Boiled Fowl And Rice

"We will have the chicken that the man left ready dressed for boiling yesterday.

"Will you re-heat the mutton broth. When hot lay in the chicken, throw in a minced onion, three cloves, a teaspoon-ful of whole all-spice, and a blade of mace. Let all simmer slowly for half an hour, then you may put in the rice we have had soaking for six hours; simmer till all is tender. Strain off the rice; set it on a sieve before the fire. Put the bird on a hot dish, arrange the rice in little hillocks around it. Season the gravy with a little salt, stir in a tablespoonful of minced parsley, and let it boil. Serve in a hot tureen."

Poulet A La Francaise

"Isobel, I mean to show you how to prepare a French dish to-day, so order in a spring chicken. Into its body put an ounce of butter well worked in flour, season with salt and the juice of a lemon; lard the breast with cloves and truffles, instead of bacon. See that the breast looks plump and fat. Into a stew-pan put a lump of butter, the juice of a lemon, and a gill of rich stock; in this lay the bird, and cover with buttered paper; then cook it with fire under and over, as on p. 75. When done, drain, dish carefully, and pour the following sauce around the fowl: Tomato Sauce.

"Choose half a dozen ripe tomatoes, press them through the hands into a stew-pan; add a piece of butter the size of an egg, a bay leaf, and a dash of nutmeg; stir well till the whole resembles a thick soup; add a gill of gravy, or a tea-spoonful of beef essence mixed in a gill of water. Rub the whole through a wire sieve into a clean stew-pan; add a tablespoonful of gravy, season with pepper, and salt, and a dash of cayenne."

Tasty Turkey

"The turkey you bought yesterday is old, Isobel, but it does not much matter; I will show you how we can cook it.

"Take two squares of larding bacon, press it well in a mixture of salt, pepper, fine-powdered spice and minced parsley, then fasten it on the breast with tape. Truss the bird, and wrap it in a cloth; sew and tie the ends securely. Line the bottom of the stew-pan with trimmings from the raw veal and slices of bacon. On this lay the bird, and throw into the pan a bunch of parsley, four shallots, three cloves of garlic, two bay leaves, two carrots, and a large onion stuck with cloves. Moisten the whole with stock, and add a wine-glassful of brandy. When thoroughly hot, put in enough boiling water to cover the turkey, then screen with bacon, and lastly with buttered paper. Let it boil, then set it over the fire, and scatter hot cinders on the lid, which must, of course, be a sunken one. Let it simmer for four hours; when about half done, turn the turkey, again tightly cover the pan, and let it finish cooking. When you take it from the fire, let it nearly cool in the liquor. Dish the bird, pass the seasoning in which it has cooked through a fine sieve, clarify with the shells and whites of two eggs, when cool it will be a jelly.

"Remove the cloth from the turkey, pour some of the jelly over the bird, reserve enough to ornament the dish.

"Garnish with hillocks of the jelly chopped finely. The turkey must be eaten cold."