into neat pieces, and arranged upon a board or large flat dish. Season these with salt, and give them a dusting of spiced pepper, which ought to be specially prepared for the occasion.
(v.) Now line a raised pie mould in the manner described, spread a thin coating of forcemeat over the bottom of it and up the sides. Next place a good layer of the pieces of hare, each rolled within a slice of bacon, over the forcemeat at the bottom of the dish, and then go on packing the game meat closely, with slices of ham, bacon, dice, and chopped truffles dotted in here and there, and frequent dustings of spiced pepper, until the dish is filled. The truffle gravy, strained, should be added with the jelly gravy after the baking while the pie is still hot.
(vi.) For a special occasion, instead of tasteless bottled truffles, when fresh cannot be got, a terrine or tin of pâté de foie gras can be opened and used in this way :—Trim the pâté into dice, and dot them about here and there amongst the game meat during the packing of the pie-dish. If mushrooms happen to be available, take a quarter of a pound of nice ones, treating them, after cleaning and peeling them, in this manner : toss them a short time in butter in a frying-pan over a low fire. If large, cut them into convenient pieces, or if buttons, put them in whole as you go on with your packing. The top of the pie should be covered with slices of bacon.
(vii.) The packing being completed, the pie should be covered over with the paste cover, glazed, and baked, while warm half a pint of the rich jelly gravy being poured in through the vent to finish with. After this the pie should be put in as cold a place as possible.
A raised pie of this class is often served at a ball supper or luncheon party with its cover removed, the slices of bacon on the top taken off, and the space filled with broken aspic jelly. For picnics the cover can be made of puff-paste.
While on the subject of good pies, I can scarcely do better than end this section with an excellent recipe for a SALMON PIE to be eaten cold :—Take two pounds of salmon, remove the skin and bones, trim it in slices, and sprinkle them with spiced salt. Set these aside in a cold place. Make three-quarters of a pound
of forcemeat as follows :—Choose either some fresh uncooked whiting, pollack, or haddock, and, having taken eight ounces of it, pound it in a mortar and pass it through a hair sieve ; now add to it five ounces of panada and five of butter ; season lightly with salt, mace, and pepper, moisten with a well-beaten egg and sufficient poulette sauce to bring it to the consistency of a pliant paste. Line a raised pie mould with pasle as for pork pie, fill the bottom with a layer of the forcemeat, then a layer of the salmon, an inch thick, then forcemeat, continuing, the packing till the pie is filled. Put a cover of puff-paste over the lop, brush it over with white of egg, and bake the pie slowly. When done, let it cool for half an hour, and then pour in, through hole made in the top, half a pint of rich, gelatinous fish broth, made from the heads, bones and trimmings of the whiting reduced to a glaze, and mixed with a coffee-cupful of an essence made in this way :—
Take four ounces of lean raw ham cut up as for a coarse mince, one shallot, two ounces of carrot, teaspoonful of thyme, and a claret glassful of chablis, and boil them till the wine is reduced, then add a pint of clear chicken broth, simmer for half an hour, remove the saucepan from the fire and strain the essence. The essence of truffles should be used when they are procurable fresh.
After having poured the jelly broth and essence into the pie, let it get quite cold, then turn it out of the mould, and serve upon a dish paper or napkin garnished with parsley.