Soyer's Culinary Campaign: Being Historical Reminiscences of the Late War.: With The Plain Art of Cookery for Military and Civil Institutions

understand it now, and perceive that if they cannot at all times be done to perfection, underdone is much preferable to overdone. I perfectly understand you, sir; but you see we require such a quantity.” “Well, I have only given you the receipt for two. I will now, if you like, give you the receipt for a hundred.” “Do, sir; that will suit us better.” “I suppose they are most in request for supper?” “Indeed they are, sir.” “Then, in the course of the day, the cook should prepare a hundred precisely as the first--viz., ready for cooking. They should be put upon skewers, two, three, or four in a row; so that, when called for, he has only to remove them from the larder to the gridiron. About two pounds of butter _à la maître d’hôtel_ should be prepared and kept in a cool place to be ready when required. By following this plan, you could easily cook several hundred during the evening, if called for. Should any remain unsold, they will keep till the next day, and will only require rolling in the crumbs again previous to broiling.” “I see, sir; it will save a great deal of time by having them prepared beforehand.” “But suppose you had none prepared beforehand, a dozen can soon be got ready by an active cook. The addition of the dissolved butter to the eggs keeps the kidneys fresh and moist, and inserting them upon the skewer retains them flat, and they are cooked more regularly in half the time; while without the skewer they curl up, and are frequently underdone on one side and cooked too much on the other.” “I plainly understand what you mean.” “These details upon the same subject are perhaps tedious to you.” “Not at all, sir; I see the importance of them.” “Well, the other receipts will come quite plain and easy to you. To tell the truth, I have had those overdone kidneys upon my conscience for some time. Mind, I do not intend to erase the plain broiled kidneys from the supper bill of