Part 44

_Ingredients._—Pigeons, 3 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. _Mode._—Take care that the pigeons are quite fresh, and carefully pluck, draw, and wash them; split the backs, rub the birds over with butter, season them with pepper and salt, and broil them over a moderate fire for ¼ hour or 20 minutes. Serve very hot, with either mushroom-sauce or a good gravy. Pigeons may also be plainly boiled, and served with parsley and butter; they should be trussed like boiled fowls, and take from ¼ hour to 20 minutes to boil. _Time._—To broil a pigeon, from ¼ hour to 20 minutes; to boil one, the same time. _Average cost_, from 6_d._ to 9_d._ each. _Seasonable_ from April to September, but in the greatest perfection from Midsummer to Michaelmas.

PIGEONS, Roast.

_Ingredients._—Pigeons, 3 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste. _Trussing._—Pigeons, to be good, should be eaten fresh (if kept a little, the flavour goes off), and they should be drawn as soon as killed. Cut off the heads and necks, truss the wings over the backs, and cut off the toes at the first joint: previous to trussing, they should be carefully cleaned, as no bird requires so much washing. _Mode._—Wipe the birds very dry, season them inside with pepper and salt, and put about ¾ oz. of butter into the body of each: this makes them moist. Place them at a bright fire, and baste them well the whole of the time they are cooking (they will be done enough in from 20 to 30 minutes); garnish with fried parsley, and serve with a tureen of parsley and butter. Bread sauce and gravy, the same as for roast fowl, are exceedingly nice accompaniments to roast pigeons, as also egg-sauce. _Time._—From 20 minutes to ½ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ to 9_d._ each. _Seasonable_ from April to September; but in the greatest perfection from Midsummer to Michaelmas.

PIGEONS, Stewed.

_Ingredients._—6 pigeons, a few slices of bacon, 3 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of minced parsley, sufficient stock to cover the pigeons, thickening of butter and flour, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of port wine. _Mode._—Empty and clean the pigeons thoroughly, mince the livers, add to these the parsley and butter, and put it into the insides of the birds. Truss them with the legs inward, and put them into a stewpan, with a few slices of bacon placed under and over them; add the stock, and stew gently for rather more than ½ hour. Dish the pigeons, strain the gravy, thicken it with butter and flour, add the ketchup and port wine, give one boil, pour over the pigeons, and serve. _Time._—Rather more than ½ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ to 9_d._ each. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ from April to September.

PIKE, Baked.

_Ingredients._—1 or 2 pike, a nice delicate stuffing (_see_ Forcemeats), 1 egg, bread-crumbs, ¼ lb. butter. _Mode._—Scale the fish, take out the gills, wash, and wipe it thoroughly dry; stuff it with forcemeat, sew it up, and fasten the tail in the mouth by means of a skewer; brush it over with egg, sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and baste with butter, before putting it in the oven, which must be well heated. When the pike is of a nice brown colour, cover it with buttered paper, as the outside would become too dry. If 2 are dressed, a little variety may be made by making one of them green with a little chopped parsley mixed with the bread-crumbs. Serve anchovy or Dutch sauce, and plain melted butter with it. _Time._—According to size, 1 hour, more or less. _Average cost._—Seldom bought. _Seasonable_ from September to March.

_Note._—Pike _à la genévése_ may be stewed in the same manner as salmon _à la genévése_.

PIKE, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water; a little vinegar. _Mode._—Scale and clean the pike, and fasten the tail in its mouth by means of a skewer. Lay it in cold water, and when it boils, throw in the salt and vinegar. The time for boiling depends, of course, on the size of the fish; but a middling-sized pike will take about ½ an hour. Serve with Dutch or anchovy sauce, and plain melted butter. _Time._—According to size, ½ to 1 hour. _Average cost._—Seldom bought. _Seasonable_ from September to March.

PILLAU FOWL, based on M. Soyer’s Recipe (an Indian Dish).

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of rice, 2 oz. of butter, a fowl, 2 quarts of stock or good broth, 40 cardamum-seeds, ½ oz. of coriander-seed, ¼ oz. of cloves, ¼ oz. of allspice, ¼ oz. of mace, ¼ oz. of cinnamon, ½ oz. of peppercorns, 4 onions, 6 thin slices of bacon, 2 hard-boiled eggs. _Mode._—Well wash 1 lb. of the best Patna rice, put it into a frying-pan with the butter, which keep moving over a slow fire until the rice is lightly browned. Truss the fowl as for boiling, put it into a stewpan with the stock or broth; pound the spices and seeds thoroughly in a mortar, tie them in a piece of muslin, and put them in with the fowl. Let it boil slowly until it is nearly done; then add the rice, which should stew until quite tender and almost dry; cut the onions into slices, sprinkle them with flour, and fry, without breaking them, of a nice brown colour. Have ready the slices of bacon curled and grilled, and the eggs boiled hard. Lay the fowl in the form of a pyramid upon a dish, smother with the rice, garnish with the bacon, fried onions, and the hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters, and serve very hot. Before taking the rice out, remove the spices. _Time._—½ hour to stew the fowl without the rice; ½ hour with it. _Average cost_, 4_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

PINEAPPLE CHIPS.

_Ingredients._—Pineapples; sugar to taste. _Mode._—Pare and slice the fruit thinly, put it on dishes, and strew over it plenty of pounded sugar. Keep it in a hot closet, or very slow oven, 8 or 10 days, and turn the fruit every day until dry; then put the pieces of pine on tins, and place them in a quick oven for 10 minutes. Let them cool, and store them away in dry boxes, with paper between each layer. _Time._—8 to 10 days. _Seasonable._—Foreign pines, in July and August.

PINEAPPLE FRITTERS (an elegant dish).

_Ingredients._—A small pineapple, a small wineglassful of brandy or liqueur, 2 oz. of sifted sugar; batter as for apple fritters, which see. _Mode._—This elegant dish, although it may appear extravagant, is really not so if made when pineapples are plentiful. We receive them now in such large quantities from the West Indies, that at times they may be purchased at an exceedingly low rate; it would not, of course, be economical to use the pines which are grown in our English pineries for the purposes of fritters. Pare the pine with as little waste as possible, cut it into rather thin slices, and soak these slices in the above proportion of brandy or liqueur and pounded sugar for 4 hours; then make a batter the same as for apple fritters, substituting cream for the milk, and using a smaller quantity of flour; when this is ready, dip in the pieces of pine, and fry them in boiling lard from 5 to 8 minutes; turn them when sufficiently brown on one side, and, when done, drain them from the lard before the fire, dish them on a white d’oyley, strew over them sifted sugar, and serve quickly. _Time._—5 to 8 minutes. _Average cost_, when cheap and plentiful, 1_s._ 6_d._ for the pine. _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ in July and August.

PINEAPPLE, Preserved.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of fruit, weighed after being pared, allow 1 lb. of loaf sugar; ¼ pint of water. _Mode._—The pines for making this preserve should be perfectly sound but ripe. Cut them into rather thick slices, as the fruit shrinks very much in the boiling. Pare off the rind carefully, that none of the pine be wasted; and, in doing so, notch it in and out, as the edge cannot be smoothly cut without great waste. Dissolve a portion of the sugar in a preserving-pan with ¼ pint of water; when this is melted, gradually add the remainder of the sugar, and boil it until it forms a clear syrup, skimming well. As soon as this is the case, put in the pieces of pine, and boil well for at least ½ hour, or until it looks nearly transparent. Put it into pots, cover down when cold, and store away in a dry place. _Time._—½ hour to boil the fruit. _Average cost_, 10_d._ to 1_s._ per lb. pot. _Seasonable._—Foreign pines, in July and August.

PINEAPPLE, Preserved, for present use.

_Ingredients._—Pineapple, sugar, water. _Mode._—Cut the pine into slices ¼ inch in thickness; peel them, and remove the hard part from the middle. Put the parings and hard pieces into a stewpan, with sufficient water to cover them, and boil for 1 hour. Strain the liquor, and put in the slices of pine. Stew them for 10 minutes, add sufficient sugar to sweeten the whole nicely, and boil again for another ¼ hour; skim well, and the preserve will be ready for use. It must be eaten soon, as it will keep but a very short time. _Time._—¼ hour to boil the parings in water; 10 minutes to boil the pine without sugar, ¼ hour with sugar. _Average cost._—Foreign pines, 1_s._ to 3_s._ each; English, from 2_s._ to 12_s._ per lb. _Seasonable._—Foreign, in July and August; English, all the year.

PIPPINS, Normandy, Stewed.

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of Normandy pippins, 1 quart of water, ½ teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, ½ teaspoonful of ground ginger, 1 lb. of moist sugar, 1 lemon. _Mode._—Well wash the pippins, and put them into 1 quart of water with the above proportion of cinnamon and ginger, and let them stand 12 hours; then put these all together into a stewpan, with the lemon sliced thinly, and half the moist sugar. Let them boil slowly until the pippins are half done; then add the remainder of the sugar, and simmer until they are quite tender. Serve on glass dishes for dessert. _Time._—2 to 3 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable._—Suitable for a winter dish.

PLAICE, Fried.

_Ingredients._—Hot lard, or clarified dripping; egg and bread-crumbs. _Mode._—This fish is fried in the same manner as soles. Wash and wipe them thoroughly dry, and let them remain in a cloth until it is time to dress them. Brush them over with egg, and cover with bread-crumbs mixed with a little flour. Fry of a nice brown in hot dripping or lard, and garnish with fried parsley and cut lemon. Send them to table with shrimp-sauce and plain melted butter. _Time._—About 5 minutes. _Average cost_, 3_d._ each. _Seasonable_ from May to November. _Sufficient_, 4 plaice for 4 persons.

_Note._—Plaice may be boiled plain, and served with melted butter. Garnish with parsley and cut lemon.

PLAICE, Stewed.

_Ingredients._—4 or 5 plaice, 2 onions, ½ oz. ground ginger, 1 pint of lemon-juice, ¼ pint water, 6 eggs; cayenne to taste. _Mode._—Cut the fish into pieces about 2 inches wide, salt them, and let them remain ¼ hour. Slice and fry the onions a light brown; put them in a stewpan, on the top of which put the fish without washing, and add the ginger, lemon-juice, and water. Cook slowly for ½ hour, and do not let the fish boil, or it will break. Take it out, and when the liquor is cool, add 6 well-beaten eggs; simmer till it thickens, when pour over the fish, and serve. _Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 1_s._ 9_d._ _Seasonable_ from May to November. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons; according to the size of the fish.

PLOVERS, to Carve.

Plovers may be carved like quails or woodcock, being trussed and served in the same way as those birds.

PLOVERS, to Dress.

_Ingredients._—3 plovers, butter, flour, toasted bread. _Choosing and Trussing._—Choose those that feel hard at the vent, as that shows their fatness. There are three sorts,—the grey, green, and bastard plover, or lapwing. They will keep good for some time, but if very stale, the feet will be very dry. Plovers are scarcely fit for anything but roasting; they are, however, sometimes stewed, or made into a ragoût, but this mode of cooking is not to be recommended. _Mode._—Pluck off the feathers, wipe the outside of the birds with a damp cloth, and do not draw them; truss with the head under the wing, put them down to a clear fire, and lay slices of moistened toast in the dripping-pan, to catch the trail. Keep them _well basted_, dredge them lightly with flour a few minutes before they are done, and let them be nicely frothed. Dish them on the toasts, over which the _traill_ should be equally spread. Pour round the toast a little good gravy, and send some to table in a tureen. _Time._—10 minutes to ¼ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ the brace, if plentiful. _Sufficient_ for 2 persons. _Seasonable._—In perfection from the beginning of September to the end of January.

PLUM CAKE, Common.

_Ingredients._—3 lbs. of flour, 6 oz. of butter or good dripping, 6 oz. of moist sugar, 6 oz. of currants, ½ oz. of pounded allspice, 2 tablespoonfuls of fresh yeast, 1 pint of new milk. _Mode._—Rub the butter into the flour; add the sugar, currants, and allspice; warm the milk, stir to it the yeast, and mix the whole into a dough; knead it well, and put it into 6 buttered tins; place them near the fire for nearly an hour for the dough to rise, then bake the cakes in a good oven from 1 to 1¼ hour. To ascertain when they are done, plunge a clean knife into the middle, and if on withdrawal it comes out clean, the cakes are done. _Time._—1 to 1¼ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 8_d._ _Sufficient_ to make 6 small cakes.

PLUM CAKE, a Nice.

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of flour, ¼ lb. of butter, ½ lb. of sugar, ½ lb. of currants, 2 oz. of candied lemon-peel, ½ pint of milk, 1 teaspoonful of ammonia or carbonate of soda. _Mode._—Put the flour into a basin with the sugar, currants, and sliced candied peel; beat the butter to a cream, and mix all these ingredients together with the milk. Stir the ammonia into 2 tablespoonfuls of milk; add it to the dough, and beat the whole well, until everything is thoroughly mixed. Put the dough into a buttered tin, and bake the cake from 1½ to 2 hours. _Time._—1½ to 2 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 3_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.

PLUM JAM.

_Ingredients._—To every lb. of plums, weighed before being stoned, allow ¾ lb. of loaf sugar. _Mode._—In making plum jam, the quantity of sugar for each lb. of fruit must be regulated by the quality and size of the fruit, some plums requiring much more sugar than others. Divide the plums, take out the stones, and put them on to large dishes, with roughly-pounded sugar sprinkled over them in the above proportion, and let them remain for one day; then put them into a preserving-pan, stand them by the side of the fire to simmer gently for about ½ hour, and then boil them rapidly for another 15 minutes. The scum must be carefully removed as it rises, and the jam must be well stirred all the time, or it will burn at the bottom of the pan, and so spoil the colour and flavour of the preserve. Some of the stones may be cracked, and a few kernels added to the jam just before it is done: these impart a very delicious flavour to the plums. The above proportion of sugar would answer for Orleans plums; the Impératrice, Magnum-bonum, and Winesour would not require quite so much. _Time._—½ hour to simmer gently, ¼ hour to boil rapidly. _Best plums for preserving._—Violets, Mussels, Orleans, Impératrice, Magnum-bonum, and Winesour. _Seasonable_ from the end of July to the beginning of October.

PLUM PUDDING, Baked.

_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of raisins, 1 lb. of suet, 2 eggs, 1 pint of milk, a few slices of candied peel. _Mode._—Chop the suet finely; mix it with the flour, currants, stoned raisins, and candied peel; moisten with the well-beaten eggs, and add sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of very thick batter. Put it into a buttered dish, and bake in a good oven from 2¼ to 2½ hours; turn it out, strew sifted sugar over, and serve. For a very plain pudding, use only half the quantity of fruit, omit the eggs, and substitute milk or water for them. The above ingredients make a large family pudding; for a small one, half the quantity will be found ample; but it must be baked quite 1½ hour. _Time._—Large pudding, 2¼ to 2½ hours; half the size, 1½ hour. _Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 9 or 10 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter.

PLUM PUDDING, Excellent, made without Eggs.

_Ingredients._—½ lb. of flour, 6 oz. of raisins, 6 oz. of currants, ¼ lb. of chopped suet, ¼ lb. of brown sugar, ¼ lb. of mashed carrot, ¼ lb. of mashed potatoes, 1 tablespoonful of treacle, 1 oz. of candied lemon-peel, 1 oz. of candied citron. _Mode._—Mix the flour, currants, suet and sugar well together; have ready the above proportions of mashed carrot and potato, which stir into the other ingredients; add the treacle and lemon-peel; but put no liquid in the mixture, or it will be spoiled. Tie it loosely in a cloth, or, if put in a basin, do not quite fill it, as the pudding should have room to swell, and boil it for 4 hours. Serve with brandy-sauce. This pudding is better for being mixed over-night. _Time._—4 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter.

PLUM PUDDING, Unrivalled.

_Ingredients._—1½ lb. of muscatel raisins, 1¾ lb. of currants, 1 lb. of sultana raisins, 2 lbs. of the finest moist sugar, 2 lbs. of bread-crumbs, 16 eggs, 2 lbs. of finely-chopped suet, 6 oz. of mixed candied peel, the rind of 2 lemons, 1 oz. of ground nutmeg, 1 oz. of ground cinnamon, ½ oz. of pounded bitter almonds, ¼ pint of brandy. _Mode._—Stone and cut up the raisins, but do not chop them; wash and dry the currants, and cut the candied peel into thin slices. Mix all the dry ingredients well together, and moisten with the eggs, which should be well beaten and strained, to the pudding; stir in the brandy, and, when all is thoroughly mixed, well butter and flour a stout new pudding-cloth; put in the pudding, tie it down very tightly and closely, boil from 6 to 8 hours, and serve with brandy-sauce. A few sweet almonds, blanched and cut in strips, and stuck on the pudding, ornament it prettily. This quantity may be divided and boiled in buttered moulds. For small families this is the most desirable way, as the above will be found to make a pudding of rather large dimensions. _Time._—6 to 8 hours. _Average cost_, 7_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ in winter. _Sufficient_ for 12 or 14 persons.

_Note._—The muscatel raisins can be purchased at a cheap rate loose (not in bunches): they are then scarcely higher in price than the ordinary raisins, and impart a much richer flavour to the pudding.

PLUM PUDDING, a Plain Christmas, for Children.

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of bread-crumbs, ¾ lb. of stoned raisins, ¾ lb. of currants, ¾ lb. of suet, 3 or 4 eggs, milk, 2 oz. of candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of powdered allspice, ½ saltspoonful of salt. _Mode._—Let the suet be finely chopped, the raisins stoned, and the currants well washed, picked and dried. Mix these with the other dry ingredients, and stir all well together; beat and strain the eggs to the pudding, stir these in, and add just sufficient milk to make it mix properly. Tie it up in a well-floured cloth, put it into boiling water, and boil for at least 5 hours. Serve with a sprig of holly placed in the middle of the pudding, and a little pounded sugar sprinkled over it. _Time._—5 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for 9 or 10 children. _Seasonable_ at Christmas.

PLUM PUDDING, Christmas (very good).

_Ingredients._—1½ lb. of raisins, ½ lb. of currants, ½ lb. of mixed peel, ¾ lb. of bread-crumbs, ¾ lb. of suet, 8 eggs, l wineglassful of brandy. _Mode._—Stone and cut the raisins in halves, but do not chop them; wash, pick, and dry the currants, and mince the suet finely; cut the candied peel into thin slices, and grate down the bread into fine crumbs. When all these dry ingredients are prepared, mix them well together; then moisten the mixture with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the brandy; stir well, that everything may be very thoroughly blended, and _press_ the pudding into a buttered mould; tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, and boil for 5 or 6 hours. It may be boiled in a cloth without a mould, and will require the same time allowed for cooking. As Christmas puddings are usually made a few days before they are required for table, when the pudding is taken out of the pot, hang it up immediately, and put a plate or saucer underneath to catch the water that may drain from it. The day it is to be eaten, plunge it into boiling water, and keep it boiling for at least 2 hours; then turn it out of the mould, and serve with brandy-sauce. On Christmas-day a sprig of holly is usually placed in the middle of the pudding, and about a wineglassful of brandy poured round it, which, at the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to table encircled in flame. _Time._—5 or 6 hours the first time of boiling; 2 hours the day it is to be served. _Average cost_, 4_s._ _Sufficient_ for a quart mould for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ on the 25th of December, and on various festive occasions till March.

_Note._—Five or six of these puddings should be made at one time, as they will keep good for many weeks, and in cases where unexpected guests arrive, will be found an acceptable and, as it only requires warming through, a quickly-prepared dish. Moulds of every shape and size are manufactured for these puddings, and may be purchased of Messrs. R. & J. Slack, 336, Strand.

PLUM PUDDING (a Pound).

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of suet, 1 lb. of currants, 1 lb. of stoned raisins, 8 eggs, ½ grated nutmeg, 2 oz. of sliced candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of ground ginger, ½ lb. of bread-crumbs, ½ lb. of flour, ½ pint of milk. _Mode._—Chop the suet finely; mix with it the dry ingredients; stir these well together, and add the well-beaten eggs and milk to moisten with. Beat up the mixture well, and should the above proportion of milk not be found sufficient to make it of the proper consistency, a little more should be added. Press the pudding into a mould, tie it in a floured cloth, and boil for five hours, or rather longer, and serve with brandy-sauce. _Time._—5 hours, or longer. _Average cost_, 3_s._ _Sufficient_ for 7 or 8 persons. _Seasonable_ in winter.

_Note._—The above pudding may be baked instead of boiled; it should be put into a buttered mould or tin, and baked for about 2 hours; a smaller one would take about 1¼ hour.

PLUM PUDDING (Fresh Fruit).

_Ingredients._—¾ lb. of suet crust, 1½ pint of Orleans or any other kind of plum, ¼ lb. of moist sugar. _Mode._—Line a pudding-basin with suet crust rolled out to the thickness of about ½ inch; fill the basin with the fruit, put in the sugar, and cover with crust. Fold the edges over, and pinch them together, to prevent the juice escaping. Tie over a floured cloth, put the pudding into boiling water, and boil from 2 to 2½ hours. Turn it out of the basin, and serve quickly. _Time._—2 to 2½ hours. _Average cost_, 10_d._ _Sufficient_ for 6 or 7 persons. _Seasonable_, with various kinds of plums, from the beginning of August to the beginning of October.

PLUM TART.