Oysters à la mode, or, The oyster and over 100 ways of cooking it

Take one dozen oysters, beard them, strain the liquor, and scald the oysters in it ; chop them, and mix with them four ounces of bread-crumbs, one ounce and a half of butter, a small dessertspoonful of parsley finely minced, the grated rind of half a lemon, a dust of cayenne, and salt to taste. Mix well, and bind with the yolk of an egg and a dessertspoonful of the oyster liquor. Oysters au Gratin. Huitres au Gratin. Put six ounces of macaroni into a stewpan with three pints of boiling water. Season with a pinch of salt and two pinches of pepper, and simmer for twenty minutes. Drain the macaroni and put it back into the saucepan with half a pint of good gravy, and let it stew till the macaroni is tender and the gravy absorbed. Turn it out, chop it small, and put it again into the stewpan with a dozen or more of oysters, cut into small pieces, two ounces of grated Parmesan, one ounce of butter, a dust of cayenne, and as much gravy as will moisten it. Shake the saucepan over the fire till the cheese is melted, then pile the macaroni high in a dish, sprinkle over it two ounces of Parmesan cheese and a dessertspoonful of browned bread-crumbs, pour over half an ounce of clarified butter, and brown the mixture in a gentle oven or before the fire. Oysters au Gratin Superlatif. Huitres au Gratin Superlatif. Scald the oysters in a saucepan in their own liquor, put them into silver or china scallop shells with a little sweet oil, season them with chopped shalot, parsley, and an anchovy minced fine, pepper and salt to taste, cover with fine bread-crumbs, and moisten with sweet oil. Put them into the oven for a few minutes, and brown them with a salamander and squeeze a few drops of lemon over them before serving. Hashed Oysters. Open twelve oysters, put the liquor in a stewpan, and the oysters in a saucepan, and when nearly boiling take them out and put them in cold water, strain them off, cut away the hard part of the oyster, which must be chopped fine ; then pound eight ounces of cod fish, and put this with the oyster liquor, and two ounces of butter, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one of spring onions, and one of mushrooms. Stir all this on the fire, add half a teaspoonful of flour, wet it afterwards with a little vinegar, and let it simmer till nearly all the sauce is reduced. Just before serving add to it the yolks of two eggs diluted with a little milk, and serve. Iced Savoury Oysters. Take three or four dozen oysters, and after bearding them and straining their liquor from them, cut them up into small pieces and let them soak in Mayonnaise sauce made with lemon instead of vinegar, for two hours. Have some well-flavoured aspic jelly, and whip it till it is frothy. Put some of this at the bottom of the dish it is to be served in ; then place a layer of the minced oyster, and fill it up with oyster and aspic alternately till the mould is nearly full ; place a stiff band of paper round and fill in with whipped aspic. Put it on ice for two hours ; remove the paper and serve. Garnish with lemon cut in fancy shapes, and rolled anchovies. Whole oysters may be used, but that would make the dish very expensive. Iced Oyster Souffle. Souffle Glace aux Huitres.