A Foods of England online text. For more see Cookbooks TITLE: The Practical Cook, English and Foreign; Containing a great variety of old receipts, improved and re-modelled; and many original receipts in English, Russian, Dutch, French, Spanish, American, German, Polish, Swiss, and Indian cookery. With with copious directions for the choice of all provisions AUTHOR: By Joseph Bregion, and Anne Miller, PUBLISHER: London: Chapman and Hall, Strand. DATE: 1845 THIS VERSION: This text has been prepared from the version at archive.org, digitized from an edition in the library of the University of Leeds. This is an Optical Character Recognition scan, it has been partly edited, but still contains very significant errors. THE PRACTICAL COOK, ENGLISH AND FOREIGN CONTAINING A GREAT VARIETY OF OLD RECEIPTS, IMPROVED AND RE-MODELLED; AND MANY ORIGINAL RECEIPTS IN DUTCH AMERICAN SWISS, AND INDIAN COOKERY. ENGLISH FRENCH GERMAN RUSSIAN SPANISH POLISH WITH THE LAYING OUT A TABLE, GIVING SMALL AND LARGE DINNERS, AND THE MANAGEMENT OF A CELLAR. BY JOSEPH BREGION, Formerly Cook to H. E. Prince Rausmouski ; to H. H. the Prince Nicholas Esterhazy ; the Russian Ambassador at Paris, &c.; &c.; ANNE MILLER, COOK IN SEVERAL ENGLISH FAMILIES OF DISTINCTION. LONDON : CHAPMAN AND HALL, STRAND. 1845. C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND. PREFACE. We are in the matters of the kitchen no admirers of the wisdom of our ancestors. Cookery is eminently an experimental and a practical art. Each day, while it adds to our experience should also increase our knowledge. And now that intercommunication between distant nations has become facile and frequent; now that we may almost make a very early breakfast in London and a very late dinner in Paris, it cannot be permitted that cookery should remain stationary. Far are we from saying that a dinner should be a subject of morning or midday meditation or of luxurious desire ; but in the present advanced state of civilisation, and of medical and chemical knowledge, something more than kneading, baking, stewing, and boiling, are necessary in any nation pretending to civilisation. The metropolis of England exceeds Paris in extent and population: it commands a greater supply of all articles of consumption, and contains a greater number and variety of markets, which are better supplied. We greatly surpass the French in mutton, we produce better beef, lamb, and pork, and are immeasurably superior both in the quantity and quality of our fish, our venison, and our game, yet we cannot IV PKEFACE. compare, as a nation, with the higher, the middle, or the lower classes in France, in the science of preparing our daily food. The only articles of food in the quality of which the French surpass us are veal and fowl, but such is the skill and science of their cooks that with worse mutton, worse beef, and worse lamb than ours, they produce better chops, cutlets, steaks, and better made dishes of every nature and kind whatsoever. In fricassees, ragouts, salmis, quenelles, purees, filets, and more especially in the dressing of vegetables, our neighbours surpass us, and we see no good reason why we should not imitate them in a matter in which they are perfect, or why their more luxurious, more varied, more palatable, and more dainty cookery, should not be introduced among the higher and middle classes to more general notice. The object of the present work is to incorporate all that is good in the cookery of both nations into one volume. While, therefore, the reader is presented with receipts for the preparation of English soups, such as ox-tail, mock turtle, giblet, hare, pea, and mutton broth, the French Potages a la Peine, a la Conde , a, la Julienne, and the various purees are not forgotten. While, also, the practical cook may find copious receipts for the boiling of turbot, cod-fish, John Dorey, and salmon, in the English and Dutch fashion, the sturgeon cutlets of the French, and their fillets and bechamels of fish are also introduced to English favour and attention. In the chapters on roasting and boiling full justice is done to our barons of beef, our noble sirloins, our exquisite haunches, saddles, legs, and loins of Southdown mutton, our noble rounds of boiled beef, and those haunches of PREFACE. V British venison, the envy and admiration of the world ; but, on the other hand, the Gigot a V Ail aux Haricots blancs is sought to be made more favourably known to the Englishman, as well as the Filet de Bcevf, an excellent every day dish in the good city of Paris. While we have omitted no English receipt of approved excellence, and have introduced some altogether new, we have also tried to give within a reasonable compass a short system of French, and a compendium of foreign, cookery. It were, no doubt, desirable that we should learn much from our neighbours in white and brown sauces, in veloutes, in the dressing of vegetables, in the seasoning and flavouring with ham instead of with salt, and in a more profuse use of eggs, oil, and butter. W e here direct the reader’s attention to the parts of this volume in which these subjects are treated. We have long considered that a new Cookery Book, pointing out the distinctive merits of the French and English kitchens, was a work urgently needed. In this manual of the art we have endeavoured to present the reader with all that is best in the substantial solidity and simplicity of the English kitchen, and all that is most varied, delicate, and harmoniously combined in the kitchen of the French. Both are excellent in their way, and there are already many separate treatises on both ; but a fusion or combination of the two systems has never been before attempted, that we are aware of, in one volume. This desideratum it is here attempted to supply : and if we succeed in causing an abandonment of all that is coarse and unwholesome in the English kitchen, and in introducing all that is light, elegant, and varied in the French, we shall have VI PREFACE. gained our object, and have done the health of diners out and dinner givers some service. It is the greatest mistake, in a medical point of view, to suppose that an unvaried uniformity of food contributes either to health or comfort. Variety is as necessary to the stomach as change of scene, or change of study to the mind, and that variety is in these pages placed within the reach of all. As there is scarcely an English family among the higher or middle classes, who does not number among its members a retired military or civil servant of the East India Company, or a retired naval officer or commercial man, it has been thought advisable to introduce a considerable chapter on Anglo-Indian cookery. This, it is thought, is the most complete system of Indian cookery ever presented in a connected form. Neither the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Russian, nor the Polish cookery are deserving of general commendation ; but certain national dishes and soups, which have obtained a more general vogue, are preserved under their respective heads. Among the Dutch and German receipts will be found some worthy of attention and adoption. To say that there is much substantially new in this work, would be to write its condemnation. Cookery is, above all others, a traditional and practical art, and unless receipts have stood the test of time, and experience, and general approval, they are little worth. Cookery books are, for the most part, copies of each other ; and the first cookery book is only the most original, because we cannot trace the plagiarism beyond the period when printing was invented. But we have little doubt, that PREFACE. Vll in the rolls of great houses, and in the muniment rooms of colleges, halls, and religious establishments, would be found in vellum manuscript, every receipt published in the first English cookery book. And the plagiarism may be tracked, as a wounded man, by his blood, from 1470 to 1845. The compilers of all cookery books have, more or less, copied the earlier compilers who preceded ; and so it must ever be, till we are foolish enough to reject all experience, and trust to theory or conjecture. The compilers of this work lay no claim to originality, though there is much that is new in these pages. They have availed themselves, though never servilely of the labours of nearly all their predecessors, and by collation, comparison, addition, retrenchment, and the exercise of their own skill, experience, and discoveries, have endeavoured to improve on works already in print. To the Proprietors of the “ Magazine of Domestic Economy,” they are very grateful, for the permission accorded them to publish such cookery receipts as they deemed worthy of a place in this volume. Of this permission they have availed themselves, in extracting some excellent receipts ; and they have also, on two or three occasions, availed themselves of some brief receipts by the author of the articles on Cookery in the “ Magazine of Domestic Economy,” which have appeared in a separate shape in an excellent little work called the “ HandBook of Cookery,” published by Messrs. Orr and Co., which has already, and deservedly, reached a third edition. Among the French masters in the science we have profited by the labours of all the greatest authorities, from V atel and La Chapelle down to Grimod de la Reyniere, Vlll PREFACE. Eeauvilliers, Ude, Careme, and Plumeret; but receipts of more general utility for the public at large, will be found compiled from the Cuisinier Royal and the Cuisiniere Bourgeoise. Many of the receipts of Careme are adopted with alterations and additions, and some are given in their entirety in an English dress ; but of Car erne’s Cookery the distinguishing characteristic is profuse expenditure. In order to render such a system not merely easy of adoption, but possible to adopt at all, men-cooks, splendid establishments, and colossal fortunes must become much more universal than they ever have been or ever can be. Our object has been, not to render the introduction of French Cookery difficult and expensive, but easy, and within the reach of persons of moderate fortune. The present age is distinguished as an age of progress, and sure we are, that the improvements we suggest in these pages will be generally adopted before the year 1850 . * The chapter on Wines and Wine Cellars, and the remarks on Coffee and Liqueurs will, it is hoped, be found generally useful. CONTENTS [omitted] THE PRACTICAL COOK. RULES NECESSARY TO BE OBSERVED BY COOKS IN THE REGULATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THEIR LARDER. The first thing that is to be done is to have the dressers and shelves scoured, and the larder made as clean as possible, by washing the floor with plenty of * cold water, as it most undoubtedly cools it very much in the summer ; next change all the cold meat, put it upon clean, dry dishes, and place it where the air most comes in. Then look at all the stocks and sauces, to see If they want boiling up. In close, sultry weather, soups should be boiled up every day. Be very particular about the pans they are put into. They should be dry, and free from grease, as soup will ferment, without the greatest attention. If the stock should begin to turn, the better way will be to boil it down for glaze. When you put the sauces on to boil, put a little stock in the stewpan first, to hinder it from burning to the bottom. Sauces should be boiled at least every second day in summer. Whatever is done in braises, in the summer, should be made stronger than in winter, or they will not keep for use. Put all lardings, if they return to the kitchen whole, in the braise they were done in. Cover them also with the sheets of bacon that enveloped them before they were taken out of the braise. Tendons of lamb, tendons of veal, ox rumps, beef or veal olives, rump of beef, in short, all things that are done in braises, should be particularly looked to. Those dishes that would be useful again should be carefully put by. All meat that is dressed to be kept until cold, whether boiled or roast, should be over done, particularly in summer ; for if the gravy is left in either boiled or roast meat, it will not keep good more than two or three days; but, if done quite dry, it will keep a week, or longer; the roast meat should be well sprinkled with salt before it is taken from the fire. Beef boiled, to be eaten cold, should remain at least fourteen days in salt ; if a few days longer, it will eat all the better. In the country, in summer, cooks should be very particular with butchers. They should see that they bring their meat not later than six o’clock in the morning ; for when the sun gets warm, the flies do much mischief, and it is extremely difficult to prevent meat being blown. BEEF. When the beef is cut in proper pieces, such as the sirloin, ribs, rump, and brisket, examine well and see that the flies have not been about them. The flies are very apt to get under the loose side of the fat of the sirloin. Look well and see that there are no fly-blows; sprinkle the fat with salt, and rub some also on the chine bone. Take out, subsequently, the pipe that runs along the chine bone; rub the place with salt; take out the kernel that is in the fat at the thick end of the sirloin, and also the pith. The place from which these have been removed should be well rubbed with salt., and also the outside and two ends. Your meat will keep good a week, by strictly observing the above rules. OBSERVATIONS AS TO UNDRESSED MEATS. 3 Ribs. — Rub the chine bone very well with salt; cut out the piece of skirt, and rub the inside of the ribs well with salt; sprinkle the outside, ends, and tops of the ribs; then hang up your joint. Rump. — Cut the fat that is generally left in by the butchers; take out the kernel that is near the small end; sprinkle the rump all over with salt, and hang it up. If you want steaks from it, cut the outside off before you cut the steaks. If you want it for daubing, pursue a like course. Brisket. — The part that is generally kept for stewing is the thick end ; as to the size, that must depend upon the judgment of those who are to use it ; if wanted to be kept for three or four days, it should be well sprinkled with salt before it is hung up. The pieces that are intended for boiling require equal attention. There are two kernels in a round of beef; one in the middle, commonly called the pope’s eye ; the other in the thick fat. See that the butcher takes them out, as, if not removed, no quantity of salt will preserve your round from spoiling, particularly in summer time. In the thick flank there is a kernel in the middle of the fat, which should be taken out. There is also one in the aitch-bone, just where the rump is cut off, and another in the shoulder piece. Sometimes, indeed, it is left to the neck-piece ; but be this as it may, it should be taken out. Joint the brisket, in order to let the salt in, and pursue a similar course with the flat ribs. When this is done, see that the butcher rubs the salt well into the beef, and fill all the joints with salt. When properly done, put it down tight in the salt bin, the prime pieces at the bottom. Cover all well with salt, placing the coarse at the top, to be used first. By adhering to these rules the salt beef will be as good in summer as winter. VEAD. Lug. — The first part that spoils, is where the udder is skewered back. The skewer should therefore be 4 OBSERVATIONS AS TO UNDRESSED MEATS. taken out, the under part of the udder wiped very dry, then rubbed with a little salt on the udder, top, and the middle part, where the bone is. Take out the kernel from the thick fat. Loin. — Cut out the pipe that runs along the chine bone; rub it well with a cloth under the kidney of the loose side. There is a kernel under the fat that is in the inside of the chump, which ought to be taken out. Sprinkle it moderately all over with salt. The Shoueder is a joint that is seldom kept, as it is either wanted for the stock-pot or the family dinner ; if it should be kept, sprinkle it with salt and hang it up. Necic. — There is a pipe that runs along the chine bone which should be cut off. The chine bone and the inside of the ribs should also be rubbed very dry with a cloth, and sprinkled with a little salt. Breast. — Cut the loose fat out from the inside, and the piece of skirt, and wipe it very dry with a cloth. MUTTON. Chine. — The fat should be taken out w r ith the pipe that runs up the back bone, and the two small kernels near the tail. Sprinkle the inside with salt. The Leg spoils sooner than any other part. There is a kernel in the fat, which should be taken out, and the place filled up with salt, if the butcher has not already removed it well. The Neck will keep. Cut the pipe out that runs along the chine bone, and rub it dry with a cloth. Shoulder. — There is a kernel in the inside, which should be taken out. Breast. — Cut the skirt out and wipe it dry. LAMB. Lamb should be managed in the same fashion as mutton ; it is also cut up as a sheep. OBSERVATIONS AS TO UNDRESSED MEATS. 5 PORK. Leg. — The legs are generally salted for boiling ; if the leg be intended for roasting it ought to be hung up. Necks and Loins answer either for chops or roasting ; they should be sprinkled with salt before they are hung up. The Hand is generally salted for boiling. Venison. Venison is oftener spoiled than any other meat. Cooks generally are blamed, but the fault lies frequently with the park-keeper. It is impossible for meat to keep that is hunted three, four, and even five hours, before it is killed. The Haunch is the finest joint. The keeper should bring it in as early after killing as possible. There is a kernel in the fat as in a leg of mutton. It should be taken out, the part wiped very dry, and a little ground pepper and ginger rubbed on the inside. This will keep the flies away. Venison will keep well. The Neck is the next best joint, wipe it well with a clean dry cloth. The Shoulder and Breast are generally used in two or three days for a pasty. The fattest venison is generally the best. POULTRY. Poultry should be kept as cool as possible. The best position in which to place it is with the breast downwards, on a shelf or marble slab. The crop and the gut of the rump should be taken out. Choose fowls with a thin transparent skin, white and delicate. Pigeons full fledged, are heating and hard to digest. The younger they are in general the better. In choosing Turkeys, select the brown Norfolk, but if you can find any of the red American breed, the flavour is still finer. 6 THE KITCHEN. OBSERVATIONS ON TIIE KITCHEN AND ITS UTENSILS. A kitchen should be lightsome and well ventilated. Modem kitchens generally abound with contrivances and appurtenances to save trouble and ensure certain satisfactory results. There is generally, and there ought always to be, a good supply of soft water and of kitchen utensils. Steam, that most powerful of all agents in nature, now largely contributes to the operations of cookery, but it is not yet so generally employed as it might be. It is seldom much called into action, except in very large establishments. In Greenwich Hospital one steam apparatus is so constructed as to cook for the whole establishment. Cooking utensils have been improved within the last ten years. Perhaps the most useful cooking apparatuses are those consisting of boilers, ovens, hot closets, &c.; In these the fire-place is situated about the middle of the erection, and from it emanates flues in different directions, which carry the smoke and heated vapour arising from the fuel, and bring- it in contact with external surfaces of the several vessels and chambers, for the purpose of heating them. The best are those in which the iron plate is not too thick, and which is in several pieces joined together by rebate-edges, by which contrivance the expansions and contractions caused by heat and cold are not so liable to crack the metal, as is frequently the case when the hot plate is made in one piece. Hot Plates were formerly made very thick, and consequently, from the expansion, when heating, were often broken across even the first time of using : an improvement has been recently made by having a series of plates cast very thin, and fitting in rebates within a large frame. The plates are readily heated with very little fuel, added to which an oven may, and is often applied at THE KITCHEN. 7 one end, which is made ready for baking bread, by the superfluous beat that would otherwise be wasted. A Broiling and Stetcing Plate has been invented, which is one of the most useful articles that can be put up in a kitchen, very economical both in its cost and use; it is suitable for boiling, stewing, frying, and for broiling ; the construction is simple, the fuel is supplied at the top, the draft is easily regulated, it can be fixed in any situation, and forms an excellent laundry stove, when required for that purpose. Bain Marie Pans, or water-bath for keeping gravies, soups, &c.;, at a boiling heat, are very useful. These are used by having boiling water put in the lower part, and then placed upon a hot plate to keep that water boiling ; the gravies are in separate pans or vessels above the water. Ranges are now generally made with boilers at the back and side, for supplying hot water, which boilers should always be made of hammered iron ; they are then not liable to injury from neglect. They can also be used as steam-boilers, for the purpose of boiling fish, pudding, meat, and vegetables by steam. Steam is also used for warming hot closets, kettles, &c.; Ovens are of various sorts ; the most usual are attached to the range, and heated from the same fire, with or without flues ; but the best and most efficient are detached and fixed with a furnace door, to heat by a separate fire. Jacks for Roasting are of various kinds ; the common sort is called the bottle-jack from its shape, and roasts vertically ; it will answer for a single joint of any moderate weight, say as much as 28 lb. Smoke- Jacks carry two or more spits as far as twelve, and will carry any weight or number of joints that may be required, made to the particular situation for which they are wanted ; but those most usually fixed carry three spits, having a vertical motion in addition to the spits, for the purpose of roasting small birds, game, &c.; The Wind-up Jacks formerly used are now superseded by the smoke-jack, which has more power, and much superior, the use of weights being unnecessary. Smoke- 8 THE KITCHEN. jacks can now be made to answer in any chimney, however small. Roasting Apparatus . — There is also a convenient and cheap apparatus for roasting, combining a screen or reflector, with a dripping-pan, hot-closet underneath for plates and dishes, having a spring jack which roasts horizontally, with a spit in the same manner as a smokejack would do. This is very portable, requires no fixing, and can be used in any room having a fire-place. Meat Screens are made deeper than formerly, and have the addition of a hot closet enclosed at the top, for keeping hot-joints ready for serving. Spits are of various kinds, the usual sort having a wheel at one end to receive the chain of the jack, and pointed at the other, the sizes adapted to the joints and range. Cradle Spits are constructed to receive the joint of meat without being run through. An improved sort has lately been constructed, by which any joint placed within the cradle will revolve round in a circle, and every part be equally exposed to the fire. This is called the double revolving cradle-spit. The Potato Pasty -Pan is an economical article, affording the advantages of flour pastry without the expense. When used, season your meat and place it in the bottom of the pan, adding a piece of butter and a little water ; then put the perforated plate in its place with its valve-pipe screwed on ; mashed potatoes with a little milk are to be laid on this, filling up the whole space to the top of the tube, and finishing the surface in any ornamental manner you choose. The knob being now placed at the end of the tube, it may be sent to the oven. If carefully baked, the potatoes will be covered with a delicate brown crust, retaining all the savoury steam rising from the meat. Double saucepans are made of various kinds for glaze gravies, milk, rice, or any other articles which are liable to injury from burning, which these double saucepans entirely prevent. THE KITCHEN. 9 The Digester is a very useful contrivance of modern date, and by its aid a soup is cheaply produced from bones, &c.; In filling the digester, leave room enough for the steam to pass off through the valve at the top of the cover. This may be done by filling it only three parts full of water and bruised bones or meat, all put in together. It must then be placed near a slow fire, so as only to simmer, for the space of eight or ten hours. The soup is to be then strained through a hair-sieve or cullender, and to be put into the digester again. The whole, with the necessary spices and vegetables, is to be well boiled together for an hour or two, and it will then be fit for immediate use. A professed cook requires in her kitchen the following implements : — A range, smoke-jack, dripping-pan, and basting ladle, gridirons, steak-tongues, charcoal stoves, hot plate, oven, boiler for steam, steam-kettles, hot closet, boiler for hot water heated by steam, stock-pots, stew-pans, preserving pans, pickling pans, braising pans, frying-pans of different sizes, one large for fish, cutlet and omelet pans, pan and spoons for poached eggs, turtle pans, turbot kettles, oven peels, one cradle spit, others of meat, birds, &c.;, various sized iron skewers, set of kitchen knives, beef fork, choppers, meat and cutlet chopper, screen, dish covers, graters, spice-box, seasoning box, flour, pepper and cayenne dredgers, ragout spoons, ladles, jelly and pudding moulds, pepper and spice mills, pestle and mortars of marble, larding needles, tin drains for fried fish, cullenders, patty-pans, cutters for pastry, vegetables, string boxes, sugar canisters, cookholds, balance meat hooks, brass and copper spoon for pickling and preserving, tin Yorkshire-pudding dishes of different sizes, baking plates, cake tins, fish-slices, fish-drains to fit the steamers, meat-stands, salamander and pig irons, steel egg-poachers and egg-boilers, fritter irons, lamps, and to these must be superadded an ink-stand and file for memorandums. 10 TRUSSING. DIRECTIONS FOR TRUSSING. Although the poulterers in London truss all the different animals which they send home, yet, as it often happens, that untrussed game and poultry are sent to private families from the country, it is necessary that the art of trussing should be known by every cook, as well as, indeed, to the mistress of a family; and to persons in the country these directions are indispensable. In trussing, the following rules must be carefully attended to. Take care that all the stubs be perfectly removed ; and when poultry or game is drawn, observe particularly not to break the gall-bladder : for, if any of the gall be spilt about the bird, it will impart to it a bitter taste, which neither washing nor wiping can wholly remove. Turkey. — When the turkey is properly picked, break the leg-bone close to the foot, and draw out the strings from the thigh. Cut off the neck close to the back, leaving the crop-skin sufficiently long to turn over to the back. Next, take out the crop, and loosen the liver and gut at the throat end, with the middle finger ; then cut off the vent and take out the gut. Pull out the gizzard with a crooked sharp-pointed iron, and the liver will follow. Wipe out the inside perfectly clean with a wet cloth. Cut the breast-bone through on each side close to the back, and draw the legs close to the crop. Put a cloth on the breast, and beat the high bone down with a rolling pin till it lies flat. Turkey for boiling. — If the turkey is to be trussed for boiling, cut the legs off ; then put your middle finger into the inside, raise the skin of the legs, and put them under the apron of the turkey. Put a skewer in the joint of the wing and the middle joint of the leg, and run it through the body and the other leg and wing. The liver and gizzard must be put in the pinions, care being taken to open previously the gizzard and take out the filth ; the gall-bladder must also be removed from TRUSSING. 11 the liver ; then turn the small end of the pinion on the back, and tie a packthread over the ends of the legs to keep them in their places. Turkey for Roasting. — If the turkey is to be roasted, leave the legs on, put a skewer in the joint of the wing, tuck the legs close up, and put the skewer through the middle of the leg and body. On the other side put another skewer in at the small part of the leg, close on the outside of the sidesman, and put the skewer through, and the same on the other side. Put the liver and gizzard between the pinions, and turn the points of the pinions on the back. Put, close above the pinions, another skewer through the body of the turkey. Turkey Poults should be trussed thus : — Separate the neck from the head and body, but do not remove the neck-skin. They must be drawn in the same manner as a turkey. Put a skewer through the joint of the pinion, tuck the legs close, run the skewer through the middle of the leg, through the body, and so on the other side. Cut off the under part of the bill, twist the skin round the neck, and put the head on the point of the skewer, with the bill end forward. Another skewer must be put in the sidesman, and the legs be placed between the sidesman and apron on each side ; pass the skewer through all, and cut off the toe-nails. Some lard them on the breast. The liver and gizzard may or may not be used, as you choose. Goose. — Having picked and stubbed it clean, cut the feet off at the joint, and the pinion off at the first joint. Then cut off the neck close to the back, leaving the skin of the neck long enough to turn over the back. Pull out the throat, and tie a knot at the end. Loosen the liver and other matters at the breast with your middle finger, and cut it open between the vent and rump. Next draw out all the entrails, excepting the soal. Wipe out the body clean with a wet cloth, and beat the breast-bone flat with a rolling-pin. Put a skewer into the wing, and draw the legs close up; put the skewer through the middle of the leg, and through the body ; do the same on the 12 TRUSSING. other side. Put another skewer in the small of the leg, tuck it close down to the sidesman, and run it through; do the same on the other side. Cut off the end of the vent, and make a hole large enough to admit the rump, as it holds the seasoning much better by such means. Ducks are trussed in the same manner as geese, except that the feet are left on the ducks, and are turned close to the legs. Fowls must first be picked very clean, and the neck cut off close to the back. Put your finger into the inside, and raise the skin of the legs; cut a hole in the top of the skin, and put the legs under. Put a skewer in the first joint of the pinion; bring the leg close to it; put the skewer through the middle of the leg, and through the body; do the same on the other side. Having opened the gizzard, take out the filth, and remove the gallbladder from the liver; put the gizzard and liver in the pinions, and turn the points of the pinions on the back, tying a string over the tops of the legs, to keep them in their proper place. Fowl for Roasting. — If the fowl is to be roasted, put a skewer in the first joint of the pinion, and bring the middle of the leg close to it. Put the skewer through the middle of the leg- and through the body ; do the same on the other side. Put another skewer in the small of the leg, and through the sidesman; do the same on the other side. Put another skewer through the skin of the feet, the nails of which must be cut off. Chickens must be picked and drawn in the same manner as fowls. But, as their skins are so tender, if they be plunged in scalding water, and taken out as soon as the feathers will readily slip off, the trouble of picking will be much abridged. If to be boiled, cut off the nails, give the sinews a nick on each side of the joint, put the feet in at the vent, and then put in the rump. Draw the skin tightly over the legs, put a skewer in the first joint of the pinion, and bring the middle of the leg’ close. Put the skewer through the middle of the legs and through the body: TRUSSING. 13 do the same on the other side. Clean the gizzard, and separate the gall-bladder from the liver; put the liver and gizzard into the pinions, and turn their points on the back. If to be roasted, cut off the feet, put a skewer in the first joint of the pinions, and bring the middle of the leg close. Run the skewer through the middle of the leg and through the body; do the same on the other side. Put another skewer into the sidesman, and run the skewer through. Having cleaned the liver and gizzard, put them in the pinions, the points of which must be turned on the back, and pull the breast-skin over the neck. Weld-fowe. — Having picked them clean, cut off the neck close to the back, and with the middle finger loosen the liver and guts next the breast. Cut off the pinions at the first joint, then cut a slit between the vent and rump, and draw them clean. Clean them properly with the long feathers on the wing; cut off the nails, and turn the feet close to the legs. Put a skewer into the pinions, pull the legs close to the breast, and run the skewer through the legs, body, and other pinion. Cut off the vent, and then put the rump through it. These directions will answer for every kind of wild fowl. Pigeons must first be picked, and then let the neck be cut off close to the back. Take out the crop, cut off the vent, and draw out the guts and gizzard, but leave in the liver; a pigeon having no gall-bladder. If the pigeon is to be roasted , cut off the toes, cut a slit in one of the legs, and put the other through it. Draw the leg tight to the pinion, put a skewer through the pinions, and turn the point on the back. • If for a pie, the feet of the pigeon must be cut off at the joint; then turn the legs, and stick them in the sides close to the pinions. If they are to be steioed or boiled, they must be trussed in the same manner. Woodcocks and Snipes are very tender to pick, particularly if not quite fresh; they must be, therefore, handled with great care, and as little as possible. When they are picked clean, cut off the pinions at the first 14 TRUSSING. joint, and with the handle of the knife beat the breastbone. Turn the legs close to the thighs, and tie them together at the joints. Put the thighs close to the pinions, put a skewer into the pinion, and run it through the thighs, body, and the other pinion. Skin the head, turn it, take out the eyes, and put the head on the point of the skewer, with the bill close to the breast. Plovers are trussed in the same manner. Woodcocks, snipes, and plovers must never be drawn, they being dressed with all their entrails. Larks, Wheat-ears, &c.;, being picked clean, must have their heads cut off, and the pinions at the first joint. Beat the breast- bone flat with the handle of a knife, turn the feet close to the legs, and one into the other. Draw out the gizzard, and run a skewer through the middle of the bodies of as many as you mean to dress; they must be tied on the spit. Pheasants, Partridges, and Moor Game. — Pick them very clean, cut a slit at the back of the neck, take out the crop, loosen the liver and the gut next the breast with your fore-finger, then cut off the vent and draw them. Cut off the pinion at the first joint, and wipe out the inside with the pinion you have cut off; of course the pinions need not be picked beyond the first joint. Beat the breast-bone flat with a rolling-pin, put a skewer in the pinion, and bring the middle of the legs close. Then run the skewer through the legs, body, and the other pinion ; bring the head and put it on the end of the skewer, the bill fronting the breast; put another skewer into the sidesman, and put the legs close on each side the apron, and then run the skewer through all. The beautiful feathers on the head of the cock -pheasant must be left, and paper put over them to screen them from the fire. The long feathers in the tail must also be preserved, to be stuck in the rump when roasted. CARVING. 15 OBSERVATIONS ON, AND DIRECTIONS FOR, CARVING. The -wisdom or the folly of our ancestors esteemed carving’ one of the minor accomplishments of polite life, and Chesterfield, a century ago, made the art an object of his pupils’ peculiar study. Though, from our more general intercourse with the continent, and especially with France, so much stress is not laid on carving as formerly, yet it is considered an indispensable accomplishment to a diner out, of even third-rate magnitude. To carve quickly and neatly requires not only great practice, but much observation ; and though no printed directions can entirely supply the want of practice, still they may be considered as help and aid to the young carver. The choice morsels of every dish, or such as are generally esteemed such, should be known, otherwise the carver may be deemed guilty of intentionally excluding some of the guests from the enjoyment of the fat of the venison, the kidney of the lamb, the firm parts of the cod’s head, the thick part of the fins of the turbot, or the back of the hare or rabbit, whereas his error is purely the result of ignorance or inattention. To cut joints or poultry fairly, neatly, and cleanly, and to distribute the g’ood things of the table equally, and without favour, thus contributing to the greatest happiness of the greatest number is all that can be expected of a carver. If the cook has previously taken care that the bones in all carcass-joints are properly divided, the operations of the carver will be greatly facilitated. It is impossible for the most dexterous carver to proceed with ease or comfort if this be neg lected. In carving game or poultry for a large party, where many look for a share of the same delicacy, what is called “ making wings” must be avoided ; the first helpings should be cut the long way, from pinion to pinion, and not made too large. 16 CARVING. Without further remarks we shall lay before our readers the following’ observations on the art of carving, none of which are original, as we have extracted them with little alteration, from many sources : — RULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING ALL SORTS OF MEAT AT TABLE. The carving-knife should be large, but light, and the edge very sharp. In using it no great personal strength is required, as constant practice will render it an easy task to carve the most difficult joints ; depending on address rather than force. In order to prevent trouble, however, joints of mutton, veal, lamb, &c.; should be divided by the butcher, when they may be easily cut through, and fine slices of meat taken off from between every two bones. The more fleshy joints are to be cut in smooth slices, neither too thick nor too thin, and in joints of beef and mutton, the knife should always be passed down the bone by those who wish to carve with propriety, and great attention should be paid to help every person to a portion of the best parts. Fish should be carefully helped, because, if the flakes are broken, the beauty of it is entirely lost ; for which reason, a proper fish-slicer should be used, (not, however, too large,) and a part of the roe, liver, &e.;, sent to each individual. The heads of cod, salmon, carp, the fins of turbot, and sounds of cod, are esteemed as delicacies, and, of course, some should be sent to each person in company. y CARVING. 17 NAMES OF THE SEVERAL JOINTS WHICH ARE SERVED UP TO TABLE. Mutton. 1 . The leg. 5. The neck, scrag end. 2. loin, best end. 6. – whole neck. 3. loin, chump end. 7. – breast. 4. neck, best end. 8. – saddle, or two loins. Beef. Hind-quarter. Fore-quarter. 1 . The sirloin. 11. The middle-rib, four ribs. 2. buttock. 12. chuck, three ribs. 3. mouse-buttock. 13. shoulder, or leg of 4. veiny -piece. mutton piece. 5. rump. 14. brisket. 6. edge-bone. 15. clod. 7. thick flank. 16. neck, or sticking- 8. thin flank. piece. 9. leg. 17. shin. 10. fore-rib, five ribs. 18. cheek. Veal. 1 . The loin, best end. 6. The neck, best end. 2. chump-end. 7. neck, scrag end. 3. fillet. 8. blade-bone. 4. hind-knuckle. 9. breast, brisket-end. 5. — — fore-knuckle. 10. breast, best end. Pork. 1. The spare -rib. 2. hand. 3. belly, or spring. 4. fore-loin. 5. The hind-loin, 6. leg. 7. chine. 1. The haunch. 2. neck. Venison. 3. The shoulder. 4. breast. c 18 CARVING. A Leg of Mutton If boiled, should be served in the dish as it lies upon its back ; but when roasted, the under side, as here represented by the letter d, should lie uppermost in the dish. This joint must be turned towards the carver as it here lies, the shank being to the left-hand : then holding it steady with his fork, he should cut down through the fleshy part on the thigh quite to the bone, in the direction a, b. through the gland of fat called the pope’s-eye. The most juicy parts are from the line a, b, upwards towards c. The fat lies chiefly on the ridge e, e, and must be cut in the direction e. f. The cramp-bone may be cut out by holding the shankbone with the left-hand, and with a knife cutting down to the thigh-bone at the point d, then passing under the cramp-bone in the direction d, c. Shoulder of Mutton. — The shank-bone should be bound round with writing-paper, so that the carver may turn it as he pleases. It should be first cut in the direction a, b, the knife being passed quite to the bone. The best fat lies on the outer edge e, and should be cut out in thin slices in the direction of e,f Some delicate slices may be cut out on each side of the ridge of the bladebone in the direction c, d: the line between the two dotted lines is the direction in which the blade-bone lies, and cannot be cut across. On the under side are two parts very full of gravy : one is a deep cut close under the shank, accompanied with fat, the other, the flap, is lean. In almost all animals, delicate slices, mai’bled with fat, are to be found along the back-bone. Good fleshy slices, full of juice, though not very deb cate in the fibre, are to be got by turning the shoulder over, and cutting slantwise into the hollow part of the inside. So various are tastes, that some persons prefer the knuckle, though the driest and coarsest part of the animal. Some modern carvers prefer cutting slices at once right down from the knuckle to the broad end. A Leg of Pork may be cut up as a leg of mutton. Edge or Aitch-Bone of Beef. — This joint should lie towards the carver as here represented. A thick BEG of mutton SJEOTOBEB. OF MITT T OTT – ETDGE OTR AIT CM. BOM IE OF BEEF. K F. Btck+r ft CP S&dp; CARVING. 19 slice should first be cut off the whole length of the joint, beginning at a, and cutting it through the whole surface from a to b. The soft fat lies on the bach, below the letter d ; the firm fat is to be cut in thin horizontal slices at the point c, — a is the skewer : it should be drawn out before the dish is served up ; or if it be necessary to leave the skewer in, it should be a silver one. A Saddle of Mutton. — Cut long slices in the fleshy parts on both sides of the back-bone in the direction a, b. If it be sent up with the tail, this may be readily divided by cutting between the joints. Some persons think that, besides being a more economical way of carving, the meat is more delicately -grained, and eats better, if a deep incision is made along the bone, and slices be taken crossways from thence. A Breast of Veal Roasted should be first cut quite through the line d, c ; next cut it across in the line a, c ; from c to the last a on the left, quite through, dividing the gristly part from the rib-bones. The thick or gristly part should be cut into pieces as wanted in the lines a, b. A rib may be cut from the line d, c, and with a part of the breast, a slice of the sweetbread e, cut across the middle. v A Spare-Rib of Pork is carved by cutting slices from the fleshy part, which will afford many good cuts ; the fleshy parts being cut away, the bones may be easily disjointed and separated. Apple-sauce is generally served up with this dish. Half a Calf’s Head Boiled should first be cut quite along the cheek-bone, in the fleshy part, in the direction c, b, where several handsome slices may be cut. In the fleshy part at the neck end will be found part of the throat sweetbread, which may he cut into in the line c, d, and is esteemed the best part in the head. The eye may be taken out of its socket a whole, by carefully forcing the point of the carving-knife down on one side to the bottom of the socket, and cutting quite round. The white, thick, wrinkled skin , on the under c 2 20 CARVING. side of tlie roof of the mouth, called the palate, may be easily separated from the bone with the knife, by lifting the head up with the left-hand. Good meat will be found covering the under-jaw, and some nice gristly fat about the ear. The brains and tongue are generally served up in a separate dish, in which case a slice from the thick part of the tongue is the best. A Ham may be cut two ways : across in the line b, c ; or with the point of the carving-knife in the circle in the middle, taking out a small piece as at c, and cutting thin slices in a circular direction, thus enlarging it by degrees. The last method, although it preserves the gravy and keeps the ham moist, is not often practised the most saving way is to begin at the hock end at d. A Haunch of Venison must be first cut across down to the bone in the line a, b, c, then turn the dish with the end a towards you, put in the point of the knife at b, and cut it down as deep as possible in the direction b, d, and take out as many slices as you please on the right or left. The best flavoured and fattest slices will be found on the left of the line b, d, when the end d is turned towards you. The slices should neither be cut too thick nor too thin : plenty of gravy should he given with them. Haunch of Mutton. — This consists of the leg and part of the loin, cut so as to resemble a haunch of venison, and must be carved in the same manner. An Ox’s Tongue should be cut across, the best slices being about the middle or between the middle and the root. Slices of fat having a kernel with each may be conveniently cut from the root at the bottom of the dish. Part of a Sirloin of Beef. — A part only of this celebrated joint is here shown, the whole being too large for most families. It is here represented standing up in the dish, to show the inside or under part ; but when sent to table, it is always laid down, so that c lies close on the dish. The part c, d, then lies uppermost, and the line a, b, under the outside slice should be first cut off quite jHLAM THtATimmlBI OF WmSOH . PAM DF A SlMlLOra OF BEEF A FOKJE (tJTJAlBTETR. OF IAMB „ A MASTED H6. A HARE , CARVING. 21 down to the bone in the direction c d. Plenty of marrowy fat will be found underneath the ribs. To cut a slice underneath, the joint must be turned up by taking hold of the end of one of the ribs with the left-hand, and raising it till it is in the position here represented. One slice or more may now be cut in the direction of the line «, b, passing the knife down to the bone. A Buttock of Beef, sometimes called the Round, should first have a thick slice cut off all round, after which cut thin slices from the same place. As it is a dish that is frequently brought to table cold on a second day, it should always be cut handsome and even. A Fillet of Veal. — The bone being taken out, renders the helping of this piece very easy. Many persons prefer the outside, — ask this ; and if so, help them to it, otherwise cut it off, and then continue to take oft’ thin smooth slices ; observing to take from the flap (into which you must cut deep), a portion of seasoning to every slice, as likewise a small bit of fat. Lemon should invariably be served with this joint. A Fore Quarter of Lamb Roasted must have first the shoulder separated from the breast in the direction c, g, d, e ; this being removed, pepper and salt are sprinkled upon the separated parts ; some squeeze the juice of a lemon or Seville orange upon it : lay the shoulder again on the separated part. The gristly part must next be separated from the ribs in the line/; d. The ribs may be separated from the rest in the line a , b ; and a piece or two off in the lines h, i, &c.; Lastly, the shoulder may be put in another dish and carved like a shoulder of mutton. A Roasted Pig is seldom sent to the table whole. The head is cut off by the cook, the body split down the back, and served up as here represented, the dish being garnished with the chops and ears. The shoulder must be first separated in a circular direction from the carcass, as you take off the shoulder from a quarter of lamb. The leg may be also separated in the same manner. The triangular piece of the neck, which is the most delicate 22 CARVING. part of the pig, may now be cut off, and the ribs, which is esteemed the next best part, may be easily divided. A Hare. — Put in the point, of the knife at g, and cut it through all the way down to the rump, on the side of the hack-hone , in the line g, h. Cut it similarly on the other side. Then divide the back into several small pieces, more or less, in the lines i, k ; the pudding with which the belly is stuffed is then readily to be got at. The legs thus separated from the back-bone are now to be cut off from the belly. The shoulders must be cut off in the circular line e,j, g. The leg may also, if desired, be divided from the thigh ; which last is one of the best parts of the hare. Cut off the ears at the roots, and divide the head into two parts, by forcing the point of the knife first through the skull in the middle, between the ears, down to the nose. This mode of cutting up a hare can only be adroitly done when the animal is young. If old, cut off the legs and shoulders first ; then cut off some long nairow slices from each side of the back-bone in the direction g, h. Lastly, divide the back-bone into three or more parts. The ears and brains are esteemed delicacies by some. Great care must be taken by papering and basting the ears to have them crisp. Before roasting, they should be singed inside with a hot poker. A Rabbit is cut up in the same way as a hare, but being smaller, after the legs are separated from the body the back is divided into two or three parts, -without dividing it from the belly. A Goose. — Having the neck towards you, cut off two or three long slices from each side of the breastbone in the lines a, h. Then turn the goose on one side, and putting the fork through the small end of the leg-bone, and pressing it close to the body, the knife being entered at d, will raise the joint, and the leg may be taken off by passing the knife under it in the direction d, e. If the leg hang to the carcass at the joint e, by turning it back, if the goose be young, it will readily separate, if old with some difficulty. Next, take the A F 0 If X. * LEO WING CARVING. 23 wing off by passing the fork through the small end of the pinion, pressing it close to the body, entering the knife at the point c, and pressing it*under the wing, in the direction c, d ; there is a nicety required in hitting this point, which a little practice will soon teach. When the leg and wing on one side are taken off, take those off on the other. Cut off the apron in the line e,f,g , then the merry-thought in the line i, h. The neck-bones are next to be separated as in the directions for carving a fowl, and all other parts of the goose must be separated as there directed. A Green Goose is also cut up in the same way. A Pheasant. — The fork should be fixed in the breast so that the bird may be held firmly. Cut slices from the breast in the lines a, b, and proceed to take off the leg on one side in the direction d, e. Then cut off ! the wing on the same side in the line c, d. Separate the leg and wing on the other side, and then cut off the parts you before sliced from the breast. Be careful in taking off the wing to cut in the proper notch ; for if you cut too near the neck you will find the neck-bone interfere, from which, of course, the wing must be separated. The merry-thought must now be cut off in the line /, g, by passing the knife under it towards the neck. The remaining parts must be cut up as described under fowl. The prime bits are the same as in a fowl, but some fancy the brains. A Partridge. — The skewers must be taken out before it is sent to table, and it is then to be carved in the same manner as a fowl. The wings, breast, and merry-thought, are the prime parts. A Fowl is cut up in the same way whether roasted or boiled. Tbe legs, wings, and merry-thought are to be taken off in the way mentioned under pheasant. The fowl is here represented on its side, with one of the legs, wings, and neck-bones taken off. The leg, wing, and merry-thought being removed, cut off the neck-bones, which is done by putting in the knife at g, and passingit under the long broad part of the bones in the line g, b, then lifting it up and breaking off the end of the 24 CARVING. shorter part of the bone which is attached to the breastbone. Divide the breast from the back by cutting through the tender- ribs on each side from the neck down to the tail. Then lay the back upwards on your plate, fix your fork in the rump, and laying the edge of your knife in the line b, c, c, and, pressing it down, lift up the tail part of the back, and it will readily divide, with the assistance of the knife in the line b, c. Lastly, lay the tail part of the back upwards in your plate with the rump from you, and cut off the side bones by forcing the knife through the rump-bone in the lines e,f By very little practice you may cut the whole of one side of the fowl, i. e. the leg and wing, in one direct line. A Turkey, whether roasted or boiled, is sent to table like a fowl, and cut up in every respect like a pheasant. A Pigeon (No. 1 is the back, No 2 is the breast,) is sometimes cut up as a chicken, but most commonly by fixing the fork at the point a , entering the knife just before it, and dividing the pigeon in two, according to the lines a, b, and a, c, in No. 1 ; at the same time bringing the knife out at the back in the direction a, b, and a, c, No. 2. A Cod’s-head, and, indeed, fish generally, require few directions for Carving. The middle or thickest part of a fish is esteemed the best. When cut, it should be either with a spoon or fish-slice. The gelatinous pieces about the neck and head are prized, and must be helped if asked for ; also small slices of the sound. The palate and tongue may be got at with a spoon, if it be wished ; but these are rather the fantastic than prime parts. Some cut the fish longways ; but the above is perhaps the fairer mode Take off a jiiece quite down to the bone in the directions a, b, d, c, putting in the spoon at a, c ; with each slice of fish give a piece of the sound, which lies underneath the back-bone and lines it, the meat of which is thin and somewhat darker-coloured than the body of the fish itself. Boiled Salmon. — The belly is the fattest. In carving, it is desirable, unless objected to, to give a slice of A PIGBOI BACK . B REAS T. A corns 1EA®. BOliSB SAILMIOW. F.T.B taker A- C* sculp. ON LAYING OUT A TABLE. 25 the back and belly to each person : for the one cut it in the direction d, c, the other in the line a, b. Soles are generally sent to English tables two ways, fried and boiled. Cut them across the middle, bone and all, and give a piece of the fish, a third or fourth part, to each person. The same may be done with other fishes, cutting them across. Eels are to be cut into pieces of about three inches long. The thickest part is reckoned the best. ON LAYING OUT A TABLE. The manner of laying out a table is nearly the same in all parts of the United Kiugdom : yet there are trifling local peculiarities to which the mistress of a house must attend. A centre ornament, whether it be a dormant , a plateau, an epergne, or a candelabra, is found so convenient, and contributes so much to the good appearance of the table, that a fashionable dinner is now seldom or never set out without something of this kind. Utility should he the true principle of beauty, at least in affairs of the table, and, above all, in the substantial first course. A very false taste is, however, often shown in centre ornaments. Strange ill-assorted nosegays, and bouquets of artificial flowers, begin to droop or look faded among hot steams. Ornamental articles of family plate, carved, chased, or merely plain, can never be out of place, however old-fashioned. In desserts, richly-cut glass is ornamental. We are far, also, from proscribing the foliage and moss in which fruits are sometimes seen bedded. The sparkling imitation of frost-work, which i si given to preserved fruits and other things, is also exceedingly beautiful ; as are many of the trifles belonging to French and Italian confectionary. Beautifully white damask, and a green cloth underneath, are indispensable. In all ranks, and in every family, one important art in housekeeping is to make what remains from one day’s entertainment contribute to the elegance or plenty of the next day’s dinner. This is a principle understood by 26 ON LAYING OUT A TABLE. persons in the very highest ranks of society, who maintain the most splendid and expensive establishments. Vegetables, ragouts, and soups, may be re-warmed ; and jellies and blancmange remoulded, with no deterioration of their qualities. Savoury or sweet patties, croquets, rissoles, vol-au-vents, fritters, tartlets, &c.;, may be served with almost no cost, where cookery is going forward on a large scale. In the French kitchen, a numerous class of culinary preparations, called entries de dessert, or made-dishes of left things, are served even at grand entertainments. At dinners of any pretension, the first course consists of soups and fish, removed by boiled poultry, ham, or tongue, roasts, stews, &c.; ; and of vegetables, with a few made-dishes, as ragouts, curries, hashes, cutlets, patties, fricandeaux, &c.;, in as great variety as the number of dishes permits. For the second course, roasted poultry’ or game at the top and bottom, with dressed vegetables, omelets, macaroni, jellies, creams, salads, preserved fruit, and all sorts of sweet things and pastry, are employed, — endeavouring to give an article of each sort, as a jelly and a cream, as will be exemplified in bills of fare which follow. This is a more common arrangement than three courses, which are attended with so much additional trouble both to the guests and servants. Whether the dinner be of two or three courses, it is managed nearly in the same way. Two dishes of fish dressed in different ways — if suitable — should occupy the top and bottom ; and two soups, a white and a brown, or a mild and a high-seasoned, are best disposed on each side of the centre-piece: the fish-sauces are placed between the centre piece, and the dish of fish to which each is appropriate ; and this, with the decanted wines drunk during dinner, forms the first course. • When there are rare French or Rhenish wines, they are placed in the original bottles, in ornamented wine-vases, between the centre-piece and the top and bottom dishes ; or if four kinds, they are ranged round the plateau. If one bottle, it is placed in a vase in the centre. The Second Course at a purely English dinner, TIRStf ‘[email protected] .TASVAM.Y. • – – . • GHENA UTW ! orvt.U-WlTU , ? ASFARAGDS I v ,EAS – V ‘Lobster and Oyster Sauces on Side Table ¦ F.r.re.ch»r sc a FEBRUARY. FEBS-STT €(Q)¥SiSJEo S OTJ P- f. r. Batter ilarch . IF KM ‘ll (OOTUMIE- Y. 2 tiu( kens’ ^ BOILED. Willi I WsHHOOMSj WRITE ’ Si BRAIZED WITH] j j3 SPLNACD -j 1 SOUPS. AVvT^. ^WV.VVS: VTSSTi 1 POTAGE DE SANTE. pal es ttne sou p. remove 2 LOIN OF VEAL BOWED -1 WITH RAGOUT SAUCE. 3 I r DUBLIN BAY HADDOCK.) £, IKED MULLET EN PAP I LOTTE] £ remove SLRLOLN OF BEEF. 222 §E EPERGNE 15 QUAILS, remove STRAW I1EKHY TART LETS /.* J 3 . Bocker Jfc £ c scuhy. 1 • ‘ APRIL . irmsT cairn®®* is wmi 5 ? fviGEUNS WlTlM •jUAGOUT SAUCE j K * > : if SOUPS. ^ J^A. PATE CILAUITj I vifi 2 SALMON PEALE. TURBOT. cJ remove TfILET DU BCEUF PIQUEM POTVRADI5 S AUCE, Si X C (0 M E>_ A GREKTJ GOOSE, remove RAM E QUINS. “~~ v vl s.a. h ! IFmST £®¥1M.SE MAT. O SWEETBREADS MUSHROOM SAD CE GREEN TEAS SODP. remove 2 BOILED CHICKENS, CREAM SAUCE, WITH A GLAZED TONGUE BETWEEN S _®£©ME) C.©!!®®.® 1 ‘ A PIGEONS, remove o I NO EH SOU VV LEE fi [^CUTLETS OF MUTTON. j,L ITALLENNF ’ q A. .B*<A*r J? C? .r, xu’r . IFII&ST; €©¥IE©Ii; 0l JUNE . yu TURBOT. m SLICES OF SALMON. GEN F. VO I SE SAUCE, remove ILAUNCU OF MUTTON . i & s ES,©S3 « IR § ® „ .2£22t22E C1LAN TILLY BASKET WITH TRIFLE Ui F. FJ 5 eckcr Sz ,?>F sculp. ON LAYING OUT A TABLE. 27 j when there are three, consists of roasts and stews for the j top and bottom ; turkey or fowls, or fricandeau, or ham garnished, or tongue, for the sides ; with small madedishes for the corners, served in covered dishes ; as palates, currie of any kind, ragout or fricassee of rabbits, stewed mushrooms, &c.; &c.; The Third Course consists of game, confectionary, the more delicate vegetables dressed in the French way, puddings, creams, jellies, &c.; Caraffes, with the tumblers belonging to and placed over them, are laid at proper intervals. Where hock, champagne, &c.; &e.; are served, they are handed round between the courses. When the third course is cleared away, cheese, butter, a fresh salad, or sliced cucumber, are usually served ; and the finger-glasses, precede the dessei’t. At many tables, particularly in Indian houses, it is customary merely to hand quickly round a glass vessel or two filled with simple, or simply perfumed tepid water, made by the addition of a little rose or lavender water, or a home-made strained infusion of rose-leaves or lavender spikes. Into this water each guest may dip the corner of his napkin, and with this refresh his lips and the tips of his fingers. The Dessert, at an English table, may consist merely of two dishes of fine fruit for the top and bottom; common or dried fruits, filberts, &c.;, for the corners or sides, and a cake for the middle, with ice-pails in hot weather. Liqueurs are at this stage handed round ; and the wines usually drank after dinner are placed decanted on the table along with the dessert. The ice-pails and plates are removed as soon as the company finish their ice. This may be better understood by following the exact arrangement of what is considered a fashionable dinner of three courses and a dessert. Memorandum respecting Dinners. — Select from each Chapter under the head of Soup, Fish, &c.; &c.;, to make your Bill of Fare, according to the season and number of your company. When you have two roasts, they should bear no resemblance to each other — i. e., one white and the other brown. 28 BILLS OP FARE. A DINNER OF THREE COURSES, WITH CHEESE-COURSE AND DESSERT. FIRST COURSE.” Wine. Patties. Iiaunch of Venison or Mutton. * It is not in general the custom to place the fish sauces on the table, but so placed they are always most accessible, unless in establishments where there is a servant to every guest. It is a great convcnieuce to have the sauce near you when you want it. BELLS OF FARE. 29 THIRD COURSE. Two Turkey Poults. Jelly. Sauce Tureen. Small Pastry. Macaroni Pudding. -4-a CO Co Wine Yase. It O si o Trifle ornamented. •n O) CD U pH Wine Yase. CO Ui Q Russian Cranberry Tart. Tartlets. Sauce Tureen. Italian Cream. Grouse roasted. Directions for placing the Cheese , fyc. a/ier Dinner. Gruyere, Roquefort, or Stilton. U . o u Butter, s § «Q O p QJ Sh 6^ In forms, slices, or pats. Salad. Parmesan rasped, and in a covered glass dish, or Neufchatel Cream Cheese. (Next come the Finger-glasses.) 30 BILLS OF FARE. Ginger Cakes. THE DESSERT. Lemon Ice. Grapes. Sugar Basin. Cut Glasses. Savoy Cake, on an elevated Stand. Cut Glasses. Water Jug. Melon. Wafers. Pine-apple or Vanille Ice.* BILLS OF FARE FOR PLAIN FAMILY DINNERS. DINNERS OF FIVE DISHES. Peas or Mulligatawney Soup. Potatoes browned Apple Dumpling, Mashed Turnip below the Roast. or Plain Fritters. or Pickles. Roast Shoulder of Mutton. * Ice is also handed round, or served, before the dessert. This dessert may be made more full by a few small dishes of wafers, brandy-scrolls, or dried small fruit. BILLS OF FARE. 31 Haddocks toiled, with Parsley, and Butter Sauce. Potatoes. Newmarket Pudding. Bice or Pickles. Haricot, Currie Hash, or Grill, Of the Mutton of the former day. Knuckle of Veal Ragout, or with Rice. Stewed Endive. A Charlotte. Potatoes. Roast of Pork, or Pork Chops — Sage Sauce, or Sauce Piquante. Boiled Cod, with Oyster, Egg, or Dutch Sauce. Potatoes. Mutton Broth. Carrots or Turnips. Scrag of Mutton, with Caper Sauce, or Parsley and Butter. Cod Currie, or a Bcchemel, of the Fish of former day. Scolloped Oysters, Rice-Pudding. Mashed Potatoes Roast Ribs of Beef. Bouilli, garnished with Onions. Beef Cecils, of the Marrow Bones. Soup of the Bouilli. Roast Ribs of the former day. Lamb Chops, with Potatoes. Vegetables on the Side-Table. Potage a la Clermont. ( Remove — Fish in Brown Sauce.) Stewed Celery. Fruit Pie. Fillet of Veal stuffed. Spinach. 32 BILLS OF FARE. Boiled Fowl, or Fricandeau of Yeal on Sorrel. Currie of Yeal Macedoine of in Rice Casserole. anc es ‘ Vegetables. Pickled Pork, or Salted, or Corned, or Boiled Beef. Crimped Cod. Shrimp Sauce. Ragout of Pigeons. Soup. Carrots and Turnips. Small Round of Beef with Greens, or Fillet of Beef roasted, garnished with Horseradish. Brill, with Caper and Butter Sauce, or Parsley and Butter. Cauliflower Hotch-potch. Potatoes. in Sauce blanche. 1 Loin of Veal roasted, or Blanquettes de Yeau. GOOD FAMILY DINNERS OF SEVEN DISHES. Crimped Salmon. Lobster Sauce, or Parsley and Butter. Mashed Potatoes, in small shapes. Mince Pies, or Rissoles. Irish Stew. {Remove — Apple-pie .) Oxford Dumplings. Mince Veal. Pickles. Roast of Beef. BILLS OF FARE. 33 Irish Stew, or Haricot of Mutton. Chickens. Mashed Potatoes. Fritters. , Tongue on Spinach, Apple Sauce. or a piece of Ham. Stubble Goose. Fried Soles. Onion Soup. Salad. ( Remove — A Charlotte.) Sliced Cucumber. Veal Sweetbreads. Saddle of Mutton roasted. Herrings, with Dutch Sauce. {Remove — Cutlets a Chingara.) Scolloped Potatoes. Apple Puffs. Marrow Pudding. Tartlets, Mashed Turnip, or Sweet Patties. or Green Peas. Gigot of Mutton boiled, with Caper Sauce. {Remove — Roast Ducks.) Savoury Patties. Macaroni. A SMALL DINNER IN COURSES, WITH DESSERT, &C.; FIRST COURSE. Mock-Turtle Soup. Turbot. Oyster, Lobster, or Fennel Sauce, and Cucumber sliced thick, disposed either on the Table or Sideboard; and the Fish and Soup, with the Sauces and Wines, form the whole of the Course. D 34 BILLS OF FARE. SECOND COURSE. Pheasant. Ducklings and Peas. Calves’ Brains. Haunch of Mountain Mutton. THIRD COURSE. Macaroni. Apricot Tart. Cream. Jelly. Omelet le Souffle. Butter in Ice, or moulded. CHEESE COURSE. Stilton. Silver Bread Basket. Small Cheese Biscuits, or Sliced Boll. A Cream Cheese, or grated Parmesan, in a covered cut Glass. DINNERS OF TWO COURSES, FOUR AND FIVE, FOR FAMILY DINNERS, OR SMAEL PARTIES. FIRST COURSE. Trout fried with Sweet Herbs, or Whiting fried. Jerusalem Artichokes. Mashed Turnips. Caper Sauce. Boiled Leg of Mutton. SECOND COURSE. Veal Cutlets in Vol-au-vcnt , or Mutton a la Soubise. Young Peas. Katafia Cream. Dressed Lobster. Ducklings. BILLS OP PARE. 35 PLAIN DESSERT. Rennets. Glass Tumblers. Walnuts. Water Jug. Filberts, or Prunes. Glass Tumblers. The Wines. Pears. FIRST COURSE. Hare Soup. {Remove — Fillets of Turbot.) Stewed Cucumber. Dressed Turnips. Roast Pig. SECOND COURSE. Sweetbreads fricasseed. Ginger Cream. Calves’-Feet Jelly. Roasted Pheasant, or Game of any kind. FIRST COURSE. Civet of Hare as Soup. Fillet of Rabbit Savoury Patties, with Truffles. or Calves’ Ears. Breast of Mutton grilled. Potatoes and Vegetables on the Side Table. SECOND COURSE. Small Ham, glazed and ornamented. Asparagus, Almond Pudding, with Butter Sauce. or Gateau dc liiz. Stewed Celery. Small Turkey roasted. d 2 36 BILLS OF FARE. GOOD DINNERS OF SEVEN DISHES — TWO COURSES. FIRST COURSE. Oyster Soup. ( Remove — Slices of Salmon with Sauce aux Capres.*) Small Fricandeau, with Spinach, Sorrel, or Tomata Sauce. Partridge Pie. Ducks in Ragout. Tongue on mashed Turnips. Portuguese Mutton Cutlets. Stewed Rump of Beef. Cranberry Tart. Cauliflower, White Sauce. SECOND COURSE. Moor Game, or Golden Plover. Orange Sauce. Lemon Cream. Mint Sauce. Macaroni. Apricot Marmalade Tart, or Pudding. Fore-quarter of Lamb roasted. Veal Cutlets. Cod Sounds. FIRST COURSE. Fish — Pike a la Genevoise. Sauce. Chicken and Ham Patties. Giblet Soup. Curried Rabbit in Casserole of Rice. Sauce. Roast Goose. * Sliced Cucumber, prepared with oil, vinegar, and pepper, should be on the sideboard. BILLS OF FARE. 37 SECOND COURSE. Veal Sweetbreads. Snowballs, or Castle Asparagus, with Puddings. Butter. Trifle, or ornamental Cake. Omelet. Cheesecakes. Boasted Birds. FIRST COURSE. Mullagatawney Soup. (Remove — Fish.) Macaroni Pudding. Sauce. Plateau. Savoury Patties. Potato Balls. Sauce. Currie of Chickens in Bice Casserole. Boast Beef. SECOND COURSE. Green Peas. Custards in Glasses. Vegetable Marrow. Plateau. Lemon Pudding. Cranberry Tart. Cream in Glasses. Omelets, or CEuJs poches aujus. Ducklings. DINNER OF NINE DISHES. FIRST COURSE. Ox-tail Soup. Mashed Potatoes. Boiled Bice. Boiled Turkey Poult. Curried Fish. Ham glazed. Palates. Brocoli. Haunch of Mutton roasted. 38 BILLS OP PARE. SECOND COURSE.* Black Cock. Small Pastry. Wafers. Calve’s-feet Jelly. French Beans. Trifle. Lobster Salad. Ginger Cream. Wafers. Meringles. Hashed Hare, or a Neck of Venison braised. DINNER OP ELEVEN DISHES, FIRST COURSE. White Soup — a la Heine, or Jerusalem Artichoke Soup. (Remove — Fish.) Stewed Pigeons. Lamb Chops and Cucumbers. Oyster Patties. Tongue on Spinach. Plateau. Boiled Chickens. Lobster Patties. Sheep’s Rumps, Kidneys, or Palates, Sweetbreads grilled, or Irish Stew. Mullagatawney. (Remove — Loin of Yeal, or other Roast.) SECOND COURSE. Partridges roasted. Wine Jelly. Dressed Lobster. Small Pastry. Stewed Mushrooms. Plateau. French Salad. Small Pastry. Prawns in Jelly, or Plain, Coffee Cream, or Spinach and Eggs. Macaroni. * If the party is rather large, and the table long, the same number of expensive dishes may do; but they must be arranged down the middle, and at the sides, While a few trilling articles of confectionary fill up the corners. BILLS OF FARE. 39 FIRST COURSE. Turbot. (Remove — Turkey.) Melted Butter. Breast of Lamb. thicken and Ham Patties. Ox Palates, with Green Peas. Lobster Soup. Plateau. Brown Gravy Soup, Turkey Giblets. Oyster Patties. Macaroni Lobster Sauce. Pried Whitings. ( Remove — Stewed Brisket of Beef, garnished with Vegetables, or glazed Onions. SECOND COURSE. Veal Sweetbreads. Apricot Charlotte. Small Pastry. Wine Jelly. Sea Kale. Plateau. Vegetable Marrow. Coffee Cream. Small Pastry. Cabinet Pudding. Woodcocks roasted. DINNERS OF NINE DISHES AND ELEVEN. FIRST COURSE. Mock Turtle. ( Remove — Crimped Salmon.) Rabbit and Onions. Lobster Sauce. Scolloped Oysters. Ham braised. Plateau. Turkey in White Sauce. Potted Eels. Currant Jelly. Wine Sauce. Stewed Pigeons. Haunch of Venison, or of Mutton dressed as Venison. 40 KITCHEN TERMS. SECOND COURSE. Pheasant. Puffs. Preserved Cucumbers. Open Tart of Apricot Marmalade. Artichokes. Almond Cheese- Preserved Oranges. Wild Ducks. Plateau. Raspberry Cream in Glass Cups. Salad. cakes. (Remove — Ramakins.) TERMS IN USE IN THE KITCHEN. Atelets. — Small silver skewers. Au naturel. — Plain done. Bain Marie. — A warm-water bath ; to be purchased at the ironmonger’s. Barber. — To cover with slices of lard. Blanc. — A rich broth or gravy, in which the French cook palates lamb’s head, and many other things. It is made thus: — A pound of beef kidney fat, minced, put on with a sliced carrot an onion stuck with two cloves, parsley, green onions, slices of lemon without the peel or seeds, or, if much is wanted, two pounds of fat and two lemons. When the fat is a good deal melted, put in water made briny with salt; and when done, keep the blanc for use. Blanchir. — To blanch by giving some boils in water. Bourguignote. — A ragout of truffles. Braise. — A manner of stewing meat which greatly improves the taste by preventing any sensible evaporation. Braisiere. — Braising-pan — a copper vessel tinned, deep and long, with two handles, the lid concave on the outside, that fire may be put in it. Brider. — To truss up a fowl or any tiling else with a needle and pack-thread, or tape. Buisson. — A whimsical method of dressing up pastry, &c.; Bundle or Bunch. — Made with parsley and green onions, — when seasoned, bay leaves, two bunches of thyme, a bit of sweet basil, two cloves, and six leaves of mace are added. Capilota.de. — A common hash of poultry. Cassis. — That part which is attached to the tail end of a loin of veal : in beef, the same part is called the rump. Civet. — A hash of game or wild fowl. Compiegnc. — A French sweet yeast cake, with fruit, &c.; &c.; KITCHEN TERMS. 41 Compote. — A fine mixed ragout to garnish white poultry, See . , also a method of stewing fruit for dessert. Cimipotier. — A dish amongst the dessert service appropriated i to the use of the compote. Couronne (en). — To serve any prescribed articles on a dish in the form of crown. Court ou Short. — To reduce a sauce very thick. Croustades. — Fried crusts of bread. Cuisson. — The manner in which meat, vegetables, pastry, or sugar is dressed, it means also the broth or ragout in which meat or fish has been dressed. Cullis or Coulis. — The gravy or juice of meat. A strong consomme. Desserte, Entree de.— Dish made of preceding day’s remains. Dorez. — To wash pastry, &c.;, with yolk of egg well beaten. Dorure. — Yolks of egg well beaten. Entre cote du Bceuf.— This is the portion of the animal which lies under the long ribs, or those thick slices of delicate meat which may be got from between them. Entrees. — A name given to dishes served in the first course with the fish dishes. Entremets. — Is the second course, which comes between the roast meat and the desserts. Escalopes. — Small pieces of meat cut in the form of some kind of coin. Faggot, is a bunch of parsley (the size varies of course), a bay-leaf, and a sprig of thyme, tied up closely. When any thing beyond this is required, it is specified in the article. Farce. — This word is used in speaking of chopped meat, fish, or herbs, with which poultry and other things are stuffed before being cooked. Feuilletage. — Puff-paste. Filets Mignons. — Inside small fillets. Financiere. — An expensive, highly flavoured, mixed ragout. Glacer ( to glaze). — To reduce a sauce by means of ebullition to a consistency equal to that of ice. Well made glaze adheres firmly to the meat. Godiveau. — A common veal forcemeat. Gras ( au ). — This signifies that the article specified is dressed with meat gravy. Gratiner. — To crisp and obtain a grilled taste. Grosses Pieces de Fonds. — There are in cookery two very distinct kinds of grosses pieces : the first comprehends substantial pieces for removes, &c; ; the other pieces monties, or ornaments : by pieces de fonds is implied all dishes in pastry that form one entire dish, whether from its composition, or from its particular appearance ; as for example, Cold Pies, Savoy Cakes, Brioches, Babas, gateaux de Compiegnc, conglaufftes, &c.; whilst the pidees montdes, or ornamental pastries, are more considerable in number. 42 KITCHEN TERMS. Hors d’ceuvres,— Small dishes which are served with the first course. Larding-pin . — An utensil by means of which meat, &c.;, is larded. Lardoire (larder). — An instrument of wood or steel for larding meat. Lardons. — The pieces into which bacon and other things are cut, for the purpose of larding meat, &c.; &c.; To Lard , is when you put the bacon through the meat. Things larded do not glaze well. Every thing larded on the top or surface is called pique. Madeleines. — Cakes made of the same composition as poundcakes. Mariner. — Is said of meat or fish when put in oil or vinegar, with strong herbs to preserve it. Mark. — To prepare meat which is to he dressed in a stewing – pan. Mask. — Is to cover a dish ivith a ragout or something of the sort. Nourir, is to put in more ham, bacon, butter, &e.; Noix de Veau — The leg of veal is divided into three distinct fleshy parts, besides the middle bone ; the larger part, to which the udder is attached is called the noix, the flat part under it sous noix, the side part, contre noix, Sec. The petites noix are in the side of the shoulder of veal. • Paillasse. — A grill over hot cinders. Pain de beurre. — An ounce, or an ounce and a half of butter, made in the shape of a roll. Paner. — To sprinkle meat or fish which is dressed on the gridiron, with crumbs of bread dipped in butter and eggs. Panures. — Every thing that is rolled in, or strewed with bread crumbs. Parer, is freeing the meat of nerves, skin, and all unnecessary fat. Paupiettes. — Slices of meat, rather broad, to be rolled up. Pique, is to lard with a needle, game, fowls, and all other sorts of meat. Poele. — Almost the same operation as braising, the only difference is, that what is po’clez must be underdone; whereas a braise must be done through. Puit. — A well, or the void left in the middle, when any thing is dished round as a crown. A Puree of onions, turnips, mushrooms, &c.;, is a pulpy mash, or sauce of the vegetable specified, thinned with boiling cream, or gravy. Quenelles. — Meat minced or potted, as quenelles of meat, game, fowls, and fish. Roux. — This is an indispensable article in cookery, and serves to thicken sauces; the brown is for sauces of the same colour, and the colour must be obtained by slow degrees, other- now TO CHOOSE FISH. 43 svise the flour will burn and give it a bitter taste, and the sauces become spotted with black. Sabotiere . — A pewter or tin vessel, in which are placed the noulds containing the substance to be frozen. Sasser . — To stir and work a sauce with a spoon. Sauce tournee and veloute are not the same, nor has the latter lame been substituted by the moderns for the former. Sauce ‘oumee is an unfinished sauce; it is of itself a basis for many ither white sauces, but it is in no instance served alone as a sauce with any entree or entremets. Veloute is served with hashes if chickens, veal, boudins a la reine, eminces, and entrees of quelelles, & c. Sautez, is to mix or unite all the parts of a ragout, by shaking ,t about. Singez . — To dust flour from the dredging-box, which is afterwards to he moistened in order to be dressed. Tamis ( Tammy ). — An instrument to strain broth and sauces. Tendrons (Veal), are found near the extremity of the ribs. Tourner . — To stir a sauce ; also to pare and cut roots, vegetables, &c.;, neatly. Tourte . — A puff-paste pie. Vanner . — To work a sauce well up with a spoon, by lifting it up and letting it fall. HOW TO CHOOSE FISH OF DIFFERENT KINDS. Fish of all sorts is best when short, thick, well-made, aright in the scales, stiff and springy to the touch, the gills of a fresh red, and the belly not flabby. When the gills are not bright and fresh red-coloured, the fish is not eatable. Salmon, carp, tench, barbel, pike, trout, whiting, &c.;, when the eyes are sunk, the fins hanging, and the gills grown pale, are not good. There is a great difference between salmon in and out of season. If eaten out of season or when stale, this fish is equally unwholesome, and the same observation (applies to mackarel. It shoidd be remarked that, except in frosty weather, fish rarely keeps more than two or three days. Care should be taken to remove the intestines from fish, which is meant to be kept, immediately after they are caught. This rule should be invariably followed in reference to whiting, haddock, perch, &c.; The livers of these fishes contain an oil, which, in 44 HOW TO CHOOSE FISit. warm weather especially, imparts a rancid and unpleasant taste to the fish. Soles should never be salted. Mackarel , herrings, and pilchards cannot be too soon dressed When eaten fresh caught, they are divested of that oily taste which they sometimes acquire when they are even halt a day out of the water. It may also be generally remarked, that neither a carp nor a red-mullet should ever be boiled. Turbot. — Choose a turbot by its plumpness, thickness, and colour. It should be very white, fleshy, and firm. Observe whether its surface be covered with a round, swelling grain, an indication of its fine healthy condition. The moderate or even smaller size is to be preferred to the very large, which is almost always dry, tasteless, and woolly. To be good, it should be plump, and the belly of a fine, opaque, light cream-colour. If of a blueish cast, like water tinged with milk, or thin, they are not good. A turbot ought to be bled near the tail as soon as taken, or it will assume a red tinge, impairing its appearance not only in the market, but at table. If necessary, turbot will keep for two or three days, and be in as high perfection as at first, if lightly rubbed over with salt, and carefully hung in a cold place. Skate. — The best skate are white and thick ; they should be kept a day or two before you dress them, otherwise they will eat tough. The she skate is the sweetest, especially if large. Skate is best during the autumn and winter. This fish may be eaten either boiled, fried, or stewed. There is a great difference in this fish. The flavour and fineness of the skate depend, in a considerable degree, on the locality in which it is taken. It should be broad and thick, prickly on the back, and of a beautiful creamy white. On the N.E. coast of Scotland, there is a small skate caught of a leaden blue colour, which is said to be of the most delicate flavour. Care should be taken not to eat skate when out of season. Oysters. — There are in England various species of oysters. The goodness of oysters depends, in a great HOW TO CHOOSE FISH. 45 measure, on the grounds or sea-beds from which they are taken ; hut the Colchester, Pyfleet, and Chilford, are generally esteemed superior to all others, being white and flat, yet the others may be made to possess these qualities, in some degree, by being properly fed. The large shelled oysters are never good, for even when fattened they have a strong flavour. The best oysters in Ireland are the Carlingford, Burren, and Poldooday. In France the best are found at Cancale, Etretat, and Marennes. In Belgium the best are fished at Ostend. When alive and healthy, the shell closes on the knife, and they should be eaten immediately they are opened, I or the flavour will be lost. Oysters taken on muddy bottoms, generally imbibe a disagreeable taste, and thin or shrivelled oysters which scarcely fill up their shell, are, for the most part, rank and ill-flavoured. Oysters taken in rivers where the waters are affected by copper mines, are poisonous. This fish is never fit to be eaten if the shells become open. There is a fine-flavoured, delicate small oyster much in vogue at Genoa, and a green finned oyster at Venice, both of which are good. The Irish and foreign oysters possess a fresh, natural, sea-water flavour, generally wanting in the English oyster, which is frequently spoiled by too much feeding and washing. We I should advise all amateurs of oysters to obtain their supply direct from the boats at Billingsgate before they j get into the hands of the retail dealer. Eels are taken both in fresh water and the sea. The fresh-water eels are the best, and the silver eel among these should always be preferred. Buy them, if possible, alive, and in order to kill them, divide the spine just behind the head without severing it from the body. They will die almost instantaneously. The freshness of the i eel, like the lobster, is known by the vivacity of its motion, and its quality by the colour of the skin. The silver eel is the best. The Ling — It is to be regretted that the ling, one of the finest fishes of the cod tribe, is not oftener brought to Billingsgate-market. It may be eaten fresh or salted, and will well bear transport fresh in the win- 46 MOW TO CHOOSE FISH. tel* season from Cornwall to London. Like the cod, the ling has a fine sound, which may be dressed with the fish or salted. Ling varies in colour according to the bank it inhabits. When in good order, the ling is thick about the poll. The whiteness of the liver indicates the good condition of the fish. When out of season the liver is red. Smelts, if good, have a fine silvery hue, are very firm, and have a refreshing smell like cucumbers newly cut. They are caught in the Thames, and some other large rivers, and should be eaten within twenty-four hours after being taken. Salmon. — If new, the flesh is of a fine red (the g ills particularly), the scales bright, and the whole fish stiff. When just killed, there is a whiteness between the flakes, which gives great firmness ; by keeping, this melts down, and the fish is more rich. The Thames Salmon bears the highest price; that caught in the Severn is next in goodness, and is even preferred by some. Small heads and thick in the neck are best. Look also for a roundness and breadth over the back, and thickness down to the tail-fin. The upper part of the back red and dark-coloured. Flounders. — They should be thick, firm, and have their eyes bright. They very soon become flabby and bad. They are both a sea and river fish. The Thames produces the best. They are in season from January to March, and from July to September. Flounders differ much in quality. There is a flounder with scarlet spots, a very good fish to look at, but which is coarse and woolly in the grain. The best flounders are of a sober grayish colour. Whitings. — Always buy whitings fresh. Having gutted them, you can keep them two or three days in a cool place in the winter months. Never purchase uncleaned whiting unless it be perfectly fresh out of the water. The firmness of the body and fins is to be looked to, as in herrings ; their high season is during the first three months of the year, but they may be had a great part of it. Whiting is one of the most wholesome of HOW TO CHOOSE FISH. 47 fish, and is so light that physicians recommend it to invalids when more solid nutriment is forbidden. The argest whiting are taken off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall. They are in highest season from Michaelmas to February, shortly after which they begin to east their spawn. They are again fit for the table by the latter end of May or the beginning of June. It is not easy to know the whiting from the codling, and this is the more necessary, as fishmongers have an ugly trick of substituting the one for the other. The codling, however, has a beard, while the whiting is smooth. Cod. — Cod, skate, maids, and thornback should be in a state fit to crimp, and are so when the flesh rises again on being pressed with the finger. There are sixteen different species of cod taken on our coasts ; but the most esteemed is the Dogger Bank. This fish is best when thick towards the head, with a deep pit just behind it, and the flesh cuts white and clear. The fish should be perfectly stiff. This affords a proof [of its freshness, and of its eating firm. The gills should be very red, and the eyes fresh and bright; when Gabby they are not good. Cod is invariably good, when the weather is cold, dry, and frosty; and it is in primest season during the periods London fashionables nine by candle-light — namely, from November to March. The larger cod, if in good order, are generally the irmest and best- flavoured fish. The smaller cod-fish ire, for the most part, flabby and watery, though these defects may be in a measure removed, by sprinkling salt )ver the fish, a few days before it is cooked. The Sturgeon when good, must have a fine blue in ts veins and gristle, a brown or yellowish cast in these ¦>arts denote a bad fish; if kept too long this fish has a lisagreeable taint. The flesh must be perfectly white, md must cut without crumbling. It is from the roe of the sturgeon that the caviare is :omposcd, though it is sometimes made of the spawn of the gray carp, or the hard roe of the gray mullet. The Haddock bears some resemblance to the cod, 48 HOW TO CHOOSE FISH. but may be easily distinguished by the black spot on each shoulder. It is a superior fish; the flesh is firm, and of a snow-white colour, with a creamy curd between the flakes. The largest haddocks are in general the best, and the larger size keep better than the smaller ones. The finest haddocks are taken in Dublin Bay, and off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall. Haddocks of all kinds may be almost daily obtained of Grove, Charing-Cross. A haddock should be chosen like a cod, by the thickness and depth of the body, and fulness at the poll. The freshness of a haddock may be ascertained by the redness of the gills and brightness of the eyes. A Sole should be chosen in the same manner as aturbot. The smallest soles are of the sweetest and best flavour for frying. If you wish to boil your fish, choose a large Dover or Torbay sole. They are in season nearly the whole year, but are best at Midsummer. Soles are usually skinned on the dark side only; the scales on the white side should be carefully removed,’ which is often done in a very slovenly manner, and sometimes omitted altogether. The soles of the West of England and of Ireland, are quite different from the sole sent to the London market, being a much richer and thicker fish, with a black skin. For invalids, or persons of a delicate stomach, the smaller and whiter sole, is preferable. If the sole come to market, gutted and packed, by land-carriage, you must judge of the freshness by the smell. The best proof of their freshness, however, is the transparency of the slime on the dark side, through which the fine scales may be easily seen, and by a frothy appearance in the slime on the lower side ; but this fish, if gutted, may be kept good long after these marks have disappeared. Salmon, Haddock, Whiting, and all other fish, whether of the sea, pond, or river, may be judged as to freshness, by the red, lively colour of the gills, the brightness of the eye, the clearness and regular undisturbed position of the scales, and a plumpness of body, amounting to stiffness. A dead eye, livid gills, and HOW TO CHOOSE FISH. 49 flabby condition of the flesh, are sure signs that the fish s stale. Lampreys.’ — The sea and the river lamprey, or lamlern, are easily distinguishable not only by their size, uut by their colour. The sea-lamprey is of a rusty, nottled colour, whilst the river-lamprey is of the colour pf the common eel, or a shade darker. The sea-lam irey is also considerably larger than the river, sometimes weighing as much as five or six pounds, whilst the river lamprey seldom exceeds twelve inches in length, and seldom weighs from half a pound to a pound, or a pound and a quarter. River lampreys are excellent, either stewed, potted, or in pies. Some there are who fry jthem, but they are generally sent up from Worcester in a prepared sauce, in order to be stewed, which is the preferable mode of eating them. They are, it must be ieonfessed, a more agreeable than wholesome food. Henry I. died from a surfeit of them. The lamprey is in the most perfect season during the months of April p,nd May. The Red Mullet. — This fish is called the woodcock f>f the sea. It is so choice in its food, that like that fcird, it is cooked without drawing. It is in prime season during the heats of summer, and is therefore difficult to obtain fresh. When the red mullet is first taken out if the water, it is of an exquisite rose-colour, varying in lighter tints. When dead, and some time out of water, it assumes a brownish tinge ; as it becomes more stale, the colour grows paler. Redness of the gills is in diis, as in most other fish, a criterion of freshness. Red nutlets require to be carefully packed. If pressed on iy other fish, they are apt to burst. They should be laten, if possible, on the day on which they are taken jut of the water ; for though they may be perfectly sweet and wholesome on the following day, yet their ivers, by keeping, will have become soft, and will no onger have that exquisite flavour which they would lave possessed if dressed on the day they were taken. E 50 IIOW TO CHOOSE FISH. Pilchards. — The pilchard is an exquisite fish of the herring tribe. It is somewhat rounder than the herring. The portion of the back-fin, too, is placed more forward in the pilchard. The criterion of freshness is the same as in the herring. Pilchards are in season whenever they are to be met with. They are best when boiled with their scales on without gutting. Whitebait are in season in July, August, and September. Plaice and Flounders. — To be good, should be stiff, and have a full eye. The plaice is best when the belly has a blueish cast. Herrings and Mackarel are unfit for the table when faded, wrinkled, or pliable in the tail. The freshness of mackarel may be ascertained by the stiffness of the body, and the prismatic brilliancy of its colours. When they are out of condition, they have got what is called the “ rogue’s mark,” are long and thin made, with a sharp belly, wanting in fulness. When fresh, the sides and belly are bright and silvery, the body is stiff, and the skin devoid of wrinkle. They are in season from June till November. Their gills should be of a fine red, and their eyes bright, and the whole fish should be stiff and firm. Herrings should not be too frequently partaken of when they first come into season. They have then a peculiar richness, which even affects the stomach of the strongest fisherman. The freshness of herrings and sprats is ascertained by the brightness of the scales. A Lobster should be chosen by its weight, alertness, Ej and fresh smell ; by the tail, which, when newly caught will be stiff and springy, and the firmness of its sides. The heaviest are the best, if there be no water in them. If you desire a cock lobster, select that which has a narrow back part of the tail, with the two uppermost fins within. The tail should be hard and stiff like a bone ; the back of the hen is soft, and is invariably broader ; her tins are also soft. Before selecting, carefully smell a HOW TO BOIL FISH. 51 lobster. If stale, it may be easily known by a heavy, muggy smell. Crabs, prawns, and shrimps may be chosen in the same manner. Always choose the largest and heaviest crab you can find. These shell -fish, if kept more than one day, will become bad. The colour of stale shell-fish fades, becoming- blackish ‘and dark if naturally red. They also when stale become pliable in their claws and joints. John Dory. — This is one of the very best fishes in the sea. They are found in greatest abundance on the southern coasts of Devon and Cornwall. They sometimes weigh as much as twelve pounds, but the greater proportion are not half that size. The larger dory are in best season from September to Christmas, but are good eating at all times. They keep well, but should be gutted, otherwise the flesh acquires an unpleasant taste. Over the collar-bones and about the head of this fish the choicest morsels are to be found. Larger dories are best boiled — the smaller ones may be fried. The flesh : is of a fine, clear white when dressed, with the exception of that part covering the fins, which is of a brownish . colour. GENERAL DIRECTIONS AS TO BOILING AND SERVING EISEL To make Fish firmer in bofling, put a quarter of an ounce of saltpetre to every gallon of the water in which the fish is boiled. To KEEP Fish hot for Table. — Do not leave it in the water a moment after it is done, but take it out and lay the fish-plate into a large hot dish, and place it across the fish-kettle. Now dip a cloth into boiling- water, and with it envelope the fish, placing a cover over it. When the fish is called for, remove the cloth and replace it in the kettle, the water in which should be boiling, for a moment, that it may be quite hot. 52 HOW TO CHOOSE PROVISIONS. DIRECTIONS FOR THE CHOICE OF PROVISIONS. Venison should be thick and firm in the fat, and the lean pure. The age of the deer, as well as hares and rabbits, is known by the clefts and claws being close and smooth in the young animal. Try the haunches or shoulders, under the bones that come out, with the finger or knife, and as the scent is sweet or rank, it is new or stale; and the like may be said of the sides in the fleshy parts ; if tainted, they will look green in some places, or more than ordinarily black. Few people like venison when it has much of the hcint gout. The buck-venison begins in May, and is in high season till Allhallo ws-day : the doe from Michaelmas to the end of December, or sometimes to the end of January. Meat. — The best joints of the best meat cost most money at first, but are most economical. All stale meat may be known by the eyes being sunk, the kidney tainted, and the flesh wdiite, All provisions should be bought with ready money; or the bills settled weekly. This will effect a saving of twenty per cent, to the housekeeper. How to choose Beef. — The finest ox-beef may be known from having a smooth open grain, an agreeable carnation colour, delicately marbled with streaks of fat, the flesh should look red, and the suet white; and if young, it will be tender, and of an oily smoothness. The colour of the fat should be rather white than yellow. Yellow fat indicates that the beast has been fed on oil-cake. Cow-beef is not so open in its grain, nor is the red of so pleasant a colour, but the fat is much whiter. It may be also distinguished by the udder, when dressed on the whole or in quarters. You may know whether or not it is young, by making an impression on the lean with your finger, which mark, if young, will soon disappear. The sweetest and best-flavoured beef is that of the small Scotch bullock, when fed on English pasture, or the HOW TO CHOOSE PROVISIONS. 53 short-horned little Devon. Northampton, and Leicestershire beef is large, but the flavour is not fine. Bull-beef should never be purchased, being clammy, rank, and more closely grained than other beef. The colour is a dusky red, and the flesh tough in pinching. The fat is rank, skinny, and hard. Mutton and Lamb. — Mutton is not good under three years’ old; younger it is turgid and pale. The best is above five, but it is seldom to be got in the market of that age. The black-faced, or short sheep, are best for the table, though more depends on the pasture than on the breed. Mutton fed on mountains and downs, where the herbage is short and fine, is better than that fed on rich pasture. Always therefore choose the Dartmoor, the small Welsh, the South Down, or Scotch Highland mutton. Some of the largest and fattest sheep are produced in Leicestershire, and the marshes of Kent, but the smaller mutton is to be preferred. The flesh of the wether should always be preferred to that of the ewe. Hill wether mutton, from four to seven years old, is far the best, whether for boiling or roasting. Choose it short in the shank, thick in the thigh, and of a pure, healthy, brownish red, with the flesh marbled. Pinch the flesh -with your fingers; if it regains its former state in a short time, the mutton is young, but otherwise it is old, and the fat will be clammy and fibrous. If it be ram mutton, the flavour of which is disagreeable and strong, the grain will be close, the lean tough, and of a deep red colour; it will not rise when pinched, and the fat will be spongy. The test of excellence in this meat is, that it does not fly from the knife when cut, but rather closes upon it. Carefully observe the vein in the neck of mutton or lamb, if it look ruddy or blueish, the meat is fresh ; but if yellowish, is decaying, and if green, completely tainted. The hindquarter may be judged of from the kidney and knuckle. If you find a faint smell under the kidney, or the knuckle 54 HOW TO CHOOSE PROVISIONS. is unusually limp, the meat is stale. That mutton and lamb will always prove the best, the legs and shoulders of which are short-shanked. In the choice of lamb, observe the eye, which should be bright and full ; if it be sunk and wrinkled, the meat is stale. Grass-lamb comes into season in April or May, and continues till August. House-lamb may be had in great towns almost all the year, but is in highest perfection in December and January. Veal. — The whitest veal in England is not the most juicy, having been made so by frequent bleeding. The French veal of Pontoise is finer than the English. The whiteness is produced by feeding the animal on milk and biscuits. The calf is there brought to market in a covered van. Veal should be fat, and white, and young: the mode of feeding is of great importance. Examine the kidney, the state of which will show the feeding and condition of all animals. Veal, when stale, generally becomes flabby and clammy. The flesh of the cow-calf is not of so bright a red, nor so firmly grained as that of the bull-calf, neither is the fat so much curdled. The shoulder may be known by the vein in it, which, if it be not of a bright red, is surely stale, and if any green spots appear about it, totally unfit for use. Should the neck or breast appear yellowish at the upper end, or the sweetbread clammy, it is not good. In the choice of this meat, one of the best indications is that the kidney be covered with a white dense fat. The loin may be known by smelling under the kidney, which always taints first, and becomes putrescent, and the fat in that case loses its firm consistence. The leg may be known by the joint, which if it be limp, and the flesh clammy, with green or yellow spots, is unfit for use. The head, if new and sweet, must have the eyes HOW TO CHOOSE PROVISIONS. 55 plump and lively, but if they are sunk or wrinkled, it is mot good. This rule applies also to the head of the sheep or amh. The greatest quantity of veal consumed in London is brought from Essex, which may be called the Pontoise of England. Pork. — A thin rind is a good indication in all pork ; a thick, tough one, not easily impressed with the finger, is a sign of age. When you purchase a leg, a hand, or a spring, take ( especial care that the flesh is cool and smooth ; for, if (otherwise, it is certainly stale ; but particularly put your tfinger under the bone that comes out, and if the flesh he tainted, you will immediately discover it by smelling to your finger. The lean of young pork will break on being pinched. Measly pork is easily distinguishable from sound by the fat being full of kernels. London is supplied with the best pork by the dairy farms in Essex. When you purchase a sucking-pig, remember that the barrow, or sow, is better than the boar, the flesh of :which is neither so sweet nor so tender. Smell carefully ¦at the belly, and examine about the tail, and if it has no •disagreeable, nor any yellow and green spots in those parts, the pig is as good as you could desire, but you ! will in general find that the short thick necks are the ’ best. Bacon and Ham. — Observe whether the smell be ! fresh, and see that the fat and lean be clear and not streaked with yellow. In marketing for bacon, observe also whether the fat feels oily, appears white, and does not crumble, and that fhe flesh bears a good colour, and adheres closely to the Lone, in which case only the bacon is good. The best (bacon comes from Hampshire, but much sold as Hampshire is Buckinghamshire and Irish bacon. The bacon of Yorkshire, Cumberland, and Gloucestershire is good. With respect to hams, you should select one with a 56 HOW TO CHOOSE POULTRY. short shank, and try it with a sharp pointed knife, which thrust into the flesh as near the pope’s eye as possible. If it come out only a little smeared, and smells well, you may be assured that the ham is good ; but if it be daubed, and have a fetid smell, it is good for nothing. When freshly cured, and not over salted, a ham may be trimmed and wrapped in a coarse paste, and will be found more juicy and of finer flavour baked than boiled. York, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Gloucestershire are famous for their hams, but a great proportion of the hams now sold as Yorkshire are Irish. The Strasbourg bacon is highly smoked, of a delicious flavour, but excessively dear. It may he obtained at any of the Italian oil shops, where the Bayonne and Westphalia hams can also be purchased. The latter are now imported in large quantities, and may be purchased so low as eightpence per pound, but they are no longer prepared with the care and perfection bestowed on them when they were sold at fourteenpence per pound. Portuguese hams have also been recently introduced into the English markets, and though of an ungraceful and awkward shape, are yet of good colour and flavour. Bacon should always be twice salted, and patiently rubbed both times. — All meat salted in pieces and packed must be fully covered with the brine. As to the manner of boiling foreign hams see postea, Foreign cookery. POULTRY. A Hen. — It may generally be remarked that barndoor fowls are preferable to those fed in coops. Much experience and observation are requisite in forming a judgment of the freshness and goodness of fowls. Any appearance of greenness about the rump is a sure sign of putrescency. The Poland breed of fowls is the largest. Dorking in Surrey, and Epping in Essex, are alike famed for good poultry. Bethnal Green and Mile End fatten much poultry for Leadenhall-market, but it HOW TO CHOOSE POULTRY, 57 is inferior to barn-door fowl. Good fowls are short, plump, broad in the breast and thick in the rump. A hen is old il her legs and comb be rough, but young if they are smooth. You may also judge of the freshness by her vent, in the same manner as the cock. Young poultry may be dis- I languished by the pellucid appearance and peculiar feel of the flesh, and by the flexibility of the breast-bone. Many poulterers, aware of this, take care to break the breast bone of every fowl they expose for sale. It may be here remarked that the Poulard e of France, from Mans in the department of the Sarthe, is superior to any ¦ English fowl whatever. Geese. — The feet and bill of a young goose are yellow ; they turn red as the bird grows old. It has but few hairs on the feet. When old, however, the feet become hairy. If fresh, the feet are supple ; but if stale, dry and stiff. Great quantities of geese come to London from Devonshire, Lincolnshire, Buckingamshire, &c.; In France the greatest number are reared in the Gironde. The quantity of geese reared in France is almost incredible. The minister, Chaptal, states that 1 20,000 destined to be fattened were annually sold in the market of Toulouse alone. Wild Ducks. — The wild ducks from the coast — those feeding on what they can get from the salt water and the lands contiguous, are often tough and fishy, though some of them may be found tender, but not quite free from the fishy flavour. These are the birds which, with widgeons and teal, are hawked about in the streets of London, and sold sometimes at from eighteenpence to half-a-crown a couple, according to the powers of eloquence of the vendor, and the powers of gullibility of the purchaser, who can generally, if he has any experience, obtain them for one half the price at first demanded. Of the many varieties of wild ducks, those with red legs are held in the highest estimation. The best wild ducks are those from the fens of Lin- 58 HOW TO CHOOSE POULTRY. colnshire, taken by decoys. The same species is found in the Campagna of Rome. They are esteemed a great delicacy at the Roman tables about Christmas time. They are wholly free from rankness and a fishy taste, and are of a fine rich gamey flavour. Wild ducks are to be purchased, when in season, at the shops of all the respectable poulterers in London, and at a very reasonable price. The widgeon, which is a smaller bird of the duck species, is not so good as the wild duck. It is coarse, often fishy, rank, and rough, and is not fit to appear at a dinner of any pretension, except in the form of a truffled saute. The teal, the smallest of the tribe, is much superior, and forms a recherche roast even among the most difficult to please of the knights of the dinner table. Teal and widgeon are supple-footed when fresh, but stiff and dry-footed when stale. If fat, they are thick and hard on the belly, and lean if thin and soft. Tame Ducks. — A tame duck — and the remark applies also to a wild duck — when fat and young, is thick and hard on the belly, and is old when lean and thin. When fresh, the foot is pliable, but dry, if stale. Observe, that the foot of the best wild duck is red — and of the great majority of wild ducks, reddish — and that it is less than that of a tame duck. A Partridge. — Partridges when young, have yellowish and dark-coloured bills. This bird taints first in the crop, therefore you should open its bill and smell ; next examine the bill, legs, and vent ; if the bill be white, and the legs have a blueish cast, the bird is old ; but if the bill is black, and the legs yellow, it is young. If the vent be fast, it is new ; but stale, if open and green. In France, the red legged partridge is the most esteemed ; but all partridges in that country are inferior to the English. They are dry and flavourless, and want the juice and succulence of the English game. A Snipe is chosen in the same manner as the wood- HOW TO CHOOSE POULTRY. 59 cock ; but the snipe when fresh is fat in the side, under the wing, and feels thick in the vent. The Turkey. — The legs of a cock turkey should be black and smooth, its spurs short, the feet limber, and the eyes lively ; but if the eyes are sunk and the feet dry, the bird is stale. The hen is chosen in the same manner, only observe, that if she is with egg, the vent will be soft and open, but if not, close and hard. The county of Norfolk has the reputation of breeding the finest turkeys. They are in season from November to March, at which period they are succeeded by turkey poults. The number of turkeys and fowls produced in France is much greater, making all allowance for the size and superficial extent of the country, than in England. A quarter of a century ago, according to Chaptal, minister of the interior, the capital embarked in the poultry trade, amounted to 51,600,000 francs. A Rabbit has long rough claws, and gray hairs intermixed with its wool if it be old ; but when young, the wool and claws are smooth. If stale it is supple, and the flesh blueish, with a kind of slime upon it ; but if fresh it will be stiff, and the flesh white and dry. A Hare and Leveret are thus chosen ; if the claws of a hare are blunt and rugged, the division in the lip spread much, and the ears appear dry and tough, and the bones hard, it is old ; but if the claws are sharp and smooth, the division in the lip not greatly spread, and the ears will easily tear, it is young. If fresh killed, the flesh of both will be white and stiff ; but if stale, supple and blackish in many places. To discover a true leveret, feel near the foot on its fore leg, and if you find there a knob, or small bony protuberance, it is a real leveret, but if destitute of tins, it must be a hare. The Bustard. — This dainty bird is chosen in the same manner as the turkey. The Heatiicock and Hen when young have smooth legs and bills, which become rough when old. You may judge of their freshness in the same manner as you do with the pheasant. 60 now TO CHOOSE POULTRY. The Wheatear. — This delicate bird is fresh, if it has a limber-foot and fat rump : otherwise it is stale. The Pheasant. — A young cock-pheasant has dubbed spurs, but if old, the spurs will be sharp and small. If the vent be fast, the bird is fresh, but if it be open and flabby, stale. If a ben, and young, the legs will] be smooth, and her flesh of a fine grain; but if old, her legs will be rough, and, as it were, hairy, when pulled. Pheasants and heath-poults are fresh when their feet are limber, and their vents are white and stiff ; but are stale when they are dry-footed, have green vents, and will peel, if touched hard. Pigeons when they grow red-legged are old, and are stale when their vents are flabby and green. If fresh, they will be limber-footed, and feel fat in the vent. By this rule you may judge of all kinds of doves, fieldfares, thrushes, blackbirds, plovers, larks, &c.; The Woodcock, if stale, will be dry-footed ; and if bad, its nose will be moist ; but if new and fat, it will be limber-footed, thick, and hard. A Capon is known by a short and pale comb, a thick rump and belly, and a fat vein on the side of the breast ; when young, the spurs will be short and blunt, and the legs smooth ; and if fresh, the vent will be close and hard ; but if stale, loose ; which last remark may be applied to cocks and hens. A Cock when young, has short and dubbed spurs, but it should be observed that the spurs of old cocks may be scraped so as to deceive any but a very accurate observer. If fresh his vent will be hard and close ; but you cannot be too particular in observing the spurs, as the market people frequently scrape them. HOW TO CHOOSE EGGS, &C.; 61 HOW TO CHOOSE EGGS, BUTTEE, AND CHEESE. Eggs. — Hold the great end of the egg to your ;ongue ; if it feels warm, it is new ; if cold, bad ; and so in proportion to the heat or cold is the goodness ot the egg. Another way to know is to put the egg in a pan of cold water, the fresher the egg, the sooner it will fall to the bottom ; if rotten, it will swim at the rtop. This is a sure way not to he deceived. The best rway to keep eggs is in bran or meal, turning them frequently ; some, however, place the small end downwards in fine wood-ashes : to keep them for a long period they may be buried in salt, which it is said will preserve them in almost any climate. Butter. — When you buy butter, trust not to that which may be good in external appearance, but try in the middle, and if your smell and taste be good, you cannot be deceived. Cheese. — If old cheese be rougb-coated, rugged, or dry at top, beware of little worms called hoppers, and also of mites, a still smaller animal. If it be full of ¦ holes, moist, or spongy, hoppers may be expected to be ¦ found in it. If any crack or any soft and perished place appear on the outside, examine into its depth, for the greater part may be hidden within. Cheese is to be chosen by its moist smooth coat. A fat cheese, if of much size, has generally rounded edges, and the sides are swelled out more or less ; although excessive swelling out of the sides is not a good sign ; neither is an elevation of the top desirable. A poor cheese has usually keen edges, and the sides are straight. Fat cheese may ¦ also be known by rubbing a small portion of it between ¦ the finger and thumb : if it soon becomes smooth and i soft, melting as it were on the finger by the animal heat, ; it is fat ; but if it remains tough and crumbly, it is not rich nor of prime quality. No cheese should bo chosen which has the surface much swelled, such swelling being an indication of its containing holes and being badly 62 SOUPS AND BROTHS. made, and that it has most probably also an unpleasant smell and taste. Besides these indications, no cheese should be purchased without being both tasted and smelled. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON ENGLISH SOUPS AND BROTHS, AND DIRECTIONS CONCERNING THEM. In this part of the work no receipts are given for French soups, but the receipts are confined exclusively to English soups and broths. The basis of all soup, and indeed of all broth, except mutton, should be juicy young beef, and pure soft water. It should be remembered that the trimmings and the bones of fresh meat, the necks of poultry, the liquor in which a joint has been boiled, and the shank-bones of mutton, are excellent additions to the stock-pot, and should be reserved for it. As soup is the food of childhood and old age, it should be restorative and nourishing. The great defect of English soups is, not the want of meat, but the want of a proper boiling or concoction. This radical fault is vilely but vainly attempted to be supplied by the excessive use of seasoning and herbs. The following elementary rules for making nourishing broth, are from the French of Parmentier : I. Sound, healthful, fresh viands. II. Vessels of earthenware in preference to those of metal, as a less degree of heat keeps them boiling ; and once heated, a few hot cinders will maintain that slight degree of ebullition which is wanted. III. Double the weight of water to that of the meat used. IV. A sufficient quantity of common salt to facilitate the separation of the blood and slime that coagulates under the form of scum. SOUPS AND BROTHS. 63 V. In the early stage of the process, such a degree of heat as will throw off the whole scum. YI. A lower, but an equal temperature, that the soup may simmer gently till the substances employed, whether nutritive, colouring, or flavouring, are perfectly combined with the water, according to their several degrees of solubility. Great care should also be taken to have all the utensils clean. Pots, saucepans, and stewpans, should be well tinned, especially for soups and gravies, as they are obliged to remain a long time upon the fire. Whatever is boiled in a brass or copper pot, should be taken out while it is hot ; if left to cool, it would have a disagreeable taste, and be very unwholesome. As a convincing proof of this, if the liquor that any kind of meat is boiled in remains in the pot till the next day, the fat at the top will be quite green, and the liquor of course very pernicious. Iron pots, saucepans, &c.;, are the most wholesome, but they spoil the colour of many articles of cookery, therefore are not much used : they are useful for any thing that would not be discoloured. Pots lined with earthenware are certainly preferable to any other kind, but they are very expensive. Let the broth you use for soups, and that for gravies, be kept separate ; because the broth of the stock -pot, being required for white as well as brown sauces, should not be coloured ; whilst that for soups, unless they be white soups, should always be made brown. If, however, you have more coloured broth than you require for soup, you may apply it to making brown gravies. An excellent stock -pot may be produced with all the bones you can collect, carcasses, and the under or clawlegs of poultry or game : — all bones and parings, in short, of flesh and fowl. Put them into a large pipkin with water ; or if you have the liquor in which beef, or mutton, or veal, has been boiled, use it in preference. To this you may add, if you have it, a few ladlefuls of the water in which a ham has been boiled, first skimming off the fat. Wtth the bones, put a bunch of leeks, a 64 SOUPS AND BROTHS. bunch of green celery, an onion with three cloves stuck into it, a couple of carrots, a turnip, a bit of parsnip, some salt, a bunch of herbs, and two or three sheep’s melts, and a small quantity of sugar will also greatly improve the flavour of stock, and indeed of all rich soups. Let the whole stew simmer very slowly during seven or eight hours, keeping it closely covered all the while. Season it with a little salt. When reduced to a good consommee, and you are satisfied with its flavour, strain it through a sieve, and put it by for use. This broth, if required, may be used for making white soups. All soups should be closely covered during their boiling, by which the heat will be very much economised. There may be, however, occasionally some deviations from this course, which must depend upon the discretion of the cook. In making soups and broths, stale as well as fat meat should be avoided ; the first will impart an ill taste, and the last will be attended wfith considerable waste. Of the kinds that will keep are brown soup, hare soup, soup of game of any kind, giblet soup, and generally all soups made of the meat of animals of mature growth. Soups into which vegetables and young meats enter in any quantity, are best when fresh made, as these things have a strong tendency to ferment. This also applies to veal and fish soups. This tendency may be partly checked by boiling them up, or changing the vessels. The best meat soups are, beyond question, those which are made from the lean alone, without much, if any, fat. In making peas – soup with dry peas, soft water should be used ; with green peas, hard water, which contributes to the preservation of their colour. • The time required for the preparation of soups by boiling, varies ; but, in general, from four to six hours will be necessary ; six hours or more may, sometimes, be too much. SOUPS AND BROTHS. 65 A soup should never be permitted to grow cold in the vessel in which it has been boiled. If not immediately wanted, it should be poured out into a clean pan ; one made of stoneware is the best, as neither salt nor acids will act upon it, a consideration of essential importance in all cookery. While cooling, the soup should not be covered over ; nor indeed is it desirable to cover soup after it is cold, except with a hair-sieve. It facilitates the operation, if meat for soup or gravy be cut into pieces of about half a pound each ; and improves both the flavour and colour, if the meat, onions, and carrots be stewed at the bottom of the soup-pot or digester, before the water is added to it, with a bit of butter to prevent burning. To this previous drawing out of the juices without much or any water, much of the superiority of French soups is to be attributed. Some French cooks, to regulate the flavour of soups more exactly, boil the roots, herbs, and vegetables separately to a mash, and then squeeze them and add the juice, till the desired flavour is obtained. As long boiling is necessary to make good soup, particularly where the whole or the greater part of the virtues of butchers’ meat are to be extracted, it will be necessary to add more water from time to time as it boils away ; and, in order to save time, it will be best to add the water boiling, or, at least, very hot to the soup. In the addition of herbs, other vegetables or condiments, care should be taken that they are in such quantities that no one may predominate, unless, as is sometimes the case with celery or onion, it is desired, that there should be a predominancy of a particular flavour. As celery is so generally used to flavour soups, the cook should know that, when the root is scarce, the seeds bruised and added to the soup a few minutes only before it is served up, will flavour it well ; indeed, the seeds will be generally found superior to the root for the purpose of flavouring. Boiling the seeds, however, for a long time, will dissipate their essential oil on which F 66 sours AND BROTHS. their flavour chiefly depends. This observation applies with equal force to all the spices, the long boiling of which, in open vessels, must necessarily dissipate their oils in which their good qualities reside : indeed, sometimes a few drops of their essential oil, as of cinnamon or cassia, will supply the place of the spice itself. The same may be said also of horse-radish root, a very wholesome condiment, and not so often employed in soups and other cookery as it deserves to be. This root may be used in pea-soup ; the best way is to cut it into small shavings, and boil it for a short time with the soup, just before it is ready to be served up. The boiling of poultry and game in the stock -pot, is a practice very common abroad. When stewed enough to be tender, they should be served immediately with a good sauce . In regard to Broths some of the general directions concerning boiling- must be carefully attended to, as well as the preceding- observations on the preparation of soups. Broth may be made from the coarsest pieces of meat and of any strength, by adapting the water to the quantity of meat, and by sufficient boiling. To make the broth good the meat should be always boiled till it is tender and will separate without difficulty from the bones. In every case, as well of broth as of soup, in order to obtain them with the least boiling, and consequently most economically, the meat should be cut into small pieces, the bones, if large, broken, and the joints, such as those in a neck of mutton, separated, unless the meat be wanted to be served up with the broth or otherwise as a whole joint. It is also most advisable to use plenty of water, and to let it escape during- the boiling : the virtues of the meat will be thus most effectually obtained. Broths as well as soups should be frequently skimmed during their boiling. For economical purposes broth is generally thickened with oatmeal, and sometimes milk is added to it ; but a more desirable method is to thicken it with rice flour, which, after having- passed through a lawn sieve, should SOUPS AND BROTHS. 67 be mixed well with the ingredients required for flavouring the soup. Particular care should be taken that the vermicelli, macaroni, and other pastes used for soups be fresh, for by keeping they imbibe an unpleasant, musty flavour, which will communicate itself to the soups, &c.; Broths are flavoured with various things : parsley is one of the most common ; leeks, onions, petals of marigold-flowers, and thyme have also their advocates : salt is of course indispensable. If a broth be set by to cool after being made before it is wanted, it should not be covered during its cooling; when cold, to make it more delicate, the fat should be carefully taken off. When soups or gravies are required to be very rich, the meat should be cut into slices, and put into a stewpan or sauce-pan, with a piece of butter at the bottom, and herbs at the top of the meat ; and set it on the fire, without water, to draw the gravy ; stir it well with a fork, to prevent it burning ; then add water or broth, according to the strength you wish to have it. Any bones of roast meat broken to pieces and stewed with it is a great improvement. “When soups are served with meats in them, or savoury force balls, as mutton broth, ox-tail, giblet, mock turtle, &c.;, be careful to serve both the fish and the meat equally, and not to give one guest an undue portion of the meat, and another an undue portion of the soup. The best way to achieve this purpose is by pressing the ladle down to the bottom, stirring the ingredients together, and then filling the plates as they are brought in succession. A clear jelly of cow-heels is very useful to keep in the house, being a great improvement to soups and gravies. Truffles and morels thicken soups and sauces, and give them a fine flavour. Wash half an ounce of each carefully, then simmer them a few minutes in water, and add them with the liquor to boil in the sauce, &c.;, till tender. f 2 68 sours AND BUOTIIS If richness or greater consistency is wanted, a good lump of butter mixed with flour and boiled in the soup, will give it both these qualities. Green peas intended for soup require hard water to boil them in ; but old peas are best in soft water. Take care all the greens and herbs used in soups are well washed, picked clean, and supplied in just proportions, so that no one herb may be predominant. It is best not to cut the thyme with the other herbs, but put a sprig into the pot ; the leaves of thyme are so hard that it is generally disapproved of ; a sprig put into the broth produces the same flavour. The elegance of all clear gravy brown soups consists in transparency , united with richness and flavour ; of white soups, and fish and vegetable soups, in the goodness of the desired colour, and in fulness on the palate. Soup may be made in an infinity of ways. There is no end to the combinations of meat, game, fish, herbs, roots, spices, and mucilage, with water ; but the basis of the best soup, where expense is no object, is, as we have said, beef — fresh, full of juices, young-, succulent, and not too fat — the lean parts of an equally fattened animal. One of the great faults of English soup is that there is too much bad wine and too little good meat in their constitution. Soups in general require about five hours’ boiling. Soup that is put by for use should not be covered over, particularly while hot, as it is apt to turn sour in one day. When there is any fear of gravy meat being spoilt before it be wanted, season well and fry it lightly, which will preserve it two or three days longer ; but the gravy is best when the juices are fresh. When fat remains on any soup, a tea-cupful of flour and water mixed quite smooth, and boiled in, will take it off. Long boiling is necessary to give the full flavour of the ingredients, therefore time should be allowed for SOUPS AND BROTHS. 69 j soups and gravies ; and they are best if made the day before they are wanted. Soups and gravies are far better when the meat is put at the bottom of the pan and stewed, and the herbs, roots, &c.;, with butter, than when water is put to the meat at first ; and the gravy that is drawn from the meat should be almost dried up before the water is put to it. Do not use the sediment of gravies, &c.;, that have stood to be cold. When onions are strong boil a turnip with them, if for sauce ; this will make them mild. Onions for improving the colour or thickening broth, soups, &c.;, may be kept any length of time by removing the outer skin and drying them gradually in the oven, flattening them in the shape of Norfolk biffins, and giving a high colour to them. A quarter of one of these onions is sufficient for a tureen of soup. Broth is the essence and foundation of all cookery. Among our neighbours, the French, the broth-pot may be said to be the substratum of the cookery of the middle and working classes. To them it yields a substantial nourishment. Any parings, or trimmings of meat, will serve to make the first broth, provided the scum and fat be carefully removed. If this be not sedulously attended to, the broth will be too highly coloured to mix with the sauce. Those, therefore, who are charg-ed with the stock-pots, should skim them slowly over a gentle fire, adding at intervals a little cold water, that the scum may rise more copiously. Broth should always be in the larder of a good kitchen, as it is perpetually required for sauces, braises, soups, consommes, and essences. Beep Juice. — Butter the bottom of your stew-pan, put into it layers of fat bacon, cut four large onions in halves, and lay the flat part over the bacon, take a few good slices of beef, with any trimmings, or carcasses of fowl or game, put these on as in the veal gravy, add two ladlefuls of beef stock, place it over a gentle fire to sweat, to get all the gravy out of the beef, and when the broth is reduced, thrust a knife into the meat ; let it 70 sours AND BROTHS. stew gently on a slow fire, till the gravy (or glaze) is of a light brown colour. Take up a little on the point of a knife, and if it rolls between the fingers without sticking to them, fill the stew-pan with boiling beef stock, throw in a large bunch of parsley and green onions, a little salt, and peppercorns, give it five or six hours’ boiling, skim the fat off, and put into it the white of an egg beaten with a little cold stock to clarify. Common Beep Stock, called by the French, Grand Bouillon. — Wash and clean a leg or shin of beef, break the bone in one or two places, and any trimmings you may have of meat, game, or poultry, such as the heads, necks, gizzards, feet, &c.;, and fill the pot three parts full of cold water, place it by the side, or over a slow fire, watch and stir it up well from the bottom, and the moment it begins to simmer, skim it carefully. If this broth is not clear and bright, the other broths and sauces will be spoiled, add cold water to make the remaining scum rise, and skim again. When all the scum has been removed, and the surface of the broth quite clear, put in a carrot or two, one or two turnips, two heads of celery, two leeks, and four onions, one to be stuck with five cloves; throw in a handful (not too large) of salt, and let the whole simmer gently for four or five hours, according to the quantity of the meat. Skim away all the fat, and strain the broth through a double silk sieve into a clean and dry stone-pan, and place it in the coldest place you have. This first broth serves to moisten all the other broths, soups, and sauces : stew no longer than the meat is thoroughly done to eat, and you will obtain excellent broth, without depriving it of its nutritious quality. You may lay the beef in a braizing pan, pour over it some of the broth to keep it hot till it is wanted. Blond de Yeau (Brown Essence op Veal). — Butter thoroughly the bottom of a middle-sized stewpan, lay in it some lean ham, a fowl, an under nut lump, and knuckle of veal, removing the bone from the end ; then add three ladlefuls of beef stock, two carrots, and SOUPS AND BROTHS. 71 two onions. Cover the stew-pan, and place it over a quick fire, and when the essence is falling – to a glaze, pierce the meats with the point of a knife, that all the ‘ gravy may run out, set it again on the fire to draw out the whole of the juice, and when the glaze becomes of a fine red colour, and if it rolls between the fingers without sticking to them, fill it up with beef stock, set it to boil slowly for four hours at the corner of the stove, that I it may become very clear, then strain it through a napkin into a basin. The blond de veau is useful to colour ¦ soups, and to work the brown sauces. It is also used for the roasts, and to moisten various entries. Read Turtle Soup. — This soup is generally obi tained ready prepared, either from the Waterloo Hotel, Liverpool ; the Bush Inn, at Bristol, kept by Mr. Weekes; the City of London Tavern, in Bishopsgatestreet ; Kays, in Aldersgate-street ; or the London Coffee House, Ludgate Hill. Latterly, Mr. Gunter advertises jars, ready prepared, in the Brazil and West Indies. There are some who prefer the Liverpool method of preparing it, while others relish the Bristol. There are few who will attempt to make this soup at home, but as this is a cookery book for all — for cooks i as well as the public at large — it is deemed necessary to give two receipts, the first the production of the celebrated Careme. Some years ago the great emporium of turtle was at Mr. Bleaden’s, the King’s Head, in the Poultry, from whence supplies were sent all over London. The weight of a turtle varies from 30 to 500, or 600 lbs. ; and the piice from 2s. 6d. to 5s. per lb. The cooking is generally performed by a professed artist, whose fee is from one to two guineas. Some epicures of note have been known to prefer it cut into steaks and broiled, to he eaten with melted butter, Cayenne pepper, and the juice of a Seville orange, and these gourmands say that the flesh thus simply dressed retains more of its true flavour than when made into callipash and eallipee. Turtle generally arrives about the latter end of May, 72 SOUPS AND BROTHS. or the beginning of June, though, from the” uncertainties of a sea-voyage, no exact period for its first appearance can be fixed. In the year 1814, it was so unusually late, that at the magnificent banquet given in Guildhall to the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia, on the 18th of June, there was no turtle to be had. This soup is, says Car&me;, the most lengthened in its details of any that are known; “ the composition of its seasoning claims an able hand and a strong memory : the palate of the cook who executes it should be very fine ; none of the ingredients should predominate, not even the Cayenne or allspice, which the English cooks inconsiderately employ.” First part of the Operation . — The day before serving, tie the turtle by the hinder fins with a strong cord, and suspend him ; cut off the head, and let him bleed throughout the night ; early the next day commence by opening the two shells, pressing the blade of a knife all round the under shell, but not so deep as to touch the intestines; then throw out all the water it contains. There are some who remove carefully the heart, the liver, and the genital parts, but this operation is useless. All the intestines should be thrown away, but be careful to remove all the fat that can be found on them. Then raise one of the members with all the flesh which attaches it to the large shell, and so proceed with the other three; cut off the flesh near to the joints of the large bones : in these you will find flesh like a nut of veal trimmed, of which different entries are made; the under nut resembles the first, and is also made use of for entrees. Second part of the Operation . — For a turtle of one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds, cut up two large legs of veal, also some lean ham in slices, which lay at the bottom of a large stew-pan, buttered, then put in the veal, eight fowls, four carrots, four large onions, and beef-stock to moisten only the surface of the meat ; set the pan over a quick fire, and let the reduction proceed slowly that the glaze may become of a fine light colour, then fill the pan up with beef-stock, and let it * SOUPS AND BROTHS. 73 boil; strain and thicken it afterwards with a roux slightly coloured, ‘to obtain an Espagmol, or a sauce somewhat thick. Whilst this sauce is boiling, place the flesh of the turtle not required for an entree (except the fins and shells), at the bottom of a stew-pan slightly buttered, and sweat them with a little stock upon a very slow fire, that they may simmer only for three to four hours, so as to obtain an essence ; then get the largest pan possible, as the turbot kettle, be., and fill it three parts full of boiling water, throw in the four fins, then the two large shells; if they cannot be covered entirely, be careful to turn them so as to take off all the scales that are on the i shells ; when the scales can be detached, take them off, as also all the smaller ones found on the fins and head: this finished, replace the turtle in boiling water for three or four hours, skimming it perfectly, observing from time to time if the flesh of the fins is done enough to take up ; when the flesh of the shell separates from the bones, take them up and lay them to cool on a baking -sheet. Third part of the Operation. — Whilst the meat is boiling, set over the fire a seasoning thus prepared : put in a stew-pan half of the nut of a ham cut in large dice, with four carrots, four onions, four pottles of mushrooms cut in slices, one pound of butter, twenty anchovies washed, a small handful of whole parsley, about half of that quantity of thyme, basil, marjoram, rosemary, savory, ten bay-leaves, a good pinch of cloves, as much Cayenne pepper, allspice, mace, long pepper, white pepper, and two ladlefuls of consomme ; simmer the whole over a slow fire for three hours, after which rub the whole through a tammy, and set it away in a bain Marie stewpan. Fourth part of the Operation. — Now strain the essence of the turtle through a tammy, reduce it separately to a strong glaze; at length, when the flesh, the fins, the head, and shells are cold, remove all the flesh and cut it in small squares one inch wide, trimming them neatly, and removing all the fleshy particles from them : thus prepared, boil the turtle iu eight bottles of dry Ma- 74 SOUPS AND BROTIIS. deira wine for half an hour, and afterwards turn it into the large pan containing the Espagnol perfectly clarified and passed through a tammy ; add three-fourths of the seasoning- passed as a pur He , let it boil for ten minutes; taste it to be certain of its flavour ; if necessary, add the remainder of the puree, acting vex-y cautiously, as no particular thing should predominate on the palate. Add fifty small eggs thus prepared : pound six yolks of eggs boiled hard, mix salt and fine pepper, a little grated nutmeg, three raw yolks of eggs, and a little bechamel; form this into balls of the size of a nutmeg, poach them in boiling consomme, and put them in the soup; after boiling a minute, divide the soup in basins, large enough to hold sufficient for from twelve to fifteen persons ; observe to put in each of the basins equal portions of the meat, eggs, and fat of the turtle ; quenelles of fowl, and mushrooms (very white) may be added. At the commencement of this soup, mark off at the same time the Espagnol, the dressing of the turtle, and the seasoning, so that the three great operations should proceed together, and thus he finished more promptly, for all these details require much care and time : it is an awkward affair to make this soup on the same day as a lai-ge dinner-. This soup has been served cleax-, by di-awing down a good blond de veau, then the essence of the seasoning, and i-educing the stock from the turtle ; then pass off the meats in the Madeira wine, and having boiled it half an hour, add the Madeira to the blond de veau, mixed with the essence and the stock of the iux-tle, adding the flesh of a lemon cut in slices, and four whites of eggs to clarify it, aixd running it through a napkin : but the soup thickened is fax- preferable. Turtle Soup, No. 2. — If you wish to make turtle soup with less difficulty, cut off the head the preceding day. In the morning open the turtle : this is done by leaning heavy with your knife on the shell of the animal’s back, whilst you cut it off all round. Turn it upright on its end, that all the water, &c.;, may run out. Then cut the flesh off along- the spine, with your knife sloped SOUPS AND BROTHS. 75 towards the bones, for fear of touching the gall, which sometimes might escape your eye. When you have obtained all the flesh that is about the members, wash them clean, and let them drain. Have ready a large vessel full of boiling water on the fire, put in the shells, and when you perceive they come off easily, take them out of the water, and prick all the shells of the back, belly, fins, head, &c.; Boil the back and belly till you can take off the bones, without, howevei’, allowing the softer parts to be sufficiently done, as they must boil again in the sauce. When these latter come off easily, lay them on earthern dishes singly, for fear they should stick together, and put them to cool. Keep the liquor in which you have blanched the softer parts, and let the bones stew thoroughly in it, as this liquor must be used to moisten all the sauces. All the flesh of the interior parts, the four legs and head, must be sweated in the following manner : Lay a few slices of ham on the bottom of a very large stewpan. Lay over the ham two or three knuckles of veal, according to the size of the turtle, and over the veal the inside flesh of the turtle, and the members over the whole. Then partly moisten it with the water in which you are boiling the shell, and sweat it thoroughly. You can ascertain if the meat be thoroughly done by thrusting your knife into the fleshy part of the meat. If no blood issue, moisten it again with the liquor in which the bones, &c.;, have been boiling; put in a large bunch of all such sweet herbs as are used in the cooking of a turtle: sweet basil, sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, and a handful of parsley and green onions, and a large onion stuck with six cloves. Let the whole be thoroughly done. With respect to the members, probe them to see whether they are done, and when done, drain and send them to the larder, as they are to make their appearance only when the sauce is absolutely completed. When the flesh is also completely done, drain it through a silk sieve ; make a white thickening very thin, 76 SOUPS AND BROTHS. for turtle soup must not be much thickened ; when the flour is sufficiently done on a slow fire, and has a good colour, moisten it with the liquor, and turn this sauce over the fire till it boils. Ascertain that the sauce is neither too thick nor too thin, and then put the stew-pan on the side of the stove, and skim off all the white scum, and all the fat and oil that rises on the surface of the sauce. By this time all the softer parts will be cold enough ; cut them about au inch or two square, without waste, throw the whole into this sauce, which may simmer gently. Then try them again, for if done enough, they are not to be kept on the fire any longer. Skim off all the fat and froth. Take all the leaves of the herbs from the stock, put them in a stew-pan with about a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Let this simmer on a slow fire till they are quite melted, then pour in one bottle of good Madeira wine, adding a small bit of sugar, and let this boil gently for one hour. When done, rub this through a tammy, and put it into the sauce. Let this boil till the white scum ceases to rise ; then take with a skimmer all the bits of turtle out of the sauce, and put them in a clean stew-pan ; when you have all out, pour the sauce over the bits of turtle through a tammy, and proceed as follows : — Make some quenelles a tortue (turtle quenelles), which being substitutes for eggs, do not require to be very delicate. They are made in the following manner : Take out the fleshy part of a leg of veal, about one pound, scrape off all the meat without leaving any sinews or fat, and soak in milk about the same quantity of crumbs of bread. When the bread is well soaked, squeeze it, and put it into a mortar with the veal, a small quantity of calf’s udder, a little butter, the yolks of four eggs boiled hard, a little Cayenne pepper, salt, and spices, and pound the whole very fine. Then thicken the mixture with two whole eggs and the yolk of another. SOUPS AND BROTHS. 77 Next try this farce or stuffing- in boiling hot water, to ascertain its consistency. If you find it too thin, add the yolk of an egg; poach it in salt and boiling water, and when very hard, drain on a sieve, and put it into the turtle. Before you send up, squeeze the juice of two or three lemons, with a little Cayenne pepper, and pour it into the soup. The fins may be served as a plat d entree, or side dish, with a little turtle sauce ; if not, on the following day you may warm the turtle in the hot water bath, and serve the members entire with a matelotte sauce, garnished with mushrooms, cocks’-combs, quenelles, &c.; When either lemon-juice or Cayenne pepper have been introduced, no boiling must take place. It is necessary to observe, that the turtle prepared the day before it is used, is generally preferred, the flavour being more uniform. Be particular, when you dress a very large turtle, to preserve the green fat (be cautious not to strive after a very brown colour, as the natural green of the fish is preferred by every epicure and true connoisseur) in a separate stewpan, and likewise when the turtle is entirely done, to have as many tureens as you mean to serve each time. You cannot put the whole in a large vessel, for many reasons : first, it will be long in cooling ; secondly, when you take some out it null break the rest into fragments. If you warm in a hot water bath, the turtle will always retain the same taste ; but if you boil it often, it becomes strong, and loses the delicacy of its flavour. N.B. — It is not the fashion to serve eggs with turtle, but it may be necessary to inquire whether they are preferred. Some people require besides, turtle fricandeaux, fricassees, &c.;, all of which are prepared in the same manner as veal. Leveret soup. — Cut up two young leverets as for a civet , pass them gently in a stew-pan containing half a pound of thin bacon cut in dice, with four ounces of butter clarified; when again cold, mix two spoonfuls of 78 SOUPS AND BROTHS. flour, a bottle of Bordeaux wine, and four ladlefuls of consomm’c , also a large bunch of parsley seasoned with a little thyme, basil, marjoram, savory, and bay-leaf, a pottle of mushrooms whole, two large onions, a pinch of Cayenne, two cloves, a little mace and pepper; when it boils, set the stew-pan at the corner of the stove to simmer gently, and skim it perfectly; when the meat is done, drain it on a baking-sheet, trimming off the bones that extend beyond the flesh, arrange them with the bacon in a stew-pan, and squeeze the sauce through a tammy upon them. It should not be too salt, but of a good flavour. This soup has some analogy to the turtle. ENGLISH SOUPS. Mock Turtle Soup. — Make a good brown stock of veal and beef the day before you want your soup, in which should be onions, carrots, turnips, and celery, mace, cloves, and peppercorns well strained. When cold take off the fat. Take a calf’s head with the skin on, to be well scalded until near simmering, and washed well — cut it up into small pieces off the bones, then put in bones and meat to your stock, and boil all gently for two hours, then clean the meat off the bones and take them out ; thicken with flour and water, add the juice of two lemons, two table-spoonfuls of Dr. Kitchener’s sauce, half a pint of Madeira or sherry, season with Cayenne and salt to taste. Make your egg balls and force-meat balls the size of a pigeon’s egg, and let all boil up together ten minutes. (This will keep two or three weeks.) Spring Soup. — Take carrots, turnips, heads of celery, and small onions, cut into the shape of olives, blanch them, in winter; but in summer, fry them with a little butter, and put them to boil in clear broth with a little sugar. Put the soup in the corner of the stove to skim away all the butter. Have ready the green tops of asparagus and French beans cut into lozenges, which have been boiled separately in water very green, put them into the soup, when you send up, with slices of crust of bread cut of the size of a penny, and e””’-”’ 1 SOUPS AND BROTHS. 79 separately in a little broth; if you have any peas, you may put in some likewise, to boil with the soup. Gardener’s Soup; or, a la Jardiniere. — This is like all other Spring soups , only add leaves of sorrel and lettuce, without the stalks. Vegetable soups are in general very wholesome, and have always the same taste. The cutting of the vegetables forms the only variety. Rice Soup, white. — Instead of the broth of common soup, take either stock-broth, or the liquor in rvhich a knuckle of veal has been boiled, and proceed with the rice in the manner indicated for brown rice soup. When i the rice is done, pour in gradually a pint of good milk boiled. Season to your taste. When the soup is taken from the fire, and its temperature a little reduced, stir in ! a liaison made of the yolks of three eggs beaten up with a little grated nutmeg. Cabbage Soup. — Tins is not only a cheap soup ifor a family, but good and wholesome. It affords, besides, an excellent and substantial dish of meat and vegetables. Put into a two-gallon pipkin a pound and a half of the scrag end of neck of mutton, two pounds of the best streaked bacon, a quarter of a pound of pig’s or bullock’s liver, and two sheep’s melts. ‘ Fill the pipkin two-thirds full of cold water. When boiled and skimmed, add a large cabbage, or two smaller ones, cleaned and split into quarters, but not divided, a couple of carrots cut into bits, a bunch of leeks also cut small, two potatoes, an onion with three cloves, and a clove of garlic. Let the whole boil very gently during three hours. When it has boiled two hours add any seasoning that may be requisite, and also a burnt crust of bread in a small net, so that it may be taken out when the soup is done. Take up the bacon and other meat, and put it into a dish. Cover it with the cabbage well drained, leaving, however, sufficient cabbage in the soup. Put some crusts into a tureen as for common soup, and when saturated, pour the soup over it with the remaining cabbage and vegetables. The rest of the broth must be strained, 80 SOUPS AND BROTHS. and will serve for soup next day, any cold cabbage left being added to it. The cabbage must not, however, be left to get cold in the broth, nor added to it until required to be warmed up in the soup. Autumn Soup. — Cut three large carrots into slices about the thickness of a dollar, a turnip into thin slices, two onions into quarters, a bunch of leaks, and two heads of celery into bits, and some of the tender stalks of cabbage and cabbage leaves into thin slices. Put all this to fry in an ounce and a half of butter, over a slow fire. Keep stirring it until the vegetables have stewed some time ; then moisten with three quarts of water. When the vegetables are nearly done, add half a dozen tomatas, peeled and cut up, taking care that none of the juice is lost. Before the vegetables are done, add also a thickening made with a little flour or potato-starch, and water. When the whole is ready, stir in half a tablespoonful of fat from the jar, or of clarified goosedripping. Then serve up in a soup tureen. Mock Turtle Soup (Another fashion). — Parboil a calf’s head, take off the skin, and cut it in bits about an inch and a half square, cut the fleshy parts in bits, take out the black part of the eyes, and cut the rest in rings, skin the tongue, and cut it in slices, add it all to three quarts of good stock, and season it with Cayenne, two or three blades of mace, salt, the peel of half a lemon, and half a pint of white wine, with about a dozen of force-meatballs; stew all this an hour and a half, rub down with a little cold water, two table-spoonfuls of flour, mix well amongst it half a pint of the soup, and then stir it into the pot; put in the juice of half a large lemon, and the hard boiled yolks of eight eggs; let it simmer for ten minutes, and then put it all in the tureen. Mock Turtle Soup (Another fashion). — Cut a calf’s head, with the skiu on, in halves, clean it well, parboil it, and cut all the meat in small square pieces; then break the bones, and boil them in some beef broth ; fry some shalots in butter, and add enough of flour to SOUPS AND BROTHS. 81 thicken the gravy, stir this into the browning, and give it a boil, taking off the scum ; then add a pint of Madeira, and let the whole simmer till the meat is perfectly tender ; when nearly enough, throw in some chives, parsley, basil, salt, Cayenne pepper, one spoonful of soy, and three of mushroom ketchup ; then squeeze a little lemon juice into the tureen, pour your soup on it, and serve with forcemeat balls. A very cheap mock turtle soup may be made by baking three cow-heels, with herbs, &c.;, as above, to which must be added pieces of boiled cow-heel and veal. Mock Turtle (. Another fashion ). — Scald a calf’s head with the skin, or saw it in two; take out the brains, tie the head up in a cloth, and let it boil for one hour, then take the meat from the bones, cut it into small square pieces, and wash them clean in cold water ; then put the meat into a stew-pan, with as much good broth as will cover it ; let it boil g’ently for an hour, or until quite tender, then take it off the fire; put a piece of butter into another stew-pan, with half a pound of lean ham, or gammon of bacon, cut very fine; some chopped parsley, sweet marjoram and basil, three onions, some chopped mushrooms, and a few shalots ; put a pint of broth, or gravy to the herbs and butter; set them on a stove or slow fire, and let them simmer for two hours ; put as much flour as will dry up the butter ; add some good broth, or gravy, sufficient to make two tureens ; also a pint of Madeira or sherry ; let it boil a few minutes, rub it through a sieve, and put it to the calf’s head: put forcemeat balls, and egg balls ; season it with Cayenne pepper, and a little salt if wanted; squeeze two Seville oranges and one lemon ; add a little fine spice and sugar to make it palatable. Mock Turtle. — The French cooks who have lived in England have attempted to improve on our Mock Turtle Soup. The following is the manner generally adopted by these artists in preparing it. The receipt is M. Ude’s, for a long while cook to Earl Sefton, afterwards cook to Crockford’s Club. G 82 SOUPS AND BUOTHS. “Take a calf’s head very white and fresh, bone the nose part of it ; put the head into some warm water to discharge the blood. Squeeze the flesh with your hand to ascertain that it is all out. Mind the water should never be too hot for you to bear your hand in it; as long as you can bear it, the blood will come out, but if you suffer it to be too hot, it will turn the head black. When well disgorged, blanch the head in boiling water; when firm, put it into cold water, prepared as a blcmc in the following way to boil it in : cut half a pound of fat bacon, a pound of beef suet, an onion stuck with a clove, and two slices of lemon ; add to these slices of carrot, a bunch of parsley, green onions, thyme, bay -leaves, sweet basil, salt, and pepper ; put all these into a vessel, with water enough to contain the head; boil the head in this, and take care to put it in a cloth when done, and observe that it be not overdone; let it cool in the liquor, then make the sauce in the following manner. “ Put into a stew-pan, a pound of ham cut in slices, put over the ham two knuckles of veal, a large onion, and two carrots; moisten with some of the broth in which you have boiled the head, to half the depth of the meat only : ! cover the stew-pan, and put it over the fire to sweat through, let the broth reduce to a very good colour, turn up the meat for fear of burning. When you have a very good colour, and you find that the glaze is very brown, moisten with the whole broth from the head, season with a large bundle of sweet herbs, viz., sweet basil, sweet marjoram, lemon thyme, common thyme, two cloves, a bay-leaf, a little allspice, parsley, green onions, and a few mushrooms; let this boil together for one hour, then drain it. Put into a stew-pan a quarter of a pound of very fresh butter, let it melt over a slow fire; put to this butter as much flour as it can receive; let it simmer gently over a slow fire, till the flour has acquired a very good brown colour; moisten this gradually with the broth, that you put through a silk sieve, till you have employed it all; add half a bottle of Madeira; let the sauce boil, SOUPS AND BROTHS. 83 that the flour may be well done ; take off all the scum and fat ; cut the calf’s head into square pieces of about an inch each ; put them to boil in the sauce ; season with salt, Cayenne pepper, and lemon-juice, and add some quenelles. — The bit of calf’s head should always .have the skin on one side, but you should leave none of the meat on that does not adhere to the skin, otherwise the meat will break in the soup and look unsightly. It is out of fashion now to use eggs, but on this head consult the taste of your principal. “ Observe, that you must not have the quenelles too delicate, for they would break in the soup, and spoil the look of it ; the calf’s head must not be too much done ; thrust your knife into the skin, and if the knife enters and detaches itself easily, the meat is done enough. Some gentlemen will have their mock turtle green ; in that case you must proceed as follows : put into a stew-pan a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, mince one or two onions, add a handful of each of the herbs described above, and some parsley, and sweat it all gently over a slow fire. When the herbs are well done, moisten with •some of the sauce, and rub it through a tammy. Lastly, mix this with the sauce, and the turtle will be green, without any alteration in the flavour.” West Indian Method of Dressing Turtle. — Throw it on its back, and be in readiness to cut off’ its head when it puts it out ; bang it immediately up by the tail, and let it bleed thoroughly. Next cut out the belly with as much of the meat as possible, and put it into cold water with a handful of salt; now cut the fins off at the joints, and blanch them with the head and shells ; wash all the intestines well, telit them open, scrape and pick them very clean, and put them to blanch in a quantity of water ; when they tire done, take off the inner skins, and cut them in fieces of two inches long ; have some well-made strong tnuckle of veal stock, seasoned with parsley, basil, inaroram, savory, garlic, thyme, mace, and cloves (of each lalf an ounce powdered), put in the fins, stew gently G 2 84 SOUPS AND BROTHS. till tender, take them out, put in a pint of Madeira, and mix it well by stirring about twenty minutes ; beat the juice of two lemons with six whites of eggs ; put it in the sauce, and boil it up; let it settle, and strain it through a bag; wash the fins well, and put them in; put all the bones into a stew-pan with the quantity required of prepared stock, an onion, some sweet herbs, and three or four blades of mace ; stew it an hour, strain, thicken with flour and butter, add half a pint of Madeira to every three quarts, salt and Cayenne ; put butter in a stew-pan, and lay in the white meat and simmer it till nearly done ; simmer the heart and lungs ! in stock, and season : as for the fins, when done, take them up, strain the stock, thicken, and add a bottle of Madeira, season with Cayenne pepper and salt, rather high ; add the lung’s and white meat, and simmer them in the sauce. The farce is to be made of part of the white meat for balls : if there are no eggs, some must be made. Season the callapash-shell with Cayenne, Madeira, and salt ; border it with paste, fill up the neck-hole, and fill it with turtle. Slash the meat on the breast of the callipee- shell, and powder it with sweet herbs and spices. Sprinkle it with Madeira, and cook it in the oven, basting it carefully ; or put it on a fiat dish, border it with paste leaves, which ought to meet the shell, or the points be laid so as to touch. Mock Turtle with Cow-Heel. — Take the cowheel, with two pounds of gravy beef, stew them together with onions, parsley, and lemon-peel chopped small, boil four eggs hard, and cut the yolks in ; season it to your taste with forcemeat balls. First Stock ( called by the French Grand Consomme). — Put into your stock-pot a large piece of leg, shin, or other part of beef, with a knuckle of veal, an old fowl, a rabbit, an old partridge or two, according to the quantity intended to be made. Let the meat stew on a gentle fire, moisten it with about two large ladlefuls of the first broth ( grand bouillon), and stir it well. Put SOUPS AND BROTHS. 85 no vegetables into this stock broth, except a bunch of i;parsley and green onions. Let them sweat thoroughly, ithen thrust a knife into the meat, and if no blood issue* it is a sign it is heated through; then moisten it -with i boiling broth to the top, and let it boil g’ently for about i four hours, after which use this broth to make the sauces, or the broths of poultry or game. Take off the fat i and scum of all the various broths, and keep the pots full, in order that the broth be not too high in colour ; I when the broth remains too long on the fire, it loses its i flavour, and acquires too brown a colour. Pot au Feu de Maison ( called by the French j Broth Restorative ). — Put in an earthen pot, sufficiently ; large, four pounds of beef sliced, a good knuckle of : veal, and a fowl half roasted ; add nearly three quarts of cold water, and set it at the side of the fire to skim it gently; add salt, two carrots, a turnip, three leeks, and a half-head of celery tied in a bundle, and a clove stuck in an onion, and let it boil slowly for five hours without ceasing ; then take up the roots and trim them ; neatly ; taste the broth, using but little salt to flavour the soup ; skim and add the roots to it, and serve. This is a healthy soup, and good in families. Clear Gravy Soup. — Have eight pounds of a shin of beef chopped across in two places, and a knuckle ‘of veal, or a scrag, and some shanks of mutton, with any fresh trimmings the larder can furnish, and a piece of ham. Ileat and rub hard a nicely-tinned :stew-pot ; melt in it some butter, or rub it with mar’xow. Let the meat, with a slice of carrot, a head of celery, onions, the white part of two leeks, and a rturnip sliced, be thoro uglily imbued with the heat, hut not burn, over a rather quick fire ; then add four quarts or better of soft water. Carefully skim, and Ithrovv in a pint of cold water to refresh it, taking off rwhat more scum is detached till it become quite limpid. Let the stew-pot simmer slowly by the fire for four hours, without stirring it any more from the bottom, till all the strength is obtained, but not so long as to cause the 86 SOUPS AND BROTHS. soup to become ropy. Let it settle on the hearth; skim off the fat, and strain off gently what flows freely through a fine sieve or tammy. This clear soup (for it must he very clear) is served under many different names: as Vermicelli, with Vermicelli-paste separately boiled and put to it ; Carrot-soup, with carrots cut in straws; Turnip-soup , with turnips scooped ; Celery-soup, Asparagus sou]), Green Pea-soup, &c.;, by adding the ingredient which gives the name. All these additions must be separately cooked. When all or the greater part of these vegetables, stewed and carefully rubbed through a tammy sieve, are added to this strong gravy soup, you have the French Omi-soup. A good French cook would, however, after chopping the roots, &c.;, stew them in top-fat, or with butter. The French generally have their turnip-soup white, the carrot-soup a browny red. The Old Scotch Brown Soup. — Make the stock as directed for clear gravy-soup, but brown the meat a little more, and when ready, put to it two pounds of rump-steaks, cut rather small, and browned in the frying-pan, but drained from the fat. Simmer the steaks in the soup for an hour, then strain it, pouring in a small glassful of ketchup, with salt, pepper, and Cayenne. Put toasted sippets into the tureen, and skimming off the filmy fat, serve the soups with the steaks in it. A Good Gravy Soup. — Take a pound of beef, a pound of veal, and a pound of mutton, cut it into pieces, put it into two gallons of water, with an old cock beat to pieces, a piece of carrot, the upper-crust of a small loaf toasted very crisp, a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion, a little pepper, four or five blades of mace, and four cloves ; cover it, and let it stew over a slow fire till it is reduced to one gallon, then strain it off, and put it into a clean stew-pan, with three table-spoonfuls of raspings sifted fine, half an ounce of truffles and morels, three or four heads of celery, washed very clean, and cut small, an ox’s palate, first boiled very tender and cut into pieces, a few cocks’-combs, and some hearts SOUPS AND BROTHS. 87 j of young savoys ; cover it close, and let it simmer very gently over a slow fire two hours ; then have ready a French-roll fried, and a few forcemeat balls ; put them in your dish, and pour in your soup. Giblet Soup is made of the giblets of four sets of green-geese and ducklings. If for white giblet-soup, put a pint of asparagus peas, and make a liaison of four eggs, and one pint of double cream. When strained, put in a pint of bechamel. Boil your giblets. Cream for soup should be boiled ! before it is mixed with any soup or sauce. Another Giblet Soup. — Scald the giblets very clean, then put them into cold water, and put them on the fire to blanch. When they come to a boil, take them off the fire, and wash them in several waters; cut each gizzard into about eight pieces, bone the head and pinions before they are put on to blanch, crack the bone of the leg, cut the neck into about six or eight pieces, put them into a stew-pan with about two quarts of stock, and set them on a stove to boil slowly until very tender ; then pull the leg-bones out, and any of the pinion bones that may remain ; leave the feet with the bones in (the livers are of no use in the soup, but may be used for other purposes), boil a quarter of a pound of pearl barley till very tender, then put to the soup, skim very clean from fat before you put your soup into the tureen, add a little salt to taste. To three sets of giblets there should be five pints of soup. Singe your pinions before they are boned, and the heads and necks the same : singe over a stove. Another Giblet Soup. — Scald and clean three or four sets of goose or duck-giblets ; set them to stew, with a pound or two of gravy-beef, scrag of mutton, or the bone of a knuckle of veal ; an ox-tail, or some shanks of mutton; with three onions, a large bunch of sweet-herbs, a tea-spoonful of white pepper, and a large spoonful of salt. Put five pints of water, and simmer till the gizzards (which must be each in four pieces) are 88 sours AND BROTHS. quite tender : skim nicely, and add a quarter of a pint of cream, two tea-spoonfuls of mushroom powder, and an ounce of butter mixed with a dessert-spoonful of flour. Let it boil a few minutes, and serve with the giblets. It may be seasoned, instead of cream, with two glasses of sherry or Madeira. Add a large spoonful of ketchup, and some Cayenne. When in the tureen, add a little salt. Game Soup may be made from cold game of any kind, by breaking the bones, cutting the meat in pieces, l and boiling both in broth for an hour or more. It may be thickened with the yolks of eggs and some cream, and seasoned according to your fancy, care being’ taken that the soup is not boiled after the eggs are mixed with it, as boiling will cause the soup to curdle. A more Elaborate Game Soup. — Put into a moderate-sized sauce-pan about three pounds of beef-steak, four old partridges, a knuckle of veal, a pheasant, carrots, onions, four heads of celery, three cloves, and a bunch of fennel ; while it is boiling take three cold roasted partridges and pound them in a mortar, with a piece of crumb of bread, about three times as big as an egg, and previously soaked in broth ; moisten the partridges also with broth, and when sufficiently pounded, pass it through a sieve, put to the puree some of the broth, and set it on a gentle fire for some time, taking care that it does not boil. Dip your bread in the usual manner in the soup, and serve. Hare Soup. — Take two hares, young ones are the best, skin and wash the inside well, cut them up into pieces, put into a stew-pan, with two or three glasses of port wine, two onions stuck with four cloves, a bunch of parsley, a bay leaf, two sprigs of thyme, sweet basil, marjoram, and a few blades of mace ; let the whole simmer upon a stove for one hour. Add as much boiling broth as will entirely cover the meat, simmer the whole gently till the meat is done, strain (or pulp) the meat, put the broth through a hair sieve, and soak the SOUPS AND BROTHS. 89 crumb of a twopenny loaf in the strained liquor. Separate the bones from the meat, which pound in a mortar ;ill fine enough to rub through a sieve with the liquor; season according to taste. The soup must not be made too thick, and be careful that you do not boil it, as boiling spoils it. If you wish to make your soup in perfec;ion, preserve all the blood in a basin, when it is ready to serve up keep it very hot, and pour the blood to it, till it is thickened, take care the soup does not curdle, this addition makes the soup black. The blood, it should be remarked, contains much of the flavour of the hare. A quarter of a pint of red wine to a tureen of soup is reckoned an improvement, while there are some svho like a large spoonful of currant jelly dissolved in die soup. The fillets cut off along the back-bone may be cut off in small pieces and served up whole in the tureen. It should also be observed that cold roast hare, hot overdone, cut to pieces and stewed for an hour in good, well-seasoned broth, will make a good though not a, highly-flavoured soup. Another Hare Soup. — Cut your hare into joints; put into a stew-pan, with a little allspice, three blades of mace, some salt, and whole black pepper, a bundle of parsley, a sprig of lemon thyme, one of wintery savory, four quarts of water, four pounds of beef, a slice of ham, two carrots, and four onions cut down; let it boil till reduced to three quarts. Separate the hare, and strain the soup over it ; add a pint of port wine ; boil it up jefore serving. Rabbit Soup. — Cut an old rabbit into pieces, put the pieces into a quart of water, boil it Well, take out all the bones, and beat the meat in a marble mortar as for hotting ; add a little salt, mace, and white pepper to your taste. Stir it into the liquor the rabbit was boiled n with the addition of a little cream. The meat of a whole rabbit is too much for one quart; three pints may he made of it. Op White Soups in General. — The stocks for 90 SOUPS AND BROTHS. white soups are made of veal, mutton, fowl, rabbit, chicken, ox-feet, calf’s head and feet, with bacon and ham. In drawing these stocks a bit of ham, ham-bone, or lean bacon, is used with the usual seasoning. Fish may be used in thickening meat white soups ; they give a turtleish lightness and flavour. Eggs make an excellent thickening for the poorer kinds; but the richer are more delicate, thickened with almonds and artificial or real cream. Though the stocks be properly made and well-seasoned, the thickening and finishing, nevertheless, require great care. White Stock for Soups and Sauces. — Cover the sauce-pan with slices of fat ham or lean bacon, and lay over it some bones of veal; cover them with the remains of poultry or game ; add a ladleful or two of stock, and let it sweat and fall to a glaze ; fill up with stock or warm water, and season with parsley and scallions; let it simmer slowly, closely covered, till it is sufficiently done ; it is the better for being seasoned with mushrooms, which every cook may have the whole year, if she can command the corner of a cellar. This stock is fit for all white soups, fricassees, and sauces, and may be finished by any of the foregoing directions. Ox- Head Sour should be prepared the day before it is to be eaten, as you cannot cut the meat off the head into neat mouthfuls unless it is cold ; therefore the day before you want this soup, put half an ox-cheek into a tub of cold water to soak for a couple of hours ; then break the bones that have not been broken at the butcher’s, and wash it very well in warm water ; put it into a pot and cover it with cold water : when it boils, skim it very clean, and then put in one head of celery, a couple of carrots, a turnip, two large onions, two dozen berries of black pepper, the same of allspice, and a bundle of sweet herbs ; cover the soup-pot close, and set it on a slow fire; take off the scum, which will rise when it is coming to a boil, and set it by the fire-side to stew very gently for about three hours ; take out the head, lay it on a dish, pour the soup through a fine hair- SOUPS AND BROTHS. 91 leve Into a stone-ware pan/and set it by, together with the lead, in a cool place till the next day; then cut the meat into ieat mouthfuls, skim and strain off the broth ; put two quarts of it into a clean stew-pan, let it simmer gently or half an hour longer, and it is ready. If you wish it thickened, put two ounces of butter into a stew-pan ; vhen it is melted throw in as much flour as will dry it ap ; when they are all well mixed together and browned Dy degrees, pour to this your soup, and stir it well together ; let it simmer for half an hour longer ; strain it through a hair sieve into a clean stew-pan, and put it to the meat of the head, — let it stew half an hour longer, md season it with Cayenne pepper, salt, and a glass of good wine, or a table-spoonful of‘ brandy. Ox-Cheek Soup. — S oak the cheek in water an hour or more, to take out the blood ; put it in the braizing-pan £vith four or five carrots, half a dozen onions, a bunch of ihyme and parsley, three or four heads of celery, a little mace, cloves, and salt, with a few peppercorns, first •over it with water; put it in the oven, and let it remain ill night ; when it comes from the oven, strain off the iquor, and let it settle ; then take three cabbage-lettuces, two heads of celery, six turnips, two leeks, and half a caiTot, cut them in fillets, put them in a soup-pot with the liquor strained off, and let them stew till quite tender, skim off the fat, and serve it with the cheek cut in square pieces in a tureen. Ox-Taie Soup. — T hree tails will make a tureen of soup. Put into a gallon stew-pan eight cloves, two or three onions, a small quantity of allspice, a little black pepper, and the tails ; cover them with cold water; Skim it when and as long as you see any scum rise ; then cover the pot as close as possible, and set it on the side of the fire to keep gently simmering till the meat becomes tender and will leave the bones easily, because it is to be eaten with a spoon, without the assistance of a knife or fork ; this will require about two hours; mind it is not done too much ; when perfectly tender, take out the meat and cut it off the bones into neat mouthfuls; 92 SOUPS AND BROTHS. skim the broth and strain it through a sieve ; if you prefer a thickened soup, put butter and flour as directed in the preceding receipt (Ox-head Soup); or put two table-spoonfuls of the fat you have taken off the broth into a clean stew-pan, with as much flour as will make it into a paste; set this over the fire and stir them well together; then pour in the broth by degrees, and stir in the thickening; let it simmer for another half hour, and when you have well skimmed it, and it is quite smooth, then strain it through a tammy into a clean stew-pan ; put in the meat, with a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, a glass of wine, and season it with salt. Vegetable Soup. — Lay at the bottom of a stewpan three rashers of lean bacon, slice two carrots, two turnips, two parsnips, two onions, two potatoes, two heads of celery, and put on the bacon with a small quantity of beef broth, add by degrees as much as will be necessary for the soup, when simmered to a pulp, rub it through a sieve, then return it into the stew-pan with a quarter of a pint of cream or new milk; the broth must be properly seasoned with pepper and herbs. A Puree of Vegetable Soup. — Let a quantity of dried peas, split peas, haricots, or lentils, be boiled in common water till they are quite tender, let them then be gradually passed through a sieve with distilled water, working the mixture with a wooden spoon to make a puree — let it be made sufficiently liquid with distilled water to bear boiling down, then let a good quantity of fresh vegetables of any or all kinds in their season, especially carrots, turnips, lettuce, celery, spinach (with always a few onions), be cut into fine shreds and put into boiling water for three or four minutes to blanch ; let them then be taken out with a strainer, added to the /m^ee/and the whole to simmer gently on the fire for at least two hours. A few minutes before taking the soup from the fire let it be seasoned to your taste with salt, pepper, &c.; ; while the soup is boiling it should be frequently stirred to prevent its sticking to the sides of the pan, which will give it a singed taste. ic i: SOUPS AND BROTHS. 93 Green Pea-Soup. — Put a quarter of a pound of gutter into a stew-pan, about half a pound of lean ham jut in very thin pieces, about half a pint of stock, a quart of green peas, six larg’e onions cut in slices, and four caboage-lettuces shreded. Set the stew-pan on a slow stove to simmer for an hour, then put two quarts of stock to it, the crumb of two French rolls, and boil for an hour; (blanch off two or three handfuls of spinach, strain off ;he spinach when it has had a boil, and squeeze it dry ; rub the soup through a tammy, and the spinach with it to give a good colour ; boil a pint of younger peas than the soup w T as made of in a pint of stock; when done, put stock and peas to the soup, a little sugar, and give all a boil ; add a little salt if wanted. If the soup is for meagre, leave the ham and stock J ut, only using a double quantity of onions, peas, and 3ttuce. Another Green Pea -Soup. — Take a sufficient (.quantity of peas, put them into a pot with onions, carrots, a bunch of leeks, and celery, with a bone, or some felices of ham or bacon ; if they are old, let them be jsteeped the night before ; if new, use them immediately; toss them in butter, with a handful of parsley and small onions ; wet them with good soup ; when they are soaked enough, drain, and beat them in a mortar, put i them through a search with the juice that was drained out of them ; put it into a sauce-pan, and let it simmer four or five hours; stir it often, that it may not stick; skim before stirring it ; when it is done, serve it over rice, vermicelli, or fried bread, which must be added at the moment of serving. Turnip Soup. — Pare a bunch of turnips, and put ithem into a gallon of water (except two or three, which imust be kept out), with half an ounce of whole pepper, (an onion stuck with cloves, a blade of mace, half a nuti meg grated or bruised, a bundle of sweet herbs, and a i>crust of bread. Let these boil an hour, fast, then strain it through a sieve, squeezing the turnips through; wash and cut a few heads of celery small, put it in the liquor, 94 sours AND BKOTHS. and set it on the fire, cover it close, and let it stew. In the mean time, cut the turnips you saved out into dice, with two or three small carrots, scraped clean, and cut into small pieces ; put half these turnips and carrots into the pot with the celery, and the other half fry brown in fresh-butter. You must first flour them, and three onions, cut in thin slices, and fried brown ; then add them to the soup, with an ounce of vermicelli. Let your soup boil softly till the celery is quite tender, and your soup good. Season it to your palate. A Cheap Carrot- Soup. — Take some beef or mutton-broth, have ready the red part of six large carrots, scraped and cut thin, strain the broth on them, and stew the carrot until soft enough to pulp through a hairsieve or coarse cloth, then boil the pulp with the broth until as thick as pea-soup; use wooden spoons to rub the carrot through ; season it to your taste. Another Receipt for Carrot-Soup. — Prepare fifteen or twenty carrots, cut them in slices, put them in a stew-pan, with three-quarters of a pound of good butter, upon a quick fire, and stir them till they are browned, then add some good soup ; when enough, rub it through a sieve, and finish it as directed for green peasoup and lentils ; take off the fat, and let it simmer a long time, and serve it in the same manner as the peasoup. Turnip- Soup. — It is done in the same manner as that of carrots, only that it is not browned, and takes less boiling ; it is kept as white as possible. Cabbage- Soup. — Take the cabbages that will be necessary, cut them in quarters, boil them in a great quantity of water, after which throw them into fresh water, take out the stalks, tie them, and put them as directed for lettuce-soup into a stew-pan with a little bacon; nourish by adding more ham, bacon, and butter, and season them still more, and serve them in every way as directed for the lettuce-soup. They require more boiling. Pea-Soup. — S oak all night in warm water a pint SOUPS AND BROTHS. 95 nd a half of the best split-peas. In the morning boil em in water, with a little salt, until very tender ; this ill take three hours. Pour them in a colander ; when ell drained, reduce them to a puree (that is, rubbed to paste through a sieve). Onion-Soup. — Peel three or four dozen onions, all of size, blanch and drain them, put them in a small kettle • earthen-ware pot, and moisten them with some soakig broth, in winch also moisten some crusts or slices bread ; the crust being soaked, place a large crust l the middle, and garnish it with onions. Let your iup be relishing, as well as the broth in which your nions were dressed, and pour the same over your soup, nd rve it up hot. Onion-Soup ( English Fashion ). — Take eight or ten rge onions, boil them in milk and water till soft, changig the water two or three times, then rub them through hair-sieve ; take some veal gravy and pour on the nions, with crumbs of fine white bread grated into hree-fourths of a pint of cream, season it to your taste rith salt, white pepper, &e.;, and then let it boil gently Dr an hour. Another Onion-Soup ( English Fashion ). — Take dozen of onions peeled, and cut them in slices. Put little butter into a stew-pan with your onions ; let them tew till they are a little brown, then stew them with a Lttle flour, and moisten them with either thin pea-soup tr water, season them with salt and a little pepper, let hem boil about half an hour, adding a little vinegar; hen soak some crusts or slices of bread with the same noth in which your onions were dressed, put all in your ©up, serve it up hot. For other methods of preparing Onion-soup, see “rench and Foreign Cookery. Potage de Saute, with Onions. — Take a capon, ©wl, chicken, or knuckle of veal, well prepared, soak •.nd blanch them, then put them into cold water ; then ake them out, and put them between two cloths to dry; u.nd if a fowl, pick it very clean, tie it up in a bard or • lice of fat bacon with packthread, and put it to boil in 96 SOUPS AND BROTIIS. your broth-pot, or else with your onions ; get choice white onions for your use, about the size of a small walnut, or less, cut off the two ends, and blanch them ; take a sufficient quantity, as near as you can, and all of a size, to garnish the rim of your dish ; when your onions are blanched, picked, and skinned clean, put them into a little pot with some good broth, some veal-gravy, and a slice of ham, and let them boil slowly; then put them on a sieve very gently for fear of break-! ing them, and let them drain dry ; their liquor will serve to simmer the crusts, as usual, moisten them when you are ready to serve. Take crusts of French bread, put them into a stew-pan, strain some very good broth upon them, without fat and well tasted, then soak your crusts as usual ; garnish the soup-dish with your onions, dish your bread with your capon upon it, and fill it up with the broth your onions were boiled in, or with veal gravy, or other good broth, and serve it hot. A Soup with Hop-Tops. — Blanch your hop-tops, tie them in bunches, and put them over the fire in a kettle or earthen pot, either with some thin pea-soup, or juice of onions, or soaking broth. When done, put some crusts in your soaking broth, and your soup being enough, dish up, and garnish your dish with the hoptops ; put a large crust of bread in the middle, and pour over the broth.of the hops, and serve your soup up hot. I Citizens’ Soup. — Put in an earthen pot four pounds of beef, and sldm it, season it with salt, some cloves, half a dozen carrots, as many onions, and three or four stalks of celery, making with their hearts a hunch, put them in your soup, and wash the remainder tied up in a bunch, put it directly in your pot ; then put in a little leg of veal, or other meat, with a small neck of mutton, all your meat together weighing about six pounds ; then put the hearts of your celery into your pot., and let the whole boil slowly, putting the pot before the fire, that your broth may boil only on one side ; you may add two or three lettuces tied together. Your meat being SOUPS AND BROTHS. 97 done, see that your broth has flavour and is relishing; i soak some bread in it, and place on the top the hearts of the celery, with some onions and bits of carrots. Spring-Soup. — Take a handful of chervil, three heads of celery, three lettuces, two heads of leeks, a little parsley, and chop them all very fine; put them into a stew-pan with a piece of butter, and let them simmer on the fire for a few minutes, then add to them two quarts of broth, and let it boil until it is reduced to three pints, then take the yolks of four eggs, and a quarter of a pint of cream, mix them together, and put them to the soup just before they are sent up to table. Mutton Cutlet-Soup. — Take as many of the worst cutlets of the neck, as you may require; trim them, but not too finely, put them by, and with the trimmings make the soup. Put in a stew-pan the mutton trimmings, some scrag ditto, and a knuckle of veal ; moisten “this with a bunch of celery, leeks, parsley, one large onion, with two cloves, the trimmings of the turnips cut £nto dice, and one or two carrots. Let this broth boil gently three hours, season it with salt, and skim off the fat. When it becomes of a good flavour, drain it over the chops, which you must put in a small stew-pan large enough to contain the soup. Have some barley that has boiled a long time, wash it very well, and put it with the turnips and chops to boil one hour. Siam again before you serve up ; no bread is used to this soup. Celery, cut into dice with the turnips, gives additional flavour ; add a little fine-chopped parsley just as you serve up. Chesnut-Soup. — Take some large chesnuts and peel them; put them into a pasty-pan with fire under and over; put them in the oven ; peel off the under skin; then sec them to boil in good broth. Put into Jyour stew-pan about half a pound of veal, a few slices pf ham, carrots, and onions; put them on a stove to sweat, till they stick to the pan without burning ; moisten with good broth. Have some carcasses of partridges or pheasants ready pounded ; take your meat ii 98 SOUPS AND BROTHS. out of the stew-pan, and put in your pounded carcasses; take care that your broth be well tasted ; put in a little cullis, and strain; afterwards put it in a small pot or sauce-pan to keep hot. Pare off the crust of a French roll, and put into your stew-pan ; soak your crusts with some good broth, let them simmer, taking care there be no fat ; when done enough, put into your soup-dish; garnish the rim with your chesnuts. Put on your potage two large pigeons or partridges, with your cullis over them, and serve up hot. Rice-Soup. — Well wash and boil the rice in a stock of veal and mutton, and rub it through a tammy ; put stock according to the quantity that is wanted ; put it in a small soup-pot, give it a boil up, and put a liaison or thickening matter of six eggs to about two quarts, keep stirring it up, otherwise the eggs will curdle. Leave one half of the rice that is boiled to put in the soup, without being rubbed through a tammy; add salt, a little mace, and white pepper. Macaroni- Soup. — Take half a pound of small pipe macaroni, and boil it in three quarts of water, till it is tender; strain the water off, and cut the macaroni into pieces of about two inches long. Mix now three quarts of strong broth and one of gravy together, into which put the macaroni, and boil for ten minutes; put the crust of a French roll baked into the tureen, and pour the soup on it. Some add cream and grated Parmesan I cheese to this. A Cheap Soup. — A small piece of beef, twelve pints { of water, one carrot, one turnip, two onions, two celery heads, boiled until reduced to cue pint. On Fish-Soups. — The stock of fish-soups may either be made of fish or meat. If the family be composed of Roman Catholics, or people who abstain rigidly from fresh meat, meat will of course be excluded, but in other families lean mutton, beef, or veal may be used for fish stock. When the stock is made entirely of fish, any trimmings of fish may be used. Thus you may dispose of the head of the skate, cod, haddock, whiting, sours AND BROTHS. 99 eels, gudgeon, and also of the fins and trimmings of the fish which is to be served at table. Care, however, should be taken not to make fish stock till it is required to be used, as it soon becomes sour. The fish of which the stock should be made, should be boiled in a couple of quarts of water, with two onions, a little lemon-peel, and a bunch of sweet herbs. The liquor should be carefully skimmed and strained. Should you wish the fish-soup brown, the fish of which the stock is to be composed may be browned in the frying-pan before boiling. A little ketchup will also tend to brown and darken the colour of the soup. Fish-Broth. — Get some carp, scale, wash, and gut them ; slit them in two, and cut them up in bits. Put them with some butter and onions, cut into slices, into a stew-pan over a slow fire. When the liquor turns yellow, moisten with some pea-soup (the broth must not be coloured for white soups), season the whole with salt, cloves, sweet basil, and parsley ; strain it off, and keep it -warm to use when wanted. Oyster-Soup. — Take about two quarts of good fishi stock, beard a pint of oysters, put them in a stew-pan, strain the liquor, and let them stew a few minutes in their own liquor ; then take the hard parts of the oysters, and beat them in a mortar, with the yolks of four hard eggs ; mix them with some of the soup, put them with the 1 other parts of the oysters and liquor into a sauce-pan with a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, stir them well together, and let it boil a quarter of an hour. Dish it . up, and send it to table hot. Stock for Fish-Soup. — Simmer a pound of skate, : four or five flounders, and two eels, well cleaned but not Bkinned, and all cut into pieces, with a seasoning of ! unace, pepper, salt, and onion, a few cloves, a head of celery, two parsley-roots sliced, and a bunch of sweet herbs, in water sufficient to cover them, for an hour and i a half, a stew-pan closely covered; strain it off for use. Various fish-soups may be made from this as a basis. 100 SOUPS AND BROTHS. Eel- Soup. — Boil a pound of unskinned eels, the heads being separated from the bodies, which must be cut into short lengths, in a quart of water, with a crust of bread, two or three blades of mace, a little whole pepper, an onion, and a bunch of sweet herbs, in a stew-pan closely covered till they are quite broken; then strain off the soup, and pour it, boiling hot, on some toasted bread cut into dice. Cream, butter, and flour, are sometimes added to this soup to improve it; but these, more especially if the soup be designed for invalids and the sick, are unwholesome, and, for such, highly improper. The best and most wholesome condiment for eel-soup, besides salt, is parsley. To MAKE POTAGE FOR ONE OR TWO PERSONS. — Take four handfuls of pot-herbs, picked and washed, and cut small, two or three onions cut small likewise, three or four leeks, half an ounce of fresh butter or bacon, four spoonfuls either of fine flour, pounded rice, oatmeal, or peeled barley, a drachm of salt, and a little pepper ; boil the whole in three quarts of water, which must be reduced to a pint and a half, and kept for use. You may make at the same time potage enough for three or four days. To Clarify Broth or Gravy. — Put on the broth in a clean stew-pan, break the white and shell of an egg, beat them together, put them into the broth, stir it with a whisk, when boiled for a few minutes, strain it through a tammy. To make Soup Maigre. — Take and sliced the long way, six lettuces, the outside leaves taken off and sliced the long way, of onions and parsley each a handful, and one pint of green-peas; put them all into a stew-pan, with two ounces of butter, and not any water ; put the onions at the bottom, let them stew gently for two hours, or till the herbs are quite tender, add a sprig of mint to them; when the herbs are almost ready, boil half a pint of old peas, in three quarts of water, quite tender, pulp them into the water they are six cucumbers pared SOUPS AND BROTHS. 101 boiled in, and put it to the herbs, with pepper and salt to your taste. Heat it and serve it up. It may be made over night. Common Broth Maigre. — Boil three quarts of dried peas with three quarts of water, a little salt, fresh butter, pepper, nutmeg, and a bunch of parsley, for four hours gently, then take it from the fire, and half an hour after run the stock clear through a silk sieve, whilst this stock is boiling, prepare two bunches of carrots, the same of turnips, one bunch of white onions, and six heads of celery, slice and sweat them off in fresh butter, over a moderate fire, stirring them until coloured equally of a fine red ; add two whitings, cut in pieces, the white parts of a bunch of leeks sliced, ten quarts of water, and the stock from the peas; boil these three hours, and pass them afterwards through a silk sieve, or tammy. Use this stock for the sauces and soups composed of fish or roots, as also for any dishes that are maigre. Scotch Barley-Broth. — Take half a pound of Scotch barley washed clean in cold water; put it into a – stew-pan with a leg of beef weighing about seven pounds, 1 two or three onions, and water sufficient to cover the whole. Boil gently for about one hour and a half, take off the fat, and put in a head or two of celery, and a turnip, and a carrot cut into pieces; add a seasoning of i salt, and boil again one hour or more ; serve it up with pepper or other condiments. Chicken-Broth. — Take an old fowl, cut it into pieces, and remove all the fat, boil it for five or six hours in two quarts of water; then pour off all the liquor, and add another quart of boiling water to it ; boil again for another hour or more ; mix both the liquors together, land serve it up with such seasoning as may be desired. If bread be desired it may be added after the boilings. Beef-Brotii. — Boil a leg or shin, or any lean part of beef, if about three pounds (the bones being broken), 102 SOUPS AND BROTHS. in three quarts of water, for an hour ; then add a turnip, a carrot, an onion, and such seasoning as you please; boil for half an hour longer, and it may be served up. The beef, after tliis process, will make a very good and wholesome dish. Barley-Broth. — Take half a pint of pearl barley, let it boil half an hour in a little water, then add some stock, cut one head of celery and one onion small into it, and stew till done, pass it through a tammy, add more stock if required, half a pint of cream, a little whole barley put in when sent to table. Veal-Broth. — Cut in slices half a pound of the fillet of veal, boil in three pints of water with two or three lettuces and a handful of endive ; add a little wild endive ; pass it through a gauze search and serve. Scotch-Broth. — Chop a leg of beef in pieces, and boil it in three gallons of water, with a piece of carrot and a crust of bread, till it is half boiled away. Now strain it olf, and put it in the pot again with half a pound of barley, four or five heads of celery, washed clean and cut small, a large onion, a bundle of sweet herbs, a little parsley chopped small, and a few marigolds. Boil the whole for an hour. Now take a cock capon, or large fowl, clean picked and washed, and put it in the pot; boil it till the broth is good, season it with salt, and send it to table with the fowl in the middle. This broth is very good without the fowl. Take out the onion and sweet herbs before you send it to table. Some make this broth with a sheep’s head instead of a leg of beef, and it is very good; but you must chop the head to pieces. Pectoral Chicken-Broth. — Take a fine fowl, two ounces of barley and as much rice, put them altogether into a pot with ten pints of water, and two ounces of Narbonne honey; skim it, let it simmer three hours till it is reduced to two-thirds ; it is very good for softening irritation of the breast, and for invalids. SOUPS AND BROTHS. 103 Portable Soup. — Boil one or two knuckles of veal, one or two shins of beef) and three pounds of beef in as i much water only as will cover them. Take the marrow out of the hones, put any sort of spice you like, and three large onions. When the meat is in fragments i strain it off, and put it into a very cold place. When i cold take off the cake of fat (which will make crusts for : servants’ pies), put the soup into a double-bottomed tin sauce-pan, and set it on a pretty quick fire, but do not let it burn. It must boil fast and uncovered, and be stirred constantly for eight hours. Put it into a pan, and let it stand in a cold place a day, then pour it into a round china soup-dish, and set the dish into a stew-pan of boiling water on a stove, and let it boil, and he now and then stirred, till the soup is thick and ropy, then it is enough. Pour it into the little round part at the bottom of cups or basins turned upside down to form cakes, and when cold turn them out on flannel to dry. Keep them in tin canisters. When they are to be used, melt them in boiling water, and if you wish the flavour of herbs, or any thing else, boil it first, strain off the water, and melt the soup in it. This is very convenient in the country or at sea, where fresh meat is not always at hand, as by this means a basin of soup may be had in five minutes. A Broth for the Sick for Breakfast is made of a piece of buttock of beef, a scrag end of mutton, the bloody part of a neck of veal, and what other meat you think proper, with two chickens; your chickens being boiled, you pound the white flesh in a mortar with crumbs of bread soaked in broth, and all being well tasted, you strain it through a strainer to put on your boiled crust with the broth that you have readymade. A Cheap Mutton Broth. — Boil three pounds of the scrag end of a neck of mutton, cut into pieces, in three quarts of water for an hour, then add one or two turnips and such seasoning, with herbs, &c.; as you may 104 SOUPS AND BROTHS. choose; boil for half an hour more, and it will be done; serve up with parsley chopped fine. Some add to this simple, and perhaps the best of mutton-broths, rice, Scotch or pearl barley, or grits or oatmeal, mace, &c.; If you do not desire the broth to taste very strongly, they may be boiled separately, and added to the broth when it is ready. A Cheap Veal-Broth. — Boil a knuckle or a part of a neck of veal, of three pounds’ weight, with an ounce of rice in three quarts of water, till they are reduced to three pints ; add, towards the end of the boiling, a blade of mace, and such other seasoning as you may desire. Beef Tea for the Sick. — Boil one pound of lean beef, cut into small pieces (the part is not very material, that from the neck is usually employed) in three pints of water till it is reduced to about a quart. The first scum, which arises during the boiling, must be taken olf ; but if it be skimmed continually during the boiling, a considerable portion of its nutritive properties will be removed. When the boiling is complete, strain the whole of the liquor off, and if there be time before it is wanted, let it stand till it is cold, and take off all the fat; or the fat must be removed while the liquor is hot. The directions given in most of our cookery books to use only the clear liquor is quite a mistake; the best and most nutritious portions of it is the fiue fibrine which settles to the bottom. Mutton-Broth, for the sick, should be made in the same way as directed for beef-tea above ; it may be either made by infusion or decoction, accordingly as it may be wanted weakly or strongly impregnated with the nutritive properties of the mutton. It is usual in ordinary mutton-broth to flavour it with turnips; but for the sick, the turnips had better be omitted ; a little chopped parsley is admissible. DRESSING FISH. 105 OBSERVATIONS ON DRESSING FISH. If the fishmonger does not clean it, fish is seldom very ficely done ; but those in great towns wash the fish bemnd what is necessary for cleaning, and by perpetual vatering diminish the flavour. When quite clean, if to be boiled, some salt and a little vinegar should be put nto the water to give firmness ; but cod, whiting, and laddock, are far better if a little salted, and kept a day ; uid if it be not very hot weather, they will be good two Jays. Those who know how to purchase fish may, by taking nore at a time than they want for one day, often get it :heap ; and such kinds as will pot or pickle, or keep by ieing sprinkled with salt and hung up, or by being fried Jvill serve for stewing the next day, may be bought with idvantage. Fresh-water fish has often a muddy smell and taste : to take off which soak it in strong salt and water after t is nicely cleaned; or, if a size to bear it, scald it in fhe same liquid; then dry and dress it. The fish must be put into the water while cold, and set lo boil very gently, or the outside will break before the Inner part is done. Crimp fish should be put into boiling water; and fvhen it boils up, pour a little cold water in to check exJreme heat, and simmer it a few minutes. The fish-plate on which it is done may be drawn up ¦o see if it be ready : it will leave the bone when it is. — It should then be immediately taken out of the water, »r it will be woolly. The fish-plate should be set crossways over the kettle, to keep hot for serving ; and a tlean cloth cover the fish to prevent it losing its tolour. 106 DRESSING FISH. Attention should be paid to garnishing fish : use horse-radish, parsley, and lemon. To Boil Turbot. — The turbot-kettle must be of a proper size, and in the nicest order. Set the fish in cold water sufficiently to cover it completely, throw a handful of salt and a glass of vinegar into it, and let it gradually boil : be very careful that there fall no blacks; skim it well, and preserve the beauty of the colour. In regard to the boiling, or otherwise dressing, of all dried fish, they ought to be previously soaked in water for a period more or less long, dependent on their size and saltness; it is true red-herrings are generally broiled without being soaked, but there can be no doubt even these would be improved, both in flavour and quality, by soaking in water : an hour or two may be sufficient for dried whiting and other white fish of a similar size, if not much salted; a much longer time is required for larger fish, as cod. (Which see.) Sometimes, when expedition is required, boiling water poured over the fish will abstract the salt sooner, and otherwise fit it for dressing. ! Salt Cod, or Ling, should lie in water for at least twelve hours; sometimes double that period will be necessary if the fish be very salt, the water being changed two or three times, or even more ; indeed, upon its being well soaked, so that much of the salt which is in it may be dissolved and washed out depends the goodness of this dish. Some add to it, while in soak, a few ounces of vinegar, it is said, to get out the salt. The fish should be put into a good deal of cold water, and the heat under the kettle be gradually raised till the water approaches the boiling point, but does not actually boil; in this state it should be kept till the fish is done, which will be known by its readily separating into flakes. It is said, by Count Rumford, that the great art of boiling salt fish in the New England States of North America consists in keeping it in water scalding hot for several hours, but not actually boiling. By such means the salt is, no doubt, most effectually abstracted, and the fish thus becomes a most desirable dish. DRESSING FISH. 107 In frying of fish, always observe to dry it well in a clean • oth. Let the stew-pan you fry fish in be very nice and lean, and put in as much beef-dripping, or hog’s lard, hich is preferable to butter, as will almost cover it, and e sure it boils before you put the fish in. Let it fry quick, nd he of a fine light brown, but not too dark a colour, dave the fish-slice ready, and if there is occasion turn ; ; when it is done enough, take it up, and lay a coarse loth on a dish, on which lay the fish, to drain all the jTease from it. If you fry parsley, do it quickly, and eke great care to take it out of the pan as soon as it is risp, or it will lose its fine colour. Take great care, ,lso, that the dripping be very nice and clean. Some like fish in batter: for this, beat an egg fine, md dip the fish in, just as you are going to put it in he pan. As good a batter as any is a little ale and lour beaten up, j ust as you are ready for it, and dip the ish before frying. With all boiled fish you should put a good deal of ialt and horse-radish in the water, except mackarel, vith which put salt and mint, parsley and fennel, which hop to put in the butter; some like scalded gooseberries vith them. Be sure to boil the fish well; but take great •are they do not break. Observation relative to all Sorts of Fish pATJCES. — Fish sauces should always be thick enough to Ldhere to the fish. When the sauce is too liquid it is ibominable ; of the two, the thick is preferable, as you an make it thinner at table, by adding some of the fruet sauces. To Choose Anchovies. — They are preserved in Darrels, with bay salt : no other fish has the fine flavour if the anchovy. The best look red and mellow, and the oones are moist and oily ; the flesh should be high flapoured, the liquor reddish, and have a fine smell. The most apfroved and fashionable Method pF DRESSING A TuRBOT IN THE ENGLISH MANNER. Choose a fish that is very white, which is a certain sign 108 DRESSING FISH. of its freshness, fleshy, firm, and, above all, observe that its surface be covered with a round swelling 1 grain, which proves that it is fat and delicate ; let it soak in winter in cold water, with a little milk mingled with it, but in summer lay it on ice ; two hours before serving, make an incision of three inches in length, in the centre of the back, a little distance from the head ; lift the flesh up from the back-bone, and with the point of a strong trussing-knife cut three or four of the bones on each side of the large one, and take out two or three of the joints, thus preventing the flesh from breaking during the boiling, by giving it opportunity and room to shrink : this j operation is necessary only in large turbots, for smaller ones it will be sufficient to make a slit on each side of the bone, tie up its mouth with packthread, rub the belly i of the turbot with the juice of a lemon, and cover it with the flesh of two lemons cut in slices and the pips taken I out, strew upon it three large handfuls of salt, lay the fish upon the strainer in a kettle half filled with hot i water, and place it over a quick fire covered with a napkin, and cover the kettle ; when it boils skim and remove it from the fire, which cover up with ashes ; replace the turbot upon it, being careful that it does but simmer, it is essential that it does not boil ; an hour I and a half after, when serving, take up the turbot and wash the surface of it with the water it was boiled in, untie the head, and slide it upon a napkin laid upon the [ false bottom of the fish dish ; place around the fish four groups of potatoes turned of the shape of large olives, boiled in water with salt, and between them place bundles of parsley, as also upon the opening of the gills, and wherever the skin may be cracked ; serve immediately, with two boats of melted butter only, to wliich add a little salt, pepper, nutmeg grated, and lemonjuice ; when you have twenty people at dinner, melt at least one pound of butter, and proportionately if more or i less : taste the water that it be sufficiently salt. To dress Turbot with a Parsley Sauce. — See DRESSING FISH. 109 that your fish-kettle is sufficiently large, then take a middle-sized turbot, gut and wash it, put it to boil in salt and water, half a pint of vinegar, some horse-radish, and a bunch of sweet herbs, being done, blanch some parsley, squeeze it well and mince it, then put it in a stew-pan with a minced anchovy, half a lemon cut in dice, season it with salt, pepper, a piece of butter, a dust of Sour, and a drop of water. Being ready to serve up, take out your fish, drain it, thicken your sauce, dish .it up with your sauce over it, and serve it up hot for first i course or remove. To boil Mackarel. — Rub them with vinegar when the water boils, put them in with a little salt, and boil them gently a quarter of an hour. Serve them with fennel and parsley boiled, chopped, and put into melted butter and gooseberry-sauce in tureens. Mackarel are very good stuffed with bread-crumbs, chopped parsley, grated lemon-peel, pepper, salt, and nutmeg, mixed with the yolk of an egg – . Serve with anchovy-sauce and fennel-sauce. They are also good split open, the heads cut off, peppered, hung up for four or five hours, and then broiled. Make the sauce of fennel and parsley, scalded, chopped fine, and mixed with melted butter. To boil Herrings. — Scale, gut, and wash them, dry them thoroughly in a cloth, and rub them over with a little salt and vinegar ; skewer their tails in their mouths and lay them on the fish-plate ; when the water boils, put them in, and about ten or twelve minutes will do them ; then take them up, let them drain properly, and turn their heads into the middle of the dish. Serve them with melted butter and parsley ; garnish with lemon and horse-radish. To boil Salmon. — Clean the fish and scrape it carefully; boil it gently, with salt and horse-radish in the water; if put into cold water, a piece not very thick will take half an hour after it boils. Serve it with shrimp, lobster, or anchovy -sauce, in one tureen, and 110 DRESSING FISH. of fennel and butter In another. If you have essence anchovy, send plain melted butter to table with it. To dress Salt Cod. — Soak and clean the piece you mean to dress, then lay it all night in water, with a glass of vinegar. Boil it enough, then break it into flakes on the dish; pour over it parsnips boiled, beaten in a mortar, and then boiled up with cream and a large piece of butter rubbed with a bit of flour. It may be served as above with egg-sauce instead of the parsnip, and the root sent up whole; or the fish may be boiled and sent up without flaking, and sauces as above. Cod Sounds Boiled. — Soak them in warm water half an hour, then scrape and clean ; and if to be dressed white, boil them in milk and water ; when tender, serve them in a napkin, with egg-sauce. The salt must not be much soaked out, unless for fricassee. To Broil Cod Sounds. — Scald in hot water, rub well with salt, pull off the dirty skin, and put them to simmer till tender ; take them out, flour and broil. While this is being done, season a little brown gravy with pepper, salt, a tea-spoonful of soy, and a little mustard : give it a boil with a bit of flour and butter, and pour it over the sounds. Cod Sounds Ragout. — Prepare as above; then stew them in white gravy seasoned, cream, butter, and a little bit of flour added before you serve, gently boiling up. A bit of lemon-peel, nutmeg, and the least pounded mace, should give the flavour. Fish in the English Fashion — In English cookery there is no variety in the preparation of fish for the table. Three or four modes only of dressing this delicacy are known among us, frying, boiling, stewing, grilling, &c.;, and the numerous preparations of fish by which the palate is delighted and the health maintained in other countries, are not to be seen among the refinements of English dinners, when these latter are confined to dishes of home manufacture. By some strange prejudice, fish is never eaten among us except at DRESSING FISH. Ill the very beginning of dinner, following the soup. Its appearance at a second course would be considered an anomaly in England; and yet no set of persons in the world will, very truly says the “ Magazine of Domestic Economy,” on the Continent, relish fish at a second course better than those Englishmen who have left their prejudices behind them in their native country. In fish England has always enjoyed an admitted preeminence over the nations of the Continent. The fish brought to her markets is fresher, finer, and in greater variety, yet the uniformity of her cookery in this respect is to foreigners the alternate theme of wonder and ridicule. Billingsgate, adjoining the Custom House, is the mart whence this vast metropolis is supplied. The fishmongers exhibit their stores on trays of marble or of lead. Every tide brings up fleets, deep-welled, from the Berwick smack and Dutch galliot and Norway fishing-boats to the well-appointed steamer. There are smacks laden with salmon packed in ice ; Dutch schuyts with their wells filled with luxurious turbots, or delicious eels ; boats and barges almost sinking with their plentiful cargoes of cod, haddock, skate, soles, herrings, or mackarel, according to the season; oysters, crabs, lobsters, crawfish, &c.; &c.; Hither the Brighton mackarel and soles, at the commencement of the season, are forwarded by land-carriage, and occasionally those wel} come guests at the tables of the great and opulent, the John Dory and the mullet, both gray and scarlet. The traffic is under proper regulations. Oysters, muscles, cockles, sprats, and other fish that are sold by measure, are subject to the inspection of the citymeters. Around Billingsgate and in its vicinity are numerous dealers in salt and dried fish; such as salmon, cod, ling, and herrings. In the spring and summer seasons the supply from Newcastle of that great delicacy, pickled salmon, is very considerable, and great quantities daily arrive fresh from Ireland and Scotland by steam. The money expended annually in the purchase 112 DRESSING FISH. of fish landed at this place, is of enormous amount : it has been said that the Dutch used to take yearly from our current coin fifty thousand guineas for turbot only ! The principal market-day at Billingsgate is Monday. To Keep Fish Fresh. — Dr. M’Culloch asserts that a small proportion of sugar will keep fish perfectly fresh for several days ; but the fish must be fresh when it is applied, as it will not recover from taint. Sugar also cures salmon and white fish, which keeps any length of time in a dried state, provided it is not allowed to get damp. A little salt may be added to the sugar to please the taste. The directions are : — To lay the fish upon its side and rub it with a little sugar, particularly about the stomach and throat; two or three tea-spoonfuls is enough for a good-sized salmon. If it be kept fresh there will be no occasion to open it. How to Choose Salt Fish. — The fishes that are usually salted dry are ling, cod, hake, and whiting. Ling and cod ought to appear of a light colour, and perfectly dry, but should not feel bard to the touch; they should also be free from dark spots or mildew. Wherever these dark spots appear they should be cut out before dressing the fish ; this applies to all other salt fish. These fish should also be thick and stout, particularly behind the head, and the thickness should continue to the tail. The best ling are taken off the coasts of Scilly, Shetland, Penzance, and at St. Ives in Cornwall. The Cod-Fish taken on the coast of Newfoundland are neither so large nor so good as those on the Cornish coast, nor is the flesh so firm and flaky, nor of so white a colour. Dried salmon should look thick about the shoulders, and the body should be deep throughout. It should look also very red when cut, otherwise it is not a good fish. It is a too frequent practice to cure salmon when TO CHOOSE SHELL-FISH. 113 out of season, and to give a red tint to it by means of saltpetre and other ingredients ; but this differs widely from the real colour of the fish. A lean, longbodied, lanky salmon should always be rejected. Red Herrings should look bright, stiff, and shine like burnished metal ; if limp, and of a dull colour, and particularly if soft about the belly part, they are not well cured, and consequently will not eat crisp or wellflavoured. Pilchards are seldom met with ill-cured; but from their strong and rancid taste, few persons, excepting the poorer classes, can be prevailed upon to eat them a second time. Anchovies should be firm and hard over the belly, and the colour should be of a bright red under the skin. When of a brown colour and soft, they are not good. The smallest are considered the best. In London, or other great cities far from the sea, the best are sold in bottles, or in hermetically-sealed tin cases, like the Sardinias. Fishes in pickle should look clean and free from spots, bruises, or indentations, and should feel firm and hard to the touch. All kinds of salt-fish, whether dried or in pickle, require some preparation previous to dressing. HOW TO CHOOSE SHELL-EISH. Crabs and Lobsters, in the vicinity of fishing ptations, are more frequently purchased alive, by which the freshness is insured. The purchaser should not buy such as may have died in the well-boats or cobbles in which they are kept. When bought alive, they must be chosen among the very active ones, for if dull and languid, they will not taste well when cooked. The best criterion of the goodness of a crab, whether nlive or dead, is the redness and absence of furze upon the shell, a clean appearance, and being free from spots i 114 TO CLEAN FISH. or bruises ; and sweet smelling, stiff, and ready when pulled out to return into their curve. A dirty, yellowish back, and spots and bruises upon the claws and beneath them, is a sign of a watery and unhealthy condition. When good, there is a spring and elasticity about the claws, but they hang loose when the fish is stale, or has died previous to being boiled. The male is larger than the female, and may be known by the claws being larger, and the tail being much narrower. The male is considered the best generally, though some give the preference to the female on account of the cream, which certainly affords the best crab sauce, but in other respects it is not equal to the male crab. Crabs should always be chosen by weight. A weighty crab is sure to be a good one. Prawns and Shrimps should also be elastic, the skin well filled out, and the flesh moist; if dry and shrunk, they are stale ; when soft, thin, and watery, they are unhealthy, and not in good condition. All these fish are in best order and condition when the hard roe first appears, and the coral remains in the head, but a great deal depends upon the careful boiling of prawns and shrimps. Muscles and Cockles should be full in the shell ; but muscles, if taken in a muddy bottom, acquire a taint that is not easily eradicated ; but cockles so affected, if kept in clear salt and water for three or four days, wall soon become pure. Neither muscles nor cockles are, as we have said of oysters, fit to be eaten when the shell becomes open ; the fish is then sickly, in bad condition, dying, or perhaps dead. When several shell- fish in a tub are found open, it may be concluded that the re maining portion are in a very unhealthy condition. HOW TO CLEAN FISH. The great thing to be attended to in the preparation of fish, is to have every particle that is foul or offensive TO CLEAN FISH. 115 cleansed away. This must, however, be accomplished in such a manner, that the fish may still retain its original firm and stiff appearance, which is frequently destroyed by the rough handling it gets while undergoing the process of cleaning. It too frequently happens, owing to the ignorance of cockney dealers, that : the firmness and fine flavour of the fish is washed away. If not wholly destroyed, it is, in most cases, greatly i impaired. We never see one of these smirk, smiling , tradesmen with a watering-pot in hand, that we do not wish to give the fellow the benefit of a shower-bath by means of his own watering-pot. In cleaning fish, a pump of clear spring water is a ; great advantage, as the force of the water pumped over the fish will wash off’ all that is required, without subjecting it to that scrubbing or handling it would otheri wise require. In London a small hand-engine or hose might be used for the purpose. As a general rule, it may be remarked, that all fish should be laid flat on its side, on either a board or a flat stone. It should be held by the head and shoulders with the left-hand, and all the scales and slime should be scraped off with the right. This done, the operation should be repeated on the reverse side. The fins should then be cut off, and the hand-engine or pump used upon the fish to remove any doose scales or slime that may still adhere to it. The fish should then be opened, the intestines carefully extracted, well scraping the blood out from the back-bone, then wash the fish by a pump or in a pan of clean water, handling it as little as possible. Lastly, take out your dish and hang it up to drain till required for use. Never leave a fish in the water one moment after it is washed. If allowed to soak, the fine flavour of the fish is very imaterially lessened. Cod-fish requires great care in cleaning-, particularly iin cleansing the back-bone from blood, which spoils the appearance of the sound, and sometimes renders it too unsightly to be eaten. To prevent these consequences, the fish should be cut open for some dis- i 2 116 TO CLEAN FISH. tance below tbe vent, the sound upon one side carefully cut off with a sharp knife, as close as possible to the back-bone, still leaving it attached to the opposite side, and then the blood or the intestines of the backbone may be scraped out with the point of a knife, or scrubbed out with a small brush ; by this means not only will the blood be removed, but the sound will wear a much more presentable appearance, and can be more easily carved, and without injuring the other parts of the fish. Fishes that are to be dressed in their scales, should be dipped in water, and rubbed with a coarse towel to remove the slime. But great care should be taken to rub only from the head downwards, for if rubbed against the grain or contrarywise, some of the scales would be displaced, which would, in a great measure, frustrate the effect intended to be produced by dressing the fish with this coating upon them. Pilchards should be dressed without wiping at all; whilst sprats, which are better when scaled, may be deprived of this outward covering with a coarse cloth, without bruising or injuring the fish. Mackarel intended for frying should be split down the back to the tail, as indeed should all fish meant to be cured, whether in pickle or dried ; but whitings, perch, small trout, and all other small fish, should be opened at the belly. In the preparation of trout, the back-bone must be scraped very clean, otherwise the blood collected there will have a black and muddy appearance, extremely disagreeable to the eye. Plaice may be considerably improved by being beaten with a flat piece of wood or a rolling-pin, which has the effect of making the fish eat more firmly. It also removes, in a great measure, the flabby and watery appearance these fish possess. Red Mullets are usually dressed without either being scaled or gutted ; but if fresh, it improves them to extract the intestines carefully, throwing away the garbage, and replacing the liver, but this can only be TO CLEAN SALT-FISH. 117 done when very fresh, and the liver firm. This process should never be attempted after the fish has been more than six hours out of the water. Skates, Thornbacks, and all fishes of this kind should be skinned, which will be greatly facilitated by previously scalding the fish in hot water. HOW TO CLEAN SALT-FISH. Salt-Fish requires great attention in being properly prepared for dressing, and in being properly soaked in water. It is from neglect in this regard that salt-fish is not so highly esteemed as an article of food as it deserves to be. How often do we see a piece of cod or ling as hard as a stone, and as salt as the very brine, from having been carelessly thrown half an hour previous to boiling into water, perhaps hardly sufficient to cover it, from whence it goes into the pot. It is then vigorously boiled until the cook thinks it sufficiently done to send to table. Cooked in this barbarous fashion, the best salt-fish would not be worth the eating. To prepare a ling for table, it should soak, fully immersed, at least twelve hours in water, and then be taken out and well scrubbed with a hard brush, or rubbed with a coarse cloth. It should next be placed either on a flat stone or board to drain for six or eight hours. Au experienced cook would then place it in luke-warm water, and let it remain soaking for from ten to twelve hours longer’, when it will have become pliant and tender, and also swell considerably. Warm water and milk will considerably improve both the flavour and appearance of the fish; a little vinegar may also be added as an additional means of extracting the salt. The fish requires, however, two soakings, the first water being a kind of pickle, which becomes in time as salt as the brine from which the fish was taken. Dried Cod requires not more than one-half the soaking each time as salt ling, uuless, indeed, the fish 118 TO CURE FISH. be a very large one, in which case it will require to be soaked nearly as long as a ling. When the fish is placed in water over-night, to be ready early in the morning, throw one or two wine-glassfuls of vinegar into the water, take out the fish the first thing in the morning, and hang it up by its tail to drain. HOW TO CURE FISH. The best way of gently salting or of powdering a fish so as to keep it a few days, is to take out the eyes, and to fill up the apertures with dry salt. The cook or fishmonger should, at the same time, rub a small quantity of salt over the other parts of the fish, more particularly about the inside, the intestines, and the region of the back -bone. In very hot weather, the best course would be to take out the back -bone altogether, as that part may begin to decompose before the salt reaches it, and thus taint the whole fish. If you do not wish your fish too salt, instead of employing so great a quantity of that article, a little pepper may be used advantageously. This condiment imparts to fish intended for either frying or boiling, a very agreeable flavour, which may be still further improved by the addition of a little allspice or ground mace. Salmon. — The best way of preserving salmon, is by parboiling it soon after it is caught. Its curdy flakes thus retain their consistency and firmness, should you wish to keep the fish several days without serving it up at table. The usual method, which is by no means a bad one, of preserving fresh salmon, is to wash the inside with vinegar daily, and then to plentifully powder the same parts with pepper. This is a much better preservative than salt, as by the exhibition of salt in any quantity, both the colour and flavour arc extracted from the fish. Court-Bouillon, or Liquor for boiling Fish. — Take three carrots, four onions, six shalots, and two roots of parsley, which wash and pick, mince them, put BOILING FISH. 119 a small lump of butter into a stew-pan with the above : roots, and fry them till they get brown ; moisten next with two bottles of red wine, a bottle of water, a handful of salt, some whole peppercorns, and a bunch of parsley, i and green onions, seasoned with thyme, bay-leaves, < sweet basil, cloves, &c.; Let the whole stew for an hour, : and then strain it through a sieve, to use as may be wanted, if you have no wine put in some vinegar. The court-bouillon is better after having served several times i than on the first day — it is excellent for stewing crawi fish. This is a dish for a Roman Catholic family during – Lent ; it is always good, only add a glass of wine to it I every time you use it. Use it for marinade, &c.; Court-Bouillon, or Liquor for boiltng Fish (. Another ivay ). — Put into a stew-pan a bit of butter, i sliced onions and carrots, two bruised bay-leaves, three cloves, two doves of garlic, thyme, sweet basil, and a ‘ little ginger. Do these ingredients over a rather quick fire, to give them a colour ; let them stick a little to the bottom of the pan, moisten with two bottles of wine ; if the court-bouillon is gras, put in some good stock, boil and use it. ON BOILING FISH. When you wish to boil fish of any considerable size or thickness, it should be put into cold water; as soon as it begins to boil strongly, check the boiling by throwing in a small quantity of cold water. This operation which must be continued from time to time, so that the water may boil at a gentle rate till the fish is done throughout. If the water were allowed to boil away fiercely, the skin of the fish would be split into fragments, whilst the flesh near the back-bone would be quite raw. Care should fl also be taken to keep the kettle covered, lest soot or other dirt should fall into it, but the cover should nevertheless be occasionally removed, for the purpose of 120 BOILING FISH. skimming off any scum that may arise upon the surface. When the fish is sufficiently done, lift up the fishplate gently, allow the water to drain off, then place it upon a fish-drainer in a dish, put over the drainer a clean napkin, taking care no water accompanies the fish. Your fish should not be dished up till the moment before it is to be sent to table, for if placed under a cover, the damp and moisture arising from the steam, will frustrate the good effect of its being placed on a dry dish, will also sodden the fish, and deprive it of its firmness and crispness. If possible, therefore, it should be so contrived that when dished up, the fish can be immediately placed upon the table; but if circumstances or accident prevent this, the fish may be kept warm a considerable time by being placed on the drainer on which it was boiled and placed across the top of the kettle, and covered over with a clean dry cloth. Salt, vinegar, and horse-radish, thrown into the water, improve both the appearance and the flavour of the fish, and often prevent the skin breaking. Ling and cod should never be dressed whole, for owing to the thinness of the tail part, that would be boiled to a complete rag before the upper parts were half boiled, the common practice is, therefore, to dress these fish in separate portions. As to boiling, others recommend that the fish should be just covered with cold soft water, containing a handful of bay salt, and half a pint of vinegar, the heat should be gradual, so that by the time the water has reached the boiling point, the fish may be done. If the liquid boils up, and the fish is done hastily, it will lose the best part of its flavour. But to us the most successful, though in England perhaps the most expensive, mode of boiling fish, is that adopted by the French, who increase its flavour by the addition of several palatable ingredients. The liquor in which the first is dressed is made in the following BOILING PISH. 121 manner : clean and cliop up two good sized carrots, three onions, half a-dozen shalots, a clove of garlic, and a bunch of parsley; put the whole into a stew-pan with a bit of fresh butter, and fry it a very light brown, then pour upon it gradually a quart of soft water, and two bottles of Bordeaux wine, or a cheap Burgundy, add a bunch of herbs, of parsley, green onions, thyme, two bay-leaves, and some sweet basil, season with a handful of salt, some whole peppercorns, a little allspice, and two or three cloves. Let the contents of the stew-pan simmer very gently for an hour and a half, then strain it through a sieve, and put it by for use, and it will keep for some time. N.B. The only fish that should be boiled is the turbot, brill, skate, cod, salmoD, and haddock when large and firm. The above liquor is excellent for stewing carp, pike, and other fresh-water fish. Groves’s method of boiling fish is as follows : put your fish into a kettle of water, warm, but not boiling-, with several handfuls of salt, let it boil very slowly, and take it off the moment it boil3. To boil Salt-fish.— These fish when well washed and watered as directed at p. 117, should be boiled slowly in water, with a glass or two of vinegar, and some shred horse-radish, but without salt. When dressed, serve up your salt-fish strewed either with horse-radish or egg-sauce. Garnish it with boiled parsnips. Bechamel Turbots. — Take some parsley and chibbol and mince them very small, put in a sauce-pan a good lump of butter with your parsley and chibbol, and some minced shalots, season with salt and pepper, some nutmeg, and a dust of flour. Take a turbot boiled in court bouillon, take it off by pieces, and put it into your stew-pan; put in a little cream, milk, or a little water, put it over the fire, and stir it now and then that your sauce may thicken, dish it up, and serve it up hot for a first course. You may dress dabs or salmons the same way, they 122 BOILING FISH. may also be put in the oven, strewing them with crumbs of bread, and serving them up with lemon -juice. Turbot ( Another way of dressing, in the English fashion ). — See that the kettle is sufficiently large, then pour into it a sufficiency of water to cover the fish, put into it a handful of salt, half a pint of vinegar, some shred horse-radish, and a small bundle of sweet herbs, boil these for some time, that the water may imbibe the strength of these ingredients ; then take off the water, and allow it to become quite cool. Take your turbot, score it just through the skin on the white side, which more effectually prevents its cracking upon the other side, place your fish in the kettle, the dark side downwards, and just as it comes to a boil, check the boiling in the manner before directed, take care also that you properly scum it from time to time, and prevent soot, blacks, &c.;, from getting into the kettle. A moderatesized turbot requires about twenty minutes boiling, when done, let it be well drained, and placed upon a napkin over a fish-drainer. The spawn of a hen lobster spread over the top of a turbot, gives a pleasing appearance and complexion ; but if this cannot be procured, scrape a little horse-radish over it, and serve it up with lobster-sauce. In the summer months a sliced cucumber may be eaten with either turbot or salmon. A cold turbot or sole is, in France, considered excellent with a cucumber and a little oil, vinegar, mustard, and pepper. How to dress Salmon with Craw-fish Cullis. — Scale and wash your salmon well, lard it with half bacon and half ham, spread a napkin upon the dresser, and put upon it some slices of bacon, the length of your salmon, and then your salmon, and put a good bit of butter into the body, cover your salmon with slices of bacon, and wrap it up in the napkin. Take a fish- pan, put some onions cut into slices into it, then put in your salmon, season it with salt, pepper, sweet basil, thyme, bay-leaves, and cloves ; put six bottles of white wine into it, moisten it with boiling water, and put it to stew BOILING FISH. 123 I I gently. When it is done, take it out, drain it, and unfold it, take off the slices of bacon, dish up your salmon, put a cullis of craw-fish over it with the tails. You may garnish it with large craw-fish, taking off the shells of the tails, and let them be relishing ; stick your salmon with skewers, serve it up hot for a great entry. Salmon as served in the English manner at the table of Geo. IV. — Choose a fresh, well-made salmon, and farce it with a whiting farce, put it into boiling water with salt sufficient to give a flavour to the fish; let it boil upon a quick fire, and then let it boil very slowly for two hours if the fish be very large ; when serving, dish it up upon a napkin, lay parsley round it, and serve in boats the Dutch sauce au supreme , with capers ; the sauces of mushrooms, lobster, craw-fish, oysters, prawns, muscles, anchovy-butter, butter of lobsters, or butter of the essence of truffles, &c.;, may be served with this fish. Pike as served in the English manner at the table of Geo. IV. — Farce the fish with a quenelle of pike, add a spoonful of parsley, chopped and blanched, boil it three quarters of an hour, dish and mask it with a Dutch sauce, in which mingle the meat of a lobster cut into dice ; garnish with smelts turned round. Mackarel as served at his late Britannic Majesty’s residence at Windsor. — Boil them in salt and water, and mask them with a ragout of carp roes and oysters, and garnish them with smelts in rings, boiled in salt and water. Mackarel ( another mode of serving as practised in the kitchen of Geo. IV., are plain boiled in water, with a little salt for thirty-five minutes, drain, and dish them on a napkin neatly folded, garnished with potatoes formed of a large olive-shape and boiled in salt and water, and also bundles of parsley-leaves ; serve lobstersauce with them, in which mingle a little glaze, butter, pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, and juice of lemons ; serve this in two boats. To Boll Salmon. — Salmon, if large, should be 124 BOILING FISH. dressed in slices like a cod; if small, on the contrary, it may be dressed whole, fixing the tail in the mouth bv means of a skewer, and boil it in a turbot-kettle. The fish is sent to table resting on its belly side, the back being uppermost. The liver and spawn, as in the cod, takes a longer time than the other parts to boil it thoroughly; and if eaten underdone, it is extremely unwholesome. Salmon, when not crimped, should be put into cold water and boiled gradually, but if dressed in thin slices, it should be plunged into hot water at once. After allowing it to remain a minute or two in the fishkettle, raise it out of the hot water for a couple of minutes, let this process be repeated three or four times, and it will cause the curd to set, and the fish to eat more crisp. When you have followed these directions, allow the fish to boil at a moderate pace until it is thoroughly done, for nothing is more indigestible than underdone salmon. To Boil Fresh Salmon, or to make Salmon Cutlets. — Having split your salmon, and taken out the bone cleanly without disturbing the flake, cut your fillets three or four inches in breadth. Rub them dry with a napkin, but do not beat them with a roller. Your fire should be clear as for a beefsteak, and your gridiron already on it, the bars chalked to prevent the fish from sticking. Then place your salmon-steaks on, and turn them as you would a beefsteak, until they be perfectly done. Serve them hot — “ piping hot,” as the street-hawkers say — for on this depends the exquisite flavour and high relish of the fish. In France they dress salmon-cutlets differently. They steep the cutlets in oil, shred fine herbs, parsley, green onion, salt, and pepper over them ; baste them while on the gridiron with oil, take off the skin before serving, and present the fish with dressed cucumber or capersauce. The Donegal Pickle for Salmon, as used by Dr . Sheil, proprietor of the Fisheries . — Mix together equal portions of wine and water, to this add as much vinegar BOILING FISH. 125 as there is wine and water, and boil in this mixture a good handful of sliced horse-radish, together with salt, pepper, allspice, mace, cloves, and a little powdered ginger. When this liquor cools, pour it over the cold boiled salmon. To Boil a Cod’s Head and Shoulders. — Before placing the head and shoulders in the kettle, you should first bind some tape round the head, which prevents the cheeks and jowl from breaking away, as they generally do if not bound; next put the fish into a kettle of cold water, with a handful of salt, a bundle of sweet herbs, a couple of wine-glasses of vinegar, and a little shred horse-radish; when about to come to a boil, check it as before directed, and keep it slowly simmering until it is done. A moderate- sized piece requires about half an hour. You may easily discover when the fish is done, by inserting a fish-slice by the back-bone. If the flesh will easily come from the bone, it is ready for the table. Crimped cod will not take so long a time as when boiled in a solid piece. If you dress either the spawn or liver, it must not be dressed in the body of the fish, but beside it in the kettle, otherwise it would not be sufficiently done. If large, the spawn will take longer to boil than the fish. Garnish your fish with scraped horse-radish, placing the liver and roe, if any, at the side. If the cod has a soft roe, it should be fried, and the boiled fish garnished with it ; but as a general rule, boiled and fried fish should never appear together in the same dish, unless the fried fish be exceedingly small, as whiting, iand used as a garnish to the large boiled fish. Oyster sauce is the general accompaniment to a boiled icod’s head and shoulders, but cockle, shrimp, crab, lobster, or anchovies are frequently used, and it is almost i always served abroad with Dutch sauce; indeed, there iis no fish-sauce that may not be eaten with cod-fish. Codlings may be boiled whole; previously to dressing itthem, however, the eyes should be taken out, and the •apertures filled with salt, as they eat much more agree- 126 BOILING FISH. ably after having been gently salted for a couple of days before they are boiled. To Boil Ling. — This fish may be boiled in precisely the same way as a cod; yet as the skin of the ling is more firm than that of the cod, it is not necessary to bind the cheeks directed in the receipt for boiling codfish; care should be taken in the boiling of this fish lest the skin be injured, which is by some considered a delicacy. The same sauces may be served with ling as -with cod, but it may be observed, that egg-sauce is generally considered the most relishing. To Boil Prawns or Shrimps. — These fish are often spoiled in undergoing the process of boiling, which is a very simple one if properly managed. First, have some water boiling briskly up, to which a handful of salt must be added, then throw in your prawns. When done, they will rise to the surface ; then put them into a colander, and as soon as all the water has drained from them, throw them into a dry towel, quickly rubbing and throwing salt amongst them whilst hot. This done, wrap them up in the towel, and allow them to remain till cold. To Boil Crabs, Lobsters, and Craw-Fisii. — Let your water boil briskly up, then put in a handful or two of salt, and plunge in the fish. A quarter of an hour will boil a large crab or lobster. A lesser time in proportion to the size of the fish will of course suffice. A crab may be killed by cutting any portion between the joints of the legs, when it speedily bleeds to death. If cut in the joints, the contraction of the muscles will prevent the blood from flowing. To Boil Brills and Plaice. — These fish may be dressed in the same manner as a turbot ; but as they are not so thick as the latter fish, they will not take quite so long a time in boiling. The same sauce may be served with them as for turbot. It is important, however, to remark, that crab-sauce is the best adapted for a plaice. To Dress Cod-Sounds lire little Turrets.— STEWING FISH. 127 Boil your sounds as for eating, but not too much ; take them up and let them stand till they are quite cold, then take a force-meat of chopped oysters, crumbs of bread, a lump of butter, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and the yolks of two eggs, fill your sounds with it, and skewer them up in the shape of a turkey ; then lard them down each side as you would do a turkey’s breast, dust them well •with flour, and put them in a tin-oven to roast before the fire, and baste them well with butter : when they are enough done, pour on them oyster-sauce ; three are sufficient for a side dish; garnish with barberries ; it is a pretty side dish for a large table for a dinner in Lent. To Dress Cod-Sounds ( Another fashion ). — Steep your sounds as you do the salt cod, and boil them in a large quantity of milk and water; when they are very tender and white, take them up and drain the water out, then pour the egg-sauce boiling hot over them, and serve them up. ON STEWING FISH. To Stew Sturgeon. — Cut your sturgeon in slices of about an inch thick. After you have half-fried them dace them in a stew-pan with some good veal broth, an Onion, and a bundle of sweet herbs. Let them stew together till perfectly tender ; after which fry an onion in the butter in which the fish was fried, pour this, and plso the gravy in which the fish was stewed, into a Sauce-pan, adding to it a glass or two of white wine, some butter rolled in flour, and a little ketchup. When the whole has boiled, strain it, and pour it over the fish. Garnish with slices of lemon. To Stew Cod. — Slice your cod as for frying, and half Fry them in butter, then place the pieces in a stew-pan, with equal portions of white wine and water to cover the fish ; add nutmeg, pepper, and salt ; fry an onion, and prepare a fish gravy with the bones of the cod. Pour his with the butter it was fried in into a sauce-pan, to which add a small piece of butter rolled in flour, a 128 STEWING FISH. pickled mushroom or two, a dozen oysters chopped fine, and the juice of a lemon. When the fish is done add the liquor it was stewed in, letting the whole boil up a minute, then strain through a hair-sieve, and placing the cod in a dish, pour this gravy over them. To Stew Eels. — Clean eels, put them in a sauce-pan with a blade or two of mace and a crust of bread. Put water enough to cover them close, and let them stew I slowly ; when they are done enough dish them up with k the broth, and have parsley and butter served in a sauce- j boat to eat with them. The broth will be good, and it 1 is very fit for weakly or consumptive constitutions. Stewed Eels (Another fashion ). — Skin four pounds j of eels, take off the fins, and cut them about four j inches in length ; and to one quart of strong beef-gravy add half a pint of port wine, two anchovies, one or two ; onions stuck with cloves, some horse-radish, and Cayenne j pepper; put the fish into the above sauce cold, and then let it stew an hour ; a little before it is done sufficiently, I skim off the fat, take out a little of the gravy ; when it ‘ is cool, stir in some flour, cream, or butter to thicken it, 1 and then let it all boil up with the fish, but let the gravy ] be boiled first before the fish is in. The dish should be j ornamented with lemon and horse-radish. To stew Eels ( Another fashion ). — Let the eels be I cut into pieces about five inches long, put them into water and half boil them ; throw away that water, then put water to them sufficient to cover them and no more, put to them a moderate sized glass of port wine, the same quantity of good ketchup, mace, Cayenne pepper, 1 salt, and horse-radish, thicken them with some butter j and flour, let them boil until they are ready, but not to ] be too soft; fry some bread, and garnish them with pickled barberries, or cucumbers. To Dress White Bait ( Another way ). — They should be laid in folds of cloth till they are quite dry, ; shaken in a bag with flour, and then dipped in a thin batter made with a dessert-spoonful of flour, one egg, and a little milk. As they are too delicate and tender STEWING FISH. 129 to be turned in a frying-pan, they should be laid separately on a small fish strainer, and sunk into boiling lard for about two minutes. Some use sweet olive oil. To Stew Cod ( Another receipt ‘). — Cut cod in slices an inch thick, lay them in the bottom of a large stewpan ; season with nutmeg, beaten pepper, and salt, a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion, half a pint of white wine, and a quarter of a pint of water; cover close, and let it simmer softly for five or six minutes, then squeeze in the juice of a lemon, put in a few oysters and the liquor strained, and a blade or two of mace; cover close, and let it stew softly, shaking the pan often. When it is done enough, take out the sweet herbs and onion, and dish it up ; pour the sauce over, and garnish with lemon. Cod’s Head and Shoulders (. Another method), will eat much finer by having a little salt rubbed down the bone, and along the thick part, even if it be eaten the same day. Tie it up, and put it on the fire in cold water which will completely cover it ; throw a handful of salt into at. Great care must be taken to serve it without the smallest speck of black or scum. Garnish with a large ^quantity of double parsley, lemon, horse-radish, and the milt, roe, and liver, and fried smelts if approved. If with smelts, be careful that no water hangs about the dish; the beauty of the smelts will be lost as well (as their flavour. To Stew Prawns, Shrimps, and Craw-fish (Another receipt ). — Pick out the tails and lay them by, so as to be about two quarts ; then take the bodies, give them a bruise, and put them in a pint of white wine, with a blade of mace; let them stew a quarter of an Ihour, stir them together, and strain them ; then wash tout the sauce-pan, put to it the strained liquor and tails, grate a small nutmeg in, add a little salt, and a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in flour. Now shake all together; cut a pretty thin toast round a quartern loaf, toast it brown on both sides, cut it into six pieces, lay it 130 STEWING FISH. close together in the bottom of a dish, and pour the fish and sauce over it. Send it to table hot. If it be crawfish or prawns, garnish the dish with some of the biggest claws laid thick round. Water will do in the room of wine, only add a spoonful of vinegar. Fricassee of Cod. — Take the sounds, roes, &c.;, of several cods, split them and scrape them well, then blanch them ; being blanched, put them in fresh water, wash them very clean and cut them into square pieces the size of the end of a thumb. Then put a lump of butter in a stew-pan, toss it up with an onion cut small, after that put in your pieces, and give them two or three tosses; this done, put a little flour over them, moisten them with a little fish-broth, seasoned with salt, pepper, sweet herbs, fine spice, and let them stew gently ; being done, thicken it with yolks of eggs, parsley cut small, with a dash of vinegar or verjuice, and serve them hot for entry. To Stew Lampreys. — Skin and gut your lampreys, season them well with pepper, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and mace, not pounded too fine, and a little lemon-peel shred fine; then cut some thin slices of butter into the bottom of your sauce-pan, put in the fish, and half a pint of nice gravy, half the quantity of white wine and cider, the same of claret, with a small bundle of thyme, winter savory, pot marjoram, and an onion sliced ; stew them over a slow fire, and keep turning the lampreys till they are quite tender. When they are tender take them out, and put in one anchovy, and thicken the sauce with the yolk of an egg, or a little butter rolled in flour, and pour it over the fish and serve them up. N.B. Roll them round a skewer before you put them into a pan. To Stew Carp. — Scale and clean it ; take care of the roe, &c.; ; lay the fish in a stew-pan, with some good beef-gravy, an onion, eight cloves, a dessert-spoonful of Jamaica pepper, the same of black, and two glasses of wine ; cover it close, and let it simmer ; when nearly done, add two anchovies chopped fine, a dessert-spoonful STEWING FISH. 131 of made mustard, some walnut ketchup, and a bit of butter rolled in flour. Shake it, and let the gravy boil a few minutes. Serve with sippets of fried bread, the roe fried, and a good deal of horse-radish and lemon. To Stew Lobsters in the Irish Way. — Cut and break a boiled lobster into pieces, not too small, prepare a mixture of mustard, vinegar, and Cayenne, put this with the lobster and a large sized lump of butter, well floured, into a stew-pan, let it boil for about five minutes, then throw in a glass of sherry or Madeira, and let it boil for five minutes more, serve it up and garnish with sliced lemon. Stewed Fillets of Sole. — Boil in a stew-pan two ounces of butter, and when boiling dredge in a tablespoonful of flour. Let them fry with a bundle of herbs and a clove of garlic, until the flour is of a rich brown colour. Then moisten with a very small quantity of stock-broth, which reduce to a glaze. Continue to moisten until you have about a pint of sauce. Add to this a spoonful of lemon-pickle, one of soy, and half an anchovy chopped very small. Reduce the sauce very slowly to a good consistence ; when done, season it to your taste, and put into it a little fresh butter kneaded in flour, which mix well by agitating the stew-pan. In the mean time, divide your soles into pretty large fillets. Place these fillets cold on the dish in which they are to be served, putting under each a rather thin slice of bread, fried in butter to a nice brown. Set the dish in an oven or before the fire, so that the fillets of fish may become warm. When they are sufficiently so, pour over them the sauce, which must be pretty thick. To Dress Cod-fish that has been left the day before . — Break the fish into flakes, to which put an ounce of butter into a stew-pan, with chopped shalot, parsley, I and mushrooms; put it on the stove to simmer for a few minutes, then put a table-spoonful of stock in the stewpan, with as much flour as will dry it up, then a little clear stock and cream sufficient to make it white. Let it boil a few minutes, put in a few drops of essence of an- 132 FRYING AND BROILING FISH. ehovy, squeeze in a little lemon juice, and a little Cayenne pepper. Set it on the side of the stove to keep hot, do not let it boil, and dish it up. If you make it of cod that has not been dressed you must boil it first. ON FRYING AND BROILING FISII. Directions for Frying Fish. — In the first place the fire must be free from smoke, and yet not burn too fiercely; secondly, the pan must be very clean and not over-worn, as in the latter ease it would discolour the fish, and cause it to stick to the pan ; thirdly, the pan when placed upon the fire should be moistened with a little butter or lard, which, when properly dissolved, must be wiped off again with a cloth previous to the fish being put in ; fourthly, there must be plenty of lard, or oil, whichever is preferred, to fry your fish in. The lard must be completely dissolved, or if oil be used ,it must be allowed to boil a minute or two before the fish is placed in the pan ; fifthly, the fish should always be wiped thoroughly dry with a cloth, then powdered with flour, or coated with bread-crumbs and egg ; sixthly, the fish must not be left unattended to for an instant when in the pan, and when sufficiently done on one side, it should be carefully turned on the other. When fried on both sides let the fat drain from it upon a hair-sieve. It should then be placed upon a napkin on the dish in which it is to be served. Oil is generally considered the best to fry fish in, and is always used for the purpose in France, as butter does not fry it well except when the fish is partially fried, previous to undergoing stewing or any other process. In such case good fresh butter only ought to be employed. The fat, if put carefully by, will serve for another occasion. If these rules be strictly attended to any person may, after a few trials, be enabled to surmount such difficulties as occur in this branch of the business of the cook. To Broil large Cod, Ling, and Haddocks. — All these fishes should be cut up in pieces in the same FRYING AND BROILING FISH. 133 •way as for frying-, but the bread-crumbs and egg must be omitted. The slices should be well floured, and then set on a gridiron over a clear fire, putting to them a little pepper and salt while dressing ; when done, rub in some butter before the fire, and serve the fish up with plain melted butter. Mustard and vinegar is a good accompaniment. To Broil Herrings. — Prepare these fishes in the same manner as for frying, thoroughly dry and flour them. It seems to be lately the better opinion that the roes are not to be dressed in fish. The best plan, it is said, is to fry the roes, lest they should drop through the bars of the gridiron. Melted butter mixed with mustard and Tarragon vinegar is an excellent sauce to be served with this fish. To Broil Pilchards. — Pilchards should be placed upon the gridiron without any preparation whatever, and when done served with a lemon cut in halves. Take the scales entire with a knife. They may also be eaten with salt and water, and a raw onion cut in slices, as herrings are sometimes eaten in Holland and Germany. Plain melted butter, however, is the best sauce for them, but they may also be served with the Dutch sauce. To Broil Red Mullet. — Open your mullets with a sharp knife a little below the throat, and carefully extract the intestines without injuring or bruising the liver, then sew up the aperture, allowing the liver to remain in the fish; place it upon white paper well buttered, broil over a slow fire, serve them in the paper with plain melted butter, in which the livers may afterwards be mixed or not acl libitum. A good plan when you draw your fish is, to preserve the livers and boil them in a small quantity of water — in fact, as much as is required for your melted butter, so that in case the livers should break in boiling, then you still retain their valuable qualities. To Dress Red Mullet ( Another fashion ). — The best mode of dressing these delicate fish (the sea woodcock), is to wipe them dry, but not empty them, and 134 FRYING AND BROILING FISH. broil them in larded white paper, or what is better, salad oil. They may be fried or baked. The liquor that comes from them may be boiled with a piece of butter dusted with flour, a tea-spoonful of soy, a little essence of anchovies, and white wine, and served up separately. Send them up to table without the paper. White-Bait. — The following- method of dressing white-bait, as practised at Blackwall, is extracted from “Pereira’s Observations on Food and Diet.” “ Having had an opportunity of seeing the mode of cooking the fish, as practised at Lovegrove’s, at Blackwall, the following notice of the process may not, perhaps, be uninteresting : I was informed that the fish should be cooked within an hour after being caught, or they are apt to cling together. Those which I saw cooked were, from time to time, removed as required by a skimmer. They were then thrown on a stratum of flour contained in a large napkin, in which they were shaken until completely enveloped in flour. In this state they were placed in a colander, and all the superfluous flour removed by sifting. They were now thrown into hot melted lard contained in a copper cauldron or stew-vessel placed over a charcoal fire. A kind of ebullition immediately commenced, and in about two minutes they were removed by a thin skimmer, tin-own into a colander to drain, and served up by placing them on a fish- drainer in a dish. At table they are flavoured with Cayenne and lemon juice, and eaten with brown bread and butter ; iced punch being the favourite accompanying beverage.” To Broil Mackarel. — Clean them, split them down the back, season with pepper and salt, mint, parsley, and fennel, chopped fine, and flour them ; broil of a light brown, then put them on a dish and strainer. Garnish with parsley. The sauce is fennel and butter, in a boat. To Broil Macicarel whole {Another fashion ).- — Cut off the heads, gut and wash them clean, pull out the roe at the neck end, boil it, then bruise it with a spoon. FRYING AND BROILING PISH. 135 Now beat up the yolk of au egg, with a little nutmeg, a little lemon-peel cut fine, little thyme, some parsley boiled and chopped fine, a little pepper and salt, and a ! few crumbs of bread. Mix all these together, and fill the mackarel. Flour it well, and broil it nicely. Let i the sauce be plain butter, with a little ketchup or wali nut-pickle. To Fry Herrings. — Clean them as above, and fry them in butter. Have ready a good many onions peeled ¦ and cut thin ; fry of a light brown with the herrings ; lay the herrings in a dish, and the onions round, with i butter and mustard in a cup. Do them with a quick i fire. To Broil Herrings. — Scale and gut them, cut off i their heads, wash them clean, dry them in a cloth, flour and broil them ; take the heads and mash them, boil : them in small beer or ale, with a little whole pepper and an onion. Let it boil a quarter of an hour, strain it, thicken it with butter and flour, and a good deal of mustard. Lay the fish in a dish, and pour the sauce into a basin, or use plain melted butter and mustard. To Broil Haddocks. — Scale, gut, and wash them 1 clean ; do not rip open their bellies, but take the guts out with the gills ; dry them in a clean cloth very well; and if there be any roe or liver, take it out, but put it in again; flour them well, and have a clear, good fire. Let the gridiron be hot and clean, lay them on, and turn them two or three times for fear of sticking; then let one side be done enough, and turn the other side. When that is done, lay them in a dish, and have plain butter in a cup, or anchovy and butter. They eat finely salted a day or two before you dress them, and hung up to dry ; j or boiled, with egg-sauce. I Scotch haddocks are to lay in water all night. You may boil or broil them. If you broil, you must split them in two. Garnish with hard eggs and parsnips. To Fry Lampreys. — Bleed them and save the blood, ( then wash them in hot water to take off the slime, and cut them to pieces. Fry them in a little fresh butter, 136 FRYING AND BROILING FISH. not quite done enough, and then pour out the fat, put ia a little white wine, give the pan a shake round. Season with whole pepper, nutmeg, salt, sweet herbs, and a bay-leaf ; put in a few capers, a good piece of butter rolled in flour and the blood ; give the pan a shake round often, and cover them close. When they are done enough, take them out, strain the sauce, then give a boil quick, squeeze in a lemon, and pour it over the fish. Garnish with lemon. Broiled Salmon. — Having cut your salmon into pieces, melt some good butter in a stew-pan, season it with salt, pepper, and bay-leaves ; then put in your pieces of salmon, to take a taste, and strew them with crumbs of bread ; then boil them gently. Make a white sauce in this manner : — Put good fresh butter into a stew-pan, with a dust of flour, a couple of anchovies minced, take out their great bones and wash, add some capers, salt, pepper, nutmeg, whole green onions, with a little water and vinegar ; your salmon being broiled, toss it up, and let it be well tasted ; then take out your onions, put the sauce over the salmon, and serve it up hot for entry. Broiled Trouts. — Take the middling sort of trouts, gut, wash, and wipe them with a linen cloth, then slice them across, melt a lump of butter, put a little salt to it, and then pour it over your trouts, and stir them; lay them upon a gridiron, and let them broil over a slow fire, turning them now and then, and keeping up the fire. When broiled, serve them up with a white sauce made in the following manner : Take some butter, put it in a stew-pan with a dust of flour, seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg, whole green onions, some capers, and anchovies ; moisten the broiled trouts with a little water and vinegar, and put it upon the stove, stirring it constantly, till the sauce is thickened enough, then make it relishing; dish up your trouts, put your sauce over them, and serve them up hot. If you have a mind to serve up your trouts with a FRYING AND BROILING FISH. 137 craw-fish cullis, you must put no capers in your white sauce ; when it is thickened, put you craw-fish cullis into it, and your trouts being broiled, dish them up. ‘Your sauce should be poured over the fish, and serve them up hot. Broiled Trouts, with Mushrooms. — Gut your trouts and broil them in the same manner as is shown before: when they are broiled, dish them up, pour a ragout with mushrooms over them, and serve them up hot. Trouts dressed in a Stew-pan. — Take some trouts, which being gutted and washed well, put a : little minced meat in their belly ; take a stew-pan, put a lump of butter into it, with some parsley, and green onions cut, and sweet herbs, all cut small, likewise some pepper and salt, fine spice, and an anchovy cut small ; ! then put in your trouts, and place them upon hot cinders, i turn them now and then, and send them to the oven, to get a colour, dish them up, and put lemon-juice over I them, and serve them up hot. Soles, salmon, whitings, smelts, &c.;, maybe all dressed in the same way. Fillets of Mackarel broiled. — Broil as follows : rub over with yolk of egg, then cover them with crumbs of bread, dip them into clarified butter, and cover a second time with bread crumbs ; broil of a nice brown colour. The sauce to be made : take a lump of fresh butter and put into a stew-pan, when melted, add a tablespoonful of flour, let the flour boil over a slow fire for a short time, taking care it does not change colour, then moisten by degrees with veal or chicken-brotb, or water, and season to taste. When the liquor is all in the sauce, add some small mushrooms parboiled, and when nearly done, two ounces of truffles. Take the sauce off the fire when ready, and thicken with two yolks of eggs, beat up with a table spoonful of Tarrag’on vinegar, and half that quantity of soft water. Place the fillets in 138 FRYING AND BROILING FISH. a dish standing- up round the circumference, and pour the sauce into the middle. To fry Fillets of Macicarel. — Toss and fry them in a stew-pan, send them up to table covered with the white sauce for mackarel. To fry or broil Mackarel. — Mackarel is a fish generally esteemed by all ranks of people. The rich eat it on account of its good savour, the poor because it is cheap. It must not be washed when intended to be broiled; empty and wipe it well ; open the back, and put into it a little salt and oil. Broil it on a gentle fire, turn it over on both sides, and also on the back. With the point of your knife try if it be done, by detaching the bone from the flesh. To fry Trout, Grayling, Perch, and Tench. — Scale, gut, and wash them well ; dry them and lay them separately on a board before the fire ; after dusting some flour over them, fry them of a fine colour in fresh dripping, or hog’s lard. Serve with crisp parsley and plain butter. To fry Smelts. — After having washed them, and taken away the gills, dry them in a cloth ; beat up an egg very fine, rub it over them with a feather, and strew on crumbs of bread. Fry them in hog’s lard over a clear fire, and put them in when the fat is boiling hot; when they are of a fine brown, take them out, and drain off the fat. Garnish with fried parsley and lemon. Broiled Mackarel ( Another receipt ). — Put the fish, without splitting it, on an inclined gridiron, over a slow fire ; baste it with olive oil, or clarified butter, by rubbing it on with a feather. When nearly done leave off basting it, have ready a little fresh butter worked into a paste with the juice of half a lemon, some pepper and salt, a little Cayenne at pleasure, and some chopped parsley. Cover with this mixture the mackarel hot from the gridiron, and serve it up. Fried crimped Cod. — Take your slices, dredge them with flour, and fry in a full pan of oil, dripping, or but- FRYING AND BROILING FISH. 139 ter, or it may be stewed in French liquid, and sent to table covered over with the white sauce, as for fillets i of mackarel. To dress Red Herrings. — Having steeped them in boding water, toast them before the fire, till they are sufficiently done ; then rub over them as much butter ! as they will absorb before the fire. If hard roes, open them gently by the belly, and insert some butter between the roe, closing it again that the heat may melt the butter inside. Mustard is an agreeable relish to red herrings. If one of a parcel be found too salt, you should * steep the remaining in new mdk before dressing them. To dress Red Herrings (. Another way ). — Choose i those that are large and moist, cut them open, and pour I some boiling small beer over them; let them soak half an hour, drain them dry, and make them just hot through before the fire, then rub some cold butter over them, and serve them with egg-sauce, or mashed potatoes. The Pilchard. — These fish may be broiled, or fried, or baked in jars, with a little water, salt, and vinegar, an onion, and two bay-leaves. When baked they may be eaten either hot or cold. To fry Whiting. — Scrape off the scales and cut off the fins, wipe them dry with a clean cloth, beat up the yolk of an egg, and with a feather rub them over with , it, sprinkle over them finely-grated bread crumbs. Fry them of a nice brown in boiling fresh lard, or dripping. If small, and used as a garnish, they should be curled. To broil, after the French way, you do not skin them, but slit the back on both sides, rubbing them over with yolk of egg and bread crumbs. Serve with anchovy, or shrimp sauce, or melted butter. I Fillets of Roaches with Sweet Herbs. — Gut your roaches, cut off their heads, and take them off in slices, put them into a stew-pan with a few sweet herbs, some parsley, and green onions, cut small, and seasoned with pepper and salt ; put melted butter to them, and let them simmer for an hour to get a taste ; then set 140 ROASTING AND BAKING. them upon hot cinders to melt the butter, strew them with fine crumbs of bread, then broil them. Make a remonlade with good oil, a few capers, and parsley, cut small, with a small green onion, and an anchovy, pepper, and salt, mustard, a little nutmeg, and lemon-juice. The whole being well mixed together, put them into a saucer, or under your roaches; the slices being broiled pretty brown, place them in their dish, and serve them for entry. ROASTING AND BAKING. To roast A Sturgeon. — Sturgeon is much improved by laying in salt and water for six or eight hours, then cleanse and scrape it thoroughly, fix it on a spit, and baste it well with butter while roasting, dredging it occasionally with flour; when half done, have prepared some fine grated bread, with some sweet herbs, and a little parsley chopped fine, and strewn over it, which by the aid of a little butter, will adhere firmly to the fish. When done serve it with the following sauce. Sauce for Roast Sturgeon. — A. pint of water, an anchovy, a small piece of lemon-peel, an onion, a bundle of sweet herbs, mace, cloves, whole pepper, black and white, and a piece of horse-radish ; cover it close to boil for a quarter of an hour, then after straining it, put it again in the sauce-pan with a pint of white wine, a dozen of oysters and their liquor, two spoonfuls of walnut ketchup, the inside of a crab bruised fine, a piece of butter rolled in flour, a spoonful of mushroom ketchup, let all simmer, dish your fish, and pour this sauce over it. To ROAST LARGE EELS OR LAMPREYS, WITH A Pudding in the Belly. — Skin your eels or lampreys, cut off the head, take the guts out, and scrape the blood clean from the bone, then make a good forcemeat of oysters or shrimps, chopped small, the crumb of half a penny loaf, a little nutmeg or lemon-peel, shred fine, pepper, salt, and the yolks of two eggs; put them FISH, PATTIES, &C.; 141 in tlie belly of your fisb, sew it up, turn it round on your dish, put over it flour and butter, pour a little water on your dish, and bake it in a moderate oven; when it comes out, take the gravy from under it, and scum off the fat, then strain it through a hair-sieve, add to it a tea-spoonful of lemon pickle, two of browning, a meatspoonful of walnut-ketcbup, a glass of white wine, one anchovy, and a slice of lemon ; let it boil ten minutes, thicken it with butter and flour, and send it up in a sauce-boat, dish your fish ; garnish it with lemon and crisp parsley. Soles dressed with Sweet Herbs. — Clean them well, chop off the heads and tails, and slit them up the back ; rub a silver dish, or a baking-pan with butter, season it with pepper, salt, a few sweet herbs, chopped parsley, and some whole green onions, place your fish in it, season them over and under the same way, sprinkle them with fresh butter, strew them with fine crumbs of bread, and put them in the oven. When baked to a fine colour, take them out, take off the fat, serve them up hot with an anchovy-sauce under them, for a course or small dish. SCOLLOPING, PATTIES, &c.; To dress Red Mullets ( Another fashion). — In general, to eat them in great perfection, you must wash them well, but not empty them, drain them very dry in a clean cloth; then have some buttered paper and a little salt, wrap them well in it, and put them into the oven, or broil them if you have no oven. They may ! be eaten with lobster sauce, or anchovy sauce alone ; send them to table without the paper. You may dress them in another way, by putting’ them in the oven in a buttered baking-dish, and covering them with buttered paper; when they are done, serve over them the following sauce : — Put in a small stew-pan a little bit of butter, a few pieces 142 FISII, PATTIES, &C.; of ham, cut into dice, a few leaves of mace, two cloves, a little thyme, a few bits of mushroom, some parsley roots, one shalot, cut into four, and a small bit of carrot; fry them on a slow fire till they become a little brown, then moisten with a glass of good Madeira, and put but little sugar ; reduce the wine to half the quantity, add to this a spoonful or two of good Espagnole, skim away all the fat, put the sauce through a tammy, and add to it a bit of fresh butter, about a quarter of a pound, add to this the gravy from the fish. Season the sauce of very good taste, with salt, pepper, lemon, &c.;, and if the sauce should not be thick enough, add a small bit of butter, with a little flour. Lobster (. Another way). — Lobsters are boiled in the same manner as craw- fish, but they would have abetter savour if sea-water could be had to boil them in. Several ragouts are made of lobsters. Pies for entrees ; salades for entremets; fish sauce, and minces in the shell, &c.; You must pay attention to the proper time required for boiling a lobster ; if you boil it too long, the flesh becomes thready and disagreeable; and if not done enough, the spawn is not red through ; this must be obviated by great attention. Scollops of Lobster in the Shell. — This is an entremet. Take one or two lobsters, according to the size of the dish, or the number of people you have to dinner. Cut the lobster in two without breaking the shell ; clean the inside of the shell, cut the meat of the lobsters into small dice, and preserve the kind of farce that is inside ; then take one or two spoonfuls of velouti, a small bit of butter, a little salt, and Cayenne pepper, and keep stirring the whole over the fire. When it is quite hot, throw the meat, and the kind of farce that you found in the lobster into the sauce, and lay the whole in the shells. Level with your knife, and strew 7 over crumbs of bread tw’ice, and keep basting with a little melted butter. Give it a colour with the salamander, and keep the scollops very hot. Never let it colour in the oven, as it would taste too strong. FISH, PATTIES, &C.; 143 Lobster may be dressed also without any sauce ; merely break the shell, and give an agreeable shape to the dish by putting the body in the middle, the tail cut in two on each side, and the claws at the end; the flesh of this fish is very fine, and can be used in cookery for petits pates of all kinds. Scollops of Oysters. — The English green oysters are the best that are known. After having opened them, boil them in their own liquor, but do not let them be too much done. Next beard them and return them into the liquor, out of which you take them with the bored ladle. Let the liquor stand, and drain it from the sand. Make a little white roux, moisten with the liquor, and when the sauce is got pretty thick, add a spoonful or two of cream, and a spoonful of becliamelle; put the oysters into this sauce, and season them with salt and pepper. Next put them into the shell used for that purpose, stew them over twice with butter and crumbs of bread ; give them a good colour with the salamander, and serve them up very hot with the juice of a lemon. You may grate a little nutmeg over them if you think proper; but never omit parsley chopped very fine. Some people add mushrooms, which are no improvement. Small Oyster Patties {After Lord Sef ton’s fashion ). — Pick out the smallest oysters you can find, and boil and beard them as above. Make the sauce also (in the same manner, only add to it a little cavice and butter, and a little pepper and salt. Plave about two dozen of small patties ready; fill them with oysters and as much sauce as they will hold; have also some crumbs of bread fried of a fine colour, strew some over the small pies, which dish en buisson. Serve them up very hot. This addition of the fried crumbs of bread gives a very pleasant taste. Salad of Soles. — Divide the cold fish boned into ismafl bits, as for a fricassee, and put it into a deep dish •or salad-bowl. Mix with it a spoonful of capers, an anchovy chopped, and a few hearts of lettuces. Then pour over and mix well with it four spoonfuls of olive 144 FISH, PATTIES, &C.; oil. Now, rub up the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, with sufficient salt for the salad, plenty of pepper, a teaspoonful of mustard, half a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, and two table-spoonfuls of vinegar. Pour this into the salad, and mix all well together. Fish Pies may be made of all sorts of fish, especially soles, salmon, cod fish, and eels, either mixed or separate. Season well, add a little cape wine, and broth in equal parts, plenty of fresh butter, and bake in a quick oven. Shrimp pie is excellent; the shrimps must be very fresh, and shelled. This is not an expensive pie. Lobster, craw-fish, and crab, also make excellent pies. A few oysters are an improvement to all these pies, which may be eaten either hot or cold. Buttered Lobster. — Take two lobsters, when they are boiled and cold, cut one of the bodies down the middle, take all the meat out of the rest of the shells, and the other body, mince it small, put it in a saucepan, add a glass of white wine, two tea-spoonfuls of vinegar, a little grated nutmeg, pepper, and salt; let it boil, then have ready half a pound of fresh butter, melted with an anchovy and the yolk of two eggs, beat up and mixed with the butter. Mix all together, shaking the saucepan round till it is quite hot. Lay the body of the lobster in the middle of the dish, and put the minced round it. To Ragout Salmon. — Take a quarter of a pound of butter and melt it in a stew-pan, then shake in as much flour, stirring it all the time till the butter looks brown; then add some good broth or gravy, stir it all together, put in the salmon, and let it simmer gently : add to it half a spoonful of the essence of anchovy, and the same of walnut-ketchup, or [tickle, and a little soy. Take out the salmon when hot, place it in the dish, and pour the gravy through a sieve over it. To Scollop Siirimts. — Shell three pints of shrimps, stew them in cream, and bake in a Dutch oven with bread crumbs, butter, pepper, and salt, the same as scolloped oysters. FISH, PATTIES, &C.; 145 Lobster Scolloped.’ — Take the lobster from the shell, break it into small pieces, place it in a stew-pan, season with Cayenne pepper, a little Tarragon and Chili vinegar, salt, bruised mace, and some bread crumbs; place the whole in scollop shells ; then break up the shell and claws of the lobster, and place it in a small quantity of water ; let the whole stew until reduced to half its original bulk, then strain off the liquor and place it in a stew-pan, and thicken it with a piece of floured butter; pour this over the lobster sufficient to moisten the whole, sprinkle bread- crumbs over the top, and bake the scollops in a Dutch oven before the fire ; when done, brown the bread-crumbs with a salamander, and serve them up in the scollop shells. To Dress a Crab cold. — Extract the meat of a boiled crab, carefully picking out every particle of shell; mix the whole well together with a quantity of mustard and Chili, Tarragon, or common vinegar, and season I with pepper, salt, and a little Cayenne ; then thoroughly cleanse the back-shell, fill it with the meat, which should be eaten cold without any further dressing. To Pickle undressed Salmon. — Scale your fish, and rub it well with a dry cloth, scrape out all the blood about the back-bone, but do not wash it. Cut off the head, and cut the body into two or three pieces across ; then boil your fish in equal parts of vinegar and water, with a few cloves, allspice, bay-leaves, and blades of mace until it be done ; skim off the scum whilst your fish is boiling; when done, take out the fish, and let that and the liquor become cold; then add to it about one-third more vinegar, and throw in some whole pepper. To Pickle cold Salmon. — Boil a portion of the water in which your salmon was dressed, add to this about the same quantity of vinegar, and throw in a few whole pepper-corns, allspice, and bay-leaves; as soon as it boils, take it off the fire, and put in any previously Icooked salmon you may wish to preserve in this way. In L 146 BRAIZES. the event of your salmon being underdone, boil it in the pickle until thoroughly done throughout. Macicarel, Turbot, Trout, Mullet, Cod, Ling, and almost every kind of fish that are adapted for boiling, may be preserved in the same manner as above laid down. A few bay-leaves boiled in the pickle is a decided improvement to the fish. To Pickle Oysters. — In opening your oysters, take care to preserve their liquor. This you may readily effect by opening them in the deep shell, as is practised in France and Belgium. To this add an equal quantity of vinegar, a glass of white wine, throw in a blade of mace, some whole pepper-corns, and a little salt ; boil this for five minutes, taking care to remove the scum; then put in your oysters, and let them simmer very gently for about ten minutes ; then put them with their liquor into deep earthen pots, and tie them over with bladder, white leather, and paper, or with tin-foil, as is used on the Continent, so as effectually to exclude the air. OBSERVATIONS ON BRAIZES IN GENERAL. Every thing that is braized must be done thoroughly, and must be seasoned with spices, sweet herbs, vegetables, Ac. Though not of the first order of cookery, it is expensive, requires much care and constant attention, and nicety in the art. The things which belong to the class of braizes, are fricandeaux, sweet-breads, cutlets of muton, veal, tendons of veal, rump of beef, leg of mutton, &c.; &c.; Braizing is, in truth, a more scientific way of stewing. A Braize to dress Beef, Mutton, or any other Meat. — Take a braizing-pot, line the bottom with slices of bacon, beef, and onions, then put in it your meat, and season with salt, pepper, onions, carrots, sweet basil, thyme, and bay -leaves ; lay over it more slices of POELES. 147 beef and bacon, cover it, and let it be done with fire over and under. ou may in this sort of braize dress beef, mutton, or any other meat. A sheet of buttered paper is generally put over braized meats to prevent their being browned by the fire. A White Braize. — Take a braizing-pot, line with slices of bacon, veal, and onions ; you can add pieces of turkey and pullets, or any other of the white meat. Season with salt, pepper, sweet basil, bay-leaves, and garlic; then simmer the whole. This braize serves for all sorts of rolled meat. Of Seasoning Spices. — Put in a mortar half an ounce of grated nutmeg, half an ounce of broken cloves, a quarter of an ounce of white pepper, a quarter of an ounce of allspice, a quarter of an ounce of broken mace, a quarter of an ounce of dried thyme; work the whole to powder, pass it through a silk sieve, and put it into a tin-box that shuts very close, so as to retain the strength of the spices. Mix with one ounce of this preparation one pound of salt, dried in the oven, and finely sifted ; to one pound of veal, when boned, put half an ounce of this seasoned spice, which will season it effectually. Your spices must be of the very best. OBSERVATIONS ON POeLES IN GENEEAE. PokLES is almost the same operation as braizing, only that what is poeles must be underdone, and a braize must be done through. As the articles which are poeles require to preserve their whiteness, they must not be kept on the fire so long as others. For a fowl to be done in this way, three quarters of an hour is enough; a capon an hour, and so on. Po£les. — Take one pound of beef suet, one pound of very fresh butter, and one pound of very fat bacon ; cut the suet and bacon into very large dice, put into a stewpan, with an equal quantity of veal cut in the same way, l 2 148 POiLE. and fried till the veal becomes very white ; then moisten with about three pints of clear boiling broth or water, a handful of salt, one bay-leaf, a few sprigs of thyme, one onion stuck with three cloves, a good bundle of parsley, and green onions. Let the whole boil gently till the onion is done, then drain it through a hair sieve, and use it for any thing that may want poel6. The use of poele is to make every thing boiled in it very white and relishing. In the winter it keeps for a week, and is useful in the larder, particularly if you do not put any of the fleshy part of the bacon, otherwise, whatever you boil in it, will turn red. SAUCES.’ 149 SAUCES, ESSENCES, AND CONDIMENTS. Ajll sauces should be served hot ; when with cream and eggs, they should be very well stirred after these ingredients are added, to prevent their curdling, and warmed through, but not to boil. The same care should be taken in mixing capers, acid, and pickles, when used in sauces. When wine, ketchup, lemon-juice, spices, are used, &c.; &c.;, they should not be in for a longer time than what is necessary to extract the flavour. Brown sauces should be thinner than white. Cream should be boiled before it is mixed with any soup or sauce. OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO ALL SORTS OF FISH AND OTHER SAUCES. Fish sauces should always be thick enough to adhere to the fish; when too thin, they are bad. The thick is preferable, for you can add some of the cruet sauces. Essence of Ham for Gravies. — Pick all the meat clean from a ham bone, leaving out any rusty or rancid part ; break the bone, and put both into a sauce-pan with nearly half a pint of water, or a few spoonfuls of gravy. Set it over a slow fire, and stir it nearly all the time, or it will stick to the bottom ; add a bunch of sweet herbs, some pepper, and a pint of good beefgravy ; continue to simmer till it be well flavoured with . ;he herbs ; strain off the gravy ; keep it for improving rich gravies and sauces of all description. Egg Sauce. — Put three or four eggs into boiling water, and boil them from twelve to fifteen minutes — fifteen minutes is the better time. Put them into cold 150 SAUCES. water till they are quite cold. This makes the yolks firmer, and prevents their surface turning 1 black. Use only two of the whites, and cut them into small dice, and all the yolks into a quarter of an inch square. Put them into a sauce-boat, and pour on them about half a pint of melted butter, and stir the whole together. The melted butter for egg sauce must not be made too thick, though it should be made rich. You may pound a couple of yolks, and rub them into the butter to thicken it. Serve thoroughly hot. Green Sauce. — Bruise green spinach or sorrel in a marble mortar, and strain the juice through a cloth or coarse sieve ; add a little lump sugar, and to the spinachjuice some vinegar, or, instead, the pulp of stewed gooseberries; put in a bit of butter, and simmer the whole for about five minutes : shake all well together. N.B. — This is sometimes served up with young ducks or green geese. You will want neither gooseberries nor vinegar if you use sorrel; but to give it some consist- 3 ency, it may be necessary to add a little flour to the butter. Lemon Sauce. — Cut thin slices of lemon into very small dice, and put them into melted butter ; give it one boil, and pour it over boiled fowls, or send it to table in a sauce-tureen. Fish Sauce without Butter. — Simmer very gently a quarter of a pint of vinegar and half a pint of water (which must not be hard), with an onion, half a handful of horse-radish, and the following spices lightly bruised : Four cloves, two blades of mace, and half a tea-spoonful of black pepper. When the onion is quite tender, chop it small with twm anchovies, and set the whole on the fire to boil for a few minutes, with a spoonful of ketchup. In the mean time, have ready, and well-beaten, the yolks of three fresh eggs ; strain them, mix the liquor by degrees with them, and when well mixed, set the sauce-pan over a gentle fire, keeping a basin in one hand, into which toss the sauce to and fro, SAUCES. 151 and shake the sauce-pan over the fire, that the eggs may not curdle. Don’t boil them, only let the sauce be hot enough to give it the thickness of melted butter. The Old Currant Sauce for Venison. — Boil an ounce of dried currants, in half a pint of water, a few minutes ; then add a small tea-cupful of bread-crumbs, six cloves, a glass of port wine, and a bit of butter. Stir it till the whole is smooth. Tomata, or Love-Apple Sauce. — Have twelve or fifteen tomatas ripe and red, take olf the stalk, cut them in half, crush them just enough to get all the water and seeds out ; put them in a stew-pan, with two or three table-spoonfuls of beef-gravy, or a few small bits of lean ham ; set them on a slow stove for an hour, or till properly melted; then rub them through a tammy into a clean stew-pan, with a little white pepper and salt, and let them simmer together a few minutes. N.B. — To the above, the French cook adds a dozen small button mushrooms, an onion or shalot, a clove or two, or a little Tarragon vinegar. Tomata Sauce ( Another way ). — Take the tomatas when quite ripe, bake them till very tender, strain them, and rub them through a fine sieve. To every three pounds of pulp put a pint of Chili vinegar, a very small quantity of garlic and shalot sliced, half an ounce of white pepper sifted (or if it be for an Indian palate, a good pinch of Cayenne), half an ounce of salt ; boil the whole together till every ingredient be tender, then rub it through a sieve. To every pound add the juice of three lemons, boil the whole together till it becomes as thick as cream ; bottle it when quite cold, cork it well, and tie a bladder over it. Keep it in a cool place. Tomata Sauce ( Another way ). — Cut ten or twelve tomatas into quarters; put them into a stew-pan with four or five onions cut into slices, a pinch of parsley, a little thyme, a clove, and a quarter of a pound of butter ; boil the whole together, taking care that it does not stick to the stew-pan, for three-quarters of an hour ; 152 SAUCES. strain your sauce through a hair-sieve ; take care that it is properly seasoned with salt. This sauce is good with meat, fish, and vegetables. Sauce for Wild-Duck or Teal. — Take half the rind of a Seville orange, pared very thin, with some thin parings of lemon-rind ; add to it a glass of port, a dessert-spoonful of mustard, a very small bit of sugar, the size of a nut, the juice of half a lemon, a table-spoonful of Seville orange-juice, a little glaze and Cayenne, two table-spoonfuls of rich gravy or Espagnole (see Espagnole, French Cookery), boil together for ten minutes, strain and serve quite hot. This sauce should be kept thin. Sauce for Weld-Duck or Wild-Geese. — Take of Cayenne pepper, from a salt to a dessert-spoon, add the piece of half a lemon, a glass of claret or port, a glass of ketchup, or any other sauce according to the taste. To be warmed before you pom- it over the duck, or sent up in a sauce-boat. Bread Sauce. — Put a small tea-cupful of bread crumbs into a stew-pan, j>our on it as much new milk as it will soak up, and a little more, or instead of the milk, take the giblets, head, neck, and legs of the poultry, &c.;, and stew them, and moisten the bread with this liquor; put it on the fire with a middling-sized onion, and a dozen berries of pepper, or allspice, or a little mace ; let it boil, then stir it well, and let it simmer till it is quite stiff, and then put to it about two table-spoonfuls of cream, and about an ounce of pepper, melted butter, or a little good broth ; take out the onion and pepper, and it is ready. This sauce ought to be stewed constantly, and to be served quite smooth. Bread Sauce ( Another way ). — Take the crumb of a stale roll, about a teacupful, add as much milk as it will soak up and a little more, let it simmer three quarters of an hour, till it has the consistence of a thick bouillie, add a middle-sized mild onion, and from twelve to twenty berries of pepper, allspice, or a little mace SAUCES. 153 and salt, with the size of a walnut of fresh butter instead of the milk, take the giblets, head, neck, &c.;, of the poultry or game, stew and moisten the bread with this liquor ; let it boil, then stir well, and let it simmer till quite stiff, then put to it about two table-spoonfuls of cream, or melted butter, or a little broth. Take out the onion and pepper before serving. This is an excellent sauce for white game or poultry. Sauce for Fish-Pies. — Take a gill or quarter of a pint of vinegar, and the same quantity of white wine, oyster liquor, and ketchup, boil these with two anchovies, and when done strain them, and pour them into the pie after it is baked. Oyster Sauce for Fowl or Turkey. — Take two dozen or more oysters, and take care to preserve all the liquor when you open them. Put them into a small stew-pan with the liquor, and add to it a spoonful of water; heat them slowly, and keep them for a couple of minutes, simmering, but when the liquor boils the oysters are done ; stir them with a spoon, and put them to drain in a hair-sieve as you take them from the stewpan with a spoon; let the liquor settle, and pour it off clear into another vessel; beard the oysters, and wash them again in the liquor, in order to remove all grit and sand ; then put a pound of fresh butter into a stew-pan, with a spoonful or two of very fine flour; when the flour is fried a little, moisten with the oyster liquor, and a pint of cream; let this boil fifteen minutes, and add to it two spoonfuls of bechamel, stirring it all the while; if you have not bechamel, put a small bit of glaze, or portable soup, well seasoned. Mind, this has no essence of anchovies, as for fish : it is the only difference. Mask the fowl with this sauce. It should be of the consistency of double cream. Seasoning for Goose. — Chop very fine about three or four onions, about an ounce of undried sage-leaves, a cupful of bread crumbs, a bit of butter, and a little pepper and salt. Some add half the liver parboiled, and the yolk of one or two eggs. Stuff your goose with 154 SAUCES. this, taking- care that you do not quite fill the inside, ta allow the stuffing 1 to swell. Some cooks stuff only with apples pared and cored; first parboiled, others with whole, or mashed potatoes, well seasoned with pepper and salt; adding a little sage and onions if approved. Sauce for Green Goose. — Take half a pint of sorrel juice, half a pint of white wine, and some scalded gooseberries, to which add a sufficiency of sugar and butter ; let the whole boil up. Green, or Sorrel Sauce. — Wash and clean three or four handfuls of sorrel, put them into a stew-pan that will just hold it, with a bit of butter the size of an egg, cover it close, set it over a slow fire for a quarter of an hour, pass the sorrel with the back of a wooden spoon through a hair-sieve, season with pepper, salt, and a small pinch of powdered sugar, make ^it hot, and serve up under lamb, veal, sweetbreads, &c.; Cayenne, nutmeg, and lemon-juice, are sometimes added to it to suit East Indian, West Indian, and English palates. For Celery Sauce when Celery is not in Season. — A quarter of a drachm of celery- seed, or a little essence of celery will impregnate half a pint of sauce with a sufficient portion of the flavour of the vegetable. Celery Sauce for boiled Fowls and Turkeys. ; — Take a head of celery, wash and pare it very clean ; ‘ cut it into little thin bits, about two inches long, and ! boil it softly in a little milk and water till it is quite tender ; then add a little beaten mace, some pepper and salt, and a little grated nutmeg; thicken it with a good piece of butter, rolled in flour, chop it and boil it up with some white gravy for the dish, pour some of it into the dish, and put the remainder in a sauce-tureen, lou may add two spoonfuls of cream and a little glaze. Brown Celery Sauce. — Take the celery as above; then add mace, nutmeg, pepper, salt, a piece of butter, rolled in flour, with a glass of red wine, a spoonful of ketchup, and half a pint of good gravy ; boil all these together, and pour it into the dish. Shalot Sauce, for boiled Mutton. — Boil three SAUCES. 155 or six shalots, changing the water twice, then take two spoonfuls of the liquor the mutton is boiled in, two spoonfuls of vinegar, cut the shalots fine, mix them with a little salt; put them into a sauce-pan with a bit of butter, the size of a walnut, rolled in flour, with a white gravy; stir all together, and give it a boil. It is a good sauce for boiled mutton. Mint Sauce. — Take young mint, pick and wash it clean ; chop it fine, put it into a sauce-tureen, with sugar and vinegar to your taste. White Sharp Sauce. — Boil with a little Tarragon, or common vinegar, if the Tarragon is not to be had, four table-spoonfuls of white wine vinegar, and about twenty pepper-corns, reduce this one-fourth, and add it to six table-spoonfuls of sauce tournee , and two of good stock ; boil and strain it ; put it again on the fire, and thicken it with the beaten yolks of two eggs, a small bit of butter, a little salt and Cayenne. Just before serving stir in a little cream. Green Mint Sauce. — Pick and wash a handful of green mint, fresh and young, add, when minced very fine, a table-spoonful of the leaves, when taken from the stalks ; put them into the sauce-boat with four spoonfuls of vinegar, and a tea-spoonful of moist sugar. This sauce is used with hot or cold lamb. If green mint cannot be procured, it may be made with mint vinegar. Sauce for cold Fowl or Partridge. — Rub down in a mortar the yolks of two eggs boiled hard, an anchovy, two dessert-spoonfuls of oil, three of vinegar, a shalot, Cayenne if approved, and a tea-spoonful of mustard. All should be pounded before the oil is added ; then strain it. Shalot-vinegar instead of shalot, relishes well. A fine Mushroom Sauce for Fowls or Rabbits. — Wash and pick a pint of young mushrooms, and I rub them with salt to take off the tender skin; put them into a sauce-pan with a little salt, some nutmeg, a 156 SAUCES. blade of mace, a pint of cream, and a good piece of butter rubbed in flour; boil them up, and stir them till done ; then pour it round the chickens, &c.; Garnish with lemon. If you cannot get fresh mushrooms, use pickled ones done white, with a little mushroom-powder with the cream, &c.; Fennel and Gooseberry Sauce. — Take young fennel, strip it from the stems, and wash it clean, cut it very small; put it into a stew-pan with a little butter, and a dust of flour; season it with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, moisten with a little gravy or water; your sauce being thickened, throw in some gooseberries blanched. Let it be of good taste . This sauce answers well for mackarel, Sage and Onion, or Goose-stuffing Sauce. — Chop very fine, half an ounce of green sage-leaves, and an ounce of onion, put them into a stew-pan with four spoonfuls of water, simmer gently for ten minutes, then put in a tea-spoonful of pepper and salt, and one ounce of fine bread crumbs, mix well together ; then pour to it a quarter of a pint of melted butter, or an ounce of fresh butter ; stir well together, and simmer it a few minutes longer. If you want a liaison, the whole may be bound with the yolk of one or two eggs. Ham Sauce. — When a ham is almost done with, pick all the meat clean from the bone, leaving out any rusty part; beat the meat and the bone to a mash with a rolling-pin ; put it into a sauce-pan with three spoonfuls of gravy ; set it over a slow fire, and stir it all the time, or it will stick to the bottom. When it has been on some time, put to it a small bundle of sweet herbs, some pepper, and half a pint of beef-gravy ; cover it up, and let it stew over a gentle fire. When it has a good flavour of the herbs, strain off the gravy. A little of this is an improvement to all gravies. Sweet Sauces, for either Hare or Venison. — Currant-jelly warmed, or half a pint of red wine, with a SAUCES. 157 quarter of a pound of sugar simmered over a clear fire for five or six minutes; or half a pint of vinegar, and a quarter of a pound of sugar simmered till it is a syrup. Truffle Sauce. — Cut a truffle into small dices; do them in butter, moisten them with four skimming spoonfuls of veloute, and two of consomme ; reduce it, s kim , and finish it with a pat of butter. Rice Sauce. — Steep a quarter of a pound of rice in a pint of milk, with onion, pepper, &c.;, as for bread sauce, when the rice is quite tender (take out the spice), rub it through a sieve into a clean stew-pan, if too thick, put a little milk or cream to it. This is a very delicate white sauce, and served up for poultry and game. Mushroom Sauce. — Mix a good piece of butter with a little flour; boil it up in some cream, shaking the sauce-pan ; throw in some mushrooms, a little salt and nutmeg; boil it up. Or put the mushrooms into melted butter, with a little veal gravy, some salt, and grated nutmeg. To melt Butter with Cream. — Melt half a pound of butter, well broken in a glassful of cream; stir it constantly. Use it for lobster or oyster sauces. Parsley and Butter. — Wash clean, a good bunch of parsley, pick it carefully, leaf by leaf; put a teaspoonful of salt into half a pint of boiling water; boil it for ten minutes; drain on a sieve; mince it quite fine , and then bruise it to a pulp. Put into a sauce-boat, and mix with it by degrees half a pint of melted butter, with less flour in it, as the parsley will add to its thicknessChervil, Basil, Tarragon, Burnet, Cress, Fennel, and butter, may all be made as directed for parsley and butter. Method of preparing Salad Sauce. — Take four eggs (the yolks) boiled hard, rub them in a mortar till they are very smooth, then add one table-spoonful of ready-made mustard, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, then, by slow degrees, a small flask of the finest salad oil; after which add vinegar according to taste. To those who are fond of Tarragon, it is a great addition to the flavour, 158 SAUCES. or shalot vinegar. After it is done, pass or not through a very fine hair sieve. N.B. Less oil may be used. Lobster Sauce. — Take the meat from the hen lobster and break it into pieces, pound the spawn with a piece of butter as large as a walnut, and rub it through a sieve, boil up the shells, which should be broken up, in half a pint of water or veal broth, with a little ground allspice, or broken mace, and whole pepper, and a small portion of horse-radish scraped into it ; let this boil until all the strength of the ingredients is thoroughly extracted; then strain off the liquor, and put it with the lobster into a stew-pan; add half a pound of cream, or the same quantity of thick melted butter, a small spoonful of anchovy sauce, and a squeeze of lemon, adding the pounded spawn. Stir it about and let it simmer gently for five minutes, but be careful it does not boil. Season with Cayenne pepper and salt while the stewing is going on, and serve it in the sauce boats. Cockle Sauce. — Mix a good-sized piece of butter in plenty of flour, and melt it with some of the liquor of the cockles, and a little vinegar, then throw in the cockles, shake them about a minute, then serve it up in boats. This is a good sauce with cod-fish or haddock. Parsley and Butter (. Another way ). — Having chopped your parsley fine, boil it in the water or broth in which you melt your butter. By the time the latter is melted the parsley will be sufficiently done. This is a good sauce with salmon, haddock, brill, plaice, or boiled Dover sole. In Ireland and Scotland salmon is generally served with parsley and butter sauce. Fennel Sauce ( Another way ). — Boil the fennel in the same water in which you boil your fish, and when it becomes tender take it up, chop it fine, and mix it with plain melted butter. This is a sauce often served with salmon in the west of England and Cornwall. Siirimp Sauce. — Shell a pint of fresh shrimps, pick them clean ; wash, and put them into half a pint of good melted butter ; a little lemon pickle and vinegar SAUCES. 159 may be added; but the flavour of the shrimp is too delicate to have any addition. The heads and shells, with or without a little mace, may be stewed for ten or fifteen minutes, and the liquor strained olf to melt the butter with. Anchovy Sauce. — Chop one or two anchovies without washing’, put them to some flour and butter, and a little drop of water ; stir it over the fire till it boils once or twice. When the anchovies are good, they will be dissolved; and the colour will be better than by the usual way. Sauces for a Pig. — There are several ways of making* sauce for a pig. Some do not like sage, only a crust of bread, but then you should have a little dried sage rubbed and mixed with the gravy and butter. Some like bread sauce in a basin, made thus : — take a pint of water, put in a good piece of crumb of bread, a blade of mace, and a little whole pepper; boil it about five or six minutes, then pour the water off, take out the spice, and beat up the bread with a good piece of butter. Some like a few currants boiled in it, a glass of wine, and a little sugar. Others take half a pint of beef gravy, and the gravy which comes out of the pig, i with a piece of butter rolled in flour, two spoonfuls of ketchup, and boil them all together, then they take the brains of the pig, and bruise them fine, and they put these with the sage in the pig, and pour it in the dish. When you have not gravy enough with the butter for sauce, take half a pint of veal gravy, and add to it; or stew pettitoes, and take as much of that liquor as will do for sauce mixed with the other. Oyster Sauce. — Take half a pint of oysters, and i simmer them till they are plump, strain the liquor from them through a sieve, wash the oysters clean and beard 1 them; put them in a stew-pan, and pour the liquor over, but mind you do not pour the sediment with the liquor; I add a blade of mace, a quarter of a lemon, a spoonful of anchovy-liquor and a little bit of horse-radish; also, a little butter rolled in flour, half a pound of butter melted, 160 SAUCES. and boil it up gently for ten minutes. Now take out the horse-radish, the mace, and lemon, squeeze the juice of the lemon in the sauce, toss it up a little, then put it into the boats or basins. Sauce for cold Fowl or Game. — Pound the yolks of three eggs boiled hard, two anchovies, one tablespoonf’ul of oil, four of good vinegar, two shalots, and a small quantity of mustard. Sauce for Hare. — Put a pint of cream and half a pound of fresh butter in a sauce-pan, and keep stirring it with a spoon till the butter is melted, and the sauce is thick; then take up the hare, and pom 1 the sauce in a dish. Another way to make sauce for a hare is, to make good gravy, thickened with a little butter rolled in flour, and pour it in the dish. Leave the butter out if you do not like it, and have currant-jelly warmed in a cup, or red wine and sugar boiled to a syrup, done thus — take half a pint of red wine, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and set them over a slow fire to simmer for a quarter of an hour. You may do half the quantity, and put it in a sauce-boat or basin. Sauce for V enison. — Use either of these sauces for venison : currant jelly warmed; or half a pint of red wine, with a quarter of a pound of sugar, simmered over a clear fire for five or six minutes; or half a pint of vinegar, and a quarter of a pound of sugar, simmered to syrup. White Sauce, or French Melted Butter. — Put into a stew-pan a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, a spoonful of flour, a little salt, half a gill or glass of water, half a spoonful of white vinegar, and a little grated nutmeg. Put it on the fire, let it thicken, but do not allow it to boil, or else it will taste of the flour. We insert this among the English sauces, as it is now nationalized in England at all good tables. We hope it may be soon introduced at the tables of the smaller shop-keepers, the tradesman, and working man. Melted Butter. — Cut two ounces of butter into little bits, that it may melt more easily, and mix more SAUCES. 161 readily ; put it into the stew-pan with a large tea-spoonful of flour, and two table-spoonfuls of milk. When thoroughly mixed, add six table-spoonfuls of water; hold it over the fire, and shake it round every minute (all the same way) till it just begins to simmer, then let it stand quietly and boil up. It should be of the thickness of good cream. N.B. — If the butter oils, put a spoonful of cold water to it, and stir it with a spoon ; if it is very much oiled, it must be poured backwards and forwards from the stew-pan to the sauce-boat, till it is right again. Observe. — Keep a pint stew-pan for this only. Sauce for Boiled Turkey. — Take sixteen large picked chesnuts of best quality, boil slowly in water, so that they may not burst; dry them carefully before a fire, or in an oven, without allowing them to burn, remove their skins, and pound the nuts to a fine powder in a stone-mortar. Take two or three table-spoonfuls of cream, flavour it to your taste with nutmeg, white pepper, salt, and a few grains of red pepper. Thoroughly mix the chesnuts in this, and immediately add it to two gills of sweet milk in a full state of ebullition. Put over the boiled turkey and serve up. This sauce, though simple, is very savoury. Caper Sauce. — Take a table-spoonful of capers, and two tea-spoonfuls of vinegar, mince one-third of them very fine, and divide the others in half ; put them into a quarter of a pint of melted butter, or good thickened gravy ; stir them the same way you did the melted butter, or it will oil. N.B. — A few leaves of parsley, chervil, Tarragon, or the juice of half a lemon or orange may be added; a little sugar pounded is an improvement; and do not use any of the caper liquor. Keep your caper-bottle well corked. Sauce for Boiled Mutton. — Slice and cut into dice some lemon, with some mustard and vinegar, into melted butter or capers crushed, and put into melted M 162 SAUCES. butter, adding a little vinegar to the capei’9 after they have been bruised. Caper, Sauce for Fish. — Take some melted butter, into which throw a small bit of glaze, and when the sauce is in a state of readiness, throw into it some choice capers, salt, and pepper, and a spoonful of essence of anchovies. Grill Sauce. — To half a pint of gravy, add an ounce of fresh butter and a table-spoonful of flour, previously well rubbed together, the same of mushroom or walnut-ketchup, two tea-spoonfuls of lemon juice, one of made mustard, one of minced capers, half a one of black pepper, a quarter of a rind of a lemon, grated very thin, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovies, and a little shalot wine, or a very small piece of minced eschalot, and a little Chili vinegar, or a few grains of Cayenne; simmer together for a few minutes, and pour a little of it over the grill, and send up the rest in a sauce-tureen. Shalot Sauce for Boiled Mutton. — Mince four shalots very fine, and put them into a small saucepan, with almost half a pint of the liquor the mutton was boiled in ; let them boil up for five minutes, then put in a table-spoonful of vinegar, a quarter tea-spoonful of pepper, a little salt, and a bit of butter (as big as a walnut) rolled in flour; shake together till it boils. N.B. — A little finely-chopped parsley, or a little lemon-peel maybe added. Shalot Sauce. — Take four shalots, and make it in the same manner as garlic-sauce. See posted. Garlic Sauce. — Pound two cloves of garlic with a piece of fresh butter about as big as a nutmeg, rub it through a double hair-sieve, and stir it into half a pint of melted butter or beef-gravy, or make it with garlic vinegar. Sauce for Fish. — One tea-cup of water, one anchovy, a little mace, peppercorns, and a piece of onion; boil these five minutes, strain it, and melt with it a sufli- SAUCES. 163 cient quantity of butter, and one spoonful of gravy, and one ditto of white wine, for all fish but salmon and fried eels — for them port wine. Cream Sauce for Hare. — Baste the hare with boiled milk until about half done enough, then take the milk from the dripping-pan, and add a pint of cream, thickened with a little flour and butter boiled ; then put the liver, boiled in water, through a tammy, and add it to the cream. There should be about two tea-cupfuls of milk in the dripping-pan. Wordsworth Sauce. — One ounce of sugar candy, pounded very fine; one ounce of Cayenne; one-half gill of soy; one-half gill of mushroom ketchup; six cloves, pounded fine; six anchovies, pounded fine; six shalots, pounded fine ; one quart of vinegar. Mix the whole together, and shake it up occasionally, and in ten days it will be fit for use. Celery Sauce Puree, for boiled Turkey , Veal , Fowls, fyc. — Cut small half a dozen heads of nice white celery that is quite clean, and two onions sliced ; put in a two-quart stew-pan, with a small lump of butter, sweat them over a slow fire till quite tender, then put in two spoonfuls of flour, half a pint of water (or beef or veal broth), salt and pepper, and a little cream or milk ; boil it a quarter of an hour, and pass through a fine hairsieve with the back of a spoon. Pindar Sauce, — One pound of anchovies, half a pint of anchovy liquor, eight lemons, quarter of an ounce of cloves, quarter of an ounce of mace, twelve peppercorns, a few shalots, a handful of scraped horseradish, one bottle of port wine, ditto of mountain. Boil the above ingredients twenty minutes, then strain off and put into bottles well corked. Let your butter be melted very thick, then put in as much of the essence as is agreeable to your palate. Before using, shake the bottle well. Sauce a la Walesby, Deputy -Assistant Judge of Middlesex Sessions, Recorder of Woodstock, fyc. fyc. — One quart of vinegar, one ounce of Cayenne pepper, m 2 164 SAUCES, four table-spoonfuls of soy, ditto of walnut-ketchup, six cloves, six shalots well bruised, a little garlic, and a few chillies will improve. Horse-radish Sauce. — Grate a stick of horseradish, put it into a mortar, arid bruise it well, with a small spoonful of mustard, one of white sugar, one of vinegar, then mix it well together with a quarter of a pint of cream. Lobster Sauce ( Another ivcty). — A fresh hen lobster boiled ten minutes, the white meat cut in pieces, the spawn well pounded, and mixed with half a pound of fresh butter, three large spoonfuls of essence of anchovies, a little Cayenne pepper, the juice of a lemon, a gill of cream, and a gill of thick flour and water. Let the whole boil five minutes, keeping it stirred. Lobster Sauce ( Another way ). — Melt some butter in a little milk, with a little flour and a bit of lemonpeel in it ; then add some cream, take out the lemonpeel and put in the lobster cut into small pieces, with a. little of the spawn; simmer all together about ten minutes. Shrimp sauce may be made in the same way, or the shrimps put into plain melted butter. Lobster Sauce ( Another method of ¦preparing ). — Choose a fine hen lobster (let it be heavy), pick out the spawn and red coral and put it into a mortar, with half an ounce of butter, pound it quite smooth, and rub through a hair sieve with the back of a wooden spoon; cut the meat of the lobster into small pieces, or pull it to pieces with a fork; put the pounded spawn into as much melted butter as you think will do, and stir it till it is thoroughly mixed; then put the meat to it, and warm it on the fire. Take care it does not boil, which would spoil the colour. To make Oyster Sauce. — Take a pint of oysters that are tolerably large, put them into a sauce-pan with their own liquor strained, a blade of mace, a little whole pepper, and a bit of lemon-peel ; let them stew over the foe till the oysters are plump; pour them into a pan, SAUCES. 165 and wash them carefully one by one out of the liquor; strain the liquor through a sieve, and add the same quantity of good gravy ; cut some butter into pieces, roll it in flour, and put it to the oysters; set it over the fire, shake it round often till it boils, and add a spoonful of white wine ; let it just boil, then pour it into tureens. Superior Oyster Sauce. — Be careful in opening the oysters to preserve the liquor; put them into a stewpan over a stove on a sharp fire ; when they are quite white and firm, take them out of the water with a spoon, and drain them on a hair sieve ; then pour off the liquor gently into another vessel, in order to have it quite clear. Put a small bit of fresh butter into a stew-pan, with a ¦spoonful of flour, fry it over a small fire for a few minutes, dilute it with the oyster liquor, add to it two spoonfuls of cream, let it boil till the flour is quite done, then add the oysters, after having taken off the beards. Season with a little salt, and one spoonful of essence of anchovies. If the oyster sauce is to serve with fowl, do not put anchovies in it, but add three or four spoonfuls of good beehamelle. Receipt for Provencjale. — Take the yolks of two eggs, pour in oil very gently, taking care always to stir it the same way, or the sauce will be spoiled ; the oil must be very gradually added, or the sauce will curdle; the more oil is added, the thicker the sauce will be. When sufficient quantity is made, add vinegar, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, shalot, and a small quantity of garlic. When done, take the quantity of salad, and •cold roast or boiled fowl, game, or turkey, cut up in i small pieces, pour the sauce over it, and stir as you would i a salad. Sauce Superlative. — Claret or port wine, and mushroom ketchup, a pint of each ; half a pint of walnut or other pickled liquor ; pounded anchovies, four ounces; fresh lemon peel, pared very thin, an ounce ; pickled and sliced shalots, the same ; scraped horse-radish, the •same ; allspice and black pepper, powdered, (each) half i66 SAUCES. an ounce ; cayenne, one drachm, or curry powder, three drachms ; celery seed, bruised, a drachm. All avoirdupois weight. Put these into a wide-mouthed bottle, stop it close, shake it up every day for a fortnight, strain it, and you will have a “ delicious double eelish.” Relish for Chops. — Pound line an ounce of black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice, with an ounce of salt, and half an ounce of scraped horse-radish, and the same of shalots, peeled and quartered ; put these ingredients into a pint of mushroom ketchup, or walnut pickle, and let them steep for a fortnight, and then strain it. N.B. — A tea-spoonful or two of this is generally an acceptable addition for port wine drinkers, old Fellows of colleges, &c.;, mixed with the gravy usually sent up for chops and steaks, or added to thick melted better. Salad Sauce. — Take four yolks of eggs boiled hard, rub them in a mortar till they are very smooth, then add one table-spoonful of ready-made mustard, two teaspoonfuls of salt, — then by slow degrees a flask of the finest salad oil ; lastly, add vinegar according to taste. To those who are fond of Tarragon, it is a great addition to the flavour. After it is done, pass all through a very fine hair sieve. White Sauce foe Fillets of Mackarel. — Rub a quarter of a pound of butter with a table-spoonful of flour ; put it into a stew-pan ; when melted, and boiled a little, add half a pint of water, and season it with salt and white pepper to taste ; boil ten minutes, then take it off the fire, and when sufficiently off the boil, add a thickening made with two yolks of eggs, beat up with the juice of half a lemon, and a little nutmeg. Chervil Sauce. — Pick a large handful of chervil, leaf by leaf ; put it into a stew-pan with a spoonful of the best stock, simmer it until the stew-pan becomes dry ; then add as much coulis or gravy as is requisite, squeeze a lemon, and put a little sugar to make it palatable ; add a little Madeira. A Cullis for Ragouts and all rich Sauces. — SAUCES. 167 Take two pounds of lean veal, two ounces of ham, two cloves, a little nutmeg, a blade of mace, some parsleyroots, two caiTOts, cut in pieces, some shalots, and two bay -leaves, set these over a stove, or in a kettle of boiling water in an earthen vessel ; let them do very gently for half an hour, closely covered, observing they do not burn; put some beef broth to it; let it stew till it is as rich as you wish it to be, then strain off. OBSERVATIONS ON GRAVIES, &c.; In English kitchens the ingredients for brown gravies are usually fried, instead of which the French cook reduces them with a little liquid to a glaze ; this requires great care, as the liquid must be almost wholly evaporated, but yet not burnt, when the proper colour is obtained, it must be removed from the side of the stew-pan by boiling broth being added to it ; it may then stew gently for four hours with a few mushrooms, a Spanish onion, and a little parsley. This glaze is a strong jelly of a reddish brown colour. A tbickish slice of the leanest portion of an unboiled highly cured or smoked ham, is a great improvement to a rich soup or gravy. The bones of undressed meat, if well boiled down, supply an economical gravy. In order to heighten the colour and flavour of gravies a couple of ounces of ham may be placed with an ounce of fresh butter, a blade of mace, two or three cloves, a bunch of sweet herbs, a shalot or two, and a very small spoonful of bruised or minced onion, and be gradually added to the common gravy or stock. Observe, the common gravy or stock should be simmered to a heat, and the ingredients above-mentioned be then added, and allow the whole to boil for twenty minutes. Glaze. — This is a jelly reduced to the consistency of cream ; it must be carefully managed, or it will burn before brought to the proper point of perfection ; it must 3 not be left when an indication of thickening is seen, 168 SAUCES. which may be ascertained by dropping it from the spoon, it should drop as preserves do; it should then be poured out directly, or it will bum. When to be used, dissolve the glaze by placing the vessel which contains it in hot water, it may then be put on the meat with a brush ; when, if good, it will present the appearance of a fine clear varnish. All stock which contains veal, may be reduced to glaze. Salt should be used sparingly at first, in consequence of the very great reduction the stock undergoes. Gravy made with Roots. — Cut some roots very small, and cut into four onions proportioned to the quantity of gravy you require. Put all with a little butter into a stew-pan, on a brisk fire, stir it now and then with a wooden’ spoon. Your onions and roots being braized, moisten them with peas broth; season with parsley, chibbols, some cloves, a sprig of sweet basil, a little thyme, and mushrooms if you have them; let the liquor stew slowly, and be relishing; when done, strain off, and use it for all sorts of ragouts. Brown Gravy eor Lent. — Melt a piece of butter about the size of an egg, in a sauce-pan, shake in a little flour, and brown it by degrees, stir in half a pint of water, and half a pint of ale, or small beer which is not bitter, an onion, a piece of lemon-peel, two cloves, a blade of mace, some whole pepper, a spoonful of mushroom pickle, a spoonful of ketchup, and an anchovy; boil altogether a quarter of an hour, and strain it. It is an excellent sauce for various dishes. Egg Sauce for Salt Cod. — Boil your eggs hard, first half chop the whites, then put in the yolks, and chop them both together, but not very small, put them into half a pound of good melted butter, and let it boil up, then put it on the fish. Lemon Sauce is prepared in various ways ; but this is the most simple. Take a quarter of a pint of good veal gravy, or, in its absence, simple water ; thicken it by boiling with a little flour, then add to it the juice of a large lemon, and the outside peel pared very thin and pounded into a paste, or minced very fine, or grated off SAUCES. 169 the lemon. Simmer the whole together for a few minutes. A Sauce op Seville Oranges, or of any other oranges, may be made, if required, exactly in the same way. Some employ melted butter, others cream, instead of gravy or water ; others cut the lemon, freed altogether from its rind, into small bits, and mix it with the butter ; but we disapprove of all these methods : the last, without the rind, will have little or no taste of the lemon. Fennel Sauce is best and most easily made by boiling sprigs of green fennel in water till they are tender, chopping them fine, and then by mixing them with melted butter. Some make fennel sauce with equal parts of green fennel, mint, and parsley, boiled till they are tender, and then chopped fine and mixed with melted butter; but this is a compound sauce which we do not recommend, nor do we believe many will desire it. Horse-radish Sauce is made in various ways : some order it to be boiled in good gravy with other condiments ; but if you desire it in its best state it should not be boiled at all, but be mixed after being grated fine (with the gravy or other liquid which you choose to employ) in large quantity, so as to impart to it the decided pungency for which this useful and valuable condiment is known ; it may be made hot in the gravy ; but we again repeat that it should on no account be boiled ; and we advise, besides, that no other ‘condiments be mixed with this sauce, except perhaps a little vinegar. A Brown Onion Sauce may be made by braizing {finely sliced onions, with a small quantity of butter, in ia stew-pan till they become brown ; add next some good broth, and stew the onions in it twenty to twenty- five minutes ; to this you must add some pepper, salt, and (flour, to make the whole of a proper consistence ; strain at through a coarse sieve. You will here have a much more pungent onion “sauce than the preceding. no SAUCES. Onion Sauce is prepared many ways : like melted butter, most cooks have a method of making onion sauce of their own. The pungency of onions, leeks, garlic, and others of the same genus of plants, rises from a volatile essence which is dissipated by even a moderate heat, and more especially by long boiling in water. Onions, in their raw state, may be eaten by many persons with impunity, while to others they are extremely offensive, and produce when eaten considerable disturbance of the digestive functions. In preparing onions, therefore, for sauce, as well as to be otherwise eaten, it will be necessary for the cook to know the taste and wishes of the master and mistress of a family before she can know how to prepare onion sauce that may be agreeable to them. If the onion sauce be desired to contain a strong and pungent taste of the onion, the onions may be boiled in water, after being peeled and quartered, till they are tender, then chopped fine upon a clean chopping-board, and be returned again to the sauce-pan and water, to which may be added some butter and a little flour, and simmered for ten or fifteen minutes, the whole being thus, and also by beating with a wooden spoon, reduced to a smooth pulp. Some will prefer passing it through a coarse hair sieve or colander : some, too, will add cream to it. It must be seasoned with salt of course. If, however, you desire a more mild onion sauce, you must boil the onions for some time in two or three different waters, throwing all the waters away, and when the onions are tender, they must be chopped as directed above, passed through a coarse hair sieve or colander, and then be mixed with sufficient butter and flour to render it, being seasoned with salt, at once smooth and mild. The cook will, in general, find this last method the best : for such sauce will be more agreeable to most persons than the strong one made according to our first directions. If desired, cream may be added to it. The most delicate sauce is made from the whitest SAUCES. 171 onions ; some lay them in salt and water, after peeling and quartering – them, for about twenty minutes ; but there is no necessity for this previous marinade. Some, in order to have the onion sauce whiter, will boil the onions in milk and water instead of plain water. Sauce for Light Puddings. — Into a small stewpan put the yolks of three egg s, two ounces of pounded sugar, a little grated nutmeg or cinnamon, the grated rind of a lemon or orange, and two glasses of white wine. Set the stew-pan in one somewhat larger containing a little hot water, so as to form a shallow bath ; put them on a moderate charcoal fire, and with a wire whisk keep whipping the sauce till it becomes of a thick, white, creamy substance, when it may be used as directed. Currant Sauce. — Boil two ounces of dried currants in a jfint of water five minutes, first washing and drying your currants well, then add the crumb of a penny roll, a dozen cloves, a gill or quarter of a pint of port wine, and some butter, stirring it till it becomes perfectly smooth. A Fruit Sauce. — Take a pound of fresh apricots, cherries, currants, raspberries, plums, strawberries, or damascenes, or a similar quantity of bottled fruit, boil them with half a pound of sugar for ten minutes, then rub them through a hair sieve or tammy, warm the sauce in a small stew-pan, and send it, round the pudding or in a sauce-boat, to table. Sauce for Cabinet Pudding. — Take a large glass of brandy, a glass of sherry, a little sugar, a little nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of butter and a little flour, boil it, and pour it over the pudding. Pudding Sauce. — Mix with half a pint of melted butter, two wine glasses of sherry, and a table-spoonful of loaf sugar, make it quite hot and serve in a sauceboat, with grated nutmeg on the top. 172 OBSERVATIONS ON MEAT IN GENERAL. BEEF. Ox Beef is considered the best ; it is smoothly grained, and of a carnation red. Heifer Beef is excellent when finely fed, and is most suitable to families. It is more closely grained, and of lighter colour. The bones are smaller, and the fat whiter. When beef is to he Lept any length of time, it should be carefully wiped every day. In warm weather, wood vinegar is a fine preservative. It should be put all over the meat with a brush. To protect the meat from flies, sprinkle it with pepper. Tainted meat may be restored by washing in cold water, afterwards in strong camomile tea, after which it may be sprinkled with salt, and used the following day, first washing it in cold w’ater. Roughly powdered charcoal rubbed all over the meat, also restores it when tainted. In summer, meat, in in Scotland, is often kept a fortnight smothered in oatmeal and wiped every day, and if it should be tainted, it is soaked for some hours before used, in oatmeal and water. Observe, the best beefsteaks are cut from the inside of the sirloin, almost always used for the biftek in France. This is the tenderest portion of the meat, though London aldermen prefer the middle of the rump, the veiny piece, or chuck rib. MUTTON. There are four kinds of mutton, the Southdown, the Scotch, the Welsh, and the Dartmoor. The first is good, and of fine flavour ; the second is still better; the third is of equal excellence with the second ; but all ¦K VO. 0 ROASTING. 173 the others yield, in our estimation, to the Dartmoor. The sheep supplying all but the first, are plump, and of a small size; which seems to be the case with all mutton in hilly countries. For mutton to be good, the sheep ought not to be killed until it is from five to seven years old, and the lean should be of a dark hue. Young mutton is always soft, flabby, and unwholesome ; and the test of excellence in this meat is, that it does not fly from the knife when cut, but rather closes upon it. PORE. Pork, when young and properly fed, is very healthy and strengthening ; the very reverse if ill and coarsely fed. High flavoured pork is not known in this country; when entirely fed upon rice it gets too delicate. The best flavoured pork is that which is fed upon peas and bran, and next to that on com and bran. The Irish pork, fed upon grains and potatoes, is without flavour, and the fat soft and flabby, instead of being a clear amber colour, and homy and consistent. Much, no doubt, depends upon the breed. Among the smaller breeds of pigs, the Chinese and Neapolitan are the best; and of the larger breeds, those which have the thickest skin. Hampshire and Oxfordshire are famed for good pork. The highest flavoured and best pork in Italy, is fed upon Indian corn. OBSERVATIONS ON ROASTING. In roasting, make up a fire proportioned to the joint to be roasted. Let the fire be free from ashes and smoke in front, and so arrange the top that it will not need fresh coals for some time after the meat is at the fire. Keep the meat at a distance when first put down, baste constantly, and draw it near the fire gradually as it becomes nearly done, to brown; but be careful it is not burned. 174 ROASTING. When you have occasion to stir the tire, always remove the dripping-pan first, that no ashes may fall into it. A little butter or clarified dripping may be used at first, to a very lean piece of meat; but avoid dripping for poultry, as it imparts an (to many people) objectionable flavour. Roasting requires great attention rather than great skill. It is a good way in roasting meat, to baste first with a little salt and water, which put into the drippingpan, before using its own fat or dripping. Old meats do not require so much dressing as young, because they can be eaten with the more gTavy in. Sirloin of Beef. — A sirloin of beef, weighing about fifteen pounds, will take from three and a half to four hours to roast. Care should be taken to spit it firmly and evenly, that it may not be heavier on one side than the other. You should have a good clear fire for roasting. When put down, your meat should not be nearer than ten inches to the fire, and gradually drawn closer. Put a little dripping into your dripping-pan; tie a sheet of paper over it to preserve the fat; baste it well as soon as put down, and every quarter of an bom 1 all the time it is roasting, till the last half hour, then take off the paper ; ten minutes before serving, sprinkle a little salt over it, baste with butter, and dredge with flour to froth it ; dish it, and garnish with scraped horse-radish. In cold weather meat requires longer roasting than in warm, and if newly killed, than if it has been kept. Ribs of Beef. — The three first ribs of beef, of fifteen or twenty pounds, will take from three to four hours. The fourth and fifth ribs will take as long, and done in the same way as the sirloin. Paper the fat, and the thin part, or it will be done too much, before the thick part is sufficiently roasted. When it is drawn from the spit, some gravy will run out, to which you may add a little boiling salt and water poured along the bone of the meat, or you may make a good browning with bits of roast or boiled meat, cut up small and put into a basin, ROASTING. 175 i cover with boiling water, till the next day; then put it into a sauce-pan, boil for two or three minutes, strain through a sieve, and use when required. When you want gravy for roast meat, put two table-spoonfuls into i half a pint of boiling-water with a little salt ; if for roasted veal, put three table-spoonfuls into half a pint of thin melted butter. It is a general rule to allow a quarter of an hour to each pound of meat for roasting. A Fillet of Beef. — Bone your ribs, weighing about fifteen pounds ; roll the meat tightly and firmly, and skewer it; roast and garnish it in the same manner as a sirloin. A Fillet of Veal. — From ten to fourteen pounds will require from four to five hours. Make some stuffing, or forcemeat, and put it under the flap, and firmly skewer it. The fire should be clear and strong; the meat should be, at first, placed at a distance from it, and then draw it nearer to finish roasting it brown. When first put down, baste it, and frequently afterwards ; when half roasted, see that the fat don’t burn, and baste often, and to accomplish this operation, tie a piece of paper over the fat; a little before serving, remove it, sprinkle it with salt, dredge with flour, and well baste to froth it. When dished, pour over it finely melted butter, add to some melted butter a little brown gravy in the dish; garnish with thin slices of cut lemon ; some add cakes or balls of stuffing. All white meats should be well done. Ham, bacon, [ tongue, or sausages, are generally served with veal, roast or boil. Loin of Veal. — A loin takes about three hours ; roasting, and is basted, the kidney-fat and back covered ¦ with paper, and served as a fillet. Neck of Veal. — The best end of a neck of Veal will • take about two hours to roast. The same accompaniments as for fillet or loin. Loin, Ciiump End, is roasted and served as a fillet iand loin. A IIauncii of Mutton, weighing fifteen pounds 176 ROASTING. requires three hours and a half of roasting. Send up two sauce-boats with it ; the one of rich mutton gravy, without spice or herbs ; and one of sweet sauce of currant jelly melted. Some send it without melting. This joint should he roasted at a brisk fire, and basted as beef ; the fat covered with a piece of white paper : before serving, a half sheet of paper, folded and fringed, should be put round the shank-bone. A Chine or Saddle of Mutton of ten or eleven pounds will take about two hours and a half. The skin should be taken off, and skewered on again to prevent the meat from extreme heat, and preserve its juice. Should this not be done, tie a sheet of paper over it, and baste the strings directly, or they will burn. A quarter of an hour before it is done, take off the skin or paper, that the meat may get a nice colour, then baste and flour it lightly to froth it. Serve currant jelly sauce in a boat. This joint possesses very delicate meat, if carved in the proper way. A Leg of Mutton Roast. — Mutton for roasting may be kept longer than mutton for boiling. The pipe, which runs along the back-bone and taints early, should be cut out. A leg of eight pounds will take about two hours. Let it be well basted and frothed, as directed for beef. Your fire must be a brisk and sharp one to concentrate the juices ; as beef must have a large and sound one. This and every other piece of meat may be lightly dusted with flour, or with pepper or pounded ginger, which, by excluding the external air and keeping off flies, helps to preserve the meat, and can be taken off in the washing previous to roasting. A leg of mutton shows its excellence when the sinews are very small, and the back appears very brown ; it is never in that state till it has attained three or four years of age, and it should have that age to be in perfection. Roast Shoulder of Mutton. — A shoulder of seven pounds, will take an hour and a half : serve with onion ROASTING. 177 sauce. The blade-bone may be broiled. A small shoulder, boned and stuffed, may be baked with a Yorkshire pudding. A Loin of Mutton should be carefully jointed, and roasted from an hour and a half to three quarters, if weighing seven pounds, and is generally carved lengthways. Neck of Mutton. — The best end of neck of mutton may be roasted ; and jointed previous to putting on the spit. A Breast of Mutton may be parboiled, grilled, and served with onion or caper sauce ; or half-boiled and grilled before the fire, in which case it should be covered with crumbs and herbs, and served with caper sauce. To roast House-lamb. — House-lamb requires to be well roasted ; and is in season from Christmas to Ladyday. The lamb should be. above all things, young. Any thing between lamb and mutton is coarse and abominable. Lamb should not be long kept, if the flavour and juices are to be obtained in perfection. A hindquarter of eight pounds will require one hour and three quarters to two hours ; baste and froth it as for roastbeef, and gravy the same. Fore-Quarter of Lamb, weighing ten pounds, about two hours. When you, or your cook, before it comes up. take off the shoulder from the ribs, squeeze the juice of a lemon or Seville orange over them, sprinkle also a little salt. Mint sauce, served in a sauce-boat. If left to be cold, chopped parsley should be sprinkled over it. A Chine or Saddle of Lamb is to be roasted according to its weight. You must have a quick fire ; baste it well as soon as put down; butter, salt, and pepper it; dredge with flour, baste it to froth up. Leg of Lamb. — A leg weighing five pounds, from one hour to one hour and a half to roast. Shoulder of Lamb.— One hour with a quick fire. Loin of Lamb. — A n hour and a quarter. Neck of Lamb. — O ne hour. Breast. — T hree quarters of an hour. N 178 ROASTING. To Roast a Sucking Pig. — The pig should not be more than three weeks old. The ends must have much more fire than the middle; for this purpose, is contrived an iron to hang’ before the middle part, called a pig-iron; a common flat ipon may be used ; or keep your fire fiercest at the ends. Roast it at a clear brisk one at some distance. When you first put it down, rub it all over with fresh butter or sweet oil; ten minutes after, when the skin begins to look dry, dredge it well with flour all over; let it remain on an hour, then rub it off with a soft cloth. It will take from one hour and a half to two hours, according to its size; baste it well with salad oil until it is done. Fill the pig with a stuffing made of crumbs of bread, minced sage, an onion or two, together with an egg, a little butter, pepper, and salt. Observe in roasting the pig, to skewer the legs back, so that the under part may be crisp. When done, cut the head off, part it and the body down the middle ; chop the brains very fine, with some finely minced boiled sage, with a little veal gravy, or what runs from the head when cut off, and a little melted butter. Some peel the tongue and chop it up with the brains; put the whole into a stew-pan to warm. Lay your pig back to back, with one-half the head at each side, and the ears one at each end, which should be crisp. When you cut off the pettitoes, leave the skin long round the ends of the legs ; put a little of the sauce into the dish, and some in a sauce-boat. Currant sauce is served also with this dish. A sucking pig requires great attention in roasting. Most persons have them baked ; send some butter to the bakers with it, to baste it well. Prepare it as for roasting. Observe, the pig should be singed and not scalded, and the same practice should be observed in reference to fowls, whereby the flesh attains greater firmness. Leg of Roast Pork. — Pork should be well done, or it is apt to surfeit. To roast a leg of pork, weighing from seven to eight pounds, will require nearly three hours. Score the skin in strips about a quarter of an ROASTING. 179 inch a part ; rub a little butter or sweet oil on the skin with a paste brush, or a goose feather, which makes it crisper and browner than basting it with dripping. Stuff under the knuckle bone a seasoning of onion and sage minced very fine, a little grated bread, pepper, salt, and the yolk of an egg; do not put it too near the fire, which will prevent the skin from blistering. Take care it be done enough, for pork under-done is not only not eatable, but absolutely unwholesome. Some sprinkle it with salt a day or two before it is used, as eating better, when thus dressed. The season for pork is from Michaelmas to March ; serve apple sauce. Peas puddingmay be eaten with roasted, as well as boiled pork. A Griskin of Pork, of seven or eight pounds, is dressed as a leg- ; or it may be broiled. Remember to rub oil or butter over it before you put it to the fire. A Chine of Pork is stuffed here and there with bread-crumbs, mixed with a little butter, and seasoned with some finely shred sage, parsley, thyme, pepper, and salt. The skin is cut into stripes, and rubbed with butter or oil. If parted from the back- bone, so as to have but one side, a good fire will roast it in about two hours ; if not parted, three hours — apple sauce. N.B. Chines are generally salted and boiled. A Spare Rib of Pork, when put down to roast, should be dressed with flour, and basted with a little butter ; have some sage leaves dry, and rubbed through a sieve, mixed with salt and pepper, and sprinkle over the meat. If weighing eight or nine pounds it will take from two to three hours roasting, if it be thick ; lay the thickest end nearest the fire. Joint it, and crack the ribs across as you do ribs of lamb. Serve apple sauce i with it. A Loin of Pork, weighing five pounds, must be ept at a good distance from the fire on account of the rackling, and will take about two hours. Score the kin in stripes; rub with salad oil as for a leg. Apple auce or savoury powder sprinkled over it. x 2 180 BOILING. Having washed and neatly pared your meat, put it into cold water (though some think boiling is best) in the proportion of about a quart of water to a pound of meat ; it should be covered with water during the whole process of boiling ; the less water, provided the meat be covered, the better flavour it will have. The water should be heated gradually , according to the thickness, &c.;, of the article boiled, suppose a leg of mutton, of ten pounds weight, should he placed over a moderate fire, which will make the water simmering hot, without causing it to boil for about forty minutes ; if the water boil sooner, the meat will be hard, and shrink up. Especial care must be taken that the water really boils. When the pot is coming to a boil there will be a scum on the top, which must be carefully taken oflf. The good appearance of all boiled things depends on this. When you have skimmed well, put in some cold water which will throw up the rest of the scum. The oftener skimmed, the sweeter and cleaner will be the meat. Many put the meat into a cloth, but this is not necessary if the scum be properly removed, when the meat will have a better colour, and more delicate flavour. Reckon the time from its first coming to a boil; from fifteen to twenty minutes is given to boil one pound of fresh meat, and rather more for pickled, salted, or smoked, will not be too much for gentle simmering, allowing more or less time according to the thickness of the joint, and the coldness of the weather. Cooks arc too apt to boil too quickly. The size of the boiling pots should be according to the size of the meat. Block-tin sauce-pans are lightest and safest, if proper care is taken in the cleaning and drying them, besides being the cheapest. Let the BOILING. 181 covers fit close, to prevent unnecessary evaporation and the escape of nutritive matter, which must then remain in the meat ; besides, the smoke is prevented entering and giving the meat a bad taste. Large joints should be neatly trimmed, washed clean, skewered, and bound firmly into good shape, before or Edge Bone of Beef, is to be boiled as the round, but will be sooner done, as it is not so solid. One of twenty pounds will be done in four hours ; of ten pounds in three hours, or more, according to the state of the weather; give it plenty of water, and well covered ; set the pot on one side of the fire to boil gently ; the slower the better it will look, and the tenderer it will be. The same vegetables as for the round. Briskets and ribs, salted and rolled, are dressed in the same way. Half a round of Salted Beef. — Skewer it tight round, and tie a fillet of broad tape round to keep the skewers in their places. Salt beef should be put into plenty of cold water, and carefully catch the scum as it rises ; let it boil till all of it is removed, and then put the boiler on one side the fire, to keep it simmering slowly till it is done. A piece weighing fifteen pounds will require from three hours to three hours and a half. Salt meat should be well washed before it is boiled, particularly if it has been in salt long it should be soaked in lukewarm water for two hours. If in the least tainted, a piece of charcoal may be boiled with it. Garnish the dish with carrots and turnips, or greens, which must be also served up separately. Leg of Mutton. — A leg of mutton should first be washed, then put on in boiling water, and carefully and constantly scummed. If you let the scum boil down, it will stick to the meat, and make it look black. If weighing eight or nine pounds, it should be boiled nearly three hours. Send it to table with turnips and caper sauce. Neck of Mutton is jointed and boiled in as much boiling. Aitch 182 BOLLING. cold soft water as will cover it, and about two inches over ; simmer very slowly for two hours, if four or five pounds weight. The skin taken off before serving. Turnips and caper sauce served with it. Leg of Lamb Boijled, the Loin Fried, and Spinach. — A leg of lamb should lie in water an hour, before it is put into boil; an hour and a quarter will boil it, except it be a large one. Cut the loin into cutlets, and the kidney into slices, leave the fat to the kidney; put a little clarified butter into a frying-pan, and the lamb chops in, season them with salt and pepper, fry them of a light brown ; put spinach round the sides of the dish, the cutlets on the spinach, an d the leg of lamb in the middle. Some boil their lamb in a cloth, shaking a little flour over the meat ; boil in a good quantity of water, taking off the scum as it rises. A Knuckle of Veal. — Shake a little flour over the meat, and put it into a cloth. Let the -water boil, and have a good fire when the meat is in the pot. This requires more boiling, in proportion to its weight, than any other joint, as it is necessary to have all the gristle soft and tender, that being the part generally most approved. Melted butter with parsley is poured over it. Parsley and butter, with a little lemon-juice and mustard for sauce. A neck of veal may be also boiled as above — but both are very tasteless dishes. Pickled Leg of Pork. — Salt it eight or nine days, according to its size, turn and rub it daily. It should be soaked for some hours if it has been in pickle many days. Put it on in cold water; when it boils, take off the scum, and be careful that the water continues to boil all the time, and boil slowly. If it weighs seven or eight pounds, it will take nearly three hours to boil. Send it to table with peas-pudding, turnips, and carrots, or greens. Pickled Pork. — Wash the pork, and scrape it clean; put it on in cold water; boil it till the skin is tender. Serve with greens. From two to three pounds will require simmering for an hour and a half. BROILING. 183 To boil Bacon. — If much salted, should be soaked for some hours in warm water, changing the water once or twice. Put it into cold water to boil. Pare off the rusty and smoked part, trim it nicely on the under-side ; take the skin off. A pound of bacon will take about three quarters of an hour. Grate a crust of bread all over it, and place it before the fire for a few minutes ; not more, or it will dry and spoil it. The hock or gammon, from being thick, will take more time in boiling. Some put fat bacon into hot water, and lean into cold. Windsor beans, greens, or cabbage, are served with bacon. To boil a Chine of Bacon. — Take a chine that has been salted and dried ; soak it in cold water several hour’s ; scrape it clean, take a handful of beech, half as much parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, and a little sage ; chop them together very fine ; make some holes in the chine, both fat and lean, and fill them with the herbs ; skewer it up close in a cloth : if a large chine, boil it slowly for three hours. To dress a Ham. — Put into the water, in which the ham is to be boiled, a quart of stale ale or old cider, a pint of vinegar, and a large bunch of sweet herbs, containing marjoram, winter savoury, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Let the ham simmer until two-thirds done ; then take it up, skim, and cover it with raspings, and set it in an oven until it is done enough. A ham thus dressed, is superior to one boiled in the usual way. BROILING. Chops or Steaks. — Cut the steaks from the inside of the sirloin, or the middle of a rump of beef, about half an inch thick, and of even thickness ; do not beat them. Have a clear brisk fire, throw a little salt on it; make your gridiron hot, and let it be well rubbed with beef suet, set it slanting to prevent the fat from dropping into the fire, and thus causing a smoke ; turn the steak with a pair of steak tongs, it will require frequent 184 FRYING. turning, and take from ten to fifteen minutes, according as you like it to be done ; put no salt on, but rub a bit of butter over each steak. Have ready a dish before the fire to lay the steak upon. It requires practice and care to do steaks to a nicety. The very best beaf steak is from the inside of a sirloin, as the French have them. Pork Chops. — Cut the chops off a neck or loin, trim them neatly. Put a frying-pan on the lire, with a bit of butter ; as soon as it is hot, put in your chops ; broil them over a clear fire, turning them frequently ; they will take from fifteen to twenty minutes, or longer doing than beef or mutton. As soon as done put them into a dish, rub a little sage very fine (or, if gTeen, chop it) and strew over ; put a little gravy (or not) into the dish. Lamb-Cutlets. — Trim off all the fat ; season with salt and pepper, dip into clamped butter and fine breadcrumbs, broil over a clear and bright fire, laid on thin white paper. Serve with a •puree of cucumbers. Lamb Chops with Tomata Sauce. — Cut from the best end of a neck of lamb as many chops as you require. Pepper, salt, and fry them of a light brown. Put them in a stew-pan with a little good gravy, and three table-spoonfuls of tomata sauce; let them stew till tender ; then take off all the fat, and thicken the gravy with flour and butter, and three more spoonfuls of the sauce. Simmer the whole a few minutes, and serve up very hot. FRYING. This is apparently a simple operation, but requires great skill and care to be conducted with success. The fat must attain that exact degree of heat to give firmness, and yet not be allowed too suddenly to brown or be scorched. This preliminary remark must be well observed, or the article placed in the pan will remain pale and flaccid, being saturated with the fat. The saulc-YMi is much used now, instead of the fryingpan ; for small collops, or any thing that requires FRYING. 185 little cooking, it is very convenient for tossing them quickly. For frying parsley and other herbs, a wire-basket, such as may be procured at the ironmonger’s, will be found very useful ; it is to be placed iu a pan filled with fat, and when done, taken out quickly. Herbs may also be crisped in it, over a clear fire. To clarify Drippings. — Put your dripping into a clean sauce-pan over a stove, or slow fire ; when it is just going to boil, skim it w r ell, let it boil, and then let it stand till it is a little cooled, then pour it through a sieve into a pan or earthern jar, as you would clarified butter. Clarified drippings and the fat shimmings of the broth pot, when fresh and sweet, will baste every thing as well as butter, except game and poultry. They are nearly equal to lard, if you repeat the clarifying twice over. To prepare Fat for frying Fish. — Carefully pick teu pounds of beef suet ; when ready, put it into an iron kettle to melt ; as soon as melted, add five pounds of fresh butter, and three of hog’s lard. The moment the whole is in a boiling state, throw in two turnips, four carrots, an onion stuck with cloves, a bunch of parsley, half a dozen shalots, a small bit of thyme, two bay leaves, and a little sweet basil. Let the herbs and roots fry until they are dried up. Strain the melted fat through a sieve, and when nearly cold, stir in some bay salt and whole pepper, and put it into jars for use. The oftener this grease is used the better it becomes. To fry fish nicely, the frying-pan should always be full, and the fat strained into the jar the moment the frying is concluded. To clarify Suet to fry with. — Cut beef or mutton suet into thin slices, pick out all the veins and skins, &c.;, put it into a thick and well tinned saucepan, and set it over a very slow stove, or in an oven, till it is melted : you must not hasten the process ; if not done very slowly, it will acquire a burnt taste, which you cannot get rid of ; then strain it through a hair sieve into a clean brown pan. When quite cold, tie a MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 186 paper over it and keep it for use. Hogs’ lard is prepared in the same way. Oil for Frying. — The oil must be new and perfect; I the least disagreeable taste is discovered when hot, and communicates immediately to the articles fried therein; otherwise, the colour it gives is brilliant, and it burns less quickly than other fritures. To fry with clarified butter, it should be of the freshest, and free of milkiness. The best frying material is beef suet, melted. It preserves the crispness of the articles fried in it the longest. To make a fine fry, or, as the French call it, “ friture,” it should be put over a quick fire, and as soon as a vapourous smoke ascends, it is sufficiently hot, then place it at the corner of the stove to prevent it becoming hotter, as then it will burn. When the pan is filled with croquettes, &c.;, articles which simply require to receive a colour, replace it, for the necessary time, on the stove, wlnlst the filets a la horly, or whole fish, require to go more gently, that they may be thoroughly done. These are all the necessary directions for frying perfectly. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS EOR STEWING, MINCING, ROASTING, &c.; Oiled Butter. — Put two ounces of fresh butter into a sauce-pan, set it at a distance from the fire, so that it may melt gradually, till it comes to an oil, and pour it off from the dregs. This will supply the place of olive oil ; and by some is preferred to it, either for salads or frying. Clarified Butter. — Every cook should have a stock of clarified butter, for it remains good for a long time, and suits well for all operations of cookery. The following is the manner of preparing it : — put the butter into a well tinned sauce-pan, and melt it over a clear fire, skim it as it begins to simmer, then remove it from the fire, and let it stand, that any sediment may sink to the bottom. Pour it into jars for use through a muslin MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 187 strainer. Butter thus purified will be as sweet as marrow ; a very useful covering 1 for potted meats, &c.;, and for frying fish equal to the finest Florence oil, for which purpose it is commonly used by Catholics, and those whose religious tenets will not allow them to eat^viands fried in animal oil. To Dress Cheese. — Half a pint of cream, two ounces W of butter, simmer these over a slow fire, then put half a pound of cheese finely grated ; these to boil slowly half an hour; put thin slices of toasted bread into your dish, and pour the above over it ; then grated bread shook over it, and salamandered. Tomata Devil. — Make a Welsh rabbit ; let the cheese be chopped, and simmer it in a stew-pan, with an addition of mushroom ketchup and a dust of Cayenne pepper. Take a raw tomata divested of the stalk, cut it in half, then score it, and apply more Cayenne ; simmer this in another stew-pan until the skin cracks; take it out, and make it into sauce. Spread as butter over the rabbit, and serve it hot ! hot ! hot ! Toleman. — Take a fine neck of mutton, the fat well taken off, cut the meat clean from the bone, and chop it fine; add to it a little thyme, onion, pepper, and salt, four spoonfuls of ketchup and three of rice pap (ground rice) boiled. Mix all well together, and roll it up into balls, each ball to be rolled in two or three young vine leaves, pour boiling water on the leaves to make them supple. When these are all prepared, put them in your gravy, and let them stew very slowly an hour and a quarter. The gravy must be made of the mutton bones and a good piece of the scrag end, seasoned with salt, pepper, •onions, thyme, two spoonfuls of ketchup, two of whole rice K arboiled ; add to these a handful of sorrel about half an our before it is taken up. Skim your gravy clear from it, when the balls are put in, and again when you put n the sorrel, when there is no sorrel use a spoonful of negar. It requires to he well seasoned, and the gravy ade good. If you cannot get vine leaves, tie the balls p in muslin, which may be taken off before coming to table. The vine leaves are not to be taken off. 188 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. Hotch Potch (A Scotch dish ). — Put on as much water as will make a sufficient quantity of soup ; when it boils put in four or five pounds of the back ribs of lamb, six young carrots, turnips cut into squares, and two of each grated, a cauliflower and a lettuce cut down, a few young onions, and a peck of green peas, half with the other vegetables, and the other half about three quarters of an hour before sent to table. Salt, pepper, it, &c.; When the meat has boiled for an hour and a half, take it out and cut it into chops ; and, if you like, send it to table in the soup. To make Irish Stew, or Hunter’s Pie. — Take part of a neck of mutton cut into chops, season it well, put into a stew-pan, let it braise for half an hour, take two dozen of potatoes, boil them, and mash and season, butter your mould and line it with potatoes, put in the mutton, bake for half an hour, then it will be done, cut a hole in the top, and add some good gravy to it. Another Irish Stew. — Four pounds of potatoes, and a pound and a half of meat, with a few onions, and one carrot, makes a good stew for six or seven persons. The meat must be cut into small pieces ; if it is half mutton it will be all the better : add about three pints of water. When the greater portion of the potatoes are in a pulp, it will be done. Season it with salt and pepper. Meat and Vegetable a la Walker. — Put a few beets, a little onion, and lettuce, and a cucumber shred into a stew-pan, with a little water, a proper quantity of of butter, pepper, and salt. Set the pan in the oven, and when the vegetables have been stewed some time, put a quantity of peas boiled and some meat into the pan, and let the whole stew till the meat is ready. Lay the vegetables round the meat in the dish. Mutton, lamb, and veal are excellent dressed in this manner ; it is a very good way of using up cold meat. To mince Beef. — Chop the under-done part fine, with some fat, put a little water into a stew-pan, with some onion or shalot, pepper, and salt, boil it till the onion is tender, then put some of the gravy of the meat, MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 189 I and the mince-meat with a spoonful of ketchup ; make it hot, but do not let it boil. Serve up in a hot dish with sippets of bread ready, and pour the meat into it. Mutton may be minced in the same way. All sorts of stews, or meat dressed a second time, should only be simmered. Tendrons op Veal. — Tendrons of veal is the gristle-bone of a breast of veal ; cut it into thin slices, put them into a stew-pan, with cold water, and put them on the stove to blanch, take them off when they come to a boil, put them into a white braize, let them simmer for four hours, in which time they will be tender ; take them up, and lay them on a clean cloth to drain the fat from them ; cut some bruised truffles into slices, and put them into cullis, with a little white-wine, and a bit of truffle glaze ; squeeze into them an orange, and a little bit of sugar ; put them round the dish, and the truffles in the middle ; garnish with croutons of bread or paste, or a slice of truffle between every tendron. A Leg of Mutton with Garlic ( From the Maga’ zine of Domestic Economy’). — Being at Bourdeaux, we : one day gave a dinner at the hotel in which we lodged, i to a few English friends, whom we had met there. Anxious to taste, and let our guests taste, a gigot a Vail (a leg of mutton and garlic), a dish for which the Bordelais cooks are celebrated, we ordered one as part of the repast. When the roast was placed upon the table I at the second course, it appeared to us all to be a gigot aux haricots (a leg of mutton and dried kidney -beans); but the meat was delicious, and the beans certainly superior to, and having a different flavour from, any haricots we had ever tasted before. Vexed, however, at what we considered an inattention to our orders, we summoned the landlord, and begged to know why, when we bad ordered a gigot a Vail , he had presumed to send up a gigot aux haricots ? “ 1 have shown no inattention,” he replied, “ and i made no mistake, ‘file dish of which you have just eaten, and which your guests seemed to have liked, was 190 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. a gigot a Vail, and what you have mistaken for beans Is garlic.” “ Is it possible !” we exclaimed. Again we tasted the garlic, its rankness was gone, but there was in it a delicious flavour for which we could not account. After apologizing to our host, — “ If the question be not indiscreet, and the matter no secret, how can you impart this delicious flavour to garlic ?” we asked. “ There is no secret in the case,” he replied. “ The process is very simple. The garlic is thrown into five different boiling waters, with a little salt, and boiled five minutes in each. It is then drained, and put into the . dripping-pan under the roasting mutton.” Since our return to England, we have often had the * dish dressed, and no guest of ours, until he was told of it, ever discovered that he had been feasting upon ‘ garlic. A Cold Hare or Rabbit Pee, boned or unboned. — Bone your hares or rabbits without cutting them to pieces; but if you will not bone them, flatten them, and break all the bones; then lard them with thin and long bits of bacon, and let them continue in pickle for two hours; then drain them, pound their livers with some ; bacon, put them in the bottom of your pie, which you may make of what shape you please. Over the pounded bacon and livers, put your meat, seasoned on both sides, 1 and put over it some bay leaves, sweet basil, and slices of bacon. And your pie being covered with its lid, let it bake for two or three hours, more or less, according as your meat is either old or young. When done, and cold, serve it up. A Cold Pie of Partridges, Young or Old. — Take some partridges, either young or old, truss them, beat their breasts flat, broil them a little on burning- charcoal. Get some bacon cut in long and thin bits, to lard your partridges both top and bottom. Make a stuffing of their livers with some pounded bacon seasoned, to stuff your partridges. Your pie being- made deep or otheriyise, put some stuffing in the bottom of it, and then MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 191 jlace your partridges in it, seasoning them both under nd over, moistening them either with pounded bacon, ith butter, or with both. This mixture is proper for 11 sorts of cold pies. Then put in some bay leaves and weet basil, and green truffles, if you have any, cover the vhole with slices of bacon. This done, put the lid n your pie, let it bake for three or four hours, more or ess, according as the partridges prove to be young or Id ; and when your pie is done, and cold, serve it up. Pies of Poultry or Game. — ‘In making these pies t is a clumsy expedient to put in a piece of beef for the ravy. It is always an unseemly sight to see a great iece of coarse meat served to the company with the ontents of the pie. Much better is it to put into the little good gravy, moistening with a little plain alf’s-foot jelly, or the bone of a knuckle of veal stewed own to a jelly. These pies may be made of chickens, igeons, partridges, hares, rabbits, pheasants, gray lovers, grouse, wild fowls, or small birds. Slices of will be found an improvement to chicken and bbit pies. All of these pies should be eaten cold. At certain seasons of the year the gray plover is to be urchased very cheap in London; and any birds of this ecies not used roasted and in salmi, may be made into pie, which will keep five or six days, or longer. To pot Partridge. — Clean them nicely; and season ith mace, allspice, white pepper, and salt, in fine powder, ub every part well; then lay the breasts downwards in pan, and pack the birds as close as you possibly can. j”ut a good deal of butter on them; then cover the pan nth a coarse flour-paste and a paper over, tie it close, id bake. When cold, put the birds into pots, and cover lem with butter. Salmon Pie. — Cut your salmon in slices, and lay iem in the pie-dish, having well rubbed the bottom ith butter ; add salt and pepper, allspice, some bay aves, and some bruised shrimps, fill the pie about haif 11 with water and the salmon hones, make a good tish lam 192 MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. gravy; and when the pie is sufficiently baked, open the lid, and pour the gravy into it. A Marrow Pie. — Take beef marrow and let it be melted ; mix the melted marrow with pastry cream, stir it well, add a good deal of sugar (if there is none in the cream), a little preserved lemon-peel cut small, some bitter-almond biscuits, and a little orange-flower water, mix with it the whites of six eggs beaten up to snow ; then put your ingredients over an abbess, with a side crust ready made and spread in the bottom of a bakingpan. You may set off your pie with what ornaments you like ; let it be baked immediately ; being done, strew it with sugar, glaze it, put it in a dish, and serve it up hot. Ham Toast. — A quarter of a pound of ham very . finely minced, the yolk of one egg, a table-spoonful of cream, a little good gravy, seasoned with pepper and salt, boil it together. Have a toast ready, and jiour the above on it, then cover it with fine bread-crumbs, and brown it with a salamander. When a ham is nearly finished, it is quite as good as a fresh one. Blanc for Vegetables. — Cut half a pound of fat bacon and a little beef suet into large dice ; take half a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, a little salt, and the half of a lemon cut in thin slices, and put the whole into a good quantity of water, whatever you wish to put into your blanc. Let this stew half an hour before you throw in your vegetables, which are generally done about the same time; but the most certain method to ascertain this, is to use the point of your knife. Send them up with whatever sauce you think proper. They likewise serve to garnish fricassees of fowls, ragouts, white or brown. They are always to be boiled in this way, in whatever sauce you may serve them. POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 193 DIRECTIONS FOR ROASTING AND BOILING POULTRY, GAME, &c.; In roasting poultry, whether larded or not, let there be always some clean writing paper over the breastbone, to prevent its being dried up before the other parts are done. All poultry must be well basted, and the paper not removed until they are more than half done. Fowls and turkeys require to be well done, or their flesh would not be easy of digestion. They must be dredged and nicely frothed up previously to being taken from the spit. Before a turkey is trussed for roasting, the sinews of the leg, which are very tough, should be pulled out. Its crop should be stuffed with a forcemeat, made thus : Mix equal parts of sausage-meat and bread -ci’umbs, a little lean ham and beef suet, finely shred, plenty of grated nutmeg, a little pounded mace, some shred lemon-peel, chopped parsley, a very little pounded thyme, a small bit of pounded bay-leaf, white pepper and salt to your taste, and bind with the yolks of two or three eggs. They who object to sausage-meat may leave it out, substituting veal and a greater quantity of suet. As this stuffing increases the size of the bird, take care that the part containing it be well done. A turkey may be stuffed with boiled chesnuts, mixed with breadcrumbs, suet, parsley, and seasoning ; or with bleached oysters, mixed with bread-crumbs, &c.; Turkey and Fowls, when boiled, should be only simmered, and plenty of time taken to do them. They should not be dressed in an excess of fluid, and the water should contain a bunch of herbs, a little salt, a couple of onions, and a very small quantity of vinegar. The liquor in which they are boiled should be given to the stock-pot. If they are required to be very white, flour them o 194 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; well, and cover them with a paste made of flour and water, or else with bladder. They do not then lose any of their juices in the water, but the gravy runs from them when put into the dish, as from a sirloin of beef. The liquor in which they are dressed by this process may be thrown away. Boiled poultry should be served up with celery, oyster, or onion sauce. If a fowl is large, or if it be a capon, stuff the crop like that of a turkey. Always put a small peeled onion or two in the body of a fowl that is for roasting; insert it through the vent, and take it out prior to sending it up. Stuffing for Hare or Turkey. — Take half a pound of beef suet, chopped very fine, some parsley, a little thyme, pepper, salt, and spices, the same quantity of crumbs of bread as of suet, an egg or two, and mix the whole with a little milk. It would not be amiss to put to it a very small bit of butter, and to pound the whole in a mortar for a short time. This farce may be used with baked pike, or with either roasted or boiled turkey, roasted hare, &c.; If the taste of shalot is not objected to, it will be found to add to the flavour of the stuffing. A Goose, full grown, sometimes called a stubble goose, should be hung three or four days or more, before it is dressed, in order that it may become tender. Let it be stuffed with the following : take some sage leaves and onions (the quantity of each according to your taste, and if you boil them a short time in water, the stuffing will be rendered more mild and wholesome); add also, if you please, an apple having the rind pared off, chop the whole very fine, to which add two spoonfuls of salt, one of pepper, and an ounce or more of butter. These being put into the goose, and secured in it by tying, spit it, and set it before the fire ; singe it, and then dredge it with flour; when it becomes hot baste it with butter. Some cover the breast-bone with paper, which must be taken off some time before the goose is done. When it is nearly done, dredge it again with flour, and baste it till it froths. A goose of six pounds’ weight will require about an hour and a half ; POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 195 take particular care in the roasting that the fire is applied to both ends as well as to the middle of it ; it should be thoroughly done, and have no red flesh on any of the bones. When the goose is done, put it into the dish, (some pom’ a small quantity of boiling water into it), and serve it up with apple-sauce, and mustard of course ; but it will also be best to prepare some good gravy, and when the goose is cut up let it be poured over it ; add a glass of port wine to it, with half a pint of porter. Green Goose roasted. — Take a fine, plump, fat, green goose, the fat of which must be very white ; if the upper part of the back breaks easily, the fowl is young ; cut off the pinions and prepare it ; blanch the legs, and cut the nails ; wipe it well with a cloth ; truss it, leaving its legs en long, that is to say, stretched out ; spit it, and take care that it is not over-done, which will be known by touching the fillet with a knife, the juice will flow. Tossed Fowl or Chicken. — Cut up your fowl or chicken, giving the head and leg- bones to the stock-pot. Put a bit of butter into the stew-pan, and brown the limbs and gizzard. Add a bunch of herbs with green onions, a clove of garlic at pleasure, an onion cut iu quarters, and pepper and salt. Moisten with a teacupful of two- thirds stock broth and a third wine. If you like, add some small mushrooms. Stew slowly till the fowl is done, adding the liver just before you take it up. Strain the sauce ; put it for an instant into a sauce-pan with some chopped parsley, squeeze in a little lemon -juice, and thicken with butter rolled in flour. Serve up with slices of lemon round the dish. A tossed duck may be dressed precisely in the same manner. To fatten Fowls or Chickens in Four or Five Days. — Set rice over the fire with skimmed milk, only as much as will serve one day; let it boil till the rice is quite swelled out; feed them three times a day, giving them only as much as they can eat at one time. o 2 196 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; W hen you put fresh, let your pan be washed out, that no sour may be conveyed to the fowls, as that prevents their fattening; give them clear water, or the milk of the rice to drink. The pen in which they are kept should be cleaned every day, and no food given them sixteen hours before they are killed. The flesh of game requires much less cooking than that of domestic poultry. Partridges and Pheasants may be roasted in from a quarter of an hour to twenty-five minutes. The pheasant and the red-legged partridge, the latter a French bird, peculiar in England to the county of Suffolk, should be thickly larded on the breast. The gray partridge not. When put down to roast, the breasts should be covered with a thin band of fat bacon, which should not be taken off except to froth up the birds. They should be continually basted with butter. Guinea-fowls and Pea-fowls should be larded on the breast, and this covered either with fat bacon or paper, until the bird is ready to be frothed up. These birds must also be well basted, which is necessary for all game ; it is, therefore, now recommended once for all. Quails, Lapwings, Fieldfares, Ruffs, and Reeves, are all roasted like the gray partridge, with a band of fat bacon round the breast. Woodcocks, Snipes, and Plovers, should not be drawn. They should be suspended head downward to a revolving jack. This prevents the trail from escaping. The breast should be covered with bacon, otherwise it would be done too soon. They are served up on toast, without any other sauce than melted butter. Larks, Lapwings, Thrushes, and other small birds, should be roasted upon skewers, with bands of bacon round each, with which they may be sent to table. In England they are roasted and served up without bacon, and with fried bread crumbs. In France, being roasted as above described, they are served on the skewers, and garnished with water- cresses. Wild Ducks, wild Geese, Widgeons, and Teal, POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 197 require to be still less done than game. From ten minutes to a quarter of an hour will do for all these birds, except the wild geese, which will require from a quarter of an hour to twenty-five minutes. They need not be covered. To keep Game, &c.; — Game ought not to be thrown away even when it has been kept a very long time ; for when it seems to be spoiled, it may often be made fit for eating, by nicely cleaning it, and washing with vinegar and water. If there is danger of birds not keeping, draw, crop, and pick them ; then wash in two or three waters, and rub them with salt. Have ready a large sauce-pan of boiling water, and plunge them into it one by one ; drawing them up and down by the legs, that the water may pass through them. Let them stay five or six minutes in ; then hang them up in a cold place. When drained, pepper and salt the insides well. Before roasting, wash them well. The most delicate birds, (even grouse), may be preserved thus. Those that live by suction cannot be done this way, as they are never drawn, and perhaps the heat might make them worse, as the water could not pass through them. Lumps of charcoal put about birds and meat, will preserve them from taint, and restore what is spoiling. To keep Venison or Hare sweet. — If venison be very sweet, only dry it with a cloth, and hang it where the air comes freely. If to be kept any time, dry it well with clean cloths, rub it all over with beaten ginger, and hang it in an airy place, and it will keep a great while. If it stinks or is musty, take lukewarm water, and wash it clean ; then fresh milk and water lukewarm, and wash it again ; then dry it in clean cloths very well, and rub it all over with beaten ginger, and hang it an airy place. When you roast it, you need only wipe it with a clean cloth, and paper it as before-mentioned. Never do any thing else to venison, for all other things spoil it, and take away the fine flavour. A hare may be managed just in the same way. 198 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; Game, if stale, is also known by the livid colour of the flesh about the vent. Wild Ducks, Teal, Widgeon, Dun-birds, &c.;, should be taken up with the gravy in. Baste them with butter, and sprinkle a little salt before they are taken up ; put a good gravy under them, and serve with shalot sauce in a boat. Woodcocks, Snipes, and Quails, keep good several days. Roast them without drawing, and serve on toast. Butter only should be eaten with them, as gravy takes off from the fine flavour. The thigh and back are esteemed the most. To roast Wild Fowl. — The flavour is best preserved without stuffing. Put pepper, salt, and a piece of butter, into each. Wild fowl require much less dressing than tame ; they should be served of a fine colour, and well frothed up. A rich brown gravy should be sent in the dish ; and when the breast is cut into slices, before taking off the bone, a squeeze of lemon, with pepper and salt, is a great improvement to the flavour. To take off the fishy taste which wild fowl sometimes have, put an onion, salt, and hot water, into the dripping-pan, and baste them for the first ten minutes with this ; then take away the pan, and baste constantly with butter. Rabbtts may be eaten various ways, as follows : — Roasted with stuffing and gravy, like hare; or without stuffing with sauce of the liver and parsley chopped in melted butter, pepper, and salt ; or larded. Boiled and smothered with onion-sauce ; the butter to be melted with milk instead of water. Fried in joints, with dried or fried parsley. The same liver sauce, this way also. Fricasseed, as before directed for chickens. In a pie, as chicken, with forcemeat, &c.; In this way they are excellent when young. To dress Plovers. — Roast the green ones in the same way as woodcocks and quails, without drawing ; POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 199 ( and serve on a toast. Gray plovers may be either roasted or stewed with gravy, herbs, or spice. Plovers’ eggs are a nice and fashionable dish. Boil them ten minutes, and serve either hot or cold on a napkin. Grouse and Moorcocks are also roasted in the same manner. They are not larded, but the breast should be protected by a band of bacon until they are nearly done. Ruffs and Reeves, which are found in England, chiefly in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Ely, are a delicacy ; they are trussed like woodcocks, but not dressed like them with the entrails. They take about twelve minutes to roast. Serve them up with gravy and bread sauce ; garnish with crisp crumbs of bread. Moor Game, such as black cocks, grouse, quails and other birds of the partridge tribe, are to be dressed in a similar way to the partridge or the pheasant, which see. Of course, the time of their roasting will depend upon the size of the bird ; a quail, being small, will be done in ten or at most fifteen minutes. To roast a Turkey. — Let your turkey hang, if in cold weather, for ten or twelve days in an airy larder. . Loosen the skin of the breast, and fill it with force-meat, made as follows : — Take a quarter of a pound of beef • suet, crumbs of bread, a little lemon peel, some nutmeg, pepper, parsley, and thyme. Chop and beat them all well together, mix them with the yolk of an egg, and stuff up the breast. Now roast the turkey of a fine brown, and baste it well, but be sure to pin white paper 1 on the breast till it is nearly done -enough, which will be r in an hour. You must have good gravy in the dish, and bread i sauce made thus : take a good piece of crumb, put in a i pint of water, with a blade or two of mace, two or three j cloves, and some whole pepper. Boil it up five or six times, then with a spoon take out the spice, and pour off the water ; then beat up the bread with a good piece of 200 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; butter and a little salt. Put the sauce into boats, and garnish with lemon. Another sauce is to take half a pint of oysters, strain the liquor, and put the oysters with the liquor in a saucepan, with a blade or two of mace, let them just lump, pour in a glass of white wine, let it boil once, and thicken it with a piece of butter rolled in flour. Serve this up by itself, with good gravy in the dish, for every body does not like oyster sauce. This makes a nice side dish for supper, or a corner dish of a table for dinner. If you chafe it in a dish, add half a pint of gravy to it, and boil it up together. Pheasants and Partridges. — Roast them as turkey : and serve with a fine gravy (into which put a very small bit of garlic), and bread sauce. When cold, they may be made into excellent patties, but their flavour should not be overpowered by lemon. Capon stuffed with Truffle. — Prepare a capon; empty it by the craw ; use the hook of a skimmingspoon, and take care not to break the gall ; prepare two pounds of nice truffle, hash the broken or unseemly ones, cut in dice, and pound nearly a pound of fat bacon ; put it into a stew-pan with the truffle, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and fine spices ; simmer upon a slow fire about half an hour ; let them cool ; stuff the capon ; sew and truss the legs, stretched out ; hang it, if possible, two or three days ; cover them with lard ; spit and cover them with paper ; give it nearly an hour and a half ; if used for a remove, take off the lard, and serve it with pig’s skin over a truffle sauce. Fowl roasted. — •Pluck the wings and the head of a pullet; truss up the legs, taking care not to hurt the skin ; pick it, take out the canal, draw it by the crop, taking care not to break the gall ; mix a little butter with some lemon-juice and salt, with a wooden spoon, and stuff the pullet ; truss the legs without ; bind the wings; skewer, and rub the breast with lemon; strew on a little salt, and cover with slices of lemon; cover it with POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 201 slices of lard, and over these put several sheets of paper, tied to the skewers at both ends ; fix it on the spit ; let it cook an hour ; take off the paper ; drain and serve it with any sauce. To roast Wild Ducks. — Choose a fat duck or two ; look that the webs of the feet are of a fine i colour, and not dry; to know if they are stale, open the beak and smell them ; feel that the belly and rump are firm, and the ducks heavy, which are signs that they are fat and fresh ; the hen is more delicate than the cock, though in general the cock brings a higher price ; pre: pare two of these ducks, pick off the down, cut off the I pinions close to the body and the necks ; truss the feet up, which must be blanched and pared ; rub them with their liver; spit them; let them be under-done, and send i them to table with two uncut lemons. Salad of Fowls. — Take’ two cold roasted fowls (or dessert, that is to say, what has been left from a former day), cut them up as for a mayonnaise ; put them into i an earthen dish, season them in the same manner as a i salad, add whole capers, gherkins cut in fillets, and other minced materials of that kind; mix all together; dish it as a fricassee of chicken ; garnish the border of the dish with fresh lettuce cut in quarters, hard eggs cut in the same manner ; strew over the pickles, anchovies, capers, and gherkins, which were kept out on purpose ; sauce with the seasoning. Turkey, Turkey Poults, and other Poultry. — A fowl or turkey requires the same management at the fire, which should be clear and brisk. A turkey, when first put down, should be dredged with flour, then put about an ounce of butter into a basting-ladle, and, as it melts, baste the bird with it ; keep at a little distance from the fire at first, that it may warm gradually, then put it nearer. It should never be placed so near the fire as to scorch it. A very large turkey will require about three hours to roast; a middling size, from eight or ten pounds, about two hours; a small one, an hour and a half. 202 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; Turkey poults, being of different sizes, will take from twenty minutes to one hour. A cock turkey, for roasting. A hen turkey, for boiling. Turkeys, Capons, Fowls. Chickens, &c.;, are all boiled in the same manner, allowing time, according to their size. A chicken will take about twenty minutes. A fowl, about forty minutes. A poularde or capon, about an hour. A small turkey, an hour and a half. A large turkey, two hours or more. Rabbits should be put into a basin of warm water ; then put them into plenty of water, and boil half an hour. If large, three quarters of an hour. Capon or Fowls to Roast. — A full-grown fowl, poularde, or capon, will take an hour to roast; a moderate-sized one, an hour ; a chicken, about thirty minutes. Be careful that your roasted poultry be well and nicely browned, and quite done. A full-grown goose, from one hour and a half, or more ; green geese require roasting from forty to fifty minutes ; a duckling will take about fifteen minutes ; a duck, from half to three-quarters of an hour. A rabbit full grown, about forty minutes ; a young one, thirty minutes. A pigeon, from fifteen to twenty minutes. To Roast Game. — Woodcocks should not be drawn, and have a clear fire. Handle them as little as possible, as they are easily spoiled, and do not break the skin in plucking the feathers. Have as many slices of bread as you have birds; toast or fry them and lay them in the dripping-pan, and serve the birds on them; baste with butter, and froth with flour. Serve up with a little good gravy in the dish. Fifteen minutes to roast. When on the table, the trail is taken out, and spread on the toast. Garnish with water-cresses. Snipes are to be dressed as woodcocks, but, as the birds are smaller, require in proportion less time in roasting. POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 203 Plovers should be rather under-done, with gravy in the dish, and water-cresses. A young pheasant about thirty minutes; a full-grown, about forty minutes. Serve with bread sauce; garnish with water-cresses. Guinea and pea-fowls are dressed as pheasants. Partridges take about fifteen minutes. Let them be kept as long as they can be, safely. Shake a little flour over them, and a little salt, and baste with a little butter; a little plain gravy in the dish. Serve with bread, rice, or clear shalot sauce. Grouse and moor game will take the same time to roast as partridge ; black cock as a pheasant. Serve bread-sauce, or currant jelly. Larks and other small birds should be well basted with butter; about ten minutes will do them. Sprinkle bread-crumbs over them whilst roasting. Fry some grated bread crumbs in clarified butter; set to drain before the fire to harden or dry. Serve them under the larks, and garnish with slices of lemon. Wheatears and ortolans are dressed as larks. Some place a vine-leaf over these birds. Wild ducks must have a clear and brisk fire ; they must be well frothed; from fifteen to twenty minutes to roast. Widgeons and teal dressed as the wild duck, only less time is requisite. A moderate-sized hare requires about one hour and a quarter. When nearly done, take a bit of butter in your basting-ladle, and dredge the hare with flour, and froth it nicely with the butter. To Roast Hare. — After it is skinned, let it be extremely well washed, first in cold then in warm water, and afterwards soaked an hour or two in water; and if old, lard it, which will make it tender. It may be also rendered more tender by letting it lie in vinegar. If, however, it is put into vinegar, it should be exceedingly well washed in water afterwards. Put a large relishing stuffing into the belly, and then sew it up. Baste it 204 POULTRY, GAME, &C-; well with milk till half done, and afterwards with butter. If the blood has settled in the neck, soaking the part in warm water, and putting it to the fire warm will remove it, especially if you also nick the skin here and there with a small knife to let it out. The hare should be kept at a distance from the fire at first. If this be not done, the outside will become hard. Serve with a fine froth, rich gravy, melted butter, and currant-jelly sauce; the gravy in the dish. For stuffing, use the liver, some fat bacon, a little suet, herbs, pepper, salt, nutmeg, a little onion, crumbs of bread, and an egg to bind it all. The ears must he nicely cleaned, and singed, and made crisp. They are reckoned a delicacy. Roast Hare ( Another fashion). — The hare, being paunched, kept sufficiently long to be tender, then skinned, soaked in water, well cleansed, and properly trussed, should be stuffed with two or three ounces of bread, four ounces of beef suet (to which add the same quantity of butter), the liver of the hare boiled, a little parsley, a bit of lemon peel, a little Cayenne pepper, a sprig of winter savory or lemon thyme, pepper, and salt, two eggs and a glass of port wine, an anchovy and some bacon ; all these articles must be chopped fine, and mixed well together, and then be sewed up in the belly. Lay it now before the fire; put into the dripping-pan a quart of good new milk, and baste it well with the milk till it is nearly all used ; then dredge it with flour, and baste with butter till it froths well. A very old hare will be best made into soup. When your hare is done, serve it up with good gravy in the dish, currant jelly, and a little melted butter. Jugged Hare. — The hare being properly skinned and cleansed, cut it into separate portions as if for eating, dividing the legs into two or more; prepare a stuffing as if for roasting, and put it into the jug with the hare, rolling it into several balls. In short, treat the hare iu respect to the seasoning and stuffing as if you were about to roast it, except, of course, you must omit all relative to the basting ; to these add a quart of good 205 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; beef or mutton broth. Stew the whole in a water-bath till it is done : it will take two hours and a half, or three hours, if old. Instead of stewing this dish, it is much more conveniently baked. Wine is best added to the gravy when your hare is served up, which it may be in precisely the same way as one that is roasted. Stuffing for roast Hare. — Chop three ounces of beef suet fine, add four ounces of bread-crumbs, a teaspoonful of chopped shalot, season it with thyme and parsley, chervil, or with three drachms of Brande’s herbaceous mixture, a little salt, and two new-laid eggs; the liver, if good, can be added ; let it be blanched and minced fine. A Batter for roast Hare. —Make a batter as for apple-fritters, but not quite so thick ; add two spoonfuls of salad oil, two of flour, three yolks and one white of eggs ; mix all together, with new milk and a little salt. Baste the hare with it at the time of roasting, when half done. A Salmi of Cold Game. — Take off the legs, wings, and breasts of as many underdone roasted partridges as you have cold. Remove the skin from them carefully. Then put into a stew-pan, with a lump of fresh butter as large as a walnut, a few small slices of ham, four or five shalots, a diced carrot, a few mushrooms, a root of parsley, a small sprig of thyme, one bay leaf, a couple of cloves, half-a-dozen peppercorns, and the same quantity of allspice. Fry the vegetables rather highly, then gradually add a couple of large wine-glassfuls of sherry, next, four or five spoonfuls of good brown gravy, and one spoonful of mushroom ketchup. When these things are in the stew-pan, the backs, heads, skin, and other parings of the partridges (excepting the claws), must be thrown in immediately after. The whole must then simmer very gently on the hob, or close to the fire, during an hour and a half ; then season it to your taste; and soon after skim off the fat, and add a lump of sugar. When this is dissolved, strain the gravy over the wings, 206 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; legs, and breasts of the partridges, which must be put for this purpose into a clean stew-pan. Place them upon hot ashes, or a very small clear fire, and let the salmi heat very gently, until the meat is thoroughly saturated with the hot sauce, and is of the highest possible temperature, without reaching boiling point. Serve up with fried sippets of bread between or round the dish. Another. — There is another mode of making a salmi, which presents the advantage of being prepared in a much shorter time than the preceding. As there„is some difference in the flavour of the two preparations, the choice between them must be wholly regulated by taste. The birds should be prepared as before directed, then put the limbs into a clean stew-pan ; pound the trimmings in a marble mortar, and put these into another stew-pan, with some gravy, half a dozen shalots, the same number of peppercorns and allspice, and two glasses of port wine. Let the whole boil gently during three quarters of an hour, then strain the liquor off into a clean sauce-pan, season it with pepper and salt, and put it on the fire. Squeeze in the juice of a Seville orange, or of a lemon if no orange is to be had. Add a thickening of butter rolled in flour. Let the sauce boil again gently for ten minutes, then strain it upon the meat in the first stew-pan, the contents of which must now be made to stew gently on the hob, or on the side of the stove, until the process is complete ; particular care being taken that they do not boil, for should it be allowed to boil, the salmi would be spoiled. The wings, breasts, legs, and rumps of the birds are to be cut up as for eating, and kept in readiness. There must be four underdone partridges roasted for the occasion ; the breasts being covered to prevent their becoming too brown. The livers of these birds, together with the liver of a fine white capon, roasted very little, bruised altogether in the silver dish in which 207 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; the salmi is served up. Over this liver squeeze the juice of four lemons. The rind of one of them should be grated over the juice. The limbs of the birds are now to be placed upon the dish, seasoned with salt, pepper, pounded Jamaica or long pepper, and pounded mace and allspice. To this add two large tea-spoonfuls of French mustard, prepared with Tarragon vinegar, diluted in a glass of Cbablis (for which Bucellas or Yin de Grave may be well substituted; if neither be at hand, Sherry may be employed). The dish is now placed over a small furnace, with the least quantity of lighted charcoal in it, and the meat to be continually moved -with a spoon and fork, in order that each piece may be fully saturated with the sauce. When, at length, the latter approaches the boiling point (and the greatest care should be taken to prevent its actually reaching it) a spoonful of the very best Provence oil should be poured equally upon all parts of the salmi. Then remove the stew-pan from the furnace, and stir an instant longer before serving. Roasted Woodcocks. — There is more art in roasti ing woodcocks than any other bird of the same size. They require constant attention during the operation of roasting them. As they must be very little dressed, the flesh of the woodcock, like that of all dark-fleshed game, being digestible when almost raw, and losing its savour if roasted to the same degree as a partridge, their 1 cooking occupies but little time ; therefore, the cook should never leave her woodcocks from the moment they are put down, until she takes them up. Truss without drawing them, and put toast under them to catch the trail, which often falls from them when they are before the fire. The most delicate parts of the woodcock are the legs and the trail ; next, the breast. As this latter must be very much underdone, and the legs a little better done, to be eatable, there is, of course, an inequality in their roasting, which must be obviated by stopping the spit for a time, whenever the legs are turned towards the fire, in order to give them a 208 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; greater proportion of heat. The woodcocks, when done, are served up upon the toast only, as their flavour would be deteriorated by any kind of gravy. In England, melted butter is often used with them. We had prepared receipts for stewing and hashing woodcocks; but on consideration, we think it a profanation to eat this noble bird in any other manner than plainly roasted au naturel. To Dress Wheat-Ears. — These exquisite birds are in season from July to October. They are particularly delicate, and should be dressed with a vine-leaf over each. When picked, gutted, and trussed, spit them on a long wooden-skewer ; a dozen on each. Brush them over with the yolks of raw eggs, diluted with a spoonful of raw milk, to each yolk ; and haying covered them with fine bread crumbs tie the skewers on a spit, and roast them before a brisk fire, for twelve or fifteen minutes. Baste them with fine fresh butter, and serve them on bread crumbs, that have been fried in clarified butter to a cinnamon brown, quite hot and dry. Wheat-ears are excellent for breakfast, luncheon, supper, entremets , or for a pie. For the latter purpose, split them down the back, chop off the legs, and season them with a little pounded mace, nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Place them in a potting pot that will hold about a dozen, bake them in a sharp oven twenty minutes. Keep them in a cold place. They are generally sent to table in the pot. Hashed Fowl. — Cut it into pieces, and put it into some gravy, with a little cream, ketchup, a little grated lemon-peel, and nutmeg, a few oysters and their liquor, a bit of butter mixed with flour ; keep it stirring until the butter is melted ; lay sippets in a dish ; put in the hash, and serve. Scollops of Fowls with Cucumbers. — Take off the fillets of three fowls, cut your scollops of the size of a half-crown piece, dip them into some clarified butter, in a saut6- pan, sciutez them over a brisk fire on both sides, and throw them into sauce of cucumbers. The shortest way of malting the scollops, and likewise retaining all POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 209 the gravy, is to sautez the fillets just at dinner-time, and to scollop them quickly. Boiled Goose. — Take a goose, singe it, and pour over it a quart of boiling milk ; let it lie in this all night; then take it out, dry it well with a cloth, cut into small pieces a large onion and some sage; put them into the goose, sew it up at the neck and vent, hang it up by the legs till the next day; then put it into a pot of cold water, cover it close, and let it boil gently for an hour. Serve with onion sauce. Another method of boiling a goose is, by laying it in salt for a week, then boil it for an hour. Serve with onion sauce, or cabbage boiled or stewed in batter, or the German sauer-kraut. Fowl with the Flavour of Game. — Take a rabbit that has been kept a long time, and cut the meat off it into thin slices, lay them on a dish, and season them with pepper and salt, chopped parsley, chibbol, shalots, and a little sweet oil ; split a fowl at the back, bone it all to the legs and wings, stuff it with this, then sew it up, and give it its natural form; braize it with slices of veal and ham, covered over with slices of bacon; soak it about a quarter of an hour ; then add a glass of white wine, a little broth, a bundle of sweet herbs, pepper and salt. When done, sift and skim the sauce; add a little cullis, and serve it over the fowl. A Roasted Fowl with Green Walnuts. — Pick and gut your fowl, and cut the liver small, with scraped bacon, some butter, parsley, onions, mushrooms, pepper, salt, sweet herbs, and fine spice; mix all well together; then take a handful of half-ripe walnuts, picked and peeled, and mix them with your mince-meat; put it all into the belly of your fowl, which spit, wrapped up in slices of bacon, with paper tied round. Take about half a hundred, which is enough, of green walnuts, picked for one fowl, blanch them in hot water ; then put them in a stew-pan, with half a ladleful of ham cullis, and a little gravy ; let it boil a moment, and skim the p 210 POULTRY, GAME, &C.; fat well off ; see they have a good taste. Your fowls being done, draw them off the spit, and take off the slices of bacon, and dish them up ; then pour your ragout of green walnuts over them, and serve them up hot for entree. Capons may be dressed in the same fashion. A Fowl with large Onions. — Take a fowl, clean and gut it as above, spit it, and baste it with good butter; cut large onions into slices, and put them in a stew-pan with a lump of butter; then put it over the fire. When it becomes of a good colour, strew it with a dust of flour, moisten it with gravy, season it, and skim it well ; if it is not thick enough, put in a little of your stock-pot gravy or cullis. Your fowl being roasted, take it off and dish it up, and put your onions over it, with the juice of a lemon, and serve it up hot for entree. A Roasted Fowl with Chesnuts. — Pick and gut a fowl, cut the liver small, together with parsley, green onions, scraped bacon, butter, pepper, salt, sweet herbs, and fine spice. Take chesnuts, peel them, and put them into a braise to take off the small skin ; then mix your chesnuts with the force-meat, put all together into the belly of your fowl, and blanch it in a stew-pan with a bit of butter ; spit it, wrapped in slices of bacon, with paper tied round it. Take your peeled chesnuts, put them in a baking-pan, with tire under and over, and take off that small skin ; then put them in a stew-pan with broth, and let them be well done ; when they are fully done, pour out the broth, and put in it a little gravy. Your fowl being- done, draw it off the spit, and take off the slices of bacon ; dish it up, put your chesnuts over it, with the juice of a lemon, and serve it up hot for entry. A Woodcock Pie. — Raise a pie according to the size of the dish it is to go on, lay a few slices of veal at the bottom, then a layer of force-meat, then put in six woodcocks, season them with fine herbs and chopped mushrooms; put in a pound of raw truffles pared and POULTRY, GAME, &C.; 211 cut in slices, cover the woodcocks with slices of bacon, cover the pie, and garnish according to fancy. Two hours and a half will bake it. A Partridge Pie. — Raise a pie according to the size of the dish; put in slices of veal at the bottom, then some force-meat, then put in the partridges, which should be boned and tilled with force-meat, and a whole raw truffle in each; season it with fine herbs and chopped mushrooms ; put in one of raw truffles, cover the partridges with slices of bacon, then cover it, and garnish as you please. It will take three hours to bake. The oven for game pies should not be too hot. Cut half a ham into small pieces, and put it into a stew-pan with the bones, livers, and gizzards of the partridges, and any other loose giblets you may have at hand ; put about a dozen shalots, and a few blades of mace ; set it on the fire with a little stock for about ten minutes, then put about three pints of good stock, and half a pint of Madeira ; let it boil very’ gently for about two hours, then strain it off, and put about one ounce of butter into a stew-pan to melt, then put as much flour as will dry up the butter, then put in the liquor that the partridge bones were stewed in, boil it very slow for a few minutes, and strain it through a tammy. Pour the fat from the pie, and put in the sauce; add a few fat livers and a sweetbread cut as a ragout. r 2 212 PUDDINGS. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. Great care should he taken of pudding 1 and jelly bags, tapes for collaring, &c.; &c.;, which, if not well scalded and dried, impart an unpleasant taste or flavour the next time they are used. Be careful that your pudding-cloth is perfectly clean and sweet, and kept in a dry place. Wash it without soap, with soda, or pearl-ashes, in hot water (unless very greasy), then rince it thorougdily in water; before using, dip it in boiling water, squeeze it dry, and flour it. The water should be boiling before your pudding is put in, which should be moved about for a minute or two, to prevent the ingredients from separating. Set your stew-pan, with plenty of water, on a trivet over the fire, and keep it steadily boiling all the time ; if put on the fire, the pudding- often burns. If the fire is very fierce, stir the puddings every now and then to keep them from sticking to the bottom. If in a mould, this care is not so necessary . If boiled in a cloth without a basin, when done, have a pan ready of cold water, into which dip your pudding- as soon as taken out of the sauce-pan, which will prevent it adhering to the cloth ; but when boiled in a mould well buttered, they will turn out without. Custard and bread-puddings require to stand five minutes before they are turned out. If a bread-pudding, tie it rather loose, to allow of swelling ; if of flour, tight. Basins or moulds are best for boiling puddings, but these must be buttered before you put in the pudding, placing a piece of buttered writing-paper over the top PULDINGS. 213 of the mould before the cloth is put on, and boiled in plenty of water. When sufficiently done, take it up, and let it stand a little to cool; then untie, and take the cloth off, lay the dish over the top of the basin, turn it upside down, carefully take off the basin, as light puddings are apt to break. Batter-puddings should be free of lumps ; to ensure this, first mix the flour well with a little milk, then add the other ingredients by degrees, when it will be quite smooth. If for a plain batter-pudding, the best way is to strain it through a coarse sieve when mixed. In every other kind of pudding the eggs must be strained separately. The ingredients for bread or flour-puddings should be mixed (except the eggs) two or three hours before boiling or baking. The flour used for puddings (or cakes) must be well dried and sifted. Raisins washed, stoned, and dried, and currants also ; a little salt improves the flavour of all mixtures, even when the other ingredients are sweet, but its flavour should not be in the least perceptible. Puddings should not be put into the basin or dish till the minute they go into the water or oven, and should be well stirred before they are put into the sauce-pan or oven. When warm butter is to be put into the puddings, a little milk (or wine) prevents its oiling. All the ingredients should be fresh, and of the very best quality. The least mustiness or taint in any one article, will spoil a whole puddiug. ON BAKING PUDDINGS. All dishes in which puddings are to be baked, must be lined an inch or two below the edge, as well as on it, and that part of the dish first rubbed with butter. If a pudding is to be turned out, the whole dish must be buttered and lined with paste. Great care is necessary to prevent rich crusts from becoming brown, which makes them rank. A piece of 214 PUDDINGS. Take paper put over them will preserve their colour, care that your butter be good. Bread and custard puddings baked require time, and a moderate fire to raise them. Butter and rice puddings, a quick oven. Sago, and all sorts of seeds, should be well washed, and lie in water for an hour, to take off the earthy or other taste belonging to them. Such as contain suet and raisins, should have a wellheated, but not a fierce oven. Vermicelli Pudding. — Boil a quarter of a pound of vermicelli in a quart of new milk, until the vermicelli has soaked up the milk, then put it into a basin or tartpan, with two ounces of butrte, eight eggs, leaving out three whites; beat the eggs well, add sugar and brandy to them ; mix well with the vermicelli, and either bake or boil it. If baked, put pufF paste on the edge of the dish. N.B. Boil a little cinnamon, lemon-peel, and nutmeg in a little milk by itself, then strain it to the vermicelli; if the nutmeg were to be grated in the pudding, if boiled, it would appeal’ like dirt, but by boiling it in the milk it gives the flavour, which is all that is required. Cabinet Pudding. — Put some raisins in your mould in lines, then take half a pound of ratafia cakes and sponge cakes to be soaked in cream, four eggs, candied orange and lemon-peel, to be cut, two wine-glasses of brandy, and not much sugar; then put it into the mould without disturbing the raisins. Let it boil an hour, and serve it with rich wine sauce. Cheap Pudding. — Put a pint of milk to boil, and in it a quarter of the rind of a lemon, and a stick of cinnamon. Let these boil during ten minutes ; then take out the cinnamon and lemon-peel, pour the boiling milk over the crumb of two French rolls, and let the whole soak until it has become a pap. Rub it then through a milk and all. When it is quite cold, add to it sieve, five eggs beaten as for an omelet, and likewise a table- PUDDINGS. 215 spoonful of brandy. Mix the whole well together, and sweeten it with sifted loaf sugar ; pour it into a bakingdish, and put over it a quarter of a pound of very fresh butter melted with three table-spoonfuls of cream. Bake it in a moderate oven ; it will take about half an ! hour. Lemon Dumplings. — The juice of a lemon and the rind, chopped very fine, two eggs, a quarter of a pound of beef suet, quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, quarter of a pound of bread grated. To be boiled twenty minutes i in a cloth. Cheese Pudding. — Grate one pound of cheese, add to it eight eggs well beaten, half a pint of fresh milk, two ounces of butter with a little salt; mix all together. Put it into a dish and bake it. Bread Pudding. — Take a pint of bread-crumbs, put them into a stew-pan with as much milk as will cover them, add the peel of a lemon, a little nutmeg grated, and a bit of cinnamon ; boil about ten minutes, sweeten with powdered sugar; take the cinnamon out, and put in four eggs ; beat all well together and bake half an horn’, or boil rather mpre than an hour. Rice Pudding. — Boil a couple of spoonfuls of ground rice diluted in a pint of milk; pom 1 it into a dish; beat up the yolks of six eggs with sufficient sugar, and a tablespoonful of orange-flower water ; pour it over the rice milk, grate some nutmeg over it, and bake it. Rice pudding may be also made by boiling some whole American rice in milk till reduced to a pap, and adding eggs and sugar as above directed. Plum Pudding should be made with little if any flour, but with grated stale bread. Three quarters of a pound of bread, a quarter of a pound of flour, a pound of suet, three quarters of a pound of raisins, lemon-peel, one egg, some pounded sugar, some pounded cinnamon and mace, all the latter ingredients according to the taste and experience of the cook, a glass of white wine, and milk, to make it of a proper consistency. 216 PUDDINGS. Role Pudding. — Boil a stick of cinnamon in a pint of fresh milk; take it out, and pom – the milk boiling hot into a pie-dish upon a stale French roll. Let this stand till it is quite cold, then beat up the yolks of four eggs with sugar to taste, and a small tea-spoonful of orange-flower, or rose water, and pour it upon the roll ; grate nutmeg over it, and set it in the oven. When of a nice colour and firm it is done. Bread and Butter Pudding. — Make a custard of an egg and half a pint of milk, by boiling the milk with a little lemon-peel and sugar, and beating up the egg in it, putting it on the fire to thicken; then butter slices of bread or French roll, and soak them for an hour or two in this mixture; then lay them in a dish, sprinkling currants washed, dried, and picked, between each layer, and a little pounded sugar, putting some sweetmeats on the top, and pour over it another half pint of milk, beaten up with two eggs. The cold fat of a loin of veal may be used instead of butter or marrow. Marrow Pudding. — Four ounces of marrow, four of biscuits, three of jar raisins stoned, candied orange-peel, sugar, and nutmeg to the taste ; place these articles in layers in a dish surrounded by paste; then beat up four eggs, leaving out the whites of two, in half a pint of cream or good milk, and pour it over the other ingredients. It will take an hour and a half to bake. Yorkshire Pudding under Roast Meat ( Gipsy’s way ). — Six table-spoonfuls of flour, three eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, and a pint of milk, so as to make a middlingly stiff batter, a little stiffer than you would for pancakes ; beat it up well, and take care it is not lumpy ; put a dish under the meat, and let the drippings drop into it till it is quite hot and well greased; then pour in the batter. When the upper surface is brown and set, turn it, that both sides may be brown alike ; if you wish it to cut firm, and the pudding an inch thick, it will take two hours at a good fire. The true Yorkshire pudding is much thinner than in the south, it is about half an inch thick when done ; but it is the fashion PUDDINGS. 217 in London to make Yorkshire puddings twice that thickness. Bread and Butter Pudding (. Another way ‘). — Take a dish that will hold a quart, and well butter it; have a quarter of a pound of currants, and strew some of them over the bottom of the dish; then cut nine pieces of bread and butter, and make three layers of them, strewing currants between each layer, beat five eggs, leaving out the whites of two, and mix them, and half a drachm of nutmeg, and the same quantity of lemon-peel grated, and three ounces of moist sugar in a pint of new milk. This mixture to be poured over it before it is put in the oven. It should be baked one hour. A glass of white wine is an improvement. Nutmeg Pudding. — The yolks of six eggs beaten with four spoonfuls of rose water, three quarters of a pound of fresh butter, two nutmegs, or the same weight in mace, four Naples biscuits or rusks, grated in three quarters of a pound of sugar sifted, and beaten up with the butter, three oranges grated, and tied up in a piece of muslin, with several hot waters thrown to it, to extract the bitter from it; beat up altogether ; put a paste at the bottom of the dish. Brandy Pudding. — Take some thin slices of bread, and soak them in the best French brandy, then put a layer in a buttered mould, and some few raisins stoned, and a little orange peel alternately, till the shape is rather more than half full. Have ready a good custard to fill up to the top, put a buttered paper over, and then tie it in a cloth. A quart shape should boil an S hour. Tapioca Pudding. — One quart of cold milk, six ( table -spoonfuls of tapioca, set on the fire, and stir it till it boils; add one ounce and a half of powdered loaf ‘ sugar, and set it on the trivet, and let it boil a quarter of an hour, stirring occasionally ; take it off and turn it ( into a pan or basin, and stir in immediately one ounce of fresh butter and three eggs well beaten ; pour it into a ‘ buttered pie or pudding dish, and bake gently one 218 PUDDINGS. horn’. This pudding may be boiled for an hour and a half, adding two eggs. In either case it is better to prepare the tapioca early enough for it to be quite cold before baking or boiling, and if boiled it must stand a full quarter of an hour after it is taken up, or it will not turn out whole. It is a very delicate looking pudding when boiled and ornamented with red jelly. The Bakewell or Derbyshire Pudding. — Having covered a dish with thin puff paste, put a layer of any kind of jam about half an inch thick, then take the yolks of eight eggs, and two white, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of melted butter, and almond to taste, beat all well together, mixing with them three ounces of candied citron or orange rind, pour these ingredients into the dish an inch thick, and bake it about an hour in a moderate oven. A Plain Lemon Pudding. — The juice of three lemons, the peel of one rubbed off with sugar, six ounces of loaf sugar pounded (excepting what has been used for the lemon-peel) a good-sized tea-cupful of bread crumbs while it is soaking together, beat up four eggs, leaving out two whites; melt one ounce of fresh butter and mix all well together, trim and edge a dish with puff paste, pour in the above, and bake in a quick oven for three quarters of an hour. Dr. Kitchener’s Pudding. — Beat up the yolks and whites of three eggs; strain them through a sieve, and gradually add to them about a quarter of a pint of milk, stir these well together ; rub together in a mortar two ounces of moist sugar, and as much grated nutmeg as will lie on a sixpence ; stir these into the eggs and milk, then put in four ounces of flour, and beat it into a smooth batter; by degrees stir into it seven ounces of finely minced meat, and three ounces of bread-crumbs, mix all thoroughly together at least half an hour before you put the pudding into the pot; put it into an earthenware pudding mould that you have well buttered; tie a pudding cloth over it very tight, put it into boiling water, and boil it for three hours. PUDDINGS. 219 Ratafia Pudding. — Put a pint of milk and a pint of cream into a stew-pan, with the peel of two lemons, a little cinnamon and sugar, set it on the fire, and let it boil for half an hour, then strain it into a basin, and put the crumbs of two French rolls in it, then butter a Savoy cake ; mould very well, and stick dried cherries according to fancy, then put half a pound of ratafias in the mould; break ten eggs in a basin, and beat them up well, then put the eggs to the boiled milk, cream and rolls, stir it well, so as to bind the eggs, milk, and rolls together, then put it in the mould that has the ratafias in ; ginger souffle ; pour wine sauce on it. A Pudding. — To half a pint of good milk add four eggs, well beaten, a tea-cupful of white sugar, a little mace and cinnamon, the rind of a lemon, a little juice, a little white wine, mix all well together, and bake them in cups. These puddings are equally good boiled; turn them out when done, and pour the following sauce over them. To a little cream, flour and butter boiled up, put the yolks of two eggs well beaten, and a little wine, sugar, and lemon-peel; do not let it boil after the wine is put in or it will curdle. Cake Puddings. — Weigh two eggs, the same weight of pounded loaf sugar, flour, and butter. The sugar must be finely sifted; beat the butter to a cream, and mix the butter and sugar together ; then add the flour, and afterwards the eggs : having previously beaten them very well, this done, let all be beaten well together. The cakes will rise much in baiting, therefore you must only fill your cups a little more than half full. These proportions will make five or six little puddings. Serve up with wine sauce. Twenty minutes will do them. N.B. The eggs to be weighed in their shells. A Rice and Fruit Pudding. — Wash a sufficient quantity of rice, put a little water to it, and set in the oven till the water is absorbed ; then put in a little milk, work it well with a spoon, set it in the oven again, and 220 PUDDINGS. keep working it from time to time till it is sufficiently soft. A little cream worked in at last is an improvement. Fill a tart-disli nearly full of fruit, sweeten it, and lay on the rice unevenly by spoonfuls; bake it till the rice has a light brown or fawn colour on the surface. Semolina Pudding. — Take from one quart of milk enough to mix with one ounce of arrow-root, boil the remainder, and pour on the arrow-root, sprinkle and stir in three ounces of semolina, three tea-spoonfuls of sugar, one table-spoonful of orange-flower water; let tbis be cold, and then add two eggs well beaten and stirred in ; butter the dish, and put a small piece on the top. Bake it one hour in a moderate oven. Semolina Pudding. — Take a bottle of milk, place it to boil with a very little salt, and four ounces of butter; when it boils, put six ounces of the semolina, and stir it about with a wooden spoon for half an hour, in order that the semolina be well done ; put six ounces of sugar, and let the whole boil, that the sugar may be incorporated ; let it stand, and when cool, take six eggs, leaving the whites out ; put the yolks to the semolina, stir the whole well; move the whites of the eggs, and when they are solid, put them to the semolina, and stir the whole again a good deal ; then grate in an orange or lemon to give it a flavour. Take a mould, well buttered, and dim it with bread-crumbs very fine; put the whole into the mould, and place it in the oven, which must not be too hot, so that the pudding may be brought on by degrees till it is done. This must be done about an hour previous to the serving it up, that it may not be overdone. TO MAKE A PLAIN SEMOLINA PUDDING BAKED. Mix an ounce of arrow-root with a little cold milk, quite smooth; then gradually pour in one quart of boiling milk; drill in three ounces of semolina; let it stand till cold. Stir in two eggs, well beaten; add sugar and flavouring of lemon-peel, spice, orange-flower water, or any other preferred, and bake one hour. To make a kich Semolina Pudding Baked. — To PUDDINGS. 221 a quart of new milk put six ounces of semolina, four ounces of sugar, a grain of salt, a pat of butter, and the rind of a lemon and a small stick of cinnamon tied together. Stir these over the tire for ten minutes ; then take them off, and, after allowing the batter to cool for two or three minutes, mix with it the yolks of two eggs; whip the whites in a basin with a wire whisk, and mix them also in the batter. Pour it into a lightly-buttered tart-dish, and bake the pudding in a moderately-heated 1 oven for twenty or five-and-twenty minutes. Having powdered it over with fine sugar, pass the red-hot salai mander over it a few times, which will give it a bright j glazed appearance. To make a Boiled Semolina Pudding. — To a pint of milk add four ounces of semolina; stir them together in a sauce-pan over the fire till they thicken, and then let them stand till cold. Add three eggs, sugar, and flavouring; put the whole in a basin or mould, and boil for an hour. To MAKE A RICH SEMOLINA PUDDING STEAMED. To a quart of milk put half a pound of semolina, two pats of butter, four ounces of sugar, a grain of salt, and a table-spoonful of orange-flower water, or other flavouring ; stir these on the fire for ten minutes. After allowing the batter to cool for two or three minutes, add the yolks of six eggs; and, having first whipped four of the whites, add these also, and pour into a plain mould lightly but thoroughly buttered, and then bread-crumbed for the purpose. Set the mould in a deep stew-pan, two inches deep in hot water, cover the stew-pan with its lid, upon which place some red-hot embers of charI coal; place it over a very small charcoal fire, or in the oven, taking care that the water boils only fast enough to produce a moderate quantity of steam. After steaming from three-quarters of an hour to an hour, wipe the mould with a napkin, and having set it on a dish, draw it off the pudding carefully yet quickly. Pour the following sauce over the pudding : Sauce for light Puddings. — Into a small stew- 222 PUDDINGS. pan put the yolks of three eggs, two ounces of pounded sugar, little grated nutmeg or cinnamon, the grated rind of a lemon or orange, and two glasses of white •wane. Set the stew-pan in one somewhat larger, containing a little hot water, so as to form a shallow bath ; put them on a moderate charcoal fire, and, with a wire wisk, keep whipping the sauce till it becomes of a thick white creamy substance, when it may be used as directed. A Semolina Cake. — Follow the directions given for a steamed semolina pudding ; place the mould on a baking sheet, and put it in an oven to bake for threequarters of an hour or an hour. Turn the mould upside down on a dish, and draw it carefully off. With this kind of cake may be served a fruit sauce as directed in page 171. Potato Pudding. — Two pounds of potatoes weighed when boiled, broken fine, two table-spoonfuls of flour, half a pound of suet, shred fine, four eggs, with the whites, six ounces of sugar, lemon-peel, a small quantity of brandy. Bake it in a quick oven. Baked Apple Pudding. — One dozen large apples pared and grated, half of a pound of butter melted, five eggs, one lemon grated, and the juice putin, quarter of a pound of sugar. Twenty minutes will bake it ; a good puff paste put round the dish. Green gooseberries, coddled and washed, may be done the same. Orange Pudding. — Grate the rind of a Seville orange, put to it six ounces of fresh butter, six ounces of sugar ; beat it in a marble mortar, and add as you beat it, the yolks of eight eggs, well beaten and strained ; put a puff paste round and at the bottom of the dish. Half an hour will bake it. Cumberland Puddings. — A large tea-cupful of rice boiled for half an hour in a pint of Madeira, ratafia drops two ounces, eau-de-vie a wine glass, nutmeg and sugar to taste, yolks of six eggs well beaten together, puff paste, baked. A rich Plum Pudding. — One pound of beef suet, PUDDINGS. 223 one pound of raisins, stoned, four spoonfuls of sugar, four spoonfuls of flour, four spoonfuls of cream, eight eggs, with only half the whites, half a nutmeg. Boil it six hours. Plum Pudding ( Another way ). — Half a pound of raisins, half a pound of grated bread, half a pound of currants, one ounce of ^candied peel, two ounces of butter, melted, and quarter of a pound of raw sugar. Three eggs, a little milk, if too stiff, and one tablespoonful of brandy. It cannot be boiled too long. Plum Pudding ( Another way ). — Half a pound of currants, half a pound of raisins, chopped fine, half a pound of bread grated, half a pound of beef suet, chopped fine, two apples grated, one or two large spoonfuls of sugar, pounded, half a nutmeg, a little ginger, a very little salt, one ounce of orange-peel candied, one ounce of lemonpeel, cut about an inch thick, eight eggs, half of the whites only, a glass and a half of pale brandy, and a little wliite wine. It will take four hours to boil. Tapioca Pudding {Another fashion ). — Two ounces of tapioca, three pints of milk, one ounce of butter, four eggs, sweeten it to your taste; a piece of lemon-peel or nutmeg should be boiled in the milk. Cabinet Pudding (. Another way ). — Boil a pint of cream, in which infuse a little lemon peel and a little salt. Pour the cream while boiling over half a pound of Naples biscuits and let them soak. Next add the yolks of eight eggs, then beat the whites of four eggs; butter a mould and decorate it ornamentally with stoned raisins. Pour the above preparation into the mould, and steam it three quarters of an hour. Cottage Puddings.— B oil half a pound of butter in a quart of milk till melted, then pour it on half a pound of bread-crumbs, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of currants; let them stand till nearly cold, then add six eggs, with half a large nutmeg. Fricassee oe Eggs. — Take what number of eggs you please, boil them twenty minutes, then put them into cold water for a few minutes, to set the yolk to the white (or it will break to pieces), then take off the shells and cut them into halves and quarters; take some rich gravy, to which add a little chopped parsley, thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, white pepper, and salt ; thicken the gravy with flour and butter; make it boil before you put the eggs in, and then put them in for about three minutes, if longer they will turn black. Poached Eggs. — Boil in a stew-pan some water with a little salt and vinegar in it. The eggs must be quite fresh ; break and open the end of a shell with a knife, in order that the yolk may not break as it falls into the water, which it must be made to do as gently as possible, turning the shell, so that all the white shall be gathered round the yolk. Be careful that the eggs are not poached hard ; when done, take them out, one by one, and put them into cold water. Pare them nicely in the water, and also rub your finger over them, that they may be smooth. Eggs en Chemise. — Place a number of poached eggs on a dish, with a slice of toasted bread under each. Place the dish in an oven till the eggs are warm ; but they must be watched lest they harden ; then pour into the dish some thick gravy, flavoured with a little lemonjuice. Eggs on tiie Disn. — Break six or eight eggs side by side into a plate upon two ounces of fresh butter cut in little bits, and strewed over the plate ; put this latter over an uncovered stew-pan, half full of boiling water, and place it over the fire. The plate must serve EGGS. 225 as the lid of the stew-pan ; cover the eggs with another plate, and in a short time they will be done by the steam. Strew a little pepper and salt over them, and send them up. They may be accompanied or not, with a few toasted rashers of bacon, or some broiled slices of ham. Buttered Eggs. — Beat four or five egg s, yolk and white together ; put a quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a basin ; then set it in boiling water, stir it till melted, then pour it with the eggs into a saucepan, keep a basin in one hand, and hold the saucepan in the other, over a slow fire, shaking it one way, as it begins to warm; pour it into the basin, and then back again, hold it over the fire, stirring it constantly in the saucepan, and pouring it frequently into the basin to prevent it curdling-, and to mix the eggs and butter till they are boiling hot. Serve on toasted bread ; or use it as sauce to salt fish or red herrings. Eggs fried with Bacon. — Lay some slices of fine streaked bacon (not more than a quarter of an inch thick) in a clean dish, and toast them before the fire in a cheese – toaster, turning them when the upper side is browned. First ask those who are to eat the bacon, if they wish it much or little done, i. e. curled and crisp, or mellow and soft ; if the latter, parboil it first. Well-cleansed dripping or lard, or fresh butter, are the best materials for frying eggs in. Be sure the frying-pan is quite clean ; when the fat is hot, break two or three eggs into it ; do not turn them, but, while they are frying-, keep pouring some of the fat over them with a spoon. When the yolk just begins to look white, which it will in about a couple of minutes, they arc done enough ; the white must not lose its transparency, but the yolk, says Kitchener, “ be seen blushing through it.” If they are done nicely, they will look as white and delicate as if they had been Q 226 EGGS. poached ; take them up with a tin slice, drain the fat from them, trim them neatly, and send them up with the bacon round them. To make A hasty Dish of Eggs. — Beat six eggs well, then pour them into a sauce- pan; hold it over the fire till they begin to get thick ; keep stirring from the bottom all the time ; then put in a bit of fresh butter the size of a walnut ; stir it about till the eggs and butter are thoroughly mixed, and the eggs quite dry ; put it on a plate, and serve it hot. To Fry Eggs with Sausages. — Fry the sausages first; pour the fat out of the pan, and put in a bit of butter ; when it is quite hot, put in the eggs ; keep them separate, and set the pan over the fire, but not very near; let the heat increase very slowly; when they are done on one side, turn them carefully on the other with a broad-pointed knife; and when quite done, take them up with a slice. (Eufs a la Neige, or Snow Eggs, form a very favourite entremet in France, which is seldom seen at an English table. It has an elegant appearance, and may be prepared at very little expense. Whip the whites of eight eggs until they form a very thick froth, which will take at least half an hour; put a pint and a half of milk to boil, and when it boils place upon its surface as many table-spoonfuls of the whipped whites of eggs as will stand upon it without touching each other; as each spoonful becomes cooked and assumes the appearance of snow, take it off and put on another, until all the whipped egg is done. As you take off the snow from the milk, put it on a hair sieve to drain ; when all the snow is done, add to the milk a bit of lemon-peel, and sugar enough to sweeten it well. As soon as it has acquired the flavour of lemon-peel, stir into it the yolks of the eight eggs beaten up with a table-spoonful of orange-flower water ; when of proper consistency, but not so thick as cream, pour it into a cream -dish. After EGGS. 227 it is cold put the snow on the surface, to mask the sauce. Eggs ( Grandmother’s ivay ). — Put six yolks of eggs in a stew-pan, season them with salt, a little pepper, and nutmeg, mix and stir them with good gravy, and strain them through a sieve; then put a stew-pan with water on a stove, and put the dish you will serve your eggs in over it, so that the dish touch the water, put your eggs in that dish, and cover it with another dish, and put a little fire on it. Your eggs being fastened, put a little veal gravy over them, and serve hot for a by-dish. Another time you may dress them with broth. Eggs with Sorrel. — Take son-el and a few lettuce, pick and wash them, put them on a table, and give them a few cuts with a knife; put them in a stew-pan with a bit of butter, parsley, and chives hashed (mushrooms if you have any), season with salt and pepper, put all on the fire, and let it stew slowly, being almost dry, powder with a pinch of flour, and wet it with gravy or broth ; then make a binding with yolks of eggs proportionable to your quantity of sorrel, mix your binding with cream or milk, and put a little nutmeg to it, and some small bits of butter; bind your sorrel, observe it be of a good taste, dress it in the dish you will serve it in, put some hard eggs over it cut in two or four pieces ; the yolks of your eggs should not be quite hard. You may put under these eggs some endives, lettuce, cucumbers, celery, heads of asparagus, and young peas, when in season, or a white sauce. Scotch Eggs. — Boil five pullets’ eggs hard, take off the shells, and, without removing the white, cover them completely with a fine relishing force-meat. Fry them of a fine light brown, and serve with good gravy in the dish. Eggs with Celery. — Take three or four heads of celery, boil them in a white water, which is made with water, flour, butter, and salt; being boiled let them Q 2 228 EGGS. drain, cut them in slices, and put them in a stew-pan with clear cullis of fish, and let them soak half an hour on the fire, bind it quite with a cullis of lobsters, or some other cullis, and a little piece of butter as large as a nut, stir it always on the fire ; let your ragout be of a good taste ; put a little vinegar to it, and dress it in a dish, put your poached eggs over them, and serve them hot. When you will not make use of poached eggs make use of hard ones, which you peel, and choose the finest, cut them in half, your ragout of celery being at the bottom of your dish, garnish the brim of your dish with your eggs cut in two. You may serve them also with a ragout of endive, lettuce, or sorrel. Plain Omelet. — Break twelve eggs into a basin, add salt, and a little water; beat the eggs with a whisk or two forks, they must be well beaten ; put into a frying-pan the size of an egg of butter, melt it without browning; pour in the omelet, continuing to beat it, put it on a clear quick fire, beat principally the side next the handle, shake the omelet well, and do not let it burn : when it is nearly done, slip under it a bit of butter the size of a walnut, when melted, roll it over to see if it is of a good colour, turn it out on a dish and serve. If it is to be seasoned with herbs, put in parsley and small onions hashed fine, and a little pepper. Eggs with Lettuce. — Take cabbage – lettuce, blanch them, and press them well, cut them in slices, and fry them in a stew-pan, with a little fresh butter, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a bunch of sweet herbs, and let them soak half an hour on a slow fire ; being done, take off the fat, and bind them with a cullis of fish ; take fresh eggs, fry them in brown butter, order and pare them about with your knife. Mind that your ragoftt of lettuce be of a good taste, dress it in a dish, lay your fried eggs upon it, and serve it up hot. EGGS. 229 Eggs with Endive. — Blanch some endive, press it well, give it two or three cuts with a knife, and put it in a stew-pan, wet it with a little fish-broth, and season it with pepper, salt, and a bunch of sweet herbs; let it soak on the fire for about half an hour, and bind it with a cullis of fish ; let your eggs be poached in butter, and cleaned all round. Lay your eggs well coloured in order upon the endive, and serve hot. 230 SAVOURY PIES Require great care, particularly in respect to seasoning, which cannot be well done according to rule, but -must depend on the taste of the maker. If intended to be eaten cold, suet must be avoided. F orce-meat is a considerable improvement. An Excellent Gravy for Savoury Pies. — Take some strong gravy, claret, four anchovies, an onion, and some sweet herbs ; boil together, and thicken with floured butter ; when done, pour it into your pies, after they are baked. Potato Pie ( Cornish Fashion ). — Slice potatoes, and adding a proper quantity of beef-steak or mutton-chops, not too fat, place them in a baking-dish, seasoning them with pepper and salt, and adding a sufficient quantity of water, cover the whole with a proper crust, taking care to make a hole in the centre of the crust for the steam to escape. Turnip and Potato Pie ( Cornish fashion ). — Slice turnips in the same way as the potatoes in equal quantities and proceed as before. A Potato Pasty ( West Country fashion ). — In the West, pasties are distinguished from pies, by being made solely of crust externally, no dish is used. The potatoes and meat are placed on dough after it is rolled out, the whole is then united, the edges being brought in contract in this form O. No water is put into them. Baked on an iron sheet. A Hoggan (A Cornish dish ). — This is a pasty with meat only — beef, mutton, or venison, closed as the pasty is, exactly. They were first adopted, we imagine, by the miners, for convenience of carriage to their distant labour. SAVOURY PIES. 231 Conger Pie ( Cornish dish). — The conger is adopted in place of the mackerel above, it is a fish of five and six feet in length in Cornwall, and as large round as a man’s arm of middle size. Baked Bream ( Cornish dish). — This is a broadscaled fish. It is stuffed with bread, parsley, &c.;, and sent to be baked upon a small trivet in a coarse dish. A couple sent to the oven thus stuffed are good eating. Mackarel Pie ( Cornish dish). — When the mackarel are cleaned, cut off the heads and tails, then cut them in three pieces across, and lay them in the dish with pepper, nutmeg, and salt, for seasoning’, and water for gravy. When ready, put in a little water through the hole in the centre, and serve up. Cyrus Redding’s Leeic Pie ( West Country dish). — Procure good leeks, cut them in pieces of about half, or two-thirds of an inch in depth. Place them in a dish with water, pepper, mutton, and salt. When ready to serve up, use milk as before. Leek and Apple Pie ( Cornish dish). — As above, with equal quantities of apples and leeks. Milk is not to be used. N.B. Only the white part of the leeks is used, not the green or top parts. Turnip Pie ( West Country dish). — This is made with turnips and mutton solely treated as before. If the turnips are good this is a gi’eat delicacy. Neither the turnips nor potatoes should be so thinly sliced as to lose their form when served at table. The mutton should not be too fat. Parsley Pie ( West Country dish). — The parsley should be carefully picked, so that no weed be among it, then parboiled, and put into a dish for baking with veal. The parsley required will he considerable. Water (not too much), should be added for gravy, with a little salt. Clouted cream is eaten with it in the west. A little raw cream poured in at the top when serving up, will do equally well. Sometimes spinach and parsley are put, equally divided. 232 POTTING AND CURING. To Pot little Birds. — When picked and ready for cooking, put them into a jar with a little water and butter, and let them remain three hours in an oven; mix up some butter and spice, and put some of it in each of the birds; then put them into pots, and pour melted butter over them. Potted Veal. — One pound of roast veal, a quarter of a pound of ham, twelve ounces of butter, pound them all in a mortar, and season it with white and Cayenne pepper, salt, cloves, and, if you like, a little garlic or shalots; put it into dishes, and pour a little hot melted butter on the top to keep it. Baked Beef. — Take a round of beef of the common size, rub into one pound of coarse brown sugar, let it remain twenty-four hours ; then put on one pound of saltpetre, one pound of common salt, which must be well rubbed in, turn in every day for a fortnight or more; then stuff it with parsley, suet, white and Cayenne pepper, and salt (shalots or onions if you like, or any other herb), bind it up as for collaring, and put it into a deep pan with a small quantity of water, cover it up close with a lid, and put it in an oven for twenty-four hours ; the oven to be heated only as for bread ; not to be eaten till cold. For Potting Beef. — Take your beef, which should be from the rump, cut it, without much fat, into thick, square pieces, and put it into a jar with some mace, three cloves, three pats of butter, and a cup full of water; send it to the oven for three hours, and when taken out, before it becomes cold, take the beef out of the jar from the gravy ; the gravy should be kept by itself, and when POTTING AND CURING. 233 cold, take away some of the fat; heat your beef when cold and hard enough, and add mace, cloves, nutmeg, Cayenne pepper, white pepper, and salt ; put it into little pots, pressing it down closely ; when you have half filled your pots, put a little of the gravy and butter to settle it, then fill the pot with butter, well oiled, whilst melting. Scarlet Beef. — Take the middle piece of a brisket of beef and rub it with two ounces of saltpetre. Let it lay twenty-four hours, then rub it well with common salt, and let it lay eight days. Serve it up with savoy cabbage, an onion, a few cloves, a slice of ham and vinegar to he stewed with the cabbage. For Curing Hams. — Let them hang two or three days, then rub them well with common salt and let them lay two days, then put them into the following pickle : To three gallons of water put four pounds of common salt, one pound of bay salt, one pound of brown sugar, three ounces of salt prunella, which quantity is sufficient for two large hams. After boiling these ingredients together half an hour, when cold, put the hams iuto the pickle, turning them every day for three weeks ; then hang them up to dry, and when dry sew them up in calico or coarse paper ; if kept long steep them in cold water all the night before use. Mutton Ham. — One pound of coarse sugar, one pound of coarse salt, and one ounce of saltpetre, mh them well together, let the leg hang four days in •winter, rub in the pickle two or three times a day for a fortnight, soak it before boiling one night ; boil it an hour and a half. When the fortnight is over Ihang the leg up in a brown paper hag to dry by the fire. Another Mutton Ham. — Cut a hind quarter of 1 imutton like a ham; then take an ounce of saltpetre, a n pound of coarse sugar, a pound of common salt ; mix r ithem and rub the ham, lay it in a hollow tray with the 234 POTTING AND CURING . skin downwards, baste it every day for a fortnight, then roll it in sawdust, and hang it in wood smoke for a fortnight; now boil it, and hang it in a dry place, and cut it out in rashers. It does not eat well boiled, but eats finely broiled. Pork Hams Scalded. — Hang the ham. a day or two, then sprinkle it with a little salt, and drain it another day. Three quarters of a pound of saltpetre, three quarters of a pound of bay salt, half an ounce of salt prunell; one pound of coarse brown sugar. Mix these well, and rub it into the ham every day for six days, and turn it every day for three weeks ; but don’t rub it after the six days. Before you dry it drain and cover it with bran, smoked or dried as you like, for ten or twelve days. Tongue. — If from unforeseen circumstances a tongue cannot be dressed that has been in pickle three weeks or a month (after the latter period it deteriorates) the best plan is to boil it for the usual time, and set it by with the skin on. It will keep well thus for a fortnight or three weeks, and, when wanted to be dressed, may be put into cold water and boiled ; the whole time occupying an hour. The under fat of a tongue, when fresh pickled, is very much esteemed; but when it has been five or six weeks in pickle, or if it have been dried and hung, even for a week, this fat becomes rancid, tallowy, and disagreeable, not to say unwholesome. By the above plan these faults are avoided, and the tongue may be dressed and eaten on the shortest notice. Pickled Pork is usually eaten boiled, and bacon in various known ways. To prepare bacon for eating with boiled green peas, or indeed w r ith fowl or veal, the following is the best recipe we know: To Dress Bacon. — When the bacon is about twmthirds boiled, take it up, cut off the rind, cover its upper surface with raspings as you do that of ham, and put it into a Dutch oven before the fire ; there let it roast until it is quite done. POTTING AND CURING. 235 To Dress a Ham. — Put into the water in which the ham Ls to be boiled a quart of stale ale or old cider, a pint of vinegar, and a large bunch of sweet herbs, containing ruarjorom, basil, winter savoury, besides thyme, parsley, and bay-leaf. Let the ham simmer until it is two-thirds done; then take it up, skin and cover it with raspings, and set it in an oven until it is done enough. A ham thus dressed is incomparably superior to one boiled in the usual way. Hunting Beef. — Get a good-sized round of beef, and rub it well over with salt ; about thirty hours afterwards it should be wiped dry, and placed upright in the pickle ; if covered by the liquid, it should be no further disturbed so long as it remains in the pan; if otherwise, it should be daily basted with the pickle and turned. At the expiration of about a fortnight, it should be taken from the brine, washed in cold water, and well wiped till it is dry. Equal portions of allspice, mace, cloves, and long pepper, should now be pounded very fine ; two parts of ground black pepper, and a small pinch of Cayenne are added; six or eight pieces of fat bacon should be cut an inch broad, half an inch thick, and long enough to pass through the round of beef. After being rubbed over with the spice mixture, they should be run into the beef quite through it, just as a filet de bceuf is larded. Several anchovies should then be washed and boned, and the beef larded with them very deeply, so that each half of an anchovy may be buried perpendicularly in the meat without any of it appearing on the surface. The meat should then be rubbed all over with the remains of the pounded mixture of spice, which ought to be well worked into the crevices. A fillet should be bound tightly round the joint, and a cloth tied over the whole. The joint is lastly put into a boiler covered witli water, to which a bottle of port wine, a pint of vinegar, and a bunch of sweet herbs are added. When the beef is done, it is allowed to cool in the liquor which has served to dress it, and as soon as 236 POTTING AND CURING. it is quite cold it is taken out, and the fillet removed from it; next morning it may appear at the breakfasttable cold, or at lunch. It will keep good during a month ; the liquor in which this meat has been boiled may be preserved, and if boiled down and skimmed, will when cold, bottled, and tied over with a bladder, be found excellent for flavouring sauces. 237 HAMS, BACON, TONGUES, SAUSAGES &c.; If the weather will permit, let a ham hang up two or three days before it is salted. Beat it well with a rolli ing-pin or thick stick. Take a quantity of common salt, a pound of coarse sugar, and a quarter of a pound of saltpetre, and a bottle of vinegar; mix them together, and set them before the fire to warm ; then rub the ham thoroughly; put it into a pan suited for the purpose, and lay the remainder of the salt upon it; let it lie two days ; then turn it, rub it well with the brine, and baste it several times in the day ; repeat this every day for a month if the ham he large ; if it be a small one, three weeks; then take it out of the brine, drain it ; wash off the salt with cold water ; dry it with a cloth ; rub some black pepper over the inside, and put some in at the knuckle ; hang it in a chimney for a month, or send it to the baker’s to dry ; when it is quite hard, put it into a chest and cover it with some dry sawdust, malt-dust, or bran ; let it remain till the day before it is to be dressed; then put it into cold water to soak. Bacon and pig’s face may be done in the same way. This is the best method of keeping hams, &c.; from getting rusty. They may be smoked or not, as agreeable. It is better to put a sufficient quantity of salt upon hams, &c.;, at first, than to add more afterwards, which would make them jeat disagreeably salt and hard. It is I proper to boil the brine when a ham has been in salt a [ week or ten days; skim it well; let it be cold, and pour it on again. In damp weather this is very necessary, but in frosty weather it will do without. Bacon may be done in the same manner. When any kind of meat I has been salted, the brine may be boiled and skimmed P till it is as clear as water ; when cold, bottle it, and set 238 HAMS, BACON, &C.; it by for use. It will be good in many articles for which salt is used. To Pickle a Ham. — Salt it as above; let it remain a week ; then boil a pint of vinegar, with two ounces of bay salt in it ; pour it hot upon the ham, and baste it well every day ; let it remain in salt as above ; this is a sufficient quantity for a large ham. Westphalia Ham. — Rub it with half a pound of the coarsest sugar; let it lie twelve hours, and rub it again with an ounce of saltpetre finely beaten, and a pound of common salt. Let it lie three weeks turning it every day. Dry it in wood or turf smoke; wdien boiled, put a pint of oak saw-dust into the water with it. To Pickle a Ham with Beer. — Rub a ham with a quarter of a pound of saltpetre ; let it lie twenty-four hours; boil one quart of strong old beer with half a pound of bay-salt, half a pound of brown sugar, and a pound and a half of common salt ; pour this on the ham boiling hot; rub and turn it every day for a fortnight, and baste it with the liquor very frequently. Yorkshire Hams.’ — Beat them well ; mix half a peck of salt, three ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of sal-prunella, and five pounds of coarse sugar; rub the hams well with tins, lay the remainder on the top; let them lie three days, then hang them up; put as much water to the pickle as will cover the hams, adding salt till it will bear an egg ; boil and strain it ; the next morning put in the hams, press them down so that they may be covered ; let them lie a fortnight; rub them well with bran, and dry them. The above ingredients are sufficient for three middle-sized hams. Mock Dutch Beef. — Take a round of beef, cut off the fat, rub the lean all over with brown sugar, and let it lie two or three hours in a pan, turning it two or three times ; then salt it with saltpetre and common salt, and let it lie a fortnight, turning it every day. Then roll it very tight in a coarse cloth, put it into a press for two days, and hang it to dry in a chimney. 239 HAMS, BACON, &C.; When it is boiled, put it into a cloth, and when cold it will cut like Dutch beef. Hung Beef. — Make a strong brine with bay-salt, saltpetre, and common salt, and put in some ribs of beef for nine days. Then hang it up in a chimney. It may be smoked or not, as you like. Welsh Beef. — Rub some ribs of beef with saltpetre and common salt, let it lie fourteen days, turn and rub it every day, and then dry it in a chimney.” To stew Tongue. — Salt a tongue with saltpetre and common salt for a week, turning it every day. Boil it tender enough to peel; when done, stew it in a moderately strong gravy; season with soy, mushroom ketchup, Cayenne, pounded cloves, and salt, if necessary. Serve with truffles, morels, and mushrooms. In both this receipt and the next, the roots must be taken off the tongues before salting, but some fat left. An Excellent Way of doing Tongues to eat Cold. — Season with common salt and saltpetre, brown sugar, a little bay-salt, pepper, cloves, mace, and allspice, in fine powder, for a fortnight ; then take away the pickle, put the tongue into a small pan, and lay some butter on it ; cover it with brown crust, and bake slowly till so tender that a straw would go through it. The thin part of tongues, when hung up to dry, grates like hung beef, and also makes a fine addition to the flavour of omelets. Tongue with Parmesan. — Prepare and cook an ox’s tongue in a braise, let it cool, cut in very thin slices, put rasped Parmesan in a deep dish, and lay the slices of tongue over it ; continue doing so till three or four beds have been made, alternately of tongue and cheese ; sprinkle every layer with a little of the stock the tongue was braised in, and finish it with a covering of cheese, which must be basted with melted butter; put it into the oven, and when the cheese is of a fine colour, serve. 240 HAMS, BACON, &C.; Pickled Tongue, glazed. — This is a remove which is frequently used for family dinners. Take a large tongue a Vecarlate, boil it well, then flay it, glaze it, and, after having made it look quite neat, send it up with mashed turnips on one side, and mashed carrots, or carrots and spinach, on the other, &c.; Roasted Ham. — Pare the ham on the under side, and cut it quite round, so that it may have a good form, steep it to take out the salt, put it into an earthern vessel with slices of onions, carrots, and two bruised bay-leaves; pour over it a bottle and a half of Malaga, or any other Spanish wine, or champagne, cover it with a cloth, and shut it as close as possible, leave it to marinade twenty— four hours, spit it and let it cook, basting it with the seasoning; when nearly done, take olf the skin ; glaze and pannez it ; let it take a fine colour ; when the ham is taken up to take olf the skin, pass the marinade through a gauze search, reduce it to the consistence of sauce, and serve it under the ham. To pickle Pork. — Bone the pork, cut it into pieces of a size fit to lie in a tub or pan, rub the pieces well with saltpetre, then take two parts of common salt, and two of bay-salt, and rub every piece well; now put a layer of common salt on the bottom of the vessel, and cover every piece with common salt, laying them one on another as close as you can, and filling the hollow places in the sides with salt. As the salt melts on the top, strew on more ; lay a coarse cloth over the vessel, a board over that, and a weight on the board to keep it down. Keep it close covered ; it will keep the whole year. Pickle for Pork which is to be eaten soon . — Boil together two gallons of pump water, one pound of baysalt, one pound of coarse sugar, and six ounces of saltpetre, and skim it when cold. Cut the pork in what pieces you please, lay it down close, and pour the liquor over it; lay a weight on it to keep it down, and cover it close from the air, and it will be fit to use in a week. 241 HAMS, BACON, &C.; If you find the pickle begins to spoil, boil and skim it, and when cold, pour it on the pork. To collar Beef. — Take a piece of thin flank of beef, and bone it, cut the skin off, salt it with two ounces of saltpetre, two ounces of sal prunella, and two of bay salt, half a pound of coarse sugar, and two pounds of white salt; beat the hard salts fine, and mix all together, turn it every day and rub it with the brine well for eight days ; then take it out of the pickle, wash, and wipe it dry. Then take a quarter of an ounce of cloves, and a quarter of an ounce of mace, twelve corns of allspice, and a nutmeg beaten fine, with a spoonful of beaten pepper, a large quantity of chopped parsley, with sweet herbs, chopped fine, sprinkle it on the beef, and roll it up tight, put a coarse cloth round, and tie it tight with tape. Boil it in a large copper of water, if a large collar, six hours; if a small one, five hours: take it out and put it in a press till cold; if you have no press, put it between two boards, and place a large weight on it till it is cold; then take it out of the cloth, and cut it into slices. Garnish with raw parsley. Pork Sausages. — Take three pounds of pork, fat and lean together, without skin or gristles, chop it as fine as possible, season with a tea-spoonful of beaten pepper, and two of salt, some sage shred fine, about three • spoonfuls; mix the whole well together. In the mean ‘ time have the guts nicely cleaned, and fill them ; or put them down in a pot, then roll them of what size you please, and fry them. Beef likewise makes good sausages. Black Puddings. — Before killing a hog, boil a peck I of grits for half an hour, then drain them, and put them into a clean tub or large pan; then kill the hog, and save two quarts of the blood, and keep stirring it till quite cold; now mix it with grits, and stir them well t together. Season with a large spoonful of salt, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, and the same quantity of B mace and nutmeg together, dry it, beat it well, and mix 242 HAMS, BACON, &C.; in. Now take a little winter savory, sweet marjoram, and thyme, pennyroyal stripped off the stalks, and chopped fine, just enough to season them, and to give them a flavour, but no more. The next day take the leaf of the hog-, and cut it in dice, scrape and wash the gut clean, then tie one end, and begin to fill them, mix in the fat as you fill them, be sure to put in a deal of fat, fill the skins three parts full and tie the other end. Prick them with a pin, and put them in a kettle of boiling water. Boil them softly an hour; take them out, and lay them on clean straw. Receipt to make a Ham better than those of Westphalia, according to Ude . — As soon as the pig is cold enough to be cut up, take the two hams, and cut out the round hone, so as not to have the ham too thick; rub them well with common salt, and leave them in a large pan for three days ; when the salt has drawn out all the blood, throw the brine away, and proceed as follows : for two hams of about eighteen pounds each, take one pound of moist sugar, one pound of common salt, and two ounces of saltpetre, mix them together, and rub the hams well with it, then put them into a vessel large enough to contain them in the liquor, always keeping the salt over them ; after they have been in this state three days, throw over them a bottle of good vinegar. One month is requisite for the cure of tliem, during that period they must be often turned in the brine; when you take them out, drain them well, powder them with some coarse flour, and hang them in a dry place. The same brine can serve again, observing that you must not put so much salt on the next hams that you pickle. If the hams are smaller, put only three quarters of a pound of salt, but the salt will not do any harm if you do not let them remain too long in the brine ; if you can get them smoked, they are then not so subject to be infected by vermin, no insect whatever can bear the bitterness of the soot; the smoke of lierre or wood is preferable to the smoke of coal. Be HAMS, BACON, &C.; 243 particular that the hams are hung as far as possible from the fire, otherwise the fat will melt, and they will become dry and hard. Miss Acton calls this an admirable receipt, but it had been proved by at least 100,000 persons twenty years before the publication of her book. Ham with Madeira. — Take in preference a Westmoreland ham, which prepare in the same manner as directed above; but it need not be left so long in water, as it is not so briny as the Westphalia hams are. Blanch it in water only during two hours ; then drain it, and put it into a braising-pan, trimmed with thin slices of veal at“the bottom, seasoned with carrots, onions, parsley, bay-leaves, spices, &c.; ; pour over these two glasses of rich consomme and a bottle of Madeira, let it boil for about a couple of hours. When done, pour some of the liquor, after having skimmed off the fat, to reduce to an Espognole, which is the proper sauce. N.B. When the ham has boiled for two hours in the water, you must trim it instantly, before you put it with the wine, that you may send it up the moment you take it out of the braise. Reduce the liquor to make the glaze for it. Brighton Hunting Beef. — A handsome round of beef, of about twenty-five pounds weight, is put into spring water, and left there two horn’s. On being taken out and well drained, three ounces of saltpetre are well rubbed into the meat; this must be left in a pan during twenty-four hours, and the saltpetre again rubbed into it three or four times during this interval. A pound of eommon salt is then rubbed in several times during the next twenty-four hours; meanwhile, a mixture is prepared with a quarter of a pound of allspice, two ounces of white pepper, and an ounce of long pepper, all which are ground, pounded very fine, intimately mingled, and rubbed over the meat at the expiration of the second twenty-four hours. The beef remains ten days in the brine, which now rapidly forms in the pan, being 244 HAMS, BACON, &C.; turned and basted with the pickle every day. After this time, it is washed in cold spring water, tied round with packthread, and placed in a deep earthen pan, larger than the joint, round which there must be a space of two or three inches; the rims of the pan must be higher than the meat. A quarter of a pound of fresh beef suet, chopped very small, is then strewed over the surface of the joint, round which two quarts of water are poured into the pan; this vessel is next covered with a thin crust, made of flour and water, and put into an oven hot enough for bread. The beef must be baked four hours ; the crust is then removed, and the upper surface of the meat washed with some of the liquor in which it was baked. When cold it may be sent to table. To preserve Meat without Salt. — Wet a clean cloth in vinegar, wring it dry, and wrap the meat in it ; hang it up in a dry cool place : by this means it wall keep good several days in hot weather. To RESTORE TAINTED GAME, OR OTHER MEAT. Prepare it for cooking, then wrap the game in a fine linen cloth, closely sewed in every part, so as to prevent any dust or cinder getting in ; when this is done, take a fire-shovel full of hot charcoal or live coal, and throw into a bucket of cold water, and dip the game or meat into it, and allow it to remain five minutes, and upon talcing it out, all the offensive smell will be removed, and it will be perfectly fit for use, but it must be dressed immediately. To prepare Salt. — Take a lump of salt of the size you think proper, and if not quite dry, place it in a plate before the fire to make it so, then pound it in a mortar till it is perfectly fine ; this done, fill your salt-eellers with it higher than the brim, and with the flat s:de of a knife that has a smooth edge, take it off, and press it down even with the top. If the salt-cellers are not smooth on the top, but cut in notches, a table-spoon is the best tool to press and smooth the salt in them, or it HAMS, BACON, &C;, 245 makes them look very neat, if the bottom of the saltceller is ornamented, to place the bottom of one on the top of the other for the same purpose. The salt should be in a lump that it may be free from dirt, and the knife must have a smooth edge, if it has the least ruggedness, it will leave the marks on the salt. Mustard. — To eight tea-spoonfuls, or two ounces of mustard, put two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and nine of water; mix them well together, then add six teaspoonfuls more of water, and again well mix it, by rubbing it round the side of the cup or other vessel, till it is of a nice smooth consistency, and free from any lumps. Fried Parsley. — Let it be nicely picked and washed, then put into a cloth, and swung backwards and forwards till it is entirely and perfectly dry ; put it into a pan of hot fat, fry it quick, and have a slice ready to take it out the moment it is crisp (in another moment it will be spoilt) ; put it spread reversed on a sieve or coarse cloth, before the fire to drain. Crisp Parsley ( Another receipt). — Pick and wash young parsley, shake it in a dry cloth to drain the water from it, spread it on a sheet of clean paper in a Dutch oven before the fire, and turn it frequently until it is quite crisp. This is a much more easy way of preparing it than frying it, which is frequently ill done. Parsley thus fried is a pretty garnish for lamb chops, fish, &c.; Freed Bread Sitpets. — Cut a slice of bread about a quarter of an inch thick from a stale loaf, divide it with a sharp knife into pieces two inches square, shape ithese into triangles or crosses ; put some very fresh butter, or very clean fat into an iron frying-pan ; when it is hot, put in the sippets, and fry them a delicate : fight brown ; take them up with a fish-slice, and drain ftthem well from fat, turning them occasionally, this 246 HAMS, BACON, &C.; will take a quarter of an hour. Keep the pan at such a distance from the fire that the fat may be hot enough to brown without burning the bread; this is a requisite precaution in frying. These fried sippets may be used as a pretty garnish to the finest made dishes ; they may also be sent up with peas and other soups; but when intended for soups, the bread must be cut into bits about half an inch square. If sippets be not done very delicately clean and dry, they are uneatable. Peas Powder. — Pound together in a marble mortar, half an ounce each of dried mint and sage, a drachm of celery seed, and a quarter of a drachm of Cayenne pepper ; rub them through a sieve. This gives a very savoury relish to pea-soup, and to water-gruel, if approved. A drachm of allspice, or black pepper, may be pounded with thq above addition, or instead of the Cayenne. To preserve Butter. — Take two parts of the best common salt, one part good loaf sugar, and one part saltpetre ; beat them well together. To sixteen ounces of butter, thoroughly cleansed from the milk, put one ounce of this composition ; work it in well, and pot down when become firm and cold. The butter thus preserved is the better for keeping, and should not be used under a month. This article should be kept from the air; and is best in pots of the best glazed earth, that will hold from ten to fourteen pounds each. To keep Mieic and Cream. — In hot weather, when it is difficult to preserve milk from becoming sour, and spoiling the cream, it may be kept perfectly sweet by scalding the’ new milk very gently without boiling, and setting it by in the earthem dish or pan that it is done in. This method is pursued in Devonshire; and for butter and eating, would equally answer in small quantities for coffee, tea, &c.; Cream already HAMS, BACON, &C.; 247 skimmed, may be kept twenty-four hours, if scalded without sugar, and by adding to it as much powdered lump-sugar as shall make it pretty sweet, will be good two days, keeping it in a cool place. 248 USEFUL DIRECTIONS IN MAKING CAKES. Eggs, when used, should be extremely well beaten — not with their yolks and white together, but separate, and used immediately, or they will require beating again. Dried raisins, when used, should be well stoned and dried; and as they are apt to stick together, just before they are mixed in, a little dried flour should be dusted among them, and the raisins well shook about ; this prevents their adhesion, and adds to the lightness of the cake. Currants and carraways, when employed, should be carefully washed, and every bit of dirt removed ; then rubbed in a cloth, and set before the fire to dry perfectly, else the cake would be heavy. Before they are added, they should be also dusted with flour. The sugar should be of the best lump, rubbed to a powder, and then sifted through a tammy or lawn sieve. When yeast is used in cakes, they will prove equally light and rich with a less proportion of butter and eggs than if it was not employed. In this case the butter should be first melted in the milk, and used together with the flour, milk, water, and yeast in making the leaven, because the latter is easier divided than if the butter were added afterwards. The leaven made without it would be tough, and the cake less good. If lemon be added, it should be pared as thin as ‘possible, and beaten to a paste in a marble mortar. To be able to give it a flavour through the other ingredients, it should be mixed with a little wine, milk, or cream, or whatever liquid may be used in making the cake. Much of lightness and beauty of the cake depends on the very well beating of the materials in the pan or bowl. No metal spoons should be used, but wooden. The heat of the MAKING CAKES. 249 oven is an important part. When the cake is large, if the oven be not brisk, the substance of it will not rise. To avoid this, a paper should he always put over the surface. The earthen ovens are the best, because most manageable, and the heat can be regulated, and kept with greater precision. When the materials of a cake will not hold together in the raw state, they should be baked in hoops, in paper moulds, or in tins; the two first used in preference, because, being bad conductors.^ heat, they prevent scorching. To know when it is soaked, take a broad-bladed knife that is very bright, and plunge it into the middle, draw it instantly out, and if any of the cake sticks to it, put it into the oven immediately, and bake it longer; should the heat be enough to raise, but not to soak it, put fresh fuel quickly in, which will keep the cakes hot till the oven is fit to finish the baking ; but great care is necessary that no mistake occurs from negligence when large cakes are to be done. If yeast is required, it should be had the day before it is used, to give it time to settle, and be thick at the bottom of the basin. The beer which will rise to the top must be poured off, and the proper quantity used as directed in the several receipts. If it should be bitter, put a little water to it the day before wanted, which improves it much, but rather more yeast must be used on that account. Have your yeast as thick as possible for cakes, buns, bread, rolls, &c.; &c.; All kinds of cakes should be turned out of the tins or pans they are baked in as soon as they are taken out of the oven, and kept upside down till cold, otherwise »’ the steam at the bottom will make them heavy. t Be careful to smell every egg; a single bad one will spoil every thing. Eggs should be always strained after * beating. Bread and cakes wetted with milk, eat best when new, >1 but become staler sooner than others. Earthen pans with covers, or tin boxes, preserve them 250 MAKING CAKES. best ; but they are often kept in wooden boxes and drawers. Iceing for Cakes. — Whip the whites of five eggs to a froth, put to them a pound of the finest sugar, aud a wine-glass of orange flower-water ; beat these ingredients together during the time the cake is baking, and the moment it is taken from the oven, put on the iceing with a spoon, or thin broad bit of board, or with a feather; return the cake into the oven for a short time to harden it. Some do not put on the iceing till the cake is nearly cold. According to the size of your cake, so must you increase the quantity of eggs and sugar, and to the orange flower-water you may add a little fresh lemon peel to flavour, and no more. Cheese Cakes. — Put some rennet to three quarts of milk. When the curd is come, break it and strain off the whey. When quite dry, crumble it very small, and add to it half a pound of currants, a little grated nutmeg, some pounded cinnamon, an ounce and a half of bleached almonds, the peel of a lemon rasped, a glass of raisin or Malaga wine, three quarters of a pound of fine sugar, the yolks of eight eggs, and the whites of six, and a pint of cream. Beat it till of a light colour. Put puff paste into the patty-pans, let them be threeparts full of the mixture, and set them in the oven. A Sponge Cake. — Take seven ounces of flour, threequarters of a pound of fine loaf sugar, the rind of a lemon grated, six eggs with the whites (the eggs must be beaten half an hour before put to the above), then baked in rather a quick oven. To make Yorkshire Cakes. — Beat three poimds of flour, a pint and a half of warm milk, four spoonfuls of yeast, and four eggs, well together, aud let it rise; then form the cakes, and let them rise on the tins before you bake, which must be in a slow oven. Five ounces of butter may be warmed in the milk, if agreeable. To make Muffins. — T ake four pounds of flour, MAKING CAKES. 25 1 four eggs, a quarter of a pound of butter melted in a quart of milk, and ten spoonfuls of good yeast. Mix the whole, and beat it well; then set it to rise three or four hours. Bake on an iron plate, and when done on i one side, turn them. Toast before the fire, divide them, and butter before eating. To make Hard Biscuits. — Warm half a pound of butter in as much skimmed milk as will make four pounds of flour into a very stiff paste. Beat it with a rollingpin, and work it perfectly smooth. Roll it pretty thin, and cut out the biscuits. Prick them full of holes, and bake them, for which purpose six or eight minutes will be sufficient. A very fine Cake. — Wash two pounds and a half of fresh butter in water first, and then in rose-water, beat the butter to a cream; beat twenty eggs, yolks and whites separately, half an hour each. Have ready two pounds and a half of the finest flour, well dried, and kept hot, likewise a poimd and a half of sugar pounded and sifted, one ounce of spice in finest powder, three pounds of currants nicely cleaned and dry, half a pound of almonds blanched, and three quarters of a pound of sweetmeats cut, not too thin. Let all be kept by the fire, mix all the dry ingredients; pour the eggs strained to the butter ; mix half a pint of sweet wine with a large glass of brandy, pour it to the butter and eggs, mix well, then have all the dry things put in by degrees ; beat them very thoroughly, you can hardly do it too much. Having half a pound of stoned jar-raisins chopped as fine as possible, mix them carefully, so that there shall be no lumps, and add a tea-cupful of orange flower-water. Beat the ingredients together a full hour at least. Have a hoop well buttered, or, if you have none, a tin or copper cake-pan ; take a white paper, doubled and buttered, and put in the pan round the edge, if the cake batter fill it more than three parts; for space should be allowed for rising. Bake in a quick ( oven. It will require three hours. A Plain Cake. — One pound of flour, half a pound 252 MAKING CAKES. of butter, half a pound of moist sugar, a tea-spoonful of the carbonate of soda, half a pint of new milk just warm, three eggs, and half a pound of currants. The currants to be added last, and the whole to be well mixed. Bake as usual. Tea Cakes. — Rub fine four ounces of butter into eight ounces of flour; mix eight ounces of currants, and six of fine Lisbon sugar, two yolks and one white of eggs, and a spoonful of brandy. Roll the paste the thickness of an Oliver biscuit, and cut with a wine-glass. You may beat the other white, and washover them; and either dust sugar, or not, as you like. Sweet Biscuits may be made thus: Beat well eight eggs into a froth, to which add a pound of powdered sugar and the outside peel of a lemon grated fine ; whisk the whole well together till it becomes light, then add to it a pound of flour with a little rose-water. Sugar them over and bake them in papers or tins. Drop Biscuits. — Beat up the whites of six eggs and the yolks of ten with a spoonful of rose-water, to which add ten ounces of powdered lump sugar. Beat the whole well up, and add one ounce of bruised carawayseeds, and six ounces of flour. Drop them on waferpaper, and bake them in a moderate oven. Rataeia Cakes. — Blanch and beat into a paste half a pound each of Jordan or other sweet almonds, and of bitter almonds, with a little rose-water ; to which add one pound of powdered lump sugar, and the whites of four eggs well beaten ; set the mixture over a moderate fire, stirring it constantly till it is scalding hot; when it is cold, make it into small rolls, which cut out into cakes about one inch in diameter; touch each cake lightly with the top of the finger dipped iu flour; place them on wafer-paper, sift sugar over them, and bake in a slow oven. Bath Buns. — Mix well two pounds of fine flour, with half a pound of fresh butter made liquid by a gentle heat ; add to the mixture the yolks of two and the white of one egg, tln – ee table-spoonfuls of cream, and the MAKING CAKES. 253 same quantity of good yeast all well beaten together. When the whole is thoroughly incorporated, set it by to rise for about half an hour, when you must add to it six ounces of caraway comfits, reserving a few to strew over the tops of the buns when you have formed them. They should be baked upon buttered tins. If the above liquids should not be sufficient to form the flour into dough, a little milk or water may be added. Bath Cakes. — Mix one pound of fresh butter and a pound of flour with a gill of yeast and some warm cream into a paste; set it by in a warm place to rise; when sufficiently risen, mix with it a few caraway seeds, and make it into cakes about the size of French rolls or less; bake them on buttered tins. A Somersetshire Biscuit is usually made with wheat-flour fermented with yeast, and a pretty large quantity of caraway seeds, to which is added a portion of butter more or less large ; they are baked in a very slow oven, and are considerably raised. Next to Lemann’s biscuits they are the most wholesome. The Victoria Cake. — The yolk of twelve eggs, leaving out the whites of six ; one pound of loaf sugar beat fine, the juice of one lemon, and the peels of two cut very fine ; whisk these ingredients together for three quarters of an hour, then add twelve ounces of flour. This cake to be put into the oven immediately : an hour is sufficient to bake it. Shrewsbury Cakes. — Sift one pound of sugar, some pounded cinnamon, and a nutmeg grated, into three pounds of flour, the finest sort ; add a little rosewater to three eggs, well beaten, and mix these with the flour, &c.; ; then pour into it as much butter melted as will make it a good thickness to roll out. Mould it well, and roll thin, and cut it into such shapes as you like. A Plum Cake. — Seven pounds of flour, three pounds of butter, eight pounds of currants, two large nutmegs, half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves, one 254 MAKING CAKES. pound of sugar, sixteen eggs, a pint of yeast warm, as much cream as you think will wet it, pour wine in your cream till it is as thick as butter, beat one pound of almonds with wine and orange flower-water, put one pound of orange, lemon and citron. To ice the cake, take the whites of five eggs, whip it up to a froth, and put one pound of double refined sugar sifted, three spoonfuls of orange-flower water, whipt all the time the cake is in the oven. Sponge Cake ( Another way ). — Take seven eggs, their weight before broken in sugar, and the weight of four in flour, well dried and sifted; beat the yolks and whites separate; then add the sugar, which must be sifted very fine, to the whites; when well mixed by beating, add the yolks and then the flour ; beat the whole till the oven is ready, which should be tolerably hot; butter and paper the pan. A Cheap Seed Cake. — Mix a quarter of a peck of flour with half a pound of sugar, a quarter of an ounce of allspice, and a little ginger; melt three quarters of a pound of butter with half a pint of milk ; when just warm, put it to a quarter of a pint of yeast, and work up to a good dough. Let it stand before the fire a few minutes before it goes to the oven, add seeds or currauts, and bake an hour and a half. A Cheap Seed Cake ( Another way ). — Mix a pound and a half of flour, and a pound of common lump sugar, eight eggs beaten separately, an ounce of seeds, two spoonfuls of yeast, and the same of milk and water. N.B. — Milk alone causes cake and bread soon to dry. Rice Rock. — Wash nine ounces of rice in cold water, then put it into a sauce-pan with a pint of milk and a table-spoonful of loaf sugar (pounded), and let it steep over a very slow fire (about three hours) until quite tender and swelled. Should the rice take up all the milk before it is quite done, a little more milk must be added. When doue spread it on a dish, and when nearly cold, break it up with a fork. When quite cold, MAKING CAKES. 255 put it into the proper dish, pouring a cream over it. ‘ To be eaten with any preserve. Orange Sponge. — Dissolve two ounces of isinglass in a pint of water, strain it through a sieve, then mix with it the juice of six large oranges and a lemon, sweeten it to your taste, then whisk it till it becomes like sponge ; then put it into a mould, and the next day it is i fit for use. Rice Cheese Cakes. — Take the yolks- of eight eggs, and beat them with half a pound of white sugar and half a pound of ground rice ; a few bitter almonds well beaten, and lemon peel grated to your taste; then add half a pound of fresh butter oiled and cold, beat all well together; butter the patty-pans and fill them half full. The oven should be slow, and twenty minutes will do them. To make Apple Cake, or Gateau de Pommes. — To a pound and a half of apple put three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, and the rind of a lemon with part of the juice ; melt the sugar in a little water, and boil it till it is quite stiff ; then add to it the apple and lemon ; let them boil till quite dissolved ; put it into the ! mould. Sponge Biscuits. — Take twelve eggs, and as much i sugar and flour (of each) as the eggs weigh, potato flour is the best, half the weight of the eggs if you use flour, it must be well dried that it may not ball, and rubbed through a silk sieve; beat the eggs, put the yolks and whites apart, beat the yolks with powdered sugar, to which you will add a little orange flower-water i and grated lemon peel ; whip the whites of eggs till they are quite a snow, and mix them with the yolks; add then the flour, which must be mixed well with the rest in beating it with the whip; then put it into moulds >i well buttered with melted butter, which you must put on with a brush, and bake them in an oven moderately hot. If the cakes are not of a good colour, you must glaze them in the following manner : Take sugar pounded very fine, the white of an egg, and the juice of 256 MAKING CAKES. half a lemon ; beat them together till they become quite white, cover the biscuits with this, and let it dry. This paste made lighter will serve to make little biscuits; you may vary the preparations in a manner to give them more or less lightness, and by putting different perfumes to change their quality. Diet Bread Cake. — Boil in half a pint of water one pound and a half of lump sugar, have ready one pint of eggs, three parts yolks, in a pan, pour in the sugar, and whisk it quick till cold, or about a quarter of an hour; then stir in two pounds of sifted flour, case the insides of square tins with white paper, fill them three parts full, sift a little sugar over, and bake it in a warm oven, and while hot remove them from the moulds. Almond Cheese Cakes. — Five ounces of sweet almonds, half an ounce of bitter ditto, pound them and mix them up with a little sweet wine to prevent them from oiling, put to it a quarter of a pound of melted butter, and three eggs; sweeten to your taste; tin the patty-pan with thin puff paste, sift sugar over them before you put them in the oven. Baba Cakes. — Two pounds and a half of flour, one pound and a quarter of butter, ten eggs, three pennyworth of saffron, a little sugar and salt, a glass of wine, one pound and a half of raisins, three quarters of a pound of currants, and a table-spoonful and a half of yeast. It is better to stand twelve hours after it is made before it is baked. These ingredients must be beat and mixed extremely well to the last minute before it is put into the oven. Gingerbread. — Prepare one pound a half of flour, one pound and a quarter of treacle, half a pound of sugar, one ounce of ginger beat and sifted’ fine, coriander seeds three drachms, caraway seeds one drachm, butter half a pound. Boil your butter and treacle together, pour hot upon the flour, mix and beat well. If you make it or mean to bake it in the morning, prepare it over night. It is better to remain some hours. Butter MAKING CAKES. 257 I sheet tins and roll your paste very thin upon the tins; it is best to bake it in a side oven, as it requires great attention in baking. Hunting Nuts. — One pound of flour, one pound of treacle, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, about half a pound of butter, and one ounce of pounded ginger, an ounce and a half of candied orange and lemon peel I cut into pieces, to be all mixed together, rolled out, and cut about the size round of a wine-glass. Ginger Cakes. — One pound of flour, half a pound of lump sugar pounded fine, a quarter of a pound of butter beaten to a cream, the yolks of four eggs, a little brandy and ginger to your taste, to be all mixed together into a paste, and made into little cakes. College Puffs. — Take a pint of thin cream, five eggs, whites and yolks, two table spoonfuls of flour, some nutmeg, the peel of one lemon grated; sweeten it to your taste, put it in small teacups, and bake it three quarters of an hour. Serve it up with sweet sauce. Easty Bunns. — One pound of flour, two large .spoonfuls of sugar, two of yeast, three eggs, one pint of cream, a few currants or caraway seeds; let it stand to rise, bake them in a quick oven. This will make eighteen buns. Little Cakes. — A quarter of a pound of flour, a quarter of a pound of butter, a quarter of a pound of sugar grated, the yolks of two eggs, the juice and peel of a lemon, a few almonds blanched and cut ; mix all together and make them into little cakes. Bake them on tins. Maltese Cake. — Boil one pint of cream, when cold add half a pound of pounded white sugar and the juice of two lemons ; whisk it till very thick, and put it in a small high sieve, with a straining cloth at the end in! stead of hair. Put two sticks across a large bason, and place the sieve on them; in twenty-four hours turn out i the cream into the crystal dish for use. If properly drained it will have the appearance of a cake. To bo j ornamented with harlequins. 258 MAKING CAKES. Rock Cake. — Two pounds of flour well dried, three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar sifted finely, one pound and a half of butter, one pound and a half currants, one nutmeg, one wine-glass and a half of brandy, the peel of a lemon grated. Break the butter into the flour, and add two or three spoonfuls of warm milk, then mix them all together. Have the yolks of three eggs beaten well, and then dip the paste, a small piece at a time, into the eggs, and roll them in your hand. Bake them on buttered tins. The currants not to be inserted till the butter is well rubbed into the flour. Tunbridge Cakes. — Three pounds of fine flour, one pound of lump sugar pounded, two ounces of caraway seeds, one quart of milk, four ounces of butter; mix altogether into a paste, roll it out very thin, cut it with the top of a wine-glass, and bake the cakes on a tin. Drop Biscuits. — Beat six eggs well, then put one pound of loaf sugar, and one pound of fine flour sifted put in the last thing; drop them very small on paper, and bake in a quick oven. Lemon Cakes. — T ake one pound of pure sugar, twelve ounces of fine flour well dried, eight eggs, the rind of a lernoD grated, and a little orange-flower water or brandy ; beat the eggs half an hour, then add by degrees the sugar, flour, &c.; beat it all fifteen minutes longer, then drop the cakes on sheets of tin, and bake them; the whites and yolks of eggs should be beaten separately. Receipt for little Cakes. — Take half a pound of fine flour, the same of fine currants, six ounces of sugar, the same of butter, two spoonfuls of cream, a little orange-flower water, one egg, a little mace cut small ; beat all these very well, put them into the bottoms of little patty pans, and bake them. Gooseberry Cakes. — Gather the gooseberries when full grown, but not ripe ; put them in ajar to coddle in a kettle of water until they are soft, then rub them t hrough a sieve ; to a pound of pulp put a pound of MAKING CAKES. 259 loaf sugar ; stir it till the sugar is dissolved, then spread it on shallow dishes, and dry it in the sun ; when it be- I gins to candy, cut it out in whatever shapes you please; turn it every day until it becomes dry and hard; keep them in tin boxes in a dry place. Brighton Biscuits. — One pound of flour, half a pound of sugar, quarter of an ounce of volatile salts, S and make it into a stiff 1 paste with water ; roll it out thin, and cut them what size you please. Derby Cakes. — One pound of flour, half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of currants ; mix all in a paste with eggs, make them round and thin, what size you please, and bake them in a quick oven. The same ingredients, except the currants, are what is called Shrewsbury Cakes. PASTIES, PIES, &c.; German Batter. — In one quart of miJk beat ten eggs, put it on a slow fire till it curds, then put it into a cullender, and add half a pound of pounded white sugar, a quarter of a pound of melted butter, and two spoonfuls of orange-flower water; put the above into a mould, and twenty-four hours before it is wanted, it is to be made. Ginger Souffle. — Boil in one pint of milk, and half a pint of cream, one ounce of isinglass, one ounce of whole ginger, pour the above boiling on the juice of a lemon, and half a pound of beaten white sugar, whisk it till cold and then put it into a mould. To be made twenty-four hours before wanted. Gofers. — Take a pint and a half of new milk, two ounces of butter, eight tea-spoonfuls of flour, half a teaspoonful of yeast, a quarter of a pound of fine sugar, and a quarter of a pound of currants ; let the mixture stand to make it light before you bake it ; rub your irons every time with a piece of fresh butter tied up in a cloth. Some think eggs preferable to yeast. Gooseberry Fool. — Scald a quart of gooseberries with half a pint of water, when quite soft, rub the pulp through a sieve ; boil half a pint of milk and the same quantity of cream with half the peel of a lemon, and a stick of cinnamon ; Strain it when nearly cold, and mix it with the pulped fruit, and sweeten with good brown sugar. Serve in glasses or custard cups. It may be made with three beaten yolks of eggs, and a pint of milk sweetened, and which is to be stirred over the fire till a little thick, and when cold mixed with the gooseberries. An excellent Short Crust. — Two ounces of >se- su- PATTIES, PIES, &C.; 261 gar pounded and sifted fine, then mix it with a pound of dry flour, rub into it three ounces of butter so tine as not to be seen ; into some cream put the yolks of two eggs well beaten; mix all well together until it becomes a smooth paste, roll it very thin, and bake it in a moderate oven. A Venison Pastt. — Take a neck and breast of venison, bone it, season it with pepper and salt to your palate; cut the breast in two or three pieces, but do not cut the fat off the neck if you can avoid it. Lay in the breast, and neck end first, and the best end of the neck on the top, that the fat may be whole ; make a puff paste crust, let it be very thick on the sides, a good bottom crust, and thick at top; cover the dish, lay in the venison, put in half a pound of butter, a quarter of a pint of water, close the pasty, and let it be baked two hours in a very quick oven. In the meantime, set on the bones of the venison in two quarts of water, two or three little blades of mace, an onion, a little piece of crust baked crisp and brown, a little whole pepper, cover it close, and let it boil softly over a slow fire till above half is wasted, then strain it. When the pasty comes out of the oven, lift up the lid, and pour in the gravy. When the venison is not fat enough, take the fat of a loin of mutton, steeped in a little rape vinegar and wine twenty-four hours, lay it on the top of the venison, and close the pasty. It is wrong of some people to think that venison cannot be baked enough, and who first bake it in a false crust, and then in the pasty; by this time the fine flavour is gone. If you want it to be very tender, wash it in warm milk and water, dry it in clean cloths till it is very dry, then rub it all over with vinegar, and hang it in the air. Keep it as long as you think proper, it will thus keep good for a fortnight, but be sure there be no moistness about it ; if there is, you must dry it well, and throw ginger over it, and it will keep a long time. When you use it, just dip it in luke-warm water, and 262 PATTIES, PIES, & C. dry it. Bake the pasty in a quick oven, if it is large it will take three hours, then the venison will be tender, and have all the fine flavour. The shoulder makes an excellent pasty, boned, and made as above, with the mutton fat. This pie, if kept in the dish in which it has been baked with the crust on it, will remain good for many days. Venison Pasty (. Another way). — Cut a neck or breast into small steaks, rub them over with a seasoning of sweet herbs, grated nutmeg, pepper, and salt; fry them slightly in butter; line the sides and edges of a dish with puff paste, lay in the steaks, and add half a pint of rich gravy made with the trimmings of the venison; add a glass of port wine, and the juice of half a lemon, or a tea-spoonful of vinegar; cover the dish with puff paste, and bake it nearly two hours ; pour a little more gravy into the pie before serving it up. Goffres. — Half a pound of flour, half a pint of milk, two eggs, with only one white, a spoonful of yeast, two ounces of butter melted in a little milk, a little salt, mix all well together, and set it before the fire to rise, but not too near, make the irons hot over a stove, and pour in the batter. Puff Paste. — Half a pound of flour, six ounces of butter, one hour baking; mix the flower with water, then cut and roll the butter in thin slices, put a layer over the paste you have made, then turn it, and repeat it two or three times till it is used up. Paste for the Timballe. — Put on the table a pound of flour, make a hole in the middle and put a little water, four spoonfuls of oil, and a quarter of a pound of lard, two yolks of eggs and salt; mix all these well together, and gradually mix in all the flour, and make the paste very firm; to make a timballe, which is a pasty made in a casserole, take the paste already described, roll it with the rolling-pin till it is very thin, line the casserole with it, taking care not to break it, PATTIES, PIES, &C.; 263 fill it with a ragout of meat or fish already dressed, and a little sauce, cover it over with the paste, moisten the edges of the paste which covers the pasty, and should ( come beyond the casserole a little, and cover it close with the cover; put your casserole into the red hot charcoal cinders, and cover it on the top with more; when it is done, turn the casserole over on a dish, you must : open the timballe at the top to put in a sauce which will supply what has been used up in the dressing it. Lemon Mince Pies. — Cut three large lemons, and squeeze out the juice, boil the peel and pulp until it will pound fine in a mortar ; put to it one pound of beef suet, three quarters of a pound of currants, half a pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, one pound of fine sugar ; mix it all well together, then stir in the juice of the lemons and a little brandy; add sweetmeats to your taste. Mince Pie is made in a variety of ways ; the following will be found a good one. Take one pound of the inside of the lean part of a loin of beef, or any other i part which is tender and free from membranes, &c.;, let it be parboiled, and when cold, minced very fine; some prefer to this cold roast beef ; mince also fine the same quantity of beef suet, and wash and dry by the fire one pound also of currants, to which some will add the same quantity of raisins stoned and minced fine, take also a pound of some good boiling apples, pared, cored, and minced very fine ; mix the whole well together, to which add one pound of powdered lump or fine raw sugar, half an ounce of salt, one drachm each of cloves, mace, and nutmeg, all in powder, and four ounces or more each of candied citron, orange, and lemon-peel (some use a much larger quantity of each than is here set down), all well minced, and the outside of two or three lemons grated fine, and their juice; add to the whole, well mixed, a quarter of a pint of brandy, and the same quantity of sherry or other good wine. If this mixture be put into a stone-jar, closely stopped, it will keep for many months. It is known by the name of minced meat. 264 PATTIES, PIES, &C.; Short Paste. — A quarter of a pound of flour, one ounce of butter, a quarter of an ounce of sugar; ice it on the top. Carrot Pudding. — Wash and scrape some carrots, boil them till quite soft in a good quantity of water, take off the outsides, and grate or beat in a mortar, a quarter of a pound of the middle part of the carrots ; add to it a quarter of a pound of butter, either clarified or beaten to a cream, four eggs well beaten, some sugar, and a little brandy; bake it in a dish with a puff paste at the bottom, and add candied orange or lemonpeel. Citron Pudding. — Boil some Windsor beans quite soft, take off the skins, and beat a quarter of a pound in a mortar or wooden bowl till quite fine, then add a quarter of a pound of butter, either clarified or beaten to a cream, four eggs well beaten, some sugar, orangeflower water, and brandy ; put a puff paste in the dish, and any quantity of citron, cut in long bits, and laid upon the paste ; then pour the pudding into the dish, stick bits of citron round the edge of the dish for ornament, and bake it in a moderate oven. Squab Pie is a west-country dish, and is there by many much esteemed, but it will require a good stomach to digest it. It is made with good plain paste and mutton chops, apples, pared and cut into pieces, and onions sliced ; usually about equal quantities of the three ingredients are employed, with some pepper and salt ; water must be put into the dish, but not so much as for mutton or beef-steak pie. A pie of a moderate size will require two or more hours to be baked. Squab Pie (. Another ivcn /). — Slice some onions and pippins, cover the bottom of the dish with them, strew some sugar over, and lay upon them some mutton chops, seasoned with pepper and salt ; then another large pippin, and so on till the dish is full; pom 1 in about a pint of water, and cover with good paste. Apples in Syrup for present Use. — Pare and core some hard round apples, and throw them into a PATTIES, PIES, &C.; 265 basin of water; as they are done, clarify as much loaf sugar as will cover them; put the apples along with the juice and the rind of a lemon, and let them simmer till quite clear ; care must be taken not to break them. Place them on the dish they are to appear at table, and pour syrup over them. 266 CREAMS. Leche Cream. — Beat up three eggs, leaving out two of the whites, and add to them gradually a pint and a half of milk; then mix very carefully four table-spoonfuls of fine wheat flour, and two ounces of finely powdered loaf sugar, with grated lemon-peel, to give a flavour; boil these ingredients over a slow fire, stirring constantly to prevent burning until the flour is quite dissolved. Prepare a shallow dish with some ratafia cakes at the bottom, and when the crema is sufficiently boiled, pour it through a sieve upon the cakes ; just before sending it up, some finely powdered cinnamon, should be dusted thickly over it. This dish is served up cold. Raspberry Cream. — Boil a quarter of an ounce of isinglass in a very little water; when dissolved, strain it through a hair sieve; while warm, put to it a quart of cream, keep whisking it up while putting the isinglass in; warm about half a pint of raspberry jelly, put it to the cream, with a little sifted sugar, and a small glass of brandy, whisk it well until it becomes thick, then put it into your mould. In summer, use fresh raspberry, about a pint will make a mould of a pint and a half; rub them through a tammy. Mock Ice. — Take preserved strawberry, raspberry, and currant jam or jelly, of each one table spoonful, put the whole into a sieve, with as much cream as will scarcely fill a shape, dissolve one ounce of isinglass in a gill of water, and let it stand till it is nearly cold, then mix it with the cream and fruit, and put in a shape. Put in a cool place, and when it is formed, turn it out. Swiss Cream. — Spread at the bottom of a glass dish plums, apricots, cherries, or any other preserves, squeeze CREAMS. 267 on them the juice of a lemon ; boil a pint of cream sweetened and pour it upon the preserves while hot. It must be made the day before it is required. Orange-flower Cream. — This is the most common of the white creams, and can he made at little expense. Dilute a table-spoonful of the finest sifted flour in a little cold milk, adding to it a pinch of finely sifted salt. Put over the fire in a very clean stew-pan, a quart of the best fresh milk you can obtain, with a stick of cinnamon in it ; stir it now and then to prevent the cream from settling at the top. When it begins to boil, put in the diluted flour; stir this one way until it boils, and let it boil for a few minutes, until it has acquired some consistency; then remove it from the fire, and take out the cinnamon. In the meanwhile, dissolve in as little water as will suffice, a sufficient quantity of pounded loaf sugar to sweeten the cream ; into this put the yolks of eight eggs, and two large spoonfuls of orange-flower water; beat up the whole well together. When the cream is taken from the fire, pour in this mixture suddenly, and stir it well round, then replace the stew-pan on the fire, which must be very slow, and stir it gently until the cream is of a proper thickness ; but be careful that it does not boil, or even approach the boiling-point, else it would be spoiled. When the cream is done, pour it into the dish or glass in which it is to appear at table, and put it to cool in a place where the vapours of no other culinary preparation can affect it. Make it five or six hours before it is wanted. If you put the cream into cut glass, let it cool sufficiently first to avoid all danger of breakage. Warm the glass also gradually. Blanc-Mange. — To two ounces of isinglass, put one pint of boiling water, the next day set it on the fire until it boils, then strain it off’, and add a pint of white wine, the yolks of eight eggs, the peel and juice of one ! lemon, and a little brandy ; sugar it to your taste; set it on the fire till it is ready to boil, then strain it, and keep it stirred until it is cool, then put it into moulds j that have been in cold water. 268 CREAMS. Apple Cake. — Take a pound and a half of lump sugar put to one pint of water, and let it boil for some time; then add two pounds of apples pared and cored, and the peel of a large lemon; boil all together till quite stiff, then put into a mould, and when cold turn it out. Serve with a rich custard. Venetian Cream. — Take a pint of milk, more or less, to make it the more relishing, put in some sugar, a stick of cinnamon, and a little salt, being boiled, strain it three or four times through a sieve, with four or five yolks of new laid eggs; put your dish over the fire, put in it your milk, cover your dish with fire, under and over, till your cream is well taken. It must be served up hot. All these dishes will he more delicious with cream than with milk. Coffee Cream. — Take a quart of cream, put it in a stew-pan with a bit of sugar and two spoonfuls of ground coffee, and let it all boil together, then take it off; take two or three gizards of either fowls or chickens, open them, and take off the skin, wash it and cut it small, put it in a cup into which you put a glass full of coffee cream; then put this cup near the fire, or on hot cinders, and when it is taken put it in your coffee cream, strain it off two or three times. Put your cream on hot cinders in a dish, cover the same with another with fire over it. Your cream being taken, put it in a cool place and serve it up. Lemon Syllabubs. — To a pint of cream put a pint of double-refined sugar, the juice of seven lemons; grate the rinds of two lemons into a pint of white wine and half a pint of sack, then put them into a deep pot aud whisk them for half an hour; put it iuto glasses the night before you want it; it is better for standing two or three days, but it will keep a week if required. Orange Custards. — Boil very tender the rind of half a Seville orange and beat in a mortar until very fine; put to it a spoonful of best brandy, the juice of a Seville orange, four ounces of loaf sugar, aud the yolk of four CREAMS. 269 eggs. Beat them all together for ten minutes, and then pour in by degrees a pint of boiling cream; beat them until cold, then put into custard cups in a dish of hot water. Let them stand till they are set, then take them out, and stick preserved orange-peel on the top. Rice Cream. — Take two spoonfuls of rice flour, and put it into a stew-pan; mix it up with good cream, season it with sugar, then strain it off ; after which put it again into the stew-pan with a stick of cinnamon and a bit of green lemon peel, with a little orange-flower water. Let it remain on the fire, but not too long ; when done, and pretty thin, dish it up ; put it into a cool place, and when not quite cold, serve it up. It may be sent up cold if preferred. Whipt Chocolate Cream. — Beat half a pound of chocolate down in two pints of water upon a slow fire; stir it with a spatula; when it is well dissolved and reduced, take it off the fire, and put in six yolks of fresh eggs, four pints of rich cream, and three quarters of a pound of sugar; put the whole in a basin, and when cold finish it as the others. Whipt Marasquino Cream. — Put into a pint of rich cream half a pound of sifted sugar, mix it, and put in a glass of marasquino ; all being well mixed, whip the mousse, and finish it as the foregoing. Lemon Rice. — Boil sufficient rice in milk, with white sugar to taste, till it is soft ; put it into an earthenware blanc-mange mould, and leave it till cold. Peel a lemon very thick, cut the peel into shreds about half an inch in length; put them into a little water, boil them up, and throw the water away, or it will be too bitter; then pour a tea-cupful of fresh water upon them ; squeeze and strain the juice of the lemon ; add it, with white sugar, to the water and shreds, and let this stew gently, on a very slow fire, for two hours. When cold, it will be a syrup. Having turned out the jellied rice into a cutglass dish, pour the syrup gradually upon the mass, taking care that the little shreds of peel are equally 270 CREAMS. distributed over the whole. This is to be served up cold. Lemon Rice ( Another ivay ). — Boil a quarter of a pound of whole rice, about six lumps of sugar, and a piece of lemon peel in a pint of milk for an hour and a half; put it hot into a mould, and when quite cold, turn it out into a dish, and pour some syrup over it made of the juice and rind of a lemon, a cup of water, and twelve lumps of sugar boiled slowly for a quarter of an hour. Cheese Fritters. — Pound good cheese with breadcrumbs, raw yolks, rasped ham, and butter. Make this into oval balls, flatten, dip in stiff fritter-batter, and fry them. Ginger Cream. — Four ounces of preserved ginger, sliced fine, three spoonfuls of the syrup, five beaten yolks of eggs, and a pint and a quarter of cream, imperial measure. Boil and whisk. If sugar is wanted, add the finest, then isinglass ; freeze the cream. This may be flavoured w 7 ith a tincture of ginger. Zest for Gravies. — Take of powdered thyme, sweet marjoram, sage, and savoury, each .two drachms; Cayenne, in powder, half an ounce; angelica, in powder, one drachm; and Coriander seeds two drachms, to be well mixed together. To clarify Sugar. — Put in a middling-sized preserving pan the fourth part of a white of egg, whip it until it whitens ; add one quart of filtered w’ater, and one pound of fine sugar broken in pieces ; stir it, and set the pan over a moderate fire, and when it boils, set it at the corner of the stove to throw up the scum ; to assist this operation, add two spoonfuls of cold water, and when boiled ten minutes, take off the scum, and throw in at intervals two spoonfuls more of water, that they may throw off all the remaining scum; when it becomes clear and white, the sugar is clarified ; strain it through the corner of a wet napkin, or silk sieve, into a basin ; observe the sugar when the scum is thrown up by boiling, or you risk the loss of some of it, and do CREAMS. 271 not skim it when it commences boiling, as that hinders the clarification. If you wish to obtain a very white syrup, when the sugar throws up its first scum, squeeze upon it the j mce of a lemon, which bleaches it perfectly; too much of egg hurts the operation. To boil Sugar. — To every pound of sugar allow half a pint of water ; stir it over the fire till the sugar be entirely dissolved ; when it first boils up, pour in a little cold water, and when it boils a second time, take it off the fire ; let it settle ten minutes, carefully scum it, and boil it for half an hour or a little longer, and then put in the fruit. To Clarify Isinglass in a short Time. — For a mould take one ounce and three quarters of best isinglass, wash and put it into a stew-pan with two quarts of filtered water and two ounces of sugar; place over the fire; when it boils set it at the corner of the stove to boil rather quick, taking off the scum as it rises, and when reduced to half a pint, pass it through a napkin into a basin ; many add a piece of the rind of lemon to take off the taste of the isinglass, which is quite unnecessary if the isinglass be good ; a little lemon juice is good, but the rind tints the isinglass yellow ; and when used in white jelly of lemon, marasquin, aniseed, or any other white liquor, this yellow injures the beauty of the jelly ; the correct clarification of the isinglass and sugar should be considered the chief part of the operation. 272 PRESERVES. JELLIES. In making jams or jellies, boil the fruit a quarter of an hour before the sugar is added. By this mode the flavour is better, the colour retained, and the watery particles evaporate. Much care is necessary in this branch of the art. Too large a quantity of fruit cannot be well managed, the heat being required to act for too long a time, which discolours the fruit, and contracts a bitter taste from the copper, and its colour cannot be kept, as in spite of the utmost care it will adhere to the sides of the pan and blacken ; some use the German enamelled sauce-pan. The pots should not be tied until the next day when they are perfectly cold. Cut white paper the size of the interior of the pot, and dipped in brandy when the jam or jelly is cold, with a double paper tied over the top, and put away in a dry place. Apple Jelly. — Take John apples, codlings, or nonsuch, pare and cut them in slices, put them into a deep stew-pan, with as much water as will cover them ; boil them gently till they will mash, and then strain them through a jelly-bag ; to every pint of liquor add one pound of loaf sugar; boil it till it comes to the top for ten minutes, then pour it into a mould with or without sliced lemon peel. A quart only should be done at a time ; the apples should be full grown, but not too ripe. This jelly will keep. Apple Jelly ( Another way). — Take one hundred good apples, either Ha wthorn Deans or Kentish Codlings, pare them, put them into a sauce-pan with only as much water as will cover them, boil them to a pulp, then put them into a flannel bag to let the juice run from them (care must JELLIES. 273 be taken not to squeeze the bag or let it rub against any thing) to every pint of j uice add ten ounces of sugar, the juice of a lemon and some of the peel, then boil it as you would currant-jelly, and put it into moulds. Quince Jelly. — Pare your quinces and take out the core, then cut them in thin slices, put them in water as you do them, then put them in a jar with a small quantity of water, and let them boil six or eight hours in a copper, strain the juice, and to every pint add a pound of loaf sugar, boil and skim it well, then put it in shapes — add a little juice. Orange Jelly. — Take one ounce and a half of isinglass, and three-quarters of a pound of lump sugar, melt it in a pint of water, and boil it until it is a syrup with some orange and lemon-peel in it, while it is warm add the juice of six China oranges, three Seville oranges, and two lemons, stir it well together, then strain it through a jelly bag, and put it into moulds. The fruit should not be boiled. Orange Jelly. — Grate the rind of two Seville oranges, two China oranges, and two lemons, squeeze the juice of three of each, and strain it, add the juice of a quarter of a pound of lump sugar, and a quarter of a pint of water, and boil it until it almost candies, have ready a quart of isinglass jelly made with two ounces, put to it the syrup, and boil it once up, strain off the jelly, and let it stand to settle before putting it into the mould. Punch Jelly. — Throw the peel of two good lemons and half an ounce of tea into a syrup of clarified sugar (about twelve or more ounces) nearly boiling; cover it, and whilst it is cooling, run the juice of five lemons through a jelly-bag, pass the liquor through a silk sieve, and mix it with half a pint of good arrack or old rum, and one ounce of isinglass clarified — it takes one ounce land a halt to make one ounce of clarified. Finish as lusual. Jellies of lemons, oranges, pine-apples, and liqueurs and ‘wines, require more sugar and isinglass than jellies of T 274 JELLIES. strawberries, raspberries, &c.;, which require their flavour to be heightened with the juice of lemon. Jelly of Cherries. — Take the kernels and stalks from two pounds of fine clear ripe cherries, and four ounces of picked red currants, press the juice from the fruit and pass it through the bag; mix three-quarters of a pound of clarified sugar with it, and one ounce of clarified isinglass, and finish in the accustomed manner. For every ounce of clarified isinglass, you must use one ounce and a half. When ready to serve, dip it into warm water in a vessel large enough to admit the mould easily, turn it quickly on to the dish and take off the mould. Jelly of Four Fruits. — Flave four ounces of fine cherries, the same of raspberries and strawberries, and eight ounces of red currants, squeeze and run the juice through the bag, mix it afterwards with syrup and isinglass, as in the gelee de cerisses, and finish as usual; or the fruits may be infused in the sugar, and unless the bag be very g’ood, this is the best mode. White Currant Jelly. — After the fruit is stripped from the stalks, put it into a pan, and when it boils, run it through a sieve; take one pound of sugar to each pint of juice, and let it boil twenty minutes. Calves’ Feet Jelly. — Two calves’ feet stewed in three quarts of water to a strong jelly, the fat, when cold, to be taken off very clean; add sugar, wine, lemonpeel, and juice to your taste; and when boiling throw in a cup of cold water, clear it with the whites of six eggs, let, it boil about twenty minutes, then take it off and let it stand a little while, strain it through a flannel bag. J’Mangk. — Pour a pint of boiling water on half an ounce of isinglass, let it stand twelve hours, then boil it i one-third away, then put it to the juice of two lemons, and sugar to your taste, two table-spoonfuls of Ratafia or Mountain; when quite cool add the yolks of six eggs and three whites, both well beaten and strained; stir it all one way on a slow fire, till it just boils, then strain it. COMPOTES, &C.; 275 Wet the mould before you put it in. It will turn out of the mould better if made twenty-four hours before used. To make Red Currant Jelly without Boiling. — Pick from the stalks, and strain either white or red Currants into a basin or pan (having first weighed the pan), then weigh the juice. Take an equal quantity of the finest loaf sugar, either roll or break it very small; add it to the juice, and with a silver, or a bone spoon (not iron), stir the mass till the sugar be dissolved ; it will not require more than a quarter of an hour to effect this, nor need it be constantly stirred. Put the syrup into jelly glasses, or small jelly pots, leave it uncovered till the morning, when it will be found to be set and fit to be tied over; tie down the pots, placing brandy paper over, as for other jams or jellies. COMPOTES, &c.; 5 it’ it ‘> r ; ¦ Gooseberry Fool, or a Compote of Gooseberries. — The fruit being picked, must be put into a jar with a small quantity of water, and kept in a boiling water bath till it becomes tender. Force the pulp up through a sieve, and mix half its weight, or more, of raw sugar with it, then make the mixture scalding hot; or you may, instead of pulping the gooseberries, when they are stewed till they are tender, beat them well up with half their weight of raw sugar, and then boil the compote for a few minutes. When it is cold, put it into your pots, and keep them in a cool place. Compote of Cherries. — Let your cherries be ripe and good ; pick oft’ the stems, and soak them in cold water; drain them, and then put them into a sufficient quantity of strong syrup, boil for some minutes ; take off the scum, and when cold, put them into your compote pot. Half a pound of sugar is usually necessary to a pound of fruit. Compote of Raspberries and Gooseberries may be made in the same maimer to that of cherries. 276 COMPOTES, &C.; Compote of Peaches and Apricots are made similar to cherries, except that they are not left on the fire so long. Compote of Pears. — Put your pears in water, and set them over the fire, in order that you may peel them more readily. After which cut them into quarters, and put them into cold water to prevent their turning black; blanch them in boiling water, and plunge them again into cold water. Clarify and boil some sugar into a thick syrup, into which put your pears well drained ; then put them into your compote pot or jar, add some lemon-peel to them, and pour more of the syrup over them. Compote of Apples is made in a similar way to the pears, but a little more sugar is used. Syrups consist of sugar dissolved in water or in the juices of fruits ; a good rule to be adopted in their preparation, that in dissolving sugar in water, it is necessary that the solution should be completed by more or less boiling, and that all syrups should be made of such consistence, that when cold, and when poured out of a spoon or cup in a little stream, a globule of the syrup should rise up to the cup with an elastic rebound, a proof that the syrup is thick enough to keep ; if made thicker it will candy, and if made thinner it will ferment. Compote of Orange. — Take four or six fine oranges, take off the skin, and with the point of a knife take off all the threads ; have half a pound of clarified sugar hot in a basin, cut them into slices and put them in the sugar, dress them in a compote dish, and serve with the syrup poured over them. Orange Marmalade. — Procure Seville oranges, j stew them till they become so tender, that you can : pierce them with a straw, changing the water two or ‘ three times. Drain them, take off the rind, weigh the pulps, previously taking out the pips ; and supposing the quantity to be six pounds, add seven of sugar ; boil it slowly till the syrup be clear, then add the peel, having cut it into strips. Boil it again, and it is finished. ! COMPOTES, &C.; 277 This is a new method, and found to be excellent as well as economical. Seville oranges are in their best state at the end of March or beginning of April. To preserve Oranges whole. — Put the oranges into strong salt and water, for a week, changing it twice during that time, then put them into fresh water for a day, cut a hole and take out the seeds, put them into a thin syrup, let them boil very gently, closely covered for half an hour, when taken from the fire place them in a jar with the hole upwards, fill them with syrup, and repeat the boiling every day, until they are clear. Two pounds of sugar, and one pint and a half of water for three oranges ; the last time strain the syrup. Transparent Marmalade. — Cut the palest Seville oranges in quarters, take the pulp out, and put it in a basin, prick out the seeds and skins. Let the outsides soak in water with a little salt all night, then let them boil with a good quantity of spring water till tender, drain and rub them into very thin slices, and put them to the pulp, and to every pound of fruit, one pound and a half of double refined sugar, beaten very fine, boil them together twenty minutes, and be very careful not to break the slices. If not quite clear, simmer it for six or eight minutes longer; it must be stirred very gently, and, when cold, put into glasses or Chiua. No sweet Sevilles to be mixed with it. Another Orange Marmalade. — Cut the Seville oranges in halves, take out the pulp and clear it from the seeds and skin, let the peels lay one night in cold water, then tie them up in a cloth, and boil them in a sauce-pan without a lid till they are sufficiently soft for a pin to run through them (the water should cover them) ; when done, cut them in very small slips ; before the oranges are out weigh them, and to every pound of fruit put half a pound of loaf-sugar, clarify it with a small quantity of water, then add the juice, the pulp, and the peel, and boil all together till it is of a proper thickness; half an hour is sufficient. To preserve Melons. — Pare off the rind, and take out the seeds, then put it into water, and let it remain 278 COMPOTES, & C. until it is mouldy, that is, two or three days, then put it in fresh water, over the fire, to coddle for some time, but do not let it boil, as that will spoil it; with a pint of water and a pound of sugar make a syrup: when it boils skim it, and put the melon in, and boil it a little while, then put it into ajar, and boil the syrup every day for a fortnight, and put it, when almost cold, on the melon, the last time it must be quite cold; the last time you boil the syrup, put in a muslin bag two tea-spoonfuls of pounded ginger, and the juice and rind of two lemons, and boil with it. It may be whole, half, or in quarters. English Citron. — Take six full-sized cucumbers, divide them lengthways, take all the seeds out, put them in a deep pan, pour boiling water over them morning and evening, keep them close covered up with a cloth and a plate for fourteen days, then take them from the water and wipe them very dry ; make a syrup of four pounds of loaf sugar, the rind of four lemons, and two ounces of ginger ; it must be laid in water the night before you boil the sugar, that it may be able to be stirred; put the ginger and lemon peel to the sugar, -with just enough water to dissolve the latter, and when it boils throw the cucumbers into it, and just scald them, then put all into a jar. The syrup must be boiled up every other morning for three weeks, and poured over them, dip a paper in brandy and lay over them, and cover them closely. Cherry Jam. — To twelve pounds of Kentish or Duke cherries, when ripe, weigh one pound and a half of sugar ; break the stones of part and blanch the kernels, put them to the fruit and sugar, and boil all gently till the jam comes clear from the pan, pour it into China plates to come up dry to table. Keep in boxes, with white paper between them. Lemon solid. — Half an ounce of isinglass dissolved in the smallest quantity of water possible, then strain it into a basin, to which must be added a pint of cream, the juice and rind of two lemons, very finely sifted, sweeten it to your taste, stir the whole together, and put it into a mould. CREAMS, CHARLOTTES, &C.; 279 Another Lemon Solid. — Melt one ounce of isinglass in one pint of cream, and one pint of new milk mixed, pour the above boiling, on the juice of four lemons, and the peel of two lemons, and a quarter of a pound of pounded loaf sugar, whisk these ingredients till cold, and then put them into a mould. To be made twenty-four hours before used. CREAMS, CHARLOTTES, &c.; Apple Cream. — Take six large apples, a piece of butter, and some cinnamon ; stew them together, pass them through a sieve, and put them to cool, dissolve three quarters of an ounce of isinglass in a little water, whisk half a pint of cream to a strong froth, then add the apples with some fine powdered sugar, stir it all well together, and put it into a mould. Italian Cream. — A pint and a half of double cream to be whipped a quarter of an hour, sweeten it with sugar; mix with it a glass of brandy and one of wine, add half an ounce of isinglass, melted in the smallest possible quantity of water, put it into a mould six hours before dinner, and then turn it out. Charlotte (called Russian). — Butter the mould (a plain one), split some sponge biscuits and pack them close, the brown outside, take a pint of rich cream, sweeten it, and add a little orange flower-water, dissolve half of three quarters of an ounce of isinglass, and when scarcely cold, put it into the cream and whisk it for twenty minutes; put It into the mould, and set it in a cool place to stand all night. Currant Fool. — Put one pint of currants nicely picked from the stalks, and half a pottle of raspberries into a stone jar, which place in a sauce-pan of water, simmer them gently for a quarter of an hour, when co/rf, put a quarter of a pound of sugar to them; add a pint of milk by degrees, stirring it all the time, strain through a fine sieve. 280 CREAMS, CHARLOTTES, &C.; Apple Fool. — Pare, core, and cut into thin bits, some good stewing apples; stew them with a little water, till tender, two cloves, a bit of cinnamon, and the peel of half a lemon; pulp half a pound through a sieve, and add the same weight of brown sugar, the juice of a lemon, and the whites of two egg s; beat them all together for an hour. Serve it upon rich cream, or a boiled custard, in a glass dish. It may be made in the same way as gooseberry fool, as may also stewed rhubarb. Orange Fool. — Mix the strained juice of three Seville oranges with six well-beaten eggs, a pint of cream, some grated nutmeg and lemon-peel; sweeten with pounded loaf sugar, and stir it over a slow fire till it is as thick as a custard, but do not allow it to boil ; pour it, when a little cool, into a glass dish or custard cups ; put sifted loaf sugar over the top. Gooseberry Custard. — Coddle a quart of gooseberries, run them through a sieve with a little of the liquor, add to it four yolks and two whites of eggs, sweeten it to your palate, put to it four spoonfuls of cream before you heat it all up together. Ratafia Cream. — Boil three or four laurel leaves in a pint of very thick cream, strain it, when cold put in the yolks of three eggs beaten and strained, sugar and a spoonful of brandy stirred quick into it, then scald it till thick, stirring it all the time. Rock Cream. — Put into the crystal dish you send to table, three spoonfuls of lemon-juice, with a little of the peel grated, and two table-spoonfuls of apricot, strawberry, or raspberry jam; then take one pint of cream, one ounce of isinglass, sugar, and one ounce of sweet almonds pounded fine; boil all these a very little time, and then let it stand till of the warmth of new milk, then pour it over the ingredients in the crystal dish ; when cold, stick it with almonds. The isinglass to be dissolved in milk first , and then strained through a sieve. To be made the day before it is required. Lemon Possett. — Take the juice of two large le- CREAMS, CHARLOTTES, &C.; 281 mons, and put it into the crystal dish you send to table; then have a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, one pint of thick cream boiled with the rind of two lemons cut very thin. Let it stand till nearly cold, put it in a large jug with a large spout, and pour it on the lemon-juice, in the dish; it should be held at a great distance when pouring it on the juice to make it a curd. To be made twentyfour hours before used. Orange possett to be made the same way. Vanilla Cream. — Boil half a stick of vanilla in a quarter of a pint of new milk until it has a very high flavour; have ready a jelly of an ounce of isinglass to a pint of water, which mix with the milk, and a pint and a quarter of fine cream, sweeten with fine sugar unbroken, and stir till nearly cold ; then dip a mould into cold water, and pour the whole into it. Make it the day before it is wanted. Stone Cream. — Take half an ounce of isinglass dissolved in a little water, then put one pint of good cream sweetened to the taste ; boil it ; when nearly cold, lay some apricot or raspberry -jam on the bottom of a glass dish, and pour it over. This is an excellent cream. Lemon Cream. — Take the peel of two lemons cut very thin, pour half a pint of boiling water on them, and let them stand an hour, with half a pound of loaf sugar ; after that, squeeze the juice of three lemons into the water, take three whites of eggs and one yolk, beat very well, mix all together and strain it into your sauce-pan, let it boil five minutes, stirring it all the time it is on the fire; pour it into the glasses while hot. Lemon Peel. — Few servants are aware of the reason that lemon-peel should be cut very thin ; and they ought to be informed, that the scent and flavour, which constitute its use and value, reside in minute cells, close to the surface of the fruit ; and that by slicing it exceedingly thin, they will cut through the whole of these innumerable cells, and thus procure double the quantity that could be obtained by one who is cai’cless or ignorant of this cir- 282 CREAMS, CHARLOTTES, &C.; cumstance. The cells being cut through, it necessarily follows, that a great part of the oil remains in the white of the lemon; and this is easily abstracted, by means of a lump of sugar being rubbed over it. The practice of rubbing the unwounded peel, is a tedious process, which would be much facilitated by the thin cutting, above named. A slice of the peel, when cut into the white, is of little if any use; as the cells containing the essential oil remain entire. 283 DIRECTIONS FOR PICKLING. Gherkins. — Put them into a jar ; then fill the jar with salt and water ; put them to stand a small distance from the fire, for four or five days, or till they begin to look yellow ; then pour the salt and water from them, and put hot vinegar to them ; put vine leaves over, and cover them down close with a clean cloth, and let them stand till nearly cold ; then boil the vinegar again, and pour it over them ; the vinegar should be put hot over them three times. Boil a quarter of an ounce of mace, one ounce of white pepper, two ounces of ginger, one ounce of long pepper, one ounce of bay salt, in two quarts of vinegar ; it should boil about a quarter of an hour. About three minutes before it is taken off the fire, put in twelve shalots, and pour the vinegar that greened the gherkins from them, and put the hot vinegar and spice on them instead. When quite cold, cover the jar with a bladder, and, over the bladder, put white leather. The above quantity of spice and vinegar is sufficient for about a hundred. French beans should go through the same process, and samphire the same. Walnuts. — When the walnuts are full grown, and will admit a pin to go through them, they are in good order for pickling ; put them into a strong brine of salt and water ; they should remain in the pickle about eight days, so as to get all the hitter from them ; the pickle should be changed twice during that time ; if they are wanted to look black, put them on a cloth that will admit their being spread, and lay them out where the sun will come on them, until they change colour. Take two ounces of whole white pepper ; two ounces of white mustard seed ; four ounces of whole ginger ; a stick of horse-radish, clean scraped, and cut in slices ; two 284 PICKLING. ounces of allspice ; two ounces of long pepper ; and one ounce of mace. Boil them all in four quarts of vinegar, for a quarter of an hour ; put about twenty-four shalots, and two cloves of garlic, about two minutes before the vinegar is taken off the fire ; put it over the walnuts when cold. Onions. — Small button onions, what are called the silver onions, are the best sort. Put them into hot water, to peel easily ; there should be three skins taken off ; but be very particular not to cut the root, and put them in salt and water, as you peel them ; then scald them over a slow fire, so as to let them simmer for two or three minutes ; take them out, and lay them on a clean cloth, and cover them over with another ; if any of the skins are cracked, take it off, as they should be very even ; then put vinegar (quantity according to your onions) into a brig-ht tinned stew-pan, a little mace, and whole white pepper ; it should boil about ten minutes, and left to get cold. Meanwhile put the onions into bottles ; when the vinegar is quite cold, put it to the onions ; cover them very tight with bladder, and leather over that ; in about three weeks they will be fit for use. Red Cabbage. — Get cabbage firm and close ; cut in quarters ; after taking off the outside leaves, cut out the white stalk inside ; put it on a large sieve, and sprinkle it with salt ; let it lay so two or three days. Put some white-wine vinegar into a stew-pan ; to two quarts put two ounces of allspice, two ounces of whole ginger, bruised, one ounce of black pepper ; let it boil for a quarter of an hour ; put the cabbage into stone jars, and to each put a large beet-root, three parts boiled, peeled, and cut in slices. Strain the spice from the vinegar ; give it another boil to make it hot, and put it over the cabbage, beet-root, &c.; When cold, tie it over with bladder and leather. Mangoes and Cucumbers.— Choose those that feel the heaviest and quite sound, and of good shape ; put them into salt and water for six days ; cut a square piece out of the side, and take all the seeds out, and fill PICKLING. 285 the place with mustard-seed, whole white pepper, shalots, and one very small piece of garlic ; put the mangoes into a jar, have boiling vinegar to pour over them, and put plenty of vine-leaves on the top ; cover the jar over close, to keep the steam in, and let them stand till cold ; repeat pouring the hot vinegar over them four or five times ; then, to one gallon of vinegar, put four ounces of bruised ginger, two ounces of whole white pepper, a quarter of an ounce of bruised chillies, two ounces of allspice, a stick of horse-radish, scraped, one pound of mustard (mixed with the vinegar), two ounces of turmeric, about half a pound of shalots peeled (to be put in the vinegar for two or three minutes), and two cloves of garlic ; boil all for half an hour ; then put it into a pan to cool ; when quite cold, put it over the mangoes, first pouring the vinegar from them ; cover the jars with bladder and leather. Piccalilli consists of all kinds of pickles, mixed, and put into one large jar : gherkins, sliced cucumbers, button-onions, cauliflower broken in pieces, salted, and dried in the sun for several days, then scalded in vinegar for five minutes ; when cold, put with the other pickles, hard drum cabbages, cut in quarters, the stalk cut out, cut in slices, salted and dried in the sun, then scalded as cauliflower. Carrots, better than half boiled, and cut in shapes, French beans, rock-samphire, raddish-pods, Cayenne-pods, and stertions, all go through the same process, except Cayenne-pods, for green pickles : to one gallon of the best white-wine vinegar put four ounces of bruised ginger, two ounces of whole white pepper, two ounces of allspice, half an ounce of bruised chillies, two ounces of turmeric, one pound of best mustard, half a pound of shalots, one ounce of garlic, half a pound of bay-salt, and the same of common salt, and boil it for a quarter of an hour. The shalots and garlic only three minutes ; the mustard and turmeric should be mixed with a little of the vinegar before it is put in to boil. When done, put it into a pan to cool ; when quite cold, put it to the mixed pickle, first straining through a 286 PICKLING. coarse hair sieve, the shalots and garlic picked from the spice, and put with the pickle ; the best way to mix it is to put the pickles all together in a large pan, and half the liquor, and stir it all together with a wooden spoon; then put it into a jar, and the remainder of the liquor; cover the jar very tight with bladder, and leather over it; it will be all the better, if not used until six months after it is made. Mushrooms ( White ‘). — Take button mushrooms, as soon as possible after being- gathered (and the earlier they are gathered in the morning, the whiter they will be, as the sun turns them brown) ; first, have a basin of milk and water, with a lemon squeezed into it, and a little salt ; then clean the mushrooms with a piece of flannel, and a little salt ; cut off the root, and any rough edges that they may have, and put them into the milk and water. When this is done, lay them on a clean cloth, and cover them over with another ; then put them into a well-tinned stew-pan, put in a little salt, whole white pepper, and a few blades of mace; put the stewpan over a very slow fire ; let them simmer for five minutes, they will discharge a great deal of juice, which must be reduced by boiling, then add distilled vinegar to cover the mushrooms. While the liquor is reducing, lay the mushrooms between two dry cloths. When the vinegar has boiled a few minutes, put the mushrooms into a basin, and pour the vinegar over them ; when cold, put them into wide-mouthed bottles, cork them tight ; and wax them over. They will answer kitchen purposes, or for pickles. Mushrooms ( Brown ) should be rather larger than the white ones, and cleaned the same way ; put them into a stew-pan, with a little salt and ground white pepper, and a little mace, let them boil slowly for a quarter of an hour ; add a glass of good wine, and as much white-wine vinegar as you think will, with their own liquor, cover them ; when cold, put them in widemouthed bottles, cork, and wax them over. PICKLING. 287 ON FRUITS, &c.; Gooseberries. — The small rough ones (which must be full grown, but not ripe) are the best sort, cut the tops and tails off, put them in bottles, and put them into a pot (a fish-kettle is the best, if you have one), fill it up with water, as high as the bottle will admit ; when the water boils, if the gooseberries are not scalded through, add a little cold water, to check the boiling, when it boils again take the bottles out, and when cold, fill up those that have shrunk; then cork and wax them. To be kept in a cold dry cellar. Damsons. — The damsons should not be too ripe, and not bruised ; put them into wide-mouthed bottles, then in a slow-oven ; let them remain till warm through; as they shrink very much, they must be filled quite full from the bottle that has the least in it; cork them as tight as possible, and rosin them. Bullis Plums. — Put them in jars, three parts full, and fill them up with moist sugar ; put them in a slow oven for four hours, or until they have boiled ; the jar should be quite filled ; when cold, put paper first, a bladder over it, and leather over the whole. N.B. — Housekeepers should make a regular maxim to look over their preserves and pickles — once in two months, or oftener. Siialot Vinegar. — Peel and split about two ounces of shalots ; put them into a quart bottle, and fill it up with white-wine vinegar, stop it closely, and in a month it will be fit for use. Pom 1 off the clear liquor, and put it into small bottles. It is necessary to shake the bottles occasionally. Shalots are in high perfection during July, August, and September. Garlic Vinegar. — Garlic is ready for this purpose from Midsummer to Michaelmas. Pull and chop two ounces of garlic, pour on them a quart of white-wine vinegar, stop the jar close, and let it 288 PICKLING. steep ten days, shaking it well every day ; then pour off the clear liquor into small bottles. Be careful not to use too much of this, a few drops of it will give a pint of gravy a sufficient taste of the garlic, the flavour of which, when slight and well blended, is one of the finest we have ; when used in excess, it is the most unpleasant. Quintessence of LemonPee l . — Best oil of lemon one drachm, strongest rectified spirits two ounces, introduced by degrees till the spirit kills and completely mixes with the oil. This elegant preparation possesses all the delightful fragrance and flavour of the fresh cut lemon peel. Observe : — A few drops on the sugar you make punch with , will instantly impregnate it with as much flavour as the troublesome and tedious method of grating the rind, or rubbing the sugar on it. It will be found a superlative substitute for fresh lemon peel, for every purpose that it is used for. Blanc mange, jellies, custards, ice, negus, lemonade, pies and puddings, stuffings, soups, sauces, ragouts, &c.; Essence op Ginger. — Steep in a pint of brandy one ounce of lemon-peel, and one ounce and a half of ginger, fresh grated. Let it stand for ten days, then strain and bottle. Essence of Celery, — A quarter of a pint of brandy, or proof spirit, half an ounce (avoirdupois weight) of celery seed bruised. Let it steep for a fortuight. N.B . — Afeio drops will immediately flavour a pint of broth, and are an excellent addition to peas and other soups, and the salad mixture of oil, vinegar, &c.; Basil Vinegar. — Sweet basil is in full perfection about the middle of August. Fill a wide-mouthed bottle with the fresh green leaves of basil (these give much more, and a finer flavour than the dried), and cover them with viuegar, and let them steep for ten days ; if you wish a very strong essence, strain the liquor, put it on some fresh leaves, and let them steep for ten days more. PICKLING. 289 N.B. This is a very agreeable addition to sauces, soups, and to the mixture usually made for salads. Green Mint Vinegar. — Is made precisely in the same manner, and with the same proportions. To make Pickle for Brawn. — Take a sufficient quantity of water, more than will cover your brawn ; to every gallon of water, add half a pint of whole malt, and salt enough to give it a strong relish ; let it boil one hour, then strain it into a vessel ; when cold, pour it off into another, keeping back the white sediment. Put your brawn into salt and water till your pickle is ready. N.B. When the brawn comes to hand it should he rubbed with salt, then rinced, and dried with a cloth ; at the time of changing the pickle, the brawn should be also rubbed, &c.; Make fresh pickle once a fortnight. To Pickle Lemons. — Cut twelve lemons through the rind in four places, fill them with salt, and rub them well with it. Let them remain in the brine three or four days, turning them every day, then rub them with Cayenne pepper, and cover them with vinegar, brown mustard seed, ginger, and Jamaica pepper, of each one handful, stop them close, add garlic if approved of ; will be fit for use in three months. Pickle for Green Fruit or Vegetables. — One pint of vinegar, a quarter of a pound of salt, one ounce of whole ginger, a quarter of an ounce of mace, half an ounce of white pepper, half an ounce of mustard seed, half a dessert-spoonful of Cayenne, a quarter of a pound of garlic, and some scraped horse-radish. All these ingredients to be boiled together for a quarter of an hour, when cold put it into a jar, you may put any kind of fresh gathered vegetables and green fruit into this pickle, taking care they are first rubbed dry; kidneybeans and cauliflowers must be first scalded a little. , I NDIA -N Pickle. One gallon of vinegar, four ounces P of curry powder, four ounces of flour mustard, three [> ounces of ginger bruised, one ounce of turmeric, and half (j a pound (when skinned) of shalots, slightly baked in a 290 PICKLING. Dutch oven; two ounces of garlic prepared in like manner, a quarter of a pound of salt, two drachms of Cayenne pepper. Put these ingredients into a stone jar covered with a bladder wetted with the pickle, and set it on a trivet by the side of a lire for three days, shaking it up three times a day; it will be then ready to receive gherkins, sliced cucumbers, celery, sliced onions, button onions, cauliflower, -stertions, brocoli, French beans, and capsicums; all these articles are to be separately parboiled (except the capsicums) in a brine of salt water, strong enough to bear an egg ; taken out and thoroughly dried in the sun, on a stone, or before the fire for a couple of days ; and then put into the pickle. Any thing may be put into this pickle, excepting red cabbage and walnuts. It will keep several years. If small green melons are used, they must be slit open sufficiently to admit a marrow spoon, with which take out all the seeds, and when parboiled, as before directed, fill them with mustard seed, and one clove of garlic in each. Walnut Ketchup. — Take walnuts fit for pickling ; beat them well in a mortar till they are pluslied ; squeeze the juice from them; let it stand one day to settle ; then pour off the clear ; to every pint of juice add one pound of anchovies ; set it over the fire till the anchovies are all dissolved ; strain it off clear, and, to every quart, put one ounce of shalots, a quarter of an ounce of mace, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, a quarter of an ounce of Jamaica pepper, half a pint of white-wine vinegar ; let them boil a quarter of an hour altogether, and, when cold, bottle it off for use. Savoury Ragout Powder. — An ounce of salt; half an ounce of mustard ; a quarter of an ounce of allspice ;* half an ounce of black pepper, ground ; half an ounce of lemon-peel, grated ; a quarter of an ounce of (each) ginger and nutmeg, grated ; Cayenne pepper, two drachms. * If you like the flavour, and do not dislike the expense, instead of allspice, put in mace and cloves. PICKLING. 291 Pound them gradually, and pass them through a fine hair sieve ; bottle them for use. The above articles will pound easier and finer, if they are dried first in a Dutch oven, before a very gentle fire, at a good distance from it ; if you give them much heat, the fine flavour of them ivill be ‘presently evaporated, and they will soon get a strong and rank taste. N. B. Infused in a quart of vinegar in wine, they make a savoury relish for soups, sauces, &c.; Cayenne Pepper. — Capsicums and chilies are ripe and red, and in finest condition during September and October ; they may be purchased at the herb-shops in Covent-garden. Take a hundred large chilies (which will produce about two ounces of Cayenne), take away the stalks, and put the pods into a colander ; set it before the fire ; they will take full twelve hours to dry ; then put them into a mortar, with one-fourth their weight of salt, and pound them ; rub them till they are as fine as possible, and put them into a well-stopped bottle. N. B. Some put them into an oven to dry. Essence of Cayenne. — Put half an ounce of Cayenne pepper into half a pint of brandy (or wine) ; let it steep for a fortnight, and then pour off the clear liquor. This is nearly equal to fresh chili juice. N. B. This, or the chili vinegar, is extremely convenient for the ex tempore seasoning and finishing of soups, sauces, &c.;, its flavour being instantly and equally diffused. Shalot Wine. — Peel, mince, and pound in a mortar, three ounces of shalots, and infuse them in a pint of sherry for ten days ; then pour off the clear liquor on three ounces more shalots, and let the wine stand on them for ten days longer. Observe. — This is rather the most expensive, but infinitely the most elegant preparation of shalot, and imparts the onion flavour of soups and sauces, for chops, steaks, or boiled meats, hashes, &c.;, more agreeably than any ; it does not leave any unpleasant taste in the v 2 292 TICKLING. mouth, or to the breath, nor repeat, as almost all other preparations of garlic, onion, ike., do. N. B. An ounce of scraped horse-radish may be added to the above, and a little thin cut lemon-peel. Chili Vinegar. — This is commonly made with the foreign bird pepper ; but you will obtain a much finer flavour from infusing fifty fresh red English chilies (cut in half or pounded) in a pint of the best vinegar, for a fortnight. Camp Vinegar. — One drachm (avoirdupois weight) of Cayenne pepper ; two table-spoonfuls of soy ; four table-spoonfuls of walnut ketchup ; six anchovies, chopped ; a small clove of garlic, minced fine. Steep all for a month in a pint of the best vinegar, frequently shaking the bottle ; strain through a tammy, and keep it in small bottles, corked as tightly as possible. Tarragon Vinegar. — Fill a wide-mouthed bottle with fresh-gathered tarragon leaves, i. e., between midsummer and Michaelmas (which should be gathered on a dry day, just before it flowers), and pick the leaves off the stalks, and dry them a little before the fire ; cover them with the best vinegar ; let them steep fourteen days; then strain through a flannel jelly-bag, till it is fine ; pom’ it into half-pint bottles; cork them carefully, and keep them in a dry place. N. B. You may prepare elder-flowers and herbs in the same manner. Horse-radish Vinegar. — Horse-radish is in highest perfection about November. Pour a quart of best vineg’ar on three ounces of scraped horse-radish, one ounce of minced shalot, and one drachm of Cayenne ; let it stand a week, and you will have an excellent relish for cold beef, salads, &c.;, costing scarcely any thing. N. B. A portion of black pepper and mustard, celery, or cress-seed, may be added to the above. Method of Pickling Red or any other Cabrage. — Cut your cabbage into fine threads ; boil them in water for some minutes ; next, put them into alternate PICKLING. 293 layers, with some salt, pepper, and cloves, in a stone jar, which fill with strong vinegar, to which add a tenth of brandy ; tie it over with parchment, or a bladder ; they will keep thus during the whole year. The vinegar for pickling must be of the very best, completely to cover the article pickled, and the jars well closed from the air. Cauliflowers may be pickled in precisely the same way as directed for cabbage, taking care to separate them into convenient pieces before putting them into pickle. Salpicons are made with all sorts of meats, vegetables, such as truffles, artichokes, bottoms, and mushrooms; but every thing must be put in equal proportions; it is necessary to have them all cooked apart, so that they may be perfectly done as each requires. 294 ON VEGETABLES, AND ON THE MODE OF CHOOSING AND DRESSING THEM. “ No country produces better esculent vegetables than England,” says the Magazine of Domestic Economy , “ because in no other country are they so carefully cultivated. Yet it is singular that, though we possess them in such perfection and abundance — though in the markets of London, they may often be obtained at a much cheaper rate than in those of Paris — though such immense pains are taken, and such sacrifices of capital made for the improvement of our market-gardens, the superiority of our vegetables ceases the moment they pass the threshold of the kitchen-door; for they are, generally speaking, totally spoiled in the dressing. This we cannot too often repeat, or impress too strongly upon the minds of our readers. It is not surprising that, in all cases of gastric debility, or tendency to dyspepsia, which occur in the country, the use of vegetables is prohibited by our medical attendants, because the half crude state in which vegetables are eaten at our tables, as an accompaniment only to meat, and not as dishes of themselves, is generative of the host of stomach diseases which afflict those of sedentary habits and pursuits — and these form the majority of the middle classes in all great cities.” How to Boil Vegetables. — Boil your vegetables a sufficient time, changing the water several times during the operation, and adding a little sugar, salt, or spice as the case may require, which destroys any rankness or disagreeable flavour it may have — and the most agreeable of which it is susceptible rendered predominant. Batter for Frying Vegetables. — Six spoonfuls of sifted flour, a little salt, a spoonful of olive oil, and VEGETABLES. 295 stale ale sufficient to make a batter, which must not be very thin. Then beat up well the whites of two eggs, and when very highly beaten, mix them with the batter, stirring it continually with a wooden spoon. The vegetables, well drained and boiled, must be mixed with the batter and placed with a skewer one by one in the fryingpan, so that they shall not adhere to each other. To fry them, use lard or clarified dripping -. — Hand Book of Cookery. To Dress Spinach. — Pick it very carefully, and wash it several times in a great deal of water. Then put some salt to a large quantity of water in a boiler; when it boils, put in the spinach. This must float, and you must often press it down with a wooden spoon. When it can be easily squeezed between the fingers, let it drain in a colander, and throw over it a pailful of cold water. When well drained, make it into balls, and squeeze out all the water by pressing it in your bands as hard as you possibly can. Then spread it on the table and chop it as small as possible, after which pound and rub it in a mortar, until it is reduced to a paste. It is now fit for use, and will remain good for several days in this form, provided it be kept in a cool place . — Hand Book of Cookery. Puree op Dried Peas. — This is what we commonly call peas- pudding, but of a more refined kind. Peaspudding, as usually made, is indigestible, nauseous, and unwholesome. The puree is the best form. Boil the peas in a bag until they are very tender, then rub them first through a colander, afterwards through a sieve. Put the pur6e over the fire in a stew-pan, with a lump of clarified dripping, and a little gravy or stock broth. Season with pepper and salt, and dish it well up when of a good consistency. Or it may be prepared entirely with fresh butter . — Hand Book of Cookery. White Kidney-beans. — These are never used in England except as seed, but they form a very wholesome farinaceous vegetable. They must be soaked in cold 296 VEGETABLES. ¦water all night before they are boiled ; then put them over the fire in cold water with a little salt. When they begin to be tender, and have swollen to their full size, throw in a cupful of cold water to check the boiling. Let them boil up again very gently ; they will then crack. When they begin to do so, take them off the fire ; let them stand a few minutes in the water, then drain them in a colander. They make an excellent puree to be served up with any meat, being mixed with gravy, or butter, and seasoned. They are also very good, placed in the dish whole, under any roasted joint. — Hand Book of Cookery. Celery. — This vegetable is more frequently eaten raw. When dressed, it is stimulating and easy of digestion, and is admirable for persons debilitated by excess. Take the largest and whitest heads. Stew them in a little water, with some salt and a small bit of butter in it. Serve them up with white sauce. They may be also bleached, and stewed in good gravy, thickened with flour and butter, and flavoured with a little lemon juice. — Hand Book of Cookery. Green Peas. — In the London markets it requires some experience to choose this vegetable. The shelled peas should never be purchased, because, even when young, they are never of the best quality ; and, in ninetynine cases in a hundred, old and young, stale and fresh, are mixed together, to gratify the rapacity of the salesman; a practice which, if purchasers would resist by steadily refusing their custom to those who had once so deceived them, would soon be discontinued. With regard to peas in the shell, two kinds are to be found in the market; these ought to vary considerably in the price, though, to the inexperienced, oue is often sold for the other. The best peas are brought to town in wicker baskets, through which the air cau circulate, and these reach London without deterioration of their quality, provided they are not kept too long. The other peas are conveyed in sacks, which is a great economy of VEGETABLES. 297 space in carriage; but the air being excluded from these sacks, the peas soon become heated, and ferment; their saccharine quality is lost, and they are rendered unwholesome. Practice alone can teach the housekeeper to distinguish the difference between the peas so conveyed, and those brought to town in open baskets; but the practice should be pursued and the skill acquired. We may also observe with regard to this vegetable, that the sooner it is eaten after it leaves the garden the better it is : and this is the reason why green peas are so much superior in the country, where they are gathered just when wanted for the day’s meal. We now come to brocoli sprouts, which may be cooked in the Italian way. Having boiled them in salt and water, let them cool. When cold, dredge them with flour, fry them brown in butter, and sprinkle a little salt over them. This wholesome and pleasant dish is to be met with at the first tables on the continent, and is much superior to the very primitive mode in which brocoli is usually presented at ours. There is a delicious vegetable very little used among us, though to be found at all our markets in the metropolis, we mean the salsifis or skinet, sometimes called goat’s beard. It is of two kinds, the black and the white; the former is the best, being better flavoured and more tender. It is easily dressed. Scrape off the outer peel of the skinets, then throw them into cold water with a little vinegar in it, which prevents them from changing colour. They must be boiled in plenty of water with a small quantity of salt, the juice of a lemon, and a lump of butter about the size of a nutmeg. When done, which may be ascertained by trying them with a fork, they may be served up with white sauce, into which they must be put about five or six minutes before it is taken off the fire, and the thickening of egg added to it. They may also be found ‘ grateful to an English palate with plain melted butter ; ! they are likewise very nice fried in a thin batter, and may be served up with fried parsley over them. On 298 VEGETABLES. being – put into the dish, and before the parsley is added, they should be sprinkled with a little salt. This vegetable also, when boiled, makes an excellent salad with oil, vinegar, mustard, and a little cream. To it may be added some chopped parsley, a chopped anchovy, and a few capers. To Dress Cardoons. — There is a vegetable much eaten in France (says the editor of the Magazine of Domestic Economy , vol. i., pp. 308, 345), because it is of delightful flavour; and as digestible as it is pleasant — we mean the cardoon, or thistle-head. In England it is never used except by French cooks, probably because this vegetable requires more skill to cook it than any other. It is, however, worthy of being introduced at the tables of our middle classes, as it is cheap and nutritive. We think that, having noticed the cardoon, we are bound, before we go any further, to state how it may be prepared without much trouble and expense. The whiter the cardoon heads, the more delicate they are. Remove and throw away all the stalks that are tough and fibrous, or hollow ; cut the others into strips about five or six inches long, cleansing them well from the prickles. Then put them into boiling water, and parboil them, giving less time to the heart than to the outer stalks. As soon as the slime will come off by dipping a strip of it into cold water and rubbing it with the finger, it is done enough. On removing the cardoons from the fire, throw them into cold water, and cleanse them immediately from the skin, using to do so nothing but friction with the fingers. Stew them afterwards in a little rich gravy, and just before they are taken off the fire, add a lump of butter rolled in flour. This is a cheap way of dressing cardoons, which may likewise be tossed up with cream, or even sent to table with plain melted butter. We are indebted to the same authority for the following receipt for dressing spinach. VEGETABLES. 299 Spinach is a vegetable which we cannot too strongly recommend. It must be prepared as follows : — After being carefully picked and washed four or five times in an abundance of water, let it be put into boiling water containing some salt, in a large vessel where it may have plenty of room. The leaves that rise above the water must be pressed down. When the spinach is about half done, take it off the fire, strain it and prepare some more boiling water and salt, in which it must be again boiled till sufficiently done. The moment it is so, throw it into a colander, and keep pouring cold water over it for some time ; then make it into balls, and with your hands press out every drop of water it contains ; afterwards chop it very fine until it becomes almost a paste. Now put a lump of butter into the stew-pan, and place the spinach on the butter ; let it dry gently over the fire ; when the moisture is evaporated, dredge it with a little flour, then add a small quantity of good gravy, with seasoning to your taste ; let it boil up, and serve it up with sippets fried in butter. Another way of dressing Spinach {from the same source ). — The Parisians are very fond of spinach with sugar, which is a great delicacy, and may be prepared in the following manner. Boil some good cream just before you put the spinach in the stew-pan with the butter. When you have added the flour to the spinach, as before directed, together with a little salt, put in the cream with some sugar and nutmeg, let it simmer for ten minutes, then serve it up on sippets, with a very small quantity of pounded lump sugar strewed over it. To dress Endive. — Nothing can be more grateful to the palate, when nicely prepared, than a dish of f endive. I The endive, after being well washed and picked, must be parboiled in four different waters, to destroy the bitterness peculiar to it. It must then be boiled in : salt and water until done, when it must be thrown into cold water, squeezed and chopped fine. It may then be 300 VEGETABLES. put into a stew-pan upon a lump of butter ; and a few young onions chopped very small added to it. Let it diy, then dredge it with half a table-spoonful of flour, and add some good gravy, some seasoning, and two lumps of sugar ; let it stew very gently for a quarter of an hour, then serve it up, either alone on sippets, or under sweetbreads, fricandeau, or mutton chops. A MODE OF DRESSING CAULIFLOWERS WITH PARMESAN Cheese. — Having boiled the cauliflowers, prepare a sauce in the following manner. Into a quarter of a pound of butter, rub a table-spoonful of flour. Then put it into a stew-pan ; as the butter melts, add by degrees half a pint of water, or a little more if you require more sauce. Stir the whole until it boils ; after it has boiled a couple of minutes, take it from the fire, and when entirely off the boil, add the yolk of an egg beat up with a little lemon-juice and half a table-spoonful of soft water. Shake the stew-pan till the whole is mixed and the sauce set. Now powder the cauliflowers with rasped Parmesan cheese. Then pour the sauce over them ; when the sauce is firmly set upon them, cover the surface with rasped cheese and bread-crumbs, and brown it with a salamander. To prepare Onions for Seasoning. — Peel and mince three or four onions ; put them into a sauce-pan with a little cold water. Let them boil till quite tender, and then pulp them with the liquor, through a hair sieve, when it may be mixed with any made dishes or sauces. To Preserve Cucumbers. — Take the greenest cucumbers, and most free from seeds, of all sizes ; put them into strong salt and water, in a jar, with a cabbageleaf over them, to keep them down ; put them in a warm place till they are yellow ; then wash them, and set them over the fire in fresh water, with a little salt and another leaf; cover the pan close, but take care they do not boil; if they are not a fine green, change the water, when, if VEGETABLES. 301 they are, take them off the fire, and let them stand till cold ; cut the large ones into quarters ; take out the seeds and soft parts ; put them into water for two days, changing it twice every day, to take out the salt. For the syrup, take a pound of sugar, and half a pint of water ; put it on the fire, and, when clear, put in the rind of a lemon, and one ounce of ginger, with the outsides snapped off ; when the syrup is pretty thick, take it off ; when cold, wipe the cucumbers, and put them in. Boil the syrup once in three or four days, for three weeks ; keep them in a dry place. Vegetable Marrow. — After being washed clean, put it into boiling water, with a little salt, and, when tender, drain it from the water ; cut into half, lengthways, and serve on toasted bread, over w T hich some melted butter has been poured ; or you may boil in milk and water. They may be fricasseed, as Jerusalem artichokes, or stewed, as cucumbers. To Dress Beet Root. — Boil your beet, and slice it ; put into a stew-pan, with some butter, parsley, minced onions, a little garlic, flour, vinegar, salt, and pepper, to taste ; boil the whole for one quarter of an hour. Mushrooms, with a White Sauce. — Pick them well, and wash them ; cut them into pieces ; put them in a stew-pan, with half a glass of oil and a faggot ; toss them up; then strew them with a dust of flour, and moisten them with broth, and a little white wine, and put in a small clove of garlic ; let them be relishing; skim off the fat, and thicken them with three yolks of eggs, mixed with the juice of a lemon, a little parsley cut small, and a little nutmeg ; put them upon a crust of bread in your dish, and serve them up hot. Cauliflowers with Gravy ; for Entremets. — Pick clean your cauliflowers, and let them be washed in water ; that is to say, you take a kettle, which you half fill with water, a dust of flour, a bit of butter, two or three slices of bacon, and afterwards some salt. When 302 VEGETABLES. your water boils, put in your cauliflowers ; let them be boiled something more than half; then take them out of that water, and let them be well drained ; then place them in a stew-pan, and put in it a thin eullis made of veal, and a sufficient quantity of eullis of ham, so that it may soak well. Afterwards, you put them over again, with a slow fire, and let them stew very gently ; and when you are ready to serve up, take a lump of good butter, the size of one or two walnuts, rolled in flour, which you divide into four or five pieces in your stewpan, which you keep continually stirring on the fire ; see and taste whether it be of a good relish ; and you add to them a slight dash of vinegar, and serve them up hot. Another way of dressing Mushrooms with a white Sauce. — Take mushrooms, pick and wash them well, then put them into a stew-pan, with a lump of butter, and a bunch of fine herbs, toss them up ; this done, stew them with a dust of flour, moisten them with broth, and season them with salt and pepper. Let them simmer, and thicken them with four yolks of eggs, mixed cream, and a little nutmeg. Your ragout of mushrooms being of a good taste, dish it up, putting in the bottom of your dish a crust of bread, serve it up hot. Mushrooms Boiled. — Trim, pepper, and salt them, and put them snutes, with a little butter over them ; put them in the oven, and then on the gridiron, for a few minutes, put the liquor that comes from the mushrooms on the dish, when sent to table. To dress Truffles. — Get some truffles, either large or small, pare and wash them, cut them in slices, put them in a stew-pan, or in a silver dish, with some oil, or a slice of fresh butter, more or less, according to the quantity of your truffles. Let them be a little while upon the stove, with a bunch of parsley, chibbols. and sweet herbs ; moisten them with half a glass of Champagne or other white wine, season them with salt and VEGETABLES. 303 pounded pepper, add a little essence of ham, and let them stew slowly. Skim well off the fat ; when they are ready to serve in about ten minutes ; squeeze over them the juice of a Seville orange or a lemon, put to them some small fried crusts of bread, then dish them up hot. Truffles, ( the Provencal way). — Cut and order some truffles as before, then put them in a dish with some good oil, season them with salt, pepper, and shred chibbol, and a little sweet basil. Let them stew slowly over a chafing-dish. Squeeze in the juice of one or two oranges, more or less, according to the quantity of your truffles. Let your truffles be palatable, and having put in some fried crusts of bread, as before, serve them up hot. To dress Mushrooms. — Take small mushrooms very white, cut off the stalks, wash them well, put them into a stew-pan, with the juice of two lemons, a little beaten pepper, half a glass of white wine, as much of good oil, and a bunch of sweet herbs ; put all this over the fire, and after two or three boilings, take it off, let it cool, serve it up. These sorts of mushrooms may be kept as long as you please, provided they swim in oil. Truffles au Court Bouillon. — Clean your truffles well, boil them about half an hour in a kettle, with as much wine as water ; season them with salt and pepper. Being done, put a folded napkin in your dish, then take your truffles out of the kettle, and lay them upon the napkin ; serve them up hot. On another occasion you may boil them in seasoned water only. To boil Artichokes. — Wash well your artichokes ; cut off the stalks quite close, taking off the outside leaves ; have plenty of water boiling very fast , throw in the artichokes, to improve the colour of which, a small portion of soda may be put into the water. When done, it is a good fashion to lift the tops from them, take out the chokes, and then replace the tops before sending 304 VEGETABLES. them to table. Serve with good melted butter. The stalks should be uppermost when boiling. Artichokes with Butter. — When your artichokes are boiled, as above, take off the choke, and make a sauce with fresh butter, vinegar, salt, and nutmeg ; add a little flour to thicken the sauce : or you may prepare them in a more elaborate way, as follows : — Artichokes with Butter Sauce. — Turn eight or ten artichoke bottoms ; pull off all the leaves, leaving the chokes only ; rub them with lemon, and throw into salt and water. Boil them in water with butter and lemon juice until you can easily remove the chokes ; throw them into cold water, with a little lemon juice in it ; take out the chokes ; trim the edges, and notch them rouud ; warm them up in lemon juice, water, and butter; drain them on a cloth, dish them, and mask with butter sauce. Peas and Roots, Maigre. — Clear and blanch two bunches of carrots, the same of onions and turnips, a bunch of leeks, and six roots of celery ; strain and put them in a stock-pot with three quarts of dried peas whole, nearly ten quarts of water, salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, two cloves, and a little fresh butter ; boil it two hours and a half ; skim off the butter, remove it from the fire, let it settle, and strain it through a silk sieve. Use it to moisten soups and sauces. Artichokes. — Take the middling sort of artichokes, pare and boil them till you can easily take off the chokes ; cut small parsley, a few green onions and mushrooms, put them in a stew-pan over the fire, with half a glass of good oil, pepper, salt, and sweet herbs. Put in a baking-pan some slices of bacon, place over these your artichokes ; put into every artichoke mushrooms and green onions ; cover these with slices of bacon, and put them into the oven ; being done, take them out to drain ; squeeze in a little lemon juice, and mask the bottoms of the artichokes with it. Dish them up with essence of ham. VEGETABLES. 305 Artichokes in Surprise. — Take the bottoms of small artichokes, blanch them to take off the choke, then put the bottoms into a white braise ; make a small salpicon, as follows take sweetbreads of veal blanched, and cut into small square pieces, the size of a small pea, mushrooms, truffles, and cocks’ combs cut the same ; put all together in a stew-pan, with a little cullis ; let it stew softly : being done, and of good taste, take your bottoms out of their braise, and fill one of them with your salpicon, put upon this another bottom, and so go on ; soak them in beaten eggs, strew them with crumbs of bread, and let them be fried in hog’s lard ; being fried, dish them up, garnish your dish with fried parsley, and serve them up hot. Artichokes with a White Sauce. — Boil some small artichokes in water with salt, when boiled, put the bottoms in a stew-pan with butter and parsley, seasoned with salt and pepper : thicken your sauce with yolks of eggs, a drop of vinegar, and a little broth. Fried Artichokes. — Cut your artichokes into pieces, take off the chokes, let them boil a little ; take them out and put them a soaking with vinegar, pepper, and salt ; then dip them in a beaten egg, Hour them, and let them be fried in hog’s lard, or drawn butter, and serve them up with fried parsley. You may also fry them rolled in flour without eggs or being blanched. Artichokes with Oil. — Take artichokes, make all bottoms of them, let them boil in water till you can easily take off the choke ; then take them out, take oft’ the choke, put them into a small kettle with a lump of butter, slices of bacon and of lemons, and moisten them with water, putting in a little salt. Continue to stew them very gently; being done, and very white, take them out, and dish them up; season them with salt, 1 beaten pepper, oil and vinegar, and serve them up cold. These sorts of artichokes in bottoms may also be used or served up, with a ham sauce, with slices of ham over them. Another time they may he served up with a white 306 VEGETABLES. sauce or gravy sauce, also with Parmesan, dishing them up with a little cullis over them, and some scraped Parmesan, and make them get a colour in the oven; and in serving then up, put in a lemon juice, and serve them up hot. Asparagus with Green Peas. — Take the smaller sort of asparagus, and cut them like green peas, as small as you can, and cut nothing but what is tender. If your asparagus are large, you split them in four. Being thus cut, blanch them ; being blanched, put them in a stew-pan with a lump of butter ; give them some tosses upon the fire, then flour them a little, and season them with salt and pepper ; moisten them with a little broth ; let them have a good taste, and thicken them with yolks of eggs and a little nutmeg. Put a crust of bread into a dish and your asparagus over it, and serve them hot for entremets. You may likewise serve them with a brown sauce, moistening them with cullis and gravy. Entremets of Beans. — Take fine beans, and take the top skin off ; then put them in a stew-pan with a lump of butter ; take two or three artichokes, take off part of the leaves, cut your artichokes into five or six pieces, and blanch them till you can take off the choke ; the choke being taken off, put them in your beans, moisten them with gravy and cullis, and half a glass of Champagne, Chablis, Vin de Grave, or Bucellas ; put them over a great fire, and skim well off the fat ; put to them a crumb of garlic, a lemon juice, and a spoonful of oil, let them have a good taste. Dish them up, and serve them up hot for entremets. A Ragout of Celery. — Take some heads of celery, pick and blanch them. Being blanched, squeeze them out of the water, put them in a stew-pan with a cullis, to be stewed on a slow fire. After which, thicken them with the size of a nut of fresh butter, dipped in fine flour, continually stirring the stew-pan ; add a little vinegar, taking care not to make it too thick. A Turnip Stew ( West Countrxj dish). — This is an VEGETABLES. 307 Irish stew made somewhat drier, turnips being sliced in: we can vouch for the excellence of this dish. Cabbage and Rice ( West Country dish ). — Cut up a large white cabbage, as if for pickling, place a layer of rice and a layer of cabbage, according to the quantity wanted. Suppose half a pound of rice. Add about half a pint of water and a little mace, a bit of butter about the size of an egg with pepper and salt, then let it simmer until done. This is an excellent vegetable dish. To stew Celery.— Take off the outside and coarser leaves, and the green ends of your heads of celery, boil them in water till they are very tender, put in a little salt, a slice of lemon, a little beaten mace, thicken it with a good lump of butter and flour, boil it a little, beat the yolks of two eggs, grate in half a nutmeg, mix them with a tea-cupful of good cream, put it to your gravy, shake it over the fire till it be of a good thickness, but do not let it boil; serve it up hot ; or you may stew it in common broth or stock, and serve it with an espagnole or brown gravy. Tomatas farcied. — After having taken out the kernels of your tomatas, fill them with sausage meat seasoned with garlic, parsley, scallions, and tarrogan. Then do them in a baking pan under a country oven, with raspings of bread. Serve this entremet in the bakingdish, and squeeze over it a little lemon-juice. P o mates de Terre ci la Maitre d’ Hotel . — Wash the potatoes clean, and boil with their skins on with salt and water When enough, let them cool on a drainer, peel and cut them in small rounds with a cutter as thick as or more than a penny piece, for if too thin they would break in the sauce. Put into a stew-pan, butter, minced parsley, scallions, pepper and salt, and juice of lemon. Add the potatoes, and put on the fire for a few minutes. Mind that the sauce is neither curdled or too thick, and that it is well mixed before you put the potatoes to it (a cup of boiling water may be added by 308 VEGETABLES. degrees while on the fire. A little egg may be added, if you require it for thickening. Potatoes, as above, may he served with a cream sauce. Potato Balls. — Mix mashed potatoes with the yolk of an egg, roll them into balls, and rub them in egg and bread crumbs. Season them well with salt and a little white pepper, put an ounce of butter to the pound, and a few spoonfuls of good cream, and fry them in nice dripping. Cucumbers. — Sliced to be wholesome should be placed for some time in salt, and then washed, which makes them tender, and abstracts their unwholesome juice, then add pepper, vinegar, and oil to taste. Freed Salsifis. — Make a batter as follows. Take six spoonfuls of flour, a small pinch of salt, a spoonful of olive oil, and beat the whole with beer, enough to make into a batter, but do not make it too liquid. Then beat the whites of two eggs well, pom 1 them into the batter, which keep stirring g-ently. Next put the vegetables that are done beforehand and well drained in a cloth into the batter, take them out one by one, and throw them into the dripping : use a skewer to prevent thensticking together. When fried of a fine colour and crisp, send them up with fried parsley in the centre of the dish, and a little salt sprinkled over the vegetables. To Preserve Asparagus during the Winter. — Cut off the lower parts of the asparagus, and set them to boil in an earthern vessel or a well-tinned sauce-pan ; as soon as the water boils, put in the asparagus heads, having first carefully washed them ; then take off the pot from the fire and covei^it over with a napkin several times doubled, and let it stand for an hour ; then put the asparagus to drain in a sieve, wrap them up in a fresh cloth, and put them where they are not exposed to the sun, in order that they may become cold and dry; meantime boil some salt in soft water, and when the solution is cold, put the asparagus into jars; pour the salt and water over them, and cover them closely down; for this VEGETABLES. 309 purpose, jars furnished with covers are the best: to prevent any air getting in, pour melted mutton fat over the tops of the jars. To Dress Artichokes, au naturel. — The artichokes should be washed in several waters, to remove the insects about the leaves ; trim and cut the stalks even ; boil them in salt and water. If young, half an hour will suffice. Serve with finest melted butter. To Dress Artichokes (. Another method). — Wash, and boil as above. Cut the points of the leaves, and trim the bottoms ; rub them with the juice of a lemon, to prevent their turning black ; when they are boiled, empty the middle, and serve them very hot, with plain melted butter. White Beans a la Maitre d’ Hotel. — White beans, when fresh, must be put into boiling water, with a piece of butter as large as a walnut ; but if dry, they must be soaked for an hour in cold water before you boil them. Then boil them in cold water, and replenish it with cold water two or three times before it comes to a boil also, which makes the rind tender. They should be well done before you dress them a la Maitre d Hotel, which is done as follows : — Trim a sauce-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, a little parsley chopped very fine, some green onions, and some pepper and salt, over which lay the beans ; keep moving the stew-pan, without using a spoon, lest you break the beans ; then squeeze the juice of half a lemon, and send up quite hot. This is an excellent vegetable with a leg of roast mutton. You may then add a little glaze. To Preserve Green Peas. — The peas should be fresh shelled ; put them into glass bottles, which should be carefully washed. Put the bottles into a kettle or boiler, with a little hay between them, to prevent their coming in contact ; fill up the kettle with cold water, and heat it ; when the water begins to boil, take off the kettle directly ; leave the bottles in the water until it is quite cold, for fear they should break by taking them out whilst the water is hot ; stop down the bottles, and 310 VEGETABLES. keep them in a dry and cold place, not exposed to the influence of the sun. —From the Magazine of Domestic Economy. How TO CHOOSE, AND HOW TO BoiL POTATOES. — “ To boil a potato, seems simple enough,” says the sensible author who writes on cookery in the Magazine of Domestic Economy ; “ and yet we scarcely ever find it well done. At the tables of the great a good potato is never seen, because, if not eaten the very moment it is boiled, the potato is worth nothing, and also because the refinement of peeling helps to destroy the savour. Another mistake is, to serve this vegetable in a covered dish, whereby the steam, condensed by the cover, falls upon the potato, and it becomes soddened. “ Do not buy washed potatoes from the shops, or at Covent Garden. Get them with the mould about them, and do not wash it off till just before you use them. If they are steeped in water long before they are boiled, they become stale and watery.” We would further add pare them as little as possible. “ Put them into plenty of cold water, with some salt. When they are about half boiled, throw away the water, and pour fresh boiling water upon them from a tea-kettle, adding some salt. Let it boil up briskly. When you have ascertained with a fork that the potatoes are very nearly done, throw in a cupful of cold water to check the boiling. The water will soon boil up again and the potatoes will crack. Let the water be then drained off, and the potatoes served up immediately in an open dish with their skins on. The water upon them will evaporate the instant they are in the dish. They must be eaten at that moment; in ten minutes their fine flavour would be gone.” How to Choose and Boil New Potatoes — “ Choose the potatoes as nearly of a size as possible; wash them, and rub off’ the outer rind; then wipe them dry with a clean napkin. Put a quarter of a pound of fresh butter into a stew-pan, set it on the fire, and when it boils throw in the potatoes. Let them boil in the butter till they are done, tailing care to toss them every now and then VEGETABLES. 311 so that they may all go successively into the boiling butter. They must be carefully watched, because if done too much they shrivel up and become waxy. When the fork indicates that they are done, they must be taken out before they lose their crispness, put into a dish, and some salt sprinkled over them. As soon as they are taken from the boiling butter, a handful of parsley may be thrown into it, and, after it has had a boil or two, laid upon the potatoes as a garnish. They must be eaten immediately. This is a beautiful dish to serve up with fish, as it may be eaten alone. The butter in which the potatoes were dressed may be poured into a jar, and serve again for the same purpose. Old potatoes may be cut into round pieces about the size of a large walnut, and dressed in the same way.” We may also add that young carrots may be done in a similar way. Laver is chiefly brought from the West of England to London. Put your laver into a silver dish over a lamp, with a little fresh butter and juice of a Seville orange well stirred in it till quite hot. Vinegar may be used with it — and eaten with roast meat. Laver ( Another way). — It is generally baked or boiled as it is taken out of the sea, and sent to market in that state. The best way to dress it is with a little mace, pepper, or cayenne, with lemon or orange-juice, or vinegar; serve it very hot, it should either be served over a lamp, or sent to table hot when the joints are cut up. It is eaten with roast, broiled, hot, or cold meats. Those who can have it fresh from the sea will find the t advantage of cooking it as follows. Let it be well pickled, washed in sea-water, drained, put into the oven with a little porter and pepper, or butter and pepper, and leave it till tender. To pack for family use, let it be in small pots, press it well down, and cover with suet, upon which put a little crystal acid ; laver so cooked and preserved is an elegant addition to broiled and roast meats, and many prefer it cold. In j that state it is called sea-marmalade; an excellent seastore as well as antiscorbutic. 312 LIQUEURS. Liqueur d’ Anisette. — To a quart of spirits of wine add twenty drops of the essential oil of aniseed, after shaking it well, mix with it a quart of the syrup — then filter and put it into bottles. Norfolk Punch. — In twenty quarts of French brandy put the peels of thirty lemons and thirty oranges, pared so thin that not the least of the white is left. Infuse twelve hours. Have ready thirty quarts of cold water that has boiled ; put to it fifteen pounds of doublerefined sugar; and when well mixed, pour it upon the brandy and peels, adding the juice of the oranges and of twenty-four lemons; mix well: then strain through a very fine hair-sieve, into a very clean barrel that has held spirits, and put two quarts of new milk. Stir, and then hung it close ; let it stand six weeks in a warm cellar; bottle the liquor for use, observing great care that the bottles are perfectly clean and dry, and the corks of the best quality, and well put in. This liquor will keep many years, and improves by age. Norfolk Punch (. Another way ). — Pare six lemons and three Seville oranges very thin, squeeze the juice into a large tea-pot, put to it two quarts of brandy, one of white-wine, and one of milk, and one pound and a quarter of sugar. Let it be mixed, and then covered for twenty-four hours, strain through a jelly-bag till clear, then bottle it. Vendor, or Milk Punch. — Parc six oranges and six lemons as thin as you can, grate them after with sugar, to get the flavour. Steep the peels in a bottle of rum or brandy stopped close twenty-four hours. Squeeze the fruit on two pounds of sugar, add to it four quarts of water, and one of new milk boiling hot ; stir the rum LIQUEURS. 313 Into the above, and run it through a jelly-bag till perfectly clear. Bottle, and cork close immediately. An excellent Method of making Punch. — Take two large fresh lemons with rough skins, quite ripe, and some large lumps of double-refined sugar. Rub the sugar over the lemons till it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skins. Then put into the bowl these lumps, and as much more as’ the juice of the lemons may be supposed to require ; for no certain weight can be mentioned, as the acidity of a lemon cannot be known till tried, and therefore this must be determined by the taste. Then squeeze the lemon-juice upon the sugar; and with a bruiser press the sugar and the juice particularly well together, for a great deal of the richness and fine flavour of the punch depends on this rubbing and mixing process being thoroughly performed. Then mix this up very well with boiling water (soft water is best) till the whole is rather cool. When this mixture (which is now called the sherbet) is to your taste, take brandy and rum in equal quantities, and put them to it, mixing the whole well together again. The quantity of liquor must be according to your taste: two good lemons are generally enoug-h to make four quarts of punch, including a quart of liquor, with half a pound of sugar ; but this depends much on taste, and on the strength of the spirit. As the pulp is disagreeable to some persons, the sherbet may be strained before the liquor is put in. Some strain the lemon before they put it to the sugar, which is improper ; as when the pulp and sugar are well mixed together, it adds much to the richness of the punch. When only rum is used, about half a pint of porter will soften the punch; and even when both rum and brandy are used, the porter gives a richness, and to some a very pleasant flavour. Raspberry Brandy. — Pick fine dry fruit, put into a stone jar, and the jar into a kettle of water, or on a hot hearth, till the juice will run; strain, and to every pint add half a pound of sugar, give one boil, and skim 314 LIQUEURS. it; when cold put equal quantities of juice and brandy, shake well, and bottle. Some people prefer it stronger of the brandy. White Currant Shrub. — Strip the fruit, and prepare in ajar as for jelly ; strain the juice, of which put two quarts to one gallon of rum, and two pounds of lump-sugar; strain through a jelly -bag. Creme he Vanille. — Into a quart of spirits of wine, put twelve drops of the tincture of Vanille, to be had at the best chemists. Shake it well, then add a quart of syrup ; when well mixed, let it stand ten minutes, then filter it twice or thrice, if necessary, through the filtering paper; if bright and clear after coming through the paper the first time, it need not be filtered again. Cafe a l’Eau. — To make coffee, employ the German filter, always have the best; one cup of dry coffee, (or one ounce), will make two good cups (breakfast), of liquid. Pour some boiling water into the biggin on the coffee, wetting it equally, so that it may be properly infused, which you will perceive when it begins to bubble. Then stop pouring for a minute, and place the biggin in a vessel containing boiling water, which will keep the coffee hot, or by the side of the fire. It should be drank pure. Cream may be used, or boiling’ milk. Never buy roasted coffee, get a coffee roaster, and roast it at home ; buy a half, or a whole pound. Put into a tin canister, air tight, as nothing deteriorates coffee so much as exposure to the air after it has been roasted. Cafe au Lait. — Put a quarter of a pound of coffee (Mocha is the best) into a biggin, and pour upon it three-quarters of a pint of boiling water. The coffee for this preparation must be strong to excess. To half a pint of boiling milk, add one quarter of the coffee just made, or less if it be not liked so strong, and sweeten it with lump sugar. It is quite a mistake to suppose that moist sugar is better than loaf. Punch a la Romaine. — Make a good lemon ice, as for a dessert. To one quart of ice, put the whites of three eggs well beaten, with rum and brandy, till the LIQUEURS. 315 ice liquifies. The proportions, three parts rum to one of brandy ; the strength according to taste. To this put a cup of strong green tea, and a little Champagne. Lait Sucre. — Boil fine sugar in milk, and flavour with lemon. This is a nice beverage for children’s balls. Eau Sucre. — Sugar in boiling water ; drank cold. Mint Julep. — Put into a tumbler about a dozen sprigs of the tender shoots of mint, put a spoonful of white sugar on them, and equal portions of peach and common brandy, so as to fill it up one-third, or perhaps a little less; then take rasped or powdered ice, and fill up the tumbler. Epicures rub the lips of the tumbler with a piece of fresh pine-apple, and the tumbler itself is often incrusted outside with ice. To make Punch to keep in Bottles. — One bottle of rum ; three bottles of water ; the juice of six fine lemons, or of seven moderate ones ; one pound and a quarter of sugar ; the water to boil ; after squeezing the lemons, be careful to take out the white pips before the water is used, or they will make the punch bitter. If you like the punch sweet , use a quarter of a pound more sugar. Take care that the sugar is dissolved. Tea Punch. — Dissolve, in two pints of hot green tea, three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, having previously rubbed off”, with a portion of the sugar, the peel of four lemons ; then add the juice of eight lemons, and a pint of arrack. Tea Punch ( Another Fashion ). — Make tea more or less strong, more or less light, strain it, sugar it while hot and squeeze into it the juice of two, four, or half a dozen lemons, according to the quantity of the punch you desire to make ; when the whole is made boiling hot pour into it a dose more or less strong of rum or any other pleasant spirit, or wine ; following also the taste or inclination of those who desire to take it boiling or moderately hot. To make Milk Punch ( Twelve bottles), — Three bottles of old rum ; two bottles of brandy ; eighteen 316 LIQUEURS. lemons finely peeled, and a pint of juice ; one pint of strong green tea ; half a pint of Maraschino ; three pounds of fine lump sugar : the rind of the lemons to be steeped for one night in the rum, and five quarts of water. When you have mixed the whole ingredients together, add two quarts of boiling milk ; let it stand till quite cold, and then pass it through a tammy bag. Punch a la Romaine ( Another receipt). — Three parts of a pint of rum ; three parts of a pint of brandy ; one pint of good lemon ice ; one large cup of green tea; one tumbler full of Champagne ; and the beaten white of two eggs. Milk Punch (. Another way). — One quart of pale brandy, one quart of water, nine good lemons, half a pound of loaf sugar, and a pint and a half of new milk; mix them all well together ; then strain it through a flannel bag. Receipt for Punch ( Cold). — Pour half a pint of gin on the outer peel of a lemon ; then add a little lemon juice, sugar, a glass of Maraschino, a pint and a half of water, and two bottles of iced water. Delicious Saline Draughts. — Carbonate of soda and white sugar, of each twenty grains ; lemon or tartaric acid, twenty-five grains ; mix with water in two glasses as usual. If you substitute a half lemon for the acid, it is still nicer. Soda Water. — Tartaric acid, half an ounce ; aerated soda, half an ounce. Have two tumblers about onethird full of water ; put a tea-spoonful of soda into one glass, and the same of the acid into the other ; when dissolved, mix them together, and drink immediately. The two sorts of salt must be kept in separate bottles, and should be bought ready powdered. King Cup. — The rind and juice of a lemon, a lump of sugar, according to taste, a small piece of bruised ginger, pour upon this about one pint and a half of boiling water ; when cold, strain it, and add a glass of sherry. To make Cherry Brandy. — Stalk twelve pounds of LIQUEURS 317 black cherries, and squeeze the juice through a flannel or a linen bag ; pound twelve pounds of loaf sugar, and put it to the juice, then break the stones, and put the kernels, shells, and juice into an earthen jar with eight quarts of brandy ; stop it well down, and shake it well every day for a month, then filter it, and bottle it for use. Cherry Brandy ( Another way). — Take Morelia cherries quite ripe, press the juice from them through a wine strainer. To a quart of juice add three quarts of the best brandy, one pound and a half of fine sugar, pounded, three pounds of hitter almonds, bruised; put them into a stew-pan for about three weeks in a moderate heat ; taste it frequently, and add more sugar and almonds, as it may require ; pour it off clear, and filter it through white writing paper. Put it in pint bottles, and keep it a few weeks before drank. The kernels of the fruit with kernels of apricot may be put in, if approved, and less almonds. Liqueur de Quatres Fruits. — Take scarlet strawberries, raspberries, currants, and Morelia cherries, as they ripen in succession. Extract the juice separately from them, and add a small proportion of white sugarcandy, so as to make it sweet and rich, but not a thick syrup ; strain it off as clear as possible. When you have the juice of the four fruits ready, mix them together, observing to put in a smaller proportion of currant and raspberry juice than of the strawberry and cherry. To a pint of juice, add a gill of best brandy, and then bottle it. The addition of some cherry and apricot kernels will he a great improvement. The fruit should he picked in very dry weather. White Noyeau. — Into a quart of spirits of wine, put twenty drops of good essential oil of bitter almonds, and six drops of oil of orange. Shake it well ; then add a quart of syrup. Filter it through a paper till quite clear. Pink Noyeau. — To a quart of spirits of wine, add fifteen drops of essential oil of bitter almonds, three drops of oil of roses, four drops of oil of aniseed, and one drop of tincture of vanille. Shake it well ; then add 318 LIQUEURS. the quart of syrup, and a sufficient quantity of the pink colouring to make it of a delicate pink. After filtering it, bottle it for use. The proportions we have given for these white and pink noyeaus apply only to the best and most concentrated essential oil. It may happen that the oil is not so strong as we recommend, in which case, a few drops more might be added before it is filtered, by first dissolving them in spirits of wine ; but this must be left to the maker’s taste and judgment. Pink colouring for the pink noyeau is to dissolve half an ounce of cochineal in a sufficient quantity of spirits of wine. The tincture of vanille is to be had at all the best chemists. The preparation at home is somewhat troublesome. For the syrup of liqueurs and cordials, use the very best lump sugar, treble refined ; the finer the sugar, the more delicate the liqueur. To one pound of sugar, add one pint of water ; bring it to the boil ; then allow it to cool ; never add it hot to the spirit. Currant Water. — Take a pound of currants, and squeeze into a quart of water ; put in from four to five ounces of finely -pounded sugar ; mix them well together, and pass through a straining bag, until it be clear. Then put into a cool place. Raspberry Water. — The same as currant water. If the raspberries are good, three quarters of a pound will be sufficient. Curaqoa. — Boil a quart of water in a very clean stew-pan ; add to it, bit by bit, a pound of dark brown sugar-candy. When the whole is dissolved, let the syrup boil up : then pour it into a deep dish to cool ; do not use the syrup until it is quite cold. Into a quart of spirits of wine, drop one hundred and twenty drops of oil of bitter orange; when this latter is dissolved, mix it with the syrup just described ; then filter, and bottle the liqueur, which should be of a rich brown colour. White Currant Brandy. — To one gallon of the best white brandy, add three pints of white currant LIQUEURS. 319 juice, three pounds of loaf sugar, the peel of three large lemons, half a pound of bitter almonds blanched and bruised, put them into a pint of spring water to stand four or five hours, mix the almonds with the other ingredients, stirring it often for three days, strain it through a jelly-bag till perfectly clear, and then bottle it. Caraway Brandy. — Steep one ounce of carawayseeds and six ounces of loaf sugar in a quart of brandy ; let it stand ten days, and then draw it off. Raspberry Brandy. — Take a pint of water to two quarts of brandy, and put them into a pitcher just large enough to hold them ; add four pints of raspberries and half a pound of loaf sugar ; let it remain for a week closely covered, and then strain it off. It may be racked into other bottles a week afterwards, when it will be perfectly fine. Black Cherry Brandy. — Stone ten pounds of black cherries, and put on them one gallon of the best Cognac brandy ; bruise the stones in a mortar, and put them into the brandy ; cover them up close, and let them stand a month or six weeks ; pour the brandy clear from the sediment, and bottle it. Morelia cherries managed in this manner make a fine rich cordial. Orange Buandy. — Put the chips of twenty Seville oranges to three quarts of brandy, and let them steep a fortnight in a stone bottle, closely stopped. Boil two quarts of spring-water with one pound and a half of loaf [ sugar very gently for near an hour, clarify the water and sugar with the white of an egg, then strain it and boil it nearly half away ; when it is cold strain the brandy into the syrup. Orange Wine. — To make ten gallons of wine, put about 140 Seville oranges to produce one gallon of juice; first boil the water, then pour it on the sugar (allowing three pounds to the gallon), when dissolved take the i whites of six eggs, well beaten, mixed with a little juice, il then mix it with the water and sugar, and keep it well ij stirred until it boils ; let it boil half an hour keeping it r i well skimmed, pour it upon half the peels ; when it is 320 LIQUEURS. almost cold put in the juice ; when quite cold set it with a little yeast, put on a piece of toasted bread, let it work in a tub till the next day, then take out the bread and peels, and put the wine into a barrel, and let it work for two or three days, then put in two bottles of brandy and half a pound of sugar candy, stop it down ; rack it off in J anuary, bottle it in March. To Make Ginger Lemonade. — Ten gallons of water, twelve pounds and a half of lump sugar, to be boiled twenty minutes ; clear it with the whites of six eggs. Half a pound of common race ginger, to be bruised and boiled with the liquor. The boiling liquor to be poured upon ten lemons pared. When quite cold, put it in the cask, with two spoonfuls of yeast, the lemons sliced, and half an ounce of isinglass. Stop up the vessel the next day, it will be ready to bottle in three weeks, and may be drank in three weeks more. Transparent Lemonade. — Put two quarts of boiling water on the rinds of twelve lemons pared very thin. Let it stand till quite cold, squeeze the lemons, and if you can get them, two Seville oranges upon one pound and three-quarters of loaf sugar, adding one pint of Lisbon wine. Clarify the sugar, put the water on the fire, and when it boils pour it on the juice, sugar, &c.; ; and add to it about a quart of new milk, let it stand all night, and the next morning strain it through a jelly bag, and let it stand till quite clear. Orange Syrup. — Squeeze as many oranges as you intend for syrup, strain the juice off, and to every pint of wine add one pound of loaf sugar, set it over the fire and let it simmer half an hour, and take off the scum as it rises, when cold put it into bottles, and mind and not cork it too tight. Lemonade that has the Appearance and Flavour of Jelly. — Pare two Seville oranges and six lemons as thin as possible, and steep them four hours in a quart of hot water; boil a pound and a quarter of loaf sugar in three pints of water and skim it, add the two liquors to the juice of six China oranges and twelve LIQUEURS. 321 lemons; stir the whole well, and run it through a jelly bag till clear. It will keep well if corked. Whiskey Punch. — Whiskey -when it can be had genuine, is the purest spirit of any, and the least noxious when taken in large quantities. The sugar is first dissolved in boiling water, and the spirit added either in a tumbler or jug, and that is the general process. Some prefer a little lemon, in which case the sugar should be rubbed on the rind, and the juice added in making the syrup. A spoonful of strawberry, or raspberry jam may be added. The Royal Opiate. — Half a pint of strong gunpowder tea, one wine-glassful of brandy, one wine-glass of rum, half a glass of Curagoa, and half a glass of arrack, the juice of two limes, a thin slice of lemon, two ounces of white sugar, and two glasses of warm calf’sfoot jelly. To be drunk as hot as possible. The tea deadens the inebriating effects of the spirits, whilst the jelly softens the mixture, and destroys the acrimony of the acid and sugar. The whites of two eggs well beat up to froth may be substituted for the jelly, Ginger Beer. — Take a gallon of fine soft water (rain water, if carefully procured is the best) and put into it two pounds of lump sugar, a large lemon very finely shred, one ounce of powdered ginger, and half an ounce of cream of tartar. Let these simmer over the fire for half an hour, taking care not to let them boil ; then add a table-spoonful of yeast, let it ferment for about twelve hours, and bottle it for use. Two days after being bottled, the beer may be used. Ginger Beer (. Another tray). — Two gallons of rvater and twelve and a half pounds of lump sugar to be boiled together twenty minutes, clear it with the whites of six eggs ; one pound and a half of common race ginger, to be bruised and boiled with the liquor, which, when boiling, to be poured upon ten lemons pared, when quite cold put it into the cask with two spoonfuls of yeast, the lemons sliced, and half an ounce of isinglass, stop Y 322 LIQUEURS. up the vessel next day. It will be ready to bottle in three weeks, and in three weeks more to drink. An old brandy caslc is best for the purpose. Ginger Wine. — Take one gallon of water, three ounces of ginger, three pounds of sugar, the rind of two lemons, boil them together one hour, then let it stand to cool, when cool, put on a toast some yeast, let it work one day, then put it into the barrel with the juice of the lemons, two ounces of raisins, one gill of brandy : let it stand three months, then bottle it for use. To make Spruce Beer. — Put twelve pounds of treacle to one pot of essence of spruce, and eighteen gallons of water, mix the essence and treacle together in five quarts of water until the liquor bears a froth, then pour it into the cask, fill the cask with water, shake it well, and let it stand three or four days to ferment, when the fermentation is over put in one ounce of isinglass that has been dissolved in a little small beer, stir it well, bung it down close, and in four or five days bottle it off. To fine it, take three or four lumps of sugar, melt it in a spoon, and let it stand till cold, beat it to a powder, and mix it with the finings ; after it is boiled take three or four egg-shells, beat them to a powder, and mix them well in the spruce beer. Curds and Wiiey immediate. — To a glassful of milk add a little solution of citric acid (take care not to put too much), this produces curds instantaneously, and a pleasant acidulous whey. A Lemonade, made with the juice of the pomegranate, quinces, lemons, oranges, apples, currants, with sugar, aud a little water. To taste the acidity and sweetness is very agreeable, and assuages thirst. Brewing made easy. — Put a handful of malt into ft tea-pot, then fill it with water ; the first time rather under boiling heat ; after it has stood some time, pour off the liquor just as you would tea, and fill up the pot again with boiling water in a similar manner ; pour that off till the malt in the pot is tasteless, which will be the case when all the virtue is extracted, filie liquor or LIQUEURS. 323 malt tea thus extracted must then be boiled with a few hops in it, and when it becomes about blood heat, add a little yeast to ferment it, and the brewing is done. To brew a larger quantity, require the same modes of proceeding as it would to make a tea breakfast for a regiment of soldiers. This is the whole art of brewing. A peck of malt and four ounces of hops will produce ten quarts of ale, better than any that can be purchased in London ; and for which purpose a tea-kettle and two pan mugs are sufficient apparatus. 324 POTTING. Potted Carves’ Feet. — Boil the feet as for jelly ; pick all the meat from the bones ; add to it half a pint of gravy, a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, garlic, a shalot, and some shred ham ; simmer it for half an hour; dip a mould into water, put in a layer of the meat, then some neatly-cut pickled beet-root, and some boiled minced parsley, then a layer of meat, and so on, till the mould is filled ; when cold, turn it out ; garnish with pickled eggs, beet-root, and parsley. Imitation of Worcester Lampreys. — A very good imitation of the celebrated Worcester stewed lampreys may he prepared in the following manner : — the fish must be cleaned; and the skins, when scraped off, should be put into the gravy to stew, for they add great richness. A dozen lampreys will require a pint, or rather more, of good beef gravy, seasoned with cloves, mace, pepper, and salt, and a little flour for thickening ; when they have stewed gently for three-quarters of an hour, the gravy should be strained, and half a glass of port wine be added, and they will be ready for the table. In this state they will keep many days; and, indeed, require but an occasional heating, in order to preserve them for a much louger time. This fish resembles a small eel ; it is about nine or ten inches in length, flat at the tail, and having a singular distinctive peculiarity, namely, that of having holes on each side of the throat. To tot Lampreys. — Take lampreys alive, and run a stick through their heads, and slit their tails, hang them up by their heads, and they will bleed at the tail end ; when they have done bleeding, cut them open, take out the guts, and wipe them till they are perfectly dry and clean (you must not wash them with water), then rub POTTING. 325 them with pepper and salt, let them stand all night, and wipe them exceedingly dry again, then season them with pepper, salt, mace, and a little nutmeg, roll them up j tight, put them in a pot with some butter, cover them up with strong paper, and bake them in a moderate oven ; when they are done enough, and near cold, drain out the butter from them, put them in your potting pots, and cover them with clarified butter. To pot Lobsters. — Take the meat out of the claws and belly of a boiled lobster ; put in a marble mortar, with two blades of mace, and a little white pepper and salt, a lump of butter, the size of half an egg ; heat them all together till they come to a paste, put one half 1 of it into your pot, take the meat out of the tail part, i lay it in the middle of your pot; lay on it the other part I of your paste, press it close down, and pom 1 over it clarified butter, a quarter of an inch thick. N.B. — To clarify the butter, put your boat into a ! clean sauce-pan, stew it over a slow fire, when it is melted scum it, and take it off the fire, let it stand a little, then pour it over your lobsters ; take care you do not pour in the milk which settles to the bottom of the : sauce-pan. 326 INDIAN AND ANGLO-INDIAN COOKERY. Casserole au Ris a l’Indienne. — ( Casserole of Rice, Indian manner .) — Is filled with a curry. Fricassee some small chickens, adding an infusion of saffron, Cayenne pepper, allspice, and some small pieces of bacon from the breast. These should be cut with a root-cutter half an inch wide, blanch them and simmer them in consomme, and put them to the fricassee with cocks’ combs, kidneys, and mushrooms. When finished, place on it, in a border, some small green gherkins ; glaze it, and serve. Fish Curry. — Take cod, haddock, or soles, let them lay a few hours in salt ; cut them into pieces, and stew in water, sufficient to cover them, into which a good sized table-spoonful of curry powder has been mixed. Fry in a quarter of a pound of butter a shalot and a few onions minced, a little pepper and salt ; when properly browned put them to the fish, and stew altogether till it be quite tender. All fish curries are best stewed in a fish broth. A Dry Curry with Vegetables. — This curry is made with meat, or fowl, mixed with vegetables. Boil green capsicums, or young green Chillies, with a clove or two of garlic, if approved ; if not, with onions in some veal gravy, with curry powder. You may add spinach, sorrel, French beans, vegetable marrow, cucumber, cabbage, and small potatoes ; mix in your meat, cut into small pieces, or fowl jointed ; add fried onions, season altogether, taking care it is not too wet ; have some hot dripping ready to put into the curry, and take care it does not burn whilst frying ; mix in a little cream or milk with a few pounded almonds, or cocoa-nut, not rancid. Lemon pickle, apiece of sour apple, mixed with the whole before serving. INDIAN COOKERY. 327 A dry Curry. — Skin and cut up a fowl, or small pieces, the size of a walnut, from a neck of veal. Take some finely powdered coriander seed, a little Cayenne, and some onions. Fry in butter three or four minced onions, and drain them. Fry the fowl, or meat, until brown, with some curry powder, salt, half a pint of milk, or a little cream, with a few pounded almonds, or cocoa-nut, and a little water ; with the coriander seed, Cayenne, and onions added to the stew. Keep the pan closely covered, and let it stew till perfectly tender. Shake it occasionally to prevent its burning ; add a little lemon juice a few minutes before serving, or slice a sour apple into the stew, which, when tender, the curry is enough done. Rice to be served up separately. Pish Posh. — Take a chicken or fowl, which must be left whole ; or neck or breast of veal, which boil till tender ; have some rice washed, which drain off, and crush in a mortar without boiling. Cut up your meat into small pieces if you use veal. Put a sliced onion with it, and the rice into the water in which the meat or fowl was boiled, adding mace, some pepper-corns, and a few cardamoms tied in a muslin bag ; boil till the rice and onion are sufficiently done ; remove the muslin hag. Season with salt, and serve up in a deep dish. Pepper Pot. — Make a stock of three or four pounds of beef, half a pound of lean ham and mutton, a bunch of dried thyme, two onions, two potatoes pared and sliced, in four quarts of water reduced to three. Skim as it boils up; then strain through a colander; add a fowl skinned and jointed, half a pound of pickled pork sliced, and the meat of one lobster, or crab, minced. A small quantity of rice may be put in with the meat — some put small suet dumplings. When the fowl is well boiled add half a peck of spinach that has been boiled and rubbed through a colander; season with salt and Cayenne. This pepper pot may be done without the ham or fowl. In winter you may put carrots, turnips, and celery into the stock. In summer, peas, lettuce, &c.;, &c.; Served in a tureen. 328 INDIAN COOKERY. Spinach Curry. — Is made with spinach, picked sorrel in less quantity, or green gooseberries, if to be had, a few sour apples, and tamarinds; stew the whole with onions fried, till tender ; add curry powder, rubbing it well into the vegetables and fruits; a little gravy or water must be added, and butter. Meat in small bits, or prawns, lobsters, or oysters may be stewed with this curry. The great art in making curries is the properly mixing the ingredients and spices, and left to incorporate for some time, so as to get their taste and flavour. Khicharee, or Cutcheree. — Take a quarter of a pint of split peas, which soak well in water, then boil till swelled and tender; drain in a colander ; wash in several waters about one pound of rice, chop the peas fine, and mix them well with the rice; add a little turmeric, or curry powder. Fry an onion minced in some butter, with pounded cloves, mace, cardamoms, ginger, and white pepper; have some veal stock, seasoned with salt and pepper, put in the rice and the peas, with the onions and spices; cover the pan closely, and let it simmer, till the rice becomes tender, and dry. Stir with a fork in preference to a spoon, it prevents the grains of rice being broken. Garnish with hard eggs quartered, with fried, or whole boiled onions. China Chila. — Mince a pound of mutton with some ounces of the fat of it. Slice two onions, a lettuce, with some minced mushrooms, and if the flavour be liked, a few green onions minced, and some peas if to be had ; season with pepper, salt, a little Cayenne, if approved, from two to three ounces of clarified butter, and a little water; put into a stew-pan closely covered, simmer from two to two and a half hours. Serve in the middle of a dish of boiled rice — that is, the chila in the well. A pint of peas, or cut vegetables, is sufficient for this quantity. Indian Kubab. — Put upon small silver skewers, slices of apple and veal about the size and half thickness of walnut and onions cut in halves alternately. To four INDIAN COOKERY. 329 or five of these skewers you must have three good-sized onions (a clove of garlic if approved) a full table-spoonful of curry powder and a little veal gravy, with a little red pepper. Mix well in a mortar, sprinkle these ingredients over the kubabs, and stew the whole in a little butter in a stew-pan. The apples may be left out, and bits of pork substituted. Pieces of green ginger also, if to be had. Kooftay Kay Kubab. — Take a pound (or two) of mutton, beef, veal, rabbit, or fowl, and pound well in a mortar, with two onions, some beef suet (or fat bacon) and a tea-spoonful of salt, pounded pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, tamarinds, chillies two tea-spoonfuls, one clove of garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, and cummin seed, weighing altogether about two drachms, pound in a mortar, with a little marjoram ; then form the whole into balls or flat cakes about a finger thick, and fry in butter. To be served up with a good brown gravy, and rice in a separate dish. These kubabs may be served dry, on rice heaped. Shamee Kubab. — The same as kooftay lcay kubab, except chillies and tamarinds, adding a little lime (or lemon) juice. Served with rice. All white meats are best for curries. A Pilau. — Put your fowl into a sauce-pan with a teacupful of veal stock, stew it about three-quarters of an hour. Make your veal stock with a little mace, onions, celery, salt to taste, and a few cardamoms ; then strain it off. Boil the rice in this stock, add to it a few white peppercorns, strain off and dry the rice before the fire, which 3tir with a fork to separate the grains. Have ready some onions sliced and fried, to lay over the rice here and there with some hard eggs cut in quarters, and a few of the boiled cardamoms. Place the fowl on the dish, and throw over it and round the dish the prepared rice. To Boil Rice. — Patna rice is best for curries, which must be washed well in several waters, and drained off. Pour it into boiling water, and let it boil up for or about 330 INDIAN COOKERY. twelve minutes. Just before it is taken up, throw in a good spoonful of salt. Pour through a colander, and drain for ten minutes near the fire. Then lay a napkin in a pan, and shoot the rice on it lightly out of the colander, turn up the corner of the napkin over the rice which will take out any moisture in it, and then lightly on to the dish. You must not spoon or ladle the rice, nor should the sauce-pan in which you boil it be stirred, except just at first to prevent its lumping. Take the scum off as it boils up. P id au . — T ake a fowl, stew it until it becomes very tender in half a pint of water ; then take one pound of fat bacon well boiled, put it into a large dish with a pint of veal gravy, and the fowl by its side in its own gravy, having boiled one pound of rice (with twelve cloves) as for curry, cover them thickly with it; fry three onions a light brown, and put the slices round the dish, and slices of hard egg and beet-root on the rice. Capsicum Curry. — Prawns, about a pint, boiled in salt and water and chopped very fine ; fresh cocoa-nut half the quantity that there is of prawns ; almonds or dry cocoa-nut may be substituted finely rasped; a piece of green ginger two inches long, three green chillies ; these ingredients to be finely pounded, and then mixed with the prawns; add salt and lemon-juice to taste, and a little turmeric sufficient to colour it. Split the capsicums (as many as may be required) down the middle nearly to the stalk, scoop out the seeds, fill them with the mixture, tie them round with thread, and fry them in butter. Rice may be served or not with this dish. K’hiciiree. — Take four ounces of best dried peas, wash and dry them, then fry them in a little ghee, or butter ; then moisten them by sprinkling a little water when on the fire ; after, boil them in twelve ounces of water in a nice tinned copper vessel. When pretty soft (but not quite) take it off. Put four ounces of butter into another tinned vessel, and when melted throw in a handful of onions, peeled and sliced lengthways, continue INDIAN COOKERY. 331 frying them till they get a nice red colour, then take them out and put aside. Do not use the whole of the four ounces of hutter, but reserve a part of it to put to eight ounces of rice properly washed, and fry it a little ; then add the clae (or peas) with the water in which it was boiled, and two pieces of green (or freshest) ginger cut in slices. When the water has nearly evaporated, remove part of the fire from below, and place it on the brass cover, taking the pot occasionally off the fire, and shaking it, but before so doing, add to the rice ten or twelve cloves, one or two pieces of mace, ten or twelve pepper-corns, and two died cassia leaves, a dessert-spoonful of salt, and cover it up. This is called a white k’hichree. When required of a fine yellow colour, add a little of the best powdered turmeric about the size of a pea at the time that the dae (or peas) are added. When served up, ornament it with four hard boiled eggs, in quarters or halves, with the fried onions, as you would in palseoos. Pepper Water. — Put a pint and a half of water into a pan, with a piece of tamarind, or the juice of a lemon. Take an onion sliced, and pound in a mortar with a tablespoonful of curry powder, three or four cloves of garlic, and twelve pepper-corns ; put this into the water which contains the tamarind and mix well; place on the fire, and add a dessert-spoonful of salt; cover up and let it boil a quarter of an hour; strain through muslin into a basin. Take a very small onion, chop it fine, and fry of a light brown in a tea-spoonful of butter ; pour in the strained liquor, and give it a boil up. A very fine Indian Curry. — Take of butter, four ounces, or half that quantity (if the meat be fat, or the curry wanted dry) ; onions, two ounces ; garlic, two or three cloves ; turmeric, cummin-seed, and coriander, of each, three drachms ; red chillies (or Cayenne pepper), three in number ; black pepper, four or five corns ; green ginger, half an ounce ; salt, a tea-spoonful. These spices to be separately ground, adding a little water when the substance is dry; the coriander-seed to be toasted a little, 332 INDIAN COOKERY. to impart to it an agreeable smell. Put the ghee or butter into an earthen pot, or tinned copper vessel, and fry half the quantity of the onions, sliced lengthways, in it, and when of a yellow-brown colour, take them off’, and set them aside ; then add to the remaining- butter the meat, mixed up with all the spices, and cover it up ; occasionally uncover it, and (before the meat is quite done), as the ghee or butter evaporates, sprinkle a table-spoonful of water on it ; if much gravy be required, a proportionate quantity of water is to be added, but the drier a curry is, the nicer it tastes. Do-pecaza, and others, have no gravy at all. The addition of the following articles is sometimes had recourse to, to increase the flavour, as dried cassia leaves, dried kernel of the cocoa-nut rasped, tamarind water, green or dried mangoes (apples are a good substitute), iemon grass, fenegreek-seed, the leaves of which likewise add considerably to improve the curry. Curry may be made of any thing, fish, flesh, or fowl ; but the fish curries are the most delicate. Cold beef, cold mutton, cold veal, choosing the parts the least done ; the same meats raw ; cold calf’s head, fowls, rabbits, hares, cold game, fried or raw soles, or halibut, or cod-fish, or skate, or eels, or salmon, or lobsters, or crawfish, or crab, or prawns, or shrimps ; each of these various articles will make delicious curry. If the meat used be raw, it must be browned in a stew-pan, and stewed until it is tender. Ktdgeree. — A tea-cupful of rice boiled ; one sole boiled, and chopped fine; two eggs; a little Cayenne pepper, and black pepper, and salt ; two or three ounces of butter; made hot for breakfast. A few shrimps added is an improvement. K’iiara Polaoo. — Take one pound of mutton; four or five onions, whole ; one piece of g-reen (or freshest) ginger ; two dried cassia leaves, or coriander, cummin, or fenegreek-seed, a little; eight corns of black pepper; twelve pounds of water. Boil these together, till lour pounds of liquid remain ; take the pot off the fire; mash the meat, &c.;, with the liquor, and strain through a INDIAN COOKERY. 333 cloth, or tammy. Set this broth aside. Take eight ounces of rice ; wash it well, and dry it well, by squeezing it in a towel. Put eight ounces (this may be too much) of ghee (or butter) into a tinned copper vessel, or frying-pan, and melt it; fry in it a handful of onions, sliced lengthways, and, when acquired a good red colour, take them out, and lay aside. From a part of the eight ounces of butter, fry slightly a fowl, which has been previously boiled in two pounds of water ; take the fowl out, and, in the same butter, add the dry rice, and fry a little. As the butter evaporates, add the broth, and boil the rice in it. Then put in ten or twelve cloves; ten or twelve pepper-corns; four pieces of mace; ten or twelve cardamoms, all whole; one dessert-spoonful of salt; one piece of ginger, cut into fine slices; and two dried cassia leaves. When the rice is sufficiently boiled, remove all, except a very little, fire from underneath, and place it on the top of the cover. If the rice be at all hard, add a very little water to it ; stir it about, and put the fowl in also, to imbibe a flavour. On serving it up, place a little rice at the bottom of the dish, the fowl in the centre; cover it over with the remainder of the scattered rice, some of the spices over, and garnish with some hard eggs, cut into quarters, and the fried onions. A Mahee polaoo the same as the k’hara polaoo, but substituting fish for the meat, and which must have a fish, not meat, broth for it. A Meetab (a sweet) Polaoo. — Boil three-quarters of a pound of rice ; but, before it is quite done, pour off half the hot water ; fill the vessel up with cold, shake it, and then drain it off, and place it, covered, near the fire ; wdien dry, have sour apples peeled, and sliced (not too thin), which boil in a syrup of sugar ; slice and fry some onions in three or four ounces of butter. When these are sufficiently browned, take them out, being no longer required ; put a few cloves into the butter ; pour over it the rice ; stir it well and carefully, that the rice be not broken or bruised. Place the apples at the top; and let the whole remain near the fire to swell ; keep it 334 INDIAN COOKERY. covered, stirring’ it occasionally. A plain curry is served with this dish. An Indian Condiment. — Green chillies, salt, garlic, green ginger, and the leaves of the coriander plant. The seeds may be substituted. May be eaten with plain boiled rice. Another. — Dry chillies, salt, tamarind, onions, garlic, and coriander, well pounded, and mixed together. Receipt eor Curry Powder. — Three ounces of the best turmeric; one ounce of the best ginger; one ounce of coriander-seed; one ounce of cardamom-seed; one ounce of caraway-seed ; one ounce of black pepper; half an ounce of cummin-seed; half an ounce of fenegreekseed; half an ounce of Cayenne pepper. Each ingredient to be separately pounded very fine ; then mix all well together, and let the whole be made very dry before the fire ; put it into a wide-mouthed bottle ; cork it close, and keep it in a dry place. Another Curry Powder. — Put the following ingredients in a cool oven all night, and the next morning pound them in a marble mortar, and rub them through a fine sieve : — Three ounces of coriander-seed; three ounces of turmeric ; one ounce, each, of black pepper, mustard, ginger ; half an ounce of lesser cardamoms ; half an ounce of allspice ; a quarter of an ounce of cummin-seed. Thoroughly pound, and mix together, and keep them in a well-stopped bottle. Those who are fond of curry sauces may steep three ounces of the powder in a quart of vinegar or white wine, for ten days, and will get a liquor impregnated with all the flavour of the powder. An excellent Receipt for Curry Powder. — Take twenty tea-spoonfuls of best powdered turmeric ; red dried chillies, or Cayenne pepper, eight tea-spoonfuls ; coriander-seed, twelve tea-spoonfuls ; cumminseed, or dried pounded cassia leaves, twelve spoonfuls ; each to be separately pounded, and then mix together ; put into a wide-mouthed bottle, well corked, and in a dry place. INDIAN COOKERY. 335 Another Curry Powder. — Half a pound of coriander-seed ; a quarter of a pound of turmeric ; three ounces of ginger ; two ounces of capsicum, or chilli pepper ; two ounces of cummin-seed ; one ounce and a half of black pepper ; half an ounce of cardamom-seed ; half an ounce of cinnamon. Let the whole of the above be reduced to a subtle powder, and mixed in a widemouthed bottle for use. Duhee, or Curdled Milk. — Warm milk on a slow fire (so as not to boil) till the cream which collects on the surface acquires a reddish hue, then take it off the fire, and while still lukewarm, add a little duhee (or tyar), tamarind, or lime juice. Love Apple Chutnee. — Take of best love-apple a large plateful, the rinds and seeds to be rejected, and only the pulp used; dried salt-fish cut very fine, or rasped about two inches square; six onions cut into thin longitudinal slices, eighteen green chillies chopped fine, dry tamarind (if to be had) one ounce, mashed up in about three or four ounces of water, stones and fibres to be taken out; a tea-spoonful of salt; ghee (or butter), two ounces and a half. Fii’st put the ghee into a tinned copper vessel placed on the fire ; when melted add the onions, and as they begin to have a reddish hue, add the chillies, stirring well for five minutes; then add the saltfish, continuing to stir the whole, when the ghee, or butter, has nearly evaporated, add the love-apples, and stir it about for a good while ; lastly, add the tamarind water and salt, and mix the whole well, until it acquires a pretty dry consistence. This chutnee is only for immediate use, and will not keep above a day or two, and, therefore, should be made in less quantity. IIow to prepare ghee, is stale butter clarified by boiling and straining. To Make Peish Moulia, or Pickled Fisii. — Cut a fish in slices, and lay in salt for an hour or two, then fry it very crisp and dry ; let it stand to cool ; afterwards boil a table-spoonful of mustard seed, a little bruised ; a few slices of ginger ; a few cloves of garlic, in vinegar ; 336 INDIAN COOKERY. let them cool ; then put the fried fish in a jar and pour the liquor over it ; let the whole then stand for twentyfour hours, or rather let it remain in the liquor till you have occasion to eat the fish, which is generally eaten with boiled rice. Tamarind Fish. — To four salmon weighing twentyfive pounds, put four pounds of black tamarinds, half a pound of curry powder, one gallon of vinegar, one pound of mustard seed, a quarter of a peck of salt, two ounces of allspice, two ounces of long pepper, and a little garlic. A nice relish for the breakfast-table. To be served with rice. Indian Siiarbut. — Sugar and water, or eau sucre, with the addition of aniseed and cardamoms, if agreeable. Fried Chicken a la Malabar. — Cut up the chicken, wipe it dry, and rub it well with curry powder containing a little salt. Fry the chicken in a sautd pan, with a bit of butter, taking care that it is of a nice light brown. In the mean time, cut two or three onions into thin slices, draw them out into rings, and cut the rings into little bits about half an inch long. Put these bits of onion into a saute pan, with a small bit of clarified butter, and let them fry gently during a long time, over a slow fire, until they have gradually dried up, and are of a delicate yellow brown. Be careful that they are not burnt, as the burnt taste of a single bit would spoil the flavour of the whole. When they are as dry as chips, without the least grease or moisture upon them, mix a little salt with them, strew them over the fried chicken, and serve up with lemon in a plate. Burdwan Stew. — Parboil a fowl, and, when cold, cut it up, and put it into a stew-pan, with a small piece of butter rolled in flour ; add four table-spoonfuls of beef gravy, two table-spoonfuls of Madeira or Sherry ; two table-spoonfuls of Port ; two table-spoonfuls of ketchup ; half a table-spoonful of anchovy ; eight middle-sized onions ; and Cayenne to taste. Stew the whole over a slow fire, till the onions become tender; then pour it INDIAN COOKERY. 337 into a dish, and squeeze the juice of a lemon before serving. A Country Captain. — Take a chicken, or any kind of white meat ; cut it into pieces, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and fry it brown ; then add to it three onions, slued small, aud fried brown, with three spoonfuls of vinegar, and four spoonfuls of water ; stew it gently, until half is evaporated, or boiled away ; then add a small sprinkling of curry powder, and dish it up hot. Bhusta. — Mash some potatoes ; have boiled one or two onions, which chop small ; add capsicum or chillies to taste, with a very little salt, and butter ; mix the whole well. It may be put into a mould, or heap it as you would mashed turnips, or potatoes, and warm in an oven, or upon a stove, or vessel. Mullagatawny Soup. — The stock must be made with eight pounds of veal and mutton, besides some cold meat with the bones chopped ; put in a few peppercorns, and a quarter of an ounce of mace, with five or six cloves, and make the stock with it altogether. In straining it, work the meat through a tammy, to enrich the soup ; then skim the fat off ; put it in a stew-pan, with a pint and a half of milk ; let it stew, and put in a good fowl cut up; pound three raw onions, and a clove of garlic ; squeeze the juice through a coarse cloth; put in the soup, and then the curry powder. When you dish the soup, squeeze in a lemon, and the seeds of four cardamoms, pounded; put it into the tureen, and pour the stock on it. Carakay, or Indian Sauce. — A small bottle of Cayenne ; eight table-spoonfuls of mushroom ketchup ; two quarts of wine viuegar; two pennyworth of cochineal, pounded fine, to give it a colour; two heads of garlic, each clove to be peeled, and then added to the other ingredients; it may stand seven or eight days; and then filter it off through cap paper; it must be closely corked, except what is in use; some prefer a large onion peeled and stuck with cloves, instead of the garlic. To Boil Rice ( Another method). — Wash it well in z 338 INDIAN COOKERY. cold water, and dry it in a clean napkin ; boil some water, with a little salt in it; strew the rice into the boiling water; when it begins to swell, check the boiling with a tea-cup of cold water, and continue to do so as it boils up, until the rice is cracked. Before it begins to fall into pap, and while the grains are yet separate from each other, throw it into a colander, and let it dry before the fire. How to boil Rice ( Another fashion ). — Wash the rice perfectly clean; half a pound of rice in a quart saucepan filled with cold water, let it boil slowly about twenty minutes. Put into a colander to stand ten minutes by the fire. Before you take your rice off the fire, add half a table-spoonful of salt. Shake your colander with a fork, so as to separate the grains and make it quite dry. Send up in a separate dish from the curry. An Indian Dish, called Ballachong. — Take a pint of picked shrimps, a pint of sour apples finely chopped, mix and shake them in a stew-pan to dry a little over the fire. Take one pound of butter, two cloves of garlic, and one onion chopped very fine ; pepper and salt to taste, a spoonful of curry powder and Cayenne mixed. Fry the onion and garlic in the butter, and the other ingredients fry together. Put them whole into a jar and cover close. When wanted for use, fry a piece in small quantities dipped in butter. Receipt for Bengal Chetney. — Take half a pound of pounded chillies or Cayenne pepper, half a pound of pounded green ginger, half a pound of fine salt, half a jmund of fine raisins stoned, half a pound of fine soft sugar, and half a pound of tamarinds ; pound the whole till well mixed together, adding as much vinegar as will make the whole in a fine paste. It improves by being kept in a jar (well corked and tied down with skin) for three months. As green ginger or tamarinds cannot be got in England so fresh as in India, mix g – reen apples pounded with the dry powder of ginger, and tamarinds that are attainable in the shell at some of the India shops. Stone the tamarinds before tliey are pounded, and take out the strings or fibres. INDIAN COOKERY. 339 Mullaghee Taunee, or Curry Soup. — Take either fowl, rabbits, or white meat, cut into small pieces or joints; three large spoonfuls of curry powder, three large onions, and an equal quantity of shalots, to be also cut into small pieces, and three table-spoonfuls of butter. Fry the whole together, in a broad flat stew-pan, till the fowl or meat is browned ; then take one quart of boiling gravy, stir it well, and boil gently till the fowl or meat be tender ; this quantity of gravy is sufficient for one fowl, or one pound and a half of meat — but for tiuo rabbits, &c.;, it will take two quarts of gravy more or less. Half a tea-cupful of bread raspings may be put in, about half an hour before you take the soup off the fire, should it be not thick enough — and if acid be agreeable, the juice of a lemon improves it. N.B. This, like all other soups, require straining. Rice should be sent up on a separate dish, to serve with this soup. An inimitable Curry. — Half roast a nice round and plump chicken, baste it well with the best butter, and fry two large onions a light brown in the dripping. Then cut the chicken up in pieces, and put them into a stew-pan, with the fried onions and one clove of garlic, two dessert-spoonfuls of curry powder, one ounce of butter, four or five blanched almonds well bruised in a mortar, and water enough to cover the whole. Then let all simmer till the pieces are quite tender, and serve up with a squeeze of lemon, and salt to your taste. To make a dry Lobster Curry. — Three pounds of lobster (or prawns), and cut in square pieces about the size of a small walnut, so as to be sufficient for one bite ; melt in a stew-pan four ounces of best fresh butter, three large sized onions, and fry them in the butter ; when the onions are done enough, put your lobster into the stew-pan, and mix three table-spoonfuls of curry powder, into a paste with water or milk, then put the paste over the lobster, adding thereto a quarter of a pint of cream, put it over the fire, and let it remain fifteen or twenty minutes, observing to stir it the whole of z 2 340 INDIAN COOKERY. the time. Should garlic be unobjectionable, one clove, chopped very fine, will very materially add to the fine taste of the curry. Chetney will be an excellent accompaniment to this curry, as then no acid will be required in the dish. The proportions altered according to the quantity of meat or fish required to be curried. A Curry. — Take three pounds of veal, or the same weight of any other kind of meat that you wish to curry, cut into small square pieces the size of a walnut; put a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter into a stewpan, three or four large onions, let it stew until the onions begin to turn brown ; then put your meat into the stew-pan with three table-spoonfuls of curry powder, not heaped up ; then add to it a pint of good milk, let it stew for from twenty minutes to half an hour; when nearly done, have ready the juice of one lemon, put it to the curry, and give it a very gentle boil, and serve up quite hot. A Vegetable Curry. — Spinach, young cabbage, celery, a good deal of onions, and a little garlic, all chopped fine and well fried, put all into a stew-pan with a good gravy. Curry powder to taste, a good piece of butter well floured ; when done sufficiently, add lemon juice and salt just before sent to table. N.B. In summer, cucumber and vegetable marrow, with very young potatoes, and gooseberries may be added. Curry for one Fowl. — Skin and cut up a fowl, slice two onions into a frying-pan with a good piece of butter, move them until they become brown, then add three tea-spoonfuls of curry powder, put the fowl in to fry with the onion until it is a pale brown; then add two table-spoonfuls of milk, and a tea-spoonful of white vinegar, put all into a stew-pan with a pint and a half of gravy, cover it down, place it over a slow fire, and stew it till you can cut it with a spoon. Boiled rice served in a separate dish. Malay Curry. — Take from two to three ounces of INDIAN COOKERY. 341 sweet almonds, blanch and fry them till they are of a nice brown, pound them extremely well with a little onion, and part of the rind of a lemon. Cut up a chicken; take a dessert-spoonful, not heaped, either of turmeric or curry powder, with a little Cayenne pepper, if necessary, in a cup of water. Put it with the other ingredients into a stew-pan, and allow the whole to simmer for about twenty to thirty minutes; then add about a tea-cup of cream, boil it up once. Before serving, stir in the juice of a lemon, or a little chilli vinegar, or lemon pickle. A little salt to the above. Madras Prawn Curry. — Take rather more than a pint of boiled and pickled shrimps, or prawns, from their shells, or the meat of a lobster cut small; put some butter into a stew-pan, with two onions, a very little garlic or shalot well pounded, and two spoonfuls of curry powder, and some salt; stew them together; add your fish to this. Have a good quantity of spinach washed and very clean, put it into a sauce-pan without any water, and add it to the butter, &c.; Cover the stew-pan close, keep stirring it, taking care it does not burn ; if necessary, add a little water, for the ingredients must stew for a few minutes over the fire, to incorporate themselves properly. Sour with lemon j uice before serving. The stock for fish curries should be made from fish. Those of rabbit, fowl, or veal, from veal stock. All white meats are better than brown for curries. Crab pulled, that is shredded, makes a good curry. Indian ChetnJs. — One pound of green mangoes, if to be had; or one pound of very sharp apples, pared and cored ; one pound of raisins, very well washed, stoned, and dried ; one pound of mustard seed, one pound of green ginger, garlic half a pound (if garlic is not liked, twelve onions); best dried chillies eight ounces, or more; moist sugar two pounds; salt one pound; white wine vinegar two bottles. The ginger, apples, garlic, or onions, to be peeled, and, together with the chillies, to be cut into thin slices, previous to being pounded. The mustard seed to be washed, and dried, then gently bruised and 342 INDIAN COOKERY. winnowed. The sugar to he made into a thick syrup ; the mangoes picked of their rind, and cut into thin slices and pounded. Some boil them in three quarts of the ¦vinegar, adding the fourth quart when mixing it up with the other ingredients ; every article to be separately pounded, and the whole to be incorporated and put into stone jars, well closed and tied down, and placed in the sun for a month. If put into glass bottles, it should be occasionally put into the sun. 343 FRENCH COOKERY. ON FRENCH SOUPS IN GENERAL. The more expensive methods of making French soups are not introduced into these pages. Careme says, that at grand balls and dinners, he used to roast turkeys only for his soups and consommes, and he talks as glibly of two, four, and half a dozen fowls, as though they cost nothing. Such a system of cookery, however well it may look on paper, would be destructive in England to even a large fortune, and it is not thought proper or fitting to give any receipts marked by this spirit of gasconading extravagance. There are other remarks of Careme well worthy of attention, and these we extract. “ The vegetables necessary for seasoning should be trimmed and washed, and should be composed for each soup of two carrots, two turnips, two onions, a bunch of two leeks, and a head of celery. Be careful, above all, that the consomme should have a gentle touch of salt.” Careme also says, “ I was accustomed to let my consommes simmer during five consecutive hours, so as to obtain all the gelatine that the bones contain, which is the most animalised, and consequently the most nutritive of broths, consommes, and essences, which we daily make. In preparing my consommes for soups with fowls browned on the spit, I have laid aside the empotage , first, because the fowls being roasted, lightly colour the consomme, whilst by the system of the empotage, if it has been a moment too long at the fire, it has too much colour, and contracts a disagreeable taste ; I therefore repeat, that by the addition of the roast fowls the soup has a better flavour and always presents the uniform golden and appe- 344 FRENCH COOKERY. rising colour. The famous Laguipierre did not use an empotage, he added solely blond de veau to colour his soups, but I prefer roast fowls. In a word, the boiling which I give for five hours to my soups renders them more nutritive in that they receive more osmazone and gelatine. Pot au Feu de Maison, ou Bouillon Restaurant. — Place in an earthen pot, sufficiently large to contain four pounds of sliced beef, a large knuckle of veal, and a chicken half roasted ; add three litres of cold water (a litre is a French pint, fully equal to three pints and a half, English), and place the earthen pot at the side of the fire, or on the hob ; gently skim it, adding afterwards a little salt, two carrots, a turnip, three leeks, half a head of celery, tied up in a bunch, and an onion, with a clove stuck into it. Be careful to distribute these properly ; let them simmer for five hours, without interruption ; after which, take out the vegetables, which trim with care ; taste the bouillon, salt it moderately, skim off the grease; place your vegetables, already trimmed, at the bottom of a tureen, and serve. This is a good family broth, wholesome and restorative, and very proper in families careful as to the food of their children. Fowl Broth ( Bouillon de Volatile pour les Potages de Sante). — Spit two corpulent, well-fed fowds, and brown them before a clear fire; then put them in a saucepan, freshly tinned, with two French pints of -water (equal to three English pints); after having skimmed it, add a carrot, a turnip, an onion, with a clove stuck hi it, two leeks, half a head of celery, and a lettuce ; all these should be chopped, and slightly coloured, by being fried and sweated in clarified butter ; add a little salt ; and then let the whole simmer for nearly three hours. Then carefully skim your broth, and pass it through a silken tammy. This broth, without beef, is light, nourishing, and suitable to persons of weak digestion. Rabbit Sour ; or Stock from Wild Rabbits ( Bouillon de Lapcraux de Garenne). — Cut up two wild rabbits, as if for gibclotte (a species of fricassee of FRENCH COOKERF. 345 rabbit); add a pound of fillet of veal, cut in slices, and grilled, to give your broth colour. Pom- on these materials two litres and a half (equal to two English quarts) of water ; skim it gently, and add two carrots, two turnips, two onions, four leeks, a head of celery, and a lettuce ; all chopped, and slightly coloured by being fried in clarified butter. Let your broth boil three hours ; pass it through a silken tammy, and serve. A Maigre Broth of Pot Herbs ( Bouillon Maigre d’ Essence de Plantes Potageres ). — After having picked and washed two bunches of carrots, two bunches of white or Swedish turnips, chop them small, and place them in a sauce-pan on a moderate fire, with a little fresh butter. Stir them, from time to time, with a wooden spoon, so that they shall assume a uniform colour. As soon as they assume a light-red colour, then throw in a bunch of leeks, a bunch of onions, and six heads of celery, all chopped up equally ; let all remain sweating together a quarter of an hour ; then add ten litres (say nine English quarts) of boiling water, an onion, into which two cloves are stuck, a little salt, the smallest taste of pepper, and of grated nutmeg ; let it gently simmer; skim it perfectly ; let it boil four hours, and then pass it through a silken tammy. Observe, that it should be slightly salted. You may use this broth to thin or moisten soups, or sauces maigres, by carefully browning the vegetables. It will give an agreeable and savoury flavour, and presents, in addition, the advantage of slightly colouring the soup. Turnit and Pea Soup ( Potage de Navets aux pctits Pois). — Cut six good, large, full-grown turnips into dice; give them a light colour, by sweating them in clarified butter, stirring them continually with a wooden spoon ; strain them off’ in a colander or tammy ; set i them to boil gently in the consomme, prepared as directed; add a little sugar; skim the soup; and, when the turnips are done, put them into the tureen, with a pint )f young peas blanched very green, and the crusts ; and then serve. 346 FRENCH COOKERY. Celery and Chervil Sour ( Potage de Celeri au Cerfeuil). — Blanch six heads of celery, prepared as for entremets , and stew them in good consomme, seasoned with a small hunch of herbs, two onions, and two carrots. Take out this seasoning; drain the celery on a napkin, and cut it in large dice, and lay them in the tureen with some chervil blanched, and the croutons prepared as usual ; then pour in the consomme, and serve. Cabbage Sour ( Potage au Choux). — Parboil three firm white small cabbages ; drain them, and braise them in top-fat, with a few slices of bacon, and seasonings. Drain them again off this fat ; quarter them, and slide them into the tureen ; and over them pour strong wellseasoned boiling beef stock -broth. Clear Vermicelli Soup ( Potage de Vermicelle au Consomme). — Put in a soup stewing-pan two fowls, one of which shall be roasted, so as to lightly colour the consomme ; add a large knuckle of veal (from which the bone shall be taken), and the requisite quantity of broth; after having skimmed the pot, season it with carrots, turnips, onions, and leeks, with a head of celery, and a few grains of mignonette. When the consommd shall have simmered for five hours, skim it, take out the meat ; then add the white of an egg, beaten up with a little cold broth, in order to clarify it ; after a quarter of an hour’s boiling, you pass it through a napkin, and set it to boil again. Then throw in twelve ounces of Italian vermicelli (whitened and drained); let the whole simmer for twenty to twenty-five minutes, and serve. Soup of a Puree of Fowl, Queen’s Fashion ( Potage de Puree de Volaille a la Reine). — Put in a soup pipkin two fowls and a boned knuckle of veal; add as much broth as is necessary; after having skimmed the contents put in the necessary roots ; let the whole boil five hours, skim; when strained off, put it on again directly to boil ; pour it afterwards by degrees in the soupdish containing a purde of fowl prepared as follows : sautez the fillets of two fowls, pound them perfectly, add FRENCH COOKERY. 347 one ounce of rice stewed in consomm6, and a quarter of a pound of the crumb of a French loaf (the addition of the bread crumb renders the soup smoother and more velvety) ; add also two spoonfuls of bechamel, a little salt, and a ladleful of hot consomme ; put the casserole over a moderate fire, stirring it with a wooden spoon to prevent its boiling ; then rub it through a tammy ; when serving, make it hot, stirring it without quitting it ; pour into it, by a little at a time, the better to mingle it, the above consomme, which should previously cease boiling for a moment ; serve the soup with bread cut in small dice, and fried in butter of a light colour. The person charged with serving should not add these croutons the moment even of putting them on the plates ; they are thus more crisp ; otherwise they swell by being soaked in the soup, and give it a bad appearance and bad taste. Soup of a Puree of Young Peas A la St. Ceoud ( Potage de Puree de Pois nouveaux a la St. Cloud ). — Put about three quarts and a half of newly-shelled young peas into a skillet, containing sufficient boiling water to blanch them easily ; add a bunch of parsley and a little salt ; boil them on a brisk fire for half an hour, strain them, take out the parsley, and pound them ; put them then into an earthen vessel with some cold consomm6 of fowl, prepared as usual, reduced to a demiglaze, so as to be able afterwards to add the water the peas were boiled in ; rub them through a tammy, and place the puree in a tureen ; when serving, make it boil in a very clean skillet, or preserving-pan, that it may be kept green ; skim it, and add a pinch of sugar and two pats of fresh butter, which mix with it after you have taken it from the fire, not to let it boil again ; lastly, pom 1 the pur6e upon bread cut in dice and fried in butter of a light colour ; but it is better to serve the croutons separate. A Brown Braise. — Cut some beef suet, trimmings of mutton, or lamb cutlets, or other trimmings of meat; put them into a braising pan with four or five onions, three or four cloves, a well-seasoned faggot, a little 348 FRENCH COOKERY. mace, trimmings of celery, two or three carrots, cut in slices, and a few bay leaves ; add about a pint of water, and let it draw down for about half an hour on the stove : when the liquid is quite reduced, add common broth, or any broth which you may have to spare, to prevent it burning at the bottom. Consomme of Poultry, or Chicken Stock. — Lay a few slices of ham in a stew-pan, with some veal — the knuckle is best. Lay backs and trimmings of fowl on the veal, which moisten with veal stock, and put them to sweat. When your meat is heated through, cover it with veal stock, to which you add mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, and green onions: fill up and skim as in the preceding article. Strain your stock through a silk sieve for use. White PoeliL — Put a calf’s udder to blanch in a stew-pan full of cold water ; when it has boiled about a quarter of an hour, take it off, and put it into cold water for a few minutes; then cut it in small pieces, which put into a stew-pan with about an ounce of butter, one or two onions, a seasoned faggot, a few blades of mace, a lemon well paired and cut in thin slices ; add a few spoonfuls of water, and put it over a slow stove ; stir it for a few minutes, then add common broth according to what you want to braise. It is generally used for tendons of lamb, veal, chicken, or any thing that is to be white. Soup a la Julienne ( Pot age a la Julienne). — Take some carrots and turnips, and turn them riband like, a few heads of celery, some leeks and onions, and cut them all into fillets thus, B5HS5S : then take about two ounces of butter and lay it at the bottom of a stew-pan, and the roots over the butter. Fry them on a slow fire, and keep stirring gently ; moisten them with broth and gravy of veal, let them boil on the corner of the stove ; skim all the fat off, put in a little sugar to take off the bitter taste of the vegetables : you may, in summer time, add green peas, asparagus-tops, French beans, some lettuce, or sorrel. In winter time, the taste of the vegetables being too FRENCH COOKERY. 349 strong, you must blanch them, and immediately after stew them in the broth : if they were fried in butter, their taste would also be too strong. Put in thin slices of bread of the size of a shilling cut round. Turnip Soup. — ( Potage a la Beauveau .) — Scoop some turnips to the size of a marble; fill a pint ; throw them into cold water : when the whole are ready, drain and dry them well on a cloth, then fry them in an omelette pan, with a lump of clarified butter as large as a walnut, and a tea-spoonful of pounded white sugar. Keep them in motion till their surface is of a fine cinnamon brown ; drain them thoroughly on the back of a sieve, and put them into a small stew-pan, with a laddieful of broth, to draw from them the butter in which they were fried. When they begin to soften, drain them again, and throw them into three pints of good brown consomme, very clear, and simmer them till quite done. Onion Soup ( Potage a la, Clermont ). — Take about half a dozen small onions ; cut them in two, and cut off the ends ; then separate the coats of the onion, taking out the thin skin which is between them. Cut the onion in fine shreds, and proceed with these as you did with the turnips in the preceding receipt. Mock Turtle, in the Parisian Fashion ( Potage Tortue a la Parisienne ). — Dress in a mirepoix eight fine white ox palates ; then drain and press them on the oven plate ; when cold, trim them, removing all the blood-stained particles ; render them of an equal thickness, and cut them with a cutter, of an oval form, of the size of a coffee-spoon ; place them in a saut6 dish, with two platefuls of cocks’ kidneys (not blanched), and a wine-glassful of Champagne ; sweat them gently for ten minutes, and put them afterwards in consomme, in which you have mingled four spoonfuls of flour mixed with cold consommti, into a thin paste, to thicken the soup a little. Now prepare an essence composed of two onions, a pottle of mushrooms sliced, a bunch of chervil, two cloves, a little grated nutmeg, a pinch of Cayenne pepper, apiece of bayleaf, thyme, basil and marjoram, a little ham 350 FRENCH COOKERY. minced, trimmings of four truffles, half a clove of garlic, a glassful of Champagne, and two large ladlefuls of consomme ; boil these slowly nearly an hour, and rub them through a tammy ; then boil in it the four truffles, trimmed in pieces of the shape of a large olive; add them to the soup, give it a few boilings, and take it off the fire, to throw in a liaison of ten yolks of eggs, passed through a tammy ; set the soup again over the fire, and, when nearly boiling, pour it into the tureen containing some small quenelles of fowl, in which the parings of the truffles, when chopped, have been added. This soup yields in nothing to the mock turtle ¦with Madeira or calves’ head. Queen’s Soup ( Potcige a la Reine ). — Butter well a sheet of strong white kitchen paper; cover it all over with a thin layer of fat bacon : slice a small carrot thin, and a couple of onions, which put on the bacon, with a little parsley, a sprig of thyme, a blade of mace, and a bay -leaf pulled in pieces, two or three cloves, and a few pepper-corns. Wrap this round two pullets, putting a small piece of butter inside the vent of each, and placing them in a fine, the breast ends together; tie them up with twine, put a lark-spit through them, and tie them on your meat spit ; these require nearly an hour; baste them well to prevent the paper from burning. When they are done, tear off the skins; take the flesh from the bones; throw the bones into a chicken stock, which you have prepared from the flesh; trim away all fat and nerves ; chop them, and immediately pound them with the yolks of four hard eggs, and the crumb of a trench roll, soaked in a light cliicken consonant, with which moisten your puree, and rub it through a tammy; put it in a stew-pan, with half a pint of cream, which has been just boiled and skimmed; set it on the fire till hot, but by no means boiling, or it will curdle; do not leave off stirring; skim, and put it in a. bain marie. Previous to serving, add a little butter, which work in. ou should have rather more than two quarts of soup; add bread fried in dice to a gold colour. If expense be an object, FRENCH COOKERY. 351 use the legs only, leaving the fillets for an entree; or use a fowl previously served. Some add twenty sweet and two bitter almonds to the fowl when pounded. Puree of Lentils ( Potage de puree de Lentilles a la Conti). — Pick and wash three pints of lentils ( lentilles a la reine ), which put in a soup- pot, with a slice of lean ham blanched, a partridge, a carrot, a turnip, an onion, two leeks, and a head of celery, tied together, add the necessary stock, and let it boil slowly for three hours ; take out the roots, the partridge, and the ham, rub the lentils through a tammy, and add some consomme to the puree ; set it on to boil, and afterwards place it at the corner of the stove, to clarify it, by withdrawing or skimming off the scum and grease that is thrown up to the side ; when serving, pour it into the tureen with some bread cut in dice and fried in butter. Pur£e of Onions ( Potage de puree de Lentilles a la soubise). — Make the puree as above, and add to it a soubise prepared thus : — cut four large onions in slices, and blanch them for a few minutes, strain them off, and sweat them in fresh butter ; add four spoonfuls of consomme ; simmer them, and when the onion is in a puree, add a spoonful of bechamel, rub it through a tammy, and join it to the puree of lentils previously clarified ; serve •noth fried bread as above. Soup of a Pur£e of Young Carrots ( Potage de purie de Racines a la Creci.) — Scrape and wash two bunches of young carrots, then grate off all the red parts only, without touching the hearts ; your carrots thus prepared, put the red part into a stew-pan with some fresh butter, a little lean ham, an onion, a turnip, and a bunch of leeks and celery ; sweat the roots gently over a slow fire, stirring them with a wooden spoon that they may become equally coloured ; then add some consomme to them, and let them boil slowly for two hours ; take out the ham and roots, but strain the carrots through a sieve, pound them in a mortar, return them back to their liquor, and rub all through a tammy ; pour some consomme on them, and set the Creci to boil over a quick fire ; when it boils, set it at the corner of the stove, and 352 FRENCH COOKERY. skim it perfectly ; add a pinch of sugar to soften the bitter flavour of the roots ; when thoroughly clarified, pour it into the tureen, and serve fried bread on a plate. Rice Soup A la C ueci ( Potage dellis a la Creci ). — Prepare the Creci as above, and when clarified add four ounces of Carolina rice washed, blanched, and stewed in consomme ; give it a quarter of an hour’s boiling, stir the soup, and turn it into the tureen. Prepare the consomme according to rule. Carrot Soup ( Potage de puree de Carottes de Flandre). — Scrape eight large Flemish carrots (without touching the hearts), mix with them two onions, two turnips sliced, and a bunch of leeks and celery ; sweat these roots in butter over a slow fire, stirring them with a wooden spoon that they may become of an equal colour ; when of a light red, put consomme to them, and let them go gently for two hours, and finish and serve with crusts like the puree of roots a la Creci. As soon as it is clarified, pour it into a soup tureen, containing croutons rendered crisp by the stove. Turnip Soup (Potage de puree de Navels). — Slice one-fourth of a Swedish turnip, sweat it in fresh butter, and keep it stirring with a wooden spoon to colour the pieces equally of a light brown ; then let them simmer in some consomme for nearly two hours, and rub them through a fine tammy ; add consomme of fowl prepared in the usual manner ; skim the puree to clarify it, add a pinch of sugar, then pour it into a soup, and serve it with fried bread on a plate separate. Onion Soup A la Cressy (Puree (TOignons a la Cressy). — Choose about twenty small onions, clean them well, and cut into slices ; put them in a stew-pan with a lump of fresh butter and a little sugar ; jam them till they be of a fine golden colour, then moisten them with broth, and add the necessary quantity of bread. When about to serve your soup, throw in two small glasses of very old brandy. Pearl Barley Soup A la Royale. — For all pearl barley soups, CarCme recommends German pearl barley as infinitely preferable to the finest pearl barley of France. FRENCH COOKERY. 353 FISH.— FRENCH FASHION. Braise Maigre for Boiling Fish in. — Take a kettle of a sufficient size ; put into it a bit of butter, with a little vegetable soup, a little thyme, sweet basil, garlic, parsley, and scallions, cloves, some slices of onions and carrots, salt, pepper, with white wine sufficient ; tie the head of the fish up properly, or any other part, and put it into the kettle with these ingredients; take care that it does not swim: put it upon a slow fire; cover it with a buttered paper, taking care to wet or baste it from time to time with its own sauce ; taste if it is properly seasoned; when the fish is sufficiently done, take part of the sauce, run it through a gauze search, reduce it to a jelly to glaze the fish. Fish Jelly ( Glace de Poisson ). — Rub lightly the bottom of a sauce-pan with butter; cover it with sliced onions and carrots ; then add the remains and carcases of fish, a little parsley and scallions, a bay-leaf, thyme, sweet basil, and a clove of garlic ; to these ingredients add a ladleful of fish soup; let it boil, put it upon a hot hearth or table ; let it simmer till it becomes a jelly; again add to it some fish soup, and pour it clear off into a clean sauce-pan, and let it simmer another hour; run it through a napkin; reduce it to a jelly, and use it for glazing. Lamprey in Matelote ( Lamproie en Matelote ). — Put one or two into nearly boiling water; gut them, and cut them into junks, taking care of the blood; cut off the head, and the end of the tail ; put them into a stew-pan with a little roux (see article Roux) ; and put it over the fire; add some red wine, and stock, or water, in equal quantities, some small onions, mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, scallions, salt, pepper, a bayleaf, and a little fine spicery; cook it, and take off the fat ; when ready to serve, thicken with the blood of the lampreys ; taste it; dish, and serve. 2 a 3o4 FRENCH COOKERY. Grilled Salmon ( Darde de Saumon Griltte ). — Take a cut of salmon ; put it into a dish, and pour over it a little good oil, fine salt, a bay-leaf, parsley, and scallions cut in two ; turn it, and let it soak for some time; put it on the gridiron; turn, and baste from time to time with the seasoning; lift with a knife a little of the flesh, at the thickest part of the back ; if still red, let it continue cooking ; turn it on a cover, and take off the skin ; pour over butter sauce, and strew capers upon it. Cutlets of Sturgeon in Paper ( Cotelettes d’Esturgeon en P apillotes). — Cut it into cutlets about the thickness of a finger ; put a bit of butter in a stew-pan, and turn them when they become white ; finish them in the same manner as if they were veal ; if for gras, put thin slices of lard ; if maigre, none at all. Perches in Wine ( Perches au Vin). — Scale and clean the perch. Cook them in good stock and a little white wine, with a high seasoning of parsley, chives, cloves, &c.; Thicken a little of this liquor for sauce. Add to it salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a little anchovybutter. Always use white wine with white fish, and red wine with red-coloured fish. Fillets of Sole A la Horly ( Filets de Soles a la Horly). — After cleaning the soles, cut them entirely open by the back, from head to tail; cut each into four nice fillets, and steep them in lemon-juice, salt, parsley, and sliced onions ; shake them in this seasoning, where they ought to remain nearly an hour; when ready to serve, drain, flour, and fry them; they must be firm, and of a good colour; dish, and serve under them an Italienne or tomate sauce. A Saut£ of Fillets of Sole a la Maitre (T Hotel ( Saute de Filets de Soles a la Maitre cT Hotel). — Take of the fillets as above ; the skin having been previously taken off, have some melted butter in a saucepan, into which put the fillets; shake a little fine salt: over them ; when done upon one side, turn them; drain, FRENCH COOKERY. 355 dish, and sauce, with a good maitre d’hotel, to which some veloute reduite has been added and heightened with a little lemon sauce, and serve. Soles au Gratin ( Soles cm Gratin’). — Cut the fillets as above; spread upon these fillets cooked forced meat, gras ou maigre, about the thickness of a crown piece ; roll it equally on, all over ; cover the bottom of a dish with forced meat about half an inch thick; form a crown of the fillets, upon the dish, so that there will be a well in the middle ; put a little of the forced meat into the intervals within and without, that the fillets may form one mass; unite the whole with the blade of a knife dipped in hot water; strew crumbs of bread over; baste it with butter, and send it to the oven; when done, put into the hollow or well a provengale, or an Italienne. Whitings with Herbs (Merlons anx fines Herbes). ¦ — Prepare the whiting as for frying; put butter, parsley, and scallions finely hashed, salt and nutmeg’, into a deep dish, and lay them in ; haste with melted butter, and put some stock and white wine to them; turn them when half done; when they are cooked, put their seasoning into a stew-pan, without taking them out of the dish ; add a little butter rubbed in flour ; cook, and thicken it ; add lemon-juice, and a little pepper ; sauce, and serve. Mackarel a la Maitre cV Hotel (Maquereaux a la Mcdtre (T Hotel ). — Take three or four mackarel ; see that they are very fresh, and of an equal size, that they may cook equally ; gut them by one of the ears, and take out with a knife the puddings at the navel ; wipe them ; open the back and head ; cut off the nose and tail ; powder them with a little salt ; marinade them with oil, parsley, and small onions cut in two ; turn them in this seasoning ; if large, they will take three quarters of an hour on the gridiron ; if small, half an hour will suffice ; take care their bellies do not open, that they may not lose their juice; cook them upon red cinders ; after they have been done sufficiently on both sides, put them on their back, that they may be thoroughly done ; dish, and, with a wooden spoon, put a 356 FRENCH COOKERY. little cold maitre d’hotel into their backs, with the juice of lemon, or sauce with it thickened, and serve. Red Mullets, with Maitre d’ Hotel Sauce (Rougets a la Maitre d’ Hotel). — This fish, like the woodcock, is not gutted. Take the gills from five mullets, scale them carefully but lightly, cut off the fins, wash, wipe, and scatter over them a little salt, pepper, and a gill of Provence oil ; half an hour before serving, lay them on a sheet of paper oiled on both sides, and place them over a slow fire on a gridiron rubbed with oil also ; in a quarter of an hour, turn them over upon another sheet of oiled paper, renew the fire, and, when they are done enough, dish them on a maitre d’hotel of eight ounces of butter masked in the usual manner; glaze them at top ; serve a portion of the sauce in a boat. Red Mullet with Sweet Herbs (Sur- Mullet aux Fines Herbes). — Put the fish into a deep saute pan, with a ladleful of sauce tournee, and two or three tablespoonfuls of fines herbes. Put a cover over them, and bake them or stew them on a back stove, with fire under and over. When done, dish them, skim the sauce, and drain it through a colander spoon ; season with a little pepper, salt, and a few drops of lemon-juice, and mask the fish with it. Red Mullets with Sweet Herbs ( Roitgets aux Fines Herbes). — After having prepared and marinaded the mullets as directed in the receipt a la Maitre d Hotel, lay them on the strainer well buttered, and place them in a kettle, with eight ounces of butter melted, a pottle of mushrooms chopped, two spoonfuls of chopped parsley, and a part of a shalot chopped and blanched ; salt, pepper, and nutmeg, sufficient to season the fish ; add the juice of a lemon, and half a bottle of Chablis wine ; make it boil over a quick fire ; moisten the fish with its liquor ; place fire above and below it, and let it simmer gently for half an hour ; dish them with care, and pour their liquor over them, serving a portion of it in a boat. Trout or Pike a la Genevoise. — Clean the fish, but do not scale it. Put a little court bouillon in a FRENCH COOKERY. 357 stew-pan with parsley -roots, cloves, parsley, two bayleaves, and onions, also a carrot. When these have stewed an hour, strain the liquor over the pike or trout in a small oval fish-pan, and add a little Madeira to the liquor. When boiled, drain it, and take off the scales thoroughly; then put it in the pan, with a little of the liquor to keep it moist and hot. Make a roux or thickening, and add to it veal-gravy (or, if for a maigre dish, wine) ; season this sauce with mushrooms, parsley, and green onions. Let it stew till smooth. Thicken with butter kneaded in flour. Strain the sauce hot over the dished fish, with a squeeze of lemon. For trout use claret or some red wine, with mace and more cloves. Sturgeon a la Romulus ( Esturgeon a la Romulus ). — After having chosen a large piece of sturgeon, take the skin carefully therefrom without touching the flesh, and throw a handful of salt over and imder it ; an hour after, wash and wipe it, tie it up and lay it on the drainer in a kettle ; pour over it an essence formed as follows : slice four carrots, four onions, two pottles of mushrooms, whole parsley, two cloves of garlic, two bay-leaves, a sprig of thyme, basil, four cloves, a pinch of mace, some pepper, a little salt, and two glasses of Provence oil; sweat these lightly over a slow fire, stirring them with a wooden spoon ; then add two ladlefuls of consomme, and let it simmer for an hour and a half, squeeze it through a tammy, and pour it over the fish, which season with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, and the flesh of two lemons sliced (with the pips taken out) and laid upon the fish ; add a bottle of Champagne ; cover the kettle and set it over a quick fire ; when it boils, lay fire on the top and underneath, that the fish may simmer slowly for two hours ; wet the fish with its liquor every quarter of an hour ; when ready to serve, pass the liquor through a silk sieve, without suffering the least particle of the oil to go through : reduce this liquor to a demi-glaze, one-half of which add to the sauce h la Romaine ; when it boils, work smoothly into it eight ounces of cold butter ; pom 1 one half of the sauce upon 358 FRENCH COOKERY. the dish, on which lay the sturgeon, glazed with its own reduced liquor, and serve the remaining sauce in a boat. FRENCH SAUCES. Blanc (A rich Broth or Gravy in which the French cook various Small Dishes’). — Mince one pound of beefsuet, or kidney fat, and one pound of shavings of fat bacon, pass them over a slow fire, in a stew-pan, adding four ounces of fresh butter, a bundle seasoned with half a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme and basil, mace, and two cloves ; add a pinch of pepper, a little salt, and the pulp of two lemons, without the pips ; sweat them over a slow fire, without colouring them, then add water sufficient to cover the material to be dressed. Many cooks add a little flour, but this is useless. When done, keep the blanc for use. Spanish or Brown Sauce ( Espagnole ). — Add some brown consomme boiling, to some brown roux in a stewpan ; do not mix them over the fire ; let them be well mixed. Put it on a brisk fire, and add brown consomm6 till your sauce is of the consistency of melted butter: stir without intermission ; let it boil ; thin it sufficiently with consomm6 for all the scum and fat to rise ; put it on the corner of the stove to clarify, with a few mushroom trimmings, truffles if you have them, a seasoned faggot of herbs, a few green onions and pepper-corns, a blade of mace, a little allspice, and a piece of ham. When thoroughly cleared and sldmmed, strain it through a tammy into a basin, stirring occasionally till cold. This forms the basis of the greater part of the brown sauces. Salt Water to Boil Fish in ( Eau de Scl). — Fill a small kettle with water, and put in a sufficient quantity of salt, with some whole young onions, branches of parsley, one or two heads of garlic, zests of carrots, thyme, bay leaves, sweet basil, and two cloves ; let it boil three-quarters of an hour, skim and take it off the fire, cover it with a cloth, leave it half or three-quarters FRENCH COOKERY. 359 of an hour to settle ; pass it through a gauze search ; it is then ready for cooking fish, or any thing that requires salt water. Sauce a la Matelote for Fish. — Take a large pint of brown roux heated, or. of Espagnole ; put to this six onions sliced and fried with a few mushrooms, or a little mushroom-ketchup, a glass of red wine, and a little of the liquor in which the fish was boiled. Give it a seasoning of parsley, chives, a bay leaf, salt, pepper, allspice, and a clove. Mix it up (using a large wooden spoon) to make it blend well. Put veal gravy to it if you wish it more rich, or a good piece of butter. Strain it, and serve over stewed carp or trout. La Ducelle after Beauvillier’s Receipt. — Mince mushrooms, parsley, young onions or shalots, equal quantities of each ; put some butter into a stewpan with as much rasped bacon; put them upon the fire; season with salt, pepper, fine spiceries, a little grated nutmeg, and a bay leaf ; moisten with a spoonful of Espagnole or veloute ; let it simmer, taking care to stir it ; when sufficiently done, finish it with a thickening of yolks of eggs well beaten, which must not boil; the juice of a lemon is not necessary, but may be added. Put it into a dish, and use it for every thing that is served en papillotes. Poor Man’s Sauce ( La Sauce aupauvre Homme .) — This sauce is generally sent up with young roasted turkeys. Chop a few shalots very fine, and mix them with a little pepper, salt, vinegar, and water, and serve it in a boat. Sauce Tournee. — Take some white roux, dilute it with some consomme of fowl, neither too thin nor too thick. A sauce when too thick will never admit of the fat being removed. Let it boil on the corner of the stove. Throw in a few mushrooms, with a bunch of parsley and green onions. Skim it well, and when there is no grease left, strain it through a tammy, to use it when wanted. Sauce A l’Allemande. — This is merely a sauce tournee as above reduced, into which is introduced a 360 FRENCH COOKERY. thickening or liaison composed of the yolks of eggs well seasoned. This sauce is always used for the following sauces or ragouts, viz., blanquette of all descriptions, of veal, of fowl, of game, or palates, ragout, a-la-toulouse, loin of veal, a-la-bechamel, white financiere royale, &c.;, &c.; A Macedoine. — Take all sorts of roots and vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, button onions, cucumbers, peas, French beans, asparagus, knobs of cauliflower, artichoke bottoms, &c.;: these are blanched and boiled separately, and cut in small fancy shapes. When the whole are done, they are drained and put together in a stewpan, and covered with supreme sauce. — See post for Supreme. Gascony Sauce ( Sauce a la Gasconne ). — Put in a ragout stew-pan a table-spoonful of Provence oil, add to it a small chopped clove of garlic and a small portion of parsley, chives, mushrooms, and truffles, also hashed, also a little pepper and grated nutmeg. Sweat these over a moderate fire; pour in a glass of good Chablis, and sufficient veloute (not too thick) for an entree. Skim and sweat sufficiently. When sufficiently sweated, add a liaison of three yolks of eggs and a few spoonfuls of broth. Put the whole in a bain marie. At the moment of serving, add a little anchovy butter. Anchovy Butter. — Wash five or six anchovies, take off the flesh and pound it well ; pass it through a hair tammy, then mix it up with an equal quantity of butter. VeloutA — Take part of the leg or knuckle of veal, two fowls, four carrots, four onions, one of which should be stuck with cloves, a good bunch of parsley and chives, and put all in a clean stew-pan. Add to it a full ladleful of consommfj. Place the stew-pan upon a bright fire; be careful to skim the contents, so that your sauce j may not be turbid. When you perceive that the liquor ; is visibly reduced, and that it bubbles in boiling, wet the materials in the stew-pan with consomme; be careful to skim it. When it boils place it on the corner of the , stove; make a roux blanc (see Roux Blanc — post), in FRENCH COOKERY. 361 which you should put twenty mushrooms steeped in cold water and lemon-juice, stir them in your hot roux, then dilute your roux blanc with the liquid of your veloute. After this process you should pour your roux blanc upon your materials, boil your sauce upon the corner of the stove, skim it well. At the end of an hour and a half remove the sauce, pass through a tammy ; be careful that your veloute is as white as possible. Another Veloute Sauce. — Put to stew two pounds of veal, or the legs, backs, and trimmings, of two raw fowls, about two ounces of lean ham, with a small ladleful of white consomme ; put the stew-pan, covered, on a strong fire; when the consomme is half reduced damp your fire, to let the veal sweat and throw out its juices, prick it through the thick of it, and let it remain a quarter of an hour at least. When reduced quite low, but without being in the least coloured, throw a sauce tournee into it, and stir till boiling takes place; the fire being renewed, draw the stew-pan to the corner of the stove, put in a few mushrooms, a small onion, stuck with a clove, a blade of mace, and a few white pepper-corns. Cover and let it simmer till the meat is done. Skim it thoroughly, and when the whole is nearly reduced, add seven or eight spoonfuls of sauce tournee, and a little consomme; stir till boiling. Let it simmer till the i sauce is •well flavoured. Strain it through a tammy I into a small stew-pan. Add a little Cayenne and lemon i juice if it is not sharp enough. White Roux ( Roux Blanc). — Melt a pound of but> ter in a stew-pan, add to it a litron (sixteen cubic inches) i of flour; place both butter and flour upon a stove not too hot, keep incessantly stirring it till it be very hot, do not let it assume any colour, the whiter it is the better; ij use it to unite your veloute with other sauces. Be carei ful not to use any other than wheat flour, because rye ft: flour is bad for liaisons. Sharp Sauce ( Sauce Piquante ). — Put in a stew-pan I a quart of vinegar, two pods of allspice, a pinch of the I finest pepper, a bay leaf, and a little thyme; let it reduce 362 FRENCH COOKERY. to one half, then add three full spoonfuls of Espagnole, and two of bouillon ; reduce your sauce, so that it may have the appearance of a clear bouillie; add to it the necessary salt to make it relishing. Supreme Sauce ( Sauce Szipre?ne). — Put a skimming ladleful of veloute in a stew-pan, and four good spoonfuls of the same sized ladle of essence of fowl, when this is reduced one-half, and at the moment of serving, put a coffee-spoonful of finely chopped parsley, and a little fresh butter, a little whole pepper, and the half of a lemon. W ork up these materials well in your sauce, without allowing it to boil, and pom’ it over your dish. See that it is properly seasoned with salt. Another Sauce Robert for Pork Chops, &c.; — Cut in rounds a dice, six large onions, or more, if necessary ; put them into a stew-pan, with butter ; set them on a good fire ; dredge and brown them ; moisten them with some veal gravy ; skim it, that the sauce may look bright ; add pepper and salt ; and, before serving, mix in a spoonful of mustard. Sauce A la Mirepoix. — Cut two pounds of fillet of veal, one pound of fat bacon, one pound of lean ham, four carrots, four onions, all into dice. Pass off the whole with one pound of fresh butter, some whole parsley, a handful of mushrooms, two shalots sliced, the least bit of garlic, a bay-leaf, a little thyme and basil, and pepper, with a blade of mace — the whole drawn over a slow fire ; add the flesh of two lemons, sliced thin, removing the pips, three ladlefuls of stock or consomme, and half a pint of good wdiite wine (if approved). Simmer the mirepoix for two hours, and squeeze it through a tammy. Use this for entrees directed to be prepared a la mirepoix. The mirepoix differs from the poele only in the addition of mushrooms and wine, which is sometimes Champagne, Madeira, Malaga, or Sauteme, according to the use required. German Sauce ( Sauce Allemande). — Put a little minced ham into a stew-pan, and a few trimmings of poultry, either dressed or undressed ; three or four FRENCH COOKERY. 363 shalots, one very small clove of garlic, a bay-leaf, two tarragon leaves, and a few spoonfuls of stock ; let them si mm er for half an hour; strain it off, and add coulis ; squeeze in a lemon ; season with pepper and salt, a little Cayenne pepper, and sugar. Pur&e; of Celery. — Slice half a dozen heads of celery, which blanch in plenty of water. Drain them, and put them into a stew-pan with a ladleful of white consomme ( vide ante), and a small piece of ham. Let this boil, and then put it on a back stove to simmer until done. Take out your ham, and put it into a larger sized stew-pan ; then put it on the fire, and stir till well reduced, adding two or three spoonfuls of sauce tournee (vide ante), and a little cream. Season with pepper and salt, and rub it through a tammy. White Consomme, or Veal Stock. — Take a knuckle of veal, half a pound of good ham, trimmings of meat, and any veal or poultry which you may have ; put them in your stock-pot to stew on a gentle fire, and moisten them with a ladleful of common broth ; add a bunch of parsley and green onions : let these sweat thoroughly. If, on piercing the meat with a knife, no blood follow, it is heated through ; fill up with boiling broth, and after four hours’ gentle boiling this stock will be fit for making sauces, or stocks of poultry or game. By being too long on the fire the flavour of the stock degenerates, becomes strong and unpalatable, and it contracts too high a colour. Carefully remove the fat and scum of all stock, and fill up I your pots to avoid too much colour. Bechamelle Sauce (Maigre ). — For Maigre B6chamelle, boil a quart of milk, quite new ; melt a piece of butter, of the size of an egg, with which mix enough sifted flour to make a white roux : dilute it with a fourth of the milk, and pour in the remainder by intervals. When the whole boils, put the bechamel at the comer of the stove, add the red part of a carrot, an onion, a bunch of parsley, a few shalots, thyme, bay¦ leaf, sweet basil, and a little salt. Let it simmer an 364 FRENCH COOKERY. hour, pass it through the tammy, and reduce it on a strong- fire : add, if you think proper, salt, a little nutmeg, and a piece of butter. Pass it through a tammy to serve with fish. It should be of the consistence of thick cream. You may add mushroom parings. Beciiameele Sauce ( Sauce a la Bechamelle ). — Put such a quantity of veloute as may be wanted into a sauce-pan, with a little consomme ; if required, four pints of veloute ; put it upon a quick fire ; stir it with care till it is reduced a third ; reduce four pints of good cream to two-thirds, and mix it in little by little, and stir it till the whole has reduced a half ; this sauce ought to be rather thin ; pass it through a tammy ; put it in a bain-marie to be ready for use. Sharp Sauce ( Sauce a la Poivrade). — Put in a small stew-pan a few slices of carrot, four shalots, sliced, a sprig of parsley or a little sliced parsley root, half a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, a clove, half a blade of mace, and about twenty pepper-coms, ¦noth a small piece of ham, and a piece of butter as large as a walnut : stir these on the fire till lightly tinged with brown ; add half a gill of white vinegar ; let this reduce threefourths ; add half a pint of Espagnole (see ante), and a ragout spoonful of consomme (see ante ) ; stir till boiling. Draw it to the corner of the stove till your herbs are done ; skim well ; add a little pounded white sugar, to counteract any bitterness from the roots, and pass it through a tammy. Piobert Sauce (Sauce Robert). — Cut an onion in small dice, previously remove the skins from between the coats of the onion ; fry it to a nice brown in a little butter, stirring it well ; add two or three spoonfuls of Espagnole, and a little consomm<5 : as soon as it boils, place it on the corner of the stove to clear. Vf ben skimmed, serve it with a spoonful of French mustard already mixed, or English mustard made with tarragon vinegar. Sauce au Supreme. — Take two or three ladlefuls of reduced veloute, and put it into a stew-pan, with the FRENCH COOKERY. 365 same quantity of the consomme of fowls ; reduce it a half ; when ready to serve, put in the size of an egg of butter ; put it upon a brisk fire ; mix it well, and when sufficiently done, not too thick, take it off, and add lemon or veijuice ; vannez it, and serve. Sauce Tomate. — Take a dozen of tomates very ripe, and of a fine red ; take off the stalks ; open and take out the seeds, and press them in the hand to take out the water ; put the expressed tomates into a stew-pan, with a bit of butter the size of an egg, a bay-leaf, and a little thyme ; put it upon a moderate fire ; stir it till it becomes a puree; while it is doing, put in a spoonful of Espagnole, or the top of bouillon, called top-pot, which will be better ; when it is thus prepared, rub it through a tammy, and put it into a stew-pan with two spoonfuls of Espagnole ; reduce to the consistence of a light bouillie ; put in a little salt, and a small quantity of Cayenne pepper. Sauce a la Tartare. — Mince one or two shalots very fine, with a little chervil and tarragon ; put it into an earthen vessel with mustard, a glass of vinegar, salt and pepper ; sprinkle it with oil, and stir it constantly ; if it gets too thick, put in a little vinegar ; if too salt, put in a little more mustard and oil. Herb Sauce ( Fines Ilerbes). — Four table -spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, with lemon-juice squeezed over them, or they will turn black ; a table-spoonful of chopped parsley ; four shalots, chopped very fine, or a piece of onion. Put in a stew-pan on the fire a piece of butter, as large as an egg, with the onions or shalots ; stir a few minutes, put in the parsley ; stir again a couple of minutes, with the addition of a bay-leaf, a little pepper, and salt ; add your mushrooms, and stir the whole over the fire about ten minutes more. Take out your bayleaf, and put your fines herbes in a jelly-pot for use. When parsley has been well chopped, to prevent its clotting together, and in order to be able to sprinkle it as you would pepper or salt, put it in the end of a cloth, 366 FRENCH COOKERY. which dip in water, then squeeze out the liquid, and chop it again. Sauce pour la Salade. — Put two spoonfuls of made mustard, and two raw yolks of eggs into a basin ; mix them well up ; then add oil, a little at a time, stirring rapidly ; season with salt, very fine ; add more oil, and stir until the spoon will almost stand upright in it : dilute with a spoonful of tarragon vinegar, if approved of, one of chilli vinegar ; add common vinegar ; and let the whole be of the consistency of very thick cream : you will mix in parsley chopped fine, or a few chives, if approved of. Garlic Sauce A la Proved ale ( Sauce a V Ail a la Provengale ). — Sweat down in a ragout sauce-pan four cloves of garlic, a bunch of sweet herbs, a pinch of mignonette, and two spoonfuls of broth. When the whole is reduced to a pulpy state, take out the garlic and the bunch of herbs, then add two large spoonfuls of veloute, adding a liaison of three yolks of eggs. After the sauce has boiled for some minutes pass it through a tammy; and at the moment of serving, mix a little butter and the juice of a lemon. French Sauce ( Sauce a la Frangaise ). — Put in a stew-pan a bain marie, some maigre bechamel sauce (see ante, p. 363). WTien it is almost boiling, add to it a clove of garlic, a little scraped nutmeg, and a little ketchup. When it begins to boil and just before serving, add a little lobster butter to give it a colouring. This is an excellent sauce for fish. It answers perfectly for carp, pike, and salmon, and for entrees of fish generally. Lobsters’ tails and small white mushrooms may be added. Cream Sauce ( Sazice a. la Creme ). — Put a quarter of a pound of butter in a stew-pan, a full tablespoonful of flour, full coffee or tea-spoonful of chopped parsley and chives which should be washed after they are chopped, a pinch of salt, a little whole pepper, an entire nutmeg grated ; all these ingredients should be put with the butter, then thrown in a middle- FRENCH COOKERY. 367 sized glass of cream or milk ; put your sauce upon the 6re, stir it up while it is in the course of boiling and till it boils ; if it is too thick, add more cream. This sauce should boil a quarter of an hour being perpetually stirred. You may use when you have occasion. It is good for turbot, cod-fish, potatoes, &c.; White Onion Sauce ( Sauce a la Puree d’Oignons Blancs). — Mince twelve onions, put them in a stew-pan with a bit of butter ; put the stew-pan on a slow fire, that they may not take any colour ; let them simmer ; stir them often with a wooden spoon ; when they yield under it, put in two spoonfuls of veloute, and let them remain cooking ; when they are well reduced, rub them through a tammy, put them again upon the fire ; boil two pints of cream, and put it into the puree ; add nutmeg, when it has obtained the degree of a good bouillon, and serve. Garlic Butter (Sauce au Beurre d’Ail). — Take two large heads of garlic, beat them with the size of an egg of butter; when well beaten, rub it through a double hail’ sieve with a wooden spoon ; gather it, and use, either with veloute or with reduced Espagnole. Cold Sauce a la Tartare, i. e. to be served cold. — Put in an earthen or China vessel a table-spoonful of sauce Allemande (see ante’), one likewise of fine mustard, two yolks of fresh eggs, a little salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. After having stirred up this mixture well, put in by degrees two large table-spoonfuls of Provence oil, half a table-spoonful of tarragon vinegar, a chopped shalot, and a table-spoonful of tarragon and chopped chervil. Poivrade Sauce ( Sauce Poivrade ). — Put a bit of butter as big as an egg into a stew-pan with two onions, two minced carrots and turnip, cut in slices two shalots, two cloves, a bay leaf, thyme, and basil, add a little lemon peel and whole parsley ; keep turning them in the pan till they get a little colour, shake in some flour, and add a glass of red wine, a glass of water, two spoonfuls of good vinegar, two of broth, and a little 368 FRENCH COOKERY. pepper and salt ; simmer over a gentle fire. When it is sweated, add two more table-spoonfuls of stock, and two ladlefuls of Espagnole travaillee. (See Espagnole Travaillee.) After it has boiled some minutes pass through a tammy and serve, adding a moment before a little butter. Sauce Matgre Poivrade. — Exclude the ham, the broth, the sauce Espagnole, and add the essence of fish, as well as 1’ Espagnole maigre (which see) and you have a sauce maigre poivrade. Minced Sauce ( Sauce Hacli’ee ). — Put into a stewpan a spoonful of blanched hashed shalots, as many mushrooms, and half a spoonful of minced parsley, a little garlic, a fragment of thyme, a bay-leaf, two cloves, a pinch of white pepper, and of scraped nutmeg ; reduce this on the corner of the stove, withdraw the bay-leaf, the thyme, and the cloves ; afterwards add two spoonfuls of consomme, and two large spoonfuls of Espagnole travaillee. The whole being sufficiently reduced, you should pour your sauce into a bain marie sauce -pan ; at the moment of serving, mix with it a little anchovy butter, two small ghirkins minced very fine, and a few capers. This sauce may be made maigre leaving out the consomme and Espagnole, and supplying their places by fish gravy, and maigre Espagnole sauce. Bkcha melle Maigre. — Boil a quart of milk, melt the size of an egg of fresh butter, and mix with it sifted flour to make a white roux, which put for some minutes over a slow fire ; mix the milk with it, pouring in only a little at a time ; when it boils put it at the corner of the stove, adding a large carrot, a couple of small onions, a large handful of mushrooms, a bundle of parsley, some shalots, thyme, bay leaf, basil, and a little salt ; let it simmer for an hour, reduce it afterwards to give it consistency ; add salt (if necessary), nutmeg, and a good piece of fresh butter, pass it through a tammy, and use it for entrees of fish if la B6ehamelle Maigre. Careme describes the process of making a much more expensive maigre B6chamelle, for which a dab and a pound FRENCH COOKERY. 369 of butter are to be used, but it is not thought necessary to give this. Bechamel; or, White Sauce. — Cut in square pieces, half an inch thick, two pounds of lean veal, half a pound of lean ham, melt in a stew-pan two ounces of butter ; when melted let the whole simmer until it is ready to catch at the bottom (it requires great attention, as if it happen to catch at the bottom of the stew-pan it will spoil the look of your sauce), then add to it three tablespoonfuls of flour. When well mixed, add to it three pints of broth or water, a little at a time, that the thickening be smooth (for this sauce should be smooth, rich, and delicate), stir it until it boils, put the stew-pan on the comer of the stove to boil gently for two hours ; season it w r ith four cloves, one onion, twelve pepper-corns, a blade of mace, a few mushrooms, and a faggot made of parsley, a sprig of thyme, and a bay-leaf. Let the sauce reduce to a quart, skim the fat off, and strain it through a tammy. To make a Bechamel Sauce, add to a quart of the above a pint of good cream, stir it until it is reduced to a good thickness ; a few mushrooms give a good flavour ; strain it through a tammy. The process of Careme for making a Bechamel is much more expensive. He would use two fowls, a noix ne sans noix of veal, one pound of lean ha.m ; and a pottle of mushrooms for tins purpose. Thickened Butter ; or, Beurre Sis. — Put the yolks of two eggs in a stew-pan, melt a quarter of a pound of butter, without browning it ; break the eggs with a wooden spoon, put the butter by degrees to the eggs, set it on a slow fire, add lemon-juice ; use it for every thing that is rolled in or stewed with crumbs of bread — called in French Panures. Poor Man’s Sauce ( Sauce au Pauvre Homme). — Take five or six shalots, chop them fine with a little parsley, put them into a stew-pan with a little bouillon juice, or water, and a good spoonful of vinegar, a little salt, and a little large pepper, a small piece of ham, a 370 FRENCH COOKERY. piece of bay-leaf, a little thyme and parsley. Simmer till reduced three quarters of a pound. Add two spoonfuls of Espagnole, and leave on the corner of the stove to clarify ; skim, and after well mixing a spoonful of French mustard into the sauce, serve. Boiled Marinade ( Marinade Cuite ). — Put a lump of fresh butter, about half a pound, into a stew-pan, four large onions sliced, and four carrots sliced, some parsley in bunches, two bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and basil, four cloves, a large pinch of mignonette, pepper, and as much mace, two cloves of garlic and a few chives, two coffee-spoonfuls of flour ; pass these over a gentle fire, stirring them with a wooden spoon. When they begin to colour add half a bottle of common vinegar, and ten ladlefuls of beef stock or boiling water, with a little salt ; si mm er slowly for about three quarters of an hour, and squeeze through a hair tammy. This is made use of for boiling’ fish, and for cold marinading fillets of beef or mutton. Sauce a la Tartare. — Mince one or two shalots very fine with a little chervil and tarragon; put it into an earthen vessel with mustard, a small touch of vinegar, salt and pepper ; add a little oil, and stir it instantly ; if it gets too tlfick, put in a little more vinegar — if too salt, put in a little more mustard and oil. Marinade Unboiled ( Marinade Cru ). — Put in an earthen basin six large carrots and six onions sliced, parsley whole, two cloves of garlic, four bay leaves, some basil, thyme, a handful of salt, a table-spoonful of ground pepper, the same of mace, four bottles of vinegar, and eight of water. Tliis answers for venison, wild boar, and fillets of beef. They may be left in it for seven or eight days. If you have but a day or two in which to marinade the articles mentioned, add another bottle of vinegar. Brown Essence of Veal ( Blond dc Venn ). — Butter thoroughly the bottom of a middle-sized stew-pan, lay in it some lean ham, a fowl, an under nut, rump, and knuckle of veal, removing the bone from the end; then FRENCH COOKERY. 371 add three ladlefuls of beef-stock, two carrots, and two onions ; cover the stew-pan and place it over a quick oven, and when the essence is falling to a glaze, pierce the meats with the point of a knife, re-cover the stew-pan and set it again over a slow fire, to draw out the whole of the juices from the veal, and when the glaze becomes of a fine red colour, try it on a knife ; then fill it up with beef-stock, and set it to boil slowly for four hours at the comer of the stove, that it may become very clear, then strain it through a napkin into a basin. The blond de veau is useful to colour soups, and to work up the brown sauces; it is also used for the roasts, and to moisten various entrees. Common Broth, maigre ( Grand Bouillon, maigre). — Boil nearly three quarts of dried peas with nearly three quarts of water, a little salt, fresh butter, mignonette, pepper, nutmeg, and a bunch of parsley, for four hours, gently, then take it from the fire, and half an hour after run the stock clear through a sills sieve ; whilst this stock is boiling, prepare two bunches of carrots, the same of turnips, one bunch of white onions, and six heads of celery ; slice and sweat them off in fresh butter over a moderate fire, stirring them until coloured equally of a fine red; add two whitings cut in pieces, the white parts of a bunch of leeks sliced, ten quarts of water, and the stock from the peas ; boil these three hours, and pass them afterwards through a silk sieve. Use this stock for the sauces and soups composed of fish or roots, as also for any dishes that are maigre. Chicken Broth for the Sick ( Eau de Poulet rcifraichissante ). — Clean a fine fleshy fowl, and cut each member in two pieces, remove the lungs and blooded parts from the inside ; lay the fowl hi a small newly-tinned stew-pan, add a quart of water and a pinch of salt, skim it carefully, and boil it ten minutes, add the yellow leaves of a lettuce, boil it again five minutes, and throw in a handful of sorrel, chervil, and beet-leaves, cover the stew-pan from the fire ; a quarter of an hour after strain it through a silk sieve, which should be used expressly 372 FRENCH COOKERY. for this purpose only, and carefully skim each cup that you serve. Chicken Broth ( Another mode ). — Put a young fowl, cut up as usual, into a small well-tinned stew-pan with two spoonfuls of rice, and two quarts of water ; having skimmed it, add some coriander seed and two pinches of poppy grains; boil it gently for two hours, add six or eight middle sized river crayfish, and give it fifteen to twenty minutes’ boiling, then throw in a handful of borage leaves, cover it, and take the pan from the fire to infuse for a quarter of an hour, pass it through a silk sieve, and serve it lukewarm, two hours before, and the same space after dinner. It is good to correct a diseased system of the blood. Materials for frying, Oil, Butter, Lard, BeefSuet, &c.; — Oil to be used for frying must he new and of the finest quality : the least disagreeable taste is discovered when hot, and communicates itself immediately to the articles fried therein; otherwise, the colour it gives is brilliant; its use, therefore, is not to be disdained; it bums less quick than other materials for frying, such as lard, butter, &c.; To fry with clarified butter, the butter should be fresh, newly made, and, above all, perfectly free from any milkness ; when the butter is bad, it renders the things fried in it uneatable. When a pig is newly killed, the lard, if carefully melted, is good for frying, and gives a fine gold colour to the objects fried in it; but, on the contrary, if in the least rancid it is detestable, and should not be used. Oil, butter, lard, when not pure, occasion much inconvenience, by frothing up over the fire, and overflowing the pan. The frying from beef-suet melted is unquestionably the best, and preserves the crispness of the articles fried in it the longest. To obtain it good, skim carefully three or four stock pots, in which you have dressed some rumps of beef; when you have not this advantage, chop five pounds of kidneysuet, which should be very fresh; melt it over a very slow fire, adding half a pint of water, and squeeze it through a clean cloth ; it may then be used or set away in a clean pan. FRENCH COOKERY. 373 Observations. — To make a friture, it should be put over a quick fire, and as soon as a vaporous smoke ascends it is sufficiently hot ; then place it at the comer of the stove to prevent it becoming more hot, as then it will certainly burn. White thickening forVeloute, &c.; ( Roux blanc pour le Veloicte). — Put in a middle-sized stew-pan one pound of fresh butter, set it over a slow fire; when it melts, add twelve ounces of finest flour to it (be careful it is not new flour, as it then relaxes in working the sauces); when well mingled, place the roux on some hot ashes, cover it, and every quarter of an hour stir it with a wooden spoon, so as to boil it equally ; it must be simmered without any interruption ; an hour after it has simmered, you may use it, or place it in an earthen vessel slightly buttered. Brown thickening for Espagnol (Roux blond pour V Espagnol). — Mark it as above, but let it simmer for two hours over some slow ashes , that it may gradually become of a rather deep brown -red tint. It maybe immediately used, or placed in a small earthen vessel covered with buttered paper. Batier for frying, French mode (Pate a frire a la Franpaise). — Melt two ounces of fresh butter in two tumblers of warm water, with a little salt, mix it carefully in a basin, with eight ounces of finest flour with a wooden spoon until it becomes a soft and smooth paste. It should be of a certain consistence, and adhere to the spoon when lifted up from the basin ; add, towards the conclusion, all the butter which remains on the surface of the water, but not carelessly, so as to mix the flour into a firm paste, and be afterwards obliged to moisten it with water, by which means the thing becomes ropy, and proper effect is not produced in the frying. At the moment of using it add a white and a half of egg whipt, then dip the articles to be fried in this batter, and throw them into the fat or oil according as you want them, taking care that the former is properly hot. French Sausages. — The French sausages are stipe- 374 FRENCH COOKERY. nor to those of Italy. Throughout ’France a uniform process is generally followed in making them, as is the case in Italy; some consist of beef, some of pork, and some of both mixed. It has however been remarked that the best sausages come from those districts where there is a considerable consumption of asses’ milk, the young foals of the asses being used as sausage-meat — these are slaugh tered when about a month or six weeks old. At Lyons, the mixture is hogs’ flesh, asses’ flesh, and a little beef ; at Bordeaux, it is beef and hog in equal proportions, and sometimes beef and pork separately. — From the Magazine of Domestic Economy. A rees Sausages. — The Arles sausages are extremely tender, and have a hammy, sweet, and fragrant taste, that renders them particularly recherche ; they are never smoked, and their coat is always of a very light colour, a peculiarity that distinguishes them from the others, which are a lm ost black in general. The Arles sausages are often between two and three feet long ; those of Lyons are about eighteen or twenty inches, whilst those of Bordeaux seldom exceed a foot in length. It must be observed that all those sausages which are distinguished by the name of saucissons are to be eaten raw, the pounding and condiments being sufficient to render the meat tender and digestible. All these saucissons might be made in England in as great perfection as at either of the places above named, provided the materials were of equally good quality. — From the Magazine of Domestic Economy. French Sausages ( Manner of making). — The meat is cut to a convenient size, and each piece rubbed with either garlic or shalot, it is then put into a mortar and pounded until it becomes a hard paste, when it is sprinkled with brown sugar and worked up again ; it now receives the following mixture, with which it is again worked: two parts of bay-salt, and one of saltpetre, are well pounded, to them are added some pounded allspice, a little pounded mace, some white pepper, and a small quantity of powdered bay-leaf; the meat being now laid upon the table FRENCH COOKERY. 375 and rolled out, the strips of lard are laid upon it lengthwise, together with pepper-corns, as in the Italian sausages ; and in certain kinds of these sausages, pistachio nuts are cut in slices and laid symmetrically, but sparingly, in some of the intervals between the strips of bacon, the sausages are then rolled, placed in pickled chitterlings, tied very tightly at each end, and hung up to dry- Preparing Hung Beef ( French mode ). — The bone is carefully removed from a rump of beef, which is the best part of the animal for this purpose, after hanging till it becomes tender, it is put into a pan and well rubbed with a pickle composed of a pound of common salt, two ounces of saltpetre, an ounce of sal prunella, and half a pound of coarse brown sugar, all mixed together ; it is now covered with parsley, slialots, a sprig of thyme, three bay leaves, a bunch each of marjoram, sweet basil, and winter savory, a pinch or two of coriander seed, a large table-spoonful of jumper berries, and three cloves of garlic ; it is turned every day in the brine during ten days, the herbs, berries, seeds, shalots, and garlic, being placed each time on the top of the meat ; at the expiration of that time it is hung up in the chimney, subject to the smoke of a wood fire, or otherwise smoked ; before it is used it must be soaked for a few hours in cold water. It is dressed in cold water, containing a little vinegar or veijuice, a couple of onions, one of them stuck with cloves, half a nutmeg, and a bunch of sweet herbs, and is made to simmer, but not boil up until it is done enough ; it is then allowed to cool in the same liquid, and is served up when quite cold, with a fresh garnish of green parsley each time it appears at table. Blanc Manger X la Vanille. — Cut half a stick of vanille into small pieces, boil three ounces of sugar to a caramel height, add the vanille to it and leave it to cool, then dissolve it with a quarter of a pint of warm water, and place it on some red ashes to melt, pound half a pound of almonds, directed as in blanc manger (squeezing the milk from the almonds), only 376 FRENCH COOKERY. moistening them with three quarters of a pint of water, add one ounce of clarified isinglass, put into a mould placed on ice. Blanc Manger ( French method ). — Throw into boiling water half a pound of sweet almonds and ten bitter, skin, and leave them to soak in a basin of cold water, which whitens them exceedingly, then drain them on a sieve, and rub them on a napkin, pound and moisten them gradually with half a spoonful of water that they may not become oily, when thoroughly pounded, mix them with rather more than a pint of water, adding it by degrees, squeeze them through a napkin or tammy, to force out the milk from the almonds, then add six ounces of pounded sugar, and when it has melted pass the whole again through a tammy, and mix it with rather more than three quarters of an ounce of clarified isinglass (which will take one ounce), a little hotter than lukewarm, that it may perfectly mute with the blanc manger, and pom’ it into a mould placed on ice. To make the blanc manger au rum, add half a teacup of old rum, or arrack, or marasquino. Ravigotte X la Ude. — Take a tea-spoonful of ketchup, ditto of cavice, ditto of chilli vinegar, ditto of Reading sauce, a lump of butter, the size of an egg, three spoonfuls of common bechamel, a little new cream, salt, and pepper, and a little parsley chopped fine, and blanch very green. Another Ravigotte, according to Careme . — Sweat in a ragout sauce-pan, two ragout spoonfuls of common vinegar, and a pinch of mignonette, when sufficiently reduced, add two spoonfuls of consommd, and two large spoonfuls of sauce Allemande; pass through a tammy, and at the moment of serving, mix slireded chervil, tarragon, and a little fresh butter. Some persons add a little lemon but that is useless. French Pudding. — Six ounces of flour, six ounces of butter melted, six ounces of lump sugar, six eggs, a little nutmeg grated, a little cinnamon, and a little jemon-peel grated, all well mixed together, and baked for twenty minutes in small moulds. A wine sauce. FRENCH COOKERY. 377 Braised Turkey (Dinde a la Braise, French fashion). — Cover the bottom of a German stew-pan with slices of bacon, or ham, and of beef, chopped carrots, onions, celery, stuffing herbs, salt, pepper, allspice, and mace ; place the turkey trussed as for boiling on these, and over it a layer of the same materials, cover it close with the lid, and place the pan in the oven, leaving the whole to stand in a state of gentle perspiration, until it is done enough; serve up in its own sauce. Any joint may be cooked thus, and the toughest leg of mutton becomes in this way quite tender. Braising requires great attention, and must be thorougldy done. There are braising-pans in which the above and various other ai’ticles, such as fricandeaux, sweetbreads, mutton, veal, &c.;, &c.;, can be done, and placed to stew, or simmer on the fire. Pigeons a la Crapaudine a la Bourgeoise. — Truss the pigeons with the legs inside, pick and singe them, cut them from end to end without separating them, flatten them by beating on the back, season them, and put them on the gridiron ; meantime, boil together a spoonful of minced shalots, three spoonfuls of vinegar, half a glass of water, and a little salt and pepper. As soon as your pigeons are grilled pour this sauce upon them. Fowls a la Tartare ( Poulets a la Tartare). — Pick well your fowl, turn in the legs, and cut it in two ; then take the bones from the back, and beat it with the flat of the kitchen knife; then put it in a stew-pan with clarified butter, pepper, salt, sweet herbs, spice, parsley, and green onions; let it stew softly till it be almost done, then strew some crumbs of bread over it, and broil it upon the gridiron, over a slow fire, until it attains a fine colour ; then serve it up with gravy, and the juice of a lemon over it ; to ascertain if it be done, thrust in your knife. Sauce aux Hatelettes.— Mince a little parsley, young onions, and muslu-ooms, together with a little 378 FRENCH COOKERY. butter, into a stew-pan, and fry them slightly ; before they get too dry, sprinkle on a little flour, and moisten with a large spoonful of broth or consomme ; season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, if liked, and small spices, and half of a bay-leaf; reduce it over a brisk fire, without skimming off the fat, taking care to stir it till it has acquired the consistence of clear bouillie ; then take out the bay -leaf, and thicken it with two or three yolks of eggs well beaten, and a little bouillon ; keep Stirling, and pom 1 the sauce over any dish it may be wanted for. This sauce is of nearly universal application; may be served over almost every tiling. It is used to stick crumbs of bread round whatever you may wish to put in crumbs, instead of butter ; it is also used for hatelettes of palates of beef, sweat-breads, fillets of rabbits, &c.; A Leg of Mutton with Garlic (A Gigot a V Ail). — Should be roasted by a pretty sharp fire ; baste and froth it well ; the garlic to be thrown into five different waters, boiling with a little salt, and boiled five minutes in each. It is then drained, and put into the drippingpan under the roasting mutton, and basted with it. A Leg of Mutton Gascon Fashion ( Gigot de Mouton a la Gasconne). — Take a leg of mutton sufficiently long kept, stick it with a dozen cloves of garlic, and a dozen of anchovies cut into shreds, spit and roast it, and serve with a ragout of garlic thus prepared ; Pick and clean half a pound of garlic, whiten it, and soften the flavour by half a dozen boilings in different water; when it comes nearly to a boil in the last water, strain it, put it in a stew-pan with five spoonfuls of reduced Espagnol, a lump of butter, and a little gravy ; sweat it, and serve under your leg of mutton in place of beans. Roasted IIam ( Jarnbon a la Brochcs). — Pare a Bayonne, Westphalia, or good ork or Westmoreland ham on the under side, and cut it quite round to give it a good form ; steep it to take out the salt ; put it into an earthen vessel with slices of onions, thyme, corianaer seeds, carrots, and two bruised bay-leaves ; pour over it a bottle aud a half of Malaga, Madeira, sherry, Bucel- FRENCH COOKERY. 379 las, Teneriffe, or any other Spanish wine, or Portuguese white wine, or Champagne ; cover it with a white cloth, and shut it up as close as possible ; leave it to marinade in this seasoning twenty-four hours ; spit it and let it cook four hours at a steady slow fire, basting it with the seasoning, and taking care to coat it over with six folds of thick paper ; when three hours at the fire, and nearly done, make a hole in the paper, and syringe in the Madeira or other wine, stopping up the hole with flour; take off the skin, glaze it, and vannez it; let it take a fine colour. When the ham is taken up to take the skin off, pass the marinade through a gauze search, reduce it to the consistence of sauce, and serve it under the ham. To dress a Leg of Mutton ( French fashion ). — Cut all the outer skin from the meat, which you must then well mb with the best olive oil; put it next into a flat pan containing a pint of luke-warm water, vinegar, some thyme, cloves, parsley, sweet basil, three or four bay-leaves, four cloves of garlic, some whole pepper, a little allspice, three or four cloves, and a tea-spoonful of bay-salt. Place the meat so that the under surface may lie in the vinegar, then cover the upper surface with slices of onion; every morning turn the meat, putting the surface covered with onions into the vinegar, and covering with the onions the surface which was in the vinegar the day before. When four days have elapsed, take the meat from the pan, wipe it dry, and hang it up till the next day, when it may be roasted in the same manner that venison is, or basted with the marinade in which it has been Artichokes a la Barigoule. — Take sufficient of artichokes for your dish, trim away the stalk and half of the leaves ; put them in a stew-pan with a little stock or water, an onion, two or three spoonfuls of good oil, a little salt and pepper, and a faggot of sweet herbs ; boil these until the sauce is nearly consumed; then fry the artichokes to make them crisp ; then place them in a dish with the remainder of the sauce, take out the 380 FRENCH COOKERY. choke, colour the leaves in a hot oven, and serve with a sauce of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. A Gigot abx Haricots ( Generally called the Haricot de Soissons ). — The dried white kidney beans should be soaked all night in cold water with a little salt. Set them over a slow fire and let them boil till tender, which you may know by pricking one or two with a needle. Pour in a little cold water to check the boiling, and let the beans boil up again. They will soon begin to crack, when they should be immediately taken off the fire and drained in a colander. Set your leg of mutton to roast, when nearly half done put the beans into a dripping-pan underneath. When the meat is done drain the fat from the beans and lay them in a dish round the mutton, having previously seasoned them with salt and pepper. Pour the gravy over the beans and send up to table. The French generally insert a single clove of garlic in the knuckle of the leg of mutton before it is put down to roast. This greatly improves the flavour. FRENCH PASTRY. Fine Paste for Tourtes ( Pate fine pour Tourtes d’ Entree) Is the same as for paste for timbales but you should use two ounces more of butter; it should be made something softer. This paste does for tourtes, for either for first or second course. Half-Puff Paste ( Pate brisee). — Three-quarters of a pound of flour should be sifted, then make a fountain (a hollow in the centre), put within it a quarter of an ounce of salt, two whole eggs, a quarter of a pint of water, and ten ounces of butter; proceed as for puffpaste ; but this should be somewhat more consistent; the butter should be placed in pieces within it ; having rolled it four times, like puff-paste, it has somewhat of the same appearance when baked. This paste is particularly used on Twelfth Night. Paste for Hot Pies ( Pate a dresser pour les Pates Chauds). — Put on your dresser three quarters of a FRENCH COOKERY. 381 pound of sifted flour, make a fountain, add six ounces of butter (worked with the hand in whiter), two yolks of eggs, a quarter of an ounce of salt, and half a tea- cup of water. Mix first the butter, salt, eggs, and water together, then the flour, rubbing the whole together with the hands and dresser, forming it into one equally smooth and firm body. Work this one turn more, roll it out the first time as far as you can without pressing the butter through the paste, then fold it in three layers, and roll it out in lengths as before, and this to be done as often as necessary, because having more butter in it than for cold pies, it is less easy to blend in summer. In order to this end the water should be iced. If, notwithstanding, the paste becomes heated, cut it in thin slices, moisten them slightly, work them strongly together, and let it remain some time before using it. This paste is used for custards of fruit and cream. Paste for Timbales ( Pate fine for Timbales ). — To three quarters of a pound of flour add eight ounces of butter, two yolks of eggs, a quarter of an ounce of salt, and finish as above. Cold French Pie. — P ut sausage meat, ham, and veal together for stuffing. Bone the goose, fowl, or turkey, fill the bottom of the dish with ham and stuffing, then veal over that and some ham ; a cup f ull of rich gravy, well seasoned, with a raised crust. Darioles ( so called from the name of the moulds ). — Make a bit of half puff paste, sheet the moulds ; first butter them and dust them with flour, and half bake the paste, then fill them with custard made as follows : — put a pint of milk, a pint of cream, a little cinnamon, and the peeling of a lemon, into a stew-pan ; set it on to boil for a quarter of an hour, then let it cool ; beat up the yolks of eight eggs in a basin, sweeten it with sifted loaf sugar, pour the cream, &c.; in a little at a time, then mix it well, and strain it through a hair sieve ; set it again on the fire, and when it begins to thicken fill the darioles, and put them in the oven for ten minutes. When done, 382 FRENCH COOKERY. tuna them out, sift a little fine sugar over them, and glaze them with a salamander. Mutton Kidneys ( Rognons de Mouton ). — Skin and split a dozen kidneys, opposite the nerve, without wholly separating them; pin them out with wooden skewers to keep them open, nab them with a little salt and pepper, dip them in melted butte:-, and broil first the inside, that, when turned on the grill to be finished, the gTavy may be preserved; dish on a hot plate, with a very little chopped blanched parsley and butter dropped over each. Kidneys are also dressed on vin de Champagne saute as a mince, stewing the mince in butter, dr a i nin g and serving it in a well-i’educed Italian brown sauce, with a very little Champagne, or any white wine. Queneeee of Fowe ( Farce a quenelle de Volaille). — Put in a stew-pan the crumb of a French loaf, moisten with two spoonfuls of consomme of fowl, two of veloute, and two spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms; put the pan over a slow fire as soon as the panade boils, stir it constantly with a wooden spoon till diy enough to be removed from the bottom of the pan, and form a firm but yielding and smooth paste ; mix two yolks of eggs with it (these may be omitted), spread it on a dish, and cover it with a sheet of buttered paper, take the fillets of two fine fleshy fowls, and having taken off the skin and nerves, pound them, rub the meat through a tammy, and lay it on a dish, trim a calf’s udder which has been boiled and become cold, pound and pass it through a tammy, poimd the panade and rub that through also ; weigh four ounces of panade, ten ounces of fowl, and six ounces of udder (or butter), pound the udder and panade together for a quarter of an hour, then add the fowl, poimd the whole for twenty minutes, add nearly half an ounce of seasoning spice, three spoonfuls of sweet liei’bs, a pinch of grated nutmeg, and two yolks of eggs, pound these for five minutes, then add two more yolks, and a ragout- spoonful of veloute or bechamel, cold; pound well for five minutes then put the force-meat into a basin and fix it on the ice; but, to try if it be firm enough, make a small que- FRENCH COOKERY. 383 nelle, and boil it for a few minutes in some stock: when taken up, this quenelle should be tender to the touch, and when cut in two should appear smooth, and be rich and agreeable to the palate; if too delicate, add the yolk of another egg, and if too firm, a little more veloute; to make use of this farce, butter slightly two saute plates, or else stew-pan covers, have near you a stew-pan of boding water, place in it a sdver table-spoon, fill another spoon with the force-meat, and spread it smoothly over with a knife, giving it the form of an egg cut in half lengthwise, rendering them smooth by dipping the knife in the hot water, lift the quenede from the spoon, by passing the other, which was lying in the hot water under it, a and removing it to the saute plates; be careful not to disarrange them in this proceeding; the quenelles may be formed also in small tea-spoons, or ragout-spoons, these last serving to garnish removes : they are formed also by rolling them out with flour on a dresser, likewise of the size of pistacliio nuts, to fill small vol-au-vents, casserolettes of rice, or small croustades of noudles, &c.; When ready to serve, pour some boiling stock into the saute plates, and when the quenelles bod, cover and let them go gently; at the moment of using them, drain them on a napkin, and place them in a pate chaud, volau-vent, or casserole, or dish them according to fancy on a dish; mask them with a ragout a la Finanqiere, if in a p&te; chaud, with a ragout a la Toulouse, if in a vol-au-vent, or casserole, and d* in a dish with a good consomme of fowl. Quenedes of veal, turkey, pheasant, partridge, and other game or fish, are thus prepared. Fowls with Truffles ( Poulets a la Perigueux ). — Prepare two fine white fat fowls, they must be drawn by the craw; clean two pounds of truffles, make the small ones as equal as possible, put in a pound of rasped lard into a stew-pan, put in the truffles with their parangs, which have been minced, salt, large pepper, fine spices, nutmeg, and a bay-leaf, which must be taken out afterwards; let them simmer half an hour upon a slow fire, 384 FRENCH COOKERY. shaking them carefully, take them off the fire, and let them cool ; put the fowls upon a cloth, and stuff them equally at the breast with the truffles, truss them on poulets d’ entree, skewer them, cover them with slices of lard and two or three sheets of paper, tie them upon the spit, and give them nearly five quarters of an hour; take off the paper, dish them, and serve upon a sauce & la Perigueux. Calf’s Liver, wtth fine Herbs ( Foie de Veau aux fines kerbes). — Cut a liver into slices an inch thick, form tlieso into the shape of a fan, about two inches broad, dredge them with flour, and put them to fry with onions, mushrooms, parsley, previously shred, and stewed in butter, or in the very best Provence oil, with pepper and salt ; fry all this gently till ready, and dust it with more pepper ; keep the liver hot, put a little broth or gravy to the herbs to moisten them, and stew for three minutes, and serve very hot, adding if you please, a little of the juice of a lemon. Veal Sweetbreads (Ris de Veau a la Dauphine). — Take five sweetbreads, cut off the throats and let them drain, change the water often that they may be very white, give them a slight blanch to make them firm enough to lard, put one over another, cover the bottom of a stew-pan with some parings of veal, onions, and carrots, and line the sides with bacon ; put in the sweetbreads on this foundation, moisten with consomme, and take care the bacon is not over moist; cover with buttered paper, let them boil, put them on a paillasse, i. e. on a braise or on hot cinders, with fire over, let it be strong enough to give them a fine golden colour, let them cook about three quarters of an hour, drain, glaze, and put them upon a good white endive sauce, four large crusts of bread fried in butter may be added, if there is no glaze some of the stock of the sweetbreads may be reduced, and passed through a silken tammy. A plain Fricassee of Chickens ( Fricassee dcs Poulets a la Paysanne). — Singe well two fat white FRENCH COOKERY. 385 chickens ; carve them smoothly with a very sharp knife exactly as at table; wash them in hike-warm water; blanch them over the fire a few minutes to make the flesh brown; plunge them in cold water, and then put them into a stew-pan with three ounces of butter, a faggot of parsley and green onions, and a cupful of trimmed button-mushrooms ; when warmed through, and a little tinged, dredge with flour, and add salt, white pepper, and a little of the liquor they were blanched in; let the fricassee simmer for a half-hour, or more, if the chickens are large ; then lift the chickens into another sauce-pan. Skim off the fat, and reduce the sauce they are cooked in by a quick boil, and strain it over them. When ready to serve, add a thickening of the beat of two eggs with a little cream. Fricassee of Chickens with Mushrooms ( Fricassee de Poulet aux Champignons ). — Cut up two of the common fowl or chickens which are always used for fricassees; chop the legs off above the knee; break the hip bone through the middle, and take it out; pull the flesh down from the thigh bone ; cut the pinion off by the second joint, and take out the two bones from the thick part of it; take out the lungs ; put the pieces into a stew-pan with about a pint of water, with a seasoned faggot, a clove, a blade of mace, a few pepper-corns, a handful of mushroom parings, and an onion sliced; let it boil about eight minutes. Take out the pieces of chicken and throw them into cold water ; drain them on a cloth ; trim them neatly ; throw the trimmings into the liquor, which reduce to one-half; skim this well, and pass it through a lawn sieve : put the members of chicken into another stew-pan with four or five ounces of butter, let them sweat a few minutes, and throw in a spoonful of flour, keep moving the stew-pan to mix the flour, then dilute it with the liquor, let it boil, cover it, and let it simmer by the side of the stove, skim it well ; put the pieces into another stew-pan, and strain the sauce over them, add two dozen mushrooms, turned and passed in butter; keep the whole hot. To serve, make 2 c 386 FRENCH COOKERY. it boil, and put in a liaison, or thickening of four yolks of eggs with a little cream, work this over the fire till thick, but do not let it boil ; work in a small piece of butter, and season with a little lemon-juice and salt: dish it, and mask with the sauce. Fricassee of Chickens A la Perigord (. Fricassee de Poulet a la Perigord). — Proceed as in the receipt aux champignons , only use a fat liver in scollops, and truffles, instead of mushrooms; with the point of a knife scrape a small piece of garlic, winch has passed through many waters, which work into the sauce. The fillets 1 may he larded with truffles and braised; these are done apart, and dished on the top of the fricassee. ENTREES OE BEEF. Filets Mignons of Beef sautes A la Lyonaise. — Take the inside fillet of a sirloin of beef, and scollop it of about the size of the palm of your hand. Mark i them in clarified butter, with a little salt and pepper, in a saute-pan ; when dinner-time is come, sauth them and turn them over; when done on both sides, drain the butter and put a little giaze in its stead. Keep stirring the meat in the glaze with a little lemon-juice, and a small bit of fresh butter. Dish it en miroton, and pour the Lyonaise in the saute-pan with the glaze. When you have mixed that well, put the sauce in the middle of the filets mignons , and serve up quite hot. Beefsteaks with Potatoes, French fashion (Biftehs aux Pommes de Terre). — Take some slices of the middle of the fillet, retaining the fat, or of rump of beef, an inch tlnck, flatten them, and season them with a little salt, pepper, &c.; Dip those slices into a little butter, that the gravy may not drop out wliilst broiling. You must have some parsley chopped very fine, and mixed with butter, salt, pepper, lemon, &e.; When your beefsteaks arc done, put the above ingredients under the steaks, and all round fried potatoes of a fine brown colour. FRENCH COOKERY. 387 Fillet of Beef {Filet de Bceuf Pique , a la Broche). — Take a nice fillet, from winch must be taken the fibrous skin, and any other small nerves, without hurting the appearance of the beef; pare and cut out the points, and let it have only the thickness of two fingers ; lard it equally all over. Put it, after it is larded, into a marinade or pickle, by pouring over it a little olive oil, salt, pepper, sliced onions, and bay-leaves; after it has been sufficiently marinaded, spit it, which may be done in various ways, in the form of a serpent, gimblet, or horseshoe ; let it be done before a brisk fire, and serve it with a sauce (hachee or poivrade). Fillets of Beef in their Juice {Filets de Bceuf Sautes dans leur Glace ). — Take off the large end and joint; cut the slices half an inch thick; if the fillet is large, it may be cut into four or fewer slices; if not, flatten them, cut them with a paste cutter the size of the hollow of the hand, dip them in clarified butter ; arrange them in a fiat stew-pan; put them upon a brisk fire, and turn them often that they may not lose their juice; when nearly done, drain off the butter, and replace it with a little reduced stock ; turn them often, pressing them down, that they may glaze and take the flavour ; when they are properly glazed, put them upon a dish in the form of a miroton ; put into the sauce a spoonful of consomme, to detach the glaze. A bit of butter should, lastly, be poured over the fillets. |
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