanish onion, plainly boiled, and about 3 in. pickled cucumber. Cut them all in slices, and arrange them on a dish. Pour over them a salad dressing as in (a), adding a little English mustard to it, and strew powdered sweet herbs over. Serve with a border of hard-boiled eggs cut in slices.

(e) Cut some cold boiled potatoes in slices, arrange them neatly on a dish, slightly rubbed with shallot or garlic, and pour the following sauce over them; mince equal quantities of capers and parsley, and a few leaves of tarragon and thyme; add oil and vinegar in the proportion of 2 to 1, and pepper and salt to taste; beat all well together.

(f) Pound 6 well-washed anchovies in a mortar, with 2 hard-boiled yolks of eggs, 1 dessertspoonful French mustard, and a sprig or two of tarragon; then gradually work in salad oil, add pepper and lemon juice to taste, and salt if necessary. Strain the sauce over a dish of sliced cold boiled potatoes, and strew over all plenty of minced truffles.

Russian (Russe).--Boil some carrots and turnips in salted water with a small piece of butter, but do not let them be overdone; when cold cut out of them, with a vegetable scoop, a number of pieces the size of an olive; cut some beetroot in the same way, and likewise some truffles. Take equal parts--say a cupful--of each of the above, and a similar quantity of preserved fresh (not dried) haricot beans ready cooked, and of asparagus points preserved in the same way; 2 tablespoonfuls respectively of capers, of French pickled gherkins, cut into the shape of capers, and of anchovies, perfectly cleaned, and cut into small pieces; 2 doz. or more olives stoned, 1 tablespoonful tarragon and chervil minced fine, and half that quantity of chives, also minced. Mix the whole lightly together into a sauce, made with raw yolks of eggs, oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt, well worked together. Ornament with hard-boiled eggs, caviare, lobster spawn, olives, pickles, truffles, &c. The Spanish preserved sweet capsicums (Pimientos dulces) are a great addition to the above, not only for their exquisite taste, but on account of their brilliant colour.

Sardine.--Bone and skin some sardines and divide them into fillets; have ready some lettuces as for an ordinary salad, arrange these in the centre of the dish, pour over them a plain salad mixture, to which a little mustard has been added; dispose the fillets all round alternately with French olives washed and stoned.

Tomato (de Tomates).--(a) Peel some good-sized tomatoes, not over ripe, cut them in slices and remove the pips, lay them in a dish with oil and vinegar in the proportion of 2 to 1, sprinkle pepper and salt over them according to taste, a few leaves of basil finely minced, and some onions very finely sliced. They should lie in the sauce for 2 hours before serving.

(b) Take some tinned tomatoes, cut them up, slice very thin a raw onion, put them into a dish, and pour over them a mixture of 4 parts oil, 1 of vinegar; pepper and salt to taste; sprinkle with powdered sweet herbs. The dish may be previously rubbed with garlic or shallot.

Watercress (de Cresson).--(a) Take plenty of fresh young sprigs of watercress, wash them and dry them thoroughly, put them lightly in a dish, and pour over them a mixture made with 3 parts olive oil and 1 of lemon juice or vinegar.

(b) To (a) add a few sliced shallots, and garnish with tufts of scraped horseradish.

(c) Pick out a quantity of nice sprigs of watercress, turn them over in a mixture of 3 parts olive oil and 2 of tarragon vinegar, with salt q.s.; then put them round the dish or serve separately in a bowl.

=Puddings, Pastry, and Sweet Dishes.=--Agnew Pudding.--Stew 2-3 lb. apples, peeled and cored, with sugar to taste, and a little lemon peel, until reduced to a pulp; remove the lemon peel. Whisk 3 eggs to a froth, and then mix them with the apple pulp and 3-4 oz. butter, slightly warmed. Beat all well together until quite smooth. Border a pie dish with puff paste, pour in the mixture, and bake in the oven.

Albert Pudding.--Beat ½ lb. butter to a cream, add ½ lb. crushed loaf sugar, ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. chopped raisins, the juice of a lemon, some candied peel cut very fine; mix all well together, beat 6 eggs (yolks and whites separately), mix all together, put into a mould, boil 3½ hours. Serve with wine sauce.

Alexandra Ice Pudding.--Make 1 pint custard of milk or cream and the yolks of 4 eggs, and sugar to taste; break up and sift through a sieve ¼ lb. ratafia cakes; mix this with the custard, adding a few drops of extract of bitter almonds and freeze to 22° F. Have ready 2 oz. strawberries preserved whole, drain them well from their syrup, and dip each one in lemon juice. Put a layer of the ice into the mould, then a few strawberries, and so until all are used. Let the mould remain imbedded in ice for 2 hours.

Almond Génoise.--Beat in a mortar 2 oz. blanched almonds, adding some orange-flower water as wanted to prevent their oiling. Beat up in a bowl 2 oz. fresh butter (warmed) with 4 oz. powdered loaf sugar, add the almonds, the yolks of 4 and the whites of 2 eggs, one at a time, then very gradually 4 oz. fine flour. Continue beating until the mixture is perfectly smooth, then flavour it with some essence of vanilla, and bake as above. Spread the Génoise with apricot jam as above, and, instead of chocolate, use the following icing: Put the whites of 2 eggs into a basin with a little lemon juice and some glacé sugar; well work the mixture with a wooden spoon, and, as it gets thin, keep on adding more sugar until a smooth paste of the consistency of butter is obtained. Lay the icing evenly on the slab of Génoise with a palette knife, put it in the oven for a minute to set the icing, and put it out at once in a cold place, then cut up the slab as above.

Almond Jumbles.--Beat ½ lb. butter to a cream, with ½ lb. loaf sugar, pounded fine; mix with 1 lb. flour, and ¼ lb. almonds, blanched and shred fine, or beaten to a paste, with the juice of a lemon; work it well together, roll it out, then cut it into small round cakes, and bake them in a quick oven.

Almond Pastry.--Pound 3 oz. almonds, ¼ lb. butter, 2 oz. loaf sugar, with a little rose-water till it becomes a thick paste. Spread it on a buttered tin, bake in a slow oven. When cold divide it into 8 pieces, put a spoonful of preserve on each piece, and cover with whipped cream.

Almond Pudding.-½ lb. sweet almonds pounded, ¼ lb. pounded sugar, ¼ lb. breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. butter, 6 eggs, leaving out one white. Melt the butter, beat the eggs; add the sugar, then the butter, then the breadcrumbs and almonds; beat all together, butter a mould, put in layers with 3 tablespoonfuls apricot jam; boil 1½ hour; serve with sweet sauce, made with a tablespoonful of jam and a little water.

Almond Rice Pudding.--3 oz. ground rice boiled in 1 pint milk; when cold add 6 oz. melted butter, 6 oz. sugar, 6 eggs, 3 whites, and a few blanched bitter almonds; when baked, stick it with sweet almonds.

Almond Savarin.--Take 1 lb. fine sifted flour, 4 oz. pounded loaf sugar, ½ lb. fresh butter, 8 eggs and 1 oz. German yeast. Dissolve the yeast in rather less than ½ pint tepid milk, strain it, and work into it so much of the flour as will produce a soft dough. Roll this into a ball, place the remainder of the flour into a deep basin, lay the ball of dough on it, cover up the basin, and leave it in a warm place until the ball of dough (the sponge) has risen. Now add the sugar, the butter (just liquefied), the eggs, and a pinch of salt, and work the mixture lightly with the fingers until it becomes a smooth paste. Butter plentifully a large plain border mould (Savarin mould), mince some blanched almonds, not too fine, and strew the mould with as many of these as will stick to the butter; then pour in the cake mixture, which should not fill the mould more than ¾ full. Place the mould, covered up, in a warm place, and when the cake has well risen bake it in a moderate oven for about 1½ hour. Before turning the cake out of the mould stab the top of it (which will be the bottom when the cake is turned out) with a knife in several places, and pour all over it a mixture of 2 parts old rum, and one of very sweet syrup, so as to soak it well, but not too much, to the depth of an inch; then turn it in a dish, and serve. It may be eaten either hot or cold.

Amber Pudding.--(a) Put 1 lb. butter into a saucepan, with ¾ lb. crushed sugar; melt the butter, and mix well; then add the yolks of 15 eggs, well beaten, and as much candied orange peel (pounded to a paste) as will give colour and flavour. Line a dish with paste, fill with the mixture, lay a crust over, and bake in a slow oven.

(b) Loaf sugar 4 oz., melted butter 4 oz., the yolks of 4 eggs, and 1 tablespoonful orange marmalade; make all hot over the fire, then add 2 oz. candied orange peel in large slices, put a thin crust in a tin, pour in the above mixture, and bake ½ hour.

(c) ½ lb. white sugar, ½ lb. butter, boiled together for 5 minutes: when hot pour it upon the yolks of 8 eggs, well beaten; line a dish with puff paste, put some marmalade in the bottom, pour the mixture over it, and bake in a slow oven for ½ hour. This pudding is so rich, it is better eaten when cold.

(d) Line a pudding dish with good puff paste, take ½ lb. fresh butter, ½ lb. loaf sugar, and 8 eggs; take the yolks of the eggs, mix with the sugar and butter on the fire till it becomes thick, but not boiling; whip the whites of eggs to a froth, and mix with the other when cold. Put any sort of jam at the bottom of the dish, pour the mixture of eggs, &c., over it, and bake for ½ hour.

‘Angels’ Food.--Beat well the whites of 11 eggs, add 1½ tumblerfuls (3 gills) of pulverised sugar sifted 3 times, then add 2 teaspoonfuls extract of vanilla, and lastly 1 tumblerful (½ pint) of flour, which has been sifted with 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar 5 times; the flour must be measured both before and after sifting; it will be found to have gained a little, which increase must be rejected, using only the level tumblerful. Stir lightly together, and pour it into a new ungreased tin pan. Bake it in a moderate steady oven for 40 minutes. Cover it for the first 20 minutes with a sheet of paper. Let it cool in the pan, by turning the pan upside down, resting the edge of the pan upon 2 plates, in order to allow the air to circulate under the cake. Do not shake the pan while in the oven, or while cooling, or it will be heavy. It should be eaten the day it is baked. This cake is very fashionable in America just now; but to succeed with it, it is necessary to observe absolutely the directions.

Apple and Quince Tart.--Lay a disc of puff paste on a round tin, and place a strip of paste all round it as for an ordinary jam tart. Spread on the inside a layer of quince marmalade ¼ in. thick. Peel and core some apples, cut them in slices ¼ in. thick, trim all the slices to the same shape, dispose these slices over the marmalade, overlapping each other, and in some kind of pattern; strew plenty of sugar over, and bake in a quick oven till the apples are a good colour.

Apples and Tapioca.--Peel 4-6 good-sized apples, take out the core, and fill up the cavity with sugar and powdered cinnamon, putting a small piece of butter on the top of each. Place them in a baking dish, and strew round them about a cupful of tapioca (raw) mixed with sugar and some grated lemon rind; fill the dish with water, and put in a gentle oven until both apples and tapioca are done.

Apples, Baked.--Baked apples are very nice filled in with plain custard, also with rice and cornflour, dressed as for a pudding, and poured in where the cores were; or take a piece of quince cheese and place it in when the apples are about half done. Blackberry jam also is very nice, but must not be put in till the apples are done, or it spreads over the dish too much.

Apple Cake.--Take 1 lb. lump sugar, put it to 1 pint water, let it boil till quite dissolved and ready to candy; then add 2 lb. apples pared and sliced, and the peel of a lemon, if liked. Boil all together till quite stiff; then put it into a mould, and when cold it will turn out. Serve with custard round, and, if liked, a few almonds blanched, split, and stuck in the cake. These cakes will keep for several weeks.

Apple Charlotte.--Cut from a household loaf a number of slices of uniform thickness (¼ to ⅜ in.); butter a plain mould and all the slices of bread; shape one of them round to fit the bottom of the mould, and another one for the top; cut the rest in pieces 1 in. wide, and the height of the mould in length; lay one of the round pieces at the bottom of the mould, and line the sides with the small pieces, carefully smearing the edges with white of egg, so as to make them well hold together. Stew a quantity of apples with plenty of brown sugar, a little water, the juice and the thin rind of a lemon, and a piece of cinnamon; when thoroughly done pass them through a hair sieve; fill the mould with this purée, put on the round slice of bread for the cover, and set in a quick oven for about 1½ hour.

Apple Compote.--Peel, core, and halve 6 large apples, trimming them so as to get them all of a size; drop them as they are done into cold water with the juice of a lemon squeezed into it, to prevent their turning brown. Have ready a strong syrup (made with 1 lb. sugar and 1 qt. water) boiling hot; put the apples into this, with the thin rind of a lemon and 2 or 3 cloves. As soon as they are cooked (great care must be taken that they do not break), take them out and dispose them, concave side uppermost, on a glass dish; place a piece of currant jelly or quince jelly in the hollow of each apple, then well reduce the syrup, and, when cold, pour as much of it as is necessary under the apples.

Apple Cream Cake.--Rub 1 oz. butter into ¾ lb. flour, and take half a pint of sour cream; dissolve 1 teaspoonful soda carbonate in 1 teaspoon boiling water, add it to the sour cream, and stir until it froths well. If the cream is very sour, it may require a little more soda. Be careful that it is frothy, or else the paste will not be light. Stir the frothing cream into the flour, enough to make a soft paste; line a greased plate with a thin layer of paste; have ready some stewed apples, sweetened and perfectly cold, grated lemon peel mixed in just before they are put into the cake, and as little juice from the apples as possible, or the crust will be soddened. Spread the stewed apple over the paste, leaving a narrow margin for the top crust to adhere to the bottom; roll out the top crust 1 in. thick; pinch the edges well together to make it a little ornamented round the edge, and bake it in a quick oven. This quantity of paste should make two good-sized cakes, the size of a dinner plate; a tin plate is best to bake them on; they are equally good cold or hot, and are eaten with sugar and cream.

Apple Custard.--Apple chips or rings are as nice as ordinary fruit, and in winter much cheaper. They can be got at an ordinary grocers, and must be soaked 12 hours before using. Take ½ lb. of the fruit when soaked, and stir gently with sugar, lemon peel and cloves to taste, till tender. When cool, pour into a glass dish, and cover with the following custard: ½ pint milk, 1 egg, ½ small teaspoonful cornflour, 2 lumps of sugar. Mix the cornflour carefully with the milk, then whisk the egg and add it with the sugar (which is best sifted); put the whole into a jug and stand in boiling water, stirring well till it thickens, then pour it over the apples, and grate nutmeg on the top. (Bessie Tremaine.)

Apple Devil.--The following is a delicious way of dressing apples, and is not very well known: Peel and core about 30 good baking apples, and slice them into a little cold water; add equal weight of lump sugar, the juice and peel of 2 lemons cut very thin, 2 oz. very finely grated ginger, and 1 teaspoonful cayenne pepper. Boil all together till the apples look quite clear. The quantity of cayenne can be diminished to suit the taste. This will keep good for 2-3 years, and is to be eaten as a preserve. If required for a dish for dinner, beat up the whites of 4 eggs till very stiff; sprinkle with a little crushed sugar whilst beating. When very firm pile it on some of the preserve previously placed in a dish, and put in the oven till nicely browned. It may be served either hot or cold.

Apple Dumplings.--Take some finely sifted flour, say ½ lb., and ¼ lb. suet very finely shred, and well freed from skin. Mix the suet and flour, add a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoonful baking powder, with sufficient cold water or milk to make it of the right consistency. Knead it well, and roll it out to the thickness required. Divide this paste into as many pieces as are required for the dumplings. Take some large-sized apples, peel, core, sprinkle them with moist sugar, then insert into the cavity of each some butter, sugar, and a clove. Cover them with the paste, and join the edges carefully. Tie each dumpling up in a floured cloth, and boil about 1 hour. Untie them carefully, and turn them out without breaking them; serve with cream and sugar. A little currant jelly may be substituted for the butter, sugar, and clove.

Apple Fool.--(a) In the country where milk and apples are plentiful, this is a cheap treat for children, and very nice. In towns, it may be necessary to soak a little light bread in the milk and beat it up with the apples to make them go further. Bake good sharp apples slowly, then they will not burst; when done, take out the pulp, rub it smooth, sweeten, add a little lemon flavouring, and a tablespoonful of new, or a teaspoonful of condensed, milk, and serve in a bowl. (Mary Hooper.)

(b) The proportion of milk or cream would be 1 pint new milk to 2 lb. apples. It is impossible to give the exact quantity of sugar also, as it must entirely depend on the kind of apple used, some apples requiring so much more sweetening than others; it must be a matter of taste. It is better not to put too much in at first, but a certain amount must be put in with the first boiling of the apples, and more added afterwards if not sweet enough. The apples must be peeled, the cores removed, and then put into a pudding basin with a little water, just enough to start the juice, loaf sugar, and a few cloves. Cover the basin with a plate, and put it into a moderately hot oven to cook the apples gradually until quite soft, when they must be beaten until smooth with a wooden spoon. The milk must have been previously boiled, sweetened, and allowed to get cold. Add this by degrees to the beaten apple; mix thoroughly, and, when well amalgamated, serve it cold in a glass dish. Unless the milk be new, cream should be used with it in equal quantities. A bay leaf boiled with the milk is a great improvement.

Apple Ginger.--(a) 7 lb. apples, pared and cored, 7 lb. pounded loaf sugar, 2 oz. ground ginger, the juice of 3 lemons, 1 pint water. Boil slowly rather more than ½ hour. Put in moulds and cover with paper.

(b) Peel, core, and quarter 2-3 lb. small russet apples. Any apples will do that do not break in the boiling, but small ones look better. Put them in a jar with layers of whole ginger, about 2 oz. Make a syrup with ¾ pint water, 1 oz. ginger, and 1½ lb. lump sugar, and pour it boiling over the apples. Let it stand till the next day, then simmer the whole very slowly until the apples are tender and look transparent; take the apples out and drain them, and boil the syrup fast until it is thick. Pour it again over the apples, and when cold bottle.

(c) 4 lb. apples, 1 qt. water, 4 lb. sugar, 2 oz. best essence of ginger. Pare the apples, and cut them in slices as for a pie. As you pare and core them, throw them into a basin of cold water. Boil the sugar and water nearly 15 minutes until it forms a nice syrup; then put in the apples. Do not stir them much. Add the ginger; boil 1 hour till it becomes yellow and clear. Be sure not to let it boil fast.

Apple Pudding.--(a) Make a paste with equal quantities sifted flour and finely chopped suet, a pinch of salt, and a little water. Roll it out thin into a large piece, place this over a well-buttered basin, and push it in so as to line the basin with it, cut it off all round so as to leave enough to fold up; roll out the trimmings to such a size as to cover the top of the basin. Pare, core, and slice a quantity of good sound apples. Put them in the basin with brown sugar to taste, and either some chopped lemon peel, 2 or 3 cloves, or a little grated nutmeg; add a small piece of fresh butter, pack the apples tight in, put on the cover of paste, turn up the edges and press them down, tie a floured pudding cloth over, and put the basin into a saucepanful of boiling water, which should come well over the pudding. Boil 2-3 hours according to size.

(b) Stew 2 lb. apples to a pulp; sweeten to taste while stewing, and when taken off the fire stir in 2 oz. good fresh butter; when cold, add 2 eggs beaten up; butter well the bottom and sides of a pudding dish; strew crumbs of bread 2 in. thick, over the bottom and sides, put in the apples well mixed with the 2 eggs, strew breadcrumbs over the top, and a few tiny bits of butter and white sugar. Bake in a moderate oven, and serve the pudding with cream or custard.

Apple Rings.--(a) Soak apple rings for 12 hours in cold water, when they will be fit for every use in casking apples, and found superior to our English apples, for sauce, puddings, &c., in particular. (J. B. F.)

(b) These cook much nicer and softer if they are soaked overnight in sufficient cold water to cover them, using the same water to stew them with. If this is not convenient, put them in an enamelled saucepan--an iron one turns them black--and nearly cover them with cold water. Put in a small piece of stick cinnamon, and a few cloves: this flavouring seems to suit them better than lemon peel; add sufficient sugar when they begin to simmer, and stew until soft, which should be in ½ hour. When apple rings are stewed, they can be spread on a suet paste and be used for roly-poly puddings, or be eaten with blancmange or boiled rice, or be made into puffs, open tarts, or an apple pasty. For example, line a Yorkshire pudding tin, greased, with short paste, put in a deep layer of stewed apples and cover it with a lid of paste, pinching the edges well between finger and thumb in a crinkled fashion; brush over the top with water, sprinkle castor sugar thickly over, and bake for ½ hour in a moderate oven; turn it carefully out of the tin by placing a flat board on the top of the pasty, and turn the tin bottom upwards, when the pasty will come out of the tin; now place your dish on the bottom of the pasty and turn it over again, which will bring the pasty right side uppermost, and if done carefully it will not break. If any of the sugar falls off, grate some sugar on the bare places. To be eaten either hot or cold. Covered tarts can be made with apple rings in this way: line a shallow tin, or a dinner plate, with a thin paste, spread a layer of stewed apple and cover with a lid of paste--either short or puff--and bake it for 20 minutes; cover with thin icing, made by beating the white of an egg with 1 tablespoonful castor sugar and 1 teaspoonful lemon juice together for 5 minutes with a whisk; spread this icing over the tart with a knife and set it in a cool oven for ¼ hour to harden. These covered tarts can be made to look pretty by spreading the white icing evenly over the crust, letting it harden 5 minutes in the oven; colour a small portion of the icing with cochineal, and put it round the edge in little pink buttons, setting the tart back in the oven for the rest of the time to harden. Apple rings can be cooked nicely in deep tarts; but, unless there is a good bottom heat to the oven, they do not cook sufficiently soft in the same time it takes to bake the crust properly, and it is best to have them stewed first.

Apple Roly-Poly.--Make a suet crust, roll it out thinly, put slices of apple all over it, sift over the apple sugar and the grated peel of a lemon or powdered cinnamon; roll it up, pinch the ends very securely; boil it in a cloth 1½ hour, and, if large, 2 hours.

Apple Snow.--(a) Pare and core 6 good-sized apples, steam them in 2 tablespoonfuls water, with a little lemon peel, till quite soft. Add ¼ lb. finely sifted white sugar, and the white of 1 quite fresh egg. Beat it well for ¾ hour without stopping, and serve as you please. It looks best in custard glasses heaped up.

(b) Take ¼ lb. of the pulp of roasted apples, ¼ lb. powdered loaf sugar, the juice of half a lemon, some of the rind rubbed into 2 lumps of sugar and then pounded, and the whites of 3 or 4 eggs. Whip all together for an hour, till it is like whipped cream, and drop it lightly into a glass dish.

(c) Stew some apples till tender, sweeten to taste, mash them up, and place them in the centre of a dish; round and over them place a layer of boiled rice (dry); whisk the whites of 3 or 4 eggs until quite light and frothy; cover the whole with this froth, sprinkle over it powdered sugar, colouring a little of it with cochineal.

Apples, Stewed.--(a) Peel and core 6 apples, put the cores and parings into 1 qt. water, and simmer gently. Strain off, and pour the liquor over the apples, adding the juice of half a lemon, and 3 oz. white sugar. Boil gently till the apples are quite tender, then turn out into a basin, and beat up with a fork, gradually adding about 1 teacupful cream. When the whole is about the consistency of cream, pile up in a glass dish, and put away in a cool place. Whipped cream or the whites of eggs, well whisked, may be put over the top before serving.

(b) For a small dish, 5 large apples will be enough. Peel them, take out the cores, put them into a pie-dish with their weight of loaf sugar, 1 pint water, half the rind of a lemon, and a few drops of cochineal. Put them in the oven until done through. Remove the apples on to a dish without breaking, put the liquor into a stewpan, and set it on the fire to reduce to a syrup; pour it over the apples, first taking out the lemon peel. They may be done in the same way without colouring; the lemon peel should then be taken out at the same time as the apples. Cut the peel up into very fine strips, and when the syrup is made, throw in the strips of peel, to be served up in it round the apples. The syrup should be perfectly clear. Just before sending to table, put 1 teaspoonful red currant jelly in the hole at the top of each apple, or a dried cherry on the top of each makes a pretty garnish.

Apple Tart.--Lay a disc of puff paste on a round tin, spread a layer (about ⅜ in. thick) of apple marmalade over it, leaving a rim 1 in. wide clear all round; roll out, and cut some of the paste in strips the size of a straw; form a trellis-work with them over the marmalade, then put a border of paste all round over the rim. Glaze the top of the border and trellis with beaten-up egg, and bake in quick oven.

Apricot Cake.--Make a cake with 3 eggs, their weight in butter, flour, and sugar; beat up the eggs till very light, mix with them their weight in castor sugar; now add the flour, into which you have mixed ½ teaspoonful baking powder; and lastly the butter, just dissolved by putting into a hot stewpan and shaking round. It should be dissolved, but not hot. Beat the cake a few minutes; put into a small cake tin, and bake ½ hour in a rather quick oven; when done, take from the oven, and let stay in the tin while you prepare the apricots, cut them in halves, take out the stones. Make a syrup with ¼ lb. sugar to ½ pint water; boil up, and put in the apricots, and stew gently till they are done, they should not be broken; lift them out, and reduce the syrup by quick boiling; let it cool, turn the cake very gently out of the tin; cut the cake round about ½ in. from the edge, take off the same, scoop out the centre, fill it with the apricots and put a whip of cream on the top, and the remainder of the apricots can be arranged round the base, the insides turned upwards, the stones cracked, and the kernels blanched, and one put in the centre of each half apricot.

Apricot Chartreuse.--Take a tin of preserved apricots, turn out the contents into a saucepan, add 6 oz. sugar, ½ pint water, and a glass of wine; let them boil up; strain off the syrup, take out the kernels, remove the outer skin carefully from the apricots, and leave them to get cold. Add to 1 pint of the syrup 16 sheets best French gelatine steeped in a little water, boil up the whole, and clarify with 3 whites of eggs; have 2 plain moulds, one about 1¼ in. more in diameter than the other, pour a very little jelly at the bottom of the larger mould, and place in it a layer of slices of apricots prepared as above, and a few split kernels; cover this with more jelly, but only put enough to get a smooth surface; lay this on ice to set. When it is quite firm, put the small mould inside the large one, taking care to place it exactly in the middle, so that the vacant space between the two moulds be of the same width all round. In this vacant space dispose slices of apricots and the rest of the kernels, filling up the interstices with the jelly until all the space is filled up. Place the mould upon ice: whip a pint of cream with ½ oz. dissolved isinglass and some of the apricot syrup, which must be added to it a very little at a time, or the cream will not rise to a froth. When the cream is ready and the jelly set, remove the inner mould by pouring warm water into it, and fill up the inner space of the chartreuse with the cream: set it on ice for an hour, turn out and serve.

Apricot Cream.--Take a tin of preserved apricots, turn out the contents into a saucepan, add 2 oz. sugar, let them boil for ¼ hour, and pass them through a tammy. Dissolve 1 oz. or 7 sheets best French gelatine in a little milk, whip to a froth a pint of cream. Mix the gelatine with the apricot pulp, then quickly work into it the cream, pour the mixture into a mould, and put it on ice to set. When wanted, dip the mould in hot water and turn out the cream.

Apricot Omelet.--Beat up the whites of 4 and the yolks of 6 eggs with a very small pinch of salt. Put a piece of fresh butter in the omelet pan, and directly it is melted pour in the eggs. As soon as they are set, fold up the omelet, inserting within the fold as much apricot jam as will lie in it. Turn out the omelet neatly on its dish, cover it with powdered sugar, and glaze it with a red-hot salamander.

Apricot Toast.--Take some ripe but not over-ripe apricots, halve and stone them. Make some syrup with plenty of white sugar and some water: when boiled for 2 hours strain; lay the pieces of apricot in the syrup, and add a glass of white wine; simmer for a few minutes. Cut out of the crumb of a milk loaf some rounds a little larger than the apricots. Fry them a pale yellow in fresh butter, drain and arrange them in a circle on a dish with a piece of apricot on each round, concave side uppermost: put a kernel in the centre of each, pour the syrup well over, and serve with some whipped cream in the centre of the dish.

Arrowroot Blancmange.--(a) Take 1 qt. milk and mix 3 oz. best arrowroot with a cupful of it cold. Then boil the rest of it with 6 laurel leaves or a chip of vanilla as preferred, pour it boiling on the arrowroot, stir quite smooth, sweeten, boil the whole for 10 minutes, taking care it does not burn, and put into a mould. The cause of its cracking is either bad arrowroot or under-boiling.

(b) Dissolve a little isinglass or gelatine in the milk with which the arrowroot is made; it will stand, but it is the nature of arrowroot to become liquid after a short time. Sago and tapioca both make very nice blancmange, and are firmer than arrowroot. They may be either flavoured with lemon or vanilla, or served plain with jam and cream round them.

Arrowroot Pudding.--Mix 1 teacupful arrowroot with ½ pint cold milk; put 1 qt. milk into a saucepan, with cinnamon, lemon or orange peel, and boil it, sweetening it with 2 oz. sugar. Pound 12 bitter almonds, and mix them with the arrowroot and cold milk; strain it through a hair sieve, and add it to the boiling milk, stirring it well. When it begins to thicken, add 1 teaspoonful fresh butter, and, when thoroughly done, pour it into a mould. Do not turn out until quite cold.

Arrowroot Shape.--Mix 2 oz. arrowroot in ½ pint cold water, let it settle; pour off the water, and flavour the arrowroot with a little orange-flower water. Boil 1 qt. milk with some sugar and a little cinnamon, strain through a tammy on to the arrowroot, stirring all the time; simmer a short time, still stirring; put it into a well-oiled mould, turn it out the following day, and serve it with a custard made with 1 pint milk, 4 yolks of eggs, and flavoured with orange-flower water.

Aunt Eleanor’s Tartlets.--Prepare ½ lb. apples, as for a tart, and put them in a stewpan with a wineglass of water, 4 oz. preserving sugar, a small piece of cinnamon, 4 cloves, and 2 small strips of lemon peel; stew until the apples are quite tender, when pass them through a sieve, and set them aside to cool. Should the apples not be rather sharp, a squeeze of lemon juice may be added. Now break 2 eggs into a basin, and whisk them until well mixed, stir to them gradually half a stale penny sponge cake, and 1 oz. loaf sugar reduced to a fine powder, and, last of all, 2 oz. liquefied butter; mix well. Line some pattypans with good puff crust, and put in them first a little of your apple pulp, and cover this with a layer of the egg mixture. Bake in a moderate oven until of a fine golden brown, and serve either hot or cold, as preferred.

Baba.--Have ready 1 lb. fine flour passed through a sieve, 4 oz. raisins (stoned), 4 oz. currants, 8 eggs, 4 oz. pounded sugar, 4 oz. fresh butter, 1 glass brandy, 1 oz. German yeast. Dissolve the yeast in ½ pint tepid milk, strain it, and mix in it a good handful of the flour; work it lightly with the hand into a light soft dough, which is called “the sponge,” put it into a deep stewpan or basin, leave it in a warm place to rise, put the remainder of the flour on a slab or pastry board in a heap, make a hollow space in the centre, break the eggs into it, add a good pinch of salt, and pour the butter just warm on to the eggs; work all lightly together, using the fingers of both hands, raising the hands up and down, so as to beat the air into the paste, when whisking the white of an egg; this should be done just before the sponge is ready, then mix in the sponge in the same light way, and lastly, add the rest of the ingredients; lift the whole into a large well-buttered mould, and put it in a warm place free from draught until it is nicely risen: bake 1½-2 hours in a moderate oven; serve hot, with either red currant jelly or apple jelly, melted with a little brandy, in a sauceboat.

Baden-Baden Pudding.--Boil ¼ lb. rice in milk to a smooth mash, and with it 1 in. vanilla to flavour. Soak ½ oz. gelatine in cold water a few minutes, then add it to the rice to boil. Whip a pint of cream, with a ¼ lb. sifted sugar, to a froth. When the rice is cooled to lukewarm, stir it briskly into the cream. Wet a mould, fill it with the mass, and set it in a cold place, or in ice. Turn it out when firm.

Bakewell Pudding.-½ lb. butter, the yolks of 8 eggs, the whites of 2, ½ lb. powdered white sugar; cover a pie-dish with puff paste, put a layer of any kind of preserves about 1 in. thick; gently melt the butter, add that to the eggs. When nearly cold, beat all well together and flavour with almond essence; pour the mixture into the dish about 1 in. thick; bake it about 1 hour in a moderate oven.

Batter Pudding.--(a) Take 2 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 of butter, and 1 breakfastcupful milk. Beat the butter to a cream, beat the eggs, add a little white sugar, and for a change the grated rind of a lemon; put in the flour and milk, and beat all together. Pour the mixture into a buttered shallow dish, and bake 20 minutes in a sharp oven. It may also be baked in common saucers instead of a dish, when the puddings should be doubled up when turned out, so as to form semicircles on the dish, and sifted sugar strewn over them.

(b) Make a batter of 2 eggs, 1 pint milk, 6 tablespoonfuls flour, and a pinch of salt; line a pie-dish with marmalade or preserve, and bake 40 minutes in a quick oven; apples sliced into the batter instead of the jam are very good.

(c) Mix ½ lb. flour in a basin with ½ teaspoonful salt; break in 2 eggs, mix well, and gradually add 1 pint milk, mixing it all the time. Should there be any lumps, they should disappear in the moistening. Let it stand a short time to rise, butter a pie-dish, pour the batter in, and bake in a quick oven; it ought not to take more than ½ hour to bake; it should have risen very high, and must be served at once, before it has time to fall. For boiling, butter a pudding basin, pour the same batter into it, tie down tightly with a cloth, and put it into a saucepan of boiling water. It should be moved about for a few minutes after it is put into the water, to prevent the flour from settling in any part. It will take rather more than 1 hour to boil; turn it out, and serve at once, with either wine sauce or sweet sauce round it in the dish.

Biscuit Charlotte.--Line a basin closely with some thin finger biscuits, so as to form a complete case. Peel, slice, and core 12 apples, and stew with them a few cherries in butter. Fill the case with the fruit, but leaving a hole in the centre, in which place a small glass, which may contain any jam or preserved fruits; boil 1 hour and turn out. Pour over or serve with clotted cream or custard.

Bishop Pudding.--Butter some thin slices of bread, without crust, and over the butter spread a good layer of jam. Cut the slices into convenient pieces. Line and border a deep pie-dish with puff paste, arrange the slices of bread and butter in the dish until half full. Make an ordinary, rather milky ground rice pudding, flavour the milk with which it is made with the rind of a lemon. Sweeten to taste, and add to it 2 or 3 beaten-up eggs, according to the size of the pudding. Pour this mixture into the pie-dish, and bake in a brisk oven.

Blackberry Mould.--Put 1 lb. ripe blackberries into a pudding basin, place this in a larger one of hot water, put a plate on the top, and let it remain in the oven until the fruit is soft. Press out all the juice and mix it with rather more than 1 lb. apples, previously pared, cored, and cut into quarters; put both together into a preserving pan; let them boil for ½ hour, and then add ¾ lb. powdered loaf sugar; let it boil for 10 minutes more, stirring with a silver spoon, when it will be ready to put into the mould, which should be of earthenware. A little grated lemon peel should be added.

Blackberry Puddings and Tarts.--Both are better for having a small quantity of any good cooking apple mixed with the berries; the apples should be sliced as thinly as possible, and should be at once stirred in with the other fruit and with sugar.

Blancmange.--Take 6 bitter almonds and 8-9 oz. sweet almonds blanched and peeled, pound them in a mortar with a little orange-flower water; when reduced to a paste add rather less than 1 pint milk, pounded loaf sugar to taste, a little more orange-flower water. Strain the mixture through a cloth, squeezing it well, into a basin containing 8 or 9 sheets best French gelatine dissolved in 1 pint water; mix well, put into a mould set on ice, turn it out just before serving.

Bombay Pudding.--(a) Soojee is only the native name for semolina. Cut slices of bread without crust, ½ in. thick, and toast them a light brown on both sides. Then boil brown sugar to a syrup, and pour it over the bread, which become saturated with it.

(b) Half roast 2 lb. soojee, then boil it in water until it becomes very thick; butter a soup plate, and pour the boiled soojee into it; when it has cooled and congealed cut it into 8 cakes; rub the cakes over with the yolk of an egg, dredge with finely sifted flour, and fry in butter until they acquire a rich brown colour. Arrange them in a dish, and pour over them a thick syrup flavoured with lemon juice.

Boston Pudding.--Rub 6 oz. butter or nice beef dripping into 1 lb. flour; add 6 oz. currants or sultana raisins, 6 oz. moist sugar, ½ teaspoonful powdered cinnamon, and ¼ nutmeg, grated. Dissolve 2 teaspoonfuls soda carbonate in ½ pint milk, being careful to mix the soda perfectly smooth and free from lumps in a tablespoonful of the milk first, and then add the rest of the half pint, stirring it well before mixing it with the other ingredients, so that the soda does not settle to the bottom of the milk. Beat all together for a minute, and put the mixture into a buttered mould, which should not be quite full. The pudding cloth should be allowed room for the pudding to swell, which it does considerably. Plunge into fast-boiling water, and keep boiling for 2½ hours. This makes a very light pudding, and, if properly made, no trace of the soda--which many people object to--can be detected.

Bread Pudding.--(a) Put all scraps of bread into the oven until they become a nice brown, roll them while hot quite fine. For a good-sized pudding take ½ lb. crumbs ¼ lb. brown sugar or golden syrup, ¼ lb. currants or raisins, 1 pint milk, 1 teaspoonful allspice, and 1 pint boiling water. Pour the boiling water over the crumbs, stir them well, and let them soak until soft; then add all the ingredients, mix well, rub the pie-dish with dripping, fill it, put some more dripping on the top of the pudding, and bake ½ hour. This pudding is a general favourite with children and servants.

(b) Cut a roll in thin slices, well butter a mould, and stick it all round with raisins stoned and opened; put the bread lightly in; make a sweet batter with 3 or 4 eggs, flavour it with vanilla: pour it over, and leave it to soak well; bake or steam for an hour. Any flavouring may be used.

(c) 1 lb. breadcrumbs, 1 lb. raisins, 1 lb. currants, 1 pint milk, six eggs, 4 oz. butter, and 1 lb. sugar. Pour the boiling milk on the breadcrumbs, cover with a plate and let it remain for 1 hour; then add the butter, currants, raisins stoned and cut a little, and the sugar; mix all well together, adding candied fruit, a little grated lemon peel, and spice, and the eggs well beaten; boil 4 hours in a buttered basin or mould, and serve with sweet sauce. If it be requisite to add a little flour, boil an hour longer.

(d) Grate 3 oz. breadcrumbs, and pour over them ¾ pint boiling milk, in which a lump of butter, the size of an egg, has been dissolved. Soak for ½ hour; then add 1 tablespoonful moist sugar, and the yolks of 3 well beaten eggs; beat with a fork for 3 minutes; spread a layer of any kind of jam 1 in. thick at the bottom of a pie-dish, not greased. Pour the mixture over the jam, and then heap on the top the whites of the 3 eggs well whisked with a little castor sugar. Bake in a gentle oven for ½ hour, taking care the bottom of the oven is not hot enough to scorch the jam.

(e) Make a quantity of breadcrumbs by rubbing the crumb of a stale loaf through a fine wire sieve; put 1 pint milk and 1 oz. fresh butter into a saucepan on the fire, with sugar to taste, and the thin rind of a lemon, cut if possible in one piece; when the milk boils strew breadcrumbs into it until a thick porridge is obtained; turn it out into a basin. When cold remove the lemon rind, and stir in one by one the yolks of 4 eggs, mix well, then stir in the whites of 2 eggs beaten up to a stiff froth and a small quantity of candied citron peel cut very thin. Have a plain mould, buttered and breadcrumbed very carefully all over, pour the composition into it, and bake it about ½ hour. To be eaten hot or cold.

(f) Line the bottom and sides of a basin with slices of bread; mix a pot of jam with a little hot water, put a layer of the jam in the basin, then a layer of bread, then more jam; continue this until the basin is full; put a plate on the top. Turn out the next day, and serve with custard round it.

(g) 6 oz. stale brown breadcrumbs, 6 oz. fresh butter, 4 eggs (the yolks and whites whisked separately), ½ oz. powdered cinnamon, ½ lb. coarsest brown sugar. Cream the butter, then mix well with the sugar till quite smooth, add the well-beaten eggs, and stir in gradually the other ingredients. Steam the pudding for 2 hours or even more (it cannot be too much done). When turned out, pour melted cherry jam over it, and serve hot.

(h) Cut the crust from slices of a dry tin loaf ¼ in. thick; spread with butter slightly and cover thickly with preserve. Take a quart mould and butter perfectly--to look well the mould should be marked plainly in broad flutes. Pile the prepared bread lightly in the mould, having first cut it in diamonds as for sippets. Beat 4 eggs with a pint of milk, sweeten and pour over the bread. Lay a buttered paper on the top, and after standing ½ hour cook in boiling water for 1 hour. A cloth should be tied over the mould above the paper, and the water should only reach ¾ of the mould. A clear arrowroot sauce flavoured with sherry should be served with it, and a large spoonful of fresh jam spread on the top when turned out.

(i) Take 1 egg, its weight in fresh butter (melted), its weight in flour, 1 dessertspoonful marmalade, 1 ditto raspberry jam, the weight of the egg in breadcrumbs, and 1 teaspoonful soda carbonate. Break the egg and beat it up well; add the melted butter, the flour, the breadcrumbs, and the jam and marmalade; beat all up well together, and, lastly, put in the soda carbonate. Butter a basin, pour in the mixture, tie it down well, and steam it in a saucepan for 1½ hour. Turn out and serve with custard sauce. This is a light and delicious little pudding, and can be of course made larger by using double or treble the quantities. It turns out quite dark, and light as a feather. It is also nice with fruit sauce of any kind.

(j) Break the bread into small pieces and pour on them as much boiling water or milk as will soak them well. Let these stand till the liquid is cool, press it out, and mash the bread till it is quite free from lumps. Measure this pulp, and to every quart stir in ½ teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful grated nutmeg, 3 oz. moist sugar, mix all well together, and put it into a well-buttered pie-dish. Break 1½ oz. butter in small pieces over the top; bake in a moderate oven 1½ hour. Or, to every ¾ pint pulp add 1½ pint milk, sugar to taste, 4 eggs, 1 oz. butter; pour the milk boiling on the bread, let it stand till cold, add the other ingredients, beat well, and put into a buttered basin, tie it down tightly, plunge it into boiling water, boil for 1¼ hour.

Brioche.--Dissolve 1 oz. German yeast in ½ pint tepid water, strain and mix with it enough flour to form a light dough, put this sponge to rise in a warm place in a basin covered up with a cloth. When it has risen to double its size, put 1 lb. flour on the pastry slab, make a hollow in the centre, place the sponge in it with 1 lb. fresh butter just warmed sufficiently to make it liquid, ¼ oz. salt, 1 gill milk, and 10 eggs; work all lightly together into a paste, adding more flour if needful, to the consistency of bread dough, roll it into a ball, and put it by for 3 hours covered up in a warm place. Then flatten it out, fold up the edges towards the centre, and make it into a ball again, repeating this operation 3 times. The last time take rather less than ¼ of the paste away, make the remainder into a round cake, flatten it slightly, and place the lesser portion on the top, wetting the under side of it. The brioche should look like a cottage loaf. Glaze it all over with egg, and bake it on a buttered tin in a quick oven about ¾ hour.

Brown or Quay Pudding.--2 eggs, their weight in flour and butter, the weight of one in sugar; beat the butter to a cream with the sugar, add the eggs well beaten, stir in the flour, then stir in 2 tablespoonfuls raspberry jam or jelly. Just before putting the pudding into the mould, beat in ½ teaspoonful soda carbonate. Boil or steam for 1¾ hour. Leave plenty of room for the pudding to rise in the mould. Serve with wine or sweet sauce. If preferred, put 2 tablespoonfuls nice treacle or golden syrup, with ½ teaspoonful ground ginger, instead of the raspberry jam.

Cabinet Pudding.--(a) Spread the inside of a mould with butter, and ornament the bottom and the sides with dried cherries or raisins and candied peel; fill the mould with alternate slices of sponge cakes and ratafias or macaroons, then fill up the mould with a cold custard made with 7 eggs and 1 pint of milk boiled with 6 oz. sugar, flavour with rind of lemon or vanilla, all well mixed together; steam the pudding for 1¼ hour, and when done serve with whip sauce made in the following way: Put 4 yolks of eggs into a small deep stewpan, add 2 oz. sifted sugar, a glass of sherry, a little lemon juice and grated peel, and a grain of salt: whisk the sauce over a moderate heat, taking care to set the stewpan which contains the sauce in another of somewhat larger size already containing a little hot water, and as soon as it presents the appearance of a well-set creamy froth pour it over the pudding, and serve immediately.

(b) Well butter a plain mould and ornament it by sticking dried cherries along the sides in rows at equal distances from top to bottom, letting them meet in the centre. Place ratafia cakes and sponge biscuits cut to half their thickness in alternate layers, until the mould is full; pour over them sherry and a little brandy, just as much as they will absorb. If the mould be a large one, the yolks of 8 eggs will be required, these to be beaten with as much new milk as will make a sufficient quantity of custard to pour over the cakes and to quite fill the mould; a little grated nutmeg, and ginger if liked, to be added to the custard while beating. If the milk is not new a few spoonfuls of cream must be mixed with the milk. Cover the mould with a sheet of buttered writing paper, and place it in a stewpan half filled with boiling water; put on the lid, and let the pudding steam for 1½ hour. A hot custard may be poured round the pudding as sauce, or some red currant jelly diluted and thinned with a spoonful of hot water may be served with it; neither must be poured over the pudding.

(c) Butter a plain mould, ornament it with raisins split and stoned in the same way as in (b), nearly fill up the mould with slices of bread and butter (leaving room for the bread to swell), cut from the crumb of a French roll, the slices should not be very thin, but should be well buttered. Make a custard of the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs (according to the size of the mould) and milk, flavouring as before; pour this over the bread and butter until the mould is full, cover with buttered writing-paper, and steam for 1½ hour. Serve with sweet sauce in the dish.

Caledonian Cream.--2 oz. raspberry jam, 2 oz. red currant jam, 2 oz. sifted loaf sugar, the whites of 2 eggs. Put all into a bowl, and beat with a spoon for ¾ hour.

Cambridge Pudding.--Take 1 lb. flour, 1 dessertspoonful Borwick’s egg powder, 3 oz. white sugar, 6 oz. good dripping, a pinch of salt, a teacupful of sultana raisins or currants, and 1 oz. candied peel cut fine. Mix well together, then stir in ½ pint milk; pour into a buttered dish, and bake more than ½ hour. Another plain pudding is to line a basin with paste made of dripping; then put a layer of treacle, then a layer of paste, and so on until the basin is filled; then tie in a cloth and boil 1½ hour.

Canary Pudding.--The weight of 3 eggs in sugar and butter, the weight of 2 eggs in flour, the rind of a small lemon, 3 eggs. Melt the butter to a liquid state, but do not allow it to oil, stir to this the sugar and finely minced lemon peel, then very gradually dredge in the flour, stirring the mixture well all the time, then add the eggs well beaten, mix well until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended, put into a well-buttered basin or mould, boil for 2 hours, and serve with wine sauce. (Beeton.)

Caramel Custards.--Put a handful of loaf sugar in a saucepan with a little water, and set it on the fire until it becomes a dark brown caramel, then add more water (boiling) to produce a dark liquor like strong coffee. Beat up the yolks of 6 eggs with a little milk; strain, add 1 pint milk (sugar to taste) and as much caramel liquor (cold) as will give the mixture the desired colour. Pour it into a well-buttered mould; put this in a bain-marie with cold water; then place the apparatus on a gentle fire, taking care that the water does not boil. Half an hour’s steaming will set the custard, which then turn out and serve. By using the white of 1 or 2 eggs in addition to the 6 yolks, the chances of the custard not breaking are made more certain.

Caramel Pudding.--(a) Prepare a mould by giving it a thick coating of caramel sugar; when this has set, pour into the mould a custard, made of the yolks of 8 eggs and 1½ pint best cream; steam for 1 hour and serve when cold.

(b) Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil with ¼ pint water until the syrup becomes a deep brown. Warm a small basin, pour the syrup in it, and keep turning the basin in your hand until the inside is completely coated with the syrup, which by that time will have set. Strain the yolks of 8 eggs from the whites, and mix them gradually and effectually with 1 pint milk. Pour this mixture into the prepared mould. Lay a piece of paper on the top. Set it in a saucepan full of cold water, taking care that the water does not come over the top of the mould, put on the cover, and let it boil gently by the side of the fire for 1 hour. Remove the saucepan to a cool place, and when the water is quite cold take out the mould, and turn out the pudding very carefully.

Carrot Pudding.--(a) ½ lb. each of raisins and currants picked and stoned, ½ lb. finely chopped beef suet, ¾ lb. breadcrumbs, ½ lb. each of carrots and potatoes (raw) when scraped and grated, ¼ lb. fine moist sugar, a little finely cut lemon peel (or if preferred 2 oz. candied peel), spice to taste, a teaspoonful of salt. Very little liquid is required to form the right consistency, as the moisture from the vegetables is nearly sufficient. What more is wanted should be milk. Boil in a basin or mould 4-5 hours. Serve with or without brandy sauce. This is a very nice and inexpensive pudding, no eggs being used.

(b) 1 lb. grated carrot, 6 oz. breadcrumbs, 6 oz. raisins, 6 oz. currants, 6 oz. sugar, ½ lb. suet, half a nutmeg, half the rind of a lemon grated, 2 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 egg, and a little salt. Mix all well together, and put it into a well-buttered mould. Boil 4 hours.

Castle Pudding.--Mix 1½ oz. finely sifted flour with the same weight of powdered sugar. Dissolve in a basin before the fire 1½ oz. fresh butter, beat it to a cream; whisk 2 eggs, and mix them slowly with the butter, stir in the sugar, and afterwards the flour; add a spoonful of grated nutmeg and ½ lemon peel grated. Put the mixture into tins, and bake in a moderately heated oven for 20 minutes.

Charlotte Russe.--These are best made in a plain round tin. Take some Savoy biscuits, using half at a time, and keeping the rounded side next the mould; form a star at the bottom by cutting them to the shape you require to fit into each other; touch the edges of the biscuits lightly with white of egg to hold them together, but be very careful not to let the egg touch the mould, or it will stick and prevent it from turning out. Having made a star for the centre, proceed in the same way to line the sides by placing the biscuits standing upright all round it, their edges slightly overlapping each other; these must also be fastened to each other, and to the centre star by a slight application of white of egg, after which the tin must be placed in the oven for a few minutes to dry the egg. For a small mould, ½ pint double cream, 3 teaspoonfuls pounded sugar, and rather more than ¼ oz. gelatine would be sufficient. The cream must be whisked to a stiff froth with the previously melted gelatine, the sugar, and a few drops of vanilla flavouring; pour this mixture into the mould, covering it with a slice of sponge cake, the size of the mould, to form a foundation when it is turned out; the biscuits forming the sides must have been cut evenly with the top, and must be touched lightly with the white of egg to make them adhere to this foundation slice. Place the mould on ice until required, then turn it out on a dish and serve at once. This requires great care in the turning out.

Cherry Jelly.--Make some jelly as above, and flavour it with a small quantity of noyeau. Have some preserved cherries stoned; pour some jelly in a mould, dispose some cherries round, cover with jelly, then put in more cherries, and so on until the mould is full.

Cherry Pudding.--Mix 3 tablespoonfuls flour to a smooth paste with part of 1 pint milk; then add the remainder. Warm 1 oz. butter, and stir it in; 3 eggs well beaten, and a pinch of salt. Stone 1 lb. bottled cherries, and stir them into the batter. Tie up in a pudding cloth, or put into a shape, and boil 2 hours. Serve with sweet butter sauce.

Cherry Tart.--Make a short paste with 1 white and 3 yolks of eggs, 1 oz. sugar, a little milk, 1 oz. butter, a pinch of salt, and sufficient flour. Work it lightly, roll it out to the thickness of ¼ in.; line a flat mould with the paste, uniting the joint, carefully with white of egg, fill the mould with uncooked rice and bake it. Stone 1½ lb. stewing cherries and cook them with some sugar, a little sherry, and a few drops of cochineal to give them a nice colour. Remove the rice and put in the stewed cherries. Serve hot or cold.

Chestnut Compote.--Roast about 30 chestnuts, take off the peel, and put them into a preserving pan with ¼ lb. sugar, pounded, and half a glass of water. Let them remain until they have absorbed the sugar, then take them out and dress them high on a dish; squeeze over them the juice of a lemon and sprinkle them with fine sugar, when they are ready to serve.

Chestnut Cream.--Peel about 20 sound chestnuts, and parboil them in slightly salted water until the skin comes off easily. Pound them in a mortar, and pass them through a fine sieve. Soak 1½ oz. gelatine in ½ pint milk, add 6 sweet almonds blanched and bruised, the thin rind of half a lemon, and sufficient sugar. Let the whole come to the boil, and then put it by to cool a little, and strain this on the chestnut purée, mixing the two very thoroughly. Add a wineglassful of dry curaçoa, and, lastly, ½ pint cream; mix thoroughly, pour into a mould, set it on ice to set, and turn it out on a bed of cream whipped with sugar to a froth. If the cream put into the mixture is previously whipped, it is an improvement.

Chestnut Pudding.--(a) Boil 20-30 chestnuts in water till they feel tender, then dry them in the oven; take off the shells and skins, and pound the nuts to powder. To 6 oz., add 4 oz. butter beaten to a cream, 3 oz. loaf sugar, 6 fresh eggs, and 1 gill new milk. Butter a mould, stick it tastefully with either cherries or raisins; put in the pudding, cover it with writing paper spread with butter, and steam over fast-boiling water for 1½ hour, or bake in a quick oven ¼ hour less. Serve with clarified sugar or with sauce.

(b) Boil 40 good-sized chestnuts, rub them through a sieve, and place in a stewpan with a pinch of salt, ¾ pint cream, 3 oz. butter, ¼ lb. sifted sugar, and half a stick of vanilla, pounded fine. Stir these gently over the fire till the mixture begins to thicken and then at once stir more rapidly, until it leaves the bottom and sides of the stewpan. Then remove it from the fire, add the yolks of 6 eggs and the whites of 4, whipped to a firm froth, mix well, and pour it into a plain mould well buttered; place a buttered paper over the top, and let the pudding steam for 1½ hour, or rather less. When done, turn the pudding carefully out on to a hot dish, and serve with diluted hot red currant jelly round it, the top being sprinkled with white sugar; or, better still, with diluted apricot jam, which should be poured quite warm over and around the pudding.

Chocolate Blancmange.--Grate ¼ lb. chocolate into 1 qt. milk, add 1½ oz. gelatine, and ¼ lb. powdered sugar; mix all in a jug, and stand it in a saucepan of cold water over a clear fire; stir occasionally till the water boils, and then stir continuously while boiling about 15 minutes. Dip a mould in cold water, pour in the blancmange, turn out when set.

Chocolate Pudding.--(a) Soak ½ lb. gelatine with a little cold water, put it in a pan with ¼ lb. grated chocolate, 1 oz. sugar, and 1 pint milk; stir till it boils. Break the yolks of 4 eggs in a basin, stir with a wooden spoon. When the chocolate boils allow it to stand one minute, then pour it on the yolks, return to the pan, and stir till it thickens, not letting it boil; pour into a wet mould.

(b) Take 4 rolls, cut off the crust, and leave them to soak, until quite soft, in milk sweetened according to taste. Add a lump of butter the size of an egg, a little cinnamon, the yolks of 6 eggs, and the whites beaten to snow, and, lastly, ½ lb. grated chocolate. Stir up all the ingredients, and, when thoroughly mixed, fill the pudding mould, which must be a closed one, and boil 2 hours, putting it into the water when boiling. Serve up with a cream custard, flavoured with vanilla.

Chocolate Strudels.--Beat well the whites of 2 eggs and the yolks of 4, warm a piece of butter the size of an egg, and add it to the eggs with a little salt; work in by degrees as much fine flour as will form a rather stiff dough, knead this till quite smooth. Divide the paste into small balls, roll them round in the hands, then, with a smooth rolling-pin, roll them out very thin--as thin as possible. They should be about the size of a saucer, but rather oval. Grate vanilla chocolate, and mix it with some pounded almonds and the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs, with the whites beaten to a snow. Spread hot butter over the strudels, and then the chocolate as thin as a knife-blade. Roll them up, when the shape will be larger in the middle, and tapering off at both ends. Lay them 1 in. apart in a baking tin, or a large stewpan, that has been well buttered; cover, and bake them in the oven, or over a slow fire, with red coals on the lid to draw them. When they are risen and beginning to colour, pour some hot milk over, and finish baking a very pale brown. The last thing before putting them in the oven they should have some grated chocolate and crushed sugar strewn over them.

Citron Pudding.--Take ½ pint cream, 1 tablespoonful flour, 2 oz. white sugar, and a little grated nutmeg. Mix all these ingredients together with the well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs. Cut 2 oz. citron into thin slices, place pieces of it in small buttered moulds or cups, fill them with the mixture, and bake until the pudding assumes a light brown colour. This quantity will make 5 puddings, which are sufficient for a side dish.

Claret Jelly.--1 bottle of claret, the juice and rind of 1 lemon, 1 sixpenny pot of red currant jelly, ½ lb. loaf sugar, rather more than 1 oz. isinglass in hot weather (in winter 1 oz. is quite sufficient), a wineglassful of brandy. Boil altogether for a few minutes, taking care that the red currant jelly is well dissolved and thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients: 10 minutes will generally effect this, but a good deal depends on the general temperature. Serve with cream sauce as follows: ½ pint cream sweetened and flavoured with vanilla whisked to a stiff froth; pour round the jelly, not over it. Half these quantities will fill a mould large enough for 6 people.

Clarges Street Pudding.--1 pint new milk, ¾ oz. isinglass, 1 bay leaf, the peel of 1 Seville orange, lemon and sugar to taste. Boil altogether; when the isinglass is dissolved take it off the fire and add immediately the yolks of 8 eggs and 1 pint cream; when nearly cold, add 1 wineglassful brandy, pour into a mould, turn out, and serve with the following sauce: The juice of 2 lemons, an equal quantity of water and sugar to taste; cut the peel of the lemon into long thin shreds and boil in the syrup till quite tender; pour it over the pudding, letting the shreds remain on the top.

Clifton Pudding.--Boil a teacupful of rice for nearly an hour in a cloth, putting it on in cold water. Have ready sweet sauce, made of ½ pint milk (or water), 1 tablespoonful flour, and 3 lumps sugar; pour this over just before sending to table.

Coconut Pudding.--(a) Break the shell of a moderate-sized coconut, so as to leave the nut as whole as possible. Grate it after removing the brown skin, mix it with 3 oz. powdered loaf sugar and ½ oz. lemon peel. Mix the whole with milk, and put it into a tin lined with puff paste. Bake it a light brown.

(b) Grate a coconut, make a custard (2 eggs to 1 pint milk), sweeten to taste, add a small glass of brandy and a little nutmeg. Stir the coconut into this, add a bit of butter the size of a hen’s egg. Line a shallow dish with puff paste, and bake of a light brown.

Coffee Cakes.-¼ lb. powdered almonds, ½ oz. ground coffee, 2 whites of eggs; beat the whole together, drop this on white paper, and bake slowly.

Coffee Cream.--Dissolve 2 oz. isinglass in just enough water to cover it; put to ½ pint cream 1½ teaspoonful very strong clear coffee with powdered sugar; let it just boil, leave it standing till nearly cold, then pour it into a mould, and when quite set turn it out.

Coffee Ice Pudding.--Pound 2 oz. freshly roasted coffee in a mortar, just enough to crush the berries without reducing them to powder. Put them into 1 pint milk with 6 oz. loaf sugar, let it boil, then leave it to get cold, strain it on the yolks of 6 eggs in a double saucepan, and stir on the fire till the custard thickens. When quite cold, work into it 1½ gill cream whipped to a froth. Freeze the mixture in the icepot, then fill a plain ice mould with it, and lay it in ice till the time of serving.

Coffee Jelly.--1 teacupful very strong coffee. Dissolve in it 1 packet Nelson’s gelatine. Put on the fire 1 pint milk and 6 oz. lump sugar; when nearly on the boil pour in the coffee and gelatine. Let all boil together for 10 minutes; pour into a wetted mould, and keep in a cool place till stiff.

Coffee Pudding.--Make a teacup of strong well-cleared coffee, beat 4 eggs with 5 oz. sugar, 1 pint milk previously boiled, and half a pinch of salt; add the coffee, strain into a pie-dish 2 in. deep, put the dish into a saucepan, with sufficient boiling water to reach to the middle of the dish: put into a moderate oven till quite firm: when cold sprinkle pounded sugar over it, and glaze with a red-hot iron.

College Puddings.--These are made with breadcrumbs, suet, eggs, sugar, and currants. To ½ lb. finely grated breadcrumbs add 6 oz. beef suet, carefully chopped, and free from skin, and the same quantity of well-washed and dried currants, 2 oz. pounded sugar, 2 teaspoonfuls chopped lemon peel (this must have been peeled from the lemon as thinly as possible, as any portion of the white part would cause the puddings to taste bitter), 3 eggs, well beaten (yolks and whites separately), a little grated nutmeg, and half a small wineglassful of brandy; moisten with 1 tablespoonful milk. Mix all these thoroughly, and pour into small tin cups, previously well buttered. To be baked for somewhat less than ½ hour in a moderate oven, and served with or without a little wine sauce in the dish, but not over the puddings, which should be sent up with a sprinkling of castor sugar over each.

Conservative Pudding.--4 oz. sponge cake, ½ oz. ratafias, 1½ oz. macaroons, put them into a basin, and pour over ½ gill rum and 1 gill good cream; add 6 well-beaten eggs (beat for 10 minutes); butter a pint mould, stick it tastefully with preserved cherries, put in the pudding, tie it over with writing paper spread with butter, and steam over fast boiling water for 1½ hour. Turn out carefully and serve with clarified sugar (flavoured with almonds) in the dish, not poured over the pudding. 3 oz. loaf sugar, a laurel leaf, and ½ gill water boiled 10 minutes will make the sauce.

Cornish Pasties.--Make a crust with 1 lb. flour, 2-3 oz. of suet or dripping, ½ teaspoonful baking powder and cold water. Roll it out and cut it in rounds ½ yd. or less in diameter; place on each round a suitable quantity of chopped potato, onion, turnips, herbs, and a small quantity of meat, cooked or uncooked, salt or fresh; season with salt pepper and close each round, leaving a ridge along the middle. Bake 1 hour or less according to size. These may be eaten cold or hot. The weight when baked will be that if the pasties are large. Boiled rice, leeks, vegetable marrow, currants, apples, sugar of the dry ingredients, or more and spice may be used instead of meat and vegetables.

Cottage Pie.--Mince any kind of cold meat together--beef, mutton, veal, pork, or lamb--put it about 1-1½ in. in a deep pie dish, and cover it with gravy; do not spare salt and pepper; cover it over with mashed potatoes smooth at the top, and cut it across in diamonds with a knife; bake till it is crisp and brown at the top. A little Worcester sauce may be considered an improvement if onions are not objected to.

Cottage Pudding.--Break some bread into very small pieces, sufficient to fill the pudding basin you wish to boil it in; then turn it out into a larger basin, and measure the milk in the same basin ¼ full; put on to boil, with enough sugar to sweeten. When taken off the fire, put a lump of butter in the hot milk, and, when melted, stir it well and pour over the bread; cover closely with a plate for 20 minutes; then beat it with a fork, and mix in some currants, raisins, candied peel, and some mixed spice; beat 2 eggs well, and add them last, stirring the whole vigorously with a fork. Boil in the same basin which the bread and milk were measured in, for 2 hours, the basin being well buttered, of course. Beating the bread with a fork keeps it from getting heavy or lumpy, and the bread should be torn to pieces, not cut, as the ragged edges of each morsel of bread absorb the milk better than when cut. Crusts can be used for this pudding, and if too hard to break they can be cut fine, and then pounded between a thick newspaper with a flat iron. The same ingredients make a good baked pudding; only more milk is required to make a softer batter of the bread.

Crab-Apple Cheese.--Wipe the apples in a clean dry cloth, and examine each one, to be sure that they are perfect. Any damaged ones should be cut with a fruit-knife, and only the sound part used. Put them in a covered jar in a slow oven till quite tender, then squeeze them through coarse canvas (called in some places “cheese-cloth”), allow ¾ lb. lump sugar to 1 lb. pulp, and boil for ½ hour, skimming well; put into moulds, and paper, as any other preserve. If the jelly is desired clear do not squeeze the fruit. Tie the canvas over a large jug, and lay the fruit on it, letting it drain. This is wasteful, however, unless the fruit is afterwards pressed and boiled separately; besides, the rich flavour of the apple core would be wanting in the jelly.

Cranberry Jelly.--Prepare the fruit as for tart. (a) To 1 qt. cranberries add 1 lb. sugar and ½ pint water; simmer them together for ½ hour; strain through a sieve, and when cool put by in pots.

(b) Soak ½ oz. gelatine in as much water as will cover it for ½ hour; boil ½ pint water and ¼ lb. sugar to a syrup; throw in 1 lb. cranberries, and simmer till the fruit is tender. Dissolve the gelatine, put it with the fruit, add 2 glasses sherry (or any other white wine), the juice of a lemon, and a few drops of cochineal; boil all together for 5 minutes. Place a jelly pot in the middle of a mould, pour the fruit round it; turn it out when cold on to a glass dish, and put cream in the centre.

Cranberry Tart.--Place 1 qt. cranberries in a pan of cold water, and let them remain 12 hours. Wash them in several waters till the salt flavour is quite gone; dry on a coarse cloth, and pick carefully. Mix in a basin with ¼ lb. finely powdered white sugar, and squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fruit. A glass of white wine is a great improvement to the flavour. Put all into a pie-dish, with a light paste for the top, and bake. A small tin of American apples, cut up finely, with equal proportions of cranberries, is a nice variety of the ordinary apple pie.

Creams, Buttermilk.--Fresh buttermilk 1-2 qt., according to the size of the dish required; hang it up in a thick cloth, through which the whey can drip, for 2-3 days, then beat it well up with either fresh fruit or jam, or jelly, or rhubarb. The buttermilk must not be too much watered in the churn, else it will be too thin; some can be taken out at first, in case the butter requires much scalding.

Cream, Clotted or Scalded.--Set the afternoon’s milk in a large flat tin, or earthenware pan, leave it till 11 o’clock the next morning, then with great care and steadiness, so as not to disturb the cream, place it on a large saucepan or stewpan ⅔ full of water; let the water boil under it, simmering for more than half the day, till the first cream is thick, yellow, and crinkled like leather, and has receded from the edges of the pan all round, showing the second cream. When the latter looks thoroughly thick and set, remove the pan very carefully to a cool place till the following day, then skim it, allowing no milk to come with it, as that would inevitably thin the cream.

Cream, Whipped.--Rub 4 or 5 pieces sugar on a lemon, then add the juice to them with 1 good tablespoonful brandy; when the sugar is dissolved and sweetened to taste, put it into a basin; take ½ pint cream, and pour in, gently stirring it with the whip, then continue to whip steadily, not too fast, until the cream becomes thick, but be careful not to turn it to butter. Put it away for a few hours into a cold larder, then it will become quite thick and ready to put over your jelly or trifle; it is best to whip it the day before it is wanted.

Crystal Palace Pudding.--1 oz. isinglass, ½ oz. ratafias, 1½ pint milk, yolks of 3 eggs, ½ lb. sugar, a few currants, 6 sponge cakes, flavour with almond, lemon, bay leaf, or vanilla. Dissolve the isinglass in the milk, add the yolks of the eggs, and make as for custard. When nearly cold, stick the top of the mould, after oiling it, with currants, then a little custard; moisten, but do not soak the cake in milk. Cut the cake in pieces, fill the mould alternately with cake and custard, strewing a few currants between. When quite set, turn out and cover with custard.

Curaçoa Jelly.--Take 2 calves’ feet, chop them into convenient pieces, and put them in a saucepan with rather more than 2 qt. cold water; set the saucepan on the fire; directly the water boils throw it away, and wash the pieces of feet carefully; then put them on again with 2 qt. cold water, and let them boil slowly for 3 hours, removing the scum carefully during the process; then strain the liquor into a basin, and when quite cold and set take off all the fat, and wash the top of the jelly with a little hot water, so as to get rid of every vestige of fat. Put the jelly in a saucepan on the fire; directly it is melted add sugar to taste, the juice and the thin rind of 1 lemon, and the whites of 3 eggs whisked to a froth. Beat up the mixture till it boils. Place the thin rind of a lemon at the bottom of a jelly bag, and pour the mixture over it. The bag should have been previously rinsed in boiling water, and the first ½ pint of jelly that comes through must be returned to the bag. If the jelly does not come out quite clear, the operation of straining must be repeated. Add sufficient dry curaçoa to the clarified jelly to flavour it well. Fill a mould with it, and place it on ice to set.

Currant Jelly.--Take 8 lb. very ripe currants, red and white; pick off all the stalks, and put them in a wide earthen pan; then take them up in handfuls, and squeeze them till the juice is all crushed out of them, which will take some time. Leave them in the pan, with the juice, for 24 hours. Put 2 lb. raspberries in a saucepan, with 2 teacupfuls water, and boil them for a few minutes, till they are all crushed. Then pass all the currants and raspberries through a hair sieve, pressing them with a wooden spoon to extract all the juice. If the juice should be very thick, pass it also through a jelly bag. Weigh the juice, and for every lb. of it put 2 lb. loaf sugar, broken into large pieces. Put the sugar into a preserving pan, with 1 pint water; pour all the juice on it. Let it boil for ½ hour, stirring frequently. Then put it into small bottles, and cork it for use. 2 tablespoonfuls in a tumbler of water make a very refreshing drink in summer. Cherry syrup may be made in the same way with Morella cherries.

Custards.--(a) Boil, and when boiling, pour ½ pint milk upon 1 egg beaten up. Put in a dish, and stand this on a larger dish of hot water. Bake ½ hour.

(b) To 1 oz. isinglass, dissolved in ½ pint milk, add 1 pint thin cream, sugar to taste, and 3 bay or laurel leaves. When these just simmer, pour them upon the yolks of 5 eggs, well beaten. Put the whole on the fire, and stir it one way till it begins to thicken; then strain it through a fine sieve, and let it stand till new-milk warm; then add 1 tablespoonful lemon juice, stirring it well, and afterwards pour it into a mould.

(c) To make about 7 custards, boil 1 pint milk with 3 dessertspoonfuls sugar. Beat the yolks and whites of 2 eggs well together, and pour the milk, when slightly cool, on to the eggs, and beat well together. Fill white china French custard cups; stand them in a bain-marie, and let them cook until they become solid, taking care to let no water get on the top. When set, take the bain-marie off the fire, and put the cups in the oven for the custard to slightly brown. Vanilla or any flavouring can be used.

Damson Cheese.--Pick off the stalks, and to every lb. of fruit put ¾ lb. loaf sugar; boil as for jam till the damsons are tender, then rub them carefully through a hair sieve, and to every lb. of the pulp allow another ¾ lb. sugar, pounded this time. Boil it an hour very slowly, constantly stirring; then pour it into pots or moulds, and tie down with brandy papers. When cold it will be quite firm. If wanted sweet, 1 lb. sugar must be allowed for each boiling. (Bessie Tremaine.)

Danish Jelly.--Take ¾ pint claret, ½ pint sherry (Marsala is best), ½ pint brandy, 6 oz. loaf sugar, ½ pint cherry juice, the juice and peel of 1 lemon, 1½ oz. gelatine. Mix all these ingredients together; boil, and strain them into a mould. The gelatine should be put to soak the night before in a very little cold water. This jelly must not boil quickly, else it will spoil the colour. Let it cool before putting it into the mould. Serve with a rich custard flavoured with vanilla round it.

Date Pudding.--Take ¼ lb. finely grated breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. chopped dates, 3 oz. sugar, 6 oz. chopped suet, with grated nutmeg to taste. Mix 1 teaspoonful Yeatman’s yeast powder with ¼ lb. flour, add this to the other ingredients, moisten with milk, mix well, and boil for 4 hours in a basin. Serve with wine sauce.

Diplomatic Pudding.--Decorate a plain mould with a lining of currants and pistachio nuts, and fill the outer part with jelly; when the jelly is set remove the lining by putting a little warm water in it; make a custard with 1 pint milk and the yolks of 4 eggs, flavour the milk with vanilla, add ½ oz. isinglass, stir it into the custard when hot; break up 1 or 2 sponge cakes and macaroons, cut up a few candied fruits, put a layer of each until the mould is full, pour in the custard, leave it in a cool place until wanted; then dip the mould into tepid water a second, turn it out on a cold dish, and serve.

Egg Snow Pudding.--Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil in a sugar boiler with a gill of water until the syrup becomes a deep brown. Warm a small basin, pour the syrup into it, and keep turning the basin round until the inside is completely coated with the syrup, which will by that time have set. Whisk the whites of 6 eggs to a stiff froth, then pour them into the prepared basin, which they should only half fill. Tie a piece of paper over the top of the basin and place it in a large pan containing a sufficient quantity of hot water to float the basin; cover the pan and so place it on the range as to keep the water very hot without actually boiling, for this would spoil the pudding. After the lapse of about ¾ hour turn out the pudding on a dish with the caramel syrup, which will come out of the mould round it.

Egyptian Pudding.--1 lb. suet, 1 lb. raisins, ¾ lb. fine bread, ½ oz. allspice, 4 figs chopped fine, 4 tablespoonfuls sugar, 2 eggs, 2 glasses brandy, the peel of ½ lemon chopped fine. Mix all well together, and put into a mould. Steam it for 4 hours.

Eton Pudding.--1 lb. breadcrumbs, 4 oz. candied peel, 2 oz. finely shred beef suet, 4 oz. sugar, 2 eggs; cut the peel into strips, and mix with the other dry ingredients; beat the eggs well, and add last of all. If more moisture is wanted, use milk. Steam in a basin 1½ hour; serve with sherry sauce.

Falkland Pudding.--Take 4 well-beaten eggs, add 1 teacupful good cream, the breast of a cold chicken finely minced, ¼ lb. Parmesan cheese grated, 2 oz. macaroni well boiled and cut small, a little salt and pepper, and a grain or two of cayenne; stir all well together till it is well mixed (add the cream and eggs lastly); boil it in a plain oiled mould, glaze it, and serve with a rich brown gravy or tomato sauce round it.

Fat Rascals.-¾ lb. butter rubbed in with 1 lb. flour and ½ lb. currants. Finger the paste lightly, roll it thin, and cut it into small rounds. Serve these hot, split in two, and buttered inside.

Fig Pudding.--2 lb. best figs, 1 lb. beef suet, 2 lb. flour, the same quantity of bread, 2 eggs, and milk; cut the figs into small pieces, grate the bread finely, and chop the suet very small; mix these well together, add the flour and eggs, which should be well beaten, and add sufficient milk to form a stiff paste; butter a mould or basin, press the pudding into it very closely, tie it down, and boil for 3 hours; turn it out, serve with melted butter, wine sauce, or cream.

Flummery.--Put 1 oz. isinglass or gelatine into a jug, pour upon it 1 pint boiling water, and let it stand for ½ hour, or until it is dissolved; then put it into a brass saucepan, adding the peel of 1 lemon and the well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs, ½ pint sherry, and loaf sugar to taste; let it simmer or just boil up together. When this is done put it into a cool place until it is lukewarm, when add the juice of 1 lemon. Run it through a jelly bag into moulds.

French Pie.--Any remains of cold meat, free from fat or gristle, pass through a mincing machine till finely minced, season with anything liked, and moisten with plenty of gravy; have ready some potatoes nicely mashed, and, after warming the mince in a saucepan, turn it out into a pie dish; heap the mashed potatoes well up, spread 2 or 3 bits of butter on the top, and place in a hot oven till hot and brown. When well made this is a delicious dish, and very economical; any scraps may be used, the chief point being to mince everything well; the potatoes should be large and old.

Frijoles.--The most valuable and attractive way to use haricot beans is in the style of the national cookery of Mexico called frijoles, pronounced fre-o-les. Boil them soft, drain, put them in a frying-pan with sage and onions, fry with olive oil until brown.

Fruit Compote.--Take equal parts red currants, white currants, raspberries, and very ripe cherries. Remove all the stalks, the stones from the cherries, and pick the currants one by one; sprinkle plenty of powdered lump sugar over the fruit, add 1 wineglass best French pale brandy, or more according to the quantity of fruit; toss them lightly until the sugar is all dissolved. Serve within a border of sponge cake.

Fruit Creams.--Dissolve 1 oz. gelatine in 1½ pint good milk, and then let it come very gently to the boil, having sweetened it to taste, and then strain through a hair sieve. When quite cool, add ½ pint of the juice of any fresh fruit (carefully excluding the pulp) to the milk, remembering that the brighter the fruit the better the effect. Stir until well mixed, and add 1 glass brandy, which must be thoroughly incorporated with the milk and gelatine. Beat with an egg whisk until quite stiff, then put in a mould, and when cold turn out. In the very hot weather, sometimes more than 1 oz. gelatine is necessary to make the cream quite firm. If no fruit juice is handy, some of the raspberry or strawberry acid, made in the summer from fresh fruit, makes a very good substitute, only it must be diluted and sweetened to make the proper quantity of liquid, otherwise the mould would not be full. Fresh orange or lemon juice also answers very well. In the hot weather this cream is much improved if imbedded in ice before serving. It is necessary to whip this mixture a very long time, in order to give it the proper honeycomb appearance.

Fruit in Jelly.--Prepare a very clear transparent jelly, and flavour it very delicately with maraschino. Place a mould upon ice, and put into it a layer about 1 in. thick of the jelly; when set arrange some fruit of different kinds, and in some sort of order or grouping put spoonfuls of the jelly between, and at the sides of the fruit, to keep it in position. It must be done slowly, allowing the jelly to set before adding more fruit. Lastly, add another layer of the jelly, and leave it to get quite firm. It is an improvement to steep the fruit in maraschino or brandy (according to the flavouring of the jelly) before putting it into the jelly.

Fruit Macédoine.--Use preserved fruits, as peaches, plums, greengages, cherries, apricots, pineapples, &c. Let them be nicely cut and arranged in a glass dish, pour the juice or liquor in which each has been preserved together into a very clean stewpan, add sugar until sweet enough, and a few drops of brandy or liqueur; let this boil gently until sufficiently thick, stirring it during the time, and skimming if necessary; the syrup must be quite clear. When done, pour it over the fruit, and let it remain until cold, when it is ready to serve. Macédoines, properly so called, are made in a mould with clear jelly; for making in this way, apples may be used, cut into different shapes, and dyed with different colours. To do this, the pieces of apple must be boiled in a very light syrup, some coloured with a little cochineal, some with saffron. When the fruit has well taken the colour, drain it well before putting it into the mould, as the least drop of syrup would prevent the jelly being clear. Some pieces of the apples should be white; a few bits of greengages, angelica, or brandy cherries may also be used with these and the coloured apples, and will improve the flavour. To place these or any other fruits for the macédoine, first pour into the mould a little of the jelly, which must be good, clear wine jelly, and set it to freeze; then arrange symmetrically any variety of fruits you wish to use, pour in some more jelly, again set it to freeze, and so proceed till the mould is filled to the top. Let it freeze till wanted, then dip a cloth in hot water, and rub the mould all over, turning it into the dish in which it is to be served. The greater the variety of fruits the better the macédoine will be, whether made with jelly or in syrup.

Fruit Pudding.--May be made of fruit of all kinds, fresh or bottled. If fresh fruit is used, it must be stewed with water and sugar until it is about as much cooked as it would be in a fruit pie. If bottled fruit is used, the syrup only should be boiled with sugar, and the fruit simmered in it for a minute or two. Take some stale bread, cut a round piece the size of half a crown, and lay it at the bottom of a basin, and arrange around it strips or fingers of bread about ½ in. wide, remembering to leave a space the width of the finger between the strips. When the fruit is ready, and while it is still hot, put it in, a spoonful at a time, so as not to displace the bread, and, as a further means to this end, put the heavier part of the fruit (the pulp and skin and stones, if there are any) at the bottom of the mould, and the juice last of all. Cover the top entirely with stale bread, cut into very small dice; lay a plate on the pudding, put a weight on the plate, preserving the juice that rises above the plate, and set the pudding in a cool place till wanted. If it is well pressed down it will turn out in a shape, and will be found an excellent pudding. This dish is served at the hydropathic establishments as a substitute for fruit pies and tarts, as pastry is not considered wholesome. In cold weather it will turn out if it is made 3-4 hours before it is wanted; but in warm weather it will need to be made overnight.

Fruit Tart.--Stone some cherries, greengages, or plums, and stew them for 1 hour with plenty of sugar and ½ tumblerful water. Make a short paste with the white of 1 and the yolks of 3 eggs, 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. sugar, a pinch of salt, a little water and sufficient flour. Roll it out to the thickness of a penny piece, line a mould with it, uniting the joins with white of egg, fill it with rice and bake it. When done remove the rice, put in the stewed fruit, and serve.

Fruit Trifle.--Any kind, or 2 or 3 kinds of fruit, will do for this dish. You can put at the bottom of the dish a layer of fresh raspberries, then a few slices of stale sponge cake, soaked in wine, would be an improvement, but the wine may be omitted; then a layer of stewed red currants, then a few ratafias, now a few stewed cherries, and over these a little boiled custard, and on top of this, if convenient, a whip of cream in form of a pyramid, and over this a few hundreds-and-thousands--a tiny comfit, of various colours, sold by confectioners. In country establishments it is not difficult to get variety of fruit, and cream is generally in the house, or can easily be got. It is an improvement to many dishes, but when it cannot be had the custard alone will do. The top can be ornamented with almonds, blanched and cut into spikes, or with candied peel stamped out with a tin cutter in leaves or any other design, or the hundreds-and-thousands strewed over.

Frying Batter.--Beat up together 2 tablespoonfuls brandy, the yolks of 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful olive oil, and 4 or 5 tablespoonfuls cold water. Amalgamate with this 3 tablespoonfuls of fine flour, and a good pinch of salt. Beat the mixture 5-10 minutes, adding a little more water if too thick. When ready to use it, stir into it lightly and quickly the whites of 2 eggs whisked to a froth.

Furmity.--Old housed dry wheat will not suit for this, it must be new wheat, grown and threshed that summer, and the newer the wheat the better the furmity. Take about 2 large tablespoonfuls wheat to each basinful milk, and in an iron saucepan boil the same till the wheat is tender. Mix 1 tablespoonful flour with a little cold milk, add that, together with a morsel of salt, a little sugar, and allspice, to the wheat; stir the pan till it boils again, when it is ready. The quantity of allspice, sugar, and flour, to decide the thickness of the furmity, depends on taste.

Garibaldi Cream.--Make a cream with 1 qt. milk, 9 sheets best French gelatine, sugar to taste, and the yolks of 8 eggs. Flavour it with any essence you like, strain it, and divide it into 3 basins. Colour the first a deep red with cochineal, the second green with spinach greening, and leave the third its original colour. These operations must be done while the cream is still warm, and it must be kept so in a bain-marie during the following process. Lay a shape in water or on ice, pour some of the red cream into it, to the thickness of less than ½ in. When this is set, pour in a similar layer of the plain cream, and when this is set pour in a layer of the green cream. Go on pouring in layers in the same way, until the mould is filled. When the cream is quite set turn it out and serve. Care must be taken, in pouring in each kind of cream, to get each layer the same thickness. This is best done by measuring with water how much liquid will go to make a layer of the required thickness, and then getting a cup which holds just that quantity, and using it to measure the cream.

Génoise Pastry.--Take ¼ lb. freshest butter, put it in a bowl, and warm it until it can be beaten with a spoon; add to it 4 oz. powdered loaf sugar, and beat the two together until a smooth white cream is obtained, then add one egg, and keep on beating the mixture till it is smooth again, then add 3 more eggs in the same manner. The germ of the eggs should be removed. Lastly, incorporate quickly ¼ lb. fine flour with the mixture, and as soon as it is smooth, pour it out to the thickness of ½ in. on a buttered flat tin, which must be put into the oven at once. When done (in about 10-15 minutes) turn out the slab of Génoise, and put it to cool, under side uppermost, on a sieve. There is a great knack in beating this pasting to prevent its curdling. Should this happen, it can generally be remedied by beating as quickly as possible until the mixture is smooth again. Take a slab of Génoise, spread on the top of it the thinnest possible coating of apricot jam, then a coating of chocolate icing. Put it into a very hot oven for rather less than a minute, take it out, and place it in a cold place to get cool. Then cut it up with a sharp knife in any shapes liked.

Gingerbread Pudding.--2 oz. lard or butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 ditto golden syrup, 1 egg, 1 teacupful milk, 1 teaspoonful ground ginger, 8 oz. flour, 1 teaspoonful baking powder. Work the butter and sugar together, then add the egg beat well, now add treacle and milk, then the flour and baking powder.

Ginger Cream.--Dissolve ¼ oz. isinglass, whip up 1 pint cream until it is quite thick, then add ½ pint ginger syrup. Cut up the preserved ginger into very small dice, and stir it well into the cream; add the isinglass and stir it well. Pour it into a mould and let it stand until wanted, then turn it out as you would a jelly.

Ginger Pudding.--Take the weight of 4 eggs in sifted sugar, butter, and fine flour; beat the butter to a cream, stir to it the sugar, add ½ teaspoonful ground ginger (more if a strong flavour is wanted); beat the eggs, white and yolks together, for at least ¼ hour; add these to the other ingredients, together with the flour, very gradually, beating the mixture well with a fork or wooden spoon all the time. When thoroughly mixed, well grease a fluted tin mould; put in the mixture and bake ¾ hour. This pudding eats well cold, but for a second serving it may be cut into slices, and each slice to be again cut with a fluted tin biscuit cutter, then fried lightly in butter, served up in a pile, with sifted sugar over, and eaten with a wine sauce. (Bessie Tremaine.)

Gooseberry Cheese.--Take 6 lb. unripe rough gooseberries (green hairy ones are best), cut off blossoms and stems, put them in water for 1-2 hours, then take and bruise them in a marble mortar, and put them into a brass pan over a clear fire, stirring them until tender, then add 4½ lb. lump sugar, pounded, and boil till very thick and of a fine green colour, stirring all the time.

Gooseberry Cream.--Soak ½ oz. gelatine in ½ pint milk, when soaked, add to it 1 pint cream and ¼ lb. lump sugar, set on the stove, stirring occasionally, when nearly boiling take from the fire and mix with it 1 pint green gooseberries that have been previously boiled in an enamelled stewpan, with a little sugar and a little thin lemon rind, and then pass through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon, colour with a little spinach greening, and set away to cool; when nearly set, whip up and put into a mould, and set aside till wanted; to make the greening, mash a handful of spinach, pound in a mortar, and squeeze through a clean cloth, add a little of this to the cream; before it sets it will give it a pretty delicate shade. Note.--Fruit should always be cooked in an enamelled stewpan or in earthenware, as copper is likely to spoil it.

Gooseberry Fool.--Pick 1 qt. quite young gooseberries and put them in a jar with a very little water and plenty of sugar. Put the jar in a saucepan of boiling water till the fruit be quite tender, beat it through a colander, and then add gradually 1 pint cream with sufficient sugar to sweeten; garnish the dish with macaroons or ratafias.

Gooseberry Pancakes.--Melt some fresh butter in a frying-pan, put in 1 qt. gooseberries, fry them till tender and mash them; beat 6 yolks of eggs and three whites, sugar to taste, 4 spoonfuls cream, 4 large spoonfuls breadcrumbs, and 8 spoonfuls flour; mix all together, then put to them the cooked green gooseberries and set them in a saucepan on the fire to thicken; fry in fresh butter, and sift sugar over.

Gooseberry Pudding.--The following pudding is better when made with red currants and raspberries, or even with black currants. Stew some fruit with sugar till thoroughly done, pour off all the juice, and put the fruit while hot into a pudding basin, which has been previously lined with slices of bread made to fit exactly. Fill the basin up with the fruit, and cover it over with a slice of bread; let it stand till quite cold, with a plate on it. Boil up the juice which was poured off, with a little more sugar, and let that get cold. When served, the pudding must be turned out on a dish, and the juice poured all over it so as to colour the bread thoroughly. A rich custard or some cream is a great improvement.

Gooseberry Tart.--Make a short paste with 4 oz. flour, 3 oz. butter, 2 oz. sugar, the yolks of 3 eggs, a little water, and a pinch of salt. Work it smoothly and roll it out to the thickness of rather more than ⅛ in. Place a “flan” ring on a baking sheet, lay the sheet of paste over it, and with the fingers fit it carefully inside the ring, then cut off all the part that is above the ring, fill the shape with uncooked rice, and bake for ½ hour in a moderate oven; then take out all the rice, and put in its place a compote made as follows: pick a quantity of gooseberries, put them in a saucepan with plenty of loaf sugar and a little cold water; when they come to the boil drain them off from the syrup; let this boil for 10 minutes, then return the gooseberries to it.

Gooseberry Toast.--1 pint green gooseberries; clean them thoroughly from stems and dried blossoms; then toast to a bright brown as many slices of stale bread as will make 3 layers for a quart pie-dish. Dip each piece of toast in milk, sprinkle the upper surface with white powdered sugar, having your berries stewed 10 minutes, so that none of them shall be broken. Cover one slice of toast with them; the berries are to be covered with another slice, and thus proceed for each layer. The whole to be placed in a moderately hot oven for ¼ hour before sending to table.

Greengage Soufflé.--Boil some greengages with sugar; when done pass through a sieve. Mix 1 gill milk with 1 tablespoonful potato flour, and stir over the fire till it thickens. When cold work into it the yolks of 4 eggs and as much of the greengage jam (about 4 tablespoonfuls) as will make the mixture of the proper consistency. The whole must be thoroughly well mixed. Lastly, mix in quickly and effectually the whites of 6 eggs, beaten up to a stiff froth; pour the mixture in a plain mould, put it into the oven at once, and serve as soon as it has well risen.

Greengage Tart.--Make a short paste with 1 white and 3 yolks of egg. 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz. butter, a small pinch of salt, and sufficient flour. Work it lightly, and roll it out to the thickness of ¼ inch. Line a flat mould with this paste, uniting the joints carefully with white of egg, fill it with uncooked rice, and bake it. When done, remove the rice, and put in greengages treated as follows: Stone the fruit, and cut them in halves, and stew it for 1 hour with plenty of powdered loaf sugar and a little water, adding at the last a liqueur glass of pale brandy. To be served hot or cold.

Groat Pudding.--Take 1 breakfastcupful groats, let them soak for some hours, pick them carefully from the husks, tie them loosely in a cloth, and boil for 3 hours; then untie the cloth, and add a few currants and a little raw sugar, tie them up again quite tightly, and boil for another hour.

Ground Rice Pudding.--(a) 2 oz. ground rice, 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz. butter, and 1 pint new milk. Boil 15-20 minutes, pour into a buttered mould; when cold, turn out and serve.

(b) ¼ lb. ground rice, swell it in 1 good pint milk, 6 oz. castor sugar, 4 oz. butter oiled, 4 eggs, rind of a lemon grated, a few sweet almonds pounded. Put in a buttered dish with paste round the edge. The butter to be added last thing.

Gruel.--(a) Groat.--Boil ½ lb. groats in 2 qt. water, with a blade of mace; when the groats are soft, put in white wine and sugar to taste. Serve in a china bowl with toast.

(b) Sago.--4 oz. sago scalded in hot water, then strained through a hair sieve, and set over the fire with 2 qt water. It is to be boiled and skimmed till thick and clear, then 1 pint red wine, and sugar to taste is to be added, when it is served in a tureen, with a slice of lemon and dry biscuits.

(c) Barley.--Made in the same way, but with the addition of 3 oz. currants, which would seem rather an unpalatable mixture to our modern notions.

(d) Water.--1 tablespoonful oatmeal is to be boiled in 3 pints water till it is perfectly fine and smooth; if it shows signs of becoming too thick for drinking, more water is to be added. When taken from the fire, it must stand to cool; then white wine, sugar, and nutmeg to taste is to be added. This would seem an exceedingly palatable drink; and, if lemon juice were substituted for the wine, a simple and inexpensive one. (Bessie Tremaine.)

Hasty Pudding.--Put 1 pint milk into a perfectly clean quart stewpan, with 5 or 6 bay leaves; have ready on the hob a basin of flour; as soon as the milk boils remove the bay leaves, take some flour in the left hand and let it fall lightly into the milk (which must be kept boiling fast the whole time), stir without ceasing, adding flour until it is about the consistency of porridge, then let it boil a few minutes longer, still keeping it stirred. Turn it out on a hot dish, stick pieces of butter all over it, sprinkle moist sugar, and grate some nutmeg, when the butter and sugar will melt and mingle, and, running all over and round it, form a delicious sauce. Do not be too sparing of butter and sugar, and the cook need not be discouraged if she does not succeed in her first attempt, as experience alone can teach her how to sprinkle the flour in properly. If it is not done very lightly, lumps of uncooked flour will be the result.

Hominy and Samp.--(a) Hominy is white Indian corn, divested of its outer skin by scalding in hot lye, and then winnowed and dried. Samp is hominy, pounded till it is about as fine as coarse oatmeal. To cook hominy, wash it through 2 or 3 waters, pour boiling water on it, and let it soak for at least 10 hours; then put it into a stewpan, allowing 2 qt. water to 1 qt. hominy, and boil it slowly 4-5 hours, or until it is perfectly tender; then drain it, put it into a deep dish, add salt and a bit of butter, and serve as a vegetable with meat. Samp is cooked in the same way, but rather less water is used; for instance, put 1½ pint to 1 qt. samp. It is also good cut when cold into slices, and fried for breakfast.

(b) Baked.--To 1 cupful cold boiled hominy, allow 2 cupfuls milk, 1 heaped teaspoonful butter, 1 teaspoonful sugar, a little salt, and 3 eggs. Beat the yolks and whites separately. Mix the yolks first into the hominy alternately with the melted butter, then the sugar and salt, and mix in the milk gradually, being careful to leave no lumps in the hominy. Lastly, stir in the whites of the eggs, and bake in a buttered pudding dish until delicately browned.

(c) Boiled.--Soak 1 pint hominy in 2½ pints boiling water over night. In the morning add 1 pint sweet milk, and let it boil ½ hour over a brisk fire; add a small piece of butter, salt, and pepper. It should be as soft as mush, and is generally eaten for breakfast with cream and sugar.

(d) Fried.--Cut the cold boiled hominy in slices, and fry in hot lard or dripping, or moisten to a soft paste with milk; beat in some melted butter; bind with a beaten egg; form into round cakes with your hands; dredge with flour, and fry a light brown.

Ice Puddings.--These puddings are made in as great variety as ices themselves, the difference in them being chiefly in flavouring. The great secret of securing their perfection is to ice the material to 22° F. before putting it into the pudding mould. For ice puddings, and indeed for every kind of ice which, after being made, requires to be embedded in freezing mixture, it is absolutely necessary to have moulds suitable for the purpose, with closely-fitting lids. Possessed of these, an ordinary cook should have no difficulty in serving ice puddings, as they are made long before the busy time of sending up dinner; but without suitable utensils it is much better not to attempt making these puddings. Take 1½ pint clarified syrup and the strained juice of 3 lemons. Put the mixture in the freezing-pot, and when nearly frozen add essence of citron to taste, and 1 oz. pistachio nuts blanched, and split in half lengthwise; finish freezing, put into a mould, and lay it on ice till wanted.

Ice Soufflé.--Clarify some sugar by mixing a good teaspoonful of white of egg, previously well beaten, with 1 pint water; put this into a very clean stewpan, add 1 lb. sifted white sugar and boil together over a slow fire, carefully taking off the scum as it rises until none remains; then strain it through a fine clean cloth, when it should be clear. Take ½ pint of this clarified syrup with the yolks of 6 eggs, 1 whole egg, and ½ port-wine glassful of maraschino; stir them together, and then pour them into a pudding basin which has been warmed by having hot water in it, taking care that it is quite dry again before using. Set this on a stove of hot ashes, and begin whisking the mixture briskly, continuing to do so until it attains the consistency of a smooth light batter. Tie or otherwise fix a band of double paper round the lining of a soufflé dish, so that it stands 2 in. higher; fill this with the preparation to within ½ in. of the edge of the paper. It will be necessary to have a circular tin box, with a closely fitting lid, large enough to contain the soufflé, which must now be put into it; put on the lid, and plunge it into a pailful of crushed ice, with which has been mixed some salt and saltpetre (about ¼ lb. each mixed together); cover the pail with a piece of coarse wet flannel, and let it so remain in the ice for about 3 hours, or until it is time to send it to table; then remove the paper, and sift over it either a little grated chocolate, or some macaroon biscuit powder, which will just give it the appearance of having been baked. Any other flavouring may be used instead of the maraschino, if preferred, using some other liqueur, or vanilla, lemon, orange, &c.; or a small cupful of very strong coffee made in the usual way, may be substituted if a soufflé au café is desired.

Jamaica Jelly.--Boil to a clear jelly 1 lb. sugar, mix with 2 oz. clarified isinglass and 1 wineglassful Jamaica rum. Damp a mould, and pour the jelly in, let it cool, and turn out. Ornament with clotted cream and small clusters of purple grapes.

Jam Pudding.--Take equal quantities fine flour and suet, remove all skin from the suet, slice it very thin, and then chop it quite fine, mix together, and moisten with cold water; add a very little salt, knead it well, and roll it out quite thin (about ⅙ in.). Spread the paste equally over with any kind of jam to within ½ in. of the edge, moisten the edges with water, roll up the pudding, pinch the edges together; put it into a cloth, which must be tied at both ends. Put the pudding into boiling water, and boil about 2 hours.

Jam Roll.-½ lb. butter must be stirred to a cream, then the yolks of 12 eggs added, and ½ lemon peel grated. Add by degrees ½ lb. sifted sugar, ¼ lb. fine flour, and the same of potato flour, or, if preferred, the whole ½ lb. may be of the former. When these are well mixed add the egg whites whipped to a snow. Thoroughly stir all together. Make 4 or 5 white paper plates by stretching the paper over any round utensil (a large dinner plate will do), plait up an edge 1 in. deep, and tack it round with a needle and thread to keep it upright. Butter these paper plates, and lay them on baking tins. Spread over each a layer of the above mixture not thicker than a thin pancake. Bake them in a moderate oven a nice yellow, but do not let them tinge brown. When cold cut away the paper round, turn the cakes over, and peel off the bottom paper, but take great care not to break the cakes. Lay one cake over the other, with preserve between each, till all are piled up. It may be all of one sort of preserve, or varied, one layer of marmalade if liked. Dissolve powdered sugar with a little lemon juice. Spread it thickly over the top and sides of the cake to make a glazing. Put it in a cool oven to dry, or it may simply be pared smoothly all round, and strewn thickly with sifted sugar. If required as a roll, the cake mixture must be poured into a large flat baking tin as thin as before, and when of a nice yellow colour take it out of the oven, quickly turn it out on to a flat board, and while still hot spread it over with preserve, but not too near the edges. It must then be quickly rolled, beginning at the edge next you, and then left to cool before being cut. Great care is required to do the rolling of the pastry, but practice and perseverance will soon overcome the difficulty. Before leaving to cool, sprinkle it thickly with sugar as before.

Jam Tartlets.--Take some puff paste, roll it out ½ in. thick, and line some patty-pans with it. Cut some rounds out of the bottom of a stale loaf 1 in. diameter less than the patty-pans, put one in each pan exactly in the middle, and press it down; bake in a quick oven until the paste has well risen--about 15 minutes. Remove the pieces of bread, and fill each tartlet with either apricot, strawberry, or currant and raspberry jam.

Jelly Baskets.--Orange skins can be emptied of their fruit and cut out in the shape of baskets, as follows: Mark out the shape of a basket upon the skin of 6-8 oranges without piercing the fruit. The handles should be formed across the stalk end of the fruit, and should be a good width. Take out the quarters which will not be required, and with the small blade of a sharp penknife cut out the baskets. Then pass the flat part of a teaspoon carefully under the handle to separate it from the fruit, and scoop out the remainder of the pulp, which easily comes out through the open spaces. Fill the skins with different-coloured jellies. The baskets may be scalloped or ornamented, according to the taste of the operator.

Jelly Pie.--Boil 5 eggs hard; when cold, cut them in slices and put them closely round a pie dish, with sweet herbs chopped very fine, and scalded and put in small heaps. Fill the dish with ham, fowl, veal, or any other meat cut in very thin slices; make a very rich gravy the previous day, which will be a firm jelly when cold. Fill up the dish with it, and bake for ½ hour. When required to be used cold, turn it out, and garnish.

Jersey Wonders.--1 lb. flour, 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. white sugar, a little nutmeg, ground ginger, and lemon peel; beat 4 eggs and knead all well together; a taste of brandy will be an improvement. Roll them 3 in. thick, cut off a small slice and roll into an oval, not too thin; cut two slits in it, but not through either end; pass the left hand through the aperture to the right, and throw into boiling fat. A brass or metal skillet is best to cook them in; about 5 minutes to cook them, turn once.

Jumbles.--(a) ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. sugar, 6 oz. butter, 1 oz. sweet almonds, 1 oz. bitter almonds, 1 egg. Mix these well, drop in small lumps on a tin and bake for a few minutes in a hot oven.

(b) ½ lb. best flour, 6 oz. loaf sugar, ¼ lb. butter. Rub the butter and half of the sugar into the flour, beat along with it 1 egg, about 20 drops essence of lemon, mix all together, and roll out the cakes with the remainder of the sugar; a little ammonia carbonate is an improvement. Turn in fancy shapes, and bake on a hot tin about 15 minutes; but the time must be regulated according to the oven, but quick baking is desirable.

King Henry’s Shoestrings.--Make a batter with ¼ lb. flour, ¼ pint milk, a piece of butter the size of an egg, the juice of a lemon, and powdered loaf sugar to taste. When well mixed set it on the fire for 10 minutes, till the batter comes easily from the sides of the saucepan. Mix in (off the fire) a handful of sweet almonds, chopped up, and the yolks of 4 eggs. Let the whole get cold, then work into it the whites of 3 eggs, whisked to a froth, and spread out the batter on a baking sheet. Sift plenty of powdered sugar over, bake 10 minutes in a slow oven, cut it out in strips, serve hot or cold.

Leche Crema.--Beat up 3 eggs, leaving out 2 of the whites, and add to them gradually 1½ pint milk, then mix very carefully 4 tablespoonfuls fine wheat flour, and 2 oz. finely powdered loaf sugar, with grated lemon peel to flavour. Boil these ingredients over a slow fire, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until the flour is quite dissolved. Prepare a dish with ¾ lb. ratafia cakes at the bottom, having a glass of cognac or any liqueur poured over them, and when the cream is sufficiently boiled, pour it boiling through a sieve on the cakes. This delicious dish is always served up cold, and should have some finely powdered cinnamon dusted over. The genuine recipe, obtained from the Nuns of St. Clare Convent at Palmas, in the Canary Islands.

Lemon Cream.--Soak for 2 hours a 6_d._ packet of gelatine in a large cup of good milk; then place the milk and gelatine in a clean saucepan on the fire, adding the very thin rind of 2 lemons; keep stirring this on the fire till the gelatine is quite dissolved, then add 2 oz. pounded white sugar, stir again on the fire till the sugar is dissolved, then strain this on to 1 pint cream in a bowl (the cream must not be too thick), and keep whisking it gently till thoroughly mixed, then add the strained juice of 2 good lemons; keep whisking the whole till nearly set, but take care not to beat too hard or too strong; when nearly cold, pour into a mould (crockery), and turn out in the usual manner when wanted for table.

Lemon Dumplings.-½ lb. grated bread, ½ lb. suet, chopped fine, ¼ lb. loaf sugar powdered, 2 eggs, the juice and thin rind of a lemon. Mix, make 8 dumplings, and boil 1 hour.

Lemon Pudding.--To ½ lb. good butter add 2 lb. loaf sugar, broken as for tea, the yolks of 12 eggs and the whites of 8, the rinds of 4 lemons, to be peeled very thin and minced as fine as possible, and the juice of 6; put all those into a saucepan, and boil them till the sugar is dissolved and it is as thick as honey, taking care to stir it well all the time it is on the fire; then pour it into a jar, and add a wineglassful of brandy or whisky; tie it very close. When going to use it add 4 tablespoonfuls very fine-grated bread for a small pudding. This will keep for 6 months.

Lemon Soufflé.--Beat very lightly the yolks and whites of 8 eggs separately, add 1 teacupful white sugar, the rind of 2 lemons, and the juice of 1; bake for ¼ hour in a moderate oven.

Lemon Sponge.--Whisk the whites of 6 eggs till firm. Boil 1 oz. isinglass in 1 pint water till it is reduced to ½ pint; when nearly cold add it gradually to the eggs, also the juice of 4 lemons, and the grated rind, 1½ lb. loaf sugar powdered; whisk all together till it is as thick as sponge.

Lemon Toast.--Beat the yolks of 3 eggs and mix with them ½ pint milk; dip slices of bread into the mixture, then fry them a delicate brown in boiling butter. Take the whites of the eggs, beat them to a froth, add to them 3 oz. white sugar and the juice of a small lemon. Stir in a small teacupful of boiling water, and serve as a sauce over the toast.

Lentil Pudding.--3 oz. lentil flour, 1 oz. cornflour, 1 pint milk, 3 eggs, and a pinch of salt; pour the milk boiling gradually on to the flour, stirring it; when cool add the eggs well beaten; mix well, boil an hour in a buttered plain mould; serve with sweet sauce.

Macaroni au Gratin.--Drop the macaroni into boiling water, and cook till quite tender. Make a sauce of milk, thickened with flour and butter, to which add a small spoonful of made mustard, cayenne, and salt to taste. Let the macaroni remain in this a short time; turn out on a buttered dish, and cover with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Brown in the oven.

Macaroni, Boiled.--Put into a large saucepan plenty of water, salted to taste; when the water boils throw in the macaroni, broken into convenient lengths, but not too short; stir frequently. When the macaroni is done, pour in a jugful of cold water, and strain the macaroni quite free from any water. According to its size macaroni takes 20-30 minutes to cook; it should not be done too much.

Macaroni Cheese.--Take sufficient boiled macaroni to fill a square dish or tin; when buttered pile up with layers of macaroni and grated cheese (a highly flavoured and dry cheese is best); add plenty of mustard and butter, some cayenne, salt, and pepper; cover all with the grated cheese, bake a yellow brown, serve very hot.

Macaroni Pie.--Take a piece of gravy beef, cut in small pieces, put it into a saucepan with an onion sliced, and a piece of butter; toss it on the fire till the onion and the pieces of meat are browned; then add a glass of white wine, a faggot of sweet herbs, a carrot cut in pieces, spices, pepper, and salt to taste, a few mushrooms, and a fair allowance of tomato sauce. Let the whole simmer for 2 hours, then strain, and skim off superfluous fat. Put the boiled macaroni into a saucepan with a piece of butter, plenty of Parmesan cheese, and as much of the sauce or gravy as it will absorb; toss it on the fire a little while, and put it by till wanted. Make a smooth and stiff paste with 1 lb. fine flour, 5 oz. fresh butter, 2 or 3 yolks of eggs, 2 oz. sugar, a pinch of salt, and sufficient tepid water. Roll it out to the thickness of ⅛ in., and line with it a plain round mould previously buttered, uniting the joints carefully with white of egg. Have ready some very small fillets of breasts of chicken, just cooked with butter in a covered tin in the oven, some cooked ham or ox tongue cut in dice, some truffles, mushrooms, and cockscombs, cut in convenient pieces and cooked in the gravy used to dress the macaroni. Fill the lined mould with all these things in judicious proportions, letting the macaroni, of course, predominate, and adding during the process a little more sauce or gravy and a due allowance of Parmesan cheese; cover up the mould with a disc of the paste, unite the edges carefully, and bake in a moderate oven for about an hour. Turn out the mould carefully and serve.

Macaroni Pudding.--(a) Take 2 oz. small macaroni (vermicelli, fidelini, or spaghetti), break them up small, and put them into 1 pint boiling milk, sweetened to taste with lump sugar. Let them boil till quite done; add ½ oz. fresh butter, and pour the whole into a pudding dish; then stir in the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with a little cold milk and strained. Strew some powdered cinnamon or some grated nutmeg on the top, and bake for about 20 minutes.

(b) Take 2 oz. small macaroni, broken up small as in (a), put them with the thin rind of a lemon into 1 pint boiling milk sweetened to taste with lump sugar; when quite done, turn it all out into a pudding dish, remove the lemon rind, and stir in ½ gill cream beaten up with the strained yolks of 2 eggs. Strew powdered cinnamon over, and bake as in (a).

Macaroni Soufflé.--Break up about 1 oz. small macaroni into very small pieces, throw it into fast-boiling salted water, let it boil 20 minutes, then drain off the water and put the macaroni into ½ pint milk, with sugar to taste and a piece of cinnamon; let it boil till it has absorbed all the milk. Put it by to get cold, work into it the yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 6 whisked into a stiff froth, pour the mixture into a tin large enough to allow room for rising, strew a little finely powdered sugar over it, and place the tin at once into a quick oven. It will take 15-20 minutes to cook, and as soon as the soufflé has well risen, and its top has taken colour, it is ready, and must be served immediately in the tin itself, a little finely powdered sugar being sprinkled on the top.

Macaroni Timbale.--Take ½ lb. Naples macaroni, boil it until quite soft, drain it on a cloth, cut it in pieces ½ in. long, well butter a plain mould, line it with buttered paper, place in it the macaroni endways, so as to give the appearance of honeycomb when turned out. Make a paste thus: Put 1 gill water, a small piece of butter, and a little salt into a stewpan to boil. When boiling throw into it 1 tablespoonful flour, leave it a few minutes, then stir in 1 egg, turn it on to a plate until wanted. Take 1 lb. veal cutlet, remove the skin and bone, pound it in a mortar, and add to it half the quantity of the above paste, and a quarter of the quantity of butter, with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, mix all together, add 1 whole egg and 3 yolks, pass it through a wire sieve, stir in 1 gill white stock or milk, pour it into the mould, and steam for ½ hour. Serve with truffle or plain brown sauce.

Macaroni with Tomato Sauce.--Throw 1 lb. macaroni into a saucepan of boiling water and salt; the water must be quite boiling. When sufficiently cooked, strain off all the water, put it into a saucepan, with 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, and the tomato sauce. Keep it on the fire until the macaroni acquires a fine colour from the tomatoes, but care must be taken not to keep it too long on the fire, lest it become soft and pasty. The tomatoes are prepared for the sauce as follows: Take ripe tomatoes, wash, dry them, and cut them into halves; put them into a saucepan without any water, with salt, pepper, a few cloves, a little onion and celery, and boil till sufficiently done; pass through a sieve, and pour into the saucepan of macaroni as mentioned above.

Malvern Pudding.--It is made by cutting slices of bread ¼-½ in. thick, according to taste, or as to whether it be required for children or matured persons. These slices have next to be cut into such triangular shapes as will admit of their filling the side of a basin when placed points downwards. This is the only part of the process that requires a little judgment and care. If the basin required be large, or, say, of a quart size or more, and the slices of bread are not wide enough to admit of the triangular pieces reaching to the top of the basin, then some slices of a suitable width may be cut to fill up with. This done, a round slice may be put at the bottom, and then an inch or so in thickness of stewed rhubarb. Then more slices of bread, among which the trimmings may be utilised. Then another inch of the stewed rhubarb, and so on till the basin is filled. The last layer of bread should be whole, if the loaf be conveniently large, if not, the straight edges of two pieces may be placed together, and a knife run round them close to the edge of the basin so that they may be pressed down a little below the level of the edge to allow for the little swelling of the bread that will occur. To bind the whole together, 2 eggs to 1 pint basin should be used. The eggs should be well beaten with a large tablespoonful of milk to each egg. With this stewed rhubarb, unless it has been simmered to a dry or almost candied form, it is better to pour a suitable quantity of the beaten eggs and milk as the layers are formed, as, by doing this, all the spaces between the bread will be filled, and thus firmly bound together with custard when cooked. As to the quantity of butter on the bread, that will depend on taste. A little sherry sauce is an agreeable addition. The character and flavour of this pudding may be varied in an agreeable way by stewing a few raisins, sultanas, currants, prunes, or figs, and inserting them between the bread and butter as above described. It is better to stew these dried fruits for a pudding of this kind, for all the boiling the pudding proper requires is 15-20 minutes, or long enough to set the custard. A pudding made of similar materials, in a flat pan and baked in a slow oven, is equally good, and affords another agreeable variation. In seasons when eggs are scarce, a large tablespoonful of cornflour may be put to ¼ pint milk, or rather less, according to the quantity of bread used; and if this be whipped up with one egg, it will be sufficient to stiffen a pint pudding, so that it will stand firmly on the dish. For a boiled pudding the top should be well covered with the custard, as this will soon set, and thereby prevent the steam in the boiling pan from making the top layer of bread too sopped. In Worcestershire--whence it derives its name--it is generally made with cranberries. But gooseberries, currants, raspberries, strawberries, and so on, are equally suitable fruit for it.

Manchester Pudding.--This is a variety of the well-known Bakewell pudding, the difference consisting in the addition of milk and breadcrumbs to the cheesecake mixture, namely, butter, yolks of eggs, sugar, lemon juice and peel beaten to a cream, which in the Bakewell pudding is laid over the layer of jam. Alexandra pudding and Durham pudding are synonyms of the variety of Bakewell pudding known as Manchester. There is another kind of pudding, also called Manchester, which consists of breadcrumbs, milk, lemon rind, butter and sugar boiled together, eggs being added when cold, and the mixture baked in small shapes, and served with a morsel of jam on each, and with cinnamon sauce. (The G. C.)

Maraschino Jelly.--Take 2 calves’ feet, chop them into convenient pieces, and put them into a saucepan with rather more than 2 qt. cold water; set the saucepan on the fire; directly the water boils throw it away, and wash the pieces of feet carefully; then put them on again with 2 qt. cold water, and let them boil slowly for 3 hours, removing the scum carefully during the process; then strain the liquor into a basin, and when quite cold and set take off all the fat, and wash the top of the jelly with a little hot water, so as to get rid of every vestige of fat. Put the jelly into a saucepan on the fire; directly it is melted add sugar to taste, the juice and the thin rind of one lemon, and the whites of 3 eggs whisked to a froth. Beat up the mixture till it boils. Place the thin rind of a lemon at the bottom of a jelly bag, and pour the mixture over it. The bag should have been previously rinsed in boiling water, and the first ½ pint jelly that comes through must be returned to the bag. If the jelly does not come out quite clear, the operation of straining must be repeated. Add sufficient maraschino to flavour the jelly, then pour it into a mould, and put it on ice to set. At the time of serving dip the mould in warm water, and turn out the jelly.

Margot Pudding.--Cut 3 slices bread (thickness of five-shilling piece), spread lightly with butter and thickly with jam; lay the slices one above another in a pudding dish; pour over a glass of whisky or brandy, and when soaked in fill up with melted butter made as follows: 2 oz. butter, 4 teaspoonfuls cornflour, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, 1 pint water, boil it, and pour over the bread, then bake till the pudding is a nice brown.

Marlborough Pudding.--(a) ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. sifted white sugar, 4 yolks of eggs well beaten; first put the sugar in a basin, then add and stir in the eggs; flavour with vanilla, and bake ½ hour in a dish lined with puff paste. The pudding is greatly improved if some of the mixture is kept back, and, when all is ready, just warmed through and poured round as a sauce.

(b) Cover a pie dish with a thin puff paste, then take 1 oz. candied citron, 1 oz. of orange, and 1 oz. of lemon peel, sliced very thin, and lay them over the bottom of the dish. Dissolve 6 oz. butter without water, and add to it 6 oz. pounded sugar, the yolks of 4 well-beaten eggs. Stir them over the fire until the mixture boils, then pour it over the sweetmeats, bake the pudding in a moderate oven for ¾ hour, and serve it hot or cold.

Marlborough Tart.--Line a tart tin with good puff paste, set in a quick oven, and when half baked pour on the following mixture: 2 eggs well beaten, 2 oz. sifted sugar, 4 oz. citron or candied peel cut into strips, mix all together; finish the baking, and serve when cold.

Marmalade Pudding.--(a) Baked.--1 large tablespoonful marmalade, 1 breakfast-cup fine breadcrumbs, ½ teacup castor sugar, 1 egg, ½ pint milk. Put a layer of marmalade at the bottom of a pie dish. Rub some stale bread through a wire sieve until a breakfastcupful is made, mix this with the sugar, and put it over the marmalade. Beat up the egg, add to it the milk, pour this custard into the dish. Bake in a very moderate oven 1-1½ hour. Should be a pale brown.

(b) Boiled.-½ lb. suet, ½ lb. breadcrumbs, ½ lb. brown sugar, 2 oz. ground rice, 2 tablespoonfuls marmalade, 2 eggs. Chop up the suet (which should be dry beef suet) as finely as possible, make the breadcrumbs by rubbing stale crumb of bread through a wire sieve, beat up the eggs; mix all the ingredients well together in a large basin; let the mixture stand overnight, if possible, before cooking; well grease a pudding basin, fill it with the mixture (it should be quite full), tie it over with a pudding cloth which should be dipped into boiling water and floured well, tie the corners of the cloth loosely over the top; put into a large saucepan of boiling water, boil steadily for 4 hours.

Meringues.--Whisk the whites of 12 eggs in a bowl until they take the appearance of a white substantial smooth froth, looking almost like snow. To obtain this, it is essential that the whisk and basin be perfectly clean and dry, if in the slightest degree greasy the eggs would not rise sufficiently. Lay aside the whisk, and with a spoon mix in 1 lb. castor sugar; this must be done very lightly, if worked too much it will lose its firmness, and it would be difficult to form the meringues. Cut some stiff foolscap paper into strips, about 2 in. wide, then take a tablespoon and gather it nearly full of the batter, by pressing it up against the side of the basin, and getting it as much as possible into the form of an egg; scoop this off slantingly on to the froth, passing the spoon sharply round it before leaving it, to make it smooth and round and quite like an egg. Proceed in this way till all the froth is used up, and leaving a space of about 2½ in. after each meringue. Place the bands of paper containing them side by side on the table, and, when all are made, shake some rather coarse-sifted sugar over them, and let them stand for about 3 minutes. To bake meringues it will be necessary to have a board made of well-seasoned wood, about 1 in. thick, to fit the oven. On this place the paper bands of meringues, holding them at each end of the paper, and giving each band a little shake before placing it on the board, to get rid of the superfluous sugar; place the bands close together, and put the board into an oven of very moderate heat, to bake a light cream colour. When they are cooked remove them very carefully from the paper, and with a silver dessertspoon scoop out the soft white part from the inside. After this they must be put back into the oven for a short time to dry; the oven must be quite cool, and they must be watched to see that they do not become a deeper colour; this should be done on a baking-sheet, on which they should be carefully placed. If kept in a large covered glass jar in a perfectly dry place, these meringues will keep good for a long time. They must be quite cold before putting away. When required for table, fill the insides with whipped cream, slightly sweetened and flavoured with vanilla or any other flavouring preferred, or, better still, with a dessertspoonful of cream-ice; join two of the shells together, and dress them piled high in a glass or silver dish.

Mince Pies.--(a) An excellent and useful mincemeat can be made by the following recipe, especially in the country, where apples are cheap. But, if they are too expensive, half the given quantity can be used, and breadcrumbs substituted for the other half. Shred ½ lb. suet, roll it, a little at a time, on a board with 1 lb. raw sugar, mix with it 1½ lb. apples, ½ lb. raisins, ½ lb. currants, 2 oz. candied peel, all minced, 1 teaspoonful ground ginger, 1 of mixed spices, and the peel and juice of a lemon. Take care that the ingredients are well mixed together, and, if possible, let the mincemeat be prepared a few days before it is wanted for use. The crust for the pies can be made in the same way as for steak pie, or as follows: Rub ½ lb. lard into 1 lb. flour, make it into a paste with 1 gill cold water. As this is a short crust, as little water as possible should be used, and, if well worked up, the given quantity will be sufficient. Put the paste on the board, roll it out once to the required thickness, line greased saucers or patty-tins with it, put in a liberal allowance of mincemeat, fit on a cover, and bake in a slow oven for 40 minutes.

(b) Have ready some mincemeat made in the following way: 6 lb. raisins, 6 lb. currants, 2 lb. dates, 2 lb. French plums, 6 lb. apples, ½ lb. each candied citron, lemon and orange peel, 12 lemons, 6 sweet oranges, 6 lb. Demerara sugar, 1 teaspoonful each of mixed spice and ground ginger, with 1 pint good brandy, 1 of Marsala, 1 of sherry, and a wineglass of noyeau or curaçao. Have the raisins, dates, and plums carefully stoned, the candied peel cut into small dice, the apples peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces. Mince finely all the above with the pulp from the lemons and oranges. Well clean and dry the currants, and add them, with the sugar and spices, to the minced ingredients. The lemons and oranges must be grated to obtain all the outside peel, the juice squeezed thoroughly from them, and the pulp, before being minced, must be freed from all the pips and white inner peel. Dissolve the hard sugar from the candied peel in the orange and lemon juice, and add it, with the grated rind, to the mincemeat. Mix all well together in a large pan, add the brandy, liqueur, and wines. Press the mincemeat closely into stone jars, after again thoroughly mixing it, and cover it closely. Keep it in a cool, dry place. Should a mincing machine be used, the ingredients for mincing should be mixed before putting them through it, except the suet, which is always better chopped with an ordinary chopper.

(c) Butter slightly a number of patty-pans, take a piece of the paste, roll it out to the thickness of ¼ in., and line the pans with it. Put 1 wineglassful brandy into the mince, stir it well, and put a small quantity of it into each pan; brush the paste round with white of egg, and put on a cover of paste rolled out to about ⅓ in. thick. Press the edges well together, brush the top with cold water, strew finely powdered sugar over, and bake about ½ hour.

Mocha Pudding.--Beat up the yolks of 4 eggs with ¼ lb. powdered loaf sugar, add gradually 2 oz. flour and 2 oz. potato flour; lastly, the whites of 4 eggs whipped to a stiff froth. When the whole is well mixed, put it in a buttered plain mould and bake. Turn out the cake when done, and when it is quite cold cover it evenly all over with the following icing, ornamenting it with piping of the icing pushed through a paper cone. This last operation must be done with care, lest the heat of the hand warm the icing. When the cake is finished it should be put in a cold place, or on ice, till the time of serving. The Icing.--Take ½ lb. fresh butter and ¼ lb. powdered loaf sugar, and beat them to a cream in a bowl, adding drop by drop, during the process, ½ teacupful strongest coffee that can be made.

Mousseline Pudding.--4 oz. pounded sugar, 4 oz. fresh butter, the rind of 1 lemon and the juice of two, with the yolks of 10 eggs, to be mixed together in a saucepan and stirred on a slow fire until quite hot; then strain the mixture into a basin, and amalgamate lightly with it, as you would for a soufflé, the whites of the eggs whisked into a stiff froth. Pour into a well-buttered mould, and steam for 20 minutes. Serve with jam or fruit sauce. The water should boil when the pudding is put into steam, but on no account after.

Nesselrode Pudding.--Blanch about 35 large chestnuts, then rub through a sieve, and mix with a syrup made of 1 lb. clarified sugar, 1 pint cream, and the yolks of 10 eggs. Stir over a slow fire; when near boiling take it off, and pass it through a tammy. When cold, add 1 glass maraschino, set it in a freezing pot, add 1½ oz. citron, 3 oz. currants, and 2 oz. stoned raisins (previously soaked in maraschino); add a plateful of whipped cream, with the whites of 2 eggs beaten to a froth. When all is quite frozen put it in a mould; put it again in the freezing pan till required.

Newcastle Pudding.--Cut 4 penny sponge cakes in half and spread with jam, cook them in milk; make a plain custard of 2 eggs and ½ pint milk; boil the milk; when nearly cold add the eggs, and boil until it begins to thicken, then pour over the cakes.

Norfolk Dumplings.--Mix thoroughly 1 teaspoonful Borwick’s baking powder and a little salt with 1 lb. flour in a dry state; then pour on gradually about ½ pint cold water or milk, mix quickly into a dough, to be put immediately in small pieces into boiling water, and boiled 20 minutes without taking the lid off. They eat very like dough dumplings when properly made. Serve with milk sauce. Together with potatoes, they form the staple food of the Norfolk poor, who, when unable to obtain meat dripping, eat them with treacle or honey. They may also be frequently seen on the tables of the wealthy, and, when accompanied by game, goose, or duck gravy, are by no means unworthy the attention of an epicure.

Oatmeal Pie.--Boil, in 1½ pint water, 2 tablespoonfuls Scotch oatmeal until it jellies on a plate; let it stand till cold, then cover the bottom of a small pie dish with oatmeal; lay on it slices of Australian mutton; chop up an onion, some parsley, and two leaves of sage; put some over the meat, with pepper and salt, then another layer of oatmeal; lay on it slices of mutton and seasoning as before; cover all over with oatmeal, and dust the top with flour; bake for 1½ hour in a moderate oven.

Oatmeal Pudding.--Soak in water for 12 hours ½ pint fine oatmeal, pour 1 pint boiling milk over it, add a little salt, and put it into a buttered basin (just large enough to hold it), with a well-floured cloth tied tightly over it; boil for 1½ hour, turn it out and serve with cream, or boiled milk thickened with flour.

Omnibus Pudding.--Take 6 oz. fine flour, 6 oz. fresh suet shred fine, 6 oz. raisins stoned, 4 oz. treacle, 4 oz. milk. Mix well, put into a basin, tie a cloth over, and boil for 3-4 hours. Serve with brandy sauce.

Orange Chips.--Cut some Seville oranges in halves, squeeze the juice through a sieve; soak the peel in water; next dry; boil in the same till tender, drain and slice the peels, pour the juice over them; take an equal weight of sugar, put sugar, peels, and juice into a broad earthenware dish, and set it over the fire, not close enough to crack the dish, stir frequently until the chips candy; then set them in a cool place to dry, which process will take 3 weeks.

Orange Compote.--Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil with 1 gill water in a saucepan; when it boils add the thin rind of 3 oranges minced finely or cut into very narrow strips. Let the whole boil 5 minutes, add a liqueur-glass of brandy, and pour the syrup (hot) over 6 whole oranges, peeled and cored, or cut up in any form liked. Leave the oranges in a basin with the syrup till quite cold; then pile them up on a dish and serve.

Orange Cream.--Soak 1 oz. packet of gelatine, and add it to 1 pint milk in which 6 oz. lump sugar has been dissolved. Add a little lemon peel, and boil all together for 10 minutes. Strain the milk and add to it ½ pint orange juice and the juice of 1 small lemon. Stir well, and pour into a mould till set. This is excellent. Improved by the substitution of cream for milk.

Orange Fool.--Mix the juice of 3 Seville oranges with 3 eggs well beaten, ½ pint cream, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and finely sifted white sugar to taste. The orange juice must be carefully strained. Set the whole over a slow fire, and stir it until it becomes about the thickness of melted butter; it must on no account be allowed to boil; then pour it into a dish for eating cold.

Orange Fritters.--Cut some oranges in halves, use a sharp knife to remove the peel, pith, and pips. Stand the bits of orange in a basin with a small wineglassful of brandy and a spoonful of sugar for one hour. When ready to fry them drain them first on a sieve, then dip them separately in a batter made thus: Add 2 oz. melted butter to ¾ lb. flour, and 2 yolks of eggs. Mix these ingredients together with a wooden spoon, working in at intervals ½ pint tepid water; it must be worked up with the spoon until it looks creamy, and just before you use it add lightly 3 whites of eggs, whisked previously to a fine froth.

Orange Jelly.--Make a syrup with 1 pint water and 1 lb. loaf sugar, boil it with the thin rind of 4 oranges and 2 lemons, skim it carefully and add the juice of 8 oranges, let it boil about 20 minutes; skim and add the juice of a lemon and either 1 pint calvesfoot jelly, made as above, or 16 sheets best French gelatine dissolved in ½ pint of water and clarified with white of egg. Peel 2 sweet oranges, removing every particle of skin of both kinds, core them to get rid of the pips, and cut them in thin slices in such a way as to get rid of the pellicle round each quarter. Proceed to fill the mould, disposing pieces of oranges in it in a symmetrical fashion, place it on ice to set, and turn it out when wanted.

Orange Mould.--Very pretty dish, made by peeling 3-4 large oranges, and dividing them into sections, being careful not to break the skin. Boil ¼ lb. lump sugar in 2 tablespoonfuls water to crackling height. Arrange the sections round the sides of a well-oiled basin, previously dipping each into the sugar, which will act as a sort of glue, and, when cold, will be found to have stuck firmly together, forming a shape. Turn out on a dish, and fill with coloured fruit, strawberries, raspberries, &c., upon which is placed some whipped cream.

Orange Pudding.--3 oz. stale sponge cakes or ratafias, 3 oranges, ½ pint milk, 3 eggs, ¼ lb. sugar. Pour boiled milk on sponge cakes (which should be in crumbs); rub the rind of 2 oranges, and add the juice of 3; beat up the eggs, stir them in, sweeten to taste. Put the mixture into a pie dish lined with puff taste; bake ½ hour; turn it out of the dish, and sprinkle sifted sugar over it.

Orange Puffs.--Grate the rind of 4 oranges, add 2 lb. sifted sugar, pound together and make it into a stiff paste with butter and juice of the fruit; roll it, cut it into shape and bake in a cool oven, serve piled up on a dish with sifted sugar over.

Orange Salad.--Peel 8 oranges with a sharp knife, so as to remove every vestige of skin from them; core them as you would core apples, and lay them whole or cut in slices in a deep dish; strew over them plenty of powdered loaf sugar; then add 1 large wineglassful pale brandy; keep the dish covered close till the time of serving.

Orange Sponge.--Make an orange jelly with 1 oz. gelatine or isinglass to 1 pint water and about ¼ lb. sugar. Peel 2 oranges very thin, add the juice, rasp the sugar on the peel. Dissolve the gelatine thoroughly on the fire, then put in the orange and sugar, and, when quite melted, strain it clear into a basin. When nearly cold, but on no account set, whisk it well for a long time until it comes to a white froth, then pour it into a mould and put it in a cool place, then turn it out and serve in a glass dish.

Orange Tart.--Take 4 Seville oranges, squeeze the juice and pulp from them; boil the oranges until quite tender, add double their weight of sugar and pound fruit and sugar to a paste. With a teaspoonful of butter and the juice of the oranges, beat well together adding the pulp, also freed from pips and pith, line a shallow pie-dish with a light paste, put in the orange paste, bake it and cover with custard or cream.

Orange Tartlets.--Line some patty-pans with sweet short paste, fill them with uncooked rice, and bake to a light brown colour; remove the rice, and fill each tartlet with oranges prepared as for a compote, only cut into smaller pieces; pour syrup over before sending to table, or else sift sugar over, as preferred.

Orchard-street Pudding.-½ lb. breadcrumbs, 6 oz. beef suet chopped very fine, 3 tablespoonfuls marmalade, rind and juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoonful soda carbonate, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, 3 eggs well whipped, a little grated nutmeg, the whole to be thoroughly mixed, put into a mould, and boil 3½ hours. It should be served with wine sauce.

Oswego Pudding.--Pour ½ teacupful boiling milk over 6 Oswego biscuits; beat them up with ½ oz. sugar and 1 oz. butter; stir in a well-beaten egg the last thing, and bake in a small greased pie-dish for 15 minutes. This makes a very light little pudding for 2 people, and without the butter is good for invalids.

Pancakes.--(a) Mix 2 tablespoonfuls flour with ½ pint cream, add 2 eggs, and beat the whole well till quite smooth; put in a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, a little powdered cinnamon, and a little grated nutmeg.

(b) Make a thin batter with 1 pint cream and some flour, put in ½ lb. fresh butter melted, 8 eggs well beaten, ½ nutmeg grated, and a little salt.

(c) Mix 1 pint milk with as much flour as will make a thin batter; add a glass of pale brandy, a little grated nutmeg, a little powdered ginger, and a pinch of salt; then add 4 eggs, beat all well together till smooth.

(d) Put into a basin 4 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 of pale brandy, 1 of olive oil, and 2 of orange-flower water; mix the whole into a smooth paste, then dilute it to the proper thickness with either milk or water.

Warm a perfectly clean small frying pan, put into it a piece of butter the size of a cobnut, and as soon as, by tilting the pan, the butter has been made to spread all over the pan pour into it a ladleful of any of the above batters; again tilt the pan quickly so as to spread the batter evenly all over it, and directly the batter is well set run a knife round the pancake and turn it over for a minute; then roll it up and put it in the screen or the oven to keep hot while the next pancake is cooked in the same manner; serve on a napkin with lemon quarters as a garnish. By using lard instead of butter this process of frying pancakes is rendered somewhat easier.

Paradise Pudding.--Put into a basin ½ lb. breadcrumbs, 4 apples, pared, cored, and minced, 4 oz. currants, 4 oz. sugar, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste, the rind of half a lemon, beat up 4 eggs; mix all well together, and stir in half a wineglassful of brandy; put into a buttered mould, and steam for 2 hours; serve with sweet sauce. Beer can be used instead of brandy, but not milk, as it makes the pudding heavy.

Paste for Patties.--(a) Take 1 lb. fine flour; pass it through a wire sieve on to a pastry slab; add a pinch of salt and 2-3 drops of lemon juice; wet it with cold water into a paste about the same consistence as the butter about to be used; flatten the paste with the hands; place on it 1 lb. butter that has been worked well in a dry cloth; fold up the sides and ends of the paste, and roll it out the length of ½ yd.; fold it in 3, turn it round, and roll it the other way; leave it 20 minutes, then roll it twice more, and so on until it has been rolled 6 times; this done, roll the paste to the thickness of ½ in.; cut it with a plain round cutter dipped in boiling water, turn each patty over, place them on a baking tin, egg the top, and with a small cutter make a deep incision to form the cover. Bake in a quick oven.

(b) Puff.--Take 1 lb. best flour, rub it through a sieve, place it a little distance from the fire for a short time to get thoroughly dry; then rub in the half of ¾ lb. butter, the juice of ½ lemon, mix it lightly up together; roll it out as thin as a crown piece, put a layer of butter all over it, double it in 4, and roll it out again, do this twice, by which time all the butter will be in. Then fold it up and put it down in a plate on the stones of the larder for ½ hour to get cold. After this roll it out 3 times, and it is fit for use.

(c) Dripping.--Have cool hands, a cool room, fresh well-clarified beef dripping, and dry flour. Be as particular about making the pastry as if it were being made with the best butter. Cooks so often fail to make good pastry with dripping because they do not take pains with it. To every lb. of flour allow 6 oz. dripping and 1 teaspoonful baking powder. Put the flour into a basin with the baking powder and a pinch of salt; rub into it the dripping, which should be broken up into small pieces; when well rubbed in, moisten with about 1 gill water, enough to make a smooth, stiff paste. Flour the paste-board and the rolling-pin, and roll the paste out on the paste-board, fold it over again and roll again, repeating 3 times, handling it as lightly as possible. It is then ready.

Peach Cheese.--Take a number of green peaches, rub them carefully in a cloth to remove all dust. Put them into a stewpan with a small quantity of water--about ½ pint to 1 lb. of fruit (for large quantities a smaller proportion of water might be used). When the peaches are perfectly soft, rub them through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon, laying aside some of the stones, which should be broken, and their kernels added to the peach pulp. Weigh the pulp, stir it over the fire until quite hot, add half its weight in sugar, some lemon juice, and a little grated peel; stir the whole on the fire until well thickened, put into shapes. It should be quite hard when cold, and turn out easily. If the pulp be very watery, boil for 20 minutes before adding the sugar. This preserve will keep for a long time if sufficiently cooked, only perfectly sound fruit should be used. It is not necessary to peel the peaches.

Peach Compote.--(a) Put into a casserole for every dozen peaches ¼ lb. sugar and a glass of water; bring it to the boil, and skim well; add the peaches, peeled, and either whole or in halves, without their stones in either case. Let them boil a few minutes until they feel done; then arrange them in a glass dish, reduce the syrup, and pour it over them.

(b) Boil 4 lb. sugar in 2½ pints water; let it simmer 10 minutes after coming to the boil; fill bottles with fruit, shaking it down; when the syrup is cold, fill up each bottle with enough to cover the fruit; cork them well at once; stand the bottles in a boiler of cold water, and let it come to the boil slowly; after which simmer a few minutes; let the bottles get cold in the water; keep them in a cool place.

Peach Cream.--Steep ½ oz. isinglass in ½ pint cream, and stir over the fire until dissolved. When almost cold, mix with it the strained juice from a tin of peaches, and the juice of a small lemon. Pour ¾ of this cream into a glass dish, and allow it to set. Colour the convex sides of the halves of peaches delicately with cochineal. Place them with the coloured sides upwards upon the set cream. Pour the remainder of the cream carefully between the fruit. Allow this also to set, and the dish will be ready to serve. ¾ pint blancmange, with the yolks of 3 eggs stirred to it while scalding hot, make a fair substitute for the cream.

Peach Toast.--Cut some round slices off some milk rolls, remove the crust and fry them a pale yellow in fresh butter. Take a tin of preserved peaches, turn out the liquor into a saucepan, add a little sugar and a glass of white wine; boil it up, put in the peaches, simmer a few minutes, drain them, and place half a peach, concave side uppermost, on each piece of bread, put a piece of currant jelly in the cavity of each peach, pour the syrup round, and serve.

Pears, Stewed.--Peel the pears, and cut them into halves, without removing the stalks, and carefully take out the cores; then put them into a jar, with a lid, which should fit closely--empty salt jars answer the purpose perfectly; add a small quantity of lemon peel and 1 or 2 cloves. Pour over them a syrup of sugar and water, in the proportion of ½ lb. loaf sugar to every pint of water. After closing the jar, put into the oven, which must not be too hot. Let the pears bake till tender--about 5-6 hours; then turn them out of the jar to cool. To keep them, put them into clean jars or bottles when quite cold, and tie them down carefully like jam. If they do not keep, the fault will probably lie with the fruit. The proper baking pears should be used, and they must not be too ripe. If gently cooked, the colour will be good without any addition, but, if necessary, about 3 drops cochineal may be added when the fruit is nearly done.

Peripatetic Pudding.--Take 6 sponge cakes and 6 eggs, ¼ lb. sifted sugar, ½ lb. fresh butter, ½ lb. marmalade, and 2 glasses of sweet wine. Mix these ingredients well together, and paper the mould. Bake for ½ hour.

Piedmont Tartlets.--Make a paste with 1 oz. butter, 2 oz. flour, the yolk of an egg, a little water, a pinch of salt; roll it out to the thickness of ⅛ in., and line some patty-pans with it. Take 2 oz. finely grated Parmesan cheese, beat it up in a bowl with the yolks of 2 eggs; add pepper, salt, cayenne and nutmeg, according to taste, very little of the two latter, then work in 3 tablespoonfuls cream, fill each patty-pan with the mixture and bake them in a moderate oven till done.

Pikelets.--1½ oz. German yeast, a little flour, 1 qt. warm milk, a cupful of melted butter, a little salt. Time to bake, 5 minutes after the top has blistered. Make the milk warm, and stir it into the yeast with a little salt. Add a sufficient quantity of flour to make it into a batter. Set it to rise for ½ hour, then add a cupful of melted butter. Stir it well in, pour it into iron rings previously placed on a hot plate, and bake them very lightly on both sides. When required, toast them on each side, taking care they do not burn; butter them nicely, cut them across, and put them upon a hot plate, serving them quickly hot and hot.

Pineapple Cream.--Dissolve 2 oz. isinglass in 1 small cupful boiling water; when dissolved add it to 1 qt. good cream, stirring it continually that it may not curdle. Then add a ¼ lb. sifted loaf sugar, and the juice of a pineapple, bruised and strained; whisk the whole thoroughly together for a few minutes; then pour into a mould, and set in ice or a very cold place until well set.

Pineapple Fritters.--Make a thick batter with 2 eggs, 1 teacupful new milk, 2 oz. sifted flour, 3 stale penny sponge cakes, 1 doz. ratafia biscuits, and 1 teaspoonful sugar reduced to a fine powder. For these fritters use the pineapples preserved in tins. Divide the slices into small triangular pieces, dip each in the batter, and fry to a golden brown colour in plenty of boiling lard. Dish them on a folded napkin, sprinkle them lightly with powdered sugar, and serve them as quickly as possible. Send to table with them, in a tureen, a sauce made as follows: Strain the pineapple juice, which will be left in the tin, into a small enamelled saucepan, and add to it the juice of ½ lemon, 1 wineglassful white wine, and 1 teaspoonful powdered sugar. Bring this to boiling point, and thicken to the consistency of thin cream with arrowroot, mixed with a little cold water. If preferred, the pine may be minced and mixed with the batter.

Pineapple Jelly.--Take a tin of preserved pineapple, pound the contents in a mortar, add 6 oz. sugar and ½ pint water; boil the whole for ¼ hour, then strain through a tammy; add the juice of a lemon and 1 pint clarified calvesfoot jelly. Pour into a mould, and when set turn it out by dipping the mould in warm water. Pieces of pineapple may be put in the jelly.

Pineapple Toast.--Take a small tin of preserved pineapple and a stale sponge cake; cut the sponge cake in slices ½ in. thick, and trim them and the pineapple to the same shape; place lightly the slices of cake, on both sides, in butter. Arrange on a dish in a circle, alternately, a slice of cake and one of pineapple, take as much syrup out of the tin as may be necessary, add to it a glass of sherry or a liqueur glass of brandy; pour this over the dish and serve cold.

Plum Pudding.--(a) Put 10 oz. flour into a large basin, with a tiny pinch of salt, and, having passed 1 lb. suet through the mincing machine, rub it with both hands into the flour until it is quite smooth, then add 10 oz. fine breadcrumbs, mixing each thing well as you do it. Then add the 1 lb. currants, having well washed and dried and picked them (for there are stones among them), then add 2 lb. stoned raisins, then ½ lb. brown sugar, ½ lb. candied peel and the peel of a lemon grated, a small spoonful of spice; beat up 8 eggs, and with a little milk mix altogether well with both hands, adding half a tumbler or less of brandy; this should be mixed at night and left until the morning, with a cloth thrown over it. The next morning mix it up well with your hand, and put it into a tin form, which should be well buttered; the tin should have a well-fitting cover, which should be buttered also. Put the tin into a cloth, and tie it so well down that there should be no risk of the cover coming off; put it into a saucepan of furiously boiling water, and let it boil 8 hours, taking great care that the water never ceases boiling. The pudding is much better boiled 3 hours more the second time, the day it is eaten. Boiling in a cloth without the tin covered shape spoils the goodness of the pudding, which all goes into the water. (E. C. Scouce).

(b) Not too rich, and very inexpensive: ½ lb. Valencia raisins stoned, ½ lb. currants, 3 oz. flour, ½ lb. beef suet chopped very fine, ½ lb. breadcrumbs grated, 2 oz. soft sugar, 2 oz. candied peel, and the rind of a small lemon, chopped very fine, ½ nutmeg grated; mix all well in a bowl, and add a wineglass of rum or brandy, and 4 eggs well beaten. Cover over with a plate, and let it stand all night; in the morning stir it up well, and add 1 small teacupful of milk; mix thoroughly, and put it into a well-buttered mould. Lay a buttered and floured paper over the top, and tie all in a large cloth. Boil 6 hours, a week or more before it is wanted, and then at least 4 hours the day the pudding is required; serve with wine sauce.

(c) That will keep.--1 lb. stale bread in crumbs (very fine, must be passed through a wire sieve), 6 oz. flour, 1¼ lb. raisins, weighed after stoning; 1¼ lb. moist sugar, 2¼ lb. currants, well cleaned and dried; 1½ lb. best beef suet, finely chopped and free from skin; 3 oz. mixed candied peels, cut as thin as possible; a small teaspoonful of salt, and ½ small nutmeg grated. Mix all these dry ingredients together in a large earthen pan, then add the yolks and whites of 10 eggs well beaten together, and, lastly, 4 wineglassfuls sherry, and rather more than 3 of brandy; stir all these together very thoroughly with a wooden spoon. This quantity will make 3 puddings. Boil them 4 hours, either in basins or in earthen moulds tied over the top with a cloth. After this drain them and set them on the kitchen shelf, not too near the fire, but to keep dry. When wanted boil them for 1 hour. They will keep any time, and are as good at a year’s end, or even better, than at first.

(d) Plain.--Take of currants, raisins (sultanas), and sugar each 1 lb., 2 lb. breadcrumbs brown or white, 2 lb. carrots grated, 2 lb. potatoes grated, 1 lb. suet, ½ lb. lemon peel, salt to taste, 1 oz. ground ginger, 1 lb. flour, 2 or 3 eggs, 2 teaspoonfuls soda carbonate, 1 ditto tartaric acid, the two latter well mixed with the flour and breadcrumbs, dry, a little brandy and rum if liked, with milk sufficient to moisten. This will make a large pudding, but can be divided. Boil 6-8 hours.

(e) 4 lb. raisins, 2 lb. currants, 2 lb. beef suet, 1 lb. moist sugar, 1 lb. flour, 1 lb. breadcrumbs, 8 oz. mixed candied peel, 3 tablespoonfuls golden syrup, ½ pint brandy, 1 nutmeg, 1 teacup beer, and 13 eggs. The above ingredients should be well mixed with a wooden spoon. This quantity will make 5 or 6 puddings, and should be boiled 11 hours; they will then keep good for some months (quite 6 months), and, when one is going to be served at table, should be boiled for 2 hours.

Plum Purée.--Stew a quantity of plums, with sugar to taste, and not too much water. When quite done pass through a hair sieve, stir well, and when cold it is ready.

Plum Tart.--Stone some plums and stew them for an hour, with plenty of sugar and half a tumblerful of water. Make a short paste with the white of 1 and the yolks of 3 eggs, 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. sugar, a pinch of salt, a little water, and sufficient flour. Roll it out to the thickness of a penny piece, line a mould with it, uniting the joints with white of egg, fill it with rice and bake it. When done remove the rice, put it in the stewed fruit, and serve.

Poor Knights.--(a) These can be made out of slices of stale bread neatly trimmed. They should be about ½ in. thick, and should either be cut in fingers, squares, or some other shape. Soak the pieces in milk long enough to soften them, but not to break. Drain the pieces and fry in boiling dripping until nicely browned on both sides. Place them on kitchen paper to drain, and then serve with jam or marmalade, put between every 2 slices; scatter some castor sugar on the top, and serve.

(b) The bread used in Germany for these is the “brödchen,” somewhat larger than dinner buns. These are cut into 3 rounds ½ in. thick; beat up 3 eggs in ½ pint milk, in which soak the bread till soft; then dip the pieces into brown breadcrumbs, and fry with butter over the fire till a golden colour, crisp, but not hard; put preserve between 2 pieces, sprinkle with white sugar, and serve hot. The bread from an ordinary English loaf is best, with the crust cut off before soaking.

Porter Jelly.--Put 1 cow’s heel into 5 pints water, boil it down to 3 pints; when cold, skim off the fat. Then put it into a pan with the rind of a lemon, a little cinnamon, sugar to your taste. When quite hot, just before it boils, add 1 tumbler porter, and the white of an egg to clear it; run it through a jelly bag. This may be taken either warm or cold, and is very strengthening.

Potato Pie.--For a pie for about 10 people, take a loin of mutton (it is more tender than beef), 4 sheep kidneys, a cow heel from the tripe shop, 20 oysters, ½ lb. mushrooms, an onion, pepper and salt. Cut the mutton into chops (taking off some of the fat, and also bones), the kidneys into about 4 pieces each, the heel into 9 portions, the onion sliced; mix all together, and put into a large pie dish; cover well with potatoes cut in pieces; a little water must also be put in, and then a good pie crust. It is a good plan to cook all in the dish a while before putting on the latter. If covered with another dish the top will not be brown. The large bones from the cow heel, mutton, trimmings of mushrooms and oysters, if well simmered, make good extra gravy, which can be poured in after the pie is cut into. The best dish is a large tin one, to be kept for the purpose. A clean table-napkin should be pinned round before sending to table.

Potato Pudding.--Boil 4 large potatoes, and pass them through a sieve; stir into them powdered loaf sugar to taste and the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs; add a few drops of essence of lemon, then the whites of the eggs whisked to a froth; mix quickly and well; pour into a plain mould, buttered and breadcrumbed, and bake for 20 minutes in a quick oven. Serve with sweet sauce.

President’s Pudding.--Cut some slices of stale bread, and dip each one in a custard made thus: Beat up 1 egg with a wineglassful of milk and ½ oz. pounded sugar, fry the bread quickly in butter, pile on a dish with layers of jam between the slices, pour a thin boiled custard over, and sift some sugar, then serve.

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