with a little poëlé (No. 313) or with broth; when done enough, let them simmer a little in a bourguignotte sauce, and serve up hot with a garnish.

441. Capilotade of Plovers.

If you have any roasted plovers left, and are short of an entrée (first course dish), cut them in halves and pare them flay them, put them into a stewpan with two spoonsful of Italian sauce (No. 24), a glass of white wine, a little salt and pepper. Let them simmer for one hour, and dish them with fried slices of bread between. Skim the sauce, squeeze the juice of a lemon, and cover the members over with the sauce. This dish must be highly seasoned.

PIGEONS.

There are pigeons of various sorts; namely, tame pigeons, wild pigeons, and wood pigeons. The former are most in use, although wild pigeons are good either boiled or roasted; but if made into ragoûts or fricassées, their flesh is too black. Small pigeons à la gautier, or squabbs, are of great service for garnishing, but they make very indifferent first course dishes, as they are seldom well prepared by the poulterer in this country.

442. Compote of Pigeons-(Pigeons stewed brown.)

Take four or six pigeons, according to the size of your dish; after having picked them clean, cut off the sinew below the joint of the leg; empty them without taking out the liver, but feel with your finger if there is any grain left in the paunch. Truss the legs inwards, and make an incision in the back, that they may disgorge the blood. Then put them into a stewpan with some lukewarm water, to draw out the blood: next place them in layers of bacon, and stew them as you would do chickens. When done, drain them, and send up with a ragoût à la financière (financier's ragoût, No. 75.)

443. Compote of Pigeons à la Paysanne―(Stewed Pigeons, country way.)

Truss your pigeons as above, and wash them clean in warm water. Cut half a pound of breast of bacon into small slices of about an inch square, blanch them, and then put them into a stewpan with a small bit of butter; when they are a nice light brown, take them out, and put the pigeons in their place, and when they are become firm, take them out also. Throw a good spoonful of flour into the fat that is in the stewpan, and let it become a light-brown colour; then pour a little broth or warm water into it to dilute the flour; season with salt, pepper, spices, a bunch of parsley and green onions, a few mushrooms, and some small white onions. Then put the pigeons into this sauce, and let the whole stew gently. Skim off the grease and put the pigeons into another stewpan, with all the ingredients to garnish them nicely. Reduce the sauce, and strain it through a tammy over the pigeons; serve up hot: add to it a small bit of glaze to give more flavour to this dish.

444. Pigeons à la Crapaudine—(Broiled Pigeons.) Pick the pigeons, cut off the claws, truss them with the legs inwards, and then with your left hand press on the breast, and scollop one half of the flesh of the breast; turn it down on the table, flatten it well with your knife, dust it over with salt and pepper, break the yolks of two eggs into a plate, brush the pigeons all over with them, then dip them into crumbs of bread, next into melted. butter, then into crumbs of bread again, which level as smooth as possible. Broil the pigeons on a slow fire, that they may get thoroughly done without being burnt. Ascertain when they are done enough, by thrusting the point of a knife into the fleshy part of the leg, and if no blood issues they are done enough. Serve under them an Italian sauce (No. 24), or some rich gravy. This being a common dish, I shall explain a method of making a sauce piquante (keen sauce) in a moment.

Sauce piquante (keen Sauce). Chop a dozen of sha

lots, which put into a stewpan with two spoonsful of vinegar; boil till there is no vinegar left: then put in a little broth, or gravy of roast meat, with raspings of bread, salt, pepper, &c. Let this boil for a short time, pour it over the pigeons, and send up hot; if you put to it a small bit of glaze or portable soup, it will give it a good taste.

445. Pigeons au Soleil—(in sunshine.)

Truly these are not well named, for they shine but very little indeed. It is an entrée of desserte (dish made of yesterday's remnants). If you have any pigeons left, either roasted or otherwise, cut them in two and put them into a marinade (pickle or steeping)-(See No. 222, page 98). When they have simmered for half an hour in the marinade, let them cool, drain them, and put them into a paste for frying.-(See Pastes.) Fry them of a good colour, and serve up with fried parsley in the middle, if you like, or a poivrade (brown sharp sauce, No. 27), or a sauce piquante (see last No).

446. Cutlets of Pigeons à la d'Armagnac-(Armagnac Pigeon Cutlets.)

Take eight pigeons, as you may make one dish with the loins and legs, and another with the fillets. Take the flesh off the breasts, and make a force-meat of it, with the same quantity of calf's udder, or calf's suet ready boiled, but somewhat less of the panada.-(See Farces, No. 146.) Put the whole into a mortar, but observe that with the panada, plenty of herbs, shalots, parsley, mushrooms, &c. are required. When the farce (force-meat) has been well pounded, use a couple of eggs to give it more substance; then bake a little bit in a tartlet mould, in order to taste whether it is sufficiently seasoned. Spread the whole on a plafond well buttered and very even, about the thickness of a mutton chop; then let it cool. When cold, cut the minced meat either with a cutter or with your knife, into the shape of cutlets, without however detaching it from the plafond: this being

done, put the plafond over something hot, merely to melt the butter. Then take the bones out of the pinions, which scrape well, and stick them into the extremity of the mock cutlets; dip them into an omelet, and into crumbs of bread, and fry them; but do not let the dripping be too hot, that the cutlets may havè sufficient time to be done through without being burnt. Dish the cutlets miroton-way, with either fried parsley, or Italian sauce in the middle; send a brown Italian sauce (No. 24), separately in a boat.

447. Cutlets of Pigeons à la Maréchale (Broiled Pigeon Cutlets.)

Take the fillets of eight pigeons, flatten them with the back of your knife, scrape the bone of the pinion, and stick it into the point of the cutlet; dip the cutlets into melted butter; after having seasoned them with salt and pepper, dip them once only into crumbs of bread, but very even and smooth; broil them till they are a nice colour, and send them up with a rich gravy, or an Italian sauce (No. 24), or the maréchale sauce (No. 103.)

448. Pigeons à la Toulouse-(Toulouse Pigeons.)

Pick, empty, truss, and singe six young pigeons: put them in a stewpan trimmed with layers of bacon; moisten with a little poëlé (No. 313); let them stew for sixteen or twenty minutes. Then drain and dish them; cover them over with a ragoût à la Toulouse.-(No. 97.)

449. Pigeons à la Financière-(Pigeons Stewed.)

For this entrée you must procure young pigeons à la gautier or squabbs; singe them slightly. Melt about half a pound of butter, squeeze the juice of a lemon into the butter, and then let the pigeons be fried lightly over the fire twice or three times only. Then put the pigeons into a stewpan trimmed with layers of bacon; pour the melted butter and lemon-juice over them and then cover

them well: it is also requisite to pour in a spoonful of poele No. 313, to prevent their frying. Sweat them for a quarter of an hour over an equal fire, and drain them; dish them nicely, and cover them with a financière sauce (No. 75. Take care to have them well disgorged of all blood before you put them into the butter.

450. Pigeons à l'Aspic clair-(Pigeons with Aspic Sauce.)

Take six pigeons à la gautier, which cook as those above (No. 449). When done, dish them with large craw-fish between each pigeon, and use the aspic for sauce (No. 8).

451. Pigeons cooked in all manner of ways.

To avoid introducing a multiplicity of names and of entrées which are no longer in fashion, it is only necessary to observe that pigeons in general are rather used for garnitures than for entrées. In the first case, they are prepared as directed in No. 449. They may be dressed with peas, white or brown, marinade, or love-apple sauce, &c. &c. The only science consists in preserving their white colour. The shape is always the same; and with respect to the sauce, every one has his choice and taste.

For the godard and the chambord ragoûts (Nos, 76 and 77), as also for the generality of great garnitures, pigeons à la gautier are requisite.

452. Pigeon Pie.

A pigeon pie is a very plain dish, which is left to the management of common female cooks. To make a pigeon pie, put a few thin slices of beef in a dish, and the pigeons over them, well seasoned with salt, pepper, and spices, the yolks of a few eggs within the intervals, and a spoonful of broth: cover the whole with plain paste, or with puff-paste, &c. &c.