—Prepare six fillets of shad as for [No. 1431]. Season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and place them in a dish for further action.
Cut one ounce of raw, lean ham into very small dice-shaped pieces, place it in a saucepan with half a teaspoonful of butter on the range; let gently simmer for two minutes, but do not allow to get brown; then add to it one fine, sound, peeled, chopped shallot, four mushrooms, and two truffles cut into small dice-shaped pieces, pour in a glass of white wine, then place in the shad roe. Cover the saucepan tightly, and let simmer for five minutes. Gently remove the roe with a skimmer, lay it on a dish, and remove the skin from all around, replace it in the pan, prick it with a fork so as to separate the eggs. Season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and then cook for five minutes longer. Place in a small saucepan one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well together on the hot range for five minutes without browning, then add to it two gills of hot white broth ([No. 99]); stir well till coming to a boil, grate in just a little nutmeg, place the pan at the corner of the range, and let simmer for eight minutes. Have the yolk of an egg in a bowl with two tablespoonfuls of sweet cream; beat well together, and then, take two tablespoonfuls of the sauce from the pan and add it to the cream and yolk, thoroughly mix, then add it to the sauce in the saucepan, thoroughly mix the whole for one minute, while heating, but it should not be allowed to boil again. Strain it through a fine sieve into the pan with the garnish, mix all well together, and keep it in a warm place. Have a well-buttered sautoire, lay the six fillets one alongside another, pour over them two tablespoonfuls of white wine, place six mushroom buttons with the fillets, tightly cover the sautoire and let slowly cook on the range for five minutes, remove the pan from the fire. Have six heart-shaped croûtons ready ([No. 133]). Arrange one croûton on a hot dish, the pointed part toward the border of the dish, and then, with a palette knife, gently take up one fillet, place it on about half the length of the croûton overlapping, then another croûton, a fillet, and so on, giving them a crown shape; place one mushroom on top of each fillet, then gently pour the garnishing over all without disarranging them. Cut into half, lengthwise, a medium sized sound lemon, then cut one half into very thin slices, crosswise, then arrange them jointly all around the border of the dish with the rind outward; cut one sound truffle into very thin slices, and with a tube, one quarter of an inch in diameter, cut out as many round pieces as there are slices of lemon; place a piece on each lemon right in the centre on the edge where it was cut first. Cut out from the remaining slices of the truffle as many diamond-shaped pieces, as there are pieces of lemon; place a piece between each section of the lemon and serve.
All the dressing for decorating the dish should always be prepared before the fillets are dressed on the dish.
1435. Fillet of Bass à la Chauncey M. Depew.
—Procure a fine, fresh, striped, small bass of about three pounds, scale, remove the entrails, and wash thoroughly. Cut the head off, and split it into half right down the back bone, remove all the bones. Cut out three even fillets from each half, suppress the skin, neatly pare them all around, giving them a heart-shaped form. Evenly season with a tablespoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and place on a dish till further action.
Place in a sautoire one finely chopped sound shallot, with half a medium sized sound green pepper, cut into small dice-shaped pieces; place the pan on the hot range, adding a teaspoonful of butter; let slowly simmer for three minutes, without letting get brown. Add now the parings of the fillets, with eight whole mushrooms and one truffle, all chopped very fine, pour in half a glassful of white wine, let reduce to three-quarters. Season with half a teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper, and then leave it on the corner of the range.
Have a saucepan on the range with a tablespoonful of butter and two heaped tablespoonfuls of flour; mix thoroughly together, and let stand on the corner of the range for five minutes without browning; gradually add a cupful of hot milk, continually stirring while adding it, and let slowly simmer for twelve minutes. Add two tablespoonfuls of this sauce to the other preparation to thicken, thoroughly mixing together for two minutes. Take from off the fire, lay on a table.
Lightly butter a baking pan; lay the six fillets over it, seeing that they do not touch one another; then equally divide the preparation over each fillet—well spread; place on top of this a teaspoonful of the white sauce, which is waiting action on the range, gently spreading it with a small knife, so as to completely cover the first layer of each fillet. Arrange four very thin slices of truffles, cut with a tube half an inch in diameter, right in the centre of each fillet, lengthwise, one overlapping the other. Sprinkle a very little clarified butter over all, pour half a glassful of white wine at the bottom of the pan (not over the fillets), then place in a moderate oven for ten minutes. Remove from the oven, gently arrange them on a hot serving dish with a palette knife. Add to the remaining sauce on the fire, half a gill of sweet cream, let it come to a boil; strain it through a fine sieve into a hot bowl, then pour it all around the fillets, but not over them, and send to the table.
1436. Fillet of Bluefish à la Vénitienne.
—Procure a fine, fresh, medium-sized bluefish, from two and a half to three pounds, thoroughly remove the entrails, cut the head off, split in half right down the backbone, remove the spine, cut each half into three equal pieces, triangular shape, neatly pare the edges. Place the fillets in a well-buttered baking-pan. Season with a tablespoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of pepper; pour a glassful of white wine over all, and let marinate until further action. Place in a saucepan the parings of the fish, as well as the back-bone; cut it into three pieces, suppressing the head; place the pan on the hot range, pour in a glass of white wine, and a quart of cold white broth ([No. 99]), let it come to a boil, and then immediately skim it; add now one sprig of thyme, a very small bay-leaf, one branch of parsley, one medium-sized, sound, sliced onion, and one small sliced carrot; then let slowly simmer for fifteen minutes.