Cookery for every household

Choose medium-sized pears, peel them, but leave them whole. Make a syrup with the sugar, water, and lemon juice, and cook the pears in this until they are tender. Lift them out and allow them to cool slightly. Then cut a good slice off each lengthwise to about one-third of the depth of the pear. Scoop out the inside, and fill up with a mixture of fruits, either fresh or preserved, cut in very small pieces and bound together with a little thick apricot puree (made by rubbing some tinned apricots through a sieve). Cover with the pieces of pear cut off, so as to give the pear its original shape. Have ready prepared some nicely stewed rice, sweetened and flavoured to taste, and to which the yolk of an egg or a little cream has been added. Arrange this in a bed on a glass or silver dish, placing the pears on the top. Add the remainder of the apricot puree to the syrup in which the pears were cooked, reduce it to nice consistency, colour with a little carmine, and strain. When cool, pour over the pears and serve cold. Sufficient for 6 persons. Probable cost, la. 4 d. to la. 6d. 2072. Pears & la St. Honor6 (Poires a la St. Honor6) Custard. 1 pt. milk. 2 oz. castor sugar. Vanilla. 2 eggs. Caramel. 2 or 3 oz. castor sugar. Compote. 5 or 6 pears. I lb. loaf sugar. J pt. water. Lemon juice. 1 or 2 table-sps. apricot puree. A little liqueur. Skin the pistachio nuts, chop them, pound them in a mortar, and then tud them through a wire sieve. Whip the cream, and add to it the sugar, orange-flower water, brandy, and most of the pistachio nuts. Dissolve the gelatine in the water, and, when slightly cool, strain it into the cream, &c., and, lastly, stir in the whites of the eggs beaten stiffly. Fill up the souffle cases with this mixture, and set them in a cool place or on ice to stiffen. Colour a little clear liquid jelly green, add to it the remaining pistachio nuts, and, when almost setting, run it over the top of the souffles and set again. When required, remove the bands of paper, and serve the souffles on a crystal or silver dish. Sufficient for 8 or 9 persons. Probable cost, 3s. 2074. Pommes de Terre Nouvelles Decoration — Whipped cream. First prepare a caramel custard, and steam it in a border mould. Heat the milk in a saucepan and flavour it with vanilla. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a basin, and pour the hot milk gradually on to them, stirring all the time. Then make the caramel by melting the castor sugar in a saucepan without any water, and allowing it to boil until it becomes a golden brown. Take a plain border mould, large enough to hold rather more than J pint, heat it first, pour in the caramel, and run it round the sides and over the bottom. Grease carefully the inner sides, which have not been coated by the caramel, and strain in the custard. Place the custard in a deep tin with cold water round it, heat this over the fire without letting it boil, and then place all in a moderate oven. Cook slowly until the custard feels firm to the touch (20 to 30 minutes), lift it out, and allow it to cool. Meanwhile make a compote with the pears. Choose pears of a medium size, peel them, cut them in quarters or in sixths, and remove the cores. Make a syrup with the sugar, water, and a little lemon juice, and cook the pieces of pear in it until they are tender but not broken.