A Course of Lectures on the Principles of Domestic Economy and Cookery

open fire, you can roast. I have roasted a chicken before a grate fire in the sitting room. You can roast small birds of any kind in that way, by putting something on the mantel piece heavy enough to support the weight of the bird. Tie a string around the bird or around the piece of beef and let it hang down in front of the fire. Put a platter under it or a dripping pan, and put the blower up in front of it. You might be amused at the idea of doing that as an experiment. I have made coffee in an old tomato can as an experiment, to see whether it can be done, and it is just as nice as any you could possibly make in the finest French coffee pot. After all there are many expedients that you can resort to in cooking with good results. After the meat is browned on the outside, whether you are roasting or baking, season it. Get it browned first on the outside very quickly, then season it with salt and pepper, and after that moderate the heat of the oven, or draw the Dutch oven a little away from the fire, and finish cooking till the meat is done, allowing fifteen minutes to the pound if you want it medium rare, about twenty minutes to the pound if you want it very well done. If you are baking the meat put it in the hottest oven, without any seasoning at all, without any water in the pan. You will find that the meat will yield drippings enough for basting. Our chicken that we basted yesterday,--do you remember how nice and brown that was? Pretty well basted, wasn't it? That had nothing in the pan for basting except the drippings which flowed from the chicken itself. Put the meat in the hottest oven until it is browned, and then moderate the heat and cook the meat fifteen minutes to the pound. We might do what the French call braise the end of the roast, if you like to see