The Century Cook Book Part 23

Shad may be broiled, and spread with maitre d'hotel sauce; stuffed and baked, and served with brown sauce; or it may be boiled and served with Hollandaise, Bechamel, or egg sauce.

=PLANKED SHAD=

Have a hardwood board one and a half or two inches thick. Split the shad as for broiling, place it on the board with the skin side down, and fasten with a few tacks; place the board before the fire, and roast until done; rub it from time to time with a little b.u.t.ter. The plank should be well-seasoned, and be heated before placing the shad on it, or it will impart the flavor of the wood to the fish.

A subst.i.tute for this mode of cooking is to put into a baking-pan a tablespoonful of drippings; when very hot lay in the shad with the skin side up, place it under the coals, and when the skin is puffed and blistered it is done. Turn it onto a hot dish, dredge with salt and pepper, cover with bits of b.u.t.ter, and serve with quarters of lemon.

=BROILED SHAD ROE=

Wash and dry the roe with care not to break the skin, place it on a well greased broiler, and rub it with b.u.t.ter once or twice during the time of broiling; cook to a nice brown, place it on a hot dish, and cover with a maitre d'hotel sauce.

Garnish the dish with a wreath of water cresses. This makes a good fish course for luncheon. Shad roe may also be cooked in a saute-pan, using one half b.u.t.ter and one half drippings or lard.

=SHAD ROE CROQUETTES, NO. 1=

Put the roes from two fishes into boiling salted water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; when cool, remove the skin, and mash them with a fork, so the little eggs will be separated but not broken: scald one cupful of cream or milk, and stir into it one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed together. Take the paste on a spoon, and stir it in the cream until dissolved. Remove from the fire, and add the beaten yolks of two eggs and the seasoning--one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, juice of one half a lemon, dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Place again on the fire, and stir until the sauce is thickened; then add the mashed shad roe, pour the mixture on a dish, and set away to cool for several hours. Form it into small croquettes, egg and bread-crumb them, using crumbs grated from the loaf; fry in hot fat until an amber color. Dress on a folded napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with Mayonnaise, Tartare, or Bearnaise sauce.

=SHAD ROE CROQUETTES, NO. 2=

Put shad roes into salted boiling water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; remove with care not to break the skin, and place in cold water; when cold, dry them, and with a sharp knife cut them into pieces two inches thick; dredge them with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, dip them in beaten egg, roll in grated white bread crumbs, place in a wire basket, and fry in hot fat. Dress on a napkin, and serve with Tartare or Bearnaise sauce.

=SALT MACKEREL=

Soak the mackerel for twelve hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes; and, if convenient, have in the water one teaspoonful of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a sprig of parsley. When tender, place carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it a cream sauce; or the soaked fish may be broiled, and spread with b.u.t.ter, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped parsley.

=CREAMED MACKEREL=

Soak the mackerel for twenty-four hours, then lay it in a shallow stew-pan, and cover with milk or cream. Simmer for fifteen minutes.

Remove the fish carefully, and place it on a hot dish. Add to the milk or cream in the stew-pan one tablespoonful each of b.u.t.ter and flour rubbed together. Stir until a little thickened, and the flour cooked; add a little pepper and chopped parsley, and pour the sauce over the fish.

=SALT CODFISH=

Soak the codfish several hours, changing the water three times. Simmer it for 20 minutes or until it is tender. Take out carefully all the bones. Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful each of b.u.t.ter and flour, and one cupful of milk; add to it, off the fire, two beaten yolks.

Return to the fire, and stir in one cupful of shredded codfish. Taste to see if it needs seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve it on slices of toast, or place it in center of dish, and surround it with triangular croutons.

=CLUB HOUSE FISH b.a.l.l.s=

Boil the quant.i.ty of codfish that will be needed, changing the water once, that it may not be too salt. While the fish is hot, pick it very fine, so that it is feathery; it cannot be done fine enough with a fork, and should be picked by hand. At the same time have hot boiled potatoes ready. Mash them thoroughly, and make them creamy with milk and a good-sized lump of b.u.t.ter. To three cupfuls of the mashed potatoes take one and one half cupfuls of fish. The fish should not be packed down.

Beat one egg lightly, and stir into the other ingredients; season to taste. Beat the mixture well together and until light, then mold it into small b.a.l.l.s, handling lightly, and before frying, roll the b.a.l.l.s in flour. Fry them in smoking hot fat until a golden color.[128-*]

FOOTNOTES:

[128-*] This mixture can be spread on a pan, then marked into squares, and baked in the oven. This method makes it a more wholesome dish for those who are unable to eat fried preparations.--M. R.

=BROILED SARDINES ON TOAST=

Drain sardines from the can. Lay them on a broiler over hot coals for two minutes on each side. Have ready hot toast cut the right size to hold three of the fish. Arrange them neatly on the toast, and moisten with a little heated oil from the can.

=FRESH FISH b.a.l.l.s=

To one cupful of flaked boiled fish add a cream sauce made of one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, one tablespoonful of flour, and one half cupful of milk.

Let the sauce be very stiff, so it leaves the sides of the pan; mix it well with the fish, and when hot add two beaten eggs, pepper, and salt.

Drop the mixture, which should be like thick batter, from a spoon into very hot fat.

It will puff, and be very light.

=SALMON=

Put salmon into hot water to preserve its color, and simmer in acidulated water or in court bouillon, as is the rule for all fish. The middle cuts are preferable where a small quant.i.ty only is needed. The head piece makes a pretty cut, but is not profitable to buy, as the head adds materially to the weight. Where a large fish is to be used for a supper or cold dish, it may be cut in halves or sections (see page 114) if too large for the fish kettle. Cold salmon can be elaborately garnished with aspic, colored mayonnaise, shrimps, gherkins, capers, etc.

=CANNED SALMON=

The canned salmon is very good, and makes a palatable emergency dish. It can be prepared quickly, as the fish is already cooked. It may be broiled, and spread with maitre d'hotel b.u.t.ter, or it can be served on toast with cream dressing; or a white sauce can be made, and the fish put in it to heat; or the fish may be heated in water, and served as cutlets with Bearnaise sauce.

=SALMON CUTLETS=

Prepare salmon cutlets the same as boiled halibut steaks (page 119), or cut them in half heart or chop shapes, roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot fat. Arrange them in a circle overlapping one another, and serve with Bearnaise, Hollandaise or Tartare sauce.

=BROILED SLICES OF SALMON=

Marinate the slices for one hour. Broil on both sides; baste with b.u.t.ter, so that they will not brown. Place them on a hot dish, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Serve with them a Bearnaise sauce or quarters of lemon.

=SLICES OF SALMON WITH MAYONNAISE=

Simmer two slices of salmon in court bouillon until done; remove carefully so as not to break them. When perfectly cold cover one side of them with a smooth layer of mayonnaise made with jelly (see page 290), and colored a delicate green. Arrange a row of sliced gherkins or of capers around the edge. Place a wedge-shaped socle of bread in the middle of a dish, and fasten it to the dish with white of egg, so that it will be firm; rest the slices against it; conceal the side of socle with garnish of fresh lettuce leaves. Place a bunch of parsley or water-cress or if convenient a bouquet of nasturtium blossoms, in the hollow center of the fish. Use hard-boiled eggs cut in halves for further garnishing.

This makes a handsome supper dish for card or theater party. It should be kept in a cool place until ready to serve.

=FILLETS OF SALMON FOR GREEN LUNCHEON=

Cut salmon into pieces three quarters of an inch thick and two and a half inches square, trim them carefully, and flatten with heavy knife so they will be uniform. Lay them in a baking-pan so they do not touch, cover them with salted water, and simmer them in the oven for about twenty minutes, or until well cooked, but still firm. Take them out carefully, skin and dry them, and when cold marinate them. Make a jelly mayonnaise (see page 290), using a little tarragon vinegar; color it green; cover the fillets with the green mayonnaise while it is soft enough to become perfectly smooth, and set them away in a cool, dry place. When ready to serve place the fillets on the top of a socle made of hominy, and ornamented on the sides with green beans and b.a.l.l.s of carrot, or green peas (see ill.u.s.tration page 322). Arrange a macedoine of vegetables (see page 216) around the base of the socle. Serve with it a mayonnaise dressing. One pound of salmon will cut into nine cutlets.