Yolks hard-boiled eggs, 6; truffles, 2 large; seasoning of salt, mace, nutmeg, and cayenne; cream, or béchamel maigre, 1 tablespoonful, or clarified butter, 1 dessertspoonful: baked moderate oven, 12 to 15 minutes.
Obs.—A spoonful or two of jellied stock or gravy, or of good white sauce, converts these into admirable patties: the same ingredients make also very superior rolls or cannelons. For Patties à la Cardinale, small mushroom-buttons stewed as for partridges, Chapter [XIII]., before they are minced, must be substituted for truffles; and the butter in which they are simmered should be added with them to the eggs.
EXCELLENT MEAT ROLLS.
Pound, as for potting (see page [305]), and with the same proportion of butter and of seasonings, some half-roasted veal, chicken, or turkey. Make some forcemeat by the receipt No. 1, Chapter [VI.], and form it into small rolls, not larger than a finger; wrap twice or thrice as much of the pounded meat equally round each of these, first moistening it with a teaspoonful of water; fold them in good puff-paste, and bake them from fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the crust is perfectly done. A small quantity of the lean of a boiled ham may be finely minced and pounded with the veal, and very small mushrooms, prepared as for a partridge (page [329]), may be substituted for the forcemeat.
SMALL VOLS-AU-VENTS, OR PATTY-CASES.
These are quickly and easily made with two round paste-cutters, of which one should be little more than half the size of the other: to give the pastry a better appearance, they should be fluted. Roll out some of the lightest puff-paste to a half-inch of thickness, and with the larger of the tins cut the number of patties required; then dip the edge of the small shape into hot water, and press it about half through them. Bake them in a moderately quick oven from ten to twelve minutes, and when they are done, with the point of a sharp knife, take out the small rounds of crust from the tops, and scoop all the crumb from the inside of the patties, which may then be filled with shrimps, oysters, lobster, chicken, pheasant, or any other of the ordinary varieties of patty meat, prepared with white sauce. Fried crumbs may be laid over them instead of the covers, or these last can be replaced.
For sweet dishes, glaze the pastry, and fill it with rich whipped cream, preserve, or boiled custard; if with the last of these put it back into a very gentle oven until the custards are set.
ANOTHER RECEIPT FOR TARTLETS.
For a dozen tartlets, cut twenty-four rounds of paste of the usual size, and form twelve of them into rings by pressing the small cutter quite through them; moisten these with cold water, or white of egg, and lay them on the remainder of the rounds of paste, so as to form the rims of the tartlets. Bake them from ten to twelve minutes, fill them with preserve while they are still warm, and place over it a small ornament of paste cut from the remnants, and baked gently of a light colour. Serve the tartlets cold, or if wanted hot for table put them back into the oven for one minute after they are filled.