proceeded to bone one in the following way: Take a sharp knife and split
the flounder right down the middle of the back, then run the knife
carefully between the flesh and bones going toward the edge. You have
now detached one quarter of the flesh from the bone, do the other half
in the same way, and when the back is thus entirely loose from the bone,
turn the fish over and do the same with the other part. You will now
find you can remove the bone whole from the fish, detaching, as you do
so, any flesh still retaining the bone, then you have two halves of the
fish; cut away the fins, and you have four quarters of solid fish. Now
see if the fat is very hot, set it forward while you wipe your fish dry,
and dip each piece in milk, then in flour. Try if the fat is hot by
dropping a crumb into it; if it browns at once, put in the fish. When
they are beautifully brown, which will be in about ten minutes, take
them up in the colander, and then lay them on a towel to absorb any fat,
lay them on a hot dish, and garnish with slices of lemon and parsley or
celery tops.

Now when this dish made its appearance, my friend's husband, a _bon
vivant_, greeted it with, "Aha! _Filets de sole a la Delmonico_," and as
nothing to the contrary was said until dinner was over, he ate them
under the impression that they were veritable _filets de sole_. Of
course I can't pretend to say whether M. Delmonico imports his soles, or
uses the homely flounder; but I do know that one of his frequenters knew
no difference.

Oysters should be laid on a cloth to drain thoroughly, then rolled in
fine sifted cracker dust, and dropped into very hot fat; do not put more
oysters in the pan than will fry without one overlapping the other.
Very few minutes will brown them beautifully, if your fat was hot
enough, and as a minute too long toughens and shrinks them, be very
careful that it browns a cube of bread almost directly, before you begin
the oysters. Egg and bread-crumb may be used instead of cracker dust,
but it is not the proper thing, and is a great deal more trouble. Should
you be desirous of using it, however, the oysters must be carefully
wiped _dry_ before dipping them; while for cracker dust they are not
wiped, but only drained well.

Fish of any kind, fried in batter _a la Careme_ (see recipe), is very
easy to do, and very nice.

Carefully save veal, lamb, beef, and pork drippings. Keep a crock to put
it in, and, clarified as I shall direct, it i