Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Cod, Boiled. — In cold weather cod is better for being kept a day, as, if cooked quite fresh, it may prove watery. The head and shoulders make a good dish by themselves. Wash and cleanse the inside of the fish with great nicety, and especially the backbone ; put it into plenty of cold water, in which a handful of salt has been thrown; bring it to a boil, skim it carefully, let it boil gently, and, when it is nearly cooked, draw it to the side of the fire and let it remain until done. Put it on the fishplate over the boiling water, and let it drain for a minute or two, and dish it on a hot napkin, with the roe and liver, which should be boiled separately, a little scraped horseradish, or fried oysters, as garnish. Oyster or anchovy sauce, or plain melted butter, may be served with it. Time to boil, twenty minutes for a moderate-sized piece, longer for a large one. When II 2 Cod, Broiled Eels, Broiled the flesh leaves the bone easily the fish is cooked enough. Cod, Broiled. — Wash and clean a cod, and split it lengthwise. Cut it into squares, about six inches each way, and broil each over a clear fire. Put these on a hot dish, and dress with salt, pepper, and thin slices of butter. Codfish a la Bonne Femme. — Rinse in cold water three slices of fresh codfish of I lb. each. Peel one quart of potatoes, wash them, put them in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water, half a table-spoonful of salt, four sprigs of parsley, one clove stuck in an onion. Boil twenty-five minutes, then add the slices of codfish. Cook slowly six minutes, remove the codfish to a hot platter, drain the potatoes, and keep them warm. Remove all bones and skin from the fish, dress it on another clean, warm platter, place the potatoes around it, and have this gravy prepared and poured over the fish and potatoes : Put in a small saucepan one heaping table-spoonful of sifted flour, one of fresh butter; stir over the fire three minutes; do not let it brown. Pour over, a little at a time, one pint of the water in which the fish has been cooked ; strain it while very hot. Season with half a salt-spoonful of pepper ; let it simmer for eight minutes. Well-cooked flour is easily digested. Beat two yolks of raw eggs with one teaspoonful of vinegar, remove the saucepan from the fire, add this to it with one table-spoonful of fresh butter, stir half a minute, and pour over the fish and potatoes. Serve very hot. Salt codfish is even better prepared in this manner, only you have to soak it overnight in a big bowl of fresh water, cooking ten minutes instead of six. Codfish Cakes. — The fish should be cooked the day before, and should have simmered (not boiled) very slowly. Remove the bones, and mince it quite fine. The potatoes should be warm, nicely mashed with butter and milk, as you do for table use, and should be in the proportion of one -third fish and two -thirds potato. When well mixed, add a small quantity of beaten egg, and mix again thoroughly. If it seems too dry, add more egg, and make into flat cakes about two or three inches in diameter, and about threequarters of an inch thick. Fry in a pan with some slices of salt pork, which can be sent to table with the cakes, if desired. Cod’s Head and Shoulders. — Two