ROAST TURKEY.—­Pluck, singe, and dress the turkey; wash thoroughly and wipe with a dry cloth.  If dressing is to be used, stuff the body full, sew up, and truss.  Place in a dripping-pan, add a pint of boiling water, and put in an oven so moderate that the turkey will not brown for the first hour; afterward the heat may be somewhat increased, but at no time should the oven be very hot.  After the bird becomes brown, baste it occasionally with the water in the pan, dredging lightly with flour.  Cook until the legs will separate from the body; three or four hours will be necessary for a small turkey.  One half hour to the pound is the usual rule.  When tender, remove the stuffing and serve it hot, placing the turkey on a large hot platter to be carved.  It may be garnished with parsley or celery leaves and served with cranberry sauce.

Ducks and geese may be prepared and roasted in the same manner, but less time will suffice for cooking, about one and one third hours for ducks of ordinary size, and about three hours for a young goose.

A stuffing of mashed potato seasoned with onion, sage, and salt is considered preferable for a goose.  Equal parts of bread crumbs and chopped apples moistened in a little cream are also used for this purpose.

SMOTHERED CHICKEN.—­Cut two chickens into joints and put in a closely covered kettle with a pint of boiling water.  Heat very slowly to boiling, skim, keep covered, and simmer until tender and the water evaporated; add salt, turn the pieces, and brown them in their own juices.

STEAMED CHICKEN.—­Prepare the chicken as for roasting, steam until nearly tender, dredge with flour and a little salt; put into a dripping-pan and brown in the oven.  Other birds and fowls may be prepared in the same way.

STEWED CHICKEN.—­Divide a chicken into pieces suitable for serving, and stew as directed for beef on page 400.  Old fowls left whole and stewed in this manner for a long time and afterward roasted, are much better than when prepared in any other way.  If a gravy is desired, prepare as for stewed beef.  Other poultry may be stewed likewise.

FISH.

Fish is a less stimulating article of food than other meats.  Edible fish are generally divided into two classes, those of white flesh and those more or less red.  The red-fleshed fish, of which the salmon is a representative, have their fat distributed throughout the muscular tissues, while in white fish the fat is stored up in the liver; hence the latter class is much easier of digestion, and being less stimulating, is to be recommended as more wholesome.  Different kinds of fish have different nutritive values.  Their flavor and wholesomeness are greatly influenced by the nature of their food and the condition of the water in which they are caught; those obtained in deep water with strong currents are considered superior to those found in shallow water.  Fish are sometimes poisonous, owing no doubt to the food they eat.