Practical home cookery

fruitlessly endeavouring to attract his attention all the time. On arriving at his destination his feelings, as well as his legs, can be better imagined than described. Cooking is a high art. There was some great foreign Minister, I forget who, who owed his great success as a diplomatist to his cook. Suppose, for instance, some young man required a little assistance from his father. Who, in his senses, would broach the subject half an hour before dinner ? No, send home a woodcock, and tell the cook to take great pains with it, and send it up unexpectedly. Tell the butler to get up a particular bottle, such as ’34 port, or ’48 Chateau Margaux, or a bottle of very old East India madcira. Wait till the old gentleman is about half-way through his bottle, and then approach him with respectful and affectionate confidence. I have got another recipe for an old aunt, worth thousands. It is, as I say, worth thousands — i.e. if the aunt be old, rich, and capable of making a will. Yes, I will tell you, and in so doing probably make hundreds of fortunes for others, some of whom may perhaps some day recollect me. The recipe is as follows : — Make the tipsy-cake with brandy. CHAPTER XVIII. We shall later discuss the subject of wedding breakfasts ; they are so similar to nice little suppers that we shall be unable, when so doing, to give many practical recipes ; but we will endeavour to make amends on the present occasion, and will commence by blowing our own national trumpet, by maintaining that we English, in cooking fish, beat the French as completely as they beat us in the making of entrees. There is ofttimes a connection between wedding breakfasts and fish dinners. It has often happened that a little party of four or more have taken a run down the river to Gravesend or North Woolwich ; the fish dinner has been enjoyed, the discussion on “ What are whitebait ? ” concluded in the usual manner — viz. that no one knows ; the well-iced cup has washed down the devilled bait ; the stroll on the balcony, the cigar, the water — perhaps the moon — the heavy shipping dropping slowly down the river, etc., have followed in due course. But we cannot always be running down the river ; but the happy little wife is suddenly seized with the following happy thought — “ Suppose we have a fish dinner at home ! ” I will tell you how to do it, right away from the flounder souchet down to the devilled whitebait at the finish, and if you exercise a little judgment, I can assure you that it is by no means so expensive or extravagant an affair as many think. It must, however, be carefully borne in mind that the one secret of success in the management of a little dinner consisting of a variety of dishes is — forethought. The cook should consequently divide the dinner into two distinct classes — viz, those dishes which can be cooked beforehand — i.e. in the morning of the day — and those which require cooking at the last moment. To illustrate what I mean, I would mention stewed eels and whitebait. It is obvious that the first can be prepared hours beforehand, and will simply require warming up, but that the latter cannot be cooked till within a minute of its being sent to table,