Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

Take seven ounces of flour of the best quality and well dried, put it in a bowl, make a hollow in the centre of it, add two ounces and three-quarters of butter, and mix to a paste with a gill and a half of water ; dust into it a couple of pinches of salt, and one of cayenne or Nepaul pepper. When mixed, and free from stickiness, add, one by one, five eggs, lastly putting in a coffeecupful of grated Parmesan, and three tablespoonfuls of finely-grated ham. Pat the paste with a wooden spoon into a flat round shape on a floured pastry board, and out of it make a number of small oval rolls the size of an olive. Have ready a deep-sided saute-pan with boiling water, reduce the heat, and poach the rolls till set firmly. Drain them, laying them on a cloth to dry. Then arrange them in a fire-proof gratin dish, moistening with just sufficient good white sauce, mixed somewhat thinly, to barely more than cover them, dredge a layer of Parmesan over all, and bake in a gentle oven for twelve or fourteen minutes. Serve in the fire-proof dish straight from the oven. Or, after draining the Quenelles and letting them get cold, brush them over with egg, roll them in finely-sifted crumbs, let this set, and then fry in hot fat till the Quenelles are of a golden colour. Serve them when dry piled upon a napkin and dusted over with Parmesan. These are called Quenelles de fromage frites. For the little Quenelles served in soup teaspoons and not tablespoons must be used to form them. These Quenelles must be lighter than the other kind, and it really is impossible to pound the meat too much. And the Quenelles must be made of meat suitable to the stock of which the soup is made, fish, game, or chicken. Veal and rabbit can of course be substituted for chicken. For these little Quenelles when made of veal, Wyvern's advice is : Pound, after passing through the mincing machine, five ounces of lean uncooked veal ; let this be done thoroughly. When the veal is reduced to a paste add by degrees three ounces of panada, and when the veal and panada have been well mixed and pounded, add three ounces of butter. Go on pounding, and at last add two yolks of eggs and a seasoning of half a saltspoonful of salt and the same of spiced pepper. Mix all well, and then pass it through a hair sieve into a clean bowl. Stir it about again with a wooden spoon for five minutes, •then test it, after the fashion of French cooks, by dropping a small piece into boiling water. If the mixture is too stiff dilute it with a spoonful or two of milk ; if not stiff enough, add one spoonful of panada, again mixing all well together. Form small Quenelles of this forcemeat each of the size and shape of an olive. Poach the Quenelles in stock if possible, drain them, and add them to the soup just before serving. Quenelles are only used in clear soup. Many Cookery Books recommend the use of udder of veal in Quenelles, but butter is much better. If the udder is used the proportionate quantity is the same as that given for butter.