SHELL-FISH. 77
lid; put a clean towel into the dish (folded so as to support the lid), set it into the oven and bake the paste well ; when done, remove the lid and take out the towel. While the paste is baking prepare the oysters. Having picked off carefully every bit of shell that may be found about them, drain off the liquor into a pan and put the oysters into a stewpan with barely enough of the liquor to keep them from burning ; season them with pepper, salt and butter ; add a little sweet cream or milk, and one or two crackers rolled fine ; let the oysters sim- mer, but not laoil, as that will shrivel them. Remove the upper crust of pastry and fill the dish with the oysters and gravy; replace the cover and serve hot.
Some prefer baking the upper crust on a pie plate, the same size as the pie, then slipping it off on top of the pie after the same is filled
with the oysters.
MOCK OYSTERS.
GRATE the corn, while green and tender, with a coarse grater, into a deep dish. To two ears of corn, allow one egg ; beat the whites and yolks separately, and add them to the corn, with one tablespoonful of wheat flour and one of butter, a teaspoonf ul of salt and pepper to taste. Drop spoonfuls of this batter into a frying pan with hot but- ter and lard mixed, and fry a light brown on both sides.
In taste, they have a singular resemblance to fried oysters. The
corn must be young.
FRICASSEED OYSTERS.
TAKE a slice of raw ham, which has been pickled, but not smoked, and soak in boiling water for half an hour ; cut it in quite small pieces, and put in a saucepan with two-thirds of a pint of veal or chicken broth, well strained; the liquor from a quart of oysters, one small onion, minced fine, and a little chopped parsley, sweet marjoram, and pepper; let them simmer for twenty minutes, and then boil rapidly for two or three minutes ; skim well and add one scant tablespoonful of corn-starch, mixed smoothly in one-third cup of milk; stir con- stantly, and when it boils add the oysters and one ounce of butter ; after which, just let it come to a boil, and remove the oysters to a deep dish ; beat one egg, and add to it gradually some of the hot broth, and, when cooked, stir it into the pan ; season with salt, and pour the whole over the oysters. When placed upon the table, squeeze the juice of a lemon over it.
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