Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

Roll some brioche paste about one-eighth of an inch thick. Cut it into rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. Put a teaspoonful of peach marmalade in the centre of half the rounds. Wet the edges with the white of an egg, beaten slightly. Put another round on top of this, and press the edges together. When all are done, cover them with a towel, and let them stand for ten or fifteen minutes ; then place them in a fry ing-basket, being careful not to crowd them, and fry in fat for four minutes. Drain them, and serve hot with a syrup flavored with fruit, wine, or spice. Any kind of marmalade may be used, the fritters taking the name of the fruit used. Portuguese Fritters. The materials needed are : half a cupful of rice, two cupfuls of milk, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, one stick of cinnamon, one tablespoonful of butter, six table-spoonfuls of orange marmalade, three eggs, and the batter for fruit fritters described in the chapter on " Entrees." Wash the rice, and then soak it in cold water for an hour. Pour off the water, and put the rice, cinnamon, and milk in the double-boiler. Place on the fire, and cook for an hour and a half. At the end of that time take out the cinnamon, and add the salt, butter, and marmalade. Beat the eggs till light, and stir them into the dish. Butter a shallow cake-pan, and spread the mixture in it, having it about half an inch thick. Put in a cold place for an hour or more. Make the fritter batter. Cut the rice mixture into three-and-a-half-inch squares, and cut each square into two triangles. Dip these in the batter, and fry for three minutes in boiling fat. Drain on brown paper, and arrange on a warm dish. Sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar, — six table -spoonfuls of sugar and one of ground cinnamon. Hold a hot salamander over them to dissolve the sugar, and serve at once. SOUFFLES. Great accuracy and care are required in preparing souffles. The materials to combine are so few and the work so simple that the inexperienced wonder that souffles are not made more frequently, and that there ever should be a failure. The truth is, the margin upon which success or failure rests is so slight that it takes the most careful use of materials and the most exact time for cooking to bring about the desired result. If the souffle cooks one minute too long, or is not served imme- diately after it is taken from the oven, it will be ruined. An omelet souffle is more sensitive to over-cooking and delay in serving than a souffle made with a foundation. It will rise to two or three times its original size ; and if, when it is done, it be taken instantly from the oven and served at once, it will be found of the most delicate texture and flavor. But let it cook too long, or stand for a few moments after coming from the oven, and its whole condition will change. A souffle which was five or six inches high will in this case shrink to less than an inch ; will be of a grayish color, heavy and tough, and of a disappointing flavor. It seems wonderful that a thing of such lightness and beauty should be transformed so quickly. A souffle made with a foundation will shrink about one-third, but will not be so unpalatable as an omelet souffle.