Alexis Soyer's Part 14: Salads an Relishes
Welcome to FabulousFusionFood's Alexis Soyer's Part 14 (Salads an Relishes) Page — Here you will find the full text from the fourteenth section: Salads an Relishes; of Alexis Soyer's A Shilling Cookery Book for the People As well as the full text this page also provides links out to the overall index of the book and links to modern redactions of each and every recipe (where practicable). This site builds a complete library of Eliza Acton recipes, allowing the modern cook to make them at home today. Enjoy...
ON SALADS.
What is more refreshing than salads when your appetite seems to have deserted you, or even after a capacious dinner—the nice, fresh, green, and crisp salad, full of life and health, which seems to invigorate the, palate and dispose the masticating powers to a much longer duration. The herbaceous plants which exist fit for food for man, are more numerous than may be imagined, and when we reflect how many of these, for want of knowledge, are allowed to rot and decompose in the fields and gardens, we ought, without loss of time, to make ourselves acquainted with their different natures and forms, and vary our food as the season changes.
Although nature has provided all these different herbs and plants as food for man at various periods of the year, and perhaps at one period more abundant than another, when there are so many ready to assist in purifying and cleansing the blood, yet it would be advisable to grow some at other seasons, in order that the health may be properly nourished.
However, at what period of the year or at what time, these may be partaken of, the following dressing is the one I should always recommend.
In my description of salads, I have advised and described the use of them as plainly dressed, such as they are in many parts of Europe, but perhaps many of our readers will want to know how the sauce is made which is often used with the salad herbs, or such as the Italian count used to make some years since, by which he made a fortune in dressing salads for the tables of the aristocracy. It is as follows :—
PLAIN COSS SALAD.
428. Coss Lettuce.—Take two large lettuces, remove the faded leaves and the coarse green ones, then cut the green top off, pull each leaf off separate, cut it lengthways, and then in four or six pieces; proceed thus until finished. This is better without washing. Having cut it all up put it into a howl; sprinkle over with your finger a small teaspoonful of salt, half one of pepper, three of oil, and two of English vinegar, or one of French; with the spoon and fork turn the salad lightly in the howl till well mixed; the less it is handled the better; a teaspoonful of chopped chervil and one of tarragon is an immense improvement.
The above seasoning is enough for a quarter of a pound of lettuce.
429. Cabbage Lettuce.—Proceed the same as above, pull off the outer leaves and throw them away, take off the others one by one, and cut in two, put them in a pan with cold water, then drain them in a cloth, by shaking it to and fro violently with one hand, and extract all the water, put them into a bowl, and season and dress as above.
To vary them, two hard boiled eggs, cut in quarters, may be Added; a little eschalot, a few chives, or young onions.
To improve the appearance of these salads, when on the table, before being used, the flower of the nasturtium may be intermixed with taste and care, with a little cut beetroot and slices of radish. These are refreshing to the sight on a table or sideboard at dinner; slices of cucumber may be also introduced.
430. Endive.—This ought to be nicely blanched and crisp, and is the most wholesome of all salads. Take two, cut away the root, remove the dark green leaves, and pick off all the rest, wash and drain well, dress as before; a few chives is an improvement.
431. French Fashion.—Put in one clove of garlic, or rub a piece of crust of bread slightly with it, or the salad-bowl, mix the salad in the bowl as before; if rubbed slightly on the bread mix it with it. If properly contrived, it gives a flavour, which no one can detect. Tarragon or chervil may be used in these salads.
432. Marsh Mallow.—The roots of these should be removed, as likewise the faded leaves; dress as for lettuce No. 428; eggs and beetroot may be introduced in this, being almost a winter salad.
Dandelion, or dent-de-lion, should not remain long in water, as they will get too bitter; dress them as endive.
Cow salad the same way.
Watercresses the same, with a little cucumber and celery.
433. Mustard and Cress.—These, if eaten alone, make ah excellent salad ; they should be quickly washed and used, dressed as lettuce. A little tarragon or chervil, or a few chives, may be used.
434. Salad Sauce.—Boil one egg hard, when cold remove the yolk, put it into a basin, bruise it to a pulp with a spoon,—do not use iron, prefer wood,—then add a raw yolk and a teaspoonful of flour, a small teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of pepper, then add half a spoonful of vinegar; stir it round, pour over a tablespoonful of oil by degrees, keep stirring, then a little more vinegar, two more of oil, until eight teaspoonfuls of oil and three of vinegar are used; season with half a teaspoonful of chopped onions, two of parsley, half of tarragon and chervil, a pinch of cayenne and six teaspoonfuls of melted butter cold. The white of the egg may be chopped up and added. It will keep for some time if properly corked, and may be used in proportion with any of the above salads; but still t must say I prefer the simplicity and skill of the Italian count's in preference to this, although this is very palatable. A gill of Whipped cream is good in it.
435. Vegetable for Salads.—Beetroot, onions, potatoes, celery, cucumbers, lentils, haricots, succory, or barbe-de-capucin, winter cress, burnet, tansey, marigold, peas, French beans, radish, cauliflower; all the above may be used judiciously in salad, if properly seasoned, according to the following directions:—
435a. Haricot and Lentil Salad.—To a pint of well-boiled haricots, add a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of pepper, one of chopped onions, two of vinegar, four of oil, two of chopped parsley, stir round, and it is ready; lentils are done the same. A little cold meat, cut in thin slices, may be added as a variety.
436. Beetroot Salad with Onions.—Boil four onions in the skin till tender, also a piece of beetroot; let both get cold; remove the skin, cut them in slices, put them in a plate, one slice on the edge of the other alternately; put into a small basin half a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of pepper, one of good vinegar, three of oil, mix them well; pour over when ready to serve.
Celery, Young Onions, and Radishes may be used in salad with the above dressing, adding a teaspoonful of mustard.
Cucumbers.—Cut in thin slices on a plate, with salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar in proportion to the above directions.
Green French Beans.—When cold put into a bowl, with some tarragon, chervil, arid Chopped chives, dressed as before.
Brussels Sprouts, the same way.
437. Potatoes.—If any remaining, cut them into thin slices, and season as before. A few haricots, or cold meat, or a chopped gherkin, may be added.
438. Meat and Poultry.—If there are any of the above left, and you require a relishing dish, and not having any fresh salad herbs, proceed as for the other salads, using a little chopped parsley, onions, or pickles. Some cucumber or celery may be used. The meat or poultry should be cut small.
439. Fish Salad.—A very nice and elegant dish may be made with all kinds of cold fish, and some kinds of shell-fish; but the following way of dressing is for a small Lobster Salad, and will do for all fish salads: Have the bowl half filled with any kind of salad herb you like, either endive or lettuce, &c. Then break a lobster in two, open the tail, extract the meat in one piece, break the claws, cut the meat of both in small slices, about a quarter of an inch thick, arrange these tastefully on the salad, take out all the soft part from the belly, mix it in a bason with a teaspoonful of salt, half of pepper, four of vinegar, four of oil; stir it well together, and pour on the salad; then cover it with two hard eggs, cut in slices, a few slices of cucumber, and, to vary, a few capers and some fillets of anchovy; stir lightly, and serve, or use salad sauce, No. 434.
If for a dinner, ornament it with some flowers of the nasturtium and marigold.
440. Crab Salad.—The same as the lobster.
Remains of cold cod, fried soles, halibut, brill, turbot, sturgeon cut as lobster, plaice, &c., may be used in the same way.
Ma Chère Eloise,—In the foregoing receipts you will perceive that I have used each salad herb separate, only mixing them with the condiments or with vegetable fruit. I have a strong objection to the almost diabolical mixture of four or five different sorts of salad in one bowl, and then chopping them as fine as possible; the freshness as well as the flavour of each is destroyed; they agree about as well together as would brandy and soda water mixed with gin and ginger beer, for each salad herb has its own particular flavour, and the condiments, which are onions, chives, parsley, chervil, tarragon, celery, eschalot, garlic, cucumber, beetroot, &c. &c are only to give it piquancy like the oil and vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Mustard and cress and water cresses may be considered as a slight condiment, hut should be used accordingly. It is remarkable that though the inhabitants of this country were for so many centuries (from the nature of the climate) a salad-eating people, yet they seem the least to know how to season them. Until the introduction of the potato, in 1G50, and which was first eaten as a sweetmeat, stewed in sack wine and sugar, the various salads were in common use on the tables in Britain, of which country most of the plants are indigenous
RELISHES.
441. Herring in Whisky.—Well wash and clean a red herring, wipe it dry and place it in a pie-dish, having cut off the head, and split it in two up the back; put a gill or two of whisky over the herring, according to size, hold it on one side of the dish, so that it is covered with the spirit, set it alight, and when it goes out the fish is done.
442. Devilled Bones.—Take the bones of any remaining joint or poultry, which has still some meat on, which cut across slightly, and then make a mixture of mustard, salt, cayenne, and pepper, and one teaspoonful of mushroom ketchup to two of mustard; rub the bones well with this, and broil rather brownish.
MUSHROOMS, OR THE PEARL OF THE FIELDS.
I here send you, Eloise, a most sumptuous relish. There is ono dish which the Devonshire cottager can procure and enjoy better than even the most wealthy person. It is the mushroom. After having plucked them, perhaps on the road home for his breakfast, broiled them over a nice bright fire, seasoned with a little pepper and Bait, and a small bit of butter placed inside of them; the flavour is then pure and the aroma beautiful, but by accident I discovered a new and excellent way to cook them. Being in Devonshire, at the end of September, and walking across the fields before breakfast to n small farmhouse, I found three very fine mushrooms, which I thought would be a treat, but on arriving at the house I found it had no oven, a bad gridiron, and a smoky coal fire. Necessity, they say, is the mother of Invention, I immediately applied to our grand and universal mamma, how I should dress my precious mushrooms, when a gentle whisper came to my ear, and the following was the result.
443. I first cut two good slices of bread, half an inch thick, largo enough to cover the bottom of a plate, toasted them, and spread some Devonshire cream over the toast. I removed all the earthy part from the mushroom, and laid them gently on the toast, head downwards, slightly sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and placed in each a little of the clotted cream; I then put a tumbler over each and placed them on a stand before the fire, and kept turning them so as to prevent the glass breaking, and in ten to fifteen minutes the glass was filled with vapour, which is the essence of the mushroom; when it is taken up, do not remove the glass for a few minutes, by which time the vapour will have become condensed and gone into the bread, but when it is, the aroma is so powerful as to pervade the whole apartment.
The sight, when the glass is removed, is most inviting, its whiteness rivals the everlasting snows of Mont Blanc, and the taste is worthy of Lucullus. Vitellius would never have dined without it; Apicius would never have gone to Greece to seek for crawfish; and had he only half the fortune left when he committed suicide, he would have preferred to have left proud Rome and retire to some villa or cottage to enjoy such an enticing dish.
Therefore, modern gourmets, never fancy that you have tasted mushrooms until you have tried this simple and new discovery. Remember the month—the end of September or the beginning of October.
As Devonshire cream is not to be obtained everywhere, use butter, or boil some milk till reduced to cream, with a little salt, pepper, and one clove; when warm put in an ounce of butter, mixed with a little flour, stir round, put the mushroom on the toast with this sauce, cover with a basin, and place in the oven for half an hour. In this way all kinds of mushrooms will be excellent. They may be put into baking pans: cover with a tumbler as above, and bake in oven.
444 Welsh Rabbit.—Toast a round of tread from a quartern loaf; put about four ounces of cheese into a small saucepan or pipkin with a teaspoonful of mustard, a little pepper and salt, and a wineglass of ale; break the cheese small, set it on the fire, and stir until it is melted, when pour over the toast, and serve quickly.
2nd.—Toast a round of bread, and place on it two pieces of cheese, single Gloucester, a quarter of an inch thick; place it Before the fire, and as the cheese melts, spread it over the bread with a knife, also a little cayenne and mustard.
3rd.—Take a penny French roll, cut off a thin slice from one fend, and take out some of the crumb and place it in the oven. Melt the cheese as above, and pour it into the roll. It is very good for a journey, or a sportsman, and can be eaten cold.
4th, or Irish Rabbit.—Toast a round of bread; chop up four ounces of cheese, a small piece of butter, one gherkin, some mustard, pepper, and salt, until it is quite a paste; spread it over the toast, and place them in the oven for five minutes, and serve hot.
415.—Mussels may be eaten plain. Put a quart of them in a pan, after being well washed, with some onions cut in slices, also a little parsley; put them on a sharp fire for ten minutes, when they will all open; then remove the beard and black part, and eat them plain with some of their juice.
446. Oysters on Toast.—Open twelve very large oysters, put them in a pan with their liquor, a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, a wineglass of milk, two cloves, and a small piece of mace, if handy; boil a few minutes until set, mix one ounce of butter with half an ounce of flour, put it, in small pieces, in the pan, stir round; when near boiling pour over the toast, and serve. A little sugar and the juice of a lemon, is a great improvement.
447. Oysters,plain scalloped.—-Butter and bread crumb the scallop shell, put in six oysters, season, and bread crumb, then six more, season again, and bread crumb; if a large shell, six more, with a little cayenne and butter, and some of their liquor; cover thick with bread crumbs, put in oven, or on gridiron, for thirty minutes; brown with salamander, or on a shovel, and serve.
These may also be done in patty pans.
Pieces of the liver of the cod, put into boiling water and set, may be added to any of the above escalops.
448. Scallops. — lobsters, crabs, and crayfish must be first boiled, the flesh removed from the shell, and minced, adding a little chopped onion, pepper, salt, and butter, the scallop shell well greased, the flesh of the fish laid in, well bread crumbed, and put in the oven or on the gridiron for thirty minutes, and serve.
These require a little more pepper or cayenne than other fish, and a little Chili vinegar may be added. Two spoonfuls of melted butter mixed with the flesh of a lobster makes it very delicious.
Salads an Relishes.
What is more refreshing than salads when your appetite seems to have deserted you, or even after a capacious dinner—the nice, fresh, green, and crisp salad, full of life and health, which seems to invigorate the, palate and dispose the masticating powers to a much longer duration. The herbaceous plants which exist fit for food for man, are more numerous than may be imagined, and when we reflect how many of these, for want of knowledge, are allowed to rot and decompose in the fields and gardens, we ought, without loss of time, to make ourselves acquainted with their different natures and forms, and vary our food as the season changes.
Although nature has provided all these different herbs and plants as food for man at various periods of the year, and perhaps at one period more abundant than another, when there are so many ready to assist in purifying and cleansing the blood, yet it would be advisable to grow some at other seasons, in order that the health may be properly nourished.
However, at what period of the year or at what time, these may be partaken of, the following dressing is the one I should always recommend.
In my description of salads, I have advised and described the use of them as plainly dressed, such as they are in many parts of Europe, but perhaps many of our readers will want to know how the sauce is made which is often used with the salad herbs, or such as the Italian count used to make some years since, by which he made a fortune in dressing salads for the tables of the aristocracy. It is as follows :—
428. Coss Lettuce.—Take two large lettuces, remove the faded leaves and the coarse green ones, then cut the green top off, pull each leaf off separate, cut it lengthways, and then in four or six pieces; proceed thus until finished. This is better without washing. Having cut it all up put it into a howl; sprinkle over with your finger a small teaspoonful of salt, half one of pepper, three of oil, and two of English vinegar, or one of French; with the spoon and fork turn the salad lightly in the howl till well mixed; the less it is handled the better; a teaspoonful of chopped chervil and one of tarragon is an immense improvement.
The above seasoning is enough for a quarter of a pound of lettuce.
429. Cabbage Lettuce.—Proceed the same as above, pull off the outer leaves and throw them away, take off the others one by one, and cut in two, put them in a pan with cold water, then drain them in a cloth, by shaking it to and fro violently with one hand, and extract all the water, put them into a bowl, and season and dress as above.
To vary them, two hard boiled eggs, cut in quarters, may be Added; a little eschalot, a few chives, or young onions.
To improve the appearance of these salads, when on the table, before being used, the flower of the nasturtium may be intermixed with taste and care, with a little cut beetroot and slices of radish. These are refreshing to the sight on a table or sideboard at dinner; slices of cucumber may be also introduced.
430. Endive.—This ought to be nicely blanched and crisp, and is the most wholesome of all salads. Take two, cut away the root, remove the dark green leaves, and pick off all the rest, wash and drain well, dress as before; a few chives is an improvement.
431. French Fashion.—Put in one clove of garlic, or rub a piece of crust of bread slightly with it, or the salad-bowl, mix the salad in the bowl as before; if rubbed slightly on the bread mix it with it. If properly contrived, it gives a flavour, which no one can detect. Tarragon or chervil may be used in these salads.
432. Marsh Mallow.—The roots of these should be removed, as likewise the faded leaves; dress as for lettuce No. 428; eggs and beetroot may be introduced in this, being almost a winter salad.
Dandelion, or dent-de-lion, should not remain long in water, as they will get too bitter; dress them as endive.
Cow salad the same way.
Watercresses the same, with a little cucumber and celery.
433. Mustard and Cress.—These, if eaten alone, make ah excellent salad ; they should be quickly washed and used, dressed as lettuce. A little tarragon or chervil, or a few chives, may be used.
434. Salad Sauce.—Boil one egg hard, when cold remove the yolk, put it into a basin, bruise it to a pulp with a spoon,—do not use iron, prefer wood,—then add a raw yolk and a teaspoonful of flour, a small teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of pepper, then add half a spoonful of vinegar; stir it round, pour over a tablespoonful of oil by degrees, keep stirring, then a little more vinegar, two more of oil, until eight teaspoonfuls of oil and three of vinegar are used; season with half a teaspoonful of chopped onions, two of parsley, half of tarragon and chervil, a pinch of cayenne and six teaspoonfuls of melted butter cold. The white of the egg may be chopped up and added. It will keep for some time if properly corked, and may be used in proportion with any of the above salads; but still t must say I prefer the simplicity and skill of the Italian count's in preference to this, although this is very palatable. A gill of Whipped cream is good in it.
435. Vegetable for Salads.—Beetroot, onions, potatoes, celery, cucumbers, lentils, haricots, succory, or barbe-de-capucin, winter cress, burnet, tansey, marigold, peas, French beans, radish, cauliflower; all the above may be used judiciously in salad, if properly seasoned, according to the following directions:—
435a. Haricot and Lentil Salad.—To a pint of well-boiled haricots, add a teaspoonful of salt, quarter of pepper, one of chopped onions, two of vinegar, four of oil, two of chopped parsley, stir round, and it is ready; lentils are done the same. A little cold meat, cut in thin slices, may be added as a variety.
436. Beetroot Salad with Onions.—Boil four onions in the skin till tender, also a piece of beetroot; let both get cold; remove the skin, cut them in slices, put them in a plate, one slice on the edge of the other alternately; put into a small basin half a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of pepper, one of good vinegar, three of oil, mix them well; pour over when ready to serve.
Celery, Young Onions, and Radishes may be used in salad with the above dressing, adding a teaspoonful of mustard.
Cucumbers.—Cut in thin slices on a plate, with salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar in proportion to the above directions.
Green French Beans.—When cold put into a bowl, with some tarragon, chervil, arid Chopped chives, dressed as before.
Brussels Sprouts, the same way.
437. Potatoes.—If any remaining, cut them into thin slices, and season as before. A few haricots, or cold meat, or a chopped gherkin, may be added.
438. Meat and Poultry.—If there are any of the above left, and you require a relishing dish, and not having any fresh salad herbs, proceed as for the other salads, using a little chopped parsley, onions, or pickles. Some cucumber or celery may be used. The meat or poultry should be cut small.
439. Fish Salad.—A very nice and elegant dish may be made with all kinds of cold fish, and some kinds of shell-fish; but the following way of dressing is for a small Lobster Salad, and will do for all fish salads: Have the bowl half filled with any kind of salad herb you like, either endive or lettuce, &c. Then break a lobster in two, open the tail, extract the meat in one piece, break the claws, cut the meat of both in small slices, about a quarter of an inch thick, arrange these tastefully on the salad, take out all the soft part from the belly, mix it in a bason with a teaspoonful of salt, half of pepper, four of vinegar, four of oil; stir it well together, and pour on the salad; then cover it with two hard eggs, cut in slices, a few slices of cucumber, and, to vary, a few capers and some fillets of anchovy; stir lightly, and serve, or use salad sauce, No. 434.
If for a dinner, ornament it with some flowers of the nasturtium and marigold.
440. Crab Salad.—The same as the lobster.
Remains of cold cod, fried soles, halibut, brill, turbot, sturgeon cut as lobster, plaice, &c., may be used in the same way.
Ma Chère Eloise,—In the foregoing receipts you will perceive that I have used each salad herb separate, only mixing them with the condiments or with vegetable fruit. I have a strong objection to the almost diabolical mixture of four or five different sorts of salad in one bowl, and then chopping them as fine as possible; the freshness as well as the flavour of each is destroyed; they agree about as well together as would brandy and soda water mixed with gin and ginger beer, for each salad herb has its own particular flavour, and the condiments, which are onions, chives, parsley, chervil, tarragon, celery, eschalot, garlic, cucumber, beetroot, &c. &c are only to give it piquancy like the oil and vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Mustard and cress and water cresses may be considered as a slight condiment, hut should be used accordingly. It is remarkable that though the inhabitants of this country were for so many centuries (from the nature of the climate) a salad-eating people, yet they seem the least to know how to season them. Until the introduction of the potato, in 1G50, and which was first eaten as a sweetmeat, stewed in sack wine and sugar, the various salads were in common use on the tables in Britain, of which country most of the plants are indigenous
441. Herring in Whisky.—Well wash and clean a red herring, wipe it dry and place it in a pie-dish, having cut off the head, and split it in two up the back; put a gill or two of whisky over the herring, according to size, hold it on one side of the dish, so that it is covered with the spirit, set it alight, and when it goes out the fish is done.
442. Devilled Bones.—Take the bones of any remaining joint or poultry, which has still some meat on, which cut across slightly, and then make a mixture of mustard, salt, cayenne, and pepper, and one teaspoonful of mushroom ketchup to two of mustard; rub the bones well with this, and broil rather brownish.
I here send you, Eloise, a most sumptuous relish. There is ono dish which the Devonshire cottager can procure and enjoy better than even the most wealthy person. It is the mushroom. After having plucked them, perhaps on the road home for his breakfast, broiled them over a nice bright fire, seasoned with a little pepper and Bait, and a small bit of butter placed inside of them; the flavour is then pure and the aroma beautiful, but by accident I discovered a new and excellent way to cook them. Being in Devonshire, at the end of September, and walking across the fields before breakfast to n small farmhouse, I found three very fine mushrooms, which I thought would be a treat, but on arriving at the house I found it had no oven, a bad gridiron, and a smoky coal fire. Necessity, they say, is the mother of Invention, I immediately applied to our grand and universal mamma, how I should dress my precious mushrooms, when a gentle whisper came to my ear, and the following was the result.
443. I first cut two good slices of bread, half an inch thick, largo enough to cover the bottom of a plate, toasted them, and spread some Devonshire cream over the toast. I removed all the earthy part from the mushroom, and laid them gently on the toast, head downwards, slightly sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and placed in each a little of the clotted cream; I then put a tumbler over each and placed them on a stand before the fire, and kept turning them so as to prevent the glass breaking, and in ten to fifteen minutes the glass was filled with vapour, which is the essence of the mushroom; when it is taken up, do not remove the glass for a few minutes, by which time the vapour will have become condensed and gone into the bread, but when it is, the aroma is so powerful as to pervade the whole apartment.
The sight, when the glass is removed, is most inviting, its whiteness rivals the everlasting snows of Mont Blanc, and the taste is worthy of Lucullus. Vitellius would never have dined without it; Apicius would never have gone to Greece to seek for crawfish; and had he only half the fortune left when he committed suicide, he would have preferred to have left proud Rome and retire to some villa or cottage to enjoy such an enticing dish.
Therefore, modern gourmets, never fancy that you have tasted mushrooms until you have tried this simple and new discovery. Remember the month—the end of September or the beginning of October.
As Devonshire cream is not to be obtained everywhere, use butter, or boil some milk till reduced to cream, with a little salt, pepper, and one clove; when warm put in an ounce of butter, mixed with a little flour, stir round, put the mushroom on the toast with this sauce, cover with a basin, and place in the oven for half an hour. In this way all kinds of mushrooms will be excellent. They may be put into baking pans: cover with a tumbler as above, and bake in oven.
444 Welsh Rabbit.—Toast a round of tread from a quartern loaf; put about four ounces of cheese into a small saucepan or pipkin with a teaspoonful of mustard, a little pepper and salt, and a wineglass of ale; break the cheese small, set it on the fire, and stir until it is melted, when pour over the toast, and serve quickly.
2nd.—Toast a round of bread, and place on it two pieces of cheese, single Gloucester, a quarter of an inch thick; place it Before the fire, and as the cheese melts, spread it over the bread with a knife, also a little cayenne and mustard.
3rd.—Take a penny French roll, cut off a thin slice from one fend, and take out some of the crumb and place it in the oven. Melt the cheese as above, and pour it into the roll. It is very good for a journey, or a sportsman, and can be eaten cold.
4th, or Irish Rabbit.—Toast a round of bread; chop up four ounces of cheese, a small piece of butter, one gherkin, some mustard, pepper, and salt, until it is quite a paste; spread it over the toast, and place them in the oven for five minutes, and serve hot.
415.—Mussels may be eaten plain. Put a quart of them in a pan, after being well washed, with some onions cut in slices, also a little parsley; put them on a sharp fire for ten minutes, when they will all open; then remove the beard and black part, and eat them plain with some of their juice.
446. Oysters on Toast.—Open twelve very large oysters, put them in a pan with their liquor, a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, a wineglass of milk, two cloves, and a small piece of mace, if handy; boil a few minutes until set, mix one ounce of butter with half an ounce of flour, put it, in small pieces, in the pan, stir round; when near boiling pour over the toast, and serve. A little sugar and the juice of a lemon, is a great improvement.
447. Oysters,plain scalloped.—-Butter and bread crumb the scallop shell, put in six oysters, season, and bread crumb, then six more, season again, and bread crumb; if a large shell, six more, with a little cayenne and butter, and some of their liquor; cover thick with bread crumbs, put in oven, or on gridiron, for thirty minutes; brown with salamander, or on a shovel, and serve.
These may also be done in patty pans.
Pieces of the liver of the cod, put into boiling water and set, may be added to any of the above escalops.
448. Scallops. — lobsters, crabs, and crayfish must be first boiled, the flesh removed from the shell, and minced, adding a little chopped onion, pepper, salt, and butter, the scallop shell well greased, the flesh of the fish laid in, well bread crumbed, and put in the oven or on the gridiron for thirty minutes, and serve.
These require a little more pepper or cayenne than other fish, and a little Chili vinegar may be added. Two spoonfuls of melted butter mixed with the flesh of a lobster makes it very delicious.
Notes: