Hand-Book of Practical Cookery, for Ladies and Professional Cooks: Containing the Whole Science and Art of Preparing Human Food

twelve minutes in a warm oven. A dozen silver shells served thus make a sightly and excellent dish. Some truffles, chopped fine, may be added to the sauce, two minutes before taking it from the fire. _Stewed._--Procure two quarts of good and fresh oysters. Set them on a sharp fire, with their liquor and a little water, and blanch as directed. Put four ounces of butter in a saucepan, set on the fire, and when melted stir into it a small tablespoonful of flour; as soon as mixed, add also a teaspoonful of parsley, chopped fine, and about half a pint of broth; boil gently about ten minutes, then add the oysters, salt and pepper, boil again about one minute, dish the whole, sprinkle lemon-juice on, and serve. An oyster soup is often called a stew. _In Poulette._--In adding chopped mushrooms to the stewed oysters, at the same time that the oysters are put in the pan, you make them in _poulette_. _A la Washington._--Fried oysters are called _à la Washington_, when two, three, or four very large oysters are put together (they adhere very easily), dipped in egg, rolled in bread-crumbs, and fried, as directed above. It is necessary to have a deep pan, and much fat, to immerse them completely. _Pickled_ oysters are always served as a _hors d'oeuvre_. Place around the oysters some hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and serve with oil and vinegar. Serve them in the same way, with slices of truffles instead of hard-boiled eggs. They may also be served with lemon-juice only. Or with shallots chopped fine, and then bruised in a coarse towel. This last one is considered of too strong a taste for ladies. They are also served with a Tartar sauce. _Scallops._--Blanch the scallops for three minutes, drain them. Put butter on the fire in a frying-pan, and when melted turn the scallops in; stir now and then, take from the fire when fried, add parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, and serve warm. _On the Shell._--Chop fine a middling-sized onion, and fry it with one ounce of butter. While the onion