Thoroughly clean the fish; cut off the head or not, as preferred; cut out the backbone from the head to within two inches of the tail, and stuff with the following: Soak stale bread in water, squeeze dry; cut in pieces a large onion, fry in butter, chop fine; add the bread, two ounces of butter, salt, pepper and a little parsley or sage; heat through, and when taken off the fire, add the yolks of two well-beaten eggs; stuff the fish rather full, sew up with fine twine, and wrap with several coils of white tape. Rub the fish over slightly with butter; just cover the bottom of a baking pan with hot water, and place the fish in it, standing back upward, and bent in the form of an S. Serve with the following dressing: Reduce the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs to a smooth paste with two tablespoonfuls good salad oil; stir in half a teaspoon English mustard, and add pepper and vinegar to taste.
This is a very delicious salad, met with in Italy. It consists of a great variety of boiled vegetables, which are placed in a mould and served in aspic jelly. This latter, however, is not allowed in vegetarian cookery. A very good imitation, however, can be made as follows:--First take as many cold vegetables as you can, consisting of new potatoes, sliced, and cut up with a cutter into pretty-looking shapes. You can also take green peas, asparagus tops, cold boiled cauliflower, French beans, beet-root, &c. These vegetables should be dressed with a little oil, tarragon vinegar, pepper and salt, and can be placed in a mould or plain round basin. This basin can now be filled up with a little water thickened with corn-flour, hot. When it is cold, it can be turned out and sent to table in the shape of a mould.
Endive is generally used as a salad, but is very nice served as a vegetable, stewed. White-heart endives should be chosen, and several heads will be required for a dish, as they shrink very much in cooking. Wash and clean the endives very carefully in salt and water first, as they often contain insects. Boil them in slightly salted water till they are tender, then drain them off, and thoroughly extract the moisture; put them in a stew-pan with a little butter, pepper, salt, and nutmeg, let them stew for some little time; add the juice of a lemon, and serve. It will make the dish much prettier if you reserve one head of endive boiled whole. Place the stewed endive on a dish, and sprinkle some chopped blanched parsley over it, then place the single head of endive upright in the centre, and place some fried bread round the edge.
Any remains of smoked blue cod that may have been left from a meal make an excellent salad either with just a simple dressing of oil and vinegar and a lettuce, or with a mayonnaise or salad dressing. Follow the directions for fish salad, but do not put any salt, as the fish is usually salt enough.
Take a head of endive, wash it and dry it well, and put it into a salad-bowl. Pour over it three tablespoons of good olive-oil. Mix one tablespoon of honey (or sugar), one of vinegar, and salt and pepper in a cup, and pour over the salad just before serving.
Equal parts of boiled chestnuts and shredded celery are combined. Bananas, apples, celery and chestnuts. Dress with mayonnaise and serve on lettuce leaves.
Cut up all kinds of pickled cucumbers, small and large, sweet and sour, also (senf) mustard pickles, into very small lengths, also pickled beans and capers. Add six herring, which you have soaked in water for twenty-four hours; skin and take out every bone, cut up as you did the pickles. Add half a pound of smoked salmon, also cut into lengths, six large apples chopped very fine, and one onion grated; mix all thoroughly and pour a rich mayonnaise dressing over all. Next day line a salad bowl with lettuce leaves, fill in the salad and garnish with hard-boiled eggs, nuts, and capers.
1 egg yolk 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 cup salad oil 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
Utensils and ingredients should be very cold. Put egg yolk into shallow bowl; add, seasoning and mix well; add oil slowly, almost drop by drop, beating continually until very thick. Thin with vinegar; continue adding oil and vinegar until all is used.
10 lbs. Thick Brisket of Beef, Corned or Fresh--1s. 6d.
1 fagot of Herbs
1 stalk Celery--1/2d.
1 Onion
2 Carrots
1 Turnip
40 Peppercorns--1 1/2d.
Total Cost--1s. 8d.
Time--Four Hours
Bind the beef with tapes to keep it a good shape. If it is corned, put it on in cold water; if fresh, in hot stock or water, and bring to the boil, then skim carefully and put in the vegetables and peppercorns. Simmer very gently indeed for four hours, then take it up. Take off the tapes, slip out the bones, and put it into a dish; place a piece of board on the top and some heavy weights and leave till the next day, then turn out and serve with a salad. If fresh meat is used for this dish the liquor may be used for soup, or the bones may be put back when removed from the meat and boiled without the lid very quickly for an hour. Then strain off and stand away till the next day; it should then be in a strong jelly. This may be cut into blocks and put round the meat.
Calves' feet that have been boiled down for jelly make a good salad. They must, of course, be boiled very thoroughly for at least eight hours. Strain off the stock, remove the bones, and put the meat on one side till quite cold. Then cut up into neat pieces and put into a salad bowl. Pour over a salad dressing or just oil and vinegar; shred over it a nice white lettuce, and garnish with sliced beetroot.
