FOOD AND COOKERY FOR THE MONTHS. (continued 2)

Turbot, to Boil.—Choose a sufficiently large kettle, pour in sufficient water to cover the fish, add a handful of salt, a table-spoonful of shred horse-radish, and two table-spoonfuls of vinegar. Boil until the water has acquired some flavour, and then allow it to become cool. Score the fish just through the skin on the dark side, so as to prevent it cracking on the other, and then place it in the kettle with the dark side downwards, and check the boiling as soon as ebullition takes place; observe also that the scum is removed frequently, and that no blacks fall into the kettle. When done, remove, sprinkle the surface with the dried spawn of a hen lobster, or if it cannot be procured, a little scraped horse-radish. Serve with lobster, shrimp, or crab sauce. (A moderate sized turbot requires about half an hour to cook it well, a large one from three-quarters of an hour to an hour, and a thick slice from twenty to twenty-five minutes.) When the fish is done, it should be well drained, and placed upon a napkin or serviette laid over a fish drainer.

POULTRY, ETC.

Grouse, to Roast.—Twist the head under the wing, and roast them like fowls, but they must not be too much done. Serve with a rich gravy in the dish, and bread sauce.

Leveret, Roasted.—Skin, and truss nicely, then roast on a spit; rub the back over with butter, flour well, and keep before a brisk fire for half an hour at the most, but generally from twenty to twenty-five minutes is sufficient. Serve with hare sauce. They do not require stuffing like hare.

Wheat-ears, to Roast.—These are dressed the same as snipes.

VEGETABLES.

Carrots, to Boil.—Scrape them clean, put into a saucepan, and if young, boil for half an hour, if old, they will require more. When done, rub them in a clean cloth, and serve whole, or sliced into the dish with melted butter over them.

Endive, to Stew.—Boil in four different salt waters, to extract the bitter taste, and when tender throw it into cold water, squeeze well, and chop fine, then put into a stewpan with a lump of butter, and a few young onions chopped fine; let it dry, dredge with a dessert-spoonful of flour, add some pepper and salt, a little gravy, two tea-spoonfuls of sifted sugar, and stew gently a quarter of an hour.

MEAT.

Ham, to Boil.—Soak the ham in cold water the night before it is to be dressed, scrape it clean, and put it into the boiler with cold water. Skim the liquor while boiling, do not let it boil fast, but simmer only, and add a little cold water to check it occasionally. When done, take it up, pull off the skin carefully, and dust with bread raspings; set before the fire for a few minutes, then garnish with turnips and carrots cut to resemble flowers, or stick with cloves, or garnish with boiled carrots. A ham of twenty pounds weight requires six hours and a half boiling. The established rule, as regards the boiling of meat, is to allow a quarter of an hour to each pound; but for ham and pork you will allow from twenty to twenty-five minutes.

Ox Cheek, Stewed.—After having prepared the soup as previously directed, remove the cheek as whole as possible, and have ready a boiled turnip, and carrot, cut in square pieces, and some toasted bread cut into dice; add cayenne, and some of the soup, then serve hot, with carved sippets round the dish.

PASTRY.

Batter Pudding.—Take a quart of milk, mix with six table-spoonfuls of flour, six well-beaten eggs, a table-spoonful of powdered ginger, and a tea-spoonful of salt; flour a cloth that has been wet, or butter a basin and put the batter into it, tie tight, and plunge it into boiling water, the bottom upwards. Boil for an hour and a quarter, and serve with plain melted butter, or sweet sauce. If according to taste, half a pound of well-washed currants may be added.

Good Common Cake.—Take six ounces of good ground rice, and the same quantity of flour, the yolks and whites of nine eggs, half a pound of sugar, and half an ounce of carraway seeds. Mix well together, and bake for an hour in a quick oven.

Custard Pudding, Baked.—Boil a pint of cream with three blades of mace or a stick of cinnamon; when cold, take four yolks and two whites of eggs, nutmeg and sugar to taste, beat them well, and stir into the cream, pour into cups, and bake in a quick oven.

Gingerbread, Spiced.—Take three-quarters of a pound of treacle, one egg, four ounces of moist sugar, an ounce of powdered ginger, and a quarter of an ounce each of mace, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg powdered, a pound of oiled butter, and sufficient flour to make a stiff paste; mix well, and make into thick pieces, which should be brushed over the top with white of egg, and then baked for an hour in a moderate oven.

Pancakes.—Take one pound of flour, two eggs, two drachms of bi-carbonate of soda, one ounce of sugar, two drachms of muriatic acid, half a drachm of nutmegs, ten ounces of ale, ten ounces of water, and twenty ounces of milk.

Naples Cheese.—The Neapolitans are celebrated for a kind of cheese, which they make in the following manner:—They put ten or twelve pints of milk into a metal pot with a cover, capable of holding about ten times the quantity. The milk must be new, and from a young cow. No yeast, or acid of any kind, is employed; but sufficient pressure must be used to curdle it. When curdled, place it over a quick fire, stirring it rapidly with a stick to prevent its burning, and to separate the caseous matter from the dregs. The heat must be tried by the hand, and when it is getting too warm to be borne, take off the pot, plunge both hands gently in to take the cheese out, which is easily raised at once and in a single piece. The pan in which it is to be placed should have a raised edge, so that, in drying, the paste may not be too thin: the whey is then got rid of by pressing it carefully, and some time afterwards it is turned and pressed again; the next day salt it moderately, and put it in a place of cool, dry, and even temperature. It is fit to cut as soon as it is cool, but is best when four or five months old, at which time it is very delicate, with a pleasant smell and flavour.

FOOD FOR SEPTEMBER.

Meat.—Beef, mutton, pork, veal, and buck-venison.

Fish.—Barbel, brill, carp, cockles, cod, conger-eel, crabs, dace, eels, flounders, gurnets, haddocks, hake, herrings, lobsters, mullet, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, shrimps, soles, tench, thornback, turbot, whitings.

Poultry and Game.—Chickens, ducks, fowls, green geese, grouse, hares, larks, leverets, moor-game, partridges, pigeons, plovers, rabbits, teal, turkeys, turkey-poults, wheat-ears, wild ducks, wild pigeons, wild rabbits.

Vegetables.—Artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, beans (French and scarlet), cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, celery, cucumbers, endive, finochio, herbs of all sorts, leeks, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, salad of all sorts, shalots, turnips.

Fruit.—Apples—White caville, pearmain, golden rennet. Morella cherries; damsons; figs; filberts. Grapes—Muscadine, Frontignac, red and black Hamburg, Malmsey. Hazel-nuts; medlars; peaches. Pears—bergamot, brown beurré. Pine-apples; plums; quinces; strawberries; walnuts.

COOKERY FOR SEPTEMBER.

SOUPS.

Hessian.—Clean the root of a neat’s tongue very nicely, and half an ox’s head, with salt and water, and soak them afterwards in water only. Then stew them in five or six quarts of water till pretty tender, and let the soup stand till cold, then remove the fat and add a quart of whole, or a pint of split peas, six potatoes, six large onions, twelve carrots, six turnips, a faggot of herbs, and two heads of celery, all cut fine; season with pepper, salt, mace, and a little cayenne; simmer gently, without the meat, till the vegetables are done enough to pulp with the peas through a sieve; cut up some of the meat into small pieces, and place in a saucepan with the pulped soup, which should be pretty thick; simmer for five minutes, and then serve hot.

Mock Turtle.—Take a calf’s head, scald and wash it very clean, boil it for half an hour, then cut all the skin off by itself, and remove the tongue. Put a pint of veal stock (see p. 253), and the tongue into a saucepan with three large onions, half an ounce of cloves and mace, and sufficient nutmeg to flavour, beat fine in a mortar, add a faggot of sweet herbs, and a little salt. Stew all together, and when tender, remove the meat, cut into pieces about two inches square, and the tongue (which must be skinned) into pieces the same size. Strain off the liquor, put half a pound of fresh butter into the stewpan, melt it, and add a quarter of a pound of flour, which must be kept stirring till smooth, then add the liquor, stirring till all is in; if lumpy, it must be strained again through a sieve; season pretty well, add a pint of white wine, and some lemon-juice to flavour, and forcemeat, and egg-balls broiled, and stew gently for an hour. If too thick, add some veal stock before stewing for the last time, and serve hot in the tureen.

Shin of Beef.—Take a shin of beef weighing about six pounds, chop the bone in two or three places, and lay in a soup-kettle with half a pound of bacon at the bottom, cut in slices about half an inch thick; add two carrots, two turnips, a head of celery, two large onions, with a dozen peppercorns, the same of allspice, four cloves, a sprig of lemon thyme, winter savory, and parsley. Cover the meat with cold water, set over a quick fire to boil, skim well, and let it stew gently for four hours; then remove the meat, strain off the soup, and take the fat off the surface when it is cold. Cut the meat into small pieces, and put them into the soup; warm up, and serve hot in a tureen.

FISH.

Brill, to Fry.—Cut off the fins close to the sides of the fish, scrape off the slime, and dry them well; then egg them over, dip in bread crumbs, and fry a pale brown in plenty of dripping, or lard. Garnish with fried parsley, and serve them up with melted butter and soy, ketchup, or anchovy sauce. Some persons remove the dark skin from the one side.

Cockles, to Pickle.—1. Boil the cockles with a little salt, remove from the shells, and save the liquor; then add about a third of vinegar to the liquor, and boil up with cayenne, white pepper, and a blade of mace; let this get cold, and then add to the cockles.—2. Prepare the same, only add three parts vinegar to one part liquor. (The first method is for present use, the second will keep a much longer time.)

Flounders as Water Souchy.—Prepare the same as perch and tench.

Mussels, to Pickle.—Prepare the same as cockles, given above.

Oyster Sausages.—Chop and pound some veal well in a mortar, then chop up an equal proportion of oysters, mix well and add some bread crumbs, and a little beef suet shred fine; moisten with some of the liquor of the oysters, season with pepper, salt, and a little mace, bind together with a well-beaten egg, form into sausages, or flat cakes, and fry a pale brown in good dripping.

Oysters, Scalloped.—Butter the bottoms of your scallop shells, then sprinkle with bread crumbs, and lay a sufficient number of bearded oysters to cover the bread, season with pepper and salt, and place some pieces of butter over them; place another layer of bread crumbs, oysters, and butter, until the shell is full, then cover the whole with bread crumbs, add a few pieces of butter on the top, and place in a Dutch oven before the fire; when done, brown with a salamander, or a red-hot shovel held over the top, and serve in the scallop shells.

POULTRY, ETC.

Chicken Fricassee.—Half-boil a chicken in a little water, let it cool, then cut it up, and simmer in a gravy made of some of the water in which it was boiled, and the neck, head, feet, liver, and gizzard stewed well together. Add an onion, a faggot of herbs, pepper and salt, and thicken with butter rolled in flour added to the strained liquor, with a little nutmeg, then give it a boil, and add a pint of cream, stir over the fire, but do not let it boil. Put the hot chicken into a dish, pour the sauce over it, add some fried forcemeat balls, and garnish it with slices of lemon.

Grouse, to Pot.—Clean them nicely, and season with allspice, salt, mace, and white pepper, finely powdered. Rub each part well, then lay the breasts downwards in a pan, and pack the birds as close as possible. Put plenty of butter on them; then cover the pan with a coarse flour-paste, and a paper over; tie it close, and bake. When cold, cut it into proper pieces for helping; pack them close into a large potting-jar, press down and cover with butter, then tie close.

Hare Collops.—Cut off all the flesh from an undressed hare, remove any tendons or skin, mince small, and season with salt, allspice, pepper, and a little mace. If agreeable to taste, shred a small onion fine, and add to the mince. Dust them well with flour; and having browned some dripping in a frying-pan, add the collops, and keep stirring until they become a light brown. Put the skin, bones, &c. into a saucepan with a little beef broth, and simmer well for half an hour, then strain into a saucepan, add the collops and a little port wine or claret to flavour, and simmer until done enough, taking care to remove any grease that may rise to the surface during the time the collops simmer. Serve hot in a dish, with carved sippets, and slices of lemon for a garnish.

Hare, to Roast—A new Way.—Skin it, and soak in plenty of cold water for two hours, then lay it in vinegar for two hours, and afterwards wash it well in cold water. Put the stuffing into the paunch, sew it up, and truss; then put down before a clear fire, and baste well with ale for a quarter of an hour, then with milk for half an hour, and afterwards with butter. Notch the neck in two or three places with a knife. Dredge well with flour, baste to a nice froth; serve with plain gravy in the dish, and currant jelly separate, or poivrade sauce.

Partridge Pie.—Pick, singe, and clean four partridges, cut off the legs at the knee, season with pepper, salt, thyme, chopped parsley, and two mushrooms of moderate size chopped fine. Put the partridges at the bottom of the dish, and lay over them some veal steak and ham, cut into pieces about two inches square; add half a pint of good veal broth (see page 258), cover with a good puff-paste in the usual way, brush over with egg, and bake for an hour.—The general way of laying the meat at the bottom of the dish is wrong, because by the method given above, the partridges receive the flavour of the meat, which is in a measure prevented by adopting the old method. In some pies—pigeons for instance—some of the meat should be placed at the bottom as well as the top.

Teal, to Roast.—Dress the same as wild ducks (see page 255); but it is well, unless ordered otherwise, to dress one well and the other rather less, as some epicures prefer wild-fowl under-done, as it is said to be finer flavoured. Epicures eat wild-fowl without sauce, but a good brown gravy, flavoured with shalot, cayenne, salt, and port or claret, is usually served over the birds.

VEGETABLES.

Artichokes, to Boil.—Strip off the coarse outer leaves, cut off the stalks, and steep and wash them freely in cold water; put them in the pot tops downwards, and keep up to the boil for two or three hours, taking care to keep them below the water, by floating a plate over them. If the water evaporates too quickly, add boiling water from time to time, as required. Remove the plate, take out one of the vegetables, try a leaf, and if it draws out easily, it is done; if not, return again to the pot, and keep up the boil until done. Drain them, place, tops uppermost, in a vegetable dish, and serve with melted butter in a sauce-boat.

Carrots, Flemish Way.—Prepare (after boiling) in the form of dice, balls, stars, crescents, &c., and stew with chopped parsley, young onions, salt and pepper, in plain melted butter, or good brown gravy.

Mushrooms, Grilled.—Procure some sound large fresh-gathered flaps, peel them, score the under part, put into an earthen dish, baste well with melted butter, and strew with pepper and salt. After they have remained thus prepared for an hour and a half, broil on both sides over a clear fire, and serve with a lump of butter rubbed over the top, and a dust of pepper, or with melted butter, and the juice of a lemon poured over them.

Mushrooms à la Maintenon.—Prepare the same as the last, but cook in an oven, and serve with a sauce prepared from the stalks and trimmings combined with a little good beef gravy, well seasoned, and strained.

MEAT.

Beef Hams.—Prepare, trim, and shape a leg of beef like a ham, then put on a dish, and baste with the following pickle morning and evening for a month, then remove from the pickle, drain, roll in bran, and smoke it. Cover with a piece of canvas, give it a coat of lime-wash, and hang it in a dry place until wanted:—

For a piece of meat weighing fourteen pounds, mix a pound of salt, the same of coarse brown sugar, an ounce of saltpetre, the same of bay salt, half an ounce of coarse black pepper, and three ounces of treacle, adding sufficient beer to form into a thick pickle.

Cheshire Pork Pie.—Take the skin off a loin of pork, and cut the loin into steaks, season with salt, pepper, and dried sage. Make a good crust, line the dish with it, and put in a layer of pork, then a layer of sliced pippins dipped in sugar, then another layer of pork, and add half a pint of white wine; put some pieces of butter on the top, cover in the pie, and bake in a moderate oven.

Staffordshire Beef Steaks.—Beat them a little with a rolling-pin, then flour and season with salt and pepper, and fry a light brown with sliced onions. Lay the steaks in a stewpan, pour over them as much boiling water as will serve for sauce, and stew gently for half an hour, then add mushroom or walnut ketchup to flavour, and serve as usual.

Tripe, Soused.—1. Boil the tripe, and put it into salt and water, which must be changed every day until the tripe is used; then remove, dip in batter made of flour and eggs, and fry a light brown.—2. Boil in salt and water with an onion shred fine, and a little parsley; serve both with melted butter in a sauce-boat.

Tripe Stuffed and Roasted.—Make a good stuffing, lay it on the slices of tripe, roll them up so as to have the stuffing between the folds, tie each tightly round with a piece of string the same as a fillet of veal, and attach to a spit. Roast a light brown, baste with dripping, and serve with a good brown gravy. This is considered to be the most delicious method of dressing tripe, and is generally used in the midland counties of England.

PASTRY.

Derby Short Cakes.—Rub half a pound of butter down into a pound of flour, and mix one egg, a quarter of a pound of sifted sugar, and as much milk as will make a paste. Roll this out thin, and cut out the cakes with any fancy shapes, or the top of a wine-glass; place on tin plates, strew over with sugar, or cover the top of each with icing, and bake for ten minutes.

Marathon Biscuits for Wine.—Rub three ounces of butter down into a pound of dry sifted fine flour, add a pinch of salt, and sugar to taste; then make into a dough with warm good milk and a table-spoonful of yeast. Knead it up quickly, let it stand for an hour, then roll it out thin, cut into lozenge shapes, prick with a fork, and bake in a quick oven.

Northumberland Pudding.—Make a hasty pudding with a pint of milk and flour, put it into a basin, and let it stand until the next day; then mash it with a spoon, and add a quarter of a pound of clarified butter, as many currants picked and washed, sugar and brandy to flavour, and two ounces of candied lemon-peel cut fine. Pour into buttered tea-cups, bake in a moderate oven, and turn out on a dish. Serve with wine sauce over them.

Nottingham Pudding.—Peel six large apples, and remove the core in such a manner as to leave the fruit whole, then fill up the centre with sugar, place the fruit in a pie-dish, and pour over a nice light batter, such as is used for pudding. Bake in a moderate oven for an hour.

Oxford Dumplings.—Mix together two ounces of grated bread, four ounces of currants washed and picked, the same of shred suet, a table-spoonful of sifted sugar, a little powdered allspice, and plenty of grated lemon-peel. Add two eggs and a little milk; then divide the whole into five dumplings, and fry them a light brown. Serve with sweet sauce.

FOOD FOR OCTOBER.

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

Fish.—Barbel, brill, turbot, carp, cockles, cod, conger-eels, crabs, dace, dory, eels, gudgeon, haddocks, hake, halibut, herrings, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, prawns, salmon-trout, shrimps, smelts, soles, tench, thornback, turbot, whitings.

Poultry and Game.—Chickens, dotterel, ducks, fowls, green geese, grouse, hares, larks, moor-game, partridges, pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, snipes, teal, turkeys, wheat-ears, widgeon, wild ducks, wild pigeons, wild rabbits, woodcocks.

Vegetables.—Artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes, brocoli, cabbages, cauliflowers, celery, coleworts, endive, herbs of all sorts, leeks, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rocambole, salad, savoys, scorzonera, skirrets, shalots, spinach (winter), tomatos, truffles, turnips.

Fruits.—Almonds. Apples—pearmain, golden pippin, golden rennet, royal russet. Black and white bullace; damsons; late figs; filberts; hazel-nuts; grapes; medlars. Peaches—Old Newington, October. Pears—Bergamot, beurré, Charmontelle, Bon Chrétien, cresan, swan’s-egg. Quinces, services, walnuts.

COOKERY FOR OCTOBER.

SOUPS.

Flemish.—Slice six onions, six heads of celery, and a dozen potatoes, into small pieces; then put them into a stewpan with a quarter of a pound of butter and half a pint of water, and set on a stove, or the side of the fire to simmer for an hour, and when done sufficiently, add good beef or veal stock (see page 253), so as to fill the stewpan, or enough to give a good flavour. Boil gently until the potatoes become quite soft, then rub through a sieve, add half a pint of boiled cream, or some good thick white sauce to it, and serve hot.

Ox Tail.—Take two large, or three small tails, divide them completely at the joints, rub them with salt, and soak well in warm water. Remove after they have soaked for an hour and a half, and place in a stewpan with a faggot of parsley, four or five onions, a dozen peppercorns, a blade of mace, a turnip, and two carrots sliced, and three quarts of water. Stew gently for two hours and a half, or until the meat is tender, then remove, cut into small pieces, which place in a fresh stewpan. Thicken the soup with a little browned flour rubbed up with a ladleful of the top fat, and then strain it into the stewpan containing the tails. Boil up, skim well, add mushroom-catsup, and pepper to taste, and serve hot.

Tomato.—Choose a dozen ripe tomatos, or if large, only ten, put them into a stewpan with a pint of good beef stock (see page 253), and stew gently until they are quite soft, then pulp through a tamis-cloth, or fine sieve, and after mixing the pulp with a little ginger, cayenne, and salt, according to taste, add it to two quarts of good beef stock, and boil up. When it boils, add two ounces of Italian paste, in small stars, rings, &c., or the same quantity of vermicelli; boil for twenty minutes, and serve hot. Some persons like the soup flavoured with garlic, in which case, half a clove may be added to the tomatos when first put on to stew, and the soup may generally be improved by adding a very little vinegar, and a sprig of thyme.

FISH.

Dory, to Boil.—Boil the same as a turbot (see p. 282), and serve with lobster sauce. Garnish with plenty of parsley.

Herrings, to Fry.—Scale, wash, and dry them in a cloth, but do not cut off their heads. Dredge them with flour, and fry them with clean dripping or lard, over a brisk fire, and when done, serve hot, garnished with fried parsley round the dish, and parsley and butter for sauce.

Herrings, to Smoke.—Clean the fish as directed above, then lay in salt, mixed with a little saltpetre, for one night; remove from the salt, run a stick through the eyes so that you have a dozen or more in a row. Knock one end out of a cask, and fasten the sticks, with the herrings attached, to the other end, by means of wedges or staples, and string. Place a small brazier, with red-hot charcoal in it, in a convenient place, and heap saw-dust and walnut shells upon it; then place the inverted cask, prepared as directed above, over it, and let it remain for twenty-four hours. When sufficiently smoked, remove, and lay in a dry place, or run a string through the eyes, and hang up.

Salmon-Trout Pie.—A Plain Way.—Clean and neatly trim, then cut into handsome fillets, as many trout as may be required; season each fillet with pepper, salt, mace, and cayenne, which should be well rubbed into the inside, and each fillet afterwards rolled up and well packed into the pie-dish. Put bits of butter above and among the fillets, and add six or eight oysters. Take a pint of fish stock (see page 276), or the same quantity made of the head and trimmings, thicken and strain this over the fish; then cover in the dish with a good paste, and bake as usual, but remember that it will not require so long a time to bake as a meat-pie.

Soles, to Stew.—Half-fry them in lard or clean dripping, then remove from the pan, and put into it a quart of water, two table-spoonfuls of anchovy sauce, and an onion sliced thin; let this boil slowly for a quarter of an hour, then put the fish in again, and stew gently for rather more than twenty minutes, but this will of course depend upon the size of the fish. When done, remove the fish, thicken the liquor with floured butter, boil up, and having laid the fish in a dish, strain the thickened liquor over them, and serve hot with shrimp sauce in a sauce-boat.

POULTRY, ETC.

Pheasant, Larded and Roasted, Sportsman’s Fashion.—When the pheasant gives off a peculiar odour, and the skin of the breast changes colour a little, it should be plucked carefully, but not sooner. When plucked, lard it with some good fresh bacon very carefully, and then stuff with the following:—Take two woodcocks, and divide the flesh into one portion, and the tail and liver into another; mince and mix the meat with some good beef marrow, a little scraped bacon, salt, pepper, and lemon thyme, or other herbs; add truffles sufficient to fill up the rest of the inside of the bird, then stuff it in and secure well, so that none of it may escape, which may be effectually done by placing a crust of bread over the opening, and sewing it up. Make a paste of the livers of the woodcocks, some truffles, grated bacon, an anchovy boned, and some fresh butter; cover the bird with this, put down to roast, and when done, serve upon a slice of toasted bread, surrounded with slices of orange, and some of the gravy round the bird. [This receipt was obtained from an old epicurean sportsman, who vouched for its being a first-rate way of cooking the bird, and further recommended that a table-spoonful of good champagne or burgundy should be poured over the bird, in addition to a good libation of the same wine during the time it is being partaken of.]

Woodcock, to Roast.—Prepare and cook the same as snipe.

VEGETABLES.

Onions, to Ragout.—Peel a pint of onions, as young as they can be procured, then peel four large ones and cut them very small; put some good dripping or butter into a stewpan, and when melted, add the onions and fry until a light brown; then thicken with flour, and give them a shake until thick. Add a quarter of a pint of gravy, a little powdered pepper, salt, and a tea-spoonful of mustard; stir all together, and when tolerably thick, pour into the dish and garnish with fried crumbs of bread.

Tomatos, to Stuff.—Take some fine tomatos and scoop the inside out, which should be set aside until required. Chop or mince fine some beef, mutton, or other fresh under-done meat, mix with a little pepper, salt, and a little sweet herbs; or make a forcemeat; and mix with the scoopings of the tomatos; form into a good consistence, and stuff the inside of the vegetable with the mixture. Set the prepared vegetables in a dish with a little lard in a slow oven, and bake until tender; then serve with the liquor that exudes during the process; but if not brown enough, colour by means of a salamander held over the top of each.

A good rich beef gravy poured over all, improves the flavour very much. This is the best way to dress these vegetables, and serves also to make cold meat more palatable, in addition to forming a pretty and economical side dish.

MEAT.

Calf’s Heart, Baked.—Clean, and stuff as directed at p. 278 for roasted beef heart, then bake instead of roasting, and afterwards serve with rich gravy or liver sauce.

Ham, to Boil in a superior way.—Par-boil the ham according to the receipt given by us at p. 282, then allow it to remain in the water all night, and finish boiling the next day, so as to be in time for dishing up; skin, and dust with raspings, the same as directed before, and you will have a more tender ham than one dressed otherwise.

Kidney Pudding.—Split and soak the kidney, season each well, make a paste of suet, flour, and milk; roll well, line a basin with it, place the kidney in, cover with the paste, and pinch up the sides. Tie the basin up in a cloth, and boil well; then turn out and serve with a good gravy, if there is not sufficient in the dish.

Some persons add a little beef-steak cut into small pieces, in order that the flavour and gravy may be improved.

Venison, Fried.—Cut the meat into slices, fry a light brown, and keep hot before the fire. Make gravy of the bones and any trimmings, add a little floured butter, and stir until it is thick and brown, then add lemon-juice and port wine to taste, with pepper or cayenne. Warm the venison in the gravy, place in a dish, and strain the gravy over it. Serve with currant jelly in a glass.

PASTRY.

Black Caps.—Divide and core some large apples, put them in a shallow pan, add some powdered white sugar, and bake them. Mix a wine-glassful of white wine, the same of water, one clove, a little grated lemon-peel, and sugar to taste; boil gently, and strain over them when in the dish. Black the tops of each with a salamander.

Bullace Tart.—Place a small cup in the centre of the dish, and place the fruit, picked and washed, round it, heaped up in the centre; add enough sugar, and cover with a light paste, which should be rather rich.

Exeter Pudding, à la Soyer.—Put in a proper sized basin ten ounces of fine boiled crumbs, four ounces of sago, seven ounces of suet chopped fine, six ounces of moist sugar, the peel of half a lemon grated, a quarter-pint of rum, and four eggs; stir for a few minutes with a spoon, add three more eggs, four table-spoonfuls of clouted cream, mix well: it is then ready to fill the mould. Butter the mould well, put in a handful of bread crumbs, shake the mould well till the greater part stick to the butter, then throw out the remainder, and have ready six penny sponge cakes, two ounces of ratafia, and half a pound of either raspberry or strawberry jam: cover the bottom of the mould with a layer of ratafias, and just cover them with a layer of the mixture. Cut the sponge-cake lengthways, spread each piece pretty thick with jam, put a layer in the mould, then a few ratafias, afterwards some of the mixture, and so on till the mould is full, taking care that a layer of the mixture is on the top of the pudding. It will take about forty minutes baking.

For the sauce, put in a small stewpan three table-spoonfuls of currant jelly, and two wine-glassfuls of sherry; warm on the fire, and pour over the pudding, and serve hot.

Ratafia Pudding.—Blanch, and pound in a mortar until they become a good paste, four ounces of sweet, and a quarter of an ounce of bitter almonds, with a dessert-spoonful of water; then add one ounce and a half of fresh butter, melted with a little cream, two well-beaten eggs, a little nutmeg, and sugar, and brandy or curaçoa to taste. Butter a small cup or a mould (earthenware), pour in the pudding, and bake. When done, turn out, and serve with the following sauce:—Take a wine-glassful of white wine, half a glass of rum, a little grated lemon-peel, sugar to taste, and a pinch of powdered cinnamon; stir into some good thick melted butter, and serve part in a sauce-boat, and pour some over the pudding.

Trafalgar Cakes.—Mix a pound of well-dried flour with six ounces of finely pounded sugar; beat six ounces of butter to a cream, and stir in half a pound of currants well cleaned and dried, and three eggs well beaten, then add the flour and sugar, and beat for some time. Flour some tins, and drop a table-spoonful upon them, then bake as usual.

FOOD FOR NOVEMBER.

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

Fish.—Barbel, brill, carp, cockles, cod, crabs, dace, dory, eels, gudgeon, gurnets, haddocks, hake, halibut, herrings, ling, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, salmon, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, tench, thornback, turbot, whitings.

Poultry and Game.—Chickens, dotterel, ducks, fowls, geese, grouse, hares, larks, moor-game, partridges, pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, snipes, teal, turkeys, wheat-ears, widgeon, wild ducks, woodcocks.

Vegetables.—Jerusalem artichokes, chard beets, borecole, brocoli, cabbages, cardoons, carrots, celery, chervil, coleworts, endive, herbs of all sorts, leeks, lettuces, onions, parsnips, potatoes, salad, savoys, scorzonera, skirrets, shalots, spinach (winter), tomatos, turnips.

Fruit.—Almonds. Apples—golden pippin, Holland pippin, Kentish pippin, nonpareil, winter pearmain, Wheeler’s russet. Bullace, chestnuts, hazel-nuts; grapes; medlars. Pears—Bergamot, Bezy de Charmontelle, Colmar, cresan, Spanish Bon Chrétien; services, walnuts.

COOKERY FOR NOVEMBER.

SOUPS.

Cock-a-leekie, or Leek Soup.—Boil from four to six pounds of good shin-beef, well broken and sliced, until the liquor is very good. Strain it, and add a capon or large fowl, trussed as if for boiling. When it boils (which should be gently), add half the quantity of leeks intended to be used, well cleaned, and cut in inch lengths; skim carefully, and in half an hour add the remaining part of the leeks, and a seasoning of pepper and salt.

The great art in making this soup, consists in boiling down the first portion of leeks so as to extract, together with the meat, all their flavour; and having the soup as thick of leeks as possible. The coarse green part of the leeks should be rejected.

Some persons thicken the soup with fine oatmeal; and when the flavour of the leeks is not required to be too potent, a little spinach and parsley are substituted for the second portion.

Sometimes the capon is served in the tureen, whole or divided, with the cock-a-leekie.

Calf’s Head.—Wash the head clean with salt and water, put into a stewpan, cover with water, add a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, four or five blades of mace, and a tea-cupful of pearl-barley. Stew until tender, and then add a stick of celery, previously cut small, and stewed plainly until tender. Season with pepper and salt to taste, place the head in the middle of the tureen, pour the soup over, and serve hot.

Some persons cut the calf’s head into small pieces previous to serving up the soup.

Maccaroni.—Boil a pound of good maccaroni in enough veal stock (see p. 253) to cover it, until quite tender, and put about half of it into a small stewpan; and two quarts more stock to the portion in the large pan, boil for an hour, and then rub through a tamis-cloth or fine sieve. When it becomes thick, add boiled cream, and rub through the tamis again until quite smooth; then add the liquid to the maccaroni that remains in the small pan, and shake in half a pound of grated Parmesan cheese to the whole; heat, but do not allow it to boil, then serve with a French roll in the tureen.

FISH.

Carp, to Fry.—These fish are not so good when done this way as stewed (see p. 254); but when required to be thus cooked, they should be done precisely the same as perch.

Cod, to Cure.—Split the fish down the back: clean well, and immerse in a strong pickle for about ten days or a fortnight; then remove, rub well with dry salt, and hang up to dry, having previously thrust a stick into each, to keep the two sides of the fish apart. If desirable, smoke as directed for herrings.

Eels, to Collar.—Skin, gut, remove the back-bone, and cut off the heads of as many eels as you want; then dip into a mixture of salt, common pepper, cayenne, grated nutmeg, pounded cloves, lemon-peel grated, and some finely rubbed sage. Roll up in fillets, tie with string as usual, boil in salt and water, with an equal portion of vinegar, until tender, and then remove; add some whole pepper to the pickle, which should be placed in a deep dish, and when cold, plunge the eel fillets into it.

Gudgeon, to Fry.—Proceed the same as directed for dace.

Hake Pie.—Cut into cutlets as directed at page 249; then lay in a pie-dish, and sprinkle with a seasoning composed of pepper, salt, and cayenne; then bake the same as directed for eel pie (see p. 262).

Lobster Sauce.—Break the shell of the lobster, extract the meat from the claws and body, cut small; boil the shells in half a pint of water, with a little ground allspice and scraped horse-radish, until all the strength is extracted; strain the liquor into a stewpan; add the lobster, half a pound of cream or thick melted butter, a tea-spoonful or two of anchovy sauce, and a squeeze of lemon. If you have a hen lobster, remove the coral and spawn, and pound it up fine in a mortar: mix this with a little of the sauce, return it to the stewpan, stir well, and let the whole simmer gently for about five minutes, but do not let it boil; season with cayenne and salt while stewing.

Scalloped Oysters.—Put a dozen of bearded oysters, previously dipped in bread crumbs, into a scallop shell. Mix pepper, salt, a little nutmeg, butter, and bread crumbs well together, and put layers of this and oysters alternately. Egg the last layer over, and brown in a Dutch oven.

Tench, to Stew Brown.—See receipt given for carp.

POULTRY, GAME, ETC.

Ducks, Nottingham Fashion.—Choose a pair of fine fat ducks, lard as usual, and then half-roast them. Remove from before the fire, place in a clean stewpan, and stew gently for half an hour with a pint of good gravy; then add half a pint of oysters nicely bearded, a dozen roasted and bruised chestnuts, a pint of red wine, and two small onions minced fine; three or four sprigs of thyme, a blade of mace, six peppercorns, the crumb of a French roll rubbed fine, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. When well flavoured, remove, and serve hot. It is necessary to cover the stewpan well during the time the ducks are cooking.

Woodcocks, to Ragout.—Prepare and cook the same as snipes.

VEGETABLES.

Cardoons Fried and Buttered.—Cut them about ten inches long, string, and then tie them in bundles like asparagus, and cut them into dice; boil like peas; add some butter, pepper, and salt, and serve hot.

Cardoons à la Fromage.—String, then cut them an inch long, place in a saucepan, and stew in some port or red wine, enough to cover them, until tender: then season with pepper and salt, and thicken with floured butter; then pour into the dish; add the juice of an orange, and scrape some Cheshire cheese all over it, then brown with a salamander, and serve hot.

Celery Fried.—Take three heads of celery, cut off the green tops, remove the outside stalks, wash clean and pare the roots clean; then have ready four ounces of white wine, the yolks of two eggs beat fine, and a little salt and nutmeg; mix all well together with flour, so as to form a good batter; then dip each head into the batter, and fry a nice light brown in lard. When done, lay in the dish, pour melted butter over them, and serve hot.

Turnip Pie.—Season some mutton chops with salt and pepper, reserving the ends of the neck-bones to lay over the turnips, which must be cut into small dice, and strewed over the steaks. Add two or three table-spoonfuls of milk, and cover with a crust.

MEAT.

Mutton Hashed.—Cut the remains of a cold leg or shoulder of mutton into thin slices, whether fat or lean; flour and pepper well, and leave on the dish. Boil the bones, well broken up, with a few onions minced well, add some salt, a little mushroom ketchup and the hashed meat; warm over a slow fire, but do not let it boil; then add port wine and currant jelly, or omit, as you please. If the former, it will impart a venison flavour, if the latter method is adopted it will be plain.

Veal Larded.—Remove the under bone of a neck of veal, and leave only a part of the long bones on; then trim it neatly, lard, and roast it gently with the caul over it. When nearly done, remove the caul, in order that the meat may be just tinged a brown. Serve with mushroom, celery, or other sauce. At another season, sorrel, asparagus, green pea, or lemon sauces are correct, but at this period such cannot be obtained.

PASTRY.

American Biscuits.—Take a quarter of a pound of butter and mix with a pound of flour; add a quarter of a pound of sugar to half a pint of new milk, warm, and pour gradually into the butter paste. Make a solution of about half a tea-spoonful of salt of tartar in half a tea-cupful of cold water; add to the mixture, and work up the paste to a good consistence; then roll it out, and cut with the top of a wine-glass. These cakes should be baked in a quick oven as soon as possible after they are made.

Bread-and-Butter Pudding.—Grease a dish well with butter, then sprinkle in a good thick layer of currants, well washed and picked; add some brown sugar, and cover with thin slices of light white bread until the dish is filled by alternate layers of currants, sugar, and bread. Boil a pint of new milk, add four well-beaten yolks of eggs, a little nutmeg and grated lemon-peel; pour into the dish containing the bread, &c., and let it stand for an hour, then bake in a moderate oven. A paste may be put round the edge of the dish, but it is not necessary.

Somersetshire Syllabub.—Put into a large china bowl a pint of port, the same quantity of sherry, and sugar to taste; then milk the bowl full, and after letting it stand for twenty minutes, cover well with clouted cream; grate nutmeg over all, add pounded cinnamon, and strew thickly with nonpareil comfits.

FOOD FOR DECEMBER.

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

Fish.—Barbel, brill, turbot, carp, cockles, cod, crabs, dab, dory, eels, gudgeon, gurnets, haddocks, hake, halibut, herrings, ling, lobsters, mackerel, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, ruffe, salmon, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench, whitings.

Poultry and Game.—Capons, chickens, dotterel, ducks, fowls, geese, grouse, guinea-fowl, hares, larks, moor-game, partridges, pea-fowl, pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, snipes, teal, turkeys, wheat-ears, widgeon, wild ducks, woodcocks.

Vegetables.—Jerusalem artichokes, beets, borecole, white and purple brocoli, cabbages, cardoons, carrots, celery, endive, herbs of all sorts, leeks, lettuces, onions, parsnips, potatoes, salad, savoys, scorzonera, skirrets, shalots, spinach, truffles, turnips, forced asparagus.

Fruit.—Almonds. Apples—Golden pippin, nonpareil, winter pearmain, golden russet. Chestnuts; hazel-nuts; a few grapes; medlars; oranges. Pears—Bergamot, Beurré d’Hiver, Colmar, Holland, St. Germains. Walnuts.

COOKERY FOR DECEMBER.

SOUPS.

Baked.—Take a pound of any lean meat and cut into dice, place in an earthen jar, or pot, that will hold five quarts of liquid. Slice, and add to it, two onions, two carrots, two ounces of rice, washed and previously soaked, a pint of whole or split peas, and some pepper and salt to taste; cover all with a gallon of water, tie a cloth over the top of the jar, or close the lid of the pot down very close, and bake. This is a cheap and useful soup for poor people, and may be much improved by using the liquor that salt beef, or, indeed, any meat has been boiled in, instead of water.

Cheap—for the Poor.—Soak a quart of split peas for a day in cold water, and then put them into a boiler with two gallons and a half of water, and two pounds of cold boiled potatoes, well bruised, a faggot of herbs, salt, pepper, and two onions sliced. Cover it very close, and boil very gently for five hours, or until only two gallons of soup remain.

Another.—Take two pounds of shin of beef, a quarter of a pound of barley, a halfpenny-worth of parsley, two onions sliced, salt and pepper to taste, and having cut the meat into dice, and broken the bone, place in a gallon pot and fill up with water; boil very gently for five hours. Potatoes, celery tops, cabbage, or any vegetable left from the day before may be added.

Rich Gravy.—Take a pound of beef, the same quantity of veal and mutton, cut into dice, and place in a boiler with two gallons of water, half a carrot sliced, a faggot of sweet herbs, an onion sliced, an old fowl beaten to pieces, the upper crust of a small loaf toasted very crisp, four blades of mace, a little pepper, and four cloves; cover well, and let it simmer on the side of the fire until reduced one-half, then strain through a coarse sieve into a stewpan. Add half an ounce of truffles, two heads of fine celery sliced small, four table-spoonfuls of finely sifted raspings, the palate of an ox boiled tender and cut small, and two cocks’ combs; cover very close, and simmer gently over a slow fire for two hours. Make some forcemeat balls, and place in the tureen, then pour the soup over, and serve.

Plum Porridge.—Boil eight pounds of shin of beef for five hours in a gallon of water, skimming carefully throughout, and finally straining off the liquor; add two pounds of meat cut small. Soften the crumb of a penny loaf in some of the liquor, beat it smooth, thicken the soup with it, add half a pound of stoned raisins, the same quantity of stoned prunes, a pound of well washed currants, and grated nutmeg, pepper, and mace to taste, and boil until the fruit is soft, then serve.

FISH.

Brill, to Fry in Batter.—Cut off the fish from the bones, in cutlets of about three inches or more; remove the skin from the dark side, but let the pale side remain. Dip each cutlet into batter, and fry in plenty of dripping. Garnish with fried parsley, and serve up with anchovy and melted butter.

Cod Sounds, Boiled.—Soak the sounds in warm water for half an hour, then scrape and clean well. Boil in milk and water, and when tender, serve in a napkin, with egg sauce.

Cod Sounds Ragout.—Scald, clean, and rub the sounds well with salt; then stew in some good highly-seasoned gravy, and when tender add a little cream and floured butter to thicken; give a boil, and season with grated lemon-peel, nutmeg, and a little allspice.

Dory, to Fry.—Clean and dry the fish well, egg over, dip in bread crumbs, and fry a light brown. Garnish with fried parsley, and serve with plain melted butter.

Hake, to Bake.—Dress the same as pike (see p. 281).

Ling, to Broil.—Cut into convenient sized pieces after the fish is cleaned, flour well, and set on a gridiron over a clear fire. Shake a little pepper and salt over each piece while broiling, and when done, rub in some butter before the fire, then serve with plain melted butter.

Plaice, to Fry.—Clean, cut into cutlets, but do not remove the skin, and fry as previously directed for brill.

Tench, to Stew Brown.—Dress the same as carp (pp. 254, 268).

Turbot, to Pickle.—Prepare the same as directed for cold salmon (p. 277).

POULTRY.

Fowls, Forced.—Cut a large fowl down the back, remove the skin from the whole of the body very carefully; cut the flesh from the bones, and chop it up finely with half a pint of oysters, and an ounce of beef marrow, then season with pepper and salt. Add sufficient cream to mix it well, lay the meat on the bones, draw the skin over, and sew up the back. Lay thin slices of bacon on the breast, tie them on in diamonds, and roast it an hour by a moderate fire. Pour a good brown gravy sauce into the dish. Remove the bacon from the fowl, and then place the fowl in the dish. Garnish with oysters or mushrooms, and serve hot.

Guinea-Fowl, to Roast.—Lard, prepare, and then dress the same as a pheasant (see p. 291), and it will be most delicious.

VEGETABLES.

Artichoke Bottoms, to Ragout.—Soak them in warm water two or three hours, changing the water; then put them into a stewpan with some good gravy, a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, or enough to flavour, a little salt, and cayenne pepper. Boil, thicken with flour, place in a dish, and pour the gravy sauce over, then serve hot.

Spinach Stewed, and Eggs.—Pick and wash the spinach very clean, put it into the saucepan with a little salt, cover it close, shake the pan often, and when tender and green, toss it into a sieve to drain, and then lay it on the dish. Have ready a stewpan of boiling water, break as many eggs into cups as you wish to poach, drop them quietly into the water, remove with an egg slice when done, lay them on the spinach, and garnish the dish with slices of quartered lemon. Serve hot with melted butter in a sauce-boat.

MEAT.

Calf’s Head Pie.—Stew a knuckle of veal till tender, with two onions, a faggot of herbs, a blade of mace, and six peppercorns, in three pints of water, and when done, set aside, with the bones in it, to simmer, removing sufficient meat to form into balls. Half-boil a calf’s head, and cut the flesh into square bits; put a layer of ham in slices at the bottom of a dish, then some pieces of the head well seasoned with pepper and salt, first fat and then lean, with balls, and hard eggs cut in half, alternating until the dish is full, but not too closely packed. Put a little water and gravy into the dish, cover with a tolerably thick crust, and bake in a slow oven. When done, fill up with gravy, but do not cut till it is quite cold. Some persons add oysters and mushrooms, and eat the pie warmed instead of cold.

Durham Pie.—Take seven pounds of flour, a pound and a quarter of suet, and two pounds of butter; form into a paste, mould it to fancy, so as to make a handsome ornamental crust, and bake in a slow oven. Then take a goose, a turkey, a grouse, a woodcock, a snipe, a pheasant, part of a hare; a partridge, a pound and a half of bullock’s tongue, and cut into small pieces; stew gently, and then place in the centre of the crust, with the gravy, and some grated ham or beef; season to taste, and bake in a slow oven. Of course the top is covered in with paste, ornamented with the feet of the birds as a central crown, and foliage, &c., around them.

Practical Housewife’s Christmas Ham.—Soak the ham, be the weight whatever it may, half the usual time in water; remove, wash well with cold water, place in a pan large and deep enough to contain it, cover with beer or good ale, and let it remain until the required time for soaking a ham of the size used has expired. Boil as usual until the skin can be readily removed; then place the ham in a tin or an earthenware dish, and cover with a common flour-and-water paste, or surround with butter. Bake in a moderately heated oven until done, remove the paste or batter, cover with bread raspings, and serve hot.

Cooked in this manner, a ham acquires the most delicious flavour, especially if cured by a method we shall hereafter point out.

Hamburg Beef.—Rub a rump of beef with brown sugar, and let it lie three days, turning frequently during the time. Remove from the dish, wipe it, and salt it with four ounces of bay, and the same quantity of common salt, and an ounce of saltpetre, well mixed. Cover with what remains after rubbing in, and let it remain for a fortnight, turning it occasionally. Remove the superfluous salt, roll tight in a cloth, and press well with weights. Smoke the meat in the cloth, by hanging it in a chimney where wood smoke ascends, or by adopting the same method as that recommended for herrings.

It may be boiled, and pressed with heavy weights until cold; or fried with bacon in slices, as required.

PASTRY.

Antwerp Cream.—Make a housewife’s cream, as directed by us at p. 279, and whisk until it curdles, then set the curd carefully upon a fine sieve, and let it drain over a basin all night. Take thirty ratafia biscuits, bruise them, and add to the whey, with a twopenny sponge-cake broken up fine, two table-spoonfuls of raspberry and currant jam, and two table-spoonfuls of brandy; mix well together, pour into a small glass dish, heap the curd over the top with a fork, and ornament the edge with ratafia biscuits.

Bon-bon Crackers.—Procure various coloured papers, and cut them into pieces measuring three inches wide and four inches long; then cut the end of each into a narrow fringe an inch long, and gum or paste a blue paper and a red one together, so that the fringe may be at both ends. Buy some Waterloo crackers at a toy shop, and paste each end of one to the inside of the coloured papers, so that the centre of the cracker shall be over the joining. Put a burnt almond or some bon-bon in the centre, roll it up neatly, screw the two ends, and spread the fringe.

Any coloured paper will do, and the greater contrast displayed the better the effect.

The Housewife’s Christmas Cake.—Take two pounds of pounded sugar-candy, two pounds of flour, two pounds of butter, thirty-six eggs, four pounds of currants, a pound of raisins stoned and chopped, half a pound of almonds blanched and chopped, half a pound of citron, a pound of candied orange-peel, the same of candied lemon-peel, a large nutmeg pounded, half an ounce of powdered allspice, half an ounce of powdered mace, ginger, cinnamon, and coriander, and half a pint of brandy.

All the ingredients should be well dried, the white of the eggs well beaten up separately from the yolks, the butter stirred and beaten almost to a cream, then add the rest gradually, taking care they are well beaten and mixed. Have ready a large tin, well lined with buttered paper, pour in the cake, and bake in a slow oven for at least four hours. Smaller proportions may be adopted.

Gingerbread Snaps.—Take a pound and a half of flour, half a pound of butter, the same of sugar and treacle, and an ounce of powdered ginger. Mix well before the fire, add five table-spoonfuls of thick cream, work into a stiff paste, roll out thin, dip a wine-glass into flour, cut out the snaps with it, and bake in a quick oven.

Good Gingerbread Nuts.—Take three pounds of flour, a pound of sugar, three and a half pounds of treacle, half an ounce of carraway seeds, half an ounce of allspice, two ounces of butter, half an ounce of candied lemon-peel, three ounces of ground ginger, half an ounce of coriander, the yolks of two eggs, and a wine-glassful of brandy. Work the butter to a cream, then the eggs, spice, and brandy, then flour, sugar, and then hot treacle; if not stiff enough, a little more flour must be added in rolling out, but the less the better.

Mincemeat.—Take four cups of suet, two of currants, four of stoned raisins, half a cup of preserved ginger, half a cup of dried citron, a cup of pounded sugar-candy, a grated nutmeg, a dessert-spoonful of pounded mace, another of pounded cloves, six wine-glassfuls of brandy, and three of noyeau. Mix well.

Another.—See p. 252.

Mincemeat, à la Soyer.—Take four pounds and a half of kidney beef suet, which skin and chop very finely; have also a quarter of a pound of candied lemon and orange-peel, the same of citron, a pound and a half of lean cooked beef, and three pounds and a half of apples, the whole separately chopped very fine, and put into a large pan with four pounds and a half of currants well washed and picked, two ounces of mixed spice, and two pounds of sugar. Mix the whole well together with the juice of eight lemons and a pint of brandy, place it in jars, and tie down until ready for use; a pound and a half of Malaga raisins, well stoned and chopped, may likewise be added to the above. It is ready for use in a few days.

Plum Pudding, Moderate.—Take a pound and a half of raisins stoned, a pound of currants, well washed and picked; the same quantity of flour and suet; a quarter of a pound of fine white bread, rubbed well; two pounds of orange and lemon-peel, a quarter of a pound of citron-peel cut into square pieces; brown sugar, four ounces; one nutmeg, grated fine; half an ounce of mixed spice; a wine-glassful of brandy, four table-spoonfuls of white wine, two eggs well beaten, and a little salt. Mix as usual, and boil for eight hours.