JANUARY 1st

STEWED BEEF-STEAK

Peel and chop two Spanish onions, cut into small parts four pickled walnuts, and put them at the bottom of a stew-pan; add a tea-cupful of mushroom catchup, two tea-spoonfuls of walnut ditto, one of shalot, and one of Chile vinegar.

See that the rump-steak be cut of a proper thickness, about three quarters of an inch, and beat it flat with a rolling-pin, place the meat on the top of the onions, & c., let it stew for one hour and a half, turning it every twenty minutes. Ten minutes before serving up, throw in a dozen oysters, with their liquor strained through a fine sieve.

JANUARY 2nd

COFFEE

I have tried nearly every method of preparing the Arabian beverage; and find, after all, that there is no surer way of having coffee clear and strong, than pursuing the plan here given.

Beat up an egg — two for a large pot, and mix it well with the coffee till you have formed it into a ball ; fill the pot with cold water, allowing room enough to put in the ingredients ; let it simmer very gently for an hour, but do not think of stirring it on any account.

Just before it is required, put the pot on the fire and warm it well; but as you value the true aroma, take care that it does not boil. Pour it off gently,andyou will have as pure and as strong an extract of the Indian berry as you can desire. Use white sugar candy, in powder, in preference to sugar ; cream, if attainable; if not, boiled milk.

JANUARY 3rd

ICEING FOR CAKES

Reduce a pound of the best loaf sugar to a very fine powder in a mortar; beat up the white of an egg ; add this to the sugar, mixing it well, and then squeeze in the juice of a lemon, mixing that also thoroughly. With the blade of a knife spread this smoothly over the top of the cake whilst hot.

JANUARY 4th

ROAST MEAT

That old fashioned implement the spit is fast falling into disuse, and for the best of reasons, — the insertion of such a body of steel or iron into the very centre of the joint, naturally allowed the juices to escape; and if the spit was not kept perfectly bright and clean, the meat which came in contact with it would become tainted.

A cradle-spit is a sensible invention, but it is seldom required, except for a haunch of venison, a very large sirloin, or a roasting-pig. A good pendant jack, with a collection of hooks, suited to the size of joints, poultry, hare, & c ., & c ., answers every purpose.

JANUARY 5th

OYSTER SOUP

Get four pounds of skate, boil it down over slow fire, with abundance of water, till you have the quantity you require to fill a tureen. When you have made this consommé, add salt, spice, & c ., to your taste, and twenty minutes before serving throw in three dozen oysters, with their liquor strained as before directed.

JANUARY 6th

HARE IN LARDER

If you desire the shoulders or wings of your hare “to take the fire,” hang puss by her head, instead of by her hind legs, the juices will be more equally distributed, and the cooking thereby rendered easier.

The sooner a hare is paunched after killing the better, despite old prejudices.

JANUARY 7th.

CALF'S FOOT JELLY

In three quarts of water let one neat's foot simmer a whole day ; skim the liquor when cold, and put it into a stew-pan with a pint of sherry, one glass of brandy, the whites and shells of eight eggs, the peel of two lemons, the juice of six, and of two oranges, one pound of sugar, and one ounce of isinglass.

Boil for twenty minutes, then strain through a jelly-bag, stirring the ingredients during the process.

JANUARY 8th.

PEPPER POSSET

This old English preparation is still used in many parts of the country, as a sovereign sudorific. That it was highly esteemed in the gay days which followed the usurpation of Cromwell, we have no less an authority than “ Glorious John ," as Dryden has been designated by his admirers, and it appears by his mention that it was regarded as a favourite remedy even by the softer sex :

“Or sick, a pepper posset was her cure.”

It is concocted as follows: - Put a dozen corns of whole pepper, or, which is far preferable, a dozen all spice, into a pint of milk, and let it simmer slowly ; when it boils, pour in a gill of sherry, and let all boil till the curd becomes hard ; strain off the whey, and drink it hot.

It may be well to observe, that two good-sized wine glasses will hold a gill.

JANUARY 9th

SWEET BREAD

Is usually boiled and served with parsley and butter, and in this form is an excellent and delicate dish for a valetudinarian.

If, however, you desire to have something more savoury at your board, let the sweet bread be well secured with small twine, and roast it before a good bright fire, taking care that it be constantly basted with plenty of fresh butter, and that you allow it twenty-five minutes or half an hour.

JANUARY 10th

YORK-HOUSE HAM

Any person who has breakfasted, lunched, dined, or supped at the York-House, Bath, if ham formed part of the repast, could not fail to be struck with its peculiarly fine flavour. The late Mr. Reilly was so obliging as to impart to me the secret by which his hams had obtained such celebrity, and I have now the satisfaction of giving it to the public.

After being well cleaned in fair water, and all the exterior dirt, salt, & c. ,removed by a scrubbing brush, the ham was soaked in warm water sufficiently long to remove the outside skin ; then trimmed , placed in a large stew-pan, and slowly cooked, but not in water,--and here lies the secret,—the liquid used for the purpose was SWEET WORT.

The effect produced on the meat, both in firmness and flavour, was absolutely superior to the mis-application of Champagne. I have eaten in France ham boiled in this expensive wine, and can only observe, that, in my poor thinking, it was a wicked waste of a most delicious creature-comfort.

JANUARY 11th.

SOLUBLE CAYENNE

All true gourmands acknowledge the supremacy of Cayenne as the first of peppers ; but it is very annoying to have a particle of this delicious stimulant “stick in your throat,” like Macbeth's “ Amen ,” detaching itself from the sauce, fish, or meat, to which it had been applied.

To avoid such drawback on the pleasure of the table, I recommend the adoption of this simple plan :

Infuse an ounce of genuine Cayenne in boiling water, enough to cover it; let it stand on the hob for a couple of hours, and then pour the liquor through a fine sieve upon an ounce of basket-salt in a soup plate ; cover this down, and let it cool. You will find the new crystals have absorbed the liquid, and they can be rubbed up to any size required, and placed in your cruet-stand, with the advantage that the new grains will dissolve, and are free from the husk and seed of the pepper-pod.

It may be well to observe, that whenever Cayenne pepper is mentioned in these pages, the soluble preparation is intended to be used.

JANUARY 12th

FRIED COD'S TAIL

The tail of a cod-fish, which is scarcely eatable if boiled, can be rendered very palateable and firm by being enveloped in oiled paper, and put in the frying pan with a sufficient quantity of lard. The process of heating requires as much time as would be occupied in boiling.

JANUARY 13th

LEG OF MUTTON CUTLETS

In winter, a small family may insure a variety of fare by having a leg of mutton divided in half ; hang the knuckle, and cut the thick end into slices of about three-quarters of an inch in thickness, sawing the bone in the centre, but leaving the section in the meat.

These slices are to be dressed in the pan ; two tea-cupfuls of water, and one of Harvey's, Reading, Lopresti's, or any favourite sauce, with a small portion of Cayenne and salt, and two drops of garlic vinegar.

This is not, I confess, a very economical dish, but a change is often desirable.

JANUARY 14th

RICE FOR CURRY

Rice should never be immersed in water, except that which has been used for cleaning the grain previous to use. It should be placed in a sieve, and heated by the steam arising from boiling water, the sieve so placed in the sauce-pan as to be two or three inches above the fluid.

In stirring the rice, a light hand should be used, or you are apt to amalgamate the grains; the criterion of well-dressed rice being to have the grains separate.

JANUARY 15th

BEET ROOT AND ONION

A root of beet well boiled, and its outside coat taken off, served to table with a Spanish onion boiled, are admirable accompaniments to either beef or mutton roasted. If you reside in the country, and can easily procure cream, stew the onion in it : the beet root requires only plain boiling.

These vegetables should be eaten with a little salt and Cayenne, with the gravy of the joint poured over them. In dressing them, you can judge by the outside skin of the beet root being easily detached, and from the softness the onion attains either in water or cream .

JANUARY 16th

BOILED KNUCKLE OF MUTTON

The half leg mentioned on the 13th may now be advantageously dressed, and sent to table with mashed turnips and caper sauce, forming a contrasted dish to the cutlets from the same joint.

JANUARY 17th

STEWED CHEESE

Good double Gloucester, whilst new, is the best cheese for stewing. Chop the quantity required into small portions, and put them in a basin, covering them with strong ale. Set the basin on the hob, or into the oven of a kitchen range, for three quarters of an hour, stirring now and then.

Toast some slices of bread, and make some fresh mustard, then pour the stew over the toast upon a hot plate. A little Cayenne pepper is an excellent addition to this supper dish.

JANUARY 18th

CALF'S HEART

Instead of the usual method of stuffing and roasting, I recommend that the heart be cut open, and broiled like a beef-steak.

When thoroughly done, rub a bit of fresh butter over it, and pour into the dish half a tea-cupful of hot mushroom catchup, in which some Cayenne has been dissolved.

JANUARY 19th

RIMOLADE

This exquisite sauce, applicable to cold fowl, pheasant, or meat, is easily concocted.

Chop very fine a shalot, and four or five sprigs of parsley. Beat up, quickly, the yolks of a couple of eggs, and on them pour Florence oil till the mixture be as thick as new butter. Add a tea-spoonful of French vinegar, a salt-spoonful of salt, another of Cayenne, and then stir in the shalot and parsley.

You will find your trouble well rewarded .

JANUARY 20th

FOR FOUR GERMAN PUDDINGS

Mix a quarter of a pound of flour with a quarter of a pound of butter, and the same weight of loaf-sugar; beat up four eggs in half a pint of milk; stir all the materials well together, then divide into four parts ;

Bake in tea-cups, and serve with sweet sauce or white wine.

JANUARY 21st

BURNT ONIONS

These give a deep colouring to soups and hashes, and are now easily procured at the Italian warehouses. I recommend their purchase, as their preparation is not only tedious, and requiring considerable care, but certain to fill your house with a mal'aria.

JANUARY 22nd

FLOUNDERS

Thames flounders are considered by many as very delicate fish; the objection I have to them is their ex treme insipidity and absence of flavour: however, to those who think differently, I offer my notion of cooking them.

Let the fish be carefully cleaned, the fins cut off, then washed, and well dried in ac loth: put a handful of salt in the water in which they are boiled, the time they take must be regulated by their size and thickness ; serve them with parsley and butter.

JANUARY 23rd

ROAST HARE

In the West of England, and I know no part of the world where good living is better understood, a hare, after being properly stuffed, is basted for the first seven minutes with strong salt and water, a fresh dripping pan is then put under it, and milk is used, in which About half a pound of butter has been dissolved.

The animal is dredged with flour occasionally, and it is calculated by cooks who pursue this plan, that when the eyes start from the sockets, the hare is fit to be sent to table.

JANUARY 24th

MASHED TURNIPS

You will very much improve the flavour of this justly favourite dish, by having a table spoonful of finely powdered loaf-sugar beat up with the vegetable, after it has been well pressed from the water.

As the process of mashing occupies some time, the turnips should be warmed up a few minutes before sent to table, by means of a small bit of butter, or half a tea-cup full of cream .

JANUARY 25th

HASHED HARE

Into a pint of beef gravy put a couple of silver onions, and three or four cloves, with a small quantity of Cayenne and salt.

Let this boil slowly till you have extracted the flavour of the spice and vegetables ; take them out and add two table-spoonsful of red currant jelly, and a good-sized wine-glass of port.

When all is quite hot, put in the hare, previously cut into small pieces; and, should any of the stuffing be left, crumble it into the saucepan.

Do not suffer the meat to remain long in the sauce. Serve it hot with sippets and currant jelly.

JANUARY 26th

A WEST INDIA EXPERIENCE

If suffering from dyspepsia, and disposed for a glass of punch, add a clove or two of preserved ginger and a little of the syrup to your drink: and, my word for it, you will find yourself better in the morning.

JANUARY 27th

BOILED FOWL AND OYSTER SAUCE

A large bladder, which has been properly seasoned with the liquor of boiled meat, mutton broth, or beef tea, and thus rendered applicable for culinary purposes, may be advantageously used in dressing the above.

Having your fowl properly trussed, let it be well floured, rub the quarter of a nutmeg, grated, in a piece of butter, the size of a walnut ; put this, a pinch of powdered mace, and your fowl into the bladder, then pour in a dozen oysters with their liquor ; leave the body of the bladder loose, but tie the neck of it very tight, and you may then boil in a saucepan containing any other meat; about five-and-twenty minutes is quite time enough ;

Have a deep dish ready, and you will find sufficient and excellent sauce made to your hand, when you take the fowl out of its case.

JANUARY 28th

YEAST DUMPLINGS

To a dough of flour and water add a very moderate allowance of salt, and sufficient yeast to render the paste light; as soon as this is well kneaded, set it before the fire in a deep dish, covered with a light cloth.

In half an hour it will be sufficiently raised. See that the water you intend to use is boiling; divide the dough into small balls, flatten them on a trencher, put them into the water, which must be kept up to boiling heat, and five minutes will suffice for the cooking.

Serve with melted butter poured over the dumplings.

JANUARY 29th

VEAL STOCK

Boil, in two quarts of water, for four hours, four pounds of veal; knuckle, neck, or breast are the best joints, but be careful to have that weight of meat independent of the bones, which you can easily ascertain by cutting it off; put into the saucepan an onion and a carrot, with a tea-spoonful of salt; strain it, and take the fat off when cold.

JANUARY 30th

BEUF A LA FLAMMANADE

Select a rib of beef of sufficient thickness to weigh at least eight pounds.

Let the meat be well larded, and braized over a slow fire; then add a pottle of fresh mushrooms (forced, at this season), two pound of truffles, two dozen forced meat-balls, made with plenty of eggs, and half a pint of Madeira.

This being an expensive dish is only applicable to state occasions; or as the sailors say, “for birthdays or bonfire nights."

JANUARY 31st

PUNCH JELLY

Make a good bowl of punch according to the directions you will find under that head, only a little stronger.

To every pint of punch add an ounce and a half of isinglass, dissolved in a quarter of a pint of water (about half a tumbler full); pour this into the punch whilst quite hot, and then fill your moulds, taking care that they are not disturbed until the jelly is completely set.

Orange, lemon, or calf'sfoot jelly, not used at dinner, can be converted into punch jelly for the evening, by following the above directions, only taking care to omit a portion of the acid prescribed in making the sherbet.

This preparation is a very agreeable refreshment on a cold night, but should be used in moderation ; the strength of the punch is so artfully concealed by its admixture with the gelatine, that many persons, particularly of the softer sex, have been tempted to partake so plentifully of it as to render them somewhat unfit for waltzing or quadrilling after supper.

FEBRUARY 1st

HARICOT OF MUTTON

In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the dish so called is sent to table without the slightest reference to the légume after which it is named. I shall give the English method of so dressing it, and annex the true recipe.

Scrape and cut into thin slices a couple of good sized carrots, put these into a saucepan containing a couple of quarts of boiling water ; let it simmer over a slow fire for twenty minutes.

Meanwhile pare and cut into squares,the size of dice, two turnips ; add a head of celery cut small, and a little pepper and salt.

Whilst the vegetables are stewing, put half-a-dozen mutton chops, with their fat cut off and well flattened, into the frying-pan, with sufficient butter to fry them a light brown, without risk of burning ; when this is accomplished, put the meat with the vegetables, and let all stew together for half an hour.

In France the mutton is prepared in a similar manner to the foregoing ; but instead of turnip and carrot, the white bean, the haricot véritable, is substituted ; and during the season, asparagus tops and three or four small silver onions are added,

FEBRUARY 2nd

FRENCH METHOD OF DRESSING WHITING

French cooks do not skin this fish, but slit them down from head to tail, rub them inside and out well, with flour, and fry them in a pan full of boiling lard.

FEBRUARY 3rd

LEMON SYRUP

Boil two pounds of loaf-sugar in one pound of water.

When you have clarified your syrup, add an equal quantity of fresh lemon juice; mix both together, and let it simmer for ten minutes.

FEBRUARY 4th

A BREAKFAST RELISH

The flesh of a cold roast fowl, and an equal quantity of tongue, chopped into minute particles, and then beat in a mortar, with a tea-spoonful of salt, half a one of Cayenne, enough powdered mace to cover a six pence, and the same quantity of grated nutmeg, will make an acceptable breakfast dish.

When well mixed in the mortar, place it in a flat dish, or oval gallipot, and pour lard over the top to preserve it.

FEBRUARY 5th

STEWED KIDNEYS

Carefully remove the skin and vessels from the kidneys, and cut the meat into small portions; put it into a stewpan with a bunch of mixed sweet herbs, and an onion tied up in a muslin bag. As soon as the meat is well browned, cover it with boiling water, and let it simmer for three hours.

Just before serving, take away the bag, and sprinkle a table-spoonful of mixed sweet herbs, in powder, over the meat.

FEBRUARY 6th

ORANGE SALAD

This somewhat inappropriately named dish is made by cutting oranges into quarters, removing the rind with a fruit-knife, and adding equal quantities of brandy and Madeira, in proportion to the quantity of fruit thus dressed, strewing a liberal allowance of fine powdered sugar over the dish.

FEBRUARY 7th

A PLAIN CAKE

Rub together half a pound of butter and a pound and a half of flour ; then add half a pound of loaf sugar, a table-spoonful of carbonate of soda, half a pound of caraway seeds; mix all together in a pint of new milk. Bake directly. An hour and a half in the oven will be found sufficient.

FEBRUARY 8th

ROAST FOWL

Three or four slices of fat bacon, not too thick, may be attached by skewers to your fowl for roasting ; it answers all the purpose of larding, and saves the time and trouble required for that operation.

The frizzled bacon makes an appropriate garnish for the dish.

FEBRUARY 9th

SOUP LORRAINE

Beat up a pound of blanched almonds in a mortar, with a small quantity of water ; add to this the yolks of four eggs boiled hard, and the white meat of a cold roast fowl.

Pound these ingredients well together, seasoning with salt, mace , and nutmeg , to your taste. Let the above be boiled over a slow fire in three quarts of strong veal broth, perfectly free from fat.

This soup is fit for table when it has become the thickness of cream .

FEBRUARY 10th

BAKED COD'S HEAD

To eat cod's head in perfection, you should place it in an earthen shallow pan, and stick on, by means of small wooden skewers, half a pound of fresh butter, made into little pats. The time required for cooking will depend upon the size of the fish, and also if to the head there should be appended shoulders.

All the mucilaginous portions of the skull are rendered more palatable by this method of dressing.

Serve the fish upon a proper dish ; have melted butter, or oyster sauce, as accompaniment; and if with a good mealy potato you do not lay the foundation of an excellent dinner, you must indeed be very hard to please.

FEBRUARY 11th

POTATO CHEESE

Twelve pounds of potatoes, if properly boiled, (and you may learn how to do so by consulting the Index,) will insure you nine pounds of floury ones.

When these are cold, rub them up with three pounds of curd, and put it into a vat or vats, according to the size desired.

This cheese, after a little keeping, will be found to possess a peculiarly mild and agreeable flavour.

FEBRUARY 12th

CHESHIRE PORK PIE

Divide a loin of pork into chops, and cut away the skin and the greatest part of the fat; season the meat with salt, Cayenne, and a littlenutmeg.

Peel and core a dozen pippins, filling up the centres with fine Lisbon sugar.

Line your dish with a good crust paste, then put in a layer of pork, then a layer of pippins, and so on till you have filled your dish ; pour in a pint of sherry, and cover down with paste for top crust.

Two hours' baking will not be too much to insure the meat being perfectly done.

FEBRUARY 13th

A CHEAP AND LIGHT PUDDING

Three ounces of flour, an equal weight of butter and loaf-sugar, the rind of a lemon chopped very fine ; beat these up with two eggs for ten minutes.

This should be made just before it is required.

FEBRUARY 14th

CALF'S HEAD BONED

From half a calf's head,with the skin on,take out the bones, egg the inside of the head well,put in the tongue, and sew the top and bottom together.

Put this into a stew -pan, with the bones, a pound of gravy beef cut into bits, a bunch of parsley, a handful of sweet herbs, a couple of onions chopped fine, and a tea spoonful of salt, and half that quantity of Cayenne. Fill the stewpan three parts with fair water, and stew the contents for three hours.

When required for table, take out the head, glaze it with egg, pour a little of the liquor through a sieve into the dish, a n d rely on it you will have an extremely savoury one.

FEBRUARY 15th

PAIN A LA DUCHESSE, OR SPANISH PUFFS

Boil in a quarter of a pint of milk half the rind of a a lemon, a small stick of cinnamon, and a bit of butter the size of a nut. Strain it, and set it on the fire in a stewpan. When it boils, stir in two spoonfuls of flour, and half a glass of brandy.

Take it off and rub it well together. When quite cold add four eggs, one at a time, rubbing well all the while. Divide the mixture into tea-spoonfuls on a plate, let it stand to grow firm , then fry in plenty of boiling lard.

FEBRUARY 16th

RISSOLES

A very pretty garnish for fish, flesh, or fowl, may be made by chopping the cold fragments of either, as the case may require, with some lemon-peel and salt; then stir into veal stock thickened with flour in the stewpan.

When cold, make the mixture into balls, and roll them in egg and bread -crumbs. Let these balls be fried, and put round the dish.

FEBRUARY 17th

HOT LOBSTER

This especial delicacy is to be prepared after the following manner :

Separate the tail of the fish from the body, tear away the shell to which the lower claws are attached, abstract the interior, taking great care not to disturb the stomach, politely denominated “t h e l a d y . "

Split the tail in half, and remove the intestinal canal, a dark purple cord-like object, found in the centre of the flesh ; shred up the meat of the tail and claws ; mix all well together, squeeze the juice of two lemons over it, half a tea-spoonful of Cayenne, a tea-spoonful of salt, and three ounces of fresh butter. Put these into a saucepan ; let it be well stirred for a quarter of an hour, and serve it in a deep dish.

A good sized lobster thus cooked is enough for four persons at supper. A liqueur glass of Cognac after it will be found desirable.

FEBRUARY 18th

HARE SOUP

To insure a good tureen of this delicious soup, two hares are positively required. With this proviso it can be thus obtained :

Choose the youngest and tenderest of the two for the bouilli; a venerable tough old Jack makes a capital consommé. Let the aforesaid John be properly paunched, and cut into pieces, the head split in half.

Put these into a saucepan three-fourths full of water ; add to the meat a Spanish onion chopped fine, a couple of anchovies, four cloves, a blade of mace, a tea-spoonful of salt, and half that quantity of Cayenne. Set the saucepan on a slow fire,and let it simmer for at least four hours.

Meantime roast the other hare in the usual manner, until it is about half done, then cut it into joints, and the meat off the thighs or haunches, in large pieces ; put the head, spare bones, and stuffing of hare the second, into the saucepan containing hare the first,and let all simmer for another hour ; you may then strain off the liquor.

When the soup is required, put in the roast meat, with a tumbler of port wine , and warm it on a quick fire for about ten minutes.

FEBRUARY 19th

APPLE DUMPLINGS,

Select the large russet -coat fruit, pare and cut them in half, take out the cores, and fill the cavities with quince marmalade, and a couple of cloves to each.

Surround the apples with paste equally distributed; tie up in cloths; boil for fifty minutes, or an hour, if your dumplings are large. Have melted butter and powdered sugar ready to serve with them .

FEBRUARY 20th

HAM EXTRACT

Cut away, from an undressed ham, all the skin and fat, then take the meat from the bone ; put the latter into a large saucepan, having plenty of water ; and add a couple of large carrots, and three onions, cut into slices, a handful of sweet basil and parsley, two or three cloves, and a table-spoonful of mushroom powder ; let this stand over the stove for an hour, then take out the bone, and put in the meat.

Set the saucepan, well covered, down on a slow fire, for a couple of hours : stir the ingredients well together ; taste the flavour, and judge of the thickness. It must stew till the liquor, when cold, is in a good stiff jelly, previously having been run through a sieve, to clear it from the vegetables and meat.

A table-spoonful of this extract is quite sufficient to flavour a tureenful of winter pea or carrot soup, and a tea-spoonful in melted butter makes an admirable sauce for a roast fowl.

FEBRUARY 21st

BROCOLI TO BOIL

Pare off the side leaves and the outside of the stalk, which must be cut close to the bottom . See that the water is boiling, throw in a table-spoonful of salt, and let the heads boil for a quarter of an hour.

When the stalks are tender, the vegetables are done, and they should be served without delay, on a slice of toast, with a boat full of melted butter.

FEBRUARY 22nd

OYSTER PATTIES

Should you desire a dish of these savoury little pies, either for lunch, supper, or to make out the bill of fare

for your dinner, I recommend that you procure from a pastrycook as many empty puff patties as required.

Beard and cut the oysters into four, stew them for a few minutes in their own liquor, mixed with cream, seasoned with a very small quantity of Cayenne, salt, powdered mace, and lemon juice; when the fish is ready, remove with a spoon the top of the patty, fill with your stew, then rub the edges of the divided paste with white of egg ; put on the tops,and place the pat ties on a slow oven for ten minutes before they are re quired.

FEBRUARY 23rd

PRESERVED PINE-APPLE

Cut off the rind, and divide the pine into tolerably thick slices ; boil the rind in half a pint of water, with a pound of loaf sugar, in powder, and the juice of a lemon for twenty minutes.

Strain this liquor and boil the slices in it for a quarter of an hour ; next day pour off the syrup ;boil it, taking care to remove the scum as it rises, and pour the liquor quite hot over the fruit ; tiedown the jar with bladder, having brandied paper over the preserve.

FEBRUARY 24th

SIRLOIN OF BEEF

This glorious dish, which well-merited the honour of knighthood, conferred on it by some discriminating monarch , will require as many quarters of an hour before the fire, as it weighs pounds ; it should be covered with clean paper, (that on which printer's ink has been used should be studiously avoided) ; well basted, and sent to table with newly made mustard, soluble horse radish, some mealy potatoes, and now and then, by way of variety, a well-made Yorkshire pudding.

A reference to the index will tell you how to concoct the last named.

FEBRUARY 25th

NORTH WILTSHIRE CHEESE

If you desire to eat this excellent cheese in perfection, cut off the top rind quite flat, and then take out a small cone from the centre, fill the space with Bell's Edinburgh, or any other strong sweetale; as soon as the malt liquor is absorbed, repeat the process, taking care that the top is carefully adjusted after it, the cheese enveloped in sheet lead, and kept ina damp place.

A fortnight or three weeks will be time enough to ripen the cheese thus treated.

FEBRUARY 26th

CABINET PUDDING

Add a quarter of a pound of grated bread to the same quantity of cut and stoned raisins. Boil a small quantity of lemon peel, cinnamon, and sugar, in half a pint of milk, strain it off, and add four eggs well beaten up, then pour in a glass of Madeira and another of brandy.

Butter a mould capable of holding a pint and three quarters, put in the ingredients, place a piece of writing-paper at the bottom of the mould, and steam it for an hour.

FEBRUARY 27th

RED CABBAGE AND CELERY SALAD

An excellent winter salad may be prepared with the above-named vegetables.

Tear away the outside leaves of a red cabbage, and cut thin slices from it, till you have half filled your salad bowl ; pour vinegar over the cabbage, and let it stand for half an hour.

Five minutes before you require to serve, shred celery into a plate ; into another pour off the vinegar from the bowl, and mix it with oil, salt, and Cayenne; return the mixture to the bowl, put in the celery, stir all well together, and you will find this a very piquant relish at a season when other salads are scarce.

FEBRUARY 28th

MINCED VEAL

To have this a white dish, let the cold veal be cut into slices, pare off the brown edges and fat, and then chop the meat into square pieces, flour these well, and put them into a saucepan, with a teacupful of cream, the juice of a lemon, a little peel chopped very fine, a very small quantity of salt, mace , and white pepper ; keep shaking it over the fire, but do not let it boil for more than a minute, or you will render the meat hard.

March 1st

ROAST TONGUE

A fresh ox-tongue, stuck with cloves, roasted, and sent to table with port-wine sauce, and currant jelly, is a pleasant variety to the routine of ordinary dishes.

March 2nd

COLLEGE PUDDING

Break five eggs into a basin, and whisk the yolks and whites well together ; add, by degrees,a couple of ounces of flour, three of pounded white sugar, as much powdered ginger as will cover a shilling, an equal quantity of grated nutmeg, and a table-spoonful of cream, or good milk.

When you have mixed all these completely together, put in six ounces of well-washed currants, four of finely chopped suet, an ounce of candied orange peel cut very fine, and a wine-glass of brandy. Fill as many pattepans as your mixture will allow ,and bake for twenty minutes.

March 3rd

FRIED SOLES

Soles, for frying, should be divested of both the upper and under skin, rubbed over with the white of egg well beaten up and laid on the fish with a flat brush ; next strew the soles with bread crumbs, reduced to a very fine powder, and be sure that the lard in the pan is boiling before you put them in.

Paying proper attention to these simple directions, the fish will be served to table of a beautiful auburn tint.

Garnish with slices of lemon.

March 4th

IRISH METHOD OF DRESSING MARROW

It is the custom in many parts of Ireland, particularly in the victualling districts, instead of sending up

marrow in the bone, as is commonly the practice in this country, to extract it undressed ; and having rolled it in as much fine flour as will stick together, to boil it just before required, taking great care to remove the thick scum which the flour and minute bones will send to the surface.

The marrow becomes perfectly transparent, and is served in a tureen, floating in a portion of the water in which it has been boiled.

Slices of toasted bread are placed leaning against the vessel, the heat keeping them warm and fitter for the spreading of the delicate preparation within.

March 5th

GUINEA FOWL

Slices of fat ham should be skewered over this bird whilst roasting, and it should also be plentifully basted, the meat being peculiarly dry. A guinea fowl and pheasant are advantageously dressed together when the latter is in full season ,

March 6th

SWEET-BREAD PIE

Boil over a slow fire, in four quarts of water, half a neck of veal, and two pounds of gravy beef, with halfa tea-spoonful of grated nutmeg, equal quantities of mace in powder, and Cayenne, and a tea-spoonful of s alt; let this simmer till the liquor is reduced to about half a pint, strain this off.

Have a good puff paste ready placed round the dish you intend to use, and put therein half a dozen sweet-breads stuffed with green truffles, a dozen of oysters with their liquor, taking care that the fish and meat are properly distributed, then fill the dish with the gravy before made, as above ; put on the top crust and bake in a quick oven, for an hour and a quarter.

This pie should be eaten hot, it will be found especially delicious.

March 7th

To BOIL POTATOES

Simple as the process may appear, few cooks understand the boiling of potatoes. The method is easy enough if proper attention be paid.

Put the required number, well washed, but not peeled, into a saucepan, and cover them with water about an inch above those at the top. Let them boil on a fire not too fierce, so that the process be a slow one.

Take off the saucepan and let it stand on the edge of the hob till a fork easily penetrates the vegetable; you may now drain off the water, and let the steam evaporate ; when you perceive that the vapour has ceased to rise, put a clean cloth over the top of the saucepan, and let it stand in a warm corner till the potatoes are required. Five-and-twenty minutes are quite sufficient time for their dressing.

March 8th

ENGLISH RUM SHRUB

To three gallons of best Jamaica rum add a quart of orange juice, a pint of lemon juice, with the peels of the latter fruit cut very thin, and six pounds of powdered white sugar.

Let these be covered close, and remain so all night; next day boil three pints of fresh milk, and let it get cold, then pour it on the spirit and juice, mix them well, and let it stand for an hour.

Filter it through a flannel bag, lined with blotting paper, into bottles ; cork down as soon as each is filled.

March 9th

LOBSTER SOUP

Make a consommé as directed for oyster soup, add to this the interior, coral, and pea of the lobster ; cut the meat of the claws and tail into small bits, about the size of dice ; strain the liquor, put in the meat, and serve quitehot. Two lobsters are necessary for an ordinary-sized tureen.

March 10th

To RIPEN New STILTON CHEESE

Take off the top, and scoop out of the centre a piece about two inches in depth ; put into this cavity a piece of ripe cheese having abundance of the blue mould upon it; replace the top, and cover up the cheese.

In three weeks' time you will find the advantage of your inoculation, as the cheese will be completely impregnated with a ripe flavour.

March 11th

PORK KABOB

This is a simple but savoury preparation, and made as follows :

Select four pork chops, not too fat ; peel a couple of dumpling apples, and cut a couple of slices from the centre of each, avoiding the core ; cut a Spanish onion into slices, select four of the largest; attach with small skewers to each chop a slice of apple and a slice of onion ; fasten them together with twine, and roast before a bright fire for half an hour, basting well.

Serve them quite hot, with some fresh mustard, Cayenne, salt, and mashed potatoes.

March 12th

STEWED BREAST OF VEAL

Put the joint into a stewpan two -thirds filled with water, next half a handful of dried marjoram and lemon thyme, and an equal quantity of fresh parsley, four small onions, a tea-spoonful of powdered mace, four cloves, the peel of a lemon chopped fine, a table-spoonful of mushroom catchup, and a tea-spoonful of salt; let it stew, very gently, for an hour and three quarters; take out the meat, run the gravy through a sieve ; and if it is not as thick as you desire, you may add butter and flour till you have made it of the proper consistency ; pour as much as necessary over the joint,

and keep the rest by.as a good foundation for any made dish of white meat.

March 13th

CAPER SAUCE

Chopping capers fine with a steel knife, and then boiling them in melted butter, is the certain method

for destroying the true flavour of this delicate importation from the Mediterranean. Capers should invariably be sent to table whole.

The French strew them over turbot, and introduce them into salads; but never dream of suffering them to come in contact with the knife.

March 14th

Salt-FISH

Should be soaked for four hours in water into which a gill of strong vinegar has been poured, and then in fresh water for six hours.

Boil according to the size and weight of your fish , and serve with egg-sauce , parsnips, potatoes, and fresh mustard .

March 15th

TWICE LAID

For this excellent dish we are indebted to some clever “sea cook”, - a Ude afloat; and if, under the disadvantages of being prepared at a ship's galley, it can be rendered palateable, how much better is it on shore ! where we have a command of fresh butter, eggs,and vegetables ; things rarely enjoyed by “ those who go down to the sea in ships,”

My shore-going method of preparing this seafaring seafare is this :- If during Lent more salt-fish has been dressed than eaten, I have the meat carefully taken off the bones; yesterday's parsnips, potatoes, and egg-sauce chopped up with the fish ; the whole put into a pie-dish and placed in the oven for half an hour.

It should be looked to occasionally during the baking, and if it appears too dry, put a little fresh butter over the top. Cold codfish, well sprinkled with salt, with the addition of oyster sauce, and some mashed potatoes, may be treated in the same manner as above, and makes a very good dish; but for the marine gourmand, salt-fish against the field.

March 16th

BEEF-STEAK

The cook who would profane her calling by frying beef-steaks, should be condemned to eat nothing else for life. A fine tender rump-steak, if properly dressed, is a dish worthy of an Englishman.

A bright clear fire is essential; let the gridiron be carefully cleaned, rub the bars with suet, and put it over the fire until quite hot ; the steak should be more than half an inch thick ; whilst dressing, turn it backwards and forwards till done,rub it over with butter, and pour over it, quite hot, two tea-spoonfuls of shallot vinegar, in which some soluble horse-radish has been dissolved.

In the season you may also serve it with oyster sauce .

March 17th

ALMOND CUSTARDS

Beat up in a mortar, a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds, previously blanched ; when these are rendered

very fine, stir in two tea-spoonfuls of rose-water, the yolks of four eggs well whisked, and a pint of cream ; then sweeten with powdered sugar to your taste. Put this over a slow fire, and keep it constantly stirred till it has reached its proper thickness, it will then be fit to be put into cups.

March 18th

SHALOT AND GARLIC VINEGAR

These essentials to a well-regulated table are easily made, by putting small quantities into jars in size proportionate to your expected consumption, and pouring boiling vinegar into them ; they should stand on the hob a week or ten days, carefully corked,and they will then be fitfor immediate use.

Shalot and garlic both require to be peeled and broken into fragments. One root of the latter will serve for a twelvemonth, and the jar containing its vinegar should be kept in a detached cupboard, as its perfume is somewhat of the strongest.

March 19th

ORANGE JELLY

Dissolve three ounces of powdered white sugar in a pint of spring water ; add the rind of an orange peeled very thin, a pinch of saffron, a stick of cinnamon broken up , and an ounce and a half of isinglass ; boil all these together. W h e n you see the isinglass is quite dissolved, pour in a pint of juice made from three Seville, and the rest from sweet oranges ; stir the materials well together,and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl ; as the jelly congeals fill your mould ,and set it in a cold place to grow firm . Before turning it out for use, be sure to dip the shape into warm water.

March 20th

LOIN OF MUTTON

This joint, from the quantity of bone and flap, is by no means an economical dish ; but I notice it as one very constantly seen at table. One thing I strongly recommend, and that is, let the cook be cautioned against spoiling the joint by running the spit through it. A jack and hook will best serve the purpose, and care should be taken that the ends are well browned before sending the meat to table.

March 21st

SWEET OMELETTE

In half a pint of new milk mix well a table-spoonful of fine flour, then whisk together the yolks and whites of four eggs, add these to the thickened milk. Over a clear fire see that the frying-pan be quite hot, and put into it as much fresh butter as will serve for frying the omelette; about a quarter of a pound will be enough.

Pour into the boiling butter half the milk and eggs, and when these are a little set, put four table spoonfuls of red currant jelly in the centre of the batter ; cover the jelly with the remainder ; and as soon as the upper portion is fixed, you should send the dish to table.

A very few minutes are required for this acceptable and elegant preparation,

March 22nd

EEL PIE

Four eels, of half a pound weight each, are enough for a good-sized pie.

Let these be skinned and the fins cut away, and then washed in fair water ; divide the fish into lengths of about two inches ; rub these over with equal parts of Cayenne pepper and salt.

When you haveplaced the eels in a pie-dish, pour in as much veal stock as will fill it to the brim. Cover with a light paste, and bake for an hour. Before sending it to table, make a small aperture in the top crust, and pour in a teacupful of veal stock, in which a glass of sherry and the juice of a lemon have been mixed,

March 23rd

FRIED PARSNIPS

Parsnips parboiled whole, then cut into pieces and fried in butter, are much more delicious, and easier of digestion, than when sent to table plain boiled.

March 24th

BAKED CODLING PUDDING

Roast halfa dozen large codling apples, and take out the pulp. Beat up the yolks of eight and thewhites of four eggs; add half a pound of powdered white sugar, the same weight of clarified butter, the juice of a lemon, its rind cut very small, an ounce of candied orange and lemon peel cut into small portions, a wine glass of brandy, and the crumb of a French roll finely grated.

Mix up these ingredients well together. Line a pie-dish with paste, put in the materials, and send to the oven.

Before serving, cover the top with powdered sugar, and garnish the sides with candied fruit.

March 25th

WHITE WINE WHEY

Pour into a pint of boiling milk a gill of white wine and a small quantity of lemon peel; let it continue on the fire till the curd hardens; strain through a muslin sieve, sweeten with white sugar to your taste, and grate a little nutmeg on the top of the whey.

This should be taken just before stepping into bed, and will be found an excellent remedy in cases of low fever, or heat of skin.

March 26th

IRISH METHOD OF DRESSING EARLY LAMB

Parboil a neck or breast of house-lamb; have ready bread crumbs, sweet herbs, pepper, and salt; beat these up with as many eggs, both white and yolk, as will make the mixture sufficiently thick to adhere to the meat.

Score the joint all over deeply, and rub the seasoning well into the scores ; place it on a dish in a Dutch oven, before a good bright fire, turning it frequently for above half an hour,—the time will depend on the size of your joint.

You will find this a peculiarly delicate dish, the egg and bread crumbs absorbing the fat which is so blended with the lean of young lamb .

March 27th

ENGLISH CHATNA

An admirable imitation of the true Bengal sauce may be made by finely scraping half the kernel of a cocoa-nut, adding the juice of three lemons, a tea-spoonful of Cayenne pepper, and three drops of garlic vinegar.

This should be placed in a small jar, andset on the hob for a couple of days, to insure a proper amalgamation of the ingredients.

March 28th

OYSTERS FRIED IN BATTER

Select goo-sized oysters for this purpose. Beat up the yolks of three or four eggs; add to these a table-spoonful of flour, a spoonful of salt, enough pounded mace to cover a sixpence, and the fourth of a tea-spoonful of Cayenne.

Cover the oysters well in this batter, and fry in boiling lard till they are of a light brown ; then grate toasted or brown bread over the fish, and place them before the fire in a Dutch oven or bonnet for two or three minutes before serving.

March 29th

RICE CAKE

Beat up nine eggs, then mix six ounces of groundrice,s ix ounces of flour, three quarters of a pound of white sugar in powder, and half an ounce of caraway seed. These ingredients must be very well mixed, then placed in a tin, and baked in a quick oven.

March 30th

MINCED COLLOPS

In North Britain this is an extremely popular preparation, and is very unlike the savoury dish known in England under the title of “Scotch collops," as, par exemple:—The coarse beef usually used for making gravy is chopped fine, and put into a saucepan, with a little water and some pepper and salt, stirred for about ten minutes over the fire, and then sent to table.

Homely as it appears, it is by no means a despicable dish for a bachelor, as it requires little time in cooking, or cost in its materials. There is no reasen why prime beef should not be thus treated.

March 31st

GREEN APRICOT PUDDING

A very delicious and peculiarly fine-flavoured pudding can be made by putting a pottle of green apricots into paste, in a good -sized basin, filling up with white sugar powdered , and water ; add the usual top crust and boil the ordinary time.

April 1st

FORE-QUARTER OF LAMB

Twelve minutes roasting should be allowed for every pound the joint weighs; it should be well basted with fresh butter, and a light sprinkling from the flour dredger

The usual method of carving it is to separate the shoulders from the ribs, squeeze a Seville orange over the newly cut meat, sprinkle it with Cayenne pepper and salt, and put two or three small pats of butter between the joints; these melt and amalgamate with the orange juice and the gravy ,and form a piquant sauce for the dish, whilst mint sauce is served separately.

April 2nd

SEA-KALE

Thirty years ago this delicate and delicious vegetable was very little known in England; it had long been a favourite dish in Ireland, the soil of that island being peculiarly suited for its cultivation. An abundant supply is now afforded; and at this time of the year, sufficient for a good-sized dish may be purchased in Covent-Garden Market for a shilling. Careshouldbe taken by the buyer to ascertain its perfect freshness, easily known by the crispness and bright pink colour of the upper leaves.

The roots having been pared, the kale should be washed, tied in a bundle, and put into boiling water, in which a couple of table-spoonfuls of salt has been thrown. Ten or twelve minutes boiling will be found sufficient.

Serve on a toast, and have a boat full of melted butter ready to send to table with it.

April 3rd

VERMICELLI SOUP

Break up the quantity of vermicelli you require - an ounce and a half, or a couple of ounces, will be found quite enough for a large tureen; soak it in boiling water till perfectly white and free from dust. A quarter of an hour before dishing up your first course, add thevermicelli to the soup. Rich beef gravy, in which vegetables have been stewed, and the liquor well strained, will be found most appropriate.

April 4th

SPANISH CUSTARDS

Peel a couple of Seville oranges thin, so as to avoid the white spongy portion that surrounds the fruit; boil the rind till it is quite tender; beat it up in a mortar into a pulp, then squeeze the juice of the oranges

upon it, through a sieve to avoid thepips; add a glass ofCognac brandy, half a pound of loaf-sugar in powder,and the yolks of eight eggs. Beat these well together till completely mixed, then by degrees pour into a quart of cream made boiling hot. Stir well till all the in gredients are nearly cold, then pour the mixture into appropriate cups, and set them in a vessel with cold water reaching within half an inch of their tops, the custards by this means will speedily become set, and fit for use.

April 5th

FISH STEW

Make a strong consommé of skate, then boil a pair of soles till nearly done, and cut off the fillets; put the bones and fins to the skate, add the juice of a lemon, a tea-spoonful of salt, half a salt-spoonful of mixed Cayenne and powdered mace ; let all simmer for half an hour over a slow fire, then strain off the liquor through a fine sieve, and warm up the fillets in it.

Serve with parsley and butter. This method is also applicable to haddock, hake, or any other dry firm fish, that require additional flavour.

April 6th

RIBS OF BEEF

The best method of dressing ribs of beef is to hang the joint till quite tender, cut away the bones,cover the fresh-cut meat with an egg well beaten up, and then sprinkle a mixture of bread crumbs finely powdered, and chopped sweet herbs ; roll the meat up as round as possible, securing it with skewers and twine. Remember that, in this form , the meat must have

more roasting than if dressed in the ordinary manner; an allowance of twenty minutes for each pound must be given to insure its being perfectly done, and throughout the roasting the joint should be kept at least a foot from the fire, that the interior may be properly cooked.

April 7th

POACHED EGGS

To prevent the unsightly admixture of the yolk with the white, so often observed in poached eggs, I recommend the following simple method:

Use a large sauce pan, nearly filled with boiling water; pour a couple of table-spoonfuls of hot water into a saucer ; break the egg carefully into the centre of the saucer, then gently lift it and place it on the surface of the water in the saucepan ; the instant you perceive the yolk set, take out the saucer, and remove the egg with a slice to the dish required.

Dress the number you wish for separately; as the time occupied is so short, there is little risk of the spinach, bacon, or whatever else you are about to use, becoming cold.

April 8th

RICE DUMPLINGS

Soak the quantity of rice required in lukewarm water till it is quite white; then parboil it, and drain off the water. Spread the rice upon a cloth, about an inch thick, and in a circle large enough to envelop a dumpling apple. The fruit must be peeled, cored, and filled with Lisbon sugar and a couple of cloves, and the rice carefully placed round it; as soon as this is done tie the cloth tightly at the top, boil for half an hour, and serve with melted butter or wine sauce.

This is a very delicate dish, and well adapted for an invalid.

April 9th

ORANGE MARMALADE

Take the pulp out of four dozen China and one dozen Seville oranges, mash this well together in a large pan, then abstract the pips. Cut half the peel of the China, and all of the Seville, in small stripes; put these into a stewpan with the juice, and let it stand by a slow fire till the peel is quite soft, which will be in about four hours ; then add four pounds of loaf sugar, and boil until the sugar is perfectly dissolved, stirring occasionally. Have gallipots ready, fill and cover with brandied paper, and tie down with bladder. Home-made marmalade ought not to cost more than eight pence a pot.

April 10th

TURNIP TOPS

This homely vegetable possesses some claim on our attention at this season of the year, and only requires care in its cooking to prove acceptable at table. Let them remain for a full hour before dressing in cold water; be sure to dress them in a capacious saucepan full of boiling water, into which three table-spoonfuls of salt has been thrown; give them twenty minutes on the fire, drain off the water through a colander; put the vegetables on a sieve, bottom upwards, and gently press them with a hot plate.

April 1lth,

EVE'S PUDDING

This delicacy, which some aver was originally concocted by our first mother, whilst others, with modest dissent, trace its title to a celebrated confectioner of Bath, may be made after the following directions.

Pare and chop half a dozen apples, take six ounces of finely grated bread crumbs, the same weight of picked and washed currants, six ounces of loaf sugar, a salt spoonful of salt, and a quarter of a nutmeg finely powdered, half a dozen eggs beat up, a table-spoonful of lemon peel cut very fine, and a tumbler of brandy.

Mix all these well together. Boil in a cloth for six hours, and pour melted butter over the pudding just before serving

April 12th

STEWED KNUCKLE OF VEAL

The lively author of “The Beggar's Opera” has handed down toposterity a poetical recipe for preparing this dish. We will endeavour to supply, in prose, more copious directions than those we owe to the elegant fabulist

Into a stewpan, capable of holding a couple of

quarts of water besides the joint, put the meat, having two or three incisions made in it, with half a table spoonful of salt, a blade of mace, and a pinch of Cayenne pepper, a head of celery chopped up, a small bunch of parsley, a few leaves of dried thyme, a couple of endives well washed and picked, and a table-spoonful of dried marigold leaves.

Clear away the scum as it rises, let it stew for three hours, take out the meat, run the liquor through a sieve, pour it over the joint, and serve with fresh parsley and butter, and some boiled gammon bacon, or knuckle of ham .

April 13th

BROILED SALMON

Cut the quantity required from the fish in slices of an inch and a half thick, wipe them perfectly dry with a cloth, and sprinkle a very small quantity of salt over theslices. Rub clean writing paper over with Florence oil, and fold up each slice of salmon separately; see that your fire be clear, the grid iron quite hot, and its bars some six inches from the fire; turn the fish every minutes, and twenty will be sufficient for the dressing. Take off the paper envelopes before sending to table; serve with shrimp or anchovy sauce, Indian soy, Cayenne, and a fresh lemon .

April 14th

COMMON CAKE

Into three pounds of baker's dough mix well with the hands, a pound and a half of currants, three quarters of a pound of butter, a pound of Lisbon sugar, an ounce of caraways, a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger, and half an ounce of candied citron.

April 15th

SCOTCH BARLEY BROTH

This Caledonian concoction is at once frugal and nutritive; and a man need not be born north of Tweed to enjoy it, if properly made. Procure a shin of beef of about eight pounds weight, and have it divided into four pieces, your butcher, if he be a civil person,will do this for you ; take half a pound of Scotch barley, and wash it free from husk or dust, in lukewarm water; select a large saucepan, put in your beef and barley, and cover them with cold water; as soon as the water boils take away the scum; and then add a couple of heads of celery, two small turnips, and two onions, all chopped up ; you may now season the liquor with salt,to your taste; let it stew over a slow fire for three hours; take out the meat, place it on a dish, and then pour the broth into an earthen vessel, where it should remain all night, to enable you to take away the fat.

Next day warm up the meat and soup, and serve it to table, either with or without the bouilli and vegetables, as your fancy dictates. If you choose to have it clear, remember how many poor souls will be glad of the other portion.

April 16th

PIGEON PIE

Place at the bottom of a dish a rump-steak well flattened and cut to the size, sprinkle a salt-spoonful of mixed salt and Cayenne over the steak. Stuff half a dozen pigeons with bread crumbs well mixed with sweet herbs and egg; rub the birds over with fresh butter, and place them on the meat, filling up the spaces with the yolks of eggs boiled hard; when this is done pour in veal stock till you nearly reach the brim; put on the top crust, and bake in a slow oven for a n hour and a half. Before sending to table make a small hole in the crust, and pour in some richly seasoned gravy, boiling hot.

It is usual to distinguish a pigeon pie, by placing a pair of claws in the centre of the top paste. In imitation of their betters, the Irish cotters, when they make a pie of herrings and potatoes, stick the head of one of the fish upon the top; and as it is generally placed quite perpendicular, poor Pat dignifies his fare by the high sounding title of “a Star-gazing Pie !”

April 17th

CREAMS

Dissolve an ounce of isinglass, beat up three quarters o fa pound of loaf sugar, in a pint of rich (or as it is sometimes called in London “Double ") cream, mix all together, throw in a glass of noyeau, and the juice of a lemon and a half; beat it up with a whisk, and put it into a mould.

April 18th

CITRON SPICE-CAKE

Put half a pound of treacle into a large basin, and add, by slow degrees, three quarters of a pound of flour very finely sifted; mix well with these two ounces of candied citron chopped small, a quarter of a pound of best Lisbon sugar, a quarter of a pound of melted butter, the like weight of ground allspice and ground ginger; having stirred the ingredients till all are properly mixed, let them remain in the basin all night. Next morning, strew a little flour over the paste board, and roll out the ingredients till you have them quite flat and nearly the thickness of half an inch. Divide into the usual size, and place them on an iron plate for baking ; before you put them into the oven, smear each over with the yolk of an egg well beat up, and laid on with a brush : from twelve to twenty minutes will be time enough, according to the temperature of the oven ; it shouldnot be too fierce. If you wish to give the cakes a higher glaze, apply the egg as before whilst the confection is quite hot.

April 19th

WHISKY FOR LIQUEURS

In the manufactory of imitation noyeau, ratafia, curagoa, and other liqueurs, I recommend good whisky as the foundation. It matters not whether it be Scotch or Irish, so long as you obtain a pure malt spirit.

April 20th

ENGLISH CURACOA

Cut away the peel of Seville oranges very thin, until you have obtained half a dozen ounces of it; put these into a quart bottle, and then pour in a pint of genuine whisky; if this is not to be had, use strong rectified spirit, to be procured at any respectable distillery.

Cork the bottle down tightly, and let the rind remain infused for ten or twelve days, giving the bottle a good shake as often as you have an opportunity for so doing ; at the end of this period take out the orange peel, and fil the bottle with clarified syrup, shake it well with the spirit, and let it remain for three days.

Pour a tea-cupful of the liqueur into a mortar, and beat up a drachm of powdered alum and an equal quantity of carbonate of potash; pour this, when well mixed, into the bottle, shake it well, and in a week you will find the curacoa perfectly transparent, and equal in flavour to that imported from Malines, or any other place in the universe.

April 21st

BEEF TEA

Chop up half a pound of gravy beef quite free from fat, and put it into a pint and a half of water, cold; let it simmer over a slow fire for half an hour, skim it constantly, season it with salt to your taste, put in four cloves, and keep it over the fire for another half hour; strain through a muslin sieve, and serve with toasted bread.

April 22nd

BROILED MACKEREL

There is a senseless jingle extant, that

“A leg of mutton boil'd,

Is a leg of mutton spoil’d."

However inapplicable the rhyme may be to mutton, it is strictly true as regards mackerel. Nothing can be more woolly, flat, and tasteless than boiled mackerel; as a proof of the absence of all flavour, that most hor rid abomination fennel sauce is served with it. Now a good-sized fish, with a hard roe, split, broiled, rubbed over with fresh butter, and eaten with Reading sauce,

Cayenne, and salt, is by no means unsavoury ; and I feel certain when once this mode of dressing has been tried,the usual method will be entirely superseded.

April 23rd

SPINACH

Few vegetables require more care in their preparation for table than spinach. It should be quite fresh, in the first place, and taken leaf by leaf from the stalks; by this means a peculiar vegetable fibre, resembling hair, and constantly found on spinach beds, will be avoided. Wash the leaves in two or three large panfuls of water, drain through a colander, and then dry them well in a coarse cloth.

Select a good-sized saucepan, put three table-spoonfuls of salt into the water ; as soon as it boils clear away the scum, and then throw in the spinach which, being light, will float on the surface, and will require to be forced into the water with a large fork or spoon. Ten minutes' boiling is enough. Drain off the water, place the spinach between two wooden trenchers, and squeeze out as much water as possible ; then chop it quite fine, after which give it another pressure with the trenchers.

As it is essential to serve it to table quite hot, put it into a stewpan with the juice of a lemon squeezed over it, and half a tea-spoonful of salt. Let it be spread equally on a dish for serving, and divided into portions.

April 24th

BOILED LEG OF LAMB

Take care to immerse the joint in cold water, and let it boil very slowly. A leg of six pounds will require two hours and twenty minutes before it is properly done. Cauliflower or broccoli are both applicable vegetables ; but you cannot do better than send this tender and delicious meat to table, reposing on a verdant bed of spinach dressed as above.

April 25th

RHUBARB PIE

The homelyand some what unpoetical appellation of this pie has been refined into “Spring tart.”

“A rose by any other name will smell as sweet;"

but really the association of ideas connected with pulvis rhei is anything but appetitizing. Spring tart be it then; and let me recommend, as a vast improvement to its flavour, that a table-spoonful of green lime juice be poured over the stalks before the crust is put on.

In default of this, squeeze the juice of a lemon, and that of a Seville orange.

April 26th

LAVER

To a pound of laver add a bit of fresh butter the size of a walnut, the juice of half a lemon , a salt-spoonful of Cayenne pepper, and a small dessert-spoonful of glaze. Stew for half an hour, and take care to serve very hot.

The dish should be placed over a spirit lamp on table. In Ireland dilosk, or laver, is constantly served during the season, with roast beef or roast mutton. The taste for it must be acquired, as its appearance is by no

means in its favour. I never heard a more apt quotation than one used b y a friend of mine, who , lifting the

cover off a dish of laver, exclaimed in the language of Cornet Ollapod, when about to lead Miss Lucretia to the stile,

" Curse 'em! the cows have been here."

April 27th

FILLET OF VEAL

Veal requires a good bright fire for roasting, and twenty minutes for every pound should be allowed. Before cooking, let the flap be stuffed with a force-

meat, composed of two ounces of finely powdered bread crumbs, half a lemon-peel chopped fine, a salt-spoonful of salt, and the same quantity of mixed mace in powder, and Cayenne pepper, the leaves of half a dozen stalks of parsley, and a tea-spoonful of dried sweet herbs; break up an egg, and mix these ingredients well together.

Baste your joint with fresh butter, and send it to table well browned. A nice bit of streaky bacon, or gammon, should invariably be served with fillet of veal, unless ham be provided.

April 28th

CUSTARD PUDDING

If you cannot easily procure cream, boil a pint and a half of new milk, and when quite hot, thicken it by stirring in finely sifted flour; these must be well mixed , then add two table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, a quarter of a nutmeg grated, a tea-spoonful of lemon peel chopped very small, a gill of Cognac brandy or Madeira, and five eggs well beat up.

When all these materials have been properly stirred together, place some light puff paste round the sides of a dish, pour in the custard, and give it half an hour's baking, in a moderately quick oven.

April 29th

IRISH STEW

Cut the fat off half a dozen mutton chops, peel and divide into quarters two pounds of potatoes, peel and cut into thin slices three good-sized onions; mix two thirds of a tea-spoonful of salt with one-third of Cayenne, rub the chops over with this on both sides.

Place part of the potatoes at the bottom of a stewpan, and lay the chops on the vegetables, covering with the remainder. Pour in water till both are covered; you may use veal stock or mutton broth, if you have it made, instead of water.

Set your stewpan on a slow fire for two hours, now and then lifting the cover and pouring off the water attached to it.

April 30th

SOUP A L'AURORE

This favourite Parisian soup can only be made when carrots are young. They must be scraped, cut into thin slices, and stewed in beef or veal gravy, then forced through a sieve, seasoned with salt and pepper to the taste, and warmed again for use.

There is something very ludicrous and very French, in giving such a high-flown name to this simple preparation. Doubtless some chef de cuisine, struck by the ardent colour of the soup, compared it with the clouds which precede the appearance of the sun ; and being a man of classical attainments, gave proof of his superiority by naming the dish as we have given it.

May 1st

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

These delicious miniature cabbages are strangely enough called in Brussels, “Choux de Milan.” They should be put into boiling water, in which a table spoonful of salt has been dissolved; twenty minutes on the fire will be sufficient.

Drain them well, and serve with melted butter,

May 2nd

ANCHOVY TOAST

Make as many slices of toast as required; let these be fried in fresh butter, and whilst quite hot, spread the fish upon them.

Before making your toast, wash two anchovies for each slice, bone them, and force the meat through a coarse sieve.

May 3rd

LAMB PIE

Cut the meat off in slices from a loin of lamb. Put the bones into a saucepan with a spoonful ofsalt, half that quantity of pepper, and a pinch or two of dried sweet herbs; cover these with cold water. An hour and a half will be sufficient to draw a well-seasoned gravy; strain this through a sieve.

Brown the meat by frying it lightly in fresh butter; line a pie-dish with light paste, place the lamb in the dish, then fill it with the gravy from the bones; squeeze half a lemon over it, put on the top crust, and bake in a slow oven for an hour.

May 4th

BROILED ALLICE

Should any of your friends residing on the “Severn's sedgy side” forward to you a basket of these fish, better known in London by the name of Shad, let me advise that you have them broiled, and eat them with caper sauce à la Française.

May 5th

GROUND RICE PUDDING

In a pint of new milk boil three ounces of ground rice, with half a stick of cinnamon, and the peel of half a lemon chopped fine; keep it well stirred whilst boiling, set the saucepan on the hob, and then beat up four eggs, and two table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar; mix these with the rice-milk; butter a pie-dish, pour the ingredients into it, taking out the spice, and grate nutmeg over the top.

Half an hour's baking will be enough.

May 6th

VEAL CUTLETS

Care should be taken that the meat be cut at least half an inch thick, and well flattened with the rolling pin; smear them over with egg, and then cover them with finely powdered bread crumbs. Fry them in fresh butter for a quarter of an hour, turning them till both sides are well browned. Send them to table with a fresh lemon, and some mushroom catchup.

May 7th

TO RIPEN BOTTLED PORTER OR ALE

This being a good season for bottling malt liquor for autumn or winter drinking, I recommend that a couple of raisins, or half a dozen grains of rice, be put into each bottle, which will mainly assist in generating the required effervesence.

May 8th

YORKSHIRE CAKES

Boil three pints of milk, and pour it into a large earthen vessel; stir in half a pint of yeast, and add finely sifted flour, by slow degrees, till you have a good stiff batter. Cover this over, and place it before the fire to rise.

Mix, in a separate pan, three quarters of a pound of butter, with as much flour as it will hold, and half a dozen eggs beat up; when the yeast has risen, add all together, divide into the required size for cakes, put them on tins, and bake very gently in a slow oven .

May 9th

LOBSTER FOR AN ENTREE

Chop the meat of a good-sized lobster fine, and add to it half a salt-spoonful of powdered mace, the same quantity of Cayenne, and a spoonful of salt; beat up three eggs, rub two ounces of butter into an ounce of bread crumbs, mix all well together, and boil, in a well buttered mould, for an hour.

Sprinkle the pea over it, and garnish with the small claws.

May 10th

NEW POTATOES IN CREAM

When potatoes first make their appearance, and are about the size of a large marble, a very dainty dish can be sent to table, by having a dozen or so of the young esculents fried in cream , until they are of a deep auburn colour.

May 11th

PRESERVED GINGER IMITATED

Procure some young carrots of a yellow colour, let them be well scraped, split in halves, and then cut into the size and shape of the cloves of West India preserved ginger. Parboil carefully, not to allow them to break, or lose their shapes, drain well from the water, and set them on the back of a sieve all night.

Next day weigh them, and put them into a stewpan with their own weight of syrup of ginger (to be purchased at Apothecaries ' Hall), and let it simmer very gently over a low fire for four hours.

Fill your preserve pots, taking care to distribute the vegetable and the liquor in fair proportions. Tie down with bladder, and let the jars stand on the hob for a couple of days.

This preserve improves by keeping, and will be found an excellent substitute for the real importation.

May 12th

GREEN GOOSE

Instead of the stuffing of sage and onions given to the more mature bird, bread crumbs mixed with pepper

And salt are used. Three quarters of an hour's roasting will be sufficient.

Send it to table with a boat of gravy, another of apple sauce, and some newly made mustard .

May 13th

IPSWICH PUDDING

Steep, in a pint and a half of cream, three ounces of fine white bread crumbs. Pound into a paste half a pint of blanched almonds in a small quantity of orange flower water. Beat up the whites of four, and the yolks of eight eggs, with a quarter of a pound of lump sugar in powder. Mix these together with a quarter of a pound of butter melted. Stir well over a slow fire till the mixture is tolerably thick. Place puff paste at the bottom and round the sides of your dish, pour in the ingredients, and bake for half an hour.

May 14th

ROAST BEEF-HEART

If your digestive organs be at all impaired, let me advise you not to partake of this dish; in rude health you may venture with impunity.

The heart must be stuffed with the same materials used for fillet of veal, well basted with fresh butter, and allowed twenty -five minutes to the pound. Make some beef gravy to serve with it, and melt a pot of red currant jelly in a gill of port wine, to be sent quite hot to table.

May 15th

HASHED HEART

Cut the meat into slices, not too thick. Put what remains of the stuffing, jelly, & c ., into sufficient beef gravy to cover the meat; warm this up quickly, and when it is quite hot, put in the slices; but if you suffer the sauce to boil you will render the meat too hard for mastication .

May 16th

CHEESE CAKES

Boil a quart of milk, pour it quite hot into a basin, and mix well with it a table-spoonful of runnet. In about an hour, break up the curd, drain off the whey, and spread the curd on the back of a sieve till it is quite free from liquid.

Dissolve a couple of ounces of powdered sugar in an ounce and a half of butter, then add the yolks of a couple of eggs, a glass of sherry or Madeira, and a quarter of a nutmeg grated ; have an ounce of currants well washed and picked ; let all these be now mixed with the curd.

Line your pattepans with light paste, pour the mixture into each, and bake in a slow oven for twenty -five minutes.

May 17th

COLLARED EELS

The march of humanity has taught modern cooks how to avoid putting these fish to unnecessary torture.

A three-pronged iron fork, inserted close to the back of the head, will penetrate the spinal marrow, and deprive them at once of life and motion ; this done, skin the fish, cut off the heads and tails, take out the bones, and press the flesh quite flat with a wooden trencher.

Put the bones, heads and tails, into a saucepan half filled with water, add a tea-spoonful of salt, enough Cayenne to cover a sixpence, half a dozen cloves, a tea-spoonful of powdered mace, and a bay leaf ; let this stew for an hour and a half.

Meantime take a dozen sage leaves and reduce them to powder, mix these with half a grated nutmeg , and a spoonful of salt ; rub the fish well over with this powder both inside and out, cut them into lengths of about three inches, place them close together, and tie them tightly up in a coarse open cloth, securing the top and bottom.

When the stew has been on long enough, take out the bones and put in the fish, let them simmer in the liquor till perfectly tender, then take them out, boil up the liquor again, strain it through a sieve, and pour it quite hot over the eels, placed in a deep dish, and divested of the cloth.

May 18th

NETTLE TOPS

The leaves of the common hedge nettle, which at this season will be found young and tender, well boiled, form a dish very nearly equal to spinach. They should be well pressed and rewarmed, with a lump of butter and the juice of a lemon.

May 19th

RIBS OF LAMB

“The nearer the bone the sweeter the meat,” is an old adage, and this joint is sufficient to prove the truth of the saying; it is, however, one of the most troublesome dishes for the carver, unless the cook will take especial care that the ribs be cracked in the centre, so as to let the joint lie quite flat, and also that it has been properly chopped at the union of the bones with the vertebræ .

May 20th

GINGER BEER

Pour four quarts of boiling water upon one pound of loaf sugar, one ounce of powdered ginger, and the rind of a lemon chopped fine, cover it over and let it stand for six hours ; then add an ounce of cream of tartar, the juice of a lemon, and a table spoonful of yeast; three hours after you can begin to bottle, tying the corks well down.

If kept in a warm place, it will be fit for use in twenty -four hours.

May 21st

RASPBERRY TOURTE

The difference between tarts and tourtes is, that the first are always covered with paste, whilst the latter are sent to table open, or with a slight network, or trellice, of paste over the fruit. Puff paste having been laid in a proper tin, pour in enough jam to fill the dish, place strings of paste across, let it bake for half an hour, but never serve it hot.

May 22nd

COD SOUNDS A LA TRIPE

Soak the sounds in lukewarm water till they are perfectly clean and white, then boil them in milk and water until quite tender. Have ready a small Spanish onion that has been boiled in two waters, cut the onion into half a dozen parts, then warm it up with the sounds in cream, seasoned with three -fourths of a spoonful of salt and a fourth of pepper, and a small quantity of nutmeg.

Serve with fresh mustard and a lemon.

May 23rd

BRISKET OF BEEF

A brisket of beef of eight pounds will require somewhat more than half a pound of salt well rubbed in, to corn it. The sooner it is salted after killing the better; it should be turned and rubbed well with the salt for four days, that time is quite sufficient. Boil for an hour and a half, and remove the scum as it rises.

May 24th

SPRING CABBAGES

These should be carefully looked over to remove worm or grub, and washed very clean. Have plenty of boiling water ready, in which a table-spoonful of salt has been mixed; boil for twenty minutes, and if due care be taken the vegetables will retain their proper tint of green.

May 25th

NAG’S HEAD CAKE

This cake, so well known and highly prized in the west of England, is made in the following manner : Boil half an ounce of saffron in a pint of water; strain it and dissolve a pound of lump sugar in it, then beat up half a dozen eggs in the sugar and water; rub half a pound of fresh butter in a pound of flour, mix this with the above materials, adding also half a pound of currants, and an ounce of mixed candied orange and lemon peel cut small. Shape it like a large bun, put it on an iron plate, and bake for two hours and a quarter.

May 26th

STEWED OX-TAILS

Cut these into joints and parboil them, put them into a stewpan with enough cold water to cover them; add a spoonful of salt, a spoonful of mixed powdered allspice, powdered mace, and Cayenne pepper, four cloves, and an onion chopped fine. Stew gently for an hour and three quarters, strain off the liquor, boil it up, and pour it, quite hot, over the meat. Garnish withsippets of toast, and serve with a fresh lemon and Reading sauce.

May 27th

ASPARAGUS

Instead of sending this vegetable to table in the ordinary way, I recommend that they be boiled, the tops cut off when done, and served in melted butter. All necessity for taking them up with your fingers, dragging them through your teeth, and returning the white stringy stalk to the edge of the plate, is by this means avoided .

May 28th

BROILED BONES

If you desire a relish, either for supper, or to make out a bachelor's dinner, and have in your larder either roast beef or mutton bones not too closely carved, score the meat, rub it over with walnut catchup , and sprinkle it with Cayenne and salt.

Set them in a bonnet before the fire, when they begin to smoke rub a little fresh butter over them, let them be turned now and then, but take care they are not burnt. Beef cinders and broiled bones are very distinct affairs. Although originally dressed upon the gridiron, the above method will be found the most satisfactory.

May 29th

SAUCE PIQUANTE

The late Michael Kelly, whose dinners and suppers were themes of admiration to those who were fortunate

enough to enjoy his friendship, made no secret of the preparation of a sauce, the result of experience. I have seen it often in MS., long before the appropriately named Doctor Kitchener wrote his “Oracle," and it is thus composed:- Put as many parsley leaves as will fill tablespoon into a mortar, add a table-spoonful of capers, and pound these well together, then a table-spoonful of fresh mustard, and three hard yolks of eggs ; pound away on these till they are properly mixed ; wash, bone, and force through a sieve half a dozen anchovies, to this add a table-spoonful of vinegar, two of oil, a shalot chopped very fine; add these to the former ingredients, and when about to be used stir them all into half a pint of melted butter, or strong beef gravy.

May 30th

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Cut some thin slices of buttered French roll; have an ounce and a half of currants well washed, picked, and dried ; thickly strew currants over these ; beat up the yolks of three and the whites of two eggs in rather more than half a pint of new milk ; add three ounces of powdered sugar. Fill the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of currants, then put some of the bread and butter, then a layer of currants, and so on till your dish be filled ; pour the milk and eggs over the bread, grate enough nutmeg to cover the surface, and bake for forty minutes

May 31st

CAPILLAIRE

Put a wine-glass of curacoa into a pint of clarified syrup, shake them well together, and pour it into the proper -sized bottles. A tea-spoonful in a glass of fair water makes a pleasant eau sucré.

June 1st

DIET BREAD

Beat up the yolks of fourteen and the whites of seven eggs for twenty minutes, then very gradually add nine ounces of rice flour, a pound of powdered sugar, and an ounce of caraway seeds, mix all well together; be sure that the oven be ready, line a tin with thin paper, put in the ingredients, and bake for an hour.

June 2nd

ASPARAGUS SOUP

To any good and well seasoned consommé you may add asparagas tops, boiled separately, and put into the tureen when you pour in the soup for serving.

June 3rd

GOOSEBERRY CREAM

Boil gooseberries in milk till they are quite soft, beat them up in a bowl, and force the pulp through a coarse sieve. Sweeten cream with sugar to your taste, then mix it with the pulp; when quite cold place it in glasses for use.

June 4th

MIXTURE FOR SALAD

The yolks of two eggs, boiled for at least an hour, must first be rubbed up with a tea-spoonful of salt, and two of flour of mustard, into a perfect powder, three table-spoonfuls of fine Florence oil must be added, a few drops at a time, and well amalgamated with the egg, salt, and mustard; as soon as this mixture is quite smooth, add two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, in the same manner as you have applied the oil.

It is advisable before you make the mixture, to see that your vegetables are properly prepared. Let your lettuces be carefully picked leaf by leaf, and cleaned with a dry cloth; the common process of soaking them in water destroys the true flavour. Small salad may be washed, but should be well dried before putting into the bowl.

Beet root in thin slices, young onions if agreeable, lamb salad, endive, celery, &c. &c., accord ing to the season. Having cut up your vegetables and made the dressing as above, grate a small quantity of Parmesan cheese over your green meat,” and then pour on the mixture, stirring it well togetherwith a wooden fork and spoon.

An excellent substitute for the yolk of eggs is a good sized very mealy potato, beaten up in the same manner as directed.

June 5th

COLD LAMB

Let me advise that your joint be dressed over night, carefully covered with a fine wire safe; and be it fore quarter, leg, shoulder, or ribs, eaten with the above salad it will be found most fitting for the season.

June 6th

MILK PUNCH

This seductive and nectareous drink can be made by the directions herewith given :

To a couple of quarts of spring water add one quart of genuine milk. Mix one quart of old Jamaica rum with two of French brandy, and put the spirit to the milk, stirring it for a short time ; let it stand for an hour, but do not suffer any one of delicate appetite to see the mélange in its present state, as the sight might create a distaste for the punch when perfected.

Filter through blotting-paper into bottles; and should you find that the liquid is cloudy, which it should not be, you may clarify by adding a small portion of isinglass to each bottle.

The above recipe will furnish you with half a dozen of punch .

June 7th

TO RENDER MEAT TENDER.

If you dip venison, beef, mutton, or pork, into chloride of lime in a liquid state, for a second, you may hang it for many days without fear of taint; for such is the effect of the chloride, that no flies will pitch upon meat that has been immersed in it.

Again, if you desire to dress a joint that you know has not been killed long enough to insure its being tender, cover it with a coarse cloth, and let it stand on the hearth of the kitchen fire, during the whole of the evening preceding the day on which you mean to dress it.

Meat should never be hung where the light of the moon can fall on it; as it is well known, from no less an authority than Lord Byron, that

" The Devil's in that moon for mischief;"

and one of chaste Dian’s vagaries is, engendering corruption in undressed meat and stored fruit.

June 8th

HODGE -PODGE

A breast of lamb, young green or squash peas, small onions, and spring carrots, stewed all together for an hour and a half, makes the savory dish so called. It is most easily prepared at this season.

June 9th

COMMON VINEGAR

Boil three quarters of a pound of coarse moist sugar in a gallon of water, for half an hour, skimming it well all the time; let it cool, and put in a table-spoonful of yeast. Next day pour it into a stone bottle, and add an ounce of cream of tartar. Let it be exposed to the sun until the heat has turned it to vinegar.

June 10th

FRUIT PIE FOR THE DELICATE, OR L’AMI DES ENFANS

Children and invalids are often forbidden the use of pastry, the crust being considered as indigestible; in such cases I recommend the following substitute, which entirely does away with the objection :-

Divide, into two slices each, as many sponge cakes as will be required for the size of your dish; put a layer of these, with the brown side downwards, at the bottom of the pie dish, then fill with currants and raspberries, plums, damsons, green gages, or whatever fruit the season affords; sprinkle well with fine Lisbon sugar, and pour in water nearly to the brim ; place a portion of the cut cakes upon the fruit as an upper crust, and let the dish be put in the oven for forty minutes.

Slices of toasted bread are equally applicable as sponge cakes; but the latter is the more elegant method of avoiding the forbidden pie-crust.

June 11th

SALMON

In purchasing salmon avoid split fish, and select the middle part in preference.

Be sure that the kettle contains sufficient water to cover the fish; when it boils put in a good handful of salt, and as the scum rises skim it carefully off, then put in the fish, properly secured with twine or tape, and boil gently in the proportion of a quarter of an hour to every pound of salmon.

Some cockney admirers of this fine fish will pretend to tell you the precise part of the river Thames in which the fish was caught, by some peculiar flavour. For myself, I classify salmon thus:-

Wye, Severn, Shannon, Tay, Dee, Thames, and Newcastle, the first-named being the best, the last worst .

June 12th

PICKLED SALMON

Let me advise you always to purchase more fish than will be eaten when first sent to table, and for this especial reason :

Two things going by the same name cannot be more unlike each other than pickled salmon bought at an oyster shop, and that made at home. To do this is as simple and easy as possible.

Place what remains of your fish in a vegetable dish; strew half a salt-spoonful of Cayenne and a tea-spoonful of salt over it; boil a dozen allspice in a pint of white-wine vinegar, and pour the liquor scalding hot over the salmon: it is quite good the same day on which you have made the pickle, but infinitely improved by keeping it for a day or two.

It should be put away in a cold place, and securely covered down , or you will run the hazard of a visit from cats, whose partiality for this preparation is a proof of their extremely good taste.

June 13th

SHRIMP SAUCE

The flavour of this is much improved by boiling t h e shells and pea, after the fish have been picked, straining the water off, and using it with an equal proportion of milk, to warm up the butter and flour. Theshrimps will require only two minutes on the fire.

June 14th

GINGER WINE

Put twelve pounds of loaf sugar and six ounces of powdered ginger, into six gallons of water; let it boil for an hour, then beat up the whites of half a dozen eggs with a whisk, and mix them well with the liquor.

When quite cold put it into a barrel, with six lemons cut into slices, and a cupful of yeast; let it work for three days, then put in the bung. In a week's time you may bottle it, and it will be ready for immediate use.

June 15th

LAMB CHOPS AND ASPARAGUS SAUCE

Lamb chops carefully fried in egg and bread crumbs, and sent to table with asparagus, dressed as before

directed, is about as toothsome a dish as you need wish for.

June 16th

STRAWBERRIES A LA FRANCAISE

Our Gallic neighbours, instead of eating “strawberries smothered in cream,” or with the addition of white wine, as we do, carefully take away the leaves and stalks, then make a layer of the fruit, about an inch and a half in height, this is covered with powdered sugar somewhat liberally applied; another layer of fruit is added, the same quantity of sugar as before, till the whole dish is used up : when this is done, lemon juice is squeezed over the heap, and it is beat up together.

The delicate acid is said to bring out the true flavour of the berries.

June 17th

BOILING PEAS OR FRENCH BEANS

The jocose directions given to a bad cook,to “send her peas to Hammersmith, as the certain way to Turn’em Green,” need no longer be adopted; a less inconvenient method (although omnibuses are to be found every five minutes, on their way to the mentioned goal), is to use half a tea-spoonful of sub-carbon of soda, thrown into the water a minute before you put the vegetables into the saucepan.

This will assuredly preserve the colour of peas and French beans, and may be used with good effect on cauliflower and broccoli, obtaining thereby a fine contrast in colour between the vegetable and its stalk .

June 18th

SAVOY BISCUITS

Beat up half a dozen eggs, add three quarters of pound of finely powdered white sugar, and the same weight of sifted flour; mix these well together.

Lay thin paper upon iron plates, and place the batter, with a tea-spoon, about four inches long and one broad, keeping each separate; just before putting them into the oven, strew powdered sugar over them.

The paper, which will adhere to the backs of the biscuits, is easily removed, by the application of cold water on a soft brush .

June 19th

TO ENJOY A GLASS OF CLARET

Instead of sherry or Madeira, usually taken after fish, drink Claret when you have eaten salmon, and you will allow that you never tasted the true flavour of the wine in greater perfection.

June 20th

ASPARAGUS OMELETTE

Boil a dozen of the largest and finest asparagus, cut off the green portion, and chop it in thin slices; season with a spoonful of salt and about a fourth of that quantity of Cayenne; beat up half a dozen eggs in cream; melt in the frying-pan a quarter of a pound of butter; pour half the batter into the centre of the pan, as soon as the butter is quite hot ; then place the asparagus tops upon the eggs, and cover the vegetable over with the remainder. Let this omelette be sent to table on a round of buttered toast.

June 21st

BATTER PUDDING

Beat up, with a whisk, four new-laid eggs; when the yolks and whites are well mixed, gently crumble in four ounces of finely sifted flour, in which half a tea-spoonful of salt has been mixed; pour upon the flour and egg half a pint of cream or new milk, and add a table-spoonful of powdered white sugar, and enough grated nutmeg to cover a sixpence.

See that the mould be well buttered ; pour in the batter, cover the bottom with buttered paper, and secure all with a proper cloth. This pudding will require an hour and a quarter's boiling. Pour wine sauce over it before sending to table.

June 22nd

PUNCH A LA FORD

The late General Ford, who for many years was the commanding engineer at Dover, kept a most hospitable board, and used to make punch on a large scale, after the following method:-

He would select three dozen of lemons, the coats of which were smooth, and whose rinds were not too thin ; these he would peel with a sharp knife into a large earthen vessel, taking care that none of the rind should be detached but that portion in which the cells are placed, containing the essential oil ; when he had completed the first part of the process, he added two pounds of lump sugar, and stirred the peel and sugar together with an oar-shaped piece of wood, for nearly half an hour, thereby extracting a greater quantity of the essential oil.

Boiling water was next poured into the vessel, and the whole well stirred, until the sugar was completely dissolved. The lemons were then cut and squeezed, the juice strained from the kernels, - these were placed in a separate jug, and boiling water poured upon them , the General being aware that the pips were enveloped in a thick mucilage, full of flavour ; half the lemon juice was now thrown in ; and as soon as the kernels were free from their transparent coating, their liquor was strained and added .

The sherbet was now tasted; more acid or more sugar applied as required, and care taken not to render the lemonade too watery. “Rich of the fruit, and plenty of sweetness," was the General's maxim.

The sherbet was then measured, and to every three quarts a pint of Cognac brandy and a pint of old Jamaica rum was allotted, the spirit being well stirred as poured in ; bottling immediately followed, and, when completed, the brewage was kept in a cold cellar, or tank, till required. At the General's table I have frequently drunk punch thus made, more than six months' old; and found it much improved by time and a cool atmosphere.

June 23rd

LOBSTER SALAD

Prepare the meat as directed in the recipe for “Hot lobsters” previous to warming it; amalgamate it well with the salad mixture also already named , omitting the beet-root, and the use of Parmesan cheese, using instead a table-spoonful of capers, thrown in whole.

Cold turbot or boiled sole are excellent materials for salad, both are improved by the introduction of a few prawns; a well washed-anchovy, boned and shredded, may be added by those who do not object to the flavour of this fish,

June 24th

STRAWBERRY CREAM

A quart of cream will be required for two pottles of strawberries; the small pines should be selected, as possessing most flavour.

Carefully pick away the leaves and stalks, and mash up the fruit in a basin; boil the cream, and add the fruit whilst it remains hot; sweeten with powdered sugar to your taste ; let it become quite cold before you put it into glasses.

June 25th

BEEF A LA MODE

The buttock is the most applicable for this savoury dish: procure about ten pounds' weight of it, and cut it into bits of about a quarter of a pound each. Chop a couple of large onions very fine, and put them into a large stewpan, with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, or fresh and well clarified beef-dripping: whilst this is warming, cover the pieces of beef with flour; put them into the pan, and stir them for ten minutes, adding a little more flour by slow degrees, and taking great care the meat does not burn.

Pour in, a little at a time, a gallon of boiling water, then add a couple of drachms of ground allspice, one of black pepper, and a couple of bay leaves.

Let all this stew, on a low fire and very gently, for three hours and a quarter; ascertain with a fork if the meat be tender; if so, you may serve it in a tureen or deep dish. A well-dressed salad is the proper accompaniment of Boeuf à la Mode.

June 26th

ORGEAT

This extremely pleasant preparation is not so popular now-a-days as “when George the Third was king." Its being out of fashion does not prevent my recommending it, as applicable to this thirst-generating season.

Blanch an ounce of bitter, and a pound of Jordan almonds; put them into a mortar with a wine-glass of orange-flower water, and beat them up into a paste; add, by degrees, a pint and a half of rose water, and half a pint of distilled water, pass this through a coarse sieve, and then boil it up for one minute in three pints of clarified syrup.

Bottle and cork down well. A tumbler of spring water, with a table-spoonful of the above, makes a delicious and perfectly harmless drink. Be careful to shake the bottle before you use the orgeat.

June 27th

TARRAGON VINEGAR

Gather the tarragon upon a dry day; pluck the leaves from the stalks, and put them in a plate upon the hob for about half an hour. Fill a good -sized open mouthed bottle with the dried leaves, and pour upon them as much white-wine vinegar as the bottle will hold; cork down tightly, and let the leaves steep for a fortnight; then strain through a flannel-bag, and put the clear liquid into sauce bottles for use, carefully corked. Keep your store in a dry cupboard.

June 28th

STEWED CUCUMBER

Select straightly grown cucumbers for this purpose; cut off the peel, and divide them into quarters long ways, take away the seeds, and place the quarters on a sieve to drain; when perfectly dry, cover them with flour.

Melt half a pound of fresh butter in the frying pan; when it boils put in the vegetables, and fry them till they are of a light brown; lift the slices carefully with a tin slice, and set them on a sloping slab to drain off the fat. Have ready some rich beef gravy, in which onions have been used; put the cucumbers into a stew pan covered with gravy, and let them simmer slowly till quite tender.

Before serving take out the cucumbers again, thicken the gravy with flour and butter, season it to your taste with salt and pepper, boil it, and pour it quite hot over the slices.

June 29th

POTTED SHRIMPS

After boiling in water, with abundance of salt in it, pick the fish carefully; for a pound use a salt-spoonful of mace in powder, the same quantity of allspice, a quarter of a grated nutmeg, and three-fourths of a tea spoonful of salt, and one-fourth of Cayenne pepper; put all this into a mortar with a bit of butter the size of a walnut, and pound it till it be reduced to a thick and well-mixed paste.

You may now pot it, and take care to cover the surface with clarified butter, and tie down with bladder.

June 30th

GREEN PEA SOUP

You cannot make a good-sized tureen of soup with less than a peck of peas. Half fil a large saucepan with water; as soon as it boils put in three table spoonfuls of salt, skim the scum off, and then put in the peas; let them boil for five-and-twenty minutes, drain off thewater.

Put three quarts of broth, made from mutton or veal, but without herbs or spices, into a stewpan; add the peas to this with a dozen leaves of mint, cover down tightly, and let all stew for an hour and a quarter ; season to your taste with pepper and salt ,rub it through a coarse sieve with a wooden spoon, and serve it quite hot with toasted bread cut into dice.

July 1st

SALMON AT LIMERICK AND KILLARNEY

It is the custom of the good people of Limerick to visit, at certain seasons of the year, and early in this month in particular, a large salmon weir, a few miles from the city, on the beautiful banks of the Shannon, and see the fish speared, and borne alive to a caldron of boiling water, into which it is immersed for a few minutes. The salmon is dressed on the spot, for the appointed dinner-hour, conveyed home to be cooked, or put into a tin case, and carefully soldered down, in whịch state it can be sent to any friend residing at a distance.

The sudden death of the fish fixes between its flakes the delicious white curd, and renders the flavour very superior to that of any of the species that have been conveyed alive in a well-boat, or dead in ice, for any length of time,

At Killarney, the dwellers by the margin of the lakes cut freshly caught salmon into slices, and broil these over a fire of arbutus wood, in the ashes of which potatoes are placed, not only for roasting, but that they may receive the fat and juices extracted from the fish whilst undergoing the operation of cooking.

July 2nd

FRENCH BEANS, A LA MAITRE D’HOTEL

Having boiled beans as usual, warm them up again in parsley and butter ; and this very simple process in sures to your dish a fine foreign name.

July 3rd

COFFEE ICE

Make a good strong pot of coffee, as previously directed, pour it into a bowl, add sufficient sugar-candy and cream, and then place it in an ice-pail till quite frozen. Serve it in proper glasses.

This is one of the most elegant and appropriate refreshments you can possibly offer your friends during the summer season .

July 4th

ROAST DUCKS

See that the birds be properly picked, and after drawing let the interior be carefully cleaned with a soft towel. Boil a couple of onions in two waters, and then chop them up very small, half a tea-cupful will be sufficient; mix the onion with about one-half the quantity of fresh sage leaves, a couple of ounces of finely powdered bread crumbs; a spoonful of salt, and the third of a spoonful of Cayenne; beat up the yolk of an egg, and rub the stuffing materials well together in it.

With a brisk fire, five and thirty minutes' roasting will be sufficient. Serve with gravy sauce.

July 5th

SAUSAGE ROLLS

Take equal portions of cold roast veal and ham, or cold fowl and tongue; chop these together very small, season with a tea-spoonful of powdered sweet herbs, and a spoonful of mixed salt and Cayenne pepper ; mix well together; put three table-spoonfuls of the chopped and seasoned meat well rolled together into enough light puff paste to cover it; when you have used up the whole of your material, bake for half an hour in a good brisk oven.

These rolls are excellent eating either hot or cold, and are especially adapted for travelling, gipsy, or boating parties.

July 6th

CHERRY JELLY

This exquisite jelly is prepared as follows:-

Dissolve an ounce and a half of isinglass in a quarter of a pint of water, to another quarter of a pint add as much powdered loaf sugar as will make a good thick syrup; squeeze the juice out of a bottleful of Morella cherries; add to it a glass of brandy, a glass of noyeau, and the juice of a lemon and a half: mix all these together; strain through a muslin sieve, and pour itinto a shape, which should be kept in a very cold place till the jelly is required.

July 7th

STEWED STURGEON

A good-sized slice of sturgeon, stewed for an hour over a slow fire, in a rich and well-seasoned beef gravy , is an excellent dish.

July 8th

BOEUF ROYALE

Take the bones out of a brisket of beef, and scoop holes in the meat about an inch asunder; fill one with small rolls of fat bacon, a second with chopped parsley and sweet herbs seasoned with pepper and salt, and the third with oysters cut small and powdered with a very little mace and nutmeg. When all the apertures are stuffed, tie up the meat in a roll, put it into a baking-pan, and pour over it, quite hot, a pint of sherry, in which half a dozen cloves have been boiled; flour the meat well, and set it in a slow oven for three hours.

Pour off the gravy and set it by to cool, that you may skim away the fat; if it is not already in a jelly, which it should be, add enough glaze to make it so.

Serve the beef cold, and the jelly round it. This is a very savoury dish, and well adapted for warm weather, not being liable to taint.

July 9th

GIN PUNCH

Following General Ford's plan, as already described for making sherbet, add good Maidstone gin, or Hol lands if you can procure it, in the proper proportion before prescribed; this bottled and kept in a cool cellar or cistern, will be found an economical and excellent summer drink.

July 10th

ENGLISH CURRY POWDER

An admirable imitation of the Oriental stimulant can be concocted by reducing to powder the following materials, mixing them well together, and keeping them in a tightly corked bottle:

Three ounces of turmeric, the same of coriander seeds, one ounce of ground ginger, the like quantity of ground black pepper, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon, the same weight of cummin seed and of Cayenne, and half an ounce of cardamoms.

July 11th

TO RIPEN BATH CHEESE

Cream cheese is rarely admired by the epicure till it begins to exude; to effect this speedily, lay the cheese upon a bed of nettles, in a cool cellar, and you will be agreably surprised at the effect of this simple process.

July 12th

CUCUMBER

Those who areat all afraid of eating cucumber may venture without danger, if to the dressing of salt, Cayenne, oil, and vinegar, a table-spoonful of strong mustard be added .

July 13th

RED MULLET

These fish, called by some “sea woodcocks,” are, like their feathered namesakes, dressed entire. They should be enveloped in oiled paper, and put into boiling lard in the frying-pan, and turned occasionally for a quarter of an hour; before serving take off the paper, and garnish the dish with slices of lemon.

July 14th

DRINK FOR THE DOG DAYS

A bottle of soda water poured into a large goblet in which a lemon ice has been placed, forms a deliciously cool and refreshing draught; but should be taken with some care, and positively avoided whilst you are very hot.

July 15th

VARIOUS HIBERNIAN PREPARATIONS OF 'THE CRATURE.'

The Irish housewives are in the habit of putting currants both red and black, raspberries, and even the humble blackberry, into whisky.

These fruits all add to the flavour of “a jug of punch ;" a glass or two of the black currant gives a fine colouring to “a syllabub warm from the cow," and a wine-glass of the blackberry infusion is often administered medicinally with good effect.

July 16th

TO PRESERVE ARTICHOKES

Having cut the tips of the leaves, boil the artichokes for five minutes, then set them bottom upwards; let them drain all night, put them in paper bags, and keep them in a dry place.

July 17th

TURBOT

This is one of the few, if not the only, fish whose flavour is improved by keeping; but to guard against

mischief in this sultry season, let me advise you to rub the turbot over with salt very lightly, and to hang it up in a cool safe.

Two hours before you intend to cook it, let it be put into fresh spring water ; and just as you are about to put it into the kettle, make a couple of incisions half way down to the bone, upon the back of the fish, this will prevent the cracking of the skin, as the fish swells in hot water.

Fill your kettle three parts with cold water, and then throw in a liberal handful of salt; place the turbot upon a tin or earthenware strainer, and put it into the water; as it begins to boil take off the scum, and then set your kettle by the side of the fire, so that the water boils very slowly, for twenty minutes or a quarter of an hour, according to the size of your fish; a turbot of nine pounds will require at least twenty minutes, and so in proportion.

Take it out of the water very carefully, and place it on a coarse cloth, then cover the dish you mean to send to table with a napkin, place the turbot upon it, strew whole capers over it, and serve with lobster sauce and slices of lemon. You may, if you prefer it, strew the fish with the pea of lobster forced through a sieve.

July 18th

RED CURRANT JELLY

Be sure to gather the fruit upon a dry day; pick it carefully from the stalks, into a jar ; when this is filled cover it down closely, and put it into a sauce pan more than half full of cold water; set this on a slow fire, and let it simmer for thirty or forty minutes; pour the contents of the jar into a jelly bag, and let the juice run into a bowl, but avoid pressing the bag.

A pound and a half of finely powdered lump sugar must be added to each pint of juice; as soon as the sugar is dissolved, set the syrup on the fire in a stewpan , and keep it well-stirred and skimmed; continue skimming till the scum has ceased to rise : you have now only to fill your gallipots with the warm jelly, and when quite cold fasten brandied paper securely over the tops of the jars.

July 19th

HASHED BEEF

Put the gravy of the meat into a stewpan with a pint of water, a tea-cupful of mushroom catchup, half an onion chopped very fine, half a tea-spoonful of salt, and a third of Cayenne; boil for about ten minutes, dip out a cupful of the liquid, and rub a table-spoonful of flour in it, then stir it well into the stewpan, and let all boil for ten minutes; pass it through a sieve, return it to the pan, put in the slices of beef, and just before taking up throw in half a wine-glass of tarragon vinegar.

July 20th

CRAB

Although deficient in flavour compared with its curly-tailed sea-side acquaintance, crab may be dressed with the same ingredients as named for “Lobster salad,” omitting the eggs; but this fish will not bear the process named for “Hot lobster”- it should invariably be eaten cold,

July 21st

RASPBERRY VINEGAR

To six pounds of fresh fruit carefully picked, add four pints of the best French vinegar; macerate for four days in a glazed earthen pan, stirring frequently, but taking care not to crush the seeds.

Filter the vinegar from the fruit, and to each pint of juice add two pounds of loaf sugar. Place it in a glazed pan, in a hot water bath, and let the juice boil until it is as thick as syrup; It is then fit for bottling, when cool.

July 22nd

FRENCH BEANS FOR WINTER USE

Throw them into boiling water for one minute, then into cold, drain them immediately, and dry them separately and thoroughly in cloths. Put a layer of salt, about half an inch thick, in the bottom of a large earthen pan, then a layer of beans of about two inches thick, then salt as before, and beans, till the pan is filled, taking care to have the upper layer of salt.

The pan should be covered down with a large slate, and kept in a dry place. When you require a dish, take out the quantity and fill the gap up with salt. Soak the beans all night and morning previous to dressing, and add a little sub-carbon of soda, as before directed.

July 23rd

ANOTHER METHOD OF MAKING GINGER BEER

Boil, for ten minutes, in a gallon of water, half an ounce of white ginger sliced, and a pound of loaf sugar;

pour this upon the peel of one lemon, and the juice of two ; let it stand covered till nearly cold, then add a dessert-spoonful of good yeast. In twelve hours strain through a cloth, bottle it off, securing the corks as before directed. This will be ready for use in a couple of days.

July 24th

IRISH PIKE

Many people consider pike so coarse as not to be worth the trouble of dressing; let those who think so treat the fish as our Irish neighbours do, and they will change their minds.

After it has been carefully cleaned, the belly is filled with the same kind of stuffing you would prepare for roast veal, and this by two or three stitches is prevented from falling out. If you attempt to roast it, the weight of the body is apt to separate it from the head, by which it is hung; to prevent this, send it to the oven, with butter placed in the same manner as directed in “Baked cod's head.” Of course you must regulate the time employed in baking by the weight of your fish.

In Ireland, I have seen pike run to twenty-five, thirty, and even thirty-five pounds weight; and yet these “monsters of the Shannon,” when brought to table, were found to be as delicately flavoured as a common-sized trout.

The late Lord Castlemaine, when Colonel Handcock, sent a pike as a present to the Royal Artillery mess, at Athlone, that absolutely weighed forty-two pounds!

July 25th

CAULIFLOWER

After trimming the outside leaves, and cutting off the stalk ,put them in a panful of salt and water for an hour before cooking. Put three table-spoonfuls of salt into the water in the saucepan, let it boil, and skim it most carefully; put in your vegetable, and allow from fifteen to twenty minutes, according to the size. Remember that those of moderate growth , neither too large nor too small, are always the best.

July 26th

HAUNCH OF VENISON

After the haunch has been well rubbed, till quite dry, with a coarse cloth, envelop it completely in buttered white paper, then lay a paste of flour and water, about half an inch in thickness over the fat portion; secure this by other sheets of paper, and tie them on with flat narrow tape; put the haunch into a cradle spit, and be sure that the fire is strong and bright; begin to baste with clarified dripping immediately, or thepaperwill be destroyed. You may allow from ten to fifteen minutes to every pound, according to the size of the joint.

Twenty minutes before it is completely roasted, take off the papers and paste, and baste with fresh butter, using flour to froth it. It is usual to put a paper frill round the knuckle; but no one has ever been bold enough to assert that such an ornament improved the flavour of the joint. Serve with gravy sauce quite plain, and dissolved currant jelly.

July 27th

FROGS

Englishmen have a national distate to these delicious little fellows, considering them as the favourite dish of our French neighbours, who, it has been said and sung, prefer a fricassee of Grenouilles to “Rost bif à la G-dam.” Such a notion should be combatted.

With all due reverence for the noble sirloin, I cannot but think that the hind legs of some half dozen good-sized frogs, taken out of a fine crystal pool, fried with an abundance of cream and parsley, well crisped, would make a convert of the most bigoted John Bull, provided you did not tell him the name of the dish until he had accustomed himself to its flavour.

July 28th

GREEN GAGE TART

Select fruit not quite ripe, but perfectly sound; fill a pie-dish with them; beat up a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, in as much spring water as will dissolve it; pour this over the fruit, cover with puff paste, and bake in a moderate oven. Lay on a coating of yolk of egg with a brush, over your crust; put the tart back in the oven for a few minutes, and sprinkle powdered sugar over the top before serving.

July 29th

PORTER CUP

Mix in a tankard or covered jug, a bottle of porter, and an equal quantity of table-ale; pour in a glass of brandy, a dessert-spoonful of syrup of ginger, add three or four lumps of sugar, and half a nutmeg grated. Cover it down, and expose it to the cold for half an hour; just before sending it to table, stir in a tea spoonful of carbonate of soda.

In many parts of England, cup is not considered perfect without the introduction of burrage, an excellent substitute for it is the fresh cut rind of a cucumber.

July 30th

OX-TAIL SOUP

For a moderate-sized tureen a couple of tails will suffice; but if you are about to entertain, let me recommend the same number to be used as, we were taught in the nursery, were carried before the terrific Blue Beard. Joint them, and soak in lukewarm water.

Chop up a couple of Spanish onions; put these in a stewpan, with half a drachm of Cayenne pepper and the same quantity of allspice; add the tails, and pour cold water till you have covered the meat, skim constantly as the water boils; when the scum has ceased to rise, cover the stewpan close, and simmer for two hours.

Strain the liquor through a sieve, add two table-spoonsful of mushroom catchup, a couple of glasses of sherry, season with salt to your taste, return the meat to the soup, warm up all together, and serve with toasted bread.

July 31st

CARROT PUDDING

Scrape raw carrots very fine, till you have a pound weight of them, grate white bread fine till you have an equal quantity ; in half a pint of cream beat up the yolks of eight and the whites of four eggs, melt half a pound of fresh butter in a pint of sherry, and a couple of spoonfuls of orange-flower water; add half a grated nutmeg, and sweeten to your taste.

Mix all the ingredients well together, and pour them into a dish previously lined with a light paste. It will require one hour's baking in a moderately heated oven.

August 1st

TURTLE

As dressed at the Montague Tavern, Bristol.

Mr. Burnham ,the late proprietor of the above celebrated house,dressed, during his life, more turtle than any other individual in the kingdom,and from him the following receipt was purchased by a relative of my own.

The never-to-be-forgotten host of the Montague, though accustomed to the preparation of “hecatombs of turtle," as an Irish gentleman once said or him, wrote the succeeding remarks as applicable to a solitary specimen of the “green and lively.”

Two days before you intend to dress the turtle, cut off his head, and to do this properly you should hang up the victim with his head downwards; use a sharp knife, and make the incision as close to the head as possible. You must not be surprised at seeing, many hours after the decollation, the creature exhibit extra ordinary signs of muscular motion, by the flapping of his fins. Separate the upper from the lower shell, and in this operation be very careful not to touch the gall bladder, which is very large, and if penetrated would completely destroy the flesh over which its contents ran.

Cut the meat of the breast into half a dozen pieces, abstract the gall and entrails, and throw them away at once. Separate the fins as near the shell as possible, abstract the green fat, and put it on a dish separate from the white meat. Let the upper and lower shells boil sufficiently long to enable you to take away the bones, and remove, with a spoon, the mucilage that you findadhering to the shells, put this also in a separate dish.

Into the largest stewpan your kitchen range affords, put the head, fins, liver, lights, heart, and all the flesh, a pound of dressed ham, nine or ten cloves, a couple of bay leaves, and a good-sized bunch of mixed sweet herbs, such as winter savory, marjoram, basil, lemon thyme, a Spanish onion cut into slices, and a bunch of parsley.

Cover all these with the liquor in which you have boiled the shells, and let it simmer till the meat be thoroughly done, which you can easily ascertain by pricking it with a fork, andobserving if any blood exudes; when none appears, strain the liquor through a fine sieve, and return it to the stew pan, which may remain at some distance from the fire.

Cut the meat into square bits of about an inch. Put the herbs, onion, &c., into a separate saucepan , with four ounces of butter, three or four lumps of sugar, and a bottle of Madeira, let this boil slowly ; whilst this is doing, melt in another saucepan , half a pound of freshbutter, and when itis quite dissolved, thicken it with flour,but do not make it too thick, then add a pint of the liquor from the shells, let this boil very gently, skimming off the scum as it rises.

When both these saucepans are ready, strain the contents of the first through a sieve, and this done, add both to the stewpan. Warm up, in the liquor from the shells, the green fat and mucilage, put these with the meat into the stewpan also, with the yolks of a dozen eggs boiled hard, the juice of ten green limes, and a dessert-spoonful of Cayenne. Gently warm up the whole together, and you may regard your cookery as complete.

Fill as many tureens as your soup will permit, and as these are required for table, take especial care to warm the turtle in its tureen, by putting it in a hot water bath ; boiling it up a second time would deprive this delicious preparation of its true flavour.

August 2nd

NORMANDY PIPPINS STEWED

Put half a pound of Normandy pippins into a stew pan, and the peel of half a lemon cut thin; dissolve a quarter of a pound of loaf-sugar in a pint of spring water, pour this over the fruit, cover down the pan close, and set it on a slow fire for two hours and a half.

August 3rd

RASPBERRY OR STRAWBERRY JAM

Be sure that your fruit be sound, free from mildew , and fresh gathered; rub it through a cane sieve, put as many pounds of finely powdered sugar as you have pints of pulp, set it on the fire in a stewpan, stir it well, and as it becomes hot, take off the scum; twenty minutes slow boiling will be sufficient. Put it in pots as before directed, in the making of currant jelly. For strawberry jam, select the small scarlet pine.

August 4th

HERBS FOR WINTER USE

At this season you can procure the following herbs: knotted marjoram, winter savory, summer savory, thyme, lemon and orange thyme, chevril and burnet: let these be well dried, take the leaves from the stalks, and press them closely together, then wrap them in stout paper, having the name of each written on the outside.

Herbs preserved in a compact form will retain their flavour for two or three years; but if merely kept in loose bundles, as is the usual method, they soon loose their fragrance. Orange and elderflowers may be preserved in the same manner, though it is best to distil them whilst quite fresh. Basil is not in a state for drying till the latter end of August.

August 5th

TO HASH VENISON

Parboil a small onion and stick it with cloves ; well wash and chop small an anchovy : put these in a stew pan with half a pint of port-wine, a table-spoonful of mushroom catchup, another of Lopresti's,“Duke of Gloster's sauce,” and two table-spoonfuls of currant jelly; as soon as these boil, take out the onion and put in the slicesof venison,which should be cut moderately thin; five minutes will be quite time enough to warm the meat.

August 6th

BROWN BREAD ICE

Sweeten a quart of cream with sugar, add finely powdered brown-bread crumbs till you have thickened the cream sufficiently, and let this be iced in the usual manner. Simple as the ingredients are, this ice possesses a remarkably agreeable flavour.

August 7th

ARRACK PUNCH IMITATED

The introduction of sweet tamarinds, two pods to a small bowl, and so on in proportion, will give to punch a flavour so closely resembling arrack, that it would require the Supreme Council of Bengal assembled in full mote, to detect the difference. Be careful to strain the punch when the tamarinds are quite dissolved, or a West Indian might detect your Oriental imitation.

August 8th

BOLOGNA SAUSAGE SALAD

A very pretty and acceptable dish may be formed by peeling and cutting into slices a Bologna sausage, and placing it round a dish, with alternate slices of egg boiled hard, filling the centre with a well-dressed salad, according to the directions before given.

August 9th

STEWED MUSHROOMS

Take away the skin and stalks, strew a little pepper and salt over the mushrooms, then put them into a stewpan with half a pint of cream. Keep stirring constantly, but with a gentle hand not to break them; when nearly done, add a little butter rolled in flour, to thicken the sauce.

August 10th

MASHED POTATOES

For a dish of mashed potatoes select those which are floury, peel and rub them through an earthen colander into a basin, carefully removing any specks or imperfections ; a quarter of an ounce of butter, and three table-spoonfuls of cream, or good milk , will be enough for half a pound of potatoes.

If you desire to send them to table brown, smear the surface with the yolk of an egg well beaten up, and put the dish close to the fire, or use a red hot salamander.

August 11th

CHAMPAGNE A LA MINUTE

If you are about to drink sharp cider, let me advise you to put half a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda, and a dessert-spoonful of finely powdered sugar at the bottom of your glass; have the cider poured on this, and you will allow that it is a very pleasant, though humble, imitation of champagne.

August 12th

ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS

These are an admirable addition to hashes and stews, be either dried at home, or purchased at the Italian warehouses, the former being fifty per cent the cheapest method.

August 13th

HERRINGS

Should you happen to be on the coast at the period of the herring fishery, and witness the arrival of a boat load of these exquisite fish, by all means procure half a dozen, and have them dressed for your dinner or supper, which ever meal shall follow the time of day at which the boats reach the shore.

The sooner you eat them after their being caught, the more flavour you will find. The most approved method of dressing them is as follows :-

With a sharp penknife make three or four incisions across the fish on each side, cut an onion in thin slices, place both on the grid iron, and turn them occasionally till done. Have melted butter ready, in which two table-spoonfuls of mushroom catchup has been poured, and a little fresh mustard ; eat your herrings hot, with the prescribed sauce, and you will ask yourself, why people have made a fuss about John Dories.

August 14th

SORREL SAUCE

French cooks use great quantities of sorrel in their made dishes, deeming its flavour very piquant; but thanks to the March of Chemistry, it has been ascertained that sorrel contains an abundant quantity of oxalic acid, and it should therefore be studiously avoided.

August 15th

VEGETABLE MARROW

In boiling never pierce the vegetable with a fork, or you render it watery directly; you may judge when it is sufficiently dressed by the ease with which you can rub off the outside skin. The best mode of cooking it is to stew it in a good rich sauce; it is also very palateable cut into quarters, when half grown, and fried either in batter or butter. This vegetable is increasing in popularity every season .

August 16th

BEIGNET DES POMMES

Use the same ingredients as named in the construction of “Spanish puffs;” add to them apples boiled, peeled, and chopped fine, and as much powdered sugar as will sweeten the dish to your taste. These directions will give you the confection above-named .

August 17th

DRIED MARIGOLDS

The use of the marigold flower in soup, or broth, has for some reason gone out of fashion with modern cooks. The flowers well dried, and the leaves reduced to powder, will be found to impart a very agreeable and delicate flavour, with the advantage of the material being cheaply and easily procured.

August 18th

APPLE PIE

Pare, core, and cut into quarters, nine or ten pippins, or russet-coats, pack them closely in a proper dish, add the peel of half a lemon chopped fine, half a dozen cloves, two table-spoonfuls of quince marmalade, four ounces of powdered sugar, and enough rose-water to moisten the whole; put on a top crust of puff paste, and give it an hour and a quarter's baking.

This pie is best warm, but by no means to be despised when cold.

August 19th

BOILED HERRINGS

Herrings that have been well powdered with salt for three days, and then plain boiled, will be found extremely delicate, served with parsley and butter. This is an excellent dish for an invalid,

August 20th

GROUSE

Will require at least fifteen minutes' roasting before a bright fire. Some persons send them to table with their craws stuffed like partridges; but these birds, if in good condition, do not require any addition to their own exquisite flavour, except a little gravy and a squeeze of lemon.

August 21st

OXFORD PUNCH

We have been favoured by a Christ Church man with the following recipe for the concoction of punch, as drunk at the University of Oxford :

Rub the rinds of three fresh lemons with loaf sugar till you have extracted a portion of the juice. Cut the peel finely off two lemons more, and two Seville oranges. Use the juice of ten lemons, and four Seville oranges. Add six glasses of calf's-foot jelly; let all be put in a large jug and stirred well together.

Pour in two quarts of water boiling hot, and set the jug upon the hob for twenty minutes. Strain the liquor through a fine sieve into a large bowl; pour in a bottle of capillaire, half a pint of Sherry, a pint of Cognac brandy, a pint of old Jamaica rum, and a quart of orange shrub; stir well as you pour in the spirit. If you find it requires more sweetness add sugar to your taste.

Such is the beverage of Alma Mater, and doubtless very seductive and delicious drink it is; but if taken too freely, the agony endured in the region of the pia mater would be sufficient, we should imagine, to make a man forswear punch for evermore.

The derivation of the name given to this old fashioned and still popular drink, has occupied the attention of the learned and curious. The Persians call it pancha, a word signifying five, the number of ingredients required in its construction. One sweet, two sour, three and four spirits, five water. We have no right to claim it as an English production, seeing that our own country furnishes but the water.

In Sicily I remember to have heard that a learned padre, who had imbibed a somewhat immoderate quantity over night, declared, whilst suffering from headach the next day, that it must owe its name to Pontius; for, added the priest, shaking his head and looking devoutly penitent, “He was a traitor.”

August 22nd

PRESERVED GHERKINS

See that the gherkins intended for use be sound and free from external blemish; soak them in salt and water for two days, then scald them in fresh water, and let them remain in it till the next day.

Drain them well, and let them boil for three minutes in a thin syrup ; put them into a glazed vessel, and on the following day boil them for five minutes in a strong syrup. For the three following days, drain off the syrup, make it boil, and pour it over the gherkins. Place brandied paper over the pots in which you have put your preserve.

N. B. French beans can be treated in the same manner as above.

August 23rd

PATRICIAN BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Cold roast veal, divested of the outside skin, cut into bits of about an inch long, with the white parts only of cauliflowers, previously dressed, and also cut up small; these warmed up in a frying -pan, in half a pint of cream, and seasoned with a slight sprinkling of salt and Cayenne, make a very delightful réchauffée.

August 24th

MARMALADE OF QUINCES

The fruit intended to be used for marmalade ought to be perfectly ripe. Pare and core the quantity required, then cut each into four parts.

Put both the fruit and parings, with half a dozen cloves, into a stewpan, and fill it nearly with spring water; let it simmer over a slow fire till the fruit is soft. Take out the fruit, weigh it, and beat it into a pulp in a mortar. Dissolve white sugar, the same weight as the quinces, in part of the liquor in which the fruit and parings were stewed, boil the syrup and skim it very carefully; put in the fruit and let it stew very gently for three quarters of an hour, stirring it well all the while, to prevent its burning.

August 25th

MUSHROOM CATCHUP

I find the following method will produce the best extract. Carefully examine the lot of mushrooms, and remove any that are unsound, or have the worm; pluck out the stalks, and place the mushrooms selected for use in a deep dish, with their tops downwards, strew a liberal handful of salt over them; in two hours you will perceive a quantity of dark -coloured liquid at the bottom of the dish, and the brown interior of the fungus undergoing a rapid dissolution; with a silver dessert spoon remove the interior from its leathern top, throwing away the latter.

As soon as you have completed this, add a tea-spoonful of Cayenne, half a dozen allspice, and boil the liquor till you have thoroughly dis solved all the mushroom. Strain and bottle for use.

This may appear an extravagant method, but let any one try to extract flavour from the stalks and tops, and it will be acknowledged that the trouble might have been spared.

August 26th

AITCH BONE OF BEEF

This joint requires abundance of water, and to be boiled very slowly, allowing an hour for every five pounds, or, in short, twelve minutes for each pound. You may rely on it, that the meat can only be rendered tender by the water boiling very gently.

It is an admirable dish, either hot or cold; and at this season of the year may with advantage be dressed over night, and served next day with a salad or pickles.

Much has been said as to the correct name of this joint, and various writers have applied various titles. I have seen it denominated ache-bone, hook-bone, natch-bone, ridge-bone, each-bone, H-bone, edge-bone, and haunch-bone.

“Who shall decide when doctors disagree?”

August 27th

BOTTLED FRUIT

Currants, gooseberries, greengages, and other fruits, m a y be preserved by putting them ,after being carefully picked, into open-mouthed glass bottles, shaking them so as to have each bottle well filled, and then placing the bottles, slightly corked, into an oven, nearly cold, for five hours; when you observe the fruit get into wrinkles, you may take out the bottles, cork well down, and cover with leather and wax. Be sure to keep the bottles in a dry place.

August 28th

ROASTING PIG

If you desire to eat this dish in perfection, let your suckling be killed early in the morning of the day on which you mean to have him brought to table; but if my advice can have weight with you, let no persuasion on the part of the cook, backed as she may be even by the mistress of the house, induce you to send the animal to the oven. Roast, as you shall be directed, and after dinner read Charles Lamb's delightful paper on the subject, which will assist your digestion.

The butcher having left the pig properly prepared for the cook, the first thing to be done is to make some appropriate stuffing. An ounce and a half of onion finely chopped, two ounces of sage-leaf cut small, must

be mixed in five ounces of finely powdered bread crumbs, the yolk of an egg, a spoonful of salt, and a third of one of Cayenne pepper; fill the abdomen, “for belly is grown vulgar," with the stuffing, and sew it up.

As the extremities will require more fire than the middle, hang a flat-iron in the centre of your grate, and be sure to have a fine brisk fire for roasting ; an hour and a half will be time sufficient. Baste with fresh butter, or best Florence oil, the latter will insure a browner tint to your crackling, but some delicate eaters object to its use.

The most rigid attention must be paid to the pig whilst roasting; if left for a second it may be blistered or burnt, and very soon spoiled for the table. About ten minutes before the time has elapsed allowed for cooking, cut off the head, the body still remaining before the fire. Split the skull in half, take out the brains, and beat them up finely with a dozen sage leaves, previously boiled and chopped small; this can be moistened into sauce with the juices that followed the cutting off of the head, if the cook has been prudent enough to place a basin under the neck.

Split the body down the back, lay the sides flat upon a dish, with half the head at the top, and the other half at the bottom. Serve with currant sauce, and a sauce-boatful of good gravy.

August 29th

COLD ROASTING PIG

Those who object to roast pig as being too rich, may with safety partake of it cold; as in that state the fat can be cut away, and the crackling only eaten with the lean. A little fresh mustard is an admirable adjunct, and a glass of Curagoa may be taken with advantage after your repast.

August 30th

CELERY SEED

When you cannot procure the vegetable itself, a tea spoonful of the seed, introduced into gravy or pea soup, during the process of making, will be found to impart the required flavour.

August 31st

REAL CABINET PUDDING

Break four sponge cakes into small pieces, add three or four bunches of raisins cut and stoned, a table-spoonful of candied citron, two ounces of ratafia cakes, beat up five eggs with two glasses of brown sherry, and one of brandy, add enough fine Lisbon sugar to sweeten it; boil a pint of milk, with half a dozen cloves and a quarter of a stick of cinnamon ; strain and add the milk to the above. See that the mould be well buttered, as before directed, and boil for the same time.

September 1st

GRAPE JELLY

Mix together equal quantities of the juice of ripe grapes and dissolved isinglass; should it require sweetening, which is rarely the case, add powdered sugar to your taste; pour in two glasses of Madeira, strain, and put it into moulds.

This jelly will be found a delightful addition to an autumn repast, the only season of the year when it can be made without the use of hot-house grapes .

September 2nd

September 2nd

PRESERVED BARBERRIES

Boil, in a quart of water, for twenty minutes, two pounds of loaf sugar, then put in the barberries, let them simmer for an hour, and pour them into a glazed pan.

Next day strain the syrup, add to it another pound of sugar, and let it simmer for half an hour, put in the fruit again, and when the syrup is about to boil take it off; when quite cool, put the preserve into proper jars, and tie down with leather or bladder, having brandied paper on the top of the fruit.

September 3rd

ONION SOUP

The proportions for making this soup are as follow :

To a quart of beef gravy add one large onion , that has been previously boiled in three waters, and then finely chopped; season with Cayenne and salt, put in the vegetables, let all simmer for an hour, strain before serving.

It is a well-known fact, that persons who have somewhat exceeded in their potations on the previous day, have found no better restorative from the effects of a late sitting than a basin of onion soup, followed by a small morsel of broiled or roast meat, abstaining from malt liquor or wine, and drinking instead a moderate quantity of weak brandy and water,

September 4th

TOMATA, OR LOVE APPLE

This valuable auxiliary to made dishes does not hold sufficient estimation amongst the respectable classes of society. At royal and noble boards the use of the tomata is frequent. The latter end of August and during September they are to be purchased in high perfection: as the foundation for certain hashes the flavour is unrivalled. We shall speedily give directions for its use.

September 5th

ROAST LEG OF MUTTON

Procure, if possible, four-years old meat, and let the leg hang for five or six days in a cool place, and defended from flies by a wire safe. Allow a quarter of an hour per pound, and roast by a brisk fire. One of the most savoury sauces you can use with roast mutton is made by putting two glasses of port wine, one of Reading sauce, and a tea-spoonful of garlic vinegar, into a small saucepan, and pouring the contents over the joint just before serving; this, as it mixes with the gravy of the meat, for mutton should never be over roasted, will tempt the weakest appetite.

September 6th

COLD ROAST MUTTON

Can be either eaten with a salad, made as directed, with the sauce piquante before named, but used cold; or with pickles, walnuts, red cabbage, or mixed West India , according to the taste of the diner.

September 7th

HASHED MUTTON A LA TOMATE

The meat having been cut off over night, and covered with flour, let the bones be broken, and put into a saucepan early the next morning, with plenty of water, and an onion that has been boiled in three waters; let your liquor evaporate till you have about half a pint of good strong gravy, which must be carefully skimmed when cold.

Twenty minutes before your dinner hour, strain the gravy from the bones, and break into it four or six tomatas, having taken away their stalks ; set this on the fire, and five minutes before you mean to serve up put the slices of mutton into the saucepan, with a salt spoonful of salt, and a third of that quantity of Cayenne.

It will thus be seen that a more profitable or palatable joint than a leg of mutton cannot well be desired in a small family, or for a batchelor's consumption, particularly if the foregoing directions meet proper attention.

September 8th

CHERRY BRANDY

Put into a wide-necked bottle as many Morella cherries as it will hold; add a few peach or nectarine kernels, or bitter almonds; fill the bottle with the best French brandy, and cork down. In a month after, add a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar to every pint of brandy.

September 9th

PARTRIDGES

If killed on the first of the month you may dress your birds to-day. They will be all the better for having been drawn as soon after they come to hand as possible. I recommend the cook to abstain from the common custom of sticking one leg through the other, as it renders the carving difficult.

A good rich gravy sauce is essential with partridge, which , with all its flavour, is a very dry-meated bird.Some folks use bread sauce, or an abomination so called, being, in fact, nothing more or less than spiced pap!!

September 10th

ELDER WINE

In two gallons of water boil one gallon of elder berries for one hour, or until the berries sink. For every gallon of liquor provide three pounds and a half of sugar; strain the liquor over the sugar; when nearly cool add a little yeast. The next day put it into a cask, and let it work till it has ceased to make any hissing noise.

Boil two or three cloves of ginger, a few cloves, and some allspice, for a short time; then put them in a muslin bag, adding a pebble, that the spice may sink to the bottom of the cask. Bung down close.

If you make nine gallons of wine, you will require about four and a half ounces of the above spice for that quantity. The addition o fa few sloes or damsons will be found a great improvement.

September 11th

BIRD'S EYE, OR CHILE VINEGAR

This is the best season for procuring the small capsicums, called Bird's eye, they will be found in abundance in Covent Garden Market. I recommend your purchasing enough to fill half a dozen bottles, as Chile vinegar is justly a favourite addition, not only to fish, but cold meat, hashes, stews, and many made dishes. Fill your bottles, which should be open-mouthed, with as many peppers as they will hold; then pour in the best white wine vinegar, cork down tightly, and set them on the hob for at least ten days. At the end of that time, this piquante vinegar will be ready for use, but it is much improved by age.

September 12th

BOILED DUCK

A duck boiled, and smothered in onions, is a delicacy fit for the table of an empress. Twenty minutes is quite sufficient time, and be sure that the onions have been twice boiled before you make them into sauce.

September 13th

DAMSON CHEESE

Place ripe damsons in a jar, and put it in a saucepan of boiling water, let it simmer over the fire till the fruit becomes soft; when quite done, rub them through a fine wire sieve, crack the stones, blanch the kernels, and mix them well with the pulp; weigh it, and add an equal quantity of lump sugar.

Boil very gently, stirring all the while, until it is of a sufficient thickness, then pour into oval flat preserve pots; put brandied paper on the tops, and tie down with bladder.

September 14th

FRICANDEAU OF VEAL

Let the veal be well larded, and place it in the stewpan with the larded side uppermost; then add two large tumblers of water, two carrots in slices, two onions also sliced, a bunch of parsley, and a couple of cloves. Boil slowly for three hours and a half. Brown the veal with a red hot salamander before serving, and add some stewed mushrooms.

September 15th

PAIN DE POMME

Boil a dozen dumpling apples till they are soft, peel and core them, break them up, and force the pulp through a coarse sieve; mix this with twice its weight of dough; make the whole into small loaves, and bake in a slow oven.

September 16th

CARROT SOUP

The liquor in which you have boiled mutton or veal, or a gravy drawn from beef bones, will make sufficient foundation for this excellent soup; put a couple of quarts of either of these into a stewpan, then scrape six large carrots, and cut off the red portion; put that, with a head of celery and onion both cut up, into the stewpan, cover down close, and set it near the fire, or on a very slow one, for two hours and a half.

If you do not find the carrots quite soft by this time, give them another half hour's simmering; force the vegetables through a sieve by the aid of a wooden spoon, and if you find that the pulp mixed with the liquor is too thick for soup, add more broth; season with salt and pepper to your taste.

It must be warmed up again before sending to table. Serve with toasted bread.

September 17th

TAINTED GAME

Should grouse or partridge reach you that are, as Pedrigo Potts observed of his fish, “Decidedly on the go!” have them carefully picked and drawn, and immersed in new milk ; let the birds remain in their lactean bath till the next day, when they will be found quite fit for cooking.

One thing I have observed, that the milk in which “high game” has been placed becomes so noxious, that neither cat or dog, in the pangs of hunger, can be tempted to taste it.

September 18th

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES

These are usually plain boiled, cut, and peeled, and served with parsley and butter; but a great improvement in their flavour will be obtained by baking them in their coats for about twenty minutes ,then peeling and cutting them into slices of about two-tenths of an inch, and warming them up in a rich brown sauce, well seasoned.

September 19th

TOMATA SAUCE

Take away the stalks, and break up into a stewpan a dozen and a half Tomatas; let them be placed on a low fire till perfectly dissolved, then force the pulp through a coarse hair sieve, pour it back into the pan, with a table-spoonful of mint in powder, four shalots, chopped fine, half a dozen allspice, a couple of cloves, a table spoonful of Chile vinegar, and a gill of sherry.

Boil for two hours, stirring occasionally; bottle when cold, and tie leather over the corks.

September 20th

SAVOURY HADDOCK

Haddock must be allowed to be a somewhat taste less fish; the favourite breakfast accompaniment, the “Findhorn Haddy,” can be successfully imitated by soaking a deal shaving in fresh butter, and rubbing it over, with salt and pepper. A fresh fish may be sent to table worthy of notice, if dressed as follows:

After cleaning the interior, dry it with a cloth, and stuff the fish with the same force-meat you would use for a fillet of veal ; tie the tail to the mouth , and place the haddock in a deep pie-dish; rub it over with flour, and half fill the dish with veal stock; then let it bake in a slow oven for forty minutes.

September 21st

MARROW PUDDING

Blanch eight ounces of sweet almonds, and beat them up in a mortar with a table -spoonful of rose-water, chop up six ounces of candied orange and citron, beat up yolks of half a dozen eggs, and add a glass of sherry or Madeira to them, shred very fine a pound of beef marrow free from the minute bones, wash and pick half a pound of currants, grate up the crumb of a French roll; these things done, boil a quart of cream, and whilst it is quite hot stir in the ingredients, mixing all welltogether. Rub the sides of a pie-dish with butter, put in the above materials, and bake for half an hour; before serving, strew powdered sugar over the top.

September 22nd

RUMFUSTIAN

This is the singular name bestowed upon a drink very much in vogue with Oxford men, after their return from a day's shooting over a heavy country, and is concocted thus:

The yolks of a dozen eggs are well whisked up, put into a quart of strong beer; to this is added a pint of gin; a bottle of sherry is put into a saucepan, with a stick of cinnamon, a nutmeg grated, a dozen large lumps of sugar, and the rind of a lemon peeled very thin; when the wine boils, it is poured upon the gin and beer, and the whole drunk hot.

September 23rd

RABBIT PIE

Parboil and cut into joints a couple of rabbits. Chop up the livers very fine, and add to them a quarter of a pound of fat bacon boiled, enough Cayenne and powdered mace to cover a shilling, a spoonful of salt, the leaves of half a dozen sprigs of parsley, and a shalot finely chopped; mix these well together, and lay them at the bottom of the dish; place the joints over the force-meat, pour in two table-spoonfuls of ham extract , and fill up with veal stock; cover with puff paste, and bake for an hour and a half. This pie should be eaten hot.

September 24th

MACCARONI

If you wish to eat this Italian dainty in perfection, let it be boiled in milk, and when quite tender drain off the liquid; place the macaroni upon the dish you in tend to send to table, put it before the fire whilst you rub fresh butter over the top, and then cover the surface with grated Parmesan cheese, about a quarter of an inch thick; put it into a Dutch oven, and let it remain for ten minutes before sent to table. Some epicures have maccaroni plain boiled, and instead of cheese use a good rich brown gravy.

September 25th

HOME-MADE FISH SAUCE

I find the following mixture much less expensive than purchasing sauce at an Italian warehouse. It is easily made, and will be found full of flavour:

A gill of India soy, a wine-glassful of shalot vinegar, half a pint of mixed mushroom and walnut catchup in equal proportions, the juice of a lemon, and its peel chopped very fine, a couple of anchovies boned, two tea-spoonfuls of Cayenne pepper, a table-spoonful of horse-radish vinegar, and a tumbler of port wine.

Let all these be put into a bottle and corked down close; place it where it will be constantly seen, and whenever opportunity arises give the bottle a good hearty shaking, but do not think of using the contents till they have been at least a month mixing; you may then fill small sauce bottles with the mixture, strained.

September 26th

BRAZILIAN BUTTER

Happy is the man who can obtain a pot of this delicacy in a pure state; it is manufactured from turtle's eggs, and is rich in flavour, without the slightest rancidness.

September 27th

LEMON SPONGE-CAKE

Beat up the whites of four and the yolks of eight eggs, add by degrees three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar, then gently sprinkle in half a pound of flour; when done add the peel of a lemon finely chopped, and the juice of half a lemon.

September 28th

BLANC MANGE

Boil an ounce of picked isinglass, till it is quite dissolved, in a pint and a half of milk; add the peel of half a lemon cut fine, half a stick of cinnamon broken up, a blade of mace, two ounces and a half of finely powdered white sugar; blanch and pound in a mortar ten bitter and half an ounce of sweet almonds, beat together in a spoonful of rose-water; mix all these with the milk whilst quite hot, and let it simmer very gently for five minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, let it stand for half an hour, and then pour into a mould.

September 29th

ROAST GOOSE

Although geese are fit for the table as early as the middle of July, I have chosen Michaelmas-day as the one on which the majority of families are in the habit of first ordering it for table.

As it would be a “”scandal on Queen Elizabeth” to doubt for a moment that her Majesty was employed upon this savoury bird when she heard the glad tidings of the Armada’s defeat, Anno Domini,1588, though certainly somewhat earlier than the 29th of September, be that as it may, it has been gravely stated, that, to commemorate the event, those of her subjects who were no ways ambitious of submitting to Catholic invasion, caused divers and sundry geese to be slaughtered and eaten upon the anniversary of that glorious day, which is doubly impressed upon the minds of epicures by the motto Elizabeth selected for the commemorative medal: “Dux femina facti."

Having paid due attention to the cleaning, picking, and singeing of the bird, let the following stuffing be prepared:

Two ounces of undressed onion, and one of sage leaves, must be first chopped small; a salt-spoonful of salt, and a third of that quantity of pepper, must be mixed with four ounces of finely grated crumbs of bread, the whole moistened with the yolk and white of an egg wellwhisked. In putting the stuffing into the bird, give it space wherein to swell, under the action of the fire; when you have put the goose upon the spit, secure the neck and Pope's nose with twine, to prevent the stuffing from falling out, and to keep the bird steady.

A large goose will require somewhat more than an hour and a half's roasting; be sure it be well basted, and sent to table of a rich brown hue, with a boat full of gravy sauce, another of apple sauce (which see), a n d some newly made mustard.

September 30th

SODA NEGUS

A most refreshing and elegant beverage, particularly for those who do not take punch or grog after supper, is thus made:

Put half a pint of port wine, with four lumps of sugar, three cloves, and enough grated nutmeg to cover a shilling, into a saucepan; warm it well, but do not suffer it to boil, pour it into a bowl or jug, and upon the warm wine decant a bottle of soda water. You will have an effervescing and delicious negus by this means.

October 1st

A HAUNCH OF MUTTON, “BRISTOL FASHION”

The West India merchants of Bristol often cause a haunch of mutton to be buried in a hogshead of brown sugar for three weeks or a month; and if the meat so treated be five or six years old, it m a y very easily be mistaken for venison.

The natives of Ceylon are in the habit of covering down newly killed venison with honey in large earthen pots; these are not opened for three years, and the meat so preserved is said to be of the most exquisite flavour.

October 2nd

ITALIAN CREAM

Put into a pint and a half of boiling milk, a tea spoonful of coriander seeds, a quarter of a stick of cinnamon broken small, the peel of a lemon cut very thin, three ounces of finely powdered sugar, and three or four grains of salt ; let all these boil till the milk is reduced one half, meantime beat up the yolks of half a dozen eggs, and thicken these with a little fine flour; add this to the milk by degrees, stirring well all the while; strain through a fine sieve into the dish you intend to send to table, and place it in a hot bath on the hob till the cream is set. Grate a little nutmeg over the top, and brown the surface with a salamander.

October 3rd

CURRANT AND APPLE PUDDING

Of each of the following materials take six ounces, grated bread, chopped apples, loaf sugar, currants, suet; to these add six eggs, two table-spoonfuls of candied orange, lemon, and citron peel mixed, half a nutmeg grated, and a glass of brandy. Boil for two hours in a well buttered mould.

October 4th

HUITRES AU CITRON

Instead of vinegar and black pepper, squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fish, and use Cayenne; and, like William Tell, you will “wonder you did not think of that before.”

October 5th

GIBLET PIE

Two sets of giblets are requisite to make a moderately sized pie: let these be properly cleaned and half stewed, cut the liver into three pieces, the gizzard into four, and divide the neck into joints, separate the feet from the legs ; strain off the liquor, and put both that and the meat by till perfectly cold; strew a moderate allowance of pepper and salt over the giblets, and do the same by a piece of rump-steak the size of the bottom of your pie dish; arrange the gizzard, & c . & c ., over the steak, pour in about a tea-cupful of veal stock, cover with puff paste, and bake in a slow oven for an hour and a half.

The liquor from the stew will by this time be quite cool enough to skim away the fat, thicken it with a tea-spoonful of flour, a bit of butter the size of a walnut, and add the juice of a lemon; boil this up, and, when the pie is sufficiently baked, strain it through a fine sieve, make a hole in the crust, pour in the liquor, replace the paste you have removed, smear the top with the yolk of an egg, and set the pie before the fire for a few minutes.

This is an admirable dish hot or cold.

October 6th

PEACHES IN BRANDY

Peel and cut halfa dozen peaches, not too ripe, into quarters, blanch and bruise the kernels; put these and the fruit into a large jar, with a quart of French brandy, half a pint of syrup a tea-spoonful of cinnamon, half a dozen cloves, and a blade of mace, all reduced to powder.

Close the jar very tightly, shake it as often as possible, and at the end of a month strain the liquor through a jelly-bag, and divide your fruit and syrup into smaller jars.

October 7th

WHITE POTATO-SOUP

Cut a moderately sized breast of mutton into small pieces, and put them into three quarts of water, make it boil, skim it carefully, and season the broth with salt and pepper to your taste; peel and cut into quarters half a dozen large and sound potatoes, and three turnips; slice up four onions, chop up three heads of celery, and throw these into the broth with a liberal handful of sweet herbs. Some cooks add three leeks; but, with onions already in use, I deem these Cambrian insignia unnecessary.

Let all stew for four hours and a half over a low fire; strain off the liquor, take out the mutton, and force as much of the vegetable as possible through a sieve with a wooden spoon. Beat up the yolks of a couple of eggs in a quarter of a pint of cream, stir all well together, and warm it up for sending to table.

October 8th

WALNUT CATCHUP

From this period to the first week in November you may purchase green walnut shells for the purpose of making catchup. Three half sieves will be enough to supply a small family for a twelvemonth.

Put these into a large earthen pan or pans, with a pound and a half of common salt; let them soak for three weeks, stirring them often; when you perceive that the shells have become soft, drain off the liquor, put the husks into a press, and get as much from them as possible.

Let this juice simmer very gently, and continue to skim it as long as any scum rises; put in an ounce of cloves, and another of long pepper, two ounces of ground ginger, and the same quantity of allspice; boil for half an hour, and then pour off to cool. Be careful in bottling that the spice be equally distributed, that you fill to the top, and that the corks be sound; secure them with common wax.

Keep the catchup in a cool place, and do not think of using it for at least nine months.

October 9th

PHEASANT

This bird enjoys a reputation far beyond its intrinsic merit; a capon or well-fed barn-door fowl is preferable as regards flavour. This may appear in the eyes of many epicures rank heresy, but we know

“What a deform'd thing that fashion is;"

and therefore offer the succeeding directions to those who differ in opinion:

Let the bird be carefully picked and drawn; after hanging some eight or ten days, take out the craw by cutting a slit in the back of the neck, leave the head on, and truss as you would a fowl for roasting, with this difference, that you do not cut off the feet, but merely divest them of the claws. From half an hour to three quarters' roasting will be sufficient, the time depending upon the size. Baste with fresh butter, send it to table properly browned, with some rich gravy sauce in which a tea-spoonful of ham extract has been mixed.

October 10th

STEWED PEARS

Carefully peel, cut in half, and take the cores out of a couple of dozen of winter pears; fill a stewpan more than three parts full with spring water, put in the peels and cores, and let them boil for twenty minutes, then strain the water off, throw it back into the pan with as much loaf sugar as will make a rich syrup; put in the pears, with a salt-spoonful of cochineal, more will turn the fruit brown; add a dozen cloves, and the peel of a lemon chopped fine; let the pears simmer till they are quite soft, looking to them constantly; when nearly done put in four wine-glasses of port, stirring it carefully, so as not to break the fruit.

Flat preserve pots are most appropriate for keeping stewed pears.

October 11th.

CURRY OF COW-HEEL

It is a common mistake to devote dry meats to the purpose of a dish of curry. Rabbit, chicken, veal, are all out of place. Lobster is passable, but the best material that can be used is the homely but excellent article cow-heel. Its mucilaginous nature absorbs the flavour of the Indian condiment; and the meat, being cut into small pieces, no one detects to what source they are indebted for so capital a dish.

October 12th

TO DRESS A CURRY

If, after the last valuable hint, you choose to make a curry of dry meat, you should do so as follows:

Cut the fowl or rabbit into small pieces, melt a quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a stew pan, and, when quite dissolved, put in the meat, and a Spanish onion cut into thin slices; when the meat becomes brown, pour in about half a pint of veal stock, and stew over a gentle fire for a quarter of an hour.

Mix a table-spoonful of flour with a spoonful of salt in water, then add three tea spoonfuls of curry-powder, and the juice of a lemon to the meat; stir all well together, and give it twenty minutes' more stewing.

The directions for boiling rice have already been given.

October 13th

SAVOURY OMELETTE

Cold fowl, veal, or veal kidney, are the best ingredients for this excellent dish; whichever you select must be chopped very fine, with an equal quantity of the lean of ham; add one shalot, a little parsley, and pepper and salt.

Mix the yolk of three eggs, and two tea-spoonfuls of flour, in a teacupful of milk. Beat up the whites of egg separately, see that the frying-pan be quite hot, and the lard boiling, before you put in the meat and yolks, well mixed together; as soon as you begin to fry, add the whites, and mix them well with the other ingredients. Ten minutes over a slow fire will be sufficient.

Brown with a salamander before you send it to table.

October 14th

SCALLOPED OYSTERS.

Pastrycooks, ay and some professed cooks too, send to table what they call scalloped oysters, when, in fact, the dish is nothing more than the fish made into sauce, poured into shapes, brown bread crumbs strewed over them, and kept in the oven till required.

The true method of making this savoury winter dish is to have the scallop well buttered, then a thin coat of finely powdered crumbs of white bread, on this place as many bearded oysters as the shape will hold; over these strew a little salt and Cayenne, and two or three morsels of butter; then make a second layer of crumbs, and proceed as before directed till the shape be filled, then pour the liquor of the oysters over, put them into the oven for half an hour, and just before serving to table brown the top with a hot salamander.

October 15th

MUTTON BROTH

For the sick room mutton broth should be prepared as follows:

Take off the skin and fat from a pound of the neck, put it into a quart of cold water, and let it boil very gently, skimming constantly; when you have removed as much scum as possible, put on the cover, and let the saucepan stand close to the fire for an hour, then pour out the liquor through a sieve; let it become quite cold to remove the slightest vestige of fat, season very moderately with pepper and salt; warm it up again, and serve it with sippets of toasted bread. For those in the enjoyment of man's greatest blessing, health, it is thus made:

Cut the fat off half a dozen chops from the loin; put these into a quart of cold water, with a couple of turnips peeled and cut into slices, an onion chopped fine, and a table spoonful of mixed sweet herbs; set a stewpan over a moderate fire; when the broth boils skim it well, cover down and let it simmer for an hour; take out the meat and vegetables, and pour the broth into a shallow dish; when quite cold take off the fat, and season the liquor with salt, enough Cayenne and powdered mace mixed to cover a sixpence. Pour back the liquor, put in the chops, &c., let all stew for half an hour longer, and serve both broth and meat in a tureen .

October 16th

RABBITS

Many persons are in the habit of eating rabbits that have been fed in some wretched cellar or garret, off any vegetable offal the proprietors could afford to give the poor animals. Let such feeders once try the flesh of the wild one, that has bounded over downs redolent of wild thyme, and “other sweet meats,” and they will never attempt to eat the flabby, tasteless, unwholesome mess called a tame rabbit.

The wild is easily known by the small quantity of fat, its firmness, and the closeness of its flesh.

For boiling, take out the liver and dress it separately; and to insure the desirable whiteness of flesh, let the rabbits soak for ten minutes in lukewarm water. Half an hour's boiling will be sufficient for those of moderate size, more if they are larger. Smother with onion sauce, chop the liver very fine, and serve it in a sauce boat; if you place the sauce round it, it may prevent those who dislike the flavour from partaking of the dish.

October 17th

SAUCE FOR ROAST MUTTON

Wash, bone, and chop small an anchovy; add the juice of a lemon, half a spoonful of salt, and a third of that quantity of Cayenne, a table-spoonful of dissolved glaze, a tea-spoonful of garlic vinegar, and a glass of port wine; warm all up, and pour it boiling over the joint just before dishing up.

October 18th

SAGO

A very pleasant supper dish, and an acceptable one to an invalid, is sago properly prepared.

Soak the quantity intended for use for an hour in cold water, pour this off, and wash it in fresh spring water; let it simmer slowly till it becomes transparent; to every tea cupful add a glass of port wine, and three lumps of sugar; boil it up with a stick of cinnamon, and serve it with dry toast.

October 19th

APPLE SAUCE

Peel off the rinds and cut the cores out of four baking apples, divide each into four pieces, put them into a saucepan with half a tumbler full of cold water, and a table-spoonful of lemon peel chopped small, close to the fire, but not on it, for an hour and a half, longer if you do not find that you can easily beat the apples into a pulp; when this can be done, put in an ounce of butter, and a dessert-spoonful of fine Lisbon sugar.

October 20th

POTTED PHEASANT, PARTRIDGE, GROUSE, OR SNIPE

It is absolutely essential that the birds intended for potting should be quite fresh; let them be carefully boned. Make a force-meat in the proportion of a pound of fillet of veal to a pound and a quarter of fat bacon; let these be chopped and pounded very fine, and then rubbed through a wire sieve, to take away the sinews,

&c.

Place the force-meat again in the mortar, and beat up spice, Cayenne, and salt, to your taste; be careful not to use too much of the latter, if your bacon be well cured.

Have some half dozen fresh green truffleswashed, peeled, and warmed in butter; mix all the

ingredients. Place a layer of force-meat at the bottom of each of your pots, then put in the birds, well stuffed with the same; line the sides of the pots with slices of bacon, and cover with force-eat. Bake in a slow oven for an hour and a quarter. When perfectly cold, pour mutton suet and lard, melted, in equal quantities over the top of each pot, and tie them down with bladders.

Some cooks add a little calf's liver to the force-meat, to produce an additional flavour; but I do not approve of the introduction.

October 21st

ROAST RUMP OF BEEF

This joint is seldom seen at table, although full of flavour. The directions, as to cooking it, are similar to those given under the head of “Sirloin.” It should be invariably eaten hot; what remains will form an excellent foundation for soup.

October 22nd

CRANBERRY TART

Wash a quart of berries in several waters, dry them on a coarse cloth, and pick them carefully. Mix them in a basin with a quarter of a pound of finely powdered white sugar, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fruit. Put all into a pie-dish, have a light paste ready for the top, and bake for forty minutes.

Sweden, Russia, and America supply us with these berries; those from the first-named country possess most flavour.

October 23rd

MULLAGATAWNY SOUP

Parboil, in two quarts of water, a couple of fowls or rabbits, cut the meat off the bones, put these and the livers into the water; add a couple of shalots chopped fine, two tea-spoonfuls of powdered mace and salt, and a salt-spoonful of Cayenne pepper; let the bones, & c., boil for an hour and a quarter over a slow fire. Cut four moderate-sized onions into thin slices, and fry them with the meat in fresh butter till they are properly browned.

When the broth has been on the time directed, skim it carefully, strain it through a fine sieve, and put in the meat and onion, and let all simmer for five-a n d-twenty minutes; rub together a table-spoonful of fine flour, and an equal quantity of curry-powder, stir these by degrees, and after ten minutes' more slow simmering the soup will be ready for table. Boiled rice is sometimes added, but that renders the dish more like a stew than a soup.

October 24th

SUET DUMPLINGS

Put a tea-spoonful of salt into eight ounces of fine flour, and mix well with half a dozen ounces of finely chopped suet; beat up, in a teacupful of milk, a couple of eggs, and stir these with the other ingredients. This will make eight small dumplings; they can be either tied up separately in cloths covered with flour, or put in “naked,” and boiled for an hour, with beef or mutton.

October 25th

ANOTHER WEST INDIA EXPERIENCE

To a tumbler filled with two-thirds of lemonade, add a wine-glass of brandy, and fill to the brim with green lime shrub. This is very pretty tipple.

October 26th

PORK JELLY

Let a fresh leg of pork be cut into large pieces, the bone broken, and put into three gallons of soft water, with half an ounce of nutmeg, and half an ounce of mace . Boil for three hours over a slow fire, strain off the liquor, and skim the fat when quite cold.

The eminent Dr. Radcliffe used to prescribe a wine-glassful of this made warm, to be taken fasting in the morning and just before going to bed, as a powerful check to consumptive symptoms.

October 27th

WHITE SAUCE

Put a pound of veal, and a quarter of a pound of the lean of dressed ham, into a stewpan, with an ounce of butter; let the fire be very low, and be careful that the meat does not burn; as soon as itis quite warm, mix, in a pint and a half of water, two table-spoonfuls of flour; add this, beating it up quite smooth; put in also a small onion, a tea-spoonful of mixed powdered mace, bruised cloves, and Cayenne pepper, a table spoonful of mushroom powder, the leaves of four sprigs of parsley, and two of thyme; let all simmer gently for two hours; the sauce should by this time be reduced to a pint; strain through a coarse sieve, take the fat off when cold, and warm it up again for use with half a pint of cream,

This is called by French cooks Bechamel.

October 28th

ROAST LEG OF PORK

Allow from twenty to five-and-twenty minutes per pound for roasting; do not suffer the joint to be too close to the fire.

Let the knuckle be stuffed with sage and onion minced fine, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, as before directed. Score the crackling, and rub it over with some Florence oil upon a brush, this will assist in giving it a deep brown colour, and prevent it from rising in blisters.

Serve with apple-sauce, fresh mustard, and mashed potatoes.

October 29th

CHESTNUTS

The most elegant method of serving chestnuts is to dress them as follows:

Let them be well roasted, and the husks taken off; dissolve a quarter of a pound of sugar in a wine-glassful of water, and the juice of a lemon; put this and the chestnuts into a saucepan over a slow fire for ten minutes ; serve in a deep dish, and grate sugar over the top.

October 30th

ZIDER AN”

Such is the name given by the farmers of Somerset and Gloucester shires to a beverage which they recommend to the especial notice of gentlemen who brave the cold in pursuit of sport.

“Cider and” (brandy understood) is composed of two-thirds of cider and one of brandy, sweetened with loaf sugar, and an aromatic flavour given by a plentiful allowance of grated nutmeg.

October 31st

MUTTON PIE A LA PERIGORD

Cut the fat off half a dozen mutton chops, and season them with pepper and salt. Line the bottom of a pie dish with paste about the tenth of an inch thick, put five peeled truffles in the centre, and arrange the chops, with thin rashers of bacon between them, round the dish; two ounces of butter cut into thin slices are placed at the top, and half a teacupful of veal stock poured in. Cover with paste, and bake for three hours in a slow oven, make a small orifice in the top crust, and pour in a couple of glasses of brown sherry or Madeira.

The top of the pie can be rendered ornamental if desired, and glazed, as before directed, with egg.

November 1st

BROILED BLADE-BONE OF VEAL

A blade-bone of veal carefully broiled till it is perfectly done, and sent to table with some stewed mushrooms and a fresh lemon, is a very savoury dish.

November 2nd

BAKED APPLE PUDDING

Peel and slice half a dozen apples, scald them, and steam off the water; beat them up with two ounces of butter, the juice of a lemon and its peel grated, sweeten to your taste; when cold, add the whites of three eggs, and the yolks of five; put a thin crust in the disk, and bake in a slow oven.

November 3rd

OYSTER SAUCE

Beard the oysters, and stew them in their own liquor, with enough mace to cover the point of a knife. Beat up the yolk of an egg in melted butter, and then add the oysters and liquor.

November 4th

CREAM FOR GLASSES

Dissolve a quarter of an ounce of isinglass, melt in a wine-glassful of brandy about half a dozen lumps of loaf-sugar, whip some cream well; add the above, and just before putting into the glasses squeeze the juice of a lemon into your mixture.

November 5th

BROWN FRICASSEE OF RABBITS

Cut a couple of rabbits into joints, fry these in a little fresh butter till they become a light brown colour. Put the meat into a stewpan, with a pint of spring water, two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, mushroom catchup, and Reading sauce, a couple of burnt onions, a little Cayenne and salt.

Stew over a slow fire till perfectly done, then take out the meat, strain the gravy, and thicken it with a little flour if necessary; make it quite hot, and pour it over the rabbits.

November 6th

SMELTS IN JELLY

А very tasteful supper dish may be thus prepared:

Select half a dozen fine smelts, rub their interiors well with salt and powdered mace; put them into a flat earthen pot, with a layer of butter above and below them, and set them in a slow oven for forty minutes; take them carefully out, and let them drain on a slanting board, or white tile, till quite cold.

Choose a mould sufficiently large to hold them, pour in savoury jelly, nearly cold, and place the fish horizontally, with their backs downwards, in the mould; as soon as it is completely filled, set it in a cold place; when required, turn it out on a dish, and garnish it with pickled bar berries.

It is at once elegant in appearance and piquant in flavour.

November 7th

MOCK TURTLE SOUP

Parboil, in separate saucepans of a large size, and well filled with water, half a calf's head with the skin on, and half a pig's head. Skim the water constantly in which the first is boiling.

Take both out, cut the meat off in oblong squares, about an inch and a quarter long, and slice the tongues; put the bones of both into the liquor in which the calf's head has been boiled, with a table-spoonful of sweet herbs in powder, the juice of two lemons, and the peel of one, chopped fine, half a dozen cloves, a tablespoonful of mushroom powder, and a chalot chopped fine; let it all simmer slowly over the fire for a couple of hours.

Make a couple of dozen savoury forcemeat balls, and boil a dozen eggs very hard. Pour the liquor through a sieve at the expiration of the two hours, and let it be quite cold before you remove the fat and scum; the liquor ought to be in a jelly, but not too stiff a one.

Put this into a stewpan, with the meat, the forcemeat balls, the yolks of the eggs, a spoonful of salt, and a third of Cayenne, with half a pint of sherry. Stew for an hour and a half, and it will be fit for table.

This preparation, both in appearance and flavour, more closely resembles real Turtle than any other I have ever eaten.

November 8th

CORNED SHOULDER OF MUTTON

A shoulder of mutton, not too fat, well powdered with salt for four days, boiled, and sent to table with plenty of onion sauce, is a dish often found at good men's boards in Ireland.

November 9th

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Whisk up four eggs, then add three spoonfuls of salt, mix gradually eight tablespoonfuls of fine flour with a pint and a half of new milk, add the eggs, &c.; put a tin dish under your joint; let it become quite hot, and well covered with the fat of the meat; two hours before dinner, pour the batter into the tin, turn the pudding every half hour, so as to have both sides well browned; be careful to brush away immediately any coal or cinders that may fall out, or the appearance of the pudding will be destroyed.

November 10th

BROWN MINCED VEAL

For a bachelor's table, or a small family, an economical method of preparing minced veal is as follows:

Cut the meat off the bones, and put them into a saucepan with a quart of water; stew till you have about half a pint of liquor left. Whilst the gravy is drawing, chop the meat, both fat and lean, small, season with pepper and salt, the juice of a lemon, and a little peel as before directed, add a table-spoonful of mushroom-catchup, warm it up in the same manner as the white mince, and garnish with sippets.

November 11th

STEWED OYSTERS

Strain off the liquor from a dozen and a half of fine oysters, thicken it with flour and butter, add a table spoonful of cream, a tea-spoonful of mace in powder, a very little salt: as soon as you have well mixed these, pour them into a stew-pan, and put in the oysters. Shake the pan over the fire, but do not let the sauce boil, or you will render the fish hard. Serve in a deep dish, and garnish with toasted bread in sippets.

November 12th

HUNTING BEEF

Rub well into a round of beef a quarter of a pound of saltpetre finely powdered. Next day mix half an ounce of cloves, an ounce of black pepper, the same quantity of ground allspice, with half a pound of salt; wash and rub the beef in the brine for a fortnight, adding every other day a table-spoonful of salt.

Have ready an earthen pan deep enough to hold the joint, and lay suet an inch deep at the bottom; rub the beef in coarse cloth still perfectly free from the salt and spice; put it into the pan with a quart of water, some more suet on the top, and cover with a thick coarse crust.

Bake for seven hours, pour off the gravy, and place the meat upon a proper dish; do not cut it till cold; at this season of the year, it will keep for a couple of months.

November 13th

SALLY LUNN CAKE

The original concocter of this favourite tea-cake, Mrs. Sarah Lunn , “Sally with her familiars,” resided in the gay city of Bath, close to its venerable abbey. I well remember in my youth seeing the antique domicile; house and occupant have long been swept away, but the worthy dame's name is insured to a grateful posterity, as connected with the delicacy thus made.

Put a pint of boiling milk into a pan, and when it has become lukewarm, pour half a tumbler of yeast upon it; stir well and add as much flour as will form a good stiff batter, cover the pan with a cloth, and place it before the fire for two hours. Beat up four eggs with a couple of ounces of powdered sugar ; after allowing the time specified, mix a quarter of a pound of butter, the eggs and sugar, with the dough; let all remain in the pan for half an hour.

Divide into cakes, put them on tins, and bake in a well heated oven.

November 14th

MUTTON CUTLETS

Chop the leaves off half a dozen stalks of parsley, and a couple of chalots very fine; season with small quantities of salt and Cayenne, and mix all together in a table-spoonful of Florence oil; cover the cutlets on both sides with these ingredients, shake them in finely powdered bread crumbs, and fry in fresh butter, turning them till quite done.

November 15th

A BOWL OF BISHOP A LA PRUSSE

Stick a Seville orange with cloves, and roast it for half an hour, then put two bottles of Hermitage (or Port), and one of Hock (or Sherry ), into a saucepan, sweeten with white sugar to your taste, and add a stick of cinnamon broken up; stir the sugar and spice well in the wine; when that is nearly boiling, put it into a bowl, then immerse the roast orange, and stir it about for five minutes, a delicate bitter and aromatic flavour is produced by its introduction.

November 16th

STEWED WINTER SPINACH

Boil and squeeze the vegetable as before directed, mix three ounces of butter with a spoonful of salt, and as much flour as it will hold; put this and the spinach into a stewpan, and stir it well for a quarter of an hour. Before serving, add a teacupful of cream, or of veal or beef gravy; this dish is applicable to any joint of roast meat.

November 17th

BEEF-STEAK PUDDING

Line a basin with a well made light paste, not too thick, put in half the quantity of beef required, each piece having been seasoned with a little salt and Cayenne pepper, then put in a dozen oysters with their liquor, two table-spoonfuls of mushroom catchup, two tea-spoonfuls of chalot vinegar, and the rest of the meat; let your top crust be well secured to the basin, the whole carefully tied up.

Boil according to the size of your pudding,and depend on it you will find this a very toothsome dish.

November 18th

PORK LOZENGE

A keen sportsman of my acquaintance, whenever a roast leg of pork came to table, was sure to partake of it, not only from his affection for pig-meat, but to enable him to cut away the crackling, scrape it quite free from fat, and divide it into lengths of about an inch, fold these morsels in paper, and fill his waistcoat pocket with them whenever he rode to hounds, or handled his double-barrelled Manton; and he has often assured me that he derived great sustenance and support by allowing these “ Pork Lozenges," as he was pleased to call them, to dissolve in his mouth.

November 19th

ORANGE PUDDING

Beat up the yolks of eight eggs, grate the rinds of a couple of Seville oranges; add to these a quarter of a pound of finely powdered sugar, the same weight of fresh butter, three spoonfuls of orange flower-water, two glasses of Sherry, a couple of Naples biscuits, and a teacupful of cream; line the bottom, sides, and rim of a dish with puff paste, pour in the ingredients, and bake for half an hour.

November 20th

LIVER AND BACON

Chop up finely a chalot, and half a dozen sprigs of parsley,rollapieceofbutter the sizeofa walnut in flour, season a teacupful of veal stock with salt and pepper; put these and a calf's liver cut into slices into a stewpan for three quarters of an hour.

Having soaked the required number of slices of bacon in luke warm water for an hour, fry them, and place them round a dish alternately with the slices of liver, pour the liquor from the stewpan, through a sieve, into the centre of the dish.

November 21st

ROAST RABBIT

Clear out the interior and fill it with the same stuffing used for hare, baste it with abundance of fresh butter, and use flour occasionally; thirty minutes' roasting will be sufficient for a small rabbit; five or ten more if larger.

Boil the liver with a dozen sprigs of parsley; when quite tender, chop both up fine, and add them to melted butter as a sauce, but be sure to have another boat with plain gravy sauce to send to table,

November 22nd

VEAL AND HAM PIE

Take the meat off an undrest breast of veal, by cutting it in pieces about an inch and a half long, and an inch broad. Put the bones into a saucepan, with plenty of water, and a bundle of sweet herbs ; extract about half a pint of strong gravy, strain this through a sieve.

Line a pie-dish with thin paste, envelop every piece of veal in a thin slice of drest ham, not too fat, have ready half a dozen hard boiled eggs, distributing the yolks of these amongst your meat. Season the gravy extracted from the bones with pepper and salt, and pour it over the meat till the dish be completely filled, then cover with top crust.

This pie will require more time in baking than those of beef-steak, mutton, or fruit.

November 23rd

A HINT FROM BARBADOES

If you desire to render a glass of punch more than usually acceptable at this season of the year, add a table-spoonful of Guava jelly to it, and when you drink it, you will bless your stars, smack your lips, and thank me for having told you to try it.

November 24th

STEWED RUMP OF BEEF

Having prepared a rich gravy, in which plenty of sweet herbs have been infused, let the bone be taken out ,and your beef larded with fat bacon, put it in the stewpan with carrots, turniips, celery, parsley, pepper and salt.

Stew for as many hours as your been weighs pounds.

November 25th

VENISON PASTY

A neck, or breast of doe venison,can be rendered very savoury by treating it thus:

Take off the skin, and cut the meat off the bones into pieces of about an inch and a half square; put these, with the bones and skin, into a stewpan, cover them with veal or mutton broth, add a tea-spoonful of powdered mace, half a dozen allspice, four chalots chopped fine, a tea-spoonful of salt, a fourth of Cayenne, and a tumbler of Port wine; stew over a slow fire until the meat is half done, then take it out and let the gravy continue on the fire whilst the crust for the pasty is preparing ; line a good large dish, arrange your meat in it, pour the gravy upon it through a sieve, adding the juice of a lemon, put on the top crust, and bake for a couple of hours in a slow oven.

November 26th

VEGETABLE SOUP

Scrape and cut into thin slices four carrots, peel and slice three turnips, chop up three heads of celery, and the hearts of two lettuces; slice a Spanish onion thin.

Put these, with half a pound of butter, two table spoonfuls of salt, and one of black pepper, into a stew pan, set it on a slow fire, stir well to prevent burning; and when the vegetables are nearly warmed through, pour boiling water over them till the pan is filled.

Let all boil slowly for three hours and a half, then rub it through a hair sieve; if properly cooked it should be the thickness of cream, and of a rich yellow colour.

November 27th

ROAST LARKS

These should be enveloped in thin slices of ham or bacon, and well basted ; fifteen minutes' roasting will be sufficient. Before serving, take off the bacon, and strew bread crumbs over the birds, brown them with a salamander, and send them to table with melted butter and a fresh lemon.

November 28th

PICKLED PORK

No meat requires so much cooking as pickled pork, I do not say boiling, for it should be suffered to simmer only, and that very gently.

Let it be invariably well washed, and scraped free from the brine before dressing. For a leg allow at least five-and twenty minutes per pound, for other joints twenty, and be sure that the water be constantly skimmed.

It is equally good hot or cold. Serve with peas pudding and fresh mustard,

November 29th

PEAS PUDDING

Tie up, loosely, in a cloth, a quart of split peas, put them into a saucepan of cold water, and let them boil for two hours and a quarter, rub them through a coarse sieve into a dish, stir in an ounce of butter, a spoonful of salt, and a few grains of Cayenne; beat up the yolks of a couple of eggs, and mix these wel l with thepeas, &c. Tie up the pudding, in a well floured cloth, as tightly as you can, and give it another hour's boiling.

November 30th

SNOW PANCAKES

Beat up a quarter of a pound of flour in milk till you have a stiff batter, add a spoonful of salt, a quarter of a nutmeg grated. Divide the batter into as many pancakes as you require, and to each portion add three table-spoonfuls of pure snow.

Fry in fresh butter, and you will find them as light as though you had used eggs in their composition.

December 1st

MINCE MEAT

It is now a fitting time for the preparation of mince meat, which is much improved by being well mixed for some days before use. Peel, core, and chop fine, a pound of sound apples, wash and pick a pound and a half of currants, stone half a pound of raisins, and let both these be chopped small; take away the skin and gristle from a pound of cold roast beef, and carefully pick a pound of beef suet; chop these well together.

Cut into small bits three quarters of a pound of mixed candied orange, citron and lemon peel; let all these be well stirred up in a large pan.

Grind into powder a nutmeg , half an ounce of ginger, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves, the same quantity of allspice, and coriander seeds, add half an ounce of salt, and put these into the pan, mixing thoroughly.

Grate the rinds of three lemons, and squeeze the juice over half a pound of fine Lisbon sugar, mixed with the lemon peel, pour over this two gills of Brandy and half a pint of Sherry.

Let these ingredients be stirred for twenty minutes, cover the pan with a slate, and when about to use the mince-meat, take it from the bottom of the pan.

December 2nd

APPLE FRITTERS

Peel and core a dozen dumpling apples, boiled quite soft, force the pulp through a sieve, add sugar to your taste. Thicken, moderately, a quart of new milk with fine flour, beat up eight eggs with a small quantity of grated nutmeg, powdered mace, a tea-spoonful of salt, and a glass of brandy; mix well all together.

Let the frying-pan be quite hot, and melt a quarter of a pound of butter in it ; place the batter in the pan in separate quantities of about two spoonfuls each, put a spoonful of apple pulp on every portion, and cover with two more spoonfuls of batter. Grate sugar over them, and serve with a fresh lemon.

December 3rd

CORNED COD FISH

Cod fish, that has been for a couple of days well rubbed with salt, gains a firmness very desirable to the true lover of this excellent and fortunately abundant fish.

December 4th

SOLUBLE HORSE RADISH

Scrape a stick of horse-radish, and boil it in vinegar; when you find that the liquor is strongly flavoured with the piquancy of the root, pour it upon salt, as directed in making “Soluble cayenne.” I have known many persons obliged to leave the table from the unpleasant fact of a long string of horse-radish having become entangled in their teeth, and descending, with the mouthful into the throat, but not going farther, and thus causing a sensation of suffocation. Such a trial of temper will be avoided by using the above preparation.

December 5th

MUSTARD FOR KEEPING

To a quart of horse-radish vinegar made as just directed, add three ounces of salt, and as much of the best flour of mustard as will form a good thick paste, let it be mixed till perfectly smooth, then put it into an open-mouthed bottle.

December 6th

INDIAN METHOD OF DRESSING CURRY

Stew, but not too long, whatever meat you select, in water enough to cover it. Mix the curry powder with milk, salt, and lemon juice; add this to the liquor of the meat; fry a few onions of a light brown , and put in these just before dishing.

December 7th

CELERY SAUCE.

Take the inside leaves of two or three heads of celery, wash them well, and cut them across into slices about a quarter of an inch thick, then boil for five minutes, and drain off the water. Beat up a teacupful of cream, two tea-spoonfuls of flour, and two ounces of butter; as soon as this is warm, put in the celery, and keep it well stirred over the fire for ten or twelve minutes. This is an admirable sauce for boiled fowl or Turkey.

December 8th

WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES

These birds should be roasted by the aid of a jack, or bird -spit, the thighs closely secured to the body by an iron skewer, let them be well basted, and have a bright fire; place toast under them to receive the trails; twenty minutes roasting is sufficient for woodcocks, a quarter of an hour for snipes. Serve with lemon juice and Cayenne.

December 9th

FRANGIPANE

Beat up six eggs and add two spoonfuls of flour, a spoonful of grated lemon-peel, another of powdered sugar, a table-spoonful of orange flower-water, and half a dozen macaroons broken up ; put these and a pint of milk into a stewpan over a slow fire, stir it well for twenty minutes ; have ready some pattipans lined with puff paste, pour in the ingredients and bake for twenty minutes.

December 10th

JUGGED HARE.

Divide an undrest hare into joints; let them be larded with bacon. Mix well, upon the dish on which you have made the dissection, a spoonful of salt, and half a one of Cayenne and pounded mace, a few leaves of mixed sweet herbs; add to these four silver onions, half a dozen cloves, a gill of port wine, half a pint of spring water, and a table-spoonful of currant jelly.

Put all into a jug with a close fitting top, and place it in a saucepan of boiling water for three hours. Lay the meat on a dish before the fire, strain the liquor, boil it up, and pour it over the hare just before sending to table.

December 11th

PORK BROTH

Cut the fat off some four, or half dozen delicate pork chops, then separate the outward skin from the fat, and put it with the bones and meat into a stewpan, add a little rice whole, a few sweet herbs, some pepper and salt; let it simmer over a slow fire for an hour, skimming every ten minutes. Strain it before serving.

This preparation should be, if properly made, perfectly transparent, and if intended for an invalid, its delicacy entirely depends on the attention paid to its skimming.

December 12th

WHITE OYSTER SAUCE

Rub two table-spoonfuls of flour into a piece of butter the size of an egg, melt these gently in a stew pan, and add three quarters of a pint of stock to thicken, with half a spoonful of salt, the juice of half a lemon, and a gill of cream. The oysters should be bearded and stewed in their own liquor separately; when the sauce is as thick as melted butter, add the fish, and stir them well together. This is applicable for boiled Turkey, fowl, or cod -fish.

December 13th

WILD DUCKS

A brisk fire is necessary for roasting these birds; baste and dredge them well, allow twenty minutes for cooking, if you desire to have them full of gravy. Serve with gravy-sauce, to which a chopped chalot, and the juice of a Seville orange has been added.

December 14th

VERMICELLI PUDDING

Chop up the rind of half a lemon, and break a stick of cinnamon into bits; boil these in a pint of milk, then sweeten with sugar to your taste, and strain through a sieve; put a quarter of a pound of vermicelli into the milk, and let it boil for ten minutes; beat up the yolks of six eggs, add half the whites, pour all into a dish and bake for half an hour.

December 15th

HASHED WIDGEON, TEAL, OR WILD DUCK

It is not possible to make a good hash of wild fowl over roasted; to eat this dish in perfection, the birds should be half dressed expressly for the purpose. Cut them into joints,mix the juice of two Seville oranges with two table-spoonfuls of Reading or home-made sauce, a gill of port wine, a tea-spoonful of mushroom powder, and four artichoke bottoms, broken into bits; see that you have enough to cover the flesh, adding a little more of each liquid if necessary ; make it boil, and ten minutes before the hash is required, put in the meat, and let it simmer gently for that time.

December 16th

RED ROUND

Corn a round in the manner directed for “Hunting Beef,” only using double the quantity of saltpetre named in that recipe; at the expiration of a fortnight, wipe it quite free from the brine, and stuff every interstice that you can find with equal portions of chopped parsley, and mixed sweet herbs in powder, seasoned with ground allspice, mace, salt, and Cayenne; do not be sparing of this mixture, put the round into a pan, fill it with strong ale; and bake in a very slow oven for eight hours, turning it in the liquor every two hours, and adding more ale if necessary.

This is an excellent preparation for the approaching festive season, and is usually sent to table enveloped in ornamented writing paper. Scarcely a family of any respectability in the Green Isle but has a red round to assist in the “keeping of Christmas.”

December 17th

OMELETTE SOUFLEE

Break up a dozen eggs, separating the whites from the yolks, into the latter mix two tea-spoonfuls of grated lemon-peel, and four of finely powdered sugar; whisk the whites for ten minutes, add the froth to the yolks just before frying. Melt a quarter of a pound of butter in a pan, and put in the eggs; as soon as they are quite set, slant the frying-pan and turn the mover.

Have the dish, on which you mean to serve, well buttered, strew powdered sugar over the omelette, and brown the top with a salamander.

December 18th

STEWED EELS

After killing, as before directed, skin and cut the fish into lengths of about two inches; fill a frying-pan with fresh parsley, and place the eels upon it over a slow fire, extract as much of the oily fat from the fish as possible, keeping them turned, and having sufficient parsley to prevent their touching the pan.

Place them on a slanting board, to drain for a couple of hours. Have ready some rich beef gravy, into which put two table-spoonfuls of mixed sweet herbs in powder, two glasses of sherry, a third of Cayenne pepper to three fourths of a spoonful of salt, and a dozen small silver onions; let the fish stew in these ingredients over a slow fire for an hour.

Strain the gravy through a sieve; should it require thickening, add a little flour, beat up with the yolk of an egg, lay the onions on the dish, and the sauce, quite hot, over the fish. Garnish with slices of lemon.

December 19th

WHITE FRICASSEE OF RABBITS

Be careful to take away all the interior of the rabbits usually left after casing, and cut off the heads; wash them repeatedly in cold water, till the flesh is perfectly white.

Put them into a saucepan of boiling water, and, as soon as it boils up again, take out the rabbits, and cut them into joints.

Thicken a pint of milk with flour and butter; add a little mace, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt, and white pepper; put this into a stewpan with the flesh, cover carefully down, and let it simmer for half an hour.

The sauce should be as thick as cream , and as white as snow, if properly dressed.

December 20th

PIG’s HEAD ROASTED

Divide the head of a young porker in half, take out the brains, and cleanse the interior thoroughly “par le moyen d'une petite canule.” Put stuffing of breadcrumbs, sweet herbs, and lemon -peel, elsewhere given, into the space once occupied by the brains of the sapient animal; tie the head together carefully; a stitch or two is advisable to render all secure; let it roast according to its size, and serve with brain and currant sauce.

It is scarcely possible, in these enlightened days, when our scullions jabber French, that any part of this direction should require translation; but as I wish on all occasions to be clearly understood, I beg leave, in the event of an English meaning being desired, to refer the reader to the first volume of Tristram Shandy, where, in the sixtieth page, Lawrence Sterne puts the meaning of the phrase beyond all possible doubt.

December 21st

ARROW ROOT

The practice of boiling arrow -root in milk is at once wasteful and unsatisfactory; the best mode of preparing enough for an invalid's supper is as follows:

Put a dessert-spoonful of the powder, two lumps of sugar, into a chocolate cup, with a few drops of Malaga or any other sweet wine; mix these well together, and add, in small quantities, more wine, until a smooth and thick paste is formed.

Pour boiling water by slow degrees, stirring all the while, close to the fire, until the mixture becomes perfectly transparent.

December 22nd

PLUM PORRIDGE FOR CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES

Make a good strong broth from four pounds of veal, and an equal quantity of shin of beef; strain and skim off the fat when cold. Whilst the consommé is preparing, wash and stone three pounds and a half of raisins of the sun

Wash and well dry the same weight of best Smyrna currants, take out the stones from two pounds and a half of French plums, and grate up the crumbs of two quartern loaves, squeeze the juice of eight oranges and four lemons; put these, with a stick of cinnamon reduced to powder, a grated nutmeg, half a dozen cloves, and five pounds of lump sugar into your broth; stir well together, and then pour in a dozen of sherry.

Put the vessel over a slow fire, that is, if you have one large enough for the purpose, if not, you must have recourse to the copper; when you perceive that the ingredients are soft, pour in six bottles of hock, stir the porridge well, and, as soon as it boils, it is fit for use.

December 23rd

LAMB'S HEAD, Fry, & c

As every part of house lamb is considered somewhat dainty at this season, I recommend that the head be split in half, cleaned, and, as well as the fry, rubbed over with finely powdered bread crumbs, mixed sweet herbs, a little mace, Cayenne, and salt, beat up in a couple of eggs, then fried in fresh butter, and sent to table garnished with crisp parsley.

December 24th

PLUM PUDDING

An excellent pudding can be made with the follow ingredients:

Half a pound of flour, half a pound of grated bread, a pound of currants, well washed and dried, a pound of raisins stoned and cut, the peel of a lemon finely chopped, an ounce and a half of mixed spice, an ounce of butter, two ounces of sweet almonds cut small, six ounces of candied orange, lemon, and citron peel, four eggs, a tea-spoonful of salt, two of sugar, and three wine glasses of brandy.

Mix all these together well, adding as much milk as necessary to make the mixture of a proper consistency. Boil in a melon shaped mould for eight hours.

December 25th

SAUCE FOR PLUM PUDDING

Into a quarter of a pint of thick melted butter, put a table-spoonful of powdered sugar, a quarter of a nutmeg grated, a tea-spoonful of lemon syrup, two glasses of Madeira, and one of Curaçoa; stir all well together, a n d pour it quite hot over the pudding.

December 26th

ROAST TURKEY

A turkey of eight pounds will require two hours' roasting, andbconstantbbasting. Ibrecommend, instead of the ordinary stuffing, that sausage-meat be substituted .

December 27th

CHINE

Observe the same directions as those given under the head of “Pickled pork,” making due allowance for the difference of weight.

December 28th

DEVILS

The gizzard of a turkey scored, and rubbed with fresh butter and Cayenne, is esteemed an admirable provocative to drinking deep. The back-bone of mackerel similarly treated makes the best devil I know of.

December 29th

PIGEONS

These birds cannot be dressed too fresh; let them be stuffed with chopped parsley and seasoned bread crumbs, and roast for five-and-twenty minutes; serve with gravy sauce.

December 30th

WINTER PEAS SOUP

Into three quarts of the liquor in which you have boiled pork, beef, or mutton, put a quart of split peas, two heads of celery, two onions in slices, and a table spoonful of mixed sweet herbs; let it simmer slowly for three hours; skim it, force it through a sieve, and add spice to your taste before warming up for use.

December 31st

EGG FLIP

Beat up, in a jug, four new laid eggs, omitting two of the whites; add half a dozen large lumps of sugar, and rub these well in the eggs; pour in boiling water, about half a pint at a time, and when the jug is nearly full throw in two tumblers of Cognac brandy, and one of old Jamaica rum