RELISHES.
The dishes known as relishes are usually eaten at dinner just after the soup or fish; they are in reality the restorers of appetite; they are usually cold, and are sent to the table on small oval dishes, or ornamental boats.
24. Anchovies. (One for each person.)—The best anchovies are small and plump, with white scales, and dark red pickle; they are prepared for the table by soaking two hours in cold water, taking out the back-bone, removing the scales and some of the small bones, and serving them with oil or vinegar in a suitable dish, or pickle shell.
25. Sardines. (One for each person.)—Sardines are served by wiping them, and serving them on a small dish with quarters of lemons beside them.
26. Pickled Herrings. (One for each person.)—These are served in a boat with a few capers, and a little chopped parsley sprinkled over them.
27. Scalloped Oysters. (One shell for each person.)—Blanch one quart of oysters by bringing just to a boil in their own liquor, then strain them, saving the liquor, and keeping it hot; wash them in cold water and drain them; mix one ounce of butter and one ounce of flour together in a sauce-pan over the fire; as soon as it is smooth gradually stir in one pint of the oyster liquor, which must be boiling; season the sauce with half a teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful each of white pepper and nutmeg; put the oysters into it to heat, while you thoroughly wash eight or ten deep oystershells with a brush; fill them with the oysters, dust them thickly with bread crumbs; put a small bit of butter on each one, and brown them in a quick oven; they should be sent to the table laid on a napkin neatly folded on a platter.
28. Welsh Rarebit.—Grate one pound of rich cheese, mix it over the fire with one gill of ale, working it smooth with a spoon; season it with a saltspoonful of dry mustard; meantime make two large slices of toast, lay them on a hot dish, and as soon as the cheese is thoroughly melted, pour it over the toast and send it to the table at once.
29. Golden Buck.—Prepare the cheese and toast as in receipt No. 28; cut the toast in eight pieces; while the cheese is melting poach eight eggs, by dropping them gently into plenty of boiling water containing a teaspoonful of salt, and half a gill of vinegar; as soon as the whites are firm, take them carefully out on a skimmer, trim off the edges, and slip them again into warm water, while you divide the cheese on the pieces of toast; then lay an egg on each piece, and serve at once. The success of the dish depends upon having the eggs, cheese, and toast ready at the same moment, putting them together very quickly, and serving them before they cool.
30. Mock Crab.—Break up half a pound of soft, rich cheese with a fork, mix with it a teaspoonful of dry mustard, a saltspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, and a dessertspoonful of vinegar; serve it cold, with a plate of thin bread and butter, or crisp crackers.
31. English bread and butter.—Cut an even slice off a large loaf of fresh homemade bread; butter the cut end of the loaf thinly, then hold it against the side with the left hand and arm, and with a sharp, thin knife, cut an even slice not more than an eighth of an inch thick; a little practice, and a steady grasp of bread and knife, will enable any one to produce regular whole slices; fold each one double, with the butter inside; and cut as many as you require; serve them on a clean napkin, and send them to the table with any other of the above relishes.
32. Cheese Straws.—Sift six ounces of flour on the pastry board, make a hole or well in the centre; into this well put two tablespoonfuls of cream, three ounces of grated Parmesan, or any rich dry cheese, four ounces of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and the same quantity of grated nutmeg, together with as much cayenne as you can take up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade; mix all these ingredients with the tips of the fingers, to a firm paste, knead it well, roll it out an eighth of an inch thick; and with a sharp knife, or pastry jagger, cut it in straws about eight inches long, and quarter of an inch wide; lay the strips carefully on a buttered tin, and bake them light straw color in a moderate oven. These cheese straws make a delicious accompaniment to salad.
33. Epicurean Butter.—Bone and skin four anchovies or sardines, and chop them fine; chop a tablespoonful of chives, and the same quantity of tarragon leaves, four small green pickles, the yolks of two hard boiled eggs; mix with these ingredients, a level teaspoonful of French mustard, a saltspoonful of salt, and two ounces of sweet butter; pass them all through a fine sieve with the aid of a wooden spoon; put it on the ice to cool, and then mould it in balls the size of a walnut, by rolling small lumps between two little wooden paddles; serve it with crackers and cheese.
These receipts are given because many persons call for them; the author begs leave to accompany them with the assurance that a prolonged diet of any of them will produce a well grounded dyspepsia in a very moderate length of time.