Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Turbot a la Bechamel. — This is a favorite method of dressing the remains of boiled turbot. Remove the flesh from the bones while it is still warm, if possible; divide it into convenient-sized pieces, and take away all the skin. Put a pint of milk or cream, or equal parts of either milk and white stock or milk and cream, into a stewpan with a strip of thin lemon-rind, a finely minced shallot, six peppercorns, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Let it boil for ten minutes, then strain and thicken it with a large table-spoonful of flour mixed smoothly with a little cream or butter. Stir the sauce over a gentle fire for five minutes, put in the slices of fish, and when they are quite hot turn the whole preparation upon a hot dish. A few oysters may be added to the sauce, if liked, and, if milk only is used, the sauce may be made richer by adding the yolks of two eggs mixed with a little cream. If this is done, care must be taken not to let the sauce boil after the eggs are added. Garnish the dish with sliced lemon and parsley, or with potato croquettes or toasted sippets. Time, three or four minutes to heat the fish in the sauce. Turbot a la Creme. — Take the flesh from the remains of a boiled turbot, free it from bones and skin, and divide it into neat pieces; season with a little salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg ; pour on it the grated juice of a lemon, and let it lie for an hour. Simmer half a pint of new milk with a strip of lemon rind and a bay-leaf till it is pleasantly flavored. Strain it over the fish, and let it heat gently. Beat the yolks of two eggs, and mix them smoothly with a table-spoonful of flour and half a pint of thick cream. Stir this carefully into the sauce, let it get quite hot, but on no account allow it to boil. Serve immediately. Time, a few minutes to heat the fish in the sauce. Weakfish, Boiled. Same as Bass. Weakfish, Broiled. Same as Bluefish. Whitebait, Dressed. — Take the whitebait out of the water with the fingers, drain them, and throw them into a cloth upon which flour has been strewn. Shake them in the Whitefish, Planked Clam Broth cloth to make the flour adhere to them then toss them in a large, wide sieve, to free them from the superfluous flour. If the fish stick together, separate them, but they will not do this if they are fresh. Have ready plenty of boiling beef fat (this is much better than lard, which is usually recommended), put the whitebait a few at a time into a wire basket, plunge in the boiling fat, and leave them for a minute or two. At the end of that time shake them to keep them from sticking together, and when they are slightly crisp without being browned they are done enough. Drain them from the fat while they are still in the basket, sprinkle a little salt upon them, pile them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve very hot. Send quarters of lemon and brown bread and butter to table with them. Time to fry the whitebait, a few minutes. Whitefish, Planked. — Take a piece of any well-seasoned hard wood, one and a half feet long and one foot wide. Scale and split a fresh, large whitefish down the back, clean and wash it well, wipe dry, dredge with salt and pepper. Heat the plank, spread the fish, skin side down, on it, and fasten