The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

These can be cut into any shape desired, and placed round the fowls and on the tongue and galantine. Alternate transparent bands of yellow and red look very nice placed over the white galantine. It would be impossible, without a coloured diagram, to describe the way in which dishes should be ornamented. It depends on the taste of the housekeeper herself, who should never entrust this branch to a Mary Ann of all work. They would never do it. As I have said before, the .best lesson is to look in at a shop window like the one in * Princes Street. There is another set of delicious dishes — fish and meat in aspic jelly. Por this a mould is necessary. We will suppose we have got some cold boiled filleted sole, rolled up, ard which has been dipped in a mixture of oil, pepper, and Tarragon vinegar. First take a flat mould, and pour in about a wineglassful of aspic jelly. Let this get cold, then take the fillets of soles and arrange them so that they stand about an inch apart. Now pour in gently enough aspic to cover the fillets, and when the jelly is nearly set place carefully a little sprig j of bright green parsley between each ; white fillet. When the jelly is set — | which it will soon do if placed in chopped ice and salt — arrange another j layer of fillets, and proceed till the j mould is full. Keep it in the ice till it is set very firm. Have ready a dish, i Plunge the mould for a few seconds in , warm water. Wipe the mould quickly ! with a cloth, and turn it out. Surround the base with some lettuce leaves or the sliced hearts of little French lettuces, cut hard-boiled eggs, filleted anchovies, and four small red crayfish. You can ornament the mould still better if you have a few truffles. Cut a star of truffles, and place the star at the bottom of the mould after you have poured in the first wineglass, and surround the star with a few little sprigs, or rather leaves, of parsley. When the mould turns out, this black star at the top, surrounded by little bright green leaves in the bright aspic, looks very pretty. A star can be made also out of beetroot. This is not an expensive dish ; it only wants a bottle of Crosse and Blackwell s aspic jelly, a pair of soles, and a little trouble and taste. Yet its appearance when done renders it fit to set before a cardinal on Friday. All sorts of dishes can be made this way. Cold chicken or game can be served up in aspic jelly. When this is the case, if possible ornament the whole of the outside of the mould -with neatly-cut slices of red tongue and black truffle. This in the bright yellow jelly has a very fine effect. There is no cheap substitute that I know of for truffle, but the black and red always look well. Red and green look fairly well together. Thin strips of red tongue and pickled French beans ; contrast well together. Pickled walnuts j are black, or nearly so ; but it is only a : makeshift after all, and I don’t think the walnuts go well with aspic jelly I when cut. Ornamenting should never be allowed to interfere with the flavour of any dish. ASSORTED SAUCES (in Wedgwood Vases).— See Wedgwood Vases for Sauces. ARBIERI'S VERMICELLI.— See Vermicelli. BARRIE’S CURRY PASTE. —See Curry Paste. BEANS, FRENCH, PICKLED. — See French Beans. BEANS, FRENCH, PRESERVED.— See Haricot Vert. BEANS, WHITE. —See Haricot Beans.