Fish Cakes

Take codfish (either fresh or salt) that has been boiled the day before. Carefully remove the bones, and mince the flesh. Mix with it a quantity of warm mashed potatos, (mashed with butter and milk) in the proportion of one third codfish, and two thirds mashed potatos. Add sufficient beaten egg to make the whole into a smooth paste. Season it with cayenne; and, if the mixture seems dry, moisten and enrich it with a little butter. Make it into cakes about an inch thick, and as large round as the top of a common sized tea-cup. Or into round balls. Sprinkle them well with flour.

Fry them in lard, or beef-drippings. When one side is done turn them over. Drain them, and send them to the breakfast table. If approved, you may add to the mixture two or three onions boiled and minced. Any large cold fish may be dressed in this manner for next morning's breakfast.

Rock-Fish

Rock-fish are generally plain boiled, (with the heads and tails left on,) and they are eaten with egg sauce, (hard boiled eggs chopped, and mixed with melted or drawn butter,) seasoned with a little cayenne. Put on the side of your plate, any nice fish sauce from the castors. Some serve up rock-fish with hard boiled eggs, cut into halves, and laid closely in a row along the back of the fish; half an egg being helped to each person. Cold butter is then eaten with it. We think this a very nice way.

Blue fish, white fish, and black fish, may be drest in this manner. Also, sea-bass.

Black Fish And Sea-Bass

Are all boiled in the same manner, having first carefully scaled, and drawn, and well washed them. In drawing fish take care that the whole of the inside is nicely scraped from the back-bone, all along. When ready, dredge a clean soft cloth with flour, wrap the fish in it; lay it on the strainer of a fish-kettle, and put it in plenty of water, into which has been thrown a small table-spoonful of salt. Keep it steadily boiling near half an hour. Take it carefully out of the cloth, drain it on the strainer, and keep it warm. Send to table with it egg-sauce.

Eat mashed potatos with it.

Frying. - To fry the above fish, - cut them in two or three pieces; wash them and wipe them dry; score them with deep cuts, and season with cayenne and a little salt - dredge them with flour, and fry them brown in a pan nearly full of boiling lard.

Any fish may be fried in this manner.

Fresh Cod

A fine codfish should be very thick about the neck; the eyes lively; the gills red; and the flesh firm and white. If flabby, it is not good. It is in season from October till May. After scaling, emptying, washing, and drying, cover it, and let it rest for an hour. Then put it on in a fish-kettle of cold water, (hard water if you can procure it,) throw in a small handful of salt, and let the cod heat gradually, skimming it well. Boil it gently, but steadily, till thoroughly done. Then, take it out of the kettle, drain it, and keep it warm till ready to go to table. No fish should be allowed to remain in the water after the boiling is quite over. Serve it up with oyster or lobster sauce.

You may broil fresh cod in steaks, or fry it in cutlets. For frying fish, you may use beef or veal drippings, with the fat skimmed off carefully. Mutton fat (which is tallow) is unfit for all cookery.