The Book of Household Management by Mrs. Beeton

one; rather more than 1 pint of good white stock, No. 107, 1 glass of sherry or Madeira, cayenne and salt to taste, about 12 mushroom-buttons (when obtainable), 6 hard-boiled eggs, 4 gherkins, 8 quenelles or forcemeat balls, No. 422 or 423, 12 crayfish, 12 croûtons. _Mode_.--Half a calf's head is sufficient to make a good entrée, and if there are any remains of a cold one left from the preceding day, it will answer very well for this dish. After boiling the head until tender, remove the bones, and cut the meat into neat pieces; put the stock into a stewpan, add the wine, and a seasoning of salt and cayenne; fry the mushrooms in butter for 2 or 3 minutes, and add these to the gravy. Boil this quickly until somewhat reduced; then put in the yolks of the hard-boiled eggs _whole_, the whites cut in small pieces, and the gherkins chopped. Have ready a few veal quenelles, made by recipe No. 422 or 423; add these, with the slices of head, to the other ingredients, and let the whole get thoroughly hot, _without boiling_. Arrange the pieces of head as high in the centre of the dish as possible; pour over them the ragout, and garnish with the crayfish and croûtons placed alternately. A little of the gravy should also be served in a tureen. _Time_.--About 1/2 hour to reduce the stock. _Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Average cost_, exclusive of the calf's head, 2s. 9d. _Seasonable_ from March to October. A FRENCHMAN'S OPINION OF VEAL.--A great authority in his native Paris tells us, that veal, as a meat, is but little nourishing, is relaxing, and sufficiently difficult of digestion. Lending itself, as it does, he says, in all the flowery imagery of the French tongue and manner, "to so many metamorphoses, it may be called, without exaggeration, the chameleon of the kitchen. Who has not eaten calf's head _au naturel_, simply boiled with the skin on, its flavour heightened by sauce just a little sharp? It is a dish as wholesome as it is agreeable, and one that the most inexperienced cook may serve with success. Calf's feet _à la poulette_, _au gratin_, fried, &c.; _les cervelles_, served in the same manner, and under the same names; sweetbreads _en fricandeau_, _piqués en fin_,--all these offer most satisfactory entrées, which the art of the cook, more or less, varies for the gratification of his glory and the well-being of our appetites. We have not spoken, in the above catalogue, either of the liver, or of the _fraise_, or of the ears, which also share the honour of appearing at our tables. Where is the man not acquainted with calf's liver _à la bourgeoise_, the most frequent and convenient dish at unpretentious tables? The _fraise_, cooked in water, and eaten with vinegar, is a wholesome and agreeable dish, and contains a mucilage well adapted for delicate persons. Calf's ears have, in common with the feet and _cervelles_, the advantage of being able to be eaten either fried or _à la poulette_; and besides, can be made into a _farce_, with the addition of peas, onions, cheese, &c. Neither is it confined to the calf's tongue, or even the eyes, that these shall dispute alone the glory of awakening the taste of man; thus, the _fressure_ (which, as is known, comprises the heart, the _mou_, and the _rate_), although not a very recherché dish, lends itself to all the caprices of an expert artist, and may, under various marvellous disguises, deceive, and please, and even awaken our appetite."--Verily, we might say, after this rhapsody of our neighbour, that his country's weal will not suffer in him as an able and eloquent exponent and admirer. VEAL CARVING. BREAST OF VEAL. [Illustration: BREAST OF VEAL.]