The Virginia Housewife Part 7

TO MAKE A CURRY OF CATFISH.

Take the white channel catfish, cut off their heads, skin and clean them, cut them in pieces four inches long, put as many as will be sufficient for a dish into a stew pan with a quart of water, two onions, and chopped parsley; let them stew gently till the water is reduced to half a pint, take the fish out and lay them on a dish, cover them to keep them hot, rub a spoonful of b.u.t.ter into one of flour, add a large tea-spoonful of curry powder, thicken the gravy with it, shake it over the fire a few minutes, and pour it over the fish; be careful to have the gravy smooth.

TO DRESS A COD'S HEAD AND SHOULDERS.

Take out the gills and the blood from the bone, wash the head very clean, rub over it a little salt, then lay it on your fish plate; throw in the water a good handful of salt, with a gla.s.s of vinegar, then put in the fish, and let it boil gently half an hour; if it is a large one, three quarters; take it up very carefully, strip the skin nicely off, set it before a brisk fire, dredge it all over with flour, and baste it well with b.u.t.ter; when the froth begins to rise, throw over it some very fine white bread crumbs; you must keep basting it all the time to make it froth well; when it is a fine light brown, dish it up, and garnish it with a lemon cut in slices, sc.r.a.ped horse-radish, barberries, a few small fish fried and laid around it, or fried oysters--cut the roe and liver in slices, and lay over it a little of the lobster out of the sauce in lumps, and then serve it up.

TO MAKE SAUCE FOR THE COD'S HEAD.

Take a lobster, if it be alive, stick a skewer in the rent of the tail, (to keep the water out,) throw a handful of salt in the water; when it boils, put in the lobster, and boil it half an hour; if it has sp.a.w.n on it, pick them off, and pound them exceedingly fine in a marble mortar, and put them into half a pound of good melted b.u.t.ter, then take the meat out of the lobster, pull it in bits, and put it in your b.u.t.ter, with a meat spoonful of lemon pickle, and the same of walnut catsup, a slice of lemon, one or two slices of horse-radish, a little beaten mace, salt and cayenne to your taste; boil them one minute, then take out the horse-radish and lemon, and serve it up in your sauce boat.

N.B. If you cannot get lobsters, you may make shrimp, c.o.c.kle, or muscle sauce, the same way; if there can be no sh.e.l.l fish got, you then may add two anchovies cut small, a spoonful of walnut liquor, a large onion stuck with cloves--strain and put it in the sauce boat.

TO DRESS A SALT COD.

Steep your salt fish in water all night, with a gla.s.s of vinegar; it will take out the salt, and make it taste like fresh fish; the next day boil it; when it is enough take off the skin, pull it in fleaks into your dish, then pour egg sauce over it, or parsnips boiled and beat fine, with b.u.t.ter and cream; send it to the table on a water plate, for it will soon grow cold.

MATELOTE OF ANY KIND OF FIRM FISH.

Cut the fish in pieces six inches long, put it in a pot with onion, parsley, thyme, mushrooms, a little spice, pepper and salt--add red wine and water enough for gravy, set it on a quick fire and reduce it one-third, thicken with a spoonful of b.u.t.ter and two of flour; put it in a dish with bits of bread fried in b.u.t.ter, and pour the gravy over it.

CHOWDER, A SEA DISH.

Take any kind of firm fish, cut it in pieces six inches long, sprinkle salt and pepper over each piece, cover the bottom of a small Dutch oven with slices of salt pork about half boiled, lay in the fish, strewing a little chopped onion between; cover with crackers that have been soaked soft in milk, pour over it two gills of white wine, and two of water; put on the top of the oven, and stew it gently about an hour; take it out carefully, and lay it in a deep dish; thicken the gravy with a little flour and a spoonful of b.u.t.ter, add some chopped parsley, boil it a few minutes, and pour it over the fish--serve it up hot.

TO PICKLE STURGEON.

The best sturgeons are the small ones, about four feet long without the head, and the best part is the one near the tail. After the sturgeon is split through the back bone, take a piece with the skin on, which is essential to its appearance and goodness, cut off the gristle, sc.r.a.pe the skin well, wash it, and salt it--let it lie twenty-four hours, wipe off the salt, roll it, and tie it around with twine, put it on in a good deal of cold water, let it boil till you can run a straw easily into the skin, take it up, pull off the large scales, and when cold, put it in a pot, and cover it with one part vinegar, and two of salt and water; keep it closely stopped, and when served, garnish with green fennel.

TO CAVEACH FISH.

Cut the fish in pieces the thickness of your hand, wash it and dry it in a cloth, sprinkle on some pepper and salt, dredge it with flour, and fry it a nice brown; when it gets cold, put it in a pot with a little chopped onion between the layers, take as much vinegar and water as will cover it, mix with it some oil, pounded mace, and whole black pepper, pour it on, and stop the pot closely. This is a very convenient article, as it makes an excellent and ready addition to a dinner or supper. When served up, it should be garnished with green fennel, or parsley.

TO DRESS COD FISH.

Boil the fish tender, pick it from the bones, take an equal quant.i.ty of Irish potatos, or parsnips boiled and chopped, and the same of onions well boiled; add a sufficiency of melted b.u.t.ter, some grated nutmeg, pepper, and salt, with a little brandy or wine; rub them in a mortar till well mixed; if too stiff, liquify it with cream or thickened milk, put paste in the bottom of a dish, pour in the fish, and bake it. For change, it may be baked in the form of patties.

COD FISH PIE.

Soak the fish, boil it and take off the skin, pick the meat from the bones, and mince it very fine; take double the quant.i.ty of your fish, of stale bread grated; pour over it as much new milk, boiling hot, as will wet it completely, add minced parsley, nutmeg, pepper, and made mustard, with as much melted b.u.t.ter as will make it sufficiently rich; the quant.i.ty must be determined by that of the other ingredients--beat these together very well, add the minced fish, mix it all, cover the bottom of the dish with good paste, pour the fish in, put on a lid and bake it.

TO DRESS ANY KIND OF SALTED FISH.

Take the quant.i.ty necessary for the dish, wash them, and lay them in fresh water for a night; then put them on the tin plate with holes, and place it in the fish kettle--sprinkle over it pounded cloves and pepper, with four cloves of garlic; put in a bundle of sweet herbs and parsley, a large spoonful of tarragon, and two of common vinegar, with a pint of wine; roll one quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter in two spoonsful of flour, cut it in small pieces, and put it over the fish--cover it closely, and simmer it over a slow fire half an hour; take the fish out carefully, and lay it in the dish, set it over hot water, and cover it till the gravy has boiled a little longer--take out the garlic and herbs, pour it over the fish, and serve it up. It is very good when eaten cold with salad, garnished with parsley.

TO FRICa.s.sEE COD SOUNDS AND TONGUES.

Soak them all night in fresh water, take off the skins, cut them in two pieces, and boil them in milk and water till quite tender, drain them in a colander, and season with nutmeg, pepper, and a little salt--take as much new milk as will make sauce for it, roll a good lump of b.u.t.ter in flour, melt it in the milk, put the fish in, set it over the fire, and stir it till thick enough, and serve it up.

AN EXCELLENT WAY TO DRESS FISH.

Dredge the fish well with flour, sprinkle salt and pepper on them, and fry them a nice brown; set them by to get cold; put a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter in a frying pan; when it boils, fry tomatos with the skins taken off, parsley nicely picked, and a very little chopped onion; when done, add as much water as will make sauce for the fish--season it with pepper, salt, and pounded cloves; add some wine and mushroom catsup, put the fish in, and when thoroughly heated, serve it up.

FISH A-LA-DAUB.

Boil as many large white perch as will be sufficient for the dish; do not take off their heads, and be careful not to break their skins; when cold, place them in the dish, and cover them with savoury jelly broken.

A nice piece of rock-fish is excellent done in the same way.

FISH IN JELLY.

Fill a deep gla.s.s dish half full of jelly--have as many small fish-moulds as will lie conveniently in it fill them with blanc mange; when they are cold, and the jelly set, lay them on it, as if going in different directions; put in a little more jelly, and let it get cold, to keep the fish in their places--then fill the dish so as to cover them. The jelly should be made of hog's feet, very light coloured, and perfectly transparent.

TO MAKE EGG SAUCE FOR A SALT COD.

Boil four eggs hard, first half chop the white, then put in the yelks, and chop them both together, but not very small; put them into half a pound of good melted b.u.t.ter, and let it boil up--then pour it on the fish.

TO DRESS COD SOUNDS.