Foods and home making

Lemon may be used for garnishing fish. When the fish is eaten, the juice should be pressed from the piece of lemon and eaten with the fish. There are several tasty sauces flavored with lemon which are suitable to serve with fish. Spinach, uncooked cabbage, and other leafy vegetables taste good with fish. It is especially desirable to serve tomatoes and leafy vegetables with fish because these foods are needed to supply vitamins in which fish is lacking. Parsley makes a pleas- ing garnish for fish. Chopped parsley added to a sauce makes a good fish accompaniment. Some persons believe that it is injurious to use milk with fish. This idea has no scientific foundation. If both the fish and the milk are fresh they may be used together. Do not hesitate to drink a glass of milk when fish is served at a meal. How should fish be kept and cleaned? Fresh fish must be kept in a refrigerator or other cold place so that it will not spoil. To keep the odor of fish away from butter, milk, and other foods which absorb odors readily, it is necessary to put the fish in a covered container before putting it into the refrigerator. A glass jar, one- or two-quart size, is a good container for fish. Chicken and Fish for Dinner 405 Place the fish in the refrigerator in the coldest place. (See page 174.) If a whole fish is to be cooked, the scales must all be removed. Although the scales are usually removed at market, it is neces- sary to go over the fish to make sure that it is entirely free from scales. To do this, place the fish on a table protected with a piece of paper. Grasp the fish by the tail and run the blade of a knife over the skin of the fish, working from tail to head. This should be done several times to make sure not a single scale is left. At market the entrails are usually removed. However, the inside of the fish should be examined to see that it is perfectly clean. The head and tail may be left on or they may be removed. For baking whole, the head and tail are often left on. Hold the fish under the faucet to wash it. Wash both inside and outside thoroughly. Do not let the fish stand in water after washing. Drain, wipe dry. In what utensils should fish be baked or broiled? The appearance of a baked or broiled fish is no small part of its charm. Often a fish is broken into pieces when it is removed from the baking pan. This is because there is less connective tissue in fish than in meat. One of the important things to think about in cooking fish is to select the proper utensil in which to cook it and to prepare it in such a way that the fish is not broken into bits before it reaches the table. There are several utensils for baking fish which make it easy to serve fish whole. These are : 1. Oven-glass platter — The fish may be both baked and served on the platter. A hot-dish mat may be used to protect the table or the glass platter may be placed on top of a china platter. 2. Baking pan with rack — If the fish is placed on the rack, it may be lifted out of the pan and the fish slipped from the rack on to a serving platter. 3. Oak plank — Broil and serve the fish on the plank. Dinner BAKED FISH STEAK 2 pounds fish steak \ cup milk 1 teaspoon salt \ cup dried bread crumbs 4 tablespoons butter or 1 ounce fat salt pork