The cult of the chafing dish

Then cut a good-sized Spanish onion into rings, fry these in the oil left by the herrings till they are of a dark brown colour, taking great care not to burn them. When ready, which should be in about six minutes, heap them round the herrings and serve with quarters of lemon. This is a lordly dish, and if properly concocted it leaves you in that state that you will love all mankind — and even tolerate the Chinese. Dean Nowell, or Noel, a clerical Izaak Walton, and Dean of St. Paul's (i 507-1602) said that the only thing wrong with the herring was that it preferred the sea to the river. The Dean angled much in the Ash at Hadham ; he wrote the Church Catechism, invented bottled beer (by accident), and fished for perch and souls. Peace be to his! There are as many ways of cooking the herring as there are days in the year ; even Bismarck invented one, but there are other fish in the sea which demand Chaffinda's attention, and however enticing the subject may be, it will not do to linger over it. The lordly salmon was not always so honoured in its exclusiveness as it is to-day. In our grandfathers' time it was still frequenting the Thames, and London servants, when engaged, used to stipulate that they were not to be fed on it more than twice a week. Chafed Salmon. This is as good a way as any of treating the salmon in the Chafing Dish: Put two tablespoonsful of butter in the pan and when it is melting stir in gradually a tablespoon of flour, and keep on stirring till it is smooth ; add a wineglass of water, the juice of a whole lemon, a small onion cut in rings, and the yolks of two eggs, hardboiled and mashed up. When all these ingredients are well mixed, put in a thick slice of previously boiled cold salmon, simmer it for eight minutes. Tinned salmon, of the very best brands only, may also be used, and the result is fairly satisfactory, but tinned goods are of course only a pis alter at best. They do say that the Devil never goes to Cornwall because they put everything into a pie down there, and he is afraid he might be put into one too. I heard of Stargazer Pie in Cornwall, and imagined that it referred to the Riviera fish which is not succulent — indeed, barely edible. But I learned that Stargazer Pie is really Pilchard Pie, the heads of the fish popping up through the crust. Cod Pudding. A good Cornish way of cooking cod is to make a pudding of it, which is quite chaffable. Use a thick slice of cold cooked cod. Remove skin and bones and flake it up smallish with a couple of forks. Put it in the Chafing Dish with two tablespoons of butter and one of chopped onions ; hot it up, and whilst heating (lower the flame before actual boiling) add gradually enough milk to make the fish of the consistency of mashed potatoes ; add pepper and salt, and serve it with sippets of toast. It will like you much. Souchet of Sprats. Now for sprats ; a good supper dish, and eke for breakfast too, because they are so fat that no butter or oil is required, but plenty of salt and pepper. Buy a pint of fresh sprats, soak and dry them very carefully, handling them as little as possible. Cook them as a water souchet or Zootje, an old Dutch method, formerly much honoured at Greenwich fish dinners, and originally made of flounders. But flounders are not convenient for a Chafing Dish, so you must perforce fall back on sprats. Don't slip !