Cassell's dictionary of cookery

large, or six or eight small vol-au-vents ; take oft' the covers, scoop out the insides, dry the cases, and let them become quite cold. Fill them with rich jam, or with fresh fruit stewed in a thick syrup, and place upon the top some nicely-flavoured whipped cream. Garnish the edges of the vol-au-vents with dots of bright-coloured fruit jeUy. VOL ( 1097 ) WAP Vol-au-vents. — Recipes for the following vol-au-vents -will bo found under their respective headings:—- Croquettes Oysteii Egg Plum Fruit Sweetbread Lobster Veal. Vol-au-vents, Green Gooseberry.— Prepare some small vol-au-vents in the usual way, and bake them. Take off the covers, scoop out the inside, and let them get cold. When wanted, fill them with a compote of green gooseberries. Place the covers upon them, or, if preferred, put a little whipped cream, or Devonshire cream, in their places ; serve on a neatly-folded napkin. The gooseberries may be prepared as follows : — Top and tail a pint of green gooseberries, and put them into boiling water for two minutes, then throw them into cold water which has been mixed with a tablespoonful of vinegar (this is to restore their colour). Boil six ounces of refined sugar in half a pint of water for ten minutes, put in the gooseberries, and let them simmer gently tiU tender but unbroken. Strain them, and if necessary put the syrup back again, and let it boil a few minutes till it is very thick, then pour it over the fruit. When cold it will be ready for the vol-au-vents. Time, ten to fifteen minutes to simmer the gooseberries. Vol-au-vents, Orange.— Prepare the vol-au-vents, and bake them in the usual way. Let them get cold. Pare the rind very thinly from three or four large oranges, put it into a saucepan with four ounces of loaf sugar and half a pint of water, and boil to a clear syrup. Strip the white skin from the oranges, remove the pips, and divide them into quarters. Thicken the syrup by pouring it when boiling upon a dessert-spoonful of arrowroot which has been mixed smoothly with a little cold water, and stirring it well. Add a little brandy and two or three di-ops of cochineal, and pour the syrup upon the fruit. When cold it will be ready for the vol-au-vents. Vol-au-vents, Sweet (a la Parisienne). — Make some small vol-au-vents, and have some good jam or stewed fruit ready to fill them. As soon as they are taken from the oven, sprinkle finely-powdered white sugar thickly on the edges, and hold a rod-hot shovel over them till the sugar melts. Fill them with the fruit, pile whipped cream on the top, and serve. Time, ten or twelve minutes to bake the vol-au-vents. Vol-au-vents, To Fill. — A vol-au-vent is simply a case in which are served delicate and savoury ragouts of dressed meat, fish, &c. When preparing these, it is very important that the cook should make the sauces in which the meat is heated very thick. Unless this is done, the liquor will be in danger of oozing through the crust, and this will entirely spoil the appearance of the vol-au-vent. Also the meat should be simply heated in the sauce ; if it is allowed to boil, it will in all probability be hard and unpalatable. w