HIGH-CLASS COOKERY
MADE EASY.

By Mrs. Hart.

EDINBURGH:
LORIMER & GILLIES, PRINTERS,
31 ST. ANDREW SQUARE.

I have written this book for Young Ladies and inexperienced Cooks, as a simple guide for them in Cookery. I have had a practical cooking-class for some time in various towns, where I have proved my recipes by cooking them for the ladies.

I have been asked to form a book of these recipes, as most Cookery Books are not suitable for economical households; and the result is now submitted to the public.

I have learnt from experience what is wanted in a kitchen, and therefore the instructions given are such that any one can follow them without difficulty.

I intend, as soon as possible, to publish another little work, with additional recipes, as time has failed me to give, in the present publication, all the recipes that I think of importance.

J. H.

[7]

HIGH-CLASS COOKERY MADE EASY.

At the outset we have to remind all who read these pages, that great pains must be taken to have all pans and dishes scrupulously clean. In cleaning copper pans, attend to the following directions:—If there are any lemon skins left from cooking, boil them in salt and water, dip a piece of flannel in the liquid, and rub your pan well. Then rinse with cold water, and dry with a linen cloth. Every pan must be rinsed or dusted out before being used, for the smallest speck of dirt will destroy a whole panful of sauce; and good sauces are the foundation of good cooking.

Cooks cannot be too careful in keeping their sauce-pans scrupulously clean. To clean ordinary pans, place them on the fire with some water and a little washing soda, and let the water get hot. Then wash out your pan, rub lightly with a few ashes and rinse with clean water.

Keep a pan for omelets only.

The first duty of the cook or housekeeper is to have a stock made ready for soups, gravies, and sauces. On the care given to this point greatly depend the comfort and success of the dinner. I will now try to explain how, with a little care and pains, this can always be done, and the same stock used for several soups. To make—

BROWN SOUP.

Procure a nap-bone, five lbs.; have the bone well broken into very small pieces, and wash it in salt and water. Cut off the meat, and brown it in the frying-pan, with an onion. Put the nap-bone and fried meat into a convenient-sized soup-pot with eight quarts of cold water, and when it comes to the boil, set it to the side of the fire, to throw up the scum and grease; remove these as they rise, and boil slowly, with a head of celery, for six hours; then strain, and have it clear, to make the different kinds of clear soup. I will afterwards give the names of these.

For thick soups, or gravies, or sauces, put back the same meat and bones of the first stock into the pot, and put on eight quarts more of water. Boil for six hours,—longer, if it is cold weather. Vegetables, such as carrots and turnips, may be put into the stock, but not in warm weather. Strain this stock, and it will do for thick soup or purées of vegetables.

[9]

JULIENNE SOUP.

Take the red part of a carrot, part of a turnip, and the white part of a head of celery, leek, and onion; cut these into thin shreds about an inch long, and boil in a pint of water. Pour off the water from the vegetables, and add them to the clear brown soup. Season with pepper and salt, and whatever sauce is preferred.

PERSIAN SOUP.

Cut carrot, turnip, and lettuce leaves, with a round vegetable-cutter, to the size of a threepenny piece, and boil tender in a separate sauce-pan, strain and add to clear brown soup. A glass of sherry added to the soup is an improvement, but this may be omitted.

MOCK TURTLE SOUP.

Procure a calf’s head, and parboil in plenty of water, with a spoonful of salt, till tender. When the calf’s head is cold, by steeping in cold water, trim the head from all gristle, and press it between two ashets till morning; then cut it in dice pieces. Make a thick soup in the following manner: take three ounces of clarified fat and one onion, and brown over the fire; add two ounces of flour, and brown; stir in two quarts bree of head, keeping stirred gently to prevent burning; draw over to the side of the fire to boil slowly and throw up the scum. Put in the pieces of head, and boil if necessary a little longer; put a glass of Madeira wine in the tureen, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

[10]

SOUP À LA ROYAL.

Switch the yolks of two eggs and the white of one with a glass of stock, season with pepper and salt. Grease a small tea-cup that will hold it, and steam for ten minutes. Let the custard stand till cold, then cut in dice pieces, and drop into a basin of water; and when the clear brown soup is hot, drop in the dice pieces of custard. Serve with a flavouring of Worcestershire sauce in the soup.

CURRY SOUP.

Peel and slice one onion, and put into a stew-pan with two ounces of butter. Fry of a light-brown colour one apple, and as soon as this is dissolved, mix three ounces of flour, one tablespoonful of curry paste, and one tablespoonful of curry powder. Then add three quarts of stock, by degrees, keeping it stirred while pouring in the soup. Let it simmer by the side of the fire. Remove the scum, and pour through a strainer. Put back into the soup-pot, to keep hot; and serve with boiled rice.

How To Boil Rice for this Soup.

Put on a tea-cupful of rice to boil in cold water and salt; boil for fifteen minutes, then strain through a colander. Rinse the rice under the hot-water tap, and set in the oven to dry. Shake several times to keep the grains separated. Dish, and hand round with curry soup.

[11]

KIDNEY SOUP.

Get one ox kidney, cut it in small pieces and put it on to stew in a pan with half an onion and an ounce of butter, and let the kidneys brown; then add a quart of cold water, and let the kidneys stew for one hour; then strain the stock from kidneys and rinse the scum that lies round the kidneys; add the stock from the kidneys to three quarts of second stock, and place in another sauce-pan three ounces of flour, two ounces of dripping, and brown with onion. When this is browned, add the stock gradually to prevent it lumping, then the kidneys; let it simmer at side of stove for half-an-hour; skim off the scum that rises.

PURÉE DE POIS.

Get two quarts of green peas and boil till soft, with a handful of parsley, in just what water covers the peas. When the peas are ready, strain the water from them into two quarts of good strong stock, pass the green peas through a wire and hair sieve, and add to the stock a glass of cream, and one spoonful of flour.

PURÉE DE TOMATO.

Put into a stew-pan two carrots, one turnip, one onion, two dozen tomatoes, two ounces of butter, and one quart of second stock, and stew till tender. Pass this through a wire and hair sieve, if too thick, add stock to make it the thickness of cream.

[12]

PURÉE OF CARROTS.

Boil the red part of four carrots, one onion, with a cup of rice, till very soft, then pass all through a wire and hair sieve, and add second stock to this purée to make it the thickness of cream.

OYSTER SOUP.

Use whatever fish bones may be over from filleting fish—failing these, get a cod’s head, and boil for twenty minutes in three quarts of water, and strain. Have two dozen of oysters bearded and scalded. Have a spoonful of butter and one of flour melted, not browned. Strain your soup, and add it to butter and flour, along with a gill of cream for every pint of soup. Add your oysters—two for each person—which have been bearded and scalded, and boil three minutes. Before putting the soup into your tureen, switch up the yolk of an egg in the tureen, then pour the soup over, stirring all the time.

WHITE SOUP.

The boiling of fowl, bones of rabbits, a nap of veal bone, or trimmings of mutton cutlets can be used to make this soup, with a small piece of mace. For every quart of strong white stock place in a pot one ounce of flour and half-an-ounce of butter, and melt it over the fire; then add the boiling stock, a cup of milk, and a gill of cream, and when ready to serve, have the yolk of an egg switched in the tureen and pour the boiling soup on it.

[13]

HARE SOUP.

After the hare is skinned, wipe it clean on the outside. Great care must be taken not to lose the blood. Keep the blood in a basin. Place the hare in a pot with cold water, and a small nap-bone broken; when it boils, skim and draw to side of fire to boil for four hours; put in one carrot, one head celery, and one onion. When the hare is done, keep some of the best parts to serve in tureen, then make a brown roux with three ounces of clarified fat, three ounces of flour, and the blood of hare, and brown over the fire; then add the stock of hare, draw to side of fire to throw up the scum. Skim it well, and pass through a hair sieve; return to pot and put in the pieces of hare; pepper and salt. When in the tureen, put in a glass of port wine.

TO MAKE BROWNING FOR SOUPS.

Put one ounce of brown sugar in an iron sauce-pan, and with one spoonful of water a tiny piece of butter. Stir with an iron spoon till browned a dark colour. Add a tea-cupful of cold water, and boil for ten minutes; strain and bottle for colouring soups and sauces. Use a tea-spoonful to colour your soups and sauces, if not already brown enough.

BOILED FISH WITH EGG SAUCE.

Turn the tail through the eyes, place in a pan and cover with water and a little salt. Allow eight minutes to each pound of fish. For the egg sauce, melt one spoonful of butter and one of flour; when smooth, add gradually one gill of boiling water. Be careful to keep stirring with back of the spoon till all the water is added. Have a hard-boiled egg chopped fine to add to the sauce, and serve in a butter-boat. Have a napkin neatly folded on an ashet, lay your fish on it, and garnish with parsley.

FRIED HADDOCK.

I may here tell you about boiling lard. To know when it is hot enough for frying fish, &c., put a small piece of bread in, and if it browns quickly, the lard is ready. If it is inclined to burn, put in a small piece of potato.

Cut your haddock up the back and take the flesh from the bones; cut each side in two, making in all four pieces. Dip each piece first in flour, then in a little batter made of flour and water, or in a beat-up egg; then in bread-crumbs, and fry in the boiling lard. Fried parsley should be served with it.

[15]

TO MAKE FISH STOCK FOR SAUCES OR SOUPS.

Take any white fish bones you may have, and put them into a pan with three cloves, an onion, pepper, salt, a few herbs according to taste, and a piece of maize, enough to cover a threepenny piece. Cover with water, and boil slowly half-an-hour; then strain through a sieve, and set in a cool place till required.

HADDOCK À LA MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL.

Have some filleted haddocks; lay the fillets one across the other on a plate that will stand the fire, with a small piece of butter on the top, and some pepper, salt, and chopped parsley. Cover with a greased paper, and bake in a moderate oven ten minutes. For sauce, melt one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour in a pan, add a cup of milk by degrees, and a little cream if you have it, and a few drops of lemon juice. Dish your fish in a hot corner-dish, with the sauce over it.

MERLAN AU GRATIN.

Have some whitings skinned, with their tails turned through their eyes. Butter a dish that will stand the fire, sprinkle some bread-crumbs, and brown in the oven. Serve with a brown sauce made in the ordinary way—a brown sauce made of butter, flour, and water.

[16]

WHITINGS BROILED.

Skin and flour your whitings. Grease your gridiron with a buttered paper; lay on the fish; keep it a little distance from the fire at first. Time to cook, twenty minutes. Dish on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with melted butter in a sauce-boat.

BOILED HERRINGS À LA CRÊME.

Boil any quantity of herrings you require ten minutes in water, with a little salt; dish them without a napkin. Have ready the following sauce: Put six table-spoonfuls of cream in a stew-pan, with a little pepper and salt. When nearly boiling add an ounce of fresh butter and the juice of half a lemon. Stir it quickly, and pour it over the fish when sent to table.

TURBOT WITH SPAWN SAUCE.

Cook your turbot as in first recipe; only, instead of cream sauce, use the following: Get from the fishmonger’s about two ounces of fish spawn, and pound it in a mortar along with three ounces of butter; rub through a sieve, place it in a cold place to firm, then put it in a stew-pan with the yolks of two eggs, a little pepper and salt, four tea-spoonfuls of lemon juice, half-a-cup of melted butter, and two tea-spoonfuls of anchovy. Pass it through a tammie, put into a clean pan and make it hot. Have your fish on a hot dish, then pour the sauce over it.

[17]

TURBOT WITH CREAM SAUCE.

Turbot must be well rubbed with salt and lemon before being put into water. Have a large fish-kettle, and to every pound of turbot allow a quart of water, and to every quart of water put in two ounces of salt. A piece of turbot weighing four pounds will require to simmer twenty minutes. Lift out the fish with a drainer when done, and cover with a clean cloth. If sauce is wanted, dish without a napkin; if not wanted, dish on a napkin, with some slices of lemon and parsley. For the sauce, put one ounce of butter and the same of flour in a pan and melt over the fire; add a breakfast-cupful of milk, a little good cream, the yolk of an egg beat-up, some pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon. This sauce may be either poured over the turbot, or served up in a butter-boat.

SMELTS FRIED.

Dry the fish on a napkin, dip them in very thick cream, and immediately afterwards in flour, so that it forms a paste round them. Fry them in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, and garnish with fried parsley. No sauce is required.

STUFFED FISH.

Fillet two large haddocks, make a veal stuffing, and spread over the fillets. Roll up. Sprinkle some bread-crumbs over and small bits of butter, bake in the oven for fifteen minutes, till brown; pour a brown sauce over.

[18]

MELTED BUTTER.

Place two ounces of butter and two ounces of flour in a sauce-pan and melt. Stir in two cups of boiling water, switch quickly while pouring in the water. If rich sauce is required, add one ounce more of butter, with pepper and salt. This is the foundation of a number of other sauces such as—egg, shrimp, lobster, oyster, anchovy, giving the name to the sauce according to what is added. But if it be oyster, the liquor of the oysters must be added; also a little cream and white pepper.

CRIMPED SALMON.

Let two quarts of water be boiling in a stew-pan with two ounces of salt, lay in two slices of salmon (if more salmon is required add more water), boil quickly for fifteen or twenty minutes. Try the bone in the middle, and if it leaves easily, the fish is ready. Do not leave the fish in the water, as it spoils it. To keep a nice red colour, skim the water while boiling. If it has to be kept, owing to the dinner being later, put a hot wet cloth over it and set it in a warm cupboard. Serve with shrimp or lobster sauce.

FILLET HADDOCKS À LA MAÎTRE D’HOTÊL.

Skin and fillet two haddocks, lay the fillets across each other on a dish that will stand the fire. Sprinkle some pepper and salt, place some bits of butter on the top, cover with a greased white paper, and cook in the oven for ten minutes. Serve with sauce à la maître d’hôtel.

[19]

TURBOT BAKED.

Cook a turbot as before mentioned, but boil only ten minutes instead of twenty. Make a brown sauce in the ordinary way, and have some chopped parsley, chopped capers, and an onion cut in rings. Place your fish in a baking dish, pour the sauce over it, then sprinkle parsley, onion, and bread-crumbs, along with some small pieces of butter on the top, and bake in a hot oven.

PLAIN BOILED SALMON.

Put your fish in cold water (a pound of salt to every six quarts of water), cover it well with the water, and set it to simmer over a moderate fire. A fish weighing four pounds requires half-an-hour to boil, and one eight pounds three-quarters of an hour. Serve with shrimp or lobster sauce.

SAUCE À LA MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL.

Place in a sauce-pan half-an-ounce of butter, half-an-ounce of flour, and melt over the fire; then add a tea-cupful of milk, a tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, and boil for fifteen minutes; then a squeeze of a lemon and a glass of cream.

SAUCE À LA REGENCE.

Place one cupful of fish liquor in a sauce-pan with the red part of half a carrot, half an onion, a small piece of turnip cut in thin stripes, an inch in length. Boil till tender, then add two ounces of browned flour and butter, pepper and salt. This sauce will do for stewed fish.

HASH OF MUTTON.

Take some slices of mutton from a cold joint, as many as are required. Season with pepper and salt, and make a sauce as follows: Place in a sauce-pan one ounce of flour, one ounce of butter, and brown it over the fire. Then add a breakfast-cupful of stock. Keep stirring the sauce while pouring in the stock, boil for a few minutes, add mutton and a few drops of Harvey’s sauce, and a few green capers. Next, have a dish with a border of mashed potatoes, or a border of rice; egg on the top, and brown in the oven. Dish the mutton. In the centre, on the top, place a few tomatoes that have been stewed in a glass of water, with half-an-ounce of butter, pepper, and salt. Place the tomatoes whole on the top of the dish.

HEDGEHOG OF MUTTON.

Boil two ounces of macaroni till soft, and put it on to boil in cold water. When it is boiled, cut it in short pieces; grease a pint basin, and stick the macaroni round the bottom and sides of the basin. Next, take one ounce of butter, one ounce of flour, and brown; add a tea-cupful of stock, a few chopped mushrooms, a few leaves of parsley, pepper, and salt, half-pound of cold mutton minced fine, put into a basin and steam for fifteen minutes, and serve with a brown sauce.

[21]

CRISQUETTES OF MUTTON.

Make the mutton ready as above, only have five or six pieces bacon cut in square pieces, and instead of putting into a basin, put a tea-spoonful into the middle of each piece. Egg on the top, and fold in the shape of sausage rolls. Then make a batter with two spoonfuls of flour and a little milk; wet it gradually with the back of a wooden spoon, till you get it to the thickness of cream, then switch the yolk and white of an egg separately; mix both together, and stir in the batter, and dip your rolls in it—see that the bacon is very thinly cut, so that it will fry in hot lard. Have some sprigs of parsley fried to garnish with. Serve any kind of nice vegetables in centre.

STUFFED CUCUMBERS.

Put two cucumbers on to stew, peeled, in a pint of stock. When tender, take them up, cut them into two-inch lengths for stuffing. The remains of any cold chicken, or rabbit, or veal will do. Have it minced fine, with a drop of any sauces liked, such as Mushroom, Worcestershire, Harvey, and a little flour, parsley, pepper, and salt. Fill up the cucumbers, place them in the stew-pan to get hot, and serve the gravy over. Fill the centre with white beans for a garnish.

[22]

TIMBALES OF MACARONI.

Boil one ounce of macaroni till tender, then cut it into very short pieces; take a wire and place it round the side of the timbale moulds, when greased; make a mince of cold mutton, or chicken, or rabbit; place a cupful of mince on the fire, with two glasses of stock, pepper and salt, and sprinkle of dried herbs, a few drops of mushroom ketchup, a half-ounce of bread-crumbs, and the yolk of two eggs stirred into the mince. Fill the timbale moulds, steam for fifteen minutes, and serve with tomato sauce. Fill the centre with potatoes fried, cut the size of walnuts.

TOMATOES FARCIE.

Take a slice off the end of a dozen of tomatoes, and empty out the centre; mix it with one ounce of butter, two ounces of chopped mutton or chicken or veal or rabbit, pepper, salt, Worcester sauce, a few bread-crumbs. Fill the tomatoes, and stew in a half-pint good stock, and serve with a little tomato sauce round the base.

DEVILED BEEF.

Take a few slices from cold roast beef, take a tea-spoonful of mustard, a pinch of salt, a drop of Worcestershire sauce, and a tea-spoonful of water; mix to a cream; spread over the beef; broil before a clear fire; a few drops of strong gravy poured round the base.

[23]

CHICKEN MERINDS.

Take the legs and wings of a roast chicken, and dip in a batter made as follows:—Three spoonfuls of flour, one tea-spoonful baking-powder wet with sweet milk to the thickness of a thick cream. Switch the yolk and white of an egg separately. Take a few leaves of parsley chopped, pepper and salt; add to the batter, and fry in a pan of boiling lard or oil. Serve with fried parsley, and garnish with tomatoes. If garnishes cannot be obtained serve without.

OYSTER PÂTÉS.

Beard and blanch one dozen of oysters. Make a sauce as follows: one ounce of butter, three-quarter ounce of flour. Melt over the fire; add half-a-cup of milk, half-a-cup of cream, and the liquor of the oysters; strain; reduce the sauce till it resumes the appearance of a cream; add the oysters, and have a dozen or fourteen pâtés made of puff paste; bake and fill the pâtés.

SWEETBREADS FRIED.

Lay two sweetbreads to soak in cold water and salt for two hours; put them on to boil, covered in cold water and salt; simmer slowly for one hour. Remove all the grit and skin, and cut the sweetbreads in the shape of a mutton cutlet; pepper and salt, egg and bread-crumb. Dish with fried parsley and green peas in centre.

[24]

LARDED FILLETS OF BEEF.

Take bacon, cut as for larded sweetbreads, and lard in the same manner. Place a few pieces of chopped suet at the bottom of a stew-pan, half an onion, one clove, a slight sprinkling of flour, brown, and add one cup of second stock. Cover with a close lid, and simmer slowly for one hour. Dish the fillets of beef, skim the grease, and sprinkle a few mushrooms in the sauce, and serve.

PLAIN MUTTON CUTLETS.

Take one and a-quarter lb. of mutton, divide it into chops by cutting down where the vein is in the bone. There is a bone at the fleshy end of the chop, take that off. Take all the fat clean away from the bone; scrape the bone clean; flatten the meat with a mallet dipped in cold water, then dip in egg and bread-crumb; fry to a light-brown colour, and serve with tomato sauce. Garnish with a few tomatoes round the base.

SWEETBREADS SERVED IN BEETROOT PÂTÉS.

Cook two large beetroots cut in the shape of oyster pâtés. Have one sweetbread cut in tiny pieces, and drop into a cup of thick, white sauce. Make six beetroot pâtés, fill them up with the preparation, and garnish with tiny bits of parsley round the beetroot. The remains of cold sweetbreads, or any kind of white meat, will do for this entrée.

[25]

CREAM OF CHICKEN.

Take the flesh from the breast of a chicken, place it in a mortar, and pound for ten minutes. Have two slices of bread soaked in milk; press the milk from it; pound it in the mortar with the chicken and the yolk of two eggs; pepper and salt. Pass through a wire and hair sieve; add a gill of switched cream; grease any kind of fancy shapes, and steam for ten minutes; turn out, and garnish with dice-cut pieces of ham, white of egg, and truffle. Dish on a border of mashed potatoes, and serve with sauce suprême. Serve green peas in the centre of this entrée.

CREAM OF RABBIT.

Take the fillets of the back of two rabbits; scrape and pound in a mortar with one ounce of butter, the yolks of two eggs; soak two slices of bread in sweet milk, press the milk out and pound in the mortar; pass through a wire and hair sieve. Switch a glass of cream and the white of the two eggs, and add to the pounded rabbit. Steam in timbale moulds, covered with white paper for fifteen minutes. Serve with a cream sauce, and fill the centre with a few whole tomatoes, stewed in a glass of water, with a half-ounce of butter; pepper and salt.

[26]

LARDED SWEETBREADS

are cooked in the same way as for frying—the first part. Keep the sweetbreads whole, trim them neatly, and have twenty stripes of bacon two inches long, and with a larding needle draw the bacon gently through the sweetbreads, reversing the lines. Place in a stew-pan with one ounce of butter, and brown the sweetbreads to a light-brown colour; pour over half-pint of stock or water; simmer slowly for twenty minutes. Take a spoonful of butter and flour, and add to the sweetbreads a few chopped mushrooms; pepper and salt. Strain the sauce over the sweetbreads, garnish with Brussels sprouts in the centre.

FILLET OF BEEF WITH FRIED POTATO CHIPS.

Take one pound and a-quarter of fillet steak, cut it into four round slices, broil before a clear fire; have one ounce of fresh butter mixed with a few leaves of chopped parsley; pepper and salt; form into round balls, and place on the top of the broiled steak. Serve with fried potato chips. Peel and slice four potatoes into a basin with salt and water; dry on a clean towel, and fry in hot lard. Serve round the fillets of beef.

ENTRÉE RABBIT À LA TARTE.

Take the fillets of two young rabbits, flatten them with a rolling-pin dipped in cold water. Dip in beaten egg and bread-crumbs, and fry a light-brown colour. Dish in a corner-dish, with a ring of mashed potatoes. On the bottom of the dish serve with sauce à la tarte.

[27] These entrées will be found most economical for housekeeping, when served before dinner or for lunch with cold roast beef, garnished and glazed in the way described for glazing hams or tongues.

All entrées should be dished with a ring of mashed potatoes, or a ring on the bottom of the dish of rice, and dished in a circle, a garnish of vegetables in the centre, and sauce round the base.

SAUCE AU SUPRÊME.

Take the bones of a fowl of which the flesh has been used for entrées; break the bones in small pieces; boil them gently in a pint of water, with one clove, one onion, and a piece of carrot and turnip, two ounces of salt bacon. Boil for one hour, strain, and make the sauce as follows:—Place in a sauce-pan one ounce of butter and one of flour; brown over the fire to a light-brown colour; pour in the chicken stock; boil till it adheres to the back of the spoon; add one spoonful of tomato sauce, pepper and salt, and use where required. Add a glass of sherry if wanted.

SALMIS SAUCES.

Take one cupful of game stock, made from trimmings of roast game, add one ounce of browned flour and butter, one glass of port wine, and a pinch of red pepper and salt.

[28]

RUSSIAN SAUCE.

Place a stew-pan on the fire, slice three onions, let them brown in one ounce of butter, a pinch of pepper and salt; cover with a tight cover till the onions are dissolved; add one ounce of flour, a cup of stock, a glass of cream; stir over the fire for five minutes; pass through a pointed strainer; keep hot in the banbery.

What is meant by a banbery for keeping sauces a young cook may not know. I will explain. Procure a square-topped pan almost like a roasting-pan, and fill it half-full of boiling water. Set the little pans into it, to keep sauces hot when made, and to prevent them burning. Set the sauces in with small bits of butter on the top, so as not to let a skin form.

TO MAKE BROWN SAUCE.

Take four ounces of butter, place it in a sauce-pan with four ounces of flour, and brown over the fire; then with a wooden spoon stir the sauce gradually while pouring in a quart and a pint of second stock, made in the way laid down for boiling stocks. Boil till it thickens and adheres to the back of the spoon; add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. One-fourth of this sauce will do for a single entrée. Mushrooms can be added.

TRUFFLE SAUCE.

Mince two truffles, and place in a stew-pan with a cupful of brown sauce; boil for a quarter of an hour; add a glass of sherry.

[29]

TOMATO SAUCE.

Stew a few tomatoes in pepper and salt till tender, with the red part of one carrot. Pass through a wire and hair sieve, with two ounces of butter, into a stew-pan, one ounce of flour, and melt; add a cup and a-half of water; stir the tomato into the sauce.

WHITE SAUCE.

Take one ounce of flour, one ounce of butter, and melt it over the fire, then add a tea-cupful of strong white stock made in the way given for making white stock, one tea-cupful of milk, and a glass of cream. To this sauce may be added a squeeze of lemon, chopped parsley, mushrooms, or truffles.

VEGETABLE SAUCE.

Take some young carrots, and turnips, and onions, cut in thin stripes an inch long; one slice of bacon, cut in thin stripes the same as the vegetables, and the white of an egg boiled hard. Have the bacon and vegetables cooked in water, strain and add to a pint of brown sauce. This sauce will do for mutton cutlets.

SAUCE PIQUANTE.

Put two tea-spoonfuls of chopped onions, with one of common vinegar, and one glass of stock; let the onion boil a few minutes; add a cupful of brown sauce (this sauce must be as thick as cream); one tea-spoonful of French mustard, a few chopped gherkins and mushrooms.

Take the bones of roast joints, and the trimmings of cutlets, put them in a sauce-pan with carrot, turnip, celery, and pepper-corns tied in a piece of muslin; boil them slowly from four to five hours, then strain into a basin till required for use.

Game stock can be made in the same way, any bones of roast game should be kept by themselves, but you can take a portion of another stock to help the game stock for sauces.

White stock is made with a knuckle of veal, or the bones of rabbit or fowl, or any uncooked meat, with carrots, turnips, a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, two or three blades of parsley tied in a bunch; let it simmer beside the fire for six hours, then pass it through a sieve; never let the stock remain more than one day in warm weather in the same basin. Pour it into a sauce-pan, and bring it to the boil each day; it will sour if this is not done. A few basins should be kept for stocks, and used for nothing else. The stock basins should be scalded and kept as clean as dairy dishes. All cooks should be most careful to have these stocks of different kinds, as pouring water on roasts, or joints, or game, is not satisfactory; sauces are not good made of water. With care there are always bones to be had for that purpose. All bones must be cut very small.

How to divide a sheep is most useful to every one to know, and the different names of the cuts of the sheep. Split a sheep straight down the back; cut off the legs, and hang up in the larder. There is the chump, that will roast or boil; then the loin chops. Cut off the flap and roll it up, and make a force-meat stuffing, and have it braised. The loin chops are best for broiling. Then raise the shoulder, and there will be nine cutlets under the shoulder. Those are best for dressed cutlets. Choose the mutton that is white in the colour, and not too heavy, as when it is too fat there is great waste. Yet not too lean, because it is a sign of poor mutton. All meat is tender if it be kept for a few days before using. It is the most economical way to get half a sheep from the butcher at once, if there is a large family, because it is got so much cheaper.

TO ROAST A LEG OF MUTTON.

To every pound of mutton allow fifteen minutes to roast. The oven must not be too hot when it first goes in, else it will burn on the outside, and not cook in the heart. Dish on a hot dish. It is an improvement to shake a little salt on the outside before pouring gravy over. To make the gravy: pour all the grease off, and add a little stock to the dripping pan, and pour over the roast.

[32]

BOILED LEG OF MUTTON.

Place a trimmed leg of mutton in a pot with plenty of water to cover, and set it to boil. After skimming, add a handful of salt, two carrots and turnips, one parsnip; and when the leg has boiled two hours and a-half, it is done. Make a paper frill for the shank, and garnish with vegetables.

SERPENT OF MUTTON.

Take a large neck of mutton; take away all the bones, and flatten with a rolling-pin wet in cold water; make a stuffing of five ounces of bread-crumbs, one ounce of suet, one egg, pepper and salt, a few leaves of chopped parsley. Lay the meat out flat, place the force-meat stuffing in the centre, and roll it up in the form of the letter S; set it in a sauce-pan with one ounce of dripping, and brown. Dredge the mutton with flour; put one quart of cold water on it, six drops of Worcestershire sauce, a bay leaf, cut carrots and turnips, with a vegetable cutting in fancy shapes, and boil in hot water in a separate sauce-pan. When done, garnish round the serpent of mutton.

STEW OF RUMP BEEF.

Rump beef is the best part for stewing or braising. It should be of a fine quality, a deep red colour, rich grained, and covered with fat. When done, garnish it with some vegetables cut out with a round vegetable-cutter the size of marbles, and braise the same as braised leg of mutton.

[33]

ROAST CHICKEN.

Singe, and truss a chicken by cutting the legs off at the first joint. Make an incision in the wings, and put the gizzard under the left wing, and the liver under the right. Make a stuffing of three ounces of bread-crumbs, two ounces of suet, a few leaves of chopped parsley, pepper and salt, and one egg. Draw up the legs under the wings, and stuff the chicken in the breast. Grease a buttered paper, and lay over the baste frequently. Serve bread sauce in a boat. Time to cook, one hour.

ROAST BEEF.

The English cut is the best for roasting. Choose one with a nice under cut, and it is an economical way to take out the under cut and hang it up in a cold larder till required for use, as it will make very good steaks or entrées. Roast the beef in a moderately hot oven, allowing fifteen minutes to the pound. If preferred, roast beef should be under-done. Make a Yorkshire pudding in the following manner:—Put three table-spoonfuls of flour into a basin, mix into a smooth batter with milk, and add a pinch of salt, switch the yolk and whites of two eggs separately to a stiff froth; pour into the batter. Bake under the beef in a greased tin, when the beef is done. Dish a few minutes before wanted, and sprinkle a little salt on the top of the beef. Pour the grease off the pan, and put a tea-cupful of stock over the beef. Dish the Yorkshire pudding round the beef, with horse-radish sauce or in a separate dish.

[34]

BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON.

Put a small leg of mutton on the fire in a flat sauce-pan, with plenty of room, and brown it slowly on both sides; then add one quart of cold water, and let it simmer, one spoonful of browning, one of Worcestershire sauce. Boil three ounces of macaroni in cold water, and garnish round the mutton when about to serve.

TO BOIL A ROUND OF BEEF.

Put on a large pot with plenty of cold water, tie the meat up in a nice round shape, and secure it tightly with skewers. It must never be allowed to boil too fast, as that spoils salt meat. Garnish round the base with nice-shaped carrots, and a cup of its liquor coloured with browning over a few Brussels sprouts in four bunches round the dish. Boil the beef fifteen minutes to the pound.

ROAST LOIN OF VEAL.

Take six pounds of the loin of veal; make an incision in the flap, and place some veal stuffing in it; wrap it round the kidney fat so as to secure it tightly. Envelop the loin in well-greased sheets of paper. Roast before a moderate fire for two hours. Baste it very often. Dish and pour some good brown gravy over it. Garnish with some nice fried potatoes.

[35]

LOIN OF VEAL BRAISED.

Bone about four pounds of a loin, by taking away all the bones, and flatten it out with a mallet wet in cold water. Make a veal stuffing of six ounces of bread-crumbs, three ounces of suet, one egg, and a few sweet herbs; lay this mixture into the centre of the veal, fold it over in a roll, and tie it tightly. Put on a sauce-pan with three slices of bacon, sliced carrot and turnip, and half an onion. Lay the roll of veal on the top of the vegetables till browned. Cover with a tight cover, and let it braise gently on a slow fire. About a cupful of hot water may be added when the veal is browned. When cooked, dish it up, and reduce the gravy it has been stewed in to a half cup. Time for cooking, two hours. Garnish with tomatoes or glazed onions.

BOILED HAM.

Soak a ham in cold water, and, before putting it on to boil, scrape all the grit and dirt off it. Boil from four to five hours, according to size. When the skin easily peels off, it is done. Plunge it in cold water, and remove the skin; make a glaze, and garnish in the following manner:—Put one half-ounce of gelatine to soak in as much water as will soak it to the thickness of cream. When it is melted, colour with a few drops of browning, and glaze the ham. Make an icing with two tea-spoonfuls of corn-flour, and one ounce fresh butter. Ornament with a paper coronet. Garnish with bunches of parsley and paper frill. This glaze will do for all kinds of meat requiring to be glazed.

[36]

BOILED LEG OF PORK.

Put a leg of pork on to boil. When it has boiled one hour, have two carrots, half a turnip, and one parsnip tied in a cotton cloth, and boil with pork for garnishing. Have half-a-pint of split pease soaked over night. Tie the pease up loosely in a napkin, and boil in the same pot with the pork. A leg of pork weighing eight pounds will take two hours and a-half. Dish, and garnish with the vegetables. Serve the pease pudding in a separate dish.

ROAST LEG OF PORK.

Make an incision between the skin and flesh; fill it with a stuffing of bread-crumbs, one egg, flavoured with onion and sage; sew the crevice with twine. Score the pork by cutting the rhind with a sharp knife in strips, an inch apart. Roast for three hours; keep well basted. Serve with apple sauce in a boat, and brown gravy.

PILLAU AU RIZ.

Boil a tea-cupful of rice in cold water for ten minutes, then take a roast chicken from a previous day’s dinner; set it into a stew-pan with the rice over, and one ounce of butter, half of an onion, a piece of mace, pepper and salt, and a cup of stock. Simmer slowly for three-quarters of an hour. Dish with the rice all over the chicken.

[37]

BOILED CHICKEN.

Truss a chicken by cutting the legs off at the second joint. Stick the legs into the body, make a parsley sauce, and pour over the chicken. Time to cook, one hour. Serve with streaky boiled bacon in a separate dish. Garnish with a few nice-shaped vegetables.

ROAST GROUSE.

This bird must be roasted with great care, before a clear fire, for twenty minutes. Some persons like all things well done, but the proper way is to be under-done. Baste well, and dish on a buttered toast. Serve with potato chips, bread sauce, and bread-crumbs.

ROAST HARE.

Hare should be kept for a week before roasting. Soak and wash in cold water, and dry on a clean towel. Make a stuffing of bread-crumbs, chopped parsley, one ounce of beef suet, part of the liver boiled and finely chopped, pepper and salt, one egg and a little ketchup. Stuff the hare; truss by placing the hind and fore legs flat against the sides; set the head back to rest on the shoulders; stick a trussing needle through the head of the hare, to keep back the head; baste with butter and sweet milk. Cook for two hours; serve with a gravy and red currant jelly.

[38]

ROAST RABBIT

Is cooked in the same manner as roast hare.

TO BOIL RABBITS WHOLE.

Truss same as a roast hare; boil gently for one hour and a-half; serve with onion sauce. If there is a pair of rabbits, dish them in a reversed way, and pour the onion sauce over.

FRIGEDEL OF RABBIT.

Pick the meat from the legs of the rabbits that the fillets have been taken from; chop fine with a little parsley, a small onion, pepper, and salt. Soak two slices of bread in sweet milk; press out the milk; and add to the minced rabbit one egg, and form into an oval shape and fry for fifteen minutes a light-brown colour. Serve with a brown sauce with capers in it.

BEEFSTEAK PIE.

One pound of the best beefsteak beaten and sprinkled with pepper and salt. Cut in square pieces, dredge with flour and roll up in neat rolls, with a little chopped onions. Place at the bottom of the dish two sheep’s kidneys, cut in slices, and two hard-boiled eggs laid through the pie, and cover with puff paste. A few drops of sauce and two glasses of stock may be added to the pie.

[39]

ROAST PARTRIDGES.

Pick and draw and clean these birds the same as fowls. Do not cut off the heads; twist the neck round the wing; bring the head to the breast. The legs and wings may be trussed the same as a fowl’s. The feet are left on and crossed one over the other. Baste well with butter before a clear fire. A partridge will take from twenty minutes to half-an-hour, and a pheasant three-quarters of an hour. Serve on toasted bread, with gravy and bread sauce.

Blackcock should be served in the same way.

RABBIT PIE.

Cut up a rabbit into joints, each leg in two, the back in three pieces, the breast in two pieces. Pepper and salt, dust with flour; boil two eggs hard, and cut them in quarters, cut a small onion in small pieces; place some onions at the bottom of the dish, then a layer of rabbit and some slices of bacon and hard-boiled eggs. Fill the dish with rabbit, add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce, two glasses of stock or water. Cover with American paste.

HORSE-RADISH SAUCE FOR ROAST BEEF.

Grate one stick of horse-radish; put it on to boil with one glass of cream, one glass of milk, pepper and salt, and stew for ten minutes. Serve in a boat with roast beef.

CAPER SAUCE FOR BOILED MUTTON.

Take one breakfast-cupful of the liquor the mutton has been boiled in. Wet with cold water one spoonful of flour, and stir into the boiling liquor, one spoonful of capers and a few drops of the vinegar. Pour over the mutton or serve in a boat.

ROAST LEG OF MUTTON

Is served with brown sauce over it, not water, for it takes the juice away. Serve with red currant jelly.

ONION SAUCE FOR ROAST SHOULDER OF MUTTON.

Peel and slice two onions and stew till tender. Strain them, place half-an-ounce of butter in a sauce-pan, add one half-ounce of flour, pepper and salt, and one cup of milk. Stir over the fire till it boils; add the onions, and serve in a boat.

[41]

APPLE SAUCE FOR ROAST PORK.

Take a nice soft cooking apple, cut into slices, and place in a stew-pan with a glass of water and a piece of butter the size of a marble. Cover and stew till tender; pass through a pointed strainer; sweeten; heat in pan, and serve hot.

BREAD SAUCE FOR ROAST CHICKEN.

Peel one small onion, and put it into a sauce-pan, with a tea-cupful of milk. Grate one slice of bread and put it into the milk; let it boil; add a little cream, half-an-ounce of fresh butter, pepper and salt, and serve with roast chicken.

PARSLEY SAUCE FOR BOILED CHICKENS.

Chop some fresh leaves of parsley very fine, place two ounces of butter in a stew-pan with two ounces of flour, and melt. Add one cup of liquor from boilings of chicken; add one cup of milk; stir in the parsley; dry the ashet with the chickens on it, and pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish chickens with rolls of bacon.

MINT SAUCE FOR ROAST LAMB.

One glass of vinegar, half-a-glass of water, one ounce of brown sugar, chop fine one half-spoonful of fresh mint, and serve in a boat.

[42]

ENTRÉE SAUCE À LA TARTE.

Place half-an-ounce of butter in a sauce-pan with half an onion minced fine, six drops of Worcestershire sauce, six drops of Harvey, a few drops of chili vinegar, a breakfast-cupful of good brown sauce, stirred into the sauce-pan, and boil all together for a few minutes.

STRAWBERRY TOASTS.

Cut two slices of bread in strips an inch in length, switch two eggs into a cup of milk, sweeten and flavour with vanilla, soak the slices of bread in it for ten minutes, fry them in fresh butter, dish them, lay some strawberries on one half, and place two strips together, then set in a hot oven for five minutes. Dish in the form of a lattice-work on a folded napkin. Sprinkle with white sugar, and serve hot.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING.

Switch yolks and whites of five eggs for five minutes both together; then add one pint of milk, one ounce of sugar, and one ounce of grated chocolate. Bake in small cups set in hot water for twenty minutes. Try if cooked in the centre with a knife.

[43]

HOLLANDAISE PUDDING.

Break four sponge cakes into crumbs, three macaronis, three water biscuits, one slice of stale bread; crumble all together. Then two ounces of dried cherries, one ounce of almonds, one glass of sherry, one pint of milk poured over three eggs, whites and yolks beaten separate. Add, last of all, butter, and ornament in a basin with green angelica. Steam for three-quarters of an hour. Try with a knife to see if ready. Serve with German sauce round the base.

BASKET PUDDING.

Take three ounces of butter, three ounces of sugar, one egg rubbed to a cream, a tea-cupful of milk, three-quarters of a pound of flour, two tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder mixed with flour; add the milk to the beaten eggs, then the flour; flavour with vanilla, and bake in small timbale moulds. Empty the centre by cutting off the top. Roll the outside in red currant jelly, then in fine crumbs of almonds. Fill the centre with switched cream and garnish with strawberries. Bring a handle of green angelica across the top.

ICE CREAM.

Take a quart of cream and flavour with any kind of flavouring, such as strawberry, vanilla. Whatever is chosen, sweeten it much sweeter than for ordinary use, as it loses in freezing. Set a small pail with the cream in it into a larger vessel. Build broken ice and salt round it; and turn for half-an-hour.

[44]

MARBLE PUDDING.

Put six penny packets of gelatine to soak in a cup of milk. When soaked, add it to a pint of boiling milk, two ounces of sugar, and stir over the fire till all is dissolved. Make five parts of the milk that has the gelatine in it; flavour each with different flavourings and different colours. Colour one yellow with yolk of egg, leave one white, one brown with coffee, one red with cochineal, one green with a few drops of spinach juice; pour the mixtures into a round basin in reversible manner; let the mixture be half cooled before mixing; when cold, turn out and garnish with different shades of jelly.

PLUM PUDDING.

Take one pound of flour, half-a-pound bread-crumbs, three-quarter pound of chopped suet, one pound currants, one pound raisins, two ounces of lemon-peel, half-pound of sugar, one nutmeg, a penny-worth of spice, a few drops of vanilla, and this will take the place of brandy; three eggs and two cups of milk. Steam for two hours and a-half. Wash and clean the fruit on a clean towel, and dry in the oven. Chop the lemon-peel and mix with the fruit; and all the spice with the flour. Lastly, stir in the milk, and switch the yolks and whites of egg stiff. Steam in a greased mould or cloth that has been rung out of hot water, greased and buttered. Lay a plate at the bottom to prevent the pudding sticking to the pot. When water is to be added it must be boiling water. Boil for three hours.

[45]

COMPOTE OF RICE AND APPLES.

Place six apples in a stew-pan with one pint of water, one lemon, ten ounces of sugar, and a few drops of cochineal, and stew till tender without breaking. Soak three ounces of rice in water for one hour, drain off the water, and boil the rice in a pint of milk till very soft. Sweeten with one ounce of sugar. Dish the rice in the centre of a glass dish. Build the apples round; have the syrup reduced, and pour over the apples.

STEAMED CABINET PUDDING.

Butter a nice-shaped mould, and set it with dried cherries and angelica stock round the bottom and sides. Cut the crust from two slices of bread, and cut the bread in small dice pieces. Then have a quarter of a pound of stale sponge cake, and four macaronis crumbled, three ounces of currants, and three ounces of raisins, and one ounce of lemon-peel. Switch three eggs in a pint of milk and one glass of wine; pour over pudding, and steam.

CROQUETS AU CONFITURE.

Place three ounces of rice in a stew-pan, and cook till it is very soft, and all the milk boiled off. Switch two eggs with the rice spread out on a plate to cool; then form into round balls. Make a hole through the middle, and fill with jam; close it up, and roll the ball in egg and then in bread-crumbs, and fry in hot lard. Dish in a pyramid on a folded napkin, and sprinkle sifted sugar over it. Serve hot.

[46]

LEMON PUDDING.

Line an ashet with puff paste, place four ounces of butter, the yolks of four eggs, the juice of one lemon, three tea-spoonfuls of corn-flour wet with cold water, two ounces of sugar. Mix all together, and stir in a jug over hot water on the fire till it assumes the appearance of a custard. Bake the crust and pour the lemon mixture into it, switch the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, with two ounces of sifted sugar, and place on top of pudding. Place for a minute in the oven, and serve hot.

VANILLA CREAM.

Soak half a sixpenny packet of gelatine in half a tea-cupful of milk, for half-an-hour; set it into a pan of warm water till it melts, then switch one breakfast-cupful of cream till stiff; then let the gelatine be cold, but so as it will run from the cup into the cream. Sweeten with one ounce of sugar and a few drops of vanilla; rinse a mould out with cold water, and set the cream for twelve hours; plunge the mould in hot water, and turn out on a glass dish, and garnish with angelica and dried cherries.

WINE JELLY.

Take a sixpenny packet of gelatine, soak in one cupful of cold water for an hour; then add four cups more of water, four ounces of sugar, the rhind of one lemon and the juice of two, one stick of cinnamon, the whites of three eggs and shells, and switch to a stiff froth. Switch all together in a copper pan [47] over the fire till it boils. Draw to the side to simmer gently for fifteen minutes. The pan must not be shaken; pour through a jelly bag. Rinse out a mould with cold water before pouring in the jelly. One or two glasses of wine may be added.

ŒUF À LA NEIGE.

Place in a sauce-pan one pint of milk and bring to the boil; have three yolks of eggs beaten with three tea-spoonfuls of corn-flour and two table-spoonfuls of cold milk; blend all together with back of wooden spoon; give it one boil, and flavour with essence of almond. When cold, turn into a glass dish, switch the whites of eggs to a stiff froth, add an ounce of sugar, and garnish the top by dropping it in spoonfuls on the top. Part may be coloured with cochineal, place some tiny pieces of red currant jelly on the top of each piece.

TRIFLE.

Soak four penny sponge cakes in a glass of sherry for half-an-hour; cut each sponge cake into four pieces, lay the four pieces at the bottom of a glass dish; spread a layer of strawberry jam; then have a thin custard made with two eggs and two tea-spoonfuls of corn-flour and a breakfast-cupful of milk. Let it get cold, and pour over the sponge cake and jam. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and dried cherries. Lay sponge cake and jam in alternated layers, and macaronis crumbled, till all is used up. Switch a tea-cupful of cream, and lay on the top, and garnish with pink sugar, angelica, and dried cherries.

[48]

CARAMEL PUDDING.

Break five eggs, yolks and whites; switch them together; add half-an-ounce of sweet almonds, half-an-ounce of orange peel minced fine, one and a-half ounces of soft sugar, a large breakfast-cupful of milk. Stir the eggs, almonds, sugar, and lemon-peel into milk. Grease a pint basin, and set it with dried cherries; steam for one hour slowly. Make a sauce in the following way:—Place one ounce of sugar in a pan, brown it to the colour of treacle, and pour over two glasses of water; boil for ten minutes. Serve round pudding.

BRANDY SAUCE.

Take half-an-ounce of butter, half-an-ounce of flour, one ounce of sugar; melt together; add a tea-cupful of boiling water gradually, keeping beating all the time. When it boils, add a glass of brandy; it must not boil afterwards, as liquors lose strength in boiling.

WINE SAUCE.

Take two table-spoonfuls of corn-flour, three ounces of sugar, an ounce of butter, and a pint of water; stir over the fire till it boils; add a glass of wine and a grated nutmeg. The juice of fresh fruit, such as strawberry, raspberry, peaches, or the juice from preserved fruit, when fresh fruit cannot be procured, may be used instead of wine.

[49]

GERMAN SAUCE.

Set a stew-pan on the fire with a pint of boiling water; set a smaller one in it, and break in the yolks of two eggs, one ounce of sugar, a glass of sherry, juice of half a lemon, half-an-ounce of butter, and a pinch of salt. This sauce must be kept switched over a moderate heat till it assumes the appearance of a switched cream. Pour over steamed puddings.

CUSTARD SAUCE.

Place one pint of milk on the fire till it gets hot, on the point of boiling. Then take the yolks of two eggs, mix smooth with a little cold milk, and two tea-spoonfuls of corn-flour, and stir into the boiling milk. A little cream is an improvement to this sauce, and a few drops of vanilla.

CURRIED EGGS.

Boil four eggs hard, plunge them into cold water, skin and cut them in slices; place a half-ounce of butter in a sauce-pan, and one tea-spoonful of curry; stir the butter and curry over the fire, and slice one onion. Fry a light-brown. Stir in gently a half-pint of gravy, and stew slowly. Add one tea-spoonful of corn-flour, mixed with half-a-cup of cream. Boil a few minutes, and pour over the eggs. Serve hot.

[50]

SAVOURY OMELET.

Switch three eggs for five minutes, yolk and white separate; then have a little chopped parsley, a tiny piece of onion which has been previously boiled, pepper and salt, with the eggs. Have an omelet-pan hot with quarter of an ounce of fresh butter; fry lightly on one side, hold before the fire or place in a hot oven for a few minutes. Fold over and serve.

POACHED EGGS.

Have a flat sauce-pan with one quart of water boiling; put in a tea-spoonful of salt, and four drops of vinegar. Break the eggs into a cup, one by one; drop them into the pan with a table-spoon. See that the water is poured over the eggs. When the white is set over the egg it is ready. Have a round slice of toast buttered; place the eggs on it.

EGGS À LA MAÎTRE D’HOTÊL.

Boil six eggs hard, and cut them in halves. Dish them in a circle. Pour over them a sauce made as follows:—Place one ounce of butter in a sauce-pan, with half-an-ounce of flour, one tea-cupful of milk. Stir gradually till it thickens. Add a little cream and white pepper, and a squeeze of a lemon.

KIDNEY OMELET.

Mince fine two sheep kidneys; place in a stew-pan, with a small piece of butter, pepper and salt, a few chopped parsley leaves, a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and a glass of stock. Stew gently for [51] twenty minutes. Prepare the omelet as follows:—Separate the yolk and whites of four eggs, switch the whites to a stiff froth, place the whites and yolks together, pepper and salt. Have the omelet-pan hot, with a little fresh butter; pour in the eggs; cook for three minutes gently, not too fast. Hold the pan before the fire to brown; then lay the stewed kidneys in the centre.

HAM OMELET

Is prepared in the same way as kidney omelet. Any kind of fine minced meat, minced chickens, and ham can be used in the same way for breakfasts.

STUFFED EGGS.

Take four eggs and cut them in halves, length ways; take out the yolks and rub them to a paste; add one spoonful of cream, a few leaves of parsley chopped fine, pepper and salt, and a half-ounce of bread-crumbs; place this mixture in the centre of the egg, in the shape of the yolk of egg. Take another and switch it, and egg and bread-crumb the savoury eggs on the outside. Fry in hot butter, and serve with fried parsley garnish.

KIDNEYS AND TOAST.

Mince fine four kidneys, place them in a sauce-pan with a glass of stock, a few drops of Harvey or Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt, and a little chopped parsley; stew slowly. Have six round pieces of toast buttered; build the mince on it. Have the [52] yolk of a hard-boiled egg in a pointed strainer, a pinch of pepper and salt, and rub it through the point of a strainer on the top of the toast for a garnish. A few leaves of parsley may be laid round for a garnish.

CHEESE BISCUITS.

Take half-a-pound of flour, half a pound of butter, half a pound of cheese; rub these three one way into crumbs, with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Wet a little, and knead to a stiff dough. Bake on buttered paper in a hot oven.

LOBSTER CROQUETS.

Take the flesh of the lobster, take all the meat out of the shell, and chop in small pieces; place half an ounce of butter in a sauce-pan, half-ounce flour, and half a tea-cupful of milk; stir over the fire till it thickens, then add the flesh of the lobster, the yolks of two eggs, and a pinch of cayenne; turn the croquet out on a plate to cool; form the mixture into round balls; dip in egg and bread-crumbs, and fry a light-brown colour.

CAULIFLOWER À GRATIN.

Take a nice head of cauliflower, boil for fifteen minutes, place in a dish that will stand the fire, and pour over it a white sauce made of one spoonful of flour moistened in cold milk, and stirred into a cupful of boiling milk, pepper and salt. Pour over the cauliflower. Grate three ounces of cheese. On the top place little pieces of butter, and cook a light-brown colour.

[53]

CHEESE SOUFFLÉE.

Take nine table-spoonfuls of flour, stir in gently a pint of milk to make the batter as thick as cream; strain it through a pointed strainer, to prevent being lumpy. Have four ounces of grated cheese, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and salt. Switch the yolks and whites of three eggs separate for five minutes. Stir in the last thing, into the batter; bake in a round buttered dish, in a hot oven, half-an-hour before required, as soufflées do not do well to be baked too soon.

POTATO CHIPS.

To make potato chips, get some nice round potatoes, and slice them into thin slices in a basin, with salt and water, for one hour; then dry on a clean towel, and fry in hot lard a light-brown colour.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS.

Put on to boil in boiling water, with a pinch of salt and soda, and boil for twenty minutes; dish, and dry on a clean towel. Return to the sauce-pan, and put half-an-ounce of butter, and shake them while heating to prevent them burning.

[54]

GREEN PEASE.

Green peas should be put on to boil in boiling water and salt. The time for boiling depends on the age; strain, and place a piece of butter, pepper and salt, with a few leaves of mint.

ASPARAGUS WITH WHITE SAUCE.

Tie into a bundle the asparagus, after washing the stalks clean. Keep all the heads the one way, put the asparagus on to cook in boiling water, and salt; boil for twenty minutes. Dish them on square pieces of buttered toast; pour a white sauce over.

VEGETABLE MARROW.

Cut the vegetable marrow into eight pieces, boil in some white stock until tender. Make a little sauce with a pat of butter, a little juice of lemon, and a grating of nutmeg. Pour over the vegetable marrow, and serve.

TO BOIL POTATOES.

Great care should be taken in boiling potatoes. This is a vegetable that is often neglected. When the potatoes boil, see that they do not boil too fast. A handful of salt should be put into the water. Try with a fork to see if ready. They must not boil too soft. Drain and shake over the fire, and place a napkin over them and steam. Boil a small bit of mint with them, when new.

POUND CAKES.

Take one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, eight eggs, a few drops of lemon. Place the butter in a basin, and warm it in cold weather before the fire. Then beat with the hand. Have the eight eggs broken in a basin, and drop one at a time till the eight are added. Have a tin hoop lined with buttered paper; add one pound of sifted flour. Currants or raisins or lemon-peel can be added. Bake for one hour and a-quarter, in not too hot an oven.

CREAM CAKE.

Take three ounces of butter, three ounces of sugar, one egg, three glasses of milk, and a tea-spoonful of cinnamon; rub the butter and sugar to a cream, then add the egg and milk. Put two tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder with half-a-pound of flour, and knead it to a stiff dough. If this quantity of flour seems too soft, take a little more, as there is great difference in the strength of flour, and some flour takes more moisture in baking. Cooks must therefore be guided by its appearance. Roll the dough into a round cake; half cut through the centre with a smaller cutter. Bake for twenty minutes. When cooked, fill the centre with switched cream, and ice the top of it the same as ordinary cakes.

[56]

SPONGE CAKE.

Break three eggs into a copper pan; take the weight of three eggs of sifted sugar, and switch over a warm place, such as a pan of hot water, or over the fire, till the eggs are warmed. Then remove from the heat, and switch till cold, and the eggs assume the appearance of a thick cream. Then mix in very lightly the weight of three eggs of flour, flavour with vanilla, or almonds, or lemon, and bake in small sponge cake tins for ten minutes in a hot oven.

ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR CAKE.

Take one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three eggs, and four cups of flour. Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; add the three eggs, one at a time; one cup of milk; mix two tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder with the flour, and stir into butter and sugar. Bake for one hour in a moderate oven.

GOLD CAKE.

Separate the yolks and whites of six eggs. For the gold cake, take the yolks of six eggs and beat to a cream, with six ounces of butter, six ounces of sugar, the juice of half a lemon, and a tea-cupful of milk. Mix butter, sugar, yolk of eggs, lemon, and milk all together, with three-quarters of a pound of flour and two tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder. Mix with flour, and add to the creamed sugar and butter.

[57]

SILVER CAKE.

This cake is made the same as the above, the only difference being to switch the whites to a stiff froth. Use the same proportions. Butter two tins or one large one, and lay the cake in alternated, so that when it is cut it will be nicely mixed, one yellow and one white. Serve cut in a cake basket.

CHEESE CAKES.

Place a pint of milk on the fire to get hot, and make a curd by putting a few drops of rennet in it; press the whey from the curd, mix three eggs with the curd, three ratafia biscuits, a glass of cream, two ounces of sugar, and a few drops of lemon. Press the curd in a napkin to absorb the moisture. Pound the above mixture in a mortar. Line half-a-dozen tartlet pans with puff paste, fill the tartlet pans with the cheese custard, and place a couple of stripes of candied peel on the top of each.

GINGER BREAD.

Mix half-a-pound of butter, and half-a-pound of soft sugar, half-a-pound of treacle, with a wooden spoon, five eggs, yolks and whites switched separately; a tea-cupful of sour milk, one tea-spoonful of baking soda, one ounce of ginger, one pound and a-half of flour, a drop of browning to make it dark, and two ounces of candied peel. Bake in not too hot an oven.

[58]

LEMON CAKES.

Take four ounces of butter, four ounces of sugar, the juice of a lemon, and half the rhind; rub on to the sugar the yolk of two eggs, one glass of warm milk; knead stiff dough, and roll out, and cut with fancy cutter any shape preferred.

JOHNNIE CAKE.

Take two cups of India meal, one cup of flour, mix three tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder, three spoonfuls of sugar, a half-cup of melted butter, two eggs. Add milk enough to make this a thick batter, and bake for half-an-hour in a square flat pan; cut in square pieces; it is a very nice cake for lunch.

GERMAN TEA CAKE.

Take three ounces of butter, three ounces of sugar, rubbed to a cream, one egg, yolk and white switched; add to the butter and sugar twelve ounces of flour, mix with the flour half-a-pound of currants, three tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder, and a tea-spoonful of cinnamon, one ounce lemon-peel, add one cup of milk to the butter and sugar; mix the flour, currants, cinnamon, and peel, all together, and bake for three-quarters of an hour in a hot oven. If the cakes are burning, lay a paper over to prevent this. Bake till nothing sticks to the straw when pierced.

[59]

QUAKER’S CAKES.

Take half-a-pound of sifted sugar, the yolks and whites of seven eggs beaten separately, the juice of one lemon, and a half-pound of almonds beaten fine with rose water. Beat the whites and yolks separately, then mix them with the other ingredients, except the flour. Beat them together half-an-hour, then shake in the flour, and put the cakes in the oven.

DESSERT BISCUITS.

Rub one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, and five eggs to a cream; add one tea-cupful of milk, a few drops of essence of lemon; knead to a stiff dough; cut in rings, and leaves, and heart; when done, ornament with icing sugar in the usual way.

LOAF CAKE.

Take the size of a walnut of German yeast dissolved in a pint of warm milk, and a pinch of salt; stir as much flour in as will make a thick sponge. Set it to raise till it gets light and throws up little bubbles; then take two pounds of flour and make a hole in the centre, and pour in the sponge. Add three-quarters of a pound of butter, half-a-pound of soft sugar, four eggs, two ounces of lemon-peel, three-quarters of a pound of currants, three-quarters of a pound of raisins, and knead this all together, and set to raise for another hour; then, when light, bake for one hour in a moderate oven.

[60]

DOUGH NUTS.

Take three ounces of butter, three ounces of soft sugar, rubbed to a cream, one egg, a drop of vanilla, and one cup of milk, a pound and a half of flour with three tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder. Knead into a stiff dough, cut with a round cutter, cut a hole in the centre with a smaller cutter, and fry in hot lard.

FRENCH WAFFLES.

Make a batter of nine table-spoonfuls of flour, in one pint of milk, rubbed smoothly with the back of a wooden spoon; switch up three eggs, and pour into the batter two ounces of melted butter, quarter of a pound of sugar, one tea-spoonful of baking-powder; grease waffle irons, and bake over a clear fire; sift over with white sugar, and serve hot.

ICES FOR CAKES.

Take half-a-pound of icing sugar to two whites of eggs; switch the whites to a stiff froth, stiff enough to lift on a knife; then add the sugar, and beat well up with the knife. Then pass through an icing-bag, on whatever is to be iced; ornament any fancy shape that is desired.

Paste No. 1. —PUFF PASTE.

Wet four ounces of flour with cold water to a dough, as stiff as for a breakfast roll; roll out and lay four ounces of fresh butter in pieces on the paste; fold over and roll out four times, and set away to raise in a cold place for three hours. Give the paste three turns more, and it is ready for use. Care must be taken not to dust too much flour on; rolling it at a cold slab or slate, with hands washed in cold water and salt, is an improvement to this paste. A very hot oven is needed to cook it. Do not allow the oven door to be opened, to let the draught in, as this is bad for it.

Paste No. 2. —SHORT CRUST.

Take half-a-pound of butter, one pound of flour, one egg, and a glass of milk, and two ounces of sugar; rub the butter and flour to crumbs, then add the egg and a glass of milk; knead to a stiff dough, and bake in a moderate oven; time, half-an-hour.

[62]

Paste No. 3. —PLAIN AMERICAN CRUST.

Take one pound of flour, two tea-spoonfuls of baking-powder, six ounces of butter, rubbed to crumbs by rubbing it the one way; a pinch of salt if for a meat dish, and for a sweet dish a spoonful of sugar. Make a hole in the centre, and draw the flour all in, wet with cold water to the stiffness of soda scones; bake in a moderate oven.

Paste No. 4. —HARD PASTE FOR RAISED PIES.

Put one pound of flour on to a slab, rub in three ounces of clarified fat, and a pinch of salt; wet with hot water, not very soft, and knead for half-an-hour to get it stiff. This paste will do for raised pies or mutton pies.

Paste No. 5. —SUET CRUST.

Mince fine eight ounces of suet, and mix it into one pound of flour and a pinch of salt. This paste must not be worked much, and is used for steamed or boiled crust. Boiled crust requires to boil from twenty minutes to two hours, depending on what size is boiling. This crust could be baked as well as steamed.

[63]

A Hint on the Heat of the Oven.

For baking paste, hold your hand in the oven a quarter of a minute; if the hand cannot be held any longer, it is hot enough; if the hand cannot be held so long, it will be too hot. Place some white paper over whatever is baking, and this will keep it from burning.