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Toad in the Hole

Mix a pinch of salt with four large table-spoonfuls of flour. Beat this to a smooth paste with two well-beaten eggs, and add two-thirds of a pint of milk. The milk should be added very gradually, and the pudding should be well beaten so that there are no lumps, and it should be of the consistency of very thick cream. Cut a pound and a half of beefsteak and one or two sheep's kidneys, or a quarter of a pound of ox kidney, into pieces convenient for serving. Lay them at the bottom of a hot buttered dish, and pour the batter over them. Bake in a brisk oven. The batter will be better if it is made an hour or two before it is wanted, but it should be beaten up again at the last moment before it is poured over the meat. Mutton chops, sausages, or a stuffed fowl may be substituted for the steak and kidney, or a few mushrooms or oysters may be put with the meat, or even a small quantity of minced shallot. The remains of cold meat also may be served in this way, and will be found to be very good, though, of course, not so good as when fresh meat only is used. Some cooks fry the meat lightly, to brown it a little, before putting it into the dish. Time to bake, from one hour and a half to two hours. Probable cost, if made with steak, 2s. 10d. Sufficient for four or five persons.