Sweetbreads

When a plump, healthy calf is slaughtered which has been fed on the milk of the mother cow, there are found in the lower throat and near the heart two small lumps of flesh, weighing perhaps half a pound, termed "sweetbreads." These, when properly Cooked, are about the most delectable and nutritious morsels known to mankind in the line of animal food. They are the pancreatic glands, and their function in the animal economy is to assimilate the oily portions of the food. In the milk calf, therefore, the sweetbread may be almost said to be composed of assimilated cream. In the older animal, or when the calf is turned out to grass, these glands either shrink away or become tough, so that they are no longer the same dainty article. Care must be taken in preparing.

Larded Sweetbreads

Blanch the sweetbreads in cold water, remove the veins and skin. Then put in cold water again with one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, and let them remain half an hour. Remove from the water, dry on a cloth, sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Lard them with very narrow strips of salt pork with a larding needle; or lay narrow strips of salt pork or bacon over the top. Bake fifteen minutes. Serve very hot with brown sauce.

Beefsteak And Sweetbreads

Prepare and cut sweetbreads in slices and broil and serve with broiled beefsteak.

Sweetbreads A La Marengo

Put sweetbreads into cold water, remove brains, then squeeze over them a little lemon juice. Put them in boiling water; cook twenty minutes. Take them out and throw them into cold water to harden. Cut in small pieces. Put into the double boiler one cup of cream, salt, pepper and grating of nutmeg. Have a few tomatoes cooking. Take one tablespoon of butter, melt as before directed. Add a tablespoon of flour, then a little cream, and strain some of the tomatoes into this mixture, so as to make a light pink. Add the sweetbreads. Ornament with shredded olives.

Brown Gravy And Sweetbreads

Prepare sweetbreads the same as for Sweetbreads a la Creme. If you have dark stock use that, but if not, prepare as follows: Two pounds of lean beef cut in small pieces and put into a crock in a slow oven, with a little salt and one tablespoon of cold water; cook one hour, take out, add one-half cup of boiling water, strain into double boiler. Roux: Take one tablespoon of butter in cold pan, let it get brown but not burnt, add two tablespoons of browned flour, a few drops of onion and lemon juice, a little tomato catsup and Worcestershire sauce; season. Pour some of the gravy over this, then put all into the gravy and cook five minutes. Serve hot, with toasted bread. Have the sweetbreads browned and add to the gravy. Add a half cup of sherry or brandy if liked.

Brains

Brains can be cooked by any recipe for sweetbreads. They require but ten minutes to boil.

Lobster A La Newburg

Divide one medium size lobster or craw-tish in half, remove the coral and creamy green fat and put one side. Cut the meat into small pieces, put into a saucepan four tablespoons of butter; when it creams add a half cup of Madeira or sherry, reduce to one-half. Put a cup of cream in a double boiler; when hot season with salt and cayenne pepper. Pour this gradually over the butter mixture and return to double boiler. Pound to a paste the coral and fat and stir into the sauce, add the yolks of three well-beaten eggs, add the lobster; heat through and serve.

Pigeon Or Quail Au Deliee

Take a quarter of a pound of bacon, cut up in small pieces; one-half pound of veal liver cut in small pieces. Fry the bacon, add the liver, add a clove of garlic, a chalot, a bay leaf, half a chopped carrot, some of turnip, salt and pepper; stew till cooked. Pound all together with a few mushrooms. Pass through a wire sieve. Stuff two birds with this forcemeat. Put pieces of butter or lard on the breast and bake from eight to ten minutes, basting often. Add a cup of stock to the baking pan; thicken; put in two tablespoons of currant jelly. Season and serve.

Aspee Of Fillets Of Chicken

Take a mold, set on ice and water, and fill to the depth of quarter of an inch with dissolved aspic jelly.

When this is set cut in fancy shapes with French cutters hard-boiled eggs, truffles, pickles and cooked beet. Arrange them in patterns and carefully put another layer of jelly. Arrange fillets of chicken that have been cooked and cut in nice shapes, neatly all round; pour over more jelly, then pour over a thick mayonnaise. Fill up the mould; put away in ice chest to harden.

Aspic Jelly

Reduce one quart of white or dark consomme to two-thirds of a quart. Pour some in a mould about one-quarter of an inch in depth; place on ice and water until it jellies; lay on some of the following cooked meats, free from bones (not allowing the pieces to touch the sides of the mould): chicken, game, tongue, or either of them. Cover with the remainder of consomme, so as to have the same thickness at the top as at the bottom. Place in a refrigerator until it jellies; then dip mold in warm water, turn on a dish. (Cold entree).