Joint the fowl and cover with cold water, a quart for each pound. Put in a large minced onion and three stalks of celery, minced fine. Cover and cook slowly until you can slip the flesh from the bones. Let all get cold together; skim, take out bones and meat, and chop the latter fine. Return the soup to the fire and heat in another vessel a cupful of milk (dropping in a bit of soda). Thicken this with a tablespoonful of butter rubbed into a teaspoonful of flour, and add a tablespoonful of minced parsley. When the soup has reached a fast boil, stir into it the chopped chicken with a cupful of cracker-crumbs soaked in warm milk; boil one minute, beat in the milk and butter and pour out.
Corn bisque
Drain the liquor from a can of corn. Chop the corn very fine, put it over the fire in a quart of salted water and simmer gently for an hour. Rub through a colander, return to the fire with the water, add a teaspoonful of sugar, and when this melts, two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed into two of butter. Stir until smooth and pour slowly upon a pint of heated milk. Season with salt and pour the soup gradually upon two beaten eggs. Send immediately to the table.
Cheese bisque
Into a pint of milk put a pinch of soda, and bring to the scalding point. To this add a cupful of stock (chicken or mutton or lamb) in which an onion has been boiled, and a cupful of water in which rice has been cooked until you can run it through a strainer. Cook together in a good-sized saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour. When they are thoroughly blended and bubble pour on them the white soup and stir until it thickens to the consistency of cream. Now beat in a half cupful of grated cheese. Have ready in a bowl two well-whipped eggs, and on these pour, a little at a time, a cupful of hot soup, beating steadily to prevent curdling. Return the cupful of soup with the eggs to the soup on the fire, beat for half a minute, season with salt and pepper, and serve. Odd, but very good when properly made.
Salmon bisque
Open a can of salmon and turn out the contents several hours before making the soup. With a silver fork pick the fish to pieces and take out all bits of bone and skin. Put the fish into an agate saucepan, put on it enough boiling water to cover it, and let it simmer gently for half an hour. Drain off the water and break the fish to a soft mass.
Dissolve a pinch of soda in a pint of milk and heat in a double boiler with a half cupful of cracker-crumbs. Stir into it a pint of well-seasoned veal stock, and thicken with two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed into two of butter. When thick and smooth, stir in the minced fish, season with salt and paprika, and serve. This is very good when made of boiled fresh salmon.
Bisque of halibut or cod
Boil a pound of firm fresh fish in two waters, and mince it fine, freeing it from all bits of skin or bone. Have ready a quart of white stock, stir the fish into it and season with salt, pepper and a spoonful of minced parsley. Cook together two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour, pour upon this a cupful of milk, stir until it thickens, and put with the fish and stock. Boil up once and put into the tureen. A half cupful of powdered cracker-crumbs should be added just before the soup is mixed with the milk.