Part 3

Salmon is ordinarily available in several different quality grades and is packed in brine. Mackerel also is packed in brine. Tuna fish may be had in solid-pack, chunk, or grated style, packed in oil or brine. Flaked fish—cod, haddock, pollack, or a combination—is ordinarily packed dry. Small domestic sardines packed in oil, mustard sauce, or tomato sauce are gaining market prominence.

Fish patties

1½ cups flaked cooked or canned fish 1½ cups dry mashed potatoes 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion ½ teaspoon salt 1 egg Pepper Flour Cooking fat or oil

Combine all ingredients except flour and fat or oil.

Shape mixture into patties, roll in flour, and brown in fat or oil.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with pickled beets, a green vegetable, celery, and for dessert molded cornstarch pudding with a sauce of cooked dried apricots.

For Variety

_Fish-Potato Puffs._—Add 2 egg yolks instead of a whole egg to the mixture of fish and potato; add seasonings and fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Put mixture into greased custard cups and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 30 minutes.

_Salt fish Balls._—Use 1 cup of salt fish. Soak the fish in lukewarm water until freshened, changing the water once or twice. An hour or two is usually long enough. Simmer in water until tender, drain, and shred. Stir fish into mashed potatoes. Omit onion and salt. Mix well with the other ingredients. Form into balls and roll in flour. Fry in shallow or deep fat, or bake in the oven.

Fish and noodles

3 tablespoons chopped onion ⅓ cup diced celery 1 tablespoon cooking fat or oil ½ teaspoon salt Pepper 1⅔ cups cooked or canned tomatoes, or 2 cups raw tomatoes cut in pieces 1⅔ cups cooked noodles 2 cups flaked cooked fish Crumbs mixed with melted butter or margarine

Cook onion and celery in fat or oil a few minutes.

Add salt, pepper, and tomatoes and heat to boiling.

Put alternate layers of noodles, fish, and hot tomato mixture into a greased baking dish. Top with crumbs.

Bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 20 minutes or until the mixture is heated through and the crumbs are browned.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with snap beans or asparagus, a green salad with a tangy horseradish dressing, and have cupcakes for dessert.

For Variety

Use cooked spaghetti or macaroni instead of noodles.

Instead of tomatoes, use cheese sauce—a thin white sauce to which ½ cup grated sharp cheese has been added for each cup of sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese the last 10 minutes of baking.

Jellied tuna salad

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin ¼ cup cold water ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon celery seed ¼ cup vinegar ¼ cup water 2 eggs, beaten 2 cups flaked canned tuna (or other canned or cooked fish)

Soften gelatin on top of water. Add seasonings, vinegar, and water to eggs. Cook over boiling water until thickened, stirring constantly.

Add gelatin and stir until it is dissolved.

Add fish and mix thoroughly. Pour into individual molds or large ring mold and chill.

Menu Suggestion

Serve scalloped potatoes with chives, cooked carrots, and have floating island with a topping of a bright, tart jelly for dessert.

For Variety

_A Hearty Salad._—Place cold flaked cooked fish in lettuce cups. Surround with slices of tomatoes and cucumbers (in season), and very thin slices of cold boiled potato dipped in french dressing. Garnish with hard-cooked eggs.

_A Cold Platter._—Serve chilled salmon which has been boned and cut into serving-size pieces. Surround with slices of tomatoes and mounds of tossed green salad.

Fried fish fillets

1 pound fish fillets (salmon, cod, rosefish, or haddock) Milk, flour 1 egg, beaten 1 tablespoon water ¾ tablespoon salt 1 cup fine dry crumbs Cooking fat or oil

Cut fish in serving pieces. Dip in milk, then in flour. Mix egg, water, and salt. Dip floured fish in this mixture, and roll in crumbs.

Heat fat or oil in fry pan, put in the fillets. Reduce heat, and cook slowly 10 to 15 minutes, until the fish is done through and golden brown on both sides. Drain.

Garnish with parsley and lemon.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with baked potatoes, creamed onions, asparagus salad or mixed vegetable salad, and gelatin fruit dessert.

For Variety

_Oven-Fried Fillets._—Prepare fish for frying and place in greased shallow baking pan with space between pieces. Dot with butter or margarine, and bake at 500° F. (extremely hot oven) for 10 minutes.

_Fish Baked in Milk._—Place fish in shallow baking pan, pour on ½ cup top milk. Sprinkle with salt, dot with butter or margarine. Bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) about 25 minutes.

Salmon loaf

2 cups flaked canned or cooked salmon 3 tablespoons cooking fat or oil 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup milk and salmon liquid Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 2 cups soft bread cubes 1 egg, beaten

Drain canned salmon, saving the liquid.

Make sauce: Heat fat or oil, blend in flour. Add enough milk to the salmon liquid to make 1 cup, and stir into the flour mixture. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Season.

Mix the sauce with the other ingredients. Form into loaf.

Bake in uncovered pan at 350° F. (moderate oven) about half an hour, or until brown.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with baked sweetpotatoes, creamed celery or peas, a green vegetable salad, and a fruit whip.

For Variety

To give extra flavor to salmon loaf, add ½ cup coarsely chopped sweet pickle and 1 teaspoon grated onion to mixture before baking.

Use cooked cod or haddock in place of the salmon.

Serve fish loaf with egg sauce made by adding to 1 cup white sauce, 2 sliced hard-cooked eggs and ½ to 1 tablespoon grated horseradish.

Stuffed fish fillets

¾ cup finely cut celery 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion 6 tablespoons cooking fat or oil 3 cups bread cubes ¾ teaspoon salt Pepper 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 1 teaspoon thyme or other savory seasoning 1 pound small fish fillets Fine dry crumbs 2 tablespoons fat

Cook celery and onion in fat or oil for a few minutes.

Add bread cubes and seasonings, and mix well.

Place stuffing on skin side of salted individual fillets. Roll and fasten with toothpicks.

Roll the stuffed fillets in fine crumbs and brown in fat in a fry pan. Cover and cook over low heat until tender—about 10 minutes.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with tartar sauce, boiled or baked potatoes or squash, green lima beans, cabbage and carrot salad, and lemon pie.

For Variety

Lay one fillet in greased baking dish; brush with melted fat or with oil, sprinkle with lemon juice, and cover with stuffing. Place second fillet on stuffing, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with fat, and bake uncovered at 350° F. (moderate oven) about 35 minutes. Baste occasionally with melted fat.

Fish with curry sauce

1½ pounds dressed fish 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 tablespoon chopped green pepper 1 small onion, chopped ¼ cup chopped celery 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup liquid (liquid from simmered fish plus milk) Curry powder Salt 2 to 3 cups hot cooked rice 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Simmer fish about 10 minutes in a small quantity of water in a shallow pan. Drain and save liquid.

While the fish is cooking, make sauce: Melt the butter or margarine and cook the green pepper, onion, and celery in it a few minutes. Stir in the flour, then add the liquid. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Add curry powder and salt to taste. Use ⅛ to 1 teaspoon curry powder, as desired.

Remove skin and bones from the cooked fish. Arrange fish on a hot platter with a border of flaky rice. Pour sauce over fish, and sprinkle parsley on top.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with a cooked green or yellow vegetable, citrus fruit salad, and cottage pudding with caramel sauce.

For Variety

_Shrimp With Curry Sauce._—Instead of the fish, use shrimp.

Salmon, rice, and tomatoes

¼ cup chopped onion ¼ cup chopped green pepper 2 tablespoons bacon fat or meat drippings 1½ cups boiling water 2 cups cooked or canned tomatoes, or 2½ cups chopped raw tomatoes Salt and pepper ⅓ cup raw rice ¼ cup chopped olives 2 cups flaked canned or cooked salmon

Cook onion and green pepper in the fat in a large fry pan until the onion is yellow. Add water, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil.

Add rice and simmer until rice is tender—20 to 25 minutes—adding more water if needed.

Add olives and fish and cook 2 or 3 minutes longer to blend the flavors.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with baked squash, a green vegetable in salad or cooked, with cream pie for dessert.

For Variety

_Other cooked fish_ may be used in place of salmon.

_One cup of cooked rice_ may be used instead of the uncooked rice. Omit boiling water. Add the rice, olives, and fish as soon as the vegetables are tender and cook 5 or 10 minutes longer.

_Celery_ may be used instead of the green pepper.

Eggs ...

Eggs are excellent for main dishes because they contain high-quality protein, and are a good source of several important minerals and vitamins. When you serve eggs as an alternate for meat in a main dish, either allow more than 1 egg per person or add enough milk or cheese, as in cheese omelet, for example, to make up the difference.

Government-graded eggs are sold in cartons labeled with the grade (quality), size (weight), and date of grading. There are four U. S. grades—AA, A, B, and C. Grades AA and A have a large proportion of thick white, a firm high yolk, and a delicate flavor. They are often preferred for cooking in the shell, poaching, and frying. Grades B and C, which are less expensive than the two top grades, are a thrifty choice where appearance and delicate flavor are less important, as in Spanish omelet, gingerbread, or scrambled eggs with bacon.

Sizes of eggs and their minimum weights per dozen are:

Jumbo 30 ounces Extra large 27 ounces Large 24 ounces Medium 21 ounces Small 18 ounces Peewee 15 ounces

Within any grade, large eggs usually cost more per dozen than smaller ones. Use the above weights to determine which size gives you the best return for your money. For instance, if medium eggs weighing 21 ounces are 56 cents a dozen (2⅔ cents an ounce) they are a better buy than large eggs weighing 24 ounces at 66 cents a dozen (2¾ cents an ounce).

Eggs are cheaper than meat as a source of main-dish protein when the price of eight large eggs is less than the price of a pound of meat with moderate amounts of bone and fat, such as rump roast. Or when the price of a dozen large eggs is less than the price of a pound of lean meat with little fat and bone, as round steak.

The color of the eggshell depends on the breed of hen and does not indicate the food value of the eggs. So do not pay a higher price for brown eggs than for white ones, or vice versa, with the idea that you are getting more food value.

Hot deviled eggs

2 tablespoons butter, margarine, or oil ½ green pepper, chopped fine ⅓ cup celery, chopped fine 1 small onion, chopped fine 1 tablespoon flour 1⅓ cups cooked or canned tomatoes 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce 2 drops tabasco sauce ⅔ cup cold milk 6 hard-cooked eggs, sliced Crumbs, butter or margarine

Heat butter or margarine and cook chopped vegetables in it until they are tender. Blend in the flour.

Add tomatoes and seasonings and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Stir the hot tomato mixture into the milk and carefully add the eggs.

Turn into a greased baking dish and top with crumbs. Dot with butter or margarine and bake at 375° F. (moderate oven) until the crumbs are brown and the mixture is hot, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with asparagus, broccoli, or other green vegetable, mashed potatoes, and cheese with fruit pie for dessert.

For Variety

Instead of adding crumbs and baking the deviled egg mixture, serve it on toast or in patty shells.

Egg and toast special

4 slices bacon, chopped fine 4 thick slices bread, with 2-inch holes in centers 4 eggs Salt and pepper

Cook bacon in a fry pan until half done; push to side of pan. Pour off fat. Brown bread slices in pan while bacon continues to cook.

Break the eggs into the holes, and season. Sprinkle bacon over eggs and bread. Reduce heat, cover pan, and cook until eggs are done.

_Serve with_ creamed onions, sliced tomato and cottage cheese salad for needed protein, and a fruit dessert.

Mexican scrambled eggs

2 tablespoons minced onion ½ clove garlic, chopped fine 1 small green pepper, diced fine 2 tablespoons cooking fat or oil ⅓ cup sieved cooked or canned tomatoes 3 tablespoons water 1 teaspoon salt, pepper 6 eggs, slightly beaten

Fry onion, garlic, and green pepper in fat or oil. Add tomatoes, water, salt, and pepper.

Cook 3 minutes. Add eggs and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

_Serve with_ potatoes, snap beans, green salad with strips of meat and cheese, and upside-down cake made with fresh or stewed dried fruit.

Shirred eggs on spinach

1 to 1½ pounds spinach ½ teaspoon salt 2 slices bacon Salt and pepper 4 eggs

Wash spinach thoroughly, place in pan, and add salt. Cover and cook without added water until wilted—about 5 minutes.

Chop bacon fine; fry until crisp.

Mix bacon and bacon fat with spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place hot spinach in a baking dish. Make four depressions in spinach, and break an egg into each.

Cover dish and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 20 to 25 minutes or until eggs are firm. If desired, sprinkle grated cheese over the eggs during the last 10 minutes.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with baked sweetpotatoes, fruit salad, and cheese cake or pie with cheese.

For Variety

_Shirred Eggs With Cheese._—Place a tablespoon of top milk in a greased custard cup. Break an egg into the cup, add salt and pepper, and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) until white is nearly firm. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Eggs scrambled with luncheon meat

1 cup diced luncheon meat 1 tablespoon cooking fat or oil 4 eggs, beaten ¼ cup milk ¼ teaspoon salt Pepper

Salami, canned cured pork loaf, bologna, frankfurters, or any other spiced or smoked luncheon meat makes a good combination with eggs for this quick dinner dish.

Lightly brown the diced meat in the fat or oil in a fry pan over moderate heat.

Combine eggs, milk, salt, and pepper and add to the meat.

Cook, stirring constantly, until eggs are done.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with baked potatoes, carrot and celery sticks, and tomato aspic salad. Have fruit dumplings for dessert.

For Variety

Use _chopped cooked chicken, turkey, rabbit, or giblets_. With poultry, substitute broth for the milk for more flavor.

Or, instead of meat, use _¾ cup cottage cheese or chopped Cheddar cheese_, adding the cheese to the egg mixture before cooking. Serve these scrambled eggs with broiled, fried, or stewed tomatoes, or with tomato sauce.

Eggaroni

4 hard-cooked eggs 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 tablespoons flour 1⅔ cups milk 1 teaspoon finely chopped onion ½ tablespoon horseradish, if desired 1½ cups cooked macaroni Salt and pepper 2 tomatoes, cut in quarters Crumbs mixed with melted butter or margarine

Cut eggs in quarters.

Make white sauce: Melt butter or margarine, blend in flour, and add milk slowly. Cook, stirring, until thickened.

Add other ingredients except tomatoes and crumbs. Pour into greased baking dish.

Press tomatoes into top of mixture, leaving skin surface exposed.

Sprinkle crumbs over top and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 20 to 30 minutes or until tomatoes are tender.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with spinach or kale, apple and raisin salad, and apricot snow with custard sauce.

For Variety

Cover macaroni mixture with pieces of canned, instead of fresh, tomatoes. Make sauce with juice from tomatoes instead of milk.

Omit tomatoes. Mix ½ cup grated cheese with the crumbs and sprinkle over top during last 15 minutes of baking.

Puffy spanish omelet

1 cup cooked or canned tomatoes, or 1¼ cups chopped raw tomatoes 1 small green pepper, chopped ½ small onion, chopped fine 1 tablespoon chopped parsley ¼ cup chopped celery 8 to 10 stuffed olives, sliced 4 eggs, separated ½ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon cooking fat or oil

Combine tomatoes, green pepper, onion, parsley, celery, and olives. Simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is reduced to a few tablespoonfuls.

Beat egg yolks well. Add salt to egg whites and beat until stiff but not dry.

Gradually fold the beaten egg yolks into the whites and then fold in the cooked vegetables. Add pepper.

Heat the fat or oil in a fry pan and pour in the egg mixture. Cook over low heat until lightly browned on the bottom. Cover and cook until set.

Or, when the omelet is lightly browned on the bottom, finish by baking 10 to 15 minutes at 350° F. (moderate oven).

Menu Suggestion

Serve with slices of broiled ham or fried sausages for more protein, and with baked potatoes, greens, and cooked dried fruit.

Egg and potato scramble

2 slices bacon 4 medium-sized potatoes, sliced thin 1 teaspoon salt 4 eggs, beaten ¼ cup milk Pepper

Fry bacon slices and remove from fry pan.

Fry potatoes in the fat until they are well browned, sprinkling with salt as browning starts.

Cover pan closely. Cook over low heat until potatoes are tender.

Combine eggs, milk, and pepper. Pour over potatoes in pan and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until eggs are set.

Crumble bacon slices and add just before removing pan from heat. Serve at once.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with scalloped tomatoes or eggplant, spinach or kale, pear and cottage cheese salad, cookies.

For Variety

Bits of cooked ham, chipped beef, or any cooked meats may be used in place of the bacon in this recipe. Thin slices of sausages or chopped chicken livers are especially good. Fry the potatoes in bacon fat or other meat drippings when omitting the bacon.

Small cubes of cheese or flakes of smoked fish are other welcome additions with their own distinctive flavors.

Eggs in potato nests

1½ cups leftover mashed potatoes 5 eggs Salt and pepper

Mix potatoes with one of the eggs. Shape mixture into four balls, place on greased baking sheet.

Press centers of balls to make cups. Break an egg into each cup, season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 325° F. (slow oven) 20 to 25 minutes or until eggs are as firm as desired.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with broccoli and cheese sauce, and crisp salad, and spicecake for dessert.

For Variety

Add ¼ cup grated cheese and 1 teaspoon grated onion or onion juice to the potato mixture.

Bake the potato cups and fill with a mixture such as creamed salmon and peas or creamed chicken and celery.

Mix ¾ cup chopped cooked ham with 2 cups mashed potatoes; season. Add the yolk of 1 egg and fold in the stiffly beaten egg white. Line a greased baking dish with this mixture; bake 30 minutes at 350° F. (moderate oven) until potatoes are slightly browned. Fill the potato “nest” with hot creamed ham and eggs: 1½ cups white sauce, 4 hard-cooked eggs sliced, ¼ cup chopped cooked ham.

Cheese and milk ...

Cheese is one of the most popular alternates for meat. Like meat and eggs, it contains high-quality protein and is an excellent supplement for the protein in bread and such other cereal foods as macaroni, noodles, and spaghetti.

Cheese is not equal in food value to the milk from which it is made. It contains one of the milk proteins but the other is separated out when cheese is made and is left in the whey.

American Cheddar, sometimes called American or “store” cheese, is the cheese most commonly used in cooking in this country. It is sold in natural and processed forms, and varies in flavor from mild to very sharp. Other cheeses are noted for their distinctive flavors and are chiefly used for garnishing, as the grated hard Parmesan, or for eating alone, as the sweet Swiss and Brick or the salty Bleu and Gouda.

You can count on half a pound of Cheddar cheese (2 cups chopped or grated) to give you enough protein for 4 servings of a main dish, or about the same amount of protein as a pound of meat with a moderate amount of bone and fat.

Because Cheddar cheese is a concentrated food, it is generally used in relatively small amounts—less than half a pound for 4 servings. Then other protein-rich foods are added to the meal or included in the cheese dish to increase the protein content, as milk and eggs added to the cheese for a souffle or an omelet.

Cottage cheese is less concentrated than Cheddar cheese, with only four-fifths as much protein per pound. In using cottage cheese as a meat alternate, use about a fourth more by weight than you would of Cheddar cheese. For instance, it would take 10 ounces of cottage cheese (compared with 8 ounces of Cheddar cheese) to alternate for a pound of beef with a moderate amount of fat and bone. Ten ounces of cottage cheese measure about 1¼ cups; a pound measures a little more than 2 cups.

We lean heavily on milk as a source of our day’s protein. But it takes almost 7 cups of fluid milk, or about 2 cups of nonfat dry milk, to provide enough protein for 4 servings of a main dish. So, although we sometimes use a milk soup or chowder as the main dish, we are more likely to spread our milk consumption throughout the day—in beverages, custards, or milk puddings. In many recipes, we can increase the milk value by using fluid and dry milk together.

Cheese puff

6 slices bread 1½ cups ground or grated cheese 2 eggs 1½ cups milk ½ teaspoon salt Pepper, paprika, and mustard if desired

Fit 3 slices of bread into the bottom of a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese and cover with the rest of the bread.

Beat eggs, add milk and seasonings, pour over bread and cheese, and cover with rest of cheese.

Set baking dish in a pan of hot water and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) about 40 minutes or until custard is set and bread is puffy.

_Serve with_ lima beans or peas, beets, green salad, fruit cobbler.

Cheese fondue

1½ cups milk 1½ cups soft breadcrumbs 1 cup chopped or grated cheese 1 tablespoon butter or margarine ½ teaspoon salt 3 eggs, separated

Scald milk. Add crumbs, cheese, butter or margarine, and salt.

Beat egg yolks; add milk mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into mixture.

Pour into greased baking dish. Bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) 30 minutes or until set.

_Serve at once with_ baked squash, a green vegetable, apple-celery salad with nuts, and cookies.

Baked macaroni and cheese

4 ounces macaroni (1 cup elbow or 1-inch pieces) 1 quart boiling water 1 teaspoon salt 1½ cups water or fluid milk ⅓ cup dry milk, whole or nonfat 1 tablespoon flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1 cup chopped or grated cheese Crumbs, butter or margarine

Cook the macaroni in the boiling water with the teaspoon of salt for the length of time indicated on the package. Drain.

Put the 1½ cups of water or fluid milk into top of double boiler. Add dry milk, flour, and half teaspoon salt. Beat until smooth.

Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened. Add butter or margarine and cheese. Stir until they are melted.

Put macaroni into a greased baking dish. Pour on the cheese sauce.

Top with crumbs, dot with butter or margarine. Bake at 375° F. (moderate oven) until crumbs are brown and mixture is hot.

Menu Suggestion

Serve with beet greens, grated raw carrot salad, and cooked dried apricots or fresh fruit cup with cookies for dessert.

For Variety

Add grated onion or chopped green pepper to the sauce.

Cheese rabbit (rarebit)