French dishes for American tables

242. Irish Stew. Take four pounds from a breast of mutton, take off the skin and the fat, cut it in medium-sized pieces, which put in a saucepan with three pints of water, half an ounce of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a very little nutmeg. When beginning to boil, skim all the grease off carefully, add two carrots and two turnips cut in slices, six medium-sized onions peeled, and some branches of parsley, inclosing three cloves, one clove of garlic, six pepper-corns, two bay-leaves, two branches of thyme, and tie all together. Boil an hour and a half. Peel and cut in pieces eight potatoes, boil them, and add them to your stew. Mix two ounces of flour in a little water, making a smooth, soft paste, and pour it over your stew, stirring constantly. Boil ten minutes, remove the bunch of parsley, and serve. You may put a tablespoonful of chopped parsley over your stew if desired. 243. Shoulder of Mutton farcied. Bone a shoulder of mutton, take out a portion of the meat without breaking the skin, remove the sinews and chop the meat with half of its weight of fat salt pork, and an ounce of ham ; when chopped very fine, add a medium-sized onion also chopped fine, and four ounces of bread-crumbs which you have soaked in consomme (Art. 1) and then pressed al- 9° most dry, an egg, and a pinch of salt, pepper, and a very little nutmeg. Mix all well together, and place this farce in the inside of your shoulder. Roll up and sew together with a larding-needle ; then put it in a saucepan with a sliced onion and carrot, two bay-leaves, two branches of thyme, one clove of garlic, three cloves, and three pepper-corns. Moisten three quarters of its height with consomme (stock, Art. i) and a claret-glass of white wine. Put it in the oven for two hours, basting it from time to time with its liquor. Drain your shoulder of mutton, reduce its liquor one half, skim off the grease, and serve it on the same dish with the mutton. You may serve with this a puree of turnips (Art. 398), puree of peas (Art. 446), or various other vegetables. 244. Epigramme of Lamb. Put a breast of spring lamb in a saucepan with enough consomme- (Art. 1) to cover it. Boil gently for an hour and a half ; place it between two dishes, with a weight on top ; when cold, cut it in the shape of chops and dip in two beaten eggs, to which you have added a little salt and pepper ; then roll them in breadcrumbs and send them to the oven in a pan, with a little melted butter on top. Put eight lamb chops in a saucepan with half an ounce of butter, a little salt and pepper ; color them on both sides. Remove your breast of lamb from the oven, and serve together with the chops, in a circle, first a breast of lamb and then a chop, and some asparagus ends or macedoine (Art. 416) in the center. 245. Breast of Lamb, with Asparagus. ENTRIES. gi Prepare two breasts of spring lamb as the foregoing, serve them in a circle on a dish, with a garnish of green asparagus ends in the center; then take the green ends of about two bunches of asparagus, boil them very tender, adding a little salt ; drain them, and add them to half a pint of very hot Allemande sauce (Art. 81), a pinch of sugar, and nutmeg, which pour around your breasts of lamb, and serve. PORK.