The housewife's referee

Chicken Pilau. — Have ready a good quantity of stock, melt half a pound of butter in a saucepan; fry in it a handful of onions very finely sliced lengthways ; when brown remove them, and fry in the same butter the pieces of chicken which have been previously boiled and divided into neat pieces. When the chicken is slightly fried take it out, and to the same butter add eight ounces of dry rice, and fry it a little. The rice must be washed and well dried before frying. As the butter evaporates, add the broth, and boil the rice in it, adding ten cloves, ten cardamoms, ten black peppercorns, a blade of mace, a dessertspoonful of salt, a little turmeric or a pinch of saffron, a slice or two of ginger, and two ounces of raisins. When the rice is nearly boiled, put it on the side of the fire, put in the chicken, and warm all together ; if the rice be at all hard, add a little water till sufficiently cooked. To serve it up, pile the rice high in the dish over the pieces of chicken, garnish with slices of hard-boiled egg, and almonds blanched and cut fine, with the shreds of fried onions. Chicken Tartlets en Surprise ; Tartelettes de Volaille. — Line some patty-pans with puff paste. Pound the remnants of a cold chicken with some veloute sauce, pass through a sieve, add a small quantity of cream, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg; put a part of the mixture in each little THE housewife's REFEREE pan, cut the remains of the paste into thin strips, and lay them across the chicken ; lay Devonshire cream on the top. When baked, turn them out of the tins and arrange prettily on a dish. Cockscombs a la Dresden ; Hahnenkamme ; Cretes de coq {German). — Cut off the outside tips of the cockscombs, place them on the fire in cold water, but so that it only gets luke-warm ; they should be frequently stirred round with the hand and slightly pressed through the fingers, so that the blood is all squeezed out till they become white. Now put them into fresh water, place them again on the fire, and when the water begins to get hot rub each cockscomb over with salt to remove the outside skin ; then put them into luke-warm water for a few hours, which should occasionally be changed. Then boil them till tender in fat stock seasoned with salt and lemon juice. Corn Rolls. — Take the chopped meat of a good-sized boiled fowl, six hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, half a pound each of raisins and olives stoned and chopped, and the pressed juice from a dozen sweet red peppers boiled soft. Mix with these ingredients (except the eggs) one pound of dried Indian corn boiled soft ; season with salt and stir over the fire for fifteen minutes, and then stir in the chopped eggs. Meantime lay smooth the soft inner husks of corn, and tear some strips for tying ; lay upon two of the husks as much of the tomato paste as they will contain ; wrap them about it, and tie each roll with the stripped husks ; drop these rolls into boiling salted water, and boil them for an hour. When the tomatoes are done, tie them with red and yellow ribbons in place of the strips ; and serve them piled upon a napkin laid on a hot dish. Salad should be eaten with them.