Ingredients.—1 oz. of whole black pepper, ½ oz. of allspice, 1 oz. of salt, ½ oz. grated horseradish, ½ oz. of pickled shalots, 1 pint of mushroom ketchup or walnut pickle.Mode.—Pound all the ingredients finely in a mortar, and putthem into the ketchup or walnut-liquor. Let them stand for a fortnight, when strain off the liquor and bottle for use. Either pour a little of the sauce over the steaks, or mix it in the gravy.Seasonable.—This can be made at any time.
Note.—In using a jar of pickled walnuts, there is frequently left a large quantity of liquor. This should be converted into a sauce like the above, and will be found a very useful relish.
Ingredients.—½ pint of melted butter made with milk, 3 teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar, flavouring of grated lemon-rind or cinnamon.Mode.—Make ½ pint of melted butter, omitting any salt; stir in the sugar, add a little grated lemon-rind, nutmeg, or powdered cinnamon, and serve. Previously to making the melted butter, the milk can be flavoured with bitter almonds, by infusing about half a dozen of them in it for about ½ hour; the milk should then be strained before it is added to the other ingredients. This simple sauce may be served for children with rice, batter, or bread pudding.Time.—Altogether, 15 minutes.Average cost, 4d.Sufficientfor 6 or 7 persons.
Ingredients.—A small jar of red-currant jelly, 1 glass of port wine.Mode.—Put the above ingredients into a stewpan, set them over the fire, and, when melted, pour in a tureen and serve. It should not be allowed to boil.Time.—5 minutes to melt the jelly.Average cost, for this quantity, 1s.
Ingredients.—1 pint of white stock, thickening of flour and butter, or white roux, a faggot of savoury herbs, including parsley, 6 chopped mushrooms, 6 green onions.Mode.—Put the stock into a stewpan with the herbs, onions, and mushrooms, and let it simmer very gently for about ½ hour; stir in sufficient thickening to make it of a proper consistency; let it boil for a few minutes, then skim off all the fat, strain and serve. This sauce, with the addition of a little cream, is now frequently called velouté.Time.—½ hour.Average cost, for this quantity, 6d.
Note.—If poultry trimmings are at hand, the stock should be made of these. The above sauce should not be made too thick, as it does not then admit of the fat being nicely removed.
Ingredients.—1 glass of port wine, 1 tablespoonful of Leamington sauce, 1 tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1 slice of lemon-peel, 1 large shalot cut in slices, 1 blade of mace, cayenne to taste.Mode.—Put all the ingredients into a stewpan, set it over the fire, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes; then strain and serve the sauce in a tureen.Time.—5 minutes,Average cost, for this quantity, 8d.
Ingredients.—To every 1 lb. of lean pork, add ¾ lb. of fat bacon, ½ oz. of salt, 1 saltspoonful of pepper, ¼ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley.Mode.—Remove from the pork all skin, gristle, and bone, and chop it finely with the bacon; add the remaining ingredients, and carefully mix altogether. Pound it well in a mortar, make it into convenient-sized cakes, flour these, and fry them a nice brown for about 10 minutes. This is a very simple method of making sausage-meat, and on trial will prove very good, its great recommendation being, that it is so easily made.Time.—10 minutes.Seasonablefrom September to March.
Ingredients.—6 oz. of lean pork, 6 oz. of fat pork, both weighed after being chopped (beef-suet may be substituted for the latter), 2 oz. of bread-crumbs, 1 small tablespoonful of minced sage, 1 blade of pounded mace, salt and pepper to taste, 1 egg.Mode.—Chop the meat and fat very finely, mix with them the other ingredients, taking care that the whole is thoroughly incorporated. Moisten with the egg, and the stuffing will be ready for use. Equal quantities of this stuffing and forcemeat will be found to answer very well, as the herbs, lemon-peel, &c., in the latter, impart a very delicious flavour to the sausage-meat. As preparations, however, like stuffings and forcemeats, are matters to be decidedby individual palates, they must be left, to a great extent, to the discrimination of the cook, who should study her employer’s taste in this as in every other respect.Average cost, 9d.Sufficientfor a small turkey.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of puff-paste, sausage-meat, the yolk of 1 egg.Mode.—Make 1 lb. of puff-paste; roll it out to the thickness of about ½ inch, or rather less, and divide it into 8, 10, or 12 squares, according to the size the rolls are intended to be. Place some sausage-meat on one-half of each square, wet the edges of the paste, and fold it over the meat; slightly press the edges together, and trim them neatly with a knife. Brush the rolls over with the yolk of an egg, and bake them in a well-heated oven for about ½ hour, or longer should they be very large. The remains of cold chicken and ham, minced and seasoned, as also cold veal or beef, make very good rolls.Time.—½ hour, or longer if the rolls are large.Average cost, 1s.6d.Sufficient.—1 lb. of paste for 10 or 12 rolls.Seasonable, with sausage-meat, from September to March or April.
Ingredients.—To every lb. of suet allow 2 lbs. of lean beef, seasoning to taste of salt, pepper, and mixed spices.Mode.—Clear the suet from skin, and chop that and the beef as finely as possible; season with pepper, salt, and spices, and mix the whole well together. Make it into flat cakes, and fry of a nice brown. Many persons pound the meat in a mortar after it is chopped; but this is not necessary when the meat is minced finely.Time.—10 minutes.Average cost, for this quantity, 1s.6d.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—Sausages: a small piece of butter.Mode.—Prick the sausages with a fork (this prevents them from bursting), and put them into a frying-pan with a small piece of butter. Keep moving the pan about, and turn the sausages 3 or 4 times. In from 10 to 12 minutes they will be sufficiently cooked, unless they arevery large, when a little more time should be allowed for them. Dish them with or without a piece of toast under them, and serve very hot. In some counties, sausages are boiled and served on toast. They should be plunged into boiling water, and simmered for about 10 or 12 minutes.Time.—10 to 12 minutes.Average cost, 10d.per lb.Seasonable.—Good from September to March.
FRIED SAUSAGES.
FRIED SAUSAGES.
Note.—Sometimes, in close warm weather, sausages very soon turn sour; to prevent this, put them in the oven for a few minutes with a small piece of butter to keep them moist. When wanted for table, they will not require so long frying as uncooked sausages.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of pork, fat and lean, without skin or gristle; 1 lb. of lean veal, 1 lb. of beef suet, ½ lb. of bread-crumbs, the rind of ½ lemon, 1 small nutmeg, 6 sage-leaves, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, ½ teaspoonful of savory, ½ teaspoonful of marjoram.Mode.—Chop the pork, veal, and suet finely together, add the bread-crumbs, lemon-peel (which should be well minced), and a small nutmeg grated. Wash and chop the sage-leaves very finely; add these with the remaining ingredients to the sausage-meat, and when thoroughly mixed, either put the meat into skins, or, when wanted for table, form it into little cakes, which should be floured and fried.Average cost, for this quantity, 2s.6d.Sufficientfor about 30 moderate-sized sausages.Seasonablefrom October to March.
Ingredients.—Equal quantities of fat bacon and lean veal; to every lb. of meat, allow 1 teaspoonful of minced-sage, salt and pepper to taste.Mode.—Chop the meat and bacon finely, and to every lb. allow the above proportion of very finely-minced sage; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, mix the whole well together, make it into flat cakes, and fry a nice brown.Seasonablefrom March to October.
Ingredients.—The weight of 4 eggs in pounded loaf sugar, the weight of 7 in flour, a little grated lemon-rind, or essence of almonds, or orange-flower water.Mode.—Break the 7 eggs, putting the yolks into one basin and the whites into another. Whisk the former, and mix with them the sugar, the grated lemon-rind, or any other flavouring to taste; heat them well together, and add the whites of the eggs, whisked to a froth. Put in the flour by degrees, continuing to beat the mixture for ¼ hour, butter a mould, pour in the cake, and bake it from 1¼ to 1½ hour. This is a very nice cake for desert, and may be iced for a supper table, or cut into slices and spread with jam, which converts it into sandwiches.Time.—1¼ to 1½ hour.Average cost, 1s.Sufficientfor 1 cake.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—1 bream. Seasoning to taste of salt, pepper, and cayenne; ¼ lb. of butter.Mode.—Well wash the bream, but do not remove the scales, and wipe away all moisture with a nice dry cloth. Season it inside and out with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and lay it in a baking-dish. Place the butter, in small pieces, upon the fish, and bake for rather more than ½ an hour. To stuff this fish before baking, will be found a great improvement.Time.—Rather more than ½ an hour.Seasonablein summer.
Note.—This fish may be broiled over a nice clear fire, and served with a good brown gravy or white sauce, or it may be stewed in wine.
Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water allow one heaped tablespoonful of salt.Mode.—Well wash the kale, cut away any worm-eaten pieces, and tie it into small bunches; put it intoboilingwater, salted in the above proportion, and let it boil quickly until tender. Take it out, drain, untie the bunches, and serve with plain melted butter or white sauce, a little of which may be poured over the kale. Sea-kale may also be parboiled and stewed in good brown gravy: it will then take about ½ hour altogether.Time.—15 minutes; when liked very thoroughly done, allow an extra 5 minutes.Average cost, in full season, 9d.per basket.Sufficient.—Allow 12 heads for 4 or 5 persons.Seasonablefrom February to June.
BOILED SEA-KALE.
BOILED SEA-KALE.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of sifted sugar, ¼ lb. of butter, ½ oz. of caraway seeds, 3 eggs.Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; stir in the flour, sugar, and caraway seeds; and when these ingredients are well mixed, add the eggs, which should be well whisked. Roll out the paste, with a round cutter shape out the biscuits, and bake them in a moderate oven from 10 to 15 minutes. The tops of the biscuits may be brushed over with a little milk or the white of an egg, and then a little sugar strewn over.Time.—10 or 15 minutes.Average cost, 1s.Sufficientto make 3 dozen biscuits.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—½ quartern of dough, ¼ lb. of good dripping, 6 oz. of moist sugar, ½ oz. of caraway seeds, 1 egg.Mode.—If the dough is sent in from the bakers, put it in a basin covered with a cloth, and set it in a warm place to rise. Then with a wooden spoon beat the dripping to a liquid; add it, with the other ingredients, to the dough, and beat it until everything is very thoroughly mixed. Put it into a buttered tin, and bake the cake for rather more than 2 hours.Time.—Rather more than 2 hours.Average cost, 3d.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of butter, 6 eggs, ¾ lb. of sifted sugar, pounded mace and grated nutmeg to taste, 1 lb. of flour, ¾ oz. of caraway seeds, 1 wineglassful of brandy.Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour; add the sugar, mace, nutmeg, and caraway seeds, and mix these ingredients well together. Whisk the eggs, stir to them the brandy, and beat the cake again for 10 minutes. Put it into a tin lined with butteredpaper, and bake it from 1½ to 2 hours. This cake would be equally nice made with currants, and omitting the caraway seeds.Time.—1½ to 2 hours.Average cost, 2s.6d.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—3 oz. of semolina, 1½ pint of milk, ¼ lb. of sugar, 12 bitter almonds, 3 oz. of butter, 4 eggs.Mode.—Flavour the milk with the bitter almonds, by infusing them in it by the side of the fire for about ½ hour; then strain it, and mix with it the semolina, sugar, and butter. Stir these ingredients over the fire for a few minutes; then take them off, and gradually mix in the eggs, which should be well beaten. Butter a pie-dish, line the edges with puff-paste, put in the pudding, and bake in rather a slow oven from 40 to 50 minutes. Serve with custard sauce or stewed fruit, a little of which may be poured over the pudding.Time.—40 to 50 minutes.Average cost, 1s.2d.Sufficientfor 5 or 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—5 oz. of semolina, 2 quarts of boiling stock.Mode.—Drop the semolina into the boiling stock, and keep stirring, to prevent its burning. Simmer gently for half an hour, and serve.Time.—½ an hour.Average cost, 10d.per quart, or 4d.Sufficientfor 8 persons.Seasonableall the year.
Dinner for 18 Persons.
First Course.
menu
Julienne Soup, removed by Brill & Shrimp Sauce. Red Mullet & Italian Sauce. Vase of Flowers. Fried Eels. Giblet Soup, removed by Salmon and Lobster Sauce.
Entrées.
menu
Lamb Cutlets and French Beans. Fillets of Chicken and Truffles. Vase of Flowers. Oysters au Gratin. Sweetbreads and Tomato Sauce.
Second Course.
menu
Saddle of Mutton. Veal-and-Ham Pie. Chickens à la Béchamel. Vase of Flowers. Braised Goose. Broiled Ham, garnished with Cauliflowers. Fillet of Veal.
Third Course.
menu
Dessert and Ices.
Custards. Partridges, removed by Plum-pudding. Apple Tart. Compôte of Greengages. Noyeau Jelly. Vase of Flowers. Lemon Cream. Pastry Sandwiches. Plum Tart. Grouse & Bread Sauce, removed by Nesselrode Pudding. Custards.
First Course.—Mock-turtle soup; soup à la Jardinière; salmon and lobster sauce; fried whitings; stewed eels.Entrées.—Veal cutlets; scalloped oysters; curried fowl; grilled mushrooms.Second Course.—Haunch of mutton; boiled calf’s head à la Béchamel; braised ham; roast fowls aux Cressons.Third Course.—Leveret; grouse; cabinet pudding, iced pudding; compôte of plums; damsontart; cream; fruit jelly; prawns; lobster salad. Dessert and ices.
First Course.—Flemish soup; turbot, garnished with fried smelts; red mullet and Italian sauce.Entrées.—Tendrons de veau and truffles; lamb cutlets and sauce piquante.Second Course.—Loin of veal à la Béchamel; roast haunch of venison; braised ham; grouse pie; vegetables.Third Course.—Roast hare; plum tart; whipped cream; punch jelly; compôte of damsons; marrow pudding; dessert.
First Course.—Game soup; crimped skate; slices of salmon à la genévése.Entrées.—-Fricasseed sweetbreads; savoury rissoles.Second Course.—Sirloin of beef and horseradish sauce; boiled leg of mutton and caper sauce; vegetables.Third Course.—Roast partridges; charlotte Russe; apricots and rice; fruit jelly; cabinet pudding; dessert.
First Course.—Thick gravy soup; fillets of turbot à la crême; stewed eels.Entrées.—Vol-au-vent of lobster; salmi of grouse.Second Course.—Haunch of venison; rump of beef à la Jardinière; hare, boned and larded, with mushrooms.Third Course.—Roast grouse; apricot blancmange; compôte of peaches; plum-tart; custards; plum-pudding; dessert.
Sunday.—1. Julienne soup. 2. Roast ribs of beef, Yorkshire pudding, horseradish sauce, French beans, and potatoes. 3. Greengage pudding, vanilla cream.
Monday.—1. Crimped skate and crab sauce. 2. Cold beef and salad, small veal-and-ham pie. 3. Vegetable marrow and white sauce.
Tuesday.—1. Fried soles, melted butter. 2. Bowled fowls, parsley-and-butter; bacon-cheek, garnished with French beans; beef rissoles, made from remains of cold beef. 3. Plum tart and cream.
Wednesday.—1. Boiled round of beef, carrots, turnips, and suet dumplings; marrow on toast. 2. Baked damsons and rice.
Thursday.—1. Vegetable soup, made from liquor that beef was boiled in. 2. Lamb cutlets and cucumbers, cold beef and salad. 3. Apple pudding.
Friday.—1. Baked soles. 2. Bubble-and-squeak, made from cold beef; veal cutlets and rolled bacon. 3. Damson tart.
Saturday.—1. Irish stew, rump-steaks and oyster-sauce. 2. Somersetshire dumplings.
Sunday.—1. Fried filleted soles and anchovy sauce. 2. Roast leg of mutton, brown onion sauce, French beans, and potatoes; half calf’s head, tongue, and brains. 3. Plum-tart; custards, in glasses.
Monday.—1. Vegetable-marrow soup. 2. Calf’s head à la maître d’hôtel, from remains of cold head; boiled brisket of beef and vegetables. 3. Stewed fruit and baked rice pudding.
Tuesday.—1. Roast fowls and water-cresses; boiled bacon, garnished with tufts of cauliflower; hashed mutton, from remains of mutton of Sunday. 2. Baked plum-pudding.
Wednesday.—1. Boiled knuckle of veal and rice, turnips, potatoes; small ham, garnished with French beans. 2. Baked apple pudding.
Thursday.—1. Brill and shrimp sauce. 2. Roast hare, gravy, and red-currant jelly; mutton cutlets and mashed potatoes. 3. Scalloped oysters, instead of pudding.
Friday.—1. Small roast loin of mutton; the remains of hare, jugged; vegetable marrow and potatoes. 2. Damson pudding.
Saturday.—1. Rump-steaks, broiled, and oyster-sauce, mashed potatoes; veal-and-ham pie,—the ham may be cut from that boiled on Wednesday, if not all eaten cold for breakfast. 2. Lemon pudding.
Fish.—Brill, carp, cod, eels, flounders, lobsters, mullet, oysters, plaice, prawns, skate, soles, turbot, whiting, whitebait.
Meat.—Beef, lamb, mutton, pork, veal.
Poultry.—Chickens, ducks, fowls, geese, larks, pigeons, pullets, rabbits, teal, turkeys.
Game.—Black-cock, buck venison, grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants.
Vegetables.—Artichokes, asparagus, beans, cabbage sprouts, carrots, celery, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, pease, potatoes, salads, sea-kale, sprouts, tomatoes, turnips, vegetable marrows,—various herbs.
Fruit.—Bullaces, damsons, figs, filberts, grapes, melons, morella cherries, mulberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, quinces, walnuts.
Ingredients.—1 shad, oil, pepper, and salt.Mode.—Scale, empty and wash the fish carefully, and make two or three incisions across the back. Season it with pepper and salt, and let it remain in oil for ½ hour. Broil it on both sides over a clear fire, and serve with caper sauce. This fish is much esteemed by the French, and by them is considered excellent.Time.—Nearly 1 hour.Average cost.—Seldom bought.Seasonablefrom April to June.
Ingredients.—6 sheep’s brains, vinegar, salt, a few slices of bacon, 1 small onion, 2 cloves, a small bunch of parsley, sufficient stock or weak broth to cover the brains, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, matelote sauce.Mode.—Detach the brains from the head without breaking them, and put them into a pan of warm water; remove the skin, and let them remain for two hours. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water, add a little vinegar and salt, and put in the brains. When they are quite firm, take them out and put them into very cold water. Place 2 or 3 slices of bacon in a stewpan, put in the brains, the onion stuck with 2 cloves, the parsley, and a good seasoning of pepper and salt; cover with stock, or weak broth, and boil them gently for about 25 minutes. Have ready some croûtons; arrange these in the dish alternately with the brains, and cover with a matelote sauce, to which has been added the above proportion of lemon-juice.Time.—25 minutes.Average cost, 1s.6d.Sufficientfor 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—12 feet, ¼ lb. of beef or mutton suet, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 2 bay-leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 oz. of salt, ¼ oz. of pepper, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2½ quarts of water, ¼ lb. of fresh butter, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of flour, ¼ teaspoonful of pepper, a little grated nutmeg, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 gill of milk, the yolks of 2 eggs.Mode.—Have the feet cleaned, and the long bone extracted from them. Put the suet into a stewpan, with the onions and carrot sliced, the bay-leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper, and let these simmer for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoonfuls of flour and the water, and keep stirring till it boils; then put in the feet. Let these simmer for 3 hours, or until perfectly tender, and take them and lay them on a sieve. Mix together, on a plate, with the back of a spoon, butter, salt, flour (1 teaspoonful), pepper, nutmeg, and lemon-juice as above, and put the feet, with a gill of milk, into a stewpan. When very hot, add the butter, &c., and stir continually till melted. Now mix the yolks of 2 eggs with 5 tablespoonfuls of milk; stir this to the other ingredients, keep moving the pan over the fire continually for a minute or two, but do not allow it to boil after the eggs are added. Serve in a very hot dish, and garnish with croûtons, or sippets of toasted bread.Time.—3 hours.Average cost, 1s.6d.Sufficientfor 4 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—1 sheep’s head, sufficient water to cover it, 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 2 or 3 parsnips, 3 onions, a small bunch of parsley, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, 3 teaspoonfuls of salt, ¼ lb. of Scotch oatmeal.Mode.—Clean the head well, and let it soak in warm water for 2 hours, to get rid of the blood; put it into a saucepan, with sufficient cold water to cover it, and when it boils, add the vegetables, peeled and sliced, and the remaining ingredients; before adding the oatmeal, mix it to a smooth batter with a little of the liquor. Keep stirring till it boils up; then shut the saucepan closely, and let it stew gently for 1½ or 2 hours. It may be thickened with rice or barley, but oatmeal is preferable.Time.—1½ to 2 hours.Average cost, 8d.each.Sufficientfor 3 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—2 lbs. of flour, 1 lb. of butter, ¼ lb. of pounded loaf sugar, ½ oz. of caraway seeds, 1 oz. of sweet almonds, a few strips of candied orange-peel.Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream, gradually dredge in the flour, and add the sugar, caraway seeds, and sweet almonds, which should be blanched and cut into small pieces. Work the paste until it is quite smooth, and divide it into six pieces. Put each cake on a separate piece of paper, roll the paste out square to the thickness of about an inch, and pinch it upon all sides. Prick it well, and ornament with one or two strips of candied orange-peel. Put the cakes into a good oven, and bake them from 25 to 30 minutes.Time.—25 to 30 minutes.Average cost, for this quantity, 2s.Sufficientto make 6 cakes.Seasonableat any time.
SHORTBREAD.
SHORTBREAD.
Note.—Where the flavour of the caraway seeds is disliked, omit them, and add rather a larger proportion of candied peel.
Ingredients.—1/3 pint of melted butter, ¼ pint of picked shrimps, cayenne to taste.Mode.—Make the melted butter very smoothly, shell the shrimps (sufficient to make ¼ pint when picked), and put them into the butter; season with cayenne, and let the sauce just simmer, but do not allow it to boil. When liked, a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce may be added.Time.—1 minute to simmer.Average cost, 6d.Sufficientfor 3 or 4 persons.
Ingredients.—¼ lb. salt to each gallon of water.Mode.—Prawns should be very red, and have no spawn under the tail; much depends on their freshness and the way in which they are cooked. Throw them into boiling water, salted as above, and keep them boiling for about 7 or 8 minutes. Shrimps should be done in the same way; but less time must be allowed. It may easily be known when they are done by their changing colour. Care should be taken that they are not over-boiled, as they then become tasteless and indigestible.Time.—Prawns, about 8 minutes; shrimps, about 5 minutes.Average cost, prawns, 2s.per lb.; shrimps, 6d.per pint.Seasonableall the year.
Ingredients.—1 pint of picked prawns or shrimps, ¾ pint of stock, thickening of butter and flour; salt, cayenne, and nutmeg to taste.Mode.—Pick the prawns or shrimps, and put them in a stewpan with the stock; add a thickening of butter and flour; season, and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Serve on a dish garnished with fried bread or toasted sippets. Cream sauce may be substituted for the gravy.Time.—3 minutes.Average costfor this quantity, 1s.4d.
Ingredients.—1 pint of shelled shrimps, ¼ lb. of fresh butter, 1 blade of pounded mace, cayenne to taste; when liked, a little nutmeg.Mode.—Have ready a pint of picked shrimps, and put them, with the other ingredients, into a stewpan; let them heat gradually in the butter, but do not let it boil. Pour into small pots, and when cold, cover with melted butter, and carefully exclude the air.Time.—¼ hour to soak in the butter.Average costfor this quantity, 1s.3d.
This fish should be chosen for its firmness, breadth, and thickness, and should have a creamy appearance. When crimped, it should not be kept longer than a day or two, as all kinds of crimped fish soon become sour. Thornback is often substituted for skate, but is very inferior in quality to the true skate.
Ingredients.—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water.Mode.—Cleanse and skin the skate, lay it in a fish-kettle, with sufficient water to cover it, salted in the above proportion. Let it simmer very gently till done; then dish it on a hot napkin, and serve with shrimp, lobster, or caper sauce.Time.—According to size, from ½ to 1 hour.Average cost, 4d.per lb.Seasonablefrom August to April.
Ingredients.—½ lb. of salt to each gallon of water.Mode.—Clean, skin, and cut the fish into slices, which roll and tie round with string. Have ready some water highly salted, put in the fish, and boil till it is done. Drain well, remove the string, dish on a hot napkin, and serve with the same sauces as above. Skate should never be eaten out of season, as it is liable to produce diarrhœa and other diseases. It may be dished without a napkin, and the sauce poured over.Time.—About 20 minutes.Average cost, 4d.per lb.Seasonablefrom August to April.
Ingredients.—2 or 3 slices of skate, ½ pint of vinegar, 2 oz. of salt, ½ teaspoonful of pepper, 1 sliced onion, a small bunch of parsley, 2 bay-leaves, 2 or 3 sprigs of thyme, sufficient water to cover the fish.Mode.—Put in a fish-kettle all the above ingredients, and simmer the skate in them till tender. When it is done, skin it neatly, and pour over it some of the liquor in which it has been boiling. Drain it, put it on a hot dish, pour over it caper sauce, and send some of the latter to table in a tureen.Time.—½ hour.Average cost, 4d.per lb.Seasonablefrom August to April.
Note.—Skate may also be served with onion sauce, or parsley and butter.
Ingredients.—Skate, sufficient vinegar to cover them, salt and pepper to taste, 1 sliced onion, a small bunch of parsley, the juice of ½ lemon, hot dripping.Mode.—Cleanse the skate, lay them in a dish, with sufficient vinegar to cover them; add the salt, pepper, onion, parsley, and lemon-juice, and let the fish remain in this pickle for ½ hour. Then drain them well, flour them, and fry of a nice brown, in hot dripping. They may be served either with or without sauce. Skate is not good if dressed too fresh, unless it is crimped; it should, therefore, be kept for a day, but not long enough to produce a disagreeable smell.Time.—10 minutes.Average cost, 4d.per lb.Seasonablefrom August to April.
When good, this fish is of a fine silvery appearance, and when alive, their backs are of a dark brown shade, which, after death, fades to a light fawn. They ought to have a refreshing fragrance, resembling that of a cucumber.
Ingredients.—12 smelts, bread-crumbs, ¼ lb. of fresh butter, 2 blades of pounded mace; salt and cayenne to taste.Mode.—Wash, and dry the fish thoroughly in a cloth, and arrange them nicely in a flat baking-dish. Cover them with fine bread-crumbs, and place little pieces of butter all over them. Season and bake for 15 minutes. Just before serving, add a squeeze of lemon-juice, and garnish with fried parsley and cut lemon.Time.—¼ hour.Average cost, 2s.per dozen.Seasonablefrom October to May.Sufficientfor 6 persons.
Ingredients.—Egg and bread-crumbs, a little flour; boiling lard.Mode.—Smelts should be very fresh, and not washed more than is necessary to clean them. Dry them in a cloth, lightly flour, dip them in egg, and sprinkle over with very fine bread-crumbs, and put them into boiling lard. Fry of a nice pale brown, and be careful not to take off the light roughness of the crumbs, or their beauty will be spoiled. Dry them before the fire on a drainer, and serve with plain melted butter. This fish is often used as a garnishing.Time.—5 minutes.Average cost, 2s.per dozen.Seasonablefrom October to May.
ROAST SNIPE.
ROAST SNIPE.
Ingredients.—Snipes, butter, flour, toast.Mode.—These, like woodcocks, should be dressed without being drawn. Pluck, and wipe them outside, and truss them with the head under the wing, having previously skinned that and the neck. Twist the legs at the first joint, press the feet upon the thighs, and pass a skewer through these and the body. Place four on a skewer, tie them on to the jack or spit, and roast before a clear fire for about¼ hour. Put some pieces of buttered toast into the dripping-pan to catch the trails; flour and froth the birds nicely, dish the pieces of toast with the snipes on them, and pour round, but not over them, a little good brown gravy. They should be sent to table very hot and expeditiously, or they will not be worth eating.Time.—About ¼ hour.Average cost, 1s.6d.to 2s.the brace.Sufficient.—4 for a dish.Seasonablefrom November to February.
Note.—Ortolans are trussed and dressed in the same manner.
One of these small but delicious birds may be given, whole, to a gentleman; but, in helping a lady, it will be better to cut them quite through the centre, from 1 to 2, completely dividing them into equal and like portions, and put only one half on the plate.
SNIPE.
SNIPE.
Ingredients.—½ lb. oftous-les-mois, ¼ lb. of white pounded sugar, ¼ lb. of fresh or washed salt butter, 1 egg, the juice of 1 lemon.Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; then add the egg, previously well beaten, and then the other ingredients; if the mixture is not light, add another egg, and beat for ¼ hour, until it turns white and light. Line a flat tin, with raised edges, with a sheet of buttered paper; pour in the cake, and put it into the oven. It must be rather slow, and the cake not allowed to brown at all. If the oven is properly heated, 1 to 1¼ hour will be found long enough to bake it. Let it cool a few minutes, then with a clean sharp knife cut it into small square pieces, which should be gently removed to a large flat dish to cool before putting away. This will keep for several weeks.Time.—1 to 1¼ hour.Average cost, 1s.3d.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of arrowroot, ½ lb. of pounded white sugar, ½ lb. of butter, the whites of 6 eggs; flavouring to taste, of essence of almonds, or vanilla, or lemon.Mode.—Beat the butter to a cream; stir in the sugar and arrowroot gradually, at the same time beating the mixture. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add them to the other ingredients, and beat well for 20 minutes. Put in whichever of the above flavourings may be preferred; pour the cake into a buttered mould or tin, and bake it in a moderate oven from 1 to 1½ hour.Time.—1 to 1½ hour.Average cost, with the best Bermuda arrowroot, 4s.6d.; with St. Vincent ditto, 2s.9d.Sufficientto make a moderate-sized cake.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of flour, ½ lb. of pounded loaf sugar, ¼ lb. of fresh butter, 2 eggs, 1 small teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.Mode.—Put the flour (which should be perfectly dry) into a basin; rub in the butter, add the sugar, and mix these ingredients well together. Whisk the eggs, stir them into the mixture, and beat it well, until everything is well incorporated. Quickly stir in the soda, roll the paste out until it is about ½ inch thick, cut it into small round cakes with a tin cutter, and bake them from 12 to 18 minutes in rather a brisk oven. After the soda is added, great expedition is necessary in rolling and cutting out the paste, and in putting the biscuitsimmediatelyinto the oven, or they will be heavy.Time.—12 to 18 minutes.Average cost, 1s.Sufficientto make about 3 dozen cakes.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—To every 2 lbs. of flour allow 1 teaspoonful of tartaric acid, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, 2 breakfast-cupfuls of cold milk.Mode.—Let the tartaric acid and salt be reduced to the finest possible powder; then mix them well with the flour. Dissolve the soda in the milk, and pour it several times from one basin to another, before adding it to the flour. Work the whole quickly into a light dough, divide it into 2 loaves, and put them into a well-heated oven immediately, and bake for an hour. Sour milk or buttermilk may be used, but then a little less acid will be needed.Time.—1 hour.
Ingredients.—¼ lb. of butter, 1 lb. of flour, ½ lb. of currants, ½ lb. of moistsugar, 1 teacupful of milk, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of carbonate of soda.Mode.—Rub the butter into the flour, add the currants and sugar, and mix these ingredients well together. Whisk the eggs well, stir them to the flour, &c., with the milk, in which the soda should be previously dissolved, and beat the whole up together with a wooden spoon or beater. Divide the dough into two pieces, put them into buttered moulds or cake-tins, and bake in a moderate oven for nearly an hour. The mixture must be extremely well beaten up, and not allowed to stand after the soda is added to it, but must be placed in the oven immediately. Great care must also be taken that the cakes are quite done through, which may be ascertained by thrusting a knife into the middle of them: if the blade looks bright when withdrawn, they are done. If the tops acquire too much colour before the inside is sufficiently baked, cover them over with a piece of clean white paper, to prevent them from burning.Time.—1 hour.Average cost, 1s.6d.Sufficientto make 2 small cakes.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—The remains of cold boiled sole or cod, seasoning to taste of pepper, salt, and pounded mace, 1 dozen oysters to each lb. of fish, 3 tablespoonfuls of white stock, 1 teacupful of cream thickened with flour, puff paste.Mode.—Clear the fish from the bones, lay it in a pie-dish, and between each layer put a few oysters and a little seasoning; add the stock, and, when liked, a small quantity of butter; cover with puff paste, and bake for ½ hour. Boil the cream with sufficient flour to thicken it; pour in the pie, and serve.Time.—½ hour.Average costfor this quantity, 10d.Sufficientfor 4 persons.Seasonableat any time.
This fish should be both thick and firm. If the skin is difficult to be taken off, and the flesh looks grey, it is good.
Ingredients.—2 soles, ¼ lb. of butter, egg, and bread-crumbs, minced parsley, 1 glass of sherry, lemon-juice; cayenne and salt to taste.Mode.—Clean, skin, and well wash the fish, and dry them thoroughly in a cloth. Brush them over with egg, sprinkle with bread-crumbs mixed with a little minced parsley, lay them in a large flat baking-dish, white side uppermost; or if it will not hold the two soles, they may each be laid on a dish by itself; but they must not be put one on the top of the other. Melt the butter, and pour it over the whole, and bake for 20 minutes. Take a portion of the gravy that flows from the fish, add the wine, lemon-juice, and seasoning, give it one boil, skim, pour itunderthe fish, and serve.Time.—20 minutes.Average cost, 1s.to 2s.per pair.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—¼ lb. salt to each gallon of water.Mode.—Cleanse and wash the fish carefully, cut off the fins, but do not skin it. Lay it in a fish-kettle, with sufficient cold water to cover it, salted in the above proportion. Let it gradually come to a boil, and keep it simmering for a few minutes, according to the size of the fish. Dish it on a hot napkin after well draining it, and garnish with parsley and cut lemon. Shrimp, or lobster sauce, and plain melted butter, are usually sent to table with this dish.Time.—After the water boils, 7 minutes for a middling-sized sole.Average cost, 1s.to 2s.per pair.Sufficient.—1 middling-sized sole for two persons.Seasonableat any time.
The usual way of helping this fish is to cut it right through, bone and all, distributing it in nice and not too large pieces. A moderately-sized sole will be sufficient for three slices; namely, the head, middle, and tail. The guests should be asked which of these they prefer. A small one will only give two slices. If the sole is very large, the upper side may be raised from the bone, and then divided into pieces; and the under side afterwards served in the same way.
In helping Filleted Soles, one fillet is given to each person.
Ingredients.—2 soles; salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste; egg andbread-crumbs, butter, the juice of 1 lemon.Mode.—Skin, and carefully wash the soles, separate the meat from the bone, and divide each fillet in two pieces. Brush them over with white of egg, sprinkle with bread-crumbs and seasoning, and put them in a baking-dish. Place small pieces of butter over the whole, and bake for ½ hour. When they are nearly done, squeeze the juice of a lemon over them, and serve on a dish, with Italian sauce (seeSauces) poured over.Time.—½ hour.Average cost, from 1s.to 2s.per pair.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat anytime.
Whiting may be dressed in the same manner, and will be found very delicious.
Ingredients.—2 middling-sized soles, 1 small one, ½ teaspoonful of chopped lemon-peel, 1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a little grated bread; salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste; 1 egg, 2 oz. butter, ½ pint of good gravy, 2 tablespoonfuls of port wine, cayenne and lemon-juice to taste.Mode.—Fry the soles of a nice brown, and drain them well from fat. Take all the meat from the small sole, chop it fine, and mix with it the lemon-peel, parsley, bread, and seasoning; work altogether, with the yolk of an egg and the butter; make this into small balls, and fry them. Thicken the gravy with a dessertspoonful of flour, add the port wine, cayenne, and lemon-juice; lay in the 2 soles and balls; let them simmer gently for 5 minutes; serve hot, and garnish with cut lemon.Time.—10 minutes to fry the soles.Average costfor this quantity, 3s.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Soles for filleting should be large, as the flesh can be more easily separated from the bones, and there is less waste. Skin and wash the fish, and raise the meat carefully from the bones, and divide it into nice handsome pieces. The more usual way is to roll the fillets, after dividing each one in two pieces, and either bind them round with twine, or run a small skewer through them. Brush over with egg, and cover with bread-crumbs; fry them as directed in the foregoing recipe, and garnish with fried parsley and cut lemon. When a pretty dish is desired, this is by far the most elegant mode of dressing soles, as they look much better than when fried whole. Instead of rolling the fillets, they may be cut into square pieces, and arranged in the shape of a pyramid on the dish.Time.—About 10 minutes.Average cost, from 1s.to 2s.per pair.Sufficient, 2 large soles for 6 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—2 middling-sized soles, hot lard or clarified dripping, egg, and bread-crumbs.Mode.—Skin and carefully wash the soles, and cut off the fins, wipe them very dry, and let them remain in the cloth until it is time to dress them. Have ready some fine bread-crumbs and beaten egg; dredge the soles with a little flour, brush them over with egg, and cover with bread-crumbs. Put them in a deep pan, with plenty of clarified dripping or lard (when the expense is not objected to, oil is still better) heated, so that it may neither scorch the fish nor make them sodden. When they are sufficiently cooked on one side, turn them carefully, and brown them on the other: they may be considered ready when a thick smoke rises. Lift them out carefully, and lay them before the fire on a reversed sieve and soft paper, to absorb the fat. Particular attention should be paid to this, as nothing is more disagreeable than greasy fish: this may be always avoided by dressing them in good time, and allowing a few minutes for them to get thoroughly crisp, and free from greasy moisture. Dish them on a hot napkin, garnish with cut lemon and fried parsley, and send them to table with shrimp sauce and plain melted butter.Time.—10 minutes for large soles; less time for small ones.Average cost, from 1s.to 2s.per pair.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—1 pint of milk, 1 pint of water, 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. salt, a little lemon-juice, 2 middling-sized soles.Mode.—Cleanse the soles, but do not skin them, and lay them in a fish-kettle, with the milk, water, butter, salt, and lemon-juice. Bring them gradually to boil, and let them simmer very gentlytill done, which will be in about 7 minutes. Take them up, drain them well on a cloth, put them on a hot dish, and pour over them a good mushroom sauce. (SeeSauces.)Time.—After the water boils, 7 minutes.Sufficientfor 4 persons.Seasonableat any time.
Ingredients.—2 soles; salt, cayenne, and pounded mace to taste; the juice of ½ lemon, salt and water, ½ pint of cream.Mode.—Skin, wash, and fillet the soles, and divide each fillet in 2 pieces; lay them in cold salt and water, which bring gradually to a boil. When the water boils, take out the fish, lay it in a delicately clean stewpan, and cover with the cream. Add the seasoning, simmer very gently for ten minutes, and, just before serving, put in the lemon-juice. The fillets may be rolled, and secured by means of a skewer; but this is not so economical a way of dressing them, as double the quantity of cream is required.Time.—10 minutes in the cream.Average cost, from 1s.to 2s.per pair.Sufficientfor 4 or 5 persons.Seasonableat any time.
This will be found a most delicate and delicious dish.
Ingredients.—3 heaped tablespoonfuls of potato-flour, rice-flour, arrowroot, or tapioca, 1 pint of milk, 5 eggs, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, sifted sugar to taste, ¼ saltspoonful of salt flavouring.Mode.—Mix the potato-flour, or whichever one of the above ingredients is used, with a little of the milk; put it into a saucepan, with the remainder of the milk, the butter, salt, and sufficient pounded sugar to sweeten the whole nicely. Stir these ingredients over the fire until the mixture thickens; then take it off the fire, and let it cool a little. Separate the whites from the yolks of the eggs, beat the latter, and stir them into the soufflé batter. Now whisk the whites of the eggs to the firmest possible froth, for on this depends the excellence of the dish; stir them to the other ingredients, and add a few drops of essence of any flavouring that may be preferred; such as vanilla, lemon, orange, ginger, &c. &c. Pour the batter into a soufflé-dish, put it immediately into the oven, and bake for about ½ hour; then take it out, put the dish into another more ornamental one, such as is made for the purpose; hold a salamander or hot shovel over the soufflé, strew it with sifted sugar, and send it instantly to table. The secret of making a soufflé well, is to have the eggs well whisked, but particularly the whites, the oven not too hot, and to send it to table the moment it comes from the oven. If the soufflé be ever so well made, and it is allowed to stand before being sent to table, its appearance and goodness will be entirely spoiled. Soufflés may be flavoured in various ways, but must be named accordingly. Vanilla is one of the most delicate and recherché flavourings that can be used for this very fashionable dish.Time.—About ½ hour in the oven; 2 or 3 minutes to hold the salamander over.Average cost, 1s.Sufficientfor 3 or 4 persons.Seasonableat any time.