My best 250 recipes

A fish plank should be made of hardwood, sixteen inches long and twelve inches wide. Heat it very hot, place the fish skin side down, dust with salt and pepper, baste with melted butter, and put it in the under oven of the gas stove, or before a wood fire, or on the shelf in a coal oven. Cook quickly for fifteen minutes; baste again, decorate with potatoes a la Duchess, pressed through a star tube ; put it back in the oven and cook until the potatoes are brown. Garnish with parsley and lemon and send to the table. DEVILED OYSTERS Wash and drain fifty oysters; shake them over the fire until the gills are curled. Drain, saving the liquor. Chop the oysters fine. Rub together one tablespoonful of butter and one of flour ; add the oyster liquor and sufficient milk to My Best 250 Recipes 19 make half a pint; stir until boiling. Add the oysters, the yolks of two eggs slightly beaten, a level teaspoonful of salt, a dash of red pepper, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, and a tablespoonful of chopped celery. Turn this in a baking-dish or into individual dishes or shells, cover thickly with soft breadcrumbs and bake in a quick oven until browned. FILLETS OF FISH Clean a good-sized rock, wash and dry. Hold the flesh firm and with a sharp knife cut it from the bone from tail to head. Turn the fish on the other side and do the same, pressing the flesh firmly with your hand. Cut the flesh in strips about an inch wide ; roll each, fasten with a wooden skewer, dust with salt and pepper. Cook for three minutes in deep, hot fat, drain on brown paper, arrange neatly on a napkin, garnish with parsley and lemon and send to the table. SALT CODFISH WITH MACARONI Break two ounces of macaroni in two-inch lengths; throw them into boiling water and boil rapidly for thirty minutes; drain. Blanch for fifteen minutes in cold water; then cut in pieces half an inch long. Wash half a pound of boneless salt cod; cut it in dice, cover with cold water. Bring just to boiling point, but do not allow it to 20 My Best 250 Recipes boil ; drain, cover again with boiling water and let it stand for five minutes, then drain. Rub together one rounding tablespoonful of butter with one of flour; add half a pint of strained tomato, a tablespoonful of grated onion, half a teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of white or black pepper. Stir until boiling. Add the macaroni and fish, stand over hot water for five minutes and serve in a heated dish. FRICASSEE OF OYSTERS Drain and wash fifty oysters; cook until the gills curl; drain, saving the liquor. Add to it sufficient milk to make a pint. Put two rounding tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour in a saucepan, mix; add the liquor and milk, and stir until boiling. Add a rounding teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne, and the oysters. Heat over hot water. Beat the yolks of two eggs with four tablespoonfuls of cream, stir them quickly in the oysters; take from the fire, and serve on toast, or in a round dish garnished with triangular pieces of toast; sprinkle finely-chopped parsley over the top. TO FRY SMELTS Wash the smelts, make a slight opening at the gills with a very sharp knife or scissors ; draw My Best 250 Recipes 21 them between the thumb and finger, from tail to head; press the intestines out at the gill opening, keeping the fish whole. Wash and dry and dust with salt and black pepper. Beat an egg until the white and yolk are thoroughly mixed ; add a tablespoonful of water and mix again. Dip the fish in the egg and cover them thoroughly with seasoned breadcrumbs and fry quickly in deep, hot fat. Drain on brown paper ; dish on a napkin and serve with Tartar sauce. FISH CHOWDER