Page:The White House Cook Book.djvu/59

 SOUPS WITHOUT MEAT. 45

a wire sieve (use the remainder in stock), then take 1 Ib. of good fresh beef suet, which skin, shred and chop very fine; put it in a mortar and pound it, then add 6 oz. of panada (that is, bread soaked in milk, and boiled till nearly dry) with the suet ; pound them well to- gether, and add the veal, season with 1 teaspoonful of salt, J tea- spoonful of pepper, J that of nutmeg; work all well together; then add four eggs by degrees, continually pounding the contents of the mortar. When well mixed, take a small piece in a spoon, and poach it in some boiling water, and if it is delicate, firm, and of a good flavor, it is ready for use.

CROUTONS FOR SOUP.

IN a frying pan have the depth of an inch of boiling fat ; also have prepared slices of stale bread cut up into little half -inch squares ; drop into the frying pan enough of these bits of bread to cover the surface of the fat. When browned, remove with a skimmer and drain ; add to the hot soup and serve.

Some prefer them prepared in this manner:

Take very thin slices of bread, butter them well ; cut them up into little squares three-fourths of an inch thick, place them in a baking pan, buttered side up, and brown in a quick oven.

FISH STOCK.

PLACE a saucepan over the fire with a good-sized piece of sweet butter and a sliced onion ; put into that some sliced tomatoes, then add as many different kinds of fish as you can get oysters, clams, smelts, pawns, crabs, shrimps and all kinds of pan-fish ; cook all together until the onions are well browned ; then add a bunch of sweet herbs, salt and pepper, and sufficient water to make the required amount of stock. After this has cooked for half an hour pound it with a wooden pestle, then strain and cook again until it jellies.

FISH SOUP.

SELECT a large, fine fish, clean it thoroughly, put it over the fire with a sufficient quantity of water, allowing for each pound of fish one quart of water ; add an onion cut fine and a bunch of sweet herbs. When the fish is cooked, and is quite tasteless, strain all through a colander, return to the fire, add some butter, salt and pepper to taste.

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