Cookery

them in two, after which remove the bones and fill them with any kind of stuffing ; for instance, with a mixture of parboiled rice, breadcrumbs, plenty of seasoning, chopped onion and parsley, one or two chopped mushrooms, etc., all worked together with the yolk of an egg and a tablespoonful of good gravy. Tie the feet securely round, put a little piece of butter over each one, and grill them. Fresh Ham. — This makes a capital joint, and a pleasant change from the ordinary smoked article which is generally eaten cold. Remove the skin very carefully, so as not to disfigure the fleshy part, then soak it for three days in the following pickling mixture : White cooking wine, a little salt, peppercorns, a couple of onions, one studded with cloves, two bayleaves, a root of garlic, and a little sage ; turn the ham over night and morning ; drain off all the moisture, and roast it in front of the fire or in the gas oven for at least three hours. Use about half the pickling liquor to baste it frequently the while. The ham thus treated will produce an excellent gravy, to which may be added, if desired, a few drops of vinegar about a quarter of an hour before serving, and a tablespoonful of chopped eschalots and parsley. CHAPTER XII. It may not be altogether superfluous to give a hint or two about roasting fowls ; the fact that the preparation of them is so very ordinary may tend to make the operator rather careless. Whether done in front of the fire or in a gas oven, the chicken should always be wrapped in buttered paper ; this should be removed about a quarter of an hour before the bird is done to give it time and opportunity to assume a good colour ; it is also a great improvement and very little additional expense if a couple of slices of bacon be tied round the chicken ; these, too, should be removed like the paper. A moderate-sized fowl takes from forty to sixty minutes ; spring chickens, being much more tender, should be well watched, so as not to overdo them. Fowls done whole in this way can, of course, be varied and improved by using different kinds of stuffing, which impart good flavour — for instance, sausage meat, parsley butter, a mixture of breadcrumbs with finely-chopped herbs, tarragon, etc., a few chopped mushrooms and onions previously parboiled, all considerably help to make a pleasant change. Fricassee can be prepared either with a fresh chicken or with cold remains, the former, of course, being the most suitable for any special occasion, and the latter as an entree at a family meal ; then in its turn fricasseed chicken can be used up by dipping the pieces covered with the cold sauce into a good batter and frying them ; serve with parsley. This makes an excellent dish. Baked Fowl. — Have ready a fowl as if for roasting, soak it in a basin in some good olive oil with two or three sprigs of parsley, a large onion sliced, plenty of salt and pepper, and a bay-leaf. Cover it up and let it stand for two or three hours ; take it out of the oil, tie round it some slices of bacon, put the onions out of the oil all around it, dip a large sheet of paper into the liquor, and tie this all around the fowl ; grill or bake it, or roast it by a slack fire and rather slowly ; when quite tender, remove all the covering, and serve it with a sauce ravigote.