The art of cooking

Oyster Croquettes. — Materials to be used in the following proportions: twenty-five large oysters, one dessert spoonful of chopped parsley, three and one-half ounces of butter, one and one-half ounces of flour, one gill of cream, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, one egg, three heaped tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, one half saltspoonful of pepper and a piece of salt, the size of a pea. The oysters should be boiled in their own liquor for five minutes, then strained, cut into rough pieces and seasoned with the pepper and salt. The butter must then be melted in a fresh saucepan, the flour added, also the cream, and all cooked for two minutes. Remove the saucepan now from the fire, and put in the oysters, parsley and lemon juice, after which mix all well together, and turn out upon a plate, leaving it to cool for one hour. When cool, form the mixture into small balls, beat the egg very light, and roll them in it, after which put the 24 O YSTERS AND O THER SHELLFISH, bread crumbs upon a sheet of kitchen paper, roll each ball therein, from side to side separately, and fry in hot clarified fat or lard, for two minutes. Put them as taken from the fat upon a piece of the kitchen paper for a moment, to drain the grease off. And serve on a heated napkin garnished with sprigs of parsley. OYSTERS AND OTHER SHELLFISH,— SPECIAL DISHES. Crab Pie or Deviled Crabs.— Provide: two crabs, three ounces of butter, one ounce of flour, one gill of milk, one gill of cream, one teaspoonful of anchovy sauce, one tablespoonful of bread crumbs, one saltspoonful of pepper, one-half saltspoonful of salt. First throw the crabs into boiling water, and boil them for quarter of an hour. Pick the meat then from the shell, taking care not to break the shells, as they are to be used as natural bake pans for the pie. Cut the meat into irregular pieces, and put them in readiness for use, then taking a fresh saucepan, melt two ounces of the butter to which add the flour, milk and cream, and boil all for two minutes. The saucepan must now be taken from the fire and the Anchovy sauce, pepper and salt, and meat from the crab added. When this is mixed thoroughly together, arrange it smoothly in the shells, sprinkle thickly with the bread-crumbs, putting the remaining butter in small pieces on the top of each, and brown in a quick oven. Lobster Cutlets— Place in readiness : One lobster, one and one-half ounces of butter, one ounce of flour, one gill of cold water, one tablespoonful LOBSTER CUTLETS. 2$ of cream, one-half teaspoonful of lemon- juice, one grain of cayenne, one saltspoonful of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, one egg, three tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs. The lobster should be put into boiling water for twenty minutes after which the head must be twisted oflf and the coral that runs down the back removed. Beat this coral with half an ounce of butter together in a mortar, and to make it perfectly smooth rub it through a wire sieve. Now melt in a saucepan the remainder of the butter, add thereto the flour and cold water, stir all until the water boils, and then allow it to boil two minutes. Take it now from the fire, and add the coral, cream, pepper and salt, lemon-juice and cayenne. When this is done cut the lobster into small, convenient pieces, and mix them well with the contents of the saucepan. Turn all now out upon a plate and set to cool for one hour. When cool, divide into five pieces and form into cutlets, similar in shape to cutlets of lamb, dip them lightly into the egg, which must have been well beaten, roll them in the bread crumbs, which must have been placed upon kitchen paper for the purpose, from side to side, and fry for two minutes in hot clarified fat or lard. When done put them to drain for a moment upon a clean piece of kitchen-paper and serve on a hot napkin, garnished with the claws of the lobster.