The directions for making one kind will serve for patties generally. In cities the cases are very easily bought, but where they have to be made at home, only one who is already an expert in making puff-paste should attempt them.

Patties when served as an entrÉe should be quite small, or half of them will certainly be left on the plates.

Roll puff-paste a quarter of an inch thick for each patty, cut three circles from it, moisten the surface of two very slightly with water, place one on the other, then with a sharp penknife cut a circle nearly through the third round, leaving a margin of one third of an inch; lay this round carefully on the other two; brush the top with white of egg (be sure not to touch the sides), and bake in a very quick oven. Patties must be watched, and turned if they show signs of rising unevenly. When they are a fine yellow-brown take them out, and leave five minutes for them to cool slightly, then with a penknife or a boning-knife carefully remove the top formed by the smaller circle you marked, and which (if the paste was very light and the oven in good condition) will probably have risen out of the centre. Be careful in handling these covers, for while warm they are very brittle. With a coffee-spoon remove the half-cooked dough from the centre of the patty, taking care, however, to leave sufficient thickness of inner crust to prevent the sauce from oozing through.

The filling for patties can be made before it is needed; but when that is done, it must be made quite hot before it is put into the cases, as, if it were put in cold, the pastry would burn before the inside became warm.Dresden Patty Cases.—These make a very pretty kind of patty when puff-paste is not to be had, and even when it is are a desirable variety. They are made from fine light baker’s bread. Cut slices an inch and a half thick, then with a biscuit cutter about two inches in diameter cut circles from these slices, and with another cutter, a size smaller, press half-way through each. You will now have 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, in eating them, the bread should not be easily detected. These patties are very delicious filled with any of the usual fillings, or, for dessert, with stiff preserve. They have no covers, consequently the filling should be piled high without allowing the sauce to run over, and garnished with parsley or water-cress.

Sweetbread Patties.—Soak two very white sweetbreads in salt and water one hour; parboil for twenty minutes; then let them cool; remove the skin, fat, and gristle; cut them into half-inch dice, and lay them aside while you prepare the following sauce: Put a gill of strong white stock into a small saucepan with a gill of mushroom liquor (and a dozen small mushrooms cut in four if approved) to boil. In another saucepan cook an ounce of flour and one of butter together, stirring till they bubble; pour the two gills of stock quickly to it, and stir till smooth. Season with half a teaspoonful of salt and very little pepper; lay in the sweetbreads, and let them stew twenty minutes. Strain them off from the sauce, which boil down (stirring constantly to prevent burning) till very thick; then add a gill of thick fresh cream. The sauce should now be thick enough to mask the spoon very heavily; pour it over the sweetbreads, and stir together. This is now ready for filling the patties. If mushrooms are not liked they may be omitted, the liquor replaced by a gill of stock and a teaspoonful of white wine.

Oyster Patties.—Take a dozen and a half Blue Points, scald them in their own liquor, but do not leave them a moment after they reach the boiling-point; strain the liquor from them; cut each oyster in four. Put a tablespoonful of flour and one of butter into a small saucepan over the fire, stir them together until they bubble; then pour to them half a pint of the strained liquor of the oysters, or part liquor and part stock. Stir continually, and let the sauce boil very thick; then lay in the oysters, and simmer half a minute. The amount of seasoning required will depend on the saltness of the oysters, but a saltspoonful of salt will probably not be too much, a little pepper, and a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies—just enough to make the sauce a delicate salmon-color. For the last thing, stir in one small teaspoonful of lemon juice. The consistency of the sauce for all patties should be that of very thick double cream. When it is not thick enough, it can always be reduced by boiling down, taking care not to boil the meat or oysters, etc., in it.

Chicken Patties.—Take the breast of a boiled chicken, cut it into dice; use half a pint of the liquor in which it was boiled to make the sauce. Put this broth in a small saucepan with a teaspoonful of lean boiled ham chopped a little (take care there is not a particle of the outside of the ham, or it may impart a smoky flavor); let the ham simmer in the broth while you melt together a tablespoonful of flour and one of butter; when they bubble, and the broth has been boiled down to about one half, strain the latter into a half-pint measure, fill up with cream, and stir this quickly to the flour and butter. When the sauce is thick and smooth, put in the chicken; keep the mixture at boiling-point five minutes, then set the saucepan in another of boiling water, and stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs; only just let them thicken; then remove from the fire, and use for filling the patty cases. A teaspoonful of sherry is often added to the sauce. If this filling is not used while hot, it must be reheated in a double boiler and watched, or the eggs will curdle; or the filling may be prepared and the eggs added after it is reheated.

BouchÉes of any kind are simply patties made very small indeed—for this reason the filling is always chopped instead of being cut into dice.

The essence of anchovy mentioned is a most useful sauce for fish, and can be bought at any large grocery.