Breakfasts, luncheons, and ball suppers

Having removed the beards, saute the oysters for about a minute in butter just to set them, cut them in half, throw them into some good Cream Bechamel Sauce (No. 34), sprinkle with cayenne pepper, fill the darioles with aspic as in Receipt No. 91, fill up the centre with the oysters, and garnish with chopped aspic. OYSTERS A LA TARTAR. No. 95. In opening native oysters put aside all the nice round bottom shells which stand steadily, scald and clean them well, and keep them in case they are at any time required. Open as many oysters as are required, cut their beards off and scald them until set in their own liquor, and put them on a dish to cool. Put a pinch of mustard and cress in the bottom of each shell prepared as above, cut the oysters in half and place four half oysters in a pyramid shape on the top of the mustard and cress, mask each shell just before serving with a dessert-spoonful of Mayonnaise Sauce (No. 52) made with a 7/^77 trifling amount of vinegar, a few chopped gherkins and capers, and just a sprinkling of cayenne pepper on the top of the mayonnaise. Allow two for each person, and garnish the plates or dishes on which they are served with parsley. OYSTER KABOBS. No. 96. Open as many oysters as are required, keeping the liquor; remove the beards and hard substance ; cut with a cutter the same size as the oysters eight pieces of thin fat bacon for each six oysters ; cut as many small wooden skewers as there are people, put six oysters on each skewer with a piece of the bacon between each oyster and at each end. Mix with some bread-crumbs some cayenne pepper and salt, or Searcy Salt ; egg and crumb the kabobs, put them in a frying basket and into boiling lard and fry a nice light FISH AU GRATINS. 99 brown. Stew the beards and hard parts in the liquor, strain through a fine colander, and add an equal proportion of Brown Sauce (No. 35), and reduce to half-glaze ; add a squeeze of lemon, a little cayenne pepper, and serve with the kabobs. PERCH, BROILED. No. 97. Wash, scale, clean as many perch as required, about one pound each (allow one for each person), split down the centre of the back in half, take out the back-bone as clean as possible ; pepper and salt, and broil on a wire gridiron over or before a clear fire, and rub with soft butter just before serving. PLAICE, FILLET OF. No. 98. Clean, skin, wash, and fillet a plaice in the same way as soles are filleted; if over two pounds, the fillets must be divided in two or three pieces, egg and crumb, and fry in boiling lard. SALMON, TO FILLET. No. 99. Cut off the head and the tail five inches from the end, cut the salmon in half, dividing down the back (the knife must be very sharp); take out the back and all the long bones, cut the salmon in neat cutlets of about half an inch thick — a salmon about si.x; pounds is the best size. The tail can be boiled and not wasted — used for coquille or kedgeree. A salmon filleted in this way will make several dishes. SALMON, BROILED. No. 100. Cut a slice about an inch thick from a whole fish, or place some cutlets, filleted as above, in a wire. gridiron, and broil before or over a clear fire ; rub with soft butter, sprinkle with cayenne pepper and salt, or Searcy Salt, and serve. Allow one slice of a good-sized salmon for two people, or two fillets for each person. loo BREAKFASTS, LUNCHEONS, AND BALL SUPPERS