Little French dinners

mix in gradually three ounces of ground rice, and three ounces of finely sifted flour, and afterwards three ounces of fresh butter, just liquefied, but not made at all hot. Mix thoroughly, adding at the last half an ounce of bitter almonds, and one ounce of sweet almonds, finely ground. Take a trois-freres mould, i.e., a fancy mould with a hollow in the centre, butter it well, fill it with the above paste and bake in a moderate oven. When the cake is done, turn it out, leave it to get cold and then glaze it all over with apricot jam slightly heated and passed through a sieve. Pour over it all a strong syrup made with sugar and water, and brush over the inside of the cake with it also. Before it has time to dry, ornament the top with candied cherries and almonds, blanched and cut in halves. Fill the centre with a compote of apricots or any other fruit that may be preferred. MENU-XXVI A MAIGRE DINNER. POTAOE DE POIREAUX AU RlZ. BRANDADE DE MORUE. OMELETTE AU CRESSON DE FONTAINE. CELERI RAVE AU PARMESAN. STOCKHOLM PUDDING. Potage de Poireaux au Riz (Leek and Rice Soup). — Take seven medium-sized leeks and one large carrot ; cut them up in thin slices and fry them in two ounces of dripping till they are a golden brown colour. Then have ready in a saucepan about three pints of boiling 74 Little French Dinners. water, add to it the leeks and carrot with an onion stuck with cloves, a tiny bit of mace, a pinch of thyme, a bay leaf, whole pepper and salt. Let the vegetables boil gently for about two hours and a half, and when they are perfectly soft, pass the whole through a hair sieve and return to a clean saucepan, adding more salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Have ready four tablespoonfuls of rice, previously boiled in the usual manner and thoroughly drained, add it to the leek soup at the last moment, bring quickly to the boil, and serve with grated Parmesan cheese handed on a separate plate. Brandade de Morue (Salt Cod-fish). — Soak a piece of salt cod-fish for about twenty-four hours, changing the water several times. Then place it in a stewpan, cover it with cold water, bring it to the boil, and having previously removed all scum, let it simmer at the side of the fire for about fifteen minutes. Drain the fish and when cold, skin it and divide it into flakes. Bub a saucepan well with a shallot or garlic, whichever is preferred, add two ounces of butter, and when melted, fry in it a little grated onion for about five minutes, and then put in the flakes of fish. Toss well so that all the butter is absorbed, then add by degrees, alternately and in very small quantities, some salad oil and milk (or cream). Keep tossing, shaking and stirring the fish the whole time till it is quite thick and creamy. Add lastly a grate of nutmeg, a little white pepper, and the juice of a lemon. Serve piled up on a dish ; sprinkle the surface with finely chopped parsley and surround the whole with fried sippets of bread. Omelette au Cresson de Fontaine (Watercress Omelet). — Beat up five or six eggs in a basin with a fork, add a tablespoonful of milk, pepper and salt to taste, and some roughly chopped watercress. Put about one ounce of butter in an omelet pan, let it get as hot as possible without burning, then pour in the beaten eggs. As the mixture Little French Dinners. 75