quarts of clear gravy, or first stock in a stewpan, add the veal and ham, tie up a bunch of parsley, with a few leaves of basil, and a blade of mace, inside of it; boil the whole a quarter of an hour, skim very carefully, put this away to cool; when set, fill into the crust; mince some bright savoury jelly, and lay over the meat; garnish with some green parsley.

This elegant dish is chiefly used at marriage breakfasts or suppers. As the crust is never ate, it may be filled several times, and may be made much smaller or larger if desired, and may be filled with pigeons, chickens, or any kind of game.

VOL-AU-VENTS

A VOL-AU-VENT

Is a large kind of patty. Roll out puff paste from an inch to an inch and a half thick; cut it to suit the shape of the dish it is to be served on; in cutting it make the knife hot in water. Cut another piece not quite so large for the cover; mark the cover an inch from the edge, and brush it over with the yolk of egg; bake it in a quick oven. When it appears sufficiently browned, take off the top, clean out the soft paste, return it to the oven for a few minutes to dry; dish it on a napkin.

Care must be taken in taking out the soft part not to break the outside.

It may be filled with ragoût of sweetbread, fricassee of chicken, lobster, or oysters, but is never made of a large size.

VOL-AU-VENT OF OYSTERS.

Blanch fifty large oysters in their own juice; lift them out of the pan with a fork, that the pieces of shell may be left at the bottom; beard the oysters, and strain the juice on them; put two ounces of butter in a stewpan; add three ounces of flour, stir a little, dilute with a few spoonfuls of stock, add a gill and a half of cream, season with a little white pepper, salt, and a little chopped parsley; add the oysters and juice, bring to the boil, and fill into the Vol-auvent case, this sauce should be rather thick.

VOL-AU-VENT OF VEAL AND HAM.

Procure a nice piece of fillet of veal; cut across the grain into pieces the size of a shilling, three quarters of a pound will be enough, also a quarter of a pound of fine ham: mince a small onion, and a little parsley, put an ounce of butter in a small stewpan, put in the veal and ham, cover up close with the lid, when the meat has simmered in its own juice for a quarter of an hour, dredge a little flour into the pan, moisten with a spoonful or two of stock, and a gill of cream, season with white pepper, and fill into the case. See Pasty.

VOL-AU-VENT OF LOBSTER.

Boil a hen lobster twenty minutes, break it up; save all the juice and pith; cut the meat into large dice, rub the spawn or coral, with an ounce of butter, till quite smooth; put two ounces of butter in a stewpan, with two ounces of flour, and a little parsley; dilute with a little stock, and a spoonful of cream; add the meat and spawn, a teaspoonful of ketchup, and one of anchovies; just boil and fill into the case.

PATTIES OF ABOVE.

Fill six paté cases with any of the foregoing preparations, with the exception of the meat being cut much smaller.

PIES.

VEAL AND HAM PIE.'

CUT up the veal in slices, and flatten with the bat; lay a small piece of ham on each slice of veal; mince some parsley very fine; mix with pepper if the ham is saltish, less salt will do in seasoning; roll up the veal neatly, place the rolls in the dish, cut four hardboiled eggs in rings, lay them on the top, add a small ladleful of stock; dust a little flour in the dish, and cover with puff paste: bake in a sharp oven.

CHICKEN PIE.

Empty, and singe three chickens, cut them into joints, wash them in tepid water, strain, and lay on a cloth to dry. Cut a few slices of ham, which lay in the dish alternately with the chickens; season with white pepper and salt. Cut four eggs in rings, lay them on the top, add a ladleful of cold stock, dust a little flour in the dish, and cover with puff paste ; bake two hours.

DIRECTIONS FOR BAKING PIES.

Before you put anything to bake, be sure the oven is quite clean, for if the juice or gravy of anything which is baking should boil over into the oven, or anything dirty has been in the oven, it will give a disagreeable taste to whatever is baked in it. A cook should therefore be careful to sweep and clean her oven carefully out with a damp cloth, before she lights her fire, or before it is too hot to do so, and let it dry before she closes the door tight. All pies must be attended to while cooking, to see that the juice does not boil over, for if it does, it will make a steam in the oven, which will spoil your crust, by making it heavy, and make the pie appear to be done, before it is well warmed. After it has been in the oven about half an hour, at furthest, it must be looked to, and turned, or it may be spoiled, by burning at one part and not cooking at another.

If you should find the juice of a pie run over, you must take out your pie, raise the crust at one end,

and pour out some of the juice, which save, and pour again into the pie when it is done, if there is room, and if not, send it up with the pie in a boat, or sauce

tureen.

BEEF STEAK PIE.

Choose steak that has been long hung, cut it into moderately-sized pieces, and trim off all skin or sinews; season them with pepper, salt, and minced shalot or onion, and lay them in the dish: put crust on the ledge and an inch below, cover with thick crust, and bake it about two hours. A teacupful of gravy or water may be put into the dish before the pie is baked, or some good gravy poured into it after it is taken from the oven.

A tablespoonful or two of mushroom ketchup, or a flap mushroom, added to the steak, will greatly enrich this pie.

BEEF STEAK AND OYSTER PIE.

Prepare the steaks as above, and put layers of them and of oysters. Stew the liquor and beards of the latter with a bit of lemon peel, mace, and a tablespoonful of walnut ketchup. When the pie is baked, boil with the above three spoonfuls of cream and one ounce of butter rubbed in flour; to which, however, many people object as injuring the savouriness of the pie; in which case, should any addition be required, a few spoonfuls of beef gravy and port wine will answer the purpose. Strain it, and pour