Fried Cucumber

A brief entry that leans on the recipe printed before it, so a few unstated steps are worth spelling out. The dish is essentially a cornmeal-dredged saute served as a canape base.

• "Prepare as above"The recipe depends on the entry printed before it, which is not reproduced here; in period cucumber recipes that usually means peeling and standing the cucumbers in cold salted water for a spell before slicing. Choose firm cucumbers with small, undeveloped seeds; a large seedy one will collapse in the pan.
• Meal means cornmealMeal probably means cornmeal -- in American cookbooks of the period an unqualified "meal" generally indicates cornmeal (yellow or white) rather than flour. A fine grind coats evenly; coarse polenta-grade meal will fall off in the butter.
• Drain like you mean itThis is the hinge of the dish. Slices straight from the soaking water will steam rather than fry and shed their coating; press them between towels until the surface is dry to the touch before dredging.
• Slice thicknessAbout a quarter inch gives a browned exterior and a slice that still holds together on the spatula. Thinner rounds go limp; thicker ones stay watery in the center.
• Butter will brown before the cucumber doesWhole butter over the medium-high heat needed here scorches quickly. Clarified butter, or butter cut with a spoonful of neutral oil, gets you the "delicate brown" without bitter flecks.
• The onionMince it very fine and give it under a minute in the butter. Longer and it burns while the cucumbers cook; larger pieces stay raw and sharp.
• ServingToasted crackers or butter-fried bread rounds are there to absorb moisture as well as carry the slice. Assemble at the table, not in advance, or the base goes soft.