Little French dinners

Sole Farcie an Four (Sole Stuffed and Baked). — Take a breakfastcupful of breadcrumbs, three ounces of butter, some chopped parsley and tarragon, and half a dozen chives chopped up finely (or an onion may be used instead). Soak the breadcrumbs in milk and mix them with all the other ingredients ; add pepper and salt to taste and lay the stuffing in a well-buttered dish that will stand the fire. On the top of this, Little French Dinners. 1 1 place a large lemon sole, weighing from two to three pounds, sprinkle the surface of the fish with fine baked breadcrumbs, and on the top of them put some small pieces of butter and a sprinkling of pepper and salt. Put the dish in a moderate oven for about half an hour. Take out the fish when it is done, being careful not to break it, and place it on the dish on which it is going to be served. Then split the sole lengthwise with a sharp knife, skilfully remove the bone and put the stuffing in its place. Serve as hot as possible. Perdreaux aux Champignons (Stewed Partridges with Mushrooms). — Take a punnet and a half of mushrooms— they should be as small as possible — peel them carefully, cut off the stalks and cook them over a slow fire with two ounces of butter and pepper and salt for about ten minutes, shaking the saucepan frequently. When the mushrooms are done, put them aside to get cold and stuff three partridges with them. Lay the birds in a stewpan just large enough to hold them with some butter, and when they are browned, take them out for a few minutes, and mix well with the butter two ounces of flour ; add, by degrees, half a glass of white wine and three-quarters of a pint of stock. Then put the partridges back and let them cook slowly in this sauce with about a dozen mushrooms chopped. When they are done, serve with the sauce (well reduced) poured over the partridges and potatoes in a vegetable dish, cooked in the following manner: — Pommes Lorettes. — Peel half a dozen good sized potatoes, steam them till they are quite dry and floury, then rub them through a wire sieve and return them to the saucepan in which two ounces of butter have been melted. Stir over the fire with a wooden spoon, then add a little cream or milk, and when the potatoes have become quite dry, keep on adding more cream, a small quantity at a time. Substitute a large fork for the spoon and beat the potatoes vigorously with it till they are quite light and 1 2 Little French Dinners. smooth ; a gill of cream or milk will be sufficient, but the potatoes must be dry and stiff. On arriving at this point, add pepper, salt, and a grate of nutmeg to taste, and lastly, the yolks of two eggs ; stir well for a minute or two at the side of the fire, then turn the potatoes out into a basin. In the meantime, whisk the white of a good- sized egg to a stiff froth, take up a small portion of the potato mixture (about as much as would go to form a croquette), roll it into a ball, dip it into the white of egg and then lightly dust it with flour, taking care that it retains its shape. When all the potato has been treated in this fashion, place as many of the balls, thus formed, in the frying basket as it will conveniently hold, and plunge it in boiling fat until the potatoes are a light golden brown, then drain them thoroughly, put them at the mouth of the oven on a piece of paper to keep