Twenty-four Little French Dinners and How to Cook and Serve Them Part 7

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Over here we have always seemed to regard fish as useful chiefly for stocking aquariums or for furnishing sport for the vacationist, along with golf, tennis and bowling. True, we have become rather well acquainted with certain sea foods, the oysters, Blue Points and Cape Cods; we have a nodding acquaintance with some of the clam clan, especially the Rhode Island branch, and the Little Necks, the blue bloods of the family. And, of course, we are familiar with the crustaceans, the lobsters and the crabs.

And we know, too, certain succulent sea delicacies that come to us from Palm Beach sh.o.r.es and California and Oregon regions, tuna and halibut, bluefish and salmon as it comes to us variously prepared for the table.

In short, we Americans are fairly friendly with a number of the aristocrats of the water, but on a.n.a.lyzing the situation we come to realize that as for knowing the "finny tribe" as a whole well enough to get complete gastronomic joy out of the situation, it remains that it is only the French people who are so blessed.

Time and the hour and the high price of meat, however, render it advisable, even absolutely necessary, that we work _all_ our resources instead of only a part of them, to economize whenever and wherever we can, and the waters in our midst and around us are surely one of the most important resources not already worked to the limit.

Therefore, let us eat fish--but first let us learn of the French about fish, even as we have learned of them concerning other foods, or as we have learned fashions, for, verily, the turning out of a proper fish dish for the table has ever been regarded by the French as no less an art than the creation of a beautiful frock in one of their ateliers.

Moreover, their ways with fish are so broadly inclusive that one may make up an entire menu from one end to the other, with only a cup of coffee needed as a final fillip to make a perfect meal--and all of fish.

By way of furnishing inspiration to our own appet.i.tes, herewith is a suggestion for a fish luncheon, a favorite menu of France, which its wealth and fashion delighted to have set before it in those good old days before the war. Subst.i.tutes are given for any fish not indigenous to American waters; otherwise it is just as it would be served at one of the Riviera restaurants, with the exception, of course, that on the Riviera or at any of the noted marine restaurants, the visitor himself was permitted to select the fish for each course from among the different specimens swimming in the reserves, altogether unconscious of impending fate.

No French restauranteur worthy the name ever kept dead fish in stock, for nothing deteriorates so quickly. There is rarely over here the natural reserve that the Riviera takes as a matter of course, although there is, in some restaurants, the tank of running water in which the fish are kept in condition till required.

AN ALL FISH LUNCHEON

MENU

=Hors d'uvres.= =Little Necks or Blue Points.=

(At Monte Carlo one would be served Clovisses.)

=Lobster with Sauce Piquante.=

(A subst.i.tute for the French langouste, which is similar to a giant lobster minus the two long nippers. Or there might be served abroad for this course a little gelatinous fellow called supion, or sea-hedgehog, or perhaps nonnots, smaller and more delicate than our own whitefish.)

=French Sardines Grilled, or Shad Planked.=

(Shad is a most satisfactory subst.i.tute for the French restauranteur's delight--loup de mer.)

=Flounder, Sauce Meuniere, or Shrimps.=

(In Dieppe sole and certain crevettes are both specialties and are served at this juncture, but little sole is being received here and our own flounder answers requirements admirably. Shrimps, too, will please an American palate fully as well as the crevettes.)

=Bouillabaisse.=

(This, for which we have no nearer synonym than fish stew, which is a libel, is the piece de resistance of the luncheon. It is probably the most famous fish dish of France.)

=Salade de Poisson with Aioli.=

(Aioli is a Mediterranean mayonnaise and "the dressing," the French say, "is the soul of the salad.")

It will be noted that there is no dessert given with the above menu, but the repast may be gracefully topped off with crackers and cheese and cafe noir. Tea is never served with fish, as the tannin is said to render fish particularly indigestible.

TO PREPARE THE LUNCHEON

The French disdain the pepper, horseradish and tomato mixtures with which we are wont to dress raw oysters, preferring to get the full coppery taste peculiar to their home product, but the American oyster, even these artists of the culinary department agree, requires a dressing to bring out the flavor. As for the clovisse, which is, by the way, first cousin to our clam, it is eaten from the sh.e.l.l, each clovisse being opened immediately before being disposed of.

Lobster as here served to take the place of the French langouste, tastes much like deviled lobster. The sauce piquante is made as follows: Into a saucepan put a tablespoonful of finely chopped onion with a little salt, grated nutmeg, black pepper and an ounce of b.u.t.ter. When this melts and blends add a little chopped red pepper along with three tablespoonfuls of vinegar and a teaspoonful of mustard. Stir together well, then mix in half an ounce of flour and half a pint of fish stock. Simmer for half an hour, skimming occasionally and, finally add a chopped pickled gherkin.

=Sauce Meuniere=, served with the sole, or, in this case with the flounder, is made by adding a few shrimps and mussels, minced, to a pint of white wine in a saucepan, along with a cupful of minced mushrooms, a teaspoonful of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper and three or four cloves. Simmer for twenty minutes and pour over the fish just before serving.

=Salade de Poisson, Aioli=, is made by taking any cold fish, say salmon, with this menu. It is flaked and marinaded in oil and vinegar seasoned well with pepper and salt. Allow to remain for an hour or so, then remove and arrange compactly in a salad bowl. The aioli, the Mediterranean delicacy with which it is served, is made by whipping two eggs, four teaspoonfuls of olive oil, a half teaspoonful of French mustard and a half cupful of cream together till stiff, in a bowl rubbed with garlic. Heap this on the center of the fish.

As for the =Bouillabaisse=, it is like our own Welsh Rabbit in so far as hardly any two persons make it alike. Here are two recipes which gastronomic authorities have accorded the meed of highest praise:

No. 1.--Cut into pieces and remove the bones from three pounds of fish; say one pound each of cod, halibut and bluefish, though any fish of like nature will do. To these add the cooked meat of one lobster or two crabs, and six shrimps and put all into a ca.s.serole in half a pint or more of olive oil to cook, adding one lemon, sliced, two tomatoes, one onion, one sliced carrot, a bunch of saffron, a bunch of parsley, a bayleaf and a clove of garlic--or have the ca.s.serole rubbed with the garlic. Cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently, then add one cup of soup stock and a gla.s.s of wine or cider. Cook for fifteen minutes longer, remove to a hot bowl, line the ca.s.serole with slices of toast, and pour back the bouillabaisse. Serve at once.

No. 2.--Place the pieces of fish to any desired amount in a large saucepan, add two or three sliced onions, one or two sliced carrots, three shallots, two cloves of garlic, a bunch of thyme and parsley, three or four cloves, two bayleaves, half a teaspoonful of capsic.u.m, a wine-gla.s.s of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the above mixture two quarts of water and boil gently for half an hour, the pan covered. Drain and lay on a hot dish. Then mix a teaspoonful of saffron in the liquid, pa.s.s through a strainer into a soup tureen. Serve the soup with the fish and a plate of croutons of fried bread or sippets of toast.

FISH a LA Ma.r.s.eILLES

The French have another fish dish which, like bouillabaisse, is practically a meal in itself and which in these days should be better known to the American table. It is a specialty in the vicinity of Ma.r.s.eilles and made there, of course, with fish peculiar to the home waters, but M. Auguste Gay, Chef of the Yale Club, New York, who, incidentally, has probably given more attention to the adaptation of French cookery to American requirements than any other chef, is authority for the statement that the following recipe produces an almost perfect subst.i.tute for the French dish:

Chop into fine bits a small sweet Chile pepper and toss it about in a saucepan over the fire with a third of a cupful of olive oil or b.u.t.ter.

When hot add a cupful of okra and the same amount of stewed fresh or canned tomatoes. Cook fifteen minutes and add a full cupful of cooked fresh fish--cod, haddock, etc., and a half cupful of flaked salt fish, mackerel, for instance. Cover and cook for twenty minutes longer and serve with water crackers.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

One secret of the French cook's superiority to the American in preparing fish is that the former has almost a congenital knowledge of his subject. To him all fish is not just fish. He differentiates sharply as to species, tempering his treatment to varied requirements.

Roughly, there are two cla.s.ses of fish: those which have dark flesh or flesh with a pinkish tone which is streaked with fat, and those which have white, firm flesh and are the more digestible. Best known in the first cla.s.s are shad, b.u.t.terfish, bluefish, salmon, mackerel and sturgeon, and in the second, cod, halibut, flounder, trout, rock and sea ba.s.s, pompano, weakfish and perch.

One matter-of-course rule is that no fish of whatever kind shall be allowed to enter the kitchen unless it is perfectly fresh. To be sure of this see that the gills are bright and shining and the flesh firm, not readily separating from the bones. That settled, you have an almost endless choice of ways of cooking.

Fish may be boiled, broiled, fried, baked, planked, creamed, steamed, cooked en ca.s.serole, jellied or pickled, but of all these ways none produces quite the universally satisfactory results with a sizable fish that planking does, and planking is not more difficult or expensive than other methods.

All that is required in the way of accoutrements is a half-inch-thick hardwood board which is heated in advance in the oven when planked fish is to figure on the menu. Then having thoroughly cleaned the fish, removed its head and tail, split it up the back half through the bone so that it will open out flat, brush it with b.u.t.ter and season with pepper and salt, place it skin-side down on the board.

Put it in the oven and when it is done, which can be easily ascertained by lifting a bit of the flesh, you, being American, may garnish the board with mashed and seasoned potatoes, set the board back in the oven till the potatoes are browned and serve. The French, on taking the cooked fish from the oven, merely brush it with a little oil or melted b.u.t.ter, squeeze some lemon juice over, sprinkle a few bits of parsley about, and send the fish thus to the table.

Small fish, such as perch, smelts, etc., are best fried in deep fat or its subst.i.tute, first being dipped in egg and rolled in fine cracker or breadcrumbs, then served with a Sauce Mousseline, mashed potatoes or boiled new ones, and a crisp salad.

This Sauce Mousseline is made by beating two eggs in a saucepan, adding a cupful of top milk, b.u.t.ter the size of a walnut and pepper and salt, then stirring over the fire till it begins to thicken. When of the proper consistency, add a tablespoonful of lemon juice and it is ready for the table.

A tart sauce for boiled fish that is much favored in the south of France but which, if it has ever crossed the water, has kept its arrival very quiet, is quite simply made and will be much liked as a decided change.

To make it dissolve a tablespoonful of powdered mustard in a half cupful of fish stock and add two tablespoonfuls of white wine vinegar by preference, though other vinegar will do. Let this come to a boil, add two or three slices of lemon and boil a few minutes longer. Take from the fire and add two eggs that have been beaten with a teaspoonful of water. Season with salt and pepper and heat again but do not allow to boil.