How to Cook Fish. Reed Myrtle
VENETIENNE SAUCE—I
Cook together for five minutes two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar, six pepper-corns, a tablespoonful of chopped ham, six parsley roots, a sprig of thyme and a bay-leaf. Strain, and add to one cupful of Veloute Sauce. Reheat, add a teaspoonful of minced parsley and serve.
VENETIENNE SAUCE—II
Add minced parsley, tarragon vinegar, grated nutmeg, and a tablespoonful of butter to Allemande Sauce.
VINAIGRETTE SAUCE
Mix four tablespoonfuls of olive-oil with one tablespoonful of vinegar. Season with salt and paprika and add to it minced parsley, pickle, and capers.
WHIPPED CREAM SAUCE
Mix a teaspoonful of dry mustard with a tablespoonful of vinegar and two tablespoonfuls of freshly grated horseradish. Mix with one fourth cupful of Mayonnaise, and when smooth fold in carefully one cupful of whipped cream. Season with salt and red pepper and serve very cold with cold fish.
WHITE SAUCE
Cook together two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour, add one cupful of white stock and one half cupful of cream. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. One and one half cupfuls of milk may be used instead of the stock and cream.
TEN WAYS TO SERVE ANCHOVIES
I
Clean, bone, and trim the fish. Arrange on a dish, alternating with quarters of hard-boiled eggs. Moisten with olive-oil, sprinkle with parsley, and serve with toasted crackers.
II
Split the anchovies, wash in white wine, and bone them. Make a paste with the yolks of eggs, equal parts of minced cooked fish, and bread-crumbs. Stuff the anchovies, dip into batter, and fry in deep fat.
III
Pound the fish in a mortar, seasoning with minced parsley, grated onion, and cayenne. Serve on small circles of fried bread, as a first course at dinner.
IV
Drain a bottle of anchovies and mash fine with enough butter to make a smooth paste. Season with lemon-juice and cayenne. Spread on fingers of toast and lay a whole anchovy on each piece.
V
Wash eight salted anchovies, remove the skin and bones, and soak in clear water for an hour. Drain and wipe dry. Arrange on lettuce leaves with sliced hard-boiled eggs and pour over a French dressing.
VI
Toast circles of bread, spread with butter, cover with chopped hard-boiled eggs, make a hollow in the egg, lay an anchovy upon it, and set into a hot oven for five minutes.
VII
Toast thin circles of graham bread, butter, and cover each piece with anchovies. Sprinkle with lemon-juice and paprika and put into hot oven for five minutes.
VIII
Clean and rinse the fish and dry on a cloth. Butter a small baking-dish, put in a layer of cracker crumbs, then a layer of anchovies, then sugar and crumbs. Repeat until the dish is full, having crumbs and butter on top. Beat the yolks of two eggs with half a cupful of cream and a little sugar. Pour over the fish and bake in the oven.
IX
Use salted Norwegian anchovies soaked for two hours in cold water. Split down the back, bone and skin, cut into strips, and arrange on a platter. Mince separately parsley, capers, boiled carrots, beets, and the whites and yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Arrange small piles of contrasting colors among the fish and pour over a French dressing.
X
Fry thin circles of bread, put a pimola in the centre, and curl an anchovy around it. Fill the remaining space with chopped hard-boiled eggs and serve as a first course at dinner or luncheon.
FORTY-FIVE WAYS TO COOK BASS
BAKED BASS—I
Scale, wash, and clean, leaving the head intact. Make a stuffing of two cupfuls of bread-crumbs, one cupful of butter, two eggs well beaten, and enough cold water to make a smooth paste. Season with pepper, salt, grated lemon, minced parsley, thyme, and marjoram. Split the fish, stuff, and sew up. Lay thin slices of salt pork over the fish and put into a baking-pan with a little boiling water seasoned with wine and tomato juice. Bake carefully, basting frequently. The gravy may be thickened and served with the fish.