FRITTERS,

532. Although a species of pancakes, are yet not so wholly composed of eggs, and may be made of almost any substance fried in butter. Make them of any of the batters directed for pancakes, by dropping a small quantity into the pan; or beat 6 eggs very lightly and quickly in a quart of milk, adding gradually lb. of potato-flour. Have ready a large quantity of lard, and when boiling hot put in the batter, allowing for each frittera large teacupful. They do not require turning, and will be done in a few minutes, but must be sent to table immediately, or they will become heavy: 1 lb. of lard will be required for the above quantity of fritters; they may be eaten plainly powdered with loaf sugar or sugar and cinnamon, and should be served on a folded napkin in the dish. Any sort of sweetmeat or ripe fruit may be made into fritters.

For plain Fritters.-Grate the crumb of a penny loaf, put it into a pint of milk over the fire, and beat it very smooth; when cold, add the yolks of 5 eggs, 3 oz. of sifted sugar, and a nutmeg. Fry them in hog's lard, and serve pudding-sauce in a boat.

Apple Fritters. Take the yolks of 6 eggs, and the whites of 3; beat them well, and strain them; then add a pint of milk, a little salt, a nutmeg grated, and a glass of brandy. Make it into thick batter with fine flour; slice the apples in rounds, cut out the core, dust them with fine sugar, and let them so remain for 2 hours; then dip each slice in batter, and fry them in plenty of boiling lard over a quick fire. They require lard sufficient to swim in. Glaze with sugar.

Or :-Make a batter as thick as paste, of 1 tablespoonful of olive-oil, a little salt, the yolks of 4 eggs, a spoonful of orange-flower water, with as much flour as will thicken it; beat the whites of 2 eggs to snow, and slice it lightly in. This batter ought to be made an hour or two before it is used, that it may become lighter by fermentation. Put the fruit, well covered with this batter, into hot lard or butter, and fry. If the fritters are required to be unusually good, let the fruit marinate in brandy and sugar some hours before frying. Take the fritters out when of a fine light yellow, let them drain on a coarse cloth, sprinkle them with sugar, and serve quite hot.

Crême Frite aux Amandes.-Boil 1 pint of milk with 2 bay-leaves, a little green lemon-peel, and a small piece of cin

namon.

When the flavour is extracted, strain it; add 2 tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, and sugar to palate; stir it well over the fire, and add the yolks of 4 eggs, 2 oz. of chopped almonds, and a wineglass of cream. Cook the whole over the fire for about 4 minutes, stirring it all the time; then pour it on a tin which has been well buttered, spread it about inch thick, put it into the oven for 10 minutes, let it get thoroughly cool, cut out with a round cutter, dip into fine bread-crumbs, then into egg beat up very thin, and again into crumbs; fry in hot lard; dust over with sugar, and send to table.

Spanish Fritters.-Cut the crumb of a French roll into lengths, as thick as your finger, in what shape you will. Soak in some cream, nutmeg, sugar, pounded cinnamon, and an egg. When well soaked, fry of a nice brown, and serve with butter, wine, and sugar-sauce.

French Fritters.-Mix 2 eggs, well beaten and strained, with as much new milk and flour as shall make 1 thick pancake, which fry as pale as you can. Pound it in a mortar quite smooth, and add the yolks of 4 and whites of 2 eggs, 1 large spoonful of orange-flower water or cinnamon-water, 1 oz. of blanched almonds beaten to a paste, 2 oz. of white sugar, and of a small nutmeg. Pound it all till it become smooth batter. Have ready a large stewpan half full of fine lard quite hot, and drop the batter into it, the size of large nuts, until the surface be filled: as they brown, turn them: they will be very large: when done, remove them on clean paper, in a dish before the fire, and do the remainder. Serve as quickly as possibly. They are excellent.

Italian Fritters.-Throughout Italy fritters are almost daily served at all good tables, and made of livers of fowls, sweetbread, brains, and various articles, there called "frutti di mare," collected on the sea-shores from the tribes of small fish, muscles, crabs, and shell-fish, which there abound, and mixed together in different ways, fish, fowl, and fruit, all fried in oil or batter.

Potato Fritters.-Boil 2 large potatoes, scrape them fine; beat 4 yolks and 3 whites of eggs, and add 1 large spoonful of cream, another of sweet wine, a squeeze of lemon, and a little nutmeg. Beat this batter an hour at least. It will be extremely light. Put a good quantity of fine lard in a stewpan, and drop a spoonful of the batter at a time into it. Fry them,

and serve, as a sauce, a glass of white wine, the juice of a lemon, 1 desertspoonful of peach-leaf or almond water, and some white sugar, warmed together. Not to be served in the dish.

Or:-Slice potatoes thin, dip them in a fine batter, and fry. Serve with white sugar sifted over them. Lemon-peel and a spoonful of orange-flower water should be added to the batter.

Or:-Boil 1 lb. of floury potatoes, bruise them in a mortar, and add to them 2 oz. of butter, with the yolks of a couple of eggs seasoned with a little pepper and salt. Mix all well together; roll it into balls the size of an egg, and fry them brown. Some persons like the addition of a finely minced shalot.

Buckwheat Fritters, or 66 Bockings."."-Mix 3 oz. of buckwheat flour with a teacupful of warm milk and a spoonful of yeast; let it rise before the fire about an hour; then mix 4 eggs, well beaten, and as much milk as will make the batter the usual thickness for pancakes, and fry them in the same way.

Curd Fritters.-Rub down in a mortar a quart of dried curd, with the yolks of 8 and whites of 4 well-beaten eggs, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, a nutmeg, and a spoonful of flour. Drop the batter into a frying-pan, with a little butter or fine lard.

Orange and Sweetmeat Fritters.-Take off the rind of 2 oranges, removing all the white skin; then cut the oranges in slices across, and take out all the pips; dip the slices of orange in batter, as for apple fritters, and fry them. Serve with powdered sugar upon each fritter.

Coloured Fritters.—Boil a large beet-root until it is tender; beat it fine in a marble mortar. Add the yolks of 4 eggs, 2 spoonfuls of flour and 3 of cream, the juice and peel of ✈ a lemon, a nutmeg, and a glass of brandy. Mix all well together, and fry the fritters in butter. Garnish them with green sweetmeats, preserved apricots, or sprigs of myrtle.

FISH AND MEAT FRITTERS.-E. R.

533.-Kidney Fritters.—Beat 4 eggs well; add a teacupful of cream, some pepper and salt, with a little pounded mace, parsley, and chives, shred fine, and chopped mushroom. To this batter add also some of the kidney with the fat of a loin of veal minced; mix all thoroughly together; rub the pan well with butter, and pour in the ingredients. Keep stirring

it while it is on the fire or stove, so as to keep it from spreading out too thin. When sufficiently done, make it of a light brown by means of a salamander, or by holding it for a minute or two before the fire.

Oyster Fritters.-Beard the oysters, dip them into a thick batter, made rich with egg, or, what is better, into an omelette, and then in crumbs of bread; fry them: they are an excellent garnish for fried fish.

BEIGNET.

534.-Mix and work well together lb. of flour and 2 oz. of butter, or 3 tablespoonfuls of sweet oil, and make it into a batter with some warm water; then mix into the batter a couple of raw eggs, keeping the yolk of 1 for browning. The materials may thus be made of any degree of consistence, so as to act as thick batter, or as thin paste by the addition of a little flour; and being made into small balls, are spread with the remaining yolk of egg, powdered usually with sugar, and fried in hot lard; and, when ready to be served, put them for a moment on a hair sieve, to drain off the fat.

If made solely with paste, without mince of any kind, they should have another egg, and the batter be more continually beaten, so as to render the beignets light; then, when prepared for dressing, take a spoonful of the batter formed into a ball, and drop it into the boiling lard. A large dishful will be fried in 6 or 7 minutes.

CHAPTER XXII.

PASTE-MEAT PIES

FISH PIES.

VARIOUS SORTS OF PASTE.

535.—IN making paste for pies great care should be taken that the flour be well dried; for the finer kinds of paste it ought also to be sifted. The very best salt butter is perhaps the best material for making paste. Some persons employ lard, or equal parts of lard and butter; and clarified dripping is an excellent substitute.

An adept in pastry never leaves any part of it adhering to the board or dish used in making. The best thing to make it upon is a slab of marble or slate; which substances cause less waste, being cold and smooth. The coolest part of the house, and of the day, should be chosen for the process; the hands should be previously washed in very hot water, and the less they touch the paste the better and lighter it will prove; nor should it be rolled much.

In whatever way paste be made, wetting it much will render it tough.

Salt butter of the best quality makes a fine flaky crust; for sweet things, wash it. In making pie-crust lard is, however, better than butter; and in making the paste it is sometimes mixed with the flour in a dry state.

Heating the oven properly is a very essential point in baking the various sorts of paste to be here enumerated.

Raised pies must be put into a quick oven, or the crust will fall. The cook should accurately know the proper heat for each article, as opening the door to observe their progress lets in the air, and often spoils them. They require from to a full hour more than when baked in a dish.