A vol au vent is a large patty. The French name signifies something that will fly away in the wind. Roll out puff-paste one and one-half inches in thickness, and cut a circle about six inches in diameter, using a cutter or, with a sharp knife, cutting around the edge of a plate laid on the paste. Place the circle on a baking-tin and , with a sharp pointed knife or a smaller cutter, cut a circle around the top about one and one-half inches from the edge and about an inch deep. Do not remove the center but bake the entire circle in a large, flat pan in a hot oven (450°- 500° F.) from thirty to fifty minutes.

When the outer crust is cooked, lift out the center, remove the uncooked paste from below, and the shell is ready to be filled. It may be filled with lobster meat, oysters, chicken, or any kind of delicate meat or fish chopped and seasoned, and heated in Bechamel, white, brown or mushroom sauce, or with sweetmeats of any kind or fresh berries, sweetened. In using fish, always add one teaspoon of lemon-juice to the mixture after it is taken from the fire.