_Ingredients._—Trimmings of puff-paste, any jam or marmalade that may
be preferred. _Mode._—Roll out the paste to the thickness of about ½
inch; butter some small round patty-pans, line them with it, and cut
off the superfluous paste close to the edge of the pan. Put a small
piece of bread into each tartlet (this is to keep them in shape), and
bake in a brisk oven for about 10 minutes, or rather longer. When
they are done, and are of a nice colour, take the pieces of bread out
carefully, and replace them by a spoonful of jam or marmalade. Dish
them high on a white d’oyley, piled high in the centre, and serve.
_Time._—10 to 15 minutes. _Average cost_, 1_d._ each. _Sufficient._—1
lb. of paste will make 2 dishes of tartlets. _Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: DISH OF TARTLETS.]
TARTLETS, Polish.
_Ingredients._—Puff-paste, the white of an egg, pounded sugar.
_Mode._—Roll some good puff-paste out thin, and cut it into 2½-inch
squares; brush each square over with the white of an egg, then fold
down the corners, so that they all meet in the middle of each piece of
paste; slightly press the two pieces together, brush them over with the
egg, sift over sugar, and bake in a nice quick oven for about ¼ hour.
When they are done, make a little hole in the middle of the paste, and
fill it up with apricot jam, marmalade, or red-currant jelly. Pile them
high in the centre of a dish, on a napkin, and garnish with the same
preserve the tartlets are filled with. _Time._—¼ hour or 20 minutes.
_Average cost_, with ½ lb. of puff-paste, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 2
dishes of pastry. _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—It should be borne in mind, that, for all dishes of small
pastry, such as the preceding, trimmings of puff-paste, left from
larger tarts, answer as well as making the paste expressly.
TEA, to make.
There is very little art in making good tea; if the water is boiling,
and there is no sparing of the fragrant leaf, the beverage will almost
invariably be good. The old-fashioned plan of allowing a teaspoonful
to each person, and one over, is still practised. Warm the teapot with
boiling water; let it remain for two or three minutes for the vessel
to become thoroughly hot, then pour it away. Put in the tea, pour in
from ½ to ¾ pint of _boiling_ water, close the lid, and let it stand
for the tea to draw from 5 to 10 minutes; then fill up the pot with
water. The tea will be quite spoiled unless made with water that is
actually _boiling_, as the leaves will not open, and the flavour not
be extracted from them; the beverage will consequently be colourless
and tasteless,—in fact, nothing but tepid water. Where there is a very
large party to make tea for, it is a good plan to have two teapots,
instead of putting a large quantity of tea into one pot; the tea,
besides, will go farther. When the infusion has been once completed,
the addition of fresh tea adds very little to the strength; so, when
more is required, have the pot emptied of the old leaves, scalded, and
fresh tea made in the usual manner. Economists say that a few grains
of carbonate of soda, added before the boiling water is poured on
the tea, assist to draw out the goodness; if the water is very hard,
perhaps it is a good plan, as the soda softens it; but care must be
taken to use this ingredient sparingly, as it is liable to give the
tea a soapy taste if added in too large a quantity. For mixed tea,
the usual proportion is four spoonfuls of black to one of green; more
of the latter when the flavour is very much liked; but strong green
tea is highly pernicious, and should never be partaken of too freely.
_Time._—2 minutes to warm the teapot, 5 to 10 minutes to draw the
strength from the tea. _Sufficient._—Allow 1 teaspoonful to each person.