OYSTER SOUP

_Ingredients._—2 quarts of good mutton broth, 6 dozen oysters, 2 oz. butter, 1 oz. of flour. _Mode._—Beard the oysters, and scald them in their own liquor; then add it, well strained, to the broth; thicken with the butter and flour, and simmer for ¼ of an hour. Put in the oysters, stir well, but do not let it boil, and serve very hot. _Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_, 2_s._ per quart. _Seasonable_ from September to April. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

OYSTERS, Fried.

_Ingredients._—3 dozen oysters, 2 oz. butter, 1 tablespoonful of ketchup, a little chopped lemon-peel, ½ teaspoonful of chopped parsley. _Mode._—Boil the oysters for 1 minute in their own liquor, and drain them; fry them with the butter, ketchup, lemon-peel, and parsley; lay them on a dish, and garnish with fried potatoes, toasted sippets, and parsley. This is a delicious delicacy, and is a favourite Italian dish. _Time._—5 minutes. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 1_s._ 9_d._ _Seasonable_ from September to April. _Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

OYSTERS Fried in Batter.

_Ingredients._—½ pint of oysters, 2 eggs, ½ pint of milk, sufficient flour to make the batter; pepper and salt to taste; when liked, a little nutmeg; hot lard. _Mode._—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, beard them, and lay them on a cloth to drain thoroughly. Break the eggs into a basin, mix the flour with them, add the milk gradually, with nutmeg and seasoning, and put the oysters in the batter. Make some lard hot in a deep frying-pan, put in the oysters, one at a time; when done, take them up with a sharp-pointed skewer, and dish them on a napkin. Fried oysters are frequently used for garnishing boiled fish, and then a few bread-crumbs should be added to the flour. _Time._—5 or 6 minutes. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 1_s._ 10_d._ _Seasonable_ from September to April. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

OYSTERS, to Keep.

Put them in a tub, and cover them with salt and water. Let them remain for 12 hours, when they are to be taken out, and allowed to stand for another 12 hours without water. If left without water every alternate 12 hours, they will be much better than if constantly kept in it. Never put the same water twice to them.

OYSTERS, Pickled.

_Ingredients._—100 oysters; to each ½ pint of vinegar, 1 blade of pounded mace, 1 strip of lemon-peel, 12 black peppercorns. _Mode._—Get the oysters in good condition, open them, place them in a saucepan, and let them simmer in their own liquor for about 10 minutes very gently; then take them out one by one, and place them in a jar, and cover them, when cold, with a pickle made as follows:—Measure the oyster-liquor; add to it the same quantity of vinegar, with mace, lemon-peel, and pepper in the above proportion, and boil it for 5 minutes; when cold, pour over the oysters, and tie them down very closely, as contact with the air spoils them. _Seasonable_ from September to April.

_Note._—Put this pickle away in small jars; because, directly one is opened, its contents should immediately be eaten, as they soon spoil. The pickle should not be kept more than 2 or 3 months.

OYSTERS, Scalloped.

_Ingredients._—Oysters, say 1 pint, 1 oz. butter, flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of white stock, 2 tablespoonfuls of cream; pepper and salt to taste; bread-crumbs, oiled butter. _Mode._—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, take them out, beard them, and strain the liquor free from grit. Put 1 oz. of butter into a stewpan; when melted, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up; add the stock, cream, and strained liquor, and give one boil. Put in the oysters and seasoning; let them gradually heat through, but not boil. Have ready the scallop-shells buttered; lay in the oysters, and as much of the liquid as they will hold; cover them over with bread-crumbs, over which drop a little oiled butter. Brown them in the oven, or before the fire, and serve quickly, and very hot. _Time._—Altogether, ¼ hour. _Average cost_, for this quantity, 3_s._ 6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

OYSTERS, Scalloped.

Prepare the oysters as in the preceding recipe, and put them in a scallop-shell or saucer, and between each layer sprinkle over a few bread-crumbs, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg; place small pieces of butter over, and bake before the fire in a Dutch oven. Put sufficient bread-crumbs on the top to make a smooth surface, as the oysters should not be seen. _Time._—About ¼ hour. _Average cost_, 3_s._ 2_d._ _Seasonable_ from September to April.

OYSTERS, Stewed.

_Ingredients._—1 pint of oysters, 1 oz. of butter, flour, 1/3 pint of cream; cayenne and salt to taste; 1 blade of pounded mace. _Mode._—Scald the oysters in their own liquor, take them out, beard them, and strain the liquor; put the butter into a stewpan, dredge in sufficient flour to dry it up, add the oyster-liquor and mace, and stir it over a sharp fire with a wooden spoon; when it comes to a boil, add the cream, oysters, and seasoning. Let all simmer for 1 or 2 minutes, but not longer, or the oysters would harden. Serve on a hot dish, and garnish with croûtons, or toasted sippets of bread. A small piece of lemon-peel boiled with the oyster-liquor, and taken out before the cream is added, will be found an improvement. _Time._—Altogether 15 minutes. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 3_s._ 6_d._ _Seasonable_ from September to April. _Sufficient_ for 6 persons.

_Ingredients._—Eggs, flour, milk; to every egg allow 1 oz. of flour, about 1 gill of milk, 1/8 saltspoonful of salt. _Mode._—Ascertain that the eggs are fresh; break each one separately in a cup; whisk them well, put them into a basin, with the flour, salt, and a few drops of milk, and beat the whole to a perfectly _smooth_ batter; then add by degrees the remainder of the milk. The proportion of this latter ingredient must be regulated by the size of the eggs, &c. &c.; but the batter, when ready for frying, should be of the consistency of thick cream. Place a small frying-pan on the fire to get hot; let it be delicately clean, or the pancakes will stick, and, when quite hot, put into it a small piece of butter, allowing about ½ oz. to each pancake. When it is melted, pour in the batter, about ½ teacupful to a pan 5 inches in diameter, and fry it for about 4 minutes, or until it is nicely brown on one side. By only pouring in a small quantity of batter, and so making the pancakes thin, the necessity of turning them (an operation rather difficult to unskilful cooks) is obviated. When the pancake is done, sprinkle over it some pounded sugar, roll it up in the pan, and take it out with a large slice, and place it on a dish before the fire. Proceed in this manner until sufficient are cooked for a dish; then send them quickly to table, and continue to send in a further quantity, as pancakes are never good unless eaten almost immediately they come from the frying-pan. The batter may be flavoured with a little grated lemon-rind, or the pancakes may have preserve rolled in them instead of sugar. Send sifted sugar and a cut lemon to table with them. To render the pancakes very light, the yolks and whites of the eggs should be beaten separately, and the whites added the last thing to the batter before frying. _Time._—From 4 to 5 minutes for a pancake that does not require turning; from 6 to 8 minutes for a thicker one. _Average cost_ for 3 persons, 6_d._ _Sufficient._—Allow 3

_Ingredients._—6 eggs, 1 pint of cream, ¼ lb. of loaf sugar, 1 glass of sherry, ½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, flour. _Mode._—Ascertain that the eggs are extremely fresh, beat them well, strain and mix with them the cream, pounded sugar, wine, nutmeg, and as much flour as will make the batter nearly as thick as that for ordinary pancakes. Make the frying-pan hot, wipe it with a clean cloth, pour in sufficient batter to make a thin pancake, and fry it for about 5 minutes. Dish the pancakes piled one above the other, strew sifted sugar between each, and serve. _Time._—About 5 minutes. _Average cost_, with cream at 1_s._ per pint, 2_s._ 3_d._ _Sufficient_ to make 8 pancakes. _Seasonable_ at any time, but specially served on Shrove Tuesday.

PANCAKES, French.

_Ingredients._—2 eggs, 2 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, 2 oz. of flour, ½ pint of new milk. _Mode._—Beat the eggs thoroughly, and put them into a basin with the butter, which should be beaten to a cream; stir in the sugar and flour, and when these ingredients are well mixed, add the milk; keep stirring and beating the mixture for a few minutes; put it on buttered plates, and bake in a quick oven for 20 minutes. Serve with a cut lemon and sifted sugar, or pile the pancakes high on a dish, with a layer of preserve or marmalade between each. _Time._—20 minutes. _Average cost_, 7_d._ _Sufficient_ for 3 or 4 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

PANCAKES, Snow.

_Ingredients._—3 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 egg, 3 tablespoonfuls of snow, about ½ pint of new milk. _Mode._—Mix the flour with the milk by degrees, add the egg well beaten, and just before frying, the snow, it should then be all beaten up together quickly, and put into the frying-pan immediately. _Sufficient_ for 8 pancakes.