Pie of Small Birds

The birds best calculated to suit this purpose consist of fieldfares, blackbirds, and larks: these birds are only fit for table during the months of November, December, and January; and are in the greatest perfection during frosty weather. The birds intended for this pie should be stuffed with the following preparation: viz.,—soak the crumb of a French roll in a little milk; put it in a stewpan with two ounces of butter, a little grated lemon-peel, shalot, chopped parsley, nutmeg, pepper and salt, a pinch of aromatic herbs, and three yolks of eggs; stir this over the fire until it becomes a compact paste; and use it to fill the insides of the birds intended for the pie. You then line the bottom of a pie-dish with fried collops of beef, and place thereon the birds in neat order; pour some fine-herbs sauce over these; add hard-boiled yolks of eggs; cover with puff-paste; bake the pie for an hour and a quarter, and serve.