Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

panada than you have of chicken meat, and the same amount of freshbutter that you have of panada ; mince the chicken in the machine, pound it in a mortar, pass it through a hair sieve, then mix with it the panada and butter ; moisten the mixture with the yolks of two eggs beaten, and a spoonful or two of the sauce (which really is a good domestic veloute sauce), to bring it to a smooth and paste-like consistency. Pass through the sieve again. Now mince as finely as possible sufficient cooked mushrooms to allow of a teaspoonful for each Quenelle, and moisten the minced mushroom with a little of the sauce, reduced to the consistency of thick cream. When mixed the mince should be about as thick as jam. Form the Quenelles, and, when they are neatly formed, scoop out of each a little hollow with the handle of a saltspoon, slip in a teaspoonful of the minced mushroom, and close over the aperture with Quenelle mixture. Poach, as has been explained above, drain, and dry the Quenelles on a cloth. If the Quenelles are to be dished high, a socle or foundation is required. This is not generally intended to be eaten ; in fact, the socle is sometimes made of melted wax candle consolidated with flour and beeswax— a ridiculous and wasteful custom. Wyvern suggests a socle of boiled rice, flavoured with salt, pepper, the pulp of a couple of tomatoes, and some finely-grated cheese, stirred well with melted butter, and made firm by the addition of the yolks of two or three eggs, according to the quantity taken. This should be formed into a flat ring in the dish the Quenelles are to be served in, put into the oven for a few minutes to set, then brushed over with reduced white sauce, and kept hot till wanted. The Quenelles, carefully lifted after being poached, must be arranged round the top of the ring. The centre should be filled with some nicely cooked vegetable, such as green peas, moistened with the sauce. A tablespoonful of cream should be stirred into the vegetable just before serving. A less expensive socle can be made of rice, boiled, pounded, moulded into shape with a wooden spoon, brushed over with egg, and coloured in the oven. The rice can of course be flavoured as desired. This socle is generally made to fit the dish to be used, and is flat, but it can easily be shaped into a ring. It is a useful socle for sweet dishes, and if wanted for a cold entree the socle should be spread with fresh butter. Quenelles made of game require a brown sauce. This is easily managed by melting one ounce of glaze in one pint of the broth whilst it is cooking. Quenelles of Fish must be made of white fish only, and only such white fish as haddock and whiting. No rich or oily fish can be used for Quenelles. The proportions are eight ounces of pounded uncooked fish to five ounces of panada and five ounces of butter. The broth for the sauce must of course be made of the bones and trimmings of the fish. Additional trimmings may be needed, and are readily supplied in the way of heads of fish by any fishmonger. Quenelles of Cheese are an excellent savoury, whether baked or fried, but to be successful with them Wyverns directions must be implicitly followed.