Culinary jottings

Place aux dames. This is the time when a lady may indulge in mulligatunny, or her favorite curry, with its chutneys, and relishes of which I treat later on. A chicken neatly cut up as for a curry, then dipped in bread-crumbs, fried a golden brown, and served with maccaroni, and tomato, or with good bread-sauce and fried parsley. Perdrix att chou, or two partridges, boiled, and smothered in onions as rabbits are cooked in England. The undercut of the saddle, cut out entire, grilled over a brisk fire, and sent up with a potato duchesse : or a juicy neck chop similarly served, with a pat of maitre d'hotel butter melting over either of them. Braise a neck of mutton, or a breast, in gravy, with vegetables and some chopped bacon : slip a slice of bacon under the flap of either, and tie it in shape before you commence operations : when almost done, lift the little joint up ; strain off the gravy, skim it, and make a nice sauce with it such as piquante, poivrade, or Italienne. Put tlie joint in the oven after bread-crumbing it, to brown and finish cooking ; when ready, dish it surrounded by boiled maccaroni over which the sauce should be poured at the last minute. Tomato pulp may be used for this purpose with marked effect, and some glazed turnips or carrots may garnish the dish, in which case the sauce should be served separately in a boat. A nicely roasted snipe, or pigeon farci, with potato chips. A single canape of prawn, or a little patty of puff-pastry filled with any tasty mixture. A savoury omelette, spinach on toast with " butteredegg,'' or served with short-bread biscuits. A little plate of peas, tossed in butter with dice of fried ham or bacon. Coquilles of fish en rechaufe, or of any delicate vegetable. Indian com, boiled, stripped with a fork from the cob, tossed in melted butter, peppered, and salted, is generally liked ; see that the cob is quite a young one. A cheese fondue en caisse. From these dishes the luncheon of a lady or an invalid ought to be easily selected. Savoury toasts of all kinds, from the homely Welsh rarebit upwards, are welcome on the luncheon table. I treat of them, you will find, in extenso in a separate chapter. The office snacklet is, as a rule, a sandwich followed by a slice of cake. The former is susceptible of infinite variety : here are a few good ones : — Spread the bread with green or any fancy butter, and fill the sandwich with chopped sardines, and some bits of pickle here and there ; or with mixed chicken and tongue, a lettuce leaf and some mayonnaise sauce. Any potted meat worked up with butter, pepper, a touch of mustard, and a little chutney. Ham and beef sandwiches should make your nose tingle with mustard : be easy with the butter if you can dot in some nice pieces of fat. Pound a slice of cheese well, with a little fresh butter, a tea-spoonful of made mustard, a little black pepper, and salt, add an anchovy, well wiped free from oil, and passed through the sieve with a little butter if too thick, mix thoroughly, give it a dust of Nepaul pepper, spread it on your bread, and complete the sandwich. This is for one large, or two small ones remember, so cut your cheese accordingly.