gently till the meat is nearly done, skim off all the fat, and then add the carrots and turnips, which should previously be cut in dice and fried in a little sugar to colour them. Let the whole simmer again for 10 minutes; take out the onion and bunch of herbs, and serve. Time.-About 3 hours to simmer. Average cost, 6d. per lb. Seasonable at any time. HARICOT MUTTON (Cold Meat Cookery), 718. INGREDIENTS.-The remains of cold neck or loin of mutton, 2 oz. of butter, 3 onions, 1 dessertspoonful of flour, pint of good gravy, pepper and salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of port wine, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 2 carrots, 2 turnips, 1 head of celery. Mode.-Cut the cold mutton into moderate-sized chops, and take off the fat; slice the onions, and fry them with the chops, in a little butter, of a nice brown colour; stir in the flour, add the gravy, and let it stew gently nearly an hour. In the mean time boil the vegetables until nearly tender, slice them, and add them to the mutton about hour before it is to be served. Season with pepper and salt, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, and serve. Time.-1 hour. Average cost, exclusive of the cold meat, 9d. HASHED MUTTON. 719. INGREDIENTS.-The remains of cold roast shoulder or leg of mutton, 6 whole peppers, whole allspice, a faggot of savoury herbs, head of celery, 1 onion, 2 oz. of butter, flour. Mode.-Cut the meat in nice even slices from the bones, trimming off all superfluous fat and gristle; chop the bones and fragments of the joint, put them into a stewpan with the pepper, spice, herbs, and celery; cover with water, and simmer for 1 hour. Slice and fry the onion of a nice pale-brown colour, dredge in a little flour to make it thick, and add this to the bones, &c. Stew for hour, strain the gravy, and let it cool; then skim off every particle of fat, and put it, with the meat, into a stewpan. Flavour with ketchup, Harvey's sauce, tomato sauce, or any flavouring that may be preferred, and let the meat gradually warm through, but not boil, or it will harden. To hash meat properly, it should be laid in cold gravy, and only left on the fire just long enough to warm through. Time.-1 hour to simmer the gravy. HASHED MUTTON.-Many persons express a decided aversion to hashed mutton; and, doubtless, this dislike has arisen from the fact that they have unfortunately never been properly served with this dish. If properly done, however, the meat tender (it ought to be as tender as when first roasted), the gravy abundant and well flavoured, and the sippets nicely toasted, and the whole served neatly; then, hashed mutton is by no means to be despised, and is infinitely more wholesome and appetizing than the cold leg or shoulder, of which fathers and husbands, and their bachelor friends, stand in such natural awe. HODGE-PODGE (Cold Meat Cookery). 720. INGREDIENTS.-About 1 lb. of underdone cold mutton, 2 lettuces, 1 pint of green peas, 5 or 6 green onions, 2 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, teacupful of water. Mode.-Mince the mutton, and cut up the lettuces and onions in slices. Put these in a stewpan, with all the ingredients except the peas, and let these simmer very gently for hour, keeping them well stirred. Boil the peas separately, mix these with the mutton, and. serve very hot. Time.-hour. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Seasonable from the end of May to August. IRISH STEW. I. 721. INGREDIENTS.-3 lbs. of the loin or neck of mutton, 5 lbs. of potatoes, 5 large onions, pepper and salt to taste, rather more than 1 pint of water. Mode.-Trim off some of the fat of the above quantity of loin or neck of mutton, and cut it into chops of a moderate thickness. Pare and halve the potatoes, and cut the onions into thick slices. Put a layer of potatoes at the bottom of a stewpan, then a layer of mutton and onions, and season with pepper and salt; proceed in this manner until the stewpan is full, taking care to have plenty of vegetables at the top. Pour in the water, and let it stew very gently for 24 hours, keeping the lid of the stewpan closely shut the whole time, and occasionally shaking it to prevent its burning. Time.—2 hours. Average cost, for this quantity, 28. 8d. Seasonable.-More suitable for a winter dish. II. 722. INGREDIENTS.-2 or 3 lbs. of the breast of mutton, 1 pint of water, salt and pepper to taste, 4 lbs. of potatoes, 4 large onions. Mode.-Put the mutton into a stewpan with the water and a little salt, and let it stew gently for an hour; cut the meat into small pieces, skim the fat from the gravy, and pare and slice the potatoes and onions. Put all the ingredients into the stewpan in layers, first a layer of vegetables, then one of meat, and sprinkle seasoning of pepper and salt between each layer; cover closely, and let the whole stew very gently for 1 hour or rather more, shaking it frequently to prevent its burning. Time.-Rather more than 2 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. Seasonable.-Suitable for a winter dish. Note.-Irish stew may be prepared in the same manner as above, but baked in a jar instead of boiled. About 2 hours or rather more in a moderate oven will be sufficient time to bake it. ITALIAN MUTTON CUTLETS. 723. INGREDIENTS.-About 3 lbs. of the neck of mutton, clarified butter, the yolk of 1 egg, 4 tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, 1 tablespoonful of minced savoury herbs, 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 1 teaspoonful of minced shalot, 1 saltspoonful of finely-chopped lemonpeel; pepper, salt, and pounded mace to taste; flour, pint of hot broth or water, 2 teaspoonfuls of Harvey's sauce, 1 teaspoonful of soy, 2 teaspoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of port wine. Mode.-Cut the mutton into nicely-shaped cutlets, flatten them, and trim off some of the fat, dip them in clarified butter, and then into the beaten yolk of an egg. Mix well together bread crumbs, herbs, parsley, shalot, lemon-peel, and seasoning in the above proportion, and cover the cutlets with these ingredients. Melt some butter in a frying-pan, lay in the cutlets, and fry them a nice brown; take them out, and keep them hot before the fire. Dredge some flour into the pan, and if there is not sufficient butter, add a little more; stir till it looks brown, then pour in the hot broth or water, and the remaining ingredients; give one boil, and pour round the cutlets. If the gravy should not be thick enough, add a little more flour. Mushrooms, when obtainable, are a great improvement to this dish, and when not in season, mushroom-powder may be substituted for them. Time.-10 minutes ;-rather longer, should the cutlets be very thick. Average cost, 2s. 9d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time. THE DOWNS.-The well-known substance chalk, which the chemist regards as a nearly pure carbonate of lime, and the microscopist as an aggregation of inconceivably minute shells and corals, forms the sub-soil of the hilly districts of the south-east of England. The chalk-hills known as the South Downs start from the bold promontory of Beachy Head, traverse the county of Sussex from east to west, and pass through Hampshire into Surrey. The North Downs extend from Godalming, by Godstone, into Kent, and terminate in the line of cliffs which stretches from Dover to Ramsgate. The Downs are clothed with short verdant turf; but the layer of soil which rests upon the chalk is too thin to support trees and shrubs. The hills have rounded summits, and their smooth, undulated outlines are unbroken save by the sepulchral monuments of the early inhabitants of the country. The coombes and furrows, which ramify and extend into deep valleys, appear like dried-up channels of streams and rivulets. From time immemorial, immense flocks of sheep have been reared on these downs. The herbage of these hills is remarkably nutritious; and whilst the natural healthiness of the climate, consequent on the dryness of the air and the moderate elevation of the land, is eminently favourable to rearing a superior race of sheep, the arable land in the immediate neighbourhood of the Downs affords the means of a supply of other food, when the natural produce of the hills fails. The mutton of the South-Down breed of sheep is highly valued for its delicate flavour, and the wool for its fineness; but the best specimens of this breed, when imported from England into the West Indies, become miserably lean in the course of a year or two, and their woolly fleece gives place to a covering of short, crisp, brownish hair. BROILED KIDNEYS (a Breakfast or Supper Dish). 724. INGREDIENTS.-Sheep kidneys, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.-Ascertain that the kidneys are fresh, and cut them open very evenly, lengthwise, down to the root, for should one half be thicker than the other, one would be underdone whilst the other would be dried, but do not separate them; KIDNEYS. skin them, and pass a skewer under the white part of each half to keep them flat, and broil over a nice clear fire, placing the inside downwards; turn them when done enough on one side, and cook them on the other. Remove the skewers, place the kidneys on a very hot dish, season with pepper and salt, and put a tiny piece of butter in the middle of each; serve very hot and quickly, and send very hot plates to table. Time.-6 to 8 minutes. Average cost, 14d. each. Sufficient.-Allow 1 for each person. Seasonable at any time. Note.-A prettier dish than the above may be made by serving the kidneys each on a piece of buttered toast cut in any fanciful shape. In this case a little lemon-juice will be found an improvement. FRIED KIDNEYS. 725. INGREDIENTS.-Kidneys, butter, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.-Cut the kidneys open without quite dividing them, remove the skin, and put a small piece of butter in the frying-pan. When the butter is melted, lay in the kidneys the flat side downwards, and fry them for 7 or 8 minutes, turning them when they are half-done. Serve on a piece of dry toast, season with pepper and salt, and put a small piece of butter in each kidney; pour the gravy from the pan over them, and serve very hot. Time.-7 or 8 minutes. Average cost, 14d. each. ROAST HAUNCH OF MUTTON. 726. INGREDIENTS.-Haunch of mutton, a little salt, flour. HAUNCH OF MUTTON. Mode.-Let this joint hang as long as possible without becoming tainted, and while hanging dust flour over it, which keeps off the flies, and prevents the air from getting to it. If not well hung, the joint, when it comes to table, will neither do credit to the butcher or the cook, as it will not be tender. Wash the outside well, lest it should have a bad flavour from keeping; then flour it and put it down to a nice brisk fire, at some distance, so that it may gradually warm through. Keep continually basting, and about hour before it is served, draw it nearer to the fire to get nicely brown. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, pour off the dripping, add a little boiling water slightly salted, and strain this over the joint. Place a paper ruche on the bone, and send red-currant jelly and gravy in a tureen to table with it. Time.-About 4 hours. Average cost, 10d. per lb. Sufficient for 8 to 10 persons. Seasonable.-In best season from September to March. How To BUY MEAT ECONOMICALLY.-If the housekeeper is not very particular as to the precise joints to cook for dinner, there is oftentimes an opportunity for her to save as much money in her purchases of meat as will pay for the bread to eat with it. It often occurs, for instance, that the butcher may have a superfluity of certain joints, and these he would be glad to get rid of at a reduction of sometimes as much as 1d. or ltd. per lb., and thus, in a joint of 8 or 9 lbs., will be saved enough to buy 2 quartern loaves. It frequently happens with many butchers, that, in consequence of a demand for legs and loins of mutton, they have only shoulders left, and these they will be glad to sell at a reduction. ROAST LEG OF MUTTON. 727. INGREDIENTS.-Leg of mutton, a little salt. Mode.-As mutton, when freshly killed, is never tender, hang it almost as long as it will keep; flour it, and put it in a cool airy place for a few days, if the weather will permit. Wash off the flour, wipe it very dry, and cut off the shank-bone; put it down to a brisk clear fire, dredge with flour, and keep continually basting the whole time it is cooking. About 20 minutes before serving, draw it near the fire to get nicely brown; sprinkle over it a little salt, dish the meat, pour off the dripping, add some boiling water slightly salted, LEG OF MUTTON, strain it over the joint, and serve. |