LUNCHEON DISHES.

 

COD MAYONNAISE AUX ToMATES.—Choose a small cod or a nice piece from the middle of a fine fish, and put it on a strainer in a fish kettle of boiling water, to which should be added a little vinegar and sliced horseradish. Allow the fish to boil rather quickly for a few minutes to sot the curd, and then allow it to boil gently until done. Take it from the water and let it drain on the strainer until nearly cold. It can then be placed upon the dish it is to be served upon. For sauce put some thick cream in an enameled saucepan, which has been wetted with cold water, and thicken it to mayonnaise consistency with some corn flour mixed with a little cold water. Just before removing the sauce from the fire stir to it the beaten yolks (these also should be mixed with a little cold water) of eggs, in the proportion of two to one pint of water. Allow the sauce to cool, beating it well occasionally to prevent its becoming lumpy. When nearly cold stir to it gradually the strained juice of some fresh lemons, a little Tarragon vinegar, and salt and Cayenne popper at discretion. Chili vinegar may be substituted for the Tarragon and Cayenne popper. A few hours before they are required for use, peel and slice some very ripe tomatos and steep the slices in vinegar, in which some Cayenne, powdered ginger, and plenty of salt have been mixed. Spread the sauce thickly and equally over the fish, and arrange the slices of tomato round and upon it prettily. The effect is bettor if both the red and yellow varieties of tomato are used. Delicate sprigs of watercress or some other small green salad should also be used for garnishing, and two or three rod capsicums and a few capers may also be introduced with advantage. The tomatos must be carefully drained from the vinegar before they are used. The tomatos, besides looking very pretty, give a very piquant flavour to this dish. The ordinary mayonnaise sauce can be used instead of the one given above, but will not, I think, be found so delicate in flavour; and flakes of cold cod may be substituted for the whole piece of fish, in which case all bones should be carefully removed. A lump of strong aspic jelly melted in the cream is a great improvement to the sauce.

COD CUTLETS WITH TOMATO SAUCE.—Cut some inch thick cutlets from the middle or tail of the fish. Brush them with yolk of egg and sprinkle them thickly with very fine bread crumbs or biscuit powder. Fry them in plenty of boiling lard to a delicate brown. For sauce stow ripe tomatos in some good stock with a little shalot, salt, Cayenne, a little lemon pool, and whole black popper with a little powdered ginger. When the tomatos are quite tender, strain the stock from them, and put a sufficient quantity of it for the sauce required into a fresh saucepan. Press the tomato pulp through a stool wire sieve; mix it with the stock, and when boiling stir to it sufficient corn flour or arrowroot, mixed with cream, to give it proper consistency. Add a squeeze of lemon juice ; pour it at once into an entree dish, lay the cutlets upon it. just overlapping each other in a line in the centre of the dish, and serve immediately. Instead of the egg and breadcrumbs the cutlets may bo simply sprinkled with a little pepper and salt, and fried brown in butter. Almost any kind of cold white fish, divided into flakes and freed from the bones, will be found very good just scalded in this sauce, and served in the centre of a dish with a border of mashed potatoes either browned or plain.

SAUSAGES WITH ITALIAN SAUCE (Jersey Recipe).—Toast some good Cambridge sausages slowly, until they arc well browned all over. Divide them lengthwise in halves ; moisten the divided sides of them with a little butter; sprinkle with flour, and toast there again until brown. Sauce: Take some celery, onion, carrot, parsnip, vegetable marrow, Jerusalem artichokes, tomato, or any similar vegetables that may be in season. Cut them in small pieces, and put them with a bunch of parsley and lemon thyme into a stew-pan, with some gravy or good stock. Boil until very tender ; press the whole through a coarse wire sieve. Put this pulp, which should be a rather thick puree, into a stewpan, and when boiling stir to it a little butter rolled in flour, to give it softness. Add a small quantity of Worcester sauce and soy, and a larger proportion of Harvey sauce and mushroom ketchup. Just before serving throw in a few minced capers, with a little of their vinegar Have ready in the centre of a dish a mound of browned or mashed potatoes. Surround this with the sauce, with the sausages upon it arranged in a slanting direction from the mound of potatoes to the border of the dish. The dried French Julienne vegetables (which are, I believe, to bo bought at most grocers) make a very well flavoured sauce with the additions I have named, and if a little anchovy or shrimp sauce is added it will bo found very good served with fish.

PIGEONS WITH JULIENNE VEGETABLES.—Pluck, draw, and truss as many young pigeons as you require, and place them in a stewpan which will just hold them in one layer Almost cover them with some strong clear jolly stock, and 'when it begins to simmer put in some dried Julienne vegetables (which have been previously soaked for a couple of hours in cold water), a little black pepper, allspice, and salt. Keep the stew simmering gently until the pigeons an) quite tender, but nut overdone Should the vegetables not then be quite soft, allow them to boil until they become so. Mix with some clear stock or cold water sufficient corn flour to make the gravy quite thick; add a little Soy, Worcester sauce, and walnut ketchup. Rewarm the pigeons with the gravy and vegetables, and when quite hot serve them with the latter poured over them. Garnish with sippets fried in butter The gravy should be quite clear to show the vegetables to advantage, and should be thick with them.; but it is difficult to specify the exact quantity to be used. The best joints of a nice young rabbit or two, previously lightly browned are very good stewed in the same way.

GIBLBTS WITH GREEN PEAS.—Procure as many goose or duck giblets as required and prepare them in the usual way for stowing. Simmer them very gently in some good3 beef stock, which has been well-flavoured with vegetables and herbs. When the giblets are very tender, drain the stock from them, and when cold remove from it every particle of fat. When ready put it in a. stewpan with some dried split green peas and boil until they are reduced to a pulp. Scald the giblets in this ; flavour nicely with pepper and salt, and serve very hot. Garnish with lippets of plain toasted bread. The dried split green peas are to be obtained at Italian warehouses in London. Cold duck or goose are also very good just simmered for a few minutes in the puree of peas.

CROUTONS AVX HUITRES (No. 1).—Cut out with a round pastry cutter of about three inches in diameter as many croutons as you require ; fry them in butter, drain and place them on a hot-water dish. Open and beard some fine native oysters, allowing six for each crouton ; remove the beards and simmer these in the oyster liquor for a few minutes with a pinch of Cayenne, a little salt, and a strip of lemon peel. Strain the liquor into a fresh saucepan, adding a few spoonfuls of thick cream; make the sauce quite hot, and scald the oysters in it for a few seconds only. Four the sauce equally over the crouton, arrange one oyster in the centre of each, and the remaining five round this ; serve quickly. A squeeze of lemon juice may be added to the sauce with advantage.

—— (No. 2.)—Prepare croutons as in preceding recipe, but. instead of frying, toast and butter them on one side. Arrange them on a fireproof dish with the buttered sides downwards. Open and beard native oysters also as above: place the oysters nicely on the croutons. Simmer the boards in the oyster liquor only, and stir to it, when strained through muslin, a little butter in which some salt and Cayenne hove been kneaded (the proportion of butter should be 2oz. to four dozen oysters). Pour this equally over the oysters and croutons ; put the dish before the fire or in a brisk oven until the whole is thoroughly hot, and serve immediately. Send a divided lemon to table with this.

WINTER SALAD.—Wash some beetroot thoroughly, taking care not to break it, and bake it until quite tender. When cold pool and cut into very thin slices. Skin and also cut some ripe tomatos, and Steep them in vinegar, &-c., as for the cod mayonnaise When ready put a layer of those on a flat dish, a layer of the sliced beetroot over, and surround them with a thick border of celery root, with some of the young yellowish leaves chopped together finely. Just before serving pour over the beet and tomatos a thick salad dressing made thus : Pound the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs with a teaspoonful of mustard flour, and mix with them until they are of the consistency of thick cream, a little Tarragon and Chili vinegar; then add very gradually, stirring well all the time, sufficient very good salad oil to make the quantity of dressing required, sprinkling in a little finely powdered salt at intervals, as this helps to prevent the mixture from curdling. If required add a little more vinegar, but use the strongest procurable, as the less in quantity used the better, cut the whites of the eggs into rings, and in the hollow of each put a little bunch of mustard and cross, and alternate these with a few stars, or some other devices out out of beetroot, for garnishing. The salad dressing should be ao thick that it will only just admit of being poured upon the salad. Pickled tomatos can be used instead of fresh ones, if more convenient.

SALAD of COOKED VEGETABLES.—Boil in good jelly stock the white part of two or three sticks of celery and one large or small onion, according to taste. When quite tender, pulp these through a fine sieve, and stir to them equal parts of thick cream and the stock in which the vegetables were boiled. Bring the whole to boiling point, when stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs. Allow the sauce to cool, stirring occasionally ; when cold, add very gradually chili vinegar and salt to taste. Cover the bottom of your dish with nicely-flavoured tomato sauce, then a layer of beetroot as in preceding recipe, and cover the whole with the sauce, which should be nice and thick and very smooth in appearance. Ornament with rod capsicum and whole capers, and a border of watercress round the edge of the dish.   ---  LIANE.

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