Staffordshire Pie

"There are few cookery books that do not contain a dish under the title of ' Staffordshire Pie.' Some are very elaborate, others extremely simple. We will make one to-day, as it constitutes a luncheon in itself, is easily served, substantial and savoury.

"You must get me a goose, a duck, a tongue, and a couple of pigeons, all ready for the spit.

"Give me the marrow hand-saw, and the large brown stone pan; butter it all over.

"See, I saw the goose right down the back, remove the skewers and lay it flat, then hammer the breast a little. I treat each bird in the same way, and lay one inside the other - i.e., duck in the goose, tongue in the duck, and a pigeon on each side to fill in the crevices. Now make a forcemeat, according to my recipe (p. 44); with this cover the bird entirely. (Let thyme predominate in the stuffing.) The crust must not be rich, for we shall not eat it, but it must be made very ornamental, with a large rose at the top (put on after the hole has been made), by which to raise the crust. The gravy should be added when the pie is taken from the oven. If the gravy does not jelly of itself, we must add half an ounce of isinglass before it is poured into the pie."

Vegetarian Pie

"You have never seen me make a salad pie, so I will make one to-day. Get me a basketful of salad - that is, a fresh lettuce, a bundle of parsley, four or five round radishes, a leaf of burrage, some mustard and cress. These, with the bunch of watercress we have, will be quite enough.

"Now wash all well, drain them on a cloth. Wash the mustard and cress alone in a cullender, for if bruised it is worthless. Arrange the white leaves of the lettuce, stalk downwards, on the dish; now the mustard and cress; around that the radishes, then the tufts of watercress.

"Screen the pie with boiled beetroot, cut into neat slices. Make a chain of the whites of hard-boiled eggs cut into slices. We shall require the yolks for the mayonnaise. You remember how to make that, but as there are several ways, I will now show you another. You had better write down the order in which the ingredients come.

Mayonnaise Sauce

"First of all, The yolk of a raw egg, then,

A teaspoonful of sugar, A pinch of salt,

A mustard-spoonful of made mustard, Two tablespoonfuls of salad oil, A teaspoonful of good anchovy sauce, Two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, And half a gill of cream. "Mix the egg and sugar, then pour in the oil, drop by drop; add the anchovy sauce, then the vinegar very slowly, lastly the cream.

"Do not now pour the mayonnaise over the salad; but just before sending to table. Keep the salad in a dark place, covered with a damp cloth. This is a good pie for a picnic.

"We will only have a light luncheon to-day, Isobel. The soup we will flavour with Liebig Company's extract; and a tablespoonful of finely minced parsley, scattered on the top."