True food values and their low costs

Fish and Potatoes Remove the skin from a salt fish, cut it in pieces, and soak it in water over night. It should not be boiled an instant; boiling renders it hard and tough. It should lie in scalding hot water two or three hours. The less water that is used and the more fish cooked at once, the better. Serve with, j boiled potatoes, and sauce made of milk thickened with flour and milk while boiling. Butter should be put in to melt, or, if one prefers, use saltpork fat. Fish Balls Cook the fish as above. Chop fine and mix with hot mashed potato. Add a spoonful of butter and salt-pork fat, also a little pepper. Knead together and make into balls. Dip them in beaten egg and fry brown. Lobster a la Newburg Cook two cups of lobster meat in three tablespoons of butter for three minutes. Add salt, pepper, and one cup of cream, and cook for five minutes. Add one egg, or two egg yolks, slightly beaten, and cook until it thickens. One tablespoon of Sherry may be used for flavoring. Boiling is the most wasteful way of cooking fish, and also the most insipid. To make a boiled fiiih palatable, a rich sauce is needed for all kinds except salmon and bluefish. Salmon is very much richer and more oily than other fish, and for this reason it is not injured by boiling. Salmon, bluefish, or a thick piece of halibut are preferable for boiling. Cod and haddock, unless perfectly fresh, are very apt to break or fall to pieces in boiling. Six minutes should be allowed for each pound in boiling. A fish is properly cooked when the flesh separates easily from the bones. If the fish breaks when boiling, remove the bones at once, lay the fish on a platter, and pour the sauce over it. , A very good way of boiling fish is to steep it for a few minutes in boiling water which has been quite strongly salted, and to which has been added two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice ; then put it into fresh boiling water without salt or lemon juice, and cook until done. This tends to prevent the fish from breaking, and gives to the meat a fresh white look. A large cod or any whole fish too large for a small family may be economically used as follows : Remove the skin and bones from the thickest part; stuff and bake. Use the bones and head for a chowder. Cut the tail end into shces, salt well, and fry or broil them. Cod, haddock, cusk, bluefish, salmon, bass, and shad may be stuffed and baked whole. Fish bake more evenly and brown better if placed upright in the pan instead of on one side. If difficulty is found in keeping them in this position they may be kept in place by propping with stale bread or pared potatoes. If the fish is long and narrow it may be tied into the shape of the letter S. To do this run a threaded trussing needle through the head, middle of the body, and tail; then draw the string tight, and fasten the ends. Fish prepared in this manner will retain their shape after baking. In frying pan fish, they should be thoroughly cleaned and dried, seasoned with salt and pepper, and covered first with flour or fine bread crumbs, then dipped in beaten egg, then in crumbs again. This should be repeated until they are covered completely. Stuffing for Baked Fish 1 cup cracker crumbs 1 tablespoon salt 1 saltspoon pepper 1 teaspoon chopped parsley 1 teaspoonful butterc This makes a dry, crumbly stuffing. If a moist stuffing is preferred, use stale bread crumbs, and moisten with one beaten egg and the butter; or moisten the crackers with warm water. Plain Lobster The simplest way of serving lobster is by many considered the best. Remove the meat from the , Salads Salads are an easy way of disposing of various odds and ends of cooked vegetables, fish, or meat.