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

Take the beards off the oysters and simmer them for two minutes in two or three tablespoonfuls of water, and strain them ; put the liquor from the shells and beards to the strained juice of a small lemon, let it boil, and stir in a tablespoonful of fine flour, mixed smooth in two tablespoonfuls of milk or cream ; stir very rapidly for four minutes, as this sauce will be very thick ; now add an ounce of butter, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Chop the oysters with a silver knife and fork, put them into the sauce, cover the saucepan with its Hd, and let it stand on the range for five minutes, taking the greatest care that it does not approach to boiling ; the heat of the sauce should be sufficient to cook the oysters — boiling or simmering would simply spoil the dish. Take some little paper cases, which should be less deep than those used for ramekins ; take a feather and brush them over with salad-oil, then fill them with the oyster mixture. Oysters a la d'Uxelles. Blanch some large oysters, press them slightly between two dishes till they are cold, slit up, then open without quite severing them. Put a quarter of an inch layer of reduced d'Uxelles sauce inside, and fold the oysters together again, press them slightly, then dip them in frying butter, and fry them in hot fat till they are crisp. Veal and Oysters. Take two pounds of veal cutlets, cut them into thin pieces, put them in a frying-pan with boiling lard, and let them fry till the veal is half done ; then add a quart of large stewing oysters, their liquor strained and thickened with grated bread-crumbs, and seasoned with a dust of cayenne and a grate of nutmeg. Continue frying till the veal and oysters are thoroughly done, give one squeeze of lemon, and serve garnished with croutons soaked in lemonjuice and fried. , Oysters a la Villeroi. Huitres a la Villeroi. Blanch some large oysters, warm them in Villeroi sauce, take them out one by one, and coat them thoroughly ; dip them in bread-crumbs and egg and fry them ; dish them up in a pyramid, and garnish with fried parsley. Villeroi sauce is made with a thickening of butter and flour ; let it be of a good yellow colour. Stir in some fish stock, add a few mushrooms, and a bouquet garni ; simmer for fifteen minutes, pass through a hair sieve, put it in a saucepan again to reduce it, and stir in the yolks of two eggs. Be sure to see the sauce does not curdle by cooking it over too fierce a fire. Vol-au-vent of Oysters. Vol-au-vent aux Huitres. Make the vol-au-vent case in the usual way, and prepare the oyster mixture for the inside thus. Beard two dozen oysters, and put the beards and the liquor into a saucepan with an inch of lemonrind, a small pinch of salt, half a grain of cayenne, a quarter of an inch of mace, and one grate of a nutmeg. Boil quickly for eight minutes, then strain it. Mix a tablespoonful of flour smoothly with two ounces of butter. Add a gill of cream and the oyster liquor, and simmer gently till the sauce is thick and smooth. Put in the oysters, simmer two or three minutes longer, and serve. Woodcocks and Oysters. Becasses a la Poulette aux Huitres.