Chapter 6

Prepare the eels and cut into four-inch lengths. Cover with Claret or Burgundy and add sliced carrot, onion, minced parsley, chopped mushrooms, thyme, a bay-leaf, mace, cloves, and pepper-corns to season. Simmer until done and drain. Add to the liquor half a cupful of beef stock and thicken it with browned flour. Strain through a fine sieve, add a tablespoonful of butter, a little anchovy paste, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a grating of nutmeg; and a little lemon-juice. Bring to the boil, pour over the fish, and serve.

MATELOTE OF EELS À LA BORDELAISE

Cut the eels into three-inch lengths, and cover with a bottle of Claret. Season with carrot, onion, parsley, chopped mushrooms, thyme, bay-leaf, mace, cloves, and peppercorns. Simmer for half an hour and drain. Thicken the liquor with browned flour rubbed smooth with butter, add two wineglassfuls [Page 127] of Claret, and bring to the boil. Skim, add a teaspoonful of capers, a pounded clove of garlic, a little butter, grated nutmeg, and anchovy paste to season. Reheat, pour over the fish, and serve.

BOILED EELS

Cut into short pieces a pound and a half of eels which have been skinned and cleaned. Put into a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a tablespoonful of salt, six whole peppers, one red onion, and a cupful of vinegar. Simmer for half an hour; drain and serve on a platter with melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley.

PICKLED EELS

Clean and cut three pounds of eels into six-inch lengths. Cover with salt, let stand for three hours, then rinse thoroughly. Boil together for fifteen minutes one cupful of vinegar, one cupful of water, a sliced onion, two bay-leaves, three allspice, and a slice of lemon. Put in half of the eels and simmer until tender, take out, and cook the remaining half. Let the vinegar cool before pouring over the eels.

GREEN EELS

Boil together an onion, a bunch of parsley, [Page 128] a pinch of celery seed, and a teaspoonful of mixed spices in a little water. Add two cleaned and cut eels with water to cover and simmer until done. Strain the sauce, thicken with butter and flour cooked together, and pour over the eels. Serve with boiled potatoes and cucumber salad.

BAKED EELS

Skin and parboil, cut into two-inch pieces, and put into a baking-pan. Dredge with flour, season with salt and pepper and add half a cupful of water. Bake for twenty minutes and take out. Thicken the gravy with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with a little of the liquid. Add a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, and enough boiling water to make the sauce of the proper consistency. Bring to the boil and pour around the eels.

BAKED EELS WITH TARTAR SAUCE

Clean and skin two large eels. Wrap in a wet cloth and simmer for fifteen minutes in court bouillon. Cook in the liquor. Take out, wipe dry, and cover with seasoned crumbs. Spread with two eggs beaten with one tablespoonful of olive-oil and sprinkle with crumbs. Put into a baking-pan with two tablespoonfuls [Page 129] of butter, and bake for half an hour, basting twice. Serve with Tartar Sauce.

ENGLISH EEL PIE

Skin, clean, and cut up two large eels. Cook with one tablespoonful of butter, half a cupful of chopped mushrooms, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a minced onion, a bay-leaf, salt, pepper, the rind of a lemon, a wineglassful of Sherry and a cupful of beef stock. Cook until the eels are tender, strain the sauce, and thicken with butter and flour. Line a baking-dish with pastry, put the eels in it, and pour the sauce over, with sliced hard-boiled eggs on top. Cover with pastry, brush with yolk of egg, and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. Serve either hot or cold.

COLLARED EELS

Clean, split, and bone one large eel, and season with salt and pepper. Chop together three hard-boiled eggs, a beet, a tablespoonful of capers, two pickles, one onion, and three anchovies. Add salt and pepper, cover the eel with the mixture, tie in a cloth, and cook with a bay-leaf for half an hour in equal parts of vinegar and water. Drain, untie, and put into a mould with aspic jelly, or with beef stock to which sufficient dissolved gelatine has been added. Serve cold with Mayonnaise.

[Page 130] EELS EN BROCHETTE

Boil the eel in a court bouillon and cut into two-inch pieces. Dip into egg and crumbs and string on steel skewers, alternating with squares of bacon. Bake in the oven and serve on toast.

CREAMED EELS

Clean and cut up the eels, and stew according to directions previously given. Pour over a Cream Sauce, seasoned with salt, paprika, onion juice, and minced parsley.

[Page 131] FIFTEEN WAYS TO COOK FINNAN-HADDIE

BOILED FINNAN-HADDIE--I

Divide into convenient pieces, cover with boiling water, add a teaspoonful of sugar, and boil for fifteen minutes. Take up on a hot platter, remove the skin, and dot with butter.

BOILED FINNAN-HADDIE--II

Cover the fish with boiling water, boil for five minutes, drain, cover with melted butter, and serve with plain boiled potatoes.

BROILED FINNAN-HADDIE--I

Brown a haddie on a greased broiler. Cover with hot water, let stand for ten minutes and drain. Spread with butter and sprinkle with pepper.

BROILED FINNAN-HADDIE--II

Cut the haddie into small squares, skin and parboil it. Wipe dry, broil on a buttered gridiron and serve with melted butter.

[Page 132] BROILED FINNAN-HADDIE--III

Wash the fish thoroughly, and let stand in cold water for three quarters of an hour, then cover with boiling water for five minutes, wipe dry, rub with butter and lemon-juice, and broil for fifteen minutes. Serve with melted butter or Tartar Sauce.

BROILED FINNAN-HADDIE--IV

Wash the fish and soak for half an hour in cold water, skin side up. Cover with water just below the boiling point, and let stand for fifteen minutes. Wipe dry, brush with olive-oil, and broil slowly. Serve with melted butter and lemon-juice.

BAKED FINNAN-HADDIE--I

Pour boiling water over the fish, and let it stand for ten minutes. Take it out of the water, lay it in a baking-pan, brush with butter and pepper, and bake for fifteen minutes.

BAKED FINNAN-HADDIE--II

Put a haddie into a frying-pan, pour over it half a cupful of milk, and half a cupful of water. Heat slowly and let stand just below the boiling point for half an hour. Pour off [Page 133] the liquid, spread with butter, and bake for twenty-five minutes in a hot oven.

ESCALLOPED FINNAN-HADDIE

Prepare the fish according to directions given in the preceding recipe. After drying, remove the skin and bones and flake with a fork. Butter a baking-dish and put the fish into it. Pour over it a sauce made of two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour cooked together and added to two cupfuls of milk. Bring to the boil, pour over the fish, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven.

TOASTED FINNAN-HADDIE

Brush the fish with butter and sprinkle it with pepper. Broil until cooked through, and serve with toast.

FINNAN-HADDIE À LA DELMONICO

Flake half a pound of freshened finnan-haddie, and fry in a little butter. Add one cupful of cream beaten with the yolk of a raw egg. Thicken with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with a little of the cream. Add a hard-boiled egg chopped fine, and a teaspoonful of grated cheese. Serve on toast.

[Page 134] SAVORY FINNAN-HADDIE

Dip the fish in boiling water, take out all the bones and skin. Mash the meat with a tablespoonful each of butter and cream, seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon-juice. Cook until thick and pour over slices of buttered toast.

FINNAN-HADDIE HASH

Prepare the fish according to directions given for Boiled Finnan-Haddie. Mix with an equal quantity of hot mashed potatoes, moisten with cream, and season with chopped green peppers fried in oil.

FINNAN-HADDIE WITH TOMATOES

Lay a haddie in a deep dish, cover with boiling water, and let stand for ten minutes. Drain and remove skin and break in good-sized flakes. Cook two level tablespoonfuls of butter and a tablespoonful of finely minced onion in a saucepan until golden brown. Add one cupful of the solid part of canned tomatoes. When it begins to simmer, add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the prepared fish and simmer for five minutes. Add one tablespoonful of finely minced parsley and serve.

[Page 135] CREAMED FINNAN-HADDIE

Parboil, drain, and flake the fish. Reheat with shredded fried green peppers in a Cream Sauce. Canned pimentos may be used instead of the green peppers.

[Page 137] THIRTY-TWO WAYS TO COOK FLOUNDER

BAKED FLOUNDER

Clean and split two flounders and take out all the small bones. Lay the fish in a buttered dish, sprinkle with chopped mushrooms, minced parsley, onion, and grated bread-crumbs, season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Dot with butter and bake. Cook together two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour, and thicken two cupfuls of milk with it. Season with salt, pepper, lemon-juice, anchovy paste, and minced parsley. Add a tablespoonful of capers, drain the butter from the fish, pour over the sauce, and serve.

BAKED FLOUNDER À L'ITALIENNE

Cook together a tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, one tablespoonful each of chopped mushrooms and shallots, and two cupfuls of white wine. [Page 138] Reduce half by rapid boiling. Add one cupful of chicken stock and half a cupful of milk or beef stock, and thicken with flour blended with butter. Season with salt and pepper and boil down until very thick. Prepare a flounder according to directions given in the preceding recipe. Season with salt and pepper, rub with butter, pour over one cupful of white wine, cover with the sauce, and sprinkle thickly with crumbs. Bake in a moderate oven until done. Serve in the same dish.

BAKED FLOUNDER À LA BONVALLET

Put a cleaned flounder into a baking-pan with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, chopped onion, a tablespoonful of butter, a wineglassful of white wine, and a cupful of white stock. Bake carefully, basting as required. Take up the fish, add another cupful of stock, and thicken the sauce with two tablespoonfuls of flour, blended with an equal quantity of butter. Take from the fire, add the yolks of three eggs well beaten and a tablespoonful of minced parsley. Spread this sauce over the fish, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and brown in the oven. Sprinkle with lemon-juice and serve.

BAKED FLOUNDER À LA PARISIENNE

Stuff a cleaned flounder with seasoned [Page 139] crumbs and put into a buttered baking-dish. Dot with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour over half a cupful each of oyster liquor and white wine. Cover with buttered paper and bake for forty minutes, basting as required. Take up the fish, strain the sauce, and prepare a sauce according to directions given in the first part of the recipe for Flounder Pie à la Normandy. Add the strained liquid to the sauce, pour over the fish, cover with crumbs, and brown in the oven.

BAKED FLOUNDER À LA ST. MALO

Put the cleaned fish into a buttered baking-dish with chopped onions, parsley, salt, pepper, a tablespoonful of butter and two cupfuls of cider. Add also a little mussel or oyster liquor if at hand. Bake for half an hour in a moderate oven, basting as needed. Drain the sauce, thicken with a tablespoonful of butter cooked with an equal quantity of flour, add more butter and a squeeze of lemon-juice. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve.

BAKED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER IN WINE

Fillet the fish. Mix together four tablespoonfuls of Sherry, half a cupful of butter, one tablespoonful each of onion-juice, lemon-juice, [Page 140] and salt, and add pepper to season. Bring to the boil, dip the fillets into it, arrange in a baking-dish, cover with the remaining sauce and bake in a hot oven for ten minutes. Fry in butter a slice each of onion and carrot, a bay-leaf, and a sprig of parsley. Add a tablespoonful of flour and cook thoroughly. Add one cupful of chicken stock and half a cupful of cream. Cook until thick, stirring constantly, and seasoning with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Add the gravy from the baking-pan, strain, reheat, pour over the fish, and serve.

BAKED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER

Remove the back-bone and cut the fish into four pieces. Roll up each piece and pin with a toothpick. Soak for an hour in oil and lemon-juice. Roll in seasoned crumbs, then in beaten egg, then in crumbs. Put into a baking-pan, upon thin slices of salt pork, sprinkle with chopped onion and olives, cover, and bake. Garnish with sliced lemons.

FLOUNDER WITH FINE HERBS

Put the prepared fish into a pan with two tablespoonfuls of butter, the juice of a lemon, and salt and pepper to season. Add one cupful each of water and white wine, cover and [Page 141] cook for half an hour. Drain the fish, thicken the sauce with a tablespoonful of flour cooked in butter, boil, strain, add two tablespoonfuls of butter, and two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, pour over the fish, and serve.

FLOUNDER À LA FRANÇAISE

Cover a flounder with white wine, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add a bunch of parsley, a few chives, a bay-leaf, and a little chopped onion. Boil for ten minutes. Take up the fish carefully, rub the sauce through a sieve, thicken with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with half a cupful of butter, bring to the boil, pour over the fish, and serve.

FLOUNDER À LA JANIN

Fill a flounder with seasoned crumbs mixed with chopped mushrooms, shallots, and parsley. Put on a buttered baking-dish, season with salt and pepper, dot with butter, and pour over half a cupful each of Sherry and oyster liquor. Bake until done, basting as required. Take up the fish, add a cupful of stock to the sauce, and thicken with browned flour. Add two tablespoonfuls of butter and a little lemon-juice. Strain over the fish and garnish with parboiled oysters.

[Page 142] FLOUNDER À LA PROVENÇALE

Clean two flounders and let stand for four hours in a marinade of olive-oil and lemon-juice, seasoned with salt, pepper, onion, parsley, thyme, bay-leaves, and bruised garlic. Put into a baking-dish with the seasoning, a teaspoonful of butter and one cupful each of stock and white wine. Bake for half an hour, basting as needed. Drain, strain, and skim the sauce, thicken with butter and flour, take from the fire, add the yolks of four eggs well beaten and lemon-juice to taste. Season with red pepper and minced parsley, pour over the fish, and serve.

BREADED TURBANS OF FLOUNDER

Fillet three flounders, season with salt and pepper, dip into melted butter, roll up and fasten with a toothpick. Dip into egg and crumbs and fry in deep fat. Serve with Tartar Sauce.

TURBANS OF FLOUNDER WITH ANCHOVIES

Drain a bottle of anchovies from the oil. Mix with two tablespoonfuls of butter, half a cupful of stock, a tablespoonful of lemon-juice, and salt and pepper to season. Pound to a paste, and add the yolks of two raw eggs. Prepare the fillets of flounder according to [Page 143] directions given in the preceding recipe. Spread with the forcemeat, roll up, and pin with toothpicks. Roll in melted butter, then in flour, and bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes.

TURBANS OF FLOUNDER WITH OYSTERS

Prepare according to directions given above, stuffing with chopped oysters and seasoned crumbs.

FRICASSÉE OF FLOUNDER

Clean the flounders, cut into convenient pieces, season with salt, dredge with flour, and fry in boiling fat. Chop a dozen oysters, and put into a saucepan with their liquor, one cupful of white wine, a tablespoonful of anchovy paste, and salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to season. Bring to the boil, pour over the fish, and serve.

FRIED FLOUNDER

Prepare the fish according to directions given in the preceding recipe. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dip into milk, then into flour, and sauté in pork fat. Or, dip in beaten egg [Page 144] and bread-crumbs and fry in deep fat. Garnish with lemon and parsley.

FRIED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER

Prepare the fillets according to directions given in the preceding recipe. Keep in a cold place for half an hour, fry in deep fat, and serve with Tartar Sauce.

FILLETS OF FLOUNDER AU GRATIN

Cook together three tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, a slice of onion, and a bay-leaf. Add two cupfuls of chicken stock and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Strain, and add a tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Dip the fillets of fish into melted butter, season with salt and pepper, cover with sauce and bread-crumbs. Bake for twenty minutes in a very hot oven.

FILLETS OF FLOUNDER À LA LYONS

Bone the fish and cut into fillets. Wash in cold salted water and wipe dry. Dip in egg and seasoned bread-crumbs, and fry in hot drippings. Serve with melted butter, lemon-juice, and minced parsley, or Tomato Sauce, or a sauce made as follows: Cook together one tablespoonful each of butter and flour and thicken with it a cupful [Page 145] of cream or milk. Add a tablespoonful each of lemon-juice chopped pickles, and capers, a teaspoonful each of minced parsley and mustard, and the mashed yolk of a hard-boiled egg. Beat thoroughly together and serve either hot or cold.

FILLETS OF FLOUNDER À LA NORMANDY

Prepare the fillets according to directions previously given, and season with pepper and salt. Fry a small chopped onion in butter and add two chopped hard-boiled eggs, and one tablespoonful of minced parsley. Season with pepper and salt, add a tablespoonful of butter, and cook to a smooth paste. Spread the fillets with this paste, put a parboiled mussel on each one, roll and tie with a string. Add to the mussel liquor one cupful of cream and simmer the fillets in it for six minutes. Take out and cut the strings. Thicken the sauce with the yolks of two eggs beaten with four tablespoonfuls of cream, add a teaspoonful of butter and a few drops of lemon-juice. Add a few parboiled mussels to the sauce, reheat, pour over the fish, and serve.

STUFFED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER--I

Prepare the fillets according to directions [Page 146] previously given, season with salt and pepper, and dredge with flour. Put half of the fillets into a buttered baking-dish. Chop together a button onion, a small bunch of parsley, half a stalk of celery and half a can of mushrooms. Mix two tablespoonfuls of butter with one teaspoonful of flour, and add to the chopped mixture with the yolks of two raw eggs. Season with salt, red and black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Spread the fillets in the pan with this stuffing and lay the other fillets on top. Cover with buttered paper and cook for twelve minutes. Serve with the remaining mushrooms heated and sprinkle with lemon-juice.

STUFFED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER--II

Prepare the fillets according to directions previously given. Put each two together, with mashed potato beaten light with egg between. Cover with crumbs, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Serve with Tartar Sauce.

FILLETS OF FLOUNDER WITH GREEN PEAS

Prepare the fillets according to directions previously given, dip into melted butter, and season with salt, pepper, and lemon-juice. Skewer into shape with toothpicks and arrange [Page 147] in a baking-dish. Half cover with stock made from the fish trimmings and bake for ten minutes. Arrange in a circle on a platter, and fill the centre with green peas seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter. Strain the stock, thicken with butter and flour cooked together, and serve separately as a sauce.

STEAMED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER

Prepare the fillets according to directions previously given, and spread with chopped pickles, olives, capers, parsley, and onions. Roll up, fasten with toothpicks, and steam or bake, basting with stock, or dip in egg and crumbs and fry in deep fat. Serve with any preferred sauce.

STUFFED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER À LA DELMONICO

Prepare the fillets according to directions previously given. Cover with half a cupful of white wine, one cupful of fish stock made from the bones, and salt and paprika to season. Simmer for twenty minutes. Cook together one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, add half a cupful of stock and cook until very thick, stirring constantly. Add half a cupful each of shrimps and oysters chopped fine, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, the yolk of an egg, and two drops of tabasco sauce. Dip the fillets in this mixture [Page 148] and cool. When cold dip in crumbs, then in egg, then in crumbs, and fry in deep fat.

ROLLED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER

Prepare the fillets as directed and spread with anchovies, lobster, shrimps, or sardines, mashed to a paste with butter. Roll up, fasten with toothpicks, and bake, fry, sauté, or stew, as preferred.

BROILED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER À LA BRIGHTON

Season the fillets with salt, pepper, and oil. Broil carefully and put on slices of buttered toast. Surround with parboiled oysters and pour over a sauce made of water and the oyster liquor, thickened with butter and flour cooked together, and seasoned with anchovy paste.

FILLETS OF FLOUNDER À LA DIEP-POISE

Prepare the fillets as directed, seasoning with salt and pepper, brown in melted butter, and cool. Sprinkle with crumbs, dip in eggs beaten with an equal quantity of melted butter, roll in fresh crumbs and broil, basting with oil. Serve with melted butter, minced parsley, and lemon-juice.

[Page 149] FLOUNDER PIE À LA NORMANDY

Chop fine two carrots and two onions, two sprigs of parsley, a stalk of celery and a bit of bay-leaf. Fry in butter, seasoning with salt and pepper, and powdered mace. Add two cupfuls of boiled milk and cook slowly for twenty-five minutes. Press through a sieve, add two cupfuls of cream, and reheat. Add the fillets of a two-pound flounder, the mussels taken from a quart of mussel shells, a quart of oysters, parboiled in their liquor, and drained, and half a pound of cleaned fresh mushrooms. Cook for two minutes. Thicken with the yolks of two eggs beaten with one tablespoonful of butter and two of cream. Fill a baking-dish lined with pastry, cover with crust, and bake.

BROILED FLOUNDER À LA CHIVRY

Cut the flounder into fillets as previously directed. Soak for an hour in a marinade of oil and lemon-juice, seasoned with salt, pepper, onion, and parsley. Dip in crumbs and broil, basting with oil. Serve with quartered lemon.

FLOUNDER WITH WHITE WINE SAUCE

Put the prepared fish into a baking-dish [Page 150] with two tablespoonfuls of butter, two cupfuls of white wine, and salt and pepper to season. Cover and cook for twenty minutes, adding more water if necessary. Drain the fish, thicken the gravy with a tablespoonful of flour cooked in butter, bring to the boil, add the juice of a lemon and two tablespoonfuls of butter, pour over the fish, and serve.

FLOUNDER AU GRATIN

Fry in butter chopped parsley, shallot, and button mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and spread on the bottom of a baking-dish. Lay on them a trimmed flounder, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, moisten with white wine, and cook carefully. Serve in the same dish.

[Page 151] TWENTY-SEVEN WAYS TO COOK FROG LEGS

FRIED FROG LEGS--I

Beat the yolk of an egg with a cupful of milk and add flour enough to make a smooth batter. Dip into the batter frog legs which have been marinated in oil and vinegar, and fry in deep fat.

FRIED FROG LEGS--II

Clean, season with salt and pepper, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Serve with Tartar Sauce.

FRIED FROG LEGS--III

Parboil for three minutes, drain, wipe dry, dip in crumbs, then in beaten egg, then in seasoned crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Serve with a border of green peas, or with Cream Sauce.

FRIED FROG LEGS--IV

Parboil for five minutes, blanch in cold [Page 152] water, drain, and wipe dry. Season with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and sauté in butter. Serve with a garnish of fried parsley.

FRIED FROG LEGS--V

Soak the prepared legs in milk for fifteen minutes. Dip in seasoned flour without wiping and fry in deep fat.

FRIED FROG LEGS--VI