Cassell's dictionary of cookery

nuts. Take off the brown skin, throw them into boiling water, and let them remain for two minutes, then blanch them hke almonds. Weigh them, and mix with every three ounces an equal weight of fat bacon, minced as finely as possible, an ounce of finely-grated bread-crumbs, and a little salt, cayenne, and grated nutmeg. Pound the mixture thoroughly, and moisten with beaten yolk of egg. Stuff two pigeons with this forcemeat, truss them firmly, cover their breasts with a slice of fat bacon and a vine-leaf, and roast them before a clear fire. Serve on a hot dish, with the bacon and vine-leaves over them, and send nicely-seasoned brown gravy to table in a tureen. Time to roast the pigeons, half an hour. Probable cost, 2s. Sufficient for two persons. Pigeons, Trussed. — Pigeons need to be very carefully plucked and cleaned, and they should, if possible, be drawn as soon as they re killed. The liver may remain untouched, [illustration: PIGEONS TRUSSED]. as there is no gaU-bladder in it to embitter the taste. To truss for roasting : — Cut off the head and neck, cut off the toes at the first joint, and wash the birds well. Dry them carefully, truss the wings over the back, and pass a skewer through the wings and body'. The gizzard may be cleaned and put under one of the wings. To truss for boiling : — Cut off the legs at the first joint, put the legs into the body, and skewer the pinions back. Pigeons, Vol-au-Vent of.— Roll out a piece of puff-paste [see Puff-paste) to the shape and size of the dish in which it is intended to serve the vol-au-vent. It should be a little more than an inch in thickness. Make a knife hot in water, and with it mark the cover evenly an inch from the edge all round. Ornament the border in any way that may be preferred, and brush the vol-au-vent quickly over with. yolk of egg. Put it at once into a brisk oven. When it is sufficiently risen and brightly coloured, take it out. Take off the marked cover carefully, and scoop out the soft paste from the inside, without injuring the outside. Put the vol-au-vent back into the oven for a few minutes to dry, and fill it with the pigeons and sweetbreads prepared as follows: — Divide two freshly-killed young pigeons into neat joints. Put two veal sweetbreads into a saucepan, cover them with lukewarm water, and set them over the fire until the water boils ; then lift them out, and plunge them at once into cold water. Cut them into neat pieces of uniform shape and size, and bind these securely together with twine. Put the sweetbreads, with the pigeons, into a stew- pan, pour a cupful of water over them, and add an onion, a bunch of parsley, a small sprig of thyme, a bay-leaf, a slice of fat bacon, half an ounce of butter rolled in flour, and a little pepper and salt. Simmer gently for half an hour, then remove the twine from the sweetbreads, strain and thicken the gravy if necessary, and fill the vol-au-vent with the fricassee. The sauce must be very thick, or it will soften the light pastry. Probable cost, 4s. Sufficient for five or six persons. Pigeons with Bice and Parmesan.