The "Queen" cookery books: Entrees

or tomato sauce, spinach, or mushroom puree, &c., can all be used as a change, or it may be served a V Italienne, i.e., with a wall of nicely boiled macaroni well mixed with grated cheese (equal quantities of Gruyere and Parmesan are nicest), black pepper, and a little salt, about |oz. or so (for an average dish) of butter being sprinkled over it in little bits; arrange this on a hot dish, place the mince prepared as above, in the centre, cover it all with more macaroni, &c., and set it in the oven for four or five minutes, and serve very hot. (This last, by the way, is an excellent way of serving the otherwise unproducible remains of any poultry, rabbits, or game, the livers of the birds tossed in butter, some bits of broiled ham or bacon, and a mushroom or two being all great additions, and helping out the dish. This makes a decidedly appetising little dish out of the veriest scraps, as I can assert from frequent personal experience.) A wall of savoury rice used instead of the macaroni is also good. Any meat can be prepared in this way, and, if preferred, only one kind need be used ; but the sausage meat is always a great improvement. The merits of mince are seldom appreciated from the lack of variety too often seen in its preparation. One version always stands out in my memory, from the fact that a friend suddenly turned up to share our meal on a day when our menu was distinctly scanty. Cook was a good soul, however, and rose to the occasion, and, to my amusement, the quaintest little fricassee helped out the broiled steak, which was our piece de resistance (we were but two in family in those days), which proved as palatable as it was attractive in appearance. When I questioned cook as to its origin, sbe laughed and told me that it was simply the meat scraped and cut from the remains of a joint which had already done duty twice, both in the dining room and the kitchen, and this meat she had mixed with scraps from the carcase of a fowl in the stock pot, a kidney left over from the morning’s breakfast, and some tiny rolls of bacon. “ And,” she added, “ I really had not time to mince the meat properly, so I just cut it into as neat shreds as I could.” She had then taken a half cauliflower (cold) intended to serve as a gratin next day, had broken it up small, mixing it with the melted butter over from the fish, together with some grated cheese, salt, and pepper (both white and red), had arranged it round a hot dish, and stood it in the oven till hot, when she had poured her fricassee into the middle, covering it all with tomato sauce made in a hurry with half a bottle of French tomato puree, and a little stock from the stock pot. I was afterwards entreated by our guest’s wife for the recipe of “ that lovely little French dish you had the other night.” Fritters, again, are an excellent way of using up remains of any sort, fish, flesh, or fowl, especially if a few scraps of vegetables are used with them. Most people who have stayed in Italy have learnt to appreciate a well made frittura. The meat should be as varied as possible, and should always be marinaded for an hour or so before use in oil, lemon juice, sliced onion, parsley, &c. (using a gill of best salad oil, the juice of one medium lemon, three or