Choice Cookery

pieces of bread the size and shape of patties. Beat four eggs; mix with a pint of milk and a saltspoonful of salt; pour this into a shallow pan, and stand the bread patties in it. The amount of milk and eggs must of course depend on the number of patties; the proportion named is enough for six small ones. The patties must remain steeping until they are thoroughly soaked; they must be carefully turned upside down when the lower part is sufficiently steeped. The time required will depend on the quality of the bread, but one hour will generally suffice. The bread must be thoroughly penetrated by the custard, be almost as moist as mush, yet be in no danger (with careful handling) of breaking. When sufficiently steeped, take each one on a cake turner and lay it on a drainer. (They may be prepared some hours before they are needed for cooking.) When quite drained, baste each one carefully with beaten egg till every part is coated, then smother it in cracker meal. Gently pat it to make it adhere, then slip the patty on to a dish till you are ready to fry. Do not attempt to move the patties with the hand or a spoon, but with a flat skimmer or cake turner. When prepared as directed, make three pounds of lard _very hot_ in a deep frying-kettle,[119-*] place three of the patties on a fine wire frying-basket, and fry brown. The fat should be excessively hot, as the patties, being full of cold custard, will not burn, and will rapidly cool it. They should be a delicate brown in six or seven minutes. Let the fat come back to the original intense heat before putting in the other patties. When they are fried, remove the centre you marked with the smaller cutter with a sharp thin knife and small teaspoon, leaving the sides about half an inch thick. They are now ready to fill. If the patties are just right, the inside you remove should be of a custard-like texture, _not_ like sopped bread: indeed,