The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

Another way of using up these remains is to make a ^' salmi.'' To do this, the pieces of meat should be sliced thinly and all trimmings and bones be stewed to make sauce. The liquor, when they have cooked long enough, should be strained and slightly thickened, then liberally seasoned and a glass of good wine added to it; Madeira is the most suitable, thougli sherry will do. The pieces of meat have simply to be warmed up in this sauce. When making a ^Hiash ^' from cold meat it is always preferable to make the sauce or gravy first_, then add the minced meat, aud allow it to simmer only for a few minutes before serving. AV^hen made of fresh meat the hash will be found to be much richer and more tender if cooked in the oven slowl}^ A nice little dish of hash, with two or three delicately poached eggs laid upon it, and some slender strips of toasted bread round the edge, and a little finely chopped parsley sprinkled over all, will be found to make a very pretty and economical entremet. " Tomates farcis " is another economical entremet. Smooth, round tomatoes not over ripe should be chosen, and a small piece be cut out of the middle, and a little of the inside removed ; its place should be filled with a little forcemeat, or sausage meat alone w^ll do very nicely. Place the tomatoes in a tin with small bits oE butter, to bake gently until tender through. Nice kidney potatoes may be treated in the same way, and will be found very excellent also. Eggs "a la bonne femme " make another pretty entree. Take six large eggs, boil tliem ten minutes, when cool enough carefully remove the shells, and with a sharp knife split them in half; remove the yolk from each half and the tip of the point, so that they may stand firmly. AYith the yolk mix a little finely minced ham and beetroot or boiled chicken, a little drop of some piquante sauce, and then fill up the hollows, piling the mixture a little higher. Place the eggs on a bed of curly lettuce or parsley. Omelets and vol-au-vents are served as entree dishes. The latter, although properly belonging to the confectioner's profession, and generally considered to be quite beyond the skill of the home cook, may yet be fairly well imitated for any extra occasion. The exterior or crust is made of the very finest puff paste moulded into the required shape, and the interior hollow is preserved while the crust is cooking by filling it with soft bread ; the upper crust is laid OA^er the bread, but the edges are kept from sticking to the sides. When the crusfc is baked the bread is removed and the proper filling takes its place, then the upper crast is laid over and glazed Avith white of ^gg. This filling may be varied according to fancy — a financiere ragout, sweetbreads, oysters, lobsters, shrimps, etc. When fish is used, the top of the vol-au-vent should be ornamented with the same or similar small fish. Whatever is chosen for the filling should be cooked in a sauce, thick, rich, and suited to its individual character : oysters, shrimps, fillets of sole, etc., in thick white sauce with cream ; ragouts of meat, poultry, etc., in brown sauce. Button mushrooms are a great addition to the last-named.