Practical home cookery

lobster cutlets are also ready arranged to be what the cook calls “ popped in the oven ” at the proper moment. But before going any further I will run as briefly as possible through the methods of preparing these dishes, some of which have been described before, but may have been forgotten. First, the stewed eels. Some good stock has been placed on the fire early in the morning, and into it have been put some button mushrooms out of a tin, and if possible a few very small spring onions ; the stock has been thickened with some brown thickening — i.e. butter and flour fried a brown colour ; to this have been added about a dessert-spoonful of mushroom ketchup and another dessert-spoonful of port wine, and a httle cayenne pepper. The eels have been cut into pieces about two inches long, and placed in tliis and allowed to simmer slowly for an hour, or longer ; the cook has then taken each piece of eel out very carefully, so as not to break them, and allowed the stock to boil up and settle ; this has been skimmed once or twice, for a good deal of fat, or what looks like it, will be found on the top. The eels have then been put back in the stewpan, and the whole allowed to simmer until the eels are as soft as possible, when the dish is finished, care being taken not to break the pieces when turned out. Next, the salmon and pickle sauce. This can be made from fish left the day before. Cut the cold salmon into pieces about three or four inches long and one and a half inches square, and simply warm these pieces up in some good strong brown gravy to which has been added about half a tea-spoonful of Worcester sauce, and about half a tea-cupful of mixed hot pickles in which cucumber, as indeed it generally does, slightly preponderates ; take also care to have three or four chillies with it. Have the gravy a dark colour and well thickened, so that the pieces of salmon may be covered with it ; a little arrowroot mixed with cold water may be added to the sauce in order to obtain the necessary thickness. Next, the curry sauce in the little saucepan. This may have been, and should be, made long before ; some curried mutton the day before for dinner will be found an advisable dish, as the sauce left will do for the shrimps, and a very httle is necessary. Curry sauce is made by frying, say, six large onions in a stew-pan with butter till they are browned ; three large apples added, and dissolved in it, some brown gravy, the whole thing rubbed through a tanning or sieve, taking care that all the onion is rubbed through ; then a tablespoonful of curry paste and a dessert-spoonful of curry powder added, and the whole thickened with brown thickening to its proper consistency. Have ready, hot, about half a tea-cupful of this sauce, add to it about half a salt-spoonful of anchovy sauce, put the shrimps in it for one minute only, turn them out, and serve some plain boiled rice with them on a separate plate.