at the corner to simmer gently for two hours, take out; dress them in your dish, surrounded with the vegetables and bacon, and serve with parsley and butter over. Very good soup may be made from the stock it is boiled in, if required, or if not, into glaze, which put by until wanted.

332. LOIN OF VEAL BRAISED.-This joint generally weighs from twelve to fourteen pounds, when off a good calf. Have the rib-bones carefully divided with a saw, so as not to hurt the fillet, prepare the braising-pan, and proceed as in receipt, (No. 308;) with the addition of one pint more water, but take care not to cover the meat, which might happen if your stewpan was too deep, (this would be boiling instead of braising;) it will take about three hours be careful to remove the fat, as this joint produces a great deal. Taste the sauce before serving, in case more seasoning is required, which might be the case, depending on the nature of the veal. A good cook should taste all sauces before serving.

333. BREAST OF VEAL STUFFED & STEWED. -Take about eight pounds of the breast of veal, put your knife about half an inch under the skin, and open it about three parts of its width all the way down, then prepare some veal stuffing, and lay it in the opening you have made about one inch in thickness, sew it up, and proceed as receipt for shoulder.

Should half the size of either the above dishes be required, use but half the vegetables in proportion, and stew half an hour less.

The CHUMP, SMALL SHOULDER, or pieces of the fillet may be dressed in the same way, but must be larded, like the neck.

All the above joints may be stewed in the same way, with less vegetables, and served with sauces Nos. 136, 140; the gravy in which they are stewed will always be useful in the kitchen, or may be reduced and served with the joint.

334. SHOULDER OF VEAL STUFFED AND STEWED.—This is a very awkward joint to carve to advantage, and equally so to cook; by the following plan it goes further than any other way.

Take the joint and lay it with the skin-side downwards; with a sharp thin knife carefully detach the meat from the blade-bone, then hold the shoulder edgewise and detach the meat from the other side of the bone, being careful not to make a hole in the skin; then cut the bone from the knuckle and take it out; you may at first be rather awkward about it, but after once or twice trying, it will become easy; you may also take out the other bone, but I prefer it in, as it keeps the shape better; then lard the lean part like the neck in No. 328; mix some salt and a little mixed spice together, with which rub the meat from whence the bone has been cut, stuff with veal stuffing, or sausage-meat, or suet-pudding; braise, garnish, and serve as No. 310. This being the toughest part of the veal, it should be tried before taking up, to see if it is properly done, by thrusting a larding-needle in it; if it goes in easily it is done. This joint is excellent cold, and should be carved in thin slices crosswise.

335. CALF'S HEAD.-Choose one thick and fat, but not too large; soak for ten minutes in lukewarm water, then well powder with rosin, have plenty of scalding water ready, dip in the head, holding it by the ear, scrape the hair off with the back of a knife, which will come off easily if properly scraped, without scratching the cheek; when perfectly clean, take the eyes out, saw it in two, lengthwise,

through the skull, without spoiling the brain, which take carefully out, and put to disgorge for a few hours in lukewarm water; pull the tongue out, break the jaw-bone, and remove the part which contains the teeth, put the head into plenty of water to disgorge for one hour; make the following stock and boil for about two hours and a half, and it will be ready to serve.

The stock is made by putting into a braising-pan two carrots, three onions, a quarter of a pound of butter, six cloves, a bouquet of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves; set it on the fire for about twenty minutes, keep stirring it round, then add a pint of water, and when warm mix a quarter of a pound of flour, add a gallon of water, one lemon in slices, and a quarter of a pound of salt, then lay the head in; take care it is well covered, or the part exposed will turn dark; simmer gently till tender.

LETTER No. XIII.

MY DEAR ELOISE,—Do not make any mistakes in the way you describe the above receipts, which might be made very ridiculous if wrongly explained. For example: I once had an old French Cookery Book in my hand, with the 15th edition stamped on its old brown leather cheek, containing a receipt of "Tête de Veau à la poulette," (that is, a calf's head, with white sauce,) in which small onions and mushrooms are introduced, that read as follows-but, before describing it, allow me five minutes to indulge in a hearty laugh at the absurd manner in which it is explained: "First choose your head as thick and fat as you can, then plunge it in two gallons of water, which must be nearly boiling in a pan on the fire; let your head remain about ten minutes, then take it out by the ears, and, after remaining a short time, scrape your hair off with the back of a knife without injuring your cheek, and pull your eyes out; break your jawbone and saw your head in two without smashing your brains, which take out carefully; set it in cold water to get clean and white; then pull out your tongue, scrape and dry it, having previously boiled it with your head, which, after two hours' ebullition,

will feel as soft as possible, when see that your head is in the centre of the dish; your tongue divided in two and placed on each side of it: sharp sauce, according to No. —, is allowed to be served with either head or tongue.” I assure you, dear, although I do not profess to be a first-rate scholar in that fashionable language-French, I believe this to be as near as possible the true translation of the original. Then follow calves' feet, which is nearly as absurd as the former: "Pied de Veau au naturel," Calves' Feet, the natural way." Choose your fine feet in the rough state, and, as with your head, place a pan of water on the fire; when hot, but not too much so, put your feet in the water for about ten minutes, try if you can easily clean them as your head with a knife, if not, add a spoonful of salt in the water, and let them remain a few minutes longer; then scrape like your head; when well cleaned wipe them dry, and they are ready for dressing, which may be done in almost twenty different ways. (See the series 'How to cook Pigs' Feet.') When your feet are tender, set them on a dish, take out the big bone, surround them with sausage-meat; wrap them up in caul, and form a heart with them; then place your feet on a gridiron, let them gently broil, and, when done, eat them for breakfast or luncheon." (After which a gentle walk might give you an appetite for dinner.)

CALF'S HEAD (No. 335) may be dressed thus::Half of the head will make a good dish for a remove; lay it in the dish very hot, having previously drained it well; have ready about a pint of Hollandaise or cream sauce, No. 301, pour it over and serve.

It may be surrounded with a dozen new potatoes if in season, or some quenelles, or quarters of hard-boiled eggs; a little chopped parsley thrown on the head when the sauce is over it, makes it look very inviting. It can also be served "à la poulette," by putting a pint of white sauce in a stewpan; have peeled and cooked about fifty button onions in white broth, to which you have added a little sugar and butter, and a few mushrooms; add the broth, onions, and sauce together, and when on the point of boiling, add a liaison of two yolks of eggs, and the juice of a lemon; stir it well round; it ought to be the

thickness of cream sauce; pour over the head and

serve.

It can also be egged and bread-crumbed, and placed in the oven for twenty minutes to get a nice brown colour, and may be served with sauces Nos. 155, 170.

336. CALF'S HEAD, NORMANDY FASHION.Having boiled the half head with the skin on, take the brain, which you have already blanched, and beat up with half a pint of milk, a little pepper and salt, add the pulp of two baked apples and two boiled onions beaten up, place them in a stewpan and boil gently for a short time; pass through a sieve, take about a pint of the liquor in which the head has been boiled, and put the brain, &c. in it, give it a gentle simmer, stirring it often; it should be the consistency of thick cream; having removed the skin from the tongue, cut it into slices, and put in the sauce; when ready to serve, stir a whole egg well into it, place the head in a dish, and pour over.

MUTTON.-The sheep, when killed, is generally divided into two, by cutting across about two ribs below the shoulder; these are called the foreand-hind-quarters: the former contains the head, neck, breast, and shoulder; the latter, the leg and loin; or the two loins together, the saddle or chine; or the leg and four ribs of the loin, the haunch. The entrails are called the pluck, which are the liver, lights, heart, sweetbread, and melt. When cut up, the kernel at the tail, that in the fat in the thick part of the leg, and the pipe that runs along the bone of the chine, should be removed. The flavour depends on the breed and pasture; that is best which has a darkcoloured flesh, of a fine grain, well mixed with fat, which must be firm and white. Wether mutton is the best; the meat of ewe mutton is of a paler colour, and the fat yellow and spongy. To keep a loin, saddle, or haunch, the kidney-fat should be removed, and the place rubbed with a little salt. Mutton should never be cooked unless it has hung forty-eight hours after it is killed; and it can be kept for twenty-one days, and sometimes longer in a severe winter.