Chapter 18
Wash the whitebait in ice-water, drain, wipe dry, dip in milk, then in equal parts of cracker dust and seasoned flour. Fry in deep fat, season with salt and cayenne, and serve.
FRIED WHITEBAIT--III
Cover the fish with cold water, drain, and throw them into a cloth strewn with sifted flour. Shake them in the cloth to make the flour adhere to them, then toss them in a sieve. The fish will not stick together if they are fresh. Have ready plenty of boiling beef fat, and fry the whitebait in a wire basket, a few at a time. When they are crisp without being brown they are done enough. Drain, sprinkle [Page 440] with salt, and serve immediately.
DEVILLED WHITEBAIT
Fry the whitebait according to directions previously given, season very highly with cayenne pepper, and serve.
[Page 441] TWENTY-FIVE WAYS TO COOK WHITEFISH
BOILED WHITEFISH
Boil a large whitefish in salted and acidulated water, adding a bunch of parsley and a sliced onion to the water. Drain, and serve with any preferred sauce.
BOILED WHITEFISH À LA MACKINAC
Clean and split the fish and put into a buttered dripping-pan, skin-side down. Add enough salted water barely to cover, and simmer for half an hour. Serve with Maître d'Hôtel Sauce and garnish with hard-boiled eggs.
FRIED WHITEFISH--I
Clean and trim the fish and cut into convenient pieces for serving. Dip in seasoned flour and sauté in hot lard in a frying-pan.
FRIED WHITEFISH--II
Cut the fish in slices, dip in beaten egg, then in seasoned crumbs, and fry in fat to cover. Serve with any preferred sauce.
[Page 442] FRIED WHITEFISH--III
Clean and dry the fish, cut into fillets, dip in seasoned crumbs, then in egg, then in crumbs, and fry quickly in fat to cover. Serve with Tartar Sauce.
BROILED WHITEFISH--I
Clean, trim, and split a large whitefish, season with salt, pepper, and oil, and broil. Garnish with lemon and parsley and serve with Tartar Sauce.
BROILED WHITEFISH--II
Put a cleaned and split whitefish on a wire broiler, season with salt and cayenne, lay a few thin slices of bacon on top, put the broiler on a baking-pan, and cook in the oven without turning. Put on a platter, add a little butter, and rub hard-boiled eggs through a sieve over the fish. Garnish with parsley and lemon.
BROILED WHITEFISH--III
Clean and split the fish, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with lemon-juice, and broil. Pour over melted butter and serve.
BAKED WHITEFISH--I
Clean and split a large fish, remove the bone, and put in a buttered baking-pan skin-side down. Season with salt, cayenne, and lemon-juice, [Page 443] sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and bake. Serve with any preferred sauce.
BAKED WHITEFISH--II
Make a stuffing of one and one-half cupfuls of dry bread-crumbs, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add a heaping tablespoonful of butter and one egg well-beaten. Stuff the fish and sew it up. Put in a buttered baking-pan, pour in one cupful of vinegar, and bake until done, basting with butter and hot water. Take up the fish and thicken the gravy with two tablespoonfuls of flour browned in butter and rubbed smooth with a little cold water.
BAKED WHITE FISH--III
Dip the fillets of whitefish in beaten egg, then in crumbs, then in egg, then in crumbs, and lastly in beaten egg. Bake in a buttered dripping-pan for twenty-five minutes and serve with Cream Sauce.
BAKED FILLETS OF WHITEFISH
Cut a large cleaned whitefish into fillets, removing as much as possible of the bone. Season with salt and pepper, dip into beaten egg, then in crumbs, then in beaten egg, then in crumbs, and lastly [Page 444] in beaten egg. Bake in a thickly buttered baking-dish, drain on brown paper, garnish with fried parsley, and serve with Parsley Sauce.
BAKED WHITEFISH À LA BORDEAUX
Stuff a large whitefish with seasoned crumbs, put into a buttered baking-pan, rub with butter, dredge with seasoned flour, add one cupful of Claret, and bake. Take up the fish, strain the liquid, add a little more Claret, thicken with flour, brown in butter, season with red pepper, and serve separately.
STUFFED WHITEFISH
Make a stuffing of bread-crumbs, seasoning with salt, pepper, sweet herbs, and melted butter. Add a beaten egg to bind, stuff the fish, and sew up. Bake slowly, basting with melted butter and water, and serve with Tartar Sauce.
STUFFED WHITEFISH WITH OYSTER SAUCE
Make a stuffing of two cupfuls of bread-crumbs, half a cupful of chopped salt pork fried crisp, a chopped hard-boiled egg, half a cupful of vinegar, and salt, pepper, butter, sage, and mustard to season. Stuff the fish, tie in mosquito netting, and steam until [Page 445] done. Pour over a Cream Sauce to which cooked oysters and a little lemon-juice and minced parsley have been added.
WHITEFISH À LA CRÈME--I
Cook the fish until done in boiling salted water, drain, and remove the large bones. Cook together two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour, add two cupfuls of milk, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, grated onion, minced parsley, and grated nutmeg, take from the fire and add half a cupful of butter. Add also the white of an egg well-beaten. Put the fish on a serving-dish, spread the sauce over it and brown in the oven.
WHITEFISH À LA CRÈME--II
Clean a whitefish and simmer until done in salted, boiling water. Drain, remove the large bones. Put into a buttered baking-pan, sprinkle with chopped onion and minced parsley, seasoning with grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cover with Cream Sauce to which three tablespoonfuls of butter have been added, and put into a hot oven for ten or fifteen minutes.
[Page 446] WHITEFISH AU GRATIN--I
Boil a whitefish in salted water and flake fine with a fork. Bring to the boil two cupfuls of milk and thicken it with a tablespoonful of corn-starch rubbed smooth in a little cold water. Take from the fire, add salt and pepper to season, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and two eggs well-beaten. Butter a baking-dish, put in a layer of fish, cover with sauce, season with grated nutmeg, and repeat until the dish is full. Cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.
WHITEFISH AU GRATIN--II
Skin and bone the fish, cut into small squares, and season with salt and pepper. Brown two tablespoonfuls of flour in butter, and add gradually two cupfuls of stock or milk. Cook until thick, stirring constantly, seasoning with salt, pepper, lemon-juice, minced parsley, grated onion, and a tablespoonful of vinegar. Butter a baking-dish, put in a layer of the fish, cover with sauce, and repeat until the dish is full. Cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.
WHITEFISH À LA MAÎTRE D'HÔTEL
Clean, split, and bone a large whitefish, dip in seasoned oil, broil, [Page 447] and serve with Maître d'Hôtel Sauce.
WHITEFISH À LA POINT SHIRLEY
Clean, split, and bone the fish, and put into a buttered baking-pan, skin-side down. Season with salt, red pepper, and lemon-juice, add enough boiling water to keep from burning, and bake. Serve with Maître d'Hôtel Sauce.
PLANKED WHITEFISH--I
Butter a fish-plank and tack a large cleaned and split whitefish on it, skin side down. Rub with butter, season with salt and pepper, and cook in the oven or under a gas flame. Put a border of mashed potato mixed with the beaten white of egg around the fish, using a pastry tube and forcing bag. Put into the oven for a few minutes to brown the potato, and serve with a garnish of lemon and parsley.
PLANKED WHITEFISH--II
Clean and split a large whitefish, remove the bone, and tack on a buttered fish-plank, skin-side down. Season with salt, pepper, butter, and lemon-juice, and bake in the oven.
[Page 448] CREAMED WHITEFISH À LA MADISON
Steam a large whitefish until tender, take out the bones, and flake fine. Cook together one tablespoonful of butter and two of flour, add two cupfuls of milk, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with parsley, thyme, grated onion, salt, and pepper, take from the fire, add two eggs well-beaten, and three tablespoonfuls of butter. Put in a buttered baking-dish a layer of fish, then a layer of sauce, and repeat until the dish is full, having crumbs and butter on top. Brown in the oven.
JELLIED WHITEFISH
Boil two pounds of whitefish in salted and acidulated water, with four bay-leaves, a tablespoonful of pepper-corns, and half a dozen cloves. Take out the fish, strain the liquid, and reduce by rapid boiling to a quantity barely sufficient to cover the fish. Add the juice of a lemon and two ounces of dissolved gelatine. Flake the fish with a fork, removing all skin, fat, and bone, mix with the liquid, pour into a fish mould, wet with cold water, and put on ice until firm. Serve with Mayonnaise or Tartar Sauce.
WHITEFISH CROQUETTES
One cupful of cold boiled fish flaked fine. [Page 449] Add to it half a cupful of mashed potatoes, half a cupful of bread-crumbs, half a cupful of cream, the beaten yolks of two eggs, and salt and pepper to season. Shape into croquettes, dip into the beaten white of eggs, then into crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Garnish with parsley and serve with any preferred sauce.
WHITEFISH WITH FINE HERBS
Put a large whitefish in a buttered baking-pan with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, minced parsley, chopped onions, and mushrooms to season. Moisten with white wine and white stock, and bake, basting frequently. Cover with Velouté Sauce, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, bake brown, squeeze lemon-juice over, and serve.
[Page 451] EIGHT WAYS TO COOK WHITING
BROILED WHITINGS
Trim the fish and score on both sides, dip in oil, broil, and serve with Maître d'Hôtel Sauce.
BOILED WHITINGS
Clean and trim the fish, boil in salted water, drain, and serve with any preferred sauce.
FRIED WHITINGS
Trim and skin the fish, skewer in a circle, dip into beaten eggs, then in seasoned crumbs, and fry in fat to cover. Serve with any preferred sauce.
FILLETS OF WHITING À LA MAÎTRE D'HÔTEL
Sauté the prepared fillets in fresh butter, seasoning with pepper and salt. Drain, and serve with Maître d'Hôtel Sauce.
FILLETS OF WHITING À LA MARÉCHALE
Parboil the prepared fillets, drain, cool, spread with very thick [Page 452] Cream Sauce, dip in crumbs, then in beaten eggs, then in crumbs, and fry in fat to cover. Serve with any preferred sauce.
FILLETS OF WHITING À L'ORLY
Fillet the whitings and remove the skin from each. Marinate for two hours in oil and vinegar with pepper, salt, thyme, bay-leaf, parsley, and shallot to season. Drain, dip in flour, and fry in deep fat.
FILLETS OF WHITING À LA ROYALE
Prepare according to directions given in the recipe for Fillets of Whiting à l'Orly, dipping in batter before frying.
WHITING WITH FINE HERBS
Clean and skin the fish well and fasten them with their tails in their mouths. Put on a buttered baking-dish, season with salt, pepper, and powdered sweet herbs, pour over a little melted butter, cover, and bake. Allow one fish for each person and serve in the dish in which they are baked.
[Page 453] ONE HUNDRED MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES
BAKED FISH
Prepare a Cream Sauce, seasoning with grated onion, minced parsley, and powdered mace. Take from the fire, add the yolks of two eggs, and salt and pepper to taste. Put a layer of cold cooked flaked and seasoned fish into a buttered baking-dish, spread with the sauce, and repeat until the dish is full, having sauce on top. Sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven. This may be baked in individual dishes if desired.
FISH BALLS
Prepare a fish stock from the skin, bones, and trimmings of fish, seasoning with bay-leaf, onion, mace, cloves, and garlic. Boil slowly for an hour in water to coyer. Chop the raw fish with a few blanched almonds and a little garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and mace, and shape into small balls. Strain the stock, bring it to the boil, drop the balls in, and simmer slowly for twenty minutes. Skim out the balls and put on ice. Beat six eggs thoroughly with a [Page 454] little cold water and add them gradually to the boiling stock. Cook in a double-boiler until smooth and thick. Take from the fire, add the juice of two lemons, and a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar. Pour the sauce over the balls, sprinkle with capers and minced parsley, and serve very cold.
COLD BOILED FISH
Clean and skin a large fish and put on a piece of buttered paper in the bottom of a fish-pan. Add a sliced onion, two beans of garlic, and enough salted water to cover. Simmer until done. Take it up and squeeze over it the juice of a lemon. Boil two eggs hard, chop the whites fine and sift the yolks. Cut cold boiled beets in fancy shapes. Put a row of the chopped whites of eggs down the middle of the fish, on each side of that a row of the yolks, and next to the yolks a row of the beets. Pour over a French dressing, garnish with lettuce leaves, and serve.
FISH À LA BRUNSWICK
Cook any large fish in salted water, adding one cupful of vinegar, and sliced onions, celery root, and parsley to season. For the sauce mix the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs with the yolks of two [Page 455] raw eggs, add a teaspoonful of prepared mustard, and a little salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon-juice, chopped parsley, onion, capers, shallots, and chopped pickle. Mix to a smooth paste with oil, add the finely chopped whites of the eggs, spread over the drained fish, and serve.
FISH AUX BOUILLABAISSE
Heat a tablespoonful of sweet oil, cut a small piece of onion into bits, and let brown in the oil, add a cupful of strained tomatoes, a tiny bit of garlic, a bay-leaf, a little thyme, a lemon-peel, a dash of tabasco, a little tomato catsup, salt, pepper, parsley, and white wine; let this boil for half an hour, then add the fish and boil for twenty minutes. Serve on buttered toast with the sauce poured over. Garnish with parsley.
BOUILLABAISSE--I
Cut into pieces and remove the bones from three pounds of fish, add six shrimps or one lobster or two crabs, cooked, and cut into large pieces, add one-half pint of olive-oil; fry lightly, and add one lemon and two tomatoes, one onion, and one carrot, all sliced, one pinch of saffron,--as much as lies on a ten cent piece,--a bay-leaf, and some parsley. A bean of garlic is used, unless the [Page 456] casserole is rubbed with it before cooking. Stir for ten minutes, add one cupful of stock and one wineglassful of white wine or cider. Cook for fifteen minutes longer, pour out into a bowl, place slices of toast in the casserole, and cover with the fish and vegetables, allowing the sauce sufficient time to soak into the toast, and adding salt and pepper to taste.
BOUILLABAISSE--II
Put into a saucepan about four pounds of different varieties of fish, including one lobster. The fish should be cleaned and cut into small square pieces; the lobster should be cut in sections, leaving the shell on. Add a bunch of parsley, three sliced tomatoes, one large whole clove of garlic, chopped fine, three bay-leaves, half a dozen cloves, one teaspoonful of saffron, three sliced onions, one cupful of olive-oil, salt and pepper to season, and enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, and simmer for thirty minutes. Line a soup tureen with thin slices of toasted bread, pour the contents of the sauce over it, and serve in soup plates, with both forks and spoons. This is a genuine French recipe.
CANAPES OF FISH
Toast small squares of bread and make a [Page 457] border of stiffly beaten white of egg around each one, using a pastry bag and tube. Bake in a quick oven until light brown. Fill the centre with creamed fish and serve very hot.
FISH CAKES--I
Season hot mashed potatoes with salt, pepper, and butter, and add one beaten egg to each two cupfuls of potatoes. Add an equal amount of cold cooked flaked fish and enough Cream or Drawn-Butter Sauce to make a smooth mixture. Shape into small flat cakes, dredge with seasoned flour, and sauté in bacon fat. Serve with a garnish of fried bacon.
FISH CAKES--II
Chop the cooked fish and season with grated onion, sweet herbs, powdered mace, and salt and pepper. Add half as much bread-crumbs as fish, mix with the unbeaten white of egg and a little melted butter, shape into small flat cakes, dredge with flour, and fry in butter.
FISH CHOPS
Mix cold cooked flaked fish with a little very thick Cream Sauce, and season with lemon-juice and minced parsley. Shape into chops, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Stick a small piece of [Page 458] macaroni in the small end of each chop to represent the bone. Serve with Tartar Sauce.
CHARTREUSE OF FISH--I
Butter a small mould and put in alternate layers of seasoned mashed potatoes, cold cooked flaked fish, seasoned, and sliced hard-boiled eggs. Pour over enough cream to moisten, cover with potatoes and steam for twenty minutes. Turn out on a hot platter, garnish with parsley, and serve with any preferred sauce.
CHARTREUSE OF FISH--II
Mix one cupful of stale bread-crumbs with two cupfuls of cold cooked flaked fish and two eggs well-beaten. Season to taste, adding a little Worcestershire Sauce. Put into a buttered mould, steam for thirty minutes, and serve with any preferred sauce.
FISH CHOWDER
Skin three or four pounds of fresh fish and cut into convenient pieces for serving. Cut a quarter of a pound of fat salt pork into dice, and fry crisp. Skim out the dice and fry two sliced onions brown in the fat. Strain the fat into a deep kettle, cover with [Page 459] sliced raw potatoes, add the fish, salt and pepper to season, and enough boiling water or fish stock to cover. Simmer slowly until the fish is almost done, add two tablespoonfuls of butter, half a dozen split Boston crackers, four cupfuls of boiling milk, and the onion and pork dice. Reheat and serve.
COQUILLES OF FISH
Flake cold boiled fish and mix it with Cream Sauce. Season with anchovy essence, salt and pepper, then fill buttered shells with the mixture, cover with fried crumbs, heat thoroughly in the oven, and serve.
COURT BOUILLON FISH
Slice the fish in pieces (red fish is best), season with salt and pepper, and boil until done. Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, when hot slice in one large onion and brown it, add one-half can of tomatoes, season with one teaspoonful of pepper, one-half teaspoonful of allspice, some finely chopped parsley, and one-half cupful of tomato catsup. Just before it begins to boil add one wineglassful of good Claret. Cut some bread into small cubes, fry in butter to garnish the dish. Place the fish in the centre of the platter, pour the gravy over and garnish with the bread cubes.
[Page 460] FISH À LA CRÈME--I
Reheat cold cooked fish, flaked, in a Cream Sauce.
FISH À LA CRÈME--II
Butter a stoneware platter and put upon it cold cooked flaked fish mixed with Cream Sauce. Sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, and surround with a border of mashed potato mixed with beaten egg, using a pastry bag and tube. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven.
FISH À LA CRÈME--III
Scald one quart of milk in a double-boiler with a blade of mace, a bay-leaf, and a sprig of parsley. Thicken with one tablespoonful each of corn-starch and butter rubbed together. Take from the fire, add salt and pepper to season, and the beaten yolks of two eggs. Put a layer of fish in a buttered baking-dish, then a layer of sauce, and repeat until the dish is full, having sauce on top. Cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.
CREAMED FISH
Mix cold cooked flaked fish with Cream Sauce and season to taste. Peel large cucumbers, cut in two lengthwise, boil until tender in [Page 461] salted water, scoop out the pulp, and fill with the hot fish. Cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.
CREAMED FISH WITH OYSTERS
Reheat cold cooked flaked fish with an equal quantity of oysters in Cream Sauce. Simmer until the edges of the oysters curl.
CREAMED FISH ON TOAST
Mix cold cooked flaked fish with Cream Sauce, season with lemon-juice, pour over hot buttered toast, and serve.
FISH À LA CRÈOLE
Chop an onion and a clove of garlic and fry in lard. Add three tablespoonfuls of flour, cook until brown, and add one can of strained tomatoes. Have the fish cut into convenient pieces for serving, dredge with seasoned flour, and sauté in butter until brown. Pour the sauce over, simmer until done, and serve.
FISH CROQUETTES--I
Mix cold cooked flaked fish with one-third the quantity of mashed potatoes and add enough Drawn-Butter Sauce to make a smooth paste, season with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire, cool, shape into [Page 462] croquettes, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat.
FISH CROQUETTES--II
Prepare a very thick Cream Sauce and mix it with twice as much cold cooked fish flaked fine. Season to taste and cool. Add bread-crumbs or an egg, or both, if the mixture is not stiff enough. Shape into croquettes, dip in egg and crumbs, fry in deep fat, and serve with any preferred sauce.
CURRIED FISH--I
Fry two chopped onions in butter and add a tablespoonful of flour mixed with a teaspoonful of curry powder. Add two cupfuls of water or stock and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Reheat in this sauce cold cooked flaked fish; take from the fire, season with salt, pepper, and lemon-juice, and serve in a border of boiled rice.
CURRIED FISH--II
Season cold cooked flaked fish with grated onion and lemon-juice and reheat in Curry Sauce.
CURRIED FISH--III
Fry two chopped onions in butter and add enough flour to make a smooth paste. Add enough stock to make the required quantity of [Page 463] sauce, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season highly with salt, pepper, lemon-juice, cayenne, curry powder, and a little sugar. Reheat cold boiled fish in this sauce and serve with boiled rice.
CURRIED FISH--IV
Fry a chopped onion in butter, and add enough curry powder to season highly. Add a cupful of stock or milk, and cold cooked fish cut into small slices. Simmer for ten minutes, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve.
CURRIED FISH IN RAMEKINS
Reheat cold cooked flaked fish in Curry Sauce, fill buttered individual dishes, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, sprinkle with grated cheese, and brown in the oven.
FISH CUTLETS
Mix cold cooked flaked fish with very thick Cream Sauce and season to taste. Shape into cutlets, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat.
DEVILLED FISH--I
Make a paste with a teaspoonful of dry [Page 464] mustard, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and lemon-juice, seasoning with salt and cayenne. Fill small buttered shells with cold cooked flaked fish, spread with the paste, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.
DEVILLED FISH--II
Mix cold cooked flaked fish with Cream Sauce and chopped hard-boiled eggs, seasoning with salt, pepper, minced parsley, and made mustard. Fill small shells--clam shells are usually used--and cool. Brush the tops with beaten egg, sprinkle with crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Serve with Tartar Sauce.
DEVILLED FISH--III
Mix together one tablespoonful each of mustard, lemon-juice, and hot water, add a teaspoonful of Worcestershire, and salt and paprika to season. Broil the fish until it begins to brown, spread with the mixture, dip in crumbs, and finish broiling. Serve with Tartar Sauce.
ESCALLOPED FISH--I
Reheat equal quantities of cold cooked flaked fish and cold cooked maraconi cut small in equal parts of tomato sauce and [Page 465] oyster liquor. Season with salt and pepper, grated onion, paprika, and minced parsley. If desired, this mixture may be put into a buttered baking-dish, covered with crumbs, dotted with butter, and browned in the oven.
ESCALLOPED FISH--II
Fill a buttered baking-dish half full of cold cooked flaked fish seasoned to taste. Cover with Cream Sauce, seasoned with grated onion, chopped celery, minced parsley, and clove. Cover with mashed potato, beaten light with the stiffly beaten white of egg, dot with butter, and brown in the oven. Cream may be used instead of the Cream Sauce.
ESCALLOPED FISH--III