Practical household cookery

sauce over the birds to warm without boiling. Meanwhile chop the trail, <^c., and fry them with a little butter in a small stewpan, seasoned with a little blanched and chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. When the salmi is properly warmed, dish up the pieces, pour the sauce over them ; lay the trail mixture on eight croutons of bread, and with these garnish round and serve. 676. ROAST WOODCOCK. These are prepared, trussed, and roasted in the same manner, as snipe. They are also very often roasted without being drawn at all, but should be given two minutes longer to cook, and then served with seasoned watercress and toast. 677. ROAST PLOVER. Pick, draw, singe, and truss plover for roasting in the same manner as pigeons (see No. 656), and serve them in the same style. Note, — Various kinds of big-winged game are sometimes served surrounded with small birds, such as roast pheasants, garnished with larks, quail, &c. ; in that case the phea-sants are put in the centre of the dish on pieces of toast. 678. ROAST QUAIL. Pick, draw, and truss the birds required as directed for pheasants; lay on each a thin slice of fat bacon, large enough to cover it, fold a vine-leaf over each of these and tie them round the breast with twine; fasten them to a spit, and set them to roast before a clear fire for ten or twelve minutes; then remove the string, but leave the bacon ; dish them on croutons fried in butter, garnish with seasoned watercress, and serve with gravy apai t. Y 679. QUAIL A LA JARDINIÉRE. Truss six quail as for braizing, put them in a Stewpan, cover them with thin slices of fat bacon, moisten with a gill of Madeira and half a pint of good broth ; add a shred carrot, onion, and a " bouquet garni." Boil them ; cover the pan and simmer for eighteen or twenty minutes ; and meanwhile prepare a jardiniere as for fillet of beef jardiniere (No. 950). When the quail are ready, pour the sauce on to a dish, garnish the centre with the birds, pour a few spoonfuls of half-glaze over the birds and jardiniere, and serve with a sauce-boat of half -glaze apart. 680. ROAST LARKS. Cut as many thin pieces of toasted bread, two inches long by one inch and a half wide, as there are larks ; cut also in a similar manner twice as many thin slices of fat bacon, and lay these on each side of the toast. Take the larks, cut off the heads and legs, and draw out the gizzards witli the point of a small knife. Then run the larks, side by side on a thin skewer, putting a piece of toast with the slices of bacon between each bird ; tie both ends of the skewer to the spit) and set them to roast before a clear fire for eight minutes, taking care to baste them. When done, dish them up alternately with the toast and bacon, and serve with some good gravy in a sauce-boat apart. 68L LARKS, HOUSEWIFE STYLE. Cut off the necks, legs, and pick out the gizzards of twelve larks, place them in a sauté-pan previously spread with butter, season with salt and pepper, and fry them to a nice brown colour over a brisk fire. Then add half a pint of good gravy or broth, half a pound of nicely cut fresh mushrooms, set to simmer for five minutes, add the juice of a lemon and a little finely chopped parsley, toss up the contents, dish up the larks with some fried crodtons, pour the mushrooms and sauce over, and serve. 682. ROAST WHEATEARS. These small birds are generally plentiful along the south coasts of England, and are in season in August and September, when their condition is such as to resemble small lumps of butter. They are highly esteemed and considered a great delicacy by epicures, and should be prepared and roasted in the same manner as larks, but I strongly recommend to be served with them polenta k la Napolitaine. 688. ROAST WILD-DUCK, WIDGEON, TEAL, AND WATER-HEN.