Bisque Of Clam

Drain fifty small clams. Bring the liquor to boiling point and skim. Chop the clams fine, add them to the liquor and cook gently for ten minutes. Then press through a sieve. Put one quart of milk into a double boiler; add to it a bay leaf. Rub together two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour, and stir carefully into the milk. Cook slowly until it thickens. Now, add a teaspoonful of onion juice or grated onion, and turn in the clam mixture. Stir carefully for a moment, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Remember this must not be boiled after the clam has been added to the milk. If you have white stock in the house the soup is greatly improved by having instead one quart of milk, one pint of milk and a pint of stock.

Club Clam Soup

Drain fifty small clams, then chop them fine. Mix the liquor and the clams, and add one quart of cold water, about two tablespoonfuls of chopped ham, one large onion sliced thin, quarter of a teaspoonful of mace and a sprig of parsley. Bring this slowly to a boiling point. Rub together two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour. Stir them into the soup carefully, add just a dash of salt and a quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Bring to boiling point, then take from the fire and turn in one pint of hot milk, to which you have just added the well-beaten yolks of four eggs. Stir quickly and serve with squares of toasted bread.

Bisque Of Salmon

Wash well a half cup of rice. Put it into a quart of water and boil rapidly for thirty minutes. Then press it through a puree sieve and add to it the salmon from a one pound can, removing first all the bones, skin and oil. Now press this again through a sieve; add a teaspoonful of salt, bay leaf, tablespoonful of grated onion and half teaspoonful of pepper. Stand it over the back part of the stove until it is steaming hot. Heat one quart of milk in a double boiler. Rub together two tablespoonfuls of butter and two of flour. Stir this carefully into the milk and stir until perfectly smooth and thick. Then add a level tea-spoonful of salt; turn this mixture into the other, remove the bay leaf, bring to scalding point, and serve. If you like this soup a little deeper color, add a few drops of cochineal.

Halibut may be used in precisely the same way, of course, keeping the soup perfectly white.

Mock Oyster Soup

Select about one dozen roots of salsify. Scrape them and throw at once into cold water to prevent discoloration. Cut the salsify crosswise into thin slices. Put them into one quart of cold water and add about two ounces of codfish. This is best in one solid piece. Simmer gently for thirty minutes and remove the codfish. Have ready one pint of milk heated in a double boiler. Add it to the salsify, then stir in carefully one table-spoonful of butter and two of flour that have been rubbed to a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper. Then, just as you take it from the fire, add another teaspoonful of butter, cut into pieces, and it is ready to serve.