interior, tie it up with string, and roast in vegetables as in the last article, leaving it to cool in the vegetables; when cold, glaze and serve, garnish with sprigs of parsley.

The beef well rubbed with garlic and well seasoned with salt and pepper, previous to spreading on the stuffing, is a great improvement.

I sometimes leave the bones in the meat, lard the fleshy part, and afterwards roast it in vegetables to serve cold.

665. PRESSED BEEF.—Procure a piece of brisket of beef, cut off the bones, and salt it as directed (No. 666), but adding a little extra sal prunella to the brine and a little spice; let the beef remain in pickle rather better than a week: when ready to cook, roll it round, tie it in a cloth, and let it simmer gently in plenty of water about seven hours if a whole one, but four hours if only the thin end; when done take it up, remove the string, and tie the cloth at each end, put it upon a dish with another dish over, upon which place half a hundred weight, leaving it until quite cold, then take the meat from the cloth, trim and glaze it lightly, and serve garnished with a few sprigs of fresh parsley.

666. PICKLE FOR BEEF À LA GARRICK.—Take twenty pounds of salt, three quarters of a pound of saltpetre, four cakes of sal prunella, two pounds of moist sugar, two cloves of garlic, with which rub the meat well, and leave it rather more than a week, rubbing and turning it over every day.

This pickle is adapted for anything that is required red.

667. SPICED BEEF.-Procure a piece of thin flank of beef about ten pounds in weight, which salt as the last for about a week; when ready split it open with a knife and lay it out flat upon a dresser, having previously prepared six onions chopped very fine, with about ten sprigs of parsley, and the leaves of ten sprigs of thyme, the same of marjoram, two ounces of mixed spice, (without cinnamon,) and half an ounce of black pepper, mix altogether, spread half upon the beef as it lays before you, then fold it over to its original shape, lay on the remainder of the preparation, roll it up tightly in a cloth, boil, press, and serve as directed in the last article.

668. PIG'S HEAD, IN IMITATION OF WILD BOAR'S HEAD. This you may say is not only a difficult dish to do, but a very expensive one. You are right, when you are obliged to buy the pig to possess

the head; but in a small farm-house where they kill a pig perhaps once a year at Christmas, the head can be very easily cut off for this purpose. Being on a visit some years since at a farm-house, I had the opportunity of having one, and trying my skill upon it; it was much approved of, both for its ferocious appearance, and its flavour, and it lasted good for three weeks.

The following is the way you should do it: procure the head with as much of the neck attached to it as possible (the hog must have been stabbed in the neck, not hit on the head, as that would have broken the skull); then singe it well over the flame of a fire, wipe it with a cloth, scrape it well with a knife without scratching the skin, and place it on a cloth upon its skull; open it very carefully without piercing the skin, leaving no flesh whatever upon the bones; bone the neck part, and cut it into small fillets two inches long, lay the head on a board and rub it with half a pound of brown sugar, let it remain for one hour; then place it in a salting tub, and throw over it six pounds of salt, pour in a separate pan two quarts of ale, add four bay-leaves, half an ounce of peppercorns, a quarter ditto of cloves, six blades of mace, eight sliced onions, ten sprigs of thyme, ten of winter savory, and two sliced carrots; stir it well up, and let it remain for two hours; then throw it over the head, which turn every day for eight or ten days, rubbing it well; when sufficiently salted, take it out and dry it on a cloth, lay the head straight before you, skin side upwards; have ready six or eight pounds of forcemeat, but using pork instead of veal, with which cover the head an inch in thickness at the thinnest part; put the fillets cut from the neck in a layer lengthwise in the head, with a long piece of fat bacon, half an inch square, between each, sprinkle a little chopped eschalots, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg over, and continue filling with forcemeat and the other ingredients until you have used the whole and it be quite full; join the two cheeks together with the above in the interior, sew it up with packthread, giving it the shape of the head as much as possible, and fold it in one or two large thin cloths, leaving the ears out and upright.

Braise as follows: Put half a pound of butter in a large braising-pan or stock-pot, over which put four pounds of trimmings of pork or knuckle of veal, eight onions, two carrots, four turnips, eight bay-leaves, a tablespoonful of peppercorns, twelve cloves, ten sprigs of thyme, ten of marjoram, four blades of mace, half a bottle of bucellas wine, if at hand, and four calf's feet, place it upon a sharp fire, stirring it occasionally, until the bottom is covered

with a clearish glaze, then add four gallons of water and half a pound of salt; when boiling draw it to the corner of the stove, skim, and put in the head, the ears uppermost, and let simmer seven or eight hours, or according to the size and age of the pig; but the better plan would be to try it with a trussing-needle; if tender it is done; skim the stock, in which leave the head until half cold, when take it out, partly undo the cloths, and tie it again tighter if possible, and press it in a cover or upon a baking-sheet with three flat pieces of wood, one at each side, with a weight against them, and one upon the top between the ears, on which place a fourteen pounds weight, let it remain all night until quite cold, take it out of the cloths, detach the thread it was sewn up with, cut a piece an inch in thickness from behind the ears, (from which part it must be carved in as thin slices as possible,) it will have a marbled appearance; trim the head a little, setting the ears in a proper position, glaze it with a brownish glaze, form the eyes with a little lard and a few black currants round, and the tusks with paste, baking them; have some very fresh tulips and roses, which stick tastefully in the ears and some around, but leaving space to carve ; garnish boldly with croutons, aspic, made from the stock clarified as directed (No. 659); the meat and the calf's foot may be used for different dishes. See RECEIPTS.

The second one I had boiled plainer, merely a little salt and a few vegetables; it was very good, but not so rich in flavour as the other; thus saving expense and trouble. They should be eaten with the following sauce:

669. BOAR'S HEAD SAUCE.-Cut the rind (free from pith) of two Seville oranges into very thin strips half an inch in length, which blanch in boiling water, drain them upon a sieve, and put them into a basin, with a spoonful of mixed English mustard, four of currant jelly, a little pepper, salt, (mix well together,) and half a pint of good port wine.

670. SOYER'S BRAWN.-Take a pig's head and prepare it as receipt No. 668, have the feet and ears prepared the same way; when salt enough, which will be in about seven days, remove it, drain it, and place it in a cloth with the skin outside, as boar's head, place the feet cut up in it with two pounds of sausage meat, and the tongue cut up, and then tie it up tight and boil for three hours or longer, until tender; allow it to get cold, then untie the cloth and serve. To make it larger, a couple of cow heels placed in the same pickle, boiled and cut up in small strips and boned may be added to the head. The above sauce with it is excellent. 671. FORCEMEAT.-You will find this receipt so useful, and so often in demand for made dishes, soups, fishes, entrées, &c., that I must beg of

you to devote to it your personal attention; and being rather difficult to execute, be present when your cook makes it, that she may follow strictly the receipt, which I flatter myself is rather original.

Take a pound and a half of lean veal from the fillet, and cut it in long thin slices, scrape with a knife till nothing but the fibre remains; put it in a mortar, pound it ten minutes, or until in a purée, pass it through a wire sieve (use the remainder in stock), then take one pound of good fresh beef suet, which skin, shred, and chop very fine, put it in your mortar and pound it, then add six ounces of panada (made as under) with the suet, pound them well together, and add the veal, season with a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter one of peper, half that of nutmeg, work all well together, then add four eggs by degrees, continually pounding the contents of the mortar; when well mixed take a small piece in a spoon, and poach it in some boiling water, and if it is delicate, firm, and a good flavour, it is ready for use; if you require some very delicate, add two tablespoonfuls of white sauce, or even thick melted butter; you can vary the flavour by the addition of a spoonful of chopped parsley, eschalot, mushroom, &c.; the flesh of rabbit, or fowl, or hare, pheasant, grouse, &c., if plentiful, may be added, using the ingredients in proportion. One quarter of this quantity may be made if required.

672. HOW TO MAKE QUENELLES OF FORCEMEAT.-Have two tablespoons, (dessert or teaspoons according to the size you intend making quenelles), fill one of them with the forcemeat, dip the other spoon into boiling water, and with it remove the forcemeat from the first spoon and slip it from that into a buttered sauté-pan, proceeding thus until you have as many as you require; then cover them with some second stock, and boil them about ten minutes, or until firm, and they are ready for use.

673. PANADA FOR FORCEMEATS.-Put two-thirds of half a pint of water into a stewpan holding a quart, with nearly an ounce of butter; when boiling, stir in a quarter of a pound of flour; keep it moving over the fire until it forms a smooth and toughish paste; take it out of the stewpan, and when cold use it where directed.

674. STUFFING FOR VEAL.-Chop up half a pound of beef suet very fine, put it in a basin, with eight ounces of bread-crumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little powdered thyme and marjoram, half the rind of a lemon grated, and

the juice of half one; season with a spoonful of salt, and a quarter one of pepper, and one quarter of a nutmeg; mix the whole with three whole eggs; this will do also to stuff turkey or baked fish, adding some more chopped parsley.

675. STUFFING FOR GEESE AND DUCKS.-See GEESE.

LETTER No. XVI.

DEAR ELOISE,-To you who are so fond of lobster, the following receipt will, I am confident, prove most valuable. To make sure of its quality, buy one fresh-boiled, and heavy in proportion to its size; or, perhaps, entre nous, you would prefer to wait until a friend presented you with one, like that Mrs. —, your fishmonger's wife, who used regularly to make you a present of one three or four times a week about a year and a half ago, and that the best she had in the shop, but to whom, on the sly, you used to pay a princely price for, and the poor man your husband, got at last so tired of them, that he went and begged of her to stop her shell-fish (selfish) present ; and she, unwoman-like, off her guard, let, as the proverb says, "the cat out of the bag." Well, after all, dearest, it is only Nature that was culpable, and not you.

I have no doubt but what your dear Mr. L- was tired of them, after they having been so long a constant dish at his table, that he used, as you say, to dream at night that he was hunted by the head constable of the raw or even boiled lobster, which is quite enough to torment any man, and all that for having tried to please you in making almost a turbot or a salmon of himself, by serving him out continually with some of your sauce (lobster, I mean). But I must say that, after all, he has been well repaid for his culinary tantalization. Oh! by the bye, how is he, my little godson? However, knowing that, after family matters, what interests you the most is our domestic journal, I therefore send you the receipts.

SHELL FISH.

LOBSTER. This fish, which is continually before our eyes, and only looked upon as an article of food, is, without doubt, one of the wonders of the creation. A creature destitute of bones, yet furnished with a stomach capable of digesting the hardest substances, even its own shell, which it doffs once a year, when it is too small for it; without blood circulating through its body, yet strong and active. This is only one of those wonders of the mighty deep that we cannot but regard with awe and veneration, and yet the prin