A year's cookery

Luncheon. — Hashed Mutton. — Cut the meat from the bone in thin slices (if hash were made of boiled mutton the slices would have to be as thick again), trim them neatly, and put them aside. Break the mutton bone into three or four pieces. Slice two onions, and fry them in a little fat till they are lightly browned. Put them into a stewpan with a pint and a half of cold water, the mutton bones, and a turnip, and stew all gently together for an hour and a half. Strain the liquor into a basin, and set this in a pan of cold water, to make the fat rise ; skim it carefully, and put half a pint of the gravy back into the stewpan, with half a tea-spoonful of flour mixed smoothly with water to thicken it. Stir the sauce till it boils, then add the pieces of meat, a little pepper and salt, and a few drops of browning. Heat all very gently together by the side of the fire for half an hour, but on no account let the gravy boil, or the meat will be hard. Just before serving, stir in a tea-spoonful of sherry or a few drops of walnut vinegar, or any other flavouring that may be preferred. Arrange the slices of meat upon a dish, strain the sauce over them, garnish with toasted sippets, and serve. If a very small quantity of meat is on the mutton bone it will be well to mince instead of hashing it (January 20th) ; Red Currant Tart (August 7th). Dinner. — Croute au Pot (May 25th) ; Boiled Aitchbone of Beef (February 23rd) ; Carrots (July 6th) ; Summer Cabbage (June 4th); Potatoes (May 12th). Boiled Batter Pudding. — Make some batter according to the recipe given for Toad-in-the-Hole (January 15th), but use a spoonful or two less of milk, or the pudding may not turn out. Grease a pudding-basin that the batter will quite fill, and make it hot ; pour in the batter, sprinkle a little flour on the top, and tie securely over it a pudding-cloth that has been wrung out of boiling water and floured. Place the basin in a saucepan with plenty of boiling water, and keep boiling moderately fast for an hour and a half. Sometimes a spoonful of sugar, a grate or two of nutmeg, and a small piece of butter are added to the batter. Let the pudding stand two or three minutes before turning it out, garnish it with bright-coloured jelly, and send sweet sauce to table in a tureen. Sweet Sauce (July 19th) ; Cheese (June 8th). Things that must not be Forgotten. 1. Turn and rub the ox-cheek in the brine. 2. Stew the mutton bone again with the gravy that was not used and an additional quart of water. The goodness will not have been drawn from it with only one hour’s simmering. 3. Keep the bloaters apart from everything else in the larder. 4. Wash a cupful of hominy, and put it to soak all night in cold water. Breakfast. Bloaters. Potted Grouse. Hot Toast. Dry Toast. Marmalade. Brown and White Bread and Butter. Porridge. May 19th. Luncheon. Rolled Veal. Boiled Hominy. Dinner. Mackerel, à la Maître d'Hôtel. Cold Beef. Salad. Cucumber. Mashed Potatoes. Stewed Rhubarb. Cream. Cheese. Marketing. For the Day.— A pair of moderate-sized Mackerel (April 4th); two heads of Lettuce ; a half -penny worth of Beetroot ; a pennyworth of Small Salad ; two pennyworth of Watercress (half for breakfast to-morrow morning) ; a fresh Cucumber ; half a bundle of Rhubarb ; Potatoes.