Fish (Also Called A La Lucullus)

Slice three middling-sizea onions and fry them with one ounce of butter till turning yellow; add three or four pounds of fish (bass, pike, trout, salmon, and the like), any fish having a firm and compact flesh, of one or several kinds; add also two carrots, two onions, and one leek, all sliced; four stalks of parsley, one of thyme, one clove of garlic, a bay-leaf, one clove, six pepper-corns, salt; cover the whole with cold water, set on a good but not brisk fire, boil gently for about two hours. If the water is boiling away, add some more; then strain, and use.

This broth may be used for bisque and fish sauces, instead of beef-broth.

It may be made rich; for instance, instead of three pounds of fish, use six, seven, eight pounds, or more, and seasonings in proportion.

Louis XV. was on a visit to the monastery of Saint Denis one day during Lent; after having walked all over the grounds and gardens, he was offered a cup of broth by the superior.

Being a little fatigued, he took the cup and drank the whole at one draught.

In going back to Versailles, one of his suite, who did not like the monk-superior, adroitly alluded to the cup of broth, and managed to persuade the king that the monk had done it on purpose; that is, had made the king partake of meat-broth, when it was forbidden by the Church.

The next day the monk-superior was sent for and brought before the king. On hearing the object of the summons, he asked the king if the broth had indisposed him. Being answered in the negative, he begged to be allowed to prepare the same broth before the king himself, which he did, and from that time till his death the king used to send several hundred pounds of fish during Lent to the monks of Saint-Denis.

Frog

Skin and put the hind-legs of two dozen of frogs in cold water for an hour; drain and put them in a saucepan, and set it on a slow fire; stir now and then till they are turning yellow, then take them off and chop the flesh rather fine; put back in the pan with a carrot sliced, a stalk of celery and one leek, both chopped, a little salt, and cover the whole with water. Simmer for about two hours; mash the whole through a colander, add butter which you stir and mix in, and it is ready for use.

This broth, taken warm before retiring, is excellent for persons having a cough or cold.

It is also excellent for consumptive persons, and is only second to snail-broth.

Another

Take the hind-legs of fifty well-skinned green frogs, put them in cold water and a little salt for half an hour - drain them; then put them in a crockery kettle, with a leek, half a carrot, two stalks of celery, a middling-sized parsnip, a turnip, two onions, one clove of garlic, two ounces of fat bacon, a little salt, and white pepper ; cover the whole well with cold water, set on the fire, simmer gently about four hours; strain, pour on croutons, and serve.

The hind-legs of the frogs are taken from the strainer, placed on a dish, and served at breakfast the next day, with a white sauce, or in fricassee, as a chicken.