and roll in bread-crumbs, and fry in, or melt. Dredge with flour, and fry boiling dripping or lard till thoroughly in boiling lard or oil to a good colour. brown. Drain before the fire, and serve hot with melted butter, or parsley and butter. Some are partial to an onion sliced up and put into a sauce-boat, and boiling water poured over it, seasoned with pepper and salt. Soles. Take off the brown skin and scrape the other side. Wash well and place them in a cloth to dry; then rub well over with yolk of egg well beaten, and cover with grated breadcrumbs; fry to a good colour in boiling lard, and when done, lay them on a sieve before the fire to dry; serve with melted butter, and shrimp sauce, garnishing the dish with crimped parsley. The sieve may be covered with blotting paper to absorb the fat. Soles à la Italienne.-Clean, cut off heads and tails. Cover with chopped parsley, salt, pepper, a little powdered nutmeg, adding a good piece of butter, previously warmed. Fry over a quick fire, and turn as soon as one side is done. Serve with Italian sauce. Soles au Gratin.-Rub a piece of butter on a silver or plated dish; then fry for a short time some chopped fine herbs, eschalots, chopped mushrooms, and salt, and pepper; when nicely browned put them in the dish, and place your soles upon them; cover the soles with grated bread-crumbs; add a little butter, and a small quantity of white wine. Cook gently under a braising pan, or over a slow charcoal fire; but if the latter, brown with a salamander. Serve with slices of lemon, or lemon juice squeezed over just previous to sending to table. Sprats.-Frying is the best way to cook these delicate fish. Wipe them dry, and flour well before putting them in the pan. Let them almost float in boiling fat or butter, and fry till they are well browned. Sprats are often fried in butter, when they make a nice dish. Trout.-Cleanse, dredge with flour, rub with beaten yolk of egg, cover with bread-crumbs, fry to a good colour, and serve with melted butter and lemon pickle. Small trout are dressed whole. In some parts of Scotland, trout are rubbed with oatmeal instead of flour, and some consider this improves the flavour. Herrings. Scale, cut off the fins, gut, and wipe dry, leaving in the roe Eels.-Cleanse; cut into pieces of about three inches, scored across in two or three places without separating them; dust with flour, and fry in boiling lard to a good brown, or dip in a batter, sprinkle with finely grated bread-crumbs, fry, and serve with melted butter. Lampreys are fried, boiled, or sautéd like eels. Gudgeons are always fried; much used in France, though somewhat insipid. Flour well, and fry in a deep pan, with plenty of fat. Whiting. After being scaled and cleansed, cut into steaks, and fry with bread-crumbs in boiling fat, till brown. Small whiting are generally served curled with their tails in their eye-sockets. If Whitebait--This delicate little fish must be eaten fresh. Drain, and smother in flour; shake off the superfluous flour, fry in a pan of boiling lard till very slightly coloured. browned they are ruined. When cooked, lay them on a sieve, covered with blotting paper to absorb the fat, before the fire. Dish very hot in a heap, with salt and pepper. Serve with halved lemons and brown bread and butter. Devilled Whitebait are cooked in the same way, with Cayenne pepper. In both cases they should be hot, crisp, and free from fat. Oysters.-Boil for a minute in their own liquor and drain; fry in butter, seasoned with catsup, lemon-peel, and parsley, over a quick fire, and serve hot with fried potatos. Broiling and Grilling. How to broil economically.—Meats, fish, small poultry, and game may be broiled as a variety in cooking. First you must have a good clean fire, without blaze; then set on your gridiron, and when the bars are hot through, wipe them thoroughly with a clean rag or paper, and rub them with a morsel of suet or dripping to prevent the meat from sticking. Meat for broiling should be from half an inch to an inch thick: if thinner, it will be dry and hard; if thicker, the outside will be brown before the middle is sufficiently done. In broiling, meat should be frequently turned, and for this purpose a small pair of tongs is necessary, as the wound made by a fork lets out the gravy. Rump steaks, mutton and pork chops, and several kinds of fish are best broiled. The part of the ox, called beef-skirt, should be turned only once, when half done, and then peppered and salted to taste. Never cut broiling meat to see if it is done. That can be better ascertained by the smell, and by the little jets of steam from the meat. This also applies to all roast. Hot plates or dishes should be ready to receive the broil immediately it is fit to come from the fire. A bit of butter rubbed on a broiled steak in the dish will draw out the gravy and add to its appearance. Catsup and other sauces should be added hot in the dish. Though not the most economical mode of cooking, broiling is a decidedly toothsome, wholesome, and pleasant one, especially agreeable to invalids and children. Broiled Fowl.-Truss as for boiling, cut out the back-bone and press quite flat, season well with pepper, salt, and chopped shallots or small onions; fry upon both sides, take out, egg over with a paste-brush, dip into breaderumbs, place upon a gridiron, over a moderate fire, and broil a very light brown colour, and serve with a little plain gravy, or mushroom sauce-of button mushrooms, simmered for ten minutes, with two tablespoonfuls of catsup and two of Harvey sauce, and apat of butter. Pour the sauce in the dish over the fowl, and serve. Spitchcocked Eels.-Cut large eels into pieces three or four inches long; sprinkle with pepper and salt, beat up an egg, dip them into it, and cover them afterwards with a mixture of bread crumbs, chopped parsley, and pepper and salt; broil and serve with melted butter, parsley and butter, or with mustard sauce. Whiting.-Prepare as for frying, and cook on a gridiron, rubbing them over before serving with a little cold butter. Sturgeon and Turbot Steaks.-Cut into steaks, season with pepper and salt in melted butter, and cover with bread crumbs, after having rubbed them over with yolks of egg well beaten ; broil to a good colour, and serve with rich sauce, or melted butter. make them look best at table, they should be broiled in buttered paper. To Kippered or Dried Salmon.-Cut up the back and take out the bone; wipe clean, score the fish, pepper and broil. Salmon Steaks are broiled in buttered paper or between slices of bread, over a slow fire. Serve with melted butter and savoury sauce. Mackerel.-Clean, split, wipe dry, pepper and salt and broil thoroughly. The French broil mackerel in buttered paper, and serve with chopped herbs and melted butter. A small mackerel will take about ten minutes to broil. Game is broiled and served in various ways, for which see receipts. Braising. Braising is a favourite mode of cooking in France. both above and below the article to be It requires the fire cooked. The braising-pan is nearly air tight, the top filled with live coal or charcoal-the word braise meaning the wood left partially burnt in the oven. The process should be conducted slowly. Everything braised should be thoroughly done. Braised mutton, beef, game, &c. is particularly grateful to invalids and epicures. a little mustard on them, and then cover them with a deep layer of grated cheese and ham, seasoned with cayenne; fry in butter, but do not turn them in the pan; place in a Dutch oven for four minutes to dissolve the cheese. Serve very hot. Welsh Rarebits are served on toast. Toasted cheese is prepared in a pattypan and toasted before a clear fire. Carving. How to Carve.-It is important that everyone, especially the head of every family, should know how to carve a joint of meat, a head of game, a fowl, or other kind of poultry; for what can be more awkward than to be placed before a dish without being able to help it properly? Good carving is also economical; for a joint well carved may be thoroughly served without an ounce being wasted, while everyone at table gets a due proportion of welldone and under-done, fat and lean, tit-bit and gravy. Carving requires some knowledge of the nature of the joint or the anatomy of the birds, fish, hare, &c., usually eaten as food. It also requires nerve, steadiness, and practice. Never stand up to carve; nothing is more vulgar. Let your knife be sharp, but not your temper; and whenever you have to carve for a large party remember that expedition is a sort of grace of itself. Sirloin of Beef.-The ordinary way to carve this famous joint is to cut from the chine-bone to the flap, directly in the centre, help- SIRLOIN OF BEEF. the direction of the line lengthwise (1-2), or downwards 3-4; when, if the party be large, slices from the under-cut (6--6) may be helped. Ribs of Beef.-Cut same as sirloin; but as it has no under-cut, it may be cut in thin slices from the thick end to the flap, with slices of the latter. Round of Beef.-After removing a slice all round, cut thin slices evenly so as not to disfigure the joint; helping fat with each plate. Aitchbone of Beef. This joint is sometimes roasted; but whether roasted or boiled, it is carved in a very simple manner, by slices from 1 to 2; with a portion of the fat from the under side. Brisket of Beef.-Cut lengthwise down to the bone, after removing the outside slice; the soft fat lies beneath. Avoid all ragged or jagged cuts, which spoil the look of the joint when cold. AITCHBONE OF BEEF. Tongue.-Begin three inches from the tip, serve thin slanting slices, with a portion of the fat at the root with every plate, ROAST LEG OF MUTTON. 3 Roast Leg of Mutton.This favourite joint is always placed on the table as in the engraving. Cut slices in the line 1, 2, with small pieces of fat at 3. Some persons carve a leg of mutton like a ham, in slices towards the middle, which is an economical plan, and leaves the cold joint of a good shape. Boiled Leg of Mutton.-This is sent to table with fat side uppermost. BOILED LEG OF MUTTON. The wether leg has a round lump of fat at the edge of the broadest part, a. The best part of the joint is in the middle, between the knuckle and further end, b. Begin by cutting thin deep slices as far as c. Take slices of fat from the end. Many prefer the knuckle part, which is in general tender. Good slices may be cut on the back of the leg; turn it up, and cut at the broad For end, longways, different from the direction taken on the opposite side. the cramp-bone, cut down to the thigh-bone, at d; then pass the knife under the cramp-bone. Haunch of Mutton.-Make a deep cut down to the bone near the knuckle, which will let the gravy escape. Then cut slices lengthwise from the crosscut to the end. Saddle of Mutton.-This, the best joint of the sheep, consists of the two loins. It is to be carved by making a deep cut from end to end, right through the middle, and serving slices on either side, with a portion of fat to each. Some carvers take slices from the thick part obliquely. Loin of Mutton.-Carve in chops, which should be easily removed if the butcher has properly chopped the bones. SHOULDER OF MUTTON Shoulder of Mutton - Is usually served with the back part uppermost. Cut in the hollow part from a to b, and the knife should pass down to the bone. The best fat is on the outside edge, and should be cut in the direction e, in thin slices. When many persons are at table, and the hollow part a, b, is cut out, some nice slices may be obtained on each side of the blade-bone from c to d. The space between the two dotted lines is the blade-bone, and cannot be cut across:-On the under side, there are two parts full of gravy; the other lean. Haunch of Venison is carved like Haunch of Mutton. Fore Quarter of Lamb.Remove the shoulder from the breast and ribs, by passing your knife in the direction a, b, c, d, keeping it towards you in a horizontal position. Lay the shoulder aside or in another dish. Squeeze the juice of a lemon, on the other part, with a little pepper and salt; then divide the gristly part from the ribs in the direc FORE QUARTER OF LAMB. tion e c; and help either from that or the ribs as desired. Breast of Veal.-The richest part is called the brisket. Insert the knife about four inches from the brisket, and cut through so as to separate it, from the ribs. Then serve according to the taste of the company. sweetbread is usually sent to table with this joint. The Knuckle of Veal.-Begin at the thick end and cut downwards, not too thin. Fillet of Veal is carved like round of beef; the slices should be even and rather thin. Help stuffing with each portion. Loin of Veal.-Carve same as loin of mutton. Calf's Head.-Cut long thin slices of the cheek lengthways, and help with a little bit of neck, ear, or palate. The tongue and brains are served sepa rate. Roast Sucking Pig.-Before bringing to table the head is taken off and divided. The body is also divided from end to end. At table the carver first removes the legs and shoulders. This is easily done if the knife be sharp and held flat. Then the ribs, which are esteemed the best parts, are cut in slices, and served with the regular sauce or stuffing. Roast Leg of Pork.-When cooked with the crackling on, the latter should have been well scored. Carve in slices through the thickness of the joint. Roast Loin of Pork.-Carve in ribs as for loin of mutton or lamb. Boiled Leg of Pork.-Carve in thin slices from the thick end, slanting towards the knuckle. Sometimes the bone is removed, so as to enable the carver to cut slices right through: but this is not an elegant plan. Turkey. Whether roasted or boiled, a turkey is served up like a fowl, and cut up in the same way as a pheasant. The best parts are the breast, wings, and neck-bones. The neck itself is taken away, and the cavity under the breast, stuffed with forcemeat, which must be cut into thin slices from the |