Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Plaice, Fried. — Fried plaice are best when they are filleted before they are fried {see Plaice, Filleted). Indeed this is by far the most satisfactory mode of dressing this fish. If preferred, the plaice may be cut across into pieces about two inches wide. Sprinkle a little salt over the fish, and let it lie for two or three hours. Dry it well, dredge it with flour, then dip it into beaten eg^ arid fine bread-crumbs, sprinkle a tea-spoonful of bread raspings over the top, and fry the fish in plenty of hot fat until it is brightly coloured. Drain well, and serve on a hot napkin. Garnish wdth green parsley. Time to fry, from twelve to fifteen minutes, according to the thickness of the fish. Probable cost, when plentiful, 6d. or 8d. each. Sufficient for two or three persons. Plaice, Stewed. — Take two or three moderate-sized plaice, cut them into pieces about as wide as the length of a finger, sprinkle a little salt over them, and wrap them in a cloth for twenty minutes. Slice a moderatesized onion, and fry it in a little hot fat until it is quite tender. Put it into a stewpan, lay the pieces of plaice on the top of it, and add the juice of five or six lemons, a wine-glassful of water, and a quarter of an ounce of ground ginger. Simmer gently for twenty minutes, and be careful not to let the liquid reach the boiling point. Lift the fish out, and place it on a hot dish. Let the sauce cool, stir gradually into it three well-beaten eggs, and keep stirring over the fire until it begins to thicken, but it must not boil. Pour it over the fish, and serve hot. Garnish with slices of lemon. Time, altogether, about three-quarters of an hour-. Probable cost, according to the number of the fish, which, when plentiful, cost 6d. or 8d. each. Sufficient for three or four- persons. Plain Pudding, Ellen's.— Line a pie or pudding-dish with thin slices of bread and butter. Peel, core, and slice some apples, lay them in layers in the centre of the lined dish, adding here and there a small lump of fresh butter, some grated lemon-peel, and sugar ; fill up the dish, and lay at the top some thin slices of bread and butter soaked in cold milk. Cover the top with a plate or dish, and put a weight on it to press down the fruit. Bake for three hours in a slow oven. An hour before the pudding is done enough remove the plate or dish and the weight, and let it brown on the top. When ready, turn it out of the pie-dish into the one on which it is to be sent to table. Plaits of Pastry .—Make half a pound of pufl'-paste, and give it nine turns {see Pufipaste). Poll it out till it is half a quarter of PLA ( 581 ) PLA an inch in thickness, and cut it into strips tlio third of an inch wide. Fasten throe, four, or five of these together at the ends, moistening the pastry with a little water to make the pieces stick together; plait them evenly and loosely, and fasten them at the other end. Place the plaits on an oiled haking-tin, brush over them beaten egg, and bake in a wellheated oven. These plaits are useful for ornamenting open tarts, or they may be sent to table on a separate dish, with small portions of jam of various colours placed in the empty spaces. Time to bake, about twenty minutes. Probable cost, Id. each.