The complete cook book

This recipe requires two shad roes, one-half pint cream, yolks of two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of flour, a pinch each of salt and pepper, one-quarter of a grated nutmeg, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, one large teaspoonful of butter, one medium tablespoonful of chopped parsley, whites of two eggs for dipping, some sifted bread crumbs and a pinch of cayenne. Wash the shad roes, put them into a saucepan with salted boiling water. Cover and simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove the shad roes from the fire and take oflf the skin and mash them. Bring the cream to a boil. Rub the butter and flour together over the fire, but do not The Complete Cook Book. 55 brown ; stir in gradually the boiling cream. Boil three minutes until very thick. Remove from the fire and while still boiling stir in the two yolks of eggs. Add to this all the other ingredients, mix well and spread on a dish to cool. When cold form into croquettes. Dip in egg first and then in fine bread crumbs. Let stand at least one hour in the ice box, then fry in boiling lard until golden brown. When cooked, lay the croquettes upon a folded paper to drain perfectly dry. Serve with lemon quarters of tartare sauce. PLANKED SHAD— SOUTHERN STYLE. First of all, the plank on which the shad is to be cooked should be of well-seasoned hickory or other hard wood. It must be at least three inches thick and made to fit the oven, slightly cooped out in the center to hold the juices. Split and butter the shad and tack to your hot plank, skin side down. Cook half an hour; season with salt, pepper and olive oil or butter. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices. SHAD ROE SAUCE. Mash two shad roes in cold water, put them in a stewpan, add one teaspoonful of salt and cover with boiling water — simmer but do not boil. Now drain, take off outer skin and mash fine. In another saucepan put one-quarter pound of butter, one-quarter teaspoon of mace and one gill of Maderia. Add the roe gradually; let boil up and serve. BAKED FISH— A LA CREOLE. Take a fish about twelve or fourteen inches long, clean and scale it ; spread lard thickly on both sides and dust it well with flour. Now, put it in a baking pan, and in one corner put one-quarter pint of chopped tomatoes, in another one-quarter pint of chopped onion, in another one-quarter pint of chopped mushrooms, and in another one-quarter pint of boiled and picked shrimp or oysters, salt to taste, and a chopped pod of red pepper. Place your pan in a hot oven, and when the fish 56 The Complete Cook Book. has browned, add water enough just to cover it, and bake until done, basting it occasionally with the water and ingredients. When done place in a hot dish ; add a little water to the contents in the pan, and simmer a few minutes. When taking it off add a wineglassful of good sherry — pour all over the fish — and serve very hot. HALIBUT TIMBALE. Remove the skin and bones from one and one-half pounds of fresh halibut. Shred in small pieces and pound to a fine paste. Soak two cupfuls of bread crumbs in a pint of hot milk for five minutes. When thoroughly soaked add the fish pulp; season with one saltspoonful of salt, one-half as much white pepper and a few sprigs of chopped parsley. Stir in slowly at last the beaten whites from three eggs (reserving the yolks for sauce). Butter a timbale mold and pour the mixture in. Place in a pan of hot water and bake for thirty minutes in a moderate oven. If it become too brown, cover with yellow paper. Turn out and serve with sauce HoUandaise. CROQUETTES OP SALMON.