Harper's cook book encyclopædia

two young pigeons into neat joints. Put two veal sweetbreads into a saucepan, cover them with lukewarm water, and set them over the fire until the water boils ; then lift them out and plunge them at once into cold water. Cut them into neat pieces of uniform shape and size, and bind these securely together with twine. Put the sweetbreads, with the pigeons, into a stewpan, pour a cupful of water over them, and add an onion, a bunch of parsley, a small sprig of thyme, a bay-leaf, a slice of fat bacon, Y2 oz. of butter rolled in flour, and a little pepper and salt. Simmer gently for half an hour, then remove the twine from the sweetbreads, strain and thicken the gravy if necessary, and fill the vol-au-vent with the fricassee. The sauce must be very thick or it will soften the light pastry. Pigeons with Young Green Pease. — Cut off the heads and feet of six fat pigeons. Split the skin of the neck from the back, and cut the neck close to the breast, having a care not to tear off the skin. Remove the crop. Make a very small incision crosswise at the lower part of the stomach, and clean the inside perfectly. Save the liver. Do not wash the birds but clean them with a damp towel. This method of cleansing is much better for any fowl than to wash it in a pan of water. By the newer method the fowls retain their flavor. Now put the liver back inside, and dust with one salt-spoonful of salt and half of this quantity of pepper. Truss the birds by folding first the skin on the back of the neck. Pass a trussing-needle through the legs and tie them very close to the body, so as to give them a plump appearance. Cut into small squares Yz lb. of bacon, and parboil. Five minutes’ cooking will be sufficient. Drain and put same into a low saucepan with one table-spoonful of butter. Cook five minutes. Now remove the bacon. Put the pigeons in the gravy and cook for ten minutes, browning them all over. Sprinkle over one table-spoonful of flour, stirring well to mix the flour thoroughly with the gravy. Pour slowly over the fowl one quart of warm broth, stirring all the time, to blend it well with the smooth gravy. Put the bacon back, add one quart of freshly shelled pease, one bunch of new green onions cut one inch in length, and one saltspoonful of pepper. Salt is unnecessary if broth has been used. Cover the saucepan. Cook slowly but constantly for forty minutes. The pigeons should be turned once during the cooking. When finished, remove the strings, and place the birds on a hot platter, with the pease placed around, and with the gravy poured over. If broth is not at hand, one teaspoonful of diluted beef extract in one quart of warm water may be used instead. To this should be added one level teaspoonful of salt. Quail, Boned. — Bone a dozen birds ; stuff them in shape with sweetbreads or oysters, sew them up, roll in buttered paper, put in a pan with white stock sufficient to cover them, and let cook until tender. Take them up, remove the paper, glaze them. Arrange on a border of potatoes on a large dish; pour mushroom sauce in the centre.