Entry from June 24, 2006
Striped Bass a la Manhattan
"Striped Bass a la Manhattan" was served at Delmonico's in the 1800s and appeared in several cookbooks. Charles Ranhofer's The Epicurean (1894) detailed many of Delmonico's dishes.
http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_47.cfm
The Epicurean. A Complete Treatise of Analytical and Practical Studies on the Culinary Art Including Table and Wine Service, How to Prepare and Cook Dishes, an Index for Marketing, a Great Variety of Bills of Fare for Breakfasts, Luncheons, Dinners, Suppers, Ambigus, Buffets, etc., and a Selection of Interesting Bills of Fare of Delmonico's, from 1862 to 1894. Making a Franco-American Culinary Encyclopedia.
New York: Charles Ranhofer, 1894.
Pg. 731:
(2428). STRIPED BASS OR SEA BASS à LA MANHATTAN (Bass Rayée ou Bass de Mer à la Manhattan).
Raise the fillets from a striped bass; remove the skin and bones, pare each one into an oval two inches by three inches, and lay them in a buttered sautoir; season with salt, pepper, and very finely chopped onion; moisten with white wine, and cook smothered in the oven; now lay them under the pressure of a light weight, pare once more, and when exceedingly cold cover entirely with jellied mayonnaise (No. 613), and return them to the ice-box. Prepare a pound of very fresh, boneless and skinless bass, put in a sautoir two tablespoonfuls of onions, and six ounces of clarified butter; first fry the onion lightly, then add the well-drained fish; season with salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper, and cook in a moderate oven; drain and let get cold; now suppress all the small bones from its meat and pound it well, slowly adding the stock mingled with a few spoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 409) reduced with mushroom essence (No. 392) until it becomes quite
View page [732]
thick. Rub the forcemeat through a sieve, and place it in a vessel on ice to beat up well, incorporating into it a gill of jelly (No. 103); try a small part to discover whether sufficiently firm, and then add a little dissolved isinglass; thicken on ice and put in the value of a pint of unsweetened and well-drained whipped cream. Coat some No. 2 mousseline molds (Fig. 138) with jelly, dredge over chopped lobster coral, and fill with the preparation; keep them on ice, and when very hard unmold and dress in a circle one beside the other on a round or oval dish into the bottom of which a little jelly has been poured and allowed to harden; in the center dress the escalops of bass; surround with chopped jelly and croûtons; brush the fish over with almost cold jelly, and keep the dish very cold until ready to serve, sending it to the table accompanied by a fine herb mayonnaise sauce (No. 612).
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18542
How to Cook Fish (1908)
by Myrtle Reed (1874-1911)
Pg. 48:
BAKED BASS Á LA MANHATTAN
Butter a baking-dish, put in the cleansed fish, rub with melted butter, season with salt and pepper, and cover with thin slices of bacon and bread crumbs. Add a little boiling water and bake in a very hot oven, basting as required.
Pg. 59:
FILLETS OF STRIPED BASS Á LA MANHATTAN
Clean and trim a four-pound bass, skin, remove the bones, and chop very fine. Add four tablespoonfuls of butter, season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, and add enough cream to make a stiff paste. Shape into cutlets, dip in egg and crumbs and fry in deep fat, or sauté in clarified butter. Drain. and serve with Tomato Sauce.
http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_47.cfm
The Epicurean. A Complete Treatise of Analytical and Practical Studies on the Culinary Art Including Table and Wine Service, How to Prepare and Cook Dishes, an Index for Marketing, a Great Variety of Bills of Fare for Breakfasts, Luncheons, Dinners, Suppers, Ambigus, Buffets, etc., and a Selection of Interesting Bills of Fare of Delmonico's, from 1862 to 1894. Making a Franco-American Culinary Encyclopedia.
New York: Charles Ranhofer, 1894.
Pg. 731:
(2428). STRIPED BASS OR SEA BASS à LA MANHATTAN (Bass Rayée ou Bass de Mer à la Manhattan).
Raise the fillets from a striped bass; remove the skin and bones, pare each one into an oval two inches by three inches, and lay them in a buttered sautoir; season with salt, pepper, and very finely chopped onion; moisten with white wine, and cook smothered in the oven; now lay them under the pressure of a light weight, pare once more, and when exceedingly cold cover entirely with jellied mayonnaise (No. 613), and return them to the ice-box. Prepare a pound of very fresh, boneless and skinless bass, put in a sautoir two tablespoonfuls of onions, and six ounces of clarified butter; first fry the onion lightly, then add the well-drained fish; season with salt, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper, and cook in a moderate oven; drain and let get cold; now suppress all the small bones from its meat and pound it well, slowly adding the stock mingled with a few spoonfuls of bechamel sauce (No. 409) reduced with mushroom essence (No. 392) until it becomes quite
View page [732]
thick. Rub the forcemeat through a sieve, and place it in a vessel on ice to beat up well, incorporating into it a gill of jelly (No. 103); try a small part to discover whether sufficiently firm, and then add a little dissolved isinglass; thicken on ice and put in the value of a pint of unsweetened and well-drained whipped cream. Coat some No. 2 mousseline molds (Fig. 138) with jelly, dredge over chopped lobster coral, and fill with the preparation; keep them on ice, and when very hard unmold and dress in a circle one beside the other on a round or oval dish into the bottom of which a little jelly has been poured and allowed to harden; in the center dress the escalops of bass; surround with chopped jelly and croûtons; brush the fish over with almost cold jelly, and keep the dish very cold until ready to serve, sending it to the table accompanied by a fine herb mayonnaise sauce (No. 612).
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18542
How to Cook Fish (1908)
by Myrtle Reed (1874-1911)
Pg. 48:
BAKED BASS Á LA MANHATTAN
Butter a baking-dish, put in the cleansed fish, rub with melted butter, season with salt and pepper, and cover with thin slices of bacon and bread crumbs. Add a little boiling water and bake in a very hot oven, basting as required.
Pg. 59:
FILLETS OF STRIPED BASS Á LA MANHATTAN
Clean and trim a four-pound bass, skin, remove the bones, and chop very fine. Add four tablespoonfuls of butter, season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, and add enough cream to make a stiff paste. Shape into cutlets, dip in egg and crumbs and fry in deep fat, or sauté in clarified butter. Drain. and serve with Tomato Sauce.
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