"Now good digestion wait on appetite,
And health on both." - Macbeth.

Rule For Selecting Fish

If the gills are red, the eyes full, and the whole fish firm and stiff, they are fresh and good; if on the contrary, the gills are pale, the eyes sunken, the flesh flabby, they are stale.

Baked Codfish

Choose a good sized fresh codfish, prepare it for cooking without beheading it, fill the inside with a dressing of bread crumbs, a finely chopped onion, a little chopped suet, pepper and salt and moisten all with an egg. Sew up the fish and bake, basting with butter or dripping. If butter, beware of too much salt.

Baked Codfish

Pick very fine one cup of codfish; soak several hours in cold water; have ready two cups of mashed potatoes and mix well with one egg, a cup of milk, one half cup of butter, little salt and pepper; put this in a baking dish and cover the top with bread crumbs; moisten with milk; bake one-half hour.

Curried Fish

One pound cooked white fish, one apple, two ounces of butter, one onion, one pint of fish stock, one tablespoon curry-powder, one tablespoon flour, one teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar, salt and pepper, six ounces of rice. Slice the apple and onion, and brown them in a pan with a little butter, stir in them the flour and curry powder, add the stock by degrees; skim when boiling and simmer slowly one half hour, stir in them the lemon juice, also a very small teaspoon sugar; strain and return to the saucepan, cut up the fish into neat pieces, and put them into the saucepan also, when quite hot dish with a border of rice.

Moulded Salmon

One tin of salmon chopped, one cup fine bread crumbs, four eggs broken in four tablespoons melted butter, one teaspoon chopped parsley, pepper and salt to taste. Put into a plain buttered mould and sprinkle with flour, cover and steam one hour.

Sauce for the above: - One teaspoon cornstarch, a little butter, one and one half cups of milk, pepper, salt and nutmeg to taste. A little tomato ketchup or anchovy sauce added. When it comes to the boil, add one well beaten egg; pour round the mould and serve hot.

Creamed Salmon

One can salmon minced fine, draw off the liquor. For the dressing, boil one pint milk, two tablespoons butter, salt and pepper to taste. Have ready one pint of bread crumbs, place a layer in the bottom of the dish, then a layer of fish, then a layer of dressing, and so on, leaving crumbs for the last layer, and bake till brown.

Fish Cream

One can of salmon, one quart of milk, one cup of flour, one cup of butter, three eggs, one cupful of bread crumbs, one half cupful grated cheese, one onion, one bunch of parsley, two bay leaves. Take the canned salmon, or boil a fish, and when cool take out the bones and break the fish in small pieces. Put on to boil one quart of milk, an onion, a bunch of parsley, and two bay leaves; after boiling strain through a colander, then add a cup of flour mixed smooth with cold milk and a cup of butter; beat up three eggs and pour into the mixture. Put in a baking dish alternate layers of fish and cream until the dish is full, putting cream top and bottom. Place on top one cup of bread crumbs and one half cup of grated cheese. Salt to taste, and cayenne pepper. Bake twenty minutes.

Fish Mould

Boil a fresh haddock, remove the bones and pick it in pieces, soak some bread in milk; put the fish, bread, a small piece of butter, one or two eggs, pepper and salt together in a bowl and beat them well together. Put the mixture in a mould and steam, turn out, and garnish with parsley. Tomato sauce is nice poured round the mould when turned out. The fish should be about twice the quantity of the bread.

Tomato Sauce

Six tomatoes, two ounces butter, one half ounce flour, one half pint stock, one teaspoon of salt, one fourth teaspoon of pepper. Place the tomatoes in a pan and pour over them the stock, add salt and pepper. Place the pan over the fire and cook all slowly for half an hour. Place a wire sieve over a basin and rub the tomatoes and stock through the sieve. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour stir well together, pour over the tomatoes and stock and stir all over the fire till boiling, when the sauce is ready for use. Tinned tomatoes do not take so long to boil.

Fish Scallop

Remains of cold fish of any sort, one half pint of cream, one half tablespoonful anchovy sauce, one half teaspoonful made mustard, one half teaspoonful walnut ketchup, pepper and salt, bread crumbs. Put all the ingredients into a stew pan, carefully picking the fish from the bones; set it on the fire, let it remain till nearly hot, and stir occasionally. Then put in a deep dish, with bread and small bits of butter on top; put in the oven till nearly browned. Serve hot.

Fish Pie

Boil one haddock, take the best part of the fish, one pint of milk and a piece of butter as large as an egg, half a cup of flour, two yolks of eggs, stir together, and then mix well with the fish. Put in a pudding dish, and take a half cup of bread crumbs, half a cup of grated cheese, put in the oven for ten minutes, salt and pepper to taste.

Potted Herrings

Scale and clean fresh herrings, then taking the fish by the tail you can easily remove the backbone drawing it towards the head. The smaller bones will melt in the vinegar; remove the heads and roll each fish up, tail end inside, and wind a thread round each roll, lay them in the vessel they are to remain in till used, a stone earthernware crock is best. Make scalding hot with spices as much vinegar as will cover them, pour it over the fish and keep them hot about the stove for about an hour, when they will be well cooked through; do not let them boil or they will break. Keep in a cool place. Spices: whole white pepper, whole allspice, and a blade of mace if it is liked.

Lobster Cutlets

Mince the lobster fine, and season with pepper and salt, make good and thick with drawn butter. Mix with the lobster enough to make it stick together. Shape with the hands into cutlets, roll in bread crumbs and fry in hot lard.

The Sauce: - Make rather a thin custard, season with pepper, salt and a little nutmeg and chopped parsley, place over the cutlets.

Lobster Stew

Take a boiled lobster and split it open, cut the meat into small pieces and put into a saucepan with one pint of milk; when boiling add two tablespoons of flour dissolved in a little water, and boil ten minutes. Season with salt, pepper and a small piece of butter. Just before serving pour in a wineglassful of sherry. Canned lobster may be used with very good results.