457. Pois au lard (Peas with Bacon).

Put in a pan four ounces of butter, six ounces of bacon cut in dice, and a table-spoonful of flour; when it is of a light brown, throw upon it a tumbler of hot water. Add a little pepper, a bunch of parsley, a small branch of thyme, and half of a bay-leaf tied together, and two small onions. Cover the pan, and let the peas boil slowly until they are done. Remove the seasonings out of the pan, and serve.

458. Pois en salade.

Boil them in salted water, drain them, and let them cool. Put them in a dish, with two table-spoonfuls of vinegar, four of olive-oil, some salt and pepper; let them remain so for an hour, turning them from time to time, and serve.

459. Lentilles (Lentils).

Cook them like Haricots secs au lard, No. 451 page 180.

CHAPTER XVI.

PÂTES ALIMENTAIRES.

460. Macaroni au gratin (Macaroni).

Choose the best kind; for if you want to economize you will get a macaroni which is sure to lose all shape, and taste like dust.

Put in a pan half a pound of macaroni, two quarts of water, a little salt, and two onions with cloves stuck in them. Let the macaroni boil for threequarters of an hour; take it out of the pan and drain. it. Put four ounces of butter, divided in several pieces, at the bottom of a deep dish; sprinkle upon it some grated parmesan and gruyère cheese; put upon the cheese a layer of macaroni, sprinkle upon it some salt, pepper, and grated parmesan and gruyère cheese, then another layer of macaroni, and finish by a layer of grated cheese; pour upon it two ounces of melted butter, and set the dish in the oven; when the top is of a rich light brown serve in the same dish.

461. Macaroni à la crême.

Boil and drain it as above; then put it in a pan with six ounces of butter and a little pepper; mix

together three ounces of grated parmesan and three ounces of grated gruyère cheese, sprinkle a portion of it upon the macaroni, and toss it over the fire; add a little more cheese, toss again, and so on until no cheese remains; then put the pan upon a very moderate fire, and pour gradually into the pan half a tumbler of thick cream; do not let it boil, and toss the pan quickly over the fire for two minutes. Serve immediately.

Taste the macaroni to see whether it requires any salt; if the cheese is of a good quality no salt should be required.

462. Macaroni à l'Italienne.

Boil half a pound of macaroni in water, with a little salt, for three-quarters of an hour; drain it. Put it in a pan with three ounces of grated parmesan and three ounces of grated gruyère cheese; add the cheese gradually, tossing the pan over the fire every time you put a little cheese into it; when no cheese remains, pour into the pan a gill of good gravy, and let the macaroni simmer slowly for half an hour.

463. Macaroni en moule.

Boil it and cook it like macaroni au gratin, No. 460, page 183. Make a stiff paste with half a pound of flour, three ounces of butter, the yolk of an egg, a little salt, and half a tumbler of cold water. Knead the paste very smooth, and roll it out thin; fold it up, and roll it out a second time. Butter a mould,

and line it with your paste, fill it up with the macaroni, and put the mould in the oven for twenty minutes. Take it out and dish it; it looks very nice.

464. Macaroni à la Milanaise.

Cut some very thin slices of raw ham, and hang them up in a warm place until they are dry enough to be grated. Use half a pound of grated ham to a pound of macaroni. Boil the macaroni in broth until it has absorbed all the broth; add gradually to it half a pound of grated ham, four ounces of grated parmesan, and four ounces of grated gruyère cheese; toss over the fire until the cheese melts, then dish it, and pour upon it a sauce tomate à l'Italienne (see No. 57, page 30).

They are to be cooked like macaroni, and are almost equal to it in point of delicacy. (See Nos. 460, 461, 462, 463, 464).

CHAPTER XVII.

ENTREMETS SUCRÉS. (SWEET DISHES.)

BEIGNETS.

466. Beignets de pommes.

Peel some nice large apples, slice them through and take out the core without breaking the slices, which ought to be a quarter of an inch thick; lay them on a dish, and pour upon them sufficient brandy to cover them; sprinkle some pounded sugar on the top, and let the apples remain so for an hour, turning them from time to time.

Prepare a batter as follows. To a pound of flour add a table-spoonful of olive-oil, a little salt, a tablespoonful of orange-flower water, two table-spoonfuls of brandy, four yolks of eggs, two whites, and water enough to make it into a thin transparent paste. Let it stand for two hours. When ready to use it, whisk the whites of two eggs very stiff, and mix them thoroughly with the paste. Dip each slice of apple separately into the paste, and fry it in hot lard; when of a nice colour on one side, turn it on the other drain it, dish it, and sprinkle pounded sugar over it Of course you do not fry each slice separately; you