SOFT CORN BREAD Have one cupful of boiling water in which
one teaspoonful of salt has been melted, in a saucepan, and sprinkle slowly
into it, stirring all the time, one-half cupful of white cornmeal. Stir until
it is a thick mush and simmer for twenty minutes, then add one pint of
hot milk, or enough to make a thin batter, and stir until smooth, then cool. Have two
eggs well beaten, stir them carefully into the batter and pour all into a heated pudding -
dish in which a tablespoonful of butter has been melted. Give a last stir, and bake
until brown.

AUNT SALLY’S HOECAKE Scald one pint of white cornmeal with enough
boiling water to make a stiff dough. Have the water salted and one tablespoonful of
lard melted in it. Knead the dough a little and form it into flat cakes about a quarter of
an inch thick and six inches across. Cook these cakes on a griddle or in an iron frying-
pan without any grease, turning frequently, to prevent burning. In the South they are
cooked in the hot ashes in the open fire-place hence the name.

MANDARIN SHERBET Grate the rind of one dozen Mandarin oranges,
remove the peel, and squeeze ; add the juice of two dozen more and the juice of two
lemons, and enough water to make one quart of liquid. Sweeten well and partly
freeze, then open the freezer and stir in the whites of two eggs, beaten to a stiff froth ;
close the freezer, pack with ice and salt, and let stand for an hour.

LALLA ROOKH Whip the whites of five eggs to a stiff froth, also one pint
of thick cream ; beat the yolks of the eggs very light, and stir in one cupful of fine
sugar, the juice of two lemons, and one cupful of orange juice. When very light and
frothy, fold in the cream and then the beaten whites of the eggs ; pour into a mold,
cover tightly, pack in a bucket, with ice and salt, four hours before serving. The juice
of any berry or fruit may be substituted for the orange.

TURKISH SHERBET Boil two cupfuls of granulated sugar with three-
fourths of a pint of water to a clear syrup ; skim carefully, and when cold stir into it
three-fourths of a pint of lemon juice and one cupful of clear white stock, and freeze.

FIG ICE-CREAM Peel the stems and skins from two pounds of ripe figs;
mash through a colander, with nearly a pint of milk ; add the juice of one -half a lemon,
and sweeten well ; fold in one pint of thick cream, beaten stiff ; pour into a mold, cover
tightly, binding a piece of buttered muslin around the opening to keep the salt out, pack
in ice and salt in a pail, and let stand for three or four hours.

ITALIAN SHERBET Make a syrup of one pound of sugar and one cupful of
water. When cool, add one-half cupful of lemon juice, one cupful of orange juice, and
one quart of peach pulp (or any other fruit will do ) ; mix and rub through a sieve.
Pour in a tin, and pack in ice and salt until frozen from two to three hours.

SALMI OF QUAIL Split two plump quail down the back. Heat two heap-
ing tablespoonfuls of butter in the blazer of the chafing-dish, put in the birds and brown
on one side, turn and brown on the other, then add one gill of highly seasoned broth,
one gill of port or claret, one tablespoonful of mushroom catsup, salt and pepper to
taste, cover and simmer until tender.

CHICKEN PORTUGUESE Into the bottom of a casserole put a piece of
pork rind. On this stand a tender roasting chicken, trussed ; add four ounces of butter,
salt, and cayenne to taste, and a few drops of kitchen bouquet. Then add the follow-
ing vegetables, chopped fine : Two onions, two young carrots, one-half head of celery,
two Chiles, two bell -peppers, seeds removed, and one cupful of soup stock. Cover the
casserole, and cook quickly for forty minutes. From time to time baste the chicken with
a spoonful of the gravy ; then add two tomatoes, skinned and sliced, and cook for thirty
minutes more. Serve in the casserole.

MOBILE BAY GUMBO Cut in pieces three fat young squirrels. Cover with
a quart of water and add a slice of lean ham cut in dice, a carrot and onion sliced,
pieces of celery, two sliced tomatoes, two cut up green peppers ( seeds removed ), a bay
leaf and some sweet herbs. Simmer until tender and then add two pounds of nice
okra, cut in half. Stew until tender. Thicken with a little butter and flour braided
together. Then add one pint of oysters from which the liquor has been drained. Sim-
mer for three minutes, and serve in a deep platter surrounded with rice.