Cookery for every household

Wash the livers and allow them to soak in cold water a few minutes. Strain and dry them in a cloth. Then cut them in several pieces according to size. Melt the butter in a frying pan, put in the pieces of liver and fry them over a good fire for a few minutes. Strain off the butter, which may be added to the rice, and add the brown sauce to the liver. Season to taste. Have ready prepared a pilaff of rice, press it into a well-greased border mould and allow it to take the form. Turn out on a hot dish, put the cooked livers in the centre and pour some brown sauce round. 1153. Roast Duck (Canard Roti) 1 duck. Salt. 3 or 4 apples. | doz. French plums. Butter or dripping 1 dessert-sp. cornflour. 1 cupful stock. Watercress. To Prepare and Stuff the Duck. — Singe and draw the duck, making a slit lengthwise above the vent, to facilitate the pulling out of the inside. Then wash the bird quickly in warm water and dry it in a cloth. Cut off the feet and wings at the first joint and season the bird with salt inside and outside. It may now either be trussed and simply roasted, or filled with stuffing, as preferred. One of the simplest stuffings for a duck is made of apples and French plums. Choose apples that soften easily in cooking. Take 3 or 4 according to size, peel them, cut them in small sections and remove the cores. Add to these about \ dozen French plums, which have been soaked and stoned. Put this mixture into the body of the duck and sew up the opening. Then truss in the same way as a fowl (see p. 276), except that the wings are not crossed over the back. To Roast. — Keep the breast of the bird well covered with greased paper while roasting. Baste frequently with good butter or dripping and follow General Directions (see p. 207). A short time before taking the duck from the oven, remove the paper, dredge the breast with flour and leave it in the oven until nicely browned. When ready, lift on to a hot dish, remove all trussing threads and strings, and keep it hot whilst making the gravy. The Gravy. — Pour away most of the fat from the roasting tin, leaving only about 1 tea-spoonful. Add the cornflour to this and mix it in. Then pour in the stock, which may be made from the giblets of the duck, and stir until boiling. Cook 2 or 3 minutes, season to taste, skim and strain. A squeeze of orange or lemon juice may be added at the last, also the cooked liver of the duck grated or finely minced. A clear unthickened gravy may be served if preferred. Garnish the duck with a little watercress and serve the sauce separately in a sauce boat. Green peas and potato chips or ribbons are good accompaniments. Notes. — Other stuffings may be used instead of the above, such as sage and onion, or walnut, or plain mashed potatoes nicely seasoned (see Stuffings, p. 30T). Or, the duck may be served simply roasted, which is always the most wholesome way. In this case some acid accompaniment should be handed with it, such as apple, tomato, or cranberry sauce, red-currant or guava jelly, walnut pickles, &c. Time to roast, 45 to 50 minutes. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. 1154. Roast Ducklings These may be prepared and cooked in the same ways as ducks. It is not usual to stuff them. Serve with brown gravy, apple jelly, and a salad or green peas. Time to roast, 30 to 35 minutes.