The Dictionary of Cookery (part 4)

Ingredients.—1 small leg of mutton, 4 carrots, 3 onions, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, a bunch of parsley, seasoning to taste of pepper and salt, a few slices of bacon, a few veal trimmings, ½ pint of gravy or water. Mode.—Line the bottom of a braising-pan with a few slices of bacon, put in the carrots, onions, herbs, parsley, and seasoning, and over these place the mutton. Cover the whole with a few more slices of bacon and the veal trimmings, pour in the gravy or water, and stew very gently for 4 hours. Strain the gravy, reduce it to a glaze over a sharp fire, glaze the mutton with it, and send it to table, placed on a dish of white haricot beans boiled tender, or garnished with glazed onions. Time.—4 hours. Average cost, 5s. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Roast Leg of.

Ingredients.—Leg of mutton, a little salt. Mode.—As mutton, when freshly killed, is never tender, hang it almost as long as it will keep; flour it, and put it in a cool airy place for a few days, if the weather will permit. Wash off the flour, wipe it very dry, and cut off the shank-bone; put it down to a brisk clear fire, dredge with flour, and keep continually basting the whole time it is cooking. About 20 minutes before serving, draw it near the fire to get nicely brown; sprinkle over it a little salt, dish the meat, pour off the dripping, add some boiling water slightly salted, strain it over the joint, and serve. Time.—A leg of mutton weighing 10 lbs., about 2¼ or 2½ hours; one of 7 lbs., about 2 hours, or rather less. Average cost, 8½d. per lb. Sufficient.—A moderate-sized leg of mutton sufficient for 6 or 8 persons. Seasonable at any time, but not so good in June, July, and August.

Mutton, Roast Loin of.

Ingredients.—Loin of mutton, a little salt. Mode.—Cut and trim off the superfluous fat, and see that the butcher joints the meat properly, as thereby much annoyance is saved to the carver, when it comes to table. Have ready a nice clear fire (it need not be a very wide large one), put down the meat, dredge with flour, and baste well until it is done. Make the gravy as for roast leg of mutton, and serve very hot. Time.—A loin of mutton weighing 6 lbs., 1½ hour, or rather longer. Average cost, 8½d, per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Rolled loin of (very Excellent).

Ingredients.—About 6 lbs. of a loin of mutton, ½ teaspoonful of pepper, ¼ teaspoonful of pounded allspice, ¼ teaspoonful of mace, ¼ teaspoonful of nutmeg, 6 cloves, forcemeat, 1 glass of port wine, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup. Mode.—Hang the mutton till tender, bone it, and sprinkle over it pepper, mace, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in the above proportion, all of which must be pounded very fine. Let it remain for a day, then make a forcemeat, cover the meat with it, and roll and bind it up firmly. Half bake it in a slow oven, let it grow cold, take off the fat, and put the gravy into a stewpan; flour the meat, put it in the gravy, and stew it till perfectly tender. Now take out the meat, unbind it, add to the gravy wine and ketchup as above, give one boil, and pour over the meat. Serve with red-currant jelly; and, if obtainable, a few mushrooms stewed for a few minutes in the gravy, will be found a great improvement. Time.—1½ hour to bake the meat, 1½ hour to stew gently. Average cost, 4s. 9d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—This joint will be found very nice if rolled and stuffed, as here directed, and plainly roasted. It should be well basted, and served with a good gravy and currant jelly.

Mutton, Boiled Neck of.

Ingredients.—4 lbs. of the middle, or best end of the neck of mutton; a little salt. Mode.—Trim off a portion of the fat, should there be too much, and if it is to look particularly nice, the chine-bone should be sawn down, the ribs stripped half-way down, and the ends of the bones chopped off; this is, however, not necessary. Put the meat into sufficient boiling water to cover it; when it boils, add a little salt and remove all the scum. Draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and let the water get so cool that the finger may be borne in it; then simmer very slowly and gently until the meat is done, which will be in about 1½ hour, or rather more, reckoning from the time that it begins to simmer. Serve with turnips and caper sauce, and pour a little of it over the meat. The turnips should be boiled with the mutton; and when at hand, a few carrots will also be found an improvement. These, however, if very large and thick, must be cut into long thinnish pieces, or they will not be sufficiently done by the time the mutton is ready. Garnish the dish with carrots and turnips, placed alternately round the mutton. Time.—4 lbs. of the neck of mutton, about 1½ hour. Average cost, 8½d. per lb. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton, Ragoût of Cold Neck of.

[cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of a cold neck or loin of mutton, 2 oz. of butter, a little flour, 2 onions sliced, ½ pint of water, 2 small carrots, 2 turnips, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Cut the mutton into small chops, and trim off the greater portion of the fat; put the butter into a stewpan, dredge in a little flour, add the sliced onions, and keep stirring till brown; then put in the meat. When this is quite brown, add the water, and the carrots and turnips, which should be cut into very thin slices; season with pepper and salt, and stew till quite tender, which will be in about ¾ hour. When in season, green peas may be substituted for the carrots and turnips: they should be piled in the centre of the dish, and the chops laid round. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d. Seasonable, with peas, from June to August.

Mutton, Roast Neck of.

Ingredients.—Neck of mutton; a little salt. Mode.—For roasting, choose the middle, or the best end, of the neck of mutton, and if there is a very large proportion of fat, trim off some of it, and save it for making into suet puddings, which will be found exceedingly good. Let the bones be cut short, and see that it is properly jointed before it is laid down to the fire, as they will be more easily separated when they come to table. Place the joint at a nice brisk fire, dredge it with flour, and keep continually basting until done. A few minutes before serving, draw it nearer the fire to acquire a nice colour, sprinkle over it a little salt, pour off the dripping, add a little boiling water slightly salted; strain this over the meat and serve. Red-currant jelly may be sent to table with it. Time.—4 lbs. of the neck of mutton, rather more than 1 hour. Average cost, 8½d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton Pie.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of a cold leg, loin, or neck of mutton, pepper and salt to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1 dessertspoonful of chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful of minced savoury herbs; when liked, a little minced onion or shalot; 3 or 4 potatoes, 1 teacupful of gravy; crust. Mode.—Cold mutton may be made into very good pies if well seasoned and mixed with a few herbs; if the leg is used, cut it into very thin slices; if the loin or neck, into thin cutlets. Place some at the bottom of the dish; season well with pepper, salt, mace, parsley, and herbs; then put a layer of potatoes sliced, then more mutton, and so on till the dish is full; add the gravy, cover with a crust, and bake for 1 hour. Time.—1 hour. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—The remains of an underdone leg of mutton may be converted into a very good family pudding, by cutting the meat into slices, and putting them into a basin lined with a suet crust. It should be seasoned well with pepper, salt, and minced shalot, covered with a crust, and boiled for about three hours.

Mutton Pie.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of the neck or loin of mutton, weighed after being boned; 2 kidneys, pepper and salt to taste, 2 teacupfuls of gravy or water, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley; when liked, a little minced onion or shalot; puff crust. Mode.—Bone the mutton, and cut the meat into steaks all of the same thickness, and leave but very little fat. Cut up the kidneys, and arrange these with the meat neatly in a pie-dish; sprinkle over them the minced parsley and a seasoning of pepper and salt; pour in the gravy, and cover with a tolerably good puff crust. Bake for 1½ hour, or rather longer, should the pie be very large, and let the oven be rather brisk. A well-made suet crust may be used instead of puff crust, and will be found exceedingly good. Time.—1½ hour, or rather longer. Average cost, 2s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Mutton Pudding.

Ingredients.—About 2 lbs. of the chump end of the loin of mutton, weighed after being boned; pepper and salt to taste, suet crust made with milk, in the proportion of 6 oz. of suet to each pound of flour; a very small quantity of minced onion (this may be omitted when the flavour is not liked). Mode.—Cut the meat into rather thin slices, and season them with pepper and salt; line the pudding-dish with crust; lay in the meat, and nearly, but do not quite, fill it up with water; when the flavour is liked, add a small quantity of minced onion; cover with crust, and proceed in the same manner as directed in recipe for rump steak and kidney pudding. Time.—About 3 hours. Average cost, 1s. 9d. Sufficient for 6 persons. Seasonable all the year, but more suitable in winter.

Mutton, Roast Saddle of.

Ingredients.—Saddle of mutton; a little salt. Mode.—To insure this joint being tender, let it hang for ten days or a fortnight, if the weather permits. Cut off the tail and flaps, and trim away every part that has not indisputable pretensions to be eaten, and have the skin taken off and skewered on again. Put it down to a bright, clear fire, and, when the joint has been cooking for an hour, remove the skin and dredge it with flour. It should not be placed too near the fire, as the fat should not be in the slightest degree burnt, but kept constantly basted, both before and after the skin is removed. Sprinkle some salt over the joint; make a little gravy in the dripping-pan; pour it over the meat, which send to table with a tureen of made gravy and red-currant jelly. Time.—A saddle of mutton weighing 10 lbs., 2½ hours; 14 lbs., 3¼ hours. When liked underdone, allow rather less time. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient.—A moderate-sized saddle of 10 lbs. for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable all the year; not so good when lamb is in full season.

Mutton, Roast Shoulder of.

Ingredients.—Shoulder of mutton; a little salt. Mode.—Put the joint down to a bright, clear fire; flour it well, and keep continually basting. About ¼ hour before serving, draw it near the fire, that the outside may acquire a nice brown colour, but not sufficiently near to blacken the fat. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, empty the dripping-pan of its contents, pour in a little boiling water slightly salted, and strain this over the joint. Onion sauce, or stewed Spanish onions, are usually sent to table with this dish, and sometimes baked potatoes. Time.—A shoulder of mutton weighing 6 or 7 lbs., 1½ hour. Average cost, 8d. per lb. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—Shoulder of mutton may be dressed in a variety of ways; boiled, and served with onion sauce; boned, and stuffed with a good veal forcemeat; or baked, with sliced potatoes in the dripping-pan.

Mutton Soup, Good.

Ingredients.—A neck of mutton about 5 or 6 lbs., 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 2 onions, a large bunch of sweet herbs, including parsley; salt and pepper to taste; a little sherry, if liked; 3 quarts of water. Mode.—Lay the ingredients in a covered pan before the fire, and let them remain there the whole day, stirring occasionally. The next day put the whole into a stewpan, and place it on a brisk fire. When it commences to boil, take the pan off the fire, and put it on one side to simmer until the meat is done. When ready for use, take out the meat, dish it up with carrots and turnips, and send it to table; strain the soup, let it cool, skim off all the fat, season and thicken it with a tablespoonful, or rather more, of arrowroot; flavour with a little sherry, simmer for 5 minutes, and serve. Time.—15 hours. Average cost, including the meat, 1s. 3d. per quart. Seasonable at any time. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Nasturtiums, Pickled (a very good Substitute for Capers).

Ingredients.—To each pint of vinegar, 1 oz. of salt, 6 peppercorns, nasturtiums. Mode.—Gather the nasturtium pods on a dry day, and wipe them clean with a cloth; put them in a dry glass bottle, with vinegar, salt, and pepper, in the above proportion. If you cannot find enough ripe to fill a bottle, cork up what you have got until you have some more fit; they may be added from day to day. Bung up the bottles, and seal or rosin the tops. They will be fit for use in 10 or 12 months; and the best way is to make them one season for the next. Seasonable.—Look for nasturtium-pods from the end of July to the end of August.

Nectarines, Preserved.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of sugar allow ¼ pint of water; nectarines. Mode.—Divide the nectarines in two, take out the stones, and make a strong syrup with sugar and water in the above proportion. Put in the nectarines, and boil them until they have thoroughly imbibed the sugar. Keep the fruit as whole as possible, and turn it carefully into a pan. The next day boil it again for a few minutes, take out the nectarines, put them into jars, boil the syrup quickly for five minutes, pour it over the fruit, and, when cold, cover the preserve down. The syrup and preserve must be carefully skimmed, or it will not be clear. Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar and water; 20 minutes to boil the fruit the first time, 10 minutes the second time; 5 minutes to boil the syrup. Seasonable in August and September, but cheapest in September.

Nectar, Welsh.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of raisins, 3 lemons, 2 lbs. of loaf sugar, 2 gallons of boiling water. Mode.—Cut the peel of the lemons very thin, pour upon it the boiling water, and, when cool, add the strained juice of the lemons, the sugar, and the raisins, stoned and chopped very fine. Let it stand 4 or 5 days, stirring it every day; then strain it through a jelly-bag, and bottle it for present use. Time.—4 or 5 days. Average cost, 1s. 9d. Sufficient to make 2 gallons.

Negus, to make.

Ingredients.—To every pint of port wine allow 1 quart of boiling water, ¼ lb. of sugar, 1 lemon, grated nutmeg to taste. Mode.—As this beverage is more usually drunk at children’s parties than at any other, the wine need not be very old or expensive for the purpose, a new fruity wine answering very well for it. Put the wine into a jug, rub some lumps of sugar (equal to ¼ lb.) on the lemon-rind until all the yellow part of the skin is absorbed, then squeeze the juice, and strain it. Add the sugar and lemon-juice to the port-wine, with the grated nutmeg; pour over it the boiling water, cover the jug, and, when the beverage has cooled a little, it will be fit for use. Negus may also be made of sherry, or any other sweet white wine, but is more usually made of port than of any other beverage. Sufficient.—Allow 1 pint of wine, with the other ingredients in proportion, for a party of 9 or 10 children.

November—Bills of Fare.

Dinner for 18 persons.

First Course.

Thick Grouse Soup, removed by Crimped Cod and Oyster Sauce. Baked Whitings. Vase of Flowers. Fried Smelts. Clear Ox-tail Soup, removed by Fillets of Turbot à la Crême.

Entrées.

Poulet à la Marengo. Fillets of Leveret. Vase of Flowers. Ragoût of Lobster. Mushrooms sautés.

Second Course.

Haunch of Mutton. Cold Game Pie. Lark Pudding. Vase of Flowers. Roast Fowls. Boiled Ham. Boiled Turkey and Celery Sauce.

Third Course.

Dessert and Ices.

Apple Tart. Partridges, removed by Plum-pudding. Shell-Fish. Wine Jelly. Pommes à la Condé. Vase of Flowers. Vol-au-Vent of Pears. Blancmange. Prawns. Snipes, removed by Charlotte glacée. Apricot Tartlets.

Dinner for 12 persons.

First Course.—Hare soup; Julienne soup; baked cod; soles à la Normandie. Entrées.—Riz de veau aux tomates; lobster patties; mutton cutlets and Soubise sauce; croûtades of marrow aux fines herbes. Second Course.—Roast sirloin of beef; braised goose; boiled fowls and celery sauce; bacon-cheek, garnished with sprouts. Third Course.—Wild ducks; partridges; apples à la Portugaise; Bavarian cream; apricot-jam sandwiches; cheesecakes; Charlotte à la vanille; plum-pudding; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

First Course.—Mulligatawny soup; fried slices of codfish and oyster sauce; eels en matelote. Entrées.—Broiled pork cutlets and tomato sauce; tendrons de veau à la jardinière. Second Course.—Boiled leg of mutton and vegetables; roast goose; cold game pie. Third Course.—Snipes; teal; apple soufflé; iced Charlotte; tartlets; champagne jelly; coffee cream; mince pies; dessert and ices.

Dinners for 6 persons.

First Course.—Oyster soup; crimped cod and oyster sauce; fried perch and Dutch sauce. Entrées.—Pigs’ feet à la Béchamel; curried rabbit. Second Course.—Roast sucking-pig; boiled fowls and oyster sauce; vegetables. Third Course.—Jugged hare; meringues à la crême; apple custard; vol-au-vent of pears; whipped cream; cabinet pudding; dessert.

First Course.—Game soup; slices of codfish and Dutch sauce; fried eels. Entrées.—Kidneys à la Maître d’Hôtel; oyster patties. Second Course.—Saddle of mutton; boiled capon and rice; small ham; lark pudding. Third Course.—Roast hare; apple tart; pineapple cream; clear jelly; cheesecakes; marrow pudding; Nesselrode pudding; dessert.

November, Plain Family Dinners for.

Sunday.—1. White soup. 2. Roast haunch of mutton, haricot beans, potatoes. 3. Apple tart, ginger pudding.

Monday.—1. Stewed eels. 2. Veal cutlets garnished with rolled bacon; cold mutton and winter salad. 3. Baked rice pudding.

Tuesday.—1. Roast fowls, garnished with water-cresses; boiled bacon-cheek; hashed mutton from remains of haunch. 2. Apple pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Boiled leg of pork, carrots, parsnips, and pease-pudding; fowl croquettes made with remainder of cold fowl. 2. Baroness pudding.

Thursday.—1. Cold pork and mashed potatoes; roast partridges, bread sauce and gravy. 2. The remainder of the pudding cut into neat slices, and warmed through, and served with sifted sugar sprinkled over; apple fritters.

Friday.—1. Roast hare, gravy, and currant jelly; rump-steak and oyster-sauce; vegetables. 2. Macaroni.

Saturday.—1. Jugged hare; small mutton pudding. 2. Fig pudding.

Sunday.—1. Crimped cod and oyster sauce. 2. Roast fowls, small boiled ham, vegetables; rump-steak pie. 3. Baked apple pudding, open jam tart.

Monday.—1. The remainder of cod warmed in maître d’hôtel sauce. 2. Boiled aitchbone of beef, carrots, parsnips, suet dumplings. 3. Baked bread-and-butter pudding.

Tuesday.—1. Pea-soup made from liquor in which beef was boiled. 2. Cold beef, mashed potatoes; mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. 3. Carrot pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Fried soles, melted butter. 2. Roast leg of pork, apple sauce, vegetables. 3. Macaroni with Parmesan cheese.

Thursday.—1. Bubble-and-squeak from remains of cold beef; curried pork. 2. Baked Semolina pudding.

Friday.—1. Roast leg of mutton, stewed Spanish onions, potatoes. 2. Apple tart.

Saturday.—1. Hashed mutton; boiled rabbit and onion sauce; vegetables. 2. Damson pudding made with bottled fruit.

November, Things in Season.

Fish.—Brill, carp, cod, crabs, eels, gudgeons, haddocks, oysters, pike, soles, tench, turbot, whiting.

Meat.—Beef, mutton, veal, doe venison.

Poultry.—Chickens, fowls, geese, larks, pigeons, pullets, rabbits, teal, turkeys, widgeons, wild-duck.

Game.—Hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes, woodcocks.

Vegetables.—Beetroot, cabbages, carrots, celery, lettuces, late cucumbers, onions, potatoes, salading, spinach, sprouts—various herbs.

Fruit.—Apples, bullaces, chestnuts, filberts, grapes, pears, walnuts.

November—Bills of Fare for a Game Dinner.

Dinner for 30 persons.

First Course.

Hare Soup. Purée of Grouse. Vase of Flowers. Pheasant Soup. Soup à la Reine.

Entrées.

Fillets of Hare en Chevreuil. Salmi of Widgeon. Salmi of Woodcock. Perdrix au Choux. Lark Pudding. Vase of Flowers. Game Patties. Curried Rabbits. Salmi of Woodcock. Salmi of Widgeon. Fillet of Pheasant and Truffles.

Second Course.

Larded Pheasants. Leveret, larded and stuffed. Cold Pheasant Pie à la Perigord. Vase of Flowers. Hot raised Pie of mixed Game. Grouse. Larded Partridges.

Third Course.

Pintails. Quails. Snipes. Ortolans. Vase of Flowers. Golden Plovers. Widgeon. Teal. Wild Duck. Snipes. Woodcocks.

Entremets and Removes.

Boudin à la Nesselrode. Apricot Tart. Dantzic Jelly. Maids of Honour. Vol-au-Vent of Pears. Vase of Flowers. Gâteau Génoise Glacé. Charlotte Russe. Maids of Honour. Compôte of Apples. Plum-pudding.

Dessert.

Strawberry-Ice Cream. Olives. Figs. Pineapples. Preserved Cherries. Dried Fruit. Grapes. Filberts. Wafers. Pears. Walnuts. Biscuits. Vase of Flowers. Ginger-Ice Cream. Orange-Water Ice. Apples. Dried Fruit. Preserved Cherries. Grapes. Pears. Figs. Olives. Lemon-Water Ice.

Noyeau Cream.

Ingredients.—1½ oz. of isinglass, the juice of 2 lemons, noyeau and pounded sugar to taste, 1½ pint of cream. Mode.—Dissolve the isinglass in a little boiling water, add the lemon-juice, and strain this to the cream, putting in sufficient noyeau and sugar to flavour and sweeten the mixture nicely; whisk the cream well, put it into an oiled mould, and set the mould in ice or in a cool place; turn it out, and garnish the dish to taste. Time.—Altogether, ½ hour. Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint and the best isinglass, 4s. Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable at any time.

Noyeau, Home-made.

Ingredients.—2 oz. of bitter almonds, 1 oz. of sweet ditto, 1 lb. of loaf sugar, the rinds of 3 lemons, 1 quart of Irish whiskey or gin, 1 tablespoonful of clarified honey, ½ pint of new milk. Mode.—Blanch and pound the almonds, and mix with them the sugar, which should also be pounded. Boil the milk; let it stand till quite cold; then mix all the ingredients together, and let them remain for 10 days, shaking them every day. Filter the mixture through blotting-paper, bottle off for use in small bottles, and seal the corks down. This will be found useful for flavouring many sweet dishes. A tablespoonful of the above noyeau, added to a pint of boiled custard instead of brandy as given in our recipe for custard, makes an exceedingly agreeable and delicate flavour. Average cost, 2s. 9d. Sufficient to make about 2½ pints of noyeau. Seasonable.—May be made at any time.

October—Bills of Fare.

Dinner for 18 persons.

First Course.

Mock-Turtle Soup, removed by Crimped Cod and Oyster Sauce. Soles à la Normandie. Vase of Flowers. Red Mullet. Julienne Soup, removed by John Dory and Dutch Sauce.

Entrées.

Sweetbreads and Tomato Sauce. Oyster Patties. Vase of Flowers. Stewed Mushrooms. Fricandeau de Veau and Celery Sauce.

Second Course.

Roast Saddle of Mutton. Grouse Pie. Roast Goose. Vase of Flowers. Boiled Fowls and Oyster Sauce. Ham. Larded Turkey.

Third Course.

Dessert and Ices.

Custards. Pheasants, removed by Cabinet Pudding. Prawns. Italian Cream. Gâteau de Pommes. Vase of Flowers. Compôte of Plums. Lobster Salad. Peach Jelly. Apple Tart. Roast Hare, removed by Iced Pudding.

Dinner for 12 persons.

First Course.—Carrot soup à la Crécy; soup à la Reine; baked cod; stewed eels. Entrées.—Riz de Veau and tomato sauce; vol-au-vent of chicken; pork cutlets and sauce Robert; grilled mushrooms. Second Course.—Rump of beef à la jardinière; roast goose; boiled fowls and celery sauce; tongue, garnished; vegetables. Third Course.—Grouse; pheasants; quince jelly; lemon cream; apple tart; compôte of peaches; Nesselrode pudding; cabinet pudding; scalloped oysters; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

First Course.—Calf’s-head soup; crimped cod and oyster sauce; stewed eels. Entrées.—Stewed mutton kidneys; curried sweetbreads. Second Course.—Boiled leg of mutton, garnished with carrots and turnips; roast goose. Third Course.—Partridges; fruit jelly; Italian cream; vol-au-vent of pears; apple tart; cabinet pudding; dessert and ices.

Dinners for 6 persons.

First Course.—Hare soup; broiled cod à la Maître d’Hôtel. Haddocks and egg sauce. Entrées.—Veal cutlets, garnished with French beans; haricot mutton. Second Course.—Roast haunch of mutton; boiled capon and rice; vegetables. Third Course.—Pheasants; punch jelly; blancmange; apples à la Portugaise; Charlotte à la Vanille; marrow pudding; dessert.

First Course.—Mock-turtle soup; brill and lobster sauce; fried whitings. Entrées.—Fowl à la Béchamel; oyster patties. Second Course.—Roast sucking-pig; stewed rump of beef à la jardinière; vegetables. Third Course.—Grouse; Charlotte aux pommes; coffee cream; cheesecakes; apricot tart; iced pudding; dessert.

October, Plain Family Dinners for.

Sunday.—1. Roast sucking-pig, tomato sauce and brain sauce; small boiled leg of mutton, caper sauce, turnips, and carrots. 2. Damson tart, boiled batter pudding.

Monday.—1. Vegetable soup, made from liquor that mutton was boiled in. 2. Sucking-pig en blanquette, small meat pie, French beans, and potatoes. 3. Pudding, pies.

Tuesday.—1. Roast partridges, bread sauce, and gravy; slices of mutton warmed in caper sauce; vegetables. 2. Baked plum-pudding.

Wednesday.—1. Roast ribs of beef, Yorkshire pudding, vegetable marrow, and potatoes. 2. Damson pudding.

Thursday.—1. Fried soles, melted butter. 2. Cold beef and salad; mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. 3. Macaroni.

Friday.—1. Carrot soup. 2. Boiled fowls and celery sauce; bacon-cheek, garnished with greens; beef rissoles, from remains of cold beef. 3. Baroness pudding.

Saturday.—1. Curried fowl, from remains of cold ditto; dish of rice, rump-steak-and-kidney pudding, vegetables. 2. Stewed pears and sponge-cakes.

Sunday.—1. Crimped cod and oyster sauce. 2. Roast haunch of mutton, brown onion sauce, and vegetables. 3. Bullace pudding, baked custards in cups.

Monday.—1. The remains of codfish, flaked, and warmed in a maître d’hôtel sauce. 2. Cold mutton and salad, veal cutlets and rolled bacon, French beans and potatoes. 3. Arrowroot blancmange and stewed damsons.

Tuesday.—1. Roast hare, gravy, and red-currant jelly; hashed mutton, vegetables. 2. Currant dumplings.

Wednesday.—1. Jugged hare, from remains of roast ditto; boiled knuckle of veal and rice; boiled bacon cheek. 2. Apple pudding.

Thursday.—1. Roast leg of pork, apple sauce, greens, and potatoes. 2. Rice snowballs.

Friday.—1. Slices of pork, broiled, and tomato sauce, mashed potatoes; roast pheasants, bread sauce, and gravy. 2. Baked apple pudding.

Saturday.—1. Rump-steak pie, sweetbreads. 2. Ginger pudding.

October, Things in Season.

Fish.—Barbel, brill, cod, crabs, eels, flounders, gudgeons, haddocks, lobsters, mullet, oysters, plaice, prawns, skate, soles, tench, turbot, whiting.

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

Poultry.—Chickens, fowls, geese, larks, pigeons, pullets, rabbits, teal, turkeys, widgeons, wild ducks.

Game.—Black-cock, grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipes, woodcocks, doe venison.

Vegetables.—Artichokes, beets, cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, celery, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, sprouts, tomatoes, turnips, vegetable marrows,—various herbs.

Fruit.—Apples, black and white bullaces, damsons, figs, filberts, grapes, pears, quinces, walnuts.

Omelet.

Ingredients.—6 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt, ½ saltspoonful of pepper, ¼ lb. of butter. Mode.—Break the eggs into a basin, omitting the whites of 3, and beat them up with the salt and pepper until extremely light; then add 2 oz. of the butter broken into small pieces, and stir this into the mixture. Put the other 2 oz. of butter into a frying-pan, make it quite hot, and, as soon as it begins to bubble, whisk the eggs, &c., very briskly for a minute or two, and pour them into the pan; stir the omelet with a spoon one way until the mixture thickens and becomes firm, and when the whole is set, fold the edges over, so that the omelet assumes an oval form; and when it is nicely brown on one side, and quite firm, it is done. To take off the rawness on the upper side, hold the pan before the fire for a minute or two, and brown it with a salamander or hot shovel. Serve very expeditiously on a very hot dish, and never cook until it is just wanted. The flavour of this omelet may be very much enhanced by adding minced parsley, minced onion or eschalot, or grated cheese, allowing 1 tablespoonful of the former, and half the quantity of the latter, to the above proportion of eggs. Shrimps or oysters may also be added: the latter should be scalded in their liquor, and then bearded and cut into small pieces. In making an omelet, be particularly careful that it is not too thin, and, to avoid this, do not make it in too large a frying-pan, as the mixture would then spread too much, and taste of the outside. It should also not be greasy, burnt, or too much done, and should be cooked over a gentle fire, that the whole of the substance may be heated without drying up the outside. Omelets are sometimes served with gravy; but this should never be poured over them, but served in a tureen, as the liquid causes the omelet to become heavy and flat, instead of eating light and soft. In making the gravy, the flavour should not overpower that of the omelet, and should be thickened with arrowroot or rice flour. Time.—With 6 eggs, in a frying-pan 18 or 20 inches round, 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Omelet, The Cure’s, or Omelette au Thon.

Ingredients.—Take for 6 persons, the roes of 2 carp; bleach them, by putting them, for 5 minutes, in boiling water slightly salted; a piece of fresh tunny the size of a hen’s egg, to which add a small shalot already chopped; hash up together the roe and the tunny, so as to mix them well, and throw the whole into a saucepan, with a sufficient quantity of very good butter: whip it up until the butter is melted! This constitutes the specialty of the omelet. Take a second piece of butter, à discrétion, mix it with parsley and herbs, place it in a long-shaped dish destined to receive the omelet; squeeze the juice of a lemon over it, and place it on hot embers. Beat up 12 eggs (the fresher the better); throw up the sauté of roe and tunny, stirring it so as to mix all well together; then make your omelet in the usual manner, endeavouring to turn it out long, thick, and soft. Spread it carefully on the dish prepared for it, and serve at once. This dish ought to be reserved for recherché déjeûners, or for assemblies where amateurs meet who know how to eat well: washed down with a good old wine, it will work wonders.

Note.—The roe and the tunny must be beaten up (sauté) without allowing them to boil, to prevent their hardening, which would prevent them mixing well with the eggs. Your dish should be hollowed towards the centre, to allow the gravy to concentrate, that it may be helped with a spoon. The dish ought to be slightly heated, otherwise the cold china will extract all the heat from the omelet.

Omelette Aux Confitures, or Jam Omelet.

Ingredients.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 3 tablespoonfuls of apricot, strawberry, or any jam that may be preferred. Mode.—Make an omelet, only instead of doubling it over, leave it flat in the pan. When quite firm, and nicely brown on one side, turn it carefully on to a hot dish, spread over the middle of it the jam, and fold the omelet over on each side; sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve very quickly. A pretty dish of small omelets may be made by dividing the batter into 3 or 4 portions, and frying them separately; they should then be spread each one with a different kind of preserve, and the omelets rolled over. Always sprinkle sweet omelets with sifted sugar before being sent to table. Time.—4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Omelet, Bachelor’s.

Ingredients.—2 or 3 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, teaspoonful of flour, ½ teacupful of milk. Mode.—Make a thin cream of the flour and milk; then beat up the eggs, mix all together, and add a pinch of salt and a few grains of cayenne. Melt the butter in a small frying-pan, and, when very hot, pour in the batter. Let the pan remain for a few minutes over a clear fire; then sprinkle upon the omelet some chopped herbs and a few shreds of onion; double the omelet dexterously, and shake it out of the pan on to a hot dish. A simple sweet omelet can be made by the same process, substituting sugar or preserve for the chopped herbs. Time.—2 minutes. Average cost, 6d. Sufficient for 2 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Omelet, Plain Sweet.

Ingredients.—6 eggs, 4 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of sifted sugar. Mode.—Break the eggs into a basin, omitting the whites of 3; whisk them well, adding the sugar and 2 oz. of the butter, which should be broken into small pieces, and stir all these ingredients well together. Make the remainder of the butter quite hot in a small frying-pan, and when it commences to bubble, pour in the eggs, &c. Keep stirring them until they begin to set; then turn the edges of the omelet over, to make it an oval shape, and finish cooking it. To brown the top, hold the pan before the fire, or use a salamander, and turn it carefully on to a very hot dish; sprinkle sifted sugar over, and serve. Time.—From 4 to 6 minutes. Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Omelette Soufflé.

Ingredients.—6 eggs, 5 oz. of pounded sugar, flavouring of vanilla, orange-flower water, or lemon-rind, 3 oz. of butter, 1 dessertspoonful of rice-flour. Mode.—Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, add to the former the sugar, the rice-flour, and either of the above flavourings that may be preferred, and stir these ingredients well together. Whip the whites of the eggs, mix them lightly with the batter, and put the butter into a small frying-pan. As soon as it begins to bubble, pour the batter into it, and set the pan over a bright but gentle fire; and when the omelet is set, turn the edges over to make it an oval shape, and slip it on to a silver dish, which has been previously well buttered. Put it in the oven, and bake from 12 to 15 minutes; sprinkle finely-powdered sugar over the soufflé, and serve it immediately. Time.—About 4 minutes in the pan; to bake, from 12 to 15 minutes. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Onion Sauce, Brown.

Ingredients.—6 large onions, rather more than ½ pint of good gravy, 2 oz. of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Mode.—Slice and fry the onions of a pale brown in a stewpan, with the above quantity of butter, keeping them well stirred, that they do not get black. When a nice colour, pour over the gravy, and let them simmer gently until tender. Now skim off every particle of fat, add the seasoning, and rub the whole through a tammy or sieve; put it back into the saucepan to warm, and when it boils, serve. Time.—Altogether 1 hour. Seasonable from August to March.

Note.—Where a high flavouring is liked, add 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, or a small quantity of port wine.

Onion Sauce, French, or Soubise.

Ingredients.—½ pint of Béchamel, 1 bay-leaf, seasoning to taste of pounded mace and cayenne, 6 onions, a small piece of ham. Mode.—Peel the onions and cut them in halves; put them into a stewpan, with just sufficient water to cover them, and add the bay-leaf, ham, cayenne, and mace; be careful to keep the lid closely shut, and simmer them until tender. Take them out and drain thoroughly; rub them through a tammy or sieve (an old one does for the purpose) with a wooden spoon, and put them to ½ pint of Béchamel; keep stirring over the fire until it boils, when serve. If it should require any more seasoning, add it to taste. Time.—¾ hour to boil the onions. Average cost, 10d. for this quantity. Sufficient for a moderate-sized dish.

Onion Sauce, White, for Boiled Rabbits, Roast Shoulder of Mutton, &c.

Ingredients.—9 large onions, or 12 middling-sized ones, 1 pint of melted butter made with milk, ½ teaspoonful of salt, or rather more. Mode.—Peel the onions and put them into water to which a little salt has been added, to preserve their whiteness, and let them remain for ¼ hour. Then put them into a stewpan, cover them with water, and let them boil until tender, and, if the onions should be very strong, change the water after they have been boiling for ¼ hour. Drain them thoroughly, chop them, and rub them through a tammy or sieve. Make 1 pint of melted butter with milk, and when that boils, put in the onions, with a seasoning of salt; stir it till it simmers, when it will be ready to serve. If these directions are carefully attended to, this onion sauce will be delicious. Time.—From ¾ to 1 hour, to boil the onions. Average cost, 9d. per pint. Sufficient to serve with a roast shoulder of mutton, or boiled rabbit. Seasonable from August to March.

Note.—To make this sauce very mild and delicate, use Spanish onions, which can be procured from the beginning of September to Christmas. 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of cream added just before serving, will be found to improve its appearance very much. Small onions, when very young, may be cooked whole, and served in melted butter. A sieve or tammy should be kept expressly for onions; an old one answers the purpose, as it is liable to retain the flavour and smell, which of course would be excessively disagreeable in delicate preparations.

Onion Soup.

Ingredients.—6 large onions, 2 oz. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, ½ pint of cream, 1 quart of stock. Mode.—Chop the onions, put them in the butter, stir them occasionally, but do not let them brown. When tender, put the stock to them, and season; strain the soup, and add the boiling cream. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, 1s. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 4 persons.

Onion Soup, Cheap.

Ingredients.—8 middling-sized onions, 3 oz. of butter, a tablespoonful of rice-flour, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, thickening of butter and flour, 2 quarts of water. Mode.—Cut the onions small, put them into the stewpan with the butter, and fry them well; mix the rice-flour smoothly with the water, add the onions, seasoning, and sugar, and simmer till tender. Thicken with butter and flour, and serve. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 4d. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Onions, Burnt, for Gravies.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of onions, ½ pint of water, ½ lb. of moist sugar, 1/3 pint of vinegar. Mode.—Peel and chop the onions fine, and put them into a stewpan (not tinned), with the water; let them boil for 5 minutes, then add the sugar, and simmer gently until the mixture becomes nearly black and throws out bubbles of smoke. Have ready the above proportion of boiling vinegar, strain the liquor gradually to it, and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until it is well incorporated. When cold, bottle for use. Time.—Altogether, 1 hour.

Onions, Pickled (a very simple Method, and exceedingly Good).

Ingredients.—Pickling onions; to each quart of vinegar, 2 teaspoonfuls of allspice, 2 teaspoonfuls of whole black pepper. Mode.—Have the onions gathered when quite dry and ripe, and, with the fingers, take off the thin outside skin; then, with a silver knife (steel should not be used, as it spoils the colour of the onions), remove one more skin, when the onion will look quite clear. Have ready some very dry bottles or jars, and as fast as they are peeled, put them in. Pour over sufficient cold vinegar to cover them, with pepper and allspice in the above proportions, taking care that each jar has its share of the latter ingredients. Tie down with bladder, and put them in a dry place, and in a fortnight they will be fit for use. This is a most simple recipe and very delicious, the onions being nice and crisp. They should be eaten within 6 or 8 months after being done, as the onions are liable to become soft. Seasonable from the middle of July to the end of August.

Onions, Pickled.

Ingredients.—1 gallon of pickling onions, salt and water, milk; to each ½ gallon of vinegar, 1 oz. of bruised ginger, ¼ tablespoonful of cayenne, 1 oz. of allspice, 1 oz. of whole black pepper, ¼ oz. of whole nutmeg bruised, 8 cloves, ¼ oz. of mace. Mode.—Gather the onions, which should not be too small, when they are quite dry and ripe; wipe off the dirt, but do not pare them; make a strong solution of salt and water, into which put the onions, and change this, morning and night, for 3 days, and save the last brine they were put in. Then take the outside skin off, and put them into a tin saucepan capable of holding them all, as they are always better done together. Now take equal quantities of milk and the last salt and water the onions were in, and pour this to them; to this add 2 large spoonfuls of salt, put them over the fire, and watch them very attentively. Keep constantly turning the onions about with a wooden skimmer, those at the bottom to the top, and vice versâ; and let the milk and water run through the holes of the skimmer. Remember, the onions must never boil, or, if they do, they will be good for nothing; and they should be quite transparent. Keep the onions stirred for a few minutes, and, in stirring them, be particular not to break them. Then have ready a pan with a colander, into which turn the onions to drain, covering them with a cloth to keep in the steam. Place on a table an old cloth, 2 or 3 times double; put the onions on it when quite hot, and over them an old piece of blanket; cover this closely over them, to keep in the steam. Let them remain till the next day, when they will be quite cold, and look yellow and shrivelled; take off the shrivelled skins, when they should be as white as snow. Put them into a pan, make a pickle of vinegar and the remaining ingredients, boil all these up, and pour hot over the onions in the pan. Cover very closely to keep in all the steam, and let them stand till the following day, when they will be quite cold. Put them into jars or bottles well bunged, and a tablespoonful of the best olive-oil on the top of each jar or bottle. Tie them down with bladder, and let them stand in a cool place for a month or six weeks, when they will be fit for use. They should be beautifully white, and eat crisp, without the least softness, and will keep good many months. Seasonable from the middle of July to the end of August.

Onions, Spanish, Baked.

Ingredients.—4 or 5 Spanish onions, salt, and water. Mode.—Put the onions, with their skins on, into a saucepan of boiling water slightly salted, and let them boil quickly for an hour. Then take them out, wipe them thoroughly, wrap each one in a piece of paper separately, and bake them in a moderate oven for 2 hours, or longer, should the onions be very large. They may be served in their skins, and eaten with a piece of cold butter and a seasoning of pepper and salt; or they may be peeled, and a good brown gravy poured over them. Time.—1 hour to boil, 2 hours to bake. Average cost, medium-sized, 2d. each. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from September to January.

Onions, Spanish, Pickled.

Ingredients.—Onions, vinegar; salt and cayenne to taste. Mode.—Cut the onions in thin slices; put a layer of them in the bottom of a jar; sprinkle with salt and cayenne; then add another layer of onions, and season as before. Proceeding in this manner till the jar is full, pour in sufficient vinegar to cover the whole, and the pickle will be fit for use in a month. Seasonable.—May be had in England from September to February.

Onions, Spanish, Stewed.

Ingredients.—5 or 6 Spanish onions, 1 pint of good broth or gravy. Mode.—Peel the onions, taking care not to cut away too much of the tops or tails, or they would then fall to pieces; put them into a stewpan capable of holding them at the bottom without piling them one on the top of another; add the broth or gravy, and simmer very gently until the onions are perfectly tender. Dish them, pour the gravy round, and serve. Instead of using broth, Spanish onions may be stewed with a large piece of butter: they must be done very gradually over a slow fire or hot-plate, and will produce plenty of gravy. Time.—To stew in gravy, 2 hours, or longer if very large. Average cost, medium-sized, 2d. each. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable from September to January.

Note.—Stewed Spanish onions are a favourite accompaniment to roast shoulder of mutton.

Orange Brandy. (Excellent.)

Ingredients.—To every ½ gallon of brandy allow ¾ pint of Seville orange-juice, 1¼ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—To bring out the full flavour of the orange-peel, rub a few lumps of the sugar on 2 or 3 unpared oranges, and put these lumps to the rest. Mix the brandy with the orange-juice, strained, the rinds of 6 of the oranges pared very thin, and the sugar. Let all stand in a closely-covered jar for about 3 days, stirring it 3 or 4 times a day. When clear, it should be bottled and closely corked for a year; it will then be ready for use, but will keep any length of time. This is a most excellent stomachic when taken pure in small quantities; or, as the strength of the brandy is very little deteriorated by the other ingredients, it may be diluted with water. Time.—To be stirred every day for 3 days. Average cost, 7s. Sufficient to make 2 quarts. Seasonable.—Make this in March.

Orange Cream.

Ingredients.—1 oz. of isinglass, 6 large oranges, 1 lemon, sugar to taste, water, ½ pint of good cream. Mode.—Squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemon; strain it, and put it into a saucepan with the isinglass, and sufficient water to make it in all 1½ pint. Rub the sugar on the orange and lemon-rind, add it to the other ingredients, and boil all together for about 10 minutes. Strain through a muslin bag, and, when cold, beat up with it ½ pint of thick cream. Wet a mould, or soak it in cold water; pour in the cream, and put it in a cool place to set. If the weather is very cold, 1 oz. of isinglass will be found sufficient for the above proportion of ingredients. Time.—10 minutes to boil the juice and water. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable from November to May.

Orange Creams.

Ingredients.—1 Seville orange, 1 tablespoonful of brandy, ¼ lb. of loaf sugar, the yolks of 4 eggs, 1 pint of cream. Mode.—Boil the rind of the Seville orange until tender, and beat it in a mortar to a pulp; add to it the brandy, the strained juice of the orange, and the sugar, and beat all together for about 10 minutes, adding the well-beaten yolks of eggs. Bring the cream to the boiling-point, and pour it very gradually to the other ingredients, and beat the mixture till nearly cold; put it into custard-cups, place the cups in a deep dish of boiling water, where let them remain till quite cold. Take the cups out of the water, wipe them, and garnish the tops of the creams with candied orange-peel or preserved chips. Time.—Altogether, ¾ hour. Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 1s. 7d. Sufficient to make 7 or 8 creams. Seasonable from November to May.

Note.—To render this dish more economical, substitute milk for the cream, but add a small pinch of isinglass to make the creams firm.

Orange Fritters.

Ingredients.—For the batter, ½ lb. of flour, ½ oz. of butter, ½ saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk, oranges, hot lard or clarified dripping. Mode.—Make a nice light batter with the above proportion of flour, butter, salt, eggs, and sufficient milk to make it the proper consistency; peel the oranges, remove as much of the white skin as possible, and divide each orange into eight pieces, without breaking the thin skin, unless it be to remove the pips; dip each piece of orange in the batter. Have ready a pan of boiling lard or clarified dripping; drop in the oranges, and fry them a delicate brown from 8 to 10 minutes. When done, lay them on a piece of blotting-paper before the fire, to drain away the greasy moisture, and dish them on a white d’oyley; sprinkle over them plenty of pounded sugar, and serve quickly. Time.—8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters; 5 minutes to drain them. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from November to May.

Orange Gravy, for Wildfowl, Widgeon, Teal, &c.

Ingredients.—½ pint of white stock, 1 small onion, 3 or 4 strips of lemon or orange peel, a few leaves of basil, if at hand, the juice of a Seville orange or lemon, salt and pepper to taste, 1 glass of port wine. Mode.—Put the onion, cut in slices, into a stewpan with the stock, orange-peel, and basil, and let them simmer very gently for ¼ hour or rather longer, should the gravy not taste sufficiently of the peel. Strain it off, and add to the gravy the remaining ingredients; let the whole heat through, and, when on the point of boiling, serve very hot in a tureen which should have a cover to it. Time.—Altogether ½ hour. Sufficient for a small tureen.

Orange Jelly.

Ingredients.—1 pint of water, 1½ to 2 oz. of isinglass, ½ lb. of loaf sugar, 1 Seville orange, 1 lemon, about 9 China oranges. Mode.—Put the water into a saucepan, with the isinglass, sugar, and the rind of 1 orange, and the same of ½ lemon, and stir these over the fire until the isinglass is dissolved, and remove the scum; then add to this the juice of the Seville orange, the juice of the lemon, and sufficient juice of China oranges to make in all 1 pint: from 8 to 10 oranges will yield the desired quantity. Stir all together over the fire until it is just on the point of boiling; skim well; then strain the jelly through a very fine sieve or jelly-bag, and when nearly cold, put it into a mould previously wetted, and, when quite set, turn it out on a dish, and garnish it to taste. To insure this jelly being clear, the orange- and lemon-juice should be well strained, and the isinglass clarified, before they are added to the other ingredients, and, to heighten the colour, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added. Time.—5 minutes to boil without the juice; 1 minute after it is added. Average cost, with the best isinglass, 3s. 6d. Sufficient to fill a quart mould. Seasonable from November to May.

Orange Marmalade.

Ingredients.—Equal weight of fine loaf sugar and Seville oranges; to 12 oranges allow 1 pint of water. Mode.—Let there be an equal weight of loaf sugar and Seville oranges, and allow the above proportion of water to every dozen oranges. Peel them carefully, remove a little of the white pith, and boil the rinds in water 2 hours, changing the water three times to take off a little of the bitter taste. Break the pulp into small pieces, take out all the pips, and cut the boiled rind into chips. Make a syrup with the sugar and water; boil this well, skim it, and, when clear, put in the pulp and chips. Boil all together from 20 minutes to ½ hour; pour it into pots, and, when cold, cover down with bladders or tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg. The juice and grated rind of 2 lemons to every dozen of oranges, added with the pulp and chips to the syrup, are a very great improvement to this marmalade. Time.—2 hours to boil the orange-rinds; 10 minutes to boil the syrup; 20 minutes to ½ hour to boil the marmalade. Average cost, from 6d. to 8d. per lb. pot. Seasonable.—This should be made in March or April, as Seville oranges are then in perfection.

Orange Marmalade.

Ingredients.—Equal weight of Seville oranges and sugar; to every lb. of sugar allow ½ pint of water. Mode.—Weigh the sugar and oranges, score the skin across, and take it off in quarters. Boil these quarters in a muslin bag in water until they are quite soft, and they can be pierced easily with the head of a pin; then cut them into chips about 1 inch long, and as thin as possible. Should there be a great deal of white stringy pulp, remove it before cutting the rind into chips. Split open the oranges, scrape out the best part of the pulp, with the juice, rejecting the white pith and pips. Make a syrup with the sugar and water; boil it until clear; then put in the chips, pulp, and juice, and boil the marmalade from 20 minutes to ½ hour, removing all the scum as it rises. In boiling the syrup, clear it carefully from scum before the oranges are added to it. Time.—2 hours to boil the rinds, 10 minutes the syrup, 20 minutes to ½ hour the marmalade. Average cost, 6d. to 8d. per lb. pot. Seasonable.—Make this in March or April, when Seville oranges are in perfection.

ORANGE MARMALADE, an easy way of Making.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of pulp allow 1½ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Choose some fine Seville oranges; put them whole into a stewpan with sufficient water to cover them, and stew them until they become perfectly tender, changing the water 2 or 3 times; drain them, take off the rind, remove the pips from the pulp, weigh it, and to every lb. allow 1½ of loaf sugar and ½ pint of the water the oranges were last boiled in. Boil the sugar and water together for 10 minutes; put in the pulp, boil for another 10 minutes; then add the peel cut into strips, and boil the marmalade for another 10 minutes, which completes the process. Pour it into jars; let it cool; then cover down with bladders, or tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg. Time.—2 hours to boil the oranges; altogether ½ hour to boil the marmalade. Average cost, from 6d. to 8d. per lb. pot. Seasonable.—Make this in March or April.

Orange Marmalade, made with Honey.

Ingredients.—To 1 quart of the juice and pulp of Seville oranges allow 1 lb. of the rind, 2 lbs. of honey. Mode.—Peel the oranges, and boil the rind in water until tender, and cut it into strips. Take away the pips from the juice and pulp, and put it with the honey and chips into a preserving-pan; boil all together for about ½ hour, or until the marmalade is of the proper consistency; put it into pots, and, when cold, cover down with bladders. Time.—2 hours to boil the rind, ½ hour the marmalade. Average cost, from 7d. to 9d. per lb. pot. Seasonable.—Make this in March or April.

Orange Marmalade, Pounded.

Ingredients.—Weight and ½ in sugar to every lb. of oranges. Mode.—Cut some clear Seville oranges in 4 pieces, put all the juice and pulp into a basin, and take out the seeds and skins; boil the rinds in hard water till tender, changing the water 2 or 3 times while boiling; drain them well, and pound them in a mortar; then put them into a preserving-pan with the juice and pulp, and their weight and ½ of sugar; boil rather more than ½ an hour. Time.—About 2 hours to boil the rinds, ½ an hour the marmalade.

Orange Pudding, Baked.

Ingredients.—6 oz. of stale sponge cake or bruised ratafias, 6 oranges, 1 pint of milk, 6 eggs, ½ lb. of sugar. Mode.—Bruise the sponge-cake or ratafias into fine crumbs, and pour upon them the milk, which should be boiling. Rub the rinds of 2 of the oranges on sugar, and add this, with the juice of the remainder, to the other ingredients. Beat up the eggs, stir them in, sweeten to taste, and put the mixture into a pie-dish previously lined with puff-paste. Bake for rather more than ½ hour; turn it out of the dish, strew sifted sugar over, and serve. Time.—Rather more than ½ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable from November to May.

Orange Pudding, Seville.

Ingredients.—4 Seville oranges, 6 oz. of fresh butter, 12 almonds, ½ lb. of sifted sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, 8 eggs. Mode.—Boil the oranges and chop them finely, taking out all the pips. Put the butter, the almonds, blanched and chopped, and the sugar, into a saucepan, to which add the orange pulp and the lemon-juice. Put it on a hot plate to warm, mixing all together until the butter is thoroughly melted. Turn the mixture out, let it get cold, then add the eggs, which should be well whipped. Put all into a baking-dish, bordered with puff paste, and bake from ½ hour to 40 minutes, according to the heat of the oven. Time.—½ hour to 40 minutes. Seasonable from November to May.

Orange Salad.

Ingredients.—6 oranges, ¼ lb. of muscatel raisins, 2 oz. of pounded sugar, 4 tablespoonfuls of brandy. Mode.—Peel 5 of the oranges; divide them into slices without breaking the pulp, and arrange them on a glass dish. Stone the raisins, mix them with the sugar and brandy, and mingle them with the oranges. Squeeze the juice of the other orange over the whole, and the dish is ready for table. A little pounded spice may be put in when the flavour is liked; but this ingredient must be added very sparingly. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from November to May.

Orange Wine, a very Simple and Easy Method of Making a very Superior.

Ingredients.—90 Seville oranges, 32 lbs. of lump sugar, water. Mode.—Break up the sugar into small pieces, and put it into a dry, sweet, 9-gallon cask, placed in a cellar or other storehouse, where it is intended to be kept. Have ready close to the cask two large pans or wooden keelers, into one of which put the peel of the oranges pared quite thin, and into the other the pulp after the juice has been squeezed from it. Strain the juice through a piece of double muslin, and put into the cask with the sugar. Then pour about 1½ gallon of cold spring water on both the peels and the pulp; let it stand for 24 hours, and then strain it into the cask; add more water to the peels and pulp when this is done, and repeat the same process every day for a week: it should take about a week to fill up the cask. Be careful to apportion the quantity as nearly as possible to the seven days, and to stir the contents of the cask each day. On the third day after the cask is full—that is, the tenth day after the commencement of making—the cask may be securely bunged down. This is a very simple and easy method, and the wine made according to it will be pronounced to be most excellent. There is no troublesome boiling, and all fermentation takes place in the cask. When the above directions are attended to, the wine cannot fail to be good. It should be bottled in 8 or 9 months, and will be fit for use in a twelvemonth after the time of making. Ginger wine may be made in precisely the same manner, only, with the 9-gallon cask for ginger wine, 2 lbs. of the best whole ginger, bruised, must be put with the sugar. It will be found convenient to tie the ginger loosely in a muslin bag. Time.—Altogether, 10 days to make it. Average cost, 2s. 6d. per gallon. Sufficient for 9 gallons. Seasonable.—Make this in March, and bottle it in the following January.

Oranges, Compôte of.

Ingredients.—1 pint of syrup, 6 oranges. Mode.—Peel the oranges, remove as much of the white pith as possible, and divide them into small pieces without breaking the thin skin with which they are surrounded. Make the syrup by recipe, adding the rind of the orange cut into thin narrow strips. When the syrup has been well skimmed, and is quite clear, put in the pieces of orange, and simmer them for 5 minutes. Take them out carefully with a spoon without breaking them, and arrange them on a glass dish. Reduce the syrup by boiling it quickly until thick; let it cool a little, pour it over the oranges, and, when cold, they will be ready for table. Time.—10 minutes to boil the syrup; 5 minutes to simmer the oranges; 5 minutes to reduce the syrup. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from November to May.

Oranges, a Pretty Dish of.

Ingredients.—6 large oranges, ½ lb. of loaf sugar, ¼ pint of water, ½ pint of cream, 2 tablespoonfuls of any kind of liquor, sugar to taste. Mode.—Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, and boil them until the sugar becomes brittle, which may be ascertained by taking up a small quantity in a spoon, and dipping it in cold water; if the sugar is sufficiently boiled, it will easily snap. Peel the oranges, remove as much of the white pith as possible, and divide them into nice-sized slices, without breaking the thin white skin which surrounds the juicy pulp. Place the pieces of orange on small skewers, dip them into the hot sugar, and arrange them in layers round a plain mould, which should be well oiled with the purest salad-oil. The sides of the mould only should be lined with the oranges, and the centre left open for the cream. Let the sugar become firm by cooling; turn the oranges carefully out on a dish, and fill the centre with whipped cream, flavoured with any kind of liqueur, and sweetened with pounded sugar. This is an exceedingly ornamental and nice dish for the supper-table. Time.—10 minutes to boil the sugar. Average cost, 1s. 8d.—Sufficient for 1 mould. Seasonable from November to May.

Oranges, Iced.

Ingredients.—Oranges; to every lb. of pounded loaf sugar allow the whites of 2 eggs. Mode.—Whisk the whites of the eggs well, stir in the sugar, and beat this mixture for ¼ hour. Skin the oranges, remove as much of the white pith as possible without injuring the pulp of the fruit; pass a thread through the centre of each orange, dip them into the sugar, and tie them to a stick. Place this stick across the oven, and let the oranges remain until dry, when they will have the appearance of balls of ice. They make a pretty dessert or supper dish. Care must be taken not to have the oven too fierce, or the oranges would scorch and acquire a brown colour, which would entirely spoil their appearance. Time.—From ½ to 1 hour to dry in a moderate oven. Average cost, 1½d. each. Sufficient.—½ lb. of sugar to ice 12 oranges. Seasonable from November to May.

Oranges, Preserved.

Ingredients.—Oranges; to every lb. of juice and pulp allow 2 lbs. of loaf sugar; to every pint of water ½ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Wholly grate or peel the oranges, taking off only the thin outside portion of the rind. Make a small incision where the stalk is taken out, squeeze out as much of the juice as can be obtained, and preserve it in a basin with the pulp that accompanies it. Put the oranges into cold water; let them stand for 3 days, changing the water twice; then boil them in fresh water till they are very tender, and put them to drain. Make a syrup with the above proportion of sugar and water, sufficient to cover the oranges; let them stand in it for 2 or 3 days; then drain them well. Weigh the juice and pulp, allow double their weight of sugar, and boil them together until the scum ceases to rise, which must all be carefully removed; put in the oranges, boil them for 10 minutes, place them in jars, pour over them the syrup, and, when cold, cover down. They will be fit for use in a week. Time.—3 days for the oranges to remain in water, 3 days in the syrup; ½ hour to boil the pulp, 10 minutes the oranges. Seasonable.—This preserve should be made in February or March, when oranges are plentiful.

OX, The.

The manner in which a side of beef is cut up in London is shown in the engraving on this page. In the metropolis, on account of the large number of its population possessing the means to indulge in the “best of everything,” the demand for the most delicate joints of meat is great, the price, at the same time, being much higher for these than for the other parts. The consequence is, that in London the carcass is there divided so as to obtain the greatest quantity of meat on the most esteemed joints. In many places, however, where, from a greater equality in the social condition and habits of the inhabitants, the demand and prices for the different parts of the carcasses are more equalized, there is not the same reason for the butcher to cut the best joints so large.

The meat on those parts of the animal in which the muscles are least called into action is most tender and succulent; as, for instance, along the back, from the rump to the hinder part of the shoulder; whilst the limbs, shoulder, and neck are the toughest, driest, and least-esteemed.

The names of the several joints in the hind and fore quarters of a side of beef, and the purposes for which they are used, are as follows:—

Hind Quarter:—

1. Sirloin,—the two sirloins, cut together in one joint, form a baron; this, when roasted, is the famous national dish of Englishmen, at entertainments, on occasion of rejoicing.

2. Rump,—the finest part for steaks.

3. Aitchbone,—boiling piece.

4. Buttock,—prime boiling piece.

5. Mouse-round,—boiling or stewing.

6. Hock,—stewing.

7. Thick flank, cut with the udder-fat,—primest boiling piece.

8. Thin flank,—boiling.

Fore Quarter:—

9. Five ribs, called the fore-rib.—This is considered the primest roasting piece.

10. Four ribs, called the middle-rib,—greatly esteemed by housekeepers as the most economical joint for roasting.

11. Two ribs, called the chuck-rib,—used for second quality of steaks.

12. Leg-of-mutton piece,—the muscles of the shoulder dissected from the breast.

13. Brisket, or breast,—used for boiling, after being salted.

14. Neck, clod, and sticking-piece,—used for soups, gravies, stocks, pies, and mincing for sausages.

15. Shin,—stewing.

The following is a classification of the qualities of meat, according to the several joints of beef, when cut up in the London manner.

First class—includes the sirloin, with the kidney suet (1), the rump-steak piece (2), the fore-rib (9).

Second class—The buttock (4), the thick flank (7), the middle-rib (10).

Third class—The aitchbone (3), the mouse-round (5), the thin flank (8), the chuck (11), the leg-of-mutton piece (12), the brisket (13).

Fourth class—The neck, clod, and sticking-piece (14).

Fifth class—The hock (6), the shin (15).

Ox-Cheek Soup.

Ingredients.—An ox-cheek, 2 oz. of butter, 3 or 4 slices of lean ham or bacon, 1 parsnip, 3 carrots, 2 onions, 3 heads of celery, 3 blades of mace, 4 cloves, a faggot of savoury herbs, 1 bay leaf, a teaspoonful of salt, half that of pepper, 1 head of celery, browning, the crust of a French roll, 5 quarts of water. Mode.—Lay the ham in the bottom of the stewpan, with the butter; break the bones of the cheek, wash it clean, and put it on the ham. Cut the vegetables small, add them to the other ingredients, and set the whole over a slow fire for ¼ of an hour. Now put in the water, and simmer gently till it is reduced to 4 quarts; take out the fleshy part of the cheek, and strain the soup into a clean stewpan; thicken with flour, put in a head of sliced celery, and simmer till the celery is tender. If not a good colour, use a little browning. Cut the meat into small square pieces, pour the soup over, and serve with the crust of a French roll in the tureen, A glass of sherry much improves this soup. Time.—3 to 4 hours. Average cost, 8d. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 12 persons.

Ox-Cheek, Stewed.

Ingredients.—1 cheek, salt and water, 4 or 5 onions, butter and flour, 6 cloves, 3 turnips, 2 carrots, 1 bay-leaf, 1 head of celery, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, cayenne, black pepper, and salt to taste, 1 oz. of butter, 2 dessertspoonfuls of flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of Chili vinegar, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup, 2 tablespoonfuls of port wine, 2 tablespoonfuls of Harvey’s sauce. Mode.—Have the cheek boned, and prepare it the day before it is to be eaten, by cleaning and putting it to soak all night in salt and water. The next day, wipe it dry and clean, and put it into a stewpan. Just cover it with water, skim well when it boils, and let it gently simmer till the meat is quite tender. Slice and fry 3 onions in a little butter and flour, and put them into the gravy; add 2 whole onions, each stuck with 3 cloves, 3 turnips quartered, 2 carrots sliced, a bay-leaf, 1 head of celery, a bunch of herbs, and seasoning to taste of cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Let these stew till perfectly tender; then take out the cheek, divide into pieces fit to help at table, skim and strain the gravy, and thicken 1½ pint of it with butter and flour in the above proportions. Add the vinegar, ketchup, and port wine; put in the pieces of cheek; let the whole boil up, and serve quite hot. Send it to table in a ragoût-dish. If the colour of the gravy should not be very good, add a tablespoonful of the browning. Time.—4 hours. Average cost, 3d. per lb. Sufficient for 8 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Ox-Tail, Broiled (an Entrée).

Ingredients.—2 tails, 1½ pint of stock, salt and cayenne to taste, bread-crumbs, 1 egg. Mode.—Joint and cut up the tails into convenient-sized pieces, and put them into a stewpan, with the stock, cayenne, and salt, and, if liked very savoury, a bunch of sweet herbs. Let them simmer gently for about 2½ hours; then take them out, drain them, and let them cool. Beat an egg upon a plate; dip in each piece of tail, and, afterwards, sprinkle them well with fine bread-crumbs; broil them over a clear fire, until of a brownish colour on both sides, and serve with a good gravy, or any sauce that may be preferred. Time.—About 2½ hours. Average cost, from 9d. to 1s. 6d., according to the season. Sufficient for 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—These may be more easily prepared by putting the tails in a brisk oven, after they have been dipped in egg and bread-crumb; and, when brown, they are done. They must be boiled the same time as for broiling.

Ox-Tail Soup.

Ingredients.—2 ox-tails, 2 slices of ham, 1 oz. of butter, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 3 onions, 1 leek, 1 head of celery, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, 1 bay-leaf, 12 whole peppercorns, 4 cloves, a tablespoonful of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of ketchup, ½ glass of port wine, 3 quarts of water. Mode.—Cut up the tails, separating them at the joints; wash them, and put them in a stewpan, with the butter. Cut the vegetables in slices, and add them, with the peppercorns and herbs. Put in ½ pint of water, and stir it over a sharp fire till the juices are drawn. Fill up the stewpan with the water, and, when boiling, add the salt. Skim well, and simmer very gently for 4 hours, or until the tails are tender. Take them out, skim and strain the soup, thicken with flour, and flavour with the ketchup and port wine. Put back the tails, simmer for 5 minutes, and serve. Time.—4½ hours. Average cost, 1s. 3d. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Ox-Tails, Stewed.

Ingredients.—2 ox-tails, 1 onion, 3 cloves, 1 blade of mace, ¼ teaspoonful of whole black pepper, ¼ teaspoonful of allspice, ½ a teaspoonful of salt, a small bunch of savoury herbs, thickening of butter and flour, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup. Mode.—Divide the tails at the joints, wash, and put them into a stewpan with sufficient water to cover them, and set them on the fire; when the water boils, remove the scum, and add the onion cut into rings, the spice, seasoning, and herbs. Cover the stewpan closely, and let the tails simmer very gently until tender, which will be in about 2½ hours. Take them out, make a thickening of butter and flour, add it to the gravy, and let it boil for ¼ hour. Strain it through a sieve into a saucepan, put back the tails, add the lemon-juice and ketchup; let the whole just boil up, and serve. Garnish with croûtons or sippets of toasted bread. Time.—2½ hours to stew the tails. Average cost, 9d. to 1s. 6d., according to the season. Sufficient for 8 persons. Seasonable all the year.

Oyster, Forcemeat for Roast or Boiled Turkey.

Ingredients.—½ pint of bread-crumbs, 1½ oz. of chopped suet or butter, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, ¼ saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, 2 eggs, 18 oysters. Mode.—Grate the bread very fine, and be careful that no large lumps remain; put it into a basin with the suet, which must be very finely minced, or, when butter is used, that must be cut up into small pieces. Add the herbs, also chopped as small as possible, and seasoning; mix all these well together, until the ingredients are thoroughly mingled. Open and beard the oysters, chop them, but not too small, and add them to the other ingredients. Beat up the eggs, and, with the hand, work altogether, until it is smoothly mixed. The turkey should not be stuffed too full: if there should be too much forcemeat, roll it into balls, fry them, and use them as a garnish. Sufficient for 1 turkey.

Oyster Ketchup.

Ingredients.—Sufficient oysters to fill a pint measure, 1 pint of sherry, 3 oz. of salt, 1 drachm of cayenne, 2 drachms of pounded mace. Mode.—Procure the oysters very fresh, and open sufficient to fill a pint measure; save the liquor, and scald the oysters in it with the sherry; strain the oysters, and put them in a mortar with the salt, cayenne, and mace; pound the whole until reduced to a pulp, then add it to the liquor in which they were scalded; boil it again five minutes, and skim well; rub the whole through a sieve, and, when cold, bottle and cork closely. The corks should be sealed. Seasonable from September to April.

Note.—Cider may be substituted for the sherry.

Oyster Patties (an Entrée).

Ingredients.—2 dozen oysters, 2 oz. of butter, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, a little lemon-juice, 1 blade of pounded mace; cayenne to taste. Mode.—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, beard them, and cut each one into 3 pieces. Put the butter into a stewpan, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up; add the strained oyster-liquor with the other ingredients; put in the oysters, and let them heat gradually, but not boil fast. Make the patty-cases as directed for lobster patties, fill with the oyster mixture, and replace the covers. Time.—2 minutes for the oysters to simmer in the mixture. Average cost, exclusive of the patty-cases, 1s. 4d. Seasonable from September to April.

Oyster Sauce, to serve with Fish, Boiled Poultry, &c.

Ingredients.—3 dozen oysters, ½ pint of melted butter, made with milk. Mode.—Open the oysters carefully, and save their liquor; strain it into a clean saucepan (a lined one is best), put in the oysters, and let them just come to the boiling-point, when they should look plump. Take them off the fire immediately, and put the whole into a basin. Strain the liquor from them, mix with it sufficient melted butter made with milk to make ½ pint altogether. When this is ready and very smooth, put in the oysters, which should be previously bearded, if you wish the sauce to be really nice. Set it by the side of the fire to get thoroughly hot, but do not allow it to boil, or the oysters will immediately harden. Using cream instead of milk makes this sauce extremely delicious. When liked, add a seasoning of cayenne or anchovy sauce; but, as we have before stated, a plain sauce should be plain, and not be overpowered by highly-flavoured essences; therefore we recommend that the above directions be implicitly followed, and no seasoning added. Average cost for this quantity, 2s. Sufficient for 6 persons. Never allow fewer than 6 oysters to 1 person, unless the party is very large. Seasonable from September to April.

A more economical sauce may be made by using a smaller quantity of oysters, and not bearding them before they are added to the sauce: this may answer the purpose, but we cannot undertake to recommend it as a mode for making this delicious adjunct to fish, &c.

Oyster Soup.

Ingredients.—6 dozen of oysters, 2 quarts of white stock, ½ pint of cream, 2 oz. of butter, 1½ oz. of flour; salt, cayenne, and mace to taste. Mode.—Scald the oysters in their own liquor; take them out, beard them, and put them in a tureen. Take a pint of the stock, put in the beards and the liquor, which must be carefully strained, and simmer for ½ an hour. Take it off the fire, strain it again, and add the remainder of the stock, with the seasoning and mace. Bring it to a boil, add the thickening of butter and flour, simmer for 5 minutes, stir in the boiling cream, pour it over the oysters, and serve. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 2s. 8d. per quart. Seasonable from September to April. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Note.—This soup can be made less rich by using milk instead of cream, and thickening with arrowroot instead of butter and flour.

Oyster Soup.

Ingredients.—2 quarts of good mutton broth, 6 dozen oysters, 2 oz. butter, 1 oz. of flour. Mode.—Beard the oysters, and scald them in their own liquor; then add it, well strained, to the broth; thicken with the butter and flour, and simmer for ¼ of an hour. Put in the oysters, stir well, but do not let it boil, and serve very hot. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, 2s. per quart. Seasonable from September to April. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Oysters, Fried.

Ingredients.—3 dozen oysters, 2 oz. butter, 1 tablespoonful of ketchup, a little chopped lemon-peel, ½ teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Mode.—Boil the oysters for 1 minute in their own liquor, and drain them; fry them with the butter, ketchup, lemon-peel, and parsley; lay them on a dish, and garnish with fried potatoes, toasted sippets, and parsley. This is a delicious delicacy, and is a favourite Italian dish. Time.—5 minutes. Average cost for this quantity, 1s. 9d. Seasonable from September to April. Sufficient for 4 persons.

Oysters Fried in Batter.

Ingredients.—½ pint of oysters, 2 eggs, ½ pint of milk, sufficient flour to make the batter; pepper and salt to taste; when liked, a little nutmeg; hot lard. Mode.—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, beard them, and lay them on a cloth to drain thoroughly. Break the eggs into a basin, mix the flour with them, add the milk gradually, with nutmeg and seasoning, and put the oysters in the batter. Make some lard hot in a deep frying-pan, put in the oysters, one at a time; when done, take them up with a sharp-pointed skewer, and dish them on a napkin. Fried oysters are frequently used for garnishing boiled fish, and then a few bread-crumbs should be added to the flour. Time.—5 or 6 minutes. Average cost for this quantity, 1s. 10d. Seasonable from September to April. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Oysters, to Keep.

Put them in a tub, and cover them with salt and water. Let them remain for 12 hours, when they are to be taken out, and allowed to stand for another 12 hours without water. If left without water every alternate 12 hours, they will be much better than if constantly kept in it. Never put the same water twice to them.

Oysters, Pickled.

Ingredients.—100 oysters; to each ½ pint of vinegar, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 strip of lemon-peel, 12 black peppercorns. Mode.—Get the oysters in good condition, open them, place them in a saucepan, and let them simmer in their own liquor for about 10 minutes very gently; then take them out one by one, and place them in a jar, and cover them, when cold, with a pickle made as follows:—Measure the oyster-liquor; add to it the same quantity of vinegar, with mace, lemon-peel, and pepper in the above proportion, and boil it for 5 minutes; when cold, pour over the oysters, and tie them down very closely, as contact with the air spoils them. Seasonable from September to April.

Note.—Put this pickle away in small jars; because, directly one is opened, its contents should immediately be eaten, as they soon spoil. The pickle should not be kept more than 2 or 3 months.

Oysters, Scalloped.

Ingredients.—Oysters, say 1 pint, 1 oz. butter, flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of white stock, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream; pepper and salt to taste; bread-crumbs, oiled butter. Mode.—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, take them out, beard them, and strain the liquor free from grit. Put 1 oz. of butter into a stewpan; when melted, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up; add the stock, cream, and strained liquor, and give one boil. Put in the oysters and seasoning; let them gradually heat through, but not boil. Have ready the scallop-shells buttered; lay in the oysters, and as much of the liquid as they will hold; cover them over with bread-crumbs, over which drop a little oiled butter. Brown them in the oven, or before the fire, and serve quickly, and very hot. Time.—Altogether, ¼ hour. Average cost, for this quantity, 3s. 6d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.

Oysters, Scalloped.

Prepare the oysters as in the preceding recipe, and put them in a scallop-shell or saucer, and between each layer sprinkle over a few bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg; place small pieces of butter over, and bake before the fire in a Dutch oven. Put sufficient bread-crumbs on the top to make a smooth surface, as the oysters should not be seen. Time.—About ¼ hour. Average cost, 3s. 2d. Seasonable from September to April.

Oysters, Stewed.

Ingredients.—1 pint of oysters, 1 oz. of butter, flour, 1/3 pint of cream; cayenne and salt to taste; 1 blade of pounded mace. Mode.—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, take them out, beard them, and strain the liquor; put the butter into a stewpan, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up, add the oyster-liquor and mace, and stir it over a sharp fire with a wooden spoon; when it comes to a boil, add the cream, oysters, and seasoning. Let all simmer for 1 or 2 minutes, but not longer, or the oysters would harden. Serve on a hot dish, and garnish with croûtons, or toasted sippets of bread. A small piece of lemon-peel boiled with the oyster-liquor, and taken out before the cream is added, will be found an improvement. Time.—Altogether 15 minutes. Average cost for this quantity, 3s. 6d. Seasonable from September to April. Sufficient for 6 persons.

Pancakes.

Ingredients.—Eggs, flour, milk; to every egg allow 1 oz. of flour, about 1 gill of milk, ⅛ saltspoonful of salt. Mode.—Ascertain that the eggs are fresh; break each one separately in a cup; whisk them well, put them into a basin, with the flour, salt, and a few drops of milk, and beat the whole to a perfectly smooth batter; then add by degrees the remainder of the milk. The proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the size of the eggs, &c. &c.; but the batter, when ready for frying, should be of the consistency of thick cream. Place a small frying-pan on the fire to get hot; let it be delicately clean, or the pancakes will stick, and, when quite hot, put into it a small piece of butter, allowing about ½ oz. to each pancake. When it is melted, pour in the batter, about ½ teacupful to a pan 5 inches in diameter, and fry it for about 4 minutes, or until it is nicely brown on one side. By only pouring in a small quantity of batter, and so making the pancakes thin, the necessity of turning them (an operation rather difficult to unskilful cooks) is obviated. When the pancake is done, sprinkle over it some pounded sugar, roll it up in the pan, and take it out with a large slice, and place it on a dish before the fire. Proceed in this manner until sufficient are cooked for a dish; then send them quickly to table, and continue to send in a further quantity, as pancakes are never good unless eaten almost immediately they come from the frying-pan. The batter may be flavoured with a little grated lemon-rind, or the pancakes may have preserve rolled in them instead of sugar. Send sifted sugar and a cut lemon to table with them. To render the pancakes very light, the yolks and whites of the eggs should be beaten separately, and the whites added the last thing to the batter before frying. Time.—From 4 to 5 minutes for a pancake that does not require turning; from 6 to 8 minutes for a thicker one. Average cost for 3 persons, 6d. Sufficient.—Allow 3 eggs, with the other ingredients in proportion, for 3 persons. Seasonable at any time, but specially served on Shrove Tuesday.

Ingredients.—6 eggs, 1 pint of cream, ¼ lb. of loaf sugar, 1 glass of sherry, ½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, flour. Mode.—Ascertain that the eggs are extremely fresh, beat them well, strain and mix with them the cream, pounded sugar, wine, nutmeg, and as much flour as will make the batter nearly as thick as that for ordinary pancakes. Make the frying-pan hot, wipe it with a clean cloth, pour in sufficient batter to make a thin pancake, and fry it for about 5 minutes. Dish the pancakes piled one above the other, strew sifted sugar between each, and serve. Time.—About 5 minutes. Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 2s. 3d. Sufficient to make 8 pancakes. Seasonable at any time, but specially served on Shrove Tuesday.

Pancakes, French.

Ingredients.—2 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, 2 oz. of flour, ½ pint of new milk. Mode.—Beat the eggs thoroughly, and put them into a basin with the butter, which should be beaten to a cream; stir in the sugar and flour, and when these ingredients are well mixed, add the milk; keep stirring and beating the mixture for a few minutes; put it on buttered plates, and bake in a quick oven for 20 minutes. Serve with a cut lemon and sifted sugar, or pile the pancakes high on a dish, with a layer of preserve or marmalade between each. Time.—20 minutes. Average cost, 7d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pancakes, Snow.

Ingredients.—3 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 egg, 3 tablespoonfuls of snow, about ½ pint of new milk. Mode.—Mix the flour with the milk by degrees, add the egg well beaten, and just before frying, the snow, it should then be all beaten up together quickly, and put into the frying-pan immediately. Sufficient for 8 pancakes.

Pan Kail.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of cabbage, or Savoy greens; ¼ lb. of butter or dripping, salt and pepper to taste, oatmeal for thickening, 2 quarts of water. Mode.—Chop the cabbage very fine, thicken the water with oatmeal, put in the cabbage and butter, or dripping; season and simmer for 1½ hour. It can be made sooner by blanching and mashing the greens, adding any good liquor that a joint has been boiled in, and then further thicken with bread or pounded biscuit. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, 1½d. per quart. Seasonable all the year, but more suitable in winter. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Parsley and Butter, to serve with Calf’s Head, Boiled Fowls, &c.

Ingredients.—2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, ½ pint of melted butter. Mode.—Put into a saucepan a small quantity of water, slightly salted, and when it boils, throw in a good bunch of parsley which has been previously washed and tied together in a bunch; let it boil for 5 minutes, drain it, mince the leaves very fine, and put the above quantity in a tureen; pour over it ½ pint of smoothly-made melted butter; stir once, that the ingredients may be thoroughly mixed, and serve. Time.—5 minutes to boil the parsley. Average cost, 4d. Sufficient for 1 large fowl; allow rather more for a pair. Seasonable at any time.

Parsley, Fried, for Garnishing.

Ingredients.—Parsley, hot lard or clarified dripping. Mode.—Gather some young parsley; wash, pick, and dry it thoroughly in a cloth; put it into the wire basket of which we have given an engraving, and hold it in boiling lard or dripping for a minute or two. Directly it is done, lift out the basket, and let it stand before the fire, that the parsley may become thoroughly crisp; and the quicker it is fried the better. Should the kitchen not be furnished with the above article, throw the parsley into the frying-pan, and when crisp, lift it out with a slice, dry it before the fire, and when thoroughly crisp it will be ready for use.

Wire Basket.—For this recipe a wire basket, as shown in the annexed engraving, will be found very useful. It is very light and handy, and may be used for other similar purposes besides that just described.

Parsley Juice, for Colouring various Dishes.

Procure some nice young parsley; wash it and dry it thoroughly in a cloth; pound the leaves in a mortar till all the juice is extracted, and put the juice in a teacup or small jar; place this in a saucepan of boiling water, and warm it on the bain-marie principle just long enough to take off its rawness; let it drain, and it will be ready for colouring.

Substitute for.—Sometimes in the middle of winter parsley-leaves are not to be had, when the following will be found an excellent substitute:—Tie up a little parsley-seed in a small piece of muslin, and boil it for 10 minutes in a small quantity of water; use this water to make the melted butter with, and throw into it a little boiled spinach, minced rather fine, which will have an appearance similar to that of parsley.

Parsley, to Preserve through the Winter.

Use freshly-gathered parsley for keeping, and wash it perfectly free from grit and dirt; put it into boiling water which has been slightly salted and well skimmed, and then let it boil for 2 or 3 minutes; take it out, let it drain, and lay it on a sieve in front of the fire, when it should be dried as expeditiously as possible. Store it away in a very dry place in bottles, and when wanted for use pour over it a little warm water, and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Seasonable.—This may be done at any time between June and October.

Parsnip Soup.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of sliced parsnips, 2 oz. of butter, salt and cayenne to taste, 1 quart of stock. Mode.—Put the parsnips into the stewpan with the butter, which has been previously melted, and simmer them till quite tender. Then add nearly a pint of stock, and boil together for half an hour. Pass all through a fine strainer, and put to it the remainder of the stock. Season, boil, and serve immediately. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 6d. per quart. Seasonable from October to April. Sufficient for 4 persons.

Parsnips, Boiled.

Ingredients.—Parsnips; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. Mode.—Wash the parsnips, scrape them thoroughly, and with the point of the knife remove any black specks about them, and, should they be very large, cut the thick part into quarters. Put them into a saucepan of boiling water salted in the above proportion, boil them rapidly until tender, which may be ascertained by thrusting a fork in them; take them up, drain them, and serve in a vegetable-dish. This vegetable is usually served with salt fish, boiled pork, or boiled beef: when sent to table with the latter, a few should be placed alternately with carrots round the dish as a garnish. Time.—Large parsnips, 1 to 1½ hour; small ones, ½ to 1 hour. Average cost, 1d. each. Sufficient.—Allow 1 for each person. Seasonable from October to May.

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

Ingredients.—3 partridges, salt and cayenne to taste, a small piece of butter, brown gravy or mushroom sauce. Mode.—Pluck, draw, and cut the partridges in half, and wipe the inside thoroughly with a damp cloth. Season them with salt and cayenne, broil them over a very clear fire, and dish them on a hot dish; rub a small piece of butter over each half, and send them to table with brown gravy or mushroom sauce. Time.—About ¼ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. to 2s. a brace. Sufficient for 3 or four persons. Seasonable from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

Partridge Pie.

Ingredients.—3 partridges, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley (when obtainable, a few mushrooms), ¾ lb. of veal cutlet, a slice of ham, ½ pint of stock, puff paste. Mode.—Line a pie-dish with a veal cutlet; over that place a slice of ham and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Pluck, draw, and wipe the partridges; cut off the legs at the first joint, and season them inside with pepper, salt, minced parsley, and a small piece of butter; place them in the dish, and pour over the stock; line the edges of the dish with puff paste, cover with the same, brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and bake for ¾ to 1 hour. Time.—¾ to 1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. to 2s. a brace. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

Note.—Should the partridges be very large, split them in half, they will then lie in the dish more compactly. When at hand, a few mushrooms should always be added.

Partridge, Potted.

Ingredients.—Partridges; seasoning to taste of mace, allspice, white pepper, and salt; butter, coarse paste. Mode.—Pluck and draw the birds, and wipe them inside with a damp cloth. Pound well some mace, allspice, white pepper, and salt; mix together, and rub every part of the partridges with this. Pack the birds as closely as possible in a baking-pan, with plenty of butter over them, and cover with a coarse flour and water crust. Tie a paper over this, and bake for rather more than 1½ hour; let the birds get cold, then cut them into pieces for keeping, pack them closely into a large potting-pot, and cover with clarified butter. This should be kept in a cool dry place. The butter used for potted things will answer for basting, or for paste for meat pies. Time.—1½ hour. Seasonable from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

Partridge, Roast.

Ingredients.—Partridge; butter. Choosing and Trussing.—Choose young birds, with dark-coloured bills and yellowish legs, and let them hang a few days, or there will be no flavour to the flesh, nor will it be tender. The time they should be kept entirely depends on the taste of those for whom they are intended, as what some persons would consider delicious would be to others disgusting and offensive. They may be trussed with or without the head, the latter mode being now considered the most fashionable. Pluck, draw, and wipe the partridge carefully inside and out; cut off the head, leaving sufficient skin on the neck to skewer back; bring the legs close to the breast, between it and the side-bones, and pass a skewer through the pinions and the thick part of the thighs. When the head is left on, it should be brought round and fixed on to the point of the skewer. Mode.—When the bird is firmly and plumply trussed, roast it before a nice bright fire; keep it well basted, and a few minutes before serving, flour and froth it well. Dish it, and serve with gravy and bread sauce, and send to table hot and quickly. A little of the gravy should be poured over the bird. Time.—25 to 35 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 6d. to 2s. a brace. Sufficient.—2 for a dish. Seasonable from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

Partridge Soup.

Ingredients.—2 partridges, 3 slices of lean ham, 2 shred onions, 1 head of celery, 1 large carrot, and 1 turnip cut into any fanciful shapes, 1 small lump of sugar, 2 oz. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 2 quarts of medium stock. Mode.—Cut the partridges into pieces, and braise them in the butter and ham until quite tender; then take out the legs, wings, and breast, and set them by. Keep the backs and other trimmings in the braise, and add the onions and celery; any remains of cold game can be put in, and 3 pints of stock. Simmer slowly for 1 hour, strain it, and skim the fat off as clean as possible; put in the pieces that were taken out, give it one boil, and skim again to have it quite clear, and add the sugar and seasoning. Now simmer the cut carrot and turnip in 1 pint of stock; when quite tender, put them to the partridges, and serve. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 2s. or 1s. 6d. per quart. Seasonable from September to February. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Note.—The meat of the partridges may be pounded with a crumb of a French roll, and worked with the soup through a sieve. Serve with stewed celery cut in slices, and put in the tureen.

Partridges, to Carve.

There are several ways of carving this most familiar game bird. The more usual and summary mode is to carry the knife sharply along the top of the breastbone of the bird, and cut it quite through, thus dividing it into two precisely equal and similar parts, in the same manner as carving a pigeon. Another plan is to cut it into three pieces; viz., by severing a small wing and leg on either side from the body, by following the line 1 to 2 in the upper woodcut; thus making 2 helpings, when the breast will remain for a third plate. The most elegant manner is that of thrusting back the body from the legs, and then cutting through the breast in the direction shown by the line 1 to 2: this plan will give 4 or more small helpings. A little bread-sauce should be served to each guest.

Partridges, Hashed, or Salmi de Perdrix.

Ingredients.—3 young partridges, 3 shallots, a slice of lean ham, 1 carrot, 3 or 4 mushrooms, a bunch of savoury herbs, 2 cloves, 6 whole peppers, ¾ pint of stock, 1 glass of sherry or Madeira, a small lump of sugar. Mode.—After the partridges are plucked and drawn, roast them rather underdone, and cover them with paper, as they should not be browned; cut them into joints, take off the skin from the wings, legs, and breasts; put these into a stewpan, cover them up, and set by until the gravy is ready. Cut a slice of ham into small pieces, and put them, with the carrots sliced, the shallots, mushrooms, herbs, cloves, and pepper, into a stewpan; fry them lightly in a little butter, pour in the stock, add the bones and trimming from the partridges, and simmer for ¼ hour. Strain the gravy, let it cool, and skim off every particle of fat; put it to the legs, wings, and breasts, add a glass of sherry or Madeira and a small lump of sugar, let all gradually warm through by the side of the fire, and when on the point of boiling, serve, and garnish the dish with croûtons. The remains of roast partridge answer very well dressed in this way, although not so good as when the birds are in the first instance only half-roasted. This recipe is equally suitable for pheasants, moorgame, &c.; but care must be taken always to skin the joints. Time.—Altogether 1 hour. Sufficient.—2 or 3 partridges for an entrée. Seasonable from the 1st of September to the beginning of February.

Paste, Common, for Family Pies.

Ingredients.—1¼ lb. of flour, ½ lb. of butter, rather more than ½ pint of water. Mode.—Rub the butter lightly into the flour, and mix it to a smooth paste with the water; roll it out 2 or 3 times, and it will be ready for use. This paste may be converted into an excellent short crust for sweet tart by adding to the flour, after the butter is rubbed in, 2 tablespoonfuls of fine-sifted sugar. Average cost, 8d. per lb.

Paste, Puff, French, or Feuilletage (Founded on M. Ude’s Recipe).

Ingredients.—Equal quantities of flour and butter—say 1 lb. of each; ½ saltspoonful of salt, the yolks of 2 eggs, rather more than ¼ pint of water. Mode.—Weigh the flour; ascertain that it is perfectly dry, and sift it; squeeze all the water from the butter, and wring it in a clean cloth till there is no moisture remaining. Put the flour on the paste-board, work lightly into it 2 oz. of the butter, and then make a hole in the centre; into this well put the yolks of 2 eggs, the salt, and about ¼ pint of water (the quantity of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the cook, as it is impossible to give the exact proportion of it); knead up the paste quickly and lightly, and, when quite smooth, roll it out square to the thickness of about ½ inch. Presuming that the butter is perfectly free from moisture, and as cool as possible, roll it into a ball, and place this ball of butter on the paste; fold the paste over the butter all round, and secure it by wrapping it well all over. Flatten the paste by rolling it lightly with the rolling-pin until it is quite thin, but not thin enough to allow the butter to break through, and keep the board and paste dredged lightly with flour during the process of making it. This rolling gives it the first turn. Now fold the paste in three, and roll out again, and, should the weather be very warm, put it in a cold place on the ground to cool between the several turns; for, unless this is particularly attended to, the paste will be spoiled. Roll out the paste again twice, put it by to cool, then roll it out twice more, which will make 6 turnings in all. Now fold the paste in two, and it will be ready for use. If properly baked and well made, this crust will be delicious, and should rise in the oven about 5 or 6 inches. The paste should be made rather firm in the first instance, as the ball of butter is liable to break through. Great attention must also be paid to keeping the butter very cool, as, if this is in a liquid and soft state, the paste will not answer at all. Should the cook be dexterous enough to succeed in making this, the paste will have a much better appearance than that made by the process of dividing the butter into 4 parts, and placing it over the rolled-out paste; but until experience has been acquired, we recommend puff-paste made by recipe. The above paste is used for vols-au-vent, small articles of pastry, and, in fact, everything that requires very light crust. Average cost, 1s. 6d. per lb.

Paste, Puff, very Good.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of flour allow 1 lb. of butter, and not quite ½ pint of water. Mode.—Carefully weigh the flour and butter, and have the exact proportion; squeeze the butter well, to extract the water from it, and afterwards wring it in a clean cloth, that no moisture may remain. Sift the flour; see that it is perfectly dry, and proceed in the following manner to make the paste, using a very clean paste-board and rolling-pin:—Supposing the quantity to be 1 lb. of flour, work the whole into a smooth paste with not quite ½ pint of water, using a knife to mix it with: the proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the discretion of the cook; if too much be added, the paste, when baked, will be tough. Roll it out until it is of an equal thickness of about an inch; break 4 oz. of the butter into small pieces; place these on the paste, sift over it a little flour, fold it over, roll out again, and put another 4 oz. of butter. Repeat the rolling and buttering until the paste has been rolled out 4 times, or equal quantities of flour and butter have been used. Do not omit, every time the paste is rolled out, to dredge a little flour over that and the rolling-pin, to prevent both from sticking. Handle the paste as lightly as possible, and do not press heavily upon it with the rolling-pin. The next thing to be considered is the oven, as the baking of pastry requires particular attention. Do not put it into the oven until it is sufficiently hot to raise the paste; for the best-prepared paste, if not properly baked, will be good for nothing. Brushing the paste as often as rolled out, and the pieces of butter placed thereon, with the white of an egg, assists it to rise in leaves or flakes. As this is the great beauty of puff-paste, it is as well to try this method. Average cost, 1s. 4d. per lb.

Paste, Puff, Medium.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of flour allow 8 oz. of butter, 4 oz. of lard, not quite ½ pint of water. Mode.—This paste may be made by the directions in the preceding recipe, only using less butter, and substituting lard for a portion of it. Mix the flour to a smooth paste with not quite ½ pint of water; then roll it out 3 times, the first time covering the paste with butter, the second with lard, and the third with butter. Keep the rolling-pin and paste slightly dredged with flour, to prevent them from sticking, and it will be ready for use. Average cost, 1s. per lb.

Paste, Puff (Soyer’s Recipe).

Ingredients.—To every lb. of flour allow the yolk of 1 egg, the juice of 1 lemon, ½ saltspoonful of salt, cold water, 1 lb. of fresh butter. Mode.—Put the flour on to the paste-board; make a hole in the centre, into which put the yolk of the egg, the lemon-juice, and salt; mix the whole with cold water (this should be iced in summer, if convenient) into a soft flexible paste, with the right hand, and handle it as little as possible; then squeeze all the buttermilk from the butter, wring it in a cloth, and roll out the paste; place the butter on this, and fold the edges of the paste over, so as to hide it; roll it out again to the thickness of ¼ inch; fold over one third, over which again pass the rolling-pin; then fold over the other third, thus forming a square; place it with the ends, top, and bottom before you, shaking a little flour both under and over, and repeat the rolls and turns twice again, as before. Flour a baking-sheet, put the paste on this, and let it remain on ice or in some cool place for ½ hour; then roll twice more, turning it as before; place it again upon the ice for ¼ hour, give it 2 more rolls, making 7 in all, and it is ready for use when required. Average cost, 1s. 6d. per lb.

Pastry and Puddings, Directions in connection with the making of.

A few general remarks respecting the various ingredients of which puddings and pastry are composed may be acceptable, in addition to the recipes in this department of Household Management.

Flour should be of the best quality, and perfectly dry, and sifted before being used; if in the least damp, the paste made from it will certainly be heavy.

Butter, unless fresh is used, should be washed from the salt, and well squeezed and wrung in a cloth, to get out all the water and buttermilk, which, if left in, assist to make the paste heavy.

Lard should be perfectly sweet, which may be ascertained by cutting the bladder through, and, if the knife smells sweet, the lard is good.

Suet should be finely chopped, perfectly free from skin, and quite sweet; during the process of chopping, it should be lightly dredged with flour, which prevents the pieces from sticking together. Beef suet is considered the best; but veal suet, or the outside fat of a loin or neck of mutton, makes good crusts; as also the skimmings in which a joint of mutton has been boiled, but without vegetables.

Clarified Beef Dripping answers very well for kitchen pies, puddings, cakes, or for family use. A very good short crust may be made by mixing with it a small quantity of moist sugar; but care must be taken to use the dripping sparingly, or a very disagreeable flavour will be imparted to the paste.

Strict cleanliness must be observed in pastry-making; all the utensils used should be perfectly free from dust and dirt, and the things required for pastry kept entirely for that purpose.

In mixing paste, add the water very gradually, work the whole together with the knife-blade, and knead it until perfectly smooth. Those who are inexperienced in pastry-making should work the butter in by breaking it in small pieces, and covering the paste rolled out. It should then be dredged with flour, and the ends folded over and rolled out very thin again: this process must be repeated until all the butter is used.

The art of making paste requires much practice, dexterity, and skill: it should be touched as lightly as possible, made with cool hands and in a cool place (a marble slab is better than a board for the purpose), and the coolest part of the house should be selected for the process during warm weather.

To insure rich paste being light, great expedition must be used in the making and baking; for if it stand long before it is put in the oven, it becomes flat and heavy.

Puff-paste requires a brisk oven, but not too hot, or it would blacken the crust; on the other hand, if the oven be too slack, the paste will be soddened, and will not rise, nor will it have any colour.

Tart-tins, cake-moulds, dishes for baked puddings, patty-pans, &c., should all be buttered before the article intended to be baked is put in them. Things to be baked on sheets should be placed on buttered paper. Raised-pie paste should have a soaking heat, and paste glazed must have rather a slack oven, that the icing be not scorched. It is better to ice tarts, &c., when they are three-parts baked.

To ascertain when the oven is heated to the proper degree for puff-paste, put a small piece of the paste in previous to baking the whole, and then the heat can thus be judged of.

The freshness of all pudding ingredients is of much importance, as one bad article will taint the whole mixture.

When the freshness of eggs is doubtful, break each one separately in a cup, before mixing them altogether. Should there be a bad one amongst them, it can be thrown away; whereas, if mixed with the good ones, the entire quantity would be spoiled. The yolks and whites beaten separately make the articles they are put into much lighter.

Raisins and dried fruits for puddings should be carefully picked, and in many cases stoned. Currants should be well washed, pressed in a cloth, and placed on a dish before the fire to get thoroughly dry: they should then be picked carefully over, and every piece of grit or stone removed from amongst them. To plump them, some cooks pour boiling water over them, and then dry them before the fire.

Batter pudding should be smoothly mixed and free from lumps. To insure this, first mix the flour with a very small proportion of milk, and add the remainder by degrees. Should the pudding be very lumpy, it may be strained through a hair sieve.

All boiled puddings should be put on in boiling water, which must not be allowed to stop simmering, and the pudding must always be covered with the water; if requisite, the saucepan should be kept filled up.

To prevent a pudding boiled in a cloth from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, place a small plate or saucer underneath it, and set the pan on a trivet over the fire. If a mould is used, this precaution is not necessary; but care must be taken to keep the pudding well covered with water.

For dishing a boiled pudding as soon as it comes out of the pot, dip it into a basin of cold water, and the cloth will then not adhere to it. Great expedition is necessary in sending puddings to table, as by standing they quickly become heavy, batter puddings particularly.

For baked or boiled puddings, the moulds, cups, or basins should be always buttered before the mixture is put in them, and they should be put into the saucepan directly they are filled.

Scrupulous attention should be paid to the cleanliness of pudding-cloths, as from neglect in this particular the outsides of boiled puddings frequently taste very disagreeably. As soon as possible after it is taken off the pudding, it should be soaked in water, and then well washed, without soap, unless it be very greasy. It should be dried out of doors, then folded up and kept in a dry place. When wanted for use, dip it in boiling water, and dredge it slightly with flour.

The dry ingredients for puddings are better for being mixed some time before they are wanted; the liquid portion should only be added just before the pudding is put into the saucepan.

A pinch of salt is an improvement to the generality of puddings; but this ingredient should be added very sparingly, as the flavour should not be detected.

When baked puddings are sufficiently solid, turn them out of the dish they were baked in, bottom uppermost, and strew over them fine-sifted sugar.

When pastry or baked puddings are not done through, and yet the outside is sufficiently brown, cover them over with a piece of white paper until thoroughly cooked: this prevents them from getting burnt.

Pastry, to Ice or Glaze.

To glaze pastry, which is the usual method adopted for meat or raised pies, break an egg, separate the yolk from the white, and beat the former for a short time. Then, when the pastry is nearly baked, take it out of the oven, brush it over with this beaten yolk of egg, and put it back in the oven to set the glaze.

To ice pastry, which is the usual method adopted for fruit tarts and sweet dishes of pastry, put the white of an egg on a plate, and with the blade of a knife beat it to a stiff froth. When the pastry is nearly baked, brush it over with this, and sift over some pounded sugar; put it back into the oven to set the glaze, and, in a few minutes, it will be done. Great care should be taken that the paste does not catch or burn in the oven, which it is very liable to do after the icing is laid on. Sufficient.—Allow 1 egg and 1½ oz. of sugar to glaze 3 tarts.

Pastry Sandwiches.

Ingredients.—Puff-paste, jam of any kind, the white of an egg, sifted sugar. Mode.—Roll the paste out thin; put half of it on a baking-sheet or tin, and spread equally over it apricot, greengage, or any preserve that may be preferred. Lay over this preserve another thin paste; press the edges together all round; and mark the paste in lines with a knife on the surface, to show where to cut it when baked. Bake from 20 minutes to ½ hour; and, a short time before being done, take the pastry out of the oven, brush it over with the white of an egg, sift over pounded sugar, and put it back in the oven to colour. When cold, cut it into strips; pile these on a dish pyramidically, and serve. These strips, cut about 2 inches long, piled in circular rows, and a plateful of flavoured whipped cream poured in the middle, make a very pretty dish. Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour. Average cost, with ½ lb. of paste, 1s. Sufficient.—½ lb. of paste will make 2 dishes of sandwiches. Seasonable at any time.

Pate Brisee, Crust French, for Raised Pies.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of flour allow ½ saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, 1/3 pint of water, 6 oz. of butter. Mode.—Spread the flour, which should be sifted and thoroughly dry, on the paste-board; make a hole in the centre, into which put the butter; work it lightly into the flour, and when quite fine, add the salt; work the whole into a smooth paste with the eggs (yolks and whites) and water, and make it very firm. Knead the paste well, and let it be rather stiff, that the sides of the pie may be easily raised, and that they do not afterwards tumble or shrink. Average cost, 1s. per lb.

Note.—This paste may be very much enriched by making it with equal quantities of flour and butter; but then it is not so easily raised as when made plainer.

Patties, Fried.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—Cold roast veal, a few slices of cold ham, 1 egg boiled hard, pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, gravy, cream, 1 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, good puff-paste. Mode.—Mince a little cold veal and ham, allowing one-third ham to two-thirds veal; add an egg boiled hard and chopped, and a seasoning of pounded mace, salt, pepper, and lemon-peel; moisten with a little gravy and cream. Make a good puff-paste; roll rather thin, and cut it into round or square pieces; put the mince between two of them, pinch the edges to keep in the gravy, and fry a light brown. They may also be baked in patty-pans; in that case, they should be brushed over with the yolk of an egg before they are put in the oven. To make a variety, oysters may be substituted for the ham. Time.—15 minutes to fry the patties. Seasonable from March to October.

Pea Soup (Inexpensive).

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of onions, ¼ lb. of carrots, 2 oz. of celery, ¾ lb. of split peas, a little mint, shred fine; 1 tablespoonful of coarse brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste, 4 quarts of water, or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled. Mode.—Fry the vegetables for 10 minutes in a little butter or dripping, previously cutting them up into small pieces; pour the water on them, and when boiling add the peas. Let them simmer for nearly 3 hours, or until the peas are thoroughly done. Add the sugar, seasoning, and mint; boil for ¼ of an hour, and serve. Time.—3½ hours. Average cost, 1½d. per quart. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 12 persons.

Pea Soup (Green).

Ingredients.—3 pints of green peas, ¼ lb. of butter, 2 or 3 thin slices of ham, 3 onions sliced, 4 shredded lettuces, the crumb of 2 French rolls, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 lump of sugar, 2 quarts of medium stock. Mode.—Put the butter, jam, 1 quart of peas, onions, and lettuces, to a pint of stock, and simmer for an hour; then add the remainder of the stock, with the crumb of the French rolls, and boil for another hour. Now boil the spinach, and squeeze it very dry. Rub the soup through a sieve, and the spinach with it, to colour it. Have ready a pint of young peas boiled; add them to the soup, put in the sugar, give one boil, and serve. If necessary, add salt. Time.—2½ hours. Average cost, 1s. 9d. per quart. Seasonable from June to the end of August. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Note.—It will be well to add, if the peas are not quite young, a little more sugar. Where economy is essential, water may be used instead of stock for this soup, boiling in it likewise the pea-shells; but using a double quantity of vegetables.

Pea Soup, Winter (Yellow).

Ingredients.—1 quart of split peas, 2 lbs. of shin beef, trimmings of meat or poultry, a slice of bacon, 2 large carrots, 2 turnips, 5 large onions, 1 head of celery, seasoning to taste, 2 quarts of soft water, any bones left from roast meat, 2 quarts of common stock, or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled. Mode.—Put the peas to soak over-night in soft water, and float off such as rise to the top. Boil them in the water till tender enough to pulp; then add the ingredients mentioned above, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring it occasionally. Pass the whole through a sieve, skim well, season, and serve with toasted bread cut in dice. Time.—4 hours. Average cost, 6d. per quart. Seasonable all the year round, but more suitable for cold weather. Sufficient for 12 persons.

Peaches, Compôte of.

Ingredients.—1 pint of syrup, about 15 small peaches, Mode.—Peaches that are not very large, and that would not look well for dessert, answer very nicely for a compôte. Divide the peaches, take out the stones, and pare the fruit; make a syrup by recipe, put in the peaches, and stew them gently for about 10 minutes. Take them out without breaking, arrange them on a glass dish, boil the syrup for 2 or 3 minutes, let it cool, pour it over the fruit, and, when cold, it will be ready for table. Time.—10 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable in August and September.

Peach Fritters.

Ingredients.—For the batter, ½ lb. of flour, ½ oz. of butter, ½ saltspoonful of salt, 2 eggs, milk, peaches, hot lard or clarified dripping. Mode.—Make a nice smooth batter; skin, halve, and stone the peaches, which should be quite ripe; dip them in the batter, and fry the pieces in hot lard or clarified dripping, which should be boiling before the peaches are put in. From 8 to 10 minutes will be required to fry them; when done, drain them before the fire. Dish them on a white d’oyley. Strew over plenty of pounded sugar and serve. Time.—From 8 to 10 minutes to fry the fritters, 5 minutes to drain them. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable in July, August, and September.

Peaches Preserved in Brandy.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of fruit weighed before being stoned, allow ¼ lb. of finely-pounded loaf sugar; brandy. Mode.—Let the fruit be gathered in dry weather; wipe and weigh it, and remove the stones as carefully as possible, without injuring the peaches much. Put them into a jar, sprinkle amongst them pounded loaf sugar in the above proportion, and pour brandy over the fruit. Cover the jar down closely, place it in a saucepan of boiling water over the fire, and bring the brandy to the simmering-point, but do not allow it to boil. Take the fruit out carefully, without breaking it; put it into small jars, pour over it the brandy, and, when cold, exclude the air by covering the jars with bladders, or tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg. Apricots may be done in the same manner, and, if properly prepared, will be found delicious. Time.—From 10 to 20 minutes to bring the brandy to the simmering-point. Seasonable in August and September.

Pears, Baked.

Ingredients.—12 pears, the rind of 1 lemon, 6 cloves, 10 whole allspice; to every pint of water allow ½ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Pare and cut the pears into halves, and, should they be very large, into quarters; leave the stalks on, and carefully remove the cores. Place them in a clean baking-jar, with a closely-fitting lid; add to them the lemon-rind cut in strips, the juice of ½ lemon, the cloves, pounded allspice, and sufficient water just to cover the whole, with sugar in the above proportion. Cover the jar down closely, put it into a very cool oven, and bake the pears from 5 to 6 hours, but be very careful that the oven is not too hot. To improve the colour of the fruit, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added; but this will not be found necessary, if the pears are very gently baked. Time.—Large pears, 5 to 6 hours, in a very slow oven. Average cost, 1d. to 2d. each. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable from September to January.

Pears à L’Allemande.

Ingredients.—6 to 8 pears, water, sugar, 2 oz. of butter, the yolk of an egg, ½ oz. of gelatine. Mode.—Peel and cut the pears into any form that may be preferred, and steep them in cold water to prevent them turning black; put them into a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover them, and boil them with the butter and enough sugar to sweeten them nicely, until tender; then brush the pears over with the yolk of an egg, sprinkle them with sifted sugar, and arrange them on a dish. Add the gelatine to the syrup, boil it up quickly for about 5 minutes, strain it over the pears, and let it remain until set. The syrup may be coloured with a little prepared cochineal, which would very much improve the appearance of the dish. Time.—From 20 minutes to ½ hour to stew the pears; 5 minutes to boil the syrup. Average cost, 1s. 3d. Sufficient for a large dish. Seasonable from August to February.

Pears, Moulded.

Ingredients.—4 large pears or 6 small ones, 8 cloves, sugar to taste, water, a small piece of cinnamon, ¼ pint of raisin wine, a strip of lemon-peel, the juice of ½ lemon, ½ oz. of gelatine. Mode.—Peel and cut the pears into quarters; put them into a jar with ¾ pint of water, cloves, cinnamon, and sufficient sugar to sweeten the whole nicely; cover down the top of the jar, and bake the pears in a gentle oven until perfectly tender, but do not allow them to break. When done, lay the pears in a plain mould, which should be well wetted, and boil ½ pint of the liquor the pears were baked in with the wine, lemon-peel, strained juice, and gelatine. Let these ingredients boil quickly for 5 minutes, then strain the liquid warm over the pears; put the mould in a cool place, and when the jelly is firm, turn it out on a glass dish. Time.—2 hours to bake the pears in a cool oven. Average cost, 1s. 3d. Sufficient for a quart mould. Seasonable from August to February.

Pears, Preserved.

Ingredients.—Jargonelle pears; to every lb. of sugar allow ½ pint of water. Mode.—Procure some Jargonelle pears, not too ripe; put them into a stewpan with sufficient water to cover them, and simmer them till rather tender, but do not allow them to break; then put them into cold water. Boil the sugar and water together for 5 minutes, skim well, put in the pears, and simmer them gently for 5 minutes. Repeat the simmering for 3 successive days, taking care not to let the fruit break. The last time of boiling, the syrup should be made rather richer, and the fruit boiled for 10 minutes. When the pears are done, drain them from the syrup, and dry them in the sun, or in a cool oven; or they may be kept in the syrup, and dried as they are wanted. Time.—½ hour to simmer the pears in water, 20 minutes in the syrup. Average cost, 1d. to 2d. each. Seasonable.—Most plentiful in September and October.

Pears, Stewed.

Ingredients.—8 large pears, 5 oz. of loaf sugar, 6 cloves, 6 whole allspice, ½ pint of water, ¼ pint of port wine, a few drops of prepared cochineal. Mode.—Pare the pears, halve them, remove the cores, and leave the stalks on; put them into a lined saucepan with the above ingredients, and let them simmer very gently until tender, which will be in from 3 to 4 hours, according to the quality of the pears. They should be watched, and, when done, carefully lifted out on to a glass dish without breaking them. Boil up the syrup quickly for 2 or 3 minutes; allow it to cool a little, pour it over the pears, and let them get perfectly cold. To improve the colour of the fruit, a few drops of prepared cochineal may be added, which rather enhances the beauty of this dish. The fruit must not be boiled fast, but only simmered, and watched that it be not too much done. Time.—3 to 4 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from September to January.

Peas, Boiled Green.

Ingredients.—Green peas; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 small teaspoonful of moist sugar, 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. Mode.—This delicious vegetable, to be eaten in perfection, should be young, and not gathered or shelled long before it is dressed. Shell the peas, wash them well in cold water, and drain them; then put them into a saucepan with plenty of fast-boiling water, to which salt and moist sugar have been added in the above proportion; let them boil quickly over a brisk fire, with the lid of the saucepan uncovered, and be careful that the smoke does not draw in. When tender, pour them into a colander; put them into a hot vegetable-dish, and quite in the centre of the peas place a piece of butter, the size of a walnut. Many cooks boil a small bunch of mint with the peas, or garnish them with it, by boiling a few sprigs in a saucepan by themselves. Should the peas be very old, and difficult to boil a good colour, a very tiny piece of soda may be thrown in the water previous to putting them in; but this must be very sparingly used, as it causes the peas, when boiled, to have a smashed and broken appearance. With young peas, there is not the slightest occasion to use it. Time.—Young peas, 10 to 15 minutes; the large sorts, such as marrowfats, &c., 18 to 24 minutes; old peas, ½ hour. Average cost, when cheapest, 6d. per peck; when first in season, 1s. to 1s. 6d. per peck. Sufficient.—Allow 1 peck of unshelled peas for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from June to the end of August.

Peas, Green, à la Française.

Ingredients.—2 quarts of green peas, 3 oz. of fresh butter, a bunch of parsley, 6 green onions, flour, a small lump of sugar, ½ teaspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of flour. Mode.—Shell sufficient fresh-gathered peas to fill 2 quarts; put them into cold water, with the above proportion of butter, and stir them about until they are well covered with the butter; drain them in a colander, and put them in a stewpan, with the parsley and onions; dredge over them a little flour, stir the peas well, and moisten them with boiling water; boil them quickly over a large fire for 20 minutes, or until there is no liquor remaining. Dip a small lump of sugar into some water, that it may soon melt; put it with the peas, to which add ½ teaspoonful of salt. Take a piece of butter the size of a walnut, work it together with a teaspoonful of flour, and add this to the peas, which should be boiling when it is put in. Keep shaking the stewpan, and, when the peas are nicely thickened, dress them high in the dish, and serve. Time.—Altogether, ¾ hour. Average cost, 6d. per peck. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from June to the end of August.

Peas, Stewed Green.

Ingredients.—1 quart of peas, 1 lettuce, 1 onion, 2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 egg, ½ teaspoonful of powdered sugar. Mode.—Shell the peas, and cut the onion and lettuce into slices; put these into a stewpan, with the butter, pepper, and salt, but with no more water than that which hangs around the lettuce from washing. Stew the whole very gently for rather more than 1 hour; then stir in a well-beaten egg, and about ½ teaspoonful of powdered sugar. When the peas, &c., are nicely thickened, serve; but, after the egg is added, do not allow them to boil. Time.—1¼ hour. Average cost, 6d. per peck. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable from June to the end of August.

Perch, Boiled.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. Mode.—Scale the fish, take out the gills and clean it thoroughly; lay it in boiling water, salted as above, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. If the fish is very large, longer time must be allowed. Garnish with parsley, and serve with plain melted butter, or Dutch sauce. Perch do not preserve so good a flavour when stewed as when dressed in any other way. Time.—Middling-sized perch, ¼ hour. Seasonable from September to November.

Note.—Tench may be boiled the same way, and served with the same sauces.

Perch, Fried.

Ingredients.—Egg and bread-crumbs, hot lard. Mode.—Scale and clean the fish, brush it over with egg, and cover with bread-crumbs. Have ready some boiling lard; put the fish in, and fry a nice brown. Serve with plain melted butter or anchovy sauce. Time.—10 minutes. Seasonable from September to November.

Note.—Fry tench in the same way.

Perch, Stewed with Wine.

Ingredients.—Equal quantities of stock and sherry, 1 bay-leaf, 1 clove of garlic, a small bunch of parsley, 2 cloves, salt to taste; thickening of butter and flour, pepper, grated nutmeg, ½ teaspoonful of anchovy sauce. Mode.—Scale the fish and take out the gills, and clean them thoroughly; lay them in a stewpan with sufficient stock and sherry just to cover them. Put in the bay-leaf, garlic, parsley, cloves, and salt, and simmer till tender. When done, take out the fish, strain the liquor, add a thickening of butter and flour, the pepper, nutmeg, and the anchovy sauce, and stir it over the fire until somewhat reduced, when pour over the fish, and serve. Time.—About 20 minutes. Seasonable from September to November.

Petites Bouchées.

Ingredients.—6 oz. of sweet almonds, ¼ lb. of sifted sugar, the rind of ½ lemon, the white of 1 egg, puff-paste. Mode.—Blanch the almonds, and chop them fine; rub the sugar on the lemon-rind, and pound it in a mortar; mix this with the almonds and the white of the egg. Roll some puff-paste out; cut it in any shape that may be preferred, such as diamonds, rings, ovals, &c., and spread the above mixture over the paste. Bake the bouchées in an oven, not too hot, and serve cold. Time.—¼ hour, or rather more. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for ½ lb. of puff-paste. Seasonable at any time.

Pheasant.

If this bird be eaten three days after it has been killed, it then has no peculiarity of flavour; a pullet would be more relished, and a quail would surpass it in aroma. Kept, however, a proper length of time,—and this can be ascertained by a slight smell and change of colour,—then it becomes a highly-flavoured dish, occupying, so to speak, the middle distance between chicken and venison. It is difficult to define any exact time to “hang” a pheasant; but any one possessed of the instincts of gastronomical science, can at once detect the right moment when a pheasant should be taken down, in the same way as a good cook knows whether a bird should be removed from the spit, or have a turn or two more.

Pheasant, Broiled (a Breakfast or Luncheon Dish).

Ingredients.—1 pheasant, a little lard, egg and bread-crumbs, salt and cayenne to taste. Mode.—Cut the legs off at the first joint, and the remainder of the bird into neat pieces; put them into a frying-pan with a little lard, and when browned on both sides, and about half done, take them out and drain them; brush the pieces over with egg, and sprinkle with bread-crumbs with which has been mixed a good seasoning of cayenne and salt. Broil them over a moderate fire for about 10 minutes, or rather longer, and serve with mushroom-sauce, sauce piquante, or brown gravy, in which a few game-bones and trimmings have been stewed. Time.—Altogether ½ hour. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.

Pheasant, to Carve.

Fixing the fork in the breast, let the carver cut slices from it in the direction of the lines from 2 to 1: these are the prime pieces. If there be more guests to satisfy than these slices will serve, then let the legs and wings be disengaged in the same manner as described in carving boiled fowl, the point where the wing joins the neckbone being carefully found. The merrythought will come off in the same way as that of a fowl. The most valued parts are the same as those which are most considered in a fowl.

Pheasant Cutlets.

Ingredients.—2 or 3 pheasants, egg and bread-crumbs, cayenne and salt to taste, brown gravy. Mode.—Procure 3 young pheasants that have been hung a few days; pluck, draw, and wipe them inside; cut them into joints; remove the bones from the best of these; and the backbones, trimmings, &c., put into a stewpan, with a little stock, herbs, vegetables, seasoning, &c., to make the gravy. Flatten and trim the cutlets of a good shape, egg and bread-crumb them, broil them over a clear fire, pile them high in the dish, and pour under them the gravy made from the bones, which should be strained, flavoured, and thickened. One of the small bones should be stuck on the point of each cutlet. Time.—10 minutes. Average cost, 2s. 6d. to 3s. each. Sufficient for 2 entrées. Seasonable from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.

Pheasant, Roast.

Ingredients.—Pheasant, flour, butter. Choosing and trussing.—Old pheasants may be known by the length and sharpness of their spurs; in young ones they are short and blunt. The cock bird is generally reckoned the best, except when the hen is with egg. They should hang some time before they are dressed, as, if they are cooked fresh, the flesh will be exceedingly dry and tasteless. After the bird is plucked and drawn, wipe the inside with a damp cloth, and truss it in the same manner as partridge. If the head is left on, as shown in the engraving, bring it round under the wing, and fix it on to the point of the skewer. Mode.—Roast it before a brisk fire, keep it well basted, and flour and froth it nicely. Serve with brown gravy, a little of which should be poured round the bird, and a tureen of bread sauce. 2 or 3 of the pheasant’s best tail-feathers are sometimes stuck in the tail as an ornament; but the fashion is not much to be commended. Time.—½ to 1 hour, according to the size. Average cost, 2s. 6d. to 3s. each. Sufficient,—1 for a dish. Seasonable from the 1st of October to the beginning of February.

Pheasant, Roast, Brillat Savarin’s Recipe (à la Sainte Alliance).

When the pheasant is in good condition to be cooked, it should be plucked, and not before. The bird should then be stuffed in the following manner:—Take two snipes, and draw them, putting the bodies on one plate, and the livers, &c., on another. Take off the flesh, and mince it finely with a little beef, lard, a few truffles, pepper and salt to taste, and stuff the pheasant carefully with this. Cut a slice of bread, larger considerably than the bird, and cover it with the liver, &c., and a few truffles: an anchovy and a little fresh butter added to these will do no harm. Put the bread, &c., into the dripping-pan, and, when the bird is roasted, place it on the preparation, and surround it with Florida oranges.

Do not be uneasy, Savarin adds, about your dinner; for a pheasant served in this way is fit for beings better than men. The pheasant itself is a very good bird; and, imbibing the dressing and the flavour of the truffle and snipe, it becomes thrice better.

Pheasant Soup.

Ingredients.—2 pheasants, ¼ lb. of butter, 2 slices of ham, 2 large onions sliced, ½ head of celery, the crumb of two French rolls, the yolks of 2 eggs boiled hard; salt and cayenne to taste, a little pounded mace, if liked; 3 quarts of stock medium. Mode.—Cut up the pheasants, flour and braise them in the butter and ham till they are of a nice brown, but not burnt. Put them in a stewpan, with the onions, celery, stock, and seasoning, and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the soup; pound the breasts with the crumb of the roll previously soaked, and the yolks of the eggs; put it to the soup, give one boil, and serve. Time.—2½ hours. Average cost, 2s. 10d. per quart, or, if made with fragments of cold game, 1s. Seasonable from October to February. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Note.—Fragments, pieces and bones of cold game, may be used to great advantage in this soup, and then 1 pheasant will suffice.

Pickle, an Excellent.

Ingredients.—Equal quantities of medium-sized onions, cucumbers, and sauce-apples; 1½ teaspoonful of salt, ¾ teaspoonful of cayenne, 1 wineglassful of soy, 1 wineglassful of sherry; vinegar. Mode.—Slice sufficient cucumbers, onions, and apples to fill a pint stone jar, taking care to cut the slices very thin; arrange them in alternate layers, adding at the same time salt and cayenne in the above proportion; pour in the soy and wine, and fill up with vinegar. It will be fit for use the day it is made. Seasonable in August and September,

Pickle, Indian (very Superior).

Ingredients.—To each gallon of vinegar allow 6 cloves of garlic, 12 shalots, 2 sticks of sliced horseradish, ¼ lb. of bruised ginger, 2 oz. of whole black pepper, 1 oz. of long pepper, 1 oz. of allspice, 12 cloves, ¼ oz. of cayenne, 2 oz. of mustard-seed, ¼ lb. of mustard, 1 oz. of turmeric; a white cabbage, cauliflowers, radish-pods, French beans, gherkins, small round pickling-onions, nasturtiums, capsicums, chilies, &c. Mode.—Cut the cabbage, which must be hard and white, into slices, and the cauliflowers into small branches; sprinkle salt over them in a large dish, and let them remain two days; then dry them, and put them into a very large jar, with garlic, shalots, horseradish, ginger, pepper, allspice, and cloves, in the above proportions. Boil sufficient vinegar to cover them, which pour over, and, when cold, cover up to keep them free from dust. As the other things for the pickle ripen at different times, they may be added as they are ready: these will be radish-pods, French beans, gherkins, small onions, nasturtiums, capsicums, chilies, &c., &c. As these are procured, they must, first of all, be washed in a little cold vinegar, wiped, and then simply added to the other ingredients in the large jar, only taking care that they are covered by the vinegar. If more vinegar should be wanted to add to the pickle, do not omit first to boil it before adding it to the rest. When you have collected all the things you require, turn all out in a large pan, and thoroughly mix them. Now put the mixed vegetables into smaller jars, without any of the vinegar; then boil the vinegar again, adding as much more as will be required to fill the different jars, and also cayenne, mustard-seed, turmeric, and mustard, which must be well mixed with a little cold vinegar, allowing the quantities named above to each gallon of vinegar. Pour the vinegar, boiling hot, over the pickle, and when cold, tie down with a bladder. If the pickle is wanted for immediate use, the vinegar should be boiled twice more, but the better way is to make it during one season for use during the next. It will keep for years, if care is taken that the vegetables are quite covered by the vinegar.

This recipe was taken from the directions of a lady whose pickle was always pronounced excellent by all who tasted it, and who has, for many years, exactly followed the recipe given above.

Note.—For small families, perhaps the above quantity of pickle will be considered too large; but this may be decreased at pleasure, taking care to properly proportion the various ingredients.

Pickle, Mixed (very good).

Ingredients.—To each gallon of vinegar allow ¼ lb. of bruised ginger, ¼ lb. of mustard, ¼ lb. of salt, 2 oz. of mustard-seed, 1½ oz. of turmeric, 1 oz. of ground black pepper, ¼ oz. of cayenne, cauliflowers, onions, celery, sliced cucumbers, gherkins, French beans, nasturtiums, capsicums. Mode.—Have a large jar, with a tightly-fitting lid, in which put as much vinegar as required, reserving a little to mix the various powders to a smooth paste. Put into a basin the mustard, turmeric, pepper, and cayenne; mix them with vinegar, and stir well until no lumps remain; add all the ingredients to the vinegar, and mix well. Keep this liquor in a warm place, and thoroughly stir every morning for a month with a wooden spoon, when it will be ready for the different vegetables to be added to it. As these come into season, have them gathered on a dry day, and, after merely wiping them with a cloth, to free them from moisture, put them into the pickle. The cauliflowers, it may be said, must be divided into small bunches. Put all these into the pickle raw, and at the end of the season, when there have been added as many of the vegetables as could be procured, store it away in jars, and tie over with bladder. As none of the ingredients are boiled, this pickle will not be fit to eat till 12 months have elapsed. Whilst the pickle is being made, keep a wooden spoon tied to the jar; and its contents, it may be repeated, must be stirred every morning. Seasonable.—Make the pickle-liquor in May or June, as the season arrives for the various vegetables to be picked.

Pickle for Tongues or Beef (Newmarket Recipe).

Ingredients.—1 gallon of soft water, 3 lbs. of coarse salt, 6 oz. of coarse brown sugar, ½ oz. of saltpetre. Mode.—Put all the ingredients into a saucepan, and let them boil for ½ an hour, clear off the scum as it rises, and when done pour the pickle into a pickling-pan. Let it get cold, then put in the meat, and allow it to remain in pickle from 8 to 14 days, according to the size. It will keep good for 6 months if well boiled once a fortnight. Tongues will take 1 month or 6 weeks to be properly cured; and, in salting meat, beef and tongues should always be put in separate vessels. Time.—A moderate-sized tongue should remain in the pickle about a month, and be turned every day.

Pickle, Universal.

Ingredients.—To 6 quarts of vinegar allow 1 lb. of salt, ¼ lb. of ginger, 1 oz. of mace, ½ lb. of shalots, 1 tablespoonful of cayenne, 2 oz. of mustard-seed, 1½ oz. of turmeric. Mode.—Boil all the ingredients together for about 20 minutes; when cold, put them into a jar with whatever vegetables you choose, such as radish-pods, French beans, cauliflowers, gherkins, &c. &c., as these come into season; put them in fresh as you gather them, having previously wiped them perfectly free from moisture and grit. This pickle will be fit for use in about 8 or 9 months. Time.—20 minutes. Seasonable.—Make the pickle in May or June, to be ready for the various vegetables.

Note.—As this pickle takes 2 or 3 months to make,—that is to say, nearly that time will elapse before all the different vegetables are added,—care must be taken to keep the jar which contains the pickle well covered, either with a closely-fitting lid, or a piece of bladder securely tied over, so as perfectly to exclude the air.

Pickles.

Although pickles may be purchased at shops at as low a rate as they can usually be made for at home, or perhaps even for less, yet we would advise all housewives, who have sufficient time and convenience, to prepare their own. The only general rules, perhaps, worth stating here,—as in the recipes all necessary details will be explained—are, that the vegetables and fruits used should be sound, and not over-ripe, and that the very best vinegar should be employed.

Picnic for 40 Persons, Bill of Fare for.

A joint of cold roast beef, a joint of cold boiled beef, 2 ribs of lamb, 2 shoulders of lamb, 4 roast fowls, 2 roast ducks, 1 ham, 1 tongue, 2 veal-and-ham pies, 2 pigeon pies, 6 medium-sized lobsters, 1 piece of collared calf’s head, 18 lettuces, 6 baskets of salad, 6 cucumbers.

Stewed fruit well sweetened, and put into glass bottles well corked; 3 or 4 dozen plain pastry biscuits to eat with the stewed fruit, 2 dozen fruit turnovers, 4 dozen cheesecakes, 2 cold cabinet puddings in moulds, 2 blancmanges in moulds, a few jam puffs, 1 large cold plum-pudding (this must be good), a few baskets of fresh fruit, 3 dozen plain biscuits, a piece of cheese, 6 lbs. of butter (this, of course, includes the butter for tea), 4 quartern loaves of household bread, 3 dozen rolls, 6 loaves of tin bread (for tea), 2 plain plum cakes, 2 pound cakes, 2 sponge-cakes, a tin of mixed biscuits, ½ lb. of tea. Coffee is not suitable for a picnic, being difficult to make.

Picnic, Things not to be forgotten at.

A stick of horseradish, a bottle of mint-sauce well corked, a bottle of salad dressing, a bottle of vinegar, made mustard, pepper, salt, good oil, and pounded sugar. If it can be managed, take a little ice. It is scarcely necessary to say that plates, tumblers, wine-glasses, knives, forks, and spoons must not be forgotten; as also teacups and saucers, 3 or 4 teapots, some lump sugar, and milk, if this last-named article cannot be obtained in the neighbourhood. Take 3 corkscrews.

Beverages.—3 dozen quart bottles of ale, packed in hampers; ginger-beer, soda-water, and lemonade, of each 2 dozen bottles; 6 bottles of sherry, 6 bottles of claret, champagne à discrétion, and any other light wine that may be preferred, and 2 bottles of brandy. Water can usually be obtained, so it is useless to take it.

PIG, Sucking, to Carve.

A sucking-pig seems, at first sight, rather an elaborate dish, or rather animal, to carve; but by carefully mastering the details of the business, every difficulty will vanish; and if a partial failure be at first made, yet all embarrassment will quickly disappear on a second trial. A sucking-pig is usually sent to table in the manner shown in the engraving, and the first point to be attended to is to separate the shoulder from the carcase, by carrying the knife quickly and neatly round the circular line, as shown by the figures 1, 2, 3;—the shoulder will then easily come away. The next step is to take off the leg; and this is done in the same way, by cutting round this joint in the direction shown by the figures 1, 2, 3, in the same way as the shoulder. The ribs then stand fairly open to the knife, which should be carried down in the direction of the line 4 to 5; and two or three helpings will dispose of these. The other half of the pig is served, of course, in the same manner. Different parts of the pig are variously esteemed; some preferring the flesh of the neck; others, the ribs; and others, again, the shoulders. The truth is, the whole of a sucking-pig is delicious, delicate eating; but, in carving it, the host should consult the various tastes and fancies of his guests, keeping the larger joints, generally, for the gentlemen of the party.

PIG, Sucking, Roast.

Ingredients.—Pig, 6 oz. of bread-crumbs, 16 sage-leaves, pepper and salt to taste, a piece of butter the size of an egg, salad oil or butter to baste with, about ½ pint of gravy, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Mode.—A sucking-pig, to be eaten in perfection, should not be more than three weeks old, and should be dressed the same day that it is killed. After preparing the pig for cooking, as in the following recipe, stuff it with finely-grated bread-crumbs, minced sage, pepper, salt, and a piece of butter the size of an egg, all of which should be well mixed together, and put into the body of the pig. Sew up the slit neatly, and truss the legs back, to allow the inside to be roasted, and the under part to be crisp. Put the pig down to a bright clear fire, not too near, and let it lay till thoroughly dry; then have ready some butter tied up in a piece of thin cloth, and rub the pig with this in every part. Keep it well rubbed with the butter the whole of the time it is roasting, and do not allow the crackling to become blistered or burnt. When half-done, hang a pig-iron before the middle part (if this is not obtainable, use a flat iron), to prevent its being scorched and dried up before the ends are done. Before it is taken from the fire, out off the head, and part that and the body down the middle. Chop the brains and mix them with the stuffing; add ½ pint of good gravy, a tablespoonful of lemon-juice, and the gravy that flowed from the pig; put a little of this on the dish with the pig, and the remainder send to table in a tureen. Place the pig back to back in the dish, with one half of the head on each side, and one of the ears at each end, and send it to table as hot as possible. Instead of butter, many cooks take salad oil for basting, which makes the crackling crisp; and as this is one of the principal things to be considered, perhaps it is desirable to use it; but be particular that it is very pure, or it will impart an unpleasant flavour to the meat. The brains and stuffing may be stirred into a tureen of melted butter instead of gravy, when the latter is not liked. Apple sauce and the old-fashioned currant sauce are not yet quite obsolete as an accompaniment to roast pig. Time.—1½ to 2 hours for a small pig. Average cost, 5s. to 6s. Sufficient for 9 or 10 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

PIG, Sucking, to Scald a.

Put the pig into cold water directly it is killed; let it remain for a few minutes, then immerse it in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Take it out, lay it on a table, and pull off the hair as quickly as possible. When the skin looks clean, make a slit down the belly, take out the entrails, well clean the nostrils and ears, wash the pig in cold water, and wipe it thoroughly dry. Take off the feet at the first joint, and loosen and leave sufficient skin to turn neatly over. If not to be dressed immediately, fold it in a wet cloth to keep it from the air.

Pigs’ Cheeks, to Dry.

Ingredients.—Salt, ½ oz. of saltpetre, 2 oz. of bay-salt, 4 oz. of coarse sugar. Mode.—Cut out the snout, remove the brains, and split the head, taking off the upper bone to make the jowl a good shape; rub it well with salt; next day take away the brine, and salt it again the following day; cover the head with saltpetre, bay-salt, and coarse sugar, in the above proportion, adding a little common salt. Let the head be often turned, and when it has been in the pickle for 10 days, smoke it for a week or rather longer. Time.—To remain in the pickle 10 days; to be smoked 1 week. Seasonable.—Should be made from September to March.

Note.—A pig’s cheek, or Bath chap, will require two hours’ cooking after the water boils.

Pig’s Face, Collared (a Breakfast or Luncheon Dish).

Ingredients.—1 pig’s face; salt. For brine, 1 gallon of spring water, 1 lb. of common salt, ½ handful of chopped juniper-berries, 6 bruised cloves, 2 bay-leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, basil, sage, ¼ oz. of saltpetre. For forcemeat, ½ lb. of ham, ½ lb. bacon, 1 teaspoonful of mixed spices, pepper to taste, ¼ lb. of lard, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 6 young onions. Mode.—Singe the head carefully, bone it without breaking the skin, and rub it well with salt. Make the brine by boiling the above ingredients for ¼ hour, and letting it stand to cool. When cold, pour it over the head, and let it steep in this for 10 days, turning and rubbing it often. Then wipe, drain, and dry it. For the forcemeat, pound the ham and bacon very finely, and mix with these the remaining ingredients, taking care that the whole is thoroughly incorporated. Spread this equally over the head, roll it tightly in a cloth, and bind it securely with broad tape. Put it into a saucepan with a few meat trimmings, and cover it with stock; let it simmer gently for 4 hours, and be particular that it does not stop boiling the whole time. When quite tender, take it up, put it between 2 dishes with a heavy weight on the top, and when cold, remove the cloth and tape. It should be sent to table on a napkin, or garnished with a piece of deep white paper with a ruche at the top. Time.—4 hours. Average cost, from 2s. to 2s. 6d. Seasonable from October to March.

Pig’s Fry, to Dress.

Ingredients.—1½ lb. of pig’s fry, 2 onions, a few sage leaves, 3 lbs. of potatoes, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Put the lean fry at the bottom of a pie dish, sprinkle over it some minced sage and onion, and a seasoning of pepper and salt; slice the potatoes; put a layer of these on the seasonings, then the fat-fry, then more seasoning, and a layer of potatoes at the top. Fill the dish with boiling water, and bake for 2 hours, or rather longer. Time.—Rather more than 2 hours. Average cost, 6d. per lb. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Pig’s Liver (a Savoury and Economical Dish).

Ingredients.—The liver and lights of a pig, 6 or 7 slices of bacon, potatoes, 1 large bunch of parsley, 2 onions, 2 sage leaves, pepper and salt to taste, a little broth or water. Mode.—Slice the liver and lights, and wash these perfectly clean, and parboil the potatoes; mince the parsley and sage, and chop the onion rather small. Put the meat, potatoes, and bacon into a deep tin dish, in alternate layers, with a sprinkling of the herbs, and a seasoning of pepper and salt between each; pour on a little water or broth, and bake in a moderately-heated oven for 2 hours. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Pig’s Pettitoes.

Ingredients.—A thin slice of bacon, 1 onion, 1 blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, 3 or 4 sprigs of thyme, 1 pint of gravy, pepper and salt to taste, thickening of butter and flour. Mode.—Put the liver, heart, and pettitoes into a stewpan with the bacon, mace, peppercorns, thyme, onion, and gravy, and simmer these gently for ¼ hour; then take out the heart and liver, and mince them very fine. Keep stewing the feet until quite tender, which will be in from 20 minutes to ½ hour, reckoning from the time that they boiled up first; then put back the minced liver, thicken the gravy with a little butter and flour, season with pepper and salt, and simmer over a gentle fire for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring the contents. Dish the mince, split the feet, and arrange them round alternately with sippets of toasted bread, and pour the gravy in the middle. Time.—Altogether 40 minutes. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Pigeon, to Carve.

A very straightforward plan is adopted in carving a pigeon: the knife is carried sharply in the direction of the line as shown from 1 to 2, entirely through the bird, cutting it into two precisely equal and similar parts. If it is necessary to make three pieces of it, a small wing should be cut off with the leg on either side, thus serving two guests; and, by this means, there will be sufficient meat left on the breast to send to the third guest.

Pigeon Pie (Epsom Grand-Stand Recipe).

Ingredients.—1½ lb. of rump-steak, 2 or 3 pigeons, 3 slices of ham, pepper and salt to taste, 2 oz. of butter, 4 eggs, puff crust. Mode.—Cut the steak into pieces about 3 inches square, and with it line the bottom of a pie-dish, seasoning it well with pepper and salt. Clean the pigeons, rub them with pepper and salt inside and out, and put into the body of each rather more than ½ oz. of butter; lay them on the steak, and a piece of ham on each pigeon. Add the yolks of four eggs, and half fill the dish with stock; place a border of puff paste round the edge of the dish, put on the cover, and ornament it in any way that may be preferred. Clean three of the feet, and place them in a hole made in the crust at the top: this shows what kind of pie it is. Glaze the crust,—that is to say, brush it over with the yolk of an egg,—and bake it in a well-heated oven for about 1¼ hour. When liked, a seasoning of pounded mace may be added. Time.—1¼ hour, or rather less. Average cost, 5s. 3d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pigeons, Broiled.

Ingredients.—Pigeons, 3 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Take care that the pigeons are quite fresh, and carefully pluck, draw, and wash them; split the backs, rub the birds over with butter, season them with pepper and salt, and broil them over a moderate fire for ¼ hour or 20 minutes. Serve very hot, with either mushroom-sauce or a good gravy. Pigeons may also be plainly boiled, and served with parsley and butter; they should be trussed like boiled fowls, and take from ¼ hour to 20 minutes to boil. Time.—To broil a pigeon, from ¼ hour to 20 minutes; to boil one, the same time. Average cost, from 6d. to 9d. each. Seasonable from April to September, but in the greatest perfection from Midsummer to Michaelmas.

Pigeons, Roast.

Ingredients.—Pigeons, 3 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. Trussing.—Pigeons, to be good, should be eaten fresh (if kept a little, the flavour goes off), and they should be drawn as soon as killed. Cut off the heads and necks, truss the wings over the backs, and cut off the toes at the first joint: previous to trussing, they should be carefully cleaned, as no bird requires so much washing. Mode.—Wipe the birds very dry, season them inside with pepper and salt, and put about ¾ oz. of butter into the body of each: this makes them moist. Place them at a bright fire, and baste them well the whole of the time they are cooking (they will be done enough in from 20 to 30 minutes); garnish with fried parsley, and serve with a tureen of parsley and butter. Bread sauce and gravy, the same as for roast fowl, are exceedingly nice accompaniments to roast pigeons, as also egg-sauce. Time.—From 20 minutes to ½ hour. Average cost, 6d. to 9d. each. Seasonable from April to September; but in the greatest perfection from Midsummer to Michaelmas.

Pigeons, Stewed.

Ingredients.—6 pigeons, a few slices of bacon, 3 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, sufficient stock to cover the pigeons, thickening of butter and flour, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of port wine. Mode.—Empty and clean the pigeons thoroughly, mince the livers, add to these the parsley and butter, and put it into the insides of the birds. Truss them with the legs inward, and put them into a stewpan, with a few slices of bacon placed under and over them; add the stock, and stew gently for rather more than ½ hour. Dish the pigeons, strain the gravy, thicken it with butter and flour, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, pour over the pigeons, and serve. Time.—Rather more than ½ hour. Average cost, 6d. to 9d. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from April to September.

Pike, Baked.

Ingredients.—1 or 2 pike, a nice delicate stuffing (see Forcemeats), 1 egg, bread-crumbs, ¼ lb. butter. Mode.—Scale the fish, take out the gills, wash, and wipe it thoroughly dry; stuff it with forcemeat, sew it up, and fasten the tail in the mouth by means of a skewer; brush it over with egg, sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and baste with butter, before putting it in the oven, which must be well heated. When the pike is of a nice brown colour, cover it with buttered paper, as the outside would become too dry. If 2 are dressed, a little variety may be made by making one of them green with a little chopped parsley mixed with the bread-crumbs. Serve anchovy or Dutch sauce, and plain melted butter with it. Time.—According to size, 1 hour, more or less. Average cost.—Seldom bought. Seasonable from September to March.

Note.—Pike à la genévése may be stewed in the same manner as salmon à la genévése.

Pike, Boiled.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water; a little vinegar. Mode.—Scale and clean the pike, and fasten the tail in its mouth by means of a skewer. Lay it in cold water, and when it boils, throw in the salt and vinegar. The time for boiling depends, of course, on the size of the fish; but a middling-sized pike will take about ½ an hour. Serve with Dutch or anchovy sauce, and plain melted butter. Time.—According to size, ½ to 1 hour. Average cost.—Seldom bought. Seasonable from September to March.

Pillau Fowl, based on M. Soyer’s Recipe (an Indian Dish).

Ingredients.—1 lb. of rice, 2 oz. of butter, a fowl, 2 quarts of stock or good broth, 40 cardamum-seeds, ½ oz. of coriander-seed, ¼ oz. of cloves, ¼ oz. of allspice, ¼ oz. of mace, ¼ oz. of cinnamon, ½ oz. of peppercorns, 4 onions, 6 thin slices of bacon, 2 hard-boiled eggs. Mode.—Well wash 1 lb. of the best Patna rice, put it into a frying-pan with the butter, which keep moving over a slow fire until the rice is lightly browned. Truss the fowl as for boiling, put it into a stewpan with the stock or broth; pound the spices and seeds thoroughly in a mortar, tie them in a piece of muslin, and put them in with the fowl. Let it boil slowly until it is nearly done; then add the rice, which should stew until quite tender and almost dry; cut the onions into slices, sprinkle them with flour, and fry, without breaking them, of a nice brown colour. Have ready the slices of bacon curled and grilled, and the eggs boiled hard. Lay the fowl in the form of a pyramid upon a dish, smother with the rice, garnish with the bacon, fried onions, and the hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters, and serve very hot. Before taking the rice out, remove the spices. Time.—½ hour to stew the fowl without the rice; ½ hour with it. Average cost, 4s. 3d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pineapple Chips.

Ingredients.—Pineapples; sugar to taste. Mode.—Pare and slice the fruit thinly, put it on dishes, and strew over it plenty of pounded sugar. Keep it in a hot closet, or very slow oven, 8 or 10 days, and turn the fruit every day until dry; then put the pieces of pine on tins, and place them in a quick oven for 10 minutes. Let them cool, and store them away in dry boxes, with paper between each layer. Time.—8 to 10 days. Seasonable.—Foreign pines, in July and August.

Pineapple Fritters (an elegant dish).

Ingredients.—A small pineapple, a small wineglassful of brandy or liqueur, 2 oz. of sifted sugar; batter as for apple fritters, which see. Mode.—This elegant dish, although it may appear extravagant, is really not so if made when pineapples are plentiful. We receive them now in such large quantities from the West Indies, that at times they may be purchased at an exceedingly low rate; it would not, of course, be economical to use the pines which are grown in our English pineries for the purposes of fritters. Pare the pine with as little waste as possible, cut it into rather thin slices, and soak these slices in the above proportion of brandy or liqueur and pounded sugar for 4 hours; then make a batter the same as for apple fritters, substituting cream for the milk, and using a smaller quantity of flour; when this is ready, dip in the pieces of pine, and fry them in boiling lard from 5 to 8 minutes; turn them when sufficiently brown on one side, and, when done, drain them from the lard before the fire, dish them on a white d’oyley, strew over them sifted sugar, and serve quickly. Time.—5 to 8 minutes. Average cost, when cheap and plentiful, 1s. 6d. for the pine. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable in July and August.

Pineapple, Preserved.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of fruit, weighed after being pared, allow 1 lb. of loaf sugar; ¼ pint of water. Mode.—The pines for making this preserve should be perfectly sound but ripe. Cut them into rather thick slices, as the fruit shrinks very much in the boiling. Pare off the rind carefully, that none of the pine be wasted; and, in doing so, notch it in and out, as the edge cannot be smoothly cut without great waste. Dissolve a portion of the sugar in a preserving-pan with ¼ pint of water; when this is melted, gradually add the remainder of the sugar, and boil it until it forms a clear syrup, skimming well. As soon as this is the case, put in the pieces of pine, and boil well for at least ½ hour, or until it looks nearly transparent. Put it into pots, cover down when cold, and store away in a dry place. Time.—½ hour to boil the fruit. Average cost, 10d. to 1s. per lb. pot. Seasonable.—Foreign pines, in July and August.

Pineapple, Preserved, for present use.

Ingredients.—Pineapple, sugar, water. Mode.—Cut the pine into slices ¼ inch in thickness; peel them, and remove the hard part from the middle. Put the parings and hard pieces into a stewpan, with sufficient water to cover them, and boil for 1 hour. Strain the liquor, and put in the slices of pine. Stew them for 10 minutes, add sufficient sugar to sweeten the whole nicely, and boil again for another ¼ hour; skim well, and the preserve will be ready for use. It must be eaten soon, as it will keep but a very short time. Time.—¼ hour to boil the parings in water; 10 minutes to boil the pine without sugar, ¼ hour with sugar. Average cost.—Foreign pines, 1s. to 3s. each; English, from 2s. to 12s. per lb. Seasonable.—Foreign, in July and August; English, all the year.

Pippins, Normandy, Stewed.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of Normandy pippins, 1 quart of water, ½ teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, ½ teaspoonful of ground ginger, 1 lb. of moist sugar, 1 lemon. Mode.—Well wash the pippins, and put them into 1 quart of water with the above proportion of cinnamon and ginger, and let them stand 12 hours; then put these all together into a stewpan, with the lemon sliced thinly, and half the moist sugar. Let them boil slowly until the pippins are half done; then add the remainder of the sugar, and simmer until they are quite tender. Serve on glass dishes for dessert. Time.—2 to 3 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Seasonable.—Suitable for a winter dish.

Plaice, Fried.

Ingredients.—Hot lard, or clarified dripping; egg and bread-crumbs. Mode.—This fish is fried in the same manner as soles. Wash and wipe them thoroughly dry, and let them remain in a cloth until it is time to dress them. Brush them over with egg, and cover with bread-crumbs mixed with a little flour. Fry of a nice brown in hot dripping or lard, and garnish with fried parsley and cut lemon. Send them to table with shrimp-sauce and plain melted butter. Time.—About 5 minutes. Average cost, 3d. each. Seasonable from May to November. Sufficient, 4 plaice for 4 persons.

Note.—Plaice may be boiled plain, and served with melted butter. Garnish with parsley and cut lemon.

Plaice, Stewed.

Ingredients.—4 or 5 plaice, 2 onions, ½ oz. ground ginger, 1 pint of lemon-juice, ¼ pint water, 6 eggs; cayenne to taste. Mode.—Cut the fish into pieces about 2 inches wide, salt them, and let them remain ¼ hour. Slice and fry the onions a light brown; put them in a stewpan, on the top of which put the fish without washing, and add the ginger, lemon-juice, and water. Cook slowly for ½ hour, and do not let the fish boil, or it will break. Take it out, and when the liquor is cool, add 6 well-beaten eggs; simmer till it thickens, when pour over the fish, and serve. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost for this quantity, 1s. 9d. Seasonable from May to November. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons; according to the size of the fish.

Plovers, to Carve.

Plovers may be carved like quails or woodcock, being trussed and served in the same way as those birds.

Plovers, to Dress.

Ingredients.—3 plovers, butter, flour, toasted bread. Choosing and Trussing.—Choose those that feel hard at the vent, as that shows their fatness. There are three sorts,—the grey, green, and bastard plover, or lapwing. They will keep good for some time, but if very stale, the feet will be very dry. Plovers are scarcely fit for anything but roasting; they are, however, sometimes stewed, or made into a ragoût, but this mode of cooking is not to be recommended. Mode.—Pluck off the feathers, wipe the outside of the birds with a damp cloth, and do not draw them; truss with the head under the wing, put them down to a clear fire, and lay slices of moistened toast in the dripping-pan, to catch the trail. Keep them well basted, dredge them lightly with flour a few minutes before they are done, and let them be nicely frothed. Dish them on the toasts, over which the traill should be equally spread. Pour round the toast a little good gravy, and send some to table in a tureen. Time.—10 minutes to ¼ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. the brace, if plentiful. Sufficient for 2 persons. Seasonable.—In perfection from the beginning of September to the end of January.

Plum Cake, Common.

Ingredients.—3 lbs. of flour, 6 oz. of butter or good dripping, 6 oz. of moist sugar, 6 oz. of currants, ½ oz. of pounded allspice, 2 tablespoonfuls of fresh yeast, 1 pint of new milk. Mode.—Rub the butter into the flour; add the sugar, currants, and allspice; warm the milk, stir to it the yeast, and mix the whole into a dough; knead it well, and put it into 6 buttered tins; place them near the fire for nearly an hour for the dough to rise, then bake the cakes in a good oven from 1 to 1¼ hour. To ascertain when they are done, plunge a clean knife into the middle, and if on withdrawal it comes out clean, the cakes are done. Time.—1 to 1¼ hour. Average cost, 1s. 8d. Sufficient to make 6 small cakes.

Plum Cake, a Nice.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of flour, ¼ lb. of butter, ½ lb. of sugar, ½ lb. of currants, 2 oz. of candied lemon-peel, ½ pint of milk, 1 teaspoonful of ammonia or carbonate of soda. Mode.—Put the flour into a basin with the sugar, currants, and sliced candied peel; beat the butter to a cream, and mix all these ingredients together with the milk. Stir the ammonia into 2 tablespoonfuls of milk; add it to the dough, and beat the whole well, until everything is thoroughly mixed. Put the dough into a buttered tin, and bake the cake from 1½ to 2 hours. Time.—1½
to 2 hours. Average cost, 1s. 3d.
Seasonable at any time.

Plum Jam.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of plums, weighed before being stoned, allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—In making plum jam, the quantity of sugar for each lb. of fruit must be regulated by the quality and size of the fruit, some plums requiring much more sugar than others. Divide the plums, take out the stones, and put them on to large dishes, with roughly-pounded sugar sprinkled over them in the above proportion, and let them remain for one day; then put them into a preserving-pan, stand them by the side of the fire to simmer gently for about ½ hour, and then boil them rapidly for another 15 minutes. The scum must be carefully removed as it rises, and the jam must be well stirred all the time, or it will burn at the bottom of the pan, and so spoil the colour and flavour of the preserve. Some of the stones may be cracked, and a few kernels added to the jam just before it is done: these impart a very delicious flavour to the plums. The above proportion of sugar would answer for Orleans plums; the Impératrice, Magnum-bonum, and Winesour would not require quite so much. Time.—½ hour to simmer gently, ¼ hour to boil rapidly. Best plums for preserving.—Violets, Mussels, Orleans, Impératrice, Magnum-bonum, and Winesour. Seasonable from the end of July to the beginning of October.

Plum Pudding, Baked.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of raisins, 1 lb. of suet, 2 eggs, 1 pint of milk, a few slices of candied peel. Mode.—Chop the suet finely; mix it with the flour, currants, stoned raisins, and candied peel; moisten with the well-beaten eggs, and add sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of very thick batter. Put it into a buttered dish, and bake in a good oven from 2¼ to 2½ hours; turn it out, strew sifted sugar over, and serve. For a very plain pudding, use only half the quantity of fruit, omit the eggs, and substitute milk or water for them. The above ingredients make a large family pudding; for a small one, half the quantity will be found ample; but it must be baked quite 1½ hour. Time.—Large pudding, 2¼ to 2½ hours; half the size, 1½ hour. Average cost, 2s. 6d. Sufficient for 9 or 10 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Plum Pudding, Excellent, made without Eggs.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of flour, 6 oz. of raisins, 6 oz. of currants, ¼ lb. of chopped suet, ¼ lb. of brown sugar, ¼ lb. of mashed carrot, ¼ lb. of mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoonful of treacle, 1 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 1 oz. of candied citron. Mode.—Mix the flour, currants, suet and sugar well together; have ready the above proportions of mashed carrot and potato, which stir into the other ingredients; add the treacle and lemon-peel; but put no liquid in the mixture, or it will be spoiled. Tie it loosely in a cloth, or, if put in a basin, do not quite fill it, as the pudding should have room to swell, and boil it for 4 hours. Serve with brandy-sauce. This pudding is better for being mixed over-night. Time.—4 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Plum Pudding, Unrivalled.

Ingredients.—1½ lb. of muscatel raisins, 1¾ lb. of currants, 1 lb. of sultana raisins, 2 lbs. of the finest moist sugar, 2 lbs. of bread-crumbs, 16 eggs, 2 lbs. of finely-chopped suet, 6 oz. of mixed candied peel, the rind of 2 lemons, 1 oz. of ground nutmeg, 1 oz. of ground cinnamon, ½ oz. of pounded bitter almonds, ¼ pint of brandy. Mode.—Stone and cut up the raisins, but do not chop them; wash and dry the currants, and cut the candied peel into thin slices. Mix all the dry ingredients well together, and moisten with the eggs, which should be well beaten and strained, to the pudding; stir in the brandy, and, when all is thoroughly mixed, well butter and flour a stout new pudding-cloth; put in the pudding, tie it down very tightly and closely, boil from 6 to 8 hours, and serve with brandy-sauce. A few sweet almonds, blanched and cut in strips, and stuck on the pudding, ornament it prettily. This quantity may be divided and boiled in buttered moulds. For small families this is the most desirable way, as the above will be found to make a pudding of rather large dimensions. Time.—6 to 8 hours. Average cost, 7s. 6d. Seasonable in winter. Sufficient for 12 or 14 persons.

Note.—The muscatel raisins can be purchased at a cheap rate loose (not in bunches): they are then scarcely higher in price than the ordinary raisins, and impart a much richer flavour to the pudding.

Plum Pudding, a Plain Christmas, for Children.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of bread-crumbs, ¾ lb. of stoned raisins, ¾ lb. of currants, ¾ lb. of suet, 3 or 4 eggs, milk, 2 oz. of candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of powdered allspice, ½ saltspoonful of salt. Mode.—Let the suet be finely chopped, the raisins stoned, and the currants well washed, picked and dried. Mix these with the other dry ingredients, and stir all well together; beat and strain the eggs to the pudding, stir these in, and add just sufficient milk to make it mix properly. Tie it up in a well-floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil for at least 5 hours. Serve with a sprig of holly placed in the middle of the pudding, and a little pounded sugar sprinkled over it. Time.—5 hours. Average cost, 1s. 9d. Sufficient for 9 or 10 children. Seasonable at Christmas.

Plum Pudding, Christmas (very good).

Ingredients.—1½ lb. of raisins, ½ lb. of currants, ½ lb. of mixed peel, ¾ lb. of bread-crumbs, ¾ lb. of suet, 8 eggs, l wineglassful of brandy. Mode.—Stone and cut the raisins in halves, but do not chop them; wash, pick, and dry the currants, and mince the suet finely; cut the candied peel into thin slices, and grate down the bread into fine crumbs. When all these dry ingredients are prepared, mix them well together; then moisten the mixture with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the brandy; stir well, that everything may be very thoroughly blended, and press the pudding into a buttered mould; tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, and boil for 5 or 6 hours. It may be boiled in a cloth without a mould, and will require the same time allowed for cooking. As Christmas puddings are usually made a few days before they are required for table, when the pudding is taken out of the pot, hang it up immediately, and put a plate or saucer underneath to catch the water that may drain from it. The day it is to be eaten, plunge it into boiling water, and keep it boiling for at least 2 hours; then turn it out of the mould, and serve with brandy-sauce. On Christmas-day a sprig of holly is usually placed in the middle of the pudding, and about a wineglassful of brandy poured round it, which, at the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to table encircled in flame. Time.—5 or 6 hours the first time of boiling; 2 hours the day it is to be served. Average cost, 4s. Sufficient for a quart mould for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable on the 25th of December, and on various festive occasions till March.

Note.—Five or six of these puddings should be made at one time, as they will keep good for many weeks, and in cases where unexpected guests arrive, will be found an acceptable and, as it only requires warming through, a quickly-prepared dish. Moulds of every shape and size are manufactured for these puddings, and may be purchased of Messrs. R. & J. Slack, 336, Strand.

Plum Pudding (a Pound).

Ingredients.—1 lb. of suet, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of stoned raisins, 8 eggs, ½ grated nutmeg, 2 oz. of sliced candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of ground ginger, ½ lb. of bread-crumbs, ½ lb. of flour, ½ pint of milk. Mode.—Chop the suet finely; mix with it the dry ingredients; stir these well together, and add the well-beaten eggs and milk to moisten with. Beat up the mixture well, and should the above proportion of milk not be found sufficient to make it of the proper consistency, a little more should be added. Press the pudding into a mould, tie it in a floured cloth, and boil for five hours, or rather longer, and serve with brandy-sauce. Time.—5 hours, or longer. Average cost, 3s. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Note.—The above pudding may be baked instead of boiled; it should be put into a buttered mould or tin, and baked for about 2 hours; a smaller one would take about 1¼ hour.

Plum Pudding (Fresh Fruit).

Ingredients.—¾ lb. of suet crust, 1½ pint of Orleans or any other kind of plum, ¼ lb. of moist sugar. Mode.—Line a pudding-basin with suet crust rolled out to the thickness of about ½ inch; fill the basin with the fruit, put in the sugar, and cover with crust. Fold the edges over, and pinch them together, to prevent the juice escaping. Tie over a floured cloth, put the pudding into boiling water, and boil from 2 to 2½ hours. Turn it out of the basin, and serve quickly. Time.—2 to 2½ hours. Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable, with various kinds of plums, from the beginning of August to the beginning of October.

Plum Tart.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of good short crust, 1½ pint of plums, 1 lb. of moist sugar. Mode.—Line the edges of a deep tart-dish with crust; fill the dish with plums, and place a small cup or jar, upside down, in the midst of them. Put in the sugar, cover the pie with crust, ornament the edges, and bake in a good oven from ½ to ¾ hour. When puff-crust is preferred to short crust, use that made by the given recipe, and glaze the top by brushing it over with the white of an egg beaten to a stiff froth with a knife; sprinkle over a little sifted sugar, and put the pie in the oven to set the glaze. Time.—½ to ¾ hour. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable, with various kinds of plums, from the beginning of August to the beginning of October.

Plums, French, Stewed (a Dessert dish).

Ingredients.—1½ lb. of French plums, ¾ pint of syrup, 1 glass of port wine, the rind and juice of 1 lemon. Mode.—Stew the plums gently in water for 1 hour; strain the water, and with it make the syrup. When it is clear, put in the plums with the port wine, lemon-juice, and rind, and simmer very gently for 1½ hour. Arrange the plums on a glass dish, take out the lemon-rind, pour the syrup over the plums, and, when cold, they will be ready for table. A little allspice stewed with the fruit is by many persons considered an improvement. Time.—1 hour to stew the plums in water, 1½ hour in the syrup. Average cost, plums sufficiently good for stewing, 1s. per lb. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Plums (Preserved).

Ingredients.—To every lb. of fruit allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar; for the thin syrup, ¼ lb. of sugar to each pint of water. Mode.—Select large ripe plums; slightly prick them, to prevent them from bursting, and simmer them very gently in a syrup made with the above proportion of sugar and water. Put them carefully into a pan, let the syrup cool, pour it over the plums, and allow them to remain for two days. Having previously weighed the other sugar, dip the lumps quickly into water, and put them into a preserving-pan with no more water than hangs about them; and boil the sugar to a syrup, carefully skimming it. Drain the plums from the first syrup; put them into the fresh syrup, and simmer them very gently until they are clear; lift them out singly into pots, pour the syrup over, and, when cold, cover down to exclude the air. This preserve will remain good some time, if kept in a dry place, and makes a very nice addition to a dessert. The magnum-bonum plums answer for this preserve better than any other kind of plum. Greengages are also very delicious done in this manner. Time.—¼ hour to 20 minutes to simmer the plums in the first syrup; 20 minutes to ½ hour very gentle simmering in the second. Seasonable from August to October.

Plums, to Preserve Dry.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of sugar allow ¼ pint of water. Mode.—Gather the plums when they are full grown and just turning colour; prick them, put them into a saucepan of cold water, and set them on the fire until the water is on the point of boiling. Then take them out, drain them, and boil them gently in syrup made with the above proportion of sugar and water; and if the plums shrink, and will not take the sugar, prick them as they lie in the pan; give them another boil, skim, and set them by. The next day add some more sugar, boiled almost to candy, to the fruit and syrup; put all together into a wide-mouthed jar, and place them in a cool oven for 2 nights; then drain the plums from the syrup, sprinkle a little powdered sugar over, and dry them in a cool oven. Time.—15 to 20 minutes to boil the plums in the syrup. Seasonable from August to October.

Pork.

In the country, where, for ordinary consumption, the pork killed for sale is usually both larger and fatter than that supplied to the London consumer, it is customary to remove the skin and fat down to the lean, and, salting that, roast what remains of the joint. Pork goes further, and is consequently a more economical food, than other meats, simply because the texture is closer, and there is less waste in the cooking, either in roasting or boiling.

In fresh pork, the leg is the most economical family joint, and the loin the richest.

Pork, to be preserved, is cured in several ways,—either by covering it with salt, or immersing it in ready-made brine, where it is kept till required; or it is only partially salted, and then hung up to dry, when the meat is called white bacon; or, after salting, it is hung in wood smoke till the flesh is impregnated with the aroma from the wood. The Wiltshire bacon, which is regarded as the finest in the kingdom, is prepared by laying the sides of a hog in large wooden troughs, and then rubbing into the flesh quantities of powdered bay-salt, made hot in a frying-pan. This process is repeated for four days; they are then left for three weeks, merely turning the flitches every other day, After that time they are hung up to dry. The hogs usually killed for purposes of bacon in England average from 18 to 20 stone; on the other hand, the hogs killed in the country for farm-house purposes, seldom weigh less than 26 stone. The legs of boars, hogs, and, in Germany, those of bears, are prepared differently, and called hams.

The practice in vogue formerly in this country was to cut out the hams and cure them separately; then to remove the ribs, which were roasted as “spare-ribs,” and, curing the remainder of the side, call it a “gammon of bacon.”

Small pork to cut for table in joints, is cut up, in most places throughout the kingdom, as represented in the engraving. The side is divided with nine ribs to the fore quarter; and the following is an enumeration of the joints in the two respective quarters:—

Hind Quarter— 1. The leg.

2. The loin.

3. The spring, or belly.

Fore Quarter— 4. The hand.

5. The fore-loin.

6. The cheek.

The weight of the several joints of a good pork pig of four stone may be as follows; viz.:—

The leg 8 lbs.

The loin and spring 7 “

The hand 6 “

The chine 7 “

The cheek from 2 to 3 “

Of a bacon pig, the legs are reserved for curing, and when cured are called hams: when the meat is separated from the shoulder-blade and bones and cured, it is called bacon. The bones, with part of the meat left on them, are divided into spare-ribs, griskins, and chines.

Pork Cheese (an Excellent Breakfast Dish).

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of cold roast pork, pepper and salt to taste, 1 dessertspoonful of minced parsley, 4 leaves of sage, a very small bunch of savoury herbs, 2 blades of pounded mace, a little nutmeg, ½ teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel; good strong gravy, sufficient to fill the mould. Mode.—Cut, but do not chop, the pork into fine pieces, and allow ¼ lb. of fat to each pound of lean. Season with pepper and salt; pound well the spices, and chop finely the parsley, sage, herbs, and lemon-peel, and mix the whole nicely together. Put it into a mould, fill up with good strong well-flavoured gravy, and bake rather more than one hour. When cold, turn it out of the mould. Time.—Rather more than 1 hour. Seasonable from October to March.

Note.—The remains of a pig’s head, after the chops are taken off, make most excellent pork cheese.

Pork Cutlets, or Chops.

Ingredients.—Loin of pork, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Cut the cutlets from a delicate loin of pork, bone and trim them neatly, and cut away the greater portion of the fat. Season them with pepper; place the gridiron on the fire; when quite hot, lay on the chops, and broil them for about ¼ hour, turning them 3 or 4 times; and be particular that they are thoroughly done, but not dry. Dish them, sprinkle over a little fine salt, and serve plain, or with tomato sauce, sauce piquante, or pickled gherkins, a few of which should be laid round the dish as a garnish. Time.—About ¼ hour. Average cost, 10d. per lb. for chops. Sufficient.—Allow 6 for 4 persons. Seasonable from October to March.

Pork Cutlets, or Chops.

Ingredients.—Loin, or fore-loin, of pork, egg and bread-crumbs, salt and pepper to taste; to every tablespoonful of bread-crumbs allow ½ teaspoonful of minced sage; clarified butter. Mode.—Cut the cutlets from a loin, or fore-loin, of pork; trim them the same as mutton cutlets, and scrape the top part of the bone. Brush them over with egg, sprinkle with bread-crumbs, with which have been mixed minced sage and a seasoning of pepper and salt; drop a little clarified butter on them, and press the crumbs well down. Put the frying-pan on the fire, put in some lard; when this is hot, lay in the cutlets, and fry them a light brown on both sides. Take them out, put them before the fire to dry the greasy moisture from them, and dish them on mashed potatoes. Serve with them any sauce that may be preferred; such as tomato sauce, sauce piquante, sauce Robert, or pickled gherkins. Time.—From 15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 10d. per lb. for chops. Sufficient.—Allow 6 cutlets for 4 persons. Seasonable from October to March.

Note.—The remains of roast loin of pork may be dressed in the same manner.

Pork Cutlets.

[Cold Meat Cookery.] Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast loin of pork, 1 oz. of butter, 2 onions, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, ½ pint of gravy, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of vinegar and mustard. Mode.—Cut the pork into nice-sized cutlets, trim off most of the fat, and chop the onions. Put the butter into a stewpan, lay in the cutlets and chopped onions, and fry a light brown; then add the remaining ingredients, simmer gently for 5 or 7 minutes, and serve. Time.—5 to 7 minutes. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 4d. Seasonable from October to March.

Pork, Roast Griskin of.

Ingredients.—Pork; a little powdered sage. Mode.—As this joint frequently comes to table hard and dry, particular care should be taken that it is well basted. Put it down to a bright fire, and flour it. About 10 minutes before taking it up, sprinkle over some powdered sage; make a little gravy in the dripping-pan, strain it over the meat, and serve with a tureen of apple sauce. This joint will be done in far less time than when the skin is left on, consequently, should have the greatest attention that it be not dried up. Time.—Griskin of pork weighing 6 lbs., 1½ hour. Average cost, 7d. per lb. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Note.—A spare-rib of pork is roasted in the same manner as above, and would take 1½ hour for one weighing about 6 lbs.

Pork, Hashed.

Ingredients.—The remains of cold roast pork, 2 onions, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 2 blades of pounded mace, 2 cloves, 1 tablespoonful of vinegar, ½ pint of gravy, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Chop the onions and fry them of a nice brown; cut the pork into thin slices, season them with pepper and salt, and add these to the remaining ingredients. Stew gently for about ½ hour, and serve garnished with sippets of toasted bread. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, exclusive of the meat, 3d. Seasonable from October to March.

Pork, Boiled Leg of.

Ingredients.—Leg of pork; salt. Mode.—For boiling, choose a small, compact, well-filled leg, and rub it well with salt; let it remain in pickle for a week or ten days, turning and rubbing it every day. An hour before dressing it, put it into cold water for an hour, which improves the colour. If the pork is purchased ready salted, ascertain how long the meat has been in pickle, and soak it accordingly. Put it into a boiling-pot, with sufficient cold water to cover it; let it gradually come to a boil, and remove the scum as it rises. Simmer it very gently until tender, and do not allow it to boil fast, or the knuckle will fall to pieces before the middle of the leg is done. Carrots, turnips, or parsnips may be boiled with the pork, some of which should be laid round the dish as a garnish. A well-made pease-pudding is an indispensable accompaniment. Time.—A leg of pork weighing 8 lbs., 3 hours after the water boils, and to be simmered very gently. Average cost, 9d. per lb. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Note.—The liquor in which a leg of pork has been boiled makes excellent pea-soup.

Pork, Roast Leg of.

Ingredients.—Leg of pork, a little, oil, sage and onion stuffing. Mode.—Choose a small leg of pork, and score the skin across in narrow strips, about ¼ inch apart. Cut a slit in the knuckle, loosen the skin, and fill it with a sage-and-onion stuffing. Brush the joint over with a little salad-oil (this makes the crackling crisper, and a better colour), and put it down to a bright, clear fire, not too near, as that would cause the skin to blister. Baste it well, and serve with a little gravy made in the dripping-pan, and do not omit to send to table with it a tureen of well-made apple sauce. Time.—A leg of pork weighing 8 lbs., about 3 hours. Average cost, 9d. per lb. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Pork, Leg of, to Carve.

This joint, which is such a favourite one with many people, is easy to carve. The knife should be carried sharply down to the bone, clean through the crackling, in the direction of the line 1 to 2. Sage and onion and apple sauce are usually sent to table with this dish,—sometimes the leg of pork is stuffed,—and the guests should be asked if they will have either or both. A frequent plan, and we think a good one, is now pursued, of sending sage and onion to table separately from the joint, as it is not everybody to whom the flavour of this stuffing is agreeable.

Note.—The other dishes of pork do not call for any special remarks as to their carving or helping.

Pork, Roast Loin of.

Ingredients.—Pork; a little salt. Mode.—Score the skin in strips rather more than ¼ inch apart, and place the joint at a good distance from the fire, on account of the crackling, which would harden before the meat would be heated through, were it placed too near. If very lean, it should be rubbed over with a little salad oil, and kept well basted all the time it is at the fire. Pork should be very thoroughly cooked, but not dry; and be careful never to send it to table the least underdone, as nothing is more unwholesome and disagreeable than under-dressed white meats. Serve with apple sauce and a little gravy made in the dripping-pan. A stuffing of sage and onion may be made separately, and baked in a flat dish: this method is better than putting it in the meat, as many persons have so great an objection to the flavour. Time.—A loin of pork weighing 5 lbs., about 2 hours: allow more time should it be very fat. Average cost, 9d. per lb. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Pork, to Pickle.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of saltpetre; salt. Mode.—As pork does not keep long without being salted, cut it into pieces of a suitable size as soon as the pig is cold. Rub the pieces of pork well with salt, and put them into a pan with a sprinkling of it between each piece: as it melts on the top, strew on more. Lay a coarse cloth over the pan, a board over that, and a weight on the board, to keep the pork down in the brine. If excluded from the air, it will continue good for nearly 2 years. Average cost, 10d. per lb. for the prime parts. Seasonable.—The best time for pickling meat is late in the autumn.

Pork, Pickled, to Boil.

Ingredients.—Pork; water. Mode.—Should the pork be very salt, let it remain in water about 2 hours before it is dressed; put it into a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover it, let it gradually come to a boil, then gently simmer until quite tender. Allow ample time for it to cook, as nothing is more disagreeable than underdone pork, and when boiled fast, the meat becomes hard. This is sometimes served with boiled poultry and roast veal, instead of bacon: when tender, and not over salt, it will be found equally good. Time.—A piece of pickled pork weighing 2 lbs., 1¼ hour; 4 lbs., rather more than 2 hours. Average cost, 10d. per lb. for the primest parts. Seasonable at any time.

Pork Pies (Warwickshire Recipe).

Ingredients.—For the crust, 5 lbs. of lard to 14 lbs. of flour; milk, and water. For filling the pies, to every 3 lbs. of meat allow 1 oz. of salt, 2¼ oz. of pepper, a small quantity of cayenne, 1 pint of water. Mode.—Rub into the flour a portion of the lard; the remainder put with sufficient milk and water to mix the crust, and boil this gently for ¼ hour. Pour it boiling on the flour, and knead and beat it till perfectly smooth. Now raise the crust in either a round or oval form, cut up the pork into pieces the size of a nut, season it in the above proportion, and press it compactly into the pie, in alternate layers of fat and lean, and pour in a small quantity of water; lay on the lid, cut the edges smoothly round, and pinch them together. Bake in a brick oven, which should be slow, as the meat is very solid. Very frequently, an inexperienced cook finds much difficulty in raising the crust. She should bear in mind that it must not be allowed to get cold, or it will fall immediately: to prevent this, the operation should be performed as near the fire as possible. As considerable dexterity and expertness are necessary to raise the crust with the hand only, a glass bottle or small jar may be placed in the middle of the paste, and the crust moulded on this; but be particular that it is kept warm the whole time. Sufficient.—The proportions for 1 pie are 1 lb. of flour and 3 lbs. of meat. Seasonable from September to March.

Pork Pies, Little Raised.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of flour, ½ lb. of butter, ½ lb. of mutton suet, salt and white pepper to taste, 4 lbs. of the neck of pork, 1 dessertspoonful of powdered sage. Mode.—Well dry the flour, mince the suet, and put these with the butter into a saucepan, to be made hot, and add a little salt. When melted, mix it up into a stiff paste, and put it before the fire with a cloth over it until ready to make up; chop the pork into small pieces, season it with white pepper, salt, and powdered sage; divide the paste into rather small pieces, raise it in a round or oval form, fill with the meat, and bake in a brick oven. These pies will require a fiercer oven than those in the preceding recipe, as they are made so much smaller, and consequently do not require so soaking a heat. Time.—If made small, about 1½ hour. Seasonable from September to March.

Potato Fritters.

Ingredients.—2 large potatoes, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2 ditto of raisin or sweet wine, 1 dessertspoonful of lemon-juice, ½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, hot lard. Mode.—Boil the potatoes, and beat them up lightly with a fork, but do not use a spoon, as that would make them heavy. Beat the eggs well, leaving out one of the whites; add the other ingredients, and beat all together for at least 20 minutes, or until the batter is extremely light. Put plenty of good lard into a frying-pan, and drop a tablespoonful of the batter at a time into it, and fry the fritters a nice brown. Serve them with the following sauce:—A glass of sherry mixed with the strained juice of a lemon, and sufficient white sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Warm these ingredients, and serve the sauce separately in a tureen. The fritters should be neatly dished on a white d’oyley, and pounded sugar sprinkled over them. They should be well drained on a piece of blotting-paper before the fire previously to being dished. Time.—From 6 to 8 minutes. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Potato Pasty.

Ingredients.—1½ lb. of rump-steak or mutton cutlets, pepper and salt to taste, 1/3 pint of weak broth or gravy, 1 oz. of butter, mashed potatoes. Mode.—Place the meat, cut in small pieces, at the bottom of the pan; season it with pepper and salt, and add the gravy and butter broken into small pieces. Put on the perforated plate, with its valve-pipe screwed on, and fill up the whole space to the top of the tube with nicely-mashed potatoes mixed with a little milk, and finish the surface of them in any ornamental manner. If carefully baked, the potatoes will be covered with a delicate brown crust, retaining all the savoury steam rising from the meat. Send it to table as it comes from the oven, with a napkin folded round it. Time.—40 to 60 minutes. Average cost, 2s. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Potato Pudding.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of mashed potatoes, 2 oz. of butter, 2 eggs, ¼ pint of milk, 3 tablespoonfuls of sherry, ¼ saltspoonful of salt, the juice and rind of 1 small lemon, 2 oz. of sugar. Mode.—Boil sufficient potatoes to make ½ lb. when mashed; add to these the butter, eggs, milk, sherry, lemon-juice, and sugar; mince the lemon-peel very finely, and beat all the ingredients well together. Put the pudding into a buttered pie-dish, and bake for rather more than ½ hour. To enrich it, add a few pounded almonds, and increase the quantity of eggs and butter. Time.—½ hour, or rather longer. Average cost, 8d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Potato Rissoles.

Ingredients.—Mashed potatoes, salt and pepper to taste; when liked, a very little minced parsley, egg, and bread-crumbs. Mode.—Boil and mash the potatoes; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and, when liked, a little minced parsley. Roll the potatoes into small balls, cover them with egg and bread-crumbs, and fry in hot lard for about 10 minutes; let them drain before the fire, dish them on a napkin, and serve. Time.—10 minutes to fry the rissoles. Seasonable at any time.

Note.—The flavour of these rissoles may be very much increased by adding finely-minced tongue or ham, or even chopped onions, when these are liked.

Potato Salad.

Ingredients.—10 or 12 cold boiled potatoes, 4 tablespoonfuls of tarragon or plain vinegar, 6 tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley. Mode.—Cut the potatoes into slices about ½ inch in thickness; put these into a salad-bowl with oil and vinegar in the above proportion; season with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley; stir the salad well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly incorporated, and it is ready to serve. This should be made two or three hours before it is wanted for table. Anchovies, olives, or pickles may be added to this salad, as also slices of cold beef, fowl, or turkey. Seasonable at any time.

Potato Snow.

Ingredients.—Potatoes, salt, and water. Mode.—Choose large white potatoes, as free from spots as possible; boil them in their skins in salt and water until perfectly tender; drain and dry them thoroughly by the side of the fire, and peel them. Put a hot dish before the fire, rub the potatoes through a coarse sieve on to this dish; do not touch them afterwards, or the flakes will fall, and serve as hot as possible. Time.—½ to ¾ hour to boil the potatoes. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient,—6 potatoes for 3 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Potato Soup.

Ingredients.—4 lbs. of mealy potatoes, boiled or steamed very dry, pepper and salt to taste, 2 quarts of stock. Mode.—When the potatoes are boiled, mash them smoothly, that no lumps remain, and gradually put them to the boiling stock; pass it through a sieve, season, and simmer for 5 minutes. Skim well, and serve with fried bread. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, 10d. per quart. Seasonable from September to March. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Potato Soup.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of shin of beef, 1 lb. of potatoes, 1 onion, ½ a pint of peas, 2 oz. of rice, 2 heads of celery, pepper and salt to taste, 3 quarts of water. Mode.—Cut the beef into thin slices, chop the potatoes and onion, and put them into a stewpan with the water, peas, and rice. Stew gently till the gravy is drawn from the meat; strain it off, take out the beef, and pulp the other ingredients through a coarse sieve. Put the pulp back into the soup, cut up the celery in it, and simmer till this is tender. Season, and serve with fried bread cut into it. Time.—3 hours. Average cost, 4d. per quart. Seasonable from September to March. Sufficient for 12 persons.

Potato Soup (very Economical).

Ingredients.—4 middle-sized potatoes well pared, a thick slice of bread, 6 leeks peeled and cut into thin slices as far as the white extends upwards from the roots, a teacupful of rice, a teaspoonful of salt, and half that of pepper, and 2 quarts of water. Mode.—The water must be completely boiling before anything is put into it; then add the whole of the ingredients at once, with the exception of the rice, the salt, and the pepper. Cover, and let these come to a brisk boil; put in the others, and let the whole boil slowly for an hour, or till all the ingredients are thoroughly done, and their several juices extracted and mixed. Time.—2½ hours. Average cost, 3d. per quart. Sufficient for 8 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Potatoes, Baked.

Ingredients.—Potatoes. Mode.—Choose large potatoes, as much of a size as possible; wash them in lukewarm water, and scrub them well, for the browned skin of a baked potato is by many persons considered the better part of it. Put them into a moderate oven, and bake them for about two hours, turning them three or four times whilst they are cooking. Serve them in a napkin immediately they are done, as, if kept a long time in the oven, they have a shrivelled appearance. Potatoes may also be roasted before the fire, in an American oven; but when thus cooked, they must be done very slowly. Do not forgot to send to table with them a piece of cold butter. Time.—Large potatoes, in a hot oven, 1½ hour to 2 hours; in a cool oven, 2 to 2½ hours. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient.—Allow 2 to each person. Seasonable all the year, but not good just before and whilst new potatoes are in season.

Potatoes, to Boil.

Ingredients.—10 or 12 potatoes; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. Mode.—Choose potatoes of an equal size, pare them, take out all the eyes and specks, and as they are peeled, throw them into cold water. Put them into a saucepan, with sufficient cold water to cover them, with salt in the above proportion, and let them boil gently until tender. Ascertain when they are done by thrusting a fork in them, and take them up the moment they feel soft through; for if they are left in the water afterwards, they become waxy or watery. Drain away the water, put the saucepan by the side of the fire, with the lid partially uncovered, to allow the steam to escape, and let the potatoes get thoroughly dry, and do not allow them to get burnt. Their superfluous moisture will evaporate, and the potatoes, if a good sort, should be perfectly mealy and dry. Potatoes vary so much in quality and size, that it is difficult to give the exact time for boiling; they should be attentively watched, and probed with a fork, to ascertain when they are cooked. Send them to table quickly, and very hot, and with an opening in the cover of the dish, that a portion of the steam may evaporate, and not fall back on the potatoes. Time.—Moderate-sized old potatoes, 15 to 20 minutes, after the water boils; large ones, ½ hour to 35 minutes. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient for 6 persons. Seasonable all the year, but not good just before and whilst new potatoes are in season.

Note.—To keep potatoes hot, after draining the water from them, put a folded cloth or flannel (kept for the purpose) on the top of them, keeping the saucepan-lid partially uncovered. This will absorb the moisture, and keep them hot some time without spoiling.

Potatoes, to Boil in their Jackets.

Ingredients.—10 or 12 potatoes; to each ½ gallon of water, allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. Mode.—To obtain this wholesome and delicious vegetable cooked in perfection, it should be boiled and sent to table with the skin on. In Ireland, where, perhaps, the cooking of potatoes is better understood than in any country, they are always served so. Wash the potatoes well, and if necessary, use a clean scrubbing-brush to remove the dirt from them; and, if possible, choose the potatoes so that they may all be as nearly the same size as possible. When thoroughly cleansed, fill the saucepan half full with them, and just cover the potatoes with cold water salted in the above proportion: they are more quickly boiled with a small quantity of water, and, besides, are more savoury than when drowned in it. Bring them to boil, then draw the pan to the side of the fire, and let them simmer gently until tender. Ascertain when they are done by probing them with a fork; then pour off the water, uncover the saucepan, and let the potatoes dry by the side of the fire, taking care not to let them burn. Peel them quickly, put them in a very hot vegetable-dish, either with or without a napkin, and serve very quickly. After potatoes are cooked, they should never be entirely covered up, as the steam, instead of escaping, falls down on them, and makes them watery and insipid. In Ireland they are usually served up with the skins on, and a small plate is placed by the side of each guest. Time.—Moderate-sized potatoes, with their skins on, 20 to 25 minutes after the water boils; large potatoes, 25 minutes to ¾ hour, or longer; 5 minutes to dry them. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient for 6 persons. Seasonable all the year, but not good just before and whilst new potatoes are in season.

Potatoes, New, to Boil.

Ingredients.—Potatoes; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. Mode.—Do not have the potatoes dug long before they are dressed, as they are never good when they have been out of the ground some time. Well wash them, rub off the skins with a coarse cloth, and put them into boiling water salted in the above proportion. Let them boil until tender; try them with a fork, and when done, pour the water away from them; let them stand by the side of the fire with the lid of the saucepan partially uncovered, and when the potatoes are thoroughly dry, put them into a hot vegetable-dish, with a piece of butter the size of a walnut; pile the potatoes over this, and serve. If the potatoes are too old to have the skin rubbed off, boil them in their jackets; drain, peel, and serve them as above, with a piece of butter placed in the midst of them. Time.—¼ to ½ hour, according to the size. Average cost, in full season, 1d. per lb. Sufficient.—Allow 3 lbs. for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable in May and June, but may be had, forced, in March.

Potatoes, Fried (French Fashion).

Ingredients.—Potatoes, hot butter or clarified dripping, salt. Mode.—Peel and cut the potatoes into thin slices, as nearly the same size as possible; make some butter or dripping hot in a frying-pan; put in the potatoes, and fry them on both sides until nearly cooked. Now take the potatoes out of the fat, make the fat quite boiling, then throw in the potatoes for a minute or two until sufficiently done. The immersion of the vegetable in the grease a second time after it is partially cooked, causes it to puff or “gonfler,” as the French say, which is the desired appearance for properly-dressed fried potatoes to possess. When they are crisp and done, take them up, place them on a cloth before the fire to drain the grease from them, and serve very hot, after sprinkling them with salt. These are delicious with rump-steak, and, in France, are frequently served thus as a breakfast dish. The remains of cold potatoes may also be sliced and fried by the above recipe, but the slices must be cut a little thicker. Time.—Sliced raw potatoes, 5 minutes; cooked potatoes, 5 minutes. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient,—6 sliced potatoes for 3 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Potatoes, a German Method of Cooking.

Ingredients.—8 to 10 middling-sized potatoes, 3 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, ½ pint of broth, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Mode.—Put the butter and flour into a stewpan; stir over the fire until the butter is of a nice brown colour, and add the broth and vinegar; peel and cut the potatoes into long thin slices, lay them in the gravy, and let them simmer gently until tender, which will be in from 10 to 15 minutes, and serve very hot. A laurel-leaf simmered with the potatoes is an improvement. Time.—10 to 15 minutes. Seasonable at any time.

Potatoes, à la Maître d’Hôtel.

Ingredients.—Potatoes, salt and water; to every 6 potatoes allow 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, 4 tablespoonfuls of gravy, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice. Mode.—Wash the potatoes clean, and boil them in salt and water; when they are done, drain them, let them cool; then peel and cut the potatoes into thick slices: if these are too thin, they would break in the sauce. Put the butter into a stewpan with the pepper, salt, gravy, and parsley; mix these ingredients well together, put in the potatoes, shake them two or three times, that they may be well covered with the sauce, and, when quite hot through, squeeze in the lemon-juice, and serve. Time.—½ to ¾ hour to boil the potatoes; 10 minutes for them to heat in the sauce. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient for 3 persons. Seasonable all the year.

Potatoes, Mashed.

Ingredients.—Potatoes; to every lb. of mashed potatoes allow 1 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of milk, salt to taste. Mode.—Boil the potatoes in their skins; when done, drain them, and let them get thoroughly dry by the side of the fire; then peel them, and, as they are peeled, put them into a clean saucepan, and with a large fork beat them to a light paste; add butter, milk, and salt in the above proportion, and stir all the ingredients well over the fire. When thoroughly hot, dish them lightly, and draw the fork backwards over the potatoes to make the surface rough, and serve. When dressed in this manner, they may be browned at the top with a salamander, or before the fire. Some cooks press the potatoes into moulds, then turn them out, and brown them in the oven: this is a pretty mode of serving, but it makes them heavy. In whatever way they are sent to table, care must be taken to have them quite free from lumps. Time.—From ½ to ¾ hour to boil the potatoes. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient,—1 lb. of mashed potatoes for 3 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Potatoes, Very Thin-mashed, or, Purée de Pommes de Terre.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of mashed potatoes allow ¼ pint of good broth or stock, 2 oz. of butter. Mode.—Boil the potatoes, well drain them, and pound them smoothly in a mortar, or beat them up with a fork; add the stock or broth, and rub the potatoes through a sieve. Put the purée into a very clean saucepan with the butter; stir it well over the fire until thoroughly hot, and it will then be ready to serve. A purée should be rather thinner than mashed potatoes, and is a delicious accompaniment to delicately broiled mutton cutlets. Cream or milk may be substituted for the broth when the latter is not at hand. A casserole of potatoes, which is often used for ragoûts instead of rice, is made by mashing potatoes rather thickly, placing them on a dish, and making an opening in the centre. After having browned the potatoes in the oven, the dish should be wiped clean, and the ragoût or fricassée poured in. Time.—About ½ hour to boil the potatoes; 6 or 7 minutes to warm the purée. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient.—Allow 1 lb. of cooked potatoes for 3 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Potatoes, how to use Cold.

Ingredients.—The remains of cold potatoes; to every lb. allow 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 ditto of minced onions, 1 oz. of buttermilk. Mode.—Mash the potatoes with a fork until perfectly free from lumps; stir in the other ingredients, and add sufficient milk to moisten them well; press the potatoes into a mould, and bake in a moderate oven until nicely brown, which will be in from 20 minutes to ½ hour. Turn them out of the mould, and serve. Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour. Seasonable at any time.

Potatoes, to Steam.

Ingredients.—Potatoes; boiling water. Mode.—This mode of cooking potatoes is now much in vogue, particularly where they are wanted on a large scale, it being so very convenient. Pare the potatoes, throw them into cold water as they are peeled, then put them into a steamer. Place the steamer over a saucepan of boiling water, and steam the potatoes from 20 to 40 minutes, according to the size and sort. When a fork goes easily through them, they are done; then take them up, dish, and serve very quickly. Time.—20 to 40 minutes. Average cost, 4s. per bushel. Sufficient.—Allow 2 large potatoes to each person. Seasonable all the year, but not so good whilst new potatoes are in season.

Poulet Aux Cressons.

Ingredients.—A fowl, a large bunch of water-cresses, 3 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, ¼ pint of gravy. Mode.—Truss and roast a fowl by recipe, taking care that it is nicely frothed and brown. Wash and dry the water-cresses, pick them nicely, and arrange them in a flat layer on a dish. Sprinkle over a little salt and the above proportion of vinegar; place over these the fowl, and pour over it the gravy. A little gravy should be served in a tureen. When not liked, the vinegar may be omitted. Time.—From ½ to 1 hour, according to size. Average cost, in full season, 2s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Poulet À La Marengo.

Ingredients.—1 large fowl, 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 pint of stock or water, about 28 mushroom-buttons, salt and pepper to the taste, 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a very small piece of garlic. Mode.—Cut the fowl into 8 or 10 pieces, put them with the oil into a stewpan, and brown them over a moderate fire; dredge in the above proportion of flour, when that is brown, pour in the stock or water, let it simmer very slowly for rather more than ½ an hour, and skim off the fat as it rises to the top; add the mushrooms, season with pepper, salt, garlic, and sugar; take out the fowl, which arrange pyramidically on a dish, with the inferior joints at the bottom. Reduce the sauce by boiling it quickly over the fire, keeping it stirred until sufficiently thick to adhere to the back of the spoon; pour over the fowl, and serve. Time.—Altogether 50 minutes. Average cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pound Cake.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of butter, 1¼ lb. of flour, 1 lb. of pounded loaf sugar, 1 lb. of currants, 9 eggs, 2 oz. of candied peel, ½ oz. of citron, ½ oz. of sweet almonds; when liked, a little pounded mace. Mode.—Work the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour; add the sugar, currants, candied peel, which should be cut into neat slices, and the almonds, which should be blanched and chopped, and mix all these well together; whisk the eggs, and let them be thoroughly blended with the dry ingredients. Beat the cake well for 20 minutes, and put it into a round tin, lined at the bottom and sides with a strip of white buttered paper. Bake it from 1½ to 2 hours, and let the oven be well heated when the cake is first put in, as, if this is not the case, the currants will all sink to the bottom of it. To make this preparation light, the yolks and whites of the eggs should be beaten separately, and added separately to the other ingredients. A glass of wine is sometimes added to the mixture; but this is scarcely necessary, as the cake will be found quite rich enough without it. Time.—1½ to 2 hours. Ave-* rage cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient.—The above quantity divided in two will make two nice-sized cakes. Seasonable at any time.

Prawn Soup.

Ingredients.—Two quarts of fish stock, two pints of prawns, the crumb of a French roll, anchovy sauce or mushroom ketchup to taste, one blade of mace, one-fourth pint of vinegar, a little lemon-juice. Mode.—Pick out the tails of the prawns, put the bodies in a stewpan with 1 blade of mace, ¼ pint of vinegar, and the same quantity of water; stew them for ¼ hour, and strain off the liquor. Put the fish stock into a stewpan; add the strained liquor, pound the prawns with the crumb of a roll moistened with a little of the soup, rub them through a tammy, and mix them by degrees with the soup; add ketchup or anchovy sauce to taste with a little lemon-juice. When it is well cooked, put in a few picked prawns; let them get thoroughly hot, and serve. If not thick enough, put in a little butter and flour. Time.—Hour. Average cost, 2s. per quart. Seasonable at any time. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Note.—This can be thickened with tomatoes, and vermicelli served in it, which makes it a very tasteful soup.

Prawns, to Dress.

Cover a dish with a large cup reversed, and over that lay a small white napkin. Arrange the prawns on it in the form of a pyramid, and garnish with plenty of parsley. Sometimes prawns are stuck into a lemon cut in half the long way, and garnished with parsley.

Preserves.

From the nature of vegetable substances, and chiefly from their not passing so rapidly into the putrescent state as animal bodies, the mode of preserving them is somewhat different, although the general principles are the same. All the means of preservation are put in practice occasionally for fruits and the various parts of vegetables, according to the nature of the species, the climate, the uses to which they are applied, &c. Some are dried, as nuts, raisins, sweet herbs, &c.; others are preserved by means of sugar, such as many fruits whose delicate juices would be lost by drying; some are preserved by means of vinegar, and chiefly used as condiments or pickles; a few also by salting, as French beans; while others are preserved in spirits. We have, however, in this place to treat of the best methods of preserving fruits. Fruit is a most important item in the economy of health; the epicurean can scarcely be said to have any luxuries without it; therefore, as it is so invaluable, when we cannot have it fresh, we must have it preserved. It has long been a desideratum to preserve fruits by some cheap method, yet by such as would keep them fit for the various culinary purposes, as making tarts and other similar dishes. The expense of preserving them with sugar is a serious objection; for, except the sugar be used in considerable quantities, the success is very uncertain. Sugar also overpowers and destroys the sub-acid taste so desirable in many fruits: those which are preserved in this manner are chiefly intended for the dessert. Fruits intended for preservation should be gathered in the morning, in dry weather, with, the morning sun upon them, if possible; they will then have their fullest flavour, and keep in good condition longer than when gathered at any other time. Until fruit can be used, it should be placed in the dairy, an ice-house, or a refrigerator. In an ice-house it will remain fresh and plump for several days. Fruit gathered in wet or foggy weather will soon be mildewed, and be of no service for preserves.

Having secured the first and most important contribution to the manufacture of preserves—the fruit, the next consideration is the preparation of the syrup in which the fruit is to be suspended; and this requires much care. In the confectioner’s art there is a great nicety in proportioning the degree of concentration of the syrup very exactly to each particular case; and he knows this by signs, and expresses it by certain technical terms. But to distinguish these properly requires very great attention and considerable experience. The principal thing to be acquainted with is the fact, that, in proportion as the syrup is longer boiled, its water will become evaporated, and its consistency will be thicker. Great care must be taken in the management of the fire, that the syrup does not boil over, and that the boiling is not carried to such an extent as to burn the sugar.

The first degree or consistency is called the thread, which is subdivided into the little and great thread. If you dip the finger into the syrup and apply it to the thumb, the tenacity of the syrup will, on separating the finger and thumb, afford a thread, which shortly breaks: this is the little thread. If the thread, from the greater tenacity, and, consequently, greater strength of the syrup, admits of a greater extension of the finger and thumb, it is called the great thread. There are half-a-dozen other terms and experiments for testing the various thickness of the boiling sugar towards the consistency called caramel; but that degree of sugar-boiling belongs to the confectioner. A solution of sugar prepared by dissolving two parts of double-refined sugar (the best sugar is the most economical for preserves) in one of water, and boiling this a little, affords a syrup of the right degree of strength, and which neither ferments nor crystallizes. This appears to be the degree called smooth by the confectioners, and is proper to be used for the purposes of preserves. The syrup employed should sometimes be clarified, which is done in the following manner:—Dissolve 2 lbs. of loaf sugar in a pint of water; add to this solution the white of an egg, and beat it well. Put the preserving-pan upon the fire with the solution; stir it with a wooden spatula, and when it begins to swell and boil up, throw in some cold water or a little oil to damp the boiling; for, as it rises suddenly, if it should boil over, it would take fire, being of a very inflammable nature. Let it boil up again; then take it off, and remove carefully the scum that has risen. Boil the solution again, throw in a little more cold water, remove the scum, and so on for three or four times successively; then strain it. It is considered to be sufficiently boiled when some taken up in a spoon pours out like oil.

Although sugar passes so easily into the state of fermentation, and is, in fact, the only substance capable of undergoing the vinous stage of that process, yet it will not ferment at all if the quantity be sufficient to constitute a very strong syrup: hence, syrups are used to preserve fruits and other vegetable substances from the changes they would undergo if left to themselves. Before sugar was in use, honey was employed to preserve many vegetable productions, though this substance has now given way to the juice of the sugar-cane.

The fruits that are the most fit for preservation in syrup are apricots, peaches, nectarines, apples, greengages, plums of all kinds, and pears. As an example, take some apricots not too ripe, make a small slit at the stem end, and push out the stone; simmer them in water till they are softened and about half done, and afterwards throw them into cold water. When they have cooled, take them out and drain them. Put the apricots into the preserving-pan with sufficient syrup to cover them; let them boil up three or four times, and then skim them; remove them from the fire, pour them into an earthen pan, and let them cool till next day. Boil them up three days successively, skimming each time, and they will then be finished and in a fit state to be put into pots for use. After each boiling, it is proper to examine into the state of the syrup when cold; if too thin, it will bear additional boiling; if too thick, it may be lowered with more syrup of the visual standard. The reason why the fruit is emptied out of the preserving-pan into an earthen pan is, that the acid of the fruit acts upon the copper, of which the preserving-pans are usually made. From this example the process of preserving fruits by syrup will be easily comprehended. The first object is to soften the fruit by blanching or boiling it in water, in order that the syrup by which it is preserved may penetrate through its substance.

Many fruits, when preserved by boiling, lose much of their peculiar and delicate flavour, as, for instance, pineapples; and this inconvenience may, in some instances, be remedied by preserving them without heat. Cut the fruit in slices about one-fifth of an inch thick, strew powdered loaf sugar an eighth of an inch thick on the bottom of a jar, and put the slices on it. Put more sugar on this, and then another layer of the slices, and so on till the jar is full. Place the jar with the fruit up to the neck in boiling water, and keep it there till the sugar is completely dissolved, which may take half-an-hour, removing the scum as it rises. Lastly, tie a wet bladder over the mouth of the jar, or cork and wax it.

Any of the fruits that have been preserved in syrup may be converted into dry preserves, by first draining them from the syrup, and then drying them in a stove or very moderate oven, adding to them a quantity of powdered loaf-sugar, which will gradually penetrate the fruit, while the fluid parts of the fruit gently evaporate. They should be dried in the stove or oven on a sieve, and turned every six or eight hours, fresh powdered sugar being sifted over them every time they are turned. Afterwards, they are to be kept in a dry situation, in drawers or boxes. Currants and cherries preserved whole in this manner, in bunches, are extremely elegant, and have a fine flavour. In this way it is, also, that orange and lemon chips are preserved.

Marmalades, jams, and fruit pastes are of the same nature, and are now in very general request. They are prepared without difficulty, by attending to a very few directions; they are somewhat expensive, but may be kept without spoiling for a considerable time. Marmalades and jams differ little from each other: they are preserves of a half-liquid consistency, made by boiling the pulp of fruits, and sometimes part of the rinds, with sugar. The appellation of marmalade is applied to those confitures which are composed of the firmer fruits, as pineapples or the rinds of oranges; whereas jams are made of the more juicy berries, such as strawberries, raspberries, currants, mulberries, &c. Fruit pastes are a kind of marmalades, consisting of the pulp of fruits, first evaporated to a proper consistency, and afterwards boiled with sugar. The mixture is then poured into a mould, or spread on sheets of tin, and subsequently dried in the oven or stove till it has acquired the state of a paste. From a sheet of this paste, strips may be cut and formed into any shape that may be desired, as knots, rings, &c. Jams require the same care and attention in the boiling as marmalade; the slightest degree of burning communicates a disagreeable empyreumatic taste, and if they are not boiled sufficiently, they will not keep. That they may keep, it is necessary not to be sparing of sugar.

In all the operations for preserve-making, when the preserving-pan is used, it should not be placed on the fire, but on a trivet, unless the jam be made on a hot plate, when this is not necessary. If the pan be placed close on to the fire, the preserve is very liable to burn, and the colour and flavour be consequently spoiled.

Fruit jellies are compounds of the juices of fruits combined with sugar, concentrated, by boiling, to such a consistency that the liquid, upon cooling, assumes the form of a tremulous jelly.

Before fruits are candied, they must first be boiled in syrup, after which they are taken out and dried on a stove, or before the fire; the syrup is then to be concentrated, or boiled to a candy height, and the fruit dipped in it, and again laid on the stove to dry and candy; they are then to be put into boxes, and kept dry.

Conserves consist of fresh vegetable matters beat into a uniform mass with refined sugar, and they are intended to preserve the virtues and properties of recent flowers, leaves, roots, peels, or fruits, unaltered, and as near as possible to what they were when fresh gathered, and to give them an agreeable taste.

The last to be mentioned, but not the least important preparation of fruit, is the compôte, which can be made at the moment of need, and with much less sugar than would be ordinarily put to preserves. Compôtes are very wholesome things, suitable to most stomachs which cannot accommodate themselves to raw fruit or a large portion of sugar. They are the happy medium—far better than ordinary stewed fruit.

Ptarmigan, the, or White Grouse.

This bird is nearly the same size as red grouse, and is fond of lofty situations, where it braves the severest weather, and is found in most parts of Europe, as well as in Greenland. At Hudson’s Bay they appear in such multitudes that so many as sixty or seventy are frequently taken at once in a net. As they are as tame as chickens, this is done without difficulty. Buffon says that the ptarmigan avoids the solar heat, and prefers the frosts of the summits of the mountains; for, as the snow melts on the sides of the mountains, it ascends till it gains the top, where it makes a hole, and burrows in the snow. In winter, it flies in flocks, and feeds on the wild vegetation of the hills, which imparts to its flesh a bitter, but not altogether an unpalatable taste. It is dark-coloured, has something of the flavour of the hare, and is greatly relished and much sought after by some sportsmen.

Ptarmigan, to Dress the.

Ingredients.—2 or 3 birds; butter, flour, fried bread-crumbs. Mode.—The ptarmigan, or white grouse, when young and tender, are exceedingly fine eating, and should be kept as long as possible, to be good. Pluck, draw, and truss them in the same manner as grouse, and roast them before a brisk fire. Flour and froth them nicely, and serve on buttered toast, with a tureen of brown gravy. Bread sauce, when liked, may be sent to table with them, and fried bread-crumbs substituted for the toasted bread. Time.—About ½ hour. Sufficient.—2 for a dish. Seasonable from the beginning of February to the end of April.

Ptarmigan, to Carve.

Ptarmigan, being much of the same size, and trussed in the same manner, as the red bird, may be carved in the manner described, in Partridge and Grouse carving.

Pudding, Alma.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of fresh butter, ½ lb. of powdered sugar, ½ lb. of flour, ¼ lb. of currants, 4 eggs. Mode.—Beat the butter to a thick cream, strew in, by degrees, the sugar, and mix both these well together; then dredge the flour in gradually, add the currants, and moisten with the eggs, which should be well beaten. When all the ingredients are well stirred and mixed, butter a mould that will hold the mixture exactly, tie it down with a cloth, put the pudding into boiling water, and boil for 5 hours; when turned out, strew some powdered sugar over it, and serve. Time.—6 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Aunt Nelly’s.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of flour, ½ lb. of treacle, ½ lb. of suet, the rind and juice of 1 lemon, a few strips of candied lemon-peel, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2 eggs. Mode.—Chop the suet finely; mix it with the flour, treacle, lemon-peel minced, and candied lemon-peel; add the cream, lemon-juice, and 2 well-beaten eggs; beat the pudding well, put it into a buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil from 3½ to 4 hours. Time.—3½ to 4 hours. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time, but more suitable for a winter pudding.

Pudding, a Bachelor’s.

Ingredients.—4 oz. of grated bread, 4 oz. of currants, 4 oz. of apples, 2 oz. of sugar, 3 eggs, a few drops of essence of lemon, a little grated nutmeg. Mode.—Pare, core, and mince the apples very finely, sufficient, when minced, to make 4 oz.; add to these the currants, which should be well washed, the grated bread, and sugar; whisk the eggs, beat these up with the remaining ingredients, and, when all is thoroughly mixed, put the pudding into a buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for 3 hours. Time.—3 hours. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from August to March.

Pudding, Bakewell (very Rich).

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of puff-paste, 5 eggs, 6 oz. of sugar, ¼ lb. of butter, 1 oz. of almonds, jam. Mode.—Cover a dish with thin paste, and put over this a layer of any kind of jam, ½ inch thick; put the yolks of 5 eggs into a basin with the white of 1, and beat these well; add the sifted sugar, the butter, which should be melted, and the almonds, which should be well pounded; beat all together until well mixed, then pour it into the dish over the jam, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Bakewell.

Ingredients.—¾ pint of bread-crumbs, 1 pint of milk, 4 eggs, 2 oz. of sugar, 3 oz. of butter, 1 oz. of pounded almonds, jam. Mode.—Put the bread-crumbs at the bottom of a pie-dish, then over them a layer of jam of any kind that may be preferred; mix the milk and eggs together; add the sugar, butter, and pounded almonds; beat all well together; pour it into the dish, and bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 3d. to 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Baroness (Author’s Recipe).

Ingredients.—¾ lb. of suet, ¾ lb. of raisins weighed after being stoned, ¾ lb. of flour, ½ pint of milk, ¼ saltspoonful of salt. Mode.—Prepare the suet, by carefully freeing it from skin, and chop it finely; stone the raisins, and cut them in halves, and mix both these ingredients with the salt and flour; moisten the whole with the above proportion of milk, stir the mixture well, and tie the pudding in a floured cloth, which has been previously wrung out in boiling water. Put the pudding into a saucepan of boiling water, and let it boil, without ceasing, 4½ hours. Serve with plain sifted sugar only, a little of which may be sprinkled over the pudding. Time.—4½ hours. Average cost, 1s. 4d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable in winter, when fresh fruit is not obtainable.

Note.—This pudding the editress cannot too highly recommend. The recipe was kindly given to her family by a lady who bore the title here prefixed to it; and with all who have partaken of it, it is an especial favourite. Nothing is of greater consequence, in the above directions, than attention to the time of boiling, which should never be less than that mentioned.

Pudding, Royal Coburg.

Ingredients.—1 pint of new milk, 6 oz. of flour, 6 oz. of sugar, 6 oz. of butter, 6 oz. of currants, 6 eggs, brandy and grated nutmeg to taste. Mode.—Mix the flour to a smooth batter with the milk, add the remaining ingredients gradually, and when well mixed, put it into four basins or moulds half full; bake for ¾ hour, turn the puddings out on a dish, and serve with wine sauce. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, 1s. 9d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Cold.

Ingredients.—4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, sugar to taste, a little grated lemon-rind, 2 oz. of raisins, 4 tablespoonfuls of marmalade, a few slices of sponge cake. Mode.—Sweeten the milk with lump sugar, add a little grated lemon-rind, and stir to this the eggs, which should be well whisked; line a buttered mould with the raisins, stoned and cut in half; spread the slices of cake with the marmalade, and place them in the mould; then pour in the custard, tie the pudding down with paper and a cloth, and boil gently for 1 hour: when cold, turn it out, and serve. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, College.

Ingredients.—1 pint of bread-crumbs, 6 oz. of finely-chopped suet, ¼ lb. of currants, a few thin slices of candied peel, 3 oz. of sugar, ¼ nutmeg, 3 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of brandy. Mode.—Put the bread-crumbs into a basin; add the suet, currants, candied peel, sugar, and nutmeg, grated, and stir these ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed. Beat up the eggs, moisten the pudding with these, and put in the brandy; beat well for a few minutes, then form the mixture into round balls or egg-shaped pieces; fry these in hot butter or lard, letting them stew in it until thoroughly done, and turn them two or three times, till of a fine light brown; drain them on a piece of blotting-paper before the fire; dish, and serve with wine sauce. Time.—15 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 7 or 8 puddings. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Comarques (Excellent).

Ingredients.—5 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, rind of 1 lemon, ½ pint of cream, different kinds of preserve. Mode.—Beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately, and put them into different basins; stir the flour, sugar, and lemon-peel into the yolks; whip the cream very thick and put it on a sieve to harden. Then add it, with the whites of the eggs, to the other ingredients, and pour the mixture into little deep saucers just before putting into the oven. Bake about ½ an hour. When they are taken out, a very thin layer of different kinds of preserve should be put upon each, and they should be piled one above another. A little whipped cream placed here and there on the pudding as a garnish would be found to improve the appearance of this dish. Time.—About ½ an hour. Average cost, 1s. 9d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Delhi.

Ingredients.—4 large apples, a little grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, 2 large tablespoonfuls of sugar, 6 oz. of currants, ¾ lb. of suet crust. Mode.—Pare, core, and cut the apples into slices; put them into a saucepan with the nutmeg, lemon-peel, and sugar, stew them over the fire till soft; then have ready the above quantity of crust, roll it out thin, spread the apples over the paste, sprinkle over the currants, roll the pudding up, closing the ends properly, tie it in a floured cloth, and boil for 2 hours. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—August to March.

Pudding, Empress.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of rice, 2 oz. of butter, 3 eggs, jam, sufficient milk to soften the rice. Mode.—Boil the rice in the milk until very soft; then add the butter, boil it for a few minutes after the latter ingredient is put in, and set it by to cool. Well beat the eggs, stir these in, and line a dish with puff-paste; put over this a layer of rice, then a thin layer of any kind of jam, then another layer of rice, and proceed in this manner until the dish is full; and bake in a moderate oven for ¾ hour. This pudding may be eaten hot or cold; if the latter, it will be much improved by having a boiled custard poured over it. Time.—¾ hour. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Exeter (Very Rich).

Ingredients.—10 oz. of bread-crumbs, 4 oz. of sago, 7 oz. of finely-chopped suet, 6 oz. of moist sugar, the rind of ½ lemon, ¼ pint of rum, 7 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, 4 small sponge-cakes, 2 oz. of ratafias, ½ lb. of jam. Mode.—Put the bread-crumbs into a basin with the sago, suet, sugar, minced lemon-peel, rum, and 4 eggs; stir these ingredients well together, then add 3 more eggs and the cream, and let the mixture be well beaten. Then butter a mould, strew in a few bread-crumbs, and cover the bottom with a layer of ratafias; then put in a layer of the mixture, then a layer of sliced sponge-cake spread thickly with any kind of jam; then add some ratafias, then some of the mixture and sponge-cake, and so on until the mould is full, taking care that a layer of the mixture is on the top of the pudding. Bake in a good oven from ¾ to 1 hour, and serve with the following sauce:—Put 3 tablespoonfuls of black-currant jelly into a stewpan, add 2 glasses of sherry, and when warm, turn the pudding out of the mould, pour the sauce over it, and serve hot. Time.—From 1 to 1¼ hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding-Pies, Folkestone.

Ingredients.—1 pint of milk, 3 oz. of ground rice, 3 oz. of butter, ¼ lb. of sugar, flavouring of lemon-peel or bay-leaf, 6 eggs, puff-paste, currants. Mode.—Infuse 2 laurel or bay leaves, or the rind of ½ lemon in the milk, and when it is well flavoured, strain it, and add the rice; boil these for ¼ hour, stirring all the time; then take them off the fire, stir in the butter, sugar, and eggs, and let these latter be well beaten before they are added to the other ingredients; when nearly cold, line some patty-pans with puff-paste, fill with the custard, strew over each a few currants, and bake from 20 to 25 minutes in a moderate oven. Time.—20 to 25 minutes. Average cost, 1s. 1d. Sufficient to fill a dozen patty-pans. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, German.

Ingredients.—2 teaspoonfuls of flour, 1 teaspoonful of arrowroot, 1 pint of milk, 2 oz. of butter, sugar to taste, the rind of ½ lemon, 4 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of brandy. Mode.—Boil the milk with the lemon-rind until well flavoured; then strain it, and mix with it the flour, arrowroot, butter, and sugar. Boil these ingredients for a few minutes, keeping them well stirred; then take them off the fire and mix with them the eggs, yolks and whites, beaten separately and added separately. Boil some sugar to candy; line a mould with this, put in the brandy, then the mixture; tie down with a cloth, and boil for rather more than 1 hour. When turned out, the brandy and sugar make a nice sauce. Time.—Rather more than 1 hour. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Half-Pay.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of suet, ¼ lb. of currants, ¼ lb. of raisins, ¼ lb. of flour, ¼ lb. of bread-crumbs, 2 tablespoonfuls of treacle, ½ pint of milk. Mode.—Chop the suet finely; mix with it the currants, which should be nicely washed and dried, the raisins, which should be stoned, the flour, bread-crumbs, and treacle; moisten with the milk, beat up the ingredients until all are thoroughly mixed, put them into a buttered basin, and boil the pudding for 3½ hours. Time.—3½ hours. Average cost, 8d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Herodotus.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of bread-crumbs, ½ lb. of good figs, 6 oz. of suet, 6 oz. of moist sugar, ½ saltspoonful of salt, 3 eggs, nutmeg to taste. Mode.—Mince the suet and figs very finely; add the remaining ingredients, taking care that the eggs are well whisked; beat the mixture for a few minutes, put it into a buttered mould, tie it down with a floured cloth, and boil the pudding for 5 hours. Serve with wine sauce. Time.—5 hours. Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Hunter’s.

Ingredients.—1 lb. of raisins, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of suet, 1 lb. of bread-crumbs, ½ lb. of moist sugar, 8 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of flour, ¼ lb. of mixed candied peel, 1 glass of brandy, 10 drops of essence of lemon, 10 drops of essence of almonds, ½ nutmeg, 2 blades of mace, 6 cloves. Mode.—Stone and shred the raisins rather small, chop the suet finely, and rub the bread until all lumps are well broken; pound the spice to powder, cut the candied peel into thin shreds, and mix all these ingredients well together, adding the sugar. Beat the eggs to a strong froth, and as they are beaten, drop into them the essence of lemon and essence of almonds; stir these to the dry ingredients, mix well, and add the brandy. Tie the pudding firmly in a cloth, and boil it for 6 hours at the least 7 or 8 hours would be still better for it. Serve with boiled custard, melted red-currant jelly, or brandy sauce. Time.—6 to 8 hours. Average cost, 3s. 6d. Sufficient for 9 or 10 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Pudding, Manchester (to eat Cold).

Ingredients.—3 oz. of grated bread, ½ pint of milk, a strip of lemon-peel, 4 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, sugar to taste, puff-paste, jam, 3 tablespoonfuls of brandy. Mode.—Flavour the milk with lemon-peel, by infusing it in the milk for ½ hour; then strain it on to the bread-crumbs, and boil it for 2 or 3 minutes; add the eggs, leaving out the whites of 2, the butter, sugar, and brandy; stir all these ingredients well together; cover a pie-dish with puff-paste, and at the bottom put a thick layer of any kind of jam; pour the above mixture, cold, on the jam, and bake the pudding for an hour. Serve cold, with a little sifted sugar sprinkled over. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Mansfield.

Ingredients.—The crumb of 2 rolls, 1 pint of milk, sugar to taste, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy, 6 oz. of chopped suet, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, ½ lb. of currants, ½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream. Mode.—Slice the roll very thin, and pour upon it a pint of boiling milk; let it remain closely covered for ¼ hour, then beat it up with a fork, and sweeten with moist sugar; stir in the chopped suet, flour, currants, and nutmeg. Mix these ingredients well together, moisten with the eggs, brandy, and cream; beat the mixture for 2 or 3 minutes, put it into a buttered dish or mould, and bake in a moderate oven for 1¼ hour. Turn it out, strew sifted sugar over, and serve. Time.—1¼ hour. Average cost, 1s. 3d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Marlborough.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of butter, ¼ lb. of powdered lump sugar, 4 eggs, puff-paste, a layer of any kind of jam. Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream, stir in the powdered sugar, whisk the eggs, and add these to the other ingredients. When these are well mixed, line a dish with puff-paste, spread over a layer of any kind of jam that may be preferred, pour in the mixture, and bake the pudding for rather more than ½ hour. Time.—Rather more than ½ hour. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Military.

Ingredients.—½ lb. of suet, ½ lb. of bread-crumbs, ½ lb. of moist sugar, the rind and juice of 1 large lemon. Mode.—Chop the suet finely, mix it with the bread-crumbs and sugar, and mince the lemon-rind and strain the juice; stir these into the other ingredients, mix well, and put the mixture into small buttered cups, and bake for rather more than ¼ hour; turn them out on the dish, and serve with lemon-sauce. The above ingredients may be made into small balls, and boiled for about ½ hour; they should then be served with the same sauce as when baked. Time.—Rather more than ½ hour. Average cost, 9d. Sufficient to fill 6 or 7 moderate-sized cups. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Monday’s.

Ingredients.—The remains of cold plum-pudding, brandy, custard made with 5 eggs to every pint of milk. Mode.—Cut the remains of a good cold plum-pudding into finger-pieces, soak them in a little brandy, and lay them cross-barred in a mould until full. Make a custard with the above proportion of milk and eggs, flavouring it with nutmeg or lemon-rind; fill up the mould with it; tie it down with a cloth, and boil or steam it for an hour. Serve with a little of the custard poured over, to which has been added a tablespoonful of brandy. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the pudding, 6d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Nesselrode (a fashionable Iced Pudding—Carême’s Recipe).

Ingredients.—40 chestnuts, 1 lb. of sugar, flavouring of vanilla, 1 pint of cream, the yolks of 12 eggs, 1 glass of Maraschino, 1 oz. of candied citron, 2 oz. of currants, 2 oz. of stoned raisins, ½ pint of whipped cream, 3 eggs. Mode.—Blanch the chestnuts in the boiling water, remove the husks, and pound them in a mortar until perfectly smooth, adding a few spoonfuls of syrup. Then rub them through a fine sieve, and mix them in a basin with a pint of syrup made from 1 lb. of sugar, clarified, and flavoured with vanilla, 1 pint of cream, and the yolks of 12 eggs. Set this mixture over a slow fire, stirring it without ceasing, and just as it begins to boil, take it off and pass it through a tammy. When it is cold, put it into a freezing-pot, adding the Maraschino, and make the mixture set; then add the sliced citron, the currants, and stoned raisins (these two latter should be soaked the day previously in Maraschino and sugar pounded with vanilla); the whole thus mingled, add a plateful of whipped cream mixed with the whites of 3 eggs, beaten to a froth with a little syrup. When the pudding is perfectly frozen, put it into a pineapple-shaped mould; close the lid, place it again in the freezing-pan, covered over with pounded ice and saltpetre, and let it remain until required for table; then turn the pudding out, and serve. Time.—½ hour to freeze the mixture, Seasonable from October to February.

Pudding, Paradise.

Ingredients.—3 eggs, 3 apples, ¼ lb. of bread-crumbs, 3 oz. of sugar, 3 oz. of currants, salt and grated nutmeg to taste, the rind of ½ lemon, ½ wineglassful of brandy. Mode.—Pare, core, and mince the apples into small pieces, and mix them with the other dry ingredients; beat up the eggs, moisten the mixture with these, and beat it well; stir in the brandy, and put the pudding into a buttered mould; tie it down with a cloth, boil for 1½ hour, and serve with sweet sauce. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, 1s. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.

Pudding, Pease.

Ingredients.—1½ pint of split peas, 2 oz. of butter, 2 eggs, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Put the peas to soak over night, in rain-water, and float off any that are worm-eaten or discoloured. Tie them loosely in a clean cloth, leaving a little room for them to swell, and put them on to boil in cold rain-water, allowing 2½ hours after the water has simmered up. When the peas are tender, take them up and drain; rub them through a colander with a wooden spoon; add the butter, eggs, pepper, and salt; beat all well together for a few minutes, until the ingredients are well incorporated; then tie them tightly in a floured cloth; boil the pudding for another hour, turn it on to the dish, and serve very hot. This pudding should always be sent to table with boiled leg of pork, and is an exceedingly nice accompaniment to boiled beef. Time.—2½ hours to boil the peas, tied loosely in the cloth; 1 hour for the pudding. Average cost, 6d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons. Seasonable from September to March.

Pudding, Quickly-Made.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of butter, ½ lb. of sifted sugar, ¼ lb. of flour, 1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, a little grated lemon-rind. Mode.—Make the milk hot; stir in the butter, and let it cool before the other ingredients are added to it; then stir in the sugar, flour, and eggs, which should be well whisked, and omit the whites of 2; flavour with a little grated lemon-rind, and beat the mixture well. Butter some small cups, rather more than half fill them; bake from 20 minutes to ½ hour, according to the size of the puddings, and serve with fruit, custard or wine-sauce, a little of which may be poured over them. Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour. Average cost, 1s. 2d. Sufficient for 6 puddings. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Somersetshire.

Ingredients.—3 eggs, their weight in flour, pounded sugar and butter, flavouring of grated lemon-rind, bitter almonds, or essence of vanilla. Mode.—Carefully weigh the various ingredients, by placing on one side of the scales the eggs, and on the other the flour; then the sugar, and then the butter. Warm the butter, and with the hands beat it to a cream; gradually dredge in the flour and pounded sugar, and keep stirring and beating the mixture without ceasing until it is perfectly smooth. Then add the eggs, which should be well whisked, and either of the above flavourings that may be preferred; butter some small cups, rather more than half fill them, and bake in a brisk oven for about ½ hour. Turn them out, dish them on a napkin, and serve custard or wine-sauce with them. A pretty little supper-dish may be made of these puddings cold, by cutting out a portion of the inside with the point of a knife, and putting into the cavity a little whipped cream or delicate preserve, such as apricot, greengage, or very bright marmalade. The paste for these puddings requires a great deal of mixing, as the more it is beaten, the better will the puddings be. When served cold, they are usually called gâteaux à la Madeleine. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, 10d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 puddings. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Vicarage.

Ingredients.—¼ lb. of flour, ¼ lb. of chopped suet, ¼ lb. of currants, ¼ lb. of raisins, 1 tablespoonful of moist sugar, ½ teaspoonful of ground ginger, ½ saltspoonful of salt. Mode.—Put all the ingredients into a basin, having previously stoned the raisins, and washed, picked, and dried the currants; mix well with a clean knife; dip the pudding-cloth into boiling water, wring it out, and put in the mixture. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water, plunge in the pudding, and boil for 3 hours. Turn it out on the dish, and serve with sifted sugar. Time.—3 hours. Average cost, 8d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—Suitable for a winter pudding.

Pudding, West-Indian.

Ingredients.—1 pint of cream, ¼ lb. of loaf-sugar, ½ lb. of Savoy or sponge-cakes, 8 eggs, 3 oz. of preserved green ginger. Mode.—Crumble down the cakes, put them into a basin, and pour over them the cream, which should be previously sweetened and brought to the boiling-point; cover the basin, well beat the eggs, and when the cream is soaked up, stir them in. Butter a mould, arrange the ginger round it, pour in the pudding carefully, and tie it down with a cloth; steam or boil it slowly for 1½ hour, and serve with the syrup from the ginger, which should be warmed, and poured over the pudding. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, with cream at 1s. per pint, 2s. 8d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Pudding, Yorkshire, to serve with hot Roast Beef.

Ingredients.—1½ pint of milk, 6 large tablespoonfuls of flour, 3 eggs, 1 saltspoonful of salt. Mode.—Put the flour into a basin with the salt, and stir gradually to this enough milk to make it into a stiff batter. When this is perfectly smooth, and all the lumps are well rubbed down, add the remainder of the milk and the eggs, which should be well beaten. Beat the mixture for a few minutes, and pour it into a shallow tin, which has been previously well rubbed with beef dripping. Put the pudding into the oven, and bake it for an hour; then, for another ½ hour, place it under the meat, to catch a little of the gravy that flows from it. Cut the pudding into small square pieces, put them on a hot dish, and serve. If the meat is baked, the pudding may at once be placed under it, resting the meat on a small three-cornered stand. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, 7d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Puff-Paste Rings, or Puits d’Amour.

Ingredients.—Puff-paste (see Paste), the white of an egg, sifted loaf sugar. Mode.—Make some good puff-paste by recipe; roll it out to the thickness of about ¼ inch, and, with a round fluted paste-cutter, stamp out as many pieces as may be required; then work the paste up again, and roll it out to the same thickness, and with a smaller cutter, stamp out sufficient pieces to correspond with the larger ones. Again stamp out the centre of these smaller rings; brush over the others with the white of an egg, place a small ring on the top of every large circular piece of paste, egg over the tops, and bake from 15 to 20 minutes. Sift over sugar, put them back in the oven to colour them; then fill the rings with preserve of any bright colour. Dish them high on a napkin, and serve. So many pretty dishes of pastry may be made by stamping puff-paste out with fancy cutters, and filling the pieces, when baked, with jelly or preserve, that our space will not allow us to give a separate recipe for each of them; but as they are all made from one paste, and only the shape and garnishing varied, perhaps it is not necessary, and by exercising a little ingenuity, variety may always be obtained. Half-moons, leaves, diamonds, stars, shamrocks, rings, &c., are the most appropriate shapes for fancy pastry. Time.—15 to 25 minutes. Average cost, with ½ lb. of paste, 1s. Sufficient for 2 dishes of pastry. Seasonable at any time.

Pumpkin, Preserved.

Ingredients.—To each lb. of pumpkin allow 1 lb. of roughly pounded loaf sugar, 1 gill of lemon-juice. Mode.—Obtain a good sweet pumpkin; halve it, take out the seeds, and pare off the rind; cut it into neat slices, or into pieces about the size of a five-shilling piece. Weigh the pumpkin, put the slices in a pan or deep dish in layers, with the sugar sprinkled between them; pour the lemon-juice over the top, and let the whole remain for 2 or 3 days. Boil altogether, adding ½ pint of water to every 3 lbs. of sugar used, until the pumpkin becomes tender; then turn the whole into a pan, where let it remain for a week; then drain off the syrup, boil it until it is quite thick; skim, and pour it, boiling, over the pumpkin. A little bruised ginger and lemon-rind, thinly pared, may be boiled in the syrup to flavour the pumpkin. Time.—From ½ to ¾ hour to boil the pumpkin tender. Average cost, 5d. to 7d. per lb. pot. Seasonable in September and October; but better when made in the latter month, as the pumpkin is then quite ripe.

Note.—-Vegetable marrows are very good prepared in the same manner, but are not quite so rich.

Punch, to make Hot.

Ingredients.—½ pint of rum, ½ pint of brandy, ¼ lb. of sugar, 1 large lemon, ½ teaspoonful of nutmeg, 1 pint of boiling water. Mode.—Rub the sugar over the lemon until it has absorbed all the yellow part of the skin, then put the sugar into a punchbowl; add the lemon-juice (free from pips), and mix these two ingredients well together. Pour over them the boiling water, stir well together, add the rum, brandy, and nutmeg; mix thoroughly, and the punch will be ready to serve. It is very important in making good punch that all the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated; and to insure success, the processes of mixing must be diligently attended to. Sufficient.—Allow a quart for 4 persons; but this information must be taken cum grano salis; for the capacities of persons for this kind of beverage are generally supposed to vary considerably.

Quails, to Dress.

Ingredients.—Quails, butter, toast. Mode.—These birds keep good several days, and should be roasted without drawing. Truss them in the same manner as woodcocks; roast them before a clear fire, keep them well basted, and serve on toast. Time.—About 20 minutes. Average cost.—Seldom bought. Sufficient, 2 for a dish. Seasonable from October to December.

Quails.

Quails, being trussed and served like Woodcock, may be similarly carved.

Quince Jelly.

Ingredients.—To every pint of juice allow 1 lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Pare and slice the quinces, and put them into a preserving-pan with sufficient water to float them. Boil them until tender, and the fruit is reduced to a pulp; strain off the clear juice, and to each pint allow the above proportion of loaf sugar. Boil the juice and sugar together for about ¾ hour; remove all the scum as it rises, and if the jelly appears firm when a little is poured on a plate, it is done. The residue left on the sieve will answer to make a common marmalade, for immediate use, by boiling it with ½ lb. of common sugar to every lb. of pulp. Time.—3 hours to boil the quinces in water; ¾ hour to boil the jelly. Average cost, from 8d. to 10d. per lb. pot. Seasonable from August to October.

Quince Marmalade.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of quince pulp allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar. Mode.—Slice the quinces into a preserving-pan, adding sufficient water for them to float; place them on the fire to stew, until reduced to a pulp, keeping them stirred occasionally from the bottom, to prevent their burning; then pass the pulp through a hair sieve, to keep back the skin and seeds. Weigh the pulp, and to each lb. add lump sugar in the above proportion, broken very small. Place the whole on the fire, and keep it well stirred from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until reduced to a marmalade, which may be known by dropping a little on a cold plate, when, if it jellies, it is done. Put it into jars whilst hot; let it cool, and cover with pieces of oiled paper cut to the size of the mouths of the jars. The tops of them may be afterwards covered with pieces of bladder, or tissue-paper brushed over on both sides with the white of an egg. Time.—3 hours to boil the quinces without the sugar; ¾ hour to boil the pulp with the sugar. Average cost, from 8d. to 9d. per lb. pot. Sufficient.—Allow 1 pint of sliced quinces for a lb. pot. Seasonable in August, September, and October.

Rabbit, Boiled.

Ingredients.—Rabbit; water. Mode.—For boiling, choose rabbits with smooth and sharp claws, as that denotes they are young: should these be blunt and rugged, the ears dry and tough, the animal is old. After emptying and skinning it, wash it well in cold water, and let it soak for about ¼ hour in warm water, to draw out the blood. Bring the head round to the side, and fasten it there by means of a skewer run through that and the body. Put the rabbit into sufficient hot water to cover it, let it boil very gently until tender, which will be in from ½ to ¾ hour, according to its size and age. Dish it, and smother it either with onion, mushroom, or liver-sauce, or parsley-and-butter; the former is, however, generally preferred to any of the last-named sauces. When liver-sauce is preferred, the liver should be boiled for a few minutes, and minced very finely, or rubbed through a sieve before it is added to the sauce. Time.—A very young rabbit, ½ hour; a large one, ¾ hour; an old one, 1 hour or longer. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Rabbit, Curried.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, 2 oz. of butter, 3 onions, 1 pint of stock, 1 tablespoonful of curry powder, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom powder, the juice of ½ lemon, ½ lb. of rice. Mode.—Empty, skin, and wash the rabbit thoroughly, and cut it neatly into joints. Put it into a stewpan with the butter and sliced onions, and let them acquire a nice brown colour, but do not allow them to blacken. Pour in the stock, which should be boiling; mix the curry powder and flour smoothly with a little water, add it to the stock, with the mushroom powder, and simmer gently for rather more than ½ hour; squeeze in the lemon-juice, and serve in the centre of a dish, with an edging of boiled rice all round. Where economy is studied, water may be substituted for the stock; in this case, the meat and onions must be very nicely browned. A little sour apple and rasped cocoa-nut stewed with the curry will be found a great improvement. Time.—Altogether ¾ hour. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable in winter.

Rabbit, Fried.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, flour, dripping, 1 oz. of butter, 1 teaspoonful of minced shalot, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup. Mode.—Cut the rabbit into neat joints, and flour them well; make the dripping boil in a frying-pan, put in the rabbit, and fry it a nice brown. Have ready a very hot dish, put in the butter, shalot, and ketchup; arrange the rabbit pyramidically on this, and serve as quickly as possible. Time.—10 minutes. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Note.—The rabbit may be brushed over with egg, and sprinkled with bread-crumbs, and fried as above. When cooked in this manner, make a gravy in the pan, and pour it round, but not over the pieces of rabbit.

Rabbit, à la Minute.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, ¼ lb. of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace, 3 dried mushrooms, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, 2 teaspoonfuls of flour, 2 glasses of sherry, 1 pint of water. Mode.—Empty, skin, and wash the rabbit thoroughly, and cut it into joints. Put the butter into a stewpan with the pieces of rabbit; add salt, pepper, and pounded mace, and let it cook until three parts done; then put in the remaining ingredients, and boil for about 10 minutes; it will then be ready to serve. Fowls or hare may be dressed in the same manner. Time.—Altogether, 35 minutes. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Rabbit Pie.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, a few slices of ham, salt and white pepper to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace, ½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, a few forcemeat balls, 3 hard-boiled eggs, ½ pint of gravy, puff crust. Mode.—Cut up the rabbit (which should be young), remove the breastbone, and bone the legs. Put the rabbit, slices of ham, forcemeat balls, and hard eggs, by turns, in layers, and season each layer with pepper, salt, pounded mace, and grated nutmeg. Pour in about ½ pint of water, cover with crust, and bake in a well-heated oven for about 1½ hour. Should the crust acquire too much colour, place a piece of paper over it to prevent it from burning. When done, pour in at the top, by means of the hole in the middle of the crust, a little good gravy, which may be made of the breast- and leg-bones of the rabbit, and 2 or 3 shank-bones, flavoured with onion, herbs, and spices. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Note.—The liver of the rabbit may be boiled, minced, and mixed with the forcemeat balls, when the flavour is liked.

Rabbit or Hare, Ragoût of.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, 3 teaspoonfuls of flour, 3 sliced onions, 2 oz. of butter, a few thin slices of bacon, pepper and salt to taste, 2 slices of lemon, 1 bay-leaf, 1 glass of port wine. Mode.—Slice the onions, and put them into a stewpan with the flour and butter; place the pan near the fire, stir well as the butter melts, till the onions become a rich brown colour, and add, by degrees, a little water or gravy till the mixture is of the consistency of cream. Cut some thin slices of bacon; lay in these with the rabbit, cut into neat joints; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, the lemon and bay-leaf, and let the whole simmer until tender. Pour in the port wine, give one boil, and serve. Time.—About ½ hour to simmer the rabbit. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Rabbit, Roast or Baked.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, forcemeat, buttered paper, sausage-meat. Mode.—Empty, skin, and thoroughly wash the rabbit; wipe it dry, line the inside with sausage-meat and forcemeat, and to which has been added the minced liver. Sew the stuffing inside, skewer back the head between the shoulders, cut off the fore-joints of the shoulders and legs, bring them close to the body, and secure them by means of a skewer. Wrap the rabbit in buttered paper, and put it down to a bright clear fire; keep it well basted and a few minutes before it is done remove the paper, flour and froth it, and let it acquire a nice brown colour. Take out the skewers, and serve with brown gravy and red-currant jelly. To bake the rabbit, proceed in the same manner as above; in a good oven, it will take about the same time as roasting. Time.—A young rabbit, 35 minutes; a large one about ¾ hour. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Rabbit Soup.

Ingredients.—2 large rabbits, or 3 small ones; a faggot of savoury herbs, ½ head of celery, 2 carrots, 1 onion, 1 blade of mace, salt and white pepper to taste, a little pounded mace, ½ pint of cream, the yolks of 2 eggs boiled hard, the crumb of a French roll, nearly 3 quarts of water. Mode.—Make the soup with the legs and shoulders of the rabbit, and keep the nice pieces for a dish or entrée. Put them into warm water, and draw the blood; when quite clean, put them into a stewpan, with a faggot of herbs, and a teacupful, or rather more, of veal stock or water. Simmer slowly till done through, add the three quarts of water, and boil for an hour. Take out the rabbit, pick the meat from the bones, covering it up to keep it white; put the bones back in the liquor, add the vegetables, and simmer for two hours; skim and strain, and let it cool. Now pound the meat in a mortar, with the yolks of the eggs, and the crumb of the roll previously soaked; rub it through a tammy, and gradually add it to the strained liquor, and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix arrowroot or rice-flour with the cream (say 2 dessertspoonfuls), and stir in the soup; bring it to a boil, and serve. This soup must be very white, and instead of thickening it with arrowroot or rice-flour, vermicelli or pearl barley can be boiled in a little stock, and put in five minutes before serving. Time.—Nearly 4 hours. Average cost, 1s. per quart. Seasonable from September to March. Sufficient for 10 persons.

Rabbit, Stewed.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, 2 large onions, 6 cloves, 1 small teaspoonful of chopped lemon-peel, a few forcemeat balls, thickening of butter and flour, 1 large tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup. Mode.—Cut the rabbit into small joints; put them into a stewpan, add the onions sliced, the cloves, and minced lemon-peel. Pour in sufficient water to cover the meat, and, when the rabbit is nearly done, drop in a few forcemeat balls, to which has been added the liver, finely chopped. Thicken the gravy with flour and butter, put in the ketchup, give one boil, and serve. Time.—Rather more than ½ hour. Average cost, 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Rabbit Stewed, Larded.

Ingredients.—1 rabbit, a few strips of bacon, rather more than 1 pint of good broth or stock, a bunch of savoury herbs, salt and pepper to taste, thickening of butter and flour, 1 glass of sherry. Mode.—Well wash the rabbit, cut it into quarters, lard them with slips of bacon, and fry them; then put them into a stewpan with the broth, herbs, and a seasoning of pepper and salt; simmer gently until the rabbit is tender, then strain the gravy, thicken it with butter and flour, add the sherry, let it boil, pour it over the rabbit, and serve. Garnish with slices of cut lemon. Time.—Rather more than ½ hour. Average cost, 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Rabbits, Stewed in Milk.

Ingredients.—2 very young rabbits, not nearly half grown; 1½ pint of milk, 1 blade of mace, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, a little salt and cayenne. Mode.—Mix the flour very smoothly with 4 tablespoonfuls of the milk, and when this is well mixed, add the remainder. Cut up the rabbits into joints, put them into a stewpan, with the milk and other ingredients, and simmer them very gently until quite tender. Stir the contents from time to time, to keep the milk smooth and prevent it from burning. ½ hour will be sufficient for the cooking of this dish. Time.—½ hour. Average cost, from 1s. to 1s. 6d. each. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from September to February.

Rabbits, to carve.

In carving a boiled rabbit, let the knife be drawn on each side of the backbone, the whole length of the rabbit, as shown by the dotted line 3 to 4: thus the rabbit will be in three parts. Now let the back be divided into two equal parts in the direction of the line from 1 to 2; then let the leg be taken off, as shown by the line 5 to 6, and the shoulder, as shown by the line 7 to 8. This, in our opinion, is the best plan to carve a rabbit, although there are other modes which are preferred by some.

A roast rabbit is rather differently trussed from one that is meant to be boiled; but the carving is nearly similar, as will be seen by the cut. The back should be divided into as many pieces as it will give, and the legs and shoulders can then be disengaged in the same manner as those of the boiled animal.

Raised Pie, of Poultry or Game.

Ingredients.—To every lb. of flour allow ½ lb of butter, ½ pint of water, the yolks of 2 eggs, ½ teaspoonful of salt (these are for the crust); 1 large fowl or pheasant, a few slices of veal cutlet, a few slices of dressed ham, forcemeat, seasoning of nutmeg, allspice, pepper and salt, gravy. Mode.—Make a stiff short crust with the above proportion of butter, flour, water, and eggs, and work it up very smoothly; butter a raised-pie mould, and line it with paste. Previously to making the crust, bone the fowl, or whatever bird is intended to be used, lay it, breast downwards, upon a cloth, and season the inside well with pounded mace, allspice, pepper, and salt; then spread over it a layer of forcemeat, then a layer of seasoned veal, and then one of ham, and then another layer of forcemeat, and roll the fowl over, making the skin meet at the back. Line the pie with forcemeat, put in the fowl, and fill up the cavities with slices of seasoned veal, and ham, and forcemeat; wet the edges of the pie, put on the cover, pinch the edges together with the paste-pincers, and decorate it with leaves; brush it over with beaten yolk of egg, and bake in a moderate oven for 4 hours. In the mean time, make a good strong gravy from the bones, pour it through a funnel into the hole at the top; cover this hole with a small leaf, and the pie, when cold, will be ready for use. Let it be remembered that the gravy must be considerably reduced before it is poured into the pie, as, when cold, it should form a firm jelly, and not be the least degree in a liquid state. This recipe is suitable for all kinds of poultry or game, using one or more birds, according to the size of the pie intended to be made; but the birds must always be boned. Truffles, mushrooms, &c., added to this pie, make it much nicer; and, to enrich it, lard the fleshy parts of the poultry or game with thin strips of bacon. This method of forming raised pies in a mould is generally called a timbale, and has the advantage of being more easily made than one where the paste is raised by the hands; the crust, besides, being eatable. Time.—Large pie, 4 hours. Average cost, 6s. 6d. Seasonable, with poultry, all the year; with game, from September to March.

Raised Pie, of Veal and Ham.