Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (27)

_Ice Soufflé._--Clarify some sugar by mixing a good teaspoonful of white of egg, previously well beaten, with 1 pint water; put this into a very clean stewpan, add 1 lb. sifted white sugar and boil together over a slow fire, carefully taking off the scum as it rises until none remains; then strain it through a fine clean cloth, when it should be clear. Take ½ pint of this clarified syrup with the yolks of 6 eggs, 1 whole egg, and ½ port-wine glassful of maraschino; stir them together, and then pour them into a pudding basin which has been warmed by having hot water in it, taking care that it is quite dry again before using. Set this on a stove of hot ashes, and begin whisking the mixture briskly, continuing to do so until it attains the consistency of a smooth light batter. Tie or otherwise fix a band of double paper round the lining of a soufflé dish, so that it stands 2 in. higher; fill this with the preparation to within ½ in. of the edge of the paper. It will be necessary to have a circular tin box, with a closely fitting lid, large enough to contain the soufflé, which must now be put into it; put on the lid, and plunge it into a pailful of crushed ice, with which has been mixed some salt and saltpetre (about ¼ lb. each mixed together); cover the pail with a piece of coarse wet flannel, and let it so remain in the ice for about 3 hours, or until it is time to send it to table; then remove the paper, and sift over it either a little grated chocolate, or some macaroon biscuit powder, which will just give it the appearance of having been baked. Any other flavouring may be used instead of the maraschino, if preferred, using some other liqueur, or vanilla, lemon, orange, &c.; or a small cupful of very strong coffee made in the usual way, may be substituted if a soufflé au café is desired.

_Jamaica Jelly._--Boil to a clear jelly 1 lb. sugar, mix with 2 oz. clarified isinglass and 1 wineglassful Jamaica rum. Damp a mould, and pour the jelly in, let it cool, and turn out. Ornament with clotted cream and small clusters of purple grapes.

_Jam Pudding._--Take equal quantities fine flour and suet, remove all skin from the suet, slice it very thin, and then chop it quite fine, mix together, and moisten with cold water; add a very little salt, knead it well, and roll it out quite thin (about ⅙ in.). Spread the paste equally over with any kind of jam to within ½ in. of the edge, moisten the edges with water, roll up the pudding, pinch the edges together; put it into a cloth, which must be tied at both ends. Put the pudding into boiling water, and boil about 2 hours.

_Jam Roll._-½ lb. butter must be stirred to a cream, then the yolks of 12 eggs added, and ½ lemon peel grated. Add by degrees ½ lb. sifted sugar, ¼ lb. fine flour, and the same of potato flour, or, if preferred, the whole ½ lb. may be of the former. When these are well mixed add the egg whites whipped to a snow. Thoroughly stir all together. Make 4 or 5 white paper plates by stretching the paper over any round utensil (a large dinner plate will do), plait up an edge 1 in. deep, and tack it round with a needle and thread to keep it upright. Butter these paper plates, and lay them on baking tins. Spread over each a layer of the above mixture not thicker than a thin pancake. Bake them in a moderate oven a nice yellow, but do not let them tinge brown. When cold cut away the paper round, turn the cakes over, and peel off the bottom paper, but take great care not to break the cakes. Lay one cake over the other, with preserve between each, till all are piled up. It may be all of one sort of preserve, or varied, one layer of marmalade if liked. Dissolve powdered sugar with a little lemon juice. Spread it thickly over the top and sides of the cake to make a glazing. Put it in a cool oven to dry, or it may simply be pared smoothly all round, and strewn thickly with sifted sugar. If required as a roll, the cake mixture must be poured into a large flat baking tin as thin as before, and when of a nice yellow colour take it out of the oven, quickly turn it out on to a flat board, and while still hot spread it over with preserve, but not too near the edges. It must then be quickly rolled, beginning at the edge next you, and then left to cool before being cut. Great care is required to do the rolling of the pastry, but practice and perseverance will soon overcome the difficulty. Before leaving to cool, sprinkle it thickly with sugar as before.

_Jam Tartlets._--Take some puff paste, roll it out ½ in. thick, and line some patty-pans with it. Cut some rounds out of the bottom of a stale loaf 1 in. diameter less than the patty-pans, put one in each pan exactly in the middle, and press it down; bake in a quick oven until the paste has well risen--about 15 minutes. Remove the pieces of bread, and fill each tartlet with either apricot, strawberry, or currant and raspberry jam.

_Jelly Baskets._--Orange skins can be emptied of their fruit and cut out in the shape of baskets, as follows: Mark out the shape of a basket upon the skin of 6-8 oranges without piercing the fruit. The handles should be formed across the stalk end of the fruit, and should be a good width. Take out the quarters which will not be required, and with the small blade of a sharp penknife cut out the baskets. Then pass the flat part of a teaspoon carefully under the handle to separate it from the fruit, and scoop out the remainder of the pulp, which easily comes out through the open spaces. Fill the skins with different-coloured jellies. The baskets may be scalloped or ornamented, according to the taste of the operator.

_Jelly Pie._--Boil 5 eggs hard; when cold, cut them in slices and put them closely round a pie dish, with sweet herbs chopped very fine, and scalded and put in small heaps. Fill the dish with ham, fowl, veal, or any other meat cut in very thin slices; make a very rich gravy the previous day, which will be a firm jelly when cold. Fill up the dish with it, and bake for ½ hour. When required to be used cold, turn it out, and garnish.

_Jersey Wonders._--1 lb. flour, 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. white sugar, a little nutmeg, ground ginger, and lemon peel; beat 4 eggs and knead all well together; a taste of brandy will be an improvement. Roll them 3 in. thick, cut off a small slice and roll into an oval, not too thin; cut two slits in it, but not through either end; pass the left hand through the aperture to the right, and throw into boiling fat. A brass or metal skillet is best to cook them in; about 5 minutes to cook them, turn once.

_Jumbles._--(_a_) ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. sugar, 6 oz. butter, 1 oz. sweet almonds, 1 oz. bitter almonds, 1 egg. Mix these well, drop in small lumps on a tin and bake for a few minutes in a hot oven.

(_b_) ½ lb. best flour, 6 oz. loaf sugar, ¼ lb. butter. Rub the butter and half of the sugar into the flour, beat along with it 1 egg, about 20 drops essence of lemon, mix all together, and roll out the cakes with the remainder of the sugar; a little ammonia carbonate is an improvement. Turn in fancy shapes, and bake on a hot tin about 15 minutes; but the time must be regulated according to the oven, but quick baking is desirable.

_King Henry’s Shoestrings._--Make a batter with ¼ lb. flour, ¼ pint milk, a piece of butter the size of an egg, the juice of a lemon, and powdered loaf sugar to taste. When well mixed set it on the fire for 10 minutes, till the batter comes easily from the sides of the saucepan. Mix in (off the fire) a handful of sweet almonds, chopped up, and the yolks of 4 eggs. Let the whole get cold, then work into it the whites of 3 eggs, whisked to a froth, and spread out the batter on a baking sheet. Sift plenty of powdered sugar over, bake 10 minutes in a slow oven, cut it out in strips, serve hot or cold.

_Leche Crema._--Beat up 3 eggs, leaving out 2 of the whites, and add to them gradually 1½ pint milk, then mix very carefully 4 tablespoonfuls fine wheat flour, and 2 oz. finely powdered loaf sugar, with grated lemon peel to flavour. Boil these ingredients over a slow fire, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until the flour is quite dissolved. Prepare a dish with ¾ lb. ratafia cakes at the bottom, having a glass of cognac or any liqueur poured over them, and when the cream is sufficiently boiled, pour it boiling through a sieve on the cakes. This delicious dish is always served up cold, and should have some finely powdered cinnamon dusted over. The genuine recipe, obtained from the Nuns of St. Clare Convent at Palmas, in the Canary Islands.

_Lemon Cream._--Soak for 2 hours a 6_d._ packet of gelatine in a large cup of good milk; then place the milk and gelatine in a clean saucepan on the fire, adding the very thin rind of 2 lemons; keep stirring this on the fire till the gelatine is quite dissolved, then add 2 oz. pounded white sugar, stir again on the fire till the sugar is dissolved, then strain this on to 1 pint cream in a bowl (the cream must not be too thick), and keep whisking it gently till thoroughly mixed, then add the strained juice of 2 good lemons; keep whisking the whole till nearly set, but take care not to beat too hard or too strong; when nearly cold, pour into a mould (crockery), and turn out in the usual manner when wanted for table.

_Lemon Dumplings._-½ lb. grated bread, ½ lb. suet, chopped fine, ¼ lb. loaf sugar powdered, 2 eggs, the juice and thin rind of a lemon. Mix, make 8 dumplings, and boil 1 hour.

_Lemon Pudding._--To ½ lb. good butter add 2 lb. loaf sugar, broken as for tea, the yolks of 12 eggs and the whites of 8, the rinds of 4 lemons, to be peeled very thin and minced as fine as possible, and the juice of 6; put all those into a saucepan, and boil them till the sugar is dissolved and it is as thick as honey, taking care to stir it well all the time it is on the fire; then pour it into a jar, and add a wineglassful of brandy or whisky; tie it very close. When going to use it add 4 tablespoonfuls very fine-grated bread for a small pudding. This will keep for 6 months.

_Lemon Soufflé._--Beat very lightly the yolks and whites of 8 eggs separately, add 1 teacupful white sugar, the rind of 2 lemons, and the juice of 1; bake for ¼ hour in a moderate oven.

_Lemon Sponge._--Whisk the whites of 6 eggs till firm. Boil 1 oz. isinglass in 1 pint water till it is reduced to ½ pint; when nearly cold add it gradually to the eggs, also the juice of 4 lemons, and the grated rind, 1½ lb. loaf sugar powdered; whisk all together till it is as thick as sponge.

_Lemon Toast._--Beat the yolks of 3 eggs and mix with them ½ pint milk; dip slices of bread into the mixture, then fry them a delicate brown in boiling butter. Take the whites of the eggs, beat them to a froth, add to them 3 oz. white sugar and the juice of a small lemon. Stir in a small teacupful of boiling water, and serve as a sauce over the toast.

_Lentil Pudding._--3 oz. lentil flour, 1 oz. cornflour, 1 pint milk, 3 eggs, and a pinch of salt; pour the milk boiling gradually on to the flour, stirring it; when cool add the eggs well beaten; mix well, boil an hour in a buttered plain mould; serve with sweet sauce.

_Macaroni au Gratin._--Drop the macaroni into boiling water, and cook till quite tender. Make a sauce of milk, thickened with flour and butter, to which add a small spoonful of made mustard, cayenne, and salt to taste. Let the macaroni remain in this a short time; turn out on a buttered dish, and cover with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Brown in the oven.

_Macaroni, Boiled._--Put into a large saucepan plenty of water, salted to taste; when the water boils throw in the macaroni, broken into convenient lengths, but not too short; stir frequently. When the macaroni is done, pour in a jugful of cold water, and strain the macaroni quite free from any water. According to its size macaroni takes 20-30 minutes to cook; it should not be done too much.

_Macaroni Cheese._--Take sufficient boiled macaroni to fill a square dish or tin; when buttered pile up with layers of macaroni and grated cheese (a highly flavoured and dry cheese is best); add plenty of mustard and butter, some cayenne, salt, and pepper; cover all with the grated cheese, bake a yellow brown, serve very hot.

_Macaroni Pie._--Take a piece of gravy beef, cut in small pieces, put it into a saucepan with an onion sliced, and a piece of butter; toss it on the fire till the onion and the pieces of meat are browned; then add a glass of white wine, a faggot of sweet herbs, a carrot cut in pieces, spices, pepper, and salt to taste, a few mushrooms, and a fair allowance of tomato sauce. Let the whole simmer for 2 hours, then strain, and skim off superfluous fat. Put the boiled macaroni into a saucepan with a piece of butter, plenty of Parmesan cheese, and as much of the sauce or gravy as it will absorb; toss it on the fire a little while, and put it by till wanted. Make a smooth and stiff paste with 1 lb. fine flour, 5 oz. fresh butter, 2 or 3 yolks of eggs, 2 oz. sugar, a pinch of salt, and sufficient tepid water. Roll it out to the thickness of ⅛ in., and line with it a plain round mould previously buttered, uniting the joints carefully with white of egg. Have ready some very small fillets of breasts of chicken, just cooked with butter in a covered tin in the oven, some cooked ham or ox tongue cut in dice, some truffles, mushrooms, and cockscombs, cut in convenient pieces and cooked in the gravy used to dress the macaroni. Fill the lined mould with all these things in judicious proportions, letting the macaroni, of course, predominate, and adding during the process a little more sauce or gravy and a due allowance of Parmesan cheese; cover up the mould with a disc of the paste, unite the edges carefully, and bake in a moderate oven for about an hour. Turn out the mould carefully and serve.

_Macaroni Pudding._--(_a_) Take 2 oz. small macaroni (vermicelli, fidelini, or spaghetti), break them up small, and put them into 1 pint boiling milk, sweetened to taste with lump sugar. Let them boil till quite done; add ½ oz. fresh butter, and pour the whole into a pudding dish; then stir in the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with a little cold milk and strained. Strew some powdered cinnamon or some grated nutmeg on the top, and bake for about 20 minutes.

(_b_) Take 2 oz. small macaroni, broken up small as in (_a_), put them with the thin rind of a lemon into 1 pint boiling milk sweetened to taste with lump sugar; when quite done, turn it all out into a pudding dish, remove the lemon rind, and stir in ½ gill cream beaten up with the strained yolks of 2 eggs. Strew powdered cinnamon over, and bake as in (_a_).

_Macaroni Soufflé._--Break up about 1 oz. small macaroni into very small pieces, throw it into fast-boiling salted water, let it boil 20 minutes, then drain off the water and put the macaroni into ½ pint milk, with sugar to taste and a piece of cinnamon; let it boil till it has absorbed all the milk. Put it by to get cold, work into it the yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 6 whisked into a stiff froth, pour the mixture into a tin large enough to allow room for rising, strew a little finely powdered sugar over it, and place the tin at once into a quick oven. It will take 15-20 minutes to cook, and as soon as the soufflé has well risen, and its top has taken colour, it is ready, and must be served immediately in the tin itself, a little finely powdered sugar being sprinkled on the top.

_Macaroni Timbale._--Take ½ lb. Naples macaroni, boil it until quite soft, drain it on a cloth, cut it in pieces ½ in. long, well butter a plain mould, line it with buttered paper, place in it the macaroni endways, so as to give the appearance of honeycomb when turned out. Make a paste thus: Put 1 gill water, a small piece of butter, and a little salt into a stewpan to boil. When boiling throw into it 1 tablespoonful flour, leave it a few minutes, then stir in 1 egg, turn it on to a plate until wanted. Take 1 lb. veal cutlet, remove the skin and bone, pound it in a mortar, and add to it half the quantity of the above paste, and a quarter of the quantity of butter, with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, mix all together, add 1 whole egg and 3 yolks, pass it through a wire sieve, stir in 1 gill white stock or milk, pour it into the mould, and steam for ½ hour. Serve with truffle or plain brown sauce.

_Macaroni with Tomato Sauce._--Throw 1 lb. macaroni into a saucepan of boiling water and salt; the water must be quite boiling. When sufficiently cooked, strain off all the water, put it into a saucepan, with 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, and the tomato sauce. Keep it on the fire until the macaroni acquires a fine colour from the tomatoes, but care must be taken not to keep it too long on the fire, lest it become soft and pasty. The tomatoes are prepared for the sauce as follows: Take ripe tomatoes, wash, dry them, and cut them into halves; put them into a saucepan without any water, with salt, pepper, a few cloves, a little onion and celery, and boil till sufficiently done; pass through a sieve, and pour into the saucepan of macaroni as mentioned above.

_Malvern Pudding._--It is made by cutting slices of bread ¼-½ in. thick, according to taste, or as to whether it be required for children or matured persons. These slices have next to be cut into such triangular shapes as will admit of their filling the side of a basin when placed points downwards. This is the only part of the process that requires a little judgment and care. If the basin required be large, or, say, of a quart size or more, and the slices of bread are not wide enough to admit of the triangular pieces reaching to the top of the basin, then some slices of a suitable width may be cut to fill up with. This done, a round slice may be put at the bottom, and then an inch or so in thickness of stewed rhubarb. Then more slices of bread, among which the trimmings may be utilised. Then another inch of the stewed rhubarb, and so on till the basin is filled. The last layer of bread should be whole, if the loaf be conveniently large, if not, the straight edges of two pieces may be placed together, and a knife run round them close to the edge of the basin so that they may be pressed down a little below the level of the edge to allow for the little swelling of the bread that will occur. To bind the whole together, 2 eggs to 1 pint basin should be used. The eggs should be well beaten with a large tablespoonful of milk to each egg. With this stewed rhubarb, unless it has been simmered to a dry or almost candied form, it is better to pour a suitable quantity of the beaten eggs and milk as the layers are formed, as, by doing this, all the spaces between the bread will be filled, and thus firmly bound together with custard when cooked. As to the quantity of butter on the bread, that will depend on taste. A little sherry sauce is an agreeable addition. The character and flavour of this pudding may be varied in an agreeable way by stewing a few raisins, sultanas, currants, prunes, or figs, and inserting them between the bread and butter as above described. It is better to stew these dried fruits for a pudding of this kind, for all the boiling the pudding proper requires is 15-20 minutes, or long enough to set the custard. A pudding made of similar materials, in a flat pan and baked in a slow oven, is equally good, and affords another agreeable variation. In seasons when eggs are scarce, a large tablespoonful of cornflour may be put to ¼ pint milk, or rather less, according to the quantity of bread used; and if this be whipped up with one egg, it will be sufficient to stiffen a pint pudding, so that it will stand firmly on the dish. For a boiled pudding the top should be well covered with the custard, as this will soon set, and thereby prevent the steam in the boiling pan from making the top layer of bread too sopped. In Worcestershire--whence it derives its name--it is generally made with cranberries. But gooseberries, currants, raspberries, strawberries, and so on, are equally suitable fruit for it.

_Manchester Pudding._--This is a variety of the well-known Bakewell pudding, the difference consisting in the addition of milk and breadcrumbs to the cheesecake mixture, namely, butter, yolks of eggs, sugar, lemon juice and peel beaten to a cream, which in the Bakewell pudding is laid over the layer of jam. Alexandra pudding and Durham pudding are synonyms of the variety of Bakewell pudding known as Manchester. There is another kind of pudding, also called Manchester, which consists of breadcrumbs, milk, lemon rind, butter and sugar boiled together, eggs being added when cold, and the mixture baked in small shapes, and served with a morsel of jam on each, and with cinnamon sauce. (The G. C.)

_Maraschino Jelly._--Take 2 calves’ feet, chop them into convenient pieces, and put them into a saucepan with rather more than 2 qt. cold water; set the saucepan on the fire; directly the water boils throw it away, and wash the pieces of feet carefully; then put them on again with 2 qt. cold water, and let them boil slowly for 3 hours, removing the scum carefully during the process; then strain the liquor into a basin, and when quite cold and set take off all the fat, and wash the top of the jelly with a little hot water, so as to get rid of every vestige of fat. Put the jelly into a saucepan on the fire; directly it is melted add sugar to taste, the juice and the thin rind of one lemon, and the whites of 3 eggs whisked to a froth. Beat up the mixture till it boils. Place the thin rind of a lemon at the bottom of a jelly bag, and pour the mixture over it. The bag should have been previously rinsed in boiling water, and the first ½ pint jelly that comes through must be returned to the bag. If the jelly does not come out quite clear, the operation of straining must be repeated. Add sufficient maraschino to flavour the jelly, then pour it into a mould, and put it on ice to set. At the time of serving dip the mould in warm water, and turn out the jelly.

_Margot Pudding._--Cut 3 slices bread (thickness of five-shilling piece), spread lightly with butter and thickly with jam; lay the slices one above another in a pudding dish; pour over a glass of whisky or brandy, and when soaked in fill up with melted butter made as follows: 2 oz. butter, 4 teaspoonfuls cornflour, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, 1 pint water, boil it, and pour over the bread, then bake till the pudding is a nice brown.

_Marlborough Pudding._--(_a_) ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. sifted white sugar, 4 yolks of eggs well beaten; first put the sugar in a basin, then add and stir in the eggs; flavour with vanilla, and bake ½ hour in a dish lined with puff paste. The pudding is greatly improved if some of the mixture is kept back, and, when all is ready, just warmed through and poured round as a sauce.

(_b_) Cover a pie dish with a thin puff paste, then take 1 oz. candied citron, 1 oz. of orange, and 1 oz. of lemon peel, sliced very thin, and lay them over the bottom of the dish. Dissolve 6 oz. butter without water, and add to it 6 oz. pounded sugar, the yolks of 4 well-beaten eggs. Stir them over the fire until the mixture boils, then pour it over the sweetmeats, bake the pudding in a moderate oven for ¾ hour, and serve it hot or cold.

_Marlborough Tart._--Line a tart tin with good puff paste, set in a quick oven, and when half baked pour on the following mixture: 2 eggs well beaten, 2 oz. sifted sugar, 4 oz. citron or candied peel cut into strips, mix all together; finish the baking, and serve when cold.

_Marmalade Pudding._--(_a_) Baked.--1 large tablespoonful marmalade, 1 breakfast-cup fine breadcrumbs, ½ teacup castor sugar, 1 egg, ½ pint milk. Put a layer of marmalade at the bottom of a pie dish. Rub some stale bread through a wire sieve until a breakfastcupful is made, mix this with the sugar, and put it over the marmalade. Beat up the egg, add to it the milk, pour this custard into the dish. Bake in a very moderate oven 1-1½ hour. Should be a pale brown.

(_b_) Boiled.-½ lb. suet, ½ lb. breadcrumbs, ½ lb. brown sugar, 2 oz. ground rice, 2 tablespoonfuls marmalade, 2 eggs. Chop up the suet (which should be dry beef suet) as finely as possible, make the breadcrumbs by rubbing stale crumb of bread through a wire sieve, beat up the eggs; mix all the ingredients well together in a large basin; let the mixture stand overnight, if possible, before cooking; well grease a pudding basin, fill it with the mixture (it should be quite full), tie it over with a pudding cloth which should be dipped into boiling water and floured well, tie the corners of the cloth loosely over the top; put into a large saucepan of boiling water, boil steadily for 4 hours.

_Meringues._--Whisk the whites of 12 eggs in a bowl until they take the appearance of a white substantial smooth froth, looking almost like snow. To obtain this, it is essential that the whisk and basin be perfectly clean and dry, if in the slightest degree greasy the eggs would not rise sufficiently. Lay aside the whisk, and with a spoon mix in 1 lb. castor sugar; this must be done very lightly, if worked too much it will lose its firmness, and it would be difficult to form the meringues. Cut some stiff foolscap paper into strips, about 2 in. wide, then take a tablespoon and gather it nearly full of the batter, by pressing it up against the side of the basin, and getting it as much as possible into the form of an egg; scoop this off slantingly on to the froth, passing the spoon sharply round it before leaving it, to make it smooth and round and quite like an egg. Proceed in this way till all the froth is used up, and leaving a space of about 2½ in. after each meringue. Place the bands of paper containing them side by side on the table, and, when all are made, shake some rather coarse-sifted sugar over them, and let them stand for about 3 minutes. To bake meringues it will be necessary to have a board made of well-seasoned wood, about 1 in. thick, to fit the oven. On this place the paper bands of meringues, holding them at each end of the paper, and giving each band a little shake before placing it on the board, to get rid of the superfluous sugar; place the bands close together, and put the board into an oven of very moderate heat, to bake a light cream colour. When they are cooked remove them very carefully from the paper, and with a silver dessertspoon scoop out the soft white part from the inside. After this they must be put back into the oven for a short time to dry; the oven must be quite cool, and they must be watched to see that they do not become a deeper colour; this should be done on a baking-sheet, on which they should be carefully placed. If kept in a large covered glass jar in a perfectly dry place, these meringues will keep good for a long time. They must be quite cold before putting away. When required for table, fill the insides with whipped cream, slightly sweetened and flavoured with vanilla or any other flavouring preferred, or, better still, with a dessertspoonful of cream-ice; join two of the shells together, and dress them piled high in a glass or silver dish.

_Mince Pies._--(_a_) An excellent and useful mincemeat can be made by the following recipe, especially in the country, where apples are cheap. But, if they are too expensive, half the given quantity can be used, and breadcrumbs substituted for the other half. Shred ½ lb. suet, roll it, a little at a time, on a board with 1 lb. raw sugar, mix with it 1½ lb. apples, ½ lb. raisins, ½ lb. currants, 2 oz. candied peel, all minced, 1 teaspoonful ground ginger, 1 of mixed spices, and the peel and juice of a lemon. Take care that the ingredients are well mixed together, and, if possible, let the mincemeat be prepared a few days before it is wanted for use. The crust for the pies can be made in the same way as for steak pie, or as follows: Rub ½ lb. lard into 1 lb. flour, make it into a paste with 1 gill cold water. As this is a short crust, as little water as possible should be used, and, if well worked up, the given quantity will be sufficient. Put the paste on the board, roll it out once to the required thickness, line greased saucers or patty-tins with it, put in a liberal allowance of mincemeat, fit on a cover, and bake in a slow oven for 40 minutes.

(_b_) Have ready some mincemeat made in the following way: 6 lb. raisins, 6 lb. currants, 2 lb. dates, 2 lb. French plums, 6 lb. apples, ½ lb. each candied citron, lemon and orange peel, 12 lemons, 6 sweet oranges, 6 lb. Demerara sugar, 1 teaspoonful each of mixed spice and ground ginger, with 1 pint good brandy, 1 of Marsala, 1 of sherry, and a wineglass of noyeau or curaçao. Have the raisins, dates, and plums carefully stoned, the candied peel cut into small dice, the apples peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces. Mince finely all the above with the pulp from the lemons and oranges. Well clean and dry the currants, and add them, with the sugar and spices, to the minced ingredients. The lemons and oranges must be grated to obtain all the outside peel, the juice squeezed thoroughly from them, and the pulp, before being minced, must be freed from all the pips and white inner peel. Dissolve the hard sugar from the candied peel in the orange and lemon juice, and add it, with the grated rind, to the mincemeat. Mix all well together in a large pan, add the brandy, liqueur, and wines. Press the mincemeat closely into stone jars, after again thoroughly mixing it, and cover it closely. Keep it in a cool, dry place. Should a mincing machine be used, the ingredients for mincing should be mixed before putting them through it, except the suet, which is always better chopped with an ordinary chopper.

(_c_) Butter slightly a number of patty-pans, take a piece of the paste, roll it out to the thickness of ¼ in., and line the pans with it. Put 1 wineglassful brandy into the mince, stir it well, and put a small quantity of it into each pan; brush the paste round with white of egg, and put on a cover of paste rolled out to about ⅓ in. thick. Press the edges well together, brush the top with cold water, strew finely powdered sugar over, and bake about ½ hour.

_Mocha Pudding._--Beat up the yolks of 4 eggs with ¼ lb. powdered loaf sugar, add gradually 2 oz. flour and 2 oz. potato flour; lastly, the whites of 4 eggs whipped to a stiff froth. When the whole is well mixed, put it in a buttered plain mould and bake. Turn out the cake when done, and when it is quite cold cover it evenly all over with the following icing, ornamenting it with piping of the icing pushed through a paper cone. This last operation must be done with care, lest the heat of the hand warm the icing. When the cake is finished it should be put in a cold place, or on ice, till the time of serving. The Icing.--Take ½ lb. fresh butter and ¼ lb. powdered loaf sugar, and beat them to a cream in a bowl, adding drop by drop, during the process, ½ teacupful strongest coffee that can be made.

_Mousseline Pudding._--4 oz. pounded sugar, 4 oz. fresh butter, the rind of 1 lemon and the juice of two, with the yolks of 10 eggs, to be mixed together in a saucepan and stirred on a slow fire until quite hot; then strain the mixture into a basin, and amalgamate lightly with it, as you would for a soufflé, the whites of the eggs whisked into a stiff froth. Pour into a well-buttered mould, and steam for 20 minutes. Serve with jam or fruit sauce. The water should boil when the pudding is put into steam, but on no account after.

_Nesselrode Pudding._--Blanch about 35 large chestnuts, then rub through a sieve, and mix with a syrup made of 1 lb. clarified sugar, 1 pint cream, and the yolks of 10 eggs. Stir over a slow fire; when near boiling take it off, and pass it through a tammy. When cold, add 1 glass maraschino, set it in a freezing pot, add 1½ oz. citron, 3 oz. currants, and 2 oz. stoned raisins (previously soaked in maraschino); add a plateful of whipped cream, with the whites of 2 eggs beaten to a froth. When all is quite frozen put it in a mould; put it again in the freezing pan till required.

_Newcastle Pudding._--Cut 4 penny sponge cakes in half and spread with jam, cook them in milk; make a plain custard of 2 eggs and ½ pint milk; boil the milk; when nearly cold add the eggs, and boil until it begins to thicken, then pour over the cakes.

_Norfolk Dumplings._--Mix thoroughly 1 teaspoonful Borwick’s baking powder and a little salt with 1 lb. flour in a dry state; then pour on gradually about ½ pint cold water or milk, mix quickly into a dough, to be put immediately in small pieces into boiling water, and boiled 20 minutes without taking the lid off. They eat very like dough dumplings when properly made. Serve with milk sauce. Together with potatoes, they form the staple food of the Norfolk poor, who, when unable to obtain meat dripping, eat them with treacle or honey. They may also be frequently seen on the tables of the wealthy, and, when accompanied by game, goose, or duck gravy, are by no means unworthy the attention of an epicure.

_Oatmeal Pie._--Boil, in 1½ pint water, 2 tablespoonfuls Scotch oatmeal until it jellies on a plate; let it stand till cold, then cover the bottom of a small pie dish with oatmeal; lay on it slices of Australian mutton; chop up an onion, some parsley, and two leaves of sage; put some over the meat, with pepper and salt, then another layer of oatmeal; lay on it slices of mutton and seasoning as before; cover all over with oatmeal, and dust the top with flour; bake for 1½ hour in a moderate oven.

_Oatmeal Pudding._--Soak in water for 12 hours ½ pint fine oatmeal, pour 1 pint boiling milk over it, add a little salt, and put it into a buttered basin (just large enough to hold it), with a well-floured cloth tied tightly over it; boil for 1½ hour, turn it out and serve with cream, or boiled milk thickened with flour.

_Omnibus Pudding._--Take 6 oz. fine flour, 6 oz. fresh suet shred fine, 6 oz. raisins stoned, 4 oz. treacle, 4 oz. milk. Mix well, put into a basin, tie a cloth over, and boil for 3-4 hours. Serve with brandy sauce.

_Orange Chips._--Cut some Seville oranges in halves, squeeze the juice through a sieve; soak the peel in water; next dry; boil in the same till tender, drain and slice the peels, pour the juice over them; take an equal weight of sugar, put sugar, peels, and juice into a broad earthenware dish, and set it over the fire, not close enough to crack the dish, stir frequently until the chips candy; then set them in a cool place to dry, which process will take 3 weeks.

_Orange Compote._--Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil with 1 gill water in a saucepan; when it boils add the thin rind of 3 oranges minced finely or cut into very narrow strips. Let the whole boil 5 minutes, add a liqueur-glass of brandy, and pour the syrup (hot) over 6 whole oranges, peeled and cored, or cut up in any form liked. Leave the oranges in a basin with the syrup till quite cold; then pile them up on a dish and serve.

_Orange Cream._--Soak 1 oz. packet of gelatine, and add it to 1 pint milk in which 6 oz. lump sugar has been dissolved. Add a little lemon peel, and boil all together for 10 minutes. Strain the milk and add to it ½ pint orange juice and the juice of 1 small lemon. Stir well, and pour into a mould till set. This is excellent. Improved by the substitution of cream for milk.

_Orange Fool._--Mix the juice of 3 Seville oranges with 3 eggs well beaten, ½ pint cream, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and finely sifted white sugar to taste. The orange juice must be carefully strained. Set the whole over a slow fire, and stir it until it becomes about the thickness of melted butter; it must on no account be allowed to boil; then pour it into a dish for eating cold.

_Orange Fritters._--Cut some oranges in halves, use a sharp knife to remove the peel, pith, and pips. Stand the bits of orange in a basin with a small wineglassful of brandy and a spoonful of sugar for one hour. When ready to fry them drain them first on a sieve, then dip them separately in a batter made thus: Add 2 oz. melted butter to ¾ lb. flour, and 2 yolks of eggs. Mix these ingredients together with a wooden spoon, working in at intervals ½ pint tepid water; it must be worked up with the spoon until it looks creamy, and just before you use it add lightly 3 whites of eggs, whisked previously to a fine froth.

_Orange Jelly._--Make a syrup with 1 pint water and 1 lb. loaf sugar, boil it with the thin rind of 4 oranges and 2 lemons, skim it carefully and add the juice of 8 oranges, let it boil about 20 minutes; skim and add the juice of a lemon and either 1 pint calvesfoot jelly, made as above, or 16 sheets best French gelatine dissolved in ½ pint of water and clarified with white of egg. Peel 2 sweet oranges, removing every particle of skin of both kinds, core them to get rid of the pips, and cut them in thin slices in such a way as to get rid of the pellicle round each quarter. Proceed to fill the mould, disposing pieces of oranges in it in a symmetrical fashion, place it on ice to set, and turn it out when wanted.

_Orange Mould._--Very pretty dish, made by peeling 3-4 large oranges, and dividing them into sections, being careful not to break the skin. Boil ¼ lb. lump sugar in 2 tablespoonfuls water to crackling height. Arrange the sections round the sides of a well-oiled basin, previously dipping each into the sugar, which will act as a sort of glue, and, when cold, will be found to have stuck firmly together, forming a shape. Turn out on a dish, and fill with coloured fruit, strawberries, raspberries, &c., upon which is placed some whipped cream.

_Orange Pudding._--3 oz. stale sponge cakes or ratafias, 3 oranges, ½ pint milk, 3 eggs, ¼ lb. sugar. Pour boiled milk on sponge cakes (which should be in crumbs); rub the rind of 2 oranges, and add the juice of 3; beat up the eggs, stir them in, sweeten to taste. Put the mixture into a pie dish lined with puff taste; bake ½ hour; turn it out of the dish, and sprinkle sifted sugar over it.

_Orange Puffs._--Grate the rind of 4 oranges, add 2 lb. sifted sugar, pound together and make it into a stiff paste with butter and juice of the fruit; roll it, cut it into shape and bake in a cool oven, serve piled up on a dish with sifted sugar over.

_Orange Salad._--Peel 8 oranges with a sharp knife, so as to remove every vestige of skin from them; core them as you would core apples, and lay them whole or cut in slices in a deep dish; strew over them plenty of powdered loaf sugar; then add 1 large wineglassful pale brandy; keep the dish covered close till the time of serving.

_Orange Sponge._--Make an orange jelly with 1 oz. gelatine or isinglass to 1 pint water and about ¼ lb. sugar. Peel 2 oranges very thin, add the juice, rasp the sugar on the peel. Dissolve the gelatine thoroughly on the fire, then put in the orange and sugar, and, when quite melted, strain it clear into a basin. When nearly cold, but on no account set, whisk it well for a long time until it comes to a white froth, then pour it into a mould and put it in a cool place, then turn it out and serve in a glass dish.

_Orange Tart._--Take 4 Seville oranges, squeeze the juice and pulp from them; boil the oranges until quite tender, add double their weight of sugar and pound fruit and sugar to a paste. With a teaspoonful of butter and the juice of the oranges, beat well together adding the pulp, also freed from pips and pith, line a shallow pie-dish with a light paste, put in the orange paste, bake it and cover with custard or cream.

_Orange Tartlets._--Line some patty-pans with sweet short paste, fill them with uncooked rice, and bake to a light brown colour; remove the rice, and fill each tartlet with oranges prepared as for a compote, only cut into smaller pieces; pour syrup over before sending to table, or else sift sugar over, as preferred.

_Orchard-street Pudding._-½ lb. breadcrumbs, 6 oz. beef suet chopped very fine, 3 tablespoonfuls marmalade, rind and juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoonful soda carbonate, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, 3 eggs well whipped, a little grated nutmeg, the whole to be thoroughly mixed, put into a mould, and boil 3½ hours. It should be served with wine sauce.

_Oswego Pudding._--Pour ½ teacupful boiling milk over 6 Oswego biscuits; beat them up with ½ oz. sugar and 1 oz. butter; stir in a well-beaten egg the last thing, and bake in a small greased pie-dish for 15 minutes. This makes a very light little pudding for 2 people, and without the butter is good for invalids.

_Pancakes._--(_a_) Mix 2 tablespoonfuls flour with ½ pint cream, add 2 eggs, and beat the whole well till quite smooth; put in a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, a little powdered cinnamon, and a little grated nutmeg.

(_b_) Make a thin batter with 1 pint cream and some flour, put in ½ lb. fresh butter melted, 8 eggs well beaten, ½ nutmeg grated, and a little salt.

(_c_) Mix 1 pint milk with as much flour as will make a thin batter; add a glass of pale brandy, a little grated nutmeg, a little powdered ginger, and a pinch of salt; then add 4 eggs, beat all well together till smooth.

(_d_) Put into a basin 4 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 of pale brandy, 1 of olive oil, and 2 of orange-flower water; mix the whole into a smooth paste, then dilute it to the proper thickness with either milk or water.

Warm a perfectly clean small frying pan, put into it a piece of butter the size of a cobnut, and as soon as, by tilting the pan, the butter has been made to spread all over the pan pour into it a ladleful of any of the above batters; again tilt the pan quickly so as to spread the batter evenly all over it, and directly the batter is well set run a knife round the pancake and turn it over for a minute; then roll it up and put it in the screen or the oven to keep hot while the next pancake is cooked in the same manner; serve on a napkin with lemon quarters as a garnish. By using lard instead of butter this process of frying pancakes is rendered somewhat easier.

_Paradise Pudding._--Put into a basin ½ lb. breadcrumbs, 4 apples, pared, cored, and minced, 4 oz. currants, 4 oz. sugar, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste, the rind of half a lemon, beat up 4 eggs; mix all well together, and stir in half a wineglassful of brandy; put into a buttered mould, and steam for 2 hours; serve with sweet sauce. Beer can be used instead of brandy, but not milk, as it makes the pudding heavy.

_Paste for Patties._--(_a_) Take 1 lb. fine flour; pass it through a wire sieve on to a pastry slab; add a pinch of salt and 2-3 drops of lemon juice; wet it with cold water into a paste about the same consistence as the butter about to be used; flatten the paste with the hands; place on it 1 lb. butter that has been worked well in a dry cloth; fold up the sides and ends of the paste, and roll it out the length of ½ yd.; fold it in 3, turn it round, and roll it the other way; leave it 20 minutes, then roll it twice more, and so on until it has been rolled 6 times; this done, roll the paste to the thickness of ½ in.; cut it with a plain round cutter dipped in boiling water, turn each patty over, place them on a baking tin, egg the top, and with a small cutter make a deep incision to form the cover. Bake in a quick oven.

(_b_) Puff.--Take 1 lb. best flour, rub it through a sieve, place it a little distance from the fire for a short time to get thoroughly dry; then rub in the half of ¾ lb. butter, the juice of ½ lemon, mix it lightly up together; roll it out as thin as a crown piece, put a layer of butter all over it, double it in 4, and roll it out again, do this twice, by which time all the butter will be in. Then fold it up and put it down in a plate on the stones of the larder for ½ hour to get cold. After this roll it out 3 times, and it is fit for use.

(_c_) Dripping.--Have cool hands, a cool room, fresh well-clarified beef dripping, and dry flour. Be as particular about making the pastry as if it were being made with the best butter. Cooks so often fail to make good pastry with dripping because they do not take pains with it. To every lb. of flour allow 6 oz. dripping and 1 teaspoonful baking powder. Put the flour into a basin with the baking powder and a pinch of salt; rub into it the dripping, which should be broken up into small pieces; when well rubbed in, moisten with about 1 gill water, enough to make a smooth, stiff paste. Flour the paste-board and the rolling-pin, and roll the paste out on the paste-board, fold it over again and roll again, repeating 3 times, handling it as lightly as possible. It is then ready.

_Peach Cheese._--Take a number of green peaches, rub them carefully in a cloth to remove all dust. Put them into a stewpan with a small quantity of water--about ½ pint to 1 lb. of fruit (for large quantities a smaller proportion of water might be used). When the peaches are perfectly soft, rub them through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon, laying aside some of the stones, which should be broken, and their kernels added to the peach pulp. Weigh the pulp, stir it over the fire until quite hot, add half its weight in sugar, some lemon juice, and a little grated peel; stir the whole on the fire until well thickened, put into shapes. It should be quite hard when cold, and turn out easily. If the pulp be very watery, boil for 20 minutes before adding the sugar. This preserve will keep for a long time if sufficiently cooked, only perfectly sound fruit should be used. It is not necessary to peel the peaches.

_Peach Compote._--(_a_) Put into a casserole for every dozen peaches ¼ lb. sugar and a glass of water; bring it to the boil, and skim well; add the peaches, peeled, and either whole or in halves, without their stones in either case. Let them boil a few minutes until they feel done; then arrange them in a glass dish, reduce the syrup, and pour it over them.

(_b_) Boil 4 lb. sugar in 2½ pints water; let it simmer 10 minutes after coming to the boil; fill bottles with fruit, shaking it down; when the syrup is cold, fill up each bottle with enough to cover the fruit; cork them well at once; stand the bottles in a boiler of cold water, and let it come to the boil slowly; after which simmer a few minutes; let the bottles get cold in the water; keep them in a cool place.

_Peach Cream._--Steep ½ oz. isinglass in ½ pint cream, and stir over the fire until dissolved. When almost cold, mix with it the strained juice from a tin of peaches, and the juice of a small lemon. Pour ¾ of this cream into a glass dish, and allow it to set. Colour the convex sides of the halves of peaches delicately with cochineal. Place them with the coloured sides upwards upon the set cream. Pour the remainder of the cream carefully between the fruit. Allow this also to set, and the dish will be ready to serve. ¾ pint blancmange, with the yolks of 3 eggs stirred to it while scalding hot, make a fair substitute for the cream.

_Peach Toast._--Cut some round slices off some milk rolls, remove the crust and fry them a pale yellow in fresh butter. Take a tin of preserved peaches, turn out the liquor into a saucepan, add a little sugar and a glass of white wine; boil it up, put in the peaches, simmer a few minutes, drain them, and place half a peach, concave side uppermost, on each piece of bread, put a piece of currant jelly in the cavity of each peach, pour the syrup round, and serve.