Practical household cookery

Saut-pan with half a gill of olive oil previously made hot and a few sprigs of thyme ; toss these over a brisk fire for about five minutes. When the pieces of lobsters will have assumed a red colour, sprinkle one onion and two shalots chopped fine; stir the contents over the fire for another five minutes ; then add half a gill of brandy and set fire to it ; stir for a few seconds to feed the flames ; after which, moisten with half a pint of white dry wine and two fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped ; season with salt and pepper, and simmer for ten minutes longer, taking care to turn the pieces over. Meanwhile melt two ounces of fresh butter in a small stewpan ; add the residue mixture, with a few sprigs of chervil, tarragon, and a pounded bay-leaf; stir this gently by the side of the fire till it boils; sprinkle a small pinch of cayenne pepper; stir and add the same to the lobster ; mix the lot well together over the fire, and when ready dish up the pieces of lobsters, pour the sauce over, and serve. Note. — The above recipe, together with a few good and practical hints on cookery, was given to me by my old friend Mr. T. Gamier, for the last twelve years chef at the Café Royal, Regent Street, to whom I herewith convey my most humble and grateful thanks. Remarks on Trout. There are several species of trout. Some are called salmon-trout and migrate to the sea; their flesh is of a pink rosy colour, and in taste differ but slightly from young salmon. Their weight varies from three to sixteen pounds. Others are non-migratory, live in lakes, rivers and streams, and the colder and more rapid the water the better the fish. The flesh is almost white and very delicate ; the usual weight seldom exceeds three pounds, although there have been instances of common trout having been caught in lakes and rivers weighing fifteen pounds. The season for trout is from March to September. 479. TROUT A L'ITALIENNE. Remove the inside of two trout, through the gills, without cutting the fish; cut off the fins, wash and wipe the trout, and boil in salt water and a glass of vinegar for six minutes or more, according to the size of the fish; drain and divest of the skin, and lay them on a dish and keep hot. Meanwhile add to half a pint of Italian sauce (No. 205), previously made for that purpose, a pat of anchovy butter, a little nutmeg, and lemon-juice; work this well together, and pour over the fish before serving. 480. TROUT A LA MEUNIÈRE. Cleanse, trim, wash, and wipe two or more trout. Score these three times on each side and pass them through the flour, taking care to shake them well, before putting in a frying-pan with three ounces of clarified butter; add a teaspoon ful of blanched and chopped parsley, as well as the juice of two lemons, and when the fish is nicely coloured on both sides, serve on a hot dish with the remainder of clarified butter poured over it. 481. TROUT A L'AURORE. Boil, skin, and trim the trout; then place on a silver or gratin-dish, mask each fish with reduced Allemande sauce (No. 156), lay a fine wire sieve across the dish, without touching the fish ; then rub with a wooden spoon the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs over each fish through the sieve, taking care that the curling shreds cover the surface J face of each trout equally. About half an hour before serving, put them in the oven to get a fine amber hue; after which, pour round the trout some sauce made as follows : — Put half a pint of Béchamel sauce (Na 154) into a bain-marie, add to it a pat of lobster butter, the yolks of three eggs properly beaten, a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, and a little cayenne ; mix these well together with a small whisk or wooden spoon into the bain-mane before pouring out, and finish by making a border with two dozen mussels fiied in batter.