How to make the pie.—Take a half-pound of pie paste as in [No. 1077], cut out a piece of three ounces, roll it round ten inches in diameter. Lightly butter a pie-plate nine and a half inches in diameter, arrange the paste over it. Then take up from the jar one and a half pounds of the prepared mince, lay it over the lined pie-plate—evenly flatten it, leaving one inch clear around the edge of the plate; take the remaining five ounces of paste, roll it round-shape, the same as before, fold it in two, and with a knife make three light incisions, in the centre, of half an inch each. Lightly moisten the edge of the plate with beaten egg, then cover with the paste, pressing it down with the hands all around the edge, so as to entirely enclose the preparation, and then lightly moisten the surface with beaten egg. Place in a moderate oven to bake for fifty minutes. Remove it to the oven door, liberally sprinkle powdered sugar over, return it to the oven, close the door for two minutes, so as to have the sugar entirely melted. Remove from out the oven, then carefully lay the pie on a dessert-dish and serve either hot or cold.
1526. Pâté de Milan au Chocolat á la Leo.
—Sift one pound of flour on a table, make a hollow space in the centre, place in it half a pound of powdered sugar and nine ounces of well-washed butter; then thoroughly knead, with the right hand, the butter and sugar for five minutes; then add three whole fresh raw eggs, one by one, at one-minute intervals from one another, constantly kneading briskly; add two ounces of melted cocoa and a teaspoonful of vanilla essence. Mix all well for two minutes, then gradually and gently incorporate the flour, taking special care not to knead it too hard, so as to have it to perfection, and seeing that the flour is thoroughly incorporated.
Slide down a fancy tube (No. 2) into the pastry-bag ([No. 1079]); now put the paste into the bag. Have a well buttered and floured pastry baking-pan ready, carefully press down the paste on the pan, giving various fancy shapes—apple, banana, pear, fig, grape, peach, gage, or any other shape of fruits you may desire. The quantity of this paste, if equally divided, will make about one hundred cakes, and then with a hair brush gently moisten the surface of each cake with a beaten egg. Place them in a brisk oven to bake for ten minutes. Remove from out the oven and let cool off for one hour. Place them in a tin box or a jar, and serve when desired.
1527. Beignets à la Josephine Delmonico.
—Have in a small saucepan on the fire one gill of cold water and two gills of cold milk; let it just come to a boil, and then immediately add one ounce of good butter, also a saltspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of powdered sugar. Sift two ounces of flour on a dish, then add the flour to the milk all at once. Sharply mix all together with the spatula for four minutes. Add now the yolks of three raw eggs, mixing them thoroughly together, and then lay it in a cool place until further action.
Take six fine fresh apricots and six fine fresh plums, cut them all into halves and remove the stones. Melt two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar with half a teaspoonful of water, continually mixing until the sugar is completely dissolved; then add to the melted sugar half a teaspoonful of vanilla essence. With the aid of a knife fill the hollow space of each apricot and plum, then adjust half of an apricot to half a plum, and so on with the rest; then they will be firmly attached together; dip them into the above batter, and plunge them into plenty of hot fat, but not too hot, and fry them for twelve minutes. Remove them with a skimmer from the fat, lay them on a tin dish, sprinkle a little powdered sugar over them, and then place in a hot oven to glaze for one minute. Remove from the oven, dress on a hot dish with a folded napkin, and send to the table with any kind of sweet sauces desired. If no apricots or fresh plums be on hand, preserved ones can be used in their stead.
1528. Appetizer à la Walter Stanton.
—Place in a large tumbler three heaped teaspoonfuls of clean and finely cracked ice; add to it the third of a teaspoonful of fine powdered sugar, two dashes of orange bitters, half a sherry-wineglassful of whiskey; and one teaspoonful of Calisaya bark; then, with the glass and a shaker, briskly shake all together for thirty seconds, so as to have it thoroughly cold; strain through a small strainer into a small fancy glass, and serve.