The housekeeper's guide to preserved meats, fruits, vegetables, &c

ANCHOVIES FILLETED TO ORNA- MENT SALADS. — Filleted anchovies are particularly useful in decorating salads, especially mayonnaise salads. Thin fillets of anchovies should be placed round the base of a mayonnaise salad of lobster, salmon, smoked salmon — in fact, any mayonnaise. The fillets should be cut as thin as possible, and laid across each other like diamond panes of glass. The anchovies filleted not only form an excellent additional garnish, but also are an essential part of the salad itself so far as the flavouring is concerned. Another very useful compound made from filleted anchovies is — ANCHOVY BUTTER.— This is made by pounding the fillets of anchovies with a little butter, just sufficient to make a smooth paste. Then add a little cayenne pepper, and put the anchovy butter by for use. When made in any quantity it is always best to rub the anchovy butter through a hair sieve ; this ensures getting rid of all the little bones, some of which, especially those small ones in the fins, may have been overlooked in the process of filleting. Anchovy butter is used for a variety of purposes, and as the cayenne pepper enables the butter to be kept for some time, it is always useful to have some ready made. Anchovy butter is used for flavouring sauces, such as devil sauce, etc. It is also used for steaks. The well-known steak sold at the various restaurants under the management of Messrs. Spiers and Pond, known as “ Rump Steak a la S. and P.,” is a plain grilled steak, which, after it is grilled, is rubbed over with anchovy butter, made, as I have said, from Gorgona anchovies. Anchovy butter is also used in making Scotch woodcock, which is a compound of the flavour of egg and anchovy, or cream and anchovy, so blended as to resemble the delicious flavour of the inside of game that has been kept long enough, but not too long. Por a receipt for this delicious dish see Anchovy Paste. ANCHOVIES IN OIL.— Anchovies, after pickling, are boned and preserved in oil. A bottle or so of ready-boned anchovies in oil is extremely convenient, as when anchovies are required in a hurry for a salad or any other purpose, it is a great saving of time to have them ready to hand. Inexperienced cooks, who feel themselves not up to the process of boning without breaking, will find this form of anchovy very acceptable. They can be used for all the purposes mentioned above, and before being used should be dried on a cloth. When anchovies in oil are used for anchovies on toast, they can be made hot in a little of the oil, and then placed on toast. Cooks, especially where there is only one, will at once see the advantage of having a bottle of anchovies ready filleted in oil in the house. Suppose, after dinner, the order comes down, “ Send up a few anchovies on toast directly.” It is a mere question of making a little hot toast. The delay of opening a bottle in brine, then washing and filleting, is done away with. Still, anchovies in oil do not possess quite the flavour of those in brine, and are a trifle harder.