Chapter Eight

CHOWDERS

FISH, GAME, MEAT, POULTRY, AND VEGETABLE, INCLUDING FISH STEWS CONSIDERED AS SOUP, AND BOUILLABAISSE

Clam chowder is one of those subjects, like politics or religion, that can never be discussed lightly. Bring it up even incidentally, and all the innumerable factions of the clambake regions raise their heads and begin to yammer.

CHOWDERS

[489]

 

ALAS, WHAT CRIMES HAVE BEEN COMMITTED IN THE NAME OF chowder! Dainty chintz-draped tearooms, charity bazaars, church suppers, summer hotels, canning factories—all have shamelessly travestied one of America’s noblest institutions; yet while clams and onions last, the chowder shall not die, neither shall it sink into the limbo of denatured, emasculate, forgotten things.

Clam chowder, mind you, is not a bisque, not a French potage, not a delicate broth for invalids. A certain famed American, Mrs. Malaprop, is credited with saying indignantly when a friend remarked about her daughter’s frail physique: “Delicate? Nonsense! My daughter is one of the most indelicate young women in Boston!” And by the same token, clam chowder is essentially one of the most indelicate of our national dishes. It is rude, rugged, a food of body and substance—like Irish stew, Scottish haggis, English steak and kidney pie—a worthy ration for the men and women of a pioneer race and for their offspring.

Whence, you may indeed ask, came the word “chowder”? Do you wonder whether it is perhaps an Indian name like so many others borne by our native dishes, such as samp and succotash? No, the trail in quest of chowder origin leads us over the vast waters of the Atlantic, and begins first in the little fishing hamlets and villages of Brittany, famed fishing villages that originated naturally a community enterprise in the guise of faire la chaudière, or “prepare the cauldron.”

After a fishing expedition, when the men were back home from the sea with their catch, it became the custom to celebrate with a huge pot or cauldron of soup or stew, to which each man of family contributed some share or ingredient. Some brought fish, others vegetables, still others seasonings and spices, and everything went into the pot-all together and at once. Each family participated equally in this steaming aromatic brew, around which gathered much festivity, quite after our own fashion of a village fair or festival, or perhaps like our first Thanksgiving dinner. And there too were prepared weddings en masse during the pardon, which continued for several days.

It matters not whether you belong to the milk or to the water party in the chowder cult. Clams and onions and salt pork are the fundamentals on which to concentrate. Much was said about onions in relation to Spanish omelets, and much must be said of onions and clams when chowder is in the balance. “Take a dozen clams and one small onion,” says a certain undeservedly popular cook book, taking the name of clam chowder in vain. A dozen clams, forsooth! Take at least three dozen good soft clams if your family is a small one. Men and women of Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bay never sat down to less than a peck of clams apiece. And then take at least three large onions and a good third pound of the finest fat salt pork, and follow up the recipe, Clam Chowder I (No. 502).

Manhattan chowder? Yes, but it came from Gloucester, Swampscott, Nahant, Cohasset, Scituate, all around the Cape, and up and down Narragansett Bay from the Point to Providence. In more spacious days, good trenchermen downed a quart of clams, with lobsters, crabs, bluefish, and green corn, all roasted in steaming seaweed that was banked on superheated rocks. And all the good men who were still conscious finished off with half a watermelon.

They make all the varieties there, no matter what you call them. If you prefer a milk or cream chowder, leave tomatoes out of the recipe, and use only a pint of water, then follow up Clam Chowder II (No. 503).

Many of these French fisherfolk crossed the Atlantic to settle in Newfoundland, bringing, of course, their chaudière, or cauldron, along with them. And only a little distance farther, either in New England, or across that narrow link of water called Long Island Sound, each claims to be the original home of the chowder. For by this time, the “big stewpot,” or chaudiere, had been contracted and modified into the Yankeefied “chowder.” Naturally the New Englander, with an abundance of sea food at his very doorstep, continued mightily in the chowder tradition. He made it of fish, he made it of clams, he made it of oysters—or he made it of all three—and added another little seasoning tidbit, such as diced salt pork, chopped bacon, thyme, and other fragrances out of the spice cabinet. Now and again he added milk, or still later, and lower down the Middle Atlantic seaboard, he began to add tomatoes. Thus started the famous food controversy, still, if ever, to be settled, as to whether chowder should be made with milk or with tomatoes.

Here is a recipe in verse for clam chowder, dated 1834, and anonymous:

To make a good chowder and have it quite nice
Dispense with sweet marjoram, parsley, and spice;
Mace, pepper and salt are now wanted alone,
To make the stew eat well and stick to the bone.
Some pork is sliced thin and put into the pot;
Some say you must turn it, some say you must not;
And when it is brown, take it out of the fat,
And add it again when you add this and that.
A layer of potatoes, sliced quarter-inch thick,
Should be placed in the bottom to make it eat slick;
A layer of onions now over this place,
Then season with pepper, and salt, and some mace.
Split open your crackers and give them a soak,
In eating you’ll find this the cream of the joke;
On top of all this, now comply with my wish
And put in large chunks, all your pieces of fish;
Then put on the pieces of pork you have tried.
In seasoning I pray you, don’t spare the cayenne;
’Tis this makes it fit to be eaten by men.
After adding these things in their regular rotation
You’ll have a dish fit for the best of the nation.

Note. Fish broth and milk are to be added.

The old-fashioned soup tureen is back in style for anyone so fortunate as to possess one. But lacking this, a chowder party can enjoy the dish served in a gayly painted or peasant-type bowl. A large pottery salad bowl is very smart indeed, accompanied by round bowls of capacious size. These chowders serve 6 to 8 persons.

BEAN CHOWDER I

[490]

Middle West method

 

Wash 1½ pounds of red kidney beans thoroughly in several changes of water, and soak overnight in 2½ quarts of cold water. Drain, and cover with 2 quarts of fresh cold water. Add 2 large onions, chopped, 1 large bay leaf tied with 6 sprigs of fresh parsley and 2 whole cloves, ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves, 1 teaspoon of salt, teaspoon of pepper, and a No. 2½ can of tomatoes, liquid and solid. Gradually bring to a boil, lower the flame, and cook gently for 1½ hours, or until the beans are tender, but not mushy. Then add 2 cups of small potato cubes, 1 medium-sized green pepper, chopped, and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes just begin to be tender. Then add 6 frankfurters in ¼-inch slices, and cook for 10 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning, and serve in hot soup plates, each dusted with finely chopped parsley. Any kind of salted crackers may be served as a side dish with this almost-a-meal soup.

BEAN CHOWDER II

[491]

Mulligan method

 

Fry ½ pound of bacon until crisp over a gentle flame. Set aside, and use half of the drippings in the pan or kettle. First make a layer of 2 large sliced potatoes, then a layer of 3 large onions, sliced thin, seasoning with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves (not powdered thyme) as you go along, then a layer of 1½ cups of cooked navy beans, fresh or canned (or any other kind of beans). Top the beans with 1 large green pepper, finely chopped. Repeat these layers of ingredients. Pour over 2 cans of tomato soup or juice. Gradually bring to a boil, lower the flame, and let simmer gently for 1 hour. Taste for seasoning, and serve in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with a little of the crisp bacon, chopped.

BISCAYNE CODFISH CHOWDER

[492]

 

However great the consumption of codfish in the United States, the cod is not exclusively ours. There are many other nations and peoples that depend on it for food and look on that food with favor. Outstanding among these is Portugal, a chowder-lover like ourselves. Perhaps the ancient Portuguese originated chowder—no one knows. But we do know that their modem descendants make a chowder called caldeirada a pescadora, a mixture of sliced fish, onions, sorrel, parsley, garlic, olive oil, white wine, and thin slices of bread. And we do know that the Portuguese discovered the delicacy of cod liver when it is sautéed. They take the livers from the cod, roll them in seasoned flour, and sauté them in butter over a gentle flame, like ordinary liver. One such bit from a ten-pound cod makes a royal breakfast or luncheon treat.

Such a treat in Portugal, of course, is always prepared under the guidance of Saint Anthony, who stands, in his wooden or plaster image, on every kitchen shelf. Saint Anthony is also the patron saint of the fisherman, so that the fishwife has good cause to respect him, and to pray to him for a safe voyage home for her men. But not always is he given all the reverence which is his due; for when Saint Anthony has miscalculated the proportion of the ingredients that go into a chowder, or into any other dish, and dinner is a failure, he receives the blame–and sometimes most pointedly. Never, we assure you, is the cook at fault; always it is Saint Anthony, and occasionally an irate wife administers to him a vigorous spanking and a temporary banishment to the well outside, to hang there head down for penance. The next meal is usually a good one.

 

For six large servings, put in a saucepan the trimmings of a 4-pound codfish, 1½ quarts of cold water, 2 large tomatoes, pounded, 1 large bay leaf, 10 whole peppercorns, 2 whole cloves, and 10 sprigs of parsley. Heat gently until the boiling point is reached, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a soup kettle, and add the codfish, boned and cut into small pieces, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped celery stalk, 1 cup of cooked shrimps, peeled and black veins removed, coarsely chopped, and salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, and let simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Stir in 1 cup of scalded medium cream sauce, and allow the chowder to boil up once again. Then let it simmer gently while you prepare fish balls.

Fish Balls. Put 1 cup of raw codfish (or any other white-meat fish), free from bones and skin, through the finest knife of the food chopper. Combine the fish paste with 1 fresh egg, slightly beaten, 2 tablespoons of fine bread crumbs, a blade of mace, 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped chives and parsley, a dash of cayenne pepper, and ½ generous teaspoon of salt, more or less, according to taste. Shape this mixture into a dozen and a half small balls. Salt the chowder to taste, and bring it to a brisk boil. Add the fish balls and 2 cups of raw potatoes, cut in small dices, and cover the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Correct the seasoning as needed. Serve the chowder with finger-shaped pieces of toast rubbed with garlic butter, after stirring into the chowder 3 tablespoons of sweet butter.

Note. Salmon, halibut, flounder, or turbot may be substituted for codfish in this delicious recipe which is a meal in itself.

BLACKFISH CHOWDER

[493]

American

 

The blackfish is one of the most interesting and venerable of all American fishes. It’s a living fossil, the sole surviving species of a once numerous order that lived in very early geologic times. Its survival, unchanged over practically all other forms of life of that time shows that it has remarkable qualities of endurance. The male is marked with a dark spot at the base of the tail. It is known under many aliases, according to locality, such as bowfin, mudfish, lawyer, cotton-fish, speckled cat, scaled ling, grindle, choupiquel, dogfish, and so on, and is in season the year round. Its average size is from one to two feet, the male being smaller than the female.

 

Dice 4 ounces of salt pork small, and try in a soup kettle until crisp. Lift out the cracklings with a perforated ladle and keep hot. To the fat remaining in the kettle, add 3 stalks of celery, chopped fine, 1 large green pepper, chopped fine and free from seeds and white ribs, 1 small clove of garlic, mashed, and 3 medium-sized onions, peeled and finely chopped. Cook, stirring almost constantly, until the vegetables are just beginning to brown. Then add 4 pounds of cleaned blackfish, washed and skinned and cut into 2-inch pieces. Pour over 1¾ quarts of hot water (or fish stock made from trimmings including the skin); 2 cups of potatoes, diced small; ½ cup of carrot, scraped, then cubed small; 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 6 sprigs of parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves, tied together with kitchen thread; ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves (not thyme powder); 1 teaspoon of salt; and ½ scant teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground. Bring slowly to the boiling point, and simmer gently for 25 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of scalded cream, and let boil once. Taste for seasoning, and serve at once with the hot cracklings on the side and a tray of Cracker Puffs (No. 779).

Note. Sea or fresh-water bass may be substituted for blackfish in this Middle West recipe.

BURGER VEGETABLE CHOWDER

[494]

Estonian

 

Beware of buying bargain-price hamburger at any time, at any place. It is usually from the less desirable cuts and may be excessively fat so that it shrinks badly in cooking. Grind the meat yourself, and choose chuck or plate beef for grinding whether for patties, balls, or loaf. Both round and flank steaks are too lean to make juicy hamburger, and the chuck and plate cuts are more economical in price. Ready ground “burger” may contain as much as 25 per cent fat, according to government regulations. Since it’s lean meat that counts for protein, it’s often more economical in the long run to select a lean piece of meat and have it ground or grind it at home.

 

Form 1 pound of ground beef into tiny balls about the size of large grapes, after seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter or other fat in a soup kettle, and in it brown the burger balls, turning them with a wooden spoon. When delicately brown, add 6 cups of boiling water gradually, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Add 2½ tablespoons of washed rice. Reduce the flame, cover, and let simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add 1 cup of minced onions, 1 cup of potatoes, diced small, 1 cup of fresh or canned tomato pulp, ½ cup of scraped carrots, diced small, 1 large bay leaf, 2 whole cloves, 1 generous teaspoon of salt, a generous dash of pepper, and ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves. Cover, and let simmer gently for 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Then stir in 2 teaspoons of beef essence (commercial), 1 cup of chopped spinach leaves, and 2 tablespoons of minced parsley. Cover, and continue cooking for 5 minutes longer, or until the spinach stems are wilted. Taste for seasoning, stir in 2 tablespoons of butter, and serve in hot soup plates with freshly made buttered toast.

CARROT CHOWDER

[495]

American

 

References to carrots are frequent in records: in China from the thirteenth century on, in Japan in 1712, in India in 1826, in Arabia in 1775, in Europe by nearly all the writers and herbalists since 1536, in Virginia in 1609, in Brazil in 1647.

Eat the raw carrot, said the medical authorities, and you will get all the carotene (from which vitamin A is produced in the liver) it is possible to get. Whether the juice squeezed from raw carrot or that from steamed carrot gives the more carotene isn’t known as yet.

 

Scrub enough carrots to make 2 cups (do not scrape or pare), and cook them with 2 cups of diced potatoes in 1½ cups of Beef Stock (No. 114), or water, reinforced with 1 teaspoon of Pique Seasoning, salt, pepper, and a dash of paprika to taste, for about 20 minutes, or until almost tender. Meanwhile, cook ½ cup of chopped onion in 5 tablespoons of butter very, very slowly until tender, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, using a large saucepan. Sprinkle the onion with 2 tablespoons of flour, and mix thoroughly. Then stir in 3 cups of hot milk, alternately with the carrot-potato and liquid mixture. Cook over a very low flame for about 15 minutes. Stir in ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves (not powdered thyme). Taste for seasoning, and serve in hot soup plates, each garnished with finely chopped chives, and with a side dish of freshly made whole wheat toast, buttered whole wheat crackers, or heated buttered saltine crackers.

CARP CHOWDER IN RED WINE

[496]

Austrian

 

Although the history of Cyprinus carpio—carp’s name, officially—is lost in antiquity, its original home was China. Of yellowish tinge on the sides, shading to bronze above, with scales of considerable size—in summer the flesh has a muddy flavor, which is eliminated by keeping live fish in fresh water for a time, or by skinning and soaking in cold water. The winter carp is much preferred, especially during the holidays of those of the Jewish faith. They are never sold “dressed,” but in the “round,” meaning fish as caught, head on, insides intact.

In Vienna, Prague, and Warsaw, one may find the indolent carp, soft fins moving slowly, in tanks framed in the walls of every little café. For Christmas dinners in these cities, carp is as essential as turkey to an American Thanksgiving. This fresh-water fish is known under different names, according to locality, such as winter carp, buffalo fish, golden carp, and so on. A favorite dish made with this lean fish in Vienna is this chowder.

 

Chop coarsely 4 slices of bacon, and brown in a soup kettle. Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter creamed with 2 tablespoons of flour, and blend thoroughly; then add a 2-inch piece of parsley root, ½ cup of chopped celery heart, 6 whole peppercorns, freshly crushed, cup of chopped onion, 1 large bay leaf, ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves, 3 thin slices of lemon, seeded, 3 cups of fish stock made with the trimmings of the fish, 2 cups of good red wine, and a 4-pounds carp, cleaned, skinned, and cut into inch pieces. Season with salt to taste. Bring very slowly to a boil, lower the flame, and let simmer very gently for 40 minutes, covered. Fish out the bay leaf, and taste for seasoning. When ready to serve, stir in 2 tablespoons of sweet butter creamed with 1 scant teaspoon of paprika. Serve in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with a little chopped parsley.

CATFISH CHOWDER

[497]

American

“Don’t talk to me o’ bacon fat,
Or taters, coon or ’possum;
Fo’ when I’se hooked a yaller cat,
I‘se got a meal to boss ’em.”

THE DARKEY AND THE CATFISH

The catfish has long fleshy feelers (whiskers), smooth scaleless skin, and a small fleshy fin to the rear of the dorsal fin exactly as in salmon and trout. This fresh-water fish consists mostly of head. It’s a toothsome morsel when properly cooked. It is of different varieties and aliases, such as bullhead, Easter or Holy Cross, horned pout, channel catfish, blue cat, mud cat, tadpole, mad tom, and so on, and measures from one foot, reaching a weight from one to forty pounds. The smaller the fish, the better.

 

Fry 3 slices of chopped bacon until brown. Drain the excess bacon drippings, leaving only 3 tablespoons. Stir in 1½ tablespoons of flour, stirring constantly until brown. Add ¾ cup of chopped onion and ¾ cup of small potato cubes, and stir until partly cooked. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne pepper. Add 1 scant cup of tomato catsup, ¾ cup of chopped celery leaves, 4 cups of hot water, and 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then add 1 large bay leaf, 2 whole cloves, and ½ generous teaspoon of thyme leaves (not thyme powder), and let simmer gently for 25 minutes. Then add 3¾ to 4 pounds of cleaned catfish, cut into inch pieces. Cover, bring to a boil, and let simmer gently for 25 minutes. Do not stir, as this breaks the fish pieces, but run a perforated ladle on the bottom of the kettle. Taste for seasoning, and if the liquid is or seems thin, add a little flour paste. Boil for a few minutes. Serve in hot soup plates with corn muffins or hot biscuits.

CAULIFLOWER CHOWDER

[498]

American

 

Early historians placed cauliflower and broccoli in one botanical variety, and it was not until 1724 that broccoli was mentioned separately. It is believed that the Romans knew them both, in which case they have been in cultivation for a considerable period of time, but little is known of their history.

This “cabbage with a college education,” as some gourmets call the cauliflower, requires some care when used in cookery. To keep it white and mild flavored, cook it quickly in boiling salted water, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes if the flowerets are separated, for 25 to 30 minutes if the head is left whole. Fine quality in cauliflower is indicated by a white or creamy white clean, heavy, firm, compact curd or flower head. The jacket or outer leaves which protect the head should be fresh, firm, and green. A compact clean curd means a minimum of waste, and such a head is easily prepared for cooking. Large and small heads may be equally mature. “Riceyness” is the term used to describe the granular appearance when the flowerets of cauliflower have begun to grow. Yellow leaves may indicate staleness or age, but are not important if the curd is otherwise of good quality. Avoid spotted, speckled, or bruised curd.

 

Soak 1 medium-sized head of cauliflower in cold water for 25 to 30 minutes, head down to allow any sand or foreign matter to fall to the bottom of a deep pan. Drain, rinse in slightly salted water, and drain again. Break into flowerets in a soup kettle, and add a bouquet garni composed of 1 large bay leaf, 6 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves, 2 whole cloves, all tied with kitchen thread. Cover with 2 quarts of hot water, and cook for 15 minutes. Drain, reserving the broth and the bouquet garni. Return the broth to the fire, and bring to a boil, letting it boil down until reduced to about 3 cups. To the broth, add ½ cup of tiny potato cubes, ½ cup of tiny carrot cubes, ¼ cup of finely chopped onion, and ¼ cup of finely chopped green pepper, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the cooked flowerets of cauliflower, 5 whole peppercorns, freshly crushed, ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves, and 1 quart of scalded milk. Let boil once, and taste for seasoning. Just before serving in hot soup plates, stir in 3 tablespoons of butter creamed with 1½ tablespoons of flour. Bring to a boil, and let boil 2 or 3 times. Serve with a side dish of bread and butter finger sandwiches. For effect, you may sprinkle over each plate a little paprika.

CELERY CHOWDER

[499]

Swiss

 

Celery, which belongs to the parsley family, has grown wild and been used as a medicine for hundreds of years. The wild plant is a native of marshy places in European regions extending from Sweden to Algeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia, and eastward to the Caucasus. It was not until 1623 in France that any mention was made of a cultivated variety. The wild variety was called smallage, and it was a herb eaten to purify the blood. In 1686, it was claimed that smallage transferred to culture becomes milder and less ungrateful. In Italy and France, the leaves and stalks are esteemed as delicacies, eaten with oil and pepper.

 

Scrape enough outer stalks of celery to make 2 cups when finely chopped. Chop enough leaves of celery, the green ones as far as possible, to make 2 cups. Place the chopped scraped stalks and chopped leaves in a soup kettle. Add 1 large bay leaf, 2 whole cloves, and ½ generous teaspoon of thyme leaves, and 1 peeled large potato, freshly grated. Pour over 3 cups of cold water. Do not salt as yet. Cook over a gentle flame until the celery is tender, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, blend 2 tablespoons of butter with 1½ tablespoons of flour over a gentle flame, stirring constantly until the mixture just begins to bubble. Gradually stir in 3 cups of scalded milk with 1 cup of cream, stirring constantly from the bottom of the pan until the mixture boils; let boil for 3 or 4 minutes, then season to taste with salt and white pepper. Gradually add to the milk mixture the cooked celery and broth, and bring to a boil. Let boil for 3 or 4 minutes, and taste for seasoning. When ready to serve, stir in 2 fresh egg yolks and the hard-cooked whites of the yolks, finely chopped. Serve in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with finely chopped parsley.

CHICKEN CHOWDER DINNER

[500]

Massachusetts method

New England is my home, ‘tis there
I love the pagan Sun and Moon.
’Tis there I love the growing year,
December and young-summer June.

PHILIP HENRY SAVAGE

In New England, there is an imperishable quality about the home instinct which has continued through generations—a heritage from the early sturdy pioneers who braved untold hardships in a new land and hewed homes out of a wilderness.

The soil and the sea are ever the important factors in developing the characteristic cookery of a country; and in New England, it is interesting to note the part that sea and farm play in the diet. Here is an old, very old chowder dinner recipe from New England, in fact, from Massachusetts.

 

This will serve 12 generously. Simmer 1 six-pound fowl in 2 quarts of water until tender, after adding 1 large bouquet garni, composed of 2 large bay leaves, 10 sprigs of parsley, 3 sprigs of green celery leaves, and 1 generous sprig of thyme, 8 peppercorns, gently bruised, and salt to taste. Remove the chicken, and cut the meat into large cubes. Let the broth become cold, remove the fat carefully, then return the chicken cubes to the broth, and let stand in the refrigerator overnight to mellow and get tender.

On the day the chowder is to be served, try out ¼ pound of cubed salt pork. Add 2 medium-sized onions, sliced thin, and sauté slowly in a little chicken fat until light brown. Place pork and onions in the bottom of a large soup kettle. Add 4 cups of hot water; 6 cups of raw potatoes, cubed small; 1 tablespoon of salt; 1 bouquet garni, composed of 2 large bay leaves, 2 small parsley roots, scraped, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 sprigs of green celery leaves, all tied together with kitchen thread; and 8 peppercorns gently bruised. Bring to a boil, and let simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, but still firm. Bring the chicken stock and meat to the boiling point, then add 1 quart of scalded rich milk, or 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of cream, with 4 tablespoons of sweet butter. Discard the bouquet garni from the potato mixture, and combine the two mixtures. Stir well, and just before serving, stir in ½ cup of freshly cooked rice. If the mixture is not thick enough, stir in a little flour diluted in a little cold milk. Boil for a few minutes. Serve as hot as possible in hot soup plates, each garnished with 2 or 3 small Egg Balls (No. 672).

CLAMS

[501]

 

The clam, which plows its way along sandy bottoms, standing erect on the edge of its shell, is obtained wholly by raking in water of various depths. It is interesting to see the clam digger waiting in silence for the slow retreat of dragging waters from the dripping sand, knowing perfectly well the sea must give consent before his feet may trespass on the bivalved borderland between the gray dunes, while the gull-winged garrulous sea birds watch his labor and wait to get their share of clams, soft or hard.

The quahog, quatog, quahaug, or quohog, as the hard clam is known in New England, is the original name bestowed on it by the Indians who used the purple margin of the shell for making their dark wampum or money. It’s the “luxury” clam—firm-textured and sweet—and the chief commercial clam on our east coast, and is abundant from Cape Cod to Florida.

There are hard and soft clams, and the hard ones are classified according to their size. They are also called chowder clams. The middle-sized clams are cherrystones, and the smallest of all are the littleneck clams. These delicious little bivalves are usually served on the half shell or in cocktails, since for them “boiling is spoiling.” But they may be substituted for the oyster in many of the traditional baked oyster favorites.

The soft or “steamer” clams are choice morsels, because they have absolutely everything a sea food should have. They are of a different character, having comparatively thin, smooth elongated shells. They remain sunk in the sand of the shore, between tidemarks, with their syphon mouth just at the surface, and when disturbed, they eject a spurt of water as they withdraw to safer depths.

Soft clams or “steamers” are steamed open before being brought to the table. The first step to enjoy a dish of steamed clams is the “bearding” of the clam—that is, removing the black hood from the neck, together with its trailing “veil.” The opened soft-shelled clams are usually served on a deep dish or large platter. An ovster or dinner fork is used to remove the clam from the shell and the black cap from the head. At the side of each plate should be a small dish containing melted butter sauce mixed with lemon or onion juice, and hot, and each clam should be dipped into the sauce before eating.

There is no closed season on clams. They really come into their own in summer, or in warm weather when conditions make clam digging easy. Soft clams are seldom seen in the winter, but hard clams are never out of season.

The sand clam is as important on the Pacific coast as the hard clam is on the east coast. It is used especially in chowders. The surf clam, sometimes called jumping clam, is one of the largest bivalves on the Atlantic coast. The California species looks like the littleneck. There are several of this species, which are greatly relished on the Pacific coast, namely the solid surf, the beaked surf, and the mattock surf.

The rosy razor is the common clam of southern California. It is a smooth, pinkish white, flattened, straight tube clam, and its flesh is considered a delicacy along the coast. In flavor it is unsurpassed, especially in chowder.

The giant rock clam, also known as the dweller, Oregon, or Vancouver clam is a large edible clam of the Northwest. It has the general form of the eastern hard-shelled species, and is found in great abundance in the Aleutian Islands and Monterey Bay.

The Morton or trading clam is extensively used for chowders, the young ones serving as littleneck or cherrystone clams. It is very popular on the Florida coast.

The giant Callista clam is found from Cape Hatteras to Texas. It is shaped and painted like a rainbow—blue, lilac, or gray on a pale ground. It is especially abundant on the beach of western Florida and is widely used for chowders and cream soup.

The spotted Callista clam is oval, with a shiny surface, and fawn colored with broken radiating bands of violet brown. It is extensively used for chowders.

The Tiveta, thick-shelled, or three-angled clam is one of the finest as well as one of the largest California species, with the flavor of the surf clam, and is greatly used for chowders and cream soup.

The ribbed carpet clam has a thin podlike shell oval, radially ribbed (hence its name) often marked with chevrons of darker shades. It is found abundantly and used extensively for chowders and cream soup all along the west coast, especially north of San Francisco.

The netted carpet clam is distinguished by the very fine crisscrossing of sharply chiseled lines on its valves. It is found in great quantities on the Pacific coast and used for chowders and cream as well as bisque soup.

The giant Washington clam is the largest of all the surf clams and is found in large quantities on the Pacific coast. It is oblong, rounded at both ends, and is a noble and estimable shellfish, which beats any other clam yet discovered for chowders, clam purée, clam loaf, clam fritters, clam soups, clam pies, and clam sauce. It has nearly the consistency of the oyster as well as its flavor.

CLAM CHOWDER I

[502]

New England manner

 

“Take a dozen clams and one small onion,” says a certain undeservedly popular cook book, taking the name of clam chowder in vain. A dozen clams, indeed! Take 3 dozen good tightly closed clams, if your family is a small one. Then take 3 large onions and pound of the finest fat salt pork. Cut the pork into half-inch dice, and brown slowly in an iron skillet; then slice the onions thinly into the pork fat, and let them turn to golden brown rings. Meanwhile, wash the live clams, using a brush to get rid of all sand, and heat them slowly in a pan till the shells open. Save the juice, cut the coarse membrane, then chop half of the clams, not too finely, and keep the rest whole. Put the pork, onions, clam juice, and a quart of boiling water in a soup kettle. Add 3 peeled large tomatoes; 1 bunch of leeks, cut fine; 2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced; 2 young carrots, scraped and diced small; 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley; a generous pinch of thyme leaves; 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon of salt; ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper; and a slight grating of nutmeg. Let the mixture boil up smartly, then reduce to the simmering point, and put in 2 large potatoes cut in neat small dices. Prepare a roux by browning 1 tablespoon of flour in 1½ tablespoons of butter, and make it creamy and smooth by stirring in a little broth from the kettle before the potatoes begin to soften. Simmer slowly until the potatoes are just right, then stir in the roux and 2 pilot biscuits, coarsely crumbled, and add ½ generous teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and a dash of Tabasco sauce.

Sit down and enjoy religiously the real, original New England clam chowder.

CLAM CHOWDER II

[503]

Manhattan manner—so called

 

Manhattan chowder? Yes, but it came from Gloucester, Swampscott, Nahant, Cohasset, Scituate, all around the Cape, and up and down Narragansett Bay from the Point to Providence. In more spacious days, good trenchermen downed a quart of it as a mere prelude to a peck of clams, with lobsters, crabs, bluefish, and green corn, all roasted in steaming seaweed that was banked on superheated rocks. And all the good men who were still conscious finished off with a half a watermelon.

They make all the varieties up there, no matter what you call them. All the flavors and seasonings are highly essential, but the pinch—a generous one—is vital, like the pinch of saffron in bouillabaisse.

 

Proceed as indicated above, but leave tomatoes out of the recipe, and use only a pint of water. When the chowder is ready to serve, bring 3 cups of milk to a boil, and add it to the chowder off the fire, with a cup of rich cream, heated, but not boiled.

CLAM CHOWDER III

[504]

Manhattan manner

 

This is still another variant of Clam Chowder I (No. 502), which retains the tomatoes, but ¼teaspoon of soda is stirred in before the milk and cream are added, to prevent curdling, and the color and flavor are effective and satisfying.

Variations to Clam Chowder I, II, III. (a) Two No. 1 cans of minced clams may be used instead of fresh clams. (b) When served in colorful peasant earthenware bowls, you may crumble some crackers in bowls before pouring in the chowder. (c) Canned tomatoes or even tomato juice may be substituted for fresh tomatoes. (d) Shucked clams may be used instead of freshly opened clams. (e) To make the chowder more substantial, especially when it takes the main dish place, the Midwesterners add 1 cup of canned cream-style corn.

CLAM CHOWDER IV

[505]

Pacific Coast manner

 

Have ready 1½ quarts of rich Beef Stock (No. 114), or use water. Stir in ¾ cup of rich tomato sauce or tomato puree, bring to a boil, and let simmer gently for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook 3 or 4 slices of bacon, chopped, until just beginning to take on a nice light brown color. Skim off the pieces of bacon, and in the drippings, cook ¾ cup of chopped onions until tender. Add to the soup kettle, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add 2 cups of raw potatoes, cubed small, ½ cup of raw carrots, cubed small, and ¾ cup of celery stalk, cubed small. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, a generous dash of Worcestershire sauce, and ½ teaspoon of thyme leaves. Cook gently until the vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes), then stir in 2 cups of fresh clams, chopped, or 2 cups of canned minced clams. Serve very hot with freshly made buttered toast.

CLAM GUMBO CHOWDER

[506]

Creole

 

The species of okra are numerous. The okra in general use, both in the East and West Indies and in the United States, as an article of food is the Hibicus esculentus. Its name in the West Indies is gobbo, and it is an important ingredient of West Indies pepper pot, erroneously called Philadelphia pepper pot. Because okra has long been associated with Creole gumbos, the pods are frequently called gumbo.

 

To any of the first three clam chowders, add, when ready to serve, 1 cup of canned gumbo or okra.

CLAM AND OYSTER CHOWDER

[507]

Creole

 

Clean and pick i pint of shucked oysters, reserving the liquor. Chop the oysters, and add to the liquor. Clean and pick 1 pint of shucked clams, reserving the liquor. Remove the hard parts, and chop them. Add to the clam liquor, putting aside the soft parts. Combine the oysters and clams, heat slowly to the boiling point, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook together 1 cup of small raw potato cubes and 1 cup of small raw carrot cubes until tender. Drain, and add to the oyster-clam mixture, mixing thoroughly. Let simmer gently for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt, cayenne pepper, and teaspoon of thyme. Then pour over 1 quart of rich milk, scalded with 1 large bay leaf and 6 thin slices of onion, discarding the bay leaf and onion slices before adding. When ready to serve, stir in 3 tablespoons of butter creamed with i tablespoon of flour. Let boil once, and let simmer gently for 3 or 4 minutes, Serve in hot soup plates, each garnished with a few oysterettes and dusted with a little chopped parsley.

CODFISH CHOWDER I

[508]

Biscayne style

 

There are two places on the crust of this small bubble, the earth, in which the humble but powerful creature, the codfish, is beatified, if not actually canonized, and they are Portugal—a land peculiarly set apart from the rest of Europe—and Cape Cod—which could be no more insular if it were entirely surrounded by water.

The codfish capital of the world is Gloucester, where “Cape Cod Turkey” is handled by the ton, and all other fish by the pound. The consecrated effigy of the sacred cod is enshrined under the golden dome on Beacon Hill, yet the Cape may well be regarded as the “Land of the Cod,” with Boston and environs holding fast to the bean. And never believe that any portion of the Bay State east of the Berkshires despises or rejects the cod, for it is perpetually a staple commodity in every town and village, to the greater glory of Gloucester. There may be two or three Massachusetts Yankees still living who can vaguely remember some doggerel lines that were chanted in the middle of the state about Civil War time, though cause and source must be forgotten:

“Barret for beauty,
Petersham for pride;
If it hadn’t been for codfish
Dana would have died.”

Some day the whole history of codfish as a New England asset and institution must be written, and then perhaps the true story of Portuguese influence in the industry may be found out, though it seems always to have been smugly ignored. The beautiful and heroic traditions of New England have been kept singularly free from “foreign” taint by the New Englanders, with rarely more than a brief apologetic reference to an occasional red Indian who came and went, yet a sort of isolated Portuguese colonial life was planted along the strands and among the cranberry bogs of the Cape, and it still survives, strangely enough, with much credit to the sturdy Portuguese stock which has resisted complete assimilation.

And it is significant that codfish is as substantial and important an asset to the Portuguese nation as the celebrated wines of Portugal are, or ever have been. The people of that narrow but populous strip of the peninsula of southern Europe feast on prodigious quantities of sea food, and wash it all down with prodigious libations of good wines. While the grape never got a firm foothold on Puritan soil, it seems logical enough that the immigrant “Portagee” fishermen who swarmed all over the old colony in the early days must have had more than a little to do with the founding of a colossal industry, as well as with the attendant customs and traditions.

Clam chowder and fish chowder most certainly are not of old England, but no New England cook book has ever credited the Portuguese settlers with a finger in the stew. Yet today, across the Atlantic in Portugal, a caldeirada a pescadora is made according to our kitchen exploring.

 

Put in a saucepan the trimmings of a 4-pound codfish, 1½ quarts of cold water, 2 large tomatoes, pounded, 1 large bay leaf, 10 whole peppercorns, 2 whole cloves, and 10 sprigs of fresh parsley. Heat gently until the boiling point is reached, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a soup kettle. Add the codfish, boned and cut into small pieces, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion, 2 tablespoons of finely chopped celery stalk, 1 cup of cooked shrimps, coarsely chopped, and salt and thyme leaves to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, and let simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to prevent scorching. Stir in 1 cup of medium cream sauce, and allow the chowder to boil up once again. Then let it simmer gently while you prepare fish forcemeat (fish balls).

Fish Forcemeat or Fish Balls. Put 1 cup of raw codfish (or any other white-meat fish), free from bones and skin, through the finest knife of the food chopper. Combine the fish with 1 egg, slightly beaten, 2 tablespoons of fine bread crumbs, a blade of mace, 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped chives and parsley, a dash of cayenne pepper, and 1 scant teaspoon of salt (more or less, according to taste). Shape this mixture into a dozen and a half small balls. Bring the chowder to a brisk boil, add the fish balls, 2 cups of raw potatoes, cut in small dices, and 1 cup of scalded milk. Cover the pan, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Taste for seasoning, and stir in 2 tablespoons of butter creamed with 1 teaspoon of flour (more or less, according to desired thickness of the broth). Boil once, and serve in hot colorful earthenware soup bowls with finger-shaped pieces of toast, rubbed with garlic and buttered. Salmon may be substituted for codfish in this recipe.

CODFISH CHOWDER II

[509]

Maine manner

 

So important was the cod in the early history of this country that it was placed on the colonial seal of Massachusetts, and also on a Nova Scotian banknote with the legend, “Success to the Fisheries.”

The cod is one of the most prolific of fish. A female thirty-nine to forty inches long produces about three million eggs.

 

Skin and bone a 4-pound cod, and cut it into 2-inch pieces. Put the head, tail, skin, and backbone of the fish, cut into small pieces, in a saucepan with 2 cups of cold water and 1 bay leaf tied with 6 sprigs of parsley and 3 sprigs of celery greens. Bring this mixture to the boiling point, season to taste with salt and pepper, and allow it to boil gently for 25 minutes. Cut a 1½-inch cube of fat salt pork into small cubes, and render the fat over a gentle flame. Add 3 thin slices of onion, and allow them to cook gently for 5 minutes. Then strain the fat into a large stew kettle, and let it boil for 5 minutes longer. Add the pieces of fish, and after 5 minutes, add 1 quart of scalded milk. Allow the whole to simmer for another 15 minutes, after adding the strained fish broth. Let boil once, stir in 1 tablespoon of butter creamed with 1 teaspoon of flour, and let simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and just before serving, stir in 3 tablespoons of butter. Serve in hot soup plates with a soda cracker or a pilot biscuit, moistened in cold milk, in each plate.

SALT CODFISH CHOWDER I

[510]

Italian—Zuppa di Baccala

 

Heat 4 tablespoons of good olive oil in a soup kettle. Add 1 cup of thinly sliced onions, and cook until just beginning to take on color. Then add the chopped white parts of 2 small leeks, and 2 cloves of garlic, mashed, and continue cooking for 5 minutes longer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Then stir in 2 cups of boiling water, 1 bottle (4 cups) of dry white wine, and 1 large bay leaf tied with 6 sprigs of fresh parsley and 2 cloves. Season to taste with salt, 6 freshly crushed peppercorns, and teaspoon of thyme leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil, and add 2 cups of small potato cubes, ¾ cup of small carrot cubes, 2 pounds of salt codfish (which has been soaked in cold water overnight, drained, and cut into inch pieces), and 1 small pinch of saffron. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and serve in hot soup plates, after discarding the bouquet garni, with a side dish of grated Parmesan cheese and freshly made toast.

SALT CODFISH CHOWDER II

[511]

Home style

 

Cut pound of salt pork into small cubes, and render in a soup kettle. Then add ¾ cup of coarsely chopped onions and 5 medium-sized potatoes, pared and sliced thin, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Add 2 pounds of salt codfish, soaked overnight in cold water, drained, and cut into inch cubes. Pour over 2½ cups of boiling water. Add 1 large bay leaf tied with 6 sprigs of fresh parsley and 3 sprigs of green celery leaves, 2 whole cloves, a thin slice of garlic, and salt, pepper, and thyme to taste. Cover, bring to a boil, and let simmer gently for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the salt cod beginning to thread. Stir in 1 quart of scalded milk. Bring to a boil, taste for seasoning, and serve with a side dish of freshly made buttered toast in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with a little chopped chives. Should the mixture be thin, you may thicken it with a little butter creamed with an equal amount of flour, and boil once or twice before serving.

 

Aztec Indians utilized cocoa beans by grinding them with corn and dried codfish, then adding water, and seasoning the resultant soup with chili, spices, and herbs.

CODFISH CHOWDER DINNER

[512]

Ouka Russkaia—Codfish and Caviar Chowder

 

Cut in julienne fashion the white parts of 2 small leeks, 2 medium-sized carrots, 2 stalks of celery, carefully scraped, 1 medium-sized white turnip, and 1 large green pepper. Wash the matchstick vegetables in cold water, and sponge in a dry towel. Heat cup of butter, add the vegetables, and cook over a gentle flame for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Pour over 1 quart of Fish Stock (No. 8), made from 2 pounds of fish trimmings or cheap fish, stirring well. Then add 3½ pounds of fresh codfish, skinned, boned, and cut into inch pieces, cup of well-washed uncooked rice, 1 large bay leaf, very little salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, and teaspoon of thyme leaves. Cover, bring to the boiling point, lower the flame, and let simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of hot sweet cream mixed with 3 tablespoons of caviar. Bring to a boil, and serve at once, after tasting for seasoning, in colorful peasant earthenware bowls, with a side dish of brown bread and butter finger sandwiches and a hot dish of anchovy fritters.

Julienne of Anchovy Fritters. Wash 1½ dozen anchovy filets in several changes of lukewarm water, to which has been added 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Drain and sponge dry in a towel. Cut each filet into 3 strips lengthwise, and dip into a fritter batter—pâte à frire. Place a few at a time in a wire basket, and when ready to serve, plunge the basket once into clear hot deep fat. Drain, and dress on a folded napkin, then cover with deep fat-fried parsley.

CORN CHOWDER I

[513]

Home style

 

An old Oregonian game law permits fish to be caught using single kernels of corn as bait, but makes it a misdemeanor to feed fish on canned corn.

 

Brown lightly ½ cup of salt pork, cut in small dices. Stir in 4 thin slices of onion (more or less, according to taste), and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add 1 small bay leaf tied with 4 or 5 sprigs of parsley, salt and pepper to taste, and 1 sprig of sage. Stir in 1 cup of raw potatoes, diced small, and 2 cups of hot water, and cook until the potatoes are tender. Thicken the mixture with 3 tablespoons of flour mixed with a little cold water or milk. Then mix 2½ cups of canned or freshly cooked whole kernels of corn with 3 cups of scalded rich milk, and stir this mixture into the first. Bring the whole to a boil, and remove from the fire. Correct the seasoning, adding salt, black pepper, and thyme to taste. Just before serving, stir in 2 fresh egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of sweet butter. Serve in hot soup plates, each dusted with finely chopped parsley or chives, and serve very hot.

CORN CHOWDER II

[514]

Pioneer method

 

In 1706, twenty settlers’ brides, imported from France by the Governor of Louisiana, staged the “Petticoat Rebellion” when they found that corn was to be the principal food item in their new homes.

 

Try out slowly 1 cup of cubed pork fat back in a frying pan until it is smoking. Add 1 cup of chopped onions, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Then add ½ teaspoon of paprika, salt to taste (remembering that the pork is already salted), pepper to taste, and ¼ teaspoon of thyme leaves. Transfer the whole into a soup kettle. Add ½ cup of chopped pimientos, ½ cup of chopped green pepper, 2 well-packed cups of corn, freshly grated from the cob, 2 cups of small cubed raw potatoes, and 3 cups of hot water. Cook for 1 long minutes. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, and mix in 2 tablespoons of flour. Gradually pour into this butter-flour mixture 2¼ cups of scalded rich milk, stirring constantly until the mixture boils; then pour the whole into the chowder. Cook very gently until the mixture thickens, stirring often. Serve in hot earthenware bowls with old-fashioned New England biscuits or crackers on the side.

 

When the Bavarians were threatened with famine at the close of the eighteenth century, an American, Benjamin Thompson, saved the day by introducing them to corn meal mush. While grateful, they didn’t enjoy the meal in the least.

CORN CHOWDER III

[515]

Michigan method—no milk used

 

Cut the kernels from 6 large ears of corn. Measure, and set in a cool place for later use. Now break or cut the cobs into small pieces, and place them in a soup kettle with 1 quart of cold water. Cover, and let cook steadily over a gentle flame for 40 minutes to extract all the minerals and flavor from the cob pieces. Drain, and add to the liquid 1½ cups of fresh lima beans and the corn pulp, and set aside. Now add 1 extra large onion, sliced in rings, 1½ cups of diced raw potatoes, a bouquet garni composed of 1 bay leaf, 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, and 1 sprig of thyme tied together with kitchen thread, 1 blade of mace, ½ teaspoon of allspice, and 10 peppercorns. Cover, and let cook for 25 minutes. Then add 3 tablespoons of butter kneaded with 2 generous tablespoons of flour. Let simmer gently for 10 minutes longer. Season with 1 scant tablespoon of salt. Discard the bouquet garni, and serve hot in bowls with pilot crackers, split in two and toasted lightly.

 

Old-fashioned Maine cooks still “thribble the hulled corn,” cooking it until the grains are three times their normal size, and serving it with milk and sugar as a breakfast dish.

CORN CHOWDER IV

[516]

New Jersey manner

 

Heat ¼ cup of butter. Stir in 1 large onion, sliced thin in rings and each ring separated, and 1 cup of finely chopped green pepper, and cook 5 minutes over a very low flame, stirring frequently. When the onion is transparent, stir in 2 cups of boiling water, boiled with 1 large bay leaf, 1 whole clove, and 1 small whole clove of garlic, and then strained. Continue cooking for 5 minutes longer, then stir in cup of boiled rice, and season to taste with salt, black pepper, and ½ scant teaspoon of thyme leaves. Then stir in 2 cups of freshly scraped corn. Let simmer gently for 10 minutes, then stir in 1 quart of scalded rich milk. Bring to the boiling point, taste for seasoning, and serve in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with finely chopped parsley. Pass a side dish of your favorite crackers.

Variation. For seashore flavor, you may add ½ to ¾ cup of cooked or canned crab meat, carefully boned and flaked.

CRABS

[517]

 

Most hard-shelled crabs are popularly known as blue crabs. They form the basis of the crab-meat industry, coming principally from Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and particularly Chesapeake Bay. Those that migrate to fresh waters are called sweet-water crabs.

The fiddler crabs are abundant in Tampa and Key West, Florida. They travel in large schools, often numbering thousands.

Soft-shelled crabs are highly perishable and must be handled with care. In reality, they are the hard-shelled or the blue caught while changing their shells.

The king, giant, or Dungeness crab, found on the Pacific Coast, resembles the hard-shelled species, but is about four times as large.

Oyster crabs are expensive, and only Father Neptune himself would know how many there are to the pound. These pygmies are soft-shelled and come from Maryland and Virginia Cape waters. This little crab is a “sponger”; it takes shelter with the oyster.

The stone or Moro crab is a native of the South Atlantic from Carolina to Florida and farther south. The claws are sold ice-packed.

The hermit crab is known as the fighting crab. It is of the hard-shelled type with its back denuded and concealed in a large empty shell which it drags along.

Deep-sea crab meat is firm and succulent, with a specially pleasing rich tangy or salty flavor. All that is needed to pick over the meat is to slightly separate it from the bones or cartilages, preferably using a silver fork. This is what is called, in many recipes, flaking crab meat. Once the meat is so flaked, it is immediately ready for use in many hot and cold dishes, which number into the hundreds.

The Strange Life Story of the Crab. Fishermen say the crab is “in berry” when the bristles of the underparts of the crab are crowded with red eggs. On the smaller crabs, there may be half a million, but on the aged and full-sized, over two million eggs may be glued or impaled about the protected part of the crab’s body.

The incubation takes many months. Not until summer warms up the sea edges will the mother crab begin to brush off her young. The tiny crustaceans will not walk, but swim, looking first like young shrimps, then like lobsters, molting three or four times before sinking to the sea floor, there to walk for the rest of their lives. These myriads of swimming crabs, so small that the sea water is milky with them, are the relished food of countless other fish from sea anemones to whales, hence their millions. Crabs are sea scavengers, turning all fish waste into tender fresh crablets that are food for all other fish and, should they survive long enough, for bird and man also.

The crab’s growth is not gradual but by bounds, if not leaps. He puts his skeleton outside his skin for protection, making it so hard that he cannot stretch it, nor can he add to it, as do the oyster and clam. When his armor has become too tight, it must be cast off. This will not happen regularly, but according to the plenitude of food he has found. His molting is a very serious operation and must be done under the shelter of a stone or crevice in the rocks. Before growing, he must reduce, withdrawing all the water possible from his system, softening his muscles. The big shield on his back is loosened at the edges, to be pushed off; such castoffs are often seen on the shore. He draws up his legs and claws from their coverings and is a limp defenseless creature when creeping from the old casing.

While soft, his skin expands, so that the new armor must be larger. He has been carrying lime in solution in greater quantities than usual, and this begins to harden over his tender skin. He may eat the smaller parts of his old skeleton to help in forming the new. He will be a finer fellow when he walks out again, but he is careful not to walk out too hurriedly. His gait seems curious to walkers on two legs. His footless three-kneed legs move sideways, and when he stops, he sits with legs forward and vicious claws before his legs, a defensive and offensive attitude. Should he lose a leg in an encounter, he may have an imperceptible limp until the next molt, when a new joint will appear, repairing former damage.

The ebbing tide may leave him stranded, but that concerns him little. It is a youthful escapade to run from rock to rock or pool to pool in waterless air, as boys play in and out of water. Older crabs are more staid. They keep under water in the ebb-tide shallows. Several lie in an eelgrass pool, sheltered and well fed. One, large as a man’s hand, resents disturbance, for underneath she bears more berries than any old bush that ever grew on the hillside.

CRAB MEAT, CELERY, AND EGG CHOWDER

[518]

 

Scrape, then chop fine, enough outer stalks and leaves (tops) of celery to make 4 cups. Wash by placing the chopped celery in a fine sieve, and let cold water run over, shaking well to remove all sand, if any. Have ready a kettle containing 2 cups of boiling water; a bouquet garni, composed of 2 sprigs of thyme, 10 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 large bay leaf, 1 whole clove, and 2 sprigs of fennel, tied together with kitchen thread; 1 slice of garlic; and ½ cup of chopped onion. Add 1 extra large potato, pared and grated. Bring to a boil, season to taste with salt and pepper, lower the heat, and allow to simmer very gently while making the sauce. In a saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter, blend in 2 tablespoons of flour, and when smooth and bubbling, gradually add 1 quart of scalded milk, stirring constantly until the mixture boils. Turn this sauce into the celery mixture (first discarding the bouquet garni), and bring to a boil. Remove from the fire, and beat in gradually 2 slightly beaten egg yolks. Return to the fire, boil only once, and taste for seasoning. Pour into a heated soup tureen containing 1 cup of canned or cooked crab meat, carefully boned and flaked, 1½ tablespoons of finely chopped chives, 2 hard-cooked egg whites, coarsely chopped, and 1 teaspoon of paprika, all well mixed. Stir well to heat the crab meat, and serve in a heated bowl with saltine crackers.

CRAB MEAT CHOWDER

[519]

Home style

 

Remove the meat from 8 to 10 hard-shelled crabs, and chop fine (or use 1 can of crab meat, boned and flaked, then chopped fine). Place in a soup kettle, and pour over 1 quart of Fish Stock (No. 8), 1 cup of stale bread crumbs, 1 small onion, finely chopped, 1 large sprig of parsley, a pinch of thyme leaves, and 1 small bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then let simmer very slowly for 20 to 25 minutes. Strain, forcing a little, through a sieve. Return to the fire, and add 2 tablespoons of butter kneaded with 2 tablespoons of flour. Bring to a rapid boil. Let simmer 10 minutes after adding 1 cup of cream, and seasoning to taste with salt, white pepper, and a few grains of cayenne pepper. Just before serving, add 1 tablespoon or more of flaked crab meat, or 2 tablespoons of cooked diced shrimps, and 1 tablespoon of butter.

CRAB MEAT CORN CHOWDER

[520]

American

 

Combine 2½ cups of fresh grated corn, or cream-style canned corn, a slice or two of onion, the more the better, and 2½ cups of scalded rich milk. Cook this mixture over boiling water for 20 minutes. Then remove the onion, if you like, and force the rest of the mixture through a coarse sieve. Add 2½ cups Thin White Sauce (No. 346); bring the whole to the boiling point. Stir in 2 fresh egg yolks, one at a time, beating briskly after each addition. Season to taste with salt, white pepper, thyme, and a grating of nutmeg. Then stir in 3 cups of scalded rich milk. Just before serving, stir in 1 cup of flaked crab meat, either freshly cooked or canned, and 1 tablespoon of butter. Serve very hot with salted crackers.

CRAB MEAT AND SHRIMP GUMBO CHOWDER

[521]

Creole

 

Sauté 1 cup of minced onions, ¾ cup of minced celery (using stalk and leaves), 1 clove of garlic, minced, and 3 tablespoons of green pepper in ¼ cup of butter or bacon drippings in a heavy soup kettle, stirring frequently for about 4 or 5 minutes. Stir in 3½ cups of strained cooked or canned tomatoes and 2 cups of hot water. Season to taste with salt, black pepper, ½ scant teaspoon of thyme leaves, and a few grains of cayenne pepper. Add 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, and 1 sprig of tarragon leaf, tied together with kitchen thread, and cook for 20 minutes over a gentle flame.

Wash ½ pound of okra, trim the stems, and slice the pods ½ inch thick. Cook in 2 cups of water in a covered pan for 15 minutes, and add to the first mixture. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Then add ¼ pound of cooked, shelled, and chopped shrimps, ½ pound of cooked, fresh, or canned crab meat, flaked and free from any cartilage, and ¼ cup of cooked rice. Taste for seasoning. Discard the bouquet garni, and when ready to serve, stir in 1 cup of milk mixed with 1 cup of cream, scalded with a tiny piece of cinnamon. Serve in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with chopped parsley. Serve a side dish of crackers and of freshly made toast.

DRIED BEEF CHOWDER

[522]

American woodman’s

 

The buccaneers were not originally pirates, but sailors who deserted their ships in the West Indies and dried the beef of stolen cattle into buccan, which is prepared the same as the biltong of the South African Boers.

It is interesting to know how dried beef is prepared. The meat for it comes from the ham of the beef, which is divided into three parts. It is first treated with a mild pickling process and followed with sugar curing before it is smoked over hickory and maple wood. Dried beef prepared in this way is fine in texture, rich red in color, and has a wonderful nutlike flavor.

In preparing the dried beef, one should determine its saltiness before putting it into a dish. Taste it, and if there seems to be too much salt, pour boiling water over and drain it off immediately. The beef is then ready to be converted into various dishes, such as this delicious chowder which our woodmen know so well.

 

Brown ½ cup of minced onions in 3 tablespoons of bacon drippings, or still better, cook over a gentle flame 4 slices of bacon, chopped, until just beginning to brown. Add the chopped onions, and when just beginning to brown, stir in 2 cups of small raw potato cubes, ½ cup of finely chopped green celery leaves, ½ cup of small raw carrot cubes, and ¼ cup of chopped green pepper. Pour over 4 cups of boiling water, then add 1 large bay leaf tied with a 2-inch piece of scraped parsley root and 1 sprig of thyme (or teaspoon of thyme leaves) and 6 freshly crushed peppercorns. No salt at all. Bring to a boil. Lower the flame, and let simmer gently for 25 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy. Then stir in a No. 2 can of corn, 1 can of evaporated milk, and ¾ pound of dried beef. Cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning, being careful with the salt. Discard the bay leaf bundle, and serve at once with your favorite crackers.

EEL AND RED WINE CHOWDER

[523]

Bouillonnée d’Anguilles

 

The eel, this amphibian which creeps on the soil and swims in the water, is thus a “Jekyll and Hyde.” It has two existences, two homes, two regimens. In the rivers, it lunches on small fish; in the meadows, in the evening and especially during the night, it dines on insects. The eel is the undine of the rivers. It slides, gets away, comes back, undulates, steals away anew, is ever sliding and disappearing. The more it is held, the less it is held, and when one thinks one holds it, it is free. The eel is emblematic of deception, but it is not a deception when, as a dish, it is placed on the table.

The eel is perhaps one of the most savory of the fish inhabiting the vivacious and running waters. The mud of the pool is its undoing, as it needs the clear spring. The uninitiated assume that its snow-white and fat flesh is indigestible. Nonsense!

There are still some old mills in Great Britain, operating under ancient leases, that pay a part of their rent for water rights with eels. The old practice is carried out as a mere formality, and only a few of the wigglers are handed over as token payment. Some of these agreements, if strictly adhered to, would require millowners to gather as many as 1000 eels a year.

When the leases, granted by the towns, were first written, eels were plentiful, and millowners scooped them out of their sluices by the hundreds. But with eels currently drawing prices of $2500 a ton in England, millowners would be hard put to it if they were required to adhere strictly to the terms of some of the old contracts.

Eels belong to the Apodes family and are found all over the world in both fresh and salt water. They ascend the rivers and live there for the most part, returning to the depths of the sea in the autumn, or they may bury themselves in mud during the winter.

The eel has minute scales imbedded in the skin. The upper part of the body is blackish in color and the lower is yellowish when the eel is found in muddy water, but the back is a beautiful olive green and the belly a silver white if the habitat is clear water.

The reproduction of the eel has excited the attention of naturalists since the day of Aristotle. Where the eggs are laid is not yet known, whether at the bottom or near the surface of the water. From five to twenty million eggs are laid by each female, and the eel dies after once spawning.

The average length of an eel is two feet, maximum five feet. Its average weight is from one to two pounds, with a maximum weight of ten pounds. The shoestring eel averages one-quarter pound.

Like lobsters, crabs, clams, and oysters, eels should always be bought alive or freshly killed, and skinned at once. Make an incision on the skin, near the head, turn back a little of the skin, hold the head with a dry towel, and pull down the skin bluntly. Clean and wash in several changes of cold water, removing all the blood from along the dorsal bone by passing the finger along the bone.

 

Take 2¾ pounds of freshly killed eel, skinned, washed, and cut into pieces of about 2 inches. Season with mixed salt, black pepper, a dash of nutmeg, and a dash of thyme. Cook in ¼ cup of heated olive oil (the original recipe calls for walnut oil), with 1 cup of tiny small white onions, peeled and left whole, 2 onions stuck with a whole clove, a 2-inch piece of scraped parsley root, 1 large clove of garlic, mashed to a pulp, 1 large bay leaf, and 3 thin slices of lemon, seeded, until the pieces of eel are browned, stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon over a bright flame. Transfer the entire mixture into a soup kettle. Add 3 cups of red wine, 2 cups of Fish Stock (No. 8), ¾ cup of fresh mushrooms, peeled and sliced, using stems and cups, and 3 tablespoons of raw rice, well washed and drained, and bring to a boil. Let simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the eel pieces begin to blister and flake and the rice is tender but not too soft. Remove from the fire, taste for seasoning, and discard the parsley root and bay leaf. Then stir in 3 tablespoons of brandy, slightly heated. Serve in hot soup plates, each garnished with half of a hard-cooked egg white, coarsely chopped, then sprinkled with finely chopped chervil or parsley. Serve with fresh rye bread generously buttered.

EEL CHOWDER I

[524]

Great South Bay method

 

Technically, fish is flesh, old sayings and obdurate appetites notwithstanding. But a number of people are apparently refusing to abide by the technicalities. King Neptune’s bottomless larder is chockfull of edible material. Out of that bountiful monarch’s salty realms, or out of fresh-water lakes or streams, fishermen can, if it is necessary and remunerative, haul in enough provender to defy the worst meat shortage that ever was or ever could be. It’s not enough nowadays for cook to learn about piscatorial anatomy, physiognomy, physiology, psychology, and philosophy (if any) in the kitchen. We admit that chronic meat eaters (as aren’t we Americans nearly all) are a difficult crew to convert. Most of us make shift to do without when the goose flies so high as to be out of reach, and when the cow and the steer jump over the moon, leaving nary rib nor roast for human consumption. Yet let us detect one trace of fowl or flesh (not the fishy kind), and the caveman in us re-emerges with hungry fangs, heading for the butcher shop whence emanates the irresistible lure, or we dispatch our cooks there in a hurry, carrying hopeful market baskets.

Clearly we need re-education, especially about the goodness and nutritive values of more than 800 edible fish found in American fresh and salt waters.

Eels were considered a supreme delicacy in the days before the supermarket and the machine age took the place of the well-stocked cellar and attic. Fifty years ago when the winter country diet of salt meat got monotonous, father would put on his rubber boots, heavy mackinaw, and ear muffs, take his long-handled spear and ax, and call to mother that he was “goin’ eelin’ down to the pond.” There, like as not, he would find several of his neighbors already on the thick ice, jigging their spears through small chopped holes in the soft mud bottom where the big Kneeshaw or silver eel hibernates.

 

Put ½ scant pound of sliced salt pork in an iron kettle, and let fry until the salt pork is nicely browned on all sides. Wash 2½ pounds of freshly killed eel, skinned, and cut into 2-inch pieces, well in slightly salted water, then rinse in fresh cold water. Wipe dry, and dredge in salted, peppered, and thymed flour. Put the eel pieces in the hot salt pork fat to brown quickly over a bright flame, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Add 2 cups of small raw potato cubes mixed with 1 cup of small raw carrot cubes. Then add water enough to cover generously, with 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 sprigs of thyme (or teaspoon of thyme leaves), 2 sprigs of green celery leaves, and 2 whole cloves, all tied together with kitchen thread; 3 or 4 gently bruised peppercorns; salt to taste; and 1 small clove of garlic, mashed to a pulp. Slowly bring this to a boil, and allow to simmer gently for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender and the meat comes off the bones of the eel pieces easily. Serve in hot soup bowls, each sprinkled with finely chopped parsley.

This old-time recipe was used for the annual dinner of the Long Island fishermen and boatmen.

EEL CHOWDER II

[525]

Netherlands

“A youthful eel resided in a tiny tidal pool;
He was lithe as gutta-percha, and as pliable;
From his actions and contractions he appeared to be a fool,
But his virtue was completely undeniable.”

CARRYL

The Hollander housewife thinks of her kitchen as a sanctuary, and her culinary art is a distinctively national and characteristic one. She excels in soup making, and of the hundreds of soup recipes, her eel chowder seems to be the best.

 

Heat 4 tablespoons of butter, and stir in the white parts of 3 small leeks, thinly sliced, and ½ cup of chopped onions, cooking until the mixture just begins to take on color, and stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon, over a gentle flame. Gradually pour over 4 cups of rapidly boiling water, and add 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves, 6 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, and 1 or 2 blades of tarragon leaves, tied together with kitchen thread; 8 whole peppercorns, freshly crushed; a generous pinch of nutmeg, mace, and sage; and salt to taste. Now add 2½ pounds of freshly killed eel, skinned, washed, and cut into 2-inch pieces. Bring to a boil, and let simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the eel pieces are tender and the meat comes off easily. Using a perforated skimmer, lift out the eel pieces, remove the bones, and keep hot. Discard the bouquet garni. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, rubbing well to extract all the pulp possible from the leek and onion. Keep the broth hot.

Clean ¼ pound of spinach, removing the stems, and chop fine. Do likewise with a small head of lettuce, and cook both in 3 tablespoons of butter for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Moisten the spinach-lettuce mixture with a little of the broth, then stir in ½ cup of stale bread crumbs. Let simmer gently for 10 minutes, then add the remaining broth, and continue simmering for 15 minutes longer. Remove from the fire, then stir in 2 fresh egg yolks, one at a time, alternately with 1 cup of scalded sweet cream, stirring briskly after each addition. Add the flaked eel pieces, taste for seasoning, and just before serving, stir in 1 tablespoon of sweet butter. Serve in soup plates, each garnished with a few Croutons (No. 780).

 

French, Scandinavian, and Italian cooks know the tender sweetness of eel meat and they too make the most of it, especially during winter. But American cooks muff their chance for enjoying this delicacy by calling eels snakes and looking superior and shivery if one so much as mentions the slithery things.

FINNAN HADDIE CHOWDER

[526]

Scotch—Smoky Chowder

 

Finnan haddie—haddock smoked and salted—takes its name from the town of Findon, Scotland, where it was first prepared. It was formerly called Findon haddie.

 

Parboil a 3-pound piece of finnan haddie in 1 pint of water for 5 minutes; drain off the water, and save. Place the fish in a shallow pan, and cover with milk. Add 1 large bay leaf, 2 cloves, 3 thin slices of onion, and 1 or 2 thin slices of lemon. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the milk, and skin and bone the fish. Keep hot.

Cut ½ pound of fat salt pork into small cubes, and try out over a low flame. Add the reserved parboiling water, and let simmer gently for 15 minutes. Transfer the mixture into a soup kettle. Add 2 cups of small raw potato cubes, 1 cup of chopped onions, ¼ cup of finely chopped green celery leaves, very little salt, and pepper and thyme to taste, and let simmer gently for 15 minutes. Then add the flaked finnan haddie and the strained reserved milk, and continue cooking until the potato and carrot cubes are tender. Stir in 1 cup of scalded milk, taste for seasoning, and when ready to serve, stir in 2 fresh egg yolks, slightly beaten. Let boil once, and serve in hot soup plates with a side dish of crackers, each plate sprinkled with finely chopped chives.

Part of the enormous catch of haddock of the Grand Banks each year undergoes salting and smoking to become finnan haddie. The fish needs almost no preliminary treatment to be turned into more than a hundred delicious dishes. Haddie is sold by the piece or in filets.

FISH CHOWDER

[527]

Home method

 

Wipe 2½ pounds of any uncooked white-flesh fish (cod, haddock, halibut) with a damp cloth, and place in a kettle with 5 cups of cold water and salt to taste. Slowly bring to a boil, and let gently simmer 20 to 25 minutes. Strain the fish, and return the broth to the kettle. Skin and bone the fish. Set aside, and keep hot. Fry a 1½-inch cube of salted fat pork with 2 onions finely chopped, and add to the broth with 2 cups of diced raw potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are done (about 15 minutes), and return the fish to the kettle. Add 2 cups of strained scalded milk, with a pinch of thyme leaves, 1 small bay leaf, 1 crushed clove, and a sprig of parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a few grains of nutmeg. Add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley. Let heat through, and just before serving, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Serve in hot soup plates, each containing a toasted cracker and a bit of minced parsley.

FISH ROE CHOWDER

[528]

Russian

 

Chop coarsely 2 medium-sized leeks, and cook in 1 tablespoon of butter over a low fire for 10 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of flour. Blend well, and cook for 3 minutes longer. Pour over 1 quart of hot water and 1 cup of white wine. Season with a very little pepper and a piece of parsley root (the size of a hazelnut), finely chopped. Let simmer very gently for 25 to 30 minutes. Strain, pressing a little. Return to the heat, and let continue simmering. Meanwhile, remove the skin and filaments of 1 pound of fish roe (any kind desired), well cleaned and washed, parboiled in salt water, rinsed in cold water, and well drained. Chop very fine to obtain a kind of semolina, and throw into the rapidly boiling broth. Cook for 5 minutes longer, steadily boiling. Reduce the fire, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Off the fire, add slowly, one by one, 3 egg yolks, stirring constantly. Just before serving, finish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Correct the seasoning, and serve with a side dish of brown bread and butter finger sandwiches.

FLOUNDER CHOWDER [529]

French Potage Bagration

 

For 6 generous servings, take 4 filets of flounder (save heads, bones, and skins for later). Sprinkle them lightly with mixed salt and white pepper, and steam them in ¼ cup of butter mixed with ¾ cup of light Beef Consommé (No. 114), or Chicken Bouillon (No. 25), or use canned bouillon, for about 5 minutes. Then stir in 2 more cups of beef or chicken bouillon, previously scalded, 1 cup of dry white wine, ½ cup of chopped mushroom trimmings (canned or fresh), and let this bubble gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, place the bones, heads, and skins of the fish in a saucepan. Add 1 generous tablespoon of chopped onion, 1 generous teaspoon of chopped shallots, 1 bouquet garni composed of 8 sprigs of fresh parsley and 1 bay leaf tied together with kitchen thread, 4 whole peppercorns, crushed, no salt at all, and pour over 3 cups of cold beef or chicken bouillon. Cook for 1 minutes over a very bright flame. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing well with a wooden spoon to extract all the pulp from the solid parts. Add this to the flounder mixture, let boil once or twice, then strain through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean soup kettle, rubbing well to obtain the pulp of the solid parts. Return to the fire, stir in 1 tablespoon of butter kneaded in equal parts of flour. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Let boil again once or twice, and when ready to serve, stir in, off the fire, 3 egg yolks beaten with ½ generous cup of scalded heavy cream and a few grains of nutmeg. Again strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Stir in either ½ cup of cooked chopped shrimps or crayfish, or a dozen poached small oysters, if in season. A side dish of small Croutons (No. 780) is usually served with this delicious chowder.

FROG’S LEG CHOWDER or SWAMP PIGEON CHOWDER

[530]

French

 

Frog’s legs, the gourmet’s delight, a dish fit for the gods, make their appearance on May 1, and continue through September, supplanting oysters on the menu.

There are hundreds of ways to prepare this dish of dishes, but an old French Canadian gave this recipe, which is popular, though seldom presented in this way:

“Now, you take nice, fat bullfrog an’ cut off hin laigs,” the old guide instructed. “Skin heem, soak heem in saalt water, an’ parboil heem. Den you rohl heem in corn meal, or maybe you lak de fine cracker crumbs. After dat you fry heem brown in buttaire, an’—an’ I just ’zactly soon have cheekeen!”

 

Bring 2 cups of rich milk to a boil, and keep hot. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter, and blend in 2 tablespoons of flour until the mixture bubbles, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in the hot milk, stirring constantly from the bottom of the pan. Then season to taste with salt, mignonnette pepper (freshly ground coarse black pepper), and a grating of nutmeg, and bring to a boil. When boiling briskly, add 1 medium-sized onion peeled and stuck with 1 whole clove, 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and left whole, and 1 bouquet garni composed of 1 large bay leaf, 6 sprigs of fresh parsley, 6 sprigs of chives, and 1 sprig of thyme, all tied together with kitchen thread. Let simmer gently for 20 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve into a clean soup kettle. Return to the fire to simmer gently for 10 minutes longer. Then add ¾ cup of small raw potato cubes, ½ cup of raw carrot cubes, and ½ cup of finely chopped celery stalk, which have been cooked for 5 minutes in 4 tablespoons of butter and well drained; 3 cups of dry white wine, scalded; tablespoon of finely chopped green pepper; and 8 to 10 pairs of large raw frog’s legs, boned and the meat flaked. Bring to a boil, and let simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning, and when ready to serve, stir in briskly 2 fresh egg yolks, slightly beaten, stirring constantly. Serve in hot soup plates, each garnished with 2 or 3 tiny Watercress Dumplings (No. 763).

 

The Chinese farmer, strangely enough, discovered a very long time ago that the frog was a valuable ally, for the frog is the mortal enemy of the mole cricket, a dangerous threat to the farmer’s rice crop. Some idea of what the Chinese think about the frog can be realized from the fact that they long ago canonized him, adding a frog god to their temples. We do not go to that extreme, preferring to canonize him in our kitchen.

GREEN CORN CHOWDER

[531]

Middle West manner

 

When the tassel’s on the corn, the home manager may be sure of at least one vegetable which will meet with the approval of all the family and guests. And while corn on the cob is an A-i popular choice with men and boys, corn off the cob provides many additional informal family dishes with that distinctive and delicious corn flavor. The green or uncooked kernels should be cut off with a sharp knife, so that the woody fibrous scales are left behind on the cob, or the use of a kitchen grater will be sure to remove only the tips of “milk” pulp of the kernel. In this cut or pulpy form, corn becomes the chief ingredient of a long array of American entrée or main dishes, as well as the many accessory fritters, pancakes, puffs, and so on, without forgetting the famous Middle West green corn chowder.

 

Dice pound of fat salt pork into small cubes, and fry in a soup kettle over a gentle flame, stirring occasionally. When only tiny cracklings are left, add 1 cup of thinly sliced onions, and cook until the onions are delicately brown, stirring often. Scald 1 cup of pared sliced potatoes with boiling water, and drain at once; then add to the onions and pork cracklings. Pour over 1 pint of boiling Beef Broth (No. 114), and bring to a boil, then let simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add 1 medium-sized green pepper, coarsely chopped and free from seeds and white ribs, 3 cups of strained chopped fresh tomatoes, or strained canned tomato pulp. Season to taste with salt and pepper, a generous ¼ teaspoon of thyme leaves, a dash of nutmeg, cloves, and mace, and 1 small clove of garlic. Bring again to a boil. Allow the mixture to simmer gently for 10 minutes, then add 3 cups of freshly scraped green corn and 2 cups of scalded milk to which has been added a pinch of baking soda. Heat to the boiling point, taste for seasoning, and serve in colorful peasant earthenware bowls, each topped with a pat of butter.

GREEN CORN AND CLAM CHOWDER

[532]

 

Melt ¼ cup of butter or bacon drippings, and blend in 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir in 1½ quarts of milk, scalded with 1 large bay leaf and 2 whole cloves, then strained. Then stir in 2½ cups of freshly scraped green corn pulp, and bring to the boiling point. Remove from the fire, and stir in 1 cup of raw chopped clams, or use the canned kind. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a generous ¼ teaspoon of thyme leaves. Stir in 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped chives and parsley.

Variation. Cut-up mussels may be substituted for clams, if desired.

FLUKE CHOWDER DINNER

[533]

New England manner

 

Approximately 600,000,000 pounds of sea food are caught by the New England fishermen each year, and 85 per cent of the catch represents only ten species of fish, among them the fluke, a small flounder also called craig fluke, an all-around fish weighing from ¼ to 4 pounds, frequently sold under the name of filet of flounder, or even filet of sole.

 

In a heavy kettle, or Dutch oven preferably, try out ½ pound of diced-small salt pork over a gentle flame with ½ cup of hot water. Skim off the cracklings, and keep hot. To the fat, add ¾ cup of thinly sliced onions; ½ cup of finely chopped green pepper; 1 large bay leaf and a 2-inch piece of scraped parsley root, chopped; celery root, the size of a hen’s egg, finely chopped; 1 cup each of small raw potato cubes and carrots; 1 small clove of garlic, mashed; teaspoon of thyme leaves; 8 whole peppercorns, freshly crushed; salt to taste; a tiny pinch each of clove and nutmeg; and 2 cups of fish stock, made from the trimmings of the fish or from 1 pound of cheap white-flesh fish, bones, and all after cleaning. Bring to a boil, let boil gently for 15 minutes, then add a 3-pound piece of fluke. Cover, bring to a boil, lower the flame, and let simmer very gently for 30 minutes. Lift out the fish, and bone and flake it. Return the flaked fish to the kettle or Dutch oven. Stir in 2 cups of thin cream to which has been added 2 fresh egg yolks, well beaten. Let boil once, taste for seasoning, and serve in hot soup plates or bowls, each garnished with a 5-minute boiled egg, carefully shelled. Serve with pilot crackers.

HADDOCK STEW A LA BRETONNE

[534]

Chaudronnée d’Aiglefin

 

The haddock, which is closely related to the cod family, weighs considerably less than the cod, averaging about four pounds, and is like it in appearance and habits. It is easily distinguished by the black lateral line and by the spot above each pectoral fin. Haddock is extremely popular as a food fish and is found only in the North Atlantic. It is dark gray above, whitish below. For some years it abounds, while in others it is very scarce, the cause of which is not understood.

In England, where it is even more popular than in America, a pretty legend is attached to the haddock. It is said to be the fish for which Saint Peter received the tribute money. Indeed, on some large haddocks have been seen finger marks, according to the legend, attributed to that saint. Be that as it may, the fisherman believes firmly in the legend.

 

Clean, wash, bone, but do not skin, and slice a 4-pound piece of haddock. Dice small ¾ pound of bacon, and cook until crisp; remove the cracklings, and keep them hot. In the bacon fat left in the soup kettle, removed from the fire, arrange first a layer of fish, sliced small, then a layer of potatoes, sliced thin, using about ¾ pound. Season each layer with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a few grains of cayenne pepper to taste. Over the potatoes, place a bouquet garni, composed of 2 large bay leaves, 12 sprigs of fresh parsley, 3 sprigs of green celery leaves, 4 blades of fresh tarragon herb, 1 generous sprig of thyme, and 2 leaves of mace, tied with kitchen thread. Repeat with a layer of fish, then a layer of potatoes. There should be three layers of fish and potatoes, seasoned as you go along, topping with a layer of thinly sliced onions, for which use about 1 pound of onions. The kettle should be full up to 3 inches from the top. Now pour enough white wine, mixed in equal parts with tomato sauce, barely covering the mixture. Adjust the lid, return the kettle to the fire, bring to a boil, lower the flame, and let simmer gently for 30 minutes. Then lift the cover, and add 1 cup of white wine and tomato sauce mixed in equal parts. Cover, and let continue to simmer gently for another 25 to 30 minutes. Again lift the cover, slip in gently a dozen strictly fresh eggs, and poach them. In a few minutes, the eggs are poached with the full flavor of the fish, vegetables, wine, and tomato, as well as the seasonings, and the chowder is ready to serve in heated soup plates.

This will serve 12 persons. For less, reduce the quantities of ingredients accordingly.

Do not stir the mixture while cooking, as gradually it will settle down a little and the top will be soupy. A fine dish to be served right from the kettle on the beach or in the garden. Each year, invariably, the fishermen of Brittany serve this chowder or stew on the 11th of August, feast day of Saint Suzanne, when the chaudronnée Bretonne or chaudronnée d’aiglefin (a cauldronful of haddock), is served with many bottles of sparkling cider.

HADDOCK CHOWDER

[535]

American

 

Busy barbers of Brittany in the sixth century served haddock platters to waiting customers. A patron who was cut received his shave free, plus a small flask of wine or a large one of cider, for damages.

 

Place a 3-pound piece of haddock in 3 cups of boiling water with a bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf tied with 6 sprigs of parsley and 1 sprig of thyme. Season to taste with salt and 6 bruised whole peppercorns, and cook until the fish flakes or separates from the bones, or about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the fish stock, and flake the fish, removing all the bones carefully. Meanwhile, fry slowly until crisp cup of finely chopped salt pork in a frying pan. Add to this ½ cup of finely chopped onion and 1 clove of crushed garlic, and cook for 4 or 5 minutes, stirring frequently over a low flame. Add this to the reserved strained fish stock with 3 cups of raw potatoes, diced very small or sliced very thin, 1 quart of sweet milk, previously scalded, and salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce the flame, and let simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes. Discard the bouquet garni, add the flaked fish, and taste for seasoning. Let boil up once or twice, and serve immediately with soda crackers, soaked in milk for a minute, then puffed in a very hot oven, and dusted with finely chopped parsley or paprika.

 

The chowder family is as full of surprises as a grab bag at a country fair, but a chowder is always nourishing and full of flavor, no matter what turns up in it.

HADDOCK FISH-BALL CHOWDER

[536]

German

 

Clean, skin, and bone a 3-pound haddock. Make a fish stock with the bones, skin, and trimmings, which after the first boil let simmer gently on a low fire for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the raw fish meat, then pass through a meat chopper. Mix well with 6 rolled saltine crackers, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and 1 beaten egg, and again pass the mixture through the meat chopper. Shape in small balls. Fry 2 tablespoons of fat salt pork with 4 or 5 slices of onion for 5 or 6 minutes over a low fire, and add to the strained fish stock (there should be 2 cups). Then add the fish balls and 1 cup of raw potatoes, diced small, and cook until the potatoes are tender. Scald 1 quart of milk, or 3 cups of milk and 1 cup of cream, with a pinch of thyme leaves, 1 small bay leaf, 1 sprig of parsley, and 2 tablespoons of butter kneaded with 2 tablespoons of flour. Boil this for 10 minutes over a low fire, and add to the fish stock. Correct the seasoning. Let boil once or twice, and serve very hot with a side dish of brown bread and butter finger sandwiches. There should be 2 small fish balls for each serving.

HALIBUT CHOWDER

[537]

American—baked chowder

“Oh, the rare old Whale, mid storm and gale
In his ocean home will be
A giant in might, where might is right,
And King of the boundless sea. . . .”

OLD WHALE SONG

In the ocean where might is right, the halibut is now mightiest of all, not only in the number of his kin afloat, but in his value to fishermen as well. It is the growing respect for vitamins among civilized people that is putting the deep-sea villain on top. The flat fish with a snow-white belly lives on the bottom of the sea, where he stores up vitamins A and D more quickly than any other fish in the ocean. His vitamin content will be the most valuable in the day forecast by science, when meals will be eaten without plates by the gulping down of little capsules. His abundance may in that day conceivably wipe out restaurants, waiters, cooking, kitchens, pots, pans, silverware, and similar utensils.

 

Try out ½ pound of salt pork, cubed small, until crisp and brown over a gentle flame, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cut 1½ pounds of halibut into small pieces; peel and cube 4 medium-sized potatoes into small cubes; peel and cut into very thin slices 3 medium-sized onions, and separate the rings; and chop fine enough green celery leaves to make a scant cup. Place a layer of potato cubes in the bottom of a soup kettle; cover the potato cubes with a layer of onion rings, then a layer of chopped green celery leaves; and top with a layer of fish. Repeat, seasoning each layer with mixed salt, pepper, thyme, and mace to taste, and a layer of pork cracklings. Pour over 1½ quarts of cold milk, or equal parts of undiluted evaporated milk and water, and dot the top of the chowder with ¼ cup of butter, added bit by bit. Cover the kettle, and bake in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve very hot with a side dish of toasted bread sticks.

Toasted Bread Sticks. Cut bread into slices ¾ inch thick. Trim off the crusts, and cut into strips ½ inch wide. Have ready 1 cup of crushed flaked cereal mixed with ¼ cup of ground nut meats. Put ½ to ¾ cup of sweetened condensed milk into a shallow dish, and dip the strips of bread in it, turning them so that each side is coated with the milk. Next, dip and roll them in the crushed cereal. Place on a greased baking sheet or shallow pan, and bake in a moderate oven (325°-350° F.) until they are delicately browned. Remove from the baking sheet as soon as done, and let cool before serving. These toasted bread sticks keep well when packed in a container, and may also be served with green or fruit salad.

HALIBUT CHOWDER WITH SAFFRON

[538]

 

Cut into serving pieces 2 to 2½ pounds of fresh halibut, previously cleaned, and washed quickly in cold running water. Now place the fish in a saucepan, and barely cover with boiling hot White Wine Court Bouillon (No. 79). Place the kettle over a low flame, and let simmer very gently for 8 to 10 minutes, covered. Meanwhile, sauté until light brown, in 3 tablespoons of butter, 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped, and 1 clove of garlic, mashed. Add to the fish 1 cup of fresh tomatoes, peeled and gently pressed to remove the seeds, then chopped, and a bouquet garni made with 1 small bay leaf, 4 or 5 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 sprigs of green celery tops, 1 sprig of thyme, and 1 whole clove, tied with white kitchen thread. Season to taste with salt, white pepper, and a small pinch of nutmeg, and let continue simmering very gently over a low flame for about 25 minutes.

Strain through a fine sieve into a fresh saucepan; carefully remove the bones from the pieces of fish, keeping the meat hot. Place the strained broth over a gentle flame, and as soon as it boils add a small pinch of saffron and 1 quart of rich creamy scalded milk, or 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of undiluted evaporated milk. Let boil up once, let simmer 5 minutes, remove from the fire, return the pieces of fish to the stock, and taste for seasoning. Serve very hot, with a piece of fish in each plate and a side dish of fresh toast spread with parsley sauce.

Parsley Sauce. To 1 cup of hot Béchamel Sauce (No. 348) or Cream Sauce (No. 346), add and blend thoroughly an infusion of 3 tablespoons of parsley leaves, strained. Taste for seasoning, and just when ready to serve, stir in 2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice. For the parsley infusion, proceed as if making tea. Especially appropriate for almost any kind of fish cooked in any style.

LA BOUILLABAISSE MARSEILLAISE

[539]

Marseilles Fish Chowder

 

Cook books and recipes are the ruination of novices, because people will not learn that a recipe is not a prescription. A good recipe should suggest, but never govern. A French cordon bleu has his recipes, but his soup or sauce becomes magnum opus when he sticks his thumb in it and tastes, then works magic with his array of essences and herbs.

Thackeray’s The Ballad of the Bouillabaisse is a pretty good recipe if you are blessed with a cook’s imagination and instincts, and it is a help to know that the term bouillabaisse is interpreted as “When it boils, it’s done!” Boil your fish one minute too long, and it becomes a paste.

Thackeray inhaled and absorbed his bouillabaisse in the Rue Neuve des Petits Champs, meaning “New Street of the Little Fields,” in Paris, and it’s likely enough that the Sainted Terre used good codfish or haddock with his

“Green herbs, red peppers, mussels, saffron,
Soles, onions, garlic, roach and dace.”

Roach and dace filled out a line and a rime for the balladier rather neatly, but he failed to add a stanza to warn the world that one breath too much of peppers or garlic would ruin the whole structure.

No wine or liquor enters into the concoction of this original and delightful chowder or stew—whatever it may be called—which was first prepared in Marseilles. The original recipe calls for twelve different kinds of fish, the list of which follows with corresponding names in English, and the fish which may be substituted for those not available in any part of America.

Rascasse: Unknown in America; sea bass may be substituted.

Sard: Unknown in America; substitute haddock or codfish.

Langouste: Spiny lobster.

Grondin: Red gurnard.

Galiente: Unknown in America; substitute grouper.

Dorade: Dory, also sometimes called John Dory.

Baudroie: Frogfish, also sometimes called sea devil.

Congre: Conger, or conger eel.

Turbot: Turbot, often erroneously called halibut; turbotin, a young turbot.

Merlan: Whiting.

Fielan: Unknown in America; small eel may be used.

Rouquier: Unknown in America; eel may be used.

Assuming you have all the necessary fish or substitutes, which must be of a firm flesh, the procedure is as follows:

 

Take about 6 pounds of the above-mentioned fish or their substitutes in approximately equal amounts for each variety. Cut the large fish into pieces; leave the small ones whole. Place in a pan a generous ½ cup of good olive oil, and add to it 4 ounces (about cup) of minced onions, 2 ounces of leeks (about 2 young leeks, white part only), 2 medium-sized fresh tomatoes, pressed, peeled, and slightly crushed, 4 cloves of garlic, crushed to a pulp, 1 generous teaspoon of finely chopped parsley, 1 generous pinch of saffron (drugstore) powder, 1 large bay leaf, 1 small sprig of common savory, 1 generous pinch of the top of fresh fennel, and salt and pepper to taste.

Place all the above ingredients in the pan with the exception of the whiting and the red gurnard, which being very tender should be added when the bouillabaisse has been boiling from 8 to 10 minutes. The bouillabaisse is ready! Taste for seasoning. Dress up some slices of plain bread, not toasted or fried, but plain slices, on a hot deep platter, preferably round. Pour the liquid over these slices, and on another hot platter, dress up the fish, surrounding the whole with pieces of langouste, or spiny lobster.

This Provençal chowder owes its characteristics first to the kind of fish used, then to the garlic and the saffron flavorings. Garlic is a blessing in disguise! In garlic are vitamins and minerals galore. Iodine, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus represent its mineral content. Garlic is also one of nature’s greatest internal antiseptics.

It was after tasting bouillabaisse that the famous Jean Henri Fabre, distinguished French entomologist (1823-1915) and poet at the same time, wrote in Provençal the following ode to garlic.

“Horaça, se l’avies tastado,
Ben luen de l’ave blastémado,
L’auries douna toun amitié,
Auries mies estima ta testa courounado
D’un rez d’ayet que de lauzié. . . .”

Which translated into English means:

“Horace, had you tasted it,
Far from speaking ill of it,
You would have been better adorned
And might have been better on friendly terms
With a chain of garlic instead of laurels.”

FABRE

From time immemorial, garlic has been used in cookery, and until the middle of the eighteenth century, many Siberian villages paid taxes in garlic—fifteen bulbs for a man, ten for a woman, five for a child. This member of the lily family has power and authority, as you may see and taste. It is most healthful, and according to the ancients “its heat is very vehement.”

LA BOUILLABAISSE PARISIENNE

[540]

Parisian Fish Chowder

 

Into the preparation of bouillabaisse, Parisian style, the following fish enter: moules (mussels), rouget (red gurnard), grondin (a specie of red gurnard), sole (unknown in America, unless imported, lemon sole or flounder may be substituted), vive (unknown in America, except a short weever, eel may be substituted), merlan (whiting), congre (conger eel), and langouste (spiny lobster).

Place in a large kettle 6 tablespoons of good olive oil, and add 2 large onions, finely chopped, and 2 small leeks, using white parts only, finely minced. Cook over a hot flame, taking care not to color, and stirring almost constantly. Then add 1 fifth bottle of good dry white wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a small pinch of saffron; 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 6 sprigs of fresh parsley, and 1 sprig of thyme, tied with kitchen thread; 3 medium-sized fresh tomatoes, peeled, pressed, then crushed, or use the equivalent of thick tomato purée; and 2 small cloves of garlic, mashed. Bring to the boiling point, then reduce the flame, and cook gently for 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Having selected the fish, allow 1 pound of fish for each person, and in approximately equal amounts from each variety. Place 6 tablespoons of olive oil in a kettle, add the fish, well cleaned, washed quickly, sponged, and cut in 2-inch pieces, mussels included, after being scraped and well washed but not removed from the shells (in other words, “shell and all”). Sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley, and cook about 5 minutes, tossing the kettle once in a while. Then turn into the hot broth. Boil for 10 minutes over a bright flame, and set aside. Thicken the liquid with 1 generous tablespoon of butter kneaded with 2 teaspoons of flour. Stir gently, while simmering for a few minutes. Dress the fish pieces on a hot round platter with a little of the broth, serving the remainder aside. Serve with a side dish of Jocko Toast (No. 790).

LA BOUILLABAISSE A LA NIMOISE

[541]

Fish Chowder Nîmoise Style

 

Into the preparation of bouillabaisse, Nimoise style, the following fish enter: anguille (eel, cut into inch pieces, and half cooked in fish stock), rouget (red gurnard, almost cooked, and cut into inch pieces), sole (substitute lemon sole or flounder, raw, and cut into inch pieces), pagel or pageau (unknown in America, substitute sunfish, raw, and cut into inch pieces), dorade (dory, sometimes called John Dory, raw, and cut into inch pieces), homard (lobster, tail only, raw, the tail cut into two pieces, using lobsters weighing no more than 1 to 1½ pounds each), and lotte (eelpout, raw, using only the liver, which is cooked separately, as indicated further, and used for thickening the chowder).

Heat ½ cup of olive oil to the smoking point, then add the prepared fish, all mixed together. Season to taste with salt and pepper; a pinch each of saffron and powdered fennel; 1 bouquet garni, composed of 2 large bay leaves tied with 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 small leek, white part only, cut in quarters lengthwise, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves, 1 large sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves; 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, then crushed; ½ cup of chopped onions; and 3 whole shallots, peeled. Pour over enough fish stock (made with cheap fish and strained) to generously cover; then pour in ½ generous cup of Madeira wine. Bring to a boil. Let boil steadily and furiously for 8 minutes. Remove from the fire, and taste for seasoning. Dress the fish into a hot deep dish. Strain the stock into a clean kettle or saucepan, and stir in the liver of a small eelpout, which has been cooked a few minutes in a little fish stock, pounded or rubbed through a fine sieve, then beaten with 3 fresh egg yolks and 4 tablespoons of slightly heated olive oil. Strain this binding over the fish, garnish the platter with small triangles of white bread fried in butter, and serve at once.

Note. Certain professional chefs from the Nîmes region add 1 teaspoon of grated orange rind to the chowder at the time of adding the saffron. This is optional. All the surplus of the strained stock may be served aside to replenish the plates of guests, and extra fried triangles of bread should be served aside.

LA BOUILLABAISSE DE BRUSSARD

[542]

New Orleans Creole

 

Now we are in the presence of a Cajun born in the Acadian settlement where Evangeline sleeps awaiting the Judgment Day. Annually, Brussard has made a pilgrimage to Europe in search of something to tickle New Orleans palates. Supreme is his bouillabaisse.

 

Into the preparation of this bouillabaisse the following fish enter: bar de mer (sea bass), bass rayé (striped bass), happer rouge (red snapper), sole (substitute gray sole or flounder), crevettes (shrimps), homard (lobster), crabes durs (hard-shelled crabs), and huitres (oysters).

The fish (sea bass, striped bass, red snapper, and sole) should be quickly washed, sponged, then cut into pieces 1½ inches thick, seasoned with mixed salt and pepper to taste, and let drain for 15 minutes. Strain 2 quarts of tomatoes (use canned or stewed tomatoes, not tomato juice). Brown 3 large onions, 3 large sweet peppers, sliced thin, in ½ cup of olive oil. Add to the tomatoes, and cook for 15 minutes. Then season with a generous pinch of powdered thyme and 2 large bay leaves. Lay the fish in the mixture, then the boiled shelled left-whole shrimps (1 pound), two 1½-pound lobsters, and the meat from 4 cooked hard-shelled crabs. Add 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, then crushed, 3 cups of dry white wine, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of saffron, and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes over a low flame. Now add 24 fresh oysters, fresh or canned, as well as their own liquor, which should be strained through a fine cloth, and let cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve with freshly made dry toast, cut finger length, each serving dusted with finely chopped parsley.

 

International travelers revel in Brussard’s specialty, and when enjoying the dish with just the right wine, they agree with Thackeray who, after praising bouillabaisse as he ate it in Paris, said, “In New Orleans you can eat a bouillabaisse the like of which was never eaten in Marseilles or Paris!”

LA BOUILLABAISSE DES PECHEURS

[543]

French Fishermen’s Bouillabaisse

 

For 12 generous servings; for less, reduce the amounts of ingredients accordingly.

Cut off the heads of 1 pound each of dory, flounder, red gurnard, and gilthead, and 2 pounds each of sea bass and whiting. Then cut the fish into 2-inch chunks. Sprinkle with salt to taste and plenty of freshly crushed peppercorns, and set aside to drain. Cut in two, crosswise, a dozen crabs, and clean; dust with salt, and add to the fish. Cut in 2-inch pieces 2 live 1½-pound lobsters. Wash the pieces in water to which has been added a little lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add these pieces also to the fish. Shell 2 quarts of mussels, saving the liquor, and season with salt, but not pepper. Set the mussels and the strained juice aside—not with the fish.

Into a good-sized soup kettle, Put 4 cloves of garlic, peeled, then crushed; 3 large onions; ½ generous cup of parsley; ¼ cup of chives; ¼ cup of celery green tops, all chopped; and 3 large sprigs of fennel, fresh or dried. Over this scented garden, pour ¾ cup of good olive oil. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly; then sprinkle with 1 scant teaspoon of powdered saffron (more or less, according to taste). Scatter the fish and crabs and lobster over this mixture, but not the mussels; and pour over the whole 2 quarts of dry white wine and 2 quarts of boiling water. Bring this mixture to a boil, and allow it to boil for 8 to 10 minutes. Then add the mussels and the liquor. Boil for 4 or 5 minutes longer, not more than 15 minutes in all. Then pour the bouillon—golden in color—over a mountain of bread slices, each rubbed with garlic. The fish pieces and mussels are served separately.

LA BOUILLABAISSE DE PROVENCE

[544]

Bouillabaisse of the Provence Region

 

In the Provence region of France, famous for its highly garlicked fare, bouillabaisse has a manner of its own, quite different from that of the bouillabaisse of Marseilles.

 

Bring together 1½ pounds each of whiting, striped bass, small eels, conger eel, dory, and frogfish; 3 pounds each of halibut and sea bass; and 3 rock lobsters of 1 pound each. Cut and split the heads of all the fish, and boil the heads for 20 minutes in 3 quarts of water, slightly salted. Cut the live lobsters into 6 pieces each, and sauté the pieces for 10 minutes in generous cup of olive oil which has been poured into a flat-bottomed pan. Shake the pan constantly. Strain over the lobster mixture the stock made with the fish heads; bring to a rapid boil, then let simmer gently for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, chop 2 large onions, 6 fresh tomatoes, peeled, and 3 large cloves of garlic. Place these in a large soup kettle, adding 1 sprig of thyme, 1 large bay leaf, 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, and 2 sprigs of green celery leaves, all tied together with kitchen thread. Sprinkle over the whole 1 teaspoon of saffron (more or less, according to taste), and pour over all 1 scant cup of pure olive oil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cut the fish into 2-inch chunks, and arrange over the mixture. Allow this kettle of fish to stand, covered with a clean towel, for 30 minutes to 1 hour. About 20 minutes before serving, pour the lobster mixture over this fish mélange, and place the kettle and contents over a bright flame. Allow to boil briskly for 10 minutes. Lay from one to several dried (not toasted) untrimmed slices of French bread in each deep soup plate. Lift the fish chunks from the bouillabaisse onto a hot deep platter. Pour the bouillon, unstrained, over the bread slices. And so serve La Bouillabaisse de Provence.

LA BOUILLABAISSE DU PAYS DE CORNOUAILLES

[545]

Also called Land’s End Bouillabaisse

 

French Brittany—La Bretagne—also has its bouillabaisse. It was at the Hotel du Minou, located in the old fortress of Minou-en-Plou-zané, in the department of Finistère, where all roasts are made over wood fire, that this writer enjoyed and learned how to make this famous bouillabaisse.

 

For 10 generous servings, cut 5 leeks into thin slices, using the white parts only. Drop the slices into lukewarm water, and let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and cube small 2 pounds of potatoes. Peel, halve, and squeeze out the juice and seeds of 5 medium-sized fresh tomatoes, then chop them coarsely. Peel and slice very thin 3 large celery hearts. Drain the leek slices, and place in a large earthenware soup kettle with all the remaining vegetables with 2 quarts of cold water. Add salt, pepper, and thyme leaves to taste, 2 large bay leaves, 2 small cloves of garlic, peeled and mashed, and cup of chopped fresh parsley. Gradually bring this to a boil, and let simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes. Then add 6 to 7 pounds of fish, cleaned and cut into 2-inch chunks, the fish approximately in equal amounts from the following varieties: red gurnard, sea bass, whiting, mackerel, flounder, eelpout, and fresh tuna fish. Let this cook for 15 minutes.

Beat 3 fresh egg yolks slightly, then beat them into 1 cup of scalded heavy cream. Taste for seasoning, pour the chowder into a large heated soup tureen, and just before serving, scatter over 1 cup of small bread croutons, fried in foaming butter. Serve on the side large colorful earthenware peasant bowls of cool hard cider. And after the soup is enjoyed, it is the custom to serve a pony glass of Calvados to help digest this really delicious chowder.

LA BOURRIDE PROVENÇALE

[546]

French Chowder Provençal Manner

 

The following kind of chowder, a combination of a stew and fish soup at the same time, is very rich. It’s a meal-in-one, a meal strongly flavored with garlic.

 

Pound 6 cloves of garlic to a pulp, then stir in, as in making mayonnaise, 1 fresh egg yolk. When thoroughly blended, stir in ¾ cup (more or less) of good olive oil, drop by drop at first, then when the mixture begins to get a little thick, raise the amount of oil, and stir without stopping until the mixture resembles mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and set aside.

Wash, cut into 2-inch chunks, wash again, then sponge well, 2 pounds each of three or four different varieties of white-fleshed fish, such as sea bass, whiting, and conger eel, or any other kind of lean fish available; but there should be at least three different varieties. Line a generously oiled large flat-bottomed saucepan with 1 extra large or 2 medium-sized onions, thinly sliced, the rings separated. Add a bouquet garni, composed of 1 generous sprig of fennel, 2 large bay leaves, 1 generous sprig of thyme, and a 2-inch by ½-inch dried orange peel, all tied together with kitchen thread (you may also tie in 2 cloves, but this is optional). Lay over the well-dried and mixed fish chunks. Pour over 1½ quarts (6 cups) of hot water. Bring to a boil, and let boil steadily for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until the fish chunks are done.

Note. In some parts of Provence, notably at Saint-Juan-les-Pins, and Monte Carlo, a dash of saffron is added with the hot water, but the original formula doesn’t mention this ingredient.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange 2 slices of bread, from which the crusts have been removed, in the bottom of each of the six soup plates, and pour over them enough hot fish stock, just enough to moisten them. Set aside.

In a saucepan, put 8 fresh egg yolks and stir in 6 tablespoons of the garlic mayonnaise (aioli in Provençal), mixing thoroughly; place the saucepan over a gentle flame, and gradually stir in the strained hot fish stock, stirring constantly from the bottom and sides of the pan until this garlicky sauce coats the wooden spoon. Be sure not to let boil, lest the mixture curdle. Just proceed as if making a custard sauce. It is advisable to stir this sauce over hot water instead of the flame. Taste for seasoning, and immediately pour this really delicious, but garlicky sauce over the soaked bread slices, covering the slices entirely. Dress the fish onto a hot deep platter, after discarding the onion slices and bouquet garni, and serve immediately with the remainder of the garlic sauce aside in a sauceboat.

The usual accompaniment of this chowder-stew-soup dish is an extra dish of bread slices and several chilled bottles of dry white wine.

LA CAGOUILLE DE POISSON DU MONASTERE

[547]

Fish Stew in the Monastery Manner

 

This recipe was created more than one hundred years ago in the monastery of the Benedictines at Fécamp, where the famous Benedictine liqueur originated. It has been modernized since and is still made today in Normandy.

 

Place in the bottom of a soup kettle 3 thin slices of salt pork, cubed small, and try out until the cracklings are delicately browned. Then stir in 3 medium-sized onions, thinly sliced; 3 medium-sized fresh tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped; 1 clove of garlic, peeled and left whole; ½ large green pepper, coarsely chopped and free from white seeds and ribs; and 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf tied with a 2½-inch piece of scraped parsley root, 1 sprig of thyme, and 3 sprigs of very green celery leaves. Continue cooking, stirring frequently over a gentle flame, for about 7 or 8 minutes. Then pour in 2 cups of dry white wine and 2 cups of boiling water. Add 1 scant teaspoon of salt, 8 peppercorns, freshly crushed, and 1 leaflet or 2 of dill. Bring to a boil, lower the flame, and let simmer gently for 20 minutes. Now add 2 pounds of fresh salmon, wiped with a damp cloth, cut into inch chunks, and carefully boned; 1 cup of fresh shrimps, shelled and coarsely chopped; 1 cup of raw small potato cubes; ½ cup of raw small carrot cubes; and ½ cup of raw small celery root cubes. Continue cooking gently for 20 minutes.

Place in a bowl 1 tablespoon of flour, and dilute with 1 cup of hot mussel broth, provided from 1 pound of carefully cleaned mussels cooked with 1 cup of water until the mussels open. Remove the mussels from their shells, and set aside for garnishing the chowder. Stir the flour mixture into the chowder, stirring constantly. Let simmer for a few minutes, taste for seasoning, and just before serving in colorful peasant earthenware bowls, add the cooked shelled mussels. Top each bowl with a pat of sweet butter.

LA CHAUDRONNEE D’AIGO SAOU PROVENÇALE

[548]

Sea-Salt-Water Chowder in the Manner of Provence

 

Aigo saou, meaning in Provençal, “cooked in salt water,” is a remote variation of the famous Bouillabaisse Marseillaise, and is in great favor among the fishermen families along the Mediterranean Sea. This chowder has the advantage that it may be made with almost any kind of small fish, and right on the beach, if desired.

 

Cut into 2-inch chunks 5 pounds of any kind of mixed salt-water fish, the more composite the better, but only fish, no crustaceans or shellfish. Sprinkle with mixed salt and pepper, and let stand for 25 to 30 minutes to draw the water. Put in a large soup kettle 1 extra large onion, finely chopped; 2 large fresh tomatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces; 1 large bay leaf, tied with 1 large sprig of thyme, 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, and 2 whole cloves; ½ cup of celery stalk, chopped very fine after being scraped; and salt and freshly crushed black pepper to taste. Add 2 quarts of sea-salt-water. Bring to a boil, and let boil gently for 25 minutes, then add the prepared fish, and boil violently for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the fire, and taste for seasoning. Carefully lift the fish from the broth with a perforated ladle, and keep hot, after covering it with 6 slices of bread, untrimmed, each slice sprinkled with olive oil then with as much black pepper as liked.

Have ready a garlic mayonnaise (aioli, as it is called in Provence), made as indicated in the first paragraph of the recipe, La Bourride Provençale (No. 546).

Place the bread slices covering the fish into hot soup plates, one in each plate. Pour over the strained fish bouillon. Serve the fish separately with a side dish of garlic mayonnaise and extra slices of bread, sprinkled with olive oil then with plenty of freshly crushed black pepper. The soup and the fish are eaten at the same time, the fish with the garlic mayonnaise, the aioli.

LA CHAUDRONNEE DE CARRELET LORIENTAISE

[549]

Flounder Chowder in the Manner of Lorient—a formula of the Hôtellerie of Perros Guirec

Experts at camouflage could take a lesson from the flounder. Its ability to adjust itself to background for protection is unsurpassed. Sensory impressions received through the eyes of fish change the color of flounder, but camouflaged or not, he is really delicious as prepared by the Norman cooks and Breton cooks.

 

Wash 2 pounds of flounder filets, and cut into 2-inch chunks. Season to taste with mixed salt and pepper and a few grains of nutmeg to taste, and let stand for 25 minutes. Wash, skin, and remove the black veins from 1 pound of fresh shrimps. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside over the flounder filet chunks. Drain 2 dozen oysters, reserving the liquor. Set aside, but do not mix with the flounder and shrimps. Wash, scrape carefully, and remove the beard from 2 dozen fresh mussels. Put in a saucepan with 1 cup of cider and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped green pepper, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped shallots, and as much of chopped parsley. Cover closely, and let cook over a moderately brisk flame for about 10 minutes, or until the mussels are open, discarding those which are not. Remove the mussels from the pan with a perforated ladle, and when cold enough to handle, remove the mussels from their shells. Strain the mussel broth through a fine cloth, reserving the broth, which add to 1 cup of scalded cream, and keep hot.

Melt pound of sweet butter, and blend in 1 tablespoon of flour. Pour in 1 quart of cider, stirring constantly until well mixed. Then add 1 large onion, thinly sliced and the rings separated; 1 cup of finely shredded young spinach, using only the leaves; ½ cup of finely shredded lettuce, using only the leaves; ½ cup of scraped young carrot, cubed very small; ½ cup of finely chopped green celery tops; 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 sprig of fennel, and 2 whole cloves, all tied with kitchen thread; salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then let boil gently for 20 minutes. Now add the strained mussel-cream mixture, let boil violently for 1 minute, then add the flounder and shrimps, and cook briskly for about 12 minutes. Remove from the fire, stir in the mussels and oysters with their strained liquor, taste for seasoning, and discard the bouquet garni. Serve in hot soup plates, each topped with 1 teaspoon of sweet butter creamed with 1 scant teaspoon of finely chopped chives.

LA CHAUDRONNEE D’ECREVISSES DE LA MARNE

[550]

Crayfish Chowder As Made in the Marne Region

 

The fishing season for crayfish is very short, opening in August and closing September first. During this period, crayfish are the culinary craze for gourmets, and crayfish festivals take place or are staged to open the season. Mounded platters of this Lilliputian crustacean, with deep dishes of buttered toast and chilled white wines of all denominations, are served, especially this famous crayfish chowder made according to an old formula of the Marne.

 

Take 4 dozen nice live crayfish, and wash them in several changes of cold water, letting them stand in the last change for 20 minutes, while preparing the broth.

Heat cup of sweet butter in a large soup kettle. Add 1 large onion, peeled, then thinly sliced, the rings separated; 3 young carrots, scraped, then cubed very small; 2 stalks of celery, scraped, then finely chopped; 1 clove of garlic, mashed; 3 tablespoons of shallots, chopped; and 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 12 sprigs of chives, 1 sprig of thyme, 1 sprig of fennel, 1 leaflet of tarragon herb, and 2 whole cloves, heads removed, all tied with kitchen thread. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently over a gentle fire. Then stir in ½ cup of finely chopped lean cooked ham, and pour over 1 fifth bottle of Chablis wine and 2 cups of rich chicken broth, clear of any fat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, bring to a rapid boil, then let boil gently for 20 minutes. Add the prepared crayfish, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the Lilliputian crustaceans are a beautiful red. Using a perforated ladle, remove the crayfish, and when cold enough to handle, cut off with kitchen scissors the little legs, the shells from the tails, the extremities from the large legs, and the tips of the noses. Place the trimmed crayfish in a hot deep platter, and pour over 4 tablespoons of good brandy, set aflame, tossing the crayfish with a wooden spoon until the flames are extinguished. Discard the bouquet garni, return the crayfish to the stock, and stir in 1 cup of heavy cream, scalded and beaten with 3 fresh egg yolks. Heat to the boiling point, but do not allow to boil. Serve at once in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with finely chopped chervil, or parsley if chervil is not available, and a side dish of freshly made buttered toast aplenty. It is the custom to drink a brandy pony of fine champagne when the plate is half emptied, and another when the plate is empty.

LA CHAUDRONNEE DE LAPIN COMME LE FONT LES GARDES-CHASSES

[551]

Rabbit Chowder in the Manner of the Gamekeeper

 

The hare or rabbit’s Greek name is Oryctolagus cuniculus, which literally translated means “an excavator” or “an animal that digs canals in the earth.” Moreover, it is a member of the order Rodentia and is an ineducabilian, placental, diphyodont mammal! All of which in simple English says that this prolific meat and fur producer is a rodent belonging to the largest order among the mammals, closely related to the squirrel and twenty other families of gnawers, such as the rat, mouse, chinchilla, beaver, and guinea pig; that it has only limited mental capacity; that it bears its young in the usual animal manner; that it has two sets of teeth; and that it belongs to the highest order of animals, those having a spinal column and suckling their young. Despite its reputation for docility, the hare or rabbit has a vicious temper and is quick in anger with its own kind and other small animals. However, this ill nature is seldom displayed toward human beings, and hares or rabbits are easy enough to handle when you go about it right. They quickly respond to kind treatment and appreciate caressing probably as much as a cat, and like the cat, they resent having their fur rubbed the wrong way. Their willingness to be petted is taken advantage of in Mohammedan countries, where tame rabbits and tame hares, called “harem kittens,” are given to the women of the seraglios for personal pets. It is likely that Scheherazade, that famous bedtime storyteller, dreamed up her clever neck-saving tales in the privacy of an overstuffed Oriental apartment while fondling a fluffy rabbit or hare, probably an Angora. Yes, rabbits can be housebroken just like cats, but they belong in hutches in the back yard, to be raised for delicious stews, roasts, civets, in sweet or sour cream, en casserole, in red wine, jugged, or in chowder as made by the gamekeeper.

 

With the leftover of a roasted rabbit or hare, the meat scraped from the carcass then set aside, the carcass broken into small pieces, and a 2-pound piece of beef shin, you may prepare a delicious chowder. Reserve the scraped rabbit or hare meat as a garnish.

Put the broken carcass and the beef shin in a large soup kettle containing pound of fat fresh pork with the rind left on and downside. Add 1 medium-sized onion, chopped; 2 small carrots, scraped and chopped; ¼ cup of chopped green celery leaves; 1 small leek, quartered, carefully washed, using the white and green parts, tied with 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves; and 1 small clove of garlic, mashed. Pour over 1 quart of cold water. Do not add salt and pepper as yet. Bring to a boil, covered, and let boil steadily until the liquid is almost evaporated. Then pour in 1½ quarts of light beef consommé or water and 2 cups of dry white wine. Bring to a boil, and let boil gently over a medium flame until the liquid is reduced to 1½ quarts (6 cups). Strain this through a fine cloth into a clean soup kettle. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a few grains of nutmeg. Then add 1 cup of small carrot cubes; ¾ cup of finely chopped celery stalk, previously scraped; 2 tablespoons of finely chopped green pepper; 3 tablespoons of uncooked, broken small vermicelli; and 2 tablespoons of uncooked rice, carefully washed. Cook this for 20 minutes, then add 1 cup of small potato cubes, and continue cooking for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, but not mushy. Taste for seasoning. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved rabbit or hare meat, cut into small cubes or shredded. Taste for seasoning, and serve in hot soup plates, each garnished with 2 small Liver Dumplings (No. 742).

Note. Should your chowder be too fat, a few lettuce leaves, placed in the soup before adding the meat and the dumplings, will absorb the grease. Remove the lettuce leaves as soon as they become coated with the fat.

You may make chowder in this way with almost any kind of game, furred or feathered.

LA CHAUDRONNEE DE PETITS POIS SECS AUX MARENNES

[552]

Split Pea Chowder with Oysters

 

This French chowder has an American story which is worth repeating. James B. Regan of the once famous Knickerbocker Hotel, at Forty-second Street and Broadway, where I was head chef, boasted that anybody could get any food he wanted in his hotel. He gave an order that on every ship leaving a French port a consignment of Marennes oysters should be shipped. After two weeks, he stopped one day, flanked with Malnatti, his maître d’hôtel, at his oyster counter, which was then headed by Dennis Sullivan as head shucker. By that time, baskets of Marennes oysters had begun to clog the hotel’s cold-storage space.

“Dennis,” he said to Sullivan, “how are those French Marennes going?” “They ain’t going, Mr. Regan,” he heard. “What do you mean? How many have you sold?” “Mr. Regan, during the whole two weeks you been getting them, we’ve sold just two orders.”

And that was why for several days patrons of the “Forty-second Street Country Club,” as Frank O’Malley had christened the hotel bar, had split pea chowder with Marennes oysters for free lunch, my having received the order to use these French oysters in my best way, and following a formula used for scores of years in Marennes. This chowder was found so delicious and unusual that I had to feature it every Friday on the bill of fare of the old Knickerbocker. Regan never imported any other Marennes, but used the famous Long Island oysters instead.

Now for the recipe. For six servings, soak 1½ pounds of green split peas in cold water for 4 hours. Drain. Put in a soup kettle. Add 3 quarts of unsalted chicken broth and 1 knuckle of smoked ham, with 1 large bay leaf tied with 8 sprigs of fresh parsley and 1 sprig of thyme, and slowly bring to a boil. Meantime, saute 1 medium-sized onion in 1 tablespoon of butter, and as soon as the pea mixture starts to boil, stir the onion into the mixture. Add 8 whole peppercorns, freshly bruised, and let gently boil for 2 long hours, stirring occasionally to prevent the peas from scorching. When done, force the peas through a fine sieve, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the chowder to the fire. Add ¼ pound of butter, ½ cup of picked freshly cooked or canned crab meat, and ½ cup of peas, freshly cooked or canned. When ready to serve, add ¾ cup of cooked small, very small potato cubes, and 18 fresh oysters, carefully picked, and cooked in 2 tablespoons of butter until the edges curl. Serve in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with finely chopped chives.

Note. You may sauté the oysters, and instead of putting them in the chowder, place 3 oysters in each plate, then fill the plates with the pea chowder. Lentils may be prepared in the same way, also navy beans, or other kinds of beans.

LA CHAUDRONNEE DE MORILLES A LA SOLOGNOTE

[553]

Morel Chowder in the Solognote Manner

 

There can scarcely be any doubt that morels (genus Morchella) are practically without equal as edible fungi, and in regions where they are common, they are sought avidly by mushroom enthusiasts. In flavor and texture, they surpass both the common cultivated species and most other wild mushrooms, and attempts have been and still are being made to grow them commercially—so far without success. One year they’ll be found in abundance on certain hillsides, but they may not reappear there for years. They seem to come up readily in some burned-over areas, and it is said that at one time the residents of some parts of France, Germany, and Belgium made such a practice of burning the woodlands to encourage the growth of morels that they had to be restrained by law. Morels appear for a short time only, usually in the early spring, the season in the northern United States being at its peak during May. There are several species, but they are all enough alike to be described as one. The cap is conical, from three to four inches high and from one to two inches wide at the base. The surface is tan and is indented with large irregular pits or cavities, so that the plant resembles an animal sponge. The stem is white and very delicate and brittle in texture, breaking readily when handled, and averages about one inch in thick ness and two or three inches in length. Both stem and cap are hollow.

In France, where morels are abundant, they are used for making this delicious chowder.

 

Morels usually contain some sand in the cavities of the caps and should be thoroughly washed in several changes of lukewarm water and rinsed by placing them in a colander, letting cold water run over them, and lifting them with the fingers of both hands. They must not remain long in water, lest they lose their fine flavor.

Separate the stems and caps from 1 pound of morels, and wash as indicated above. Strain, and drain well. Chop the stems and caps coarsely. Place them in a pan containing ¼ cup of sweet butter, ¼ cup of unstrained lemon juice, and 1 cup of dry white wine. Cook over a brisk flame for 5 minutes, or until the mixture has boiled once. Remove from the fire, and keep hot.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter, blend in 2 tablespoons of flour, and cook until the mixture begins to bubble, stirring constantly over a gentle flame. Do not let get colored. Gradually stir in 1½ quarts of clear chicken consommé, fresh or canned, and cook until the mixture is smooth and has boiled for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add 1 bouquet garni, composed of i large bay leaf, 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves, heads removed, all tied with kitchen thread. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a grating of nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20 minutes. Discard the bouquet garni, add the morels and their liquid and a whole clove of garlic (left whole), and bring to a boil. Remove at once from the fire. Fish out the garlic, and discard it. Stir in 1 cup of heavy scalded cream, to which has been added 3 fresh egg yolks, slightly beaten, ¾ cup of cooked or canned crab meat, picked and flaked, and 18 small fresh oysters, uncooked, which have been marinated in ¼ cup of sherry wine, adding the sherry wine too. Serve in hot soup plates, each containing 3 of the oysters.

LA MARMITEE DE POISSON A LA MANIERE DE TOURS

[554]

Fish Chowder in the Manner of Tours

 

The following chowder is an old formula of the Inn of the Cloister of Psalette, a cloister of the fifteenth century, which is the object of an annual pilgrimage by the faithful. The original recipe calls for wine of Vouvray, but this wine is unavailable in this country, as it is a bad traveler; dry white wine has been substituted.

 

Cut into 2-inch chunks 1 pound each of the following fresh-water fish: small eels (previously skinned), perch, pickerel, and brook trout. Place the fish chunks in a colander, and rinse quickly under cold water, then drain, and sponge dry. Turn the fish chunks into a deep porcelain platter, and sprinkle over cup of sherry wine, cover with a cheesecloth, and let stand for an hour.

Place the heads, trimmings, eel skin, and 1 pound of cheap fish, cut into small pieces, in a saucepan. Add 1 medium-sized onion, chopped; 2 tablespoons of green pepper, chopped and absolutely free from white seeds and white ribs; 1 medium-sized carrot, scraped, then thinly sliced; and 1 large bay leaf, tied with 1 sprig of fresh parsley, 1 sprig of fennel, 1 sprig of thyme, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves (tops). Season to taste with salt and freshly crushed black peppercorns. Pour over 3 cups of dry white wine and 3 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, and let boil steadily until the liquid is reduced to one quart (4 cups). Strain through a fine sieve into a clean kettle. Add ½ cup each of raw carrot, celery root, and white turnip, cubed small, and of leek, thinly sliced and carefully washed, using the white parts only. Bring to a boil, and let boil steadily for 5 minutes. Then add the fish chunks and the marinade and ½ cup of raw potato cubes. Boil steadily for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the fire, stir in 1 cup of heavy scalded sweet cream, mixed with 4 fresh egg yolks, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon; return to the fire. Bring to a boil, but do not let boil. Taste for seasoning. Serve the fish chunks separately on a hot platter covered with small slices of toast, rubbed with garlic, then sprinkled generously with black pepper from the mill, and serve the chowder in soup plates, each garnished with 1 teaspoon of herb butter made as follows:

Blanch in a little salt water for about 5 minutes 1 tablespoon each of watercress leaves, spinach leaves, chervil, parsley, chives, and fennel. Drain, refresh in cold water, place all together in a cloth, and twist well to extract all the moisture. Pound or put through a food chopper, then rub through a fine-meshed sieve. Knead these herbs with 3 tablespoons of sweet butter until thoroughly blended. This butter is really delicious over freshly broiled fish or steaks.

LA POTEE DE MOULES A LA MANIERE DE BAGNOLLES

[555]

Mussel and Tomato Chowder in the Manner of Bagnolles —a formula of the Auberge du Vieux Moulin de Chantepie

This most excellent mussel chowder is made in three distinct operations.

(1) Place in a saucepan 4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, then cut into eighths, 2 dozen small white onions, peeled and left whole, 1 large bay leaf, 3 sprigs of dill, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 cloves. Pour over 1 cup of dry white wine. Do not salt or pepper as yet. Cook gently over a medium flame for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Rub the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into the clean top of a double boiler. Then stir into the mixture 1 tablespoon of meat extract (commercial), and keep hot over hot water.

(2) In 1 quart of rich beef stock, cook ½ cup each of raw small potato cubes, raw small carrot cubes, celery stalks, scraped, then finely chopped, and leeks, thinly sliced and carefully washed, using the white parts only, for about 15 to 20 minutes, or till the vegetables are tender. Then add ½ to ¾ cup of small raw potato cubes, and continue cooking until the potato cubes are tender, or about 10 to 12 minutes. Keep hot.

(3) Soak 3 dozen mussels in salted cold water for 30 minutes, then scrape them with the greatest care, pulling out all weed, or beard, gathered between the shells, and wash in 3 or 4 changes of cold water. Drain. Put the mussels in a saucepan with salt and black pepper to taste and 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped onion, green pepper, and parsley. Set the pan over a brisk flame. Add 1 cup of dry white wine and ¼ cup of Madeira wine, and cook, jumping them once in a while to bring up those at the bottom, which under the influence of the heat open more quickly. As soon as they are all open, remove the pan from the fire, strain the broth through a fine cloth, and add it to the beef stock mixture. Remove the shells from the mussels, and keep them hot in a little beef stock.

Now combine the tomato-onion mixture with the beef stock and vegetable mixture, bring to a boil, and let it boil once or twice. Remove from the fire, taste for seasoning, and stir in ¼ cup of sweet butter kneaded with 1 tablespoon of finely chopped chives. Stir well, add the mussels, and serve in large colorful earthenware peasant bowls, each topped with a poached egg yolk dusted with finely chopped chervil, or parsley if chervil is not available. Serve a side dish of brown bread and butter finger sandwiches.

LA PAUCHOUSE BOURGUIGNONNE

[556]

Fresh-Water Fish Chowder in the Manner of Burgundy

 

From time immemorial, Burgundy wines have been produced on the hillsides of Burgundy (Bourgogne) extending from Dijon in the department of the Côte d’Or (Golden Hill). But also, from time immemorial, good foods have come from Burgundy, among the most popular being fish soups, chowders, stews, such as this famous pauchouse , which varies slightly from place to place, but the basic foundation is fresh-water fish.

 

For 10 persons, cut into 2-inch chunks 1 pound each of the following fish: carp, perch, small live eel, skinned, tench, and pike. Lay the fish chunks in a shallow earthenware platter, and flame with 3 generous tablespoons of good brandy. Melt ½ cup of butter in a heavy copper or earthenware kettle with 2 large cloves of garlic, mashed to a pulp, and a bouquet garni, composed of or 8 sprigs of parsley, 3 sprigs of green celery tops, 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves, heads removed, all tied with kitchen thread. Cook 3 tablespoons of finely chopped onion in this mixture until the onion begins to color, and then lay over it the fish. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and add enough red Burgundy wine barely to cover. Bring to a quick boil, then reduce the heat, and let simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the fish chunks are nearly done, that is, a little firm.

In the meantime, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, and add 1 cup of cubed lean fresh pork preferably from the breast, previously parboiled and drained, 2 dozen small white onions, also parboiled and drained, and an equal amount of small peeled mushroom caps. Cook over a gentle flame for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the ingredients are tender, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Drain the pieces of fish, and add them to this mixture. Cover, and keep hot.

Reduce the stock to half its volume. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if needed. Stir in 1 tablespoon of equal parts of butter and flour kneaded together, and allow the mixture to boil up once. Strain over the fish mixture, cover the pot, and allow to simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until the fish is done. This fish stew is more a chowder than a stew, and may be served in a deep hot platter or in heated individual casseroles, dusted with finely minced parsley or chervil and garnished with small triangles of bread fried in foamy butter.

LA SOUPIERE DE FRUIT DE MER SAFRANEE BEAU RIVAGE

[557]

Tureen of Sea Food with Saffron Beau Rivage Manner

 

For something very special, prepare the following sea food chowder.

Cube small enough cooked fresh or canned lobster to make 2 cups, and combine with 1 scant cup of cooked or canned crab meat, carefully picked and flaked, 1 cup of cooked sea scallops, quartered, and ¾ cup of cooked, carefully boned, and skinned whiting, flaked in a shallow porcelain dish. Sprinkle over ½ cup of good sherry wine, toss the sea food well, and cover with a clean cloth. Set aside for about 20 minutes, tossing the fish occasionally to keep it constantly moistened with the sherry wine.

Very slowly scald 6 cups of rich milk over hot water, with a bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 1 fresh sprig of fennel, 1 sprig of thyme, 12 sprigs of chives, and 2 whole cloves, heads removed, tied with kitchen thread. This steeping should last for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook in chicken stock separately until tender ½ cup each of very small cubes of artichoke bottoms (neatly cubed), scraped celery stalks, young carrots, and potatoes. Drain the vegetables when tender, and combine them.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a soup kettle. Stir in ½ cup of fresh mushrooms, peeled and thinly sliced, and 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped shallots and onions. Cook for 5 short minutes over a gentle flame, stirring frequently, then stir in the strained scalded milk, and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper to taste, and a tiny pinch of saffron. Mix well, and add the sea food, sherry, and the mixed vegetables. Bring to a boil, and let simmer gently for 10 minutes; then, off the fire, stir in 1 cup of scalded sweet cream mixed with 4 fresh egg yolks, slightly beaten. Taste for seasoning, and pour the entire contents into a heated soup tureen, which has been rubbed slightly with garlic. Serve at once with bread and butter toasted sandwiches, cut in finger lengths.

LA SOUPIERE DE TRIPE A LA NORMANDE

[558]

Tureen of Tripe Chowder Normandy Manner

 

(Formula of the fifteenth-eentury-old Hôtellerie du Grand Cerf, Louviers, Eure, France)

 

Tripe is not only the dish delicious, but a favorite of the gourmet the world over; it’s in fact one of the shining stars in the firmament of gastronomy. On account of its pepsin content, it is easily digested and is recommended for those whose digestive tracts are not equal to such well-prepared delicacies as lobster à la Newburg, Hungarian goulash, rich ragouts, or marinated aged venison. And, we may add, who doesn’t remember tripe à la mode de Caen, tripe and onions in cider, served in a chafing dish, honeycomb tripe à la Banus, Béchamel tripe and oysters in patty shells, and tripe pepper pot of fame, the stuff of heroes of Valley Forge.

There are folks who set their faces resolutely against tripe, because it’s the stomach of the cow. Nine times to ten the contemptuous have never tasted this honeycombed meat from the inside. They may know nothing of tripe’s preparation, yet look askance at the devotees who buy such queer stuff. What about kidneys, brains, livers, lungs? Aren’t they meat from the inside? And what about the crabs, the lobsters? Speak up Hype Igoe, Selmer Fougner, Oscar of the Waldorf, and you Master Escoffier!

 

Bring 1 quart of milk to the scalding point with 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, and a 2-inch piece of parsley root, scraped and halved in two lengthwise. Cover, and let steep for 20 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter, stir in 2 tablespoons of grated onion, and cook for 1 short minute. Do not let brown or take on color. Gradually stir in the strained milk, stirring until smooth. Keep simmering over hot water.

Have ready 2 cups of veal broth, made by simmering for 2 long hours a large veal soupbone, cracked, with vegetable soup, and the usual herbs, hot and strained through a fine cloth, and seasoned highly with salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne, and a dash of nutmeg. Stir in the milk mixture, and cook gently for 25 minutes over a low flame, stirring occasionally. Strain again through a fine sieve into a clean soup kettle. Add 1½ pounds of fresh honeycomb tripe, cut into inch squares, and boil gently for 15 minutes. Then add ½ cup each of very small cubes of carrots, potatoes, the tips of fresh asparagus, and celery stalks, carefully scraped, and boil gently and steadily for 15 minutes longer, or until the vegetables are done and the tripe is tender. Let simmer gently while preparing sponge balls.

Sponge Balls. Put 2 fresh egg whites in a cup, fill the cup with cold milk, and pour the contents into a saucepan. Stir in 1 scant cup of flour, sifted with ½ teaspoon of salt, a dash of cayenne, and a dash of nutmeg, alternately with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Stir well over the fire until the batter is thick and smooth. Set it to cool, after which add 2 egg yolks, mixing thoroughly. Drop in scant teaspoons into the chowder, which has been brought to a boil, and cook for 7 or 8 minutes.

Just before serving in a heated soup tureen, rub the tureen with a little cut clove of garlic, and taking ½ cup of the liquid broth from the kettle, beat in 3 fresh egg yolks, and pour into the tureen. Pour over the chowder after tasting for seasoning, and serve at once, after dusting the top of the tureen with finely chopped chervil, parsley, or chives.

LIMA BEAN CHOWDER

[559]

American

 

The delicious and distinctive flavor of the lima bean comes from the presence of cyanide, the deadly poison used as gas in execution chambers. But the amount of cyanide in commercially grown limas is in no way injurious. Lima beans of all colors from red to black grow throughout the world. One type of lima, in Peru, requires a nine-month growing period. But those lima beans need some encouragement to appear at their best. No bean wants just to be a bean and never grow up. Season the little fellows when serving them as a vegetable with a little minced parsley and minced chives.

Cook in a soup kettle ¼ cup of finely chopped salt pork for 3 or 4 minutes. Add 1 large onion, finely chopped, and cook until soft, but not brown, stirring frequently. Pour over 1 quart of either meat or chicken stock or hot water, boiling, stirring while pouring. Add 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, or 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 sprigs of green celery tops, and 2 whole cloves, tied together with kitchen thread. Add 1½ cups of canned lima beans, 2 cups of raw carrot cubes, 2 cups of raw potato cubes, and 1 cup of thinly sliced fresh mushrooms. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add 1 whole clove of garlic, left whole. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes over a gentle flame. Then stir in 1 pint of milk and 1 pint of thin cream, or undiluted evaporated milk. Cook for 5 minutes longer, after stirring in 2 tablespoons of butter creamed with 2 scant tablespoons of flour. Taste for seasoning, discard the bouquet garni, and serve at once with finger lengths of brown bread and butter sandwiches. Dust each plate with finely chopped chives.

LOBSTER CHOWDER CANCALAISE

[560]

French

 

Remove the meat from a 2-pound boiled lobster, and cut into small cubes. Make a lobster-butter-crumb mixture by creaming 1 generous tablespoon of butter with the lobster coral and the liver (the green part) and 3 or 4 tablespoons of fresh bread crumbs. Set aside. Now cook all the lobster pieces for 10 minutes in a generous cup of water or, still better, fish stock, and strain into a soup kettle. Add the lobster meat, the lobster-butter-crumb mixture, and 1 bouquet garni, composed of 7 or 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 extra large bay leaf, the white part of 1 small leek, thinly sliced lengthwise, and carefully washed, and 1 sprig of thyme, all tied with kitchen thread. Then season to taste with a pinch each of mace and sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the mixture 1 quart of scalded milk and 1 cup of heavy cream, also scalded. Blend thoroughly, and add 1 rounded teaspoon of paprika. Bring this mixture to a boil very slowly, and allow to simmer very slowly for 20 to 25 minutes. Discard the bouquet garni, and taste for seasoning. When ready to serve, stir in 1 generous tablespoon of sweet butter and ¼ cup of cooked or canned crab meat, carefully boned and flaked. Serve at once with a side dish of French bread, cut very thin, toasted Melba style and, if you wish, rubbed with garlic to taste. You may stir in, just before serving, 3 or 4 tablespoons of sherry wine. If a richer chowder is desired, you may add ½ cup each of raw cubed small carrots, potatoes, celery, and thinly sliced white part of leek, washed, then cooked separately until tender in either fish stock or plain water, and well drained.

LOUISIANA CRAB GUMBO CHOWDER

[561]

 

Okra, the great summer vegetable of the Creoles, is the vegetable mucilaginous that will thicken a chowder, a gumbo, a soup, or a stew. Their devotion to okra, also called gumbo, may have something to do with the freshness of the vegetable as it is peddled through the street. “Okraiee! Okraiee! They fresh an’ they fine. Yes, am Madame. They fresh and they fine. Jis’ from the field. Yes, am Madame.”

Of this chowder, 2 platefuls make a meal for the Creoles of Louisiana. This will serve 12 persons generously. For less, reduce the amounts of ingredients accordingly.

 

Wipe 3 pounds of okra with a damp cloth to remove the misty fuzz, and cut into thin round slices.

Immerse 6 large live crabs in boiling water for a few seconds; then remove the shells, and quarter the crabs. Set aside in a covered pan until ready to use, saving the shells.

Wash 2 pounds of fresh (not canned) shrimps thoroughly; peel and set aside, saving the shells. Put the shells of the crabs and those of the shrimps in a large soup kettle. Cover with 3 quarts of cold water. Add a large bouquet garni, composed of 2 large bay leaves, 12 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 sprigs of thyme, and 3 or 4 sprigs of green celery tops, tied together with kitchen thread, and 1 clove of garlic, mashed. Let boil for 40 minutes. This stock will be used for the chowder after straining through a fine cloth.

Heat ¾ cup of lard (no other shortening to be used) in a large saucepan or kettle. Add the sliced okra and 2 medium-sized onions, chopped, and cook until the okra is browned, but not to excess, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a grating of nutmeg; then add the crab meat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently over a gentle flame. Gradually stir in the strained shell stock, and bring to a boil. Then stir in 1 tablespoon of tomato paste or thick tomato purée and 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic. Cook gently for 1 long hour over a medium flame. Now add the shrimps, 3 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley, and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped chives. Continue cooking for 2 hours longer, always gently, stirring occasionally. Finally, add 2 cups of raw potato cubes, and continue cooking for 15 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning, and when ready to serve, stir in ½ cup of cooked rice and 2 cups of scalded sweet cream.

MARTHA WASHINGTON’S CRAB MEAT CHOWDER

[562]

 

Boil 8 hard-shelled crabs for 25 to 30 minutes in salted water; pick out carefully the crab meat, then flake. Mash 2 hard-cooked egg yolks with a fork, and blend with 1 tablespoon of flour and the grated rind of 1 small lemon, moistening with 1 teaspoon (more or less) of Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning to taste with salt and white pepper. Scald slowly 5 cups of milk with 2 large bay leaves, a few thin slices of onion, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves. Strain, then stir in the egg yolk paste slowly and gradually, stirring constantly. Return the milk mixture to a soup kettle, and bring to the boiling point, stirring occasionally. Add the picked flaked crab meat, and let simmer gently for 5 long minutes. Then stir in 1 cup of scalded heavy sweet cream alternately with ½ cup of sherry wine. Taste for seasoning, and serve at once with toast or toasted crackers.

MUSHROOM AND POTATO SOUR CREAM CHOWDER

[563]

 

Preserve the distinctive but delicate flavor of fresh mushrooms by careful handling. Do not wash, but peel them, and remove any dark spots. Use the stems down to the joint or knuckle. The peelings, after being washed quickly, may be added to soups or sauces for extra flavor. Canned mushrooms need not be peeled. Dried mushrooms are washed, then soaked for 20 to 25 minutes in warm water before using. Don’t throw away the flavorful liquid from canned mushrooms.

 

Heat 4 tablespoons of butter; stir in ½ pound of fresh mushrooms, peeled and coarsely chopped, and ½ cup of chopped onion. Cook until tender, or for about 6 or 7 minutes, stirring frequently over a gentle heat. Gradually stir in 1 cup of boiling water and 1 cup of small potato cubes, and cook until the potatoes are tender, or about 12 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, a dash each of nutmeg, mace, and cloves, and ¼ teaspoon of thyme leaves (not powder). Gradually stir in 2 cups of scalded milk, and bring to a boil. Remove from the fire, and gradually add 2 well-beaten egg yolks, beaten with ¼ cup of sherry wine and 2 cups of sour cream. Return to the fire. Bring to a boil, taste for seasoning, and serve at once in heated soup plates, containing small bread cubes, fried in butter and well drained, and each plate dusted with finely chopped parsley.

MUSSEL CHOWDER I

[564]

New England manner

 

As one of nature’s most easily digestible foods—equal or superior to either clams or oysters—sea mussels are cheap, easily taken, and accessible to the markets. The quantity of actual nutriment contained in the edible portions is slightly greater than in clams or oysters, and mussels, therefore, contain at least as much food, pound for pound, as is found in related shellfish in common use. Mussels may be cooked in the same ways as oysters and clams, and in other ways distinctly their own.

 

Wash, thoroughly scrub, removing carefully the beard, then drain, and steam 60 mussels until opened. Remove the mussels from their shells, and save the liquor separately, straining it through a fine cloth. Cook 3 medium-sized onions in 3 tablespoons of butter until just beginning to color, stirring almost constantly. Stir in the mussel liquor or broth, let simmer for 5 minutes, or until the onions are tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper, a dash of nutmeg, and as much of powdered thyme. Then stir in 6 cups of scalded milk and thin cream in equal parts. Bring to a boil. Add 1 cup each of cooked carrot cubes, cooked potato cubes, and cooked finely chopped celery stalks. Let boil once, remove from the fire, taste for seasoning, then add the reserved mussels. Turn the chowder into a heated soup tureen. Sprinkle with 1 cup of fine cracker crumbs, and serve immediately with toasted ship biscuits.

MUSSEL CHOWDER II

[565]

Fisherman’s manner

 

This chowder is a one-meal dish, very popular among the New England fishermen and often served for dinner.

 

Wash ½ peck of fresh mussels, scrub thoroughly, removing the beard carefully, rinse in plenty of cold water, and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain, place in a kettle, and steam until opened. Remove the mussels from the shells, reserving the liquor, which should be strained through a fine cloth and kept hot. Cut pound of salt pork into small dices, and fry in a soup kettle until the cracklings are crisp; then add 3 medium-sized onions, thinly sliced, and cook until tender, but do not allow to brown. Sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of flour, and stir well until the flour is blended. Then pour over the cracklings the strained hot mussel liquor and the same amount of hot water. Let come to a boil, then add 3 medium-sized potatoes, thinly sliced. Let boil slowly for 5 minutes, then season to taste with salt (remembering that mussels are a little salty), white pepper, a generous dash of nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon of thyme leaves. Continue boiling gently until the potato slices are tender. Just before serving, stir in 1 pint of scalded milk, and serve with pilot crackers.

MUSSELS A LA MARINIERE

[566]

 

It is a well-admitted fact that any kind of fish, crustacean, shellfish, and the like, when prepared with a certain amount of liquid, is professionally considered as soup in all the acceptation and meaning of the word. The fish or crustacean or shellfish, having left all its flavor and nourishing parts in the liquid, besides being more or less out of shape, becomes more or less unimportant as a fish; and furthermore the gastronomic value lies in the liquid much more than in the fish or pieces of fish proper.

 

Take 3 quarts of mussels, which should be and must be strictly fresh —that is, heavy and with the shells tightly closed, rejecting all those which are open as unfit to eat. Wash them thoroughly, scraping the shells with a knife and changing the water several times. Place them in a large saucepan, and add 1 generous cupful of dry white wine and 1 generous teaspoon each of finely chopped shallots and parsley. You may also add the same amount of finely chopped chives, if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste and a few grains of cayenne pepper. Cover tightly, and steam over a brisk flame until all the shells are open, care being taken that they are not overdone, lest they get tough. Now turn the whole into a colander placed over a large bowl to receive the liquid, which reserve preciously, and strain into a sieve. Remove half the shell of each mussel, leaving those with the fish in them. Arrange these in the dish in which they will be served, and keep hot. Now pour the liquid part into a saucepan, taking care not to mix the sediment which has deposited at the bottom. Reduce this liquid to 1 cup, and to this, add 2 tablespoons of good butter. Correct the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary, and pour over the mussels. Sprinkle minced parsley over the whole, and serve as hot as possible.

OATMEAL CHOWDER

[567]

 

Quick-cooking oatmeal is not precooked. It is exactly the same as the regular, each single oat kernel is rolled in one large flake. In processing the quick-cooking kind, each grain is cut into pieces and rolled in thin flakes. The starch of these smaller flakes is more rapidly swollen and ruptured because the thinness permits quick penetration by steam. Both the regular and quick-cooking oatmeal are whole grain foods with only the chaffy husk removed. The bran of the oats is entirely retained. The oat kernels are steamed for a few minutes at atmospheric pressure to soften them before rolling. But this mild heat treatment does not constitute precooking, and it in no way alters the fine food value of the original grain.

It was forty centuries ago that oats stepped into the kitchen. Some time in the Bronze Age, 3500-1000 B.C., the oat plant was first developed as a domestic crop. In early America, oat for the table was imported from Scotland and was sold in drugstores as a remedial agent.

 

Melt ¼ cup of lard, add ½ cup of chopped onions, and cook until the onion just begins to turn yellow. Turn the mixture into a soup kettle. Add 1 quart of scalded milk, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and a generous dash of thyme leaves. Add 1 cup of cooked carrots and 1 cup of cooked potatoes, cut into fine dice, teaspoon of soda, and 2 cups of canned tomatoes. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, then stir in 1½ cups of cooked oatmeal. Heat to the boiling point, and serve in hot soup plates, each sprinkled with finely chopped parsley. Serve with toast, toasted crackers, or oysterettes.

ONION CHOWDER

[568]

 

I am small, but I am mighty; they speak of my virility and strength. I am known from ocean to ocean as the giver of health and happiness. I provide for earth its first beautiful mantle in the spring. I am hardy, yet mild. Women shun me, yet love me, while men glory in my friendship. I bless the sleepless eye with the kind caress of slumber, while often I am smothered with heat and flame. Some weep for me; all desire me, yet denounce me when among friends. I travel round the globe, yet often I am content to live my life in some lone sequestered spot. I was the sustaining power and inspiration to those who reared the pyramids. I helped the doughboys win the war, although they dried me and confined me in boxes. To be sure I’m the truest friend of the poor, yet I’m in the favor of mighty kings, emperors, and dictators. The fragrance of my spirit pervades alike the humble log cabin, the mansion, and the palace. I’m as old as the world’s history, but my youth bursts forth each spring to a waiting and expectant multitude. I’m derided and made a jest, yet I’m loved by the universe. What am I? I’m an onion.

Never take liberties with an onion. It will get back at you. Peel them under running cold water, else, if you have tears to shed, prepare to shed them now. If you want to bring a chowder to a sharp point, to be sure, you’ll concentrate on the onion.

 

Brown ¼ cup of diced raw bacon in a soup kettle; then add 2½ to 3 cups of coarsely chopped onions, and continue cooking until the onion is golden in hue. Add 2 cups of scalded sweet milk and 3 cups of potatoes, cubed small. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Combine 2 cups of scalded sweet milk and 1 cup of scalded heavy cream, and stir this mixture into that of the onions. Bring the whole to a boil, and allow it to simmer very gently, as gently as possible, for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon so as not to mash the potato cubes. Just before serving, stir in 1 tablespoon of flour which has been blended with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Bring the chowder to a boil, and let boil steadily, but not briskly, for 3 or 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, a dash of cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce. Serve with toasted salted soda crackers.

For a richer soup, stir in, when adding the flour diluted with the water, 2 fresh egg yolks.

OYSTER CHOWDER

[569]

 

Cook in its own fat ½ generous cup of diced salt pork until crisp, over a gentle flame, stirring occasionally. Stir in ¼ cup of chopped onions, and cook until the onions are slightly browned. Then stir in ½ generous cup of chopped celery stalks and 1 generous cup of small carrot cubes, and continue cooking for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Transfer the mixture into a large soup kettle, and add 2 cups of boiling water. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the celery and carrots are tender. Pour in 1 quart of scalded milk, and bring to the boiling point. Do not season as yet. Now add 1 pint of oysters, which have been cooked in their own liquor until the edges curl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to the boiling point, and serve at once with pilot crackers.

If served in a soup tureen, place the pilot crackers in the bottom of the tureen, and pour the hot chowder over them, using a cracker for each serving.

OYSTER CHOWDER A LA MIRABEAU

[570]

 

The oyster has been sung by J. Rouyer, called the poet-cook, who was chef of cuisine to the Marquis de Mirabeau, deputy under Louis XVI, famous for his answer to the king’s order to evacuate the Chamber of Deputies. “Tell the king,” said he to the Comte de Brézé, “that we are here by the will of the people, and that we will not leave our places except at the point of the bayonet.”

It was the chef-poet Rouyer who created this oyster chowder, a culinary masterpiece, and a meal in itself, in honor of Mirabeau.

 

For 6 generous servings, heat ¼ cup of sweet butter. When the butter is foaming, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in 1 pint of well-drained freshly opened small oysters, reserving the liquor, and immediately skim off the oysters, and keep hot. Into the butter remaining in the pan, stir in 1 cup of peeled thinly sliced fresh mushroom caps, and cook for 2 minutes over a gentle flame, stirring constantly. Pour the butter and mushroom slices over the oysters, and keep hot.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, but do not allow it to sizzle, in a saucepan over a low flame; blend in 2 tablespoons of flour, and when bubbling, stir in 1 pint of rich scalded milk, stirring and beating well until the mixture just begins to boil. Let boil for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring frequently, then remove to hot water. Stir in 1 cup of ground fresh oysters, liquid and all. Add 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, tied with 1 sprig of thyme, 1 whole clove, and a 2-inch piece of scraped parsley root. Let simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, over hot water. Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan, cook until tender, with just enough salted water to barely cover, cup of finely chopped celery; cup of thinly chopped green pepper; ¾ cup of tiny potato cubes; ½ cup of tiny carrot cubes, ¼ cup of chopped onion; and cup of thinly sliced, rings separated, white part of small leeks. When the vegetables are tender, add liquid and all to the milk-oyster mixture.

Strain the oyster liquor through a fine cloth, and pour into a bowl. Add 3 fresh egg yolks, and beat well. When well blended, beat in 2 cups of thin cream, scalded, beating well and briskly to prevent curdling. Season to taste with salt and white pepper and a tiny dash of nutmeg. Heat well, but do not let boil.

Arrange the whole oysters and mushroom slices, well drained, in the bottom of a hot soup tureen. Pour over the hot chowder, sprinkle the top with finely chopped chervil, and serve at once with small finger lengths of buttered toast.

OYSTER GUMBO CHOWDER

[571]

Creole

 

Clean, pick over, and parboil in their own liquor 1 pint of shucked or canned oysters until the edges curl. Drain, and add the oyster liquor to 1 quart of Fish Stock (No. 8). Cook 2 tablespoons of grated onion in 2 tablespoons of butter over a low flame, until it just takes on a light color, stirring occasionally. Then add to the stock, butter and all, together with 1 cup of cooked or canned drained okra and 2 cups of tomatoes, cooked or canned (in either case chopped and well drained). Season to taste with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Heat to the boiling point, remove from the fire, and stir in the oysters and 2 tablespoons of sweet butter. Serve with toasted crackers or buttered toast.

OYSTER STEW

[572]

Belmont style—serves 6, allowing 6 oysters to a serving

 

Strain off the liquor of freshly opened 6 medium-sized oysters, reserving the liquor. Cook 3 sprigs of parsley, 3 small branches of celery leaves, and 3 thin slices of onion in 2 cups of hot water for 7 or 8 minutes in a large saucepan. Add 1 quart of rich creamy scalded milk, and allow to heat to the boiling point. Remove from the fire, strain into a heated soup tureen, and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Add 3 dozen oysters and the strained oyster liquor, and let stand a half minute. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in each of the six heated bowls, and serve the stew in the soup tureen. Let each guest dust his own serving with a little paprika to taste. Serve with a side dish of hot toasted oyster crackers.

Variation. You may add 2 teaspoons of curry powder to the hot milk before adding to the water and vegetable mixture, after diluting the curry powder in a little cold water.

PARSNIP CHOWDER

[573]

 

All evidence seems to indicate that the cultivated parsnip was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Romans were supposed to have served parsnips boiled with a sauce made with mead or honey wine; and the Emperor Tiberius liked parsnips so much that every year he had them brought from France, where the climate enabled them to be grown to perfection.

 

Cube small pound of salt pork, and try out over a low flame until the cracklings are crisp and brown. Skim off the cracklings with a perforated spoon, and keep hot. To the fat remaining in the soup kettle, add ¼ cup of chopped onions, and cook until the onion just begins to take on color, stirring frequently. Then stir in 3 cups of parsnips, scraped, cut into small dices, discarding the core, which is usually coarse and tough, and 1 cup of small raw potato cubes. Cook 3 or 4 minutes, then pour over enough hot water to barely cover. Add 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, tied with 6 or 7 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves (tops), and 1 sprig of thyme; 6 or 7 freshly crushed whole peppercorns; and salt to taste. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes over a gentle flame, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Then stir in 1 quart of rich creamy milk, scalded and mixed with ½ cup of rolled cracker crumbs. Bring to a boil, and let boil for 1 minute. Serve very hot in heated soup plates, each dusted with minced parsley, chives, or chervil.

PERCH CHOWDER

[574]

American camper’s manner—a full meal

“Perch, like the Tartar clans, in troops remove,
And, urged by famine or by pleasure, rove;
But, if one prisoner, as in war, you seize,
You’ll prosper, master of the camp with ease;
For, like the wicked, unalarmed they view
Their fellows perish, and their path pursue.”

THOREAU

The perches are among the most singular and interesting of our fresh-water fish, all being of small size and most of them of very brilliant coloration. The two most important species are the yellow and the white perch. The yellow is probably our very best pan and chowder fish.

 

Melt ¼ cup of bacon drippings or lard in a soup kettle, and add the following vegetables in layers: 2 cups of sliced raw potatoes, well packed; 1 cup of thinly sliced carrots; 1 cup of peas, canned and drained; and 1 cup of cleaned string beans. On top place 2½ pounds of cleaned perch, cut into serving pieces, counting the weight after removing the heads and tails. Pour over enough cold water to cover the vegetables, but leave the fish pieces dry. Add 1 large bay leaf tied with 7 or 8 sprigs of fresh parsley and a generous sprig of thyme, 6 or 7 whole peppercorns, freshly crushed, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cover the kettle. Slowly, very slowly, bring to a boil. Reduce the flame, and continue simmering until the vegetables are pierceable and the fish is steamed tender. Remove from the fire, and stir in 3 cups of scalded rich milk, or 1 can of undiluted evaporated milk and 1½ cups of boiling water, to which has been added 1½ to 2 tablespoons of flour, previously diluted in a little cold milk. Cover, and return to a very low flame for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened. At serving time, remove the skin and bones from the fish (which should be on top of the chowder). Flake the fish. Heat to the boiling point, taste for seasoning, and serve at once in heated soup plates or bowls with toasted pilot crackers.

PIKE AND ALMOND CHOWDER

[575]

Formula of the royal house of Louis XVIII

 

Like the coat of arms of the city of Boston, the coat of arms of the city of Kaiserslautern, Germany, was adopted from a fish story of a pike who lived 267 years!!! in the fish pond of Emperor Frederick II (1230-1497).

Called a “standard” fresh-water fish, because it may be found in the market most of the year, is the yellow pike. In texture, it is somewhat like haddock, and all sorts of things may be done to it, such as the delicious pike chowder which used to tickle the palate of Louis XVIII.

 

Stem, wash in several changes of cold water, the last being lukewarm, and sponge in a dry kitchen towel, the following ingredients, then put through a food chopper, or chop fine, collecting carefully the juices: ½ pound of fresh spinach; 3 large lettuce hearts, free from green parts; the white part of 1 medium-sized leek; 2 medium-sized onions; 1 clove of garlic; cup of sorrel leaves; ¼ cup of orach or mountain spinach, if available; ½ cup of stemmed young beet leaves; 2 tablespoons each of chervil and parsley; 12 small fresh leaves of purslane; and 12 marigold petals, carefully freed from ovaries and calyxes, which may give a bitter taste to the stock.

Heat cup of butter in a large soup kettle, add the chopped vegetable mixture and juices, and wilt—no more—over a gentle flame. Do not let cook, but wilt them, stirring constantly. Pour over 2 quarts of fish stock, made from cheap white-flesh fresh-water fish and equal parts of dry white wine. Add 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large or 2 medium-sized bay leaves, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves, heads removed, tied with kitchen thread, 8 whole peppercorns, gently bruised, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil, lower the flame, and let simmer gently for 30 minutes over a low flame, the kettle partially covered.

Strain through a fine-meshed wire or hair sieve into a clean soup kettle. Bring quickly to a boil. Add 3 pounds of cleaned washed pike, cut into small pieces. Boil very gently, let simmer, let smile, for about 20 minutes, or until the fish pieces just begin to flake or separate from the bone. Skim off the fish pieces with a perforated ladle, and let the court bouillon reduce to about 3 cups over a bright flame. Meanwhile, when the fish pieces are cold enough to handle, carefully remove all skin and bones from them, then flake the flesh. Keep hot.

You’ll have cooked separately, in enough salted boiling water to barely cover, the following vegetables: ½ cup of tiny raw carrot cubes, ½ cup of tiny raw white turnip cubes, ½ cup of tiny raw celery hearts, ½ cup of tiny raw artichoke bottom cubes, ¼ cup of tiny raw parsnip cubes, and 1 cup of tiny raw potato cubes. When the vegetables are tender, add liquid and all to the reduced court bouillon, and bring to a boil. Remove from the fire, and stir in the following almond milk:

Almond Milk. Blanch ½ pound of sweet almonds and 3 or 4 bitter almonds, skin them, and put through a food chopper several times, using the finest blade. Add the resulting product to 1½ cups of scalded sweet cream, and let draw for about 15 minutes. Then boil once, and strain through a fine cloth, squeezing both ends, over a clean saucepan. Bring to a boil, and remove from the fire. Beat in, one at a time, 3 fresh egg yolks, beating well after each addition. Stir into the fish stock alternately with ½ generous cup of blanched, shredded, toasted almonds. Taste for seasoning, stir in the flaked fish, and serve immediately in heated soup plates, each sprinkled with a dash of paprika and a little finely chopped chervil or parsley.

PORK SAUSAGE CHOWDER

[576]

Gypsy manner

 

Although Germany has long been considered the home of the sausage, Italy gave it to the world, getting it from the ancient Romans. As early as 100 B.C., according to some archeologists, Rome had many public buffet counters somewhat like the modern frankfurter stands, with a large board displayed over the counter, saying: “Any Roman sellers or peddlers selling adulterated sausage with wheat will be sentenced to hard labor in the mines for life.”

 

Separately cook 2½ cups of tiny raw potato cubes, ½ cup of tiny raw green pepper cubes, ½ cup of tiny raw carrot cubes, ½ cup of tiny raw celery stalk cubes, and ¼ cup of chopped onions in a small amount of salted boiling water until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy, and combine the stock and vegetables in a soup kettle. Shape ½ pound of pork sausage meat into tiny balls, not larger than an ordinary marble, and cook these balls in their own fat over a very low flame until well browned on all sides, shaking the pan from time to time. Pour off all the fat from the pan, and add the sausage balls to the vegetables in the soup kettle. Take 2 tablespoons of the hot fat, heat well, then blend in 2 tablespoons of flour, but do not let brown. When the mixture just begins to bubble, stir in 1 quart of milk, scalded with 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 cloves, then strained, and cook gently, stirring constantly. Let this boil once or twice, then strain through a fine sieve over the vegetables and sausage balls in the kettle. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. Bring to a boil, and pour into a heated soup kettle containing 2 or 3 beaten fresh egg yolks. Mix well and serve at once.

POTATO AND CORN CHOWDER

[577]

Maine manner

“Leek to the Welsh, to Dutchmen butter’s dear,
Of Irish swains Potato is the cheer. . . .”

This verse by John Gay voices a popular conception. It’s surprising, therefore, to learn that so-called Irish potatoes did not come originally from Europe or the British Isles, but are native to South America, where they have been cultivated since at least the time of the Incas. Here the early explorers found potatoes in cultivation, and one of them wrote: “. . . the skinne . . . is of earthy colour, but the inner meate thereof is very white; these are nourished in gardens . . . they are also eaten rawe and have the taste of rawe chestnuts but are somewhat sweeter. . . .”

In his Herbal, published in 1597, Gerarde gives some directions for the use of potatoes, saying: “. . . that they may be rosted in the ashes, when they be so rosted, infuse them and sop them in wine, and others, to give them the greater grace in eating, do boile them with prunes, and so eate them; and likewise, others dress them, being first rosted with oile, vinegar, and salt, every man according to his owne taste and leaking; notwithstanding, however they be dressed, they comfort, nourish, and strengthen the bodie. . . .”

The white potato, frequently shunned by persons trying to lose weight, is no more fattening than a large apple or a large orange, and provides the diet with valuable vitamins and minerals at low cost, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

 

Cut 2 slices of salt pork in small pieces and fry in its own fat until crisp. Remove the cracklings, and keep hot. Add 1 medium-sized onion to the fat remaining in the pan, and cook very slowly for five minutes. Do not allow to brown. Parboil 2 generous cups of potatoes, diced small, for 5 minutes in enough salt water to cover. Then add the potato cubes and whatever there is of potato stock to the onion, adding enough hot water to make 2 cups of liquid. Add 1 large bay leaf tied with 6 sprigs of parsley and 1 sprig of thyme, and cook until the potatoes are tender. Then add 1 cup of canned corn alternately with 1 quart of scalded rich milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in 3 tablespoons of butter. Discard the bouquet of bay leaf, parsley, and thyme, pour over 6 soda crackers placed in a soup tureen, and sprinkle the top with the pork cracklings.

POTATO AND STRING BEAN CHOWDER

[578]

New Jersey manner

 

Put through a food chopper, using a coarse blade, 2 strips of fat bacon or salt pork, and try out in a soup kettle. Stir in ¼ cup of finely chopped onion, and cook until just beginning to take on color, stirring almost constantly. Then add ½ generous pound of cleaned string beans, broken into small pieces, and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Pour over 1 cup of boiling water, and cook for 15 minutes. Then add 1 bay leaf, i sprig of thyme, and 6 or 7 sprigs of parsley, tied together with kitchen thread, and 2 cups of tiny raw potato cubes. Pour in 1 quart of scalded milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover, and let simmer gently for 25 minutes. Remove from the fire, discard the bay leaf bouquet, taste for seasoning, and stir in ¾ cup of scalded thin cream. Pour into hot soup plates or bowls, each containing 4 slices of hard-cooked eggs, dust with parsley and a dash of paprika, and serve at once.

SALMON CHOWDER

[579]

North Pacific manner

 

From California to Alaska, under the tossing waves of the North Pacific, beneath the blue waters of Puget Sound, and the rolling, swirling surface of the coastal rivers, the miracle of the fall migration of salmon and trout is repeated. As if on orders from some high command, one school after another moves from the sea. First come those who must fight their way the full tortuous length of the great rivers —Klamath, Rogue, Columbia, Campbell, Fraser, Yukon. Then others cross river bars, following currents through the sound and through the straits, to seek out their appointed spawning grounds—bubbling stretches of shallow water, gravel bottomed and lightly silted. There are millions on the move—returning after three, four, five, even eight years in the ocean to the fresh swift waters of their birthplace—steadily swimming toward spawning grounds not yet made ready for them. Rains must come to cool the waters, and make murky shallow streams. Creeks must rise, for many future spawning beds are now dry gravel. Small coastal streams must flood to wash away the sand bars blocking their mouths, admitting those who by appointment to nature’s command wait outside. But the recurrent miracle has begun to unfold, and geared to strange instinct, to rain and water, it will continue until the silver-sided millions rediscover their first homes, spawn and die.

 

Cook without browning 1 large onion, thinly sliced, the slices cut in two crosswise, and each ring separated, in ¼ cup of good olive oil, stirring frequently. Then add 1 large can of tomatoes, 1 small can of tomato paste, and 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 8 sprigs of parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, 3 sprigs of green celery leaves (tops), and 2 whole cloves, all tied with kitchen thread. Do not season as yet. Cook gently, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently from the bottom of the kettle. Pour in enough boiling water to generously cover, add 1¾ cups of tiny raw potato cubes and ¼ cup of chopped green pepper, and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until the potato cubes are almost tender, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, scald 1 quart of rich milk with 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and left whole. Add to the chowder 2 pounds of fresh salmon cut into 1½-inch squares, and continue simmering for about 1 minutes, or until the fish flakes. Remove from the fire, discard the bouquet garni, and when ready to serve, season to taste with salt, pepper, and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. Pour the chowder into a heated soup tureen, containing ¼ cup of good sherry wine, alternately with the scalded milk, from which the garlic has been removed and discarded. Dust the top of the chowder with finely chopped parsley, and serve immediately.

SCALLOP CHOWDER

[S80]

Dieppoise manner

 

What does a scallop look like when it comes from its habitat? A pair of shells, resembling in general that of the cherrystone clam, except that they are fluted more artistically and are of fine coloring and richer markings. About two and a half inches in width or perhaps three is the maximum for an adult bay scallop. The deep-sea scallop prevails in water from five to one hundred feet in depth, the shells being smoother and frequently eight inches in diameter, not fluted or scalloped, rather plain.

 

What part of the scallop goes to market? Only the great muscle, otherwise the eye, or better, the heart of the bivalve, is kept for the table. The rest of the soft part, which in an oyster would be the belly, is considered nonedible and is discarded. Therefore, what the cook buys is only the muscle of the eye, which the uninformed often mistake for the whole animal. Just the tidbit of the whole shellfish reaches the kitchen.

 

Heat 3 tablespoons of butter, and blend in 2 tablespoons of flour, stirring almost constantly over a gentle flame. When the mixture just begins to bubble, stir in 1 quarts of rich milk, scalded with 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 leaflets of fresh tarragon herb, then drained. Stir constantly until the mixture starts to boil. Let boil gently for 14 minutes while cooking 3 large onions in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and rub the onions through a fine-meshed wire sieve, and add to the milk mixture, mixing well. Bring to a boil, stir in ¾ pound of sea scallops, which have been washed quickly, drained, then quartered. Lower the flame, and let simmer gently for 15 minutes longer, then add ½ cup each of boiled rice, cooked or canned peas, well drained, small cubes of cooked potatoes, and finely chopped and well-drained red pimiento. Salt to taste, add a generous turn of the pepper mill, and a fresh grating of nutmeg. Keep hot.

Scald 1 cup of rich milk, gradually beat in 3 fresh egg yolks, beating well to prevent curdling, and gradually stir into the chowder. When ready to serve, stir in 3 tablespoons of good sherry wine and 1 tablespoon of butter kneaded with 1 scant tablespoon of finely chopped chervil and 5 or 6 drops of lemon juice. Serve at once.

SHRIMP CHOWDER

[581]

Southern manner

 

Whiskered shrimps resemble small editions of lobsters, but are easier to handle—no waving claws to nip at the fingers, no cold and beady eye to bother the conscience as the cook drops them into the boiling cauldron; but there is an art to practice in cooking fresh shrimps, as there is with lobsters or crawfish.

To bring out the best flavor, shrimps are best boiled in sea water. If this is impossible, use strongly salted water, adding thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and the green tops of celery. Then bring the water to a boil quickly, and drop in the live shrimps. Cook for 8 to 12 minutes, according to size. Cool, but do not hurry the cooling by a cold water bath, as by doing so, you throw away the flavor. Peel, and remove the intestinal black vein. They are ready for hundreds of preparations.

Three kinds of shrimps come to market, but only one in quantity, the common shrimp. There is also the grooved shrimp and the sea bob shrimp.

 

Place 1 pound of fresh shrimps in a colander, and let the cold water run over them, shaking the colander well. Drain well, and place in a saucepan. Add 2 cups of cold water; 2 teaspoons of salt; 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme, 8 sprigs of parsley, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves (tops), and 2 whole cloves, tied together with kitchen thread; ½ medium-sized onion, thinly sliced; and 6 unbruised peppercorns. Cover, bring to a boil, and let boil for 3 or 4 minutes. Then add the shrimps, and let simmer for 8 to 12 minutes, according to size. Allow the shrimps to cool in their own liquor, then shell, being careful to remove the black vein. Meanwhile, cook until tender, 1 cup of tiny raw potato cubes in enough salt water to cover, together with 1 cup of freshly shelled peas, preferably the small kind, and ½ cup each of finely chopped celery stalk and carrots, cubed small, about 15 minutes.

If the shrimps are large, cut them in two, if small, leave them whole. Add them to the cooked vegetables, the vegetable stock included. Keep hot. Blend 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of flour over a gentle flame. When the mixture just begins to bubble, stir in the heated strained shrimp stock, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to boil. Let boil for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the vegetable-shrimp mixture, and blend thoroughly. Scald 1¾ cups of rich milk, thin cream, or undiluted evaporated milk, then stir it into 2 well-beaten egg yolks, and gradually stir this into the chowder. Taste for seasoning, heat well, but do not allow to boil, and serve piping hot, dusted with finely chopped parsley.

SHRIMP AND CRAB MEAT CHOWDER

[582]

Moscovite manner

 

Flake a large can of crab meat or its equivalent of freshly cooked crab meat, removing all cartilage carefully. Mash 3 hard-cooked eggs, or rub through a fine-meshed sieve, and work to a paste 1½ tablespoons of sweet butter and 1 tablespoon of caviar, the grated peel of half a small lemon, and 1 tablespoon of flour, seasoning as you go along with a dash of cayenne, a few grains of white pepper, and teaspoon of salt (more or less, according to the saltiness of the caviar).

Have ready 5 cups of milk, scalded with 1 large bay leaf and a few thyme flowers, then strained. Pour the strained milk gradually and slowly, while stirring constantly, over the paste, stirring until smooth over a gentle flame. When the mixture just begins to bubble, add the flaked crab meat and an equal amount of freshly cooked fresh shrimps, cooked as indicated for Shrimp Chowder (No. 581) above. Let simmer for 19 long minutes, remove from the fire, then stir in 1 cup of thin cream, scalded, into which has been beaten 2 fresh egg yolks, stirring briskly, alternately with 4 tablespoons of cold boiled rice and cup each of tiny cooked carrot dices and tiny cooked green pepper cubes. Taste for seasoning, and when ready to serve, stir in 2 tablespoons of sherry wine, and serve with blinis.

Blinis (Russian Small Pancakes). Dissolve 1 yeast cake in a little lukewarm milk; stir into 1 cup of warm milk enough sifted flour to make a running pancake batter. Stir in the yeast mixture, and let rise for 2 hours in a warm place, covered with a light clean cloth. Then stir in 2 or 3 egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and seasoning, while beating, with a few grains of salt to taste. The batter should be smooth and of a consistency to spread when poured, adding more flour if needed. Lastly, fold in 1 stiffly beaten egg white mixed with ¼. cup of heavy cream, whipped stiff. Cook as you would ordinary pancakes, but have them as small as possible, and as soon as browned on both sides, roll in cigarette fashion.

Just before serving comes the spirit of this delicious chowder, the fragrant saffron. You may rub it to powder, pound it in a mortar, or roast it light till it crumbles, but the last method involves the risk of scorching. Stir it in the chowder, a tiny pinch at a time, till you begin to suspect that you can taste it. Let it not go beyond that suspicion, for the perfect effect is one of delicate aroma, to charm and puzzle the dinner guest.

SHRIMP AND TOMATO CHOWDER

[583]

Formula of the Hotel des Roches Noires, Trouville

 

Cook 1 pound of large fresh shrimps as for Shrimp Chowder (No. 581), adding 4 thin slices of seeded lemon. When done, let the shrimps cool in their own stock, then shell them, remove the black vein, and cut them in half crosswise. Keep hot in a little hot bouillon.

Meanwhile, in another clean saucepan, containing ¼ cup of sweet butter, cook 6 large tomatoes, peeled, gently pressed from their juice and seeds, then cut into small pieces; 2 large onions, peeled, and cut into thin slices, the rings separated; 1 small clove of garlic, peeled, then mashed; and 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 7 or 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves (tops), 1 small sprig of fennel, and 2 whole cloves, tied together with kitchen thread. Cook until the mixture is tender, over a low flame, covered, stirring occasionally.

When the tomato-onion mixture is done, discard the bouquet garni, and rub the mixture through a fine-meshed wire sieve into a clean saucepan. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper. Place over a medium flame, and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture thickens and a good part of the moisture has evaporated. Do not add any sugar, as is done for tomato soup, because the onions partly remove the acid taste of the tomatoes. Now gradually and gently stir in 3 cups of rich chicken stock, fresh or canned, mixed with 3 cups of the strained shrimp broth, which have been heated together to the boiling point. If you have some glace de viande, or meat extract, 1 tablespoon of it stirred into the mixture will not be amiss.

Bring the chowder to a brisk boil, let boil 3 or 4 times, then stir in the cut cooked shrimps. Boil once more, and remove from the fire. Then add 3 tablespoons each of cooked or canned tiny French peas, boiled rice (well in grains), mushroom buttons, halved, cooked in a little butter, and well drained, and canned artichoke bottoms, cubed small, 2 tablespoons of hard-cooked egg whites, chopped, and 2 tablespoons of canned red pimientos, gently squeezed through a cloth to remove excess moisture, and finely chopped. Taste for seasoning, and when ready to serve, pour into a heated soup tureen, containing 1 tablespoon of blanched, shredded, then pounded hazelnuts, creamed with 1 tablespoon of sweet butter. Stir well, dust with finely chopped chives and chervil in equal parts, and serve as hot as possible.

SMELT CHOWDER

[584]

Great Lakes manner

 

Soak 3 pounds of fresh or frozen smelts overnight in salted water to cover. Rinse. This is done to remove the “fresh cucumber” odor. Clean, rinse again, place in a soup kettle, and pour over 1 cup of hot water. Place the kettle in the oven (350° F.) until the smelts are almost tender. Cool slightly, and split the fish in two, removing the backbone and little bones on the edges of each filet. Peel and slice 5 medium-sized potatoes, and place in a soup kettle. Add 6 cups of cold water (not hot). Add 1 cup of chopped onion; 1 bouquet garni, composed of 1 large bay leaf, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves (tops), and 1 whole clove, all tied together with kitchen thread; 1 small clove of garlic, mashed to a pulp; 1½ teaspoons of salt; and 8 peppercorns, crushed. Bring to a boil. Add 3 tablespoons of butter kneaded with 1½ tablespoons of flour, bit by bit, and 1 cup of scalded heavy cream. Boil once more, taste for seasoning, and remove from the fire. Add the flaked smelts, discard the bouquet garni, and serve at once in heated soup plates or bowls, each containing 1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley.

SNAPPER CHOWDER

[585]

Pensacola manner

 

Of all the snappers, the red snapper is by far the most important and best known. It reaches a length of two to three feet and a weight of ten to thirty-five pounds. It is known everywhere as the red snapper. To the Spaniards, it is the pargo colorado, while in the Havana market it is the pargo guachinango, or Mexican snapper because it is brought to that city from the Mexican coast. When the red snappers are spawning, they often are so abundant around a fishing smack as to color the water. The intensity of color of the red snapper varies much with the locality. Specimens from Puerto Rico have a paler general color and the black lateral blotch more persistent.

The red snapper is very much liked in Florida, where they make this delicious chowder.

 

Cut off the head of a red snapper weighing about 4 pounds. Split the fish in two lengthwise, and remove the dorsal bone. Place the head and bone in a soup kettle with about ¾ to 1 pound of cheap fish (any kind). Cover with 2 cups of cold water and 2 cups of dry white wine. Then add 1 large bouquet garni, composed of 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of green celery leaves (tops), 10 sprigs of parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, and 3 whole cloves, all tied with kitchen thread. Add 1 medium-sized carrot, scraped, then sliced thin; 1 small clove of garlic, mashed; 1 small leek, cut into quarters lengthwise, carefully washed, then folded, and tied with kitchen thread; and 2 or 3 thin slices of lemon, seeded. Gradually bring this to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and allow to simmer gently for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, and keep this fish stock hot.

Cut the prepared red snapper into small pieces. Rub each piece with a little mixed salt and pepper, then add the pieces to the fish stock, which has been brought to a boil. Let simmer very gently for 20 minutes. Then add 2 cups of tiny raw potato cubes, 1 cup of tiny raw carrot cubes, ½ cup of tiny raw turnip cubes, and ½ cup of coarsely chopped onions. Continue cooking gently for 20 minutes longer, or till the vegetable cubes are done.

Cream 3 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons of flour, and add bit by bit to the chowder. Cook for 5 minutes longer, and taste for seasoning. When ready to serve in hot soup bowls, stir in 1½ cups of thin cream, scalded and mixed with 3 beaten egg yolks. Heat well, but do not allow to boil, and serve with Melba Toast (No. 791).

STURGEON CHOWDER

[586]

Northwestern Canadian manner

 

An almanac of 1760 mentions that the Delaware River abounded with sturgeon, and the colonial fathers ate plenty of caviar and sturgeon. Then all of a sudden this delicate fish disappeared. Today we rely on Canada, which ships annually around 30,000 pounds —much of it is smoked and sold for the delicatessen market. It is richer than salmon. However, those who can find some fresh sturgeon, properly cooked, enjoy a prime delicacy. At its best, sturgeon meat, a bit firmer than halibut and of a better flavor than swordfish, is popular along the Atlantic seaboard, and is a supreme delicacy. With the end part, the Northwestern Canadians make a fine chowder.

 

Wipe with a damp cloth a 3-pound piece of sturgeon taken from the side tail. Pour over 3 cups of fish stock, made with i pound of cheap fish in the usual way, and 3 cups of dry white wine. Add 1 small carrot, thinly sliced; the white part of a small leek, thinly sliced; 2 small hearts of lettuce, thinly sliced; 1 large bay leaf; an inch piece of parsley root, scraped and thinly sliced; 1 sprig of thyme; 2 whole cloves; 1 good-sized blade of garlic; and 6 thin slices of onions. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, freshly ground, and slowly bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 or 2 minutes, lower the flame, and allow to simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove the fish from the court bouillon, and strain the stock. When the fish is cold enough to handle, remove all bones, returning the fish to the stock as you go along. Then add ½ cup of boiled rice, ½ cup of canned or freshly cooked peas, and ½ cup of cooked celery root, diced small. Simmer the mixture while preparing herring soft roes as follows:

Wash quickly 6 herring soft roes, place in a shallow pan, cover with milk, and blanch for 5 minutes, counting the time when the milk boils. Drain, discarding the milk. Arrange the soft roes in 4 tablespoons of hot butter, and cook for 5 minutes on both sides. Take a ladleful of the liquid from the chowder, pour it over the roes, and let them simmer gently for 5 to 8 minutes, the time depending on the size of the roes. Pour the roes and liquid into a heated soup tureen, and keep hot.

Beat 3 fresh egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of parsley and 2 tablespoons of Madeira wine until thoroughly blended; then pour over, gradually and slowly, beating briskly all the while, 2 cups of scalded thin cream or evaporated milk. Beat this into the chowder off the fire. Taste for seasoning, and pour over the roes in the soup tureen. Serve with cheese croutons.

Cheese Croutons. Cover 3 slices of bread with thin slices of American or Swiss cheese. Toast under a low flame in the broiling oven until the cheese is entirely melted. Quickly sprinkle with paprika, then more rapidly cut each slice into 9 squares with a sharp knife dipped in hot water.

TOMATO CHOWDER

[587]

Beauvilliers manner

 

Cut enough salt pork as finely as possible to make 5 tablespoons of it. Place it in a soup kettle with 1 clove of garlic, minced very fine, and fry until crisp. Then add 3 medium-sized onions, sliced very thin, and 1 whole green pepper, removing the white ribs and seeds, and cutting it julienne fashion. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon. Now add 1 cup of small cubes of raw potatoes, 1 cup of thinly sliced leeks, using white and green parts, and enough cold water to cover generously. Bring to a boil. Add 1 large bay leaf, tied with 6 or 7 sprigs of parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves with heads removed. Lower the flame, and allow to simmer gently until the potatoes are done, but a little on the firm side. Moisten ¼ teaspoon of baking soda with a few drops of cold water. Add to the soup with 3½ to 3¾ cups of fresh raw tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into small pieces, and salt, pepper, and a touch of cayenne. Continue simmering for about 20 minutes longer. At this point, the water should be almost evaporated. Pour in, stirring constantly, 2½ cups of scalded milk and 2½ cups of scalded thin cream (undiluted evaporated milk may be used, if desired). Bring to a boil, set the soup kettle aside, and skim off all the fat possible. Thicken the soup with 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley or chervil. Return to the fire, boil up once or twice, and taste for seasoning. Serve in hot soup plates, each containing 5 or 6 thin slices of frankfurters, skinned. Serve with American soda biscuits, toasted after being soaked in milk.

TURKEY CHOWDER

[588]

 

It isn’t just the leftovers of a previous meal that go into a second, even a third day, dish. Imagination is one of the chief ingredients, and imagination is not mentioned in the cook books, to captivate discriminating tastes. For instance, don’t throw out the turkey carcass, the scraps of skin or dibdabs of dressing, until you’ve first extracted their goodness for the soup kettle.

By the way, do you know how our holiday bird was named? One explanation (there are several) is that Luis de Torres, a member of Columbus’s crew, named the bird Tukki, Hebrew for peacock. Through usage, Tukki became turkey.

 

Let simmer, covered, all the bones and skin of roast turkey in 2 quarts of cold water, with 1 large bay leaf, tied with 7 or 8 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 sprig of thyme, and 2 whole cloves, for 1½ hours. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean kettle. Let cool, and when cold, skim off the cake of fat from the top. Return the turkey stock to the fire. Add 1 cup of tiny raw potato cubes, ½ cup of tiny raw carrot cubes, ¼ cup of finely chopped green pepper, free from seeds and white ribs, cup of coarsely chopped onion, 1 whole clove of garlic, left whole, and 2 sprigs of marjoram. Cook until the vegetables are tender, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Stir in 2 cups of scalded milk mixed with 2 beaten egg yolks. Taste for seasoning, and just before serving, stir in 1½ tablespoons of sweet butter. Serve very hot with toasted buttered crackers.

You may stir in, just before serving, 2 or 3 tablespoons of sherry wine, about ½ to ¾ cup of chopped cooked turkey, and 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped.

TURTLE CHOWDER

[589]

Philadelphia manner

 

The turtle, like the oyster, stands in a class of its own. It has a specialized public, and most people believe a specialized season, beginning with Christmas and extending through winter. But turtle soup cannot be relegated to a seasonal category. The initiated know it’s a soup epicurean for a midsummer dinner. It’s not heavy, it’s not heating, a rare stimulant and nutritious. Turned into a chowder, it’s almost a complete delicious meal, especially if flavored with sherry wine, which releases some subtle essences in the flesh of the turtle that, uniting with the wine, miraculously blend with it into the savor of things Parnassian, that primal and refreshing snack of the Castalian spring that recaptures for the aging epicurean youth’s keenness of appetite.

For a delectable soup, use the turtle flippers, which also make a delicious stew.

 

Cut into small pieces 4½ pounds of turtle flippers, with the bone in, to lend its extra goodness to the chowder. Rinse in cold water, then in lukewarm water. Place the drained pieces in a soup kettle, containing 3½ quarts of lukewarm water. Add a bouquet garni, composed of 2 large bay leaves, 1 sprig of thyme, 10 sprigs of fresh parsley, 2 sprigs or leaflets of sage, 2 sprigs or leaflets of rosemary, and 2 sprigs or leaflets of savory, all tied together with kitchen thread. (Should you not be able to get the fresh herbs, use the dried ones tied into a small muslin bag.) Season lightly with salt, and add 1 dozen bruised peppercorns. Slowly bring to a boil, and let boil steadily, but gently, for 5 minutes, skimming off the scum. When no more scum appears on the surface, add 2 small carrots, scraped and quartered; 1 large onion, coarsely chopped; 2 celery stalks, scraped, then coarsely chopped; 2 small leeks, halved, the green parts folded with the white parts and tied together; 1 small white turnip, quartered; and ½ cup of fresh mushrooms, peeled, then coarsely chopped. Cover, and let simmer gently for 3 hours. Empty the whole kettle into a colander, then strain the stock through a fine cloth, and let it cool overnight. Fish out from the colander the pieces of turtle flippers. When cold enough to handle, pick all the meat from the bones. Keep in the refrigerator overnight.

Next day, skim off all the fat from the stock, which will be in a form of a cake. Reserve it for other use. Divide the stock in two, using one part for the chowder, the other part for hot or jellied turtle bouillon some other day.

Put the unreserved part into a clean saucepan over a bright flame, and let it reduce to half its volume, or about 3½ cups. Add 1 cup of the chopped turtle meat; 1 cup of dry white wine; cup each of boiled rice, cooked tiny cubes of raw carrots, and tiny cubes of cooked (a little on the firm side) tiny potato cubes; 1 tablespoon of cooked minute tapioca; and 2 tablespoons of hard-cooked chopped egg whites. Bring to a boil, let simmer for 5 long minutes, and taste for seasoning. Just before serving, stir in 1 cup of scalded heavy cream, mixed with 3 beaten fresh egg yolks, the egg yolks beaten with 3 tablespoons of dry sherry wine. Then pour into a heated soup tureen, containing a half shad roe, parboiled, then drained. Dust the top with a little finely chopped parsley, and serve at once with a side dish of Boston brown bread and almond-butter finger sandwiches, the almond butter made as follows:

Special Almond Butter. Blanch 1 dozen almonds, drain, then pound into a mortar, or put several times through a food chopper, using a fine blade. Add while pounding or grinding a few drops of cold water to prevent the almonds from turning oily. Then cream the almond paste with 2 tablespoons of sweet butter and 1 teaspoon of finely chopped chervil. When thoroughly blended, rub the mixture through a fine sieve, and chill well before using.