95 KITCHEN AND OOOKERY CASSOLETTES OF SHRIMPS Required : A tcaciipful of picked shrimps. Two or three spoonfuls of mayonnaise sauce. A httle chopped parsley. For the Cassolette Paste : Quarter of a pound of flour One and a half ounces of butter. Half an egg. One teaspoonful of lemon juice. A pinch of salt. Water. Sieve the flour and salt into a basin, rub the butter in finely, then add the lemon juice and egg, and just a little water. Mix all thoroughly together and work it into a smooth but stiff paste. Roll it out very thinly and line some little round fluted moulds with it ; place a little piece of buttered paper in each ; fill this with rice or split-peas to prevent the pastry rising up in the centre during baking, put them in a moderate oven, and bake from ten to fifteen minutes. Then take out the paper and rice and put the cases back in the oven, so that they may get crisp, then let them get cold. Add enough mayonnaise sauce to the shrimps to moisten them nicely. Put some of this mixture in each ca.sc, heaping it up nicely, sprinkle over a little finely chopped parsley, and arrange them on a lace paper, or garnish them with a shrimp's head on each. BONNES BOUCHES A LA PHILIPPE Required : Six small wafer biscuits. Six thin slices of smoked sausage. About two inches of cucumber. A little oil and vinegar. Chili and gherkin. A Uttle butter. Slightly butter the biscuits, peel the cucumber and cut it in slices about as thick as a shilling ; put these on a plate, sprinkle them well with salad oil and vinegar, turn- ing them about in it. Lay a slice on each biscuit ; on this put a slice of smoked sausage. Cut the chili and gherkin in long, thin strips, and arrange these in a trellis-worJv across each slice of sausage. Arrange on a lace paper. THE AIRT OF MAliINQ tSOUF o o I VY7HERE economy is practised, sufficient scraps are often left from the various meals to furnish the usual family soups and broths without buying fresh meat for the purpose. A thrifty cook will inspect her larder each morning, and will put aside all cooked and raw bones of meat, game (if not high), and poultry, drops of gravy, sauces, spoonfuls of vegetables, macaroni, etc., and will use them either for the stockpot or to help finish off some stock already to hand. P0T=LIQU0R or the water in which salt or fresh meat or vegetables, other than green varieties, have been boiled, is most valuable as a foundation for soups. It contains a certain mount of the nutritious parts and flavour f the food cooked in it. Soup can be prepared from meat, game, or poultry, cooked in water or milk, with every kind of vegetable, sweet herbs, spices, curry powder, etc., to give them flavour and seasoning. WHAT IS STOCK? To many people the word stock is merely a culinary term, and they have only a vague idea as to its meaning. Stock, however, is a useful liquid that ought always to be ready for use in the kitchen. The foundation is water, into which the juices and flavour of meat, bones, and vegetables have been extracted by steady boiling. This liquid stock sometimes forms a strong jelly when cold; this depends on the amount of gela- tinous substance present in the materials used. The interior parts of meat are quite suitable for soup making, and to buy the " choice cuts " for this purpose is merely extravasfant. foods unsuitable for the sto::kpot Rice, potatoes, bread, cabbage or similar green vegetables, high game, shghtly tainted meat, pork, or veal. All these quickly .sour the stock. If it is required clear, or if the weather is warm, it is a mistake to add thickened sauces and gravies, as the flour which they contain quickly sours the liquid, as well as making it cloudy. HOW TO START A STOCKPOT Buy either a special block-tin, cast-iron, or copper stockpot, fitted with tap and strainer, or select a large, clean iron saucepan. Fill it two -thirds full of cold water, add a little salt, and then all suitable scraps available. During the day keep adding fresh bits, and keep the pot steadily boiling. It should boil from seven to eight hours a day. Every night empty the stockpot, straining the liquid off into a clean basin. Wash and air the pot next day, remove all fat from the Hquid, pour it back into the pot, and either add fresh scraps or those which were strained out of it if there seems to be any nourish- ment left in them. If the hquid has been too much reduced add more water. Once a week, or twice in hot weather, restart the pot with everything fresh. If any stock is left, strain it off and boil it down in an uncovered pan for glaze. When the stock has boiled away until only about a. third of it is left, it will become dark brown and of a glue-like consistency. It is then ready to pour off in small pots, and when cold will be hke a hard, dark-brown meat extract. Be sure to keep it well skimmed during the boihng. If the glaze is to be kept for any length of time, cover the surface of it
