Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

brown, season them with salt and pepper ; and when they are done, serve them on the toast, with some watercress or a little parsley and lemon on the dish with them. FRIED WOODCOCK. Dress the birds as directed in the preceding recipe ; have i'eady a frying-kettle half full of smoking-hot fat, and as many slices of bread as there are birds. Trim the crust from the bread, and toast it delicately while the woodcock are being fried ; plunge the birds into the hot fat, fry them a delicate brown, then sprinkle them with salt, and serve them on the toast. SNIPE FRIED IN OIL. Until within a few years, there prevailed among American housekeepers an unfounded prejudice against the use of olive-oil in cooking. As a matter of fact, there is no cleaner fat than pure olive-oil. In warm weather a good oil is preferable to butter or lard for frying ; rancid oil should never be used. To fry any substance in oil, put the oil over the fire in a small, deep frying-kettle, so that a comparatively small quantity will suffice to cover the article which is to be fried ; and when a thin bluish smoke begins to rise from the oil, it will be found to be hot enough for frying. To prepare snipe for frying, remove all the feathers, and draw [illustration: ROASTS (rotis). 355] the birds, wipe them all over with a wet towel, cut off the claws, and twist the legs together ; either roll the birds in flour or Indian meal seasoned with salt and pepper, or bread them by dipping them first in fine crumbs, then in beaten egg, and again in crumbs ; or put them into the hot oil without any foreign substance on them. When the birds are crisp and light brown, they are done. Care must be taken not to cook them slowly and long, for they will be dried and hardened by so doing. If the oil is smoking hot, about a couple of minutes will be long enough to fry the snipe ; when they are brown, lay them on brown paper for a few moments to free them from grease, and then serve them hot. A few cresses, or some sour oranges sliced and dressed with salad-oil and cayenne, will form a good garnish for the fried snipe. SNIPE BROILED -WHOLE. Pluck and singe the birds, wipe them on a wet towel, dip them in butter which has been melted and seasoned with pepper and salt, place them over a hot fire, and broil them for three minutes on each side. This length of time will cook them medium rare ; about fifteen minutes over a hot fire will cook them thoroughly. Serve the birds as soon as they are done. ROAST PLOVER. Pluck the birds carefully ; cut off the claws, and twist the feet close to the body; truss the head under one wing; wipe the birds with a wet towel, tie a thin slice of fat salt pork or bacon over the breast of each one, and roast them on a spit before an open fire, with toast laid under them to catch the trail ; or lay them on slices of toast, and bake them in a hot oven. About fifteen minutes should be allowed for cooking them ; when they are done, put a little butter, pepper, and salt over them, and serve them hot. QUAIL BARBED ANB ROASTEB. After quail or any small birds are dressed, they can be barded by wrapping them in a thin slice of bacon or fat pork, as shown in the accompanying engraving, and then Small Birds Barded and Roasted.