If the ham is to be eaten cold, you may cover it all over the glazing with cold boiled potatoes grated finely, so that it will look like a large cake covered with icing. Ornament it with slices of boiled carrot, beets, &c. scolloped and laid on the potatoes, in handsome forms, so as to look like red and yellow flowering. Stick a large bunch of double parsley in the centre.
A ham boiled in the usual manner may be ornamented in the same way; first extracting the bone, and making the meat into a circular shape.
Instead of a mere bunch of double parsley, you may stick in the centre of the ham a nosegay of flowers, formed of different culinary vegetables, and cut into proper shape with a sharp pen-knife. All these vegetables must be raw. The flowers intended to represent red roses must be made of beets, the white roses of turnips, and the marigolds or other deep yellow flowers must be cut out of carrots. The pieces of turnips and beets must first be made with the pen-knife into the form of a ball, on the surface of which the rose-leaves must be cut. The carrots may be cut into flat slices, and then notched to look like marigolds or chrysanthemums. Stick each flower on the end of a small wooden skewer, which will answer for the stalk, but which must be concealed by thick bunches of double parsley tied on so as to represent the green leaves. Tie all the skewers together at the bottom with a pack-thread, and the whole will have the effect of a handsome nosegay when placed in the middle of the ham.
A round of cold à-la-mode beef may be ornamented with a bunch of these flowers. Let the beef itself be covered all over with parsley, so as to resemble a green bank.
FRIED HAM, WITH TOMATAS.
Fry some slices of cold boiled ham. Then fry some tomatas, allowing one tomata to each slice of meat. Lay the tomatas on the ham, shake some pepper over them, and send them to table.
ROASTED TONGUE.
Having soaked a large smoked tongue all night in cold water, parboil it in a very little warm water with a slice of bacon, a bunch of sweet herbs, and an onion or two stuck with cloves. When it is nearly done, take it out, drain it, and lard it with large slips of bacon on the upper side, and small pieces on the under side. Then put it on the spit and roast it half an hour, and serve it up with pungent sauce (Sauce Piquante.)
BAKED TONGUE.
Take a cold boiled tongue and cut it into slices. Put in the bottom of a deep dish a little vinegar, with some capers, parsley and shalots minced fine, and some grated bread, all mixed together. Lay the slices of tongue upon this, and cover them with some more of the same seasoning. Then grate some bread all over the top. Moisten the whole by pouring in a little warm water. Put the dish into a stove moderately heated, or set it on a slow furnace. Bake it till brown.