Reed-birds (Henry Ward Beecher’s Receipt).
Cut sweet-potatoes lengthwise; scoop out in the centre of each a place that will fit half the bird. Now put in the birds, after seasoning them with butter, pepper, and salt, tying the two pieces of potato around each of them. Bake them. Serve them in the potatoes. Or, they can be roasted or fried in boiling lard like other birds.
Plovers
are cooked in the same way as quails or partridges.
Pheasants
are cooked in the same way as prairie-chickens or grouse.
VENISON.
The Saddle of Venison.
This is, perhaps, the most distinguished venison dish. Make rather deep incisions, following the grain of the meat from the top, and insert pieces of pork about one-third of an inch square, and one inch and a half or two inches long; sprinkle over pepper, salt, and a little flour. Roast or bake the venison before a hot fire or in a hot oven, about two hours for an eight-pound roast. Baste often. Serve a currant-jelly sauce in the sauce-boat.
A good accompaniment at table for a roast of venison is a dish of potatoes à la neige ([see page 192]), the dark meat and white potatoes forming a pretty contrast.