Salmi Of Partridges - (French Dish)

Having covered two large or four small partridges with very thin slices of fat cold ham, secured with twine, roast them; but see that they are not too much done. Remove the ham, skin the partridges, cut them into pieces, and let them get quite cold. Partridges that have been roasted the preceding day are good for this purpose. Cut off all the meat from the bones, season it with a little cayenne, and put it into a stew-pan. Mix together three table-spoonfuls of sweet oil, a glass of excellent wine, (either red or white,) and the grated peel and juice of an orange. Pour this gravy over the partridges, and let them stew in it during ten minutes; then add the beaten yolk of an egg, and stew it about three or four minutes longer. All the time it is stewing, continue to shake or move the pan over the fire. Serve it up hot.

Roasted Partridges, Pheasants, And Quails

Make a stuffing of fat bacon finely minced, and boiled chestnuts or grated sweet potatoe boiled, mashed, and seasoned with pepper only. Fill the birds with this. Cover them with thin slices of bacon, and wrap them well in young vine leaves. Roast them well, and serve them up in the bacon and vine leaves, to be taken off when they come to table. For company, have orange sauce to eat with them. If you roast pigeons, etc, without a covering of bacon and vine leaves, do them with egg and bread-crumbs all over.

If these birds have a bitter taste when cooked, do not eat them. It is produced by their feeding on laurel berries in winter, when their food is scarce. Laural berries are poisonous, and people have died from eating birds that have fed on them.

Birds With Mushrooms

Take two dozen reed-birds, (or other nice small birds,) and truss them as if for roasting. Put into each a button mushroom, of which you should have a heaping pint after the stalks are all removed. Put the birds and the remaining mushrooms into a stew-pan. Season them with a very little salt and pepper, and add either a quarter of a pound of fresh butter (divided into four, and slightly rolled in flour,) or a pint of rich cream. If cream is not plenty, you may use half butter and half cream, well mixed together. Cover the stew-pan closely, and set it over a moderate fire, to stew gently till the birds and mushrooms are thoroughly done and tender all through. Do not open the lid to stir the stew, but give the pan, occasionally, a hard shake. Dip in hot water a large slice of toast with the crust trimmed off. When the birds are done lay them on the toast with the mushrooms around.

If you cannot get button-mushrooms, divide large ones into quarters.

Plovers are very nice stewed with mushrooms.

Birds In A Grove - (French Dish.)

Having roasted some reed-birds, larks, plovers, or any other small birds, such as are usually eaten, mash some potatos with butter and cream. Spread the mashed potato thickly over the bottom, sides, and edges of a deep dish. Nick or crimp the border of potatoe that goes round the edge, or scollop it with a tin cutter. You may, if you choose, brown it by holding over it a salamander, or a red-hot shovel. Then lay the roasted birds in the middle of the dish, and stick round them and among them, very thickly, a sufficient number of sprigs of curled or double parsley.