LARKS.
What say you, lads? is any spark
Among you ready for a lark?
Moore.
These delicate little birds are in high season in November. When they are thoroughly picked, gutted, and cleansed, truss them; do them over with the yolk of an egg, and then roll them in breadcrumbs; spit them on a lark spit; ten or fifteen minutes will be sufficient time to roast them in, before a quick fire; whilst they are roasting, baste them with fresh butter, and sprinkle them with breadcrumbs till they are well covered with them. Fry some grated bread in butter. Set it to drain before the fire, that it may harden; serve the crumbs in the dish under the larks, and garnish with slices of lemon.
[56-*] The process by which the liver of the unfortunate goose is enlarged, in order to produce that richest of all dainties, the foie gras, of which such renowned pâtés are made at Strasbourg and Toulouse, is thus described in the “Cours Gastronomique:” “On deplumes l’estomac des oies; on attache ensuite ces animaux aux chenets d’une cheminée, et on le nourrit devant le feu. La captivité et la chaleur donnent a ces volatiles une maladie hepatique, qui fait gonfler leur foie.”
MISCELLANEOUS.
STUFFING FOR VEAL.
Poor Roger Fowler, who’d a generous mind,
Nor would submit to have his hand confined,
But aimed at all,—yet never could excel
In anything but stuffing of his veal.
Good stuffing has always been considered a chief thing in cookery. Mince a quarter of a pound of beef suet or marrow, the same weight of breadcrumbs, two drachms of parsley leaves, a drachm and a half of sweet marjoram or lemon thyme, and the same of grated lemon-peel and onion chopped as fine as possible, a little pepper and salt; pound thoroughly together with the yolk and white of two eggs, and secure it in the veal with a skewer, or sew it in with a bit of thread.