Most for your money cookbook

Into 2 quarts of boiling water throw half a dozen celery sprigs, half a dozen sprigs of parsley, a dozen allspice, a dozen peppercorns and a sliced onion. Cover and boil rapidly for 10-15 minutes. Then drop in a dozen well-washed crabs, or less if large. Clamp on the cover and cook exactly 10 minutes. Drain, and cool. Take oflF the loose shell or apron which lies underneath, remove the side "fingers," br ak open, and pick out white meat from body and claws. Everything is edible except the spongy gills and the stone bag in the head. The coral, if any, is good too. The meat is now ready for cocktails or salads, for creaming, scalloping, or for devilled crabs. DEVILLED CRABS Mix equal portions of melted butter and flour. Add milk until a thick, soft paste is made. Add a dash of paprika and a few drops of Worcestershire. Cook the mixture over a slow flame for 20-30 minutes. Add crabmeat. Fill crab shells with generous portions. Cover the top with buttered bread crumbs, and place under a low flame for about 3 minutes, or until the crumbs are browned. Remove to plates, placing a sprig of parsley on top of each. This recipe is often enriched by a hard-cooked egg or two, whites chopped and yolks pressed through a sieve to make the sauce yellow. A tablespoon or so of onion juice and a dash of nutmeg are good additional seasonings. STUFFED CRABS To each cup of crab meat add Vi cup fine bread crumbs, and yi cup strained cooked tomatoes. If too dry add a little of the liquid in which crabs cooked. Season with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of onion juice. Stir in two tablespoons melted butter. Fill the crab shells, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter, brown in the oven and eat hot. CRAB CROQUETTES Shred two cups of crab meat. Add Vt. cup evaporated milk, and enough bread crumbs to make very stiff. Stir in i egg, well beaten, season, heat for a moment and cool. Shape into croquettes, dip in egg and crumbs and fry in deep fat, or pat out into cakes and pan fry. CRABMEAT IN TOMATO SHELLS Peel tomatoes, hollow them out, and fill cavities with crabmeat mixed with salad dressing or mayonnaise; set each on a lettuce leaf. Or, hollow out tomatoes to thin shells; cook what has been taken out until it*s thick, strain, add crabmeat, season with salt and pepper, and a little catsup; fill shells with mixture, sprinkle with crumbs, dot with butter and bake. Soft-shell crabs only remain in that state two or three days, from the time they shed their old shell until the new one has hardened. Because of the shortness of the time and the necessity for quick handling, they are always a luxury, unless you can catch them yourself. SOFT-SHELL CRABS, FRIED Clean thoroughly a half dozen soft-shell crabs, brush them lightly with olive oil, season with i teaspoon pepper and i tablespoon salt, dip lightly in flour, then in beaten egg and lastly in sifted cracker crumbs. Fry a delicate brown in plenty of oil or fat, turning once. Set on a whole slice of toast, garnish with fried parsley and eat with Tartar sauce. SOFT-SHELL CRABS, BROILED