European and American cuisine

FORCEMEAT. — Set a small saucepan with 1 cup of milk and 1 ounce butter over the fire ; as soon as it boils add 1 even cupful flour, stir until formed into a smooth paste, then remove from fire ; when nearly cold add the yolks of 2 eggs and 1 whole egg, then set aside until perfectly cold. In the meantime melt 1 ounce butter in a small saucepan, add 1 fine-chopped onion, y^ small clove of bruised garlic ; season with 1 even teaspoonful salt, y, teaspoonful pepper, cook 3 minutes ; add y^ cupful fine-chopped mushrooms, stir, and cook 5 minutes; then remove. Add 1 teaspoonful fine-chopped parsley to the paste and work it well together ; take 1 pound fish meat, either from bass or pickerel, chop it very fine, season with 1 teaspoonful salt, y4 teaspoonful pepper, add it to the preparation, and fill the fish with this as directed above. Mix the remaining forcemeat with 1 fine-chopped truffle, mold into small balls, drop into boiling salted water, and cook slowly 6 minutes ; then carefully remove and use for garnishing the fish as directed. SHAD. Where founds Etc.— It is a well-known fish of the herring family ; the genus comprises more than 20 species. The American shad obtains a length of about 20 inches, and varies in weight from 2 to 6 pounds ; they come from the South to deposit their spawn, running up the rivers from the sea. They appear in Charleston in January, at Norfolk in February, at New York by the end of March or beginning of April, at Boston by the end of May. They appear in the Massachusetts rivers early in May, the greatest run being when the apple trees are in full blossom ; the old shad return to the sea in August, the young ones, 3 or 4 inches long, following in September. It is believed that the life of a shad is limited to a single year. The fish are mostly eaten fresh and are delicious, the only drawback being the innumerable bones ; they lose their fiavor the longer they remain in fresh water. Shad^ Broiled. — Split a well-cleaned shad down the entire back, remove the backbone, and season with 1 tablespoonful salt ; brush the fish over with a little melted butter or olive oil, let it stand 30 minutes ; then put the fish on a broiler with the fiesh side down, place over a clear, moderate fire, and broil about 15 minutes ; then turn and broil 5 minutes on the skin side. Dress the shad on a warm dish. Mix 1 tablespoonful butter to a cream, add the juice of Vs lemon, Y^ teaspoonf ul nutmeg, and 1 teaspoonf ul fine-chopped parsley ; spread this over the fish ; garnish with parsley and 1 lemon out lengthwise into 6 pieces. Shad^ Fried. — Bemove head and tail of a well-cleaned shad, cut it into 6 pieces ; season with 1 tablespoonful salt, distribute the salt evenly over the fish on both sides, let it stand Y^ hour ; then roll each piece in fiour. Cut Ys pound of larding pork into very small SHAD. 197 pieces, place it in a large frying pan oyer the fire, and fry light brown ; then pour half of the pork into a small saucepan, lay as many of the fish pieces in the pan as will conveniently go in, and fry over a moderate fire light brown on both sides, adding gradually some of the remaining pork. When all the pieces are fried, arrange ihem on a warm dish, and serre with butter and baked potatoes. In place of pork, lard or drippings may be taken.