Place in a small saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, and two of flour, thoroughly mix on the range for seven minutes, or until it obtains a good golden color. Strain the fish-broth into a bowl, then gradually add it to the roux (flour), continually stirring meanwhile; add to this half a gill of tomato sauce, let all cook for ten minutes, skim it once in a while. Add twelve sound whole mushrooms; leave on the corner of the range till further action. Now place the fillets in the hot oven to bake for ten minutes. Remove from out the oven, carefully dress them on a hot dish in star shape. Remove the mushrooms from the sauce with a skimmer, place them right in the centre of the fillets, pour the sauce over all, so as to completely cover the fillets, and serve.
1437. Canapés à la Edw. Van Volkenberg.
—Have four ounces of lean cooked ham, thoroughly pound it in the mortar; add to it now one ounce of hard fresh butter, mix well together; add four fine, small Antwerp anchovies; the juice of a small sound lemon, or the juice of one lime, if at hand, and not quite the third of a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper; pound the whole well together again. Remove it from the mortar, place on a dish in the ice-box until further action.
Cut out from an American stale bread six round pieces four inches in diameter and an inch thick, place them on a tin baking-pan, sprinkle a very little clarified butter over each, and place in the hot oven for four minutes, or until they have obtained a good golden color. Remove from the oven, and cool for one minute. Have in a saucepan on the fire two tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese and a tablespoonful of grated Swiss cheese, with a tablespoonful of sweet cream, and continually stir until thoroughly dissolved. Remove it then from the fire, and let slightly cool off.
Take the preparation from the ice-box, and equally divide it over the croûtons, giving them a dome shape, and then equally divide also the cheese over the preparation. Place them in a baking-dish, and bake them in a very hot oven for three minutes. Take from out the oven, dress on a hot serving-dish with a folded napkin over it. Have six stoned olives, turn half a small anchovy around each olive, place one on top of each canapé upright, decorate the dish with a few parsley greens, and serve.
1438. Canapés à la Frank A. Watson.
—Place in a mortar four ounces of the finest quality of Russian caviare, the juice of a fine sound lime, thoroughly mix for three minutes; add to it a finely peeled, sound, chopped shallot, and not quite the third of a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, also half an ounce of fresh firm butter, four anchovies (small), and the yolk of one hard-boiled egg; sharply pound the whole well together until to a perfect paste, then remove it from the mortar, and leave on a dish in the ice-box till called for.
Cut out from an American stale bread six round croûtons four inches in diameter by one inch in thickness; lay them on tin baking-pan, sprinkle a very little clarified butter over each, and place in the hot oven for four minutes. Take them out, and let cool off for one minute. Remove the preparation from the ice-box, and evenly divide it over the six croûtons, giving a nice dome shape. Chop up very fine the white of the hard-boiled egg which is left over, lay it on a saucer, adding to it two tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, mix well, and equally divide it over the six canapés. Arrange them on a baking-dish, place in a very hot oven for three minutes. Remove from out the oven, dress them on a hot serving-dish with a folded napkin over it; decorate the dish all around with a few parsley greens, and six quarters of lemon, arranged at equal distances, and then serve.
1439. Striped Bass Boiled à la Lorenzo C. Delmonico.
—Procure a fine fresh bass of about four to five pounds, neatly scale it, remove the entrails, and wash it well. Have a fish-kettle with one carrot and one onion, finely sliced, placed at the bottom; add one sprig of thyme and one parsley root, one bay-leaf, six cloves, and twelve whole peppers, place the fish lifter over the ingredients, and then lay the bass in a straight position on the lifter; completely cover the bass with cold water, add four heaped tablespoonfuls of salt and half a glass of vinegar; place it on the range, and let slowly come to a boil, which ought to take about thirty minutes.