Select tart, firm, red or yellow crab-apples, three quarts; remove all decayed spots but leave the stems. Put three cups of cider vinegar, three cups of sugar, and one cup of water in preserving kettle; let boil two minutes, add two tablespoons of cloves and two sticks of cinnamon broken; these spices must be tied in a bag, and let cook ten minutes. Lift out carefully with perforated skimmer, put in glass jars. When all the apples have been cooked, pour over enough syrup to cover; set spice bag away in a cup. Cover jars and let stand twenty-four hours. Pour off syrup and boil again. Wait two days, then boil apples, sugar, with spice bag until apples are tender but firm. Place apples in jars; cover to keep hot. Boil down syrup a little and fill the jars to overflowing with the hot syrup and seal.
Cut into pieces ready to serve, after which salt them for an hour. Into the fish kettle put a quantity of water, large onion sliced, carrot also sliced, turnip, celery root, and boil fifteen minutes. Add the fish and two tablespoons of butter, tiny piece of cinnamon, pepper to taste. Boil fifteen minutes longer, then add teaspoon of flour mixed with cold water. Boil up well and add salt or pepper if needed. Remove fish and arrange on platter. Beat yolks of two eggs with a tablespoon of cold water; after straining out vegetables, add the hot gravy in which fish was boiled. Return to fire and stir till thick enough. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Wipe steak with a damp cloth. Trim off the surplus fat. When the oven has been heated for from five to seven minutes, lay steak on a rack, greased, as near the flame as possible, the position of the rack depending on the thickness of the steak. Let the steak sear on each side, thereby retaining the juice. Then lower the rack somewhat, and allow the steak to broil to the degree required. Just before taking from the oven, salt and pepper and spread with melted chicken fat. You can get just as good results in preparing chops and fish in the broiling oven.
Bake three layers of almond tart and flavor it with a wine glass of arrack. When baked, scrape part of the cake out of the thickest layer, not disturbing the rim, and reserve these crumbs to add to the following filling: Boil one-half pound of sugar in one-fourth cup of water until it spins a thread. Add to this syrup a wine glass of rum, and the crumbs, and spread over the layers, piling one on top of the other. Another way to fill this cake is to take some crab-apple jelly or apple marmalade and thin it with a little brandy.
Take one calf's head, wash well; put on to boil with four and one-half quarts of water; add two red peppers, onions, celery, carrots, cloves, salt to taste, and a little cabbage; boil six hours; also, have ready some meat stock; the next day put fat in a skillet with two large tablespoons of flour; let it brown; then, take the calf's head and cut all the meat from it in pieces; add the calf's tongue, cut in dice. Slice hard-boiled eggs, one glass of sherry; and one lemon sliced; put all in the stock; allow it to come just to a boil.
Cut up a celery root, one onion, and a sprig of parsley, tie the fish in a napkin and lay it on this bed of roots; pour in enough water to cover and add a dash of vinegar--the vinegar keeps the fish firm--then boil over a quick fire and add more salt to the water in which the fish has been boiled. Lay your fish on a hot platter and prepare the following sauce: set a cup of sweet cream in a kettle, heat it, add a tablespoon of fresh butter, salt and pepper, and thicken with a tablespoon of flour which has been wet with a little cold milk, stir this paste into the cream and boil about one minute, stirring constantly; pour over the fish. Boil two eggs, and while they are boiling, blanch about a dozen or more almonds and stick them into the fish, points up; cover the eggs with cold water, peel them, separate the whites from the yolks, chop each separately; garnish the fish, first with a row of chopped yolks, then whites, until all is used: lay chopped parsley all around the platter. Fresh cod and striped bass may be cooked in this way.
Remove the scales and clean. Do not remove the head, tail, or fins. Put into a double boiler one tablespoon of butter, two cups of stale bread crumbs, one tablespoon of chopped onion, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, two teaspoons of chopped capers, one-fourth cup of sherry. Heat all the above ingredients, season with paprika and salt, and stuff the bass with the mixture. Sew up the fish, put into a hot oven, bake and baste with sherry wine and butter. A fish weighing four or five pounds is required for the above recipe.
Clean fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dip in flour or cornmeal and cook in spider with just enough hot butter to prevent it sticking to the pan. Shake the pan occasionally. Brown well on under side, then turn and brown on the other side.
Put on to boil in fish kettle, one glass water, one-half glass vinegar, two tablespoons of brown sugar, one-half dozen cloves, one-half teaspoon of ground cinnamon, one onion cut in round slices. Boil thoroughly, then strain and add to it one lemon cut in round slices, one goblet of red wine, one dozen raisins, one tablespoon of pounded almonds; put on stove again, and when it comes to a boil, add fish that has been cut up and salted. Cook until done, remove fish to a platter, and to the liquor add a small piece Leb-kuchen or ginger cake, and stir in the well-beaten yolks of four eggs; stir carefully or it will curdle. If not sweet enough add more sugar. Pour over fish. Shad or trout is the best fish to use.
No. 2. Steam the fish and bone. Take four good-sized tomatoes, cut them up, add chopped parsley, scallions or leeks cut in small pieces, a little celery, salt and pepper to taste and four eggs well-beaten; mix all these ingredients very well with the boned fish, form in omelet shape. Place in oven in pan greased with olive oil and bake until well browned.
