Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

Use about a quart of shelled clams, one table-spoonful of flour, two table-spoonfuls of butter, half a pint of milk, about one teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Put the milk on the stove in a double-boiler. Put the clams into a colander, and pour a quart of cold water over them. This washes them sufficiently. Do not let them drain, but put them into a stew-pan immediately. Add the milk as soon as it begins to boil. Beat the flour and butter together until creamy ; and when the clams begin to boil, put the creamy mixture into the stew-pan. Add the seasoning, and let the clams simmer for two minutes. Lay some toasted bread or crackers on the bottom of a deep dish, and pour the stew upon them. Deviled Scallops. Use for this dish a quart of scallops, half a cupful of butter, one teaspoonful of made mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, one cupful of white stock (chicken or veal), and a cupful of cracker crumbs. Put the scallops on the stove in a saucepan, and heat them just to the boiling-point in their own liquor ; then drain them, saving the liquor, and chop them rather fine. Reserve a spoonful of the butter, and, putting the remainder into a warm bowl, beat it to a cream ; then add the seasoning, beating it in thoroughly. Now add the stock, hot. Stir the chopped scallops and their liquor into this sauce, and let them stand for half an hour. At the end of that time put them into an escalop dish or in shells. Sprinkle with crumbs, dot with the table-spoonful of butter, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Serve immediately. Scallops Fried in Batter. Make a batter of a pint of flour, two eggs, one tablespoonful of salad oil (or a table-spoonful of butter, if you have no oil), one teaspoonful of salt, and nearly half a pint of milk. Beat the eggs until light, and, after adding the milk to them, pour the mixture upon the flour. Beat vigorously for two or three minutes ; then add the salt and oil. Drain a quart of scallops, and season with salt and pepper. Drop them into the batter, and then drop spoonfuls of scallops and batter into boiling fat. Cook for three minutes. Drain, and serve at once. * Fried Scallops. Drain two dozen scallops carefully, and after seasoning them with salt and pepper, roll them lightly in fine bread crumbs. Beat two eggs in a soup-plate, with a spoon or fork, and after dipping the scallops in the egg, roll them in a quantity of crumbs and lay them on a large platter. Be careful that they do not touch each other. When all have been breaded, place in the frying-basket as many as can be accommodated on the bottom, and plunge into boiling fat. Cook for two minutes, and serve with toast and cabbage or celery salad. Tartar sauce also is a good accompaniment. Care must be taken that the fish are thoroughly seasoned with salt previous to the breading, and that the fat is so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre. Soft-shell Crabs.