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PIGEON PIE (a I'Anglaise)

Take two or more freshly-killed young pigeons. Divide in two lengthwise, cut off their feet at the first joint, and turn their legs inside close to the pinions. Put inside each half bird a little forcemeat made of the livers finely minced, with a little parsley, pepper, salt, and butter. Moisten the edges of a pie-dish with a little stock or water, and line them with strips of pastry a quarter of an inch thick. Place at the bottom of the dish one pound of rump steak cut into neat pieces, and seasoned with pepper and salt. Lay the pigeons upon these, breast downwards, and put the yolk of a hard-boiled egg between each two halves. Sprinkle some pepper and salt and a small quantity of grated nutmeg over the pigeons, put here and there upon them an ounce of butter broken into small pieces, lay on the top a small bay-leaf, and pour over the birds a cupful of nicely-seasoned stock sufficiently strong to form a jelly when cold. If there is any doubt about this, a dessert-spoonful of gelatine must be dissolved in the stock. Cover the pie with a thick crust, ornament prettily, brush over with beaten yolk of egg, put three of the feet, properly cleaned, in the middle of the crust, and bake the pie in a moderate oven. Time to bake, about two hours and a half. Probable cost, 4s., with pigeons at 9d. each. Sufficient for five or six persons.