Luncheon

mer half an hour, and the brain is ready to serve with almost any kind of sauce, or to be cut into slices, dipped into egg or batter, and fried. To make croquettes, mince the brain fine ; add one minced boiled sweetbread, a tablespoonful of fine cracker dust, the yolk of two eggs, a saltspoonful of white pepper, two of salt, and a few spoonfuls of milk, just enough to make a thick paste, and keep on ice until wanted. When firm, shape it into cones, corks, or balls, dip them in beaten egg, then roll in crumbs, and drop them in a pan full of hot fat ; drain them a moment on a thick towel, arrange them neatly on a hot dish, garnish with tufts of parsley and slices of lemon, and serve. Stewed Beef with Dumplings. — Select the ends of the roast before it is cooked, or the ends of the meat purchased for steak. Cut it in neat even-sized pieces, and if too fat remove a part of it. Put in a frying pan a quantity of the surplus fat, and when it liquefies add a tablespoonful of minced onion, fry quite brown, then add about two pounds of the meat, toss it about a few minutes until the sides of each piece are slightly fried ; then add hot water enough to partly cover the meat ; bruise six whole peppers, and add them with three whole cloves, a stalk or two of celery, and part of a small cherry pep- 6o FLANK STEAK. per ; simmer two and a half hours, take out the meat, and strain the sauce. Peel and parboil a dozen small potatoes, put six of them in a stewpan, add the meat, then the six other potatoes, pour in the strained sauce, and if on hand add three half pints of soup stock, if not add hot water ; simmer thirty minutes, and add a liberal quantity of dumplings ; cover, and boil slowly fifteen minutes longer. Put the ingredients on a platter, have them arranged neatly, and boil the sauce rapidly until reduced one-third, taste it for seasoning, pour it over the dish of beef, potatoes, and dumplings, and serve. Prepare the dumpling as follows : Three half-pints of sifted flour, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, two-thirds of a teaspoonful salt ; mix with three gills of lukewarm milk, and add spoonfuls of dough to the stew. A very nice stew is made on the above plan by substituting veal, mutton, rabbits, or squirrels, for beef. Flank Steak. — Housekeepers do not thoroughly appreciate this piece of meat; but butchers and professional cooks do, for they prefer it to tenderloin, although it rarely costs more than a trifle per pound. It is the boneless part of the flank, and is secreted between two layers of creamy fat. There are two ways of cutting ROAST TENDERLOIN OF BEEF. 6 1 It for broiling purposes. One is to slice it diagonally across the grain ; the other, to divide it in two, and trim off the uneven ends. It should be well basted with melted butter, or, better still, olive oil, and broiled over a moderate fire. This piece of meat is most excellent for making many kinds of made dishes, and is at its best when used as potted or rolled or spiced beef. It makes a delicious beefsteak pie, and is one of the most economical and useful cuts of the animal.