Cream Sauce For Fish

Knead very smoothly together with a strong bladed knife, a large teaspoonful of flour with three ounces of good butter; stir them in a very clean saucepan or stewpan, over a gentle fire until the butter is dissolved, then throw in a little salt, and some cayenne, give the whole one minute's simmer, and add, very gradually, half a pint of good cream; keep the sauce constantly stirred until it boils, then mix with it a dessertspoonful of essence of anchovies, and half as much vinegar or lemon-juice. The addition of shelled shrimps, or lobster cut in dice, will con vert this at once into a most excellent sauce of either. Pounded mace may be added to it with the cayenne; and it may be thinned with a few spoonsful of milk should it be too thick. Omit the essence of anchovies, and mix with it some parsley boiled very green, and minced, and it becomes a good sauce for boiled poultry.

Butter, 3 ozs.; flour, 1 large teaspoonful: 2 to 3 minutes. Cream, 1/2 pint; essence of anchovies, 1 large dessertspoonful (more if liked); vinegar or lemon-juice, 1 teaspoonful; salt, 1/4 saltspoonful.

The Lady's Sauce. (For Fish.)

Pound to a very smooth paste the inside coral of a lobster with a small slice of butter, and some cayenne; rub it through a hair-sieve, gather it together, and mix it very smoothly with from half to three-quarters of a pint of sauce tournée, or of cream fish-sauce, previously well seasoned with cayenne and salt, and moderately with pounded mace; bring it to the point of boiling only, stir in quickly, but gradually, a tablespoonful of strained lemon-juice, and serve it very hot. When neither cream nor gravy is at hand, substitute rich melted butter, mixed with a dessertspoonful or two of essence of anchovies, and well seasoned. The fine colour of the coral will be destroyed by boiling. This sauce, which the French call Sauce a l'Aurore, may be served with brill, boiled soles, grey mullet, and some few other kinds of fish: it is quickly made when the lobster butter of Chapter XIV (Curries). is in the house.

Coral of lobster, pounded; cream-sauce, or sauce tournée (thickened pale veal gravy), 1/2 to 3/4 pint; lemon-juice, 1 tablespoonful; salt cayenne, and mace, as needed. Or: rich melted butter, instead of other sauce; essence of anchovies, 2 dessertspoonsful; other seasoning, as above.

* The Maitre d'Hotel is, properly, the House Steward.

Observations:

The proportion of spices here must, of course, depend on the flavouring which the gravy or sauce may have already received.