Rub the skin of the fish with lemon and put salt in water. Wash the fish first and place it in the fish-kettle with enough water to well cover it. Let it come up to the boil and afterwards let it gently simmer until cooked.
FRIED BACON
Margaret’s mother believed there was only one very nice way to cook bacon. It was like this: Slice the bacon very, very thin, and cut off the rind. Put the slices in a hot frying-pan for about three minutes. When both sides are cooked, lay it on a hot dish.
GRILLED CHOPS
Rub the grill with some of the fat, so that the chops will not stick. Lay in the chops and put over a clear, red fire without flame, and toast one side first and then the other; do this till they are brown. Lay on a hot dish, and dust both sides with salt and a tiny bit of pepper. Put bits of lemon and parsley round, and send to the table very hot.
FRIED CHOPS
If the fire is not clear, so that you cannot grill the chops, you must fry them. Take a frying-pan and make it very hot indeed; then lay in the chops and cook one side very quickly, and then the other, and after that let them cook more slowly. When they are done—you can tell by picking open a little place in one with a fork and looking in the inside—put them on a dish as before, with pepper and salt. If they are at all greasy, put on kitchen paper in the oven first, to drain, leaving the door of the oven open. Be careful not to let them get cold.
LIVER AND BACON
Buy half a pound of calf’s liver and half a pound of bacon. Cut the liver in thin slices and pour boiling water over it, and then wipe each slice dry. Slice the bacon very thin and cut off the rind; put this in a hot frying-pan and cook very quickly, turning it once or twice. Just as soon as it is brown take it out and lay it on a dish. Take a saucer of flour and mix in it a teaspoonful of salt and a very little pepper; dip the slices of liver in this, one at a time, and shake them free of lumps. Lay them in the hot fat of the bacon in the pan and fry till brown. Put on a hot dish, and then put one slice of bacon on each slice of liver. Put parsley all round, and sometimes use slices of lemon, too, for a change.