Banquets of the nations

Roast twelve fine potatoes ; when done, take out the interior, which form into a ball ; when cold put them into a mortar, with a little nut oil ; pound them well together, season with a little salt, pepper, chopped eschalots, chopped parsley, and grated nutmeg ; mix them with the yolks of six and two whole eggs ; then form them into balls about the size and shape of a small egg ; bread-crumb them twice over, and fry to a light brown colour in a stewpan of hot oil. Bossor-ouf-Entil. (Ragout of Duck.) Half roast a duck, and divide it into joints or neatly cut pieces ; put it into a stewpan, with a pint and a half of broth or water, with any trimmings of meat, a large onion stuck with cloves, allspice and black pepper, and the rind of a lemon cut very thin. Bring the contents of the pan to the boil and skim it clean, then let it simmer gently, with the lid closed, for an hour and a half. Take out the pieces of duck, and strain the gravy. Put two ounces of a good beef dripping into a small stewpan, and sufficient flour to make it rather a stiff paste, and then stir in the gravy gradually. Let it boil up ; then add the juice of half a lemon, a glass of wine, and a little salt. Put the duck in a dish and pour the gravy over it, and dish up. Serve with mashed potatoes. Petuchei Perurim. (Potato Fritters.) Mix one teacupful of grated boiled salt tongue, one breakfastcupful of mashed potatoes, and one tablespoonful of finely-pounded bread crumbs, and a little white pepper, grated nutmeg, and salt to taste ; drop in an egg, pound all together in a mortar, then roll out half an inch thick, and cut with a cutter about two inches in diameter into round cakes. Mix together a little grated tongue, minced parsley, bread crumbs, a little white pepper, and salt ; brush the fritters over with a beaten egg, then dip them into the mixture, and fry them in boiling oil to a light brown. Cut a round slice of bread an inch thick, and five in diameter, cut a hole in the centre two inches in diameter, and fry also to a light brown. Have an egg boiled hard, mince the yolk and white separately, colour the half of the white with cochineal, then mix the three colours together. When the fritters are to be served, put the bread in the centre of the entree dish, fill the hole with the minced egg, arrange the fritters tastefully around it, and garnish with a little parsley. Serve sauce in a boat — a good sauce from which bacon, eggs, and cream have been eliminated. Cinarias. (Asparagus.) Scrape and clip off the ends of two bunches of fresh asparagus. Thoroughly wash, and tie them up in three bunches, plunge them into three quarts boiling water, with a tablespoonful of salt, and boil for fifteen minutes. Remove, and drain well. Mix on a plate one ounce grated Gruyere and one ounce grated Parmesan cheese. Lightly oil a baking dish, arrange a third of the asparagus as a layer at the bottom, sprinkle a third of the cheese over, then another third of the asparagus, a third of the cheese, then the rest of the asparagus and cheese on top. Place an ounce of oil in a frying pan with half a very finely-chopped white onion, toss until a very light brown, and pour over the asparagus. Set in the oven for fifteen minutes. Matzo Tafshil. (Motza Pudding).