“"You shall come and see," she said; and led us into the great kitchen, where, on tables as white as snow, were piled heaps of golden-brown croquecignolles, cut in curious patterns, and the big black cook was dropping still more into the kettle of boiling fat, and bringing out puffy and wondrously shaped birds and beasts. Narcisse, on his knees on the hearth, was turning two great fowls suspended before the fire, from which oozed such rich and savory gravy as made one smack his lips. On another table a huge venison pasty and tarts and cakes of many kinds were temptingly arrayed, and madame's pride in her housewifely preparations for the Christmas feasting was pretty to see. She would have us taste her croquecignolles and little cakes, and had a glass of gooseberry wine brought out of the store-room for each of us, and we drank it standing in the kitchen, and helping ourselves from the pile of croquecignolles.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
1285. INGREDIENTS.--1-1/2 pint of gooseberries, 1/2 lb. of short crust No. 1211, 1/4 lb. of moist sugar. _Mode_.--With a pair of scissors cut off the tops and tails of the gooseberries; put them into a deep pie-dish, pile the fruit high in the centre, and put in the sugar; line the edge of the dish with short crust, put on the cover, and ornament the edges of the tart; bake in a good oven for about 3/4 hour, and before being sent to table, strew over it some fine-sifted sugar. A jug of cream, or a dish of boiled or baked custards, should always accompany this dish. _Time_.--3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 9d. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ from May to July. [Illustration: GOOSEBERRY.] GOOSEBERRIES.--The red and the white are the two principal varieties of gooseberries. The red are rather the more acid; but, when covered with white sugar, are most wholesome, because the sugar neutralizes their acidity.
Sources: The passage is from Mary (Mary C. Johnson) Dillon, The rose of old St. Louis, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Beeton, The Book of Household Management of 1861, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — slate cloth, goose stamp.