Little French dinners

of sago, very finely pounded. Stir it occasionally, and after it has boiled for twelve minutes put in four tablespoonfuls of vegetables, previously cooked and cut into thin strips. In the meantime boil in another saucepan three-quarters of a pint of the same stock, and add to it gradually the yolks of three eggs which have been beaten up with half a pint of cream or milk. Stir over a moderate fire till the mixture thickens, then strain it immediately into the saucepan containing the sago; mix well. Add lastly half an ounce of butter, and serve at once. Maquereaux, Sauce aux Groseilles (Mackerel with Gooseberry Sauce). — Take the fillets from two mackerel, cut them in two, remove the skin, trim the fillets neatly, sprinkle them freely with pepper and salt, and place them side by side to cook in the oven in a well greased tin with a buttered paper over them. When they are done arrange them carefully in a dish, serving them with the following sauce in the centre : Take half a pint of gooseberries not quite ripe, boil them in water, then drain them, pass them through a hair sieve, and mix them with a good sized piece of butter. Warm the whole in a saucepan, adding a pinch of flour, and pepper and salt to taste, with a tablespoonful of good white stock ; stir till thoroughly hot and of the right consistency. Noisettes d'Agneau aux Concombres (Fillets of Lamb with Cucumber). — Take the best end of a neck of lamb, remove the bone, trim off any superfluous fat and skin, and cut from it some slices about threequarters of an inch thick ; flatten them with the cutlet bat, trim them neatly and lay them in a dish. Sprinkle each little fillet with pepper and salt, then pour on a few drops of lemon-juice and a small quantity of salad oil. Cover all with a layer of chopped onions, and leave the fillets in a cool place for three or four hours. Then wipe each fillet 32 Little French Dinners. carefully with a cloth, dip them in egg, then in stale breadcrumbs, and in half-an-hour's time arrange them in the wire frying-basket and fry them in boiling fat a golden brown colour. Drain them thoroughly in front of the fire on soft paper, and serve them in a circle with the following garnish in the centre : Peel one or two cucumbers, free them from pips, and cut them up into squares. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan and fry the pieces of cucumber in it for two or three minutes, then add a sprinkling of flour and moisten with about half a tumblerful of stock. Let the whole stew very gently for twenty minutes, or till the cucumber is quite tender, taking care that each piece retains its shape.