Paper-bag cookery

Savory of Lobster. — Cut a small lobster from head to tail. Cut flesh into small dice. Put in small stew-pan with one tablespoonful of white sauce, one tablespoonful of cream; add salt and cayenne or other pepper to taste, and one teaspoonful of grated Parmesan. Mix up well, and place in the cavity of the shells. Put a little grated Parmesan cheese on top, and a little breadcrumbs and butter. Put in a paper-bag. Place on the broiler. Allow io minutes in hot oven. Crab and Crayfish can be treated in the same way, with a like excellent result. Savory Oysters. — Take two tablespoonfuls of white sauce, one teaspoonful of grated Parmesan cheese, one tablespoonful of cream, the liquor from the oysters and seasoning to taste. Take half a dozen deep oyster shells. Put a little of the above mixture at the bottom; then put the raw bearded oyster in the middle. Add a little more of the sauce on the top, with a little breadcrumbs and a small piece of butter. Place your bag on the broiler. Put your oysters carefully inside. Seal up, and allow 8 minutes in a very hot oven. Cheese Biscuit. — Take 4 oz. of flour, 3 oz. of butter, 1 yolk of egg, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, 1 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoonfuls of water, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix up gently and form a paste. Roll to the thickness of an ordinary biscuit, and cut to any shape. Place in paperbag, arranged so as not to touch each other. Allow 10 to 12 minutes in hot oven. This biscuit will keep for months in a dry place, and with it any kind of savory can be served. SWEETS Pastry, cakes, and sweets generally are wonderfully improved by being cooked in paper-bags. The concentration of heat which is thus gained has the effect of making puff paste lighter and more regular in texture, and all cake mixtures “ rise ” in a manner that the open oven cannot produce. Then again, the cooking takes much less time, and I need not point out the value of this. In the old style the oven door had frequently to be opened to watch progress. The pastry was thus exposed to draughts of cool air, which could not but produce “ doughy,” heavy and unsatisfactory results. Puff-Paste. — Take i lb. of flour, ^ lb. of butter. Mix the flour with water and salt lightly until the consistency of butter. Leave this dough for half-an-hour, then flatten with your hand and lay your butter on the top of the paste. Then, fold four-corner way, and give it two rolls, as usual. Leave your paste in a cool place for 45 minutes, and then roll twice more. Leave it for 45 minutes and then roll twice again. Place it in a large paper- bag which will not touch the paste. Put on. broiler and allow 20 minutes in hot oven. Tart in a Pie-Dish.— Place in a paper-bag well sealed. Put on the broiler. Allow 55 to 45 minutes, but use previously cooked fruit. Sausage Rolls, or any other pastry, can be cooked by the same method. The fatty matter inside the pastry (by the paper-bag method) helps by the even heat to keep the paste light and, consequently, perfect. Allow 20 to 25 minutes, according to size, in hot oven. Apple Dumpling. — Make in the usual way. Cook in the paper-bag. Allow 20 minutes in hot oven. Bananas, Apples, or other Cooking Fruit.