Best selling novels and tell-alls stay on the bestseller list for weeks if they are really good and topical. Most new books disappear from the public eye in days. The exception is cookbooks. A good cookbook can keep its buzz for years. Some cookbooks are treated like family heirlooms and get passed from generation to generation.
The Art of Pizza Making by Dominick A. Deangelis has been around since 1991 and it shows no signs of slowing down. People who bought it, or were lucky enough to get it as a gift, a month or so ago have tried the methods and the recipes and now cannot wait to write their review on Amazon. Maybe the Art of Pizza Making is working its way into heirloom status.
Almost everybody likes pizza. Anybody who has had an exceptionally good pizza loves it, and the sensation of taste of that one pizza slice has been permanently implanted into the nether regions of their brain. Pizza ingredients are salty, sweet and acidic, so maybe a good pizza is like a red wine that unlocks every taste receptor in your body and keeps you wanting more.
The Art of Pizza Making is the real deal. The author covers every step of the pizza making process and tells you exactly what you have to do to make exceptional tasting pizza with just the right crispness and texture. The news may be disappointing to the home chef because some of the ingredients are available only in large quantities from restaurant supply houses. For example, Deangelis wants you to use a particular kind of flour with a very specific proportion of gluten. Neither grocery store all-purpose flour nor bread making flour fit the parameters he is looking for.
You will need a stand mixer with a bread hook. The author recommends a Kitchenaid but says that any 250W stand mixer will probably do the trick. If you get serious about pizza making forget the Kitchenaid and look for a DeLhongi stand mixer. When you are not making pizza you can power a small boat with it.
This book not only tells you what type of flour, cheese, and tomato base to use, but how to kneed the dough, how long to let it rise, and what preparation temperature you need the dough at to make the perfect crust. If you follow the directions in the book and use the same ingredients, or as close as you can get to the right ingredients, you will make a pizza as good as or better than any franchise pizza store. If you love pizza you need this book.
Beyond the book but essential information for pizza making nonetheless is your oven. The very best pizza is made in brick ovens fired by open flames at temperatures far greater than most home ovens can achieve. One way around this limitation is a nifty gadget created by Villaware. You put their pizza maker on top of your gas or charcoal grill which can produce a very high temperature. The permeable clay stone on the Villaware pizza maker will allow the flames to cook the pizza evenly, making a crisp crust each and every time. The built in thermometer will help you hit the correct temperature.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Goji Berry (lycium Barbarum) by Gabriel Adams
Goji berry refers to the Chinese name for the bright orange-red fruit of the woody and thorny plant (shrub) Lycium babarum. In English, it is commonly known by the name wolfberry. L. barbarum is one of the 90 species of the genus Boxthorn (Lycium in latin) in the Solanaceae family (other plants in this family being tomato, potato, eggplant, chili pepper, tobacco, etc.). It is believed to have originated somewhere in the regions of southeast Europe and southwest Asia, but is now grown all over the world - China being the largest producer.
Goji berry is also known by other names like Chinese wolfberry, matrimony vine and Duke of Argyll's tea tree; in herbal health care stores the dried form of the fruit is marketed as Tibetan or Himalayan Goji berry. The majority of the commercially produced Goji berry comes from the Ningxia and Xinjiang regions in China.
Celebrated in Asia as one of Nature's most nutrient-rich health foods since thousands of years, the legendary health benefits that Goji berry is claimed to confer are eyesight improvement, boosting immunity, liver protection, longevity, etc. The presence of a large number of micronutrients and phytochemicals in this fruit has been corrobarated by scientific studies.
It is perhaps the presence of large amounts of phytochemicals like polysaccharides, sterols and zeaxanthin and antioxidants like beta carotene, lutein, lycopene and vitamin C, in addtion to loads of minerals like calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and selenium, that lend the legendary health-giving properties to Goji berry.
As a food, Goji berry can be eaten either raw or brewed into a tea. It tastes similar to raisins, though less sweet and more dry. Commercially, it is available as dried fruit or in the form of juice or powder. Goji berry is often used in China as an ingredient in soups, too. Its leaves and young shoots are consumed as a leafy vegetable in China. In fact, even a Chinese wine is produced from Goji berry.
Maybe you can use your own culinary imagination to savor the taste and discover the health benefits of this exotic superfruit in numerous other ways.
Goji berry is also known by other names like Chinese wolfberry, matrimony vine and Duke of Argyll's tea tree; in herbal health care stores the dried form of the fruit is marketed as Tibetan or Himalayan Goji berry. The majority of the commercially produced Goji berry comes from the Ningxia and Xinjiang regions in China.
Celebrated in Asia as one of Nature's most nutrient-rich health foods since thousands of years, the legendary health benefits that Goji berry is claimed to confer are eyesight improvement, boosting immunity, liver protection, longevity, etc. The presence of a large number of micronutrients and phytochemicals in this fruit has been corrobarated by scientific studies.
It is perhaps the presence of large amounts of phytochemicals like polysaccharides, sterols and zeaxanthin and antioxidants like beta carotene, lutein, lycopene and vitamin C, in addtion to loads of minerals like calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and selenium, that lend the legendary health-giving properties to Goji berry.
As a food, Goji berry can be eaten either raw or brewed into a tea. It tastes similar to raisins, though less sweet and more dry. Commercially, it is available as dried fruit or in the form of juice or powder. Goji berry is often used in China as an ingredient in soups, too. Its leaves and young shoots are consumed as a leafy vegetable in China. In fact, even a Chinese wine is produced from Goji berry.
Maybe you can use your own culinary imagination to savor the taste and discover the health benefits of this exotic superfruit in numerous other ways.
An Immigrant's Guide to Assimilation by Terry Kaufman
The deep, dark recesses of the brain of any student of early 20th century American history should light up, tingling, when they compute the importance of The Settlement Cookbook and the Settlement House, established by Lizzie Black Kander. Both the concept and the woman made an indelible mark on America.
A native of Milwaukee, Lizzie Black Kander (b. 1858) was a moving force in establishing Milwaukee's first social settlement in 1900. This organization, under the auspices of the Federation Jewish Charities of Milwaukee, was known everywhere as "The Settlement" or "The Settlement House." It offered instruction to newly arrived immigrants in vocational and domestic skills, plus classes in English, American history, and music, in hopes of introducing immigrant women to American consumer culture.
From the classes at the Settlement House sprang the need for somehow replicating recipes, household hints, and advice on housekeeping that were written on the chalkboard. The students, most of them high school girls, needed to get home before dark but were spending way too much time copying the lessons.
Mrs. Kander thought the creation of a cookbook would help alleviate the situation and allow more time for actual instruction. Since the gentlemen on the Settlement Board of Directors weren't willing to risk the magnanimous amount of $18 on this venture and no other Jewish organizations were offering help in funding, Kander went to the printer husband of one of her female friends in hopes of assistance. He printed this landmark cookbook which was supported by selling advertisements from establishments such as the Boston Store, the Pfister Hotel, and the Plankinton House Hotel, to name but a few.
Because of the funding, Kander was able to augment the contents of the original book with more recipes donated by her friends, Milwaukee society matrons, favorite European recipes from her students and their families, and even was able to include recipes from noted chefs here and abroad.
In April, 1901, the first run of the cookbook made its appearance in the guise of The Way to a Man's Heart...The Settlement Cookbook. Divided equally between simple recipes for girls just learning to cook and more involved and complex recipes for those cooks with previous training, The Settlement Cookbook also included household tips, and housekeeping advice. Spill grease on your floor? Immediately pour ice water on it to harden the grease. How to properly set a table? Always use clean linen, even if it is coarse and cheap. And so forth. Throughout the book, an underlying current implies that if you follow all the recipes and other directions implicitly, you will become a good American.
The Settlement Cookbook was Jewish by association only. After learning the book was written for and financed by a Jewish organization, many people automatically assumed it was a Jewish cookbook, not meant for any other group of Milwaukee residents but the Jews. From the very birth of the project, The Settlement Cookbook displayed a patent disregard for Jewish food regulations: it offered recipes for borscht, chopped herring, and paprika schnitzel in the same breath as recipes for oyster bisque and scalloped ham and potatoes for its non-Jewish readers. Just in the space of the two above-mentioned dishes, several rules of Kashrut (dietary laws, or the body of regulations in keeping Kosher) have been broken: oyster bisque contains oysters (shellfish that are prohibited) and cream; scalloped ham and potatoes is a double whammy with ham (from the pig which has a cloven hoof) and scalloped potatoes covered in cheese (milk and meat must not be consumed together). The Settlement Cookbook was a combination of Jewish, German, and other European recipes.
It is quite easy to be deluded with the ethnicity of the book. I have a tattered, hand-me-down copy of The Settlement Cookbook from my mother whose mother was Hungarian. I still remember my surprise the first time I let my fingers walk through the recipes, stopping here and there, to look at early 20th century standards in food and housekeeping. What were all these non-Jewish recipes doing in the book? They don't belong here! It must be a printing error; they must belong in another cookbook. I was in mild shock looking at pork recipes and others of their ilk. Where was the recipe for Eastern European sweet and sour cabbage soup with chunks of beef and dozens of plump raisins floating throughout? What do I need to make Gefilte fish from scratch? Do I boil or bake my bagels?
Conceivably the most successful fundraising cookbook in American history, The Settlement Cookbook was initially sold for 50 cents per copy. It has been revised into 40 editions, including one in Yiddish for the young immigrant women for whom the book was written. It has sold more than 2 million copies and still funds charitable projects to the present. It is still a source of funding for the all-purpose Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee and remains a vibrant reminder of American social history.
NEXT INSTALLMENT: A close-up look at television's bad boy, Master Chef Gordon Ramsey, from his family's itinerant beginnings to the phenomenal success he enjoys world over. Is he vitriolic all the time or is it part of his TV persona?
A native of Milwaukee, Lizzie Black Kander (b. 1858) was a moving force in establishing Milwaukee's first social settlement in 1900. This organization, under the auspices of the Federation Jewish Charities of Milwaukee, was known everywhere as "The Settlement" or "The Settlement House." It offered instruction to newly arrived immigrants in vocational and domestic skills, plus classes in English, American history, and music, in hopes of introducing immigrant women to American consumer culture.
From the classes at the Settlement House sprang the need for somehow replicating recipes, household hints, and advice on housekeeping that were written on the chalkboard. The students, most of them high school girls, needed to get home before dark but were spending way too much time copying the lessons.
Mrs. Kander thought the creation of a cookbook would help alleviate the situation and allow more time for actual instruction. Since the gentlemen on the Settlement Board of Directors weren't willing to risk the magnanimous amount of $18 on this venture and no other Jewish organizations were offering help in funding, Kander went to the printer husband of one of her female friends in hopes of assistance. He printed this landmark cookbook which was supported by selling advertisements from establishments such as the Boston Store, the Pfister Hotel, and the Plankinton House Hotel, to name but a few.
Because of the funding, Kander was able to augment the contents of the original book with more recipes donated by her friends, Milwaukee society matrons, favorite European recipes from her students and their families, and even was able to include recipes from noted chefs here and abroad.
In April, 1901, the first run of the cookbook made its appearance in the guise of The Way to a Man's Heart...The Settlement Cookbook. Divided equally between simple recipes for girls just learning to cook and more involved and complex recipes for those cooks with previous training, The Settlement Cookbook also included household tips, and housekeeping advice. Spill grease on your floor? Immediately pour ice water on it to harden the grease. How to properly set a table? Always use clean linen, even if it is coarse and cheap. And so forth. Throughout the book, an underlying current implies that if you follow all the recipes and other directions implicitly, you will become a good American.
The Settlement Cookbook was Jewish by association only. After learning the book was written for and financed by a Jewish organization, many people automatically assumed it was a Jewish cookbook, not meant for any other group of Milwaukee residents but the Jews. From the very birth of the project, The Settlement Cookbook displayed a patent disregard for Jewish food regulations: it offered recipes for borscht, chopped herring, and paprika schnitzel in the same breath as recipes for oyster bisque and scalloped ham and potatoes for its non-Jewish readers. Just in the space of the two above-mentioned dishes, several rules of Kashrut (dietary laws, or the body of regulations in keeping Kosher) have been broken: oyster bisque contains oysters (shellfish that are prohibited) and cream; scalloped ham and potatoes is a double whammy with ham (from the pig which has a cloven hoof) and scalloped potatoes covered in cheese (milk and meat must not be consumed together). The Settlement Cookbook was a combination of Jewish, German, and other European recipes.
It is quite easy to be deluded with the ethnicity of the book. I have a tattered, hand-me-down copy of The Settlement Cookbook from my mother whose mother was Hungarian. I still remember my surprise the first time I let my fingers walk through the recipes, stopping here and there, to look at early 20th century standards in food and housekeeping. What were all these non-Jewish recipes doing in the book? They don't belong here! It must be a printing error; they must belong in another cookbook. I was in mild shock looking at pork recipes and others of their ilk. Where was the recipe for Eastern European sweet and sour cabbage soup with chunks of beef and dozens of plump raisins floating throughout? What do I need to make Gefilte fish from scratch? Do I boil or bake my bagels?
Conceivably the most successful fundraising cookbook in American history, The Settlement Cookbook was initially sold for 50 cents per copy. It has been revised into 40 editions, including one in Yiddish for the young immigrant women for whom the book was written. It has sold more than 2 million copies and still funds charitable projects to the present. It is still a source of funding for the all-purpose Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee and remains a vibrant reminder of American social history.
NEXT INSTALLMENT: A close-up look at television's bad boy, Master Chef Gordon Ramsey, from his family's itinerant beginnings to the phenomenal success he enjoys world over. Is he vitriolic all the time or is it part of his TV persona?
Create a Family Heirloom Cookbook by John Pawlett
Almost every family has a treasured recipe, handed down through generations, that is not only beloved because it's delicious, but because it evokes memories of favorite family get-togethers.
A family heirloom recipe book is a wonderful way to combine favorite dishes and family folklore. According to Cheryl Wolf, a performance artist and graphic design instructor at The New England Institute of Art, 'Family recipes are a valuable resource for a family history. I have built an entire performance around my family's recipes and the stories they evoke! 'Breaking bread' together is life-affirming. What better way to reach back and bring personal history to the present?'
Wolf adds, 'A family recipe is also a family history, and can be a wonderful work of folk art.' For example, she says, take the opportunity to not only write down family recipes for generations to come, but include famous family stories (every family has them), photos and memorabilia as well.
But how to turn family culinary gems into actual recipes? Chef Peter Adams of the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago has a few tips: 'Start with a family letter, asking everyone to send back one or more of their 'specialties' by a particular date. Ask those who can to reply by email so you can cut and paste recipes right into your final document.'
If you have a relative who never writes down recipes (it seems like all the best recipes are never written down), but rather cooks by 'a dash of this, a little bit of that,' consider having someone in your family be the 'helper,' and prepare the dish along with them. Adams suggests the 'helper' measure, guesstimate, and generally keep track of how the dish is prepared, including cooking times and temperatures. The 'helper' should also be sure to ask about consistency, color, texture and doneness. According to Adams, 'This last bit of information is always the most important part of passing along a recipe.' Once you have a written recipe, prepare it again according to the directions, and adjust the recipe as necessary to get as close as possible to the original.
When you're asking for recipes, provide everyone with a similar format. For example, ask family members to list the ingredients to be used in order, together with the quantities. Lay out the steps that are needed in order to make the item, and always add little comments about what to look for as the dish is prepared, and when it is done. It can be a lot of work, especially with recipes that were never written down. But, says Adams, ultimately it's worth it because you'll be saving an important -- and delicious bit of your familys history.
Once you have the recipes, youll want to create a look for your cookbook that reflects your family. A simple way to do this, says Meryl Epstein of The Art Institute of Phoenix, is to include family mementos or old photos, along with the recipes. A simple way to share one-of-a-kind memorabilia is to take them to a local copy center and make color copies.
'You can use the color copies you make as background, and print a recipe over the photo, or have the recipe on one page, and a photo on the facing page. You can also create a collage using items such as blue ribbons (won for a cooking), tickets stubs or airplane tickets from a favorite trip that produced a great recipe,' says Epstein.
For text, use simple fonts like Times Roman or Arial so that they are easy to read for all ages. Save decorative fonts for recipe titles or chapter headings. Consider creating a box -- with shading and borders -- for the recipe itself so that there is enough contrast between the recipe and any background artwork you use.
Epstein suggests writing an introduction about the cookbook, its organization and how family responded to the project. Be sure to date the book and have a table of contents so family and friends can easily find a favorite recipe. Here are a few of her suggestions for organizing recipes:
* by category, for example, appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and desserts
* by family, for example, grandmother, aunt and uncle, or cousin recipes
* by holiday, for example, favorite dishes for the 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Labor Day
To keep recipes easy to read and clean, consider putting them in plastic sleeves (available in craft and office supply stores) and then in 3-ring binders. Says Epstein, 'This way, you can add a new recipe every year.'
A family heirloom recipe book is a wonderful way to combine favorite dishes and family folklore. According to Cheryl Wolf, a performance artist and graphic design instructor at The New England Institute of Art, 'Family recipes are a valuable resource for a family history. I have built an entire performance around my family's recipes and the stories they evoke! 'Breaking bread' together is life-affirming. What better way to reach back and bring personal history to the present?'
Wolf adds, 'A family recipe is also a family history, and can be a wonderful work of folk art.' For example, she says, take the opportunity to not only write down family recipes for generations to come, but include famous family stories (every family has them), photos and memorabilia as well.
But how to turn family culinary gems into actual recipes? Chef Peter Adams of the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago has a few tips: 'Start with a family letter, asking everyone to send back one or more of their 'specialties' by a particular date. Ask those who can to reply by email so you can cut and paste recipes right into your final document.'
If you have a relative who never writes down recipes (it seems like all the best recipes are never written down), but rather cooks by 'a dash of this, a little bit of that,' consider having someone in your family be the 'helper,' and prepare the dish along with them. Adams suggests the 'helper' measure, guesstimate, and generally keep track of how the dish is prepared, including cooking times and temperatures. The 'helper' should also be sure to ask about consistency, color, texture and doneness. According to Adams, 'This last bit of information is always the most important part of passing along a recipe.' Once you have a written recipe, prepare it again according to the directions, and adjust the recipe as necessary to get as close as possible to the original.
When you're asking for recipes, provide everyone with a similar format. For example, ask family members to list the ingredients to be used in order, together with the quantities. Lay out the steps that are needed in order to make the item, and always add little comments about what to look for as the dish is prepared, and when it is done. It can be a lot of work, especially with recipes that were never written down. But, says Adams, ultimately it's worth it because you'll be saving an important -- and delicious bit of your familys history.
Once you have the recipes, youll want to create a look for your cookbook that reflects your family. A simple way to do this, says Meryl Epstein of The Art Institute of Phoenix, is to include family mementos or old photos, along with the recipes. A simple way to share one-of-a-kind memorabilia is to take them to a local copy center and make color copies.
'You can use the color copies you make as background, and print a recipe over the photo, or have the recipe on one page, and a photo on the facing page. You can also create a collage using items such as blue ribbons (won for a cooking), tickets stubs or airplane tickets from a favorite trip that produced a great recipe,' says Epstein.
For text, use simple fonts like Times Roman or Arial so that they are easy to read for all ages. Save decorative fonts for recipe titles or chapter headings. Consider creating a box -- with shading and borders -- for the recipe itself so that there is enough contrast between the recipe and any background artwork you use.
Epstein suggests writing an introduction about the cookbook, its organization and how family responded to the project. Be sure to date the book and have a table of contents so family and friends can easily find a favorite recipe. Here are a few of her suggestions for organizing recipes:
* by category, for example, appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and desserts
* by family, for example, grandmother, aunt and uncle, or cousin recipes
* by holiday, for example, favorite dishes for the 4th of July, Thanksgiving or Labor Day
To keep recipes easy to read and clean, consider putting them in plastic sleeves (available in craft and office supply stores) and then in 3-ring binders. Says Epstein, 'This way, you can add a new recipe every year.'
Your Guide To Buying Coffee Equipment Online by Jin Ee
As well as a basic straightforward espresso machine, there are lots of pieces of ancillary equipment that you can buy to help you produce the very best coffee possible. Buying these useful items online has huge advantages: it can save you lots of time, you can easily find the very best deals and you can have the equipment delivered directly to your door. So what sort of extra equipment will you need to consider?
Espresso machines: These come in all shapes, sizes and finishes, so make sure you compare web sites to find the most suitable machine for your business. Try and get an espresso machine that offers a good warranty as this will cover you for the first year or so if anything goes wrong.
Grinders: When you buy your coffee beans, they will probably come already roasted - the next stage is to grind them. Getting a decent coffee grinder is vital for producing good-quality coffee; if the beans are too finely ground or too coarsely ground the flavour of the coffee can be greatly impaired. If possible, look for a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder, as this produces much more evenly ground coffee. It is also recommended that you replace your grinder regularly, so it is a good idea to shop around and find the best price.
Cups: There are lots of different types and sizes of coffee cups, including small espresso cups, latte mugs and latte glasses. Many online companies will personalise your cups for you- so you could brand them with your company's name, for example.
Extras: As well as the larger items above, you will probably need consumables such as napkins, paper cups, and so on. Some websites sell packages containing many of these items, so you may be able to find a better deal if you buy these items together.
Espresso machines: These come in all shapes, sizes and finishes, so make sure you compare web sites to find the most suitable machine for your business. Try and get an espresso machine that offers a good warranty as this will cover you for the first year or so if anything goes wrong.
Grinders: When you buy your coffee beans, they will probably come already roasted - the next stage is to grind them. Getting a decent coffee grinder is vital for producing good-quality coffee; if the beans are too finely ground or too coarsely ground the flavour of the coffee can be greatly impaired. If possible, look for a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder, as this produces much more evenly ground coffee. It is also recommended that you replace your grinder regularly, so it is a good idea to shop around and find the best price.
Cups: There are lots of different types and sizes of coffee cups, including small espresso cups, latte mugs and latte glasses. Many online companies will personalise your cups for you- so you could brand them with your company's name, for example.
Extras: As well as the larger items above, you will probably need consumables such as napkins, paper cups, and so on. Some websites sell packages containing many of these items, so you may be able to find a better deal if you buy these items together.
Italian Fish Dishes Part 3. by Rocco Nikolay Viktor
No. 11. Baccala in Istufato (Haddock)
Ingredients: Haddock or lemon sole, carrots, anchovies, lemon, pepper, butter, onions, flour, white wine, stock.
Stuff a haddock (or filleted lemon sole) with some slices of carrot which have been masked with a paste made of pounded anchovies, very little chopped lemon peel, salt and pepper. Then fry an onion with two cuts across it in butter. Take out the onion as soon as it has become a golden colour, flour the fish and put it in the butter, and when it has been well fried on both sides pour a glass of Marsala over it, and when it is all absorbed add a cup of fowl or veal stock and let it simmer for half an hour, then skim and reduce the sauce, pour it over the fish and serve.
No. 12. Naselli con Piselli (Whiting)
Ingredients: Whiting, onions, parsley, peas, tomatoes, butter, Parmesan, Bechamel sauce.
Cut a big whiting into two or three pieces and fry them slightly in butter, add a small bit of onion, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and fry for a few minutes more. Then add some peas which have been cooked in salted water, three tablespoonsful of Bechamel sauce (No. 3), and three of tomato puree, and cook all together on a moderate fire.
No. 13. Ostriche alla Livornese (Oysters)
Ingredients: Oysters, parsley, shallot, anchovies, fennel pepper, bread crumbs, cream, lemon.
Detach the oysters from their shells and put then into china shells with their own liquor. Have ready a dessert-spoonful of parsley, shallot, anchovy and very little fennel, add a tablespoonful of bread crumbs and a little pepper, and mix the whole with a little cream. Put some of this mixture on each oyster, and then bake them in a moderate fire for a quarter of an hour. At the last minute add a squeeze of lemon juice to each oyster and serve on a folded napkin.
No. 14. Ostriche alla Napolitana (Oysters)
Ingredients: Oysters, parsley, celery, thyme, pepper, garlic, oil, lemon.
Prepare the oysters as above, but rub each shell with a little garlic. Put on each oyster a mixture made of chopped parsley, a little thyme, pepper, and bread crumbs. Then pour a few drops of oil on each shell, put them on the gridiron on an open fire, grill for a few minutes, and add a little lemon juice before serving.
No. 15. Ostriche alla Veneziana (Oysters)
Ingredients: Oysters, butter, shallots, truffles, lemon juice, forcemeat of fish.
Take several oysters out of their shells and cook them in butter, a little chopped shallot, and their own liquor, add a little lemon juice and then put in each of the deeper shells a layer of forcemeat made of fish and chopped truffles, then an oyster or two, and over this again another layer of the forcemeat, cover up with the top shell and put them in a fish kettle and steam them. Then remove the top shell and arrange the shells with the oysters on a napkin and serve.
Ingredients: Haddock or lemon sole, carrots, anchovies, lemon, pepper, butter, onions, flour, white wine, stock.
Stuff a haddock (or filleted lemon sole) with some slices of carrot which have been masked with a paste made of pounded anchovies, very little chopped lemon peel, salt and pepper. Then fry an onion with two cuts across it in butter. Take out the onion as soon as it has become a golden colour, flour the fish and put it in the butter, and when it has been well fried on both sides pour a glass of Marsala over it, and when it is all absorbed add a cup of fowl or veal stock and let it simmer for half an hour, then skim and reduce the sauce, pour it over the fish and serve.
No. 12. Naselli con Piselli (Whiting)
Ingredients: Whiting, onions, parsley, peas, tomatoes, butter, Parmesan, Bechamel sauce.
Cut a big whiting into two or three pieces and fry them slightly in butter, add a small bit of onion, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and fry for a few minutes more. Then add some peas which have been cooked in salted water, three tablespoonsful of Bechamel sauce (No. 3), and three of tomato puree, and cook all together on a moderate fire.
No. 13. Ostriche alla Livornese (Oysters)
Ingredients: Oysters, parsley, shallot, anchovies, fennel pepper, bread crumbs, cream, lemon.
Detach the oysters from their shells and put then into china shells with their own liquor. Have ready a dessert-spoonful of parsley, shallot, anchovy and very little fennel, add a tablespoonful of bread crumbs and a little pepper, and mix the whole with a little cream. Put some of this mixture on each oyster, and then bake them in a moderate fire for a quarter of an hour. At the last minute add a squeeze of lemon juice to each oyster and serve on a folded napkin.
No. 14. Ostriche alla Napolitana (Oysters)
Ingredients: Oysters, parsley, celery, thyme, pepper, garlic, oil, lemon.
Prepare the oysters as above, but rub each shell with a little garlic. Put on each oyster a mixture made of chopped parsley, a little thyme, pepper, and bread crumbs. Then pour a few drops of oil on each shell, put them on the gridiron on an open fire, grill for a few minutes, and add a little lemon juice before serving.
No. 15. Ostriche alla Veneziana (Oysters)
Ingredients: Oysters, butter, shallots, truffles, lemon juice, forcemeat of fish.
Take several oysters out of their shells and cook them in butter, a little chopped shallot, and their own liquor, add a little lemon juice and then put in each of the deeper shells a layer of forcemeat made of fish and chopped truffles, then an oyster or two, and over this again another layer of the forcemeat, cover up with the top shell and put them in a fish kettle and steam them. Then remove the top shell and arrange the shells with the oysters on a napkin and serve.
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