68 SHELL-FISH.
well-beaten yolks of eggs ; do not allow the terrapin to boil after add- ing the eggs, but pour it immediately into a tureen containing a gill of good Madeira and a tablespoonful of lemon juice. Serve hot.
STEWED TERRAPIN.
PLUNGE the terrapins alive into boiling water, and let them re- main until the sides and lower shell begin to crack this will take less than an hour ; then remove them and let them get cold ; take off the shell and outer skin, being careful to save all the blood possible in opening them. If there are eggs in them put them aside in a dish ; take all the inside out, and be very careful not to break the gall, which must be immediately removed or it will make the rest bitter. It lies within the liver. Then cut up the liver and all the rest of the terrapin into small pieces, adding the blood and juice that have flowed out in. cutting up ; add half a pint of water ; sprinkle a little flour over them as you place them in the stewpan ; let them stew slowly ten minutes, adding salt, black and cayenne pepper, and a very small blade of mace ; then add a gill of the best brandy and half a pint of the very best sherry wine ; let it simmer over a slow fire very gently. About ten minutes or so, before you are ready to dish them, add half a pint of rich, cream, and half a pound of sweet butter, with flour, to prevent boiling ; two or three minutes before taking them off the fire peel the eggs carefully and throw them in whole. If there should be no eggs use the yolks of hens' eggs, hard boiled. This recipe is for
four terrapins. Rennert's Hotel, Baltimore.
OILED LOBSTER.
PUT a handful of salt into a large kettle or pot of boiling water. When the water boils very hard put in the lobster, having first brushed it and tied the claws together with a bit of twine. Keep it boiling from twenty minutes to half an hour, in proportion to its size. If boiled too long the meat will be hard and stringy. When it is done take it out, lay it on its claws to drain, and then wipe it dry.
It is scarcely necessary to mention that the head of a lobster and what are called the lady fingers are not to be eaten.
Very large lobsters are not the best, the meat being coarse and tough. The male is best for boiling; the flesh is firmer and the shell a brighter red. It may readily be distinguished from the female;
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