Banquets of the nations

Put a pint of water in a pot with two inches of vanilla and boil it till it is reduced to half. Now add one and a quarter ounces of gelatine previously softened in cold water. Stir till dissolved, then put through a hair sieve. Whip half a pint of double cream with one tablespoonful of castor sugar till it is quite stiff, then stir into it the gelatine mixture when it is cold but not stiffened, being careful to add it slowly and whip lightly all the time. When well mixed pour it into a jelly mould, and turn out in the usual manner when quite set. Serve with strawberry sauce poured over. Strawberry Sauce. Put a pint of water in a pan with a third of the quantity of sugar, and a tablespoonful of corn-flour melted in a spoonful of cold water. Stir till it boils, then let it get cold, and mix with it as much strawberry juice as will give it a full flavour. If colour not deep enough, add a few drops of carmine. It should be as thick as single cream. 145 k Ltjtjmu. (Stewed Plums.) Wash two pounds of good plums, put in a preserving pan with a little water, and boil till nearly tender. Then put in two pounds of sugar first boiled in a little water till it is a strong syrup ; when the whole has boiled for another ten minutes or so, pour into a dish till cold. Put some in a glass dish with very little syrup, and heap on top stiffly-whipped cream flavoured with a little vanilla and a dash of sugar. Yaatvnytta. (Curdled Milk.) Pour sweet milk into a glass dish about two inches deep and lay it by till quite sour and quite firm. Then sprinkle ground ginger and sugar on top, and serve with sponge biscuits. A tablespoonful of sour milk added to the sweet milk will hasten the souring process. XX.— FRANCE (North) Menu Pot-au-feu Bisque d'Ecrivisses (Clear Soup) (Crayfish Soup) Fillets de Soles a la Marguery (Fillets of Soles) Petites Timbales a la Montglas Boeuf a la Mode (Chicken Cream) (Braised Fillet of Beef) Sorbet aux Liqueurs (Iced Punch) Canard Sauvage a la Presse (Pressed Wild Duck) Petits Pois aux Creme (Green Peas with Cream) Souffle de Marrons (Chestnut Souffle) Truffles Glace (Truffle Ice Cream) Dessert (Fruit) Pot-au-feu. (Clear Soup.) If the soup is wanted for seven or eight persons, choose a rump of beef weighing about six pounds. Having washed it in cold water, bone and put it into an earthenstockpot, with giblets of poultry and a little knuckle of veal ; let these meats be steeped in seven or eight quarts of cold water, observing that the stockpot should be about full ; add a small handful of salt, and set this stockpot on a moderate fire, gradually bringing the liquid to ebullition. Skim the fat off the liquid as it rises to the surface, and at the first bubbling throw in a glassful of cold water ; then remove the pot back to the side of the stove fire, so as to give it heat on one side only, this being the only means of getting a clear broth. Let the ebullition be very moderate, and steadily continued for five hours at least ; the vessel must be only partially covered. Two hours after the liquid begins to boil, add to it the half of a blanched crisped colewort, a large onion — coloured in the oven, four new carrots, three leeks, a large turnip cut up, a celery root, and a parsnip.