Take six shelled hard boiled eggs, cut away at the pointed end of each egg a piece half an inch thick, and at the other end a quarter of an inch thick. Remove the yolks with a small vegetable scoop, or with a pointed knife, mash the yolks in a bowl very fine, and lay them aside for further action.

Place in a sautoire half an ounce of good butter, add one sound shelled finely chopped shallot, place the pan on the corner of the range, and let simmer, but do not let get brown, add then a table-spoonful of Bechamel sauce (No. 108), a teaspoonful of freshly chopped up parsley, a tablespoonful of finely grated horse-radish. Now add also the yolks, season with a tablespoonful of salt and half a saltspoonful of Cayenne pepper; mix all well together with a wooden spoon, and then with it stuff the six eggs, so as to give them the exact shape of small barrels.

Lightly butter a tin pan, carefully lay the eggs in it, the stuffed part uppermost, sprinkle a little grated Parmesan cheese right in the centre of the stuffed part of the eggs. Cover them with a piece of buttered paper, place them in a moderate oven for twelve minutes. Carefully remove them from the oven, take off the paper. Have a hot dish with six fried bread croutons, half an inch high by one and a half inches in diameter, gently place an egg on each crouton; pour a gill of hot demi-glace (No. 103) around the dish (none over the eggs) and immediately serve.