Handbook of practical cookery

Take them then from the fire, and throw them into a basin of cold water to whiten; after which draw off the outer casing, and cut them into thin slices. Melt in a sauce-pan the butter, stir into it the flour, and add the stock ; when all must be stirred until it boils. Put into this the sliced sweet-breads, season all with the pepper and salt, adding the nutmeg; and covering the sauce-pan, let the whole simmer slowly for three quarters of an hour. Just before the sweet-breads are ready for serving, beat up the egg until very light, mix well with it the cream and chopped parsley, and moving the sauce-pan off the fire, stir this mixture in with the sweet -breads, and stir all together for two minutes, taking care that it does not boil. This should be served immediately, and very hot, that the eggs may not get heavy. Larded Sweet-Breads. — One pair of sweet-breads, two ounces of fat bacon, one half pint of stock, one half teaspoonful of salt, one half tea-spoonful of pepper, one lemon, four drops of caramel, one half ounce of flour. The sweet-breads must be first thrown into boiling water, boiled for five minutes, and then put into iced water for half an hour. Cut the bacon into thin strips two inches long and onethird of an inch in thickness, and when the sweet-breads have been taken from the water and di-ied thoroughly in a towel, thread the strips of bacon into a lard ing-needle, and lard the sweet-breads thickly, making a deep long stitch, as the flesh of the sweet-bread is so apt to break. When larded, place the sweet-bread into a stewing-pan, and pour over it the stock boiling-hot. Cook them slowly for half an hour, when they must be put into a slightly-greased baking-tin, set into a hot oven, and baked for fifteen minutes. While the sweet-breads are cooking, stir into the stock in the sauce-pan half an ounce of the flour ; add to it the caramel, and let all cook for two minutes, when it should be seasoned with the pepper and salt. When the sweet-breads have baked the fifteen minutes, take them from the oven, and putting them upon a small hot platter, pour around them the sauce from the pan, and garnish with the lemon, sliced. Vol-au-Vent of Sweet-Breads. — Six ounces of flour, six ounces of butter, yolk of one egg, one tea-spoonful of lemonjuice, one half gill of cold water, one gill of milk, one half tea-spoonful of salt, one half salt-spoonful of pepper, one grain of cayenne, one pair of sweet-breads. First put the flour upon a mixing-board, make a little well in the centre thereof, and drop into it the egg and half of the lemon-juice, adding by degrees the cold water, kneading all meantime firmly together, and when kneaded, roll out thinly. Into the centre of the rolled paste put five ounces of the VOL-AU-VENT OP SWEET-BREADS. 93 butter, fold the edges together until the butter is covered, and, flouring a rolling-pin, roll out as thinly as possible. Fold the crust now into three layers, and roll out again ; and repeat this process of folding and rolling seven times, when it should be put into the ice-box, and left long enough to become chilled through and firm.