MARMALADE AND VERMICELLI PUDDING

_Ingredients._—1 breakfast-cupful of vermicelli, 2 tablespoonfuls of marmalade, ¼ lb. of raisins, sugar to taste, 3 eggs, milk. _Mode._—Pour some boiling milk on the vermicelli, and let it remain covered for 10 minutes; then mix with it the marmalade, stoned raisins, sugar, and beaten eggs. Stir all well together, put the mixture into a buttered mould, boil for 1½ hour, and serve with custard sauce. _Time._—1½ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

MARROW-BONES, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—Bones, a small piece of common paste, a floured cloth. _Mode._—Have the bones neatly sawed into convenient sizes, and cover the ends with a small piece of common crust, made with flour and water. Over this tie a floured cloth, and place the bones upright in a saucepan of boiling water, taking care there is sufficient to cover them. Boil them for 2 hours, remove the cloth and paste, and serve them upright on a napkin with dry toast. Many persons clear the marrow from the bones after they are cooked, spread it over a slice of toast and add a seasoning of pepper: when served in this manner, it must be very expeditiously sent to table, as it so soon gets cold. _Time._—2 hours. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note._—Marrow-bones may be baked after preparing them as in the preceding recipe; they should be laid in a deep dish, and baked for 2 hours.

MARROW DUMPLINGS, to serve with Roast Meat, in Soup, with Salad, &c.

(_German Recipe._)

_Ingredients._—1 oz. of beef marrow, 1 oz. of butter, 2 eggs, 2 penny rolls, 1 teaspoonful of minced onion, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley, salt and grated nutmeg to taste. _Mode._—Beat the marrow and butter together to a cream; well whisk the eggs, and add these to the other ingredients. When they are well stirred, put in the rolls, which should previously be well soaked in boiling milk, strained, and beaten up with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients, omitting the minced onion where the flavour is very much disliked, and form the mixture into small round dumplings. Drop these into boiling broth, and let them simmer for about 20 minutes or ½ hour. They may be served in soup, with roast meat, or with salad, as in Germany, where they are more frequently sent to table than in this country. They are very good. _Time._—20 minutes to ½ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 dumplings. _Seasonable_ at any time.

MARROW PUDDING, Baked or Boiled.

_Ingredients._—½ pint of bread-crumbs, 1½ pint of milk, 6 oz. of marrow, 4 eggs, ¼ lb. of raisins or currants, or 2 oz. of each; sugar and grated nutmeg to taste. _Mode._—Make the milk boiling, pour it hot on to the bread-crumbs, and let these remain covered for about ½ hour; shred the marrow, beat up the eggs, and mix these with the bread-crumbs; add the remaining ingredients, beat the mixture well, and either put it into a buttered mould and boil it for 2½ hours, or put it into a pie-dish edged with puff-paste, and bake for rather more than ¾ hour. Before sending it to table, sift a little pounded sugar over, after being turned out of the mould or basin. _Time._—2½ hours to boil, ¾ hour to bake. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 2_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

MAY—BILLS OF FARE.

Dinner for 18 persons.

_First Course._

Asparagus Soup, removed by Salmon and Lobster Sauce. Fried Filleted Fillets of Mackerel, Soles. Vase of Flowers. à la Maître d’Hôtel.

Ox-tail Soup, removed by Brill & Shrimp Sauce.

_Entrées._

Lamb Cutlets and Cucumbers.

Lobster Pudding. Curried Fowl. Vase of Flowers.

Veal Ragoût.

_Second Course._

Saddle of Lamb.

Raised Pie. Roast Fowls. Boiled Capon and Vase of Flowers. White Sauce.

Braised Ham.

Roast Veal.

_Third Course._

Almond Goslings, Lobster Cheesecakes. removed by Salad. College Puddings.

Noyeau Jelly.

Italian Vase of Charlotte à la Cream. Flowers. Parisienne.

Inlaid Jelly.

Plover’s Ducklings, Eggs. removed by Tartlets. Nesselrode Pudding.

Dessert and Ices.

Dinner for 12 persons.

_First Course._—White soup; asparagus soup; salmon cutlets; boiled turbot and lobster sauce. _Entrées._—Chicken vol-au-vent; lamb cutlets and cucumbers; fricandeau of veal; stewed mushrooms. _Second Course._—Roast lamb; haunch of mutton; boiled and roast fowls; vegetables. _Third Course._—Ducklings; goslings; Charlotte Russe; Vanilla cream; gooseberry tart; custards; cheesecakes; cabinet pudding and iced pudding; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 10 persons.

_First Course._—Spring soup; salmon à la Genévése; red mullet. _Entrées._—Chicken vol-au-vent; calf’s liver and bacon aux fines herbes. _Second Course._—Saddle of mutton; half calf’s head, tongue, and brains; braised ham; asparagus. _Third Course._—Roast pigeons; ducklings; sponge-cake pudding; Charlotte à la vanille; gooseberry tart; cream; cheesecakes; apricot-jam tart; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 8 persons.

_First Course._—Julienne soup; brill and lobster sauce; fried fillets of mackerel. _Entrées._—Lamb cutlets and cucumbers; lobster patties. _Second Course._—Roast fillet of veal; boiled leg of lamb; asparagus. _Third Course._—Ducklings; gooseberry tart; custards; fancy pastry; soufflé; dessert and ices.

Dinner for 6 persons.

_First Course._—Vermicelli soup; boiled salmon and anchovy sauce. _Entrées._—Fillets of beef and tomato sauce; sweetbreads. _Second Course._—Roast lamb; boiled capon; asparagus. _Third Course._—Ducklings; cabinet pudding; compôte of gooseberries; custards in glasses; blancmange; lemon tartlets; fondue; dessert.

* * * * *

_First Course._—Macaroni soup; boiled mackerel à la maître d’hôtel; fried smelts. _Entrées._—Scollops of fowl; lobster pudding. _Second Course._—Boiled leg of lamb and spinach; roast sirloin of beef and horseradish sauce; vegetables. _Third Course._—Roast leveret; salad; soufflé of rice; ramakins; strawberry-jam tartlets; orange jelly; dessert.

* * * * *

_First Course._—Julienne soup; trout with Dutch sauce; salmon cutlets. _Entrées._—Lamb cutlets and mushrooms; vol-au-vent of chicken. _Second Course._—Roast lamb; calf’s head à la tortue; vegetables. _Third Course._—Spring chickens; iced pudding; Vanilla cream; clear jelly; tartlets; cheesecakes; dessert.

* * * * *

_First Course._—Soup à la reine; crimped trout and lobster sauce; baked whitings aux fines herbes. _Entrées._—Braised mutton cutlets and cucumbers; stewed pigeons. _Second Course._—Roast fillet of veal; bacon-cheek and greens; fillet of beef à la jardinière. _Third Course._—Ducklings; soufflé à la vanille; compôte of oranges; meringues; gooseberry tart; fondue; dessert.

MAY, Plain Family Dinners for.

_Sunday._—1. Vegetable soup. 2. Saddle of mutton, asparagus and potatoes. 3. Gooseberry tart, custards.

_Monday._—1. Fried whitings, anchovy sauce. 2. Cold mutton, mashed potatoes, stewed veal. 3. Fig pudding.

_Tuesday._—1. Haricot mutton, made from remains of cold mutton, rump-steak pie. 2. Macaroni.

_Wednesday._—1. Roast loin of veal and spinach, boiled bacon, mutton cutlets and tomato sauce. 2. Gooseberry pudding and cream.

_Thursday._—1. Spring soup. 2. Roast leg of lamb, mint sauce, spinach, curried veal and rice. 3. Lemon pudding.

_Friday._—1. Boiled mackerel and parsley-and-butter. 2. Stewed rump-steak, cold lamb and salad. 3. Baked gooseberry pudding.

_Saturday._—1. Vermicelli. 2. Rump-steak pudding, lamb cutlets, and cucumbers. 3. Macaroni.

* * * * *

_Sunday._—1. Boiled salmon and lobster or caper sauce. 2. Roast lamb, mint sauce, asparagus, potatoes. 3. Plum-pudding, gooseberry tart.

_Monday._—1. Salmon warmed in remains of lobster sauce and garnished with croûtons. 2. Stewed knuckle of veal and rice, cold lamb and dressed cucumber. 3. Slices of pudding warmed, and served with sugar sprinkled over. Baked rice pudding.

_Tuesday._—1. Roast ribs of beef, horseradish sauce, Yorkshire pudding, spinach and potatoes. 2. Boiled lemon pudding.

_Wednesday._—1. Fried soles, melted butter. 2. Cold beef and dressed cucumber or salad, veal cutlets and bacon. 3. Baked plum-pudding.

_Thursday._—1. Spring soup. 2. Calf’s liver and bacon, broiled beef-bones, spinach and potatoes. 3. Gooseberry tart.

_Friday._—1. Roast shoulder of mutton, baked potatoes, onion sauce, spinach. 2. Currant dumplings.

_Saturday._—1. Broiled mackerel, fennel sauce or plain melted butter. 2. Rump-steak pie, hashed mutton, vegetables. 3. Baked arrowroot pudding.

MAY, Things in Season.

_Fish._—Carp, chub, crabs, crayfish, dory, herrings, lobsters, mackerel, red and gray mullet, prawns, salmon, shad, smelts, soles, trout, turbot.

_Meat._—Beef, lamb, mutton, veal.

_Poultry._—Chickens, ducklings, fowls, green geese, leverets, pullets, rabbits.

_Vegetables._—Asparagus, beans, early cabbages, carrots, cauliflowers, cresses, cucumbers, lettuces, pease, early potatoes, salads, sea-kale,—various herbs.

_Fruit._—Apples, green apricots, cherries, currants for tarts, gooseberries, melons, pears, rhubarb, strawberries.

MAYONNAISE, a Sauce or Salad-Dressing for cold Chicken, Meat, and other cold Dishes.

_Ingredients._—The yolks of 2 eggs, 6 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, salt and white pepper to taste, 1 tablespoonful of white stock, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream. _Mode._—Put the yolks of the eggs into a basin, with a seasoning of pepper and salt; have ready the above quantities of oil and vinegar, in separate vessels; add them _very gradually_ to the eggs; continue stirring and rubbing the mixture with a wooden spoon, as herein consists the secret of having a nice smooth sauce. It cannot be stirred too frequently, and it should be made in a very cool place, or, if ice is at hand, it should be mixed over it. When the vinegar and oil are well incorporated with the eggs, add the stock and cream, stirring all the time, and it will then be ready for use.

For a fish Mayonnaise, this sauce may be coloured with lobster-spawn, pounded; and for poultry or meat, where variety is desired, a little parsley-juice may be used to add to its appearance. Cucumber, tarragon, or any other flavoured vinegar, may be substituted for plain, where they are liked. _Average cost_, for this quantity, 7_d._ _Sufficient_ for a small salad.

_Note._—In mixing the oil and vinegar with the eggs, put in first a few drops of oil, and then a few drops of vinegar, never adding a large quantity of either at one time. By this means, you can be more certain of the sauce not curdling. Patience and practice, let us add, are two essentials for making this sauce good.

This fruit is rarely preserved or cooked in any way, but is sent whole to table on a dish garnished with leaves or flowers, as fancy dictates. A border of any other kind of small fruit, arranged round the melon, has a pretty effect, the colour of the former contrasting nicely with the melon. Plenty of pounded sugar should be served with it; and the fruit should be cut lengthwise, in moderate-sized slices. In America, it is frequently eaten with pepper and salt. _Average cost._—English, in full season, 3_s._ 6_d._ to 5_s._ each; when scarce, 10_s._ to 15_s._; _seasonable_, June to August. French, 2_s._ to 3_s._ 6_d._ each; _seasonable_, June and July. Dutch, 9_d._ to 2_s._ each; _seasonable_, July and August.

MERINGUES.

_Ingredients._—½ lb. of pounded sugar, the whites of 4 eggs. _Mode._—Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and, with a wooden spoon, stir in _quickly_ the pounded sugar; and have some boards thick enough to put in the oven to prevent the bottom of the meringues from acquiring too much colour. Cut some strips of paper about 2 inches wide; place this paper on the board, and drop a tablespoonful at a time of the mixture on the paper, taking care to let all the meringues be the same size. In dropping it from the spoon, give the mixture the form of an egg, and keep the meringues about 2 inches apart from each other on the paper. Strew over them some sifted sugar, and bake in a moderate oven for ½ hour. As soon as they begin to colour, remove them from the oven; take each slip of paper by the two ends, and turn it gently on the table, and, with a small spoon, take out the soft part of each meringue. Spread some clean paper on the board, turn the meringues upside down, and put them into the oven to harden and brown on the other side. When required for table, fill them with whipped cream, flavoured with liqueur or vanilla, and sweetened with pounded sugar. Join two of the meringues together, and pile them high in the dish, as shown in the annexed drawing. To vary their appearance, finely-chopped almonds or currants may be strewn over them before the sugar is sprinkled over; and they may be garnished with any bright-coloured preserve. Great expedition is necessary in making this sweet dish; as, if the meringues are not put into the oven as soon as the sugar and eggs are mixed, the former melts, and the mixture would run on the paper, instead of keeping its egg-shape. The sweeter the meringues are made, the crisper will they be; but, if there is not sufficient sugar mixed with them, they will most likely be tough. They are sometimes coloured with cochineal; and, if kept well covered in a dry place, will remain good for a month or six weeks. _Time._—Altogether, about

Milk, when of good quality, is of an opaque white colour: the cream always comes to the top; the well-known milky odour is strong; it will boil without altering its appearance in these respects; the little bladders which arise on the surface will renew themselves if broken by the spoon. To boil milk is, in fact, the simplest way of testing its quality. The commonest adulterations of milk are not of a hurtful character. It is a good deal thinned with water, and sometimes thickened with a little starch, or coloured with yolk of egg, or even saffron; but these processes have nothing murderous in them.

MILK AND CREAM, to keep, in hot Weather.

When the weather is very warm, and it is very difficult to prevent milk from turning sour and spoiling the cream, it should be scalded, and it will then remain good for a few hours. It must on no account be allowed to boil, or there will be a skin instead of a cream upon the milk; and the slower the process the safer will it be. A very good plan to scald milk, is to put the pan that contains it into a saucepan or wide kettle of boiling water. When the surface looks thick, the milk is sufficiently scalded, and it should then be put away in a cool place in the same vessel that it was scalded in. Cream may be kept for 24 hours, if scalded without sugar; and by the addition of the latter ingredient, it will remain good double the time, if kept in a cool place. All pans, jugs, and vessels intended for milk, should be kept beautifully clean, and well scalded before the milk is put in, as any negligence in this respect may cause large quantities of it to be spoiled; and milk should never be kept in vessels of zinc or copper. Milk may be preserved good in hot weather, for a few hours, by placing the jug which contains it in ice, or very cold water; or a pinch of bicarbonate of soda may be introduced into the liquid.

MILK AND CREAM, Separation of.

If it be desired that the milk should be freed entirely from cream, it should be poured into a very shallow broad pan or dish, not more than 1½ inch deep, as cream cannot rise through a great depth of milk. In cold and wet weather, milk is not so rich as it is in summer and warm weather, and the morning’s milk is always richer than the evening’s. The last-drawn milk of each milking, at all times and seasons, is richer than the first-drawn, and on that account should be set apart for cream. Milk should be shaken as little as possible when carried from the cow to the dairy, and should be poured into the pans very gently. Persons not keeping cows, may always have a little cream, provided the milk they purchase be pure and unadulterated. As soon as it comes in, it should be poured into very shallow open pie-dishes, and set by in a very cool place, and in 7 or 8 hours a nice cream should have risen to the surface.

MILK AND CREAM, Substitute for, in Tea and Coffee.

_Ingredients._—1 new laid egg to every large breakfast-cupful of tea or coffee. _Mode._—Beat up the whole of the egg in a basin, put it into a cup, and pour over it the tea or coffee quite hot, stirring all the time to prevent the egg from curdling. In point of nourishment, both tea and coffee are much improved by this addition. _Sufficient._—1 egg to every large breakfast-cupful of tea or coffee.

MILK SOUP (a nice Dish for Children).

_Ingredients._—2 quarts of milk, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, 3 teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar, or more if liked, 4 thin slices of bread, the yolks of 6 eggs. _Mode._—Boil the milk with the salt, cinnamon, and sugar; lay the bread in a deep dish, pour over it a little of the milk, and keep it hot over a stove, without burning. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, add them to the milk, and stir it over the fire till it thickens. Do not let it curdle. Pour it upon the bread, and serve. _Time._—¾ of an hour. _Average cost_, 8_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year. _Sufficient_ for 10 children.