Pate Froid De Veau

On Saturday afternoon I told Isobel that I had ordered a fillet of veal for Sunday's dinner, and meant to have a good steak cut from it, which should be prepared that day, so that it might cook with the meat next day.

I said, "I shall cut the steak in two; as a rule, a veal cutlet is taken from the fillet near the centre of the leg, so it is nearly round; but this one being cut from the fillet makes almost a steak. I must cut it to resemble a cutlet. I shall want you to chop the pieces very fine while I lard these two cutlets; when well larded with white pepper and allspice, I shall lay one at the bottom of a well dried-dish; add a small bunch of parsley, and a tablespoonful of fat minced bacon, the chopped veal, a shallot also well minced, a tablespoonful of mixed spice from the bottle of mixed herbs I brought from Covent Garden. When all is well mixed together with two well-beaten eggs, the juice of a lemon, and pinch of salt, you may spread it evenly over the meat, cover it with the other piece of larded veal; serve this cold, and you will have a delicious 'Pate froid de veau.'

"The remains pf the forcemeat spread on four slices of bacon, roll them up neatly, run a skewer through, and lay them on the top of the pate."

My husband was seized with a very violent attack of fever. During his convalescence we were particularly careful in the preparation of his food.

Barley Water

We made his barley water in the following way: - First, we washed four ounces of pearl barley in cold water, then put it in a clean saucepan, added half a pint of water, and let it boil for five minutes, then passed the barley through a clean sieve, put it into four pints of boiling water with half an ounce of gum arabic, let it simmer till it diminishes to half its quantity, added a sliced lemon and two ounces of sugar candy, poured the whole into a jelly bag, and let it run into a clean jug, then it was quite ready for use.

Egg Pudding

A light and nutritious dish for invalids is an egg pudding, so we at once made one. I beat up an egg in a basin, then added a teaspoonful of flour, mixed with a table-spoonful of milk, and seasoned it with a small pinch of salt, for many invalids conceive the greatest dislike to salt. Then we passed all through a gravy sieve into a buttered cup, and set it in boiling water, to simmer for twenty minutes.

Scalloped Oysters

"Isobel, some friends are coming for breakfast, whom I have not seen for two years, and therefore mean to give them a good old-fashioned English welcome, which it seems must always be accompanied by a great ' spread.' How many oysters have you altogether?"

"About four dozen, ma'am."

"Then take two dozen, drain them on the hair sieve, pour the liquor into the smallest stewpan, knead two ounces of butter and a dessertspoonful of flour, with a knife; add it to the liquor (making melted butter in this way prevents it from becoming lumpy), add a dash of cayenne and three blades of mace; hold it over the stove, and stir quickly till the butter melts, then draw the saucepan on one side; let it simmer slowly for fifteen minutes. Remove the mace. Beard the oysters, add them to the liquor, let them be thoroughly heated, season with pepper and salt, lay them aside till morning, then you can butter me a couple of salad dishes, those on which I made the macaroni cheese, sprinkle them with a layer of bread crumbs, one of oysters, and another of crumbs, that fills the dishes; now scatter small lumps of butter the size of beans over them, add a dust of pepper and suspicion of nutmeg. Set them on a tray, and leave it in the larder till morning, when they will simply require to be browned in the oven for twenty minutes.

"Now we have sausage rolls, novelette tart, and scalloped oysters for breakfast, that will do very well; but remind me to provide one or two dishes of salad and fruit. Keep a kettle boiling, so that I may make the tea and coffee. These dishes will give you but little trouble; three in the oven cook as easily as one."