Block Turtle Soup

One calf's head, cleaned according to directions given below; hock of a ham or a few slices of bacon; 1 calf's brain; 3 onions, a turnip and a potato; 2 calf's feet; 1 lemon, Cayenne pepper, mace, sweet marjoram and parsley for seasoning; soup herb spirit or powder can be used instead of the above herbs. Put the head and other meat into one gallon of water, or enough to cover well. The ham or bacon will flavor the soup, at the same time supplying sufficient salt. Boil slowly four hours, skimming carefully until no more scum will rise. Remove the head and set away until next day, when the fat may be skimmed off, and the smaller pieces of meat removed from the bones, cut into dice and thrown into the kettle, reserving the more presentable parts of the head for a dainty side dish. (See below.) Chop the brains, cut the vegetables in thin slices, and add all to the soup, together with the seasoning. Thicken with two tablespoonfuls of browned flour. Stew gently for 1 hour. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon when it boils up; skim, if necessary. Add Force-jneat Balls, No. 1, made of the veal, and Quenelles (see page 22), When quite done add half a lemon sliced thin. Let it boil up once and serve immediately.

How To Clean Calf 's Head And Feet

Drop the head and feet into a tub of scalding, not boiling water, with a little lye or sal-soda in it to loosen the hair. Stir them about and then scrape with a sharp knife. This methed is far better than 'to remove the gelatinous skin. The hoofs may be heated in the coals and pryed off.

Entree Of Calf's Head

Cut the best part of the head that is left from soup making into oblong pieces, season with pepper and salt, roll in beaten egg, then in powdered cracker, and fry in hot dripping.

Consomme With Custards

Boil 2 shanks of veal in 1 gallon of water. While boiling add the usual vegetables, turnip, carrot, onion and seasoning, together with a stalk of celery, half a' bay leaf, a teaspoonful of bruised pepper-corns and 1 of thyme and sweet marjoram. These seasonings, of course, can be altered to suit the taste. When done strain through a napkin into another vessel; clarify (see page 21), remove every particle of fat, and color with a teaspoonful of caramel or dissolved burnt sugar (see page 21). Or let the soup stock cool in a jar, remove the fat and pour it off without disturbing the sediment and heat; coloring as before.

Custards for The Soup

Stir the raw yolks of four eggs with a spoonful or two of the Consomme, pour in a buttered dish and steam ten minutes. Cut the custard in diamonds or squares and drop three or four in each soup plate before serving. Or egg dumplings (see page 22) may be boiled in the soup a few minutes before serving and make an admirable substitute. The veal shanks may be made into veal loaf or veal cheese.

Plain Veal Soup

A leg of veal, after the cutlets have been all removed, will make a soup nearly as good as calf's head. Boil it with a cup two-thirds full of rice (a small piece of salt pork improves the flavor for many), season with salt and pepper, parsley and celery are an improvement. Forcemeat Balls, No. 2 (see page 22), made of the chopped veal and raw salt pork may be added before serving. The veal should be taken up before the soup is seasoned. Just before the soup is served put in a couple of slices of toast. The shoulder of veal also makes a good soup.

Veal Soup With Tapioca

Three pounds of neck or scrag of veal, the bones broken and the meat cut small; 1 turnip, 1 onion, ½ cup pearl tapioca, 2 blades of mace, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt and ½ spoonful of pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of celery essence or, 1 stalk of green celery, 3 quarts of cold water. Put over the meat and as soon as the water boils skim carefully. Then add the vegetables, salt and pepper. Meanwhile soak the tapioca in one small cup of milk. To make the soup extra nice, strain, skim off every particle of fat and return to the fire before adding the tapioca. Stir this until it dissolves in the hot soup. Simmer half an hour, add the celery essence and serve.