VEGETABLES, ETC.

AN EXCELLENT WAY OF BOILING CABBAGE.—Having trimmed the cabbage, and washed it well in cold water, (examining the leaves to see that no insects are lurking among them,) cut it almost into quarters, but do not divide it entirely down at the stem, which should be cut off just below the termination of the leaves. Let it lie an hour in a pan of cold water. Have ready a pot full of boiling water, seasoned with a small tea-spoonful of salt. Put the cabbage into it, and let it boil for an hour and a half, skimming it occasionally. Then take it out; put it into a cullender to drain, and when all the hot water has drained off, set it under the hydrant. Let the hydrant run on it, till the cabbage has become perfectly cold all through. If you have no hydrant, set it under a pump, or keep pouring cold water on it from a pitcher. Then, having thrown out all the first water, and washed the pot, fill it again, and let the second water boil. During this time the cabbage under the hydrant will be growing cold. Then put it on again in the second water, and boil it two hours, or two and a half. Even the thickest part of the stalk must be perfectly tender all through. When thoroughly done, take up the cabbage, drain it well through the cullender, pressing it down with a broad ladle to squeeze out all the moisture; lay it in a deep dish, and cut it entirely apart, dividing it into quarters. Lay some bits of fresh butter among the leaves, add a little pepper, cover the dish, and send it to table hot.

This receipt for boiling cabbage was obtained from a physician, and on trial has been found very superior to any other. Cabbage cooked in this manner loses its unpleasant odour, and its unwholesome properties, and may be eaten without apprehension, except by persons decidedly dyspeptic. The usual cabbage-smell will not be perceptible in the house—either while the cabbage is boiling or afterwards.

If you like it boiled with corned pork or bacon, the second boiling (after the cabbage has been made cold under the hydrant) may be in the pot with the meat—skimming it well.

TO STEW RED CABBAGE.—Having stripped off the outer leaves, and washed the cabbage, quarter it, remove all the stalk, and cut the cabbage into shreds. Slice some cold ham as thin as possible, and put it into a stew-pan, alternately with layers of shred cabbage; having first laid some bits of fresh butter in the bottom of the pan. Add about half a pint of boiling water. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew steadily for three hours, till the cabbage is very tender, and the liquid all wasted; taking care not to let it burn. If you find it so dry as to be in danger of scorching, add a little more boiling water. When done, press and drain it through a cullender, and serve it up with the cabbage heaped in the middle of the dish, and the ham laid round.

YOUNG CORN OMELET.—To a dozen ears of fine young Indian corn allow five eggs. Boil the corn a quarter of an hour; and then, with a large grater, grate it down from the cob. Beat the eggs very light, and then stir gradually the grated corn into the pan of eggs. Add a small salt-spoon of salt, and a very little cayenne. Put into a hot frying-pan equal quantities of lard and fresh butter, and stir them well together, over the fire. When they boil, put in the mixture thick, and fry it; afterwards browning the top with a red-hot shovel, or a salamander. Transfer it, when done, to a heated dish, but do not fold it over. It will be found excellent. This is a good way of using boiled corn that has been left from dinner the preceding day.

CAULIFLOWER OMELET.—Take the white part of a boiled cauliflower after it is cold; chop it very small, and mix with it a sufficient quantity of well-beaten egg, to make a very thick batter. Then fry it in fresh butter in a small pan, and send it hot to table.

FRIED CAULIFLOWER.—Having laid a fine cauliflower in cold water for an hour, put it into a pot of boiling water that has been slightly salted, (milk and water will be still better,) and boil it twenty-five minutes, or till the large stalk is perfectly tender. Then divide it, equally, into small tufts, and spread it on a dish to cool. Prepare a sufficient quantity of batter made in the proportion of a table-spoonful of flour, and two table-spoonfuls of milk to each egg. Beat the eggs very light; then stir into them the flour and milk alternately; a spoonful of flour, and two spoonfuls of milk at a time. When the cauliflower is cold, have ready some fresh butter in a frying-pan over a clear fire. When it has come to a boil and has done bubbling, dip each tuft of cauliflower twice into the pan of batter, and fry them a light brown. Send them to table hot.

CAULIFLOWER MACCARONI.—Having removed the outside leaves, and cut off the stalk, wash the cauliflower, and examine it thoroughly to see if there are any insects about it. Next lay it for an hour in a pan of cold water. Then put it into a pot of boiling milk and water that has had a little fresh butter melted in it. Whatever scum may float on the top of the water must be removed before the cauliflower goes in. Boil it, steadily, half an hour, or till it is quite tender. Then take it out, drain it, and cut it into short sprigs. Have ready three ounces of rich, but not strong cheese, grated fine. Put into a stew-pan a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; nearly half of the grated cheese; two large table-spoonfuls of cream or rich milk; and a very little salt and cayenne. Toss or shake it over the fire, till it is well mixed, and has come to a boil. Then add the tufts of cauliflower; and let the whole stew together about five minutes. When done, put it into a deep dish; strew over the top the remaining half of the grated cheese, and brown it with a salamander or a red hot shovel held above the surface.

This will be found very superior to real maccaroni.

BROCCOLI AND EGGS.—Take several heads of broccoli, and cut the stalks short, paring off from the stalks the tough outside skin. Trim off the small outside shoots or blossoms, and tie them together in bunches. After all the broccoli has been washed, and lain half an hour or more in a pan of fresh, cold water, put the large heads, with a salt-spoonful of salt, into a pot of boiling water, and let them boil till thoroughly done, and the stalk perfectly tender. When the large heads have boiled about a quarter of an hour, put in the small tufts, which of course require less time to cook. In the meanwhile have ready six beaten eggs. Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sauce-pan, and stir it over the fire till it is all melted; then add gradually the beaten eggs, and stir the mixture, or shake it over the fire till it becomes very thick. Toast sufficient bread to cover entirely the bottom of a deep dish, cutting it to fit exactly, having removed the crust. Pour the egg and butter over the hot toast. Then place upon it the broccoli; the largest and finest head in the middle, the lesser ones round it; and having untied the small sprigs, lay them, in a circle close to the edge.

FRIED CELERY.—Take fine large celery; cut it into pieces three or four inches in length, and boil it tender; having seasoned the water with a very little salt. Then drain the pieces well, and lay them, separately, to cool on a large dish. Make a batter in the proportion of three well-beaten eggs stirred into a pint of rich milk, alternately with half a pint of grated bread-crumbs, or of sifted flour. Beat the batter very hard after it is all mixed. Put into a hot frying-pan, a sufficiency of fresh lard; melt it over the fire, and when it comes to a boil, dip each piece of celery twice into the batter, put them into the pan, and fry them a light brown. When done, lay them to drain on an inverted sieve with a broad pan placed beneath it. Then dish the fried celery, and send it to table hot.

FRIED ARTICHOKES.—The artichokes must be young and tender. Cut them into quarters, remove the choke part, and strip off the leaves. Having washed the artichokes well, and laid them an hour in cold water, put them into a pot of boiling water, and keep them boiling steadily for a long time, till you find by trying them with a fork that they are tender all through. Then take them out immediately, and drain them. Have ready a sufficiency of batter, made in the proportion of the yolk of one egg to a large table-spoonful of milk, and a tea-spoonful of flour. The eggs must be well beaten before they are mixed with the milk; then beat in the flour a spoonful at a time. Have ready over the fire some fresh butter, or lard, in a frying-pan. When it has boiled hard, dip the artichokes into the batter, (each piece should be twice dipped,) and fry them brown. Then drain them well, and send them to table hot.

MUSHROOM OMELET.—Take some fresh-gathered mushrooms; remove the stalks, and rub the flaps or heads very slightly with a little salt, mixed with cayenne. Then stew the mushrooms in a small sauce-pan, with barely sufficient cream or rich milk to cover them. Put in with them a small onion; and if the onion is found to turn blackish, throw away the whole; it being proof that there is among them a false or poisonous mushroom. Stir them with a silver spoon, and keep on the lid of the pan closely; unless when you are stirring. If the spoon turns black, the mushrooms should not be eaten.

After they have come to a boil, take them off the fire; drain them, and when cool, chop them small. To a pint or more of the minced mushrooms, allow six or seven eggs. Beat the eggs till very light and thick, (omitting the whites of two,) and then mix in, gradually, the mushrooms; stirring the whole very hard. Put three ounces of fresh butter into a hot omelet-pan, or a small frying-pan; place it over the fire, and stir the butter as it melts. When it has boiled hard, put in the omelet mixture, and as it fries, stir it till it begins to set. Do not turn the omelet; but brown the top by holding close above it a red-hot shovel. When done, drain off the butter; fold over or double the omelet; and serve it up immediately, on a hot dish.

In gathering mushrooms, those that are fit to eat may be known by their being of a pale pearl colour, or of a grayish white, instead of what is called a dead white; and the under side of the flap or head (if good) is of a light pink, or a pinkish salmon colour. The best mushrooms grow on uplands, or in high open fields where the air is pure and good, and they should be gathered early in the morning before the dew is off. All that are found in low swampy ground, or in the woods, or under large trees are poisonous.

SCOLLOPED TOMATOES.—Take fine large tomatoes, perfectly ripe. Scald them to loosen the skins, and then peel them. Cover the bottom of a deep dish thickly with grated bread-crumbs, adding a few bits of fresh butter. Then put in a layer of tomatoes, seasoned slightly with a little salt and cayenne, and some powdered mace or nutmeg. Cover them with another layer of bread-crumbs and butter. Then another layer of seasoned tomatoes; and proceed thus till the dish is full, finishing at the top with bread-crumbs. Set the dish into a moderate oven, and bake it near three hours. Tomatoes require long cooking, otherwise they will have a raw taste, that to most persons is unpleasant.

FRENCH SPINACH.—Having picked them from the stalks, wash the leaves carefully in two or three cold waters, till they are quite free from grit. Put the spinach into a sauce-pan of hot water, in which a very small portion of salt has been boiled. There must be sufficient water to allow the spinach to float. Stir it frequently, that all the leaves may be equally done. Let it boil for a quarter of an hour. Then take it out, lay it in a sieve, and drain it well; pressing it thoroughly with your hands. Next chop it as fine as possible. For a large dish of spinach, put two ounces of butter into a stew-pan; dredge in a table-spoonful of flour and four or five table-spoonfuls of rich cream, mixed with a tea-spoonful of powdered loaf-sugar. Mix all well, and when they have come to a boil, add, gradually, the spinach. Stew it about ten minutes, (stirring it frequently,) till the superfluous moisture is all absorbed. Then serve it up very hot, garnishing it all round with leaves of puff-paste, that have been handsomely formed with a tin cutter, and are fresh from the oven.

STEWED SPINACH.—Pick the spinach very clean, and wash it through two or three waters. Then drain it, and put it into a sauce-pan, with only the water that remains about it after the washing. Add a very little salt and pepper, and let it stew for twenty minutes, or till it is quite tender; turning it often, and pressing it down with a broad wooden spoon or flat ladle. When done, drain it through a sieve, pressing out all the moisture, till you get it as dry as you can. Then put it on a flat dish, and chop or mince it well. Set it again over the fire; add to it some bits of butter dredged with flour, and some beaten yolk of egg. Let it simmer five minutes or more, and when it comes to a boil, take it off. Have ready some thin slices of buttered toast, cut into triangular or three-cornered pieces, without any crust. Lay them in regular order round a flat dish, and heap the spinach evenly upon them, smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon, and scoring it across in diamonds.

ASPARAGUS LOAVES.—Having scraped the stalks of three bundles of fine, large asparagus, (laying it, as you proceed, in a pan of cold water,) tie it up again in bunches, put them into a pot with a great deal of boiling water, and a little salt, and boil them about twenty minutes, or till quite tender. Then take out the asparagus, and drain it. Cut off the green tops of two-thirds of the asparagus, and on the remainder leave about two inches of the white stalk; this remaining asparagus must be kept warm. Put the tops into a stew-pan with a pint of cream, or rich milk, sufficient to cover them well; adding three table-spoonfuls of fresh butter, rolled in flour, half a grated nutmeg, and the well-beaten yolks of three eggs. Set the stew-pan over hot coals, and stir the mixture till it comes to a boil. Then immediately remove it. Have ready some tall fresh rolls or penny loaves; cut the tops carefully off, in a nice circular or oval piece, and then scoop out the inside of the rolls, and fill them with the stewed asparagus while it is hot. Make small holes very nicely in the tops or lids. Fit the lids again on the rolls, and stick in the holes (of which you must make as many as you can) the remaining asparagus, that has had the bit of stalk left on for this purpose. Send them to table warm, as side-dishes.

ASPARAGUS OMELET.—Take two bunches of the largest and finest asparagus. Put it into a pot of boiling water, with a tea-spoonful of salt, and boil it about twenty-five minutes, or till perfectly tender. Then drain it, and chop small all the green part. Beat four eggs very light, and add to them a wine-glass of cream. Mix the chopped asparagus thoroughly with the egg and cream, adding a salt-spoon of salt, and a very little cayenne. Melt a large slice of fresh butter in a frying-pan over the fire; and when it has boiled, and the bubbling has ceased, put in the mixture, and fry it till light and firm. Then slip it from the frying-pan to a hot dish, and fold it over.

For a soft omelet, put the mixture into a skillet, with a piece of fresh butter. Let it stew slowly for ten minutes. Lay a thin slice of buttered toast in the bottom of a hot dish, and cut the toast into small squares, but let them remain close together. With a spoon heap the soft omelet upon the toast, and serve it up.

Any omelet mixture may be kept soft by stewing instead of frying it, and it will be found far more wholesome.

STEWED PEAS.—Take young, tender green peas, and put into a stew-pan, with sufficient fresh butter to keep them from burning, but no water. Season them with a little black pepper, and a very little salt. Set them over a moderate fire, and stir them about till the butter is well mixed through them. Let them simmer till quite soft and slightly broken; taking off the lid occasionally, and giving them a stir up from the bottom. If you find them becoming too dry, add some more butter. When done, drain off what superfluous butter may be about the peas, and send them to table hot. They will be found excellent.

To the taste of many persons, they will be improved by a lump or two of loaf-sugar put in with the butter; and also by a few sprigs of mint, to be removed before the peas go to table.

Lima beans may be stewed in butter, as above: also, asparagus tops, cut off from the white stalk.

FRENCH PEAS.—The peas should be young, freshly gathered, and shelled immediately before they are cooked. Boil them in water slightly salted, till they are perfectly tender. Then put them into a sieve, and drain them as dry as possible. To each quart of peas allow an ounce and a half of the best fresh butter; a large tea-spoonful of flour; and six table-spoonfuls or a tea-cup of rich cream; with a small tea-spoonful of powdered sugar. Put the butter into a stew-pan; place it over the fire; and when it comes to a boil, stir in the flour, making it quite smooth, and free from lumps. Having mixed the sugar with the cream, add it, gradually, to the butter and flour; and when it boils hard stir in the peas, and let them stew till they are all hot through. While stewing, stir them occasionally to prevent their burning. If the pan is small it is better to shake it over the fire.

LETTUCE PEAS.—Having washed four lettuces, and stripped off the outside leaves, take their hearts, and (having chopped them well) put them into a stew-pan with two quarts of young green peas, freshly shelled; a lump or two of loaf-sugar; and three or four leaves of green mint minced as finely as possible. Then put in a slice of cold ham, and a quarter of a pound of butter divided into four bits and rolled in flour; and two table-spoonfuls of water. Add a little black pepper, and let the whole stew for about twenty-five minutes, or till the peas are thoroughly done. Then take out the ham, and add to the stew half a pint of cream. Let it continue stewing five minutes longer. Then send it to table.

PLAIN LETTUCE PEAS.—Cover the bottom and sides of a stew-pan with large fresh leaves taken from lettuces. Have ready the peas, which should be young and green. To each quart of shelled peas allow two table-spoonfuls of fresh butter, and a lump of loaf sugar. Add a very little pepper and salt, and a sprig of green mint. Cover the pan closely, and let it stew for half an hour, or till the peas are thoroughly done. Then take them out from the lettuce leaves, and send only the peas to table.

TO STEW CARROTS.—Half-boil the carrots; then scrape them nicely, and cut them into thick slices. Put them into a stew-pan with as much milk as will barely cover them, a very little salt and pepper, and a sprig or two of chopped parsley. Simmer them till they are perfectly tender, but not broken. When nearly done, add a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour. Send them to table hot. Carrots require long cooking.

STEWED BEANS, (French way.)—Take fresh young green beans, and string them. Do not split them; but merely cut them in half. It destroys the flavour of string-beans to divide them into small pieces. If very young, do not even cut them in half, but merely string them and leave them whole. Have by you a pan of cold water to drop the beans in, as you proceed. Then, having washed and drained them, put them into a stew-pan of boiling water, and let them boil twenty minutes or more, till they are all tender. Then drain them well. Afterwards melt two ounces of butter in a stew-pan, and then stir smoothly into it a tea-spoonful of flour, adding a little powdered mace and a salt-spoon of salt. When it comes to a boil, add a tea-cup of rich cream. Then put in the beans, and stir or shake them over the fire till they are all thoroughly heated. A moment before you take them from the fire, stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs, and send them hot to table.

For this dish, you must have beans enough to absorb nearly all the liquid. They must on no account float about in it, as it is intended for a seasoning, not a gravy.

Stewed beans will be improved by adding a small piece of cold ham, to be removed before they go to table. If ham is used, omit any salt in the seasoning, as the ham will make it quite salt enough.

TO STEW COLD POTATOES.—Take cold potatoes, (either white or sweet ones,) and cut them into round or circular slices. Have ready some nice gravy of roast beef, veal, or fresh pork, that has been left from the preceding day, and well skimmed. Care should every day be taken to save whatever gravy is left of roast meat, skimming off all the fat from the surface, and putting away the gravy in a covered vessel set in a cool place. The gravy of cold mutton or lamb is so like tallow that it is unfit to use in any sort of cookery, and should always be consigned to the crock of soap-fat.

TO IMPROVE OLD POTATOES.—In the spring when the potatoes of the preceding autumn have become old, and deteriorated in quality, they will be greatly improved if, previous to boiling, a piece about the size of a shilling or a twelve-cent-piece, is cut off from each end; like “topping and tailing” them. Afterwards boil these potatoes with the skins on, and see that they are thoroughly done. Old potatoes require very long boiling, and are unfit to eat if hard in the centre, being then extremely indigestible. Their specks and blemishes make them so unsightly when sent to table whole, that it is best when sufficiently boiled, to peel and mash them. Mash them with milk or cream, if you cannot obtain good fresh butter. Salt butter will spoil their flavour instead of improving it, and all bad butter (whether salt or fresh) is unwholesome, as well as unpalatable, and should never be used for any purpose.

SYDNEY SMITH’S SALAD-DRESSING.—Have ready two well-boiled potatoes, peeled and rubbed through a sieve; they will give peculiar smoothness to the mixture. Also, a very small portion of raw onion, not more than a quarter of a tea-spoonful, (as the presence of the onion is to be scarcely hinted,) and the pounded yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix these ingredients on a deep plate with two small tea-spoonfuls of salt; one of made mustard; three table-spoonfuls of olive oil; and one table-spoonful of vinegar. Add, lastly, a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy; mash, and mix the whole together (using a boxwood spoon) and see that all the articles are thoroughly amalgamated. Having cut up a sufficiency of lettuce, (that has been well washed in cold water, and drained,) add to it the dressing immediately before dinner, mixing the lettuce through it with a boxwood fork.

This salad dressing was invented by the Rev. Sydney Smith, whose genius as a writer and a wit is well-known on both sides the Atlantic. If exactly followed, it will be found very fine on trial; no peculiar flavour predominating, but excellent as a whole. The above directions are taken from a manuscript receipt given by Mr. Smith to an American gentleman then in London.

In preparing this, or any other salad-dressing, take care not to use that excessively pungent and deleterious combination of drugs which is now so frequently imposed upon the public, as the best white wine vinegar. In reality, it has no vinous material about it, and it may be known by its violent and disagreeable sharpness, which overpowers and destroys the taste (and also the substance) of whatever it is mixed with. And it is also very unwholesome. Its colour is always very pale, and it is nearly as clear as water. No one should buy or use it. The first quality of real cider vinegar is good for all purposes.

The above receipt may be tried for lobster-dressing.

LETTUCE CHICKEN SALAD.—Having skinned a pair of cold fowls, remove the fat, and carve them as if for eating, cut all the flesh entirely from the bones, and either mince it or divide it into small shreds. Mix with it a little smoked tongue or cold ham, grated rather than chopped. Have ready one or two fine fresh lettuces, picked, washed, drained, and cut small. Put the cut lettuce on a dish, (spreading it evenly,) or into a large bowl, and place upon it the minced chicken in a close heap in the centre. For the dressing, mix together the following ingredients, in the proportion of the yolks of four eggs well beaten; a tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar; a salt-spoon of cayenne; (no salt if you have ham or tongue with the chicken;) two tea-spoonfuls of made mustard; two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, and four table-spoonfuls of salad oil. Stir this mixture well: put it into a small sauce-pan, set it over the fire, and let it boil three minutes, (not more,) stirring it all the time. Then set it to cool. When quite cold, cover with it thickly the heap of chicken in the centre of the salad. To ornament it, have ready half a dozen or more hard-boiled eggs, which after the shell is peeled off, must be thrown directly into a pan of cold water to prevent their turning blue. Cut each egg (white and yolk together) lengthways into four long pieces of equal size and shape; lay the pieces upon the salad all round the heap of chicken, and close to it; placing them so as to follow each other round in a slanting direction, something in the form of a circular wreath of leaves. Have ready, also, some very red cold beet, cut into small cones or points all of equal size; arrange them in a circle upon the lettuce, outside of the circle of cut egg. To be decorated in this manner, the salad should be placed in a dish rather than a bowl. In helping it, give each person a portion of every thing, and they will mix them together on their plates.

This salad should be prepared immediately before dinner or supper, as standing long will injure it. The colder it is the better.

ITALIAN CHICKEN SALAD.—Make a dressing in the proportion of the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs, mashed or pounded fine; a salt-spoon of salt; and the same quantity of mustard, and of cayenne; and a salt-spoon of powdered white sugar; four table-spoonfuls of salad-oil; and two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be best.) Simmer this dressing over the fire, but do not let it come to a boil. Stir it all the time. Take a sufficiency of the white meat of cold fowls, and pull or cut it into flakes. Pile it in the middle of a dish, and pour the salad-dressing over it. Have ready two fine fresh lettuces that have been laid in cold water. Strip off the outside leaves; cut up the best part of the lettuces, and arrange it evenly in a ridge, or circular heap all round the pile of chicken in the centre. On the top of the ridge of lettuce, place the whites of the eggs, cut into rings and laid round so as to form a chain. Of course, a portion of the lettuce is to be helped with the chicken.

A lobster salad may be made as above; also a salad of minced prawns or crabs.

Persons who have no dislike to a very slight flavour of garlic, will find this chicken-salad improved, by a clove of garlic being lightly rubbed over the dish while empty.

In dressing and helping every sort of salad, use a boxwood spoon and fork.

TARRAGON SAUCE.—Take a large handful of tarragon leaves, stripped from the stalks: put them into a small sauce-pan with half a pint of boiling water, and four blades of mace. Cover the sauce-pan, and let it stew slowly till the liquid is reduced to one half, and the flavour of the tarragon is well drawn out. Then strain it; and put the liquid into a clean sauce-pan. Mix together a table-spoonful of flour, and six ounces of butter, and when it has been well-stirred, and beaten smoothly, stir it into the tarragon water. Place the sauce-pan over the fire, and watch it closely. When it has simmered well, and is just beginning to boil, take it off immediately and transfer it to a sauce-boat. Eat it with any sort of boiled meat or poultry, or with boiled fish. The tarragon will give it a fine flavour.

You may add to the tarragon, while stewing, a small white onion cut in slices.

This sauce may be coloured a fine green, by pounding in a mortar a sufficient quantity of young parsley or spinach. Then take some of the juice, and add it to the liquid after you have strained it from the tarragon leaves, and before you put in the butter.

Tarragon is an herb well worth cultivating. It grows from a slip or root, and is easily raised. The leaves are fit to gather in July and August. They impart a fine and peculiar flavour to sauces, soups, and salad; and are indispensable in making French mustard. Tarragon may be kept a year or more by drying it in bunches. Also by filling a bottle half with tarragon leaves, and half with good vinegar.

FINE LEMON PICKLE.—Take some fresh ripe lemons, and (having first rolled each one under your hand upon the table) cut them into quarters, and remove all the seeds. Put the pieces of lemon, with all the juice, into a stone jar. Have ready a sufficient quantity of excellent vinegar to cover the lemon well; the vinegar being boiled with a clove or two of garlic; some blades of mace; a broken up nutmeg; whole pepper, (the white or peeled pepper-corns will be best;) some cayenne or bird-pepper; and a very little salt. The proportion of these ingredients may be according to your taste, but the seasoning should be high, yet not so as to overpower the lemon-flavour. Having boiled the vinegar, with all these articles, about ten minutes, pour the whole boiling hot upon the lemon in the jar, and immediately cover it closely. Let the jar stand three weeks in the chimney-corner, stirring it frequently, and setting it occasionally in the oven after the baking is done. Then roll a sheet of blotting paper into a cone, pinning up the side, and folding the cone so as to close up the pointed end. Have ready some small clean black bottles. Set the paper cone into the mouth of the bottle, and through it filter the liquid. Seal the corks. This will be found an excellent sauce for fish, or any sort of white meat; and will keep for years.

PEACH PICKLES.—Stir two pounds of white sugar into two quarts of the best cider vinegar. Boil it ten minutes, skimming it well. Have ready some large fully-ripe peaches; rub them with a clean flannel to take off the down, and stick four cloves into each. Put them into glass or white-ware jars, (rather more than half-full,) and pour on them the vinegar boiling hot. Cover them closely, set them in a cool place, and let them rest for a week. Then pour off the liquid, and give it another boiling. Afterwards pour it again on the peaches; cover them closely, corking the jars, and tying leather over each, and put them away till wanted for use.

CUCUMBER CATCHUP.—For a small quantity, take twelve fine full-grown cucumbers, and lay them an hour in cold water. Then pare them, and grate them down into a deep dish. Grate also six small onions, and mix them with the grated cucumber. Season the mixture to your taste, with pepper, salt, and vinegar; making it of the consistence of rich marmalade or jam. When thoroughly incorporated, transfer it to a glass jar, cover it closely, tying down over the top a piece of bladder, so as to make it perfectly air-tight.

It will be found very nice (when fresh cucumbers are not in season) to eat with beef or mutton, and if properly made and tightly covered will keep well. It should be grated very fine, and the vinegar must be of excellent quality—real cider vinegar.

ONION CUSTARD.—Peel and slice some mild onions, (ten or twelve, in proportion to their size,) and fry them in fresh butter; draining them well when you take them up. Then mince them as fine as possible. Beat four eggs very light, and stir them gradually into a pint of milk, in turn with the minced onions. Season the whole with plenty of grated nutmeg, and stir it very hard. Then put it into a deep, white dish, and bake it about a quarter of an hour. Send it to table as a side dish to be eaten with meat or poultry. It is a French preparation of onions, and will be found very fine.

MEATS, ETC.

STEWED LAMB.—Take a fine quarter of lamb, and for a large dish, cut the whole of it into steaks; for a small dish, cut up the loin only; or slice only the leg. Remove the skin, and all the fat. Place at the bottom of a large stew-pot a fresh lettuce split into long quarters. Having seasoned the steaks with a little salt and cayenne, and some powdered nutmeg and mace, lay them upon the lettuce, pour on just sufficient water to cover the whole, and let it stew gently for an hour, skimming it occasionally. Then put in a quart or two of young green peas, (in proportion to the quantity of meat,) a sprig of fresh green mint, a lump of loaf-sugar, and some bits of fresh butter. Let it cook slowly about half an hour longer, or till the peas are all soft and well-done. In sending it to table, place the meat upon the lettuce, and the peas round it.

LAMB CUTLETS, (a French dish.)—Cut a loin of lamb into chops. Remove all the fat, trim them nicely, scrape the bone, and see that it is the same length in all the cutlets. Lay them in a deep dish, and cover them with salad oil. Let them steep in the oil for an hour. Mix together a sufficiency of finely grated bread-crumbs, and a little minced parsley, seasoned with a very little pepper and salt, and some grated nutmeg. Having drained the cutlets from the oil, cover them with the mixture, and broil them over a bed of hot, live coals, on a previously heated gridiron, the bars of which have been rubbed with chalk. The cutlets must be thoroughly cooked. When half done, turn them carefully. You may bake them in a dutch-oven, instead of broiling them. Have ready some boiled potatoes, mashed smooth and stiff with cream or butter. Heap the mashed potatoes high on a heated dish, and make it into the form of a dome or bee-hive. Smooth it over with the back of a spoon, and place the lamb cutlets all round it, so that they stand up and lean against it, with the broad end of each cutlet downward. In the top of the dome of potatoes, stick a handsome bunch of curled parsley.

FILLET OF MUTTON.—Cut a fillet or round from a leg of mutton; remove all the fat from the outside, and take out the bone. Beat it well on all sides with a meat-beetle or a rolling-pin, to make it more tender, and rub it slightly all over with a very little pepper and salt. Have ready a stuffing made of finely-minced onions, bread-crumbs, and butter; seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and well-mixed. Fill, with some of this stuffing, the place of the bone. Make deep incisions or cuts all over the surface of the meat, and fill them closely with the same stuffing. Bind a tape round the meat to keep it in shape. Put it into a stew-pan, with just water enough to cover it, and let it stew slowly and steadily during four, five, or six hours, in proportion to its size; skimming it frequently. When done, serve it up with its own gravy.

STEWED MUTTON CUTLETS.—Having removed all the fat and the bone, beat the cutlets to make them tender, and season them with pepper, salt, and nutmeg. Put them into a circular tin kettle, with some bits of fresh butter that have been rolled in flour. Set the kettle (closely covered) upon a trivet inside of a flat-bottomed pot or stew-pan. Pour boiling water all round, but not so as to come up to the top of the inner kettle. Set the pot over a slow fire, and let the stew simmer for two hours. Then lift up the meat, and put under it a lettuce cut in four; and three cucumbers, pared, split, and quartered; two onions sliced; and four young turnips cut small. Add a few blades of mace, a salt-spoon of salt, and a little more butter rolled in flour. Set it again in boiling water, taking care that the water does not reach the top of the inner kettle, the lid of which must be kept very tight. Let it boil slowly, or rather simmer, two hours longer. Then dish it, placing the meat upon the vegetables, and laying all round a ridge of green peas that have been boiled in the usual way.

VEAL LOAF.—Take a cold fillet of veal, and (omitting the fat and skin) mince the meat as fine as possible. Mix with it a quarter of a pound of the fattest part of a cold ham, also chopped small. Add a tea-cupful of grated bread-crumbs; a grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace powdered; the grated yellow rind of a lemon; and two beaten eggs. Season with a salt-spoon of salt, and half a salt-spoon of cayenne. Mix the whole well together, and make it into the form of a loaf. Then glaze it over with beaten yolk of egg; and strew the surface evenly, all over, with bread raspings, or with pounded cracker. Set the dish into a dutch-oven, and bake it half an hour, or till hot all through. Have ready a gravy made of the trimmings of the veal, stewed in some of the gravy that was left when the fillet was roasted the day before. When sufficiently cooked, take out the meat, and thicken the gravy with beaten yolk of egg, stirred in about three minutes before you take it from the fire.

Send the veal loaf to table in a deep dish, with the gravy poured round it.

Chicken loaf, or turkey loaf, may be made in this manner.

STEWED CALF’S HEAD.—Take a fine, large calf’s head; empty it; wash it clean, and boil it till it is quite tender, in just water enough to cover it. Then carefully take out the bones, without spoiling the appearance of the head. Season it with a little salt and cayenne, and a grated nutmeg. Pour over it the liquor in which it has been boiled, adding a jill of vinegar, and two table-spoonfuls of capers, or of green nasturtian-seeds, that have been pickled. Let it stew very slowly for half an hour. Have ready some force-meat balls made of minced veal-suet, grated bread-crumbs, grated lemon-peel, and shred sweet-marjoram,—adding beaten yolk of egg to bind the other ingredients together. Put in the force-meat balls, and stew it slowly a quarter of an hour longer, adding some bits of butter rolled in flour to enrich the gravy. Send it to table hot.

CORNED FILLET OF VEAL.—Take a large fillet of veal, and make deep incisions or cuts all over it with a sharp knife, and insert a slip of the fat into each, pressing it down well to keep it in. Mix a table-spoonful of powdered saltpetre with half a pound of fine salt, and rub the meat all over with it. Make a brine of salt and water strong enough to swim an egg on its surface, adding a lump of saltpetre about the size of a walnut. Put the veal into the brine, (of which there must be enough to more than cover it,) and let it remain ten days; turning it every day. Then take it out, wash off the brine, and boil the veal till thoroughly done and tender all through. It is best to eat it cold, and sliced thin.

FRENCH WAY OF DRESSING A SHOULDER OF VEAL.—Cut the veal into nice square pieces or mouthfuls, and parboil them. Put the bone and trimmings into another pot, and stew them slowly a long time, in a very little water, to make the gravy. Then put the meat into the dish in which it is to go to table, and season it with a very little salt and cayenne pepper, the yellow rind of a large lemon grated, and some powdered mace and nutmeg. Add some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour, or some cold dripping of roast veal. Strain the gravy and pour it in. Set it in a hot dutch-oven, and bake it brown. When nearly done, add two glasses of white wine, and serve it up hot.

EXCELLENT MINCED VEAL.—Take three or four pounds of the lean only of a fillet or loin of veal, and mince it very finely, adding a slice or two of cold ham, minced also. Add three or four small young onions, chopped small, a tea-spoonful of sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed from the stalks, the yellow rind of a small lemon grated, and a tea-spoonful of mixed mace and nutmeg powdered. Mix all well together, and dredge it with a little flour. Put it into a stew-pan, with sufficient gravy of cold roast veal to moisten it, and a large table-spoonful or more of fresh butter. Stir it well, and let it stew till thoroughly done. If the veal has been previously cooked, a quarter of an hour will be sufficient. It will be much improved by adding a pint or more of small button mushrooms, cut from the stems, and then put in whole. Also, by stirring in two table-spoonfuls of cream about five minutes before it is taken from the fire.

MINCED TURKEY OR CHICKEN.—Take a cold turkey, or one or two cold fowls; remove all the skin, and cut the flesh from the bones. Then mince it fine, with two or three thin slices of cold smoked tongue, and from half a pint to a pint of button mushrooms well chopped. Add some mace and nutmeg, and put the whole into a stew-pan, with a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour, and sufficient cream to moisten it well. Let it stew ten minutes. Then serve it up in a deep dish.

TERRAPIN VEAL.—Take some cold roast veal (the fillet or the loin) and cut it into very small mouthfuls. Put into a skillet or stew-pan. Have ready a dressing made of six or seven hard-boiled eggs minced fine; a small tea-spoonful of made mustard; a salt-spoonful of salt; and the same of cayenne pepper; a large tea-cupfull (half a pint) of cream, and two glasses of sherry or Madeira wine. The dressing must be thoroughly mixed. Pour it over the veal, and then give the whole a hard stir. Cover it, and let it stew over the fire for ten minutes. Then transfer it to a deep dish, and send it to table hot.

Cold roast duck or fowl may be drest as above. Also venison.

VEAL OLIVES.—Take some cold fillet of veal and cold ham, and cut them into thin square slices of the same size and shape, trimming the edges evenly. Lay a slice of veal on every slice of ham, and spread some beaten yolk of egg over the veal. Have ready a thin force-meat, made of grated bread-crumbs, sweet-marjoram rubbed fine, fresh butter, and grated lemon-peel, seasoned with nutmeg and a little cayenne pepper. Spread this over the veal, and then roll up each slice tightly with the ham. Tie them round securely with coarse thread or fine twine; run a bird-spit through them, and roast them well. For sauce, simmer in a small sauce-pan, some cold veal gravy with two spoonfuls of cream, and some mushroom catchup.

VEAL RISSOLES.—Take as much fine wheat bread as will weigh one pound, after all the crust is cut off. Slice it; put it into a pan and pour over it as much rich milk as will soak it thoroughly. After it has soaked a quarter of an hour, lay it in a sieve and press it dry. Mince as finely as possible a pound of veal cutlet with six ounces of veal suet; then mix in gradually the bread; adding a salt-spoonful of salt, a slight sprinkling of cayenne, and a small tea-spoonful of powdered mace and nutmeg mixed; also the yellow rind of a lemon grated. Beat two eggs, and moisten the mixture with them. Then divide it into equal portions, and with a little flour on your hands roll it into oval balls rather smaller than an egg. Strew over them some dry bread-crumbs; then fry them in lard or fresh butter—drain them well, and send them to table hot. For gravy (which should be commenced before the rissoles) put some bits and trimmings of veal into a small sauce-pan, with as much water as will cover them; a very little pepper and salt; and three or four blades of mace. Cover the sauce-pan closely, and let the meat stew till all the strength is extracted; skimming it well. Then strain it; return the liquid to the sauce-pan; add a bit of butter rolled in flour; and squeeze in the juice of a lemon. Give it a boil up; and then, at the last, stir in the beaten yolk of an egg. Serve up this gravy in a sauce-boat, to eat with the rissoles.

Instead of stewing meat for the purpose you may make this gravy with the drippings of roast veal saved from the day before. You have then only to melt it over the fire; adding the seasoning; and giving it one boil.

Similar rissoles may be made of minced chicken or turkey.

SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES.—Having trimmed some sweetbreads nicely, and removed the gristle, parboil them, and then mince them very fine. Add grated bread, and season with a very little salt and pepper; some powdered mace and nutmeg; and some grated lemon-rind. Moisten the whole with cream, and make them up into small cones or sugar-loaves; forming and smoothing them nicely. Have ready some beaten egg, mixed with grated bread-crumbs. Dip into it each croquette, and fry them slowly in fresh butter. Serve them hot; standing up on the dish, and with a sprig of parsley in the top of each.

Sweetbreads should never be used unless perfectly fresh. They spoil very rapidly. As soon as they are brought from market they should be split open, and laid in cold water. Never attempt to keep sweetbreads till next day, except in cold weather.

Similar croquettes may be made of cold boiled chicken; or cold roast veal; or of oysters, minced raw, and seasoned and mixed as above.

FRICASSEED SWEETBREADS.—Take half a dozen sweetbreads; clean them thoroughly, and lay them for an hour or two in a pan of water, having first removed the strings and gristle. Then put them into a stew-pan with as much rich milk or cream as will cover them well, and a very little salt. Stew them slowly, till tender throughout, and thoroughly done, saving the liquid. Then take them up; cover them; and set them near the fire to keep warm. Prepare a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, divided into four pieces, and rolled in flour. Put the butter into the milk in which the sweetbreads were boiled, and add a few sprigs of parsley cut small; five or six blades of mace; half a nutmeg grated; and a very little cayenne pepper. Have ready the yolks of three eggs well-beaten. Return the sweetbreads to the gravy; let it just come to a boil; and then stir in the beaten egg immediately before you take the fricassee from the fire, otherwise it will curdle. Serve it up in a deep dish with a cover.

Chickens, cut up, may be fricasseed in this manner.

TOMATO SWEETBREADS.—Cut up a quarter of a peck (or more) of fine ripe tomatoes; set them over the fire, and let them stew with nothing but their own juice till they go entirely to pieces. Then press them through a sieve, to clear the liquid from the seeds and skins. Have ready four or five sweetbreads that have been trimmed nicely, cleared from the gristle, and laid open to soak in warm water. Put them into a stew-pan with the tomato-juice, seasoned with a little salt and cayenne. Add two or three table-spoonfuls of butter rolled in flour. Set the sauce-pan over the fire, and stew the sweetbreads in the tomato-juice till they are thoroughly done. A few minutes before you take them off, stir in two beaten yolks of eggs. Serve up the sweetbreads in a deep dish, with the tomato poured over them.

SWEETBREADS AND CAULIFLOWERS.—Take four large sweetbreads, and two fine cauliflowers. Split open the sweetbreads and remove the gristle. Soak them awhile in lukewarm water. Then put them into a sauce-pan of boiling water, and let them boil ten minutes over the fire. Afterwards, lay them in a pan of very cold water. The parboiling will render them white; and putting them directly from the hot water into the cold will give them firmness. Having washed and drained the cauliflowers, quarter them, and lay them in a broad stew-pan with the sweetbreads upon them, seasoned with a very little cayenne, two or three blades of mace, and some nutmeg. Add as much water as will cover them; put on closely the lid of the pan; and let the whole stew for about an hour. Then take a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and roll it in a table-spoonful of flour. Add it to the stew with a tea-cupfull of rich milk or cream; and give it one boil up—not more, or the milk may curdle. Serve it hot in a deep dish; the sweetbreads in the middle with the gravy poured over them, and the quartered cauliflowers laid handsomely round. This stew will be found delicious.

Broccoli may be thus stewed with sweetbreads.

STEWED SWEETBREADS WITH OYSTERS.—Take four fine sweetbreads; cut them open; extract the gristle, and lay them in warm water till all the blood is soaked out. Then transfer them to another vessel, and scald them with boiling water, to render them white and firm. Cover them closely, and let them boil ten minutes in the hot water. Then throw them directly into a pan of cold water. Take them out when quite cold; drain them; and put them into a stew-pan with the liquor of three dozen large fine oysters seasoned with half a grated nutmeg, or more; and eight or ten blades of mace. Add two ounces of fresh butter, mixed very smoothly with a tea-spoonful of flour. Cover the pan; and let them stew gently for half an hour or more. Then put in the oysters, and let them stew with the sweetbreads a little more than five minutes. Lastly stir in a jill (two wine-glasses) of cream, immediately before you take the stew from the fire. Sent it to table in a deep dish with a slice of buttered toast at the bottom.

CLAM SWEETBREADS may be stewed exactly as above, only that clams must be substituted for oysters; the clams being cut up very small, and put in at the beginning along with the liquor, &c. The flavour they impart to the stew is by many persons considered superior to that of oysters.

Sweetbreads should be large, fine, of a delicate colour, and perfectly fresh; otherwise they are unfit to eat. They spoil sooner than any part of the calf.

SWEETBREAD OMELET.—For an omelet of six or seven eggs, take two fine sweetbreads. Split them; take out the gristle; and soak them in two lukewarm waters, to extract all the blood. Then put them into very hot water; boil them ten minutes; take them out; set them away to cool; and afterwards mince them small, and season them with a very little salt and cayenne pepper, and some grated nutmeg. Beat the eggs (omitting the whites of two) till very light. Then mix in the chopped sweetbreads. Put three ounces or more of fresh butter into a small frying-pan, and place it over the fire. Stir the butter with a spoon, as it melts; and when it comes to a boil, put in the mixture, stirring it awhile after it is all in. Fry it a rich brown. Heat the plate or dish in which you turn it out of the pan. An omelet should never be turned while frying. The top may be well browned by holding about it a salamander or a red-hot shovel.

A ROUND OF BEEF STEWED BROWN.—Take a round of fresh beef; the larger it is the more tender it will be: a small round is always, comparatively, hard and tough. Remove the fat; with a sharp knife make deep cuts or incisions all over the meat, and stuff into them a seasoning of finely minced onions, mixed with powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little pepper and salt. Then go all over the meat with the drippings or cold gravy of roast beef, and dredge it slightly with flour. Have ready an iron dutch-oven and its lid, well heated by standing up both lid and oven before the fire. Then put the meat into the oven, cover it, and let it brown on all sides. Have ready, cut into small pieces, two turnips; four carrots; four oyster plants or salsify; three stalks of celery; two small onions; and two large tomatoes, or a large table-spoonful of tomato catchup. After the meat is browned, raise it up, and place the vegetables underneath it, and pour on three half-pints of water, or more if the round is very large. Let it cook slowly in the oven, with a regular fire, for several hours, till it is entirely done all through; taking care to keep it closely covered. After the meat is taken out, place it on a large hot dish, with the vegetables round it. Cover it, and keep it hot while you thicken the gravy with a small tea-spoonful of flour, and the beaten yolk of an egg. Simmer this gravy a few minutes, then put it into a sauce-boat, and serve it up with the meat.

What is left will be very good stewed over again the next day, with fresh vegetables; letting the meat cook no longer than till the vegetables are sufficiently done. Observe this rule with all stews, soups, hashes, &c., when cooked the second time.

STEWED BEEF STEAKS.—Take beef steaks from the sirloin. Cut them thin; remove the fat and bone, and trim them nicely. Beat them well with a beetle or a rolling-pin. Season them slightly with pepper and salt, and spread them over some finely minced onions, or some chopped mushrooms. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter rolled in flour. Put them into a stew-pan with a very close cover, and without any water. Set the pan not on the fire, but before it or beside it, (turning it round frequently,) and let them stew slowly for two or three hours, or till they are thoroughly done. Then serve them up in their own gravy.

A BEEF STEAK POT-PIE.—Remove the fat and bone from two pounds or more of fine, tender beef steaks, and cut them into small pieces. Season them slightly with a very little salt and pepper; put them into a pot with a piece of fresh butter rolled in flour, and just water enough to cover them. Let them stew slowly (skimming them as soon as the water comes to a boil) for an hour. Boil in another pot some white potatoes, (a dozen small or eight large ones,) cut into quarters. While the steak is stewing, make a paste of finely minced beef-suet and flour, in the proportion of a pound and a half of suet to three pounds of flour. For a large pot-pie, you should have more than the above quantity of paste; the paste being always considered the best part of the pie, and much liked by those who eat it at all. Having rubbed the minced suet into the pan of flour, add a very little salt, and as little water as will suffice to make it into a lump of dough. Beat the dough hard on both sides with the rolling-pin, to assist in making it light and flaky. Divide the dough into two portions; roll out one sheet thicker than the other. Line the sides of a clean iron pot about half-way or two-thirds up with the thin paste. Then, having poured a little of the gravy into the bottom of the pot, put in a layer of the half-stewed beef; then a layer of the thick paste, cut into long squares. Then a layer of the quartered potatoes; then meat; then paste; then potatoes, and so on till the whole is in. Pour on the remainder of the gravy, and add also a pint of warm water. Cover the whole with a sheet of thin paste for a top crust, which must not fit closely round the edge, as there must be room for the gravy to boil up over it. Then place the pot over a moderate fire, and boil it for an hour and a half. Send it to table on a large dish,—the meat, and potatoes, and soft crust in the middle, and the hard crust cut into pieces and laid round. Serve up the gravy in a boat.

This pie will be much improved by a few fresh mushrooms, cut from the stalks, peeled, and put in when the stewed meat is transferred to the pie-pot.

A pot-pie of fowls or rabbits may be made as above.

If you prefer butter to suet for making the paste, allow half a pound of fresh butter to each pound of flour. Cut up the butter into the pan of flour, rub it fine with your hands, wet it with as little water as possible, beat and roll it out as above.

BEEF STEAKS WITH MUSHROOMS.—Take four pounds of the best sirloin steaks, cut thin. Season them with black pepper, and a very little salt. Put four table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, and set it over the fire. When it is quite hot, put in the steaks and let them brown. Have ready a quart of mushrooms, stemmed and skinned, and moistened with a pint of water, seasoned with a little pepper and salt, and thickened slightly with a good dredging of flour. Pour it over the steaks in the frying-pan, and then let them cook till thoroughly done.

MINCED BEEF.—Take the lean of some cold roast beef. Chop it very fine, adding a small minced onion; and season it with pepper and salt. Put it into a stew-pan, with some of the gravy that has been left from the day before, and let it stew for a quarter of an hour. Then put it (two-thirds full) into a deep dish. Fill up the dish with mashed potatoes, heaped high in the centre, smoothed on the surface, and browned with a salamander or a red-hot shovel.

Cold roast mutton or lamb may be minced as above, adding some sweet-marjoram to the seasoning, and filling up the dish with mashed turnips instead of potatoes.

Also, cold roast pork; flavouring the seasoning with a little chopped sage. Cover the top with sweet potatoe, boiled and mashed, or with apple-sauce, that has been stewed as thick as possible.

TO STEW COLD CORNED BEEF.—Cut about four pounds of lean from a cold round of beef, that tastes but little of the salt. Lay it in a stew-pan, with a quarter of a peck of tomatoes quartered, and the same quantity of ochras sliced; also, two small onions peeled and sliced, and two ounces of fresh butter rolled in flour. Add a tea-spoonful of whole pepper-corns, (no salt,) and four or five blades of mace. Place it over a steady but moderate fire. Cover it closely, and let it stew three or four hours. The vegetables should be entirely dissolved. Serve it up hot.

TO STEW SMOKED BEEF.—The dried beef, for this purpose, must be fresh and of the very best quality. Cut it (or rather shave it) into very thin, small slices, with as little fat as possible. Put the beef into a skillet, and fill up with boiling water. Cover it, and let it soak or steep till the water is cold. Then drain off that water, and pour on some more, but merely enough to cover the chipped beef, which you may season with a little pepper. Set it over the fire, and (keeping on the cover) let it stew for a quarter of an hour. Then roll a few bits of butter in a little flour, and add it to the beef, with the yolk of one or two beaten eggs. Let it stew five minutes longer. Take it up on a hot dish, and send it to the breakfast or tea-table.

FRENCH BEEF.—Take a circular piece from the round, (having removed the bone,) and trim it nicely from the fat, skin, &c. Then lard it all over with long slips of fat pork or bacon. The place from whence the bone was taken must be filled with a force-meat, made of minced suet; grated bread-crumbs; sweet-marjoram rubbed fine; and grated lemon-peel; add a little salt and pepper, and mix in the beaten yolk of an egg to bind together the other ingredients. Tie a twine or tape closely round the outside of the beef, to keep it compact, and in shape. Put it into a broad earthen jar with a cover; or into an iron bake-oven. Add some whole pepper; a large onion stuck over with a dozen cloves; a bunch of sweet herbs; three bay-leaves; a quarter of a pound of butter, divided into small bits, (each piece rolled in flour,) and half a pint of claret, or port-wine. Bake or stew it thus in its own liquor, for five, six, or seven hours, (in proportion to its size,) for it must be thoroughly done, quite tender, and brown all through the inside. Serve it up hot with the gravy round it. It is also very good when cold.

A fillet of veal may be cooked in this manner. Also a fillet of fresh pork, cut from the upper part of a hind leg; or a fillet of fresh venison.

BEEF OLIVES.—Take the lean of some cold roast beef; cut it into slices about half an inch thick, and four inches square. They must all be of the same size and shape. Trim the edges nicely. Make a force-meat of grated bread-crumbs, finely-chopped beef-suet; minced onion; grated nutmeg or powdered mace; sweet-marjoram leaves rubbed fine; a very little salt and pepper; and some beaten yolk of egg. Having mixed all thoroughly together, spread very thickly a portion of the force-meat upon each slice of the cold beef. Then roll them up, and tie every one securely round with coarse thread or fine twine. Have ready some roast-beef gravy left from the day before, or make a fresh gravy by boiling, or rather stewing the beef bones with as little water as possible. When the gravy is ready, strain it into a clean stew-pan; put in the beef olives; cover the pan, and let them stew slowly for half an hour. Serve them up with their gravy. Remove the strings before the olives go to table.

A PLAIN STEW.—Cut steaks from a sirloin or a tender round of beef, omitting the fat and bone. Season them with pepper and a little salt. Put them into a pot, and to three pounds of meat allow a quart of water. When it has simmered for an hour, and been well skimmed, mix among it a dozen potatoes, and half a dozen turnips, all pared and quartered; and (if you like them) two onions sliced thin. If the stew appears too dry, pour in a little boiling water from a kettle. Let it stew slowly with the vegetables another hour, or till the whole is perfectly tender. Serve it up with the vegetables round it on a large dish.

Beef stewed with parsnips only is very good.

Lamb or veal cutlets may be stewed in this manner.