1431 | Fillets of Shad à la C. Bliss.
—Procure a fine roe shad, thoroughly scale, then split it right down the back, carefully remove the roes, and also the bones, then cut it in half, lay one half aside with its roe for some other purpose. Cut out from the other half six equal fillets diagonally, one inch thick, suppress the skin of each fillet, nicely pare off the corners, and then place them on a large soup plate. Season with a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, the third of a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, squeeze in the juice of a medium-sized sound lemon, add one sprig of thyme, one branch of parsley, a bay-leaf, and three cloves. Gently mix the whole well together, without breaking the fillets, and then let marinate till further action.
Place the roe belonging to the half shad in a saucepan on the hot range, with a tablespoonful of very good butter, and half a wineglassful of white wine; let slowly cook for five minutes. Carefully remove the roe with a skimmer, place it on a dish, and then, with a knife, remove the skin from all around, place it back into the saucepan, and add another half a glass of white wine, gently mix with a fork, so as to thoroughly separate the eggs, and then let slowly simmer on the corner of the range. Place in another saucepan a tablespoonful of butter and one and a half tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well together on the hot range for five minutes, without browning; add to it now a cup of hot milk, briskly stir until it comes to a boil. Season with a teaspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper; cook for five minutes longer, then strain it through a sieve into the other saucepan, and mix the whole well together for two minutes, and leave it again on the corner of the range. Take the fillets from the marinade, gently lay them on a napkin, remove all the herbs that may adhere around them, fold the napkin over and gently dry them. Steep each fillet in beaten up egg, and then, gently turning them in fresh bread-crumbs, immediately plunge them into very hot fat to fry for four minutes, so that they all shall obtain a good golden color. Place six oval-shaped croûtons on a hot dish. Take up the fillets, place one on each croûton around the dish; pour the prepared sauce around, but not over them, and immediately send to the table.