The Dictionary of Cookery (part 3)

Ingredients.—1¾ lb. of treacle, 1 lb. of moist sugar, 1 lb. of butter, 2¾ lbs. of flour, 1½ oz. of ground ginger, 1½ oz. of allspice, 1½ oz. of coriander-seeds. Mode.—Let the allspice, coriander-seeds, and ginger be freshly ground; put them into a basin, with the flour and sugar, and mix these ingredients well together; warm the treacle and butter together; then with a spoon work it into the flour, &c. until the whole forms a nice smooth paste. Drop the mixture from the spoon on a piece of buttered paper, and bake in rather a slow oven from 20 minutes to ½ hour. A little candied lemon-peel mixed with the above is an improvement, and a great authority in culinary matters suggests the addition of a little cayenne pepper in gingerbread. Whether it be advisable to use the latter ingredient or not, we leave our readers to decide. Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour. Average cost, 1s. to 1s. 4d. per lb. Seasonable at any time.

Glaze for covering Cold Hams, Tongues, &c.

Ingredients.—Stock, doubling the quantity of meat in the recipes. Mode.—We may remark at the outset, that unless glaze is wanted in very large quantities, it is seldom made expressly. Either of the stocks, boiled down and reduced very considerably, will be found to produce a very good glaze. Put the stock into a stewpan, over a nice clear fire; let it boil till it becomes somewhat stiff, when keep stirring, to prevent its burning. The moment it is sufficiently reduced, and come to a glaze, turn it into the glaze-pot before it gets cold. As, however, this is not to be found in every establishment, a white earthenware jar would answer the purpose; and this may be placed in a vessel of boiling water, to melt the glaze when required. It should never be warmed in a saucepan, except on the principle of the bain marie, lest it should reduce too much, and become black and bitter. If the glaze is wanted of a pale colour, more veal than beef should be used in making the stock; and it is as well to omit turnips and celery, as those impart a disagreeable bitter flavour.

Glaze-Kettle.

This is a kettle used for keeping the strong stock boiled down to a jelly, which is known by the name of glaze. It is composed of two tin vessels, as shown in the cut, one of which, the upper,—containing the glaze, is inserted into one of larger diameter, and containing boiling water.

Glaze, to, Cold Joints, &c.

Melt the glaze by placing the vessel which contains it, into the bain marie or saucepan of boiling water; brush it over the meat with a paste-brush, and if in places it is not quite covered, repeat the operation. The glaze should not be too dark a colour.

Golden Pudding.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of bread-crumbs, ¼ lb. of suet, ¼ lb. of marmalade, ¼ lb. of sugar, 4 eggs. Mode.—Put the bread-crumbs into a basin; mix with them the suet, which should be finely minced, the marmalade, and the sugar; stir all these ingredients well together, beat the eggs to a froth, moisten the pudding with these, and when well mixed put it into a mould or buttered basin; tie down with a floured cloth, and boil for 2 hours. When turned out, strew a little fine-sifted sugar over the top, and serve. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 11d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—The mould may be ornamented with stoned raisins, arranged in any fanciful pattern, before the mixture is poured in, which would add very much to the appearance of the pudding. For a plainer pudding, double the quantities of the bread-crumbs; and if the eggs do not moisten it sufficiently, use a little milk.

Goose, Green.

Ingredients.—Goose, 3 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Geese are called green till they are about four months old, and should not be stuffed. After it has been singed and trussed, put into the body a seasoning of pepper and salt, and the butter to moisten it inside. Roast before a clear fire for about ¾ hour, froth and brown it nicely, and serve with a brown gravy, and, when liked, gooseberry-sauce. This dish should be garnished with water-cresses. Time.—About ¾ hour. Average cost, 4s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable in June, July, and August.

Goose, Hashed.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast goose, 2 onions, 2 oz. of butter, 1 pint of boiling water, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of port wine, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup. Mode.—Cut up the goose into pieces of the size required; the inferior joints, trimmings, &c., put into a stewpan to make the gravy; slice and fry the onions in the butter of a very pale brown; add these to the trimmings, and pour over about a pint of boiling water; stew these gently for ¾ hour, then skim and strain the liquor. Thicken it with flour, and flavour with port wine and ketchup in the above proportion; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and put in the pieces of goose; let these get thoroughly hot through, but do not allow them to boil, and serve with sippets of toasted bread. Time.—Altogether, rather more than 1 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold goose, 4d. Seasonable from September to March.

Goose, Roast.

Ingredients.—Goose, 4 large onions, 10 sage-leaves, ¼ lb. of bread-crumbs, 1½ oz. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 1 egg. Choosing and Trussing.—Select a goose with a clean white skin, plump breast, and yellow feet: if these latter are red, the bird is old. Should the weather permit, let it hang for a few days; by so doing the flavour will be very much improved. Pluck, singe, draw, and carefully wash and wipe the goose; cut off the neck close to the back, leaving the skin long enough to turn over; cut off the feet at the first joint, and separate the pinions at the first joint. Beat the breastbone flat with a rolling-pin, put a skewer through the under part of each wing, and having drawn up the legs closely, put a skewer into the middle of each, and pass the same quite through the body. Insert another skewer into the small of the leg, bring it close down to the side-bone, run it through, and do the same to the other side. Now cut off the end of the vent, and make a hole in the skin sufficiently large for the passage of the rump, in order to keep in the seasoning. Mode.—Make a sage-and-onion stuffing of the above ingredients, put it into the body of the goose, and secure it firmly at both ends by passing the rump through the hole made in the skin, and the other end by tying the skin of the neck to the back: by this means the seasoning will not escape. Put it down to a brisk fire, keep it well basted, and roast from 1½ to 2 hours, according to the size. Remove the skewers, and serve with a tureen of good gravy, and one of well-made apple sauce. Should a very highly-flavoured seasoning be preferred, the onions should not be parboiled, but minced raw: of the two methods the mild seasoning is far superior. A ragoût, or pie, should be made of the giblets, or they may be stewed down to make gravy. Be careful to serve the goose before the breast falls, or its appearance will be spoiled by coming flattened to table. As this is rather a troublesome joint to carve, a large quantity of gravy should not be poured round the goose, but sent in a tureen. Time.—A large goose, 1¾ hour; a moderate-sized one, 1/¼ to 1½ hour. Seasonable from September to March; but in perfection from Michaelmas to Christmas. Average cost, 5s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 8 or 9 persons.

Note.—A teaspoonful of made mustard, a saltspoonful of salt, a few grains of cayenne, mixed with a glass of port wine, are sometimes poured into the goose by a slit made in the apron. This sauce is by many considered an improvement.

Goose, Roast, to Carve.

It would not be fair to say that this dish bodes a great deal of happiness to an inexperienced carver, especially if there is a large party to serve, and the slices off the breast should not suffice to satisfy the desires and cravings of many wholesome appetites, produced, may be, by the various sports in vogue at Michaelmas and Christmas. The beginning of the task, however, is not in any way difficult. Evenly-cut slices, not too thick or too thin, should be carved from the breast in the direction of the line from 2 to 3; after the first slice has been cut, a hole should be made with the knife in the part called the apron, passing it round the line as indicated by the figures 1, 1, 1; here the stuffing is located, and some of this should be served on each plate, unless it is discovered that it is not agreeable to the taste of some one guest. If the carver manages cleverly, he will be able to cut a very large number of fine slices off the breast, and the more so if he commences close down by the wing, and carves upwards towards the ridge of the breastbone. As many slices as can be taken from the breast being carved, the wings should be cut off, and the same process as described in carving boiled fowl is made use of in this instance, only more dexterity and greater force will most probably be required. The shape of the leg, when disengaged from the body of the goose, should be like that shown in the accompanying engraving. It will be necessary, perhaps, in taking off the leg, to turn the goose on its side, and then, pressing down the small end of the leg, the knife should be passed under it from the top quite down to the joint; the leg being now turned back by the fork, the knife must cut through the joint, loosening the thighbone from its socket. The merrythought, which in a goose is not so large as might be expected, is disengaged in the same way as that of a fowl—by passing the knife under it, and pressing it backwards towards the neck. The neck-bones, of which we give a cut, are freed by the same process as are those of a fowl; and the same may be said of all the other parts of this bird. The breast of a goose is the part most esteemed; all parts, however, are good, and full of juicy flavour.

Goose Stuffing, Soyer’s Recipe for.

Take 4 apples peeled and cored, 4 onions, 4 leaves of sage, and 4 leaves of lemon thyme not broken, and boil them in a stewpan with sufficient water to cover them; when done, pulp them through a sieve, removing the sage and thyme; then add sufficient pulp of mealy potatoes to cause it to be sufficiently dry without sticking to the hand; add pepper and salt, and stuff the bird.

Gooseberries, Compôte of.

Ingredients.—Syrup; to 1 pint of syrup allow nearly a quart of gooseberries. Mode.—Top and tail the gooseberries, which should not be very ripe, and pour over them some boiling water; then take them out and plunge them into cold water with which has been mixed a tablespoonful of vinegar, which will assist to keep the fruit a good colour. Make a pint of syrup, and when it boils drain the gooseberries and put them in; simmer them gently until the fruit is nicely pulped and tender without being broken; then dish the gooseberries on a glass dish, boil the syrup for 2 or 3 minutes, pour over the gooseberries, and serve cold. Time.—About 5 minutes to boil the gooseberries in the syrup, 3 minutes to reduce the syrup. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient.—A quart of gooseberries for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable in June.

Gooseberry Chips. (Useful for Dessert.)

Ingredients.—Gooseberries unripe and green, but quite full-grown; sifted loaf sugar. Mode.—Put the gooseberries, when cleaned of tops and tails, into jars, and boil them in a copper till quite soft. To every lb. of pulp put ½ lb. of loaf sugar sifted: the sugar must be stirred in very gently. Then pour out the sweetened pulp on flat dishes, about ⅛ inch thick, which must be set in the sun to dry. When sufficiently dried in the sun, the pulp may be cut into strips, and twisted into any fanciful shapes, bows, &c. Time for drying, according to the amount of sun. Seasonable at all times.

Note.—These chips may be kept for years in tin boxes, if packed quite dry, with layers of paper between the rows.

Gooseberry Fool.

Ingredients.—Green gooseberries; to every pint of pulp add 1 pint of milk, or ½ pint of cream and ½ pint of milk; sugar to taste. Mode.—Cut the tops and tails off the gooseberries, put them into a jar with 2 tablespoonfuls of water and a little good moist sugar; set this jar in a saucepan of boiling water, and let it boil until the fruit is soft enough to mash. When done enough, beat it to a pulp, work this pulp through a colander, and stir to every pint the above proportion of milk, or equal quantities of milk and cream. Ascertain if the mixture is sweet enough, and put in plenty of sugar, or it will not be eatable; and in mixing the milk and gooseberries add the former very gradually to these: serve in a glass dish, or in small glasses. This, although a very old-fashioned and homely dish, is, when well made, very delicious, and, if properly sweetened, a very suitable preparation for children. Time.—From ¾ to 1 hour. Average cost, 6d. per pint, with milk. Sufficient.—A pint of milk and a pint of gooseberry pulp for 5 or 6 children. Seasonable in May and June.

Gooseberry Jam.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of fruit allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar; currant-juice. Mode.—Select red hairy gooseberries; have them gathered in dry weather, when quite ripe, without being too soft. Weigh them; with a pair of scissors cut off the tops and tails, and to every 6 lbs. of fruit have ready ½ pint of red-currant juice, drawn as for jelly. Put the gooseberries and currant-juice into a preserving-pan, let them boil tolerably quickly, keeping them well stirred; when they begin to break, add to them the sugar, and keep simmering until the jam becomes firm, carefully skimming and stirring it, that it does not burn at the bottom. It should be boiled rather a long time, or it will not keep. Put it into pots (not too large), let it get perfectly cold, then cover the pots down with oiled and egged papers. Time.—About 1 hour to boil the gooseberries in the currant-juice, from ½ to ¾ hour with the sugar. Average cost, per lb. pot, from 6d. to 8d. Sufficient.—Allow 1½ pint of fruit for a lb. pot. Seasonable.—Make this in June or July.

Gooseberry Jam.

Ingredients.—To every 8 lbs. of red, rough, ripe gooseberries allow 1 quart of red-currant juice, 5 lbs. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Have the fruit gathered in dry weather, and cut off the tops and tails. Prepare 1 quart of red-currant juice, the same as for red-currant jelly; put it into a preserving-pan with the sugar, and keep stirring until the latter is dissolved. Keep it boiling for about 5 minutes; skim well; then put in the gooseberries, and let them boil from ½ to ¾ hour; then turn the whole into an earthen pan, and let it remain for 2 days. Boil the jam up again until it looks clear; put it into pots, and when cold, cover with oiled paper, and over the jars put tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg, and store away in a dry place. Care must be taken, in making this, to keep the jam well stirred and well skimmed, to prevent it burning at the bottom of the pan, and to have it very clear. Time.—5 minutes to boil the currant-juice and sugar after the latter is dissolved; from ½ to ¾ hour to simmer the gooseberries the first time, ¼ hour the second time of boiling. Average cost, from 8d. to 10d. per lb. pot. Sufficient.—Allow 1½ pint of fruit for a lb. pot. Seasonable.—Make this in June or July.

Gooseberry Jam, White or Green.

Ingredients.—Equal weight of fruit and sugar. Mode.—Select the gooseberries not very ripe, either white or green, and top and tail them. Boil the sugar with water (allowing ½ pint to every lb.) for about ¼ hour, carefully removing the scum as it rises; then put in the gooseberries, and simmer gently till clear and firm: try a little of the jam on a plate; if it jellies when cold, it is done, and should then be poured into pots. When cold, cover with oiled paper, and tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the unbeaten white of an egg, and stow away in a dry place. Time.—¼ hour to boil the sugar and water, ¾ hour the jam. Average cost, from 6d. to 8d. per lb. pot. Sufficient.—Allow 1½ pint of fruit for a lb. pot. Seasonable.—Make this in June.

Gooseberry Jelly.

Ingredients.—Gooseberries; to every pint of juice allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Put the gooseberries, after cutting off the tops and tails, into a preserving-pan, and stir them over the fire until they are quite soft; then strain them through a sieve, and to every pint of juice allow ¾ lb. of sugar. Boil the juice and sugar together for nearly ¾ hour, stirring and skimming all the time; and if the jelly appears firm when a little of it is poured on to a plate, it is done, and should then be taken up and put into small pots. Cover the pots with oiled and egged papers, the same as for currant jelly, and store away in a dry place. Time.—¾ hour to simmer the gooseberries without the sugar; ¾ hour to boil the juice. Average cost, from 8d. to 10d. per ½-lb. pot. Seasonable in July.

Gooseberry Pudding, Baked.

Ingredients.—Gooseberries, 3 eggs, 1½ oz. of butter, ½ pint of bread-crumbs, sugar to taste. Mode.—Put the gooseberries into a jar, previously cutting off the tops and tails; place this jar in boiling water, and let it boil until the gooseberries are soft enough to pulp; then beat them through a coarse sieve, and to every pint of pulp add 3 well-whisked eggs, 1½ oz. of butter, ½ pint of bread-crumbs, and sugar to taste; beat the mixture well, put a border of puff-paste round the edge of a pie-dish, put in the pudding, bake for about 40 minutes, strew sifted sugar over, and serve. Time.—About 40 minutes. Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from May to July.

Gooseberry Pudding, Boiled.

Ingredients.—¾ lb. of suet crust, 1½ pint of green gooseberries, ¼ lb. of moist sugar. Mode.—Line a pudding-basin with suet crust rolled out to about ½ inch in thickness, and, with a pair of scissors, cut off the tops and tails of the gooseberries; fill the basin with the fruit, put in the sugar, and cover with crust. Pinch the edges of the pudding together, tie over it a floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil from 2½ to 3 hours; turn it out of the basin, and serve with a jug of cream. Time.—2½ to 3 hours. Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable from May to July.

Gooseberry Sauce for Boiled Mackerel.

Ingredients.—1 pint of green gooseberries, 3 tablespoonfuls of Béchamel (veal gravy may be substituted for this), 2 oz. of fresh butter; seasoning to taste of salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Mode.—Boil the gooseberries in water until quite tender; strain them, and rub them through a sieve. Put into a saucepan the Béchamel or gravy, with the butter and seasoning; add the pulp from the gooseberries, mix all well together, and heat gradually through. A little pounded sugar added to this sauce is by many persons considered an improvement, as the saccharine matter takes off the extreme acidity of the unripe fruit. Time.—Boil the gooseberries from 20 minutes to ½ hour. Sufficient.—This quantity, for a large dish of mackerel. Seasonable from May to July.

Gooseberry Tart.

Ingredients.—1½ pint of gooseberries, ½ lb. of short crust, ¼ lb. of moist sugar. Mode.—With a pair of scissors cut off the tops and tails of the gooseberries; put them into a deep pie-dish, pile the fruit high in the centre, and put in the sugar; line the edge of the dish with short crust, put on the cover, and ornament the edges of the tart; bake in a good oven for about ¾ hour, and before being sent to table, strew over it some fine-sifted sugar. A jug of cream, or a dish of boiled or baked custards, should always accompany this dish. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from May to July.

Gooseberry Trifle.

Ingredients.—1 quart of gooseberries, sugar to taste, 1 pint of custard, a plateful of whipped cream. Mode.—Put the gooseberries into a jar, with sufficient moist sugar to sweeten them, and boil them until reduced to a pulp. Put this pulp at the bottom of a trifle-dish; pour over it a pint of custard made by recipe, and, when cold, cover with whipped cream. The cream should be whipped the day before it is wanted for table, as it will then be so much firmer and more solid; but it should not be added to the fruit until a short time before it is required. The dish may be garnished as fancy dictates. Time.—About ¾ hour to boil the gooseberries. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 1 trifle. Seasonable in May, June, and July.

Gooseberry Vinegar. (An Excellent Recipe.)

Ingredients.—2 pecks of crystal gooseberries, 6 gallons of water, 12 lbs. of foots sugar of the coarsest brown quality. Mode.—Mash the gooseberries (which should be quite ripe) in a tub with a mallet; put to them the water nearly milk-warm; let this stand 24 hours; then strain it through a sieve, and put the sugar to it; mix it well, and tun it. These proportions are for a 9-gallon cask; and if it be not quite full, more water must be added. Let the mixture be stirred from the bottom of the cask two or three times daily for three or four days, to assist the melting of the sugar; then paste a piece of linen cloth over the bunghole, and set the cask in a warm place, but not in the sun; any corner of a warm kitchen is the best situation for it. The following spring it should be drawn off into stone bottles, and the vinegar will be fit for use twelve months after it is made. This will be found a most excellent preparation, greatly superior to much that is sold under the name of the best white wine vinegar. Many years’ experience has proved that pickle made with this vinegar will keep, when bought vinegar will not preserve the ingredients. The cost per gallon is merely nominal, especially to those who reside in the country and grow their own gooseberries; the coarse sugar is then the only ingredient to be purchased. Time.—To remain in the cask 9 months. Average cost, when the gooseberries have to be purchased, 1s. per gallon; when they are grown at home, 6d. per gallon. Seasonable.—This should be made the end of June or the beginning of July, when gooseberries are ripe and plentiful.

Gooseberry Wine, Effervescing.

Ingredients.—To every gallon of water allow 6 lbs. of green gooseberries, 3 lbs. of lump sugar. Mode.—This wine should be prepared from unripe gooseberries, in order to avoid the flavour which the fruit would give to the wine when in a mature state. Its briskness depends more upon the time of bottling than upon the unripe state of the fruit, for effervescing wine can be made from fruit that is ripe as well as that which is unripe. The fruit should be selected when it has nearly attained its full growth, and consequently before it shows any tendency to ripen. Any bruised or decayed berries, and those that are very small, should be rejected. The blossom and stalk ends should be removed, and the fruit well bruised in a tub or pan, in such quantities as to insure each berry being broken without crushing the seeds. Pour the water (which should be warm) on the fruit, squeeze and stir it with the hand until all the pulp is removed from the skin and seeds, and cover the whole closely for 24 hours; after which, strain it through a coarse bag, and press it with as much force as can be conveniently applied, to extract the whole of the juice and liquor the fruit may contain. To every 40 or 50 lbs. of fruit one gallon more of hot water may be passed through the marc, or husks, in order to obtain any soluble matter that may remain, and be again pressed. The juice should be put into a tub or pan of sufficient size to contain all of it, and the sugar added to it. Let it be well stirred until the sugar is dissolved, and place the pan in a warm situation; keep it closely covered, and let it ferment for a day or two. It must then be drawn off into clean casks, placed a little on one side for the scum that arises to be thrown out, and the casks kept filled with the remaining “must,” that should be reserved for that purpose. When the active fermentation has ceased, the casks should be plugged upright, again filled, if necessary, the bungs be put in loosely, and, after a few days, when the fermentation is a little more languid (which may be known by the hissing noise ceasing), the bungs should be driven in tight, and a spile-hole made, to give vent if necessary. About November or December, on a clear fine day, the wine should be racked from its lees into clean casks, which may be rinsed with brandy. After a month, it should be examined to see if it is sufficiently clear for bottling; if not, it must be fined with isinglass, which may be dissolved in some of the wine: 1 oz. will be sufficient for 9 gallons. In bottling the wine, it will be necessary to wire the corks down, or to tie them down with string. Old champagne bottles are the best for this wine. In March or April, or when the gooseberry bushes begin to blossom, the wine must be bottled, in order to insure its being effervescing. Seasonable.—Make this the end of May or beginning of June, before the berries ripen.

Gravies, General Stock for

By the addition of various store sauces, thickening and flavouring, good stock may be converted into good gravies. It should be borne in mind, however, that the goodness and strength of spices, wines, flavourings, &c., evaporate, and that they lose a great deal of their fragrance if added to the gravy a long time before they are wanted. If this point is attended to, a saving of one half the quantity of these ingredients will be effected, as, with long boiling, the flavour almost entirely passes away. The shank-bones of mutton, previously well soaked, will be found a great assistance in enriching gravies; a kidney or melt, beef skirt, trimmings of meat, &c. &c., answer very well when only a small quantity is wanted, and a good gravy need not necessarily be so very expensive; for economically-prepared dishes are oftentimes found as savoury and wholesome as dearer ones. The cook should also remember that the fragrance of gravies should not be overpowered by too much spice, or any strong essences, and that they should always be warmed in a bain marie, after they are flavoured, or else in a jar or jug placed in a saucepan full of boiling water. The remains of roast-meat gravy should always be saved; as, when no meat is at hand, a very nice gravy in haste may be made from it, and when added to hashes, ragoûts, &c., is a great improvement.

Gravy, a Good Beef, for Poultry, Game, &c.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of lean beef, ½ pint of cold water, 1 shalot or small onion, ½ a teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, 1 tablespoonful of Harvey’s sauce or mushroom ketchup, ½ a teaspoonful of arrowroot. Mode.—Cut up the beef into small pieces, and put it, with the water, into a stewpan. Add the shalot and seasoning, and simmer gently for 3 hours, taking care that it does not boil fast. A short time before it is required, take the arrowroot, and having mixed it with a little cold water, pour it into the gravy, which keep stirring, adding the Harvey’s sauce, and just letting it boil. Strain off the gravy in a tureen, and serve very hot. Time.—3 hours. Average cost, 8d. per pint.

Gravy, Beef, a Quickly Made.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of shin of beef, ½ onion, ¼ carrot, 2 or 3 sprigs of parsley and savoury herbs, a piece of butter about the size of a walnut; cayenne and mace to taste, ¾ pint of water. Mode.—Cut up the meat into very small pieces, slice the onion and carrot, and put them into a small saucepan with the butter. Keep stirring over a sharp fire until they have taken a little colour, when add the water and the remaining ingredients. Simmer for ½ hour, skim well, strain, and flavour, when it will be ready for use. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, for this quantity, 5d.

Gravy, Brown.

Ingredients.—2 oz. of butter, 2 large onions, 2 lbs. of shin of beef, 2 small slices of lean bacon (if at hand), salt and whole pepper to taste, 3 cloves, 2 quarts of water. For thickening, 2 oz. of butter, 3 oz. of flour. Mode.—Put the butter into a stewpan; set this on the fire, throw in the onions cut in rings, and fry them a light brown; then add the beef and bacon, which should be cut into small square pieces; season, and pour in a teacupful of water; let it boil for about ten minutes, or until it is of a nice brown colour, occasionally stirring the contents. Now fill up with water in the above proportion; let it boil up, when draw it to the side of the fire to simmer very gently for 1½ hour; strain, and when cold, take off all the fat. In thickening this gravy, melt 3 oz. of butter in a stewpan, add 2 oz. of flour, and stir till of a light-brown colour; when cold, add it to the strained gravy, and boil it up quickly. This thickening may be made in larger quantities, and kept in a stone jar for use when wanted. Time.—Altogether, 2 hours. Average cost, 4d. per pint.

Gravy, Brown, without Meat.

Ingredients.—2 large onions, 1 large carrot, 2 oz. of butter, 3 pints of boiling water, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, a wineglassful of good beer; salt and pepper to taste. Mode.—Slice, flour, and fry the onions and carrots in the butter until of a nice light-brown colour, then add the boiling water and the remaining ingredients; let the whole stew gently for about an hour, then strain, and when cold, skim off all the fat. Thicken it, and, if thought necessary, add a few drops of colouring. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 2d. per pint.

Note.—The addition of a small quantity of mushroom ketchup or Harvey’s sauce very much improves the flavour of this gravy.

Gravy, Cheap, for Minced Veal

Ingredients.—Bones and trimmings of cold roast or boiled veal, 1½ pint of water, 1 onion, ¼ teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, ¼ teaspoonful of salt, 1 blade of pounded mace, the juice of ¼ lemon; thickening of butter and flour. Mode.—Put all the ingredients into a stewpan, except the thickening and lemon-juice, and let them simmer very gently for rather more than 1 hour, or until the liquor is reduced to a pint, when strain through a hair sieve. Add a thickening of butter and flour, and the lemon-juice; set it on the fire, and let it just boil up, when it will be ready for use. It may be flavoured with a little tomato sauce, and, where a rather dark-coloured gravy is not objected to, ketchup, or Harvey’s sauce, may be added at pleasure. Time.—Rather more than 1 hour. Average cost, 3d.

Gravy, Cheap, for Hashes, &c.

Ingredients.—Bones and trimmings of the cooked joint intended for hashing, ¼ teaspoonful of salt, ¼ teaspoonful of whole pepper, ¼ teaspoonful of whole allspice, a small faggot of savoury herbs, ½ head of celery, 1 onion, 1 oz. of butter, thickening, sufficient boiling water to cover the bones. Mode.—Chop the bones in small pieces, and put them in a stewpan, with the trimmings, salt, pepper, spice, herbs, and celery. Cover with boiling water, and let the whole simmer gently for 1½ or 2 hours. Slice and fry the onion in the butter till it is of a pale brown, and mix it gradually with the gravy made from the bones; boil for ¼ hour, and strain into a basin; now put it back into the stewpan; flavour with walnut pickle or ketchup, pickled-onion liquor, or any store sauce that may be preferred. Thicken with a little butter and flour, kneaded together on a plate, and the gravy will be ready for use. After the thickening is added, the gravy should just boil, to take off the rawness of the flour. Time.—2 hours, or rather more. Average cost, 4d., exclusive of the bones and trimmings.

Gravy for Roast Meat.

Ingredients.—Gravy, salt. Mode.—Put a common dish with a small quantity of salt in it under the meat, about a quarter of an hour before it is removed from the fire. When the dish is full, take it away, baste the meat, and pour the gravy into the dish on which the joint is to be served.

Gravy for Venison.

Ingredients.—Trimmings of venison, 3 or 4 mutton shank-bones, salt to taste, 1 pint of water, 2 teaspoonfuls of walnut ketchup. Mode.—Brown the trimmings over a nice clear fire, and put them in a stewpan with the shank-bones and water; simmer gently for 2 hours, strain and skim, and add the walnut ketchup and a seasoning of salt. Let it just boil, when it is ready to serve. Time.—2 hours.

Gravy, Jugged (Excellent).

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of shin of beef, ¼ lb. of lean ham, 1 onion or a few shalots, 2 pints of water, salt and whole pepper to taste, 1 blade of mace, a faggot of savoury herbs, ½ a large carrot, ½ a head of celery. Mode.—Cut up the beef and ham into small pieces, and slice the vegetables; take a jar, capable of holding two pints of water, and arrange therein, in layers, the ham, meat, vegetables, and seasoning, alternately, filling up with the above quantity of water; tie down the jar, or put a plate over the top, so that the steam may not escape; place it in the oven, and let it remain there from 6 to 8 hours; should, however, the oven be very hot, less time will be required. When sufficiently cooked, strain the gravy, and when cold, remove the fat. It may be flavoured with ketchup, wines, or any other store sauce that may be preferred. It is a good plan to put the jar in a cool oven over-night, to draw the gravy; and then it will not require so long baking the following day. Time.—From 6 to 8 hours, according to the oven. Average cost, 7d. per pint.

Gravy-Kettle.

This is a utensil which will not be found in every kitchen; but it is a useful one where it is necessary to keep gravies hot for the purpose of pouring over various dishes as they are cooking. It is made of copper, and should, consequently, be heated over the hot-plate, if there be one, or a charcoal stove.

Gravy made without Meat for Fowls.

Ingredients.—The necks, feet, livers, and gizzards of the fowls, 1 slice of toasted bread, ½ onion, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, salt and pepper to taste, ½ pint of water, thickening of butter and flour, 1 dessertspoonful of ketchup. Mode.—Wash the feet of the fowls thoroughly clean, and cut them and the neck into small pieces. Put these into a stewpan with the bread, onion, herbs, seasoning, livers, and gizzards; pour the water over them and simmer gently for 1 hour. Now take out the liver, pound it, and strain the liquor to it. Add a thickening of butter and flour, and a flavouring of mushroom ketchup; boil it up and serve. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 4d. per pint.

Gravy, Rich, for Hashes, Ragoûts, &c.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of shin of beef, l large onion or a few shalots, a little flour, a bunch of savoury herbs, 2 blades of mace, 2 or 3 cloves, 4 whole allspice, ¼ teaspoonful of whole pepper, 1 slice of lean ham or bacon, ½ a head of celery (when at hand), 2 pints of boiling water; salt and cayenne to taste. Mode.—Cut, the beef into thin slices, as also the onions, dredge them with flour, and fry of a pale brown, but do not allow them to get black; pour in the boiling water, let it boil up, and skim. Add the remaining ingredients, and simmer the whole very gently for 2 hours, or until all the juices are extracted from the meat; put it by to get cold, when take off all the fat. This gravy may be flavoured with ketchup, store sauces, wine, or, in fact, anything that may give additional and suitable relish to the dish it is intended for. Time.—Rather more than 2 hours. Average cost, 8d. per pint.

Gravy Soup.

Ingredients.—6 lbs. of shin of beef, a knuckle of veal weighing 5 lbs., a few pieces or trimmings, 2 slices of nicely-flavoured lean ham; ¼ lb. of butter, 4 onions, 4 carrots, 1 turnip, nearly a head of celery, 3 blades of mace, 6 cloves, a bunch of savoury herbs, seasoning of salt and pepper to taste, 3 lumps of sugar, 6 quarts of boiling soft water. It can be flavoured with ketchup, Leamington sauce, Harvey’s sauce, and a little soy. Mode.—Slightly brown the meat and ham in the butter, but do not let them burn. When this is done, pour to it the water, and as the scum rises, take it off; when no more appears, add all the other ingredients, and let the soup simmer slowly by the fire for 6 hours without stirring it any more from the bottom; take it off, and let it settle; skim off all the fat you can, and pass it through a sieve or cloth. When perfectly cold you can remove all the fat, and leave the sediment untouched, which serves very nicely for thick gravies, hashes, &c. Time.—7 hours. Average cost, 1s. per quart. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 14 persons.

Gravy, Veal, for White Sauces, Fricassees, &c.

Ingredients.—2 slices of nicely-flavoured lean ham, any poultry trimmings, 3 lbs. of lean veal, a faggot of savoury herbs, including parsley, a few green onions (or 1 large onion may be substituted for these), a few mushrooms, when obtainable; 1 blade of mace, salt to taste, 3 pints of water. Mode.—Cut up the ham and veal into small square pieces, put these in a stewpan, moistening them with a small quantity of water; place them over the fire to draw down. When the bottom of the stewpan becomes covered with a white glaze, fill up with water in the above proportion; add the remaining ingredients, stew very slowly for 3 or 4 hours, and do not forget to skim well the moment it boils. Put it by, and when cold take off all the fat. This may be used for Béchamel, sauce tournée, and many other white sauces. Time.—3 or 4 hours. Average cost, 9d. per pint.

Greengage Jam.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of fruit, weighed before being stoned, allow ¾ lb. of lump sugar. Mode.—Divide the greengages, take out the stones, and put them into a preserving-pan. Bring the fruit to a boil, then add the sugar, and keep stirring it over a gentle fire until it is melted. Remove all the scum as it rises, and, just before the jam is done, boil it rapidly for 5 minutes. To ascertain when it is sufficiently boiled, pour a little on a plate, and if the syrup thickens and appears firm, it is done. Have ready half the kernels blanched; put them into the jam, give them one boil, and pour the preserve into pots. When cold, cover down with oiled papers, and, over these, tissue paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg. Time.—¾ hour after the sugar is added. Average cost, from 6d. to 8d. per lb. pot. Sufficient.—Allow about 1½ pint of fruit for every lb. pot of jam. Seasonable.—Make this in August or September.

Greengages, Compôte of.

Ingredients.—1 pint of syrup, 1 quart of greengages. Mode.—Make a syrup, skim it well, and put in the greengages when the syrup is boiling, having previously removed the stalks and stones from the fruit. Boil gently for ¼ hour, or until the fruit is tender; but take care not to let it break, as the appearance of the dish would be spoiled were the fruit reduced to a pulp. Take the greengages carefully out, place them on a glass dish, boil the syrup for another 5 minutes, let it cool a little, pour over the fruit, and, when cold, it will be ready for use. Time.—¼ hour to simmer the fruit, 5 minutes the syrup. Average cost, in full season, 10d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable in July, August, and September.

Greengages, to Preserve and Dry.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of sugar allow 1 lb. of fruit, ¼ pint of water. Mode.—For this purpose, the fruit must be used before it is quite ripe, and part of the stalk must be left on. Weigh the fruit, rejecting all that is in the least degree blemished, and put it into a lined saucepan with the sugar and water, which should have been previously boiled together to a rich syrup. Boil the fruit in this for 10 minutes, remove it from the fire, and drain the greengages. The next day, boil up the syrup and put in the fruit again, and let it simmer for 3 minutes, and drain the syrup away. Continue this process for 5 or 6 days, and the last time place the greengages, when drained, on a hair sieve, and put them in an oven or warm spot to dry; keep them in a box, with paper between each layer, in a place free from damp. Time.—10 minutes the first time of boiling. Seasonable.—Make this in August or September.

Greengages, Preserved in Syrup.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of fruit allow 1 lb. of loaf sugar, ¼ pint of water. Mode.—Boil the sugar and water together for about 10 minutes; divide the greengages, take out the stones, put the fruit into the syrup, and let it simmer gently until nearly tender. Take it off the fire, put it into a large pan, and, the next day, boil it up again for about 10 minutes with the kernels from the stones, which should be blanched. Put the fruit carefully into jars, pour over it the syrup, and, when cold, cover down, so that the air is quite excluded. Let the syrup be well skimmed both the first and second day of boiling, otherwise it will not be clear. Time.—10 minutes to boil the syrup; ¼ hour to simmer the fruit the first day, 10 minutes the second day. Average cost, from 6d. to 8d. per lb. pot. Sufficient.—Allow about 1 pint of fruit to fill a 1-lb. pot. Seasonable.—Make this in August or September.

Greens, Boiled Turnip.

Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; turnip-greens. Mode.—Wash the greens well in two or three waters, and pick off all the decayed and dead leaves; tie them in small bunches, and put them into plenty of boiling water, salted in the above proportion. Keep them boiling quickly, with the lid of the saucepan uncovered, and when tender, pour them into a colander; let them drain, arrange them in a vegetable-dish, remove the string that the greens were tied with, and serve. Time.—15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 4d. for a dish for 3 persons. Seasonable in March, April, and May.

Grouse Pie.

Ingredients.—Grouse; cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste; 1 lb. of rump-steak, ½ pint of well-seasoned broth, puff-paste. Mode.—Line the bottom of a pie-dish with the rump-steak cut into neat pieces, and, should the grouse be large, cut them into joints; but, if small, they may be laid in the pie whole; season highly with salt, cayenne, and black pepper; pour in the broth, and cover with a puff-paste; brush the crust over with the yolk of an egg, and bake from ¾ to 1 hour. If the grouse is cut into joints, the backbones and trimmings will make the gravy, by stewing them with an onion, a little sherry, a bunch of herbs, and a blade of mace: this should be poured in after the pie is baked. Time.—¾ to 1 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the grouse, which are seldom bought, 1s. 9d. Seasonable from the 12th of August to the beginning of December.

Grouse, Roast.

Ingredients.—Grouse, butter, a thick slice of toasted bread. Mode.—Let the birds hang as long as possible; pluck and draw them; wipe, but do not wash them, inside and out, and truss them without the head, the same as for a roast fowl. Many persons still continue to truss them with the head under the wing, but the former is now considered the most approved method. Put them down to a sharp clear fire; keep them well basted the whole of the time they are cooking, and serve them on a buttered toast, soaked in the dripping-pan, with a little melted butter poured over them, or with bread-sauce and gravy. Time.—½ hour; if liked very thoroughly done, 35 minutes. Average cost, 2s. to 2s. 6d. the brace; but seldom bought. Sufficient.—2 for a dish. Seasonable from the 12th of August to the beginning of December.

Grouse, to Carve.

Grouse may be carved in the way first described in carving partridge. The backbone of the grouse is highly esteemed by many, and this part of many game birds is considered the finest-flavoured.

Grouse Salad (Soyer’s Recipe improved.)

Ingredients.—8 eggs, butter, fresh salad, 2 or 3 grouse; for the sauce, 1 tablespoonful of minced shalot, 2 tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, the yolks of 2 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley, ¼ oz. of salt, 12 tablespoonfuls of oil, 4 tablespoonfuls of Chili vinegar, 1 gill of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped tarragon and chervil. Mode.—Boil the eggs hard, shell them, throw them into cold water, cut a thin slice off the bottom to facilitate the proper placing of them in the dish, cut each one into four lengthwise, and make a very thin flat border of butter, about one inch from the edge of the dish the salad is to be served on; fix the pieces of egg upright close to each other, the yolk outside, or the yolk and white alternately; lay in the centre a fresh salad of whatever is in season, and, having previously roasted the grouse rather underdone, cut it into eight or ten pieces, and prepare the sauce as follows:—Put the shalots into a basin, with the sugar, the yolk of an egg, the parsley, and salt, and mix in by degrees the oil and vinegar; when all the ingredients are well mixed, put the sauce on ice or in a cool place. When ready to serve, whip the cream rather thick, which lightly mix with it; then lay the inferior parts of the grouse on the salad, sauce over so as to cover each piece, then lay over the salad and the remainder of the grouse, pour the rest of the sauce over, and serve. The eggs may be ornamented with a little dot of radishes or beetroot on the point. Anchovy and gherkin, cut into small diamonds, may be placed between, or cut gherkins in slices, and a border of them laid round. Tarragon or chervil-leaves are also a pretty addition. The remains of cold black-game, pheasant, or partridge may be used in the above manner, and will make a very delicate dish. Average cost, 2s. 6d. Seasonable from the 12th of August to the beginning of December.

Gruel, to make.

Ingredients.—1 tablespoonful of Robinson’s patent groats, 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water, 1 pint of boiling water. Mode.—Mix the prepared groats smoothly with the cold water in a basin; pour over them the boiling water, stirring it all the time. Put it into a very clean saucepan; boil the gruel for 10 minutes, keeping it well stirred; sweeten to taste, and serve. It may be flavoured with a small piece of lemon-peel, by boiling it in the gruel, or a little grated nutmeg may be put in; but in these matters the taste of the patient should be consulted. Pour the gruel in a tumbler, and serve. When wine is allowed to the invalid, 2 tablespoonfuls of sherry or port make this preparation very nice. In cases of colds, the same quantity of spirits is sometimes added instead of wine. Time.—10 minutes. Sufficient to make a pint of gruel.

Gudgeons.

Ingredients.—Egg and bread-crumbs sufficient for the quantity of fish; hot lard. Mode.—Do not scrape off the scales, but take out the gills and inside, and cleanse thoroughly; wipe them dry, flour and dip them into egg, and sprinkle over with bread-crumbs. Fry of a nice brown. Time.—3 or 4 minutes. Average cost.—Seldom bought. Seasonable from March to July. Sufficient.—3 for each person.

Guinea-Fowl, Roast, Larded.

Ingredients.—A guinea-fowl, lardoons, flour, and salt. Mode.—When this bird is larded, it should be trussed the same as a pheasant; if plainly roasted, truss it like a turkey. After larding and trussing it, put it down to roast at a brisk fire; keep it well basted, and a short time before serving, dredge it with a little flour, and let it froth nicely. Serve with a little gravy in the dish, and a tureen of the same, and one of well-made bread-sauce. Time.—Guinea-fowl, larded, 1¼ hour; plainly roasted, about 1 hour. Sufficient for 6 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Note.—The breast, if larded, should be covered with a piece of paper, and removed about 10 minutes before serving.

Gurnet, or Gurnard.

Ingredients.—1 gurnet, 6 oz. of salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—Cleanse the fish thoroughly, and cut off the fins; have ready some boiling water, with salt in the above proportion; put the fish in, and simmer very gently for ½ hour. Parsley and butter, or anchovy sauce, should be served with it. Time.—¼ hour. Average cost.—Seldom bought. Seasonable from October to March, but in perfection in October. Sufficient.—A middling-sized one for two persons.

Note.—This fish is frequently stuffed with forcemeat, and baked.

Haddock, Baked.

Ingredients.—A nice forcemeat, butter to taste, egg and bread-crumbs. Mode.—Scale and clean the fish, without cutting it open much; put in a nice delicate forcemeat, and sew up the slit. Brush it over with egg, sprinkle over bread-crumbs, and baste frequently with butter. Garnish with parsley and cut lemon, and serve with, a nice brown gravy, plain melted butter, or anchovy sauce. The egg and bread-crumbs can be omitted, and pieces of butter placed over the fish. Time.—Large haddock, ¾ hour; moderate size, ¼ hour. Seasonable from August to February. Average cost, from 9d. upwards.

Note.—Haddocks may be filleted, rubbed over with egg and bread-crumbs, and fried a nice brown; garnish with crisped parsley.

Haddock, Boiled.

Ingredients.—Sufficient water to cover the fish; ¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—Scrape the fish, take out the inside, wash it thoroughly, and lay it in a kettle, with enough water to cover it, and salt in the above proportion. Simmer gently from 15 to 20 minutes, or rather more, should the fish be very large. For small haddocks, fasten the tails in their mouths, and put them into boiling water. 10 to 15 minutes will cook them. Serve with plain melted butter, or anchovy sauce. Time.—Large haddock, ½ hour; small, ¼ hour, or rather less. Average cost, from 9d. upwards. Seasonable from August to February.

Haddock, Dried.

Dried haddock should be gradually warmed through, either before or over a nice clear fire. Rub a little piece of butter over, just before sending it to table.

Haddock, Dried.

Ingredients.—1 large thick haddock, 2 bay-leaves, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs, not forgetting parsley, a little butter and pepper; boiling water. Mode.—Cut up the haddock into square pieces, make a basin hot by means of hot water, which pour out. Lay in the fish, with the bay-leaves and herbs; cover with boiling water; put a plate over to keep in the steam, and let it remain for 10 minutes. Take out the slices, put them in a hot dish, rub over with butter and pepper, and serve. Time.—10 minutes. Seasonable at any time, but best in winter.

Ham Omelet (a delicious Breakfast Dish).

Ingredients.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, ½ saltspoonful of pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced ham. Mode.—Mince the ham very finely, without any fat, and fry it for 2 minutes in a little butter; then make the batter for the omelet, stir in the ham, and proceed as in the case of a plain omelet. Do not add any salt to the batter, as the ham is usually sufficiently salt to impart a flavour to the omelet. Good lean bacon, or tongue, answers equally well for this dish; but they must also be slightly cooked previously to mixing them with the batter. Serve very hot and quickly, without gravy. Time.—From 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Ham, Fried, and Eggs (a Breakfast Dish).

Ingredients.—Ham; eggs. Mode.—Cut the ham into slices, and take care that they are of the same thickness in every part. Cut off the rind, and if the ham should be particularly hard and salt, it will be found an improvement to soak it for about 10 minutes in hot water, and then dry it in a cloth. Put it into a cold frying-pan, set it over the fire, and turn the slices 3 or 4 times whilst they are cooking. When done, place them on a dish, which should be kept hot in front of the fire during the time the eggs are being poached. Poach the eggs, slip them on to the slices of ham, and serve quickly. Time.—7 or 8 minutes to broil the ham. Average cost, 8d. to 1s. per lb. by the whole ham. Sufficient.—Allow 2 eggs and a slice of ham to each person. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Ham may also be toasted or broiled; but, with the latter method, to insure its being well cooked, the fire must be beautifully clear, or it will have a smoky flavour far from agreeable.

HAM, Potted, that will keep Good for some time.

Ingredients.—To 4 lbs. of lean ham allow 1 lb. of fat, 2 teaspoonfuls of pounded mace, ½ nutmeg grated, rather more than ½ teaspoonful of cayenne, clarified lard. Mode.—Mince the ham, fat and lean together in the above proportion, and pound it well in a mortar, seasoning it with cayenne pepper, pounded mace, and nutmeg; put the mixture into a deep baking-dish, and bake for ½ hour; then press it well into a stone jar, till up the jar with clarified lard, cover it closely, and paste over it a piece of thick paper. If well seasoned, it will keep a long time in winter, and will be found very convenient for sandwiches, &c. Time.—½ hour. Seasonable at any time.

HAM, Potted (a nice addition to the Breakfast or Luncheon table).

Ingredients.—To 2 lbs. of lean ham allow ½ lb. of fat, 1 teaspoonful of pounded mace, ½ teaspoonful of pounded allspice, ½ nutmeg, pepper to taste, clarified butter. Mode.—Cut some slices from the remains of a cold ham, mince them small, and to every 2 lbs. of lean allow the above proportion of fat. Pound the ham in a mortar to a fine paste, with the fat, gradually add the seasonings and spices, and be very particular that all the ingredients are well mixed and the spices well pounded. Press the mixture into potting-pots, pour over clarified butter, and keep it in a cool place. Average cost for this quantity, 2s. 6d. Seasonable at any time.

HAM, to Bake.

Ingredients.—Ham; a common crust. Mode.—As a ham for baking should be well soaked, let it remain in water for at least 12 hours. Wipe it dry, trim away any rusty places underneath, and cover it with a common crust, taking care that this is of sufficient thickness all over to keep the gravy in. Place it in a moderately-heated oven, and bake for nearly 4 hours. Take off the crust and skin, and cover with raspings, the same as for boiled ham, and garnish the knuckle with a paper frill. This method of cooking a ham is, by many persons, considered far superior to boiling it, as it cuts fuller of gravy and has a finer flavour, besides keeping a much longer time good. Time.—A medium-sized ham, 4 hours. Average cost, from 8d. to 1s. per lb. by the whole ham. Seasonable all the year.

HAM, to Boil.

Ingredients.—Ham, water, glaze, or raspings. Mode.—In choosing a ham, ascertain that it is perfectly sweet, by running a sharp knife into it, close to the bone; and if, when the knife is withdrawn, it has an agreeable smell, the ham is good; if, on the contrary, the blade has a greasy appearance and offensive smell, the ham is bad. If it has been long hung, and is very dry and salt, let it remain in soak for 24 hours, changing the water frequently. This length of time is only necessary in the case of its being very hard; from 8 to 12 hours would be sufficient for a Yorkshire or Westmoreland ham. Wash it thoroughly clean, and trim away from the under-side all the rusty and smoked parts, which would spoil the appearance. Put it into a boiling-pot, with sufficient cold water to cover it; bring it gradually to boil, and as the scum rises, carefully remove it. Keep it simmering very gently until tender, and be careful that it does not stop boiling, nor boil too quickly. When done, take it out of the pot, strip off the skin, and sprinkle over it a few fine bread-raspings, put a frill of cut paper round the knuckle, and serve. If to be eaten cold, let the ham remain in the water until nearly cold: by this method the juices are kept in, and it will be found infinitely superior to one taken out of the water hot; it should, however, be borne in mind that the ham must not remain in the saucepan all night. When the skin is removed, sprinkle over bread-raspings, or, if wanted particularly nice, glaze it. Place a paper frill round the knuckle, and garnish with parsley or cut vegetable flowers. Time.—A ham weighing 10 lbs., 4 hours to simmer gently; 15 lbs., 5 hours; a very large one, about 6 hours. Average cost, from 8d. to 1s. per lb. by the whole ham. Seasonable all the year.

HAM, how to Boil to give it an excellent flavour.

Ingredients.—Vinegar and water, 2 heads of celery, 2 turnips, 3 onions, a large bunch of savoury herbs. Mode.—Prepare the ham as in the preceding recipe, and let it soak for a few hours in vinegar and water. Put it on in cold water, and when it boils, add the vegetables and herbs. Simmer very gently until tender, take it out, strip off the skin, cover with bread-raspings, and put a paper ruche or frill round the knuckle. Time.—A ham weighing 10 lbs., 4 hours. Average cost, 8d. to 1s. per lb. by the whole ham. Seasonable at any time.

HAM, to Carve.

In cutting a ham, the carver must be guided according as he desires to practise economy, or have, at once, fine slices out of the prime part. Under the first supposition, he will commence at the knuckle end, and cut off thin slices towards the thick part of the ham. To reach the choicer portion, the knife, which must be very sharp and thin, should be carried quite down to the bone, in the direction of the line 1 to 2. The slices should be thin and even, and always cut down to the bone. There are some who like to carve a ham by cutting a hole at the top, and then slicing pieces off inside the hole, gradually enlarging the circle; but we think this is a plan not to be recommended. A ham, when hot, is usually sent to table with a paper ruffle round the knuckle.

Hams, for Curing (Mons. Ude’s Recipe).

Ingredients.—For 2 hams weighing about 16 or 18 lbs. each, allow 1 lb. of moist sugar, 1 lb. of common salt, 2 oz. of saltpetre, 1 quart of good vinegar. Mode.—As soon as the pig is cold enough to be cut up, take the 2 hams and rub them well with common salt, and leave them in a large pan for 3 days. When the salt has drawn out all the blood, drain the hams, and throw the brine away. Mix sugar, salt, and saltpetre together in the above proportion, rub the hams well with these, and put them into a vessel large enough to hold them, always keeping the salt over them. Let them remain for 3 days, then pour over them a quart of good vinegar. Turn them in the brine every day for a month, then drain them well, and rub them with bran. Have them smoked over a wood fire, and be particular that the hams are hung as high up as possible from the fire; otherwise the fat will melt, and they will become dry and hard. Time.—To be pickled 1 month; to be smoked 1 month. Sufficient for 2 hams of 18 lbs. each. Seasonable from October to March.

Hams, to Cure Sweet, in the Westmoreland way.

Ingredients.—3 lbs. of common salt, 3 lbs. of coarse sugar, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 3 quarts of strong beer. Mode.—Before the hams are put into pickle, rub them the preceding day well with salt, and drain the brine well from them. Put the above ingredients into a saucepan, and boil for ¼ hour; pour over the hams, and let them remain a month in the pickle. Rub and turn them every day, but do not take them out of the pickling-pan; and have them smoked for a month. Time.—To be pickled 1 month; to be smoked 1 month. Seasonable from October to March.

Hams, to Pickle (Suffolk Recipe).

Ingredients.—To a ham from 10 to 12 lbs., allow 1 lb. of coarse sugar, ¾ lb. of salt, 1 oz. of saltpetre, ½ a teacupful of vinegar. Mode.—Rub the hams well with common salt, and leave them for a day or two to drain; then rub well in the above proportion of sugar, salt, saltpetre, and vinegar, and turn them every other day. Keep them in the pickle 1 month, drain them, and send them to be smoked over a wood fire for 3 weeks or a month. Time.—To remain in the pickle 1 month; to be smoked 3 weeks or 1 month. Sufficient.—The above proportion of pickle is sufficient for 1 ham. Seasonable.—Hams should be pickled from October to March.

Hams, to Salt Two, about 12 or 15 lbs. each.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of treacle, ½ lb. of saltpetre, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 2 pounds of common salt. Mode.—Two days before they are put into pickle, rub the hams well with salt, to draw away all slime and blood. Throw what comes from them away, and then rub them with treacle, saltpetre, and salt. Lay them in a deep pan, and let them remain one day; boil the above proportion of treacle, saltpetre, bay-salt, and common salt for ¼ hour, and pour this pickle boiling hot over the hams: there should be sufficient of it to cover them. For a day or two rub them well with it; afterwards they will only require turning. They ought to remain in this pickle for 3 weeks or a month, and then be sent to be smoked, which will take nearly or quite a month to do. An ox-tongue pickled in this way is most excellent, to be eaten either green or smoked. Time.—To remain in the pickle 3 weeks or a month; to be smoked about a month. Seasonable from October to March.

Hams, to Smoke, at Home.

Take an old hogshead, stop up all the crevices, and fix a place to put a cross-stick near the bottom, to hang the articles to be smoked on. Next, in the side, cut a hole near the top, to introduce an iron pan filled with sawdust and small pieces of green wood. Having turned the tub upside down, hang the articles upon the cross-stick, introduce the iron pan in the opening, and place a piece of red-hot iron in the pan, cover it with sawdust, and all will be complete. Let a large ham remain 40 hours, and keep up a good smoke. Fish may be smoked in the same manner.

Hare, Broiled (a Supper or Luncheon Dish).

Ingredients.—The legs and shoulders of a roast hare, cayenne and salt to taste, a little butter. Mode.—Cut the legs and shoulders from a roast hare, season them highly with salt and cayenne, and broil them over a very clear fire for 5 minutes. Dish them on a hot dish, rub over them a little cold butter, and send to table very quickly. Time.—5 minutes. Seasonable from September to the end of February.

Hare, Hashed.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast hare, 1 blade of pounded mace, 2 or 3 allspice, pepper and salt to taste, 1 onion, a bunch of savoury herbs, 3 tablespoonfuls of port wine, thickening of butter and flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup. Mode.—Cut the cold hare into neat slices, and put the head, bones, and trimmings into a stewpan, with ¾ pint of water; add the mace, allspice, seasoning, onion, and herbs, and stew for nearly an hour, and strain the gravy; thicken it with butter and flour, add the wine and ketchup, and lay in the pieces of hare, with any stuffing that may be left. Let the whole gradually heat by the side of the fire, and, when it has simmered for about 5 minutes, serve, and garnish the dish with sippets of toasted bread. Send red-currant jelly to table with it. Time.—Rather more than 1 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold hare, 6d. Seasonable from September to the end of February.

Hare, Jugged (very good).

Ingredients.—1 hare, 1½ lb. of gravy beef, ½ lb. of butter, 1 onion, 1 lemon, 6 cloves; pepper, cayenne, and salt to taste; ½ pint of port wine. Mode.—Skin, paunch, and wash the hare, cut it into pieces, dredge them with flour, and fry in boiling butter. Have ready 1½ pint of gravy, made from the above proportion of beef, and thickened with a little flour. Put this into a jar; add the pieces of fried hare, an onion stuck with six cloves, a lemon peeled and cut in half, and a good seasoning of pepper, cayenne, and salt; cover the jar down tightly, put it up to the neck into a stewpan of boiling water, and let it stew until the hare is quite tender, taking care to keep the water boiling. When nearly done, pour in the wine, and add a few forcemeat balls: these must be fried or baked in the oven for a few minutes before they are put to the gravy. Serve with red-currant jelly. Time.—3½ to 4 hours. If the hare is very old, allow 4½ hours. Average cost, 7s. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable from September to the end of February.

Hare, Jugged (a Quicker and more Economical Way).

Ingredients.—1 hare, a bunch of sweet herbs, 2 onions, each stuck with 3 cloves, 6 whole allspice, ½ teaspoonful of black pepper, a strip of lemon-peel, thickening of butter and flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup, ¼ pint of port wine. Mode.—Wash the hare nicely, cut it up into joints (not too large), and flour and brown them as in the preceding recipe; then put them into a stewpan with the herbs, onions, cloves, allspice, pepper, and lemon-peel; cover with hot water, and when it boils, carefully remove all the scum, and let it simmer gently till tender, which will be in about 1¾ hour, or longer, should the hare be very old. Take out the pieces of hare, thicken the gravy with flour and butter, add the ketchup and port wine, let it boil for about 10 minutes, strain it through a sieve over the hare, and serve. A few fried forcemeat balls should be added at the moment of serving, or, instead of frying them, they may be stewed in the gravy, about 10 minutes before the hare is wanted for table. Do not omit to serve red-currant jelly with it. Time.—Altogether 2 hours. Average cost, 5s. 6d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable from September to the end of February.

Note.—Should there be any left, re-warm it the next day by putting the hare, &c., into a covered jar, and placing this jar in a saucepan of boiling water; this method prevents a great deal of waste.

Hare, Potted (a Luncheon or Breakfast Dish).

Ingredients.—1 hare, a few slices of bacon, a large bunch of savoury herbs, 4 cloves, ½ teaspoonful of whole allspice, 2 carrots, 2 onions, salt and pepper to taste, 1 pint of water, 2 glasses of sherry. Mode.—Skin, empty, and wash the hare; cut it down the middle, and put it into a stewpan, with a few slices of bacon under and over it; add the remaining ingredients, and stew very gently until the hare is tender, and the flesh will separate easily from the bones. When done enough, take it up, remove the bones, and pound the meat, with the bacon, in a mortar, until reduced to a perfectly smooth paste. Should it not be sufficiently seasoned, add a little cayenne, salt, and pounded mace, but be careful that these are well mixed with the other ingredients. Press the meat into potting-pots, pour over clarified butter, and keep in a dry place. The liquor that the hare was stewed in, should be saved for hashes, soups, &c. &c. Time.—About 2½ hours to stew the hare. Seasonable from September to the end of February.

Hare, Roast.

Ingredients.—Hare, forcemeat, a little milk, butter. Choosing and Trussing.—Choose a young hare; which may be known by its smooth and sharp claws, and by the cleft in the lip not being much spread. To be eaten in perfection, it must hang for some time; and, if properly taken care of, it may be kept for several days. It is better to hang without being paunched; but should it be previously emptied, wipe the inside every day, and sprinkle over it a little pepper and ginger, to prevent the musty taste which long keeping in the damp occasions, and also which affects the stuffing. After it is skinned, wash it well, and soak for an hour in warm water to draw out the blood; if old, let it lie in vinegar for a short time, but wash it well afterwards in several waters. Make a forcemeat, wipe the hare dry, fill the belly with it, and sew it up. Bring the hind and fore legs close to the body towards the head, run a skewer through each, fix the head between the shoulders by means of another skewer, and be careful to leave the ears on. Put a string round the body from skewer to skewer, and tie it above the back. Mode.—The hare should be kept at a distance from the fire when it is first laid down, or the outside will become dry and hard before the inside is done. Baste it well with milk for a short time, and afterwards with butter; and particular attention must be paid to the basting, so as to preserve the meat on the back juicy and nutritive. When it is almost roasted enough, flour the hare, and baste well with butter. When nicely frothed, dish it, remove the skewers, and send it to table with a little gravy in the dish, and a tureen of the same. Red-currant jelly must also not be forgotten, as this is an indispensable accompaniment to roast hare. For economy, good beef dripping may be substituted for the milk and butter to baste with; but the basting, as we have before stated, must be continued without intermission. If the liver is good, it may be parboiled, minced, and mixed with the stuffing; but it should not be used unless quite fresh. Time.—A middling-sized hare, 1¼ hour; a large hare, 1½ to 2 hours. Average cost, from 4s. to 6s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from September to the end of February.

Hare, Roast, to Carve.

The “Grand Carver” of olden times, a functionary of no ordinary dignity, was pleased when he had a hare to manipulate, for his skill and grace had an opportunity of display. Diners à la Russe may possibly, erewhile, save modern gentlemen the necessity of learning the art which was in auld lang syne one of the necessary accomplishments of the youthful squire; but, until side-tables become universal, or till we see the office of “grand carver” once more instituted, it will be well for all to learn how to assist at the carving of this dish, which, if not the most elegant in appearance, is a very general favourite. The hare, having its head to the left, as shown in the woodcut, should be first served by cutting slices from each side of the backbone, in the direction of the lines from 3 to 4. After these prime parts are disposed of, the leg should next be disengaged by cutting round the line indicated by the figures 5 to 6. The shoulders will then be taken off by passing the knife round from 7 to 8. The back of the hare should now be divided by cutting quite through its spine, as shown by the line 1 to 2, taking care to feel with the point of the knife for a joint where the back may be readily penetrated. It is the usual plan not to serve any bone in helping hare; and thus the flesh should be sliced from the legs and placed alone on the plate. In large establishments, and where men-cooks are kept, it is often the case that the backbone of the hare, especially in old animals, is taken out, and then the process of carving is, of course, considerably facilitated. A great point to be remembered in connection with carving hare is, that plenty of gravy should accompany each helping, otherwise this dish, which is naturally dry, will lose half its flavour, and so become a failure. Stuffing is also served with it; and the ears, which should be nicely crisp, and the brains of the hare, are esteemed as delicacies by many connoisseurs.

Hare Soup.

Ingredients.—A hare fresh-killed, 1 lb. of lean gravy-beef, a slice of ham, 1 carrot, 2 onions, a faggot of savoury herbs, ¼ oz. of whole black pepper, a little browned flour, ¼ pint of port wine, the crumb of two French rolls, salt and cayenne to taste, 3 quarts of water. Mode.—Skin and paunch the hare, saving the liver and as much blood as possible. Cut it in pieces, and put it in a stewpan with all the ingredients, and simmer gently for 6 hours. This soup should be made the day before it is wanted. Strain through a sieve, put the best parts of the hare in the soup, and serve.

Hare Soup.

Proceed as above; but, instead of putting the joints of the hare in the soup, pick the meat from the bones, pound it in a mortar, and add it, with the crumb of two French rolls, to the soup. Rub all through a sieve; heat slowly, but do not let it boil. Send it to table immediately. Time.—8 hours. Average cost, 1s. 9d. per quart. Seasonable from September to February. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Herb Powder, for Flavouring when Fresh Herbs are not obtainable.

Ingredients.—1 oz. of dried lemon-thyme, 1 oz. of dried winter savory, 1 oz. of dried sweet marjoram and basil, 2 oz. of dried parsley, 1 oz. of dried lemon-peel. Mode.—Prepare and dry the herbs, pick the leaves from the stalks, pound them, and sift them through a hair sieve; mix in the above proportions, and keep in glass bottles, carefully excluding the air. This we think a far better method of keeping herbs, as the flavour and fragrance do not evaporate so much as when they are merely put in paper bags. Preparing them in this way, you have them ready for use at a moment’s notice. Mint, sage, parsley, &c., dried, pounded, and each put into separate bottles, will be found very useful in winter.

Herbs, to Dry, for Winter Use.

On a very dry day, gather the herbs, just before they begin to flower. If this is done when the weather is damp, the herbs will not be so good a colour. (It is very necessary to be particular in little matters like this, for trifles constitute perfection, and herbs nicely dried will be found very acceptable when frost and snow are on the ground. It is hardly necessary, however, to state that the flavour and fragrance of fresh herbs are incomparably finer.) They should be perfectly freed from dirt and dust, and be divided into small bunches, with their roots cut off. Dry them quickly in a very hot oven, or before the fire, as by this means most of their flavour will be preserved, and be careful not to burn them; tie them up in paper bags, and keep in a dry place. This is a very general way of preserving dried herbs; but we would recommend the plan described in a former recipe. Seasonable.—From the month of July to the end of September is the proper time for storing herbs for winter use.

Herrings, White, Baked.

Ingredients.—12 herrings, 4 bay-leaves, 12 cloves, 12 allspice, 2 small blades of mace, cayenne pepper and salt to taste, sufficient vinegar to fill up the dish. Mode.—Take herrings, cut off the heads, and gut them. Put them in a pie-dish, heads and tails alternately, and, between each layer, sprinkle over the above ingredients. Cover the fish with the vinegar, and bake for ½ hour, but do not use it till quite cold. The herrings may be cut down the front, the backbone taken out, and closed again. Sprats done in this way are very delicious. Time.—½ an hour. Average cost, 1d. each.

To Choose the Herring.—The more scales this fish has, the surer the sign of its freshness. It should also have a bright and silvery look; but if red about the head, it is a sign that it has been dead for some time.

Herrings, Red or Yarmouth Bloaters.

The best way to cook these is to make incisions in the skin across the fish, because they do not then require to be so long on the fire, and will be far better than when cut open. The hard roe makes a nice relish by pounding it in a mortar, with a little anchovy, and spreading it on toast. If very dry, soak in warm water 1 hour before dressing.

Hidden Mountain, The (a pretty Supper Dish).

Ingredients.—6 eggs, a few slices of citron, sugar to taste, ¼ pint of cream, a layer of any kind of jam. Mode.—Beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately; then mix them and beat well again, adding a few thin slices of citron, the cream, and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten it nicely. When the mixture is well beaten, put it into a buttered pan, and fry the same as a pancake; but it should be three times the thickness of an ordinary pancake. Cover it with jam, and garnish with slices of citron and holly-leaves. This dish is served cold. Time.—About 10 minutes to fry the mixture. Average cost, with the jam, 1s. 4d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Hodge-Podge.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of shin of beef, 3 quarts of water, 1 pint of table-beer, 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 1 head of celery; pepper and salt to taste; thickening of butter and flour. Mode.—Put the meat, beer, and water in a stewpan; simmer for a few minutes, and skim carefully. Add the vegetables and seasoning; stew gently till the meat is tender. Thicken with the butter and flour, and serve with turnips and carrots, or spinach and celery. Time.—3 hours, or rather more. Average cost, 3d. per quart. Seasonable at any time. Sufficient for 12 persons.

Hodge-Podge.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—About 1 lb. of underdone cold mutton, 2 lettuces, 1 pint of green peas, 5 or 6 green onions, 2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, ½ teacupful of water. Mode.—Mince the mutton, and cut up the lettuces and onions in slices. Put those in a stewpan, with all the ingredients except the peas, and let these simmer very gently for ¾ hour, keeping them well stirred. Boil the peas separately, mix these with the mutton, and serve very hot. Time.—¾ hour. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable from the end of May to August.

Holly-Leaves, to Frost, for Garnishing and Decorating Dessert and Supper Dishes.

Ingredients.—Sprigs of holly, oiled butter, coarsely-powdered sugar. Mode.—Procure some nice sprigs of holly; pick the leaves from the stalks, and wipe them with a clean cloth free from all moisture; then place them on a dish near the fire, to get thoroughly dry, but not too near to shrivel the leaves; dip them into oiled butter, sprinkle over them some coarsely-powdered sugar, and dry them before the fire. They should be kept in a dry place, as the least damp would spoil their appearance. Time.—About 10 minutes to dry before the fire. Seasonable.—These may be made at any time; but are more suitable for winter garnishes, when fresh flowers are not easily obtained.

Honey Cake.

Ingredients.—½ breakfast-cupful of sugar, 1 breakfast-cupful of rich sour cream, 2 breakfast-cupfuls of flour, ½ teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, honey to taste. Mode.—Mix the sugar and cream together; dredge in the flour, with as much honey as will flavour the mixture nicely; stir it well that all the ingredients may be thoroughly mixed; add the carbonate of soda, and beat the cake well for another 5 minutes; put it into a buttered tin, bake it from ½ to ¾ hour, and let it be eaten warm. Time.—½ to ¾ hour. Average cost, 8d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Horseradish.

This root, scraped, is always served with hot roast beef, and is used for garnishing many kinds of boiled fish. Let the horseradish remain in cold water for an hour; wash it well, and with a sharp knife scrape it into very thin shreds, commencing from the thick end of the root. Arrange some of it lightly in a small glass dish, and the remainder use for garnishing the joint; it should be placed in tufts round the border of the dish, with 1 or 2 bunches on the meat. Average cost, 2d. per stick. Seasonable from October to June.

Horseradish Sauce, to serve with Roast Beef.

Ingredients.—4 tablespoonfuls of grated horseradish, 1 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 1 teaspoonful of salt, ½ teaspoonful of pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of made mustard; vinegar. Mode.—Grate the horseradish, and mix it well with the sugar, salt, pepper, and mustard; moisten it with sufficient vinegar to give it the consistency of cream, and serve in a tureen; 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of cream added to the above very much improve the appearance and flavour of this sauce. To heat it to serve with hot roast beef, put it in a bain marie or a jar, which place in a saucepan of boiling water; make it hot, but do not allow it to boil, or it will curdle.

Note.—This sauce is a great improvement on the old-fashioned way of serving cold-scraped horseradish with hot roast beef. The mixing of the cold vinegar with the warm gravy cools and spoils everything on the plate. Of course, with cold meat, the sauce should be served cold.

Horseradish Vinegar.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of scraped horseradish, 1 oz. of minced shalot, 1 drachm of cayenne, 1 quart of vinegar. Mode.—Put all the ingredients into a bottle, which shake well every day for a fortnight. When it is thoroughly steeped, strain and bottle, and it will be fit for use immediately. This will be found an agreeable relish to cold beef, &c. Seasonable.—This vinegar should be made either in October or November, as horseradish is then in its highest perfection.

Hot Spice (a Delicious Adjunct to Chops, Steaks, Gravies, &c.)

Ingredients.—3 drachms each of ginger, black pepper, and cinnamon, 7 cloves, ½ oz. mace, ¼ oz. of cayenne, 1 oz. grated nutmeg, 1½ oz. white pepper. Mode.—Pound the ingredients, and mix them thoroughly together, taking care that everything is well blended. Put the spice in a very dry glass bottle for use. The quantity of cayenne may be increased, should the above not be enough to suit the palate.

Ice-Creams, Fruit.

Ingredients.—To every pint of fruit-juice allow 1 pint of cream; sugar to taste. Mode.—Let the fruit be well ripened; pick it off the stalks, and put it into a large earthen pan. Stir it about with a wooden spoon, breaking it until it is well mashed; then, with the back of the spoon, rub it through a hair sieve. Sweeten it nicely with pounded sugar; whip the cream for a few minutes, add it to the fruit, and whisk the whole again for another 5 minutes. Put the mixture into the freezing-pot, and freeze, taking care to stir the cream, &c., two or three times, and to remove it from the sides of the vessel, that the mixture may be equally frozen and smooth. Ices are usually served in glasses, but if moulded, as they sometimes are for dessert, must have a small quantity of melted isinglass added to them, to enable them to keep their shape. Raspberry, strawberry, currant, and all fruit ice-creams, are made in the same manner. A little pounded sugar sprinkled over the fruit before it is mashed assists to extract the juice. In winter, when fresh fruit is not obtainable, a little jam may be substituted for it: it should be melted and worked through a sieve before being added to the whipped cream; and if the colour should not be good, a little prepared, cochineal or beetroot may be put in to improve its appearance. Time.—½ hour to freeze the mixture. Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 4d. each ice. Seasonable, with fresh fruit, in June, July, and August.

ICE, Lemon-water.

Ingredients.—To every pint of syrup, allow 1/3 pint of lemon-juice; the rind of 4 lemons. Mode.—Rub the sugar on the rinds of the lemons, and with it make the syrup. Strain the lemon-juice, add it to the other ingredients, stir well, and put the mixture into a freezing-pot. Freeze as directed for Ice Pudding, and when the mixture is thoroughly and equally frozen, put it into ice-glasses. Time.—½ hour to freeze the mixture. Average cost, 3d. to 4d. each. Seasonable at any time.

Iced-Pudding (Parisian Recipe).

Ingredients.—½ lb. of sweet almonds, 2 oz. of bitter ones, ¾ lb, of sugar, 8 eggs, 1½ pint of milk. Mode.—Blanch and dry the almonds thoroughly in a cloth, then pound them in a mortar until reduced to a smooth paste; add to these the well-beaten eggs, the sugar, and milk; stir these ingredients over the fire until they thicken, but do not allow them to boil; then strain and put the mixture into the freezing-pot; surround it with ice, and freeze it. When quite frozen, fill an iced-pudding mould, put on the lid, and keep the pudding in ice until required for table; then turn it out on the dish, and garnish it with a compôte or any fruit that may be preferred, pouring a little over the top of the pudding. This pudding may be flavoured with vanilla, Curaçoa, or Maraschino. Time.—½ hour to freeze the mixture. Seasonable.—Served all the year round.

Ices.

Ices are composed, it is scarcely necessary to say, of congealed cream or water, combined sometimes with liqueurs or other flavouring ingredients, or more generally with the juices of fruits. At desserts, or at some evening parties, ices are scarcely to be dispensed with. The principal utensils required for making ice-creams are ice-tubs, freezing-pots, spaddles, and a cellaret. The tub must be large enough to contain about a bushel of ice, pounded small, when brought out of the ice-house, and mixed very carefully with either salt, nitre, or soda. The freezing-pot is best made of pewter. If it be of tin, as is sometimes the case, the congelation goes on too rapidly in it for the thorough intermingling of its contents, on which the excellence of the ice greatly depends. The spaddle is generally made of copper, kept bright and clean. The cellaret is a tin vessel, in which ices are kept for a short time from dissolving. The method to be pursued in the freezing process must be attended to. When the ice-tub is prepared with fresh-pounded ice and salt, the freezing-pot is put into it up to its cover. The articles to be congealed are then poured into it and covered over; but to prevent the ingredients from separating and the heaviest of them from falling to the bottom of the mould, it is requisite to turn the freezing-pot round and round by the handle, so as to keep its contents moving until the congelation commences. As soon as this is perceived (the cover of the pot being occasionally taken off for the purpose of noticing when freezing takes place), the cover is immediately closed over it, ice is put upon it, and it is left in this state till it is served. The use of the spaddle is to stir up and remove from the sides of the freezing-pot the cream, which in the shaking may have washed against it, and by stirring it in with the rest, to prevent waste of it occurring. Any negligence in stirring the contents of the freezing-pot before congelation takes place, will destroy the whole: either the sugar sinks to the bottom and leaves the ice insufficiently sweetened, or lumps are formed, which disfigure and discolour it.

Ices, to make Fruit-water.

Ingredients.—To every pint of fruit-juice allow 1 pint of syrup. Mode.—Select nice ripe fruit; pick off the stalks and put it into a large earthen pan, with a little pounded sugar strewed over; stir it about with a wooden spoon until it is well broken, then rub it through a hair sieve. Make a syrup, without white of egg; let it cool add the fruit-juice, mix well together, and put the mixture into the freezing-pot. Proceed as directed for Ice Puddings, and when the mixture is equally frozen, put it into small glasses. Raspberry, strawberry, currant, and other fresh-fruit-water ices, are made in the same manner. Time.—½ hour to freeze the mixture. Average cost, 3d. to 4d. each. Seasonable, with fresh fruit, in June, July, and August.

Icing, Almond, for Cakes.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of finely-pounded loaf sugar, allow 1 lb. of sweet almonds, the whites of 4 eggs, a little rosewater. Mode.—Blanch the almonds, and pound them (a few at a time) in a mortar to a paste, adding a little rosewater to facilitate the operation. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a strong froth; mix them with the pounded almonds, stir in the sugar, and beat altogether. When the cake is sufficiently baked, lay on the almond icing, and put it into the oven to dry. Before laying this preparation on the cake, great care must be taken that it is nice and smooth, which is easily accomplished by well beating the mixture.

Icing, Sugar, for Cakes.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of loaf sugar allow the whites of 4 eggs, 1 oz. of fine starch. Mode.—Beat the eggs to a strong froth, and gradually sift in the sugar, which should be reduced to the finest possible powder, and gradually add the starch, also finely powdered. Beat the mixture well until the sugar is smooth; then with a spoon or broad knife lay the ice equally over the cakes. These should then be placed in a very cool oven, and the icing allowed to dry and harden, but not to colour. The icing may be coloured with strawberry or currant juice, or with prepared cochineal. If it be put on the cakes as soon as they are withdrawn from the oven, it will become firm and hard by the time the cakes are cold. On very rich cakes, such as wedding, christening cakes, &c., a layer of almond icing is usually spread over the top, and over that the white icing as described. All iced cakes should be kept in a very dry place.

Invalid Cookery.

A few Rules to be observed in Cooking for Invalids.

Let all the kitchen utensils used in the preparation of invalids’ cookery be delicately and scrupulously clean; if this is not the case, a disagreeable flavour may be imparted to the preparation, which flavour may disgust, and prevent the patient from partaking of the refreshment when brought to him or her.

For invalids, never make a large quantity of one thing, as they seldom require much at a time; and it is desirable that variety be provided for them.

Always have something in readiness; a little beef tea, nicely made and nicely skimmed, a few spoonfuls of jelly, &c., &c., that it may be administered as soon almost as the invalid wishes for it. If obliged to wait a long time, the patient loses the desire to eat, and often turns against the food when brought to him or her.

In sending dishes or preparations up to invalids, let everything look as tempting as possible. Have a clean tray-cloth laid smoothly over the tray; let the spoons, tumblers, cups and saucers, &c., be very clean and bright. Gruel served in a tumbler is more appetizing than when served in a basin or cup and saucer.

As milk is an important article of food for the sick, in warm weather let it be kept on ice, to prevent its turning sour. Many other delicacies may also be preserved good in the same manner for some little time.

If the patient be allowed to eat vegetables, never send them up undercooked, or half raw; and let a small quantity only be temptingly arranged on a dish. This rule will apply to every preparation, as an invalid is much more likely to enjoy his food if small delicate pieces are served to him.

Never leave food about a sick-room; if the patient cannot eat it when brought to him, take it away, and bring it to him in an hour or two’s time. Miss Nightingale says, “To leave the patient’s untasted food by his side from meal to meal, in hopes that he will eat it in the interval, is simply to prevent him from taking any food at all.” She says, “I have known patients literally incapacitated from taking one article of food after another by this piece of ignorance. Let the food come at the right time, and be taken away, eaten or uneaten, at the right time, but never let a patient have ‘something always standing’ by him, if you don’t wish to disgust him of everything.”

Never serve beef tea or broth with the smallest particle of fat or grease on the surface. It is better, after making either of these, to allow them to get perfectly cold, when all the fat may be easily removed; then warm up as much as may be required. Two or three pieces of clean whity-brown paper laid on the broth will absorb any greasy particles that may be floating at the top, as the grease will cling to the paper.

Roast mutton, chickens, rabbits, calves’ feet or head, game, fish (simply dressed), and simple puddings, are all light food, and easily digested. Of course, these things are only partaken of supposing the patient is recovering.

A mutton chop, nicely cut, trimmed, and broiled to a turn, is a dish to be recommended for invalids; but it must not be served with all the fat at the end, nor must it be too thickly cut. Let it be cooked over a fire free from smoke, and sent up with the gravy in it, between two very hot plates. Nothing is more disagreeable to an invalid than smoked food.

In making toast-and-water, never blacken the bread, but toast it only a nice brown. Never leave toast-and-water to make until the moment it is required, as it cannot then be properly prepared,—at least the patient will be obliged to drink it warm, which is anything but agreeable.

In boiling eggs for invalids, let the white be just set; if boiled hard, they will be likely to disagree with the patient.

In Miss Nightingale’s admirable “Notes on Nursing,” a book that no mother or nurse should be without, she says,—“You cannot be too careful as to quality in sick-diet. A nurse should never put before a patient milk that is sour, meat or soup that is turned, an egg that is bad, or vegetables underdone.” Yet often, she says, she has seen these things brought in to the sick, in a state perfectly perceptible to every nose or eye except the nurse’s. It is here that the clever nurse appears,—she will not bring in the peccant article; but, not to disappoint the patient, she will whip up something else in a few minutes. Remember, that sick-cookery should half do the work of your poor patient’s weak digestion.

She goes on to caution nurses, by saying,—“Take care not to spill into your patient’s saucer; in other words, take care that the outside bottom rim of his cup shall be quite dry and clean. If, every time he lifts his cup to his lips, he has to carry the saucer with it, or else to drop the liquid upon and to soil his sheet, or bedgown, or pillow, or, if he is sitting up, his dress, you have no idea what a difference this minute want of care on your part makes to his comfort, and even to his willingness for food.”

Invalid’s Cutlet.

Ingredients.—1 nice cutlet from a loin or neck of mutton; 2 teacupfuls of water; 1 very small stick of celery; pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Have the cutlet cut from a very nice loin or neck of mutton, take off all the fat, put it into a stewpan with the other ingredients; stew very gently indeed for nearly 2 hours, and skim off every particle of fat that may rise to the surface from time to time. The celery should be out into thin slices before it is added to the meat, and care must be taken not to put in too much of this, or the dish will not be good. If the water is allowed to boil fast, the cutlet will be hard. Time.—2 hours very gentle stewing. Average cost, 6d. Sufficient for one person. Seasonable.—Whenever celery may be had.

Invalid’s Jelly.

Ingredients.—12 shanks of mutton, 3 quarts of water, a bunch of sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 3 blades of mace, 1 onion, 1 lb. of lean beef, a crust of bread toasted brown. Mode.—Soak the shanks in plenty of water for some hours, and scrub them well; put them, with the beef and other ingredients, into a saucepan with the water, and let them simmer very gently for 5 hours. Strain the broth, and, when cold, take off all the fat. It may be eaten either warmed up or cold as a jelly. Time.—5 hours. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient to make from 1½ to 2 pints of jelly. Seasonable at any time.

Invalids, Lemonade for.

Ingredients.—½ lemon, lump sugar to taste, 1 pint of boiling water. Mode.—Pare off the rind of the lemon thinly; cut the lemon into 2 or 3 thick slices, and remove as much as possible of the white outside pith, and all the pips. Put the slices of lemon, the peel, and lump sugar into a jug; pour over the boiling water; cover it closely, and in 2 hours it will be fit to drink. It should either be strained or poured off from the sediment. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 2d. Sufficient to make 1 pint of lemonade. Seasonable at any time.

Jam Roly-Poly Pudding.

Ingredients.—¾ lb. of suet-crust, ¾ lb. of any kind of jam. Mode.—Make a nice light suet-crust, and roll it out to the thickness of about ½ inch. Spread the jam equally over it, leaving a small margin of paste without any, where the pudding joins. Roll it up, fasten the ends securely, and tie it in a floured cloth; put the pudding into boiling water, and boil for 2 hours. Mincemeat or marmalade may be substituted for the jam, and makes excellent puddings. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—Suitable for winter puddings, when fresh fruit is not obtainable.

January—Bills of Fare.

Dinner for 18 persons.

First Course.

Mock-Turtle Soup, removed by Cod’s Head and Shoulders. Stewed Eels. Vase of Flowers. Red Mullet. Clear Ox-tail Soup, removed by Fried Filleted Soles.

Entrées.

Riz de Veau aux Tomates. Ragoût of Lobster. Vase of Flowers. Cotelettes de Porc à la Robert. Poulet à la Marengo.

Second Course.

Roast Turkey. Pigeon Pie. Boiled Turkey and Celery Sauce. Vase of Flowers. Boiled Ham. Tongue, garnished. Saddle of Mutton.

Third Course.

Charlotte à la Parisienne. Pheasants, removed by Plum-Pudding. Apricot-Jam Tartlets. Jelly. Cream. Vase of flowers. Cream. Jelly. Mince Pies. Snipes, removed by Pommes à la Condé. Maids of Honour.

Dinner for 12 persons.

First Course.—Carrot soup à la Crécy; ox-tail soup; turbot and lobster sauce; fried smelts, with Dutch sauce. Entrées. Mutton cutlets, with Soubise sauce; sweetbreads; oyster patties; fillets of rabbits. Second Course.—Roast Turkey; stewed rump of beef à la jardinière; boiled ham, garnished with Brussels sprouts; boiled chickens and celery sauce. Third course.—Roast hare; teal; eggs à la neige; vol-au-vent of preserved fruit; 1 jelly; 1 cream; potatoes à la maître d’hôtel; grilled mushrooms; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 10 persons.

First Course.—Soup à la Reine; whitings au gratin; crimped cod and oyster sauce. Entrées.—Tendrons de veau; curried fowl and boiled rice. Second Course.—Turkey, stuffed with chestnuts, and chestnut sauce; boiled leg of mutton, English fashion, with caper sauce and mashed turnips. Third course.—Woodcocks or partridges; widgeon; Charlotte à la vanille; cabinet pudding; orange jelly; blancmange; artichoke bottoms; macaroni, with Parmesan cheese; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

First course.—Mulligatawny soup; brill and shrimp sauce; fried whitings. Entrées.—Fricasseed chicken; pork cutlets, with tomato sauce. Second course.—Haunch of mutton; boiled turkey and celery sauce; boiled tongue, garnished with Brussels sprouts. Third Course.—Roast pheasants; meringues à la crême; compôte of apples; orange jelly, cheesecakes; soufflé of rice; dessert and ices.

Dinners for 6 persons.

First Course.—Julienne soup; soles à la Normandie. Entrées.—Sweetbreads, with sauce piquante; mutton cutlets, with mashed potatoes. Second Course.—Haunch of venison; boiled fowls and bacon, garnished with Brussels sprouts. Third Course.—Plum pudding; custards in glasses; apple tart; fondue à la Brillat Savarin; dessert.

First Course.—Vermicelli soup; fried slices of codfish and anchovy sauce; John Dory. Entrées.—Stewed rump-steak à la jardinière; rissoles; oyster patties. Second Course.—Leg of mutton; curried rabbit and boiled rice. Third Course.—Partridges; apple fritters; tartlets of greengage jam; orange jelly; plum-pudding; dessert.

First Course.—Pea-soup; baked haddock; soles à la crême. Entrées.—Mutton cutlets and tomato sauce; fricasseed rabbit. Second Course.—Roast pork and apple sauce; breast of veal, rolled and stuffed; vegetables. Third Course.—Jugged hare; whipped cream; blancmange; mince pies; cabinet pudding.

First Course.—Palestine soup; fried smelts; stewed eels. Entrées.—Ragoût of lobster; broiled mushrooms; vol-au-vent of chicken. Second Course.—Sirloin of beef; boiled fowls and celery sauce; tongue, garnished with Brussels sprouts. Third Course.—Wild ducks; Charlotte aux pommes; cheesecakes; transparent jelly, inlaid with brandy cherries; blancmange; Nesselrode pudding.

January, Plain Family Dinners for.

Sunday.—1. Boiled turbot and oyster sauce, potatoes. 2. Roast leg or griskin of pork, apple sauce, brocoli, potatoes. 3. Cabinet pudding, and damson tart made with preserved damsons.

Monday.—1. The remains of turbot warmed in oyster sauce, potatoes. 2. Cold pork, stewed steak. 3. Open jam tart, which should have been made with the pieces of paste left from the damson tart; baked arrowroot pudding.

Tuesday.—1. Boiled neck of mutton, carrots, mashed turnips, suet dumplings, and caper sauce: the broth should be served first, and a little rice or pearl barley should be boiled in it along with the meat. 2. Rolled jam pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Roast rolled ribs of beef, greens, potatoes, and horseradish sauce. 2. Bread-and-butter pudding, cheesecakes.

Thursday.—1. Vegetable soup (the bones from the ribs of beef should be boiled down with this soup), cold beef, mashed potatoes. 2. Pheasants, gravy, bread sauce. 3. Macaroni.

Friday.—1. Fried whitings or soles. 2. Boiled rabbit and onion sauce, minced beef, potatoes. 3. Currant dumplings.

Saturday.—1. Rump-steak pudding or pie, greens, and potatoes. 2. Baked custard pudding and stewed apples.

Sunday.—1. Codfish and oyster sauce, potatoes. 2. Joint of roast mutton, either leg, haunch, or saddle; brocoli and potatoes, red-currant jelly. 3. Apple tart and custards, cheese.

Monday.—1. The remains of codfish picked from the bone, and warmed through in the oyster sauce; if there is no sauce left, order a few oysters and make a little fresh; and do not let the fish boil, or it will be watery. 2. Curried rabbit, with boiled rice served separately, cold mutton, mashed potatoes. 3. Somersetshire dumplings with wine sauce.

Tuesday.—1. Boiled fowls, parsley-and-butter; bacon garnished with Brussels sprouts; minced or hashed mutton. 2. Baroness pudding.

Wednesday.—1. The remains of the fowls cut up into joints and fricasseed; joint of roast pork and apple sauce, and, if liked, sage-and-onion, served on a dish by itself; turnips and potatoes. 2. Lemon pudding, either baked or boiled.

Thursday.—1. Cold pork and jugged hare, red-currant jelly, mashed potatoes. 2. Apple pudding.

Friday.—1. Boiled beef, either the aitchbone or the silver side of the round; carrots, turnips, suet dumplings, and potatoes: if there is a marrow-bone, serve the marrow on toast at the same time. 2. Rice snowballs.

Saturday.—1. Pea-soup made from liquor in which beef was boiled; cold beef, mashed potatoes. 2. Baked batter fruit pudding.

January, Things in Season.

Fish.—Barbel, brill, carp, cod, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench, thornback, turbot, whitings.

Meat.—Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, veal, venison.

Poultry.—Capons, fowls, tame pigeons, pullets, rabbits, turkeys.

Game.—Grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipe, wild-fowl, woodcock.

Vegetables.—Beetroot, brocoli, cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, spinach, turnips, various herbs.

Fruit.—Apples, grapes, medlars, nuts, oranges, pears, walnuts, crystallized preserves (foreign), dried fruits, such as almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates.

Jaunemange.

Ingredients.—1 oz. of isinglass, 1 pint of water, ½ pint of white wine, the rind and juice of 1 large lemon, sugar to taste, the yolks of 6 eggs. Mode.—Put the isinglass, water, and lemon-rind into a saucepan, and boil gently until the former is dissolved; then add the strained lemon-juice, the wine, and sufficient white sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Boil for 2 or 3 minutes, strain the mixture into a jug, and add the yolks of the eggs, which should be well beaten; place the jug in a saucepan of boiling water; keep stirring the mixture one way until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil; then take it off the fire, and keep stirring until nearly cold. Pour it into a mould, omitting the sediment at the bottom of the jug, and let it remain until quite firm. Time.—¼ hour to boil the isinglass and water; about 10 minutes to stir the mixture in the jug. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 2s. 9d. Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.

Jellies

Are not the nourishing food they were at one time considered to be, and many eminent physicians are of opinion that they are less digestible than the flesh, or muscular part of animals; still, when acidulated with lemon-juice and flavoured with wine, they are very suitable for some convalescents. Vegetable jelly is a distinct principle, existing in fruits, which possesses the property of gelatinizing when boiled and cooled; but it is a principle entirely different from the gelatine of animal bodies, although the name of jelly, common to both, sometimes leads to an erroneous idea on that subject. Animal jelly, or gelatine, is glue, whereas vegetable jelly is rather analogous to gum. Liebig places gelatine very low indeed in the scale of usefulness. He says, “Gelatine, which by itself is tasteless, and when eaten, excites nausea, possesses no nutritive value; that, even when accompanied by the savoury constituents of flesh, it is not capable of supporting the vital process, and when added to the usual diet as a substitute for plastic matter, does not increase, but on the contrary, diminishes the nutritive value of the food, which it renders insufficient in quantity and inferior in quality.” It is this substance which is most frequently employed in the manufacture of the jellies supplied by the confectioner; but those prepared at home from calves’ feet do possess some nutrition, and are the only sort that should be given to invalids. Isinglass is the purest variety of gelatine, and is prepared from the sounds or swimming-bladders of certain fish, chiefly the sturgeon. From its whiteness it is mostly used for making blancmange and similar dishes.

Jellies, Bottled, How to Mould.

Uncork the bottle; place it in a saucepan of hot water until the jelly is reduced to a liquid state; taste it, to ascertain whether it is sufficiently flavoured, and if not, add a little wine. Pour the jelly into moulds which have been soaked in water; let it set, and turn it out by placing the mould in hot water for a minute; then wipe the outside, put a dish on the top, and turn it over quickly. The jelly should then slip easily away from the mould, and be quite firm. It may be garnished as taste dictates.

Jelly, Isinglass, or Gelatine.

(Substitutes for Calf’s Feet.)

Ingredients.—3 oz. of isinglass or gelatine, 2 quarts of water. Mode.—Put the isinglass or gelatine into a saucepan with the above proportion of cold water; bring it quickly to boil, and let it boil very fast, until the liquor is reduced one-half. Carefully remove the scum as it rises, then strain it through a jelly-bag, and it will be ready for use. If not required very clear, it may be merely strained through a fine sieve, instead of being run through a bag. Rather more than ½ oz. of isinglass is about the proper quantity to use for a quart of strong calf’s-feet stock, and rather more than 2 oz. for the same quantity of fruit juice. As isinglass varies so much in quality and strength, it is difficult to give the exact proportions. The larger the mould, the stiffer should be the jelly; and where there is no ice, more isinglass must be used than if the mixture were frozen. This forms a stock for all kinds of jellies, which may be flavoured in many ways. Time.—1½ hour. Sufficient, with wine, syrup, fruit, &c., to fill two moderate-sized moulds. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—The above, when boiled, should be perfectly clear, and may be mixed warm with wine, flavourings, fruits, &c., and then run through the bag.

Jelly-Bag, How to make a.

The very stout flannel called double-mill, used for ironing-blankets, is the best material for a jelly-bag: those of home manufacture are the only ones to be relied on for thoroughly clearing the jelly. Care should be taken that the seam of the bag be stitched twice, to secure it against unequal filtration. The most convenient mode of using the bag is to tie it upon a hoop the exact size of the outside of its mouth; and, to do this, strings should be sewn round it at equal distances. The jelly-bag may, of course, be made any size; but one of twelve or fourteen inches deep, and seven or eight across the mouth, will be sufficient for ordinary use. The form of a jelly-bag is the fool’s-cap.

Jelly Moulded with fresh Fruit, or Macedoine de Fruits.

Ingredients.—Rather more than 1½ pint of jelly, a few nice strawberries, or red or white currants, or raspberries, or any fresh fruit that may be in season. Mode.—Have ready the above proportion of jelly, which must be very clear and rather sweet, the raw fruit requiring an additional quantity of sugar. Select ripe, nice-looking fruit; pick off the stalks, unless currants are used, when they are laid in the jelly as they come from the tree. Begin by putting a little jelly at the bottom of the mould, which must harden; then arrange the fruit round the sides of the mould, recollecting that it will be reversed when turned out; then pour in some more jelly to make the fruit adhere, and, when that layer is set, put another row of fruit and jelly until the mould is full. If convenient, put it in ice until required for table, then wring a cloth in boiling water, wrap it round the mould for a minute, and turn the jelly carefully out. Peaches, apricots, plums, apples, &c., are better for being boiled in a little clear syrup before they are laid in the jelly; strawberries, raspberries, grapes, cherries, and currants are put in raw. In winter, when fresh fruits are not obtainable, a very pretty jelly may be made with preserved fruits or brandy cherries: these, in a bright and clear jelly, have a very pretty effect; of course, unless the jelly be very clear, the beauty of the dish will be spoiled. It may be garnished with the same fruit as is laid in the jelly; for instance, an open jelly with strawberries might have, piled in the centre, a few of the same fruit prettily arranged, or a little whipped cream might be substituted for the fruit. Time.—One layer of jelly should remain 2 hours in a very cool place, before another layer is added. Average cost, 2s. 6d. Sufficient, with fruit, to fill a quart mould. Seasonable, with fresh fruit, from June to October; with dried, at any time.

Jelly, Orange, Moulded with slices of Orange.

Ingredients.—1½ pint of orange jelly, 4 oranges, ½ pint of clarified syrup, Mode.—Boil ½ lb. of loaf sugar with ½ pint of water until there is no scum left (which must be carefully removed as fast as it rises), and carefully peel the oranges; divide them into thin slices, without breaking the thin skin, and put these pieces of orange into the syrup, where let them remain for about 5 minutes; then take them out, and use the syrup for the jelly. When the oranges are well drained, and the jelly is nearly cold, pour a little of the latter into the bottom of the mould; then lay in a few pieces of orange; over these pour a little jelly, and when this is set, place another layer of oranges, proceeding in this manner until the mould is full. Put it in ice, or in a cool place, and, before turning it out, wrap a cloth round the mould for a minute or two, which has been wrung out in boiling water. Time.—5 minutes to simmer the oranges, Average cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient, with the slices of orange, to fill a quart mould. Seasonable from November to May.

Jelly of Two Colours.

Ingredients.—1½ pint of calf’s-feet jelly, a few drops of prepared cochineal. Mode.—Make 1½ pint of calf’s-feet jelly, or, if wished more economical, of clarified syrup and gelatine, flavouring it in any way that may be preferred. Colour one-half of the jelly with a few drops of prepared cochineal, and the other half leave as pale as possible. Have ready a mould well wetted in every part; pour in a small quantity of the red jelly, and let this set; when quite firm, pour on it the same quantity of the pale jelly, and let this set; then proceed in this manner until the mould is full, always taking care to let one jelly set before the other is poured in, or the colours would run one into the other. When turned out, the jelly should have a striped appearance. For variety, half the mould may be filled at once with one of the jellies, and, when firm, filled up with the other: this, also, has a very pretty effect, and is more expeditiously prepared than when the jelly is poured in small quantities into the mould. Blancmange and red jelly, or blancmange and raspberry cream, moulded in the above manner, look very well. The layers of blancmange and jelly should be about an inch in depth, and each layer should be perfectly hardened before another is added. Half a mould of blancmange and half a mould of jelly are frequently served in the same manner. A few pretty dishes may be made, in this way, of jellies or blancmanges left from the preceding day, by melting them separately in a jug placed in a saucepan of boiling water, and then moulding them by the foregoing directions. Time.—¾ hour to make the jelly. Average cost, with calf’s-feet jelly, 2s.; with gelatine and syrup, more economical. Sufficient to fill 1½-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—In making the jelly, use for flavouring a very pale sherry, or the colour will be too dark to contrast nicely with the red jelly.

Jelly, Open, with whipped Cream (a very pretty dish).

Ingredients.—1½ pint of jelly, ½ pint of cream, 1 glass of sherry, sugar to taste. Mode.—Make the above proportion of calf’s-feet or isinglass jelly, colouring and flavouring it in any way that may be preferred; soak a mould, open in the centre, for about ½ hour in cold water; fill it with the jelly, and let it remain in a cool place until perfectly set; then turn it out on a dish; fill the centre with whipped cream, flavoured with sherry and sweetened with pounded sugar; pile this cream high in the centre, and serve. The jelly should be made of rather a dark colour, to contrast nicely with the cream. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient to fill 1½-pint mould. Seasonable at any time.

Jelly, Savoury, for Meat Pies.

Ingredients.—3 lbs. of shin of beef, 1 calf’s-foot, 3 lbs. of knuckle of veal, poultry trimmings (if for game pies, any game trimmings), 2 onions stuck with cloves, 2 carrots, 4 shalots, a bunch of savoury herbs, 2 bay-leaves; when liked, 2 blades of mace and a little spice; 2 slices of lean ham; rather more than 2 quarts of water. Mode.—Cut up the meat and put it into a stewpan with all the ingredients except the water; set it over a slow fire to draw down, and, when the gravy ceases to flow from the meat, pour in the water. Let it boil up, then carefully take away all scum from the top. Cover the stewpan closely, and let the stock simmer very gently for 4 hours: if rapidly boiled, the jelly will not be clear. When done, strain it through a fine sieve or flannel bag; and when cold, the jelly should be quite transparent. If this is not the case, clarify it with the whites of eggs. Time.—4 hours. Average cost, for this quantity, 5s.

Jelly, to make the Stock for, and to Clarify it.

Ingredients.—2 calf’s feet, 6 pints of water. Mode.—The stock for jellies should always be made the day before it is required for use, as the liquor has time to cool, and the fat can be so much more easily and effectually removed when thoroughly set. Procure 2 nice calf’s feet; scald them, to take off the hair; slit them in two, remove the fat from between the claws, and wash the feet well in warm water; put them into a stewpan, with the above proportion of cold water, bring it gradually to boil and remove every particle of scum as it rises. When it is well skimmed, boil it very gently for 6 or 7 hours, or until the liquor is reduced rather more than half; then strain it through a sieve into a basin, and put it in a cool place to set. As the liquor is strained, measure it, to ascertain the proportion for the jelly, allowing something for the sediment and fat at the top. To clarify it, carefully remove all the fat from the top, pour over a little warm water, to wash away any that may remain, and wipe the jelly with a clean cloth; remove the jelly from the sediment, put it into a saucepan, and, supposing the quantity to be a quart, add to it 6 oz. of loaf sugar, the shells and well-whisked whites of 5 eggs, and stir these ingredients together cold; set the saucepan on the fire, but do not stir the jelly after it begins to warm. Let it boil about 10 minutes after it rises to a head, then throw in a teacupful of cold water; let it boil 5 minutes longer, then take the saucepan off, cover it closely, and let it remain ½ hour near the fire. Dip the jelly-bag into hot water, wring it out quite dry, and fasten it on to a stand or the back of a chair, which must be placed near the fire, to prevent the jelly from setting before it has run through the bag. Place a basin underneath to receive the jelly; then pour it into the bag, and should it not be clear the first time, run it through the bag again. This stock is the foundation of all really good jellies, which may be varied in innumerable ways, by colouring and flavouring with liqueurs, and by moulding it with fresh and preserved fruits. To insure the jelly being firm when turned out, ½ oz. of isinglass clarified might be added to the above proportion of stock. Substitutes for calf’s feet are now frequently used in making jellies, which lessen the expense and trouble in preparing this favourite dish, isinglass and gelatine being two of the principal materials employed; but although they may look as nicely as jellies made from good stock, they are never so delicate, having very often an unpleasant flavour, somewhat resembling glue, particularly when made with gelatine. Time.—About 6 hours to boil the feet for the stock; to clarify it,—¼ hour to boil, ½ hour to stand in the saucepan covered. Average cost.—Calf’s feet may be purchased for 6d. each when veal is in full season, but more expensive when it is scarce. Sufficient.—2 calf’s feet should make 1 quart of stock. Seasonable from March to October, but may be had all the year.

John Dory.

Ingredients.—-¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—This fish, which is esteemed by most people a great delicacy, is dressed in the same way as a turbot, which it resembles in firmness, but not in richness. Cleanse it thoroughly and cut off the fins; lay it in a fish-kettle, cover with cold water, and add salt in the above proportion. Bring it gradually to a boil, and simmer gently for ¼ hour, or rather longer, should the fish be very large. Serve on a hot napkin, and garnish with cut lemon and parsley. Lobster, anchovy, or shrimp sauce, and plain melted butter, should be sent to table with it. Time.—After the water boils, ¼ to ½ hour, according to size. Average cost, 3s. to 5s. Seasonable all the year, but best from September to January.

Note.—Small John Dory are very good baked.

June—Bills of Fare.

Dinner for 18 persons.

First Course.

Asparagus Soup, removed by Crimped Salmon. Fillets of Gurnets. Vase of Flowers. Soles aux fines herbes. Vermicelli Soup, removed by Whitebait.

Entrées.

Lamb Cutlets and Peas. Lobster Patties. Vase of Flowers. Tendrons de Veau à la Jardinière. Larded Sweetbreads.

Second Course.

Saddle of Lamb. Tongue. Roast Spring Chickens. Vase of Flowers. Boiled Capon. Ham. Boiled Calf’s Head.

Third Course.

Dessert and Ices.

Prawns. Leveret, removed by Iced Pudding. Tartlets. Vol-au-Vent of Strawberries and Cream. Wine Jelly. Custards, in glasses. Vase of Flowers. Cheesecake. Plovers’ Eggs. Blancmange. Goslings, removed by Fondues, in cases.

Dinner for 12 persons.

First Course.—Green-pea soup; rice soup; salmon and lobster sauce; trout à la Genévése; whitebait. Entrées.—Lamb cutlets and cucumbers; fricasseed chicken; stewed veal and peas; lobster rissoles. Second Course.—Roast quarter of lamb and spinach; filet de bœuf à la Jardinière; boiled fowls; braised shoulder of lamb; tongue; vegetables. Third Course.—Goslings; ducklings; Nesselrode pudding; Charlotte à la Parisienne; gooseberry tartlets; strawberry cream; raspberry-and-currant tart; custards; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 10 persons.

First Course.—Julienne soup; salmon trout and parsley-and-butter; red mullet. Entrées.—Stewed breast of veal and peas; mutton cutlets à la Maintenon. Second Course.—Roast fillet of veal; boiled leg of lamb, garnished with young carrots; boiled bacon-cheek; vegetables. Third Course.—Roast ducks; leveret; gooseberry tart; strawberry cream; strawberry tartlets; meringues; cabinet pudding; iced pudding; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

First Course.—Vermicelli soup; trout à la Genévése; salmon cutlets. Entrées.—Lamb cutlets and peas; fricasseed chicken. Second Course.—Roast ribs of beef; half calf’s head, tongue, and brains; boiled ham; vegetables. Third Course.—Roast ducks; compôte of gooseberries; strawberry jelly; pastry; iced pudding; cauliflower with cream sauce; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 6 persons.

First Course.—Spring soup; boiled salmon and lobster sauce. Entrées.—Veal cutlets and endive; ragoût of duck and green peas. Second Course.—Roast loin of veal; boiled leg of lamb and white sauce; tongue, garnished; vegetables. Third Course.—Strawberry cream; gooseberry tartlets; almond pudding; lobster salad; dessert.

First Course.—Calf’s head soup; mackerel à la maître d’hôtel; whitebait. Entrées.—Chicken cutlets; curried lobster. Second Course.—Fore-quarter of lamb and salad; stewed beef à la Jardinière; vegetables. Third Course.—Goslings; green-currant tart; custards, in glasses; strawberry blancmange; soufflé of rice; dessert.

First Course.—Green-pea soup; baked soles aux fines herbes; stewed trout. Entrées.—Calf’s liver and bacon; rissoles. Second Course.—Roast saddle of lamb and salad; calf’s head à la tortue; vegetables. Third Course.—Roast ducks; vol-au-vent of strawberries and cream; strawberry tartlets; lemon blancmange; baked gooseberry pudding; dessert.

First Course.—Spinach soup; soles à la crême; red mullet. Entrées.—Roast fillet of veal; braised ham and spinach. Second Course.—Boiled fowls and white sauce; vegetables. Third Course.—Leveret; strawberry jelly; Swiss cream; cheesecakes; iced pudding; dessert.

June, Plain Family Dinners for.

Sunday.—1. Salmon trout and parsley-and-butter, new potatoes. 2. Roast fillet of veal, boiled bacon-cheek and spinach, vegetables. 3. Gooseberry tart, custard.

Monday.—1. Light gravy soup. 2. Small meat pie, minced veal, garnished with rolled bacon, spinach, and potatoes. 3. Raspberry-and-currant tart.

Tuesday.—1. Baked mackerel, potatoes. 2. Boiled leg of lamb, garnished with young carrots. 3. Lemon pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Vegetable soup. 2. Calf’s liver and bacon, peas, hashed lamb from remains of cold joint. 3. Baked gooseberry pudding.

Thursday.—1. Roast ribs of beef, Yorkshire pudding, peas, potatoes. 2. Stewed rhubarb and boiled rice.

Friday.—1. Cold beef and salad, lamb cutlets and peas. 2. Boiled gooseberry pudding and baked custard pudding.

Saturday.—1. Rump-steak pudding, broiled beef-bones and cucumber, vegetables. 2. Bread pudding.

Sunday.—1. Roast fore-quarter of lamb, mint sauce, peas, and new potatoes. 2. Gooseberry pudding, strawberry tartlets. Fondue.

Monday.—1. Cold lamb and salad, stewed neck of veal and peas, young carrots, and new potatoes. 2. Almond pudding.

Tuesday.—1. Green-pea soup. 2. Roast ducks stuffed, gravy, peas, and new potatoes. 3. Baked ratafia pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Roast leg of mutton, summer cabbage, potatoes. 2. Gooseberry and rice pudding.

Thursday.—1. Fried soles, melted butter, potatoes. 2. Sweetbreads, hashed mutton, vegetables. 3. Bread-and-butter pudding.

Friday.—1. Asparagus soup. 2. Boiled beef, young carrots, and new potatoes, suet dumplings. 3. College puddings.

Saturday.—1. Cold boiled beef and salad, lamb cutlets, and green peas. 2. Boiled gooseberry pudding and plain cream.

June, Things in Season.

Fish.—Carp, crayfish, herrings, lobsters, mackerel, mullet, pike, prawns, salmon, soles, tench, trout, turbot.

Meat.—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.

Poultry.—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, plovers, pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears.

Vegetables.—Artichokes, asparagus, beans, cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, lettuces, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, small salads, sea-kale, spinach,—various herbs.

Fruit.—Apricots, cherries, currants, gooseberries, melons, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries.

July—Bills of Fare.

Dinner for 18 persons.

First Course.

Green-Pea Soup, removed by Salmon and dressed Cucumber. Whitebait. Vase of Flowers. Stewed Trout. Soup à la Reine, removed by Mackerel à la Maître d’Hôtel.

Entrées.

Lamb Cutlets and Peas. Lobster Curry en Casserole. Vase of Flowers. Scollops of Chickens. Chicken Patties.

Second Course.

Haunch of Venison. Pigeon Pie. Boiled Capons. Vase of Flowers. Spring Chickens. Braised Ham. Saddle of Lamb.

Third Course.

Dessert and Ices.

Roast Ducks, removed by Vanilla Soufflé. Prawns. Raspberry Cream. Custards. Vase of Flowers. Cherry Tart. Raspberry-and-Currant Tart. Strawberry Cream. Creams. Green Goose, removed by Iced Pudding. Tartlets.

Dinner for 12 persons.

First Course.—Soup à la Jardinière; chicken soup; crimped salmon and parsley-and-butter; trout aux fines herbes, in cases. Entrées.—Tendrons de veau and peas; lamb cutlets and cucumbers. Second Course.—Loin of veal à la Béchamel; roast fore-quarter of lamb; salad; braised ham, garnished with broad beans; vegetables. Third Course.—Roast ducks; turkey poult; stewed peas à la Française; lobster salad; cherry tart; raspberry-and-currant tart; custards, in glasses; lemon creams; Nesselrode pudding; marrow pudding. Dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

First Course.—Green-pea soup; salmon and lobster sauce; crimped perch and Dutch sauce. Entrées.—Stewed veal and peas; lamb cutlets and cucumbers. Second Course.—Haunch of venison; boiled fowls à la Béchamel; braised ham; vegetables. Third Course.—Roast ducks; peas à la Française; lobster salad; strawberry cream; blancmange; cherry tart; cheesecakes; iced pudding. Dessert and ices.

Dinner for 6 persons.

First Course.—Soup à la Jardinière; salmon trout and parsley-and-butter; fillets of mackerel à la maître d’hôtel. Entrées.—Lobster cutlets; beef palates, à la Italienne. Second Course.—Roast lamb; boiled capon and white sauce; boiled tongue, garnished with small vegetable marrows; bacon and beans. Third Course.—Goslings; whipped strawberry cream; raspberry-and-currant tart; meringues; cherry tartlets; iced pudding. Dessert and ices.

First Course.—Julienne soup; crimped salmon and caper sauce; whitebait. Entrées.—Croquettes à la Reine; curried lobster. Second Course.—Roast lamb; rump of beef à la Jardinière. Third Course.—Larded turkey poult; raspberry cream; cherry tart; custards, in glasses; Gâteaux à la Genévése; Nesselrode pudding. Dessert.

July, Plain Family Dinners for.

Sunday.—1. Salmon trout and parsley-and-butter. 2. Roast fillet of veal, boiled bacon-cheek, peas, potatoes. 3. Raspberry-and-currant tart, baked custard pudding.

Monday.—1. Green-pea soup. 2. Roast fowls garnished with water-cresses; gravy, bread sauce; cold veal and salad. 3. Cherry tart.

Tuesday.—1. John dory and lobster sauce. 2. Curried fowl with remains of cold fowls, dish of rice, veal rolls with remains of cold fillet. 3. Strawberry cream.

Wednesday.—1. Roast leg of mutton, vegetable marrow and potatoes, melted butter. 2. Black-currant pudding.

Thursday.—1. Fried soles, anchovy sauce. 2. Mutton cutlets and tomato sauce, hashed mutton, peas, potatoes, 3. Lemon dumplings.

Friday.—1. Boiled brisket of beef, carrots, turnips, suet dumplings, peas, potatoes. 2. Baked semolina pudding.

Saturday.—1. Cold beef and salad, lamb cutlets and peas. 2. Rolled jam pudding.

Sunday.—1. Julienne soup. 2. Roast lamb, half calf’s head, tongue and brains, boiled ham, peas and potatoes. 3. Cherry tart, custards.

Monday.—1. Hashed calf’s head, cold lamb and salad. 2. Vegetable marrow and white sauce, instead of pudding.

Tuesday.—1. Stewed veal, with peas, young carrots, and potatoes. Small meat pie. 2. Raspberry-and-currant pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Roast ducks stuffed, gravy, peas, and potatoes; the remains of stewed veal rechauffé. 2. Macaroni served as a sweet pudding.

Thursday.—1. Slices of salmon and caper sauce. 2. Boiled knuckle of veal, parsley-and-butter, vegetable marrow and potatoes. 3. Black-currant pudding.

Friday.—1. Roast shoulder of mutton, onion sauce, peas and potatoes. 2. Cherry tart, baked custard pudding.

Saturday.—1. Minced mutton, rump-steak-and-kidney pudding. 2. Baked lemon pudding.

July, Things in Season.

Fish.—Carp, crayfish, dory, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lobsters, mackerel, mullet, pike, plaice, prawns, salmon, shrimps, soles, sturgeon, tench, thornback.

Meat.—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal, buck venison.

Poultry.—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, plovers, pullets, rabbits, turkey poults, wheatears, wild ducks (called flappers).

Vegetables.—Artichokes, asparagus, beans, cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, celery, cresses, endive, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, peas, radishes, small salading, sea-kale, sprouts, turnips, vegetable marrow,—various herbs.

Fruit.—Apricots, cherries, currants, figs, gooseberries, melons, nectarines, pears, pineapples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, walnuts in high season, for pickling.

Julienne, Soup à la.

Ingredients.—½ pint of carrots, ½ pint of turnips, ¼ pint of onions, 2 or 3 leeks, ½ head of celery, 1 lettuce, a little sorrel and chervil, if liked, 2 oz. of butter, 2 quarts of stock. Mode.—Cut the vegetables into strips of about 1¼ inch long, and be particular they are all the same size, or some will be hard whilst the others will be done to a pulp. Cut the lettuce, sorrel, and chervil into larger pieces; fry the carrots in the butter, and pour the stock boiling to them. When this is done, add all the other vegetables and herbs, and stew gently for at least an hour. Skim off all the fat, pour the soup over thin slices of bread, cut round about the size of a shilling, and serve. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost.—1s. 3d. per quart. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Note.—In summer, green peas, asparagus-tops, French beans, &c., can be added. When the vegetables are very strong, instead of frying them in butter at first, they should be blanched, and afterwards simmered in the stock.

Kale Brose (a Scotch Recipe).

Ingredients.—Half an ox-head or cow-heel, a teacupful of toasted oatmeal, salt to taste, 2 handfuls of greens, 3 quarts of water. Mode.—Make a broth of the ox-head or cow-heel, and boil it till oil floats on the top of the liquor, then boil the greens, shred, in it. Put the oatmeal, with a little salt, into a basin, and mix with it quickly a teacupful of the fat broth: it should not run into one doughy mass, but form knots. Stir it into the whole, give one boil, and serve very hot. Time.—4 hours. Average cost, 8d. per quart. Seasonable all the year, but more suitable in winter. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Kegeree.

Ingredients.—Any cold fish, 1 teacupful of boiled rice, 1 oz. of butter, 1 teaspoonful of mustard, 2 soft-boiled eggs, salt and cayenne to taste. Mode.—Pick the fish carefully from the bones, mix with the other ingredients, and serve very hot. The quantities may be varied according to the amount of fish used. Time.—¼ hour after the rice is boiled. Average cost, 5d. exclusive of the fish.

Kidneys, Broiled (a Breakfast or Supper Dish).

Ingredients.—Sheep kidneys, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Ascertain that the kidneys are fresh, and cut them open, very evenly, lengthwise, down to the root, for should one half be thicker than the other, one would be underdone whilst the other would be dried, but do not separate them; skin them, and pass a skewer under the white part of each half to keep them flat, and broil over a nice clear fire, placing the inside downwards; turn them when done enough on one side, and cook them on the other. Remove the skewers, place the kidneys on a very hot dish, season with pepper and salt, and put a tiny piece of butter in the middle of each; serve very hot and quickly, and send very hot plates to table. Time.—6 to 8 minutes. Average cost, 1½d. each. Sufficient.—Allow 1 for each person. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—A prettier dish than the above may be made by serving the kidneys each on a piece of buttered toast cut in any fanciful shape. In this case a little lemon-juice will be found an improvement.

Kidneys, Fried.

Ingredients.—Kidneys, butter, pepper, and salt to taste. Mode.—Cut the kidneys open without quite dividing them, remove the skin, and put a small piece of butter in the frying-pan. When the butter is melted, lay in the kidneys the flat side downwards, and fry them for 7 or 8 minutes, turning them when they are half done. Serve on a piece of dry toast, season with pepper and salt, and put a small piece of butter in each kidney; pour the gravy from the pan over them, and serve very hot. Time.—7 or 8 minutes. Average cost, 1½d. each. Sufficient.—Allow 1 kidney to each person. Seasonable at any time.

Kidney Omelet (a favourite French Dish).

Ingredients.—6 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt, ½ saltspoonful of pepper, 2 sheep’s kidneys, or 2 tablespoonfuls of minced veal kidney, 5 oz. of butter. Mode.—Skin the kidneys, cut them into small dice, and toss them in a frying-pan, in 1 oz. of butter, over the fire for 2 or 3 minutes. Mix the ingredients for the omelet, and when the eggs are well whisked, stir in the pieces of kidney. Make the butter hot in the frying-pan, and when it bubbles, pour in the omelet, and fry it over a gentle fire from 4 to 6 minutes. When the eggs are set, fold the edges over, so that the omelet assumes an oval form, and be careful that it is not too much done: to brown the top, hold the pan before the fire for a minute or two, or use a salamander until the desired colour is obtained, but never turn an omelet in the pan. Slip it carefully on to a very hot dish, or, what is a much safer method, put a dish on the omelet, and turn the pan quickly over. It should be served the instant it comes from the fire. Time.—4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Kidneys, Stewed.

Ingredients.—About 8 kidneys, a large dessertspoonful of chopped herbs, 2 oz. butter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, a little gravy, juice of half a lemon, a teaspoonful of Harvey sauce and mushroom ketchup, cayenne, and salt to taste. Mode.—Strew the herbs, with cayenne and salt, over the kidneys, melt the butter in the frying-pan, put in the kidneys, and brown them nicely all round; when nearly done, stir in the flour, and shake them well; now add the gravy and sauce, and stew them for a few minutes, then turn them out into a dish garnished with fried sippets. Time.—10 or 12 minutes. Seasonable at any time.

Lamb.

The most delicious sorts of lamb are those of the South-Down breed, known by their black feet; and of these, those which have been exclusively suckled on the milk of the parent ewe, are considered the finest. Next to these in estimation are those fed on the milk of several dams; and last of all, though the fattest, the grass-fed lamb: this, however, implies an age much greater than either of the others.

Lamb, in the early part of the season, however reared, is in London, and indeed generally, sold in quarters, divided with eleven ribs to the fore-quarter; but, as the season advances, these are subdivided into two, and the hind-quarter in the same manner; the first consisting of the shoulder, and the neck and breast; the latter, of the leg and the loin.—As lamb, from the juicy nature of its flesh, is especially liable to spoil in unfavourable weather, it should be frequently wiped, so as to remove any moisture that may form on it.

In the Purchasing of Lamb for the Table, there are certain signs by which the experienced judgment is able to form an accurate opinion whether the animal has been lately slaughtered, and whether the joints possess that condition of fibre indicative of good and wholesome meat. The first of these doubts may be solved satisfactorily by the bright and dilated appearance of the eye; the quality of the fore-quarter can always be guaranteed by the blue or healthy ruddiness of the jugular, or vein of the neck; while the rigidity of the knuckle, and the firm, compact feel of the kidney, will answer in an equally positive manner for the integrity of the hind-quarter.

Mode of cutting up a Side of Lamb in London.—1. Ribs; 2. Breast; 3. Shoulder; 4. Loin; 5. Leg; 1, 2, 3. Fore Quarter.

Lamb, Breast of, and Green Peas.

Ingredients.—1 breast of lamb, a few slices of bacon, ½ pint of stock, 1 lemon, 1 onion, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, green-peas. Mode.—Remove the skin from a breast of lamb, put it into a saucepan of boiling water, and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Take it out and lay it in cold water. Line the bottom of a stewpan with a few thin slices of bacon; lay the lamb on these; peel the lemon, cut it into slices, and put these on the meat, to keep it white and make it tender; cover with 1 or 2 more slices of bacon; add the stock, onion, and herbs, and set it on a slow fire to simmer very gently until tender. Have ready some green peas, put these on a dish, and place the lamb on the top of them. The appearance of this dish may be much improved by glazing the lamb, and spinach may be substituted for the peas when variety is desired. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 3 persons. Seasonable.—Grass lamb, from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Stewed Breast of.

Ingredients.—1 breast of lamb, pepper and salt to taste, sufficient stock to cover it, 1 glass of sherry, thickening of butter and flour. Mode.—Skin the lamb, cut it into pieces, and season them with pepper and salt; lay these in a stewpan, pour in sufficient stock or gravy to cover them, and stew very gently until tender, which will be in about 1½ hour. Just before serving, thicken the sauce with a little butter and flour; add the sherry, give one boil, and pour it over the meat. Green peas, or stewed mushrooms, may be strewed over the meat, and will be found a very great improvement. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 3 persons. Seasonable.—Grass lamb, from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, to Carve.—Leg, loin, saddle, shoulder, are carved as mutton.

Lamb, Fore-quarter of, to Carve.

We always think that a good and practised carver delights in the manipulation of this joint, for there is a little field for his judgment and dexterity which does not always occur. The separation of the shoulder from the breast is the first point to be attended to; this is done by passing the knife round the dotted line, as shown by the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, so as to cut through the skin, and then, by raising with a little force the shoulder, into which the fork should be firmly fixed, it will come away with just a little more exercise of the knife. In dividing the shoulder and breast, the carver should take care not to cut away too much of the meat from the latter, as that would rather spoil its appearance when the shoulder is removed. The breast and shoulder being separated, it is usual to lay a small piece of butter, and sprinkle a little cayenne, lemon-juice, and salt between them; and when this is melted and incorporated with the meat and gravy, the shoulder may, as more convenient, be removed into another dish. The next operation is to separate the ribs from the brisket, by cutting through the meat on the line 5 to 6. The joint is then ready to be served to the guests; the ribs being carved in the direction of the lines from 9 to 10, and the brisket from 7 to 8. The carver should ask those at the table what parts they prefer—ribs, brisket, or a piece of the shoulder.

Lamb Cutlets.

Ingredients.—Loin of lamb, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Trim off the flap from a fine loin of lamb, and cut it into cutlets about ¾ inch in thickness. Have ready a bright clear fire; lay the cutlets on a gridiron, and broil them of a nice pale brown, turning them when required. Season them with pepper and salt; serve very hot and quickly, and garnish with crisped parsley, or place them on mashed potatoes. Asparagus, spinach, or peas are the favourite accompaniments to lamb chops. Time.—About 8 or 10 minutes. Average cost, 1s. per lb. Sufficient.—Allow 2 cutlets to each person. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Cutlets and Spinach (an Entrée).

Ingredients.—8 cutlets, egg and bread-crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, a little clarified butter. Mode.—Cut the cutlets from a neck of lamb, and shape them by cutting off the thick part of the chine-bone. Trim off most of the fat and all the skin, and scrape the top part of the bones quite clean. Brush the cutlets over with egg, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs, and season with pepper and salt. Now dip them into clarified butter, sprinkle over a few more bread-crumbs, and fry them over a sharp fire, turning them when required. Lay them before the fire to drain, and arrange them on a dish with spinach in the centre, which should be previously well boiled, drained, chopped, and seasoned. Time.—About 7 or 8 minutes. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Note.—Peas, asparagus, or French beans, may be substituted for the spinach; or lamb cutlets may be served with stewed cucumbers, Soubise sauce, &c., &c.

Lamb, Roast Fore-quarter of.

Ingredients.—Lamb, a little salt. Mode.—To obtain the flavour of lamb in perfection, it should not be long kept; time to cool is all that it requires; and though the meat may be somewhat thready, the juices and flavour will be infinitely superior to that of lamb that has been killed 2 or 3 days. Make up the fire in good time, that it may be clear and brisk when the joint is put down. Place it at a sufficient distance to prevent the fat from burning, and baste it constantly till the moment of serving. Lamb should be very thoroughly done without being dried up, and not the slightest appearance of red gravy should be visible, as in roast mutton: this rule is applicable to all young white meats. Serve with a little gravy made in the dripping-pan, the same as for other roasts, and send to table with it a tureen of mint sauce, and a fresh salad. A cut lemon, a small piece of fresh butter, and a little cayenne, should also be placed on the table, so that when the carver separates the shoulder from the ribs, they may be ready for his use; if, however, he should not be very expert, we would recommend that the cook should divide these joints nicely before coming to table. Time.—Fore-quarter of lamb weighing 10 lbs., 1¾ to 2 hours. Average cost, 10d. to 1s. per lb. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable.—Grass lamb, from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb’s Fry.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of lamb’s fry, 3 pints of water, egg and bread-crumbs, 1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Mode.—Boil the fry for ¼ hour in the above proportion of water, take it out and dry it in a cloth; grate some bread down finely, mix with it a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and a high seasoning of pepper and salt. Brush the fry lightly over with the yolk of an egg, sprinkle over the bread-crumbs, and fry for 5 minutes. Serve very hot on a napkin in a dish, and garnish with plenty of crisped parsley. Time.—¼ hour to simmer the fry, 5 minutes to fry it. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 2 or 3 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Hashed, and Broiled Blade-Bone.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of a cold shoulder of lamb, pepper and salt to taste, 2 oz. of butter, about ½ pint of stock or gravy, 1 tablespoonful of shalot vinegar, 3 or 4 pickled gherkins. Mode.—Take the blade-bone from the shoulder, and cut the meat into collops as neatly as possible. Season the bone with pepper and salt, pour a little oiled butter over it, and place it in the oven to warm through. Put the stock into a stewpan, add the ketchup and shalot vinegar, and lay in the pieces of lamb. Let these heat gradually through, but do not allow them to boil. Take the blade-bone out of the oven, and place it on a gridiron over a sharp fire to brown. Slice the gherkins, put them into the hash, and dish it with the blade-bone in the centre. It may be garnished with croûtons or sippets of toasted bread. Time.—Altogether ½ hour. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d. Seasonable.—Houselamb, from Christmas to March; grass lamb, from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Boiled Leg of, à la Béchamel.

Ingredients.—Leg of lamb, Béchamel sauce. Mode.—Do not choose a very large joint, but one weighing about 5 lbs. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water, into which plunge the lamb, and when it boils up again, draw it to the side of the fire, and let the water cool a little. Then stew very gently for about 1¼ hour, reckoning from the time that the water begins to simmer. Make some Béchamel, dish the lamb, pour the sauce over it, and garnish with tufts of boiled cauliflower or carrots. When liked, melted butter may be substituted for the Béchamel: this is a more simple method, but not nearly so nice. Send to table with it some of the sauce in a tureen, and boiled cauliflowers or spinach, with whichever vegetable the dish is garnished. Time.—1¼ hour after the water simmers. Average cost, 10d. to 1s. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Roast Leg of.

Ingredients.—Lamb, a little salt. Mode.—Place the joint at a good distance from the fire at first, and baste well the whole time it is cooking. When nearly done, draw it nearer the fire to acquire a nice brown colour. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, empty the dripping-pan of its contents; pour in a little boiling water, and strain this over the meat. Serve with mint sauce and a fresh salad, and for vegetables send peas, spinach, or cauliflowers to table with it. Time.—A leg of lamb weighing 5 lbs., 1½ hour. Average cost, 10d. to 1s. a pound. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Braised Loin of.

Ingredients.—1 loin of lamb, a few slices of bacon, 1 bunch of green onions, 5 or 6 young carrots, a bunch of savoury herbs, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1 pint of stock, salt to taste. Mode.—Bone a loin of lamb, and line the bottom of a stewpan just capable of holding it, with a few thin slices of fat bacon; add the remaining ingredients, cover the meat with a few more slices of bacon, pour in the stock, and simmer very gently for 2 hours; take it up, dry it, strain and reduce the gravy to a glaze, with which glaze the meat, and serve it either on stewed peas, spinach, or stewed cucumbers. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 11d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Roast Saddle of.

Ingredients.—Lamb; a little salt. Mode.—This joint is now very much in vogue, and is generally considered a nice one for a small party. Have ready a clear brisk fire; put down the joint at a little distance, to prevent the fat from scorching, and keep it well basted all the time it is cooking. Serve with mint sauce and a fresh salad, and send to table with it either peas, cauliflowers, or spinach. Time.—A small saddle, 1½ hour; a large one, 2 hours. Average cost, 10d. to 1s. per lb. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Note.—Loin and ribs of lamb are roasted in the same manner, and served with the same sauces as the above. A loin will take about 1¼ hour; ribs, from 1 to 1¼ hour.

Lamb, Roast Shoulder of.

Ingredients.—Lamb; a little salt. Mode.—Have ready a clear brisk fire, and put down the joint at a sufficient distance from it, that the fat may not burn. Keep constantly basting until done, and serve with a little gravy made in the dripping-pan, and send mint sauce to table with it. Peas, spinach, or cauliflowers are the usual vegetables served with lamb, and also a fresh salad. Time.—A shoulder of lamb rather more than 1 hour. Average cost, 10d. to 1s. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Lamb, Shoulder of, Stuffed.

Ingredients.—Shoulder of lamb, forcemeat, trimmings of veal or beef, 2 onions, ½ head of celery, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, a few slices of fat bacon, 1 quart of stock. Mode.—Take the blade-bone out of a shoulder of lamb, fill up its place with forcemeat, and sew it up with coarse thread. Put it into a stewpan with a few slices of bacon under and over the lamb, and add the remaining ingredients. Stew very gently for rather more than 2 hours. Reduce the gravy, with which glaze the meat, and serve with peas, stewed cucumbers, or sorrel sauce. Time.—Rather more than 2 hours. Average cost, 10d. to 1s. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from Easter to Michaelmas.

Landrail, Roast, or Corn-Crake.

Ingredients.—3 or 4 birds, butter, fried bread-crumbs. Mode.—Pluck and draw the birds, wipe them inside and out with damp cloths, and truss them in the following manner: Bring the head round under the wing, and the thighs close to the sides; pass a skewer through them and the body, and keep the legs straight. Roast them before a clear fire, keep them well basted, and serve on fried bread-crumbs, with a tureen of brown gravy. When liked, bread-sauce may also be sent to table with them. Time.—12 to 20 minutes. Average cost.—Seldom bought. Sufficient.—Allow 4 for a dish. Seasonable from August 12th to the middle of September.

Landrail, to Carve.

Landrail, being trussed like Snipe, with the exception of its being drawn, may be carved in the same manner.

Lard, to Melt.

Melt the inner fat of the pig, by putting it in a stone jar, and placing this in a saucepan of boiling water, previously stripping off the skin. Let it simmer gently over a bright fire, and, as it melts, pour it carefully from the sediment. Put it into small jars or bladders for use, and keep it in a cool place. The flead or inside fat of the pig, before it is melted, makes exceedingly light crust, and is particularly wholesome. It may be preserved a length of time by salting it well, and occasionally changing the brine. When wanted for use, wash and wipe it, and it will answer for making into paste as well as fresh lard. Average cost, 10d. per lb.

Larding.

Ingredients.—Bacon and larding-needle. Mode.—Bacon for larding should be firm and fat, and ought to be cured without any saltpetre, as this reddens white meats. Lay it on a table, the rinds downwards; trim off any rusty part, and cut it into slices of an equal thickness. Place the slices one on the top of another, and cut them evenly into narrow strips, so arranging it that every piece of bacon is of the same size. Bacon for fricandeaux, poultry, and game, should be about 2 inches in length, and rather more than one-eighth of an inch in width. If for larding fillets of beef or loin of veal, the pieces of bacon must be thicker. The following recipe of Soyer is, we think, very explicit; and any cook, by following the directions here given, may be able to lard, if not well, sufficiently for general use:—

“Have the fricandeau trimmed; lay it, lengthwise, upon a clean napkin across your hand, forming a kind of bridge with your thumb at the part where you are about to commence; then with the point of the larding-needle make three distinct lines across, ½ inch apart; run the needle into the third line, at the farther side of the fricandeau, and bring it out at the first, placing one of the lardoons in it; draw the needle through, leaving out ¼ inch of the bacon at each line; proceed thus to the end of the row; then make another line, ½ inch distant, stick in another row of lardoons, bringing them out at the second line, leaving the ends of the bacon out all the same length; make the next row again at the same distance, bringing the ends out between the lardoons of the first row, proceeding in this manner until the whole surface is larded in chequered rows. Everything else is larded in a similar way; and, in the case of poultry, hold the breast over a charcoal fire for one minute, or dip it into boiling water, in order to make the flesh firm.”

Lark Pie (an Entrée).

Ingredients.—A few thin slices of beef, the same of bacon, 9 larks, flour; for stuffing, 1 teacupful of bread-crumbs, ½ teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley, 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of chopped shalot, ½ pint of weak stock or water, puff-paste. Mode.—Make a stuffing of bread-crumbs, minced lemon-peel, parsley, and the yolk of an egg, all of which should be well mixed together; roll the larks in flour, and stuff them. Line the bottom of a pie-dish with a few slices of beef and bacon; over these place the larks, and season with salt, pepper, minced parsley, and chopped shalot, in the above proportion. Pour in the stock or water, cover with crust, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. During the time the pie is baking, shake it 2 or 3 times, to assist in thickening the gravy, and serve very hot. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. per dozen. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—In full season in November.

Larks, Roast.

Ingredients.—Larks, egg and bread-crumbs, fresh butter. Mode.—These birds are by many persons esteemed a great delicacy, and may be either roasted or broiled. Pick, gut, and clean them; when they are trussed, brush them over with the yolk of an egg; sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and roast them before a quick fire; baste them continually with fresh butter, and keep sprinkling with the bread-crumbs until the birds are well covered. Dish them on bread-crumbs fried in clarified butter, and garnish the dish with slices of lemon. Broiled larks are also very excellent: they should be cooked over a clear fire, and would take about 10 minutes or ¼ hour. Time.—¼ hour to roast; 10 minutes to broil. Seasonable.—In full season in November.

Note.—Larks may also be plainly roasted, without covering them with egg and bread-crumbs; they should be dished on fried crumbs.

Leek Soup.

Ingredients.—A sheep’s head, 3 quarts of water, 12 leeks cut small, pepper and salt to taste, oatmeal to thicken. Mode.—Prepare the head, either by skinning or cleaning the skin very nicely; split it in two; take out the brains, and put it into boiling water; add the leeks and seasoning, and simmer very gently for 4 hours. Mix smoothly, with cold water, as much oatmeal as will make the soup tolerably thick; pour it into the soup; continue stirring till the whole is blended and well done, and serve. Time.—4½ hours. Average cost, 4d. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Lemon Biscuits.

Ingredients.—1¼ lb. of flour, ¾ lb. of loaf sugar, 6 oz. of fresh butter, 4 eggs, 1 oz. of lemon-peel, 2 dessertspoonfuls of lemon-juice. Mode.—Rub the flour into the butter; stir in the pounded sugar and very finely-minced lemon-peel, and when these ingredients are thoroughly mixed, add the eggs, which should be previously well whisked, and the lemon-juice. Beat the mixture well for a minute or two, then drop it from a spoon on to a buttered tin, about 2 inches apart, as the cakes will spread when they get warm; place the tin in the oven, and bake the cakes of a pale brown from 15 to 20 minutes. Time.—15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Blancmange.

Ingredients.—1 quart of milk, the yolks of 4 eggs, 3 oz. of ground rice, 6 oz. of pounded sugar, 1½ oz. of fresh butter, the rind of 1 lemon, the juice of 2, ½ oz. of gelatine. Mode.—Make a custard with the yolks of the eggs and ½ pint of the milk, and when done, put it into a basin; put half the remainder of the milk into a saucepan with the ground rice, fresh butter, lemon-rind, and 3 oz. of the sugar, and let these ingredients boil until the mixture is stiff, stirring them continually; when done, pour it into the bowl where the custard is, mixing both well together. Put the gelatine with the rest of the milk into a saucepan, and let it stand by the side of the fire to dissolve; boil for a minute or two, stir carefully into the basin, adding 3 oz. more of pounded sugar. When cold, stir in the lemon-juice, which should be carefully strained, and pour the mixture into a well-oiled mould, leaving out the lemon-peel, and set the mould in a pan of cold water until wanted for table. Use eggs that have rich-looking yolks; and, should the weather be very warm, rather a larger proportion of gelatine must be allowed. Time.—Altogether, ½ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient to fill 2 small moulds. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Cake.

Ingredients.—10 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of orange-flower water, ¾ lb. of pounded loaf sugar, 1 lemon, ¾ lb. of flour. Mode.—Separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs; whisk the former to a stiff froth; add the orange-flower water, the sugar, grated lemon-rind, and mix these ingredients well together. Then beat the yolks of the eggs, and add them, with the lemon-juice, to the whites, &c.; dredge in the flour gradually; keep beating the mixture well; put it into a buttered mould, and bake the cake about an hour, or rather longer. The addition of a little butter, beaten to a cream, we think, would improve this cake. Time.—About 1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 4d. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Cheesecakes.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of butter, 1 lb. of loaf sugar, 6 eggs, the rind of 2 lemons and the juice of 3. Mode.—Put all the ingredients into a stewpan, carefully grating the lemon-rind and straining the juice. Keep stirring the mixture over the fire until the sugar is dissolved, and it begins to thicken: when of the consistency of honey, it is done; then put it into small jars, and keep in a dry place. This mixture will remain good 3 or 4 months. When made into cheesecakes, add a few pounded almonds, or candied peel, or grated sweet biscuit; line some patty-pans with good puff-paste, rather more than half fill them with the mixture, and bake for about ¼ hour in a good brisk oven. Time.—¼ hour. Average cost, 1s. 4d. Sufficient for 24 cheesecakes. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Cream.

Ingredients.—1 pint of cream, the yolks of two eggs, ¼ lb. of white sugar, 1 large lemon, 1 oz. of isinglass. Mode.—Put the cream into a lined saucepan with the sugar, lemon-peel, and isinglass, and simmer these over a gentle fire for about 10 minutes, stirring them all the time. Strain the cream into a jug, add the yolks of eggs, which should be well beaten, and put the jug into a saucepan of boiling water; stir the mixture one way until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil; take it off the fire, and keep stirring it until nearly cold. Strain the lemon-juice into a basin, gradually pour on it the cream, and stir it well until the juice is well mixed with it. Have ready a well-oiled mould, pour the cream into it, and let it remain until perfectly set. When required for table, loosen the edges with a small blunt knife, put a dish on the top of the mould, turn it over quickly, and the cream should easily slip away. Time.—10 minutes to boil the cream; about 10 minutes to stir it over the fire in the jug. Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, and the best isinglass, 3s. 6d. Sufficient to fill 1½ pint mould. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Cream, Economical.

Ingredients.—1 quart of milk, 8 bitter almonds, 2 oz. of gelatine, 2 large lemons, ¾ lb. of lump sugar, the yolks of 6 eggs. Mode.—Put the milk into a lined saucepan with the almonds, which should be well pounded in a mortar, the gelatine, lemon-rind, and lump sugar, and boil these ingredients for about 5 minutes. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, strain the milk into a jug, add the eggs, and pour the mixture backwards and forwards a few times, until nearly cold; then stir briskly to it the lemon-juice, which should be strained, and keep stirring until the cream is almost cold; put it into an oiled mould, and let it remain until perfectly set. The lemon-juice must not be added to the cream when it is warm, and should be well stirred after it is put in. Time.—5 minutes to boil the milk. Average cost, 2s. 5d. Sufficient to fill two 1½ pint moulds. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Creams, Very Good.

Ingredients.—1 pint of cream, 2 dozen sweet almonds, 3 glasses of sherry, the rind and juice of 2 lemons, sugar to taste. Mode.—Blanch and chop the almonds, and put them into a jug with the cream; in another jug put the sherry, lemon-rind, strained juice, and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Pour rapidly from one jug to the other till the mixture is well frothed; then pour it into jelly-glasses, omitting the lemon-rind. This is a very cool and delicious sweet for summer, and may be made less rich by omitting the almonds and substituting orange or raisin wine for the sherry. Time.—Altogether, ½ hour. Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 3s. Sufficient to fill 12 glasses. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Creams, or Custards.

Ingredients.—5 oz. of loaf sugar, 2 pints of boiling water, the rind of 1 lemon and the juice of 3, the yolks of 8 eggs. Mode.—Make a quart of lemonade in the following manner:—Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water, having previously, with part of the sugar, rubbed off the lemon-rind, and add the strained juice. Strain the lemonade into a saucepan, and add the yolks of the eggs, which should be well beaten; stir this one way over the fire until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil, and serve in custard glasses, or on a glass dish. After the boiling water is poured on the sugar and lemon, it should stand covered for about ½ hour before the eggs are added to it, that the flavour of the rind may be extracted. Time.—½ hour to make the lemonade; about 10 minutes to stir the custard over the fire. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient to fill 12 to 14 custard glasses. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Dumplings.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of grated bread, ¼ lb. of chopped suet, ¼ lb. of moist sugar, 2 eggs, 1 large lemon. Mode.—Mix the bread, suet, and moist sugar well together, adding the lemon-peel, which should be very finely minced. Moisten with the eggs and strained lemon-juice; stir well, and put the mixture into small buttered cups. Tie them down and boil for ¾ hour. Turn them out on a dish, strew sifted sugar over them, and serve with wine sauce. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, 7d. Sufficient for 6 dumplings. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Jelly.

Ingredients.—6 lemons, ¾ lb. of lump sugar, 1 pint of water, 1¼ oz. of isinglass, ¼ pint of sherry. Mode.—Peel 3 of the lemons, pour ½ pint of boiling water on the rind, and let it infuse for ½ hour; put the sugar, isinglass, and ½ pint of water into a lined saucepan, and boil these ingredients for 20 minutes; then put in the strained lemon-juice, the strained infusion of the rind, and bring the whole to the point of boiling; skim well, add the wine, and run the jelly through a bag; pour it into a mould that has been wetted or soaked in water; put it in ice, if convenient, where let it remain until required for table. Previously to adding the lemon-juice to the other ingredients, ascertain that it is very nicely strained, as, if this is not properly attended to, it is liable to make the jelly thick and muddy. As this jelly is very pale, and almost colourless, it answers very well for moulding with a jelly of any bright hue; for instance, half a jelly bright red, and the other half made of the above, would have a very good effect. Lemon jelly may also be made with calf’s-feet stock, allowing the juice of 3 lemons to every pint of stock. Time.—Altogether, 1 hour. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d. Sufficient to fill 1½ pint mould. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Mincemeat.

Ingredients.—2 large lemons, 6 large apples, ½ lb. of suet, 1 lb. of currants, ½ lb. of sugar, 2 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 1 oz. of citron, mixed spice to taste. Mode.—Pare the lemons, squeeze them, and boil the peel until tender enough to mash. Add to the mashed lemon-peel the apples, which should be pared, cored, and minced; the chopped suet, currants, sugar, sliced peel, and spice. Strain the lemon-juice to these ingredients, stir the mixture well, and put it in a jar with a closely-fitting lid. Stir occasionally, and in a week or 10 days the mincemeat will be ready for use. Average cost, 2s. Sufficient for 18 large or 24 small pies. Seasonable.—Make this about the beginning of December.

Lemon-Peel.

This contains an essential oil of a very high flavour and fragrance, and is consequently esteemed both a wholesome and agreeable stomachic. It is used, as will be seen by many recipes in this book, as an ingredient for flavouring a number of various dishes. Under the name of candied lemon-peel, it is cleared of the pulp and preserved in sugar, when it becomes an excellent sweetmeat.

Lemon Pudding, Baked.

Ingredients.—The yolks of 4 eggs, 4 oz. of pounded sugar, 1 lemon, ¼ lb. of butter, puff-crust. Mode.—Beat the eggs to a froth; mix with them the sugar and warmed butter; stir these ingredients well together, putting in the grated rind and strained juice of the lemon-peel. Line a shallow dish with puff-paste; put in the mixture, and bake in a moderate oven for 40 minutes; turn the pudding out of the dish, strew over it sifted sugar, and serve. Time.—40 minutes. Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Pudding, Baked.

Ingredients.—10 oz. of bread-crumbs, 2 pints of milk, 2 oz. of butter, 1 lemon, ¼ lb. of pounded sugar, 4 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of brandy. Mode.—Bring the milk to the boiling point, stir in the butter, and pour these hot over the bread-crumbs; add the sugar and very finely-minced lemon-peel; beat the eggs, and stir these in with the brandy to the other ingredients; put a paste round the dish, and bake for ¾ hour. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Pudding, Baked (Very Rich).

Ingredients.—The rind and juice of 2 large lemons, ½ lb. of loaf sugar, ¼ pint of cream, the yolks of 8 eggs, 2 oz. of almonds, ½ lb. of butter, melted. Mode.—Mix the pounded sugar with the cream and add the yolks of eggs and the butter, which should be previously warmed. Blanch and pound the almonds, and put these, with the grated rind and strained juice of the lemons, to the other ingredients. Stir all well together; line a dish with puff-paste, put in the mixture, and bake for 1 hour. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 2s. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Pudding, Boiled.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of chopped suet, ¾ lb. of bread-crumbs, 2 small lemons, 6 oz. of moist sugar, ¼ lb. of flour, 2 eggs, milk. Mode.—Mix the suet, bread-crumbs, sugar, and flour well together, adding the lemon-peel, which should be very finely minced, and the juice, which should be strained. When these ingredients are well mixed, moisten with the eggs and sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of thick batter; put it into a well-buttered mould, and boil for 3½ hours; turn it out, strew sifted sugar over, and serve with wine sauce, or not, at pleasure. Time.—3½ hours. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—This pudding may also be baked, and will be found very good. It will take about 2 hours.

Lemon Pudding, Plain.

Ingredients.—¾ lb. of flour, 6 oz. of lard or dripping, the juice of 1 large lemon, 1 teaspoonful of flour, sugar. Mode.—Make the above proportions of flour and lard into a smooth paste, and roll it out to the thickness of about ½ an inch. Squeeze the lemon-juice, strain it into a cup, stir the flour into it, and as much moist sugar as will make it into a stiff and thick paste; spread this mixture over the paste, roll it up, secure the ends, and tie the pudding in a floured cloth. Boil for 2 hours. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 7d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Sauce, for Boiled Fowl.

Ingredients.—1 small lemon, ¾ pint of melted butter. Mode.—Cut the lemon into very thin slices, and these again into very small dice. Have ready ¾ pint of melted butter, put in the lemon; let it just simmer, but not boil, and pour it over the fowls. Time.—1 minute to simmer. Average cost, 6d. Sufficient for a pair of large fowls.

Lemon White Sauce, for Fowls, Fricassees, &c.

Ingredients.—¾ pint of cream, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, ½ teaspoonful of whole white pepper, 1 sprig of lemon thyme, 3 oz. of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, 1 teacupful of white stock; salt to taste. Mode.—Put the cream into a very clean saucepan (a lined one is best), with the lemon-peel, pepper, and thyme, and let these infuse for ½ hour, when simmer gently for a few minutes, or until there is a nice flavour of lemon. Strain it, and add a thickening of butter and flour in the above proportions; stir this well in, and put in the lemon-juice at the moment of serving; mix the stock with the cream, and add a little salt. This sauce should not boil after the cream and stock are mixed together. Time.—Altogether, ¾ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient, this quantity, for a pair of large boiled fowls.

Note.—Where the expense of the cream is objected to, milk may be substituted for it. In this case, an additional dessertspoonful, or rather more, of flour must be added.

Lemon Sauce, for Sweet Puddings.

Ingredients.—The rind and juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 oz. of butter, 1 large wineglassful of sherry, 1 wineglassful of water, sugar to taste, the yolks of 4 eggs. Mode.—Rub the rind of the lemon on to some lumps of sugar; squeeze out the juice, and strain it; put the butter and flour into a saucepan, stir them over the fire, and when of a pale brown, add the wine, water, and strained lemon-juice. Crush the lumps of sugar that were rubbed on the lemon; stir these into the sauce, which should be very sweet. When these ingredients are well mixed, and the sugar is melted, put in the beaten yolks of 4 eggs; keep stirring the sauce until it thickens, when serve. Do not, on any account, allow it to boil, or it will curdle, and be entirely spoiled. Time.—Altogether, 15 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons.

Lemon Sponge.

Ingredients.—2 oz. of isinglass, 1¾ pint of water, ¾ lb. of pounded sugar, the juice of 5 lemons, the rind of 1, the whites of 3 eggs. Mode.—Dissolve the isinglass in the water, strain it into a saucepan, and add the sugar, lemon-rind, and juice. Boil the whole from 10 to 15 minutes; strain it again, and let it stand till it is cold and begins to stiffen. Beat the whites of the eggs, put them to it, and whisk the mixture till it is quite white; put it into a mould which has been previously wetted, and let it remain until perfectly set; then turn it out, and garnish it according to taste. Time.—10 to 15 minutes. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 4s. Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.

Lemon Syrup.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of loaf sugar, 2 pints of water, 1 oz. of citric acid, ½ drachm of essence of lemon. Mode.—Boil the sugar and water together for ¼ hour, and put it into a basin, where let it remain till cold. Beat the citric acid to a powder, mix the essence of lemon with it, then add these two ingredients to the syrup; mix well, and bottle for use. Two tablespoonfuls of the syrup are sufficient for a tumbler of cold water, and will be found a very refreshing summer drink. Sufficient.—2 tablespoonfuls of syrup to a tumblerful of cold water.

Lemons, to Pickle, with the Peel on.

Ingredients.—6 lemons, 2 quarts of boiling water; to each quart of vinegar allow ½ oz. of cloves, ½ oz. of white pepper, 1 oz. of bruised ginger, ¼ oz. of mace and chilies, 1 oz. of mustard-seed, ½ stick of sliced horseradish, a few cloves of garlic. Mode.—Put the lemons into a brine that will bear an egg; let them remain in it 6 days, stirring them every day; have ready 2 quarts of boiling water, put in the lemons, and allow them to boil for ¼ hour; take them out, and let them lie in a cloth until perfectly dry and cold. Boil up sufficient vinegar to cover the lemons, with all the above ingredients, allowing the same proportion as stated to each quart of vinegar. Pack the lemons in a jar, pour over the vinegar, &c. boiling hot, and tie down with a bladder. They will be fit for use in about 12 months, or rather sooner. Seasonable.—This should be made from November to April.

Lemons, to Pickle, without the Peel.

Ingredients.—6 lemons, 1 lb. of fine salt; to each quart of vinegar, the same ingredients as in the last recipe. Mode.—Peel the lemons, slit each one down 3 times, so as not to divide them, and rub the salt well into the divisions; place them in a pan, where they must remain for a week, turning them every other day; then put them in a Dutch oven before a clear fire until the salt has become perfectly dry; then arrange them in a jar. Pour over sufficient boiling vinegar to cover them, to which have been added the ingredients mentioned in the foregoing recipe; tie down closely, and in about 9 months they will be fit for use. Seasonable.—The best time to make this is from November to April.

Note.—After this pickle has been made from 4 to 5 months, the liquor may be strained and bottled, and will be found an excellent lemon ketchup.

Lemon Wine.

Ingredients.—To 4½ gallons of water allow the pulp of 50 lemons, the rind of 25, 16 lbs. of loaf sugar, ½ oz. of isinglass, 1 bottle of brandy. Mode.—Peel and slice the lemons, but use only the rind of 25 of them, and put them into the cold water. Let it stand 8 or 9 days, squeezing the lemons well every day; then strain the water off and put it into a cask with the sugar. Let it work some time, and when it has ceased working, put in the isinglass. Stop the cask down; in about six months put in the brandy and bottle the wine off. Seasonable.—The best time to make this is in January or February, when lemons are best and cheapest.

Lemonade.

Ingredients.—The rind of two lemons, the juice of 3 large or 4 small ones, ½ lb. of loaf sugar, 1 quart of boiling water. Mode.—Rub some of the sugar, in lumps, on 2 of the lemons until they have imbibed all the oil from them, and put it with the remainder of the sugar into a jug; add the lemon-juice (but no pips), and pour over the whole a quart of boiling water. When the sugar is dissolved, strain the lemonade through a fine sieve or piece of muslin, and, when cool, it will be ready for use. The lemonade will be much improved by having the white of an egg beaten up in it; a little sherry mixed with it, also, makes this beverage much nicer. Average cost, 6d. per quart.

Lemonade, Nourishing.

Ingredients.—1½ pint of boiling water, the juice of 4 lemons, the rinds of 2, ½ pint of sherry, 4 eggs, 6 oz. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Pare off the lemon-rind thinly, put it into a jug with the sugar, and pour over the boiling water. Let it cool, then strain it; add the wine, lemon-juice, and eggs, previously well beaten, and also strained, and the beverage will be ready for use. If thought desirable, the quantity of sherry and water could be lessened, and milk substituted for them. To obtain the flavour of the lemon-rind properly, a few lumps of the sugar should be rubbed over it, until some of the yellow is absorbed. Time.—Altogether 1 hour to make it. Average cost, 1s. 8d. Sufficient to make 2½ pints of lemonade. Seasonable, at any time.

Lettuces.

These form one of the principal ingredients to summer salads; they should be blanched, and be eaten young. They are seldom served in any other way, but may be stewed and sent to table in a good brown gravy flavoured with lemon-juice. In preparing them for a salad, carefully wash them free from dirt, pick off all the decayed and outer leaves, and dry them thoroughly by shaking them in a cloth. Cut off the stalks, and either halve or cut the lettuces into small pieces. The manner of cutting them up entirely depends on the salad for which they are intended. In France, the lettuces are sometimes merely wiped with a cloth and not washed, the cooks there declaring that the act of washing them injuriously affects the pleasant crispness of the plant: in this case scrupulous attention must be paid to each leaf, and the grit thoroughly wiped away. Average cost, when cheapest, 1d. each. Sufficient.—Allow 2 lettuces for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from March to the end of August, but may be had all the year.

Leveret, to Dress a.

Ingredients.—2 leverets, butter, flour. Mode.—Leverets should be trussed in the same manner as a hare, but they do not require stuffing. Roast them before a clear fire, and keep them well basted all the time they are cooking. A few minutes before serving, dredge them lightly with flour, and froth them nicely. Serve with plain gravy in the dish, and send to table red-currant jelly with them. Time.—½ to ¾ hour. Average cost, in full season, 4s. each. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from May to August, but cheapest in July and August.

Liaison of Eggs, for Thickening Sauces.

Ingredients.—The yolks of 3 eggs, 8 tablespoonfuls of milk or cream. Mode.—Beat up the yolks of the eggs, to which add the milk, and strain the whole through a hair-sieve. When the liaison is being added to the sauce it is intended to thicken, care must be exercised to keep stirring it during the whole time, or, otherwise, the eggs will curdle. It should only just simmer, but not boil.

Liqueur Jelly.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of lump sugar, 2 oz. of isinglass, 1½ pint of water, the juice of 2 lemons, ¼ pint of liqueur. Mode.—Put the sugar, with 1 pint of the water, into a stewpan, and boil them gently by the side of the fire until there is no scum remaining, which must be carefully removed as fast as it rises. Boil the isinglass with the other ½ pint of water, and skim it carefully in the same manner. Strain the lemon-juice, and add it, with the clarified isinglass, to the syrup; put in the liqueur, and bring the whole to the boiling-point. Let the saucepan remain covered by the side of the fire for a few minutes; then pour the jelly through a bag, put it into a mould, and set the mould in ice until required for table. Dip the mould in hot water, wipe the outside, loosen the jelly by passing a knife round the edges, and turn it out carefully on a dish. Noyeau, Maraschino, Curaçoa, brandy, or any kind of liqueur, answers for this jelly; and, when made with isinglass, liqueur jellies are usually prepared as directed above. Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar and water. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d. Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.

Liver and Lemon Sauce, for Poultry.

Ingredients.—The liver of a fowl, one lemon, salt to taste, ½ pint of melted butter. Mode.—Wash the liver, and let it boil for a few minutes; peel the lemon very thin, remove the white part and pips, and cut it into very small dice; mince the liver and a small quantity of the lemon-rind very fine; add these ingredients to ½ pint of smoothly-made melted butter; season with a little salt, put in the cut lemon, heat it gradually, but do not allow it to boil, lest the butter should oil. Time.—1 minute to simmer. Sufficient to serve with a pair of small fowls.

Liver and Parsley Sauce, for Poultry.

Ingredients.—The liver of a fowl, one tablespoonful of minced parsley, ½ pint of melted butter. Mode.—Wash and score the liver, boil it for a few minutes, and mince it very fine; blanch or scald a small bunch of parsley, of which there should be sufficient when chopped to fill a tablespoon; add this with the minced liver, to ½ pint of smoothly-made melted butter; let it just boil; when serve. Time.—1 minute to simmer. Sufficient for a pair of small fowls.

Lobsters, to Boil.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—Buy the lobsters alive, and choose those that are heavy and full of motion, which is an indication of their freshness. When the shell is incrusted, it is a sign they are old: medium-sized lobsters are the best. Have ready a stewpan of boiling water, salted in the above proportion; put in the lobster, and keep it boiling quickly from 20 minutes to ¾ hour, according to its size, and do not forget to skim well. If it boils too long, the meat becomes thready, and if not done enough, the spawn is not red: this must be obviated by great attention. Rub the shell over with a little butter or sweet oil, which wipe off again. Time.—Small lobster, 20 minutes to ½ hour; large ditto, ½ to ¾ hour. Average cost, medium size, 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. Seasonable all the year, but best from March to October.

To Choose Lobsters.—This shellfish, if it has been cooked alive, as it ought to have been, will have a stiffness in the tail, which, if gently raised, will return with a spring. Care, however, must be taken in thus proving it; for if the tail is pulled straight out, it will not return; when the fish might be pronounced inferior, which, in reality, may not be the case. In order to be good, lobsters should be weighty for their bulk; if light, they will be watery; and those of the medium size, are always the best. Small-sized lobsters are cheapest, and answer very well for sauce. In boiling lobsters, the appearance of the shell will be much improved by rubbing over it a little butter or salad-oil on being immediately taken from the pot.

Lobster Curry (an Entrée).

Ingredients.—1 lobster, 2 onions, 1 oz. butter, 1 tablespoonful of curry-powder, ½ pint of medium stock, the juice of ½ lemon. Mode.—Pick the meat from the shell, and cut into nice square pieces; fry the onions of a pale brown in the butter, stir in the curry-powder and stock, and simmer till it thickens, when put in the lobster; stew the whole slowly for ½ hour, stirring occasionally; and just before sending to table, put in the lemon-juice. Serve boiled rice with it, the same as for other curries. Time.—Altogether, ¾ hour. Average cost, 3s. Seasonable at any time.

Lobster Cutlets (an Entrée).

Ingredients.—1 large hen lobster, 1 oz. fresh butter, ½ saltspoonful of salt, pounded mace, grated nutmeg, cayenne and white pepper to taste, egg, and bread-crumbs. Mode.—Pick the meat from the shell, and pound it in a mortar with the butter, and gradually add the mace and seasoning, well mixing the ingredients; beat all to a smooth paste, and add a little of the spawn; divide the mixture into pieces of an equal size, and shape them like cutlets. They should not be very thick. Brush them over with egg, and sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and stick a short piece of the small claw in the top of each; fry them of a nice brown in boiling lard, and drain them before the fire, on a sieve reversed; arrange them nicely on a dish, and pour béchamel in the middle, but not over the cutlets. Time.—About 8 minutes after the cutlets are made. Average cost for this dish, 2s. 9d. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.

Lobsters, to Dress.

When the lobster is boiled, rub it over with a little salad-oil, which wipe off again; separate the body from the tail, break off the great claws, and crack them at the joints, without injuring the meat; split the tail in halves, and arrange all neatly in a dish, with the body upright in the middle, and garnish with parsley.

Lobster, Hot.

Ingredients.—1 lobster, 2 oz. of butter, grated nutmeg; salt, pepper, and pounded mace, to taste; broad crumbs, 2 eggs. Mode.—Pound the meat of the lobster to a smooth paste with the butter and seasoning, and add a few bread-crumbs. Beat the eggs, and make the whole mixture into the form of a lobster; pound the spawn, and sprinkle over it. Bake ¼ hour, and just before serving, lay over it the tail and body shell, with the small claws underneath, to resemble a lobster. Time.—¼ hour. Average cost, 2s. 6d. Seasonable at any time. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.

Lobster Patties (an Entrée).

Ingredients.—Minced lobster, 4 tablespoonfuls of béchamel, 6 drops of anchovy sauce, lemon-juice, cayenne to taste. Mode.—Line the patty-pans with puff-paste, and put into each a small piece of bread; cover with paste, brush over with egg, and bake of a light colour. Take as much lobster as is required, mince the meat very fine, and add the above ingredients; stir it over the fire for 5 minutes; remove the lids of the patty-cases, take out the bread, fill with the mixture, and replace the covers. Seasonably at any time.

Lobster, Potted.

Ingredients.—2 lobsters; seasoning to taste, of nutmeg, pounded mace, white pepper, and salt; ¼ lb. of butter, 3 or 4 bay-leaves. Mode.—Take out the meat carefully from the shell, but do not cut it up. Put some butter at the bottom of a dish, lay in the lobster as evenly as possible, with the bay-leaves and seasoning between. Cover with butter, and bake for ¾ hour in a gentle oven. When done, drain the whole on a sieve, and lay the pieces in potting-jars, with the seasoning about them. When cold, pour over it clarified butter, and, if very highly seasoned, it will keep some time. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost for this quantity, 4s. 4d. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Potted lobster may be used cold, or as a fricassee with cream sauce.

Lobster (à la Mode Française).

Ingredients.—1 lobster, 4 tablespoonfuls of white stock, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, pounded mace, and cayenne to taste; bread-crumbs. Mode.—Pick the meat from the shell, and cut it up into small square pieces; put the stock, cream, and seasoning into a stewpan, add the lobster, and let it simmer gently for 6 minutes. Serve it in the shell, which must be nicely cleaned, and have a border of puff-paste; cover it with bread-crumbs, place small pieces of butter over, and brown before the fire, or with a salamander. Time.—¼ hour. Average cost, 2s. 6d. Seasonable at any time.

Lobster Salad.

Ingredients.—1 hen lobster, lettuces, endive, small salad (whatever is in season), a little chopped beetroot, 2 hard-boiled eggs, a few slices of cucumber. For dressing, 4 tablespoonfuls of oil, 2 do. of vinegar, 1 teaspoonful of made mustard, the yolks of 2 eggs; cayenne and salt to taste; ¼ teaspoonful of anchovy sauce. These ingredients should be mixed perfectly smooth, and form a creamy-looking sauce. Mode.—Wash the salad, and thoroughly dry it by shaking it in a cloth. Cut up the lettuces and endive, pour the dressing on them, and lightly throw in the small salad. Mix all well together with the pickings from the body of the lobster; pick the meat from the shell, cut it up into nice square pieces, put half in the salad, the other half reserve for garnishing. Separate the yolks from the whites of 2 hard-boiled eggs; chop the whites very fine, and rub the yolks through a sieve, and afterwards the coral from the inside. Arrange the salad lightly on a glass dish, and garnish, first with a row of sliced cucumber, then with the pieces of lobster, the yolks and whites of the eggs, coral, and beetroot placed alternately, and arranged in small separate bunches, so that the colours contrast nicely. Average cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from April to October; may be had all the year, but salad is scarce and expensive in winter.

Note.—A few crayfish make a pretty garnishing to lobster salad.

Lobster Sauce, to serve with Turbot, Salmon, Brill, &c. (very Good.)

Ingredients.—1 middling-sized hen lobster, ¾ pint of melted butter, 1 tablespoonful of anchovy sauce, ½ oz. of butter, salt and cayenne to taste, a little pounded mace when liked, 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of cream. Mode.—Choose a hen lobster, as this is indispensable, in order to render this sauce as good as it ought to be. Pick the meat from the shells, and cut it into small square pieces; put the spawn, which will be found under the tail of the lobster, into a mortar with ½ oz. of butter, and pound it quite smooth; rub it through a hair-sieve, and cover up till wanted. Make ¾ pint of melted butter; put in all the ingredients except the lobster-meat, and well mix the sauce before the lobster is added to it, as it should retain its square form, and not come to table shredded and ragged. Put in the meat, let it get thoroughly hot, but do not allow it to boil, as the colour would immediately be spoiled; for it must be remembered that this sauce should always have a bright red appearance. If it is intended to be served with turbot or brill, a little of the spawn (dried and rubbed through a sieve without butter) should be saved to garnish with; but as the goodness, flavour, and appearance of the sauce so much depend on having a proper quantity of spawn, the less used for garnishing the better. Time.—1 minute to simmer. Average cost, for this quantity, 2s. Seasonable at any time. Sufficient to serve with a small turbot, a brill, or salmon for 6 persons.

Note.—Melted butter made with milk, will be found to answer very well for lobster sauce, as by employing it a nice white colour will be obtained. Less quantity than the above may be made by using a very small lobster, to which add only ½ pint of melted butter, and season as above. Where economy is desired, the cream may be dispensed with, and the remains of a cold lobster left from table, may, with a little care, be converted into a very good sauce.

Lobster Soup.

Ingredients.—3 large lobsters, or 6 small ones; the crumb of a French roll, 2 anchovies, 1 onion, 1 small bunch of sweet herbs, 1 strip of lemon-peel, 2 oz. of butter, a little nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 1 pint of cream, 1 pint of milk; forcemeat balls, mace, salt, and pepper to taste, bread-crumbs, 1 egg, 2 quarts of water. Mode.—Pick the meat from the lobsters, and beat the fins, chine, and small claws in a mortar, previously taking away the brown fin and the bag in the head. Put it in a stewpan, with the crumb of the roll, anchovies, onions, herbs, lemon-peel, and the water; simmer gently till all the goodness is extracted, and strain it off. Pound the spawn in a mortar, with the butter, nutmeg, and flour, and mix with it the cream and milk. Give one boil up, at the same time adding the tails cut in pieces. Make the forcemeat balls with the remainder of the lobster, seasoned with mace, pepper, and salt, adding a little flour, and a few bread-crumbs; moisten them with the egg, heat them in the soup, and serve. Time.—2 hours, or rather more. Average cost, 3s. 6d. per quart. Seasonable from April to October. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Luncheons.

The remains of cold joints, nicely garnished, a few sweets, or a little hashed meat, poultry or game, are the usual articles placed on the table for luncheon, with bread, and cheese, biscuits, butter, &c. If a substantial meal is desired, rump-steaks or mutton chops may be served, as also veal cutlets, kidneys, or any dish of that kind. In families where there is a nursery, the mistress of the house often partakes of the meal with the children, and makes it her luncheon. In the summer, a few dishes of fresh fruit should be added to the luncheon, or, instead of this, a compôte of fruit or fruit tart, or pudding.

Macaroni, as usually served with the Cheese Course.

I.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of pipe macaroni, 1 lb. of butter, 6 oz. of Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, pepper and salt to taste, 1 pint of milk, 2 pints of water, bread-crumbs. Mode.—Put the milk and water into a saucepan with sufficient salt to flavour it; place it on the fire, and, when it boils quickly, drop in the macaroni. Keep the water boiling until it is quite tender; drain the macaroni, and put it into a deep dish. Have ready the grated cheese, either Parmesan or Cheshire; sprinkle it amongst the macaroni and some of the butter cut into small pieces, reserving some of the cheese for the top layer. Season with a little pepper, and cover the top layer of cheese with some very fine bread-crumbs. Warm, without oiling, the remainder of the butter, and pour it gently over the bread-crumbs, Place the dish before a bright fire to brown the crumbs; turn it once or twice, that it may be equally coloured, and serve very hot. The top of the macaroni may be browned with a salamander, which is even better than placing it before the fire, as the process is more expeditious; but it should never be browned in the oven, as the butter would oil, and so impart a very disagreeable flavour to the dish. In boiling the macaroni, let it be perfectly tender but firm, no part beginning to melt, and the form entirely preserved. It may be boiled in plain-water, with a little salt instead of using milk, but should then have a small piece of butter mixed with it. Time.—1 to 1½ hours to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to brown it before the fire. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Riband macaroni may be dressed in the same manner, but does not require boiling so long a time.

II.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of pipe or riband macaroni, ½ pint of milk, ½ pint of veal or beef gravy, the yolks of 2 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, 3 oz. of grated Parmesan or Cheshire cheese, 1 oz. of butter. Mode.—Wash the macaroni, and boil it in the gravy and milk until quite tender, without being broken. Drain it, and put it into rather a deep dish. Beat the yolks of the eggs with the cream and 2 tablespoonfuls of the liquor the macaroni was boiled in; make this sufficiently hot to thicken, but do not allow it to boil; pour it over the macaroni, over which sprinkle the grated cheese and the butter broken into small pieces; brown with a salamander, or before the fire, and serve. Time.—1 to 1½ hour to boil the macaroni, 5 minutes to thicken the eggs and cream, 5 minutes to brown. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons, Seasonable at any time.

III.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of pipe macaroni, ½ pint of brown gravy No. 436, 6 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese. Mode.—Wash the macaroni, and boil it in salt and water until quite tender; drain it, and put it into rather a deep dish. Have ready a pint of good brown gravy, pour it hot over the macaroni, and send it to table with grated Parmesan served on a separate dish. When the flavour is liked, a little pounded mace may be added to the water in which the macaroni is boiled; but this must always be sparingly added, as it will impart a very strong flavour. Time.—1 to 1½ hour to boil the macaroni. Average cost, with the gravy and cheese, 1s. 3d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Macaroni, Sweet Pudding.

Ingredients.—2½ oz. of macaroni, 2 pints, of milk, the rind of ½ lemon, 3 eggs, sugar and grated nutmeg to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy. Mode.—Put the macaroni, with a pint of the milk, into a saucepan with the lemon-peel, and let it simmer gently until the macaroni is tender: then put it into a pie-dish without the peel; mix the other pint of milk with the eggs; stir these well together, adding the sugar and brandy, and pour the mixture over the macaroni. Grate a little nutmeg over the top, and bake in a moderate oven for ½ hour. To make this pudding look nice, a paste should be laid round the edges of the dish, and, for variety, a layer of preserve or marmalade may be placed on the macaroni: in this case, omit the brandy. Time.—1 hour to simmer the macaroni; ½ hour to bake the pudding. Average cost, 11d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Macaroni Soup.

Ingredients.—3 oz. of macaroni, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, salt to taste, 2 quarts of clear stock. Mode.—Throw the macaroni and butter into boiling water, with a pinch of salt, and simmer for ½ an hour. When it is tender, drain and cut it into thin rings or lengths, and drop it into the boiling stock. Stew gently for 15 minutes, and serve grated Parmesan cheese with it. Time.—¾ to 1 hour. Average cost, 1s. per quart. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Macaroni, a Sweet Dish of.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of macaroni, 1½ pint of milk, the rind of ½ lemon, 3 oz. of lump sugar, ¾ pint of custard. Mode.—Put the milk into a saucepan, with the lemon-peel and sugar; bring it to the boiling-point, drop in the macaroni, and let it gradually swell over a gentle fire, but do not allow the pipes to break. The form should be entirely preserved; and, though tender, should be firm, and not soft, with no part beginning to melt. Should the milk dry away before the macaroni is sufficiently swelled, add a little more. Make a custard, place the macaroni on a dish, and pour the custard over the hot macaroni; grate over it a little nutmeg, and, when cold, garnish the dish with slices of candied citron. Time.—From 40 to 50 minutes to swell the macaroni. Average cost, with the custard, 1s. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Macaroons.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of sweet almonds, ½ lb. of sifted loaf sugar, the whites of three eggs, wafer paper. Mode.—Blanch, skin and dry the almonds, and pound them well with a little orange flower or plain water, then add the sifted sugar and the whites of the eggs, which should be beaten to a stiff froth, and mix all the ingredients well together. When the paste looks soft, drop it at equal distances from a biscuit syringe on to sheets of wafer paper: put a strip of almond on the top of each; strew some syrup over, and bake the macaroons in rather a slow oven, of a light brown colour. When hard and set, they are done. They must not be allowed to get very brown, as that would spoil their appearance. If the cakes when baked, appear heavy, add a little more white of egg, which should be well whisked up before it is added to the other ingredients. Time.—From 15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 8d. per lb.

Mackerel.

In choosing this fish, purchasers should, to a great extent, be regulated by the brightness of its appearance. If it has a transparent, silvery hue, the flesh is good; but if it be red about the head, it is stale.

Mackerel, Baked.

Ingredients.— 4 middling-sized mackerel, a nice delicate forcemeat, 3 oz. of butter; pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Clean the fish, take out the roes, and fill up with forcemeat, and sew up the slit. Flour, and put them in a dish, heads and tails alternately, with the roes; and, between each layer, put some little pieces of butter, and pepper and salt. Bake for ½ an hour, and either serve with plain melted butter or a maître d’hôtel sauce. Time.—½ hour. Average cost for this quantity, 1s. 10d. Seasonable from April to July. Sufficient for 6 persons.

Note.—Baked mackerel may be dressed in the same way as baked herrings, and may also be stewed in wine.

Mackerel, Boiled.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—Cleanse the inside of the fish thoroughly, and lay it in the kettle with sufficient water to cover it with salt as above; bring it gradually to boil, skim well, and simmer gently till done; dish them on a hot napkin, heads and tails alternately, and garnish with fennel. Fennel sauce and plain melted butter are the usual accompaniments to boiled mackerel; but caper or anchovy sauce is sometimes served with it. Time.—After the water boils, 10 minutes; for large mackerel, allow more time. Average cost, from 4d. Seasonable from April to July.

Note.—When variety is desired, fillet the mackerel, boil it, and pour over parsley and butter; send some of this, besides, in a tureen.

Mackerel, Broiled.

Ingredients.—Pepper and salt to taste, a small quantity of oil. Mode.—Mackerel should never be washed when intended to be broiled, but merely wiped very clean and dry, after taking out the gills and insides. Open the back, and put in a little pepper, salt, and oil; broil it over a clear fire, turn it over on both sides, and also on the back. When sufficiently cooked, the flesh can be detached from the bone, which will be in about 10 minutes for a small mackerel. Chop a little parsley, work it up in the butter with pepper and salt to taste, and a squeeze of lemon-juice, and put it in the back. Serve before the butter is quite melted, with a maître d’hôtel sauce in a tureen. Time.—Small mackerel 10 minutes. Average cost, from 4d. Seasonable from April to July.

Mackerel, Fillets of.

Ingredients.—2 large mackerel, 1 oz. butter, 1 small bunch of chopped herbs, 3 tablespoonfuls of medium stock, 3 tablespoonfuls of béchamel; salt, cayenne, and lemon-juice to taste. Mode.—Clean the fish, and fillet it; scald the herbs, chop them fine, and put them with the butter and stock into a stewpan. Lay in the mackerel, and simmer very gently for 10 minutes; take them out, and put them on a hot dish. Dredge in a little flour, add the other ingredients, give one boil, and pour it over the mackerel. Time.—20 minutes. Average cost for this quantity, 1s. 6d. Seasonable from April to July. Sufficient for 4 persons.

Note.—Fillets of mackerel may be covered with egg and bread-crumbs, and fried of a nice brown. Serve with maître d’hôtel sauce and plain melted butter.

Mackerel, Pickled.

Ingredients.—12 peppercorns, 2 bay-leaves, ½ pint of vinegar, 4 mackerel. Mode.—Boil the mackerel, and lay them in a dish; take half the liquor they were boiled in; add as much vinegar, peppercorns, and bay-leaves; boil for 10 minutes, and when cold, pour over the fish. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d.

Mackerel, Potted.

Ingredients.—Mackerel, a blade of mace, cayenne, salt, and 2 oz. or more butter, according to the quantity of mackerel. Mode.—Any remains of cooked mackerel may be potted as follows; pick it well from the bones, break it into very small pieces, and put into a stewpan with the butter, pounded mace, and other ingredients; warm it thoroughly, but do not let it boil; press it into potting pots and pour clarified butter over it.

Maigre Soup (i.e., Soup without Meat).

Ingredients.—6 oz. butter, 6 onions sliced, 4 heads of celery, 2 lettuces, a small bunch of parsley, 2 handfuls of spinach, 3 pieces of bread-crust, 2 blades of mace, salt and pepper to taste, the yolks of 2 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls of vinegar, 2 quarts of water. Mode.—Melt the butter in a stewpan, and put in the onions to stew gently for 3 or 4 minutes; then add the celery, spinach, lettuces, and parsley, cut small. Stir the ingredients well for 10 minutes. Now put in the water, bread, seasoning, and mace. Boil gently for 1½ hour, and, at the moment of serving, beat in the yolks of the eggs and the vinegar, but do not let it boil, or the eggs will curdle. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 6d. per quart. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Maize, Boiled.

Ingredients.—The ears of young and green Indian wheat; to every ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. Mode.—This vegetable, which makes one of the most delicious dishes, brought to table, is unfortunately very rarely seen in Britain; and we wonder that, in the gardens of the wealthy, it is not invariably cultivated. Our sun, it is true, possesses hardly power sufficient to ripen maize; but, with well-prepared ground, and in a favourable position, it might be sufficiently advanced by the beginning of autumn to serve as a vegetable. The outside sheath being taken off and the waving fibres removed, let the ears be placed in boiling water, where they should remain for about 25 minutes (a longer time may be necessary for larger ears than ordinary); and, when sufficiently boiled and well drained, they may be sent to table whole, and with a piece of toast underneath them. Melted butter should be served with them. Time.—25 to 35 minutes. Average cost.—Seldom bought. Sufficient 1 ear for each person. Seasonable in autumn.

Malt Wine.

Ingredients.—5 gallons of water, 28 lbs. of sugar, 6 quarts of sweet-wort, 6 quarts of tun, 3 lbs. of raisins,; ½ lb. of candy, 1 pint of brandy. Mode.—Boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes; skim it well, and put the liquor into a convenient-sized pan or tub. Allow it to cool; then mix it with the sweet-wort and tun. Let it stand for 3 days, then put it into a barrel; here it will work or ferment for another three days or more; then bung up the cask, and keep it undisturbed for 2 or 3 mouths. After this, add the raisins (whole), the candy, and brandy, and, in 6 months’ time, bottle the wine off. Those who do not brew, may procure the sweet-wort and tun from any brewer. Sweet-wort is the liquor that leaves the mash of malt before it is boiled with the hops; tun is the new beer after the whole of the brewing operation has been completed. Time.—To be boiled 10 minutes; to stand 3 days after mixing; to ferment 3 days; to remain in the cask 2 months before the raisins are added; bottle 6 months after. Seasonable.—Make this in March or October.

Manna Kroup Pudding.

Ingredients.—3 tablespoonfuls of manna kroup, 12 bitter almonds, 1 pint of milk, sugar to taste, 3 eggs. Mode.—Blanch and pound the almonds in a mortar; mix them with the manna kroup; pour over these a pint of boiling milk, and let them steep for about ¼ hour. When nearly cold, add sugar and the well-beaten eggs; mix all well together; put the pudding into a buttered dish, and bake for ½ hour. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, 8d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

March—Bills of Fare.

Dinner for 18 persons.

First Course.

Turtle or Mock Turtle Soup, removed by Salmon and dressed Cucumber. Red Mullet. Vase of Flowers. Fillets of Whitings. Spring Soup, removed by Boiled Turbot and Lobster Sauce.

Entrées.

Fricasseed Chicken. Vol-au-Vent. Vase of Flowers. Compôte of Pigeons. Larded Sweetbreads.

Second Course.

Fore-quarter of Lamb. Braised Capon. Boiled Tongue, garnished. Vase of Flowers. Ham. Roast Fowls. Rump of Beef à la Jardinière.

Third Course.

Dessert and Ices.

Apricot Tartlets. Guinea-Fowls, larded, removed by Cabinet Pudding. Rhubarb Tart. Custards. Wine Jelly. Jelly, in glasses. Vase of Flowers. Italian Cream. Ducklings, removed by Nesselrode Pudding. Damson Tart. Cheesecakes.

Dinner for 12 persons.

First Course.—White soup; clear gravy soup; boiled salmon, shrimp sauce, and dressed cucumber; baked mullets in paper cases. Entrées.—Filet de bœuf and Spanish sauce; larded sweetbreads; rissoles; chicken patties. Second Course.—Roast fillet of veal and Béchamel sauce; boiled leg of lamb; roast fowls, garnished with water-cresses; boiled ham, garnished with carrots and mashed turnips; vegetables—sea-kale, spinach, or brocoli. Third Course.—Two ducklings; guinea-fowl, larded; orange jelly; Charlotte Russe; coffee cream; ice pudding; macaroni with Parmesan cheese; spinach, garnished with croûtons; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 10 persons.

First Course.—Macaroni soup; boiled turbot and lobster sauce; salmon cutlets. Entrées.—Compôte of pigeons; mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. Second Course.—Roast lamb; boiled half calf’s head, tongue, and brains; boiled bacon-cheek, garnished with spoonsfuls of spinach; vegetables. Third Course.—Ducklings; plum-pudding; ginger cream; trifle; rhubarb tart; cheesecakes; fondues, in cases; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

First Course.—Calf’s-head soup; brill and shrimp sauce; broiled mackerel à la Maître d’Hôtel. Entrées.—Lobster cutlets; calf’s liver and bacon, aux fines herbes. Second Course.—Roast loin of veal; two boiled fowls à la Béchamel; boiled knuckle of ham; vegetables—spinach or brocoli. Third Course.—Wild ducks; apple custards; blancmange; lemon jelly; jam sandwiches; ice pudding; potatoes à la Maître d’Hôtel; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 6 persons.

First Course.—Vermicelli soup; soles à la Crême. Entrées.—Veal cutlets; small vols-au-vent. Second Course.—Small saddle of mutton; half calf’s head; boiled bacon-cheek, garnished with Brussels sprouts. Third Course.—Cabinet pudding; orange jelly; custards, in glasses; rhubarb tart; lobster salad; dessert.

First Course.—Julienne soup; baked mullets. Entrées.—Chicken cutlets; oyster patties. Second Course.—Roast lamb and mint sauce; boiled leg of pork; pease pudding; vegetables. Third Course.—Ducklings; Swiss cream; lemon jelly; cheesecakes; rhubarb tart; macaroni; dessert.

First Course.—Oyster soup; boiled salmon and dressed cucumber. Entrées.—Rissoles; fricasseed chicken. Second Course.—Boiled leg of mutton, caper sauce; roast fowls, garnished with water-cresses; vegetables. Third Course.—Charlotte aux pommes; orange jelly; lemon cream; soufflé of arrowroot; sea-kale; dessert.

First Course.—Ox-tail soup; boiled mackerel. Entrées.—Stewed mutton kidneys; minced veal and oysters. Second Course.—Stewed shoulder of veal; roast ribs of beef and horseradish sauce; vegetables. Third Course.—Ducklings; tartlets of strawberry jam; cheesecakes; Gâteau de Riz; carrot pudding; sea-kale; dessert.

March, Plain Family Dinners for.

Sunday.—1. Boiled ½ calf’s head, pickled pork, the tongue on a small dish with the brains round it; mutton cutlets and mashed potatoes. 2. Plum tart made with bottled fruit, baked custard pudding, Baroness pudding.

Monday.—1. Roast shoulder of mutton and onion sauce, brocoli, baked potatoes. 2. Slices of Baroness pudding warmed, and served with sugar sprinkled over Cheesecakes.

Tuesday.—1. Mock turtle soup, made with liquor that calf’s head was boiled in, and the pieces of head. 2. Hashed mutton, rump-steaks and oyster sauce. 3. Boiled plum-pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Fried whitings, melted butter, potatoes. 2. Boiled beef, suet dumplings, carrots, potatoes, marrow-bones. 3. Arrowroot blancmange, and stewed rhubarb.

Thursday.—1. Pea-soup made from liquor that beef was boiled in. 2. Stewed rump-steak, cold beef, mashed potatoes. 3. Rolled jam pudding.

Friday.—1. Fried soles, melted butter, potatoes. 2. Roast loin of mutton, brocoli, potatoes, bubble-and-squeak. 3. Rice pudding.

Saturday.—1. Rump-steak pie, haricot mutton made with remains of cold loin. 2. Pancakes, ratafia pudding.

Sunday.—1. Roast fillet of veal, boiled ham, spinach and potatoes. 2. Rhubarb tart, custards in glasses, bread-and-butter pudding.

Monday.—1. Baked soles, potatoes. 2. Minced veal and rump-steak pie. 3. Somersetshire dumplings with the remains of custards poured round them; marmalade tartlets.

Tuesday.—1. Gravy soup. 2. Boiled leg of mutton, mashed turnips, suet dumplings, caper sauce, potatoes, veal rissoles made with remains of fillet of veal. 3. Cheese.

Wednesday.—1. Stewed mullet. 2. Roast fowls, bacon, gravy, and bread sauce, mutton pudding, made with a few slices of the cold meat and the addition of two kidneys. 3. Baked lemon pudding.

Thursday.—1. Vegetable soup made with liquor that the mutton was boiled in, and mixed with the remains of gravy soup. 2. Roast ribs of beef, Yorkshire pudding, horseradish sauce, brocoli and potatoes. 3. Apple pudding or macaroni.

Friday.—1. Stewed eels, pork cutlets, and tomato sauce. 2. Cold beef, mashed potatoes. 3. Plum tart made with bottled fruit.

Saturday.—1. Rump-steak-and-kidney pudding, broiled beef-bones, greens and potatoes. 2. Jam tartlets made with pieces of paste from plum tart, baked custard pudding.

March, Things in Season.

Fish.—Barbel, brill, carp, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench, thornback, turbot, whiting.

Meat.—Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, veal.

Poultry.—Capons, chickens, ducklings, tame and wild pigeons, pullets with eggs, turkeys, wild-fowl, though now not in full season.

Game.—Grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes, woodcock.

Vegetables.—Beetroot, brocoli (purple and white), Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive, kidney-beans, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, sea-kale, spinach, turnips,—various herbs.

Fruit.—Apples (golden and Dutch pippins), grapes, medlars, nuts, oranges, pears (Bon Chrétien), walnuts, dried fruits (foreign), such as almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates, crystallized preserves.

Marmalade and Vermicelli Pudding.

Ingredients.—1 breakfast-cupful of vermicelli, 2 tablespoonfuls of marmalade, ¼ lb. of raisins, sugar to taste, 3 eggs, milk. Mode.—Pour some boiling milk on the vermicelli, and let it remain covered for 10 minutes; then mix with it the marmalade, stoned raisins, sugar, and beaten eggs. Stir all well together, put the mixture into a buttered mould, boil for 1½ hour, and serve with custard sauce. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Marrow-Bones, Boiled.

Ingredients.—Bones, a small piece of common paste, a floured cloth. Mode.—Have the bones neatly sawed into convenient sizes, and cover the ends with a small piece of common crust, made with flour and water. Over this tie a floured cloth, and place the bones upright in a saucepan of boiling water, taking care there is sufficient to cover them. Boil them for 2 hours, remove the cloth and paste, and serve them upright on a napkin with dry toast. Many persons clear the marrow from the bones after they are cooked, spread it over a slice of toast and add a seasoning of pepper: when served in this manner, it must be very expeditiously sent to table, as it so soon gets cold. Time.—2 hours. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Marrow-bones may be baked after preparing them as in the preceding recipe; they should be laid in a deep dish, and baked for 2 hours.

Marrow Dumplings, to serve with Roast Meat, in Soup, with Salad, &c.

(German Recipe.)

Ingredients.—1 oz. of beef marrow, 1 oz. of butter, 2 eggs, 2 penny rolls, 1 teaspoonful of minced onion, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley, salt and grated nutmeg to taste. Mode.—Beat the marrow and butter together to a cream; well whisk the eggs, and add these to the other ingredients. When they are well stirred, put in the rolls, which should previously be well soaked in boiling milk, strained, and beaten up with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients, omitting the minced onion where the flavour is very much disliked, and form the mixture into small round dumplings. Drop these into boiling broth, and let them simmer for about 20 minutes or ½ hour. They may be served in soup, with roast meat, or with salad, as in Germany, where they are more frequently sent to table than in this country. They are very good. Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour. Average cost, 6d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 dumplings. Seasonable at any time.

Marrow Pudding, Baked or Boiled.

Ingredients.—½ pint of bread-crumbs, 1½ pint of milk, 6 oz. of marrow, 4 eggs, ¼ lb. of raisins or currants, or 2 oz. of each; sugar and grated nutmeg to taste. Mode.—Make the milk boiling, pour it hot on to the bread-crumbs, and let these remain covered for about ½ hour; shred the marrow, beat up the eggs, and mix these with the bread-crumbs; add the remaining ingredients, beat the mixture well, and either put it into a buttered mould and boil it for 2½ hours, or put it into a pie-dish edged with puff-paste, and bake for rather more than ¾ hour. Before sending it to table, sift a little pounded sugar over, after being turned out of the mould or basin. Time.—2½ hours to boil, ¾ hour to bake. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

May—Bills of Fare.

Dinner for 18 persons.

First Course.

Asparagus Soup, removed by Salmon and Lobster Sauce. Fried Filleted Soles. Vase of Flowers. Fillets of Mackerel, à la Maître d’Hôtel. Ox-tail Soup, removed by Brill & Shrimp Sauce.

Entrées.

Lamb Cutlets and Cucumbers. Lobster Pudding. Vase of Flowers. Curried Fowl. Veal Ragoût.

Second Course.

Saddle of Lamb. Raised Pie. Roast Fowls. Vase of Flowers. Boiled Capon and White Sauce. Braised Ham. Roast Veal.

Third Course.

Dessert and Ices.

Almond Cheesecakes. Goslings, removed by College Puddings. Lobster Salad. Noyeau Jelly. Italian Cream. Vase of Flowers. Charlotte à la Parisienne. Inlaid Jelly. Plover’s Eggs. Ducklings, removed by Nesselrode Pudding. Tartlets.

Dinner for 12 persons.

First Course.—White soup; asparagus soup; salmon cutlets; boiled turbot and lobster sauce. Entrées.—Chicken vol-au-vent; lamb cutlets and cucumbers; fricandeau of veal; stewed mushrooms. Second Course.—Roast lamb; haunch of mutton; boiled and roast fowls; vegetables. Third Course.—Ducklings; goslings; Charlotte Russe; Vanilla cream; gooseberry tart; custards; cheesecakes; cabinet pudding and iced pudding; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 10 persons.

First Course.—Spring soup; salmon à la Genévése; red mullet. Entrées.—Chicken vol-au-vent; calf’s liver and bacon aux fines herbes. Second Course.—Saddle of mutton; half calf’s head, tongue, and brains; braised ham; asparagus. Third Course.—Roast pigeons; ducklings; sponge-cake pudding; Charlotte à la vanille; gooseberry tart; cream; cheesecakes; apricot-jam tart; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

First Course.—Julienne soup; brill and lobster sauce; fried fillets of mackerel. Entrées.—Lamb cutlets and cucumbers; lobster patties. Second Course.—Roast fillet of veal; boiled leg of lamb; asparagus. Third Course.—Ducklings; gooseberry tart; custards; fancy pastry; soufflé; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 6 persons.

First Course.—Vermicelli soup; boiled salmon and anchovy sauce. Entrées.—Fillets of beef and tomato sauce; sweetbreads. Second Course.—Roast lamb; boiled capon; asparagus. Third Course.—Ducklings; cabinet pudding; compôte of gooseberries; custards in glasses; blancmange; lemon tartlets; fondue; dessert.

First Course.—Macaroni soup; boiled mackerel à la maître d’hôtel; fried smelts. Entrées.—Scollops of fowl; lobster pudding. Second Course.—Boiled leg of lamb and spinach; roast sirloin of beef and horseradish sauce; vegetables. Third Course.—Roast leveret; salad; soufflé of rice; ramakins; strawberry-jam tartlets; orange jelly; dessert.

First Course.—Julienne soup; trout with Dutch sauce; salmon cutlets. Entrées.—Lamb cutlets and mushrooms; vol-au-vent of chicken. Second Course.—Roast lamb; calf’s head à la tortue; vegetables. Third Course.—Spring chickens; iced pudding; Vanilla cream; clear jelly; tartlets; cheesecakes; dessert.

First Course.—Soup à la reine; crimped trout and lobster sauce; baked whitings aux fines herbes. Entrées.—Braised mutton cutlets and cucumbers; stewed pigeons. Second Course.—Roast fillet of veal; bacon-cheek and greens; fillet of beef à la jardinière. Third Course.—Ducklings; soufflé à la vanille; compôte of oranges; meringues; gooseberry tart; fondue; dessert.

MAY, Plain Family Dinners for.

Sunday.—1. Vegetable soup. 2. Saddle of mutton, asparagus and potatoes. 3. Gooseberry tart, custards.

Monday.—1. Fried whitings, anchovy sauce. 2. Cold mutton, mashed potatoes, stewed veal. 3. Fig pudding.

Tuesday.—1. Haricot mutton, made from remains of cold mutton, rump-steak pie. 2. Macaroni.

Wednesday.—1. Roast loin of veal and spinach, boiled bacon, mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. 2. Gooseberry pudding and cream.

Thursday.—1. Spring soup. 2. Roast leg of lamb, mint sauce, spinach, curried veal and rice. 3. Lemon pudding.

Friday.—1. Boiled mackerel and parsley-and-butter. 2. Stewed rump-steak, cold lamb and salad. 3. Baked gooseberry pudding.

Saturday.—1. Vermicelli. 2. Rump-steak pudding, lamb cutlets, and cucumbers. 3. Macaroni.

Sunday.—1. Boiled salmon and lobster or caper sauce. 2. Roast lamb, mint sauce, asparagus, potatoes. 3. Plum-pudding, gooseberry tart.

Monday.—1. Salmon warmed in remains of lobster sauce and garnished with croûtons. 2. Stewed knuckle of veal and rice, cold lamb and dressed cucumber. 3. Slices of pudding warmed, and served with sugar sprinkled over. Baked rice pudding.

Tuesday.—1. Roast ribs of beef, horseradish sauce, Yorkshire pudding, spinach and potatoes. 2. Boiled lemon pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Fried soles, melted butter. 2. Cold beef and dressed cucumber or salad, veal cutlets and bacon. 3. Baked plum-pudding.

Thursday.—1. Spring soup. 2. Calf’s liver and bacon, broiled beef-bones, spinach and potatoes. 3. Gooseberry tart.

Friday.—1. Roast shoulder of mutton, baked potatoes, onion sauce, spinach. 2. Currant dumplings.

Saturday.—1. Broiled mackerel, fennel sauce or plain melted butter. 2. Rump-steak pie, hashed mutton, vegetables. 3. Baked arrowroot pudding.

MAY, Things in Season.

Fish.—Carp, chub, crabs, crayfish, dory, herrings, lobsters, mackerel, red and gray mullet, prawns, salmon, shad, smelts, soles, trout, turbot.

Meat.—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal.

Poultry.—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, pullets, rabbits.

Vegetables.—Asparagus, beans, early cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, cresses, cucumbers, lettuces, pease, early potatoes, salads, sea-kale,—various herbs.

Fruit.—Apples, green apricots, cherries, currants for tarts, gooseberries, melons, pears, rhubarb, strawberries.

Mayonnaise, a Sauce or Salad-Dressing for cold Chicken, Meat, and other cold Dishes.

Ingredients.—The yolks of 2 eggs, 6 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, salt and white pepper to taste, 1 tablespoonful of white stock, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream. Mode.—Put the yolks of the eggs into a basin, with a seasoning of pepper and salt; have ready the above quantities of oil and vinegar, in separate vessels; add them very gradually to the eggs; continue stirring and rubbing the mixture with a wooden spoon, as herein consists the secret of having a nice smooth sauce. It cannot be stirred too frequently, and it should be made in a very cool place, or, if ice is at hand, it should be mixed over it. When the vinegar and oil are well incorporated with the eggs, add the stock and cream, stirring all the time, and it will then be ready for use.

For a fish Mayonnaise, this sauce may be coloured with lobster-spawn, pounded; and for poultry or meat, where variety is desired, a little parsley-juice may be used to add to its appearance. Cucumber, tarragon, or any other flavoured vinegar, may be substituted for plain, where they are liked. Average cost, for this quantity, 7d. Sufficient for a small salad.

Note.—In mixing the oil and vinegar with the eggs, put in first a few drops of oil, and then a few drops of vinegar, never adding a large quantity of either at one time. By this means, you can be more certain of the sauce not curdling. Patience and practice, let us add, are two essentials for making this sauce good.

Melons.

This fruit is rarely preserved or cooked in any way, but is sent whole to table on a dish garnished with leaves or flowers, as fancy dictates. A border of any other kind of small fruit, arranged round the melon, has a pretty effect, the colour of the former contrasting nicely with the melon. Plenty of pounded sugar should be served with it; and the fruit should be cut lengthwise, in moderate-sized slices. In America, it is frequently eaten with pepper and salt. Average cost.—English, in full season, 3s. 6d. to 5s. each; when scarce, 10s. to 15s.; seasonable, June to August. French, 2s. to 3s. 6d. each; seasonable, June and July. Dutch, 9d. to 2s. each; seasonable, July and August.

Meringues.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of pounded sugar, the whites of 4 eggs. Mode.—Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and, with a wooden spoon, stir in quickly the pounded sugar; and have some boards thick enough to put in the oven to prevent the bottom of the meringues from acquiring too much colour. Cut some strips of paper about 2 inches wide; place this paper on the board, and drop a tablespoonful at a time of the mixture on the paper, taking care to let all the meringues be the same size. In dropping it from the spoon, give the mixture the form of an egg, and keep the meringues about 2 inches apart from each other on the paper. Strew over them some sifted sugar, and bake in a moderate oven for ½ hour. As soon as they begin to colour, remove them from the oven; take each slip of paper by the two ends, and turn it gently on the table, and, with a small spoon, take out the soft part of each meringue. Spread some clean paper on the board, turn the meringues upside down, and put them into the oven to harden and brown on the other side. When required for table, fill them with whipped cream, flavoured with liqueur or vanilla, and sweetened with pounded sugar. Join two of the meringues together, and pile them high in the dish, as shown in the annexed drawing. To vary their appearance, finely-chopped almonds or currants may be strewn over them before the sugar is sprinkled over; and they may be garnished with any bright-coloured preserve. Great expedition is necessary in making this sweet dish; as, if the meringues are not put into the oven as soon as the sugar and eggs are mixed, the former melts, and the mixture would run on the paper, instead of keeping its egg-shape. The sweeter the meringues are made, the crisper will they be; but, if there is not sufficient sugar mixed with them, they will most likely be tough. They are sometimes coloured with cochineal; and, if kept well covered in a dry place, will remain good for a month or six weeks. Time.—Altogether, about ½ hour. Average cost, with the cream and flavouring, 1s. Sufficient to make 2 dozen meringues. Seasonable at any time.

Milk.

Milk, when of good quality, is of an opaque white colour: the cream always comes to the top; the well-known milky odour is strong; it will boil without altering its appearance in these respects; the little bladders which arise on the surface will renew themselves if broken by the spoon. To boil milk is, in fact, the simplest way of testing its quality. The commonest adulterations of milk are not of a hurtful character. It is a good deal thinned with water, and sometimes thickened with a little starch, or coloured with yolk of egg, or even saffron; but these processes have nothing murderous in them.

Milk and Cream, to keep, in hot Weather.

When the weather is very warm, and it is very difficult to prevent milk from turning sour and spoiling the cream, it should be scalded, and it will then remain good for a few hours. It must on no account be allowed to boil, or there will be a skin instead of a cream upon the milk; and the slower the process the safer will it be. A very good plan to scald milk, is to put the pan that contains it into a saucepan or wide kettle of boiling water. When the surface looks thick, the milk is sufficiently scalded, and it should then be put away in a cool place in the same vessel that it was scalded in. Cream may be kept for 24 hours, if scalded without sugar; and by the addition of the latter ingredient, it will remain good double the time, if kept in a cool place. All pans, jugs, and vessels intended for milk, should be kept beautifully clean, and well scalded before the milk is put in, as any negligence in this respect may cause large quantities of it to be spoiled; and milk should never be kept in vessels of zinc or copper. Milk may be preserved good in hot weather, for a few hours, by placing the jug which contains it in ice, or very cold water; or a pinch of bicarbonate of soda may be introduced into the liquid.

Milk and Cream, Separation of.

If it be desired that the milk should be freed entirely from cream, it should be poured into a very shallow broad pan or dish, not more than 1½ inch deep, as cream cannot rise through a great depth of milk. In cold and wet weather, milk is not so rich as it is in summer and warm weather, and the morning’s milk is always richer than the evening’s. The last-drawn milk of each milking, at all times and seasons, is richer than the first-drawn, and on that account should be set apart for cream. Milk should be shaken as little as possible when carried from the cow to the dairy, and should be poured into the pans very gently. Persons not keeping cows, may always have a little cream, provided the milk they purchase be pure and unadulterated. As soon as it comes in, it should be poured into very shallow open pie-dishes, and set by in a very cool place, and in 7 or 8 hours a nice cream should have risen to the surface.

Milk and Cream, Substitute for, in Tea and Coffee.

Ingredients.—1 new laid egg to every large breakfast-cupful of tea or coffee. Mode.—Beat up the whole of the egg in a basin, put it into a cup, and pour over it the tea or coffee quite hot, stirring all the time to prevent the egg from curdling. In point of nourishment, both tea and coffee are much improved by this addition. Sufficient.—1 egg to every large breakfast-cupful of tea or coffee.

Milk Soup (a nice Dish for Children).

Ingredients.—2 quarts of milk, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, 3 teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar, or more if liked, 4 thin slices of bread, the yolks of 6 eggs. Mode.—Boil the milk with the salt, cinnamon, and sugar; lay the bread in a deep dish, pour over it a little of the milk, and keep it hot over a stove, without burning. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, add them to the milk, and stir it over the fire till it thickens. Do not let it curdle. Pour it upon the bread, and serve. Time.—¾ of an hour. Average cost, 8d. per quart. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 10 children.

Mince Pies.

Ingredients.—Good puff-paste, mincemeat. Mode.—Make some good puff-paste by recipe; roll it out to the thickness of about ¼ inch, and line some good-sized patty-pans with it; fill them with mincemeat, cover with the paste, and cut it off all round close to the edge of the tin. Put the pies into a brisk oven, to draw the paste up, and bake for 25 minutes, or longer, should the pies be very large; brush them over with the white of an egg, beaten with the blade of a knife to a stiff froth; sprinkle over pounded sugar, and put them into the oven for a minute or two, to dry the egg; dish the pies on a white d’oyley, and serve hot. They may be merely sprinkled with pounded sugar instead of being glazed, when that mode is preferred. To re-warm them, put the pies on the patty-pans, and let them remain in the oven for 10 minutes or ¼ hour, and they will be almost as good as if freshly made. Time.—25 to 30 minutes; 10 minutes to re-warm them. Average cost, 4d. each. Sufficient—½ lb. of paste for 4 pies. Seasonable at Christmas time.

Mincemeat.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of raisins, 3 lbs. of currants, 1½ lb. of lean beef, 3 lbs. of beef suet, 2 lbs. of moist sugar, 2 oz. of citron, 2 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 2 oz. of candied orange-peel, 1 large nutmeg, 1 pottle of apples, the rind of 2 lemons, the juice of 1, ½ pint of brandy. Mode.—Stone and cut the raisins once or twice across, but do not chop them; wash, dry, and pick the currants free from stalks and grit, and mince the beef and suet, taking care that the latter is chopped very fine; slice the citron and candied peel, grate the nutmeg, and pare, core, and mince the apples; mince the lemon-peel, strain the juice, and when all the ingredients are thus prepared, mix them well together, adding the brandy when the other things are well blended; press the whole into a jar, carefully exclude the air, and the mincemeat will be ready for use in a fortnight. If an additional quantity of spice be preferred, add ½ teaspoonful of pounded mace, and the same of pounded allspice. We, however, prefer the mincemeat without the latter ingredients, and can vouch for its excellence. Average cost for this quantity, 8s. Seasonable.—Make this about the beginning of December.

Mincemeat, Excellent.

Ingredients.—3 large lemons, 3 large apples, 1 lb. of stoned raisins, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of suet, 2 lbs. of moist sugar, 1 oz. of sliced candied citron, 1 oz. of sliced candied orange-peel, and the same quantity of lemon-peel, 1 teacupful of brandy, 2 tablespoonfuls of orange marmalade. Mode.—Grate the rinds of the lemons; squeeze out the juice, strain it, and boil the remainder of the lemons until tender enough to pulp or chop very finely. Then add to this pulp the apples, which should be baked, and their skins and cores removed; put in the remaining ingredients one by one, and, as they are added, mix everything very thoroughly together. Put the mincemeat into a stone jar with a closely-fitting lid, and in a fortnight it will be ready for use. Seasonable.—This should be made the first or second week in December.

Mint Sauce, to serve with Roast Lamb.

Ingredients.—4 dessertspoonfuls of chopped mint, 2 dessertspoonfuls of pounded white sugar, ¼ pint of vinegar. Mode.—Wash the mint, which should be young and fresh-gathered, free from grit; pick the leaves from the stalks, mince them very fine, and put them into a tureen; add the sugar and vinegar, and stir till the former is dissolved. This sauce is better by being made 2 or 3 hours before wanted for table, as the vinegar then becomes impregnated with the flavour of the mint. By many persons, the above proportion of sugar would not be considered sufficient; but as tastes vary, we have given the quantity which we have found to suit the general palate. Average cost, 3d. Sufficient to serve with a middling-size joint of lamb.

Note.—Where green mint is scarce and not obtainable, mint vinegar may be substituted for it, and will be found very acceptable in early spring.

Mint Vinegar.

Ingredients.—Vinegar, mint. Mode.—Procure some nice fresh mint, pick the leaves from the stalks, and fill a bottle or jar with them. Add vinegar to them until the bottle is full; cover closely to exclude the air, and let it infuse for a fortnight. Then strain the liquor, and put it into small bottles for use, of which the corks should be sealed. Seasonable.—This should be made in June, July or August.

Mock Turtle Soup.

I.

Ingredients.—½ a calf’s head, ¼ lb. of butter, ¼ lb. of lean ham, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, a little minced lemon thyme, sweet marjoram, basil, 2 onions, a few chopped mushrooms (when obtainable), 2 shalots, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, ¼ bottle of Madeira or sherry, forcemeat balls, cayenne, salt and mace to taste, the juice of 1 lemon and 1 Seville orange, 1 dessertspoonful of pounded sugar, 3 quarts of best stock. Mode.—Scald the head with the skin on, remove the brain, tie the head up in a cloth, and let it boil for 1 hour. Then take the meat from the bones, cut it into small square pieces, and throw them into cold water. Now take the meat, put it into a stewpan, and cover with stock; let it boil gently for an hour, or rather more, if not quite tender, and set it on one side. Melt the butter in another stewpan, and add the ham, cut small, with the herbs, parsley, onions, shalots, mushrooms, and nearly a pint of stock; let these simmer slowly for 2 hours, and then dredge in as much flour as will dry up the butter. Fill up with the remainder of the stock, add the wine, let it stew gently for 10 minutes, rub it through a tammy, and put it to the calf’s head; season with cayenne, and, if required, a little salt; add the juice of the orange and lemon; and when liked, ¼ teaspoonful of pounded mace, and the sugar. Put in the forcemeat balls, simmer 5 minutes, and serve very hot. Time.—4½ hours. Average cost, 3s. 6d. per quart, or 2s. 6d. without wine or forcemeat balls. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Note.—The bones of the head should be well stewed in the liquor it was first boiled in, and will make good white stock, flavoured with vegetables, &c.

II.

(More Economical.)

Ingredients.—A knuckle of veal weighing 5 or 6 lbs., 2 cow-heels, 2 large onions stuck with cloves, 1 bunch of sweet herbs, 3 blades of mace, salt to taste, 12 peppercorns, 1 glass of sherry, 24 forcemeat balls, a little lemon-juice, 4 quarts of water. Mode.—Put all the ingredients, except the forcemeat balls and lemon-juice, in an earthen jar, and stew for 6 hours. Do not open it till cold. When wanted for use, skim off all the fat, and strain carefully; place it on the fire, cut up the meat into inch-and-a-half squares, put it, with the forcemeat balls and lemon-juice, into the soup, and serve. It can be flavoured with a tablespoonful of anchovy, or Harvey’s sauce. Time.—6 hours. Average cost, 1s. 4d. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Muffins.

Ingredients.—To every quart of milk allow 1½ oz. of German yeast, a little salt; flour. Mode.—Warm the milk, add to it the yeast, and mix these well together; put them into a pan, and stir in sufficient flour to make the whole into a dough of rather a soft consistence; cover it over with a cloth, and place it in a warm place to rise, and, when light and nicely risen, divide the dough into pieces, and round them to the proper shape with the hands; place them in a layer of flour about two inches thick, on wooden trays, and let them rise again: when this is effected, they each will exhibit a semi-globular shape. Then place them carefully on a hot plate or stove, and bake them until they are slightly browned, turning them when they are done on one side. Muffins are not easily made, and are more generally purchased than manufactured at home. To toast them, divide the edge of the muffin all round, by pulling it open to the depth of about an inch, with the fingers. Put it on a toasting-fork, and hold it before a very clear fire until one side is nicely browned, but not burnt; turn, and toast it on the other. Do not toast them too quickly, as, if this be done, the middle of the muffin will not be warmed through. When done, divide them by pulling them open; butter them slightly on both sides, put them together again, and cut them into halves: when sufficient are toasted and buttered, pile them on a very hot dish, and send them very quickly to table. Time.—From 20 minutes to ½ hour to bake them. Sufficient.—Allow 1 muffin to each person.

Mulberries, Preserved.

Ingredients.—To 2 lbs. of fruit and 1 pint of juice allow 2½ lbs. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Put some of the fruit into a preserving pan, and simmer it gently until the juice is well drawn. Strain it through a bag, measure it, and to every pint allow the above proportion of sugar and fruit. Put the sugar into the preserving-pan, moisten it with the juice, boil it up, skim well, and then add the mulberries, which should be ripe, but not soft enough to break to a pulp. Let them stand in the syrup till warm through, then set them on the fire to boil gently; when half done, turn them carefully into an earthen pan, and let them remain till the next day; then boil them as before, and when the syrup is thick, and becomes firm when cold, put the preserve into pots. In making this, care should be taken not to break the mulberries: this may be avoided by very gentle stirring, and by simmering the fruit very slowly. Time.—¾ hour to extract the juice; ¼ hour to boil the mulberries the first time, ¼ hour the second time. Seasonable in August and September.

Mullagatawny Soup.

Ingredients.—2 tablespoonfuls of curry powder, 6 onions, 1 clove of garlic, 1 oz. of pounded almonds, a little lemon-pickle, or mango-juice, to taste; 1 fowl or rabbit; 4 slices of lean bacon; 2 quarts of medium stock, or, if wanted very good, best stock. Mode.—Slice and fry the onions of a nice colour; line the stewpan with the bacon; cut up the rabbit or fowl into small joints, and slightly brown them; put in the fried onions, the garlic, and stock and simmer gently till the meat is tender, skim very carefully, and when the meat is done, rub the curry powder to a smooth batter: add it to the soup with the almonds, which must be first pounded with a little of the stock. Put in seasoning and lemon-pickle or mango-juice to taste, and serve boiled rice with it. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Note.—This soup can also be made with breast of veal, or calf’s head. Vegetable mullagatawny is made with veal stock, by boiling and pulping chopped vegetable marrow, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes, and seasoning with curry powder and cayenne. Nice pieces of meat, good curry powder, and strong stock, are necessary to make this soup good.

Mullet, Grey.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—If the fish be very large, it should be laid in cold water, and gradually brought to a boil; if small, put it in boiling water, salted in the above proportion. Serve with anchovy sauce and plain melted butter. Time.—According to size, ¼ to ¾ hour. Average cost, 8d. per lb. Seasonable from July to October.

Mullet, Red.

Ingredients.—Oiled paper, thickening of butter and flour, ½ teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, 1 glass of sherry; cayenne and salt to taste. Mode.—Clean the fish, take out the gills, but leave the inside, fold in oiled paper, and bake them gently. When done, take the liquor that flows from the fish, add a thickening of butter kneaded with flour; put in the other ingredients, and let it boil for 2 minutes. Serve the sauce in a tureen, and the fish, either with or without the paper cases. Time.—About 25 minutes. Average cost, 1s. each. Seasonable at any time, but more plentiful in summer.

Note.—Red mullet may be broiled, and should be folded in oiled paper, the same as in the preceding recipe, and seasoned with pepper and salt. They may be served without sauce; but if any is required, use melted butter, Italian or anchovy sauce. They should never be plain boiled.

Mushroom Ketchup.

Ingredients.—To each peck of mushrooms ½ lb. of salt; to each quart of mushroom-liquor ¼ oz. of cayenne, ½ oz. of allspice, ½ oz. of ginger, 2 blades of pounded mace. Mode.—Choose full-grown mushroom flaps, and take care they are perfectly fresh gathered when the weather is tolerably dry; for, if they are picked during very heavy rain, the ketchup from which they are made is liable to get musty, and will not keep long. Put a layer of them in a deep pan, sprinkle salt over them, and then another layer of mushrooms, and so on alternately. Let them remain for a few hours, when break them up with the hand; put them in a nice cool place for 3 days, occasionally stirring and mashing them well, to extract from them as much juice as possible. Now measure the quantity of liquor without straining, and to each quart allow the above proportion of spices, &c. Put all into a stone jar, cover it up very closely, put it in a saucepan of boiling water, set it over the fire, and let it boil for 3 hours. Have ready a nice clean stewpan; turn into it the contents of the jar, and let the whole simmer very gently for ½ hour; pour it into a jug, where it should stand in a cool place till the next day; then pour it off into another jug, and strain it into very dry clean bottles, and do not squeeze the mushrooms. To each pint of ketchup add a few drops of brandy. Be careful not to shake the contents, but leave all the sediment behind in the jug; cork well, and either seal or rosin the cork, so as perfectly to exclude the air. When a very clear bright ketchup is wanted, the liquor must be strained through a very fine hair-sieve, or flannel bag, after it has been very gently poured off; if the operation is not successful, it must be repeated until you have quite a clear liquor. It should be examined occasionally, and if it is spoiling, should be reboiled with a few peppercorns. Seasonable from the beginning of September to the middle of October, when this ketchup should be made.

Note.—This flavouring ingredient, if genuine and well prepared, is one of the most useful store sauces to the experienced cook, and no trouble should be spared in its preparation. Double ketchup is made by reducing the liquor to half the quantity; for example, 1 quart must be boiled down to 1 pint. This goes farther than ordinary ketchup, as so little is required to flavour a good quantity of gravy. The sediment may also be bottled for immediate use, and will be found to answer for flavouring thick soups or gravies.

Mushroom Powder (a valuable addition to Sauces and Gravies, when fresh Mushrooms are not obtainable).

Ingredients.—½ peck of large mushrooms, 2 onions, 12 cloves, ¼ oz. of pounded mace, 2 teaspoonfuls of white pepper. Mode.—Peel the mushrooms, wipe them perfectly free from grit and dirt, remove the black fur, and reject all those that are at all worm-eaten; put them into a stewpan with the above ingredients, but without water; shake them over a clear fire, till all the liquor is dried up, and be careful not to let them burn; arrange them on tins, and dry them in a slow oven; pound them to a fine powder, which put into small dry bottles; cork well, seal the corks, and keep it in a dry place. In using this powder, add it to the gravy just before serving, when it will merely require one boil-up. The flavour imparted by this means to the gravy, ought to be exceedingly good. Seasonable.—This should be made in September, or at the beginning of October.

Note.—If the bottles in which it is stored away are not perfectly dry, as, also, the mushroom powder, it will keep good but a very short time.

Mushroom Sauce, very rich and good, to serve with Fowls or Rabbits.

Ingredients.—1 pint of mushroom-buttons, salt to taste, a little grated nutmeg, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 pint of cream, 2 oz. of butter, flour to thicken. Mode.—Rub the buttons with a piece of flannel and salt, to take off the skin; cut off the stalks, and put them in a stewpan with the above ingredients, previously kneading together the butter and flour; boil the whole for about ten minutes, stirring all the time. Pour some of the sauce over the fowls, and the remainder serve in a tureen. Time.—10 minutes. Average cost, 2s. Sufficient to serve with a pair of fowls. Seasonable from August to October.

Mushroom Sauce, Brown, to serve with Roast Meat, &c.

Ingredients.— ½ pint of button mushrooms, ½ pint of good beef gravy, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup (if at hand), thickening of butter and flour. Mode.—Put the gravy into a saucepan, thicken it, and stir over the fire until it boils. Prepare the mushrooms by cutting off the stalks, and wiping them free from grit and dirt; the large flap mushrooms cut into small pieces will answer for a brown sauce, when the buttons are not obtainable; put them into the gravy, and let them simmer very gently for about 10 minutes; then add the ketchup, and serve. Time.—Rather more than 10 minutes. Seasonable from August to October.

Note.—When fresh mushrooms are not obtainable, the powder may be used as a substitute for brown sauce.

Mushroom Sauce, White, to serve with Boiled Fowls, Cutlets, &c.

Ingredients.—Rather more than ½ pint of button mushrooms, lemon-juice, and water, 1 oz. of butter, ½ pint of Béchamel, ¼ teaspoonful of pounded sugar. Mode.—Turn the mushrooms white by putting them into lemon-juice and water, having previously cut off the stalks and wiped them perfectly free from grit. Chop them, and put them in a stewpan with the butter. When the mushrooms are softened, add the Béchamel, and simmer for about 5 minutes; should they, however, not be done enough, allow rather more time. They should not boil longer than necessary, as they would then lose their colour and flavour. Rub the whole through a tammy, and serve very hot. After this, it should be warmed in a bain marie. Time.—Altogether ¼ hour. Average cost, 1s. Seasonable from August to October.

Mushroom Sauce, White, to serve with Boiled Fowls, Cutlets, &c. (a more simple Method).

Ingredients.— ½ pint of melted butter, made with milk, ½ pint of button mushrooms, 1 dessertspoonful of mushroom ketchup, if at hand; cayenne and salt to taste. Mode.—Make the melted butter with milk, and add to it the mushrooms, which must be nicely cleaned, and free from grit, and the stalks cut off. Let them simmer gently for about 10 minutes, or until they are quite tender. Put in the seasoning and ketchup; let it just boil, when serve. Time.—Rather more than 10 minutes. Average cost, 8d. Seasonable from August to October.

Mushrooms, Baked (a Breakfast, Luncheon, or Supper Dish).

Ingredients.—16 to 20 mushroom-flaps, butter, pepper to taste. Mode.—For this mode of cooking, the mushroom-flaps are better than the buttons, and should not be too large. Cut off a portion of the stalk, peel the top, and wipe the mushrooms carefully with a piece of flannel and a little fine salt. Put them into a tin baking-dish, with a very small piece of butter placed on each mushroom; sprinkle over a little pepper, and let them bake for about 20 minutes, or longer should the mushrooms be very large. Have ready a very hot dish, pile the mushrooms high in the centre, pour the gravy round, and send them to table quickly, with very hot plates. Time.—20 minutes; large mushrooms, ½ hour. Average cost, 1d. each for large mushroom-flaps. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.

Mushrooms, Broiled (a Breakfast, Luncheon, or Supper Dish).

Ingredients.—Mushroom-flaps, pepper and salt to taste, butter, lemon-juice. Mode.—Cleanse the mushrooms by wiping them with a piece of flannel and a little salt; cut off a portion of the stalk, and peel the tops; broil them over a clear fire, turning them once, and arrange them on a very hot dish. Put a small piece of butter on each mushroom, season with pepper and salt, and squeeze over them a few drops of lemon-juice. Place the dish before the fire, and when the butter is melted, serve very hot and quickly. Moderate-sized flaps are better suited to this mode of cooking than the buttons: the latter are better in stews. Time.—10 minutes for medium-sized mushrooms. Average cost, 1d. each for large mushrooms. Sufficient.—Allow 3 or 4 mushrooms to each person. Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.

Mushrooms, Dried.

Mode.—Wipe them clean, take away the brown part, and peel off the skin; lay them on sheets of paper to dry, in a cool oven, when they will shrivel considerably. Keep them in paper bags, which hang in a dry place. When wanted for use, put them into cold gravy, bring them gradually to simmer, and it will be found that they will regain nearly their usual size.

Mushrooms, Pickled.

Ingredients.—Sufficient vinegar to cover the mushrooms; to each quart of mushrooms, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1 oz. of ground pepper, salt to taste. Mode.—Choose some nice young button mushrooms for pickling, and rub off the skin with a piece of flannel and salt, and cut off the stalks; if very large, take out the red inside, and reject the black ones, as they are too old. Put them into a stewpan, sprinkle salt over them, with pounded mace and pepper in the above proportion; shake them well over a clear fire until the liquor flows, and keep them there until they are all dried up again; then add as much vinegar as will cover them; just let it simmer for 1 minute, and store it away in stone jars for use. When cold, tie down with bladder and keep in a dry place: they will remain good for a length of time, and are generally considered delicious. Seasonable.—-Make this the same time as ketchup, from the beginning of September to the middle of October.

Mushrooms, to Preserve.

Ingredients.—To each quart of mushrooms, allow 3 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of 1 lemon, clarified butter. Mode.—Peel the mushrooms, put them into cold water, with a little lemon-juice; take them out and dry them very carefully in a cloth. Put the butter into a stewpan capable of holding the mushrooms; when it is melted, add the mushrooms, lemon-juice, and a seasoning of pepper and salt; draw them down over a slow fire, and let them remain until their liquor is boiled away, and they have become quite dry, but be careful in not allowing them to stick to the bottom of the stewpan. When done, put them into pots, and pour over the top clarified butter. If wanted for immediate use, they will keep good a few days without being covered over. To re-warm them, put the mushrooms into a stewpan, strain the butter from them, and they will be ready for use. Average cost, 1d. each. Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October; cultivated mushrooms may be had at any time.

Mushrooms, Stewed.

Ingredients.—1 pint mushroom-buttons, 3 oz. of fresh butter, white pepper and salt to taste, lemon-juice, 1 teaspoonful of flour, cream or milk, ¼ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Mode.—Cut off the ends of the stalks, and pare neatly a pint of mushroom-buttons; put them into a basin of water, with a little lemon juice, as they are done. When all are prepared, take them from the water with the hands, to avoid the sediment, and put them into a stewpan with the fresh butter, white pepper, salt, and the juice of ½ lemon; cover the pan closely, and let the mushrooms stew gently from 20 to 25 minutes; then thicken the butter with the above proportion of flour, add gradually sufficient cream, or cream and milk, to make the sauce of a proper consistency, and put in the grated nutmeg. If the mushrooms are not perfectly tender, stew them for 5 minutes longer, remove every particle of butter which may be floating on the top, and serve. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, from 9d. to 2s. per pint. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October.

Mushrooms, Stewed in Gravy.

Ingredients.—1 pint of mushroom-buttons, 1 pint of brown gravy, ¼ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, cayenne and salt to taste. Mode.—Make a pint of brown gravy, cut nearly all the stalks away from the mushrooms and peel the tops; put them into a stewpan, with the gravy, and simmer them gently from 20 minutes to ½ hour. Add the nutmeg and a seasoning of cayenne and salt, and serve very hot. Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour. Average cost, 9d. to 2s. per pint. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—Meadow mushrooms in September and October.

Mustard, How to Mix.

Ingredients.—Mustard, salt and water. Mode.—Mustard should be mixed with water that has been boiled and allowed to cool; hot water destroys its essential properties, and raw cold water might cause it to ferment. Put the mustard into a cup, with a small pinch of salt, and mix with it very gradually sufficient boiled water to make it drop from the spoon without being watery. Stir and mix well, and rub the lumps well down with the back of a spoon, as well-mixed mustard should be perfectly free from these. The mustard-pot should not be more than half-full, or rather less if it will not be used for a day or two, as it is so much better when it is freshly mixed.

Mustard, Indian, an excellent Relish to Bread and Butter, or any cold Meat.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of the best mustard, ¼ lb. of flour, ½ oz. of salt, 4 shalots, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 4 tablespoonfuls of ketchup, ¼ bottle of anchovy sauce. Mode.—Put the mustard, flour, and salt into a basin, and make them into a stiff paste with boiling water. Boil the shalots with the vinegar, ketchup, and anchovy sauce, for 10 minutes, and pour the whole, boiling, over the mixture in the basin; stir well, and reduce it to a proper thickness; put it into a bottle, with a bruised shalot at the bottom, and store away for use. This makes an excellent relish, and if properly prepared will keep for years.

Mustard, Tartar.

Ingredients.—Horseradish vinegar, cayenne, ½ a teacupful of mustard. Mode.—Have ready sufficient horseradish vinegar to mix with the above proportion of mustard; put the mustard into a cup, with a slight seasoning of cayenne; mix it perfectly smooth with the vinegar, adding this a little at a time; rub down with the back of a spoon any lumps that may appear, and do not let it be too thin. Mustard may be flavoured in various ways, with Tarragon, shalot, celery, and many other vinegars, herbs, spices, &c.

Mutton.

Almost every large city has a particular manner of cutting up, or, as it is called, dressing the carcase. In London this process is very simple, and as our butchers have found that much skewering back, doubling one part over another, or scoring the inner cuticle or fell, tends to spoil the meat and shorten the time it would otherwise keep, they avoid all such treatment entirely. The carcase when flayed (which operation is performed while yet warm), the sheep when hung up and the head removed, presents the profile shown in our cut; the small numerals indicating the parts or joints into which one-half of the animal is cut. After separating the hind from the fore quarters, with eleven ribs to the latter, the quarters are usually subdivided in the manner shown in the sketch, in which the several joints are defined by the intervening lines and figures. Hind quarter: No. 1, the leg; 2, the loin—the two, when cut in one piece, being called the saddle. Fore quarter: No. 3, the shoulder; 4 and 5 the neck; No. 5 being called, for distinction, the scrag, which is generally afterwards separated from 4, the lower and better joint; No. 6, the breast. The haunch of mutton, so often served at public dinners and special entertainments, comprises all the leg and so much of the loin, short of the ribs or lap, as is indicated on the upper part of the carcase by a dotted line.

Mutton, Baked Minced.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of any joint of cold roast mutton, 1 or 2 onions, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace or nutmeg, 1 teacupful of gravy, mashed potatoes. Mode.—Mince an onion rather fine, and fry it a light-brown colour; add the herbs and mutton, both of which should be also finely minced and well mixed; season with pepper and salt, and a little pounded mace or nutmeg, and moisten with the above proportion of gravy. Put a layer of mashed potatoes at the bottom of a dish, then the mutton, and then another layer of potatoes, and bake for about ½ hour. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—If there should be a large quantity of meat, use 2 onions instead of 1.

Mutton, Boiled Breast of, and Caper Sauce.

Ingredients.—Breast of mutton, bread-crumbs, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced savoury herbs (put a large proportion of parsley), pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Cut off the superfluous fat; bone the meat; sprinkle over a layer of bread-crumbs, minced herbs, and seasoning; roll, and bind it up firmly. Boil gently for 2 hours, remove the tape, and serve with caper sauce, a little of which should be poured over the meat. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 6d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable all the year.

Mutton, an excellent way to cook a Breast of.

Ingredients.—Breast of mutton, 2 onions, salt and pepper to taste, flour, a bunch of savoury herbs, green peas. Mode.—Cut the mutton into pieces about 2 inches square, and let it be tolerably lean; put it into a stewpan, with a little fat or butter, and fry it of a nice brown; then dredge in a little flour, slice the onions, and put it with the herbs in the stewpan; pour in sufficient water just to cover the meat, and simmer the whole gently until the mutton is tender. Take out the meat, strain, and skim off all the fat from the gravy, and put both the meat and gravy back into the stewpan; add about a quart of young green peas, and let them boil gently until done. 2 or 3 slices of bacon added and stewed with the mutton give additional flavour; and, to insure the peas being a beautiful green colour, they may be boiled in water separately, and added to the stew at the moment of serving. Time.—2½ hours. Average cost, 6d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from June to August.

Mutton, Broiled, and Tomato Sauce.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—A few slices of cold mutton, tomato sauce. Mode.—Cut some nice slices from a cold leg or shoulder of mutton; season them with pepper and salt, and broil over a clear fire. Make some tomato sauce, pour it over the mutton, and serve. This makes an excellent dish, and must be served very hot. Time.—About 5 minutes to broil the mutton. Seasonable in September and October, when tomatoes are plentiful and seasonable.

Mutton Broth, to Make.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of the scrag end of the neck of mutton, 1 onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, ½ turnip, 3 pints of water, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Put the mutton into a stewpan; pour over the water cold, and add the other ingredients. When it boils, skim it very carefully, cover the pan closely, and let it simmer very gently for an hour; strain it, let it cool, take off all the fat from the surface, and warm up as much as may be required, adding, if the patient be allowed to take it, a teaspoonful of minced parsley which has been previously scalded. Pearl barley or rice are very nice additions to mutton broth, and should be boiled as long as the other ingredients. When either of these is added, the broth must not be strained, but merely thoroughly skimmed. Plain mutton broth without seasoning is made by merely boiling the mutton, water, and salt together, straining it, letting the broth cool, skimming all the fat off, and warming up as much as is required. This preparation would be very tasteless and insipid, but likely to agree with very delicate stomachs, whereas the least addition of other ingredients would have the contrary effect. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 7d. Sufficient to make from 1½ to 2 pints of broth. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Veal broth may be made in the same manner; the knuckle of a leg or shoulder is the part usually used for this purpose. It is very good with the addition of the inferior joints of a fowl, or a few shank-bones.

Mutton Broth, to Make Quickly.

Ingredients.—1 or 2 chops from a neck of mutton, 1 pint of water, a small bunch of sweet herbs, ¼ of an onion, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Cut the meat into small pieces; put it into a saucepan with the bones, but no skin or fat; add the other ingredients; cover the saucepan, and bring the water quickly to boil. Take the lid off, and continue the rapid boiling for 20 minutes, skimming it well during the process; strain the broth into a basin; if there should be any fat left on the surface, remove it by laying a piece of thin paper on the top; the greasy particles will adhere to the paper, and so free the preparation from them. To an invalid nothing is more disagreeable than broth served with a quantity of fat floating on the top; to avoid this, it is always better to allow it to get thoroughly cool, the fat can then be so easily removed. Time.—20 minutes after the water boils. Average cost, 5d. Sufficient to make ½ pint of broth. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Haunch of, to Carve.

A deep cut should, in the first place, be made quite down to the bone, across the knuckle-end of the joint, along the line 1 to 2. This will let the gravy escape; and then it should be carved, in not too thick slices, along the whole length of the haunch, in the direction of the line from 4 to 3.

Mutton, Leg of, to Carve.

This homely, but capital English joint, is almost invariably served at table as shown in the engraving. The carving of it is not very difficult: the knife should be carried sharply down in the direction of the line from 1 to 2, and slices taken from either side, as the guests may desire, some liking the knuckle-end, as well done, and others preferring the more underdone part. The fat should be sought near the line 3 to 4. Some connoisseurs are fond of having this joint dished with the under-side uppermost, so as to get at the finely-grained meat lying under that part of the joint, known as the Pope’s eye; but this is an extravagant fashion, and one that will hardly find favour in the eyes of many economical British housewives and housekeepers.

Mutton, Loin of, to Carve.

There is one point in connection with carving a loin of mutton which includes every other; that is, that the joint should be thoroughly well jointed by the butcher before it is cooked. This knack of jointing requires practice and the proper tools; and no one but the butcher is supposed to have these. If the bones be not well jointed, the carving of a loin of mutton is not a gracious business; whereas, if that has been attended to, it is an easy and untroublesome task. The knife should be inserted at fig. 1, and after feeling your way between the bones, it should be carried sharply in the direction of the line 1 to 2. As there are some people who prefer the outside cut, while others do not like it, the question as to their choice of this should be asked.

Mutton, Saddle of, to Carve.

Although we have heard, at various intervals, growlings expressed at the inevitable “saddle of mutton” at the dinner-parties of our middle classes, yet we doubt whether any other joint is better liked, when it has been well hung and artistically cooked. There is a diversity of opinion respecting the mode of sending this joint to table; but it has only reference to whether or no there shall be any portion of the tail, or, if so, how many joints of the tail. Some trim the tail with a paper frill. The carving is not difficult: it is usually cut in the direction of the line from 2 to 1, quite down to the bones, in evenly-sliced pieces. A fashion, however, patronized by some, is to carve it obliquely, in the direction of the line from 4 to 3; in which case the joint would be turned round the other way, having the tail end on the right of the carver.

Mutton, Shoulder of, to Carve.

This is a joint not difficult to carve. The knife should be drawn from the outer edge of the shoulder in the direction of the line from 1 to 2, until the bone of the shoulder is reached. As many slices as can be carved in this manner should be taken, and afterwards the meat lying on each side of the blade-bone should be served, by carving in the direction of 3 to 4 and 5 to 6. The uppermost side of the shoulder being now finished, the joint should be turned, and slices taken off along its whole length. There are some who prefer this under-side of the shoulder for its juicy flesh, although the grain of the meat is not so fine as that on the other side.

Mutton Chops, Broiled.

Ingredients.—Loin of mutton, pepper and salt, a small piece of butter. Mode.—Cut the chops from a well-hung tender loin of mutton, remove a portion of the fat, and trim them into a nice shape; slightly beat and level them; place the gridiron over a bright clear fire, rub the bars with a little fat, and lay on the chops. Whilst broiling, frequently turn them, and in about 8 minutes they will be done. Season with pepper and salt, dish them on a very hot dish, rub a small piece of butter on each chop, and serve very hot and expeditiously. Time.—About 8 minutes. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient.—Allow 1 chop to each person. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton-Collops.

Ingredients.—A few slices of a cold leg or loin of mutton, salt and pepper to taste, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs minced very fine, 2 or 3 shalots, 2 or 3 oz. of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, ½ pint of gravy, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Mode.—Cut some very thin slices from a leg or the chump end of a loin of mutton; sprinkle them with pepper, salt, pounded mace, minced savoury herbs, and minced shalot; fry them in butter, stir in a dessertspoonful of flour, add the gravy and lemon-juice, simmer very gently about 5 or 7 minutes, and serve immediately. Time.—5 to 7 minutes. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 6d. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Curried.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of any joint of cold mutton, 2 onions, ¼ lb. of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of curry-powder, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, salt to taste, ¼ pint of stock or water. Mode.—Slice the onions in thin rings, and put them into a stewpan with the butter, and fry of a light brown; stir in the curry-powder, flour, and salt, and mix all together. Cut the meat into nice thin slices (if there is not sufficient to do this, it may be minced), and add it to the other ingredients; when well browned, add the stock or gravy, and stew gently for about ½ hour. Serve in a dish with a border of boiled rice, the same as for other curries. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 6d. Seasonable in winter.

Mutton Cutlets, with Mashed Potatoes.

Ingredients.—About 3 lbs. of the best end of the neck of mutton, salt and pepper to taste, mashed potatoes. Mode.—Procure a well-hung neck of mutton, saw off about 3 inches of the top of the bones, and cut the cutlets of a moderate thickness. Shape them by chopping off the thick part of the chine-bone; beat them flat with a cutlet-chopper, and scrape quite clean, a portion of the top of the bone. Broil them over a nice clear fire for about 7 or 8 minutes, and turn them frequently. Have ready some smoothly-mashed white potatoes; place these in the middle of the dish; when the cutlets are done, season with pepper and salt; arrange them round the potatoes, with the thick end of the cutlets downwards, and serve very hot and quickly. Time.—7 or 8 minutes. Average cost, for this quantity, 2s. 4d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Cutlets may be served in various ways; with peas, tomatoes, onions, sauce piquant, &c.

Mutton, Braised Fillet of, with French Beans.

Ingredients.—The chump end of a loin of mutton, buttered paper, French beans, a little glaze, 1 pint of gravy. Mode.—Roll up the mutton in a piece of buttered paper, roast it for 2 hours, and do not allow it to acquire the least colour. Have ready some French beans, boiled, and drained on a sieve; remove the paper from the mutton, glaze it; just heat up the beans in the gravy, and lay them on the dish with the meat over them. The remainder of the gravy may be strained, and sent to table in a tureen. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 8½d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Haricot.

Ingredients.—4 lbs. of the middle or best end of the neck of mutton, 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 3 onions, pepper and salt to taste, 1 tablespoonful of ketchup or Harvey’s sauce. Mode.—Trim off some of the fat, cut the mutton into rather thin chops, and put them into a frying-pan with the fat trimmings. Fry of a pale brown, but do not cook them enough for eating. Cut the carrots and turnips into dice, and the onions into slices, and slightly fry them in the same fat that the mutton was browned in, but do not allow them to take any colour. Now lay the mutton at the bottom of a stewpan, then the vegetables, and pour over them just sufficient boiling water to cover the whole. Give the boil, skim well, and then set the pan on the side of the fire to simmer gently until the meat is tender. Skim off every particle of fat, add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and a little ketchup, and serve. This dish is very much better if made the day before it is wanted for table, as the fat can be so much more easily removed when the gravy is cold. This should be particularly attended to, as it is apt to be rich and greasy if eaten the same day it is made. It should be served in rather a deep dish. Time.—2½ hours to simmer gently. Average cost, for this quantity, 3s. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Haricot.

Ingredients.—Breast or scrag of mutton, flour, pepper, and salt to taste, 1 large onion, 3 cloves, a bunch of savoury herbs, 1 blade of mace, carrots and turnips, sugar. Mode.—Cut the mutton into square pieces, and fry them a nice colour; then dredge over them a little flour and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Put all into a stewpan, and moisten with boiling water, adding the onion, stuck with 3 cloves, the mace, and herbs. Simmer gently till the meat is done, skim off all the fat, and then add the carrots and turnips, which should be previously cut in dice and fried in a little sugar to colour them. Let the whole simmer again for 10 minutes; take out the onion and bunch of herbs, and serve. Time.—About 3 hours to simmer. Average cost, 6d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Haricot.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of cold neck or loin of mutton, 2 oz. of butter, 3 onions, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, ½ pint of good gravy, pepper and salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of port wine, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 1 head of celery. Mode.—Cut the cold mutton into moderate-sized chops, and take off the fat; slice the onions, and fry them with the chops, in a little butter, of a nice brown colour; stir in the flour, add the gravy, and let it stew gently nearly an hour. In the mean time boil the vegetables until nearly tender, slice them, and add them to the mutton about ¼ hour before it is to be served. Season with pepper and salt, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, and serve. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 6d. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Hashed.

Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast shoulder or leg of mutton, 6 whole peppers, 6 whole allspice, a faggot of savoury herbs, ½ head of celery, 1 onion, 2 oz. of butter, flour. Mode.—Cut the meat in nice even slices from the bones, trimming off all superfluous fat and gristle; chop the bones and fragments of the joints, put them into a stewpan with the pepper, spice, herbs, and celery; cover with water, and simmer for 1 hour. Slice and fry the onion of a nice pale-brown colour, dredge in a little flour to make it thick, and add this to the bones, &c. Stew for ¼ hour, strain the gravy, and let it cool; then skim off every particle of fat, and put it, with the meat, into a stewpan. Flavour with ketchup, Harvey’s sauce, tomato sauce, or any flavouring that may be preferred, and let the meat gradually warm through, but not boil, or it will harden. To hash meat properly, it should be laid in cold gravy, and only left on the fire just long enough to warm through. Time.—1½ hour to simmer the gravy. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Roast Haunch of.

Ingredients.—Haunch of mutton, a little salt, flour. Mode.—Let this joint hang as long as possible without becoming tainted, and while hanging dust flour over it, which keeps off the flies, and prevents the air from getting to it. If not well hung, the joint, when it comes to table, will do credit neither to the butcher nor the cook, as it will not be tender. Wash the outside well, lest it should have a bad flavour from keeping; then flour it and put it down to a nice brisk fire, at some distance, so that it may gradually warm through. Keep continually basting, and about ½ hour before it is served, draw it nearer to the fire to get nicely brown. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, pour off the dripping, add a little boiling water slightly salted, and strain this over the joint. Place a paper ruche on the bone, and send red-currant jelly and gravy in a tureen to table with it. Time.—About 4 hours. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 8 to 10 persons. Seasonable.—In best season from September to March.

Mutton, Boiled Leg of.

Ingredients.—Mutton, water, salt. Mode.—A leg of mutton for boiling should not hang too long, as it will not look a good colour when dressed. Cut off the shank-bone, trim the knuckle, and wash and wipe it very clean; plunge it into sufficient boiling water to cover it; let it boil up, then draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, where it should remain till the finger can be borne in the water. Then place it sufficiently near the fire, that the water may gently simmer, and be very careful that it does not boil fast, or the meat will be hard. Skim well, add a little salt, and in about 2¼ hours after the water begins to simmer, a moderate-sized leg of mutton will be done. Serve with carrots and mashed turnips, which may be boiled with the meat, and send caper sauce to table with it in a tureen. Time.—A moderate-sized leg of mutton of 9 lbs., 2¼ hours after the water boils; one of 12 lbs., 3 hours. Average cost, 8½d. per lb. Sufficient.—A moderate-sized leg of mutton for 6 or 8 persons. Seasonable nearly all the year, but not so good in June, July, and August.

Note.—When meat is liked very thoroughly cooked, allow more time than stated above. The liquor this joint was boiled in should be converted into soup.

Mutton, Boned Leg of, Stuffed.

Ingredients.—A small leg of mutton, weighing 6 or 7 lbs., forcemeat, 2 shalots finely minced. Mode.—Make a forcemeat, to which add 2 finely-minced shalots. Bone the leg of mutton, without spoiling the skin, and cut off a great deal of the fat. Fill the hole up whence the bone was taken with the forcemeat, and sew it up underneath, to prevent its falling out. Bind and tie it up compactly, and roast it before a nice clear fire for about 2½ hours or rather longer; remove the tape and send it to table with a good gravy. It may be glazed or not, as preferred. Time.—2½ hours, or rather longer. Average cost, 4s. 8d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Braised Leg of.