A year's cookery

Peel and mince finely two small onions ; fry these and the giblets in a slice of butter or dripping, and turn them about till all are brightly browned. Put them into a stewpan with a bunch of parsley, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, a blade of mace, two cloves, eight peppercorns, and two or three strips of bacon-rind, scalded and scraped. Pour over all rather more than a pint of hot stock or water. Cover closely, and stew gently for about an hour and a half. Thicken the gravy with a little brown thickening (January 6th) ; or failing this, by stirring into it a dessert-spoonful of corn flour mixed smoothly with a little cold water ; add some sugar browning if necessary. Strain the gravy, free it from fat, pour a little of it round the birds, and send the rest to table in a hot tureen. Bread Sauce.— Prepare some breadcrumbs by rubbing stale bread through a wire sieve. Supposing there is half a pint of bread-crumbs, put them into about half a pint of milk. As much milk is required as the bread will soak up. Cover for ten minutes, then put the bread and milk into a saucepan with a whole onion skinned and six peppercorns. Stir the sauce over the fire till it boils, then add a pinch of salt and about an ounce of butter, and stir till the butter is dissolved. Take out the onion and peppercorns, add four table-spoonfuls of milk, or cream if it may be S62 permitted, boil once more, and serve. It is a mistake to make this sauce very long before it is wanted. Browned Potatoes. — Wash and peel the potatoes, and partly boil them in the usual way (April 7th). When they are half cooked, take them up, drain them, and put them in the dripping-tin under the meat. Let them remain until they are cooked through, and equally browned all over, They will take about three-quarters of an hour. If it is not convenient to put them under the meat, they may be baked in a brisk oven till brown, being basted occasionally with dripping. Put them on kitchen paper to free them from fat before serving them. Stewed Celery (December 2nd) ; Custard Blancmange made yesterday (August 4tli) ; Lemon Syrup (March 19th) ; Cheese (June 8th). Tea. — Hominy Cake (October 16th). Supper.— Beef prepared yesterday ; Salad (March 13th) ; Apple and Quince Pie made the day before yesterday. Things that must not toe Forgotten. 1. Turn and rub the mutton in the pickle. 2. If the legs of the fowls have been left, prepare them for devilling at breakfast (January 14th). 3. Be sure to preserve the bones and trimmings of the fowls ; they will be a valuable addition to the stock-pot. October ! 9th, Breakfast. Luncheon. Dinner. Devilled Drumsticks. Pressed Beef. Croute an Pot. Boiled Ham. Lettuce Salad, with Toma- Stewed Steak. Vienna Bread. toes. Mashed Potatoes. Dry Toast. Brown and White Bread and Butter. Marmalade. Milk Porridge. Stewed Cheese. Vegetable Marrow. Apple Pie. Cheese. Marketing. For the Day. — A fine Lettuce; Onions; a Small Salad; three ripe Tomatoes; Potatoes ; Vegetable Marrow ; three pounds of tender Steak (Marketing, January 1st), to be cut evenly and about an inch and a half thick. For To-morrow.— Order a Neck of Mutton, not too fat ; Muffins (January 29th) ; Sea Biscuits, if not in the house.