Sweetbreads with Oysters.—Prepare the sweetbreads as in the foregoing recipe, quarter them, and put them in a stewpan with a gill of white stock, the strained liquor from two dozen oysters, a saltspoonful of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a suspicion of nutmeg. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan over the fire, stir into it one tablespoonful of fine flour; let them bubble together, stirring the while, one minute. When the sweetbreads have been simmering twenty minutes, pour the gravy from them to the sauce; stir quickly till smooth. If thicker than very thick cream, add a little more stock. In five minutes add the oysters. Keep at boiling-point, but not boiling, till the oysters are firm and plump. Do not leave them in the sauce a minute beyond this, or they will begin to shrink. Take them and the sweetbreads up, and if the sauce is too thin to bear a wineglass of cream, boil it rapidly down till very thick; then skim, and just before pouring over the sweetbreads stir in a wineglass of thick cream. If it goes in earlier it may curdle.

It has been explained before, but I repeat it here, that there must never be too much sauce, however good, to any dish, and that the consistency is most important: it must be thick enough to mask a spoon, yet run from it freely. Nothing can be worse than a dab of white mush being served as sauce, unless it be a quantity of thin, milky soup floating on every plate. This is where the happy medium must be struck. It is perfectly easy to give exact proportions to produce certain degrees of thickness, and this has been done in the chapters on sauces; but where these sauces are used as a medium in which to cook, for instance, sweetbreads, a certain amount of liquid must be added to prevent burning. Now it is impossible to say how fast this added liquid will diminish if the simmering is as slow as it should be, it may lose hardly at all, in which case the articles stewed must be taken out, and a few minutes' hard boiling given to evaporate the liquid and bring the sauce back to the proper point.

Sweetbreads in Cases.—Prepare two sweetbreads as directed in the foregoing recipes. Put them in a stewpan with a thin slice of fat boiled ham, half a carrot, half a turnip, and a small onion, all cut small, and laid as a bed under the sweetbreads; put in a gill of broth, a bouquet of herbs, and half a saltspoonful of salt, with a pinch of pepper. Let them stew, closely covered, one hour, turning them after the first half-hour. When done, take them up and drain them. When cold, cover with thick d'Uxelles sauce; sprinkle thickly with very fine bread crumbs. Make two rough paper cases, butter each liberally, and very carefully lay each sweetbread in one, crumbed side uppermost. Put them in a quick oven till pale brown. Have ready proper sweetbread cases, slip them neatly into them, and serve.

These are excellent cold, in which event they should not be shifted from the rough case until ready to serve.

FOOTNOTES:

[101-*] For recipe, see No. V.



XII.

ON THE MANNER OF PREPARING CROQUETTES, CUTLETS, KROMESKIES, RISSOLES, AND CIGARETTES.

Although these ever-popular dishes are all or may all be prepared from one mixture, there is a difference in the manner of using it which I will here explain.

Croquettes are made from a soft creamy mixture chilled on ice till firm enough to mould, then simply dipped into egg and crumbs and fried in very hot fat.

Cutlets are the same (of course fancy cutlets are meant, not the French chops, so called), only they are shaped to imitate a real cutlet, with a little bone inserted; or, in the case of lobster cutlets, a small claw is used to simulate the chop bone. Many only stick a sprig of parsley where the bone should be, to keep up the fiction.

Kromeskies are rolls of the same mixture enveloped in very thin slices (hardly thicker than paper) of fat larding pork; a small toothpick holds the pork in place. The rolls are then egged, crumbed, and fried.

Rissoles are the same thing, only rather easier to prepare, being rolled in very thin pastry instead of pork.

Cigarettes, the newest variation of the favorite entree, and most dainty of them all in appearance, are thin rolls of croquette mixture (or, better still, quenelle meat) not thicker than a small cigar. These are rolled in pastry, thoroughly deadened, pinched very securely, and fried a very pale brown.

As the manner of making the mixture is about the same for all kinds of meats, fish, or game, varying only in flavor—a little wine, a little onion, or sweet herbs taking the place of the mushrooms in some cases—I will give exact directions for making sweetbread cutlets; chicken, game, or fish may be substituted for the sweetbreads, naming them accordingly. The ham may always be omitted where the flavor is objected to. For those who like it, it adds very much to sweetbreads, but would be out of place with game, which should depend on its own individual flavor.

Cutlets of Sweetbreads.—Soak a pair of sweetbreads in salt and water for an hour—longer if there is much blood about them; then cook them half an hour in stock. Drain them and let them get cold. Trim off all superfluous fat and gristle; chop them with one ounce of lean boiled ham to each pair of large sweetbreads, and half a can of mushrooms, a small teaspoonful of salt, the sixth of one of pepper. Put an ounce of flour in a small thick saucepan with an ounce of butter; stir them together over the fire until they bubble; then add a half-pint of liquid consisting of a gill of stiff jellied stock and a gill of thick cream; stir till they boil and form a smooth sauce; mix the sweetbread mixture with the sauce.

The mixture should be a soft, creamy mass, not in any way so stiff as sausage-meat, or so as to remain in a heap without spreading; when poured on a plate, it should be of a consistency that will slowly settle, yet there must not be any liquid whatever. On this question of consistency depends the quality of the croquettes, cutlets, etc., made from it. If too stiff, they will be dry and only a superior sort of hash ball. What you have to aim at is a croquette or cutlet that will ooze out of the thin shell of egg and crumb when pressed with a fork. Success in attaining this can always be secured by taking care to moisten the minced meat with a sauce made of very stiff jelly in the proportion of half a pint of liquid (the melted jelly and cream) and one ounce each of flour and butter. This will mix a pint of sweetbread and mushrooms, or rather less of dry meat, such as the breast of chicken, veal, etc.

I dwell on this point because this class of entrees is always popular, and if the consistency is once well understood, success is certain to follow.

When the mixture is poured into shallow dishes or plates, a piece of buttered paper should be laid over them, and then they should be placed on ice until quite firm. When ready, cut small pieces of the mixture, make them into shapes as nearly resembling a French chop as you can, using a very little cracker meal should they stick to your hands. Have before you a large dish of cracker meal and the yolks of two eggs beaten with two small tablespoonfuls of water, cover each cutlet thoroughly with egg, then with meal, gently patting them to make the meal adhere; insert anything you please to represent the bone (turkey ribs may be boiled white and kept for this purpose). Cutlets require to be dropped into very hot fat, and taken up within two minutes. Consult directions for frying in former chapter.

Sweetbread croquettes are simply made into cork or pear shapes, never large, instead of cutlets. When the white meat of chicken replaces half the sweetbread, they are called Cutlets, or Croquettes, a la Reine.

Make no attempt to mould croquettes or cutlets until the mixture is firm enough to cut; then handle very quickly, make into proper forms, finish them either as cutlets or what you wish, and let them remain in a cold place for an hour or two before cooking; this last direction may not be always possible, and to an expert is not necessary, but when time can be given the amateur should always plan to do it.

But though in experienced hands it is possible (though not so easy) to make croquettes and fry them as soon as breaded, do not be led to believe that you can dispense with putting the mixture on the ice the first time. I remember a young lady who was very proud of her croquettes telling me she never found it necessary to chill the mixture; she could secure perfect shape without. I asked to see the process, and decided in my own mind that she must go widely from the directions, and have her material as stiff as hash; but I found she solved the difficulty in a different way: she simply worked in quantities of cracker meal, using it like flour. Of course the croquettes were spoiled, although it was true they kept their shape, and I do not think the young lady realized at all that she was changing and impoverishing the preparation altogether.

Braised Sweetbreads.—Take a pair of sweetbreads, lay in salt and water for an hour, then blanch. Press slightly between two dishes; when cold, remove all skin, fat, and gristle; cut up very fine a small carrot, a turnip, and an onion; put them in a stewpan with the sweetbreads, pour over them a pint of stock, lay a piece of buttered paper over them, and braise carefully for half an hour. Take them out of the stewpan, put them in a small meat-pan, boil the liquor rapidly a couple of minutes, then baste the sweetbreads with it several times; put them in a quick oven to brown; serve on slices of fried bread, pour half a pint of Spanish sauce round, and garnish with mushrooms.

Tartlettes of Chicken.—Cut six ounces of the breast of a cooked chicken into very small pieces, chop up one truffle, twelve mushrooms, and two ounces of lean boiled ham; stir them into a gill of white sauce. Butter thickly nine dariole moulds, line them neatly with quenelle meat,[114-*] of which you will require half a pound, fill the centre carefully with the mixed chicken, cover the top carefully with quenelle meat, and steam for twenty minutes; dish on a circle of spinach, pour bechamel sauce over and round, fill the centre of the dish with peas or mixed vegetables.

Chicken a la Hollandaise.—Take out the breast-bone of a large young fowl, and fill the space with the following force-meat: half a pint of fine bread-crumbs, an ounce and a half of butter, a small boiled onion chopped, and a dozen oysters cut into small pieces; a saltspoonful of salt, a pinch of pepper; bind together with an egg, sew up the fowl, and truss for roasting. Make a nice batter, as for fine fritters, and when the fowl has been in the oven half an hour, pour part of the batter over it; when dry and beginning to brown, pour more, until it is thickly coated and a nice brown; baste often; cut up the chicken, and serve with Allemande sauce and lemon.

FOOTNOTES:

[114-*] See directions in No. IV.



XIII.

PATTIES.

The directions for making one kind will serve for patties generally. In cities the cases are very easily bought, but where they have to be made at home, only one who is already an expert in making puff-paste should attempt them.

Patties when served as an entree should be quite small, or half of them will certainly be left on the plates.

Roll puff-paste a quarter of an inch thick for each patty, cut three circles from it, moisten the surface of two very slightly with water, place one on the other, then with a sharp penknife cut a circle nearly through the third round, leaving a margin of one third of an inch; lay this round carefully on the other two; brush the top with white of egg (be sure not to touch the sides), and bake in a very quick oven. Patties must be watched, and turned if they show signs of rising unevenly. When they are a fine yellow-brown take them out, and leave five minutes for them to cool slightly, then with a penknife or a boning-knife carefully remove the top formed by the smaller circle you marked, and which (if the paste was very light and the oven in good condition) will probably have risen out of the centre. Be careful in handling these covers, for while warm they are very brittle. With a coffee-spoon remove the half-cooked dough from the centre of the patty, taking care, however, to leave sufficient thickness of inner crust to prevent the sauce from oozing through.

The filling for patties can be made before it is needed; but when that is done, it must be made quite hot before it is put into the cases, as, if it were put in cold, the pastry would burn before the inside became warm.

Dresden Patty Cases.—These make a very pretty kind of patty when puff-paste is not to be had, and even when it is are a desirable variety. They are made from fine light baker's bread. Cut slices an inch and a half thick, then with a biscuit cutter about two inches in diameter cut circles from these slices, and with another cutter, a size smaller, press half-way through each. You will now have pieces of bread the size and shape of patties. Beat four eggs; mix with a pint of milk and a saltspoonful of salt; pour this into a shallow pan, and stand the bread patties in it. The amount of milk and eggs must of course depend on the number of patties; the proportion named is enough for six small ones. The patties must remain steeping until they are thoroughly soaked; they must be carefully turned upside down when the lower part is sufficiently steeped. The time required will depend on the quality of the bread, but one hour will generally suffice. The bread must be thoroughly penetrated by the custard, be almost as moist as mush, yet be in no danger (with careful handling) of breaking. When sufficiently steeped, take each one on a cake turner and lay it on a drainer. (They may be prepared some hours before they are needed for cooking.) When quite drained, baste each one carefully with beaten egg till every part is coated, then smother it in cracker meal. Gently pat it to make it adhere, then slip the patty on to a dish till you are ready to fry. Do not attempt to move the patties with the hand or a spoon, but with a flat skimmer or cake turner.

When prepared as directed, make three pounds of lard very hot in a deep frying-kettle,[119-*] place three of the patties on a fine wire frying-basket, and fry brown. The fat should be excessively hot, as the patties, being full of cold custard, will not burn, and will rapidly cool it. They should be a delicate brown in six or seven minutes. Let the fat come back to the original intense heat before putting in the other patties. When they are fried, remove the centre you marked with the smaller cutter with a sharp thin knife and small teaspoon, leaving the sides about half an inch thick. They are now ready to fill. If the patties are just right, the inside you remove should be of a custard-like texture, not like sopped bread: indeed, in eating them, the bread should not be easily detected. These patties are very delicious filled with any of the usual fillings, or, for dessert, with stiff preserve. They have no covers, consequently the filling should be piled high without allowing the sauce to run over, and garnished with parsley or water-cress.

Sweetbread Patties.—Soak two very white sweetbreads in salt and water one hour; parboil for twenty minutes; then let them cool; remove the skin, fat, and gristle; cut them into half-inch dice, and lay them aside while you prepare the following sauce: Put a gill of strong white stock into a small saucepan with a gill of mushroom liquor (and a dozen small mushrooms cut in four if approved) to boil. In another saucepan cook an ounce of flour and one of butter together, stirring till they bubble; pour the two gills of stock quickly to it, and stir till smooth. Season with half a teaspoonful of salt and very little pepper; lay in the sweetbreads, and let them stew twenty minutes. Strain them off from the sauce, which boil down (stirring constantly to prevent burning) till very thick; then add a gill of thick fresh cream. The sauce should now be thick enough to mask the spoon very heavily; pour it over the sweetbreads, and stir together. This is now ready for filling the patties. If mushrooms are not liked they may be omitted, the liquor replaced by a gill of stock and a teaspoonful of white wine.

Oyster Patties.—Take a dozen and a half Blue Points, scald them in their own liquor, but do not leave them a moment after they reach the boiling-point; strain the liquor from them; cut each oyster in four. Put a tablespoonful of flour and one of butter into a small saucepan over the fire, stir them together until they bubble; then pour to them half a pint of the strained liquor of the oysters, or part liquor and part stock. Stir continually, and let the sauce boil very thick; then lay in the oysters, and simmer half a minute. The amount of seasoning required will depend on the saltness of the oysters, but a saltspoonful of salt will probably not be too much, a little pepper, and a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies—just enough to make the sauce a delicate salmon-color. For the last thing, stir in one small teaspoonful of lemon juice. The consistency of the sauce for all patties should be that of very thick double cream. When it is not thick enough, it can always be reduced by boiling down, taking care not to boil the meat or oysters, etc., in it.

Chicken Patties.—Take the breast of a boiled chicken, cut it into dice; use half a pint of the liquor in which it was boiled to make the sauce. Put this broth in a small saucepan with a teaspoonful of lean boiled ham chopped a little (take care there is not a particle of the outside of the ham, or it may impart a smoky flavor); let the ham simmer in the broth while you melt together a tablespoonful of flour and one of butter; when they bubble, and the broth has been boiled down to about one half, strain the latter into a half-pint measure, fill up with cream, and stir this quickly to the flour and butter. When the sauce is thick and smooth, put in the chicken; keep the mixture at boiling-point five minutes, then set the saucepan in another of boiling water, and stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs; only just let them thicken; then remove from the fire, and use for filling the patty cases. A teaspoonful of sherry is often added to the sauce. If this filling is not used while hot, it must be reheated in a double boiler and watched, or the eggs will curdle; or the filling may be prepared and the eggs added after it is reheated.

Bouchees of any kind are simply patties made very small indeed—for this reason the filling is always chopped instead of being cut into dice.

The essence of anchovy mentioned is a most useful sauce for fish, and can be bought at any large grocery.

FOOTNOTES:

[119-*] See full directions for frying in No. X.



XIV.

ENTREES.

In an earlier chapter I gave directions for quenelles as an adjunct to soups and for garnishing. Used in this way, they are only a revival of an old French fashion, coarsely imitated in the benighted days of Anglo-Saxon cookery by the English "force-meat balls." Lately, however, not only are quenelles a great feature in high-class cookery as additions to made dishes, but they are a most fashionable and delicious entree, and replace with great advantage the too-frequent croquette.

To prepare quenelle meat for entrees.

Mode No. 1.—To make quenelle meat, a mortar is indispensable, as it must be pounded to a pulp that will go through a sieve, and I have known a persevering woman grate the breast of chicken on a large grater, but this is very slow work. Take the white meat from a large, young, uncooked chicken, and remove all skin, fat, and sinew. Melt together over the fire a scant tablespoonful of butter and one of flour; when they are thick and smooth, stir in a gill of boiling water quickly. This should now be a thick paste; put it away to cool. Take half as much butter as you have of chicken, and half the quantity of paste (technically called panada) that you have of butter. Put the paste into a mortar; pound it well; add the butter; pound again till smooth; add the chicken, cut up very small, and pound until the whole forms a smooth pulp. Add one whole egg and the yolks of three, the third of a saltspoonful of white pepper (salt must depend on whether the butter seasons sufficiently). Work all well together, stir in half a gill of thick cream, and pass the whole through a wire sieve. Put the whole on ice to get firm. The quenelles should be about the size of a small egg flattened; shape with two tablespoons dipped in flour. Have ready a frying-pan with boiling water in which is a saltspoonful of salt, lay each quenelle carefully in, and poach for ten minutes. The water must boil very gently. Drain on a sieve; serve with mushroom or tomato sauce. Have a little dried parsley and grated tongue or ham, and scatter alternately on each quenelle.

Mode No. 2.—One pound of lean veal cutlet; pound it thoroughly in a mortar; then rub it through a sieve, or it may be forced (after it is pounded) through a vegetable strainer. Steep a pound of bread crumb in tepid water; wring it in a cloth to get rid of the moisture; put it in a stewpan with a tablespoonful of butter and a pinch of salt. Stir it over the fire until it ceases to stick to the pan and forms a smooth paste. Place it between two plates to cool. This is called bread panada. Put into a mortar twelve ounces of the prepared veal, six ounces of fresh butter, and eight ounces of the panada. Pound all well together; mix in gradually one whole egg, two tablespoonfuls of thick cream, and the yolks of four more eggs, a scant teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter-saltspoonful of pepper. When this is all pounded into a smooth, compact mass, put it into a bowl and place it on ice until required for use. Mould and poach as described in last recipe.

Great care is required in cooking quenelles, as if they are overdone they become tough; ten minutes is enough for those the size of a small egg. Before moulding the whole, poach a small one, break it open, and ascertain if it is smooth, light, yet firm. They should melt in the mouth. If they are at all tough, add a little more cream to the mixture, unless the toughness comes from over-boiling, which you must guard against. Very elaborate quenelles are made with a core of dark meat, made by chopping up ham, tongue, or truffles very fine, and inserting it in the centre while forming the quenelles. Always serve quenelles with tomato, mushroom, or rich Spanish sauce. Dish in a circle, and fill the centre with spinach, green peas, or a macedoine of mixed vegetables.

The mode of preparing all quenelles is by one of the two methods just given, but they may be made of any kind of game, or the backs of hares or rabbits. Quenelles of salmon, lobster, or other fish must of course be served with appropriate fish sauce.

Timbale of Chicken a la Champenois.—Chop a small slice of lean boiled ham, weighing about two ounces, put into a saucepan with four chopped mushrooms, four truffles, and an ounce of butter; stir in a moderate dessertspoonful of corn-starch and half a pint of stock and a gill of sherry; let this slowly simmer until reduced to one half. Skim off the fat, then stir in the finely chopped breast of a large chicken or of two small ones, six small pickled gherkins, a sprig of parsley, and six anchovies which have been soaked in milk. Make all hot over a slow fire, but do not let them boil. Line a mould with light puff-paste, pour the mixture into it, and bake one hour; turn out and serve very hot. Garnish with fried parsley.

Scallops of Chicken a la Perigord.—This dish may conveniently be made when the white meat of chicken is required for other purposes.

Bone the legs of two large chickens; take half a pound of veal, a quarter of a pound of fat salt pork; pound both in a mortar, then pass through a sieve; add to this two tablespoonfuls of minced tongue, six truffles, and half a dozen button mushrooms, the yolks of two eggs, a saltspoonful of salt, and a very little cayenne. Mix well. Stuff the legs of the fowls with this. Sewing them up neatly, wrap each up in buttered paper; put them in a stewpan with two ounces of butter and a carrot, turnip, and small onion cut up; add three quarters of a pint of brown stock. Put the stewpan in the oven, baste well, and cook gently one hour. When cooked, have ready a mound of spinach. Take a very sharp knife, cut the legs in slices so as to make circles like slices of sausage; strain off the gravy. Cook together a dessertspoonful of butter and flour; when they bubble, pour the strained gravy to it, with a gill of sherry and a little salt and pepper; stir till smooth; boil till as thick as cream. Dress the scallops of chicken in a circle round the spinach, pour the sauce round all, and insert bits of truffle and of tongue between the scallops.

Chicken Souffle.—Pound three ounces of the white meat of cooked chicken as fine as possible; mix with it half a pint of cream and three well beaten eggs, a few button mushrooms finely chopped, a saltspoonful of salt, a sixth of one of pepper, a dust of cayenne, and a speck of powdered mace. Pour the mixture in a well-buttered mould, tie a cloth over it, and steam it half an hour. It must stand quite upright in the steamer. Turn out on a hot dish, and pour any rich brown sauce preferred around it. This souffle may be made of sweetbreads, or half and half. If individual souffles are preferred, butter as many dariole moulds as the mixture will fill; lay at the bottom of each something by way of garnish—a little star or disk of tongue or ham for some, of truffle for others, of green gherkin for others—so that when turned out the top of the souffles will show spots of color. Half fill the moulds, and steam twenty minutes.

Souffles of all kinds depend for excellence on being served the moment they are ready, and on the steam being kept up all the time they are cooking. When baked the oven must be very steady.

Fritot of Chicken.—Take a cold chicken, cut it into small neat joints, season rather highly with salt and pepper, strew over them a small grated onion (or one very finely chopped), and a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley. Cover them with oil, and then squeeze over them the juice of a lemon. Turn the pieces now and then, and let them remain until they have absorbed the flavor. Meanwhile make a batter of four tablespoonfuls of flour and about eight of milk, or as much as will make a thick smooth batter; stir into it a wineglass of brandy and an egg, the whole beaten to a high froth. Leave this batter in a warm place an hour before using, dip the pieces of chicken into it, and fry in very hot, deep fat. Serve piled high on a dish garnished with fried parsley.



XV.

ENTREES.—Continued.

Cigarettes a la Reine.—These are the newest development of the rissole and croquette. They require strict attention to details to secure perfect form. Roll puff-paste a quarter of an inch thick; prick it all over—this is to deaden it; roll it now till it is no thicker than cartridge-paper. Cut it with a sharp knife dipped in flour into strips about two inches and a half wide and about the length of a cigar; lay on each strip a roll of chicken quenelle meat that is very firm, and the roll not thicker than a lady's slender forefinger; be careful that the meat reaches nearly the whole length of the paste, yet leaves a margin for closing, as the least oozing will spoil the appearance. Moisten the edges of the paste all round with white of egg; fold the paste over half an inch; be very careful to see that it adheres thoroughly; then pinch the ends. Roll them gently with a cool hand on the floured board to round them without pressure, taper off the ends cigar fashion. If they are softening, lay them on a floured plate on ice to get firm; then roll them in egg and very finely sifted cracker meal. You may roll or improve the shape, if there is any irregularity, while crumbing them. Remember what you aim to imitate is a cigar. The great danger for the first time is getting them too large; they must therefore be very slender. Fry in deep fat just as rissoles; serve on a napkin, log-house fashion. These dainties, as will have been seen, have a large amount of butter, and soften in a warm room; they must therefore be made in a cold room, and if set on ice some hours before cooking will be much easier to fry without bending or twisting.

Cigarettes a la Chasseur are, as the name indicates, made of game, in exactly the same way as the last recipe.

Lobster Quenelles.—Prepare with bread panada as directed for quenelle meat. Poach and drain them. Then dish in a circle with thick Hollandaise sauce in the centre and round them.

Chicken, Turtle Fashion.—This requires a pullet or young hen about six months old. Bone the bird; stuff with a force-meat made of four parts minced veal, two parts chopped hard eggs, a half part lean boiled ham, two parts mushrooms, and two parts pate de foie gras. First make the veal and ham hot in a little butter, then add the mushrooms and foie gras; moisten with stock or mushroom liquor, and gently simmer five minutes. Stir in two beaten yolks of eggs and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Season with a saltspoonful of salt, a quarter one of white pepper, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg, grated. Stuff the fowl with this mixture; sew it up with trussing-needle and string; turn the skin of the neck half over the head, and cut off part of the comb, which gives the appearance of the turtle's head. Scald and skin four chickens' feet; cut off the claws, and insert two where the wings ought to be and two in the thighs, so as to look like turtles' feet. Put in a stewpan a tablespoonful of chopped boiled ham, an onion, and a small carrot cut up, with a tablespoonful of butter; let them brown very slightly, add half a pint of stock, skim it, lay the fowl in this stock, and stew gently for an hour and a half to two hours, or even longer, according to size. When quite tender take up the fowl, cut and remove the string with which it is sewn, lay it on its back on a dish, garnish the breast with sliced truffles cut in fancy shapes, place a crawfish tail to represent the turtle's tail. When eaten hot serve veloute sauce. This is an excellent dish cold garnished with aspic.

Baked Ravioli.—Four ounces of veal, six ounces of butter, three ounces of lean sausage-meat, a teaspoonful of mixed sweet herbs, a little salt and pepper. Pound all in a mortar; when smooth, pound separately a gill of spinach that has been boiled till just tender without losing color, and a quarter of a pound of cream cheese or rich cottage cheese, which must be squeezed in a cloth to remove all the milk. When smooth, pound all together, and stir in the yolks of two eggs. Make some pastry with half a pound of butter, three quarters of a pound of flour, and the yolks of two eggs; mix stiff, and roll till about as thick as a fifty-cent piece. Cut the paste in two parts. Take a medium-sized biscuit-cutter, mark half as many circles on one half the paste as you wish ravioli. Lay in the centre of each circle a mound of the force-meat—perhaps a large teaspoonful, only be careful to leave a quarter-inch margin all round. Moisten this margin with a camel's-hair brush dipped in white of egg; lay the second half of the pastry over these mounds; press the cutter on each to trim them, and you have a number of little round patties; press the edges together very well by curving the little finger round them. Have some rich stock boiling in a stewpan; poach the ravioli five minutes. Take them up, drain them well, arrange them in a fire-proof gratin dish, sprinkle them over with grated Parmesan cheese, pour in a very little stock, and bake brown in the oven.

Veal Cutlets a la Primrose.—Take a pound of veal cutlet; cut it up into small cutlets the size of a dollar, and perfectly round. Put two ounces of butter (which has been first melted to let the curd separate) into a saucepan, with three onions, two ounces of bacon cut into small dice, a bouquet of herbs (including bay-leaf). Fry, stirring frequently, for a quarter of an hour, then add a tablespoonful of corn-starch, a dessertspoonful of Tarragon vinegar, and a pint of strong stock. Let all simmer very gently for about one hour. Take up the cutlets, strain the gravy and pour it over them, then sprinkle with a tablespoonful of grated tongue, and the same quantity of parsley dried and crumbled small. Chicken may also be cooked in this way.

Quails a la Lucullus.—This, as its name implies, is a most expensive and luxurious way of serving these dainty birds, yet by management the livers of chickens may be saved a day or two by scalding them, and the opportunity taken when several are required for general use during a week. Bone very carefully six or eight quails. Cut up three ounces of unsmoked bacon, put it in a saute pan, let it cook five minutes, then add the livers, a shallot sliced, a small bouquet, twelve white peppercorns, six cloves, a saltspoonful of salt. Let all cook carefully ten minutes: nothing must burn or get very brown. When cooked, pound well in a mortar, pass through a sieve, then add three truffles chopped; stuff each quail into shape, butter some paper cases known as "quail cases," put a quail into each case, a few drops of olive oil on each breast. Then put them in a quick oven for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. For the gravy, put the bones of the quails in a stewpan, add a tablespoonful of glaze and a gill of brown sauce, with one tablespoonful of water. Simmer till the gravy is well flavored from the bones, then strain, and add two tablespoonfuls of chopped truffles and half a gill of sherry. Put one tablespoonful of this sauce over each quail before sending it to the table, after very carefully draining all grease from the quails. These are served in the papers, but rough paper cases may be made to bake them in, and the regular crimped ones set in the oven to get hot just before dishing up. Slip the quails into them after draining.

Quails a la Jubilee.—Bone as many birds as required. Lard them with pork and thin strips of truffles. Stuff them in shape with equal parts of sweetbreads and oysters, sew them up; roll them in buttered paper, and cook in the oven in enough Chablis to cover them. Pound some boiled potatoes and water-cresses together until thoroughly blended; put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan with one of milk; put in the potato, stir round till quite hot; use this to make a border on which to serve the quails. When they have cooked fifteen to twenty minutes, take them up, glaze them (melt glaze in a cup standing in hot water, and brush them over). Lay them on the potato border, and pour into the centre some Spanish sauce with mushrooms in which has been boiled a slice of lemon.



XVI.

ENTREES.—Continued.

Pigeon Cutlets.—Take half a dozen young pigeons, split them down the back, and bone them, all but the leg, cutting off the wings at the second joint. Cut each bird in two down the breast; trim off all ragged edges, so that each half-bird has as much as possible the appearance of a cutlet, the leg serving for the bone. Saute these cutlets, having seasoned them with pepper and salt, for three minutes in hot butter, then put them in the oven for five minutes. When done, press between two plates till cold. Then mask each cutlet with a thick puree of tomatoes and mushrooms in which aspic jelly has been mixed, equal parts of each. Let them be put on ice to stiffen the masking. Roll in fine cracker meal, then dip into well-beaten egg, again into the meal, and then place them in a saute pan with very hot clarified butter, and cook them a fine golden brown. Dish up on a border of mashed potatoes browned with grated Parmesan; serve mushrooms in the centre and Spanish sauce all round.

Pigeons a la Tartare.—The pigeons should be trussed for broiling; flatten well with a rolling-pin without breaking the skin, season them with pepper and salt, dip into clarified butter and cover with very fine crumbs or cracker meal. Broil them carefully, turning often. Make a sauce of a scant tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley, a shallot, two spoonfuls of pickled gherkins, and a boned anchovy. Mince all finely and separately. Squeeze over them the juice of a lemon; add half a tablespoonful of water and six of oil, and a little pepper. Mix all very well, and just before serving rub in a teaspoonful of dry mustard. Put the sauce into the dish, lay the pigeons over, and serve.

Compote of Pigeons.—For any dish of pigeons except roast or broiled, wild birds may be used in place of tame. Their flavor is far finer, and if not perfectly young, which is the main objection to the use of wild birds, the preparation remedies the defect. Cut four ounces of lean unsmoked bacon into pieces, and fry five minutes. Split the pigeons in half, skewer each half as neatly as possible with tiny skewers, so that they will not sprawl when dished; flour and season them lightly, and fry a nice brown on both sides; add one small carrot, one small turnip, two sticks of celery, one shallot, six mushrooms—all cut small; add a bouquet garni and three gills of rich stock; let them all simmer very slowly in a stewpan for one hour, or longer if the birds are not young. Simmer together a tablespoonful of flour and one of butter; pepper and salt (quantities depend on whether the stock be seasoned); stir constantly, and when they begin to change color pour a gill of brown stock to it, stirring well; remove from the fire. Take up the pigeons, strain the gravy, then stir in the brown thickening you have made; boil up, skim off all fat, then return the birds; let them get thoroughly hot, but not boil. Serve on a border of mashed potatoes, pour the gravy round and over them, and fill the centre with peas or spinach.

Souffle of Partridges.—Clean and cook two partridges; remove the breasts and best of the other flesh without skin or sinew. Take two ounces of rice cooked till very tender, pound them together in a mortar with one ounce of butter and a gill and a half of glaze melted, a teaspoonful of salt, and a sixth of pepper. Pound until the whole can be forced through a strainer, then add the beaten yolks of four eggs, and last of all the whites of two beaten till they will not slip from the dish; stir them very lightly into the mixture. Pour it into a silver souffle case, or into a number of the small china cases. Bake till it rises, and then serve immediately with a tureen of rich brown sauce. This souffle can be made of any kind of cold bird or fish. The four eggs are given for medium-sized partridges.

Salmis of Snipe.—Clean and roast lightly six snipe, saving the trail. When done let them get cold, then cut them up and remove the skin, and lay them in a buttered stewpan; pound the trimmings and bones in a mortar, and put them into a stewpan with two shallots, a clove, a bouquet of herbs, and half a pint of claret; let this simmer until reduced to one half. Then add three quarters of a pint of Spanish sauce. Let these very gently simmer for half an hour, skimming frequently; strain through a fine sieve, and return to the stewpan. If it is not thick enough to coat the spoon, reduce a little more. Pour this sauce over the snipe in the saute pan, and let it get hot without boiling; pile the pieces in a pyramid; meanwhile chop the trail, mix with half the quantity of pate de foie gras and a little salt and pepper; spread this on croutons, bake, and use them to garnish the snipe.

Fillets of Teal with Anchovies.—Remove the breasts from a pair of teal after they have been three parts roasted. Take care to preserve each half breast in good shape. Lay these fillets seasoned in a china fire-proof dish which has been well buttered and strewed with grated Parmesan; split two anchovies, remove the bone. Wash and dry the four halves, lay one on each fillet of teal, moisten with a gill of fish stock, sprinkle with bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese, lay small pieces of butter over, and bake in the oven fifteen minutes. The last thing before serving squeeze the juice of a lemon over all.

Rabbits are so little cared for in this country that it may seem useless to give recipes for using them. There are probably two reasons for the low estimate in which rabbit is held here. One, that as they are offered in market they are skinny, miserable animals. Yet there are parts of the country where they attain a good size, and a fine plump rabbit may compare favorably with fowl for many purposes. Indeed, English epicures use it in preference for mulligatawny. The second reason, and probably the one that is the real reason, for the difference in taste is because, being so lightly esteemed, no care is ever given to the preparation of them.

On the chance that some reader may feel inclined to test the possibilities of the native rabbit, and its claims to a place in choice cookery, I give two or three recipes, each admirable in its way. Rabbits should be used quite fresh, and cleaned and wiped dry as soon after they are killed as possible.

Grenadines of Rabbit a la Soubise.—Take the whole backs of two rabbits from the shoulders to the thighs, both of which you reject; cut away the ribs and the thin part that forms the stomach, leaving only the backbone with solid flesh each side; divide this into sections, about two joints to each. Lard them, and then braise for one hour. Stand them in a circle, and pour over and round them a pint of brown Soubise sauce.

Fillets of Rabbit with Cucumber.—Half roast a rabbit, then remove the solid flesh from each side the backbone in long fillets. Cut two cucumbers and one Bermuda onion in thin slices, salt them, and let them drain. Lard the fillets of rabbit, season them, and lay them in a stewpan, with a pint of white sauce slightly thinned with white stock, the cucumber, and the onion. Let them simmer for half an hour. Lay the fillets in a circle, and put the cucumber and onion in the centre, the sauce, which should be thick enough to mask them, over the fillets. Fried sippets garnish this dish.

A Civet.—For this dish the dark-fleshed rabbit, or hare, as it is often called, is best. Cut it into meat joints; cut half a pound of unsmoked bacon into slices, and fry in a saucepan; then lay in the hare, and saute for fifteen minutes. Pour off the fat. Add half a pint of port-wine, a bouquet garni, and a dozen mushrooms, and a little pepper and salt; let this simmer gently one hour; then add a pint of brown sauce and twenty button onions which have been blanched. Simmer for another half-hour. Remove the bouquet, add a gill of stewed and strained tomato, half a gill of glaze, and a tablespoonful of Chutney. Serve in a pyramid, pour the gravy, after it is well skimmed, over the whole, and garnish with fried croutons.

Timbales d'Epinard.—Make some quenelle meat of chicken or veal according to directions already given, and mix with puree of spinach, prepared as follows, until it is a nice green; pick and wash some spinach, put it into salted boiling water, and boil fast for fifteen minutes. Drain and press it, then beat it through a wire sieve; return to the saucepan with two ounces of butter; pepper and salt; stir till well mixed. Stir a gill of cream to the quenelle meat, then use enough of the spinach to give it a fine light-green color. When well mixed, butter some dariole moulds; nearly fill them. Then dip your finger in cold water and press a hole in the centre of each to the bottom; fill it with a puree of ham, and then put a coating of quenelle meat over, and steam twenty minutes.

Puree of ham is prepared as follows: pound lean boiled ham in a mortar with some stock that has been boiled down to half glaze; rub through a wire sieve. If too stiff, moisten with a little more melted glaze.



XVII.

COLD ENTREES, OR CHAUDFROIDS.

These elegant dishes are suitable for formal breakfasts, luncheons, and suppers, and while presenting an unusually attractive appearance, are easier to manage than less elaborate dishes, because they can usually be prepared, all but garnishing, the day before.

Although in giving the recipes meat cooked for the purpose will always be directed, and for formal purposes no care or expense should be spared, the intelligent reader will see where she may make a very pretty dish by utilizing cold fowl, game, or lamb for any simple occasion.

Sweetbreads au Montpellier.—Parboil a pair of fine white sweetbreads, after soaking them in salt and water an hour. Let them get cold between two plates under slight pressure. Cut them into the form of cutlets (cutlet cutters are to be obtained at the fashionable New York hardware stores, and at the large French tin-shops down-town). Have some firm aspic jelly not quite set; dip each cutlet in it; chop some aspic that is hard and cold roughly; form a circle of it; arrange the cutlets on this; fill the centre with asparagus heads; pour mayonnaise round, and garnish with fancy shapes of aspic, red and white alternately. Red aspic is colored with pulp of the red beet stirred into it while liquid and then strained out; green is produced by spinach. The various shades of amber, shading into rich brown, that are so effective when tastefully mingled, are due to caramel coloring. When colored aspic is required for garnishing, pour off a little into separate vessels, and color each as required.

Chicken Salad a la Prince.—Cut the white meat of cold fowl into neat fillets, using a very sharp knife, so that there may be no ragged edges. Mask each piece with a mixture made as follows: One tablespoonful of finely minced capers, two of minced boiled ham, three hard-boiled eggs, an anchovy boned and washed, and two sardines freed from skin. All these must be well pounded, then rubbed through a sieve; add a teaspoonful of finely minced tarragon and chives. Stir all into a tablespoonful of mayonnaise and one of aspic, semi-fluid of course. When each fillet has been well coated with the mixture and has set, line a border mould with aspic jelly, ornament the fillets of chicken with little strips of beet-root and cucumber arranged like a trellis-work. Place them very carefully round the mould on the layer of aspic, then pour in a little more aspic, until the border mould is full, and set it on ice. When about to serve have a dish well layered with the small leaves of lettuce. Drop the mould for one minute in warm water, and turn out on to the lettuce. Fill the centre with a salad composed of cucumber cut into dice, peas, string-beans cooked until tender (for this purpose the canned French string-beans serve admirably, being beautifully cut ready). Pour over the centre salad some thick mayonnaise.

Where mayonnaise makes too rich a dish for the digestion, bechamel sauce may be substituted for masking, but never for salad; for instance, two very simple chaudfroids of chicken may be made as follows:

Chaudfroid of Chicken, No. 1.—Cut up a young fleshy chicken into neat joints, remove the skin, mask each piece carefully with bechamel sauce; when quite set arrange on chopped aspic in a circle, garnish with strips of cucumber and beet; cut the remainder of the cucumber and beet into neat pieces, and stir into a gill of mayonnaise, and use for the centre. This and all salads should be lightly seasoned before the mayonnaise is added, or they are apt to taste flat.

Chaudfroid of Chicken, No. 2.—Prepare the chicken as in last recipe, only before masking the joints season the bechamel well with finely chopped tarragon; leave out the mayonnaise and aspic. Pile up the pieces of chicken on the entree dish, and garnish with Roman lettuce, or, if that is not to be had, the hearts of Boston lettuce.

Chicken and Ham Cutlets.—Boil a young fowl with a good breast in clear stock; take it out, let it get cold; cut the breast into rather thin slices. The bones, skin, and trimmings may be thrown back in the stock, which can be boiled down to make both the bechamel and aspic for the dish (see recipes), or be kept for other purposes. Take the slices of chicken and some very well cooked lean ham that is cut so thin you can see the knife under the slices. Melt a little bechamel sauce, that must be like blanc-mange, pour it on a plate, and before it has time to cool cover the plate with the slices of chicken. Dip the ham into the stock (if it has been boiled down to jelly, otherwise into melted aspic), lay the ham over the chicken, then more thin slices of chicken. Now cover the whole by means of a spoon with more bechamel; when all this sets, which, as your sauce has only been half melted, it will do quickly, you have a large white cake about half an inch thick. Cut this cake into small pieces (unless you have a cutlet cutter), as like a cutlet in form as possible, using a sharp penknife or boning-knife. Take up each carefully, and with the end of a silver knife or small spoon cover the edges with the bechamel sauce, which must be nearly set for this purpose.

To garnish the cutlets, cut some tiny green leaves from pickled gherkins, and red ones from the skin of a red pepper-pod, and place two of each in the centre of each cutlet, star-shaped; a touch of white sauce will make them stick; place a speck of parsley not larger than a pin's head in the centre. Stick a tiny lobster claw three quarters of an inch long at the narrow end of the cutlet, and place them in a silver dish round some aspic of a bright amber color, chopped. Put a very small sprig of parsley between each cutlet.

I may here remind the reader that when aspic or bechamel is used for masking or for pouring into a mould as lining, etc., it must not be made hot, only softened in a bowl set in warm water, just enough to be free from lumps. It must, of course, be stirred from the moment it begins to soften. The mould to be lined should be turned about till it is well coated, and if there is a disposition to run off the sides, roll it round in ice. For instance, when the first layer of bechamel is poured on the plate as directed in last recipe, it must be moved about until quite covered, yet very thinly. If it sets too soon, hold the bottom of the plate over steam.

Reed-birds in Aspic.—Take the back and breast bone from a dozen birds, splitting them down the back first. Save the feet. Make a force-meat of pate de foie gras and panada in equal proportions; season highly, spread the inside of the birds, sew them up as nearly in shape as possible; bake seven to ten minutes, then dip them into glaze; put a little pale aspic in a dozen dariole moulds, enough to cover the bottom a quarter of an inch, and when just set put in a bird breast down; set on ice a few minutes, then pour in aspic to cover the bird a quarter of an inch. Put on ice. Turn out, and on the top of each strew pistachio nuts chopped very fine. Insert the two feet of the bird, scalded and dried, to stand up from the centre.

Chaudfroid of Reed-birds.—Prepare as in last recipe with pate de foie gras force-meat. Butter a dozen dariole moulds. Put a bird in each, breast downward; put the dariole moulds in a pan with a little water, and set it in the oven for fifteen minutes; when cold, turn out the birds, wipe them, dip each in brown chaudfroid sauce, and put them on a dish to cool. When cold, lay them in rows against a pile of chopped aspic.

Brown Chaudfroid Sauce is made by putting a pint of Spanish sauce, a gill of cream, half a pint of aspic jelly together, and boiling them until they are reduced one quarter. Skim constantly, and strain for use.

White Chaudfroid Sauce is simply bechamel and aspic treated in the same way. It differs, of course, from plain bechamel in having the piquant flavor of the aspic; in appearance there is little difference.



XVIII.

COLD ENTREES.

Iced Savory Souffle.—This dish can be made of fish, game, or chicken, but is considered best made of crab. Cut up the crab, or whatever it may be, into small pieces; let it soak in mayonnaise sauce for two or three hours. Have some well-flavored aspic jelly, half liquid; whip it till it is very frothy; put some of this at the bottom of the dish it is to be served in—a silver one is most effective; then place a layer of crab well seasoned, and fill it up with aspic and crab alternately until the dish is nearly full; place a band of stiff paper round, and fill in with whipped aspic; set it on ice for two hours; take off the paper, and serve.

Savories.—Within the last few years, which may, perhaps, be called the renaissance of cooking in England, since Kettner, in his "Book of the Table," shows that in the Middle Ages that country was famous for its cuisine, while France was still benighted—within the last few years, then, there has grown up a fashion of introducing preparations called savories. They vary very much, from the tiny little bouchette of something very piquant, to be taken between courses as an appetizer—which, I believe, was the original idea—to quite important dishes suitable as entrees for formal breakfasts or suppers. But it is with the original "savory" as a piquant mouthful that they will take their place in this book. So important a part have they come to play in English menus (I am not now speaking of simple dinners) that the invention of a new "savory" is something to be proud of, and it is said that the very best are invented by the bons vivants themselves, seldom by the chef. One lady has written a book of which savories is the only branch of cooking treated, and she says in her preface, "Savories being at present so fashionable, and novelties in them so eagerly inquired for, I have been induced to publish a small book on the subject."

In looking over any list of small savories we find many of our old friends in it, such as cheese canapes, angels on horseback, anchovy toast, etc. With these familiar dainties we will have nothing to do, only the mention of them will serve to show that any little piquant morsel may be used as an appetizer served as hors d'oeuvres.

The Savage Club Canapes.—These must be made small enough not to require dividing—in other words, can be eaten at one mouthful. Cut slices of stale Vienna bread a quarter of an inch thick, stamp out from them with a very small cutter circles about the size of a fifty-cent piece. Saute these in a little hot butter till they are a very pale brown. Lay them on paper when done, to absorb grease. Stone as many small olives as you have guests; fillet half as many small anchovies—that is to say, split them, and remove the bones and scales; wash them, dry them, and roll each one up as small as possible, and insert it in an olive in place of the stone. Now trim one end of the olive so that it will stand; then put a drop of thick mayonnaise on the centre of one of the rounds of fried bread, which, of course, must be quite cold; stand the stuffed olive on it neatly, and put one drop of mayonnaise on the top, to cover the opening in the olive. A variation, and I think an improvement, on this bouchee, is to use a little softened aspic to attach the olive, and a small quantity finely chopped to crown it. Still another plan is to put a tiny disk of bright-red beet on the top, using aspic to cement it there.

Canapes a la Bismarck.—Cut circles with a small cutter from slices of stale bread a quarter of an inch thick; saute in butter till they are a light brown; spread over each when cold a thin layer of anchovy butter; curl round on each an anchovy well washed, boned, and trimmed; sprinkle very finely shred olives over them. Anchovy butter is two parts butter and one of anchovy paste.

Caviare Canapes.—Cut some slices of bread a quarter of an inch thick; cut disks from them with a small round cutter; fry them pale brown in butter. When about to use them chop a large handful of water-cress leaves very fine, taking care to press them in a cloth to remove all water before you begin to chop; when they are almost as fine as pulp, mix with them an equal amount of butter; when well blended, spread each canape with it, and spread a layer of caviare on the top.

Prawns en Surprise.—Cut some small rounds of bread and butter, not more than two inches in diameter and a quarter inch thick. Peel some prawns; steep them in mayonnaise sauce a few minutes; place three on each round of bread-and-butter, with a small piece of water-cress on each. Place over all some whipped aspic jelly; strew lobster coral over them.

Prince of Wales Canapes.—Take some fine prawns, three anchovies, two gherkins, and two truffles. Bone the anchovies and wash them, peel the prawns, and then cut all the ingredients into very small dice. Make a sauce as follows: Bruise a hard-boiled yolk of egg in a mortar with a tablespoonful of salad oil, a saltspoonful of mustard; mix with this an anchovy and a teaspoonful of tarragon that has been scalded and chopped; pound all well together, and pass through a sieve with a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar and a speck of cayenne; mix enough of this with the prawns, etc., to season the mixture. Salt, it will be observed, is not mentioned, because the anchovies and prawns may be salt, but this can only be known to the cook by tasting. Butter some small water biscuits (crackers), put a small teaspoonful of the mixture on each, and cover with finely chopped aspic. Garnish by putting a spot of green gherkin on one, a spot of red beet on another, and on a third one of truffle, and so on alternately.

Shrimp Canapes.—Fry some rounds of bread as directed for other canapes. Make some shrimp butter by pounding equal quantities of shrimps, from which heads, tails, and shells have been removed, and fresh butter till they form a smooth mass; spread the fried bread with it. Place whole shrimps on the top in the shape of a rosette, in the centre of which put a tiny pinch of chopped parsley.

Cheese Biscuits a la St. James.—Take three tablespoonfuls of the finest flour, half a pound of cream curds, and five ounces of Brie cheese, which has been carefully scraped, and a pinch of salt; pound all in a mortar; add five ounces of softened butter and three eggs, to make a very stiff paste, which must be rolled very thin, and cut into round biscuits. Bake in a very quick oven, and serve hot.

Kluskis of Cream Cheese.—Take half a pound of fresh butter, six eggs, six tablespoonfuls of cream cheese, a pinch of powdered sugar, salt, and sufficient grated bread crumbs to make a paste, adding cream if it crumbles; mix well together, and roll into small balls; poach them in boiling water until firm (no longer). Serve hot, with a spoonful of poivrade sauce on each.

Cold Cheese Souffles.—Grate one and a half ounces of Gruyere cheese; the same of Parmesan. Whip half a pint of cream and a gill of aspic jelly to a high froth; stir in the cheese; season with salt, cayenne, and made mustard to taste. Fill little paper baskets or very small ramequin cases, grate cheese over the top, and set on ice to get firm.

The above mixture may be frozen just as you would ice-cream, but very firm, then cut out in little cubes, and serve on canapes of fried bread; it is then called "Croutes de Fromage Glace."

Oysters a la St. George.—Take the beards from two dozen oysters; put the melt (or soft roe) of two Yarmouth bloaters into a saute pan with two ounces of butter; dry and flour the oysters, and saute them with the melt. Have some squares of bread fried a nice light brown; place a nice piece of the melt on each square, and an oyster on top; squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on each, and serve very hot.

Allumettes.—For these fantastic little trifles you require anchovies preserved in oil—not in salt; they are found at all Italian groceries and at the larger American grocers'. Wipe them free from scales and oil; cut each into long, thin strips. Have ready some plain pastry rolled very thin; envelop each strip of anchovy in pastry; pinch closely, so that it will not burst open, and fry in very hot fat for a half-minute, or saute them in butter till crisp and yellow. Serve log-house fashion, using two allumettes for each crossing instead of one; put fried parsley in the corners, and serve very hot.

Eggs a la St. James.—Take as many eggs as you have guests, and boil them hard in buttered dariole moulds; the moulds must be large enough to hold the egg when broken into it, but not much larger. When quite cold remove the eggs; slice off the white at one end of each, taking care to preserve the shape. Scoop out the yolk; mix this with a teaspoonful of chopped truffles, a little pepper and salt, and put it back very neatly into the whites. Coat the eggs with aspic jelly several times. Serve them upside down, that is, the uncut part upward. Put a spoonful of half-mayonnaise (mayonnaise mixed with whipped cream) on each, and a few specks of chopped truffle.

A variety of this dish has anchovy paste in very small quantity in place of truffle, and the mayonnaise just made pink with it.



XIX.

GALANTINES, BALLOTINES, ETC.

Galantines are so useful and handsome a dish in a large family, or one where many visitors are received, that it is well worth while to learn the art of boning birds in order to achieve them. Nor, if the amateur cook is satisfied with the unambitious mode of boning hereafter to be described, need the achievement be very difficult.

Experts bone a bird whole without breaking the skin, but to accomplish it much practice is required; and even where it is desirable to preserve the shape of the bird, as when it is to be braised, or roasted and glazed for serving cold, it can be managed with care if boned the easier way. However, if nice white milk-fed veal can be obtained, a very excellent galantine may be made from it, and to my mind to be preferred to fowl, because, as a matter of fact, when boned there is such a thin sheet of meat that it but serves as a covering for the force-meat (very often sausage-meat), and although it makes a savory and handsome dish, it really is only glorified sausage-meat, much easier to produce in some other way. This is, of course, not the case with turkey; but a boned turkey is so large a dish that a private family might find it too much except for special occasions. On the other hand, galantines of game, although the birds may be still smaller, are so full of flavor that it overwhelms that of the dressing.

The following process of boning, however, applies to all birds. To accomplish the work with ease and success, a French boning-knife is desirable, but in the absence of one a sharp-pointed case-knife may do. Place the bird before you, breast down, with the head towards you. Cut a straight line down the back through skin and flesh to the bone. Release with the left thumb and forefinger the skin and flesh on the left side nearest to you, and with the right hand keep cutting away the flesh from the bone, pulling it away clear as it is cut with the left hand. When you reach the wing joint cut it clean away, leaving the bone in the wing, and continue cutting with the knife close to the bone until all the meat from the left breast is released. Return to the back and continue to separate the meat from the bone, always keeping the edge of the knife pressed close to the latter, until the leg is reached; twist it round, which will enable you to get the skin over it, and cut the joint from the body bone. Proceed with the right side in the same way, using your left hand for cutting and your right to free the meat (to some this would be very awkward, and when it is so turn the bird round). The bird will now be clear of the carcass. Lay the bird flat on the board, inside upward, then cut out the wing-bone and proceed to the legs; cut the meat on the inside of each thigh down to the bone and clear the meat from it, cutting it each side until you can lift the bone out; then free the drumstick in the same way.

If it be intended to stuff the bird in form, it would be necessary to bone the leg and wings from the inside, but for a galantine it is useless trouble, as they are to be drawn inside the bird. Spread out the bird, having drawn legs and wings inside, season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a saltspoonful of white pepper mixed together, and rubbed over the flesh, which must have been made as even as possible by cutting the thick parts and spreading them over the thin ones. If there are any bits of meat clinging to the bones they must be carefully gathered together and chopped with a pound of veal and two ounces of lean cold boiled ham, with four ounces of fat, sweet, salt pork. (Butter may be substituted if pork is objected to). When all is chopped as fine as sausage-meat, season rather highly with pepper and salt. Spread a layer an inch thick over the bird; then add some long strips of tongue, some black truffles cut into dice half an inch square, and a few pistachio nuts. Dispose these, which may be called the ornamental adjuncts of the galantine, judiciously, so that when cut cold they will be well distributed. Cover carefully with another layer of force-meat, fold both sides over so that the force-meat will be well enclosed, form it into a bolster-shaped roll, tie it up in a linen cloth securely with string at each end, and sew the cloth evenly along the middle, so that the shape will keep even. Put it into a stewpan with stock enough to cover it, two onions, two carrots sliced, a stick of celery, a small bunch of parsley, a dozen peppercorns, an ounce of salt, and the bones of the bird, well cracked. Let it simmer gently for three hours and a half. Take it up, strain the liquor, and let the galantine get nearly cold. Take off the cloth; wring it quite dry; put it on again, rolling the galantine as tight as possible; tie firmly, and place it on a platter; cover with another platter, and place a heavy weight upon it to press it into shape. Let the stock get cold. Take off the grease. Add a half-teaspoonful of sugar and the juice of a quarter of a lemon to the stock, and reduce by rapid boiling to a half-glaze, that is to say, a jelly firm enough to cut into forms without being tough. Clear with white of egg in the usual way, and when quite transparent pour part into shallow dishes, leaving enough to cover the galantine. Color one dish a rich clear brown; leave the rest light. When the jelly thickens, but is not quite set, cover the galantine with it half an inch thick. When the jelly is cold, cut it into what are called croutons, which may mean vandyked strips, to be laid across, triangles, squares, or any fancy shapes; the pieces and trimmings are chopped to scatter over the dish or lay in small piles round.

Ballotines are small galantines made by treating small birds as directed in last recipe, only that the force-meat should have a larger proportion of truffles, and be made of the same kind of bird; for instance, grouse would have rich force-meat of grouse. One grouse, however, would make two or four ballotines; quails make two, to be served as individuals.

Galantine of Breast of Veal.—Bone a breast of young white veal very carefully, spread it out as flat as possible on the board, pare the meat at the ends for about an inch so that the skin may project beyond. Take all the scraps of meat that may have come from boning, provided they are not sinewy; take also twelve ounces of veal cutlet, and half the quantity of fat unsmoked bacon. Chop very fine, seasoning all rather highly. When the meat is fine, season the inside of the veal. Mix with the force-meat tongue, truffles, and pistachio-nuts or olives, all cut into half-inch dice (the tongue larger). So mix these that they will come at regular intervals through the stuffing. Roll the breast round the stuffing, which is not spread, but laid in a mass, and sew the veal together. Fasten it up in a cloth, tie securely at the ends, then tie bands of tape round at intervals to keep it in shape.

Braise this galantine for six hours in stock, which may be made of a small knuckle of veal and the bones and trimmings. Vegetables as directed for chicken galantine.

Let the galantine be cold before it is untied. Garnish and glaze as directed for chicken.

Galantine is occasionally made of sucking pig, and is very popular in France. The pig must be carefully boned, all but the head and feet. A sufficient quantity of veal, of fat unsmoked bacon, and of bread panada must be chopped and pounded to make enough force-meat to stuff the pig in the proportion of one part bacon, two panada, and three of veal, seasoned with a teaspoonful of onion juice and two of powdered sage.

The pig's liver must have been boiled in stock, and cut in dice. There must be fillets or strips of rabbit or chicken, a few chopped truffles and olives. Mix well. Lay in the fillets as you stuff the pig, and when full sew up the opening. Try to keep the shape as near as possible. Then braise slowly for four to five hours, as directed for galantine of veal. Do not remove the cloth till it is cold.



XX.

HOW TO "FILLET."—COLD GAME PIES.

I have spoken several times of "filleting." To some readers an explanation of the term may be necessary. To "cut up" a bird does not indicate the meaning, nor does the term "to carve" it do so, because to carve means to cut up or divide with an exact observance of joints and "cuts." Filleting, when applied to anything without bones, as the breast of a bird or boned fish, means to cut into very neat strips that are thicker than slices; but when you are directed to "fillet" a grouse or a chicken, it is intended that you should cut it into small neat portions regardless of joints and without the least mangling of it; therefore a very sharp knife must be used, and either a small sharp cleaver or a large cook's knife only to be employed when a bone has to be cut through.

To Fillet Cooked Birds: Grouse, Pheasants, or Poultry.—Cut the bird in half straight down the middle of the breast-bone, using a large sharp knife for the purpose. Lay each half on the table and take out the breast-bone from either side. If the bird is a large fowl, duck, or partridge, each breast will make three fillets, and leave a good piece with the wing, but average birds only make two breast fillets. Chop off the pinions within an inch of the meat, then cut the wing in two neatly; drumsticks are to be chopped off close to the meat, and divided into two fillets (if a large chicken or duck; leave game whole); cut the thigh in two also. Trim very neatly; leave no hanging skin; indeed, when filleting for chaudfroids the skin should be entirely removed, and both it and the leg-bones are removed for pies. When possible, it is better not to use the drumsticks. From a chicken they make an admirable "devil," and from game they help the bones and trimmings to make a rich gravy; so it is no waste to discard them.

Cold pies are of two kinds: the one cooked in a terrine or dish without pastry; the other in what the English call a "raised paste," and the French a pate chaude. Those with paste—which is seldom eaten—are far handsomer, but do not keep so well—that is to say, they must be eaten within three or four days even in winter; while in a terrine carefully kept in a cool airy place the pie will be good at the end of three weeks.

On the other hand, the pie in a terrine is much less trouble to make. Proceed as follows:

Game Pie.—Make some force-meat thus: Fry a quarter of a pound of fat ham cut in dice with half a pound of lean veal. Take the ham up before it gets brown, as you do not need it crisp; when the veal is cooked take that up also, and if there is enough of the ham fat in the pan, put in half a pound of calf's liver cut up in dice, if not, saute it in butter. In sauteing all these they must be often stirred, as you want them well cooked and yet not very brown. When done they must be finely chopped, then pounded in a mortar, with a small teaspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of pepper. Then add a dozen mushrooms chopped, and mix the whole.

A game pie is usually made rather large, and the greater variety of game used, the better; partridge, pheasant, grouse, hare, all help one another, but at least two kinds are necessary. It must be boned and neatly filleted into small joints. Put on all the bones and trimmings to stew in three pints of water, with a good-sized carrot, onion, a stick of celery, a small bouquet, a clove, a teaspoonful of sugar, one of salt, and a little pepper; boil all this until the bones look white and dry when out of the stock. Strain, and reduce by rapid boiling to a half-glaze; put a layer of the force-meat at the bottom of the dish, then one of boned game, with a sprinkling of pepper and salt, and either a little finely chopped parsley or, what is far better, a few thin slices of truffles; pour over a little of the reduced stock; fill the dish in this way to within an inch of the top; make a plain flour-and-water paste, lay it on the pie, and make a hole in the centre, bake slowly in a pan of hot water. When cold, remove the paste, cover the top with chopped aspic, fold a napkin, and serve the terrine on it, with a wreath of parsley round the base. Game pie is not a dish to be eaten at one or even two meals (unless very small), therefore the aspic must be fresh each time it is served.

French Method of Making a Game Pie or Pate Chaude.—Make a paste of two pounds of flour and one of lard or butter, with salt to taste and about half a pint of water; knead it into a smooth, rather hard paste; put it into a damp napkin for an hour. Butter a raised pie dish—a tin one that opens to release the pie—line it with the paste rolled half an inch thick, letting it come half an inch above the dish; line the inside of the paste with buttered paper, bottom and sides, and fill with rice or corn meal; cover with another piece of buttered paper, wet the top of the pastry all round, and lay a cover of thin pastry over it; trim very neatly, make a hole in the centre, and ornament with leaves cut from the paste and laid on; the under side should be slightly moistened to make them adhere. Brush the surface with well-beaten egg, and bake about an hour, when it should be a nice golden brown. Take off the cover; after it has slightly cooled, remove the rice or meal and the buttered paper; take the case from the mould, and brush it all over with egg inside and out; set it in the oven until the glazing dries, and any part that may not be sufficiently brown becomes the color of the cover, which, being glazed at first, is not returned to the oven.

Preparation for Filling the Case.—Fillet chickens, guinea-hens, partridges, or grouse (leave pigeons or quails whole, but bone them). Put sufficient pieces of one sort, or all sorts mixed, to fill the pate chaude case into a saute pan, with two ounces of butter, and saute till lightly colored. Take them out, and put them in a stewpan with a quart of reduced consomme, half a pint of mushrooms sliced, a dozen truffles cut into dice (half-inch), a teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, and a wineglass of sherry, and let them simmer very gently, not boil, for half an hour, or until very tender. Let them cool, and when lukewarm arrange them in the pate case, leaving the centre hollow, which fill with mushrooms and truffles. The liquor in which they were stewed must be then poured over them. The cover of a pate chaude case is often not used, and aspic jelly covers the top of the pie.

English Manner of Making Game Pie in a Crust.—Use at least two kinds of game, which for this purpose must not be long kept; high game is acceptable to epicures when roasted or stewed, but never in a pie. Discard all parts blackened by shot. Cut into neat joints, from which bones must be removed. Take all the fragments from the carcass after the breast and joints are removed, and the flesh of a small bird or hare, or, failing that, some calf's liver fried in dice; pound whichever you may have for force-meat in a mortar with four ounces of bacon that has been boiled; when the whole forms a paste (from which you have removed all strings, sinew, or gristle while pounding), season with pepper and salt—a teaspoonful of salt to a pound of force-meat, and a scant half saltspoonful of pepper. Put on the bones, without vegetables, in cold water to simmer until it is a rich broth, which strain, and boil rapidly till a little set on ice in a saucer will jelly. Make what is called "raised" paste in the following way: To two pounds of flour use three quarters of a pound of butter and half a pint of scalding milk; pour this into a hole in the centre of the flour, and knead into a firm paste, adding a little more milk if necessary (but it seldom is). This paste is not to be rolled, but beaten out with the hand while warm to half an inch thickness. Line a well-buttered meat-pie mould, with a hinge opening at the side; leave half an inch of paste above the mould; trim off neatly with scissors. Then lay in the game and force-meat in alternate layers, seasoning the joints with pepper and salt as you lay them. A few slices of tongue and truffles to form one layer are desirable. When the mould is full, lay on the cover, moisten the under edge, and pinch round in tiny scallops. Make a hole in the centre, round which put an ornament; stick in a bone to prevent the hole closing, and bake two to four hours in a moderate oven, according to size, remembering always that the crust will not be injured by long baking, and that the game in this pie is uncooked. When it is removed from the oven, let it stand half an hour, taking the mould off, that it may cool; then brush the sides and top with an egg beaten with milk, and return the pie to the oven that the sides may brown; cover the top, if it is already highly colored, with a sheet of paper. Remove the bone from the centre, insert a small funnel, and after removing all fat from it, pour in the gravy from the bones. The gravy must be poured very slowly or it will bubble up, and care must be taken to have all the pie will hold, yet not a drop too much, or it will ooze somewhere. These pies, when quite cold, may be sent any distance, and are much used in England and Scotland for hunting-parties, besides being a standard breakfast and luncheon dish. The crust is merely a frame to hold the game.



XXI.

GARNISHES.

In all choice cookery the appearance of dishes has to be carefully studied. However good the taste may be, the effect will be spoiled if its appearance on the table does not come up to the expectation raised by the name on the menu. For this reason the subject of garnishes requires to be considered apart from the dishes they adorn. In the old time garnishes were few and simple, and when not simple, very ugly, as the camellias cut from turnips and stained with beet juice. Nowadays garnishes are many, and many so termed form part of the dish, as what are termed, "floating garnishes for soup," quenelles, etc. Garnishes that are merely ornamental need not be so expensively made as those intended for eating. Foremost among fashionable floating garnishes for soup are the colored custards known as pate royale; they are perfectly easy to make, yet very effective served in clear bouillon.

Colored Custard.—Prepare the custard with five yolks of eggs, a gill of cream or strong bouillon, and a pinch of salt; butter small saucers or cups; divide the custard in three—color one with spinach juice or pulp of green asparagus, another with red tomato pulp or the pulp of red carrot boiled, and a third with pulp of beets. A few drops of cochineal may be added to intensify the color of the last, which is apt to be a beautiful pink instead of red. The custard for which pulps are used must be strained after they are added, expressing as much of the juice as possible. The custard should be flavored delicately with the vegetable used for color.

Spinach Juice is very frequently directed to be used as coloring, but scarcely anywhere is any indication given that the juice without preparation is of very little use. It should be prepared as follows: Take a large handful of fresh green spinach, wash it, and remove decayed leaves only; drain well, then pound in a mortar or chopping-bowl until quite mashed. Let it stand a quarter of an hour, then squeeze the mass in a cloth, and put the green water into a cup, which set over the fire in a small saucepan of water; watch the scum rise; when it stands quite thick at the top and turns a vivid green, remove at once (if it remains on the fire after this the green darkens); pour the contents of the cup through cheese-cloth or thin muslin laid in a strainer. The scum that remains is your coloring matter. It must be carefully scraped off with a spoon, and mix with the custard only as much as is required to give a delicate green tint. If any is left it may be mixed with an equal quantity of salt and put away; it loses color, however, after a few days.

The colored custards must be set in water, a small piece of buttered paper over each, and the water allowed to boil gently round them till they are firm. Let them get quite cold; then cut them into cubes or diamonds.

Profiterolles.—Perhaps the next in popularity of these floating garnishes are profiterolles, or "prophet's rolls," as cooks call them. They are made exactly like those intended for dessert, omitting sweetening of course, and a very small quantity is required, as they must be dropped no larger than a pea, and baked a pale fawn-color.

Put a gill of water and a pinch of salt and two ounces of butter in a small saucepan; as soon as they begin to boil draw the saucepan back and stir in four ounces of flour; beat well over the fire with a wooden spoon until it becomes a soft paste, then add the yolks of two eggs and white of one, beating each yolk in separately. It will be seen that the paste is similar to that made for cream cakes.

A similar garnish is made in the following way: Beat an egg with a pinch of salt, and then stir in as much dry sifted flour as the egg will moisten; work it well with the hands till it is elastic, although stiff. Roll it on a pastry board until it is as thin as paper, then roll it on a clean linen cloth still thinner, and leave it a quarter of an hour to dry. Then fold the paste, press it very tightly together, and with a tin cylinder, not larger in diameter than a cent, cut out, with considerable pressure, as many small disks as you require to allow five or six to each plate of soup. Have ready in a small saucepan some smoking hot lard. Drop the disks in; they will puff and swell till they are like marbles. Stir them, and take them out of the fat; they require only a few seconds to brown, and must be taken out very pale. Add to the soup the last thing before serving.

While aspic jelly is certainly the handsomest of garnishes for cold dishes, it is generally part of the food itself, and should not be so lavishly used that when helped there is more jelly than meat served. Where the jelly is intended only for a garnish not to be eaten, simple gelatine is sufficient. For instance, a large platter containing a galantine or a chaudfroid may have a handsome wreath glued on the border, of red and green leaves, or holly leaves and red berries, or any device that need not be disturbed by the carver.

For such decorations as these gelatine is melted in proportion of three ounces to a scant quart of water, cleared with white of egg, and then colored pale yellow with caramel or saffron, vivid red with cochineal, and bright green with spinach; it saves time and trouble to let this congeal on dishes in thin sheets. Small cutters of ivy, oak, and other leaves can readily be purchased at the large house-furnishing stores.

One word here about uneatable decorations, never admit them at a children's party; they are the very part of the feast the little people will most crave; red leaves for them must be of red currant-jelly, yellow of white, etc.

"Forced butter" is another form of garnish which adds much to the appearance of glazed ham or tongue. It is butter beaten to a white cream, then put in a forcer, and a pattern traced on the ham, which must be followed just as in icing a cake.

A Few Ways of Cooking Vegetables.—It is not intended to go into the general cooking of vegetables, although it may be said that even the choicest cooking can offer no greater luxury, or, alas! a greater rarity, than a dish of early peas or asparagus perfectly cooked. But this is not the place to remedy the wholesale spoiling of summer vegetables that goes on in almost every kitchen. I will only give what may be a few new ways of preparing familiar vegetables.

Stuffed Artichokes.—Wash the artichokes; boil till nearly tender; drain them; remove the middle leaves and "chokes" (this is the fibrous part round the base); lay in each a little rich force-meat, and put them in the oven to cook until the meat is done. Serve with rich brown gravy.

Fried Artichokes.—Cut in slices lengthwise; remove the chokes, cut off the tops of the leaves, wash them in vinegar and water, drain them, and dip them in frying batter. Fry in very hot oil or lard. Serve with fried parsley sprinkled with salt.

Beet-root Fritters.—Cut boiled beets in slices; slice raw onions; scald them; dry them well; then lay one slice of onion, sprinkled with chopped chervil, pepper, and salt, between two slices of beet. Dip them carefully in frying batter, and plunge into boiling fat; when pale brown take them up.

Cauliflower Fritters.—Parboil the cauliflower—that is to say, boil until it begins to be tender—about fifteen minutes; then plunge it into ice-cold water; this keeps it white. Break it up into branches. Dip each one into thick bechamel sauce slightly warmed; let them get cold; then take each piece separately and dip it into carefully made frying batter, and drop them into boiling lard; fry a pale brown, and serve garnished with fried parsley.



XXII.

VARIOUS WAYS OF SERVING VEGETABLES.

Stuffed Cucumbers.—Cut large-sized young cucumbers into slices about two inches thick, rejecting the ends. Peel, and remove the seeds; scald the slices for ten minutes, plunge them into cold water, and drain them. Line a fire-proof china dish with very thin slices of unsmoked bacon which has been scalded; make some veal force-meat such as directed for galantines; fill the holes in the centre of the rings of cucumber till it is level with the surface on both sides; wrap each up in a slice of bacon broad enough to cover it. Tie round with a string, pour a pint of strong stock into the dish, and bake twenty minutes in a slow oven. When done, take up the cucumber, drain, and remove the bacon carefully so as not to disturb the stuffing. Lay in a dish, and serve with Robert sauce.

In the following recipes the mushrooms to be used are the large flap ones. When canned ones will serve, the fact will be stated.

Mushrooms Stuffed a la Lucullus.—Wash, dry, and trim large mushrooms; chop up the stalks and broken ones fine with a teaspoonful of minced parsley, pepper, salt, and a tomato; make these hot in a tablespoonful of butter. Fill the mushrooms with the mixture, place them on a buttered baking-dish, and bake six minutes, basting them once or twice with clarified butter.

Mushrooms and Tomatoes.—Toast some slices of bread, cut them into rounds two inches in diameter, and butter them. Peel some firm tomatoes, cut them into thick slices, and lay them on the toast. On the top of each place a peeled mushroom. Put them on a dish that can go to table, pour a little clarified butter over them, put them in a hot oven for three minutes, and baste well. Serve hot and quickly.

Mushroom Jelly.—Take two pounds of mushrooms, put them in a stewpan over the fire with a gill of strong consomme. Squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice, add a little pepper and salt, unless the consomme was salt enough. Melt in a gill of water half an ounce of gelatine, and strain it. When the mushrooms are quite soft, pass them through a sieve, mixed with the gelatine, and pour the mixture into a mould which has been rinsed with water. When set, turn out and garnish with finely chopped aspic, and a few cherry tomatoes if in season.

Mushroom Baskets.—Make some puff-paste; roll it out very thin. Line some small suitably shaped moulds (darioles will do very nicely); fill the centre with uncooked rice or flour to keep the shape while baking; cut some strips of paste, twist them, and bend them into the shape of handles; bake them very pale. When the pastry cases are done, empty out the rice, remove them from the moulds, and fill with the following mixture: chop as many canned mushrooms as you require with a small shallot, squeeze to them the juice and pulp of a large tomato, and put them in a stewpan with a tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of very thick white sauce. Stir till about the consistency to eat with a fork. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the top. Put the handles in so that they stand over the tops. Decorate with fried parsley.

The large Spanish or Portuguese onion that has of late years appeared in the markets is not often properly cooked. It is the most delicate and delicious of all onions, lacking the usual intense heat and rank odor. For this reason persons who wish to eat onions, either for health or inclination, will find this large onion cut up with ordinary salad dressing a great improvement even on Bermudas. This onion is full of a milky juice, which is lost in cooking if it is cut. Therefore, where a simple dish is required, the best way is to boil it, without peeling or trimming, for three hours if it weighs three pounds (it must be tender right through); then take it up, strip it, and remove the root, stalk, etc. Pour over it a rich white sauce, and serve, taking care that the gravy that runs from the onion is served with it. A still better way when an oven is not wanted is to bake them. Put them in a dripping-pan in the oven without removing peel or stalk. Bake at least four hours in a moderate oven. It will burn and blacken outside, which is of no consequence. Keep it turned so that the darkening may not go deeper one side than the other. When quite tender (but do not try it until it begins to shrink, or you will let out the juices), so that a knitting-needle will run through it, take it out of the oven, strip off three or four skins, remove root and stalk, and place the onion, without breaking it, on a dish; put a piece of butter as large as an egg, with a saltspoonful of salt and a quarter one of pepper worked in it, on the onion; cover it, and put in the oven till the butter melts, and serve very hot.

Stuffed Spanish Onion.—Parboil a Spanish onion; then drop it into ice-water; take out the centre and fill it with force-meat; cover with a thin slice of sweet fat pork; sprinkle with a teaspoonful of salt and the same of sugar; add four tablespoonfuls of stock, cover closely, and cook over a good fire. When the onion is tender, take it up, remove the pork, strain and skim the gravy, pour it over, and serve. The best force-meat for the stuffing is made of cold chicken, a shred of boiled ham, a little chopped parsley, half a dozen mushrooms, all chopped well and mixed with a tablespoonful of butter and pepper and salt.

Potatoes a la Provencale.—Mash and pass through a wire sieve two pounds of potatoes; season with pepper and salt. Grate two ounces of Gruyere (Swiss) cheese, pound it with enough butter to make a paste, add a gill of milk and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley; put this in a saute pan, add the potato, mix all well, and stir until the mass is pale brown; serve as a pyramid.

Milanese Potatoes.—Bake large potatoes till just tender; cut off the tops, which keep. Scoop out the potatoes, but do not break the skin. Mash the inside with butter, pepper, salt, and grated Parmesan; about a teaspoonful of butter and cheese to each will be the right proportion. Beat the potato mixture with a fork for a minute to make it light, refill the skins, put on the covers, and heat them in the oven.

Scalloped Potatoes.—Mash two pounds of potatoes with milk, and pass through a sieve; add three ounces of butter melted, two ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, and a little pepper and salt. Fill shells with this mixture, and brown them in the oven. Glaze them over with butter melted and grated Parmesan; return one minute to the hottest part of the oven. Serve very hot.

Tomato Jelly.—Two pounds of tomatoes, half a grain of red pepper, and two small shallots. Place them in a stewpan and boil till quite soft. Melt half an ounce of gelatine in as little white stock as possible; add this to the tomatoes, and strain; if not perfectly clear, clarify with white of egg in the usual way. Mould, and serve with chopped aspic round it. A little grated Parmesan may be sometimes sprinkled over it for a change.

Tomato Souffle.—Prepare some tomato pulp, taking care to boil it down if too liquid; stir in the yolks of three eggs, then the whites well beaten; salt to taste. Fill either a large souffle case or several small ones. Bake in a hot oven till it rises very high and is set in the centre; serve instantly.

Spinach Fritters.—Boil the spinach till it is quite tender; drain, press, and mince it fine; add half the quantity of grated stale bread, one grate of nutmeg, and a small teaspoonful of sugar; add a gill of cream and as many eggs as will make a batter, beating the whites separately; pepper and salt to taste. Drop a little from a spoon into boiling lard; if it separates, add a little more crumb of bread; when they rise to the surface of the fat they are done. Drain them, and serve very quickly, or they will fall.



XXIII.

JELLIES.

In this country culinary skill seems to run to sweet rather than to savory cooking; very few housekeepers but make excellent preserves and cakes, yet the list of sweet dishes manufactured at home is very limited; as soon as anything not in this category is required the caterer is applied to, and he has his list of water-ices, cream-ices, and meringues, with very little variation; sometimes, indeed, a new name appears on the list, but it turns out to be some old friend with a new garnish, or put in a different mould and given an alluring name. There are many delicious sweet dishes not difficult to make when once the processes of making jelly and of freezing are understood (and very many who do not pretend to be good cooks are expert at these two things), and others which do not require even that ability. To put a sweet dish on the table, however, in perfection, especially if it be an iced one, requires the utmost care and skill; the slightest carelessness in packing a frozen pudding, any delay between removing it from the ice and getting it on the dish, will destroy that dull, marble-like appearance it ought to wear when first it makes its entry, although it will gleam with melting sweetness long before it reaches the partakers. Happily there are many delightful sweets which are beautiful in appearance and less depending on atmosphere than any of the family of ices. The simplest of these are fruit jellies.