Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Split a calf’s head in two, remove the tongueand the brains, and put the head in a large pan with cold water for two hours before cooking it. Rub it well, and wash it in plenty of water to make it as white as possible ; dry it with a towel. Rub the whole head with a large lemon ; put back the tongue, but not the brains. Put the head in a clean napkin dipped previously in cold water, and tie up the ends to have it well wrapped up. Place it in a large stewpan with enough cold water to cover it. Season with half a cupful of flour diluted in a little cold water. Calf’s Head Calf’s Kidney Pie and Y\ lb. of beef suet cut in small pieces, one table-spoonful of salt, six whole peppers, four cloves, two bayleaves, a bouquet of six sprigs of parsley, two branches of celery, one small branch of thyme, two sliced carrots, and four ordinary-sized onions. Put the covered saucepan over a hot fire until boiling ; then moderate the fire, uncover a little, and cook two hours. Remove the head from the saucepan, take away the napkin, carve the head in two, remove the eyes and all the bones. Remove the skin from the tongue and cut it in two pieces, lengthwise ; put each half tongue alongside of the head. Two hard-boiled eggs cut in squares and a few sprigs of parsley tastefully placed give the desired effect of making up a very appetizing dish. The brains have been put in lukewarm water in order to remove every bit of the skins, then left in cold water. Cook them by themselves in a small saucepan in some of the broth of the head for eighteen minutes. The broth must be boiling when the brains are put in. The sauce vinaigrette consists of two yolks of hard-boiled eggs, chopped and passed through a sieve, one teaspoonful of shallot, chopped and also passed through the sieve, onehalf table-spoonful of chopped pickles, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, one teaspoonful of dry mustard diluted in one table-spoonful of cold water, two table-spoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, four table-spoonfuls of olive oil, one teaspoonful of salt, two pinches of pepper. Put all these ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly, using a silver spoon, for three minutes. Serve in a sauce-boat. The broth from the calf’s head will make a very good and inexpensive soup. Put into a saucepan one table-spoonful of flour and one table-spoonful of butter ; cook four minutes, stirring all the time. Strain two quarts of the broth, pour slowly over, add three table-spoonfuls of the calf’s head cut in small squares. Any piece left over will serve the purpose. Add also three hard - boiled eggs, chopped fine, two gills of sherry or Madeira, and a quarter of a lemon. cut thin. Let cook slowly thirty minutes, and serve hot.