Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (16)

Roasted.--Large oysters will be found very nice if roasted in their shells. This operation is sometimes performed by simply putting the wretched oyster on the embers alive, and thus converting his own coat into a cooking pot. A far better plan is to open the oyster in the hollow shell, taking care to preserve the liquor. To every oyster give a little piece of butter, put on the flat shell as a lid, and then lay the oysters on the embers on a gridiron, or put them in a tin into the oven, taking care not to overcook them. When they are done administer to each a dash of lemon juice, and 2 or 3 grains of cayenne; replace the top shells, and serve instantly.

Sausages.--Beard the oysters and chop them very fine. To this add finely pounded breadcrumbs, sweet marjoram, parsley, and seasoning to taste, and mix it to a stiff paste with the yolk of an egg or two. Cut this into pieces the length and breadth of your thumb, and fry these a delicate brown. Serve on a napkin with fried parsley, or round mashed potato.

Scalloped.--Parboil 2 doz. oysters in their own liquor, beard them and cut them in half. Butter some scallop shells, fill them with a mixture of half breadcrumbs and half oysters, adding pepper and salt to taste, and a grate of nutmeg. Strain the liquor and divide it between the number of scallop shells you have, put a piece of butter in each shell, a few drops of lemon juice, and cover up with breadcrumbs, pressing down contents of each shell. Put into a very brisk oven till top is well browned.

Skewered (Hâtelets).--Beard 2 doz. oysters, and let them steep for some time in their own liquor. Cut some fat bacon into rounds, and place these and the oysters alternately on skewers, taking care to finish, as you began, with a round of bacon. Season with pepper and salt, egg and breadcrumb them, and fry a light brown. Serve on a napkin with fried parsley, or in a dish with the following sauce: Simmer the beards for 5 minutes in the oyster liquor, strain it, and add ¼ pint stock (fish stock is best); thicken with flour and butter, with a pinch of Nepaul pepper, salt to taste, and a little lemon juice. Give it one boil before adding the lemon juice, and serve.

Soufflé.--Mix 3 oz. flour and 3 oz. butter smoothly over the fire, add 1 pint good milk, and stir till it boils and thickens. Pour half the sauce aside in a basin. To the half in the pan add a score of oysters, roughly chopped and bearded, ½ oz. butter, the liquor from the oysters, 1 dessertspoonful anchovy, the same, or a little more, lemon juice, a grain of Nepaul pepper, and a little salt. Mix all well together, stirring in the well-beaten yolks of 4 eggs; then add lightly the whites of 6 eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Butter a plain tin mould, tie a band of buttered paper round it, and pour in the mixture which should little more than half fill it. Steam for 1½ hour, and serve very hot.

Steamed.--Lay them in a potato steamer over boiling water, cover with a plate to keep the steam in, and cook for 10 minutes. Then serve quickly in the shell, and on a very hot dish, with fried brown bread and lemon or vinegar.

Stewed.--Take 1 pint milk, thicken with 1 dessertspoonful of cornflour, and stir in 1 oz. butter; season well, add a dozen oysters, and stew gently for ½ hour. When serving, garnish the stew with sippets of bread soaked in lemon juice and fried in butter.

Toast.--Chop 20 oysters roughly, and mix with them 2 anchovies, washed and boned (paste or essence will do), mix well with a little cream or the yolk of an egg, and thicken with a little butter rolled in flour, and a grain of cayenne; boil up and serve on hot buttered toast.

_Pilchard_ (Pie).--Cut the white part of 4 or 5 leeks into pieces, and scald them in boiling water with salt. Soak in water all night 3 or 4 slightly salted pilchards, clean them, and cut off the tails and fins, and put them in a pie-dish with the leeks in layers, seasoning to taste. Cover the pie with crust, and bake it in a moderate oven. In the country where this recipe comes from cream is cheap, and it is recommended to raise the crust, to pour off the gravy, and to add instead one cupful of hot cream just before serving.

_Plaice_ (Plie).--Plaice have little to recommend them beyond their cheapness. There are two distinct kinds, those with the black backs being generally preferred to the spotted variety. The flesh of both is soft, and lacks the exquisite delicacy and firm springy texture of turbot and brill; but still, if stewed in the same manner as brill, they are fair eating. Fried plaice is a well-known article of commerce in the by-ways of London, where the operation of frying is successfully performed. The secret is that the fish are fried in good oil, and that the temperature is duly attended to. See Sole.

_Perch_ (Perche).--Perch are delicate, especially when caught in a swiftly-running river, and may be eaten fried, or in water souchet, and shine especially in the latter form.

Clean the fish through as small an opening as is practicable, and lay them, without scaling, on a well-oiled gridiron on a brisk fire; keep turning them until you judge they are done, and send up to table with them, in a sauce boat, some liquefied butter, to which pepper, salt, and the juice of a lemon have been added. There should be one perch for each person. Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

_Pike_ (Brochet).--When they exceed 4-5 lb. in weight, they are excessively coarse and hardly worth carriage, but those of small or moderate size are not to be despised when stuffed with a veal stuffing--into which a liberal supply of lemon peel has entered--and baked.

Baked with Sour Cream.--Cut the pike in neat slices. Place them in an earthen baking dish with some butter at the bottom; divide 2 bay leaves into pieces, and put them with slices of onion between the fish; strew with salt, and pour over ½ pint sour cream. Bake about 20 minutes in a quick oven, basting at intervals; then strew over some fine breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese, bake a few minutes more till delicately coloured, dish without breaking the slices, but take away the bay leaf and onions. Pour enough broth or water into the baking dish to make a sauce; add pepper, salt, lemon juice, or vinegar; stir well round the crusting, and pour it over the fish.

Boiled.--Rub off the slime with salt and water, cut away gills and fins, draw, &c., and put into a fish kettle a handful of salt, 2 dr. cloves, also of mace, 2 sliced nutmegs, the peel of a lemon, and a small quantity of ginger peeled and sliced, 2 dr. whole pepper, 4 or 5 onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, equal quantities of rosemary, marjoram, thyme, winter savory and parsley, enough liquor, 3 parts water and one white wine, to cover the fish. Let it boil, put in the fish, and cook slowly. When done drain the liquor from it, and dish with the herbs and spices on it, sliced lemons and lemon peel, and with either of the following sauces: Sauce.--(1) To 1 ladleful melted butter add 2 of the boiling liquor in which the fish was cooked. (2) Add to the above some slices of lemon, and an anchovy or two pounded quite smooth. Garnish the fish with powdered ginger. (3) Add to the above some oysters, some sliced horseradish, and a small quantity of white wine, lastly, add the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs.

Broiled: see Carp.

Carbonade.--Slices of pike, neatly cut and cleared of skin and bone, must be coated with fine herbs and oiled butter; after which sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and ladle over some beaten egg with a spoon. Bake them a pale brown, and serve with a good sprinkling of lemon juice and a little gravy made in the baking dish.

Fried.--Choose small pike not more than 15 in. long, fry them until brown and crisp, drain off the butter, and put them into a pan with nutmeg, sliced ginger, a few anchovies, salt, and just sufficient claret to cover them. Boil until the liquor be half consumed, then add a piece of butter and a sliced lemon or orange. Serve on a dish previously rubbed with shallot, and garnish with lemon or orange.

Larded.--Choose a large fish. When cleaned, lard it thickly over with fresh bacon; put butter in a baking-dish with a little water; lay in the fish in a ring, with the tail in its mouth, and bake in a brisk oven; when half-done, strew fine breadcrumbs over, with pepper and salt; baste occasionally, and when done a delicate brown move the fish carefully on to a flat dish; pour into the baking-dish a brown caper sauce or a sardine sauce; add a good sprinkling of lemon juice; scrape in the crusting of the dish; pour the sauce over the fish, and serve.

Roast.--Stuff a large pike with veal stuffing, rather highly seasoned, and sew it up. Skewer its tail into its mouth and put it in a round baking tin. Pour over a teacupful of cream, and roast it in the oven, basting it frequently. Serve in a tureen melted butter sauce, with the liquor out of the dish added, and the juice of half a lemon. Hake would be good cooked in this way; one of moderate size must be chosen if it is to be cooked whole.

Soused: see Carp.

Stewed.--Having cleaned and scaled the pike, lay it in plenty of salted water. Put a good-sized piece of butter in a stewpan, with a large tablespoonful of chopped parsley and either a shallot, an onion, a clove of garlic, or some minced chives, 2 slices of lemon, 2 or 3 cloves, salt and pepper; cut up the fish into good-sized pieces. A pike of about 4 lb. weight is best this way. Add a glass of wine, the same of vinegar, and a large cup of broth or water to the stewed herbs. Lay in the fish packed closely together, cover, and let it simmer about ½ hour. Mix 3 or 4 yolks of eggs, with a cup of milk or cream, pour this over the fish; strew in breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce. Let it come to the boil; dish the fish carefully, put a piece of butter to melt in the sauce, and pour it over.

_Prawns_ (Crevettes).--Prawns are in this country generally boiled for about 10 minutes, and served cold. Very pretty they look when built up over a _buisson_ of parsley, and very nice they taste as a preparation for more serious dishes. In India and America, where they grow to a very large size, prawns are often curried or served in an _omelette_. In both of these cases they are first boiled, allowed to cool, and carefully picked. For an _omelette_ they are then tossed in butter seasoned with a little pepper, and inserted into the fold of the _omelette_, and in curry are treated precisely like curried lobster. In the first form they are exquisitely delicate; in the second simply delicious.

Aspic.--Make a savoury jelly with 2-3 lb. knuckle of veal, an oxfoot, some lean bacon, carrots, onions, shallots, a faggot of herbs, spices, pepper, and salt, and 2 qt. water; stew till quite strong, strain, when cold remove all fat, and clear with the whites of 2 or 3 eggs, and a glass of sherry; strain through a jelly bag, and when nearly set pour a little into a jelly mould, put a layer of cooked prawns, another layer of jelly and so on, filling up the mould with alternate layers of jelly and prawns; when quite firm (it will require icing) dip the mould in hot water for an instant, and turn it out very carefully. Crayfish may be cooked in the same way.

_Roach_ (Gardon, rosse).--Broiled: see Carp; Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

_Salmon_ (Saumon).--A good fresh salmon is stiff, is bright and clear in the scale, and has a small head. When the head looks long and the jaws are hooked at the ends, it is no longer desirable. The fish should be thick and deep, and the flesh of a fine pink colour, and very firm. Flabbiness in substance, and a crimson or purplish colour, are infallible indices of a fish out of condition. Salmon may be eaten advantageously with shrimp or with _Hollandaise_ sauce, with caper sauce, with simple _beurre fondu_, or perhaps best of all with fennel sauce.

À la Montpelier.--Take 6-8 lb. of the middle of a large salmon, put it into a braizing pan with 3 qt. stock, 2 qt. water, and ½ bottle chablis, with sliced carrots and onions, 6 bay leaves, some basil, thyme, and ¼ oz. fresh butter. Put it on the fire, and let it just boil, then withdraw it, and let it braize gently for 1 hour. Take equal proportions of chives and parsley, and a fourth part of anchovy. Blanch and then pound them in a mortar with fresh butter and cayenne to taste; when reduced to a smooth paste, pass it through a hair sieve, and put it on ice. When the salmon is cold, take it out of the braize and drain it, then cover it evenly with the above mixture. Serve ornamented with lobster spawn and aspic jelly, with truffles and chopped whites of egg.

Au bleu.--Cut the salmon into slices not quite 1 in. thick. If trout be used, let it be gutted by the gills, and not scaled, but only well washed. Lay the fish in a deep dish, pour over it about a teacupful of boiling vinegar, more or less, according to the quantity. Let the fish soak in this for an hour; then take it out, fold it in a nice clean piece of linen, place it in a stewpan with a piece of butter, an onion and a carrot thinly sliced, a bunch of parsley, a shallot, 2 bay leaves, a sprig of basil, spice, pepper, and salt to taste, 1 pint red wine (vin ordinaire), and a little broth. Let all simmer gently till the fish is cooked enough; the weight of the fish must decide the time. Let the fish remain in the liquor till cool, then serve it dry on a napkin, with the following sauce: 1 part vinegar to 2 of oil, with equal quantities of sorrel, chives, and chervil, chopped small, but not very fine.

Au gratin.--Take 2 slices salmon, about 1 in. thick, lay them in a buttered tin, having first sprinkled them on both sides with pepper and salt, put a few pieces of butter on them, and over all a sheet of buttered paper. Place the tin in the oven for ¼ hour, then take out the slices, lay them on a dish, pour the butter over them, and sprinkle them all over with grated Parmesan cheese, and a very little fine baked breadcrumbs on the top. Place the dish in the oven for 10 minutes, and serve in the same dish.

Boiled.--Put the fish--scaled and cleaned--into a fish kettle with sufficient cold water to cover it well, and with salt in the proportion of 1 lb. to 6 qt.; boil it quickly, skim carefully, and let it simmer till quite done. Remove it from the water, drain, brush the outer skin lightly with salad oil, and serve on a hot dish, with cut lemon and parsley.

Broiled.--Salmon for broiling should be cut in slices not more than 1 in. thick. These may be floured, dusted with a little pepper and salt, broiled on a gridiron previously rubbed with butter, and served with plain butter or anchovy sauce; but a better method is to rub the slices of salmon with a salad oil, instead of adopting the ancient process of flouring. Another and perhaps still better plan is--after drying the slices of fish thoroughly, to season them with a little pepper and salt, and a _soupçon_ of grated nutmeg. Then take some sheets of white paper, considerably larger--when doubled--than the steaks, and anoint them either with butter or with oil. Wrap each slice of salmon in a sheet of paper, and fasten the paper by turning up a rim and pinching it over. Broil gently over a very clear fire for about 20 minutes, and serve on a very hot dish. See Carp.

Boudin.--Take equal quantities cold boiled salmon and breadcrumbs. Put the salmon, finely flaked and picked free from bone and skin, into a mortar; pound it, pass it through a sieve, and return it to the mortar, then work into it half its bulk of butter, the breadcrumbs soaked in milk and squeezed dry; season with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; then work in sufficient eggs, in the proportion of 2 yolks and 1 white, to bind the mixture. Put it into buttered moulds, and steam it for ½ hour in a saucepan full of boiling water. Serve with Dutch sauce.

Cakes.--Pound about 1 lb. cold boiled salmon free of skin, with about the same quantity of cold boiled potatoes, taking care first to remove any eyes or dark-coloured specks there may be; with these beat up some pounded spawn of lobster, an egg, and a little milk. Season with salt and pepper and a few grains of cayenne. Then, with 2 little flour, roll into cakes, and fry them a nice brown. Dress them, set round on a napkin in a dish, garnished with fried parsley.

Chaud-froid.--Cut a slice about 4 in. thick from a fine salmon. Wrap it round with thin slices of fat bacon, first detaching the skin, by passing a sharp knife under it, from the fish, without removing it, and placing a piece of carrot wrapped in bacon in the hollow of the slice to keep it in shape; tie it firmly round with string. Set it on a small strainer, and place this in a stewpan. Have ready a sauce made by putting into a stewpan ¼ lb. chopped suet, ¼ lb. fat bacon, with some sprigs of parsley, 2 small onions and 1 carrot, both to be sliced, 2 cloves, the juice of half a lemon, a saltspoonful of pepper, and a little salt. Let these remain on the fire about 10 minutes, stirring them carefully during the time to prevent their getting brown; add as much water as may be necessary to use for boiling the salmon in, and let it boil for 1 hour, strain it and let it get cool, when it will be ready to pour over the fish into the stewpan. This stewpan should be no larger than absolutely necessary, or a very large quantity of the sauce would be required in which to boil the fish. Set the stewpan on a moderate fire for about ¾ hour; remove it, and let the fish remain in the liquor till nearly cold; then remove it to an earthen strainer on a dish, and set it aside to become quite cold and firm. Take the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, 2 anchovies, a dessertspoonful of capers, 2 green gherkins, a few chives, and some sprigs of parsley and tarragon, previously washed and well freed from water; pound all these well together in a mortar, and then mix in 2 oz. fresh butter, very gradually adding 2 tablespoonfuls salad oil, and 1 dessertspoonful tarragon vinegar; season with pepper and salt. Rub this all through a sieve and if too soft set it on the ice for a short time until sufficiently firm for use. Cut a slice of bread 1 in. thick, shape it into an oval form to suit the form of the salmon, fry it in butter a light colour, and spread some of the prepared butter all over it with a knife dipped in warm water. Place this on the dish in which it is to be served, set the fish on it, and spread the upper part of it with a rather thin coating of the same butter, smoothing it well with the blade of a knife. Cut a truffle into slices, and with a cutter stamp it into leaves, circles, &c. Some thin slices of white of hard-boiled egg should be stamped out in the same way, and be used for ornamenting the fish. A little bright red spawn of lobster should also be tastefully added here and there on the fish. The dish should be garnished with slices of cold aspic jelly cut into three-cornered pieces, and laid slightly one over the other to form a ring round the salmon.

Croquettes.--Carefully pick out the flesh of some remnants of boiled salmon and mince it slightly. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, add the smallest quantity of flour and some hot milk. Stir on the fire a minute or so, then add pepper, salt, a little grated nutmeg, some minced parsley, and lastly the fish; shake it well, and as soon as the fish is hot take the saucepan off the fire, and stir in the yolk of an egg beaten up with the juice of half a lemon; now spread out the mixture on a plate to get cold; when cold divide it in tablespoonfuls, and fashion them all in breadcrumbs into the shape of balls; roll these in beaten-up egg, breadcrumb them well and, after the lapse of about an hour, fry in very hot lard, serving with fried parsley.

Cutlets.--Take a piece of salmon 4 in. thick, remove the bones and skin carefully, cut it in slices ½ in. thick and flatten each on the chopping board with a cutlet bat or common chopper dipped in water. From these slices cut as many neatly-shaped cutlets of a uniform shape as is possible. Place them quite flat on a well-buttered baking tin, sprinkle butter and salt over them, and ten minutes before they are wanted put them into the oven, with a sheet of buttered white paper over them. Place all the trimmings of the salmon into a saucepan, with carrots, onions, thyme, a bay leaf, some parsley, pepper, and salt, and a pint of stock. Let this boil for ½ hour; melt a small piece of butter, add to it about a teaspoonful of flour; stir it till it begins to colour; then strain into it the above sauce, and add a little chopped parsley. Cut a large cucumber in rounds 1 in. long, cut each round into 4 quarters, remove the seeds and rind, and trim each piece to a uniform shape; then throw them into boiling water with a little salt; let them boil until nearly cooked. Strain, and throw into cold water, then strain again and put into a saucepan with a little butter, pepper, salt, and chopped parsley, to be kept covered up, and warm until wanted. To dish up, pour the sauce on a dish, arrange the cutlets slanting, overlapping each other round it, and fill the hollow space in the middle with the cucumber.

Devilled.--Some thin slices of kippered salmon, 3 captain’s biscuits in clarified butter or olive oil and some devil mixture. Soak some thin captain’s biscuits in clarified butter or olive oil, rub each side over well with the mixture, and toast them on the gridiron over a clear fire. Put them on a hot dish, place on each a very thin slice of kippered salmon, and brown with a salamander or before the fire. Serve quickly and very hot.

Grilled.--Grilled salmon may be served with many sauces. Plain _beurre fondu_ is a very good accompaniment, as is also a rich _maître d’hôtel_. _Sauce périgueux_, _sauce ravigote_, _sauce piquante_, _italienne_, and _sauce indienne_, are also frequently served; but perhaps the very best sauce of all to a salmon steak or cutlet is _tartare_, whose most formidable rival is the shallot sauce, known as _biérnaise_. French cooks are very fond of submitting salmon steaks to a preliminary bath in a _marinade_, composed of oil, salt, sliced onions, and plenty of parsley.

Kromeskies.--Odds and ends of cold salmon, and the tail of the fish, are well employed in making neat little dishes, such as kromeskies. To make these, cook the salmon, free it from skin and bone, and put it under a weight. When it is cooled into solidity, cut it into dice, and add half its bulk of chopped cooked truffles, if you have them, or mushrooms if the more noble fungus be unattainable. Take some good gravy, thicken it with butter and yolk of egg, reduce it a little, put in the salmon and the truffles, give it a shake up, and let it cook. Form the kromeskies with sheet wafer, dip in batter, fry them in butter, drain carefully, and serve very hot.

Mayonnaise.--Boil 5 or 6 eggs hard; when cold remove the yolks, and pound them up with 2 saltspoonfuls salt, 1 teaspoonful mustard, a little cayenne, and the raw yolks of 2 or 3 eggs. When quite smooth add 10 dessertspoonfuls oil, 2 of tarragon, and 4 of common vinegar. Wash and chop some tarragon, chervil, spring onions. Divide 1 lb. cold boiled salmon (freed from bone and skin) into flakes. Put a layer of the above salad into a bowl, then half of the salmon, pour some sauce over, then another layer of salad, the rest of the salmon and the sauce; ornament with sliced cucumber.

Pie.--Salmon pie is an elegant dish. To prepare this, take a tail of salmon and pick it clean from the bones and weigh it. Then make half its weight of whiting stuffing. Strip the fillets from 2 whiting, pound the flesh and rub it through a tammy; add to this ¼ lb. butter, and a like weight of breadcrumbs soaked in milk; season with pepper and salt, add a little white sauce, bind with yolks of 2 eggs, and mix all well together. Now take a pie dish, and put in a thin layer of stuffing, and on that a layer of salmon, seasoned with pepper, salt, and a little spice; on this put another layer of stuffing, then salmon, and so till the dish is filled; cover with paste, and bake in a slow oven till done. This requires some care in its preparation; but a simpler salmon pie may be made by mixing the cold flaked fish with mashed potatoes and a liberal dose of anchovy or shrimp sauce, and putting the whole into a pie dish, which may remain in a moderate oven till nicely browned.

Salad.--Take some boiled and “soused” salmon, mince it with apples and onions, add some salad oil, vinegar, and pepper; garnish with lemons and capers.

Scalloped.--Cut the flesh in slices half a finger thick, and these again, according to their size, into 2, 3, or 4 pieces, as round as possible. Put them into a pan with plenty of butter, and some salt and pepper. Keep a brisk fire till they are cooked through. Arrange them on a dish in a circle, overlapping each other, with a piece of fried bread the same size between each. Into the middle of these pour a sauce, tomato, genevoise, or Italian, or a white sauce, Parisienne or Normande.

_Salt fish_ (Morue).--In buying salt fish, care should be taken to select a thick, plump slice, which should be very white, as a yellow tinge often indicates fish that has been cured for a long time. That with a black skin should be preferred. Now take a sharp knife and pare the inside all over, wash the fish thoroughly, put it into a tub of spring water for 24 hours, then wash it out and put in fresh spring water for 12 hours longer. After this, lay it in hot water for a few minutes, and scrape off the tough outside pieces and scales without injuring the skin, which should be carefully preserved intact.

Wash the fish thoroughly, cut it into handsome pieces, and set it to drain. Have ready a kettle of boiling spring water, put in the fish, and boil it 20-30 minutes, according to thickness. Skim thoroughly, take up the fish and put it across the kettle to drain. Then with the paste brush wash it well, set it on a fish stand and napkin in a very hot dish, and garnish with hard eggs chopped small, and the whites of several more cut in rings. Surround the fish with pieces of boiled parsnips, and serve mashed parsnips and potatoes in separate dishes. If the fish be “dried” instead of merely salted, it will require soaking for 12-20 hours, according to its condition before commencing the operations just described. Salt fish is in this country invariably accompanied by egg sauce in boats, and it is important that this accompaniment be supplied in profusion. A little egg sauce is mere weak trifling. To make egg sauce, boil 6 eggs for 12 minutes, let them get cold, then cut the yolks into dice, and the whites in segments. Make 1 lb. good rich melted butter, add a little cream, season with pepper, salt, and a very little cayenne. Boil for a few minutes, then add the eggs, and shake them over the fire till they are quite hot through. Serve very hot.

_Sardines._--Curried.--Prepare the sardines as in the next recipe, put them on toast, and pour over them, instead of the “devil” mixture, the following sauce. Put the oil from the sardines in a small saucepan, which has previously been rubbed with a clove of garlic cut in half. When the oil boils add 1 tablespoonful flour and 1 teaspoonful curry powder, then add 2 gills stock, and boil till a good consistency is reached; then pour it upon the yolk of an egg, beaten with ½ teaspoonful lemon juice; add cayenne pepper and salt; pour over the sardines, and serve very hot.

Devilled.--Split the sardines, and remove the bones, trim them neatly, and season with a little made mustard, pepper, salt, and a little lemon juice; leave them for a short time, then broil over a clear fire, serve with fried parsley or with rich brown gravy, well flavoured and seasoned with pepper, salt, and French mustard.

Dressed.--6 sardines, 6 or 8 croûtons of bread, 2 teaspoonfuls anchovy essence, 2 teaspoonfuls Worcester sauce, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 dessertspoonful flour, 3 oz. butter, ¼ pint boiling water. Scrape, bone, and pound the sardines in a mortar with 1 oz. butter, a teaspoonful of anchovy essence, a teaspoonful of Worcester sauce; have ready fried, in fresh lard or butter, 6-8 croûtons of bread, stamped out with a small round tin cutter; spread the prepared sardines on the croûtons, and keep hot while the sauce is being made; put into a small saucepan 2 oz. butter, let it dissolve over the fire a minute; stir into it 1 dessertspoonful flour, and stir into it from the kettle ¼ pint boiling water; add to it the remainder of the anchovy and Worcester, and a little lemon juice; pour this over the croutons and serve.

Eggs.--4 eggs, 4 sardines, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, boil the eggs 8-10 minutes, and put them in cold water; scrape the sardines gently, and pound in a mortar. Peel the shells off the eggs, and cut them in halves lengthways; take out the yolks, and add them to the sardines in the mortar, and to these add the parsley, a little salt, a little white pepper, and 1 oz. butter. Pound all together and use this mixture to fill the whites of the eggs; now put the two halves together, so as to give them the appearance of whole eggs, set them on a dish, and put between them some sprigs of parsley and some strips of toast, or a border of small salad sprinkled with a little salad oil and vinegar.

Grilled.--Open a box containing 1 doz. sardines, remove the skins, and place the sardines on a tin plate in the oven till they are heated through. Meanwhile pour the oil from the sardines into a small saucepan, set it on the fire, and when it boils put in an even tablespoonful flour, stir well; then add gradually 2 gills weak stock or water. Boil till it is as thick as rich cream, then add 1 teaspoonful Worcester sauce, with salt, and plenty of cayenne pepper; beat together the yolk of 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful French mustard, and 1 teaspoonful vinegar. Pour the sauce boiling hot on the eggs, &c., stir a moment, then pour it over the sardines.

Maître d’Hôtel.--6-8 sardines, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, 1 thin slice onion chopped fine, 1 tablespoonful chili vinegar, ¼ pint melted butter, a round of toast. Have ready some toast; scrape the sardines carefully, and arrange them neatly on the toast, keep them warm while you make the following sauce: Make ¼ pint melted butter or white sauce, put into it the parsley and onion finely minced; let it boil 1 minute; add the chili vinegar or a little lemon juice, and a pinch of cayenne; pour this over the sardines, stand in the oven a few minutes, and serve.

Salad.--Take some sardines from a tin, wipe them slightly, bone and divide them into small pieces. Cut up some nicely washed lettuce, chervil, cress, &c., lay them in a salad bowl with the sardines and some chopped capers. Boil 2 eggs hard, mash the yolks, with salt, pepper, mustard, and cayenne; add gradually 3 tablespoonfuls fresh oil and 2 of lemon juice, stir well; pour it over the salad, garnish with slices of lemon and pickled capsicums.

Sandwiches.--Take 2 boxes sardines, and throw the contents into hot water, having first drained away all the oil. A few minutes will free the sardines from grease. Pour away the water, and dry the fish in a cloth; then scrape away the skins, and pound the sardines in a mortar till reduced to paste; add pepper, salt, and some tiny pieces of lettuce, and spread on the sandwiches, which have been previously cut as above. The lettuce adds very much to the flavour of the sardines.

Toast.--Place them with some of the oil out of the box between 2 plates in a hot oven; when thoroughly hot through place on toast cut in long slices the length of the sardine; shake a little cayenne and salt mixed over them, with a gentle squeeze of lemon.

_Scallops_ (Pitoncles).--Scallops are to be obtained during the colder months of the year, and in January and February are in full roe and at their best. Like all shell fish, scallops must be eaten quite fresh, or they are a failure; the flesh should be firm and white, the roe deep orange-coloured. In full season they are 6-8_d._ a doz., sometimes less, and being thick and fleshy, 1 doz. is generally considered enough for 4 persons.

Baked.--Trim off the beards and black part of the fish, and lay them in their own deep shells, or tin shells, 3 scallops in each; put a little vinegar in each, and pour over them the following mixture: a teacupful of breadcrumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped and scalded parsley, pepper, salt, and sufficient milk to make a thin paste; sprinkle a few dry crumbs, and put a tiny lump of butter on each shell; bake 20 minutes. Where vegetables are scarce and dear, or, as in this case, the bill of fare does not demand them, fried bread can be substituted. It should be cut into neat broad “fingers,” fried in bacon fat or beef dripping, and well drained before sending to table. A neat and pretty dish can be made by chopping up any remains of green vegetables, such as cabbage or sprouts, frying in a small proportion of fat, and piling it in the centre of a dish, with the bread round.

Fried.--Clean and beard them very carefully, and set them to drain; get ready a panful of boiling lard; flour the scallops thoroughly, put them in a frying basket, and fry to a light brown colour; garnish with fried parsley.

Stewed.--Put the scallops into a small saucepan with as much water as will thoroughly cover them, a little mace, and a little sugar. Let them stew gently till tender (probably about ½ hour), you can feel with your finger when they are sufficiently done. Make a sauce with 1-1½ oz. of butter dredged with flour and some of the liquor in which the scallops were stewed, add some cream and a little nutmeg. Stir this over the fire till it boils; then put the scallops in, and let them stew a little longer in the sauce beside the fire. In dishing up pour the sauce so as to cover the scallops.

_Shad_ (Alose).--This fine and delicate fish is found in greater perfection and richer abundance in the United States than in Europe; nevertheless, Europe is not devoid of shad, the Loire and the Severn being perhaps the most highly favoured rivers. The shad of the Thames--called the “twaite”--is a poor fish, but the “allice,” or Severn shad, is a great delicacy.

Take a fine shad, firm and bright in the scale; empty from the gills, and wash it thoroughly. Now make a forcemeat--either whiting or oyster--mixed with the roe of the shad, fill the fish, and either sew or skewer it up carefully, wrap it in strong writing paper thickly buttered, broil gently for an hour over a smokeless fire, either of charcoal or coke, and serve with caper sauce.

_Skate_ (Raie).--Boil some crimped skate in salted water, with some vinegar in it. Put a large piece of butter into a saucepan, and leave it on the fire until the butter becomes of a dark brown colour, but do not let it burn; then throw in some finely-chopped parsley, a wineglassful of tarragon vinegar, a little salt, and some powdered white pepper. Serve the sauce in a boat piping hot, with the fish on a napkin.

_Smelts_ (Eperlans) Fried.--Carefully flour, and fry in plenty of hot lard. When done, drain well in front of the fire, sprinkle all over with very fine salt, and serve with fried parsley and lemon cut into “quarters.”

_Sole_ (Sole) In jelly.--See Trout.

À la Normande.--Take a good-sized sole and put it into a fish kettle which will hold it flat; strew the sole with sprigs of parsley, minced onions, a little mace and thyme, and pepper and salt; now add some oysters, bearded, and some mussels, previously well cleaned, about 1 doz. of each; pour in a glass of chablis or any light white wine, and about the same quantity of white stock, or even water; cover over the kettle, and stew gently until cooked. Strain off the liquor and arrange the sole on a deep dish which will stand the oven, with the oysters and mussels all round; put the strained liquor into a saucepan, add to it ½ pint well flavoured good white stock; when quite hot add, off the fire, the beaten-up yolks of 2 eggs; pour the sauce over the fish, put it into the oven for a few minutes (it must not take colour), and then serve garnished with mushrooms previously stewed in lemon juice, slices of truffles stewed in white wine, and with fried bread croûtons.

À la Maître d’Hôtel.--Put into a saucepan full of water a bunch of parsley, an onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper and salt to taste. When the water boils throw in 8 fillets of soles, each tied up in a knot, and let them boil till done. Serve with maître d’hôtel sauce.

Aspic.--Take 6 fillets of soles, put them in a buttered tin, with pepper, salt, and a squeeze of lemon; cover the tin with a sheet of buttered paper, and put it in the oven just long enough to cook the fillets, then put them under a weight until cold. Clean and wash some fillets of anchovies, have a little parsley very finely minced, cut the fillets of soles in rounds the size of a penny, make a layer in a plain mould of very pale aspic jelly; on this, when it begins to set, dispose in some sort of pattern the fillets of anchovies and the pieces of sole, sprinkling each with a little parsley; fill up the interstices with aspic jelly, and keep on adding layer upon layer of soles and anchovies until the mould is full.

Au gratin.--Put 1 large sole in a proper fish-baking dish, or else place 2 small ones side by side and head to tail. Pour a glass of sauterne or any white wine into the dish, add some pepper and salt, a few very fine mixed sweet herbs sprinkled over lightly, a little onion finely minced, and a squeeze of lemon juice. A few little lumps of butter or dripping should be placed at the bottom of the dish to prevent dryness. Cover the whole rather thickly with breadcrumbs, and bake for ½ hour or until the top is a brown colour. The fish must be sent to table in the dish it is baked in, as it spoils it completely to move it.

Au vin blanc.--Butter a baking dish, lay 2 soles on it, add pepper and salt to taste, pour sufficient white wine and common stock free from fat in equal parts to cover the fish well. Put a piece of buttered paper on the top, and bake for 20 minutes. Melt 1 oz. butter in a saucepan, and mix with it a tablespoonful of flour, strain into this the liquor in which the soles have been cooked, add a little more stock or water if necessary, and stir on the fire till the sauce thickens, throw in some finely minced parsley, pour over the soles, and serve.

Broiled.--Clean and skin the fish, and thoroughly dry it in a cloth; dip it either in oil or liquefied butter; put it in a double gridiron, and broil it at a brisk fire for about 8-10 minutes, turning it once or twice during the operation. Serve with a piece of fresh butter under, and a lemon cut into quarters round it.

Consommé.--Remove the fillets from 2 soles, cut them out with a cutter in pieces the size of a penny. Put the bones and all the trimmings of the soles in a saucepan with 1 qt. plain white stock, a large handful of parsley, a piece of celery, 1 onion, 2 or 3 cloves, a blade of mace, and pepper and salt to taste. Let this boil slowly 3-4 hours, carefully skim and strain the liquor; then put it on the fire again, and when it boils put in the cut pieces of soles. When they are cooked take them out, put them in the soup tureen with a little chopped parsley, and having strained the liquor once more pour it over and serve.

En Matelote.--Put the fish in a stewpan with a bunch of sweet herbs, some butter, onions cut in rings, some white wine or cider and water, half of each, enough almost to cover the fish; add salt and pepper. Bring it to the boil, and boil for about 15 minutes. Place the fish on the dish on which it is to be served, having first covered the bottom of it with slices of fried bread. About 25 mushrooms may be added to the sauce. Boil it down till it is somewhat reduced; thicken it with a good-sized piece of butter rolled in flour; take out the bunch of herbs, and pour it over the fish.

Fillets.--(_a_) Fillet and fry soles in the usual manner. Make tartare sauce of the yolks of 2 eggs, dropping in 1 gill oil, with 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and 1 of tarragon vinegar, ½ gill cream, and 1 teaspoonful made mustard.

(_b_) Remove both skins of the sole; then, with a sharp-pointed knife, cut it around the inside of the fins. This done, make an incision along the backbone, and divide the fish from the bone by beginning at the head, and drawing the point of the knife horizontally down each side of the backbone, between the flesh and the ribs, and placing at the same time the 3 first fingers of the left hand on the fillet you are about to remove. Each sole should make but 4 fillets, except in the case of very large soles, when they may be either cut lengthways or across, as taste may direct. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

Fricassée.--Fillet a large pair of soles, put the bones in an enamelled stewpan with a pint of cold water, a small bunch of thyme and parsley, and ½ onion, a blade of mace and a little lemon rind pared thin, let them stew about 1 hour; when done strain the liquor off into a basin. Rinse the stewpan, and roll up each fillet separately, and fasten either with a small skewer, or tie round with a piece of darning cotton, and place them in the stewpan in one layer, and pour over them the liquor from the bones; stew about 20 minutes very gently, and thicken the sauce with 1 dessertspoonful arrowroot or cornflour, mixed with a little milk; when done, add to the sauce ¼ pint cream, the yolks of 2 eggs, the juice of ½ lemon, a pinch of pounded mace, and a little pepper and salt. The dish may be garnished with a border of potato croquettes.

Fried.--Clean and skin the fish, and dry it thoroughly in a cloth; dip it in an egg beaten up, and then strew it on both sides with very fine breadcrumbs, taking care that it is evenly covered with a very thin layer of them. Let the fish rest for 1-2 hours, then have ready in the frying-pan boiling hot fat in sufficient quantity to fairly float it; put in the fish, which will be cooked in 5-10 minutes, according to size, and should be skilfully turned over once during the operation. The fish should be laid on blotting-paper before the fire in the screen, in order to drain all fat from it. Serve with fried parsley and cut lemon.

In Brown Sauce.--Put into a small copper stewpan 3 oz. butter. Put this on the fire to dissolve; then stir into it 1 tablespoonful flour. Keep stirring on the fire till it assumes a golden-brown hue. Now stir into it ½ pint stock or gravy, and let it boil up to thicken the sauce. Now put into a wide shallow stewpan a pair of moderate-sized soles that have been previously cleaned, well dried in a cloth, floured and fried in some lard or butter over a rather sharp fire so as to brown them without being quite done. Pour over the soles the prepared sauce, adding a moderate-sized onion stuck with 4 or 5 cloves, a few sprigs of thyme, and a few peppercorns. Stew the fish 15-20 minutes very gently. When the soles are done lift them out carefully on to the dish in which they are to be served and keep warm while the sauce is being finished by adding to it a wineglass of sherry, a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, one of vinegar, and two teaspoonfuls of essence of anchovies. Pour some of the sauce over the fish and the rest in a boat and serve.

In Cases.--Take 2 parts finely minced mushrooms, 1 part shallots and parsley in equal proportions, also finely minced; toss them in plenty of butter for a few minutes, adding pepper and salt to taste, and put the mixture aside. When cold spread a thin layer of it on each fillet, roll them up, and cook them between 2 buttered plates in the oven. Have ready some paper cases, place one rolled fillet in each, then fill up the case with white sauce, and place a button mushroom on the top of each, and keep quite hot till time of serving. _Sauce._--Take 2 parts butter and 1 of flour, mix thoroughly in a saucepan on the fire, add enough veal stock to get the sauce of a proper consistency, add a few button mushrooms; let the sauce boil for 10 minutes; stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of ½ lemon.

Roulettes.--Choose fine ones, take off the heads, fins, and tails, strip them from the bone; cut small oblong fillets, lay them in a marinade of salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a grate of nutmeg for ½ hour. Roll the fillets egg-shaped and bind them with thread; pack them closely together in a stewpan, with a little broth or water, to which add lemon juice and some butter; cover closely and stew gently till done. Serve in their own sauce, or glaze them brown and serve as a ragout.

Salad.--Take any remnants of sole, cut them up in small pieces, and put them to marinade for 2 hours in tarragon vinegar, with some sliced onions and sprigs of basil, thyme, and chervil. Strain and mix them with some fresh lettuce; beat up the yolk of a hard-boiled egg with salt, pepper, a very little of the tarragon vinegar, 3 tablespoons cream or sweet oil, and ½ teaspoon anchovy sauce. When quite smooth pour over the salad.

Savalada.--Take 2 Spanish onions, slice them, and stew them in a gill of olive oil, taking care that they do not burn or even brown; add 2 soles (filleted and fried a light brown in oil), and 1½ gills tomato sauce, or 3 fresh tomatoes, peeled, freed from pips, and cut in slices. Season with pepper and salt, let the whole stew a few minutes, and serve.

Stewed.--Cut up 2 large onions in slices, lay them flat in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, pepper, and salt, and enough water just to cover them. Let them simmer till tender. Cut in comely pieces a pair of soles, lay them on the top of the onions, and let them simmer till done. Strain off the liquor, and when it is cold stir into it the juice of 2 lemons beaten up with the yolks of 3 eggs, return it to the stewpan, and let the whole get hot again, but not boil; then arrange the fish and the onions on a dish, sprinkle them over with finely minced parsley, and pour the sauce over. To be served cold.

Water Souchet.--Take a number of small soles, fillet them, and cut the fillets into convenient pieces. Put the bones and all the trimmings into a saucepan, with some whole pepper, 6 roots of parsley, cut up small, a handful of parsley leaves, a blade of mace, and salt to taste; cover with cold water, and let the whole boil for 2 hours. Strain the liquor, put in it the pieces of fish, with a few parsley roots finely shredded; let it boil 10 minutes, then add some minced parsley; boil 5 minutes longer. Serve in a deep dish, with enough liquor just to cover the fish; garnish with lemon cut in quarters, and serve with brown bread and butter.

With Ravigote Sauce.--Lay a sole in a well-buttered tin, add pepper and salt, put a piece of buttered paper over it, cook it in the oven until done, drain, and serve with the following sauce over: Take equal parts of parsley, chervil, garden cress, and tarragon; mince them very finely. Rub a saucepan with shallot, melt a piece of butter in it, add a little flour, mix thoroughly, then add stock, pepper, salt, a glass of white wine, and the herbs. Let the sauce come to the boil, then throw in a small pat of butter, a squeeze of lemon, and serve.

_Sprats_ (Harenguets).--Although these fish, of small marketable value, are considered more as food for the multitude, yet in these times of strict food economy it may not be amiss for any housekeeper--especially those in the country, where fish supplies come in seldom but in large quantities--to try the following modes, suitable for breakfast, luncheon, making out servants’ dinners, supper, &c., besides the more usual way of cooking by broiling or frying.

Baked.--After they have been cleaned, place them in a pie-dish, with some whole pepper, bay leaves, and a little salt sprinkled over them; cover them over, and put them in the oven; they will not take long to cook; let them stand in the liquor they make until cold, when pour the vinegar over them. (E. J. G.)