WIDGEON.
Widgeon may be carved in the same way as described in regard to wild duck.
WINE OR BRANDY SAUCE FOR PUDDINGS.
Ingredients.—1 pint of melted butter, 3 heaped teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar; 1 large wineglassful of port or sherry, or ¾ of a small glassful of brandy. Mode.—Make ½ pint of melted butter, omitting the salt; then stir in the sugar and wine or spirit in the above proportion, and bring the sauce to the point of boiling. Serve in a boat or tureen separately, and, if liked, pour a little of it over the pudding. To convert this into punch sauce, add to the sherry and brandy a small wineglassful of rum and the juice and grated rind of ½ lemon. Liqueurs, such as Maraschino or Curaçoa, substituted for the brandy, make excellent sauces. Time.—Altogether, 15 minutes. Average cost, 8d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
WINE SAUCE FOR PUDDINGS.
Ingredients.—½ pint of sherry, ¼ pint of water, the yolks of 5 eggs, 2 oz. of pounded sugar, ½ teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel, a few pieces of candied citron cut thin. Mode.—Separate the yolks from the whites of 5 eggs; beat them, and put them into a very clean saucepan (if at hand, a lined one is best); add all the other ingredients, place them over a sharp fire, and keep stirring until the sauce begins to thicken; then take it off and serve. If it is allowed to boil, it will be spoiled, as it will immediately curdle. Time.—To be stirred over the fire 3 or 4 minutes; but it must not boil. Average cost, 2s. Sufficient for a large pudding; allow half this quantity for a moderate-sized one. Seasonable at any time.
WINE SAUCE FOR PUDDINGS, Excellent.
Ingredients.—The yolks of 4 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 2 oz. of pounded sugar, 2 oz. of fresh butter, ¼ saltspoonful of salt, ½ pint of sherry or Madeira. Mode.—Put the butter and flour into a saucepan, and stir them over the fire until the former thickens; then add the sugar, salt, and wine, and mix these ingredients well together. Separate the yolks from the whites of 4 eggs; beat up the former, and stir them briskly to the sauce; let it remain over the fire until it is on the point of simmering; but do not allow it to boil, or it will instantly curdle. This sauce is delicious with plum, marrow, or bread puddings; but should be served separately, and not poured over the pudding. Time.—From 5 to 7 minutes to thicken the butter; about 5 minutes to stir the sauce over the fire. Average cost, 1s. 10d. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons.
WINE, to Mull.
Ingredients.—To every pint of wine allow 1 large cupful of water, sugar, and spice to taste. Mode.—In making preparations like the above, it is very difficult to give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful. Boil the spice in the water until the flavour is extracted, then add the wine and sugar, and bring the whole to the boiling-point, when serve with strips of crisp dry toast, or with biscuits. The spices usually used for mulled wine are cloves, grated nutmeg, and cinnamon or mace. Any kind of wine may be mulled, but port and claret are those usually selected for the purpose; and the latter requires a very large proportion of sugar. The vessel that the wine is boiled in must be delicately clean, and should be kept exclusively for the purpose. Small tin warmers may be purchased for a trifle, which are more suitable than saucepans, as, if the latter are not scrupulously clean, they will spoil the wine, by imparting to it a very disagreeable flavour. These warmers should be used for no other purposes.