Cookery for every household

This may be either bought ready or prepared in the following way : take the inside crumb from a French roll, pull it with the fingers (it must never be cut) into small pieces, and brown these in a slow oven until of a nice amber colour. 1305. Pastry Croutons for Soup Roll out some scraps of puff or other good pastry very thinly and cut it in shreds from 1 to 1£ inches in length and either bake or fry these until lightly browned. Drain carefully and serve hot and crisp. The pastry may be flavoured with grated cheese if desired, or cheese pastry (Recipe 2255) may be used. 1306. Fleurons of Pastry Roll out any scraps of light pastry to about \ inch in thickness, and cut out small shapes with a fluted or fancy cutter. Place these on a baking sheet, brush over with beaten egg, and bake in a good oven for about 10 minutes. These are used as a garnish for various entries, ragouts, mince, &c. 1307. Aspic Jelly (Aspic) 1 \ pt. veal or calf’s foot stock or 1J pt. water. 1 gill sherry, Marsala, or Chablis. About 1 gill assorted vinegars. 2 oz. or less sheet gelatine. Rind and juice of 1 lemon. 1 onion. A piece of carrot and turnip. 1 stick celery or 1 tea-sp. celery seed. 1 tea-sp. salt. A sprig of thyme. A sprig of marjoram. A few parsley stalks. 2 or 3 bay-leaves. 1 blade of mace. The whites and shells of 2 eggs. 20 white peppercorns. 4 cloves. Take a clean lined saucepan and rinse it out with hot water. Put into it the stock or water (which should be quite free from grease) and the gelatine cut in small pieces. If the stock is a jelly, less gelatine may be used, the quantity will depend somewhat upon what the aspic is to be used for — a stiff er jelly being required in some cases than others. This is a matter of judgment. Add the vegetables, prepared and cut in pieces, the herbs tied together with fine string or thread, and the smaller seasonings tied in a piece of muslin. Add also the sherry, whites of eggs, and the shells washed and crushed. To measure the vinegars, take half a gill brown malt vinegar, nearly half a gill of tarragon vinegar, and make up the remainder with Chili vinegar. Or, less brown vinegar may be used and some spiced vinegar added. The amount of vinegar used is very much a matter of taste, a very usual fault is to add too much. Add the vinegars to the 'other ingredients, with the salt, lemon rind peeled oS very thinly, and the juice strained. Whisk all together over the fire until a good froth rises and the jelly is almost boiling. Allow it to boil up as high as it will without boiling over, then draw the saucepan gently to one side of the fire, where the jelly will keep warm without simmering, and cover it with a lid or plate. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes, and then strain, according to directions given in Recipe 1928. Note. — Aspic jelly is very much used in the decorating of cold dishes, and for the making of cold entrees. 1308. To Chop Aspic