Potato Croquettes

"To-day I mean to make some.potato croquettes, so boil a pound of equally sized potatoes, with the skins on, till quite mealy, then peel and pass them through a wire sieve into a basin, add a beaten egg, a dust of pepper, a table-spoonful of cream, with salt to taste, mix all well together; when the potatoes are nearly cold, flour the paste-board, roll out the mixture, cut it into round pieces with the top of a wine glass, brush them with a beaten egg, screen with breadcrumbs, lay them on an old dish ready for morning, then fry them in heated fat, till of a golden brown colour, after which set them for a couple of minutes in the oven to drain. Send to table on a clean serviette,"

Collopped Sweetbreads And Mashed Potatoes

"I am going to prepare the lambs' sweetbreads in a different way to-day. Now make a border of mashed potatoes, treated in the same way as for croquettes; in the meanwhile, I will scald and trim ten or a dozen sweetbreads. Fetch me half a pint of the stock I reboiled yesterday; in that I shall let them simmer for fifteen minutes. To-morrow morning cut them into collops about a quarter of an inch thick, slightly pepper them and set in the larder till morning. Now take a pint of white stock, I mean the veal gravy and chicken broth mixed together, boil up, skim, and sieve; thicken with a teaspoonful of flour, and one of cornflour; when as thick as treacle, pour into a jug, and set aside till to-morrow morning, when you must set the large saucepan, half full of water, on the stove; place the sweetbreads with a dozen pickled button mushrooms in a jug that contains the gravy, and let it stand in the saucepan till all are thoroughly heated. Press the mashed potatoes into a buttered border mould, set it for a few minutes in the oven, then turn out the potatoes, cover them with egg, let them brown in the oven till I come down, and then I will set them on a clean dish, turn the sweetbreads into the centre of the dish, and garnish with parsley. You see, Isobel, it takes almost less time to do these things than to explain how they are done."

Vanilla Ice-Cream

"We have not yet had any ice-creams for breakfast; they are not often taken at that meal, but some people like them, and I want you to know how to make them, especially if you intend going to America with us; so we will make one now. Get the quart ice shape, that very thick one. In the mortar bruise two pounds of vanilla and one of crushed sugar, pass it through a sieve, beat up the yolks of two eggs with a little of the sugar, put all into a saucepan with half a pint of milk, stir carefully over the fire till it boils, then take it off, and leave it aside till quite cold; then slowly stir in the juice from a lemon, and a pint of cream, - this is by far the most expensive ingredient, - mix all together and freeze in a refrigerator. So runs the recipe, but I will now explain fully to you how this is done. Break the dozen pounds of ice I ordered in, with a coarse needle or fine stiletto, add to it three and a half pounds of coarse salt, put it into a pail, in which place the refrigerator, pour in the cream, and put on the lid. Surround the sides with ice and salt, then quickly turn about the machine. When the cream adheres to the sides of the refrigerator, scrape it off with an ice-spoon, put it into a mould, continue turning the machine, till the rest is nearly stiff; fill the shape, and set it on ice down in the cellar till morning. Take the mould from the ice, soak it in cold water, shake it well, and turn out the icecream on to a crystal dish."

Pine-Apple Water Ice

"I will tell you, with the greatest plea sure, how to make pine-apple water ice. Free a pound of pine-apple from all rind, bruise it till very fine in a mortar, boil a pound of lump sugar in a pint of water for ten minutes, add the juice of a lemon, and the pine-apple pulp. When the sugar has quite dissolved, strain the liquor through a fine sieve, and freeze in the same way as for vanilla cream. Hazel-nut icecream is made in exactly the same way, with the addition of six ounces of blanched hazel-nuts, which have been pounded in a mortar.

"Now, Isobel, we shall soon be en route to America, and should we arrive safely, I shall be very pleased to show you how to prepare some of the real dishes of that country. For in no other part of the world, unless it be Russia, can one see such elaborate displays, although of a different class of cookery. But till the voyage is over, we cannot afford time to make fresh experiments; so our notes of recipes must for the present be discontinued."