The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

A fair-sized piece out of the middle of a cod. Crimp it, by cutting it through to the bone at regular distances. Sprinkle it liberally, inside and out, with pepper and salt and fresh parsley, squeeze lemon juice over it, lay in a baking tin, and bake in moderate oven, with frequent bastings of butter. Serve with "maître-d'hôtel" butter. Halibut Steaks may be baked "au gratin," or grilled, or fried, and served with a brown "sauce piquante," or they may be done a la Creme. Dissolve an ounce of butter, stir into it a tablespoonful of flour, a little salt and pepper, and add a tumblerful of hot water. Lay the halibut in a buttered shallow stewpan, cover it with this sauce, let it simmer gently (covered over) until tender. A small white onion and bunch of sweet herbs should be put in the pan at the same time. AYhen the fish is sufficiently cooked remove it to a dish and keep hot. Take out the onion and flavourings, and thicken the sauce by adding the yolk of an egg and a few spoonfuls of cream to it; then pour it over tlie fish. A hard-boiled egg cut up small should be sprinkled over the top of all; or, instead of adding yolk of egg to the sauce, stir in a spoonful of anchovy essence with the cream, and use lobster coral, picked shrimps or prawns for the surface decoration. Salmon Steaks, wrapped in buttered notepaper, and slowly grilled over a clear, hot, but not blazing fire, then eaten with "fines herbes" (see sequel to Chapter III.) are an Epicurean dish. Red mullet enveloped in the same manner — not stinting the butter, by the way — may be either baked or grilled, and are most delicious. When a portion out of the middle of a salmon is the piece chosen, it will be found that baking it is a method preferable to the boiling thereof; although no method can surpass boiling for this king of fish if it be a whole one or a very laro-e piece. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over it before baking, and use only the best fresh butter. ii6 ''MAIGRE" DISHES. Mackerel and Herrings, like most oily fisli, will be found to bake better than boil. When possible the bones should be removed, the fish rubbed on both sides with lemon juice, some fresh minced herbs and seasoning, with a few bread-crumbs, laid on the flat inner side of one fish, another one being laid sandwich fashion over this, then both baked together, using but a very tiny bit of butter, only sufficient to keep the fish from adhering to the tin. There are two ways of pickling fish — i.e, for the lighter and more delicate kinds, taking the remaining portions of the fish after boiling, lay the meat flakes in a china dish, season lightly, place a few leaves of fennel, tarragon or parsley about, and pour a little wdiite wine vinegar over all. Set aside until required. Pickled mackerel, herrings, etc., after very thorough washing are laid in a pie-dish, sprinkled with salt, several pepper-corns added, and vinegar sufficient to cover them, then baked until they show signs of leaving the bone. In boiling any kind of fish it is better to have the water very nearly at boiling point when the "MAIGRE" DISHES. 117 fish is put in, to bring it to the boil as quickly as possible, then to draw the pan aside and simmer until done.