Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

Use one of the rules for puff paste. When the paste is thoroughly chilled, roll it down to the thickness of an inch and a half. With a sharp knife trim off the edges, giving the paste a slightly oval shape. It will now measure about nine inches in diameter. Trace a circle on this about two inches and a half from the edge. Dip a case-knife into a cup of boiling water, and, following, the circle, cut about two-thirds through the paste. Place the vol-au-vent in a large flat pan, being careful not to let the paste touch the sides of the pan. Bake for one hour. Have the oven very hot for the first ten minutes, and then reduce the heat. When done, take off the cover and scoop out the uncooked paste. Large cutters come for vol-au-vents. If you have a set, use them the same as the pattie-cutters. Vol-au-vent Baked in a Mould. Have a mould of the size you require. Cut some plain stiff white paper, of the size and shape of the sides and bottom of the mould, and butter them. Butter the mould. Roll puff paste about one-fourth of an inch thick, and line the mould with it. Lay the papers on this. Now fill the mould with flour, and cover with white paper. Boll a piece of paste to fit the top, having it half an inch thick. Prick it with a fork. Cover the mould with this, pressing the edges .of the cover and the lining of the mould together. Bake in a moderate oven for one hour. When done, lift off the cover, turn out the flour, and remove the papers. The case is now ready to fill with any preparation of fish, meat, or fruit. The flour may be sifted and used for bread. A two-quart charlotte mould may be used for the large volau-vent, and the small timbale moulds for the small volau-vents. This is the most economical mode of baking a vol-au-vent. Various Kinds of Vol-au-vents and Patties. A vol-au-vent or pattie case may be filled with any kind of delicate meat or fish heated in any one of the following-named sauces : white, Bechamel, poulette, clear brown, or mushroom. The meat must be free of fat, skin, and bones. It should be cut into cubes when cold. Season a pint and a half with one teaspoonful of salt, and one-third of a teaspoonful of white pepper. Heat this in one pint of sauce. Fish is always improved by the addition of one teaspoonful of lemon juice, which should be put in after the hot mixture is taken from the fire. Oysters should be heated to the boiling-point in their own liquor. They should then be drained, and added to a hot sauce. Royal Vol-au-vent. To fill a large vol-au-vent case use a pint of cooked chicken and half a pint of cooked sweetbreads, cut into cubes, half a pint of mushrooms, cut in small pieces, a generous half -pint of white stock, half a pint of cream, one small slice of carrot, one slice of onion, a bit of mace, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one teaspoonful and a half of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, and one teaspoonful of lemon juice.