[Modern cookery, in all its branches

Wash half a pound of the best Carolina rice, drain it on a hairsieve, put it into a very clean stewpan or saucepan, and pour on it a quart of cold new milk. Stir them well together, and place them near the fire that the rice may swell very gradually ; then let it simmer as gently as possible for about half an hour, or until it begins to be quite tender ; mix with it then, two ounces of fresh butter and two and a half of pounded sugar, and let it continue to simmer softly until it is dry and sufficiently tender,* to be easily crushed to a smooth paste with a strong wooden spoon. W ork it to this point, and then let it cool. Before it is taken from the fire, scrape into it the outside of some sugar which has been rubbed upon the rind of a fresh lemon. Have ready a tin mould of pretty form, well buttered in every part ; press the rice into it while it is still warm, smooth the surface, and let it remain until cold. Should the mould be one which opens at the ends, like that shown in the plate at page 344, the pudding will come out easily; but if it should be in a plain common one, just dip it into hot water to loosen it; turn out the rice, and then again reverse it on to a tin or dish, and with the point of a knife mark round the top a rim of about an inch wide ; then brush some clarified butter over the whole pudding, and set it into a brisk oven. When it is of an equal light golden brown draw it out, raise the cover carefully where it is marked, scoop out the rice from the inside, leaving * Unless the rice be boiled slowly, and very dry , it will not answer for the 'asserole. :hap. XXI.] only a crust of about an inch thick in every part, and pour into it some preserved fruit warmed in its own syrup, or fill it with a compote of plums or peaches (see Chapter XXIII.) ; or with some good apples boiled with fine sugar to a smooth rich marmalade. This is a very good as well as an elegant dish : it may be enriched with more butter, and by substituting cream for the milk in part or entirely but it is excellent without either. Rice, £ lb. ; new milk, 1 quart : \ hour. Fresh butter, 2 oz, $ pounded sugar, 2½ oz. ; rasped rind, 1 lemon : | hour or more. Ohs. — The precise time of baking the pudding cannot well be specified : it only requires colour. VERMICELLI PUDDING WITH APPLES OR WITHOUT, AND PUDDINGS OF SOUJEE AND SEMOLA. Drop gradually into an exact quart of boiling milk four ounces of very fresh vermicelli, crushing it slightly with one hand and letting it fall gently from the fingers, and stirring the milk with a spoon held in the other hand, to prevent the vermicelli from gathering into lumps. Boil it softly until it is quite tender and very thick, which it will be usually in about twenty minutes, during which time it must be very frequently stirred ; then work in two ounces of fresh butter and four of pounded sugar ; turn the mixture into a bowl or pan, and stir it occasionally until it has cooled down. Whisk five good eggs until they are very light, beat them gradually and quickly to the other ingredients, add the finely grated rind of a lemon or a little lemon-brandy or ratifia, and pour the pudding when nearly cold into a buttered dish, and just cover the surface with apples pared, cored, and quartered ; press them into the pudding-mixture, to the top of which they will immediately rise again, a