_Ingredients._—1 lb. of lump sugar, 2 oz. of isinglass, 1½ pint of
water, the juice of 2 lemons, ¼ pint of liqueur. _Mode._—Put the
sugar, with 1 pint of the water, into a stewpan, and boil them gently
by the side of the fire until there is no scum remaining, which must
be carefully removed as fast as it rises. Boil the isinglass with the
other ½ pint of water, and skim it carefully in the same manner. Strain
the lemon-juice, and add it, with the clarified isinglass, to the
syrup; put in the liqueur, and bring the whole to the boiling-point.
Let the saucepan remain covered by the side of the fire for a few
minutes; then pour the jelly through a bag, put it into a mould, and
set the mould in ice until required for table. Dip the mould in hot
water, wipe the outside, loosen the jelly by passing a knife round
the edges, and turn it out carefully on a dish. Noyeau, Maraschino,
Curaçoa, brandy, or any kind of liqueur, answers for this jelly;
and, when made with isinglass, liqueur jellies are usually prepared
as directed above. _Time._—10 minutes to boil the sugar and water.
_Average cost_, with the best isinglass, 3_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ to
fill a quart mould. _Seasonable_ at any time.
[Illustration: OVAL JELLY MOULD.]
LIVER AND LEMON SAUCE, for Poultry.
_Ingredients._—The liver of a fowl, one lemon, salt to taste, ½ pint
of melted butter. _Mode._—Wash the liver, and let it boil for a few
minutes; peel the lemon very thin, remove the white part and pips,
and cut it into very small dice; mince the liver and a small quantity
of the lemon-rind very fine; add these ingredients to ½ pint of
smoothly-made melted butter; season with a little salt, put in the cut
lemon, heat it gradually, but do not allow it to boil, lest the butter
should oil. _Time._—1 minute to simmer. _Sufficient_ to serve with a
pair of small fowls.
LIVER AND PARSLEY SAUCE, for Poultry.
_Ingredients._—The liver of a fowl, one tablespoonful of minced
parsley, ½ pint of melted butter. _Mode._—Wash and score the liver,
boil it for a few minutes, and mince it very fine; blanch or scald
a small bunch of parsley, of which there should be sufficient when
chopped to fill a tablespoon; add this with the minced liver, to ½ pint
of smoothly-made melted butter; let it just boil; when serve. _Time._—1
minute to simmer. _Sufficient_ for a pair of small fowls.
LOBSTERS, to Boil.
_Ingredients._—¼ lb. of salt to each gallon of water. _Mode._—Buy the
lobsters alive, and choose those that are heavy and full of motion,
which is an indication of their freshness. When the shell is incrusted,
it is a sign they are old: medium-sized lobsters are the best. Have
ready a stewpan of boiling water, salted in the above proportion; put
in the lobster, and keep it boiling quickly from 20 minutes to ¾ hour,
according to its size, and do not forget to skim well. If it boils too
long, the meat becomes thready, and if not done enough, the spawn is
not red: this must be obviated by great attention. Rub the shell over
with a little butter or sweet oil, which wipe off again. _Time._—Small
lobster, 20 minutes to ½ hour; large ditto, ½ to ¾ hour. _Average
cost_, medium size, 1_s._ 6_d._ to 2_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ all the
year, but best from March to October.
TO CHOOSE LOBSTERS.—This shellfish, if it has been cooked alive, as
it ought to have been, will have a stiffness in the tail, which, if
gently raised, will return with a spring. Care, however, must be taken
in thus proving it; for if the tail is pulled straight out, it will
not return; when the fish might be pronounced inferior, which, in
reality, may not be the case. In order to be good, lobsters should be
weighty for their bulk; if light, they will be watery; and those of the
medium size, are always the best. Small-sized lobsters are cheapest,
and answer very well for sauce. In boiling lobsters, the appearance of
the shell will be much improved by rubbing over it a little butter or
salad-oil on being immediately taken from the pot.
LOBSTER CURRY (an Entrée).
_Ingredients._—1 lobster, 2 onions, 1 oz. butter, 1 tablespoonful
of curry-powder, ½ pint of medium stock, the juice of ½ lemon.
_Mode._—Pick the meat from the shell, and cut into nice square pieces;
fry the onions of a pale brown in the butter, stir in the curry-powder
and stock, and simmer till it thickens, when put in the lobster; stew
the whole slowly for ½ hour, stirring occasionally; and just before
sending to table, put in the lemon-juice. Serve boiled rice with it,
the same as for other curries. _Time._—Altogether, ¾ hour. _Average
cost_, 3_s._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
LOBSTER CUTLETS (an Entrée).
_Ingredients._—1 large hen lobster, 1 oz. fresh butter, ½ saltspoonful
of salt, pounded mace, grated nutmeg, cayenne and white pepper to
taste, egg, and bread-crumbs. _Mode._—Pick the meat from the shell, and
pound it in a mortar with the butter, and gradually add the mace and
seasoning, well mixing the ingredients; beat all to a smooth paste, and
add a little of the spawn; divide the mixture into pieces of an equal
size, and shape them like cutlets. They should not be very thick. Brush
them over with egg, and sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and stick a short
piece of the small claw in the top of each; fry them of a nice brown
in boiling lard, and drain them before the fire, on a sieve reversed;
arrange them nicely on a dish, and pour béchamel in the middle, but not
over the cutlets. _Time._—About 8 minutes after the cutlets are made.
_Average cost_ for this dish, 2_s._ 9_d._ _Seasonable_ all the year.
_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.
LOBSTERS, to Dress.
When the lobster is boiled, rub it over with a little salad-oil, which
wipe off again; separate the body from the tail, break off the great
claws, and crack them at the joints, without injuring the meat; split
the tail in halves, and arrange all neatly in a dish, with the body
upright in the middle, and garnish with parsley.
LOBSTER, Hot.
_Ingredients._—1 lobster, 2 oz. of butter, grated nutmeg; salt, pepper,
and pounded mace, to taste; broad crumbs, 2 eggs. _Mode._—Pound the
meat of the lobster to a smooth paste with the butter and seasoning,
and add a few bread-crumbs. Beat the eggs, and make the whole mixture
into the form of a lobster; pound the spawn, and sprinkle over it. Bake
¼ hour, and just before serving, lay over it the tail and body shell,
with the small claws underneath, to resemble a lobster. _Time._—¼ hour.
_Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time. _Sufficient_ for
4 or 5 persons.
LOBSTER PATTIES (an Entrée).
_Ingredients._—Minced lobster, 4 tablespoonfuls of béchamel, 6 drops
of anchovy sauce, lemon-juice, cayenne to taste. _Mode._—Line the
patty-pans with puff-paste, and put into each a small piece of bread;
cover with paste, brush over with egg, and bake of a light colour.
Take as much lobster as is required, mince the meat very fine, and add
the above ingredients; stir it over the fire for 5 minutes; remove the
lids of the patty-cases, take out the bread, fill with the mixture, and
replace the covers. _Seasonably_ at any time.
LOBSTER, Potted.
_Ingredients._—2 lobsters; seasoning to taste, of nutmeg, pounded
mace, white pepper, and salt; ¼ lb. of butter, 3 or 4 bay-leaves.
_Mode._—Take out the meat carefully from the shell, but do not cut it
up. Put some butter at the bottom of a dish, lay in the lobster as
evenly as possible, with the bay-leaves and seasoning between. Cover
with butter, and bake for ¾ hour in a gentle oven. When done, drain
the whole on a sieve, and lay the pieces in potting-jars, with the
seasoning about them. When cold, pour over it clarified butter, and, if
very highly seasoned, it will keep some time. _Time._—¾ hour. _Average
cost_ for this quantity, 4_s._ 4_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—Potted lobster may be used cold, or as a _fricassee_ with cream
sauce.
LOBSTER (à la Mode Française).
_Ingredients._—1 lobster, 4 tablespoonfuls of white stock, 2
tablespoonfuls of cream, pounded mace, and cayenne to taste;
bread-crumbs. _Mode._—Pick the meat from the shell, and cut it up
into small square pieces; put the stock, cream, and seasoning into a
stewpan, add the lobster, and let it simmer gently for 6 minutes. Serve
it in the shell, which must be nicely cleaned, and have a border of
puff-paste; cover it with bread-crumbs, place small pieces of butter
over, and brown before the fire, or with a salamander. _Time._—¼ hour.
_Average cost_, 2_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ at any time.